Return to Fairy Tail

I walked in the shadows of the alleys in Magnolia as I made my way to the only guild worth being in. I hadn't been here in so long, in fact it had been about six months since I had been back and things had changed. I looked up and saw the guildhall towering over the back half of the city as I approached. The shadows surrounding me lengthened and shifted like water as I walked along, reaching a busy road and knowing that I needed to cross in order to reach the last alley that would lead me all the way to the guildhall. I grinned under the shade of my hood as I took the last step at a run, just a blur and no one even noticing me go past. I turned back in the new alley and watched everyone walking up and down the main road, going about their business as if the guild that resided in their city was no big deal since they were desensitized to their crazy antics. I saw a few children had taken notice of me and I smiled softly, but then they ran off to chase a shadow that looked like a rabbit that jumped out from the alley with me. I turned back into the shifting darkness and continued on the path until finally the guildhall loomed over me.

It was a lot bigger than I remembered it to be, so something must have happened to force everyone to change its appearance. I hoped that no one was seriously injured in whatever had transgressed here and walked slowly into the light. I cringed at how bright it was and made my way to the gate. I could hear yells and screams from within, but these sounds were actually quite normal for the guild called Fairy Tail. I could only imagine which member of the guild was the one that instigated this fight as I approached the large doors.

I waited as two shadows stretched up to the doors in the shapes of strong arms, pulling the doors apart and causing everyone inside to turn in my direction. Silence fell heavily as they all stared at me as I walked inside. I saw out of the corner of my eye that my shadow shivered excitedly when I made it about halfway to the counter at the back of the guildhall and heard a loud shout off to my right. I stopped to see a yelling pink haired young man being held back by a half-naked young man and a scarlet haired girl with a determined expression.

"It's YOU!" he shouted at me, his clenched fists erupting into flames as he thrashed in their hold.

"Natsu, no!" a voice yelled as a blue cat flew to the pink haired one, grabbing him by the scarf and pulling him back as well. "You can't keep trying to fight her every time she comes back to town!"

"I want to fight her right NOW!" Natsu shouted again as he nearly broke free. "Gray! Erza! Happy! Let me go!"

"Gray, let's just let him face his fate now," the scarlet haired one named Erza sighed. "He won't listen to reason."

"Alright, but it's your funeral, Natsu," Gray told him as they all released him from their grip. "Just know you can't beat her Shadow Magic."

He rushed at me and I let him get closer until he was about to use one of his Dragon Slayer moves, the shadows beneath him shifting and solidifying into a large fist that shot out of the ground and sent him flying up into the ceiling. He groaned, sticking to the stone of the ceiling itself before falling back down to the ground thanks to gravity. I knew I hit him a bit too hard, so I formed a net from the shadows and held them above the tables with poles as he landed softly, looking as if he was seeing stars and I released the shadows so that he fell a short distance to the ground. I shook my head slightly and walked over to the guild's leader.

"Master Makarov, I have returned," I said, nodding my head at him as he sat on the counter in front of Mirajane.

"How did the quest go?" Mira asked me cheerily as she brought Makarov another tankard full of some kind of alcohol.

"It went well," I told her, giving her a small smile that she probably didn't see thanks to my hood.

I saw out of the corner of my eye as a blonde girl with keys strapped to her belt and a little blue headed girl with a white cat in her arms approached Erza. "Who is that wizard?" the blonde one asked curiously.

"No one knows her real name except for Master Makarov, who keeps that a secret at her request," Erza explained to them. "In fact, we don't even know her magical capabilities. We just started to call her Shadow because she bends the shadows to her will. She's an S-Class wizard and she's easily the strongest one we have. She once beat Laxus in a fight."

"But wasn't he technically a Dragon Slayer like Natsu, Gajeel, and me?" the little girl with the white cat asked. Imagine that, a little girl being a Dragon Slayer.

"He had a Dragon Lacrima implanted in him, but he was still very strong as a Lightning Dragon Slayer," the blond one said.

"That's right, Lucy," Erza said before giving an explanation to the little girl. I then turned my attention back to the master of the guildhall, who had a slight smile on his face.

"You could always stay here for a while longer," he told me. "No one will be able to find out your secret if you stay for a few days. Besides, doesn't one of your shadows need the mark of Fairy Tail?"

I looked up at him, surprised that he had heard the news about me so soon. "Not yet. If I let them see this one, they'll know for sure what I am."

"REMATCH!" I heard Natsu yell and he ran up to me, a fire burning in his eyes as he stood beside me.

