?? POV

A weariness that I couldn't begin to describe descended over me as I made my way silently through the forest that went up to the edge of Magnolia. It had been difficult, even with the combined effort of my guildmates, to take down the latest dark guild that we had targeted. Many of my comrades had been injured, but thankfully none of us had lost our lives in the struggle. As my feet plodded forward down the route I had traveled more times than I could count, I couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"The battle against evil will never end," I whispered to myself as my feet led me forward on autopilot. I grimaced and rubbed my aching head briefly as a feeling of acceptance lightened my dark mood. "But I will never be able to make up for the evil of my own past. So, maybe it is better this way."

As I drew closer to the edge of the forest a strange sound caught my attention. Coming to a slow stop, I tilted my head to try and find the source of the noise. It took a while, but eventually, I heard a soft gasp from off to my left somewhere. The sound reminded me of someone crying and I felt myself frown.

Not many people bothered to travel through the trees of the forest since there was a perfectly good path that led through the dense foliage and straight to Magnolia. Wondering if a child had become lost, I turned towards the noise and made my way towards it. The forests here were not particularly dangerous, but there were a few unsavory creatures that did call it their home. Pushing past my physical discomfort, I moved quietly through the trees.

When I eventually found the source of the distressed noise, I found myself frozen in confusion. This was not the child I had been expecting. Even before I had gotten a good look at the crying person, their magical presence hit me like a sledgehammer. The magic was strange, foreign yet somehow familiar in its power and intensity. I couldn't decipher exactly what kind of magic the person had, but I knew that I would not find it pleasant to go up against them if we were forced into a confrontational situation.

I nearly turned and left the unknown person alone, realizing that there was no reason for me to be concerned if they possessed this level of magical power. But as I turned, a more poignant cry sounded and seemed to stab me directly in the heart. I immediately came to a stop, recognizing the agony in the single, hopeless sob and feeling my own misery that I tried to keep buried inside me surface and reach out for its own kind. After hearing another soul-wrenching sob, I couldn't ignore the person anymore and turned to face them again.

Deciding it might be better not to sneak up on whoever this was, I purposefully kicked a stray rock, making it ricochet gently off a tree trunk with an obvious 'thunk'. The person, who I realized had been crouching down before this, suddenly exploded to their feet and whirled around. I blinked, fascinated despite myself as the woman's hands glowed brightly with yellow light and she set herself into a defensive martial arts stance. Her eyes met mine immediately, and I slowly raised both of my hands up in a placating gesture.

"I do not wish to harm you," I said slowly, not moving from where I stood just a few feet from her. The woman looked me up and down. Starting at my unkempt blue hair, her eyes moved to the red markings above and below my right eye, and then they moved down as she searched me for a sign of a weapon. She flinched when I accidentally flared my magic in response to her probing gaze and she snarled warningly at me, but I remained calmly in the same position as before.

"Please, I promise I have no desire to fight anyone right now," I said, trying to make my voice sound soothing. Some of my exhaustion slipped into my tone though, and the woman blinked her clear blue eyes before slowly extinguishing the lights around her fists.

She stood to her normal stature and turned her head to the side, wiping away the tears that were still sticking to her cheeks and under her eyes. I lowered my arms and, after a small hesitation, walked over to where she was. She gave me a wary glance, taking a step back as if in preparation to flee, but I was pleased when she stayed put as I closed the distance between us and looked in the direction she had been before I interrupted her.

Through the trees, I could see the familiar sight of Magnolia. We were on the east side of the city, far from the main road, and I noticed that from this position it was the perfect angle to see the tallest tower of the fairy tail guild standing proudly above the other homes built apart from it. I glanced over at the woman with hair that appeared black, but as a ray of sun caught it I thought I could see an undertone of deep blue in it.

I had never met a woman radiating power like hers before, and I didn't recognize her physical features either... but I found myself intensely curious as to why the sight of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall would cause her to cry with such obvious pain.

"My name is Jellal," I said after several moments of silence where neither of us made any move to leave.

The woman turned her head only slightly in acknowledgment of my introduction and continued to stare out at the small section of Magnolia visible to us. I felt a strange kinship with this woman I had never met as she gazed with the same look of longing that I had whenever I came to this place.

