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.

58. Grand Magic Games XVI

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this story since I updated it.

GODZILLA1996: Oh trust me, I'll die before I let this story die before I finish it.

GODZILLA1996: Hopefully you won't have to wait long for the next chapter, because here it is now.

Altajir95: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it.

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Storm clouds gathered in the skies above Crocus.

Luke slowly pulled himself out of bed, clad in black attire and covered in bandages along his face and his torso 'I guess it's time…'

It was then that a knock sounded on the door, and then Erza made her way into the room, clad in black attire herself "I take it you're recovering well?"

"About as well as I can be. I sure as hell took a beating in that fight, but Sky magic really does wonders for healing. Either way, I don't think I'm gonna be up to fight for a little while."

"You don't need to push yourself anymore. You've done more than enough to protect our guild, and the world as a whole."

"So people keep saying. Anyway we should probably go, Bolt and Cana went on ahead and I said I'd meet up with them before the service starts. Speaking of which, you know where Natsu went? I haven't seen him for like two days."

"I did catch a glimpse of him. He left earlier this morning on his own."

"Oh. Okay then. Anyway, we should go."

"Right." so the two of them made their way out of the room, then out of the inn entirely, the two of them traveling in silence before Erza spoke once again "Though I would be lying if I said this victory didn't feel hollow on some level."

"Yeah. It doesn't really feel like a victory when you know that good people still died, whether you win or not." Luke paused, then glanced over at Erza "But thinking about how things might have turned out differently won't help. We might not have saved Macao and the others, but we did save a lot more from suffering the same fate. I like to think that's something worth keeping in mind."

"Hm… yes, I supposed it is." Erza gave Luke a small smile, then glanced over to Bolt and Cana waiting for them a short distance ahead "I think you're needed elsewhere."

"Yeah, I think you're right. I'll see you at the service." so with that in mind, Luke made his way over to Bolt and Cana, and the three of them started walking together "Hey."

"Hey." Cana glanced over at him "You feeling any better?"

"I'm not hacking up blood anymore, so I call that a win." Luke paused, then breathed a sigh "But I do kind of agree with Erza. The win itself feels pretty hollow."

"Word to the wise, take your own advice." Bolt told him flatly "Beating yourself up over what ifs isn't gonna make things any better."

"You don't have to give me the lecture Bolt, I already know. There's no use in thinking about what could've happened, if you spend too long dwelling on it then it'll drive you crazy. The best thing we can do now is keep moving forward, and we can do it together." on that note, he slipped one of his hands into Cana's and the two of them exchanged a small smile as they made their way towards the palace, Luke glancing up at the gray and cloudy skies above as they did so 'It's been three days since the battle with the dragons and the Salamander from the future. Most of the aftermath has been focused on clearing away the wreckage and taking care of the casualties, the same with healing the wounded. I'm no exception to that rule, because frankly this is the first day I've been able to get out of bed since the battle. But since I'm pretty much healed, now comes the more painful part: dealing with those we lost. The king is preparing a big memorial service to honor those that fell. And then tonight is a big banquet to honor the survivors and the role they played in saving the world from the dragons, but mourning the dead has to come first. They all deserve it.'

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Later, at the palace…

'Definitely a big turnout…' Luke took a glance around at the enormous crowd gathered in front of the palace, all clad in appropriate black attire 'Not that surprising, given how many people had died in the attack. Everybody lost someone in one way or another. Blue Pegasus lost Master Bob to a few of those minions laid by Motherglare. Lamia Scale lost Sherry and Toby from Lyon's group. Mermaid Heel lost a few members, though I didn't get their names. Sabertooth lost one of their top 10 strongest, that ninja by the name of Dobengal. Quatro Cerberus lost Bacchus and their master Goldmine… and we lost Macao and Wakaba. Not just the guilds, but the Royal Guard lost a lot too, like the Hungry Wolf Knights and god only knows how many soldiers and Rune Knights. So many people gave their lives to help secure the future of the kingdom and the world.'

"Thank you all for coming." the king of Fiore himself, as well as Princess Hisui, both made stood at the front of the crowd and addressed everyone else present "We are gathered here today to remember and honor all of the brave mages, wizards and Rune Knights who gave their lives in the latest battle, to ensure that our kingdom would continue to live, as well as the world as a whole."

'So many people…' Luke looked over to where Lisanna and Happy were both trying to comfort a crying Romeo 'And yet it also means leaving behind loved ones to carry on their legacy. The fact that God Serena isn't here doesn't really surprise me, but I figured Natsu would've shown up by now.'

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By now, rain was pouring down from the skies above.

'Why did things have to turn out like this?' Natsu sat on a hill overlooking the city, curled up as he sat on the ground, gritting his teeth furiously 'They were good people, they shouldn't have had to die.'

"Kind of surprised that you're out here on your own."

Natsu glanced over to see God Serena standing behind him "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm actually leaving. I have… business I have to take care of." he paused, then took another look at Natsu "I'm gonna go ahead and guess there's something on your mind?" he was met with silence, and he moved to leave, until…

"...Why did it have to happen?" Natsu's teeth grinded furiously as he gripped his arms tightly enough to the point where they started bleeding "Why did they all have to die? They had to know that people were gonna be sad if they left, so why did they have to die? It's not fair, it's just not right."

"And there it is." God Serena breathed a sigh as he sat down next to Natsu, then pulled out two cans of soda and handed one of them to him "This is the first time you've lost some friends or comrades isn't it? No, it's more like the second because of that attack from Raven Tail while you guys were stuck on Tenrou Island. Let me guess, you've secretly been kicking yourself over it because you thought that if you had been there then things could've turned out differently. But now you were here, and people still died, and it's hard for you to wrap your head around. Trust me this isn't the first time I've seen this, Luke was going through the same thing back when I first started training him. Though getting back to the question of why, as someone who's lost a lot of those people himself, I can tell you for a fact that it's never easy and it's kind of hard to explain." he paused as he took a glance down to where the memorial service could be seen below them "You know Luke has told me a lot about your guild. That's the sort of place where friends are like family right?"

"Yeah?"

"That means that the friends of yours that died felt the same way. The reason they gave their lives in the fight with the dragons because you were important to them. It was the connections they had with you that made them strong. Not just the friends in your guild either. A lot of other people, mages and Rune Knights gave their lives for the same cause." he was met only with silence "I'm pretty sure you get it, whether you realize it or not. When you and that fire dragon charged into the sky to help Luke in the battle against your future self, you were motivated by a desire to protect your friends, your guild and everyone right?"

"Yeah…"

"Luke was exactly the same. He was willing to put everything on the live to save everyone, and he put himself through hell in order to get that done."

"Yeah… I did too."

"Then just keep that in mind, and use it to keep pushing yourself. Make sure that what happened this week doesn't happen again. That's what Luke does." God Serena then pulled himself to his feet "You oughta try doing the same. It'll work wonders for you. Speaking of Luke, make sure to take care of him too okay? He's got a fair bit of baggage of his own to deal with too." and then he disappeared from the scene using his teleportaion magic without another word.

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Meanwhile, with the memorial service…

'Some warriors have a rule to never show their true feelings.' Luke lined up with several others to lay a single white rose at the altar containing several pictures of the deceased 'I heard about it from God Serena back when I first started training with him. What happens to the individual isn't important, the only thing that matters is focusing on what needs to be done. No matter how much pain you hold inside, you can't show any of it. That's the philosophy that he chose to use… But I won't, and neither will any of the others.' he glanced over to the large crowds of people gathered in the area, thoug in particular his gaze fell toward where Sherria was crying in front of a picture of Sherry, with Wendy trying to comfort her 'That may be a way to survive for them, but it's not a way to truly live. I understand that.' he made his way away from the altar until a certain scent got his attention, and he looked towards the entrance to see Natsu make his way onto the scene, clad in all black attire himself "I was starting to think you wouldn't show up."

"I had some stuff to take care of." Natsu just placed one of the flowers on the altar and went over to stand by Lisanna's group, and he pulled Romeo into a hug as he continued crying "But I know where I gotta be."

"Good." Luke made his way over to Bolt and Cana and stood beside them, his thoughts drifting further 'I think the principle here is the same that applies to leaving Fairy Tail, especially the final rule. No matter what the future may hold, continue living your life to the fullest, and be sure to never forget the people that love you.'

Natsu just continued holding Romeo to him as he cried, during which he cast a quick glance over to where Makarov stood with a few others "Hey tell me something Gramps."

"Hm?" Makarov looked over at him "What is it Natsu?"

"Why do they do it? Why are people okay with dying for other people if… if it leads to stuff like this?"

"Ah, I see…" Makarov took a deep breath as he turned towards Natsu "When one's life comes to a close, that's the end of it. Their past and their future, al the dreams they once shared, they all move onto the next world along with them. Such a thing is inevitable, even if one dies for such a noble cause, as many have in this last battle… as Masters Bob and Goldmine did, and as Macao and Wakaba did as well. All of the ties that bound them to the world of the living have been severed. That is, all but one, that being the most important of them all: People. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers, all of the people that they held dear, that were important to them. All of these people, the ones that were left behind, end up being joined together in a great circle by the memories they share of those they've lost. A circle of friendship, trust and sacrifice that grows larger and stronger through the passage of time. I understand that it is a bit complex. We remain in the circle together, because we have no choice in the matter. Such a thing is important to us. To put it in simple terms, the main reason why we do it…"

"Is because we have to. Yeah, I sort of get it." Natsu clenched his fist and grinded his teeth as he glanced at the altar "It still sucks. It isn't fair that they had to die."

