Archive of Our Own

Work Text

X784
X791Name: Della ZabelAlias: The Shadow Goddess

Characteristics:

Race: HumanGender: ♀️ FemaleAge: 12 (X784); 19 (X791)Birthday: Year X772Hair Color: BlondeEye Color: Blue

Professional Status:

Affiliation: Fairy TailGuild Mark Location: Left Shoulder BladeOccupation: MagePrevious Team: The God SlayersPartner(s): Gajeel Redfox (Rare); Pantherlily (Rare)Previous Partner(s): Yami Zabel; Kyril ZabelBase of Operations: Fairy Tail

Personal Status:

Status: ActiveRelatives: Yami Zabel (Mother; Deceased)Kyril Zabel (Father; Deceased)Gajeel Redfox (Foster Brother)
Magic: Shadow God Slayer MagicDella Zabel is a mage of the Fairy Tail Guild, where she operates alone aside from a few jobs with her brother and his exceed, Gajeel and Patherlily, having previously been a part of a team with her parents, the God Slayers.
Appearance:

Della is a young woman of pale skin and average weight and height with short, blonde hair that reaches her shoulder, parted to the left, covering her left eye. Her eyes are a greyish blue, with a white medical eyepatch over her left eye, having lost it in an accident. Her body is also covered in scars from the same accident. She can usually be seen with a tired or bored look on her face, like she’d rather be elsewhere. As a young girl, she was always seen with bright eyes and a smile. Her black Fairy Tail emblem can be seen stamped on her left shoulder blade.

In the year X784, Della’s hair was long enough to reach her mid-back, which was always worn in two low pigtails held by red ribbons. She wore a white dress with gold lining that went down to just above her knees, a v-shape collar that was closer to her neck, short, frilly sleeves, a blue design around her shoulder blade with gold and white lining, and red bows around her neck. Her outfit was completed with white stockings and blue ankle boots.
In the year X791, Della is now a young woman and her hair is now cut to a short bob that goes down to her shoulders. She now wears a white and navy striped tank top and a navy blue denim skirt that goes down to her mid-thigh, with Greek style black strap sandals that wrap to her ankle. Over this outfit is a long, plain black cape reaching down to her ankle with white lining edges, with the inside being inverted, white with black lining edges.

Personality:

Della was a loud, bubbly kid before the Tenrou incident. She was always a light in the darkness, bringing a smile to everyone, everywhere she went. Even during her time in Phantom Lord, where everything was gloomy, she brought a light into the guild hall. During the Battle of Fairy Tail, when she was captured by Laxus, she didn’t show any fear.
However, after losing her parents in an attack and her brother on Tenrou, her happiness drained from her body, becoming a shell of a person she once was. She’s quiet and reserved, not showing emotions for any reason. Later, when Sabertooth came to power and the Twin Dragons became more widely known, Della was filled with a hatred toward the Shadow Dragon of the two, showing the first emotion in years.

History:

Della was born in the year X772 to Kyril and Yami Zabel, who were known as the Shadow God and White Goddess of the Phantom Lord guild. Her first visit to the guild hall was when she was 6 years old, where she met Gajeel Redfox. Despite his pierced face and intimidating aura, she attached herself to him and started calling him her big brother. While he was clearly annoyed by his little follower, he was never outright rude or mean to her, leading some to believe he had a soft spot for her.
Della was never an official member of Phantom Lord, due to Master Jose not wanting a “weakling” in the guild, though he never said that publicly. Even so, as she began learning magic, her parents would take her on jobs to watch and even help if she could, though for more dangerous jobs, she was left at home. She practiced in Shadow Make Magic, since she felt the shadows speaking to her, able to master both static and dynamic Shadow Make, as well as manipulate shadows, possibly due to her powerful parents’ genes. Yami and Kyril planned to start teaching her God Slaying magic once she was old enough and was able to handle the power that came from the magic, even making an identical cape to theirs, inverted on each side for when she chose either White or Shadow God Slaying.
In the year X784, Master Jose declared war on their rival guild, Fairy Tail. The Zabels were fully against this war and refused to take part, even ridiculing Gajeel for destroying their guild hall. Due to this opposition and seeing it as a betrayal, Jose expelled them from the guild, leaving them out of work. However, after the battle, Master Makarov, master of Fairy Tail, invited the three to his guild, admiring their opposition and wanting them to have a place to call home. Even Della was able to join as a powerful wizard who would bring a light to the guild after everything that happened.
So now, the Zabels have joined the infamous guild that took down their previous work place. The God Slayers and their little shadow have found a new family and a real home to call their own.

Magic and abilities:

Shadow God Slayer Magic: A form of God Slayer Magic that Della employs that allows her to produce and manipulate shadows, as well as allow her to transform her body into a shadow. This power also lets her to eat shadow magic and the essence of shadows from buildings and people without eating the shadow itself. It’s said that this magic, if correctly honed and used, is powerful enough to take down a god. People assume that her and Rogue's twin mastery is what sparked their rivalry.

Shadow God’s Bellow: The breath attack associated with her God Slayer Magic. Della breathes out a burst of shadows from her mouth.
Shadow Form: Della can transform her body into shadows and allows her to fade through attacks, as well as can move swiftly and dodge attacks.
Shadow God’s Arrow: Della is able to produce an arrow made of shadows and shoot it from her hand, with a pointed edge that works like a real arrow.
Shadow God’s Strike: Della covers one or both legs in shadows and kicks at her opponent, a trail of shadows following her leg to scrape at the individual.
Shadow God’s Daggers: Della’s arms are covered in shadows and enhances her punches, leaving a stabbing feeling where she hits without piercing skin.
Shadow God’s Erebus: Della spreads out her shadows in a large circle around her before shooting out shadows from the ground, hitting opponents from below.
God Slayer’s Secret Art:

Izanami’s Darkness: Della forms a ball of shadows in her hands, increasing in size, to the size of a large arena’s battle field. She brings it down onto her opponent, exploding into a wave of shadows, taking out others nearby.
Nyx’s Downpour: A shadowy circle appears overhead, leaving Della’s opponent(s) in darkness before a rain of shadows comes pouring down onto the individual or individuals.

Shadow-Make: A form of Molding Magic that allows the user to create shadows at will and shape them into objects. Della is skilled in both static and dynamic Shadow Make, allowing her to create inanimate objects and weapons as well as living beings.

Shadow Make: Dome: Della is able to create a dome to shield herself from oncoming attacks. This only works if her reflexes are fast enough.
Shadow Make: Mace: Della creates shadows to form a mace to be used as a weapon.
Shadow Make: Arrows: Della is able shoot arrows straight from her hand or from a nearby shadow.
Shadow Make: Snake: Della creates one or more snakes that listen to her, being somewhat sentient. She often has one wrapped around her waist, almost like a pet. They can also wrap around her opponents and bite them.

