Speedy update for you guys. It only goes up from here so I'm excited! Also, I think you guys will like the last few parts of this chapter ;)

Enjoy!

It was dark.

Damien wasn't sure why though. Were his eyes closed? Or was it the middle of the night? After straining a little bit, he determined his eyes were indeed shut. After concentrating as hard as he could, he felt them flutter open slowly.

It was still dark.

Great.

Groaning, Damien slowly shifted to look around at his surroundings. He couldn't see much due to the lack of light, but he could tell from the soft surface beneath him he was on a bed.

"Oh thank God you're awake," a voice said. Damien squinted and looked around for the source, confused as too who was watching him sleep. "We were worried you'd never wake up." After sitting up a bit, Damien saw the source of the voice.

"...Terra?" he asked, voice raspy and unclear. The girl chuckled under her breath. She was sitting on a chair at the end of his bed with her legs crossed.

"Good to see you too." She replied. "How do you feel?" Damien assessed himself at this question.

"Sore as hell," he mumbled. "Stiff. Where the hell am I?"

"The infirmary, at your guild hall." Damien made a face. How the hell had he ended up here, exactly?

It all came back to Damien in a blur. Gin, the hunters, Quinn.

What Xisplate had told him, the war outside the gates. The prophecy. Slowly, Damien tried to force himself to sit up, which made him groan in pain as his body resisted. Once he'd made a few inches of progress, he felt a hand force him back down.

"Stop it," Terra said, her hand still on his chest. "You're hurt, stay where you are."

"I can't!" Damien hissed. "I have to go help the others! Xisplate told me-"

"It's over." Terra replied, smiling softly at him. "Don't worry, the fights over." Damien looked at her slowly, his stomach sinking.

"Did everyone make it?" He asked weakly. Terra nodded.

"Yes of course. Everyone is alive." Damien breathed a sigh of relief and laughed a little.

"Oh thank God. I was worried maybe someone got hurt."

"Yeah. Now do me a favor and quiet down. You'll wake her up."

"What?" Damien asked, looking at her. Terra stood back up straight and nodded to Damien's left. Following this gesture, Damien's eyes landed on Steph, who head was resting on her arms as she leaned on that side of the bed. She looked beaten up and exhausted, but sleeping soundly.

"She hasn't left your side since the fight ended," Terra said.

"And...How long has that been?" Damien asked weakly.

"Three days," Terra answered. Damien observed the wounds he could see on his sister, and he felt himself getting angry.

"Does everyone look this bad?" He asked, looking back at Terra. She nodded.

"Yeah, we all look pretty banged up." She replied. It was around then Damien noticed that she too was wrapped in bandages. Terra slowly looked to the right solemnly. "Some of us more than others," she said weakly. Damien followed her gaze again, and he felt his heart sink.

"Is that...Bella?" He asked weakly. From where his head was situated, he could see Bella lying on the bed next to him. As oppose to Steph and Terra, who were only a little banged up, Bella looked as though she was one her deathbed. She had a respirator lacrima hooked up to her mouth, her pale skin as covered in bloody cuts and scraps, and her chest barely moved to signify any breathing.

"Yeah, that's her." Terra replied.

"How the hell did that happen?" Damien asked weakly. Terra sighed.

"She fought a member of The Cross with Steph, Winter, Rina and I." She said. Damien felt himself getting angry at this.

"And you let her?!" He demanded, voice getting higher. "After what happened to me, you just let her fight?!"

"You really think I just let her?" Terra demanded, glaring at Damien. "We told her to stay out of it, or leave. She wouldn't. Not until she'd avenged you." Damien felt his head spin at this.

"What? Why?" He asked, confused. Terra shrugged.

"Don't ask me," she replied. "But she was hellbent on making sure that guy was in as much pain as he put you in. And she got herself put in here." Damien slowly put his head back down and stared at the roof, contemplating what he'd been told. So it was over. Somehow, it brought him little relief. If no one had died, that meant what Xisplate had said hadn't come to pass yet. Would it? Had he been lied too? He wasn't sure.

"Well, shit." Damien said. Terra hummed.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Try to get some sleep, alright? Wendy will want to check on you tomorrow." Damien nodded, and watched as Terra sat back down in here seat and crossed her legs once more. She looked and Damien and smiled. "Goodnight," she said. Damien nodded.

