When their group returned to the guild in the aftermath, everyone was already there. Lucy ran over and took Erza from Natsu when she caught sight of them limping into the guildhall.

Erza shook her head at the worried look in the blonde's eyes, "I'm fine, Lucy, just exhausted. Wendy already healed most of the injuries. I only need someone's help to wrap the rest of them up." The Celestial mage immediately sat Erza down on a chair nearby and proceeded to clean up the remaining wounds on her body, leaving the redhead to listen to everyone around her reporting their status after the fight.

They had deterred Alvarez's first wave of attacks, which consisted of 50 aircrafts and a horde of soldiers on the ground. Erza and Bisca defeated Ajeel, Lucy and Cana somehow captured Brandish, and another guy whom Master Makarov didn't know was beaten by the Thunder Legion and Ichiya but not before his magic made the Kardia cathedral explode and injure the Thunder Legion in the process. Laxus was quite furious about that.

However, there was another wave of the enemy approaching from Hargeon as well, judging by the massive blast of magic energy aimed at their guild right after the battle had finished. Ichiya managed to send out a message to ask for other guilds' help in the upcoming war before Christina was destroyed as a shield to protect Fairy Tail against the blast.

Erza turned around to the Blue Pegasus man sitting near them, wrapped up in bandages all over his body, "Thank you, Ichiya. You didn't have to do that for us, but you still did anyway. For that, I'm extremely grateful." She didn't know why he was here with all of them, but now was not a time for such trivial matters. They needed to formulate a plan before the next wave of the enemy reached the shore first.

"There is no need to thank me, Erza-san." Ichiya shook his head, "Zeref intends to wage war against all of Fiore. This is not just Fairy Tail's fight anymore." The man had stopped all of his inappropriate comments and behaviors toward Erza right after he learned about her relationship with Lucy, respectful of her personal distance now, and Erza only smiled at that.

They got a few hours' rests through the rest of the night. The next day, everyone woke up to the next enemy wave coming in from all four sides of Magnolia. Fortunately, the other guilds had had enough time to form defense lines against Alvarez on different sides, alleviating the burden for Fairy Tail's shoulder alone. Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus were ready to face the enemy to the North while Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel would take on the force coming from the South.

First Master Mavis decided they needed to offer their aid to the other guilds as well, so Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, Gajeel, Levy, and Lily would head North while Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, and Laxus would move South. The East side was being guarded by three of the Four Emperors of Ishgar and Jura, so the First Master surmised there was no need to send cavalry over there yet.

But Natsu, the constant headache he was, went ahead of them to take on Zeref directly in the West. Amidst everyone's bickering, Erza simply shook her head to stop the others from going after the Salamander as well, "We need to stick with Master's plan. Let's leave Zeref in Natsu's hands. He did say he has a secret weapon to defeat Zeref after all."

Gray was the first one to voice out his disagreement, "Are you being serious?! This is Zeref we're talking about! He even has the Book of E.N.D!"

"I know how you feel about the Book of E.N.D." Erza asserted more firmly, "But I'm certain Natsu will succeed. What we can do right now is to believe in him." Natsu had never let them down before, and even though the enemy was much more powerful this time, Erza was sure the Fire Dragon Slayer would keep his word.

Gray was not satisfied with that, his tone was getting more aggressive now, which was highly unusual since he had never used that tone with her before, "You always put too much faith in Natsu, Erza!"

The redhead narrowed her eyes, "So are you saying you don't have faith in Natsu?" Everyone around was getting worried at seeing them like this, Erza could feel it, but this was not something she could brush aside easily. It was not the time for them to feel conflicted about their own members, they needed to unite everything they had in this fight. Mind, spirits, and belief.

The Ice-Make wizard only stared at her intensely, and Erza stared right back. Whatever it was that was making Gray unsettled, Erza would not back down now.

Lucy was the only one brave enough to separate them from their intense staring match, by putting a hand on each of their shoulders and pushing them away from each other, "Come on! Stop it, you two! We don't need this right now."

Gray huffed and turned away, grumbling under his breath, "It's not that I don't have faith in him. I'm... I'm just worried about the idiot going alone." Erza just smiled and shook her head fondly. That was how Gray showed affection to people he cared about, by being an enigma that could send anyone's head spinning if they didn't know how to read between the lines of the things he said.

