Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, it belongs to Hiro Mashima and I, unfortunately, am not him. I do however own any OC characters that will appear later in the story. Relax and enjoy the story.

People speaking "Now, I'm all fired up!"

People thinking 'Geronimo'

Magic Spells "Fire Dragon ROAR"

Creature/Dragon speaking "Fairy Tail is number one."

Creature/Dragon thinking 'You're not a real man!'

Chapter 23 – Next Generation

"Hhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaa~!"

"Sooooo booooooring~!"

"Someone start a brawl or something."

"But that would just give us more work in the guild's rebuilding."

Lucy couldn't help but let out a weak laugh as she watched her guild mates laze around several of the tables used in the makeshift bar, the blonde herself was sitting next to the reception counter with Ur, where Mirajane was serving drinks. "I've never seen them act this way before. It's like they're all out of energy."

"They're taking the word bored to another level." Ur mused as she took a sip of her beverage, using her magic to keep it chilled.

"Well, that's to be expected." Mirajane said with a small giggle as she placed a drink in front of Lucy, "Everyone has been working hard on rebuilding the Guild Hall and we can't take missions until the Master gets the okay from the Magic Council."

"That's right. He went to a place even further than where Erza and Natsu were taken to," Lucy replied before a look of confusion appeared on her face. "But I thought the Magic Knights declared that it was Phantom Lord who was the ones that started it and we were just defending ourselves."

"Technically, yes. But at the same time, Fairy Tail did break the rules when it comes to fighting with other Guilds." Mirajane explained as she cupped her chin in thought while closing her eyes, "Some members of the council have been against us for a long time and push for our Guild to disband."

"Seriously?!" Lucy called out in surprise, "I know that Fairy Tail has caused a lot of trouble, but to try and get rid of the Guild seems a little extreme, doesn't it?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Lucy." The blond turned to see Erza sitting on the stool next to her while lifting Nova up onto the seat on her other side, "The members on the Wizard Council have been trying to shut us down for a long time, and despite all the destruction Fairy Tail is known for, even those on the Council can't dismiss all the good our Guild has done."

"That's one of the reason I didn't involve myself with Guilds that much before I sealed Deliora away, too much politics and annoying crap." Ur stated as she rested her head on an open palm with an irritated look, "While magic is a responsibility, it is also a major part in everyday life. Those old fogies are too strict and didn't know when to lighten up on situations out of their control back then, and it doesn't seem like they've changed one bit."

"They're just a bunch of meanies!" Nova exclaimed with a tiny fist in the air, making the four women giggle at how she acted like Natsu. The little girl seemed to pause as a thought went through her mind, "… Actually… I like Gruncle Yaj. He gives me all sorts of tasty candy."

"Gruncle Yaj?" Lucy repeated with a raised eyebrow.

Shaking her head in amusement at her goddaughter's words, the barmaid decided to clear things up for the Celestial Wizard. "She means Council Member Yajima. He is an old friend of the Master and always supports Fairy Tail when the topic comes up. He was also a former member of Fairy Tail."

"Really?! Wow!" The blonde wizard blinked before taking a thinking pose, "At least that means we have someone on our side when push comes to shove… Hmm?" Turning her head a way from Mirajane and Erza, Lucy looked around the normally chaotic guild with a raised eyebrow. "By the way, have either of you seen Loke?"

A shocked look appeared on Erza and Mirajane's face as they stared at the Celestial Wizard, "Don't tell me you've finally for Fairy Tail's resident Playboy?!"

"Don't let his flirtations get the best of you, Lucy. Just because some magazine say he would make a good boyfriend, doesn't mean that is true." Erza added as she placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder with a worried look, while behind her, Nova only tilted her head in confusion at why her mother and godmother were acting so weird. "There are so many that are better suited for someone like you."

"It's not like that at all! And why does that last comment annoy me so much?!" Lucy denied with a small frown on her face before taking in a deep breath to calm herself and reached behind her, taking out the pouch that held her Celestial Spirit Keys. "You and Natsu had told me that he was the one who found my keys after I lost them when Phantom Lord kidnapped me, so I wanted to thank him."

"Oh, is that all?" Erza nodded her head as she crossed her arms.

Mirajane also nodded her head in understanding, taking out a pitcher of milk from somewhere and filled up a glass before placing it in front of Nova, who immediately grabbed the drink and started gulping it down. "Sure, I'll let him know if I see him."

"He's really weird, but Mr. Loke is very nice when it comes to helping people out." Nova said in between drinking her milk, "I remember one time, he helped me find my toy dragon after one of the others sent it flying out of the Guild Hall!"

"Huh, so he can be a nice guy." Lucy wondered out loud as she move to put her key pouch back. 'Maybe he just has a soft spot for kids… or he uses that to attract the women he flirts with.'

Ur silently watched Lucy attach her pouch back onto her belt, "To be honest, I've heard of Celestial Wizards but I never met one until you, Lucy. It must've been tough losing them during all that chaos."

"You have no idea, it was just lucky that I had Sagittarius' key in my pocket so I could help out in the final battle." The look of relief Lucy had was instantly replaced with fear as several shivers went up her spine. "Though while most of the Spirits were okay with the fact that I lost my keys because of a sneak attack and kidnapping… the word "mad" doesn't really describe how one of them reacted when I summoned her.

The image of an enraged Aquarius holding a spiky riding crop flashed through the terrified Lucy's mind, "What did I say about dropping my key, huh?!"

Nova lowered her glass as she watched the blonde wizard's head fall onto the counter while softly rubbing her aching behind, "… Was it that pretty mermaid? Happy said she was angry when those men took your keys on that bad guy's ship. Though, she didn't seem that bad to me."

"Aquarius isn't someone you want to piss off… Wait… Nova, when did you meet Aquarius?" Lucy asked as she tried to recall a time when Nova was around when she summoned Aquarius. She was pretty sure that the Celestial Spirit had returned back to the Celestial Spirit World after crashing the ship, and her along with it, into Hargeon's port.

"After the battle with Phantom Lord, she seemed unhappy about something so I gave her some flowers to cheer her up." The young Dragneel explained as she recalled playing hide and seek with her daddy and was looking for a place to hide when she came across Aquarius, who was floating near a fountain by herself. "She was acting strange until this funny looking man showed up. Mommy? Are boyfriends and girlfriends the same thing as you and Daddy? I asked her that and the mermaid turned all red and giddy before they left."

"You could say that, I'll tell you when you're older." Erza deflected as she patted her daughter's head, which made the little girl puff her cheeks. The scarlet-haired woman flashed a light glare at Mirajane and Ur, who were both snickering at Erza.

Lucy felt her body deflate against the counter, "Aquarius must've been with the boyfriend she's been bragging about. Their date was in the Human World… so she wasn't just saying that just to get to me, after all… Speaking of Natsu, where is he? I haven't seen him at all."

"Daddy's outside doing some more work on new Guild!" Nova happily chirped.

The young girl's made Lucy and Ur's heads perk up at that, with the latter placing her empty glass down. "Really? He's been working hard on the new building ever since the construction started. Talk about dedication."

Glancing outside the doors where the sounds of construction could be heard, Lucy spun her stool around to face the counter. "Yeah… Now that I think about it, ever since I joined Fairy Tail, it seems like Natsu is one of the most passionate member of the Guild. No offense."

"None taken, though you are right about how passionate Natsu is. You could say that it's in his blood." Erza stated as she closed her eyes with a smile on her face.

"In his blood?" Lucy repeated.

"Uh-huh, because Grandma Mavis and Grandpa Nero loved Fairy Tail too!" Nova said before holding out her empty cup to the white-haired barmaid, "Can I have more, Aunt Mira?"