"Why do you insist on fighting me?" I asked him quietly, my long black coat keeping me in the shadows.

"Because you always do something to daze me so you can get out of a fight!" he told me. "If you want me to leave you alone, then fight me for real and don't hold back!"

I sighed and knew that this would be my only chance to get him off my back whenever I showed up in Magnolia, so I ripped off my coat and made everyone gasp. I had forgotten that most people didn't know what I looked like since I hadn't let people see under the coat in such a long time. I had long platinum white hair that I insisted on braiding and it was now over my shoulder, draping down over my chest. I was of average height and was wearing a black halter dress that went down to my knees, boots that were gladiator styled and black like the dress. On my back in between my shoulder blades was a large royal blue mark of Fairy Tail. I stared at Natsu with eyes that were golden before nodding my consent to this fight. He grinned and rushed outside, his blue cat named Happy flying after him.

I followed after him and out into the courtyard, Master Makarov yelling after me to make sure Natsu didn't get out of control. I waved away his words and stepped out into the sunlight, squinting as I was blinded with the brightness of the sun. I created sunglasses made from shadows in the palm of my hand and put them on, feeling a little better now that I could actually see. I heard a shout as Natsu rushed at me, his fists on fire and everyone began rushing outside to see what transpired.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu yelled, about to punch me when the shadows lengthened and a rope burst free from them, wrapping around his wrist tightly to keep him in place. "You're doing it again! This is cheating!"

"Actually, no," I told him. "We never discussed the rules of this fight before you decided to pigheadedly charge at me. I just want to clarify them first."

"The person who is left standing wins!" I heard Erza say and I grinned.

"Are those terms agreeable to you?" I asked him.

"Yes, now let's do this! I'm all fired up now!"

I disintegrated the rope around his wrist and the shadows behind me stretched further, a large clawed foot stomping the ground followed by another. I moved aside to avoid his punches as a head managed to burst free from the shadows and soon pulled its entire body out. It roared at Natsu, its crimson eyes glaring as it stretched its wings out from behind it. Standing before the Fire Dragon Slayer was a dark dragon of epic proportions as it stood to its full height before him. It beat its wings and the wind coming from them knocked Natsu to the ground in a heap as he slid back across the courtyard. I walked over to the dragon and placed a hand on its flank, the shadows, it was made from looking more substantial as it roared again.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" he yelled, shooting fire at the dragon. Surprisingly enough, it ripped through the dragon and it swirled into the air before going back into the rest of the shadows beside me. "Now, fight me for real. You're holding back on purpose."

I grinned and was instantly in front of him before he could blink. He looked shocked as the shadows congealed onto one of my fists as I slammed it into his stomach, the breath wheezing from his lungs as he hit the ground hard. I waited for a while for him to get back up, but he stayed where he was as Happy flew over to him to make sure he was ok. I felt bad for what I did, but turned back around to head back inside as I saw everyone that were standing outside looking shocked at what my magic could do. I heard movement from behind me and turned back to see Natsu on his stomach, glaring at me wildly but still not getting to his feet.

"There's one thing I don't understand," he said, "and it's why you haven't told anyone about what you really are."

I felt a cold chill travel down my spine and I knew for a fact that he had somehow figured out my secret. "I don't know what you mean," I said simply.

"Yes you do!" he shouted. "Why haven't you told anyone that you're a Dragon Slayer?!"

I heard my guild mates gasp in shock as I cringed at his words. I had a glimmer of false hope that maybe he wouldn't say what I really was, but it was crushed to bits when he told the truth. I was going to say something when I saw my own shadow shiver like water before a tiny furry body pulled its way through and looked up at me. It was a kitten that looked like a miniature tiger with blood red eyes, but it had tiny wings stretched out behind it with one of them in a black splint made from the shadows itself.

"Morg, what's taking so long?" the little one asked before seeing everyone watching. "Oh… I didn't mean…"

"It's alright, Fae," I told her, reaching down to pick her up and sit her on my shoulder. "I know you can't use that power of yours for long periods of time yet."

As she happily rubbed her cheek against mine, I watched as Natsu openly gaped at me with Happy standing on his head. "See what I mean? Why didn't you say anything? Why was it so important to keep your true nature hidden?"

"Morgana," I heard someone say, turning around to see Makarov walking over to me. "Why don't you come inside and actually introduce yourself to everyone. I know that the confusion will wear off once you do."