It was agreed that Erza would go to the South in place of Natsu and Lucy would stay at the guild to keep an eye on Brandish along with Cana. A part of her did want to meet Kagura again, that was why the redhead volunteered to go, despite Lucy's worries about her injuries.

"I'm fine." Erza gave her girlfriend a reassuring smile, "I have always had a faster recovery system than normal people. You don't have to worry too much, Lucy. Besides, you know I can't sit still when everyone was out fighting for our guild like that."

The blonde just sighed, "Yeah, I know. Sometimes I wonder if that's part of your charms actually. Alright, if you insist on going..."

Erza looked on curiously as Lucy placed both of her hands on the redhead's upper arm and muttered something. A white light followed, and when the blonde lowered her hands from their place, a marking was imprinted on Erza's arm, curling right around her yellow Fairy Tail mark.

The Requip mage lifted her arm up to get a closer look, "What's this?" The mark somehow looked familiar, but Erza didn't recognize it. A zigzag line connected by dots, so perhaps one of the constellations or asterisms the redhead had seen in Lucy's books before.

"That's the Big Dipper." So she was right. "A location spell, of sorts. When you're not close to me, it let me know where you are. You remember what I told you about the Big Dipper, right?"

Erza frowned slightly, trying to search through her memories for an answer, "It always points to the North Star, Polaris?"

"Yes." The Celestial smiled, eyes brighter than any distant star in the darkest of night, "It always points to Polaris. So no matter what happens, you always have to return to me, alright?"

That was fitting. Erza nodded. She was the Big Dipper, and Lucy was her Polaris. Polaris led sailors on the right path without getting lost in the vast sea at night. It represented hope, the promise of shore, safety, and brighter days ahead.

"Alright." The redhead smiled, she would carry this mark with her into the fight as a good luck charm then. It reassured her to know it would reassure Lucy of her whereabouts, "I love you."

"I love you too. Please be safe, Erza."

------------------------------

When Erza's team reached Hargeon port, there were three of the Twelve Spriggans there. The combined force between Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale was pushed back out of the city due to the enemy's tight defense. They quickly spread out to help their fellow mages in different directions.

Erza met up with Kagura at the temporary camp on top of a nearby hill, and the two of them were making their way past the enemy's formation to reach Hargeon's inner circle when Jellal suddenly appeared in the middle of the road.

"Sorry I'm late." The blue-haired man nodded to both of them. Erza narrowed her eyes at him, "Cover your face, idiot." Telling Jellal to be careful with his identity was just instinct to her at this point, just like telling Natsu to not do anything stupid every time she saw his grinning face.

The man shook his head, "I decided to stop running. I've come here to defeat Zeref." A determined glint shone in his eyes, and Erza dared hope for the light used to be there too, a long time ago.

Upon reaching the port, Erza could see their friends were fighting the enemy on the ground, so the three of them changed direction and headed for the enemy's warship fleet anchoring in the water instead. They had just landed on the biggest ship in the fleet when the unexpected happened.

Simon was standing in front of them, in the flesh. Erza could feel her heart miss a beat at the sight of him. A ghost ripped out from both the darkest and purest parts of her soul, her memories. Her broken heart.

However, there was something strange about the magic radiating from this Simon. Erza narrowed her eyes. There was no life force at all, and Jellal seemed to have come to the same conclusion as well. But Kagura was blindsight at the presence of her older brother again, understandably, and Jellal had to stop her from taking another step closer to Simon, "No, stay back! He isn't Simon!"

"Bravo," A clap was heard from above, and the three of them looked up to see a strange man in a green suit of armor sitting on the ship's yard, "That is your Historia. Love, friendship, family, and death. I'm impressed, you realized it instantly. This masterpiece I have here is an Historia of your memories. A wizard you hold dear in your hearts." Based on the intensity of magic power emitting from this guy, Erza guessed he must be another one of the Twelve Shields of Spriggan.

This was psychological warfare now, Erza gritted her teeth. Kagura looked close to breaking down at this point, the Simon that this guy created even had memories and personalities of his own. Too focused on the sight of Simon, both Erza and Kagura didn't realize a powerful blast was coming for the Mermaid Heel wizard, only for Jellal to grab Kagura and roll both of them out of the danger zone, straight out of the ship and fall into the water below.

