"Alright, we're almost at Magnolia!" Shawn exclaimed as he looked out the window of the carriage.
"Finally," Astro said as he stretched his body, turning to everyone else. " I guess this is where we say our goodbye for now. Thanks for helping out with the mission, everyone."
Ren flicked his hair back as he looked elsewhere. "Don't worry about it. We didn't do it for you."
Hibiki chuckled, extending a hand toward Astro. "Still, you did save us — and we were getting paid for helping you. So I guess we owe you one. If you ever need help again, Blue Pegasus will be glad to lend a hand."
Ichiya was completely wasted due to drinking with Cana, so Hibiki had to take over the farewell.
Astro blinked, then accepted the handshake with a small smile. "Then I won't hold back if I ever need help. It was great working with you guys, too."
As they shook hands, Hibiki's voice echoed directly inside Astro's mind.
"By the way, do you remember that mental switch I planted in your head — the one to shut you down?"
Astro raised an eyebrow, replying mentally, "Is that still there? I can't feel it anymore."
Hibiki tilted his head, studying him. "No… It's gone. Actually, I owe you an apology. When I tried to implant it, it disappeared almost instantly. I've never seen someone with such a strong mental barrier. You've got no idea how much ethernano I burned just to connect to your mind — and that's without you even rejecting my telepathy."
Astro didn't respond right away. The others were busy chatting and saying their goodbyes, leaving the two of them unnoticed. They both leaned on the wall of the carriage, looking at everyone as they continued to chat.
Astro's mind wandered back to Alvemak's last words — when he asked the devil why they could communicate telepathically.
"It's your own magic, not mine."
That was what Alvemak had said.
Astro narrowed his eyes slightly. In this life, he was originally born as an ordinary human…the original Astro had no magic talent. This is why he always looked up to his father and the wizard's guild he was part of.
But after his father's death, everything went blank. Somehow, there was now a gap in his memory — and the next thing he knew after that gap, he was in Inca, and that's where Liam and Astro's souls merged..
He looked back at Hibiki, who waited patiently, and spoke through their mental link again.
"Can you detect anything about… locked or missing memories?"
Hibiki shrugged. "Telepathy magic isn't really my specialty. I can try, but it wouldn't do much. Though… hold on a second."
A glowing yellow panel materialized in front of Hibiki; the screen had a list of names. Astro took a peek… It was the list of Fairy Tail wizards. It even had his and Shawn's names. Astro looked speechless; he actually was feeling envious of another magic again.
Hibiki stopped at one name and opened its file, projecting it toward Astro.
"Your guild already has someone better suited for this — a telepathic wizard who specializes in memory magic. I guess you haven't met him yet. His name's Mest Gryder."
"Of course, there's Lisa too from our mission…but…"
Astro crossed his arms. "Lisa's currently imprisoned, and I don't have a reason to trust her to take a peek in my memory."
Hibiki nodded without looking up. He was a little happy that Astro actually trusted him. He again scrolled through another list. Then he swiped again, pulling up another window and placing it before Astro.
Astro's eyes narrowed. "What's this?"
Hibiki smiled faintly. "Have you heard about the royal family of the Kingdom of Sin? Although it's only my speculation. I think Lisa is definitely related to them in some way. I was suspicious when I saw her emerald hair and eyes. That look, her telepathic ability, and that shapeshifting necklace she used to hide her features... Those traits are all hallmarks of the royal family of the Kingdom of Sin."
"Kingdom of Sin…" Astro murmured.
"Yeah. That kingdom's been closed off for ages," Hibiki said. "No one knows what goes on inside — even the Magic Council avoids interfering."
"Yeah, figures," Astro muttered. "A royal family full of mind-controlling wizards would make anyone nervous."
He stared at the data on the screen for a moment longer, rubbing his temples.
"Thanks, Hibiki."
Astro patted Hibiki's shoulder. He turned and walked toward Totomaru.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Astro said quietly, sitting down across from Totomaru. "But… thanks for helping."
Totomaru opened one eye, ending the fake nap he'd been pretending to take. Astro had already noticed — his breathing had given it away — so he didn't care about the annoyed glare that followed.
"I didn't do it for you," Totomaru muttered, his voice low and rough. "I did it because I wanted revenge. That's all."
"Revenge, huh?" Astro leaned back in his seat, eyes wandering toward the carriage ceiling. His thoughts drifted for a moment, wondering what choice Sylvain had made in the end. Would he forgive Lisa? Or abandon everything and start over from the beginning?
"Hey!" Totomaru snapped. "Don't zone out when I'm talking to you!"
"Oh, sorry," Astro said, smiling faintly as he sat up straight again. "Anyway… what's your plan now?"
"My plan?" Totomaru scoffed. "Same as always. Kicking you fairies in the—"
Astro sighed, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Be realistic."
"What do you mean? I can take on ten of you!" Totomaru leaned forward, eyes narrowing.
Astro just crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
Totomaru froze, then slumped back down, gritting his teeth. "...Fine. Three. I can beat at least three of you."
Astro didn't even answer — he just yawned and turned to look out the window. It seems like the train was starting to slow down.