"G'night," he replied. Terra leaned back on the chair, and Damien watched her eyes close as she drifted off. Once she'd fallen asleep, Damien slowly turned to look at Steph, who was still asleep as well. Moving inch by inch, he raised his hand and ruffled her hair slowly, doing his best to no wake her. This seemed to make her smile in her sleep, which made Damien smile as well. Looking back up at the roof, Damien pondered what exactly had happened during the battle, but he was certain he'd get an earful and a half once the morning came around.

Feeling the small movements he'd done already tiring him, Damien closed his eyes. He hoped he opened them again soon.

"Gah!" Drake shouted as he jolted upwards. "Gah, fuck..." he hissed, gripping his arm as pain shot up and down it. Where the hell was he? The last thing he recalled, which was fuzzy at that, was taking down Elizabeth. After that, it felt hazy. His memory felt muddled trying to recall anything past that. He'd probably passed out. Great hero he was.

"Drake?" Drake made a face and turned at this to find his mother standing there with a concerned look on her face. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah..." Drake replied slowly, looking around. He realized he was back at his mother's house, on the couch. "Still really sore, though." She laughed at this and came over, kneeling next to him.

"Well, you did fight a member of The Cross." She said. "That's to be expected."

"About that, how'd it go?" Drake asked.

"You won, silly." She said. "Did you really doubt that?" Drake shrugged, which hurt, before a chill went through his body. He shivered and reached down to the blanket half covering him and pulled it up.

"Is there a open window or something in here?" He asked. "I'm freezing." His mother's face flashed with concern at this, but she laughed.

"No, you just don't have a shirt on." Drake looked down to find that instead of a shirt, the only cloth on his upper body was gauze covering his wounds.

"Yeah, but still..." he muttered. His mother just laughed again and patted his arm.

"I'll get you a hot drink, you pansy." She said, standing up.

"Blistering hot, if you can manage." Drake called after her as she left the room. Once he was alone again, Drake thought about had happened. He knew for a fact they'd beaten Elizabeth, and then it seemed he and Michael wanted to go chase after the last fight. After that? He recalled running for a bit, and than nothing. He definitely had to have passed out.

"You want to go to the guild hall today?" His mother called.

"Yeah, sure." Drake replied. "I want to see how the others are doing." He heard his mother hum in agreement. "How many days has it been anyway?"

"Three," she replied. Drake whistled.

"Damn, Elizabeth did more to be than I gave her credit for." He said.

"Uh huh..." His mother replied. Drake almost had to turn his sound magic on to hear her. Once she returned with a mug of coffee, Drake down it as quickly as possible. It certainly warmed his insides, but he still felt cold.

"We have any rat poison or something?" he asked, licking his lips. "I'm still hungry." His mother rolled her eyes and tossed a black shirt at him.

"Shut up and put that on," she replied. "We're going." Laughing, Drake did as he was told and struggled to his feet, ignoring the helpful arm his mother offered him.

"What?" He asked at her annoyed look.

"You've changed so much since you became interested in girls," she said with a jeering grin. "Always wanting to play tough guy." Drake rolled his eyes as they made for the door.

"I think you mean when girls became interested in me," he muttered under his breath. His mother laughed.

"Ah, muffin." She said, ruffling his hair. "Are your friends still teasing you about the fan club?"

"Shut it already," Drake replied. "Let's just go already."

"Alright, alright." As the two left their home and made way for the guildhall, Drake spared a look towards the outskirts of the city. Despite his distance from it, Drake could clearly see the craters and debris outside the city.

"They gonna clean that up or what?" Drake asked.

"They as in who?" His mother asked. "The Hunters?"

"Duh, it's their shit burning out there."

"I dunno. Ask them when we get to the guild." Drake perked up at this.

"Huh?" He asked. "They're at the guild hall?" His mother nodded.

"Yes. They were hurt. We weren't going to just let them suffer. Most of the underlings had less serious wounds, but The Cross and their leader were treated by Wendy and Winter." Well, at the very least Winter was still hanging around to share the work load with Wendy.

"Huh, and is Gin-?"

"He got roughed up, but he's alright," she said. "Don't worry, everyone's okay."

