Tearjerker / The Beast of Fairy Tail

PLEASE NOTE: All spoilers are unmarked.

The Beast of Fairy Tail

• When Regis Mornstar, the client who asked the Fairy Tail Guild to save his sister, reveals that he forbade Gloria from using ever being a wizard like their late father, he felt that it was his fault for never supporting her. He breaks down crying because he felt that he had failed as a brother who just wanted to protect his sister.
  • A flashback later reveals that Gloria wanted to join Fairy Tail, but Regis was so adamant about not wanting her to be a wizard that he grabbed the poster she had, crumpled it up, and then stomped on it before storming out of her room, leaving her angry.
• Doubles as Heartwarming. Regis apologizes to Gloria because he just wanted to protect her since she was the only family he had.

The Stray Beast

• Haru reveals that a long time ago, she was left alone in the forest when she was just a little girl and turned feral as a result. She doesn't even remember who her parents are or if she even had any for that matter.
• The villagers who chased Haru away for stealing bread threaten to kill her if she ever comes back.
• In the flashback, Natsu pauses for a brief moment to smell his scarf, which was the last thing Igneel gave him before he disappeared. Usually, the smell makes him feel safe...but it also makes him miss Igneel even more, and all Natsu can do is wonder why he left.
• Haru getting injured trying to protect Natsu from the bear, and he's desperately begging her to hold on for as long as she can.
• After she bites him, Makarov doesn't angry, but instead only feels sad for Haru because he can see that she's not just hurt outside, but inside, as well, and he can't imagine why anyone would ever abandon her in the woods, alone.
• A few days after Haru is starting to get accustomed to being inside the guildhall, a teenage Laxus comes in, and in a foul mood, no less. When his temper continues to rise and he threatens to hit Elektra, Haru bites his ankle, which results in Laxus locking her up in a cage...and all Haru can do is scream.
  • What makes this more heartbreaking is that Cana saw this in her cards, and all she can do is mutter a small "I'm sorry".
• Even though Natsu manages to unlock the cage, Haru was so fearful that she attacked him the moment she was let out. Before that, Haru was actually comforted by Natsu's presence, so being in that cage for so long made her just lash out uncontrollably, which is very heartbreaking.
• Natsu realizes that the reason Haru acts the way she does is that no one really took the time to try and help her, so he reassures that she's safe as long as she's with him and the others. This causes her to break down crying as she realizes that she's finally found someone who does understand her and wants to help her.

Breaking the Ice

• Haru inadvertently brings up Gray's former mentor, Ur, and it's clear that he still thinks about her, every day.
• After Haru is injured protecting him from a Lacrima Bomb, Gray hides her in an old barn and blames himself for letting her get hurt.
• During the battle, the barn catches fire, forcing Gray to go back inside to shield Haru and Blue Fang from the flames. By that time, Gray is reaching his limit and laments that he still can't protect anyone. If Natsu hadn't shown up to eat the fire in just the nick of time, Gray, Haru, and Blue Fang would have all burned to death.

The Mother of Fairies

• The very sight of Laxus sends Haru in a state of fright, causing her to run and hide behind Natsu for protection. It's clear that Laxus putting the poor girl in a cage had a lasting effect on her.
• While talking to Makarov, Elektra reveals that she had run into Gildarts on her way back home from her job...and something much more sinister: Acnologia, the legendary Black Dragon of the Apocalypse. Elektra, even though she stayed calm while talking to Natsu and the others, shows that she's actually terrified of the idea of seeing Acnologia again, not because of what he might do to her, but because of what the dragon might do to the younger members that she helped raise. All Makarov can do is tell her to pray for the best, but prepare for the worst.

The Fairy Queen and the Beast

• When Haru asks Erza where she came from before she came to Fairy Tail, Erza has quick flashbacks of when she was a slave, showing that she still hasn't gotten over what happened 8 years prior.
  • Haru ends up doing it again when she ask her about where she got her scars from, making Erza feel insecure about them.
    • These actually show that while Haru is well-meaning, she ends up coming across as Innocently Insensitive. When she realizes that she's crossed a line, she feels that she's really upset the people she loves and tries to apologize to them. Haru even lampshades on her own insensitivity.
  Haru: Even so, I shouldn't ask things like that. It's just...I tend to be curious and I don't really when there's a right time to ask these kinds of questions. I should really be more considerate.
• Haru crying when Blue Fang takes a lightning bolt from Zammond, the twin brother of Hammond, for her. She really loves her best wolf friend. Thankfully, he manages to pull through.

