Alright, guys! As promised, a new arc begins!

Enjoy!

The opening begins within a dark alleyway where we see a group of rats running away from something in fear as the camera goes past them. Then we see PantherLily, who just happens to look back, his eyes widening in shock as we move past him. Then we see Happy, who is holding Carla by the paw, trying to run away with her as a strange black tentacle shoots above them and goes deeper inside the dark alleyway. Then numerous other black tendrils shoot out following the first one as one completely overtakes the screen. We then see the Fairy Tail logo shining on the screen with a strange colorful void in the background. Jade, the green bird creature, comes in from the right walking under the Fairy Tail logo until she disappears from the screen to the left.

IM FALLING DOWN INTO MY SHADOW
Iki wo hisomete
Matteiru DEADLY NIGHT

There is a pool of water with a couple of red roses around. Two of them are floating in the water and one growing from above in the right upper corner. Two petals then fall landing gently on the surface of the water making it ripple twice. Then a huge inky black drop drips into the water, its black substance slowly spreading throughout until the water turns completely black. Suddenly, Mira comes splashing down into the water destroying the red roses and scattering their petals. As she begins slowly sinking under the water, Mira lets out a helpless gasp letting out bubbles as she struggles to breathe as a blizzard of petals overtakes our vision making us see red.

DON'T SCARY majo ga egaita
Kabocha no basha mo
Sono me ni utsusero kara

The red slowly changes into gold as we zoom out. The gold is really the color of Don Ghira's eyes who's sitting on his throne, staring blankly at us the audience with one leg crossing the other, and his head resting on his hand. We now see triangular split-screens of the girl with pink hair looking backward to her right and an man with bushy eyebrows looking at us to the left.

SEE YOU IN YOUR DREAMS YEAH BABY
kowai yuma da to shitemo

The screen is suddenly sliced by a blue line and splits, revealing Tu Chi and Jade, Tu Chi holding a crescent blade. A triangular shot of Lahar and Doranbolt comes in taking half the screen and another of Sieri taking the other half her having her hair in a ponytail and wearing slim clothing that comprised of a sleeveless gray kimono-style blouse with white vertical lines, tied with a dark blue obi around her waist. She wears a pair of short dark black shorts. Three more characters appear in a triangular split-screen, Makarov, Jura, and Porlyusica, who all turn to look at us the views. A filled v right transition happens, bringing us Org, who is sitting at his desk, drinking a cup of something with the evening sun shining, transitioning us to Willy, who is surrounded by blue water.

At first, he seems fine, but then his eyes shut tight as he starts holding his head in pain. The water begins to turn black slowly, and his aura becomes black and blue. A black line travels along his body until it reaches his face, which the end spreads around the underside of his eyes, making it look like a hand as they glow green. Willy then screams in agony, and as we get a close look at his eye, it goes blank until his pupils return, slitted and glowing green.

FAIRY BLUE
Kimi no tame ni hoshi wo kudaki
Kazaritsuketa
BLACK PAPER MOON

We now see Mira in the air also in her Satan Soul form fending off the black tentacles. She destroys one after another, but they keep coming. Then Elfman and Lisanna come in to help her by destroying their fair share of tendrils using their magic. The three then dive down towards the source of the tentacles, which was a strange being that had piercing white eyes, a huge body, and with razor-sharp teeth. As soon as it sees the three coming towards it, it unleashes a powerful black blast from its mouth, blowing them all away. We then see Lucy who turns towards the distance with her hair blowing about in the wind with an evening sky and then we see Cana and Levy standing on top of the Fairy Tail building Cana standing on the edge looking up in the evening sky and Levy sitting on the side looking up in the sky from the other direction.

