Author's Note: This is it, everyone! The final chapter in what has been one of biggest challenges in my experience as a fanfiction writer. I'd like to thank all the readers and reviewers without whom I probably never would have found the motivation to finish this. Really, thank you. I hope you find this ending adequate.

Happy holidays, and I'll see you all in 2015!

Epilogue

It was a relief for everyone when Gajeel finally regained consciousness halfway up Mt. Hakobe, although it took several minutes of furious flailing and cursing to convince him that they weren't demons in disguise. Lisanna was glad to see the Iron Dragonslayer was okay, Bixlow was happy to know his shot-in-the-dark plan had worked, and Natsu was just sick and tired of carrying Gajeel's heavy iron ass around.

"Seriously," he complained, flexing his muscles, "lay off the nuts and bolts, will ya?"

Together the four of them trekked up the mountainside to the little cave where Pantherlily and Happy guarded the bodies of their comrades. They, too, were waking up from their comas when Happy ushered them inside the relative warmth of the shelter.

Lisanna cried out and tackled her brother to the ground when she saw him, gushing about how worried she was. Elfman was bewildered to see Lisanna out of the vegetative state he'd left her in, and angry when he took stock of her visible injuries. "Lisanna? What the hell are you doing here? Who did this to you? Tell me who it is, and I'll show him what happens when he messes with a real man's sister!"

"It's over now, Elf-bro," Lisanna said. She peeked over her shoulder at Bixlow, whose bright green eyes quickly flitted away when she caught him staring. "We took care of it."

Elfman didn't miss the exchange. When Lisanna closed her eyes and squeezed him tight, he let Bixlow know in silent terms that he was watching the seith mage very closely. Lisanna slapped his hand down without even looking, eliciting a betrayed, "Ouch!" from her brother. Bixlow frowned, but was less than threatened.

Natsu nearly pounced on Lucy when she showed signs of life, but the blonde celestial mage was saved by Erza's gauntleted fist, which grabbed Natsu by the back of his shirt and pulled him to her metal breast so that Lucy could have a second to recover. "It's good to see you so eager to greet us, Natsu," she cooed, winking.

"Oi, Salamander, why don't you get a freakin' fire goin'?" Gajeel complained. Lily clapped a hand on his dragonslayer's shoulder, glad to have him back in one loud piece.

"I'm back too, you know," Gray muttered from his spot in the corner. "No one's freakin' happy to see me."

"Why should you get special treatment, Easy Freeze?!" Natsu shouted.

"What the hell kind of insult is Easy Freeze, you pink hothead?!"

"You say hothead like that's a bad thing!"

"Salamander, start that freakin' fire before I rub your two brain cells together to get a spark!"

"Why don't you come over here and say that, Iron Ass?!"

"My ass is iron, moron! I got buns of steel!"

"That was way too much information," Lucy said.

"Agreed," Lisanna put in.

Happy padded over to Gray and patted his hand. "I'm glad you're alive, Gray."

"Thanks, Happy."

"Especially considering that even your inanimate body tried to strip, and it was up to me to make sure your boxers stayed on."

Gray just stared as the blue cat walked away. He sighed. "Where's Juvia when you need her?"

They remained in the cave long enough to attend to their wounds and ensure no one's magic was effected by the Devourer. There were many serious injuries, but thankfully Lucy's keys were functioning and Elfman's take over magic was secure.

Happy flew ahead to Magnolia, so the Rune Knights could arrest the last Phasm mages. The group waited for them to arrive, and answered their questions using the rehearsed story. It was unanimously agreed that no one else should know of Bixlow's black magic, or of his relationship with Enid.

The investigation was over after the Rune Knights discovered the burned, blackened seal where Spyrodon the Devourer of Lost Souls once resided. It harrowed them that such a powerful demon was hiding right above their city. Dawn was breaking over Magnolia's golden streets by the time the Knights escorted the mages back to their guild and took the prisoners to jail.

There was a hush over Fairy Tail as the group slowly walked down the path to the door. "Don't any of you think it's weird that Master Makarov didn't come with the Rune Knights?" Lisanna whispered as they neared.

"He sent me," Happy protested.

Bixlow frowned. "Maybe I should go in first. Just in case."