Nodding her head with a smile on her face, Mirajane quickly refilled Nova's cup before turning to Lucy, who had a confused look on her face. "Mavis Vermilion and Nero Vermilion are the names of Natsu's parents, his birth parents."

"H-His birth parents!? But I thought you said he was found alone in a forest by Igneel when he was a baby!" Lucy questioned as she rose off her seat, only to look down at the wooden counter with a frown when she noticed the attention she was getting from various onlookers, "Sorry, I just assumed that meant that his parents died or abandoned him."

"Natsu's situation is a little complicated. You see, back when Natsu was born, he had an enormous amount of Magical Energy in his body, and that attracted unwanted attention." Erza explained as she rested her hands on the counter, her hands tightening into fists as she continued. "Two groups of Zeref worshippers had turned their attention onto Natsu with the belief that they could use his unnatural energy amount for their own plans. Natsu's father sacrificed himself to destroy one of the groups, while the other one was taken care of by his mother, but in order to keep Natsu safe, Mavis used a powerful spell that would send Natsu somewhere where he would be protected until someone powerful enough to keep him safe arrived. His mother remained with Fairy Tail until her final days, heartbroken at the fact that she couldn't raise Natsu herself."

"So Natsu's parents were members of Fairy Tail, and that's why he cares about it so much." Ur whispered to herself as a heartbroken expression appeared on her face, the image of a sick, little girl with the same colored hair as hers flashing through her mind. '… If only I could've done something to help you, Ultear…'

"Grandma Mavis wasn't just a member! She was one of the flounders!" Nova exclaimed while pumping both of her tiny fists in the air.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Flounders?"

Face-palming with her gauntlet-covered hand, Erza let out a sigh while Mirajane laughed into her hand. "This is Happy's work, I just know it… The word isn't flounders, sweetie. It's founders."

"Oh… well, she was that too!" Nova pouted as she turned away from the four amused women with crossed arms, resembling a familiar pink-haired fire user.

"Hold on a sec… Did she just say that Natsu's mother was one of the Founders of Fairy Tail?!" Lucy exclaimed as she pieced together was being explained to her, "But didn't that happen 100 years ago! How is it that possible? Natsu should be close to the Master's age if that were true."

"Normally you'd be right, but remember that spell I was telling you about? The one used by Mavis to keep Natsu safe? It is a powerful defensive spell that falls under the Three Great Fairy Magics of Fairy Tail that Mavis created herself, like the Fairy Law that Natsu used during the battle with Phantom Lord, known as Fairy Sphere." As Erza continued her explanation, Lucy recalled the powerful light that destroyed the army of Shades and defeated Jose. "It is guaranteed to protect anyone who is inside of it, but it also acts as a sort of stasis chamber, a place in which time stops, thus anyone who is within the sphere is stuck in a frozen state in which they don't age. Hence why Natsu was still a baby when Igneel found him."

"Wow, when you said it was complicated, you weren't kidding. So his mother must've been very powerful to pull something like that off." Lucy turned her head away while wiping the sweat from her forehead, and she thought that spell Zekua Melon cast on his book was an incredible feat. To use a spell that lasted for almost a century and come undone in the presence of a dragon of all things. "For a second I thought Natsu was a cradle robber."

"You thought I was what?"

"Gyah!" Lucy nearly leaped out of her own skin at the sound of Natsu's voice behind her, before spinning around to see him standing behind her with crossed arms with an amused face and a grinning Happy floating over his shoulder. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Well, don't talk about me behind my back then." Natsu said nonchalantly as he sat down on Nova's other side, "Hey Mira, can you get me something with a strong burn."

"And a medium-size raw salmon!"

"Coming right up~!" Mirajane replied with a smile as she walked away to fetch the two their orders.

Looking over at her husband as he affectionately rubbed the top of Nova's head, making the girl giggle at her father's actions, Erza rested an arm on the counter before speaking. "So I take it everything outside is going well?"

"Pretty much, though everybody who's working construction right now demanded that I take a few days off. They wouldn't let me neat anything, even if I threatened them!" Natsu whined as he leaned over the counter with his arms stretched out. "Now I'm gonna be bored outta my mind since we can't take jobs yet!"

"Well, you have been putting in a lot of work. It's not a bad thing to take a break once in a while." Everyone turned their heads to see Cana walking towards them with a large mug in hand, a smirk on her face as she made it to the bar. "Especially you, Mr. Taking-Down-Jose-By-Myself. I'm sure as soon as Gramps comes back, we'll be taking more missions than we can handle."

"True, especially since Phantom Lord is disbanded, which means that some of their mission requests will come our way." Erza added as she took notice to Cana's attire.

The brunette had done a slight change to her outfit as she was now wearing white pants with an orange belt and a red bikini top instead of her usual blue. But the thing that was most surprising was the light-green camisole she was wearing over her bikini top, instead of usually leaving herself mostly exposed like usual. Even her hair was different as it was tied in a high ponytail.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"What's got you guys staring?" Cana said with a raised eyebrow as she placed her free hand on her hip, noticing the looks she was getting from Natsu, Erza, Lucy and Happy.

"Um, well, it's just, I've never seen you wear anything over your bikini before. It's kinda surprising." Lucy defended herself while waving her hands in front of her.

"I have more than one kind of outfit style, ya know. I just prefer that to be my usual look since it's less of a hassle." Cana replied as she placed her empty mug on the counter.

"Okay, so what's with the change then?" Ur asked with curiosity in her voice.

The sound of Natsu chuckling could be heard, making head turn to see an excited look on his face. "There is only one reason Cana would dress like this. He's coming for a visit, huh?"

"He?" Lucy blinked a few times before a look of realization appeared on her face, "Wait! You mean like a boyfriend! No wonder you're dressed up!"

"For the last time, he isn't my boyfriend!" Cana stated with a twitching eyebrow before placing her hands over a confused Nova's ears, "He's just a drinking buddy and a friend with benefits. We meet up from time to time to catch up and such."

'Friends with benefits!' Lucy's face turned completely red at the notion, and was too distracted by her thoughts to notice Cana removing her hands from Nova's head.

The partially confused, young Dragneel turned her head to face Cana with a bright smile on her face, "You look really pretty, Aunt Cana!"

"Well, thank you, Nova." The Card Magic user smiled back as she rubbed the top of Nova's head, "You're such a sweetie, know that?"

"Hehehe," Nova only continued to smile as Cana rubbed her head.

"So when is he going to arrive?" Erza spoke up, meanwhile, Mirajane was returning with Natsu's drink and Happy's fish.

Placing the order's in front of the two, Mirajane turned away from the two as they started drinking/eating to look over at Cana and the other women, with a sly grin forming on Mirajane's face as she took notice of her attire. "Don't you look nice, Cana. You really got dressed up for your date… Is that the scent of that new perfume you received as a sub-reward for that fortune telling job?"

"I keep telling you, Mira. The two of us are not dating! I just want to look my best if I'm going to hit the town." Cana retorted while crossing her arms in an annoyed manner, causing her large chest to rise slightly. "You should stop trying to play matchmaker, especially when it could come back to bite you."

Mirajane blinked a few with a confused look, tilting her head slightly. "Huh?"

"Hey, Natsu!"

The pink-haired man paused in mid-bite and turned to see Vanitas walking towards them with a wave, "Gho Vhamus! Hwei therwe!"

"Swallow before speaking," Erza said casually while slamming her fist against the top of her husband's head, to which the large bulge in his cheeks slid into throat before heading down into his stomach in a cartoonish manner. "That's much better."

"Yeah, yeah." Natsu muttered while rubbing the now tender lump on his head before turning his attention back towards Vanitas. "So what's up? Are the Magic Knights still giving you trouble?"

