The Rise of a Warrior: Fairy Tail

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Luke Drako, S-class wizard of the Fairy Tail guild, the true Lightning Dragon Slayer, student and son of the Lightning dragon Kaminari. This is his story. The story of a Dragon Slayer trying to find his place in the world, and make one hell of a strong team along the way. And with any luck, he just might win the heart of a certain brunette card mage. OC x Cana. Read and review.

19. Omake II

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this story since I updated it, and I also want to thank you for getting this story up to 11,000 views. Here's to hopefully getting it up to 20,000! Also, I want to thank all of you for getting this story to the triple digits, over 100 favorites and 100 followers! I honestly never expected this story to get anywhere near as much love as it did, and believe me when I say that this story would be nothing without all of the support it's received from all of you over the past five months. Thank you all.

Ragnas Bredvolts: Thanks, I'm glad to see you enjoyed the chapter. Yeah, I figured that since I didn't have Lucy there this time, Cana would have to take it upon herself to make everyone get their asses in gear by reminding them of the guild member that left them to get strong enough to protect all of them. In terms of original story arcs, the closest I have at the moment are these Omake chapters that I do in between some of the bigger arcs, covering some of the oneshot episodes that they have every now and then. In regards to Mystogan, while I admit they never really did flesh out on his magic too much, I don't really think they actually needed to with someone like him. But if it helps, I'll try to come up with an original spell or two for him for when we next see him. And looking back, I do sort of understand Laxus' reasons for acting the way that he did, even though the way he tried to make his own name for himself was definitely the wrong way to go about it. Also, in regards to Luke getting some new spells, I was mostly referring to some of the Lightning Dragon Slayer spells that Laxus uses like the Demolition Fist and the Heavenward Halberd, really heavy hitters like those two, but I like the idea of adding a designated name to his Dragon Slayer Secret Arts spells. I'm particularly fond of Indra's Wrath, so I think I'll go with that one.

Altajir95: Same routine as usual, responding to all of your reviews at the same time. Thank you for all of the positive reviews, I'm glad to see you like my ideas for the story. I wanted to do something different with the Battle of Fairy Tail arc, so I decided to make it a flashback arc and give Gray one of the main roles, considering how badly I feel he got shafted in that arc.

Dragon storm: Good observation, I'm surprised no one has asked that before. But before that, let me just clarify that they're not exactly "together" yet, not like Natsu and Lisanna are, or like how Alzack and Bisca are. As for whether or not Luke actually knows about Cana being the daughter of Gildarts, I plan to address that in this chapter. Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions for me.

Guest: I'll respond to all of your reviews at once like I do with Altajir95. Thank you for all of the positive feedback, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you continue to do so in the future.

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There are many great stories that have different sides to them. Some are important, some not so much, but regardless they still exist, and they still have an impact on the story overall.

However, for the time being (this chapter), we'll be diving this story into two different parts, with two different sides to this story.

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(First we'll go into the first one, this one focusing on Natsu, the main character of the canon series that really didn't get much development in canon)

Another day had come, and the sun was shining brightly over the skies of Magnolia.

Lucy made her way into the Fairy Tail Archives, the area where the records of the guild are stored away, and she found Lisanna high atop a ladder arranging some books "Hey Lisanna, what are you doing up there?"

"Oh nothing too big, just a little bit of reorganizing." Lisanna told her "I had some free time so I offered to help out the Master."

"Oh I can help you out with that."

"Are you sure that you want to?"

"Oh yeah, I'm great with boring stuff."

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Soon enough, Lucy and Lisanna were hard at work sorting through the guild archives "So why are you organizing stuff in here all by yourself?"

Lisanna gave a shrug "Well Natsu and Happy having one of their little spats again I figured now is as good of a time as any."

"Those two are fighting? I figured they shared a brain between the two of them. So what are they fighting about?"

"Oh nothing really that big, Happy's just upset that Natsu ate a fish that he caught without asking first. It happens every few weeks or so with those two."

"Sounds like it gets pretty annoying."

"Not really, that's actually part of what makes the two of them look so cute."

"You really think so?"

"Well yeah, I mean you have a guy whose boyish charms would attract you too don't you?"

"What do you- I don't-" unfortunately, that proved to be enough to cause Lucy to slip and fall off the ladder she was using, leaving her to hit the ground with a loud thud as she crashed into a pile of books.

"Lucy, oh my gosh are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, sorry about that. I guess ladders aren't my strong point." then she noticed an old painting sticking out of one of the books and pulled it out "Hey so what's with this old painting here?"

"Oh wow I remember that, that brings back so many memories."

"Is this everyone in the guild back when you guys were kids?"

"Yeah that's right."

"That kid in the boxers must be Gray, and that brunette in the dress next to him must be Cana, so am I right?"

"Yep, and behind them is Macao and Wakaba."

"No way are you serious, they look so young! So who's that little kid brooding in the corner over there?"

"Oh that's Luke, he was pretty much a loner for a good long while when he was younger, and he was pretty cocky."

"I can't imagine that, he seems so chill and down to Earth."

"He's changed a lot since then. Speaking of which, do you recognize that head of spiky pink hair?"

"That's definitely Natsu, he hasn't changed a bit. But what's with him riding a little blue dragon in that picture?"

"Hm? Oh that's just Happy."

"...Huh?!"

"Oh yeah, I'm guessing you'll need some context to understand that."

"You mean why a little blue cat looks like a little blue dragon in a picture that was painted years go?"

"Yep." Lisanna sat down in a nearby chair and gave a smile filled with nostalgia "You know, when that picture was painted I hadn't been a member of Fairy Tail for very long myself. The time has sure flown by, I guess I just never really noticed. Back then Natsu and Gray were both little balls full of hate, they'd fight until they were black and blue every time they ran into each other."

"It doesn't sound like much has changed between the two of them."

"Well they're nowhere near as bad as they used to be. Of course, there was always someone there to break them up before they got too out of hand."

"Let me take a wild guess, Erza right?"

"Yep, they'd turn on her but that wouldn't end too well for either of them. Natsu was always getting into fights like that, of course he always acted like that's exactly what he wanted, but there were a few times I would catch him sitting alone with a sad look on his face. But then a day came where things really started changing, but for the better."

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(6 years ago, in the East Forest)

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" a 10 year old Natsu was hard at work punching away at a tree with Gray and Erza's faces painted on "Stupid Erza, stupid Gray, you both suck!" he dealt the tree a mighty punch that rocked it to its core, and left his hand red and swollen "That… didn't hurt at all… ow…" but then he got hit in the head with a certain something and he was sent crashing to the ground with a loud thud "Ow, what the heck?" he rubbed the gigantic bruise on his head and looked ahead to see a gigantic egg sitting in front of him, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

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A few minutes later, at the guildhall…

"Hey you guys!" Natsu burst into the guild hall carrying the egg overhead "Guys check out this awesome egg I just found!"

"Where in blazes did you pick up that thing?" asked Makarov.

"Oh I found it in the East Forest when it fell on my head."

"The East Forest?"

"After it hit me on the head, yeah."

"Well look at that." Gray shot him a cocky smirk "I guess you're good for something after all, so are you gonna fry it up for us?"

"I don't know, are you gonna put on some pants?"

"Dammit!"

"And I ain't gonna fry this thing, can't you see it's a dragon egg? I'm gonna hatch it."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Cana.

"Well duh, I mean just look at the markings on the outside of it. They look just like a dragon's claws don't they?"

"I don't know about that."

"So anyway Gramps, why don't you go ahead and use a spell to hatch the dragon?"

"Don't be such a fool." Makarov let out a scoff "Using magic for such a purpose would dishonor the miracle of life. You see life is born from love and love alone, no spell can or should transcend that power."

"Uh… Sorry Gramps, I don't think I'm following you."

"Oh for the love of- Well you'll understand when you grow up."

"I don't get it."

"Allow me to try and simply it for him." this was when Erza made herself known "He's saying that if you want the egg to hatch then you'll have to work hard in order to make it happen on your own. After all, considering you usually just burn and break things all day I think it might be nice for you to try something more productive for once."

"Uh… Hey Erza, I didn't hear you come in."

"Probably because I was already here before you came in."

"I've been waiting for you to show your face Erza!" this was when a young girl with white hair and a gothic look stormed up to her "What the hell do you say we pick up where we left off last time? I say come and get some, it's about time for me to put you in your place!"

"Well well if it isn't Mira, now that you mention it we never did finish our last match. I suppose it's only fair." they both started radiating serious KI (Killer Intent).

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(Back in the present)

"Hold on, what now?!" Lucy nearly lost her shit at what she was hearing "Are you for real right now, you mean that girl was your older sister?"

Lisanna nodded "Yeah that's right, you surprised by that?"

"Yeah I mean I can't imagine that, and you said that your sister was picking a fight with Erza of all people?"

"Yep, those two were just as bad as Natsu and Gray, if not worse."

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(6 years ago)

"I'm gonna bury you alive!" Mira charged at Erza in a rage.

"I'll make you beg for mercy!" Erza met the charge in full force, resulting in a full on fight raging across the guildhall.