He crept toward the front entrance, trying to peer into the guild hall to detect any souls or signs of life. A giant black shadow leapt out at him before he could assess the situation, covering his entire face. Lisanna screamed behind him and grabbed his Phasm cloak, but a giant Makarov was much stronger than her. Bixlow was yanked from her grasp.

"The demon's infiltrated Fairy Tail! The Master's been taken over!" Lisanna cried.

"No, impossible!" Erza shouted, horrified.

"Get that demon out of him!" Natsu declared.

Demon Makarov let out a booming laugh and dropped Bixlow to the ground. The seith mage saw a giant shoe sailing in his direction, and knew that he'd die for the second time that day. He wasn't going to watch it happen again.

The boot landed just shy of his head. Bixlow opened his eyes and saw Makarov shrinking. Brilliant, shining Makarov with his aged golden soul. The group put down their weapons, confused.

"And that is what you could have come home to," Makarov snarled, pointing his fingers at Bixlow and Lisanna. "If I had lost the battle with the demon who possessed my grandson. Luckily for you, I can still take my boy down in a fight."

"Hey, it was the demon, not me," Laxus complained, poking his head out of the guild hall. He nodded his head at his shocked teammate. "Good to see you made it back, Bixlow. Now, mind telling us what the hell you were thinking?"

"I didn't—"

"That's right, you didn't think at all, did you?!" Evergreen exclaimed, bursting onto the scene with Fried trailing solemnly behind her. "I knew you were an idiot, Bixlow, but even I didn't think you could be this reckless and stupid! Why the hell didn't you tell us what was going on?"

"I…I didn't want anyone to get hurt," Bixlow said, looking guilty. "The demon that possessed Lisanna hinted that there were others taken over, and threatened the guild. I didn't know what else to do."

"That's exactly what happened," Makarov said gravely. "A demon had taken over Laxus as well, when he was on his way back from his mission. When you ran off, the demon made it look really bad, like you had kidnapped Lisanna. Then it attacked Evergreen and Fried and Mirajane."

"Mira! Is she okay?" Lisanna and Elfman cried.

"She's inside," Makarov said. He stepped away so that the others could file into the guild hall to greet their friends. Cheers erupted from the open doors as the group received a heroes' welcome. Only Makarov and the Raijinshuu remained outside.

"Laxus's demon came after me next, and I defeated it," Makarov continued, helping Bixlow off the ground. "You're lucky that happened. You're lucky any of this worked out at all, Bixlow. Why didn't you come to me?"

"Or to us?" Fried pitched in, pointing to him and Evergreen.

"It was demons," Bixlow said, avoiding their gazes. "I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to get anyone in trouble, and I didn't want to get anyone hurt. Phasm wasn't what I expected. I didn't want to get involved at all, but…Lisanna needed help. She was going to go alone."

"You should have come to me when you realized Lisanna was possessed," Makarov said. "I understand your concerns, but we could have helped you. Someone in the guild could have helped you."

"Don't worry," Bixlow muttered, finally meeting Makarov's eyes. "Someone did."

Lisanna caught him staring at her again as she held her older siblings close. This time, he didn't look away, and she answered his gaze with a blinding smile.

It was three weeks later before everyone was healed up enough for Mirajane's belated surprise birthday party. Lisanna and Elfman had everything perfectly orchestrated. The decorations would go up while Mirajane went on a date that, with a little persuasion from Lisanna, Fried finally managed to ask her out on. Cana was in charge of the giant birthday cake, Erza was in charge of the booze, and each were tasked with keeping the other away from their respective vices. Gray guarded the gifts. Juvia kept everyone corralled into their crouched surprise positions while Natsu and Happy served as the sneaky ninja lookouts. Everyone had a role, everything was perfect.

Except for the part where Lisanna forgot the earrings at her house.

It was thirty minutes before the time Fried was supposed to bring Mirajane to the guild that Lisanna realized she'd forgotten them. Elfman suggested she just give them to Mira later, but Lisanna knew she could make it back on time if she hurried.

"Just make sure everyone yells surprise!" she told him.

"Take someone with you!" Elfman called. He'd barely let her out of his sight since Phasm's defeat, and demanded she have an escort when he wasn't around. Currently everyone was too preoccupied making last minute preparations to join Lisanna. She might finally get a second to herself.

"I ain't doin' anything, I'll go." Bixlow jogged to catch up with her, his newly-carved babies swirling eagerly around his head. Lisanna paused in her tracks, and blinked.

