Lazarus - Tenrou Team



Now drenched in sweat, shaking in fear, eyes shut. Lazarus was in a world of his own, experiencing flashbacks of all the cruel, evil things he had done. There was a voice in his head, his own voice but warped in a dark sort of way but much softer. For what seemed an age he battled with his conscious, whilst his face remained vacant. "You are nothing but a servant in lord Zeref's new age." Lazarus replied to the voice in his head, which nobody else could hear. "N-No... I'm a Phoenix Wing Wizard. "You will succumb to Zeref and kneel before him." "I will fight the darkness in this world." The voice began to become more angry and satanic. "There is nothing more important to you than Zeref! You are mere trash compared to his great power! ZEREF!". He just wanted it to stop. Lazarus managed to move his arms, bringing his hands to his ears. "Shut up, Get out of my head!" He started making noises as if he were in pain, writhing around on the ground, as the voice continued to torment him. "Zeref... Zeref... ZEREF... ZEREF!!!" The voice was no longer in his head. It was coming directly from his mouth. "I am nothing but trash and I live to serve lord Zeref." Lazarus opened his eyes, with an evil glare. "I have found myself. I'm here... Zeref." He closed his fists and made a move to stand up, evil aura slowly whipping around his body. Sasha has launched herself at him, smothering him with her love. Lazarus struggled a lot, before halting his aggression momentarily. "It's warm...". A stream of tears fell from evil Lazarus' eyes. He heard three heartbeats as Sasha clutched him tightly. His own, Sasha's and the babe to be. He closed his eyes again. "Zeref... I'm sorry. I can't." Meanwhile, inside his head, Lazarus' moral persona had broken free. "I'm a Phoenix Wing Wizard... I will fight the darkness in this world... And will leave it better for them...". Evil lazarus opened his eyes and looked into Sasha's. "You will." Evil Lazarus let go, fusing back together with his moral alter-ego. "Zeref... I've surpassed you." He burst into tears, clutching onto Sasha as hard as he could. He felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his body, and he could feel magical power surging inside of him. He wiped his tears away, as he was healed by Jasmine's magic. "Sasha. I love you more anything this word can offer. Zeref cannot take that from me." He looked into her eyes intensely, with blushed cheeks and watery eyes. "Let's make it home together." He placed his hand onto her stomach.

X

Even as Time Lord's spell locked the pair in place, Zeref coolly turned his gaze first to Ash and then to Ariel. "You're just like those Fairies, standing between me and what's mine." With a wave of his hand, two black magic hands appeared, one back handing the fireball throwing girl into the trunk of a tree, where she'd find herself firmly stuck in it and the other sending the winged girl careening into the ground, where she would bounce a couple of times on impact before sliding to a stop. Then his black magic surged around him as he faced the bulk of the mages. "One hundred years ago, the Fairies and their allies stood before me to stop me from taking Fiore. It would seem their descendants and their allies are here to stop me again."

His magic flared up even more as a trio of dark magic spears formed behind him. "You're not the Fairies. You don't have their tenacity or their heart. You have no hope of stopping me." His gaze swept over the assembled wizards before settling on Time Lord, who was still actively trying to figure out how he had broken the holding spell he'd put on Ariel and Ash. "You're going to make this difficult, perhaps I deal with you first." Almost before anyone could react, the spears soared towards Time Lord, aiming to impale vital organs.

Damian, though still confused, called out a warning, but knew it was fruitless. And then it happened again as his magic flared, the black light of it filling his eyes as his Hermes Blades appear in hand. He dashes in between the spears and Time Lord, and as he slides, his Hermes Blades, become his new Hercules Blade and he slices, the wind slashes cutting the spears of black magic in two. "Look, I'm not entirely sure what's going on or why that asshole dropped me here, but I DO know that you're dangerous. So get rea-" The Blade of Phoenix Wing found himself cut off as more spears soared towards him and he countered. This only further annoyed the Black Mage.

"Vanish from my sight." A wave of dark magic surges before it rushes towards Damian and Time Lord and this time, he wasn't sure he could beat it. And then the voice returned, echoing through his mind as his perception of time slows.



In a flash of light, Damian's swords change again, moving from his new Hercules Blade to his Ares Blades before they changed before his eyes into a single slightly curved blade. Acting purely on instinct, he grabbed the hilt and unleashed a vertical upwards slash, unleashing the magic energy in a wave that cleaved the wave in twine, as Damian sheathed the katana in the traditional fashion, his eyes still alight with his magic energy.

Zeref, however, was largely unconcerned as he turned his attention to the others. As he looked them over, he came across a mage sporting a magitech arm wielding a sword and while he seemed to have winded himself, he seemed vaguely familiar. After a moment, it clicked and he unleashed a magical assault towards him. "Ah yes, Magus Ferrin. Mavis mentioned you on several occasions." And then he unleashed his magic upon everyone present, raining any number of black magical constructs and even engaging a couple of the mages himself.

Joshua listened to Amaya ramble on, rather surprised to see this side of her. He had never thought he would see the normally shy but sweet girl turn into something like this. In fact, it was rather unsettling, partially because he could see a bit of his past self in this side to Amaya, but also because of how it was in such stark contrast to her normal self. Once she finished her rage filled speech, he pulled her closer, keeping a gentle but firm grip on her.
"Amaya, please, calm down. If you let your rage take over, you'll lose yourself to it." He said to talk calmly. "If you keep going on like this, we may all die. You'll lose another home and all your friends again. Please, calm down, so that we might all come out of this alive."

Sadly, it would seem his warning to her was rather unneeded, as some of the other engaged in combat with the Black Mage and as a result, put the whole damn guild in danger. When Zeref rained constructs down among them, Joshua kept ahold of Amaya as he moved between them, making sure that neither he or Amaya touched them in the slightest.

Amelia, meanwhile, watched her parents as they as they observed the situation. Phlegethon also listened to them before addressing Jarvis and Jamie.
"If the death mage tries to harm any of you, I will hold him off. He cannot destroy me and even if I am defeated by some means, I will simply return to my mistress. There is no need for you to remain behind Master Jarvis. Simply flee with your family, be it just your wife and daughter or the whole guild. I will be more then enough to hold off that man for the time being." The reaper said, his gaze never leaving Zeref and the dragons. Phlegethon knew he could at least hold off Zeref one-on-one. Kill, definitely not. That would require his boss's interference and Amelia could not do that yet. Factor in the dragons and it would be a one-sided fight outside of his favor but he could at least buy some time for the guild, even if it was only a minute or two.