That left Erza to deal with the Shield alone. This guy could summon Ikaruga, Azuma, and Kyoka all simultaneously, some of the most powerful adversaries she had overcome in her past.

The situation was worrying on a whole new level. Even though Erza had defeated each of these mages before, the three of them combined together presented a much more tenacious obstacle this time. Tried as hard as she could, the redhead couldn't figure out a way to overpower the three of them at once. She had just barely dodged a strike from Ikaruga when Azuma's tree vines caught her in their holds, leaving Erza entirely vulnerable to the oncoming magic blast from Kyoka directly in front of her body.

The last thing Erza heard was someone calling her name, before everything went black.

------------------------------

When she woke up, Kagura's big copper eyes were there to greet her, but without tears this time.

"Finally, you're awake, Erza-san. Take it easy for now." Wendy rushed to her side immediately, "Your wounds were deep, so it'll take time for them to heal completely." Erza looked around the room. Kagura, Millianna, some of the other Mermaid Heel mages, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Jellal, and Meledy as well.

Looked like everyone was here, but there was something Erza needed to know first, "Wh-what had become of the battle?" The redhead had to cough a few times to get the words out of her scratchy throat.

Gray smiled, "We've successfully freed Hargeon and taken back the port. Jellal and Kagura defeated that Spriggan guy and took down the ship fleet. Our resident Dragon Slayer and Chelia here beat up another one of the Twelve Shields. Everyone else was still going after the remaining soldiers, but it's just a matter of time until they're gone."

"I see." Erza breathed out in relief. "So it's a victory for us then. Jellal, Kagura, I assume it was you guys who saved me? Thank you."

"You have saved me many times before," Jellal smiled, the rare, special, tiny smile of his that lighted up his face and everything about him at the moment. Not exactly the same as the first bright smile Erza still kept close to her heart ever since they were kids yet, but so close. One day, for sure. "I'm just glad I can save you this time."

Erza just shook her head fondly at the words. Jellal averted his eyes to look at her arm instead, "There is something I'm curious about, though. May I ask, what is that marking on your arm? Is that a Grand Chariot?" That drew the attention of everyone in the room to her arm as well.

The Requip mage looked down in confusion, "You mean this one around my guild mark?"

Jellal affirmed, "Yes. It looks like the Grand Chariot. I was wondering where did you get it."

"Grand Chariot? Lucy told me it's the Big Dipper." Erza frowned.

"Ah, yes." The blue-haired man nodded, "Grand Chariot is another name for the Big Dipper. It is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Bear, as you have seen in my spell before. It holds significant importance in human legends in most regions of the world too."

Erza laughed at that while everyone just seemed dumb-founded at this side of Jellal they had never had the chance to witness before, "My God, you and Lucy should meet up sometimes. You guys can be astronomical nerds together!"

Meledy teased from her place next to Jellal, "Hear that, Jellal? She calls you a nerd!"

Jellal just smiled sparingly, choosing to brush away Meledy's comment instead, probably a normal occurrence every day with the pink-haired girl, "So, that marking is a result of Lucy's doings, Erza?"

The Requip mage couldn't help a small smile curling at the corners of her lips at her girlfriend's name, "Yes, she said it was a location spell. It lets her know where I am on the battlefield."

"Why did Lucy place a location spell on you?" Kagura asked suddenly, copper eyes focused on Erza's face. Ah, that was right, Kagura didn't know. The last time they talked was after the Grand Magic Game more than a year ago, the redhead had to ask for her and Millianna's communication lines after this. Jellal and Meledy knew because Erza had kept contact with Crime Sorciere in the past year, however infrequent it was.

"Because she is my girlfriend. She worries."

"She is your what?!" Millianna screeched so loudly Erza had to lean back a few inches closer to the wall instinctively. "Why didn't you tell me, Er-chan?!" The catgirl jumped on the bed to settle close to Erza, hands already reaching out to pull her even closer before pausing in mid-air, afraid to worsen her injuries with what the redhead was sure would be a bone-crushing hug.

"It doesn't feel like a simple location spell though." Meledy peered closer, a thoughtful look on her face, and Erza let the pink-haired girl touch the marking lightly, "I was right. It has a certain type of body-link too."

"Body-link?" Erza blinked in confusion.