Shinjite kureta nara!
WHEN YOU'RE LOST "HERE" I AM...
"FOREVER" WITH YOUR SOUL

We see a line of Fairy Tail wizards who turn and look at us the audience. Erza, Wendy, Gray, Gajeel, and finally Natsu, who stands with arms crossed, looking determined as Happy and Carla stand behind him, mimicking his stance. Next, we see Willy and Mira's hands desperately trying to hold each other while under the dark waters, but a mysterious force pulls them apart. Willy desperately tries to reach out to Mira and Mira, trying to reach Willy. Then we see the face of Silver Beard, who opens his eyes as he looks up at us with a sinister smile his glasses, shining. While three more characters appear in a three-way triangular split screen. Those characters are Hades on top, Ultear in the middle, and on the hooded stranger on the right. After that, we see a little girl with long blonde hair, her face hidden and wearing a pink robe staring at a mirror, which then cracks.

Miagereba kaguyaku tsuki no youni

Now there is a young man with short black hair wearing black robes with a gold-trimmed collar with a white tunic and brown boots wandering in a dead forest alone and sad. Finally, we see Mira letting out a wail of despair, tears streaming down her face as she cradles a seemingly lifeless Willy in her arms as we shoot up to the yellow moon, which shines brightly over Magnolia as the music ends.

Chapter 88

Casting the Dye

Mira, Elfman, Lisanna, and I were now at Magnolia station.

After I got the letter from Finn, I immediately raced back to the guild and told the Strauss siblings the good news. Naturally, they were happy and were ecstatic of seeing them. So we all decided to head for Magnolia Station to wait for them to arrive.

As we waited, I was feeling a bit nervous but at the same time, I was excited. Not just because of Finn and Master coming, but it would be the first time in a while of seeing Sieri. It made me curious as to how much she's changed over the years.

"I'm so excited!" squealed Lisanna with glee. "I can't believe that we're gonna get to see Finn and Sieri!"

"I know," agreed Elfman. "I can't wait to show them how much of a real man I've become! They're gonna be blown away by my manliness!"

"Oh my goodness," giggled Mira. She then looked at me. "Guess everyone's feeling excited."

"Yup. I can't wait till they get here," I said smiling. "When they get here, we've got a lot to catch up on. We'll show them around the Guildhall and maybe we'll show them around Magnolia, and-"

Just then, there the sound of a train's whistle and the rumbling chuffing of train wheels turning. We all immediately stood up as the train pulled into the station slowly puffing until it finally came to a stop letting out a wheesh and one more blast of its whistle. The coaches in the back opened and the people exited the coaches filling the station. We quickly took a scan of the people coming out trying to see who came out.

Then We saw them. Master wearing a white-trimmed blue kimono with sandals holding her staff and Finn was right beside her wearing a long sleeved button down with a high collar with a pair of blue pants and black shoes. Then a third person emerged from behind them. She was a young woman with a womanly vibe about her and wore a nonformal green colored dress that revealed a bit of her chest with matching pumps. But the biggest characteristic that made her stand out was her long flowing blue hair which would rival Wendy's if the two were to ever meet. That's when I knew it had to be Sieri.

"Is... that who I think it is?!" I heard Elfman murmur.

"It is! It's Sieri!" spoke Lisanna. "But... I don't remember her looking so womanly! She might give Mira a run for her money!"

She then looked towards us and as soon as she saw us, I saw her eyes go wide and she immediately ran straight towards us.

"Willy! Mira! Elfman! Lisanna!" she called out waving.

I waved at her back feeling overjoyed to see her as I ran towards her. "Sieri!"

We both met each other halfway and embraced each other in a big hug. Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman followed suit and joined in on the reunion hug. After that, Sieri pulled away from us her eyes filled with unshed tears of joy.

"It's so good to see you guys," she spoke her voice cracking with joy. "I missed you all so much... I'd never thought I'd see your faces again."

"We're sorry if it's been a while since you've seen us," began Mira. "But..."

"We missed you too, Sieri," Lisanna spoke. "We... we thought we'd never see you again either."

Sieri then looked at Lisanna. The moment she saw her, she clasped her hands over her mouth and then attacked her with a large bear hug letting out a joyful wail as tears comically streamed down her face.

"Lisanna! It's true! My favorite gossip girl is alive!" she cried joyfully. "My baby Lisanna is alive!"