"No, it isn't. But think of how much worse it would be if they died for nothing." that was enough to make Natsu's gaze snap towards Makarov "But those we lost have left us something that's truly priceless. Don't worry my boy, I'm sure you'll understand one of these days."

"Huh… when you put it like that…" Natsu gave a smirk "Don't look at me like I'm an idiot, that much I get at least."

"I'm sure you do my boy." Makarov gave a small smile full of pride, then looked up to see that the rain had stopped, and the clouds were parting to reveal the sun shining brightly 'Perhaps this is a sign from above. I'm sure that all of you see it up there. Bob, Goldmine, Macao, Wakaba, and all of you really. The will that all of you left behind grows stronger with each passing day, as nourishment for the next generation. There is no doubt in my mind that such a will shall continue to persist for many years to come, not only in Fairy Tail, but for everyone that your legacies and wills have impacted. There is no doubt in my mind of this fact. And while you may not be here to see it in the flesh, so long as we live to carry on your spirits, I promise that all of you will never be forgotten.'

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The day quickly came and went, and with it the memorial service for the fallen soon came to an end. Of course, with the end of the memorial service came the next part of the aftermath.

"I… I'm not sure how I feel about this." Yukino was left blushing with embarrassment as she looked at her reflection in a mirror, clad in an illustrious emerald ballgown "Is it absolutely necessary that I wear this outfit to the celebration?"

"Pretty sure the others are gonna say yes." Cana poked her head out from behind a curtain and gave her a smirk "But for what it's worth, you look awesome in that and you take nowhere near as long to get ready as some of the other high maintenance chicks in our guild do."

"I can hear you in there!" the voice of Lucy rang from the other side of the wall.

"Good, that was the idea!"

"You don't have to worry." Wendy suddenly popped up in front of Yukino "I think you'd look pretty in anything."
"Thank you, but…" Yukino looked away from them, as if ashamed.

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In the actual city of Crocus, most of the civilians had been led to believe that the dragon attack was nothing more than a rumor, and instead focused on the fact that there was a party being held at the Royal Palace, supposedly to commemorate the end of the Grand Magic Games.

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Meanwhile, in the palace…

"Well damn." Mira (clad in a formal black dress) let out a low whistle as she, Lisanna, Yukino, Lucy and Wendy took a look around the interior of the banquet "The royalties really know how to put a party together."

"Hey, we were wondering when you guys were gonna show up." Gray (clad in nothing but a tie around his neck) waved at the group, then glanced over to where Gajeel stood, clad in his own formal suit with his hair tied back "You know that getup is a little bit fancy for you."

"At least I'm wearing something dipshit." Gajeel pointed out dryly "Seriously, at this point I'm wondering if you go around streaking on purpose."

"Wait what?" and then Gray looked down "FUCK!"

"Take it easy you two, you have to be nice now."

"Come on you two, be nice with each other now." Erza was quick to cut in before an argument could break out "We have to get along with each other, along with our former competitors. We are doing this in the face of royalty tonight."

"Try telling that one to Natsu when he gets here."

"Figured Salamander would be raising hell all over the place by now." Gajeel muttered "You think he decided to skip this thing?"

"Wouldn't count on that one." Mira jerked a thumb over to where Natsu and Lisanna made their way around the room hand in hand "He promised my little sister he'd behave."

"So long story short, Lisanna has him whipped." Gray noted dryly.

"Actually it was his idea, she didn't even have to make him. What do you know, I guess there is hope for him after all." Mira gave a smirk of approval "Kinda surprised Luke and Bolt haven't shown up yet."

"I actually ran into them before I came." Max told her "Bolt said he had something to take care of, but Luke should be on his way. You know, assuming he decides to come."

"What do you mean, why wouldn't he?" asked Gray.

"Probably to avoid any drama. Bolt told me that during the whole thing with the dragons, Luke and Cana kissed." now that got a reaction out of numerous people.

"No freaking way!" Lucy was the first one to react "And he didn't tell any of us?!"

"Okay in my defense, we had a lot of other stuff going on."

Lucy and the others glanced over to see Luke make his way into the room, and more than a few eyes went wide "Wow…"

As it turns out, Luke was clad in a black two-piece suit with a black necktie, a white collared shirt, and a set of black loafers "I choose to take that as a compliment, so thanks." he paused and took a look around "You have to give it to the royal family, they definitely put together a lot for everybody."

"I know what you mean." Lily muttered from where he stood off to the side with the rest of the Exceeds "The king is being extremely generous with all of this."

"Oh trust me, that's probably not gonna last for too much longer. I give it a few hours tops before someone gets into a fight and it all goes to hell."

"I don't think anyone who actually knows Fairy Tail is gonna argue with you on that. I don't think they should either."

"No arguments there." Luke turned his head slightly… and his jaw nearly dropped at what he saw before him "Cana…"

Sure enough, Cana stood before him, her tanned skin was shining as if the sun was shining down on her, her eyes sparkling with life and pure joy, and her beautiful brown locks were cascading down her back until they reached the small of her back. Her attire consisted of a tight sleeveless black dress with a single strap around the back of her neck, the dress reaching down to the middle of her thighs and hugging every last one of her curves, and pair of black stiletto heels adjourned her feet. She quickly shot Luke a smirk "I'm gonna assume that's your way of giving a compliment?"

"Yeah sorry, it's just… you look amazing."

"Thanks. You clean up pretty nice yourself."

"I thought it was only right to dress for the occasion. Looks like the same can be said for just about everyone else." he looked over to where Ichiya, Jenny and the other members of Blue Pegasus were doing their thing with the band.

"Figures everyone is going nuts already."

"Yep. But then again, that's how you know everyone is having a good time." Luke gave a small smile and held out his hand to Cana "Speaking of which, going for traditionality at the moment, may I have this dance?"

"So long as you make it worth my while." Cana smirked as he laid her palm in his and allowed her to guide him to the dance floor, the two of them locking together in an embrace.

'I'm going to have a lot of work to do starting tomorrow, but tonight I can at least take the time to enjoy myself…' Luke's smile widened a little bit as he held Cana close 'And cherish the people so close to me right now.'

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Meanwhile, with a group from another guild…

"This is absurd." Kagura was less than thrilled as she made her way into the banquet hall, clad in her own elegant purple dress "I can't believe you all talked me into wearing this ridiculous thing tonight."

"I don't see what the big deal is, you look gorgeous." Beth and the other members of their team (not counting Milliana) were quick to try and encourage her "Seriously, anyone with half a brain cell can see how amazing you look. The only thing that could make it even better would be if you dropped the scowl and tried smiling."

"Assuming I have a reason to smile." and as if on cue…

"May I have this dance?"

Kagura took notice of a hand being held out to her, and she looked up to see Xian (clad in a black three-piece suit with a green tie) standing before her, and she gave a small smile as he led her onto the dance floor 'And suddenly I found a reason to smile.'

"Oh yeah." the Mermaid Heel figures gave a series of smirks as they watched Kagura being led away, a few of them swapping bills as they did so.

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Meanwhile, outside the banquet hall…

'And that was the end of it…' at the same time, Levy sat at a desk located away from the banquet hall, writing in her journal of recent events 'All of us put everything on the line that day, July 7 of the year X791. We lost some of our dearest friends in that terrible conflict, but despite this, we were able to defeat the dragons and secure the future of the planet.'

"Hey."

Levy glanced back to see Gajeel coming up behind her "Oh hey Gajeel."

"So you skipped out on the party to do a little bit of writing?"

"Yeah I know, it's pretty nerdy on my part isn't it?"

"Nah, I wouldn't say that. You're just being a rebble in your own way."

"Yeah, I guess I am." Levy let out a small chuckle "You know all things considered, you're lucky to be alive."

"Nothing's killed me so far, it ain't gonna so long as I have a say in it."

"But taking on a real life dragon all on your own like that? Do you have any idea how dangerous and crazy that was? I was really scared that you weren't going to make it."

"You shouldn't waste your time worrying about me."

"Well I hate to break it to you, but that's not really an option with me."

"Yeah well, it's a big old waste of time and a giant pain in the ass." and then Gajeel looked over and noticed Levy beginning to tear up "Hey, what the hell are you crying for?"

"It's nothing really. I'm sorry, it's just…" she stood up and wrapped her arms around Gajeel as tears began flowing "I already lost Jet and Droy, if I had lost you too…"

"...Don't go thinking about stuff like that, okay?" Gajeel's expression softened slightly as he wrapped his arms around her "I ain't going anywhere."

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Meanwhile, at the banquet…

"So let me see if I've got this." Lucy glanced over at Luke took a bite of one of the hordeurves, and her look became incredulous "You got thrown off the back of a dragon, got your sword back from Cana, she kissed you and then you went back into the fight?"

"That's the short version, but yeah pretty much." Luke gave a shrug "But like I said, we had a lot of other stuff going on, like preventing the end of the world and all."

"Fair enough I guess, but then why would she spring it on you during all of that?"

"My guess is it fell into the mindset of, if you have to go out then you might as well go out on your terms. And to be perfectly honest, that was a pretty good way to go." he blushed slightly at the thought.

"So does that mean you guys are… you know?"

