Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It's like Mystogan all over again.

First, they slowly become drowsy, and then. poof! Team Natsu who should have been in a hot spring disappeared. However, that is not only the bizarre thing that happened.

Time stopped-- for the people in Earth Land, that is. However, in an empty space...

***

"Oi! Natsu! Natsu, damn it! Wake up!" A voice that sounded much like the Ice Prick woke him up. When Natsu opened his eyes, the first thing he noted is that it is dark. Not dark enough to not see who's in front of him, but dark as in there are no stars in the sky.

"Woah! You guys never told me we're gonna change locations!"

"Foolish boy! Shut your mouth! We are surrounded by enemies!"

Natsu wanted to exclaim that Master is with them, however, he soon noticed the tense postures of the other guild members (and he really wanted to ask, how come all of them were here? Again, where is here?)

Both sides were in a stalemate, if you could even call it like that. After all, dark guilds don't really care about other dark guilds, unlike those legal guilds who are always in contact with each other.

Hibiki, from the Blue Pegasus, breathed out a shaky breath, before quietly telling Makarov, "There's Oracion Seis, then Grimoire Heart... and the ones with those in Alvarez Empire is the guild Tartaros. That isolated group on the side seems like a cult and not a guild though, but they have Siegrain."

Hibiki tried to be as quiet as possible, however, his voice echoed, and everyone heard his announcement.

"Aww, scared of us already? How come?" A lady with short white hair and dress made of feathers mocked.

"I don't care about your fights. Whoever did this, release us at once!" An old man with an eyepatch commanded, however, instead of breaking the damned wall of runes currently separating everyone, it just lit up, and even glowed, as if strengthening the barriers even more. It is not a good thing for him to get all the attention though, because Makarov recognized him.

Who wouldn't? Even Mavis, who should have not been there, feel betrayed because of what happened to her successor.

"2nd Master! So you've fallen for the dark side? That's why you left Fairy Tail in my hands?! How can this be?!"

"Makarov," he called out, before turning to the little girl who is currently staring at him with teary eyes. He murmured, "Mavis."

Then, silence ensued. No one was really able to process anything right now-- still shocked at the fact that they suddenly woke up, encaged together with dark guilds and light guilds alike. They just wanted to observe at first, but since it seems like no one will talk while the tension is rising, they just quietly prayed that what they're currently experiencing is a dream.

(An impossible prayer, so to say, because it is impossible for every one of them to have the same dreams at the same time, in such a large scale of people.)

{Good day to all of you.}

Everyone present turned to wherever the source of the voice was, and faced a large lacrima like screen glowing brightly.

{Characters needed complete. Now initiating contact with the characters. Please contact the system if you have any inquiries.}

"System? Is that what you are?"

{Answering to character: Lucy Heartfilia-- Yes, this one is called system. System 101209 to be exact. A pleasure to meet you all.}

"Well then, System, let me ask. What is your purpose in bringing all of us here? Dark guilds and light guilds and insignificant people altogether... do you want a war to start?" Zeref asked, making everyone (except the Spriggan 12 and Tartaros) on sight shiver due to various reasons; fear, excitement, and anger. Zeref on the flesh! 

{Answering to character: Zeref Dragneel-- No. The purpose of the system is to save everyone who can be redeemed and saved.}

Manic laughter from the members of the dark guilds started to echo, mocking the system-- not knowing the internal dilemma of everyone who knew Natsu after hearing Zeref's surname. They all wanted to ask, even Natsu, but Makarov gave them a hard glance. The other guild masters also noticed what's happening on Fairy Tail's side, and decided that now would be a bad time to talk excessively.

"That is-- ehm, system. How will you save everyone by gathering us here?"

{Answering to character: Makarov Dreyar-- Good question. Let System explain.}

Another light erupted from the lacrima, and then showed a list of numbers with titles.

{The list that you are seeing on the screen is the list of the future events that all of you needs to watch. However, because of the excess number of people in the space, some of the episodes went missing, and the lacrima can only play random episodes. In order to let you arrange the chronological events in the future, the system will first show you a series of opening remarks that can be seen in every episodes. May the characters be reminded that they should jot down notes in order to remember the sequence of events.}

Zeref's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And what if, we don't want to watch the future?"

A loud blare of alarm rang throughout the space.

{Answering to character: Zeref Dragneel-- The future must be saved. No mistakes are allowed twice. No mistakes are allowed twice. No mistakes are allowed twice. Defeat the enemy. Defeat the enemy. Defeat the enemy.}

"OKAY FINE WE GOT IT! NOW SHUT UP!" Natsu roared because of the loudness of the announcement.