As Sieri hugged Lisanna, her face was buried deep in her chest suffocating her slightly. Her arms flailed a little as she tried to breathe, but Sieri didn't let go.

"Whoa... Sieri's hugging Lisanna like a real man," spoke Elfman.

"Please calm down, Sieri," soothed Mira worriedly. "If you keep this up, you're gonna suffocate her."

"Well... that is to be expected," said Finn. "Truth be told, I didn't fully believe it either. But you know that they say; Seeing is believing." Then he took a look at Elfman. "My god... Elfman. What the heck happened to you these past years? Last time I saw you, you were a shrimp."

"Yeah. But now things are different," grinned Elfman. "I'm a real man!" And just to prove it, he flexed his muscles showing them off to Finn.

As Sieri continued sobbing while hugging Lisanna with Mira crying to pry her away from her and Elfman and Finn chatting it up, I stood by watching them chuckling at this sight feeling somewhat nostalgic. Then Master stepped up next to me chuckling a little.

"It would appear that a lot of things have gotten a bit lively," she said. "And it would also appear that you all have gone under some changes since I've last seen you."

"You can say that again, Master," I said bowing respectively. "And may I say that it's an honor to see you again."

"It is good to see you again too, Willy," Master smiled. "You certainly seem to be looking better. And it seems that you have some stories to tell me. Most especially regarding Lisanna."

"Yeah... I know," I sighed smiling. "It's quite the tall tale, Master. But... would you mind if we moved to the Guildhall? That way we could talk more there and Finn and Sieri can meet our guildmates."

"I would like that," said Master. "And I'm sure that Finn and Sieri would too."

I then called over to everyone else. "Hey guys, should we show them the Guildhall? You know, show them what our lives are like every day?"

"Yeah! Of course, we can," said Elfman. "We can show them the Guildhall and introduce them to our friends."

Sieri who had now calmed down and stopped crying looked up at us as let go of Lisanna. "Then what are we waiting for?" she said. "Let's go! I've always wanted to see the guild that took such good care of you guys."

We all then headed for the Guildhall as soon came to the front entrance. Sieri looked up at the Fairy Tail building and her eyes went wide with amazement.

"Whoa... it's freaking huge!" she spoke with wonder. "Are Guildhalls normally this huge?!"

"Probably just this one," said Elfman. "It was a bit smaller a while back, but we rebuilt it making it more manly than ever. Actually, Mira was the one who designed the building."

Sieri and Finn looked at Mira in slightly amazement as did I. This was something even I didn't know about.

"Is that true, Mira? You designed the Fairy Tail building?" Finn asked.

Mira then blushed bright pink. "I did. But... it's really not a big deal," she said.

"Not a big deal? That's amazing, Mira!" Sieri spoke. "Way to go, kiddo!"

"I must admit even I'm a bit surprised," spoke Master. "However, I must praise you as well. I wouldn't expect anything less from you, young Mira."

"Oh stop it. You're making me blush," giggled Mira.

"If you think the building's amazing, just wait till you see inside," I spoke. "But I should warn you, things are... a little crazy."

I then pushed through the doors opening them and we all walked in. We were immediately welcomed to the friendly and lively atmosphere that was our guild. Every one of our members was either chatting with each other or having a mug of beer. Then I heard a familiar voice call out to us.

"Well now, it would seem that we have some visitors."

I glanced toward the bar and I saw Makarov sitting on the counter relaxing while sipping his beer. We all then went over to him.

"Hello Master," greeted Mira. "Hope you don't mind, but we invited some friends over."

"I don't mind at all," Makarov smiled. "Any friend of my children is a friend of mine and is welcome to the Fairy Tail Guild." He then looked at Master. "It's been quite a while since I've seen you, Tu Chi."

"Likewise, Makarov," smiled Master. "I haven't seen you since the last gathering of the Wizard Saints. How have you been doing?"

"I'm hanging in there," said Makarov. "Can't really complain." He then looked at Finn and Sieri. "And I see you brought Finn with you as well. But... who is this young lady?"