Shadow Manipulation: Della is able to manipulate any shadows nearby and use them in her attack or eat them to regain power. She can use them in her Shadow God’s Arrow to shoot at her opponent without using her own shadows, as well as use the essence of the shadow to cover her arms or legs in Shadow God’s Strike or Shadow God’s Daggers.
Power Detection: As Dragon Slayers can smell a person’s scent, God Slayers can feel a person’s presence; more specifically, their essence. Like how everyone has a certain smell, everyone has a certain essence unique to them, their power level and magic type playing a role in creating their essence. Della can also tell what kind of magic someone uses due to sensing their essence.
Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Most of Della’s magic attacks require her to make some kind of physical contact, or be close to her opponent. As such, she has trained in unarmed combat significantly more than other wizards. Due to this, she’s incredibly skilled in hand-to-hand, with or without magic.
Enhanced Durability: Della is shown to have high physical resilience, able to take blow after blow before she’s taken down. However, this depends on her magic power level.
Enhanced Endurance: Della has a high amount of physical endurance, able to fight longer than most.Enhanced Speed: Della possesses the ability to outmaneuver her opponents, largely due to her ability to turn into a shadow, allowing her to dodge attacks.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A young girl walks along the rocky edge of a cliff, dragging a stick along the ground, creating an indention in the sand as she walks. The ocean crashes below as she continues walking toward the barren rocky land outside Oak Town.
As she comes up to a clearing, she sees a small camp, consisting of a small fire and tent large enough to hold one small person. Near the fire sat a young boy, around the blonde’s age. His back was turned to the girl, but he seemed to have heard her as he tensed up and turned around. The little girl had long, blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a simple white dress, a friendly look in her eyes. The boy was the exact opposite, with short, black hair and red eyes, dressed in a dark shirt and trousers, looking guarded and weary.
The girl smiled and waved, “Hello!” The boy looks at her nervously, making the girl smile more. “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you!” She sheaths the stick in her belt, similar to how one would a sword before putting her hands up to show she’s harmless. The boy relaxes and turns back to his fire.
The blonde walked over to the camp and around the fire in front of the boy, sitting criss cross. The boy looked up at her, his eyes reflecting their earlier fear, but overall seemed at ease.
“You look lonely, maybe I can keep you company!” The black-haired boy in front of her stares at her, not saying anything. The girl looks over into the tent, but only finds enough stuff for one person. “Are you all alone? Where are your parents?”
The boy’s face fell a little, a saddened look overcoming it. “He’s…gone…” The blonde frowned, feeling bad. “Oh, I’m sorry.” The air felt tense now, awkwardness between the two young kids.
After a moment, the girl pops up, smiling brightly. “Hey, you can come live with me! My mom and dad wouldn’t mind.” “Um…no thanks…I’m good.” She huffed, faltering a little, but not giving up. “Fine, then I’ll come visit as often as I can, and I’ll bring food! That sound okay?”
The boy was silent for a moment, before cracking a small smile, one that was barely visible, but one that the young girl could see, and nods.
“Good! But I don’t know your name, what is it?” “My name is…Ryos…” “Cool! I’m Della, nice to meet you!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The streets of Magnolia were bustling with life, more so than usual. The Magnolia Harvest was right around the corner and everyone was getting ready for the festivities. The smell of food and pastries filled the air, the shops were filled with fantasy themed outfits, and decorations were being put up all around town.
Among the crowd, a group of three wizards walked toward the Fairy Tail guild hall. A young man with blonde hair and brown eyes, his wife, who had jet black hair in a ponytail and blue eyes, and their young child, her long blonde hair in ponytails and blue eyes full of life, a shadowy snake around her waist.
The young girl skipped in front of her parents as they came up to guild hall. The girl opened the door and the sound of talking voices filled her ears as they entered the loud and lively hall. Some were sitting at tables, eating and talking, others stood at the large request board looking for their next job.
The trio made their way over to the bar where a woman with white hair and wearing a maroon dress was tending. “Hello, Miss Mira.” The male smiled at the woman, who in turn smiled back. “Welcome back, you three. How can I help you?” “Do you know where Master Makarov is?” “You can find him upstairs, in his office. It’ll be right above the stage.” “Thanks, Miss.” The male set off towards the stairs, the female taking some money from a pouch in her cape and handing it to her young daughter. “Here, baby, you can get something to eat or drink while your father and I speak with the master.”
The little blonde smiled as she took the money, the older woman patting her head before following her husband upstairs. The girl then climbed up onto a stool and smiled at the woman behind the bar. “Can I get some apple juice, please?” “Of course, sweetie. You can keep the money for now, this first one will be on the house.”
While Mira turned to grab the juice, a young blonde woman came up to the bar and took a seat next to the little girl, groaning as she laid her head on the bar. The younger blonde looked over at the other, confused. “Are you okay? Do you have a tummy ache?” “No, my partners are just being their idiotic selves.” The woman opened her eyes and looked up at the little girl, sitting up a little. “Hey, I don’t think I’ve met you before, are you a new member?” “Mhm, my name’s-” “Here’s your juice, Della.”
The little girl, Della, turned to the white-haired woman and smiled as she took the juice. “Thank you, Miss Mira!” She gave a small giggle and looked to the other blonde. “Hello, Lucy, I see you’re back from your job. Where’s Natsu and Happy?” Lucy groaned and sat up straight, almost leaning back. “They stopped by their house while I came ahead to the guild hall. I swear, they’re both gonna be the death of me.”
Mira giggled again, clearly used to this whiny behavior from the woman. “What happened this time? Natsu blow up the side of a mountain and cause an avalanche?” “Worse, but that’s a long story. I was just talking to our newest member. You called her Della?” The woman behind the bar nodded and turned to the younger blonde. “This is Della Zabel, our newest and youngest member, apart from Happy of course. She and her parents just joined while you and the others were gone to that resort.”
Lucy’s eyes suddenly widened, like they were going to pop out of her head. “Wait, Zabel?” She turned to the little girl, who looked back up at her from her cup. “As in the God Slayers, Zabel?” The girl smiled and set her cup down, nodding. “Yup, that’s my mom and dad!” The older blonde gasped and put her hand over her mouth, her expression a bit of a mystery as to if she was shocked or terrified. “You’re the daughter of Kyril and Yami Zabel!? The Shadow God and White Goddess!?”
Della giggled more and nodded. “Yup, that’s me! Della Zabel, no official name yet, but I will one day have one!” The celestial wizard looked like she was going to faint, which Mirajane brought over a cup of water for her to drink. She did so and took deep breaths, calming down from the shock. Just as she was about to say something, a male voice called out her name, making the three females look over. A young man with pink hair, a flying blue cat, a young man with dark blue hair, and a young woman with red hair walked over to them, the pink-haired male smiling brightly. “Man, you got here fast, Lucy. You’d think with all your walking, you’d lose some weight.” “HEY, SHUT IT, CAT!” She growled at the blue cat.
While those two bickered, the red-head noticed the young girl and turned to her, smiling softly. “Well, hello there. You’re a new member as well, aren’t you? Excuse Happy and Lucy, they bicker quite a lot.” “It’s okay, this place is a lot livelier than Phantom Lord was, so that’s a plus!”
Just then, the bickering stopped as the five wizards looked to Della, shocked and somewhat horrified. “Did you say…Phantom Lord?” The blue-haired male spoke, a look in his eyes that was hard to put a pin on. The little girl’s smile faded, shrinking a little, and nodded. “That’s right, the God Slayers were a part of Phantom Lord. They were one of the most powerful wizards, along with the Elemental Four and you know who.” Lucy spoke up, which Della nodded to again.
“I felt my ears burning, were you talking about me, Gray, my love?” A familiar voice chipped in, making the younger blonde turn toward it. Her eyes brightened and she hopped off the stool toward the woman, hugging her waist and resting her head on her chest. The woman looked down and her love-struck look faded to a warm one. “Della! I didn’t know you were here.” “Juvie, I missed you…”
Juvia patted the girl’s head as she looked up at Team Natsu, who all seemed to calm down. “You guys met Della, I see. I hope you weren’t being mean to her, love rival.” “I’m not your love rival!” Lucy yelled, standing up from her seat.
“We didn’t mean any harm, Juvia. We were just talking with Della, and she brought up Phantom Lord, so we were a little shocked. We didn’t mean to scare her.” Erza spoke up, bonking Gray on the head for scaring the young girl. “Oh, it’s alright. I understand it being a touchy subject, but Della and her parents didn’t play a role in the war at all. They were actually against it.”
This confused the five wizards, who all looked at each other, before looking back at the water woman. “What do you mean? I thought all of Phantom Lord hated Fairy Tail.” “None of us really hated Fairy Tail, per se. I won’t defend our actions, we were simply following Master Jose’s orders. But Kyril and Yami were against the attack. They didn’t want a war and spoke against the master, so Master Jose banished them from the guild. Della was never an official member since she was young, so they took off before the attack. Afterwards, when Gajeel and I came here, we couldn’t find them. Though, since she’s here now, I assume they had the same idea as us.”
Gray walked over to the two females and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Della, I didn’t mean to scare you. Yeah, Phantom was our enemy, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.” The blonde turned her head a little and gave a small smile. “It’s okay, I get it. I shouldn’t have overreacted.” The ice wizard smiled softly at her, making her smile more. “Della, sweetie, you better not be planning to steal my beloved Gray.” Juvia gave a closed-eyed smile as she pet her head, but her aura was a little scary. Though, Della wasn’t intimidated, she just giggled and gave a closed-eyed smile back. “Never, Juvie! I’m rooting for both of you.” Gray’s smile faltered, looking a little annoyed now, as Juvia smiled lovingly at the man.
Natsu sniffed the air and looked to the side, scowling a little. “Speaking of Gajeel…” The group looked to where Natsu was staring, seeing the said wizard had entered the guild hall. Della learned over a little since Gray was blocking her view, her smiling widening even more and her eyes brightening. “Big brother!” She giggled as she let go of Juvia and ran over to the iron dragon, hugging him tightly and leaving the group, minus Juvia, with their mouths agape in shock.
“BIG BROTHER!?” They exclaimed as Gajeel patted the blonde’s head, not looking particularly happy, but not pushing the girl off either.
The blue-haired woman nodded as she walked closer to the group, smiling at the two. “Yup, Gajeel is her older brother. Not biologically, of course, but they’re pretty much a big family.” “But how!? How is a big, scary monster like him a brother to that sweet, little girl!” Lucy yelled, looking somewhat terrified while looking at the two in question, who were having some kind of conversation.
“I only know this from her parents since Gajeel joined long before me, but when they brought Della to the guild hall for the first time, I believe she was 5 or 6, Gajeel was there. Despite the fact everyone feared him, she attached herself to him and called him her brother. She’s an only child, as well as the only one at Phantom, and everyone was in their own worlds, myself included. But he never pushed her away. He was rude to everyone, including Kyril and Yam, but never to her.”
The group watched as Gajeel gave a faint smile, one that could barely be seen, and patted his “sister’s” head, making the young girl giggle. While they all questioned just how a sweet little girl could basically imprint on a jerk like him, Juvia smiled, glad to see that her friend and guildmate was finally allowing himself to be happy.
Pretty soon, the two wizards from before, Yami and Kyril, came back downstairs and made their way back to the bar. “Juvia, is that you?” The group turned and the water wizard smiled as she waved at the couple. “Yami, Kyril! I’m so glad to see you two are okay, I see you joined Fairy Tail.” Kyril chuckled and nodded. “We didn’t know you were here, nor Gajeel. Fate’s a funny thing, huh?” “You can say that again.”
Lucy was looking at the two in wonder and shock, trying to stutter out a sentence. “The…The God Slayers…are right here…here in front of me!” She was about to faint again, but Happy waved his wings in her face to keep her awake. The two turned their attention to Team Natsu, and in a split second, they were bowing to them, shocking the wizards. Even Mirajane, who came back to check on things, looked surprised.
“We’re terribly sorry for what our previous guild did to yours. We never meant any harm or ill will towards Fairy Tail.” “We are grateful to be allowed to have joined your family and hope we can make amends.” They stayed there for a second before Erza stepped forward. “There’s no need for apologies. Juvia told us what happened. You both did nothing wrong, Della as well. We’re grateful for your attempts to stop Master Jose. This is your new home now, if you’ll allow it to be.”
The Zabels both stood up straight and gave smiles. “Thank you, Titania.” “Please, call me Erza. We are a family, after all.” Yami smiled more and nodded. Kyril looked around and spotted his daughter with Gajeel. “Della, we’re going home now!”
The blonde perked up and ran back over to the group, Gajeel following behind. She grabbed her cup and quickly finished her apple juice, burping loudly for a girl her size once she was done, making everyone around laugh, minus the iron dragon slayer. “Thank you, Mirajane!” “It was no problem, sweetie.” Della then turned to her parents, signaling she was ready. “We’ll be off then. It was nice seeing you both again as well, Juvia and Gajeel.” “Don’t be a stranger!” Juvia smiled brightly, as well as everyone who wasn’t Gajeel.
“We have the Magnolia Harvest coming up, as you probably saw in town. We hope you’ll join us for the celebration, and maybe Della can even compete in Miss Fairy Tail.” “More competition? Come on, Erza, you and Mira are already gonna be hard to beat, a little girl is a sure win!” “Stop being so greedy and mean, Lucy, it’s not all about money!” “I WILL STRANGLE YOU, CAT!”
Yami couldn’t help but giggle a little. “Maybe, we’ll see. We’ll be heading out now, see you all around.” “Bye Juvia, bye Big Brother, bye Mira and Lucy and funny people!” “Bye Della, be good to your parents. Bye, Kumori.” Gajeel patted her head, as well as the head of the snake on her shoulder.
“Kumori?” “Oh, they’re my shadow snake.” The snake lifted its head, making Lucy squeak and back away. “That’s a snake!?” “Not a real one. I’m a Shadow Make wizard, static and dynamic! Kumori is like a pet.” Della smiled and patted the snake’s head, who nuzzled Della’s cheek. Team Natsu’s face fell again in shock once again as the family left, making Mirajane giggle a little. “Did I not mention Della was a wizard as well?” “NO!” The team yelled, making the bartender laugh more.
Erza watched as the trio walked out of the guild hall, smiling softly. “That little girl is just full of surprises, huh.” “That she is.” Juvia chimed in while Gajeel walked away from the group, annoyed now.
“I can’t wait to see the type of person she’ll be here in Fairy Tail.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Battle of Fairy Tail was underway, all the guild members fighting each other in town as they work to defeat the Thunder Legion and save the girls who were trapped by Evergreen’s petrification spell.
Makarov stood at the entrance to the guild hall, watching as Freed’s enchantment continued updating him on the fights taking place. Fights he couldn't stop. Fights between his children in order to save his other children from being smashed to dust.
Natsu was also stuck in the guild hall despite the enchantment only meaning being only meant to keep stone statues and those over 80 inside, and the fire wizard was clearly neither. As confusing as it was, he was more focused on the fact that he couldn't go fight, even though the others were his family.
The master shook his head at the fuming boy and looked over to the stage, where seven statues stood. The girls who were participating in the Miss Fairy Tail competition. They all stood in poses, some shocked, some with blank faces.
But the one that stood out, the most haunting one, was the smallest statue, a little girl who had fear in her eyes, her arms up in an attempt to block her attacker’s view, but was too late. Della.
“Her parents are going to kill me if that boy doesn't do it first,” Makarov muttered to himself, overwhelmed with guilt.
Kyril and Yami had decided to take a job the day before, unfortunately during the Magnolia Harvest, but Della wanted to stay and enjoy the festival as well as meet everyone else in Fairy Tail. The two agreed to let her stay, seeing as she had stayed behind on jobs before. There was no reason to worry after all, it was just the Magnolia Harvest, a festival for everyone, and she had the guild to watch her back.
Boy, how things have a funny way of royally messing up.
“There has to be someone who can beat Laxus, right? Neither of you can leave, but still,” Happy spoke sadly, worried about the time limit ending. Just then, there were noises coming from the bar, causing the three to look over. A pierced arm appeared on the counter and a familiar black-haired wizard lifted his head as he chewed on a piece of iron.
“Gajeel, you were here the whole time!?” “Nevermind that. Gajeel, will you please fight for the guild?”
The iron wizard chuckled as he jumped over the bar and began toward the entrance. “I got this, Master. I have a score to settle anyway-” He was suddenly cut off when his face slammed into the invisible wall, red enchantments popping up as he tried to push his way through.
“What the hell!? Don’t tell me you’re over 80 too!” “Obviously not, you moron!” Gajeel tried to punch the enchantment again, but to no avail. “Gee, are you just trying to act dumb so you don’t actually have to fight? Even with your “sister’s” life on the line?” The male froze in place, his fist still on the wall as he looked over at the other dragon, his eyes with a fire in them. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Natsu nudged his head toward the stage, the black-haired male looking over to see what he meant, his eyes widening. His sister, a stone statue with a face of fear. “She was turned to stone like the other girls. What, you didn’t know she was in danger? Some big brother you are.”
The comment was bad enough, but the idea of someone hurting his sister angered him more. She was just a scared little girl and they still turned her to stone with intentions of killing her. Suddenly, Gajeel was full of rage, punching at the invisible wall harder. It wasn’t like his normal, cocky attitude. There was real rage in his punches.
While Gajeel was fruitlessly fighting the enchantments, Makarov looked at the enchantment to find only two people from the guild remained in the fight, his eyes widening as he came to the realization. “You two are the only ones left!?”
So it came down to this. Natsu and Gajeel were the only members left in Fairy Tail, maybe the only ones who could defeat Laxus and his lackeys. At least, of those who weren’t stone statues. The master growled as he thought about his options. Either let the girls be turned to dust or give the guild to Laxus.
But before he could make a choice, the fire wizard sighed in defeat. “Guess I’ll just bring Erza back. Man, I was hoping to finally show her up.” “Natsu, what the hell are you about to do!?” The male looked back to Makarov with a blank look. “I’m going to melt the stone off her? What else?” The way he spoke in a matter of fact way just showed how much of an idiot he was.
“Natsu, she’s made of stone, not covered in it! You’re gonna burn her to a crisp!” “We won’t know until we try, huh?” The four turned to the stage to grab Erza, Gajeel catching another glimpse of his sister. He was already angry with that lightning wizard, but he then decided to go after her.
There was definitely going to be hell to pay.
Natsu laid Erza down on the ground and covered his hands in fire, ready to start melting the stone. That is, until the stone began cracking, making everyone start freaking out. The stone cracked more and Natsu began praying right as the stone broke away and poofed, Erza sitting up, alive and well. “Oh thank goodness,” Happy said as he put the glue down.
“Why do I feel hot?” Erza commented, before realizing and punching the wizard responsible while yelling about how he was trying to cook her alive. "I'm relieved you're alright, but how did you break free?" Makarov questioned. "I can't be sure, but it may have something to do with my artificial eye," the woman replied, putting her hand on her cheek, just below said eye.
The enchantment updated to show that Erza was now in the running, then again to show four wizards, which was concluded to be Mystogan. “Erza, you have to get out there and stop Laxus. You and Mystogan are the only ones who can save the girls.” The red head smirked and nodded. “Was already planning on it, Master. Just make sure Natsu doesn’t try to roast anyone else.” The male in question grumbled and looked away, crossing his arms.
Erza started out toward the door, but stopped for a second, not turning. “Natsu, don’t say those things to Gajeel, you hear? He may not be warmed up to us, but Della is still his sister. I know he would do anything for her.” The dragon slayer didn’t say anything, just grumbling again as the female took off into town.
The remaining men watched the enchantment as it updated to show Erza was in battle with Evergreen, and only a few minutes later, it updated again with the results. Titania wins. Right as the result came in, the sound of stone cracking could be heard. The girls turned back to their normal selves, one by one. While they all looked confused, their thoughts were interrupted by a small yelp. Everyone turned to the source, which was the littlest one there.
The little blonde had her arms up and her eyes closed, shaking slightly in fear. After a moment, she opened one of her eyes a little, not seeing anyone. Opening her eyes more, she looked around and only saw the familiar faces of her guildmates, all with worried looks on her faces. “Is she gone? That mean fairy lady?”
Lucy, who was standing next to her, put her hand on her head. “Yes, she’s gone. But I’m not sure what happened. We were just having the contest, then that girl came up and turned me to stone.”
Those in bikinis all got dressed and the group began explaining what was going on. Makarov was relieved everything was okay now and the “Battle of Fairy Tail” could end, even though Natsu wanted to keep going and even chased Lucy to fight her.
The former Phantom Lord wizards were standing to the side, watching the chaos, and Juvia noticed Gajeel had a serious look. “Why the serious expression?” “It’s nothing.” Della looked up at the male, who looked back down at her. She gave him a toothy smile and he couldn’t help but smile as well, patting her head. The water wizard also smiled and said, “This place is rather fun, isn’t it?” "It definitely isn't boring," the iron dragon replied, the blonde girl nodding in agreement.
After a moment, the enchantment from the entrance began forming a skull in the air, Laxus’s voice coming out of it. He says the game will continue, as without the stone statues, he decided to activate what was called the Thunder Palace, with only a little more than an hour before it went off.
The stress of this whole situation and the anger raging in the master’s body finally got to his heart and he collapsed, Mirajane running to go get his medicine. When she came back, she told everyone to check outside. While she took care of the master, everyone went outside to find lacrima orbs floating around the town that would burn everything to a crisp if they were activated.
The green-haired woman, Bisca, requipped a sniper rifle and took out one of the orbs. She planned to take out more, but she was suddenly taken out by the same magic she took out due to the body link put on the orbs.
With no other options, those who can fight decided to go out and try to find Laxus to stop him. “I’ll start evacuating the citizens,” Lucy said as she took off, Happy right behind. “I can help you!” Della tried to take off after her, but Gajeel grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.
“Nuh uh, you are not going out there, not by yourself.” The blonde whined and pulled away from the male, looking at him with a grumpy look. “I’m fine, I can help evacuate like Lucy!” “Della, you are too young, you could run into any of the three still out there. Lucy has her spirits and that whip, as well as Happy to support.” The girl growled and stomped her foot. “I’m not a little girl! I’m 12 years old, I can take care of myself!” “Sorry, kid. No means no.”
The blonde growled more and looked away, knowing she wouldn’t be able to get away from him quickly. Natsu tried to break out of the enchantments again, but Levy noticed she could change the spell to let the dragon slayers out, since it was a type of script magic.
They moved inside and the bluenette got to work decoding the enchantments. Gajeel crouched next to her to watch her work while his sister sat behind him, playing with his hair. She was clearly still upset and was taking it out on her brother’s hair. He would make a small noise sometimes, but otherwise ignored her.
After a moment, she perked her head up and looked over at the shadow next to her that was being cast by the table. She looked into it intently, clearly able to hear what it was telling her. After a moment, she immediately stood up, causing the dragon slayer to tear his eyes away from the girl in front of him.
“What do you think you’re doing? I already told you, you aren’t going anywhere.” “Yeah, but I have to use the restroom. What, are you gonna follow me to the bathroom?” The male looked at her for a moment, clearly debating in his head, before Levy spoke without looking up from her books. “She’ll be fine, the door’s right there, we can see if she tries to leave, and the windows aren’t easy to open.”
The iron dragon grumbled and looked back down at the books. “Fine, but don’t try anything. Your parents are already gonna be pissed about the stone thing.” “Yes, big brooooo. Oh, and then I’m gonna go and sit in the infirmary with the master and Bisca, so don’t worry. Just make sure to kick Laxus’s ass.” The male smirked as she turned and started walking toward the stage where the bathrooms were. Once she knew they weren’t looking in her direction, she quickly hid in the shadows of the pillars, grateful she wore a black dress today.
“Shadow Make: Snake,” Della whispered, taking some shadows from the pillar and forming multiple snakes with them. The snakes came together in a group and looked to the girl, awaiting instructions. “You guys, go behind the stage and wait for my signal. When I say go, knock down everything to make a big ruckus. Got it?”
The shadows began slithering towards the stage while Della got on her stomach and crawled towards the entrance. Her brother’s back was to her and covering Levy’s view. Natsu was also banging his head against the enchantment. He shouldn’t be a problem, though.
Hiding behind the last pillar, she conjured another snake and whispered the signal to the snake. Not a minute later, a loud ruckus could be heard behind the stage, catching the three wizards’ attention. “God, what has that girl gotten herself into?” “Or maybe something happened with the master!” Natsu growled and took off towards the stage, Gajeel behind him.
Della waited a moment before taking off towards the door. “Hey, wait-!” The blonde stopped and looked over to the bluenette. They made eye contact, Della giving a pleading look. The woman stared at her for a moment before nodding. The little girl smiled. “Thank you.” With that, she ran away into the town.
“Be careful, Della…”
The blonde hurried away as fast as she could, hiding behind a building to make sure neither dragon slayer could catch her smell.
Once she knew she was in the clear, she walked to the other end of the alley, seeing crowds of people. “Oh jeez, evacuating everyone is going to be hard. It might not even be a good idea to warn everyone. Panic always gets people worked up and they could get hurt. I wonder how Lucy is doing.”
The girl backed into the alley again and crouched, thinking of what to do. Lucy likely came to the same conclusion of not warning people so no one gets hurt. But she had to do something. She had to help her new guild in some way.
Whispers suddenly filled her ears again, and she looked to the shadows again. She listened for a moment before her eyes widened. “That’s a good idea. No one knows where Laxus is. Finding him can help with the time limit. Gajeel might not even be as angry!”
Della casted her snake spell again, creating multiple tiny snakes and sending them into town. While they did that, she stayed put in the alley so she wouldn’t get caught by the two remaining bodyguards. It didn’t take long to finally find the lightning wizard.
“Karida Cathedral, huh?” The shadows never failed her, they always followed their instructions and were absolute, but she still needed to be sure, in case he made another powerful object to throw off the trail.
The blonde exited the alley and blended in with the crowd, quickly making her way to the Cathedral. Once there, she surveyed the area before running into the shadows on the side. She carefully peaked inside. There, near a pillar, stood a tall figure with a black fur jacket. Blond hair spiked up from their head with pointed headphones. “That must be him. I should get back to the guild and tell Big Bro, hopefully he isn’t too upset.”
Della turned to sneak away, but was met with a pair of legs half-covered by a red jacket. She looked up and was met with greenish-blue eyes. “Y-You’re part of the Thunder Legion.” The man stared down at her, a look of regret in his eyes. Regardless, he suddenly grabbed her forearm and yanked her to her feet. “I don’t have to fight, nor will I beat on a child. Laxus will deal with you.”
Freed began dragging her to the entrance, the girl thrashing and trying to get away. “Let me go! My brother is gonna beat your ass if he finds out about this!”
“Oh, such a foul mouth on a small girl.”
The blonde looked at the source and suddenly stopped struggling. A pair of grey eyes looked down at her, a smirk on his face.
“Nasty words like those shouldn’t be coming out of such a sweet little girl’s mouth. I’ll have to teach you a lesson.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That little princess can fight!?”
Natsu and Gajeel had been keeping an eye on the enchantment to see if any fights were happening, and they were currently bickering about Lucy’s victory over Bickslow. Levy was still working out the spell to get the dragon slayers out, when suddenly, the enchantment wall began emitting the same red enchantment from earlier, creating a skull once again.
“Hello hello, anyone there?” The remaining wizards turned to the floating skull, distaste and annoyance on the fire and iron dragon’s faces as they heard Laxus’s cocky voice. “I sure hope that iron for brains is there, thought you’d like to know this little piece of information.”
Gajeel squinted his eyes at the skull, his hand forming a fist.
“I found a little fairy snooping around. Thought she was being sneaky, like a shadow .” At that mention, everyone’s eyes widened, the black-haired male stepping towards the skull. “See, she was being a naughty girl and refusing to fight, as well as swearing! So she just had to be punished, right?
Right after he said that, a loud scream could be heard, crying mixed in with it. Gajeel gritted his teeth and turned to the enchantment wall, punching at it. He was once again filled with that same anger, enraged by the screams and laughs coming from the lightning wizard. “Better get a move on, or else she’ll face a whole lot worse once the Thunder Palace comes down!” With a final laugh, the skull dissipated again, leaving the wizards in silence, apart from the punches coming from the iron dragon.
Levy bit her lip, staring at the page in front of her, before shaking her head. She can’t let this get to her, she can make it up to Della by getting her brother out to go and save her, along with everyone in town. The spell has her full attention, but she suddenly remembered the bickering from earlier. The tortoise and the hare…Natsu sounded ridiculous for bringing it up, but it might be the answer!
“There, I got it!” The bluenette got up with the piece of paper and hurried to the enchantment wall. Gajeel backed up to let her work, not even bothering to hide his emotions. “Alright, give me just a second. I hope you’re ready, because as soon as I rewrite this, you’ll finally join the battle.” “Hell yeah, I’m fired up!” “That asshole is gonna pay for hurting Della, hear me?”
Natsu looked at the other dragon slayer with shock, but quickly switched to a smirk. “Finally becoming a true Fairy Tail wizard.” “Oh shut it, Salamander.”
Levy smiled softly before getting to work, quickly rewriting the enchantment to allow the dragon slayers to cross the barrier. Once she was done, she told them to split up to make sure they didn’t get caught in another enchantment. With that, they took off to find the man behind all this.
Gajeel took camp up on a small hill near the outside of town, looking for his prey. A little paper doll floated next to him as he searched. “I wanted to settle the score with Salamander, but it seems that can’t happen yet, not until that lightning idiot pays for what he did to my sister. If that’s okay with you, Master Ivan.” “I understand completely. We don’t want anyone getting suspicious, so as long as they believe your heart and soul are for Fairy Tail, by all means,” The paper doll spoke, a deep, grimy voice coming out of it. “Just remember our deal. Keep the Zabels out of this, especially Della.” “You aren’t worried they’ll resent you once we take down that poor excuse for a guild?” “As long as they’re safe and okay, I don’t care.” The doll snickered. “Alright then, I’ll hold up my end once you’ve done your share.”
Soon enough, an enchantment appeared in the sky, giving the last fight and its results. Gajeel smirked, chuckling slightly. “Seems it’s finally my time to shine.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Della laid on the ground in the cathedral, lightning bolt restraints keeping her tied up. She was half conscious and watching the lightning wizard. A masked man, who was called Mystogan, had come and taken him on and was holding his own just fine, but Erza and Natsu showed up, causing the masked wizard to get distracted and hit by Laxus. His mask ripped off and revealed his identity, blue hair and a red tattoo on his face.

After saying that he wasn’t Jellal, someone Della didn’t know, Mystogan vanished, leaving Erza vulnerable, allowing the blond to attack her. Natsu begins trying to fight Laxus, but they end up going back and forth before the redhead intervenes. She requipped into her Black Wing armor and took a hit at Laxus, which he deflected.
“Alright, Laxus, you’re going to tell me what you’ve put in the sky, right now!” She shouted as she took a defensive position, her sword ready. “Oh, guess you haven’t heard. That’s my Thunder Palace!” “You’re despicable! To think, you would attack your hometown!” The lightning wizard chuckled before going into a full on laugh.
The shadow mage gained enough consciousness to hear Laxus say that it “broke his heart” to destroy his hometown, but “that’s how the game is played, dollface,” he spoke as he tried to hit Erza with a lightning attack. Della lifted her head a little, a snarl on her face. “Disgusting.”
Everyone’s attention turned to the little girl, her hair covering her face as she growled. “Destroying your own home, your family, just to prove strength? I’m only 12 and I know how awful and gross that is.” The lightning mage scowled, his fist tightening its grip. “You better shut your mouth before you get zapped to hell again.”
Erza took a shot at kicking him, but he caught it before it made contact. “Natsu, you need to go take out those things in the sky, hurry!” “I can’t! They’ll zap me back if I do!” The mage growled and looked at Laxus. “Not only are you using body link magic to protect those things, but you’ve also taken a little girl hostage and tortured her!” “Yup! And unless you defeat me, they’re all staying right where they are for the next two minutes!”
The redhead jumped back and requipped into her Lightning Empress armor, letting her use lightning magic and deflect those attacks. “Hm, Lightning Empress? Let’s see if it can handle this!” The male shot an attack, but she was still standing. “When wizards do battle, many different factors come into play, correct?” “If I remember correctly, that would be their level of magic, energy, technique, and experience.” Erza huffed before smirking. “You forget their heart. The master taught you that, I know that.” “He may have mentioned it, but he also said power trumps all,” Laxus commented lazily.
All of that reminded Della of her friend, how they use the same kind of magic. If they were to ever get into a fight for any reason, he’d probably obliterate her.
Natsu stood back up and bickered with Erza on how this was his fight. Looking at each other, the female smiled and nodded, taking off outside. “I’ll be outside then, taking down the lacrimi!” Laxus snorted at her comment. “Even taking one out is deadly! Besides, you're out of time!” “Alright. Then I’ll just take them all out at once.” The blonde girl’s eyes widened as Erza continued out, before smiling.
‘I hope I’m like her one day.’

Laxus tried to go after her, but the fire dragon attacked him with a breath spell, stopping him in his tracks. The blond was now incredibly pissed off, and thus the battle of fire and lightning started.

During the fight, a bunch of loud explosions could be heard outside. Della looked out the window from where she could and saw the lacrima being destroyed. After a little while, she could hear screams and some lightning outside. The enchantment with the timer disappeared from above soon after.

“See that? I told you it wouldn’t work. Our guild doesn’t need any changing, and you certainly won’t be taking the guild!” The lightning mage stood there for a moment before letting off a massive amount of power, screaming of how he’ll just take it by force, whether they like it or not.

The fight started up again, and Natsu was starting to get his ass beaten, blow after blow. Della felt her own wounds stinging from each attack, closing her eyes so she didn’t have to watch, but the sounds were still there.

A loud boom made her open them again, and she saw Natsu on the ground, lightning coming off him. A large ball of lightning was forming in the air, but the fire wizard wasn’t moving a muscle. “NATSU, GET OUT OF THE WAY! HE’S GONNA HIT YOU!” Laxus growled and looked behind him, his eyes fully white and face filled with rage. “I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, LITTLE BITCH!” Just then, he brought the ball down, only it was headed right for Della now. She couldn’t move, all she could do was close her eyes and brace for impact,

“DELLA!” Natsu screamed right as the ball came down on top of her, a blinding light emitting from the attack.

Once it vanished, the pink-haired male’s eyes widened. Where the blonde once was was now rubble, smoke coming off the ground. “You…you killed her…” “Oops, might’ve gone a little overboard. Guess I’ll have to apologize to her parents.” The mage let out a laugh, no remorse in his voice at all. Natsu gritted his teeth and began trying to get up.

“She was just a little girl…and you…you killed her!” “I wouldn’t be so quick to judge.”

The wizards looked up and saw Gajeel, hanging off the balcony with one hand and Della in his other arm. “Only a nutjob like you would be so giddy taking out a little girl who couldn’t even defend herself.” “Big brother…”

The iron dragon jumped toward where Natsu was and walked to the side wall, leaning the little girl on it, her lightning restraints now gone. “Didn’t I tell you not to leave the guild hall?” “I’m sorry…I just wanted to…” “It’s okay. You’re safe now. I’ll take him out and give him back everything he did to you.”

Della smiled as her brother went back to the other dragon slayer, staring daggers at the man in front of him. “I have another challenger?” Laxus chuckled, his already large grin growing. “You’ll all be dead soon anyway, so it doesn’t really matter now, does it?”

“Let me take him out, you stay out of this.” “No deal. I have my own score to settle, and I’m not letting anyone else take revenge for what he did to Della. It sucks, but we have to team up.” “No way in hell, I’m taking him out by myself! Also, I’d never team up with someone like you!” Gajeel growled, but kept his cool for now, keeping his eyes on the prize. “Will you shut up and look at him!? He ain’t messing around, we’re the only ones who can take him out, everyone else is knocked out.” “Since when are you so pro-Fairy Tail!?”