"What? Gin fought?" Drake asked. "I was just wondering if he was still here." His mother raised a hand to her mouth, seemingly as though she'd said something she wasn't supposed to say.

"Well, ask him yourself." She said quickly. "I'm just saying what I know." Drake raised an eyebrow, but he knew there was no point in trying to listen in. He'd been, well, pretty bratty with his sound magic as a kid, and his mother had learned to block him out years ago. He'd never weasel his way into her head.

Once they'd made it to the guild hall, they entered it to find it very much the same as it had always been. People were laughing and drinking, and generally just having a good time.

And of course, this lead Drake's gaze to The Cross sitting in the corner. They all looked pretty beaten up, but they weren't starting anything either, which was good.

"Drake!" Drake looked over to see all of his friends all grouped up, waving him over. He looked to his mother, who rolled her eyes.

"Go on," she said. Drake nodded and hobbled over to his friends, who were waiting.

"Hey Drake!" Ultear greeted. "Nice to see you up, finally."

"Ah sorry I went through more trouble than you." He shot back.

"You don't get to talk," Simon said. Drake turned to him to find his left arm in a cast. "I'm worse off than you and I'm fine."

"Cry me a river," Drake replied. "So, everyone else feeling okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Keita said from the right of the group. "Michael told us what happened."

"What did happen, exactly?" Drake asked, looking towards Michael. "I don't recall." Michael snorted at this.

"Wouldn't expect you too, you dropped like a rock." He replied. "Out cold, like a baby. Though I can't tease, I did soon after."

"Yeah, cause you idiots thought chasing after another fight was a good idea, nyah!" Kumi shouted. "We told you not too go! And than that made it so Keita and I had to carry your dumb asses back to the guild hall!"

"Yeah, yeah." Michael said, waving her off. Drake watched the group descend into arguing among each other, which amused him. After a bit of searching, he frowned.

"Where's Nashi?" He asked. The group fell silent at this.

"We don't know," Elise said. "Nobodies seen her."

"Really? Nobody?" Drake asked. Nobody answered him. "Damn, so she just disappeared then?"

"Mm hm." Simon said. "Though I wouldn't giver it much thought. I haven't seen Lucy or Natsu either. She's probably with them." This made Drake a tad calmer than before. If Lucy and Natsu had disappeared as well they were probably together.

"What're you guys talking about?" A voice asked. Drake looked over his shoulder to see Gray approaching them.

"Hey dad," Ultear greeted. "Do you know where Nashi and her parents are?" Gray shrugged.

"Yeah of course," he replied. "They went up north to find a special healing herb for Bella."

"How is Bella?" Mami asked.

"Bad, but Wendy said this herb will speed her along with healing. Natsu and Lucy said they'd go get it, and Nashi tagged along. They should be back in a week or so." Drake nodded, this made sense. Didn't explain his feeling on the battlefield, but he'd probably just imagined it.

"How about Damien?" Elise asked. Gray chuckled.

"He's awake, if you want to get and talk to him." He replied. "Just don't overwhelm him, he's still not well."

Drake found this warning funny as many of them rushed for the infirmary upstairs.

"One at a time, jeez!" Gray shouted after the rushing teenagers. He watched them all attempt to squeeze into the infirmary, and once they had his slight smile faded quickly. He turned and walked back to the bar where Laxus, Mira, Kinana and Juvia were.

"They buy it?" Mira asked.

"Hook, line, and sinker." Gray replied. "I just wish we didn't have to lie to them."

"Well, with all due respect Gray," Laxus said. "This isn't really something you get to decide for us."

"And why the hell not?" Gray demanded. "I can protect my family, can't I?"

"Of course." Kinana said. "But Natsu wants to figure it out first, we can at least respect that wish right?"

"Yeah..." Gray muttered. "Just wish I knew where they ran off to. I'd give chase and knock some sense into that pink bastard."

"Patience is key," Laxus said. "Nobody knows better than Natsu or Lucy on this topic. Besides, Mest bought us some time." Gray nodded, that he had.

Two days prior...

"Alright everyone, we've got a problem." Mest said, which made everyone perk up. "I know we need to rewrite these memories, but we have problems." Gray growled. Perfect, even more shit they had to deal with. Cramming all the adults into Laxus' office was bad enough.