"Why were you crying?" I asked, not expecting an answer but unsure of how else to start a conversation. The woman's jaw clenched and she folded her arms before turning to look at me, moisture still swimming in her pale blue eyes.

"What concern of yours is it?" she asked, her voice nearly as bristly as her body language. I couldn't help but chuckle at her response and I moved a step away so I could lean my shoulder against a tree trunk while I kept my gaze on the Fairy Tail building far away, wondering if a certain scarlet-haired woman was there today.

"Sometimes bearing your heart to a stranger can help release your burdens," I said quietly. The woman didn't respond for a time, but slowly she sank back down into a crouch, wrapping her arms around her knees to keep herself balanced as she glanced through the trees and then down to the ground.

"I was trying to convince myself that I deserve to be a part of a family again," the woman breathed out, pain causing her words to sound like a beautiful plate of china crashing to the ground. My eyes moved away from the guild hall and towards the strange woman next to me.

"Why do you not deserve a family?" I asked quietly as a pang of familiar pain went through my chest.

"I.... have done horrible things in the past," the woman said hesitantly, and with so much regret in her voice that I could almost picture invisible hands reaching out and squeezing the woman's heart in front of me. "Everyone who knows what I have done... they say that it wasn't my fault, because I was being controlled."

My eyes widened in shock and I felt a pit in my stomach begin to form as the woman told what I could tell was a very condensed version of her history. She didn't go into any details, but the more she spoke the more I realized that she and I had lived incredibly similar childhoods. My mouth had gone dry at this unexpected development and I had to pull out my waterskin and take a swallow before I could properly speak after she had finished.

"So... you feel that no matter what you do, you can never be free of the sins of your past. And those feelings of regret and guilt make you feel that you could never live a normal life with people who claim to love you," I summarized. The woman nodded slowly, several tears slipping down her cheeks as she continued to stare at the top of the Fairy Tail guild. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself from leaning against the trunk and moved over to stand next to her hunch form.

"I know you may not believe me. But I know exactly how you feel." The woman looked up at me, her eyes swimming with unshed tears but I was surprised when she didn't look disbelieving as she listened to me quietly. "Those feelings, the need to atone for sins committed in the past... they are what led me to create my own guild called Crime Sorcière. Our guild is built of people who have made mistakes in the past, and we find dark guilds and people who wish to harm the good, innocent people in the world and we put a stop to them. We hope that by ridding the world of the people we used to be, we can protect the futures of those we love."

My eyes never left the woman as I spoke. She didn't react to my explanation, and I wondered if her wounds were too fresh for her to understand what our guild could offer her. Glancing quickly over at Magnolia, I then turned to look down at the woman and held out my hand to her.

"We would be happy to accept you into our guild. Our actions will never erase the pain you have caused others in the past. But at least your fight can help those who love you and you can try to atone for your sins in that way." I kept myself from wincing when I said "try to atone" and I wished I could have sounded more optimistic. But I knew from experience that no amount of evil thwarted could erase the pains of past mistakes.

The woman looked at my outstretched hand and slowly stood back up. She continued to stare at my hand, a look of deep thought on her face. After several quiet moments, one of her arms twitched and she slowly began to reach for my proffered hand. I smiled sadly, waiting for our hands to connect, but just before we touched she suddenly stopped. Looking up at her face, I saw that she was looking over at the guild hall with its tiny flag waving in the distance. After a moment, she retracted her hand and turned to meet my eyes.

"Thank you for the offer," the woman said, her voice sounding more steady than I had heard it up to this point. "But if I went with you, then the people who fought so hard to set me free will be sad... Wendy would definitely cry." I blinked in shock at her words. My body seemed frozen as I watched her turn away from me and take a step closer to Magnolia, but she paused and looked back at me with a pain-filled expression.

"You're right. I don't think I will ever forgive myself for what I have done in the past," the woman said, a slight breeze picking up her loose hair and sending a few long strands whirling around her. "But the reason I am here today is because the people I met gave me a reason to hope. Instead of fighting dark guilds while trying to make myself feel better, I want to do everything in my power to make those precious people smile. If I can be by their side and make their lives even a tiny bit better, then I think that is a much better reason to live."

