As the cocoon fell, or rather withered under Aelius's mental command, it didn't collapse all at once but instead shrank inward, the living flesh drying and pulling back. It peeled away in slow layers, each one loosening its grip until it could no longer sustain itself, leaving him standing there as the last of it sloughed off and sank into nothing. His eyes struggled at first, the world beyond it too bright, like he had been sealed away in darkness far longer than he should have been. Shapes came before details, and for a few seconds, everything felt distant, like he was still half inside that closed space.
He could hear voices, but none of it came together yet, just noise, broken and overlapping, too much to separate. The buzzing was gone, or at least he realized it had never actually been buzzing at all. Now that he could hear it properly, it was something else entirely. Whispers, that's what it was, from everything around him. They didn't form actual words, not in any way he could understand, at least, but they carried meaning anyway, intent in simple terms. The trees around them were strained, their slow, deep presence twisted by lingering magic, something in them bending in ways that shouldn't happen. Beneath his feet, insects shifted, some still alive and panicked, others already dead, their presence faint and fading. The plants, the brush, even the ground itself carried something, a dull ache that spread outward, layered and constant. And then there were the people, not as loud, but still there, their emotions threading through everything else, fear, confusion, tension, all blending into the same overwhelming chorus. Almost overwhelming, it was better than before.
As the haze in his mind cleared, something else rose with it: power. Magic, mana, ethernano. Whatever it was called, it was overflowing compared to how he was before. "Was this all it took?" the thought came immediately. He had fought for more, pushed himself, endured everything thrown at him with the idea that he needed to reach something greater, something beyond where he was. And all it had taken was this. A shift in mind, and a decision to stop resisting what had always been there. It was almost laughable in a maddening way, something so obvious when it was laid out like this, but it had never felt simple. It had felt wrong, it had felt dangerous, it still did, but what choice did he have now? Accepting it meant accepting what came with it, all of it, not just the parts that were easy to carry.
He shook his head slightly, grounding himself, letting the last of that thought settle before he turned his attention outward toward the people around him. Gildarts stood closest, his expression caught between concern and something sharper, like he was trying to understand what had just changed while also preparing for the possibility that it might not be something 'friendly'. The others weren't as composed. Lucy, Levy, Natsu, Gajeel, all of them staring, none of them trying to hide it. And Makarov was there too, awake now, his gaze fixed on Aelius with a weight that went beyond simple shock. There was fear in all of them, even if some hid it better than others, but it wasn't just that. There was something else mixed in, something closer to awe, like they were looking at something they couldn't quite place anymore.
Aelius took a slow breath, more forceful this time, and that was when he felt it. Two distinct presences, or rather feelings, two vertical slits along his back. He didn't need to turn to see what it was; he already knew they were wings. If he had to guess, they were closer to a butterfly's than anything else, the same shape he had caught a glimpse of in the mirror before
He flexed his back slightly and felt them respond, oddly natural, as they had always been there. The motion sent a faint ripple through them, a soft flutter that carried more sensation than weight, something light but present enough to ground them as real. He turned his head just enough to catch them in his peripheral vision, more out of curiosity than anything else, and when he actually looked, it was exactly what he had expected. Broad, layered like a butterfly's wings, but not fragile in the way that comparison usually implied. The edges wilted slightly, glowing with a moving black sheen as they danced between decayed and whole.
What he hadn't expected were the markings that spread across the surface in uneven patterns, a deep emerald green that caught the light in a way that made them stand out too clearly to ignore. At a glance, they looked like eyes, not well detailed, instead shaped just enough to trigger that instinct of being watched, of something staring back even when you knew it wasn't real. It was the kind of pattern that, in nature, meant to warn and scare a bigger predator.
He narrowed his gaze slightly, studying them, and for a second, he could have sworn they shifted. Not the wings themselves, the markings. A faint contraction, like a blink that wasn't quite physical, just enough movement to make his mind catch on it before it stilled again.
"…Aelius?… are you…" Makarov's voice cut through his thoughts, hesitant in a way that didn't suit him, enough to pull Aelius's attention away. He turned toward him.
