Chapter Text
As a reporter from the biggest magical magazine, Sorcerer Weekly, Jason was enjoying the Grand Magic Games. Well, enjoying shouldn't be the word to use since he's supposed to work, but it is. He's having a great time right now, really. Mages are really the coolest, he thinks, it would have been neat to have Lucy’s opinion too on the fights. As a mage, she could perceive the battles from a different point of view, a pro one, Jason liked to say. Then, the trumpets sounded, and the two finalist teams entered the arena. This fight pitted Dullahan head against Scarmiglione for the title of most powerful guild of Fiore. Though, he doesn't think that's right, since not all the guilds from the kingdom are participating. Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, Saber Tooth and even Quatro Cerberus are no show. And of course, Fairy Tail isn't there either, but for other reasons than the other guilds. The match starts with Scarmiglione going all out and surprising everyone with their strength, especially their opponents. Despite their best efforts, Dullahan Head still loses, and pretty fast if Jason had to be honest. The commentators, shocked by the sudden difference between the two teams, are about to declare the winner when an intruder steps in the arena. The reporter can’t see their features, their coat and hood obscuring his view. Just then, he feels it, immense heat. He can see the Scarmiglione mages retreating, having felt it way before him. He can faintly pick up them asking for their identity, as the coliseum melts more and more.
"Me ? I’m a challenger !" The mysterious person responds, and Jason can hear the cocky grin in their voice. It sounds somewhat familiar, but he can’t put his finger on it. He doesn’t have the time to think about it anyways, as he exits the arena for his own safety.
In the middle of the arena, the mysterious figure stands proudly, alone. The Scarmiglione group ran off a while ago, their clothes melting even more than the coliseum.
"I think you did too much again, Natsu," a blue cat with wings says with a simple smile.
The cloaked figure snickers. "If they were stronger, they wouldn't have run off."
The cat agrees, before noticing how empty the stadium is. "Where are the others anyway ? There’s no way these guys beat Fairy Tail. I bet they wouldn’t even be able to defeat Quatro Puppy."
"Yeah, that’s weird. Maybe it wasn’t the final," the pink haired ponders.
They aren’t granted any more time to think before the royal guards come to arrest them for the ruckus they made. They get dragged by the very furious and tired guards to the dungeon. However as soon as they arrive in the cell, they’re out again. The king still seems to favor Fairy Tail. But the feeling doesn’t seem to be shared by the palace guards, who tell them very clearly to never show their faces here again. The dragon slayer even hears one mumble how they're not paid enough to deal with the likes of him, which he snorts at. Free again, they now have to find a way back to Fairy Tail. The fastest route would be by train, but Natsu is strongly opposed to that idea. As they discuss how to return to Magnolia, someone interrupts them.
"You’re Natsu Dragneel and Happy from Fairy Tail !"
The duo turns around to see who’s addressing them, and they find a strange too eager blond man with a weird vertical strand of hair. In fact, the strand is currently curiously bouncing from right to left.
"Who are you ?" The fire mage questions, his tone annoyed and his eyes squinting in suspicion.
Fearing for his life just a little — but somehow still excited to talk to the Salamander — Jason explains who he is and what he does in life. At some point, he mentions Lucy working with him for a month or two, and the pair immediately perks up.
"You worked with Lucy ?!" They exclaim.
"I didn’t think she would be this low on jewels, the jobs at the guild should be enough."
"Wait, you don’t know ?"
"Don’t know what ?" The Exceed inquires, confused.
"Hum, well…" The reporter hesitates.
"What, spit it out." Natsu’s getting more and more irked by this guy. It's been a whole year since they've seen any of their guildmates — except for Gildarts, but he doesn't really count, it's rarer to meet him than not — they just want to go home and see them, and this rando is delaying their reunion. It's been so long since they've seen their friends that he's even starting to miss Gray. That makes him shudder.
"Your guild… disbanded," He says the end of his sentence so quietly that even the dragon slayer has to strain his ears to hear him. But when he does, shock is not enough to describe what he’s currently feeling. Astonishment, anger, incomprehension, and sadness fall upon him in a flash.
