A few hours later, Emi was able to get the all clear from Porlyusica to leave the infirmary. She woke Sting and whispered something in his ear. He nodded before standing up and grinning.
"Come on, Rogue! We have to get back."
"You're just going to leave?" Rogue quizzed.
"We have to check on Frosch and Lector, right?"
Rogue looked at Sting suspiciously before agreeing and leaving with the newly energized dragon slayer.
"Emi?" Lucy tested.
"Are you doing alright, Lucy? You look a lot better than before."
"Um, yeah I'm fine. But...are you?"
Emi quickly threw the blankets to the side and swung herself so that she was sitting up with her legs hanging off the side of the bed.
"Of course!"
Natsu ran up to her and questioned her, "So you're all better then?"
Emi beamed and put her fist in the air and nodded enthusiastically.
"So does that mean you can make spicy cookies?!"
Lucy smacked Natsu on the back of the head and told him that she should be given a short time to fully recover before doing anything, especially cooking. Natsu whined before exiting the infirmary. Emi jumped off the bed and crossed the room to Laxus. She stood in front of him before clearing her throat in order to draw his attention. His gaze lowered to see that she was standing in front of him with arms spread wide.
"Well?"
Laxus rolled his eyes before letting Emi hug him. Emi smiled brightly and tightened the hug. She quietly let out a "thank you" that only Laxus could hear.
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"Why are we leaving so suddenly? Don't you want to be with her? She just got her memories back."
"I know," Sting answered cheerfully. "Which is why we need to leave!"
Rogue stopped walking and expressed his utter confusion. Sting waved him off and continued walking.
"Should you at least get your ear checked out? I'm sure that woman would look at you."
"Nah I don't need it. I'll be fine."
"Sting, you're literally bleeding through your ears."
"Hurry it up, Rogue!"
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"Natsu! Gajeel!"
The two dragon slayers perked up at the sound of their names. Natsu's face lit up when he saw Emi run towards them with a plate of cookies.
"I can't even express how sorry I am about Natsu making you do this," Lucy apologized.
Emi smiled brightly and gave Natsu the plate before turning to Lucy and giving her a quick hug. Lucy stood there as she tried to process what was happening.
"Uh, Emi? Is everything alright?"
Emi smiled and nodded before stepping away from the celestial wizard. Laxus chuckled from the far corner of the inn.
"She's just giddy because she can remember. Just leave her be for now."
"Laxus! Let's sneak into the flower gardens. I can show you the catmint!"
"I might be a dragon slayer, but I'm not an idiot."
"Hey!" Gajeel and Natsu yelled.
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"Lector, you want to go for a walk? I think we could both use some air."
"Sting, will you be okay with the master?"
"Let's not worry about that right now. Come on!"
The dragon slayer and exceed exited the inn, Lector following closely behind Sting.
"Sting, where are we going? Don't you think we should stay in the inn?"
"Lector!"
The exceed looked around to try to find the voice that called his name. He looked at Sting when he couldn't locate the voice, and Sting pointed a couple buildings down to where a short figure stood. Lector's heart stopped as he started to recognize the woman. Sting urged him to keep walking so that they could meet the figure. Once they stood in front of the woman, she opened her arms wide and smiled.
"Lady Emiko!" Lector shouted through a flow of tears that slipped down his face.
The two hugged for a couple minutes before Lector pulled away and floated in front of the woman. He squeezed Emi's cheeks, as if checking to see if she was real. The white haired woman gave a small giggle. Lector turned back to Sting and saw that the dragon slayer was laughing as well. They both had their signature child-like smiles, which Lector instantly copied.
"When did you remember?"
Sting answered with another question, "Did you hear that big scream during my match?"
Lector nodded before gasping, "That was Lady Emiko?! I would've helped if I had known."
Emi let out a small titter and assured the exceed that she was fine before returning his face squeeze on his cheeks.
"You both better stop that before you start to turn blue."
Lector and Emi looked at each other with a mischievous glint in their eyes before moving over to the dragon slayer, Emi squeezing one cheek and Lector pinching the other.
"Hey! Come on guys, knock it off. You're making my face hurt."
The pair let go and watched as Sting rubbed his face. The three of them couldn't stop laughing.
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"That's strange."
"What is it, Levy?"
"I just find it weird how her memories were recovered in a big bunch like that."
"What do you mean?"
"She instantly remembered memories from an entire year, but she doesn't remember anything before that."
"Maybe it takes time? I mean, it took this long for a year of memories to resurface. Maybe it just comes back in bursts."
"You're probably right, Lucy."
Emi skipped into the inn, wearing both a cloak and a radiant smile. She happily wandered over to Laxus and jumped on his back.
"You sure seem happy."
"You'll never guess what I got."