"Is that armor your training bra?"

"Do you like showing off your love handles?"

"You ugly prude!"

"You stupid wench!"

"Thunder thighs!"

Cana and the others could only sweatdrop as they watched them tear into each other "Well you have to give them points for being classy, I guess."

"Oh yeah that's fair." Gray muttered "She gets all mad when we get into a fight, but the two of them get to wreck the guild whenever the heck they want."

"Well that's Erza and Mira for you."

"Just wait and see." Natsu promptly cracked his knuckles "One of these days, I'm gonna give the two of them a beatdown they're never gonna forget."

"Oh come on, give me a break." this was when Lisanna came up to him "You know, if you keep up that tough guy act then you're never going to get the girls to like you."

"Oh shut up Lisanna, what do you know?"

"Now there's no need to be mean, I was just about to ask if you needed a hand with raising that egg."

"Wait you mean you want to help, like for real?"

"Yeah, I've never tried raising a dragon before. I bet it will be a lot of fun."

"Alright!"

"I don't know if fun is the right word here." Cana pointed out.

"So how are supposed to make the thing hatch?"

"I think you just need to warm it up." Lisanna told him.

"What for real? Then it looks like I'm the right guy for the job!" and then he started spewing flames all over the egg.

"Not like that Natsu, what are you thinking?!" Lisanna snatched the egg away from him "You need to be more careful, we're trying to hatch the egg, not poach it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Just sit back and let my magic handle this. Take Over: Animal Soul!" with a flash of golden light, Lisanna transformed into a gigantic bird "So what do you think?"

"Holy crap, you're a bird!"

'Yeah, us birds are experts when it comes to hatching eggs."

"Aw wow, you're so smart!"

Cana glanced over to see Elfman pouting in a corner by himself "Hey come on Elfman, what's the matter?"

Elfman let out a sigh "My little sister has already perfected the Full Body Takeover, but I'm still having trouble with it. I suck as a wizard don't I?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot that you guys use the same magic."

"If I was as strong as here then I could turn into a bird and look for my parakeet."

"Your parakeet?"

"We used to be the best of friends until he flew away."

"Oh man, that's so sad."

"Yeah, you know I wish I had an egg to hatch like they do."

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(Back in the present)

"Aww, so that's Elfman, seriously?" Lucy couldn't help but aww over him "He was such a cute little guy back then."

"Oh yeah, he really hasn't changed much at all." Lisanna told her.

"...Seriously?"

"No, I'm just messing with you."

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(Flashback again)

Later, in Magnolia Southgate Park…

Lisanna blushed as she found Natsu staring at her "You know you're starting to make me kind of nervous."

"So the egg will hatch if we sit on it like this?" asked Natsu.

"Yeah that's right, though it does get kind of boring."

"Hey check it out, the egg started moving!" and then the egg started floating in the air a few feet off the ground, knocking Lisanna off it and freaking Natsu out rather thoroughly "What the heck is going on?" but then the egg stopped floating and landed in Natsu's arms "Huh, looks like the egg calmed down."

"Hey maybe the egg is trying to say something, like it wants you to warm it up instead."

"Yeah, you really think so?"

"Yeah, I mean doesn't it seem like it's happy now?"

"I don't know, hey egg do you want to be with me?" he was met with the sound of rustling coming from inside the egg "I think it said yes!"

"See, what did I tell you?"

"Right as always I guess."

"Hey I have an idea, why don't we build the egg a little house?"

"Like a secret base? I'm on it!"

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A few hours later…

"Yeah!" with a mighty yell, Natsu threw around a few rocks to create a makeshift house in the form of a small cave "So what do you think, isn't that the coolest house ever or what?"

"Uh… yeah, I think it's pretty awesome." Lisanna merely sweatdropped at the sight, only for it to collapse after a few minutes, freaking both of them out rather thoroughly.

"I guess awesomeness doesn't count for everything huh?"

"I think it's my turn now, just leave everything to me!" with a flash, Lisanna used her Animal Soul to turn into a gigantic bunny form.

"Holy crap, you're huge!"

"It's pretty cute, don't you think? Now just hang on for a second."

"This is so cool, all I'm good for is breaking stuff."

"Tada! Now I'm all done." it only took a few minutes for bunny Lisanna to build a new house made out of straw.

"Woah, nice job Lisanna."

"Thanks, now let's check out the inside."

"Uh… I don't think you're going to fit."

"I know that, just hold on a second." she promptly transformed back, and then they made their way inside with the egg.

"Woah, you know it's actually pretty roomy in here."

"Yeah, isn't it though? Anyway, why don't you go ahead and take a seat."

"Oh yeah sure." so he sat the egg down and then sat down himself.

"You know it's almost like we're a family now, isn't it?"

"Oh really, how do you figure?"

"Well there's you as the daddy and me as the mommy, and it's like the egg is our little baby that hasn't been born yet."

"...I guess that doesn't sound too bad." they both started blushing.

"How about we try and warm the egg together?"

"Uh, yeah okay." they both started cuddling with the egg.

"It's warm isn't it?"

"Yeah it is."

"Oh hey, I think it moved again."

"Oh wow, I hope it hatches soon."

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Laxus shot an uninterested and slightly unnerved over at Luke "A dragon's egg, seriously? You seriously have to be fucking with me right now."

"Do I look like an idiot to you?" Luke just laid down on a bench at one of the tables in the guild hall "I know enough about draconic reproduction from when Kaminari gave me "the talk" to know that that is not where dragons come from."

"And you expect me to buy that you and Natsu were actually raised by dragons?"

"I eat your lightning whenever you actually give enough of a shit to fight me. That is my answer to that statement."

"Fair point. So are you gonna try and fight me while I'm asleep again?"

"First of all, that's fighting dirty and that's not my thing. Second of all, yeah fuck it why the hell not? I don't have anything better to do."

"Not like you're gonna win though, just because you can eat lightning doesn't mean you can beat me."

"Please, as far as I'm concerned, the two of us are equals. At least until I can finally kick your ass."

"As if, try becoming an S class and then come back to me about being equals."

"...You know something Raging Dick, I might just hold you to that."

"GOD DAMMIT!" that was when Mira suddenly destroyed the table they were sitting in a blind rage.

"Speaking of raging, is it your time of the month again? For like the third time this month? By the way you've got blood dripping out of your shorts." he promptly blocked an enraged karate chop with his sword "No seriously, what's got you raging instead of sulking like literally every other goth girl in Fiore?"

"I knew something was wrong when she didn't stop by the guild today, so she's been hanging out with Natsu has she?"

"And the problem is?"

"She can't be friends with someone who's part of Team Erza!"

"...What the fuck do you think this is, the Twilight fanbase?"

"Shut up Team Erza footstool!"

"Bitch please, if anything I'm Team Laxus."

"Leave me out of this and meet me outside later you little shit." Laxus promptly walked away from the scene.

"Sad thing is he's one of the smarter members of the guild."

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Meanwhile, in the East Forest…

Lisanna followed Natsu to the area where he first found the egg "So this is where you first found the egg?"

Natsu nodded "Yeah that's right, it fell down from that tree when I punched it a lot of times and it hit me on the head."

"...I see."

"So what-" Natsu was cut off by the sound of stomping, causing them both to get freaked out upon seeing the creature causing it.

"This monster is a vicious Gorian, also known as a Forest Vulcan. Incidentally, and mostly because of plot convenience, take a wild guess as to what its favorite food happens to be."

"What does it want?"

"Egg." the Vulcan pointed at the egg "Give me the egg, give it to me boy."

"Yeah fat chance!" Natsu shoved the egg into Lisanna's embrace, and then he started tearing into the Vulcan "If you really want to eat something then how about my fist!"

"Oh wow, that kind of tickles."

"You asked for it!" and then he promptly got smacked across the face and sent flying all over the clearing until he hit the ground with a loud thud "Ow…"

Lisanna let out a horrified gasp "Natsu you're hurt, let me help you!"

"No way… just take the egg… and stay back…" Natsu pulled himself back to his feet and wiped the blood from his lips.

"But why would you put yourself through that?"

"Because… I'm the dad… and I have to… protect my family…"

"Natsu…"

"Besides, I'm just getting warmed up! I'll have you know that I'm the son of a dragon, there's no way in hell I'm going to lose to a monkey!" he charged at the Vulcan, only to get swatted aside by it over and over again.

"Natsu you're gonna get yourself killed, just hit him with your magic!"

"No way…" Natsu pulled himself back to his feet and spat out some blood "If this ape wants to fight with his fists then that's how I'm gonna beat him!"

"Oh really?" the Vulcan shot him a smirk "I'd love to see you try."

"You'd better stop yapping and start fighting already you stupid ape, I'm gonna paint you white and send you back to Mount Hakobe!"

"That's it, now you've made me mad!" the Vulcan dealt Natsu a solid kick to the face, sending him flying.

"I won't let you hurt my family, because I'm the dad!" Natsu rebounded off of the side of a tree and dealt the Vulcan a brutal headbutt, knocking it to the ground and knocking it out cold right on the spot.

