Everything went in flashes. It could've been mistaken for lightning, considering the number of times he felt weak, electrical impulses, almost like shock running through him, but it faded as quickly as his consciousness. It was always constant, and that's what was keeping him weakly groaning.

"Clear!" a medic shouted.

Once again, Craig's mind felt a thump in the heart, this one actually stinging a little. He wasn't sure what was going on, but from the muffled sounds he heard in the void of his mind, he could only assume he was being stabilized. 'Shock therapy.' He thought. 'Great, this again.' He went through that treatment before, and frankly, it bugged him. The few times he could briefly recall having to be interrogated. If he was going to wake up to interrogation of what happened, he wasn't sure if he would be able to fight, not with all the blood lost in his body. 'This just isn't my day, isn't it? Battling gods, unlocking my Primal Force power, and now this. Just wallowing in my mind idly until I either feel the urge to sink or jolt awake…;

In a way, the contradiction he was playing was ironically amusing. It was really his choice in the matter. It was his will to wake up, but that was the problem. If he did awaken, what would he awaken to? Medics and authorities demanding answers? If they knew where he was or what he went through, they could very well pull the plug on him just to keep the world from spilling into chaos. They've already seen his scars and tattoos, and they ached more than ever. It felt like he's lived a long life, even though it hasn't even been 5 years. The pain was bearable, the scars were too, but what was unbearable was how everyone kept pushing his buttons. He knew from experience, that there were some things that you'd best not look at.

"Clear!"

Another jolt went through his body in the void. Whether these people were either trying desperately out of pity or out of the goodness of their hearts didn't matter. Craig just didn't want to sink. 'Well, I hate dying. What have I got left to lose?' Sitting still long enough in the void, he started to surge profusely for any signs of movement. He shook himself, stirring his wear away. He's been lying still in adrift for long enough, now it was time to stretch his legs. 'Well, time for the moment of truth…'

"Clear!"

In one more flash, it darkness faded. His vision was beginning to grow blurry, everything in his eyes was nothing but a haze. What he was able to picture, however, was many of figures in white coats hovering over him. 'Aliens…rich.' He mused lightly. He knew they were doctors, but it was worth making his facial muscles around his lips tingle.

The many lab coats were looking at each other and giving muffled orders. They were beginning to move about in a hurried fashion. Now that he was starting to flow out of his subconsciousness, he could begin to feel something he longed for, a sign that he was alive. Pain. He could feel so many of his tendons ache, the many sterilized needles and medicinal doses being inserted into his deep wounds. He didn't mind though. Every jolt of pain was only bringing him to consciousness.

Evidently, the lights stinging his eyes, only made him close them and wince in pain. 'Who's turning on the sun now? Somebody get an umbrella, please.' As bewildering as it was to his liking, the light above him began to fade away. It cast to the size, replaced by a green, soothing light. Its radiance was much like aura, it tickled. 'Hey, that's…better…' The tranquility was cut short when he could feel his strength fade. The light was beginning to tire him out again. He began to scream mentally in his mind, over and over. 'Fuck, I ain't going down like this! Just get those damn lights away!'

As if by remote, an electric impulse went to his leg. He tried to move the shin, but he could feel a weight a weight. A strap. He tried to move still, but it was no use. The more he struggled, the more he felt the straps tighten.

"Heart rate, increasing!" a voice called out.

"Nerve levels at a stable rate. Activity apparent!" another voice called.

"Calm him down!" a doctor urgently shouted. "You! Hurry and apply it! Get the transport crew ready!"

'Transport?' Craig's head couldn't even roll anymore, but he felt something wet on the side of his face and sustained by some pressure. He knew the feel of gouge bandages when they were wrapped around his head. '…looks like they need me alive then. Guess whatever works for them, but I'm not playing by their rules…'

Rather than stir and fight, he'd rather not indulge in the pains of needles injected into him either. He could hear the sound of a large locomotive, but he didn't know the color because he was blacking out again. Once again, he dwelled into the abyss of his mind, his eyes closing, and the feeling of pain once again going away.

'The faggots wanna play with my body, fine be it from me. I can't move anyway, so there's no point. I'll try again in a little bit.' That's all he could do right now. Be patient. While his body was being worked on, his mind was at large. If they had a brain scan, they could've detected activity, just not waking up. There was a term for this, but it wasn't clear to him. 'What am I right now? Catatonic? Hypersleep? Hibernation?'

As he meddled with his mind to try and find something to do, something about the sea-like void was beginning to distort. It was becoming more…ominous colored sort of speak. The spatial energy he could feel was coming back to him again, the strange voices that he heard before when he was gathering chi for Primal Force. This time, the voices were more crisp and clear.

Looking around, Craig moved his arms around, trying to swim into an upright position. Once up on his feet, floating in eternal space, he looked ahead with a serious face, sensing the numerous, hazardous monsters that were waiting in the void.

"Human." A voice called out. "Can you see us?"

Craig glared ahead, unwilling to nod. "I think you know the answer to that." He chided.

"Pfft! I forgot, he had a sharp tongue!" a howling voice exclaimed. As the voice hollered with a small snickering chide of its own, several figments began to erode from the distorted void. Tall, dark silhouettes began to encompass a ring around Craig.

"To say this surprises our likes is an understatement." The Pegasus creature's silhouette announced.

Craig glanced all around. To his surprise, he saw a number of shapes these creatures had taken up. For instance, one looked like a turtle. The one beside him was like a wyvern, yet the claws were monstrously long and curled inwards. "Surprise indeed."

Craig's eyes widened upon seeing its silhouette. "You…" he recalled one memory from a while back. He recalled climbing great lengths upon connected islands to the gargantuan creature. "I know you…"

"And know we know you as well." The turtle spoke.

Craig swiftly turned around to face the unknown massive turtle. As he came face to face with it, its silhouette faded to show something familiar – a fanged clam guard. He recalled it all too well. The massive structure, and the three huge gems on the body was a surefire knowing. "You…"

The turtle nodded. "Craig Crius, I believe I owe you a proper welcome."

Craig shook off his shock and replaced it with a calmer vibe. "D-don't mention it. Really…" He looked around, seeing the many of silhouettes forming figments different to them, yet lied in order. One silhouette looked like a tiger, another being a spider with an ovular head and visor. Another being a scorpion with many tails, and another scorpion hybrid with dragonfly wings, like some odd wasp. There was an ape with many spines jutting out, and lastly, the Pegasus. "So you're all them, huh?" he asked.

The tiger nodded. "That's correct. We are the ones who you have been looking for. It has been a ways to find you, Craig Crius."

Craig showed a meek grin. "Well I wish I could say the same…that is if I could still remember you I'm afraid."

"So then that's it then." The scorpion-dragonfly spoke. "That was your drawback?"

Craig looked at it confused. "My what?"

"It'd be a long tale to speak of. I just wish I had the time to share this with you." The Three-Gem admitted.

"Well if it was that important, then why didn't you speak up before? It would've saved a lot of trouble in the long run." Craig figured, but catching onto the hint, he put a hand to his chin. "Wait…"

"You didn't have a firm grasp on what you were doing at the time." The Three-Gem spoke. "It would've only complicated you in the long run. It was better to lead you on this way."

The similarities to what he did were similar. Craig led Fairy Tail and all his allies on about his secrets, so he was able to understand. He scoffed amusing. "Well you've got me there." He admitted.

"Your chi level wasn't nearly as strong as before, so getting signals to you through telepathic means such as these weren't possible." The many-tailed scorpion insisted.

"But now that you have remastered your Primal Force, this has become much easier for us, and you alike." The Pegasus said.

The ape sighed. "Ugh! About time you reach that power level again! I thought I was gonna break!"

"Your impatience hasn't rewarded you as well as your patience has." The spider chided.

"Oh shut it!"

Craig ignored the loudmouthed monkey and looked all around. He recognized that many of them had varied amounts of glowing gems on their bodies. Each silhouette had a different color for them, and a different amount to accommodate. One beast had one gem, the wyvern had 2, the turtle had 3, and so on. What struck him odd at the end of the count, however, was that something didn't add up, number-wise. They only lead up to 8, which was where the confusion started.

The tiger looked down at his worries. "Is there something troubling you?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but how many of you are there again?" Craig questioned.

The Gemmed-Beasts looked at each other with some sense of wonder. They were expecting some questions, but this one rather came up from beneath them. The gargantuan beasts of nature themselves had wonders to themselves that needed to be shared as well. The tiger was the one to speak up.

