➵

Back in the world of Edolas, the townspeople had begun rebuilding. Edolas Dealana and Lorna were among them, repairing the cracked and crumbled walls of the Bittercress Rose Tavern. It was thankfully not as damaged as a lot of the buildings and even still functional.

Lorna made it her mission to serve food and drinks to everyone working. She would make her rounds through the streets filled with rubble and debris with a wagon of refreshments trailing behind her. Dealana was also helping around the royal city, mainly repairing roofs and organizing places for people to stay as their homes were being rebuilt.

It was a difficult and slow-going process without the help of magic, but the people of Edolas pulled together and worked hard. It made the sky-blunette smile as all she really had to worry about now was finding Gavin, who had disappeared shortly after the Earthland mages left through the Reverse Anima and whether or not she was still considered a criminal.

Gavin Levi had always been one to cover his true feelings, hiding them behind a guard wall. He was believable when he smiled and a lot of the time, he was actually happy. However, Dealana's heart went out to the young man who was forced to say goodbye to someone he really cared about.

Lisanna being from Earthland hadn't really affected Dealana much as she had left the guild long before the revelation, but it hit Gavin more than Dealana realized. She didn't know for sure what their relationship was, Gavin always being cleverly evasive whenever it came up in conversation, but judging from his time spent MIA, Dealana had to assume he was really upset.

Thing were looking up when the boys of Edolas Fairy Tail dragged their entire guild hall into the royal city. Lorna was quick to give them all refreshments while Dealana had to explain the basics of the repairs so they could start helping.

Slowly but surely Edolas would rebuild, even the former magic warfare unit captains were assigned to help rebuild. Lorna and Coco immediately hit it off and quickly became the refreshment service with Lorna supplying the drinks and food while Coco would run around delivering everything. Dealana had managed to make peace with Sugarboy and Hughes, but she was still unable to be around Knightwalker for more than a few moments.

After the fight with her counterpart, Knightwalker had slowly begun to adapt and change her ways according to Erza Scarlet's words as they fought, but it was slow going. Though Knightwalker did manage to make a friend in Lorna, whom she was introduced to through Coco.

Gavin eventually showed back up to help out and nearly flipped out upon seeing Knightwalker and the other magic warfare captains. He accepted them and their help, but promised that the lives they took wouldn't be forgotten.

As Edolas Gajeel would write in his notebook while he avoided having to help work on repairs, things were starting to look up around here.

➵

Meanwhile, back in Earthland, Erza and Dealana were sitting in Erza's favorite bakery in Magnolia. Erza was enjoying a slice of strawberry cake while Dealana merely picked at hers, her bare feet swinging in the air as she floated on her cloud, leaving an empty chair beside them.

It was a little while after Dealana broke down in her cave. Erza had found and comforted the girl as she slowly but surely gathered her bearings. The two had talked through Dealana's emotional confusion before the redhead decided to go out for cake prior to heading back to the guild hall. Dealana found that she was ecstatic about Lisanna's return, everything all at once had just rocked her world a bit too much.

"You're barely touching your cake, Dealana," Erza stated, using her fork to point at Dealana's untouched slice. Her expression softened, "Are you sure you want to do this now? You don't have to rush things like this."

Dealana rested her head on her palm, looking at Erza, "I do want to do this. Lissa is back, Erza, she's really back." Her gaze then dropped to the table as she continued. "She's back and I ran away. I'm not going to do that again, not when I could close my eyes only to find that she's gone again when I open them."

Erza nodded in understanding, but didn't say anything more, prompting Dealana to glance up. The storm dragon slayer raised an eyebrow with a rather amused smile saying, "Do you want the rest of my slice?" Dealana's cake was swiftly taken, Erza not missing a beat as she happily dug into the dessert.

Once Erza was finished, the two walked back to the guildhall in the midst of Lisanna's welcome back party. Not many people glanced their way, more focused on the celebration, which allowed Dealana to slink upstairs to where Lisanna was standing with her siblings.