Gajeel looked him straight in the eyes, a fire burning in them like the fire mage had seen before in his own. “No one messes with my little sister and gets away with it. Got it?”

Natsu looked at him before smirking, chuckling a little. “It’s just like I said before, you’re finally becoming part of the family.” “Yeah yeah. We’re still having our own rematch someday.”

With that out of the way, the two dragons rushed the lightning mage, attacking him with everything they had, but even after all that, he was still standing. The two were bewildered, and Laxus finally let out his major secret, that he’s a dragon slayer too, complete with sharp teeth and dragon scale on his arms.

The blond unleashed a giant attack, a lightning dragon roar, which knocked the two of them down. They were still breathing, but unable to move. “Big brother!” Della tried to get up, but fell forward, not able to move herself. “Stay back, Della!”

Just then, the lightning dragon let off a large amount of energy and took a stance, closing his hands together and creating a ball of light. “Wh-What’s going on? What’s he doing!?” Natsu questioned, getting slightly scared. “He’s casting Makarov’s judgment spell. It targets anyone the caster sees as their enemy. It’s what took out Master Jose!” Gajeel answered, remembering the state of his old master after Makarov was finished with him.

The magic kept building up, until a voice called out to Laxus. Everyone looked over and saw it was Levy. “What are you doing!? Get out of here!” “Laxus! Master Makarov…your grandfather is close to death! You have to go see him, before it’s too late!” The blue-haired mage yelled, grief in her eyes.

Laxus stopped for a moment, his face unreadable, before smirking. “Now I just have a better chance of becoming the next master! This is working out just swell!” “You bastard!” Della yelled, tears filling her eyes. “Your own family is going to die and you don’t care! How heartless can you be!” “This is the dawn of a new era. Fairy Law!” The light disappeared and he clapped his hands together, a magic circle appearing and giving off a great light with a large amount of magic energy.

After a moment, the light faded and smoke was everywhere. Laxus smirked. “Looks like I finally surpassed the old man,” he said before a laugh bellowed from him. At least until coughing filled his ears, the dust beginning to settle. “How the hell are you all still alive!? That’s impossible!” The mage looked on, confused as the others stood up as best as they could.

“Levy, you okay?” The bluenette nodded, smiling a little. “What about Natsu and Della? How are they?” Gajeel looked over and saw the little girl passed out, but still breathing. “Sis is okay, she probably passed out from exhaustion. As for Salamander…” “Everyone else is okay, the guild members and the citizens. Your spell didn’t work, Laxus.”

Everyone looked over and saw a minty green-haired male standing at the door, injured but alive. Freed. “That can’t be, I casted it perfectly!” “Maybe so, but your true feelings betrayed you. Deep down, you care about your comrades, whether you’ll admit it or not. Seems you inherited more than just power from your grandfather.”

Laxus was seething now, anger pouring from every part of his body. “This has gone on long enough! You need to see the master, before it’s too late!” “Let him die…he may be family, but I’m stronger!” The blond once again expelling power, almost hitting Freed and the others. Gajeel stood in front of Della and Levy to protect them, Levy holding the girl in her arms.

“You aren’t stronger than Gramps! You may be his grandson, but you’re no better than the rest of us! You couldn’t even pull off Fairy Law!” Laxus turned around, facing Natsu, who was now surrounded by flames as he yelled at the other male. “You’ve been a member long enough to know everyone in the guild is family, no matter your blood! This is over!” “You. Are. DEAD!”

The two dragons launched attacks at each other, causing them to shoot into the sky. They continued their fight on the roof, the town was now gathered, watching everything unfold. Natsu was able to get back up after each attack, no matter what. Laxus had just about had it, and casted a spell so powerful, it was bound to kill the boy. But before it could hit him, it changed course, heading straight for Gajeel, who was using himself as a lightning rod.

With the iron dragon’s encouragement, Natsu threw attack after attack at the older man, going too fast for him to counter or block. Finally, he launches a final attack, a Dragon Slayer Secret Art, and takes out Laxus, finally putting an end to the Battle of Fairy Tail

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The guild was informed that Makarov would be able to pull through, thanks to the unexpected visit from Porlyusica. The guild cheers on and is eager to go on with the festivities, especially after everything that happened.
Della sat on a bench to the side, wrapped up in bandages and in a change of clothes. She was sitting between Gajeel and Natsu, who were also bandaged up, leaning on her brother as she had fallen asleep again after getting patched. How she was sleeping through the loud partying was beyond anyone.
Since so many people were injured during the battle, anyone who wasn’t severely injured had to be in the parade. Gray said something about needing as many people as they could get, especially since the dragon slayers were out of commission. This set Natsu off, but the bandages around his mouth muffled whatever he was saying. Gajeel seemed to be able to understand though, and started arguing with him.
Suddenly, everyone went quiet, and the two looked to the source. Laxus, also bandaged up, was here. Gajeel wrapped his arm around Della and held her close to him. The sudden squeeze stirred her awake. “What’s happening…” “It’s nothing, rest up a bit longer.” The girl just hummed and snuggled back into her brother, falling back asleep.
Laxus asked where the master was, but while everyone tried ganging up on him, “Everyone quiet!” Erza shushed them, making them fall silent. “The master’s in the infirmary. You know what will happen if you try anything.” The male didn’t say anything and simply walked past her. As he did so Natsu stopped and started muttering something, though no one was quite sure what. But knowing him, it was a challenge.
The blond just walked past him and the fire wizard kept yelling, but he just waved him off. Natsu fell silent and his face softened, his eyes sparkling with admiration. Erza also couldn’t help but smile. With that, the redhead told everyone to let them be and to start getting ready for the parade, making everyone cheer.
Later that night, the parade went on as planned. Everyone was cheering, doing magic tricks and dances on floats as they went through town. Makarov was on his float, waiting for it to start moving, when Gajeel came up to him. “Oh, you won’t be in the parade?” “Nah, the spotlight’s not really my thing.” “Well, that’s too bad, Mr. Sho-be-do-ba.” The male looked a little annoyed, but brushed it off.
“Here, this is for you,” he handed the master a piece of paper. “I managed to track down your son, sorry it took so long.” “It’s alright, my boy, I’m sorry it was so dangerous.” “I can handle it. He’s got no clue I’m a double agent, so we’re all good,” Gajeel spoke, his look softening. “Thank you,
I really do appreciate it. We can’t let him get his way, so I am more than thankful.”
“You ready, master?” Makarov’s face quickly grew a goofy smile as he put on a hat with pointed ears. “My public needs me, I must be going.” “Have fun, master.”
Gajeel began walking away when he heard a familiar voice. “Big bro!” He turned around and saw Della, wobbling over. “Hey, you shouldn’t be walking around, you still need to recover.” “I’m fine! If my brother can take it, I can too.” The male smiled a little, chuckling. “Alright. But if that’s the case, why aren’t you in the parade? I imagine everyone would be impressed with your snakes and stuff.”
The girl walked over and took his free hand, giving him a closed-eye smile. “I rather watch the parade with my big brother. It’d be no fun without you.” He couldn’t help but smile more and squeezed her hand. “Alright, then let’s get going. We don’t want to miss the parade.”
The two hurried over as fast as they could and made it just in time to see the beginning near the cathedral. The little girl was luckily tall enough to see some of it, but kept trying to get on her tippy toes. “Hey, you wanna sit on my shoulders?” “Are you sure you can handle my weight? You’re still injured after all.” “I’m a lot tougher than I look, Sis.”
The iron wizard carefully crouched and the girl climbed onto his shoulders, holding onto him as he got back up. He wobbled a bit, but caught his balance. Della looked on and her eyes sparkled. All the illusions, card tricks, weapons, and magic dazzled her and she smiled brightly as she watched.
“Hey, Gajeel?” “Yeah?” “I heard you call me your sister during the fight. You never called me that before…”
The male looked up as much as he could and smiled softly. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was stuck up my own ass for so long. Guess joining this guild really changes you.” The girl giggled and ruffled the top of his head. “I knew you had a soft spot in you.” “Oh, shush, watch the fireworks.”
The girl giggled again and continued on watching the parade, a smile on her face for the rest of the night.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was that time of year again in Fairy Tail, something those who’ve been a member for at least a year call “Solo Mission” season, but in actuality, it was the S-Class trials, a series of difficult tests a select group of wizards must do to become an S-Class wizard.

The eight participants had already been selected and announced that day, so everyone was gearing up for training and figuring out who to partner with since the trials were still a secret.

Della sat at a table with her older brother, who was still pouting, as the master had chosen Juvia to be in the running and not him.

“It's okay, Big Bro, you’ll get it next time. Master’s probably being cautious and stuff.” The blonde spoke as she pet Pantherlily, who she was hugging in her arms. “I thought he liked me more than her, at least. I deserve to be in the running just as much as anyone!” Gajeel pouted like a teenage girl who’s crush picked another girl. The little girl giggled at her brother, making him pout more.

“Maybe you can be Juvie’s partner. You’re not Gray, but I’m sure she wouldn't mind working with an old teammate.” “I’m afraid that wouldn't work either, as Mirajane and Elfman’s sister, Lisanna, offered to partner up with her. She doesn't look too happy about it, but I doubt she’ll change her mind if it isn't Gray,” Pantherlily pointed out as Della brought the exceed up to her face and nuzzled him.

The iron dragon groaned and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling and muttering things under his breath.

“Della, would you please stop messing with my fur, I’d greatly appreciate it.” “I can't help it, Lily, you’re so soft and cuddly! Much better than Kumori, no offense to them.” The exceed wasn't happy with all the attention, but he still couldn't help but smile. “You definitely are just like Edolas Della, that's for sure.”

The blonde gave a big, toothy smile as she giggled and nuzzled the cat more. “I’m a kitty in Edolas too, right? It's too bad I was stuck here when she left, I bet she was the cutest!” Pantherlily chuckled, but turned his head when he heard a commotion going on. The girl holding him noticed and looked to where he was staring.

A few tables over, a familiar female mage was sitting while two male mages fought over who got to be her partner for the S-Class trials. Miss Levy McGarden, leader of Team Shadow Gear, and her minions, Jet and Droy. Just from where they were sitting, the two could tell she was a little worn out by the arguing.

Della and Pantherlily looked at each other, looked back at Levy, looked at Gajeel, who was still in his own little world, then looked back at each other, smirking and nodding.

“Hey, Gajeel, why don't you be Levy’s partner?” “Yeah! No offense to them, but Jet and Droy wouldn't be the best people to help her get to S-Class.” The male lifted his head and looked at the two, an eyebrow raised. “Why that little girl of all people? I don’t think she’d want to pair up with me anyway.”

Della grumbled a little as she thought about it, before smiling. “Hey, she did help during the Battle of Fairy Tail. If not for her, you might not have been able to fight Laxus since she cracked Freed’s code.” The iron dragon only frowned more, thinking about the incident, but didn’t seem fully convinced. “You might be able to fight others in the guild if you team up with her.” “Well, when you put it like that.”

Pantherlily rolled his eyes while the little girl giggled as the mage got up and went over to the young woman. He got up behind her menacingly and spoke to her, before picking her up by the back of her dress. She squirmed about, trying to get out, before the male said something that got her to calm down. She was reluctant, but agreed, much to Jet and Droy’s dismay.

While the new partners talked, Della whined a little and set her head on the exceed’s head. “Is everything alright, Della? Did you want to be part of the trials?” “Oh, no, I’m not nearly that strong yet. I’m upset because Mom and Dad have another job lined up all the way across the continent and are leaving later today, but I’m not allowed to stay here. They don’t trust me alone anymore after what happened with Laxus and the fact I was a giant lacrima in another world.” “Can’t really blame them there.” “I really wanted to see everyone off though.”

The shadow mage whined more and planted her face in the cat’s fur, groaning into his head. Pathnerlily squirmed as the noise made him vibrate and he didn’t like it one bit. “Della, please stop!” With a huff, the girl obliged and just hugged him tighter. “You aren’t going with Gajeel since he’s Levy’s partner, you could protect me.” “I wouldn’t mind that, but I don’t think your parents trust me enough, if at all.”

“DELLAAAA, COME ON!” The little girl whined and gave Lily one last squeeze before letting him go, allowing him to jump on the table. “I must be off now, Lily. I’m gonna miss you.” “It’s okay, Della. We’ll be here for when you get back, promise.” The exceed patted her head with a small smile, so she couldn’t help but smile as well. “Alright, but I’m holding you to that.”

The blonde quickly gave the cat one more hug before getting up and going to her brother, giving him a hug as well. “I can’t see you guys off, but I’m rooting for you, okay?” Gajeel smiled and patted her head while Levy giggled. “Thank you, Della, I’ll keep you in mind if I become S-Class.” “Ah ah,

when

you become S-Class. With Gajeel’s help, you’ll have no problems.” “Got that right, girlie.”

With one last squeeze and a quick hug for her brother’s partner, she hopped over to the main entrance. Before leaving, she turned and yelled out to the entire guild, but more specifically the S-Class participants. “GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE! I’M ROOTING FOR ALL OF YOU, BUT LEVY AND GAJEEL WILL KICK ALL YOUR BUTTS!” The guild erupted in laughter, with Elfman yelling back playfully, “We’ll see about that!”

With that, Della turned and caught up to her parents, leaving the guild behind for the next few weeks, excited to see everyone once she got back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A deafening roar erupted across the valley, awakening Della from her slumber. Almost immediately, she felt pain throughout her body and she was unable to breathe properly. Something wet ran down the left side of her face, and, while her arm felt like it was burning, she moved her hand to touch it before pulling it back.

Blood covered her fingertips. Enough to slide down her fingers.

It was then she realized she couldn’t see from her left side at all. Carefully, she raised the bloody hand to her eye and felt instant pain, letting out a raspy cry. Her fingers felt a rough surface where her eye should be, but couldn't tell what it was. Slowly, she grabbed it and tried to pull, but pain immediately flooded her head, making her cry louder.

With no luck, her hand fell and she felt exhausted. Looking around, all that could be seen was rubble and fire for miles. Her throat felt like it was on fire, but she still had to try to find someone, anyone. “H…Help…Mom..? Dad…?” Her voice wasn’t loud and that was all she could manage before going into a coughing fit, which felt more difficult as something was crushing her and she couldn’t turn her head to see what it was.

Another roar echoed through the rubble and the blonde was able to lift her head enough to see a black shadow among the embers and smoke. Immediately, she could tell what it was and her good eye widened.

A dragon, a black one with blue accents, feather-like scales on its wings, and a bird beak as a snout.

The dragon growled and let out yet another roar, but this one was accompanied by a white beam of energy shooting from its mouth, causing an explosion on the other side of the village.

Della gripped the ground as tears formed in her right eye, fearing for her life. This was supposed to be a simple job, they were just supposed to take out some Vulcans that had been terrorizing the local village. They got there a few days after leaving Magnolia and it was already evening. The train ride had tired out the blonde, so she had gone to bed earlier than normal while her parents went to get some food to make dinner and meet with the client.

Now, here she was in rubble, covered in blood, cuts, and bruises, not knowing where her parents were, or if they were even alive.

The dragon let out one more ear-piercing roar before looking to the west. It then began flapping its wings faster and flew off to where it was looking, leaving the village to burn.

The shadow mage had no more energy and she rested her head, crying softly as she accepted death. She wished she had said a proper goodbye to everyone. Gajeel, Pantherlily, Levy... She couldn’t imagine what pain they would go through when they found out she was gone.

She couldn’t keep her eye open for much longer, and she was too exhausted to try. Her mind raced before stopping on a boy with black hair, and with the last bit of her energy, she called out his name, even if he would never hear it.

“Ryos…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Akari, go find help, we have to get her to the medical tent, hurry!”

The smell of iron and burning wood hung in the air as Della slowly woke up. Her body felt like it was burning and she could feel the blood caked on her body, her clothes sticking to her.

Someone moved her body and rolled her onto her back, making her whimper quietly as her broken bones shifted and the morning sun shone in her face. Gentle hands pressed her on the torso, her broken ribs pressing on her lungs, making it harder to breathe.

“It’s gonna be okay, little one. You’ll be okay, I promise,” she heard someone whisper, a spell being recited before a small breeze flowed around the blonde’s head. She was able to relax a little from the cool air, but was still only taking shallow breaths.

Soon enough, she heard rushed footsteps come closer to where she was, wood clanking next to her. She was then carefully moved onto her side before being laid back down on cloth, slowly rising into the air and carried away.

Della began fading in and out of consciousness, the wind blowing around her as she was carried off to God knows where. A million things were going through her mind, but she couldn’t focus on anything.

How was she alive, where were her parents, who was taking her, where was she going?

After a little while, she was resting on something soft, the clanking of metal faint in one ear. She felt her blood-soaked
dress be slowly pulled from her body as another spell was whispered, feeling herself slip back into sleep.

The blonde didn’t know how much time passed, but when she felt herself waking once more, the area she was in was much brighter, a fabric hanging over her head that blocked most of the sun. She winced at the light and tried to sit up, but the slightest movement filled her entire body with pain, letting out a yelp.

A soft hand was placed on her forehead as some of her hair was pushed aside. Looking to her right, the little girl saw two female figures kneeling next to her. The woman with her hand on her forehead had deep purple hair, her eyes filled with worry, with the other woman sitting next to her, short bleached-white hair framing her face and a hand on the purple-haired woman’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, sweetie, you’re okay. Everything will be alright.”

Della opened her mouth, trying to speak, but as soon as air flowed past her vocal cords, she went off into a coughing fit, pain exploding from her chest. Almost immediately, the woman closest to her upper half whispered something and a cool flow of air blew around her, allowing her to catch her breath.

“Akari, can you get her some water?” The white-haired woman, Akari, nodded and got up, weaving through wherever she was. The other woman petted her hair while they waited, which wasn’t long, as Akari came back with a bottle of water. She handed it off and the worried woman poured some water into the little girl’s mouth, seeing as she couldn’t sit up.

The woman set the bottle down and wiped the side of her mouth before pulling her hand back to rest in her lap. “Alright, you can try to talk now. But if you feel too much pain, we can find someone who knows telepathy.”

Della gulped the little saliva in her mouth and finally spoke. “Wh…Where am I…?” Her voice was still a little raspy, but it didn’t hurt as much as she thought it was. “We’re right on the outskirts of Shimmerhold - Well, what’s left of Shimmerhold.”

The memories then came flooding back. The fire, the smoke, the amount of magic energy.

“D…Dragon…Where’s the…dragon…” “Dragon? There was no dragon when we got here.” “The army got here about an hour ago, but they haven't told us anything. Though, there was a mass amount of magic energy in the area. The entire town was destroyed.”

There was at least some good news. The dragon, or whatever the hell that thing was, wasn’t around to cause harm.

“We didn’t properly introduce ourselves. I’m Akari Cai, and this is my wife, Yue Cai. We’re from a neighboring town and we came to volunteer in the rescue efforts when we saw the fires this morning. We were the ones who found you and brought you back to be patched up.” The little girl smiled a little, seeing as how that’s all she could do. “Della…Della Zabel…” Akari’s eyes widened, but said nothing, while Yue smiled softly.

“Where’s…my mom and dad? Did you..find them?” The purple-haired woman’s smile faded almost instantly, and she looked down into her lap, unable to speak. The blonde could already tell it was bad news, but she still needed to know.

“They…They both died.” The white-haired woman spoke up, not looking her directly in the eyes. “They were both in dire conditions, but they were already dead when we found you. They seemed to have died while protecting you.”

Della’s eye widened. She knew this was likely what happened when she couldn’t find them after waking during the disaster, but to hear it out loud, to have it confirmed? Something in her broke as tears filled her good eye, spilling down the side of her face.

“Well…Thank you for telling me…and for saving me.” The women could hear the crack in her voice, but they saw she was still trying to be strong. Yue bit her lip and moved a stray piece of hair out of her face. “You should rest some more. I know you’re from the Fairy Tail guild, so we’ll contact someone once the army is able to get a full report on what happened. Until then, you shouldn’t worry too much and focus on recovery.”

The little girl didn’t say much, she just looked back up at the tent above her as more tears fell from her eye.

“I’ll stay with her for a bit longer, Akari. You should go help out.” “No, I’ll stay. You’d be more useful, they could use your magic.” The purple-haired woman stayed silent for a moment, but nodded and kissed her wife’s cheek before carefully getting up. “I’ll be back later, Della.” With that, she took off, leaving the two in silence.

The blonde couldn’t do much and she was already feeling sleepy again. From the crying or just not having that much energy, she didn’t know. She found herself closing her eyes again and falling back into a slumber.

It took a few hours, but the army was able to file a full report on what went down. It was indeed a dragon, but this one wasn’t friendly. He was known as Acnologia, and he killed anything in his path. He was normally hidden away somewhere in the world, but is attracted to high amounts of magical energy. Though, no one knew what could’ve brought the King of Dragons to a small village hidden in a valley.

Once the army wrapped everything up and bodies were recovered with survivors, they, along with volunteers, helped to situate everyone, contacting the family or friends of those visiting while the former residents of Shimmerhold were compensated for the displacement that was caused by this disaster,

For Della Zabel, the surviving child of the God Slayer Zabels, Fairy Tail was contacted. It took only a day, but fellow guild members Bisca and Alzack arrived to take the little girl home, as they had been the nearest due to a job.

