It had been three weeks since Ryu and Erza had left for Caelum so Natsu had made Ace a member of Team Natsu to fill her spot while she was gone. He fit right in and the team was fine with their new addition. Gray and Natsu appreciated his knack for strategy which helped on the jobs they took to prevent the collateral damage from costing the guild more than usual. Wendy had returned and after a quick introduction and some time together: she even became his teacher at improving his Wind Magic despite the drastic age difference between them. But she was a very good and effective teacher, most likely from her gentle personality and the example from her mother Grandeeney. And of course Lucy enjoyed the fact they were working together now, and the two of them even surprised them all by keeping things professional while they were with the others on jobs.

Ace had even made himself feel more at home in Fairy Tail as well. He had finally had a proper introduction to Master Makarov who introduced him to the rest of the guild and even announced that he was engaged to Lucy. That was a whole celebration they didn't expect to last all night. And he was happy, sure he still wasn't skilled at magic like his other teammates, but he had the sense of adventure and adrenaline that was coursing through his veins each time they went on an exciting mission felt like ecstasy to him. He had told his mother Celina all of this the last time they spoke, and she couldn't have been happier for him. Fairy Tail was his new home, and the friends he had made here weren't something he ever expected but he feels lucky to have such wonderful comrades now.

Right now he was just roaming with Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla and things weren't exactly going as smoothly as they hoped...

"Help!" Lucy called out, being dragged by an enormous purple boar with sharp tusks that were larger than its own body through a forest. She had tried to stop it from charging at them using her whip, only for the beast to bite onto her whip and pull her along with it.

"That's what she gets for making it mad." Happy said as he and Carla carried their Dragon Slayers, chasing after Lucy and the boar.

"Actually that was you, Tom Cat." Carla scolded making Happy laugh sheepishly. She was right, the one who agitated the boar in the first place was Happy after he threw the scraps from a fish at its eye by accident. They had decided to leave town for the day so Ace could practice his magic more, but Happy felt hungry and didn't notice the boar sniffing around when decided to eat.

"Well that thing is gonna be big enough to feed all of us for a week." Natsu hungrily growled while he focused on the boar.

"Maybe we should really help Lucy first." Wendy laughed sheepishly as she pointed at Lucy who was still shouting for someone to help her as the boar made its way into an open field.

"I've got her." They all looked down as Ace suddenly appeared behind the boar and Lucy, zooming through the air as the wind around them picked up speed. He pulled his arms behind his body, using his magic to begin to manipulate the wind around him, before swiftly whipping his arms forward. "Wind Wave." The wind that Ace was riding on grew in speed and strength, before slamming into the boar's behind and sending both it and Lucy flying forward. Lucy shouted as she realized she was falling towards the ground at an alarming rate.

"Asemu!"

"Yeah yeah, I've got you." Ace suddenly appeared in front of her right as she was about to hit the ground and wrapped his arms around her, digging his feet into the ground to stop them. The two let out a sigh of relief when they did, with Lucy ready to crash in his arms at any second. But their relief was cut short by panic when they heard angry snorting behind them. They turned around and saw the wild boar had landed and realized who attacked it, beginning to charge towards Ace and Lucy.

"Oh no you don't! You're going to be our lunch!" The boar was stopped right before it hit the two of them by Natsu falling on it, slamming the back of his heel as hard as he could onto its skull. Lucy cringed and Ace winced as the two couldn't tell if the cracking sound was the ground beneath them or the boar's skull. "There! Now we have some pork for lunch."

"Did you really have to hit it that hard?" Wendy asked as she, Carla, and Happy landed next to the three.

"Didn't mean to, but good thing I did."

"Anyways. Ace that was some amazing use of your magic!" Wendy turned her attention to her student and placed her hands together as she gave him a proud smile.

"You think so?" Ace asked sheepishly and Wendy nodded. Lucy giggled at his reaction, but even she had to admit she was proud of how Ace was starting to improve his magic.

"Of course I do! You became nimble like a leaf in the wind, using it to move around at crazy speed, and even the way you went from using it from mobility to an attack was incredible." Wendy praised him even more and Ace could only rub the back of his head as she did.

"Thank you, Wendy."

"But you still need to learn a bit more control, otherwise you're just going to lose control and fly into something like a wall or a tree." Wendy went from praising him to criticizing him, remembering how fast he was moving. "But now that you can manipulate wind better: we're going to move on more advanced things like creating whirlwinds and tornados."

"I understand."

"Hey! Can someone help me cook this thing?!" Natsu yelled as he picked up the heavy boar and held it over his head like a trophy. The others laughed and Ace volunteered, walking over to him to give him a hand.

"Thank you for teaching him, Wendy." Lucy bowed to her blue haired friend, who smiled and nodded at her.

"No need to thank me, I never realized how great it feels to teach someone like how to improve their magic."

