Chapter 14: First-Master


[Previously:]

Multiple guilds were in shock to see the people that did this… The three male dragon slayers standing in the middle of the guild, snarling and holding their mates protectively.

Gajeel had his arms rested on Levy's head, his tail wrapped around her petite waist and wings draped over them. He growled at a beaten-up Rogue; His stare was deadly.

Laxus' arms were around Mirajane's waist, tail lazily thumping on the guild floors as his wings covered them both. The lightning dragon slayer glaring at Orga.

And Natsu… Natsu Dragneel looked the scariest of them all—He was like the alpha… No KING… of the Dragon Slayers. His arm was naturally draped over Lucy's shoulder, pulling the blonde closer as his tail swayed lightly by her feet. Although his wings weren't cocooning them this time, rather stretching wide as if to show dominance. Canines sharper than the rest of the dragon slayers, wild-forest green eyes holding a dangerous glint—Sting, who already put out the fire and laid on the floor wide-eye, paled… because Natsu didn't need to growl or snarl to intimidate someone. The cheeky grin on his face was enough, it was like a game to him… A predator through and through.

Mirajane, Levy, and Lucy bite their bottom lip nervously, not knowing what was gonna happen. As for everyone else, they were no doubt planning for Sting, Rogue, and Orga's funerals…


The guild was quiet, not knowing what was to happen… The only sounds were from Laxus and Gajeel—Somehow, Natsu's silence was even more frightening than his obnoxious-self.

Sting and Rogue quickly realized the situation, seeing the marks on the three girls… The twin dragon slayer's nose twitched at the mixture of scents between the girls they caught… One smelling like Natsu and the other like Gajeel, and it seems Orga must've caught Laxus's mate.

The god slayer was completely scared and confused, until Sting and Rogue frantically waved their hands about in front of them. Shaking their heads so fast that everyone thought they'd become bobble heads. "N-No! Y-You got the wrong idea N-Natsu-san and Gajeel! We weren't trying to steal your mates, h-honest!" Sting reassured, not wanting to face them in this form—If Natsu was able to kick their ass by himself, WITHOUT dragon-force, in the Grand Magic Games. Then the two sure as hell don't want to fight him, OR Gajeel and Laxus, when they're in their most powerful form. Not dragon-force… But dragon-form!

Orga caught on, turning to Laxus, "Y-Yeah! I'm not trying to take your lady… They'd just get in the way when I'm training."

The three stopped for a moment, narrowing their eyes in suspicion at the males that were sweating bullets on the floor. Everyone that was hiding slowly peeked from where they were. They were in complete awe that Sting, Rogue, and Orga weren't dead… Even Master Makarov, Lucy, Mirajane, and Levy were shocked.

Natsu released Lucy, protectively moving her behind him as he stared deeply into Sting's eyes. Trying to find any trace of deception, only to find none. Making it a quick work to move onto Rogue, who's face usually was emotionless, was now nervous. The fire dragon slayer didn't speak, rather looking into their eyes with a calculating gaze.

Eventually, Natsu's dragon-wings folded in on themselves in relaxation, turning to Gajeel and Laxus with a simple nod that their words were true. The two snorting, a tch leaving their lips as all three walked away, and went into different places in the guild with their mates—Gajeel and Levy went to the library, Laxus and Mirajane went to sit on a bench in the corner of the guild so Mirajane could read the introduction and first chapter of the mating season book Lucy and Levy suggested. While Natsu… He grabbed Lucy and flew back to the railings. The celestial mage's legs dangling once more, giggles leaving her rosy lips to see Natsu pretend to hang upside down like a bat to bring a smile to her face. The two were soon joined by Happy, the Exceed munching on a fish as he sat next to Lucy.

Sting, Rogue, and Orga let out a breath, they didn't even notice this whole time they were holding it. Everyone coming out of their hiding spots.

They stared in amazement that Sting was able to calm the three dragon slayers from killing them. Although the attention was short lived when someone screamed in excitement.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"THAT WAS SO AWESOME! Honestly, I thought they were going to end up as dragon-chow, HONESTLY I DID! But, THIS TURNED OUT EVEN MORE EXCITING!" The first-master, Mavis, cheered from the second floor as she stared down at everyone. Sitting on the top rail.

Eyes glanced upward, widening at the new presence. "FIRST-MASTER?!" All of Fairy Tail yelled.

The other guilds stared at the little blonde girl, white ears flapping in excitement and wearing a dress similar to something Wendy would wear, no shoes. She smiled down to see friendships coming together, everyone spatting out questions at the same time.

