X791 March

7 years.

It had been 7 years since everything had changed. Since the Tenrou Group went out and had been attacked. Since I had seen a dragon bearing down on them, and then felt them disappear-

Not dead.

Morgana's words kept my thoughts from spiraling. The usual growth hormones that humans produced in puberty had made it very easy for my feelings to run away with me. Morgana didn't intervene unless those feelings were projected to go downhill and take me to a bad life choice. Like murder. She certainly wouldn't stop me from trying to eat my bodyweight in ice cream, or try a De-Sear Pepper straight.

But also not here.

I'd been 6 when I met Fairy Tail. I'd been barely 10 years old when I had lost a large portion of my family. I would turn 17 this summer. I had lived longer without them than I had with them.

A hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my pensive thoughts.

"Princess, if you don't start smiling in the next 30 seconds, I might have to do something drastic."

"Don't you dare." I glowed at Eric. "I haven't worked my butt off for the last 6 years getting you out on parole for you to land back in there on a whim."

He grinned, showing elongated canines which could only be called fangs.

"You'd get me out again."

"I'd let you stew for a while first. After telling Kinana."

Was I shamelessly exploiting the fact that the Snake Mage and the Poison Slayer were an item? No. I was exploiting that Kinana was my friend and would hands down take my side in this situation if her boyfriend got himself landed back in jail doing something dumb.

Eric knew I was serious too. He slid into the compartment beside me, the train rattling around us as we traveled towards Jasmine. An experimental potions lab had run into some trouble that the lead researcher had sent out a request for. I had been scheduled to inspect the runes on the building later this year, but an emergency had come up that made them send for wizards in a hurry. The building was, reportedly, melting in some areas due to unknown causes.

Gelatinous Cube. The cause is a gelatinous cube.

That was the closest thing I could identify it as. An artificial creature, similar to a demon but unintelligent, typically harmless aberration that could digest any organic material. It was normally used to keep tiled areas, such as laboratories, sterile since it swept up everything in its set path guided by runes drawn into the glazed tile. Standard maintenance included regular 'meals' of a neutralizer that kept their acid from getting too potent and harmful, and dividing the entire mass once it grew too much. This one had somehow escaped supervision and managed to grow large enough to swallow a man overnight.

"I really hope I can eat that thing. Sounds like it'll be interesting. Like jello but more energizing." Eric sprawled across the seat, completely ignoring the other bench across the compartment. I mentally bemoaned for a moment that Eric's 2nd Gen Dragon Slayer status meant that he did not get motion sickness unless he tried to read or do high concentration work in a vehicle.

I let him pin me to the seat with his legs.

He's making you focus on the present and not retreating into melancholy.

...I know.

Eric wasn't a complete reptile, but he did lose body heat faster than others. Always in private, but he liked contact and warmth.

"I will say again, this is a cleaning aberration. A mobile fungus that has been in contact with Myrddin only knows what."

"Yep."

"And you still want to eat it." Eric gave me an arch look.

"And your solution was...?"

"Blow it up and dilute it."

"And waste all that beautiful toxic matter? Let me have my snack, kid."

"No eating the danger jello!"

I instantly regretted the words as soon as they left my lips. And Eric's grin pulled even wider. He was not going to forget this. Ever.

"I'm only here because of you. You shouldn't adopt pets if you can't feed them."

I gave him a sour look, trying to determine the most comedically damaging moment he could bring out my slip.

Danger jello. What is it about him that makes me say ridiculous things in context?

"Don't make me find out what a detox spell would do to you."

He looked unconcerned.

"You already know. And you're not actually mad at me." He snickered. "Gotta say though, 'danger-"

"If those words are ever spoken again outside of present company, I will know. And you will suffer for it."

-vVv-

Eric successfully distracted me for the rest of the train ride to Jasmine. And he kept it up even as we toured the premises where potions were brewed on an industrial level. The area had been declared unsafe for civilians, so we were pretty much on our own heading in. I believe their standard affair were flavor enhancers, magical preservatives and the like. I blithely ignored him sampling the questionable contents of the various rooms we had passed. Eric had taken a no holds barred stance on experimenting with his Dragon Slayer abilities. Nothing was safe from being eaten by him. He had even cheerily asked for some poison dart frogs for the winter celebrations.