"That's the good news, actually. They finally decided to return to Headquarters, though they told me not to try anything like that again until I got the notice that my probation is over. They also got rid of those magic cuffs, I forgot how physically draining those things could be."

After the battle with Phantom Lord and the interrogation of the Magic Knights, both Natsu and Vanitas had been pulled away the others and reprimanded for releasing the Probation Seal that was restricting Vanitas' Shadow Devil Slayer Magic. Of course, thanks to the testimonies of several witnesses and learning of the major injuries that Vanitas had endured during his first battle with Gajeel, most of the charges were dropped. The only problem was that the unauthorized release meant that Vanitas would need to be supervised by a small squad of Magic Knights until they deemed him to not be a threat. They also reactivated the restriction seal and placed special magic cuffs that prevented the Devil Slayer from using even more of his power, not to mention how they zapped him of physical strength which limited him on how much he could assist everyone with the reconstruction.

"They certainly weren't being very nice when Elfman and I went over there to check up on him." Mirajane pointed out as she crossed her arms over her chest, to which Cana gained a small smirk on her face and leaned in closer to the white-haired woman.

"Oh-hoooo? What's this? Has the infamous She-Devil become smitten by Fairy Tail's newest member? And a Devil Slayer at that!" Cana said in a teasing voice causing both Mirajane and Vanitas' cheeks to burn red, while a few feet away, a certain white-haired man's eyebrow twitched as he heard Cana's voice. "What will all of your fans say when they find out that Fairy Tail's Poster Girl will soon be off the market?"

"I-It's not like that!" Vanitas exclaimed causing multiple heads to turn and look at him. The Devil Slayer looked away awkwardly at this, silently wishing to be anywhere but in the middle of the temporary Guildhall. "… Mira and her brother have been helping me settle in… and well, she's…" Vanitas said the next thing so low that no one heard him, well, almost no one, a certain Dragon Slayer heard quite clearly.

"Huh?"

"Can you repeat that?"

"Did you pick up what he was mumbling?" Erza asked Natsu, knowing his enhanced senses were second to none in the Fairy Tail guild.

Natsu answered Erza's question with a nod before tilting his head to the side as he leaned an arm on the bar counter, "So Mira has been teaching you how to cook, huh?"

"… Yeah… To be honest, I never really learned since I just used money to pay for meals at restaurants or at Phantom's Guildhall. There was no need, you know?" Vanitas explained with an embarrassed look as he looked at the ground. "I mean, Juvia tried to teach me once, but I ended up destroying her kitchen after I got burned and accidentally released a Shadow Devil's Rage that blew a giant hole in her wall. She got really upset at that."

Not too far from the small group, hiding behind several large barrels and wooden logs, Juvia could be seen with a small dark cloud hanging over her as she let out a heavy sigh. 'It took Juvia over three weeks to get her wall repaired and her kitchen replaced! I had to deal with all sorts of animals trying to find shelter from the rain! Several raccoons tried to sleep in my bed and one time, a bear went into my bathroom while I was taking a shower!' The embarrassing memory only made the cloud rumble as it darkened even more. The only conciliation at the time was that Vanitas paid for the repairs and even got her the latest models in kitchen equipment, but the Devil Slayer refused to try and learn any more after that.

"I don't get why you're so embarrassed. When I was a kid and Erza was trying to teach me stuff, I had swords thrown at me, meat strapped to my arms and legs while being chased by a carnivorous lizard twenty times my size, the time when we tried to learn how to dance while on thin ice… Or the horrifying training I did to overcome my seasickness." At the last one, Natsu's body shivered before he fell off his seat and got into a crouched position with a depress aura surrounding him. "… Those were dark times… dark times…"

'I've never seen him like this! Erza is truly a woman to be feared.' Lucy though while she looked between the depressed Natsu, who was getting his head patted by his daughter, who was confused by her father's actions, and back towards Erza, who was sipping from her teacup before noticing the looks she was getting.

"Is there something wrong?" The scarlet-haired woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"""Nope. Nothing at all.""" Lucy, Cana, Happy, Vanitas and Gray, who had walked up to the group in time to hear everything, all said at the same time while waving their hands in a dismissive manner.

Glancing at the Dragneel family for a brief moment, Ur turned her head to look at Mirajane. "… You're methods aren't as bad, right? I mean, some of that sounded dangerous to teach simple stuff."

"This coming from the woman would made two 8-year-olds strip down to their underwear in the middle of a snowy terrain filled with all sorts of monsters and unpredictable blizzards." Gray muttered as a sweatdrop fell from the back of his head, only for an ice-ball the size of his fist to slam into the back of his head and sent him crashing to the floor.

"What was that? You talking about my awesome training methods?" Ur spoke up with a chilling mist surrounding her open hand, "And put on some clothes! Why are you stripping in public?! Didn't you learn anything from when we were living in Isvan?!"

"Like you're one to talk!" Gray shouted back as he pointed a finger at Ur, who was revealed to have taken off both her jacket and shirt, leaving her in her bra and pants, and also revealing the brand new crystal-blue Fairy Tail guild mark that was over her right ribcage. A twitch mark formed on Ur's forehead as she stood up from her seat, several of the men in the background enjoying the view until both master and pupil sent a barrage of ice shards at them before turning their attention onto each other.

"It's been a while, but to talk back to me? I see I'm going to have to remind you to respect your master." Ur replied, cracking her knuckles with an icy mist circling around her. Noticing the build-up of magic coming from her, Gray subconsciously took a step back with a gulp, though he kept a cool expression as watched her bring her two hands together before doing the same.

As this was happening, Elfman was walking up to Vanitas with a fierce look on his face. "Hey, Vanitas! What's this talk about you and my big sis?"

"Huh?" Vanitas turned around in confusion, "Between me and Mira- AH!?" The Devil Slayer had little time to jump out of the way as Elfman, who used Take Over to change his arm into his Beast Arm: Iron Bull form, slammed his new arm into the floor where Vanitas originally stood. "Elfman! What the hell?!"

"I won't accept anyone who can't beat me in a fight! Now face me like a real man!" Elfman roared as he charged after Vanitas, who continued dodging the larger man's attacks.

"I feel-!" Dodging to the left, "That there's-!" Vanitas leaped over Elfman's arm before ducking under the arm as it swung back at him, "Some context missing or someth-!" The Devil Slayer was interrupted as Elfman managed to connect with a solid blow to the side of his face and sent him crashing into a table filled with other guild members. Letting out a grunt as he rose back into a sitting position, Vanitas rubbed his jaw a few times before a fanged smirk formed on his face as shadows picked up around him. "Oh, what the hell. I could use the exercise!" That was the last thing Vanitas said as he leaped off the ruined table and rush-tackled Elfman, continuing his run and knocking several other wizards away in the process as the two slammed into a table.

Soon, a large magic-filled brawl picked up as bodies and spells flew all over the place, with the only safe place being the bar where Nova and Happy sitting with Erza and Cana, as Natsu eagerly leapt into the fray once he noticed attacks were soaring through the air and nearly hit a laughing Nova. The only other person not joining in on the fight was a smiling Mirajane, who was protecting Nova from incoming attacks or objects. An awkwardly laughing Lucy was sitting with Cana, who was drinking from a refilled mug that Mirajane had poured her, and Erza, who was enjoying a slice of strawberry cake.

"Well… at least it's active in here again… I kinda missed it." Lucy admitted before letting out a yelp as she ducked under an incoming, spinning steak knife that almost cut her head off.

"Such a pain. Starting a brawl so early in the day." Erza stated with a sigh as she stabbed her fork into her cake.

Cana only snickered as she brought her mug to her lips, "Oh, don't be such a stiff. Why don't you join in on the fun? It's been a while for you."

