Return

"Why do I always have to be the bad guy?" Aura complained to Asuka as she held the small black domino mask she was given.
"Because I'm the good guy." Asuka said simply, pulling out her toy guns.
"Fine." Aura pouted as she put the mask on. "You'll never catch me alive!" She shouted fiercely and suddenly, the mask having instantly changed her personality as she pulled out her own toy gun. She soon began running, holding the gun behind her as she squeezed the trigger and made shooting sounds.
"Come back here villain!" Asuka yelled after her as she chased Aura around the guild hall, also pulling out her guns and making sound effects.
"There they go again." Kinana said with a smile as she handed Max his drink at the bar.
"Thanks." Max said, soon turning his attention to the two young girls. "They just woke up from a nap and they have that much energy? I wish I was that young again." He sipped from his mug.
"Speaking of young, where's Romeo?" Alana asked looking around the guild as she walked towards the bar. "Alzack and Bisca should have brought him back by now."
Macao slammed his mug of beer on the table. "They're probably somewhere making out." He said irritated. "They need to hurry up and get back here."
"Calm down old man." Wakaba said grinning. "You're gonna give yourself an ulcer."
"You're just as old as me, ya jerk." Macao said glaring. "And I didn't I tell you to call me Master?"
"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen." Wakaba said glaring back.
"Anyway," Max said changing the subject. "It's actually rare that there is a job that requires three people. Not many people come through the guild anymore. We keep losing members left and right."
"Its cause our guild is so weak now." Warren said.
"Yeah, just look at the job board." Nab said as he slammed his palm against it. "There's nothing good on it."
"You barely go on jobs as is." Alana said with a smile. Nab sulked his shoulders in embarrassment.
"And the last person to join the guild was Alana." Warren said pointing back at the young girl, who looked back and smiled.
"I got you now!" Asuka yelled as she continued to chase Aura, accidently bumping the table where Jet and Droy were sitting.
"Hey watch it! I'm tryna eat!" Droy yelled, but the girls were already gone.
"Maybe that was a sign." Laki teased as she walked up to the pair.
"You callin me fat?" Droy asked offended.
"Only if you're denying it." Jet commented.
"Hey I've packed on tons of muscle." Droy said. "You just can't see it."
"Or it doesn't exist." Jet said.
"Shut your mouth." Droy said as he put another piece of meat in his mouth. "You're just jealous."
Jet shook his head. "What if Levy were here now?"
"Well she's not, ok?!" Droy yelled angrily.
Aura and Asuka stopped playing when they noticed the distraught and saddened looks on the adult's faces due to Droy's words. They walked up to Macao, Aura pulling on his shirt. "What's wrong Papa Macao?" She asked, her brown eyes looking up innocently.
Macao put on a small smile, rubbing the top of her head. "Don't worry about it, it's just…" Suddenly the guild hall doors swung open, startling everyone.
"Look what we have here guys!" A booming voice called into the guild hall, putting everyone even more on edge.
In walked five men, each of them with scary looks on their faces as they trudged forward into the guild hall. Their leader, a medium sized man with a spiked bat tied to his back, walked forward. "It's Fiore's weakest guild." He said with a cocky smirk as his entourage laughed.
"They got no drive boss." One of his men said snickering. "That's why they're so weak."
"Papa Macao?" Aura said afraid as Macao pushed her and Asuka behind him and stood up from his table.
"What do you want Thiabault?" Wakaba asked the leader of the group.
"Whoa now." Thiabault replied feigning fear. "Looks like someone forgot that Twilight Ogre runs things around here now." He continued smirking evilly. "We're the big dogs around here, which means we ask the questions."
"Just because you have more members and a bigger guild hall?" Max asked defiantly. "That doesn't mean anything."
"Yeah, you guys don't have the heart of a true guild." Warren added.
"Yeah well, look what having 'heart' did to you guys." Thiabault said looking around at the rundown guild hall and laughing. "So if it's all the same to you, we're just fine without it."
"Why are you here?" Macao asked, his voice hardening.
"We're here to collect your pay for the month."
"You didn't pay, Macao?" Wakaba whispered slightly disappointed in his friend.
"I told you to call me master!" Macao yelled.
"You guys are more than a little behind." One of Thiabault's men pointed out.
"It's not our fault." Nab protested. "No good jobs have been coming in."