We had worked out that plant poisons, such as poison ivy or oak, gave him a low, steady boost and the ability to transfer contact poisons.

Animal venom gave him a rapid spike in power and the best Poison Dragon Roar in range and intensity.

Wendy had allowed, with supervision, Eric to ingest some known poisonous mushroom species, such as the relatively easily found species nicknamed 'destroying angel'. These had a good combination of long, slow burning fuel reserves, but they took the longest to kick in.

And I had seen him take sips of various household cleaners and similar substances as well. If something didn't do something for him, we found out very quickly. And he had discovered that heavy metal poisoning would not act as a power source for him, neither would spoiled food.

He had only been out on parole for two months and he had managed to almost fatally poison himself twice with non compatible substances. Esuna could save his life. But it made him weak as a kitten and generally miserable for several days as it took effect. I had almost universally banned him from doing this in public in case some kid saw him, copied him and ended up dead as a result.

Another difference between First Generation and Second Generation.

The Dragon Slayers who had had the benefit of a living dragon parent to guide them. Hence, they all knew what they could consume to regenerate their energy. Eric had experimentation and people invested in not seeing him die. I did not always feel like this was enough.

"I'm telling Kinana that you've reverted to a toddler stage by needing to explore everything with your mouth first."

"Oh, she already knows."

That comment caused Morgana to hiccup. There was no other way to describe it. It was like some thought or connection wanted to happen, but something else stopped it in its tracks.

I'll think about it later. For now: business!

This has become a more regular occurrence over time and will require your attention sooner or later.

I laid a hand on the wall of the plant. A load bearing wall that was relied on by most of the structure. It would give me the best readout.

Morgana, standard scan. Top 20 most likely things to go wrong with the current set up and the trail that the lab scrubber took.

Quick to comply, the other part of my soul, subverted into a non-dominant split personality directed my magic at the problem before us. And all the information that came at her, she caught and sorted into a neat, itemized list that I scribbled out.

There were a few weak spots in the walls, and one flaw in the pipes that could become problems down the line that I made a note of. But those were asides to address in the final report. I was here for the runes right now that had allowed the scrubber to get so big and dangerous.

Gaps in the containment lines? They would not have to be very big to let the cube escape.

The mental blueprint of the building that Morgana had downloaded was held in my mind and she marked several places. They were miniscule. Nothing larger than a rat could get down there. But when something didn't have a skeleton to account for, and when it was only supposed to be about a foot square, that was all that it would take.

This is gonna blow up somehow.

A building that was used to brew potions, and was hence packed with dangerous chemicals and magical reagents. Something that could squeeze through the smallest gaps, and was only driven by hunger and the need to grow larger. This had a distressingly high chance of ending with flames.

Distressingly?

Morgana very wry query made me correct myself for honesty and.

OK. Not that distressing. I do want to try my new spell, but I'm not making it my first choice.

-vVv-

Or, it could go super smoothly and have few to no problems at all. I was almost disappointed. Morgana had led us right to the trail of the escaped scrubber. Granted, the trail of stripped floorboards and brittle stone in some places made it very apparent where the thing had gone once it's acidity had risen to the levels that required professional containment.

The story proceeded as follows:

As humans are wont to do, some lab assistant had gotten attached to the scrubber. She viewed it largely as a strange pet and treated it accordingly. As such, its maintenance had fallen to her. Including judicious pruning when it got to be too large to effectively fulfill its purpose. And she did this task faithfully, Morgana played back the whispered, sad apologies to 'Squish' as she separated its mass and neutralized its acid and the starter potion that gave it mobility for disposal.

But I said she treated it like a pet. Including treats in the form of several mild chemicals that upped its efficiency in cleaning on it's preset route. In and of itself, harmless. But when combined with some flawed characters in the relay of runes that directed the scrubber, it got more risky. As the more potent scrubber passed repeatedly over these characters, it gradually wore them down until just one rune failed. And that was all it took for the scrubber to run wild.