"Which are?" Erza asked. Mest rubbed his head.

"I'd rewrite their memories just to make them think they fell unconscious after defeating this blonde woman," Mest said. "But I can't with Keita and Kumi in the memories, they'll tell a different story and overpower my magic."

"Do it to them too, then." Gajeel offered.

"No," Gray said lowly. "No more rewrites than necessary." This cast silence on the group.

"Well, when do Keita and Kumi fall behind?" Levy asked. Mest sighed.

"After Drake told them he felt Nashi around." He replied. "So now they know." More silence, then, "That's our biggest problem. Any ideas?" Nobody spoke up for the longest time, but eventually Natsu lifted his head.

"Rewrite it after they separated and say they fell unconscious after separating." He said. Mest made a face.

"That's a dangerously thin rewrite." He said. "We not even going to touch the Nashi part?"

"We can't without bringing Keita and Kumi in," Juvia replied. "And if Gray's going to fight us on this..."

"I'm against more lies overall," Gray muttered. "I don't want to add more."

"Gray, we can't conceivably rewrite shit without them here to get a treatment too." Mest said. "Please don't fight this." Gray glared down Mest for a moment or two before he shrugged and growled.

"Fine, rewrite it for them too." He said. Juvia put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Gray." She said. "It'll be fine." Mest nodded.

"Alright, someone will have to bring them in here for that. Unfortunately, we have another huge problem."

"Which is?" Lucy asked. Mest simply pointed to Drake's unconscious form in the chair he'd been propped up on.

"Drake can listen to people's thoughts." He said. "If he gets suspicious of anything, and hears the truth from anyone standing in this room right now, it'l blow his memory wide open. So we need a way to counteract that."

"I know a simple blocking technique that Erik taught me," Kinana said, speaking up. "I could teach everyone." Mest nodded.

"That's fantastic, do that. The less he can hear the better." He hen looked back to the two boys. "We good now?"

"I'll go fetch Kumi and Keita," Erza said, turning to leave the room. Gray watched her go, before he looked over at Mest as he placed a hand on Drake's forehead.

He could only hope the cover up story was good.

Present

"Yeah, I know." Gray said. "Doesn't make me feel any better about this shit."

"Nobody feels good about this," Mira replied. "We just have to preserve, for now." Gray put his arms on the counter.

"Yeah. For now."

"Anyone seen Neptu recently?" Quinn asked. Elizabeth shook her head.

"No, he's been avoiding us, I think." She said.

"I think he's quite shaken by this loss," Abigail said. "Even more so by the hospitality of our enemy." Elizabeth knew that was a good point. Despite the full on war outside their walls, the guild had taken them in and treated them well. That didn't really make a whole load of sense.

"I just want to get out of here," Tristan said. "Reorganize and get on our way."

"That's going to take a while," Quinn said. "Our men are still cleaning up the mess outside."

"Still, I want to get back to work." Tristan said. Elizabeth nodded.

She just hoped Neptu was alright.

Gin had found Neptu standing on top of the Fairy Tail guild hall a few minutes ago, but he hadn't said anything. The man was hanging his head, but otherwise looked deep in thought. Taking a deep breath, he approached slowly.

"Hey," he said, coming to a stop. He saw Neptu's head perk up a little, but no response came. "You alright?"

"...No." Neptu replied. There was silence for a moment before Neptu sighed. "I thought...I thought that all demons were horrible people." Gin remained silent. "That everyone who was even slightly like the demon who took my family from me was horrible. The Skylance Demon Hunters formed from that belief. But..."

"But what?"

"...You." Neptu said. "You don't make any fucking sense." Gin didn't reply to this. "You jumped into the line of fire to save me, a man who wanted you dead, from dying. You risked your own life to save mine. We're polar opposites, and yet you did it. Why?"

"I don't like death," Gin replied. "It's always disgusted me. And it always comes to pass because of my presence. This fight was on me, and as such your death was going to be on my hands. I refuse to let anymore blood spill because of me."

