Chapter 1: Decades Later

"Yuki, are you sure we should be doing this? Didn't the master and the others tell us to not come here unless we were with one of them?" a white-furred Exceed voiced out nervously to her partner, who had a massive grin on her face.

The two were currently walking along a rugged path towards the peak of the mountain, which was located nearby the city.

"Just so you know, I'll rat you out in case we ever get in trouble with the others." The Exceed said causing Yuki to pout.

Yuki was a black-haired, eighteen-year-old female with a beautiful heart-shaped face with blue orbs, which sparkled brightly resembling to that of sapphires. She was wearing a long black and blue kimono which reached her knees, and suited her hourglass figure, and wrapped around her waist was a neatly carved sword in its sheath.

"Don't worry about it Eara, it'll be alright. After all, if Aunt Wendy can make her walks up here every week without fail, and if she can do it, so can we!" Yuki said confidently as Eara sighed to herself. It was pointless to argue once the ravenette had her mind fixated on her goal.

Yuki, seeing that Eara hadn't said anything anymore, knew that the Exceed had given up on trying to get her to get down and it was perfectly fine with her too! Though, as she thought about it,

Who would have expected that all of this was caused by the events which took place just a few hours ago?

Flashback

It was another beautiful day in the city of Magnolia, the sun was shining brightly over the town, the birds were happily flying through the air and the townspeople were in a jolly mood as well. It was practically a normal day by this point.

"Yuki, it's time for you to get up now!"

In the upstairs bedroom of a modest two-story house, the black haired beauty slowly awakened from her sleep. She eventually got up from her bed in her light blue pyjamas and made her way to her bedroom window. She pushed it open, looking over her hometown of Magnolia City while breathing in the fresh and clean air.

"What a beautiful morning," she smiled as she watched some birds fly through the clear blue skies.

"Yuki, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes!"

"Alright Mom!" she responded as she stretched her body before walking into the showers in order to get ready.

When she got downstairs she saw her mother, Fuyu in the kitchen while her Exceed, Eara was currently eating on the table.

"Morning, Mom. Morning, Eara." the girl greeted.

"Morning Yuki!" the white-furred Exceed greeted, not even turning towards her as she continued on munching her food.

"Good morning, Yuki." Fuyu greeted with a gentle smile. "I hope you're in the mood for pancakes."

"Yeah!" she cheered. While she was at an age where many would view her as an adult, even she could not resist the temptation of such foods as her mother handed her a plate with a large stack of pancakes.

"You better hurry up and finish so you can meet up with your grandfather at his place for your Ice Devil Slaying training." Fuyu said which caused Yuki to groan.

"But I was planning to go to the guild today and do some missions along with the others!" this time it was Fuyu to sigh.

"Listen, honey, I know that you don't like all the training he hands out to you, but it's all for your own good." Her mother said to which Yuki responded with a snort.

"I guess that's one way to put it." She whispered but seeing as her mother was glaring at her, the ravenette coughed into her own hands.

"Look, mom, I still don't understand why I even need to train. Didn't the Ishgar Kingdom pull a victory over the Alvarez Kingdom decades ago? What more do we have to fear?"

"An attack on us could occur at any time dear, and we need to make sure that you're ready to deal with it when the time comes."

"Please, who's stupid enough to attack us? Fairy Tail alone has the best mages in the world at the moment." Yuki said with a roll of her eyes.

It seemed rather outrageous that anyone would want to attack the guild considering its status and the fact that there many powerful mages whose names were well known throughout both kingdoms.

"We may never know, but in any case, it is your duty to pass on the arts of Devil Slaying Magic to the next generations. Now I don't want to hear another complaint from you. Just go and visit your grandfather already." Not even giving an opportunity for her daughter to speak, Fuyu entered the kitchen.

Eara, who had been sitting silently throughout the entire mother-daughter conversation, stared worriedly at her partner, whose eyes were covered by her bangs.

After finishing up the lasts of her food, the girl didn't even make a single sound as she exited her house.

"Yuki, are you okay?" Eara asked, voicing out her concerns for the first time as the black-haired female merely smiled at her and since the two have been friends for such a long time now, she could tell that it was fake.

