Souls Betwixt (Dark Souls / Fairy Tail) (Complete)

"The most elegant of my creations are the Etherious demons. Living magic given form, life, and soul. They subsist on Ethernano and possess fully functional if improved biology. Originally, each one was imagined as a tool to my destruction in some fashion; in an ironic twist of events, none of them even approaches Natsu despite him being my first work and meant for a different purpose. His being built on an existing soul was a boon unimaginable; I repeated the practice with Mard Geer who stands second in might, but even he does not compare. The origin of that second soul is but another sin onto my shoulders. As is me abandoning them all once I realised they could not fulfill their purpose."

-excerpt from "Lost Knowledge - Brightest Light and Darkest Dark"

---

Kyoka's raw scream cut off as abruptly as it began, the hysteric Etherious falling back onto the bed. Her chest heaved from the exertion while she stared at a faintly illuminated ceiling; her eyes would not quite move, making her uncertain where she was. A fluffy, purple blanket covered her from the waist down, thrown off the top by her earlier rise.

A soft sniff reverberated in the eerie silence, startling Kyoka; her head snapped sideways and cracked loudly, but she cared little for the momentary pain. Faint visions of dragons and a black scythe faded when she recognised Seilah; the two thick, golden horns sprouting from just above her ears were a dead giveaway. She could have passed for a regular if beautiful human woman otherwise. As it were, Kyoka took a second to notice her fellow archdemon's distress; her eyes were wide and glistening.

"Sei-" she began to croak, only to break into a violent cough when her parched throat refused to form words. As if that broke the spell, lithe arms immediately wrapped around the writhing Etherious. She was pulled into an ample bosom, yet the warmth of Seilah's presence did not quite disperse the cold in her chest.

"Oh Kyoka," she murmured with a faint sniff. "You're back. I was hoping you would, but everyone else lost hope already."

Just like that, Seilah began to cry softly; her relief was almost palpable, the words and actions making Kyoka fall slack. She had no idea what was happening anymore. Her body felt oddly weak, throat raspy. She could barely raise a hand to the glass of water on her nightstand; and indeed, the Etherious realised, this was her room. It took a moment to recognise her queen-sized bed, the luxurious pillows and quilts. The nightstand was just so far away.

Seilah thankfully noticed her attempt and let go, albeit reluctantly. The other woman crawled over to grab the glass and handed it to Kyoka; she even helped steady the older Etherious' hand and tilted the glass, making her drink slowly. In this moment, plain water was like ambrosia to Kyoka; she wet her throat and began to breathe more evenly once set down again. Her thoughts were jumbled. For the time, she focussed on this niggling feeling in the back of her mind; something horrible just happened and it jolted her awake, but she could not tell what.

"Do you, urgh, know what just happened?"

Her voice was still laboured, but she could speak. Seilah perked up the slightest bit, a flick of her wrist igniting several candles to spend light. "Um, you woke up?" She faltered when Kyoka stared at her, merely shaking her head. "I had an inkling that you would for some reason, but it does not matter." So saying, she leaned forward to embrace the older woman again. "Oh Kyoka, what happened? First you report a dud and next we know, you are dead!"

The moment Seilah uttered the last word, it all came flooding back. The village, the battle, the monster. The goddess. Screams of countless dragons echoed in the back of her mind just like that merciless glare was burned into it. Kyoka shivered violently and shrieked in fear when Seilah grabbed her hand to hold it.

"Kyoka, please!" the younger Etherious pleaded. "What's going on!?"

"I died."

Seilah's mouth opened, but she forced herself to be silent. Kyoka ignored her, falling slack as realisation settled in. "I'm nothing."

"W-What? Do not say things like that. You are alive, you came back. It is alright." Her palpable ignorance was little comfort, though the tight hug Seilah then administered at least helped. Yet the events kept repeating in Kyoka's mind until she was once again laid to rest. Seilah tucked her in gently before smoothing out the wrinkles in her black kimono. "Come, sleep," she whispered before grasping Kyoka's hand, their roles now reversed from when the younger Etherious suffered nightmares. "I will stay with you and we let everyone know once you are rested."

Unfortunately, this was no nightmare; no horrible dream to wake from in the morning. Kyoka lay silent for an uncomfortably long time, mind unendingly repeating the events of her violent death. When she did fall asleep, a cavalcade of nightmares made her flinch back to conciousness time and time again. By the sixth time, light fell through the window and she was drenched in sweat.

Undeterred if worried by her sorry state, Seilah led her into the luscious bathtub, scrubbed her down without complaint, and helped her put on clothes. Kyoka felt listless throughout it all, barely able to appreciate the help; everything appeared bleaker than before, a spark of something amiss. Were it not for Seilah leading her by the hand, she might have dropped back into bed to hide beneath the covers.

Once out the door, they were greeted by bright sunlight. A strong breeze made Kyoka's green and Seilah's black mane flutter. Her little house remained the same as she remembered; one of several on Plutogrim's surface. Most members of their little family preferred to stay underground in the flying fortress Etherious, but Kyoka had always adored the endless expanse of sky. Unfortunately, it was now filled with scaled beasts whenever memories flashed before her mind's eye.

Anyone they passed stopped to stare at her like a ghost; considering what happened, she could not blame them. While death was not unheard of among the Etherious and she did die before, this was different. Kyoka shivered once more, her neck itching.

Even still, the crisp morning air invigorated her ever so slightly. Rays of sunlight warmed her face, making the archdemon stop to turn toward it for a time; she never noticed before how pleasant something so simple could be. Seilah indulged her for a time, though a gentle tug on Kyoka's hand told her they needed to keep going and followed; in turn, everyone else fell into step with them. A clear sense of curiousity burned within every single Etherious that saw her out and about.

They met another archdemon before long. Wrapped in his long black cloak with the usual checkered overcoat, Keyes appeared soon after the two women entered Plutogrim's innards. The necromancer's pallid face was incapable of displaying emotions, even when not constrained by the golden headdress reminiscent of a curved hammerhead. His expressions were in the dark pits that formed his eyes. The moment he saw them, they doubled in size before wobbling momentarily.

After inclining his head, the necromancer gathered his purple robe's hem and hurried along the same way they were following. Kyoka figured he would inform Mard Geer of their approach, ever diligent while losing few words. Several minutes later, she was proven right.

Seilah and her entered the underground auditorium with a wave of demons following in their wake. Several were already seated around the room, though all boggled at her entrance; Mard Geer and whoever was relevant for the day convened at the central table, where Seilah led Kyoka. Their leader's lips were quirked up in a faint smile, though it felt more sinister than Kyoka liked on his angular face. His lilac hair was done into a haphazard ponytail, almost unkempt.

"Welcome home, sister," Mard Geer greeted her warmly while Seilah pulled back a chair for her. The other Etherious listened intently, filling out the stands now that all of Tartaros had arrived. "I see now that I should have had faith in you like Seilah did."

His greeting had her confused. "For what reason, exactly? Was my revival delayed?"

Mard Geer quirked an eyebrow and glanced to Seilah by her side, who fidgeted awkwardly. "I may have forgotten to mention that over her actually waking up," she defended herself to some unknown question. Their brother inclined his head.

"Understandable. You two were always close." A soft sigh followed as Mard Geer carded through his hair, a quirk of his he never quite managed to break. Afterward however, he met Kyoka's interested gaze head-on. "This may come as a bit of a shock, but it has been a good eight months since you died. There were no complications with your rebirth despite the state of your book, but you never woke up. You were catatonic the entire time."

He rose again while Kyoka paled; she did not quite register his walking to a nearby pedestal, trying to make sense of what she just learned. Eight months passed since her death. How could that happen? No, she knew how, even why, but she still could not believe it.

Meanwhile, Mard Geer carefully tapped the pedestal and murmured to it, giving Kyoka time to digest the news of her delayed revival. A great stone shelf at the room's head slid open in one spot, admitting a single, black book to float out. It quickly traversed the room before coming to rest on the pedestal, from where he gingerly took it. Kyoka only realised it was presented to her when he returned to the table. Accepting the offering, she stared down in momentary incomprehension.

The proud title Creator Kyoka Restoration stared back at her, except it had become pitiful. The script devolved into meaningless dots and lines as if a toddler splattered white paint over its cover. Tears glimmered along its length.

Horrified, she flipped it open to read of herself; her horror only grew. The Etherious paled once again, almost but not quite hearing the divine dragons roar at her. Some pages had their elegant cursive struck through, others were flipped upside down for unknown reasons. Several pages were now blank, wiped away and making her painfully aware of something being amiss. She had no idea what was gone, which scared her more than its absence.

After staring at what became of her essence for a long time, she slowly lowered the book to look at Mard Geer. His concern was palpable when he leaned forward, looking at her with earnestness as much as worry: "Was it The Devourer?" Those merciless, amber eyes flickered into her mind again. Kyoka shook her head mutely and Mard Geer hummed. "Would you tell us about them?"

She shook her head again, feeling the need to justify her refusal: "I'm sorry, I, I can not." Her voice almost broke, but she needed to warn them at the very least. "She is death, plain and simple." Kyoka shivered, almost convulsing in her seat; Seilah grasped her hand and stroked it gently, calming the upset woman while murmurs went around the room. They only ceased when Mard Geer finished rubbing his temples and responded.

"Yet another complication, I see." Seeing that the comment drew Kyoka's attention back to him, he elaborated: "We have E.N.D.'s rough location after his power flared soon after the winter solstice. He is in Fiore."

Kyoka's eyes widened in response; their true leader, the first Etherious and Demon King, right where The Devourer and Death lived. Mard Geer grimaced, well aware of her realisation. "Ever since this happened to you, we retreated from Fiore and investigated only through our subordinate guilds. I will not risk anyone else after what happened to Sitri." He paused, gaze falling onto the book Kyoka clutched to her chest. "And Deliora, at that. His book dissolved fully while you were unavailable."

This time Kyoka felt something beside horror and emptiness. A sense of loss wormed its way into her heart. Deliora was always a brute, but losing him to a creeping death lasted heavy on everyone. He was still alive in ice that continuously sapped his power, to the point of damaging his book beyond repair; revival became impossible long ago.

Seeing the wetness gathering in her eyes, Mard Geer inclined his head. "I will leave you to grieve in a moment. There is one other matter to discuss." When their gazes met again, he was serious. "Grimoire Heart is moving recently. We confirmed that they were involved in Deliora's final moments, as well as whatever you found near Ka Elm. They seek Master Zeref."

Kyoka slumped, trying to make sense of the matter; their creator was nowhere to be found and they had searched for decades, if not centuries. Moreover, something niggled at the back of her mind, saying they would never find him. She could not tell why. And to make matters worse, the demon king lived in direct reach of the one existence who could kill their kind even without access to their books. Then as the cherry on top, Hades and his guild of powerful wizards interfered in their affairs.

Before her encounter with Death, Kyoka would have felt righteous fury and a desire to make all those pitiful wretches bleed. Now she only wanted to crawl into a corner and hide until it all stopped. Unfortunately, she got neither option as Mard Geer dismissed her; when she made to return her book for storage however, their chosen leader shook his head and pushed the tome back against her chest. "Hold onto it for now. Perhaps proximity can help you recover; it is the best we can do without Master Zeref to mend it, I am afraid."

"Alright," she agreed quietly; now attentive and on the subject of books, Kyoka also realised that something was amiss. "What happened to E.N.D.'s book?"

Seilah winced by her side, as did Mard Geer. The male Etherious gingerly pulled back his purple shirt's collar to reveal angry, red flesh beneath. "An unfortunate accident, I am afraid." As he lifted the garment further, the surprised woman beheld nasty scars running over his entire right side. "The day we noticed his power flaring in Fiore, his book erupted."

"I see. And you just walked off third degree burns why?" She was almost indignant he wore not even bandages to prevent chafing on his bare flesh, but Mard Geer merely shrugged. Kyoka huffed as she leaned closer to inspect his wounds. "Thank Zeref for making us immune to common infections, you proud idiot. Hold still." A single finger connected with the burned elbow while he watched impassively, not even flinching from the pain she knew he felt. Shaking her head again, Kyoka let healing magic pulse through his body; the flesh knit itself back together in seconds, followed by new skin growing under her will.

In total, the procedure took less than a minute. When Kyoka retracted her talon, the single spot she did not heal due to its presence began to trail a thin line of blood over Mard Geer's arm. "You will keep that as a reminder," she chastised. He did not complain, merely wiping his arm with a handkerchief as she shuffled away. Kyoka only realised a few minutes later that he ran around with wounds like that because Tartaros' sole healer was her; meaning it was her own failure.

Her mood thus down once again, she made her way back to the surface and wondered what to do next. It would be a frequent musing of hers for the next few weeks; she felt so listless all the time, barely managing to eat a single meal every other day. Every few days Kyoka took walks across Plutogrim's surface with Seilah, otherwise she spent all her time in bed; her futile hope for the nightmares to stop aside, other Etherious visited frequently. Their worry was touching, but it did not quite soothe her.

By herself, she felt she should have died like Sitri and Deliora, annihilated. It would be better than living without any drive like she now did, only waiting to waste away. Everything felt meaningless, a constant reminder of her own insignificance etched onto her body; she only realised a week after her first waking, upon studying herself in the mirror: all around her throat ran a faint, pink line. Exactly where that ebony scythe removed head from body.

She tried to explain her feelings to Seilah once, but her sister did not quite understand despite their close bond. After some time of Kyoka fumbling for words after the admission to her lack of drive or desire to do anything, the younger woman clapped her hands with a bright smile. "If it is a lack of entertainment and motivation, how about we go on a little outing?"

Kyoka did not want to, but Seilah insisted. Which was how she found herself amidst screams and fire as no less than ten Etherious raided a tiny human village. Far away from any civilisation. A second force caught anyone who made it out while the rest of them were... playing.

Seilah had reverted to her aloof persona, using her Macro to control a family of four. She made them beat each other to death for her amusement. The parents were crying, still calling out to their children and apologising, as only their bodies were not under their control. A cacophony of violence surrounded the entire area, subsuming everyone and everything. Kyoka just felt numb.

Before her lay a shivering body, the weathered old man's legs already maimed. She studied him with almost clinical detachment, wondering how hurting them made her happy before. The dissonance between now and the remembered pleasure at a person's squeals and moans as they were turned monstrous until they broke, it merely emphasized the emptiness. That, as well as a quiet wonder about it all. Why were they doing this? What reason was there to strike at humans? What right?

She knew, of course. Etherious were born superior to any and all humans, ignoring the abnormality that was The Devourer. To crush those lesser than oneself was a right as nature itself decreed. Just like she herself was crushed, which may be the answer Kyoka sought.

Stomping down on the pleading elder's skull, she ended his suffering in an instant. Then she turned around and made to leave. A surprised Seilah turned her way, but Kyoka merely made a dismissive motion. "I'm going home."

"B-But-!"

She ignored the spluttering woman, feeling no better than before they left Plutogrim. Seilah followed her moments later, leaving whoever was left alive to their family.

She held her silence until they returned home that night, staring up into a starlit sky, where Kyoka explained her numbness to Seilah: "They are not lesser to me anymore, so I can not enjoy their suffering."

"How do you mean? Humans are worthless, no?"

Kyoka shrugged weakly, holding her silence. How would Seilah react to the implied reason? Humans were worthless, but so was Kyoka. So were all Etherious. Admitting to that would not go over well, she felt. Mayhaps E.N.D. and Master Zeref held some worth, but even with them she was uncertain. To make matters worse, the mere contemplation of her own merit made that scythe flash back before her eyes; Kyoka flinched and pushed the thoughts aside.

From there, she continued her listless existence; she was aware how much her state hurt Seilah and everyone else, which hurt Kyoka in turn, but she just could not muster the energy to even pretend otherwise. Most of her time was spent sitting on a boulder near the edge of Plutogrim's shell, staring into the distance as their living base flew along Ishgar's northern tip; as far away from Fiore as they could be without crossing the ocean. The world moved around her, almost but not quite leaving Kyoka behind. She heard from others that the covert search for their king E.N.D. went just as badly as her recovery. Several of Tartaros' subordinate guilds were at work in Fiore, but the trails of destruction they expected from him only ever led back to Fairy Tail. The same Fairy Tail that The Devourer and Death were a part of, so even the growing agitation among her family could not be vented.

All the while, Kyoka meditated. Her book clutched to her chest, she sought to delve into the deeper parts of her mind to find the root of her issues; unfortunately for her, this was not actually possible no matter how much she tried. Either because she failed to enter a meditative state, such a state did not exist, or there was no cure. She did not quite care which, half tempted to tear her book apart and jump off Plutogrim; the only thing stopping her from attempting a true death was that once destroyed, her book could not be remade. The only one who knew how was Master Zeref.

So instead of doing much of anything, Kyoka wasted away day after day. Sometimes she fed Plutogrim some meat while trying not to think of its origins. Sometimes she talked to Lummy, the chief scientist; their resident nerd made several attempts to remove her scar, but none were successful. In the end, Lummy declared that it was tied to her damaged book, which needed repairs before Kyoka's body could be mended.

One restless night, the despondent Etherious walked along Plutogrim's depths to escape her nightmares. The leviathan's rumbling breaths were the only noise interrupting a hesitant click-clack of avian claws on heavy stone. Kyoka had no real destination, but found herself approaching the chamber with E.N.D.'s book at some point. Mard Geer placed it on a pedestal deep within Plutogrim after getting burned, open to all who wished to pay respect. It lay in plain sight and without protections because dozens of engineered deathbringers were always present. Not to mention their flying base's mobile nature. No one even considered burglary possible.

Hesitating before the chamber, Kyoka needed a minute to step inside. She approached the dormant tome, staring at it as if to find answers for her many questions. A part of her whispered that she was unworthy to so much as prostrate herself before the demon king's book, but she ignored it in favour of the pressing need to ask.

"Where are you?" Kyoka whispered. Even with the surge of his power, they could not find him. "Who are you?" No response. "Why is this world so cruel?"

Her heart ached with the last question. Kyoka felt so many things she could not share, but talking to the sole remnant of her king made the lump in her throat dissolve; she was just about to pour out her sorrows when a gentle heat enveloped her. Kyoka flinched back before leaning into it momentarily; the demon king's tome conveyed a vibrant joy and content that filled her, made her whole for but a moment.

Unfortunately, that moment passed and she realised just how pitiful she truly was. Kyoka turned and fled the chamber, shedding bitter tears all the way back to her roost.

 

"I do not know you, but if you read the name on the cover, then you certainly know me. You heard of my work and my dark legacy. If you came to find inspiration for your own misdeeds, then you can stop here. There is no dark magic in these books beyond why pursuing it is folly. I doubt I can convince you of my character, so I will not bother wasting pages on that, either. This trilogy is my gathered knowledge on the arcane art of magic. How to learn it, which disciplines work best for whom, and the ends of my own research that another may pick up. If you read this to learn and, perhaps, to avoid the mistakes I made, then you will find what you seek."

-excerpt from "The Heart of Magic", foreword

---

Ever since killing Zeref, Priscilla felt weird.

Even though she knew this was what he wanted, his absence made something deep within her ache. This pain was something she never felt before; a primal want to speak with him again, followed by misery upon remembering that she never could. All the power in existence could not bring back the dead, at least not to her knowledge.She did not recall any of her kin ever making the attempt. Not to mention that even if she could, Zeref would not be enthused.

What made it worse were the infrequent thoughts of the future. As an Everlasting dragon, she was impervious to the passage of time; humans were not. Suddenly, she faced the reality that every single person she met and cherished would soon die and turn to dust. The prospect tempted her into fleeing Magnolia, to hide away in hopes of avoiding more of this pain. The fact Priscilla could not avoid it regardless of her choice then led to a visceral anger. She hated being powerless before such a concept as attachment, mainly in the midst of night when there was nothing to distract herself with. All she could do was bear with the many feelings and sort through them. In the end, all but her would go into the night; some quietly, some not, but there were no exceptions. And even if by some twisted design she were to fall, Priscilla doubted she would go wherever her friends went.

Over the first few days after Zeref's death, she read all four books he left with her, front to back. Then she read them again, excepting the last one that was filled to the brim with self-loathing, death, and darkness. A compendium of the horrors hidden in Earthland's shadow, as well as a list and confession of Zeref's crimes. The other three however, the Magicae Universalis, they were bright and wonderful. Perfection, even. Sharp and concise, yet warm and willing to take time on each and every subject; Zeref even included witty remarks in various places, such as the chapter 'On Revival Magic And Its Vanity', detailing how and why that entire discipline was not worth pursuing.

Her draconic side kept its silence as she read these three tomes, no matter whether every word was already engraved in Priscilla's perfect memory. Beholding the original simply felt different than recalling it. The Heart Of Magic, being the first volume, detailed seven different approaches to learning magic and outlined good disciplines for beginners. It explained all of the basics around the entire subject, including a breakdown of magical theory and spell circles. It was a foundation both for wizards and magic researchers.

Next came The Soul Of Magic, which was effectively a compendium of every magic discipline Zeref knew. He detailed even the spell circles needed, then discussed up- and downsides to each discipline. Dark or easily exploitable magic received a mention, but no trace of how to compose the spells; rather, Zeref spent time discussing issues and offering philosophical reasons not to pursue them.

Lastly, The Love Of Magic was dedicated mainly to his fellow scholars; it contained many applications Zeref himself yet saw to explore, the potential in Lacrima, theories on the change of magic over time like he told her on their final meeting, and much more than that. Zeref wrote at length about his own experiences where they related to magic. It was from this book that Priscilla learned more of Edolas and the Exceed.

Each tome was a joy to read in its own way; neither wasted many words, slowly carved to perfection over decades of curation and study. In fact, Priscilla used wind-reading glasses once to see what impression they would gather; they were generally not advised for anything but skim-reading because the human brain could not contain that much information at once. To Priscilla it may just work anyway, but she already read fast enough without them. The main impression these glasses left with her was that magic was beautiful.

The final book, she only read once and then kept hidden in her item box. Zeref named it aptly, 'Lost Knowledge - Brightest Light and Darkest Dark'. Priscilla understood that it only existed in case any of its knowledge was ever needed; to prevent more hearts from being broken, more lives from being lost in its pursuit. The findings of awful experiments were not just outlined but detailed, so another needed not repeat them.

"You've been pouring over these for over a month, what's so special about them?"

That was Gajeel interrupting her thoughts. The iron Dragonslayer lounged on a nearby chair. He was right too, she realised; July dawned the previous day, though she buried Zeref in mid-May. Priscilla allowed herself a soft sigh, closing the book and depositing it back in her item box. "A friend wrote this and left it with me before his passing."

"So what?" His question prompted Lucy to cuff him on the head. Gajeel grunted in surprise. "Hey, what's that for?!"

"You can't just say things like that!" the blonde chided him. "Have a little tact!"

He just harrumphed and stomped away to sock Natsu. Lucy heaved a sigh and ignored the ensuing brawl, rather sitting down leaned against Priscilla's thigh. "The same friend who figured out that spell circle for me?" she guessed. Lucy had been overjoyed to receive a solution and threw herself into the suggested reading.

"The very same," Priscilla said, still caught up in her grief.

"I see. That explains why you've been acting differently the last month." Lucy glanced up at her with sympathy. "My condolences. Do you, ah, want a hug?"

The question gave her pause; Priscilla was not quite certain of her desires of late. "I would not be opposed?" she offered in the end. Lucy immediately climbed into her lap, then onto her shoulder; from there she awkwardly embraced the giantess' head, a sight and sensation which drew a soft chuckle from Priscilla. It reverberated through the human woman.

"There there," she whispered to the crossbreed. "I know it's hard to lose someone close to you, but it gets better. Time heals all wounds, and stuff. It will never really stop hurting, though."

Priscilla wrapped a hand around Lucy's back in turn, nuzzling her cheek against her. "Thank you." In truth, she did feel better than right after it happened; just a tiny bit, but the hollow ache in her chest slowly lost its sting.

"Is this a hug I spy?" Levy chirped from Priscilla's right, just before a second body leapt against her throat. "Here, I'll give you one, too!" Others followed her example and soon, the guildhall featured a small pile of cuddling guild members; several others brawled a scant few metres away from them.

Both occurences intersected when Gajeel went flying and impacted Lucy, tearing her away from Priscilla's face. The blonde growled and grabbed the surprised dragonslayer. "Oh for, go away!" she groused, then bodily threw him back at Natsu, who was cackling condescendingly. Juvia laughed at the blonde's expense as well, at least until Lucy kicked her in the stomach; from there another catfight started, the two of them tumbling down Priscilla's legs.

The dragon merely smiled as her somber mood dissipated bit by bit. This was her guild after all, and she would not exchange it for anything in the world.

In a moment of cosmic irony, the main gate slammed open with a bang just as this thought ran through Priscilla's mind. Half the brawlers paused what they were doing, not to mention all the huggers scrambled to see what was happening; cast in a gleaming silhouette by the afternoon sun was Laxus. A little more pale than the last time most saw him, but with a cocky smirk firmly in place.

"Attention, Fai-" he began to intone, only to be interrupted by a ballistic Cana. In difference to the last time this happened, he deftly caught the whooping brunette around the waist and plucked her out of the air; Mira, ever unrepentant, received a flat stare. "We're not doing that again." So saying, Laxus reared back and returned Cana to sender, where she buried the other woman under herself. Both resolved into haltless giggles while the brawl took up once again.

Seeing that Laxus lost the guild's attention, he rubbed his forehead in annoyance before leaning against the wall to wait it out. Priscilla took notice of Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed taking some sort of formation around him as usual. They were quietly talking among themselves, throwing speculative glances around; many of them went her way, though only Freed actually met her gaze. They carried some sort of tarpaulin, too.

It took a few minutes until the last fighters lay on the ground, spent; Juvia crawled her way over to where Gray settled behind the bar after Bisca and Alzack teamed up on him, tiredly resting her head on his lap; for some reason he huffed at that, but did not dislodge her. Natsu and Gajeel leaned at a table shoulder to shoulder. Meanwhile, Lucy simply lay on the floor spread-eagle, heaving for breath. Mirajane and Cana rose only somewhat ruffled, bumping fists.

Once only the panting of exhausted people remained, Laxus strode forward again; Priscilla watched him, intrigued by what may happen next. Makarov did much the same, having been drawn by the sound of fighting earlier.

"Now to attention, Fairy Tail!" Laxus bellowed, his voice immediately commanding the room. "As you know, our Master will retire in the near future." He grinned then. "That means it is time we decided who will succeed him!"

"As if, we already know!"

"Yeah, she's right there!"

If the heckling bothered Laxus, he did not show any hint as to his feelings. Several people pointed to the attentive Priscilla, who forewent any comment just yet. Makarov did not, though she heard him heave a faint sigh. "My decision is made," the old master responded, cutting off everyone else. "You can not change it."

Laxus remained unimpressed. "Nonsense. The guild needs a Master capable of protecting it no matter what. So here we are." He snapped his fingers, prompting Freed and Bixlow to raise a banner that read 'Fantasia Tournamen' in colourful letters; Priscilla kindly decided not to point out how they ran out of space toward the end and missed a letter. If anyone else noticed, Laxus distracted them masterfully by continuing his speech: "We will hold a grand tournament leading up to the harvest festival, and whoever stands victorious will be the new Master!"

And just like that, the previous exasperation evaporated in favour of intrigue. While Makarov remained unmoved, everyone else began to chat quietly. Even Priscilla was curious about this tournament of his.

"You worked on this for the last two months?" Mira inquired, though she probably already knew. Laxus nodded.

"Yes. I have everything, from the ruleset to the setup."

Makarov made to interrupt, likely to shoot it all down before people could get enthusiastic about the idea, but a large finger tapping his shoulder pre-empted him. Throwing a glance to Priscilla, he found the dragon studying Laxus. He met her gaze head-on, prompting the larger wizard to speak: "You wish for a contest of strength? And you will accept the result, regardless of what it may be?" He peered into her giant eyes, giving only a firm nod. Priscilla smiled.

"Then it shall be so," she decided. Makarov threw up his hands and hobbled away while the dragon rose to her full height, towering over Laxus and baring her teeth. "I would not wish to receive the position without the entire guild's support."

"We will see," he disregarded her implied declaration, ignoring the whispers surrounding them. "You're going down."

Lightning buzzed along his frame, leaving an all too familiar scent to permeate the area. Priscilla stilled as memories not her own surged to the forefront; stone scales peeled apart by Gwyn's mighty bolts before their owners were struck down by his champions. Ornate, golden armour gleaming in the newborn sun's rays, fully enclosing his second-in-command up to the lion-shaped head. Dragonslayer Ornstein's image raced through her mind's eye in various different moments, delivering death to dozens of her kin. With it came a smidgen of fear, the desire to shy away from the lightning instead of facing it. Then eternal rage drowned it out.

Priscilla exhaled heavily, memories of her slain kin flowing with the air and imposing themselves on her stunned guildmates. "Thou shan't find me wanting, scaramouch," she growled at the frowning Laxus.

Perfect silence reined for but a moment, broken by Gajeel: "So, is anyone gonna explain what just happened?" He made a vague motion for their surroundings, prompting a shrug from Natsu. Lucy's brow was creased however.

"I would like to know that, too," the blonde wizard admitted. "It was like...."

She trailed off there, uncertain how to even describe the images of an apocalyptic war that flashed into their minds. The dragonslayers were clearly uncomfortable and many a gaze sought Priscilla as the origin of their visions. However, the crossbreed did not elaborate; she merely kept looming over a still unimpressed Laxus, her good mood evaporated as she barely reined in the sudden temper. "Explain what kind of competition you imagine," the dragon demanded. "Be concise."

Her tone earned a glare that she ignored in turn, after which Laxus snapped his fingers again and held out one hand; Evergreen placed a decently sized manila folder in his hand, of which he flipped to the first page. "The tournament has two phases. The first is a battle royale around Magnolia from dawn to dusk that every guild member joins. Everyone gets a token they carry visibly, stealing them is forbidden. You beat someone, you take their token. With seven tokens, your own and six others, you advance to the second phase. Gramps and Freed will keep an eye on things; Freed can't join because he will set up runes everywhere to protect the town."

