Welcome to the final chapter! Anyone who has made it this far, I congratulate you. I actually wrote most of this chapter all the way back at chapter 5 I think it was because well I had an idea on how I wanted it to end, and this is how I decided to do it. After posting this I will be marking this story as complete and I do not plan on ever writing a sequel to this. I am done with this world. I nearly gave up before even making it here.

Without further ado. Enjoy

"There it is." Juvia didn't need to announce it, they all knew now what it was. It was Animod, the gate home. It must have appeared now because the rabbits were finally defeated. Gray's hand found its way around hers, and she gladly squeezed it tight.

"You're finally going home." Gray said quietly to her. He stepped closer to her, and his shoulder brushed her side. Normally this would have made Juvia feel much more relaxed, but his words nerved her.

"You're coming too Gray. Right? Fiore's your home too." Juvia said looking up at him. She expected him to be staring straight ahead like he usually was whenever she looked up at him, but this time he was looking at her.

"It is." He kissed her forehead and said nothing else.

Behind them stood all the Guilds from Fiore that had been dragged to this world twenty something years ago, Juvia looked around and smiled at them all. Finally, this pointless game was over and they could all return home. Natsu and Lucy stood in a similar position to Gray and Juvia, hands interlocked and so close to each other they were touching. Beside them were Erza and Jellal. The proud father stood behind the mother of his child, smiling over her shoulder down at the small baby boy, now returned to her, cradled in her arms. Erza however was crying, over everything she had done, and everything she had missed.

Loke, Meredy and Lyon were smiling towards Gray and Juvia, encouraging them to go first. Juvia still couldn't believe that this was a completely different Loke to her own. Then it hit her again. On the other side of Animod was Loke Leorke, waiting for an answer to a marriage proposal that if Juvia valued her life she couldn't turn down. But, before she feared if she rejected Loke that she would be out on her own, a nobody with no one. Now, she had Fairy Tail, she had Gray, and she wasn't going to be alone ever again.

"Wait." Juvia then began to panic, "Oh no. Gray I've been here for over a month!" She took a few deep breaths and began to fan herself. She had asked Loke to meet her in an hour at the gazebo for her answer, and she had left him waiting far longer than that.

"And?" Gray was slightly confused.

"They probably think I'm dead! Or I've run away because of the marriage proposal." She took a few quick short breaths and let go of Gray's hand, running her own through her blue locks.

"Juvia, you know what happens when you panic too much." Gray said rubbing her shoulders soothingly, trying to calm her down. Her breaths became longer, but still shaky.

"Who's the idiot now Gray?" Lyon said grinning at his side and Meredy tried to shush him.

"She's overexcited herself. It's not my fault." Gray growled back.

Juvia took a few more deep breaths, until her breathing was back to normal, "Okay. I'm okay." She said slightly out of breath.

At that moment, the door of Animod swung open. Through the door was nothing like Domina, there was no mirrored room with a table in the middle. Animod was nothing more than a portal, and she hoped it would take her home.

"You are all coming, right? You have all been gone for a long time, and Fiore may not admit it, but it needs wizards back, and it's time for you to come home." Juvia called over the crowd and they all cheered in response.

"And you will be coming with us to Fairy Tail will you not Juvia?" Lucy asked once the cheering had died down.

With a quick glance over at Gray, then everyone else, Juvia couldn't help but smile, "Of course. You're my family now." She grabbed Gray's hand again and turned towards Animod.

"Go on. You can have the honours of passing through first." Lyon said to the two of them.

"You just want me to test if it's safe." Gray glared playfully at the white-haired man.

He just grinned in response, "If I wanted that I would shove you straight through it, I wouldn't risk Miss Juvy's life." Juvia flinched. She thought he had been done with that nickname.

"I thought we were past that Lyon." Juvia sighed but still couldn't hide her smile, "I'm ready to leave this crazy world." Juvia looked up to Gray.

"I was ready the day I got here." He said and the two stepped towards Animod. It was calling to them, it was almost begging them to come home. Juvia smiled widely and stepped in. Her right hand however was still on the other side of Animod, Gray hadn't passed through with her, and he was looking over his shoulder at all his friends.

"They will be right behind us Gray." Juvia said reassuringly before giving his hand a light tug. He nodded and turned around to step in after her, but he couldn't pass through. Tapping on the entrance with his free hand it was like solid glass.

Gray sighed and rested his forehead against the barrier between him and Juvia, "Not again."

"What do you mean again? Gray why aren't you coming through?" Juvia panicked, trying to pull his hand through with hers.

