updated 9/12/24, replacing chapters 28, 29, and 30. and like that: we're caught up. almost can't believe it. I caught up.

Otaku789(1), I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Phoenix(1), Yesss! The moment is here! Ah yes, the good old mental kill with anticipation. Proven to be 100% fatality free! And always so satisfying. Honestly? At this point I'm hoping I can pull it off convincingly, but Jude got something realll messed up planned that you will see at some point in this chapter that really sets of the alarms which were at a low jangle until this moment. Yesssss I am such a big sucker for a group of strangers becoming family (big reason why I recently fell in love with the anime Kekkai Sensen, which I do recommend) Cobra is like the estranged cousin who no one really wants to remember or talk about but everyone loves him anyway. Hey, my school starts up on Monday as well. Ughhh, I have a headache just thinking about my alarms. I sleep through them so often I think I'm gonna need to bump my twenty up to forty, (every five minutes instead of every ten) but I think that would piss off just about literally everyone. THE GREAT HIATUS HAS ENDED! WE ARE FREE! WE ARE FREE!

Guest(1), a wise old owl lived in an oak, Jude is not a nice bloke, the more he saw, the less he spoke, the crew of Fairy Tail certainly aren't common folk, the less he spoke the more he heard, I just hope this doesn't seem too absurd, why can't we all be like that wise old bird? An update! An update! I've got you hooked, eh? Guess I better reel you in with this chapter, eh? Oh goodness, finals? I hope you did well, even without another chapter of this!

Otaku789(2), uh… looks like that's a no. Sorry! I had a lot to do, and this story had to take a temporary backseat.

Otaku789(3), they're over! We're done! What is this feeling, it's almost like… freedom. Agh whoops there it goes, semester two is here and it brings a lot of work! Well, it's a little late, but here's your r&r! I hope that what happens next is good!

Guest(2), Cliffhanger! Ooh those are some good puppy eyes. I can feel my heart melting. Better update quick!

Phoenix(2), happy (belated) Valentines Day!

Guest(3), indeed it has! Honestly your review really helped me get through a rough patch with my writing. I felt a bit like everything I wrote wasn't good enough but your words really help. Thank you, honestly. :D

Guest(4), ah, sorry about that! I realized I still had the AN Chapter up, and figured I'd take it down. I didn't realize it would rebrand this as updated. Sorry! At least it's for real now!

Otaku789(1), if you've managed to giggle for two months, colour me highly impressed. Haha

Phoenix(1), the two month cliff! Argh! Hmm, I'd say we're getting pretty close to the climax? (Spoilers, the climax is definitely when Natsu meets Jude again and it's 110 percent gonna be another cliffie) oh no, is you dead? Whoopsies. (Honestly I'm so frazzled right now I thought 'hey The Napoleon didn't pain the Mona Britain overnight' instead of 'Hey the Mona Lisa wasn't created overnight, yeah?' I need help)

Guest(1), Hot Cross Buns, I'm sure I'll write tons, hot cross buns, I'm sure no one I'll shun, one-a-penny, two-a-penny, of things left to do this stories got plenty, Hot Cross Buns! Finally, a December(kind of) update! Oh yes this is definitely once a week yep mhm 100%. Ugh I don't even want to think about school right now it's been crushing me. I haven't had the chance to see Dragon Cry yet but I'm looking forward to it! (This is definitely soon)

Guest(2), I'm only two months late, that's all!

Phoenix(2), ah, see there, it's made a slight misstep and fallen into a ditch. Oh dear, the ditch seems to have lit itself on fire. The Sunday Pattern, such a rare creature, yet so prone to Calamity. Ahem. Oh no, I'm so sorry I'm late with the insta-happy! (Oh no my secret magic skill has been uncovered calling in swat team '100-PANIC-PANIC)

Otaku789(2), indeed, the weekend! What a great time for updates! Oh, there it goes. And again. And again. And again. An-

Guest(3), indeed it has! Uh… twice over… ahem. This definitely counts as soon shhhhhhh. You need wait no longer!