"And it would not be fair to the other participants," Freed interjected in the pause Laxus left. "Seeing that I could include traps or restrictions to aid myself."

He received a nod from Priscilla and Laxus both before the latter returned to his summary: "The second phase is a regular tournament, three days after the first phase to recover from the fighting. Four rounds in a bracket system, we draw lots for the pairings." He flipped to the second page, scanning it for something before nodding once more. "Fairy Tail has a hundred and twenty members, so we get sixteen people in phase two."

His claim had Lucy interrupt, somewhat befuddled: "Wait, doesn't that leave some people over? We'd need 112, so that is eight left?"

"Good," Mystogan agreed from one of the taproom's corner tables, a drink in hand. "Because I'm not participating." Laxus' eyebrow twitched in response, but the Edolasian ignored his agitation in favour of sipping some ale.

Priscilla decided to help her friend by running something akin to a distraction: "With Mystogan and Freed abstaining, that makes six others. I reckon Gildarts will be absent, making five." She continued to muse out loud, cutting off any retorts before they could be made: "It will be a combat tournament, so there should be an opportunity for people to bow out if they have good reason." A pained glance went to Elfman, who absently rubbed his arm's stump and nodded with a sigh. Priscilla nodded back. "Four others."

"Whatever. Whoever doesn't join works as staff and observers."

Laxus' declaration earned several shrugs as no one really minded helping out. Into the contemplative silence however, Lucy spoke up once more; the blonde was tapping her chin in thought. "Say, did you consider making something more out of this?" Seeing the inquisitive stare Laxus levelled at her, she elaborated: "I mean, we are already having a big tournament all over town. Why not make it a big event? Bring in the Weekly Sorceror or some other magazines, sell trinkets and stuff, draw in an audience?"

Her proposal made Priscilla wonder; she rarely considered the matter of public events. The crowd around her appeared curious as well, though some were more lost than anything. "Why would we want that?" Juvia asked after a few seconds; this earned the blunette an impish grin as Lucy struck a pose.

"I am Heartfilia at heart, and I smell money. The guild could use some more funds, right?"

And just like that, she had everyone wrapped around her finger. Even Priscilla quietly agreed with her assessment, having seen the budget reports and how much of it was annually paid in fines or reparations. Laxus, too, nodded along after mulling it over. "We're doing that," he agreed, favouring Lucy with a less cocky and more cheerful grin. "Thanks for volunteering to take care of it. I'll leave it to you."

"Wait, what?"

The younger blonde's shocked retort drew some snickers from around the room; Lucy appeared as if she wanted to argue for a moment, only to heave a sigh and square up her shoulders. Priscilla inclined her head at the Spirit wizard. "I shall assist you in this endeavour," she offered, earning herself a grateful look. Levy, Juvia, Mira, Loke, their wayward commerce student Max, and telepath Warren all attached themselves to Lucy's group shortly afterward; her expression shifted a little more with each person speaking up, finally coming to rest at joyful enthusiasm.

"Alright then," she declared then, a fist pressed to her hip. "Let's do this!" She received cheers and everyone went to work.

Makarov only heard of it hours later, but he applauded their enthusiasm nonetheless; time began to pass quickly as he watched his children prepare. The satisfied smile was attached to his face almost permanently; not only did his own retirement finally have a set date, the little ones even took all the work off of him. In fact, even he began to come around to Laxus' idea; Priscilla went at anything that mattered with all due diligence, making him doubt her defeat. Moreover, his grandson really thought this through. He poured his heart into planning this tournament, which the old master acknowledged quietly. He spoke a few words of praise, knowing Laxus would be pleased even though his outward response was a dismissive snort.

It felt a little sad that he put in such effort when chances to obtain victory were miniscule, but perhaps this was for the best. Pride remained Laxus' greatest vice, which ironically made him quite alike to Priscilla. The difference between them was that the giantess hid her feral nature while Laxus hid his gentle one. By himself, Makarov quietly entertained himself pondering the reactions to someone else winning the tournament. Even if, say, Natsu being the victor would drive the guild as a whole into interesting times, the faces to that realisation were amusing.

Aside from the two main contestants, Freed ran himself ragged establishing runes around the entirety of Magnolia. Though he was well on schedule, he certainly gave his all every day. This earned him free drinks in the evenings, courtesy of his guildmates. Even if they had not noticed, Makarov did and would have found a way to reward his rune master. Freed even arrayed everything so that the enchantments could be easily maintained after the tournament; they would act as additional defenses in case something like the Phantom Lord debacle happened again.

Meanwhile, Lucy and her cheerful team worked out several marketing contracts on top of advertising. Jason was ecstatic the moment he heard of it, drumming up support from the Weekly Sorceror by sheer force of will and enthusiasm. Artisans all around the city agreed to craft trinkets to sell as souvenirs while Magnolia as a whole prepared for what may be the largest event in Fiore. Even her highness, Princess Hisui, expressed an interest in attending. Makarov quietly reserved a ticket for her without telling anyone so as to not invite rumours; Lucy even thought of selling these for the premier watching spots and seats in the guild hall proper, where observation lacrimas were being installed.

In early September, a mere week before the first phase was to begin, Priscilla entered his office for her usual two hours of paperwork and studying the guild's inner workings. Truthfully it was not necessary, seeing how she already soaked up just about everything Makarov could teach her. She attended anyway to assist him, which the elder was quite grateful for.

Due to his recent musings however, he soon broke their usual, comfortable silence: "You are confident you can win?"

"Yes. Victory shall be mine." While the levitated quill continued to write, the giantess glanced his way. "Though I have a question, if I may. Laxus is your grandson, I understand? Why is it that I have never met his parents?"

What a way to sour the conversation. Makarov grimaced at the reminder of having to throw his own flesh and blood out of the guild. "Ivan, my son, is not a good man," he began to explain. "He does not care about the guild as any member should, and endangered several members needlessly. There were no great tragedies or offenses, but at some point it was prudent to remove him." At least the boy was graceful about it when Makarov sat him down. Now for the worse part. "His wife Natasha died in childbirth. The same as my wife and my mother."

"My condolences."

Though the old pain flared through his chest, Makarov made a dismissive motion. He would have avoided the subject if there was not another piece of knowledge to provide: "It is a sad reality that while magic is wonderful, it is also dangerous. Too much Ethernano can hurt those unattuned. Children of powerful wizards often lose their mothers early from the strain, unless they too are wizards and used to it. The children themselves may suffer as well, their infant bodies unable to handle the amount of power they can wield. Laxus was a sickly child until ten years old or so. He toughed it out much like Ivan and I did."

"I see."

Makarov knew that his successor would remember this bit of knowledge, as she always did. That was why he changed the subject now, well aware that she did not know how to address the anecdote he just shared. But as misery loved company, the matter would once again be uncomfortable for one of them. "The day Laxus presented the tournament idea," he ventured cautiously, "we saw visions of silver knights marching against titans on wings of stone. Was that your race?"

Priscilla stiffened, perhaps even reliving these horror visions of lightning bolts tearing away those heavy scales and making her kind vulnerable. He faintly recalled hearing that she was averse to that particular element, too.

They stared at each other for a long and uncomfortable moment, but in the end Priscilla acquiesced. "Thou beheld the First War, when man rose from the darkness in mine world. They challenged the dragons for dominion and, with the strength of Lords, stood victorious. Lightning ever was anathema to the Everlasting, so meeting such aggression from Laxus reminded me of the great dragonslayers."

"Do you think you could defeat him?" Makarov inquired now, suddenly worried that a showdown between these two may end badly. Yet the part-dragon nodded without hesitation; her smile turned toothy, making a shiver run down his spine.

"That was then, and this is now. Laxus is powerful indeed and I shall not underestimate him. Yet, what is a man compared to a Lord? All the might Fairy Tail possesses is naught but a child's tantrum before Lord Gwyn himself." That was certainly a statement, though Priscilla gave Makarov no chance to express a smidgen of doubt or curiousity. Rather, she chuckled. "I may not measure up to Lord Gwyn myself, though I prolly could kill him, had I ever gotten close. But no, while meeting Laxus in battle will push me to my limits, I am confident."

She left it at that and now it was for the master to huff, a mite exasperated but also understanding. "You learned more magic in this one year than most wizards learn in five. Not to mention your inherent powers. Yes, Laxus will definitely have a fight on his hands. I trust your judgement on the matter." Priscilla preened and with that, he decided to conclude the subject. "Now, would you tell me more of those Lords?" While her few mentions made him interested, Makarov also wondered just where these Lords may have lived and whether he could find another hint as to her origins. Then again, after Mystogan approached him about being from another world recently, he had other suspicions on that end.

For her part, Priscilla offered a dismissive shrug. "I know little of them beyond who they were. Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight, the Witch of Izalith, and Nito, First of the Dead. Each one would be a true god to Earthland, wielding might the likes of which you never beheld before. I know not what happened to them."

"Understandable." She had been in a painting after all. Though the way Priscilla worded her explanation made him decide to simply ask: "So you hail from another world?"

"Indeed. Did I, perchance, not mention this before?" Her somewhat sheepish question was followed by a few seconds of introspective silence. Then the giantess slumped ever so slightly. "I did not. My apologies. I did not mean to make it a great secret, but there was no reason to lead conversations with it, either."

"It is quite alright," Makarov reassured her with a faint smile. "I'm just happy to finally know why there was no trace of the countries you told us about." And perhaps a tiny bit miffed about having wasted his time, but he already got her back by making her do all this paperwork. And thinking of that... "Now, let us get back to work."

But even as the two of them returned to their duties, Makarov kept on pondering. They took in Priscilla because she was lost, only to understand her might later. Were she more ambitious, she could easily claim the throne of Fiore at the very least. By force if need be, but just as easily through wisdom and age. By himself, the old master was quite glad she lacked that ambition; he much preferred her lovable kindness.

 

"The wonders of magic are plentiful, but one must never forget that even magic is no substitute for the bonds between people."

-excerpt from "The Heart of Magic"

---

"Looks like we will get a warm day," Lucy mused out loud. "That's promising."

She received agreements from both Erza and Juvia; the three of them were strolling around Magnolia. Warm sunlight bore down on them, making the youngest relax slightly. She certainly felt some nerves, what with the battle royale coming up in a mere few hours, but it could have been worse. The townsfolk were already roaming around as well and served as a nice distraction; stalls of various kinds were erected along the main roads, manned by cheerful people looking to turn a profit. Lines of glistening, purple runes ran between them and along the street; some even over the buildings themselves. Some tourists and spectators took the opportunity to get purchases done before the rush, but the streets remained mostly empty. The Fairy Tail women received waves and wishes of good luck every once in a while.

"I just hope I don't have to fight you or Natsu," Lucy admitted to her red-haired friend. There were other people she did not want to go against today, but these two worried her the most. Erza chuckled in response.

"If you want to get into the second phase, you will face some of the stronger members eventually."

"Sure, I made my peace with that. But I really don't want to fight for my life today, you know?"

While the knightess smiled about Lucy's exasperation and worries, Juvia kept her silence; the blunette shut herself off over the past days, turning apprehensive and talking less. Even Gray got less of a reaction out of her, which Lucy only noticed when he remarked on it. Now once again presented with her newest friend's moodiness, she decided to ask: "What's up, Juvia? Something on your mind?"

Her question earned a contemplative look and no direct response. She exchanged a glance with Erza while Juvia brooded, but the redhead could only offer a minute shrug. Thankfully, their friend spoke up after another street corner. "I do not feel well fighting today," she admitted. "I tried to talk to Laxus about sitting out, but he would not have it."

In hindsight, that made sense; Lucy had some issues fighting her guildmates as well, but Juvia carried a lot more baggage than she did. But before she could say anything, Erza stopped. She gently squeezed Juvia's shoulder, reassuring her: "It is alright. No one is going to think less of you."

"I know," the other woman moaned, "it is just that, well... I don't want to hurt any of you, ever again."

Silence reigned momentarily after her dejected outburst. Juvia dragged her feet while Lucy and Erza exchanged another glance; then both of them pulled the water wizard's cheeks, distending them far beyond what the human body allowed. Juvia squeaked, turning half-liquid in response before pausing over Lucy's encouraging grin. "Don't worry so much. We know what we're getting into. But if you absolutely want to go out quick, you can always find me and I kick your butt back to the guildhall."

She cringed behind her carefully maintained expression, wondering when she got so mean in her pep talks. Then again, while Juvia was flabbergasted, Erza nodded approvingly. Lucy considered being outright manipulative by mentioning Gray, but figured that would be too mean.

Juvia inhaled deeply and pulled back from them; her cheeks turned fully liquid, flowing out of their grasp and returning to normal shape. She then clapped them harshly, producing a noise somewhere between the meaty thwack one would expect and a splash. Juvia exhaled before meeting their gazes again, more steady now. "Alright. Alright. I can do this. I think."

Lucy was just about to offer a hug when a squealing someone leapt onto Erza's back while shouting her name. The redhead startled so bad that she threw the girl off on reflex, though Juvia caught her instead of being buried under her. Everyone stared at the interloper, who giggled cheekily. "Don't be like that!" She cheered. "We came all the way to cheer you on!"

Perky feline ears adorning her head and familiar red marks on her pudgy cheeks, Millianna did not seem to mind her position at all. She wore an orange tube top and black pants; far more casual than when Lucy first met her at the Tower Of Heaven. Erza calmed down upon recognising her friend as well, almost sheepish about her reaction. The emotion quickly transitioned into a bright smile when two men approached them with chuckles; the blocky form of Wally was unmistakable, all sharp angles packed into a navy blue suit with red tie. With him walked Shou, his darker skin making him a clear foreigner.

"I didn't expect you three," Erza murmured. Millianna went for another enthusiastic hug the moment Juvia put her down. The entire scene made Lucy happy; she rarely saw her friend genuinely touched like this.

Shou shrugged at Erza with an impish grin. "Of course we'd come, we want to see you kick ass in person. No dice we wouldn't."

"Just so," Wally agreed before moving to greet Lucy and Juvia with a roguish smirk; it vanished when the younger woman had to admit she forgot their names by now, what with everything else that happened. Erza chuckled at her friend's attempt falling flat while Juvia held herself polite.

Meanwhile, the catty brunette with them continued to bounce in place. "Oh, this is so exciting," she gushed. "Wouldn't it be great if you won and became guild master? I could say I know a guild master, it would be awesome!" Her enthusiasm was contagious, finally driving out the last of Lucy's worries. Erza just shook her head, though.

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I won't win. No matter how hard I fight." Seeing the shocked silence this prompted among her friends, she elaborated: "Master Makarov already chose his successor, and it is not me. She accepted this tournament anyway, which tells me enough about her confidence."

"Well, in fairness," Lucy chimed in,"she is six metres tall and weighs half a ton. She'd be a tough opponent even without all the magic she learned. I heard she messed up Gray pretty bad last year."

"What is this about Gray?"

The new voice brought the growing group's attention to more new arrivals. In the lead was yet another familiar face, his sharp features relaxed in mild curiousity. Clad in regal blues with golden finery and a long white cape, Lyon struck an imposing figure; his former minions slash friends flanked him, each one sporting guild marks of their own.

Once further introductions were out of the way, Erza nodded to the ice wizard. "Back when Priscilla joined the guild, Gray challenged her to a sparring match. But as Lucy said, with her being four times his size and more than five times his weight, that was not an even fight. I remember that he held himself well and used the terrain to his advantage. But that was as far as he could go even when Priscilla held back on her magic." She winced quietly. "Well, that was the day we figured out that sparring with her is difficult at best."

"Makes sense," Lyon agreed, though there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. Lucy worried for her teammate's near future. Then again, Lyon's gaze also kept straying to Juvia, which she did not comment on; her friend was too dumbstruck to notice at least, probably still hung up on the tale.

The enlarged group carried on like this, breaking into several smaller conversations as Sherry and Millianna began to chat. The men did as well while Lucy spent the time soaking up this more relaxed atmosphere; Erza thawed the past few months, but right now she appeared genuinely happy. Soon enough, she raised her hand in greeting when Happy waved at them from above; Milliana squealed and jumped to hug the Exceed, who dodged her nimbly.

Happy's arrival heralded Natsu and Gray, the two of them talking quietly to each other along the way. Lucy could not help but arch an eyebrow at that unusual camraderie; Juvia did as well, the women giggling when they noticed each other. Their teammates approached with good cheer in the meantime, greeting their wayward friends and acquaintances. Even Lyon received a warm if surprised welcome.

"Where have you been?" Gray asked him after they bumped fists, prompting the other ice wizard to strike a confident pose.

"Why, the lot of us joined Lamia Scale."

"I can see that. What have you been up to since Galuna?"

"Oh, this and that. But nevermind that, what's this I hear about you getting your ass handed to you last year?" Lyon outright laughed at Gray's confusion, who rolled his eyes when Erza reminded him of the bout with Priscilla.

"Oh yes, because losing against her is such a bad thing." Gray ignored the playfully haughty laughter in favour of staring at a suddenly thoughtful Natsu. "And what's with you all of a sudden?"

"Dunno," Natsu lied unconvincingly, "just thinking. What if I have to fight Pris? Dragonslayer versus dragon is kinda something we wanted to avoid, right?"

"Hold on, dragon?"

Millianna's question earned her ruffled hair, courtesy of Shou. "That's what you get for only looking at the cat pictures," he teased the hissing girl as he continued to mess up her hazel curls. "Everyone else knows that Fairy Tail has a dragon girl or something like that. The magazine wasn't really clear what she is, though," he ended with a glance to Erza, who shrugged.

"Part dragon," the redhead obliged his request. "Specifically not half dragon, but part. She insists on that and I never asked further." Lucy nodded along with the last part, as did Juvia and the men; neither of them quite cared about Priscilla's ancestry beyond the fluff of her tail. Millianna was disheartened to learn that Lyon and friends indeed knew about the resident giantess as well.

While they bantered, Lucy meandered over to Natsu's side and clapped his shoulder. "And you do not worry," she reassured him with a grin. "Even if you two get matched up, she will not give you an easy fight. Erza said it earlier, Pris is confident she can win this despite you and Mira and Laxus in the running." His expression soon matched hers and they bumped fists as well. Just then, bells rang across town. "And there is our cue," Lucy continued.

They said goodbye to Erza's friends and Lyon's group before making their way back to the guildhall to prepare. "And good riddance to setting dawn as the starting point," Lucy groaned as she remembered the original plan. "Noon is perfectly fine, thank you very much."

"You still kept the time limit at dusk, though," Erza retorted halfway toward the great building. Lucy shrugged.

"It felt appropriate, and it is not like we have to keep going all day. Just remember that the shops and insides of buildings are non-combat zones. No traps, no riling anyone up, no nothing." The blonde felt a need to emphasize that, especially when looking back at Natsu and Gray. Both raised their hands defensively. "This is important, so please try to be civil, just for today."

Two calls of "Yes, Ma'am" answered her, as well as a cheerful "Aye!" from Happy. Lucy took what she could get and left it at that, especially because they just reached their destination.

Upon entering the hall, she immediately noticed a commotion and an odd sight; a gaggle of her guildmates surrounded someone near the entrance, but toward the back stood a cordon of knights; the latter covered a single table seating a single person whose presence made her eyes widen. How did she not hear about this?

Lucy sputtered, trying to reconcile the presence of fifteen-year-old Hisui E. Fiore, crown princess of the realm, in their humble guildhall. Her fair features were as striking as the last time Lucy saw her, a gentle river of bright green hair running down her back. Shoulders bare, her shapely figure put on subtle display by a white bustier that ran out into various shades of pink around her waist. She still conveyed perfect elegance and poise even in a place where she clearly did not belong.

"Oh, Lu!"

Her study of the princess was cut short by Levy, who waved her over to the closer crowd. "Get over here, we have a visitor!" The others parted somewhat to allow her group entry, only for the breath to hitch in Lucy's throat. A comfortable, yellow robe, skin that resembled gnarled wood more than anything else, and leaf green hair that grew from several branches on his head, making him appear like a broccoli that gained life. Warrod Sequen smiled at her as they were introduced, the legendary Wizard Saint sweeping a faint bow.

"B-But why?" Juvia finally asked the question Lucy could not quite formulate. The elder giggled incessantly before pulling back his sleeve. A gasp went around the guild.

"Well, my dear. As co-founder of this here guild and member since its conception, I ought to be here for this, no? After all, every member participates." Another giggle perfectly summarised the flabbergasted expressions all around, including Lucy's own; her chances for much of anything just went down by a significant margin. Could Priscilla take down a Wizard Saint if she had to? A subtle glance to the avidly reading giantess offered no answer, though her calm may be indicative.

After considering her options momentarily, Lucy decided to flee the insanity on this end of the guild hall. It was a long shot to approach her highness, but she may as well go for broke before someone broke her in half later.

The guards' attention was on her about halfway to the private table; they shifted almost unnoticeably while Lucy approached. She made certain to walk slowly. Her gaze left the princess to focus on the man in charge; his name began with an A if she remembered correctly. His eyes were narrowed, body tense and hand aligned with the blade strapped to his waist. Lucy idly wondered if she could take the knight presence, either by herself or with her Star Dress. And thinking of that, she realised she was underdressed for the occasion; a comfortable vest over a pink shirt and long cotton pants were good for a fight, but not for meeting royalty. Well, nothing to it.

Instead of making right for the princess, Lucy stopped in front of the guard captain and met his gaze evenly. In lieu of skirts to curtsy with, she offered a bow and quietly thanked her father's training for covering how to act in pantsuits. "If you would announce Lucy Heartfilia to her highness?" she requested, loud enough for the princess to hear; her gaze remained on the knight, whose shoulders relaxed. It seemed he remembered her also. Lucy allowed herself a faint smile, which admittedly grew a fraction when Hisui answered herself.

"Please allow her through, Arcadios."

The guards relaxed in an instant and shifted aside as soon as the man himself made a single motion. Lucy favoured him with another measured smile and detached her keyring, which she offered for safekeeping; it did not do to carry weapons of any kind along, after all. This, if nothing else, managed to soften Arcadios' demeanor as well. He nodded back and stepped aside, cradling the artifacts.

Only then did Lucy turn her attention to the princess herself; she was met with a smile about as faint and measured as her own. "Please sit with me," Hisui offered. "It has been a while since last we met. How have you been?"

After bowing once again, this time deeper to convey her respect, Lucy seated herself opposite to her erstwhile acquaintance. Her lips twitched as the last months rewound in her mind. "It has been a turbulent year, just about," she returned. "But I can not complain in the slightest. How of yourself, your highness?"

"Please, just Hisui, just for today." The princess cast a glance around the newly built if comparably roughshod structure around them. "I already left my gilded cage as far behind as I possibly could."

"A cage that does not exist, I am aware," Lucy quipped. "But very well. Just Hisui." That was new, but she would not deny royalty even if it made addressing her awkward. "I am admittedly surprised to meet you here; there was no advance warning, not even for the organisers."

"Yes, well, we decided in accordance with Master Makarov that discretion is preferable in this regard. It made for a delightful surprise as well." Meaning, Hisui was laughing inwardly every time someone boggled at her presence. Lucy huffed at that, but inclined her head.

"You certainly caught me off-guard, your- Hisui."

"A rarity indeed," she retorted playfully. "As I recall how fond you were of mischief whenever we met. Would you whisk me away on yet another adventure of yours?" The knights around them shifted somewhat and Arcadios threw her a glance over his shoulder; now he absolutely remembered her for the trouble she made. Lucy pretended not to see while Hisui giggled behind her hand. "But I do wonder: what brought you here of all places?"

Now there was a loaded question with many possible implications. Lucy ran through various options for a moment before deciding to convey her feelings without saying anything else: "It is where I always wanted to be."

Hisui's brow arched momentarily; she studied the erstwhile heiress with rekindled interest before offering a proper smile. "You certainly seem brighter today. But I do agree, a rambunctious minx like yourself is well at home here in Fairy Tail." Lucy's cheeks grew hot over the teasing, but Hisui thankfully did not keep it up. Rather, the princess leaned forward with a conspiratory gleam in her eyes. "Now tell me, how do you think this tournament will go?"

And again she was confronted with a plethora of possible answers. She could discuss the many powerful people, or Priscilla technically being chosen already, or her own prowess even. But speculating on an event of this scale was never a good idea; Lucy knew some people were taking bets anyway, but she was not a betting girl. At least not like this. "The only thing I can assure you of is that I will not stand in the finale," she decided to say. Hisui chuckled again, but tipped her glass of cider in acknowledgement.

"That is a fair assessment. I recall your being quite capable a wizard, but the giants of this guild are well-known. Not to mention Saint Sequen is present also." She paused to sip from her beverage; at this point Lucy could do the same, seeing that Mira brought her a hearty meal and a wink about the company. Their conversation stalled as both women took a few bites, but Hisui was back to her inquiries soon enough: "Now, what of your magic? You were always adamant about seeking the Zodiac keys that were stolen from your family, if I recall correctly?"

"You do," Lucy agreed. "I gathered several by now, but the rest still eluded me." And she kind of forgot that part of her self-imposed mission over all the excitement since joining Fairy Tail. Not to mention she just kept running into keys as she went. "But perhaps my luck will hold. I am named for it after all."

"Yet fortune also favours the bold," Hisui countered with another faint smile, prompting Lucy to nod. "And thus far, you appear quite confident about the tournament. Could it be you have a special technique of sorts prepared?" Eagerness broke past the carefully maintained facade, tipping Lucy off quite well as to what the princess wanted to hear. This time it was for her to imperially arch an eyebrow, sip the red wine she received earlier, and put a single index finger on her curled up lips. Hisui pouted. "You would not reveal it, even to me?"

"I revealed it to exactly one person thus far," Lucy returned playfully, "and that was because I needed assistance. Not even my own team knows, even though they try convincing me about every other day. If I told you before them, I would get noogies for at least a week. So no."

Her explanation drew a faint cough from one of the guards that may have been an aborted snort. At the same time, Hisui's brows rose curiously. "A 'noogie'?" she inquired. "I never heard of such a thing. What would that be? Could you demonstrate?"

More coughs. Lucy hesitated, uncertain how to explain the practice or what to do with it. "It is uncomfortable," she began, "and I would need a second person for a demonstration."

"Well, I am right here, no?"

Lucy stared. "You heard that it is uncomfortable, yes?" She would rather not get stabbed today, at least not before the tournament began. Hisui merely nodded.

"I have, but on the assumption that this is something the common folk does?" Here she paused long enough for Lucy to nod. "I want to experience it myself. You are free to proceed with impunity, regardless of what happens next."

In retrospect, Lucy realised, Hisui was still so innocent. Or perhaps she trusted an old acquaintance that much to give blanket permission; they were never quite friends or playmates, but they got along just fine. Sighing, the blonde met her gaze one last time. "Are you truly, absolutely certain?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

Her response came with a sigh that Arcadios echoed. Lucy rose from her seat and rounded the table, watched by a clearly curious princess. On second thought however, she realised that here was an opportunity to do what no one in this kingdom had ever done. It filled Lucy with glee that only grew when her arm locked around Hisui's throat. "What-"

This was as far as the princess got before Lucy started viciously rubbing her head with her fist. She squeaked in surprise and started to flail while her captor grinned like a loon, cheerfully messing up her perfectly styled hair. "You asked for this," she chirped and kept up her ministrations, playing deaf when confronted with pleas and orders to cease; Hisui kept struggling while her knights remained in place as she declared they would. No help was coming.

Unbeknownst to Lucy, their small scuffle turned heads all around the guild; most just smiled at the antics, though several people cringed at the thought of potential repercussions. Makarov reasoned that the knights ought to have done something if this was unsanctioned, though.

From his own corner, Mystogan watched the goings-on in the entire guild with a certain detachment. He was just glad everyone enjoyed themselves. He was also watching a group of three female figures, two cloaked and the third wearing a white mask. The latter was garbed in a blue bodysuit with dark wrappings while the former dressed in rough, black cloth with golden chains and a dark crimson respectively. They had been present for over an hour now, slowly perusing the menu.

"It is certainly different from home," the masked woman murmured in a rich voice as she sipped some tea through a detachable mouthpiece; their attention was on Lucy's display as well. "Such uncouth behaviour was rarely encouraged. The festivities strike me as odd in their nature, too. Perhaps Dusk had the correct idea to bow out."

"It takes some getting used to," the crimson figure agreed as she methodically cut a strawberry shortcake, fork held in her left hand. Mystogan noted that the cloak lacked volume below her right shoulder, implying the lack of an attached arm. "But it is home." He also noted that the voice sounded familiar, but could not tell quite where he heard it before.

"We shall see," the third woman cut off their discussion. "I am unused to living in cities to begin with. How long did you say until it is time?"

"I am not quite certain. Perhaps another month or two."

The mask nodded. "You are the native, friend. We shall follow your lead."

Were Mystogan anyone else, he might have approached the three out of curiousity. As it was, he contended himself with trying and failing to figure them out from a distance.

 

"Competition breeds progress. It is a part of our nature to seek success over our rivals. Therefore, those who are ready to measure themselves against others, even at the risk to be found wanting, are more likely to excel in the end."

-excerpt from "The Heart of Magic"

---

After thoroughly ruining royalty's hairstyle, a good meal, and some other necessities, Lucy took position near the city plaza. Her allotted starting spot was right next to the central bathhouse. The exact location had been marked by a circle of glowing runes that barred exit once she entered it. Overall, the young woman felt confident that everything would work out; just like she told Hisui earlier, Lucy Heartfilia had always been lucky. She waved at people nearby with a bright smile, then double-checked her keyring while waiting for the battle royale to begin.

As the clock struck twelve, the runes surrounding her fizzled away. Lucy took a deep breath and strode forward; it only took minutes for the first crashes to sound from elsewhere. She strained her ears to figure out where exactly, but the crowd drowned it out somewhat. Most locals did not let the fighting stop them from making their rounds, but she could probably follow tourists.