The Cursed Island

• Haru is very upset when she finds out that not only has Natsu taken an S-Class job without permission, but he roped Happy, Lucy, and Gray into it, too, and she's very afraid when she thinks that he, as well Gray, Lucy, and Happy could possibly get expelled from Fairy Tail because of this.
  • In the opening flashback, Laxus only makes it worse by rubbing it in her face.
  • It's made even worse because in the prior story, Haru made Natsu promise not to do something stupid like this, but he went behind her back anyway.
• Haru really doesn't want Natsu to get kicked out of the guild, seeing as how he was the reason she joined Fairy Tail in the first place.
• The moment Haru sees all the supposedly cursed islanders, she can't help but feel sympathetic towards their plight, especially when she sees the animals.
• After Haru finds Natsu, she expresses how hurt she feels when she found out what he had done, which makes Natsu feel guilty. Thankfully, the two manage to make up with each other.
• When Haru sees that Gray is attempting to use the same spell that Ur used to seal Deliora away to stop Lyon, she tearfully begs him not to do so. When Natsu punches Gray to stop him, he chews him out for "butting in to his fight" as well as making Haru cry. When Gray argues that he has to do this for Ur's sake, Haru yells at him that she wouldn't want her pupil to give up his life so needlessly.
  Haru: (in tears) Gray...Ur didn't sacrifice herself so that you could die so foolishly! She did it so you could make something of yourself! Gray...dying isn't how you take responsibility for what happened to Ur! She gave up her life so you could live, right?! Dying won't repay your debt to her!
• After Gray reveals the truth about Ur to Lyon, Haru attempts to convince him to forget about reviving Deliora and leave... but it ends with her getting stabbed through the stomach by one of Lyon's ice sabers. When Lyon boasts that he doesn't care that the ice is actually Ur's very being and laughs at Haru being hurt, that's when Gray decides that he's had enough of Lyon's B.S.
• When Deliora is in the process of being revived, Lyon enters the scene in an attempt to fight the monster, but Haru quickly gets in his way and berates him for only thinking about surpassing Ur and nothing else and that Ur would never be proud of the person that he had become. When Lyon finally remembers all the times that Ur had cared for him and Gray, he finally realizes that he was wrong.
• Gray attempts to use Iced Shell one more time against Deliora, but Haru refuses to let him sacrifice himself. She desperately begs him not to use the spell and even holds him back to keep him from doing so. Gray yells at her and attempts to push her away, calling her selfish and to let him make the sacrifice, but Haru calls him selfish right back and asks him why he's so desperate to die, to Gray's shock.
  • Thankfully, just as Deliora finally revives, it crumbles into dust due to being sealed in ice for so long. As Gray realizes that it was because of Ur, he tearfully thanks her for finally defeating the monster of his dreaded past.
• Later on, as the group finally returns home to Fairy Tail, they are made to sit and wait for what Makarov has decided for their punishment. As Lucy sits next to Natsu, she's trying her hardest not to cry, but the thought of leaving the guild she wanted to join for so long is too much for her, leading Natsu to reassure her that everything will be all right.
• When Makarov declares that Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gray's punishment is expulsion from the guild, Haru goes to Mirajane for a hug.
  • Thankfully, Makarov decides to punish the group with suspension instead of expulsion.