Lisanna wasted no time in cheering for his victory "You did it, you really did it! You saved the day!"

"Yeah I know, pretty cool huh?" he gave a thumbs up, but ended up freaking her out because he looked like a wreck.

"What's wrong with your face?!"

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Unfortunately, after that it started raining.

"Come on we have to hurry, the egg is going to get cold!" Lisanna ushered Natsu towards the house they built, but stopped him once they were outside "Hold on, wait there for just a second okay?" she quickly rushed inside.

Natsu was left alone in the rain "I don't get it."

"Okay, you can come in!"

"I don't get it, but okay I guess." so he entered.

She was waiting for him, and I'm pretty sure this turned out to be the closest the two of them ever got to foreplay "Welcome back dear."

"Uh… wait what?"

"I said, welcome back dear."

"Oh, uh… Hi honey I'm home?" they both started blushing as he sat the egg down.

"Good thing we made it here, the rain isn't stopping." this was followed by the sound of a stomach growling.

"Uh, sorry about that."

"Hey I was wondering, you live alone, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then who cooks your meals for you?"

"I just eat at the guild."

"So then you have to pay?"

"Sure, why else would I work all the time?"

"Aw that's sad."

"You think so?"

"You know I could cook dinner for you sometime if you want."

"Woah really? I didn't know you could cook."

"I'm not as good as my sister though."

"Wait hold on a second, you're telling me that Mira actually cooks? You're talking about food right, and not little children?"

"Yeah that's right."

"Does Elfman cook too?"

"Yeah of course he does."

"...You know that actually makes a lot more sense for him, I think it suits him pretty well- Wait a second…"

"What's the matter?"

"Not a chance in hell!" Natsu suddenly snatched the egg away from her "You can forget it, I'm not giving you the egg! I bet it's Igneel's kid, I've gotta let it hatch so don't you dare try and fry it up!"

"Don't jump to conclusions! Now listen, I built this house so we could raise the egg together didn't I? I want it to hatch just as much as you do."

"Then why the hell did you scare me like that?" then he started cuddling the egg "Hey it's okay now, who's my little buddy? Yeah that's right, you are."

"You know, even if you get mad and pick fights all the time you still have a real sweet side to you, don't you? Just like Mira."

"...Come again?"

"You know it's been a lot of fun playing house with, do you think that maybe someday I could be your real wife?"

"What- What the heck got you thinking about that?"

"I just noticed how strong and brave you are, and you're good with kids too. As far as I'm concerned that's real husband material."

"Uh… you think so?" his face turned as red as his shirt.

"What are you getting so embarrassed about? I was just making a joke. Or was I?" she winked at him.

"You little- I know the word for you, that's what Gramps calls me! Nuvejile!"

"You mean juvenile? Jeez, you're one to talk."

"Hey that's not fair, why the heck do you have to be smarter than me?!" then a golden light from outside got their attention, and they walked outside to see a gorgeous sunset rising from beyond the horizon.

"Oh wow, it's so pretty."

"Yeah."

"It would be really nice if we could stay like this forever, don't you think?"

"Yeah…" they made their way back inside after a few minutes, and they noticed the egg beginning to shake "Hey check it out, I think the egg is moving again."

"Uh huh."

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What neither of them noticed that night while there were sleeping with the egg was that a certain someone made their way inside the hut and moved towards the egg…

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The next morning…

Natsu's screams were more than enough to alert Lisanna that something was wrong "The egg is gone, someone stole the egg!"

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And that led to this…

"Alright, who was it?!" Natsu promptly rounded on everyone else in the guild, who all just so happened to be at the guildhall at the same time for plot convenience "Alright, which one you wise guys stole our egg?!"

"As if." Gray let out a scoff "We don't want your stupid egg."

"I don't know anything about it." Cana waved them off "Also Gray, your clothes."

"Crap!"

Natsu wasted no time and rounded on everyone else "Laxus don't lie to me, it was you wasn't it?!"

"As if." Laxus let out a scoff.

"Luke just fess up, I know it was you!"

"Check back after lunch." Luke told him flatly.

"Okay Erza just come out with it already!"

"Now now let's not jump to conclusions." Erza told him "It wasn't me."

Lisanna looked over at Mira "What about you Mira, have you seen the egg?"

"Nope, fraid not." Mira shot a wicked smirk over at Natsu "Just go ahead and fess up pinky, you ate the egg didn't you?"

"What?!" Natsu's body started radiating flames from his rage "Oh that's it you gotchis she beast, you're so going down!"

"Yeah, well I say bring it on squirt! I'll skin you alive you little shit!" they started wrestling with each other, which somehow ended up dragging Gray and Erza into it as well.

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Macao, Wakaba and Makrov just observed the chaos unfolding from where they were all seated at the bar "Well it looks like they're at it again, honestly what the hell are we going to do with these kids? I hate to think what the guild is going to be like in the next few years."

"Don't worry about it too much." Makarov waved him off "They only fight because they acknowledge the strength of each other, and when they see themselves in one another it makes them strive to improve. To put it in simple terms, there's really nothing to worry about."

"So he says until they bring down the entire guild hall." Luke muttered from where he was munching away on a sandwich further down the bar.

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A battered and bruised Natsu was promptly pulled away from Mira by Erza, and he nursed one of the bruises that now adorned his face "Why are you being such a jerk? I just want my egg back!"

Mira shot him a smirk "Aw look at you crying, it's so adorable it makes me wanna vomit."

"I'm not crying!"

"Mira you have to quit teasing him about it." Erza shot a glare at Mira, then turned to Natsu to try and calm him down in her own special way "Now would you please stop crying?"

"I'm gonna make you cry!"

"For crying out loud Mira, just hurry up and give him the egg back already!"

"I told you I don't have the thing!" Mira promptly rounded on her "If anything it looks like you ate it Porky!"

"What did you just call me?!"

"I saw you eyeing that thing!"

"Poor egg…" Lisanna wiped away a few tears.

That is, until Cana felt a certain realization dawn on her "You know Elfman told me about how jealous he was of your egg the other day."

"What?!"

"What?!" Natsu promptly rounded on her "You mean Elfman is the one who ate it?!"

"But he would never do something like that!"

"Where is he?!"

"Hey, sorry about that you guys." that was when Elfman showed up with the egg in hand.

"It was you all along wasn't it, you're the one who stole our egg!"

"I didn't mean to steal it or anything, it's just that you toss and turn so much in your sleep that I was afraid you wouldn't keep the egg warm enough."

"Wait a second… so it's okay?"

"I'm not very good with using magic but I stuck close to it all night, and I kept it warm with my body heat."

"Oh I get it now, you were just taking care of the egg. Thanks a ton Elfman, you really are a real man!"

Mira took another chance to round on Erza "And you just blamed everything on me, isn't that just typical of you?"

"Well of course I did." Erza let out a scoff "That's because things are usually your fault."

"Like hell it is you little-" their argument was cut short when the egg started to crack apart, drawing the attention of everyone else in the guild hall.

"Holy crap, it's hatching!" Natsu and Lisanna quickly pushed through the crowd towards the egg.

In mere moments the egg hatched, and from it burst a tiny blue cat with wings "Aye!"

"Holy crap it has wings, is it a bird?"

"No it's a cat, a blue cat." Lisanna told him.

"Huh, a cat with wings. Didn't see that coming." Luke handed Laxus a few bills "So how the fuck did you?"

"Aw…"

The cat landed on top of Natsu's head and saluted "Aye!"

"He's just so cute!"

Elfman glanced over to see a bird land on his shoulder, and his face lit up as a result "Oh my gosh it's my parakeet, my best friend is back! Hey there little buddy, where have you been all this time?"

Mira just let out a scoff from afar "Yeah as if, his parakeet was red."

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Lisanna pulled Natsu away from the crowd "Do you see that? A minute ago everyone here was all worked up and fighting, and now they're all happy and getting along. He's almost like a little bluebird of happiness isn't he?"

"Happiness huh?" Natsu thought for a moment, then he grinned "Well if that's the case then I guess I'll just have to name him Happy."

"Aye!" Happy cheered at his new name.

"Yeah that's right, welcome to Fairy Tail Happy the dragon!"

"You realize that's not a dragon." Luke pointed out dryly.

"Oh well." Reedus gave a shrug from afar "I might as well paint him as one anyway."

(End incredibly lengthy flashback)

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"So that's how it went down." Lucy sat the picture down "That was a totally cute story, I can't imagine people like them fighting."

"Well people fighting with each other is a part of life." Lisanna gave her a smile "The closer two people are to each other, the more they fight, it's fine really."

That was when Makarov poked his head into the room "Hey Lisanna, you think you could give me a hand for a second?"

"Of course. Well I'll see you later Lucy." and so she rushed off with Makarov.

Now left alone, Lucy studied the old painting "Let's see, there's Erza, Gray, Lisanna, Natsu, and those must be Cana and Luke. I'm guessing that's Laxus, and that other girl in the goth clothes must be Mira. Well that's weird, if she's Elfman and Lisanna's big sister then how come I haven't met her yet? I wonder where she is."