"That is hard to say. There has been nine of us altogether. We are each in a separate place in the world, where we can connect within the natural flow of the world."

"Well, almost all of us." The scorpion butted in.

The long-necked wyvern turned its head down. "It's distressing to say, but one of our brethren is more…how should I put this…? Let's say he's a little more reserved than us."

Craig raised a brow. "Well that pretty much explains it then."

The other Gemmed-Beasts looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"Wait…are you saying that…?" the ape trailed off.

"The Nine-Gem, or Slayos, right? That guy's been leeching on me like…a leech." He crossed his arms as he further explained. "He's inside the rifts of chi somewhere, but otherwise I can't really describe it."

The tiger's eyelids dropped halfway. "…I see. So that's where Slayos has been doing."

The massive visor spider snickered. "Hmph. Should've figured as much."

"Huh?"

The Three-Gem looked down at him. "Don't think too hard on it, Craig. Slayos is as complicated as you. Guess like your chi, he just sealed himself away. But it looks like he's been keeping a watchful eye on you recently once more. Not sure if that's a blessing or a miracle."

The massive ape raised his head in an uproarious laugh. "I knew that dragon would slip up eventually! HAHAHAHA!"

"Well I don't think it's funny." The scorpion said.

"Maybe, but at least we're all connected to our keeper again." The dragonfly creature said.

This got Craig's attention to its finest degree. "Your…keeper?"

The tiger nodded. "Correct. You may have been wiped of this slate, but not long ago, you gathered us all together when we were apart in various segments of the world, untouched my man. And yet, those who can use and sense chi, they were able to see and feel our presence. Suffice to say that since the number was so low, we had little purpose other than keeping our power to ourselves to watch and govern this world's end."

"All that waiting through the hundreds of thousands of years, it bared fruit for the fortunate." The turtle explained. "So few humans that we entrusted our lives to, and yet here, we have in our sights, the man who brought us all together. Our keeper."

Craig still didn't understand it but questioning it wouldn't do good if it was going to be of complex saying again. He had to bypass it, but for the most part, it sounded something that pegged responsibility. 'A guardian for Gemmed-Beasts…'

"Tch, don't get too excited you know. We Gemmed-Beasts aren't to be taken lightly!" The ape challenged.

"I can see that. You guys are full of chi just like me." He looked about in vivid wonder. "So you can channel your chi to me, and we can all meet here?"

"If you wanna be technical, sure." The Pegasus said. "But only if the link is willing to be open up on either side. Otherwise this will be as complicated as what you and Slayos have…although he's always been more complex that way."

"That's fair enough." Craig smiled at all of them. "Thank you."

The tiger shook his head. "You've achieved Primal Force all on your own. If you have anyone to thank, it is yourself for not disbanding yourself from nature."

Craig continued to smile. "Nature is a beautiful thing, isn't it?"

The tiger nodded. "It is."

The wyvern lowered its head to look at Craig. "So Craig, what is it that you will do now?"

Craig narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the ground. "To be honest, I…I don't know. I've been looking after someone for a while now, but now that I realize that I'm this big bad boss of…well, you guys, I guess I need to think."

"All the more reason why it was better to hold off." The Three-Gem said. "We're not asking you what you want to do, nor are we forcing you. But if seeking the truths of the world and who you were will help you in any way, then it's best that you reconsider your options here."

Craig's brows furrowed. "Are you telling me how I should think?" he threateningly asked.

The Three-Gem sweat-dropped. "Uh, n-no…"

"Well, some things do change." The dragonfly hybrid said.

"At any rate, Craig, what you will seek next will be in your own accord." The tiger said. "It's all in good time."

Craig looked back up at the tiger, showing his toothy smirk. "Damn straight."

A wailing sound could've been heard inside of Craig's head. It cut him off for a moment, sounding like a massive plea from the outside world.

"Guess I have to take off."

The tiger nodded. "We understand. You have our upmost gratitude."

Craig scoffed. "See ya around." That was the last thing he said before he faded from the psyche plane. The spot where Craig lied before was now vacant, leaving the 8 Gemmed-Beasts all to themselves yet again, same as before.

A long silence fell over them, soon broken by the scorpion. "At least he's starting to get in touch with us again."

"He's actively using nature again, just as before." The Pegasus said, although his deep tone had slight flex of shock in it. "If he can use Primal Force, then he may very well recall once again."

"Well I'm just shocked he didn't ask us for our names." The ape pouted. "Seriously, that's not even polite! What a mockery to us beasts!"

The tiger chuckled at the situation. "Well, I believe that is the spirit of adventure. I believe that it's better this way, for now at least." The eyes of the tiger shot a glance at everyone, paneling from left to right. "We'll see him again, but in do time. And once then, he shall earn the voice of our names other than Slayos."

"I still say Slayos is being an ass about this." The ape complained. "If he wanted to help the boy, he could've done it more openly."

The wyvern smiled. "Well, not all of us are exactly expressive about feelings. Human interaction can be most confusing indeed."

With that final note, the Gemmed-Beasts ceased their chat. Their silhouettes faded into the darkness, their energy dissipating back into confines reached to parts unknown. Slowly, the last to vanish was none other than the tiger, who watched his brethren go before him.

"Slayos…you make things too amusing for your own good." He finally fled into the darkness that was his chi vanishing, leaving the empty space to fade to black at last.

Rising up from his subconsciousness at long last, Craig had finally began to open his eyes. His head throbbed to where it felt like a hangover, if he ever recalled one. With himself finally able to at the very least feel again, his eyes burned again with the ceiling light. 'Not the damn light again.' He groaned mentally. He shut his eyes in pain, the sensation stinging his sclera like grapes under a magnifying glass.

The more feel he got in his limbs, the more he could feel inserts and tubes inside his system. He could hear a heartbeat monitor going on somewhere in the room, and he was on what felt like a hospital bed. It wasn't comfortable. He had to get off somehow, but he still wasn't moving. His whole body was covered in bandages. The pain he felt was much less than it was the last time he felt conscious, but the restrictions were much more intolerable.

He turned his head weakly to not look directly into the ceiling light. He looked at one of the many tubes attached to his arm joint, watching as the dark liquid poured in slowly. He knew it was blood but seeing it like that didn't make things better for him. Another tube of water was freshly out, keeping his body well enough hydrated. In a sense, he had so many things inside of him that it was making him wish he was subconscious again. 'Well ain't this peachy.' He groaned.

A doorknob slowly opened, revealing a fellow doctor. The man with a clipboard walked in looking at it and turned up to see Craig giving him a leer. The doctor stopped in his tracks, staring at him with shock. Instantly, he turned and scuttled out of the room.

Craig watched as the doctor scuttled to another group of doctors on the other side of the observation window. There, they were all seeing him and then looked at Craig. Some went wide-eyed while others went to get surgeons. They rushed off, while the head doctor shuffled back into the room towards Craig, slowly advancing inwards.

"Hey, don't act like I'm going to eat you or anything." Craig said low. His vocals were a little hoarse for that fact. "I can hardly feel my own teeth anyway."

The doctor slowly moved inwards, making swift progress towards Craig before having stopped beside his bed out of arms reach. He held the clipboard in hand tighter with an inquired expression. "Mr. Crius." He looked at him, his face not changing. "You've woken up."

He cocked a brow. "Why, is waking up now a crime?"

"You're not supposed to even be awake. This is surprising. According to these results, you were…suspended. Catatonic, is a more appropriate word for it." He explained. He sat down on a stool, leaning over to give him a discerning look. "A catatonic state is where the-"

"The brain and body are shut down from shock." Craig interrupted.

The doctor took a moment before recollecting. "…right. Anyways, for reasons we can't seem to tell, your brain was still very much active, while your body was in suspense. Your heart rate was so low that it was borderline dead, yet the blood was mainly targeted for the lungs, heart, and brain. Technically speaking, these symptoms of hibernation."

Craig didn't look amused. "You make it sound like I was supposed to stay hospitalized."

"Well, usually, that's what it means."

"Well I'm awake now, so sorry bud. I just got a will, got a problem with that?"

The doctor shook his head. "No, it's amazing actually. I…I've never seen such a person being able to will themselves out of such a state before."

The door knocked again. The doctor turned and got up, seeing a nurse there. He went over and nodded his head before accepting the documents and papers. The nurse vacated, leaving the doctor to skim the notes as he walked back towards his stool. He sat down with a sigh, getting comfortable before speaking back to Craig once again.