"Yes." Meledy confirmed, "Not a full body-link. Only a partial one. Or perhaps it shouldn't be called a body-link. Maybe a body-attachment instead. With this, Lucy can also know if your life is in critical danger. It will alert the caster about the bearer's physical state, but not share the sensations between them. I'm impressed, actually."

"Impressed?"

Jellal nodded his agreement before explaining in Meledy's place, "Considering Lucy's main type of magic, Celestial Spirit Magic, is a mixture of both Holder and Caster magic and this is an advanced Caster spell, Lucy has to be very skilled to be able to cast and hold up this spell for a long period of time. It would be easier for me or Meledy, for example, to cast this because both of us use predominantly Caster magic every day."

"Perhaps that's the reason why it lighted up earlier when Kagura and I got back to the ship to save you." Jellal turned to look at Kagura and received a nod in return, "Her spell perceived your life was in extreme danger then. But it should be alright now. Once the danger passed, Lucy would know too."

Erza couldn't be any prouder. That was her girlfriend, alright. But still, "Will this use up too much of her magic though? It does sound sophisticated."

"Once she has figured out a way to master it, it won't." Jellal shook his head, "And Lucy would never use a spell she hasn't mastered perfectly on you, would she?" The redhead smiled. Of course, Lucy would never.

"Normal people would just put a ring on it, you know." Gray smirked from his place leaning against the far wall of the room, "Not a whole location spell with a partial body-link on their partner." The man even guffawed at Erza's bright red ears.

"Juvia wants to learn it too. Juvia wants to know where Gray-sama is whenever he is not by her side." Gray's face paled immediately at that.

"That sounds like a hassle," Carla sighed with an exasperated yet fond smile, "But I guess it's romantic in its own way. A ring won't make Lucy feel as assured in your safety." Meanwhile, Wendy was just blushing to the tips of her ears at the first mention of a ring.

Even Kagura joined in with a firm nod, "I agree. This is much more practical than a thin strip of metal on one's finger. I approve of this girlfriend you have, Erza."

Mavis. Just imagine this got to Mirajane's ears somehow, there would simply be no end to it. This bunch, seriously. "Alright, that's enough teasing me about Lucy. You guys have met your quota for the day. Now, what's our next step? I assume we will go back to the guild to meet up with the others?"

------------------------------

Due to her weakened physical state, Erza fell into a deep slumber again on their way back to Magnolia. Wendy did warn her about the possibility of it beforehand though, so the redhead did not feel too alarmed at the prospect.

The next time she opened her eyes, it was to Lucy cuddling close to her side and the dawn of a new day lighting up the horizon. Erza had to blink to few times to chase away the lingering sleepiness and confusion about the situation. They were laying outside on a grass field in the open instead of at the guildhall as she had expected. Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Juvia were with them too.

Gray and Lucy explained to her that a red light suddenly appeared out of nowhere and the earth beneath them shifted somehow, bringing all of them together just at the outskirts of Magnolia. They didn't have any idea as to what had happened, only that the main force of the enemy was clustering in the town so Gray suggested they made camp on the hills to rest up for the night first.

As soon as everyone had recovered most of their magic power, their team charged right into the town, surpassing the outer formation and getting inside the main force without a problem. Upon reaching closer to the guild, the redhead was elated to see every one of their guildmates there as well, a bit worse for wear but still alive nonetheless. Even Gildarts had returned.

The Twelve Shields of Spriggan had gathered at the town. That, combined with the massive number of the enemy's soldiers on the ground, quickly put Fairy Tail at a disadvantage. In the mess of fighting going on, Erza was separated from her team, the only ones she could see in her line of sight now were Master Makarov and a few others of her guildmates.

Erza gritted her teeth. No matter how many enemies she had cut down, there were just too many others coming up, the on-slash of attack they received was relentless. But, the redhead chanced a glance at Master and her friends behind her, she must persevere through this, "Master, you mustn't exert yourself too much. I will pave the way for us to return to the guild together!" Master Makarov didn't look well like this, panting and with several cuts and bruise on his body. Erza could not afford to fail now.

Things turned worse when the enemy's foot soldiers were boosted with an enchanted spell, perhaps a result of one of the Twelve Shields' doings. Whatever the spell was, it had robbed the soldiers of any feeling of pain, and their attack power had increased as well. Erza was just barely struggling to avoid attack after attack with no end in sight.

