Chapter 31: Beginning of the Timeskip

General Pov

In Tenrou Island

The fairy tail guild were just getting themselves patched up after their recent battle with the dark guild of grimoire heart who had interrupted their S-class trials. It was an incredibly tough battle but they still managed to pull through in the end just like they always had in the past.

"Man, why can't things ever just be simple for us!" A busty blonde complained as they were supposed to be here only for the s-class trials not to be in an all-out war with one of the strongest dark guilds. "I sometimes think the world has it out for us this was just suppose s-class trials!"

"Aw quiet complaining Lucy you weren't even one of the nominees plus even if you were I doubt you would have passed." A blue talking cat commented while munching on fish.

"You should learn to filter yourself, cat!" She comedically yelled in annoyance.

"But Lu-chan does have a point it's been one thing after another with us this year." A petite blued haired teen walked and spoke up.

"Man, what I wouldn't do for some bulls right now." A busty brown-haired female sighed as she leaned on Lucy.

A pink haired male was busy sulking on how he missed his chance to become S-class.

A twelve-year-old girl with long blue hair in a ponytail was busy healing a black-haired male.

"Thanks a million Wendy." The male thanked her.

"Your Welcome Gray." She smiled brightly.

"Alright that's enough child you've been healing them non-stop. It's time to take a little break." A white cat in a pink dress.

"Am fine Carla honestly I'm just glad to help my friends." Wendy reassured her and she just sighed.

"Okay but just don't overdo it." Carla arrived.

The others where had gotten a little healed up and were just getting a little bandaged by the two Strauss sisters Mirajane and Lisanna. The famous Titania Erza scarlet tried to help out but her methods served to be a little too extreme.

"I'm a man. I can handle it." A tall muscular white-haired man declared as he tried to appear tough but was flinching as his sister rebandaged him.

"Yes, Elfman I know." She giggled at her brother's antics.

"Laxus were so glad your back!" The thunder legion consisting of a long green haired man by the name of Freed, a purple haired man by the name of Bickslow and a busty brown-haired female by the name of Evergreen, all screamed in happiness of their leader returning.

"Yeah, I think you guys are getting the wrong idea here." Laxus sighed at his friends/teammates. He had come here to save their asses and now that he's done I should really be leaving and he doubts that the old man will let him back into the guild just because of that.

"Laxus-san." Someone called out to him and he spotted Juvia walking towards.

"Oh, hey Juvia, good to see you." He greeted her.

"It's good to see you too." She smiled. "Where's Salem-san I thought eventually the both of you would still be travelling together?"

"HA! No. Though I did meet the little punk yesterday. He complained about being roped up in some mission that he couldn't get out of."

"Really than Juvia hopes he will have a successful mission."

The rest watched this interaction in utter confusion as it was just strange seeing Laxus and Juvia interact like that.

"Since when did Laxus and Juvia seem to have become acquainted with each other?" Lucy pointed.

"Forget that I am just surprised Laxus even knows her name." Cana commented.

"Wait a moment, how is it that you two are on friendship bases now!" Evergreen asked

"Oh, we teamed up in a job Juvia took weeks ago." Juvia answered.

"Wait, is it the same job which made you come back with heavy injuries?" Erza asked and Juvia nodded. "Now I am even more curious to know what exactly happened in that mission of yours."

"Wait, you seriously didn't tell everyone that you helped fight a fire dragon." Laxus gave the rain woman a deadpanned look and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the two. Natsu was the most shocked.

"Juvia is sorry but a lot of things happened." She tried to defend herself.

"Yeah, like what." Laxus asked a little sarcastically, causing the rain woman to pout.

"Well, when Juvia just got back she and the others were trapped in a lacrima in another world called Edolos even though she wasn't part of the fight it was still a lot to process. Then we went into s-class frenzy week so most everyone was running around doing jobs so she didn't have any opportunity!" Juvia finished explaining.

"That sounds fake as fuck." Laxus lightly joked off but he did know about the world f Edolos.

"IT'S THE TRUTH!" Juiva flared her arms around but automatically Natsu was in front of the water giving her an intense stare.

"Juvia, did you and Laxus seriously meet and fight a dragon?" He said seriously and the girl just nodded. "WHERE DID YOU GUYS MEET IT! IS IT STILL THERE! IF IT WAS A FIRE DRAGON THAN WAS IT IGNEEL OR DID IT KNOW IGNEE!" Natsu began shaking the poor girl violently demanding answers.

"Hey cool it ash breath!" Gray separated the dragon slayer from the water mage whose eyes were swirling. "She can't explain anything if you shake her like a maniac!"

"Lay off ice prick, this could be my chance to get answers!" Natsu fired back.

"Natsu, that's enough. Gray's right, let's give Juvia and Laxus some time to explain." Erza said her signature glare calming down the dragon slayer a bit.

"No way Laxus and Juvia met me and fought an actual dragon." Lucy said in awe.