"Don't worry about me Eara, I'll be fine." She responded as the two began walking towards her grandfather's house. As they walked the white Exceed would constantly glance at her friend's face in order to tell how she felt, yet it remained unchanged throughout the entire walk.

They managed to arrive relatively quickly considering his house wasn't too far away from hers.

"Grandpa, it's me, Yuki. Are you here?" the girl announced, yet no sound could be heard from the inside.

"That's strange, he's usually in here all the time." The girl mumbled to herself.

"Well, well, look who it is." A haughty tone voiced out causing Yuki to groan as she turned towards the owner of said voice.

"What do you want Alex?"

Alex was a pale skinned boy about her age, with swept-back black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a long, gold-trimmed, silver buttoned, blue trench coat as well as black pants and knee-length boots.

Similarly to Yuki, He's a Fairy Tail Mage under the tutelage of Gray Fullbuster in the arts of Ice Devil Slaying Magic, and despite it not being in his blood, he was much more proficient than those who are able to cast it, including Yuki herself. He was even given a spot in the Wizard Saints Candidacy because of this.

"Well considering that I train here every day, I should direct the question over to YOU." He said with a smirk to which the girl responded with a roll of her eyes.

"My mom asked me to attend the training today since it's been a while since I participated in one."

"Well unfortunately for you, Master is currently at the guild. Saying that he wanted to meet up with the old gang or something along the lines?" Alex shrugged as Yuki face-palmed.

Of all the luck she had...

"Well if that's the case then I'm leaving." She said, finding no other reason to stay longer than she wanted, and just as she was about to walk away, Alex grabbed a hold of her hand, stopping her.

"Hold on, since you're here already, how about training with me?" he said, pointing at himself with a charming smile as Yuki pondered about the offer for a while before,

"No thanks." And proceeded to walk away, causing Alex to fall comically to the floor while Eara openly laughed at him as she flew towards Yuki, blowing a raspberry at the boy who glared in response.

It was a well-known fact in the guild that Alex had a huge crush on Yuki ever since he first arrived at the guild, to all but the girl in question of course. While he was strong and trustworthy, he was also very proud and insensitive to how others feel, and that was the main reason why Eara would not hand over her best friend to such a person.

Not that the girl would fall in love with him anyway as she had expressed her dislike for her fellow ravenette on many occasions.

After their encounter with the boy, the two were currently headed towards the Fairy Tail guild, as they had originally planned. Along the way, they were greeted by many of the familiar faces of the townspeople.

"Morning Yuki!" A fisherman called as the boat sailed past her down the river with a smile on his face as Yuki waved back at him with a smile as she kept on walking more and more people began greeting her, but she eventually stood still after one of the townspeople said this,

"Hey Yuki, are you participating in this year's Grand Magic Games?"

With a strained smile present on her face, she responded, "I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure they're going to be picking some other members for now…" the townsperson shook his head with a sigh.

"Such a shame as well, you're grandfather and mother were absolutely splendid when they participated, I'd even go as far to say that they singlehandedly took the crown for the guild. Oh well, have a good day!" With that, he walked away as Eara stared at the girl in concern.

"Yuki…"

"Don't worry Eara, remember what Aunt Wendy always said: "Just keep smiling during the tough times and you'll eventually get through it!" the ravenette then continued her journey to the guild with Eara following closely by.

Due to their continuous success in the Grand Magic Games, the guild now looked completely brand new. In fact, the only building potentially capable of rivalling it in terms of appearance was the Mercurius.

Opening the doors to the guild, the Ice Devil Slayer was not surprised to see when chairs, bottles and even people were being thrown about in the guild as everyone was having their daily brawl with one another.

Though according to the older members of the guild, this brawl was lacklustre in comparison to the ones they had in the past, and it was obviously due to the separation of powers between the older members in their prime and the current ones.

"Ah, good morning Yuki, glad to see you're here." A voice called out to her, turning her head she saw a man in mid-forties and with spiky blonde hair. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses on his head, a red undershirt alongside a large trench coat and blue jeans.

