The beautiful scenery flew by as the train moved from Hargeon to Magnolia, but the sight did nothing to ease the worried thoughts that swirled through Natsu's mind.

He bounced his leg and fiddled with a loose screw on his ungloved hand. Every few seconds, he would glance out the window and his heart would rush. Even though it had been over seven years since he had last rode the train, he knew the geography by heart.

Magnolia, and more importantly, Fairy Tail wasn't far away. His Guild was near, and so were the people who he had assumed were dead for a long time.

Natsu sighed, tightening the screw and then tapping the screwdriver against the metal hand. He felt constantly on edge, any building that passed by his window made him jump. He felt sick to his stomach, but not due to motion sickness, it was more a mix of dread, excitement, and fear.

"Your thoughts are making me dizzy, Natsu," Runa suddenly declared, her calling voice breaking him out of his stupor.

The Royal Alchemist sighed, set the screw driver down, and began to wrong his scarf in his hands. "I'm sorry, Runa, I just… I don't know what I'm going to do…" He whispered.

He felt the butterfly's curiosity within him. "About Fairy Tail?" She asked.

Natsu nodded, and let his head rest against the glass window. "I haven't seen any of them in seven years… They probably all think I'm dead…" He whispered,"What am I supposed to do? Just waltz in there?"

"It seems to me that such an action is your only option," Runa said.

He growled, letting his feet rest on the ground and pacing the small area of his train compartment. "W-what am I even supposed to say?! 'Hey guys, sorry for not even bothering to try and visit you until it turned out Team Tenrou was alive? Sorry you all thought I died horrifically and I never told anyone otherwise?'"

The dragonslayer slapped his hands against his cheeks and dragged them down. "Oh my God… They're gonna kill me!" He exclaimed, his tone panicked.

Runa's magic gathered around his chest, and he could feel her trying to calm him down. "They will be shocked, relieved, and possibly angry, yes, but they will be even angrier if you don't come to them now," She lectured.

Natsu pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know, I know…" He muttered, and turned his eyes back to out of the window. After a moment of thought, he snorted in amusement. "Well, better late than never, right?"

"Seven years is a little more than late, Natsu," Runa teasingly replied.

"Oh, hush, just let me have this one!" Natsu chided, flopping back into his seat and returned to watching the scenery pass by.

Not much longer now…

"You're all so young!"

"You haven't changed in seven years!"

"What happened?!"

Lucy rubbed her arm, an awkward smile on her face. "Um… It's a really long story, I don't exactly know where to start!" She admitted, and turned to Makarov. "Do you think you could explain it, master?"

Makarov grinned and nodded. "Of course, I would love to!" He said, and turned to face the others. "So I wake up when I hear people yelling-"

"Natsu."

The group of excited Fairy Tail members all froze, and then turned to face the voice. It was Romeo, staring at the members of Team Tenrou with tears building up in his wide, fearful eyes.

He looked around the guild, and then at Makarov specifically. "Where is he?" The teen asked,"Where is Natsu? Why isn't he here?!"

"Romeo…" Lucy sighed, and reached a hand out to him.

He quickly stepped backward, and avoided her grasp. "No! Don't 'Romeo' me! Natsu went with you guys, if you're all alive, he should be too! Where. Is. Natsu?!"

"He's dead."

Erza's empty, broken voice sent shockwaves through the Guild. They quickly spun to face her, disbelief etched on their faces. Her face was closed off, her eyes downcast. They looked to the other members of Team Tenrou, and saw the same expression on their faces.

"W-what…?" Laki whispered, her hands pressed against her chest.

Jet shook his head. "No… But… How?"

The redheaded mage clenched her fists at her sides. "Acnologia… We were so stupid. We didn't have a plan, and then... I- I just froze," She whispered,"Acnologia sent a blast at us, Natsu pushed us out of the way, it hit him, and…"

She bit her lip, and looked away. Lucy reached out to her, placing a hand on her shoulder as she continued,"When the dust was cleared… He was gone, and then Acnologia focused on us…"

Romeo's wide eyes started to fill with tears, they tumbled down his cheeks as he shook his head. "No… No!" He yelled, and burst into sobs. He turned, slamming the guild door open and running out without another word.

The Guild didn't chase after the teen, they were still in shock about the news they had just learned. The happiness of having their family back together had faded, because there was still one person missing. But, in their minds, he wasn't coming back.

Natsu stepped off the train, and officially back in Magnolia for the first time in seven years. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting his lungs fill with the familiar air he had missed so much.