"This is Sieri, our caretaker back when we were kids back when we lived in Osia," I introduced. "She's basically our second mother."

Sieri then walked up to Makarov. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," she said. "I take it your the guild's master?'

"Yes. I am," replied Makarov. "I am Makarov Dreyar, fourth master of Fairy Tail."

"Then let me just say that it's an honor to meet you," smiled Sieri. "And I must say, this guild is quite the establishment. I'm impressed."

"Thank you very much for saying so, Ms. Sieri," grinned Makarov. "Your kind words mean a lot to me." He then looked at Sieri up and down. "Actually... you're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, Ms. Sieri. You wouldn't happen to be interested in joining Fairy Tail would you?"

Sieri looked a bit taken aback as was I, but then Mira glared at Makarov.

"Master. Don't even think about it," she said sternly. "I know what you have in mind for her and I have to say no."

Makarov then flinched as he began to sweat a little. "Come now, Mira. I was just kidding around," he said nervously. "I mean it's not like I plan on using this fine young woman for a nefarious purpose or anything."

I then raised a brow in confusion as did Sieri, but Lisanna and Elfman were now glaring at Makarov too.

"Master, don't be pervy with Sieri," scolded Lisanna.

"Yeah. Thinking of things like that is not manly," said Elfman.

"OK. OK. I'm sorry. I was just kidding," apologized Makarov. "Just please stop glaring at me."

Then a group of other familiar faces came up to us. Team Natsu to be exact.

"Hey you, guys. What's going on over here?" asked Natsu.

"Yeah. It sounds like quite the party around here," said Gray.

"Oh, hey you guys. Did you just come back from a job?" asked Elfman.

"Yeah. We just came into the Guildhall just now," said Lucy.

"By the way, who are these people?" asked Erza. "I don't recall seeing them before."

"And why does one of them look just like an older version of Wendy?" asked Happy. "Did you bring her from Edolas or something?"

"Of course not, tomcat," sighed Carla. "Why would you even think of such a thing?"

"They are Finn and Sieri," introduced Mira. "They're old friends of ours and practically our adoptive parents."

"And this is Master Tu Chi. She's the one who trained me back when I was a little kid," I added.

"A pleasure to meet you," Master greeted.

Then Erza, Lucy, and Gray immediately looked at Master with shocked expressions.

"Tu Chi?! As in the Ten Wizard Saint, Tu Chi?" asked Lucy. "I don't believe it... I'm actually seeing her in person!"

Natsu stared at Master feeling a bit puzzled. "Wait... who's this old lady again?"

"Hey! Watch who you're calling old, Pyro!" snapped Gray. "She happens to be a big deal around here! She's a Ten Wizard Saint just like Master."

"No way! She's just like Gramps?!" cried Natsu. "You're kidding!"

"Whoa... I didn't know she was a Wizard Saint," murmured Lisanna.

"Me either," said Elfman. "I knew that she was a wizard, but not that high of a caliber."

"Indeed. She's the Wizard Saint known as The Crouching Dragon," said Erza as she walked up to Master holding out her hand. "I've heard tales about your power, but this is the first time I'm seeing you in person. It's an honor to meet you."

"It's an honor to meet you as well," Master smiled shaking Erza's hand in earnest. "You must be The Queen of the Fairies, Titania Erza Scarlet, correct? Your reputation supersedes you. I've heard tales about your beauty and your power. Seems the rumors were true."

Erza then blushed. "You flatter me, Ma'am. I'm not worthy of receiving such praise."

"So Willy, who are your friends?" asked Sieri. "You gonna introduce us?

"Oh yeah. Finn, Sieri, Master, these are a couple of our guildmates as well as good friends of ours," I said. "The pink haired guy is Natsu, the black-haired half naked guy is Gray, the blonde is Lucy, the redhaired girl in the armor is Erza, the short mini version of Sieri is Wendy, and finally the white and blue cats are Happy and Carla."

"Pleased to meet you," they all greeted.