"Yo! Who's the little blondie?!" Sting accused, pointing to Mavis.

"Isn't the First-Master of Fairy Tail supposed to be dead… or at least old?! This is a little girl for Ur's sake!" Lyon gaped.

"Indeed that she is a little girl, but there is a great deal of magic power coming off her…" Kagura mumbled, eyes closed in a stern expression.

"Nyaa~ The little girl looks like she has kitty ears! Nyaaa, so adorable~" Millianna awed, squeezing the life out of Panther Lily in her excitement. But some would rather say Mavis looked more like a fairy than a cat.

"S-So, I'm not *Hic* the only one seeing the *Hic* little girl… M-Man, that's so wild!" Bacchus laughed, chugging down a beer.

"What a wonderful parfum. But not as intoxicating as my honey! MAN~" Ichiya stated, trying to take a big whiff of Erza's scent. Only to be pinned across the room by a sword, causing him to cry anime-style.

"How interesting… I thought only members of Fairy Tail are able to see Master Mavis," Jellal pointed out with a blank face.

It was like a switch flipped in the brains of each Fairy Tail member. Light Bulb turning on.

"Wait…" Everyone stopped.

Their eyes full of surprise, from Jellal to Mavis and finally everybody else… Then back to Mavis, before Jellal one last time.

"YOU ALL CAN SEE HER?!"

Everyone looked confused, except Meredy and Jellal. "Are we not supposed to see her?" They questioned.

Master Makarov was about to answer, until the First beat him to it. Mavis floating down in a graceful manner to the guild floors. Smiling at the other guilds, her voice sweet and innocent, much like a child, "No, you are not—You see, only wizards that possess the Fairy Tail's guild mark are allowed to see me, for I am only a spirit. But for this war and the magical bonds I received from your friendships, I cast a spell to allow everyone here to see me. I cannot hold it forever though, but it'll give us plenty of time for me to help train you and face off in battle… Plus, I can have a little fun afterwards too, yayy!"

Despite being over a hundred years old, she jumped around like a little girl with fascination in her eyes—Fairy Tail's jaws dropped, while everyone else was either processing this new information or watching the First-Master in amusement.

It was then Sting realized a keen detail, "Wait, hold up a second blondie! I don't care if you ARE Fairy Tail's First-Master! You were basically sitting back and watching as we almost got killed. Like what the fuck man, you could've at least tried to save us or something!"

Mavis giggled, dancing around in swirling circles… It's been so long since she's been in the guild, "Hehe, I thought it would be more fun to see what would happen! Lalalalala~"

"WHATTT!" This time, everybody screamed. The loudness was almost powerful enough to shake the guild, but it sure as hell hurt the dragon slayer's sensitive ears from where they stood. Sting, Rogue, and Wendy wincing on the spot.

All of them paling when familiar voices boomed in the guild, echoing all around, "SHUT UP, YOUR HURTING MY FUCKIN' EARS WITH ALL YOUR CONSTANT YELLING! FOR THE LOVE OF DRAGONS!" The three shouted.

Everyone started sweating but Master Mavis, who was still dancing around as if she didn't hear anything. She merely laughed when they decided to whisper, "…What!"

"You better be careful~ 'Cause unlike you guys, I'm still a spirit. They can't harm me, but I can't say the same for you all…" Mavis cheekily teased.

"Uh, you guys sure do have one scary First-Master…" Rogue said, sweatdropping.

"Like your one to talk to, Rogue! You talk to shadows," Mavis whined.

Then suddenly, Mavis stopped, her face turning serious and eyes dulling. The change of mood had everyone shaking in fear. "Now, stop playing around! We have got training to do and I need everyone to line-up in front of me, side-by-side, right now! That INCLUDES the dragon slayers and their mates!"

Not hesitating, they all followed instructions, only waiting on the dragon slayers to show with their mates—Levy and Gajeel returning from downstairs in the library but rather standing on the opposite side of everybody. Mirajane finished the last pages of Chapter one, placing the book down before her and Laxus made their way to stand next to Levy and Gajeel. Lastly, it was Natsu, Lucy, and Happy that joined. Flyin' down from the ceiling that scared the ones who forgot they were up there in the first place—It was then everyone finally noticed how similar Lucy and Mavis looked, the two could be sisters if they didn't know better.

The First didn't seem to mind that the mated dragon slayers were away from the others… A great aura of magical power surrounding Mavis. 'Causing Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus to tense but they remained in place, eyes narrowed as their grip never left their mates.

