Disclaimer: Hey guys! Firestorm40 here with a new chapter for you all. I do not own any of the characters except my own. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it. So without further ado, Enjoy!

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Palace...

"Do I really...need to wear these kinds of clothes?" Yukino asked hesitantly as she took a look at the mirror. After the battle all of the guilds departed to get ready for the party hosted by the king.

"Yeah! They look great on you." Lucy smiled giving the girl a thumbs up while Wendy just stared at her with a smile of her own.

"I still feel weird wearing something this fancy..." Lexi muttered as she was wearing a purple gown.

"You both look beautiful." Mira added.

"Mira!" Lisanna wailed as her fingers fumbled with the laces on the backside. "Help me out here!" Apologizing quickly, Mira helped her younger sister into her gown and once they were ready the six girls hurried to where the Great Mage fight end party was being hosted in the giant ballroom. The air was filled with laughter as they watched the mages from the different guilds mingle together like great friends.

"To think we'd be able to set foot in the castle one day." Makarov smiled as he sat beside Yajima-san, a cup of beer in hand. "I feel like my life has been completed."

"It's good to live a long life." Yajima agreed and they tapped their cups together in cheers.

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Levy sits away from the ballroom, writing down the events and dictating that they managed to beat fate. Gajeel approaches to ask what she is doing, and Levy compliments him on his previous battle, stating that she is happy they lived.

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"Lucy!"

"Ah! Princess Hisui!" Lucy immediately wolfed down a piece of dessert she had in hand before addressing the girl, wiping her mouth with a napkin. After splitting up from the others she made her way to the buffet table to see what kinds of treats the palace had to offer.

"So it is you! From the Heartfilia concern..." Hisui smiled.

"Ahaha..." Lucy laughed as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I used to be but..."

"I was a friend of your father's. Even though he helped me out so much...I caused you all that trouble." Hisui fiddled with her dress and looked at the ground apologetically.

"I'm a guild mage!" Lucy told her. "I'm used to trouble."

"That orange haired boy isn't with you today is he." Hisui said as she looked around for the said dragon slayer.

"Now that you mentioned it, I wonder where he went off to." Lucy agreed as she also tried to spot Sora in the crowd. She wasn't the only one who noticed, the other teammates were also wondering why he and Natsu hadn't shown up.

"And not only him, Natsu isn't here as well." The princess also pointed out.

"Hmm? Oh Natsu...I wonder if she's still healing from her wounds." Lexi placed a finger to her lip in thought. "But that's not right, he and Sora have already been healed by Wendy right after the battle. What's taking them so long?"

Who would've thought that he'd invite all of us roughnecks into his castle, eh?" Bacchus laughed, then spotted Cana and grinned, "Hey, let's have another contest, okay?!"

Cana cackled wildly, "You got it!"

"Wild!" the Quatro Cerberus mages yelled.

While they went looking for the booze, Kagura and the Mermaid Heel mages walked to Erza and Jellal.

Kagura looked embarrassed, "This dress doesn't suit me..."

"Nonsense!" Arania chastised, "It fits you perfectly!"

Beth gasped, "Kagura, you look so pretty!"

"She's going to give us a run for our money, eh?" Risley laughed.

Milianna still looked down and said nothing.

Kagura stopped walking at the sight of Erza, as the redhead came walked over to her.

Erza smiled at her, "How are your wounds, Kagura?"

"I could ask you that." she said slowly.

"I know a lot has happened, but it would mean a great deal if we could be friends." Erza offered, "We are from the same town and-"

"I refuse." Kagura interrupted, but she looked nervous, "I'd prefer it if...if you could by my...big sister..."

Erza stared at her for about two seconds.

She hugged Kagura tightly, "You're just way too adorable!"

Kagura protested, "H-hey! It was a joke!"

Her friends laughed while Risley chuckled, "She's just a kid at heart, after all."

Milianna was looking at the ground with a pout.

By chance, Erza had the answer.

She caught the uneasy look from her friend sighed, "You leave me no choice."