"Okay," she said dumbly. Bixlow had avoided her for weeks. She decided early on to give him the space he needed to work through Enid and the other ghosts from his past that she'd unknowingly brought to light. The Raijinshuu had given him plenty of companionship after they'd made up with him. He certainly didn't need her breathing down his neck, too.

Bixlow stopped beside her and gestured toward the back door, smirking. "After you. We're in a hurry, aren't we?"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" the babies squealed.

"Oh, right. Yeah, come on."

Lisanna transformed into a bird while Bixlow let his babies carry him over the city skyline. The moon was big and bright, and the night was clear. Lisanna kept sneaking glances back his way, and occasionally she caught a green flash from under his visor. The wind kept them from chatting.

They landed on Lisanna's front porch a few minutes later. She quickly unlocked the door and peeked inside, just in case. The house was empty. She flicked on the light and rushed into the kitchen. "I'm pretty sure I left it on the counter—ah, here it is! Thank goodness." She took the little box wrapped in silver paper in her hands and stared at it, at the little silver sparkles that reminded her of the stars tonight.

"Small box," Bixlow said from behind her. "What'd you get her, jewelry?"

"Earrings," Lisanna confirmed. She turned and smiled softly at him. "A pair of sapphire earrings."

"That's the blue stone, right? Like the one she wears on her neck?" Bixlow plucked at his shirt collar.

Lisanna nodded. "Yes. That's why I got them. You know…it's funny, but these were the reason I took that job. The one with Elfman, when Phasm first attacked us. We were trying to scrape up enough cash to get these earrings for her. If I'd gotten her something else, something less expensive, none of this might have ever happened." She glanced up and saw Bixlow frowning at her, hands in his pockets. She shook her head and sighed, putting the box in her purse. "Never mind. That's stupid. Let's just go."

"It's not stupid," Bixlow said. He grabbed her arm when she tried to rush by. "Look, I don't want you thinkin' about that every time your sister wears those earrings, okay? Just don't do that to yourself. It would've happened to someone else, but it would've happened either way."

Lisanna nodded again, but Bixlow didn't let go of her arm. He licked his lips and turned to her, fidgeting awkwardly. Lisanna couldn't remember a time when Bixlow looked awkward. He was always so comfortable in his own skin. "I…I also wanted to say that I know you might be annoyed with me comin' with you, 'cause you've been tryin' to avoid me these last couple weeks, which I get, but—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Lisanna interrupted. "I haven't been avoiding you. You've been avoiding me!"

"Have not! You're avoidin' me!"

"Why would I be avoiding you?!"

"Because I freaked you out! With that black magic, and my Figure Eyes and…well, y'know, with what happened in the cave…" Bixlow shrugged, trailing off. "I figured you didn't wanna have anything to do with me anymore. You were just tryin' to save your brother's soul, and I…took advantage of you in your vulnerable state?"

He ended that last part like a question, leading Lisanna to believe that this was some theory Fried had concocted, not something Bixlow came up with on his own. Her face flushed red. "Bixlow! Did you tell anyone about what happened while we were on the mission?!"

"Wha—I—look, just Fried, okay?! I didn't know what else to do, who else to freakin' talk to! You sure as hell weren't givin' me anything to work with, and like I said, I didn't wanna piss you off or somethin'!"

"Pissed off?! Well, now I'm a little pissed off!" Lisanna snorted.

"It's not like I gave him an explicit play-by-play! I just told him that we…kissed."

"Kissed?"

"Yeah. Y'know. That's what we did. Kissed." The babies began making smooching sounds with various degrees of enthusiasm. "And I told him how my eyes got out of control. He thought that maybe that was what was botherin' you."

"Bixlow, that doesn't…bother me. Not even a little bit," Lisanna said. "I mean, I was hurt when you shoved me away in the cave, but now I understand. And I know you would never take advantage of me with your Figure Eyes. It was a mistake, it was the heat of the moment, and that's okay."

"And…the black magic? That doesn't bother you either?"

"You did what you had to do to protect the guild. You probably saved the world. Everyone has something in their past that they're not proud of, and I'm no exception. The fact that you could use that to help you in the present is something remarkable, Bixlow. I'm glad that you could confront your personal demons while simultaneously confronting literal demons."

Bixlow grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Then why the hell have you been avoiding me?!"