The intensity of Mavis's magic sent a shiver through everyone, except the three male slayers. "Now that I have everybody's attention. We are going to be training hard for these three days, because the fourth day is when this supposed war is to take place! I've calculated all the possibilities and found the best training regimen for all of you, being paired in teams. I'll assign them now—Gray, Juvia, Lyon, Eve, and Rufus… You'll be in group one. Jura, Sherry, Beth, Jäger, Rocker, Droy, and Max will be two! Wendy, Ren, Chelia, Wakaba, and Semmes will be three. While Erza, Kagura, Jenny, Elfman, Evergreen, Meredy, and Jellal are group four! Then Romeo, Macao, Freed, and Bickslow will be five. Finally, Ichiya, Bacchus, Araña, Risley, and Millianna are in group six! Go to your groups and wait, the rest stay right where you are."

The assigned teams went to their groups, waiting for their next move—The only ones that didn't was Cana, Hibiki, Yukino, Orga, Sting, Rogue, Lector, Frosch, Panther Lily, Happy, Carla, Laxus, Mirajane, Gajeel, Levy, Jet, Warren, and Natsu and Lucy.

Mavis scanned them over before nodding to herself, "Okay then… Hibiki and Cana, you two will be helping me and Makarov on a battle strategy—Gomen but Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus, the girls will need to be away from you for a little while. If it makes you more comfortable, the three will not be around any males and in perfect view/proximity where you can keep an eye on them." The dragon slayers didn't like the idea, slightly growling at the thought and pulling their mates closer… but they as well didn't say no to the first-master.

"Now to the Exceeds—Happy, Carla, Frosch, and Lector, you'll go with Mirajane and Panther Lily so they can help in practicing and teaching you four transformation magic. Yukino, Levy, and Lucy… The three of you will be mentally training on your magical energy, then moving to hand-to-hand combat, in case of the possibilities you run low on magic. Now, since Orga is a Lightning God Slayer, he'll train with Laxus… Please, Laxus, try not to kill him—Sting and Rogue, you'll be going up against Natsu and Gajeel, don't go too overboard! Warren, I need you to contact Porlyusica and tell her that I sent you for her experience in healing… Jet, once he's done that, run as fast as you can to get her. We'll all be heading to Tenrou island to train! Gather whatever you need, then report to the train station to head toward Hargeon where a boat will be waiting by the docks. Any dragon slayer that is affected by motion sickness can fly if they are able, if not, Wendy will provide troia… NOW GO!"

Scattering, everyone went to pack their belongings while Lucy offered the other guilds to give her a list so Virgo could obtain them—During the train ride, it was a hilarious sight to see, Gray stifling a laugh to see Natsu moan in agony… Even in dragon-form, he was prone to motion sickness. And finally, when arriving at the docks, they awed to see a giant boat with Fairy Tail's symbol on it as they boarded—Sting, Rogue, Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus paled at the sight of a moving vehicle, preferring to use their Exceeds, or in some case, dragon wings as a means to fly.

Mavis appeared out of nowhere in front of the boat's wheel, wearing an eyepatch and a black pirate hat. Giggling, she pointed a fake-wooden sword to the sky, "Arrgh! To Tenrou island me maties!"

…It's been two hours, and they still haven't arrived at Tenrou island—Lucy, Levy, and Yukino were both talking, admiring the ocean view and salty air. Natsu and Gajeel were watching their mates closely while they flew, even Sting was doing the same thing as Lector kept him in the air. Both, Natsu and Gajeel, snickered knowingly at Sting as he stared intensely at Yukino. When the white dragon slayer looked up, he was met with the two as he glared at them. Not at all intimidated, Gajeel and Natsu smirked, wiggling their eyebrows that had Sting blushing in embarrassment for getting caught looking at Yukino. Huffing, turning away from the two.

Mirajane was discussing with Panther Lily, Happy, and Carla about transformation magic. While Kagura and Millianna stood next to them in silence, listening too… Well Kagura was listening; Millianna was cooing over the "kitties" and how cute they were. Laxus and Rogue flew in silence, the lightning dragon slayer glancing at Mirajane every once in a while. However Rogue was subtly glancing at Kagura, looking away before anyone saw… Yet, he didn't know Laxus did as he smirked to himself. Misunderstanding the situation entirely—It's just that Kagura reminded Rogue of his M'lady… He hoped Minerva was okay, wherever she was.