"Even then..." Neptu hissed, growling. "I don't know what to do! What if other people were like you?! How many innocent lives have come to an end because of me?! How many of those poor souls were born unlucky?!" Neptu gripped his head tightly at this. "I feel so guilty I can barely function..." Gin frowned at this and walked up besides Neptu, also overlooking the city.

"How many people did you save?" He asked. Neptu didn't reply to this right away. "Neptu? How many peoples lives have been saved because of you and your actions?"

"Why?" Neptu asked lowly. "Why does that matter?"

"Why doesn't it?" Gin replied. "Sure, perhaps a few of those souls were innocent. But how many weren't? How many people have you too thank for what you've done?" Neptu remained silent at this. Gin looked over to find the many still holding his head in his hands, so he reached over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What're you doing?" Neptu demanded.

"You're a good man, Neptu." Gin said. "You have a way of thinking that I'm sure ninety-nine percent of people could get behind. Demons are evil, you and your comrades have more than enough scars to convince anyone."

"Shut up..."

"What you're doing is an amazing good deed." Gin continued. "You dedicated your life to making sure others could live theirs. How many people can say they do that?"

"Shut up."

"You lost so much, and yet you make sure others never feel that way. You're a saint to so many."

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Neptu shouted, tuning and grabbing Gin by the collar of his shirt. "You have no idea! How many lives, how many people...People like you who were caught him in my murderous campaign for revenge! I'm a terrible inhumane piece of shit!'

"No, you're not." Gin said calmly. "And I do know. I've ended up killing innocent people too. People wearing your mark. Those who followed you because you preached such a righteous message." Neptu growled, and his grip on Gin tightened. "Those men died following you, and they'd do it again I'm sure."

"More blood on my fucking hands, then." Neptu hissed. "How many good men and women have died following my words? How many, Gin?! There were so many loss reports over the years I've lost fucking count!" Neptu released Gin, and slowly collapsed over the stone side of the building again. "...This isn't what I wanted."

"What did you want?" Gin asked.

"To find Drakhosz," Neptu replied. "To make him pay for what he did. And it's evolved into...this." He spat the end of his sentence as though the very thought disgusted him. "I've got thousands of people following my every word, but in reality I never wanted this. I never wanted to lead this campaign. Yet here I stand. Dragging all these poor souls along with me."

"And stand you do." Gin said. "You're a beacon of hope and peace for many people, Neptu. Do you really think all those Hunters followed you because they only kinda believed what you said to them? No. They trust you with their lives. That's why they followed you, believed in you."

"What a fucking mistake on their parts." Neptu hissed. Gin sighed and looked out towards the city.

"You know, a week go I'd be agreeing with you." Gin said. "I'd feel the same. So much blood is on my hands. But then, I met Fairy Tail." Gin smiled weakly. "They trust each other to a dangerous fault, and they care abut all life and it's sanctity. Very much akin to your Hunters, Neptu."

"The hell are you getting at?" Neptu demanded.

"This guild fought for what they believed in and won. You did so and lost. How does that make you wrong? You aren't wrong, and neither are they. The right answer doesn't exist. Only opinions on it do. And I think yours changing ever so slightly is damaging your identity and how you view yourself." Neptu remained silent at this. "All life matters, but making sure those you love are safe matters just as much."

"...What if Drakhosz's takeover wizard is innocent as well?" He asked weakly. "What if he's like you? I don't know if I could live with myself..."

"The decision rests with you," Gin said. "What do you want to do?"

"...I don't want to do this anymore," Neptu said. Gin looked over at him. "I can't keep pretending I know what to do, or that this death and destruction doesn't phase me."

"Then don't." Gin said. "That is your choice and yours alone."

"What about the Hunters? The Cross?"

"I told you, they're like this guild. They'll listen to you." Neptu sighed and held his head up, looking at Gin.

"You're a weird fucking kid, Gin." He stated flatly, wiping at his eyes. "But I appreciate it."

"No problem," Gin replied. "everyone needs to hear it." Neptu nodded and turned to leave. Gin watched him go, before turning back to the city and watching it.

Today was a new day, and not just for him.

Elizabeth had followed Neptu the second she saw him leaving the guild hall, the others as well. He refused to answer any questions. They made a beeline right out of the city and towards their Hunters, who were still working on cleaning up after the accident. The other Cross members had been tasked with rounding everyone up, but Elizabeth stayed with Neptu. The look in her eyes made it clear he was worrying her..