"Well, I…" Lisanna sighed hopelessly. "I thought you wanted space. I never understood the full story, but I know that Enid was someone really important to you, and I figured you'd want time to sort all that out on your own, to process and recover, before we…well, before…"

Bixlow's hands slid down to her elbows. "Before what?"

"I don't know. I'm getting ahead of myself."

"That's such a cop-out," Bixlow said, smiling his usual tongue-wagging smile. His grip on her elbows tightened and he pressed his mouth to hers, maintaining a steady, warm, unhurried embrace very different from the tentative and then desperate kisses in the cave. Lisanna reciprocated in kind, and felt all the extra tension—from Phasm, from the birthday party, from Bixlow—melt away. This was one thing that felt undeniably, irrevocably right.

Bixlow took Lisanna's face in his hands when he pulled away. Lisanan couldn't see his eyes behind the visor, but she didn't mind. She could feel them touching every inch of her skin. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm still dealin' with my past, but who the hell isn't? I decided I'm not gonna let it hold me back anymore. Certainly not from you. So if you're okay with that, I'd like to get this show on the road before you get over whatever rebellious phase you're goin' through and you change your mind."

Lisanna laughed. It was the first true laughter she'd enjoyed in a while. "I've always been Fairy Tail's resident rebel, Bixlow. That's not ever going to change."

"Lucky me," he replied with another grin. His babies followed with a chorus of, "Lucky! Lucky!"

"Let's go. We've got to surprise my sister."

Bixlow snorted in response.

They slipped in the back door of the guild just as Mirajane and Fried were walking up the front path. "What took you so long?" Elfman hissed, pulling them down behind the counter with him. Lisanna and Bixlow glanced at each other but didn't answer.

Fried opened the door, the lights flicked on, and everyone popped out and yelled, "SURPRISE!" It was like a scene from a movie. Mirajane was a magnificent actress, right down the tears of joy and the jubilant shock, but it was clear to her siblings that they had, as always, failed to truly surprise the omniscient barmaid.

The cake was delicious, the drink flowed freely, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Mirajane opened her gifts and was delighted by every one of them, especially the sapphire earrings from Lisanna. She smiled at Elfman and gave him a thumbs up when her sister enfolded her in a hug. Neither of them would ever tell Mirajane how much those earrings had really cost.

As the night wore on and people grew drunker, Lisanna edged her way over to Bixlow's table. He was a bit tipsy judging from the loopy patterns of his tiki dolls, but he refrained from indulging in the obscene amount of alcohol he usually consumed during birthday blowouts. She leaned on the table and sighed, staring out at the rowdy crowd surrounding her sister. "The party appears to be a success."

"Appears to be. Your sister's real good at fakin' it. Good for Fried, I guess."

Lisanna wrinkled her nose and swatted Bixlow on the shoulder. "That's so crude. I don't want to think about that."

Bixlow grinned and shrugged. "Trust me, no one else in this guild does, either. Not about Fried, at least." He dodged Lisanna's hand when that earned him another slap. "C'mon, y'know it's true."

"That doesn't change the fact that I don't want to think about it."

"Tell you what, I know somethin' that'll really surprise your sister. Like, genuine shock."

"What?"

With one hand Bixlow grabbed the back of Lisanna's neck and brought her mouth down onto his, and with the other he tipped back his visor. Lisanna smiled and grabbed his shirt in her hands, reveling in the rather sloppy, but ultimately thorough kisses that Bixlow administered in his slightly drunken state. She liked the way his whole hand cupped the back of her head, and how his fingers tousled her sleek white hair, and how she could feel the cold metal of his visor press against her forehead. He tasted like beer and birthday cake, and she kind of liked that, too.

It wasn't long before she heard the exclamations of disbelief and shock, but she didn't look up to confirm who they were from. She didn't care. People might think this was a drunken hookup now, but Lisanna knew that it was more. She laughed against Bixlow's lips as the catcalls started. "I could get used to this," she confessed.

"Good," Bixlow said, grinning deviously. He grabbed her hips and pulled her into his lap, earning a bawdy round of cheers and an outraged string of cursing from Elfman. Despite his protests, the making out carried on long after the crowd lost interest. No one bothered to interrupt. It was clear from just one look that this was the first time, in a very long time, either of those lost souls had found true happiness.