Adventure on Dragon Island

• The story opens with a flashback of a young Natsu waking up one morning to get breakfast with Igneel, only to find that the Fire Dragon is gone. At first, Natsu simply thinks he's playing a game of hide-and-seek, but as the day goes on and slowly turns to dusk, Natsu can't find Igneel anywhere. By that point, the poor boy breaks down crying, calling out for his dad... but gets no answer.
• Natsu wakes up, startled by the dream he had, and it ends up waking Haru, who is sleeping beside him. When she asks him what's wrong, he puts on a fake smile and tells her to go back to bed...but Haru can tell when Natsu is faking it, but she doesn't say anything more because she also knows how stubborn he can be. She lies back down to sleep, but as her brother goes outside for some air, she wakes back up again and watches in concern.
• As Natsu stands on a hill, watching the night sky, he covers his face with his scarf and the wind blows, and the smell only reminds him of Igneel...which makes him miss the dragon even more.
  Natsu: Where are you... Dad?
• The next day is no better. Natsu is really despondent and won't interact with anyone, and when someone finally snaps him out of his stupor, he decides that he wants to be alone for a while and walks out of the guild. At first, everyone thinks that he's just looking for an excuse to not do his chores...but Haru quickly snaps at everyone and tells them to leave her brother alone, revealing the reason why Natsu is so sad: it's July 7th, the day Igneel disappeared.
  • Upon hearing what day it is, everyone quickly regrets how they badmouthed Natsu the way they did.
  • Makarov and Elektra also reveal that they found Natsu as a child one day, all alone and crying in the rain.
    • Lucy noticeably clutches at her chest as she recalls the date...remembering something else that happened on that day.
• While Natsu is out in town, he sees a little boy and his father playing together, which reminds him of how Igneel would fly in the sky while carrying Natsu on his back. The young Salamander was really left hurt and confused as to why his foster father would leave him without saying anything.
• When Lucy and Happy come to find him, Natsu confesses that he's starting to wonder if he'll ever see Igneel again, showing that the 7 years that the dragon has been gone is beginning to take its emotional toll on him. He's trying not to show it, but he's losing hope that he'll ever find him.
• When Natsu hears a rumor about a dragon sighting, he's all too eager to go, but Gray, trying to be realistic about the whole thing, says that he shouldn't get his hopes up. Naturally, Natsu doesn't take it well and soon everyone breaks out into an argument that Makarov has to stop.
  • This becomes even worse when it is revealed that it was a fabricated plan by the Arc Villain of this story.
• During the boat ride, Lucy, while writing a letter to her mother, expresses her concern about how heartbroken Natsu would be if it turned out that the dragon sighting really was a rumor.
• After getting attacked by Eliza and her roc, getting their boat destroyed, and are forced to take shelter in the jungle, things finally come to a head when Natsu and Gray start bickering, again. By this time, Gray loses his temper and blames Natsu for everything that's been happening, telling him that coming to Dragon Island was nothing but a waste of time...but it gets even worse when the Ice Wizard claims that if Igneel was on the island, he had probably left because he couldn't stand being around Natsu, anymore. Hearing this feels like a punch to the gut to Natsu, who snaps and starts brawling with Gray, again until Erza steps in to stop them.
• As Natsu goes to cool off, Erza slaps Gray across the face and reprimands him for saying such a coldhearted thing to Natsu. Gray tries to explain himself and says that he doesn't understand why Natsu is so obsessed with finding Igneel until Haru tells him that if it were his old mentor, Ur, Gray probably would be doing the same thing, to which he doesn't deny.
• Lucy goes off to find Natsu sitting alone on a cliff, brooding. When she asks him if he's all right, he admits that he knew that the dragon sighting was just another rumor. That's when Natsu reveals his deepest fear: that Igneel abandoned him because he didn't love him, anymore, or never loved him at all for that matter.
  • This leads Lucy to hug Natsu, who cries as he expresses how much he misses Igneel. It just goes to show that despite his tough-talking nature, deep inside him is a little boy who just wants his foster father to come back.
    • Lucy herself is trying to keep herself from crying through this whole thing, thinking that she knows how he feels.
• The following morning, after the team is captured and then set free by the island's natives, they are brought to a village where Natsu finds a familiar shape. At first, he's ecstatic as he thinks that it's Igneel...but he is only met with disappointment when he sees that it's just a stone statue of his likeness.
  • Of course, it turns into more Heartwarming territory when Natsu hears the story of why there is a statue of Igneel in the first place.
• A small one, but is revealed that Kilania's grandson, Torn, acts the way he does because his father was killed by mainlanders a long time ago, and Torn has been distrustful of anybody who trespasses on the island, ever since.
• Kilania reveals that this happened many times before where explorers from the mainland attempted to colonize Dragon Island and try to force the natives to adhere to their ways, even though the islanders have tried to reason with them. It's no wonder Kilania and the rest of her tribe attempted to feed Natsu and the others to the sharks.
• After the banquet celebrating Natsu's arrival to the island and everything starts to wind down, the village is attacked by the Gargoyle Talon Guild, led by Xavier Blightheart. It's bad enough that some of the villagers were injured in the bombing, but when Natsu looks up, he is horrified to find Igneel's statue destroyed...and then he flies into a rage.
• While chasing after Eliza, the other Beast Wizard uses a magic whistle to brainwash Blue Fang into attacking Haru, who is horrified as she realizes that her best friend has turned on her against his will, and she can do nothing as he viciously mauls her.
• Just as Lucy is about to summon one of her spirits, Nero disarms her, calling her useless because he believes that she only hides behind the Celestial Spirits that she summons. He then prepares to land the killing blow, only for Natsu to get in the way. All Lucy can do is scream Natsu's name in horror as he's left badly wounded.
• In the following chapter, Gray regains consciousness from his fight with Tyson the Earth Wizard and finds Haru lying on the ground, covered in scratches and bite marks. When she explains what happened to Blue Fang, Gray only gives her sympathy, knowing that the silver wolf would never willingly attack Haru of his own volition.
• As everybody regroups, Lucy is left lamenting over the fact that she let Natsu get captured...and all she can do is cry.
  Lucy: It's... it's all my fault... They... they took [Natsu] away...! I... I couldn't stop them! I was just so scared! And Natsu... he... he got hurt, trying to protect me! Erza tried to help us, but she got hurt, too... and they left! (starts sobbing) I'm so sorry!
• After this, she begins to say that she really is useless... which prompts Erza to slap her across the face to get her to snap out of it.
• While he is deep in his subconscious mind, Natsu is contacted by none other than Igneel, who is urging him to wake up. Before Igneel leaves, however, Natsu asks the dragon why he left... but Igneel says that he can't tell him, and it's visibly shown that it pains him that he can't. However, Natsu takes it even worse, thinking that his foster father left him because he really didn't love him anymore. Thankfully, Igneel, after giving Natsu a bop on the head, tells him that he will always love Natsu and that when the time comes, they will meet again, someday.
• While battling Nero, Lucy is once again hit with another "The Reason You Suck" Speech from him about how she should have just stayed home and that Natsu got captured by Gargoyle Talon in the first place because of her weakness... but the worst part is Lucy doesn't even deny it. She still blames herself for letting Natsu get captured, and she also believes that she will never be as powerful or as skilled as Natsu and the others. It just goes to show how low Lucy really thinks of herself.
  • Of course, Lucy turns this into an Awesome moment when she retorts that even if she's not as strong as her friends, she refuses to let Natsu down and proceeds to defeat Nero with the help of Taurus.
• Haru is getting mercilessly mauled by Blue Fang, who is under the control of Eliza's magic whistle. Though she's wounded, Haru refuses to fight back. Instead, she cries to Blue Fang and apologizes to him, believing that he's probably mad at her, and that she knows that he doesn't want to kill her. She then attempts to appeal to him by reminding the silver wolf of how they met.
  • Though it's small, the flashback reveals that Haru and Natsu found Blue Fang all alone, and according to Levy, silver wolves have been hunted to near-extinction for their silver-bluish fur coats. It's implied but not stated that this is how Blue Fang became an orphan.
• In another flashback, this one depicting a memory of Gray and Natsu sometime after the latter joined up, it is implied that the reason why Natsu picks fights with Gray is that he's lonely. Seeing as how it was sometime after Igneel's disappearance, it makes a lot of sense.
• In yet another flashback, Erza has gotten back from her first S-Class job, but she failed it because she was too afraid to face the monster that she was supposed to slay. The monster? A giant spider, and Erza is terrified of spiders, no matter what size they are. When pressed by Elektra, she reveals that she feels that she had brought shame to the name of Fairy Tail, even though Elektra claims that she never did.
• Sure to induce Tears of Joy, at least. When Natsu and the others are preparing to leave Dragon Island, Kilania gifts Natsu with one of Igneel's fangs and tells him not to give up on finding him.
• As everyone arrives back in Magnolia, three days later, they notice that the townspeople are acting nervous. At first, they don't think much of it... but then, when they arrive at their guildhall, they are horrified to find that it has been vandalized by Phantom Lord, which leads into the next arc.

