Our Return Home

Erza floated around. 
'Am I still inside the lacrima? No, this feels different.' Erza said as a bright light shined on her. She looked down and saw her friends alongside Mavis, Makarov, and others standing before something. When she looked closer, she saw it was her grave.
"No." Erza said. "This means I'm dead."
Mira stepped forward and placed some flowers in front of the grave as Lucy continued to cry. 
"Erza." She said. "She was the strongest one of us."
Gray looked away as he let tears fall from his eyes. "There was nothing we could do."
"She touched many lives." Makarov said. "As, by decree of the magic council, we declare Erza Scarlet, an eternal member of the Ten Wizard Saints."
----Home
----Mira let out a sigh. 
"I just wish Natsu was here." Lucy nodded at her. 
"I don't think he took this very well." Mira revealed.
"NO." Erza said. "I sacrificed myself so they could have a better future." Erza said. 
"I never wanted this." Erza said as she began crying. They around her began to glow as a hand grabbed her.
Erza awoke again. She looked around and saw she was on a beach 'where am I," Erza said as she saw Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Sho, Milliana, and Wally running to her.
"What." Erza said. As she looked over, she saw Natsu carrying her bridal style. A tear came from her eye as Natsu walked the pair onto the beach. 
"Natsu." Erza said. "I was lost in that ethernano, and you found me."
Natsu placed her down as he got on his knees. 
"I know how you feel." Natsu whispered. 
"And I feel the same way." He said as tears started to come from his eyes. "Promise me you won't ever do that again."
"Natsu I."
"Promise!" Natsu shouted, tears running down his face as Erza smiled before touching their heads.
"I promise." Erza said before the pair stood up. 
'I think I understand now.' She said as Lucy ran up and hugged her as she shouted how worried she had been. 
'You don't die for your friends; you live for them.' Erza smiled before she hugged the girl back. 
"Cause their lives wouldn't be the same without you in it." Erza said as tears came from her eyes.
The next day Natsu lay passed out on the bed, covered in bandages from head to toe.
"I didn't think someone could sleep so much." Lucy said.
"Yeah, well, that's what he gets for eating all that ether-nano," Gray mocked as Natsu shot up.
"Say that again, and I'll smack ya!" Natsu shouted.
"Hey, you're awake." Happy said before Natsu passed out again.
"that punk woke up just to pick a fight with me!" Gray shouted.
"I know I've said this already." Erza said. "But sorry for all the trouble."
"Hey." Lucy said, "it's okay."
Erza turned to Juvia, who was fawning over Gray, "I should also thank you."
"Oh, don't mention it." Juvia laughed. "Juvia just wanted to help out."
Erza smiled as she thought of her friends.
Later they were on the beach in regular clothes. "Hey, we just wanted to apologize for everything." Wally said.
"I know." Erza said, "But I should be apologizing if I had gone back sooner, then Simon might still."
"We already forgave you, Sis." Sho said.
"Yeah," Waly added. "Simon was a great man; I just thought you should know 'cause he always loved ya."
"Shush, Wally." Millianna said.
"I knew how he felt." Erza smiled. 
"We can only move forward for him." Erza said. "It's what he would have wanted for us." Erza smiled before leading her friends inside, "Come on, I should properly introduce you to Natsu."
"You've grown strong, Erza." A voice called out, which caused Erza to look back.
"It must be my imagination." Erza said as she walked inside.
----Later, Lucy sat at her desk writing with Natsu lying on her bed behind her. 'After things settled down and we were able to relax at the resort, Erza opened up to me about everything; she said Jellal was probably the one who merged with the ethernano in her place, the more I think about, the more it seems likely, maybe after he was free from Zeref's possession he reverted to his old self." Lucy sighed as she finished writing. "I can't help but feel bad for Jellal in the end, he was another one of Zeref's victims."
Lucy stopped.
Gray then entered her room and sat at the foot of her bed. Juvia came in and sat next to him.