"Juvia. It's no good." Gray brought her hand up to his face and kissed it gently, "Years ago, Juvia Lockster and I found Animod, but this happened to us both. We couldn't pass through. We thought it was because the Black Rabbit was still about but I see now. We've been here for too long. None of us belong in Fiore any longer. But you Juvia, you haven't been here nearly as long as we have, you can return home."

"No!" She declared trying to pull herself back to Gray, but only her right arm, which hadn't yet passed completely through Animod, would go to him. "I want to stay with you. You are my home Gray. Fairy Tail is my home. I belong with you." She cried not letting herself believe it.

Animod began to pull at her legs lightly, trying to lift her up but she resisted. Her hand remained on Gray's cheek and she pulled them both to the glass, trying to feel his lips against hers just once more, but all she felt was the barrier between them.

Gray smiled quietly, ignoring the tears slowly rolling down his cheeks, he gave her fingers a small kiss again before dropping something cold into her palm and pushing her hand through the barrier.

"Gray…"

"Don't Juvia." He whispered, "It's hard enough having to watch you go a second time. At least this time I know you're alive."

"That wasn't me, and I'm not her."

"I know that, but I still love you and watching you go is just as hard, if not harder."

Before Juvia could reply, Animod over powered her and she felt herself being raised up, "I don't want to go!" She begged, clawing at the air, trying to find her way back down to Gray, but to no avail. The face of her beloved ice mage faded, as did the world he was now forced to spend eternity in.

Juvia shut her eyes to force back any tears, but mostly to try and rid herself of the pain of watching herself being pulled from Gray by some unknown force.

When she opened her eyes again she was sitting in the grass, leaning against the tree that the rabbit hole had been dug up against. She was back at the Leorke estate. She ran her fists across her eyes, shoving away her tears, but there wasn't any there. Then she saw the skirt of her dress in her lap, it was the same dress she was wearing when she came to the Leorke estate.

"Was it all a dream?" She asked herself. Juvia had spent months in that world, she had fought in a war, but here she was, in the last place she remembered being before she fell down the rabbit hole, still in the same dress.

Her hands fell into her lap in defeat. Was Gray not real? Were any of them real? Or was it all an elaborate dream?

Something jingled in her lap and there she saw it, Gray's crux necklace. She scooped it up again and held it close to her, a tear escaping from her eyes, "No. It was real." She smiled for a moment as she looped the necklace around her neck and tucked it into her bodice.

Then, as the cold metal pressed against her skin she remembered why she was here. Animod had only let her through, no one else could have passed through. It was the only known way to Earthland. A few more tears slipped out. Juvia and Gray would never be together again. Even if he did find a way out she would most likely be an old woman by then, and Gray, still barely an adult. No one not born in that world aged. People died, but no one would age.

Her thoughts then trailed to the little baby boy, Siegrain. He was born in that world, he would outlive his parents, and they would have to watch him, and possibly bury him. No parent should ever have to bury their child, and here Erza and Jellal would be forced to watch him turn into an old man, and they would never pass their thirties.

They were all trapped there. Lucy, Natsu, Gajeel, Lyon, Meredy, Levy, Cana, Mirajane, Laxus, Sting, Rouge, Rufus, Loke and so many others. At least they were free of the Black Rabbit.

Loke… He may have been a different Loke to hers, but they were so similar that it hurt. At first, she was worried about rejecting Loke Leorke, because she had Gray. Now, she had no one. Loke was the only man other than Gray to show any interest in her and his marriage proposal still stood.

Juvia gasped. Had the same amount of time passed here as it did there? Had she been missing for all that time and Loke moved on? She would be alone forever… No. She had to go to the gazebo to see if Loke was there. If not this was his estate, he was bound to be somewhere.

She hopped off the ground, dusted herself off and made sure she was presentable before making her way back through the garden back to a party that she wasn't even sure was still there.

So, she was very surprised to see the very party she had left, continuing. How much time had really passed?

"Juvia!" Someone hissed grabbing her arm. Looking at her, Juvia noticed she looked an awful lot like Cana, but she knew it wasn't Cana, "I know you're only ten minutes late, but when you tell a Duke an hour, you arrive ten minutes early!" She scolded in her ear as she shoved her to the gazebo.

There, standing there patiently waiting was Loke. He turned to her with an almost stuck up look, but Juvia could see a kind, considerate Loke in his eyes. This was her Loke, not Fairy Tail Loke. Although they were very much alike, they weren't the same person.

