Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Disclaimer: I do own all characters and magic I have created. Please do not steal them.

A/N: So~~ many things have happened, some of it even I can't believe. Not all good, but definitely not all bad. Just really, really – super – hectic.

Without going into too much detail, summer was basically me and my immediate family playing host to a huge group of extended family members and close family friends. They stayed for a month-ish and I swear, I learned so much about the city I live in and the surrounding areas ^^;

Work has been TERRIBLE. Honestly, the situation was just plain dumb. It wasn't so much as the person I was dealing with got in trouble with the law, but they nonetheless needed to get a lawyer. I ended up being the neutral middleman and had to run around getting people to sign things, get permission for stuff to occur, talk with a lawyer, ect. And it wasn't just, running around room to room, it was like… city to city, because no one wanted to answer emails or pick up their damn phone…. So tired T_T

On top of that, my family got sued just recently… We didn't actually do anything wrong. My parents own this building, and there's a business that rents the space. The business got sued…. And the person suing decided to sue the owners of the building as well… -_-…. Yay us….

Holidays aside, things have been busy – clearly…

But I'm determined to finish this story! It might take time though.

Chapter Forty-Five: Yesterday's Enemies Are Today's Friends

Much like when Phantom Lord initiated a war with Fairy Tail, the Magic Council arrived when everything was over. They arrived the next afternoon, ordering everyone to gather and get interrogated one-by-one. After that, the council members escorted all the members of Zepar War to Era to hold further trials. Although the heaviest punishment would have likely fallen upon the guild master of Zepar War, Veljko Callisto was no longer mentally stable. Such was the permanent effects of Vulpecula's never ending nightmare.

Aquila returned to her Owner's side the evening when all of the commotion settled down. Much to her annoyance, that Jellal fellow and his lady friend, Meredy, disappeared when the guild masters started waking up, leaving Aquila to explain the situation. With all of her charges growing restless and less disoriented, Aquila showed the guild masters the way out of the canyon. Most of them ended up riding on her back in her Beast form to get from the cave to the hiking path.

The few days that followed, the broken Fairy Tail building had been packed to the brim. Guild masters came and went, picking up their slowly recovering members, while the actual members of Fairy Tail sprawled out wherever they could in exhaustion.

Reconstruction was a common occurrence in Magnolia. When construction signs went up and portions of the building were covered, the citizens hardly batted an eye. Mirajane took it upon herself to draw another blueprint of a new design she imagined for the guildhall. The guild members easily agreed, however, went about building without looking too hard at the proposal.

"Put those planks over there." Erza commanded, sunlight reflecting off of her shiny hard hat.

"Who put you in charge?" Natsu complained, shifting the weight on his shoulder.

"What was that?" The Re-quip mage asked, aura flaring.

"Nothing!" Natsu yelled, scurrying to where he was instructed.

"Wimp." Gray scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Get to work!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Taurus! Get back here! Stop flirting!" Lucy yelled, running after her Celestial Spirit.

"Your body gives me moo-tivation!" Taurus praised with hearts in his eyes as he wiggled his hips from side to side.

"E-Eh?!"

Lucy smacked the Celestial Spirit on the head and grabbed his ear to drag him away. "Sorry, Laki!"

"I will have none of that nonsense here." Erza warned, walking up to the blonde.

"Yes, ma'am." Lucy gulped before hissing in Taurus's ear, "Look what you did… I told you Erza was scary when she's like this."

"Oh?" The redhead asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh…"

"Watch out!" Max yelled in warning that was promptly followed by a scream of pain.

Lucy squeaked, leaping out of the way. Erza quickly followed suit, however Taurus was not so lucky as he was run over by a two wheelbarrows.

"I won!" Gray and Natsu declared. "No way, Fire Bastard/Ice Princess!"

"Taurus!" The Celestial wizard cried dramatically, watching her friend disappear in sparkles of gold.

"Natsu. Gray." Erza growled as she slowly re-quipped into armor.

"What happened here?" Lisanna asked with an unsure grimace.

"What do you mean?" Mira questioned back, a huge smile on her face. "Welcome back, how was your break?"

"Ha… Heh…." Lisanna breathily chuckled uneasily.

"Manly!" Elfman yelled out proudly.

…One Week Later…

"Thank goodness." Lucy sighed, leaning her head in her hand.

