As she lay on her side, Ultear glared moodily at the slumbering woman in the bed across from hers. The villagers had been a little less than welcoming, but Ultear supposed that was what happened when she allowed Lyon and his toadies to go through with the Moon Drip ceremony. According to McGarden, the reason that they couldn't get near the temple was that it kept demons from approaching.

That's right. Every single villager here was a demon. Not demons from the Book of Zeref, mind you – they wouldn't be staying the night there otherwise. Just… ordinary demons. … That made no sense whatsoever. At any rate, Ultear deduced that the Moon Drip ceremony had messed with the demons' minds, making them believe they were humans turning into demons at night because of the 'moon'. She revealed none of this to the mages of Fairy Tail or the villagers; they'd simply question how she knew about it, and Ultear was in no mood for it. So instead, she promised that after a day's rest, she and Natsu would… deal with… the problem. Kami, what was wrong with her? Even though she didn't mean it that way, her words and thoughts still implied a deeper relationship than she had with the Dragon Slayer. All they were going to do was destroy the noxious membrane hovering over the island; there was nothing more to read into it. They were currently the strongest, conscious mages that could do so; McGarden wasn't going to be able to support the Pyro, and she doubted Natsu would be able to destroy the lens by himself. And her mother… her mother…

'Why am I second-guessing myself now…?' The dark-haired mage glowered at the comatose woman. 'You abandoned me. Forced me into that hellhole and then took on those two students…'

Ultear was very frustrated with herself. There was no explicable reason for her to hold back. Vengeance was hers for the taking, and she just… couldn't… carry it out. The Arc of Time mage reasoned it was simply because the woman was comatose; there would be no satisfaction in killing her tormentor in that state. But… if she woke up, that would just make her job that much harder! Ur wasn't a pushover; she was a contender for Wizard Saint status. Didn't mean that Ultear still couldn't take her out – it just meant that Ultear was uncertain of her mother's strength and where she stood by comparison. Arc of Time should allow her to counter Ur's Maker Magic… But what if she adapted? Ur was bound to have other methods of fighting, given her reputation. Ultear didn't like taking risks; practically anyone from Grimoire Heart that worked with her could attest to this.

… This fact did not galvanize her into action, as she had hoped. All Ultear could do was glare venomously at the person she despised above all others in the world before sleep overtook her.

'I hate you…'

The following evening, Ultear had been expecting the questions when she and Natsu shattered the membrane – or from every perspective but her own, 'shattered the sky'. Thankfully, she was able to pass off her knowledge as being a member of the Magic Council; it was even a half-truth. The Council did know about Moon Drip. No one on the Council knew the side effects could get this bad, though, when it was used for prolonged periods of time. But then again, Ultear could pass that off thanks to Levy translating that ancient writing at the temple. It was simple deductive reasoning, nothing more.

It helped that the villagers knew about Lyon's group; they were just never able to get near the temple to find out the activity going on there. Ultear noticed Natsu was mildly suspicious even after everything seemed answered, though she supposed his suspicion was warranted with Deliora encased in Iced Shell. Even so, the Dragon Slayer didn't approach her, which greatly threw Ultear off. The Arc of Time mage wouldn't have even killed him at this point if he did; she was just so lost. So very lost. Why couldn't she just take her vengeance? Why couldn't she at the very least wipe out the Fairy Tail mages?

'Is the Grand Magic World even worth it at this point…?' The passing thought startled Ultear so much that she nearly fell off the rock she was sitting on, watching the 'celebration' of the villagers and the Fairy Tail mages from a distance. 'Where… did that come from…?'

Ultear wondered with some exasperation. Not once in the past decade had she regretted her decisions. She broke out of the Bureau of Magical Development? They were torturing her every day with 'experiments'. She ran away from her mother without even approaching her? The witch had replaced her – there wasn't anything to 'talk' about. She returned to the Bureau? Now she was using them to get stronger to enact her revenge. She joined the leading Guild of the Balam Alliance…? Prior to recent events, she would have believed wholeheartedly that she didn't regret it, even with all the crimes she committed.

