As Gray, Juvia, myself and the still-sleeping Lucy made our way to rejoin the greater body of Fairy Tail after trudging up the beach from where we'd landed earlier, we found that the beachfront area behind the Guild Hall had become a swarm of activity.

The Rune Knights were eminently recognisable, even from a distance; their uniforms were garish, almost priest-like, with long, dark, high-collared, sleeveless robes worn over light shirts with loose sleeves that were kept from flying around too much by bands worn just below the elbow. They wore white tabards over their torsos that bore the Council's Ankh in a dark blue, held in place by belts around their waists - the back of those tabards were hidden by the white cloaks they wore, also bearing the Council Ankh, clasped at their necks with jewel-adorned, rhomboidal bronze pins.

They each carried a metal staff as tall as the wielder, ending in a Lacrima orb which was topped with a small cross.

Arguably, though, it was their hats - with a bulb-shaped peak like the top of a Bishop piece in chess and two petal-like peaks, one to either side of the bulb to make the hats look like an opening flower from the front or back - that always ensured everyone in viewing distance was aware of who they were looking at.

Ah, politics - where the sillier your hat was, the more pretentious...eh...important you were.

There didn't seem to be a division commander or any such ranked officer among the swarm which had moved in once the battle was over; one of them was giving orders, but he was probably just the assigned garrison commander for Magnolia, a post I'd give a fifty-fifty chance of him gaining through a game of rock-paper-scissors.

It might seem a bit odd, that I had a seemingly low opinion of the Rune Knights when I had spent so much time with the Guard back in Hargeon, even working with them fairly closely.

Well, it wasn't as hypocritical as it seemed - because just like the army, the navy and the air force, the Military Police and the Rune Knights hated each others' guts.

The Rune Knights - who were, each and every one, at the very least trained in the use of manufactured magic items - sneered and looked down on the Royal Guard for being wholly comprised of non-magicals; meanwhile, the Military Police found the Rune Knights hilarious because they never got anything done and they looked fucking ridiculous.

In the end, it all came down to where the two groups reported; the Rune Knights served the Magic Council, and the Military Police were a sub-division of the Fiore Royal Military, and thus they reported up the line to the King of Fiore himself.

Why was there such a division of control in a Kingdom, where absolute power should seem to rest with the reigning monarch? For the same reason that you can't have 'absolute power' in a world where ten percent of the population can become WMDs - sometimes without even trying.

Fiore - and Earthland in its entirety - had always had the clear division between Mages and non-magicals. The former were generally more well-learned, possessed incredible skills and were powerful in combat; however, the latter vastly outnumbered them, were in general more cohesive and group-oriented, while at the same time having the potential to accomplish almost anything a Mage could do but with non-magical methods.

As countries were being carved from the earth and borders were being drawn, leaders would arise on both sides of that magic-driven divide - and, in the beginning at least, that meant war over the right to rule the populace of the newly-formed country.

However, with time and the absolute destruction of large swathes of land and the people who lived there, a grudging co-existence came to be - Fiore being, in fact, one of the earliest examples of a country where Mage and non-magical leaderships began working in concert.

Thus, the Magic Council and the King - Fiore's two ultimate authorities, with one having absolute dominion over its populace, but the other possessing an equal authority over any Mage or user of magic.

Technically, the Magic Council was supposed to be subservient to the King - but that was mostly just propaganda, a way to make sure the populace believed the King's word was absolute. The simple fact was that the Magic Council represented at least the majority of all Mages in Fiore, and attempting to press-gang them into anything was the kind of mistake which could be measured in megatons.

And that wasn't even considering how pervasive Magic was in modern Earthland; it was everywhere, powering transportation, providing clean water, aiding the growth of crops and the rearing of animals, maintaining stable weather patterns and providing a looming threat to neighbouring countries that kept roaming eyes away from the coastal Kingdom.

If the Magic Council acted appropriately, they could cripple Fiore beyond any hope of recovery in a very short space of time. They effectively had the King by the balls...on paper.

In reality, the Magic Council was ten elected members and a vast array of administrative staff with attached bodies like the Rune Knights and the Wizard Saints - who were supposed to be under their control just as Guild Masters were, but then again, one only had to point to Makarov to show just how much their authority meant to some Mages, with the respect they were shown generally being inversely proportional to the strength of the Mage.

Sure, not every Guild was Fairy Tail - but the Magic Council still had considerably less power than it might otherwise have seemed.

So, Fiore was in a near-constant state of cold civil war; the Magic Council and the King grudgingly sharing space, puffing themselves up to try and make themselves look bigger, while their proxies, servants and employees acted on that unspoken animosity and got under each others' feet, creating a widespread, low-level resentment of the 'other side' that became present in anyone who wasn't a fresh recruit.

But that was politics for you.

Still, no matter how much of the Guards' opinion (and mine, by proxy) was built on the friction between the Magic Council and the King, there was no mistaking the fact that the Rune Knights were, in a lot of situations, totally fucking useless.

Their Division Commanders could be quite competent Mages, some even approaching S-Class levels, but the average foot-soldier wouldn't have been a match for even a member of Eisenwald. They were trained in batches with basic techniques and no allowance for their individual skills, issued mass-produced Stun Lacrima on sticks and taught basic drills, then they were posted in a garrison where they might have the luck to cut their teeth on progressively stronger Dark Mages, or they might just get utterly flattened by the first semi-competent Dark Mage to walk through their area.

There was a damn good reason they only ever showed up after the fact in battles like the one that had just been fought - after all, no matter how jumped-up they were on their Council-granted authority, they had survival instincts.

Most of them, anyway. The group of about five who had broken away from the group to approach us, however, seemed to lack that much brainpower.

I took a moment to observe them as they approached; one in particular, a young-looking man with a moustache which was far less impressive than he'd probably like to believe, was out in front, so I focussed on him, giving him the kind of once-over I'd learned how to do from the time I'd spent in Hargeon.

"Mages of Fairy Tail, you are under arrest-" One of them began, and my patience snapped before he'd even finished his third syllable.

"-For what charge?" I broke in, which apparently set the spokesperson back on his heels.

He glanced at his compatriots, but when they just blinked, he cleared his throat and tried to recover some of his sense of purpose. "For damage to public property!"

"What public property?" I asked blankly. "Fairy Tail owns the Guild Hall and the land between it and the shore; and Phantom Lord's Guild Hall likewise belongs to Phantom Lord."

The soldier blinked, opened his mouth - and I cut him off again. "And as for the destruction of private property - well, you can go and ask Jose if he wants to press charges; of course, you'll probably be a bit busy sentencing him for numerous uses of Dark Magic, attempted human sacrifice, enough attempted murder counts to encompass all of Magnolia, the initiation of an inter-Guild war…"

The soldier in front of me was just blinking, his mouth hanging open a bit - his peanut gallery were remaining blank-faced and unresponsive.

It figured - he'd probably never been called on for anything more than arresting some Hedge mage, if that. Having someone talk back to them instead of instantly bowing to the Magic Council's sacred authority was probably wholly out of their world-view. The others looked like they had some experience, but they weren't going to his defense; either they wanted him to toughen up or they just plain didn't like him.