Otaku789(3), November is indeed over! In fact, so is the year! Whoops. Anyway. On with the Lord of the Phantoms!

Phoenix(3), oh no, people are looking at their calendars, what to do, what to do uhhhhhhhhh. Well, the hiatus is over! I agree, I would just hate to leave this unfinished.

Otaku789(4), well, I feel like in the middle of an arc would be a bad place for a Christmas special, seeing as it would probably shatter the flow of the story. (Plus there's the fact Wendy, Sting, and Rogue were written into it and they would probably have some reaction to suddenly being in the Fairy Tail guild hall hahaha) mine wasn't out until Friday either, what a coincidence! Belated Holiday cheer for all!

Phoenix(4), Merry (belated) Christmas! :)

Phoenix(5), and a happy new year!

Guest(1), wow, that was fast! Haha, I guess that's fair though, I did leave you on (yet another) cliffhanger! I gotta let you stew in it for a bit though. Really think through the possibilities, yeah?

Guest(2),aww, you really think so? Things do seem to be in the favour of not changing it, but I'm going to keep the poll open for maybe another week and see how things go. If things go the way of rewriting it, you can go ahead and copy the first chapter before I change it, and keep it for yourself, so long as you don't claim it as your own, yeah?

dsasd, careful, we don't want to spoil people! When I started this story I was halfway through the Eclipse arc, so I didn't know that at the time. Now, I've finished reading Fairy Tail, and I've seen the Dragon Cry movie, so I know how it plays out. I'm thinking maybe for the rewrite, (if I end up doing it) Zeref either makes a deal with all five dragons, or Igneel doesn't know when Natsu is going to show up and the other four are inconveniently in the way. That's the rough idea, I can probably patch it up more when I'm actually writing, yeah?

Guest(3), please, be my guest. (Hahahahahaha)

Otaku789(1), oh yes he did! Ooh, a mix of the two? How do you mean?

Guest(4), Little miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet, of despair we've a buffet, eating her curds and whey, but really there's no need for dismay, along came a spider, things will always get brighter, who sat down beside her, some of these characters couldn't get snider, and frightened miss Muffet away, I'll just find another way. An update! Aww, that's great! I know the feeling of getting weird looks from family because something makes you real happy. (How do you think I feel getting these reviews? Haha) :D

Phoenix(1), Wait, review 200? Already? When did that happen? Did I blank out? Where am I what happened

Guest(5), you got it! An update it is!

Otaku, uhhhh I'm sure the Easter bunny was just… early. That's all. I'm not late. Shhh.

Phoenix(2), happy Easter!

Otaku789(2), you need more, more you shall have!

Phoenix(3), yeah, crazy right? I'm getting there though, slowly but surely. Oh dude you were crazy close to me. My family debated going to that festival actually, but my dads back started hurting him real bad and we weren't able to go (we live like six hours away). Aw man I know what it feels like to have a ton of homework. I had a migraine and slept it off, only to bolt wide awake at like two in the morning because I remembered how much work I needed to get done. I mean, I did have this whole chapter written out, you know, and I was about to post it when I realized the kind of important detail that I had broken Natsus arm last time, and the chapter I had just written depended on him having both, so it was back to the drawing board for me. Aww, you flatter me. Nothing is as surefire as to bring a grin to my face. YES! Oh man, I read the manga ahead of time and I'm super excited for what's to come. It's great seeing the scenes in full colour and animated, oh man. My favourite character is Kaminari, the little dork. I have been trying to think of a My Hero Academia Story for a little while, I'm thinking I might do a crossover. Knowing me it's gonna be a crossover with Fairy Tail, hahaha.(actually, I just remembered! Over on ao3 I'm already doing a my hero and avengers crossover fic, where I'm rewriting the avengers with My Hero characters! I'm probably gonna cross-post it over here when it's done.) P.s. Awwwwww. I'm really looking forward to finishing one and starting the other!

