A flash of fire and lightning lit up the courtyard, and the fight ended almost as quickly as it had begun.
Laxus stretched his shoulders, looking refreshed. "Your training still isn't enough, Natsu."
"Th… thanks for the lesson…" Natsu wheezed from the ground, his body twitching slightly as sparks of lightning still danced across his limbs.
"This feels way too familiar," Lisanna said, squatting down and poking Natsu's cheek. Her finger tingled from the lingering electricity, and she quickly pulled her hand back with a small laugh. "Wasn't that a bit heavy-handed, Laxus?"
Rhodes folded his arms. "It's fine. Wendy and I brought back a mountain of medicine. If you all want to fight, then hurry up and use it, we've got enough to patch you back together."
Lucy huffed. "There's no need to go out of your way just to burn through all of it."
Before she could finish, Freed stepped forward to drape a coat over Laxus, but the man crouched down instead, facing Lisanna.
He reached out, resting a large hand on her head, his tone softer than expected. "Tell me… this is really the real Lisanna, isn't it?"
Her head bobbed under his pats before she swatted his hand away, cheeks puffed in mock annoyance. "How mean. Did you only just notice me now?"
Laxus scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Well… there were all kinds of reasons…"
He thought back, on Tenrou Island, everything had happened too suddenly. On the ship, he'd locked himself away, avoiding everyone. And since their return, the guild had been so noisy and crowded, and Lisanna so quiet…
It wasn't until she stood right before him now that it truly hit him: this girl had been gone for two years, no, eight years.
For a moment, he even wanted to pinch her cheek just to make sure she wasn't someone else pretending.
"Right, Laxus doesn't know much about Edolas, does he?" Freed jumped in eagerly, delighted at having something to explain to him.
The guild roared with laughter again as Natsu was carted off for treatment.
Soon, Gray and Gajeel stepped into the courtyard, each challenging members of the standby group, eager to test just how strong their comrades had become.
The raucous energy carried on into the evening. Tables were flipped, chairs overturned, and yet the laughter never ceased. Eventually, the entire guild gathered inside once more, feasting and drinking until exhaustion won out. Those too tired simply sprawled across tables, floors, or even each other, in the true Fairy Tail fashion.
The celebration didn't stop after one night, it carried on for three full days and nights. Every new face that returned to Magnolia, like Krov and Mikki, who rushed in from out of town, was immediately swept into the madness, laughing and crying as the whole story was pieced together.
By the end, Fairy Tail had 45 official members reunited, 44 of them already back under one roof.
When the sunlight finally streamed into the guildhall on the fourth morning, the revelry at last settled into peace. One by one, they stretched, groaned, and shared tired smiles. The joy of reunion had run its course.
Now, reality waited.
The first problem they faced was simple: going home.
Members quickly split into three groups.
The first group owned their own houses, Mira, Gildarts, Makarov, and others. Though the Council had declared them dead, their property had never been seized. Their homes still stood, waiting only for cleaning, repairs, or in some cases, rebuilding.
The second group had lived in the girls' dormitory, Erza, Wendy, Juvia, and several more.
Chico explained that her father, the dormitory landlord, had always believed everyone was merely missing. He'd preserved their rooms, clothes, and belongings exactly as they were. Returning only required a bit of cleaning.
The catch? They owed six years' worth of back rent. With a "discount," that still added up to over seven million Jewels per person.
And this was with rent frozen, unlike the rest of Magnolia where rates had risen ten to twenty percent in the past six years.
Some of the more "flexible" guildmates were already considering excuses, like claiming, "I wasn't living there,"to try and wiggle out of payment.
But Wendy and the others knew very well, none of them had ever said they were moving out. The landlord had chosen to believe in them, keeping their rooms untouched for six long years. That was kindness. It was something deeply moving.
There was no way they could turn their backs on such faith. Defaulting on the rent would be unthinkable.
Erza, however, suddenly recalled that she had rented not just one, but five rooms. Her shoulders slumped instantly, the weight of six missing years pressing down on her once again.
Chico raised her hand nervously. "Um… maybe I can ask my dad to only charge you for one room?"
Erza's lips trembled. She clenched her fists, declaring with a heavy voice, "I… I'll pay it back!"
Macao, still acting as Guild Master, cleared his throat and explained further, "The third type is those who rented places outside. Your situation is a bit more complicated."
"For people like Lucy, whose landlords kept their apartments, it's the same deal as the dormitory, you'll need to speak with your landlords directly."
"Wh—What?!" Lucy felt as though thunder had struck her.
Her rent had always been seventy thousand J a month. Six years' worth would be five million J. And factoring in rising rent rates, the amount owed was even higher, easily several hundred thousand more.
Her current savings wouldn't even cover a fraction of it.
She had only just finally been able to breathe a little easier financially, enjoying one comfortable month without debt. And now, was she really about to plunge straight back into debt?
Macao gave her a sympathetic glance before continuing, "For people like Rhodes, whose homes were rented out, or sold, or even torn down after being gone a year or more, things are different. You might only have to pay a portion, or maybe nothing at all. If you press the matter, sometimes the landlord will even compensate you out of guilt."
Rhodes breathed a sigh of relief at not being buried under a mountain of debt like Lucy. But then, his heart sank a little.
He frowned thoughtfully before asking, "What about Brother Goodman and his family?"
Macao rubbed his chin. "About three years ago, their family ran into trouble. They needed a large sum of money, so they sold the house and moved away."
He sighed as he recalled it. "That was during the peak of the magic item craze. Shops were booming, but the regulations were still incomplete. Bayer, Goodman's son, accidentally triggered an item in one of the stores. It caused a huge accident. Bayer and the shop owner nearly lost their lives, and several customers were injured too."
Rhodes's expression softened. Bayer had been younger than Romeo. Mischievous, curious, at the age where children inevitably got into trouble.
From the sound of it, it was one of those tragic stories where a child's mistake ended up costing their whole family dearly.
"Do you know where they moved?" Rhodes asked quietly.
"They just said they went to the countryside, but never told us exactly where." Macao shook his head with a heavy look. "At the time, Fairy Tail was already struggling to stay afloat. The most we could do was ask Porlyusica to treat the injured. Beyond that… there wasn't much we could manage."
Rhodes sighed deeply. Goodman had been such a good man. It was painful to know fate had dealt him such a blow.
He made a silent promise to himself. If he ever had the chance, he would find Goodman and his family.