Lyon and Gray were currently arguing about who's ice magic was better, while Juvia watched Gray with a dreamy sigh. Yet, Rufus and Eve were wondering why the both had stripped off their clothes, leaving them only in boxers.

Chelia was complimenting Wendy on her dragon-form, finding it pretty. She gazed at the sky dragon in amazement as they caught up, little Wendy blushing at the praises.

Bacchus and Cana were in the middle of a drinking contest as the rest of Quatro Puppy watched, yelling out how wild they were.

Elfman and Evergreen were talking, although sometimes Evergreen would hit Elfman for saying how she was a "man".

Orga was talking to Jura, the wizard saint that took him down in the Grand Magic Games in one single blow.

Ren was flirting with Sherry that had her swooning, while Hibiki flirted with Jenny. Ichiya tried to sniff Erza, who was talking to Jellal and Meredy. But that ended with a fierce punch from both Erza and Jellal, Meredy giggling at Jellal because of his obvious jealousy.

Araña, Beth, and Risley were talking about random topics, enjoying the sun and a nice cold drink.

Jet and Droy were still pouting that the two couldn't talk or hangout with Levy while Gajeel was still in mating season.

Max and Warren were both whispering among themselves, eyeing everybody.

Wakaba, Macao, and Romeo were sitting at a small table—Wakaba and Macao in a conversation as Romeo stared at Natsu flying above him in his dragon-form, eyes sparkling in amazement.

Freed, Bickslow and his babies were in the middle of watching Elfman and Evergreen, occasionally teasing them about their relationship as they kept being in denial.

Finally, by the steering wheel was Mavis, Master Makarov, and an irritated Porlyusica. The three discussed the upcoming war, training, and healing remedies.

It was another half hour before arriving at Tenrou island, almost close to sunset. And since it was Holy ground, Mavis insisted it was alright for the other guilds to walk on it because while they may not be a part of their guild, they have a heart of a Fairy Tail mage—Mavis suggested the groups should train while Warren, Jet, Makarov, Porlyusica, Cana, and Hibiki set up a campsite at her grave, where Fairy Glitter was held. They were scheduled to return when seeing the first star shine in the sky.

Jet was in charge of running to the boat and back, grabbing as many supplies and bags he could. Cana was responsible for drinks and making a campfire, Hibiki was in charge of setting up eight tents… Four big ones and four small—One big tent was for the boys, the other for the girls, another for storage, and the last for Porlyusica and her medical supplies. The small tents split between Makarov and the dragon slayers with their mates.

And what was Mavis, Makarov, and Porlyusica doing right now? Oh, you know, just sitting in lawn chairs as they relaxed, letting the kids do all the hard work.

Soon enough, Warren contacted everyone through his mind to come back to base camp, sending a map in their heads.

When everybody arrived, they all had wounds and bruises—Except Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus. Although the three DID have a dangerous aura surrounding them as if they were angry at something.

But it was all clear exactly when Levy, Lucy, and Mirajane's mating mark started to glow as it healed their injuries. The action lets the dragon slayers relax only slightly.

"So… How did training go?" The first-master asked, sparkles in her eyes and ears twitching in happiness.

"Well, other than almost dying fighting Natsu-san, then almost getting eaten by a giant animal… it was just peachy, little blondie!" Sting huffed, holding his injured arm.

Mavis, taking it the wrong way, looked down at her "little" chest and then started sniffing before balling her eyes out. Makarov panicked at the sight while everyone glared at Sting, beating him up and causing him more injuries.

Mavis sniffled, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the fallen tears, "Well *Sniff*, I prepared food for your guys return so eat up and then get a good night's rest."

"YOU DIDN'T EVEN PREPARE ANYTHING! WE DID ALL THE WORK!" Cana, Jet, Hibiki, and Warren shouted in the background, the first-master ignoring them.

After everyone was done eating, they went to their assigned tents. Mavis sitting on her tombstone, staring at the night-starry sky with a blank expression. Being a spirit, it meant she didn't really need sleep…

Suddenly, she felt a familiar presence. Not needing to turn around to know who it was but knowing that he could actually SEE her now, Mavis did it anyway.

Green eyes stared into black wide-eye ones, he didn't make a sound… Mavis smiled to herself after a little scan, he still looks the same with his black fair and outfit. His flowing white toga draped around his torso.

Turning her attention to the camp, casting a sound-proof spell not to alert her family, she went back to gazing at the sky. Whispering in a soft tone, "It's been so long… Zeref."