"So this is the end..." The Requip mage could hear from her place just a few feet away from Master Makarov, eyes wide at the stance he was taking, "This is how my journey ends." Fairy Law! How had she not thought of that before? With that, their chances of surviving would certainly improve!

"Don't do it!" Mavis's voice cut through the crowd, and Erza turned to look at their First Master running toward them, "The more enemies there are, the more Fairy Law drains your life! Your body won't stand it, not against this massive army! I have a plan, one that will get us out of this predicament!"

"Shut up!" Master Makarov cut her off, "The kids are suffering before my very eyes! They're hurt and in pain! They might be just mere soldiers in your eyes, but to me they're my precious kids. I fully understand that any plan of yours means a certain victory. But right now, as we speak, I can't stand to watch my children shed any more blood!"

"If the life of this aging old man can give those kids a future," Erza was horrified at the conviction in his voice, "Then I'll gladly give it up."

"Erza! Listen to me." Master Makarov was looking directly at her as the first count for Fairy Law started. The redhead stubbornly shook her head. No! She was not going to listen! Whatever Master had to say to her, he could say it once they got out of here. "No! I refuse to! Let's return to the guildhall together..."

"No matter what hardships lie ahead, you will find a path forward if you walk together. Trust your friends. Trust yourself. A guild is a family, never forget that. My journey has truly been a delightful one, thanks to all of you. And for that, I have no more regret..."

"You're my successor now, Erza. It won't be a burden if you share it with your friends, remember that." A white, blinding light shot out from Master Makarov's body to spread to the entire battlefield, overshadowing the last trace of a smile Erza could see on his face.

When the redhead could open her eyes again, the light had faded away, leaving behind only Master Makarov's body, frozen in a stone statute. The light from Fairy Tail this time was not as warm as it should be, but rather, a freezing chill wrapped itself so terrifyingly tight around Erza, and the Requip mage didn't know whether she was shaking from the cold or the tears she was trying desperately to not let fall to the ground.

Her knees were the first to give out first. Erza threw her swords away to lean her body forward into a deep bow, forehead touching the ground. Memories of the past flashed behind her eyelids, but of happier times when she was allowed to grow up a normal kid under Master's ardent wings upon setting foot inside Fairy Tail many years ago.

When Master Makarov took her to visit Porlyusia so the healer could take a look at her infected eye. The first time she took on a job by herself and he had to come collect her when Erza failed to come back in a week. Every single time he lectured her for fighting with Mirajane or one of the boys. His smiles of affection whenever she came back with a souvenir, usually some kind of sweets, just for him after completing a mission.

"I'm.." Erza had to try her hardest to keep her voice from wavering, "I'm happy to have been your child."

Laxus carefully picked Master Makarov's body up in his arms and came to stand beside Erza, letting her lean on his strong, warm torso for a second. The redhead closed her head and took a deep breath to try to regain her composure before the ground beneath their feet shook again and a big explosion rang through the air from a short distance away. Laxus turned his face upward to the sky and sighed, "Erza, go to them. It's Natsu and Gray. Knowing them, they're probably doing something stupid like quarreling with each other right now. They need you there, just like they always do."

Laxus was right. When Erza reached them, Natsu and Gray were fighting with each other. But it was different from their normal brawls at the guild. This time, Natsu's punch was heated with a malicious fire and Gray's eyes burned with hatred instead of mischief like they used to before.

They were going to kill each other here, Erza could feel it, the trembling fear etching at her bones. The redhead didn't know what happened, only that this part of her family was on the verge of breaking, too.

Too much. This was just too much.

"Stop!" Before Erza even knew it, she had thrown herself in between the two of them, "What... what are you two doing?"

Too much. And the poorly held tears started to fall without her permission. Erza was getting too numb to care about it. "Look closely at the person in front of you! We are family, what are you two doing?!"

"I love you both... from the bottom of my heart." Erza was sure both of them could see her tears now, too. "So please, no more fighting...."

"Erza!" Someone was calling for her, but the redhead couldn't see anything through the mist covering her eyes anymore. Hands touching her face. Familiar. Lucy. "What the hell did the two of you do to her?! Erza, love? What's wrong?"

Lucy. "Hold me..." Lucy, hold me. Please.

Warmth enveloped her in its embrace. Tight. Comforting. And safe. She had been so cold. "It's alright, I'm here now. I won't let anything happen to you."