"Likewise I'm sure," said Finn. "So they're the members that I've heard so much about. There's been a lot of talk about you guys in particular."

"I'm afraid to ask but what kind of talk?" asked Lucy. "The good kind of talk or the bad kind?"

"Truth be told, a little bit of both," said Master. "Whenever we're in meeting or reading the paper, we've heard stories about how Fairy Tail is usually getting into trouble and going overboard whenever they use their magic. However, there are some good things too. Like how strong your Guild is and how you took part in defeating the Oracion Seis. Not to mention that you all helped save my dear student. And for that, I'm humbly grateful."

"That goes for me too," said Finn as he bowed respectfully. "Thank you very much for helping and saving Willy. We really appreciate it."

"I-It was no big deal," said Wendy. "We were glad to lend a hand."

"Yeah. Besides, Willy's a good friend of ours," said Gray. "And he's in trouble, you can always count on us to be there for him."

"That's right," agreed Natsu. "Not to mention that he's a fellow dragon slayer. He's one of the family. And Fairy Tail's always got our family's back no matter what!"

"Aye, sir!" agreed Happy.

All of us couldn't help but be all smiles. Then Makarov turned to Tu Chi.

"So how long will you be staying in town?" he asked.

"Probably for a couple of days," said Tu Chi. "After all, we did come all this way to catch up a little bit."

"Yes! Plus I'm looking forward to chatting with Lisanna just like we used to," smiled Sieri.

"Oh yeah! And we can show you the magic we learned!" said Lisanna eagerly. "And plus, I've got a lot of stories to tell you!"

"No, Lisanna. Don't go telling, Sieri crazy stories," said Mira. "Then again, you'd probably won't listen to me anyway."

"Yeah! It'll be a great opportunity to show off how manly our magic is!" said Elfman. "And you can meet the other members of the guild too!"

"Sounds like fun," smiled Finn. "Hey Willy, what do you say you tell me and Sieri everything that's happened over the past month?"

"Sure! I'd love to!" I said eagerly. "It'll be just like old times! And after that, I can show you the place where I'm living!"

NO POV

Makarov and Tu Chi watched as everyone went off to spend some time together.

"They seem so happy now," said Tu Chi. "It makes it seem that everything they went through is nothing more but a distant memory."

"I agree," said Makarov. "By the way, I never got the chance to thank you for helping Willy. I don't know what could have happened to him if you haven't come to help."

"He is my student," said Tu Chi. "It's a master's duty to watch over her student. Besides, I never really liked the new Magic Council anyway. They were... how they say... a bit uptight."

Makarov laughed. "You're preaching to the choir on that one, Sister," he said as he took a sip of his beer. "So, what's going on these days, Tu Chi? Anything interesting going on outside of Magnolia?"

Tu Chi now looked serious.

"Actually Makarov, there was something that I've been wanting to speak to you about," she said. "Something that has me a bit concerned."

"I'm listening," said Makarov.

Tu Chi paused for a brief moment and then she explained.

"It has to do with the Dark Guilds these days," she said. "For some reason, they've been active a lot more than usual these days. It was around the time the Oración Seis fell."

Makarov eyes narrowed as he looked towards the floor. "I shouldn't be surprised. Even though we took down one of the three head of the Balam Alliance, they carry on like it's no big deal. Do you know what they're up to?"

"I do not know, but... Finn and I did find something that may have something to do with it," said Tu Chi.

She then dug into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Makarov. The fourth master took a quick look of the paper and his eyes widened. The paper that he was holding was the wanted poster of Willy.

"What is this?!" he spoke with a hot and angry tone.

"I would think that it would be obvious," said Tu Chi. "It is a wanted poster."

"I know what it is," growled Makarov crossly. "But why is there one of one of my precious children?!"

"I'm not really sure. This came out not too long ago just after the Oración Seis was taken into custody by the Magic Council," said Tu Chi. "Ever since then, I've been trying to ascertain as to who was the one who set the price on his head. So far, I haven't been able to find any clues."

"Does anyone else know about this?" asked Makarov.