"Me? Alive? Fine?… yes," Aelius answered, the words coming carefully, as he took the extra second to make sure it was actually true, and not a deflection like he usually would do. "It's hard to explain, but I'm fine." He let that sit for a moment, eyes moving between them, taking in the way they were all watching him, the tension still there, the uncertainty not going anywhere just because he said a few words. He could feel it as clearly as everything else now, not just see it, not just read it in their expressions, but feel it sitting in the space between them, part of that same, constant current that ran through everything. "I'm still me," he added after a second, quieter, not because he was unsure, but because he knew that was the part they actually needed to hear.
Gildarts stepped in without hesitation and clapped a hand down on his shoulder. Aelius felt it land, hard, the weight of it driving down through him like a test more than anything else. "I was right," Gildarts said, the edge in his voice gone, replaced with something almost excited, like he'd just confirmed something he'd been waiting on. "You can give me a run for my money right now. Maybe even win, with that freaky regeneration you always pull."
The impact had been a trial, not a greeting. Aelius felt it clearly now, the intent behind it as much as the force itself. Before, that kind of weight would have forced him down, would have bent him whether he wanted it to or not, his body giving ground even as he tried to hold it. This time it didn't. He absorbed it, not effortlessly, but leagues better than before/
"Ah, so that was what it was," he thought, "A test." He let out a slow breath, not reacting to it outwardly, but noting it all the same. Gildarts wasn't wrong. The difference was there, clear enough to feel without needing to push it further. It wasn't just the endurance he'd always had, not just the stubborn refusal to stay down.
The thought came next, whether he wanted it to or not. "How strong am I now?" It stuck just long enough to turn into something else. If this was it, if this was where he stood now, brushing up against Gildarts, maybe even surpassing him in certain ways, then what did that actually mean? Gildarts had lost before. If this was his peak, then there were still things out there stronger than him, still things that would push past this the same way Gildarts had been pushed.
He shook his head again, more aggressively this time, cutting the thought off before it could root itself any deeper. Now wasn't the time to spiral into that. So he focused and returned his gaze to his guildmates.
"I see Gildarts beat Bluenote, so that should leave their master, assuming he wasn't the master," Aelius said, his voice steadier now that he had something concrete to focus on, something outside of himself. His gaze shifted, dropping to Makarov, studying him properly this time instead of just registering that he was awake. "Actually… I'm guessing Grimoire Heart's master was the one who took you out then?"
Makarov didn't answer right away. He didn't even move much. His eyes stayed on Aelius, sharp despite everything, but there was a weight behind them now, something cautious. It wasn't just what Aelius had said either. It was what he was now, what he felt like standing there, something that didn't fit neatly into what they knew.
Aelius caught that, felt it in the same way he felt everything else now, that low, constant awareness brushing against him whether he wanted it to or not. He exhaled slowly and spoke again before the silence could stretch too far. "I know how this looks," he said, trying not to be defensive, just direct."After our… talk earlier. It's not that. At least not entirely." He hesitated just slightly, not because he didn't believe it, but because he didn't fully understand it himself yet. "I think I'm… halfway there. Something like that." The words felt incomplete, but they were the closest he could get without lying.
He shook his head again, more restrained this time, pulling himself back on track before that line of thought could drag him somewhere else. "But that doesn't matter right now," he continued, his tone tightening just a bit as he forced the focus where it needed to be. "If someone took you out, then you're weakened. And since I can see Gildarts will be fighting at less than his best." His eyes flicked toward Gildarts for a second, taking in the bruises, the scrapes, the signs of a fight that hadn't been easy, even if it had ended in his favor. "Bluenote didn't go down without putting up a fight. I can see that much."
He paused there, not because he was done, but because the next part sat heavier. His gaze dropped briefly to himself. He drew in a breath, slower and deeper, steadying the undercurrent that still hadn't fully settled since he'd broken out of the cocoon. The whispers were still there, quieter now, less overwhelming, but present enough that he had to actively keep from getting pulled into them again. "Later," he said, lifting his head again, the word carrying more weight than it should have for something so simple. "We'll figure that out later. Because I don't know exactly what happened, or why." That was the truth, even if it felt like he should know more than he did.