"Here I thought you had run off and joined a wizard guild out of horror from my proposal." He teased playfully taking her hands when she joined him.

Oh, if only you knew… Juvia laughed quietly to herself, "I was simply… thinking."

They stood together, in a comfortable silence that was only turned awkward by the fact the party had ceased to watch the proposal they all were here for.

"Am I going to have to ask again my lady?" Loke asked glancing over at the crowd nervously, then back to Juvia.

"This is a big decision." Juvia answered calmly, "It is what is expected of me. My whole life, this is what my mother wanted for me. And I'll be honest, for the past few years I wanted anything but." He seemed disheartened by her words, "And recently, I've discovered true happiness and a place I can call home." She looked down at their entwined hands, but I can't have that anymore she added in her mind, "I've decided…" Her eyes skimmed up to meet his, "I will be your wife my lord."

Keeping his composure, Loke bowed slightly and gently placed a kiss on her hand as he slipped on a small gold ring to her finger, "Loke will do fine dear Juvia." He told her quietly so only she could hear. "I see no reason to be so formal with my soon to be wife." He straightened up and they both turned to face the nobles and ladies who began to applaud the new couple.

When Juvia found her mother's face, she saw a look she never thought her mother would give her. Belno Lockser, was proud. Proud that her daughter had found someone to marry, and a Duke no less. At the age of seventeen Juvia Lockser would become Juvia Leorke. She would not live out her life stuck with her mother, as their fortune quickly ran dry. She would be stuck as a rich Duchess of Western Fiore, her mother most likely spending most of that money.

Putting on a brave face, Juvia faked a smile as her and Loke descended into the crowd, accepting the congratulations from friends Juvia never had.

The entire time, all she could think of was him. Hoping that Gray would appear to take her to Magnolia, to Fairy Tail, like he had promised.

Gray…

…

Anger, sorrow and fury rushed through Gray like a knife to the heart. Everyone stood there, watching him in silence. Breaking the silence, Gray cried out in agony and smashed his fist against Animod, as if it would shatter the invisible barrier and allow him to pass through. But it didn't budge.

Falling to his knees, Gray continued to weakly punch Animod. Twice he had lost the love of his life and it only hurt more the second time it came around. The door to Animod slowly swung shut, but Gray still was pounding his fist into it, each punch weaker than the last until the door finally faded as it had come.

Lyon went to step forward, holding his hand out to his brother, but Meredy wrapped her hand around his wrist, holding it back. Gray would need consoling soon, yes, but now wasn't the time.

"W-we can't go home." Natsu was the first to break through the sound of Gray's sobs.

"So it would seem." Erza agreed closing her eyes and lowering her head as Jellal's grip on her shoulders tightened.

"No." He said stubbornly, "We can't give up now. That can't be the only way out of this world."

"Why would the Rabbit fabricate this world just so we could escape? He created this world to trap us here, it is an inescapable prison." Lucy argued.

"Lucy might be right, but I knew the Rabbit better than anyone here." Erza said, still shameful of her past actions and that she let the Black Rabbit tempt her into the darkness, "He was pure evil, but he loved a challenge. There is more to this world than we see."

"Erza is right." A small feminie voice broke in.

"Careful." Another voice said, helping her walk.

She simply held her hand up to him, "I'm fine. Just creating this world to trap us here wasn't enough. He wanted to play with us, like little chess pieces. But playing chess by yourself is boring, He needed an opponent. So, I was dragged beyond the grave to this world."

"Mavis!" The members of Fairy Tail gasped seeing the small blonde haired girl, in her human form.

"The Rabbit killed you." Meredy pointed out.

Mavis laughed, "I am much harder to kill than that."

"Almost as hard as I am to kill." The one supporting her joked. Everyone flinched when they saw the dark-haired man's face, "Natsu." He nodded to the pink haired boy.

"Zeref!" Natsu hissed, letting Lucy go and creating flames in his hands, ready to fight.

"I am no threat." Zeref said calmly, nodding towards Gray who was now being assisted to his feet by Meredy and Lyon, "One of you seems to be incapacitated."

"Inconsolable." Mavis corrected.

"No, I think I mean incapacitated." Zeref insisted.

"Anyhow. The man you call the Black Rabbit is known as Majeer E. Fiore, the son of the current King of Fiore, Toma E. Fiore." Mavis began to explain, "He was excommunicated years ago from the Kingdom by his parents, for tampering with forbidden magic."