Yue and Akari Cai said their goodbyes to the girl, promising to visit when they could, and stayed to help with the efforts to help Shimmerhold residents. Because of her condition, as well as having to bring the Zabels’ bodies back, they had to take a horse-drawn carriage, which would mean more than half a week of riding. Della slept for most of it, so it didn’t seem as unbearable for her.

Once they arrived at Fairy Tail, the news of Acnologia’s second attack was already public knowledge to the entire kingdom, especially Fairy Tail, as this one took out Tenrou Island, along with everyone who was there for the S-Class trials.

When Della awoke in the infirmary, she was informed of the tragedy. Her world crumbled for the second time that week. Her parents were killed protecting her during Acnologia’s first attack, then the dragon took out a handful of her family. Even Pantherlily was gone, as he’d gone with Carla to investigate something about an undercover agent in the guild.

“We also buried your parents at the cemetery. We didn’t want to have a funeral service without you and it’s best if you stay in bed. When you feel better and if you want to, we can have one for Kyril, Yami, and those on Tenrou.” Macao explained, rubbing his thumb on the back of the girl’s hand. She only nodded, not looking him straight in the eyes, instead opting to look out the window.

Kinana, a member of the guild who worked as a bartender and was only a year older than Della, mostly took care of the shadow mage. On one particular day, she was giving the girl a sponge bath and changing her bandages

As the purple-haired teen dried her, the blonde gripped her bedsheet.

“He promised…”

Kinana stopped and looked up at the girl, confused. “Did you say something, Della?” “Lily…he promised they would all be back when I came home. He promised me…”

The teen looked down, unable to say anything, before drying and bandaging her patient as the blonde began crying, eventually falling asleep.

The Zabel girl was bedridden for months, even with Porlyusica’s expertise in healing magic. She even offered to make her an artificial eye like she had with Erza, but the young girl refused, though she never gave a reason why.

Finally, when most of her wounds healed and she was able to walk and care for herself, Della left the guild without a word. She was still a member, but she didn’t tell anyone where she was going and when she’d be back, as no one knew where the Zabels lived. Though, everyone who saw her when she left saw no emotions in her eyes, like a part of her died with her parents and another with her brother.

The next time anyone would see the shadow mage would be a year later, in the year X785, and by that time, she had changed herself drastically.

No longer was she the light of the guild. Now, she was the shadow lurking in the darkness.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The blonde girl was crushed into the ground of the guild hall, letting out a cry as she gripped the broken floor beneath her. The man above her narrowed his eyes and spat in her direction, scoffing. “Pathetic.”

No one in the guild looked at the two, their heads down or eyes looking to the side. But the teen didn’t care for them, all she could think of was the black-haired male near the blonde and guild master. She looked up at him, pleading to him silently, but he only shifted his eyes away, pretending he saw nothing.

The guild master grabbed the back of her cape and pulled her up to meet his face, close enough that she could feel his breath.

“You are nothing more than disgusting, pathetic filth who has no place to walk among the strong. Leave and never return, or I may not be as merciful next time.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Della stumbled into the small guild hall, leaning on the door as she caught her breath, holding her upper arm. She had scrapes and bruises over her body and tattered clothes, but seemed to be fine overall.

“Della!” Laki quickly got up from where she was sitting and hurried to help the teen, but she put her hand up to stop her, shifting her weight back onto her feet and limping in.

“I’m fine, this is nothing.” “Still, you can barely walk. Let me help.” “I’m fine, Laki.” The wood-make mage frowned, but still followed her as she limped to the stairs. Kinana noticed her from where she was cleaning glasses and hurried to her side, seeing as she would need to help patch her up.

Della grabbed onto the railing and carefully hobbled up the stairs, the two women close behind, making sure the shadow mage didn’t fall. Once upstairs, she made it to the closest bed and plopped down, groaning softly. Kinana grabbed a tub with cotton balls, gauze, and alcohol, setting it next to the girl and untying the mage’s cape, letting it pool at her sides.

“What happened to you? Did you get attacked or something? I didn’t think you could be taken by surprise.” “It was nothing. Just a scuffle. I’ll be fine-” She cut herself off, hissing as a cotton ball with alcohol was dabbed on a scrape on her cheek. “Whatever it was, you need to be more careful. I’m not always gonna be able to patch you up if you’re too far away.” “Sure you will be, I can always count on my personal nurse,” the blonde smiled at the other teen, who only giggled and rolled her eyes as she placed a bandage on her cheek.

“You know you can always talk to us, Della. I know everything with your parents and Gajeel-” “I really do appreciate it, Laki, don’t think I don’t. It’s just not that serious. Thanks for the concern.” The violet-haired woman tried to look her in the eye, but the shadow mage’s eye wouldn’t meet hers. With a sigh, she nodded and stood straight up. “I’ll be heading out then, I only stopped by to let Macao know I was back.”

The teens nodded as Kinana bandaged her friend up and Laki left, leaving the two alone.

“I think you twisted your ankle, I wouldn’t put too much weight on it.” “Got it, I can just make a cane or move in shadow form.” The purple-haired teen hummed and wrapped her ankle up with small, but thick sticks. “There. Now be more careful, or you won’t be as lucky next time.” “Yeah yeah, thanks for the lecture. Can I get a new eyepatch too? This one got dirty.”

Kinana got back up and went to the medical cabinet, grabbing a clean eyepatch and bringing it back over. Della replaced the patch and tossed the old one with the discarded bandages. “Thanks, Kinana.” She wrapped her cape back around her and tied the knot, then grabbed some shadows coming from under the pillow. “Shadow Make: Cane,” she muttered, forming a cane in her hand, and slowly got up, leaning on it.

“I’m heading to the cemetery for a bit, I’ll be back later.” The older teen nodded and started cleaning up as Della made her way back down the stairs and toward the exit.

“Can I come with you?” The teen stopped and turned to see the young Romeo Conbolt, the child of the current master, Macao Conbolt. “Do you know where we’re going, kid?” “The cemetery, right? I heard you talking with Kinana.”

She turned completely to face the 10 year old, eyes furrowed. “What’s with the sudden interest? There’s not exactly a tombstone for…” She trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence, but the two knew what she was referring to.

“I’d still like to pay my respects, even if I didn’t know them for long, and I thought you could use the company,” the boy looked down, a little shy.

“Master? What do you think?” The master looked up from his drink, grumbling a little as he thought about it. “Fine, but he stays with you to and from, and you have to bring him right back here before you go anywhere else, he is not allowed to walk back on his own.” The blonde giggled a little, giving him a small smile. “You know, I had been home alone since I was young, a lot younger than Romeo. He’s not a baby anymore, he can take care of himself - at least to come back to the guild hall.” “You heard what I said, so either stick with him or he stays here.” “Alright, alright, we’ll be back.”

The two made their way back into town, stopping by a nearby florist shop to pick up two bouquets before heading into the cemetery. They walked in and made their way towards the back, Della’s eye fixated on a headstone. The closer the pair got, the clearer the names faded into view.

The teen handed the bouquet she was holding to Romeo and carefully sat in front of her parents’ joint headstone, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She then took a bite out of her shadow cane to regain some of her energy, the boy chuckling a little before he looked at the stone in front of him.

“I don’t think I ever got their names…” Romeo spoke as he sat criss cross next to his guild mate, letting the bouquets sit in his lap. “Dad always referred to them as the Zabels or Della’s parents, and everyone else would call them the infamous God Slayers.” “Don’t feel bad. I don’t think I really learned Kyril and Yami’s name until I was 6, also known as my first visit to the Phantom Lord guildhall, she let out a soft giggle, looking down into her lap.

Romeo looked at the older teen, but he couldn’t quite get a good read on her look aside from her smile, but the rest of her face was mostly blank. That was the thing about her, she was really good at not letting her emotions slip. Not since the day she left.

“Can you put the flowers under the stone? Make sure the bouquets are under their names.” The dark-haired boy nodded and sat up, getting on his knees and crawling closer to the headstone. He did as Della said, putting a bouquet under Kyril and Yami’s names, before crawling back and sitting on his knees.

The blonde finished the last of her cane and sighed, her posture straightening a little as she felt herself regain some energy.

“Do you ever think about them?” Romeo spoke up, wanting to break the silence. The teen grimaced a little, gripping her cape as her eyes bore into the headstone. “Wish I could say I didn’t, but then I’d be lying. Hard not to when my whole world had already been turned upside down once Phantom Lord went down. Losing a family I never thought I would have was just another stab to the gut.”

The dark-haired boy’s shoulders fell, biting his lip. “Dad doesn’t like when I bring this up, but…do you wonder if they’re still-” “No.” He snapped his head up and saw the girl still looking at the headstone. Her mask was starting to slip, tears forming in her eye. “I know what you’re going to say, and, no, it’s not possible. They are dead, cut and dry.” “But-”

Della suddenly grabbed her guildmate’s wrist, gripping it tightly. He tensed up a bit, but felt no malice or anger. More desperation. She was only a few years older than he was now when everything went down. There was no doubt she had thought about it, that those on Tenrou were still alive, but she also saw the destruction the Dragon King could cause. If anyone knew the reality of the situation, it’s her.

“I know it’s hard to accept death, especially when we never saw their bodies, nor do we have a grave for any of them. Hell, I never got to see my parents’ bodies after what happened. I didn’t see them get buried, so I didn’t want to believe they were gone. But they are. Right in front of us is their headstone, their bodies right below. They are gone because of that dragon, and those on Tenrou are gone because of him too. We have to accept what happened and move on. They wouldn’t want us to not live our lives just because they aren’t here anymore.”

Romeo let her words sink in before placing his free hand on hers, nodding. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” “I know it still hurts, even after all these years, but Natsu, Erza, Master Makarov? They’re gone.” The teen let go of the other’s wrist and took his hand, holding it and giving it a squeeze, but not letting go afterwards. The air went silent between them, left to their own thoughts, before the young boy spoke up again.

“So, what happened?” “Nothing, Romeo, I’m fine-” “Della, I know you. How you fight, anyway. You don’t get taken by surprise like you said to Kinana. Your magic doesn’t let you, like dragon slayers. You say you aren’t strong enough, that you haven’t mastered it, and I’m not going to argue, everyone can improve, but I don’t believe you didn’t sense your attackers.”

Della went quiet, staring at the stone in front of her, likely thinking of what to say.

“You promise not to tell your dad? Or anyone in the guild?” She asked after a moment. The boy nodded, so the teen sighed in reluctance. “Sabertooth’s master beat me within an inch of my life.” Romeo’s eyes widened, sitting up straight. “What!? Why, why did he fight you, did you provoke him or something?”

The dark-haired boy stiffened when Della looked at him dead in the eye, fury behind her blue one. “I don’t appreciate you blaming me for this. I don’t have to explain anything to you. I told you what happened, let it go.”

Romeo cowered a little while Della let go of his hand and looked back at the stone, but annoyance mixed with rage could still be felt radiating off her.

Not long after, the shadow mage lifted her cape above the ground, casting a shadow next to her. “Shadow Make: Cane.” She pulled a cane out of the shadow and placed it in front of her, using it to slowly get up. Romeo quickly got up and took her arm, helping her back to her feet. She muttered a thank you and took a step towards the headstone, placing a hand on top, rubbing it a little.

After a moment, her free hand disappeared into her cape for a moment before reemerging with a folded piece of paper in it. Della handed it to the young boy, who took it and looked at it without unfolding it. “That’s Totomaru’s new school. You asked me to find it, remember?” “Oh, right. Thank you…”

The blonde stood silently for a moment before turning back around to look at her partner, taking a step back to where he was standing. “You know your dad won’t be happy about this, right?” “Yes, but I remember Natsu talking about him. Dad is good at fire magic, but I need to expand my knowledge, learn more from other people.”

Della stood silent once again for a moment before nodding. “I sent him a message, a recommendation if you will. He should get in contact with you when he can, so keep an eye out.” Romeo smiled a little and put the paper in his pocket. “Thank you, Della. I appreciate it.” “Yup. Come on, let’s head back.”

The two walked out of the cemetery and quietly made their way back to the guild hall. Once they were back, Della went to the job board and grabbed one of the higher paying ones, not bothering to look at what the job actually was. She then walked over to Macao and Wakaba. Not surprising, if one was around, the other was surely also there.

“I’m taking this one, Master.” The dark-haired male placed his mug down and looked at the poster before looking back up at the mage. “Della, you have a twisted ankle, you should be resting-” “

I’m taking this job

,” she repeated, more sternly though. The two had a staredown for a second before the male sighed, giving in. “Fine, I’ll let them know you’re coming.”

The teen took the paper and let her cape drape around her body once more, leaving the guild hall without a word.

Macao sighed and downed the last of his beer, wiping his upper lip clean. “That girl is going to be the death of me, if Romeo doesn’t do it first.” “That makes both of us, bud,” Wakaba sucked in his cigar before blowing out a puff of smoke, watching the teen disappear outside.

The blonde walked into the woods towards her home to pack for the job, but suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. Using her eye only, she looked around in the woods before moving her head to her left to see if there was anyone in her blind spot. “Anyone there?”

No one came forward, nor was there any other movement. But Della still looked around once more before her body turned into a shadow, melting into the ground and taking off down the road.

A figure watched the shadow fly down the dirt road silently, watching it vanish ahead before following the road, keeping to the shadows of the trees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Did you hear? Those wizards from Fairy Tail, the ones that disappeared? They were apparently found again.” “After all this time? There’s no way.”

A young man stopped in the middle of the street, having heard the mention of the Fairy Tail guild, and quietly listened in.

“Do you think they’re going to participate in the Grand Magic Games this year?” “Doubtful, they won’t even make it past the preliminary round. They’ll only embarrass themselves more.” “I don’t know, what if those wizards who disappeared really are back? Maybe they can take back their former title.” “You are rooting for that weak guild way too much.”

The man turned his head a little, enough to stare at the civilians who were speaking about Fairy Tail, but no emotions could be registered. The two tensed up, like they knew they were being watched, before they began walking away, whispering about how creepy the town was.

“Are you coming?” A small exceed in a pink frog suit a few steps ahead turned and called out to the young man, who smiled and nodded. “Sorry, Frosch. Thought I saw something.”

Frosch smiled and walked along with the young man toward a large building in the distance, the male putting the conversation into the back of his head.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A strong magical presence could be felt nearby, leaving everyone in the guild on edge. At first, they thought it was a large group of Gorians messing around nearby, but the power was too strong to just be forest monkeys.

It also didn’t help that there were only two of whatever was out there.

Pantherlily stood on a table where Gajeel was sitting near a window, drinking some water from a small cup, as he worried about whatever was in the forest, until he thought up something that could ease everyone. It was also just something he was curious about.

“Hey, Macao, do you know where Della is?”

The guild seemed to go silent, those who knew suddenly showing looks of worry while those who had come back from Tenrou all looked at the fourth master curiously.

“Hey, yeah, where is my little sis? Well, I guess she’s not very little these days, huh?” Gajeel jokes, trying to lighten the mood. “That’s for certain. You said she was on a job when we got back, but then Michelle came and everything with Zentopia happened. Surely she’d be back now, right?”

Wakaba and Macao looked at each other with knowing looks, the dark-haired male taking a sip from his mug. The smoke mage sighed and sucked in a deep breath from his cigar, blowing a puff of air out, before speaking.

“She’ll be home soon. We never know with her, really.” The iron dragon raised an eyebrow and looked at his exceed partner, who looked just as confused. “She doesn’t tell you if she’s gone or let you know if she’s coming home?” “Nope, not exactly.”

Macao sighed and set his mug down. “Stop being so cryptic, Wakaba. You’re scaring them.” “You said it yourself, if Romeo didn’t do it, she’d definitely kill ya from worry.”

The vagueness of the conversation was confusing everyone in the guild as the men looked at each other.

“Look, you’re right about her not being so little anymore. A lot happened after you guys disappeared. A lot that isn’t our place to talk about. But it’s also stuff you really shouldn’t bring up to her once she gets back.” “Okay, well, what

can

you tell us, especially on what we shouldn’t talk about?” Carla asked what she knew was on everyone’s mind.

Wakaba put his cigar in his mouth and took another hit of it before sighing. “The timeline is unclear, as they happened so close together, but sometime either before or after your disappearance, Della’s parents died during an attack while on that job they went on right before the trials.”

“Oh, yes, you said that Kyril and Yami passed around that same time. I can’t imagine what that poor girl went through. First her parents die, then all of us disappear, thinking we were dead…” Mirajane spoke, putting a hand on her chest, others nodding as they agreed with her. “So what happened in the attack? Do you know?” Lucy asked, leaning over from where she was sitting to listen in on the conversation better.

“Della didn’t talk about it when she got back, so all we know is the state of the bodies and what the military put in the official report.” “And that was?”

The older man looked Lucy dead in the eyes, a feeling of seriousness washing over the wizards as they waited for the details.

“Survivors spoke of a giant winged figure destroying the village with a breath attack, later found out to be a black dragon.” The wizards from Tenrou all tensed up, their eyes widening as no one dared to move.

“You mean Kyril and Yami…were killed by-” “Acnologia.” Kinana spoke up, her back turned as she was cleaning the mugs behind the bar.

The air grew heavy as everyone remembered the fear and despair that washed over them that day, when the Dragon King attacked Tenrou.

Suddenly, a loud boom was heard, something causing the light to dim from outside. Everyone turned to the window facing the forest and saw a beam of shadows shooting up from the woods. Soon after, something rushed toward the guild hall with no sign of stopping.

“GET DOWN!”

Those near the window quickly moved out of the way as the thing crashed through the wall of the guild, the dust of the old wood, as well as from the outside, creating a smoke screen as it tumbled into the guild, coming to a halt in the middle of the crowd.

“How many times do I have to tell you!?” A female voice rang out as everyone waved the dust away, coughing from inhaling some. The smoke settled as a silhouette of someone on top of another person appeared, their faces close to one another. Once everything settled, the members looked to see what was going on, some of them becoming annoyed.

A young male was laying on the ground with jet black hair and piercing red eyes, an emotionless look on his face as the person on top held him up by his cape. Above was a female about the same age as the man with short blonde hair, but long enough to completely cover her face. She also wore a cape with her hands the only thing seen popping out, her forearms covered in scars.

“Stop following me and leave me the fuck alone. I want nothing to do with you except to beat you to a bloody pulp every time I see your goddamn face. So you are going to leave here and not look back. Next time I see you better be never, or at the very least, the Grand Magic Games.”

The male didn't respond, only looking directly at her right eye, his face unreadable.

“How many times have I told you to keep your fights away from the guild hall?” Macao finally spoke up, standing up from his chair, annoyance lacing his words. “We were lucky enough to have the supplies to fix the hole in the ceiling from last time.”

The young woman lifted her head slightly, her hair falling to show her blue eye filled with raging anger. The fourth master didn't seem unfazed, however, clearly used to this behavior. “Take Cheney and get him out of here, now. We’ll discuss cleanup after.”

With a growl, the girl dropped ‘Cheney’, causing him to hit his head, only grimacing slightly from the pain. She then got up and stepped off him, grabbing the lace that tied his cape around him, and dragging him out of the guild. The man caught glimpses of the other wizards as he was dragged, still as emotionless as before. But once he made eye contact with the iron dragon, his eyes squinted into a glare, muttering something under his breath that the dragon slayers heard was “Gajeel.”

Once the woman was a few steps from the guild, she threw Cheney ahead, far enough to land just outside the fence entrance of the hall. A moment later, he got up and dusted himself off before letting his cape fall around him again, his hair settling to cover his right eye. The two made eye contact and stared each other down, the black-haired male having an almost sorrowful look on his face. The blonde’s expression, on the other hand, was unknown as her back was towards the building. After what felt like too long, the man turned and began walking away without a word, the blonde sighing as her shoulders relaxed.

“Alright, I’m heading home, I’m tired.” “Hey, little missy, you’re not going anywhere, you need to help with the hole you and your friend made.” “He’s

not

my friend, ya old fart. Leave me alone already.”

Now that everything had settled down, Gajeel was able to get a clearer scent from Cheney and the young woman to figure out who they were.

Cheney was only a little familiar, but didn't stick out. However, the young woman’s scent made his inside feel fuzzy, like he was suddenly home. His eyes widened as the familiar smell filled his nostrils, before smirking and letting out a short chuckle.

“That's quite the attitude you got there, girlie. You’re speaking to the master, show some respect.”

The blonde frozen in her tracks, her shoulders tensing again. No one could tell what she was doing or thinking, until she turned around slowly. Her visible eye widened in shock, her mouth agape as she made eye contact with the man who spoke to her. Tears filled her eye as she covered her mouth.

“Gajeel…?” She managed to squeak out, loud enough for the dragon slayer to hear her. His smirk turned into a bright smile as he chuckled once more. “Yup, it's me. Good to see you again.”

Time felt like it stood still as the woman stared at the iron mage, along with the others who had been stuck on Tenrou, all of them with warm smiles across their faces. Even Laxus, the once big bad of Fairy Tail, held a soft look.

Suddenly, her knees buckled and she felt herself falling. Gajeel sprinted over, along with Wendy and Kinana, just in time to catch the blonde, who grabbed his shirt, gripping tightly to not let go.

“You're real…you’re here…” She looked up to the man, her tears finally falling.

“That's right, Della. I’m home.”