"That's not our problem. You're lucky we were generous to let you stay in business in the first place." Thiabault retorted.
"Yeah, if we knew how much you were gonna screw us over we would have rather closed down." Jet said.
"Quiet Jet." Macao said standing in front of him.
"But…" Jet began but Macao shook his head, discouraging him from further action.
"I'm scared Papa Macao." Aura said shaking as she and Asuka held onto Macao's pant legs.
"Don't worry you two, we'll be fine." Macao said comforting them.
"Well?" Thiabault said. "I don't have all day."
"Just wait until the end of next month and you'll have your money." Macao said narrowing his gaze. Thiabault returned his gaze for a moment, walking up to Macao before kicking him into nearby a table.
"Macao!" Wakaba yelled.
"Master!" Laki yelled out after.
"You Jerk!" Alana called out, readying herself to use her magic.
"Papa Macao!" Aura yelled trying to run to him.
"Stay back Aura!" Macao yelled, the young girl freezing in her tracks. "And everybody else, don't touch them!" The Fairy Tail members reluctantly backed off, choosing to heed their master's order rather than incite a full scale brawl.
Thiabault and his men began laughing uproariously. "This is the great Fairy Tail?" Thiabault mocked.
"I don't know how they managed to be the top guild for so long." One of his men mocked through his laughter.
"Yeah they totally suck." Another one added. Soon, the five members of Twilight Ogre began drinking the Fairy Tail guild's drinks and vandalizing their guild hall. The members of the Fairy Tail guild could only stand back and watch the carnage, as Macao refused to allow them to take action. They wanted to strike back with everything they had, but they were powerless, their pride shattered in the face of Twilight Ogre's insults and disrespect.
"Remember…one month." Thiabault said. "Come on boys." He said waving his men to him as they filed outside of the guild hall.
Macao remained sitting on the floor, surveying the destruction along with the rest of the guild. Slowly all of their attention shifted to pages that were falling out of Reedus' sketchbook, all of them from seven years ago. Their collective eyes began to water as they thought back on those happy days, long gone and reduced to bittersweet memories. Their happiness now replaced with overwhelming shame and regret.
"7 years huh?" Wakaba said as he blew out smoke from his cigar. "Hard to believe it's been that long."
Aura grabbed the picture of Team Natsu and looked at it, rubbing her fingers across the faces of Natsu and Erza.
"The good ole days." Max said with a sad smile.
"Nothing's been the same since then." Warren said as tears continued streaming down his face.
"I can only take your word for it." Alana said, a small smile on her face as she began picking things up. She looked over to Aura who was still staring at the picture of Team Natsu.
"You believe that story the council told?" Droy asked.
"They have no reason to lie about it." Nab answered. "Besides when we went there, there was nothing."
"Yeah, you're right." Jet said. "Nothing but water."
"I'm still not over it." Laki said with a sad smile.
"I don't think any of us are." Macao said slowly standing up.
Suddenly they heard a loud rumbling coming from above them.
"What's that?" Wakaba asked confused.
"Is Ogre coming back for another round?" Jet asked.
"I don't think so." Droy said.
All of them ran outside of the guild hall and looked up. There, floating high above them was the Blue Pegasus guild's air ship, Christine.
"That's the Christina?" Alana asked astonished. "I've only ever seen it in Sorcerer Weekly."
"What's it doing here?" Nab asked.
Aura and Asuka both looked up in amazement at the sight.
"Mannnn!" A voice cried out from the ship, which was somehow getting louder and louder.
"What is that?" Max asked confusion, squinting to see. "Someone's falling from the ship!" he yelled, his eyes widening as he pointed into the sky at the object in freefall.
Suddenly the object crashed into the ground with frightening impact. Everyone covered their eyes from the dust, looking back at the small crater that appeared once said dust had settled. Everyone's eyes then widened in surprise when they saw that Ichiya from Blue Pegasus was lying on his side in the crater.
"No need to fret Fairy Tail." He said pointing towards them. "Ichiya is here."
"We share your excitement Master Ichiya." A voice said, this one more soothing than Ichiya's. "But it helps to not be so overzealous."
"We could have floated down with my wind magic." An irritated voice said.
"Hi everyone." A third voice could be heard next, this one softer than the previous three.
The three men landed on the ground softly, revealing themselves to be Blue Pegasus' famous Tri-mens: Hibiki, Ren, and Eve.