"I don't know what to call it right now, because we haven't really talked about any of that since it happened. You know, on account of preventing the end of the world and the memorial service today. But I know I do have to talk to her about it. Of course I know there's a pretty good chance you're gonna know about it as soon as it happens, word travels fast in our guild."

"Times like this you have to love the gossip chain." Lucy gave a grin of her own as she bit into another one of the horderves as the sound of footsteps approached them.

"Hello you two."

"P-Princess Hisui!" Lucy whipped around to find Hisui (wearing a pumpkin mask over her head) standing before them, and was quick to choke down what she had already swallowed.

"I'm glad to see that you're enjoying the food."

"Probably a little bit too much if I'm going to be honest."

"I choose to take that as a compliment." Hisui let out a chuckle "By the way I've been meaning to ask, but if I'm correct, you're part of the illustrious Heartfilia family. Is that true?"

"Yeah well, my dad made quite a name for himself."

"More than you believe. Jude was actually a personal friend of mine."

"Wait, really? I had no idea."

"Indeed." then Hisui's face fell "But that makes me feel all the worse for all of the trouble that I caused you and your friends."

"You don't have to worry Princess. That's the life of a guild wizard after all, even if we don't find trouble it always manages to find us one way or another."

"I see. But still, allow me to express my sincerest apologies to you as well as your fellow guild members." then she turned to Luke "I also want to thank you for the part you played in putting a halt to the calamity that would've befallen our kingdom."

"It's all in a day's work." Luke gave a shrug "Speaking of which, not to be disrespectful, but what's up with the… choice of headwear?"

"Oh, I take it you mean this?" she glanced at the pumpkin mask on her head "Well after the end of the memorial service today, I approached my father to apologize for my actions, and to accept any punishment he saw fit. However, both Colonel Arcadios and Defense Minister Darton came to my defense and claimed that my actions were in the best interest of the kingdom, and the entire world. As grateful as I was for their defense, both my father and I agreed that I should still be punished. As such, he decided that I was to wear this pumpkin head for a week."

"Oh. Well… it suits you."

"Thank you. By the way, your Exceed companion came to me with a message before the party started."

"You mean Bolt? Now that you mention it, where is he?"

"He said he would be attending soon, but he did make a request on your behalf."

"What sort of request?"

"You'll see in due time."

"Okay… that's kind of ominous."

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Meanwhile, at another table loaded with free food…

"I take it you're enjoying the food as well?"

Gray looked over to see Xian standing next to him with a plate in hand "They got free food, I'm not a glutton but you'd have to be an idiot to pass up a spread like this."

"Don't think you're going to hear me object to that." he held up his own plate "So I take it you're making the most of the festivities."

"About as much as I can." Gray paused, then looked at Xian "Weren't you supposed to be off on the dance floor with Kagura?"

"I was at first, but she wanted to talk to Erza in private for a bit, and Chi manipulation requires a large amount of metabolic fuel. That and I like comfort food." Xian gave a shrug, then a small smile "I will say that I do feel more at piece."

"You mean now that you got her with you again?"

"I take it you heard from Natsu?"

"I didn't have to, everyone was watching the Games remember?"

"Ah. Fair enough. Though I will say that I am grateful to Natsu, for the way that he helped me to reunite with her, and for giving me the chance to talk to someone about this after holding it in for so long. Perhaps he and I understand each other on some level."

"We're talking about the same guy right? Doesn't where a shirt, breathes fire, screams a lot and has a brain the size of a walnut?"

"One thing my masters taught me, aside from the ways of Chi, was that people are very similar to onions."

"They're big and they smell and make people cry?"

"That, and they have layers. People are complex in their own ways. Even someone as carefree and reckless is more complex than he lets on. I think the same can be said for the one that has her eyes on you."

"What, you mean Juvia? You realize that she's freaking nuts."

"I'm fully aware that she has an… overzealous imagination, but that does little to detract from the fact that she truly does care about you. Perhaps she is a bit too forward in her affections, but her intentions and feelings are genuine."

"She's genuinely freaking nuts. Seriously, I get she means well and all, but a guy can only take so much of that crap before he says fuck it and opts out."

"So you claim, but you haven't opted out yet have you?" Xian was met with silence "You claim it to be crap, but I didn't have to be there that night to know what Lyon and Juvia wanted from you. And I still don't, because the only explanation Lyon gave me was unintelligible blubbering over why Juvia doesn't return his affections." he was met with the sight of Gray sweating a bit, and so he went on "Anyone within ear shot would know how she feels about you. So answer me this: Do you have any feelings for her at all?"

"I… I don't freaking know man."

"That wasn't a no. Do you want her out of your life entirely?"

"No."

"Do you see her as just a friend?"

"Uh…"

"Very well then, I know all I need to. I may not have much room to speak about returning one's feelings in that way, but I do know this: You have to give her some sort of sign about how you feel, at least show her that you care about her. Because if something happens, whether it be you parting ways or losing her entirely, you'll regret never telling her how you feel. But then again it's not really any of my business, just offering own bit of personal wisdom. What you do with it is up to you." and so with a simple wave, Xian took his leave.

'Huh… okay, that happened… so what the hell do I do now?'

"Gray my darling."

'And there it is.' Gray looked over to see Juvia coming towards him, clad in her own illustrious blue outfit for the party 'Huh. Okay, not bad.'

"I've decided to make an upgrade myself, something I like to call Juvia 2.0."

'I'm guessing this version is even crazier than the last. I'm noticing the only thing that you keep changing is your hair."

"I change with purpose my dearest, now feast your eyes on the new and improved girl of your dreams. Now open those strong arms of yours and embrace me!"

'More like the new and improved lunatic.' Gray sidestepped Juvia's attempts to pounce on him and was about to walk away, only to stop when he glanced over at Xian, and then he started to think a bit 'You know he isn't wrong, I never actually said no to her. Sure I've said that the stuff she does is creepy and she's nuts… But I never actually said no. Fuck, I'm probably gonna regret this later.' so with a breath, he held out a hand to her "Don't get too many crazy ideas about this, but if you wanna dance… I ain't gonna say no, at least not this time."

"...JUVI!" almost immediately Juvia went red in the face with hearts in her eyes and smoke coming out of her ears.

"And I was right, I regret this already." and yet despite this, Gray took Juvia by the hand and led her out onto the dance floor.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the banquet hall…

"That went surprisingly well." Xian watched as Gray and Juvia made their way onto the dance floor, then looked over to see Lyon watching them a short distance away "The same applies to how well you seem to be taking this."

"I may be in love, but I'm no fool." Lyon let out a sigh "Though I am pleased that Gray seems to be finally treating her with the respect she deserves, which includes respecting her feelings. And as much as I do love her, it's quite clear to me now that she doesn't feel the same."

"I believe it was fairly obvious to everyone else, but so long as you admit it. Give it time, I'm sure that you'll find the right person for you at some point." Xian then patted Lyon idly on the shoulder as his expression softened "I understand how you feel, losing two of your friends the way you did. But I think they would want you to keep living on."

"I know that, it's just… more difficult than I thought it would be."

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All throughout the ballroom, members of each guild were enjoying themselves and taking the time to try and forget about the recent hardships.

Wendy and Sherria were taking the chance to enjoy the food on offer, with Mavis being said that, due to her being a ghost, she was unable to eat anything. Though this turned a bit more comical when Sherria started to sense Mavis hovering over her food, freaking her out a bit.

On another end, the Thunder Legion was enjoying the relative peace of the festivities, with a large number of women fawning over Laxus at the time, much to the outrage of Freed.

Erza on the other hand took the chance to approach Kagura and ask if they could put aside their past troubles and be friends. Kagura refused, but then took Erza by surprise by asking if she could be more of a little sister. The two of them hugged, and then Erza noticed Milliana sitting off to the side looking downcast, and tried to cheer her up… by pulling Happy, Carla and Lily out of her cleavage. Milliana's attitude immediately did a 180 and she pounced towards the trio of Exceeds to glomp them, much to their complaints, not that she took notice of this.

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Meanwhile, at another buffet table…

"Okay, putting aside the fact that my answer is an obvious no…" Luke glanced at Gajeel as the two of them stood by a buffet table "Why would you even want to eat my sword?"

"It ain't that hard to guess at." Gajeel gave a shrug "It's made of metal right?"

"It's made of dragon scales forged into a blade. So?"

"So I figured if I eat that thing, maybe it'll give me the boost I need to enter Dragon Force like how Salamander or Aftershock do."

"Uh huh. Even if I agreed with that, I'm not letting you eat my sword."

"So what the hell am I supposed to do? I gotta get Dragon Force at some point."

"Keep in mind that Aftershock learned how to awaken in on his own through years of extensive training. Given enough time, you should be able to do that."

"...So you got nothing."

"I gave you what I had."

"Fine fine, back to the drawing board I guess."

"You know you could always check with Erza and see if she'll let you eat any of her armors that she doesn't use anymore."

"Huh. I'll keep that in mind."

"Alright guys, time to break out the good stuff." this was when Sting made his way over to the two of them with a wine bottle and a few glasses in hand, Lector both trailing behind him "I owe you guys a drink from the top shelf, so where's Natsu?"

"Hate to break it to you, but Natsu is a little bit preoccupied." Luke pointed to where Natsu was in the middle of dancing with Lisanna "Yeah she's as sweet as can be, but he can tell you that when she gets pissed off she's a force to be reckoned with. I'd say leave them alone for the time being."

