A/N: This chapter was hard to write, the words somehow just didn't come as easily as usual for me. So I'm sorry if this one is not good after all.

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The annual Magnolia Harvest Festival was in a week, and there was a lot to prepare for. Mira was the one in charge of all preparation for both the Festival and the Fantasia Parade and she had asked a few members for help, including Erza. Not that she needed much persuasion to begin with, the redhead always jumped at the chance to help her friends and participate in any guild-related activities. It was part of her responsibility after all, as a member of the Fairy Tail family.

Lucy fussed over Erza at seeing the Requip mage carrying a big plank of wood on the stage. The blonde still wasn't convinced she had fully recovered and as much as Erza was touched by Lucy's caring side, it was nearly the end of the month and the Celestial mage still hadn't saved enough money to pay for the rent on her apartment yet. As such, Erza had to order Team Natsu (minus her and plus Juvia to foster bonding with the new member) to take on a job together with a somewhat decent pay, which would require them to be out of town for a few days after she had promised Lucy, repeatedly, that she would still be in one piece when the blonde got back.

Erza failed to keep a smile from curling at the corner of her lips at overhearing Lucy ask Mira to keep an eye on her, worriness visible in the Celestial mage's normally cheerful voice while the white-haired girl just chuckled amusedly.

Erza decided she didn't hate the feeling of having someone getting this worked up over her, sometimes.

This year they had decided to add a new contest, Miss Fairy Tail, to bring about new content to the Festival once in a while. It was a beauty pageant of sorts, with the main aim of providing entertainment for both local people and travelers from different parts of the continent who came to Magnolia to take part in the Harvest Festival.

This piqued Erza's interest. She didn't care that much about the reward money, but her fiercely competitive streak practically demanded that she take part in the contest. The redhead could still recall countless incidents in the past where she and Mirajane got into some kind of competition over all sorts of random things, from cake eating to three-legged racing. They were even worse than Natsu and Gray now, Erza remembered fondly.

Lucy and the others came back from their mission a few days later, just in time for the Festival to begin the next morning. This would be Lucy and Juvia's first Harvest Festival ever, and Erza hoped it would be a great experience for both of them, to participate in and witness Fairy Tail's spirit at its most united height.

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The sudden appearance of the Thunder Legion threw Erza for a loop since no one had seen them or Laxus for a while now. She was so astonished at the sight of Evergreen that her attack caught Erza off guard and all seven contestants were petrified into statutes right on the stage, being held as hostages for Laxus's absurd fantasy.

Erza didn't know why, among the girls turned into stone by Evergreen's magic, she was the only one capable of breaking the effects of the spell. But if she had to guess, she would say it might have something to do with her right eye. Perhaps the strength of the spell was cut in half due to it being an artificial one.

Despite being petrified, she could still hear what everyone was talking, could still hear Laxus arrogantly announce his plan of overthrowing Master Makarov by pitting Fairy Tail members against each other to determine who the strongest among all of them was.

It was a barbaric display of power and control, the way he forced their own friends and family to hurt each other just to satisfy his immature ego. Bastard! Erza gritted her teeth. Now that she was free, she would smash his face for this unforgivable, outrageous crime!

The number of remaining contenders had changed upon her revival, and Erza grinned as the figure jumped again from three to four. Seemed like Mystogan had just gotten back in town, impeccable timing as always.

There was no way for Laxus to get away with this now.

She was on the hunt for Laxus when Evergreen intercepted her in the middle of the street, rambling about being the true Queen of Fairies. She was not the main target of Erza's wrath, but if Evergreen was defeated here, all the stone statutes would surely be released. Laxus would lose any kind of blackmail he had over Master and other members of the guild, then this whole nonsense could finally be put to rest.

Evergreen, just like Laxus, was too arrogant for her own good. And that proved to be her downfall.

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After making sure Evergreen had freed all the girls (by keeping a sword on her neck until the reversal spell had been performed successfully), Erza left to continue the pursuit of Laxus. Even though it was over now, she still needed to personally arrest the scumbag and deliver him to Master for his punishments.

Magnolia was a big town, and there was a lot of ground to cover. Erza was still trying to figure out the right way to go when a tremendous amount of magical energy flooded through the air and a dark purple explosion soon followed from the south side of the town.

The redhead froze right on the spot at the familiar feeling where the magical residuals touched her skin, a reminder of a distant past buried away deep in her memory.