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.
"It's Erza." Gray told her, which got Natsu's attention. 
"I overheard her friends talking about leaving." Gray said.
"You don't think she's going to go with them." Lucy said.
Gray said nothing as he looked out the window. "Not sure, but I think we should get ready to go our separate ways."
----Meanwhile, Erza was on the beach, where she found Sho, Wally, and Millianna packing a boat.
"What are you doing?" Erza asked.
"Sister." Sho said in shock as he turned away. 
"We're leaving." He said, which shocked Erza. "We've spent our whole lives trapped in that tower."
"I understand." Erza said. "I won't stop you."
"You could come with us, Erzy." Millianna said, which shocked Erza, who looked down.
----"I think it's for the best." Natsu said, shocking the group.
"What?" Lucy asked.
"Those guys are her family." Natsu told them. "If she wants to go with them, we can't stop her."
Gray was about to say something but stopped deep down; he knew Natsu was right; if Lyon had asked him to stay, he probably would have gone with him too.
Lucy let out a sigh. 
"I guess you're right, Natsu." Lucy said.
Juvia wanted to say something but couldn't find the words; the door opened before she could ease the tension, revealing Erza, who looked around.
"Why are we all in Lucy's room?" She asked, confused.
"Erza?" Lucy asked.
"We thought you left." Happy said.
"Leave." Erza said, realizing what her friends were talking about; she smiled, thinking about what happened on the beach.
Flashback
Erza looked down before she gave a smile. 
"I'd love nothing more than to travel with you guys." Erza said, "but I can't this time."
Sho and Milliana's faces fell as Wally looked the other way. "Why is it."
"It's complicated, but-" Erza looked at her friends before smiling. "In the years since we separated, I was alone, but now I belong to a family."
"I see." Sho said.
"I hope you guys understand." Erza said. "I can't leave them, I don't want to leave them." Erza said. 
"And I don't want to force you guys to follow me." Erza said, which got a look from her friends.
"Huh?" Millianna asked.
"What do ya mean?" Wally asked.
----[##Kizuna ost##]
----"All you need to follow your path." Erza explained. "To learn who you are and where you belong." Erza said. "It's something you have to discover for yourself, and once you find it," Erza said as an image of her friends appeared in her head. "It'll never stir you wrong."
"Sister." Sho said. 
"Thank you." He said. "For everything."
"Yeah." Wally said. "We'll see each other again."
"Yeah." Millianna said. "Can't wait."
Erza smiled as her friends sailed off. 
"This is something you will learn to live with; I will always be with you." Erza said. "Never forget that."
End Flashback
The group stood there, unsure what to say after that. 
"Erza." Natsu said. "Are you sure."
"Yeah." Gray said.
"It's fine, you guys." Erza said. 
"I wanted this." Erza gave off a smile. "The old me would have given the world to have them at my side, but now they need to follow their paths." Erza smiled as she looked at her friends again. "But I realized I can't show them anything cause I'm still learning."
Natsu and the others looked at each other before smiling.
----[##fairy tail main theme slow ver. ost##]
----"Well." Natsu said. "Welcome home, Erza."
Erza smiled. 
"After so long." She said. 
"I finally found a home." Erza said, "And it's with all of you." They all went in for a group hug as Juvia hung back; she smiled 'I wish.'
"hey, Juvia." Gray called. "You want to join." Gray said as everyone else smiled. The water woman smiled before joining the group in their hug; she smiled. 
'I guess I found a home as well.' Juvia thought.
"We all have." Lucy said.
"And I wouldn't trade any of you for the world." Natsu said as the group continued their embrace.
----The next day the group stood in shock as they looked at the newly rebuilt fairy pub. 
"This is a pleasant surprise." Erza said.
"Yeah." Lucy agreed.