"Alright," Quinn said. "Everyone's grouped up here." Neptu nodded at this, and overlooked the ocean of people waiting for him to speak up. Neptu cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Skylance Demon Hunters," he said. "As I'm sure you're all aware, we've suffered a lose here today. But we've survived the day, and I have been thinking." This seemed to catch everyone's attention. "And I've reached my conclusion on the matter." Silence came over the Hunters, and they waited silently. Neptu looked down at his feet, before taking a deep breath and looking up.

"As of today, I am dissolving the Skylance Demon Hunters. we will go our separate ways today." This caused a huge uproar from his Hunters, and he could hear The Cross yelling in surprise as well. He raised a hand, and soon everyone fell silent.

"I understand this is hard to understand," he said. "And I would not blame any of you for thinking I'm weak for making this decision. However, I'm come to the conclusion that I've been acting horribly over these past few years. We hunted down and massacred demons, regardless of whether or not their takeover wizard was innocent or not. How many innocents have we killed? How many more needed to go before we realized?" Nobody spoke up. "I refuse to do this any longer. I don't want to hurt anyone else with what we've done."

"But we save people too!" One cried out.

"We've done so much good!" Another shouted.

"Please don't do this, Master Neptu!" Another yelled. Soon the whole of his Hunters were in an uproar, and Neptu lowered his head slightly. He should have seen this coming.

"Yes, we've done good." He agreed. "Saved so many lives. But we've taken many as well, and I'm being weighed down by that. What I've come to realize is that protecting those you love is very important, and I haven't been doing that. I've been sending you all out like lambs to the slaughter, and I barely blink when the reports come back that we've lost men and women. I'm disgusted with myself." Neptu took another deep breath. "So that's why I'm doing this. You are free to disagree, or continue doing as we've been doing. But I refuse to be a part of this anymore. I can't handle anymore death, anymore loses. That's all." With this, Neptu walked off, leaving the group in an uproar.

"Neptu!" Tristan shouted. "What the fuck! What happened to you man?!" Neptu paused as The Cross caught up with him.

"Don't just walk away from what you've built!" Abigail said. "We can handle this!"

"No, we can't." Neptu said, turning to them. They all seemed lost and confused. I'm sorry, but I refuse to go on like this."

"But dude-" Quinn started. Neptu raised a hand to stop him.

"No, you won't convince me," Neptu said. "I don't want anymore loved ones to get hurt. To die. I can't be apart of it anymore."

"What happened to you?!" Tristan shouted. Neptu looked down at his feet.

"Gin is an innocent boy." He said, silencing The Cross. "A boy born with a curse. He's never wanted to hurt anyone, and yet we forced his hand by hunting him like a fucking animal." Neptu gritted his teeth at this. "How many people like Gin met the same fate? How many of ours were torn apart like that? I can't bare the thought." The Cross remained silent.

"Well...What do we do?" Abigail asked weakly. Neptu smiled up at her.

"Whatever you please," Neptu replied. "I no longer order you around. Go where you want, do as you please. That is my wish for you four." Neptu turned. "Perhaps one day our paths will cross again. I look forward to it."

"What about you?" Quinn asked. Neptu chuckled and looked up at the skyline.

"I'm going home," he said. "To find my sister. And...And to tell her I'm sorry. So sorry." He smiled at this thought. "Goodbye, guys. Let's meetup again sometime." At this, Neptu began to walk away.

That was until a rock hit him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" He shouted. "What the hell-?"

"So that's it?! After all these years all you can muster is see ya later?!" Neptu turned to find Elizabeth glaring daggers at him, eyes rimmed with tears.

"Lizzie..." He started.

"Don't Lizzie me! After everything we've been too you're just going to leave us here like we meant nothing to you?! Were we really just your generals?! Because I thought were were more..." Neptu looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"..." Elizabeth took a few deep breaths. before she gathered herself. "Alright, let's go."

"Wah?" Neptu asked, confused. Elizabeth walked towards him and took a defiant stance in front of him.

"Let's go to your home," she said. "Which way?" Neptu made a face.

"I said you don't have to follow me," he told her.