But now Ur was back, and she wasn't near either of her precious 'replacements'. Sure, she'd ask about those two – they'd be at the forefront of her mind in all likelihood – but… Here was a chance to reconnect with her mother. Without going through the hassle of locating Zeref and having him bring about the Grand Magic World. It wasn't the ideal reunion Ultear had wanted, with history rewritten, but damn it…

'What have I been doing?' Ultear shook her head morosely. She drew her knees to her chest and frowned. Her line of thought had already derailed; might as well let it take her where it will. 'Even in the Grand Magic World, I would be feeling guilty about what it took to get there… And just what kind of satisfaction would I have gotten from killing Ur? If I'm hesitating now, there's no way I could've killed her at any time, even if she hadn't used Iced Shell…'

"Y'know I can see up your skirt… right?"

Ultear's eyes widened at the abrupt appearance of the Dragon Slayer and reacted on impulse.

"KYAAAH!" She pelted him with an Arc of Time orb – to the jaw – and stood ramrod straight up, glowering at him. "What are you doing here?!"

Natsu rubbed his jaw and scowled at the dark-haired mage.

"Jeez, I was just tryna help! You forget that you requested me for the job or what?" The Dragon Slayer grumbled as he watched the woman blush ever-so-slightly.

"I meant what are you doing here… You were enjoying the party." Ultear huffed as she crossed her arms exasperatedly. This knucklehead…

"Well, yeah," Natsu replied, rubbing the back of his head. "But you were off here on your own, so I thought I'd at least come 'n say hi. You shouldn't hafta be alone after we helped this village, beat Deliora, and got your mom back."

Ultear's blush faded as she got a good, long look at the Dragon Slayer's eyes. He wasn't being confrontational, disguised or otherwise. He was really just trying to be nice.

"Well… thank you." Ultear let out uneasily. "I just need some time by myself, Natsu. There's nothing… look, just forget about it."

Natsu mirrored her stance as he cross his own arms, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I've experienced loss, too, y'know. Not just my dad – I lost a good friend, too. The friend I'll never be seeing again, but I am gonna find Igneel." Natsu shrugged at her confused stare. He mighta just been rambling at this point, but he felt he needed to bring this up. "When you feel loss, it screws with your head. I don't even wanna think about the messed up crap I woulda done if Gramps hadn't found me! Look, I just wanna say… if you ever wanna talk about it, I'll listen. I'd like to know more about you, since I feel like we could understand one another, but I'm not gonna make you do anything. Just… don't feel like you have to do everything alone."

Ultear chewed on her lower lip as she watched Natsu turn right back around and go back to the party. Normally, the Arc of Time mage would have dismissed his words as naiveté; the Dragon Slayer just hadn't experienced enough to know how cruel the world could be. But… his eyes conveyed sincerity. Even if their experiences differed, the Dragon Slayer was fully aware of loss and how it could affect someone. Moreover, the pink-head was the one person here that she didn't mind being around…

"Natsu…!" Before she could restrain herself, Ultear had called out his name. Biting her lip nervously, Ultear averted her gaze when he turned back to her, but she mumbled loud enough for him to hear. "I-If you wanted to keep me company, I wouldn't mind."

'Stay for a bit…' She unwittingly gave a silent plea. What was it about this man? Ultear infuriatingly found herself wanting to associate with him more; she couldn't help herself.

Natsu shrugged neutrally before giving one of his signature grins and walking back over to the rock she was standing on. Before he could sit down on the grass beneath it, though, Ultear sat back down on the rock and patted the spot next to her. There was room for two, apparently. Shrugging again, Natsu climbed up and sat with the Arc of Time mage. Ultear unconsciously rested her head on his shoulder before too long, and the Dragon Slayer did nothing to stop her. Eventually, they just lost track of time as the festivities continued, and Ultear was lulled to sleep by the heat Natsu exuded.

