There's no Place Like Home

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

December 16, x784.

"They sure are late." Macao said while nursing a mug of ale. "Do you think something happened during the exam."

"Nah, they probably just decided to relax a little longer after everything was settled." Wakaba replied before taking a drag from his pipe.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry, Macao." Reedus added while putting the finishing touches on a painting he had been working on all day. "All the strongest members of the guild went along to Tenrou Island. So, everything should be fine."

"*Gulp* *Gulp* I guess you're right." Macao said after finishing off the contents of his mug. "Still, they really are quite late."

"Stop blubbering like a heartbroken woman." Gozaburo said from another seat at the bar.

"What was that?" Ren asked while narrowing her eyes.

"Um… I mean… Honey, you know that's not what I meant." Gozaburo replied in a slightly fearful tone.

"Calm down, Ma'am." Masa said, trying to defuse the situation "The Boss only meant that there was nothing to worry about."

"Exactly!" Gozaburo exclaimed. "Masa's right. I'm sure all of them are fine."

"Mhmm." Ren replied, her eyes still narrowed at her husband.

"Anyway, have any of you seen Natsu?" Macao asked. "I haven't seen him since the day before they left."

"He's probably off doing something stupid." Chico said with a shrug. "I mean, he was pretty upset that he wasn't a candidate for the S-Class Exam this year."

In response, everyone in the guild hall nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of the exam, who do you think passed this year?" Wakaba asked in an excited tone.

"Do you even have to ask?" Gozaburo said in the tone of a proud father. "Of course, it was my precious Sun."

"I'll admit Sun is strong, Gozaburo." Alzack said while cutting into a fillet of fish. "But she's not the only strong member of the guild who was eligible for the exam."

"Yeah, Fried was a candidate this year, too." Bisca added. "And he's probably the strongest member of the Thunder god Tribe."

"Don't forget about Cana, too." Laki said with a smile.

"Gray's pretty strong, too." Reedus added.

Like that, everyone in the guild threw out their predictions for the newest S-Class wizard. And in the typical Fairy Tail fashion, the discussion got rather heated, before eventually turning into an argument that resulted in a guild-wide brawl.

"*Sigh* I hope they come back soon." Ren said in a bored tone while swirling a glass of wine. "Without Ur here, I have nothing to do or anyone to talk to when the boys get all rowdy like this."

A few moments later, as if to grant Ren's request, the sound of several vehicles coming to a stop outside of the guild hall could be heard. Unfortunately, most of the guild was too preoccupied with the brawl to notice. Ren, on the other hand, looked in the direction of the guild hall's front doors with anticipation in her gaze.

"Fairy Tail! We're home~~~~~!" Makarov shouted as soon as the guild's doors slid open.

*Bang!*

Unfortunately for Makarov, he did not have the time to react to the bar stool that had been flung towards the guild's front doors. As a result, he was hit in the face and sent flying back through the still open doors.

"Hahaha!" Natsu laughed happily after seeing the ongoing brawl. "It looks like they threw a party for our return!"

With that, Natsu sprinted into the guild hall and joined the brawl immediately.

Meanwhile, the other returning members of the guild only looked down at Makarov with slight pity and great amusement in their gazes. Makarov, on the other hand, after feeling all the gazes on him gritted his teeth before picking himself up off the ground.

"You damn brats!" Makarov shouted before rushing back into the guild hall to give his rowdy children a piece of his mind.

"*Sigh* There really is no place like home, huh?" Elicia said with a smile while snuggling up against Alfonzo's right side.

"Yeah." Cana, who was snuggled up on Alfonzo's left side, replied with a smile. "Even though we were only gone for a couple of days, it always feels great to come back home."

"Right now, I'd much rather go home and sleep." Alfonzo said, sounding a bit tired.

"Before we do that, we have a celebration party to throw!" Gildarts said while patting Alfonzo strongly on the shoulder. Then, he swept Cana up in his arms and rushed into the guild hall. "Hey, everyone! My little girl is Fairy Tail's newest S-Class wizard!"

Hearing Gildarts' shout, the brawl paused momentarily. Then, the members of the guild either cheered in glee or broke down in disappointment. And the reason for those reactions was simple. The members of the guild who did not attend the S-Class promotion Exam had a little bet going for who would pass this year's exam.

Then, the brawl intensified while the wizards who lost took out their frustrations on anyone they could get their hands on, while those who won simply defended themselves as they were ecstatic about the money they just won.

After fifteen minutes, the brawl finally came to an end. While many of the guild's wizards were covered in bruises, no one was unconscious. So, when the stage was lowered from the wall, everyone was able to hear the announcement of the new S-Class wizard.

"As Gildarts said, Cana Alberona passed this year's S-Class Promotion Exam." Makarov said while gesturing to Cana, who was standing on the stage with him. "So, give her a big round of applause."

Despite some of the wizards still being unhappy that they lost their bet, everyone in the guild hall cheered happily for Cana's success.

"With her partner, Lucy Heartfilia, Cana was able to overcome all the trials that were placed before her to reach the goal of all those who took part in the exam this year."

After finishing his announcement, however, Makarov's expression turned much more solemn.

"Unfortunately, there was much more that happened on Tenrou Island than just the S-Class promotion Exam." Makarov said in a serious tone that changed the atmosphere in the guild hall to a much more solemn one.