{Answering to character: Natsu Dragneel-- This one will shut up now. System announcement: Teleporting important characters in 3..... 2.... 1.....}

Suddenly, four people (and a cat) appeared out of nowhere.

Mira and Elfman teared up, while the others were either shocked, happy, or terrified (seeing a dead person alive does wonders.)

"LISANNA!" All of the Fairy Tail members exclaimed, except Lucy who doesn't know her and is currently focused with her look-alike, and Mystogan, who is shocked because Lily, the exceed who saved him from when he was a child, suddenly appeared in Earth Land. 

The light guilds watched the happy reunion with teary eyes, while the members of the dark guilds either huffed or rolled their eyes, or just did not care.

(Gajeel and Juvia is on a completely different story though. Why are they the only ones from Phantom Lord there anyways?)

Zeref is also focused on Anna's appearance, smiling ever so lightly, while Anna just gave him a disappointed look, before turning to Lucy.

"I know you are confused, but if what the system said is true, then you'll know later on," she explained, and Lucy just nodded at her, still trying to process the appearance of someone who looks like her.

Another alarm goes off, cutting off their time to reunite.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT?!" Everyone shouted at the system, irritated.

{System announcement: An arc of episodes has been deleted because of the additional characters in the space. In the mean time, while fixing the error, the system will show a short video consisting of the arcs before the final battle. Note: It is not considered an opening remark, but will still help you track the chronological order of the events. Starting in 3.....}

"HEY! We are still having our reunion here!"

"Cut that crap!"

"I demand you let us out!"

{2.......1.....}

BEEP!

A music started playing, showing a board with different pictures and papers.

A Cait Shelter member pointed out, "Is that Carla and Wendy?" to which, the two mentioned people just ignored, more focused on the fact that Wendy on the picture had the Fairy Tail Insignia.

The song kept on playing until the image changed into the Fairy Tail's guild hall, making Mavis reminisce some memories of the past. Soon, it showed another version of the guildhall.

"The guild changed!"

"Who's betting that Natsu destroyed it?"

"That seems too far-fetched even for Natsu!"

"I won't destroy the guild though!"

"Doubt that."

"HEY!!!"

The music intensified with the addition of few instruments, and it showed another version of the guild, to the surprise of Mystogan and Lily.

Edolas...

"Oh Makarov, that guild building..."

"EHHHH?!"

The picture changed into another version of the guild, with the music still playing on.

"Hey that's shabby!" Everyone yelled.

Meanwhile, on the dark guilds' side, let's just say that they are all laughing at Fairy Tail's misfortune (it surely did looked like they became poorer in the future).

Everyone thought that they'll see another version of Fairy Tail's guild, but it suddenly showed a picture of four people.

An image of Mavis, Yuri Dreyar, Precht, and Warrod appeared, with Fairy Tail's first version of guild building in their background.

The members of Fairy Tail shot Makarov curious looks.

"Is that...?" Cana started, which everyone continued, "Fairy Tail's founding members?!"

Makarov nodded, and answered, "Yes. The girl you see, most importantly, is our first master, Mavis Vermilion-- the Fairy Tactician."

"Hello!" Mavis greeted them with a giggle, which made everyone's jaws drop.

"SO TINY!!!"

The music changed slightly, showing the picture of Gray and a girl which no one knows.

"Hey, who's that?"

"Gray's future girlfriend?"

"She sure looks lovely!"

(At the back, Gajeel nudged Juvia, who is shocked beyond her wits.

"Nice catch, water girl!"

"Juvia didn't--!")

Then it showed a picture of a child and a cat not known to Fairy Tail.

"Eh? New members?"

"She's cute!"

"Another Happy?!"

Cait Shelter members were also going crazy over the fact that Wendy and Carla is on the screen.

An image of Levy walking with a man and a muscular cat like Happy shocked them to the core.

Mystogan immediately stared at Lily with questioning eyes, to which Lily does not know the answers.

Fairy Tail once again went wild.

"Levy's boyfriend?!"

"Hey, hey, hey! What's up with your relationships huh?!"

"They even have their own cat!"

(At the back, it is Juvia's turn to tease Gajeel.

"Gajeel-san, nice catch."

"YOU--!")

Then it showed Erza. Alone.

The guild then went quiet, all of a sudden. No one wanted to comment on it, except for one idiotic person.

Natsu laughed, "HAHAHAHA! Erza doesn't get a boyfriend! She's a-- OOMF!"

The loud exclamation at the end just reflects the way he's been punched right in the face. Erza then glared at the others.

"Any comments?" They all shivered.

"No, ma'am..."

Meanwhile, a woman hidden on the Spriggan's side is currently staring intently at the screen, as if imprinting the memory of Erza's image. Zeref stared at her, before quietly whispering, "You can approach her. After all, she's..."