"What ?" The cat asks. "I didn't hear anything."
Jason doesn’t answer, but Natsu does. "... The guild disbanded."
"WHAT ?! Why would Gramps do that ?"
This time, Jason is the one to respond. He explains that it's been a year since the guild dissolution, that everyone was taken by surprise. He doesn't have the time to say more before the duo interrogates him, probing for any little piece of information he could have. They're upset by the news and Jason completely understands. Their life switched in the split of a second, they didn't get any time to adapt. Still, the irony of the situation isn’t lost on him, the interviewer turning into the interviewee. They ask about what the members became and where they are. He answers what he can, but he doesn't know much. He's not a member of Fairy Tail, he just like the group. Nevertheless, in his line of work, one is bound to pick up information one way or another. And so, he tells Natsu and Happy about every rumor he heard that could be relevant.
"Apparently, a few members ended up joining Blue Pegasus. I also heard that there's a dragon slayer at Lamia Scale. I have no idea who it is though, just that they're cool," he informs them.
"What ‘bout Lucy ? You said she worked with you," the pink haired questions rather intently.
"Yes she did, but…" Breathing in, Jason gets the words out, but not without fearing the other’s reaction. "She left Fiore soon after she quitted. I have no idea why or where she went, I swear."
The fire mage's reaction is quite… underwhelming. He looks almost frozen, fully still and quiet, the opposite of his usual self. The Exceed is no better, his mood clearly going from curious and hopeful to depressed and morose. Jason takes this opportunity to flee the scene, scared of what the dragon slayer could do once he recovers. Natsu who hates change now has to face all of these shifts ; the guild splitting, their guildmates moving on and letting Fairy Tail perish, their team disappearing. They just wanted to come back and see all of their mates' faces painted with surprise at their new power. But now, they have to wait even more before seeing anyone. Natsu is a vagabond at heart, but he still cherishes the guild, because he knows that's the only place he calls home. He knows that no matter how long he travels, he'll always be welcomed back, and most importantly, he knows that he'll be able to see all of his comrades happy and relaxed. But now, not only does he have nowhere, he also has no one to return to. Happy's thoughts seem to be going in the same direction as his. The cat's body is caved in on itself, and his ears are completely dropped down. Now that they're alone, they can wallow in misery as much as they want without having to deal with someone bothering them. They also have to decide on their next move. The sun may still be high in the sky, but that doesn't change the fact that they have no place to stay for the night.
However, their goal is clear : reunite with their friends and rebuild Fairy Tail. After pulling themselves together, the pair have to decide where to look first. Their best leads are Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus, as Jason told them. Natsu is more inclined to visit Lamia Scale, as Jason mentioned a dragon slayer there. Happy agrees, because wherever a dragon slayer is, an Exceed follows. The blue furball secretly hopes they find Wendy since it would mean seeing Carla. Plus, the idea of seeing Ichiya solidifies his and Happy’s choice to stop by Lamia Scale rather than Blue Pegasus. That guy creeps Natsu out, and his friend tells him that the feeling is shared by everyone that meets him. Thus, they decide, they’ll go to Lamia Scale, hoping to see one or two of their guildmates. And so, to Natsu’s greatest displeasure, they take the train to Margaret Town.
The train ride is quiet, even taking into account Natsu motion sickness. The air around them is heavy with sorrow and uncertainty, and Happy is immersed in his thoughts. The fire mage gets it, they have a lot to process in less than a day. He himself can't grasp the fact that Fairy Tail is no more. His family has separated, his best friend not only left Magnolia, but the kingdom. He regrets leaving the way he did back then, even though he knows he needed to. Still, if he had waited just a day or two, he could have stopped it. Maybe. The pink haired could at least have said proper goodbyes to his guildmates, to his partner. But if he had, he knows that he would have a harder time leaving, which he needed to. He had to go, not only to get more powerful, but also to heal properly from his emotional wounds. And he can't recover when the whole guild is expecting him to protect them, to be strong, to be happy and smiling, always. That's why he went on this journey, only with Happy.