Otaku789(3), whoa it is what. Well, here's the update! Hopefully it'll make your life just that little bit more enjoyable!

Otaku789, haha yesss! I plan to keep going, no worries!

Guest, baa baa black sheep, after this he'll need to sleep, have you any wool, he certainly is ever so cruel, yes sir yes sir, the lines between good and bad'll begin to blur, three bags full, maybe Lucy will summon a certain bull, one for my master, at least they didn't hit it with their blaster, and one for the dame, Jude's ambitions are rather lame, one for the little boy, this reviews fills me with joy, who lives down the lane, so long as you don't end up needing a cane! Ooh, those are some interesting ideas, thanks! Hmm, but how far back would we go? Rambunctious little kid? Angry but quiet kid? Defeated child? Ooh, maybe all of them.

Phoenix, yeah, a little bit eh? Hmm, perhaps not so much an accident… you'll see. Yeah, I would have loved to go. What a shame, haha. Oh yeah, I've seen Bungou but I haven't seen the other two, I'll check them out sometime! Ooh, those are some fantastic ideas! I can feel the inspiration coming! ;)

Otaku788(2), erk, Exams! Not A Fun Time. Thank you! I'd wish you good luck too but I'm a liiittle late. Just by a smidge.

Guest(2), Aw yeah summer vacation! Summer sure is great, isn't it! And hey, here's an update! Damn right it's Natsutime! Haha

Guest(3), who knows what Gajeels gonna do? Hmm... a real mystery, that guy. Yeah, honestly I can't believe there's actual real world people who will willingly do that to their children. Awful :( anyway it's really up to reader interpretation for any of the ships, as I'm not much of a romance writer, haha.

Phoenix(2), happy Canada day!

Gajeel has to wait in the lobby as Natsu is ushered off by several servants, and he spends maybe thirty minutes poking around until they bring Natsu back, now in a suit with his hair slicked into some semblance of order.

"Oh, you're… still here?" Natsu says, looking a little puzzled.

"Gihi. Figured I'd better stick around in case you make a runner for it."

Natsu opens and then closes his mouth, giving Gajeel an odd look, before shrugging. "Suit yourself. The old man's not gonna be happy about it, though."

As predicted: Jude Heartphilia is not happy about it.

They're taken up to his office, and Natsu opens the doors while the servants remain outside, emanating sadness and regret. The more puzzle pieces Gajeel gets, the less he likes what he's looking at.

Heartphilia doesn't look up, when they enter. He's filling out some paperwork or something, quill meticulous against clean white paper. About ten seconds pass before Gajeel speaks up, "Oi. Finished your job, old man."

The movement of quill against paper stops.

"I am aware of that, Phantom. You may take your payment and go."

"Nah," Gajeel says, "I'm supposed to hang around for a bit. Master Jose wants to make sure your guy doesn't try and pull a runner."

Finally, Heartphilia looks up. The expression he gives Gajeel is nothing but pure disdain.

"Tell your Master I don't plan on paying him any more . Do what you want, but be gone by this time next week. Anything broken or damaged will be subtracted from the sum total of your payment, and you'll be the one explaining why."

With his attention thoroughly taken, Heartphilia carefully sets his quill aside, and then shuffles his papers out of the way, cautious of the still-wet ink.

"Now then. I request a private moment with my son. Regardless of what your guild master may think, I am very capable of keeping him in hand."

Gajeel bites back the instinctive response, which is: well he got away once, didn't he? Every instinct he's gleaned from his detective novels tells him that it's important to build trust now. So, with one last glance about the room, he steps outside.

.•.•.•.

"Dragneel," is the first thing that Jude says, when the door closes behind Gajeel, and Natsu hates that about him, hates how he manages to turn Natsu's own name into an insult. The cuff is a reminder, a burning brand against his skin— yet again, his magic is locked out of reach. As much as he wants to flip Jude's desk and set all his paperwork on fire, he can't even summon a puff to his fingertips.