"He's sure come a long way in two short weeks." Happy noted making Carla nod in agreement.

"Indeed. I believe he has a natural knack for magic, he just never applied himself when he was younger."

"Well that's to be expected, he didn't really have much of a reason to learn it either. I didn't even really begin to improve my magic until I joined the guild too." Lucy commented, smiling as she watched Ace and Natsu bicker about how to prepare the boar.

"Let's just roast it how it is! I'm starving!"

"Natsu this thing is covered in tough skin and hair! Let's just clean it first!"

"Oh man, that was delicious." Natsu laid back, having finished his lunch after eating the boar that tried to attack them before. Wendy and Lucy laughed at his comically large stomach filled with the boar, but Carla looked at him in disgust for having no manners while he ate. Meanwhile Ace was lost in thought, slowly chewing on the slice of boar he was eating.

"You okay?" Lucy asked, noticing how distracted Ace seemed and sat closer to him.

"Hm? Oh yeah, I'm just fine." Ace snapped out of his trance and quickly ate the piece of meat in his hands.

"You don't look fine. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing important, Lu. Just thinking about Ryu and Erza right now." Ace admitted, crossing his arms as he thought about the last time he spoke to the two traveling at the moment. It took only three days for them to arrive in Caelum, but that was because the boat they chartered took them to the wrong coast. Instead of taking them across the sea directly to the part of the country they were headed to: it took them to a Port Town in the northeastern coast of the island. So now they were traveling by Magic Mobile across the country until they have to cross the sea once more to reach their destination. That was the last they heard from them about a week ago, ever since then it had been radio silence.

"Don't worry, they'll check in when they can. But for now just take it easy, because once our lunch goes down: you have to practice your magic." Lucy poked his cheek and Ace nodded excitedly.

"You should've let me teach you Fire Magic. We could've been the strongest master and disciple in all of Fiore." Natsu grumbled, patting his stomach as he felt his food begin to go down.

"You couldn't teach a fish to swim and you wanted to teach him magic?" Happy asked, making Natsu sit up and glare at him.

"I could so teach a fish to swim!" Ace laughed at Natsu's reaction and shook his head.

"I tried and I wasn't a fan. But Wind Magic is what fits me best so it's what I'm gonna stick with. Plus it helps I have such a wonderful teacher who learned from a real dragon." Ace said making Wendy smile from his praise.

"So did I!"

"Yeah but if I learned from you: then we would leave the guild bankrupt from the damages." Ace laughed and the others joined in while Natsu did his best not to laugh as well.

"Alright, fair enough."

"Anyways it's such a nice day out, let's just enjoy it for a bit." Lucy said as she rested her head on Ace's shoulder to relax for a moment. Ace sighed as he started thinking about the same dream he had been having lately. It wasn't often, but at least every couple of days he would have the same dream: he would be with his friends and then all of a sudden a dragon would attack them. But for some reason, each time it basically separated him from his friends just to eat him. The first two times he shrugged it off as a dream, but now he's wondering if something's wrong with him or something was trying to communicate with him. But before he could dwell on it any further: he looked up to see Natsu standing over him cracking his knuckles with an evil smile on his face.

"Your teacher wants me to sub for her, so I hope you're ready for some combat practice." Natsu chuckled as Wendy sheepishly waved behind him.

"You need the practice."

"You heard the lady. Lucy, cover your eyes in case this gets ugly." Natsu warned, making Lucy stand up and hurry away from the two men.

"Let the match begin!" Happy yelled as he used one of the boar's bones as a makeshift microphone. Natsu nodded and ignited his foot, raising it high to try to kick Ace in the head.

Ace quickly dodged the attack by firing a burst of wind from his hand to push his body back and away from Natsu. Natsu lunged after him, this time igniting his hands as he prepared to start swinging at his friend. The other four sat down together as they began to watch the two begin to spar together.

"It's good he's getting in some training. Capricorn's been teaching him, but at least with Natsu he can get a lot better practice." Lucy added as they watched Natsu swing a punch at Ace, only for him to grab his arm in response and slam his elbow into Natsu's rib cage. Natsu winced in pain and delivered a hard punch to Ace's gut as well, knocking some of the air out of him. The two then reeled their heads back and slammed them together, grinning as the two began to enjoy their little fight.

"Use some of your magic, Ace. You have to learn how to use it in a fight." Ace laughed sheepishly at Natsu's request before shooting a Wind Bullet into the man's face, causing him to stagger back from the impact.

"I don't really know anything offensive besides that." Ace admitted before Natsu had an idea. He jumped back from Ace and surrounded himself with a ring of fire circling around him.

"Then copy this."