I tapped my foot on the sand. "I'm gonna make this simple for you - either charge us with something legitimate, or get the hell out of my way so I can get my partner somewhere safe."

I smiled - well, to be more accurate, I showed my teeth.

"Or, of course, I can fly over to Era and lodge an official complaint about the Magnolia Rune Knights interfering in rescue and relief efforts in the aftermath of what I'd rate as a…"

I paused, scanning the devastated area, the smouldering, ruined remains of the Super Phantom Mk. II, and the multitude of Fairy Tail Mages who were collapsed where they could find space to sit, gradually growing more irritated by the Rune Knights surrounding them.

"Class eight situation?" I mused. "Yeah, probably a class eight."

I returned my gaze to the slightly pale soldier in front of me. "I'm sure you don't want to be the one who brought down an audit on your garrison - so, I'm confident you'll do the sensible, professional thing, and get out of my way."

The soldier stood in place for a few seconds - then stepped out of our path. His 'friends' glanced at one another before doing likewise, and I took the opportunity to move through the space they'd opened. "Thanks, officer - good to see someone with a little common sense around here."

Gray and Juvia followed quickly in my footsteps as I kept moving forward, the Ice Mage leaning forward a bit to talk to me. "A class eight situation?"

"Made it up." I admitted. "That guy hasn't been on the job more than five months, though, so it's not like he knew that; and in any case, he's got some kind of fast-track career planned - probably since he comes from money or nobility - but he's not so confident in it that he can afford to rock the boat very much. He wasn't going to put his neck on the chopping block by risking me actually placing a report, and he's not experienced enough to think of a new charge to throw at us after losing his momentum like that."

Gray blinked a couple of times. "Wait, you seriously got all that just in the time since he walked up to us?"

I nodded. "Signet ring of some kind on his left hand, freshly-polished, high-price boots, his squadmates' equipment had signs of use which means experience but they were deferring to him anyway despite his obvious lack thereof."

The Ice Mage whistled. "That's kinda impressive." He glanced over his shoulder, and doing the same I was in time to see the less experienced soldier turn around to the others and start gesturing - trying to re-establish some semblance of authority or make sure he looked busy for his commanding officer.

"It's a knack."

When we reached the edge of the full swarm, I did a quick visual sweep of the area - Natsu was lying spread-eagled in the sand with Happy draped tiredly over his chest, both looking exhausted; the Dragon Slayer looked fairly injured, too, but he was breathing fine.

The rest of Fairy Tail were scattered hither and yon in various groups - but the one I focussed in on was Makarov, who was slumped on a ruined crenellation and crying his eyes out silently as the Rune Knights' leader read from a scroll in his hands...though the bearded man looked rather unsettled by the senior citizen sobbing in front of him.

I headed in their direction, not bothering to acknowledge the soldiers spread around - since we were already among them, a purposeful enough stride kept us from really being noticed for the few seconds needed for me to walk up behind the group leader and read the scroll over his shoulder.

'Warrant of general arrest for the Fairy Tail Guild, signed by two Magic Council members, charges of initiating an inter-Guild war. Either they wrote this up as soon as the Oak Town incident happened, or someone had this planned in advance.'

Trains of thought flickered, ran together and hypothesised. 'The Magic Council dislike Fairy Tail in general; they don't appreciate the freedom they embrace and encourage, the disrespect of their authority, or the idea of having Natsu, Erza, Laxus and others running around out from under their thumb. Some are neutral and at least one is benevolent, but it's feasible that one of them might have worked with Jose to let the fall for this event land on Fairy Tail.

'Actually,' I considered, 'that makes a Hell of a lot of sense. Jose couldn't have expected to just get off scot-free after this...he must have been sure that none of the blame would go to him. So he had the backing of a Magic Council member… or maybe even more than one.'

I could believe that - general opinion of the Magic Council was at an all-time low even in low-magic environments like Hargeon; finding out that at least some of them were corrupt wouldn't surprise me even the tiniest bit.

'Or maybe it's Ultear and Jellal behind this…' I pondered. 'I'm not sure what their motivation could be, though-'

Another thought clicked. 'The interrogations. Jellal has been planning the Tower of Heaven event for years now, meaning he's likely planned for not being able to get Erza alone - so, he wants to have more in-depth knowledge of the other Guild members so he can war-game more effectively.'

Sneaky sneaky; as expected from a chessmaster archetype.

'Now, how can I fuck this up for him?'

I blinked - then turned back to face Gray and Juvia. "I think I just thought of a way to stop us all being arrested."

"So, let me go over this one more time."

I considered rolling my eyes, but decided that just staring at the Garrison Commander was a more effective action for the situation.

"You two," the man began, indicating the two other people in the tent with me - namely, Juvia Lockser and a bedraggled Gajeel Redfox, "were S-Class members of Phantom Lord…" He paused, giving Juvia time to nod - then kick Gajeel in the shin under the table, prompting the cross-armed Dragon Slayer to do the same. "But after hearing Jose Porla's plans to take up a kidnapping job and destroy Fairy Tail to cover up the evidence, you decided to support Fairy Tail instead."

"Juvia could never do anything that would upset Gray-sama."

Gajeel spat sideways. "That damn vampire wasn't worth following, anyway."

The Commander's eye twitched. "So - both of you decided to make your way to Magnolia and leave warnings behind with members of Fairy Tail. You, Mr Redfox, decided to…" He reached for a piece of paper on the table, shaking it out for effect before squinting slightly as if the text written thereupon was anything other than legible. "'Beat the message into the mouthy fairy's thick skull.' - in your own words, where Mr Ross here is the 'fairy' in question."

Gajeel nodded, and the Commander turned an incredulous look on me.

I half-shrugged. "It's a requirement for entry into Fairy Tail - if you can't shatter stone with your forehead, it's generally considered a poor career choice."

Exhaustion helped me keep a straight face - but the Commander's twitching eyebrow got worse.

"You also say that Ms Lockser here left a warning with Macao Conbolt and Wakaba Mine?"

Another round of nods, and this time there was a somewhat crafty glint in the Commander's eye. "So, if I sent one of my men to go and ask right now, those two would say they received a warning of Phantom Lord's intentions from Ms Lockser here?"

Gajeel and Juvia hesitated, but I nodded.

The Commander frowned, but got up for a moment to give instructions to one of the two guards outside the door.

We sat in what was probably a tense silence for the Commander but, for we three Mages, was just a boring couple of minutes, until the guard returned and words were exchanged outside the tent flap.

When the Commander re-took his chair, his twitching eye was back. "...Misters Conbolt and Mine both say that they knew for sure Phantom Lord was after Fairy Tail when Ms Lockser appeared and spoke to them." He managed to grind out, and I gave him a bland look.

"I did say they would."