"Why is Blue Pegasus here?" Jet asked on edge, worried about another attack.
"Ms. Laki, you are as beautiful as ever." Hibiki said as he stroked the lavender headed girl's hair.
"Oh, ummm, thank you." She said nervously.
"Well they are as lively as ever." Alana said with a smile, not noticing that Eve was next to her. "Eeep!" she squealed startled.
"You're looking well Ms. Alana." Eve said bowing. "You make me nervous just being around you. Did you change your hair recently?"
"T-thank you." Alana said as she looked away blushing. "And…y-yes I did." She said running her fingers through her wavy hair nervously.
"You two are going to be gorgeous when you grow up." Ren said as he knelt down in front Aura and Asuka who both gave him confused looks.
"Could you guys quit flirting and tells us why you're here." Max said deadpan.
"Stop that right now men!" Ichiya yelled, having rose to his feet.
"Yes Sir Ichiya!" the Tri-mens said in unison as they stood at attention. "Please forgive us!"
"Why are you here?" Warren asked.
"We've done it!" Ichiya said, dusting himself off and walking out of the crater.
"Done what?" Alana asked.
"After finishing collecting all of the data with my archive…" Hibiki began. "We've been using Christina to travel to places with the highest concentrations of ethernano."
"Which means what?" Macao asked completely lost.
"Tenrou Island still exists." Ichiya said emphatically.
All of Fairy Tail's members stood in shock at the news. Ichiya and the Tri-mens stood confused at the group's collective silence as it began to border on unsettling.
"Um, did you hear me?" Ichiya asked the still silent wizards. "I said we've found-"
"Are you serious?!" Fairy Tail yelled in unison, frightening the Blue Pegasus members. "You really found them?!"
"We gotta go get them!" Jet yelled excitedly, everyone nodding in agreement.
"Y-yes, well we haven't found them exactly." Ichiya clarified as he reset himself. "We've only found a high concentration of ethernano where Tenrou Island once stood."
"There's no real guarantee that they are still on the island, or if it's even still there." Hibiki told the group. "Do you still want to chance searching?"
The members of Fairy Tail all looked around at one another and thought about their options. Eventually they all gained determined looks on their faces, silently nodding at one another.
"Of course we're gonna risk it." Macao said stepping forward.
"They're our guild mates after all." Wakaba said grinning. "What would it say about Fairy Tail if we just left our friends in the cold without searching for them?"
The Tri-mens and Ichiya all looked at the wizard's confident looks, each one warming their heart. "I was hoping you would say that." Ichiya said smiling and nodding. "Just what I would expect from my honey's guild."
All of the Fairy Tail members laughed nervously at Ichiya's statement. I guess he didn't get the memo. They all thought in unison as they all, Asuka included, looked back at a confused Aura.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's nothing sweetie, don't worry about it." Alana said with a slightly nervous, confusing Aura even more.
"Here are the coordinates of the concentration." Hibiki said, handing Macao a folded piece of paper. He and his group then flew back to the Christina using Ren's wind magic. "Good luck Fairy Tail." Hibiki said waving. "Until we meet again."
The members of Fairy Tail waved back, watching as the Christine took off; its destination being the Blue Pegasus guild hall. Once they were out of sight, the Fairy Tail members crowded around Macao, who was still holding the piece of paper.
"You think they were really telling the truth about Tenrou Island still existing?" Jet asked looking at the paper.
"I don't think they would have a reason to lie." Max said. "We've always been on good terms with Blue Pegasus."
"In the end it's your call Macao." Wakaba said.
"What do we do Master?" Laki asked looking at Macao.
Macao clenched his fist and looked forward. "We wait for Romeo and the others to return, then we're going to check it out." He said confidently, causing everyone else to smile and nod determined.
…
A few hours later, a small group consisting of Alana, Jet, Droy, Max, Warren, Alzack, and Bisca found themselves on a boat heading towards the coordinates given to them by Blue Pegasus.
"Are you sure this is the spot?" Bisca said as she put down her binoculars.
"Yeah, I don't see anything but water." Alzack added.
"This should be the place." Max said looking out from the ship.
"I think it's nice, just drifting like this." Alana said smiling as she placed her hair behind her ear. "It's been ages since I've been on a boat."
"Try and stay focused will ya?" Warren scolded.
"Do you think we should have brought Romeo along?" Bisca asked looking at Alzack.