"She's better off there. Thank you for the offer, Your Majesty, but no thank you."

Zeref just sighed.

Another change in the music showed the logo and the name of Fairy Tail.

"That's us!"

"Hell yeah!"

Then showed Natsu's serious face.

Everyone, even those from the dark guilds (although a little subtle) laughed at Natsu.

The fire dragon slayer pouted. "I don't even get a full image?! That's unfair!"

The image then changed into an image of Natsu, Happy and Lucy, with Everlue, Bora, Erigor and Lullaby as their background.

Lucy, who suddenly got a paper and a pen out of nowhere, started to jot down the important detail.

Gray noted, "That's Erigor. Must have been our battle against Eisenwald then?"

"But that event is already done. Will we have to change it again?" asked Happy, however, the system did not respond.

Then it showed Gray on Natsu's back, with Ur, Lyon, Zalty, and Deliora on the background.

Makarov hummed. "That must be the Galuna Island Incident then?"

(At a certain guild, Jura raised an eyebrow to Lyon, who shrugged and said, "One of my embarrassing moments.")

Jellal, keeping his silence on one part in the space, narrowed his eyes and directed a glare to Ultear, who is currently with the Grimoire Heart members.

Traitor.

The next image showed an injured Lucy in Natsu's arms, with three people on the background.

Natsu immediately felt irritated at the sight. "Who hurt Lucy?! Oi system!" He shouted, but got no answers. 

Makarov glared at the mustached man in the picture. "Jose! I knew he's up to no good!"

"Hey, but that's Levy's boyfriend!"

"And Gray's girlfriend!"

"They were enemies?"

"Whatever that arc is, it hasn't happened yet, so they are still enemies!"

"This is getting complicated."

The former image was then replaced with a picture of five people completely unknown to the Fairy Tail members, and one of them completely recognizable.

"ERZA!" Everyone shouted with worry, because the Erza in the screen has her back against a man with an evil smirk and her expression is totally wrong.

Actually, even the Erza with them at the moment is completely terrified.

Erza sighed in resignation. So it ends like this, huh...

(A certain scarlet-haired spriggan took a momentary glance at her, to which no one else noticed, except Zeref, August, and Mavis.)

An image of Natsu fighting against Laxus appeared, with Freed and Master Makarov on the side, and the unknown boyfriend of Levy and Levy as extra characters.

Laxus smirked. "So we'll fight huh, Natsu? I'm thrilled... to make you go down!"

"Don't be arrogant Laxus! I'll defeat you!" Natsu rebutted.

The exchange just hyped Fairy Tail up, while Makarov is already calculating the compensation money he needs to pay because of the damages in the future.

Meanwhile, Levy is confused. Who is the man with her? Why is it that every time she's shown, the man appears with her?

("Definitely your girlfriend, Gajeel-san."

"Shut up you rain woman!")

Oracion Seis then appeared next, shocking everyone, and making the members of Oracion Seis smirk.

"A dark guild..."

"Showed like that..."

Now, the attention is currently on Oracion Seis, being the first dark guild to show up amongst the Balam Alliance.

"How ominous."

They were surprised when a face popped out of nowhere, overlaying the image of Oracion Seis.

"Eh? Master?" Wendy asked, turning to Master Roubaul, who just closed his eyes and sighed.

"You'll know, child. You'll know."

As the music became faster, the screen showed Natsu and Gray fighting with an image of a dragon behind their backs, and a woman on the side holding something.

"Who's that?"

"Gray's fling?"

"I am not a womanizer!"

"So you acknowledge that the blue-haired girl in the beginning is your girlfriend?"

"SHUT UP!"

Meanwhile, Silver, who is also hidden, facepalmed.

It's odd hearing about your son's lovelife, alright?

Then two successive pictures flashed so fast that no one actually gets a full view of it. Just some parts of the image. However, Mystogan, Lily, and Lisanna recognised it. The video showed Edolas.

"Did I just see Natsu and Gray being friends?"

"And Erza fighting another her?"

"What in the world?!"

Then it showed Grimoire Heart, and everyone became silent, once again.

Makarov gritted his teeth. Master Precht...

The next image showed people not recognizable to everyone, so they really did not bother with it (poor Zentopia Legion Corps). Then, it showed a girl wearing a pink gown, then another version of her looking deadly, a man with a mustache, and a creepy guy with white hair.

Lucy gasped when she recognized the man on the picture.

"Lucy?" Happy asked, but she just shook her head.

"It's... the man on the picture... that one with the mustache-- he's my father."

"SAY WHAT?!"

The next image showed a woman with an evil grin (much to Sabertooth's surprise and understanding) and Natsu and Levy's boyfriend (as Gajeel is currently now being called) against two other people.