"I know," she replied, smiling at him. "I'm making my own choice. I want to join you." Neptu made a face at her before Quinn walked up next to her.

"Yeah which way is it?" He asked. Neptu stared at him. Soon Abigail and Tristan joined them, and they all stared at him expectantly.

"You guys..." He started.

"Are going with you," Abigail finished. "So, what now?" Neptu wasn't expecting this, but he appreciated their gesture. He turned towards the horizon and contemplated what they were to do.

And then, he got an idea.

Gin smiled weakly as the group around him smiled and laughed at the joke told to them by Drake. It was good to see that even after such a huge fight, they were in high spirits.

"Hey Gin," Gin looked up as Ultear called his name. "What do you think you're going to do now?" Gin really hadn't given that much thought. Between healing up and Neptu and everything else his actual plans had fallen off to the side.

"Hell if I know," he replied. "I haven't given it much thought.

"Want to join the guild?" Simon asked, smiling at him. Gin was unsure. It sounded cool in principle, but he just didn't know.

Before we could answer, the doors to he guild hall opened. Gin looked over to find Neptu and The Cross reentering the guild hall.

"What the hell are they doing?" Elise asked. Neptu caught Gin's eyes and walked over to them, which made tensions rise within the group. Once Neptu reached them, he stood there silently.

"I disbanded the Hunters." He said bluntly. Gin nodded.

"If you think that was best," he replied. "Did you come back to tell me?" Neptu nodded.

"Well, yes." He said. "That and I wanted to ask you something."

"Alright, go ahead."

Gin didn't realize him saying this would cause Neptu to drop to one knee.

"I want you to come with us," he said. "The Cross and I. We're going to go back to my hometown, and I want you to come with us. What do you say?" Gin was taken aback by this request. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. He looked over at the others around him, who were just watching him carefully. He then looked back at Neptu, who's head was still hanging down.

"Why?" Gin asked.

"I want you to be my reminder," Neptu said, smiling up at him. "That while there is evil in this world, good people exist as well. What do you say?" Gin made a face and thought about it. Would he go with them? Only a couple of days ago he'd have never even considered it. But after all that had happened.

"Sounds like a plan," Gin said, standing. "How far is it?"

"Gin, are you sure?" Elise asked. "Do you trust him?" Gin nodded as Neptu stood up.

"I do," Gin replied. "And if I end up being wrong for doing that, I'll have to deal with it."

"That saying goes both ways," Neptu said with a smile, extending his hand. Gin took it and shook it firmly. So he was going with Neptu, the Devil Slayer who tried to kill him.

Gin didn't know how he'd ended up here, but he was curious as to what would happen next.

The road ahead seemed long and endless.

But Gin had hope the end result was worth it.

"Man, do we seriously need to walk all the way there?" Quinn groaned as they walked away from Magnolia. Gin chuckled as Abigail shot him a look.

"Feel free to shut up," she hissed. "Whiny bastard."

"Don't call me names, Abby! I just do't like walking all that way!"

"Deal with it, Neptu said he doubted the train station got rebuilt." Tristan said.

"Can we check?" Quinn asked.

"Only if you shut up," Neptu said from Gin's right. Gin laughed at this. This was going to be an interesting walk. He too hoped it would be a short one, but he wasn't going to voice any complaints yet. Not yet.

"Gin!" Gin made a face as a voice called for him. Turning towards the source, he made a face.

Why exactly was the group from Fairy Tail standing by the gates?

After noticing that they'd caught his attention, Gin saw them raised their hands into the air. He could barely make out what they were doing, but it appeared as though they were pointing at the sky for some reason.

"What the hell are they doing?" Neptu asked, looking up. "Is their a bird or something?" Gin shook his head, that wasn't it. He didn't really get what they were doing.

"Well, I think it's nice." Elizabeth said. "I think they're saying goodbye to you." Gin thought about this, and smiled.

"It's not goodbye," he said. "I'll see them again. I don't know when, but I will."

Turning back to the open road ahead of them, Gin smiled. A new path had opened up in front of him, and it was all thanks to them.

And for the first time, he was excited to walk that endless path. Because he didn't feel hopeless. He felt happy.

Happy.

Holy shit this ended up being long, and I don't know how. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!

Chapter 267: Do We Belong