Weeks passed, and surprisingly without a single new incident in Fiore. Things were at peace with a price. The only action anyone had seen lately was due to the jobs they went on, as it should be. Things at Fairy Tail were mostly normal now…business as usual, what with Natsu and Gray arguing over some minuscule detail. The guild continued to be in the uproar it held daily, but it was a little less cheery, at least to Wendy. She and Carla were sitting at a table and Wendy just kept her head tilted down at the plate of food before her. "Wendy…please eat…" Carla pleaded. Wendy's appetite had not been that great since Fight for Fiore ended. Alex soon joined them.

"I will." Wendy replied with a small nod. "I was just remembering something…"

"What was it…?" Carla questioned with a tilt of her head.

"Remember when we first met Cynthia? She was cold, alone, and scared on that mountainside." Wendy now had a sad smile on her lips. "And when she came to, she was still so frightened, but even less so…She trusted me and I took her around town…then I got sick, and I heard she was more worried about me than everyone else even though we'd only just met."

"That sounds like Cynthia." Alex said with a warm smile. "We weren't together for very long, but she was always looking out for me when we were being experimented on. Even though she was getting the worst of it..."

"That's true." Erza confirmed, taking a seat across from Wendy with a soft smile. "She was really worried about you. After that happened it's when she joined, I still don't think I've seen her happier than when she was with you."

"So much happened then…" Wendy sighed. "I was really scared in the forest when she lost her control over her concern for me…and when she got kidnapped...my heart stopped. Seeing the way Aiden used her, I was horrified. You know, Erza-san, Alex…it was then I completely devoted myself to protecting her, but I failed. I was so close and I lost her at the end…"

"That's not true." Erza shook her head.

Wendy looked up, giving Erza a curious expression. "Huh…?"

"You saved her." Carla said while waving a paw around.

"We all heard what she said before she was gone…" Erza said with a small nod. "You did save her, Wendy. You were the reason she learned what it meant to live…and that's incredible. A lot of people go their entire lives without learning that meaning. She was only 14 at the time and you taught her that meaning…and you know what else? Cynthia would not want you to be sad over her being gone…I know that's hard to hear, but she'd want you to smile."

"….I know…" Wendy gave another nod. Her eyes drifted to the Friends Forever bracelet that Cynthia got her for her Birthday. In the midst of that horrible day, that was a bright spot. She always wore it. She kept it by her side. Even though Cynthia was gone... "It's just hard…before meeting her; I didn't think I could ever feel this way. I love her so much and now...I feel empty, Erza-san. I know all of you are here to help cheer me up, but…oh, I'm sorry, I guess that sounds a little ungrateful, doesn't it?"

"We understand." Erza said with a soft chuckle. "Cynthia was your best friend and other half for a reason…that's a void we can only do our best to try and fill. We know it won't be the same as having her hear with you. But we're still worried about you. That's why Alex is here, too."

"Mhm!" Alex grinned. "Gaia and the others send their good wishes, as well. "We're all here for you, Wendy. We're not expecting or asking for an instant recovery...we just want you to be okay."

"I understand…" Wendy nodded before starting to eat her food. It was the least she could do to appease those who were worried about her.

Lucy watched Wendy with a frown. There was only so much they could do for her. "She's trying so hard...she doesn't deserve this heartache." She placed a hand on her chest. She had no idea what more she could do for Wendy. But as she placed that hand on her chest, she felt her heart beat in a strange way. "Ngh...this clearly isn't good for my heart..."

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Makarov and Laxus stood outside of the Radioactive Decay guild building. Makarov glanced back to Laxus, who had his arms folded over his chest. "You didn't have to join me, Laxus. This is just...a visit."

"Yeah, but I wanna hear what she has to say." Laxus replied. He encountered Avani, and while he lost, he wasn't given such a cruel end by her. "Wizard Saint or not, I want to hear the reason she did why she did. I know you wanted to be soft and give her some time to recover. It's also why you didn't bring Wendy here either."

"I don't think she's ready." Makarov understood. He went to open the door, but it already was by Minoru. "Hm?"

"You must be Makarov." Minoru looked to Laxus after. "And...his grandson?"

"You are Minoru, I assume." Makarov looked up to the man. "...I assume you know why we are here."

Minoru nodded slowly. "Yes, I do. And I'm sorry, but she cannot see either of you right now. She's not...doing well."

"You think that matters?" Laxus lifted a brow. "I get that you're her husband, but you can't shield her from this."

"Laxus." Makarov closed his eyes. He understood Laxus's attitude. But he didn't want to cause an incident.