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Meanwhile, with a certain pink haired moron…

Natsu sat overlooking a lake in the East Forest, his mind drifting with the wind 'I should probably go get him soon, she doesn't want us to fight.'

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"Don't tell me you two were fighting again."

Natsu glanced up to see Lisanna standing before him "Oh hey Lisanna, I'm glad you're back."

"Natsu ate my whole fish!" was Happy's instant accusation "He didn't even ask me first, he just chomped down the whole thing!"

"Oh come on, whenever I eat any fish you say it's yours."

Lisanna let out a sigh "Oh come on Natsu, you're the dad you know."

"What?"

"You know that means you have to take good care of your wife and your son."

"For crying out loud, that was years ago!"

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" asked Happy.

"What do you- I- None of your business!"

"Hey come on." Lisanna shot them a small smile "It's normal for families to have a fight every once in awhile, what's really important is that you make up with each other. It doesn't matter what happens, Happy is still our son."

"Oh for the love of-"

"This is bad." Happy muttered "I think Lisanna is going psycho on us."

"Hey come on man, don't talk like that!"

"Oh, then should I talk like this?" he busted out a thick Southern accent.

"You know that's not what I meant!"

Lisanna gave a small giggle "Juvenile as ever I see."

"Just stop picking on me dammit!"

(End flashback)

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Natsu let out a sigh as he started walking his way down towards the lake 'Yeah, it seems like I don't really have any other choice. I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to her, even if it's just something like her being upset about something stupid. I made a promise…'

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(Flashback- Natsu's promise)

Natsu laid down a few flowers on top of a gravestone "I'm no da Vinci, whoever the hell that might be, but it could be worse I guess."

Happy looked up at Natsu "Hey Natsu, why did you make a grave for Mira here when there's already one at the church cemetery?"

"Because this is one of Lisanna's favorite places, she loves to sit and watch the sunset just like when we were kids before you were born. Or hatched. Whatever. The point is, I think she would want her big sister to be able to watch them too. As long as this is here, she'll never be able to miss a single one."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So is Lisanna…?"

"She still won't even talk to any of us. I'll keep my promise though, I'll always find her no matter where she may go."

"But you're not going to talk to her?"

"Not yet. Before I do,she needs to remember what she used to say. How can she smile if she can't even remember that much?"

"What do you mean?"

"No matter what happened in the past, Lisanna always had a smile on her face that could brighten even the darkest of days. Up until now, she never once lost her smile. Even in the darkest of days, she would say that whenever you're feeling sad, that's when you need to smile the most. So wipe away the tears, show us that smile that keeps us going." he looked back behind him "You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you Lisanna?"

Sure enough, Lisanna was standing a few feet away, tears streaming down her face without showing any sign of stopping "Natsu… I…"

"It's okay, you don't need to say anything." Natsu slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug and let her quietly sob into his shoulder "You always said that whenever you're sad, that's when you need to smile the most. That smile is what's always kept me going. I promise you, no matter what happens, I'll make sure that smile never leaves your face again, no matter what."

(End flashback)

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Natsu stopped walking as he reached the lake and let out a sigh 'Yeah I guess it's official, I don't really have a choice right now.'

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Happy was angrily fishing in a different part of the lake "This is the last straw, dad or no dad I'm never going to speak to Natsu again!"

"Hey Happy." that was when Natsu came up behind him.

"I can't hear you!"

"Well that's a damn shame, after all even I can't eat all of this by myself."

Happy looked back to see that Natsu was carrying a huge pile of fish overhead, and he could only look on in awe "Woah…"

"So what do you think, are you Happy now?"

"Uh… Of course I am, who else would I be?"

"I don't know, a comedian with a bad accent?"

"Hey, you swore you would never tell anyone about that!"

"Who is there to tell, we're the only ones here."

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(Now let's talk about the main character in this story, Luke, and his love interest, Cana)

Dark and rainy days such as this one were considerably rare in a city like Magnolia, but in the East Forest outside of the city limits, there lived a rather disreputable old woman who lives in a tree and hated humans. Yes I'm talking about Porlyusica, and she wasn't exactly thrilled about having a visitor "If I give you what you want then will you just leave?"

Her visitor was none other than Juvia, doing her usual thing regarding Gray "Yes of course, as soon as I have what I need. Drip drip drop."

"So you just want me to give you a potion that will make that idiot notice you? I usually don't tailor my concoctions to such specific needs."

"Please ma'am, if he would gaze with passion in his eyes if only once then that would be more than enough for me."

"So be it, I think I have something that should work for you." Porlyusica pulled out a bottle from a nearby cabinet "Go ahead and use this, it will do exactly what you just asked of me."

"What is it?"

"This will ensure that your man buns with a desire for only the first person he sees."

"What do you wish for me to pay you?"

"You and the rest of the annoying vermin in your guild leaving me the hell alone is more than enough for me. It's 100% effective if that helps to get you to leave."

"100%, burning with desire? I'll take the entire bottle ma'am. Drip drip drop."

"Yes yes nice doing business with you, now get out."

"Of course." and so Juvia took her leave into the storm covered skies.

Of course no one knew this at the time, but the suspicious and rather unnerving potion Juvia had just received from Porlyusica on this rainy day without any kind of negotiation whatsoever would be the key instrument that would bring Fairy Tail to the very brink of destruction, but in a way that one would only see in Fairy Tail.

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The rain was pouring down from the skies above, and even extended as far out as Mount Ivor, where two members of the guild were in the middle of training.

"Dragon Sword Style: Iron Hammer!" Luke drove his dragon scale sword, which will now be referred to as Raiden, into the ground and unleashed a quick surge of lightning.

"Beast Arm: Iron Bull!" Elfman leapt high into the air to avoid the attack, his arm covering itself in a metal armor, and he charged downwards and hurled his fist forward.

"Lightning Dragon TALON!" Luke cranked his neck to the side to dodge the attack and promptly dealt Elfman a lightning enhanced kick to the torso, sending him tumbling backwards a great distance "It doesn't matter how powerful your attack is if you lack the necessary speed you need to hit your opponent, get back up and try again. We're gonna keep going until you can land a solid blow on me."

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The guild hall was as lively as ever, even with a storm raging outside.

Cana let out a sigh as she took a sip from her mug and laid her head against the bar "I feel so bored right now."

"Why don't you just go on a job?" asked Bolt.

"Why bother, there's nothing good up there and it's like a typhoon out there. Besides Luke is off training with Elfman up at Mount Ivor, it would just be boring going on my own."

"Then just team up with someone else, blondie could probably use some help with paying her rent. Again."

"I doubt she would want to after the Daybreak fiasco, besides Luke and I are a team and we should stick together."

"Yeah we get it, you guys have the hots for each other and you feel like you should stick together because you haven't had any alone time since he came back to the guild about 4 months ago. I mean the two of you are basically a couple."

"Oh come on, it's not like that and you know it." and yet the fact that she was blushing said otherwise.

"Your face is red."

"I'm drunk."

"It's 10:30 in the morning."

"What's your point?"

"Look, the fact is that you guys would probably already be shacking up if we hadn't left to train when we did. You've got the hots for him, just admit it."

"...You're one seriously fucked up cat."

"You're just figuring that out now?"

"Look, even if I did admit to having feelings for Luke, which I'm not, the last thing any of us need is for us to become the equivalent of a married couple in their 90's. If we want to see something like that, then we could just look at Natsu and Lisanna. Besides, do you really want your partner to end up like that?" she jerked a thumb back at where Natsu was doing… well whatever the hell he was doing in that episode.

"Yeah well you know the difference? Luke isn't an idiot whose magic is burning what few brain cells he has into a lump of charcoal. Besides, well me and everyone else in the guild have a pool on it, so don't go screwing anything up now. Got it?"

"Duly noted, now leave me alone so I can drink in peace."

"Natsu are you kidding me?!" Erza on the other hand rounded on Natsu "What the hell is wrong with you, did your powers finally burn that brain of yours into a lump of charcoal?!"

"Hey don't be such a killjoy!" Natsu barely spared her a glance "It's important to take a break every now and then, isn't that right Happy?"

"Aye sir!" Happy promptly saluted him as they continued dancing "This sure feels great doesn't it!"

"And now I think it's time for the finale."

"Aye!"

"Chika chika chika, chika chika chika, chika chika chika!"

What no one noticed amongst all of the usual weirdness and insanity was that a certain Juvia was stalking Gray from afar with suspicious motives in mind 'My beloved Gray, all I ask for is one glance filled to the brim with passion. Oh my heart is beating so fast, I'm shaking from head to toe just thinking about it, oh the anticipation!'

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Meanwhile, with Luke and Elfman…

The rain continued pouring down over Mount Ivor.