"Good morning to you too Master Lance!" Yuki greeted with a massive smile, and the blonde man, also known as Lance, smirked.

In full, his name was Lance Dreyar the son of Laxus Dreyar and Mirajane Strauss, after reaching the appropriate age, his father had long since passed the title of Guild Master onto his son, seeing as his grandfather had borne the title before him.

"It's rare to see you hanging around in the guild this early, are pigs flying already?" he joked, getting a glare from the ravenette.

"I'll tell Mrs Dreyar about the stack of Icha Icha that you hide in the drawer of your room!" she threatened, causing the smirk on the man's face to immediately drop as he paled considerably, knowing how scary his wife truly was.

After seeing such a look from the man, Yuki smirked as she carried on her walk through the guild when,

"Hey there Yuki!" Yuki turned towards the source of the voice and she smiled when she saw a small group of people who were walking up towards her.

"Simon, Luke, Aero!" The ravenette called out to them excitedly as she rushed towards them, engulfing the lone girl in the group a hug.

"It's nice to see you too, Yuki." Aero responded with a chuckle as she released the hug and stared at her childhood friends.

Simon was a muscular male wearing a plain black undershirt, and dark grey combat pants, brown boots that reached his knees, and he was also wearing arm guards as well as a breastplate. In addition, his dark blue hair was unkempt.

His full name was Simon Fernandez, grandson to Jellal Fernandez and his wife, Erza Scarlet.

Luke, like Simon, was a pretty muscular male wearing a skin-tight, bright yellow tank top, blue coloured long shorts, and black midnight boots that go up to his knees. His blonde hair was messy and spiked out similar to his father, Lance. Finally, he also wears a brown utility belt fastened around his waist.

Meanwhile, his twin sister, Aero had long blonde hair which reached down to her back and was wearing a simple white kimono with black trims that goes down to her thighs, which suited her curvaceous figure. In addition, she was also wearing skintight sleeves that go down to her forearms, and black pants that reach all the way down to her ankles.

As mentioned before, they were the children of Lance Dreyar which also meant they were grandchildren to Laxus.

"We're just about to go on a quest, do you want to come along with us?" Aero asked but Yuki sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry, but I have to talk with my grandfather about something and I won't know how long it'll take." Simon shook his head as he waved it off.

"Is that so? Well don't worry about it then, we'll just head out on our own. We can go another time." The ravenette nodded her head excitedly as she waved her friends off.

"Man, I wish we could have joined them, right Eara?" seeing as there was no response from her friend, the girl turned to her and she chuckled the moment she saw her Exceed darting her head left and right and the girl already knew who she was looking for.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Yuki pointed at a certain direction and Eara's eyes lit up when she saw her parents hanging around the side of the room and after getting a nod of confirmation from the girl, began flying towards them. Yuki smiled at her best friend's antics before looking around the guild. The moment she found her target, her eyes brightened.

"Hey there Grandpa!" Yuki then steadied her pace as she walked over to the table where the original Devil Slayer was sitting alongside the rest of his group which consisted of three other females and a single male.

Gray then turned to see his beloved granddaughter heading towards them with a smile on his face, "Ah, Yuki it's good to see you again." Yuki then turned to the group of ageing mages.

"Hey there, grandma, Aunt Erza, Aunt Levy, Uncle Gajeel." Yuki greeted the rest of the people in the table.

"Greetings Yuki, it's been a while since Juvia last saw you."

"Yuki, it's certainly been a while hasn't it?"

"It's nice to see you again, Yuki."

"Good to see you're doing alright, brat."

Yuki smiled at their responses and she could tell that many of the newer members of the guild were surprised that she was talking with them with familiarity.

It was no surprise after all since everyone at the table were people who would go down in history.

Her grandfather, Gray Fullbuster, also known as the strongest Wizard Saint throughout history due to his overwhelming magical power and quick thinking. Even in his old age, he still retained his title due to people being unable to overpower him in battle.

Her grandmother, Juvia Locksar, was a wonderful and powerful Water mage, and despite her trying to brush it off on many occasions, Yuki was sure that she was capable of fighting the Wizard Saints and beating them in her prime. However, she retired from being a mage the moment she was pregnant with her mother, but even so, she would spend most of her time teaching the younger generation on how to call upon their magical powers.