He shifted slightly, grounding himself in the moment. But right now," he went on, his voice firming just enough to make it clear he wasn't leaving it there, "if their master is still around, and strong enough to take you out, then we don't have time to stand here trying to figure me out. We need to assume they're still a threat," he finished, eyes moving across all of them again, not just Makarov this time, but everyone. "And if they are, then we're already behind."
That was enough to pull Makarov fully back into the moment. The hesitation dropped from his face, replaced by something sharper, something more familiar, the weight of a guild master settling back into place where it belonged. He nodded once, firm. "You're right. Bluenote wasn't their master. That belongs to…" he paused, not from uncertainty, but because the name still carried something with it. "He calls himself Hades now. But he was once Fairy Tail's guild master. Precht." The name sat heavier than the rest. "He still has Fairy Law as well, so we need to make sure he doesn't use that spell. With his power, it could wipe us out before we even get close."
Aelius's head snapped to the left before the words had settled, the shift immediate and instinctive as the bushes nearby rustled. His magic gathered without thought. For a split second, everything lined up for another attack.
Then the shapes broke through the brush. Freed first, pushing through with urgency, Bixslow right behind him, both of them moving like they hadn't slowed since wherever they'd come from. The tension didn't drop immediately, not until Aelius actually registered them, the edge easing just enough that the magic around him didn't surge further.
"Rustyrose or whatever he called himself escaped, he was—" Freed started, breath a little uneven from the pace, but the rest of it caught in his throat as his eyes locked onto Aelius properly. Seeing the state he was in. The black, withered remains of the cocoon at his feet, the wings settled behind him, the way he stood now compared to before. "…Aelius, why—" Freed stopped, the question shifting mid-thought as something more immediate took its place. "Why do you have wings?"
"Later," Makarov cut in instead of Aelius, voice firm enough to redirect it without room for argument. He didn't look away from Freed as he spoke. "Where are the others?"
Freed didn't hesitate, trusting the shift without pushing back. "Juvia's fighting someone, I didn't catch her name. And Erza is fighting a man named Azuma, near the base of the tree." His tone steadied as he moved into the report, falling back into something structured. "There are hundreds of base members around. Most of them are dead." He glanced briefly toward Aelius again before continuing. "There's also a bunch of little… green things fighting them."
"Plague boy's summons," Gajeel said as he limped closer, his voice rough but steady enough, the drag in his step noticeable but not slowing him much. "Watched him call 'em out myself when he felt the fodder land."
Aelius didn't react to the name but rolled his eyes."I assumed as much," Freed replied with a slight nod. "They felt like him." His gaze shifted off to the side, then, toward the ruined tent not far from them, the structure partially collapsed from Bluenote's arrival. "But everyone else is here. Aside from Erza, Juvia, and Gray. A few are still unconscious. Obviously," he gestured to the injured ones to the side of the camp.
Aelius followed the glance, noting the damage, the way the tent had been crushed but not completely destroyed, the faint movement inside where those who hadn't woken yet still lay. They were alive, so it was a win. He drew in another breath, "We will have to trust those three to handle themselves. If Hades is this strong, it could take me, Master, and Gildarts to handle him, but we can't go in alone. If they have anyone else with them, that's enough to swing the fight." His gaze flicked briefly toward the tent again before returning to the group. "We also can't leave the wounded here."
There was a short pause after that, the kind where everyone was weighing whether they wanted to admit it or not.
"You're pretty good in situations like this, huh?" Natsu said, breaking the silence, his tone lighter than it should have been, given everything going on, though there was still something serious sitting under it. He'd been off to the side with Lucy and Happy, talking low, but now his attention was fully on Aelius.