"I should hope that, by now, you've gotten that rebellious streak out of your system?" Jude continues, "After all, such behaviour is unbecoming of a Heartphilia. Don't worry, I've already arranged with the magic council to… erase… all that unpleasantness from your history."

"Yeah right," Natsu bites back, "I'm a member of Fairy Tail. You can't erase that."

"Oh? Well, it's very noble of you to think that. However, you do seem to be lacking a guild mark, and I've heard those are rather important. Moreover, it isn't as if Fairy Tail still exists. Their guild hall was destroyed; any reasonable guild would simply disband. I wouldn't hold out hope for any of them showing up for you."

Natsu balls his fists tightly enough that his nails bite into skin. Jude notices, of course he does.

"I see you still have a number of habits to unlearn. Get out of my sight, boy, until you've gotten yourself back under control. I won't have some wild beast living in my house."

For a very entertaining moment, Natsu envisioned lunging over the desk and strangling him. The cold burn of the magic suppression cuff reminded him of why that would be a bad idea.

Natsu turns to leave, stiff, but he only makes it as far as the door when Jude calls out.

"Oh, and Dragneel?" A ghost of a smirk pulls at Jude's face, "Don't forget. You're here forever."

The doors close behind him with a sense of finality. Really, though, all considered that wasn't as badly as that could have gone.

"Damn, your old man's an asshole," Gajeel says, about startling the life out of Natsu. This cuff suppresses his senses, too, to a deeply annoying degree. It's going to take ages to get used to again.

In a flash of daring, Natsu agrees. "Heh. Yeah, you get used to it, though. And he's not my old man."

"You tellin' me I brought you to the wrong place?" Gajeel lifts a studded brow, clearly skeptical.

"No, it's… it's complicated."

"We got a week," Gajeel says, shrugging.

Despite that, and the fact that Gajeel trails him like a shadow, they don't properly get another chance to talk until that night.

Anything overheard is required to be reported, Natsu knows from long experience. The least he can do is give the servants an out. Even despite everything, his bedroom is still private.

Damn he hates this room.

It's entirely too stuffy. There's at least still the loose floorboard, which he's put back into action, hiding all of his most treasured possessions. Having them out near Jude was just asking for trouble, after all. But the rest of it, from the colour of the walls to the texture of the bedsheets… Natsu hates.

At least he isn't alone in his misery. Gajeel sniffs at the mattress that's been set out for him with derision, and drops heavily to the floor, instead.

"You gonna talk now," he prompts.

"I don't like you," Natsu answers. "You attacked my— you attacked Fairy Tail. You brought me back here."

"Tough—"

"But you're the only avenue I've got. Did… have you ever seen any dragons, anywhere?"

Gajeel scratches the back of his head, frowning. "No. Damn. Guess you haven't either."

Natsu sighs, frustrated, but not surprised.

"Fine. The other thing, then. You said, earlier, that Jude's an asshole? I'm not telling you everything. You don't have that right. But I'll tell you some things, and if you stick around, you'll probably see plenty yourself. Deal?"

"Fine by me," Gajeel says. He even, to Natsu's surprise, offers to shake on it.

Silence fills the room as Natsu stews on how to best approach this— he's never wanted to explain this to anyone, and that hasn't changed.

"You've probably gathered by now that Jude isn't my dad. Igneel was, but… after he and the others left, I stumbled onto the Heartphilia estate by chance. Jude just lost his wife and their kid, and he saw me as a quick replacement."

"The others?" Gajeel prompts.

"I was raised by five dragons." Instinctively, Natsu raises a hand to show off the elements, but with his cuff the magic dances out of his reach. He'll have to get used to that, too.

"Damn," Gajeel says, "I only had to deal with the one, and he was annoying as hell. Any of yours snore? Metallicana could snore loud enough to wake up anything."

"Grotee snored," Natsu says. "I don't know how loud Metallicana was, but I bet Grotee was louder."

They exchange a chuckle, commiserating over how difficult it is to get to sleep with a snoring dragon nearby, before Natsu pushes onwards with his story.