Her words dug deep into me, prying at the years of self-loathing and self-punishment I had put myself through. Have I really... just been trying to make myself feel better? I thought in astonishment as I watched the woman turn and take several steps towards the distant city. I thought... I thought this was the only way to make up for my atrocious acts of the past. There's no way that Erza could possibly be happier if I were to butt into her life now... right?

The woman stopped suddenly before she began to descend the hill that led down to the valley where Magnolia was built in. She turned and I was surprised to see that she was smiling gently at me.

"It was nice to meet you, Jellal," she said, bowing slightly in my direction. "Talking to you really did help me make my decision. I am very grateful." She turned away and took one more step before she turned around with an apologetic expression in her clear blue eyes.

"Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Phaedra." Her belated introduction pulled me from my frozen state and I sketched a small bow to her. She returned the bow with a smile and then my eyes widened when I saw her entire body glow with a stunning brilliance before she zoomed away, only a beam of fading light showing she had been here at all.

My knees buckled unexpectedly and I sat down hard in the middle of the forest. The conversation I had shared with Phaedra played repeatedly through my mind as I tried to digest this new point of view. Every fiber of my being seemed to fight against Phaedra's conclusion, reminding myself that I was a criminal who could only bring pain to those around me. But the harder I fought against it, the more Phaedra's simple philosophy seemed to become burned into my very soul.

"If I can be by their side and make their lives even a tiny bit better, then I think that is a much better reason to live." The image of Erza, stretched out underneath me on the sand after we had tumbled down a cliff came to my mind's image. Closing my eyes, I relived the moment when she had cried and placed her hands gently on either side of my face. I had lost myself in the moment and nearly kissed her, but I had pushed her away at the last second making up a ridiculous lie about me being engaged to explain my actions. I groaned at the memory and thought back once again to how badly Erza had wanted me to forgive myself.

I can't, I thought to myself despondently. I can never, for as long as I live forgive myself for what I put all of those innocent children through... but... Glancing over to the spot Phaedra had been standing, I felt something in my heart click into place. It seemed incredibly selfish, and I would need to explain myself to the members of Crime Sorciere but...

If I spent my life protecting Erza's smile... maybe that really would be the greatest way I could make up for my past.

Wendy's POV

As I stood in front of the job listing board and took in the many posters advertising needs from the people all over Fiore, nostalgia overcame me. When my eyes rested on a familiar-looking poster asking for rare plants to be collected, the memory of when I first met Phaedra-neesan came distinctly into my mind. She had been intimidatingly beautiful. Dressed completely in black leather with her dark hair swept up in a no-nonsense braided bun, but when I had spoken to her I remembered being surprised at how gentle her expression had been.

Heaving a sigh, I reached out and touched the corner of the poster, wondering for the millionth time if Phaedra-neesan was doing well in Prekt. Being Porlyusica-san's apprentice had kept me so busy that it was rare I had a stray moment to think about my pseudo oneesan. We had exchanged a handful of letters throughout the year, but it was still pretty rare to find someone who could deliver a message to Prekt.

"Wendy-chan!" I stumbled forward from the unexpected hug from behind and I felt my lips lift in a happy smile when I turned to see Levy's radiant face beaming at me.

"Levy-san!" I replied, turning and returning her hug properly. "How are you feeling? Are you keeping up with your exercises?"

Levy-san laughed and dropped down into a low squat and then propelled herself back into a standing position while giving me a peace sign.

"You bet I am! I've probably got the strongest back muscles out of the entire guild!" Levy-san said with a wink. I smiled, feeling relieved at that.

When Mest-kun had taken us to Porlyusica-san and we had explained what had happened to Levy-san, she had told us not to get our hopes up. But after weeks of treatment and healing potions, the part of Levy's spine that had been popped out of place and damaged so badly finally healed. Although it did heal, it would always be a weak point in Levy-san's body and Porlyusica-san had prescribed her a bone-strengthening potion that she was to take every day from then on. She had also given her strict instructions on how to strengthen the muscles that supported her spine so that it would have plenty of support for the future.