"What for?" The Fire Dragon Slayer asked with a huge yawn. "There aren't any good jobs to go on."

"We just finished building the guild yesterday and you want to go on a job?!" Lucy asked incredulously.

"You're so loud, Lucy." Happy commented. "Indoor voices."

Lucy shifted her eyes, nearly shooting daggers at the little kitten sitting on the table in front of her with a mouth full of raw fish.

"I see everything is back to normal." Gray commented, setting down a bowl of something colorful and plopping on the bench across his three teammates.

The Celestial mage felt her cheeks heat up, turning away from the Exceed. She met Nastu's curious eyes instead, making more of her blood rush to her face. Turning away again, Lucy met Gray's eyes. Giving up, she asked, "W-What are you eating? I'm getting hungry just looking at that."

"Of course you are." Happy snickered.

Before Lucy could slam her palms onto the table in frustration, Natsu grabbed her hand that was closest to him and held it on his lap.

"I wish I could tell you, but Mira said I was a guinea pig today…" The Ice Make wizard trailed off, poking at the food with a fork.

"Want to try it, Lucy?!" Lisanna asked excitedly, nearly bouncing over to their table with a tray full of the same meal. "I asked if I could work in the kitchen once in a while to get away from field work and Mira let me come up with a new menu item." She proceeded to eagerly put down a bowl in front of the three of them. "If it goes well, Master will consider having it permanently on the menu."

"It's cold, Lisanna." Natsu grumbled unhappily.

"It's supposed to be." The Take-Over wizard huffed. "It's a salad, after all."

"Does it have any fish?" Happy asked next.

"No, it's a Rainbow Soba Noodle Salad. It has a ton of yummy veggies and soba noodles."

"No meat either?" Natsu sighed. "It kind of looks like a mess."

Lucy slapped at his arm.

"So it's not the prettiest…" Lisanna trailed off.

"Is a salad supposed to have this many noodles?" Gray asked, lifting a huge forkful of the chewy food item.

"Hmph…" Lisanna pouted. "I had to make a lot of it so… the proportions went a bit off…"

"I think it tastes pretty good." Lucy said, chewing a bite slowly. "Don't listen to them, Lisanna." She suddenly stopped eating, her eyes watering. "Spicy…"

Gray's cough caught their attention next.

"You can't mix big portions well, huh?" He hissed out between clenching teeth. "This is seriously sour."

"Is this sticky stuff honey?" Happy asked while lifting up his fork and watching a string of liquid slowly flow back down.

"Mira-nee! They need water." Lisanna cried unhappily, walking towards the bar.

Natsu switched his bowl with Lucy's. "This one doesn't smell as spicy as yours."

"It's not the whole bowl… Just certain bites." Gray said, cautiously eyeing the next forkful.

"It tastes pretty good." Lucy agreed.

"This would be so much better with fish in it." Happy argued.

"I'm glad." Mira laughed lightly, setting down four glasses of water. "Lisanna worked hard all morning."

"Are there matches around?" Natsu asked.

"You're going to light Lisanna's hopes and dreams up in flames?" Mira asked sweetly.

Lucy sighed in disappointment. Her boyfriend had no common sense.

"Proving yourself to be the idiot everyone knew you were, flame brain." Gray scoffed.

"Icy bastard, let's fight." Natsu declared, standing up.

"Right here, right now." Gray goaded.

"You think they'll be nice?"

"Probably not."

"Oh…"

"… But maybe."

"How do you think they're so strong? Is their guild a gym on the inside?"

"Perhaps."

"Do they exercise all day?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Well, you two are about to find out, we're here." The woman of the group interrupted, looking ahead of them.

The group of three stood in front of large, imposing doors. The fresh coat of gloss prettily reflected the afternoon sunlight. In contrast to the cheerful streets of Magnolia, loud crashes and angry voices were leaking through the walls of the Fairy Tail guildhall.

With a deep breath, the woman slowly creaked open the door.

"Or it's just some ratty old bar."

"Hey! This place is practically brand new." Nab retorted but paused as he got a good look at their guests. "Aren't you three…?"

"AH!" Jet yelled in fright, getting thrown into the half staircase connecting to the door. He dizzily looked up. "You're-!" His speech was quickly interrupted by a wheeze of pain as Natsu and Gray landed on top of him.