Her grip loosened as her eye rolled back and she fell limp, going unconscious.

“Della! Are you okay, are you hurt!?” Gajeel freaked out, shaking the woman a little. Wendy and Kinana finally reached the other two and the sky dragon began healing her. “She doesn't feel injured. More tired and low on magic.”

The purple-haired woman put her hand on the bluenette’s shoulder, making both dragon slayers look at her. “She’s okay, this happens. Well, she doesn't usually pass out, but she just needs rest. I imagine the shock of seeing you all again added onto her low energy. Let's take her in and upstairs, she’ll wake up soon.”

Gajeel held the woman close as he picked her up bridal style. The movement caused her hair to fall from her face, showing a white medical patch on her left eye. His eyes widened, questions running through his head, as he had also noticed the scars on her face, neck, and arms, but now wasn't the time. He needed to make sure his sister was okay.

The guild quickly filed back into the building with Gajeel quickly behind Kinana as they went upstairs to the infirmary. He laid his sister on the first bed he saw and moved to the bedside, kneeling next to it as Kinana pulled the blanket over her.

“Shouldn't you take off her cape if you're going to do that? I imagine the cape and blanket will raise her temperature,” Pantherlily pointed out, landing on the foot of her bed, letting his wings disappear. Kinana shook her head as she came back with a bowl of water and a towel. “Della doesn't like it when we take it off without permission.” “Why not? I just don't want her burning up.” “It's not my place, Lily. Please.”

The exceed looked to the purple-haired girl, who was now wringing out the small towel and resting it on the blonde's forehead, before nodding and sitting down on the bed.

“So, Kinana. Who was that kid, Cheney? How does Sis know him?”

The woman, who was using another damp cloth to clean Della’s face, stopped what she was doing, resting her hand on the blonde’s cheek, thinking on how to explain it, before sighing.

“You remember Sabertooth, right? The guild with the tiger emblem?” The iron dragon nodded, listening intently. “He’s one of the five wizards that joined with their new master, and helped bring the guild to the top of Fiore. Rogue Cheney, part of the Twin Dragon Slayers.”

Gajeel and Pantherlily's eyes widened at this information, the former immediately curious about this dragon slayer status of his. “I do remember seeing the Sabertooth emblem on the left shoulder of his cape. Surprised I didn't make the connection before.”

Kinana nodded as she wet the cloth again, wringing it out and wiping her patient’s face again. “Della never said anything about her relationship with Rogue, if they had one before he joined Sabertooth. All anyone knows is that she hates him, a lot. He doesn't seem to show emotions any time he comes around, and Della? She wears a mask to hide her own emotions, but around him, all I feel from her is this seething anger that burns brighter than any rivalry I’ve seen.”

The iron dragon and his exceed companion looked at each other, both naturally curious about this rivalry between their guild mate and this mystery character. Furthermore, the Sabertooth wizard did show emotion, but only when he made eye contact with Gajeel, so whatever the relationship was, it extended to her brother as well.

There was also the fact this man was a dragon slayer, like himself, Natsu, and Wendy. That, or he was like Laxus and that Oración Seis wizard and had a lacrima in his body to give him that power.

Just as he was about to ask Kinana about it, Della shifted a little, grimacing slightly. Gajeel and Pantherlily quickly stood up as she opened her eye, squinting slightly. “Too bright…” She muttered, pulling the blanket over her head and she moved onto her side. Her nurse rolled her eye and set the cloth she was using in the bowl, as well as grabbing the towel that fell off the blonde’s head.

“Della, you have guests. Don't be rude,” Kinana stood up while the shadow mage grumbled, moving the blanket down and moving her head to get a better view. Immediately, her eye widened and she quickly sat up, gripping the blanket on her. “Gajeel?”

The black-haired male chuckled softly. “I thought we went over this outside. It's me, Sis.” Della reached her arm over, which Gajeel met with his halfway, holding her hand and giving her a squeeze. “I thought it was just a dream…that fight took a lot of me, I just…”

The iron dragon took a step over and sat on the bed next to his sister, putting an arm around her shoulders and bringing her close, the woman keeping her good eye fixated on him, like he would disappear if she looked away. “It's not a dream, Sis. It is me, your big brother. Everyone else is here too, Mira, Juvia, Levy.”

The blonde gasped and looked forward, finally seeing the black exceed who was at the foot of the bed. “Lily!” The cat chuckled and walked over to the girl, a smile on his face. “Yup, me too, Della- WOAH!”

The shadow wizard quickly grabbed Pantherlily and pulled him close to her, hugging him as tight as possible. “You liar! You said you would be here when I got back! You lied!” “Gajeel, help-” The exceed choked out, reaching out to the male. The iron wizard put his hand on Della’s arm, trying to calm her down. “Della, hey, calm down, it's not his fault. It's none of our fault.”

The woman calmed a little, her grip on the cat relaxing slightly, but still holding him. “I know. It was…it was…” Lily put his paw on her hand, making her stop and look down at him. “It's okay, Sis. We know. You don't have to say it.” “I’m sorry. Just…after what happened with Mom and Dad…” “You don't have to talk about it. Macao and the others told us what they could, not too much, but you don't have to tell me or anyone. I can't imagine how painful that was for you. Talking about it is probably not helping much either.”

Della sighed and held Pantherlily close, not as tightly as before thankfully. “I’d like to go home. Please.” “Alright. I imagine everyone wants to make sure you're okay, but we won't force you.” The blonde looked to the side, clearly overwhelmed. “Can you talk to them…? It's just…too much right now.” “Of course, I’ll be right back. You stay with Della, Lily.” The exceed nodded and gave a thumbs up. “You got it.”

Gajeel ruffled her hair before standing up and heading back to the stairs. As he did, he could hear Pantherlily’s gentle whispering to keep his sister calm.

He walked down the stairs and was greeted with the worried looks of the guild members. “How is she?” Lucy spoke up first, hugging Plue for comfort.

“She’s awake,” the iron dragon replied, everyone calming down significantly, “But she's still pretty shaken, she did see a bunch of ghosts from the past. She wants to go home, she's just not ready to see everyone else.”

Juvia, who was sitting closest to the stairs, nodded. “That's completely understandable. As long as she's alright, we’ll wait patiently for her.” “Is there anything we can do to help?” Levy asked, sitting right next to the water mage.

The dragon slayer shook his head slightly. “Not right this minute. I’ll help her get home, she just wanted me to explain to all of you.” “Let her know we're here for her for anything,” Mirajane said, giving a soft, but worried, smile. Gajeel nodded.
“I will, thank you.”

As he went back up the stairs, Gajeel felt a wave of relief come over him. It was a feeling he wasn't used to, but one he knew well enough. He was finally home, and his sister was finally back to him.

He took the last step and saw Della was calmer, still clutching Pantherlily.

“Hey, Sis. They're all relieved you're okay and respect your need for space right now.” The blonde looked up at her brother, nodding a little. “Gajeel…I know I said I need space, but…can you stay with me? I can't handle being alone right now, not knowing you all are here, worrying.”

The iron mage’s expression softened, taking a seat on the bed with her. “Of course, Sis. I don't mind.”

Tears began welling in her eye and she wrapped an arm around her brother as best as she could. “I missed you…I missed you so much.” The male smiled softly and hugged her with one arm as well, putting his free hand on her head. “I missed you too, Sis. You may not have been gone as long for me, but it was still too long.”

Kinana came back over and put her hand on Della’s forehead, checking her temperature. “You’re not burning up as much, just make sure you drink some water, eat a little, and rest when you get home. You can go out the back if you don't want to deal with the stares.”

The blonde nodded. “Thanks, Kinana. See, told ya you’d always be around.” “It's no problem, Della. Rest well, I’ll see you when I see you.” With that, the woman walked back downstairs, leaving the siblings and Pantherlily.

Della let the exceed go before pushing the blanket off, swinging her legs off and standing up slowly. The other two caught glimpses of the scars on her legs as well, just as old and in various sizes as well, like the others they saw before.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” The shadow mage opened her arms and Pantherlily knew immediately what she wanted. He jumped into her arms and she hugged him close, carrying him out the door with her brother behind him.

Once they were out and down the stairs, the three made their way down the path before coming up on a smaller path that was faint enough that one wouldn’t think to go down it going into the trees. Della turned onto this path without question and all Gajeel could do was follow.

“Mom and Dad didn’t want people knowing where we lived since they heard of some guild members popping up at others’ houses randomly, especially Lucy’s, so they built the house out here with a barrier that shielded magic power, as well as smell. I never told anyone since I really only wanted to be alone throughout these years, but now, you get to know. I’m only trusting you and Lily though, okay?” She looked over at her brother as they walked, a serious look in her eye, showing she meant business.

The iron dragon nodded. “Of course, no one’s getting a peep out of me.” He pretended to zip his mouth as a sign of keeping his promise, making the blonde giggle, a sound that Gajeel felt like he hadn't heard in a long time. “Good, and you have to let me know in advance if you want to come see me or not, no dropping in like Natsu does.” “You got it, Sis.”

They finally made it to a clearing with a small lake, a tiny waterfall flowing from the small hill next to the water. On top of the hill that overlooked the clearing stood a cozy, two-story cottage built from stone and a thatched roof of straw. A flower garden bloomed on the side of the cottage, multiple colorful flowers swaying in the breeze.

“Wow, this place is pretty neat,” Gajeel commented, not used to the beauty of things like these. “I agree, it’s very cozy. I can see another reason to not let certain guild members come visit unannounced, and they’d have to behave very well in order to do so,” Pantherlily added, the flowers reminding him of his home back in Edolas.

Della giggled at the two’s reactions before walking up to the cottage and unlocking it, walking in and holding it to let her brother in. An open floor plan laid in front of them, the stairs against the wall to the left and the living room immediately to the right, the kitchen in the back, and a small dining table in the far right corner.

“Please remove your shoes before entering any further,” the blonde said, letting Lily jump out of her arms before leaning on the wall and untying her sandals. Once they were off, she took off the cape that was wrapped around her and put it on a coat hanger, finally revealing the scars that adorned her body. Legs, arms, back, neck. Nowhere was completely clean.

Gajeel’s eyes widened at just how many there were, shocked at the full extent of her injuries. “Della…” He slipped out, making his sister turn around and meet his eyes before she realized where he was looking.

“Oh, these old things? If you think these are bad, you should’ve seen Mom and Dad. I got off lucky, Mom lost her head and leg, the leg with her guild mark, and Dad got a pierced lung and his head caved in. At least, that’s what I was told.”

The way the shadow mage spoke of the accident in such a matter of fact tone horrified the two slightly, like this wasn’t a life changing event that happened to her, but then again, she had seven years to process everything. Gajeel and Pantherlily just found out Kyril and Yami were dead a few weeks ago.

“Is that why you don’t like taking your cape off? Because you don’t like others seeing your scars?” The iron mage spoke up, remembering Kinana’s statement in the infirmary. Della’s playful smile faded and she looked away from them, crossing her arms. “That is part of it, yes. But Mom made me that cape, for when I would finally learn God Slaying. It makes me feel at home, like they’re still here.”

The exceed flew up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, offering comfort without speaking, allowing Della to give him a small smile. “Anyway, enough gloom. Are you two hungry, because I am.” “You rest, Sis, you’ve had a long day. I’ll cook.”

The blonde raised an eyebrow, moving a hand to her hip. “You can cook? I thought you just ate iron all the time.” “Hey, I know how to cook some things. They’re easy and iron can get tiring. Plus, Lily needs to eat too, not just raw fish and rice.”

The siblings stared each other down for a second before the female sighed, giving in. “Fine, I think I have shrimp for tempura donburi, as well as rice.”

Gajeel nodded and headed into the kitchen while Pantherlily pulled Della to the living room and made her sit before sitting next to her. The iron mage found the frozen shrimp and put them in hot water to thaw, as well as kill any germs, before beginning to cook it.

“So, did Romeo or anyone tell you anything about the guy I fought? Were they weird or anything?” “I don’t know what you mean by weird, but no. Macao’s kid told us about Sabertooth, their status, and that blonde dude with sand magic said there was a new master and five members that were considered the strongest. Kinana did say the kid you fought was named Rogue, I believe, and he was one of those five wizards. That’s all, though.”

The black cat noticed his companion tense up a little, a memory coming back to her. “Yeah, that’s true. Rogue is part of that group. Sting Eucliffe, Rufus Lore, Orga Nanagear, and…Minerva Orland. They’re the other four. They’re all powerful mages in their own right, and their master isn’t any different. Jiemma…”

Gajeel and Pantherlily looked at each other, sharing concern for the woman, as it seemed there was something more about this guild than she was willing to share, but just as Wakaba said, there were some things they couldn’t bring up on their own.

“Well, they’re not gonna be up there for long. Master Makarov said we’ll be joining the games this year and with our best wizards back, we’ll knock those idiots down a peg or two.” The dragon slayer gave his signature smirk as he gave out the correct proportions for dinner, glancing over to check on his sister. She hadn’t said anything more and seemed to be off in her own world. She wasn’t supporting it like Natsu or Romeo when Makarov said they would be in the games, but she wasn’t openly against it like Macao. She was probably too tired to care at the moment.

The black-haired male came over with the food and his blonde companion turned on the TV lacrima, turning on a random cooking show where wizards had to learn to cook with or without their magic, depending on the magic they used. The three ate in silence, Gajeel chuckling a few times as the contestants fumbled with their tasks and the host ridiculing them. After they finished eating, they just set their dishes on the coffee table, Della moving to lean on her brother while holding Pantherlily in her arms.

It wasn’t until long that the blonde fell asleep on the iron dragon, the exceed following suit. Gajeel turned the lacrima off and moved himself to lay back enough to be comfortable while making sure the other two didn’t wake, wrapping an arm around them.

“I’m so sorry, Sis. You shouldn’t have had to go through any of that alone. Acnologia, Yami and Kyril, Tenrou…” The male mage whispered softly, knowing she wasn’t listening.

“But I’m back now. We all are, and we’re not going anywhere for a very long time. Not if we can help it. I’ll fight tooth and nail before I kick the bucket.”

Della gave a small snort and snuggled into Gajeel more, hugging Pantherlily like a plush, though he didn’t seem to mind. The male chuckled and ruffled her hair before letting himself relax, soon falling asleep himself.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Gajeeeeeel, it’s so hooooot!” “What do you want me to do, turn off the sun? Wearing black doesn’t help either.” Della frowned as she fanned herself, debating whether or not she should take off her cape.
The siblings were in a clearing in a forest near the ocean in Southern Fiore, which meant a lot of heat and humidity for the three months leading up to the Grand Magic Games. That was the reason they were out there, to train for said games in the chance they were chosen to represent the guild and take back the title as Fiore’s strongest.
“Why did you have to pick such a hot place to train, not to mention the humidity! If I’d known we were coming here, I would’ve gone to train by myself.” “Goodness, girl, you can always just leave now. I’ll train on my own with Lily.” The blonde frowned and crossed her arms, glancing to the side with a huff. “I’m sorry, the heat makes me feel gross and slimy.” The tone of the apology made it sound forced, but also sounded like she was just accepting having to deal with the weather conditions.
“I get that and I’m sorry. But this was the best place, toughing it in the woods builds endurance, the beach is there for swim exercises, and I can make my iron attacks more resistant to the heat. Plus, the forest holds an entrance to the Shadowlands, so you can strengthen those shadows of yours.”
Della lifted her head and raised her eyebrow towards the man. “How do you know about the Shadowlands?” “Your parents, girlie. Yami came to the guild one time without Kyril and I asked where he was since they were basically attached at the hip, and she told me about it. Though, I didn’t know you knew about them either. I guess that’s a given since you practice shadow magic.”
The young woman gave a sigh and opened the satchel she had on her, pulling out a notebook wrapped in brown, worn leather. “Dad never told me about it, I learned from his journal. He planned to tell me when I was old enough to start learning about God Slaying, but that clearly never happened.” She ran a hand down the journal, reminiscing about all the times when she saw her father writing in it. When she asked about it, he said he would tell her everything once she was older and knew magic.
Alas, that never happened.
“So this will be your first time heading in there? Alone?” “No, I’ve been before.” Gajeel’s eyes widened a little but he was also a little confused. His sister could tell and spoke again. “Once I had recovered from the disaster, I returned home and went through Mom and Dad’s stuff, stumbling on this and learning about the Shadowlands. Did anyone tell you about the year I was gone after the attack?” The man shook his head, so she continued.
“Well, I pretty much disappeared after the attack. That entire year, I was in a forest far away from Magnolia and trained in the Shadowlands, hoping to become stronger so I could get revenge for what happened, and he…” She trailed off in her sentence, making the iron dragon raise his eyebrow. “He…who? Did someone go with you?”
Immediately, she shook her head, not looking him in the eye, and put the notebook back in her satchel, taking a strand of her hair in her other hand and messing with it. “No one, I went in alone.”
Gajeel could tell she was lying. She had changed a lot since he last saw her, but he always knew when she was lying, she’s had the same tells as when she was a little girl. It was nice knowing some things didn’t change.
Knowing that she was lying also let him put two and two together. He wasn’t stupid, he knew his sister had history with that dragon slayer from Sabertooth, more than she was letting on.
Yet another topic he couldn’t bring up with her.
Soft footsteps could be heard approaching the camp and the duo turned to see Pantherliy with firewood for later tonight, more so for dinner than any kind of heat. The environment handled that part.
As the exceed set the firewood down, Della stood up and untied her cape, taking it off and folding it before heading into her tent across from the boys. After a moment, she emerged back, cape and satchel gone, along with her shoes.
“Where are you heading, especially with no shoes?” “Where do you think? The Shadowlands, duh.” “The Shadowlands?” Lily looked at Gajeel, hoping he would explain. “I’ll explain later, but Della, did you learn God Slaying?”
The blonde smirked, a hand on her hip as she held her other hand up, a ball of shadows floating in it. “Shadow God’s Daggers.”
In an instant, the darkness covered her entire arm, forming a sharp end. The iron mage and his partner both jumped, their eyes wide in shock, but also pleasantly surprised.
“Do you not remember my fight with Rogue the other day? That attack that pretty much darkened the sky for a moment? I’m sure you’ve heard of the fabled Shadow Goddess of Fairy Tail at least once since coming back.” “Wait, that’s you?” Della gave a short chuckle, letting the shadows disappear, her arm back to normal. “Yup, that was a secret art I used. I’m not perfect, I still need to tackle more spells and I lose magic energy quickly when using God Slaying, but I’m on that road to get stronger, to finally master the shadows and respect that title, like Mom and Dad before me.”
Gajeel looked at the woman in front of him, an adult who went through hell and back because of a dragon. He knew she’d grown a lot while he was gone, but now, seeing her stand before him, flowing with magic and determination, he couldn’t help but smile at the young woman she’d become.
“You got this, Sis. You’ll make Kyril and Yami proud.”
The blonde looked her brother in the eyes and smiled back. “Thanks Big Bro.”
With that, Della began towards the forest, waving back to them. “I forgot, only those who use shadow magic can enter the Shadowlands, so you can’t come in to get me. I’ll be fine alone, but don’t be surprised if I’m gone long.” “Gee, thanks for letting me know now. We ain’t waiting on you for dinner if that’s the case.
She giggled and shooed him with her hand. “Yeah yeah, I can handle myself. I’m a big girl now.” With that, she disappeared into the trees like a shadow. Gajeel gave a small smile, to where she once stood, heart heavy. “Yeah. You’re definitely not little anymore.”
Della continued into the forest, stopping every so often to feel the presence of the shadows and listen to what they were saying. They were soon getting louder, a strong magic energy within the shadow of a large tree, probably the largest in the forest. “There ya are. Thanks for waiting.”
The woman took a deep breath, remembering the number one rule her father wrote down in his journal. He didn’t write much down about the Shadowlands, but this was an important one and she could feel the urgency behind his handwriting.

‘Don’t stay in the Shadowlands for too long. The shadows are chaotic, unpredictable, and hungry for magic. Even the most powerful can’t stay in it for long, especially not overnight where the darkness makes them stronger. That said, as long as you keep track of time, it will be easy to leave before being caught. Beginners shouldn’t go in alone either, the shadows love fresh meat.’