And in Lucy's strong arms, Erza let go.

------------------------------

The enemy found them a while later, after Erza's tears had dried out and Lucy had whispered all the soothing words in the world into her ear as she held her tight in her chest.

The Requip mage's feelings were still raw after the emotional turmoil she had just been through, but Erza was now lucid enough to realize an enemy's presence looming over them. "Go, Happy, Carla, Wendy. Get the rest to safety first."

"What about you, Erza, Lucy?" Carla asked worriedly.

"This magic power... This woman must be the one who cast that enchanted spell on the soldiers earlier. I have a debt to settle with her then." Erza blinked away the last tears at the corners of her eyes.

"And I won't leave Erza here." Lucy stood up as well, whip already in hand.

"I'll stay and fight too!" There was steely resolve in Wendy's eyes, and Erza knew there was no convincing the girl otherwise, "I will support you, Erza-san. This time, I want to protect you in my own way!"

But the woman in front of them was powerful, and the magic radiating from her was on another level compared to the rest of the Twelve Shields. None of Erza and Lucy's attacks could even touch an inch of her skin, even when imbursed with Wendy's enchantment.

There was something else about her, too. The Requip mage couldn't place it, but there was some familiarity in her appearance and presence, both of which were calling for Erza's own magic in a strange way, "Just who are you?! Are you one of the Twelve Spriggans?"

"Oh." The red-haired woman simply smiled, but it was a condescending smile that didn't reach her eyes, "You still haven't realized? No... You're vaguely aware, but don't want to believe it's true."

Erza clenched her jaw tightly, "I don't know you." No matter what her instincts were telling her, the fact remained Erza didn't really know who this woman was.

The smile on the woman's face turned into a smirk, "Let me spell it out for you then. I'm your mother, Erza."

The word rang through her ears, louder than any thunder in the middle of the fiercest storm. She could hear Lucy and Wendy gasp out loud from behind her. "No!" Erza growled out, "I grew up in Rosemary village! I always told myself I had no parents!"

"Well, you're talking to one right now. Me." The woman's voice was starting to grate on her nerves, and Erza gripped the sword in her hand tighter.

"You're not my mother. There is only one person I'll ever consider a parent: my Master!" She didn't know this woman. Whoever she was, that was of no concern to Erza. Anyone who attacked their guild would always be considered an enemy.

"That's fine by me, then. I don't actually care that I have a daughter either. I thought you were long dead anyway. But meeting you like this... how strange fate can be. No matter, all of you will die soon." The woman just shrugged, "Even so, to die before learning the secret of your birth would be so sad..."

"I don't care!" Erza shook her head. She was done with hearing things she didn't want to hear for the day already.

"We've finally met again after all this time, I can at least tell you an old story." The woman used her shaft to block Erza's furious attack, "I am Irene Belserion, the former Queen of the Dragons."

It all began about 400 years ago, in a kingdom on Ishgar called "Dragnof" where dragons and humans lived together in harmony for generations, a stark contrast to the situation in the West. Irene was the Queen of Dragnof at the time and had invented Enchantment magic in order to prepare for the upcoming war with the dragons coming from the West. However, the war was not in Dragnof's favor. Not only did the Western dragons greatly outnumber theirs, but there were also some dragons in Ishgar who didn't want to coexist with humans as well.

Irene found a new way to turn the situation around, by imbuing herself and several others with the power of a dragon from her friend, Belserion the Sage Dragon, for humans to gain the ability to fight and slay dragons. A new type of magic was born as a result of that, Dragon Slayer Magic which Irene was the inventor and first user of.

After producing numerous Dragon Slayers, Dragnof finally gained the upper hand in the war. But that great power began to corrode the humans' bodies and minds. The typical vehicle sickness that every Dragon Slayer still suffered to this day was a product of the mismatch between dragons' sight and humans' sense of balance. And, worst of all, certain Dragon Seeds started to grow inside the humans. Seeds that transformed people into dragons and spelled doom for any Dragon Slayer.

By the time Irene realized there was a Dragon Seed inside of her, she was already pregnant with Erza. Her husband was a general of a neighboring country and their marriage was a political union to end a territorial dispute between their kingdoms. He had fought by her side on many battlefields and stayed with her as she watched Belserion die. When Acnologia rose up, the war ended with neither side as the victor.