"Who's that?"

"I kept seeing unfamiliar people, my head hurts!"

"Can we just watch the... whatever, episodes?"

"No one's gonna mention how fired up the music is?"

"THAT'S MY LINE!"

To the shock of the legal guild masters, the figures shown on the next picture is the princess and a chief knight from the kingdom.

"EHHHHHH?!"

The next images showed silhouettes of people fighting dragons-- then an image of Lucy and an unknown man appeared.

Natsu gritted his teeth, thinking about Igneel-- if Igneel is one of those dragons in the silhouette. 

(In the background, Gajeel, Wendy, Rogue and Sting thought of the same too.)

"What's with Lucy appearing with that man? And in those cloaks too?"

"Who knows?"

"I can't even understand anything anymore."

Then, a picture of Lucy shouting in worry with a few familiar but unfamiliar faces appeared.

Lucy's eyes widen as she mumble under her breath, "Is that a child Aquarius?"

To their surprise, an image of Tartaros suddenly appeared, causing a lot of silent raucous among the legal guilds.

Gray was visibly shaken when he took notice of a man among the members of Tartaros-- one who should have been dead.

It can't be... old man...

Zeref's image appeared right after, with a black background, and then Mavis, with a white background.

Their appearances caused a lot of discussion.

"Master, the first master is...?"

"Are they, you know, close, like that?"

"SHUSH! I don't know either!"

Then the board full of details and pictures showed up, before turning into black, leaving the music playing on the background.

"So, what is the meaning of these happenings?! If you don't answer, I'll spin you!"

{Answering to character: Oobababa-sama-- The sequence of the events that will happen in the---WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!}

They all covered their ears once again, especially the dragon slayers. The alarms of the system is too loud, it might actually destroy their eardrums.

"I hate it when it does that!!!"

{System announcement: Opening remarks can't be played. Cause of error: Overpopulated space. Please try again later. System announcement: Opening remarks can't be played. Cause of error: Overpopulated space. Please try again later. Playing random episode in 5......}

Almost everyone panicked because of the announcement.

"Playing already?!"

"We're not ready yet!"

{4.....3......2......1.....}

DING!

Chapter Text

{Now playing: Fairy Tail Episode 29: My Resolve}

"What?! Jumping to 29th episode already? Where's the first one?!" 

"Idiot! That... system something told us that the episodes are not chronological! There are even missing episodes."

A part of Magnolia was shown with people's cheering voices on the background.

"Everyone seems so happy, Lucy!" Happy exclaimed to the young lady beside her, who is currently looking down, embarassed and guilty.

The Fairy Tail members look offended because of the bruises all over Lucy's face and body, and also because they can see in the background that somehow, somehow, their guild is destroyed.

"Who the hell gave you a beating?! I'll beat them up!"

"Natsu, this happens in the future though... I don't think you can just beat someone up because of it."

"Yeah..."

"Huh? Lucy?"

The scene changed into a picture of Fairy Tail's guild logo, with the title written on it.

[ My Resolve ]

"Resolve, huh..." Zeref whispered, interested at what kind of person Anna's descendant and Layla's daughter is.

"Hey, can you hear me, Gajeel?" asked a lying Natsu, which was answered by Gajeel  with an annoying tone.

"Who the hell is Gajeel?"

"JUST SHUT UP AND WATCH, NATSU!"

"Okay, okay!"

"I can't hear nothin'..."

Natsu seemed to have not minded his annoyance and continued to pester him.

"Tell me... Where did you learn Dragon Slayer Magic?"

Gajeel breathed out before answering back, "I told you, I can't hear you!"

Natsu furrowed his brows because of the rude reply, and shouted, "This is the first time I've met anyone who can use the same magic as me! You can at least tell me that much!"

The person in question just turned his head and told Natsu to shut up, earning the ire of the fire dragon slayer. However, he also ate his words when he muttered a name.

"Metalicana."

"Huh?"

"The steel dragon Metalicana."

"So there is a dragon slayer like me, huh..." Natsu whispered, before trying to search the crowd for someone who looks like the Gajeel in the screen. Wendy, Sting, and Rogue also did the same.

Said Gajeel is currently being hidden by Juvia's water camouflage, not really wanting to interact with other people right now.

Natsu, more or likely excited, leaned over to hear more of what Gajeel is saying, but forgot that he is on the edge of the Phantom Lord guild's second floor, so he fell.

"What?! So you were taught by a dragon?!"

The now sitting in a crossed legs position Gajeel cooly asked back, "You were too?"

Natsu excitedly inquired more about Gajeel's dragon.

"Where is he now?!"

"Dunno."