Within a minute of that attempt, Lucy found her first opponent and promptly cursed her luck. Leaning against the wall with a mirthless grin, Laxus sized her up like a piece of meat. "Looks like you're my first victim today," he drawled while the younger blonde scrambled backward; the small crowd quickly retreated behind rune screens. As he pushed himself off the wall, Lucy could tell from his tensing figure that he would lunge any moment now.

Closing her eyes to focus, she gathered Ethernano in a golden spell circle beneath her feet. Lucy pumped as much into it as she could, fists clenched. "Mirror, Mirror!" she screamed and felt something settle over her skin, light as air. It was followed by a breeze tickling her nose, but nothing else.

Cracking open one eye, Lucy found a huge fist mere inches from her face. Laxus was barely visible behind it, the huge man staring her down with a mixture of offense and surprise; it made Lucy sweat, even when he began to grin and pulled back his hand. "Clever," he all but praised, making to stroll past her. "Alright, I'll let you live for now."

Lucy's knees shook and she remained in place, trying not to collapse. Shaky hands wiped the sweat off her brow and she breathed out in relief. Good thing she went for little Spirit Wizards before they started, that was far too scary to start with; yet at the same time, she somehow survived Laxus.

Dispelling the mirror magic to conserve power, Lucy carried on to find herself some victims she could actually beat.

Meanwhile, Levy whistled cheerfully as she twirled a second wooden token around her finger. She was in luck to have caught an unlucky soul in a rune trap of her own. The blunette considered her plan with vindictive glee; just because Freed was the best rune master in Fairy Tail did not mean he was the only one. Most people just forgot that over her preference for Solid Script. At the same time, she could only marvel at the great work he did; buildings and stalls were protected just about everywhere, each one filled with people watching the tournament. She waved cheerfully, receiving cheers and waves in return.

The sounds of battle remained mostly distant, but a nearby crash drew her attention soon enough. Levy went on alert and drew her trusted Light Pen before sliding into a connecting alleyway. From there she crept forward. Focussed on the path ahead however, she startled when someone cleared their throat behind her.

Whirling around, she came face to chest with Gajeel. "Wha-, where did you come from?"

He pointed behind himself with his thumb. "That way, I heard it too."

Levy felt decidedly silly, not to mention a tiny bit excited, er, intimidated by a rough man looming over her in a side-alley. Then again, Gajeel made no motion to attack; he merely studied her with an unreadable expression.

Shaking off a bout of confusion, Levy threw herself forward to rush him. A few quick motions drew lines of light around her fist. "Solid Script: Indestructible!" she chanted as the magic took hold under her will. Gajeel did not react beyond watching her approach; by the point she socked him square across the jaw, Levy knew something was fishy. He flew back and landed hard on his back, staying down.

Flabbergasted, Levy watched him lie there with his eyes closed. She was starting to get annoyed with whatever this was. "What are you doing? Fight back already!"she snapped. Receiving no response, Levy strode over while exasperation replaced confusion. "If this is about January, I said-"

"It isn't. I'm just not gonna do it."

He did not even open his eyes, merely kept lying there. "You beat me, so take the token and go." Levy could not help but sigh heavily, but Gajeel was undeterred. "And you better win the whole thing, I ain't losing against a loser."

"...boys."

After a long moment of consideration, she bent down and picked the token off Gajeel's coat. Whatever he was playing at, she would respect it for now. Yet Levy's mind kept racing in an attempt to figure out what his game was; she stared at the token for a while, until a strangled noise returned her attention to Gajeel. His head was turned away, ears growing red; that confused Levy momentarily, at least until she realised she decided on a dress today and still stood over him. Giggling, the blunette cooed down at Gajeel. "Aww, are you embarassed? That's surprisingly cute. But don't worry, I wear spats underneath."

"Really, al-urgh!"

Gajeel peeked up at her, only to quickly avert his gaze again. Levy giggled, sticking out her tongue. "Heh, I lied."

Now that she had her fun, the Script wizard made to step away but hesitated. Staring down at Gajeel and admitting to herself again that he was absolutely her type, Levy decided to go for it. She prodded him with her foot. "Come on, get up. You're out and I'm taking a break."

Once the confused Dragonslayer rose, Levy grabbed him by the arm and marched him off to a nearby restaurant. Praise be to whoever decided that they could take a break whenever by simply stepping off the streets.

Of course, for some other unfortunate souls, these same streets became traps; Priscilla grabbed people from beneath with Diver, slamming them into the ground before taking their tokens. A liquid Juvia slithered through nooks and crannies to spring her own ambushes while Reedus and Levy laid their traps, paintings and runes alike. Laki tried similarly, but her Wood magic mainly served as a shield when Bisca began to snipe at her from atop the guildhall's roof; instead of training up her close combat options, the Gun wizard went all-in on ranged combat. Just as someone else tried to exploit Laki's distraction from behind, a clean headshot knocked them out and a precise use of telekinesis tore their token away from two hundred metres distant. Laki quickly ran after that, forcing Bisca to pick another target.

Meanwhile, Erza stared down a confident Cana; she was vaguely aware of her friends cheering from nearby, but her opponent took priority here. "Standing your ground honours you," the redhead mused out loud, "but we both know you do not hold up in a direct confrontation." If anything, her declaration made Cana's grin widen a fraction. Erza scowled, her senses finding no traps beside Freed's runes. "Unless you have improved that much since last time?"

"It's been a few years," the brunette deflected idly, though her posture firmed up in response. So she remained sour about having failed the S-class trial several times, Erza noted to herself. Cana smirked. "And thanks for the reminder that I owe you some payback. So how about I make you run away from here?"

"Try me."

Erza forewent an equipment change, well aware that light armour and a skirt were preferable against Cana's versatile style. A blade formed in her hand as she made to test her opponent, three tokens clacking in her pocket. Cana did not react to her charge until Erza committed to a stab for her chest, dancing aside and tapping her breastplate; she ducked under the retaliation with a cheshire grin.

Just a moment later, Erza's armour crumbled and left her in a crimson undershirt; the knightess paused to reassess her opponent while the crowd gasped. Her eyes narrowed. "You aren't."

"I am. How do you feel about giving everyone a show, hmm?"

Cana began strolling forward leisurely, forcing Erza to retreat while considering her options. Three cards appeared between the other woman's fingers as she flicked her wrist, gleaming maliciously. "Time's running out Er~za!" she sing-songed, making a pit of worry and embarassment open within the redhead's stomach. Incidental clothing damage on a mission was one thing, but purposefully in front of a crowd?

Without another word, Erza Scarlet beat the hastiest retreat of her life. Cana's mocking laughter followed her for a while.

"My, how cruel."

Only to cut off abruptly when another enemy approached. Cana glanced over her shoulder to see Mirajane strolling her way. Five tokens clacked against the model's hip, her black bodysuit clinging to every curve of her body. White hair rolled down her back in waves, the sight of it all quieting the crowd; Cana took another look at her, realised her trump would not work, and ran for it. Mira giggled.

"Resourceful and smart," she praised, though not directed at anyone in particular. "And too bothersome to be an easy mark. I will see you in the finale."

Meanwhile, Laxus and Priscilla already returned to the guildhall with their required number of tokens. Neither wasted much time with niceties, making quick work of their opponents; they exchanged curt nods as they entered, only to find Warrod already waving at them.

Natsu raced along Magnolia to find victims of his own, occasionally passing stone statues that smelled of Evergreen. He never found the woman herself as she moved erratically, much like Bixlow did; his path crossed Gray's once, but the ice wizard was busy duelling Alzack so Natsu moved on. This was much harder without Happy to scout for him, he admitted to himself.

Whenever he did find someone, they were quickly defeated; the one time he stumbled into Mira, the two exchanged knowing looks and walked the other way. He still needed several hours of searching to pick up five other tokens, needing one more. After a much needed break for lunch, Natsu raced back along the streets before a familiar scent filled his nose; grinning, the Dragonslayer turned right toward the main road, where he came face to face with a pleased Lucy. His teammate carried a full seven tokens pinned to her big rack.

"Wha- Natsu?" The moment she realised he was there, Lucy's elation faded. "Nope! Not now!" And off she went, screeching complaints at no one for the encounter. Natsu pursued.

"Come on, I just need one more! Fight me already!"

"No!"

And so it went, through streets and alleys as Lucy failed to shake him off in his hometown. Natsu steadily caught up as well, though he sometimes stumbled and lost progress when her jiggly backside captured his attention. He tried to shake it out of his head and focus on her upper back, but Lucy was a pretty girl and he could not quite help it.

At some point, the blonde grew tired of the chase; either that or she realised Natsu would not be deterred. So she turned to face him, red-faced and sweaty but ready. He charged without further thought, wrapping flame along his hand. "Fire Dragon's Fist!"

He made to punch, but Lucy caught his wrist and pulled it aside; Natsu tried to get her in the face, but even the burning shroud failed to connect. He tried again with the other fist, but she did the same thing again, almost looming over him while barely keeping her grasp on the struggling Dragonslayer.

Before Natsu could kick or throw her however, Lucy pecked him on the lips.

His fire sputtered out in surprise and she ran for it right after, leaving behind a dumbfounded boy. By the time he stopped trying to comprehend what just happened, Lucy was long gone.

After that encounter, she made it back without any further battles and got to relax for a while; several others greeted her with cheers and wolf-whistles, reminding the Spirit wizard that people were watching what happened. Hisui arched an eyebrow but refrained from commenting; the knowing smile she also wore said it all, anyway.

One by one the winners trundled in. Laxus, Priscilla, Juvia, Warrod, Biska, and Erza were already there before Lucy arrived. Then followed Gray, Mirajane, Evergreen, Bixlow, Levy, Cana, Reedus, Laki, and finally Natsu. Though the arrival times meant little more than who had the most trouble finding their opponents. A grumbling Polyushka dealt with the few severe injuries.

Lucy quickly said goodbye to the giggling princess when she noticed Natsu coming her way. His expression was unreadable, but she still met him halfway and ready to apologise for using that particular trick. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her aside, which Lucy allowed. When Natsu stared at her however, the words were stuck in her throat; he had an odd intensity to his gaze.

"Did you do that just to shake me off?"

There was a bit of accusation in his tone, but mostly curiousity and something else she did not want to speculate about. It definitely helped loose the lump in Lucy's throat. "I," she began, only to pause when the odd wording registered. "Wait, how do you mean?"

Natsu kept staring at her as if to search for something; it made Lucy's heart beat heavily, her cheeks warming. Then, all at once, he leaned forward and kissed her hard, pushing Lucy against the wall. Her eyes shot open in surprise, but she quickly melted into the searing kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. Neither of them paid any attention to the wolf whistling and applause all around.

Among those clapping were two amused Ice wizards. "I honestly thought they were an item already," Lyon said a moment later, to which Gray shrugged.

He did not respond, seeing that he noticed how wistfully Juvia watched their friends' bold display. A shy glance went Gray's way, creating a lump of odd thoughts and feelings within him; then she shook her head and wandered away. Lyon noticed as well and gave his fellow disciple a shove.

"Go after her," he demanded. "How are the two of you not a thing anyway?" He had not even spent a full day in Magnolia, but the affection Juvia held for Gray did not remain hidden. Sherry nodded along in clear delight, but his friend was rather more timid. Cana saved them from an argument, hanging herself on Gray's shoulder to whisper something in his ear before pushing him toward where Juvia vanished. The moment he left their vision, she high-fived Mirajane.

Lyon knew he was not the only outsider staring at the two women; Mirajane smiled impishly at them before dropping a curtsy and answering his earlier question: "They aren't because Gray is shy like that. Maybe that changes tonight."

Going by the fact a giggly Juvia traipsed back in some time later, she had been right. The blunette beamed, hugged Lyon, hugged Cana, then trundled outside while the two of them bumped fists. She obliviously passed by another argument; it involved a furious Millianna who had sturdy ribbons wound around Mystogan. Only Erza talking at her sternly prevented the irate woman from laying into her target.

"For the last time, he isn't Jellal. They just look alike."

"Like with Siegrain?" Shou threw in from the side, earning himself a narrow-eyed glare.

Mystogan sighed with a glance to his abandoned mug; he wondered if hiding his identity might have been the better choice for the tournament. Much to his relief, a large hand reached over to snap the ribbons holding him; while Mystogan rubbed his sore skin, Priscilla joined the argument: "You have the wrong man, and I would prefer if you refrained from assaulting my guildmates in the future."

"But-" Milianna started, only for a blocky hand to land on her shoulder. Wally answered in her stead.

"In her defense, the similarities are eerie. But we will trust your word on this, Erza." He nodded to the redhead, who breathed out in relief. "My apologies, good sir."

Mystogan merely waved him off. "It's understandable. Erza mistook me for him the first time, too. I will have to live with that."

They separated like this, allowing the evening to run its course. Sixteen contestants advanced to the regular tournament, to be held several days later so everyone could recover from the fighting. Fairy Tail celebrated their best and comforted the rest, the spectators chattered about the various battles they saw, short or long, and Priscilla herself was content that all went as expected.

 

"While the soul's existence is proven and its properties known, experiments to manipulate it in a safe manner have yet to be devised. As any such experiment requires risking the essence of a person, even one of one's own making, I will refrain from even speculating. If the avid reader wishes to commit greater sins than I, they may continue down such a path on their own time."

-excerpt from "The Love of Magic"

---

With the battle royale behind him, Natsu felt a little odd. Right at this moment, it could be either the fact he kissed Lucy last evening, or that he was out on a stroll with Gajeel of all people. Hanging with him was a bit like with Gray, though they somehow fought less and argued more.

"So," Natsu started after a while of aimless strolling, hands behind his head. "I heard you let Levy beat you?"

"None of your business, Salamander."

The growled response had some bite to it, but Natsu felt he had Gajeel's measure at this point. The fact he still played it up amused the fire Dragonslayer, though. "Nah, I get it. You'd have lost to the first person you met, right?" The lack of response told him all he needed to know, so he kept talking: "Makes sense that you don't wanna hurt your new family."

"It ain't like that!"

Natsu just laughed, well aware that the retort lacked any real heat. But before he could keep going, a familiar, earthy scent entered his nose. His head snapped to the left; there stood Warrod Sequen, the ancient super wizard. From what he heard, the old man finished off his six opponents with vine cages in a matter of minutes. And on the way back, he added more flowers to Magnolia as he saw fit; some even sprouted from cracks in the streets ahead of them. Right now, Warrod was chatting amicably with a familiar blonde, the diminutive girl telling him some kind of story.

"Hang on, isn't that the brat that gets on everyone's nerves?"

Natsu shrugged in response; he recognised her as well, as would just about everyone in Fairy Tail. "Kinda, but she's not so bad. She just likes to play pranks, like snitching on me when Happy and I play hide and seek."

"The day after I joined, she kept following me around for five hours and didn't leave me alone."

"That's because you didn't talk to anyone. Maybe she thought you're lonely?" Natsu laughed while his fellow Dragonslayer grumbled. He still wondered why this girl had no scent of her own, but figured he just missed it. Either way, he was curious about her. "Hey, you think she's his granddaughter or something?"

"How should I know?"

"Let's go ask!"

So decided, Natsu strolled over with a wave. "Heya! Haven't seen you in a while, shorty!" Both turned their way, the elderly wizard with a smile and the girl with a pout; she ducked under his hand when he tried to ruffle her hair, too.

"I'm not that short, you know? Besides, you aren't particularly tall for a man, either."

"So what?" He knew full well he was short, what with even many of the women in Fairy Tail being his height or taller. "You're shorter than me, so there." Warrod chuckled at that, reminding Natsu of his presence. "Ah, right, I was wondering: are you two related? Just curious," he added upon receiving two owlish looks. "You look like you know each other."

Befuddled gazes were exchanged before the girl shook her head. "We are old friends," she added lamely. "But Warrod has been looking after me for a while."

"Oh, that sounds like fun, too."

"It was! We had so many great adventures!" The way she beamed, Natsu decided it was fine. As long as one of their friends was happy, he did not care about the details. Gajeel harrumphed, but refrained from challenging the statement.

Just as Natsu made to say goodbye, her joy made way for a more thoughtful expression. "Say," she asked hesitantly, "do you have any family you know about? I met a man whose last name was Dragneel some time ago, and I would like to know where he went." Her question drew Warrod's attention as much as Gajeel's and Natsu's.

The fire Dragonslayer frowned in thought, trying to think back that far. He had to give up soon. "The only family I remember before Fairy Tail is Igneel. Everything before he took me in is... not there, or something. Or is there?" He fell silent and scrunched his eyes shut, trying to tease out something from the blurry fragments. Zeref's name came to mind, but that could not be right. "I think I remember something, but no name or anything. Sorry, I can't even tell what it was. But if I ever remember, I'll tell you, 'kay?"

She was clearly dejected by the lack of information, but recovered quickly. "Of course, thank you. Now you better get going, or your girlfriend will worry that you're talking to another girl so much."

She giggled through the final bit, which made Natsu laugh in turn. "Nah," he waved her off, "Lucy is no worrywart like that."

"'Sides, you're a kid."

Gajeel's addition cut off the giggles and earned him a mock offended look. Natsu blinked in surprise when her demeanor shifted, losing the careless and childlike air. Her smile was a little more measured, if still with some humour to it. "I'm an adult, actually. Being petite doesn't change that. You sure your girlfriend will let that one stand if she hears it?"

"My what now?"

This time all three of them laughed at Gajeel, whose confusion did not lift. Warrod inclined his head to the two Dragonslayers. "While you figure that out, I believe I should take my leave. There is still so much to do, like rearranging Greenie's backyard. I will see you later, Natsu, Gajeel."

"Sure, see ya!"

Gajeel just grunted as they went their separate way; the girl already vanished without a trace, not even any scent Natsu could ascribe to her. He was quickly distracted by his guildmate's question: "What was that about?"

For a moment, Natsu wondered why Gajeel did not notice; then he remembered that it was only obvious in hindsight. "Levy dragged you on a date yesterday, didn't she?"

"Wait, that's what that was?"

Natsu shrugged, not much caring for his fellow Dragonslayer's growing embarassment. "Yeah, at least Lucy told me that. She's better at these things. You should probably talk to Levy about it too, girls sometimes expect you to just know these things. I don't know if she's like that, but, y'know." Having the wrong idea was embarassing. Gajeel grunted his agreement and they left it at that, both lost in their own thoughts for a while. Between waving at townsfolk and cheering fans, Natsu mainly thought back to holding Lucy and kissing her; it was certainly an experience he'd like to repeat soon.

However, any thought of finding his now-girlfriend left his mind suddenly. Natsu stopped dead in his tracks at the same time Gajeel did, both turning to the other. "You smell that?" Natsu asked. His friend nodded.

"Yeah. That way."

As they upped their pace and moved through the streets, Natsu tried to place what caught their attention; it was another familiar scent, albeit far more nostalgic. For a moment he reckoned it may belong to the blurry figure in his memories; but then Gajeel would not recognise it. No, Natsu realised, this was someone else. She was here in Magnolia and the prospect of seeing her again made him giddy.

"It's her, isn't it?" Gajeel asked quietly, but did not wait for an answer. "What was her name again?"

"Beats me, but yeah. There's no one else both of us can tell by scent."

They followed their noses through another street while Natsu tried to remember anything about her; everything from back then was wobbly at best. A beautiful woman whose looks he could not recall, a brightly shining gate, the same woman again, and in-between the scent of a flame unlike any he ever smelled before. And her, shily taking his and Gajeel's hands before they passed through.

After another two blocks, they found her; a hair shorter than Natsu and sporting subtle curves, clad in black pants and a light blue shirt which accentuated dark blue hair that fell in a long ponytail. Her bangs framed a heart-shaped face, out of which brown eyes roamed the two of them while she curiously sniffed the air. Seeing her in the flesh filled out his missing memories some, confirming that it was indeed her. The three stared at each other for a long moment.

"Heya," Natsu greeted their fellow Dragonslayer with a big grin. "What brings you here? Actually, doesn't matter. Come on, we'll show you around!" Without even waiting for a response, he snatched the surprised girl's arm and tugged her along; Gajeel sighed and levelled glares at people to leave them alone.

"V-Very well?" was about all their lost companion managed to stutter out as they began moving again.

Before they even made it down the street however, a white ball of fluff slammed into Natsu's back and made him stumble. "Such impudence! Unhand Wendy this instant, cad!" it, no, she shrieked while trying to attack him; Natsu paused to pick her off his head. No regard was given to the shining claws she tried to bring to bear. Despite the flurry of motions, seeing what just leapt at him only improved his mood.

"Oh hey, you found one, too! Happy will love it!" For in his hand, held by the scruff of her neck, was another Exceed. This one sported snowy white fur and wore clothes, being dressed in a cute pink dress.

"Do not ignore me!"

He continued to ignore her in favour of beaming at his wayward friend. "So your name's Wendy?"

She had been about to say something to the bundle of righteous fury clawing at Natsu's protective magical shell, but his question distracted her into nodding. "Ah, yes. Pardon, but who art thou?"

"I'm Natsu, and there's Gajeel." He waved the hand holding his now squawking attacker toward the iron Dragonslayer. "You talk weird."

"O-Oh, pardon, er, sorry. I am not used to talking like this." Wendy averted her gaze sheepishly, but Natsu waved her off.

"Nah, it's fine. Pris used to do that a lot, too. Come on, let's introduce you to everyone!" Just as he was about to carry on down the road toward home, he remembered the angry Exceed that still tried to tear him apart. She stopped out of shock when he gently flicked her forehead and put her on Wendy's shoulder. "Now you be nice."

The feline stared up at him for a moment before huffing. "Such impudence," she hissed. "Wendy, we shan't associate with blackguards!"

"Well, they art familiar to mine nose," Wendy defended him, not that Natsu had any idea what he was just called and kept tugging her along. "Though I can not recall clearly from where," she apologised next. Natsu just shrugged.

"I don't remember it all that well, either. We were all kids back then."

Wendy nodded, her brow scrunched as she tried in vain to recall anything about that time; chances were nothing but her dragon parent remained, just like with Igneel and Metalicana for the men. Meanwhile, Natsu kept leading her across Magnolia with Gajeel in tow, grinning like a loon; he got a girlfriend, got to fight strong people for days, and now their missing friend reappeared. This was shaping up to be the best week ever!

"So," Gajeel finally broke the silence between them. "You here for the tournament?"

"Indeed. It piqued mine curiousity." Wendy then glanced between the two of them before focussing on Natsu. "I, ah, beheld thy prowess. Thou art a Dragonslayer such as I, yes?"

"Yup. Gajeel is too, but he got knocked out before fighting anyone."

"Shut it, Salamander!"

"Come on, it's fine to suck sometimes!"

Gajeel ground his teeth while Natsu laughed at him; ironically, Wendy's Exceed friend that she soon introduced as Carla acted quite similar to the iron Dragonslayer. From what he got out of her before reaching the guildhall, she was a freelance wizard who worked various odd jobs. "Oh, I know!" Natsu became giddy again as he thought of the possibilities. "You could join our guild, too! Having all three of us there would be great!" Sadly, Wendy did not seem that enthusiastic about it; she shook her head, wiping the grin off his face. "Why not?"

"While I appreciate the offer, I do not seek a guild for myself at this time." Her polite tone did not quite cover that she was uncomfortable with the subject. "Although I may revisit the prospect in the future. As is, I am content with the freedom being a freelancer grants me. I need to think of Quelaan as well, ah, that is, my caretaker and friend. I doubt she would be comfortable here."

Natsu had stopped in front of the gate leading into his home, digesting the news. Within moments however, his grin was back in full force. "Oh well, I guess there's no helping it. Whatever, come on in!" And just like that, he threw the doors open and waltzed in with an arm around Wendy's shoulder. "Hey, everyone! Look who's visiting!" The blunette wilted under their immediate attention, but Natsu simply dragged her inside for the guild to see. "This is Wendy, she's a Dragonslayer too!"

That broke the spell and others surged forward to meet the girl, who greeted them politely; she could not really hide her surprise about the warm welcome, though. Happy fluttered around in excitement once he spotted Carla, though the Exceed girl was less receptive than her human friend. Natsu kept grinning throughout, even when Lucy attached herself to his side. His girlfriend already said hello at that point. "So, how did you meet her?" she asked next, making Natsu shrug.

"Stumbled over her in town. She smelled familiar."

"...yep, that is never not going to be weird." Her muttering was likely not meant to be heard, so Natsu said nothing.

That was also when Gajeel nudged his shoulder. "What's with the cats, anyway?" he asked, nodding toward where Happy still failed to make friends with Carla. "I figured Happy was just odd, but now there's two of them."

"Right, I guess you weren't there." Natsu completely forgot that most people did not know. "Mystogan told us some time ago. They're Exceed and they're not from this world. He didn't say how they got here, but I found Happy's egg a few years back. There's some more living around Fiore and across the continent, but I've never met any." Wendy turned their way when he began, prompting another grin her way. "Pretty surprising, huh?"

"Somewhat," she agreed, but shed the sentiment with a faint shrug. "But with Quelaan being from another world also, I am quite used to the fact. Carla hatched from an egg as well." Her comment stirred up new interest and before Natsu could so much as ask about that mysterious person, other people already went for it. Levy was particularly gleeful about it.

"So you have friends from different worlds? Did they teach you any alien magic? C'mon, show us something!" Her cheerful demand was echoed and even Natsu joined in, now that he realised there must be a ton of things people from outside of Earthland could do. Then again, with Wendy being a Dragonslayer....

"W-Well, if you insist." The teen herself stuttered a little while taking a step back from Levy and raising her hands to her chest. A moment of expectant silence was followed by dark blue light; she drew an aquamarine matrix from her bosom. Hundreds of tiny blocks gleamed ever so softly, constantly rearranging themselves as people watched. Lucy gasped and Natsu was just as mesmerised. When Levy reached out to touch the thing however, Wendy pulled back and her fellow blunette sheepishly let her be.

A shadow fell over them then, clearly belonging to Pris; the giantess had been reading by her favourite wall so far, but this must have drawn her attention. She crouched over them, staring intently at what Wendy did; the youngest Dragonslayer wilted once again, staring up at Pris in awe.

"Do you recognise this?" Mystogan chimed in from ground level, which prompted their master-to-be to frown.

"I believe so," she agreed. "Tis a soul. Thy soul, Wendy. Prithee return it from whence it came."

Her lightly scolding tone had Wendy avert her gaze while everyone else stared at the matrix in surprise. There was some quiet chatter around the room while it vanished back into her chest. "My apologies, I was overtaken by excitement."

"What's the problem?" Natsu chimed in to cover his old friend, but also because he did not really understand the issue. Pris glanced his way.

"One's soul is precious, and one ought not to present it to strangers."

That made sense. Natsu nodded, which gave Gray a chance to ask his own question: "How do you even take your soul out of your body in the first place?"

This time the half-dragon hesitated, as did Wendy. Pris studied her guildmates before slumping ever so slightly. "I did not know it was possible in these lands," she admitted. Following that, she carefully reached to her chest and presented something else to them; a flame as green as a lush forest, stood completely still. Its ethereal gleam cast long shadows, once again making everyone stop to stare. Even Wendy was stunned, mouthing a silent 'wow'.

"I beheld Quelaan's flame," the blunette breathed, "but it was never remotely like this."

"Wait, so you're not from this...." Levy groaned and slapped her forehead, never finishing the sentence. "Yeah, this is so obvious in hindsight, how didn't I think of it?" Several others agreed with her and Natsu did, too. Pris winced for some reason.

"I imagine it may be related to your being unaware of the existence of other realities," she reasoned while reabsorbing her soul. "Regardless, it seems this can be learned. Tell me, child, didst thou learn the soul arts?"

The question drew a headshake from Wendy. "Afraid not, dame Priscilla. Mine caretaker solely practices the art of pyromancy."

"Pyromancy? I am afraid I find myself unaware of such a subject."

"May I demonstrate?"

Pris nodded and the general excitement across the room grew once again. Wendy was clearly more comfortable now and asked the crowd to give her space; then she began to twirl and dance, aquamarine streamers following her fingertips. The winds around them picked up with her motions, but also carried the sweet scent of cinnamon for some reason. Wendy focussed on her beautiful dance, spreading both hands as the visible wind gathered within them. Miniature storms roared along her palms, being united and growing bigger as the dance went on. On her final twirl she was in the singular storm's eye while it began to draw in stuff from around the room. Even Natsu could feel their pull on him and had to brace himself.

Then she stopped abruptly, making the winds fade. Left was a softly panting Dragonslayer, who curtsied under the guild's applause. "It is the first technique I learned, but rather not one for use indoors. I would prefer not to demonstrate further," she explained while everything settled down again. What items were drawn by the storm never hit the ground because Pris and Erza caught them with telekinesis; they swiftly placed everything back where it belonged.

"That was beautiful," Lucy gushed. "How does it work?"

"Pyromancy requires one's body be in tune with their soul," Wendy explained slowly; Natsu thought she was reciting from memory. "Through dance, a pyromancer can attune one to the other and pour its might into the world."

Levy was already taking notes while Natsu tried to figure out where the difference lay between this pyromancy and Earthland's magic. Nothing came to mind. So he put it aside. "And your friend taught you how to do it? Is she a pyromaniac, too?"

"Pyromancer," Lucy stage-whispered, but he ignored her. Wendy nodded.

"She is a true master," the younger Dragonslayer began with bright eyes. "She can not dance much anymore, but the few times she demonstrated were more beautiful than anything I ever saw. Quelaan weaves her flames into a song of life." The mention of fire immediately had Natsu's attention, but he noticed Priscilla's expression shift from the corner of his eye; the giantess' sudden frown vanished as soon as it appeared. Wendy fell silent as well though, having received a warning look from Carla. She ended up dodging questions about her caretaker, saying simply that they could ask about her origins in person.

They moved on from there; as it turned out, their surprise guest would soon turn fourteen. The moment she mentioned her healing magic, she was also subcontracted to help out Polyushka with the injured. All in all, Natsu figured she was having fun, so he ended up dragging Lucy away for a makeout session instead; his girlfriend certainly did not mind.