"Not the first war I've fought," Aelius answered, and there was a darker edge to it than anything he'd said so far, something that didn't quite belong to the moment they were in. "This is just a smaller scale. Excluding the fodder on both sides." He shook his head again, sharper this time, catching himself before that thought could dig any deeper. "Don't continue that line," he added, more controlled now, though still firm. "Last thing we need is one of our strongest fighters getting stuck in their own head because you can't keep your mouth shut." That got a few snorts, a low chuckle from Makarov, even if it was brief. It broke the edge just enough to keep things from getting too heavy.
Levy stepped in next, her voice more grounded, more focused. "So what, do we just march up to this Hades and fight him?"
Aelius didn't answer immediately. He held it for a second, thinking through it, then gave a small, almost reluctant nod. "…Yes. Something like that. He knows we're here. He expects us to come at him with something planned. If we don't give him that, then there's nothing for him to break apart before we even start."
"That… is moronic," Freed said flatly, not hesitating to push back, even if he softened it just slightly after. "No offense, Aelius. But if our plan is to throw ourselves headfirst into something stronger than our master, it's not a plan. It's a loss."
Aelius exhaled slowly through his nose, not irritated, but not backing down either. "You're not wrong," he admitted, because there wasn't a point in pretending otherwise. "But I wasn't talking about all of us." That shifted the tone just a bit, stopping Freed before he could speak again. "I meant me," he continued, more direct now, not dressing it up. "There's a solid chance that I'm the fastest one here now." His wings shifted slightly behind him as he said it, a small movement meant to prove his point. "And I'm the most durable."
Levy's expression tightened at that, the emotion there immediate and unfiltered. "How can you be so sure?" she asked, her voice edged, not angry, but close enough. "Multiple times you've nearly died, even with that durability. You pushing ahead like that isn't a strategy, it's—" she stopped herself for a second, then forced it out anyway, "it's reckless. He beat Master. That's not something people just do. He's the sixth-ranked Wizard Saint. One of the strongest things in this country, if not the world."
Aelius looked at her for a second before answering, his eyes narrowing, but he stopped any harsh remarks. "And I didn't die," he said, his tone even, but carrying more weight than before, not raised, not aggressive, just firm in a way that didn't leave much room to twist it. "Every time you're thinking of, I got back up, so it's worked."
"So!" Natsu cut in, stepping forward without hesitation, his voice sharper now, not angry exactly, but pushing. "Nehzhar nearly killed you. If Erza hadn't stopped that last attack, he would have. Bluenote would have too if Gildarts didn't show up when he did. And that's just the two we've seen since you've come back. What if we aren't fast enough to save you this time?"
Aelius's gaze shifted to him, pausing just long enough that the weight of what Natsu said had room to sit. "What part of Gildart's words didn't you get?" he said, his voice tightening just enough to cut through the back and forth. "'You can give me a run for my money right now. Maybe even win.' And even then, what else can we do? Please enlighten me, salamander, do you, of all people, have a better plan? Or are still—"
"Enough." Makarov's voice cut in before it could go further, louder than anything else that had been said, carrying authority that didn't need to be questioned. It pulled the tension down immediately, stopping it from tipping over into something worse.
"Aelius is right," he continued, his tone settling back into something controlled but still firm. "And besides, if going headfirst is the plan, you of all people, Natsu, can't lecture him on it." There was a brief glance between them, not accusing, just stating what everyone already knew. "Aelius may have his issues—"
"Many issues," Natsu muttered under his breath, though there wasn't as much bite in it now.
"—But he's still your guildmate," Makarov finished, not letting the interruption derail him. "Trust him like you trust anyone else."
Aelius didn't say anything right away. He just stood there, letting it the tension in the group shift slightly. His wings gave another faint movement behind him, subtle, almost absent, like a reflex he still wasn't fully aware of.
He looked at Natsu again, not challenging, not backing down, just holding the moment where it was. "I'm not asking you to like the plan," he said after a second, his tone gaining an evenness that was far too distant to truly be kind, the earlier edge smoothed down but not gone entirely. "I'm telling you it gives us the best chance with what we've got. You said I was good in Situations like this, so trust the one with experience. Or don't, it won't stop me."
"Just give me five minutes to figure out how these wings work."