Mira was the first to notice Dealana's presence and fell quiet, Elfman following. Lisanna turned around and paused while Dealana did the same. At first they just stood there, staring at each other before Dealana pushed off and wrapped her arms around her long lost friend. A few happy tears were shed as Lisanna returned the embrace full force.

"I missed you so much, Lissa," Dealana mumbled.

"I missed you too, Dea," Lisanna said back. They eventually pulled apart and Dealana's eyes found the sky blue bracelet around her wrist.

"You kept it," Dealana realized, gazing at it in awe.

"We made a promise, didn't we? When I came back we would trade back." Lisanna smiled. Dealana bent down and retrieved her pink bracelet from her ankle. Those who noticed the interaction watched with fond smiles as the two finally exchanged the bracelets. Lisanna had kept her promise, though it took a couple years, she had finally come back.

Dealana enjoyed the party, always keeping Lisanna in sight, but it wasn't long before an all out brawl – no doubt caused by Natsu – erupted through the first floor of the guild, leaving Dealana to back away close to Wendy and Lucy.

"You need to calm down, this is getting out of hand," Wendy's concerns went unheard by the many guys taking part in the brawl. Dealana deflecting any cups or stray bits of food that came their way.

"Well, get used to it, 'cause it happens a lot," Lucy sweatdropped.

"In time, you'll learn to avoid it," Dealana said, placing a comforting hand on Wendy's shoulder. She brought her free hand up, wielding a tray and turned to toss it like a boomerang. It soared through the air, managing to hit Natsu in the head before coming back to Dealana's hand.

The girls watched in mild amusement as Natsu pinned the blame on someone else, inevitably dragging them into the fight, leaving Dealana to smirk. "Or you can find ways to get involved without getting hurt."

"You really have changed, Dea," Lisanna laughed, approaching them from behind. The white-haired beauty took in the fight in front of them and said, "It's part of what makes Fairy Tail so much fun." Lucy glanced over at Lisanna and the two shared kind smiles, a friendship no doubt forming.

"Let me ask you something, Natsu," Dealana heard Makarov say, "What was I like in this other world you visited?" He asked. She watched as Natsu paused in his fighting, tossing a defeated Nab away without even looking.

"You mean the Edolas version of you?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, tell me about him," Makarov replied. "Was he the opposite of me?"

"Well, now that I think about it," Natsu began, scratching his head in thought, "No way. I always thought there was something about the old guy that seemed kind of familiar." Natsu laughed and looked at Makarov in realization, "Hah! That's it!"

"What's what?" Makarov wondered, growing concerned based on the fire dragon slayer's reactions.

"I'm not totally sure, but I think you might've been the king," Natsu admitted.

"Oh, yeah?" Makarov hummed in thought while Dealana finally managed to skirt her way around the brawl and make her way over.

"Don't let it get to your head, Gramps, your Edolas counterpart was insane and power-hungry," She explained, causing Makarov to pout slightly.

"What was I like over there?" Gildarts wanted to know. "Was I a dashing prince or a brave solider?"

"Actually, I don't remember seeing anybody there that looked like you," Natsu realized. "I guess it's possible you were a frog or fish or something."

"Not funny, Natsu!" Gildarts exclaimed. Makarov looked to Dealana, who had since let Erza restyle her hair into one long braid.

"And what of you, my dear, what were you like in Edolas?" He asked.

"I was older, for one," Dealana admitted before a smirk played on her lips, "and I was also an infamous criminal that Erza's counterpart was hell-bent on catching and executing." Almost immediately, Gildarts and Makarov sweatdropped.

Natsu was dragged back into the fight by punching Freed, and Dealana scampered off to rejoin Wendy, Lucy and Lisanna.