 

"Solid Script is the most basic form of runic magic. Actualising a written word in the literal sense, it grants great flexibility. How useful it is depends on the caster's creativity and imagination. An active mind can fuel far more powerful terms and actualise them. Solid Script is easy to learn but hard to master; likewise, it is easy to branch out into other script magic such as runes from there."

-excerpt from "The Soul of Magic"

---

"I wonder what they're talking about."

A few days passed and the tournament's second phase loomed over them; on the final evening before it began, everyone had gathered in the guildhall for the announcements of combat pairs. While they waited, Lucy could not help but notice the congregation of people around Natsu, Gajeel, and Gray. They caught her eye even before Levy asked the question, though Hisui only cast a quick glance that way; the princess joined them earlier, prompting some awkwardness from Wendy and Juvia. Levy held up fine, but her fellow blunettes remained tongue-tied around royalty.

Well, it was not like Lucy could not understand. At least the guards were absent except for Arcadios, making their table somewhat more relaxed. "I am kind of curious too," Lucy finally agreed with her guildmate. After a moment of consideration and admiring Natsu from afar, her gaze flickered to the Dragonslayer at her own table. "Hey, Wendy? Dragonslayers have better senses, right? Can you hear them?"

The younger girl fidgeted somewhat under Hisui's renewed interest, but nodded. "I can make the attempt?" she offered, which prompted a smile. Lucy fell perfectly still in response, evening out her breath as much as possible. The other women followed suit to give their spy a chance in the general thrum of conversation all around. Wendy turned her head slightly, ears twitching once or twice. Her brow was scrunched in concentration. As they watched, she grew increasingly more flustered to the point her cheeks turned faintly pink.

After a few minutes of this, Levy leaned forward; her grin grew proportionally to Wendy's embarassment. "So," she prompted, "what pervy things are they on about?"

The Dragonslayer's attention immediately snapped back and she quickly shook her head, blushing further. "N-Nothing, really!" she eeped, prompting a laugh from the older blunette and chuckles from Lucy; even Hisui hid a faint smile.

"Though it seems to be a delicate subject," the princess speculated. Her reserved tone did not fool Lucy; she was just as curious. The blonde threw her liege a knowing look that went ignored. Wendy inclined her head as well.

"Ah, y-yes, your highness." Wendy kept dragging her feet for a bit. She relaxed once Juvia cautiously took a hold of her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. The gesture was clearly appreciated. She began to explain then: "They are talking about, well, you. I believe the older men impart advice on how to treat you well." Juvia stiffened momentarily while Levy began to giggle; Lucy just glanced to the group again.

"Oh my, how thoughtful of them." While Hisui was right, Lucy rolled her eyes over the teasing note in her voice. The princess continued regardless: "And is their advice appreciated?"

"Ah, well, Natsu believes he will be fine because miss Mirajane offers advice whenever he asks, but Gajeel and mister Fullbuster seem to appreciate it greatly."

"They're trying," Mirajane agreed as if her name called upon her; she placed fresh drinks in front of them with a soft giggle, unconcerned with the scowling knight captain next to her. "Perhaps I should help them out a little?"

Lucy was not quite sure what to think of that. She did not measure up to Mira in attractiveness, not even close; but at the same time, she highly doubted there was any attraction between the model and her boyfriend to worry about. She treated him like a brother. Now Gajeel or Gray however, well, Juvia bristled momentarily before calming herself; Levy just shrugged.

Mira's mirth quickly turned around when Makarov wandered by, lightly slapping her calf with his cane. "You don't know what you want half the time. Leave the younger ones to their own devices."

"I'll have you know I give good advice," she pouted at the master, who huffed.

"I never said you don't, but this lot won't learn anything if you give them all the answers. On both ends, too." He then let off of Mira to glance Levy's way with a hint of seriousness. "But while we are at it: you better be somewhat serious about this. Gajeel may not look or act it, but he is starved for positive attention. Don't lead him on."

Levy nodded back, all serious in turn. "Won't, promise. Hit me over the head if I do, yes?"

Makarov just chuckled, then walked away to disperse the crowd around their respective boyfriends and give them some stern advice of his own. All three nodded along with what he said, leaving the women to their own devices; Mira sashayed away to tend to her duties and left an amused Hisui with them. That amusement quickly turned to scandalised surprise when Levy leaned forward with a grin. "So, that aside, Lu! How long until you're doing Natsu?"

She felt her own composure break immediately, still unused to how direct her friend could be with these questions. Warmth flushed Lucy's entire face, perhaps even producing a blush. "Not so loud!" she hissed at the unrepentant blunette; even Juvia and Wendy shared her embarassment, though Lucy felt compelled to at least answer. "And I don't know. It is... you know?"

She squirmed a little, uncertain how to approach the subject. Levy thankfully caught it: "Ah. Virgin?" If this was not about her right now, Lucy could at least luxuriate in the fact Hisui's composure was utterly gone as well. As it were, the princess listened to them raptly and left Lucy to save what she could.

"Of course. I did not have the kind of time to go out much before I left home, and after that I was here." She slumped forward on the table with a groan. "Oh, you have no idea how nice it is to have my own place. No servants checking on you all the time. I love them all to bits, but there was no privacy at all." Hisui's cheeks grew red over the implications as well while Levy whistled.

"Oh, I get it alright. So that's what you do at home all the time. I just hope you didn't expose poor Wendy to your wild side?"

The younger blunette mutely shook her head while Juvia kept her gaze averted, surprisingly shy about the subject. Lucy rolled her eyes at the script wizard, who chuckled at them. Hisui chimed in now, fanning herself with her hand. "You are certainly... candid, with each other. Is this, well," she motioned vaguely for the taproom around them, but Lucy felt she meant the common folk more than the guild.

"It depends," she allowed. "Fairy Tail is close-knit, and Levy in particular just knows no shame." The woman in question beamed at Hisui, who faintly smiled back; then she clapped Juvia's back, startling the older blunette back into paying attention after she began daydreaming.

"No regrets!" Levy declared, then turned back to Wendy. "Anyway, how do you like staying with Lu? Her place is great, isn't it?"

The Dragonslayer was clearly happy for the change in subject. "It is," she agreed with a faint smile. "Her bath is really nice."

And just like that, she found common ground with everyone. Levy showed her a thumbs up and Juvia became animated as well, gushing about the bathtub she only ever visited twice. Lucy allowed herself a soft sigh. "I really do not get why everyone says that," she murmured, once again placing her head on the table; part of her mind was still with the previous subject, and if they already went there, why not satisfy her own curiousity? "It's... hey, Levy? I keep hearing that the first time hurts, so... you, uh, did you...?"

"A few times. It's fine, don't worry."

While Levy reassured her, Wendy offered a gentle headpat from Lucy's other side. "She is quite right. Tis a matter of proper preparation more than anything. It will be fine."

After parsing that particular comment, Lucy turned to stare at the younger woman. Everyone at their table did, though the blonde noticed Arcadios squirming in the corner of her eyes; he likely wanted to be anywhere but here. Unfortunately for him, nothing could stop Levy McGarden. "I know what I heard," she teased. "I want details."

Wendy stuttered something about meeting an older boy in Crocus earlier in the year, but was saved from having to elaborate when a thunderclap silenced everyone; Lucy quietly accepted Hisui's hand clasping hers under the table, silent reassurance that she was not the only maiden present. Both turned to the stage at the room's back, where Makarov and Freed peered at the crowd.

The master nodded to himself. His voice reverberated across the entire taproom: "Now that only sixteen remain and everyone had some time to rest after the first ordeal, the actual tournament awaits. The first round will be held tomorrow. Therefore, we will draw the pairings today." Freed made sixteen slips of paper flutter in a faint circle before directing them into a black top hat. He demonstratively looked away while shaking it to mix the names. In the meantime, Makarov drew a tournament tree on the portable blackboard. "Notice," he commented without turning back to the crowd, "that one of the first eight names and one of the last eight will meet in the finale."

There was some murmuring and Lucy nodded, though she figured something like this anyway; it was just a standard tournament tree after all. Then she leaned forward, as did just about everyone else; the master stuck his hand into the hat and rummaged around before producing a single slip. "The first contender is... Natsu Dragneel!"

Cheers followed at once while the Dragonslayer pumped his fist; his name appeared in the first slot with a tiny flash while Freed drew the other one, his expression inscrutable. "His opponent," he announced and the room fell silent again. "Is Erza Scarlet."

Lucy winced before chancing a glance at her boyfriend; his grin slipped. Erza just nodded to herself, though her faint smile made the blonde worry. "Ouch", she commiserated. "Erza in the first round." Levy silently raised her mug in agreement.

"The second pairing starts with... Juvia Lockser!" The master's declaration earned more applause, but Lucy saw that her friend was still not enthused about the whole thing. "And her opponent?"

"Laki Olietta," Freed announced a moment later.

While they joined the general cheer, Levy glanced between the water and wood wizard. "I feel bad for both of you," she told Juvia. "Whoever wins has to go against Natsu or Erza next."

"It is just as well," the other blunette shrugged off the prospect. "I don't want to win anyway, and I could have gotten worse." Her gaze flicked to Lucy, who threw her a sympathetic smile.

"This is the second time thou, er, you felt sorry at the prospect of someone encountering miss Scarlet," Wendy chimed in curiously. "Why is that?"

Before either of them could answer, Hisui did with a faint smile: "Oh, Erza Scarlet is regarded as one of Fairy Tail's best. I once heard that some would rather take their chances with an actual dragon."

"Oh."

"For the third pair, we have..." Makarov cared naught for their conversation, grabbing two slips at once this time. "Bixlow, facing Mirajane Strauss!" This prompted another wave of cheers; Laxus clapped his subordinate's shoulder without a hint of pity while Mira smiled beatifically, though Bixlow himself merely shrugged. Not that Lucy could read his expression under that helmet of his.

Just like Makarov had taken two before, now Freed went with the next announcement: "And the last pair in the first half are... Laxus Dreyar, against Cana Alberona!"

The brunette immediately downed another keg of ale, prompting laughter across the room. Laxus wore a confident grin at first, up until Mira tapped his shoulder for attention and ran a finger across her throat. Lucy shivered, wondering how that sweet smile managed to enhance the threatening gesture. "She can be quite intimidating," Wendy murmured, which made everyone at the table toast her. Even Hisui joined in and proceeded to drink with them.

Makarov nodded to himself as he studied the filled-in half of that tree. "These will be interesting matches," he decided. Meanwhile, Lucy's mind rattled through the contestants yet to be drawn; with every S-ranker in the first half she felt confident. She still paid attention, though. "The first contestant in the second half is Levy McGarden!"

"Facing Reedus Jonah!"

Both script and paint wizard received applause, though Lucy's gaze narrowed. Who was left for her to face? She forgot some of the names and before they resurfaced from memory, her own was called. "Lucy Heartfilia!" Blinking, she focussed back on the stage where the master studied another slip of paper intently. His stony expression remained in place as he drew out the silence. "Her opponent is Warrod Sequen!"

Now the room as a whole winced while Lucy felt like slumping down again. Just where did her precious luck go? First she immediately stumbled over Laxus, now she needed to face one of the Four Kings of Ishgar. There was no way she could pull off another miracle!

At least her groan prompted a cheerful laugh from Levy, who pushed her shoulder. "Just stay positive," she chirped. "The man is ancient. You're going to beat him so I can kick your ass in round two!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Maybe I can tire him out for you or something."

Freed thankfully prevented any further musing on the impossible task before her as he kept on going: "Next up is Priscilla Primordio, facing Gray Fullbuster." Lucy dutifully joined the cheering and sought her guildmates; Gray was grinning, but Priscilla's countenance remained stony for some reason. She nodded once and, after Cana nudged her cheerfully, put on a forced smile.

"My apologies for removing you so early," she taunted primly. "I hope you understand."

"I'm not out yet. You'll have to work for it."

Priscilla snorted in an almost condescending manner, then reached over to pat Gray's head. He grumbled and Lucy joined the general snickering, though she felt that something was on her giant friend's mind; it had been for several days now, ever since they learned she was from another world. Her demeanor was subtly off, more guarded than normal.

"It's only a formality at this point," the master broke into her musings with a fond smile. "But the last pairing will be Evergreen and Bisca Mulan." One last round of applause followed, which everyone joined.

"A fascinating display," Wendy murmured. "A mere few days past you all fought each other, yet everyone cheers for those who stood victorious."

Levy threw a grin back at her fellow blunette. "That's Fairy Tail for you," she chirped by way of explanation, then leaned over to poke Lucy's shoulder. "And now that I'm looking at the pairings, you could go and comfort Natsu now. He's in the same group as literally every S-rank wizard we have in the tournament."

Lucy waved her off immediately. "As if, he's fired up if anything. Look." She motioned for the distant table where her boyfriend returned to laughing boisterously, spewing flames into the air and miming punches. Gajeel nodded sagely about whatever he said.

"Alright, fair. Then let him comfort you?"

Now this, Lucy considered momentarily. Then her brow creased as she decided Levy had enough fun on her expense. "You know what?" she retorted with a deceptively sweet smile, "I think you need to cool down." A few steps brought her next to the surprised woman; she could not measure up to her new strength and was swiftly picked up with one hand. "Juvia?"

Her friend threw back an almost cheerful nod and turned liquid to receive the flying script wizard; Levy's shriek turned into a squeal the moment she was soaked. Dusting off her hands, Lucy left her behind to splutter on the ground, well aware of Hisui's giggles.

Natsu waved cheerfully when he noticed her approach, beaming even while Lucy had no idea how to start. "Man, you're lucky! You get to throw down with a Wizard Saint! I'll be cheering for you, Lucy!"

And from one moment to the next, Lucy had to smile. "Thanks," she murmured, already feeling herself relax. She leaned in to peck his cheek, only for Levy to jump on her back with a shout; the imbalance sent her into Natsu and both of them to the ground. Strong arms closed around Lucy, pressing her against a broad chest and far closer than she expected to be; she squirmed and threw an elbow behind herself to dislodge the soaked blunette, who rolled off and to Gajeel's feet. Just about as soon as he helped her up, fists flew.

Some time later, Lucy lay in her bed with Wendy tending to some of the nastier bruises she received. "Thank you," she repeated herself, but the younger girl merely shook her head.

"There is no need to thank me. I love to help." Neither of them said it, but the guild also paid her pretty well; Lucy set that bit up after all. She ignored the faint stings and let her mind wander to the match; after that little pep talk from Natsu, she was actually looking forward to it. Doomed Lucy Heartfilia may be, but she would not go down without a fight.

Once she was back in shape and both of them saw to cleaning themselves, Wendy crawled into bed next to her; it was an odd sort of arrangement, born of Lucy refusing to let her guest take the couch and said guest refusing to force her host out of her bed. At the same time, she could not say she disliked the change. It almost felt like the sleepovers she always wanted as a child. Neither of them stayed up for long.

The next day came quick, carrying an anticipatory buzz with it; the main plaza was transformed into a small stadium and every seat filled with spectators. Lucy remained on her spot in the first row, like every other competitor beside the first duo.

Down below, Natsu and Erza were sizing each other up; the knightess had her arms crossed while her opponent grinned like a loon. "We will see how much you have grown," Erza declared, though Lucy detected a faint smile. Most of the crowd cheered for her, too. Then again, just about every child shrieked for Natsu to win. He demonstratively threw off his vest, which did prompt another wave of cheers Lucy was less happy with. She swallowed her jealousy, though.

"I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked!"

Erza's only response to that was a snort. Just then, the gong sounded and both charged each other. Erza immediately decked herself in red and orange plate mail so reminiscent of scales; then she drew a longsword to threaten Natsu with. He caught the blade with his bare hand and pulled, wreathing the other in flames.

"Fire Dragon's Fist!"

The redhead took his blow to the stomach, flames sputtering against the resistant material. Natsu frowned, then gurgled when an armoured knee slammed into his own abdomen. Lucy winced when Erza followed up with an overhead strike, sending him to the ground. She actually stepped back afterward to study her handiwork.

As for Natsu, well, the stone began to steam around him. Air whirled under the heat before fire erupted all over the Dragonslayer, who rose once more with an almost maniacal grin. Erza actually mirrored his expression, but brought up her sword in a careful guard. She was swiftly enveloped by a plume of fire. It cut off when a single slash parted the flames to reveal a slightly singed knightess; Natsu grumbled and lunged at her to trade blows again.

Lucy chewed on her lip as she watched the mostly one-sided match. Her boyfriend did not give an inch, but Erza kept playing to her advantages and greater experience. He was slowly chased around the arena, now conserving Ethernano instead of trying to hammer his opponent into submission. The blade she first wielded soon turned to molten slag, replaced by a lance and then a warhammer. Her swings cut the air and reverberated through the arena, the noise sometimes drowning out or silencing the crowd.

She was about to drive Natsu into the ground again to create another crater when he dodged forward, right into Erza's guard. Lucy leaned forward while the hammer fell from her guildmate's grasp. Natsu's right hand was shrouded black and used the full momentum of his roll, slamming into Erza's chest; she was thrown back as black lines ran over her armour and burned it away. Runes all across the enchanted plate mail flickered and sparked before fading. The entire thing began to glow and was replaced by Erza's standard breastplate; she took distance and warily watched her grinning opponent.

"Not so easy now, is it?" Natsu cackled as he threw a normal fireball up and down. Erza sized him up but kept her distance; Lucy tried to figure out what he did as well, but got nothing. Her boyfriend merely turned the flame in hand black and lobbed it. Erza leapt away to escape the explosion of heat where she stood, transitioning into a roll before coming back up running.

All of a sudden, the tables turned; with her direct counter invalidated, Erza could no longer focus on offense. For every strike she dealt, Natsu delivered a counter that left the knightess reeling. She switched to smooth purple cloth that Lucy recalled effective against all kinds of magic damage; the moment Natsu saw his fire mostly neutralised again, he went in with his bare fists. The first punch connected, but after that Erza merely kept going back and forth to catch them on polished steel.

The brutal match went on for several minutes as neither side was willing to give; Lucy started to wince every time either of her teammates got hit, but the crowd ate it up. She definitely heard Milianna's cheers out of the general cacophony, urging Erza to win.

The next time their exchanges ceased, both stood panting; Natsu sported various nasty bruises, as did Erza. His were easier to see on his glistening skin though, seeing that she clad herself in armour after armour. Not that Erza had much time to recover; Natsu went right back at it after catching his breath. This time fire sprouted from his elbow, propelling his fist with such force that Erza's breastplate broke on impact. The surprised knightess flew two dozen metres into the rune wall before the stands, not far from Lucy.

After heavily hitting the ground, she stayed down. The entire audience held its breath, making Natsu's panting the only audible sound. Erza stirred ever so slightly, but remained where she was; the guild stared in shock at what they saw, but the crowd went wild once it became clear the fight was over. Their roaring applause snapped Natsu out of his funk; he raised both arms and shouted his victory to the heavens.

Lucy applauded for both of them, really. At the same time, she pondered whether Erza threw the fight there. Maybe Lucy just underestimated Natsu? Her boyfriend was busy hauling up their teammate, who stumbled from the force before ruffling his hair affectionately. The pride shining in Erza's expression convinced Lucy that there was no throwing involved. Both combatants limped from the arena to where Polyushka and Wendy were waiting for them.

"Gee, way to start us off," Cana muttered. Lucy inclined her head to the woman next to her.

The next three battles were executions. Laki was good with her near infinite supply of wood and extra support from Solid Script, but neither of these worked well against a woman who could turn liquid at will. Juvia effortlessly dodged every dangerous attack. When a wave of sand was thrown into her to slow her down, she turned it into a mud bath for the purplette. After that, Mirajane made short work of Bixlow; his remote-controlled wooden dolls were crushed with devastating kicks, followed by a single punch to the solar plexus that laid him out. And following that, Cana threw her most powerful Card magic combinations at Laxus; he shrugged it all off without so much as a twitch before punching her so hard she followed Erza's path into the rune wall. A lightning bolt followed her trail and left a smoking brunette on the ground.

Lucy winced hard in that last fight; she knew that only knowing the right magic protected her from a similar fate in the first phase. Even then it had been mostly luck that Laxus did not feel like taking a risk.

After a ten minute break, the announcement came that Priscilla would face Gray next. That had Lucy stumped, only for a cheerful chuckle to sound from her right. Warrod made his way over to sit with her now, throwing a grin Lucy's way. "I asked little Makarov to adjust the order a bit. You and I go last."

"I see...."

She had hoped to just get it over with, but that was apparently a pipe dream. Warrod seemed to enjoy her suffering, too. At least his giggling faded once the fight started, the ancient wizard now focussed. Lucy studied them, too: Gray immediately went on the offensive and created various ice formations to throw at Priscilla, who weaved around them without much trouble. Shields sprung up from time to time, but mostly she just caught smaller projectiles on her face or chest. They splintered without any effect.

Once it became clear he would not let up anytime soon, another spell circle snapped into place under the giantess. She swiftly sank into the ground. Gray stayed in place at first, but Lucy felt Priscilla move by her Ethernano. She darted beneath the ice wizard, forcing him to leap away. He managed to dodge twice more before Priscilla suffused the entire area with her magic, making their senses useless. Moments later, her hand emerged first and took a hold of Gray. Priscilla followed before he could create more ice, winding up and throwing him into the runes. Her victim bounced and somehow rolled off into a crouch, unable to dodge the follow-up kick that sent him right back where he came from. This time he stayed down.

"My," Warrod mused under the shocked applause, "that is certainly a prodigious strength. I wonder if she supplements it with Body Reinforcement?"

"I hope not," Lucy quipped back reflexively. "It's already bad enough with just her natural strength."

"True, true." Warrod laughed again, but Lucy could not quite see the humour in this; maybe he was just looking forward to facing Pris?

Regardless, the time of her own execution quickly approached. Evergreen took down Bisca within thirty seconds, simply turning her to stone the moment their eyes met. The sniper managed to land several good shots before she failed to avert her gaze in time, but the result was never in question.

Levy and Reedus took a while longer as they were evenly matched. Solid Script met Paint magic, actualised concepts measuring themselves against magical constructs. Once Reedus had Levy boxed in with several bulky shapes however, she vanished into her own shadow and reemerged behind the surprised painter; Lucy gasped as well while her friend turned the mainly ranged encounter into a brawl. When she stood victorious two minutes later, the blunette sought Lucy's gaze and winked at her. Apparently, she was not the only one who learned new magic.

And then it was time for Lucy herself to enter the arena. Her opponent already awaited her, his cape fluttering in the soft breeze. Warrod Sequen grinned as vines grew from between the stones under his feet. All of a sudden, Lucy was hyper-aware of the many nooks and crannies he could attack her from.

"This is your last chance to surrender," he offered playfully, hands clasped behind his back. "You just need to say it now."

The crowd hung on his words while Lucy scowled. She already drew Leo's key from her ring. Channeling Natsu, she trash-talked back at him: "That sounds like you have not been around these parts in a long time, old man. A Fairy Tail wizard does not just give up when things get tough." A collective gasp from the stands followed her disrespect, but Warrod cackled.

He sized her up once again, the gleaming Gate key already in her palm, the fire in her eyes... and turned around.

"Perfect. I surrender!"

As the tension collapsed on itself, Lucy's jaw fell slack. She stared at the old wizard's retreating back. He made a few steps before glancing over his shoulder with a cheerful smile. "An old man like myself doesn't make a good master, anyway. Let the young have a shot." Laughter followed his statement, a familiar blonde girl holding her belly among the crowd. Warrod inclined his head her way. Lucy's flabbergasted expression may have something to do with more people joining the laughter, but she just could not stop staring. Nothing made sense anymore.

She somehow made it past Warrod Sequen. How was she still in this tournament?! And how much of her ale was Cana willing to share after their respective ordeals?

 

"Several hundred Gate Keys exist at the time of this book's writing. All are based on the twelve unique golden Zodiac Keys, which draw upon the twelve dukes and duchesses of the Celestial Spirit World. The lesser Silver Keys are easier to produce and thus each mapped gate possesses several dozen keys attuned to it. I pondered adding detailed blueprints for the Zodiac Keys, but ultimately decided against it. The avid reader may attempt to create them on their own as an exercise."

-excerpt from "The Soul of Magic"

---

"From studying the tournament tree, we can see that it is composed rather unevenly. A lot of Fairy Tail's powerful wizards are placed in the first half. What are your thoughts on the matter, Master Dreyar?"

The aging guild master offered Jason a shrug. "It was to be expected when drawing lots to determine the pairings. At the same time, I believe I prefer it this way; had I chosen to put the initial pairings together by hand, matching our S-ranking wizards against the regular members from the beginning would be even worse. We could have just as easily foregone the battle royale and first round of the tournament then, putting together a tree of eight with only the S-rank wizards and a few key members who I believe capable of obtaining the rank in the near future."

Jason nodded along as he took notes; Makarov still wondered why he even asked, seeing how he was present when they drew those lots. Either way, he indulged the excitable reporter's request for an interview, much like everyone else he asked did.

"And how do you see the results of this first round?"

"About as expected in some cases," he began while thinking of his little ones, "and quite unexpected in others." Meaning, Natsu. He never expected Erza to be defeated, though she certainly did not go as far as he knew she could; in the end, he pushed her past what a glorified mock battle was worth. "Some of the young members may not have had a chance to show much of their prowess, but I feel their spirits shone through regardless."

"I agree, absolutely." Jason beamed as he noted down a few final points, then turned to the man seated next to Makarov. "Out of curiousity, Saint Sequen, why did you forfeit?"

"Well, I was technically required to participate by tournament rules." Warrod giggled, then coughed and downed half of a decorative flower vase's water before continuing. "But in truth, I had this little prank planned for about as long as I knew it was coming. I am too old to be guild master for long. Not to mention that I successfully managed to dodge that role for as long as little Makarov is alive." The man in question rolled his eyes while his godfather exchanged a conspiratory grin with Jason. Then he turned serious again. "With all that in mind, I set for myself to surrender to the first opponent facing me bravely despite the power disparity. Had it been any of the S-rank wizards, I would have tested them more thoroughly."

He nodded sagely after that and fell silent, prompting new questions from Jason.

Meanwhile, Lucy sat in odd company as she nursed her drink; Juvia by her side was fine as well, but Gray, Natsu, and Erza were all severely beaten up. Wendy still fussed over them even after several hours passed; she prioritised Natsu as the only one who had another fight tomorrow, but it took a lot of time after the beating Erza gave him. No one spoke, the lot of them merely sipping drinks or, in Natsu's case, devouring a huge meal.

Into this scene, Levy sidled onto the bench next to Juvia with a bright grin; a blank-faced Gajeel followed, though Lucy noticed his bright red ears mostly hidden by that black mane. She threw her nerdy friend a look, but only received that same grin in response. Next Happy appeared, whining that Carla did not want to be friends despite his best attempts. Lucy felt a little sorry for him, but could also understand the reserved Exceed keeping her distance. Wendy encouraged the little guy to keep trying, that her friend needed time to open up to others.

Lucy soaked up all these interactions, not quite feeling like joining the banter. She was happy enough to be in one piece and still in the tournament.

"I'm proud of you," Erza was telling Natsu right now. "I held nothing back and was found wanting. Well done." He merely threw her a thumbs up, well aware that talking with food in his mouth would yield at least one lecture. Lucy grinned into her mug at that thought; she taught him well these past few months.

After swallowing however, her boyfriend called over the table. "Hey, Juvia." Not just the water wizard glanced his way then, seeing that there was little else to focus on. "Just asking, are you okay with fire?"

The question gave even Juvia pause; she tilted her head ever so slightly. "How so?"

"I mean, how bad is it if I turn part of your body to steam?"

"Oh." Juvia mulled that over while Lucy winced; she completely forgot those two would be up against each other. Fire and water made for either an interesting fight, or an explosive one. Juvia nodded slowly. "It will be fine," she decided. "I will be careful just in case, though."

"What about you, Lu? How do you feel about the imminent asskicking?"

Levy's quip earned an arched brow. Lucy put down her mug with a quiet clack, matching her friend's grin with a mocking smile. "Oh, I am looking forward to delivering it onto you." Natsu and Gajeel snickered while the script wizard grimaced over the turnaround. Lucy decided to let off her and sighed. "But I still can't believe I made it to the quarter finals."

"Fair enough," Levy conceded. "At least we don't have any more monsters in our lineup. Well, beside Pris." She threw a look to the giantess seated at a nearby wall, peacefully reading a book of some kind; Lucy thought she recognised the cover of one of her mystery friend's works. "And I've never really seen her fight, beside bullying Gray earlier. Don't think that's going to work against me, by the way." The part-dragon merely chuckled without so much as looking up, carefully turning the page. The gesture seemed to have caught Levy's attention, though. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Learning light magic."

"...what?"

The entire atmosphere changed; a flummoxed Levy stared at Priscilla, whose gaze left her reading material at last. Lucy thought she saw a flicker of mirth in her expression before it smoothed out. "I already have my strategy against Evergreen, so I am learning light magic to counter your shadows, just in case."

"Are you for real?" Gajeel asked into the silence that followed. "No one can learn new magic that fast." He was right too, though Lucy figured that if anyone could break with that rule, they were looking at her. This was worrisome.

"Do you have something against me, too?"

Thankfully, her question yielded a headshake; Priscilla then favoured her with a smile. "Celestial Spirit magic is too versatile to counter quickly or easily. I will have to rely on what I learned thus far, should the two of us meet in battle. Depending on how well your secret project works, I may even have to draw my scythe."

While this was a relief and dreadful at the same time, Lucy could not follow this thread any further; Levy immediately leaned over Juvia's lap to poke the blonde's shoulder. "Speaking of, what is it? C'mon, you've seen my shadows, tell me!"

"Nope~", she denied with a hint of cheer. "You will find out tomorrow."

"Come oooon! Please? Pretty please?" She even tried puppy dog eyes. They were admittedly cute, but Lucy did no more than rein in her twitching expression. The blunette blew out her cheeks in response. "You're no fun," she lamented.