"Craig, tell me…were you ever given blood transfusions before?"

"Yeah."

"Were they of other people?"

"Some."

"Your blood type, it was AB, but something was wrong. These cells, when we tried to decipher the blood type, there was a varied conjunction of them. These cells…they're unlike anything we've ever seen." He sounded again so baffled. "We tried to run more tests on them, but when we tried to dig into nucleic acids, they're like human cells, but yours are also evenly black and white at their nucleus. And to make things more diverged…"

"It's poisonous, I know." Craig butted in.

"But how? How is human cells able to come to this? Where have you been?"

Craig smirked tiredly. "Pfft, trust me pal, there are some things you just don't want to know." He tiredly looked up at the ceiling. The lights continued to sting. "Let's just say that if anyone got my blood, they'd die if they even tasted it. I was poisoned too many times in a lot of ways, developed antibodies…mutated…combined from other monsters…friends…these things, no one would be able to understand. Call me human or call me a monster. Doesn't change the fact that you're afraid of me." He shot him a look. "Right?"

The doctor tightened his lips to make a half-grin. He looked down, and that was all Craig needed to see.

"Pfft, yeah, figures. Go ahead, experiment on that blood. Try and create the ultimate supernatural army that'll make everyone fear you and the fucking council. I don't care. That happened before, no lie."

The doctor looked at him shocked.

"Something like this. The doctors realized I had a dinosaur bone, and antibodies from a number of diseases that were unknown, species of monsters that I've fused and became…they got scared. They outcasted me and used my blood. They poisoned so many innocent people…so many corpses, and no one could further mutate them. My strength, it's for myself alone." He shot another glare at him. "Keep that in mind when you're working with patients like me, pal."

The doctor closed his eyes and nodded in understanding. He silently inscribed himself to what Craig said and kept it as a morbid note. Antibodies and poison regular humans would die from, it's a curse, but a defense nonetheless.

"So what else you got?" Craig questioned.

The doctor powered on. "Well, back to your catatonic stasis, you were only out for 5 days. Your stability is barely below the bar, so I advise you try and settle in and try to stay awake a little longer."

Craig snorted. "You ain't telling me twice."

Another doctor entered the room, holding up a clipboard of his own, but he seemed elder. "Mr. Crius." He said. "You awake?"

"If you're gonna give vision and pulse test, don't even bother. I bite." He growled.

The doctor walked towards the edge of the bed, He cleared his throat and went through his papers with a frown. "Mr. Crius, due to the Grand Magic Games' incident involving Fallen Prometheus and you, this little juncture was considered more…personal. The Fiore Capital s gone." He looked up at him with a disastrous look. "There is no Crocus."

Craig looked up at the ceiling again, sighing heavily. "Yeah, I figured as much."

"The Magic Council had sent medical aid in conjunction with the Royal Army. They went into a full interrogation and questioning of everything everyone heard in the colosseum of your fight. And due to deepened restrictions, they had to authorize action to seize more intel out of Fairy Tail, the guild you joined, true?"

Craig wasn't liking where this was going, it was written all over his face. He continued to look up, bracing for whatever was to happen.

"Your guild held explicit intelligence on your memory threshold. The council was to take a look at it and get a copy for further inspection. It was strictly for those eyes alone."

"Great. More yahoos." Craig groaned in a fake eyeroll.

"They just finished reviewing the memories, and the many people present during the time. You held confidential secrets, secrets unexploited by man, and many that weren't meant to be kept alive by authoratives. They want to schedule a trial, but fractions of the council deduce there were more alternative routes."

"Like death row?"

The question came out like Craig knew it was going to happen. He didn't like it, but it proved how cowardly everyone was to secrets. They knew what he went through was bloodily hell, but even in his innocence he didn't expect mercy. Breaking laws was his thing after all.

"…" the doctor lowered his head. "Some other alternatives they suggested were along the lines of exile from Fiore. Others, well…"

"Just shut up. If they wanted me dead, they wouldn't have helped me to begin with. They dig deep to try and keep all that power to themselves and further establish secrecy, which leads to distrust, yadeyadeyada…just tell me anything else besides that."

The first doctor looked at the second doctor. He could see that Craig was making some points, and it was evident he knew of consequences. They didn't, but who could blame them? They've never met someone like him before.

The doctor folded back in all the papers before putting his clipboard away. "Well, if there is anymore information along the way, you'll be given access to it. Until then." He regrettably turned away and out the door.

Craig just stared blankly at the ceiling lights, pondering on about the weights dropping. He was saving humanity, enough he was a monster to them still with all his strength, but now he was condemned to death just for the past lives he tried to save and had done. Sure he slaughtered so many people in the past, but he repents by living and going on in the world to find out what he did before he lost his memories. But he was a fighter, and no quitter. He turned his head towards the first doctor.

"Hey, buddy."

"Yes?"

"Does my guild know about this sentence?"

The doctor shook his head. "No, the news is to come to them tomorrow."

"Okay then…" he looked up at the ceiling, a small, fanged smirk growing. "This'll be a show."

Two days came and went rather slow to Craig. Being in a hospital bed really wasn't a comfortable place, not while knowing that some patience expired on the bedsheets he slept on. It wasn't much for his liking at all, but nevertheless, he had to make do to kill boredom somehow. He only had drinks and liquefied meals, since one of the many gashes was along his stomach lining. It was healed thanks to magic, but now he had a whole variety of new scars along his body, badges of honor to some warriors; grizzly reminders for the mentally displeased. It didn't matter to Craig, he lost the will to care a long time ago.

Currently awake, he was reading the news article that was in his hand, courtesy of a doctor. On the front was a picture of the wasteland of Crocus, and in it, a humbled Hisui and the royal family ordering guards. "'Royal Family at Wit's End'." He recited low. "'The Grand Magic Games' unlikely turn of events allured to the cataclysm that fell before the capital of Fiore, what was once Crocus, now but a bare battlefield brought by a battle of gods. According to Fairy Tail and the councilmen willing to share the information implied, Fallen Prometheus' masquerade was but a controversy of fair game and devoted reason…"

The article went on and on, describing the events of the Grand Magic Games, and the events leading to the final day of the games. It went further into detail of Craig defeating all of the described members – even the Wizard Saint Jura – all on his own. Eventually, the article lead to the gods revealing themselves, and how they were affiliated with Craig, inscribed by "revenge" and "defiling the good nature of games". A boldfaced lie, and he hated the press because of that. Not wanting to read anymore, he curled up the news article into a tube and tossed it to the nightstand beside him.

A fellow nurse walked right on with a half-grin. "Mr. Crius?"

Craig looked up to her. "Yeah?"

"You have a visitor."

Craig a brow. "I what?"

Rather than answer, the nurse stepped off to the side to allow passage for a person in heels to show. The second he saw brown locks flowing down a pair of shoulders, he knew instantly who it was. His eyes widened upon sight of the woman with a purse adjusted to her waist.

"…what were those visiting hours again?" Craig groaned.

The brunette crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "Well fancy seeing you here, too." She rebuffed.

"I'll leave you be for now. If you need anything, let me know." The nurse bowed and exited, leaving Craig and Cana to finally be alone.

The two had a long, awkward silence fall upon them. Both stared at the other's eyes with frowns. It was very hard to tell who was to speak first, but from the way Craig broke the stare by turning away first, the latter preached to the neglecting.

"So how are you feeling?" she started.

"Alright. They got the tubes out of me yesterday." He dryly answered.

"That's good…" Another brief silence fell before she spoke up again. "Your wounds?"

Craig looked back at her tiredly. "Stable. Got some pretty nasty stokes in earlier." He scoffed negatively. "You surprised?"

Cana shred her own meek scoff. "Yeah, guess you can say that." She began to step towards the side of his bed, finding a spot beside him on the same stool the doctors used when taking notes about his vitals and conditions.

The brunette sighed. "You sure know how to cause a ruckus. Everyone's in a little panic because of you."

Craig rolled his eyes away. "Well you can't blame them really. I mean I'd be panicking as well if I was a half-minded, opinionated citizen who didn't understand what 16 ounces equaled to."

Cana scoffed. "Should've known you wouldn't give a crap. Still, you had us pretty scared the entire time. It's been almost a week, and hardly anyone's been able to recover from that. A lot of homes and businesses were destroyed, Craig. Families had to vacate. The capital is all gone. The royal family doesn't even know what to do."