From there, Makarov explained everything that happened on Tenrou Island over the last two days, without leaving out any details. And even when Makarov did not have all the information about an encounter, the wizards who dealt with a particular issue would chime in to fill in the blanks.

"Are you saying the island was attacked by Grimoire Heart?" Macao asked in disbelief. "But how did they even get to the island with the barrier that hides it from view?"

"*Sigh* Apparently, the master of Grimoire Heart, Hades, was actually the second master of our guild, Precht Gaebolg." Makarov said in a downtrodden tone. "I don't know what made him change so much, but he wanted everyone on the island dead for whatever he was planning."

While none of the wizards present were old enough to remember the time when Hades… or rather, Precht was the guild master, none of them could believe there was someone who would betray Fairy Tail, even after leaving the guild.

"But that's not even the worst of what happened." Makarov said, the atmosphere becoming solemn once again. "We survived an attack from the Dragon King of the Apocalypse, Acnologia."

Though many of Fairy Tail's wizards were not the biggest on studying history, therefore being unfamiliar with the name Acnologia, there were still a few whose eyes widened in disbelief.

"Are you serious, Master?" Reedus asked in an astonished tone. "Why would Acnologia attack you all?"

"If I had to guess, it's because he felt the power of our Dragon Slayers while we fought with Grimoire Heart." Makarov replied.

"I'm not sure who this Acnologia is." Jet said excitedly. "But since you all came back safe and sound, that means you defeated him, right?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Droy added. "That's just more proof that Fairy Tail is the strongest."

"Yeah~~~~~~~~~!" The other members of the guild, who were unaware of Acnologia's identity, cheered loudly.

Those who did know about Acnologia, however, did not join in on the cheering. Instead, they watched the expressions of those who had to fight him. And when they saw the downcast expressions, they knew things weren't as positive as the others thought.

"No, we didn't defeat him." Makarov said with his head down, teeth gritted, and fists clenched. "He played with us. And when he got bored…"

Noticing how Makarov trailed off in his speech, the guild's atmosphere cooled rather quickly.

"If you didn't win, then what happened?" Gozaburo asked sternly.

"*Sigh* we only survived thanks to Alfonzo." Makarov said in a tone mixed with gratitude and frustration.

Hearing that, all the eyes in the guild fell on Alfonzo, who seemed really tired of being there. Still, he explained what he did and why he created such a magic item. Unlike those on the island, however, the members of the guild who did not take part in the S-Class Promotion Exam showered him with only gratitude for saving those they considered friends and family.

"*Sigh* And now I feel even worse about the way I acted." Ur said before chugging down the wine in her glass.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked, concerned about the tone Ur spoke in.

"*Sigh* It went like this…" Ur said, starting her explanation about the aftermath of the [Fairy Sphere] spell.

Not only Ur, but all those who were suspicious of Alfonzo having a spell like that prepared explained how they acted on Tenrou Island to the people they were closest to in the guild. And when the explanations were done, they all got the same advice.

"Just go and apologize."

And after getting enough drinks in them, that's what they all did. Lucky for them, Alfonzo had also downed quite a few drinks. So, at that point, everyone was his favorite person in the world, and he replied to all the apologies the same way.

"Don't mention it!" Alfonzo said energetically as he wrapped Ur in a hug with a big smile on his face. "Tensions were high, and emotions were out of control. There was nothing we could do about it back then. But I know you, and you know me. And we both know that we don't' wanna hurt anybody, right? So, let's just have another drink and enjoy the night!"

Although his responses were worded slightly differently every time, Alfonzo basically said the exact same thing to everyone who apologized to him. Then, after he said it to Ur, he just passed out from all the alcohol he had consumed, most of which was bought for him by Gozaburo, who was so grateful that his little girl was able to come back from such a dangerous situation.

"I think this is the first time I've seen Alfonzo pass out from alcohol consumption." Erza said with Alfonzo's head on her lap, while she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I know, right." Cana replied with a smile. "*Hiccup* He can usually keep up with me."

"*Sigh* This is my dad's fault." Sun said in a slightly embarrassed tone. "I can understand why he's happy but…"

With that, Sun looked over in her father's direction, an action that was followed by everyone else sitting at the table. And what they saw was the shirtless Gozaburo dancing on top of one of the guild's tables with a bottle of liquor in each hand and a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, but can you blame him?" Lisanna asked with a smile. "Actually, we're all lucky to have even come back."

"Yeah, Alfonzo protected his family like a real man!" Elfman added.

"Although it doesn't happen often, Elfman." Mirajane said with a smile. "But you do sometimes use that phrase in the right way."

"Still, we all need to find a way to thank Alfonzo." Meredy suggested.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Elicia said while licking her lips seductively. "I think we'll be able to thank him enough for everyone."

In response, the girls in Alfonzo's harem nodded in agreement. Though, some of them nodded with flushed cheeks, some of them nodded with seductive smiles like Elicia, and one, namely Erza, nodded sternly as if she were about to carry out a sacred duty.

At the same time, Lucy's face reddened as well while thinking how she would thank Alfonzo, as well.

'As soon as we finally have our date, I'll make sure he knows how grateful I am that he saved everyone.' Lucy thought to herself while clenching her fists under the table.