Nevertheless, he knows that seeing Lucy's sad face as tears gather in her eyes would have his resolve wavering, and him not going in the end. The only thing she needed to do was to ask to stay, and he knows he would have. The dragon slayer regrets not taking her with him, but he can't protect her and grieve at the same time. He recognizes that she's a powerful mage that doesn't need his protection, but he likes taking care of the blond and he cherishes the familiarity of her relying on him. A little voice in his head tells him that maybe, she could have been the one to look after him while he mourns his father, while he sort out his feelings. But, he's not used to being vulnerable in front of anyone except Happy, and he's unsure if he would allow her to guard him like he does for her. It's quite difficult to become the protected when you're so used to being the protector, and Natsu would rather not have it another way when it comes to Lucy.
Suddenly, the train makes a harsh turn and his thoughts pause as a wave of nausea rises from his stomach to his mouth. Soon enough, they arrive at Margaret Town station, and he directly kisses the ground, declaring how he'll never take the train ever again.
"You always say that," his best friend laughs. "Come on, we have people to find."
As they make their way to the guild, they hypothesize which dragon slayer joined Lamia Scale. Both of them agree that they would rather see Wendy than Gajeel. Slowly, they start to notice the festive mood of the city. However, for some reason Natsu can’t comprehend, people seem to avoid them, especially him.
"What’s up with them ?" He wonders, annoyed. Happy, not one to stay quiet, makes it clear that he scares people with his incessant questioning and his intimidating endless energy.
"I think it's also because of how you look. No offense but you look like a tramp," the Exceed says with his usual light tone. "Your clothes look like crumbling rags."
The dragon slayer huffs, but he can’t deny what the other pointed out. He’s in a desperate need of a haircut, and he’s lucky he doesn’t smell that bad, despite the fact that his last shower dates back to a few days already. Still, a nice bath and a haircut would be great. They question some more folks who avoid them, until a kind soul takes pity on them and helps them. The stranger explains about the event currently happening : Thanksgiving Day. The duo asks for directions to the Lamia Scale, which they point them to. They thank the person before heading in the direction they indicated.
They arrive shortly after, however they have no way to enter the guild, a large crowd blocking them. It's so big that they can barely see the podium at the front. They force their way forward to have a better view of the stage, and they can now not only hear, but also see the guy with big eyebrows — "His name is Yuka," the Exceed reminds Natsu — introduces the various performances. It seems to be a festival held to strengthen the town and guild's bond. They decide to watch it for a bit since they can't access Lamia Scale for now. The first thing they attend is Lyon's act. They're rather familiar with his magic since they fought him once and that Gray uses the same magic. However, his abilities are entirely distinct from Gray's. The dark haired is specialized in static ice magic, while Lyon uses dynamic ice magic. The pair as well as the audience are completely mesmerized by the liveliness of his ice, the coldest element there is. As his show ends with thunderous applause, Yuka announces the next act. Natsu and Happy watch attentively the dog-like mage's act. They haven't seen much of the other members yet, but Toby's performance is easily their favorite, his silliness putting them in a better mood. Some more shows go by before Yuka introduces the Sky Sisters, and right in front of their confused eyes, the crowd goes crazy, cheering excitedly. And then, watching with astonished eyes, the duo recognizes Wendy dancing and singing along with Sherria.
"Wha-What’s going on ? Why is Wendy singing and dancing like that ?" Happy asks, shocked. But Natsu has no clue either, he’s just as aghast as he is.
"We need to get her back on the right track…" The fire mage says, somehow offended by his ex-guildmates actions.
"And who are you to judge ?" A new voice questions him, coming from behind. Turning around, they're face to face with a teenager. She seems to be around 15 or 16 years old, but no older that's for sure. She has brown eyes and white hair, but her most noticeable trait is the tail and the cat ears protruding on the top of her head. They stand there, confused by this stranger while a clever smile is painted on her face. Natsu has to admit, it's been a very perplexing day for the pair.
"Who are you ?" He asks. She seems to know them, but he has no idea who she could be, even though her scent is familiar.
"What, you don’t recognize me ? I’m disappointed," the girl says. "It’s me, Carla."