Craig turned his head to look out the window. He could see blue skies with absolute no cloud coverage, yet it was vague thanks to the dark blue curtains cascading him from the outside world, like a caged disease. "They'll manage. We always do."

Cana sighed in frustration. "Are you not getting it? That was the largest scale city in the whole kingdom. Not even crumbled bits of Mercurius was left."

"And I'm pretty sure that you know that I don't care. Look, what happened, happened. You can complain all you want, but that won't change anything. Yeah, Crocus is gone, and millions of people are scared of me and my inhumanity. It's not like I wanted to be treated equally nor different, because I wouldn't get that anyway. You all call me a monster, when it's you guys who are the monsters who started all this."

Cana didn't find any room to offer a rebuttal. In fact, she was agreeing with Craig every step of the way. Understanding his logic, humans were indeed the real monsters. They made so many mistakes before, and hardly much was learned from then. She could see why Craig said all of those despicable things about them to Prometheus in their final clash.

A meek smirk came across her lips. "You got me there."

"So what about your guild? What happened?"

"You'd be surprised if you learned we haven't caught a break from the Magic Council. Natsu wanted to burn them all up in a fume when he heard that you were probably going to be put on trial for execution. They thought life in prison was too good for someone who knew too many cruel secrets of the world. They even threatened to disband us if we couldn't keep our mouths shut about you."

Craig cocked a brow. "My point exactly. Cowardly monsters you are."

"But isn't death row a little scary for you? I mean, you survived pretty much extinction of diseases and saved a lot of lives before, right? Don't you think this is unfair?"

Craig furrowed his brow. "What do you think? Look at you asking 20 questions in a row. Of course life is never fair. I can go on and on about faults of people, but I've been there, done that, and now I am just fed up with it." He rolled his head over, giving her a feral leer. "But of you think I'm lying down when they got an iron boot ready to kick, don't think that I can't bite back."

Hearing those words made another small smile work its way onto Cana's face. She was happy knowing that Craig was still going to find a way to get out of this, like he always had. Sure, sometimes it wasn't all that pretty, but that was Craig. He's not Fairy Tail, but his heart was in its place. He had justice of his own to find, and he'll consider any angles as long as nobody gets hurt. Unless it's people like the Council, then there might be some reconsiderations there.

"So is everyone at the guild on their feet again?" Craig continued.

Cana nodded. "Yeah, we're in the clear. We're not willing to take this penalty lightly you know. We're no pushovers either." She grinned.

Craig flashed another fanged curve of his lip corner. "Annoying, but resilience is a good character. Of course that doesn't apply to those damn politics now, do they?"

"Yeah, pretty much suck, huh?"

"They'll still give me a trial, but they already saw the evidence. Anyone'd like to put me out of my misery right now."

Once again, there was a small silence between the two. There really wasn't much of anything that was to be said, not that there was much to begin with in Craig's case. Really, he just wanted something to kill time, and talking to Cana – or people for that matter – wasn't his forte. Regardless, another matter was finally spoken up, and Cana was the one to lead it on.

"Craig, can I ask you something?"

"No." he deadpanned.

"Okay…well, do you…" her tone fell to a grim one as she looked towards her thighs. "Do you know anyone by the name of…Cornelia?"

Craig's eyes widened at the name. Even though the heart monitor was unplugged with a constant blood flow, it would've gotten a major jolt at one point. He had no idea as to how to play this part next. He could only stare at Cana with a twisted sense in his eyes. "…that depends, I've met a few women who had names like that."

"Okay, well…does the last name 'Alberona' ring any bells?"

The name certainly rung bells alright, and they went off like an alarm system inside his head. He was scared inside, but on the outside, he had no words to describe it. The images of their childhood were staring to come around again, and the smile of the motherly Cornelia was like cherish to him. It made a frown form on his face.

"Well, do you?" Cana's question was very much rushed.

"Geez, okay, fine. Sure! The name does ring a bell, happy?" he spouted.

Cana backed off. "Really?"

Craig folded his arms, looking away with eyelids half-closed. "Yeah." He muttered.

Cana looked at Craig with a very decisive look in her eyes. She wasn't sure what he meant, but she knew she was getting into the ball park. She could feel it. Somehow, she just had it.

"Did you think…she had a child?"

Craig looked at her again, his eyes now looking a little crestfallen. He knew she was catching on.

"Cornelia…she was someone important to me. She died when I was young, and she's the one who told me about Gildarts." Her fists balled in her thighs. "She was-"

"Your mother." Craig answered morbidly.

Cana's eyes snapped wide open with a gasp. She faced Craig and watched him take a deep breath. He nodded weakly.

"Yeah, I get it. Your mom was Cornelia, and you're that child. She died saying you will never be alone, because if it wasn't Gildarts who she was referring to…" his brow furrowed heavily. "It was me."

It felt like time had completely stopped in place. The water in the vase near the window shimmered, but no vibrations went outwards. The atmosphere grew thick as butter, hard enough to breath. It was like that moment before monsters or people spring to attack, but what broke it all was the anticipation that finally broke between the two.

Craig turned away, unwilling to face Cana to see her reaction. He instead looked towards the window and growled beneath his throat, pouting like some little kid who had his toy taken away.

The Alberona legacy had a shadow over her eyes as she processed it all. "Now it makes sense…" she thought about the details in the vision, of the small boy who was picked up in that tornado. "That destruction that day, and I was so young…I can't believe I didn't see it before." Her fists balled excessively tight to where they began to shake in her lap. "That incident, and my first home, and my mom…"

A scooting of a stool was heard. Craig looked back, seeing Cana fully standing. She still had shadows over her eyes, but from the small glints of liquid, he could tell she was starting to cry.

"You were there right from the beginning…" she showed her tears running down her face, a morose, saddening look on her lips. "You…you…you idiot!" she snapped. She pounced right for him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into the pillow. She whimpered into the pillow, making her sniffles and whining muffled.

Craig winced as her arms against his neck bandages hurt a little, but he didn't pry. All things considered, he should've expected this sort out outcome. "Not so hard." He whined. "You trying to get me killed?"

"You moron…you idiot…" She was saying a bunch of meek names in the pillow in between breaths. A part of her was expressing itself to its finest. One side was so happy to know that same, sweet boy from her childhood was known to have survived, but another part of her was equally as angry. After several minutes of holding onto him in the affectionate hug, she pulled away, giving him another grouchy look. "You idiot, you really are alive!"

Craig nodded. "Yeah, I can hardly believe it myself…"

"I thought you died that day. My home was destroyed, and my mom and I didn't have anything left…now I get why she was so devastated for a few months…it's because of you." The last part of her sentence had an accusing growl in it. Her lips were showing gritting teeth. "And you…you were actually…"

"Hey, don't think that I was so thrilled about learning this either." Craig defended. "Did you think I would remember that at first? My memory only traced back to 14 and that was it. Everything before that has only been vague pieces that I had to break down for a while. How do you tell someone who you're always barking at 'Hey, guess what, I'm your long-lost childhood friend!' when they may not know what you're talking about? You'd think I'd be a crazier moron!"

Cana swallowed a lump and turned away. Her eyes bitterly shut at Craig's prospect. "Well…"

"I'm not wrong, I know, and it was bound to come up eventually at a point, but saying it upfront would just make things awkward."

"And realizing the guy you were sleeping with is your deceased friend isn't?" she rebuffed.

"Hey, don't get started with me! I didn't know how to tell you, and yet you can't tell Gildarts you're his flesh and blood. So don't go throwing hypocrisy into my face when you can't admit that revelation either." As painful of a blow is was to deal to Cana, Craig really didn't want to argue with her. He was hospitalized short-term for one thing, and plus after sticking beside Cana for so long and having these revelations left and right, the torment was just enough. He needed a rift somewhere to catch a break. And from the look on Cana's face, he got her in the personal treasure.

The lush again turned away, biting her own lip in distaste over Craig's points. There really wasn't a sense to pointing out the wrong going on. If anything, this was just a similar case. Craig knew he was her childhood friend yet didn't tell her yet. And yet she hadn't told Gildarts she's his daughter and he doesn't even realize. Oblivious; like father, like daughter.

She sighed once again. "Must you always find a rebuttal for everything I say?"

Craig shrugged. "Can't say. They just come out and just leave people speechless. That's what I do."