"Come on, show me at least?" Natsu pleaded next, bearing almost the same hopeful stare Levy tried just before. He kept prodding her too, as if he were ten years younger.

Lucy was about to say no again when her tipsy brain reminded her that not only would he see it anyway, he was her boyfriend now. Not to mention some of her Star Dresses were quite daring. So after downing what was left in her mug, she stood and grabbed Natsu's hand to drag him off. Levy whistled after them, but Lucy ignored whatever teasing remark followed. She then proceeded to show off her newest technique, which may or may not have been followed by another makeout session.

It took a while to realise why Wendy kept throwing her sheepish looks after she returned home; the petite Dragonslayer's nose kept twitching every time she did, so Lucy decided to also take a bath.

Waking up with a younger girl cuddled up to her was nice as well; it really made her feel like an older sister of sorts, even though Wendy was already so mature.

They shared breakfast before heading out and soon enough, Lucy once again sat amongst the audience to watch the first fight; Levy did similarly, though neither of them expected anything spectacular. Priscilla and Evergreen already stood down below, the latter puffed up in her usual haughty manner. This time, the giantess asked for her fight to be pushed ahead.

"Now," Evergreen ended her declaration of victory, "shall we see how long you will last? Leprechaun!" At once golden dust poured out of every crease in her green dress, lighting up and making her glasses glint ominously. Before it could even form into a stream of tiny bullets however, Priscilla up and vanished. The entire volley harmlessly slammed into Freed's wall. The crowd gasped and Lucy's brows soon met her hairline; she could not sense anything, no Ethernano at all.

"Right," Levy muttered. "She can do that."

Lucy was about to ask, only for a strangled cry to return her attention back downward; Priscilla reappeared, now holding a struggling Evergreen around the waist. Showers of gold fell from the captured woman and began to converge on her captor, but shuddered to a halt when the giantess slammed Evergreen into the ground. The crash let stone chips fly from now cracked ground, one of them flicking against the rune wall right in front of Lucy.

In the sudden silence that followed, everyone watched the newly made crater; Evergreen lay on her back, glasses askew and heaving for air. Priscilla studied her, foot twitching the moment she so much as moved. When Evergreen was about to rise, the giantess stomped on her and deepened the crater. She did that twice more before her opponent stayed down, then plucked her out of the now sizable hole and carried her over to where Polyushka waited for them. The crowd remained baffled and probably a little annoyed about not getting a big fight, but Lucy felt no one would complain to her directly.

"I guess she wanted to go first so the interesting fights can come later," she mused, which brought her an agreeing noise from Levy.

Juvia fidgeted next to them before offering her own opinion: "She was pretty brutal there."

"Efficient, more like," Laxus growled; he played over it well, but a single glance at his clenched fists assured Lucy he did not take kindly to what just happened. Whether that was for Evergreen's sake or the Thunder Legion's image of strength, she could not say. Then again, he was not that agitated when Mira beat up Bixlow the previous day. Though the model had been more gentle than... this.

Before she could ponder further, Levy clapped her shoulder jovially. "It's us next. Come on."

"Yeah, right." Lucy followed her friend's lead and leapt over the railing, each landing in a crouch while Makarov announced them. The crowd quickly perked up at the prospect of another battle. Lucy waved and admittedly enjoyed how the cheering grew in pitch. Levy's smile was a little forced, but the Script wizard played over it well enough until they reached the center.

As both women took position opposite to each other, Lucy subtly palmed Taurus' key in her left while displaying Leo's and Virgo's in her right. "Ready to lose?" she teased.

"Pft, bring it. Solid Script-"

"Open, gates of Lion and Maiden!"

"-Vacuum!"

"Leo! Virg-oooooooo!!!"

She managed to call on her spirits, but Levy's magic sent her flying toward the blunette before their gates fully formed. Lucy almost dropped their keys as she struggled to align her body with the super-sized 'Vacuum'; the a's internal hole sucked her in. Levy was already drawing more right behind; she wound up when Lucy passed by, but the blonde managed to catch her kick on reinforced forearms. She went flying anyway, but the Vacuum thankfully lost power and faded.

That was when firm arms fished her out of the air and she found herself realigned, held by Loke; he grinned down at her, foregoing any romantic commentary for once. Lucy was placed on her feet right after. "Sorry for the wait."

"It's fine, keep Levy distracted from-"

"Indestructible!"

The shout was followed by a meaty thwack as Virgo went the same way Lucy did, the red outline of letters on her right cheek. Lucy sighed. "-that."

"Can do."

So saying, Loke dashed forward and grabbed Virgo. The pinkette turned herself around the moment she caught his hand, coming to land with fluttering skirts. Her maid dress complimented Loke's suit as they made a beeline for Levy; she smirked while sinking into her own shadow and dashing across the ground, right for Lucy. Except the blonde was ready, waiting for just the right moment. Ten metres, eight, six, now!

"Oh spirit of the bull, lend your might! Star Dress!"

Lucy felt the key in her right hand grow warm as she channelled Ethernano through it. Taurus' gate glittered beneath her. Its glow coalesced just as Levy jumped out of her shadow to throw a punch. The fist connected, but nothing happened.

For a single moment, the blunette stared dumbfounded; Indestructible around her fist fizzled out. Lucy grinned back as her clothes shifted to what could be generously called a black and white bikini. "Surprise," she chirped, then punched her friend back. This time Levy went flying. She barely managed to turn so she hit the rune wall with her back instead of her face; Lucy already followed up, but she ducked under the next punch. Her fist's impact made the magical wall shudder and sent a tremor through the ground. The blunette fled into her shadow to take distance, still gaping when she reemerged. Lucy smiled to herself at the imprint that matched the one Virgo got earlier. Maid and suit flanked her now, but she started to feel the drain on her reserves.

"This is such cheating."

"Deal with it, sweetie~"

The moment Lucy took a step forward, Loke and Virgo dashed ahead to box Levy in again. Only this time there were no more tricks to reveal; Pris reminded her of the fatal flaw Shadow magic had. "Loke, light!"

Before Levy could vanish, every speck of darkness was cast away by the blinding light of Regulus, Leo's prime star. It flowed into Loke's hand and almost burned itself into Lucy's retina before she looked away. "Solid Sc-ahh!" An explosion of light followed before Lucy cracked one eye open, finding her spirits each holding one of the reeling blunette's shoulders. She pushed off the cracking stone to close the distance and punched Levy in the stomach, throwing her several metres back. She rolled along limply, protective shell cracked. Levy kept lying on the ground where she stopped, heaving for breath.

Taking a deep breath of her own, Lucy felt her thundering heartbeat for the first time. She still managed a smile, bumping fists with Loke and high-fiving Virgo. "Good job, you two. Off you go, we can celebrate later."

"Sure thing, Lucy."

"Of course, Princess."

Loke offered a formal bow while Virgo curtsied, her teasing title drawing a momentary frown. The moment they passed back through their gates and closed them, she felt the drain on her Ethernano lessen considerably.

Only then did she realise just how loud the crowd was cheering. Lucy blinked and looked up, only to find everyone roaring for her. "Uh..." Slowly raising her arm to wave again, the noise grew even further in pitch. "Huh." Blinking incomprehendingly one last time, she slowly trundled over to Levy, who finally breathed normally again. "You okay?"

"Fuck you. Ow."

"Figures. Come here."

Much like Priscilla earlier, Lucy picked up her friend and carried her to Polyushka. Where Evergreen was clutched to the giantess' chest however, Levy had been slung over Lucy's back like a sack of potatoes. She could not help but hum a tune, only stopping when the intimidating elder's glare fully turned her way.

Then Wendy was there, clearly embarassed by something. "Um, Lucy?" she began haltingly. "Your clothes, well, I mean-" She kept stuttering while waving roughly in her own direction. The blonde glanced down at herself, noting the swimsuit-esque outfit.

"Yes? What about it?"

"Are they not a bit too, too, ah, revealing?"

Lucy just shrugged; it was not so bad after some mental preparation, though that might explain why the cheers were that loud. "What, Natsu can show off his abs but I can't?" Well, she did not quite have abs, but her stomach was nicely toned by now; Wendy spluttered, quietly steaming while Lucy pet her head with a giggle. "Relax, it's fine." She nudged the Star Dress to release, closing the final gate fully and thus being left in her previous outfit.

By the time Lucy made it back up to the stands, Juvia and Natsu were already at it; he had the clear advantage because her control over steam was shaky at best. Which meant that Juvia's sole and nasty power fell short of the heat of fire. She managed a few mean surprises, her grasp on that same steam improving as the fight went on, but Natsu ultimately tired her out. He sported several burns by the end while Juvia remained mostly pristine, but of course he was grinning; after bumping fists with his tired opponent, he strolled over to Polyushka. Lucy rolled her eyes before tracking Juvia's ascent.

"Good fight," she greeted the water wizard when she arrived. Juvia shrugged.

"I guess? I really should have thought about steam before Natsu brought it up yesterday."

Lucy nodded slowly and decided not to bother her introspective friend anymore; part of that was the fact several suggestive jokes came to mind within seconds of her last comment. She spent too much time around Levy of late.

A thunderclap brought her attention back to the arena, where Laxus and Mirajane were posturing at each other. He shrugged off his thick jacket with a grin, currents arcing over his entire body; she merely stood with her hands folded, though a certain aura of menace hung around her regardless. "How fun," Mira chirped, "finally an opponent I need to work for. Satan Soul!"

And for the first time in the tournament, the She-Devil revealed herself to the gaping audience. She wasted no time in charging at Laxus, who caught her strike and delivered one of his own; their fight went so fast Lucy had trouble following the exchanges. Sometimes one of them was simply pushed back or went flying after a flurry of punches and kicks. Lightning made Mira's hair stand on end with every contact, Laxus was engulfed by waves of darkness, and neither of them gave the other an inch. Two titans matched each other blow for blow, but in the end only one could stand victorious.

With a final shout, Laxus caught Mira square in the chest and sent her to the ground. She detransformed on impact, cautiously watched; even Lucy in the stands could see her satisfied smile and shuddered, considering how badly she beat up her opponent. Laxus looked like he could collapse any moment, sheer force of will keeping him on his feet.

"Very happy I didn't have to fight either of them," she murmured, mostly to herself. Juvia made an agreeing noise while Lucy herself wondered just how Priscilla wanted to get past that. Laxus even snuck in his Mirror magic without Mira really noticing, making the model injure herself on several of her attacks. Then again, how would that fight have gone if Mira had not just regained access to her Take Over a few months ago? Lucy shuddered again while the crowd around her kept applauding; she joined in belatedly, impressed despite her moment of dread.

Her musing and chatting about that fight was cut short when a crowd formed around her the moment she left the arena, calls of "Milady!" and "Lady Lucy!" telling her who it was before she even had time to look at them; surrounding her, Natsu, and Juvia were the staff members employed at the Heartfilia mansion. Every single one beamed at her, from Nancy the head maid to Pierre the chef. "Wha-" she managed before being drowned out by congratulations and praise. Her friends were just as stupefied.

"Oh, you were wonderful out there," Nancy's voice became audible over the general hubbub. She smoothed out her casual clothes, the first time in all those years Lucy saw her out of uniform, and flashed a gentle smile. "Lady Lailah would have been oh so proud." A pang of joy and pain accompanied that statement, but Lucy's expression softened nonetheless.

"I hope so. What are you all doing here?" She was glad to see them, but never expected an audience like this; somehow, however, her question dimmed the mood quite a bit.

Into the silence, Natsu poked her shoulder. "Who are these guys?"

"The staff from our mansion," she told him with merely a glance back, then went through introducing every single person by name. "And yes, everyone's here," Lucy finished a bit later, well aware of how happy they were that she remembered. With how depressed they all appeared before, she was starting to get an idea she really did not like. Softer now, Lucy asked Nancy directly: "Were you let go?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Pierre chimed in there, shrugging with faux nonchalance; Lucy could tell he was not happy. "With Heartfilia Railways bankrupt, Master Jude was unable to offer further employment."

What?

"Hold on." Lucy knew such a wide-eyed stare was unbecoming, but she cared little. "What do you mean, bankrupt? The company was flourishing this time last year, how did that happen?" Her father was not an idiot with money, she could not imagine him making a mistake that grave. Pierre winced.

"Well," he began, "I guess the Council sanctions were harsher than he expected."

"For wha- oh."

It began to dawn on her by this point; the business with Phantom Lord kept on casting shadows onto her life. Lucy averted her gaze, well aware that she had a part in this happening; now she felt dirty, having ruined her father's life's work on accident. Even if it was his own fault, that kind of retribution was not what she wanted. "I see. How is he?"

"Well, ah." Several people glanced elsewhere and when Lucy followed their gazes, her heart skipped a beat. There he stood, dressed in a white button-up shirt and dark blue slacks, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. She did not even realise before thanks to the lack of expensive suit. Their gazes met then and she saw how much trouble he had to keep looking at her; almost nothing was left of the stern businessman she remembered looming behind his desk.

After several seconds, Jude Heartfilia's expression firmed up and he began to walk their way. That was familiar at least, his shoulders square and spine straight; even now that he had nothing left, his pride carried him forward. Natsu tried to interpose himself between them when the staff parted for her father, but Lucy gently pushed him aside. "It's okay," she reassured her boyfriend, well aware that he was currently dissected by her father's gaze. Then she stepped forward to draw all attention to herself. All words died in her throat. He was no better, simply staring at her as if studying a particularly interesting budget report.

"I made many mistakes these past few years," he finally began, holding her gaze once more. "And for that, I am sorry." This had Lucy reeling, but he raised a hand. "There is no need to respond, forgiveness is not that easily found. I do not expect it either, but I wanted to at least apologise. And I need to echo Nancy here. Lailah would be proud. Three Gates at seventeen is impressive even by her standards; she never managed before twenty-five."

"It's... technically, two and a half. Star Dress takes a lot less pressure to maintain than a proper Spirit Gate."

Truth be told, Lucy had no idea what to do or say; she just took the topic he offered her while her gut kept roiling. Should she screech at him until he went away? Hug him? Just break down?

"I would not know much about that. Lailah was the expert there." He grimaced at the reminder of his late wife just like Lucy did, then changed the subject. "This tournament is well organised and advertised. Were you involved?"

"...yeah."

"Well done." his praise had Lucy twitch, unused as she was to that. He meant it too, if that faint smile was any indication. "When I heard the staff talking about it, I decided we might as well. Once the harvest festival ran its course, I will move on to Acalypha for work. Love And Lucky still operates from there, just like back when we started."

Lucy was used to decoding hidden meanings in peoples' words; his were rather quite simple: 'I will leave you be. If you ever want to find me, just check with the merchant guild.' She nodded, message received. At the same time, he was talking only about his own plans. "What about everyone else?"

She was starting to fear the worst for them when his response took a moment, but Nancy's chuckle distracted her. "Don't worry, dear. We all have new work lined up already, thanks to Master Jude's glowing recommendations. Why, Pierre here will join the royal kitchens even!" The chef shuffled his feet while the former head maid chuckled. "We decided that for the last time we all are together, we should come cheer for you here."

"A-Anyway," Jude interrupted to play over his own embarassment, rummaging through his duffel bag. "One more thing before I get out of your hair. I was going through some old files when I found something for you. Completely forgot I had it. So, ah, here." And with some awkwardness, he handed her a thick, slightly crumpled envelope, the back reading only 'for Lucy'.

"What's in it?" She studied the letter curiously and was about to open it when he cleared his throat, a clear enough sign to stop.

"Truthfully, I do not know. Lailah penned this." Lucy's eyes widened at this point; if he noticed, he did not say. "When her condition deteriorated, she told me in no uncertain terms not to open it. It is for your eyes only, as her heir. What you do with it is up to you." Now she stared down at the letter, both understanding she should not read it on a crowded street and wanting to tear it open immediately. "Oh, and this," he distracted her again, this time with a glint of gold. Lucy stared in shock as a Zodiac Key was placed in her open palm. "I thought all but Aquarius' key were stolen during that break-in six years ago, but this one fell out of the box I kept them in for you. It was behind one of the bookshelves in my office."

He paused there to give her a moment to examine the gift. Libra's key lay slightly warm in her hand, as pristine as all the rest. Lucy stared at it, then him, trying and failing to figure out why he was doing all of this. He gave no real indicator either, glancing at her keyring where six golden keys were already gleaming. "It seems they are finding their way back to you already, where they belong."

That was all too much; Lucy trembled, vision growing blurry; she barely managed not to start sobbing. A quick swipe of her arm removed the moisture from her eyes, but she made herself smile at the very least. "I did not expect any of this, really. Thank you. And good luck."

Her father was smiling, too; he said no more, merely turned to leave. Lucy let him go, well aware that no more could be said. The staff said their goodbyes as well, but only after assuring her they would all stay for her next match.

Once she was alone with her friends, Natsu reached over to take her hand. "You alright?" he asked, only for Lucy to shrug; she had no idea. "Hug?" Instead of responding, she let herself fall against his side; Natsu took the hint and wrapped her into a tight embrace. A moment later, he pulled Juvia into it as well; the blunette held on a little awkwardly and Lucy herself felt odd too, but she appreciated her presence nonetheless.

They remained like this for a time before trekking back to the guild; the party was already in full swing by that point, which at least helped distract Lucy for a time. She stowed the letter away for later and joined the general merriment. Evergreen was notably pouting at her table while Bixlow laughed about something or other. Both stiffened when Priscilla approached them sometime later, apologising for her rough treatment earlier. Lucy caught little of their conversation, what with fielding questions about her Star Dress from various parties including Hisui.

"Heh." Levy nudged her side at some point. "You can put that on for Natsu and break his pelvis."

She knew it was intended to be a tease. Nonetheless, Lucy could not help the vivid images running through her mind at that and turned into a tomato. She was thankfully not alone, as Hisui also overloaded from Levy's crude commentary. What made it worse was that Lucy actually considered something along those lines, minus breaking anything. At least her friend stopped it once she had her laugh.

"That aside, you're up against Pris next. And you better make her work for it, you hear?" The blunette earned a lot of agreement from around them. Lucy's stomach twisted itself into knots at the prospect, but she nodded anyway.

"I can try, but Priscilla is Priscilla. She had not much trouble so far."

"Well yeah, she's going to win." Natsu shrugged at her, not at all deterred by the idea of an impossible battle. "But that doesn't mean you can't push her."

Lucy heaved a sigh and gazed to the other two contestants still in the running. Laxus sat stoically on his chair while Wendy fussed over him with a faint blush, which she could understand; he was both intimidating and attractive in the same rough way Natsu was. Not that he gave the teen much attention in return, mostly focussed on pretending he was not in pain. Meanwhile, Priscilla had returned to her favourite corner near Mystogan; a slowly morphing spell circle floated atop her palm. She glanced up as if having sensed Lucy's attention and when their eyes met, offered a faint smile. No concern at all.

"Ugh. I can try. If I die, burn my manuscripts."

"Can do," Levy chirped without missing a beat.

As several other people came up to tell her to throw everything she had at Priscilla, Lucy began to realise that either the situation or the giantess' effortless victories created a general atmosphere of opposition. Everyone knew she would triumph, but they all wanted to see her pushed to work for her victory. Lucy had a few ideas for that. With Laxus being the most likely finalist from the other pair, well, who knew what would happen?

Either way, she excused herself early to begin preparations; she needed to talk to her spirits again, form a pact with Libra, and read that letter. That last one, she decided to do first, before Wendy arrived for the night. So Lucy settled at her desk and broke the seal.

 

"My dear Lucy,

I hope this letter finds you well. I wrote it as a precaution, with instructions to pass it onto you on your sixteenth birthday, should I not return from the final part of our mission. Under that assumption, I will likely have died long ago to you. I am sorry, both for leaving you alone and for not telling you in person. But in this one case, the mission comes before family. I trust Jude to raise you well.

Regardless, in case I fail or the time is not right, you must know. The Heartfilia have passed down this task for generations, ever since the age of dragon rule. It began with Anna, whom the Black Wizard Zeref recruited. Now I know what you think, but please withhold judgement until I am done. For you see, Zeref desired to destroy Acnologia, the last dragon. He conspired with three other dragons whose spirits refused to move on, to train Dragonslayers that could eventually destroy Acnologia; unfortunately, there was not enough Ethernano left to sustain powerful magic like theirs, and so Zeref built Eclipse and the Zodiac Keys to activate it. Eclipse draws in Ethernano from its surroundings until ready and can only be opened during a solar or lunar eclipse. Once activated, the device creates a pathway to another time the gate is opened. The Dragonslayers will pass through into our time, where Ethernano is abundant enough to sustain them.

While I write this letter, I know I will head for Crocus tomorrow to activate Eclipse. The activation alone is draining at best and may kill me at worst. I do not yet know how bad it will be; in case the worst comes to pass, I leave with you detailed plans for how to access Eclipse. Furthermore, an assortment of celestial spells you may be interested in. Grow your power, have children, and then bestow upon them the same duty I bestow upon you. Regardless our feelings about Zeref, Acnologia must be stopped before he destroys all of Earthland. The Dragonslayers are our only real chance.

Again, I am sorry that this might be the last you will ever hear of me. I am sorry that I could not do more for you, not spend more time with you. If all goes well, I will see you soon and you will never read this letter. Perhaps our line's duty ends with me. I never told Jude and you should not, either. Secrecy is one of our most important allies, as the mere mention of Zeref can get you into a lot of trouble. Do be safe, Lucy. I can not know yet, but I am certain you will make me proud.

I love you.
Lailah"

---

Lucy stared down at the first page again. Only the faint rustling of bedsheets drowned out her breathing; Wendy was awake, but too comfortable to get out of bed. This once however, even though the blunette rose with the sun, Lucy had been up before her. Reading this letter the night before was a mistake. She hardly managed to sleep with how her thoughts raced. She read it several times since then and skimmed all the other sheets enclosed in the package. The old wounds were torn wide open, making her want to bundle up and cry; at the same time, her mind was abuzz with all the knowledge now bestowed upon her.

A stronger rustle and murmured "Good morning" snapped Lucy out of her brooding. She glanced at Wendy, who rubbed her eyes before nimbly hopping out of bed. A curtain of blue trailed after her into the bathroom, followed by the sound of running water. Lucy spent that time putting away everything enclosed in the envelope. Especially Wendy should not see it, considering that it concerned her. Which brought her back to the other issue: how in the world could Lucy break the news to her friends? She knew all three Dragonslayers, but none of them would react well to learning they were four hundred years from the past.

Heaving a sigh, Lucy stretched to several satisfying pops in her limbs; she sat there until Wendy was done in the bathroom. The Dragonslayer had already fixed a small breakfast from the pantry when she left, but Lucy only snatched an apple. "I need to do some thinking," she excused herself. "Don't worry about being moderate and dig in, okay?"

"Very well. If you, er, want to talk, I would lend an ear?"

"That is sweet of you, but no. For now I need to clear my head." Not to mention Wendy was just about the last person to air these particular worries to. "See you."

"Take care."

It felt odd to have someone see her off from her own home, but this morning the sensation merely added itself to the twister in Lucy's gut. She aimlessly wandered for a time, trying to make sense of the world and failing. A muttered "Thanks, Zeref" was her only actual commentary. At least it was deserved this time. Thinking of him, how should Lucy react to learning that her mother's side of the family was in cahoots with Zeref of all people for centuries? A part of her was instinctually disgusted. Yet another noted that without his involvement, she never would have met Wendy and Gajeel, or Natsu for that matter.

While all these impressions warred with each other, she also wondered if it was even true; but then again, why would her mother lie to her in such detail? Why in a letter? It made so little sense that Lucy disregarded the possibility and accepted it all as fact despite how ludicrous it sounded.

Into all these considerations, a shadow fell over Lucy; quite literally, at that. She snapped out of her funk long enough to look up, and up; Priscilla gazed down at her. The giantess wore her customary gentle smile, though she definitely noticed the bags under Lucy's eyes and her distraught expression. "Good morning," she greeted kindly. "Are you alright?"

Lucy nodded, but could not quite meet her guildmate's eyes. "Yeah, just thinking."

"Walk with me, then? You need not speak, but you are rather quite distracted to be wandering on your own."

"Sure."

She absently fell in line with the far taller woman, for once not quietly amused by their comical height difference. Priscilla kept on going, amicably greeting passersby and having little chats here and there. Lucy wondered all the while whether she should bring up the subject with her; all their interactions to this day were pleasant, not to mention she was slated to be the next guild master.

After weighing the pros and cons without finding a definite answer for several minutes, Lucy decided to just do it; she needed to talk to someone. "Pris? Do you have some time?"

"Certainly. What is on your mind?"

"Well, not something I can talk about in public."

"Oh, I see. Come along then."

And so it was that Lucy got to visit her giant friend's home for the first time; a dirt road led up to the cliffside. It sported a giant, wooden door that looked decidedly out of place. Lucy's next impression was the fluttering of wings, chirping of chicks, and cawing of various crows. That clued her in to the presence of far too many birds; they made their nests everywhere around the entrance, studying Lucy from their perches. It was so eerie that she breathed a sigh of relief the moment the door closed behind them. Then the place itself caught her attention, fully furbished if a little messy; bundles of yarn lay here and there, not to mention several easels placed along the wall.

"I did not know you paint?"

"I do not, generally. This is practice." Priscilla levitated a brush for emphasis and set a few remote strokes, then placed it back down. Lucy made an understanding noise while the giantess cleared whatever lay around and ushered her to sit on the oversized couch. A few knitting needles orbited her head before returning to their resting places, quickly replaced by a mug of hot chocolate. The couch sank when Priscilla settled next to her, far enough to make Lucy slide against her thigh.

"Now, what bothers you?"

Be it the homely atmosphere, the warm drink that reminded her of easier times with her mother, or the need to tell someone. Words blubbered out of Lucy after one last moment of hesitation. She told Priscilla everything, from the encounter with her father to the letter's revelations. Lucy began crying at some point, confusion and a renewed sense of loss gnawing at her. She quickly felt a large hand wrapped around her side, comforting as well as alienating. "I just do not know what to do," she ended, barely managing not to stutter.

There was no response for a while and Lucy slowly calmed down; the hot chocolate helped, spreading warmth where she felt cold. Only when the mug was empty and her tears ran dry did Priscilla speak up: "This is certainly not a small matter. Which part exactly distresses you so?"

"Well, all of it?" Pris was far too calm about it; the dichotomy drew an almost hysteric giggle from Lucy and she began to count off: "Some of my friends, and my boyfriend, are from hundreds of years in the past. Time travel is possible. My family is involved in an ancient plot to kill a dragon. There is a time travel device somewhere around the capital. And to top it all off, Zeref is involved in all of it! He made the original Gate Keys, for crying out loud!"

Lucy almost chucked her keyring away at the reminder; the golden keys felt somehow tainted now. Before she could get worked up any more however, she was lifted up to be cradled against a giant chest. Lucy melted into the disproportionate embrace, thankful for the comfort it spent. "How are you so calm about this?" she muttered, weakly clawing at the thick vest her guildmate wore today.

"For one, I lack the preconceived notions of one who was raised in Earthland." The giantess' voice reverberated through Lucy from so close; she listened intently. "For two, I was already aware of this plot against the kinslayer. This is now a secret we share. Shush," she added when Lucy reared back to ask. "Zeref himself told me. Quite the surprise, no?"

"W-What? How?!" The second word came out as a shout that echoed around the room; Lucy stared up at her friend and watched a serene smile grace her expression.

"He was cursed to eternal life and I encountered him some time ago while traveling for work. Though I did not learn his name immediately."

"...that friend you talked about? The one who helped with my Star Dress?"

"Exactly. He was so happy to work through the puzzle you created. I wish you could have met him." Pris became wistful at this point, her gaze flicking past Lucy into untold distances; the blonde was too shocked to formulate a response. "He was not at all like what people expect. Polite, genuinely kind. He loved life, you know? He just lived too long for a human to bear, and became exceedingly radical in his attempts to break the curse."

She wordlessly leaned back into the embrace and tried to reconcile her feelings with this new reality dumped over her like a bucket of cold water. Conspiracies including the most dangerous wizard known to history, people from other worlds, and she was somehow in the middle of it. Priscilla gave her the time to digest this.

Then however, she realised something curious. "Why can I not meet him now?"

"Because I killed him, by his request."

"How?"

"You do know I am a sanctioned Death wizard, yes?"

"...forget I asked."

Lucy snuggled closer to the warmth and tried to forget it all for a moment, but failed; her mind was racing, trying to fit all the pieces together. She failed at that, too.

"What do I do?"

Priscilla uttered a low hum that once again reverberated through Lucy; huge fingers began to stroke the back of her head as gently as they could. "I am not quite certain myself. Even after months of pondering the issue, I can not decide whether to inform them; not doing so feels like a disservice, but doing it will place an incredible burden upon them. Though I have a question, if I may." Lucy nodded against her chest. "What happened to your mother after she opened Eclipse?"

Lucy shuddered faintly, but at this point she was already opening up; it stung to think back to those days nonetheless. "Mama came back weak. Very weak. Her health took a sudden nosedive and none of the doctors Papa hired could tell why. They suspected some kind of magical side effect, but she never told anyone what could have caused that. Her entire body fell apart and she passed away a month later."

"I see. My condolences."

She forewent an actual response in favour of staring at the wall, finally spent. A weight was taken off Lucy's shoulders, only to be replaced by another, lesser one. Priscilla cradled her silently.

After some time, Lucy sighed. "So what now? We definitely can not tell them before the tournament is over." That would be cruel, destroying everyone's good mood like that. Then however, she realised something curious. "Wait, if they all came through the gate together, why did they not meet each other at all until last year? How did they get separated?"

"Perhaps it would be better to ask them. I do not know."

"Yeah, that is true." And speaking of things that bothered her, now that Lucy's mind finally let off the subject of her bloodline's connection to Zeref, she remembered that Priscilla was acting odd. "By the way, is something on your mind? You have been stiff ever since the day we met Wendy."