Growling under his breath, the Commander grabbed another few sheets of paper from what had once been orderly stacks on his field-desk. "But it says here that after learning of what was going to occur, your Guild immediately set off and destroyed the Oak Town branch of Phantom Lord - while, simultaneously, the S-Class Mage Mystogan destroyed every other branch!"

I looked at the man like I thought he was an idiot - which, really, I did. "How long have you been based in Magnolia?"

"I don't see what that has to do with-"

"Because if you've been here any decent length of time," I continued, ignoring him, "you should know that we in Fairy Tail greatly believe in the adage that 'The best defence is an apocalyptic offense.'"

There was more eye-twitching. "That doesn't excuse anything!"

"Very true." I admitted. "Unless you take into account that what you're calling the first 'offensive' action taken by Fairy Tail - which we simply see as assertive self-defense - was preempted by Phantom Lord's attempt to kidnap one of our members. One of our young, female members, from a rich family."

The Commander glared at me. "You can't possibly know that - the kidnapping attempt you're speaking of happened on the same night as the assault on Phantom Lord! There's no way to tell whether Fairy Tail or Phantom Lord acted first!"

"Then you can't say for sure that we didn't act reactively." I shot back. "'Innocent until proven guilty' is a basic right for any charged individual, while Fairy Tail's prior history of inter-Guild conflict is limited to instances wherein they are the defending party rather than the offenders - something I'm damn sure can't be said for Phantom Lord."

The Commander frowned, probably trying to bring to mind both Guilds' actual history of charges - but I overran his thought processes. "Let's face facts, Commander." I began, crossing my right leg over my left knee and interlacing my fingers, resting my hands on my right knee.

"Any arrests of Fairy Tail members made at this point in time - under your judgement - will be viewed as victim abuse by even the most disparaging of Fairy Tail's detractors. We were acting in the defence of a young woman newly admitted to our Guild who clearly didn't wish to comply with an attempt to illegally confine her before supposedly returning her to her father - a man whom the lady in question has a very low opinion of.

"Meanwhile, Jose Porla was attempting to illegally kidnap an affluent young woman of considerable beauty, and in the process of doing so he utilised magical weapons of mass destruction alongside Dark Magic, while simultaneously running ramshod all over the Magic Council's laws - all with his Wizard Saint medallion in plain view."

The Commander swallowed. Heavily.

"There will be no jail time." I stated. "There will likely not even be any fines, as after tonight I have no doubt Phantom Lord will be a defunct Guild legally as well as physically and thus any debts incurred through the destruction of their property will dissolve with their corporate identity. No, Fairy Tail are going to come out of this smelling of roses and more popular than ever as the saviours of Magnolia - so the question is, Commander…"

I leaned forward, fixing the Commander in place with my eyes. "Are you going to be the hero of the hour for your swift handling and incarceration of the Dark Guild Phantom Lord and its affiliated S-Class threats...or are my Guildmates and I going to have to air our sorrows about our persecution at the hands of Magnolia's Rune Knights during our next interviews with Sorceror Weekly?"

I exited the tent, followed quickly by Juvia and Gajeel. The former broke away from us instantly to go and seek out Gray, undoubtedly hoping she'd be praised for playing along with the quick spin I'd put on the story, while the latter hung back to stare at me for a few moments.

"I can't fucking believe you just got away with that bullshit."

I gave the Dragon Slayer a raised eyebrow as I tucked my hands into the pockets of my duster.

Gajeel gestured behind us as we started walking again, his thumb indicating the tent which the Commander was exiting to begin the process of arresting Phantom Lord's members and put Fairy Tail through cursory debriefings. "He had a fucking warrant for your Guild's arrest, and you just talked him into not using it."

I nodded, sighing as I cracked my neck. "I've done way too much talking today; it feels like I used my mouth more than my Magic."

The Dragon Slayer snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised with a pixie like you."

I would have shrugged if my shoulder wasn't starting to act up; whatever painkiller I'd been on was starting to fail, I was fairly sure. "So, I was part of the group that turned your Guild's ultimate weapon into a shish kebab and I'm a pixie? What, would I have to have beaten that thing single-handed for some respect or something?"

The heavily pierced teen turned an appraising look on me, then snorted again and turned away, sticking his hands in his own pockets. "You'd still be a pixie then - you're a scrawny little bastard…"

'Alright, just because he's got an inch on me…'

"But for a fairy, you've got a sting on you."

I blinked - but my attention was taken away from the unexpected compliment (?) when we reached my intended destination.

Levy looked up from where she'd been looking after Lucy, whose head was laying on a Solid Script 'PILLOW', and gave me a tired smile - before also seeing Gajeel, causing her expression to freeze.

I smacked myself internally for not getting rid of the Dragon Slayer earlier, but to my surprise, the blunette didn't flinch away.

Instead, she pushed herself to her feet - standing, even if a bit unsteadily, and staring up at the Dragon Slayer who towered over her.

Gajeel looked back, hands still in his pockets, covered in bruises, cuts and burns, without any real expression. "What, have I got somethin' on my face pipsqueak?"

Levy's look became a glare, and she took a deep breath before speaking. "...Join Fairy Tail."

I blinked.

Gajeel blinked.

I don't have any evidence of it, but I am sure that someone, somewhere out in Earthland's maze of astral planes, did a perfect spit-take.

There were a few moments of silence, then the Dragon Slayer spoke. "...Did I knock something loose in that skull of yours during that pitiful excuse for a fight?" He asked. "Why would I want to join your trash Guild?"

Levy's glare intensified. "It wasn't a request, asshole."

I'm not sure what surprised me more - Levy cussing at someone, or her trying to talk Gajeel into joining Fairy Tail.

Actually, I'm not even kidding myself.

"What, you're trying to order me around?" Gajeel demanded, looming forward. "Who the Hell d'you think you are brat?"

"My name," Levy snapped, "is Levy McGarden - and you have no Guild, nowhere to go, Phantom Lord's reputation clinging to you and a debt on your shoulders."

The Iron Dragon Slayer smiled.

It wasn't pleasant.

"And just who," he drawled, "among all you fairies am I meant to owe something worth a damn?"

"So your freedom means that little to you?" Levy shot back, drawing another round of blinks from Gajeel and I before she continued.

"If Declan hadn't claimed you as an accomplice in the battle, a double agent, then you would have been fingered as one of Phantom Lord's most powerful members and the one who fired the opening salvo in the Guild War; you would have gone down just as hard as Jose."

'She...actually has a point.'

"You might be strong, but if the Magic Council put a bounty on you then people would start coming out of the woodwork to hunt you and be seen as one who took down Gajeel Redfox, the initiator of the Guild War that nearly wiped out Magnolia."

I could picture exactly what Levy was talking about - and apparently Gajeel could too, as his expression darkened into a stormy scowl.

The blunette didn't back down. "As things stand, the only possible way for you to support the story keeping you from being arrested is to become a member of Fairy Tail - that other Mage, the girl, she's not going to be leaving Gray alone any time soon, and that means she'll join sooner or later; so, if you don't do the same, you'll be the odd one out and you'll attract the wrong kind of attention."