Realizing it was pointless, Totomaru sank deeper into his seat. " Ok, I admit that you are stronger than me now, but your strength is not enough to defeat Phantom Lord," he said, his tone quieter but firm. "Master José won't just sit around as Fairy Tail starts to catch up."
"It doesn't have to be that serious; we can have friendly competition between us. Both guilds are from Fiore after all, " Astro replied calmly.
"Hmph. It's not up to me." Totomaru crossed his arms. "But listen — when that day comes, I won't hold back."
Gray, who had been listening silently, narrowed his eyes at that. Cana, on the other hand, immediately stepped forward.
"We're not scared of you, Tomatomaru," she shot back with a smirk. "If you want a fight, bring it on."
The nickname made a vein pop on Totomaru's forehead. He was about to explode, but Astro got up before things escalated and gently patted Cana's shoulder.
"Easy. It's not like we need to fight right now," Astro said, turning to Totomaru with a small, tired smile. "But if that day ever comes, make sure you're at full strength. I don't want to hear any excuses after you lose."
Totomaru clicked his tongue but didn't respond. Astro, however, noticed something important in his words.
First, Master José was planning to fight against Fairy Tail eventually, but not right now, at least.
Second, Phantom Lord was confident in their victory.
That could only mean one thing: José already had a plan… he had someone or something…or both that could take out Master Makarov and the Fairy Tail guild.
Astro narrowed his eyes. He does not think the Fairy Tail guild is weak, and Master Jose should know it too.
As the train screeched to a stop in Magnolia, everyone began saying their goodbyes. Astro followed them out, stretching his arms. But as he stepped onto the platform, he noticed something strange — a lot of people were staring at him. Although they are now in Magnolia, where Fairy Tail were always treated as celebrities, he joined very recently, and very few people knew about him.
Puzzled, Astro subconsciously glanced toward the nearby newspaper stand.
A few minutes later
Astro looked speechlessly at the front page of the newspaper as he and the Fairy Tail group walked out of Magnolia train station.
Cana and Shawn were walking ahead without a care, while Gray peeked over Astro's shoulder at the newspaper.
"Looks like you're famous now, Astro… if the news reached Fiore this fast, it definitely reached the other kingdoms in Ishgar too." Gray patted Astro's shoulder with a sympathetic look. After knowing Astro for a few days, he figured out one thing — Astro definitely didn't like being treated like an animal in a zoo.
Even now, all the residents of Magnolia were looking at them and whispering among themselves. They obviously knew Gray and Cana, who grew up here and were well-known members of Fairy Tail. But Astro… he was a mystery to them. And that only fueled their curiosity about where this handsome new face came from.
Cana and Shawn also realized they were getting too much attention. They slowed their pace and glanced at the newspaper.
"Haha, they're saying a new idol is rising in Fairy Tail. I wonder if Mira's jealous," Cana laughed without a care in the world.
Astro quickly covered the troublemaker's mouth. Gray tilted his head confusedly. "Why would Mira be jealous?"
Astro replied quickly, "It's because she thinks I'll steal her popularity." He gave a sharp look to Cana, who realized she'd said too much and nodded fast.
Gray looked suspicious for a moment, but didn't think much of it. "Well, a jealous Mira, huh?" he muttered, shuddering just from the thought. Mira might have become kinder over the last few months, but the trauma of being beaten up by two of Fairy Tail's scariest women would never fade from his body's memory.
Astro speechlessly looked at Gray.
'What's so scary about Mira?'
He let go of Cana's mouth, who looked like she was about to lose oxygen if he held on any longer.
"Don't talk about that 'date' to anyone else, got it?" Astro warned.
Cana nodded fast, but Astro looked skeptical. This alcohol-loving woman was way too easygoing. If he does not stay careful, rumors about him and Mira "going on a date" would spread soon among guild members.
Astro sighed and slowed his pace. Gray and Cana walked ahead as he looked beside him at Shawn.
"You did great on your first mission, Shawn." Astro ruffled the boy's gray hair.
Shawn pouted. "I barely did anything. Even against normal wizards, I couldn't do much. You went ahead and fought one strong wizard after another, and even defeated so many dark wizards at the end."
Astro paused, his new windbreaker fluttering in the wind. Shawn stopped too, staring at the ground. Astro walked in front of him and knelt to match his eye level.
"Listen, Shawn. Do you think you tried your best? The best you could do?"
Shawn looked up. His orange eyes met glowing purple ones in the middle of the street.
Cana stopped when she noticed Astro and Shawn weren't catching up. She was about to call them when Gray pulled her arm gently.
"Let's go. They'll catch up," Gray said quietly.
Cana didn't understand why his tone suddenly grew serious, but she didn't ask and followed him.
Gray didn't know what was happening behind him, but he already saw that Shawn was a bit down — Shawn still hadn't opened up to anyone except Astro, and Gray trusted Astro to handle whatever that boy needed right now.
Astro heard their footsteps fade but didn't rush Shawn for an answer.
After a long pause, Shawn said softly, "I think I did. But it wasn't enough." His hands tightened under his cloak.