Elfman pulled himself out of the rubble and spat out some blood, panting heavily but still ready to fight "I'm not done… not by a long shot… I'll protect my sister… I'll protect Fairy Tail… I have to be a real man…"

Luke studied his gaze for a moment, then let out a sigh "That's what I was expecting to see from you, all you're doing is psyching yourself up. Just telling yourself that you have to come out on top isn't the same as training, you're just wasting your mental energy on something completely pointless. You need to face the reality of the situation and actually put in the real effort here. If you don't have what it takes to tap into your true power then all of the motivation in the world will be enough to protect Lisanna or the guild, much less will you be able to call yourself a real man."

Elfman froze in place, his eyes glued to the ground.

"Having things or people that you have to protect can act as good motivation, but when your emotions dominate they can cloud your judgement and just as quickly end up doing more harm than good. You want your emotions to complement your strength not weigh it down, if you let your desire to win turn into desperation and your fear clouds your focus then you won't be able to assess the fight logically, and as a result you'll misjudge the capabilities of your opponent and that will lead to your inevitable defeat."

Elfman gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly to the point where they were bleeding profusely "So that's it… that's what I've been doing wrong… Dammit!"

"Remember that there's no such thing as a fight that you can't lose, if you lose then not only will you die, but Lisanna might end up dying as well. That's a fact that you have to first accept and come to terms with it, only then will you be able to prevail."

"Alright… I understand."

"You have what it takes to do this Elfman, I know this for a fact and so does everyone else in the guild. I believe in you, now you have to believe in yourself."

"Luke… thank you, I promise I'm not going to let you down."

"Yeah well tell me that again after you let it sink in, I think that's enough training for today, and not just because the mountain is starting to flood. Anyway let's head back to the guild and grab some lunch."

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Cana was making her way through the halls of the Fairy Hills dormitory, brooding over her previous conversation with Bolt "Sometimes I just want to punch that cat's lights out, why can't he just take his crap and take it out on someone else for once? Sure Luke is a close friend, and he's one of the only people in the guild who know about that, but there's no way in hell the two of us are a couple." she let out a sigh as she opened the door "Well at least I'm home- What the hell dude?"

As it turns out, Luke was sitting on her couch calmly reading a book "Hey, what's up?"

"You know you shouldn't break into people's houses like that, for all you know I could've been walking around in here naked."

"First of all, you wouldn't mind even if you were naked when I came in. Second of all, you can't seriously talk about breaking into people's houses with a straight face."

"...Yeah okay fair enough." she let out a light chuckle "So what are you doing in my room anyway?"

"Two reasons. First, it's raining like hell out there. Second, there was something that I needed to talk to you about."

"Is it something about how you've been training Elfman, or is it something about those new Dragon Slayer spells you've been working on?"

"Nope, nothing related to training."

"So then why else would you break into my room-" she froze for a few seconds as she thought about what Bolt said to her, but she quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind to the best of her ability, though her cheeks were fairly red still "So you mind telling me what you want and getting out? I was going to take a shower."

"Just let me say what I need to say and then I'll leave, okay?"

"No seriously, just get out already okay?"

"...Was it something I said?" he was promptly pushed towards her window "You don't even want me to use the door?"

"Never cared about that before, why would I start now?"

"Fair enough, but seriously was it something I said?"

"Nothing like that, I just… I just want to be alone right now."

"...Well if you're sure, I guess we could just talk later then. See ya." and so he calmly leapt out the window into the open rainstorm covering the city.

Cana found herself alone in her room, her facing having turned a deep shade of red 'What the heck was that, why do I feel so weird? I haven't felt anything like this in almost 2 years. Don't tell me…'

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The next day came, the storm had disappeared and the sun was once again shining over the skies of Magnolia.

Cana was doing what she always did: drinking a mug of booze at the bar, and she let out a sigh of boredom 'So what am I going to do today?'

"Hey Cana." that was when Luke sat down next to her with a mug of booze in hand, catching her off guard "What's up, you look kind of shaken. You okay?"

"Yeah yeah I'm fine, just don't drape yourself over me like that."

"You mean like how you used to do to me and everyone else in the guild?"

"Well to be fair I'm usually somewhat drunk whenever I do that." Cana looked away and tried to suppress her blushing 'What the hell do I do? It doesn't make sense, I can't get these thoughts out of my head. I've been getting these stupid thoughts since Bolt put them in my head yesterday, and… and I haven't felt anything like them in almost two years. Since not before he left for more than a year… What the heck does this mean?'

"Word of warning, Natsu and Gray are trying to strangle each other again."

"Duly noted."

Of course, as per usual, Juvia was watching Gray from afar with hearts in her eyes 'Oh my beloved Gray, yesterday I felt so nervous that I was barely even able to move, but today I have more than enough courage to go through with my plan. From what Porlyusica told me, all I have to do in order for this potion to take effect is blow the bubbles right towards the man that I desire and make sure he inhales them. If I'm successful then the target will become aware of the feelings that dwell deep within my heart, provided that they are strong enough. My dearest sweet beloved Gray, the less that you notice my blazing heart the brighter the flames of my love continue to burn with passion for you, and whenever I'm near you I'm consumed by lustful temptation. But things are about to chance, one taste of this potion and you will at long last be mine. Our two hearts will become as one, from this day forward we shall be sweethearts forever!'

"Yeah, as fun as it is to watch the two of strangle each other, which is pretty much the same thing every single day, I have something else to take care of so I'll see you guys later." on that dry note, Luke promptly took his leave.

Natsu broke off from his argument with Gray and looked over at Lisanna "Yeah it's official, they're gonna hook up."

Lisanna nodded and giggled slightly "Yeah probably, but you don't want to blurt it out like that you know."

"Yes I do."

"Okay let me rephrase that, I don't want you to blurt it out like that."

Cana was once again sitting alone at the bar, and she let out a sigh at the conversation that she was overhearing due to it only being a few feet away 'Great just what I need, rumors to start spreading about my love life of all things. I mean it's not like I hate Luke or anything, really it's anything but, but then again I've never gone out with a guy super serious or anything like that before, but I don't know if we'd actually be compatible. Besides, I can't waste any time worrying about a relationship when I still have that to deal with when the S-class trials roll around. Oh that's just perfect, now I have these stupid thoughts of him looking like some kind of kinght in shining armor on a fiery steed like it says in that song, why the hell do I have crazy thoughts like these running through my head?'

"Hey Cana are you sure you're okay?"

"Huh?" Cana looked over to see Luke looking at her with concern, and she forced herself not to blush "Yeah I'm fine, seriously."

"Just making sure, but anyway do you think you could meet me later tonight? There's actually something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

"Uh…"

"So anyway just meet me by the Sola Tree in the middle of South Gate Park."

"I can do that, but can you tell me what the heck all of this is about?"

"All I can and should say right now is that it's important, just make sure that you come alone tonight." he looked away, his cheeks a slight tinge of pink.

'Hold on a second, is he blushing? Oh my god he is, he's actually blushing. You know what I'm feeling kind of hungover, I'm just gonna head back to my dorm for the time being. I'll see you in the park later tonight."

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What no one else noticed was that Juvia was finally ready to make her move 'I'm here for you my love, and at last I'm ready for you to meet me with your passionate gaze!' she blew a few of the bubbles in Gray's direction, only for them to miss and for Makarov to end up inhaling them instead, causing him to sneeze 'Okay a minor setback, now let's try this again.' she blew a few more bubbles, only for those to miss him as well and for several others in the guild hall (most notably Macao, Wakaba, the Thunder Legion, Team Shadow Gear and several others) to end up inhaling them instead, much to her frustration 'Oh my darling, why must you keep moving? At this rate everyone in the guild will end up burning with desire for me except for you! Wow, that's actually quite the disturbing thought. Gray my love, this time you will be mine!' seizing her chance, she blew a large quantity of bubbles into Gray's mouth while he was in the middle of yawning.

Gray stopped himself mid yawn and blinked a few times, and his face ended up turning red out of nowhere "Woah."

'Yes I did it, now my love will notice me!'

"Woah, what's this strange sensation I'm feeling?" Gray started slowly walking forward, much to her delight.

'This is the moment I've been waiting for, at long last my beloved Gray will gaze into my eyes with such passion and speak those sweet words that I long to hear!'

But that was when things got really weird, as in Gray walked right past Juvia and set his sights on his actual intended target, that being Happy, a purple glow surrounding Gray's body "Hey you stupid cat."

"Hm?" Happy looked up from where he was munching on a fish.

"You've got a hell of a lot of nerve, you're always flying around free as a bird and trying to show me up!"

"Wait what?"

"I'm incredibly strong but I can't fly, and you're pathetically weak but you can, so as far as I'm concerned that makes us even! Listen up, as of today you are my rival!"

Natsu and Gajeel looked up from where they were arguing over something stupid at the sound of the declaration Gray had made "What the hell is has he been smoking?"

"Come on you smug little bastard, let me see what you've got!"

"He's totally ignoring me and he's trying to fight Happy of all people? Yeah it's official, he's gone totally insane."

Juvia, of course, totally had her priorities straight "But I don't get it, my beloved Gray is supposed to be noticing me!" she looked around and quickly realized that Gray wasn't the only one who had gone insane because of her potion.