It had been a few years since the last time she felt it, but there was no doubt who was the owner of such distinctive magical pressure. She had been the main recipient of its destructive power countless times before.

A few seconds later, the enchantment runes near her displayed a new status update, "Freed versus Mirajane, both have lost the will to fight."

Her first instinct was to worry about Mira. She knew the reason behind Mira's loss of access to her power, the tears she kept hidden away from the world. It was a turning point for them, to set aside their trivial rivalry so that Mira could mourn her sister in peace and try to move on, along with Elfman.

A long time had passed, but Mira's smile never reached her eyes as it did before. Time didn't heal all wounds, Erza knew, it just made them more numb to the pain, more used to putting on a façade in front of people, more prone to disappear alone whenever an anniversary came up.

If something happened to Mira because of this stupid game, Erza would pay Laxus back ten times worse. That was a promise.

Another explosion interrupted her train of thought. The only remaining opponent now was Laxus, so he must be wherever the source of that explosion was. Erza followed the magic flows to Kardia Cathedral in the center of the town, not anticipating the surprise waiting for her there.

Jellal's face still haunted her, both in her dreams and even now, in place of the man they had always known as Mystogan. His distinctive blue hair and the red tattoo over his right eye paralyzed her thoughts, incapacitated her entire being.

She thought he had died that day, back at the Tower of Heaven. She had hoped and hoped, that during the last moment on this earth he had freed himself from Zeref's cruel grasp to save all of them. She had believed in the light he once had, in the kind-hearted man he once was.

But he was standing here now, and Erza didn't know what to think or how to feel anymore. He claimed he was not the Jellal she knew but the words didn't seem to register inside her brain. None of it made any sense, especially when her thoughts were all fragmented just by looking at him. Alive.

Before she could recover, Jellal had disappeared into thin air, leaving Laxus for her and Natsu to take on. The Salamander started to engage Laxus in a fistfight, and the heated intensity of it jolted Erza out of her stupor. She needed to forget about Jellal, or Mystogan, and focus on the threat of Laxus and the Thunder Palace at the moment.

It shocked her, to understand the despicable lengths Laxus would go to achieve his foolish delusion. For him to threaten the lives of innocent Magnolia citizens like that.

She would have to believe Natsu could defeat Laxus in her stead so she could go after the lightning lacrimas herself.

There was something about Natsu that always gave people a feeling of hope. Still, the Fire Dragon Slayer didn't let Erza go until she had promised she wouldn't die trying to destroy all the lacrimas simultaneously.

Natsu, you have saved my life before. I'm not going to throw it away now. Rest assured.

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With the Thunder Palace destroyed and Laxus defeated under the hand of Natsu and Gajeel, everyone rushed right back to preparing for the Fantasia Parade on the last day of the Festival.

It was postponed one day for Master Makarov and other injured members to recuperate. All of them were eager to participate in the Parade but Erza held firm at only allowing members with minor injuries to be in it, the rest must settle for watching from a distance this year.

Somehow Natsu got past her security check and jumped on a platform anyway. The idiot.

In the chaos between the whole Laxus fiasco and the Parade preparation, Erza managed to steal Mira away for a moment to talk. The white-haired girl assured her nothing bad had happened, but that seeing her little brother get hurt so much had awakened her dormant Take Over magic after all these years. She had failed her little sister once, she was not going to do the same with Elfman now.

Erza could still see the faint phantom of trauma weighing down the gentle slope of Mirajane's shoulders, its ghosts etching around the corner of her light blue eyes. Nothing could ever compare to the loss of a family member, but there was nothing we could do but keep moving forward. To experience life in their place and honor each one of their memories.

Laxus arrived at the guild the day before the Parade, wrapped up in bandages all over his body. The only reason Erza allowed him to go see Master Makarov was because of his Fairy Law, how it spoke true of his heart and care about his comrades. He would still have to pay for his actions, but they were his family. Laxus had been in Fairy Tail almost all his life now. It was the place where he belonged, even though he still had a myriad of problems to work through.

She was surprised, and a little sad too, that Master decided to exile Laxus from the guild as his punishment. She had always had a soft spot for people with tender hearts who got lost for a while on their path to redemption.

Erza hoped he could find his way back to them, one day.