Natsu let out a disappointed sigh, before screaming his dragon hearts out, "WHERE IS HE NOW?!"

"I TOLD YOU, I DON'T KNOW!"

The two idio--ehm, dragon slayers literally butted their heads against each other, earning them a headache.

The scene made Gray laugh at his rival's foolishness. "Seriously flame-brain?"

"Shut up, stripper!"

Gajeel scoffed. "Man... I feel like my brain's gonna turn to ash talkin' to you..."

"What?!"

Gajeel sighed, before looking at the sky and muttering, "He vanished. Metalicana just suddenly left one day, without so much as a word. Man. Talk about a selfish bastard..."

Nstsu looked stricken, knowing that his experience is the same as the dragon slayer in front of him.

"H-hold on! That wasn't seven years ago on July 7th, was it?!"

Gajeel immediately faced Natsu.

"What?! You know where Metalicana is?!"

"Don't be stupid! I'm trying to find Igneel, a fire dragon! Igneel disappeared on July 7th seven years ago too."

The realization hit Gajeel faster than when Natsu striked a blow on him.

"Two dragons disappeared seven years ago... on July 7th, 777?"

Makarov hummed. "Talk about odd. Two big dragons disappearing on the same day... where on earth could they have hidden?"

This question made everyone in the light guilds think deeply about the topic. The other people present also pondered about this issue. In actuality, everything is weird. Even before the year x777, dragons should already be, if not extinct, away, where people could not find them.

"Your Majesty, you... don't have a hand in this, do you?" Eileen asked, to which Zeref just answered a mysterious smile.

Meanwhile, Lucy is thinking about another coincidence.

July 7, x777...

That's the day her mother's health suddenly dropped to the point of no return. Her mother's health hasn't been good, but it could definitely last her for a few more years. However, after that trip to Crocus...

Natsu angrily headbutted Gajeel once again, shouting, "What's with all the sevens?!"

"How should I know?!"

The two once again groaned in pain. Gajeel recovered quickly, saying that it doesn't matter to him anyway. Slightly offended, Natsu commented, "If you're gonna leave, just do it already!"

The comment made Gajeel pissed. "This is  our  guild!" You're the one who has to leave!"

"Heh... what a small-minded jerk."

"Get lost!"

"Lemme know if you ever find out anything about Igneel."

"Why should  I  be nice to  you ?!

Natsu replied back with a proud smile, "We're both Dragon Slayers, after all." 

An epic music suddenly played.

"You know, sometimes, it really makes me speechless how Natsu can both be mature and immature. Like this one! He's thinking maturely!" Wakaba exclaimed, earning the irritation of a certain fire dragon slayer.

"Hey! I'm perfectly mature! Future me is right! We are dragon slayers, so we should help each other!" 

Lucy facepalmed. "How do I say this... the logic is not wrong but not exactly right too..."

"Aye..."

This comment offended Gajeel.

"Screw you! Next time I see you, I'll destroy you! I swear it! Just you wait and see!"

"Man, you're vicious. I was thinkin' of making up with you now that we're even too..."

"Who're you calling vicious?!  You're the one who did this to our guild!"

"You guys wrecked our guild too, you know! Agh! Forget it! I'm not making up with you after all!"

The banter just made everyone shake their heads. 

"See? One moment, mature. Then, he becomes immature."

No one made an additional comment.

***

Master Makarov gazed at the guild building with melancholy, and sighed, before gaining his determination.

"They really went to town on it this time..."

Everyone stared, dumbfounded at the state of Fairy Tail's guildhall. It is wrecked to the point of no return.

Mavis stared at the guildhall that she built together with Yuri, Warrod, and Precht with tears in her eyes. Now, it's destroyed. It can be said that it is only a guildhall, that bonds are what matters, but remembering all the memories in this guildhall...

She wants to cry.

By  it , Makarov means the 'already just a pile of rubbles now' guildhall. Lucy stared at it too, before stepping out, calling Master Makarov.

"U-umm, Master..."

"Hmm?" Makarov took a second glance at her.

"You've certainly been through a lot yourself..."

"Blah! A lot is an understatement! Look at her state! I'll definitely burn to crisps whoever did this to Lucy!" Natsu angrily exclaimed, once again burning up, literally. Everyone in Fairy Tail facepalmed at him.

They've been hearing that sentence for the past few minutes okay?!

Angel weirdly stared at Natsu. "Hey Cobra, are those two like that?"

"How would I know?!"

"Read their minds!"

"I still respect privacy though?!"

Midnight wanted to glare at them, but he wants to sleep, so he just spoke with a grave tone.

"Silence."