Okay, that was two rules, but still. The blonde needed to stay focused and keep herself under control. She hadn’t been back to the Shadowlands since X785, when she trained with…
She shook her head, smacking herself. “Focus, girl. You don’t need him. You can do this alone.”
Taking another deep breath, she let her body dissolve into darkness before diving into the shadow of the large tree and into the Shadowlands.
Darkness swarmed her as she went further in, feeling the shadows flow around her, whispering to her.
‘Unlike most magic, shadows are alive, but in the same way a wolf or Gorian is alive. They have no real soul, no mind of their own, and as a result, they rely solely on primal instincts, which means trying to consume any wizard that enters the darkness. The only reason you should go to the Shadowlands is to get more in tune with your own shadows and grow endurance, knowing when to let the shadows take control, but able to regain it when you want to.’ Della remembered reading in her father’s journal, which was reiterated by him when they came here.
She walks deeper into the shadows, unable to see anything, but able to feel every shadow brushing on her as she sensed a place to stop. Among the darkness, she found a weak area, a clearing of sorts. A great spot to attract shadows and allow her to work on her endurance while making sure she doesn’t get overwhelmed.
The mage took a seat and crossed her legs, her hands on her knees as she closed her eye, feeling the shadows approach her, sensing her immense power, their touch feeling cold and insistent, trying to wear her down and take control right off the bat.
With a deep breath, she began letting her guard slip, allowing the shadows to consume her very being, their energy mingling with her own. This was a dangerous process, allowing the darkness to take control while still keeping one’s sense of self. There was a reason shadow magic was rare, almost a lost magic itself. The power of this magic came from the shadows themselves and their primordial urges.
The power surged through the blonde, allowing her to reach her full potential in casting stronger spells.
“Shadow God’s Erebus,” she whispered, the ground becoming darker than before as it spread around her in a circle, before beams of energy shot out of it and into the endless abyss above. This was a spell she had only done once and it took almost all of her energy. The same was happening now, but she concentrated hard on herself, not letting the power overwhelm her. She had to stay in control.
As she meditated, she allowed the shadows to consume her bit by bit before expelling them, only for the cycle to repeat. However, she heard a faint voice calling from somewhere, breaking her focus.
“Della.”
Her eye snapped open and she looked around, but could see no one. The shadows closed in on her, their whispers becoming more aggressive.
“Is someone there?” The young woman called out, but only an echo bounced back to her. Her unease of someone there with her caused her concentration to be thrown off. Without a minute to spare, the darkness pressed on into her, beginning to suffocate her from the hostility alone.
Panic set in as Della realized she couldn’t move, the shadows' powerful grasp holding her in place. She could feel pain course her body as her magic began to be drained from her.
“No…I got this, I can get out of here. I’ve done it before, I can do it again.” She spoke to herself, truly believing the words she was speaking, but was equally unsure.
Just when she thought she would be lost to the darkness, something else grabbed her and began flying through the abyss. The warmth of this thing was the complete opposite as the coldness of the shadows, but before she was able to get a good feel for what it was, she was thrown out of the Shadowlands and into a tree that stood across from the shadow of the other, larger tree, sending a wave of agony through her body once more.
Air rushed into her lungs as she gasped for breath, dark tendrils dripping off her body and retreating back into the tree’s shadow. Her heart raced as she tried to catch her breath, processing what had just happened in there.
“Della? Are you okay?”
The blonde looked up and saw Pantherlily in front of her in his muscle form, carrying a bag and a fishing pole. She scanned the air as she slowly calmed down, her hand on her chest to reassure her she was still there. “Was that you calling me in there?”
The exceed raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “No, I was heading back from the river and heard a loud thud, so I came to investigate, only to find you against this tree. Are you hurt?”
Della’s eye furrowed, looking into the other’s eyes, who showed confusion and worry. If it wasn’t Pantherlily, and Gajeel was off elsewhere, who was it that called her? Who, or what, threw her out of the darkness before it could consume her?
After a moment, the mage took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m fine, Lily. Just got a little overwhelmed.” The large cat looked at her for a second before nodding back and setting down the bag he held, reaching a hand to the woman. She took it and pulled herself up with his help, regaining her balance. Her body ached from the lingering effects of the shadows as she rolled her arm to limber herself up.
“This is perfect timing, as I just caught some dinner for us. Care to walk back with me?” “Sure, I think I’m done with training for today.” Pantherlily nodded and picked up the bag he was carrying before, walking back towards the camp with Della. The latter noticed the sun was on the horizon, meaning she’d been in there for at least a few hours. Probably a good thing she got out of there before the sun went down completely.
As they walked, that thought from before remained on her mind. Something was in the Shadowlands with her and she didn’t know what it was. She was thankful it saved her, otherwise she would’ve lost her mind, but it was still strange it called to her to begin with.
The blonde shook her head, she didn’t need to think about that. It was just a one time thing, after all. Whatever it was was likely gone now, so she could focus on her endurance once more. She needed to practice more so she’d feel more confident in a fight, knowing she wouldn’t run out of energy too quickly.
She had three months before the Grand Magic Games. Even if she isn’t chosen to represent Fairy Tail, this training would do her a lot of good in the long run.
She was going to usurp Rogue Cheney and live up to the name of Shadow Goddess, as well as the Zabel legacy. She was going to honor her parents, and she was ready to face any challenge head-on.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The streets of Crocus bustled with life, buildings adorned with decorations as everyone was gearing up for the Grand Magic Games, which were just the next day. Everywhere one went, people were talking about the games, from the challenges to the guilds who would be participating. A hot topic was the Fairy Tail guild, some ridiculing them for daring to participate again after their previous humiliations and others more open, even hopeful, for them to come back on top.

Gajeel, Della, and Pantherlily walked the streets of the Flowering City, which were lit with the street lamps as the sun had just gone down. The blonde of the group had her arms crossed with a pouty look on her face as she stalked behind her brother and his partner.

“Della, pouting about it isn’t going to do anything. It’s best to let it go and support the guild.” “Easy for you to say, you’ll probably be out there fighting as well, with Master’s grand plan to have two teams to double our chances of winning, and I didn’t even get chosen for that team! Laxus got chosen and he was exiled before Gildarts let him come back!” “Do you still have a grudge against Laxus or something?”

The woman narrowed her eye towards her brother, her expression darkening. “It’s been seven years for me, I’m over that.”

The duo couldn’t help but feel a shiver go down their back at the tone of voice and her serious expression. She wasn’t one for emotions, but she could get pissed off really quickly and frighten even the most hardened wizards.

“Then why bring him up?” The iron mage asked after clearing his throat, showing he didn’t get scared at all, even if it was a little. “I’m just saying it’s unfair that he gets to participate right after joining the guild again, especially when I worked my ass off for this! I even trained to use my shadows underwater and use the current to my advantage!”

Gajeel sighed and patted her head. “Look on the bright side, you got much stronger in general, so even if not this year, you can still kick that Cheney kid’s butt next time you see him.” That thought immediately made the woman smile, or rather smirk, thinking of being able to beat Rogue into the ground after the games. The sudden shift made the black-haired male chuckle while Pantherlily rolled his eyes.

“Like brother, like sister, I guess,” he said, his arms crossed in front of his chest. The iron dragon smiled widely and wrapped his arm around Della’s head, pulling her close to him and squishing his cheek on her head. “Yup, got that right!” “Please let me go, you’re annoying me now.”

“A fight!”

The yell about a fight caught the trio’s attention, looking over to see a large crowd in an open courtyard.

“Now that sounds like some fun,” Gajeel smirked, letting go of his sister. “Gajeel, you shouldn’t, we don’t need you getting in trouble the night before the games- aaaaand you’re ignoring me.” The male was in fact ignoring her as he began walking towards the crowd, making her groan and follow behind him with Lily.

“Gajeel, what the hell are you doing here!?” The obnoxious voice of a certain fire dragon filled their ears, making the iron dragon’s mood drop. “The same as you, we have the games tomorrow. I may not be in it, but I still want to see some fighting.” “But why are you

here

!? Are you following me!?” “No, you moron! I was just close by and heard there was a fight!”

While those two bickered, Della looked at them annoyed before she felt a surge of magic, making her look to the crowd and becoming even more annoyed. “You have got to be kidding me.”

The dragons stopped and looked at the young woman, their eyes widening as they smelt a familiar scent. “Dragons,” they spoke in unison.The three wizards hurried over to the crowd with their exceeds, the dragon slayers pushing through with ease with the god slayer close behind. As they reached the center, they spotted two male figures standing over a few unconscious people, two other exceeds making fun of those on the ground.

“I’m not even surprised.” Della spoke up, making the two males look over, their eyes widening as they saw Gajeel and Natsu.

“Natsu Dragneel? And Gajeel Redfox?”

The blond of the group smirked while the familiar face of Rogue Cheney remained stoic, though his eyes briefly flickered to Della.

“Kitties!? Happy yelled, somehow shocked at the existence of the red exceed and green exceed in a frog suit. “We’re exceeds, Happy.” Pantherlily corrected him, having also noticed the two cats. “Man, look at that stupid blue cat, Fro!” “Yeah, he’s stupid.” The two pointed and ridiculed the blue exceed. “And they talk too!?” “Why are you surprised at this, Happy, you’ve seen other talking cats with wings.”

Back with the young adults, Natsu looked at the other wizards confused. “Yeah, that’s us. Who are you guys, though?” “Sabertooth members.” The pink-haired male looked at the female mage, who was glaring daggers at the men in front of her. “The blond is Sting Eucliffe, and I’m sure you remember Rogue Cheney, the emo looking one.” “And why would I remember him?” Gajeel smacked him upside the head, making him yelp and get angry, glaring at him. “He’s the one she threw into the guild hall a few months back.” “Oh, him? Don’t remember.” “Of course you don’t.”

Sting stepped forward, his posture oozing with confidence and arrogance, his smirk still on his face. “So the rumors

are

true. You’re entering the Grand Magic Games.” “How do you know who I am?” “Everyone knows who you are, as well as your friend. The dragon slayers who couldn’t actually slay a dragon. What a disgrace to the very name of dragon slayers.”

Natsu’s face darkened as he growled, clenching his fist. Meanwhile, Della was still looking at the fourth dragon slayer, who hadn’t spoken a word, as his eyes were fixated on Gajeel. “It’s sad, I actually used to look up to you. My friend here was also a big fan of Gajeel.” “It was more of a curiosity, thanks.” The shadow dragon muttered, glancing away. “Yeah, sure.” The blonde rolled her eyes.

Rogue’s eyes finally flickered to the blonde mage, but his glare had softened a little. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He’d changed a lot since they were young. Since joining Sabertooth.

“So you both are dragon slayers, huh?” Natsu asked, their scent insulting his nose. “We prefer

true

dragon slayers, considering we could’ve easily taken out Acnologia.” Sting declared, Della tensing up at that name, still having not gotten over what she’d seen, what she felt from his attack. But she easily let it slide, not letting her guard drop around these guys.

“These two are different, you see. They’re third-gen slayers.” The little red exceed spoke up, done bullying Happy. “Third what now?” “Third-gen. You two and that other girl are first-gen, getting powers from dragons themselves. Then you got that Laxus guy, having a lacrima. Sting and Rogue got their powers from dragons, but also got lacrimi in them. They’re the ultimate dragon slayers, as far as anyone is concerned.”

Natsu and Gajeel couldn’t believe their ears. They were shocked enough from Laxus’s reveal of being a dragon slayer, but hearing there was another generation on top? It seemed like a lot.

However, one detail stood out during the exceed’s speech, something that piqued the fire wizard’s interest.

“You had dragons teach you, so does that mean they also disappeared in X777?” “You could say that.”

Della glanced back at the Sabertooth wizards, ready to hear just what they had to say. She was also interested, as she knew more about the two, or at least of Rogue, than she cared to let on. “More to the point, they died. By our hands. So we could rightfully earn the title of true Dragon Slayers.”

Their words hung in the air as the fire dragon growled, his face showing his anger and hatred for what they just admitted. Gajeel’s eyebrows furrowed, acting like he didn’t care. But his sister knew better.

Speaking of the god slayer, she couldn’t help but let out a snort, bringing the Sabertooth dragons’ attention to her. “What’s so funny?” Sting asked, his arrogance melting into irritation.

“Oh, it’s just funny seeing you two try to act all big and scary, especially when talking about murdering the creatures who were basically your parents.”

The blond scowled as he got closer to the other blonde. The iron dragon tried to step forward, but his sister stopped him, her posture silently showing her confidence, before the other man finally reached her, their faces inches apart.

“You wanna say that again to my face?” “Gladly. You two are the biggest jokes in all of Fiore. You don’t know, nor will you ever know, the true horrors of that dragon. Making a giant claim like that and basing it off of one experience, killing your ‘parents,’ who probably took it easy on you since you were itty bitty babies when it happened, if it ever did. It’s just hilarious, trying to act big and bad when making up stories a child could tell.”

Della smirked while Sting’s irritation grew, the tension growing thick. The crowd quietly muttered, seeing the Shadow Goddess stand up to one of the Twin Dragons and wondering if there was going to be a big throw down then and there.

Instead, the blond’s scowl grew into a smirk, malice behind his eyes. “I hear you aren’t going to be in the games. A shame, really, but you’d be a laughingstock. Just a simple clown in that circus of a guild.” “Please, it’s a blessing I’m not. Wouldn’t want to humiliate you in front of the entire kingdom.” “That’s not what I remember four years ago.”
“You talk like you did anything other than throw nasty words around. I’m not the same person I was when we were 15.”

As the two threw insults back and forth, Natsu’s rage grew, and he tried to bulldoze the man right there, but Gajeel stopped him. “Hey, what are you doing!?” The fire wizard struggled, but the other man wouldn’t budge. “We don’t need a brawl right now, as much as I want to tear them a new one. For now, let Della handle this.” The pink-haired male growled, but he looked to the woman in question, her face showing her conviction, before nodding, but not without crossing his arms like a pouty baby.

“You’re lucky M’lady isn’t here, otherwise Sabertooth would wipe the floor with every single one of you. Not that it matters, really, since we do it every year anyway.” “You really are all talk and no action. Like a dog barking to cover his weakness.” “Sting.” A stern voice brought the two out of their heated exchange. Looking behind the blond, they saw Rogue with his arms crossed, clearly uninterested in this clash now.

“It’s been fun, but we really should be going. Don’t want to be late.” Sting flicked Della’s forehead in a small gesture of violence, and while she wanted nothing more than to make him eat dirt, now wasn’t the time. Instead, she leaned forward quickly and bit the air in the man’s face, making him step back in disgust. He scowled at her before turning and walking away. But not before yelling over his shoulder, “Oh, and if you happen to make it past the qualifying rounds, we’d be glad to show you what true dragon slayer magic tastes like.” With that, the Sabertooth wizards left with their cats.

The blonde woman scowled as she stared at the back of Rogue’s head, her rage beginning to spill out of her. “Coward,” she muttered under her breath.

A hand was placed on her shoulder, snapping her out of her trance and looking to her side, being greeted by her brother’s worried eyes. “You okay, Sis?” She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and shook her head, putting a hand on her face. “I’m fine. Look, I’m going with Natsu to his inn, I’m curious about why they’re so strict on the time to be back.”

Natsu was grumbling to himself quietly, clearly frustrated at not being able to fight someone right away, but also very upset at the thought of Rogue and Sting murdering their dragons, whether it was true or not. Gajeel raised an eyebrow and looked at his sister. “You sure? This moron seems too out of it.” “Hence another reason to go with him, to make sure he doesn’t get in trouble and doesn’t fight someone.”

The iron mage looked at her for a second before sighing, nodding in reluctance. “Alright, I need to head back to my inn too, for you know what.” The blonde nodded back and held her fist up, which her brother returned by giving her a side fist bump. “Good luck, Big Bro, I’ll be rooting for you.” The male smirked and nodded once more before heading the opposite direction with Pantherlily by his side, leaving the other three Fairy Tail wizards.

Della went over to the male and grabbed his backpack, beginning to drag him toward his inn. “Come on, Natsu, Erza’s gonna be upset if you’re late.” “Hey, you don’t have to drag me, I can walk!” “Yeah, and I have both my eyes. I don’t need you running off to fight someone because you’re frustrated with those two idiots.” The fire dragon grumbled for a moment before groaning. “Fiiiine, I won’t run off, just let me go.” The young woman did just that, and the three began their walk to the inn.

“Oh, by the way, where’s Lucy? Didn’t she run after you when we first got here?” “Yeah, she went to find Wendy to assure herself that she could make it to the inn. Double protection since Carla is with her too.” The mage nodded, and the rest of the walk was silent aside from their footsteps and the small crowds of people around them, the Sabertooth encounter still in the back of her mind.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Della and Natsu made it to the inn where the Fairy Tail team was staying at, running into Gray along the way, who looked about as worn as the other two. “Geez, what happened to you?” Natsu asked, not as condescending as he usually was. “You don’t wanna know.” “You know Erza’s gonna ask, right?” “Then you’ll find out when I tell her.”

They filed into the room to find Erza sitting on one of the beds, dressed in her PJs, clearly irritated, but not fully pissed yet. “Finally, you’re back. And we have a visitor too.”

The red-head had the males kneel on the floor in front of where she sat, her arms crossed. Della took a seat in a chair in the corner, staying out of the conflict. “Now, care to explain yourselves? Where were the both of you?” “Having a very unpleasant meal.” Gray spoke first, having his same annoyed expression as when he deals with Juvia. The shadow mage couldn’t help but giggle quietly. She loved the water wizard, but she could definitely be a lot when it came to her love for Gray.

“Sorry to hear that. Now, Natsu?” The requip wizard and ice wizard looked to the named male, who just looked extremely pissed off, as well as Happy. The blonde decided to speak up for him so Erza didn’t end up killing him. “Natsu was with Gajeel and I, we ran into some Sabertooth wizards. Luckily, I was the only one who really ‘fought’ them, though it was more of a slugfest with Sting.” The woman nodded, acknowledging her explanation, before looking towards the door of their room.

“Do any of you know where Wendy and Lucy went?” “No, haven’t seen either of them since the train. Wasn’t Lucy with you, flame brain?” “Yeah, but she ended up leaving to find Wendy, she needed some relief to know Wendy could make it back. That was shortly before I met up with Della and metalhead.”

The redhead looked up at the clock, seeing that it was almost midnight, when whatever the games had in store was going to start. “They’ll be fine, Wendy’s a lot stronger than I was at her age. She can handle herself, as well as Lucy,” Della crossed her arms and swung a leg over her other, clearly confident in Wendy’s abilities, but a small amount of worry could still be felt from her.

Just then, the door swung open, making the group perk up, thinking it was their aforementioned friends. Instead, it was Lisanna and Elfman, carrying some supplies like food and medical aid. “Hey guys, we got some stuff for you to get you through the tournament.” “Oh, thanks guys!”

“Did you guys come all this way to watch us beat those other guilds?” Natsu got up from his kneeling, a smile now on his face. “Duh, why do you think Gajeel and I were here? You just tune out Bro’s words?” “Oh, that’s right.”

Elfman gave a giant smile and walked with his sister to a nearby table to set their things down. “Yeah. Originally, I wanted to get in there and impress my sisters, but a real man knows when to quit!” “This is actually great timing. Could we ask you for a favor? Lucy and Wendy haven’t gotten back yet.” “Yeah, and those of us in the tournament should hang out here until midnight, since the rules say we should be here.”

Right as Gray said that, the big hand of the clock moved onto the twelve, giving off small dings. “Which is right now.” “What’s gonna happen? The girls aren’t back yet.”

It was silent for a moment as they waited in anticipation, until a voice came over a loudspeaker from outside. The group moved towards the balcony, where a hologram hung in the air of a small person with a giant pumpkin head, a creepy smile plastered on its face.

“Welcome, welcome all. May I please have the attention of those who will be participating in this year’s Grand Magic Games!” The pumpkin spoke, its voice echoing through the night. Everyone looked up at it in shock, except for Della. “I see Mato’s still as annoying as ever,” she grumbled, clearly not a fan of the mascot.

“In order to narrow all 113 guilds to just a mere eight for this year’s game, the preliminary round will now commence!” “Wait, right now?” “This is new, we’ve never had to do this before. They usually keep them all and eliminate a few each day until it’s down to two, then the final fight determines the strongest.” The blonde explained, her eyebrows furrowing. It made sense they would want to narrow it down easier, but one round to take out 105 guilds at once seemed like overkill.

“All I hear is how the games have gotten boring, despite all the new guilds that pop up! So now I say “let’s whittle them down, give only eight a cheer!” There’s only one rule this time around!” After the pumpkin said that, the ground began to shake and the inn began to rise into the air, as well as the other hotels in the city, likely where the other teams were staying. Everyone grabbed the balcony to keep their balance, though Natsu was on the ground trying not to vomit from the movement.

“This round will be a race! The finish line is the Domus Flau coliseum, where the games will be taking place, and the first eight guilds to reach it will move on to participate in the games!” A wooden path appeared in front of them, leading up to a giant ball in the sky, which Mato called the Sky Labyrinth. “There are no restrictions to magic use, your only goal is to stay on and reach the coliseum. However, all five guild members must be present in order for the win to count. Without further ado, let the games begin!”

“Wait, he said all guild members had to be present. That means…” “We can’t leave without Wendy and Lucy!” Natsu began freaking out and calling out for the two girls when they heard a loud stomp behind them. When they turned, they saw Elfman in a stance, smirking. “Why wait for a little girl when you’ve got a man who’s ready to go!”

The trio looked to each other, debating their options. Taking Elfman would mean they could start the race, but there was one more issue. “We still need one more wizard.” Gray reminded them, looking to the labyrinth, seeing some of the guilds already running to the battle ground. “Why not Della?” “Me!?” She tensed up, freezing at Natsu’s suggestion. “Why not? You said it was a blessing you weren’t in the games because you would easily beat that Sting guy. Now you can do it.”

“I- Well- Um- Why not Lisanna? She would be a lot better!” She managed to stutter out, clearly not expecting this. Yeah, she talked big earlier, but that was just her anger talking, her grudge against Sabertooth speaking for her. “Della, you’re our best bet. Your magic is much stronger. We’d have more of a fighting chance if you went.” “B-But-”

A hand was placed on her shoulder, making her tense more. She looked up and was met with brown eyes staring back with a determined look. “Della, you can do this. I can tell you’ve gotten a lot stronger since we last saw you seven years ago, even more so after three months. I don’t know if that’s just your Shadow Make or something more, but regardless, we need your help.”