"Ugh, get off of me, campfire." The Ice Make mage groaned.

"You get off of me, popsicle." Natsu replied.

"Are you guys okay?"

The three men looked up from their dog pile, spying a young boy watching them curiously.

"Don't get too close, Darrel. You might catch their stupidity."

"Bastard." Gray hissed, quickly getting up and shoving the man into the railing. "What are you doing here, Gunnar?"

The Rock mage, formerly a member of the now disbanded guild Zepar War, looked away uncomfortably.

"We're not here to pick a fight." Shifra protested, grabbing Gray's shoulder to push him off of her friend.

"Doesn't look like it." Jet scoffed, sitting up on the staircase.

"Wait," Darrel frantically cut in, stepping in the middle of the older wizards. "We… We came here to say sorry."

"Sorry?" Natsu asked, tilting his head.

"For… you know," Shifra continued stiffly. "Targeting you and destroying your guild."

Gunnar cleared his throat, straightening his shirt after Gray let go. "We apologize."

"Forgive us!" Darrel added, bowing down until his body was at a ninety-degree angle. Gunnar and Shifra looked at each other briefly before following their younger friend's sincerity.

The members of Fairy Tail fell silent.

"What are you really here for?" Jet asked slowly with a raised eyebrow.

"N-No! We're serious!" Darrel argued with a pout.

"Don't bother. If they don't believe us, then they don't believe us." Gunnar huffed lightly, patting the young boy on the head.

"Well, whatever." Shifra sighed. "Not that we have the right to blame them if they don't accept it. Just, forgive this one and we'll be out of your hair." She lightly pressed Darrel forward.

"Shifra?" The young Retaliation magic user questioned.

"We… We really do regret trying to use everyone like we did." Gunnar steadily started, standing up straighter. "I still stand by what we fought for. The Council isn't doing what needs to be done."

"But, we realize it is better to make allies than force everyone into doing what we think is right." Shifra finished. "So, there."

One by one, the Fairy Tail members looked at each other.

"Far be it for us to allow young wizards to walk the path of darkness." Makarov appeared, firmly walking to the front. He coughed into his hand. "Let's celebrate the rebuilding of the guildhall!"

Without even questioning their Master, cheers erupted from fellow Fairy Tail members. With confusion clearly written on their faces, Gunnar, Shifra, and Darrel were pulled into the fray. Lisanna presented the three her new creation with an eager smile after Mirajane led them to a table.

Music started playing seemingly out of nowhere, alcohol was passed around like water, and the mess made with the brawl was quickly being pushed aside.

"This place is fun!" Darrel sang, holding a mug of hot chocolate in his hands as he swayed his body to the music.

"Be careful with that." Gunnar grumbled, his head in his hand and elbow on the table while taking the hot beverage away. Darrel pouted in return.

"They're too carefree." Shifra commented. "Why are we still here?"

"You guys don't look like you're having any fun." Mirajane said in a pleasant voice, coming up to the table. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"I would like to leave." Shifra said under her breath before saying in a louder voice, "No thanks, we appreciate the hospitality."

"That's a load of crap." Natsu chortled from a table close by, his arm swung over Lucy's shoulders.

"I never expected her to use such formal words." Gray snickered, hiding a grin behind his drink.

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

"You three." Lucy sighed.

"Juvia agrees with Gray-sama." The Water wizard readily replied.

"Of course you do." The Celestial wizard breathed out.

"You…" Shifra growled, standing up and putting her hands flat on the table. Darrel quickly tugged on her sleeve.

"Didn't I tell you this was a bad idea?" Gunnar snickered. He watched as Shifra's hot temper start to show in her leaking magic. "All right, chill out, hot shot. I don't want to grovel at their feet again when you burn down their guild."

"Let's just be friends." Darrel suggested, offering her the hot chocolate Gunnar put on the table to cool down.

"Should we really trust them?" Charle asked skeptically.

"Master said that we should accept their apologies and start new friendships." Wendy commented.

"Don't worry, we're leaving soon." Shifra huffed, but then paused and took a quick glance at her young friend keeping a hand on her sleeve. "Where did your Master go, anyways? He just left you lot to keep an eye on us?"

"You won't do anything." Mira said confidently. In the middle of the Fairy Tail guildhall with most of the members present, it was highly unlikely. "He's in his office. Is it that you three want to join us?"

