[X784, Fairy Tail Guild Building]
— Wendy Marvell —
It was a miracle, there was no other way to describe it.
The fact that the entire town of Magnolia and Fairy Tail had been transported into another world, turned into a giant lacrima, and fought an entire empire's worth of enemies, and came back from that relatively unscathed and alive.
It was a miracle.
Three days had passed since their return from Edolas, and Wendy still occasionally found herself waking up wondering if any of it had been real.
Well, apparently it was. Because nobody else seemed particularly bothered by it. In fact, they joked about it as if such ridiculous things happen all the time.
"Oh, remember when Gray got stuck halfway inside a wall after we turned back? How did that even happen?!"
"Who cares? That was hilarious!"
"At least he wasn't naked this time!"
The table erupted into laughter as Wendy stared. Not a one of them was the least but disturbed from what they just experienced.
How any of this was normal, she didn't know. Then again, this was the guild that got into just as strange shenanigans and viewed near-apocalyptic disasters as opportunities to throw parties.
Which was exactly what they were doing now.
The guild was buzzing with life as a party was underway, all officially welcome Panther Lily into Fairy Tail.
The former commander of the Exceed military currently sat near the bar while several guild members attempted to force increasingly ridiculous amounts of alcohol upon him.
It looked strange since his body had shrunken to adapt to Earthland's climate, and Lily looked deeply regretting his life choices.
Wendy giggled. It hadn't been that long since Wendy and Carla joined the guild, and she had heard how crazy the parties and brawls in Fairy Tail could be. But this was just insane!
There was fighting everywhere on the first floor, since it was large enough to include a large bar-like area. Across the hall, a table exploded as large cries immediately came out from the people who were there.
"Natsu!"
"That wasn't me!"
"It literally was!"
A chair immediately flew across the room that hit Max on the back and sent him sprawling to the floor. Wendy wasn't even sure who threw it. At this point she wasn't sure it mattered.
She knew Lucy and Juvia were out relaxing in the pool at the backyard, and Wendy had half a mind to join them. The quieter environment certainly sounded appealing.
But another part of her simply wanted to sit here and watch.
Her participation in the Edolas incident was the first big contribution that she had made to the guild as a member of Fairy Tail, and she was proud of it.
Thinking back, the difference between Edolas and the Oración Seis incident was almost unbelievable. During the battle against Oración Seis, she hadn't really participated much in the fighting.
The only thing she did was heal, Ichiya at first, then detoxifying the poison in Erza and Lucy's body. A completely different experience of the fight she had in Edolas.
She stood as equals to the other Dragon Slayers in this guild against the Dorma Anim. Maybe not equals exactly, considering Laxus was there, but for the first time, Wendy experienced just how destructively powerful her magic could be.
Wendy's hands unconsciously clenched beneath the table.
She fought side by side with Natsu and Laxus, who were some of the more powerful mages of Fairy Tail. Even Gajeel had his fair share of combat, decimating many of Edolas forces and even going toe to toe with the parallel version of Erza for a while.
She had contributed, the battle against the Dorma Anim proved that. Even if her role had primarily been support, her enchantments and healing had kept everyone going. Without her, things would have been much harder, and that realization filled her with warmth.
For the first time...she felt needed, beyond her regular healing abilities.
A smile tugged at her lips. The other good thing was that she finally found the Jellal that had saved her when she was young. Mystogan was his name now, and like her, he was staying in Fairy Tail for good.
Apparently, according to Master Mavis, Mystogan had initially approached the Edolas problem with a stupid idea, wanting to sacrifice himself in order for kingdom to realize that a life without magic was possible for his people.
Of course, Dannis hard vetoed that idea out of the water, and the new plan came in place of putting the other version of Dannis as king instead.
It was all so confusing and Wendy struggled to wrap her head around all the details.
What mattered was that they won, and life couldn't be better.
Her thoughts drifted then as another explosion rocked the guild, this time shattering all the bottles atop one of the tables as Max fell on top of it, groaning in pain.
"Hah! That's what you get!" Natsu said, lifting a hand bursting in flames while grinning.
Wendy looked at her own hands, noting how small they looked. It made her realize how severely lacking she was in terms of combat skills.
A Dragon was supposed to represent might, and even Laxus, who was a fake Dragon Slayer, had reached a level of power that completely boggled her mind.
She wants to achieve that level too.
She didn't want to be coddled, not after realizing that all of the friends and family she had even known turned out to be illusions, despite believing truly that they were real.
Master Roubal had raised her, helped her and Carla. She couldn't count how many times she had to run crying to the Master after waking up from a nightmare.
It made her remember how Hibiki and the others treated her back against Oración Seis, being sidelined and protected.
She had long since dreamed of being an S-Class mage, but the path to get there was arduous. What she needed was time and a teacher, something she knew either Mystogan or Dannis would be more than willing to do, should she ask.