"I knew this visit would be coming." Minoru decided to step outside. "I'll tell you what she did straight away. The moment she came to, she asked Wizard Saint Kemuri to arrest her on the spot. She felt nothing but guilt for what she did..."

"And?" Laxus ushered Minoru to continue on. Minoru paused, glancing away with a pensive expression.

"...Kemuri would do no such thing. In fact, he congratulated her for eliminating a dangerous threat to Fiore." Those words were difficult even for Minoru to say. Makarov and Laxus' expressions shifted to anger. "She begged and pleaded, but she did not get the result she desired. However, it is not wise for her to stress too much in her condition. As such, she's been...resting..."

"...I see." Makarov then turned around and started to walk off. "Thank you for telling me,"

"Old man, where are you going?" Laxus asked.

"...I wanted to assess if her actions against Cynthia were intentionally malicious or not. I cannot excuse or forgive what she's done. But I can sense the heavy weight on her heart. That alone tells me everything I need to know." It was...a difficult situation. Avani escaped desired punishment...

"I apologize severely for what happened." Minoru said quietly.

"Your apology doesn't mean anything." Laxus grunted. Clearly he wasn't going to get the result he desired. This was a waste of time, and it only served to irritate him even more. But if Makarov was going to walk off...he'd let it go, for now.

Meanwhile, Avani was standing behind the door. She placed a hand on her chest, eyes watering as Makarov and Laxus walked off. "I'm so sorry..." Avani repeated under her breath. The guilt and shame of what she did prevented her from facing Makarov eye to eye. She hid from him...she made Minoru hide her from them. It was too much to bear. "It was so horrible...and there's nothing I can do about it..."

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Fukomakura kept its activity in the shadows; however they were quite aware of what was going on in the country. Opehlia was acting as a scout, gathering information on various things. When the half breed finally returned, her first stop was her mother's chambers. "Oh Mother~" The female called while stepping inside.

Desdemona peered up from filing her long black nails, lacing a smile onto her lips while gesturing for Ophelia to come close. "O, my dear, welcome home. I trust you've come back with some interesting information?"

"But of course, Mother." Ophelia nodded, walking forward before coming to a halt before her Desdemona. "For starters, I've noticed some fresh new talent during that Fight for Fiore nonsense."

"Oh?" Desdemona quirked a brow, waiting for Ophelia to explain.

"Both of them were White Eclipse mages. One of them was Luke Cloud, he has a lot of potential and I think he would be quite fun to experiment with…and the other was Roxanne…"

"Say no more." Desdemona responded before snapping her fingers. "Kize, won't you come in here, dear?" A

And like a dog called by a whistle, Kize appeared in a flash, immediately bowing to Desdemona. "You rang, my queen!?"

"Disgusting…" Opehlia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"YOU'RE DISGUSTING." Kize immediately shot back with a glare, but Desdemona snapped her fingers and Kize's attention snapped back to her in a heartbeat. "Yes?!"

"There's something I'd like you to do for me." Desdemona explained.

"Anything for you!" Kize's eyes stared up at Des, just waiting for whatever order it was she had in store for him.

"Here we go…" Ophelia let out a heavy sigh while shaking her head, deciding to just walk out of the room. She couldn't stand being in Kize's presence any longer.

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"Calium…?" Micaiah blinked, staring at the photo of White Eclipse from when they won the previous Grand Magic Games.

"Ah, the old man…" Cygnus let out a slight chuckle from afar in the main room. "Yeah, he was something else."

"What happened to him?" Saraya questioned. "This is the first time you're mentioning him."

"Simple." Reve began to explain. "He was the first master of White Eclipse, a dangerous mage. In his prime, I don't think there are many people in this world that could stand up to him, and that remained true even as he grew older. But once he got old, he got sick. Once he got sick…it was only a matter of time before he was gone, and he left us a while ago."

"Even though he was old, none of us were able to land a single blow on him…" Takeru grunted. "Luke and I came close once on two separate occasions, but that old man was slippery…"

"That's not the best way to describe him, Tak…" Aira said with a minor sweat drop. "But he was like a father to me, I did everything I could to make sure he was healthy, but in reality I was merely prolonging the inevitable."

"It's a shame you rookies and kids never had the chance to meet him…" Kuro said while slurping down some noodles as per usual. "Despite being old, he was without a doubt the best master around."

"That's a little unfortunate now that you bring it up…" Micaiah said with a small sigh. "I guess it can't be helped…"

Elsewhere, Luke was sitting on the couch in the main room, flipping through the channels in attempt to find something decent to watch. With training having been done for the day, he just planned on relaxing for the day. So imagine his annoyance when there was a knock at the door and the others were too into their conversation to notice. "Great…" He sighed while hopping up, opening the front doors of White Eclipse to Kize. "Can I help you…?"