It was designed to go clean up messes. With the failure of it's normal containment, it could suddenly sense a much bigger area to clean. or , in its alleged mind, hunt and feed. So it would naturally head for the biggest, most critical area. And it did so by sliding down through vents and the walls until it reached where the facility's garbage was stored. And not the safe mundane stuff that municipalities picked up every week.

It had consumed and incorporated exactly 97 experimental potions that had been stewing just prior to it's regularly scheduled pick up to be taken to permanent disposal. This made the thing get even larger and get more acidic as the unstable compounds reacted with each other and it produced a more potent material to break them down more efficiently. It also expanded its range where it could 'sense' food from floor level to something a little higher. And it went looking for it. And this pattern repeated throughout the night.

I want to know why there wasn't a nighttime watchman or security guard that spotted it.

There was now a large hole in the upper story of the lab, any hint of carpet had been dissolved and devoured by the shambling mass of acidic jello and several walls would need a complete rebuild to be structurally sound again. The lab workers coming in had been rapidly engulfed by the scrubber as it tried to clean them up before they entered the lab space it had to maintain. And it had no concept of the fact that humans need to breathe, or that it was dissolving their skin rather rapidly. Miraculously, no one had died, but Wendy had gotten two victims of severe acid burns that same night. Which was when the job had come to myself and Eric.

All things considered, the scrubber/gelatinous cube had been rather easy to avoid. On the alert, aware of its protocols, and in much better shape than the two lab workers, Eric and I had evaded it with little issue.

About an hour later, including a couple of tense minutes, one shoe ruined beyond all recognition, and the sacrifice of a rather fancy bottle of bourbon from the chief researcher's desk, and I had gotten it contained. All of it. And the thing was about twelve feet tall after clearing out all labs that weren't separately warded to prevent unauthorized entry.

And I did all this, before Eric could sneak a sample of the truly noxious gelatin.

"It's acid, not poison. No snacking! I'm not going to be the one explaining to Wendy how you managed to melt the lining of your stomach!"

"Well if it does do that, yes you will be. As my throat would be all messed up too."

"Everything you just said is only proving my point."

"But it smells good!"

Parole officers are meant to monitor the released convicts. Help them adjust to normal living. I should not have to act like the mother of a toddler, with the obsessive focus on putting every little thing they came across in their mouth.

Eric was still sulking even as I used an Eye of Agamotto totem to repair his clothing. (It was only good for repairs of minor or non magical items. I was not about to go trapping large scale demons with it. That would come later.)

"Are you done pouting yet?"

"I'm hungry."

"I'll get you a nice dose of arsenic from your stash as soon as we're home."

Because letting him have direct access would be a parole violation and the contract was magically enforced. Another note of interest: the quality of the poison made up for the quantity in a huge way for the Poison Dragon Slayer. So lacing his drink with a few drops of high quality poison would be the ideal way for him to replenish his magic and rehydrate himself.

I looked at the contained lab scrubber, shifting in the rune barrier I had lured it into like...a living blob of highly acidic jello. It was a lot more transparent than I thought it would be considering what sort of things it must have been eating.

"Refresh my memory, did the job say anything about what to do with this thing once we caught it?"

"I think they were more skeptical of you catching it, let alone this quickly."

Which was ludicrous. Rune magic was practically made for catching things. Traps, wards, barriers, controlling a given space was everything that I did!

You don't exactly have a track record of taking up jobs that involve even the threat of combat.

Because we can't afford to have Kagura or Kinana babysitting me all the time like they seem to think I need.

It was true that I had poured my energy into jobs that would keep the guild alive rather than the ones that I thought would be fun. But this was...relatively harmless.

I considered my options.

You're sure there were no stipulations put on what we did with it after it was contained?

"I'm sure you could get a bonus if you could separate out some of the ingredients. They can't have been too happy about losing most of their stock."

Eric answered casually, picking the question out of my head.