"Don't be ridiculous. While Natsu may not have any problem getting into fights, there is no reason why I should join when our impressionable daughter is right here-" Erza was cut off as a large burst of wind came flying by and made contact with her strawberry cake, sending it and the plate crashing into the nearby wall. A lone tear built up in Erza's eye as she watched the ruined dessert slide down to the floor, before a dark aura formed around her as she slid off her seat. Rage appeared on her face as Erza charged into the brawl, "WHO'S THE ONE WHO THINKS THEY'VE GOT THE HEAVY SET?! I'LL TEAR THEM OFF AND SHOVE THEM SO DEEP DOWN YOUR THROAT, YOU'LL BE SHITTING THEM FOR WEEKS!"

"… So much for trying not to be impressionable." Lucy said as she held up Happy like a shield to block her face.

"Aye! Erza can be worse than Natsu sometimes!" Happy stated with a smile and a raised paw, which only made the blonde sweatdrop.

Nova was smiling brightly as she cheered from the bar, "Go Mommy! Go Daddy! Kick their butts!"

Standing near Nova with a smile on her face as well, Mirajane rested a hand against her cheek, "Oh my, it looks like it's going to get really messy in here. I hope the Master doesn't get a heart attack when he gets back."

'Hopefully things are going a lot smoother for him.' Lucy thought to herself as she let her upper body rest on the bar counter, 'Although… He must be stressing out, being put on trial in front of the Magic Council. I can only imagine what he's going through.'

(Meanwhile)

"…Zzzzz…"

"Ahem….

"…zzzzzz…"

"… AHEM! Mr. Makarov!"

The snot bubble coming out of the snoozing Fairy Tail Guildmaster's nose popped before Makarov's eyes snapped open to see two of the Council's lizardmen sitting on the desks across from him. The old man blinked a few times as he recalled where he was standing, standing on the stand in the middle of a courtroom with the Magic Council overhead. "Yes? I'm here!"

"In case you forgotten, we are in the middle of a trial here. Which means it wouldn't be wise to be sleeping during the proceedings, do you understand?" The Lizard-woman said while adjusting the papers in her hands.

"Y-Yes, I do. Sorry about that!" Makarov replied, rubbing the back of his head as he let out an embarrassed laugh, this action only seemed to make the situation worse as the glares being sent at him by members of the Magic Council seemed to intensify while others either kept their cool like Yajima, or were amused at the sight like Ultear and Siegrain.

The only one to remain silent was the Chairman, who sat a level higher than the other Council members, only blinked once in surprise before shaking his head, "If we are done with the silliness, let us continue your trial. There are a few things that we must focus our attention on before the day is done."

NDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDND

True to the man's words, there were several things that needed to be addressed, the most important thing being the battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. It would be several hours later that everything was concluded, leaving Makarov mostly alone as the Magic Council had left to take care of other matters. The only one who remained was Yajima, who joined Makarov outside to enjoy the fresh air and view, which revealed the building belonging to the National Council's Fiore Branch to be floating high in the sky, as well as enjoy a friendly conversation about everything that transpired.

"So that mostly went the way I thought it would, with Phantom Lord's disbandment and Jose being stripped of his Wizard Saint's title." Makarov commented as he sat on a ledge near one of the window with his arms and legs crossed, "Though Fairy Tail being found innocent was certainly a surprise. I didn't even think Natsu would get off so easily after defeating a Wizard Saint."

Next to him on the ledge, Yajima was sitting with his hands on his knees. "That was because I spoke on the defense of both you and Natsu, Macky. I certainly hope you appreciate the work I did for ya."

"It's always good to have you having my back, Yaj." Makarov replied with a nod of his head, "You should come stop by the Guild once the repair work is finished up, it has been awhile. Nova's been asking about you. I'll treat the three of us to some ramen."

"Ah, Nova is always such a good girl… And a Fairy Ramen sounds really good, especially with twelve slices of roast pork."

"Twelve, huh? Someone's certainly pushing it." Makarov turned his head to look over at his old friend with one eye open. "You know those aren't cheap, don't cha?"

"And you know that this was a violation of Article 4 of the Inter-Guild Treaty, something that is punishable by-"

Yajima was cut off by Makarov before he could finish, "FINE! I get it! You can have twenty slices! Or better yet, make it thirty!"

"Twelve slices will be plenty for me." Yajima stated before the two went silent, staring out at the open sky. "Listen Macky, you can't be so reckless anymore… It's time to think reining on all the craziness. We aren't as young as we used to be… You haven't forgotten, right?"

"Forgotten about what?" Makarov asked with a raised eyebrow.

"About our old friend, Rob."

"… As if I could forget about Rob," Makarov replied as he looked from Yajima towards the floor. "Those were the days, weren't they?"

A small smile formed on Yajima's face at that, "Indeed they were. When all of us were part of a team. You, me, Rob, and Porlyusica, not to mention Bob and Goldmine whenever those two weren't messing around. The lot of us, just a group of reckless youngsters who were more foolish than any other team in Fairy Tail. But that was what I miss most about those days, because every day was always something new and made us live to the fullest."

"Yeah, Fairy Tail was one of the greatest places to be until Rob left the guild, and after that everyone else went their different ways." Makarov said as one of his hands clenched tightly around the arm it was resting on, "Erza sometimes tells me about what kind of person Rob became in his later years, though I don't try and push her too much. That girl managed to truly find happiness after everything she went through. I can still remember when she felt arrived at the Guild, how skinny and roughed up she was, not to mention the poor thing only had one eye."

"I'm bringing this up because there are increased talk about how the antics of Fairy Tail have been getting more out of control these days." Yajima continued as he looked up at the ceiling over their heads, "Michello and Org have both been making some noise during the council meetings and are calling for Fairy Tail to be disbanded. Someone your age shouldn't be dealing with all these problems, Macky. The stress alone is too much, let alone all the problems that will eventually head your way… If you die then you'll just be following in Rob's footsteps, and you'd be leaving behind the people who need you."

The Fairy Tail Guildmaster went silent as he contemplated Yajima's words, knowing full-well the truth behind them. After a few minutes, Makarov let out a grunt before hopping off the ledge, "Even if I did decide to retire, finding a successor wouldn't be so easy. The only person who I would have full confidence in being the next Guild Master is off on a 100-year quest with almost no chance of returning alive, though I hope that is not the case. Both Natsu and Erza would be good choices, but they are both rather young. Mystogan isn't even close to being choice since he is never at the Guild and almost as much a recluse as Porlyusica. And then there's Laxus… he may be my grandson, but there are some personal issues that he would need to sort out."

"… I am well aware that you will need some time. It is not as if I am saying to retire this instant," Yajima said as he took removed himself from the ledge before walking up to Makarov and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just please Macky, take my words to heart."

"Don't worry, I will. Goodbye Yaj." Makarov said as he turned around and started walking away from the Magic Council member, who moved his hands behind his back as he watched his old teammate walk away. Letting out a heavy sigh, Yajima turned around and started making his way back to his office, not noticing Makarov pause for a brief moment to look at the sky passed the pillars with a melancholy gaze. '… I really am getting old, reminiscing so much like this.'

(Meanwhile in Magnolia)

"Hey, everyone! Listen up! I just received word from the Master and we've gotten the approval to start taking job requests again starting today!" Mirajane cheerfully shouted from the bar counter, which was the only thing that was still intact from the brawl earlier. The white-haired barmaid motioned to the Request Board that was rooted into the ground on one side of the bar, the dozens of papers already placed on the board. "Please excuse the mess from the reconstruction, but the jobs are ready for selection! If you find something, come back here to the temporary reception counter! Have fun and get a lot of work done, okay!"