So when it came to Zeref deciding to go on a rampage, h moved in front of the family as the constructs rained down. One of them came towards Amelia, Jarvis, and Jamie and the armored Reaper planted his sword in the ground before holding out his hands. The construct came in contact and Phlegethon managed to not get pushed back by it, thus keeping the family safe. Once he was sure it was secure, the Reaper lofted the construct before throwing it back towards Zeref, or more specifically, one of the Dragons the Black Mage was controlling. They could die at least.

Sasha refused to let Lazarus break from her grasp. She would not lose him to Zeref... she was not going to let him spiral back into that dark pitful, and if he even so much as begin to slip away from her, she was going to encase his ass in ice. She was not going to lose him. Not to Zeref. Not to any bimbo on the street that thought they could have a swing at the great model Lazarus. No... after everything they had been through... she would not give up on him now.

As he started to cry, cry evidently as hard as he could, sasha clutched at him, holding him close against her, not caring what anyone thought as she simply tried to envelope him in her warm, comfort and love. Nothing was going to hurt him while she was around. Nothing. He was here, back with her. Where he belonged. And she was never going to let him out of her sight, not for long. Everytime she turned around, he was getting into some sort of trouble.

Well, they would deal with it together. "I love you too, Lazarus. Zeref will never have you, not while I'm around." And that went for everyone. She didn't know what was going to happen, but... she wouldn't let Zeref destroy Phoenix Wing as Fairy Tail had been, as all the other guilds that had been there had been. No... this was their time.They would win.

"We will make it home... we have faith." Smiling, she brushed away his tears, and taking his hand in hers, she rose. "Thank you for the help, jasmine.. " She said, gaze going to the exceed. "And if you think they are so easy to handle, Exceed, have at it. I'd love to see it." She was not in the mood for such boastful and degrading words from a flying cat. There was too much else going on, too much else that was more important.

She brought her gaze to Zeref. "You're wrong. We will stop you." She said, her voice strong as she kept her gaze on the dark mage. "chance saw Fairy Tail's failure 100 years ago... but there's something you are forget, Zeref Dark mage. the Fairies and their allies are here... and they won't be in your control for long." Her gaze swept across the dragons, the slayers of old. Fairy tail mages and their companions from 100 years ago... and some of those gathered were descended from Fairy tail mages. They had Ferrin. And Mavis.

And everyone else. They were going to win. No other option was possible. This was it. "Weaken him, as much as you guy." She shouted, her Ice Queen armour once more covering her.

---

It was hard for Penny to stand there and watch as Demon was attacked by Zeref several times, but after the first time he handled himself, Penny knew it would be okay. That didn't mean that she didn't fight the urge to go to him, to the others she considered family. Her gaze swept over everyone, before finally resting on the dragons. The Dragon slayers of old had been turned into dragons by a failing in their magic... could that be healed? Taking to the air, Penny hovered over the dragons, not taking her gaze away from them as she contemplated the extent of the healing song she would need to use.

It might very well kill her.

But what did that matter now? She'd just come back. If she choose to. Briefly her gaze flicked to those she loved. If Jasmine's reaction was anything to go by, they would no doubt be distressed. her sight rested on Ariel. She still hadn't fixed things there. she didn't know how. This was just something she had to do, now. If it saved her family... her small scarfice would be worth it.

And she'd come back anyway.

Gathering all the energy she could, Penny poured it all into the song she started to sing. It was beautiful, and almost holy in a way and as it enveloped the dragons. But even as it did so, she knew that that wouldn't work. Shifting, she broke off the song, and brought her gaze to Zeref. She doubted the killing song would have much effect on him... Thinking a moment or two, she finally decided on a song to try and weaken him and began to sing, focusing on him and him alone. She poured her magic into it, knowing that it was still too little to deal with Zeref. But with luck... it would weaken him.

---

"They are my family. And I will protect them. I will not leave until I know they are okay." Jarvis told the spirit. "And that doesn't just mean Jamie and Amelia. Until they are safe, I will stay here." He was not going to lose another daughter. And he was not going to lose Jamie- he doubted that he would be able to survive either lose. not again. Shifting, he held two lacrima in his hand, ready to act when required.

---

"Unwavering faith and resilient bonds will bring even miracles to your side." Mavis said, her voice somehow carrying through the commotion, as she kept her gaze on Zeref. "You may not be Fairy Tail, but the faith and bond is there. Use it. Banish the shadow!" How should wished she could use Fairy sphere, but not this time, not here. Not now. The only other attack that she could safely use would be Fairy Law. Gathering the power, Mavis knew she had to be precise. She could not fail here. Too much was at stake.

And how... poetic that she would deal damage, deal a heavy blow to Zeref, with the altered spell Law that he had taught her. That she had used and cursed herself. it seemed... justice, in a way. She would use a dark spell she had modified into a Light spell to banish evil from the world.

And Zeref was her enemy. He had proven that long ago... but did she know it in her heart? She thought of everything that had happened... everything that would happen if she faltered here... She had to put an end to this. There is a wall that can't be destroyed with just power. However, there is a type of power that can destroy that wall. The Power of Feelings Zeref had destroyed her guild, no matter what she felt about him. He had destroyed the light she had helped create...

And he wanted to destroy this light, as well. The light of Fairy desendants... the light of everyone there. Everything begins in the deep abyss of Magic. A Magic that unites it all, love. Love can cause miracles. And the love between the two that have been living with the curse have brought the highest level of contradiction. The more one loves, the more one will take away from another. This curse has taken my life from me, even if I was supposed to be immortal Love. Closing her eyes, Mavis brought to mind everyone she had loved. Makarov, whom she had named, who had been her god son. Lexus, his son. Natsu, Lucy... Warrod. Yuri. Precht. Zera. Oh, Zera...

Zeref had destroyed the happy life she had had. Opening her eyes, her voice clear, her gaze on Zeref. "You're right. This ends now. Fairy Law" The magic gathered into a bright light, enveloping the area- keeping everyone safe that she didn't want hurt, the attack sentered on Zeref.

That was...!

Was he...?

...famillar...

NO! BAD MAN! BAD MAGIC!

Felt like but it wasn't could it be

Want to run away can't run must act!