Laxus looked over his shoulder and faced the woman before prompting her to continue. Emi jumped off his back and stood in front of him before unfastening her cloak. She stood there proudly as she revealed her new outfit. It was a white outfit consisting of a two level dress which was long in the back and short in the front. The back of the dress formed a point on its tail. She wore white thigh length socks and a pair of black knee height boots. There was soft yellow detailing on the dress, forming a phoenix on the chest area. Everyone looked at her outfit in awe. Some of the guys started staring a little too long, which caused Laxus to glare at them until they looked away.
"Where'd you get that?" Lucy asked.
"I used to wear this before I lost my memory. Isn't it pretty? I loved wearing this."
"I agree," Erza chimed, "I find it very pleasing to the eye."
Mira giggled before adding, "Maybe a bit too pleasing to the eyes of the guys in this place."
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"I'm a member of Sabertooth, too. Remember?" Lector spoke up as he revealed his guild crest to Master Jiemma.
The master stated that there was no room for weaklings in the guild, and was aiming an attack at the exceed. Lector seemed to have disappeared, which triggered something in Sting, causing him to attack and defeat the Sabertooth master. Minerva revealed that she had saved Lector just in time, but she wouldn't give him back until he won the games for Sabertooth.
"Lector..."
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"And now, it's finally time for the final day of the Magic Games to commence! This will be an all-team battle. The team who has the most points after this final contest will be declared the winner."
Emi sat up in the stands with Levy and Lisanna. She was conflicted - she wanted to enjoy watching Fairy Tail win, but she couldn't stop thinking about any possible danger Lucy was in. She hoped that Natsu and the others could rescue her before something bad happens. She looked to where Frosch and Lector usually sit and took notice of the missing exceed. That's weird. Wouldn't Lector want to be here? Emi eyed the empty spot for a moment before turning to watch Sting walk out onto the field. She noticed the cold look in his eyes. Almost a dull look. Something is wrong. Emi leaned over a pillar and looked at him closer. He was devastated. Don't tell me...
The final competition started, and everyone in the crowd was going wild. Emi pushed her concerns aside and went to cheer for Fairy Tail, but found them not moving.
"What are they doing?"
First Master spoke up, "They're following a plan I devised. It should ensure victory."
"No way! That's so cool! How do you know when people are going to move? How do--"
"Now now, child. We must watch to see how it unfolds."
Fairy Tail had begun to move, and they all darted off in different directions. Emi watched in wonder at how Gray was able to defeat Rufus by using his memory against him. She kept looking between all the lacrima to see if she could spot Sting, but he didn't show up anywhere. A frown came onto her face.
"Hey Emi," Lisanna spoke up, "I think your dream battle is going to happen."
"Huh?"
"Laxus and that lightning god slayer guy, Orga. They just crossed paths."
"Come on Laxus. Kick his ass!"
They all watched in shock as Orga was taken out in one blow by Jura.
"Holy shit."
"He is one of the ten wizard saints. It can be expected that he's that powerful."
Emi looked at Laxus and silently prayed that he wouldn't be too injured. Everyone gasped when Jura was defeated by the lightning mage. Emi got up on the pillar and started cheering her heart out.
"Well," Mavis commented, "it seems her enthusiasm hasn't faltered. Even with her recovered memories, she still stands against her mate. It's quite an unusual turn of events."
Cana overheard the Master and asked her to elaborate.
"You see, when a dragon mates with their partner, there is a bond that is formed. Their mate becomes the dragon's purpose in life. Dragons will do anything to protect their mates. The mates themselves are tied to the dragons in a way. In other words, there is a silent agreement of loyalty for both parties."
"Way to go Laxus!"
Everyone looked at the white haired woman before sweat dropping.
"Hey guys," Emi implored, "have any of you seen Sting at all? He appeared once and then never showed up again."
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It was the final battle: Sting versus the whole Fairy Tail team. Emi looked on, still worried about the blond dragon slayer. He seemed to be driven by something, but nothing that seemed good.
"I give in."
The whole arena gasped before they cheered for Fairy Tail. Everything fell into place when Milliana came out holding Lector. Sting and Lector started crying as they ran to hug each other.
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"Lady Emiko!"
Emi turned around to see Lector flying towards her. She held out her arms and braced herself for his impact.
"Lady Emiko, I'm so glad to see you! I thought I'd never see anything again."
"Sting, what is he talking about?"
"Master Jiemma attacked him during our meeting and Lady Minerva saved him, but would only release him if I won the Games."
"Oh no," Emi gasped as she pinched Lector's cheeks. "You must've been so scared."
"No way, Lady Emiko. I'm not scared of anything! I'm brave like Sting."
"Let's get out of here," Sting interjected. "It's been a long day."