Erza’s stance spoke of authority, but her words held sincerity. She really did believe the shadow mage could do this, help Fairy Tail come back on top.

Della stared back for a moment before nodding, gulping her building saliva. “It’s settled then, Elfman and Della will be coming with us. Lisanna, you and Happy go and look for Wendy, Carla, and Lucy. We need to make sure they’re okay.” “You got it! Come on, Happy!” The white-haired woman quickly left with the blue exceed, leaving the other five alone.

“Well, what are we waiting for!?” The biggest of the group quickly grabbed the other four and put them under his arms before taking off up the stairs. “Hey, Elfman, we can use our legs, you know!” “Damn, you’ve gotten stronger, good on you!”

The male let them go halfway up, Erza requiped into her normal suit of armor, and they made their way up the wooden path, finally getting inside the labyrinth. “This place is big! And it’s like some kind of three dimensional maze.” “It

is

a labyrinth, Gray.” Gray shot Della a glare while Erza got her compass out, letting it settle itself towards the north. “The coliseum was in the east when we were on the ground, so we should head that way.”

The redhead took the lead, the group hurrying in the direction she said, but realizing quickly that just going straight wasn’t going to be easy. “Hey, Natsu, this thing is basically a vehicle, why aren’t you sick?” Della pointed out as they reached a platform to determine the best course of action. “I’m surprised too, if I’m being honest. Not that I’m complaining.” “Allow me to explain!”

A screen appeared above the wizards with the pumpkin on it. “We’ve cast a spell that allows those with motion sickness and fear of heights to compete without issue! That way, it’s fair for everyone!” After that, he disappeared.

“I doubt anyone gets bad motion sickness like Natsu does.” “Actually, Sting and Rogue of Sabertooth also get it since they’re dragon slayers too, as well as-” Della stopped herself, making the other four look at her. “As well as who, Della?” “Um…me! I have bad motion sickness and an awful fear of heights!” She giggled nervously. She almost let slip that Gajeel was out there somewhere and had recently developed motion sickness during their training, leading Della to deduce that dragon slayers got it once they reached a certain power level.

“Come on, we need to get going.” The Fairy Tail wizards started back up, finding weird rooms and dead ends, with Elfman having to save Natsu on more than one occasion. “We should take notes on the way we’ve gone so far, so we don’t end up going in circles.” “That’s a good plan. I have some paper and pens in my satchel for this sort of thing.”

Della pulled her bag around her waist and took out the materials, trying to remember the path while the others walked ahead, but quickly found it almost impossible due to it being a maze after all. While doing so, however, the team began to hear others yelling, reminding them there were other guilds, after all. It’d been so quiet, they nearly forgot.

“You’ve got to be joking.”

The group turned and saw another guild on a platform above them, Twilight Ogre. “You losers are in the tournament?” Elfman grumbled, annoyed. “You got no right calling us losers, considering Fairy Tail always comes in last.” The leader of Twilight Ogre snarled, his hand on his weapon. “That’s changing this year, we’re coming in first place!” “We’ll see about that.”

The leader jumped off the platform and dove right down, slamming his spiked hammer into the middle of the group. He luckily missed as everyone jumped out of the way, getting into fighting stances. Twilight Ogre charged them, but the men easily took them out, sending them flying down towards the town. One member tried to sneak up on Della, but she roundhouse kicked him easily before he could, letting him join his buddies.

Right after, however, a loud siren was heard and the labyrinth began to shake. “Hey, what’s going on!?” Electricity came off the ground and the platforms began moving around, changing the layout. Screams were heard as wizards began falling off due to the floor’s movement. Gray and Erza grabbed onto the sides of the platforms, but Natsu lost his balance and began falling. Luckily, Elfman noticed and hurried down some stairs before launching off, grabbing Natsu and hitting another platform, holding onto it until the labyrinth stopped moving.

“Are you two okay?” The ice wizard called out as he climbed onto the ground he was holding, helping his redheaded friend up as well. “Yup, we’re good! What about you two?” “Yeah, we;re okay here!”

Natsu shook off his initial shock and looked around. “Um, where’s Della?” The other three looked around as well, panic setting in. “Crap, did she fall!?” “I didn’t see her, I only saw Natsu fall!” “Are we going to be disqualified already!?”

“I’m right here, guys.”

Erza and Gray jumped and readied themselves before calming down upon seeing the shadow mage, untouched and unfazed. “Thank goodness. Where did you even go?” “Er, well…” she scratched her cheek as the other two wizards came back over.

“Now’s as good a time as any. I’m…a Shadow God Slayer.”

The four members’ eyes widened, surprised and shocked. “Wait, you’re part of Grimoire Heart!?” Natsu yelled out of the blue, completely unprompted. “What!? Did you hit your head or something, flame for brains!?” The woman yelled back, not even knowing what he meant when bringing up the dark guild.

The takeover wizard hit the fire dragon on the head, making him fall to the ground. “You idiot, her parents were God Slayers, they probably taught her,” Gray said before his eyes widened, covering his mouth and looking at the shadow mage. “It’s fine. I actually taught myself after they died, so as a result, I haven’t completely mastered it. I have stronger endurance from all my training since using God Slayer spells takes a lot of magic, but I only plan to use it when absolutely necessary.”

The redhead smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her. “I knew it was a good idea to bring you along.” The blonde couldn’t help but smile back, placing her hand on Erza’s.

“Look, Twilight Ogre had notes too.” Elfman picked up the stack of papers the other guild had dropped on their way down, seeing a map of the place as well. “Nice, we can combine our notes with theirs and get a better map.”

Erza suddenly got an idea and smirked evilly, chuckling maliciously. “I have a plan to get ahead.” The males looked at their leader and understood perfectly, getting the same evil looks in their eyes. Della also knew what they were referring to, but let them take the reins, appointing herself map keeper.

The four wizards got to work taking out everyone they came across and stealing their maps, letting their final member hold on to them all. She mostly let them fight, but would do the occasional roundhouse kick or punch to protect herself, proving to be strong with or without magic.

In between the fighting, the labyrinth moved again, helping to get rid of more guilds. The Fairy Tail wizards were more prepared and held onto their platforms, Della disappearing into her shadow like she did before, re-emerging afterwards.

The shadow mage moved everyone to the center of the labyrinth, laying out the maps they had collected and moving them around, trying to get a feel for the place. “Pretty weird there’s a peaceful landscape at the center of this. If it wasn’t upside down…” “Not only that, there’s no more east or west here.” Erza held her compass up, which was spinning around, unable to find north.

Della scanned the papers in front of her before her eye widened, snapping her head to the side. “I feel something.” Her team noticed her sudden change and looked to where she was. “Is it enemies? We can hold them off if so.” “No, something else.” She got up and ran to the edge of the platform, stopping right before falling. She then kneeled and placed her hands on the ground, concentrating on the presence she felt.

“Think this place got her brain scrambled?” Elfman muttered, observing her strangeness. Right then, the familiar siren from the maze went off, making the place begin to spin. “Alright, we’re going to fall and try to land on the landscape up there. Got it?” “Wait, what?!”

The young woman looked up as the path flipped them. At the right moment, she launched herself towards the water above, everyone else just losing their balance and falling. The blonde landed on the grass, rolling to spread the impact, while her team fell into the lake. Once they got out, Della was looking down one of the paths. “This way!” She pointed before sprinting off, the other wizards following.

“Della, where are you going!?” “To the finish line!” “And how do you know it’s this way!” The blonde didn’t stop running, but tried to explain it the best she could while still moving.

“Every wizard has a 6th sense that lets them detect magic. Much like Dragon Slayers have their heightened sense of smell and lets them distinguish scents, as well as hearing, God Slayers have a heightened sense of detecting that magic, sensing someone or something’s essence, going as far as to know what magic they use. If it uses magic, it has an essence. They’re using a portal as the finish line, so when we were in the center, the nulling effects that diminished our senses were weak enough for me to feel it, probably since God Slaying is Lost Magic, so they don’t have spells to keep us at bay.”

The four wizards looked a little confused, but decided to put their trust in their teammate for now.

They found themselves on a long, stone path leading up to stairs that went up to a portal with a sign. “Look, there it is!” “Alright, team, one final sprint! Let’s go!” With one more burst of energy, the wizards ran up the stairs, reaching the finish line.

Standing at the door was the pumpkin mascot, who was clapping for them. “Elfman Strauss. Erza Scarlet. Gray Fullbuster. Della Zabel. Natsu Dragneel. Congratulations, you have made it to the end and qualified for the Grand Magic Games.” “Hell yeah!”

The team gathered around Della, who seemed shocked at the sudden attention. “It’s thanks to you, Della!” “I knew it was a good idea getting you to come.” “That’s a real woman there!” The blonde became flustered and hid her face in her hair, not used to the praise. “Yeah…”

“So, what place did we get? First place? Or maybe second, or third!” “Um, no. More like…eighth place.” The happy mood suddenly died as they heard the news. “You barely qualified. Hey, better than nothing, right?”

Mato cleared his throat, the air almost suffocating now. “Well, if you five would please walk through this door. It will send you to the coliseum, as well as register Fairy Tail as part of the games. Then you can make your way back to your inn.” The team did as they were told, the portal naming off their names, along with guild, and were sent to the coliseum. The four wizards seemed defeated while Della was mostly unfazed.

“It’s okay, guys. Normally, even I would be upset, but we have five days. That’s at least five chances to make it to the top.” The four looked to the young woman, who had a soft smile on her face, determination in their eyes. They couldn’t help but smile as well.

“That’s right. We still got this. This is just the beginning.” “We’ll take back that title no matter what! We’ll be the strongest again!”

Everyone’s spirits were lifted again, but they also couldn’t help but worry about Lucy, Wendy, and Carla. They had made it into the games, but at the cost of replacing two teammates. But there was nothing they could do at that moment. They could only focus on what lay ahead.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Team Fairy Tail sat in their waiting room under the seats of the coliseum. Outside, they could hear the crowd cheering, clearly excited and eager for the games. “They’re pretty loud, aren’t they,” Erza said, glancing at the door. “Well, wizards from all over Fiore come to watch the games, and this year’s a lot different from the previous ones.”

Natsu was looking in the mirror at his outfit, frowning. “Why do we need to wear these uniforms? Purple’s lame to begin with.” “Do you want to tell the master you think they’re lame? I’m sure he’d love to hear that.” “I don’t see why you’re complaining. I think they’re adorable.”

“It’s not exactly the color for me,” Elfman commented, holding a small, purple dress with just his fingers. The outfit was clearly way too tiny for the mountain that was the Strauss brother.

Next to him stood Della, her back to the group as she had on the outfit that was meant for Lucy. It fit her fine, except for the chest area. She didn’t dare turn around without holding the built in bra close to her, her breasts unable to fill it. It also didn’t help that her scars were on display for her team to see. “The color’s fine for me, but…” The blonde muttered, turning to look at the bigger man.

The fire wizard turned and burst out laughing at the state of his team members. He was just lucky Della was holding her chest, so she couldn’t roundhouse kick him. “Maybe you can wear it like a sock?” Gray suggested. However, the takeover wizard didn’t respond. His shoulders fell, a saddened look taking over his face.

“She should be the one here with you guys. Not me.” The team was silent and the shadow mage looked down at her outfit, thinking the same of herself. Lucy was the one who deserved to be in this room.

“Are they okay? Where did you find them?” Natsu had slammed the door open and hurried in, the rest of his team behind him. Happy had found the Fairy Tail team in the coliseum and informed them they found the girls and they were in the infirmary. Whatever emotions they were feeling for the games were gone and they followed the flying cat to the infirmary.

Inside the room were multiple beds. Wendy and Carla in one bed and Lucy in the one next to them. All three were unconscious.

“They were in the castle gardens. They wouldn’t wake up, so the guards let us take them here. From what it looked like, Lucy was trying to protect them.”

The fire wizard clenched his fist and looked at the girls, his anger barely containable. Wendy shifted slightly, everyone perking up as she opened her eyes. “Hey, you with us?” “Natsu…”

Della brushed some of her hair back, trying to keep her calm. “Do you know what happened?” “No…it’s a blur…I know Lucy met with us at the gardens, but after…” The sky dragon winced, the others panicking slightly.

“What’s wrong?” “She’s suffering from magic deficiency syndrome.” The wizards looked up and saw a familiar face, her hair in her normal high bun.

“Porlyusica? What are you doing here?” “I came for support in the games, but I got word about some members being found unconscious, so I came to offer my medical expertise.” The older woman walked over and kneeled next to the little girl, placing her hand on her forehead.

“Ma’am, what’s magic deficiency syndrome? You mentioned it when you came in.” “It’s a condition where your physical strength is weakened, which is caused by magic depletion. These girls had all their magic power sucked out. With plenty of bedrest, she’ll be fine,” the healer reassured them. “Who did this to you?” Natsu spoke, growling slightly.

Wendy whimpered, trying to remember. “I don’t remember much, but…I do remember a small, black creature.” She shuddered and began to tear up, turning to lay on her side. “I’m so sorry. I trained so hard, only to let you guys down. I’m useless now.” She went quiet for a moment before calling for Elfman. “Win for me, Elfman. Take my place and win it for me.”

The large man was taken aback, but gave a smile. “You got it. You can count on me.”

Della went around the bed and to Lucy, shaking her a little. “Lucy…?” She whispered, tearing up herself. The healing mage went and put a hand on her shoulder. “She’s not waking up any time soon. Being older and having more experience, she had a lot of magic, so she lost a lot more. You’ll have to take her place.”

The blonde looked up, her eye wide. “I-I can’t! I wouldn’t last out there and my shadow make-” “Della.” She turned to see her team looking at her, smiles on their faces. “You got us through the preliminary. We wouldn’t have made it at all if not for you.” “But we got eighth place…” “So? Like you said, we’ll get back on top, we have enough time!”

Seeing the determination on their faces calmed the shadow mage down, nodding and wiping her tears. “Yeah. Let’s win this. For Wendy and for Lucy.”

“Why don’t we just use a ColorS to change your jacket for now? So we don’t have to wait for someone else to make the clothes for you?” Erza suggested as she pulled out a small, pink contraption. The takeover wizard looked up and thought for a moment before nodding. “That would be best for right now, I suppose.”

The redhead took the jacket that lay next to the man and used the magical object to change it to purple. After she did so, she turned to the other girl in the room. “Onto you now, Della. Your cape might be the best to change-” “You are

not

touching my cape.”

The team all froze, shocked at Della’s sudden seriousness, as well as defying Erza of all people. “We can change it back after the games, it’s no big-” “Did you not hear me? Don’t touch my goddamn cape.” The boys were now trembling, scared for the shadow mage as she was daring to challenge Titania. But surprisingly, she didn’t seem upset with her teammate, throwing her hands up in defeat. “Alright, I understand. But Master wants us to wear uniforms, so what do you propose?”

“Elfman, give me that dress.” The blonde demanded, which the male complied, handing it to her. She grabbed it with one hand and began unzipping her top. “You three better look away, unless you want to lose an eye.” Gray and Elfman obeyed, with the bigger male having to hold Natsu’s head away to make sure he didn’t peep. The woman then quickly changed into Wendy’s dress. It was very tight, the chest thankfully stretchy enough to keep her breasts concealed. The skirt only flowed to the intersection of her hip and thigh, but that’s what the shorts she thankfully had om were for.

“There, I’m in uniform and I can still wear my cape without altercations.” “Oh, Della, you look so cute in that dress! It’s small, but it fits you perfectly!” Erza pulled the girl into a hug and rested her companion’s head on her own chest, bursting with joy. Della only whined and gave a loose hug back.

“Can we get out there now? I’m fired up already!” The fire wizard jumped out of his teammate’s grasp and hurried to the door, bouncing like a child, ready to go out. “Yes, I think we’re ready.”

The team left their waiting room and made their way to the entrance into the coliseum, stopping just before the threshold into the fighting grounds. “You think that person who attacked Wendy and Lucy will be in the games as well?” Natsu suddenly asked, saying what was on everyone’s mind. “It’s a good possibility, but you have to wonder if they did it to weaken our team or some other reason,” Gray put his hands in his pockets as he spoke, looking to the entrance as the announcer came on the loudspeaker.

“Eyes on the prize, guys. Winning the games is the best way to get revenge for all three of them,” Elfman reminded them, the other four wizards nodding.

“Now, it’s time to meet our competitors!” “That’s our cue.” With a nod from the team, they began walking to the entrance.

“In eighth place, a wild bunch of wizards who are ready to get back on top by force, who could be considered old school. All the way from Magnolia, it’s Fairy Tail!” The announcer, Chapati Lola, declared as the team reached the end, Natsu putting his fist up like he had already won. Immediately, they were met with boos and resistance, shocking the wizards apart from Della. She just looked ahead, ignoring the yelling.

“Securing a spot in the prelims wasn’t easy, but they managed to do it, even after losing every year! Will the return of the Tenrou team, along with the Shadow Goddess herself, help them become the greatest guild again?” The crowd didn’t seem to think so, still booing and yelling about how other guilds were going to beat them and how they were going to lose.

“You got this, kiddos! Show them what Fairy Tail is made of!” Yajima, another announcer, as well as an old friend of Fairy Tail, cheered them on from the press box. Also cheering them on was the Fairy Tail guild themselves, sitting in the booth meant for contestants and their guilds to have a better view of the arena. Della couldn’t help but smile as she saw the faces of all those she grew up with when the Tenrou Team was gone. It made her feel more confident in representing her guild.

However, there was one person who stuck out to her, given how her team looked when they saw her as well. “Who’s that? Do we know her?” The shadow mage asked, glancing at Erza as she was the one who pointed the girl out to them. “That is Master Mavis, the first master. She’s the reason we survived the attack on Tenrou. But how she’s here, I don’t know…” The redhead explained, followed by the fire wizard saying, “Master Mavis is even here to cheer us on, that’s amazing!” Made sense he could hear with his dragon senses.

The announcer went back to introducing the follow-up guilds, seventh place going to a guild called Quatro Cerberus, which was founded by another friend of Makarov’s, as well as an ex-Fairy Tail member Goldmine. In sixth place was Mermaid Heel, a guild that was unknown until recent years. Their defining trait was the fact they only accepted female wizards. That was everything Della knew, anyway.

Fifth place was Blue Pegasus, yet another guild whose master was once in Fairy Tail and close friends with Makarov, followed by fourth place, which was Lamia Scale, which Della only knew because Gray’s former training mate was in it, along with the 5th strongest wizard in all of Fiore, Jura.

“That’s a new girl,” Natsu commented as the pink-haired girl tripped. “She’s Shelia, one of Sherry’s cousins. Can’t say I know much else,” the shadow mage lied as she looked away, wondering when she'd let her magic be revealed. She could already tell just from feeling her power alone. Shelia got back up and dusted herself off before looking up at the god slayer, giving her a knowing smile, meaning she knew who she was as well.

“Don’t forget our agreement, Gray.” Lyon, Gray’s aforementioned former training mate, came over to the Fairy Tail team with a smirk. “If we win, Juvia becomes a member of Lamia Scale.” “I’m sorry, Gray did what?” Della looked at the ice wizard, who gave a smirk as well. “I never agreed to that, not that it matters. You guys are going to lose.” “We’ll see about that.”

A small debacle broke out as Blue Pegasus also got involved, wanting to take Erza if they won, as well as Wendy, not realizing she wasn’t there. Strangely enough, no one wanted the shadow god slayer, which she definitely didn’t know why. It’s not like she gave off a dark aura, right?

However, it quieted down as soon as Chapati announced who came in third place. Raven Tail, a dark guild turned legal guild just recently who happened to be headed by Makarov’s son, Ivan. Just in time for the games. Della looked at the group, her eye fixated on the little monkey that sat on the blue bird’s shoulder. “I’m sensing cancellation magic from that guy. We should be careful,” she warned as they walked over to the Fairy Tail team.

“Hello, Fairy Tail. I trust your friends are recovering well?” Those words from Alexei struck a nerve, pretty much confirming what Della suspected, along with the little monkey turning their head into Wendy’s and pretending to pass out. The fire wizard growled as he glared daggers into the members of Team Raven Tail. “We’re going to make you regret hurting them,” he grumbled while the man in the suit just chuckled.

“Hold on, we still have two more teams who made it into the games! Our first place runner is...oh wow! What are the odds! This year’s games just got a whole lot more interesting!”

The guilds looked to the incoming team, the crowd giving loud gasps as they saw who the remaining guild was.

“It’s Fairy Tail Team B!” Chapati announced with enthusiasm, Della perking up as she met eyes with the wizard in front.

“Big Sis!? “Gajeel!?” “Juvia!?” “And Laxus!?” “Wait, how is this even possible! And how is Mystogan here!?”

The shadow mage smiled a little. She didn’t doubt they would make it into the games, but the craziness of Wendy and Lucy’s disappearance and her taking the celestial wizard’s place made her forget the guild did put in two teams.

“Sorry for the confusion folks. We’ve recently implemented new rules, which Mr. Yajima will now explain.” “Thank you, Chapati. The Grand Magic committee allowed for each guild to enter two teams, to make things more exciting. However, based on the confusion, it seems Fairy Tail made use of this rule. I wouldn’t expect anything less.

Master Makarov let out a hearty, yet sort of evil, laugh. “How do you like that!? That’s how we do things, baby!”