"Don't look so glum, Lu-chan!" The sudden voice surprised Lucy, and when she turned around, she saw Levy smiling at her, with Jet and Droy.

"Hey! We look so beaten up too!" 

To be fair, everyone in Fairy Tail looked haggard, with bruises and wounds all over their body, standing but swaying as if they'd fall any moment. It can be said that the fight with Phantom Lord, as reluctant as they are to admit, was-- is--- WILL BE-- intense.

Makarov is dreading for the ones after this already.

"We're back!" greeted Levy and winked at her.

"Levy-chan!"

"We all worked together for this great victory!"

"Even if the guild did get ruined!" Droy continued what Levy was saying.

"But it's not like we can't rebuild it!" Jet added, while Reedus agreed with him with a 'oui'.

Levy once again continued speaking. "Sorry for worrying you, Lu-chan."

Lucy clasped her hand.

"N-no! It was all my...!"

"It's not your fault!" Everyone in Fairy Tail shouted at the screen, making the other people in the space (Cobra, bless his soul) cover their ears. 

"I heard everything," Levy cut her off with a smile. "But no one blames you for this, Lu-chan!"

Reedus scratched his head and said, "In fact, I should apologize for being useless..."

"Lucy."

That single call from Master gathered the attention of everyone, including the person called.

For the love of whoever their god is, the fairies shut their mouths the instant Makarov spoke, knowing that there will be another speech of encouragement from him.

It's their routine for so many years already that they are not even shocked anymore.

That does not mean that the people around them aren't looking weirdly though.

"Although it doesn't hold true for every bit of happiness or sadness, we still share things to some extent. That's what it means to be a guild. One person's happiness is everyone's happiness... one person's anger is everyone's anger... And, one person's tears are everyone's tears. There is no need to feel guilt-ridden. Lucy. Our hearts have surely reached you."

Lucy was covering her face by the end of the inspiring sermon, sobbing. Makarov smiled a bit and continued what he wants to say.

"Lift your head high! You are a member of Fairy Tail!"

Lucy teared up, hearing what Master Makarov said, and the people near her either patted her, hugged her, or playfully shoved her so hard she almost planted her body on the floor. Despite the chaos, she felt relieved. She doesn't know what or how exactly did this happen-- or will happen in the future, but the insecurities, fear, and anxiety that lingered in a small corner in her heart finally vanished.

Meanwhile, others were quite... salty.

One of them was Juvia, who particularly engraved Makarov's words in her mind. 

She's lucky, Juvia thought. She was able to join a guild that is willing to accept her for whoever she is, whatever she brings. A guild that is one, unlike...

She glanced at Gajeel who is also in a deep thought.

Tears dripped down from Lucy's eyes and fell on the floor, before she began bawling her heart's out, because of sadness, guilt, but mostly, because of joy, that she joined such an amazing guild.

"You know, Master Jose got a mission with a hefty reward." Juvia once again turned her head, and stared at Gajeel.

"It's about retrieving a runaway heiress back to her father."

"Gajeel-san thinks that this is the reason why Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail went into war?"

"If she's such a person in Fairy Tail, naturally they won't hand her over. Which brings us more problem, considering that one day, we might also..." Join Fairytail, was not said.

Mira teared up, but still smiled at seeing her cry like a child. Gray and Erza have a fond look on their face, and when Lucy  began to sit while crying, Levy tried to offer comfort.

Natsu just grinned at her.

Master, on the other hand, started to think things over.

'That being said, things did get a bit out of hand...The council is going to be pretty angry... No, wait. We could even be talking prison time here!'

After thinking a bit about it, Makarov also bawled.

"Master!"

Master Bob and Master Goldmine laughed.

"Now you think about the consequences!"

"Oh, Makarov! HAHAHA!"

***

"Calmness finally returned to us a week after our battle with Phantom."  A voice--Lucy's-- narrated before changing into another scene.

"Oh, I get to narrate?" Lucy excitedly said, cheering up after Master Makarov's speech.

"Let's take a break, everyone!" Mira announced.

A flashback of Rune Knights surrounding the Fairy Tail wizards then appeared.

"Things actually got really bad right afterward though. We found ourselves surrounded by the Rune Knights, the council's army."

"This ain't good!"

"They found out already?!"

"Of course they found out. With a big guild like that, destroyed, and in the middle of the sea, someone out there will definitely report it," explained by Jura, who finally gathered all of his thoughts together (that they are now watching what happened and what will happen in the future with dark guilds, demons, and the legendary black wizard Zeref. Too bad the council isn't here.)

Makarov cried silently. Paperworks again.

"Run!" Natsu shouted with Happy running after him screaming 'aye sir!'. Unfortunately, he was still caught by a Rune Knight nearby.