PROTECT HIM

DESTORY HIM

protect
destroy
protect
destroy
YOU CAN'T HAVE IT

Itwasdarkanditwascoldandithurthurthurtcan'tseecan'tmovecan'thearcan'tspeakcan'tactalone...Alone...ALONE!

A sudden ear-piercing scream, like a banshee's keening, erupted from the shadow of the cliffs behind Ferrin and a dark shape, lead by a starkly white mask, came charging out of the shadows, shrouded by an ominous power.




Ferrin shouldered his sword and gave Mavis a cocky grin. "I do think first. I will have you know that it takes effort to be this much of a wiseass."

Despite his outward cheerful obliviousness, his eyes were scanning the situation, and his mind behind them, playing out possible scenarios. Most of them ending badly. If it was just Zeref or just the dragons, maybe. But if the both of them were to attack at once...

Around him, his comrades were in various states of shock, fear, hate, powering up, and the occasional schizophrenic fit. Is this baby-faced wannabe Evil Overlord brat really that evil? He wondered. Sure, he'd heard of Zeref, but these people we acting like he'd personally kicked their pregnant mother's puppy or something.

Then the alleged dark wizard addressed him. But he attacked first. How rude.

Caught flat-footed, Ferrin tossed up an embarrassingly clumsy shield. The onrush of magic quickly shattered the silvery barrier, continuing on toward Ferrin himself. However, it had been weakened enough to splash harmlessly against his Regalia's defenses. His cloak briefly flared up in an irregular rainbow of normally invisible runes, the symbols of the enchantments woven into its fabric. They faded quickly, but it was clear to anyone watching that the innocent-seeming clothing was, in fact, a warded magical armor.

Acting as if he didn't have another close shave, Ferrin dramatically raised an eyebrow. "Well. Well. The great wizard knows my name. I'm flattered." He put his metal hand to his chest and gave Zeref a mocking parody of a bow. As he rose he added, "Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's rude to attack people then talk to them? You are supposed to talk, then attack. It's practically written in the rulebook." As if he hadn't used that tactic more then once himself.

Instead of engaging in futile repartee with the obvious master, the black wizard attacked with more magic.

Guess break time is over. He thought, once again falling into a battle trance. A few stirring speeches were given for good measure by the other wizards nearby.

Ferrin prepared his magic and exploded into movement...then was abruptly brought up short as an ear-piercing cry overrode his hearing.

A white mask. A black shape. Magic, like a half remembered song familiar yet dissonant. It was dark but it was an empty darkness, crystalline. Like a clear winter's night. Like a fragment of obsidian.

The inhuman shape flew past him, it's body, wreathed in formless, twisting, shifting shadows. The only parts of it that were recognizable were its oddly serene white mask and the two enormous, demonic claws that it held raised. It's keening was a mash of negative emotions: anger, despair, grief, fear, hate, and more, balled up and forced out in something that could only loosely be called a scream.

He felt the wind from it's passage and watched in awe as its claw swing though the various constructs and anything else in its way, shattering them. A nearby boulder was pulverized as one of its claws swung though it, and several constructs, without losing any momentum.

It never slowed as it carved a trail straight for the Dark Wizard. It swung it's claws fighting with pure animal ferocity, but clearly no skill or training. Just flailing mindless berserk fury. Despite this, its assault was on Zeref only; it darted around anyone nearby with superhuman agility, coming close to, but never actually hurting anyone else. It avoided attacks from either side with incredible speed. And all the while it kept up its mad howling. Whatever it was, it seemed to at least be on their side, for the time being.

For once, Ferrin was caught off guard. "What in all seven bloody hells...?" The Aether wizard whispered after the newcomer, his jaw hanging open.

It snapped shut however, as his attention was drawn to Mavis. Mavis preparing one of the greatest Spells that had ever been invented. Fairy Law He felt a twinge of guilt, which quickly turned to fear as his instincts started screaming at him, telling him something was off.

"Guildmaster, don't!" He shouted too late. He didn't know what it was, but something felt horribly wrong.

Zero continued to watched as everyone else reacted to the dark mage who had plagued so many lives. He’d honestly never believed he would run into the infamous wizard, but he was. Lazarus seemed to be breaking down, and Amaya was filled with rage. Fear and anger surrounded him and the darkness felt suffocating for almost a moment. The Black Mage Zeref. He couldn’t be bothered with the mages before him. Zero hated that. Being looked down upon as if he were little more than a bug in the wake of his enemy. He was a goddamn Dragon Slayer! And yet, part of him had been afraid all the same. Part of him had judged others for trying to attack him head on as if that were an idiotic thing to do.

Yes, Zeref was powerful. In fact, he was more than that. Fighting him could result in death. But backing down could mean death regardless. Then all was still. He felt something on his back. He turned his head back, but nothing was there.

”I’ve never seen you like this.”

All of a sudden, Zero felt a calm wave wash over him. Zenoram’s voice was all he needed.

”Sorry for worrying you. He thought before glancing around as the others around him. He smirked. Everyone had their own shit to deal with it seemed. And yet they were all here. Together. It was something he never could have imagined in his wildest dreams. He remembered scoffing at the thought when Hemlock would tell him stories and teach him about the society he’d hated for so long. The society he still hated, but had at least found a reason to remain in after Hemlock’s death.

”Listen to your boy toy Amaya.” He finally said with a chuckle, feeling a little more like himself. ”You keep going on like that and you’re gonna start sounding like me,” he added confidently as he began to release his magic. He’d been lucky to snap out of his stupor. The tension had broken and torrent of attacks would soon be coming their way. Many could fend for themselves, and those that couldn’t would have all the help they needed. But he couldn’t just stand by and let everyone else do all the work. He was a Dragon Slayer. More than that, he was a Phoenix Wing Mage. And whether he liked it or not, that meant something dammit.

“Dragon Slayer Secret Art!” Zero signaled his attack as his magic began to pour out of him. Poison enveloped his hands. It flowed wildly around as he used it all to create a vortext around himself. It acted as a barrier against the incoming constructs of darkness much to his satisfaction, absorbing them into the spiraling poison. “Amethyst Wisteria:” He continued as he focused on controlling his magic and poison. Zero had always been careful about how and when he used his secret outs. They were far more destructive than he could possibly control, but he was sure anyone of his allies could reasonably keep themselves or each other safe.

”Come on… Come ooooon! He thought desperately. He knew something was coming. A moment he could use to his advantage. He didn’t know how, he just knew.