Erza reached into her dress and pulled out...Happy and Lucas.

The blue and orange exceeds smiled and cheered, "Are ya feeling pumped?"

Milianna gasped, "Kitties!" Then she hesitated and tried to ignore it.

But Erza wasn't done. She reached in her dress again and pulled out Carla and Lily with a smile, "There's more."

Milianna stared at the cats with a desperate look, trying not to give in so easily. But when Erza pulled out Kiki in a dress, she couldn't hold back anymore and squealed, "So many kitties! Nyaa!"

Erza laughed as the girl hugged the exceeds happily, "Works every time."

Erza then looked and frowned, "Hey, where are Sora and Natsu?"

Kagura noticed too that said Dragon Slayers were in the crowd, "Now that you mention it..."

Erza glanced at Happy and Lucas, who were getting their faces squeezed by Milianna, "Happy, Lucas, where're Sora and Natsu?"

"I don't know." he said with slight pain as Milianna pulled on his cheeks.

"We haven't seen them since earlier" Lucas replied.

"Natsu! Sora!" Sting gleefully said as he held up a bottle of wine, walking around amongst the mages. "Let's have a drink!"

"Let's do this Natsu! Sora" Lecter added.

"Lionheart and Salamander isn't here." Gajeel stated as he bit into a piece of fried fish. He was totally styled up for the occasion, his usual wild black hair was sleek, tame, and pulled back into a ponytail. He was also wearing a tux.

"Whaaaat?!" Sting looked at him in shock before it changed into a hurtful expression. "And here I thought I could doing something nice for them!"

"Your plan failed huh, Sting." Lecter shrugged his shoulders with defeat. "That's too bad."

"Fro agrees." Frosch said.

"Well...come on, Gajeel!" Shrugging off the little disappointment, Sting decided to see if the Iron Dragon slayer would take the offer instead. "Let's have a drink!"

"You're a shamelessly rude bastard aren't you." was the snark reply.

"He's just a bit clumsy, so be nice to him." Lecter said.

"He's become quite cheerful."

"I've never seen Sting like that." Sting's comrades Jura and Rufus noticed the change in their leader's behavior but they smiled nonetheless.

"Let's toast to the friendship between the Fairy and Tiger!" Sting announced and he and Gajeel tapped their cups together.

"Yukino!" Frosch exclaimed suddenly, making them turn their heads to see the girl who was beside Mira and Lucy.

"I-I'm sorry..." Yukino hastily stated, turning away to exit the room as quickly as possible. "I really shouldn't have come."

"Wait!" Sting said causing her to stop. "Sorry...I didn't know you'd come. Master and Misses have gone into hiding."

"Eh?" Lucy said. It never occurred to her that Sabertooth's master and Minerva weren't present at the party but remembering what that heinous woman did to her at the games made her feel anything but compassion for her. Flare on the other hand was another matter but she made up to the Raven Tail woman.

"We'll have to start over from scratch. We'll have to rebuild Sabertooth." Yukino stayed quiet as Sing told her his thoughts. "We...We've been quite harsh to you, but...I want to make it a guild that cherishes its members."

"Why are you saying that to me?" Yukino asked in a soft voice.

"I guess I'd be asking too much if I said I wanted you to come back..." Sting said. "I mean...I hope we can ask you for your forgiveness."

"Of course!" A boisterous loud voice from across the room spoke up, catching their attention. "That's far too much!"

"Kagura!?" Yukino gasped as the leader of Mermaid Heel approached them with the rest of the ladies, a giant red blush on her face from drinking a lot.

"I'm taking care of Yukino from now on!" Kagura proclaimed, hands placed firmly on her hips. "Mermaid Heel will take Yukino! I won't take any objections!"

"What?! You're just drunk!" Sting retorted as the other Sabertooth members chimed in agreement.

"Shut up!" Kagura responded hastily, giving the man the stink-eye. "Yukino is Mermaid's!"

"Wait up! We can't let this go either." Erza spoke, her arms crossed.