Cana gave Craig a softer look, folding her arms beneath her white blouse she had laced beneath the underside. "I don't know what happened between the time of our separation and your memory wipe, but what I do know is this: What you did before, with all o those instances, were you okay with them?"

"What's that mean?" Craig asked.

"The battles. The choices made. All those people you…" she trailed off, her innuendo caught on.

Craig closed his eyes and thought deeply in his mental solitude. "…yes. I've made peace with myself and my mistakes a long time ago. If I lived with regrets, I wouldn't be living a life like I am right now. That's as simple of an answer as I can give."

"I see." She retained her silence once more. She remained quiet as she thought to all those people who Craig slaughtered in the past. Personally, Fairy Tail wasn't one to kill, but then again, they never knew how grizzly the world could get. Fiore was a pond, but the world itself was a big ocean, and it was survival of the fittest. "So you've survived this whole time, and you knew that you were with us for how long?"

"Hard to say…right after I bumped into you."

Cana went wide-eyed. "Right after…we met?"

Craig looked back at her. "You remember, don't you? That night we spent on the train ride back. After that, things just started to come into pieces, the more I was around you. It's stupid…but I don't know what it is. What I do know is that up to now, those hazy memories coming back, just in bits and pieces."

Cana's hair shadowed her eyes again. "So then…you remember us being together…in that cottage, with mom?"

Craig closed his eyes again, slowly nodding.

It was another shock to the Alberona girl. Her lips came together and she started to choke on her lumps. She had no idea what was happening now, but her insides were hurting. The feelings she was getting before, as well as the memories of Craig, it was all bliss, and yet, grief. She wasn't the type to really exemplify her feelings, no, that's what her alcohol is for. But her, right now, she had to show how much she cared. How much she missed him.

"Craig…"

He looked up. "Yeah-"

For the umpteenth time now, it felt like the world had ceased its spinning. Craig didn't have any other way than to feel his whole system shut down. It was so fast that he didn't even realize it. His lips felt tingly when he felt something familiar touch them. What was stranger was how there was brown hair everywhere in front, like a shade. When he finally processed the smell of vanilla, it came to realization. The shock finally simmered down to the fact that Cana finally displayed her attention towards him, and being bedridden, he could only stare ahead with a stupefied face as Cana pulled away, her eyes watering bad.

"You're a bigger idiot than Natsu." She whimpered low. She wiped the tears away from her cheeks and tried to get herself in one piece again. All those times Craig was almost killed, and all those times, she didn't realize that she could've lost someone again. She lost her mother and gave up on Gildarts, but now she was left with just one lifeline.

Finally calming down, Craig's gaze eased up. His grin returned, looking rather pleased. "I know…" He reached for the back of Cana's head, making sure not to use his back. His bandaged hand touched the hair, pulling her head in so their foreheads touched. As Cana was now surprised, Craig smiled and seemed relaxed. "I know…"

The two stayed like that for a short while. Cana had spent quite the time getting reacquainted with her friend, or perhaps more than friend now. Really, they both could tell that what they had now wasn't the same as before. But that they were familiar with how they felt and expressed one another, this was their individual way of showing their feelings. Love truly was a fickle feeling.

The two again separated, with Craig taking up the front. "So who else came around? Just you?"

"Just me." She answered casually. "Really though, everyone's a little pissed your trial might be screwed over. You really think they might kill you?"

"Would you wanna kill someone like me if you were in that position?" he rebuffed.

Cana crossed her arms and groaned to the ceiling. She wasn't the best with dealing with these insights, but she sympathized nonetheless.

"Look, don't worry, alright? If they're gonna treat me like a monster, let them…it'll be all the more reason for me to bite."

"You really think you can face against the Council by yourself?" she asked with mild surprise, but seeing the deadpan brow raised by Craig, she knew her answer. "Oh, right. You killed gods and slaughtered armies. Of course you'll find a way."

Craig nestled back into the bed. "Yup, I'm a big boy. You be a big girl and wait for me?"

Cana gave a playful smirk. "Oh, you're not the boss of me." She teased.

Craig returned the smirk. "You're forgetting who wears the pants in this relationship."

"This is a pretty big fire you're dealing with, you sure you can put it out?"

Craig sat back and crossed his arms. "We'll see. I've been burnt before, but I learned a way to deal with fire other than using fire itself."

Cana frowned. She had a grim feeling something would go wrong. Just the way Craig described it was an indicator to it all. He didn't want to die. She didn't want him to die. Fairy Tail didn't want him to die. Hell, perhaps the Grand Magic Games' contestants probably don't want him dead. But alas, the decision doesn't lie within them, it was within the Councilmen and the chairman. If they made the decision to give him the end, then odds were they would meet theirs. An eye for an eye.

Cana closed in again, allowing her upper body to lightly press against his own. Her buxom was like a massive pillow that didn't faze Craig. The lush closed her eyes as she gently hugged Craig.

"Juts be careful…Cranky."

"No promises…Brownie."

For the longest time, the two held on, unwilling to let go after finally reunited.

A few more days had come and gone. The healing of Craig went by smoothly. Around those few days, his stomach lining was back up to speed, although it still left nurses and doctors alike baffled at how his stomach enzymes were like animals. He was eating well, regaining strength, and before they knew it, he could move again. He still took it easy regardless, but when he was back on his two feet and got the all clear to get out, that was also the time the Custody Enforcement Unit had arrived.

It was a horrendous pain in the ass for Craig, and really, he was just not having it. He wasn't going to fight back, however. The press and many reporters were flashing photography behind the guards and staff were getting photos of Craig casually walking towards the enforcement unit's superior. He stuck his wrists out lazily.

"Can we move this along already?" he nonchalantly asked.

They didn't rush him, but they looked at him confused. They all mumbled some before applying the cuffs. They went ahead and allowed Craig to stroll into the carriage as two guards were behind just incase he tried anything drastic. But from the distilled look, he didn't seem like he was going to bite. They had to follow protocols anyways, so off to Era they went, the media dispersing soon after.

It was a silent ride into the city of Era. Craig for one kept his mouth shut and sat cross-legged as the carriage was moving along. Being in the hospital bed was a massive ache, and even if he couldn't spread his legs, at least he was sitting rather than lying down. He was passively silent throughout the whole way, and to him, it felt like the blink of an eye before the carriage finally made it to a complete stop. When it did, he soon found himself at the base of a massive hill in the dead center of Era. It could've been mistaken for a mountain almost, but at the top of the paved trail lied the councilmen and his judgement.

"Do come along quietly." The captain directed.

Craig jumped out of the carriage without much syllables. He lightly bounced on his boots to a firm stop and turned to look up at the long trail up. He tilted his head, noting what he could do possibly with this elevation. He went along, with the officers guiding all the way to the mansion-like building at the hill's top. Once at the top, it all went soundly as frog associates went along and escorted him from there.

Standing before a large pair of doors, Craig knew what waited on the other side. He was going to see the faces of those who had deemed him a bloody menace. He didn't have to see their faces to know how they felt, it was all in their chi. Standing still, he could feel the fear within everyone in the building. Clearly the information wasn't just for the council. Without looking even, the elderly frog servant behind him gave Craig a menacing glare.

"Move it along!" he barked.

Craig shrugged casually. He could see where this was gonna go, but he'd rather not take an electrical stab to the back. He did just heal after all. Once fully affirmative, Craig went into the doors, walking in with the frog assistance following.

Once inside, he could see how spacious the courtroom was. It was windows on the right-hand side, with cloisters on either side to sustain its structural integrity. Before a wooden stand stood a massive platform with nine seats accountable, including the Chairman, Gran Doma, in its center.

The footsteps he carried were echoing. He was directed to the podium with cuffs still in hand. He looked up with a frown as the councilmen all shot calm, demeaning glares. Craig looked up like he didn't care, only furthering their intensity.

One of the frog associates walked on over with a gavel in hand. He banged against the podium before the council. "This court is now in session. The defendant, Craig Crius, now stands trial on behalf of the instances of illegal practices, vandalism, property destruction, public health and safety obstruction, obstruction of justice, injustice actions of border crossing, arson…"

The frog man went on for the numerous things Craig through for the past 4 years. The frog made sure to get all of the actions down, especially underling the witness reports of the godly battle that destroyed Crocus. He zoned out, his head lowering as he thought back to Cana. He was so glad that she was safe, and he was very much happy that she held him dear still, though to an altered degree.