The sound of the guild doors opening made her turn to see Gildarts come in with Cana at his side. She didn't really understand, but the fact that Cana was Gildarts' daughter had been a surprise to many, but many had chucked it off classic Fairy Tail craziness and laughed it off.
Right now, he was the only S-Class mage in the guild. Master Makarov had rushed off earlier to attend a meeting of some kind, and the others had disappeared to Mavis knows where.
Not even Erza was here who, according to Bisca, usually made sure to be present within the guild whenever the rambunctiousness grew out of hand.
And yet she was nowhere to be seen, which was probably why the guild brawl grew as bad as it did.
"You wanna say that again, flame brain?!"
"I sure do, ice breath!"
Cue another explosion to happen within the guild as Natsu and Gray immediately launched themselves at one another.
Predictably, Elfman screamed as he joined in. "MANLY!"
"Oi! Save some fighting for me!" Gajeel jumped in.
It didn't really help that Gildarts just laughed instead of breaking it all off.
"What a bunch of barbarians," Evergreen sipped her drink as she eyed everything while Bickslow chuckled beside him. The Thunder God Tribe was another team within Fairy Tail that Wendy was introduced to.
From her understanding, Dannis was actually a part of that team before something happened and he left it, creating Team Shade right after. Wendy had asked what actually happened, but people were surprisingly tight lipped about it.
That was when Elfman was launched from Natsu's punch, crashing on the Thunder God Tribe's table and sending Evergreen's drink spilling.
"Uh, sorry about that Ever…" Elfman said, rubbing his head.
Evergreen slowly stood, her eye twitched.
"Do you have any idea how long it took me to pick this dress?"
"...No?"
Green magical circles appeared around her.
Elfman paled. "Uh oh."
The barrage that followed was spectacular.
Wendy just laughed lightly at the sight of it, brightening her mood slightly.
"What's wrong, Wendy? Why the long face?"
Wendy turned to Lisanna, who remained seated on the table by one of the pillars, shielded and completely unbothered by the chaos that was happening around her.
"I'm just wondering if there's any way for me to get stronger." Wendy admitted, "I…seeing Dannis and Mystogan and Erza and Mira… Well, I was just thinking on what to do to ever be as strong as them."
"It takes a lot of trial and error to find the perfect combat style that fits you," Levy added, lounging on the seat beside them as she read a book using her gale-force reading glasses. "Aren't you already training with Dannis? I'm pretty sure his advice is sound considering he's trained at least half of the newer members of the guild."
"I am, but we only did it once." Wendy tilted his head. "I've been wanting to ask, but I haven't seen him all day."
"Ah," Levy looked up, taking the glasses off. "He did tell Team Shade to take the day off today, something about a meeting with all the S-Class mages. I wonder what it's about?"
"Not even Mystogan would tell me, when I heard about it." Lisanna added, "Or Mira-nee for that matter."
"That's odd. I'm pretty sure Master Mavis' rule of having two S-Class mages in the guild at all times should still be in effect considering we're still expecting the Balam Alliance to retaliate after taking down Oracion Seis." Levy said, tapping her chin. "But then again, that's probably why Gildarts is here instead of going out and wandering like he likes to do."
Wendy tilted her head as Levy and Lisanna continued conversing. It made her think and wonder as well. 'Just what was so important that it required all S-Class mages to be together?'
…
[X784, Martell Residence]
— Dannis Martell —
"A-Are you sure?" Erza said with a small voice, barely above a whisper. Mira was beside her in an instant, a hand on her shoulder in support.
Dannis looked up from Jellal's body.
The corpse lay peacefully upon a prepared stone platform in the center of his backyard. If one ignored the deathly pallor of his skin and the absence of breath, Jellal looked almost asleep.
"I am," Dannis replied. "With the body, it's at least possible."
"But how the hell did that even happen?" Laxus questioned, leaning against the fence that separated the yard and the patio. "His body got vaporized by the Etherion. How did Grimoire Heart save the body?"
"It has to be Ultear." Mira said, a frown on her face. "I saw her using some kind of Time Magic back in Edolas. She reversed entire sections of damage like it was nothing. Don't forget that she was a Wizard Saint before destroying the council headquarters in Era."
That brief mention had Laxus scowl, as Ultear was responsible for Yajima's death.
Aside from Laxus, Mira, and Erza; Mystogan was here as well with his mask out. It had surprised everyone to finally realize that Mystogan was Jellal's Edolas counterpart, all barring Laxus and Dannis, who had known about it already.
"The Arc of Time." Mavis reiterated, gaining everyone's attention. "A lost magic I've heard about a long time ago."
"Lost Magic? Like God Slayer magic?" Mystogan questioned.
"Yes," Mavis nodded. "It's a form of temporal manipulation, allowing the user to influence the flow of time itself. According to what I've read in the old records, a proficient user of this magic would be capable of turning back time on a global scale. A Wizard Saint specializing in Arc of Time should absolutely be capable of restoring a person from death."
Even Laxus straightened slightly at that. "That's ridiculous. And with that crazy fire dude, that's at least two of them with rare magic. Are all of the core Grimoire Heart members users of Lost Magic?"