"I can't believe they finished it while we were gone." Happy said as he stared at the building. He knew Mavis said they were upgrading and expanding the place, but he knew she would go all out. It is extravagantly different from the former building: while retaining the pagoda shape of the former building and consisting of three floors, this one strongly resembles a castle in appearance, having battlements on top of its two upper floors, while the ground floor has a more Western-looking roof than the former building, consisting of many small, square tiles of different size. Over the battlements, several large torches are lined up. Topping the building and the last floor is a small, tower-like dome containing a large bell, which has a pointed roof made of tiles; two more towers are present at both sides of the entrance, these having elongated glass windows running through them and weathercocks shaped like Mavis symbol on their tile tops. The front part of the top floor houses a large banner with the guild's logo on it, while two smaller flags placed at its sides, some meters away from it, bear, respectively, the kingdom of Fiore's emblem and an unknown symbol that had a draconic appearance. The top floor seems the barest, while the middle one's front walls are intricately decorated and sport ornamental windows. The ground floor's roof bears a highly decorative balustrade on its top, and the bed possesses many small windows lined up with its front walls and wood reinforcements. In contrast, its edges bear large, rectangular wood beams. Surrounding the headquarters is a fence composed of stone over topped by the decorated railing, with some pillars over-topped by torches on its length and an open gate giving access to the guild, this possessing an upper part covered in tiles, with railing below it, bearing a resemblance to an open portcullis, plus a large sign bearing the guild's name, with ornate decorations above it, including a pair of detailed statues of fairies, each wearing a dress and possessing a pair of wings and elongated ears sitting on their heads. In front of the building, inside the fence, is the "open-air cafe," containing a little over two dozen tables, each complete with a pair of benches at its sides, with some bearing striped beach umbrellas. Lined up the building's sides are two lines of trees; the ones farther from the entrance seem to be way taller than the others, appearing from behind the barriers of the ground floor; either that or the first floor itself has plants on its top.
"Did we need a café?" Erza asked Natsu.
"I don't know." Natsu muttered. "This is all Mavis."
"Wow." Gray said as he looked around.
Lucy turned and sighed. 
"Do we need a gift shop." She pointed out to a small Souvenir Shop to the left of the entrance, composed of bricks and sporting a wood counter,
"Hey, Max." Happy called out. "Been a while since we saw you around here."
"Yeah." The man known as Max said, "Mavis convinced me to go to school so I could get a degree in business."
"It's nice to meet ya." Lucy said.
"Well, you're the famous Lucy." Max said. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Something tells me I don't want to know about all the crazy things they told you." Lucy said as she shrunk down.
"The gift shop was an old idea to get funds for the place." Max said. "Ya know when it's dry season around here."
Lucy laughed as the group continued into the building to look inside. 
"Wow, pretty." The first floor dramatically resembles that of the old building. Still, it is much more significant, with more tables and benches, several long beams supporting the wooden mezzanines on both sides of the hall, and a similarly long counter occupying the wall to the right from the entrance. Above it, a large banner bearing the guild's name and symbol is visible. The floor is still made of wood, while the upper part of the walls, just below the mezzanines, consists of bricks. On the right is a request board to the immediate right and an information desk to the left. A few meters before them, two dozen restaurant tables stretch across the room's length. The tables end at a large, wooden stage that has four staircases behind it on its left and right sides. Two of the staircases lead upstairs, and two of them lead downstairs. In the upper right-hand corner of the pub, there is a rest/shower room.
"Looks nice." Natsu said. "Hate the new smell, though." he looked over. He could also see where he assumed everything from the rest of Mavis's design was. To the right of the restaurant tables was a kitchen and a resting room next to the kitchen. Next to that room, in the lower right-hand corner, there should be the Data Storage Room. A library in the lower left-hand corner of the room always stays the same, and next to that is a waiting room. To the left is a storage room next to a second rest/shower room. And off to the side, there is a large stage. "I'm still not too good with all the changes."
Gray looked at him, confused. 
"Why?" He asked.