One week after the war ended, her husband got paranoid at seeing Irene start to show signs of turning into a dragon just like Acnologia and, despite their close bonds forged under the heat from many battles they had fought and survived together, he turned his back on her, paying no mind to their child she was carrying all that time.

Being in the dungeon and suffering from endless torture, Irene decided to cast a spell on her unborn child to stop her from growing before they could get out to safety first. But then, one day, when her husband tried to threaten the life she was carrying inside of her, something in Irene snapped and before she knew it, she had fully transformed into a dragon and broke out of the suffocating dungeon he had kept her in for three years.

Centuries past. Irene kept searching for a way to return to her human body in vain. Until the day she met Zeref. The Black Wizard used a transformation spell to turn her into human form, but Irene was already cursed with dragon life then. No matter what she tried to do, the sensation of a normal human being wouldn't register since all her senses were those of a dragon.

Desperate to become a normal human again, Irene tried to enchant herself onto the unborn baby she was still carrying inside of her all these years. But it didn't work. So she lost all interest in the baby and threw it away like trash at the Rosemary village after giving birth to it. And that was the reason why Erza grew up alone in the village, until the day Zeref's followers captured her and the torture at the Tower began.

The Requip mage sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. It didn't matter now. Her past was what made her the way she was today. She shouldn't feel ashamed or angry at the reminder of it. Lucy come up and touched her on the shoulder where there was no hindrance of her armor to obstruct the solid warmth from her hand, and Erza allowed herself a small smile at that, "I should probably offer my gratitude to you for giving birth to me then. And thank you for throwing me away too, I never would have met my real family otherwise."

Irene laughed, "I thought sharing some old stories would make me feel at least some love for you. But none! I don't feel a single thing! You're going to die here, detestable daughter of mine!"

The woman in front of them was obsessed with turning into a normal human again, so much to the point she was ready to do anything in order to obtain a new human body. And, in between Erza and Lucy's unsuspecting attacks, Irene managed to enchant herself into Wendy's body. Wendy, being both an Enchanter and a Dragon Slayer, was much more compatible with Irene's magic as compared to Erza herself.

Impossible! The Requip mage clenched her fists, she would not let this woman take Wendy from them this easily. Wendy belonged to Fairy Tail with her and everyone. If fate had dictated she had to kill her own mother for this, let it be so.

But Irene had severely underestimated Wendy in her calculations. In the millisecond the Sky Dragon Slayer had to react, the small girl managed to enchant herself into Irene's body in return, allowing her to use Irene's much stronger magic power to push the woman out and take her own body back that way.

But doing so had depleted all of Wendy's magic so the small girl was no longer able to fight with them. And Irene was too furious at the Sky Dragon Slayer's impressive feat that she could no longer control her human form anymore. Within seconds, the red-haired woman had turned into her dragon form, a red-scale dragon with majestic wings stretching out to cover the sky above their heads.

"Curse you!" The dragon roared, "For 400 years, I protected you. Yet you turned out completely useless once you were born! And now you're denying me my happiness? Die at this, Erza! Deus Sema!"

The sky dyed a dark, malicious red color. Erza looked up at the sky above, only to see a gigantic meteorite burning up the atmosphere and heading straight her way. The sheer intense heat from it was already burning up the ground beneath their feet. Her eyes widened in shock. A more powerful version of Jellal's Sema spell? If that thing hit them, they would definitely die.

Instincts kicked in and the redhead turned around to her girlfriend and Wendy, ready to pull her away in search of cover, only to stop in her track at the stance Lucy was taking, "Not if I can help it! Open thy malevolent gate! 88 Stars of the heaven... Shine! Urano Metria!"

Erza looked up again in awe, at the dark red color of the sky being replaced by bright yellow light with various planets and stars floating around before speeding on a single target. Rapid, excessive explosions soon followed. It was rare for her to see this particular spell of Lucy. She had only seen Urano Metria twice before, once in the Grand Magic Game a year ago and once in one of their training sessions when Lucy let competitiveness and frustration get the best of her. The blonde explained this spell required so much magic power that the Celestial mage usually only used it as a last resort.

But it was the ultimate Magic of the Stars, and the most powerful attack in Lucy's arsenal. When the dust cleared away, the only left was the clear light of the day basking down on them from the sky. There was no trace of both Irene's spell and Urano Metria left. They must have canceled each other out then.