Natsu would like to reiterate that this day is not only really disorienting, but also too eventful for his liking, and seeing Carla as a human is absolutely not helping.
Soon after, Carla — still as a human, Happy can't wrap his head around this — leads them to Lamia Scale, where they find Wendy, Sherria as well as Lyon's team hanging out. When the sky mage sees them, she almost bursts into tears. Natsu asks her if she'd grown, because it seems like she did in their year apart, but she responds the negative. The members at Lamia Scale are very welcoming as they prepare some tea for them while they talk with their ex-guildmates, and the pair thank them. Naturally, they talk about Fairy Tail and they ask about the other members. Even though Natsu considers all of his comrades as family, some of them are more precious. The people he grew up with, the friends that made up his team, he wants to find them first. However, neither Wendy or Carla knows anything. Just like that blond guy, they only heard rumors. According to those, there should be a few members that joined the council, Carla — now switched back to cat — explains. Lyon join in the conversation by sharing another peculiar rumor going around. It would appear that there’s a seemingly usual village, if they were to ignore how rain falls without end for months now. The weirdest part, the stranger tells the group, is the fact that it only falls on the small town, not one drop outside its borders. The village is located at the outskirts of the town, to the east. Natsu doesn't know a lot of people capable of that, and he's pretty sure that's the same for the others. So, it seems that Juvia is the next on their list to be picked up.
"Let's get goin' then Wendy," Natsu says, lifting her up and turning to exit the guild.
The others stop him, and once Wendy's on the floor again, she tells them that she's a member of Lamia Scale now, not Fairy Tail. She can't come with them, but she's happy the guild is getting reassembled. They try to convince her, but Carla intervenes, and so they stop, defeated by Wendy's refusal. Still, they have no place to stay for the night, so Lyon offers them a room — shower included he precises — and to Natsu a haircut. It won't be as good as Cancer would do, but he’s probably biased. They accept graciously, thanking him enthusiastically and profusely. They leave for their room, and once the duo arrive, they practically run to the bathroom, in desperate need of a bath. They take their time in the water, processing all of these changes. The team has no guild to return to, no friends to stay with. Just like in the train, it's quiet between them. The silence isn't uncomfortable, their bond so strong that no words need to be exchanged. Nevertheless, the air is heavy with sadness and renewed grief.
"Happy…" the dragon slayer starts.
"Yeah ?"
"The guild's really gone, huh ?"
"… I still can't believe it," the cat responds, with the same disbelief his friend feels. It's silent again, and they get out of the bath. Natsu finds new clothes on the bed, courtesy of Wendy and Lyon he supposes. He changes, once again thanking Lamia Scale and Wendy's benevolence. After a moment, Happy asks.
"... What should we do about Wendy ?"
Thinking for a second, his best friend answers with a malicious glint in his eyes. "Let's kidnap her."
Just when they were about to put their plan into action, a rumble shake the whole city. They run outside, and after reuniting with some of Lamia Scale members, they learn that a horde of monsters are attacking the town, lead by their rival guild, Orochi's Fin. Natsu hears Toby reporting that there's one hundred thousand of them. Natsu, greatly craving action to distract his mind, is thrilled to finally fight. So, they help them take down the guild's opponents.
Quitting Margaret Town and Lamia Scale took a toll on Wendy. Despite Carla, Natsu and Happy's reassurance and support, she's been crying since they left. She's both sad and happy somehow. The sky mage wishes she could be a part of Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale at the same time. But that's not possible, and when it comes down to make a choice, she knows her heart will always favor Fairy Tail over Lamia Scale. Even though she has quite some difficulty to do so, the brunette composes herself and calms down. Rather sooner than later, they arrive at this curious village. Lyon did say that the rain falls only on the small town, but seeing it in real life is certainly quite a sight.
"Wow, it really only rains on the village," Happy remarks. "Look ! Here it rains and here it doesn't !" He says as he moves swiftly from the wet side to the other. Natsu soon joins him in his silliness.
"Nowadays, it's half and half Happy !" He exclaims.
"Do you really think she’s here ?" Wendy asks, watching them. At least, these two are in a good mood, she thinks.