"It's a dragon slayer thing." Natsu muttered, to which Gray nodded. Levy came and greeted the group,
"Hey guys, welcome back." She said. "Are you guys doing okay."
"We're fine." Lucy said.
Levy smiled before she led the group giving them a grand tour of the place to the top floor. 
"Guess what." Levy said. "Mavis finally approved of putting a pool in place." she said. Behind the stage of the pub is a large, interior swimming pool that is decorated to imitate an outside environment, having its edges adorned by plants of various sorts, mainly palms and tropical-looking bushes, plus typical sunbeds complete with beach umbrellas. 
"There's also a game room too." Levy said. "It's somewhere around here."
"Seems a little pricey." Lucy said. "How did we pay for all this."
"You'd be surprised how much jewel Mavis has set aside for a situation like this." Natsu joked. "Though we used it all making this place."
"I'm so glad you kids are all right." a voice called out. The group turned to see Mavis followed by Makarov.
"Master." Natsu said. "Is everything okay here."
"This young lady was looking for you." Mavis told them; the group turned to see Juvia, who had changed her look. She had cut her hair shirt and was in a white dress with a blue outline. "Sorry, I'm late."
Erza smiled. 
"No, it's all right." Erza said. "Like the new look."
Juvia blushed. "Thank you."
"Hey, girl." Lucy called out.
"We will fight for Gray!" Juvia shouted, sending a wave of dark energy toward Lucy.
"Since we're on the topic about your team expanding." Mavis said with a hint of fear. "There's someone else I want you kids to take on."
"Who?" Lucy and Gray asked.
They turned, and much to their shock, Gajeel was sitting at a table; he looked at them as they jumped in surprise.
"Gajeel?" Gray asked. "What is he doing here?"
"It's okay." Natsu interjected. "I asked him to come here."
"What?" Lucy asked.
"Natsu had asked me about him before we left." Juvia said. "Juvia told him he couldn't get any work; it's not like she likes him or anything." She screamed.
Gajeel let out a scoff as he looked away. 
"Listen, only I came here was because I'm desperate, and I ain't joining neither of the sissy guilds." Gajeel said. "I need work. Gotta get food on the table somehow."
"Natsu, are you sure about this?" Erza asked.
"Yeah." Natsu said. "Besides, he's my sworn brother; I couldn't just leave him to dry," Natsu said, "even though he's being stuck up about it."
"Whatever, Salamander!" Gajeel shouted.
"Now, both of you, calm down." Mavis told them. 
"Give it time; I'm sure Gajeel will fit right in around here." She smiled. "Yesterday's enemy can always become today's friend."
"All right." Lucy said. "Your pub, your rules."
Erza and Gray nodded as Natsu and Gajeel glared at each other before walking off.
The lights then dimmed as the group sat down. Mira appeared ready to sing. She smiled when she saw Natsu and the other. 
"Hey, Natsu." She called. "Glad you made it back safely." She said while she shot a glare that said, 'I'll deal with you later.'
She let out a smile. 
"This song goes to team Fairy Tail." She called out. "As they make their safe return."
Anata no inai tsukue wo natete
Kage wo photos kyou wo Mou Hitori.
Hoshizora image Inori wo kakete
Anata wa onaji ima sora no shita
Namida kodayafurueru Toki no
Yami ni kujikesou na Toki demo
Wasurenaide
Kaeru bashou ga
Kaeru bashou ga Aru kara
Matteiru Hito ga Iru Kara
Mavis smiled as Mira finished her song. 
"I'm so glad they made it back safely." She said.
"As am I." Makarov said. "I'm sorry for all the trouble they had to go through."
"It's quite all right, old friend." Mavis said. "It's the dawn of a new beginning."
Miles away, a figure stood atop a hill, a tall, muscular man. He had a lighting scar over his eye. He smiled. 
"Look at them." He muttered before turning away laughing. "I guess it's almost time; soon, I will have my revenge."