Astro smiled and rubbed the boy's head again. "Never apologize for your failure. Only apologize if you fail to learn from it. I gave my all at Ventara Island, too, but when someone much stronger showed up, it still wasn't enough. I didn't let that weigh on me. If anything, that ended up motivating me more to grow stronger."
He leaned ahead slightly. "So what did you learn from this mission?"
Shawn's eyes flickered. He looked down at the road, then loosened his grip and met Astro's gaze. "I realized that. My Ash-Make magic doesn't have enough power yet. I need to train harder."
Astro let out a small laugh and stood up, ruffling his hair before walking forward again.. "I'm not the best teacher for that — Gray or Laki can help you more. But we'll still train together every day. You can't go back on that."
"I won't," Shawn said, running forward to catch up with him. His orange eye glowed with determination.
Astro smiled faintly as the two of them walked toward the guild hall.
Gray and Cana had already gone inside the guild hall. Astro paused for a moment, hearing the noise, then decided to open the door.
"Astro is here!" someone shouted.
"Hello, Elfman," Astro answered, looking at the while-haired figure..
"Astro, did you read the newspaper?" Levy asked.
"I read it just now. It's heavily exaggerated," Astro said, as he walked forward..
"Huh, really? But the new king also praised you?" Levy's eyes widened.
"He is not officially a king yet. And I only helped a little," Astro said, rubbing his temple. He tried to downplay it and sighed.
' I should not have been so high profile there.'
"Hey, Astro, fight me!" Natsu shouted.
Astro just slammed his head with his fist, knocking Natsu down to the floor.
"Natsu is dead!" Happy cried.
"He is not." Astro flicked the blue Exceed on the head with his right hand.
"Ouch. You're mean, Astro. Is Natsu not enough for you?" Happy said, rubbing his forehead.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll give you a fish later." Astro rubbed the Exceed's head gently.
"Two fish," Happy bargained.
"One and a half," Astro said, not backing down.
"Aye. But I want the head part," Happy added.
Astro finally calmed the Exceed down. Happy completely forgot about Natsu and flew around happily toward Shawn, who had entered after Astro.
Astro greeted others as well, then came to the bar where Master sat in his usual spot, taking a nap. Well, he was pretending to take a nap.
"Welcome back, Astro. You worked hard." Mira smiled as she gave Astro his favorite tea, before Astro even ordered something.
"You went to fetch an item for a mission and ended up liberating a whole kingdom in the process. You really worked hard," Makarov said, looking at Astro.
Astro coughed on his drink. He wanted to deny it, but he did not know how to refute it.
"Well, we kind of got caught in the moment. The payment was good, and we couldn't just run away from that kingdom once we got caught in their conspiracy," Astro explained, rubbing his hair embarrassingly.
"You do know regular guild wizards are not supposed to get involved with politics, right?" Makarov asked, looking serious.
Mira looked worriedly between Makarov and Astro, but did not interrupt their conversation. Astro paused for a moment.
"Yeah, but allowing people who would not hesitate to kill Fairy Tail members for some idiotic dreams… I couldn't just ignore that," Astro said, taking another sip of tea calmly.
Makarov watched him for a beat, then laughed. "Well, that's a good enough reason. But you could also have run away. I would have taken care of the aftermath."
"I know… but I had confidence I could at least run away with everyone at any time, in the worst case," Astro said with a shrug.
It's not that he is too overconfident, but the sky magic is actually really helpful in running away.
Makarov nodded. He did not doubt Astro's words. "Stay lowkey for some time, I'll take care of the aftermath with the Magic Council." Astro nodded before thinking about something,
"Master, is there a wizard named Mest Gryder in the guild?"
Makarov raised an eyebrow. But before he could answer, Mirajane replied for him,"I guess you haven't met him yet. He and Cana were the S-Class candidates last year. Though…" she tilted her head— "he ended up facing Laxus, and, well… the rest is history."
"Oh, Laxus," Astro nodded. "He's also an S-Class wizard, right? And if I remember correctly… he has the same last name as you, Master?"
Makarov's expression darkened instantly.
"Ah—never mind," Astro said quickly, steering the topic away before he got scolded. "So, to become an S-Class wizard… do you have to defeat one?"
Mirajane smiled, resting her chin on her palm, looking at Astro, "Not necessarily. But sometimes, you might end up fighting one during the trials," she replied vaguely, before leaning forward.
"Are you scared?" Mira asked teasingly.
Astro raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "Should I be?"
Mira could not help but laugh a bit, "Well, I guess you and Mystogan are going to be the pick for this year. Don't let your guard down, or you will suffer."
"Oh yeah, there was that guy too," Astro murmured, taking another sip of the tea. He looked at Master Makarov, "So when will Mest come back?"
Makarov shrugged, stretching a little. "Should be soon enough. What do you need him for?"
Astro didn't hide the truth. "Some of my memories are… blurry. I was hoping he could help me recover what's missing."
Makarov's face softened, though his gaze grew thoughtful. "Hmm. Then you should do it quickly."
Astro blinked. "Well, that's the plan." He was going to ask Master what he meant by doing it quickly, but Master just pretended to take a nap again.