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Macao and Wakaba were now at each other's throats because of the potion "So do you want to tell me how much money you made last month?"

Wakaba let out a scoff "Oh get real, I bet it's more money than you make in a year."

"You only wish you could make as much money as I do."

"Give me a break man, everyone knows I'm worth a hell of a lot more than you."

"Remind me again why I waste my time hanging out with you."

"It's because you want to keep tabs on your competition don't you?"

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Makarov's self-proclaimed rival was probably the strangest out of all of them: an actual inanimate barrel of alcohol that he was verbally tearing into "I drink you alcohol, under no circumstances will I allow you to drink me! Now listen you, I'm more than strong enough to kick your well-fermented hide! We were destined by fate to be rivals!"

Natsu and Gajeel only sweatdropped at the sight "So Gramps, are you talking about that barrel or all of alcohol itself?"

"It's kind of weird." Gajeel muttered.

"The fact that everyone in the guild lost what little shit they had, or the fact that them losing it makes trying to beat the crap out of each other a lot less appealing."

"Yes."

"...Yeah okay fair enough."

"You think you can drink me?! I'll never let that happen!" Makarov started gulping down every drop of alcohol in the barrel in a comical fashion.

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Forgetting what I just said in the scene above, Erza's self-proclaimed rival was just as strange as the one that Makarov had claimed, as in hers was a literal inanimate pillar "Curse you wretched pillar, why must you block my path and shatter my dreams of passing through here without hindrance?! Answer me scoundrel or I shall smite you! Is your silence your way of challenging me to fight you to the death?! So be it then, from the moment I met you I knew we were destined to be rivals!"

Natsu let out a low whistle "Hot damn, and I thought Gramps had a fucked up thing going with the barrel of booze. It's official, Erza can be as crazy as she is terrifying."

"Well the alcohol thing kind of made sense." Gajeel pointed out.

"Yeah but the pillar is just stupid."

"Oh Natsu~" a sickeningly sweet and absolutely terrifying voice sounded from behind him all of a sudden.

Feeling a chill go down his spine with sweat dripping down the side of his face, Natsu slowly turned around and was met with the face of death "Uh… Lisanna?"

Sure enough, Lisanna was standing between him and Gajeel, a purple glow surrounding body, and she had flashed into one of her Animal Soul forms, consisting of a pair of wings and a pair of incredibly sharp talons where her feet should be, and the smile she shot in Natsu's direction was a mix of sweet and terrifying, both sweet because of her nature and terrifying because of the ominous shadow that covered her eyes "Natsu, I think it's time the two of us had a long overdue talk about your cursing habits. It sets a bad example for our son, I'm sure you agree with me don't you my dearest hubby?" every word she spoke was more terrifying than the last.

"...Hey Gajeel, if I don't make it out of this alive just take care of my cat for me okay?" he received no response "Gajeel?" he looked over at the empty space where Gajeel had once been standing "You traitorous son of a mother-" and then everything went black for him.

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Happy was flying around the guild hall in terror and confusion "I'm so confused, I don't have any idea what the heck is going on! Natsu where are you?!"

"I've been looking for you cat!" Gray suddenly popped up in front of him "I say bring it the hell on!"

"Uh…"

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About 5 minutes later…

Gray promptly relocated himself and Happy to the roof of the guild hall in order to conduct a certain experiment "Just go ahead and watch me you stupid flying cat, I'm gonna fly farther and faster than you could ever dream of."

"You can't do this, it's way too dangerous!" Happy protested.

"Shut the hell up, I can fly no problem. Anything that you can do I can do 100 times better than you can! Do you hear me cat, I'll take you down!"

"This stinks, why the heck is everyone going crazy?!"

Juvia watched the two of them from afar in clear concern 'Miss Porlyusica never said anything about there being a time delay before the potion takes effect.'

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"Before any of our readers get too confused, I think an explanation is in order."

Porlyusica looked through an old cabinet in her home and let out a scoff 'So I just ended up giving that girl was that old mixture of banned potions I had on hand from Mana-Con a few months ago. I have no idea what it's going to do to the poor soul she uses it on, but at least it gets her out of my hair.'

"Well there you have your explanation, now what will happen to our friends in Fairy Tail when everything settles down?"

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Meanwhile, in the Fairy Hills dorm…

Cana lay on the couch in her dorm room, staring up at the ceiling as her thoughts continued to drift to her previous encounters with Luke 'This is getting ridiculous, why the hell am I letting myself get worked up like this? Luke just said that he wants to meet me later in South Gate Park and he wants me to come alone, sure with any other guy that would probably mean he would try and confess that he's in love with me, but I think it's safe to say that Luke isn't like every other guy out there. He already made it clear that he's not a perv into bikini babes or anything, which can't be said for any of the other guys in the guild. Really it's for the best, even if I did have any feelings like that for him, which I don't, admitting that I do would just make things way too awkward since we see each other almost all the time.' she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror, and she smirked 'Yeah it's official, I've got the kind of body that only girls in anime can pull off right- Wait what the hell am I thinking, I'm not trying to seduce the guy!'

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The scene in the guild hall was still one of total chaos, but the funny kind.

"Hey old man!" Bolt promptly rounded on Makarov in the middle of the chaos "I say we get a challenge going, I wanna see who can come the closest to being Cana in a drinking contest!"

"Silence cat!" Makarov rounded on Bolt "You aren't worthy of calling yourself my rival, my enemy is alcohol itself!"

"There's no way in hell you'll beat me!" they both started drinking rapidly in a comical fashion, which was pretty much drowned out by the rest of the chaos.

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At the same time, Freed and the rest of the Thunder Legion had their own thing going on with another three man team "Three against three is it? Not that it makes any difference, you may possess the same numbers as we do but our skills are clearly superior to yours."

The aforementioned other three man team was actually Levy and Team Shadow Gear "What kind of trash are you talking to us? Everyone knows that Shadow Gear is the strongest three man team, you guys want us to prove it to you?"

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Elfman had his own problems around this time "Why the hell doesn't this guild have any other real men in its ranks, why can't I find a worthy rival?! This situation is making me sad, such violent sadness!"

Gajeel just observed the chaos from where he was munching on a sandwich 'So what exactly is he looking for, a fight or a man? Either way I'm not sure I'm gonna like the answer, so I'm just going to tune out that one.'

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Macao and Wakaba were still going at it from a more financial standpoint "So are you almost done with tallying up your numbers?"

"Yeah you bet your ass." Wakaba shot him a smirk "I was done a hell of a long time ago you old slowpoke, I've just been waiting on you. It looks to me like I'm better than you in just about every way."

"Not a chance in hell buddy, we'll just have to see about that."

"Okay then, when I say go."

"Bring it on, last month I earned exactly… Ready, GO!"

"150,000!"

"150,000!"

"What the hell, we made the same amount?!"

"Then we'll have to go by the month before!"

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"So come then, if you're ready to take us on!" Freed and the Thunder Legion wasted no time in posing like the Ginyu Force "Our Thunder Legion against your Shadow Gear, let's find out once and for all who the best three man team is in all of Fairy Tail!"

"I say bring it on!" Levy and the others did their own Ginyu Force-esque poses in response to the challenge "I hope you won't be too disappointed after we wipe the floor with you!"

"How dare you!"

"You have no idea who you're messing with!"

Gajeel just sweatdropped at the sight 'And now they're posing like Power Rangers. Yeah that sounds about right.'

"What the heck is going on here?"

Gajeel looked up to see Lucy making her way into the guild hall "Apparently shit is getting crazier than normal for these psychopaths, so where the hell have you been all day?"

"Dealing with some stuff with my dad up in Acalypha, apparently he went bankrupt and he lost everything, so now he's going to work at an old merchant guild up there."

"And you actually give a shit? I figured you wouldn't want anything to do with him after what happened with Phantom."

"I didn't think I would either, but yesterday he showed up in town and we ended up talking, we got into a fight after he asked to borrow money from me to get for some travel expenses."

"How much?"

"100,000 Jewel."

"...I think I'm starting to see why he went broke, his monetary value must suck. So why did you end up going?"

"I heard something about the guild up there getting attacked by some dark guild, I got worried so I rushed up there to help him. Virgo got me inside and I used Cancer and Sagittarius to defeat the dark guild, but once everything calmed down that was when I realized that my dad never even made it into town. He walked there because he didn't have any money."

"That's cartoony levels of ironic."

"Tell me about it. I was gonna leave right away, but then he apologized and we started talking a little bit. I don't remember exactly what either of us said, but I think we both parted ways on better terms than when we started."

"Not hard considering the kind of crap he pulled on this guild in the past."

"He wasn't always like that, it only started after my mother passed away. But now, maybe he's starting to be like the dad I knew when I was a little kid again."

"Gotta start somewhere I guess, at least you got away from all of this crap. Exhibit A." he jerked a thumb in a certain direction.

"Requip: Heaven's Wheel!" Erza requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and started stabbing at the targeted pillar with a barrage of swords.

"The sad thing is I don't think that's out of the ordinary for her."

