In Secrecy -Natsu Dragneel-

Epilogue

Epilogue - The Aftermath

"Old man" The bulky blonde male leaned against the polished wooden desk, his muscular arms crossed over his tattooed chest. He is completely shirtless, bandages wrapping around his torso.

"Laxus..." The guild master stood on the desk, his back facing his grandson.

Master Makarov looked out the clear window, his eyes staring down on his 'children'. The members of Fairy Tail all helped clean the battlefield, removing blood and fixing tables. It is complete chaos, tension remained in the air.

"Deimos is a troublesome bunch", the Lightning dragon slayer stated, his voice clear with annoyance, "We are an equal match"

The small elderly man looked over his shoulder, staring straight at his grandson. Scratches are clear on his pale complexion, his eyes glancing on the floor in shame.

'I couldn't even stop one of them' Laxus thought, anger slowly rising.

"Lyra"

The simple name sent memories flooding through the young blonde's mind, both good and bad. The day Laxus and Lyra met, the brother-sister bond instantly forming the moment they laid eyes on each other. He wanted to make her stronger and she wanted to impress him. Their way of greeting is attacking one another, both fatal and simple spells.

"G-Gajeel and I searched the area", why did he stutter?

"And?..."

"Even with our enhanced senses, we could not find her...It is like she disappeared from the very face of the Earth..." A hint of sadness is clear in his voice, "Her body is nowhere to be seen."

"If what Deimos said is true then her body must be somewhere" Makarov responded, gracefully jumping off his desk with a quiet thud.

"In other words..." He squatted down to his grandfather's eye level, "You believe she is alive".

-*-

"I hoped this mission got his mind off of you-know-who" Lucy mumbled to her redhead friend.

Erza simply nodded, crossing her arms as she looked deep in thought. Lucy seemed to be the only one who quickly recovered from the loss, the heart breaking loss of Lyra Callisto. Some would think back to that moment and instantly break down in tears while some just gave an upset look. Gray Fullbuster walked beside the blonde, his head instantly snapping in her direction as he heard her supposed whisper. He gently elbowed the celestial mage, signalling her to not mention a word about 'you-know-who'. Natsu Dragneel walked a few paces ahead of his team, a large grin on his face. He walked with confidence and joy, Happy looking not as happy as he flew beside his 'father'.

Fairy Tail wondered how Natsu could be so cheerful after the incident; everyone assumed he would be hurting the most. But he does not look the least bit sorrow, in fact the complete opposite. But one stare into his dark eyes, you can see the truth. The mask he put around himself, the fake joy he pretends to have. Unlike his comrades, he believed 'you-know-who' still walks the face of the Earth. Why would he believe the leader of the invasion? It seems completely stupid for everyone to believe a person they do not trust.

"Lucy you know not to bring that up" Gray whispered, much quieter than the blonde had.

The celestial mage glanced down, the wave of guilt coming over her.

"Oi its Lyra!" Natsu screamed, his finger pointing at a petite blonde female.

Her back faced Team Natsu as she examined the freshly picked fruits on the market stand. The female's golden locks cascaded down her back in small curls, her skin looked slightly tanner. Erza, Gray, and Lucy gave a sigh, their eyes looking away from the upcoming scene. Erza and Gray looked as if any minute they would break down into tears while Lucy clenched her fist. Natsu began to sprint to the familiar blonde, his grin becoming wider at each step. His arms wrapped around her body, engulfing her in a tight embrace. He buried her face into her blonde locks, deeply inhaling her scent. Something about her smell is different, Natsu instantly realized this. The female gasped in shock, her body completely freezing out of fear.

"Lyra chan I knew you weren't dead! I knew she was lying! I've missed you Lyra, where have you been hiding all this time? Lyra-chan you smell different, have you been wearing new perfume? I don't like the new-"

He instantly shut his mouth as he spun the female around. Natsu's eyes widened in shock, she has Lyra's blonde hair, her small height, but the most striking feature is completely different. Instead of staring into circular sapphire blue irises, he sees an unfamiliar pair of emerald green.

"I'm sorry miss, we recently lost a friend and he..." Erza started as she ripped Natsu away from the scared female, "Well he hasn't recovered from it yet, sorry to bother you"

The redhead grabbed the dragon slayer's ear and roughly dragged him away. She hated to see her childhood friend in this state...The state of confusion and heart break. This incident was not the first, every blonde female Natsu lays his eyes on, he immediately assumes it is his mate. He simply stares blankly at nothing, Natsu's mind not completely working.

"Erza, Lyra is out there and we need to save her! I can feel it, she needs my help! I need to help-"

"Natsu stop!" The redhead's sudden outburst caused a few bystanders to stare at the four mages.

She threw him on the ground, making sure he had to look up at her. The anger is clear in Erza's angular eyes, her hands resting on her hips.

"She is dead and you need to accept that! We cannot bring the dead back to life!"

The boy shot right up, his face glaring at the female before him.

"You don't know that Erza...You may have accepted the fact that Jellal is gone but I don't give up that easily!" His voice did not seem the same. It held so much anger yet determination is clear in his words. He hated the fact of how little his comrade believes him but that gives her no right to scold him for missing his mate.

She did not look the slightest bit taken aback; in fact she even looked like she believed him.

"Forget about that now Natsu, the S-Class Mage Promotion Trials are near and you should prepare"

Lucy Heartfilia sat on her comfy chair, elbows resting on her dark wood desk. A smile is formed on her glossy pink lips, her eyes sparkling like a million jewels. She gently opened the top right drawer of the desk, taking out a brown notebook and a black ink pen. The blonde opened the book, being so gentle as if the hardcover would break any second. After a few flips of pages, she finally placed the ball point pen onto the paper. Lucy wrote in a fluid motion, knowing exactly what word came after the next. With her signature at the very top of the page, she continued to write just below it.

'The story of Lyra Callisto

The warm spring breeze blew gently making everything warmer than it already is. A hooded figure walked the streets of Fiore in silence. It almost seemed deserted, as if she is the only one. But that is because it is not a usual path to take. The clock it wears does not reveal sight of her body. The hood shadows the upper part of its face, exposing its mouth which curled into a smirk. Strands of long light blonde hair stuck out from the cloak, showing this is most likely a female.'