Gajeel was silent for a long moment as he contemplated the Solid Script Mage. "And what," he asked, "if I just don't give a fuck? If I decide to just head out on my own and beat the shit out of whoever comes after me so bad no one else will dare follow?"

Levy got a glint in her eye, and played her trump card. "Then, you'll never get a chance to beat Natsu."

The Iron Dragon Slayer stared at Levy for several long moments - then, abruptly, burst out laughing. "GIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI!"

Finally shaking off his mirth, Gajeel bared sharp teeth. "So, that's what you're playing at, is it?"

He spread his arms wide, teeth still bared. "You couldn't take me with both those idiot teammates of yours; not even the pixie here," he jerked his head toward me, "could do shit to me. You really think if you press-gang me into your trash heap you can just keep trying until you manage to beat me some day?"

Levy didn't so much as flinch. "Yes."

"GIIIIIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI!"

The laughter went on for twice as long this time, and when it finally ended Gajeel turned on his heel and started stalking off toward Magnolia. "I'll be back when you've finished building yourselves a new shithole to live in!" He called back over his shoulder. "Sharpen your fangs 'till then, girly - I'm gonna be the strongest, and that means I won't go easy on you!"

Levy and I watched him walk away until he vanished beyond the ruins of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, and then I turned to the blunette - who had slumped in on herself, taking deep breaths and hugging her elbows.

I couldn't help it; I immediately started clapping.

She turned to look up at me, and I shook my head. "Levy…that was awesome."

Levy smiled, chuckling slightly to herself. "Thanks, Declan…" She reached idly up to the centre of her chest, placing her palm over her collarbone. "It was terrifying, though…"

"I couldn't tell." I assured her, patting her shoulder before I turned to the blonde carefully laid on the sand. "Anything change?"

"No." Levy replied, shaking her head. "Like you said, I think she's just sleeping it off - she should be okay with a good night's rest."

I looked up at the sky - the sun was beginning to dip down towards the horizon, putting us at what I'd guess was somewhere around eight o'clock; it being summer and all. "Well, I should probably get her to bed about now then…"

I waved my left hand from Lucy's feet towards her head, causing the blonde to rise off the ground until I could get my arms behind her knees and shoulders and mostly cancel the spell, though for the sake of my shoulder I kept her weight somewhat reduced.

Levy chuckled to herself again, and I raised an eyebrow at her before she waved me off. "It's nothing." She demurred, before straightening her expression. "So, where are you going to take her?"

"Her apartment." I replied, starting to set off toward Magnolia. "She usually leaves the window unlocked - and I can lift the latch with magic anyway."

The blunette kept pace with me for a moment so I could see her shake her head. "It would probably be better if she was somewhere with people tonight; the hospital, or at least where someone can tell if her condition changes."

I paused, considering, then nodded. "Alright - hospital it is then."

I was ready to set off once more, with a new destination in mind, when something occurred to me. "Levy," I began, attracting her attention, "how did you know what I did to get Gajeel off the hook? I only spoke about it with him, Juvia and Gray."

Levy tapped the side of her forehead. "Warren's still keeping everyone linked up," she said, "and he was in Gajeel and the girl's heads too - so he was relaying what you were saying to everyone else."

I blinked a few times. "Well, that's not the kind of thought that induces incredible paranoia at all."

The blunette giggled. "Warren usually keeps his mind to himself, but in situations like this none of us really have a reason to complain about him not asking permission." She tilted her head, considering me. "Though, for some reason he can't quite seem to connect to you…"

I considered that. "Well, I suppose that's something I'll have to talk about with him later...but I really should get Lucy to the hospital."

"And yourself too, Declan." Levy admonished me. "Don't think I can't see those bandages."

I grunted. "Right, right." I headed off, calling back over my shoulder. "See ya, Levy!"

The Next Day

When I woke up, it was to the sound of a door bursting open, followed by a familiar, exuberant voice.

"HEY LUCY, IS DECLAN UP YET?!"

I peeled my eyes open with a concerted effort and a groan, blinking away the light which immediately invaded as I tried to sit up and look around.

I managed to get my shoulders off the bed, but when nothing below mid-torso would curl, I knew that the bandages were still in place - a notion which was cemented when I couldn't offer any real resistance to being pushed back down to a full lying position following my attempted shift to verticality.

"Don't go trying to get up yet!" Lucy scolded me, her features slightly blurry still but still largely recognisable by her hair if nothing else. "The doctor said that the bandages can only do so much if you're actively trying to move; you already made things worse with everything you did yesterday."

"I regret nothing." I assured her, attempting to bring up my hands so I could wipe the sleep from my eyes - only my right arm responded, though, so once I had cleared that eye I looked to my left side to find that there was a bandage-and-splint assembly preventing my limb from moving, with other bandages wrapped around the majority of my torso up to my neck and down to my trousers beneath the bed covers.

"Yeah," Lucy sighed, "they didn't seem very happy about the state of your shoulder, either."

I let out a sigh of my own, using my right hand to clear out my left eye, then blinking my vision into focus as I did a quick sweep of the room.

I was back in the same ward I'd woken up in, if I remembered right. Lucy had taken the chair by the bed, on my left side, while to my right the door to the ward had been flung open to reveal what Natsu would probably look like if he was given Egyptian funeral rites.

Well, the bandaging part, at least - I wasn't sure what someone who'd had most of their internal organs removed and pickled would look like, but I wasn't in a major hurry to find out.

The Fire Dragon Slayer was swathed in bandages, from a thick headband around his forehead with anchors over the top of his scalp to wraps around all four of his limbs, leaving only a few patches of skin; even his fingers were bandaged.

He had his sandals on, as well as his usual baggy trousers...though they had obviously seen better days. There was no sign of his vest or the black waist-wrap that went with it, but his scarf was still in place around his neck - wound over the bandages.

He was grinning widely despite the massive amount of injuries he had obviously accumulated. "Good to see you finally woke up, Declan!"

"Thanks, Natsu." I nodded - doing my best to perform the movement from my lying position. I glanced at the window just past Lucy, trying to judge the sky outside. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Eh, you've been asleep since I got here." Natsu answered. "I mean it took a while for those Rune Knights to go around and tell everyone that they'd come and talk to us again - and what the hell was the point of that, anyway? - but after they'd all gone Gramps got all of us who were really injured and threw us in here on his way to Fairy Hills - he said he was gonna beg a room for the night or something..."

I blinked a couple of times, then let out a sigh. 'Well, I guess that's Master Makarov for you…'

"But yeah," Natsu continued, "I tried to find you guys then, but all these nurses and doctors jumped on me and then they stuck something in my arm; everything's kinda weird after that, but when I woke up after the colours stopped tasting like music and asked they said you'd got Lucy here and then passed out 'cause you'd walked off your painkillers."

My eyebrow twitched. 'Just what the hell did they give him…? I mean, I suppose Dragon Slayers must need something a bit stronger than normal - but that sounds like LSD!'