"Only Me and Finn so far," replied Tu Chi. "However, it's only a matter of time before more people find out and what worries me the most is the number of Dark Guilds that are still out there wanting to take that bounty for themselves. I'm worried that Willy, Magnolia, as well as Fairy Tail will be put at risk."

Makarov hummed to himself as he clenched the paper in his hand crumpling it. Then after what seemed to be a long pause, he gave his reply.

"Well... since we know nothing about who set this bounty and we have no idea when the enemy will try to attack, I suppose we'll have to do our best to keep an eye on Willy for now," he said. "If trouble should arise, we will deal with the problem swiftly."

Tu Chi then sighed. "That's just what I'd thought you'd say," she said. "But you should be careful, Makarov. You may have taken down Oración Seis, but that's only one-third of the Balam Alliance gone. There's still two more, Grimoire Heart and Tartaros. If they hadn't noticed you before, they probably will now."

"I know, but I wouldn't be so worried," Makarov said. "The reason why the Oración Seis was defeated was because of Fairy Tail and all the other guilds working together." He then looked up at Natsu and the others having a good time with Finn and Sieri. "This generation has produced some powerful wizards and I feel confident that when the time comes, these kids will step up and take matters into their own hands. And if anyone dares to try and harm my children or anyone in Magnolia, you can be sure that they will feel the wrath of Fairy Tail. Because we're not just a guild... we're a family."

Tu Chi stared at Makarov and chuckled. "Oh Makarov, you always were a Papa Bear."

Makarov then glared. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you making fun of me?"

"Not in the slightest," said Tu Chi. "In fact, I kind of admire you for that. You not only being a guild master but also being like a father to these kids. I can see why your guild is the way it is. It's as they say. Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful and incredible things can be achieved."

"You always did like to speak with quotes," said Makarov. "But I'm flattered for the compliment."

"Be sure to keep that kind of thinking and treasure each moment with your children," went on Tu Chi as she looked around. "For I feel that in future, our enemies will try to put that bond to the test and when that happens, we must be ready."

As everyone in the guild talked, joked, and had fun, someone walked into the guildhall unbeknownst to anyone. The person was a young girl about as old as Erza or Lucy, had long pink hair that went to her shoulders. She also had bright blue eyes that glinted with mischevious energy and her teeth with her larger than normal canines shone in the sun.

She quietly walked into the guild making sure not to draw any attention to herself. She walked over to the request board and placed a flyer on it sticking it with a thumbtack. She was just about to leave when Levy along with Jet and Droy came walking up.

"Oh. Hello there," greeted Droy. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"Oh. Nothing much," said the girl. "I was just looking around. By the way, this guild's quite the interesting place. It's so large and the atmosphere is so friendly."

"You bet it this," said Jet. "Fairy Tail's got one of the biggest and greatest guild halls ever."

"Not to mention it's a good place to come to if you're looking for a guild to join," added Droy.

The girl seemed surprised.

"Really? You don't mind if a complete stranger comes in wanting to join the guild?" she asked.

"Not at all. We're always looking for requests," said Levy. "Do you want to join?"

The young girl pondered. Then she shook her head.

"That's quite alright. Besides," said the girl. "I just came here to drop off something. I have to get going."

"Aww... you sure you don't wanna join?" asked Jet. "We can put in a good word in with the master right now if you want."

"No. It's OK," said the girl. "But I will think about it though. I'll see you later."

And with that, the girl merrily went on her away skipping out of the guild.

"Well she was cute," said Droy. "She would certainly give Levy a run for her money."

"What are you talking about?" Jet spoke. "No girl's cuter than Levy!"

"I wonder what that girl was doing here though," said Levy. "And who was she?"

As the girl went on her way outside of the guild, she looked back gazing up at the Fairy Tail building.

"The dye has been cast," she said to herself. "Now... we wait for the prey to take the bait."

As the wind gently blew, it pushed away the girl's hair slightly revealing a guild mark on her neck which was a pink pawprint with two unique characters in the center of the metacarpal pad.

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Dragoman out!