He opened his eyes, and took in the scenery around him. "This place hasn't changed a bit…" He whispered, and scanned the scenery. "The bakery, the cake shop, that clothing shop, Lucy's apartment building… It's all still here."

An anxious feeling suddenly rose up in his chest. But you weren't. A hateful voice in his head said. You never came back, you left them alone without a second thought. You couldn't even come back in one piece, why do you think they'll want you back?

The Alchemist quickly shook away the thoughts, wringed his gloved hands together, and looked around the city. "Well… I'm here now, no turning back," He told himself, and began to walk. "Time to go to the Guild, time to face them!"

As he walked, a smile climbed onto his face. Even though he felt utterly terrified, he was also overjoyed at being back in what was one of the few places he could call home.

But the second he got to the front of the guild, his jaw dropped in shock. "Eh?!" He yelped in shock, dropping his bag in surprise.

The building was completely foreclosed, debris and bricks piled around the front, wood panels boarding up to the door, and cobwebs all over. He stepped over the bricks and grabbed one of the wood panels, and gave it a tug. It's real… The Guild Hall really… Looks like this… What happened while I was gone?

Natsu let go of the wood panel, looking back to the city. There's gotta be another place they could be… I'll keep looking!

But as he turned around, a noise reached his sensitive ears. A sniffing sound, like someone was crying, and it was coming from the guild hall. He looked down, and noticed that two panels looked like they had been pried off, big enough for someone small to get through.

The Alchemist knelt down, and managed to squeeze through the opening. "Ugh, I'm too old for this shit," He grumbled, and scooted further into the old building.

"Twenty-Three is not old" Runa bluntly declared.

"I'm old in spirit, Runa, it's a completely different thing," He teasingly lectured the magic butterfly, like a teacher would to a student.

He could hear Runa giggle in amusement. "Whatever you say, Natsu," She replied, and quickly went quiet as the sobbing sound returned.

Natsu stopped his movement, taking a second to listen. The sobbing was close, but he didn't see anyone. He stood up, dusted off his brown pants, and then took a step. Instantly, the floor creaked.

At the sound, the sobbing quieted to quiet hiccups, as if the crying person was waiting to hear something else. Unsure of what to do, considering he was technically breaking and entering, Natsu stood still.

When he didn't respond for several seconds, the person seemed to get frustrated. "I know you're there! Go away, dad!" The voice snapped.

Instantly, Natsu's heart skipped a beat. He knew that voice. It was a little different, but it was one he would never forget. He quickly walked over to where he had heard the voice, from behind the bar, and leaned over. When he saw who it was, a smile climbed onto his face.

Romeo, unaware of who was behind him, growled loudly in anger, stood up abruptly, and whipped. "I said, GO AW-" He stopped when he came face to face with who it was. His eyes widened in shock, his throat felt like it was closing up, and his eyes burned with tears.

Natsu stared back at him, the smile on his face growing wider. "You've gotten big, huh, Romeo?" He asked.

The sound of the voice was enough to send Romeo over the edge. He clenched his teeth, tears tumbling down his cheeks. Slowly, the clenched expression melted away, and turned into a wide, happy grin. He hopped over the bar, tackling the older mage in a tight hug "Natsu-nii… You're alive!" He cried.

Natsu quickly hugged him back, his hand ruffling his hair just like he used to all those years ago. "Romeo, you've gotten so big! And your arm, you have a guild mark now!" He exclaimed,"Congratulations!"

"You're alive!" Romeo repeated again, grabbing the edge of Natsu's maroon vest. "H-how?! We all- Fairy Tail- Tenrou- Everyone said you were dead!"

The young man gave the teen mage a reassuring smile. "I promise, I'll explain everything," He declared, and then rubbed at the back of his neck. "But first… Can you tell me where the new Guild hall is? I have absolutely no clue."

Suddenly reminded of all the sad faces in the Guild, Romeo cried out in excitement. "Yes! Let's go, right now!" He grabbed Natsu's sleeve, and dragged him out of the old guild hall, through town, and towards where the rest of their Guild members were.

The whole run there, the smile on Romeo's face never faded.

The guild was still filled with an awkward, guilty silence when the front door slammed open. They all quickly turned to face the front, and saw a sweating, panting Romeo with red rimmed eyes.

Never one to stand idly by, Erza quickly stood up and walked up to the teen. "Romeo," She began,"It was wrong of me to be so blunt about what happened to Natsu. I should have phrased it more carefully. After all, the death of someone like Natsu isn't just something I should sweep under the rug."