As if caught in a lie, the giantess fell still around her. Lucy leaned back to seek her eyes, finding a troubled expression that kept flipping between frown and snarl. Priscilla was the one to look away first. "Indeed there is, and indeed I was. My entire being demands I find little Wendy's caretaker and rend her asunder. Ever since I learned of who she is, I needed to wrest this urge under control."

"Wait, wait." This went too fast for her to follow. "What is the problem with Wendy? Or her caretaker, I guess?"

Priscilla's expression went cold in an instant and Lucy felt a surge of otherworldly anger well up within her. It was followed by an echo of fire the likes of which even Natsu could not produce. The mental image vanished as fast as it appeared, leaving her to shiver. The dragon holding her spoke softly, yet there was no missing the sharp undercurrent in every word: "Quelaan of Izalith, daughter of the Witch, is one of those responsible for my kind's demise. They weaved the storms of flame that burned our roosts to cinders, so that their allies could harry us relentlessly."

"Oh."

"Yes, quite."

Though Priscilla sounded like she would have liked the subject dropped there, Lucy could not help but ask: "Is it really that hard to rein yourself in?" She received no response beyond a faint squeeze and left it at that.

Silence enveloped them again while Lucy made another attempt to reconcile knowledge and reality; everything suddenly felt a few degrees sideways from how it had been yesterday. How could one just accept the existence of such a conspiracy? Not to mention that Zeref himself helped develop her new ace power; it was so ludicrous that despite all evidence, Lucy almost did not believe it. And for him to have made the tools she used for her beloved magic as well, she thought, only to realise something about her friends.

Rustling around, she extended a hand and willed a Gate into existence; it gleamed aquamarine, wave patterns constantly rolling along its circular frame. "Open, Gate of the waterbearer. Come forth, Aquarius."

Somehow, she lacked her usual enthusiasm but also the dread that accompanied a summon of her oldest and most strict companion. The mermaid lazily floated around on a thin coat of water from a nearby vase, scowling already; her expression smoothed out somewhat when she saw Lucy's distraught state, as well as Priscilla studying her curiously. "What is this, then? I told you before not to call me for frivolous nonsense."

"Zeref."

It only took one word to change Aquarius' entire disposition; her scowl slipped into pure surprise, all annoyance lost in a single moment. So it was just like Lucy thought. "You know him. Why did you never say? No, that is a stupid question." She understood that much, too. "Why did you work with him?"

Her friend grew defensive in response while Lucy waited expectantly; Aquarius crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I do not see the issue," she declared.

Priscilla squeezed Lucy again, clearly understanding better. "She, too, lacks the frame of reference humans of Earthland possess. The spirits are alien lifeforms to this world as well, after all." The moment she had spoken up, Aquarius sized her up instead; in difference to Lucy however, Priscilla was not intimidated. "A pleasure to meet you in person, lady of lakes and depths."

"Oh?" Now the mermaid was surprised, floating closer. "One who actually has manners! Will wonders ever cease?" After her meek taunt, she leaned back and returned to the previous subject: "Now, what is this about Zeref? What is your business with him?"

"We were sorting through our respective business with him, as he has passed on recently."

"He what?"

Despite her abrasiveness, Lucy always saw Aquarius as an unshakable pillar. She was now disabused of this notion because the spirit's utter shock broke her cultivated facade. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes and she raced closer on a thin rail of water, forcefully taking hold of Priscilla's face. "He is gone?" she asked as if unable to believe it.

"Yes."

The giantess, too, failed to hide her pain; even though she was the one responsible, Lucy began to realise it was not easy on her either. She wanted to ask questions, insert herself into the conversation somehow, but a drip hitting her on the cheek told her now was not the time. Aquarius slumped forward, the water she commanded as easily as humans breathed turning to mist; Lucy caught her in a fierce hug, both of them quickly wrapped in a bigger hug by Priscilla.

It was not what she expected out of this, but she hardly cared; Aquarius needed her right now. Therefore, she focussed on comforting the mermaid for as long as she allowed. It was not long before the proud spirit pulled herself back together, slipping out of their arms and facing the two of them. Her mouth flapped open and closed a few times before she inclined her head. "I will return now. Do not call me for the next week. I will not inform the others of this for today, so they can focus on your fight. If you make it further than this, the zodiacs will not be able to help."

That was news to Lucy. "Wait, all the zodiacs?"

"Of course. All of us were contracted to Zeref, he needed to open our Gates to create the keys. Beside you, he is the only one to petition his majesty in the last five hundred years. He is precious to us." Aquarius paused there to wipe her eyes, voice unusually soft. "Leo may not remember, though. The lions have a bad habit of getting themselves killed every hundred years or so. His predecessor formed the pact."

That said, she fell back into the water and vanished with a splash, leaving Lucy to ponder what just happened. She slumped against Priscilla again, all energy drained. "I am an awful person."

"As am I," the other woman agreed mirthlessly and squeezed her again. "Do you want some more hot chocolate?"

"Yes, please."

Lucy did not leave until an hour or so before her match in the afternoon. After washing up and stepping outside, she wandered to the guildhall; her mind kept circling around that letter, previous worries about her imminent destruction long forgotten. There was even another way to distract herself the moment she caught sight of all three Dragonslayers at the same table; her and Pris never did figure out how they got separated, after all.

"Oh, that?" Natsu shrugged once she asked them about it. "It's been a long time ago, I don't remember much about it. We were in a carriage or something, right?" Gajeel nodded slowly, but Wendy could only tilt her head at them.

"Then Wendy jumped out and ran off," the iron Dragonslayer added, scrunching his brow as he tried to remember. "Think she was shouting for Grandine? Anyway, we tried to bring her back and got lost, never found her. Now we're here."

"Yeah, something like that."

"...my apologies for making such trouble. I do not even remember that."

"It's fine," Natsu reassured her with a laugh. "We're all here now, right? And if you hadn't run off, I might've never joined Fairy Tail!"

"I guess that is true. I assume I would not have found Quelaan out in the wilderness, either. Perhaps it was for the best."

Lucy had a hard time keeping her mouth shut about what she now knew and they did not; both of their origins and Priscilla's issues with this Quelaan character. She was almost glad that her match started soon.

Lucy cursed her fickle feelings once she actually found herself being towered over by a politely smiling giantess. "This is going to hurt, is it not?" she quipped faintly, which prompted a chuckle.

"You can always surrender," Priscilla offered, well aware that her opponent would not do so; Lucy merely arched an eyebrow in response. The dragon inclined her head, then folded both hands behind her back. "Very well. I will allow you to summon in peace, but no quarter will be granted afterward. Show me what you are made of, Lucy."

Now her eyes narrowed; the challenge was blatant and her opponent's very real arrogance already had some more of the crowd rooting for Lucy. She huffed and drew three keys. "We will see if you regret that. Open, Gates of the Golden Bull and Heavenly Scales! Come forth, Taurus and Libra! Lend me your strength, oh Maiden! Star Dress, Virgo! Mirror Mirror!"

Circle after circle was filled to bursting with her magic, tearing open the space between worlds to admit her friends. A bipedal bull almost the size of Priscilla stomped forward with a determined "Moooo", his battleaxe clasped tightly. Next to him appeared a tanned woman garbed in a dancer's dress, face obscured by a veil from the nose down. Sharp eyes sized up Priscilla while a fine black dress fluttered into being around Lucy; her golden hair gained a faint pink tinge as Virgo's power took hold. Then Mirror magic cloaked her like a protective blanket. The drain this put on her was ridiculous, but she could use it all for a single, quick fight.

The amber gaze sizing her up was filled with pride, though that quickly faded. Priscilla kept standing in place, her ankle-length skirt fluttering in the breeze. The crowd held its breath as both sides tried to stare the other down.

A second passed. Then two.

Then Lucy slashed her arm through the air. "Go!"

Taurus stomped forward at once. A spell circle popped into being behind Priscilla, but flickered and faded when the very air distorted. Libra held out both hands toward her and liberally put on pressure. The ground cracked as Priscilla's weight doubled, tripled, quadrupled. The surprised giantess was forced to her knees as gravity kept growing around her. She could not even raise her hand to block the axe coming her way; Lucy charged after the bull to follow up on his attack, only to stumble to a halt when a wet noise silenced the crowd.

The axe hit its mark, biting into Priscilla's shoulder. No Ethernano stopped it, no protective shell halting the brutal weapon. The giantess hissed in pain as bright crimson began to soak her vest and shirt, slowly crawling its way down the once snowy white.

Lucy had half a second to be horrified before a low growl sent her stumbling back; the physical force behind it scared her. Then Libra gasped as her magic fizzled away under Priscilla's glare; now that she could move again, one hand grasped the surprised Taurus' throat and raised him up like a toy. He struggled and kicked, moo-ing almost desperately as he dislodged the axe and prompted another spurt of blood. Priscilla threw him into the runes with a dismissive snort.

Only when her irate gaze fell on her still horrified opponent did she pause; Pris took a deep breath. "My congratulations," she ground out. "Thus far I fought without the most basic protections, trusting in my body's natural toughness to prevent injury. No matter." Even though the pain clearly affected her, Priscilla willed through it. And then the blood hardened, clotting up into a scab that could be weeks old. "Coagulation," the giantess added, almost like an afterthought.

"Call someone else," Libra broke into the silence that followed her display. "She can negate my gravity control."

"How- whatever, return from whence you came. Thank you."

Libra offered a faint bow while Lucy felt for and disregarded Aquarius' Key; before she got the chance to go for another, she had to use Virgo's Diver to dodge a vicious kick.

Priscilla pivoted and followed into the ground, dashing after Lucy with experience any other would need years to obtain. But Virgo was the one to create Diver in the first place. It was hers in a way no one could match, not even an ancient super lifeform. Lucy's body moved on another's experience and skill, dancing around the larger woman with effortless grace. She quickly resurfaced and leapt onto Taurus' shoulder, Priscilla following behind. The giantess took a vicious blow to the face that failed to draw blood this time, stumbling back. Lucy leapt onward, another key in hand. "Open, Gate of the Lion. Come forth, Leo!"

Her fall was suspended when Loke caught her once again; he then dashed away to support Taurus just as the bull received a nasty right hook.

Lucy caught her breath for a moment as the titans brawled; the ground shook under their weight, but Priscilla was continuously driven back. Every time she began to respond to Taurus' actually dangerous blows, Loke jumped in and dazzled her with bright punches.

That was, until she caught him. A growled "Enough" was all the warning Lucy got before she had to duck under a ballistic spirit. A knee to his loincloth had Taurus go down with a high-pitched moo. Priscilla hopped backward, shaking the ground once more as Ethernano began to form all around her. Spell circles popped into being that formed a row of stars above them. Lucy saw it before, both in the Tower of Heaven and during New Year.

"Grand Cha-" was all she heard before her head vanished underground. Then everything above exploded. A rain of light fell onto the entire arena, viciously battering Taurus while Loke somehow dashed around most of it. He took a few glancing blows and charged Priscilla who stood serenely, only for another circle to activate. Lucy did not hear what she said, but from one moment to the next she became a blur; Loke's lunge went nowhere now, the dragon reappearing next to him with a gleaming fist and a third spell. He was hammered into the ground and stone flew, but Lucy prevented the following stomp by snatching him underground.

The moment of confusion was enough for Taurus to get up on shaky legs. He grabbed his axe with an actual snarl; this was now personal for him.

"Once I surface, we give him an opening," Lucy told her wheezing friend. Loke nodded and mustered his will to keep going, then she accelerated upward.

The furiously charging bull held Priscilla's attention, making her miss both figures reappearing almost under her torn skirt. Lucy and Loke leapt in sync, grabbing onto her shoulders to vault upward again. Just as her head began to turn, Loke kicked her forehead toward Lucy, who delivered the same kick and sent her reeling; just then, Taurus' axe came down from above, smashing into Priscilla's face like a force of nature. She crumpled, but her shell held.

"Solaris!"

And then there was light. Lucy screamed as it flashed into her eyes like the sun itself. She faintly heard another shout by her side and a louder one from Taurus. Something hit her in mid-air and she went flying, her course only interrupted by an unyielding wall. Impact drove all air from Lucy's lungs and her own shell flickered dangerously; then Taurus' gate snapped shut as he left, too hurt to continue. She blinked away tears and bright spots, only spotting a blurry shape darting around the ragged giantess.

Just as her vision began to clear, a lucky punch caught Loke and he, too, retreated into the Spirit world.

Lucy clawed at the ground, trying to get her legs to work; she blinked furiously to see clearly, well aware of the footsteps nearing. A shadow fell upon her and when she kept failing to stand, Lucy tried to escape downward; a large hand followed and snatched her this time, pulling the blonde back out of the ground. She was raised up to Priscilla's face, the other woman clearly battered but not broken. Blue and green bruises stood out starkly against her ivory skin, but they did not seem to bother her.

"Will you surrender now?"

Her question was calm, offering Lucy a way out. She knew she should take it, spare herself the pain that would follow.

Lucy's response was to punch her in the nose.

Priscilla flinched back, but her grip never wavered; if anything, it grew tighter, constricting Lucy. The dragon reared back and threw her against the opposite rune wall; a wave of pain ran through her entire chest and abdomen on impact, followed by her hip when she reached the ground. Once again Priscilla prevented escape and held her up again; this time she winced after taking the same damage. The almost feral snarl levelled at her might have scared Lucy some other time, but right now she was too busy fighting to stay concious.

Instead of throwing her again, Priscilla kept staring at her; large, amber eyes narrowed and something pressed down onto Lucy's mind. She felt her thoughts slip away as darkness closed in, but she fought. Every fiber of her being demanded to stay awake and keep going, but in the end it claimed her regardless.

Into the darkness however, there was light. Carried by a wave of sound, she began float amidst an ocean of stars. She flickered in and out, her golden light traversing eternity in instants before falling silent once more. Some of the stars gleamed in response. Faint lines connected them, forming constellations. The lion answered first, followed right after by the waterbearer. Bull, scales, cancer, maiden, and archer all called to her, but then more followed. The ram almost blinded her nonexistent eyes. The scorpion flickered almost lazily. The paired fish sent forth their response in tandem with the twins, and even the goat glittered.

Other formations followed, the lyre, southern cross, and pendulum clock first amongst them. Tens, hundreds, thousands of stars greeted her as she fluttered by. Lucy rotated around herself, lost within this realm of light until a giant hand appeared from nowhere. She was not scared of it despite the imposing gauntlet and otherworldly shine; this light, she had known since the day of her birth. It settled in her soul before her first concious thought, the first scream of life.

"Welcome, old friend."

The rumbling voice soothed her. Lucy snuggled into the gentle hold and found herself displaced; within moments she stood before a throne made of stars. Eleven spirits were present, all in various states of distress focussed around Aquarius; Lucy recognised her zodiac friends, of course. They were joined by Aries, Scorpio, Pisces, and Gemini. Every head turned her way when she took a tentative step toward them.

There were exclamations she could not quite hear, several people rushing to her side; a cloud of pink fluff caught Lucy, followed by Aries' slamming into her. More words were spoken, tears were shed, and she automatically embraced the slightly shorter woman; Aries was the ram, but appeared entirely human except for a small pair of horns crowning her head. She cried into Lucy's chest for a reason she could not fathom. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, thoughts only came slow.

"Am I dead?"

A choked laugh followed as Gemi and Mini fluttered around her head, the tiny, humanoid sprites both shedding tears. "Don't be silly-" "-the dead don't come here-" "-but you shouldn't, either." They chirped in rapid succession.

Virgo appeared by her side next, gently wiping Aries' tears with a handkerchief. "I believe this was my fault," she began by way of explanation. "You passed out while wielding a piece of me, so the gate's closing may have dragged your conciousness along, Princess."

"I see," she murmured, feeling too dull to be agitated; all that occupied her right now was a faint sense of curiousity. Lucy took in the people present again, the empty throne. "Is this the starlit throne?"

"Indeed", the rumbling voice from before answered. Supernovas flared along the throne's edge. It was occupied from one moment to the next; the Celestial Spirit King peered down at her, so bright he was barely a silhouette. Only his red eyes stood out, two stars in their own right. "Be welcome, old friend," he repeated. "Few humans ever walked the Pax Stellaris. You shall return safe and sound in due time."

"Okay. Thank you." It was really all she could say, caught between mild shock and her continued curiousity. "Where is Capricorn?"

Her question cast a blanket of silence over everyone; the first she looked to for answers was Aquarius, who averted her gaze. Loke grimaced and spoke up when no one else did: "Banished, just like me. I don't know why or how, but he killed his summoner."

"Worse," the King grumbled, head propped up on one fist. "He cannibalised their body to stabilise in your realm.

Lucy nodded again and let the matter slide for now. She still had a distraught ram spirit clinging to her. So instead of learning any more or socialising, she comforted Aries. Scorpio held Aquarius, the two of them grieving together. It took her a while to remember that this was a wake. Even Loke who never met Zeref was caught up in the maelstrom of emotions, awkwardly comforting Taurus and Libra as they cried together. Virgo finally joined Lucy and Aries in search of warmth. Above them all, the Spirit King stood guard; he only rose when Lucy's awareness began to fade. A pathway of stars lit up in response and a gentle push sent her home, past eternity in an instant.

When she woke up, the dream remained stuck in her memory. Lucy stared up at the white ceiling, trying to comprehend where she was. She fought, and she lost.

Relaxing into the soft pillow, her head shifted slowly to take in the room; her body stung all over, but she had worse. Priscilla was worse off than her, she saw moments later. The giantess sat motionless where a missing bed ought to have been, her upper half bare as Wendy climbed along her shoulder. Polyushka observed from the side, directing her assistant and handing her various concoctions. Priscilla's skin was covered in bruises. Lucy wondered momentarily when she caught her in the chest before remembering the Mirror magic; then she winced. Her own was already hurting badly, but that had to be even worse. Somehow, the other woman did not even flinch.

Or perhaps, Lucy reasoned, the hole in her shoulder overrode all the rest. It still looked awful even after however long this treatment went on.

"I'm sorry," she could not help but whisper. Wendy fell still in response and Priscilla twitched; the dragon lady had stared ahead with an empty gaze, but now she turned to look at Lucy. There was no accusation there, no anger, if anything, it was respect.

"Do not be. T'was my own folly that saw me injured."

"Why would you go into a fight without a shell anyway, you stupid girl?" Polyushka snapped, but paused when the far larger woman chuckled.

"Conceit, plain and simple. Pride made me disregard Lucy as a threat. It seems I still have not learned this particular lesson." She hissed when the motion aggravated her wound, but her grimace vanished as fast as it appeared. "Regardless, please check up on Lucy for now. I can endure."

The old woman's eyes narrowed, but she responded with a curt nod. Moments later, Lucy received her full attention. Wendy kept tending to Priscilla, whose gaze remained on her erstwhile opponent. "My apologies to you," she added after a time. "I really should not have underestimated you like I did."

"'Is fine," Lucy responded with a faint smile, though a wince wiped it away. "Ow. I am sorry about your shoulder."

"Tis my own fault to begin with."

Lucy was about to disagree, but her senses shuddered from a discharge of Ethernano not too far away; Wendy stiffened and turned the same direction, but neither Priscilla nor Polyushka seemed to have noticed. Nothing else happened for long seconds, then muted cheers and applause filtered into the infirmary. From the noise level, Lucy figured they were close to the arena. She blinked, then blanched as realisation settled in. "Wait, did I miss Natsu's fight?"

Polyushka just huffed while taking notes. Wendy shook herself and returned to healing Priscilla; only the giantess deigned to respond with a faint nod. "Afraid so. The master deliberated waiting, but the crowd was quite enthusiastic after our match."

Lucy groaned at that; she was looking forward to this one! At least it did not take long for company to arrive; Natsu hobbled in a walking bruise, followed by Freed steadying a barely concious Laxus. The men were directed to the free beds opposite to hers, but Natsu took a detour to sit at her bedside; if he noticed the caustic glare levelled by Polyushka, he did not show it.

"Hey there."

"Hey." Lucy could not help but smile, his own good cheer somehow infectious. "You look awful."

"You too," he shot back, hand clasping hers. "But at least I won my fight."

"Wait, really?"

"Yup. Close one, but I made it."

Lucy was about to launch into further questions, but the sight of a clearly annoyed healer made her reconsider. "Congratulations. We can talk about it later, before madame Polyushka finishes what Laxus started."

"Heh, sure." He slid off the bed and hobbled past the muttering elder to lie down. Laxus seemed content staring a hole into his bedsheets. Meanwhile, Wendy was trying her best to preserve Priscilla's modesty with her body. She failed for the most part, not that the giantess seemed to mind.

Now that the partly recovered hole was back in sight and thus on Lucy's mind, she thought back to the match. Trying to remember how everything went down, she found herself curious. "How did you shake off Libra earlier?"

"Hm? Ah." Paying no attention to the increasingly flustered Dragonslayer hanging off her front, Priscilla launched into a short explanation: "Gravity is a natural force, which I am adept at manipulating in my own way. It appears that my own power merely overcame Libra's. Regardless," she continued, "I have to commend you once again. Both your will and ferociousness, at that. Had I not forced you unconcious by non-physical means, I would have to sustain even more damage."

"Speaking of, was that healing magic you used earlier? On your shoulder, I mean."

Both Wendy and Polyushka became attentive at that; Priscilla slowly shook her head. The motion unintentionally dislodged the blunette from her bosom. "Something adjacent, but ultimately less potent. I imagine I could will my body to heal faster, but that would require studying anatomy first. My own, at that. From what I gathered, actual healing magic is an intricate art while my approach is rather straight-forward. I prefer not to risk anything too complicated, so I simply forced my blood to coagulate."

"It is surprising you managed to keep fighting with such a deep wound regardless," Freed chimed in; his gaze carefully rested on Priscilla's face. Lucy had to applaud his restraint, well aware that even Natsu was peeking. And so was she, for that matter.

Priscilla shrugged. "I said I would stand victorious, and so I shall." She left it at that, as if merely deciding not to lose was a thing she could do. Lucy was admittedly a little distracted, at least until Wendy threw a blanket over the giantess' front.

"Okay," she decided on, then switched her attention to the men. "And you two? How did it go?"

She really should not have asked; Natsu recounted the fight at length with accompanying hand motions where his injuries allowed. From what he told her, she missed the fight of the decade; a clash of titans that put even the battle between Laxus and Mirajane to shame. Both sides fought tooth and nail, back and forth, lightning and mirrors against fire. Laxus threw in some caustic comments, cluing Lucy in that only this black flame Natsu sometimes used saw him through.

"Actually, what is that fire, anyway?"

He fell suspiciously quiet when Lucy asked, clearly debating internally what to say. Before Natsu came to a conclusion, Priscilla interrupted them: "I know what it is." This earned her several surprised looks, including from Happy who snuck in at some point. The giantess smiled weakly. "Alas, I can not reveal this without Natsu's consent. I would ask that you refrain from using it tomorrow."

"I mean, I was kinda thinking I just throw the match. I don't wanna be master."

"You shall not." He stiffened under her sudden sternness, only relaxing when Priscilla's expression softened. "But as you know, my personal magic is Death magic. I feel it is only fair that neither of us has access to their trump, no?"

The reminder had Lucy shiver and drew surprise from both healers, but Natsu merely nodded. "Yeah, fine by me. Are you sure it's okay? I'm still a Dragonslayer, you know?"

"I will manage."

The previous mirth was back and Lucy relaxed into her covers; somehow, everything turned out well. She was aching just about everywhere, but still. In time she was released and met with another celebration; there were so many hugs and claps on the back that it all became a blur. Natsu and Laxus joined sometime later, the latter awkwardly comforted by the Thunder Legion.

Laxus himself was too busy thinking; he left the guild hall for an early night, too. His many bruises still stung, but Polyushka always did quick work. The cool evening air helped soothe his roiling mind as well; having lost to Natsu of all people was aggravating, but less so than some other people. His final opponent was walked home by Lucy and the Dragonslayer girl like a ninny, too; the sight had Laxus snort.

Still, his faint amusement did not last; he was out of the tournament and that stung worse than any bruise.

Nothing to be done about it, he decided after stewing on the way home. The door opened and lights flickered on with a tiny burst of magic. Laxus hung his coat on the otherwise empty rack and kicked the door shut. Then he sunk into his old, fluffy couch with a sigh. Natsu did a number on him alright, everything hurt despite the old crone's ministrations.

"Are you truly pouting over this loss?" a familiar voice asked from behind. Laxus paused momentarily, well aware no one else should have been in his place. Then he grunted without so much as turning around.

"What do you want?"

"Checking in on my son, is all. News of this tournament reached me a month ago." A faint shadow fell on him now, traces of Ethernano outlining his father's looming form. Laxus continued to stare ahead, waiting for Ivan to speak. "I hear the original idea was yours. Well done. But it seems you still hold onto the perception of unshakeable strength, you silly boy."

Quiet steps followed the mixture of genuine praise and criticism; Laxus' head turned toward the noise, eyes narrowing on his father. He appeared like the last time they met, tall and almost regal in his fine suit. Dark, well-groomed hair and beard gave an impression akin to a businessman. The older Dreyar studied his bruised self clinically. "No one will deny your prowess after today's match," he declared then. "Dealing and taking blows throughout that could have ended most wizards. Strength is not only found in victory, but also in the might of one's opponents. And that boy is at least your peer. You will find that there is always someone stronger, if only you look far enough."

"Really?" he could not help but taunt, "you've come here to comfort me? Since when do you care?"

"I don't and you know that. We both know I can't care about people. That does not mean I need to be a jerk about it." A huff followed his comment; Ivan smiled in something akin to humour. "And you do need some talking to. My father might tell you the same thing if you keep moping, but he was always the type to wait and see."

"I know."

So saying, Laxus forced himself up and strolled to the pantry for a bottle of fruit juice. After considering it momentarily, he threw it at Ivan and grabbed another. The ballistic drink was caught handily and they uncapped both at the same time. Settling back down, the younger man took a long drag before speaking: "So, what else is new?"

Silence followed, neither of them quite looking at the other as they nursed their drinks. The sweetness felt good running down his parched throat, though Laxus could not quite tell which fruit it was.

"I'm considering to form a guild of my own," Ivan finally offered.

"Oh?"

Their gazes met once again; Laxus' incredulity was expressed by his posture, though Ivan merely shrugged. "There are more freelance wizards recently. It's an odd trend to see with so many wizard guilds around, but I noticed the numbers rising."

"Isn't that good for you?"

"In a sense, yes. I do earn a decent amount of money through the supporting structures I set up for freelancers. At the same time, more freelancers means more rogue agents with unknown or nonexistent allegiances, and more prospective recruits for the dark guilds."

Laxus mulled over the logic and found he could see where his old man was coming from. "Infiltrators, then? Is someone preparing for war?"

"Not yet, but it may be on the horizon. I happen to like Fiore, so I would rather not see it all crash down when I could have prevented it."

"With a guild, when they already joined none of the others?"

The older man huffed in response. "It is a long shot. Another formed just recently, Sabertooth, that draws in people like you who are big on personal power. Quite a few freelancers were drawn to it like moths to a flame." He made some vague motions with his bottle, gaze somewhere in the distance. "I analysed the other prominent guilds and found that not all basic needs are covered. Family like Fairy Tail, business and science like Blue Pegasus, showmanship and opera like Lamia Scale, yes. You will find all of these, but there is nary a place for people like me."

His old man was always good at justifying himself, Laxus knew. He also knew how to read between the lines. "So you're neatly creating a power structure of your own while you're at it?"

"If you want to call it that, yes."

They both fell quiet afterward; the father did not care enough to lie about his ambitions while the son did not care enough to argue. Once Laxus noticed his own beverage was almost empty, he decided to give his response: "Gramps probably wants to know about this. I'm not your messenger, so talk to him yourself."

"I just might," Ivan agreed, "once he actually stepped down. This is a systematic problem." He paused to think, only for a grin to break his normally cool expression. "Now for something else: I believe that as your father, I am required to make things awkward for you; I read something interesting recently. Any chance of becoming grandfather myself in the near future?"

He chuckled while Laxus groaned and emptied his juice. "No," the younger man growled. "Mira and I broke up last month."

"Before the 'rumours' could even be confirmed? How interesting. Is that why you are so grumbly?"

"Not really. We talked it out and decided this is for the best."

"A pity. She made a good showing yesterday."

"True that."

At least they could agree on some things. Laxus took the final pull of his juice, just as a soft clink told him the other bottle now stood on the table. Ivan chuckled again and turned away. "Well, I see you are in good spirits regardless. Enjoy the rest of your evening, son."

He proceeded to walk into a darker corner, merging with the shadows; even Laxus' fine senses for Ethernano could barely catch his exit.

Now alone, he shook his head; the old man did care in his own weird way. He came to check in at least twice a year, always like this. Laxus allowed himself a sigh and leaned back again. He might as well enjoy spectating the finale. For now however, he was hungry and slowly rose to get a snack.

 

"The question of versatility and mastery is an eternal one. Knowing one discipline inside and out allows to cover weaknesses that surface-level knowledge can not hope to, but being adept in several disciplines will often provide a greater coverage regardless. It is ultimately a matter of preference. My personal recommendation is to learn at least two disciplines, with the second as a backup in case the first is infeasible for a given issue."

-excerpt from "The Heart of Magic"

---

Tension hung over Magnolia every morning these last few days, but never more than this one. Lucy felt it before she even left the house. She was wound up herself, too; there was no helping it. Part dragon would meet Dragonslayer in battle.

"Dost thou, ah, pardon. Do you believe Natsu will lose purposefully?"

The hesitant question drew her back to the here and now, seated opposite Wendy in her tiny kitchen. The younger woman appeared genuinely curious, though Lucy wondered where she got that idea; she shook her head. "Not a chance. That is not how we go about it." She took another bite from her sandwich while Wendy mulled over her response.

"Such meaningless drivel," Carla interjected with a huff; the Exceed was busy nibbling on some chicken. "Though Dragonslayer he may be, his opponent shan't submit easily."