When the festivities died down, Natsu carefully scooped the Arc of Time mage up and returned her to the housing provided for them. He twitched at Happy's snickering as the tomcat witnessed him do it, but he didn't audibly tell the cat off. Didn't wanna wake up Ultear. As he laid the dark-haired woman in her bed, he couldn't help noticing the blissful smile on her face. He gave a small grin, and lightly dusted a couple strands of hair off of her face.

"Night, Ultear…"

"Well, it's now or never." Chance chirped as he held up the detonation device. Chase rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly, sparing a look at the still slumbering Meredy, who had been moved off the airship with them. And now the twins had a prime view of what the tippity-top secret weapon the Magic Council had been developing back in their time would do.

"This is either going to backfire on us epically… Or we'll send the Balam Alliance into disarray." Chase mused in agreement.

"How big do you think the Boom is gonna be?"

"Not everything the Council develops blows up!"

"The really epic stuff does!"

Chase huffed but did not contradict his brother. As usual, he had a point. Chase was just curious about stuff that didn't go Boom… Was that so wrong?

"Just set it off already!"

"3… 2… 1… And pressed!" Chance waved a hand over the Lacrima orb, activating the experimental weapon. For several moments, nothing seemed to happen, and disappointment was clearly reflected in the twins' eyes.

But then… a swirling vortex grew in size from within the airship, and within seconds, the whole airship got sucked into the vortex, as if it were flushed down a drain. Then the vortex disappeared, and there was no sight of any Grimoire Heart members or their precious airship. Chance and Chase stared with wide eyes and slacked jaws before turning to each other in wonder.

"… Did we just warp them into oblivion?" Chase questioned automatically. They had no means of re-observing the phenomenon; that one time was it, and that… vortex could've been any number of things!

"Naw, naw! They'll be fine!" Chance laughed sheepishly. "… We're so dead. Simon's gonna wring our necks…"

"At least it was only the really bad ones aboard the ship! We spared Meldy, Ultear, and Capricorn, right?!" Chase knew full well that still left Old Man Precht, Blue Note Stinger, Azuma, Rusty Rose, Zancrow, Kain, Jellal, and who knows how many grunts sucked into oblivion. They'd waited until as many were onboard the ship as possible before detonating the experimental weapon.

"You think that's gonna work on Big Bro? He thinks everyone can be redeemed!" Chance whined. "Not to mention the Council is gonna freak over these guys' 'disappearance'!"

Chance and Chase shared a look before they spoke their next words together.

"… I regret nothing."

Ur wasn't sure how, but for the first time in forever, she could feel sensation again. She believed that by casting the Iced Shell, she had forfeited her life… Apparently, this was not the case, as not a minute after feeling a bed beneath her, she also blearily opened her eyes, taking in the unfamiliar room around her. Furthermore, she winced as a screechy voice called out an unfamiliar name; so she had hearing, as well.

"NATSUUU! It looks like that one lady woke up!"

Ur sluggishly shook her head as she tried to make sense of what was before her eyes… A blue tomcat that was… flying? And it was looking straight at her after momentarily sparing a glance at an open door that led to outside. Did she mention that it seemed to talk?

"Wh-Where… am I…?" Ur rasped out, clearly craving some water for her parched throat.

"We're on Galuna Island!" The blue cat chirped with a goofy grin. "Natsu and some Councilwoman helped defrost you or somethin', and Natsu ended up beatin' the Demon you encased in ice!"

Ur's breath hitched at the reminder of the monster she had thought to have sealed away forever.

"D-D-Deliora?!" Ur sat up rigidly and narrowed her eyes at the cat. "Where is it?! Tell me!"

"Relax, Miss Ur!" Happy tried to console the woman. "It's really gone! Natsu said it crumbled to itty-bitty pieces when he punched it! The Councilwoman said it was 'cause your technique chipped away at its life force, and it was basically dead when it got defrosted, too! No one got hurt or nothin'! … Well, by it, anyway. The Councilwoman kinda pummeled Natsu for being reckless."