Fairies vs. Phantoms

• Levy, Jet, and Droy are found in the South Gate Park, beaten senseless and crucified to the Sola Tree. It also doubles as Nightmare Fuel.
• Elektra's Berserker Tears as she sees what happened to the people she sees as her children also count.
• During the raid on Phantom Lord, Makarov is left ill due to Aria's interference, to Elektra's concern. It only gets worse when Gajeel breaks her arm and leg when she was distracted.
• Natsu claims that he's not going to lose Lucy, but he quickly corrects himself to make it sound like the guild will not lose her. However, Haru understands why he really said that.
  Haru (thinking): You already lost Lisanna...
• When Lucy hears about how everyone got hurt, she immediately starts blaming herself... but also, she doesn't want to leave Fairy Tail because she's come to love it so much, in spite of all its craziness. Natsu and Haru reassure her that she doesn't have to go anywhere, and they begin to make the trip back to Magnolia.
• Morale has dropped to an all-time low with the Fairy Tail Guild. With their master bedridden and one of their best wizards having a broken arm and leg, things are not looking good for them.
• Lucy continues to blame herself for bringing problems to the guild, even though everyone reassures that she's not at fault, at all.
• Laxus' refusal to come and help the guild also counts. He claims that it has nothing to do with them and he'll only come to help if either Makarov steps down and gives him the title of Guildmaster or if Lucy becomes his girlfriend, neither of which are happening. He even insults Elektra and mocks her for being unable to do anything due to her injuries, and when he wants Cana to strip for him, Elektra finally loses it and smashes the Communication Lacrima Orb that they're using to contact him with.
• Mirajane is left in tears by Laxus' arrogance and refusal to help, wondering how someone like him could be a member of Fairy Tail.
  • It gets even worse because she's so frustrated, she decides that she wants to fight, too... but Elektra reminds her that she lost her true magic since an incident that happened, two years prior. As she says this, both Mirajane and Elfman have guilt-ridden looks on their faces.
• After Jose fires the Jupiter Cannon and Erza just barely manages to fend it off, the Phantom Lord Guildmaster gives Fairy Tail an ultimatum: give Lucy to him or be destroyed. At first, Lucy is contemplating giving herself up to keep her friends from getting killed, but then Erza declares that they'd rather die than give Lucy up to them, and everyone wholeheartedly agrees.
• After Haru brings Lucy to her safe spot in the forest, you'd think that'd be the end of it, right? WRONG. It turns out Gajeel had followed them to the forest where they were hiding, and the first thing he does is beat up poor Blue Fang, to Haru's horror. It doesn't stop there. Haru attempts to drive Gajeel off, but he proves to be too strong for her, but nevertheless, she doesn't back down and even bites Gajeel to keep him from going after Lucy. Just when Gajeel is preparing to kill Haru, Lucy, not wanting to see her friend die, comes out of hiding and gives herself up, despite Haru's pleas. Lucy can only cry as she says this:
  Lucy: Tell [Natsu]... tell everyone... that I'm sorry... and thanks for everything. It was a lot of fun... while it lasted.
• Haru can only cry as she realizes that Lucy really plans to give herself up and she was powerless to stop it.
• In the following chapter, Haru and Blue Fang are subjected to the same torture as Team Shadow Gear... only this time, the former has a broken ankle, is covered in bruises, and she's stripped down to her underwear with Phantom Lord's mark painted on her stomach.
  • That's not the worst of it, though: Haru feels shame for not protecting Lucy when she should have.
• Natsu can only hug his sister as she cries about her failure.
• When Loke brings Haru to the guildhall... or rather, what's left of it, all she can do is break down in tears. The entire building is devastated, and all she can do is ask why this had to happen to them, as they weren't bothering anyone. The fact that Lucy gave herself up for nothing only makes it worse.
  • Thankfully, in spite of everything, the sight of Fairy Law being cast by Makarov rekindles Haru's hope.
• Doubles as Heartwarming. After everything is said and done and Natsu and Happy have rescued Lucy, the poor girl still can't help but blame herself for everything that's happened. It's only until Makarov gives her his speech about Fairy Tail being a Family of Choice and when she remembers Haru's words that Lucy finally realizes that she's found a place where she's accepted for she is and breaks down in tears, something she wasn't allowed to do in her old home.
• At the Heartfilia Estate, Haru has gone with Lucy to confront her father, Jude, who not only doesn't give Haru a chance to speak, but he refuses to take responsibility for the fact that he hired Phantom Lord, which resulted in the war in the first place. What makes it worse is that Lucy doesn't even deny it, feeling that her actions are still to blame. Haru is horrified that someone like Jude is Lucy's father!
  • Of course, it quickly becomes an Awesome moment when Lucy disowns her father and declares herself a proud member of Fairy Tail.
• Just before they're about to leave, Lucy and Haru stop in front of a grave: it's revealed to be the final resting place of Layla Heartfilia, Lucy's mother.

A Dragon's Heart

• Everyone begins to tease Natsu about having a crush on Lucy, whom Natsu had been teasing all morning at the start of the story. The Salamander is clearly embarrassed about it, but it gets worse when Haru accidentally brings up Lisanna, who was said to have died two years ago. This causes him to yell at her to shut up, but in doing so, he upsets her into running off, prompting Gray to go after her.
  • While Natsu yelling at Haru was a little harsh, it was actually justified seeing as how he got really uncomfortable with everyone teasing him.
• During the train ride, Erza reveals that Natsu and Lisanna were very close as children, and when she died, he took it the hardest of all. Judging by his reaction when Haru brought up her name, no one's even allowed to talk about her around him because it clearly makes him upset.
  • It's also implied but not stated that Natsu and Lisanna might have been more than friends in this series, which makes it even more heartbreaking.
• When Gray catches up to Haru and Blue Fang, Haru admits that she was wrong to bring Lisanna up, especially in a teasing manner. She reveals that even though it's been 2 years, she's still having trouble accepting the fact that she's gone and she still very much misses her.
• As for Natsu, he's having a "man-to-man talk" with Elfman, who has brought him and Happy to a little memorial in front of a small den in the South Gate Park. Elfman tells Natsu that while Haru shouldn't have brought up his younger sister, he's not angry at her for it.
• Elfman shows that he still feels guilt over his sister's death, saying that the last time he lost control was also the last time he saw his little sister alive, again.
  • He also advises Natsu that he should move on, otherwise, Lisanna won't rest in peace. Natsu's only response is that he makes it sound as if it's easy, but it's clear that he's still having trouble getting over what happened to her.