Lucy had her eyes closed - but her eyebrow was twitching much like mine was. "I'm starting to think Fairy Tail's madness has really spread to this entire town…"

"It wouldn't surprise me." I told her, before raising an eyebrow. "Do you have a better idea of how long it's been?"

"It's a couple of hours past noon at the moment." Lucy replied promptly, then took note of my quizzical expression. "Oh, I asked Horologium to get me some of my spare clothes so I could change, and he told me how long it had been."

'Oh yeah - she has changed her clothes, hasn't she?'

The previous day's outfit of a creased blue skirt and a hip-length, sleeveless white jacket over a short-sleeved pink button-up shirt with a red ribbon tied around the collar had been replaced. Today's was a simpler combination of a dark-grey t-shirt, much like she had worn on Galuna Island, and a black skirt that looked like leather - one just as short as any skirt I'd ever seen her wear.

That brought my attention to noticing my duster, which seemed to have been draped over the back of the chair Lucy was occupying, and I sighed. "I'm gonna have to find someone who can fix those punctures Gajeel left in my coat; maybe I can take a day to head back to Hargeon and pester Oliver…"

"Oliver?" Lucy asked, curiously, and I hummed.

"Yeah - he's the Quartermaster for Hargeon's garrison; he's done more repair work on that coat than I think he's done on any other single piece of equipment. I'm not sure there's part of it he hasn't had to work on at least once."

Magical combat wasn't kind to clothing; in particular when you preferred a close-range approach, like I did. Swords, maces, hammers, polearms, spears - not to mention all the varied Magics out there, which, when it came to bandits, were usually dedicatedly destructive.

And it wasn't like the duster was a small target; sure, I chose to wear it, but I had to acknowledge that with the way it flapped about it could sometimes get in the way - or at the very least, end up taking hits that I otherwise dodged.

My coat had been burnt, frozen, slashed, stabbed, melted and even disintegrated at one time or another - usually only in small segments, true, but the only reason it didn't look like Victor Frankenstein got into fashion design were the enchanted tools Oliver had bought from Buggy once the Grocer started growing, which - so long as they were kept charged for him - allowed the Quartermaster to turn his patch jobs into seamless integrations.

This was, unfortunately, another area in which I was...less than talented. There was a lot more to leatherworking than I had at one point known or even knew now, and though I had tried to learn some of the trade from Oliver I just never got the hang of it.

Thankfully I was usually better at keeping the rest of my wardrobe in one piece (though if I was any judge, I'd have to burn the shirt I was wearing when I fought Gajeel - blood was hard enough to work out even with Magic that the amount I must have bled on it just wasn't worth the effort.) - but I'd hoped I might have outgrown the bi-weekly trips to get my apparel repaired.

Alas, it was not to be.

"You know, I really don't know much about what things were like for you in Hargeon." Lucy noted, resting her elbows on her knees and then her chin on the upturned heels of her hands. "I mean, you obviously knew that Captain Branston you mentioned - and apparently the rest of the guards too. Archie said you were like the town's defender, but you worked in the magic store as an assistant.

"It feels like there's a story there, you know?" She asked, and I swallowed.

I really didn't need anyone poking into where I'd come from - I'd been incredibly lucky in Hargeon that Captain Branston, Buggy, Amelia and the others I worked with accepted that I was from some small place they'd never heard of and had only recently come into my magical talent...but I was fairly sure that acceptance didn't mean they believed me.

Whatever they believed to be my past, they'd answer any questions along those lines with the same answer I gave them...yet if anyone asked me for details, I could only really deflect.

Maybe at some point I'd have an opportunity to set up some kind of false home; maybe using Magic, perhaps bribing someone to say I was from their orphanage or something...but I didn't have any kind of solid starting point that could be traced in Earthland at the moment, and that was the kind of thing that raised eyebrows and alarms.

I opened my mouth to try and wave off Lucy's question in the hope that she would lose interest - for the moment, at least - but found that my salvation coming from another direction.

"Oh yeah, you were friends with the police in Hargeon!" Natsu recalled, tapping his right fist into his left palm in a gesture that seemed to accompany him reaching a conclusion. "So is that where you learned how to talk to the Rune Knights like that?"

I blinked, but took the out I was being offered - Lucy seemed at least partially interested in this topic as well, so it should distract her from asking about my earlier history. "Mostly, yeah." I nodded - I was getting the hang of managing it with my head partially submerged in my pillow. "I spent enough time around the guards that I started to understand how they'd act, and when they talked they'd sometimes give me an idea of what kind of things they disliked.

"Quite a lot of what they talked about was complaining," I admitted, "so I picked up on things. Like, the Rune Knights are generally all on the same level with the only authority coming with seniority or respect from their fellows...except the division heads, but they're chosen especially by the Magic Council, and getting that to happen takes something special.

"Anyway, that means that the Rune Knights who want to get anywhere have to make sure they don't put a foot wrong and lose whatever respect they've gained from their peers or the Magic Council. If they come under inspection that goes on their record and that affects their chances for promotion - and if worst comes to worst and they're the cause of an audit being performed on their garrison, then they can kiss any respect they had among their peers goodbye, as well as any hope of rising above the rank of cannon fodder.

"So, they're not likely to take risks that could hurt their careers; and even the ones who have external support, like rich families or noble heritage, play it safe."

I glanced at Lucy, who grimaced at the mention of rich families but nodded - she'd certainly understand that, she'd probably heard enough about it from either her father or one of the people who looked after her and taught her. "So, knowing that, it means the Rune Knights can be...persuaded, where sometimes other people can't be." I continued.

"After that, it's mostly just about knowledge and confidence. Knowledge of the law and how far it can be pushed; the circumstances of the event; how it looks socially and politically; how the Magic Council operate and make decisions...and having the confidence to take a risk on that knowledge being enough to leverage the result you want."

Natsu nodded. "I think I kinda get it…" He said slowly. "So, it's kinda like a feint?"

I raised an eyebrow, and the Dragon Slayer continued. "That guy back on the beach could have had us all locked up, 'cause we broke the Magic Council's law about fighting with other Guilds, right?"

I nodded.

"But at the same time...you said it's about how things look, so it's like how people see it; so when you said it would make him look bad if he arrested us because people would see us as heroes for stopping Phantom, you meant he could have caused an...audio?"

"Audit," I corrected, "but I think I understand what you mean. He could have arrested us anyway, if he believed I was just bluffing and trying to get us out of trouble - but instead, he saw I was confident in what I was saying and so he believed me, meaning he didn't 'block the hit' and ended up doing what I wanted him to."

"Got it!" Natsu grinned. "Gramps has talked about fighting with words before, but I guess I never quite got it." He paused. "Well, I guess I kinda talked a lot while I was beating up that bolts-for-brains Gajeel...does that count…?"

I considered for a moment. "Well, it's not quite what Master Makarov was probably talking about, but the Talk-no-Jutsu technique could be seen as fighting with words I suppose…"

Natsu's grin widened, and he leaned back his head to laugh at the ceiling. "That'll teach that damn ice-stripper - since all he ever does is talk shit, there's no way he'll ever be able to use the…"

He looked at me again, and the corner of my mouth twitched upward. "Talk-no-Jutsu."