As Happy giggled sheepishly at the memory, Ur was trying her best to come to grips with reality. If what this cat said was true, Deliora was… dead… and miraculously, she was back among the living. Ur had so many questions floating in her head, but before she could pose any of them, a blue-haired teenage girl came rushing into the room with a cup of water with some ice in it.

"Sorry, sorry! We didn't know when you'd wake up, so I tried to stay close…" Levy laughed sheepishly as Ur gratefully accepted the drink. Truth be told, she got distracted, as she was fascinated to get to know some of the 'people' here. Despite being a different species, they still had taste in literature and the like. Not to insult these Demons or anything! Levy simply never imagined there could be Demons this… tame. They definitely weren't made by Zeref!

"Where's Natsu?" Happy asked somewhat impatiently, and Levy rubbed the back of her head at the question.

"He's… He's coming, Happy. In case you forgot, we do have a client." The Solid Script mage chided the cat gently. For Happy's part, he forgot the client's name; though for Levy, she was told expressly by said woman to not reveal her name to Ur when she woke up. Ultear would handle that herself, though Levy couldn't say she understood why she was insistent on this point.

Ur raised an eyebrow, as now she was really curious about this 'client', who was presumably the Councilwoman that the cat spoke of. Who on the Council would want her back so badly that they would risk releasing Deliora? Had a new crisis arisen in her absence?

"Excuse me, but who are you people?" Ur asked as she finally organized her thoughts. "And how long have I been… frozen?"

"Oh, we're members of Fairy Tail!" Levy and Happy proceeded to show the Ice Make mage their emblems. At seeing a hazy aura surround Ur, Levy sheepishly asked, "Ehe… Bad meeting with one of our members in the past?"

"So you belong to the same Guild as Gildarts…" Ur muttered loud enough for the pair of Fairy Tail members to hear her. She didn't know the man all that well, but she'd met him a handful of times as he encroached on her turf in Isvan for S- and SS-Class jobs. Her bangs overshadowing her eyes seemed to indicate she was angry at the memory of the Crash mage, but then she burst out snickering, completely shattering the tension in the air. "Oh, that man was a shameless perv! I guess I didn't help matters with my little 'habit', but he wasn't the worst guy I met. Dirty and perverted, but a decent guy in heart."

Happy grinned as this woman seemed to like Gildarts, and Levy sweatdropped as what Ur said was quite true. You know it's bad when the average kid at Fairy Tail could tell that Gildarts (and Master, for that matter) was and still is a pervert and not afraid to show it. It made for quite some interesting 'birds and the bees' talks, led by Erza and Mira. Poor Natsu and Gray were traumatized.

"A-Ah… Well, to answer your second question, it's been about ten years since you froze Deliora, I think." Levy meekly replied even as the Ice Make mage's snickering died down. Ur could only nod, as that seemed about right if Deliora had been on its last legs to be beaten by one punch. Even so, there was still so much that Ur wanted and needed to know. But before she could get into all that, a pink-headed teenager came dragging in a dark-haired woman that seemed a mixture of annoyed and embarrassed at being brought into the room in such a manner.

Ur did not miss how the woman froze as their eyes met. Frankly, Ur felt a strange sense of familiarity as well; she just couldn't place it.

"Nice to finally meet you!" It was the pink-headed teen that spoke up first. He seemed about as chipper as the blue tomcat, and equally eccentric. Ur raised an amused brow at the boy's enthusiasm. Was she really that revered still, or was this guy a can of pent-up energy, like Gildarts?

… Come to think of it, Ur supposed she had the luck of knowing males that had vigor. Even her two students… Ur mentally berated herself. How could she forget about them?