The announcers openly discussed about how this rule seemed unfair in case of team battles, but ultimately came to the conclusion that it was fine. They did get two teams into the game out of over a hundred guilds.

Natsu didn’t seem happy about the rule, though, and bickered with Gajeel. Despite the fact they were in the same guild, they were clearly enemies while they participated in the games.

While the dragon slayers yelled back and forth, Della turned her attention to the large man with blond hair, a familiar lightning scar on his right eye. She walked up to him and looked up, staring him square in the eye. “Hello, Laxus.”

The blond looked down at the shorter woman, a little confused, before his eyes suddenly widened as it clicked for him. “Wait a minute…you’re-” He was cut off by the mage putting her hand out to him, still looking him in the eye. “I’m Della Zabel. Surprised you recognized me. A lot has changed, but I want to let you know I hold no grudge. After the games, I’m willing to be friends.”

The lightning wizard looked between her hand and her eye before smirking and taking it, shaking it. His smirk had more playfulness behind it, not what she remembered from their last encounter. It was a welcomed change. “May the best team win.” “Right back at you, kid.”

After the handshake, Laxus noticed Erza and another member that was making an appearance, Mystogan, talking. “I’m gonna go handle them. Good luck out there.” With that, the blond left to butt into their conversation. Gajeel shot her a worried look, but she gave him a reassuring one, even giving a smile.

However, her smile was wiped from her face as soon as Chapati came back on the loudspeaker. “Last, but certainly not least, we have the first place team!” The crowd erupted into screams of joy, cheering the guild’s name as everyone’s attention turned to the final entrance, reserved for the first place winners.

“That’s right! You know them, you love them! The most powerful guild in all of Fiore! Give it up for the one, the only, Sabertooth!”

The team all stepped out into the open, Sting in front with his arms up and a giant, cocky smile on his face. Right next to him, his face as stoic as ever, walked Rogue, along with the other 3 teammates, Rufus, Orga, and another member that the shadow mage didn’t know. Della’s eye narrowed as the Sabertooth guild walked closer to the wizards crowded together in the middle of the coliseum. She noticed the woman in white, remembering that Sting had said “M’lady” wasn’t participating this year.

The blonde gave a silent prayer that she wasn’t. She didn’t need any more pressure than she already did.

Rogue’s eyes were fixated on the iron dragon slayer, who immediately sensed it and got pissed off. “You got a reason for staring, pretty boy?” He commented, his sister stifling a laugh as the black-haired male glanced away and crossed his arms, not answering him.

“We have an impressive group of wizards this year! Any comment on our lineup, Mr. Yajima?” “Mermaid Heel makes me pine for my youth, that’s for sure.” “Um, well…anyway, we’ve kept everyone waiting long enough! Let’s go over the official schedule for this year’s tournament!”

A giant stone came out of the ground with writing on it, marked for seven days. Every day had question marks, not revealing the actual event, but days one through four had question marks plus “battle” afterwards, with day four having a tag battle. Day 1 had the first event marked, which was something called ‘Hidden.’

Chapati then went over the schedule. Every day had a contest, in which the guilds could choose who would participate and then be ranked first through eighth, with points given based on rank. Battles would then commence, with the fans giving suggestions on who would fight whom and the game organizers having the final say. Victors take all the points and losers get none, with draws being given half points to each contestant.

With the rules out of the way, the first contest called Hidden could begin. The teams gathered together to choose who would be going out to participate.

“It’s too bad Wendy’s not here. The name seems to be a clue that we should use stealth.” Erza observed, watching as the teams picked out their choices. “Why not Della, then? She can use her shadow form and easily win us the game!” Natsu suggested, which the blonde immediately shot down. “I’m the only person who can do that aside from Rogue, but he’s not in the game, so they would probably keep that off limits. I’m good with stealth outside shadow form, but my immense power would be a dead giveaway.”

“I’ll do it, I could use the warm-up!” “Elfman, we’re supposed to use stealth, you’re too big,” the shadow mage also shot down.

Gray looked over at Lamia Scale and noticed Lyon would be representing them, so he got the bright idea to choose himself. The others seemed hesitant, but it was only the first day. Gray couldn’t do too badly either, right?

Gray’s involvement immediately got Juvia’s ears burning, so she volunteered as well. “Don’t throw the fight for your boyfriend. Got it?” Gajeel grumbled, making the ice wizard from Fairy Tail irritated at his phrasing.

The participants were selected, and Chapati relayed them back for the crowd to know who was up.

“
From Quatro Cerberus, Yaeger!

“
From Mermaid Heel, Beth Vanderwood!

“
From Raven Tail, Nalpudding!

“
From Blue Pegasus, Eve Tilm!

“
From Sabertooth, Rufus Lore!

“
From Lamia Scale, Lyon Vastia!

“
From Fairy Tail A, Gray Fullbuster!

“
And from Fairy Tail B, Juvia Lockser!
”

The guilds began to move off the guild, but Della stayed for a moment. She placed a hand on Gray's shoulder, making him look at her, confused.

“Be careful with Rufus. Sabertooth is more than just brute strength, especially him. Keep your eye out for him.” The wizard smirked and put his hand on hers, patting it. “I got this, Della. Don’t worry. I’ll win this, for you, Lucy and Wendy, and all of Fairy Tail.”

The blonde gave a small smile and nodded. “Good luck.”

With that, she hurried off the field to catch up with her team as the first contest of the Grand Magic Games commenced.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Della stood at the end of the hallway that led out into the arena. She was taking deep breaths, but her heart continued to race.

Hidden had just wrapped up, and both Fairy Tail guilds were dead last.

The game required them to find another person among a sea of fakes, then successfully land an attack to get a point. Raven Tail had been going after Gray the entire time, always getting the jump on him. Due to being distracted by Nalpudding, no one realized Rufus was hiding, and he got the jump on all the teams with his Memory Make, getting 7 points in one go and ending the game.

Now it was almost time for the 1v1 battles, and Della was up against Flare Corona from Raven Tail. She was not taking it well in the slightest.

Raven Tail showed they were willing to play dirty. They took out Lucy and Wendy right before the prelims, then they went after just Gray, as well as Juvia if she was around. It was well within the rules, but it still showed their true goal of just humiliating Fairy Tail.
Now the shadow god slayer was up against them, alone, with no one to help her. No amount of her training would be enough if they just used underhanded tactics once again.

Gray was humiliated and ridiculed because of them. Della couldn’t afford to do the same.

The woman was so far in her head that she didn’t hear the footsteps coming up to her. They stopped in front of her, and a hand was placed on her shoulder. “Della.”

She snapped her head up and was met with brown eyes - the same ones that encouraged and reassured her before the Sky Labyrinth. “Er-Erza. I’m sorry, I was just-” “Thinking about the fight?”

The blonde didn’t try to hide it and just nodded, looking down. “I’m scared, Erza. They attacked Wendy and Lucy, they only went after Gray and humiliated him. What’s stopping them from using some other tactic to win the fight now?”

The redhead squeezed the woman’s shoulder, making her stop her rambling. “You got this, Della. You’re going to go out there and kick their butt and win us those 10 points. Okay?” “But what if they cheat, that bird guy has cancellation magic; he can easily stop any attack-” “Then it will prove what we know. That you are strong and you can take Flare out easily. They got scared. Remember that.”

The two women looked into each other’s eyes, Della still worried. “If I don’t win, we won’t get the points and the crowd-” “This is only the first day. No matter what, we will come back from any setback. We always do.” Erza gave a smile, one that shone with belief and conviction. Della couldn’t help but smile back, her teammate’s words filling her with determination.

The blonde nodded, standing up straight as she felt her heart slow down. “I got this,” she whispered, her friend nodding.

“Welcome back, folks! We will now be starting the battles for today, starting with our first lineup!” Chapati’s voice rang over the loudspeaker, getting the women’s attention. Erza patted her guildmate’s shoulder, giving her more encouragement. “Good luck.”

With a nod, the shadow mage started off down the hall to the coliseum as the announcer’s voice filled the arena once more.

“For our very first fight of the Grand Magic Games, we have a very powerful duo! From Fairy Tail A, the Shadow Goddess herself, Della Zabel!”

Della walked into the arena, boos and ridicules being thrown at her, but she tuned them out. Anyone could see the determination in her eye.

“Our goddess will be going up against Raven Tail’s Crimson Intensity, Flare Corona!”

As the woman walked into the sunlight, Della couldn’t help but tense up at her creepy eyes, boring into her like she could see her innermost secrets.

“I want carnage, Della! You hear me!?” Master Makarov yelled from the balcony, the mage nodding without taking her eye off her opponent.

“Competitors, step forward!” The pumpkin mascot, Mato, stood in the middle as the ladies walked toward him, their eyes glued to each other.

“The entire arena is your battlefield! You have a 30 minute time limit; knocking out your opponent or making them forfeit within the time limit means you are the winner!” Mato explained, the women nodding to acknowledge his words.

“30 minutes is plenty of time,” Flare giggled, tilting her head. “I’m not losing to you, got it, creep?” Della declared, her eye narrowing.

“I want a good clean fight. Now, begin!”

A gong was sounded and Della wasted no time.

“Shadow Make: Arrows!” The blonde lifted her cape enough to create a large shadow under her, allowing arrows to shoot out towards Flare. She managed to dodge them, but the shadow mage quickly shot off another spell. “Shadow Make: Chain!” She grabbed the end of her shadows from her last attack and made them form one big shadow, turning them into a chain with a cuff at the end. However, her challenger’s hair unraveled and blocked the attack as fire came off the strands. The chain burned away quickly, making Della let go and jump back so she wouldn’t be burned.

Before Flare could do anything more, her contender had vanished. A shadow on the ground zipped toward her and circled around her, whipping into the air before it turned back into Della, a smirk on her face. “Shadow God’s Strike!” She roundhouse kicked the redhead with her leg covered in darkness, sending her flying across the ground. She landed on her hands and knees, her cape flowing down elegantly as she watched her foe.

“Did she say Shadow God!?” Juvia questioned, her teammate Gajeel smirking. “Della’s gotten a lot stronger. She has more magic energy, meaning she can use God Slaying more frequently. This battle will end in no time.”

Laxus looked at the iron dragon, then back at the woman below before smirking as well.

“Hair Shower: Wolf Fang!” Flare’s hair grew longer and formed the upper half of a wolf, teeth and all, and sent it right towards her contender. She allowed it to get closer before launching herself in the air, the wolf barely missing her, as shadows formed in her hands. “Shadow Make: Sword!” In quick movements, she cut between the intersection that connected the beast with its master before slicing the animal to bits, landing feet first.

“You…cut my hair! You bitch!” The woman let out a scream and dug her hair into the ground. It was too fast for her to dodge, so Della got caught by her ankles and dragged across the ground in circles, her cape taking most of the bruntwork, but still gaining scrapes herself.

“Your shadows have nothing on my luscious locks,” Flare giggled as she stopped dragging the blonde. “We’ll see about that. Shadow Make: Chain!” A beam of shadows shot out of her hand and grabbed the redhead’s wrist, turning into a chain. In no time, the ladies were throwing each other around in the air, Flare’s hair turning into fire and burning her foe.

They finally let go of the other and they both fell to the ground.

“Holy moly, what a match! The girls aren’t giving the crowd a chance to catch their breaths! No one’s backing down from this father-son guild matchup!”

Della shifted before grimacing, noticing the smoke coming from her ankles. Moving her cape, she saw that the boots she'd been wearing were burned away, clinging to her as the embers burned. Flare giggled as she got back up. “Aw, did I burn your little feetsies with my beautiful red hair? Is that why you can’t stand up?” She cackled more, but was immediately stopped when her opponent stood up.

“I never liked boots to begin with, I’m more of a sandal gal. But I wanted to give these to Lucy after the games since she really liked them. What a waste,” Della muttered as she took the boots off, tossing them away before standing up straight as if the burns barely mattered.

Flare couldn’t believe it. Her hair barely did anything to the shadow mage. Yeah, judging by her eye and the glimpses she’d caught of her scars, she showed she’d been through pain before, but fire? She could withstand her scorching hair?

The redhead growled before letting out a scream and digging her hair into the ground. Della stood her guard, glancing around. “Hey, are you trying to go for my feet? That won’t work, I’ve handled pain worse than your stupid fire!”

Even with that declaration, she couldn’t help but feel scared. Her reflexes were fast, but so was her foe’s hair. The crowd began to become impatient as Della noticed Flare’s face, her expression dark as she pointed over to the Fairy Tail booth. Glancing over, she felt her fire magic coming from it, her eye widening when she saw the tiniest sliver of red hair waving next to the littlest member, Asuka.

“Shadow God’s B-” Before she could finish her spell, the fire mage wrapped her hair around the woman’s mouth and flung her across the field.

“You could’ve dodged that!” “Come on, Della, what happened!” “Della, come on!”

The blonde sat up on her knees, recovering from the sneak attack, as Flare giggled. “I’d be quiet if I were you. Otherwise, the girl might not live to see another day,” she whispered with an evil smile, freezing her opponent in place. This is what she was afraid of. She knew Raven Tail had a dirty trick up their sleeve, but to bring in a bystander? That was the lowest of blows.

“I could end the baby fairy’s life right now if I wanted to. But I won’t,” the redhead giggled, her hair coming back out of the ground apart from that small bit next to the little girl. “Keep your mouth shut and your body still. All magic stays to yourself. Any disobeying and the little one’s life is snuffed like a candle.

“Now, be a good little bimbo and take your punishment with a smile, hmm?”

With that, the Raven Tail wizard began whipping her contender, fire sparking with each whip, cackling at the looks of pain and agony that came from the blonde. The sparks caused holes to be burned into her cape, but there was nothing she could do.

“Is she already out of magic? What’s happening?” Mirajane asked worriedly, looking to where Gajeel was standing, only to find him gone. “What the- where did he go?” Laxus asked, confused, the rest of Fairy Tail B also wondering where the iron dragon went.

Continuing her attacks, Flare grabbed her foe by her waist and flung her around, hitting the ground every so often before sliding across the ground, a giant hole being ripped into her cape.

Elfman stepped forward and grabbed the balcony. “COME ON, DELLA! GET UP!” He yelled at his teammate, though he could feel something was off.

“You can do it, Del-Del!” Asuka’s voice reached Della’s ear, making her look over at the little girl. She wanted nothing more than to stand up, to cast a spell that would take Flare out immediately. But she wouldn't be fast enough. She was good at dodging quickly, not fighting quickly. She wouldn’t be fast enough and Asuka would die.

She couldn’t let a child die because of her weakness.

Flare’s hair became engulfed in flames and began whipping at the blonde again, the impacts becoming more excruciating. A whip even hit her eyepatch, which burned away as if it were nothing.

‘Gray. Erza. Wendy and Lucy. Forgive me, please.’ Della sat up enough to look at her opponent, her determined look now gone. “Alright. I surren-” Red hair immediately wrapped around her mouth once more, shutting her up while throwing her back onto the ground.

“I thought I said no talking, blondie. You forget the rules? How dare you defy me!”

Flare’s hair wrapped around Della’s wrists and ankles, holding her up in the air as her screams were muffled. “No surrender just yet. Not when I have so many things to try! Remember, no talking, but screaming and crying are allowed,” she giggled as she removed her hair from her mouth.

Whispers came over the crowd as a strand of hair glided across her body. “Maybe peeling these clothes off would be fun, they do look awfully tight. It’d be better to breathe then, right? There’s also your silly cape. You’ve been wearing it this whole time and it’s so tattered. Might as well burn the whole thing, right?

“But I’m feeling artistic, and the perfect canvas? Your body.” The hair that was gliding over her body had split into two strands, with one forming the Raven Tail emblem, fire consuming it as a means to burn into her skin.

She flung the fire around as the other strand lifted her cape to look for a place to mark it. She was flinging her hair around so much that it hit the ends of the cape, leaving more burn holes. “Hm, where’s the perfect place…” She clicked her tongue before realizing her eyepatch was missing, some hair covering her missing eye, but the redhead knew better.

“I know! Why not over that left eye of yours? It’s the perfect cover up and so much prettier than a white eyepatch! A souvenir to have for the rest of your life!” “No, not there! Leave my eye alone!” Della screamed. She had lost all courage at that point, resorting back to the little girl she once was. The heat from her hair combined with her inability to move brought her back to that lonely bed in the infirmary. She could almost feel her scars burn as well.

“I said be quiet, bimbo!” “Please, not there, I’m begging you!”

“Something is really off, my man-senses can feel it,” Elfman said as the flaming hair got closer, a single strand moving the blonde’s hair out of her face to get to her eye better. Erza then noticed then it was just her and the takeover wizard as she looked around. “Where did Natsu go?”

Just then, Gajeel and Natsu entered the Fairy Tail booth. Gajeel grabbed the red hair next to Asuka and pulled on it, allowing Natsu to grab the other end and burn it away. “She was trying to protect Asuka!” The pink-hair man said, letting the fire die down. “We heard every word she said!” The red-eyed man also said, looking at his rival/friend with gratitude.

The two dragon slayers then went to the balcony, screaming out to their guildmate. “YOU’RE IN THE CLEAR, DELLA!” They yelled in unison as Flare’s hair came back out of the ground, the end burned off.

The blonde nodded and moved her attention to her foe’s shadow. “Shadow God’s Bind!” Tendrils came out of the shadow and grabbed Flare’s wrists, as well as her hair, canceling the magic flowing through it and making it release her. “Thanks, Gajeel. Thanks, Natsu,” she whispered as she untied her cape, throwing it to the side. The men in the crowd all whistled and hollered at the woman’s attire, but she shut them out, focusing on her opponent in front of her.

“Shadow God’s Erebus!” The shadow below Della widened and connected with Flare’s before beams of darkness shot out towards the sky, hitting the redhead in the process.

The blonde then rushed the woman, her hands and legs being taken over by shadows as darkness radiated off her. “SHADOW GOD’S DAGGERS! SHADOW GOD’S STRIKE! SHADOW MAKE: MACE!” Punches followed by kicks followed by a mace to the head, the woman shot off one spell after another, her opponent unable to fight back, but refusing to go down.

The mage launched herself into the air, almost above the arena, as the shadows from the crowd began floating up towards their master. “GOD SLAYER’S SECRET ART!” A ball of shadows formed in her hand, growing larger and larger as the shadows below joined it.

“Wh-what kind of spell is that!?” Flare screamed, terror lacing her voice as she looked up with fear in her eyes. The magic power was immense and it only grew as the ball of shadows did until it was the size of the arena.

“IZANAMI’S DARKNESS!”

Della threw the ball down towards the arena, the sky darkening as it hurdled towards the earth. Everyone looked on in anticipation, waiting for something to happen, only for the shadows to dissipate, vanishing into thin air right before hitting the ground.

The dirt began to settle as the sun came back out, showing Flare completely unscathed. Even her shackles were gone. Della began falling back to the ground, feeling the presence of cancellation magic. “Someone…countered the spell…” she muttered as she reached the dirt below, unable to catch herself due to being completely out of power.

The blonde saw Flare look at her team and smile, realizing what happened. The bird guy from Raven Tail had canceled her attack. A spell she spent months perfecting, gone like that.

“I was expecting something more bombastic for a spell that managed to erase sunlight, but the spell was a dud! Any comment, Mr. Yajima?” Chapati let out a squeak of fear immediately after, meaning something was frightening up in the press box. Likely Yajima’s pissed off expression.

Della tried to get up, but her arms shook and she fell again. “And she’s down! That’s it for our Shadow Goddess, which means the winner of this round is Flare Corona!” The crowd cheered as the fire mage got up, smirking at the blonde and even giggling a little.

As she laid there, listening to the crowd ridicule her and her foe taunt her, the mage couldn’t help but start to cry. She put everything into that attack, all of her magic and energy, only for Raven Tail to cheat and cancel it out before it could take out Flare. There was nothing she could do now. She lost, and in the worst way possible.

Footsteps walked onto the field toward the woman, stopping just behind her. “Hey now. No crying.” Erza’s voice spoke as she kneeled next to her teammate. “I…I’m not…” she croaked out, but not bothering to hide her tears.

“Well, either way, don’t beat yourself up,” the redhead stood up and put her hand out to her as her companion sat up, letting her hair fall in front of her face. “You were amazing, Della. You proved yourself, not just as a Fairy Tail wizard, but as a God Slayer. Remember, it’s only the first day. We still have four more days to make up all those points.”

The blonde looked up at her teammate, who gave her the same smile as before, filled with conviction. But still, even though she knew Raven Tail cheated, she couldn’t help but be upset. It was only now that Rogue popped into her mind. He was surely watching the whole thing, and it made her feel even worse. How she held her own, only to fail and be humiliated. They cheated, yeah, but that meant nothing to people like Sabertooth.

Rogue probably enjoyed watching her get beaten like he did back then.

Della took Erza’s hand and pulled herself up with her help, wincing slightly at her burns. “I need a shower,” she muttered as she limped off the field with the requip mage.

As she walked, she couldn’t help but glance at the Sabertooth booth. Rufus, Orga, and the white-haired girl looked mostly bored, while Sting had his arrogant smirk, which widened when he caught her looking. However, the shadow dragon was nowhere to be seen and she couldn’t feel his magic in that direction.

Whatever, she didn’t have time to think about that. She shouldn’t care anyway. She was going to get her chance to beat him, without outside help to counter her attack.

She was going to prove how much stronger she was than him.