"Yeah, the Talk-no-Jutsu!" Natsu declared, before turning around, waving over his shoulder. "Glad to see you're up - I'll see you at the Guild, but I'm gonna go find Gray!"

With that, he ran out of sight down the corridor. A few seconds later, a panting Happy the Cat padded into view, hands on his knees. "Wait up, Natsu!" He called. "I can't fly again yet, so carry me!"

The sound of pounding footsteps turned into a rubber-on-tarmac screech that I didn't think sandals were supposed to make, then the footsteps resumed once more, heading back our way.

In the meantime, the blue cat turned sideways and saw Lucy and I. He smiled, waving. "Hey, Lucy! Hey, Declan!"

The blonde waved back, and I did a sort of awkward, whole-arm movement that raised and lowered my right arm in a fair approximation of a wave. "Hey, Happy - good to see you're feeling better."

"Aye!" The feline declared proudly, putting his paws on his hips. "It would take more than some massive, scary ghost-man thing to put me down!"

I chuckled to myself, and Lucy sighed. "I'm sure it would, Happy."

Perhaps he caught on to the faint exasperation in Lucy's voice, or maybe it was just that he'd not spoke with us for several hours and that was far too long to go without exercising his mischievous streak, but the glint which appeared in Happy's eye was the only warning I got before he spoke again.

"Well it took more than Gajeel could do to make Declan put you down; as Natsu's partner there's no way I couldn't be way more awesome than that!"

At that moment, Natsu re-entered our field of view as he screeched to another halt outside the doorway. "C'mon Happy, you need to keep up!" The pink-haired teen declared, picking the feline up under his front paws and lifting him to his neck where the cat could hang on. "We gotta find Gray fast so we can go into town and get something to eat!"

The response of "Aye!" dopplered away into the distance as Natsu took off running once again, leaving Lucy and I to our own devices.

Our now exceedingly awkward devices.

"...I couldn't think of any other way to get you to the hospital." I said, head turned to face the door instead of Lucy. "Plus Levy wouldn't just let me go to my apartment, so…"

There was a soft chuckle from beside me, one which quickly became a somewhat stifled giggle. "Ever the shining knight, sweeping people off their feet…"

I could feel my ears turn a brighter shade of red and start to burn, and I would have crossed my arms if I had more than one available to me. "That's just profiling; and besides, I don't shine - I'm not some sparkly rainbow-person."

"Oh, I know you're not; you're Hargeon's 'Planetary Anchor' after all, the tall, dark stranger who walks into town one day and leads an unassuming life by day - but, by night, stalks the streets delivering justice and drama!"

Lucy's voice was more barely-restrained laughter than speech now, but I could make out her words just fine. "Declan Ross; the dark terror which flaps in the night!"

'...I know she didn't just make that reference, because that reference doesn't exist here, but fucking really?!'

I turned over to shoot her an incredulous look, only getting as far as lying on my back again since the contraption on my left arm didn't seem like it would appreciate me lying on it - but that just made her break into full-on laughter instead, holding her sides with her eyes closed and her cheeks glowing red.

"I...I can still remember," she managed to choke out, "how that coat of yours looked when we did the Everlue job…"

Lucy put her hands on her knees, as if trying to support her upper body against the effort of her laughter. "It had always been billowy and dramatic before...but then, when you were flying, it just went-"

Her arms went flying out to her sides and to an angle which raised her forearms above her head, as if imitating a pair of spreading wings. "Whooosh!" She declared - before starting to swing her arms down and then back up again, like she was flapping her imaginary wings. "It just kept going all over the place and making that flapping sound I could hear from the library!" She laughed, bringing her hands back to her sides. "It was like a duck the size of a wagon was flying around in there!"

I spent a few seconds just staring blankly at my partner. Then, I felt a roiling sensation begin in my belly, rise up through my lungs, and finally exit my mouth as a laugh of my own.

We spent at least a minute there, me lying in bed and Lucy sitting bent nearly double beside me, laughing ourselves silly. An image of myself, dressed in an indigo button-up shirt and trousers, a wide grey fedora and a long, flapping cloak crossed my mind's eye, and I decided then and there that I was at least going to find myself an appropriately oversized hat - just to recall this moment if for no other reason.

I finally ran out of laughter what felt like several minutes later, bringing my right hand up to my throat to rub at it a bit - it felt scratchy and a bit dry; something I'd exacerbated with my laughing fit.

I coughed a couple of times to try and get it back in working order, swallowing before speaking. "I feel like I should defend my fashion sense, but my coat and I are above your petty derogations."

Lucy chuckled again, letting out a sigh as she smiled. "Well, I won't bruise your fragile male ego any more with my nasty words, then."

I sniffed, doing my best to turn my nose up - another action that lying down made much more difficult. "So long as you know your place."

There was another chuckle from Lucy. "Don't worry about that - I definitely know my place."

There was a rustle of cloth - then, as I was bringing my head back to its normal position, I found my vision turning gold.

I stopped moving for a moment, registering the warmth I could feel through the bandages on my torso, feeling the shifting of Lucy's hair on my cheek. "...Lucy?"

My partner, who had leaned down from her chair to wrap her arms around my neck in a hug, sounded like she was smiling. "You said I should always expect you to be right behind me…well, that's not going to work for me."

"...Oh?" I managed to ask, not entirely sure what the appropriate response to my situation was and finding it hard to pick the right words.

"We're partners, Declan." Lucy re-stated. "But so far...you've always been helping me, when I was scared or didn't have confidence; you've been helping me move forward ever since we joined the Guild."

I frowned, opening my mouth to speak-

"Your next line is, 'You didn't need my help, Lucy.'."

"You didn't need my help, Lu-"

I blinked. Once, twice, then I could feel the vibration that travelled through Lucy as she laughed. "I really wish I could see your expression right now."

"...You stole my thing." I managed to complain, prompting another laugh.

"Well, it'll just have to be our thing then."

Finally, Lucy drew back from the hug - but only enough that I could see her face, the smile she was wearing. "You've helped me a lot, Declan - but I...I haven't been as much help to you. I knew it on Galuna when you brought down that rat and those two guys, I knew it when you ran off to save Levy, Jet and Droy and I knew it when you got us all together to take down that monster Jose made and then faced down the Celestial Spirit King when I ran out of magical power."

There, I interjected. "Lucy, what happened during that Unison Raid...it couldn't have been done without you. There would have been no way for just Gray, Juvia and I to manage that; if you hadn't been there, then I would never have-"

"And if you hadn't been there, there's no way I could ever have been part of something so incredible." Lucy interrupted me in turn. "There was so much going on...I was so angry, and I was scared, and...if you hadn't taken the first step, hadn't helped me move forward like you always do, that attack would never have happened."

...There wasn't a counter-argument to that.

"But I can't always need you there to help me put that first foot forward." She declared, reaching over my torso and grabbing hold of my right hand with hers, dragging it back until both our hands were resting on my torso.