"She has to be, I don't know a lot of people capable of that," Carla says. And so they enter the town, hoping to meet Juvia.
They find her thanks to the dragon slayers' kin senses, and the poor woman isn't in the best shape. She hallucinates them as Gray when they find her, and then she falls unconscious. They take her to what they assume is her house and Wendy treats her as she informs them of her fever. Shortly after, Juvia wakes up. She, very proudly, tells them that she and Gray lived in this village and house together, as Natsu figured out as his scent was still faintly here. She continues, explaining everything they did and how she ended up alone in the village. Once she's done, Wendy instructs her to rest so she can heal faster, and Juvia falls asleep while the group leave the room to debrief.
Then, Natsu suggests going to Saber Tooth. The rest of the group are confused until he discloses what Rogue from the future revealed to him. He explains how he thinks that this could be all connected to Gray, and that they should find the present Rogue to find the ice mage. Carla is a bit reluctant to his plan. Since they changed the present, their future shouldn’t be the same as what Rogue experienced, or will experience. Still, that’s the only lead they have, Wendy argues. And so, Natsu, Wendy and Happy head to Sabertooth while Carla stays by Juvia’s side. To the dragon slayers’ greatest pleasure, they’re able to find mounts to travel, which means they won't have to take the train or other moving vehicles.
Yukino is the first to greet them when they arrive at Sabertooth. She's delighted to see them, and once they proudly announce that Fairy Tail is reborning from its ashes, she's so moved that they see tears forming in her eyes. She looks almost happier than they feel. They talk a bit more, before Lector and a round blond man rush to greet them. Natsu and Wendy recognize him, but Happy is left confused by this familiar stranger running up to them.
"Hello Sting, how are you ?" The sky mage asks politely.
"That’s Sting ?!" The blue cat stares, completely bewildered.
"I’m good, great even ! It’s really nice to see you after such a long time," the blond says. "What have you guys been up to ?"
"Trainin’ mostly. What ‘bout you ?" Natsu questions.
"How did you end up like that ?" The Exceed urges. But before he can answer, he goes back to the shape they're used to.
"We had an eating contest…" Yukino interjects. "It’s a guild’s tradition, we hold a yearly eating competition. As you can see, he gave everything he had."
"Yeah I always do ! But Miss Minerva still won." Sting tells them with a pout.
Happy’s still very perplexed as to how Sting changed so much, not only in one year but also when Yukino intervened. She explains that she was able to change his appearance thanks to Libra’s powers. Her presence makes Lucy’s absence more evident and more hurtful. Trying his luck, Natsu asks if they have any information about their friends from Fairy Tail. Yukino apologizes as she tells them that they have no knowledge of any of their whereabouts. But as she thinks about it, an idea comes to her mind. She could try to ask her spirits to seek Lucy's spirits and they may be able to communicate with her that way. Enthusiastically, the trio requests her to try, but then Wendy suddenly remembers their original goal. She reminds them that they have to find Rogue quickly, and they immediately question the other members for his location, as they notice that he's in fact not there. Confused, Lector informs them that he left not long ago with Miss Minerva and Frosch for a job.
"They're probably at the entrance of the town by now…" The brown Exceed tells them.
"Shit !" Natsu hurries out hoping to catch him. "Wendy, Happy, let's go !"
"Aye aye !" Happy salutes as he and Wendy follow him out, shouting their thanks and goodbyes. They leave puzzled mages and a cloud of dust behind them.
They find the dark magic cult more easily than Wendy thought they would. However, they now have to find a way inside, and she has no idea how to proceed. Thankfully — or not — Natsu is great at plans, according to no one but him. Of course, she has spent enough time with him to know that he’s just gonna barge in and fight anyone in his way ; and she would rather sneak her way in. Happy agrees with her, and the fire mage pouts.