Next up was Erza Scarlet, and if her grandfather was very well-known, then Erza would probably be a step further when it came to fame. Not only was she a leader when it came to the battlefield, but she was also known as an absolute monster. Furthermore, her Re-quip Magic was almost second to none and her swordsmanship was also unmatched. Which led to her being under the woman's tutelage as a means to be able to fight in battle.

Besides her was Levy McGarden, and while she wasn't known for being upfront in battles like the other two, she was known for being in the shadows, as a brilliant tactician and technician, providing strategies which could rival against the Fairy Tactician, Mavis Vermillion herself.

Finally was Gajeel Redfox, the strongest Dragon Slayer to ever exist in Earthland, his Shadow Steel Mode practically swept away the competition, not even Rogue, a fellow Dragon Slayer of the shadows was capable of beating him in his own element once he activated it. However, when the title had been handed to him, he looked a bit…frustrated and upset?

Whatever the case, they were very important people to her, especially since they took care of her when she was young.

Juvia then gestured her granddaughter to sit in between her and Levy to which she did as she was told.

"So, what are you doing in the guild, Grandpa? You'd normally be sitting at home and chill." She could hear Gajeel and Levy chuckle to the side and even the strict Erza even cracked a smile at her joke.

Gray was clearly the only one who didn't appreciate the joke as he had a serious expression on his face, "Yuki, listen, we really need to talk about the elephant in the room, and you can't just avoid it anymore."

Yuki frowned, already knowing where he was headed with the conversation.

"It's about your aptitude with the Ice Devil Slaying magic."

"Didn't I already say I've been asking mom to be teaching me grandpa? Shouldn't that be enough?" Yuki asked in a hopeful tone but clearly her grandfather wasn't having it.

"Is that so? Well then, why is that your mother has been calling me to up your training?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and at that moment Yuki knew that she was trapped.

"Uh, well…." Where was Eara when she needed her most?

"Listen to me Yuki. Do you know why I'm asking you this constantly?" he asked as the girl nodded her head.

"Yeah, you want me to be able to pass down the techniques of the Ice Devil Arts to the next generation, like what mom said." She responded, but to her surprise her grandfather shook her head.

"While that may be the reason why we're training others into these arts, that's not why I want YOU to be able to use it. It's because I want you to be able to protect yourself from harm, Yuki." The girl immediately frowned when she heard this.

"Well, it's not like I can't fight at all, grandpa! I have this sword that aunt Erza gave me, and she even trained me, she even said that I was her best student!" Gray then turned to face his long-time friend who only shrugged in response to this.

"Look Yuki, I'm not saying that you are unable to fight, I'm saying that with magic you'll be able to become much more powerful and are able to protect yourself against any other enemy who is able to overpower you." Yuki gave no answer, instead, she looked away from her grandfather but the elderly man could tell from her eyes that she was still refusing it which caused him to sigh.

"Well if that's the case, then from tomorrow onwards, you'll be training with Alex at my house from dusk till dawn every single day." Yuki's eyes immediately widened due to the shock.

"What? Every day? But I have guild missions to do with the others!" Yuki protested, but it didn't seem like Gray cared.

"Well you can carry on with that AFTER you manage to master your Ice Devil Slaying magic, and I'm not going to take "No" for an answer whatsoever." He said with finality.

Yuki then got up and walked out of the guild without uttering a single word, this, of course, alerted Eara who began chasing after the girl. Back on the table with Gray and the others, Erza and Levy both stared worriedly at the retreating figure of the adolescent.

"Don't you think that you were a bit too hard on the brat?" Gajeel asked as Gray grunted in response while Juvia placed a comforting hand on her husband.

"She'll have to work harder in order to become stronger because I have a feeling that this peace isn't going to last any longer…"

Immediately after storming out of the guild, Yuki began running through the streets of Magnolia as Eara desperately tried to keep up with her.

"Yuki! Wait for me already!"

Eventually the girl stopped as Eara landed on her head, panting heavily as she stared down at her friend to see an enraged look on her face.