"True," Lucy agreed. "Priscilla is strong." She shuddered a little, thinking back to their previous fight. "She has versatility over Natsu, even if his Slayer magic gives him an advantage." However the giantess managed to learn so much magic so quickly.

Lucy rolled that thought through her head a few times while chewing, only to realise. The book of her 'mysterious friend' she kept reading over and over; the assistance she got starting out from the same person. That person being Zeref. "So that is how she did it."

"Did what?"

"Oh, er." Lucy hesitated as she composed a believable excuse: "I was wondering how she's learning so much magic so quick. She only started when I joined the guild last year. And she told me that she had a friend of some kind who helped her learn magic at the start; he figured out some important things for my Star Dress enchantments really quick, so that's probably where she gets it from."

Her quiet hope that Wendy left it at that was fulfilled. Lucy relaxed inadvertently. Keeping secrets from her friends would never be easy, but she still did not know how to break the news.

She put this particular conundrum aside; for now, the tournament and its conclusion mattered. Noon approached rapidly and Lucy soon found herself seeing Natsu off into the arena.

"How do you feel?"

"Bit beaten up, but I can go."

He beamed at her, clearly rearing to have yet another bonebreaking battle. Lucy giggled and leaned in to peck him on the lips. "Alright. Go get her."

"Aye, ma'am!"

She just huffed and snatched Happy out of the air; he settled on top of her head without complaint. "Beat her up, Natsu!" the Exceed cheered also.

"Sure thing. Watch me!"

Lucy wondered if he already forgot that winning meant being guild master. She decided not to remind him and strode off to take her spot in the audience; the other participants already awaited her with waves and greetings. Even Laxus exchanged nods with her, telling Lucy that she must have impressed him the day before. She settled between Levy and Mira to watch.

The crowd had been buzzing with conversation, only for a fanfare to cut through it all. Everyone watched silently as both contestants entered the arena. Natsu's confident gait stuttered from time to time when he aggravated his bruises, but he did not seem to mind. Priscilla appeared almost regal in turn, striding in with her head held high. The giantess dressed in fine silk today; a bluish white tunic ran out into pitch black tights that ended in firm, super-sized leather boots. Behind her fluttered a purple cape with blue trims, proudly displaying Fairy Tail's emblem in light blue.

More importantly, an ebony scythe rested in her right hand; its blade was longer than Natsu stood tall, dull under the overcast sky.

Halfway to the center, Priscilla stopped to study her weapon. Faint whispers followed as everyone tried to guess what she was doing; anticipation only grew when the giantess began to glare at the sky. It all fell away into gobsmacked awe when the clouds dispersed a second later; gleaming sunlight bathed Magnolia. The scythe's blade now shone, prompting a nod from Priscilla.

"Okay," Lucy deadpanned as they watched her walk continue, "that was incredibly petty and just as intimidating." A couple of "Aye"s followed from all around, underlined by the renewed buzz of excited conversation.

"Nice trick!" Natsu shouted over everyone while punching his palm. "But it won't help against me, y'know? I'll fry you good."

"We shall see," Priscilla responded curtly. She grasped her scythe with both hands now and brought it up. "But before we begin, I believe we should come to an understanding."

"Like what?"

"As you know, my most powerful magic is too lethal for this tournament. So while I will naturally refrain from using it, may I ask you to hold back on the black flames as well?"

Lucy blinked, a faint sense of deja vú clasping her mind. Natsu seemed to feel similarly, seeing how he tilted his head. "You already asked me that yesterday."

"So I did," Priscilla agreed; Lucy realised the intention a moment before she spelled it out: "But the audience would wonder why it will not be used today."

"Clever girl," Mira praised with a faint chuckle; Levy kept quiet however, which was unusual enough to earn Lucy's attention. Her friend absently rubbed her waist, gaze a thousand miles away. She decided not to disturb whatever Levy reminisced about, turning back to the spectacle. Both combatants had taken up position.

A moment later, the gong sounded and they began.

It quickly became apparent that Priscilla planned well. Diver, perfect invisibility, illusions, and speed from Meteor gave her complete control of the battle. Every hit Natsu attempted to land, she evaded or redirected; the few times he somehow managed to pin her down properly, he received the butt of her scythe to the face. Lucy winced each time that happened, well aware that no one expected a fight like this.

"She's denying his advantage," Laxus grunted after a while. A quiet discussion about the strategy followed among her guildmates. Lucy had to agree, though; it was a smart move, if not particularly endearing to the audience. Various people shouted for Natsu to 'get her already'. At least the visual spectacle Priscilla's various magics produced kept them entertained.

With an angry shout, Natsu suddenly punched the ground and a flood of flame poured outward. Five separate Priscilla's flickered and faded, illusions consumed. The entire rune cage flickered dangerously as it held back the onslaught; heat rushed outward, silencing the crowd. Even Lucy stopped mid-word, amazed but also worried. For who exactly, she was not quite sure. No Priscilla remained in the fight. Natsu glared this way and that, nose twitching.

He was so focussed on his physical senses that he missed the stream of Ethernano beneath. A giant hand caught him around the legs and sent him flying. Then the fight continued as it had before. Priscilla deftly evaded everything like an exotic dancer.

It took fifteen minutes for Natsu to go to his knees from exhaustion. He panted, soaked in sweat, then stared up at the pristine Priscilla; not a hair of hers was out of place. They stared at each other, expectant but also with a palpable sense of understanding.

Then Natsu pushed himself up and forward, ducking underneath the scythe as it swung by. His hand caught the obsidian handle however; Lucy gaped when it exploded in heat, sweltering so strong she felt it from the arena's other side. Bright golden flames ran over the shaft and toward Priscilla... only to fizzle. From one moment to the next, they were snuffed out. Natsu stared in shock until a kick to his abdomen sent him down again.

As he panted and stared at the cloudless sky, Lucy knew this was it. A moment later, Natsu laughed weakly. "Yeah, you win."

He faintly reached for the sky, but his arm dropped afterward. Priscilla strode over under deafening cheers, offering a finger to help him up. Lucy could not hear what they were saying, but neither seemed dissatisfied with the result. Both left the arena together, chatting amicably. Fairy Tail cheered as well and from the corner of her eye, Lucy spied Laxus nodding his head.

As the applause began to die down, the master entered the arena. Despite his diminutive size and walking cane, something about his gait conveyed strength anyway. A stage grew out of the ruptured ground, presenting him to the crowd. Lucy leaned forward in her seat.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Makarov began once silence had fallen. His voice echoed over all of Magnolia. "With this we conclude the Fantasia Tournament. I wish to congratulate every participant and assure you that a loss when facing adversity honours you more than fleeing the challenge. Not a single one of you backed down, regardless the impossibility of your opposition. I have never been more proud to call myself the master of Fairy Tail."

The genuine praise made Lucy's vision swim. She wiped her face, well aware that others needed to do similarly. Makarov gave them a moment and a gentle smile before he continued: "But that was, after all, the original reason for this tournament. I have been guild master for many years now. It is time to pass on the torch, so that our light will continue to shine ever brighter." Another surge of Ethernano could be felt underneath; every wizard in the stands noticed, but most of the crowd was untrained with this particular sense. Makarov paid it no mind, raising his hand to where the stage kept growing upward. "I therefore present to you today: the fourth master of Fairy Tail! Priscilla!"

Perfectly on cue, the giantess rose from the ground. The moment her feet stood on the pedestal, a soft breeze began to blow and make her cape flutter. Deafening applause followed as she beheld the crowd; every single member of Fairy Tail joined into the jubilation, including Laxus and Mystogan.

Makarov made to hobble away then, but a graceful motion saw him snatched up by the far larger woman. Priscilla carefully placed the old master on her shoulder. Once she waited out most of the applause, both arms rose to bid for silence.

"I thank you kindly for the warm reception," she began with a smile. "I shall strive to lead the guild as well as Master Makarov has done for so long. But for today, we are not quite finished with the celebrations. Magnolia's harvest festival has one more event to offer, after all. The Fantasia parade shall begin at nightfall."

She curtsied under renewed applause as the stone beneath her began to sink. Once back on the ground, Priscilla kept on sinking until both she and Makarov were gone from sight; the wizards could follow their actual exit, but Lucy decided not to comment on it. This was a well-done spectacle for the crowd and she was pleased.

The next few hours were a whirl of preparations; Fairy Tail went all-out for the parade every year. This time Lucy could actually join in. She attached herself to Natsu's team, though; planning gave her precious little time to design and decorate a cart of her own. This meant that Lyra got to sing for the crowd to a backdrop of sparks and fiery constructs as they were driven across town. Gray and Juvia produced beautiful, moving ice sculptures ahead of them; Mirajane and Elfman presented their shapeshifting powers behind them, both encircled by various gleaming crystals.

It was an exhausted Lucy who finally settled at a punch stall; the party went on all around them, unlikely to end for at least a few more hours. She smiled, accepting a free cup from the vendor.

Then the man's joyful grin was replaced by pure shock; Lucy did not even need to turn around to know. A prim request of "May I bother you for a cup?" told her exactly who decided to join. The flabbergasted man quickly caught himself and bowed, all while filling another cup of punch. Arcadios received it for Hisui, taking a single sip and standing still as if to ponder it. Then he nodded and passed it on. The princess settled next to Lucy, once again surrounded by guards. "I hope you do not mind?" she inquired politely, but the older woman shook her head.

"Of course not. Please join me."

It was more of a formality, but both of them shared impish grins behind their cups. Lucy took another sip and let the warmth run down her throat. "I enjoyed doing this, I admit. But I am quite glad it is over. There was so much work to be put into the entire tournament."

"I concur," Hisui murmured between sips. The two of them watched the goings-on around them for a time. "Although I would not miss this for the world," the princess finally continued. "You and everyone else did fantastic work. In fact, would you mind if I received a list of your various preparations?" Her expression gave nothing away when Lucy glanced that way, but such a direct request was still indicative.

"Not at all," she responded regardless. "If I may ask why?"

"Naturally." The younger woman inclined her head with a faint smile. "The entire festive spirit here in Magnolia made me yearn for another such event to anticipate. Alas, holding tournaments every time a guild master retires is not a viable solution." They shared a chuckle over that, though Hisui did not even pretend she could distract Lucy from the subject. "I pondered the matter over the last few days. Tell me, what do you think of an annual tournament held in the capital?"

"A combat tournament?" Lucy mused, thinking to the sheer prowess Fairy Tail offered. "I believe such an endeavour may be viable once or twice, but not annually. The distribution of power between Fiore's wizard guilds is too uneven."

"That is indeed true." Hisui paused to sip her punch, mulling it over. "Although I believe there is more to magic than battle. Far more. How do you feel about general contests in various areas, such as obstacle courses and athletics?"

Lucy hummed in response, slowly inclining her head. "This may work as an annual tournament," she conceded. "It will be an incredible effort, but definitely possible. If you wished, you could open participation further by offering separate tiers for wizards and non-wizards."

"Fiore has more than just wizard guilds, indeed." Hisui's brow furrowed, likely in annoyance about having become too focussed there. "Not to mention the various free agents not associated with any guild."

While the two went into discussing the finer details of Hisui's brainchild, Erza shared a meal with her friends. She mainly listened to their banter, a faint smile on her face. The renewed offer of joining Fairy Tail had been refused again, not that she expected differently. It was the last evening they would stay together.

Much the same went for Lyon and his band of wizards; the people from Lamia Scale had to return home as well to 'report'. The same went for members of every other guild present for the tournament. It was a formality, really; the Weekly Sorcerer would report in-depth the following week.

"I'm a little curious, though," the ice wizard noted with a glance to Priscilla. "What exactly is your scythe made of? I don't think I have ever seen a material like that before."

His question roused attention around most of the guildhall; the newly appointed master considered the question while various people called out their interest. She settled near the bar now, reminiscent of Makarov's favourite spot on top of it. A glimmer of Ethernano preceded the weapon's arrival in her hands, presented to everyone. Wendy leaned forward to study it as well, curious despite her growing drowsiness. The day was long. This promised to be interesting, though.

"Tis the remnant of an archtree," Priscilla explained hesitantly. "One of the few remaining branches, excavated from a lake of ash."

This, however, shook Wendy wide awake. She had suspected before that Quelaan and Priscilla hailed from the same world, but here was more evidence. The nature of souls aside, her caretaker sometimes spoke of archtrees. The demanded elaboration that they were towering behemoths of wood more like stone only confirmed it for her. But how to bring it up? Perhaps she should raise the subject with Quelaan first?

"Okay," Gray cut into the silence that followed; he disrupted Wendy's musings as well. "But that doesn't explain how Natsu's fire just vanished in the end."

"Ah, well." Now Priscilla studied the weapon as well. Its razor sharp blade gleamed in the firelight. "I carried this on my person for so long that it aligned with me. It is not quite wood anymore; most flame will not find purchase at all. More to the point, Natsu was already exhausted at and could not stop me from forcing his magic under my will."

Natsu made an understanding noise where he sat, still bandaged up. "Ah, so typical dragon stuff. Right?"

While most chuckled about his comment, it made Wendy realise an issue. The way Quelaan told it, the Everlasting Dragons were extinct in her world; if Priscilla was actually from the same world and a dragon, she felt she ought not to bring her attention to the matter. Dragons there were nowhere near as friendly as Grandine, at least not in general.

She kept musing but found no answer to her issue; time passed and the festivities distracted her well enough. In the end, Wendy never brought it up.

As for Priscilla, the party felt both more jubilant and somehow less so than usual. Regardless, she received every congratulation with gratitude and a smile . No one expressed displeasure with her appointment. The faint indecision roiling in her gut had to be related to the rather sudden change in responsibilities, she reasoned; it felt hollow even in her own mind.

Hours went by and people slowly left alone or in small groups. The day had been long. Priscilla idly noticed Levy dragging Gajeel along; Cana raised her own mug as if in salute toward the blunette.

Soon enough, she was just about alone, seeing off Mirajane with a smile.

Moments later, the faint clack of wood on wood announced Makarov. The now former master glanced this way and that, studying the remains of party everywhere. "Cleaning this will take a while," he mused before addressing Priscilla. "But it has to wait. There is one other matter we have to discuss. Follow me."

He waited a moment to meet her gaze, conveying the importance of whatever was to follow. She rose without a word, taking slow steps to not overtake him; their journey went into the back, then down to the spacious cellar. "This information is passed down from one master of Fairy Tail to another," Makarov explained along the way. He tapped his cane against an unremarkable wall and formed three glyphs of Ethernano that arrayed in a triangle. The solid illusion began to flicker at once and faded. "No one else is to know."

She had her own thoughts on what she could and could not do with this information, but deferred to his judgement for now. They must have a reason for keeping whatever this was close to the chest.

"Not like that ever worked," a third voice added; then Warrod Sequen attached himself to their march without hesitation. His unrepentant grin remained under Makarov's pointed look, prompting the erstwhile master to sigh. Priscilla chuckled over their antics.

Leading the way, Makarov bid the two of them to enter a large chamber. Bookshelves lined the walls, but the center was taken up by a purplish crystal; it contained something that Priscilla needed a few seconds to realise was a body. The crystal's inside appeared almost liquid, making the nude blonde inside bob up and down ever so slightly. Her petite body remained perfectly still, but her eyes were open; a deep green met Priscilla's amber eyes with clear pride.

She had to bend forward to fit into the room, following the somber men before the crystal. Makarov motioned for it. "This is the first Master of Fairy Tail, and our guild's founder. Mavis Vermillion. She wanted to greet you personally."

And suddenly, everything fit together. Priscilla's expression froze, hopefully unnoticed in the faint lighting. She studied the petite body in front of her, well aware they already met before.

"That I did," her voice followed the announcement. Glancing downward, a second, clothed Mavis beamed up at her much like the real one. "I'm glad that we found such a wonderful person to take over from Makarov. Don't you agree, Warrod?"

"Oh yes, oh yes."

While the two exchanged pleasantries, she began to realise what was going on. An experimental touch confirmed her hypothesis: her fingers passed right through the clothed Mavis, who giggled. "Yep, this me is an illusion. I figured out how to layer it over thought projection and receive feedback. Being in here for so long gave me a lot of free time."

"Why exactly are you in this crystal?" Priscilla could not help but ask. She also wanted to know why Mavis was not comatose, but figured the answer to that question would follow soon enough. Going by how the other woman's expression fell into a blank mask, she figured they were related.

"I am cursed," she began succinctly. "And my curse frequently projects outward to kill everything alive. The crystal stops it and keeps my body in stasis. Precht did great work with it, but, well, I can't leave."

"In fact," Makarov added with a motion for the font of knowledge surrounding them, as well as a desk Priscilla only now noticed. "We pass along the study of Master Mavis' condition. Everything in this room are Master Precht's and my own findings, all for you to peruse. Perhaps an otherworldly mindset will offer a solution."

As if to emphasize his point, the illusion of Mavis winked out and her real self slumped. Waves of black began to surge around the crystal's interior; the yet unknown liquid turned darker and swirled downward, replaced by more clear purple. They watched this for a time and Priscilla noticed the pain lining Warrod's expression. Makarov was not happy either, but the older man clearly suffered the most from this sight.

"I understand," she spoke softly, distracting both. "I shall do all in my power to solve this."

"That is all I can ask." Makarov's smile was brittle, as if he himself did not believe a solution was near.

Once they left her alone with the unconcious master, Priscilla began to poke around. An intent stare remained pinned on Mavis herself; the dragon still wondered why this curse acted so different with her. She could do the deed here and now, reunite her and Zeref. But at the same time, curiousity drove Priscilla to investigate first; she would hold back until she understood why this case was different.

So she opened her mind to the curse. It felt almost like a part of herself, full of anger and spite; it wanted to rampage, to destroy. It was draconic. And it was denied. At first she thought the last part related to the crystal, until it became clear Mavis constantly repelled it from surging inward. The outward projection was the result. But why would it do this? And why would Mavis?

In the darkness, Priscilla pondered the issue until a single reason presented itself. Her eyes widened in response and she grabbed the crystal, pressed her face against it as if to see through Mavis.

"Please, no."

The dragon fell back on her haunches with glistening eyes. She had to make sure and find a way to check. If her hunch was true, and so far everything she knew lined up, then... then she had made a horrible mistake.

 

"Few magics are inherently good or bad; they all exist for a purpose, which they fulfill. A dark wizard is not one who uses 'dark' magic, but one who uses their magic for dark purposes."

-excerpt from "The Heart of Magic"

---

Two weeks passed since she was appointed Guild Master. Priscilla somehow managed to hide her depressed thoughts until the magnitude of work swept them away. She had a desk now, too; technically it used to be Makarov's, but now it was hers. Her predecessor had been mirthful the day she first took a seat behind it; that only lasted two days until he realised she stayed on top of the paperwork.

Then again, the ability to function without sleep may give her an unfair advantage.

Regardless, Priscilla had much to do. Ascertain each guild member was comfortable and seeing to their comfort otherwise. Keeping up to date on reports from other assets —"Spy is such a nasty word", Makarov said— as well as the treasury's contents. She definitely understood why the master supposedly stayed at the guild now; there was just no time to also go on missions. Mirajane used to do the books, but she lacked the time ever since returning to regular guildwork. Mystogan took over in her stead and appeared rather happy with it; Priscilla was grateful for the assistance either way.

She kept pondering on her way to Clover. As September came to a close, Makarov reminded her that the annual Guild Master League conference would be held soon. Now she was on her way there, excited as well as uncertain. She did not dwell on the latter, though; whether the other masters accepted her was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Sprouting from the earth at her destination, Priscilla made sure not to spook anyone by emerging early enough. She knew the league's usual spot was unavailable due to damages the town sustained the previous year; she could definitely see the still ongoing repairs to larger buildings. The league booked an open field nearby instead, likely with regard to her size; she took this as a good sign.

Curiously, Priscilla was also not the first to arrive. A decent number of people were already strolling around the area. The sheer variety of clothing choices and personalities on display reminded her of Fairy Tail, though the air was less relaxed than at home. A pair of crows cawed among each other as they observed the gathering from a nearby tree; she produced a tiny cut of meat and floated it to them, which earned a more excited response.

A chuckle distracted her from the happy corvids; Priscilla's faint smile wobbled momentarily, turning uncertain when presented with a beaming man. Rotund he was, bald and dressed in a loose shirt. "My my, you are a big one," he chirped with a friendly wave. "And a gentle one, too. Just like Makarov said. Welcome to the league! I am Bob of Blue Pegasus." She was about to offer two fingers for a shake, but he shook his head. "No, none of that for you, my dear."

And he leapt to somehow hug her around the waist with enough force to make even the dragon wince. His enthusiasm was infectious; Priscilla patted his back until he let go. "Very well. I am Priscilla of Fairy Tail."

"Indeed you are," another voice added, this one belonging to a lady who appeared older than even Polyushka. She walked hunched forward, clad in a more conservative and traditional dress. A particularly tall man shadowed her, wearing a necklace of oversized pearls; his expression was far more confrontational. The elder did not seem to pay him much mind, though. "I always thought it would be Laxus or Mirajane, but here you are." She studied Priscilla for a long moment, then huffed. "This is fine, too. I am Ooba of Lamia Scale. The grump behind me is Jiemma from Sabertooth. It's his first time with us, too."

"A pleasure," Priscilla greeted both with a faint smile. Jiemma inclined his head while Ooba grinned.

"And a well-mannered one, too. Will wonders ever cease? Now come, come, there are many more people interested in meeting you."

The elder waved her forward and Bob joined their little group indulgently; Priscilla spent some time meeting the other masters, some already present and others just arriving. At some point however, the humans around her decided to settle down for food and drink. She joined them eagerly as the buffet was opened. Her plate quickly sported her favourites and entirely new meals in equal measure, easily three times the size of what anyone else took.

Several people chuckled at the sight, but no one reprimanded her; Priscilla enjoyed the various flavours, from bitter vegetables to sweet chocolate muffins. At some point, Bob shuffled some more onto her plate and she ate it all without complaint. Half an hour later, the other masters made it a game to keep refilling her plate until she noticed; Priscilla pretended not to, curious how long it would take for them to give up.

"By the way," Ooba started in the meantime. "I am almost afraid to ask, but is there any news from Ichiya?"

Her question had gone to Bob, who mutely shook his head. Whatever happened, it clearly bothered her fellow guild master; when Priscilla inquired as gently as she could, he sighed. "It is not so much that he is hurt or sick, but rather that he vanished. That was, ah, about four years ago. As if he never existed in the first place, just," he snapped his finger, "gone. No sign of a struggle, no message, not even any traces." Bob slumped forward, receiving consoling claps on the back from the people to his sides.

Something about his tale tugged on her memory, but Priscilla could not quite figure out why. It felt familiar enough to be irksome, but not enough to actually recognise. "My condolences," she offered after swallowing. Bob smiled faintly at that. When someone else redirected the conversation, they all followed along.

Much to her surprise, it was not them who had to surrender the feeding frenzy. It was her. An hour after they began reloading her plate, Priscilla's appetite faded; she felt unpleasantly full, almost bloated. A sausage already floating in front of her was carefully considered... and then set back down where slices of apple already replaced it on the plate. A cheer went up all around while she stared morosely at the morsels now denied to her; she could keep going, but her stomach was already revolting. Only force of reality-bending will kept it from emptying itself.

"Jerks," she muttered; fluttering wingbeats coaxed a faint smile from her however, when the crows from earlier landed on her shoulders. "At least you understand me." They cawed in response, prompting a round of laughter. Priscilla carefully fed the two some more choice bits before pushing back her plate.

"Now that we're all done," Quatro Cerberus' master Goldmine added with a smirk, "we ought to talk business." He was thin and tall, clad in simple darks while wearing a black choker with metal spikes. The same ran around the rim of his pointed hat. He immediately had everyone's attention and motioned into the distance. "Baram, I mean."

Priscilla knew she heard that name before. A moment of digging reminded her of the alliance of Dark guilds. "I heard of them," she added to the conversation. "But why are they relevant now? The Council banned larger altercations, no?"

Goldmine heaved a sigh in response; Ooba nodded along with his reaction. "So they did," she agreed before raising her voice: "To recap for everyone, the Magic Council's blanket ban on larger altercations between wizard guilds covers the dark guilds, too. I always thought they grew too complacent with their power and think dark guilds make good counterweights to the lot of us, so they wouldn't want them eradicated."

Bob huffed. "But Ooba was always a pessimist. They probably just don't want to create precedents."

"Optimist," Ooba snorted in response.

While Priscilla nodded along with what she already knew, she was intrigued by the other masters' theories and suspicions. Meanwhile, Jiemma scowled from the neighbouring table. "The Magic Council is defunct at the moment. What would they do to enforce violations now?"

Goldmine immediately threw him a grin, rubbing his hands. "Nothing, which is exactly the point. We wanted to mop up Baram for a while now. And even better, we can do it legally while they can't veto us issuing the job!"

There were understanding noises around the table while everyone considered the new opportunity. Before she got to voice her own agreement, Priscilla realised there must be something else. She used the momentary lull in conversation to offer her own thoughts: "I can not speak for everyone else, but Fairy Tail can and has acted against Dark Guilds in the past. There has to be another reason they were not put down yet."

"Aye, I was getting to that." Goldmine motioned vaguely into the distance; he gestured a lot, she noticed. "The big problem is that none of the three head guilds have a base in the traditional sense. Oracion Seis are nomads, Grimoire Heart flies around in a giant airship, and we don't even know how Tartaros does it. We can crack down on as many of their subordinate guilds as we want, it won't defeat them." Then he grinned. "And now we have it all. One of my, ahem, assets met up with a turncoat from Sleeping Mummy; they're under Oracion Seis. Turns out basically all of them got marching orders for Worth Woodsea. They're after Nirvana, most likely."

Priscilla thought back to her maps. Worth Woodsea was an aptly named, humongous woodland located between Fiore and some of her neighbour states on the continent. It served as a buffer zone of sorts. As for the other name Goldmine mentioned, however... "Pardon, what is Nirvana?"

"A wellspring of clean Ethernano," Bob supplied. "Romantics call it the Sea Of Serenity. I met a few travelers who went there; from what they said, predators and prey keep any conflict from the area. Being near Nirvana revitalises the body and increases natural healing by several orders of magnitude. Well, they said 'it can cure all wounds', but nobody actually tested that claim."

There were some agreeing nods and some snorts; Priscilla herself was uncertain what to make of it just yet. That would explain why neither side dared claim the area, though. From what others added, it was akin a religious site to pilgrims.

"So we know where they are going to be," Jiemma finally summarised, a faint, feral grin gracing his features. "And the Magic Council can not punish anyone for going after them."

"Exactly."

Goldmine's confirmation injected excitement into the group; even Priscilla felt invested now. Plans circled around her mind, though she kept listening to the conversation.

Ooba spoke up after the noise subsided somewhat: "They're still going to try, you know? And if we manage to take down Oracion Seis, Grimoire Heart and Tartaros might just mobilise against us."

"All good points," Bob agreed. "But we are many and well entrenched. Though I believe it would be best if no one guild goes into this alone, just in case."

He had a point; Priscilla voiced her agreement as well. Looking across the group of new and seasoned masters however, she recalled the disparity in combat strength. "And perhaps none of the newer guilds should participate, if just to ward off the Council." Her suggestion annoyed Jiemma in particular, but he did not speak out. Priscilla made a mental note to be more amenable to him for a while.

Discussion went back and forth for a time, but ultimately they settled on a decent compromise: the three most prominent and oldest guilds would join forces. Legacy and established structures should hopefully ward off Council sanctions; in addition, their size ought to make retaliation from the remaining dark guilds too costly an endeavour. Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale agreed to provide the fighting force while Blue Pegasus brought support and material; Bob happily offered their magical bomber in terms of assistance.

"Just for clarity's sake," he added right after, "we are not going bomb Nirvana, but Worth Woodsea is large. If there is a chance to neutralise them from up high, I say we take it."

Nods went around, though attention soon turned to Priscilla; she did not like to make the suggestion, but it was prudent. "I wish to also contract a freelance wizard. There is one in particular whose talents may be sorely needed." When she saw she had everyone's attention, the dragon elaborated: "Wendy Marvell is both a Dragonslayer and a healer. As much as we may prepare, I believe both shall be required."

Ooba hummed in thought. "I see your point, but a single person could become the target for retaliation."

Priscilla had to snort in response, but softened before her dismissiveness could ruffle any feathers. "She is capable and well cared-for, worry not." If nothing else, a thrice-damned Chaos witch would absolutely be able to destroy whoever came after her. The reminder of her ancient enemy's presence came with a surge of wrath, as it always did. If anyone noticed, they did not say; most were busy mulling over her proposal.

"I will trust your judgement on it," Bob ultimately said. "This is our chance to remove one of Baram's pillars, we need whoever we can get." His endorsement brought the majority along as well.

They continued planning out some of the specifics, but Priscilla's mind remained on her own preparations. She listened idly as the subject eventually shifted elsewhere. Groupings were considered and discarded until she was almost home; only then did she decide she had the best possible combination.

The moment she entered the guildhall and received happy greetings, Priscilla announced a general meeting; everyone not on missions remained in town and anyone returning would not head out again. It took three days until every member sans Warrod was present.

First she laid out the decision made during the league conference; her announcement generated an air of excitement more than anything else. Just as everyone began to discuss who would go, she spoke up again: "I have already decided on a team." That shut them up right quick. In addition, Priscilla knew her decision was unorthodox, so she prefaced with a warning: "I made my decision without regard for the existing teams. None of them will participate wholesale."

Teammates threw each other lightly worried looks, but no one actively objected. Priscilla nodded to herself. "That said," she continued, "I will not force you to participate. Going by the expressions I see however, none will refuse." She gave a short pause for excited nods and studied them all.

"First off, Levy, Lucy." Both women perked up in surprise. "I want you in our group for the versatility in your magic."

Applause followed. Lucy stumbled forward when Natsu clapped her shoulder in delight; Priscilla was quite proud that she could recognise the trace of worry in her expression now. The blonde met her gaze. "I guess that makes sense, but can we really keep up against six elite wizards?"