The Tower of Heaven

• While at Akane Resort, Haru is busy trying to put on her dress, but she can't reach the zipper in the back. She calls for Erza to come and help her, but she doesn't answer. When Haru goes out to check on her, she finds her having a nightmare, crying out the name "Jellal", over and over.
• After Haru wakes Erza up, the Requip Wizard goes to the mirror and changes into her armor, saying that she feels much better wearing it. When Haru tells her that she doesn't have to wear her armor at a resort, Erza seems slightly disheartened at her own refusal to relax and have fun.
• After Erza's old friends attack the casino, Haru is helpless to keep them from taking Erza away, and all she can do is scream at them that whatever they have planned for her, she won't let them get away with it.
• On the way to the Tower of Heaven where Erza is being held captive, Haru is sitting in the boat, scared of the idea that she will never see Erza again.
• After reuniting with Erza, the Requip Wizard immediately shouts at everyone to go back home and even tries to threaten them with her sword. When Haru and the others refuse to leave without her, Erza continues to try and beg everyone to leave the tower, saying that she doesn't want her friends getting caught up in her problems, although Gray counters that it's too late for that. When Haru continues to refuse to let Erza handle this alone, she finally breaks into tears and claims that whether the heroes win or lose this battle... no one will ever see her again. This greatly worries Haru, who has always seen Erza as the bravest and kindest woman she's ever known and loved as her big sister, and it's here that Erza finally decides to tell everybody about her past.
• After Erza finishes telling everyone about her Dark and Troubled Past, everyone is shocked to hear about it... but Haru? She is in tears. She immediately runs up and hugs her, crying about how sorry she is for her that she had gone through so much pain and heartache.
• When Erza reveals that Deliora is a demon that Zeref the Black Wizard had created, Gray immediately tenses, showing that he's still not over the trauma that the monster had left behind.
• Shô, one of Erza's old friends, attempts to make it sound like he, Wally, and Millianna were the real victims and that Erza was the one who betrayed them while Jellal saved them, but after Haru slaps him across the face and lays into him about how he allowed himself to be deceived and that Simon revealed that he was never manipulated by Jellal to start with, Shô confesses that after Erza left the tower, he didn't know who to believe in anymore. He soon starts to cry and apologizes to Erza for not believing in her like he should have been, but Erza claims that she is the one who should be sorry, for during the 8 years she had joined Fairy Tail, she never tried to come and help her friends, even though she thought about them, every day.
• After defeating Wally and Millianna, Haru soon reveals the truth to the both of them, and Jellal makes it worse by actually confirming that he truly did manipulate them. Wally and Millianna are rightfully devastated when they realize that their leader and former friend only saw them as pawns.
  • They're even more horrified when they realize that because they wanted a world where they would be in control, that would make them no different from the cultists who enslaved them.
• When Haru reaches the next floor, she's horrified to find that Natsu has been swallowed by one of the members of Trinity Raven, Fukuro, and then furiously demands that he spit her brother back out.
• A flashback shows a young Gray and Haru talking about Erza, and it is here that Gray reveals the reason why Erza wears armor all the time, even when she's not fighting, and is always sitting by herself. Erza claims that she doesn't like being around people because it makes her uncomfortable, but when Gray found her crying all alone, one day, he realizes that deep down, she's actually very scared and lonely girl who was hurt a long time ago, and tries to distance herself from others to keep herself getting heartbroken again, but it only made her feel worse.
• After Natsu refuses to help Erza take down Jellal because he believes that it's her fight and that no one should interfere, Haru tearfully yells at him that he doesn't understand anything and rushes off to go find Erza, herself. It's here that Simon reveals that with Etherion getting ready to fire and Jellal being a master of manipulation, Erza is likely planning to sacrifice herself to make sure that Jellal dies along with her. Upon hearing this, Natsu demands to know where Erza is.
• When the Etherion is getting ready to fire, Haru quickly hugs Blue Fang and closes her eyes, thinking that they're about to die.
  • Of course, it soon turns out it was all a ploy from Jellal, for this was just what he needed to transform the tower.
• Despite Haru and Blue Fang going all out the moment they face him, they are unable to defeat Jellal, who comes out of the fight with barely a scratch on him. He uses a Binding Snake on Haru and attempts to choke her death to break Erza's spirit. As the weakened Erza desperately begs for him not to kill Haru, the Beast Wizard, with no regard to her own life, tells Erza to save herself. If Natsu hadn't shown up in time, Haru would have suffocated.
• When Jellal seemingly defeats Natsu, he prepares to go after Erza, next, but Haru quickly defends her. Jellal tries to make her give up by telling her how hopeless it is, but Haru snaps back at him, saying that Erza has always tried to be strong, even though she was hurting inside, and while she can't fully understand what she's been through, she does know that she never wants to lose her.
  • When Jellal believes Haru's talk to be nothing but empty words, Haru argues that despite everything that happened between them, Erza still deeply cares for Jellal and wanted to save him. When she asks Jellal if he really doesn't feel anything for Erza, anymore... he seems to hesitate for a second.
• Simon's death, just like in canon. Both Haru and Erza desperately beg him to hold on, to no avail. As he passes away, he mentally declares his love for Erza.
• While Haru and Blue Fang have managed to escape the collapsing tower, Haru is the one who has to break the news to Millianna, Wally, and Shô that Simon had perished. However, when Happy points out that Natsu and Erza aren't with her, she and the others come to the horrifying realization that they're still inside... and as she turns around, the Tower of Heaven is sucked up into the sky, and all Haru can do is scream in anguish, calling out to Natsu and Erza.
• When the tower disappears, Haru breaks down crying in Lucy's arms, mourning the loss of her adoptive brother and her older sister figure. Happy hugs Haru's ankle as he also mourns the loss of his best friend/father figure, Gray punches a nearby tree in frustration, Juvia mournfully lowers her head, Wally, Millianna, and Shô are all crying for both Simon and Erza, and Blue Fang sorrowfully howls into the sky.
• Sometime later, everyone is still standing on the beach, waiting for any sign of life, even though the situation seems hopeless. Haru sadly sits curled up under a palm tree, truly believing that both Erza and Natsu are dead. Blue Fang tries to comfort her, and all she can do is quietly hug him as she buries her face in his fur.
• Shô goes to sit with Haru, telling her that despite everything that happened, Erza was always the bravest person he ever knew and he always looked up to her for it. When Haru blames herself for being too weak to save Natsu and Erza, Shô claims that he should be the one to blame because he and his friends were the ones who kidnapped Erza in the first place.
• Also counts as Heartwarming. When Natsu and Erza are revealed to be alive, Haru wastes no time in running up and hugging them both, crying Tears of Joy that they made it back.
  • Natsu, who was the one saved Erza from sacrificing herself to the giant Lacrima, tearfully demands that Erza promises to she never do anything like that, again.
• While Haru and Erza are hanging out on the balcony together, Haru asks Erza who really stopped the Tower of Heaven from exploding, and it's here that Erza reveals that it's possible that the one who stopped its destruction was Jellal, who took Erza's place in her stead. It's sad to think that the only way Jellal was free was when he supposedly died.
• In the end, Erza's friends decide to head off on their own to explore the world. Though Erza is saddened that they have to go, she and the rest of Team Natsu send them off with fireworks and she calls out to them that they live their lives to the fullest.