"Unless we brought him by force I don't think we could have convinced him." Alzack answered reluctantly.
"What's that?" Alana asked herself as she noticed something on the water's surface. "Hey guys." Alana called to everyone as she squinted her eyes, leaning forward on the wood of the boat's railing. "I think I see someone on the water."
"What?" Max said walking up next to her. He looked ahead with her, his eyes widening when he noticed it. "She's right, there's someone there. It looks like a little girl…" He squinted to get a better view. "And s-she's standing on the water!" he said astonished.
Everyone looked on with Max and Alana, all of them shocked at the sight. Sure enough there was a young girl standing on the surface of the water. She had long flowing blonde hair and what looked like wings extending from the side of her head. She also wore a long white dress that accented her petite figure.
"What is she doing there?" Warren asked. "Who is she?"
The young girl then outstretched her arm to her side. A loud rumbling was heard and from the water's bottom emerged Tenrou Island.
"It's Tenrou Island!" Jet shouted surprised.
"How did she do that?" Alana asked. Still stuck in their confusion and awe, the advance team's attitude soon shifted when they say the mysterious blonde run towards the island.
"Follow her!" Max shouted as the boat picked up speed.
The group soon landed on Tenrou Island, and watched as the young girl ran into the forest.
"Hey wait up!" Jet yelled after her as he and the others followed.
"Who is that girl?" Bisca asked.
"I have no idea." Warren answered. "But she made Tenrou Island reappear."
"Whoever she is, one thing is for sure; we have to catch up to her and see what she knows." Max said.
"She must also possess a great deal of magical power in order to bring the island up like that." Alana added.
The group soon reached a collapsed part of the forest causing Jet, who was leading the charge thanks to his speed magic, stop in his tracks. The others soon caught up to him.
"What's wrong Jet?" Max asked before looking down in the hole himself, his face becoming as frozen as Jet's.
Everyone else looked down, their faces in complete shock as they saw a clump of pink hair buried under dirt.
"Natsu?" Alzack said in disbelief.
…
Back at the guild hall, Macao and the others awaited word from the away team on the Tenrou Island situation. Kinana stood at her usual place behind the bar, Aura and Asuka were busy playing, Wakaba looked over all of the guild pictures, and Romeo sat at one of the tables reading a book.
"You sure you didn't wanna go with the others?" Macao asked trying to stir some conversation from his son.
"Even if the island is there, it's not like they're alive right?" Romeo said uninterested as he turned the page over in his book.
"Come on don't be like that." Macao said. "You just gotta have a little faith."
"Nothing for 7 years." Romeo said turning another page, causing Macao to sigh. Romeo felt something tug on his vest and he looked to see Aura standing there.
"Romeo can you make another paper ship thingy?" She asked innocently. "Asuka messed up the first one."
"I did not!" Asuka protested.
Romeo smiled a bit and ripped out a piece of paper from one of Reedus' drawing pads. "Yeah, hold on."
Macao smiled softly as he shook his head. "I swear the only time that boy smiles is around Aura."
"Hey!" a voice rang out into the guild hall as the front door was kicked open. Everyone looked over and much to their chagrin, Thiabault and his group had returned. "Looks a little emptier in here than usual. When are you guys just gonna pack it in and leave town?"
"What are you doing back here Thiabault?" Wakaba asked. "We said we'd pay you next month."
"Yeah I remember." Thiabault said with a creepy smile. "And I was perfectly fine with that, but my master was a different story. Looks like he didn't appreciate the delay in payment after you guys agreed to his terms, and what the master says goes so my hands are tied." He said shrugging his shoulders.
"We're not paying you anything." Romeo said, slamming his book closed and standing up.
"Romeo no!" Macao yelled.
"My dad and everyone else may be afraid of you guys but I'm not." Romeo stuck out his hand and a purple flame emerged from his palm. "I'll take you on!" He yelled defiantly. "I won't let you jerks ruin Fairy Tail's name any more."
Thiabault puckered his lips together, blowing out Romeo's flame. Romeo and the others stood shocked, but the young wizard was even more surprised when Aura came up from behind him.
"Leave him alone!" She shouted.
"Aura get back here!" Macao shouted.
"Aura what are you doing? Get back!" Romeo said looking at her, but she refused to move.