"You never fail to amaze me Laxus." Freed praised.

"Wait hold on I get salamander but why didn't you tell me while we were in the guild Juiva!" Gajeel comedically yelled at her.

"Well, every time you there my darling Gray is always in reach so I can't help but be smitten by his presence." Juvia went back into lover mode making everyone sweat drop and Gray cringed at her statement.

Laxus noticed that everyone was crowded around them now including the old man and Gildarts. "Seriously? Okay I'll tell the story since mine is more the completed version." He sighed and everyone started paying extra attention, especially the dragon slayers.

"I was travelling around Fiore when I ran into this particular kid about that girls age at Lupinus." Laxus pointed at Wendy, making her jump a bit. "Anyway, he had really high magic power especially for a kid his age as it rivalled a strong A-class wizard and had possessed Animal and Beast Take-over magic hell the first time I saw it thought he was related to those three due the fact he had white hair just like them." The Strauss siblings' eyes widen at this.

"Mira-nee, do we have a younger brother that we don't know about?" Lisanna asked her big sister worriedly as she hurt her thinking that she might have a younger sibling out there alone.

"No Lisanna you were the last born. Our parents never had any other kids remember." She reassured her youngest sibling. "But maybe he could be a distant relative." She thought.

"He's not related to you, your scents don't much." Laxus told them. "Anyway, after I ran into him a second time by a forest on the way to Phoenix Mountain to investigate some strange phenomena. He told me it was a dragon so of course I didn't believe him but he then showed me a picture than he started to change my mind."

"DO YOU HAVE THE PICTURE WITH YOU!!" Natsu yelled frantically and Laxus took out a printed picture Salem offered him of the dragon which Natsu tried to snatch but was thwarted by Laxus's reflexes.

"To think there still are dragons out there. The world sure is full of hidden wonders and mysteries." Markov rubbed his moustache.

"Wow look at that thing." Happy looked at the picture of the dragon.

"It truly looks fierce." Panther lily commented on the dragon's appearance.

"Wouldn't want to face that thing." Lucy shivered at its sight.

At least they didn't run into Acnologia.' Gildarts thought of the nightmarish dragon king and felt slight phantom pains in his prosthetic limbs.

"Wow you okay there." Cana asked her father

.

"Oh, don't worry baby girl daddy's fine." Gildarts went into doting father mode making a sign of embarrassment.

"That's the dragon huh." Gajeel folded his arms looking at the picture.

"Anyway, me and the kid travelled for some training till we went after to Phoenix Mountain we ran into Juiva putting out some fires. So, Salem asked her to come with us because he said her water magic would be useful. so long story short we fought the thing destroying a good part of the mountain and beat it and the kid used his magic on it." Laxus finished the tale.

"Well, is was Laxus-san and Salem-san which did most of the heavily lifting." Juvia said a little disappointedly.

"Wait Laxus my boy so there is a boy of 12-13 years with the power of a fire dragon just running around Fiore right now unsupervised." Markov asked worriedly.

"Yep." He simply answered

.

"That's quite the story you two." Erza commented. 'Though it would explain why Juvia seems a little different.' Now Erza wasn't going to lie and say she knew the rain woman very well but after she got back from the job her attitude shifted a bit.

She was still obsessive over Gray but she also seemed to have a new fire in her eye. Even during her battle for the s-class trials Juvia gave her a lot more trouble but she knew this was because something else might have happened to the water mage.

"Wait, where's this Salem kid now? Maybe he can help me with Igneel?" Natsu asked Laxus.

"Beats me when I ran him two days ago, he said had more of those creatures to deal with."

"More as in more dragons!?" Lucy asked

.

"Who knows he was really vague about it." Laxus shrugged his shoulders.

"HEH! Alright then the sooner we get off this island I am going to track that kid down to get one step closer to finding Igneel! Just thinking about it gets me all fired up!" Natsu grinned fiercely and had a look full of determination.

"Well, he's all pumped up." Lucy giggled at her friend.

"Aye that's Natsu for you!" Happy .

"That dumbass did just realise he threatened to basically kidnap a kid, right?" Gray rolled his eyes and his rival's antics.

"Did you hear that Carla someone out there who can help me Grandine." Wendy said full of hope and exactment at the thought of what leads to her foster mother.

"Yes, and am excited about you Wendy but I think you should take this slow from what Laxus explained this boy is quite powerful he be dangerous." Carla said.

"Come on Carla I'm sure he's a nice person since he helped out Laxus and Juvia." Wendy defended.

"You should listen to your cat, little girl. That kid isn't really a saint and from what I know he will only help if he's getting something out of it." Laxus said to Wendy.

"Yes, even Juvia noticed he was quite an opportunist but his not evil." Juvia remembered how after the mission Salem basically requested a pay for his services.

"But here's a warning: if you see him with a dark-skinned, green-eyed woman named Morrigan, do not do anything stupid." Laxus warned them and a loud gasp coming from Mirajane caught everyone's attention.