Aftermath

• Natsu isn't acting like himself, lately, and when Lucy asks him where Haru and Blue Fang are, instead of snapping, he just sighs and gets up to go get a job. However, he bumps into Gray while on his way there, but while the Ice Wizard is raring for a fight, the Fire Dragon Slayer claims that he's not in the mood. When Gray won't let him go that easily, he decides that he's had enough and roughly shoves him to the floor. It's at this point that Gray realizes that Natsu really isn't in the mood for a brawl and wisely backs off.
• Later that day, as Lucy gets home, she finds Natsu sitting in her apartment, but when she sees how troubled he looks, she makes him a cup of tea and finally asks him what's wrong, and it's soon revealed that the reason why Natsu hasn't been acting like himself is that he's worried about Haru, who has been lying in bed for the past 2 days after the Battle of Fairy Tail.
• A flashback reveals just how much things have effected poor Haru. She's lying in bed, looking absolutely miserable, complete with Dull Eyes of Unhappiness and she seems unresponsive to anything. Not even Blue Fang is able to cheer her up.
• When Natsu tries to get a response from her, all he gets is silence, and it frustrates him to no end. He even thinks that he might have done something to make Haru upset with him, even though she claims that she's not. By this point, he practically begs her to tell why she's so depressed, but she won't say anything, leading to a frustrated Natsu storming out of their house.
  • When Happy glances over at Haru, he sees that she's crying, and all he can do is feel bad for her.
• When Lucy asks Natsu why he came to her apartment, he reveals that he doesn't want to go back to his house because he hates the sight of seeing Haru so depressed. He feels that he's supposed to be able to help Haru, but he doesn't know how because she won't tell him, and it's enough to almost make him start crying.
  • It's even more frustrating for him because he knows that this is a psychological issue and not something that he can just make go away by punching it or burning it.
• Though Natsu reassures her that he'll always be there for her, Haru still won't open up about what happened.
• Chapter 2 opens with a flashback about Elektra and Laxus' childhood. Little Elektra wants her brother to come and play with her, but he's sick, again, and all she can do is walk away, crestfallen. When she tries to go to their father, Ivan Dreyar, he only harshly tells her to leave him alone and to go bother someone else. It's heartbreaking to see Elektra so lonely when she was a child.
• On their way back home from a job together, Elektra points out to Natsu that he's a very good brother for always looking after Haru, and he claims that that's what brothers are supposed to do. This momentarily saddens Elektra as she thinks about her own brother.
• Another flashback shows Elektra and Laxus in their teenage years. It was sometime after their father's own expulsion from Fairy Tail and Laxus is absolutely livid. He claims that Makarov had no right to expel Ivan from the guild, but Makarov claims that Ivan was putting his fellow guild members in danger.
• After Makarov asks Laxus to tell him where Ivan might be, as he has information that could bring great harm to Fairy Tail, Laxus calls his grandfather a hypocrite, claiming that he cares about the guild than he does about his own flesh and blood.
• When he storms out of Makarov's office, Elektra attempts to talk to him, but he yells at her as well, claiming that she's just as bad as their grandfather because she never tried to stand up for Ivan, but Elektra claims that her brother wasn't there and doesn't fully understand. They then start getting into a big argument about how Elektra was never on Laxus' side, to which she argues that it's just the opposite. It's sad to see that their relationship has come to this to the point where they constantly yell at each other... and it's only about to get worse.
• Laxus' ravings attract the attention of Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Haru, whose presence only irritates him further as he attempts to retaliate against them, but Elektra quickly gets in his way, saying that she doesn't care if he is her brother: NO ONE harms her kids. Laxus' response is to call her pathetic, saying that she cares about more about "some brats" than her own family.
  • Elektra can only hug the children while shedding tears of her own. She hates that things are so different between her and her own brother, now, but she feels like there's nothing she can do to change it.
• It gets even worse: in another flashback, this one shows what happened between Laxus and Elektra during the battle of Fairy Tail. Elektra is outraged that her brother is trying to destroy Fairy Tail, but the way he sees it, he thinks he's saving the guild. Elektra calls Laxus out for his foolishness and letting other people's opinions get to him, but Laxus shoots back at her, saying that she's being a hypocrite for allowing Makarov to let Gajeel join, repeating her declaration that she'd never forgive anybody who hurts her "precious kids", but Elektra retorts that she can see that Gajeel really is trying to turn over a new leaf. The Dreyar Siblings fight for a while, but Elektra doesn't really want to and can only do so much to defend herself from her brother's attacks until finally, she stops and asks him what the hell happened between them that made them the way they are. She remembers all the good times they used to have when they were little, but as time went on, Laxus grew cold and distanced himself from her and Makarov. She breaks down in tears, saying how much she wants her brother back.
• At first, this seems to get through to Laxus...until he tries to convince her to join the new Fairy Tail at his side. He gives her a speech about how they can lead Fairy Tail side-by-side as brother and sister and that no one would be able to oppose them... and the only thing Elektra has to do is reject Makarov, Natsu, and all the other "brats". Naturally, Elektra refuses to do so, saying that she'd rather die than forsake her grandfather and the people she deems as her children...and for a brief moment, Laxus actually looks a bit hurt by her decision. However, he quickly decides to grant her wish and shoots her through the head with a lightning bolt, shocking her and leaving a grisly scar on her head. All Elektra can do is collapse with tears in her eyes.
  • According to Porlyusica, it was a miracle that Elektra's brain wasn't completely fried.
• As Elektra is sitting in Makarov's office, she's in tears over the fact that her own brother would attempt to kill her. She even says that it's almost laughable.