"As a man." Elfman grinned as the rest of the Fairy Tail team joined up. Soon the rest of the guilds Lamia Scale, Quatro Puppy and Blue Pegasus stepped up for the challenge; hell even the guild masters started to get riled up and placed bets on their comrades. The entire palace erupted into an uproar as fists flew left and right as the mages clashed with each other over who gets to keep Yukino.

"It's nothing to cry about." Mira said as she noticed Yukino's tears.

"But...even if they're kidding, I'm so happy." The Celestial mage smiled.

"You finally smiled." Mira stated gleefully. "You're welcome in all these places."

"Yes..." Yukino agreed as they looked at what might be considered the rowdiest, largest brawl in the history of mages with smiles on their faces.

"I guess some things never change..." Lexi giggled as she watched the fighting.

"Everyone! Stop right there!" Arcadios ordered as he slammed his sword down. "His majesty will see you!" That caused the mages to look up with interest, to see what the king had to say. "He is grateful for the bravery you have shown during the mage fight and the efforts you have made to save our country from harm. His majesty will soon greet you. Pay attention."

"Your Majesty!" Asuka exclaimed with excitement while her parents smiled. As the curtains parted Lucy's eyes widened as she recognized two people striding forward to address them.

"All of you! Be at ease!" Natsu ordered as he looked at them with a massive grin on his face. "Kaaakaakakakaka!"

"Bow before your kings!" Sora said with a similar grin.

"Give those back!" The king's servants gasped when they realized that it wasn't the king at all. The entire room was speechless as they looked at them.

"We are the kings!" Natsu pronounced, raising his fists into the air with victory. "We became king!"

"King Sora and King Natsu! Rulers of Fiore!" Sora announced.

"Garou Knights, do something." Arcadios growled, his body shaking with anger.

"W-We're no match for this..." Kama stated as the rest of his teammates just shrugged their shoulders nonchalantly in agreement with their leader. They might have witnessed the duo's strength first hand but after encountering Fairy Tail, they did not want to mess with them anymore than needed.

"It's fine, we won and all!" Natsu said. "Let us be kings! You'll be our underlings ahahaha!"

Splat! Natsu frowned as he wiped away the frosting and looked at it in confusion.

"Hey, Natsu!" Lexi smirked as she held up another piece of food in her hand. "Care for a little snack? Or were you just finishing up on your boring speech?"

"Grr! How dare you throw things at your King! Alright then, you asked for this!" Natsu smiled as he jumped over the railing. "As King, I will have to punish you, personally!"

"Come and catch me then!" was the response.

"This is too much!" Lucy laughed.

Sora went up beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Yeah, but we are Fairy Tail. There's never a dull moment." 

He then held his other hand out to Lucy. "As King, may I have this dance with my Queen?"

Lucy giggled as she took his hand. "I'd be honored." 

The couple then made their was to the dance floor as the mages noisily enjoyed themselves and partied the night until the early lights of dawn.

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The next day...

"The Door to Hades...Tartaros." Jellal spoke as he and Meredy continued to find Ultear, who they hadn't came across yet. "It's one side of the Baram Alliance along with Grimoire Heart and Oracion Seis." He shuddered a bit, "I don't know what kind of info Cobra has but he'll probably try to exchange it for immunity."

"Tartaros." Meredy mumbled.

"An eery, mysterious guild. Will they make their move?" Jellal pondered.

"Hello..." The two of them looked up to see an old lady walking towards them. "Could you be Jellal and Meredy?"

"Eeh?!" The two of them gaped at her in shock; how in the world did this old lady know their names when they had their faces covered.

"I have a letter from a certain lady." The old woman spoke as she held up the parchment of paper.

"Could it be..?!" Meredy gasped as she grabbed the letter and opened it up. "It is from Ul after all!"