"I guess the thing that killed his wife and kid was magic, so he… developed a hatred for it. Not that you'd be able to tell, hypocrite uses it all the time, but he didn't want me to have anything to do with it."

He taps a finger against his cuff, "I guess he had this commissioned for me. Got it on me the first chance he got, the rest is history."

"Hmm," Gajeel says, and then "Well, I'm going to bed."

True to his word, he lies down on the hardwood and goes to sleep.

If only it were so easy for Natsu.

.•.•.•.

The following days are gruelling. They're woken early and kept busy— even though Gajeel technically doesn't have to do anything, it's still tiring just seeing the gauntlet Natsu gets put through. They still talk, but the more time that's spent here, the more the light in Natsu's eyes goes out, the less talkative he gets.

On day five, Natsu comes out from a meeting with Jude with a bruise on his face.

That night, Gajeel breaks into his office.

Security lacrima are easy enough to avoid if you know what you're looking for, and while Jude's desk is trapped, those traps don't hold a candle to a iron dragon slayer who can just make the key.

He finds a lot of boring ass paperwork. There's always a secret compartment, though, especially in desks like this, so it only takes a little poking and prodding before Gajeel manages to peel back a secret panel (a very crunchy secret panel. Usually these things are smooth, aren't they? whatever), and, brushing off some random splinters, finds a journal. It's fat with paper, excess pieces poking out, so Gajeel flips it open and flips through.

He doesn't need to look for long.

He nails the secret compartment shut again, locks the drawers, and sneaks back out.

It's just as well that he acts when he does, because early in the morning on day six, Jude calls them both to his office.

"I believe," he says, "that I've made it quite clear by now that I can keep my protege in hand. Go, return to your master. Your payment is by the front door."

"Gihi. Fine by me." Gajeel waves, lax, over his shoulder as he goes. A bit earlier than he had expected, but not surprising. Jude had been wearing thin with patience over his presence. In any case, he has his own plans. Unlike Jude, he knows that Phantom Lord was disbanded and arrested shortly after the attack on Fairy Tail, and even as he took the money from the butler or whatever by the door, he didn't plan to break them out. Good riddance, as far as he cared.

(Well, he would consider breaking Juvia out, maybe, if he thought she would go and get herself arrested in the first place. And besides, she wasn't even a member anymore.)

Nah. First order of business, making the trek back to Magnolia. His Phantom Lord guild mark was long gone, but if any of the Fairies did recognize him he had a sizeable bribe of cash to make up for it. They were probably going to need it, after what happened to their guild hall. If any of his impressions of the guild were correct, though, he likely wouldn't even need it— information on where one of their members had gone off to would likely be more than enough. If you ignored the convenient fact that Gajeel was the one that put them there.

Phantom Lord may have been a dark guild in all but name, but Jude was darker. The journal in his pocket all but proves that.

Gajeel kicks the door open, striding with purpose across the lawn.

Being a detective was exactly as satisfying as he thought it would be. Now he just needs to turn in the evidence. After all, now he had more than enough to justify setting Fairy Tail loose on his property.

Not enough to justify taking the train to Magnolia, though.

.•.•.•.

It was about day later that he finally reached the outskirts of Magnolia, making it a week since he had deposited Natsu directly into Jude's hands. The town itself seemed fairly settled— more calm than he would expect, after one of the most prominent guilds in Fiore got into such a spat, but maybe they were used to it at that point.

From the edge of town, he followed the sound of construction and smell of booze— not that he really needed the guide, when he already knew where the guild hall was. Clearly they had some experience in renovation— the skeleton frame of the guild was already complete, which only left about… everything else to do. For a group of unhinged drunks, it was impressive.

Speaking of unhinged drunks, though, one of the women near the entrance took note of his approach and swaggered over, clutching an entire bottle of alcohol with both arms. "Hey~ * hic *, come to ogle our guild hall, huh?" She giggled, leaning forwards like she was about to share a secret, although she continued at full volume. "It's practically NAKED right now, heh... * hic *."