  • Also, according to her, she had a hand in getting Ivan expelled from the Guild, and in doing so, she actually saved Laxus' life.
• Makarov reveals that even though he went about it the wrong way, Laxus really did want what was best for Fairy Tail, but he had to expel him because it was the right thing to do, no matter how much it pained him to do it.
• After he hears that Levy forgives him for what he's done, Gajeel legitimately looks guilty as he looks back at her and says that he's sorry. He wanted to apologize to her, as well as Lucy and Haru, for a long time, but he didn't know how to go about it. It also doubles as Heartwarming.
• In Chapter 4, Freed shows that he's not doing very well after Laxus left. Apparently, while he was out on a job with the rest of the Thunder Legion, he overheard some people talking about Laxus' stunt and that he's a worse troublemaker than everyone else in Fairy Tail. To hear people talk about his friend like that is too much for the poor guy to bear.
  • It's even worse when Freed remembers that Makarov hired Freed to be a bodyguard for Laxus and that he was supposed to keep him on the right track, and yet he failed to even do that. He knew that Laxus was going too far, but he did nothing to stop him. He feels that he's to blame for everything that happened.
• Mirajane sympathizes with Freed, saying that there's still something she blames herself for, as well: her sister's death.
• In Chapter 5, when Gray sees that Cana and Juvia are getting along rather well, he asks her how they became such good friends. It's here that Cana reveals to Gray that Juvia risked herself in the Battle of Fairy Tail because she didn't want to fight Cana and she was hoping that doing that would be enough to convince her and the other members that she was worthy of being part of the guild.
• When Juvia lists off Gray's qualities as being kind, noble, and selfless, he casts his eyes to the ground, muttering that might not be completely true. It's possible he's still thinking about what happened to Ur when he says this.
• In Chapter 6, after seeing Mystogan's face for the first time, Erza can't stop thinking about Jellal and the possibility that he might be alive.
• Chapter 7 shows that Haru still hasn't come back to the guild, and by now, even Lucy is getting really worried. As she's walking home with Cana, she tells her that it must really hurt Natsu to see his sister like this, and it's actually beginning to hurt Lucy to see him so out of sorts.
• Cana, despite her earlier ribbing at Lucy for possibly liking Natsu, replies that she's just as worried about Haru, just as much as everyone else is, too.
• At Natsu and Haru's house, the Dragneel Siblings are sleeping when suddenly, Natsu awakes to the sound of his sister having a nightmare. He manages to wake her up, but the moment she does, she throws herself into his arms and cries into his scarf, and all Natsu can do is gently hold her until she cries herself back to sleep.
  • At this point, Natsu starts crying himself, lamenting the fact that Haru had gotten hurt because he wasn't fast enough to help her.
• A flashback shows what exactly happened to Haru during the Battle of Fairy Tail: when Haru arrived at the Kardia Cathedral, she calls Laxus out on his foolishness and accuses him of turning Fairy Tail against each other. Haru yells at him that Laxus never cared about the guild and is only out to nurse his own hurt ego. This only serves to enrage Laxus to the point where he beats Haru up mercilessly and gives her no chance to fight back, and even shocks her with his lightning. He even threatens to lock her back up in a cage once he became the new guildmaster. It gets to be so bad that Haru is left a battered, burned, and bloodied heap, and apparently, it hurt Haru to so much as breathe!
  • After all that had happened... Haru honestly believed she was going to die at that moment.
• After the flashback is over, Haru makes this announcement: that she can't stay in Fairy Tail, anymore.
• Everyone is hanging out at the guildhall as usual when Elektra gives a downtrodden Natsu a plate of food...and he pushes it away, claiming that he's not hungry. You know it's serious when even Natsu, someone who is known to stuff food down his throat on a regular basis, refuses to eat!
• After being away from the guild for 4 days, Haru finally decides to show up... and she looks terrible. Her hair is a mess, she has a blanket draped over her, and she's looking skinnier than normal... and the reason why she's come back? She only came to turn in her resignation letter, announcing that she's leaving Fairy Tail.
• Naturally, everyone is shocked about hearing this, and when they ask her why, Haru claims that everyone will hate her if she ever told them the truth, but when she's pressed, she finally admits why she's been in such a depressed state: she can't forgive Laxus for what he's done, not just to her, but to the rest of the guild that she loved. Unlike everyone else, Haru was actually glad that Laxus was sent away because she felt that he deserved it, but she had been watching the Fantasia Parade and saw everyone making the Fairy Tail Salute, which was used as a send-off for Laxus. Haru wasn't just angry at the Lightning Dragon Slayer for what he has done, she was also angry at everyone else because she felt that they forgave him too easily. She felt that she was not allowed to feel the way she did and that's why she thought that she had to leave.
  • Upon realizing how Haru feels, the others tell her that they actually haven't forgiven Laxus, yet, themselves, especially Elektra, but she felt that shunning him further would only make things worse for her brother because she had been doing it for years.
• The epilogue of the story reveals what happened to Laxus after his expulsion. He's ended up in the town of Acacia, where he opens to the waitress, Fabiola about the things that he did in his bid to grab power from his grandfather, and he sounds horrified by all the things he did by manipulating Fairy Tail and turning its members against each other, and even about the fact that he tried to kill his sister and how he treated Haru. After everything was said and done, Laxus truly believes that now, he has no friends or family to turn to... and that he's truly lost everything.
  • It turns into more Heartwarming territory when Fabiola reassures him that despite all the things he did, it was clear that Makarov still loved him and while it would take some time for the rest of Fairy Tail to forgive him, he at least knows that no one has forgotten him.