"That was for Morgana."

I concur with his assessment.

I did not know why my friends thought I was incapable of doing jobs on my own. I was literally never without company. Eric, once again reading my mind, had only one word in answer.

"Iceberg."

Fight an undead uprising one time and no one ever lets you live it down, even though you came out in one piece.

Now the dilemma...I could probably use my shiny green necklace and reverse the digestive process to restore some of the materials the scrubber had absorbed. After the first break in the containment field that had kept it small and manageable, it had gotten into the general waste area, where the completed but not sellable potions were stored before disposal. After gorging itself on that, the regular runes had not been strong enough to contain it and it had only gotten bigger.

The scrubber pressed itself against an unseen wall trying to envelop myself and Eric. It was big enough that it likely was getting it's original directive mixed up and was mistaking us as vermin. It looked funny, inching it's semi solid mass up a barrier composed of amber runes and seemingly empty air.

Mostly liquid...and even acid has to have a certain percentage of water as part of it. Jello itself is almost completely water-

Ooh...

I had behaved myself for far too long. And I had a test subject.

"...I've got an idea."

Eric's eyes gleamed with a feral light.

"Tell me what we're gonna do."

I flicked my pen into my hand, letting my book float before me. The pages seemed to turn of their own accord as I guided it to the loose-leaf experimental section towards the back.

"We are going to kill it with fire."

-vVv-

"We caught the scrubber when it reached a mass of almost 20,000 kilograms. It damaged several structural walls, every floor on the first floor, ground level and the basement areas, and has consumed approximately 38% of your overall materials secured in the general work areas."

I kept my tone professional and poised and the lab manager seemed to deflate a little with every word I said. This was the first time we were meeting. I had been contacted by his boss, but he was the man waiting for Eric and myself outside. A man of average height with rich brown eyes that did not match his pallid skin tone. And it wasn't just nerves, though he seemed to be clammy with sweat even on the chilly day.

Magically enhanced contact lenses.

Which was worth noting. It indicated something about the man, though I'd need more information to get better insight.

"That cannot be right, those labs were locked!"

"No matter what mass the scrubber attained, it had no bones and could pass through even the smallest of gaps. You will want to confirm, naturally, but that is the best estimate I can give you."

I pointed at the map that Dr Mahco had provided Eric and myself upon our acceptance of the job.

"With a good contractor, you could have this place functional again in 6 months. Only at that point would it be worth the cost for me to lay down new building wards."

The harried looking man gave me a look that was way too familiar. A sidelong glance of someone shifty about to irreparably lower my estimate of their character.

"And what about incurred expenses from your work today?"

I ignored the touch of condescension in his tone. Something that had picked up over the years since property damage became less and less likely was people trying to bully our wizards into covering costs they did not incur in the process of their work.

I arched a brow at him as Eric slouched into a more aggressive stance.

"We're wizards. You paid her to catch the thing, not fix your building."

The manager, whose name Morgana had not made any note of, recoiled slightly from the man.

Why can't I be scary? It would help so many things if people considered me scary.

Then again, I wasn't a lean, fanged, magenta haired man with facial scars and a look in his eye that screamed 'predator considering eating you alive.' Like Eric was when he put his work face on. Developed from his time in the Oracion Seis and the Fioran prison system.

"No damage was done to the premises from Fairy Tails actions that are not already addressed in the contract as a request with combat potential."

I produced a small jar filled with baby oil, a pinkish blob of something about the size of my pinky was floating placidly within it. The gesture made the manager's eyes jump to me for a second before flickering back to Eric.

"The scrubber has been cut down to a manageable size. Should you wish to reinstall it once the building is usable, I will leave it with the appropriate attendants."

He wasn't liking what he wasn't hearing. And that would be my capitulation and rolling over to get the pay deducted for damages I hadn't caused.

"I demand-"

Silencio.

I waved my hand, a rune floating in front of his mouth to silence his protest. It lasted no more than a few seconds as all my non-verbal spells did.

"-Nothing you have any right to, sir."