"What do you-"

"Feel the wind around you and use your magic to control it. Think of a spinning motion and force it to spin in the way you want and make it go as fast as you want." Wendy called out, answering Ace's question. He nodded and closed his eyes, feeling the breeze blowing around them. He thought about what direction to make the wind spin like Wendy told him to, before remembering the dream he had been having and the tornados the dragon would attack them with. He raised his hand and began move it in a counterclockwise direction, using his magic to manipulate the wind in the same direction around him. Hearing amazed gasps coming from the others, he opened his eyes and saw that he was surrounded by a wall of wind spinning around him.

"That's so cool!" Happy yelled as he jumped up in excitement.

"It's not something compared to what Wendy or more experienced wizards can do, but the way he picked it up so easily is surprising." Carla muttered as even she was amazed by how quick Ace had learned to create a whirlwind.

"But is it just a simple wall of wind or-" Lucy was cut off by Ace placing his hand on the wind, only for his own spell to pull him in and launch him forward towards Natsu. Natsu leapt into the air to avoid him, thinking it was an attack, but Ace was dragged through the ground going far from where he stood. "Ace!"

"Wait that wasn't an attack?" Natsu asked as he walked over to his friend, noting the pain in his expression as he struggled to get out of the ground. Lucy and Wendy hurried over and helped him sit up as the younger wizard began to use healing magic on him.

"That was rough..." Ace groaned as he rubbed his head in pain.

"Maybe now you know not to stick your hand in a cyclone, even if you're the one who made it." Wendy laughed sheepishly as her magic made the scrapes and bruises from his crash landing fade away.

"Yup."

"Maybe we should look into some guides or books with spells for you to learn now that you get the gist of manipulating wind." Lucy suggested, earning a nod from Ace who turned his attention to Natsu.

"What is it?"

"I can't wait to learn under you, teach." Ace gave his friend a large grin and Natsu couldn't help but give him one in return. "I'm gonna kick your butt when I'm strong enough."

"Yeah, maybe in a million years."

Meanwhile in the neighboring country of Caelum, a certain scarlet-haired wizard was making her way towards the Magic Mobile her blonde-haired companion was waiting for her in. They had just arrived in a small town about an hour from their destination to stock up on supplies while they continued their adventure.

"Did you wait long?" Erza asked as she opened the door to the magic powered car, seeing Ryu sitting behind the wheel with a sheet of paper in his hands.

"Not really." Ryu replied, keeping his eyes glued to the paper. Erza sat down next to him and glanced at what he was reading, seeing that it was a letter written by Keith to his oldest brother. "I know where to go when we get to the other island."

"You mean you didn't know?" Erza asked, reaching into the bag of goods she had just bought and taking out a bottle of water.

"I did but Keith just sent me the specifics." Ryu said as he put the letter down and reached under the steering wheel, taking out a small brace with a cable attached to it. Erza watched as he attached the brace to his right arm and the car's engine turned on.

"You're really going to drive again? You've been the one driving for the past three days, don't you want to take a break?" Erza asked, raising an eyebrow as the car began to move.

"Last time I let you drive: we almost drove into a boulder."

"It appeared out of nowhere."

"The time before that: you went so fast you almost flipped the car when you turned."

"I was just trying to speed the trip up a bit."

"The day we bought this thing: you hit a hole so hard that one of the wheels came off."

"Are you implying I'm a bad driver?" Erza crossed her arms, offended by what Ryu was saying. He gulped slightly and grabbed the sunglasses resting on his head, placing them over his eyes to hide them from her. "Well?"

"Not at all. I just think you're better as my guide since you're more of an adventurer than me, so you can read the map better." Erza chuckled at his response and shrugged. He was right there, she had the map and the compass and understood it better than him.

"Okay, I'll accept that." Erza sat back and put on her sunglasses as well, admiring the tropical countryside they were visiting. Ryu turned his head and smiled slightly at the beauty sitting next to him while she looked out of the window.

He enjoyed the time he had spent with Erza for the past three weeks. They hadn't run into a lot of trouble after they arrived, except for a group of drunk wizards who tried to hassle them one night when they were having drinks together in a tavern. They were trying to convince Erza to forget about Ryu and spend the night with them, but of course the problem arose when Ryu spoke up and asked them to please leave them alone. But of course Erza was tasked with taking care of him, so she swiftly disposed of the wizards like nothing when they tried to fight him. Aside from that incident: the two of them had done their best to lay low and avoid any unnecessary trouble. Most of their trip was done by Magic Mobile anyway, so most of their days were spent talking with each other as they traveled across the country.

As for Erza, she had come to enjoy her time with him as well. She was beginning to understand what Lucy enjoyed so much about spending time with Ace. Ryu was a normal person, there was nothing special about him and he was as genuine and kind as his youngest brother. Most of their conversations were learning about each other and their pasts. She had told him everything that had happened to her when she was young, and he was especially surprised to learn about her prosthetic right eye. But the interest he took in hearing her past made her feel happy and warm inside whenever she saw his excited or amused expressions.