Mira awkwardly smiled. "Quit it, Natsu. You know there's no escape from the Rune Knights."

Makarov then started crying once more.

"Master! Pull yourself together!"

"Oh, my..."

"Then we were taken to a military post for questioning. We endured a week of interrogation, and now things have finally calmed down. It sounds like the council is going to hand down Fairy Tail's punishment at a later date." Lucy then showed up, sighing.

Everyone in Fairy Tail sighed in relief. At least, the punishment is delayed.

"But don't worry, Mom. I don't think the punishment will be that bad. After all, circumstantial evidence and eyewitness testimonies all point to Phantom attacking us."

Lucy nervously looked around to see if anyone would question her about her mother, but surprisingly (and thankfully), no one said anything. Well, Natsu looked like he's gonna say something, but if she saw Erza covering his mouth-- well, no one knows.

Lucy then stopped writing because of the sudden pain on her waist. She then lifted up her shirt, showing a bruise still not quite healed.

"Yikes, I hope this won't leave mark..." She said while wincing in pain. Her attention then shifted to a mother and baby bird outside her window.

"Say, Mom. Do you think maybe he actually perpetrated all this, behind the scenes? Not even he'd go that far, would he...?"

An onigiri with a serious face on the floor then flashed by, making Lucy purse her lips.

' I guess he would huh? Without even a second thought... But why does he suddenly want to drag me back now? He doesn't give a care about me...'

"Mom, he'd try it again, wouldn't he? He'd do the same thing, using his money..."

Lucy clenched her fist.

"I refuse to let that happen."

She then looked up with fire in her eyes.

"What will you do?" Everyone stilled because of Zeref's sudden question. Sensing danger, Natsu moved in front of Lucy to hide her from the black mage, making Zeref smile weirdly at him.

"In conclusion, Fairy Tail seems to be in a lot of trouble because of you. It might also happen in the future, because of you. Now, what will you do? Will you leave the guild?"

"No!" Instead of Lucy, it was Natsu who answered, which shocked and confused other members. 

"You're not the one--"

"Lucy ain't leaving against her will. No one can make her if she doesn't want to," Natsu gritted his teeth as he spoke, as if trying to make a point. This built tension between him and Zeref, who tried to keep his mocking face while inwardly laughing at his brother's love life.

***

Natsu screamed while carrying many block of woods, which failed because it all fell on top of him.

Mira and Happy both gave him awkward looks.

"Oh, my..."

"That's what you get for tryin' to carry so much, moron." Gray lectured while passing by, pissing Natsu off.

"That's what you get for tryin' to carry so much, moron."

"What do you call me?!"

"What do you call me?!"

No one commented at how similar the reactions were in real life and on the screen.

The two literally butted their heads against each other.

"You wanna fight?!"

"Quit carrying 'em like a wimp!"

From behind the scenes, Juvia appeared, blushing and fangirling.

' Oh, Gray, my love! Carry Juvia too!'

Gray shivered because of the scene, and Juvia can feel her blood rushing up to her cheeks. She can't believe she acted like that in the future!

The two idiots were smashed on the head by a wood from a certain someone.

"That's enough! Work your bodies, not your mouth! We need to rebuild Fairy Tail as quickly as possible!" Erza reprimanded to the two with their bodies buried and their heads swollen.

"Aye..."

"Erza's really rarin' to go..."

"She can requip into those clothes too?"

"Why? What are you expecting? Of course I can requip normal work clothes."

"Yes, yes..." They almost saw their lives flew past before their eyes...

A wood being fixed into its right place by Master Makarov then showed.

"Master is getting into the spirit too!" Levy happily commented.

"More like into it big-time!"

"Boss! Where should I put this lumber?" Erza asked Makarov.

"Oh! Right over there!"

Jet and Droy weirdly stared at the two.

"'Boss'...?!"

The two idiots buried nearby also commented.

"Damn! I can't stand being beaten!"

"Yay! It's whack-a-mole!"

"But y'know..."

"Isn't it a little too big?"

"We decided to remodel it while we're at it! This is a concept sketch of the finished version." Mira explained to Macao and Wakaba while holding a paper.

"Really?"

"Let's see that." Macao and Wakaba were both intrigued, but Natsu wasn't too happy about that.

"But it was just fine how it was..."

"What's it gonna be like?"

It zoomed over to Mira's... drawing, and the ones looking at it gave it a deadpanned look.

"Wow."

"That's something else..."

"I— I don't really understand it..."

"Man, this sketch sucks. What idiot drew this junk?" Gray asked, then showed a sweetly smiling Mira. It was at this moment, he knew, he fucked up.

Mira then broke into sobs, with Gray consoling her awkwardly because apparently, he doesn't know how to make a woman stop crying.