"Ha! Look at this." He said pointing at Aura. "Looks like the little girls got more guts than you little man." He said mocking Romeo. "Too bad kid!" Thiabault said raising his club in the air. "Looks like this is the end of the road for you two!"
"No don't!" Macao shouted desperately as he tried to reach them, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time.
Romeo grabbed Aura and turned around, his back facing Thiabault in an attempt to shield her from the attack. He awaited Thiabault's strike but looked up when he heard a thud against the wall in front of him. Romeo looked ahead and saw Thiabault unconscious against the wall. Confused, he looked around at his guild mates, who hadn't moved from their spots. This only served to confuse Romeo more as he noticed that all of the Twilight Ogre members were knocked out. He then looked down at Aura.
"Are you okay?" Romeo asked. Aura nodded with watery eyes, she was clearly frightened. "Good." He said with a smile before flicking her in the forehead with his index finger.
"Ow." Aura exclaimed in pain as she teared up more. She covered her forehead with her hands. "Why did you do that?"
"Because you were being a dummy. Don't do something like that again, ok?" he said staring at her intensely. Aura slowly nodded in understanding.
"Good." Romeo said with a smile. "Now what happened?"
"Hey." A voice called from the door. Romeo's eyes widened in surprised as his mind began to register who the sound belonged to. It can't be. He thought as he turned around. To his utter disbelief, there stood Natsu, smiling his usual wide smile, and the others from Tenrou Island; along with the group who went to find them.
"Y-y-you're back!" Macao exclaimed completely taken by surprise.
"You're all so young!" Kinana pointed out.
"You guys haven't aged a day!" Nam said next.
"What happened?" Vijeteer chimed in.
"Well…" Lucy began. "It's sort of a long story." She then walked up to the three and began to explain the circumstances behind their return. Romeo continued to stand shocked as Natsu looked in his direction. Romeo still couldn't believe after all these years that they had returned. He was overjoyed, but for some reason he couldn't express it.
"You've gotten big Romeo." Natsu said with a smile.
Tears began to stream down Romeo's face as he looked up at Natsu and the others. "Welcome back…you guys." He said through his sobs. Aura looked up at Romeo and nervously hid herself behind him.
"Come on now." Macao said as he placed his hand on his son's head. "You can't go around crying, you're a man, remember?"
"You're crying too dad." Romeo said as he wiped the tears from his face.
"I just got something in my eye." Macao replied as he wiped away his own tears. "Besides we can't cry in front of her now can we?" Macao said looking at the still nervous Aura.
"Huh?" Natsu said tilting his head in confusion. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Could you call Erza over here?" Macao said, his and Romeo's faces now free of tears.
"Uh, sure." Natsu said still confused. 
"Hey Erza!" He yelled.
"Yes Natsu, what is it?" Erza asked as she walked next to him, having made her way through the crowd of Fairy Tail members.
"I don't know." Natsu replied. "Macao said he wanted to see us."
"Good, I was looking for him." Erza said. "Where's Aura? I can't find her anywhere."
"Well that's what I called you for." Macao said. "There's someone here whose been waiting to meet you." He looked at Aura who was still hiding behind Romeo. "Go on." He whispered. "It's okay."
"Yeah go." Romeo said stepping to the side. 
"You wanted to see them right?" He said nudging her forward a bit.
"Who are you two-"Erza began but she stopped abruptly when she saw the little girl standing before her. A young girl no older than the age of 6 with light pink hair that extended just beyond her shoulders. She wore a long sleeved shirt with a flower on it and black pants, a plain white scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked up at Natsu and Erza, her light brown eyes projecting an anxious stare that shook the pair even more.
Erza was speechless, her eyes slowly widening in shock as she grabbed Natsu's sleeve. "Natsu…" She said low as her eyes began misting. Natsu was also rendered speechless at the sight.
"Say something." Macao said smiling at Aura.
"H-hi…" Aura said nervously as she twisted her foot in the ground. "I'm-" before Aura could finish Erza suddenly hugged her, holding her tight as if she would fly away if she weren't held down.
"Aura." Erza said sobbing, placing her hand on the back of her shocked daughter's head.
Natsu fell to his knees in disbelief as he watched them. "Aura?" he said to himself. He still had trouble believing that seven years had passed, but seeing his daughter now confirmed everything he was told. He smiled wide as tears began to stream down his face. She was so beautiful, she looked just like Erza.