"Aw come on, are you freaking kidding me? After all the fighting and crap I was trying to do something nice for a change."

"You get points for trying. In the meantime, where's your partner?"

"I'm right over here." this was when Rogue made his way over to the group, Frosch clinging onto his shoulder "Luke. Gajeel."

"Good to see you Ryos."

"Actually if you don't mind, I'd prefer it if you call me Rogue from now on. Anyway, I wanted to congratulate you. I saw your fight with the future version of Natsu."

"Actually if you don't mind, I'd rather you call him Salamander." Luke gritted his teeth slightly and ended up snapping the fork in his hand… which he then threw to Gajeel and allowed him to eat it "I'd rather not associate him with Natsu."

"I can imagine. To say that he was a real piece of work would be putting it extremely lightly, all things considered."

"That's a dramatic understatement." Luke's expression darkened But Natsu isn't him. Natsu will never turn into him. Not so long as I have a say in it."

"I believe that."

"Same here." Gajeel gave a smirk "Now let's drop the bullshit drama already and get back to the good stuff."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Sting popped up next to Gajeel "Anyway since Natsu ain't really available right now, I guess you're gonna be close enough."

"Close enough to kick your teeth in. Remember what happened with your partner when he tried comparing me to Salamander?"

"Hey cut him some slack." Lector cut in "He's still pretty knew to being nice and friendly and all that stuff."

"I believe it."

"Give me a break guys, I'm making an effort here." Sting gave a shrug as he poured a few glasses for himself, Rogue, Luke and Gajeel, and they took part in a toast "Let's make this a toast to the Fairys and the Tigers."

"And I think another one is only about right too." Luke held up his glass "A toast to the people we lost in the battle with the dragons. Like Macao and Wakaba."

"And Dobeggal." Rogue held up his glass as well.

"And to ensuring that their sacrifice wasn't in vain." the four of them did a toast, and then they heard the sound of footsteps approaching… which turned out to be Yukino frozen in her tracks when she saw them, Lucy by her side 'Oh right, she was kicked out of their guild for losing her match to Kagura. Damn, this is awkward.'

"Yukino! Lucy! Yay! Fro's glad you're here!" Frosch rushed over to them and tried to hug both of them by the leg.

"Sorry… I don't think I can do this right now." Yukino gently removed Frosch from her leg and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Sting's voice was quick to stop her in her tracks "Please, you have to stick around for at least a little while. The master and milady are gone for good, probably took off sometime during the whole thing with the dragons, but the point is we won't be here. Look, I'm sorry for the way we treated you. And that goes for you too." he cast a quick glance over at Lucy, then turned back to Yukino as she turned to face him "The way we were before, the way we treated people… it was wrong. But we're gonna be starting things over from scratch. The only Sabertooth and the way things used to be, both of them are history, as good as dead. From here on our we're gonna be doing things the right way, and be the kind of guild that treats its members like family."

"Oh… I see…" Yukino looked away from him "Well then, I wish you the best of luck with all of that."

"I know that the wounds are still fresh, but I'd love it if you were a part of it again. I know the rest of us feel the same way."

"Sting, I…"

"Are you kidding me, don't be such an idiot!"

"Wait, what?" Yukino and the others looked over to see Kagura and the rest of Mermaid Heel making their way over to them "Kagura?"

"Yeah you got that right!" Kagura stormed up to the group, and it became apparent pretty fast that she was drunk "Did everybody else here forget that her life is in my hands? So since I'm the one that gets to make the rules here, I say she's gotta join up with Mermaid Heel!"

"...Wait what?"

"You heard me Snow White, now move it!"

"Hold the hell up you fucking lunatic!" Sting stormed his way up to Kagura "Anyone with half a brain cell can see you're totally wasted!"

"It doesn't matter, anyone with half a brain cell can see that she belongs with us and you can't do a damn thing to stop it!"

"Stop right there!" this was when Erza stormed her way onto the scene, with Elfman, Mira, Gray and Lisanna backing her up "We refuse to stand by and do nothing while you decide the fate of this woman!"

"For once me and the scarlet prude here agree on something." Mira stepped forward "Besides, if this chick is gonna join any guild then had sure as hell better be Fairy Tail. Plus maybe it's the whole "big sister instincts" thing talking, but she kind of reminds me of Lisanna. They're both the little sister types and they've even got the same hair."

"Oh…" Yukino was left taken aback by this "I never thought about joining Fairy Tail… I don't know…"

"No way that's going to happen." and then the Trimens and Jenny from Blue Pegasus showed up to join the fray "A woman that's as beautiful as you are deserves to be part of nothing less than the most beautiful guild in all of the kingdom, so why don't you come and join us? We give you our word that it will be worth your while."

"That's out of the question!" and then Lyon joined the fray, with Yuka by his side "If what she wants is to be part of the best guild, then there's no doubt in the minds of any intelligent being that she should become part of Lamia Scale."

"At this point I feel as though we shouldn't be surprised." Xian shared a look with Jura as the two of them backed away from the impending scuffle.

"Hey wait hold on, please don't start a fight over me." Yukino tried to step in to calm everyone else down, albeit with little success, given that she got pulled away by Cana right before all of the parties present started beating the crap out of each other in typical fashion "Yeah, sometimes you gotta know when to back the hell out before the crazy shit starts going down."

"In the case of Fairy Tail being involved, that's usually always." Luke pulled the two of them away from the chaos, only for him and Cana to take notice of the tears streaming down Yukino's face "Oh."

"Hey come on, there isn't anything to cry about now."

"I know…" Yukino turned to face them and revealed the smile on her face despite the tears she had flowing "But I can't remember the last time I was this happy."

"Yeah there's definitely that effect on people going around, along with the insanity." Luke let out a chuckle "Whatever you choose, at least you know you're gonna be surrounded by a lot of good people."

"Yes, that does provide a lot of comfort."

"Good thing too." Luke then paused as he and Cana locked eyes, both of them blushing slightly, and then he looked away and turned back to the chaos "So… are we gonna do something about them?"

"Didn't you just say to let them duke it out and back the hell away from it?"

"Pretty sure that was you. Anyway for all we know the higher ups are going to show soon, and call it a hunch but I don't think they're going to want to see this."

"Everyone stop this instant!" the loud clang of a metal sheath being banged against the ground, courtesy of Arcadios from where he stood atop a balcony overlooking the festivities "Now hear me!"

'Huh, what do you know, I called it.'

"Listen well all of you. In honor of your performances during the Grand Magic Games, as well as your bravery in facing the greatest danger this kingdom has ever known, his majesty would like to personally deliver this message to you. Pay heed!"

"Hi Mr King!" Asuke waved up to the balcony, only to be shushed by Bisca as the doors of the balcony opened up, and a figure could be seen emerging from the hallway.

"I gotta admit, I'm kind of surprised the King himself is going to- Wait a second." Luke cut himself short as he took a sniff, and he let out a groan "You've gotta be kidding me."

"What's the matter?" Cana shot him a raised eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure that's not the king up there."

"Then who else could it be?"

"I get the feeling we're about to find out. Here's a hint, he switches between being tall and short, has an affinity for special brownies and is way too snarky and chaotic for his own good."

"...You've gotta be kidding me."

"Case and point, here comes King Bolt."

Sure enough, out on the balcony stepped… none other than Bolt in his human form, wearing the crown while the king (in his pumpkin form) tried to grab at him "Alright peasents, time to shut your holes and listen up!"

"I feel like I should say I'm surprised, but I'm not."

"Now it's the time to hail King Bolt, the new ruler of Fiore! The time is night! The Cat Dynasty has begun!" Bolt burst out laughing maniacally as he raised Shatterstorm over his head… only to be smacked upside the head by Luke when he appeared next to him "Ow! Fuck!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Hey we won the Grand Magic Games fair and square right? Plus they threw us in a freaking death labyrinth, the way I see it this is their way of paying us back. So for the rest of today, all of you peons have to do what I say!"

"You realize this could be considered treason on some level right?"

"Relax, I'm gonna do like two or three things and give it back to the Great Pumpkin's secret love child over there. First up, Kagura of Mermaid Heel!" he pointed to Kagura "Yeah I'm talking to you now you crazy bitch! You owe me a rematch!"

"You're out of your freaking mind."

"You're just realizing it now?" Bolt gave a smirk as he wrapped an arm around Luke "As for my second degree… you're like this one."

"I suddenly feel nauseous."

"You shouldn't, it's a good one. I want you to take Cana out to the Crocus Gardens. I used my temporary royal power to set up a little something for the two of you."

"And the nauseous feeling grows." and yet despite this, Luke blitzed back down onto the floor in front of Cana "What do you think? Worth checking out?"

"If he went to the trouble." Cana gave a shrug as she put her hand in Luke's "Besides, a little bit of privacy sounds pretty good right now. There's a few things I think we… really oughta talk about."

"Well when you put it like that…" so Luke wrapped his arms around Cana's waist, and the two of them disappeared in a flash.

"Oh yeah, I'm that good." Bolt gave a smirk as he turned to the crowd "Now for my third and final decree as your temporary king…"

"We're not letting you legalize your special brownies."

"Oh come on!"

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Meanwhile, with the soon to be couple…

"So this is it." by this point, Luke and Cana had made their way to a secluded and fairly private part of the palace gardens "You know all things considered, Bolt does have a pretty good taste for scenery."