"Mira, my child , what's the matter?" Markov asked in his grandfatherly voice.

"I know that name. She uses some body magic, right?" She asked Laxus who nodded.

"Mira, do you know her?" Erza asked.

"Yeah, I do." Mira sighed and rubbed her stomach. "Two years ago, when I was recently promoted to s-class and greedily s-class missions." Mira chuckled and remembered her brash younger self and the rest of the veteran fairy tail members remember the goth Mirajane bragging how she was an S-class.

'Oh memories.' Markov thought.

"I took a certain s-class mission to take down a powerful dark guild but by the time I got them Morrigan was there. The dark guild had already destroyed the guild by her but she didn't just knock them out but she killed most of them." She said clenching her fist and the others. "I got pissed at her actions and I brashly attacked her but it wasn't a fight. She demolished me and my best attacks were useless against her. I ran into her three more times after but I got demolished over and over again.

The last time we met she said I was too pathetic to be an s-class and I should give up the title. And that was the last time I saw her." Mira finished her tell and remembered Morrigan's mocking smirk as she said how she wasn't worth her time.

"Wait, I remember you coming home with injuries from time to time after you became s-class." Lisanna thought of how pissed and injured her sister was when she used to come back home.

"That also explains why you were so desperate to take down the beast. It was to prove to yourself that you were truly worthy of being s-class." Markov commented and Mira nodded.

"I should never let her words hit me like that. And because of my fragile ego I almost ended up getting my siblings killed." Mirajane looked down sadly clenching her fist. Lisanna held her hand and gave her a soft smile.

"It's alright Mira-nee." She confirmed her.

"Don't be so down Ne-san you're a true man." Elfman said.

"She's a woman you big oaf." Evergreen lightly smacked his head.

As the others were smiling at the sibling moment Levy noticed how quiet Gajeel had been. He looked very conflicted.

"Gajeel are you okay?" She asked him.

"Am fine." He answered.

"Are you happy at the chance to see Metallicanna again?" She asked.

"Hm, not really the salamander can go looking for this kid but I'm not getting myself involved in a potential goose chase." Gajeel followed.

"Gajeel." Levy called out to him.

"That's very particular of you Gajeel I thought you would be as excited as Natsu and Wendy over there." Panther lily said to his partner.

"If it were me a few years ago, yes but now I'm over it." He answered.

"Why though!?" Natsu jumped in. "This might be a good chance to know what happened to our dragon parents!"

"Back of salamander." Gajeel snarled. "Look if you and Wendy want to keep following this goose chase than by me. Metallicanna left me in a forest all alone and if he cared then that old rust bucket would never have left or he could have left a note but he did none of that."

"So, you are just giving up on your own parent even after Laxus and Juvia's story."

"Even if you meet this kid, I highly doubt he knows or cares about our dragon parents. This ain't giving up salamander it's called accepting reality you'll come to this conclusion too one day. If Metallicanna left and doesn't want to be found then ain't going to bother playing this game with him." Gajeel finishes his rant. He had spent years looking for his foster father, followed every lead and clue but it led to nothing.

Gajeel had then just decided to move on with his life after a dead end of a major lead he spent five months searching and investigating.

Levy and PantherLily looked at Gajeel with worry while Natsu saw the hurt in his eyes when mentioning his foster father.

"Alright, that 's enough boys." Erza separated them before things got too heated.

Suddenly everyone felt a heavy chill around the air and a loud sound followed. Then a roar of a monster made everyone jump in their skin.

"W-what is that?" Lucy asked, shivering.

"I don't know but whatever it is it doesn't sound friendly!" Happy paniced.

'It's here.' Gildarts thought as his body began getting phantom pains again but even worse this time. "Acnologia." He muttered.

Suddenly the black dragon of the apocalypse descended down to them like a meteor. Its gazed menacingly at them and everyone so nothing but death in its eyes.

'This thing is very different from the Teostra' Juvia thought, shaking a bit but she was better off then most of the others.

'So, this is what Salem was talking about." Laxus thought as he told him that the Teostra was slightly on the weaker side and if he met other dragons, especially a certain black one, then Laxus shouldn't be a hero and play it smart and run away.

"ROOOAAARRR!!" Acnologia roared the power of the roar was strong enough to blew away multiple trees.

'How are we going to get out of this.' Everyone thought in despair.

Elsewhere

At a beach resort sitting on one of the tables was Salem. He was wearing a pineapple shirt, blue shorts and sunglasses. He was currently reading a paper while drinking some juice.

"Fairy tail mages die under the hands of Acnologia." He read as he felt bad for Laxus and Juvia but he knew they would be fine. "I think." He really wished he knew the exact days certain events happened.

"Salem-san." A female voice called out to him and he turned to see Kagura. "It's time for our spare time. I hope you're ready." She smirked a little.

"Okay, lead the way." He smirked back as the two walked off.