Levy was about to grandstand, but Priscilla cut her off with an indulgent smile. "Which is why Gajeel will accompany you."

The iron Dragonslayer snorted in response. "Can do, but I'm not playing babysitter."

"Oh, I doubt either of them needs babysitting. They are more fragile than you though, so I want you to protect them where necessary." He nodded, now actually serious. Priscilla turned back to the women then. "And vice versa. As you know, a Dragonslayer's combat strength comes at the downside of having a hard time learning other magic." Both nodded in response.

"Why send Gajeel and not Natsu?" Cana inquired next; by the time Priscilla's gaze landed on her, she already palmed her face in realisation.

"Yes," the dragon deadpanned. "I will not send Natsu of all people into a large woodland."

Laughter followed while Natsu raised his hand as if to object. His brow creased and he lowered the limb, however. "You know, that's fair. Good luck, Lucy!" His immediate switch from thoughtful to beaming smile had his teammate exasperated.

Levy was still grinning over their antics, but she used the lull in conversation to chime in: "So beside Gajeel, who else do you send? We're all decent, but I kinda expected something like Erza, Mystogan, Mira, and Laxus to go." Her argument received agreement from around the room; Erza nodded in her seat, as did Laxus. Mystogan frowned.

"While that was a consideration," Priscilla agreed readily, "sending Erza is just one step above sending Natsu." The redhead choked on her drink. Priscilla ignored her hacking coughs and continued: "And while I considered sending only our S-rank mages, you will notice that none of them are particularly versatile. Mystogan is, but I believe he will be the first to tell you he is not much for teamwork." Her friend offered a relieved nod from the back. "Not to mention I am worried committing too many of our best may paint a target on our backs. Worry not though, Levy. The last one to go with you is Laxus."

The man in question snorted, but offered no backtalk. He merely sipped his own drink. Curiously, no one even asked why she picked him over Mirajane; Priscilla was somewhat relieved about that, seeing that she made that decision based on prowess shown in the Fantasia Tournament.

With her announcement made and preparations now underway, Priscilla ended the meeting. She was confident that Oracion Seis would not know what hit them.

 

"Aera is a magic innate to the feline Exceed, native to the world Edolas, and one of the few disciplines that grant true flight. It consists of three steps: project wings of some sort, emit propulsion from those wings, and fly without kissing the ground after five seconds. Each step is difficult in its own way as humans lack the instincts for flight any Exceed is born with. Aera is one of the most difficult disciplines for a non-Exceed to learn, regardless of how much tutoring they receive. Only hard work and tenacity can see one through."

-excerpt from "The Soul of Magic"

---

"Are we there yet?"

"Shut it, Levy."

"...are we there yet?"

Lucy suppressed a sigh. Whatever possessed her friend to keep annoying Laxus, she wanted no part in it. The bumpy cart ride did not help anyone's mood, either; they left behind Fiore's border some time ago. The dirt road was empty save for the four of them and the coachman.

Ten minutes passed. Lucy slowly returned to her own thoughts; she still went back and forth on the issue of her mother's letter. When and how to tell them, not to mention if she should at all.

"Are we there yet?"

"Gods, shut up already!"

Gajeel's snippy response earned a tinkling laugh, followed by a flirty wink. "But I'm bored," Levy teased. "Maybe I shut up if you distract me?"

Her boyfriend growled in response and ran a hand through his black mane; Lucy did not miss the look going her and Laxus' way, though. She rolled her eyes at the couple, heavy thoughts forgotten. Then Lucy turned to stare ahead; the coachman was more amused by their banter than anything else, she reckoned.

Thankfully, the place came in sight by the time Levy continued to be a pain in the neck.

"Are we there-" "Yes." "-oh."

Lucy huffed over the dejected response; everyone else turned forward as well, eyes roaming the distant building. An almost solid wall of trees reached skyward behind it, some offshoots covering the entire area; their sparse canopy failed to hide the overcast sky. A sleek mountain of some sort rose in the distance, somewhere within Worth Woodsea; like a fallen god's finger coveting the heavens once more. Lucy felt it would at least make a good landmark.

"Good thing Blue Pegasus has this thing," Gajeel grunted while they all disembarked a distance away. Lucy listened to the conversation as she thanked the coachman. "Why'd they have it, anyway?"

Levy explained instantly: "Worth Woodsea is neutral ground and generally peaceful. A lot of nobles and other people with money have some kind of retreat around here 'cause they can just get away from all the stress if they want to. There are some shrines around too, but they're only for pilgrims." A faint grunt was Gajeel's only response; Lucy finished waving after the retreating cart at that point, but could not really interject. Rather, she stretched out with a pleased sigh. Levy did similarly while the men studied their surroundings.

It was Laxus who broke the silence: "I'm taking a look around. Don't die while I'm not looking." He did not wait for agreement or argument; Lucy was about to call out, but thought better of it and let him vanish into the distance.

"Maybe she should've sent Mira after all," Levy quipped. Gajeel snorted, but Lucy could only shrug.

"I am sure he will be fine. I mean, it is Laxus."

"Fair. Let's go then."

The diminished group strolled along without complaint. A few hundred metres of walking helped Lucy's circulation some; sitting on that cart for the last few hours was not pleasant. She was first to the door as well, mainly because Gajeel was more focussed on the area. His nose twitched, gaze flickering around.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, one hand already raised to knock. Gajeel shrugged.

"Not wrong, it just smells different. Need a bit to get used to it."

"Aww, com'ere." And Levy attached herself to his arm, cutely leaning against him. "You can just sniff me until the great outdoors doesn't scare you anymore!"

"I'm not a dog!"

Another laugh from Levy sound, though the comment that followed cut it off: "'sides, I told you before that perfume stinks." Now it was for Lucy to laugh; she already made that particular sacrifice since the tournament. Dating a Dragonslayer really had some unique burdens. Then again, it also saved her money.

The door opened just as she was about to knock, revealing a bright smile on a boyish face. "There you are!" the young man beamed; he stood almost a head shorter than Lucy, little taller than Natsu. "I knew I heard something! Come in, come in! Make yourselves at home!" He opened the door wide to admit the three, then closed it behind them. "I would take your coat, but you did not bring one."

"Neither did you," Lucy countered good-naturedly. "Eve, was it?"

"The one and only," he agreed with a faint bow. When Lucy offered her hand, he leaned forward to press a kiss on her knuckles; the gesture made her face flush. "At your service," Eve finished with genuine joy. "Please, let me show you to the sitting room."

The befuddled blonde was led along, followed by her clearly amused friends. She had a moment to gather her wits, so the arrival of two more pretty boys in sharp suits did not send her reeling again. Eve Tearm cheerfully introduced his taller and older guildmates; Ren Akatsuki greeted her with a roguish smile, his dark brown skin giving him an exotic appeal. Meanwhile, Hibiki Lates appeared more reverent than anything else. "What a pleasure to meet such beauties," he remarked, then tried to do to Levy what Eve had done unto Lucy. Except the blunette flicked his forehead. "Huh?"

"Nuh uh," she scolded lightly. "I'm taken, so save it for the singles. So is Lucy, for that matter," she added, making Ren stop an attempt Lucy was about to interrupt herself. Both men chuckled to play over their embarassment; Hibiki took a careful step back from the scowling Dragonslayer behind Levy, too.

"Ah well, I should have guessed," he joked back. "Of course two so lovely would not be remiss for company."

"Sorry," Eve apologised to Lucy next, just as sheepish as the other two. "I guess I let habit take over. I hope you are not mad, miss?"

"It's fine," she reassured him with a faint smile. "No harm done. I really should have expected it anyway, but I admittedly forgot." How one could forget that Blue Pegasus was a host club, she did not know. They employed most of the magical models around Fiore as well. "You three are good at what you are doing."

"Why thank you," Hibiki returned with a wink, but left it at that. Levy kept giggling as she leaned against Gajeel, her boyfriend's arm protectively slung around her waist. The sight amused Lucy as well, but she kept that to herself for now.

All three Fairy Tail wizards settled down on one of the half dozen plush couches. Hibiki tastefully spread out a few snacks for them and Ren poured drinks; both worked with an ease borne of practice. Lucy spent a few minutes chatting with them afterward as they waited. It helped ease her own nerves a little; this cottage reminded her more of the Heartfilia estate than any other place she went in a whole year.

Soon enough, two knocks rang through the hallway. Some kind of Lacrima must have carried the sound all the way to them, but she had no idea how. The Blue Pegasus wizards immediately glared each other down and threw out a hand each; Hibiki and Eve both had paper, Ren grumbled at his rock and strode off to get the door. He returned with four more people in tow.

Wendy, Lucy already knew. The younger girl's expression brightened the moment she saw her. Lyon and Sherry were also familiar faces; the ice wizard strolled inside with his usual confidence, greeting the room as a whole. Sherry stood by his side as was often the case; her light pink dress stood out between all the darker colours. Then again, so did the wave of fuchsia hair running down her back. They were accompanied by a tall, bald, and muscular man with sharp features. His stern gaze ran over the entire room once before softening. He then introduced himself as Jura Nekis, the leader of Lamia Scale's contingent.

They actually went around the room with introductions afterward. Carla arrived halfway through after having checked out the area; her eyes stopped on Lucy for a long moment, though.

"Shouldn't Fairy Tail have sent four people?" Jura asked once introductions were over. The others counted their number as if realising this for the first time.

Lucy allowed herself a faint smile and reassured them: "He is out and about."

"Is that safe?" Ren inquired next. And he would have been right to worry about literally anyone else.

"Do not worry about that." Lucy's smile grew a fraction. Ren and his fellow suits all caught her drift, as did Jura.

Carla still tried to pry, displaying an unusual curiousity: "Truly? Whom did thy master elect?"

Before Lucy could respond to that, Levy already did. She leaned forward with a coy grin, booping the Exceed's nose. "You'll find out soon," she teased.

"We shall take your word for it," Jura added to close the matter. "Considering we don't know when that person will be back, we should go over the plan now." A smattering of agreement and nods followed, so he motioned for Hibiki.

A surge of Ethernano announced his magic; it formed into several intricate, orange spell circles. "Archive," he chanted while stretching his fingers. The circles arrayed themselves around him to form some kind of surface; one directly under his hands, another between him and the group. "There we go. Now, map...." A map of Worth Woodsea appeared on the larger surface while his fingers ran over various buttons. Lucy's brows rose to her hairline by then.

"I never heard about magic like this before," she admitted.

"Of-" "Obviously," Levy cut off Ren without even noticing. Her eyes almost gleamed as she explained: "Archive is brand new. They only put it together over the last few years and learning it is complicated. And expensive," she added as an afterthought. "I looked into it, right now you need to hire a tutor from the Bureau of Magic Development."

"And even then it takes quite some time to learn," Hibiki added with a nod to Levy. "I can put in a good word for you, if you want to learn it?"

"Oh, thanks!"

Lucy shook her head in amusement. Then Jura corralled everyone back to the matter at hand and they went over the plan. The basic idea remained simple but effective: get the drop on Oracion Seis before they knew they were compromised. Their subordinate guilds were many, but ultimately irrelevant. They would scatter on their own once their leadership was down.

"Christina, our bomber," Ren explained while Hibiki displayed the picture of an airship resembling a bulbous, winged horse, "can supply heavy weapons support in the entire area. We won't bomb Nirvana itself unless it falls into enemy hands. The backlash for destroying a symbol of peace may just ruin our guilds."

"Or start a war," Lucy added her own musings. Ren nodded her way.

"Exactly. But before Christina can deploy, we must take down Angel." As if on cue, the picture Hibiki's Archive displayed changed. Now there stood a well developed woman clad in fluttery white; her conservative dress did nothing to lessen the force of the arrogant grin she wore. Add to it her beautiful, white wings and that she looked down on whoever took the picture, and she certainly appeared intimidating. Everyone studied Angel's likeness while Ren explained: "She is, to this day, the only human to truly master Aera."

"A human endeavoured to con mine kind's power?"

"Yes." Ren scowled at the picture. "Humans have a lot of trouble getting it, though. Either she knows a special trick, or she forced herself through a grueling training regimen. Angel is the most fearsome aerial combatant on the continent, if not in the world. Do not engage her in the air even if you can. In the best case we can ambush her and take her down before she becomes a problem."

"What else do we have on her?" Levy requested; Hibiki switched from Angel's picture to a list of her known powers for everyone to peruse. Lucy's brows furrowed as she reached the last item.

"Celestial Spirit magic?" she asked. "Do we know which spirits she summons? Does she use keys?" Carla sported a feline grin for a moment, but Lucy blinked and it was gone.

Meanwhile, Hibiki shrugged. "We know she owns at least one golden key, but no one who saw her summon a spirit survived to tell the tale."

They went over the other members as well; Cobra led his tamed serpent into battle and specialised in telepathy, to the point he could crawl into other peoples' minds to listen in. Hoteye was a powerful earth wizard. Racer deployed powerful speed magic. There were no accounts of Midnight in battle; the few times he took the field, no one survived. And the leader, Brain, was confirmed to be a former senior member of the Bureau of Magic Development; he knew various types of magic, making him a versatile and smart enemy.

"The greatest issue," Hibiki closed their briefing, "is that Oracion Seis is a well-oiled machine in battle. They have years of experience fighting together and know each other well. We have reports of several members using Unison Raids before, too." This was bad news to Lucy; she pulled off exactly one Unison Raid herself so far and it had turned the tide of battle. Literally even, as it was done with Juvia. Hibiki remained unaware of her musings as he delivered his verdict: "So disrupting their cohesion is imperative."

While the others nodded, Lucy could not help but mutter. "Maybe we should have brought more people after all." Her mind flashed to Mira and Erza; she suddenly felt a lot less secure without Natsu there, too.

"Then they'd have an easier time breaking us into smaller groups and snacking us up," Levy argued, which was also a good point.

Hibiki seemed to agree: "There are ups and downs to a small group, but our greatest advantage is being stealthy with these numbers." His reminder coaxed a sigh out of Lucy; if nothing else, they had the initiative.

The next half hour was spent discussing how to approach the actual assault. Sherry apparently learned fortunetelling in addition to her Doll magic; they could use that to track down Oracion Seis. Gajeel and Lyon were all for going after them immediately, but Jura convinced them to wait until nightfall; Lucy agreed with him, as did Levy. If they could get most of them while they slept, that would be perfect. In addition, once the nomads were found, their Dragonslayers could track them almost indefinitely by scent.

After that, they waited. Lucy spent some time catching up with Wendy and Sherry before leaving both to get to know each other. Lyon was discussing something with Jura and Gajeel while Levy and Hibiki talked about Archive. The other two suits were in the kitchen cooking dinner. Lucy offered to help, but they shooed her away; no sign of Laxus either, so she ended up reading a book for a while.

As she read, she could not shake the creeping feeling that something was wrong. Lucy had no idea what set it off, though. Surreptive glances went around the room and out the windows, but nothing suspicious presented itself. She pondered whether Oracion Seis may know about this safehouse, but cottages like it were everywhere across Worth Woodsea. Them having found exactly this one by chance was incredibly unlikely. However, during her continued musing, Lucy's gaze was drawn back to Carla. The Exceed girl sat in Wendy's lap and received headpats; she kept studying the room as well.

Remembering that Angel had an unknown zodiac, Lucy distracted herself by going over their number. All bets were off if she learned to open a gate without the corresponding key, but that took time. Lucy already owned the keys for Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Sagittarius, Leo, and Libra. Meaning that she missed Capricorn, Pisces, Gemini...

Her breath hitched, gaze flying back to Carla. That gut feeling was strongest when she looked that way. Carla lagged behind on arrival, the only one who was alone. Angel was a Celestial Spirit wizard with a golden key. And the Exceed's behaviour inexplicably kept rubbing Lucy the wrong way. She may be paranoid, but Oracion Seis were infamous. Taking a risk like that could end up spelling disaster.

Lucy's first instinct was to speak up, but she stopped herself in time. Fairy Tail did not always have positive influences after all. Instead, she purposefully immersed herself in fantasies of Natsu until her cheeks held a notable blush; then she fetched Levy and Sherry from their respective conversations. Both were attentive, though a little confused as well.

"What's up, Lu?"

"Girl stuff," she lied, "you mind helping me out? I didn't bring, uh, y'know?" A telling glance went to all the men present; Wendy was already drawn into conversation with Gajeel, somehow. Others had been eyeing them, but averted their gazes. Levy's brows rose, but Sherry immediately nodded her understanding and grabbed her purse.

"Of course," the older woman agreed immediately, then pulled on Hibiki's sleeve. "Which way to the restrooms?" She received concise instructions and they were off.

Levy thankfully held her silence until the three of them were actually there; several doors and a hallway separated them from the others. The blunette leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. "Now what's up? This isn't your time of the month." Sherry paused, clearly confused. Levy threw her a coy grin. "Because it was two weeks ago. I had to listen to her complain."

Of course she remembered that. Lucy shrugged. "The cramps were bad. Anyway, not the point right now. I think we are undermined and I think Carla is our mole." She had their undivided attention now. "There is a zodiac spirit that can perfectly copy other beings, up to their memories and behaviours. If Angel has Gemini, then they're onto us already. I can't prove anything, but I don't want to leave this to chance."

Levy frowned in response. "I never heard about a spirit that can do that before."

"I did," Sherry added thoughtfully. "But I never thought the copy would be indistinguishable from the original."

"Gemini is good. The twins do not have to act exactly like whoever they copy, but they can. My mother could not tell them and me apart when I was little." The other two nodded their understanding while Lucy thought back to simpler times. Then she shook that off and drew Virgo's key, but paused. "They can tell if I use magic now and will get suspicious." This was a conundrum, she could not hide her use of Ethernano here. But maybe she could mask it?

A silver key followed, Canis Minor. "All or nothing, then."

A quick summoning later, she scooped up Plue; the humanoid figure wiggled in her grasp for a moment. His golden horn was the only part of him not purely white, excepting dot eyes and mouth. Hugging the tiny thing to her chest made Lucy feel a little better. The first one she addressed was Virgo, though: "Okay. Please check around the house and be discreet; I want to know if anyone else is here and what they are doing. Plue, you come with me."

Plue responded something unintelligible, but remained in place. Virgo bowed. "Of course, Princess," she murmured and sunk into the earth.

Next, Lucy turned to the amused Levy and impressed Sherry: "Spread the word and try not to tip Carla off. You can get at Lyon and Gajeel, and Lyon can tell Jura."

A moment of silence followed, broken by Sherry: "I had no idea you can be so sly."

Lucy tossed her hair in response, offering a winning grin. "I am a Heartfilia after all. Not that I was ever a good enough socialite to make my old man happy, but it will suffice for the rabble." She held herself playfully haughty, coaxing a laugh from Levy and a smile from Sherry. Lucy dropped the act then and motioned for the door they entered through. "Let's go."

The three returned in close formation; Lucy wordlessly settled back on 'her' couch, Plue hugged to her chest. She tried to convey silent suffering and was left alone. Levy skipped along and back to Gajeel while Sherry attached herself to Lyon's side. Wendy and Carla were busy talking about their life with Jura, so they missed the quiet exchanges; Lucy could tell when the message was conveyed. Both mens' eyes narrowed, gazes flickering to the younger Dragonslayer. They thankfully did not say anything. Hibiki caught onto it as well and strode away to tell his guildmates in the kitchen.

Lucy allowed herself a smile and squeezed the spirit in her arms for comfort. Plue purred softly, not at all upset with his part of the plan. Jura was caught up soon enough, too; Lyon took his place with some inquiries about Exceeds to distract 'Carla'. The hard-faced man's expression barely changed when Sherry relayed the warning, though he sought Lucy's gaze; she met him without a shred of doubt. His response was a faint nod.

A soft tap against her boot alerted Lucy to Virgo's presence; her friend left barely any sense of moving Ethernano, hidden by the ambient energy. Lucy sighed in response and flopped down onto the couch; Virgo's mouth emerged right beneath her ear, whispering: "Quiet movement around the entire building. The earth turns softer, foundations are slowly weakened. I imagine either a strike from below or an attempt to collapse the building."

Expression unchanged, Lucy pulled Plue into her face to pretend cuddling. Behind his white fluff, she whispered back: "Thanks. Go find Laxus and tell him about this. Tell him to lay low until they make their move, then ambush them back. You can head home afterward."

"Of course, Princess." The faint presence vanished. As it faded, Lucy tried to sense for the movement of Ethernano below; it was barely noticeably even when knowing someone worked underneath. She shuddered, wondering what might have happened had she not gotten suspicious.

An hour passed in idle conversation around her; Lucy was left alone, focussed on supplying Virgo and Plue with Ethernano. Her continued practice helped improve the amount she could store within her body, but this hour remained taxing. Then, thankfully, she felt the drain of Virgo's Gate fade; Lucy's lips quirked up. She dismissed Plue as well, who waved goodbye and vanished.

After an actual toilet break, Lucy managed to relay what she learned. The men quietly began to prepare countermeasures while the women took to distracting Wendy and Carla; no one said it, but they all agreed that they could not inform the blunette beforehand.

Oracion Seis definitely took their time. Jura's brows creased around nightfall, another five hours later; he sought Lucy's sleep-addled gaze and nodded to the outside. The blonde nodded back; she felt no more magic at work underneath when sensing for it, none at all. At least they waited for her nap to finish; Wendy and Levy were already up.

Rubbing her eyes and shaking off the remnants of sleep, Lucy stretched. She was well aware of Carla having grown more animated in Wendy's grasp. "Tis quite enough lollygagging," she declared. "I will exercise mine wings for a time." Wendy agreed with a faint smile.

Meanwhile, Lucy adopted a cheshire grin. "Oh, so you're telling Angel what we're up to now?"

The entire room tensed up at once; Lucy felt more than saw her allies preparing their escape. She was focussed on 'Carla', whose attention fixated solely on her in turn. "How do you mean?" she inquired while Wendy tilted her head. Lucy's smile grew a fraction.

"Come now, Gemini. You were babysitting me at least a few times. I am not that dumb."

The false Exceed rubbed her head in wonder, searching Lucy's expression. Movement of Ethernano picked up underneath, she noticed. Meanwhile, Wendy indignantly shot to her feet. "How couldst thou suspect Carla? Who dost thou think thou art?!"

"No, no. She is quite right." The nonchalant admission stunned Wendy, whose gaze turned back to what she thought was her friend. 'Carla' huffed. "And yes, you were a nightmare to look after. Always climbing about and trying to jump from high places. Out of curiousity, what gave us away?"

Lucy wordlessly presented her seven zodiac keys. Gemini nodded. "Ah. Process of elimination? That sucks, but at least I won't get scolded for messing up. I'll probably get scolded for helping you out, but I do owe Lailah some: you want to get out of this house now."

"Way ahead of you."

As if on cue, Jura and Lyon broke the wall with unnecessary force. Everyone leapt into motion and dashed outside; Gajeel snatched the flabbergasted Wendy and carried her along. The earth churned, calamity announced by violent crashing noises; their safehouse cracked everywhere as a whirlpool of dirt began to devour it. Supporting beams collapsed and within a minute, the entire structure was gone. Barren soil marked where it once stood.

Lucy stared at the deathtrap she just escaped. "That was a bit nastier than I expected," she mused quietly before shaking off the momentary horror. Her senses strained as she tried to find where the spellwork had come from; it was easy this time, right toward the heart of Worth Woodsea. "Over there!"

There they stood, all of Oracion Seis arrayed. They were hidden among the nearby woodland, but became apparent once one knew they were there. Racer and Cobra leaned against a tree, one decked in various metals and some sort of goggles, the other clad in a white, high-collared coat that revealed black underneath. A person-sized, purple serpent was draped over the telepath's shoulder, tongue flitting as it stared at them.

Angel kicked her legs on a thick branch above them; the hem of her dress fluttered in the evening breeze, though she kept smiling. Brain and Hoteye both held thoughtful looks, taking the back line while spell circles winked out around them. A clearly sleeping Midnight floated next to the two.

Lucy took all of this in, already moving when Jura's shout reached her ears: "Get them now!"

Angel's sarcastic applause was inaudible at this distance, but they all saw it. "How impressive," her voice carried across to them, "to survive our first strike and then come running." She said something else and glanced down to Brain, who responded more gruffly; whatever he said, it left the lady wizard less gleeful than before. Then she shrugged and raised one hand, presenting a bound bundle of white fur. "But how about this?" she called over, slowing down the coalition's charge. Carla wiggled in her bindings. Horror grasped Lucy as she realised she completely forgot the original over Gemini.

Their advance ground to a halt a mere few dozen metres away; Oracion Seis wore grins, one and all. The inhuman growl from behind Lucy made them fade. It echoed over the entire area and the air grew heavy. Glancing behind herself, she found Wendy hunched forward; the Dragonslayer glared up at Angel, pupils turned to slits. "If thou hast but trimmed a hair," she seethed, unable to even vocalise her anger properly. Half of the noise her throat produced were more growls.

Then stormwinds followed, shaking the trees and blowing Lucy forward; the coalition moved with her while Oracion Seis was blown back. Angel fought for balance, which was all the time Carla needed; a cocoon of white flames surrounded the Exceed. It burned her bindings and singed Angel's dress, pushing the human wizard over entirely. By the time she caught the branch with her legs, Carla already took wing.

Lucy followed Angel's descent; the other woman swung herself backward in Wendy's storm, aligning perfectly straight before landing on Racer's shoulders. Magic swirled around both of them, white and gold that merged into each other.

"Oh Golden Bull, lend me your aid!" Lucy intoned. "Star Dress, Taurus!" She felt the surge of alien strength propel her feet forward. Jura was right by her side, but that was not enough. "Levy, shield!"

"Solid Script: Shield!"

A curled cursive pushed itself before them, braced by Gajeel; he was just in time. Hundreds of beams pealed against the cover, each leaving deep gouges. They quickly ground it to nothing, only to be intercepted by a wall of summoned rock. Jura's shield was battered as well before the rain stopped. Lucy needed until she punched straight through to realise that Unison Raid was Grand Chariot on speed magic. The rain of debris disrupted Cobra's advance, at least; Lucy followed up by throwing a larger piece at Angel's face. The other woman leaned backward to evade, falling off Racer's shoulder in the process. She turned it into a flick and came to stand easily.

A moment later, Racer stood right in front of her. Lucy tried to punch him, but he was already gone; her temple stung, too. Then Cobra arrived with a nasty grin. "Looks like you're tough, girly," he taunted. The serpent on his shoulder hissed as if laughing. Then both lashed out at her, too.

Lucy had no time to talk back; she wanted to grab the snake, but a sting to her wrist announced the grab going off-target. Cobra's punch stung a little harder and pushed Lucy back a step; then his pet sank its teeth into her thigh. Lucy flinched in expectation of pain; when none came, she stopped for a moment. Cobra did as well, both staring.

Razor sharp teeth were stuck in the outermost layer of Lucy's skin. Some kind of warm liquid ran down her thigh, right at the point of impact. It was not blood. It was not hers at all. Lucy stared at the venomous snake, then at Cobra. He stared right back, just as dumbfounded. Then Lucy tore off the hissing serpent and used it as a club; it curled up so the swing missed its master, who growled at her. "Don't think that makes you invincible. I know your every thought. All your plans. Everything!"

A few more stings along her arm freed the snake, who quickly slithered away and hid in a bush. Racer was already past, intercepting Gajeel before he could get at Cobra. The snake tamer chuckled darkly and caught the misplaced swing; then Lucy had to duck under her airborne teammate. "Everything!" he shouted and caught Levy's punch from behind at the wrist.

He proceeded to dance around all of them, sometimes aided by Racer's lightning fast assaults. Lucy stayed close to where the venomous snake hid; it kept hissing and hiding, thankfully. At the same time, she knew this was not going well; Cobra and Racer kept herself, Gajeel, Lyon, Levy, and Sherry occupied. Brain and Hoteye exchanged spellfire with Jura, Wendy, and the hosts.

She threw herself in front of Levy just in time then; Angel's Grand Chariot slammed into her reinforced body, leaving some mean bruises. Their eyes met across the distance Angel took over being ignored.

But over it all, Lucy smelled something. Gajeel's grin ramped up a notch as well. The telltale scent of lightning. Laxus was near.

Just as she thought his name, the nearest scuffle dissolved. A frantic shout of "Retreat!" interrupted the ongoing battles. Cobra disengaged, covered by Racer. "Scatter, now!" he shouted. "Before-"

That was as far as he got; a flash of lightning came down upon him like the fist of an angry god. From one moment to the next, the man who fought all of them without taking a single hit lay motionless in a crater. Above him towered Fairy Tail's ace, currents arcing over musclebound arms and legs. Wendy's storm slowed to a faint breeze, making his heavy coat flutter.

Everyone stared at the impossibility before them, Lucy included. Meanwhile, Laxus sneered at allies and enemies alike. His drawl almost seemed to echo: "Man, you weaklings really need to step up your game. I can't come to drag your asses out of the fire every time."

The snake leapt at him, as furious as a serpent could look; Laxus lazily snatched it out of the air, fangs stopped centimetres from his face. The thing was as thick as his arms, but could only wiggle in distress. Then Laxus glared at it. Within moments, Cobra's pet fell limp and played dead; he dropped the serpent on top of its unconcious master.

"Scatter," Angel echoed her companion's order. "They're after me before you all! Aera!"

Before anyone could react, long wings of white feathers spread from a spell circle attached to her back. Brain and Hoteye disengaged, taking Midnight along. Racer made a run for Laxus, however; Lucy worried for a moment, only to realise her guildmate caught the speedster's arm. He only grunted from the fist driven into his gut, but it did lessen his grip strength. Racer broke away before the lightning blast reached him; then he was dozens of metres distant.

"First fallback point," Brain shouted to his allies. "Don't you dare die on me!"

There were no verbal responses as everyone ran in a different direction. Angel took wing while the rest vanished into the woods. Their pursuers discussed while an irate Wendy provided healing for the wounded, meaning everyone except Lucy and Gajeel; they quickly agreed to split up as well.

If nothing else, their Dragonslayers had the trail. The hunt was on.