The S-Class Wizard was instantly rewarded with cheerful roars and shouts before almost every wizard in the area rushed to the Request Board, with a few remaining in their seats and enjoying themselves. One of them being Lucy, Cana and Ur, who was now wearing her shirt again but not her jacket, were all sitting by the bar with a slightly roughed-up Vanitas standing while leaning against the counter. Nova was sitting seen walking around with Elfman a few feet behind her with trays of food and drinks in each of his hands while the little girl was holding a small plate of food in her hands, having been asked by his older sister and Nova to help out a little bit with the serving before heading out on a job.

Lucy let out an amused laugh as she propped her head on her elbow, "What's with all of them? They go from just loafing around and drinking all day, to having a brawl that nearly destroyed the place, and now they're rushing to do jobs… Heh, if it's not one thing, it's another."

"Hahaha, that's very true. But that's what makes things so fun." Mirajane replied with a large smile on her face, using a rag to clean several shot glasses. "Besides, it's much better for them to put all of that excitement into working rather than trashing everything here."

"You know, I think that's the first time I've heard you complain about the damages done to the Guild after a brawl. Though, I guess the cleanup can be a major pain in the ass." Cana pointed out with a smirk as she took a gulp from the bottle in her hands, only for Mirajane to snatch it out of her hands. "Wha-Ouch!?"

Pulling back her smoking hand-chop from the lump growing from Cana's head, a large smile remained on Mirajane's face as a dark aura surrounded her body. "Oh my, Cana! What did I say about trying to sneak liquor behind my back?"

"Come on Mira, lighten up." An uncomfortable Cana held her hands up in a surrendering pose with sweat dripping down her face, "You're acting all scary. It was only one bottle."

"Yes it was, and you're going to pay for the amount you drank. Right?" The aura around Mirajane seemed to grow as the still-smiling barmaid tilted her head slightly with her eyes closed.

Cana couldn't had nodded her head fast enough, "S-Sure! No problem!"

"Aunt Mira! We're finished!"

"Did you need anything else before I head to the Request Board, Big Sis?"

"No, thank you both so much~!" Lucy let out an awkward, uncomfortable laugh as she watched Mirajane's aura instantly vanished as Elfman and Nova made their way to the bar. Mirajane took the trays from Elfman before doing a small fist pump, "Good luck. I hope you find something good, Elfman."

The younger Strauss nodded his head before pounded his fist against his chest, "Of course, I'll pick the best job for a real man like myself!"

"I don't know which was scarier, the aura or how fast she changes personalities." Lucy said in a low whisper, to which Ur uneasily nodded her head. "But I guess that's an S-Class for you, now I can see why she was considered Erza's rival."

"She was certainly powerful during the battle with Phantom Lord," Vanitas added as he thought back to when he and Elfman caught a glimpse Mirajane in action as she vaporized hundreds of Jose's Shades by herself, not to mention the damage she dealt to the MKII. A small blush forming on his face as he looked away just as the white-haired woman turned to face them with a curious look.

"What are you whispering about over there?" Mirajane asked as Nova made it onto one of the stools.

"We were just saying how powerful you were during the war a few weeks ago. You were like a one-woman army." Ur deflected the question to what Vanitas had said, the female Ice Wizard letting out an impressed hum before continuing. "I've come across a few Take Over users in the past, but none of them were even close your level."

"I may have gone a little overboard with that." The S-Class wizard tapped a fist lightly against the side of her head while letting her tongue stick out a little, "That form was my Satan Soul: Halphas, it is one of my stronger Take Over forms. I would've used my default Satan Soul form, but after seeing Nova get taken and nearly killed, I kind of snapped and skipped over it to the next level so I could rescue her. Frankly, I was surprised I could access it after not using my magic for so long."

A cheerful Nova leaped over the counter and wrapped her arms around Mirajane's neck, to which her godmother caught the airborne girl and reciprocated the hug. "I liked Halphas! You were really pretty and strong, Aunt Mira!"

"I'm happy to hear you say that Nova, she's not something I can use often because of how destructive my power can be." Mirajane giggled as she adjusted her hold on Nova so she wouldn't fall before pulling back, "I'm just happy that you're alright."

"Me too!"

Watching the warm scene with a smile, a thought went through Lucy's mind as she leaned forward a bit. "So, Mira. With your powers returning, does that mean you'll be taking job requests again?"

"Hmmmmm," A thoughtful look appeared on Mirajane's face as she looked up at the sky. "You know, I haven't really thought about it. I've been happy just working in the Guildhall and everything here, not to mention the modeling has been fun… Maybe I'll do some work once in a while, but I think I'll stay here for now. Just until I'm sure that my magic is back to a suitable level… I also need to find some help to work in the bar when I'm not here, there's not really anyone who has filled that position."

"That is true, I can't believe how much of the work around here you do by yourself." Ur commented as she let out an exaggerated sigh while shrugging her shoulders, "It was a mess just taking care of Gray and Lyon… well, more Gray than Lyon. I can't imagine what it's like taking care of an entire Guild."

"I wasn't that bad!" A fully-dressed Gray called out as he walked up to the group with his hands in his pockets, a noticeable lump on his head, thanks to his now smirking teacher. Ignoring the smug look on Ur's face, Gray continued to speak as he reached the bar counter. "And it's not like none of us haven't offered to help Mira with the work around here."

Floating over their heads, a certain blue cat dismissed his wings and landed on the counter before raising a paw into the air, "Things just end up more chaotic is someone else is left in charge. There were times that we tried to hire non-wizards to help, but they got overwhelmed by all the fights and stuff!"

"Somehow, I can easily believe that." Lucy commented while Vanitas nodded his head.

"TRY SAYING THAT AGAIN!" A familiar voice shouted, causing silence to quickly spread throughout the guild.

"Mommy?" Nova blinked as she looked from her place in Mirajane's arms to see not only Erza, but Natsu as well, near the center of the temporary Guild Hall where the two were standing in front of a seated Laxus. A look on anger on Erza and Natsu's faces as they glared down at the smirking cocky man, who only let out a chuckle as he rested an arm on his knee.

"I don't have any problem repeating myself. And this time, I want all of you to listen to what I've got to say!" Laxus raised his voice loud enough for everyone to hear as he lifted his head, "Fairy Tail is not a guild for weaklings and losers. Especially the lot of you, the ones that let Phantom turn you into punching bags and left to hang like beaten clothes. I'm glad I didn't bother to learn your names." The Lightning wizard had his focus on the male members of Shadow Gear, who gritted their teeth while the blonde turned his attention to Lucy and Vanitas, "And let's not forget about the Celestial Wizard girl or the so-called Devil Slayer, the ones who are the reason tha-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, LAXUS!" Natsu interrupted with a snarl, making the other male S-Class turn back to face the pinkette. "The war with Phantom Lord is over and everything has been settled with no fatalities or worse. Sure, there are a lot of things that some of us are still angry about… But… None of what happened were Lucy or Vanitas' faults!"

Erza nodded her head at her husband's words, keeping her eyes on Laxus as stood out of his seat. "Exactly. If you want to be a child and play the blame game, then do it somewhere else! No one wants to hear anything like that from someone who didn't even bother to show up and help us!"

"But he did come, Mommy!" Everyone turned to see Nova had removed herself from Mirajane's arms and ran over to the three, coming to a stop a few feet away from Laxus. The two of them exchanged a silent glance at one another before Nova turned her head to look at her parents, "Uncle Laxus was here. He protected me from some of those ghost thingys during the battle!"

"What?"

"Seriously?!"

"He actually protected Nova?"