"Even if this place has a little bitter aftertaste to it." Cana muttered.

"How do you figure?"

"Lisanna told me that this was where Wendy was found after Raven Tail attacked her before the start of the Games."

"Right, with everything that's happened I forgot about that. We've been through a lot in the past week."

"No doubt about it. We lost a fair bit too."

"Yeah. But they wouldn't want us to sit around moping. I think they'd want us to keep living life to the fullest we can."

"Agreed." the two of them looked up to see the skies being lit up around them, flower petals scattering above them in a brilliant display "You were right, Bolt has a hell of a taste for good scenery."

"It's one of his better qualities that doesn't involve being crazy or snarky." Luke gave a shrug, then breathed a sigh as he glanced up at the skies above "You know I gotta be honest, all of the stuff that's happened has really had me thinking. About the really important stuff I mean."

"How so?"

"After I lost Kaminari and I came to Fairy Tail, I don't think I really understood what it meant to be part of a family like this. It just seemed to be like every person was alone, but we were all alone together, and that was pretty much it. But I just didn't feel that genuine connection to all of the others, so I kind of pushed myself away from all of them, acted like I didn't care, like none of it mattered to me. Then the whole thing with Mira happened, and I didn't know how to cope with it. For a long time after that all I cared about was getting stronger, to make sure nothing like that ever happened again, but now… I don't think that's the only thing I want anymore. It's kind of ironic really. I thought that the guild relied on me to protect them, that I needed to be strong for everyone else. But now, I think… I was the one that needed everyone else." he turned back to face Cana "The fact is that you guys are what gives me the strength to keep going."

"Luke… I get that on so many levels." Cana took a step forward and gently took Luke's hand in his "I felt that the same way for awhile, but then I met you and… well it didn't really feel like I was alone anymore."

"I felt the same way, it just… took me awhile to realise it. Maybe it was around the time you told me about Gildarts, but I knew that I wanted to have you by my side. And then when I left the guild for a year and a half after what happened to Mira, part of me hated myself for doing it just because it meant leaving you behind. Then during the whole thing on Tenrou Island, and in my fight with Hades, when I almost died… I saw my life flashing before my eyes, but more than anything else I saw you. It took me awhile to understand what that meant… Cana, I love you. I have for a long time, whether I realized it or not. So if there's any chance that you feel the same way I do then maybe… maybe we can be a family together, whether it be with Fairy Tail or any other place you'd want to go. I'd be okay anywhere, as long as I have you with me."

Cana stood there in silence for a moment, then looked him square in the eye "Do you… really mean that?"

"Yeah… I really do." Luke gently took one of Cana's hands and placed it over his chest "With every fiber of my being."

Cana didn't respond with words, she just closed her eyes and leaned in, with Luke doing the same, and then their lips finally connected… until a surge and a loud crash could be heard near them, causing her to break away and let out a groan "Seriously? Right when things were getting good."

"To be fair I'm pretty sure this is the part of the movie where people stop giving a crap about what happens." Luke glanced over to see the charred form of Bolt laying sprawled out on the ground a short distance away "Let me take a wild guess, the Cat Dynasty ended as soon as it had begun?"

"That's one way of putting it." Bolt pulled himself back to his feet as he coughed out a fair bit of smoke "Another way is that I abused my power and learned nothing. On the plus side, at least I got to use it to play matchmaker for you guys."

"You saw the kiss?"

"Didn't have to, I can read in between the lines." Bolt gave a smirk as he dusted himself off and pulled out a camera "Now cram it and hold still, I'm getting a kickass picture in order to mark the occasion."

"...Okay." Luke and Cana shared a look and a shrug, then got into position as he put an arm around her waist and she wrapped her arms around one of his, and as the camera flashed, the same thought ran through their minds 'You know all things considered, despite everything that's happened this week… I think it was worth it.'

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Before anyone knew it, the night had come to an end, and a bright new day came to dawn as the residents of Crocus went about their daily business, unaware of the catastrophe that had been averted thanks to the guild mages. In one of the houses, an old woman was getting ready for the day with a smile on her face. She went on to visit a cafe and get breakfast and talked with one of the waitresses, telling her that she had been supporting Fairy Tail in the Grand Magic Games, and gently agreed when the waitress began to rave about Gray's looks.

Later on, the old woman tripped when she was walking down the street, only to be steadied by none other than Chapati Lola, whom she recognized as the commentator from the Games. He told her that he was off to his next assignment and took his leave when she politely refused his offer to escort her to her destination.

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Meanwhile, in a certain inn room…

"Finally, a chance to hear myself think and come back down." Bolt breathed a sigh as he made his way into the lobby of the inn, with Max walking by his side "Thanks again for letting me crash in your room last night."

"Hey it's a lot less boring when you have some company." Max gave a shrug "But why exactly couldn't you crash with Luke last night?"

"He was a little bit… preoccupied."

"What, with some kind of training?"

"That's one way of putting it. Another way is that he just became one of the luckiest bastards in our entire guild."

"How do you figure?"

"Let me put it this way: Luke and Cana disappeared from the royal banquet last night after I took over the throne. Why do you think that is?"

"...Oh." Max paused, then looked over at Bolt as the realization dawned on him "You mean that they-"

"Uh huh."

"As in-"

"Uh huh."

"So the two of them have-"

"Big time."

"...Well shit. Good for him. And you left so you could give them some privacy?"

"Not at first, but they started to… get to work so to speak, when I was taking a shower. As a quick note, Laxus told me once that when Dragon Slayers get to that the sound travels through walls like they were made of wet paper. Now I believe him."

"Damn. I didn't know it was gonna be like that."

"You actually saw some of the residual effects of it. You remember that crazy thunderstorm that was raging last night?"

"Yeah? Oh. OH."

"Yep. Anyway to make a long story short, I couldn't deal with that all night so I came to your room to get some sleep. I'll tell you now, listening to that at night is one thing I'm not looking forward to when we get back to the guild."

"We're finally going back huh?" Max glanced out a nearby window "You know in a weird way, this place is kind of starting to feel like home. More than the other times we've been here for the Games. I wonder why."

"Maybe because this time we didn't get our asses handed to us."

"Yeah that's probably it. Anyway Makarov and most of the guild left earlier, something about how he and the others wanted to get back to Magnolia, but I'm pretty sure a good number of the others are still passed out drunk on bar floors. And the others… they probably just needed some time to process everything that happened."

"Not surprising all things considered. Like Romeo." Max breathed a sigh "Poor kid, having to lose his dad like that. He's still got us though."

"Yeah. That's kind of the thing about Fairy Tail, where those who don't have kin of their own can still be part of a family."

"I know it's worked for me."

"No arguments here."

"It works for all of us." this was when Cana made her way over to the two of them "What's up guys?"

"Apparently not as much as what's up with you."

"...Oh fuck, Bolt told you?"

"Even if I didn't it was pretty obvious." Bolt gave a shrug "So anyway, I talked to Erza and she said that apparently the king arranged for her and the rest of her team to travel back to Magnolia in style."

"They aren't the only ones either. That's actually what I came over to tell you." Cana led the two of them out onto the street, where a classy looking horse drawn carriage was waiting "You see what I mean?"

"Classy. But where did you get it?" asked Max.

"The king arranged it for us to say thanks for saving the world from the dragons. Then again I'm not sure how well that would work over for Luke, considering his motion sickness and all of that stuff, so it'd probably look like a death trap to him."

"Speaking of Luke, where is he right now?"

"He left pretty early this morning, said something about wanting to confirm something, but that we shouldn't wait for him. Said he'd make it some endurance training to try and catch up with us on foot."

"Figures. So what exactly is he going to check on anyway?"

"He didn't say, just that he want to confirm some kind of hunch."

"Well that's informative."

"It's what he gave me to work with." Cana gave a shrug as she made her way into the carriage, with Bolt and Max following behind her "Anyway let's get the hell home already, I've had more than enough of Crocus to last a damn long time."

"No arguments here."

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Meanwhile, with a certain trio of outlaws…

"I have to be honest, I'm really worried." Meldy glanced over at Noah and Jellal as the three of them made their way through the wreckage of Crocus "Where could she be?"

"I'd give you an answer to that if I had one." Noah breathed a sigh "But I haven't been able to pick up her scent anywhere, not even blood."

"I just hope she isn't hurt somewhere."

"That Time Magic she uses definitely takes a toll on her body." Quake noted from where he was perched on Noah's shoulder.

"I know, so how could she just…"

"The Eclipse Gate was destroyed in Luke's battle with the Natsu from the future." Jellal cast a look over at the others "That means the future may at least be salvageable. The dragons that came from the past were sent back. As for the versions of Natsu and Cana that came from the future, I'm not able to say anything for certain. Just have a look around and you can see that the present has been greatly affected. All of this carnage and devastation, and that doesn't even go into the number of lives that were lost."

"Yep, nothing about that changed." Noah muttered "Here we figured that destroying the gate would make it so none of this happened, but I guess the theory didn't pan out."

"Of course, time had been turned on its head." Meldy noted "It had become impossible to turn things back to the way they were."

"Figures."

"I will say there's one thing I'm grateful for." Jellal muttered "The fact that I still have my own memory intact, but that could pose a problem."

"How do you figure?"

"By now the Magic Council must certainly be aware of the fact that the royal family has been dabbling in black magic. This is the sort of thing that wars are built on."

"Oh. Fuck."