The gavel came down once again, getting Craig to pay attention once more. "The defendant, Craig, may now stand before the council."

"Very well then. Let us begin." Gran Doma said. He gave Craig another deadly leer. He was aware from the confidential memories he saw of what Craig had done, and it made him by far dangerous in every aspect.

Org cleared his throat and began. "Craig Crius, you have had the long trips here from parts unknown, haven't you?"

Craig shrugged. "Yeah, guess that's an understatement."

"And are you not subjugated to your own contradictions in some instances?"

"If to rules, then I wouldn't know. Too many to keep track of."

Org nodded. "Uh-huh. And are you aware of some magic bound by laws?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"And…" Org's eyes narrowed. "Is it true also that there has been magic in lands you have been to, and managed to see with those very eyes?"

"Yes, for the umpteenth time now." He answered tiredly.

The questions and answers came and went, flowing like water from Org, as well as a few other councilmembers. There were several varieties to the questions being thrown his way, some repetitive. Some went as far as show videos dictated to the questioning involving his past. Questions like "mutation under unauthorized meaning and regulations" was something underlined, and they demonstrated with the flashback Craig injected dinosaur DNA into his body, as well as the mutation on Enca. More questions like "Has this been not your first case of property damage?" and "How many lives have you been accused of taking" and "Assassination is strictly illegal". Yes, Craig had done all those things, and Crocus was just one of the very few cases, but no one was hurt – too badly of course. But in the end, it did not matter. He answered every question, offering no defense to his actions. The whole time they talked, Craig didn't bother to move. He was like a statue, and within every question, he breathed soundly.

After an hour of interrogation by the all the councilmen, they were all looking at Craig with a heavily distinctive eye. They gathered information, deciphered what he had done, and they looked at the reference videos of the lacrima in front of Gran Doma. A lot of slaughter, and a lot of higher ups in businesses being executed, or destroyed by their own monetary collapse.

"Black Magic has been a scourge that has been a large subject you've been very accustomed to, although you have no practice nor the capability of producing it as such." Gran Doma deduced. "Enlighten us of this information, how are you alive when every living thing is made up of Ethernano, and yet you don't? Are you perhaps deceased?"

"Honestly, even I don't know." Craig answered. "I was born that way."

"Born without Ethernano?" a councilman inquired.

"But the boy has been to the underworld and heaven, is it also likely that has to do with the cause of no Ethernano?" another councilman asked.

"I call it taboo. There's no way a human should've been born that way. This is clearly a mishap." Another barked.

Another councilman nodded. "I agree. Whoever, or whatever you are, I believe that there have been numerous allegations that you've held great responsibilities to."

Craig said nothing in response. Instead, he continued to breath, drowning out the court.

The lacrima flashed, showing an image of Craig bending Prometheus' attack. "While there is no Ethernano inside your body, still you have power to push back against gods, but at the cost of civilian legacies. Destruction fell upon the entire city, and many of lives have been endangered due to these beings having been chasing you. Is it not true?"

Craig didn't nod. "Yes." He dryly answered.

Gran Doma closed his eyes, his hat leaving him out of view for others to see. "…" He said nothing as he gathered the details. But really, everyone had an idea of where this was going.

"This testimony being brought has little to speak of your arrival before your conjunction with Fairy Tail." A councilman stated.

"Fairy Tail has been widely known for its rather impulsive tendencies, but as of recently, its clauses have become far more lethal ever since you've been around." Another member pointed out. "That is around the same concept as the bad omens that the Black Wizard Zeref carries."

Another councilman shook his head. "There is no magic, so it can't be any curses or Black Arts."

"Then what do you propose it is then?"

"It's chi." Craig's answer got the Council by innate surprise.

"It's what?" Org questioned.

"I don't have Ethernano. I use the spiritual energy of nature. I conduct chi and mold it as I see fit. That's how I was able to last that long."

Another councilman didn't seem so pleased at the answer. "'Chi' molding? So it's something beyond magic?"

"Sounds like a lost or ancient practice to me." A councilman stated. "Perhaps that spiritual energy is what conducted all those acts of vengeance. Everyone is after it, perhaps."

Org looked down, stroking his chin. "A magic that isn't magic. A very rare tactic indeed. It would make sense why it's been drawing Fiore's public health to a cringing crisis."

The staff of Gran Doma came down. It's echo silenced the whole courtroom in an instant. "Enough!" he barked. "I have heard enough of the evidence, and the case involving the incidents that have been dictating Craig Crius' past involvement."

As he began to draw the case to its conclusion, Craig's mind kept clear, drawing more chi.

"You have most certainly been through contradictory, and many of things that should not have been seen nor said of in this courtroom. You have broken human laws, coinciding with demons, deals with the devils, the destruction of lands from here, transcending dimensions to lands that were not of authorization, and to make it all an ensemble, the lives of which have been risked."

Craig's eyes slowly began to grow the dark pigment once again, the golden edging forming.

"You have been targeted by many of men and follies that trekked to Fiore, and not just here, but all across the lands and seas. This scourge of lives that fell for and by you must be reprehensible by any means necessary. Lives are now scurrying wildly, and as such, order for the magic world must come to fruition…"

The pigment fully formed, his eyes slowly changing to red.

"As such, after everything that has been happening, I do believe that it is time…that we put to at ease." The staff came down again, this time hollow. "Craig Crius, by order of the Magic Council, and on behalf of the residence of Fiore and all secrecy that has taken to this room, I hereby sentence you to be locked. We shall discuss your final trial soon."

The golden rings around his eyes formed, his Primal Force unlocked.

"We can assure you, only we who are aligned with the council is aware of these secrets." A councilman stated.

Org nodded. "Not a single person in this building shall speak of this outside. Worry not, Craig. Your secrets shall be safe within the custody of the council."

Still looking down, Craig wnted to confirm one more thing. "So then…you'll take this to your graves?" he implied ominously.

Gran Doma nodded. "You have held a great deal of information that some of which was held personal. Confiscation of such is essential. No one that is not in this room is aware of this molding magic, or what you call "chi" is."

"Good." Craig looked up, giving a demonic red-eyed glare. "Because I wouldn't expect any less of you pricks." With a harsh yank, the magic-sealing stone cuffs broke right in two. His hands reached back for all his blades, alarming the guards.

"Hey, stop!" they threatened.

However, Craig had all three blades, conjuring in his chi. The look of monstrous proportions left the councilmen and Gran Doma with wide eyes. The look of horror and confusion was written all over their faces.

"Energy Arts – 1 Million Demon Caliber – Flying Dragon Supreme Revolution!"

The whole building, as well as the entire hill that laid atop of it for that matter, was silent for a moment before it all glinted. From Era, many citizens looked up as they saw a quick glint before the entire building and hill completely fell apart. The ground shook with an earthquake-like magnitude as the entire bedrock to the very bottom of the hill diced and split into varied segments. The building pieces were diced shambles that were falling in with the destruction. Many of guards, frogs, and various councilmen were all bisected or cut in some way. The whole structure and its foundation crumbled towards the ground, getting everyone to scream and run away.

Just like that, the secrets kept were buried, as they were meant to be.

Fairy Hills, the dorm in which the girls of Fairy Tail stayed at, most if not all in this case. There many dorms, but among them was a room that belonged to a certain someone who had found her luxury back inside her small abode. It was smaller to her liking, but when spending time with someone who was now gone, things get lets spacey than what some can be used to. Lying on the ground of the room were dozens of glass empty bottles of alcohol, the room as pungent as the smell the liquid gave off.

It had been a long day, and a newspaper sat in a rocking chair that sat across from Cana's bed. The brunette had long since retired to her room ever since getting the newsletter about the destruction of the Council's building headquarters. She knew from sources that Craig was there during said time, but despite heaving fears of the worst, she wasn't budging. Not even tears fell from her stale face. It was like everything for her had completely shut down.

For the umpteenth time, she sat on her sofa and stared at the rocking chair's newsletter. "…idiot." She mumbled before taking another sip of her drink.

As she gulped down the contents, the room got oddly quiet. She didn't have the ceiling fan spin, but at the same time, the sensation got cold. Her body didn't react, because it felt natural. This feeling she had only intensified as a shadow appeared in the dim-lit window. The figure took the position of a gargoyle, still as a statue.

When she finally released her lips from the bottle's tip, she closed and closed her eyes. She continued to face the rocking chair as the shadow cast over it. "Did you have to go and do that?"