"Actually, when you think about it…"

"… Tch. So what if I did?" Laxus spoke up as the sneer and cockiness he displayed earlier had disappeared. "I did what the rest of you couldn't, and actually prevented the brat from falling into Phantom's grasp. But once I saw how pathetically you all were doing, I left. It was such a waste of my time to have even shown up, the only slightly, interesting thing was the fact that Natsu defeated the Phantom Lord's Guildmaster… although, if I had been there, none of you would be sitting around in this pile of rubble."

"That's going too far, Lax-"

"Get the hell outta here." Mirajane was cut off by Natsu's voice, everyone focusing their attention on the Fire Dragon Slayer and saw that the upper-half of his face was covered in the shadows of his hair while his gritting teeth were visible and his fists were clenching tightly at his sides. "You are starting to really piss me off Laxus, so unless you actually want to start a fight right now… Leave."

Just as Laxus was about to say something, the blonde paused before spinning away and walking towards a space where the crowd wasn't located, coming to a stop to say one last thing. "I'll be the one to inherit this guild, Natsu. Once that happens I'm going to kick all of you weaklings out. All the weaklings and people who dare to stand in my way will get the boot, and it will be the first of many changes I'll be making. I'm going to make Fairy Tail the most powerful guild in history."

"… Uncle Laxus!" Nova called out, making the man give her a side-glance as he waited for her to speak. The girl gained a hesitant look on her face before taking a deep breath, "Thank you for saving me!"

"… Hmph…" The Lightning wizard said nothing as he turned around and resumed walking, turning into a bolt of yellow lighting before teleporting out of the area. Everyone was silent as they stared at the area where Laxus previously was, before turning their attention to the motionless Natsu, who remained still even as Erza and Nova went to his side.

"That guy is a real jerk." Lucy said as she sat back in her seat while other members resumed what they were doing, "Saving Nova aside, I don't see how anyone would let him become the new master."

"To be honest, it is a possibility. You see, either Laxus or Natsu could inherit the guild thanks to them being related to its Guildmasters. Natsu's mother, Mavis, was Fairy Tail's First Guildmaster while Laxus is the Master's grandson."

"Wha?!" Lucy wasn't the only shocked by this as Ur and Vanitas looked at Mirajane with surprised expressions. "I know you told me she was one of the Founders, but I didn't think Natsu's mother was the First Guildmaster!"

"That's certainly a surprise." Ur commented with a dumbstruck look.

Vanitas nodded his head as he sat down as well, "Wow, so Natsu really has a connection with the guild."

"There is a short list of people that the Master could choose from as his successor, and because of Laxus and Natsu's relationships to the two masters, it is divided up on who the Master will pick to assume command when he decides to retire." Mirajane explained to the three as more and more of the crowd dispersed behind them.

"You've got to be kidding. That really sucks, I don't think someone like Laxus, who treats fellow members of the guild is worthy of being Guildmaster. Natsu is obviously the better choice." Lucy stated, which made Mirajane smile.

The barmaid stood up straight before speaking, "You aren't the first to think that. Many are hoping that between the two, Natsu is the one that the Master will pick when the time comes. But despite all of the arguments between them, Laxus and Natsu has a silent respect for one another and were close back when Natsu first joined the guild, even if Laxus won't admit it… I think that's the reason why Natsu made Laxus, Nova's godfather."

"Wait a minute… Are you serious?!" Lucy exclaimed as she looked over at Nova, who was patting her father's leg, before turning back to Mirajane. "That seems a little reckless, doesn't it? I mean, looking at how you and Nova are together and how Laxus acts around her, it's like night and day!"

Cana shrugged as she relaxed on her seat, "Probably not the craziest thing Natsu's ever done. You should've seen Erza and Gramps' faces when Natsu revealed that he wanted Laxus to be Nova's godfather. A lot of us couldn't believe it. I mean, sure, Laxus was like an older brother figure when Natsu first joined Fairy Tail and trained with him, but no one thought after all the crap that happened between them when Laxus' attitude went to shit, that Natsu would do something like that."

"Laxus does care about Nova in his own way." Mirajane defended, though it was a little on the weak side after seeing Laxus act like an asshole not even a few minutes ago. "He is actually protective of her, as you've heard when he destroyed the Shades that went after her, but he also watches out for her whenever he thinks we don't know about it…" Taking a brief glance towards the Dragneel family, Mirajane watched as Natsu finally started moving and picked Nova up with a smile on his face. "To be honest, I think it's because Nova, in some strange way, is probably one of only ones here that can truly understand and relate to Laxus. Since both of them are the grandchildren of Fairy Tail Guildmasters."

"If feels like there is so much more to that story, but if I keep learning all these new surprises I think my brains gonna fry or something." Ur commented as she rubbed her forehead as she tried to process everything she heard. Why couldn't things be simple like back when she was back in her home, working hard to improve herself and her magic, take an apprentice or two before retiring? But noooo, she had to deal emotional bullshit like losing her daughter, fighting a demon of Zeref to protect her impatient student and turn herself into a giant ice sculpture before somehow gaining a second chance at life… okay, that last one wasn't so bad. "Maybe I should look into taking a Job Request."

"Not until you got the okay from the Master's friend." Gray spoke up as he crossed his arms, "You've still got a few more appointments before you're cleared to go on missions."

Ur grumbled as she avoided looking at her former student, a frown on her face as she propped herself on her elbow. "Yeah, yeah. Geez, you're a lot more annoying and nosier than you were as an angry-at-everything brat. Go get a girlfriend or something and leave me alone. I've got more than enough magic to go out on jobs, that old bag is just stubborn about making me drink that awful concoction."

"Her methods might seems strange, but Porlyusica is one of the best in the medical field." Erza spoke up as the Dragneel Family made their way to the bar counter, "Not only was she the one to watch over the Master while he was recovering during the battle with Phantom, she also helped me out with an issue that I had. I'll never be able to repay her for what she did for me."

Raising an eyebrow at that, Vanitas placed a hand on his hip as he turned to fully face Erza. "So what did she do, if you don't mind me asking?"

With a bittersweet smile on her face, Erza reached up with one of her gauntlet covered hands and hovered her fingers over her right eye. "She gave me back the sight in my right eye. Because of some trouble back when I was a child, I had lose my right eye. The Master brought me to Porlyusica, who in turn used her knowledge to create an artificial eye that acts just like my old one."

'I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose one of my eyes, let alone when I was a child. It goes to show just how tough Erza really is.' Lucy thought to herself with a shiver as she watched everyone interact, before noticing Natsu start to sniff the air before slowly standing up. "Huh?"

"Is something wrong Natsu?" Erza questioned as she and everybody noticed the Dragon Slayer's actions as they looked at him with confusion.

A smirk formed on the Dragon Slayer's face as he turned towards the exit, where Warren was seen walking toward the makeshift door. But just as the Telepathy user was about to pull open the door, the wind started to pick up in the area and what looked like a min-tornado was seen fast approaching them until it reached the outside of the temporary Guild Hall, and slammed into the door with enough force to send it crashing into the startled Warren, who barely moved a foot before the doors collapsed on him. The mini tornado was seen spinning for a few seconds over the door before it quickly dispersed to reveal a built man standing over the door with his hands on his hips.

"Heh, I heard you guys had quite the battle, but I didn't expect to see your Guild Hall destroyed!" The man shouted as he let out a laugh, though despite his words, it was obvious that there was no malice in his words. "I would've loved to see you guys kick Phantom's ass!"