"So you're the Natsu guy that melted Iced Shell…?" Ur asked curiously, figuring she would focus on one thing at a time. Gray and Lyon were important, but the guy that pulled her back from the brink of death was here in front of her. How could she not sate her curiosity?

Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at her burrowing, inquisitive glance.

"I helped, sure, but Fire Dragon Slaying Magic wasn't enough to melt that stuff." The pink-head muttered. He gestured to Ultear. "She's the one you should really thank. Ultear knew about every- OOMPH!"

Ultear elbowed Natsu in the ribs at his slipup, but the damage was already done. Ur's eyes panned over to her again and widened as they got a better look at the 'Councilwoman'. Of course she was hardly recognizable because it'd been so long, but there was no mistaking it if the woman invested in bringing her back was named...

Ultear flinched away from Ur's shocked, disbelieving gaze, but then her bitter, betrayed feelings resurfaced, and her gaze hardened as she looked back at Ur. If this woman was going to reject her or plead ignorance to 'abandoning' her, it was best to not let Ur's words hurt her. However, the first words out of Ur's mouth, in conjunction with the first action… Ultear was completely bewildered.

"They told me you were dead…" Ur had moved with a speed she thought she would have to work back up to, and swept Ultear up in a heartfelt embrace. Her back wracked with sobs, and she continued to mumble into Ultear's shoulder. "They said your remains were too 'gruesome'… I shouldn't have taken them at their word… I shouldn't have… But…"

… But she had. Ur had been a fool, and she knew it. She had let those bastards kidnap her daughter without so much as an inquiry or any kind of doubt. What kind of mother was she?!

Ultear, for her part, was uncomfortable in more ways than one. The hug pinned her arms to her sides, and her mother's 'excuse' sounded… plausible. She remembered that hellhole with frightening clarity. The 'doctors' there sounded polite, but if you proved uncooperative, they were not above the use of force. Reflecting on it, just why did she return there after discovering her mother's 'betrayal'? Of course she had wanted revenge… But to think she'd never once reflected on her conduct. To question… anything…

"… I thought you abandoned me." Ultear replied sullenly and did not look back up even as Ur tearfully looked into her eyes. The Arc of Time mage made no movement to reciprocate the hug – she didn't deserve to. "I managed to escape the Bureau, but when I made it back home… You… and those two…"

As expected by this point, Ur didn't raise her voice or strike her. The Ice Make Wizard simply tightened the embrace and resumed resting her head on Ultear's shoulder.

"You had the opposite problem of Lyon, then…" Ur murmured quietly. "I made it clear to both of them that they weren't replacing you. Lyon wanted to become strong, and I gave Gray a home because he lost his family to Deliora. Teaching them partly filled the void in my heart… But losing you was just too much."

Ultear could only feel shame now. Of course she'd been wrong all this time. A bitter part of Ultear was reprimanding herself for taking Ur's words at face value, but if she couldn't trust her own mother, then why the hell should she cling to the Bureau of Magical Development, the Balam Alliance, or even just Master Hades? She'd already leveled the former, and if she had her way, the latter two would be quick to fall as well, now that she could think more clearly than ever before.

Ultear Milkovich had regained her mother, and she wasn't going to lose her ever again.

As the Arc of Time mage tentatively returned her mother's embrace, the Fairy Tail mages watched the touching reunion somewhat uneasily. … Well, Levy and Happy were a bit uneasy about being present for something so personal. But the two grinned shyly all the same, and Natsu had his arms behind his head while he grinned like a loon. If he couldn't trust the Councilwoman after this, he'd eat his own flames.

… Which, you know, would be bad.

Later that day, after receiving a generous reward of one million Jewel and a Golden Celestial Gate Key, the Fairy Tail Wizards returned to Magnolia with the mother and daughter pair. Ultear was a bit against the idea, for multiple reasons, but Ur was rather insistent, and Ultear didn't have the heart to turn her down. The reward money would go toward Ur getting a place in Magnolia, as she wanted to catch up with her student and see what the Fairy Tail Guild was like, and returning to Isvan just didn't seem right. Not with her old home being a sore reminder of losing Ultear once. Protecting her students from Deliora wasn't such a bad memory, but from what Natsu told her, it had affected Gray, and she had no doubt Lyon had been similarly affected.