"So where are we going exactly?" Erza turned her attention back to Ryu as they saw a large port town in the distance.

"My Dad's family has a large plot of land in the center of the next island. We're going to their estate to speak with either my grandfather or my uncle, depending on who's the head of the family right now." Ryu explained, handing the letter from Keith to Erza. She read over the letter as Ryu began to send more magic into the car, speeding it up. What it read was:

Ryu, I spoke to Dad's lawyer and he gave me the specifics of where you need to go. When you arrive to western island: head to the central part of it and there's going to be a large compound with a large house. That's where his family lives and that's where you have to go. When you arrive: request to talk to the head of the family and let them know you're the youngest son's kid. You look exactly like Dad anyway, so I doubt they'll have a hard time believing you. If you need help from the locals, use Dad's real last name: Hino. With regards, Keith.

"Hino? Your real last name is Hino?" Erza asked, recognizing the last name as one she had heard a lot of stories about. Ryu sighed in response and shook his head.

"It's not Hino, that's my Dad's last name. As far as we're concerned: we're all Falkners, not Hinos."

"Then where does Falkner come from?"

"It's my Great-Grandma's last name. When my parents got married: my Dad didn't want to use his real name so he changed his name to Lyle Falkner, he asked my Mom's Grandma for permission and she allowed him to take the name." Ryu explained as he slowed the car down, feeling his magic power beginning to drop drastically.

"I see. Because from what I heard: the Hinos are a very powerful family of wizards that helped protect Caelum when Minstrel tried invade the country and take it over three hundred years ago. Now they hold a high position of power, forever loyal to the Royal Family of Caelum serving in their military." Erza said as she recalled the information she had read about the Hino family on their way here. She had decided to read as much as she could about the country during their first boat ride, and in the country's history there was a section dedicated to them and their actions defending it during the Minstrel Invasion.

"Bingo. That's my Dad's family."

"So why would your father want to distance himself from them and go as far as to change his name?"

"Because he didn't want to live his life following in their footsteps: you learn magic and join the military or you study politics and become part of the country's Parliament. He wanted to find his own path and he managed to convince his parents to let him study abroad in Fiore, and that was where he met my Mom. When they caught wind that he wanted to marry her: they told him that he had to move back to Caelum and marry someone who's better suited to be his wife, or that he had to give up his place in our family." Ryu explained, remembering the story his father had told him when his condition began to worsen. Erza's eyes widened, taken aback by everything he had just said, as she didn't expect that to have been the case for his family. "What do you think he chose?"

"So he gave up his whole life and family for Celina?" Erza asked herself quietly once Ryu was done talking. But she smiled once she repeated everything he had just said back to herself, noting the similarity between Lyle and Ace...and to an extent: even the man sitting next to her. "Ryu, if you don't mind me asking: if your father left his life behind to start one with your mother, how can we expect a warm welcome when we arrive?"

"I'm not expecting one. But that's why I've got the world's best bodyguard sitting here with me." Ryu replied, giving Erza a reassuring smile and she couldn't help but smile back.

"I see. Then I'll prepare myself just in case."

"Are you tired yet?" Natsu asked, breathing heavily as he stood over Ace's exhausted body while the man laid down on the ground, feeling depleted of all of his magic power. The two of them stayed behind to train together while Lucy and the others went back to Magnolia once the sun began to set. But that was several hours ago and now it was beginning to get late.

"Are you kidding? I just need to catch my breath." Ace struggled to let out, feeling his body ache everywhere. Natsu chuckled and wiped a small amount of blood he had on the corner of his mouth. He had to hand it to him: Ace might not be skilled in Magic, but he had a large amount of Magic Power to use since they had gone six straight hours sparring together.

"Well when you catch it: get back up so we can keep training." Ace nodded and tried to stand up, only to lose his balance and fall forward. Natsu quickly reached out and grabbed him, laughing at his friend's tenacity. "Alright, I think we can call it a night now."

"You think so? I don't think I have it in me to walk back to Magnolia anyway." Ace admitted, feeling the little bit of strength he had leave his body.

"Then I'll just help you out." Natsu said as he threw Ace's arm over his shoulder, helping him stand and walk as they began to head back to Magnolia. "You're getting better."

"Baby steps."

"But you're learning quickly. I think in a few months you'll be stronger than most of the guild."

"Well as long as I can eventually kick your butt, I can wait a few months." Ace and Natsu laughed together at the thought of Ace ever beating Natsu. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing."

"Can you continue teaching me how to fight?" Natsu looked at the man draped over his shoulder in surprise before smiling and nodding.

"Of course. We gotta help you bulk up a bit, but I'll teach you everything I can."

"I appreciate that."