"Who's that?" Lucy asked as she took in the still laughing man's appearance, he looked to be around their age with dark tan skin and had a muscular build that was between Natsu and Elfman in appearance. The man had spiky dark green had a small ponytail on the back of his head and amber eyes with slits for pupils instead of the normal circle, and along both of his arms were tattoos which extend to his shoulders and seemingly over his back. He was wearing open sleeveless silver jacket that reached below his thighs with black lining and a pair of dark-gray baggy pants with black metal knee-guards with a white double-grommet belt tied around his waist, and black open-toed boots that had leathers straps to hold it in place. He also was wearing an armored bracer on his left forearm that had tribal markings while the right was a black metal band that looked like a wolf head eating its own tail. Located on the lower left side of his abdomen was a black Quatro Cerberus stamp that could be seen a little bit under the jacket, while on the back of the jacket was another guild stamp that was silver in color.

The blonde didn't get a reply as Natsu greeted the man with a wave, "Hey, Kōga! It's been a while!"

Smirking as he saw the Dragon Slayer by the bar, "What's up, Natsu? Heard you took down a Wizard Saint. Lucky bastard."

"Uuuuuugh."

"What was that?" Kōgalooked around with a raised eyebrow, before feeling a hand on his shoulder, making him turn to see one of the other Fairy Tail wizards, Max, pointing downward. The tattooed man followed the direction of where he was pointing and saw a pair of arms sticking out from under the door he was standing on. "Huh?"

"Uuuugh."

"Whoops, sorry bout that… uh, mind-magic guy, right?" Kōga apologized awkwardly as he stepped of the broken door, and the groaning Warren under it.

"It's Warren~…" That was all Kōga could hear from under the door, before he lifted it up to reveal that Warren had been indented into the floor. Several of the others wizards nearby made their way over and helped Max get Warren out of the ground before helping him to the make-shift infirmary.

Rubbing the back of his head, Kōga watched as Warren get carried away. "Well, that wasn't what I had in mind when I headed over. Can't really see what is happening around me that well inside of that thing." The green-haired man was silent for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders and made his way over to the bar, to which Natsu started walking towards him. "Oh well, it's not too bad if the damage isn't permanent."

"Glad to see you haven't changed a bit, Silver Fang." Natsu continued to smirk at the Take Over wizard from Quatro Cerberus, who mirrored his smirk as the two brought their hands together in a strong-men handshake.

"Like you're one to talk, Salamander." Kōga replied before shifting his gaze as he took notice to a familiar face walking up to the two, the smirk on his face fading as he stared at a certain black-haired man. "Vanitas Darkblade. So the rumors are true, you really are out of prison and joined Fairy Tail."

"It's been a while, Kōga Wolvang." Vanitas replied as he stepped closer to the tribal-looking man, "I heard that you were promoted to S-Class a little while ago. Congratulations."

Kōga turned his body to face Vanitas completely, crossing his arms over his chest. "Of course. There was no way that I was going to let Natsu and Ichiya show me up. It looks like you're the last one left."

"I wouldn't worry about that." A small grin formed on the Devil Slayer's face as he placed a hand on his hip, "Once I get out of my probation, I will become an S-Class sooner or later."

The green-haired man stared as Vanitas for a few seconds before letting out a laugh, surprising the shadow user as the man moved in front of him and patted his shoulders. "I wasn't sure after hearing about you from Cana, but you really have changed. You got rid of that foul scent in your magic. Glad to hear it! If you're able to beat Black Steel Gajeel at full power, I can't wait to fight ya myself!"

Watching the three converse, Lucy leaned in closer towards Erza and Mirajane. "So wait, how does this guy know Natsu and Vanitas?"

"He is an S-Class wizard and the second strongest man in Quatro Cerberus, Kōga Wolvang. He was part of the S-Class Nomination Tournament that Natsu and Vanitas were in when they had their battle several years ago." Erza explained with a smile as they watched Kōga loop an arm around Vanitas' neck before saying something that caused the three to start laughing. "He uses a special form of Take Over Magic called Mystic Beast Take-Over, in which he takes the form of Beasts from legends and mythological stories."

"Wow~!" Lucy said in awe as the three started walking to the counter.

A small smirk appeared on Mirajane's face as she leaned closer to Lucy, "He's also the guy that we were talking about. You know, the one Cana was waiting for."

"Really?!" The blonde woman blinked in shock while the three male wizards stopped a foot away, Kōga glancing around before instantly focusing his attention onto Cana.

"Well now, hello there, beautiful." Kōga said with a grin as Cana stood up from her seat.

The brunette had a similar grin on her face as crossed her arms under her chest, causing them to lift up, "Hey there. It's about time you showed up. I was wondering if I'd have to drink the night away by myself."

"Sorry, but I had to get away from a very drunk Bacchus. You know how he gets when he's enjoying himself too much. He wouldn't leave me alone once I told him and Master Goldmine that I was heading to Magnolia because he wanted to get some of the strong liquors they sell here. I had to transform and hightail it out of there before he could catch me." Kōga answered with a small apologetic look, before looping an arm around Cana's shoulders, "But enough about that! Let's get hammered and party the night away!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Let's go!" Cana cheered as well before turning to face the group, "Bye guys. I'll see you later!"

"That was certainly fast."

"She was waiting for a while, so it makes sense."

"Bye Aunt Cana!"

Conversing as they watched the two make their way out of the damaged door, with Nova waving goodbye at the two, Erza turned to look at Natsu and the others. "So, what do you say about doing a job?"

"Huh?" Natsu blinked as he turned to his wife, "That was kind of random."

"Well it's better than staying here all day after everything that's happened." Erza replied as she turned to face the others located around the bar, "The Job Requests are back up, so we might as well take advantage of it. We can take Gray, Lucy and Vanitas with us."

"Wha…?"

"You mean us?!"

"Hey Gray? Where are your clothes?"

"Ah-!? Why does this keep happening?!"

"Well, it feels like we've been working with Lucy and Gray since the Eisenwald incident. Not to mention, Vanitas is technically new to the guild, so he needs to accompany an experienced team for his first job." Erza explained, ignoring the comments passing through the guild about the idea of the group being a team. The redhead smiled as she faced the three, "So what do you say? We can make it official if you want."

NDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDND

"Aaaaaahhh~! There's nothing like a nice, refreshing drink after such an exhausting day." Makarov said aloud, dressed back in his usual orange outfit, while placing his beer mug down before turning to his side, where Nova was seen drinking from a cup of tropical juice. "Don't you agree, Nova?"

"Uh-huh!" The little girl replied happily before putting her cup next to Makarov's. The two were sitting on top of one of the construction zones of the new Guild Hall, one that was easily big enough to fit the two of them plus a few more, and both were enjoying the starry night sky overhead. "… Are you feeling better now, Grandpa? You seemed really sad earlier."

The old man let out a small chuckle as he patted the girl's head, "No need to worry about me, child. I am fine. There were some things that I had heard earlier that reminded me of an old friend who isn't around anymore."

"…" Nova was silent as she felt the Fairy Tail Guildmaster remove his hand from her head, staring at him for a few seconds before wrapping her tiny arms around him in a hug. "Aunt Mira says that giving someone a hug when they are said sad always cheers them up."

"Is that so? Well, thank you for the hug." Makarov said with smile as he placed a hand on Nova's back briefly until she released the hug. For a split second as Nova pulled back, her image was quickly replaced with a very young Laxus, before returning back to a smiling Nova. Letting out a low grunt, Makarov turned his head back to looking forward, where he was greeted by the sight of all of the construction work that had been done so far. "… Tell me Nova, what do you think of Fairy Tail?"

"I think it's amazing, and really fun, and filled with lots of smiles!" Nova answered while waving her hands in the air, making Makarov chuckle as he listened to the young Dragneel continue her childish rambling. "Everyone is always happy when they are here, not to mention Mommy and Daddy love Fairy Tail too. And even though there are weirdos, it is still very fun watching them all!"

Makarov's smile only grew as he turned his head to look forward, "I see. You really love Fairy Tail as much as any member, don't you?"