Morgana was crunching through the murky history of the man we were speaking to. She was crunching numbers and noticing a slight uptick in his income. And the cuff links he was wearing, were not only enormously impractical for a lab setting, but a touch beyond his pay grade.

Self purchase, romantic gift, or bribe?

Self purchase.

He was trying to squeeze money out of me. The runes within hadn't been inspected in years, bare minimum. There was no night watchman, though the place warranted at least two.

Conclusion: Embezzlement. Verify?

Touch needed to confirm.

So I needed to spin this a little longer. Get him thinking about everything he wanted me to not know about.

Or...alternatively.

Eric nudged me gently

"The guys a cheat. He laid off several people and delayed some maintenance to produce a surplus and cooked the books to pocket it."

Morgana translated Eric's assessment of the man's thoughts, and we both felt out magic hum in affirmation. This was the Truth. The story that matched reality.

Oh good, I don't have to be nice about this.

"Actually, I think I'll give it to your boss, because you are just dumb enough to try and pull a fast one on me."

I made the palm sized jar vanish under my cloak. He didn't like being insulted, but I didn't give him time to bluster or form a plan of attack. I placed down a copy of the job request I had been given along with the written and signed contract of employment.

"As my companion has said: Fairy Tail was brought in to take care of the scrubber without any loss of life. All damage the structure has suffered was from your aberration, the failure of your team to maintain the runes that contained it, the absence of a night watchmen. Both of which could have prevented your losses. I am conscious of the set back this is to you, sir. But you will find no cause for me to compensate you for this damage and if you wish to try, you may bring your concerns to my guild master."

The man's face went a little ashen. Simon's reputation outside was such that people either loved him to the point of disbelieving he could be a Fairy tail wizard, or they feared him more than the Devil himself. Since a lot of his magic was literally putting the fear of god into those he didn't like dealing with, I could understand why. Simon had a penchant for rooting out secrets as only a Darkness master could. It seemed this fellow fell under the second category.

"Eric, where is the lab's owner right now?"

He cocked his head, the added effect of the scars curving alongside his left eye giving him a rakish, feral look as he grinned at the manager's discomfort.

"Whipping up some neutralizer for his injured workers so Wendy can patch 'em up."

"Lead on. Dr Mahco is the one we need to speak to in order to register that our job here is finished."

Probably should also tip him off that the manager is embezzling and confirm the secondary objective of our being here.

I was no forensic accountant. My statement couldn't hold up in court. But I could give small tip offs and point out places to look. Being a whistleblower was not always a popular thing to be in business, but Dr. Mahco had noticed too much discrepancy too consistently. He had reached out to Wendy, who had done her pharmaceutical rotation for her medical license here about four years ago, and she had put him in touch with me.

As far as public record would show, I would report the state of the runes that allowed the Scrubber to cause the incident, and recommend a course of action to prevent future issues. It would naturally result in people reviewing past records to see what the procedure was not already in place, and it would lead back to the forged records, and in turn the individuals who were no longer employed there, but were still getting paid.

But that would all take months. Eric was drifting closer to my side, inclining his head to murmur in my ear.

"The guy is plotting to murder you."

And I didn't need to be a mind reader to know what Eric thought of that.

"No preemptive strikes. Think of how fun it will be to hunt him down if he does a runner after his arrest?"

The Poison Dragon Slayer, who had embraced the hunting instinct of a Dragon Slayer far more than the battle crazed loon side, gave a low chuckle.

"If you love me, you'll not try too hard to keep him prisoner once they nab him."

"I already let you chase down that Gorth guy last month."

"Only took two days to find him and we caught him because he got constipation."

I bit back a snicker.

"Ok, so maybe not as satisfying as it could have been, but it was funny!"

-vVv-

Eric dozed on the train ride home, an eye mask shutting out the sights of the world speeding past us and earplugs toning down the rattle of the tracks to a bearable volume for him.

I was of a like mind. A nap wouldn't go amiss. But I had too much to do.