"I'm so glad you're back in the guild, Wendy-chan! Everyone really missed you," Levy-san said with a kind smile. Warmth spread through my whole body at her words and I remembered back to the gigantic birthday/welcome-back party that everyone had thrown me last week. I had been so touched that I had burst into tears several times throughout the party. It still made me a little sad that I couldn't keep learning from Porlyusica-san, but the longer I spent around all of my dear friends the more I realized why Porlyusica-san had kicked me out.

"So, umm, Wendy-chan..." I blinked, looking up at Levy-san to see that she was biting her bottom lip and looking decidedly nervous all of a sudden.

"Yes?" I asked, tilting my head to the side in confusion as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. She glanced to the side and then reached out and took my wrist in her hand, pulling me away from the job board and towards a quiet corner of the guild.

"Is everything okay, Levy-san?" I asked with concern beginning to build at her strange change in mood. She laughed awkwardly, dropping my wrist and going back to playing with the hem of her shirt.

"Oh, yes of course! Everything is great. I just had a question." Levy-san once again looked all around her, as if ensuring there was no one to overhear, and then she leaned forward, cupping a hand up to shield her mouth.

"My back and legs are doing great right now, and I am keeping up with my exercises... but if I were to get pregnant... is there anything special I should do?" she whispered into my ear. My hands flew to my mouth to keep my shout of shock from escaping and I could feel my face heating up in shock as I stared at Levy-san's flat stomach.

"You're..." I couldn't even finish my sentence as Levy-san pulled back and glanced to the side, smiling shyly as she slowly rubbed her stomach.

"I'm not entirely sure," she said, sounding embarrassed and incredibly excited. "I'm just REALLY late and so I figured I should look into if I need to do anything special to make sure the baby and I stay safe... if I am pregnant that is."

My mind was whirring a million miles a minute as I took in this shocking development. Obviously I knew how babies were made and I knew that Gajeel and Levy had been an official couple ever since she had recovered the use of her legs but... a baby! My mind tried to imagine Gajeel as a father and I started to feel a little faint.

"Wendy-chan! Are you alright?" Levy-san asked in concern, reaching out and holding my arms to steady me. I quickly shook my head to get the strange thoughts out of my mind and then I nodded firmly.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry," I apologized, switching into work-mode as my mind began calling up everything that Porlyusica-san had ever taught me about pregnancy and the possible complications to the mother's body that could occur.

"For now, just keep up with your exercises. If you are pregnant, once the baby gets a little bigger we'll have to adjust them so that they don't strain your body too much, but still help to strengthen your muscles," I said, beginning to rattle off all the things that would need to be done. "And when the baby does get bigger its weight could put a lot of pressure on your spine, so I will adjust your potion recipe when it gets to that time. And I can add some of my magic in to strengthen your body as well," I said, nodding slowly as I came up with my plan. Looking up at Levy-san, I was surprised to see that her cheeks were rosy and she was smiling happily.

"Have you... told Gajeel-san yet?" I asked nervously. She shook her head, her cheeks turning even rosier.

"I heard through the grapevine that he was thinking of proposing soon. I want to wait and make sure I'm not imagining things and then when he proposes I'll tell him," Levy-san said with joy radiating in her eyes. I smiled happily at her and couldn't help but give her a big hug. Levy-san returned my hug with a happy laugh and she promised to keep me updated.

I watched her walk away with a bounce in her step. Smiling despite my shock, my thoughts turned to Mest-kun. Even though we had been dating for a year already, with me spending practically all of my time at Porlyusica-san's elbow we hadn't gotten much time to spend alone together. And the time we did have had been filled with catching up on each other's lives or training. It made me a little sad, but I hadn't even kissed Mest-kun properly. That thought immediately caused my cheeks to explode into fiery embarrassment and I quickly placed my hands over them to try and calm myself down.

"Oi, Wendy! Watcha doin' back here?" Turning around I felt myself smile happily as Natsu-san and Happy approached me, along with Lucy-san and Shararu who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.