I nodded and followed him inside the guildhall with the kitten cooing in my ear in an attempt to make me feel at ease. She knew that I hadn't let anyone in except for her and that it was now time to do the same with the other members of Fairy Tail. Makarov led me to the stage they had built for occasions like this and I hopped up there relatively easily as everyone filtered in front of the stage. I watched as Natsu and Happy sat down on the stage instead of being with his friends. I thought it was strange at first, but I cast my thoughts away from that as everyone began to quiet down.

"I know I haven't been a good member of Fairy Tail, but I would like to rectify that mistake now that Natsu revealed what I am," I told them all, making sure to make my voice carry throughout the guildhall. "My name is Morgana Pendragon and I am a Shadow Dragon Slayer. The kitten on my shoulder is named Lefae, but I call her Fae for short. The dragon that taught me everything I know is Skiadrum, but he is unfortunately dead. My brother killed him."

"Your brother killed the dragon who taught you both everything?" a large man with a black cat sitting beside him asked, and I knew he had to be the other Dragon Slayer I had heard about.

"Skiadrum had fallen ill and was dying, so he asked for him to kill him. I was too young for the dragon to even consider asking me to do it. I'm still angry at my brother for actually killing him, but I know deep down that he was going to die either way. I just don't understand why he had to kill him when I was learning so much seven years ago."

"Wait, was he killed on the seventh day of the seventh month?" Natsu asked without looking at me.

"Yes, why?"

"Because all of our dragons disappeared at the exact same time seven years ago without any warning."

I shook my head but continued on with my introduction. "Anyway, I pressed Skiadrum to teach me close range magic when all he wanted to do was teach me the long range kind to protect me. He didn't like the thought of having me so close to danger, but I conned him into it. So that's how I used Shadow Dragon's Slash. I loved that dragon like my own father and I miss him very much."

"Can you make anything out of the shadows?" I heard the little girl ask me, her eyes lighting up excitedly.

"I'm the only one out of the two of us that can," I told her with a smile. "Tell me anything you want me to make and I can do it."

"How about a lion?" she suggested and held onto the white cat a little tighter to her chest.

I nodded and concentrated, the shadows lengthening until they formed before me. Two large paws that were pitch black came out from them and pulled the lion's body out, roaring at the crowd as it closed its crimson eyes. Its maw shone red as well before it looked down regally at them. I heard the little girl gasp in surprise as I said, "Would you like to pet it?"

"You can't let a little girl pet a full grown lion!" Natsu exclaimed, flinching a bit when it turned to growl at him.

"Of course she can!" I told them all. "If she really wanted, she could ride it all over Magnolia and it would be as gentle as a kitten!"

"Will you ride it with me?" she asked excitedly.

I nodded and the girl ran up to the lion, I helped her up onto its back once it crouched down for me and I got up there to sit behind her. Fae curled up beside my neck as the white cat's wings appeared and she flew before the little girl's face. "Wendy, you can't be serious about this!"

"Calm down, Carla!" Wendy said with a smile. "Natsu and Happy, will you watch out for Carla while we're gone?"

Natsu couldn't answer as he looked at us on the lion because he was sprawled out on the stage and seemed very sick. "Are you kidding me, Natsu?" Lucy groaned. "It's a lion and you're getting motion sickness already?"

"They're using it as transportation," he mumbled.

I rolled my eyes and the lion jumped over everyone's heads to the cleared aisle before running to the door. It loped lazily as it made its way along the middle of the courtyard and soon reached the road. I saw people gaping in surprise as they saw a black lion making its way down the main road, Wendy giggling excitedly and holding onto its mane to stay in place. I thought for sure that more people would be scared by this, but they cheered us on as we went by.

"Later, you should make a shadow puppet story!" Wendy told me, looking back at me as we ran on throughout Magnolia.

"I've done it once before back when I was a little girl," I told her. "I don't think any of them remember it, but I showed everyone in Fairy Tail a story of a dragon and a little girl."

"Tell it again tonight! Please, please, please!"

This might be an older girl, but she still had the innocence of a child and I admired that quality that still hadn't been marred by the terrible truth of the world. I promised that I would and she happily yelled as we rode on. We reached an area of land near the middle of Magnolia where cherry blossom trees were growing, the largest one in the very center with a picnic table pulled up in front of it. I saw Lucy sitting there with a little shivering creature that looked like a snowman that seemed to squeak before disappearing behind her when we came into sight. Lucy waved to us and I let the shadow lion disappear once we were off of its back. She had a wicker basket beside her and said that she was waiting for Natsu and Happy to arrive, but so far they hadn't appeared so we were allowed to wait with her. They asked me a bunch of questions about my life and I answered them the best I could.