"In his exile, he went mad." Zeref butted in, "And I saw an opportunity. Majeer held an immense amount of power, and I wished to harness it to eradicate magic."

"Why would you want to do that?" Lyon demanded.

"To free E.N.D." Gray mumbled from beside him.

"I influenced his mind." Zeref continued, "Convinced him that he would bring about an era of peace for the world, while gaining revenge on his family. But, never did I think he would do what he did. He used a Face bomb."

"The Dragons destroyed all of the Face bombs." Sting furiously broke in.

"They destroyed all of the active Face bombs." Zeref corrected, "One malfunctioned and was not destroyed. Majeer found this bomb and repurposed it. He managed to make it big enough to reach all of the guilds in Fiore, and when he set it off, instead of destroying magic, it dragged you all to this world that he created."

"Quickly bored with his creation, he pulled me into this world to be his opponent, and fearing Zeref's power, he sealed him into the Timeless Cave." Mavis explained.

"Which broke the moment this battle began. Majeer's magic is only so strong." Zeref added.

"Instead of Zeref becoming his opponent then, I was made into his opponent and to make the playing field fair, he gave him and myself the same weakness, along with the same powers over this world. That is why he couldn't kill me." Mavis summed up, "Only Regulus held by a champion could kill either of us, we weren't allowed to kill each other and first one to die loses."

"So this was all just one sick game?" Sting huffed.

"Here I thought you were smart enough to have figured that out earlier." Rogue grinned slightly, gesturing to the giant chess-board-like ground they stood on.

"I did, I just…" Sting turned his head from Rogue not bothering to keep explaining his question.

"Thanks to you all I, no, we have won." Mavis said.

"Who is she?" Lyon whispered to Gray who jabbed him with his elbow.

Everyone listened intently to Mavis, even though only those from Fairy Tail knew exactly who she was, everyone else could tell she was of great importance. She had said she had the same powers over this world as the Black Rabbit, no Majeer had, so maybe she knew why they, at least Gray, couldn't pass through Animod.

Waving her hand gracefully, the door that was Animod crumbled into dust, "What'd you do that for!?" Gajeel shouted, "That was our only way home!"

"Animod was useless to you anyway. You had to enter through Domina to exit through Animod, all of you however did not enter through Domina, you were brought into this world in its creation, you are not visitors but a part of this world." Mavis explained solemnly.

"Does this mean we can't go home?" Lucy asked and she felt Levy move up beside her.

"We'll find a way Lu." Levy said encouragingly. Even after so long being enemies, Lucy and Levy were still the best of friends at heart.

"The only way to remove you from this world, is to destroy this world. Although this world was created from you, that does not mean you belong here." Zeref explained as a shadow fell across Mavis' face, "Destroying this world would mean-"

"Destroying anything that truly belongs here." Mavis interrupted, her gaze fell straight to Erza, or more specifically Siegrain in her arms, "Anything not born of Earthland, might not be able to return there."

The former Red Queen's arms tightened around her son, and Jellal stepped closer to her, as if suddenly an evil was threatening is family, which in a way it was.

"I will be able to send all of you home, but it isn't a guaranteed trip for you all." Mavis warned.

"Well? What are you waiting for?!" Natsu said overexcitedly. Lucy grabbed his forearm and held him back from pouncing on Mavis and Zeref.

"Natsu…" Lucy warned lowly, "You have to consider everyone in the equation. Some of us might not make it home."

"I don't understand. We're all from Earthland are we not? Just because he was born here doesn't mean he belongs here." Natsu argued quite aggressively.

"We cannot be sure of that." Mavis said looking down. "We will give you time to think about it."

In the end, Jellal and Erza decided the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one, but even as Mavis and Zeref prepared to cast the spell, Erza held onto her son tightly, hoping it would help ensure safe travel for him.

Everyone looked between each other as Mavis and Zeref began the spell to send them home. Many of them had jitters they were so excited. Gray seemed calm, but on the inside, he was as excited as everyone else. He hadn't come to accept that he would never see Juvia again, but now he didn't have to.

When the spell was complete the world was filled with light, just like it had been when they were brought here, but this time the pain was much more excruciating. Not many of them had been on the verge of death before, but they all knew this is what it must have felt like.

Everyone screamed and yelled in pain but they knew it was worth it, they would make it home… They had to…

But then. There was nothing.

…

The sheer size of the building made Juvia feel smaller than she had ever felt before. Three weeks had passed since Juvia had returned to Fiore, but twenty years had passed since anyone inhabited the building. She was surprised no one had pulled it down.