"Yuki…what's wrong? What happened at the guild with your grandfather?" the Exceed asked with concern as Yuki looked up to face her, debating internally whether or not she should reveal what had happened to the Exceed or not.

Sighing, the girl thought she might as well seeing as there was no harm in doing so.

Sachi seemed to have agreed with her perspective but the Ice Devil Slayer wasn't sure if it was due to her close friendship with her. Seeing as they had no intention of returning to the guild, the two decided to explore the city while they still have the chance and as they were walking, they noticed a familiar elderly lady who was just in front of them.

"Aunt Wendy!" Yuki called out as she ran over towards the old lady who turned back and smiled the moment she saw the ravenette running towards her.

"Ahh Yuki, it's been a while. How've you been?"

Wendy Marvell was another name that many would know as she was one of the major participants in the gruelling war against the Alvarez Kingdom, not to mention her status as the Sky Dragon Slayer also made an impact to her rise in fame as her healing magic was top-notch, and not many people possess magic that was as potent was hers.

"I've been...doing fine, I guess." The ravenette mumbled, more so to herself than anything, which caused the woman to frown as it was one she was used to seeing when the girl was younger.

"Well if there's anything you wish to talk about, you know my place. In fact, it'll be just like old times again." Wendy said with a smile which caused Yuki to smile as well before she sighed.

"Could we go to your house and chat?"

Immediately after entering the elderly woman's house for a seat, Yuki began telling the woman regarding the events which happened in the morning with her mother and the fate she was forced to follow because of her lineage.

"... I'm just so sick of it all! Why can't I just live out my life the way I want to and not worry about things like that?" Yuki ended as she panted slightly, due to her speaking without any rest, as she grabbed the tea that Wendy had brewed for her.

Wendy, who had been silently listening throughout the entire rant, coughed into her hands,

"I can understand your frustrations Yuki, but surely you could also understand what both your mother and grandfather is coming with. They want you to become stronger so that you can protect yourself."

"That's all I heard though." The ravenette mumbled as Wendy chuckled.

"That's just how they are. Fuyu's never been able to properly express her real feelings. I can still remember how she tried confessing to your father but instead she froze him in place instead. Gray, on the other hand, was too embarrassed to even accept Juvia's confession so he would constantly avoid her, but even so he would always get so annoyed whenever someone hits on her." Yuki's eyes brightened at the mention of her family's past.

"Really? Could you tell me more about them?"

With that, Wendy began telling all sorts of stories about her parents and grandparents, most of them embarrassing of course, and Yuki completely forgot all about her bad mood.

"Now, do you feel better?" The elderly woman asked, getting a nod from the girl who immediately frowned when she had a chance to think about the entire events again.

"Maybe I was wrong about them after all…Guess they really want the best for me after all." Eara immediately placed a comforting hand on her hand to which caused the ravenette to smile.

"Though if there's something I want to advise you with, Yuki…" Yuki then turned towards the elderly woman who was looking out the window.

A gentle breeze then blew through the small house as Wendy closed her eyes and a frown now sporting on her face.

"And it's that you should always live out your life to the fullest before it's too late." She said solemnly, something Yuki noted, but she decided to not ask as she noticed the basket in her hands.

"Are you going out somewhere, Aunt Wendy?" Yuki asked as Wendy nodded her head.

"Yes, today's the day I make my weekly trip up Mt. Eruption."

"Mt. Eruption?! The one that's nearby Magnolia?" Eara exclaimed in shock as Wendy nodded her head in confirmation.

"Wait, why are you making walks up there? I'm pretty sure that isn't a suitable place for anything." Yuki said, feeling concern over the safety of the woman who had taken care of her since young.

The Dragon Slayer couldn't help but smile at the girls concern over her, but she still had a task to accomplish, and it was definitely one she would not fail.

"I appreciate your concern Yuki, but I'll be fine, don't worry about me." As she said that, the aged woman suddenly realised something.

"Oh, it would appear that I forgot to purchase something from the shop, and I thought I had everything prepared as well." She sighed to herself before turning back.