"It was either their heads, or my own. That's generous in ways of the beseeching." The person spoke. He retained his perch on the windowsill as dusk began to wallow the night sky. The clouds were a dark purple, clouding the last hues of orange and yellow. Cana's room was essentially dark, but enough light to enable someone to read a book if they squinted hard enough.

The brunette sighed angrily. "Those were innocent lives. I thought you wouldn't kill that sort of stuff?"

"It's complicated, but do I regret it?"

"That was over 120 lives counted form including your own."

The figure jumped into the room, landing on a knee. "Well, the world got what they wanted. Craig Crius is dead." He walked on over in the ever-growing darkness towards the newsletter that sat on the rocking chair. He looked at the picture of the destruction and dust that was the remnants of the hill. In another photo that covered a smaller portion of the article, there was the plain white t-shirt he wore when he got out of the hospital. It was tattered and laid on the ground amongst rocks and ground.

He read the article along, seeing the sources say it was something else. "So they thought it was a suicide bomb, huh?"

"That work for you?" Cana asked with crossed arms.

Craig sat the article back down and slowly turned back towards Cana, revealing himself in the dim light. With parts of his hair having been cindered off, he adorned a black bandana to cover himself. He also sported a tattered black cloak to conceal himself from the world. Everything else beneath was a mystery. He nodded. "Yeah, so long as nobody else knows." He answered.

"But you still slaughtered everybody in there." Cana glared.

"Brownie…" his stature changed. He glared down at her with a morbid frown. "There are just some things the world won't accept. Myself included. You know that, and they'd sooner see a freak of nature dead with top secrets taken to the grave. The superior gets what the animal cannot, that's the hierarchy."

Cana looked down at her sandals, which her crossed over her legs on the coffee table. She didn't want to accept it, but it was the fact. She knew Gildarts and a lot of top dogs that were immensely powerful were shaking. The level of Magic Power was inhumane that it couldn't have possibly existed, and yet Craig went and fought it all by himself. No human could have done that. To top this whole matter off, the guild when they first found out about his memories of turmoil and perilous adventures, saving dimensions and what not, they couldn't believe it, and Makarov himself issued nothing could've been done. Really, the only one who truly cared for, and actually understood Craig's pain…was Cana.

The facts didn't lie, and that's what made it all morbid. She got up from her seat and faced Craig with weight on one hip. "Well you sure act like an animal." She testified.

Craig smirked. "You make it sound like it's a crime."

"And slaughtering the Council isn't?"

"As well as it is being dead."

Cana tiredly shook her head. "Man, you sure changed a lot since then. But you're still causing trouble like no other. Aren't you such a peach."

"Why thank you."

Cana looked down at the ground again, another small silence swallowing her up from beneath. "So, what now? The world pretty much thinks you're dead…so does the guild. You pretty much fooled us all."

"Good. I wanna keep it that way." He admitted. He turned away from Cana to look at the wall, more precisely, his bleak shadow. "This is all for the best for now. It's clear that I'm not belonging here."

Cana's eyes widened. "So you're leaving the guild?"

"The guild thinks I'm dead anyways, and besides…" he looked back towards her, slowly moving his body to face her. Beneath his cloak was his bare upper body, all the scars evident. However, among them, there was a cross over where his Fairy Tail mark was, a part where Thanatos slashed up good. It was hardly legible.

Cana's shock didn't cease. "Your mark…"

"If it didn't happen before, I would've done it myself. This was bound to happen. You guys are just too soft to know the world, how much more hell it preaches to…that's why I'm cashing it in right now."

"'Cashing it in'?" Cana put her hand to her chin, inquiring what was to be done by Craig's words. She was thinking back to what he spoke of before, even though it felt like so long ago. She gasped when she realized what he meant by that. 'What he wanted!'

"You remember, back when we went for our date back in Crocus, we asked what we wanted from each other. I gave you what you wanted, and now it's your turn to do what I want." He moved a few steps closer, his feet drawing towards the other side of the table. Once positioned, he raised his chin, giving her a serious frown.

At last, the words flowed out. "I want you to stay here. Don't follow me."

Cana was left without much to say. Of all the things that could've been spoken or asked, Craig went and asked something that could tear someone up from the inside. It was leaving her to stare with the violet eyes reflecting his own. He was dead serious. "You're…kidding, right?" But alas, she knew it was no joke.

Craig lowered his head. "When do I ever joke?"

Cana's brow furrowed. "And that's it? That's all, just stay here with my guild?

"That's all I want you to do." He turned his head to look at her bed. "Look, I'm really happy that you're alive, and I want you to keep living. If I'm being honest, I just wish we could go back to those old days again." He glanced back at her. "But look at us. We both grew up. We're having our own priorities, and yet we'd rather not admit it, right?"

Cana looked down with regret. "Yeah…you've got a point."

Craig's face fell. "I really don't want to do this, but ever since I've met you again, things were…good. They were pretty fun, even though we tried choking the other in our sleep. At least it was sleeping with someone who you could trust with your own life."

A grin came across Cana's lips. "You know, you're a really warm body pillow, you know that?"

Craig rolled his eyes. "Hmph."

"But knowing you, you can't go two seconds without me, right? You need me to help you stay sane, so why ask me something when we can just stay together."

Craig snickered. "Well, my girlfriend actually has a point for once. Valid, but more postponed."

"Huh?"

"Remember what I said? We still have things we need to do, and they're things that are better resolved for ourselves, and ourselves alone. And you can guess what it is for your case." He watched as Cana rubbed her arm and grew a sheepish pink in her cheeks in embarrassment. It wasn't exactly something she meant to say, but she had to tell Gildarts the truth eventually. "At least you and I told each other, and now look, you can't keep your hands off me." He teased.

Another smirk appeared on Cana's lips as she slowly worked around the table. "Hmph, well you're pretty cuddly when you aren't ripping fish apart. But you always were a glutton. Guess that comes with the metabolism."

Craig scoffed lightly. Cana stood right in front of him.

"Alright, I'll stay behind. Whatever we need done, we'll get done. And then after…" she smiled sweetly. "We can finally finish our little arguments."

Craig smiled back. "I'd like that." He leaned in, pulling Cana in for a warm hug. Their chins rested on the other's shoulder. "But there's one thing that I want you to know-no, you need to know. I'm not like Gildarts, okay? I'm not coming and going, and I'm not leaving you behind. I just…need to finish one more business. But if you ever think about me, or if I'm not there to help you, don't be afraid to call out to me…because unlike Gildarts, you need me. Just as I need you."

Cana wrapped her arms around Craig's shoulders. Her eyes began to mist at his words. They were fairly true. While the fortuneteller had some more promiscuous activities given her personality, she's had a real challenge with Craig. And really, she couldn't lie when this challenge was un. He was easy to mess with at times, but he never flirted, he never violated her, and he gave her space when she needed it. They read each other like books, but more like really long novels, as they would put it. Like something Lucy would write.

"Look at you being so soft." She teased. "Better hope you don't run into the guild then while out. They'll mistake you being the living dead."

"Technically I'm dead, but they don't know that." He clarified.

Cana's smirk widened as her arms tightened its hold onto Craig. "Well you can't go back to the guild, but you can't stay here. How about once we finish up what we need to do…we can have our ends tied up, and we can meet in the middle, and see how it goes from there. 'Kay, Mr. Scar Boy?"

Craig's arms began to gently embrace her around the shoulders, a small but happy smile snaking onto his face. "Yeah, I'd like that."

The two were once again silent in their mutual agreement. Cana made sure she would stay safe inside her guild, and at the same time, she would be sure to tell Gildarts about their lineage. At the same time, Craig was perhaps the world's most dangerous being, and he had his own agenda regarding the last leg of his memory. He knew he still had a ways to go, but he also knew he had to get answers to them. And he knew who had them. The two knew they lost the other once, but now that they knew they were alive, that was good enough for their liking. They were grown adults now, and they can settle down once it's all settled.

"You gonna come running back to me if I ever call you?" Cana questioned.

"If I don't, you'll get lonely and haggy." He rebuffed.

Cana snickered. "Yeah, there's the Craig I despise." She said is a facetious tone. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a card. The card had Cana's face, with her name on top of it. She handed it to Craig. "Alright, since you need me that bad, maybe I'll call and check up on you every now and again." He accepted her card. "Be sure to answer it every time, otherwise who knows, I might just find someone better." She playfully winked.