But here it was, the paint had faded over time, and the Iron Gate had been locked shut. The left side of the building had lost its roof somehow, and up the top was a bell tower, with a missing bell. Just below, where the bell would hang, a ripped banner, which was on its last leg still flew proudly. Right above Juvia's head, the letters themselves had fallen off, but they left behind a shadow that read Fairy Tail.

"I'd like you to meet Fairy Tail's newest member, Juvia." Makarov said to Erza, Lucy and Gray as Levy showed them around the new guildhall, while Natsu just sulked, "Isn't she a cutie?"

The memory of her past self, played before Juvia's own eyes, and she could feel tears welling in her eyes.

"I can't wait to work with you!" Juvia Lockster said brightly.

Gray chuckled a little at the newest member of Fairy Tail, "So you actually made it in huh?" There was a small smile on his face that made Juvia's heart flutter.

"Leave me alone!" Juvia waved away the memory that wasn't even her own and roughly shoved away tears of her own.

"Aw come on. Don't tell me you're backing out on us." Gray laughed from beside her. But when she looked, nothing was there.

Her vision turning blurry, Juvia looked back up at the guild hall of Fairy Tail. She thought of all the possible memories she could have made here. Memories with Cana, Lucy, Mira and she would have even had the chance to know the Erza that everyone else knew. She thought about all the stories she had been told. Of Elfman preaching about the glories of being a real man. Of Cana drinking a month's worth of beer in a day. Of the many times they had to rebuild this very hall. Mirajane's cooking, Gajeel's singing, Levy's books everywhere, Natsu and Gray starting fights left right and centre…

All the possible memories Juvia could have become a part of. Gone.

A cold salty tear rolled down her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe it away, or its followers. This was something she needed to do.

"No more tears remember." Lyon's words echoed in her mind.

"I remember and I will never forget." She replied quietly.

Finally, a small smile cracked at her lips. This cold, empty, dilapidated guild hall… she knew exactly what it was… this was home.

Reaching inside her bodice, Juvia pulled Gray's necklace out and glanced between it and the abandoned building. Carefully, she ran her hand down the Iron Gate, her hand coming to rest on the locked chain that held the two iron gates together. She didn't attempt to open it, what good would it do? Letting her hand fall in defeat, she decided it was time to leave.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump. She spun around hoping to find Gray, or anyone from Fairy Tail, but no.

"I've finished up my business, are you ready to go?" Loke, her soon-to-be-husband said. Juvia nodded stiffly as he took her arm and walked with her back to the carriage, "Are you alright?" He asked brushing a thumb over a stray tear.

"Y-yes." She said quickly looking away, "I just find it sad how all of the magical guilds in Fiore just up and vanished twenty years ago, without any trace."

"It is sad. I remember once when I was little I wondered into the Lamia Scale guild hall in Margaret Town when father wasn't watching. Their guild master was an old bat, but I was only six at the time so they took care of me until father found me. I remember there was this man with silver hair, he looked at me strangely saying I was a younger version of a spirit he once saw. They made him look after me and he had the most beautiful magic I'd ever seen. Given it was the only magic I'd ever seen in my life."

"Ice-make magic." Juvia filled in. It was strange to think that Lyon had entertained Loke at the age of six.

"How did you-?"

"I have read of ice-make magic. The texts all describe it as one of the most beautiful and free magic there is." Juvia lied so smoothly that it scared her slightly.

"Well the texts are true. He could even create living beings! At one point, I asked him why the guild was called Lamia Scale, and he explained it, but I cannot remember why anymore. But, just before my father appeared, he made me an ice sculpture of the mythical creature Lamia which the guild was named after. I still have it actually, father was horrified at how I enjoyed being out the mages, and I hid the sculpture scared that he would shatter it, I will show you when we return home if you wish."

Return home… Juvia glanced over her shoulder at the Fairy Tail guild hall as it grew smaller in the distance. Ever since she left that other world, she knew she would never truly be home until she was with Fairy Tail again.

"That would be lovely." Juvia said simply as Loke assisted her into the carriage. No lie ever tasted as bitter on her tongue as the one she would have to be living as of next week, when Juvia Lockser would become Juvia Leorke, Duchess of Western Fiore. She bit back the evil thought of never being truly happy again, but nothing could stop her tears as she watched Magnolia fade into the distance.

But how could she ever be happy, when the only thing she would ever want was Gray's arms around her as they walked into the Fairy Tail guild hall together, and his sweet words in her ear, whispering, "Welcome home Juvia."