"If we're going to be partners, then I have to be able to take that first step beside you - not in front of you or behind you. After...this…" She gestured to my bed-ridden self, "it's obvious that I...I need to stop hesitating."

I looked up at her, at a complete loss for words - but when she shook my hand, I had enough presence of mind to mimic the action.

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia, of Fairy Tail." She declared, gripping my hand and smiling down at me with a spark in her eyes.

"...I'm Declan Ross, of Fairy Tail." I answered, returning the grip and feeling an indelible smile grow on my face.

"I look forward to working with you…" / "I look forward to working with you…"

""Partner.""

At the Beachfront near Fairy Tail…

Makarov, dressed in his preferred outfit of bright-orange trousers and jacket, with a white shirt emblazoned with the Fairy Tail emblem in black, brown shoes with upturned pointy toes and a blue-and-orange striped hat with two long tails like a jester's hat might boast, stood on the beach and cast his eyes around.

Those black eyes took in the sand and the surf - but they also looked beyond that, to whole other worlds that underlay and overlay what most saw on a day-to-day basis. They saw the fractures in some and the repaired damage in others - the signs of weights that some planes weren't meant to cope with, stresses beyond the mortal and material; the signs of power that had dispersed and intertwined, healing old wounds and binding together what had been fractured.

But most of all, they saw the great cascade of celestial light which still resided in this area, and would continue to do so for perhaps the next thousand years.

"The Celestial Spirit King…" He muttered aloud, a golden flicker crossing his irides, before he cast his gaze downward - seeing the misty trails that stood before the great pillar of starlight. One was almost identical, though only in nature...yet however far removed in power it might have been it was, if anything, even purer than the traces left behind by the Celestial Monarch.

Traces of that same Monarch's strength were woven in the second cloud, but were wrapped 'round with power that sprung from the same source, but took a different path - it gained different character, new texture, before it vanished into the outline of a door that had only one opening in their world.

The last cloud was nothing like the others. It was dark, black and purple and dark blues, and even as Makarov watched it spun around itself, drawing together in clumps that in turn attracted more, seeming always to become more compact, as if one day the traces - instead of dispersing - would become some small, fixed, yet utterly immutable part of the world around them.

Makarov idly wondered if the Ross kid even realised just what the hell he was actually doing - then decided that no, he probably didn't; if he'd known what the hell he was doing there was no way he'd have not used some sign of it when Phantom came calling.

But there was no sign - instead, Makarov now knew for a fact that Ross had no idea what the fuck he was or what he was capable of.

And Makarov? Makarov had a goddamn headache, and it was all the kid's fault.

The old man reached up and tugged at one end of his moustache for a moment, thinking...then hit upon a brilliant idea, prompting a wide smile to spread across his face.

If any of his children had been around to see it, they would undoubtedly have begun running for cover.

Yes - Makarov knew exactly how Ross would get his comeuppance.

Ah - some days, it paid to have a reputation as an irreverent, senile old man; he'd never get away with half of what he did if he was still in his thirties.

Although, maybe then he'd still have his hair…

Makarov shrugged, before turning to head back toward what remained of his Guild Hall. He'd need to write out some plans for the new building...maybe his crayons had survived the demolition attempt…

Author's Note

Someone ask the Rune Knights if they're okay, 'cause they just got hit by a smooth criminal.

Anyway, featured in this chapter - Declan does yet more talking! Hopefully you could bear with it and wrap your heads around the way I'm presenting Fiore - which is, basically, a country split right down the middle politically where both sides require the other in order to survive, but a certain amount of the populace really don't care about that and just end up causing even more problems.

So, yes - Lucy, Levy and Gajeel are all developing rather differently from in canon. Levy, Jet and Droy were all faced - not with a spirit-crushing, overwhelming defeat, but rather with a situation in which they had to abandon a guild-mate to the fate meant for them in order to save themselves and pass along information.

And if there's one thing that'll light the fire in any Fairy Tail Mage, it's their comrades.

So yes, Levy wants Gajeel there so that she, Jet and Droy can eventually surpass him; she's set him as the goal they need to catch up to, while Gajeel himself has decided that sticking around Fairy Tail will give him an opportunity to grow stronger.

He also doesn't particularly like Declan - but he can at least respect the bullshit he throws.

As for Lucy - well, I've made no bones about the fact that she's going to be a somewhat different person in this story, and this is where that really starts. Rather than having the indestructible Natsu as her partner, the infinitely-more destructible Declan has taken that place, and with him having gained a few new dents from a situation Lucy perceives as being her fault, that same Fairy Tail drive kicks in.

Hopefully it's not all incredibly out of character and story-breaking; and as for Lucy pulling a Joseph - well, she's characterised as one of the series' most intelligent characters, and for me, that means she is just as smart as I can make her - which is as smart as myself/Declan, as smart as Levy and as smart as several antagonists and other characters that have yet to appear.

You don't get anywhere in life by being an idiot - unless you're a shonen protagonist, but this story isn't exactly shonen anymore, so...yeah.

Now then - on to the Reviews:

-Squadpunk 2.0, Vultures isn't too far from the truth as far as I see it; and indeed. There is no rest. There is no mercy. There is only the ever-dreaded...POLITICS! *shock and horror*

-Blacksword Zero, Ch. 18 - Thanks!

-MalumAnima, That's fair enough - people read fanfiction usually because they like the original story, so sometimes when there are deviations people find they don't like the change. And that's fine - that's how opinions work, that's how people work. But still, I'm glad to know that you enjoyed it in the end! With Lucy as the main pairing and one of the main characters, you be sure that there will be more on Celestial Spirits later on; the interactions between them, the way they and their world function, I'm going to explore as much as I can and have a lot of fun doing so! P.S. I'm rather hyped for Bluenote vs Declan as well; rest assured, Chibaku Tensei is coming - I have it planned out already, and it's going to be glorious.

-kumbrakarna, And I loved writing it xD I hope this was quick enough for you.

-Drunkle Qrow, Ch. 18 - Hell, I don't see half the stuff in this story coming - AND OF COURSE I SHALL REMAIN AWESOME! I AM, AFTER ALL, THE GRRRRRRREAT TENINSHIGEN! NYEH!

-Keelan1210, Ch. 18 - Realistically, it was mostly a quick decision on the Celestial Spirit King's part to tie a potentially useful asset to his Kingdom for a later time - under the influence of Narritivium, it's going to be a bit more meaningful, but that's story-telling for you. I'm looking forward to the artwork too - glad you enjoyed the omake!

-The Storm Master 567, Ch. 11 - Hm - the black rods are certainly an interesting idea and I'll have to play with that at some point. However, as far as sword styles go - Declan will remain unarmed in the close-range as a matter of him just plain being useless with swords, but he's going to have compensation for that.

-'Ibn', Ch. 18, Aug 11 - A train wreck in motion indeed. I do believe that build-up is important, though I sometimes feel that maybe this story moves too slowly at times - still, I suppose that's up to what I write, so I can only hope this continues to be worth waiting for :) And as for Declan vs Laxus...hehehe, I'm looking forward to that too.

