Everyone in the guild was taking, fighting, or arguing animatedly. It had been three years since their favorite pink haired trouble maker had left. The one most affected by his absence wasn't actually Happy, it was Lucy. She sighed and took another sip from her drink. She had moved to the bar in an attempt to evade the current brawl Gray had started in Juvia's honor. It was friggin ridiculous to the celestial mage, but who cares? Juvia was happy, so it's all good. That's when the guild doors flew open. Heavy, clanking footsteps, clanking armor, and the rattle of chains was all that could be heard in the now silent guild hall. Everyone was silent because this stranger had more magical power than Lady Brandish did. Simply put, the entire guild was scared shitless.

"I wish to see your master." The figure requested.

"Only guild members can make that request I'm afraid." Mira smiled gently.

"Really?" The figure said, unconvinced.

"What made you think otherwise?" Mira asked kindly.

"I heard that the master of Fairy Tail was kind and welcoming to all who didn't threaten his family." The figure replied, with what could be assumed to be a shrug.

"I am child, what guidance do you require from me?" Makarov asked.

"I came to ask you something in private, but it seems I'm not trusted. I'll be taking my leave then." The figure began to turn for the door.

"Wait child, I apologise, yes let's go to my office." Makarov said, hoping to regain any lost goodwill.

"That would be nice, thank you." The figure said, turning into smoke, then reappearing by Makarov.

The two went into Makarov's office and the door quietly clicked shut.

Loke, who had become Lucy's boyfriend in the second year of Natsu's disappearance, appeared next to her.

"I don't trust that guy, he seems dangerous." Loke growled.

"Down boy." Lucy sighed, why are all of the guys in this guild idiots?

She then realized that she was blind enough to forgive Natsu's idiocy. She snorted to herself in exasperation.

Ten minutes passed, the two men were still talking, quietly so that their dragon slayers couldn't listen in all that well. Gajeel kept saying that Makarov was in no danger of harm, Wendy did as well. Lucy knew that this guy meant no harm as well, how? She had no clue. It's just something about him was vaguely familiar, like the warmth Natsu had, only more measured and less constant.

Ten more minutes passed, the two walked out of the room.

"Gray, Erza, Laxus, Gajeel, Lucy, Cana, and Jellal, you are to fight this man. Should you win, he will reveal his identity to all of you, and I can guarantee that it is the single greatest thing that will happen to all of you." Makarov said.

The man dropped the cloak he was wearing. A red suit of armor, vaguely reminiscent of a dragon, was what was underneath the cloak. The sword seemed to be absorbed by the armor and then it came out of his knuckles on the right arm. The armor seemed to have a glow in the orange spheres placed around it. Loke immediately paled at the sight of the armor.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"That armor, it's a forbidden art, called role breaker. It allows a mage to break all rules in magic and cast all types of it, no matter how forbidden or powerful the spell. For example that man could use Nirvana if he wanted." Loke answered in a strangled tone.

Lucy's eyes widened at Loke's answer. This guy was that powerful, then again it made sense, he had more power than Brandish did. Lucy shrugged, she would be fighting him, so any information she could get in this enigma was helpful. Lucy got up, only to nearly fall. She was caught by a metal gauntlet.

"Clumsy as always." She heard the man mutter.

"I'm not clumsy!" She yelled at him, yanking her arm from his grasp.

He went silent at her outburst, then just turned to smoke.

"I'll be waiting in the forest for all of you. Yes, it will be all of you versus me, guild members should stay here and enjoy the lacrima show." He said, then fully disappeared.

"He said you were clumsy?" Erza finally asked.

"No, he said clumsy as always." Lucy huffed.

The entire guild erupted at that one comment. Lucy had never felt so stupid in her life. Only one person ever called her clumsy, and that was a certain blue flying cat's friend. She wanted to commit suicide for not picking up on that hint, in fact she almost did, but the drive to see that man again overrode her sense of guilt. The team told to fight him turned out to really be a search party for their enigma.