"Erza-"

"Natsu was our friend, he was family. In the very end, he sacrificed himself to save all of us, he deserved to be remembered better than just me passively telling you 'oh, he died'. He should be honored better than that."

"Erza!"

"And I know how much he means to you, which is why I want to apologize for the blunt way I handled it. Knowing someone from my guild died to save me is hard for me to register, and I'm still trying to handle it. I promise, we will honor Natsu correctly, and remember him and his death honorably-"

"ERZA!"

Finally, the woman stopped talking at the yell. She froze up, her eyes never leaving Romeo's form. With her rambling done, Erza and the rest of the guild registered that Romeo was smiling, genuinely smiling.

"Erza, it's okay!" Romeo replied,"Because it doesn't matter anymore!"

"What?!" Several voices in the guild exclaimed in response, Erza's included.

Gray's confused gaze settled on the teen. "I don't understand… You're saying that Natsu's death doesn't matter? You were just crying about it!" He said,"Do you think that his sacrifice wasn't important or something?"

Romeo quickly shook his head. "No! No, that's not it!" He replied,"I'm saying that you don't have to say sorry for telling me he's dead, it doesn't matter anymore!"

"What… What are you saying?" Lucy asked, her voice brimming with a hope she was afraid to express.

The teen's smile grew wider, if that was possible, and he grabbed the closed door, and pulled it open all the way.

On the other side of the door stood a tall figure wearing a familiar scarf, a maroon cloak with a gold pin, a beige shirt, maroon vest, dark brown gloves with brown straps, brown pants, a dark brown utility belt, a tan apron, and dark maroon-and-khaki boots. He had messy pink hair with a few streaks of purple, black eyes, and a small smile with sharp canines. They knew exactly who it was.

He raised his hand up in the air in greeting, and happily said,"I'm home!"

A shocked silence filled the guild once more, but it was quickly broken by a loud squeal. A blur blur slammed into Natsu's chest.

"NATSU!" Happy cried, burying his face in the young man's shoulder. "You're alive! You're alive! I can't believe it, you're alive!"

That was all that the guild needed to rush in, both Fairy Tail and Team Tenrou members joining in a huge group hugs. Screaming, crying, and yells of happiness exploded out of the small building.

Their family was whole again.

After several long minutes of sobbing, hugging, and pinching each other to make sure it wasn't a dream, the questions started rolling.

"Natsu, where have you been!?"

"Why weren't you on Tenrou?!"

"Why didn't you come back?!"

"What happened to your hair?!"

Natsu quickly held his hands up, still smiling. "Well… Um… All those questions involved incredibly long stories, and I don't exactly know how to start… Considering I have questions for you guys, too!" He said.

"Us?" Lucy queried aloud, as if the idea was

"Well, yeah! Of course I do!" Natsu answered, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "After I got blown up, I don't exactly know what happened. But you all still look young, as if no time has passed, the island was supposedly disintegrated, and yet it still rose out of the ground. How did you all survive?!"

Gray frowned, and narrowed his eyes. "Why are you talking like… that?"

"Like what?" Natsu asked.

The ice mage wiggled his hands. "Y'know… Like a smart person?"

Natsu frowned, and arched his eyebrow. "Is that really the most pressing matter at the moment?" He asked,"Considering all you guys just came back from the dead?"

"Hey don't separate yourself from that group, Natsu! We thought you were dead too!" Jet quickly pointed out.

The young mage sighed. "Of course I know that! But, when it comes to what happened on Tenrou, I'm just as much in the dark as you guys." He turned his eyes to the Tenrou group.. "I thought you guys… Didn't make it… I thought that Acnologia..." He stopped, bit his lip, and looked down at the floor.

Team Tenrou watched as the same pained expression on Natsu's face flickered across the other members of Fairy Tail that had been forced to live the seven years without them. It was a pain that they shared with the pink haired mage, a pain that Team Tenrou couldn't understand.

Makarov didn't need any explanation, he understood why. For the mages on Tenrou, they had only believed Natsu was dead for a few days before finding out he was alive. For Natsu and the Guild, Team Tenrou had been dead for seven long, painful years.

With a sigh, the old man pulled away from the group hug, hopped onto a table, and declared,"Well, it's going to be a day of long stories, so I guess I'll get them started."

The members of his guild all eagerly stood or sat around him, waiting for the story to be told in earnest. Makarov couldn't stop the warm feeling rising up in his chest. Seeing their family together again, reunited after seven long years, it made him so happy.

"Okay, so after what happened to Natsu, we were starting to lose hope. We knew we couldn't win, Acnologia was too strong, so we locked arms and…"