"Be silent, heathen, this vile pillar insists on standing in my way! I need to go further inside and yet it blocks my path, and then it secretly mocks me when I have to take the time to walk around it! It's unrelenting in its obstruction of my course, what other reason would it have to do that if it wasn't my greatest rival?!"

"...Yeah, on one hand she's finally taken a few too many blows to the head. On the other hand, that thing might be the only opponent as stubborn as she is."

"Sad thing is that's probably true." Lucy muttered "So where's everyone else right now?"

"Well Thunderclap and the card chick are off doing their own thing, and I think the Animal Soul girl went and dragged Salamander into the Shadow Realm. He won't be missed, not by me at least."

"THAT'S IT! REQUIP: PURGATORY ARMOR!" in her rage, Erza promptly requipped into her Purgatory Armor.

"And now that's about to happen I guess."

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY RIVAL?!" Elfman promptly flashed into his Full Body Takeover form in his rage "I have to find a real man to prove my superiority to!"

"Why don't you see if you can find him by joining Salamander in the Shadow Realm? Iron Dragon Club!" Gajeel promptly dealt Elfman an iron club to the face, knocking him out cold on the spot "I swear to Zeref, the insanity in this place is infectious."

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Meanwhile, on the roof of the guild hall…

Happy was still trying to talk Gray out of attempting to take flight "Please Gray you have to listen to me, this isn't going to work!"

"Shut your stupid flying face!" Gray promptly rounded on him "There's no way in hell I'm gonna let you talk your way out of this one!"

Juvia cringed at what she was seeing from her hiding place 'No this isn't working, maybe he needs more of the potion.' she blew more bubbles into his mouth.

"Alright now it's time to do this Happy, follow me if you can-" Gray let out a weak cough as he unknowingly swallowed the bubbles, and then he suddenly unleashed a comically massive surge of purple energy along with a furious roar.

Happy was pretty freaked out by what he was seeing "Woah, what the heck is happening to him?!"

"Now I'm even more fired up!"

"And why the heck is he acting like Natsu all of a sudden?!"

"Now watch me fly, I'm going to fly so just watch me! Behold me magnificence, for I have become the wind!" taking a running start, Gray bolted down the side of the guild hall and out onto the open water, and I'm pretty sure you can imagine how that turned out.

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Nightfall came.

Cana slowly and somewhat nervously made her way through the streets of Magnolia, until she eventually reached the Sola Tree in the middle of South Gate park 'Okay girl you have to keep it together, you've got this. You have nothing to be nervous about, it's not like you're dealing with some random guy. It's Luke. Oh crap, it's Luke.'

Sure enough, Luke was standing beneath the tree waiting for her with a shovel hanging over his shoulder, and he smiled when he saw her "Hey, I was wondering when you would come."

"Uh yeah, sorry just traffic and… stuff. So why did you want me to meet you out here in the middle of the night?"

"I'll give you a hint: Three years."

"I… wait what?"

"Well it hasn't been three years exactly, but it's around the time I made a promise to both you and myself." Luke thrusted the shovel into the ground and dug away for a moment, and when he was done he pulled out a small metal box, which he opened to reveal a map, several photographs and a dust covered camera "Remember these?"

Cana blinked, and then the realization dawned on her "Oh yeah, back when you first became an S class you used to go on jobs all the time and come back with a bunch of pictures."

"What can I say, I like travelling and I enjoy taking pictures of the new things I see whenver I go on jobs."

"They're still beautiful."

"Apparently the people in Sorcerer Weekly thought so too, enough to the point where they asked me to be a part time photographer for them."

"That sounds pretty cool."

"Yeah, I guess but it's not all it's cracked up to be. Travelling and seeing new sights can be cool and all but I never stopped thinking about you or any of the others back at the guild. I guess there are times in life when you have to travel the world to figure out where it is you belong."

"That sounds pretty deep."

"Well I'm like an onion and an ogre, I have a lot of layers."

"...Shrek reference?"

"Yep."

"Nice, but why are you digging it up now?"

"Well…" Luke let out a sigh "Do you remember what I said after I found you passed out in that alleyway a few years back after I became an S-class wizard?"

"Oh yeah…"

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(Flashback- After the S-class trials of X780)

A 15 year old Luke was calmly walking through the streets of Magnolia, with Bolt riding on his shoulder as snow began descending on the city from above "I can't believe it actually happened, I got to be a full fledged S class wizard."

"Looks like someone's aiming for the top." Bolt commented while munching on what looked like a chicken wing.

"Like a wise anime character once said, there's a huge difference between those who settle and those who aim for the top. Go beyond. Plus Ultra."

"You have to love My Hero Academia references."

"I know right?" he glanced up "Oh yeah, I forgot how early it snows in Magnolia."

"Well from the looks of it, so did that passed out drunk chick in the alley."

"Wait what?" Luke glanced over into a nearby alley, and his expression dulled to the point where it had become comically deadpan at the sight of 15 year old Cana, passed out in the alley from being drunk as hell "Oh you've gotta be shitting me right now."

"So what now?"

"I got her arms, you get her legs just in case she's a sleep-kicker. Call it payback for the crap I found in your secret stash."

"Which I clearly have to relocate now."

"Yeah, how about next time you don't hide it in the same drawer that I use to keep my underwear."

"Duly noted."

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About 20 minutes later…

Cana wrapped a blanket further around her body to stop herself from shivering "Man I really owe you one, if you hadn't found me then chances are I would've frozen my butt off out there in the snow."

"Not to mention you were drunk as fuck." Luke pointed out dryly "So do you wanna tell me why you've been acting so distant and like a lunatic ever since the S class trials ended?"

"Look I know I've been kind of crazy ever since that whole thing happened, but…"

"Are seriously still that upset about not being an S class? You just got the bad luck of getting stuck with Laxus as an opponent, he's a prick but he's a tough prick. Besides none of his lapdogs or Elfman got to be S class either and none of them are getting drunk over it, there are plenty of people in the guild who are fine with not being S class."

"Well I don't want to be one of those losers, and I don't want to hear any of that crap from the jerk that made it on his first try!" her sudden outburst earned her only a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, so either it's your time of the month or there's something else going on." Luke was met with a snicker from Bolt, and he promptly smacked him upside the head "So seriously, what's really going on?"

"You don't get it Luke, I have to make it to S class. If I don't, then I'll never be able to even look him in the eye. You see…" she then proceeded to narrate her story, leaving both Luke and Bolt to be taken aback by the revelation.

"Woah…"

"That's why I have to make it to S class wizard, if I don't make it by my fifth time then I'm going to quit the guild for good. My mind is made up, you can't stop me."

"...Well if that's the case then I say it's going both ways." without hesitating, Luke pulled his map off the wall of his apartment, took down all of the photographs he had hanging on the wall, and then stuffed them in a box along with his camera before locking it shut "So yeah, that's happening now."

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Trying to stop you from making a really stupid and reckless choice that would only really work for the likes of Natsu." Luke breathed a sigh "Fairy Tail wouldn't be the same without you, and frankly I don't want to imagine the guild without you, so here's how this is going to work. I'm going to help you get as strong as possible over the next three years since that's how long it's going to be before your fifth trial, and I'll bury this thing under that big Sola tree in South Gate Park. I guarantee that by the time I dig this thing up you'll be on the road to S class. Either that or I'll end up undergoing some big life changing epiphany that will put me on a way harder path that will push me to get a lot stronger. So what do you say, does that sound good?" he received an answer in the form of Cana throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug with tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you…"

(Flashback end)

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Cana let out a sigh "Yet I haven't made it to S class, and this is going to be my last trial, so what does that tell you?"

"That you still have one left so you don't have anything to worry about." Luke dusted off all of the contents of the box and set it down "Well I met one of two requirements so that's enough reason for me to get back into the photography business. Besides, I still have a lot of work to do if I'm gonna get strong enough to protect everyone, especially. If anything happened to you or any of the others, and I wasn't good enough to keep you safe, then I'd never be able to forgive myself." he gently wrapped his arms around Cana's waist and pulled her into a tight hug "Like I said, I can't and don't want to imagine a Fairy Tail without you."

Cana's eyes widened slightly, but then she returned the hug and leaned her head against his shoulder as tears began streaming down her face "Luke… thank you. Yeah, Luke isn't like other guys in the city or in Fairy Tail. I guess that's why I fell in love with him.'

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The nexy day came, and things had finally calmed down in the guild hall after all of the craziness from the day before since the effects of the potion had worn off.

Erza looked at the pillar that at least half a dozen swords stabbed into it "Does anyone have any idea what happened here?" she was met with lots of muttereing in the negative.

Gajeel and Lucy shared an awkward look and both breathed a sigh 'Well at least that shit is finally over with.'

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Happy looked down at where Gray was lying in the waters behind the guild hall in a complete and utter daze "Come on man it's morning already, you have to snap out of it and pull yourself together!"

"Fly backwards cat with wings." Juvia suddenly materialized from the water and wasted no time in pulling Gray into her arms.

"Oh good you're here Juvia, maybe you can knock some sense into him!"