Patching things up would take some work…

"WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!" Natsu hollered as he kicked the doors to the Guildhall open. This brought many a faint smile to the mages lounging around there. Now the key would be to not dredge up the past few days… even if they were sorry. A depressed Pyro was just not good for morale.

"LEVY'S BACK!" The Solid Script mage's usual teammates glomped her and whisked her away from the Dragon Slayer before she could utter a single word in objection.

Most of the Guild paid them no heed, though. It wasn't exactly a secret how Jet and Droy felt about the Solid Script user – though some were a little interested to see if the bookworm would break away from them to go back to Natsu. Hey, say what you will, but for all they knew, Levy took the time she had with Natsu and won his heart.

… Not that the betting pools were in place anymore.

Master Makarov and many of the older mages, such as Macao and Wakaba, were doing a double-take at the pair of women still at Natsu's side. Councilwoman Milkovich wasn't a model for Sorcerer Weekly, but she'd been asked in the past, and boy… seeing her still very youthful mother next to her… Many of the adult men were currently shivering pleasurably at the sight.

"NATSU, I COULD KISS YOU!" Makarov gleefully bounced up and danced on the bar counter as a small trickle of blood escaped his nose. He stopped moving when Ur subconsciously took off her shirt, leaving her in her bra, and that 'small trickle' became a gusher of a nosebleed. Did Natsu somehow clone Councilwoman Milkovich?!

"AMAZIIING!" Macao and Wakaba exclaimed in unison, having similar nasal problems.

"Ur?!" Gray spewed out his drink and stood up from his seat in shock. Of course he was stripped down to his boxers. "The hell?!"

There was many a perverted scream of pleasure as Ur stripped down to her panties as well. And true to form, she placed her hands on her hips and glanced at Gray appraisingly, continuing on normally.

"Gray! Don't tell me you're training in here."

Gray looked down at himself questioningly before pointing at his teacher accusingly.

"This is your fault!" Growling at the cat-calling Ur was receiving as she placed a hand on one of her bra straps. "Could you not go that far?! Put your shirt back on, at least!"

Cue defeated groans as Ur looked down and sheepishly smiled. Ultear was twitching and moving to the other side of Natsu, away from her mother. She'd been weirded out when she found Gray had that peculiar habit, and now she apparently knew the source of that habit…

Ultear wanted to encase the perverts' testicles in ice for not only eyeing her mother like she was eye candy, but looking at her as well, expecting her to have the same habit. It was not genetic, thank Kami. … But it could be taught. And that was frightening enough.

It didn't take long for Natsu to kickstart one of their regular brawls. Gray slipped Ur away to talk before she was ogled further or before Master got… naughty. Rolling her eyes at being left alone at the entrance, Ultear made her way to the bar to order herself a stiff one. Could you blame her? A certain headache of the Magic Council had been recommended to her by a pair of spineless cowards – cowards she would be hunting down when she had the chance, but at least Meldy seemed safe – and then that Pyromaniac had profoundly affected her. On top of that, her mother had returned and her assumptions of the past had been shattered…

If that didn't constitute having a stiff drink, Ultear didn't know what did.

"Hello there! You must be Councilor Milkovich!"

At the bright, chirpy voice, Ultear looked across the counter to see the bubbly Mirajane Strauss. Unlike a fair amount of people – male or female – she wasn't dazzled into showering Mira with praise. … If anything, Ultear was a bit on guard with that smile that didn't meet the eldest Strauss's eyes. Ultear knew all about facades; seemed like someone wasn't happy about something.

"… I am." Ultear confirmed before ordering some choice wine. Mira went about preparing her drink, and the Arc of Time mage wasn't surprised when the former Takeover mage picked the conversation back up when she presented it to her.