"So how did you meet Lefae?" Wendy asked me.

"It's a long story," I laughed.

"Tell us, Morgana!" Lucy begged. "I'd like to hear the story as well!"

"Well, alright then," I said, settling a now sleeping kitten on my lap, careful to make sure her wing didn't get caught and hurt her more. "I had just finished up a mission in a small village in the savannah, one that was being terrorized by a large demonic lion. I guess he went around eating the livestock, going so far as to kill a shepherd and his flock of sheep. I was sent to kill it but soon discovered that he was defending himself against that shepherd and he was starving from moving all this way from his homeland where the land was dead, barren of all life including his mate and their cubs. Instead of killing it, I took the lion somewhere else where he could lord over all the animals and be healthy again. The lion told me that if I ever needed an ally just ask him immediately.

"I was in a forest for about five days traveling back to Magnolia because I had heard about what had transpired here, about how the whole town was swallowed by an Anima and then most of them turned into a giant Lacrima for the people of Edolas. I was told the story about how Mystogan, the new king of Edolas, sent them all back with the residents of Extalia, the Exceeds. I was about halfway through the forest when I saw pieces of a large egg fall down to the forest floor and heard a shrill cry before a little furry thing fell between the branches of a tree. I had to use my Shadow Magic to move as fast as I could and leapt through the air to catch it. I guess the poor thing had tried to fly, but was too little to go very far and crashed landed, one of its wings broken. It cried inconsolably and I used my shadows to put a splint around its broken wing. I sang to it until it calmed down and asked me where she was. I told her that she was in a forest and that we should wait for her parents to show up. I waited for about half the day when I soon realized that the kitten's parents either didn't know that their egg was gone or they dropped it on purpose. I asked her if she wanted a name and I've been calling her Lefae since then."

"Aww, the poor kitten," Wendy whispered, reaching over to pet her and watching her little legs twitch.

"What I can't believe is that they didn't notice that their egg just disappeared," I said. "And if they did just get rid of the egg like that, what kind of parent would ever do that?"

"You don't think they got rid of her after she was born, do you?" Lucy asked me.

"I'm wondering if the eye color and her ability frightened them so much that they thought it was a good idea to abandon her."

"Her ability?" Wendy said to herself.

"She can control the shadows like me, only her ability is a little different," I told them. "She can become one with the shadow and hide there. She's more of a defense type since she's so little, but I've also seen her jump into a shadow cat I created before and control it from within."

"It's kind of funny that a Shadow Dragon Slayer gets a cat with the same abilities she has," Lucy laughed.

We finally saw Natsu on his way here, Happy grabbing hold of him and carrying him through the sky as he flew along. "Are you going to use Lefae to fly like that one day?" Wendy asked me. "Carla and I can fly like that as well, and I'm not sure but I think so can Gajeel and Pantherlily."

"Maybe one day if Fae wants to," I told her as I watched Natsu and Happy get closer. "For now, I can fly on my own when I need to."

"How?" Lucy asked me quizzically.

"Like this!"

I got up from the bench of the picnic table, keeping Fae in my arms as the shadows creeped up my legs and to my back where they solidified, shifting into big bat-like wings that were scaly like a dragon's. I flapped them gently, hovering about a foot off the ground and Lucy and Wendy clapped in awe as Natsu and Happy landed next to the table. I saw them both watch, surprised that I could do that. I made the wings dissipate and landed lightly on the grass before sitting back down in my previous spot as Natsu sat down across from me while Happy hovered over the kitten that was settled back on my lap.

"So now that I'm here, can we eat the grub now?" Natsu turned to Lucy and asked.

"Yes, Mr. Impatient. It's not like we were waiting for you to show up or anything."

Mira had made us all a few sandwiches for us to eat and we ate them relatively fast, Natsu scarfing his down quicker than the rest of us ever could. I looked up at the sky to see the sun setting slowly, casting more shadows as Fae woke up from her nap. The little kitten pointed down at them and I knew what she wanted. With a small smile on my face, I formed a mouse in the shadow and Lefae shot off my legs with a yowl, chasing the mouse as it scurried around in the grass. Happy took off after her with a laugh, being careful not to hurt the kitten or her injured wing.

"Do you mind not treating Happy like a regular cat?" Natsu grumbled at me. "He's my best friend."