"Metal face was bad enough." Natsu grumbled.

"That didn't turn out so bad." Lucy shrugged, turning to look at the Iron Dragon Slayer pretend not to be interested in what Team Shadow Gear was up to. Though Gajeel had been up to torturing her – even happy to do so – he turned out to be a good ally and friend. Lucy turned to the woman across the table from her. She has long forgiven Juvia for kidnapping her. Lucy internally sighed – she really did get into a lot of trouble with Phantom Lord.

"You're offering? Just like that?" Gunnar asked, apparently shocked.

"Don't think it's 'cause you're special." Gray retorted, leaning his head in his hand.

"Unlike Juvia, who Gray-sama accepted because she's special." Juvia added happily.

"Well?" Mirajane cut in before anything else could be argued. "Would you like to become a part of our guild? We always have room for more family members."

Shifra shifted her eyes quickly to catch sight of Gunnar before turning back to the Take-Over wizard. She looked down, her eyes softening as she laid a hand on top of Darrel's head. "What do you say? You want to stay here?"

"Me? It seems fun here." Darrel replied, unused to being asked his opinions. Usually he just went along with what the others told him to do. "What about you guys?"

The Fire mage nervously shifted her eyes away from his innocence.

"Truth is, kiddo," Gunnar admitted, putting an arm around the young boy's shoulders in a comforting gesture. "Shifra and I were hoping you'd like to stay here. They'll keep a good eye on you, keep you safe."

"So you're just dropping me off, huh?" Darrel said quietly, looking down and swinging his legs. "Everyone is leaving."

"Zepar War is not a guild anymore." Gunnar said in a serious tone.

"Hey, hey, you're just leaving the kid and walking away?" Gray scorned, standing up.

"He has no where else to go." Gunnar retorted, also getting to his feet. "The least we could do was find a safe place for him."

"Leaving a kid all by himself is the best you can do?" Gray scoffed.

"Gunnar and I aren't staying together or with anyone else either. Once the Council released us, most of the members went their separate ways." Shifra cut in. "Why don't you tell us you're brilliant plan, then?"

"Disregarding his sentence in jail, after what your magic did to Ma-Veljko, Darrel was left pretty much orphaned. It's not Fairy Tail's first time taking in a guardian-less kid." Gunnar huffed.

"We don't have a problem with taking him in." Natsu added, crossing his arms. "What we do have a problem with is you just abandoning him here."

"What do you want us to do? I can't take care of him. Gunnar can't take care of him. No one else is willing to take him in. Us bringing him here is better than just letting him wander around out there alone!" Shifra growled.

"Natsu." Lucy called out, grabbing his wrist gently as he stood up. "Please,"

"We can never just solve things peacefully." Charle huffed.

"Aye…" Happy sighed.

"You're not willing to stay as well?" Wendy interrupted, becoming the soothing voice needed to settle everyone. "It's easier with a familiar face around."

"I'm going to wander around as an independent mage for awhile. See if there's anything I want to do." Gunnar disclosed. "Not exactly what I want a kid to be doing, especially since money might be tight."

Shifra looked away, reluctant to share. "I'd feel much better just getting a fresh start somewhere."

"Juvia thinks that if you ever find yourself in trouble, Fairy Tail will lend you a hand." The Water wizard said, a gentle smile tugging on her lips. "But please think about your friend, too."

"They're going to worry that you left."

Darrel looked up from his crouched position on the ground, leaning against the stone fence surrounding Fairy Tail.

"They don't have to." He grumbled, hugging his knees tighter as the woman sat down next to him.

"So? Where do you want to go?"

Darrel was silent.

"Would you like to go on a never ending adventure with us?"

"Miss Strauss?" Darrel asked in confusion.

"Do fairies have tails, Darrel?" Mira asked with a soft smile. "Do they even exist?" He stared at her in wonder. "We can find out together if you want."

"I…" He paused.

"You don't have to decide now." She reassured. "I'll let you in on a secret."

Darrel watched curiously as Mirajane put a finger to her lips in a shushing motion and winked.

"Secret?"

"If you asked really nicely and pout like a puppy, you can get almost anyone to let you stay with them a couple of days." She giggled in a whisper. "We'd never let a cutie like you stay by yourself."

"…What…should I do?"

"Anything you want to. Our doors are always open when you decide."