”Now!” Zenoram’s voice pushed him forward once more as a flash of light enveloped the area.

”Poison Dragon’s Drill!” The dragon slayer roared as he directed the spiraling, drill-like mass of poison towards Zeref. It had admittedly obstructed his view, and the light hadn’t helped, but he didn’t need to see to find his target. It was Zeref after all. And he trusted in Zenoram’s judgement more than anything. He knew this was the right moment. And there was no turning back. There was no biding their time. This was it. To put anything but this much forth would be a waste of his and his allies’ lives.

X

Oof

That was the only sound that escaped Ash as she felt the hand made from dark magic slam into her side, completely defenceless thanks to Patrick's holding spell. She couldn't dodge, she couldn't defend herself. She could only watch as what seemed like the hand of death itself came and backhanded several metres back, tumbling and rolling before finally coming to a crashing halt inside a tree trunk. She almost snapped the tree in half, such as the force she hit it with.

And fucking oath did it hurt. Her body cried out, both in pain from the blow, the tumbling and the lack of oxygen that she was no confronted with. But also due to the fact she was fucking embedded in a goddamn tree, that bloody hurt and wasn't recommended for anyone. Goddamn, she was going to kill that little runt! Kill him till he died from it! "Fucking little shithead, I'm gonna beat him till he's black and blue. No, till he's red. Just a blood stain on my fist." Though she found the going tough when she first when to move, soon visible heat radiated off of her as her anger both at being restrained as well as so carelessly backhanded away, like she was an afterthought, began to take root. With enough effort, she pulled herself free and cracked her neck.

Payback time!

...Or so she thought, but by the time she had pulled herself free of the tree it seemed like every mage gathered here and their grandmas had begun to pile in on Zeref. Oi, they had better leave some for her! Suppose if everyone else wasn't holding back...then she shouldn't either huh? Blue flames soon began to replace the red ones that were swirling around her hands, her normally fiery eyes turned the same shade as she pointed with no small amount of hostility towards Zeref. "Burn." As the words escaped her lips, flames shoot forth from her hand towards the black wizard like a wave. Thankfully there was a nice, cold ice wall behind him so it wouldn't spread that way as it slammed into the wizard. How nice.

---

With Lazarus healed, Jasmine gave the older couple a weary smile. She was glad to be of help, and she was sure there were more hurt mages who could use her healing. However, when she felt the sudden spike in magic her face grew pale. Wide-eyed, she slowly turned towards the ominous source. While most of the mages, battle-hardened or at least experienced in fighting powerful dark mages, managed to fight through the fear or even outright ignore, for Jasmine the feeling that washed over her was nothing like she had experienced before.

Death. He was death itself. As his gaze fell upon the guild mages, she stopped functioning. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't talk. She was frozen on the spot, petrified as he seemed to deal with them the same manner as one would a fly. She was gripped by such a primordial and raw fear, he was unlike anything she had seen in her short time with the guild. What should she do?! What could she do?! She didn't stand a chance against that....monster!

"P-Penny..."

She couldn't stop the tears that began to well up. Not from sadness, nor even from joy. She was just so lost, so out of her depth that that was all she could do as she waited for her seemingly inevitable demise. She accepted the fact that she couldn't do anything, though it didn't stop her hands from clenching tightly, filled with dirt as her fingers dug into the soil beneath her. Even now as the various constructs Zeref made rained down around them, she couldn't find it within her to move. She was too weak...

"So, you'll just let it end this way? You came all this way just to die then?" Like a light beaming down on her, Ryujin's voice cut through to the petrified girl. His tone was filled with disappointment.

"I-I can't...I can't fight him. He's right, I don't have it in me to fight...I-I can't even hope to think I could." It was one thing for her to be here to stop dragons, but this man? This magical power? It was frightening. How could one ever hope to overcome such a thing?

"Perhaps so. If that's what you truly believe, then you do stand no chance against this man." Even though she knew he spoke the truth, his words still cut deep. "Or perhaps, if you look at it from a different perspective...you do."

She was quick to deny him, shaking her head as her dirt-stained blond hair fluttered about. "No, no, no. I can't. I just can't!" That was when she felt herself be picked up. Looking up, she could barely see through her watery eyes but could make out just enough of the small cat-like creature that had grabbed hold of her and began to move her out of the way of Zeref's attack.

It was Rajah. The exceed was visibly straining herself as her little arms held on tightly, her tiny little wings beating as fast as they could as a sword plunged into the ground where Jasmine was kneeling just before. "You. Are. Pathetic!" The exceed seemed to scream at the slayer, barely avoiding a hammer that came crashing down to their right.

'Sir Ignatius told me you were my partner, and like fucking hell am I letting my partner look so pathetic! So get up and fight!" With a glare that could melt ice, Rajah looked down at the teenager with a burning fury.

"But..but I can't-"

"Don't you 'but' or 'can't' me! Those are the excuses of the weak! And like that damned annoying Phoenix keeps saying; you're not weak! Get your head out of the sand and fight! Otherwise, you, me, everyone else are going to die damnit! And I won't be losing my first disciple so damned quickly and easily, you got that?!"

Rajah was in no mood to debate with the frightened girl, and while this wasn't exactly the best way to deal with this it wasn't like the exceed was necessarily wrong. There was no telling what could happen, all she had to do was try at least.

"While I hate to side with that...creature." The disdain he showed towards Rajah was evident. "You are here to help your comrades, no? If you do not think you have the strength to stand against him...then I shall grant you it." Before he had even finished, Jasmine felt magic beginning to course through her. A strength unlike anything she had felt began to well up inside her. While it still paled in comparison to the dark powers of Zeref...it was still exceptionally large.

Ryujin knew he had no choice. While he was uncertain if her body could handle it, she could very well die from this, it was a risk that had to be taken. If they didn't try, she might just end up dying anyway. So with that, he allowed her full access to her magic. And the knowledge on how to use it. Including what she had tried years ago, but had never really been given a chance to master.

Digging her heels into the ground, she and Rajah now came to a sudden and abrupt stop. So abrupt in fact, the little cat went flying off face first into a nearby rock. Her body still trembled in fear, but watching as her guildmates...her fellow dragon slayers starting fighting Zeref, the magic that coursed through her...she had to stand and fight. Ryujin was right, no matter how afraid she was there was no excuse for just accepting things were going to happen. If she and the others want to leave...go home to the guild, then they needed to fight.