The plan was going on smoothly, Natsu melting a window and them slipping in the church without a sound, looking around for their dark haired friend. And then, all of their efforts went down the drain when a cultist noticed them. They weren’t fast enough to silence him. Now, all the cult knows intruders are hiding in the building, and they can’t escape without a fight. Wendy starts to panic while Natsu looks happier than before, finally allowed to punch someone. He’s really not made for stealth, she thinks desperately. At least, the commotion did some good and brought Gray their way, strange black marks on half of his body. He looks rather fed up, but so does Natsu. She hears the dark haired sighs as he freezes the whole crowd, his expression shifting from annoyed to relinquished, leaving their trio puzzled. She has some ideas as to why he would do that, and she decides to settle on the more hopeful ones. The ones that tell her that he's not actually evil, but somehow got entangled in this mess, maybe even against his will or through brainwash.
"Of course it’s you fire brain." Gray says, then turns and nods at the sky mage. "Hey Wendy, you've grown. I’m surprised you agreed to his plan."
"... I didn’t," she admits, still on guard. "I wanted to sneak in."
"What the hell are you doin' here Gray ? Juvia’s waitin’ for you." Natsu intervenes, pissed off.
He can't believe that he left Juvia to join this evil group. He probably did it for a dumb reason, like getting close to Zeref — as if he would ever check out this insignificant cult — or hunting demons. Okay maybe that last one isn't dumb, but still. He abandoned Juvia and she's now miserable because of him. Natsu would never do that, he tells himself. Except that it's exactly what he did, a small voice whispers. He left Lucy. And he only dropped off a letter at her place, not even meeting with her to explain everything before their departure. Still at least he explained why he left. Not in detail, sure, but he thought he would've been able to tell her about it when he came back. He couldn't have predicted the guild's dissolution, he's not Carla. He focuses back on the situation at hand, waiting for a response from the ice mage.
Gray doesn't say anything, but at the mention of Juvia's name, a remorseful look passes quickly on his face. The teenager can see guilt weighing on him. If she wasn't benevolent (if she wasn't Wendy), maybe she would have felt somewhat good on the water mage behalf, knowing how he feels about deserting her. It doesn't look like he knows about Juvia's current health. And if he did, she knows he would feel worse about his decision. The two of them seem to have really connected, their relationship deepening, but not yet what Juvia wants. Once more, the dark haired sighs before taking out a rectangle object from his pocket that she recognizes as a sort of communication lacrima. He presses it to his ear, calling a certain 'Code Red' and referring to himself as 'Code Blue'. With round eyes, they see the dark marks disappearing from his body. He passes the lacrima to Natsu, and she hears Erza's voice coming from the device. To say that this day has been perplexing is an understatement. They found the rain filled village, then Juvia, she told them that she's been living with Gray for 6 months now, who left her to join a dark cult — or not ? — and now, Erza seems to be involved. It's not that surprising, but that's still a lot of emotions and chaos to experience in approximately 24 hours, even when you're from Fairy Tail.
Now that he's reunited with almost all his team and four of his guildmates, Natsu's enthusiasm urges the others to do their part in reviving Fairy Tail. Since Levy, Gajeel and Lily work at the Magic Council, they should be able to find their guildmates. Besides, she tells them that she kept contact with some of their friends, like Jet and Droy, and to the others' surprise, she also kept contact with Lucy. Only for a short time, she informs them, but it's still better than that blonde dude. The short woman explains that they communicated via letters, but stopped several months ago, as Lucy told her she was leaving Fiore. She relates that she left for the Pergrande Kingdom to find a key, but that's all she knows. Everyone is puzzled, Lucy already has ten out of the twelve gold keys of the Zodiacs, while Yukino has the remaining two. What sort of key could be so important — and potentially so powerful — that she had to leave the kingdom to get it. But then, Erza remembers something that Mard Geer said when he interrupted her fight with Minerva, and she thinks it could be connected. As she explains, the others' faces are painted with shock.
"Wait, wait, so Lucy summoned the fucking Celestial Spirits King ?!" Gajeel's bewilderment matching Lily's.
"I'm not shocked, Luce's very strong," Natsu announces confidently, but Happy calls out his bluff.
"Yeah, but we're talking about the Celestial Spirits King here. I didn't even know that he had a key until now, even less that Lucy has it," Gray interjects, a frown on his face.
"That must be how we escaped from that cube after it absorbed us," Levy guesses, her chin in her hand and her eyebrows puckered in thoughts.