Lucy found her sitting alone by the window at the back corner of the guild, three days after the Parade. This alcove was similar to the one back at their old guild hall, where she used to go whenever she needed some quiet time for herself, ever since she was a little girl just arrived at Fairy Tail. Apart from Mira, no one else knew about this secret hiding spot of hers.

"Hey, Erza." The blonde said, softly so she didn't startle Erza too much.

"Lucy." Erza nodded, turning her head to look at the newcomer, "How do you know I was here?"

"Mira said you were not at Fairy Hills, and you usually tell us before you leave for a mission. So I figured you would be at the guild hall somewhere. I checked the library first but you weren't there."

"I see. And is there anything I can do for you? Do you need my assistance with something?" Erza asked, immediately concerned. People usually only sought her out whenever there was trouble they could not handle themselves. Or, in Natsu's case, whenever the flame-brained idiot wanted to get beaten up without mercy.

The Celestial mage shook her head, "No, nothing of the sort. I just... want to see how you're doing. You have been alone a lot these past few days. You're not eating cakes at the main bar, you're not beating Natsu up nor breaking up brawls around the guild... Is there something bothering you?"

Is still amazed Erza, how perceptive the blonde was. She already had many habits of the Requip mage figured out in just a few months of knowing each other. Never before had anyone paid this close attention to Erza without a nefarious ulterior motive. She had been alone by herself ever since she came to Fairy Tail and everyone had learned to keep a width berth from her the first time they saw Erza beat Gray up in the middle of the guild hall.

Erza wondered if Lucy was the same with all of their friends, or was it just the redhead that was special.

"There is, actually. I usually come here alone when I need to contemplate something or just to clear my head." Erza smiled.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't realize you wanted to be alone. Should I leave now?" Lucy frowned, already backing away a few steps.

Erza shook her head and chuckled, "No, it's alright. Come here, sit down. There is no need for you to go. I don't mind."

The blonde took a tentative step closer before sitting down on the chair opposite Erza on the other side of the small table, "Are you sure? I would totally understand if you want me to go. Wouldn't want to disturb you in your alone time. God knows how rare it is with the rowdy bunch we have around here..."

The small smile didn't leave Erza's face at seeing Lucy being so considerate, "Yes, I'm sure. I have no idea what it is, but there is something about you that is oddly comforting to be around, Lucy." Her lips only curved further upwards at the faint blush appeared on the blonde's cheeks.

"Is that so... I'm glad you feel that way." The Celestial mage allowed a few seconds of silence to pass before speaking up again, softly, "Do you want to talk about it? The thing that is troubling you?"

Erza leaned her chin on one palm, placed her elbow on the table and looked at the girl in front of her. Lucy had been a wonderful friend so far, she would believe her if she told the blonde about Mystogan having Jellal's face, about her feelings at the silver thread of hope that he was still alive all this time. The Requip mage already asked Master Makarov about the mysterious mage but apparently he didn't know that much about the blue-haired man either.

He has always been the silent type. Makarov had said.

But looking at Lucy like this, sincere and gentle in the fading light, Erza couldn't bring herself to tell the girl about it. They had just been through an internal civil war against other members of their own family. There was no need to worry the blonde, or anyone else, about the possible threat of an imposter hiding among Fairy Tail, especially one as dangerous as Jellal Fernandes.

She would tell her when she had gathered enough information about the situation to determine whether the threat was a legitimate one or not, Erza decided.

And so, she only closed her eyes and breathed out quietly, "Not now. I will tell you about it when the time is right, is that alright?"

A hand reached out and touched Erza's fist on the table, so gently that she almost couldn't feel it through the layer of her glove, "Of course, take as much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere. Please don't let it burden you too much. Stress is not good for you, you know, both physically and mentally."

Erza gave the blonde a reassuring smile, "Yes, I know, don't worry, I won't even think too much about it. Anyway, I heard you single-handedly defeated Bickslow during the battle, is that right? I want to hear all about it. How did you get around his Figure Eyes?"

The Celestial mage groaned, probably remembering all her injuries from that battle, "It was horrible. I never want to fight a friend again. I almost died if it wasn't for Loke to open his own gate without my keys..."

Erza leaned further forward, hiding a smile behind her palm at seeing Lucy getting animated during the recount, the blonde's hands gesturing wildly around the table. From Lucy radiated light and fervor, brightly as if the Sun itself lives inside of her, a mile different from the darkness Erza carried with her past. And she would do everything to protect this ray of sunshine in her life.

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A/N: Votes and comments are welcome!