"Dragon Slayer: Secret Art!" Feeling the magic begining to take shape, a bubble began form in her hands. The drain was...incredible, even more so as she felt it draining every drop of magic she had. An unintended consquence of using a spell she had yet to master.

Though she paused for a moment when a new presence arrived. What the hell was that thing? Oh well, it seemed like for now it was here to help them so it was best to concentrate on her spell and only her spell.

"Liquidation!" Almost immediately after launching the bubble, which was no larger than a baseball , towards the dark mage she fell to her knees as a weakness overcame her. Not like the fear from before, but as if she had just finished running a 300km marathon. Or more specifically, like she had just used every ounce of magic in her body. Her vision was already going blurry so she couldn't even tell if it hit.

But if it did, it was after the attacks by Zero and Ash. Upon impact it would wash over him....and do nothing?

@MarshiestMallow @Crimson Raven @Hatakekuro @t2wave @Burthstone @Lunarlord34 @CitrusArms
@Demon Shinobi @LightningMaiden @Joshua Tamashii @Oblivion666 @YipeeXD @Zarkun

---

As Karn felt their feet knocked from under them, he had to release his form of the dragon. Disappearing in the blink of the eye to return as his human body. Crashing against the ground and rolling a good feet away from the force. He coughed and hacked, wheezing from breath. His body feeling like it was electrified and exhausted from the over use of the magic. He felt was in shock and could barely understand and comprehend what was going on around him. He could hear Ferrin in his mind, giving a instruction. So the blonde struggled to his feet. Looking up to the dragons and hissed as he tried to transform again. He just winced in pain. Breathing deeply, the young man tried breathing... and breathing... until golden flames started to lick out of his mouth. Green eyes flicking to Trinity and Mithera to make sure they were alright.

Eastern Chimera magic.... he didn't think he could transform fully into his Eastern Chimera form, so he'd be defenseless if he took a hit. But maybe at least he could work up some attack power. Maybe if he could eat some of the fire dragon flames... would that work? Wasn't dragon flames supposed to be magical of sorts? Well he never really ate dragon fire. Can't be too bad right? And if it rejuvenated his magic why not?

It was then a man... Zeref appeared. Anger welled inside Karn at the thought of all these dragons being controlled. Memory of Hemlock flashing within his mind and causing him to shutter. As magic users started to cast their spells, Karn looked toward Zero before taking a deep breath. Clapping his hands together before forcing himself to jump up, inhaling deeply before breathing.

"Eastern Chimera Roar!" the blonde roared, golden flames shooting from his mouth, the powerful force flashing over. Enveloping up behind Zero's drill attack, pushing it foreword, golden flames dancing swirling along with the drill. Falling back to the ground, he landed with a thud, panting heavily. He didn't know if that worked or helped, and he could ear Edarn question pretty much everything, but he was struggling to even think right now.

Though she predictably failed to pierce the red dragon's hide, she seemed successful in her strike. She pushed off the dragon and bound hey way across the sand, she took up a defensive position in front of Karn. She was ready to hold her line, but the dragons had stopped.

She felt it, first. The magic that was part of her felt it for her. Some she'd never felt before and hoped never to feel again. A foul kind of magic that she couldn't find the words to describe. And then she saw him. She heard his name, a name on par with the devil for his place in music culture. Only, somehow, he was worse. His very presence was death and destruction.

Karn let out a final burst of power before collapsing. "Dammit...!" She did her best to help him up, prop him on her shoulder. "We've got to find Mithera, where did she go? We need to stay together." With the white beam of light to help support them like a staff, she might just manage dragging Karn off to the sidelines.

Zeref watched as the mages around him sprung into action avoid being eviscerated and generally meeting a rather unfortunate end. He choose to occasionally remind the mages of Frenzy Plant, Phoenix Wing and Dragon Fang why he was known as the Black Mage by casting additional spells such as fire, lightning, ice, and other such spells. The number of spells at his disposal was staggering. Damian found himself on the defensive, swapping from his new Ares Blade to the Hercules Blade, the sword-spear slashing through most spells thrown his way. Zeref, however, started moving towards Time Lord again, magic flickering on his finger tips. "This time there won't be a foolish mage to save you. Time manipulation is trouble for me and I can't afford to be sealed again."

However, as he raised his hand to blast his target with an as yet unnamed spell, he felt a spear forcefully change direction and target. His spell turned to maintaining direction as he flicked his wrist, jerking the dark spear Phlegethon had redirected from it's collision with the Dragon towards the sword wielding mage who had protected the time mage earlier. Damian had barely enough time to register it before diving to the right to avoid it, sliding across the ground. The hell did I land in the middle of?!

As Zeref turned back towards Time Lord again, another figure appeared, cloaked in darkness and wearing a white mask bashed it's way towards him with large, shadowy claws. "Don't waste your time." He formed a hand of shadow himself, grabbing the charging figure and flung it into Ferrin, knocking them both back. As he attempted again to target Time Lord, what he hoped was for the last time, a familiar magic permeated the area and for the first time, real panic crossed his face. "Mavis?! NO!" Even as he summoned a black tinged fireball to his hand to fling at her, the solar flame enhanced poison drill slammed into him, knocking him back against the ice that had appeared shortly after. Next came the burning blue flames, crashing into him and pushing him further into the ice as Jasmine's Dragon Slayer Secret Art hit. And while it did nothing to him specifically, the ice around him began to melt rapidly.

"Damned insects! I'll see you des-" And then Fairy Law hit, shattering the ice wall and sending every one scrambling again to avoid being impaled as smaller shards rained down for several minutes. For a moment, all was silent after the last of the ice impacted the ground and then the dragons all roared. However, as the mages watched, they seemed to start shrinking as Zeref stumbled out of the dust cloud. "No...no, no, no! This can't be happening!" Damian watched in awe as the dragons changed as they shrank, turning from the ferocious beasts that had mere minutes before been trying to kill, and/or eat, them to six figures who stood in magic history as both some of the most famous and infamous mages alive.

"It...it can't be." Zeref's dark magic dispelled and set the six on the ground before the group and in front of Zeref, Natsu Dragneel, Gajeel Redfox, Wendy Marvell, Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney, and Erik Cobra, the six slayers who had been forced to turn on their comrades.