Gajeel began to have second thoughts.

"Cana, why don't you go make sure no ones working themselves too hard, hmm?" Said someone from about knee level, who was clearly disregarding the fact that Cana looked like the one who needed looking after.

"Sure, sure, I'll go make sure no ones..." she waved a hand in the air, taking another swig out of the bottle and stumbling back the way she came. Gajeel looked down and— well, didn't come eye to eye with him, exactly, but came face to face with the guild master of Fairy Tail for the first time.

He didn't strike the most imposing figure, tiny and bandaged and smiling, but if he was anything like Phantom Lords master then Gajeel knew not to look down on him. (Metaphorically. Physically, there wasn't much he could do.)

"You're Gajeel of Phantom Lord, correct?" Makarov asked, smile unfaltering. "I hope you don't plan to attack my children again."

Gajeel grimaces, setting the bag of cash down and flexing his fingers. "Nah, that's not what I'm here for. This time."

"In that case, why don't you join our guild?"

"Listen, I said that's not what I'm— what?" Gajeel snapped his mouth shut, staring at the guild master in utter befuddlement. What? He couldn't have heard that wrong, but— what? Of all the things he had expected entering Magnolia again, that was absolutely not on the list.

"I know our guild hall isn't the most impressive looking right now, but I assure you, we have plenty of space for new members." The smile dropped from his face, "And if word were to get out that you were a part of Phantom Lord, the magic council would want to have you locked up. Joining a legal guild would give you protections against that. Of course, Fairy Tail isn't your only option, but we would be glad to have you, regardless."

Well damn, the old man had a point. Not that shackles or cell bars would do much to keep him contained, but it would be nice to avoid the hassle of escaping and then trying to find a guild that would take him. 'Sides, there were plenty of strong people in Fairy Tail. Mind already made up, he grinned. "I'll think about it, old man. First, though, don't you have a member missing?"

.•.•.•.

Natsu had about resigned himself to his fate. His taste of freedom had been nice— more than he ever could have asked for, really, even if Jude was one step behind him all the way, but it had come at too high a cost. So many people had gotten hurt because of him. He shouldn't have joined a guild, shouldn't have gotten attached, but he had and he regretted it. Not meeting Lucy and Happy and Erza and Gray— he didn't regret that, couldn't regret that, but he regretted what came of it.

Having Gajeel around had been weird, but it meant that Jude kept his distance. Now, though, with the other dragon slayer gone, it was only a matter of time before, well.

Sure enough, it was only a day after Gajeel left that he was called back into Jude's study.

The atmosphere in the darkened room was tense, as Jude refused to do much as look up at him for a full ten minutes, despite being the one to summon him. Eventually, he set his quill down, folding his hands in front of him. Then he unfolded them again to pinch the bridge of his nose, sigh.

"You know, I don't want to be fighting you every step of the way, Dragneel. If you had just cooperated from the start, this all would have been so much easier. Thanks to your reckless, immature actions, I have had to fund millions of jewel into covering for you and having you brought back home. I don't understand why you insist on fighting me on this."

He played the part of concerned parent well; well enough that most would buy into it without doubt. Natsu, though. Natsu saw right through him.

"Cooperated? Cooperated with what! You took everything from me— you have taken everything from me! I am not your son, Jude, and I am not your heir. You tried, oh, you tried to make me your perfect little puppet but I am not and will not ever be that! Fairy Tail," and here he paused, just for a moment, "Fairy Tail taught me—"

"Fairy Tail is gone because of you!" Jude had stood at some point during Natsu's rebuttal, now towering over the dragon slayer. "Fairy Tail stood for nothing in the end, Natsu. Fairy Tail crumbled. Any lessons you learned there…" he shook his head, almost looking sympathetic, "any lessons you learned there were truly worthless. They were weak, meaningless. Or else, why would their guild hall fall so easily?" A malicious spark caught in his eye, "You are no longer a member of Fairy Tail, Dragneel. You might think they still care about you, but you're wrong."