My spellbook had my original rune syllabary worked into the binding and covers. And because it had all of my runes stored, it acted as a quick way of snapping out minor spells without totems when used in conjunction with the tiny bit of archive magic Hibiki had taught me. By establishing a link between the two, I could shorthand write in my personal script using the cover of my book as a keyboard, and project the results in the air. While perusing a few different resources at the same time.

Telekinesis is the best travel desk ever.

Jude's loan of the journal of the Heartfilia woman had mentioned a device called 'the Eclipse Gate' and Morgana had flagged that in relation to Dragon Seed. A faint connection but a noticeable one.

I was relying on records that were at the very newest, about three hundred years old. Any and all modern mention of this gate was closely guarded. I hadn't quite gotten to the point of abandoning all subtlety and charging for it like a bull. But I was...shall we say, invested in finding this gate.

Because it not only sparked in connection with the Heartfilia's, and Dragon Seed, but also Zeref.

It's starting to feel like most of the major historical events in Fiore of the last five hundred years have revolved around Zeref.

What kept him coming back here was my question. He was apparently immortal, suffered under a painful curse that tortured him mentally and emotionally every day of his existance. He had successfully resurrected someone from the dead.

My first instinct would be to say that that person must be in or around Fiore. Or perhaps their remains, since this had to have happened centuries ago.

Morgana didn't say anything in response.

Let me guess, insufficient information?

That is correct.

Dammit.

My psychic life partner gave the equivalent of an apologetic shrug in answer. I saved my notes into the 'loose leaf' section of my spellbook and closed my Archive screen.

Finding the Eclipse Gate should give me some major insight. If it's related to the Heartfilias there's a big chance it involves Celestial Spirit Mages as well since they've been practicing that kind of magic for centuries.

The connection was there. Celestial Spirit Mages used keys to call on Spirits. The item was called 'a gate'. But speculation wasn't enough for magical confirmation in this case.

I left the train compartment quietly to freshen up before we arrived in Magnolia. Eric probably heard me leave, even asleep as he was. He just rolled over and kept dozing.

What I was thinking about, I couldn't rightly say. I had a lot on my mind right then. About what I had been reading, about whether or not to give Wendy the remains of the scrubber, Dr Mahco had gifted it to me but my need for a sterile environment wasn't as frequent as hers. About the latest letter from Victor and Cassie, arranging for a month-long visit to Iceberg later this year to meet his newest child, attend Cassie's debutante ball and monitor their fledgling magical education program. About my next published written work, both as Bella Phantasia and as myself.

Someone is watching you.

My heart instantly started to pound as adrenaline flooded my system.

That was not something you ever wanted to hear while you were in a semi public restroom. Admittedly, I was just washing my hands, but still it made me look around furtively, checking behind myself in the mirror..

Identify intent.

The Watcher is too far distant for a detailed evaluation, but my initial assessment is the entity is non-hostile.

Which was a good place to start. But still I had to know: how had they gotten someone or something in here without my noticing? And on a moving train no less?

"Where are you...?"

I breathed, scanning the room, my back to the sink.

"What is it that you want if you don't want to hurt me?"

The only answer was the last few drops of water falling from the faucet behind me. I remained tense until Morgana murmured:

You are no longer being watched.

I gave myself another minute to get my heart rate down before I exited the tiny restroom aboard the train. Eric was leaning against the wall across from the door, face impassive.

"Thought you were asleep."

"I was. Then I heard your heart rate skyrocket. Came to see what was up."

He heard you.

Yeah, he just said that.

He heard you talking to the watcher.

Frik.

"Just something that Morgana said that threw me for a loop."

"I know what you sound like when you're talking to Gana. That wasn't it."

He fell beside me as we moved back to our apartment, his hand moving naturally to my back as the train rocked gently beneath our feet. Though I wasn't sure if it was to steady me or himself.

"I don't know what it was."

"Princess, if you think I'm letting this go-"

Bov Oris had left his mark on all of us. In Eric's case, he left a hair trigger temper in regards to safety. Mostly mine.

"I'm not asking you to. I'm telling you, I don't know."