"I don't think you guys are gonna want to be so hasty to assume anything just yet."

Noah and the rest glanced over to see Luke making his way towards them… with Doranbolt by his side "Okay, Thunderclap and the Magic Counci's version of Gowther and Tsukishima mixed into one. This oughta be interesting."

"Kind of nice to see those two anime get some love, but now isn't the time." Luke noted "We have other things to discuss right now."

"More specifically?"

"The fact that your concerns about the Magic Council have been taken care of." Doranbolt told him "I made sure of that personally."

"Meaning what exactly?" Jellal studied Doranbolt for a moment, until the realization dawned on him "You erased the memories of the Magic Council?"

"That I did. As far as all of them are concerned, nothing ever happened concerning dragons or the Eclipse Gate."

"Which raises another question." Luke cast a glance over at him "They don't know about the dragons or the Eclipse, but what about the number of casualties suffered from the battle? How do you plan to explain those?"

"I actually took a cue from the Mountain Dragon Slayer for that." Doranbolt jerked a thumb over to Noah "The cover story is already being sent out. As far as everyone else is concerned, when the Grand Magic Games came to an end Raven Tail used the opportunity to launch a massive assault on Crocus. Those present were able to fend them off, but we still suffered a considerable amount of casualties."

"Uh huh. I'm not sure how I feel about using them as a scapegoat like that."

"Like it or not it already happened." Noah told him flatly "Besides, the way I see it this is that son of a bitch Ivan getting some long overdue karma. He did kill a bunch of your guildmates while you guys were away on Tenrou Island, so if anything this is payback."

"I guess, but still…"

"In any case, he's right about that." Doranbolt pointed out "What's done is done and there's no use brooding about it now."

"I have to admit that I am surprised." Jellal glanced over at him "I wasn't aware that you had such a skill at your disposal."

"That's how I conduct all of my deep cover operations. If anything, that's just another tool of the trade for me."

"But it still raises the question. What compelled you to go to such extremes?"

"It's not that hard to understand if you think about it. Eclipse is a spell that came directly from the pages of the Book of Zeref. If the public were ever to find out about something like that, then there would be some serious hell to pay. I also gave a strict warning to the royal family to tell no one about this, or they could kiss the throne goodbye."

"You actually said that to the king?" asked Meldy.

"It wasn't exactly ideal, but sometimes speaking truth to power is necessary. They came to the brink of losing the trust of the citizens, and then the kingdom as a whole. Believe me when I tell you that I have absolutely no interest in a revolution, and while it does go against certain values that I'm sworn to uphold, the only real option I had to avoid one was looking the other way on this matter."

"What about Lahar then?" asked Jellal "Were you able to convince him of the same?"

"What, you mean that guy? Let's just say that he forgot all about it too. He's one of the rising stars among the Magic Council, he doesn't belong down here in the mud with the rest of those like us."

"It is quite ironic though. For someone who works for the Magic Council, you sure like to do things your own way."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but before your stint in prison weren't you a full fledged member of the Council?"

"...A valid point." Jellal gave a begrudging smirk "Well played."

"I do my best." then Doranbolt glanced over and noticed Meldy curled up a short distance away from the others looking downcast "You still haven't found your last companion yet?"

"We've been searching through the city for days, no sign of her." Noah knelt down next to Meldy and let him lay her head on his shoulder "I haven't even picked up her scent. It's not like her to just up and leave without saying anything."

"I see. Well then the best of luck to all of you with that." Doranbolt turned and started to walk away from the scene "I must be seriously losing my edge if I'm starting to worry about the likes of you all. Anyway I'm done here, but remember that this meeting never happened. But you are in my debt, so don't forget about that either. You got all that?"

"You have our gratitude for all of this." Jellal gave him a simple nod.

"Just make sure to stay out of trouble, and make sure not to test me, or make me clean up more of your messes than I have to. I like to use my Memory Magic to get the job done, but it does take its toll on me if I use it too much."

"Actually before you go, there's something I wanted to bring up." Luke's voice stopped him in his tracks "What happened to Cobra? He wasn't reported on the list of casualties. Did he make a break for it once the fighting died down?"

"Actually, it was quite the opposite. Once the fighting was done, he turned himself in and went straight back to his prison cell."

"Seriously?"

"It happened almost immediately after the dragons vanished, he let us cuff him while he was in the middle of complaining how he was a Dragon Slayer that couldn't to live up to his title. But he also mentioned something pretty ominous too, claiming that he heard the gates of hell were about to open up, and that he should return to his cell with his memories intact, since he had some information we would find valuable."

"And that was it?"

"Those were the last words he spoke to me, paraphrased anyway. I don't quite understand just what he meant by it, but it doesn't sound good. Anyway, I'll leave you to do with that info as you see fit. Take care of yourself." and without another word, Doranbolt vanished from the scene with his teleporation magic.

"Cryptic warnings like that never end well." Luke cast a glance over at the remaining members of Crime Sorciere "Any chance you guys know what he meant?"

"I think all of us have a pretty good idea." Noah frowned in thought "He was probably talking about Tartaros."

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Meanwhile, with the travelling groups…

"I was wondering when we were gonna see you guys."

Gray opened his eyes from where he was leaning against a rock and looked up to see Cana was looking down at him "You know for some reason, I can't help but think that if it was anyone else doing that, it'd freak me the fuck out."

"You mean Ichiya from Blue Pegasus right?"

"You said it, not me."

"You didn't have to say it, we've already seen plenty of it." Max noted dryly from where he sat against a nearby tree, Bolt in his cat form curled up in his lap.

"What exactly are you guys doing here anyway?"

"We left Crocus a little while after you did, eventually we took a break to use the bathroom and decided to get some air. Plus apparently you guys were pretty close by when we did."

"You can thank Natsu for that, he was close to blowing chunks the whole time. Freaky part is that he didn't say anything about it. Or anything." Gray jerked a thumb to where Natsu was lying sprawled out on top of a nearby boulder in silence.

"Huh." Bolt glanced up at him "Gonna have to put a pin in that one for later."

"Probably. So where's Luke?"

"He had something to take care of, said he'd catch up later." Cana gave a shrug "So how are the rest of you guys holding up?"

"I'm feeling a lot better." Wendy told her from where she and Lucy were in the middle of making a series of flower crowns "I think I'll probably have some magic power back in just a few hours or so

"That oughta make our resident Dragon Slayers happy when you can finally use the Troia spell on them again. So in the meantime, what do you want to do when we get back?"

"I think I'll want to take on a few jobs."

"Personally I just want a chance to drink a day away again."

"To be totally honest, I think getting the chance to go on more jobs with you guys will help me to grow a lot as a wizard. What about you Lucy?"

"I've got a few ideas." Lucy gave a shrug "I'm actually feeling really inspired after everything we went through. The people, the experiences, I see a fair bit of writing in my future."

"And you've made it clear we don't get to see it until it's done." Bolt cast a glance over at Erza as she sat against a rock "You've been working on that drawing for awhile."

"I've been doing a bit of brainstorming." Erza told him "I'm in the middle of designing some new custom armor for myself."

"You really think you're gonna need more than what you've already got?"

"Well the design I'm working on at the moment will bring together the ultimate strength needed for battle combined with the elegance of a ballgown.

"Hate to ruin the mood, but it's not all gonna be sunshine and rainbows."

"Along with the drawing capabilities of a five year old." Bolt was immediately met with a dark glare from Erza.

"I'd say this is gonna border on animal cruelty, but I think it's pretty safe to say that you brought that on yourself." Gray noted dryly, then looked over to see Max making his way to the other side of the field, and promptly followed after him "You okay man? You're looking a little bit out of it."

"What?" Max snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Gray "Sorry, I kinda got lost in my own thoughts."

"Fair enough. The others are just talking about what they wanna do when they get home. You know, stuff like writing a book or going on jobs and the like."

"Makes sense. The only thing is that before any of that… we're gonna want to have a proper funeral for Macao and Wakaba."

"Right. How's Macao's kid handling it by the way?"

"About as well as you'd expect. Which makes me think about other stuff." Max paused as he cast a glance out into the landscape "It was towards the end of the battle with the dragons, I felt this whole creepy sensation going through me."

"Like you were seeing into the future? Like one of those dreams you have but you're awake the whole time?"

"Yeah, but it felt way too real to be a dream, and… I'm pretty sure I died in it. I got blasted by one of the dragons, and then Romeo did to… but then it didn't happen, and Macao ended up like that instead."

"I know what you mean, and it feels too real to be a dream I was with Juvia and Lyon, and Noah and Meldy when I felt that sort of thing happen. I remember seeing Meldy get shot and then die, and then I could almost swear that it had actually happened to me." Gray breathed a sigh "I know this is gonna sound crazy, but it's not the first time in my life that I've felt like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I was pretty young when the single biggest moment of my life went down, and nothing was ever the same for me after that. A demon by the name of Deliora, from the Book of Zeref attacked my village. My whole family was killed in the slaughter, and I was lucky to have gotten out with my life, though it didn't feel like it. Ur was the one that saved me, she took me in and trained me to be an Ice Make mage like her. Everything I know about Ice magic I learned from her."

"And how to strip?"

"That was part of it yeah. She saved my life again later on… but this time it was by sacrificing her own to seal Deliora away. And I know it's strange, but the way I feel now is exactly how I had felt when that happened. Seeing so many people dying, and coming so close to that myself, it felt so real, but the strangest part about it was that it filled me with this warm feeling. It felt kind of comforting."