"That's— you're wrong. They care more than you ever did."

"Oh, Dragneel." Jude shook his head, reached across the desk. Natsu flinched back but all the older man did was catch his jaw in his hand, forcing eye contact. "Then why haven't they come to get you yet?"

He let go, wiped his palm off as if he had touched something dirty, sat back down at his desk. "If you're going to continue this charade of rebellion, then our conversation for today is done. Your lessons continue tomorrow, do try to be on time for them. There's a lot for you to unlearn."

Natsu turned, stiffly, walking out of the study. He didn't want to say Jude was right, but. It had been a week. That attack… he was likely responsible for the death of a couple members (he hoped, hoped, hoped, that it was not all of them, that Jude was wrong), and he himself wasn't a member any longer, Aria had taken care of that. What place did he have, assuming that they would want to take him back, after all the trouble and hurt he had caused?

"Oh, and Natsu?" Jude added, just as he reached the door. "Remember, you aren't worthy of the Heartfilia name yet. Keep working, Dragneel."

The door shuts with a clunk behind him, and Natsu takes a moment to rest his head against the thick wood. He could turn around, rip the door off of its hinges, attack Jude— but then where would he be? Fairy Tail— not with Fairy Tail, and unless he killed Jude, the Heartfilia Estate would forever be hostile, and he didn't want to… he didn't want to kill the man, despite everything.

He corrects his posture, setting off down the hallway. Damn, his shoulder still hurts. If he ever got another chance to escape, it would prove a major hindrance.

Thunk .

Well. Not that it mattered. Jude was keeping such a close eye on him now he doubted he would ever find another chance to escape.

Thunk .

Even now, aside from the security lacrima, Jude had servants tailing him. Whatever smidgen of privacy he might have been able to keep before was well and thoroughly gone now.

Thunk .

He stepped into the main room, intending to pass by the stairs that led to the second level in favour of heading to his room, instead— what was that thunking noise?

The front doors blew open with a plume of magical power, revealing Guild Master Makarov, hand still raised from where he had used it to knock the doors off of their hinges, a wide grin on his face. "Oops," he said, not sounding sorry in the least, "Looks like I knocked a little too hard."

"Natsu!" Pushing past him was Erza, Lucy, Gray.

"Uh, you aren't supposed to be here," someone called, but they were blatantly ignored by the Fairy Tail Mages.

"Natsu! You're okay!"

"He's okay? Look, he looks all sad!"

"If he made you sad I'm gonna—"

"Death threats later! We found Natsu again!"

"Guys?" Natsu blinked, befuddled. Had he finally lost it? "What are you all doing here?"

Lucy got close enough to pull him into a hug, mindful of his shoulder. "We came for you, silly."

Natsu took a step back, pulling out of her embrace. "Wh— but I'm not even a member of Fairy Tail anymore! My guild mark is gone, the guild hall is—"

Then Erza was there, pulling him into a significantly less gentle and much more crushing embrace. "Being a member of Fairy Tail is much more than having a guild mark, Natsu. You're with us for as long as you want to be."

"Yeah, what she said. Once a member of Fairy Tail, always a member of Fairy Tail." Gray smirked, and then shot Natsu a wary look. "But you aren't getting a hug from me, flame-brain."

Erza stopped compressing his lungs for long enough to spin him around to face her, both hands on his shoulders. "You should have told us! We would have made sure this man never would have bothered you again." She looked him over, displeasure visible in the slant of her mouth. "He hasn't done anything to you, has he?"

Natsu would have answered, really, he would have, but it was at that exact moment that Jude strode into the room, anxiously being trailed by one of the staff. "Natsu!" He bellowed, face flushed red, "What is the meaning of this!?"

Makarov launched out of the crowd, landing neatly in front of Jude. He used no magic, no rising swell of power. He simply looked up, smiled, and replied "I'm just here to collect one of my wayward children."

Jude spluttered, outrage stealing his words, and Makarov's expression took a vengeful hint.