I shifted my thoughts into clear distinct words. Eric could hear everything that went on inside a person's head, but it was easiest when someone was thinking using words. Some people thought in images and feelings, which he was not as adept at deciphering. I ran through my assessment of the situation for his benefit.

Morgana alerted me. I didn't pick up anything about it. Most we can tell is whoever it was wasn't malicious. I've got some travel wards I can erect so it doesn't happen again. Once I can establish a pattern, I'll know better how to trap the mysterious voyeur and see what they want. It could just be a fan.

The Poison Dragon Slayer's deadpan face said he didn't buy that theory. And I didn't really either. But I still wanted to assume the best.

Take down the encounter. Time, place, duration, best estimate of intent, and what I was doing when it happened. Every detail we can. We're going to need to try and keep things consistent to get a second contact so we can track this diviner.

Noted. New file opened.

Name File: Telephoto.

Saved.

Kinana was waiting for us when we pulled into the station.

She gave Eric a quick kiss and hugged me tightly, cool arms and warm smile.

"I'm here to give you a lift home."

I was about to say that I could fly myself, but thought better of it. My spell was based on happiness. And I was a little too mixed up right now to reliably feed a happy thought into that.

"Sounds good, thanks Key."

People were already giving Kinana a wide berth, some gazes were admiring, others fearful and some awed. 'The Naga' was up there with 'Skyfall' for Fairy Tails' most visible and easily recognizable mages. When the soft shiver of motion and magic overtook her, people had already cleared a large space for her as the 30 foot long serpent altered the structure of her back to provide Eric and myself better footing.

The Poison Slayer, leaning into his role with a glimmer of mischief, gave me a hand up that was so proper an etiquette teacher would have applauded. I gave the appropriate response and glared venomously at him.

"I'll get you for this later." For this and for 'danger jello'. Vengeance would be careful and terrible and a lot of fun. Pranking a mind reader was exactly as challenging as you would think.

Eric smirked in turn. "Bring it on, Princess."

:Not on my back.: Kinana said firmly, throwing a look back at us.

"Wouldn't dream of it." I said as innocently as I could. Eric gave a cough that sounded suspect, but Kinana and I ignored it.

The Snake woman had gotten much stronger over the years as her magic continued to grow. She could easily carry myself and Eric across the city these days.

I was still absorbed in my thoughts, looking blankly at Magnolia as it passed by below us...

It seemed to be in disarray. A couple of market stalls were broken, the vendors clearly upset. But the bustling people all seemed extremely happy. They were pulling out strings of lights, food was being brought out.

"It's not a holiday. What's going on, Key?"

Her wings remained steady as she flew towards the guild hall.

:Its a surprise. Wait and see.:

She replied in a coy tone. I felt her scales vibrating beneath me. Saw her bright, vibrant colors. She was practically glowing with anticipation.

I could let them surprise me, or I could dig.

Actually, on that thought, I was surprised Morgana wasn't inferring the cause of Magnolias disorder and Kinana's glee. And Eric's grin. Though he was watching me.

"Ok, turnabout is fair play and all but I still don't like this."

What are they smirking about?

Morgana took a long time to answer.

...surprise.

That was surprising.

Come on, not you too.

She shifted awkwardly, embarrassment coloring her tone.

It is a very, very good surprise. And I want you to be surprised.

So they wouldn't outright tell me. But I wasn't content to be passive about it either.

OK, but if I get enough clues, no more hiding it.

That morning, there had been no holidays or events planned. So this was a spontaneous event. What could have happened today? I poured through my own memory, impressive even without Morgana's assistance.

And I caught hold of something about today.

Team Osprey and select others...had taken the Undine out to sea about a month back to do our regular sweep of the ocean in search of Tenrou Island. And per my estimate, they were due back...today.

I felt my pulse quicken as the thought made sparks fly and a quiet hope, tucked in the deepest parts of my heart, started to stir...

I leaned over Kinana, Eric automatically grabbing my arm to secure me in case I slipped.

Show me the layout. The-the layers we worked on.