"It's a plausible theory, which explains how Grimoire Heart earned its place as one of the Balam Alliance." Mavis shook her head. "Where this 'Hades' character found such rare magic is a question."
"To get back on track," Mystogan spoke up, "While the body may exist again, it did not come back alive, and I assume for only one reason."
Everyone's gaze shifted toward the spectral figure standing silently beside the corpse. Jellal's Wraith stood over his own body, looking down at it silently.
"Dannis took the soul after the events in the Tower of Heaven, a hidden boon we didn't expect." Mira said, shuddering. "Imagine what would've happened if Ultear revived Jellal only to take over his mind again. With Hades himself and two Wizard Saints, they'd be the most powerful Dark Guild in existence."
"They're certainly more dangerous than Oracion Seis," Erza said, not shifting her gaze from Jellal's body in the slightest.
Dannis nodded, "Jellal is innocent, I know at least that much. All of his memories say that Ultear had manipulated everything, all the way from the beginning in the Tower of Heaven."
"Everything?"
Dannis pursed his lips before nodding. "From the Tower, to Zeref. The…sacrifices, the deaths. All of it."
Tears began to glisten from Erza's right eye as she looked away, the one that wasn't a lacrima. Mira squeezed her shoulder in support.
Dannis couldn't even imagine what she felt, learning that the boy Erza had spent years hating and mourning to be a victim all along.
"He's still a wanted man in Fiore, but with enough proof, we can have the charges dropped. Especially considering the magic council is still in disarray. And…" Dannis exhaled slowly. "There may be something I can do."
Erza immediately looked up, the hope in her eyes nearly hurt to see. "Please...save him."
Dannis smiled. "Of course."
"Dannis, are you sure about this?" Mavis asked, looking worried.
"No, but I have to try." Despite all the risks, despite all the unknowns. He knew he needed to try.
"There is still much that is unknown in regards to your Soul Curse powers. You're attempting to revive the dead, a feat of magic wildly considered to be dangerous. If anything, there's a chance Jellal might even awaken…wrong."
"What kind of wrong?" Mira asked.
"He could reawaken as a revenant, or a lich even." Mavis said, floating a few inches closer. "Maybe even worse for a mage of his calibre."
"I don't think so," Dannis repeated. "Because all I'm getting from him is sheer protectiveness and love for Erza."
Mavis pursed her lips at that, "The power of feelings are indeed the core of all magic, some even considered love to be the One Magic that formed it at the beginning of time itself."
She sighed before conceding with a nod. "I trust you. But we'll still have to take proper precautions."
At Dannis' nod, Mystogan tapped his staff on the ground as a vast magical dome erupted outward. Invisible runes written across the grounds of Dannis' home lit up as golden circles formed above the house, spreading throughout the surrounding property. They formed in the air for a brief moment before fading from sight.
"The wards are in place." Mystogan confirmed. "The 'gloom' aura of your Curse power will be contained."
Dannis nodded. "Good."
Laxus pushed away from the fence before taking his place at Dannis' left as Mira led Erza a few steps away, preparing themselves.
She transformed then to her Satan Soul form, her long white hair lengthening as her wings emerged. Beside her, Erza donned her Armadura Fairy armor as the redhead's expression hardened. There was no hesitation in her eyes, only determination.
"So," Laxus rolled his shoulders. "What's the worst-case scenario if you fuck this up?"
The question earned a snort from Mirajane.
"Probably an aggressive, newly risen from the dead, Wizard Saint whose hell bent on destroying everything in his surroundings." Dannis said, "Either that, or the rise of a new Lich King. Who knows?"
Laxus barked out a laugh, "Things really are never boring with you, eh?"
Dannis smirked. "Nope."
Seeing everyone in place, Dannis' gaze shifted to the body as his shadow stirred. The tattoos on the left side of his face began to spread as the air grew colder.
A heavy weight permeated the surroundings, the dome of protection appearing once again as it held the pressure in place.
Erza stiffened as Mirajane's wings twitched. Even Laxus narrowed his eyes.
Wraith Jellal finally looked away from his corpse, his ghostly gaze met Dannis'. Understanding passed between them. Then the Wraith dissolved, pulled downward into Dannis' shadow.
The tattoos brightened as darkness gathered around his feet. Dannis closed his eyes, felt that strange amalgamation of magic and curse power within his chest.
He pulled into them. Once he did so, his eyes opened, and he began the incantation.
…
AN: We're back in Fairy Tail, finally! And Jellal's resurrection ritual is finally commencing. Let me tell you, one of the biggest things I've been preparing for in a long time. A lot of old plans are finally reaching their conclusion right here.
By the way, we've reached the end of the Penultimate Arc of The Dark Swordsman over on my P-Word if you're interested in that. I'll probably be posting the rest of the chapters out in the next month or so, so it'll definitely be available on this site. But if you want to see them asap, check it out on the P-Word. Thanks guys!