"Nothing," I said with a shrug, knowing that there was no way I would tell anyone what Levy-san had shared with me. "What are you doing?"

"Shararu was telling us how you learned some new spells when you were with Porlyusica's place. Want to take me on in a practice battle?" Natsu-san asked me with a grin.

"Natsu, she's only been back for a week! Give her a break," Lucy-san said with a sigh. Shararu let out a small humph as she folded her arms.

"I bet you'll be surprised at how strong Wendy is now," she bragged, making my cheeks heat up a little in embarrassment.

"There's no way I could beat you though, Natsu-san," I said, chuckling lightly and feeling surprisingly happy at Shararu's words of confidence.

"Where did Mest go, by the way?" Lucy asked, raising a pointed eyebrow at me. "You two are always stuck together like glue."

Even my ears were warm now at that comment and I cleared my throat awkwardly before responding. "Mest-kun said one of his old job employers had an issue and asked specifically for his help. He should be back later today."

"Huh, I'm surprised he didn't take you with him," Lucy-san said, placing one hand on her hip and I smiled slightly.

"He said I should spend some time with my other friends since he's been hogging my time lately," I explained, once again amazed at how selfless and kind he was.

"Well, since you're not busy then we should definitely fight! I want to see your new moves!" Natsu-san said excitedly. I laughed at his exuberance and shyly nodded my agreement.

"You can tell him no, Wendy," Lucy-san said, suddenly coming up beside Natsu-san and whacking his side hard with the tip of her elbow. He grunted at the unexpected jab but turned and bent down, grabbing Lucy-san around the waist and hoisting her up onto his shoulder. "Wow! Natsu!" Lucy-san cried out in shock as he started walking leisurely through the guild hall.

"Come on, Wendy!" Natsu-san called over his shoulder as Lucy-san pounded on his back telling him to let her down. I chuckled at their antics, happy to see that they hadn't really changed in the year that I was away.

Jogging after Natsu-san's retreating back, I followed him out back to the empty field where several of our guild members were lounging around. He deposited Lucy-san unceremoniously on the ground and then turned to face me in the middle of the field. I felt strange going up against Natsu-san, who I admired so much, in a fight. But I also felt a little honored to know that he wanted to see how much I had grown since we had last gone on an adventure together.

"I'm betting this yummy fish that Wendy will win!" Happy cried out, taking a floppy fish from his backpack and waving it around in the air excitedly.

"What did you just say?!" Natsu-san growled angrily, glaring over at Happy. Happy sweatdropped and hid behind Lucy's back quickly. I chuckled and glanced over at Shararu, who gave me an encouraging smile.

Taking a deep breath, I took my spot a few yards away from Natsu-san and met his eyes. He was grinning happily and I felt some excitement grow in me as well. Not waiting for him to move, I pushed my hand up into the air, summoning a magic circle to appear around my wrist.

"Arms! Vernier! Armor!" I called out firmly. As I released the enchantments, I felt my body begin to tingle with added magical power boosting my speed, physical strength, and defense. Natsu began running straight for me, flames exploding from his fists as he came at me with a grin plastered on his face.

Okay, you've got this, Wendy, I told myself internally. Waiting until he was almost on top of me, I concentrated on my left leg, gathering wind that began to circle around it tight and fast. As he pulled back to thrust his fist at me, I dropped down, placing my hand on the ground and then kicking up with my leg that had a mini cyclone circling it.

"First Sky Arrow!" I called out, kicking Natsu-san directly in the stomach. The miniature cyclone on my leg connected with Natsu-san and exploded with full force. Natsu-san cried out in shock as he was spun several yards away, caught in the cyclone of air. Shararu, Happy, and Lucy-san all cheered as Natsu twisted through the air, but he managed to straighten himself mid-flight and landed on his feet, his grin still intact.

"Awesome, Wendy! Show me more!" he exclaimed, running towards me. Using what Mest-kun had taught me about hand-to-hand combat the few times he came to help me train, I used my spell-driven speed to take on Natsu-san's rapid-fire punches. Just as he was about to land a Fire Dragon powered elbow thrust, I leaped up, flipping through the air and avoiding his move.