"First of all, I was doing that for Fae's benefit, not your partner's," I said as I watched them play. "Second, I've never seen you act this way with anyone else, so that means you really don't like me, do you?"

He sighed but looked me in the eyes when I finally turned back to him. "I just don't understand how a Dragon Slayer isn't proud of the gift she was given."

"I've been through a lot in my life, Natsu Dragneel. I learned from a young age to keep my magic a secret from others lest I'm beaten to within an inch of my life and left to die. I didn't even have the comfort of memories prior to it, just the beating and the black hole of memories I can't get back. I don't even remember what my name used to be, but thanks to Skiadrum I had a name and a father figure."

They all gave me a look of sympathy, one I didn't feel deserving of but Natsu no longer harbored the grudge against me. He gave me a smile and offered me a hand, shaking it in my face a bit before I got the message that I was supposed to take it. I grabbed his hand and he shook it energetically, his smile getting even bigger.

"I guess you're not so bad after all," he said. "I can't exactly blame you after what you just said."

***

As I had promised Wendy, I dragged everyone back to the guildhall where I found the white screen rolled up above the stage. Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily flew up to it and dragged it down before I could protest that I could get it on my own, but they just seemed so eager to see the show. I decided that I didn't need a source for shadows, going with my own power to form them.

Once everyone had settled down, Natsu and Wendy sitting beside Gajeel, Lucy, Gray, and Erza with the cats, I turned to look at Lefae, who was leaning over my shoulder to look at everyone. "Are you ready?" I asked her, seeing her as she turned to look at me with bright red eyes that were wide in excitement. "You can pick whichever character you want for however long you think you can handle it."

"I want to play the brave dragon!" she exclaimed. "I haven't played the dragon yet!"

I laughed and created a ball of swirling darkness in the palm of my hand as the lights everywhere except for the ones above the stage went out. I bowed theatrically to them before standing straight again and calling out to everyone in the room.

"Welcome!" I said, smiling a little. "I was asked by Wendy to give a shadow puppet story and I've come up with a bunch for children in different towns, but I had the idea to tell the one that a few of you had heard before. It's called The Adventures of a Girl and her Dragon. It's based on a true story and edited a little bit to have a happier ending. With me on stage to play the part of the dragon is my Lefae, so sit back and enjoy the show!"

I stepped back and sent the ball of shadows at the screen, watching as it spread along the entire area of the fabric before going back to normal. Lefae jumped off my shoulder and launched her little body at the screen, making it shiver as she sank into it and a huge dragon appeared on it.

"Once upon a time in a land like this, there was a large dragon named Albion," I said, everyone laughing as Lefae made little roaring noises. "This dragon was feared throughout the land, although it was just from its appearance that made it so scary to the people there. They thought it would attack soon if they didn't do something to stop it, so they gathered up as many fighters as they could and sent them all up to the dragon's lair. Wanting nothing more than to be left alone, the dragon had to fight back to keep its life intact."

I created little shadow people with pitchforks and torches that climbed up a mountain, once inside they chased after the dragon, who soon was left with no choice but to attack. "The dragon felt remorse for what it had to do, but it soon became a habit that villagers from all around the mountain would send their best fighters to attack it. Enraged with their behavior, the dragon decided one day to take the fight to them, climbing out from its lair and taking to the skies." I showed the dragon leaving its cave and flying around the peak of the mountain.

"Not long after it had finally set its sights on a town, it flew down and circled the town, watching them go about their day. The dragon then heard voices in the wind and enhanced its eyesight to look down onto town square to see a little girl in the middle of a large circle of men, all of them holding weapons as they approached her. They were all shouting things amongst themselves and frightening the little girl enough that she cowered on the ground in fear. The great dragon swooped down from above, picking up the girl in its talons and killing the ones who scared her so. The dragon then took her back to his lair, teaching her how to defend herself against people who were much bigger than she was and becoming a father figure in her life. Soon, the dragon found another child that was like the girl, abandoned and lonely. The new child and the girl got along famously and they all lived happily ever after!"

They all cheered happily for the story as Lefae leapt out of the screen and we both bowed graciously. I pulled the screen and made it shoot back up to the ceiling, both of us bowing once more before hopping down off the stage with the kitten in my arms. 

***

I didn't have a place to stay, so Lucy offered for me to stay the night at her apartment. I followed her to a pretty large building on the riverfront, helping her make a makeshift bed on the floor and I lay down with Lefae. The kitten was curled up on my chest as I watched the stars outside the window before the sounds of Lucy's and Fae's breathing lulled me to sleep.