'Jellal, Meredy, I'm sorry. During the battle, my magic failed. Because of that, my life is hanging by a thread. But...I wanted to say goodbye no matter what...This is the end of my journey. I have to go ahead in the middle of it all, but don't forget the spirit of Crime Sorciere. That is to not forget your sins. That is to not have your sins crushes. That is to believe in a day that your sins will be forgiven. That is to never stop loving people. The true battle starts here...if we do not defeat Zeref, many mages will be stained by sorrow. Live my share of life. And fight. I hope your journey...will bring happiness to everyone.'

"Ul..." Meredy whimpered as her tears started to stain the words in the letter, her hands trembling.

"Excuse me, when did this..." Jellal turned to speak to the old lady but she was gone. He looked all around but there was no sign of her.

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On the road...

"I feel sad leaving." Lucy stated as she and the rest of the team sat inside the horse drawn carriage. After the party, all of the guilds departed back to where they belonged. She began to run her hands through Sora's hair and he placed his head in her lap.

"Luce's got magic hands..." Sora mumbled with a sleepy grin as he got comfortable.

"Bye bye Crocus!" Happy said as he waved out the back window to the town which got smaller and smaller until it was nothing but a dot on the horizon.

Lucas sat by Lucy and smiled. "Now what are we going to do about them?" He asked, gesturing to Lexi and Natsu.

"Beats me. Wendy said she couldn't use her magic because she was tired." Kiki replied.

"Ugh...I feel sick..." Natsu and Lexi both groaned as they leaned against the doors, their stomachs churning due to motion sickness.

"Then don't sit in the wagon, you idiots." Gray said with mild annoyance. "Go outside and walk, you two got legs right?"

"I feel like we've been there for a long time." Erza nodded with agreement as she rubbed Lexi's back, hoping to calm her nerves.

"So many wonderful things happened during our stay." Wendy smiled as she rubbed Carla on the head as the Exceed sat on her lap.

"That's right. But I kind of long for a shabby old bar now." The white Exceed said while the other Exceeds nodded.

"Natsu...Don't come over here!" Gray yelled as the fire dragon slayer stumbled over to his side of the carriage. "Damn it! Stay over on your side!"

"By the way, where's Jellal?" Lucy asked.

"Dunno. He's probably disappeared by now." Erza replied. "C'mere Lexi, let me take your mind off of the carriage and give you a massage."

"Urp...uugh Erza...not so hard..." Lexi groaned as she felt the knight's hands run amok all over her back, kneading the tight muscles. "Uuuuhhh...that's the spot..."

'I always cursed my own life.' Ultear thought as she watched the rowdy carriage pass her.'The anxiety, anger and hatred I couldn't suppress.' She tilted her head up to see the sunlight shining through the clouds. 'However, when I stopped to look at the sky...I realized just how small I really am. There is an endless world spreading before me.'

"Hmm?" Gray looked out the window to see an old lady smiling up towards the sky, something about her struck a familiar feeling within him.

'The light pouring down and illuminating that small me. It was almost as if that light was a shower, washing away my sins.' Ultear turned to face the carriage and smiled, knowing that Gray was looking at her. 'I was happy to have been born for the first time. I must have been happy.'

"Stop!" The ice mage roared, leaping to his feet in an instant. "Please! Stop the carriage!"

"What's the matter Gray?" The rest of the mages asked at him as he looked outside with horror.

'At the very least...' Ultear shook her head no, not wanting him to fret about her. 'I finally managed to forgive myself.'

"No..." Gray muttered as he started to cry, that splitting one-minute image of his death crossed his mind. "So it was you...you were the one...who turned back...time."

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"A magic to steal time...huh." Jellal spoke as he held Meredy tight in his arms, listening to her cry against his chest with Ultear's letter held tightly in her hands.

"Like mother like daughter..." Gray cried to himself as the others decided to leave him be, unsure on how to console him. "Why..."

'Goodbye.' Ultear thought as she silently watched the carriage disappear down the path with her old eyes. 'My beloved people.'

There you have it. Another great chapter written. Hope you all enjoyed it. I will try to update the next chapter soon. Thought I might skip around and add a lemon soon. Look foward to it. Comment on your favorite parts and don't forget to vote!

Be sure to review. Until then, see ya!!!