There Kize stood with a widening grin, ushering for Luke to step outside. "You're Luke Cloud, right?!"

Reluctantly, Luke stepped outside while keeping a brow quirked and shut the door behind him. "Yeah, that's me…"

"Good! Listen, I need your help. Think you can do me a favor?" Kize questioned with that giddy grin still plastered on his lips.

"Sure…what is it..?" Luke asked.

"GREAT ANSWER!" Kize exclaimed before bashing his head into Luke's suddenly. The fierce and unexpected headbutt caught Luke off guard and rendered him unconscious. Nobody inside seemed to notice, so the sensory mage just hoisted the unconscious copycat over his shoulder and made his return to Fukomakura.

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"Hmmm…" Lamy was examining Cynthia in the recovery tube. "Geez…what kind of death did this one suffer? It's been weeks and her internal organs and consciousness still haven't recovered completely…" No one was around to tell her what to do now…and she knew it was in Marde's best interests for Cynthia to make a speedy recovery. "Perhaps no one will mind if I just make feeeeew modifications here and there…." She giggled with that obnoxious laugh of hers.

"Now, now…" That voice belonged to the Ice Devil Slayer: Sliver. He appeared in Hell's Core, shaking his head with a small grin. "You heard the boss before, didn't you, Lamy? No touching our special guest."

Hearing Sliver appear from practically nowhere made Lamy jump, turning to face the Ice Devil. "But Silver-sama! I've been watching her for weeks on end and she hasn't even budged! Maybe taken a breath here and there, but that's it. I swear, some enhancement would make things go so much quicker! Plus she's too cute; the world deserves to see another ugly butterfly."

"I won't permit you to lay a single one of those slimy little fingers on that child." Tayakata spoke with her arms crossed, her tone making it perfectly clear that she wouldn't tolerate Lamy modifying Cynthia in any way. "She is already receiving an enhancement by being turned into a demon within the chamber, there is no need to do anything else, understand?"

"Eeeeh…" Lamy shivered. Of course Taya of all people would be the one to put her foot down on the matter. "Fine…Weird that you'd care about a kid like this. But whatever, I guess I'll just keep being BORED."

"Do your job, ya stinkin' goat." Now it was Maggie that appeared on the scene, the little shadow demon Sora following behind her. "Now, Sora dear…this is something you should probably see." The lava demoness pushed past Lamy and Sliver to show Sora Cynthia.

"Cynthia-chan…!?" Sora's eyes lit up with excitement for only a brief moment before she realized that not only was the dragon slayer unresponsive, but in the healing tube. "W-What's wrong with her…?" Those eyes of hers narrowed into an evil stare as she immediately looked at Lamy, knowing she was the one in charge of Hell's Core. "Who hurt Cynthia-chan."

"Hold that anger, won't you Sora dear?" Sliver said with a growing smirk. "I think the boss has a plan that will coincide directly with those budding homicidal feelings! Until then, it would just be a good idea to sit quietly, yeah?"

Sora puffed her cheeks out before blowing out a lot of air. "If Marde-sama says so…"

"You know, Sliver…" Maggie began tapping her chin while staring down the Ice Devil. "I can't help but notice how awfully cooperative you are. You tend to get along with everyone, you don't let anything bother you."

"Somethin' so strange about that, Maggie?" Sliver questioned while stroking his chin. "Last time I checked, I was one of the Nine Demon Gates. So it's only natural, wouldn't you agree, Taya?" Shifting the topic slightly onto Tayakata, the ravenette was too focused looking at Cynthia to really be paying attention.

"What? Oh…You two need to not bring me into your little squabbles. I've much better things to do than listen to two opposing elements quarrel every now and then…" With a dismissive wave, the vector user walked off quickly.

"Well, it's never boring when these things happen…" Lamy huffed before rubbing her temples. Suddenly her whole faced shifted from cute to manly and it took a moment for those watching to even understand what happened…like they even could. "It's only annoying. Now, if your name isn't Jackal-kun, I'll need you to GET OUT."

"That mutt isn't even here…" Maggie started.

"Oh? THEN GET OUT!" Lamy shouted with her annoying laugh following right after. That alone was enough to get Sliver, Maggie, and Sora to make a hasty exit. No one wanted to be around that laugh for more than a second. "Now that they're gone…" A smile crept onto Lamy's lips. No one was around to stop her now…plus what she was planning on doing was already happening with Cynthia's recovery. "I'll just up the amount of demon particles entering your body by a little bit…this won't turn you into the ugly butterfly you deserve to be, but I think this will make things move much faster…fwahahaha…"

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Next Time: Time Flies.