"Oh please I beg for your forgiveness my darling Gray, I'm the reason you had to suffe through all of this. It's clear to me now why the potion didn't work properly, it can only be that my feelings for you weren't quite strong enough."

"Oh… Oh god…" this was when Gray finally came to.

"My beloved."

"Hey Juvia, do you have any idea what happened to me?"

"Thank goodness you're well again, I was so worried about you."

"...Huh. You know I was wondering why I felt so cold all of a sudden, I always end up soaking wet whenever I'm around you and you know I hate that."

Juvia was stunned by this and began crying anime tears "How heartbreaking, how can my beloved be so cold to me?!"

"I don't get it, is something wrong?"

"I've tried so hard to be patient but I can't take it anymore, I don't know what else to do in this situation! You'll have to drink down every last drop!" Juvia wasted no time in forcing the remainder of the potion down Gray's throat.

Gray's skin turned rainbow colors before returning to normal, but then his eyes flashed into a parody version of the Rinnegan from Naruto, and he let out a primal roar of fury as purple energy surged wildly around his body "I'M MORE FIRED UP THAN I'VE EVER BEEN BEFORE IN MY LIFE!"

"I'm right over here my love!"

"LISTEN UP ARROGANT HORIZON, YOU ARE MY RIVAL NOW!" on that comically psychotic note, Gray bolted across the seas and disappeared into the distance.

Juvia was left alone in tears, with only Happy for company "Gray my beloved, all I ask is for you to return my love…"

"Well that's weird." Happy muttered "But I guess there are just some people who were never meant to fly."

The moral of this story, Juvia's bad luck with men is just as bad as in canon.

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A few days went by, and things were finally settling down again.

Luke sat at a table in the guild hall munching away at a sandwich 'Well it feels good to be back in the photography business.'

"So you didn't even have the guts to tell her huh?" Bolt sat down next to Luke with a bucket of chicken wings.

"Tell her what?"

"What do you think?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, are we going through this again? Cana and I are just friends, guildmates and teammates, and for the immediate future that's all we're going to be. Besides, even if I wanted to be more with her I doubt she would want the same, and even if she did she deserves better than me."

"Pull your head out of your ass man, you're the total package. You're an S class mage, you're powerful enough to defeat a Wizard Saint, you're one of the few humble and down to earth people in this nuthouse of a guild that doesn't blow shit up for fun, you put other people before yourself, what's not to like."

"That I'm the guy who bailed on her for a year and a half."

"She's not mad at you for that man, and that training trip was more than worth it."

"But that doesn't mean I don't feel bad for doing it. I don't know, maybe if I can make it up to her somehow then I might consider trying to go for something more, but until then I'm fine with things just the way they are."

"...How do you lie to yourself so easily?"

"I will not responde to that." Luke looked around at the guild hall "Is it just me or is it unusually quiet around here?"

"Probably because Natsu and Gray aren't trying to strangle each other, because Natsu got checked into rehab because of whatever Lisanna did to him, and no one knows where Gray ran off to."

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Gray looked around at his unexpected surroundings "Wait a second… Could one of you please tell me how the hell I ended up on Galuna Island?"

A/N:

Hello my faithful viewers, and happy Thanksgiving 2019! Let me start by saying welcome to the second season of my Fairy Tail fic, which starts off with another Omake chapter, or slice of life chapter, whatever you want to call it. This chapter is meant to expand on a few of the romantic relationships between certain characters in the guild. It's also meant to be a breather one following the hectic events that were covered in the Battle of Fairy Tail, and just a little bit of lighthearted fun before we get to what is, to be honest, one of my least favorite arcs in Fairy Tail. I was going to wait until my next semester of college is over to get back to this, but I figured that as a little gift to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season, I would upload this chapter to keep all of you satisfied until then.

As I'm sure is obvious, the first part of this chapter was to expand on the relationship between Natsu and Lisanna, as well as add some much needed development to Natsu's character, as in his relationship with Lisanna and how he promises to protect her and make sure she's happy now that Mira's gone. Seriously, a good chunk of the development of his character showed up in flashbacks featuring Lisanna, but after she came back and they just shoved her to the side, that all got thrown away. That's not happening this time around, that character development is sticking.

The only real complaint I've had about this story so far (aside from a certain hateful reviewer who shall not be named) is that I haven't shown enough interactions between Luke and Cana, which is why I decided to dedicate the second part of this chapter to them. I decided to give Luke a hobby in the form of photography to make him less one dimensional, but I also made it so he knows about Cana's connection with Gildarts.

I was going to include a third story in this chapter about Lucy beginning to reconcile with her father, but considering how long the chapter already is without even getting to there,

As suggested by Ragnas Bredvolts in a review of chapter 18, I'm going to start adding a designated name onto Luke's Dragon Slayer Secret Art spells (You know, like how Natsu's is Flame Lotus (or Crimson Lotus depending on whether you choose to follow the dub or sub), Gajeel's is Karma Demon, and Wendy's is Shattering Light).

Now then, just for fun, I'm going to list my top 10 favorite Fairy Tail arcs, as in arcs that I think are the best that Fairy Tail has to offer.

10. Oracion Seis: I'm going to level with all of you right now, I am not a big fan of this arc. I never thought it was bad, I mean I like Wendy and Jura, I like almost all of the new characters introduced (with the exception of Ichiya and the three idiots that kiss his ass whose names I never bothered to remember), but I always felt that it dragged out longer than it should've, and truth be told I honestly got bored with it after awhile.

9. Edolas: This arc has received more mixed reviews among the fanbase. Some people love it, some people hate it, I'm neither. I like this arc, I like the counterparts of the characters, I like the alternate world of Edolas, I like Mystogan, I love that they brought Lisanna back. I like all of it, but I couldn't really put it any higher because of the lack of importance to the overall story.

8. Tower of Heaven: I was never a huge fan of this arc, but I never hated it. I always thought it was good, just not as good as the rest. We learn about Erza's past, we get to see Jellal and how seriously mentally unstable he was while he was still being possessed by Ultear (pretending to be Zeref), we see a character die for the first time outside of flashbacks (RIP Simon), and we get to see Natsu enter Dragon Force for the first time.

7. Phantom Lord: The first arc that ups the stakes not only for Team Natsu, but for the entire Fairy Tail guild as a whole. We learn about Lucy's past (her father is a major asshole), we see what happens when someone pisses off Makarov by hurting his children, we get to see the first of many Gruvia interactions, and we get to see a showdown between Dragon Slayers, Natsu vs Gajeel.

6. Battle of Fairy Tail: Aside from Gray getting shafted bigtime, this arc was a real attention grabber from start to finish. It's had considerably more buildup than the arcs before it, we get to see a Dragon Slayer team up between Natsu and Gajeel, we get to see Mirajane's powers return and see just what one of the most ravishing and gentle hearted women in the guild is capable of when she's pushed to the absolute limit, and we learn more about Laxus as a character, along with the fact that he's a Dragon Slayer! Second Generation mind you, but still. Whether you love Laxus or you hate him, you can't deny that this arc is awesome, but it just couldn't top the rest of them.

5. Alvarez Empire: Yes I know this has received some rather mixed reviews from the fanbase, some considering it the best, some considering it the worst, and while I agree that there are some parts of the arc that come up short, most notably with how some of the Spriggan 12 are defeated (God Serena, Wall, Invel, Irene), along with how Natsu defeats Zeref and Acnologia, as well as numerous death fakeouts featured because Hiro Mashina hates killing off characters (although I believe that two of the death fakeouts are important to the story overall) but considering how genuinely well done the emotional moments are in this arc (such as the final meeting between Zeref and Mavis), it's impossible to truly hate this arc. Does it meet the standards required for a final arc? Not exactly. Do I still think it's top 5 worthy? Of course I do. Do I plan to fix the mistakes featured in the arc to the best of my ability in order to give all of you something worth reading? You guys had damn well better believe I do.

4. Zero: Prequel or no prequel, you can't deny that this arc was amazing. Who doesn't love a good origin story? Plus Zeref was responsible for the founding of Fairy Tail. Go ahead and let that sink in.

3. Tartaros: Widely considered one of the best arcs in all of Fairy Tail and it deserves the credit it gets. Sure Fairy Tail (along with One Piece) is famous for not killing characters, but they kill 200 people in the span of 2 episodes, which shows just how brutal the arc is going to be. Plus combine that with the return of the Oracion Seis, the return and subsequent demise of the five dragons by the draconic hand of Acnologia, and we have ourselves something that we've never seen before in this anime.

2. Tenrou Island: We meet Zeref and Acnologia, awesome fights throughout the war with Grimoire Heart, we reunite with Laxus (one of the most badass characters in the entire series), and we see Natsu get Lightning Flame Dragon Mode. Plus some awesome character interactions.

1. Grand Magic Games: One of my personal favorite anime tournaments to watch, and whether you like Fairy Tail or hate it, you have to admit that this tournament has a lot more variety than the likes of the World Martial Arts Tournaments from Dragon Ball, the Dark Tournament from Yu Yu Hakusho, or the Chunin Exams from Naruto.