"Well, in any case, you should return back to the guild and do some missions or something Yuki. You're better off doing something while you still have your youth." Wendy joked, and with that said, the woman then walked off towards her the town's direction.

Eara then began heading towards the guild before she turned back and realised that Yuki had yet to move from the spot she was standing on.

"Yuki? What's wrong? Let's head back towards the guild and meet up with your grandfather again." The Exceed said, confused as to why her friend suddenly stopped moving.

"Hey Eara, how about we go on a little...trip before going back to the guild?" Yuki asked and while the Exceed was confused, and slightly terrified at the tone the girl was using, she nodded her head which caused Yuki to grin.

Flashback Ends

"Remind me again to never agree to any of your plans in the future." Eara said in annoyance as Yuki pouted when she heard that, from her closest friend nonetheless.

"Not all of my plans are bad...right?" instead of responding, Eara just walked on ahead at a faster pace. The two carried on climbing the mountain, arguing with each other before Yuki realised something.

"Wait, is it just me or is it suddenly getting hot all of a sudden?" Yuki asked as she wiped off the sweat which was profusely falling from her face.

True to her words, the area which surrounded the mountain did indeed get hotter in comparison from before, which made it much more difficult for the ravenette and her Exceed to climb.

"How about we go back down before something bad happens, Yuki. I'm feeling like something might pop out at any second." Eara said frightfully as she clung into the sleeves of her friend who shook her head determinedly.

"I don't plan on leaving until I discover as to what makes Aunt Wendy climb up here every week without fail. It's as if she's hiding something... Or someone." Eara scoffed at the claim.

"It's extremely hot. How would anyone be able to survive in such a climate?"

The girl thought about it for a moment before shrugging it off as well. It did seem very unlikely that anyone would be living in such a climate, much less the location. But if Aunt Wendy was able to pull it off, so surely someone else would as well!

It took them another few minutes before they finally reached the summit of Mt. (name), however,

"This heat is absolutely ridiculous!" Eara exclaimed as she tried wiping off the sweat which was profusely falling from her face. While she may have thought that earlier down the mountain was hot, right there, she felt as if she was standing right next to the sun!

"Yuki, can't you just cool the place off with your magic or something?" Eara whined as Yuki rolled her eyes at that.

"You KNOW that I can't control my magic at all, are you mocking me or something?"

"No, I'm being genuine, I'm sure you'll be able to do it!" Yuki thought about it for a second. It WAS ridiculously hot, so she might as well try to use her magic. If not now, then when will she?

The girl then closed her eyes as she focused on the source of power which was hidden deep inside of her, and reaching out to it, Yuki yelled out,

"Ice Devil's Storm!" However, even as she called out the move, nothing had happened. No storm. No ice. And definitely no change in the temperature of their surroundings.

Yuki instantly deflated when she realised that before releasing a tired sigh.

"I knew nothing was going to happen…" Yuki said as Eara tried consoling her friend, but knew that it would be pointless since the girl herself was disappointed in herself.

The Exceed then looked around in hopes of distracting the ravenette, and her eyes brightened when she saw a small cave nearby.

"Hey, Yuki, let's head in there and wait for Aunt Wendy so that she could bring us to whatever she's hiding, after all, I'm sure it'll be a while before she'd arrive!" The girl could only nod her head as they walked towards it.

Strangely enough, the closer they walked towards the cave, the hotter their surroundings got as if the source of the insane heat was coming from whatever was inside the cave.

"This is weird, while it's extremely hot inside, the walls of the cave are cold…" Yuki pointed out as Eara immediately decided to fly towards the wall of the cave and she immediately moaned in relief.

"Thank goodness, I feel like that if we carried on like this, I would have surely fainted." Yuki rolled her eyes at this as she decided to walk deeper into the cave. Though no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to see anything up forward due to the blinding darkness in front of her.

Using the wall as her support, she walked deeper into the cave, and would have as well, had she not freeze on the spot when she managed to hear some small movement ahead of her.

She tried reassuring herself that it may have been some pests that were running about in the cave, and she would have carried on believing that,

Had there not be a pair of red eyes staring straight at her.

End Chapter

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