As he filled his chest and belly with air, I quickly mirrored him and we released our Dragon Roars at the same time. The funnels of air and fire clashed, causing the fire to roar even hotter with the addition of air. I stumbled backward from the unexpected intensity of the heat and ended up tripping over my own feet. Pushing myself up on my elbows, my eyes widened as I saw Natsu far above me, wings of fire extending from his arms as he grinned excitedly.

Move, Wendy! I ordered myself, scrambling to my knees and preparing to use the new Reversal enchantment that Porlyusica-san had taught me. It was an enchantment that made me temporarily immune to all magic and it had taken me months to perfect. But staring down a Fire Dragon Wing Attack, my brain froze for a moment, breaking my concentration, and all I could do was brace myself for the pain.

"Yikes!" My eyes popped open at Natsu's shocked cry, but I instantly squeezed them tight again as a blinding light awaited me. Blinking quickly I tried to remove the spots from my vision as I watched the fire that Natsu had been aiming towards me turn back and engulf him, leaving a shimmering wall made up of light standing erect in front of me. Disbelief made my heart race in shock and I jumped to my feet turning around and trying desperately to find the source of the familiar magic.

"Happy, can you give me one good reason why I shouldn't end this idiot's life right now?" a voice growled angrily, punctuated by Natsu's shouts of disbelief and discomfort. Turning around incredulously, my eyes widened in shock. Standing with one foot on top of a light box that was trapping Natsu beneath her, Phaedra-neesan's long black hair was loose and flowing down her back. From this angle, I could see anger tightening the corners of her mouth as she glared down at Natsu, helplessly trapped in her light box, and I felt emotion rising up to clog my throat.

"A-aye, sir!" Happy said, his little eyes beginning to fill with moisture as he looked at Phaedra-neesan with disbelief that was echoed in Lucy-san and Shararu's expression. "If Natsu-san dies I won't be able to get as many yummy fish!"

"Oi! What's with that reason?!" Natsu growled, banging against the light box that had him trapped. Phaedra-neesan's expression softened and my heart seemed to leap with joy when she smiled quietly and moved her foot, releasing Natsu at the same time by dismissing her light box.

"Phaedra... neesan..." I choked out, trying desperately to hold back my tears. Slowly, she turned around and met my eyes. She was wearing a simple grey turtleneck with tan pants and running shoes that looked like they were going to fall apart any second. I watched in disbelief as Phaedra-neesan slowly extended her arms towards me and I saw a tear drip down one of her pale cheeks.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, her voice wavering slightly. Without even thinking, and with my body still under the effects of my Vernier spell, I sprinted forward and slammed into Phaedra-neesan's open arms. She caught me up, using my unexpected momentum to spin me around as she gave out a joyous laugh. I held onto her tightly, still not believing that this was real. That is until Shararu, Happy, and Lucy-san all came in and joined in on the hug.

Phaedra-neesan laughed as Happy and Shararu held onto her neck and rubbed their fuzzy cheeks against hers, and she looped one arm around Lucy-san's shoulder while I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into the group hug. Even Natsu-san joined in on the hug after he had gotten over the shock of being caged up in the middle of a fight. When everyone began to let go I grabbed Phaedra-neesan's hand, which was covered in soft brown fingerless gloves, and squeezed it between both of mine.

"Are you here to stay?" I asked, trying to keep myself from hoping too much as I dried my happy tears. Phaedra-neesan looked down at me with a smile that seemed to hide an unspeakable sadness, but at the same time radiated gentleness and surety.

"Yes, Wendy. I'm here to stay," she said in her quiet voice. She then glanced up at the others with us. "That is if you think I'll be allowed to join your guild."

"You don't even have to ask!" Lucy-san exclaimed happily, grabbing Phaedra-neesan's unoccupied hand and pulling her towards the guild hall. "Come on! Let's go tell Master Makarov!"

Happy and Shararu flew after us, both grinning widely, as we all ran towards the guild hall. As Phaedra-neesan kept her hand firmly holding mine, I couldn't help but feel like everything was finally becoming right in the world.

A/N Yikes! Again with a ridiculously long chapter :S Well, let me know what you think!