Natsu wasted no time, flames enveloping his fist as he steps towards Zeref. "You made us dragons and forced us under your control. It's payback time." The flames grew larger as he stepped towards the Black Mage and pulled his arms back, a familiar stance appearing. "Dragon Slayer Secret Arts: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" The spell impacted Zeref as he grunted in surpise, but in the resulting explosion, no one was sure what happened to the Black Mage. He vanished, with no one sure what Natsu's spell had done to him, except maybe a free trip into the ozone layer.

Justice served, the six turned to the members of the various guilds and looked them over. Natus, Wendy and Gajeel looked for Fairy Tail guild marks before accepting there were none. It was Wendy, however, who asked the dreaded question. "How long has it been? And where's our guild?" Erik, Sting and Rogue stood off to one side, wanting answers as well but letting the Sky Dragon Slayer handle it.

As everything seemed to happen at once, Penny could feel her own strength waning. It had been a long, tiring day and she had expended more energy than she thought. Wearily, her body fell towards the ground slowly, and her knees gave way as she reached the ground.

Panting slightly, she closed her eyes tightly, her weary body overcome with her emotions. She’d been holding them back, so long... so long... she could feel the tears start, stinging her eyes painfully. She bowed her head, knowing that she should check in the others. Jasmine... the girl had to be okay. And Ariel... Why Ariel had wanted to come to the island, Penny didn’t know. She still had to make things right with Ariel.

She just didn’t have the energy to get up, to go find them... she didn’t know if her legs would hold her if she even tried to rise. The tears stinging her eyes slipped through her closed lids, and began to fall down her cheeks. “... Damien... “ From what she had seen, Zeref had been trying hard to kill him. Was he alive? Was he okay? Her heart beat fast, but even that wasn’t enough.

It was just too much. Everything she had been through... the choice she had made... her breath came out raggered and she rocked forward slightly, placing her hands on the ground in front of her, as she sought her breath, sought some semblance of control. But at least it was over. At least Zeref was gone.

Right than, that seemed to be all that mattered, they had won. It seemed impossible now that it had happened, but they had won... Finally she pushed herself to her feet, shaking slightly and for a moment it seemed she might just fall back down. Her gaze swept over everyone there, ignoring what must be the dragon slayers of old, not caring about them, as she sought those she loved.

Sasha, standing strong and to Penny, the epitome of bravery. Of courage and goodness. Jasmine, for a brief moment she hardly recognised the girl. She had come so far... her gaze didn’t go much further, landing once more on Damien.

She stumbled towards him, reaching up with one hand to brush at her eyes. “Damien.”

---

Sasha reaches out towards Lazarus as the dragons began to change back to human form. Her gaze flicked to Patrick as the Dragon Slayers of old ask after their former guilds. What was she meant to say? How could she explain what had happened? Drawing a breath, this was her duty, her mission. She had to explain.

“It’s been nearly a 100 years... you’ve been on this island for nearly a century, asleep.” She started, pausing as she tried to figure out the words. “Your guilds... What happened here, caused a... a hatred of magic. It’s only been the last few years that magic has began to be accepted again. We don’t know what happened to the guilds, but we do know that at least some of them escaped the island.” She said, hesitating another moment or two before continuing.

“Some of us are descended from the guilds... and we came here to... to save you and defeat Zeref.” God, she wasn’t good at this. Telling them that those they loved and cared about were gone... “and... well, you know the rest.” She said, letting her ice armour fade away as the danger had passed.

---

Mavis walked towards the old dragon slayers, a smile on her features, old grief etched on her face as she slowed. “Wendy... Gajeel... Natsu... “ her gaze lingered on them, as she reached out to take Wendy in her arms, giving the young- well, young appearing- girl a hug. “Thank you... “

She turned her gaze to the other dragon slayers. “Sting, rogue, cobra... you fought so well, for so long... you fought against that darkness... I wish it was a better ending for you all... “

She gave a heavy sigh, her gaze moving towards Patrick. “You don’t belong in this time, just as much as they don’t anymore.” She said, her voice heavy as she continued. “You, brave brave boy... you have served well... it’s time for the stream to be set right once more.”

“I know. I knew it from the moment I was sent here. The man I knew as my father ensured I would know what to do.” An odd smile touched Patrick’s lips, “I’m oddly homesick, despite the disaster my time is. And it was... nice, meeting my biological parents.”

“It’s always nice to know where one comes from. And you deserve a break. Perhaps... you can take them with you, give them a chance to save another time.”

“If they wish it, than I shall do so.”

Satisfied, Mavis turned towards Ferrin, her gaze flicking briefly to the white masked figure. “Ferrin... dear Ferrin... I’m sorry, for everything.” She said, a sad smile on her features.

As the dust settled, Ferrin stared at Mavis with something dangerously resembling awe from the usually unflappable wizard. Of course. It has been over two hundred years. She had plenty of time to perfect Law since I last saw her. And here I was hoping I would be the first to figure it out. ...hey, daemon. Did you get that?" A multilayed, disharmonic voice, like dozens of different people speaking just out of sync echoed in his head.

Of course. You may analyze it at your leisure. After a pause it added begrudgingly. I'm...surprised. I never expected to see a human use it. Its potential is...well, not one that should be in the hands of mortals.

Ferrin cocked his head. But you will let me study it?

Of course. I abide by my word. It almost sounded offended. I would do nothing about it anyway. I am no god to decide what should or not be. It is simply dangerous. Like... Ferrin felt it shift though his mind for an appropriate simile.

"Like a toddler with sword." Ferrin finished for it, speaking aloud with a quiet sigh.

Mhm. A flaming sword.

I will...bear that in mind. We can compare notes later, but for now, conserve your power. I have a feeling I will be needing it before all is said and done here.

The being receded and Ferrin shook himself out of his reverie. A headache had crept up on him while he was standing there, and now his head was pounding away: thump thump thump. He ignored it as spared a glance at the scorched sand and broken ice where Zeref had stood. No sign of him now and not even Ferrin's wizardly senses could feel him. However..."This island stinks." He muttered, wrinkling his nose. He could still vaguely sense that something was wrong, and his mind interpreted it as a foul stench lingering just on the edge of smell. Logic said there was no way Zeref was still alive, but Ferrin's instincts told him they haven't seen the last of him. You don't live as a dark wizard for over two centuries without having some powerful tricks up your sleeve. Ferrin almost wished he could have a talk with the man. Pity they met as enemies.