"I'm so sorry." Erza said as she held Aura tighter to her. "Please, please, forgive me for being so stupid. I left you here alone…We left you here alone. I'm so sorry."
Aura could barely process what was going on. Here were her parents, seven years of waiting for them to return had come down to this moment, and it was almost too much for her young mind to bear. She had waited so long to see them again, but she was frozen in place. Then, as if something clicked inside of her, the young girl's fingers began to twitch. She raised her arms slowly, cradling them behind Erza's back.
"It's ok mama." Aura said, surprising Erza. "I've been a good girl while you were gone. Papa Macao and Romeo and everyone looked after me. Please don't cry anymore."
Erza smiled warmly before feeling more arms cradle around her body. She looked behind her and saw Natsu hugging both her and Aura. "Yeah…" Natsu said with a smile. "We're all together again, so why are you guys crying?" he said as tears streamed down his face.
"You idiot." Erza said to Natsu with a smile as they both held Aura. "You're crying more than both of us."
"Welcome home Mommy and Daddy." Aura said with a wide smile as she began to cry as well.
…
One Week Later
7 years. Erza thought to herself as she looked out the window of her and Natsu's home. Were we really gone for that long? It doesn't seem real. She looked out at the horizon as the setting sun gave the sky a beautiful golden orange hue. She looked down at her hand, turning and rotating it, analyzing it for any signs of age. I haven't changed at all. None of us from the island have, thanks to Master Mavis. She sat back in her chair and tried to absorb everything that happened since her return.
…
"Y-You're married?!" Erza asked her eyes wide as she looked at a smiling Alzack and Bisca.
"Yeah, for about 6 years now." Alzack replied.
"It took me forever to wear Al down." Bisca said with a smile nudging him. "He was so nervous and-"
"Can we just skip that part?" Alzack said embarrassed.
"C-congratulations." Erza stammered bowing. "Please take care of her." She said nervously to Alzack.
"Thanks, but you don't have to be so formal Erza." Bisca reassured with a smile as she helped the red-haired wizard stand up straight. "We're the same as you and Natsu."
"What do you mean?" Erza asked, a confused look on her face.
"I mean being married." Bisca replied.
Erza looked away, her face beginning to turn red. "Natsu and I…aren't married." She said low, a bit embarrassed.
"You're not?!" Bisca asked, her eyes wide with surprise. "I could have sworn you two-"
Erza shook her head. "We aren't."
"Well, do you want to marry him?"
"Come on Bisca, that's enough." Alzack said putting his hand on his wife's shoulder, he feared that she was making Erza uncomfortable.
"It's okay." Erza said with a smile, reassuring Alzack. She then looked over at Natsu, who was surrounded by members of the guild as he exaggerated the battle against Grimoire Heart. "It's not that I don't want to marry him-"Erza said with a small smile. "It's just that we haven't really had a chance to talk about it, and you know how Natsu can be."
"You're right about that." Bisca said with a laugh. "He probably wouldn't even know what marriage is." The three of them laughed at the thought of Natsu being in a tuxedo and standing at an altar. Although Erza saw the scene as more attractive than humorous.
Erza looked over to Asuka who was playing with Happy and Carla. "Your daughter is beautiful." Erza said with a warm smile.
"Thank you." Bisca said with a loving smile as they all turned their attention towards the young girl. "She can be a bit of a handful at times though." She said with a small chuckle.
"I imagine most kids are at that age." Erza said with a smile as she held as her own daughter's hand.
…
Erza opened her eyes and returned to looking out the window. Marrying Natsu. She thought to herself, although she was bit uneasy at the idea. Of course she loved Natsu, she wanted to be with him for as long as she was able, but marriage was something that rarely entered her mind. It was such a big step, one she would not be able to take lightly. I'm sure he knows the concept of husband and wife. Erza thought as she began tapping her finger on the wooden windowsill. Maybe I'm thinking too much about it. There's no need to rush, we have plenty of time to think about it. She smiled to herself.
She looked outside and saw that the sky was beginning to turn dark. "Where are they?" she thought aloud. "They should have been back by now." She tapped her finger harder, growing more irritated by the second. "He better not have-"
"We're home!" Natsu yelled, bursting through the front door with a smile. Happy slowly hovered from the Dragon Slayer's shoulder and dropped onto the windowsill exhausted. Erza smiled and pet the exceed, she then narrowed her gaze and looked back towards Natsu.