Craig bared his fangs. "Funny, because if I found out some yahoo went and snatched you up for themselves, guess who's gonna open every ribcage until he finds Brownie unable to hold herself up properly."

Rather than grow a tick mark, Cana just hummed on Craig's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll find ways to keep myself from dying of boredom. And speaking of boredom…" she turned over, nudging towards the bed. "How's about it? Wanna be my pillow?"

Craig gave her a deadpan look. "Shut up, Brownie."

Cana snickered. "Yeah, same to you, Cranky." She moved her hand towards his cheek. She closed in and gave him another small kiss on the lips. The brunette and the hybrid are going to have a long time apart again, but at least now they know who they were. As their lips came and pressed against the other, so did their worlds.

Craig's own world was a hellish one. Fra more bumps, and way more adventure than what the likes of Fairy Tail could comprehend. There was love. There was hate. There was perpetual anguish too. So many mixed emotions, and Craig endured it all, and it all came to this moment, to get to know who he once was. He still had a ways to go until fully realizing, but at least now one piece of the puzzle was solved.

The room was filled with abundance of noises; some animalistic. Whatever went on in the Alberona room was questionable, but since others were either readying for bed or out on jobs, it mattered not. The two stayed close to one another as their bodies mixed in ways that were like swirling colors.

Brief flashes of their childhood came to fruition. Craig and Cana alike having fun, playing while Cornelia watched over them with a motherly smile. Those were very happy times indeed, an even though things have changed and have grown, their bond had rekindled, though to a mote adult matter.

The room's grunts were muffled as they were jokingly throwing insults towards one another. The hybrid that saved the world and was renowned as a criminal and monster was a tamed being who still had a beating heart, and that heart pumped with blood that drove him into another day's venture. And the louder his heart thumped, the faster his blood flowed. It only made him hold onto Cana a little while longer as the night sky began to illuminate with twinkling stars.

That night, the two held the other tightly, praying to see the other's destiny fulfilled. But by morning, they would be apart again, so the night was long and full of what energy the two souls had to offer.

Birds chirped loudly, the land of Fiore finally starting to come aboard daybreak. The first few rays of the sun started to flow into the mountains, soon to reach the lands. The time had arrived.

Once up, Craig's eyes opened. With his upper body with no bedsheets covered, he felt a little cool. He looked about lazily, realizing he fell asleep on his stomach. He silently processed everything, to where he looked over towards his left to find Cana sleeping like a baby. He could feel her warm body leaning onto his back in her sleep, bare chest against his scarred shoulder blades. It still stung since it healed, but he took what he could get. Her brown hair was against his shoulder as well, it was warm, if not slightly messy.

Knowing she was still asleep and he was up, it was only a matter of time before others came around. He took in a small huff of slight grief, but took comfort in the fact she could take care of herself. He stayed under the sheets for a little while longer before he chose to get up and get into his pants and cloak once more.

Once up, he looked over towards Cana, bending over with a soft smile. He lightly reached out and brushed a lock of her hair to reveal her forehead. Slowly, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against her forehead. It stayed there for a few short seconds, and then he retreated away. He saw the small grin forming on her face, a sheer sign she was having a good dream.

"Sweet dreams." He whispered. With one last turn away, he looked at Cana from the corner of his eye, and at last jumped out of the window and onto grass.

And so, on his perilous journey he marched on. On the trail he trekked, away from Fairy Hills, to the dirt trail that climbed into the mountains. The rays of dawn started to creep over the horizon, illuminating the eastern fields and forests that Craig sauntered into. 'Cana, Cornelia, both of you wait a little longer. I know where you both are now, and for as long as I live, I'll crawl back to Cana, for Cornelia. I promised I'd keep her safe, and if I have to die again to do so, then so be it.' He trekked silently into nature, vanishing into the underbrush. 'We still have our roads to venture, and we have to take them, high or low, all the way to where they will intersect. I know what I must do, and I know how to get these answers. I'll find all these Gemmed-Beasts again, and I'll find Sama. With nature at my side, we'll see each other again soon. But for now…we soldier on. We survive this cold world that we live in, and we embrace darkness with our own, to make an understanding between one another.'

As he walked silently with the hood over his head, the bushes behind him shrugged. From them, a massive forest Vulcan sprung up, with a big, malicious smirk on its face. It came down with hopes of some energy for the morning, only to be met with a swift 360 spin by the cloaked man. Once Craig finished the spin, the blood red sword whipped to the side, flicking off the blood of the decapitated Vulcan. The headless beast fell limp to the ground, while Craig marched on like nothing happened.

'Don't let anything stand in your objective. You follow a mission through, and see its finish, no matter what. I know one part of my childhood, now let's see where the Gemmed-Beasts play a part in this. Slayos, you and your kind, please bear with me. I'll find out who I was, and then maybe, just maybe, we can all move forward. Together.'

Inside his void, the hiding Slayos smirked with a scoff. He once again closed his eyes, waiting for the trek to come. Meanwhile, high in the mountains of reaches unknown, a meditating Sama was hunched over on a rock, his own small grin widening.

With a smile towards his knew goal in finding his fellow beasts, Craig's blue eyes showed a feral passion. He marched on silently through nature, disappearing into deepening forest with rays of sunlight guiding him the way through to the new adventure.

One Week Later

"Bleh!" Cana lurched as she separated the alcohol drink from her mouth, her tongue hanging out. "Aw, man, this stuff's nasty!"

Mirajane looked over from cleaning a glass cup. "Really? I thought that stuff was your favorite?"

"It is, but I think this stuff is getting wasted somewhere." Cana huffed. She hung her head on the bar, groaning loudly in frustration. "Man, everything's been tasting awful."

"Maybe you're catching a cold." Mirajane said.

"Maybe. Been getting a little sick in the morning, too. Maybe I ought to see a doctor or something. Know anybody?"

Mirajane's ace showed mild surprise. "Oh, Wendy not able to help?"

Cana again sighed. "Nah, besides, the girl's been out with Natsu's little shindig on jobs."

"Oh right!" she chirped. "I heard Natsu and Erza have been getting really close, isn't it adorable?" She thought changing the subject would help in Cana's case. Talking about other problems out of irony does wonders, but sometimes it only pulled more triggers than necessary.

Cana saw through the rouse, but half-grinned. "Yeah…" For brief moment, she thought about Craig again. 'I wonder what he's up to?' At the moment she thought about him, her stomach began to sting a little. She put a hand on it and groaned. "Man, what a pain…" She heard the sound of glass sat in front of her. She looked up to see a glass of iced water, fresh by Mirajane.

"Here." She offered.

"…thanks." She accepted it, taking in small gulps of the cool, refreshing liquid. With each gulp, it soothed her stomach. Once the pain dialed down, she looked down at the bar and smiled. "Hope these pains go away soon."

Even when he was off on his adventure, Cranky still kept things interesting for his Brownie.

And that's it. That's the finale, folks! The story of Craig and Cana has finally drawn to a reasonable conclusion. I want to thank everyone who was willing and able to stomach through this story. It's been a very long road, and almost 2 years to fix up, but I finally chose to lay the ending at rest here. Sure, I could've dabbled a bit more, or maybe I could've gone for a slap-happy conclusion/epilogue of them with babies rolling around, but I thought a little hint at the end would've settled in just fine. Rather than a fulfilling end, I thought of it being more open-ended with Craig now finding a new purpose and finding the Gemmed-Beasts would make for a more excitable ending that could be open to your interpretation. He found Cana, and they are technically "together", but they still have things to do before they can enjoy the rest of their days as before.

Now before you guys draw your own conclusions, this is going to be the same instance as EDventures in Kalos. Will I make a sequel? Maybe, maybe not. But depending on what the future has in store for me, that too can be up to interpretation, but really, I think this is as far as this story goes. Still, it was a pretty fun run, and I enjoyed writing this! And now that this story has finally met its conclusion, it can be laid to rest knowing that its 64 chapters were received by those who love challenging OCxCana pairings!

With this finale, I can now officially get started on some other projects that I have been waiting to try out. I think for the time being, I'll be doing my Bakugan fanfic, From Depths We Rise, as well as finally begin on the third and final installment of my Pokémon/Fairy Tail OCxErza series that people are dying to see come to fruition. If you all are excited for these two stories, feel free to stick around. If not, that's okay too. I was just happy you all appreciated OCxCana.

And so, with that officially said and done, please favor and give out your final reviews for the story. Tell me what you liked, or how the finale made you feel.