Raising his head and his voice, he called out to everyone: "Do not let your guards down! We are not safe just yet. Those of you with healing talents or magic, tend to the wounded. If you still have a good amount of stamina left, form a rough perimeter and be extra careful to guard the spent and the wounded. We do not want to get surprised again." For that reason, he didn't dismiss Shiden either. Paranoia had kept him a live this long, he saw no reason to dismiss it now. He made a quick count and sighed in relief as he found everyone was accounted for. We were too lucky.

He was limping slightly as he made his way over to the newcomers. He studied each in turn, the six former dragons, the mysterious cloaked person in a mask, who was now just standing quietly and staring off into the distance, and the swordsman who randomly dropped out of the sky mid-fight. Oh and Mavis. He noted the Fairy Tail guild mark prominently displayed on the shoulders of three of the six former dragons. If he had to guess, they were all dragon slayers, if the feel of the pink-haired one's magic was any indication. Powerful ones too. He still felt uncomfortably warm just from the feel of that one's magic. Two bore guild marks he didn't recognize and the sixth, a dangerous-looking man missing an eye, had none that he could see. He studied the masked person--only to find that it was staring at him. Creepy. He shot back with his best glare. He tried to gauge how dangerous they were. They may have helped fight the Black Wizard, but the enemy of one's enemy isn't always a friend. None of them seemed to be aggressive now, but that didn't mean anything. He knew nothing about where their loyalties lay, and that put him on edge. Still, if they did attack, they would have to deal with every wizard here, which was a small comfort.

He stopped next to Mavis as the small group gathered around the former dragons, and he listened in to Sasha with an unreadable expression.

"You cast Law." He said. A statement, not a question. He shook his head. "And they accuse me of being reckless. I wonder who I could have learned it from."

A memory of the past flashed in his mind.

Ferrin, being the inquisitive kid with more magical talent then sense that he was, had managed to uncover the spell Law, among others and secretly began practicing. However, Mavis caught him before he was able to crack it. After a very thorough chewing out, in a quiet voice, she explained the dangers of the spell and what it had cost her, stunting her growth. After that, she made him promise that he would never attempt to cast that spell.

He was sure she still remembered the incident.

He sighed. "Though I'm sure you've had time to perfect the spell, and things turned out all right, I feel obliged to remind you that it was still a damn fool thing to do." Not that he had room to throw stones.

His gaze softened a bit as he looked over the dragonslayers, now knowing some of their story. Waking up with all that you knew and loved suddenly gone. That he could sympathize with. But he had no words to alleviate their pain. Mavis suggested returning them, and one could all but hear a vein pop on Ferrin. He glanced askance at Patrick. "Yeah, Timmy. Why don't you make yourself useful and return those that don't belong here to their own time. Or is messing with people and putting them in danger all you are good for?" Ferrin had noticed that Time Lord's interference only made things worse for those who had tried to rush Zeref, and he made sure to sink that barb deep. He wasn't interested in the sappy feels that were going around.

Behind him, the masked figure had inexplicably moved to stand on his shadow and was standing unnaturally still, staring at it's feet, it's head tilted to the side. It didn't make a sound. Now that it was still, one could make out a faint curve of chest underneath the ragged, dirty cloak, suggesting that the person in there was female. The mask, which might to have been a masterly crafted piece once, was as dirty and ragged as the cloak, with cracks spiderwebbing across it. Both looked to be very old. Of the person, only her hands could be seen, peeking out from her sleeves: her hands were pale, almost white, and long, unkept, dirty fingernails topped each of her fingers. A few stands of midnight-black hair poked out from under her hood, blending in with the shadow it cast. Her own shadow was notably darker then it should be, and eerily, would sometimes move independently of her or lag behind her movements.

X

Things going on around her were largely missed by Ariel. Being frozen in time, blasted out of the air and crashing into the ground after building up a reserve of magic does a pretty good job of taking one out of the moment. A fireball dropping out of the sky crash landing off to the side she rolled across the grass that popped and sizzled as it was burned by the heat. Zeref's attack was nothing to sneeze at even if it wasn't a fully powered one. Holding her side Ariel knew that her opportunity to hit the dark wizard was gone. Glancing up things had changed. The dragons were gone... Zeref was gone... the hell? The woman couldn't figure out if a few seconds or hours had passed.

Two things Ariel did know was that her wound was healing rather quickly, an effect that was likely due to the Phoenix magic, and that she was still primed to explode because she was an idiot that had no real idea what she was doing. So lying there on the ground was about the last place she should be. [color=oragered]"I have to "[/color] Standing up and taking off again she headed away from the everyone and the island. Out over the water somehow felt familiar. Had she done this before? Was it in the painting? Maybe. Either way it didn't really matter. Ideally she would find a better way to burn off some of the magic or redirect it somehow. About the one thing she could think of was douse herself with water to quench the flames. Did that work with magical fire from an ancient creature? She didn't know but not having any other good ideas she few out over the ocean and dove, disappeared beneath the waves.

The rush of water surrounded her. It didn't do much to cool her down but it was using up magic that kept the flames going. The ocean immediately around her boiled and roared in her ears. More importantly the water would absorb the blast rather than roasting everything around her. Confident that everyone else would be safe she stopped fighting to keep the magic contained, a feat that usually isn't that hard considering she seemed to attract magic. Like a mine going off at sea a pillar of water erupted reaching up into the sky. Tossed in the current created by the blast Ariel was spun around until she lost track of which way was up. The boiling water wasn't hurting her, yet at least. She probably had reverted to her regular Fire magic which helped. Of course drowning wasn't high on her list of things to do either so scrambling to the surface was her present goal.

The dragons were "gone", but something else started happening almost immediately. A mass of fire fell from the sky, just as she dragged Karn far enough to find Mithera. She set him down and was about to go investigate when that same fireball seemed to bound from the jungle to the sea. She's heard of this, in another old song. A streak of light in the night; several, bouncing crashes; a person where a meteor should be.

Lots of old songs, today.

And then it exploded! That was different. Couldn't have been good. So, ocean. Swimming. She had a staff. She looked at the white beam she held, wondering where, exactly, she got it from, and what she could do with it. By compulsion, she broke it in two over her knee and started to flatten out the ends with her hands. Without magic power to form it, she had to do it by hand.