"But why would she need to travel to Pergrande to obtain a key she already has ?" Juvia reasons.
"Maybe she lost it ?" The blue cat tries, but any friends of Lucy know that there's no way she would lose her keys, as it means losing connection to her friends and breaking her word. They have no idea why she would leave to get a key she already has, and they can only make so many speculations. In the end, they're no closer to finding her and bringing her back to Fairy Tail with them.
"Whatever it is, we have all the time to find out later. For now, we need to plan on what to do at the moment," Erza decides. "We need to leave for Magnolia so we can locate and contact the other members and finally rebuild the guild. The sooner, the better."
However, they can't leave this poor town like this, and decide to stick around to help clean a bit. With the help of the Magic Council and the efforts of the inhabitants, they finish quite swiftly. They stay barely two days before they're on a train back to their own town. For once in his life, Natsu almost looks forward to the journey, because it means going back to his home and his friends faster. Still, no matter how much he's eager to be back in Magnolia, the ride is still horrible thanks to his motion sickness.
At least, he's not the only one to suffer, as he notices Gajeel looking sick too. But the iron mage has Levy to tend to him, while he has no one like that, not in the way they do — not in the way he used to, when his team was still assembled. He knows his friends care for him. Erza did look after him multiple times, but her methods were always too much like her to his liking. But right now, he craves Lucy's soft touch, he realizes. It always seemed to ease his nausea somehow, in a way that nothing else could. Troia was amazing and he wishes he could still be affected by it, but when Wendy wasn't around, nothing worked better than Lucy's fingers stroking his hair or rubbing his back. Instead, he's stuck with Gray's stupid and very punchable face right in front of him and this ache in his heart.
Once they disembark the train — and take a moment to let the dragon slayers breathe — they head directly where their home stood, proud and strong. They decided to start with the members they still are in contact with. Levy hypothesized that it’ll probably have a ripple effect, each person contacted informing someone else. And slowly — or not, considering it’s Fairy Tail — but surely, the guild was back up and running in a week, give or take. It's been two or three weeks since Natsu came back and he's already reunited with all of his friends, working hard to rebuild their home. Except for Gildarts, but that's expected since he's always away traveling and training, and the fact that he saw him during his year apart is quite pleasant. Laxus and his team aren't here either and he doesn't have a clue where they could be, but he hopes they come back soon. He misses the reassuring feeling of having them around since they're all very strong and reliable. Natsu loves his friends, and he wants them back, the distance between them saddens him. However, Gramps and Lucy's absence haunts him, he hurts even more when he thinks of them. He desperately wants to see them, and he can see that the sentiment is shared by his companions.
With the old man's absence, they need a new guildmaster too. Thus, Erza is naturally picked for the role. However, it's clear to read the disappointment on her face. She says so herself, the position is temporary, she'll be guildmaster until Makarov's return. And that's when Mest appears. He wants them to save Makarov — which they would have done, whether he asked or not. Then, he turns to Erza, declaring that as the new guildmaster, she has to know about the guild's secret. That's how she finds herself following him to the basement, wondering what this secret might be. They arrive in front of a tall door, and all of her musing couldn't have prepared her for what she sees, the first guildmaster's body trapped in a clear crystal. Mest calls it Lumen Histoire and he starts his explanation. However, it's cut short when Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Juvia and of course, Happy and Carla, fall flat on the floor. Apparently, they've been hiding behind the door, and even though she's a bit exasperated by their antics, she's glad she doesn't have to understand and process everything alone.
She urges Mest to continue despite the interruption, and to facilitate his explanation, he decides to share his memories, which we'll be clearer to understand than just his words. They see what happened that night with Makarov, why he disbanded the guild and more importantly, why he left. Now that they know the truth, they have to establish a plan. They'll bring back Gramps and Lucy. Only then, with everyone reunited will the guild be fully restored. Erza, not only the temporary guildmaster but also the leader of their group, makes the decision to look for Makarov first since they have more clues on his whereabouts. Once that's done, they'll pinpoint Lucy's location and go find her. And just like that, team Erza starts packing up for their infiltration into Alvarez.