"Go, Erza!" Lucy urged as the last bit of the blonde's magic vanished after that. Wendy groaned weakly from her place on the ground a few feet away, "Erza-san, I give your sword... Dragon Slayer attributes... Enchant!"

With their combined effort, Erza managed to strike down the dragon but not before taking serious injuries to her body as well. And, between Irene and Erza, the older woman was the one with enough strength to pick up the Requip mage's fallen sword and hold it above her neck.

Erza closed her eyes and sighed. Fate truly was cruel, wasn't it? The day she lost a parent, another one suddenly appeared to take her life right after it. Master Makarov sacrificed his life to save hers, and Irene was ready to take it away instead.

The redhead smiled in acceptance. Now she knew what exactly a parent was. And Irene was not one to her.

But she was wrong, it seemed. Erza looked up from her place on the ground in surprise when the cut didn't come, to see her mother taking away her own life instead.

"How pathetic..." The woman's lips were stained with blood now, and Erza was too stunt to say anything, "The most powerful woman wizard in the Empire... can't even bring herself to kill her own daughter..."

"Wh-Why?" Was the only thing the Requip mage managed to stutter out.

"Good question... Why, indeed..." Irene Belserion smiled bitterly, a scarlet flower wilting right in front of her own eyes, "The truth is... In the end, I chose not to enchant myself onto you. You were so new to this world, and so beautiful... I decided to abandon you before I could change my mind."

"Of course, I won't expect you to believe me now." The final words were whispered so small Erza was not sure whether they were her imagination instead, "It's all because... your smile... reminded me that I loved you..."

The Requip mage lowered her head at the sight. The tears didn't come, just as she expected, but there was still a strange hollowness inside her chest that Erza didn't know how it got there. She turned to lay on her back instead, blinking away the stubborn dust clinging at the corners of her eyes before someone lifted her head up to rest on their lap instead.

Erza looked up into Lucy's worried brown eyes, reassured by her girlfriend's presence so close to her. She had lost too many people in this war already, but Lucy was still here. Erza hoped she would always be here. "Lucy?"

"Yes, darling? I'm here. What do you need?"

"Nothing." She breathed out quietly, "Just you." Always you. "Do you think my mother might have loved me, at some point?"

"I do." There was that steadfast conviction she loved again, "Every parent loves their child. Even though she didn't know how to show it that well, I do think deep down in her heart she did love you."

Erza closed her eyes again, feeling her muscles start to relax at the familiar warmth cocooning them. It didn't matter now. Whether Irene loved her or not did not matter. The only parent she had for her whole life was Master Makarov. By ties stronger than any blood.

"What about parents found instead of by blood? Do you think they love their children too?"

"Of course." Unyielding warmth on the side of her head, soft caress at her jawline. Erza thought she could cry again, "That's different from biological ties, but no less validated. With blood, parents love their children because they are a part of them, so that's just natural to want to protect their kids. But the family you found, they love you because they choose to do so, no matter what happens. Just like Master loves you with all his heart, Erza, you know that."

Loved me... The redhead could feel fresh waves of tears starting again. You mean he loved me...

Lucy just held her tight as she cried, the slender fingers running through her long hair only paused briefly in their paths when Erza managed to stammer out the reason before starting up again, more insistently. She didn't whisper anything this time either, leaving space in the silence around them for Erza's anguish to burn up blazingly before flickering away into ashen dust, swept up in mournful gusts of wind in the open space embracing them.

Erza thought if she could count each one of her heartbeats, an eternity must have passed by in that time. But she couldn't, so there was no way for her to be sure.

**********

A/N: Look at Lucy in her Cancer form dancing with dual swords and tell me that wasn't a result of Erza's training. Literally none of her Spirits uses swords so she must have learned that from someone else. Funny how many Erlu hints that could be discovered if one is desperate enough :)

Grand Chariot is the French name for the Big Dipper asterism, I did not make that up.

Lucy and Jellal would totally be the best of friends, they have many similarities to each other. I headcanon they would meet up and talk about stars and planets and Fairy Tail and Erza's weird antics sometimes. Jellal would teach Lucy magic and told her about the beautiful landscapes he had visited with his guild and Lucy would give him advices (about any subject, really. Lucy is normally a pretty level-headed person) every now and then.

Votes and comments are welcome!