"After all, I believe he has no business being in the custody of someone who would treat him like this?" He held out the journal, and the colour fled from Jude's face like it was being chased by wolves. He staggered, as if struck, and then made a swipe for the book. Makarov let him have it, still smiling.

"Of course, I've already taken copies of that to the magic council. You're welcome to have yours back." The change in Makarov's demeanour was instant: from cheerful old man to cunning, but more than that, enraged guild master. "It's the only thing you'll ever get from me."

"This—" Jude's mouth was dry, hands clammy. "This is outrageous! You can't just— just storm into my house like this, especially not such, such riff-raff!" He pointed at the throng of Fairy Tail mages, ignoring Makarov in an attempt to regain some control over the situation. "Out! All of you, out of my—"

He stopped. Froze right where he stood, looking every inch like he had seen a ghost. Slowly, his hands drifted to his sides, and the journal hit the ground with a soft thump.

It was then that the army caught up with Fairy Tail, and the Heartphilia estate was officially seized, in concert with the arrest of one Jude Heartphilia.

Fairy Tail piled out as a mass, already partying, but a small group— which is to say, Lucy, Happy, Erza, Gray, and Natsu returned to Natsu's room for long enough for him to retrieve his most precious possessions. Makarov met them on the grass, and undid Natsu's cuff, which had the knock-on effect of snapping Natsu out of the 'this must be a dream' daze he was stuck in.

If he cried (which he did) Fairy Tail never told anyone.

.•.•.•.

This Journal Is The Property Of: Jude Heartphilia.

Entry One:

I have decided to begin keeping a journal in an effort to chronicle my day-to-day life. I fear, however, that most of these pages will be filled with nothing but my love for my wife and our as of yet unborn child. I picture holding her, as Layla is so certain she will be a girl, and tears spring to my eyes. How could I ever write anything without them?

Entry Eighteen:

They are both deceased.

Entry Nineteen:

I have come across a young boy. He has potential, in him, I believe, but he also has the same rot that took both Layla and my child, the detestable thing: magic. I believe I may be able to cure him of this plague.

Entry Thirty One:

It has taken weeks of trial and error, but I have finally managed to commission something to keep his magic at bay. I had thought that rune mage's work was impeccable, but in no time at all the boy was casting again. Thankfully, these seal stone cuffs are thin enough to be mistaken as jewelry, and powerful enough that he only need wear one at a time.

Entry Thirty Nine:

A strange egg appeared in the yard. I have ordered it dealt with, lest the boy see it and get ideas in his head about dragons again.

Entry Forty Five:

Despite his lack of magic, the boy's body continues to vex me. His teeth are sharp, eyes slitted. I have attempted to fix the issue of his teeth, but they proved tougher than my instruments. I will have to teach him to smile with his mouth closed. Uncertain what to do about his eyes; I refuse to have a blind heir.

Entry Sixty:

A group of mages approached me with a proposition. I nearly denied them outright, but the temptation stirred at something within me, and I could easily afford the stipend they asked for. If what they proposed works, then I would gladly pay any price to see Layla and our child returned to life, even if it were to be magic to do it. I will have to look more into this R-System.

Entry One Hundred and Two:

He's escaped.

Entry Three Hundred and Fifty Eight:

I am frustrated beyond measure. The council had the boy, and allowed him to slip from between their fingers, all because of that irritating upstart, Siegrain. I have elected to slash the funding I was providing to several of them, and instead apply that money much more directly. I have been in contact with the guild Phantom Lord, and they seem promising.

.•.•.•.

While Jude was being arrested, a nervous seeming maid pulled Makarov aside, hands trembling. There, she explained further about Jude's crimes, told him about the man who initially allowed Natsu to escape. How Jude had hired a mage to erase every memory from his head. Told him that every servant there would be willing to testify, asked if there was anything that could be done to help their poor ex-colleague.

And, when Makarov affirmed that that would be possible, she told him about something else, too.

Something, arguably, much more important.