"Yup! I'm going to become a member when I get bigger! Then I can go on missions like Mommy, Daddy and everybody!" Raising herself to her feet, Nova pumped her little fists into the air as she said this. The Fairy Tail Guildmaster couldn't help but see how much of Natsu was in his daughter, "And I'm going to learn how to use magic that's as awesome as my Mommy's and stronger than Daddy's!"

"Yes, yes. I'm sure." Makarov nodded his head as he watched the girl brag about the types of magic that she wanted to learn, which varied between her parent's Dragon Slayer Magic and Requip Magic, to Gray's Ice-Make Magic and Mira's Take-Over: Satan Soul, to even Lucy Celestial Spirit Key Magic. It was always refreshing to see the younger generations get inspired and entranced by the wonders of magic and adventure.

"Master Makarov! Nova! There you two are. I've been looking all over for the both of you." The grandfather and granddaughter paused as they heard a familiar voice and looked towards the ground level to see a smiling Mirajane looking up at them with a stack of papers in her hands. "It seems it's that it's happened again, sir."

"Huh? What's happened again?" Makarov questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Lifting up the papers up for the man to see, Mirajane's smile didn't diminish as she spoke up. "It seems Erza and Natsu's team completed the job they were on, but they ended up destroying half of the town in the process." The barmaid's words only made the old man let out a shocked and horrified gasp as she continued, "The Magic Council has already demanded that you submit a written apology immediately."

"Grandpa? Are you okay?" Nova asked as she patted the old man's cheek, watching as he body seemed to turn a ghostly white. "Do you need another hug?"

Ignoring the young girl, Makarov shot to his feet with an angry expression. "There's no way I can afford to retire!"

The sudden actions of the man caused Nova to take a step back as she leaned backwards, not noticing that she was so close to the edge until her body slipped off the edge. She had time to blink as she realized that she was falling towards the ground, only for Mirajane to easily catch her with a smile. Turning to look at her Godmother, Nova tilted her head slightly. "Aunt Mira? Is Grandpa going to be alright?"

"No need to worry, Nova. The Master will be just fine," Mirajane replied as the two looked up to see the man still ranting about all the destruction his guild was causing and how there was no way he was going to leave the guild in the hands of someone who would only make things worse. "I think we should leave him alone for a bit. Why don't we head home and help Elfman get things ready for dinner? Your parents should be home by tomorrow."

"Yay! Do you think Elfman will make his special chocolate chip cookies?" The young Dragneel asked as her eyes sparkled at the thought of eating one of the male Strauss' desserts, something that made Mirajane pout. The S-Class wizard may be a better cook than her younger brother, but somehow, Nova seemed to love his dessert dishes more than hers, even if she copied Elfman's recipe to the letter.

"… Maybe, if you ask him really nice."

"Let's get going!" Nova exclaimed while pointed in the direction of Mirajane's home, causing the woman to laugh at how much she was acting like Erza whenever the redheaded knight wanted to eat strawberry cake. The young girl was almost a perfect combination of her parents when she was excited about something. As the two started walking away, Nova looked over Mirajane's shoulder to look back at the still venting Makarov. "Bye bye, Grandpa! Sleep tight!"

"WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!"

(Meanwhile)

The streets of Magnolia were almost completely as people were either in their homes or hanging out at places like restaurants and bars, or even doing some late night shopping. Street lamps and the lights shining from the inside of busy companies were still on, illuminating the walkways for people to safely travel at night. Only places that were in quiet areas or unnoticeable places like alleyways between buildings were void of any light, all except for one dark alley where a swaying figure could be seen walking through, with a pair of sunglasses glinting from the street lights ahead. The swaying figure came to a stop and raised their hand to the nearby wall, with the sounds of panting echoing through the alley.

"Haaaaa… haaaaa… I'm almost out of time." The figure shifted their body's position to lean their back against the wall, slowly sliding down until they were sitting on the floor, raising their head to reveal that it was a sickly-looking Loke. Raising a hand up, his eyes widened slightly as his hand became translucent with glittery sparkles surrounding the limb before returning to normal. Shifting his gaze from his normal hand to see another figure standing over him, this one female with long green hair. "… Are you going to keep stalking me… until the end Karen?"

The female figure didn't say anything in response as her shadowy form faded away. Loke went silent for a few minutes as he remained alone in that dark alleyway with a torn expression, before slowly rising to his feet as he felt his strength returning. Raising a hand to his sunglasses, the orange-haired man pushed them back into place as another figure appeared near him, only this one was male that had spiky rose-colored hair and a smirk on his face, something that made Loke chuckle as the man too, faded away. "… I suppose you're right… I can't just sit back and do nothing until my final moments… There are stuff that I need to take care of before then… You were always an interesting guy… Nero."

NDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDNDESDND

A/N: With that, Chapter 23 is complete and we are starting to get into the Tower of Heaven Arc, but first, the next chapter will be going through the Loke Arc. I apologize if some scenes seemed rushed. As you can see, something interesting has happened at the end. How does Loke know Natsu's father, Nero? What will happen when Lucy learns of Loke's past? WILL MAGNOLIA BE ABLE TO SATISFY A DRUNK CANA AND KŌGA?! I hope it was enjoyable for all you readers out there. Be sure to review and no flames. I will ignore them and they will be given to Natsu. We'll see some old faces in the next chapter and some surprises down the way, so stay tune for the next chapter.

A/N 2: The next story for update will be Team RYBWN, and then The Golden Devil

Omake

A chibi Natsu and Vanitas are standing in front of the Job Request Board with a bunch of construction equipment surrounding them.

Vanitas (Slouching forward with a sweatdrop): My first mission and I helped destroy half a town. The Magic Council is gonna put me away again for sure if this keeps up.

Natsu (Laughing with hands on hips): Don't worry about it too much. I cause destruction all the time and I'm totally fine!

Vanitas (Raising an eyebrow): Weren't you and Erza arrested and put on trial a while ago?

Natsu (Sheepishly rubbing back of head): Um… Yeah, forgot about that. But hey! Nothing bad happened to us, right?

Vanitas (Crossing his arms with eyes closed): Everything was so crazy. Between Erza using her Heaven's Wheel Armor, Gray freezing everything while you incinerated what was left, not to mention the destruction caused by my shadows and Lucy's Aquarius… That mermaid is way too moody and temperamental.

Natsu (Sweatdrop forming while crossing arms too): We did have a good chunk of our reward taken from us and put towards the reparation. Lucy was practically bawling the whole time we were heading home.

Vanitas (Placing hands on hips): Maybe next time, we should choose a job that's not in a town or someplace where battles will backfire on us… I think I saw something about a group of bandits causing trouble near Magnolia.

Natsu (Bopping a fist into his palm): Oh! You're talking about the area near Hosenka, right? It's been a while since I stopped by there.

Happy appearing on screen next to Vanitas, facing Natsu

Happy (Raising one hand in air): Hey guys, have you seen Loke around? I think something weird is happening between him and Lucy!

Natsu (Confused with question mark hovering overhead): I don't think that's anything new, Happy. I admit, it's weird for a playboy like Loke to always try and avoid her.

Vanitas (Tilting his head with a puzzled look): It does seem weird. Did something happen to Loke in the past involving Celestial Wizards or something?

Natsu (Shrugging his shoulders): Who knows? The guy doesn't really talk much about his life before joining Fairy Tail…. Still, he's really changed from the loner he used to be when he first joined.

Happy, Natsu and Vanitas: Next time on the Fairy Flame Dragon: Chapter 24 – The Hands Reaching for the Stars

Happy: I really think something is definitely going on between Lucy and Loke! Maybe they're in llloooooooovvvveee~!

Natsu: You and Mira just love getting involved in that crap, don't you?