The real Mira also sobbed, making everyone panic. They all glared at Gray.

"It's not intentional!!!"

"O-oh, it was you, Mira-chan?!"

"You made her cry again," chorused Natsu, Macao, and Wakaba in the background.

Happy also joined in mocking the ice wizard.

"That's Gray for you."

Juvia, from behind a wall, smirked and giggled creepily, thinking that Gray is only nice to her, while the mentioned man is currently yelling that it's now how he really is.

This made others who know Gray (ehem especially Lyon) raise their eyebrows. Really? Gray?

***

The scene fast-forward a little bit, showing Happy, Natsu, and Gray exclaiming that they are starving. As soon as Gray spoke his concern, a rush of water hit them, soaking all of them wet.

"What was that?!"

"We're soaking wet!"

"Boxed lunches!!!"

"Boxed lunches?"

Gray opened the pink lunch box that came with the water spray and was... astonished, so to say.

No, he actually felt goosebumps, letting out a shriek.

The real Gray let out a similar shriek, while others look at him with envy in their eyes. 

Damn Gray, so lucky!

Natsu, on the other hand, seemed intrigued.

"Ooh! Looks tasty!"

Happy happily commented, "I recognize this! This is called a 'character lunch'!"

Gray sighed. "This is insane. I can't eat this! It's oozing something too..."

"Then let me have it!"

From behind a wall, once again, Juvia continued her soliloquy.

'Juvia is sad! She spent three days straight making that!'

"Treasure the gift of your future spouse, Gray. Don't let her be heartbroken," Erza jested, but didn't expect that a man from Jellal's group to retort.

"You said that as if you treasured Simon's love!"

"Wally!" The tall man with an eyepatch (probably Simon) covered the mouth of the man who looked like a block. Erza looked too stunned to even reply or explain.

"Oh ho, Erza's got a lover?"

"Who knows? A childhood sweetheart?"

"Maybe refrain from gossiping unless you want your heads to be hanged?"

The whispers ceased because of Happy's reminder, but it seemed like everything is still okay since Erza is still spacing out.

Meanwhile, Jellal experienced a headache (and a heartache) he never felt before. 

Back to the three members of Fairy Tail's strongest team, Erza suddenly popped out of nowhere.

"Who said it was time to eat?! Oh, is that one of those character lunches?" Erza's stern look immediately disappeared after she saw the lunchbox. A fork then stabbed into the Gray-character rice, making the real Gray freak out, but Erza did not mind him and just tasted the food.

"Hey, this is pretty good! I'll have some more!"

"Seriously?! I'll have some too!"

In the background, Juvia teared up, touched that her hardwork paid off— with her imagination running wild again.

(In said imagination, Gray apparently proposed to marry her just so he could eat her delicious lunch boxes everyday. She even responded that they'll have 30 babies.)

"THAT'S TOO MUCH!!!" Every girl shouted, even Irene. Oh dear, giving birth ain't easy, okay? She needs to educate this girl...

Juvia blushed and squealed. "Juvia is touched!"

"Natsu, Gray, Erza..." The quiet call stopped Juvia from her daydream, and the mentioned three from eating.

When they turned, they saw Loke holding something in his hands.

"Could you give these to Lucy for me? They're her keys."

Natsu and Gray approached Loke.

"I was wondering why you hadn't been around lately!"

"You were looking for these the whole time?"

"Are you okay? You look really pale..."

Loke smiled lightly at the feline and replied, "Thanks. I'm fine. Whew. Being a gentleman is tough."

"Lucy doesn't seem to be here. Maybe she still hurts too much to be up and about."

"We can go pay her a visit the. You should come too, Loke."

Loke immediately denied Natsu's suggestion.

"I'll pass. You know I'm no good around celestial wizards."

"That's a mystery I haven't really found out," Cana commented while eyeing her occasional partner when doing jobs. Loke avoided her gaze.

"Really? Even though this is Lucy we're talking about?"

"Natsu, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Don't pry too much," chided Erza, while Gray just stared at Loke's back when he left.

"Like your weakness being—mmp!" Lucy smartly covered Natsu's mouth before he could even ask Erza. They were just halfway through the whole episode, yet there's a lot of revelations already.

Loke, on the other hand, felt  her  presence again, almost feeling the shackles of death chain him.

Loke stilled. Oh no, this is not good...

'Karen... There's no need to be in such a rush... I'm already about to...'

The screen fades into black.

{System announces a 30-minute break. Please discuss what you've watched. Please discuss what you've watched.}

As the system's voice fades out, everyone in Fairy Tail and in Blue Pegasus stared at the first person that they needed to discuss something to.

Loke is in for a very big trouble.