"And you don't know what it means?"

"I don't have a freaking clue. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm pretty sure that sums up just about everything that's happened over the past week."

"No arguments here."

"You know Lyon from Lamia Scale, he used to be a student of Ur just like me, and Ultear from Crime Sorciere is actually her daughter. Right now I can't help but wonder how she's doing right now."

"You think she made it through the fight with the dragons?"

"Not a doubt in my mind. If I had to guess, then I would say she was right there fighting along with the rest of us."

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Meanwhile, with another group…

"I figured it was only a matter of time." Luke cast a glance over at the other members of Crime Sorciere "Since the Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart are out of the picture, Tartaros is the only member of the big three left of the Balam Alliance."

"And the only one we haven't heard a damn thing from in ages." Noah told him "There hasn't been anything about them in the years you and the others were gone."

"Which raises another question." Jellal cut in "What could Cobra have learned? Whatever it may be, I assume he'll probably try to use his information to negotiate a pardon."

"They might not have been active, but if they're as screwed up as the rumos say, I get the feeling that all of us are gonna have a hell of a fight on our hands."

"Which means that I'm gonna have to be ready, along with the rest of Fairy Tail." Luke reached for his sword on his back on instinct, but relaxed after a moment "In any case, I'll make sure that we're ready for that fight when the time comes. Until then though, I have something else I have to take care of, like making sure the end of the world doesn't come to fruition."

"You wanna give some context?"

"It was… the last thing Salamander said to me before he disappeared." Luke paused as he tried to compose himself "Before he disappeared, he said that the reason he got pushed over the edge was because Happy and Lisanna were killed."

"The animal girl and his Exceed."

"Yeah. Losing them was what made him snap, and he said the one who did it was something called a Demon Slayer."

"As in someone who uses Demon Slayer magic? You mean like Ivan?"

"That was my first guess, but then I got to thinking. If one person can use Demon Slayer magic, then how do we know more won't pop up at some point? Plus he didn't mention Ivan by name, so I can't know for sure."

"Fair enough. So I take it you want us to help you with research."

"Just whatever you can find, I'm going to do my own research when I get home." Luke then took a glance down the road to see an old woman (the old woman from Crocus) making her way towards the group "Crap, you guys can't be seen. You'd better get out of here."

"Way ahead of you." Noah gave him a two finger salute, then took Meldy by the hand and led her away from the scene, Jellal by their side "See ya."

"Later." Luke gave the group a nod as went his own way, only to be stopped by the old woman grabbing him by the arm "Um… can I help you?"

"I like to think so. Your name wouldn't be Luke would it?" the old woman gave him a smile as she pulled a letter out of her bag and handed it to him "A woman asked me to give this letter to you, said you could deliver it to a few friends of hers. She said that I was likely to run into you on this road."

"Oh, yeah sure, I can… Wait, who did-" Luke paused as he glanced down at the letter and sniffed it 'The scent on this letter, and it says it's for Jellal and the others. Hey where did you say you got this from-" he turned around, only to find that she was already walking away 'Okay, that's fairly unsettling actually.' so with that in mind, he blitzed over to Noah and the others as they were making their way away from the scene "To make a long story short, this is for you guys. She said a woman wrote it for you."

"But that means… it's from her!" Meldy's face lit up "Maybe she really is waiting for us."

"I guess there's only one way to find out." Noah took the letter from Luke and opened it up, and he began reading it out loud "To my dear Jellal and sweet Meldy, and yes Noah, this applies even to you. I ask all of you to forgive me. In the battle for the future of humanity, I made the difficult choice to use a spell that would forfeit my own future. If I could do it over again then I would, and I truly am thankful that I have this opportunity, this chance to bid farewell to the three of you before my final breath escapes me."

"What…?" Meldy's eyes went wide with shock and sadness "But she can't…"

"The path of my life ends here. I'm sorry to say that I wasn't able to achieve the ultimate goal of Crime Sorciere, so I ask that all of you continue on and make sure that the spirit that brought us together is kept alive. Don't forget about your sins, and instead learn from them. Don't allow yourselves to be destroyed by them. Never give up hope that the day will finally come where you will be forgiven. And most importantly, be sure to regard every single person you meet with love and compassion in your hearts. I'm sure that you have many battles still ahead of you, because if Zeref is not defeated, then mankind will once again be awash in grief. So please, all of you have to keep going, you have to live on for me. I pray that this long and tumultuous journey we've been on will ultimately bring happiness to everyone." he paused and handed the letter to Meldy so she could see it for herself.

"So then…" Meldy looked up at Noah with tears streaming down her face "She's gone… She's really gone…"

"Yeah, it looks that way…" Noah gently wrapped his arms around Meldy and let her cry into his chest, during which he shared a glance with Luke 'Based on the scent, and all of this, I think it's pretty obvious…'

'That was her, without a doubt.' Luke finally broke his silence as he turned to the rest of Crime Sorciere "I should probably go and meet up with the rest of my group. I'll see you guys later… and I'm sorry for your loss." and without another word, he disappeared from the scene with a flash of teleporation magic.

'Not gonna lie, this isn't how I thought things would end for us.' Noah glanced up into the skies as he continued trying to comfort Meldy 'But don't worry. If nothing else, I'll take care of Meldy the best I can. That much I can promise you.'

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Hours passed, and the sun was beginning to set.

'This is a bit more problematic than I thought it was going to be.' Luke found himself making his way along the path headed for Magnolia, though he was considerably panting and sweating as he did so 'I guess I'm a lot more drained from fighting Salamander and the dragons than I thought I would be. Granted it's still better than having to ride in a carriage or something like that all the way back to Magnolia. Wendy's Troia spell can only get so far too, and I'm pretty sure that the more she uses it, the more my body adjusts to it and makes it less effective. If I had to guess, I'd say Natsu hasn't realized that yet. Though he hasn't really been himself since the fight with Salamander, not that I can blame him for it. I'll have to talk to him when we get back home. Speaking of which, even at my current slower pace it shouldn't be too long before I end up catching up to the others. As much as I am looking forward to getting home, I can't really relax when I do. I have to make sure I'm ready for what's to come, be it with Tartaros or making sure that Natsu doesn't go off the deep end… and balance my new relationship with Cana. One thing is for sure, our struggles are far from being over anytime soon.' it was at this moment that he took notice of a carriage in front of him in the distance… and then he looked over to see the old woman from earlier "Oh, hey. Kind of a small world running into you again so soon."

"Yes, I suppose it is." the old woman gave him a smile "You know I saw a carriage pass by me a little while ago, quite the rowdy bunch inside."

"Which means they were probably from my guild. Just send us the bill."

"What's that?"

"Sorry, force of habit. At this point being ready to pay for the messes they make is pretty much just instinct."

"I can understand that dear, but of course that's part of what you care for about them. I can relate to that myself." the woman glanced up at the skies "Personally, I had always cursed my lot in life and felt as though I had been cheated by the hand that fate had dealt me. I had so much rage in my heart that burned away my spirit. It seemed huge and insatiable, but once the time came when I had finally opened my eyes and looked at the limitless skies above, I came upon quite the revelation. I came to see how small I was in comparison, and how infinite the world around me truly is, full of more wonders than I could ever imagine."

"Wow, that's… the sort of thing that really gets you thinking."

"Indeed. And through the clouds, I've felt golden rays of sunlight shining down on me, akin to a gentle shower that washes away the darkness. I could feel it warm my soul, and for the first time in my life, I could feel truly at peace. It was the first time I experienced true joy. At last I had a reason to be thankful for the gift of life that I had been given."

"Because you felt like you had fulfilled some sort of big purpose for others?" Luke cast a glance over at her "I kind of know that feeling too. Whenever I fight for Fairy Tail and the people that I hold dear, it's not the thrill of the fight that drives me. I mean that is part of it, but I think of how they might need me to keep them safe, but I need them to give me a reason to keep on moving forward."

"Well said, and the sentiment is a relatable one. Now that I'm near the end of my journey, I've finally found what had eluded me all this time. I became truly happy. I was at last able to forgive myself, and I was finally able to let go."

"I see." Luke forced a small smile "In that case I'm happy for you."

"Thank you. I can imagine those friends of yours are waiting for you."

"Yeah, I should probably get going. Take care of yourself."

"You as well dear, and I wish you a good trip back."

"Thanks." Luke gaver her a nod and continued making his way down the path at a fairly brisk pace until he came across the carriage carrying Natsu and the others… and then he noticed Gray sitting in the back, with tears streaming down her face 'I see, so he knows too… The sacrifice that she made, she gave up her future to save all of us. But her sacrifice will never be forgotten, by me or any of those she holds dear.'

All the while, Ultear watched the group depart with a smile 'Goodbye to all of you my friends, my family. But please don't shed tears for my sake. I love all of you…'

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A few more days went by, and the long journey at last came to an end.

'Looks like Magnolia is pulling out all the stops to celebrate.' Luke took a glance around as he and the rest of Fairy Tail made their way through the streets of Magnolia admits a thunderous series of cheers from the various citizens 'Looks like pretty much everyone in Magnolia came out to support us, and even Twilight Ogre is here too.'

"Now this is a hell of a welcoming committee." Cana gave a smirk as she slipped Luke's hand into her "The people of Magnolia never fail to throw a good party."