"Where were you?" she asked in a frightening tone, causing Natsu's hair to stand on end.
"We uh-"he began stammering frightened, Erza continuing to stare a hole in him until she saw a small head of pink hair move from behind his leg.
"Mommy!"Aura ran towards Erza, a huge smile on the little girl's dirt covered face. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were a little worse for wear but Erza nonetheless picked her up and placed her on her lap.
"Hi sweetie." Erza said with a warm smile as she rubbed some of the dirt off of her daughter's cheek. "Did you have fun with Daddy and Aunt Lucy?" she asked.
Aura nodded with a smile. "Yeah, we took the train to Shiso…Shirot…"
"Shirotsume." Erza said with a smile.
"Yeah there. Daddy got sick on the train and he started making funny faces." Aura tried to imitate Natsu's sick faces, causing Erza to laugh.
"How did you get all dirty?" Erza asked in a motherly tone.
"Daddy took me to the park when we got home."
"Yeah and it rained yesterday so it was still wet." Natsu said with a nervous laugh, he knew Erza was still angry with him.
"Well let's get you cleaned up." Erza said standing up as Aura got off of her lap and grabbed her hand. "Then it's off to bed, it is well past your bedtime."
"But I'm not tired." Aura whined.
"The faster you go to sleep, the faster you can see everyone at the guild hall tomorrow." Erza said, causing the young girl to smile.
"Really?" Aura said. Erza simply nodded.
Natsu tried to inch towards the bedroom. "Stay right there Natsu." Erza commanded not looking at him, instantly causing him to stop. "I'll deal with you in a moment."
An hour later Erza had finished bathing Aura and placed her in bed, she also placed Happy in his hammock over Aura's shelf. It took about a week to remodel Aura's room since she was no longer a baby, but not much had changed aside from the bed and a few of the more baby friendly items being taken out. Erza smiled as her daughter slept peacefully, she then slowly closed the door to her room.
She walked back towards the main area of the house, Natsu was still standing at attention. "You can relax." She said. Natsu graciously relaxed his body and hesitantly sat at the dining table across from Erza.
"Are you mad at me?" Natsu said with puppy dog eyes.
"No, I'm not mad." Erza said sighing. "I was just…worried."
"Sorry." Natsu said sulking. He knew why Erza was in her current mood, if the roles were reversed he would have felt the same way.
"It's ok." Erza said. "Just be more careful next time."
"I will." Natsu replied still sulking.
Erza smiled softly and placed her hands on the table. Suddenly Natsu felt something on his forehead and looked up, Erza had leaned over the table, kissing him on the forehead. He blushed as he watched her sit back down.
"Now, how did the job with Lucy go?" she asked with a smile.
"You should have been there-"Natsu began with a smile as he began regaling Erza about his day, telling her of them of the bandits they caught and also of Lucy's father. Unbeknownst to the two, they were being watched from afar.
"Is this the place?" A shadowed figure asked looking at Natsu and Erza's house from the trees.
"Yes." Another figure answered. "It is just as he predicted. All of Fairy Tail's lost members have returned."
"What do we do?" The first figure asked.
"It would be unwise to proceed without the Master's approval." The figure looked at their arm, it glowed faintly showing the names of the other members that returned from Tenrou Island. "We should check out the others on the list and report our findings to him."
"Fine." The second figure conceded. "Who is next?"
"Wendy Marvell." The first figure said. The two then sprouted wings and took to the air, their next destination being Fairy Hills dormitory.
"How much longer must we wait?" The second figure asked irritated.
"Be patient." The first figure said. "We report our findings to the master and he will devise a plan based off of the oracles visions."
"But we still have yet to retrieve Yggdrasil." The second figure said impatiently.
"No need to fret, Lord Balder has been sent to retrieve her. She will soon be returned." the first figure reassured as the two flew over the downtown square of Magnolia.
"This should be everything." Laki said with a smile as she made her way through the market and towards Fairy Hills. She then felt a presence, instinctively looking up to the sky to see what looked like two angels flying above her. Her eyes widened in fear, dropping her bags as she began to shake. "No." she said fearful. It can't be, why would they be in Fiore? She thought anxiously. Wait. she thought following the two men with her eyes. The direction they're going, they're heading towards.
Laki then began making a beeline for Fairy Hills, leaving her groceries in the street.