-Blaze1992, Ch.18 - Fairy Tail Mages are, much like Strawhat Pirates, masters of the art of bullshittery - though most of them never seem to exploit that. Well...Declan's all about the use of available resources :3

-TheRangerBoy, Ch.18 - Hey, if it got you laughing, I'm happy with it :)

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 1 - I'm glad you think so!

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 2 - Glad to hear it!

-Infernus est in animo, I have the biggest smile right now; thank you, man!

-The Storm Master 567, Ch. 13 & 14 - Spoilers~ :3

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 5 - Why, thank you!

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 6 - SCIENCE! INDEED! Thank you very much for the compliment :)

-HelpfulNudge, I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 10 - I'm really glad you're enjoying it! :D

-Zeru'Xil, The more he speaks, the digger the hole he digs - then he flips gravity, and suddenly the hole is an escape chute. There shall be glory!

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 13 - Goosebumps are a sign of investment in a story; that's a high compliment! :D

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 15 - With 100% pure sugar.

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 16 - Don't go hurting your throat on my account, but I'm glad there's someone so enthusiastic! :)

-osaki-monti, I usually don't like making people cry...but so long as they are happy tears, I shall make an exception! You've picked up on the hidden point of that scene - yes, Unison Raid is a very difficult thing to achieve, and yes, part of Declan's special attribute allows him to ease that process - but saying more than that would be spoilers, I'm afraid, so I hope you keep enjoying the story as I approach writing the reveal :)

-Grubkiller13579, *reads idea* … *pauses* … *blinks* … *smiles like Gol D. 'motherfucking' Roger.* "Fuck. The Hell. YES." Also, I'm incredibly happy to hear you've decided to try writing your own story; if you get in touch with my fellow writer, PSIness11, or even just check his Profile Page here on fanfic, you should find a link to a Discord chat we use for discussing story ideas with people. There aren't all that many up-and-coming Fairy Tail authors, so we'd be happy to offer some help if you want some.

-deltadragon373, Well, I took most of the Gray vs Juvia fight from the manga itself, so…I'm afraid to say that yes - that's Juvia. And she didn't exactly calm down as time went by, either.

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 18 - It does an author good to see someone so enthusiastic reading their story; I hope the chapter is worth the wait and you continue to enjoy my work!

-'Guest', Ch. 18, Aug 13 - Yes, it is now a thing - and I really want it on a shirt too. On the front it'll say 'Your next line is…' and on the back it'll say, 'Is that a JoJo's reference?'

-Jaz-147, I understand that preference - and normally, Lucy would have changed his mind; even here, it was partially her preference - and her shown willingness to run her magical power into the ground for Loke - that helped sway his opinion. Unfortunately, helping destroy an evil magic-gundam kinda tuckered Lucy out, so Declan started running his mouth and couldn't stop.

-'Guest', Ch. 18, Aug 17 - I'm of the opinion that the number of follows and favourites on a story are less important than how much the people who are following it enjoy reading it; sure I love having those extra numbers, but so long as my readers are happy I don't need hordes of fans :) That being said, thanks for the compliment! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

-Keelan1210, Ch. 19 - Hell, I have that feeling while I'm reading Fairy Tail xD But still, with shows like Toradora or Clannad, that slow burn is always worth the wait. … Shit, now I want to go re-watch them…

-TheRangerBoy, Ch. 19 - 0.0 Oooooh myyyyy~

-BlackDove WhiteDove, Ch. 19 - Glad to hear it made you laugh! :D

-Le Dergenbern, I can't really top that - but sometimes when I get really startled I start speaking in Scots (which is basically English with a really thick Scottish accent) - but since I don't normally have a Scottish accent, it generally seems like I just got fucking possessed.

-SirRacha, Ch. 1 - Well, I'm afraid to say that the pairing is not a mistake - that pairing will be realised at some point in this story, though it'll be fairy slow-burn. And yeah, Fairy Tail can be a bit embarrassing to admit to owning - but if you can get past the gratuitous fanservice, I think it's a brilliant read/watch. Also, while canon is my original baseline, this story will be more of a wibbly-wobbly...timey-wimey...mess.

-SirRacha, Ch. 2 - Quite simply? Declan is…not entirely right in the head, in some respects. He's not a normal person and he doesn't have a normal person's disposition, and while he wonders what things might have been like if he remained home he finds it would be too much effort to waste time thinking about it and prefers to get on with what he can achieve in Earthland.

-Blacksword Zero, Ch. 19 - Thanks!

-Blaze1992, Ch. 19 - Really. (Also, is that positive or negative? I really can't tell.)

-'Guest', Ch. 19, Aug 19 - Hehe, I guess great minds think alike! I hope you continue to enjoy my work :)

-'Ibn', Ch. 19, Aug 19 - I might do some others, but omakes that length probably won't be incredibly frequent. Also, I'm glad it met your approval; I've never been sure of my ability to write romance, but 'cute' seems to be on the right track.

-Drunkle Qrow, Ch. 19 - Congratulations, you have started this story's first meme; a meme it now shares with Speeding Through Life. I hope you're happy.

-'shubsnonymous', Ch. 19, Aug 20 - Dear God, it's spreading already!

-PlunnyBreeder, Glad to hear it!

-'Guest', Ch. 19, Aug 22 - I know exactly what you mean...which is, in large part, why I'm hoping to take Lucy in another direction in this story and have her really come into her own. This chapter is the first milestone for that, and I hope it keeps your interest into the future :)

-Akashic Records, I'm always glad to hear that the characters are recognisable - and I'm even happier to hear that the story's fun, because if a Fairy Tail fic isn't fun somehow then there's something wrong. As far as using a Black Hole against Jellal - well, unfortunately I can confirm that won't happen...but that doesn't mean the blueberry jelly's gonna get off light :)

-Scrapper123, Well...damn. That's some incredible praise, and I can only hope I continue to earn it. (Also, I know that feel - my record is reading fanfiction from when I got into bed at 9:00PM until I got out of bed at 6:50AM the next morning so I could get ready for school. I was lucky enough that it was a short day - but still, I know that feel.)

-Lightsbane1905, I understand and sympathise, as a NaLu shipper myself - but this is how the plan came together, so I hope the story is enjoyable enough that you can still find pleasure in reading it.

End of Reviews

*Phew* - Christ that was a big author's note. They just keep growing!

Ah well, nothing to be done about it. Now - I have an announcement to make.

On the 2nd of September, I'm moving into my new accommodation at University, and then I'll be beginning classes soon after. I imagine this is going to cut into my writing time quite heavily, so I don't think I'll be able to match the pace I've set in the past couple of months. With that said, I will keep writing - but I'm afraid we'll be back to incredibly long breaks between chapters.

Thank you for your support thus far - I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

'Till we meet again,

-Teninshigen

(PSIness11): I want you all to know that I have spent the last week playing video games and doing jack shit.

(PSIness11): It was glorious.