"No arguments here. It was a long and arduous road for us, but it's coming to an end, at least for the time being. The reputation of Fairy Tail has finally been restored, and the people of the kingdom know what we can do. And we're gonna take it all in stride with humility.'

"You see that one bitches?!" Bolt flashed into his humanoid form and waved Shatterstorm around for all the world we see "We kicked every ass that came our way, now you know why you don't wanna fuck with us!"

'Or we can do that.'

"I have to admit I'm surprised." Erza took a look around "I honestly wasn't expecting them to give us this grand of an entrance, it's a bit overwhelming."

"I know what you mean, but at the same time it kind of shows how much the people care about us, right?"

"Yes, that is a valid point. And the master seems to be taking it in stride."

"Now do you see it?!" Makarov was cheering like a madman at the fanfare with Asuka riding on his shoulders "Fairy Tail is the greatest, no one can ever doubt it!"

"See what I mean?"

"No arguments here." Luke then glanced over to see a fair number of men in the crowd drooling over Cana, which led him to move towards his sword 'Nope keep it together Luke, you're not one of those crazy clingy jealous guys. Keep away from the sword.'

"Hey Cana you're so hot, you're the only one for me!"

'Though I'd be lying if I said it wasn't incredibly tempting.'

"Sorry guys, this girl is taken these days." Cana grabbed hold of Luke's arm and suddenly pulled him into a heated kiss, only breaking away after a moment passed "Better now?"

"...Yeah I think I'm good, thanks for that."

"It's what I'm here for. They can look all they want, but touching is off limits, and I wanna make sure they know that."

"I won't object to that."

"Hell of a homecoming, not that it's a big surprise." Gajeel gave a smirk "We finally put Fairy Tail back on top."

"It wasn't easy, but it was a team effort."

"Not just everyone in our guild either." Wendy gave a smile "We owe it to everyone that came out to cheer us on at the Games."

"I ain't gonna object to that, but now it's time to celebrate." Cana gave a smirk "Let's get this party started already!"

"Just try and make sure not to get carried away too soon."

"Oh believe me I know, and I've got a few ideas for celebrating." her smirk widened "Some are better off done with some privacy though."

"...Okay then."

"Hey guys, get a load of this right here!" Bolt reached into the backpack he was carrying with a huge grin spreading across his face "It's just a little souvenir I got to bring back, now feast your eyes on this bad boy!" and then he pulled out and held it up for everyone to see.

"Wait a second, is that the king's crown?" Max shot an incredulous look at him "You didn't really steal that from the palace did you?"

"Wait what? Oh fuck, you weren't supposed to see that." and then he tucked it away back into his backpack "Dammit, I thought I put it on top."

"That doesn't answer my question!"

"Whatever, it's not like I'm gonna need anyone to bail me out. Anyway get a load of what I did mean for you guys to see, right here!" Bolt gave a wide grin as he held up the trophy for all of those present to see "And it only took us like seven years to get our hands on this!"

"Tell me about it, and that was after we came in dead last every year."

"We only fucked up that bad because we were against Kagura and Jura."

"Either way it's great that we're finally back to being on top." Max paused as he glanced up at the sky "It's a damn shame that a bunch of the others couldn't be here to see this."

"I know. But I don't think they'd want us to be so down after finally getting our hands on this thing right here. Let's keep the spirits up, for their sake if no one else's."

"Yeah, you're probably right. So let's honor their memory by making sure we never fall that far again."

"Sounds good to me.

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Meanwhile, at the back of the crowd…

"So what do you think?" Elfman looked up to see Lisanna taking in the cheers and jubilation from the crowd from her place on his shoulders "How awesome is the view up there?"

"It's awesome, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit embarrassing." Lisanna gave a small bashful smile, but then her face fell when she noticed Natsu walking at the back of the crowd and away from the others, so she leapt down off of Elfman's shoulders and made her way back over to him "Hey, you okay?"

"Wha-?" Natsu snapped out of his stupor and looked over at her "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah it's nothing, just forget about it."

"Alright, but…" Lisanna looked over to where the people were still cheering them on, and then some of them got a look at Natsu, which made the cheers get even louder.

"Holy crap look, it's Natsu the Salamander!"

"That's the dude who beat up Xian from Lamia Scale!"

"More than that, he's one of the dudes who took on Sting in the final round, it was fucking crazy the whole time!"

"Looks like you've got a fan club." Lisanna glanced over at Natsu, only to notice him looking withdrawn again "I thought you would really be enjoying all of the praise." she was met with only silence, which worried her further, so she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into a tight hug "Do you remember what I said what to do when you're sad?"

"...That it's when you need to smile the most."

"Yeah. Look if you don't want to talk about what's bothering you then that's fine, I'm not going to force it. But if I think you need to smile, then I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that you do." then she gave him a smile of her own "After all, the dad is supposed to protect his wife and son, but the wife is supposed to make the dad smile right?"

Natsu said nothing, he just gritted his teeth as he wrapped his arms around Lisanna as tight as he could.

All the while, Luke just glanced back at the others, first at where Juvia was giving Gray some words of comfort, then over to Natsu and Lisanna 'What happened at the Games, and what led him down that path… It's never going to come to pass. Ever. I swear it.'

"Attention, can I have everyone's attention!" Banabooster, the master of Twilight Ogre, was quick to silence the crowd as the festivities died down "The mayor of Magnolia would like to take the opportunity to present Fairy Tail with a special gift in order to mark this momentous occasion!"

"A gift for us?" Makarov looked incredibly bashful as he stepped up to the front "You really are far too generous, I don't know what to say."

"There's no need for you to say anything just yet." the mayor gave him a smile "Now to the good members of Fairy Tail, I would like for you to observe your gift stationed to my right." he was quick to gesture to their gift: their old guild hall, completely restored "For years your guild has served as the pride of our city, and that is one of the many reasons why we are truly honored to present you with your original guild hall, newly restored."

"Th-This is… truly a sight to behold…" now Makarov was crying in a comedic fashion "Good sir mayor, your kindness truly does have no bounds."

"Think nothing of it Master Makarov, consider it a gift from the people of our city, as a way of thanking you for all your guild has done for us over the years."

"In that case… I love Magnolia with all of my heart and soul!"

"You're not the only one Master, trust me on that." Luke let out a chuckle, but his demenaor quickly hardened and his gaze snapped towards a nearby rooftop, where he caught sight of a small figure disappearing into the distance 'This scent, it's somehow familiar…'

"Hey." Cana nudged Luke in the ribcage slightly "You okay? What's the matter?"

"...Yeah sorry, it's nothing. I thought I saw something, that's all." Luke shook it off as he made his way into the newly restored guild hall alongside the others 'I can enjoy myself with everyone else for tonight. I'm gonna have a lot of work to do starting tomorrow. There's a lot that I'll have to do, but whatever happens next, I think it'll turn out okay, so long as I have everyone here, especially my best friend in Bolt and the woman I love in Cana, by my side to help me through all of it.'

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As it turns out, the one watching the festivities was Obra in its real form, a small imp creature, which then made its way to where Zeref resided, jumping onto his shoulder once it arrived at its destination. Mavis arrived not long after this and greeted Zeref, claiming that she knew that he was watching the Games. Zeref countered by telling Mavis that though he was unable to see or hear her, he knew she was there.

Both acknowledged that it had been seven years since the last time they were so close to each other, and Mavis went on to ask Zeref if he was still looking for a place to die. Zeref told her that in his time, he had seen countless people die and stressed the fact that people continued to make the same mistakes. Mavis referred to this as simply living but Zeref disagreed, claiming that what they were doing was not living, and that humans were already extinct.

Mavis questioned if Zeref had stopped waiting, to which he responded that he had and if the world would reject him, then he in turn would reject the world. Mavis claimed that Fairy Tail had come to accept the world, but Zeref claimed that what he was doing was the gift of harmony and regeneration. Mavia asked if there would be fighting when the time came, but Zeref's eyes flared as he claimed that there would not be fighting, but instead annihilation, and everyone would come to die soon. Mavis met Zeref's glare with one of her own, and told Zeref that Fairy Tail would stand against him and stop him, as the two continued to stare one another down…

A/N:

And with this chapter, the epilogue of the dragon attack and the Grand Magic Games, as well as the arc as a whole, finally comes to a close. Honestly, when I first started this arc, I didn't think it was going to take my as long as it did. Seriously, more than two years to get through one arc. I mean sure I had a lot of other stuff going on, other stories and getting through college, along with the pandemic, but still. Anyway I'd like to say that update speed is going to pick up the pace, which it will, to a certain extent, but I've still got a lot on my plate. Don't worry though, one way or another I will finish this story. Eventually.

Anyway, moving onto this chapter itself, it might be more of an epilogue for all the carnage and the Games, but it still had a fair bit going on. First, since I had actual casualties in this version, I figured it was only right to have a memorial service to honor the fallen. Then comes the party to celebrate after, which I figured was typical fashion for Fairy Tail.

As for the characters, yeah the sadness and grief are there, but they're still trying to keep living strong and happy, as they're known for in the series. Also, for those of you who've noticed, Natsu's been acting a bit… different in this chapter. Trust me, I plan to go somewhere with that, so bear with me for now.

In more positive news, the bit of news I've been looking forward to saying for a damn long time, Luke and Cana finally got together! This has been 58 chapters in the making, and now it's finally here! There will continue to be hardships for them sure, but whatever they have to go through, they'll face it together.