"… So. You requested Natsu for a mission. What did you need him for?" Mira asked with seemingly passive interest. Ultear knew better of course. So that was what this was about…

She figured there was no harm in telling the silver-haired barmaid about what really transpired. No doubt she'd be hearing the story from Gray when her mother got through telling him, and Ultear wasn't in the mood to be accused of lying. There was too much on Ultear's plate for her to be worried about the Dragon Slayer's 'girlfriend' throwing a hissy fit in the Era courtroom… After all, Ultear would be too busy hunting down that bastard Brain and plotting a coup against Hades to be worried about such silly things.

… For some reason the Arc of Time mage felt her blood boil at considering the cover girl of Sorcerer Weekly to be Natsu's… girlfriend…

"Well, I'm glad that worked out for you." Mira spoke in the same (false) cheery tone after Ultear had finished regaling her. "But tell me… Did anything… else happen between you two…? By which I mean you and Natsu."

Ah, now they were really getting to the heart of the matter. Mira was checking for competition… Well, two could play at this game.

"I don't seem to recall Natsu having a girlfriend…?" Ultear smirked as the barmaid stood ramrod straight at the barb, but had to admire the friendly grin that stayed plastered on her face. Too bad it didn't meet her eyes. "Even if something did happen, I think I'm within my rights to 'make a move'. Not to mention keep it between me and Natsu."

Ultear smirked as the barmaid struggled with every fiber of her being to maintain appearance before hastily excusing herself to attend other Guildmates waaay on the other side of the Guildhall. She pitied the Dragon Slayer for the eventual shitstorm headed his way, but that's what he got for getting buddy-buddy with her. Making her heart thump inside her chest… feeling all warm and gooey inside… revolting…

Plus that model for Sorcerer Weekly needed to be taken down a peg. She could literally have any man, and she was getting all defensive about having to do some legwork…

"So did you really do anything…?" Cana Alberona asked a few seats down from her, having listened in on the conversation.

"… Nothing explicit. I might have rested my head on his shoulder for a bit… But he's sooo warm." Ultear purposefully gushed to get a rise out of the drunk, but the Cards mage kept a handle on herself a lot better than Mira did.

"I'll admit, you're pretty good. But I can tell you have a thing for Pinky, too. Might just be a spark, but that's enough to start a fire." Cana glugged a barrel of booze before casting it aside and smirking at the dark-haired Councilwoman. "Word of advice: Get out while you can. You want that loveable Pyro, you play for keeps. Me, Mira, 'n Erza won't have it any other way."

Ultear snorted at the brunette's warning before she went and grabbed a Quest off the assignment board. 'Getting out' would be a simple task. Contrary to what that drunk assumed, Natsu was not that special to her heart… yet.

'What am I saying? There's no way I'll get involved any more than this. It takes more than bringing my mother back to woo me.' Ultear scowled down at her wine glass, as it became clear she was trying to convince herself of this. She and Natsu were barely acquaintances, nothing more.

… If only Ultear knew the war had only just begun.

Author's Note: Lalala… I'm on a ro- *looks at calendar* o_o It's been ten days. Gaaah… My muse is a fickle thing. PM thread, Tumblr, Fervent Crimson Flame, Natsu's Choice… I got a lot on my plate, and I just got around to finishing this diddly. Bah! :P

FCF or NC will be updated next. As much as I like the craziness of this fic, I've been trying to write those stories as well. FCF has a tantalizing treat for the next update~. If you thought Warrod making a cameo was good, I hope you get a kick out of the next cameo. XD And NC… Things are gonna escalate. The trick will be not resolving the tension too soon.

But yeah, that's all I got this time. No idea what comes next here. Lovely. XD I look forward to your raw reactions of a certain plot twist I made here. Hmhmhm. Probably a few people will be upset, but they'll just hafta wait and find out exactly what I did in that little scene… You might be able to guess at it. XD