She made flippers! Being relatively uninjured, she then sprang down the beach backwards (as one does in flippers), sloshing into the water while having shed her outer clothes along the way. "Alright, now where's the-" shelf. Sploosh.

Suddenly finding herself submerged, Trinity kicked around to scan for the person she suspected was out here. She spotted a figure and began to approach, but was stopped by the heat. Was this person giving off this heat? She couldn't get any closer...! Without other options (and short on breath), she surfaced to call for help.

She took a deep breath and gave a good, loud call, "heeeey! I need someone heat resistant! Hurry!"

Was there enough time? She dove back down, and this time, she managed to recognize Ariel. She seemed disoriented... Unable to approach or speak, she wondered about tossing that light spear in front of her face to grab her attention. The problem was that was now her flippers. How did she do it before? Held her hand out like this, and then she closed her hands, as though around a Make. A much smaller white stick appeared in her hand this time. It flew very straight when thrown, passing by Ariel and continuing into the deep blue. Trinity would point upward, toward the surface.

@Silver Fox@Burthstone@t2wave

@Lunarlord34@MarshiestMallow@Crimson Raven@Hatakekuro@Demon Shinobi@LightningMaiden@Joshua Tamashii@Oblivion666@YipeeXD@Zarkun

With the threat taken care of, a more confusing scenario began to replace it. The dragons had turned into wizards? Who then turned on Zeref? Ok, while she hadn't understood why Zeref was even here in the first place, or even a single inkling as to what had been happening at all since they had gotten here if she was being perfectly honest, she did seem to understand roughly who these wizards were. Fire Dragon Slayer magic kinda gave it away. The flames around her hand slowly turned red, then disappearing entirely after a few shakes of her hand.

She slowly made her way over to where a group was beginning to form, she was sure that if she just stood around long enough she could overhear some answers at least. It was a start anyway.

---

The Secret Art had taken a rather visible toll on the blonde. She hadn't seen it hit, nor anything that came after. Everything was literally happening in a blur around of her as the world seemed to tip one way, then the other only to tip back sharply once again. What had happened to her? She couldn't think straight at all as exhaustion washed over her body, soon her legs gave out beneath her and she collapsed onto the sand. Ah, it was going to be such a pain to wash that all out of her clothes and hair now.

Wait. She had bigger things to worry about.

The fact she was sprawled out on the beach on her back made her a sitting duck, though she briefly seemed to note that Zeref's attacks had receded for some reason for the time being, so she needed to at least be able to get up and move. Lest she began a burden to the others. Yet when she went to move, she found her body unwilling to listen. If she tried to forcefully move, she was rewarded with a sharp pain throughout. Not helping her case was a weight on her chest. Not that it was heavy, but it was enough that in her weakened state it might as well be a sack of bricks.

"Get up goddamnit! We defeated the little twerp so get up!"

By now, she could barely keep her eyes open. Not even Rajah's near forceful shaking seemed to snap the girl out of her daze, nor the torrent of curses that streamed forth from her to get up, that they had won, amongst other things. But Jasmine's mind was too far gone to register the slaps that Rajah now dealt to her face, let alone any words that escaped the exceed's lips.

Ah...so tired....maybe it wouldn't hurt to sleep just a little? Just a quick nap...Five minutes...then...she would...
Her mind hadn't even finished the thought before her body went limp, the only signs of life being the soft, rthymatic rise and fall of chest as her mind was swallowed up by darkness.

Joshua didn't bother to question anything. He didn't question why the fight ended so quickly and suddenly, he didn't question why the dragons were now humans, he didn't question why Zeref suddenly vanished when he was engulfed in flames, and he didn't question anything that happened after all of this was said and done. The reason he didn't was simply because he was relieved that no one had been killed in what had been a life or death situation and even if he did, there would be no answers that he understood. All that mattered was that everyone was safe and alive, so that there would be no mourning today. So while Amaya was still away, he moved over to a dry spot of the beach and sat down, in no rush to celebrate.

He was still relaxing when Amaya came back over to his side. He would wait for her to sit next to him before wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.
"Glad to see that you've calmed down. I was worried that you were going to do something utterly reckless and stupid only to get yourself and Cecilia hurt." He said to her, his tone... different. Somewhat resigned but also somewhat relieved. "I hope I never see you that way again. That isn't you and I hope that I... well that myself and the others can keep you from feeling that way ever again. I'm sure your outburst might've caught some of the others off guard as well since you never lose your temper."



With the battle over and his master's family safe, Phlegethon slowly disappeared, returning to Amelia's locket. Amelia herself fell to her knees, keeping a hold of her parent's hands as she did so. The young girl was shaking badly and almost in tears. She hadn't felt so scared in a very long time. One might say that this was the first battle she had been involved in that her life had truly been in danger. Once upon a time, she might not have cared if she was at risk of losing her life. But things were different now, she had a family, including a younger sister. She had friends and so much to lose if she died now and she didn't want to lose any of it. So yes, she had been scared down to her core and now that the danger had passed, whatever strength she had had left her and she was just feeling overwhelmed now.
"Mama... Papa... I want to go home." She said in a shaky voice.

"One hundred years? Has it...really..." Tears began to form in Wendy's eyes and she turned away as Gajeel stepped forwards, appraising the group around the slayers.

"If it's been a hundred years, why do you all smell like you only have about a decade's worth of magic experience on you? What happened?" Jack Goran stepped up and Natsu, recognizing the smell of his magic, moved forwards with fire around his fist, but didn't move as Jack held up his hand.

"Peace, Natsu Dragneel, I am no Zancrow. As for why it seems like the mages gathered before you lack the experience of mages in your time, that's because when Zeref twisted you into dragons and forced you to obey his commands, magic saw a severe decline in popularity. It's only been within the last several years that mages could use their magic without fear of reprisal, which was often violent. The Council was forced to throw innocent mages, mages who's only crime was wielding magic, into prison in order to keep the peace. In short," he sighed, pointing at himself and a couple of Frenzy Plant's mages, "very few were fortunate enough to have real tutelage." Sting stepped forwards next, his face solemn.

"If that's how it's been until recent history, how are things now?"

Damian was still reeling from what he was seeing when Penny stumbled towards him and his instincts kicked in before he processed what was happening. A flurry magic rose around him as he brought his Ares Blade to bear, and then he finished processing and the magic faded with his sword as he moved forwards. "Easy, Penny. I'm here, I'm OK. Little dazed, little confused, entirely lost, but alive and well."