Morgana did provide this. The city faded from its usual colors into normal schematics. Particularly the lines I was familiar with. Because I had gone in to maintain them only a few months back...to correct them from preventing Sting Eucliffe from entering my home city.

The Gildarts Shift.

Even when I changed it to keep Sting out, I didn't make it a full shift. He's been in before, and it didn't keep him out.

So that left only one thing, one person who this would trigger for. The person it was designed for.

Who I had last seen on Tenrou.

Our wandering team, who had gone looking for Tenrou, was due back today.

The city was torn up along the exact lines of where the Gildarts shift would split the city apart. In a way it hadn't in years and people had slipped up about what lines to avoid in the interim since many assumed the man was dead. If I hadn't argued for weeks about their benefits as a city wide defense mechanism, they would have been removed entirely.

And no one was mad about the destruction.

In fact, as I listened, the bells of the cathedral started to toll. Bright rippling cascades of sound surrounded us in the air. I felt Eric wince even as he held me steady. His other hand raised to the earring he wore in his left lobe, adjusting the sound blocking effects to curb the volume to bearable levels.

We were within sight of the Fairy Tail guild hall now. And the rooftop landing platform Simon had added two years back was packed with people. The colors of their hair and clothing were all jumbled together. Pink, red, blond, blond, black, green, blue. Strangely enough they were all getting more blurred the closer we got. Something warm and wonderful was lodged in my chest. Making it hard to breathe. Hard to move. My hands were now cutting off Eric's circulation with how tight they had gotten on his arm

"...Tell me I'm not dreaming...I can't-."

I would be fine if it were. Eventually. But it would take a long, long time. So I prayed. To whatever god might bother to give me a scrap of attention. Just one thing...

If it's a dream, wake me now.

I'd rather experience another heartbreak than believe a lie this convincing.

But please let it be real.

"You're not." Eric rarely ever sounded anything but his usual sarcastic self. But now he sounded gentle, soft. And he didn't do soft. "They're calling you, kid."

So I did the only thing that a girl could do.

I jumped off of Kinana's back.

I didn't fall more than a few inches before my wings were out. I didn't say a word, didn't command it. They just appeared, snapping quickly into a familiar shape. And I was off, easily outstripping Kinana in the air as I darted straight for the roof top.

You're home...

"Fae!"

Natsu Dragneel's voice was audible even over the wind. He was already airborne, an ecstatic Happy bearing him as he always did, straight towards me. I still couldn't breathe right, so I might have said his name, or just sobbed. A few yards behind him was Freed, flying on purple wings. And Erza in her Black Wing Armor. Mira and Lisanna in their Takeover forms that allowed them flight. Everyone who could fly, was flying straight at me.

You're home.

Natsu still reached me first. We didn't quite meet perfectly. I was going to have a hefty bruise under my arm from where his shoulder slammed into my arm as we seized each other. But that wasn't important.

You're home!

The world was right again.

The missing pieces of my life were whole once more. Jagged edges and empty spaces filled with the presence of my family. Morgana had been hiding their return from me for the last hour or so. Wanting to surprise me.

I didn't think any other surprise could ever compare to this.

"Fae, you got so big!"

Natsu's penetrating voice carried even over the chorus of the bells from the city. His grin big and bright enough to out shine the sun. A hand on my hair drew my eyes to the side.

I knew Freed could and had cried before. But this was something else entirely. Even in tears, he had the nerve to look like a put together gentleman whereas I felt like I had been reduced to a toddler.

I unwound one arm from Natsu and drew him in, tiny harmless sparks flashing between our wings where they just barely touched. I think he was saying my name, but it was hard to hear since he wasn't being very loud and Natsu was still shouting.

I didn't have enough arms to hold everyone I wanted to. Enough words to express how much I had missed them. All of them. The Strauss sisters and Erza were circling our party, not as able to simply hover in midair as we were. I didn't have enough breath left over from laughing, crying and celebrating to say a single person's name.

But that was ok.

Because I would have time for all of that. For all of them. With all of them.

Fairy Tail was together again.

I'm home.