➵

The following day, as many of the guild were nursing their hangovers and any injuries they sustained from the party, Dealana found herself at Magnolia's local spa having a little girl's day. Solo season was just around the corner, so Lisanna asked Dealana if she wanted to hang out. Having just returned to Earthland, Lisanna also wanted to get to know some of the new members, which is how Wendy and Carla ended up tagging along.

Being promoted to an S-Class wizard was one of Dealana's goals in life, but she knew that she wasn't ready for that kind of thing. She was still young and learning, not to mention emotionally unstable. Wendy and Carla were still new to the guild and also had a lot to learn, so they were happy to come along with Dealana and Lisanna to the spa, catching the white-haired beauty up on everything she'd missed.

They talked about the battle with Phantom, Laxus' pitting everyone against each other in the battle of Fairy Tail, taking down the Oracion Seis with the Allied Forces, and even the dreadful encounter with Daphne and her Dragonoid. Dealana couldn't help but shudder at the mention of the crazy scientist.

"It sounds like you've had so many adventures," Lisanna remarked as they finished off with everything Lisanna wasn't aware of when they were running around Edolas.

"Too many adventures if you ask me," Dealana sighed, "With everything that's happened, I haven't been able to keep up with the weather reports."

"Weather reports?" Wendy echoed curiously.

Dealana nodded, but it was Lisanna who answered, saying, "Mm-hmm, Dealana has been combing through the weather reports from all across Fiore. She's still trying to find her dragon dad."

The sky-blunette sighed, "Unfortunately, all the major storms happened to be from when I was in the area." The corners of her lips twitched upwards again as she said, "Wendy's also looking for a dragon, Lissa. The sky dragon, Grandeeney." Hearing this, Lisanna turned towards Wendy with an excited look.

"So you're a dragon slayer like Dea and Natsu too?" She asked the darker blunette. Wendy blushed a bit at the attention but nodded.

"Yeah, she disappeared the same time as the other dragons," She replied.

"July 7, year seven-seven-seven," Dealana mused as a frown appeared on her face, "I really hate the number seven."

The girls continued chatting about other topics and various things before they exited the spa and enjoyed some treats at a cafe. Dealana made sure to pick up an extra strawberry cake for Erza as a thank-you gift after the redhead helped her calm down and sort through her recent breakdown.

"It was really nice to hang out with you girls," Wendy smiled as they reached Fairy Hills, where the sky dragon slayer and her Exceed companion were currently staying. "It was also really nice to get to know you more, Lisanna."

"Any friend of Dealana's is a friend of mine," Lisanna smiled.

"I'll admit, today was rather relaxing," Carla admitted, "it was a nice break from all the chaos in the guild hall."

Dealana grinned and waved goodbye as Wendy and Carla went inside after promising to deliver the cake to Erza. It was just Lisanna and Dealana left walking the streets. The sun was setting and the cobblestones turned to gold in the shimmering lighting.

"Where are you staying, Dea? Do you still live in your secret cave?" Lisanna asked as they made their way towards the Strauss family's home.

"Yeah, though a few people know about it now." Dealana shrugged in response.

"Why don't you stay over with us tonight," Lisanna suddenly said, "a sleepover, like we used to."

"Are you sure Mira and Elfman won't mind the extra company?"

"Of course they won't mind, Dealana. You know how much we adore having you over." Lisanna smiled before her face lit up even more, "I've even learned some new recipes that I want to show you."

Dealana grinned as they walked side by side back to the Stauss family home. "I'm really glad you're back, Lissa."

"Me too, Dea"

➵

This chapter was relatively shorter, mostly because it covered Mystogan dealing with things in Edolas and a few scenes with Zeref. It left little time for involvement with Dealana, so I decided to have Dealana introduce her best friend to her other best friends so they're all best friends. I'm also not too happy with how it turned out, so I may go back and change a few things, but we'll see.

I'm also really sad. Things are about to get heartbreaking for Dealana. I mean, she just got Lisanna back and now she's gonna lose a lot of people that she cares about... I don't think my little stormy bean can take that kind of emotional turmoil. :(