Testing the Waters

• A minor one, but Lucy feels that she's not good enough for people to want to date her because she didn't see her name on the "Top 10 Wizards Who Would Make Good Girlfriends" list in Sorceror Weekly.
• It's another small one, but after he and Lucy got caught in the rain, Natsu feels like he's messed up everything and is afraid that Lucy wouldn't want to go out on another date with him. Even though there are times he's pretty loud and boisterous, it shows that Natsu's really sensitive deep down and he's afraid of messing up his relationship with Lucy.
  • Thankfully, Lucy reassures him that he did nothing wrong and that she actually had fun despite the setbacks.

Alliances

• In the second chapter of this arc and even throughout the story in general, as the group is making their way to the meeting place where the allied forces are supposed to gather, Lucy once again expresses self-doubt of her own abilities, even though everyone listed the amazing things she did during the time she was with the guild. Even in spite of that, Lucy still feels like she's pretty average compared to the rest of her friends.
• In the following chapter, after she's introduced, Wendy isn't much better. She hates violence and fighting and is rather meek, even though she's capable of using great magic. It's so bad that she feels that she's inadequate to help the alliance, so she runs away, forcing Haru, Carla, Blue Fang, and Happy to chase after her.
• After the reveal that Wendy is actually a Dragon Slayer, Carla reveals that just like Igneel, Grandeene also disappeared on July 7th, 7 years prior to the story. Wendy is 12 years old, so she had to have been at least 5 when her foster mother vanished.
• After she, Haru, and Happy are captured, Wendy expresses shame for just hiding in fright when everyone else got defeated by Oración Seis.
• After Jellal is revealed to actually be alive, but near death due to Etherion Poisoning, Wendy is torn on whether or not she should heal him due to the fact that he (supposedly) saved her life a long time ago. Hearing that Jellal tried to kill Erza a while back didn't help matters.
• After Jellal is revived and he attacks Natsu, Haru, and Blue Fang without hesitation, Wendy immediately begins to regret her choice to heal him, but Haru feels even worse than she does because she encouraged her to do it out of the goodness of her heart.
• While Wendy is busy healing Erza, who was poisoned by Cobra's pet snake, Cubellios, Natsu takes Haru away to talk to her in private. He claims that he's not angry at his sister, but she can tell that he's disappointed in her, and to Haru, that's worse. She expresses guilt over telling Wendy to heal Jellal, but when Natsu asks her if she even stopped to think about how Erza would feel, it only serves to upset her more because she knew that if the two ever faced each other again, it would likely be the same scenario where Jellal would use Erza's feelings for him against her. Haru is reduced to tears of shame and regret as she realizes this.
  • It's even worse because Natsu does understand that Haru really did have good intentions and would never do something to intentionally hurt her friends.
• When Nirvana begins to awaken, Natsu decides to go off on his own to find Jellal. Haru begs him to take her with him so that she can try and make things right, but he only tells her to stay behind. To Haru, she believes that Natsu is telling her to stay out of the way because she's caused enough trouble, already. Once again, Haru breaks down crying as she believes that her brother has lost his trust in her, and all Lucy can do is try and console her.
• As Hibiki explains Nirvana's power to switch people's personalities, Lucy notices that Haru has gone quiet, and as she goes to check on her, she sees that the Beast Wizard is about to fall towards the dark side, convinced that she had failed Natsu and that it's her fault that Nirvana has awakened because she encouraged Wendy to heal Jellal. If Lucy hadn't snapped her out of it, there was no telling what Haru would have done if she had fully succumbed to Nirvana's influence.
• During the battle with Angel, Lucy is heartbroken when Loke (as the Celestial Spirit, Leo the Lion) is forced to fight back against Aries, and it's clear that they don't want to fight each other, because during their brief bout, the two spirits are busy holding back tears. It makes things worse when Angel uses Caelum to shoot both Aries and Loke through their stomachs. While it doesn't kill them, Lucy and Haru are horrified to see just how low the rival Celestial Spirit Wizard will sink to win.
  • It's even more heartbreaking when it's revealed that Aries' original owner, Karen, was killed by Angel, and that Hibiki was Karen's boyfriend. The fact that Karen's murderer was standing in front of him nearly makes Hibiki fall to Nirvana's power, but Haru manages to snap him out of it.
  • During the fight, Angel continuously talks down on Lucy, calling her a loser for not realizing the compatibilities between certain Celestial Spirits, but Lucy argues that Angel is the one who doesn't understand a thing about Celestial Spirits. By this time, Lucy is in tears, begging Angel to let Loke and Aries be together and that she'll give her anything she wants in return (except for her Gate Keys, of course). Angel decides that she wants Lucy's life and orders the Twin Spirit, Gemini, to kill her.
  • Just as Gemini-Lucy is prepared to follow through, she sees inside the real Lucy's heart and realizes how much the girl loves Celestial Spirits, and therefore she can't bring herself to finish her off. Enraged, Angel grabs Caelum from Gemini and cuts her down, declaring that she'll kill Lucy herself. If not for Haru and Blue Fang's intervention, not to mention Hibiki pulling through and downloading a hyper magic spell into Lucy's brain, the Urano Metria, she would have met her end right there.
• After everyone arrives on the now-mobile Nirvana and Wendy realizes that Oración Seis is planning to target Cait Shelter, she is in tears at the idea of her guild getting destroyed. Luckily for her, Natsu is there to reassure her.
• When everyone is almost caught in an explosion that Brain set to kill them, Jura uses his magic to shield Natsu, Haru, and the others while he takes the brunt of the blast.
• In Chapter 13, Team Natsu has been soundly defeated by Brain's alter-ego, Zero, who wants nothing more than destruction. Haru has managed to regain consciousness after hearing Hibiki call out to her using his telepathy, but upon remembering Zero's power, the poor thing is too terrified to even stand.
  • Thankfully, Natsu and the others manage to regain consciousness as well after hearing an encouraging speech from the others.
• In Chapter 14, Jellal, who had come to help Natsu and Haru, takes an attack for the Dragneel Siblings from Zero. As he lays wounded, he claims that he doesn't blame Natsu for hating him and he's not asking him for forgiveness. He just wanted to be able to help, somehow.
• Chapter 15 is full of these:
  • First of all, the Rune Knights, commanded by Lahar, have come to arrest all of Oración Seis, including Richard, who acknowledges that even though he now walks the path of light, he still has to pay for the crimes that he's committed. He just wished to see his younger brother again.
    • This turns into a happier Tear Jerker when it's revealed that his brother is actually Wally Buchanan, one of Erza's friends.
  • After that, Lahar immediately arrests Jellal, who doesn't even try to resist. When he is about to get taken away, Haru intervenes and attempts to help Jellal escape, and soon after, the others join in. When Lahar threatens to arrest all of them, Erza decides that enough is enough and lets the Rune Knights arrest him anyway, claiming that she'd take full responsibility. It is then that Jellal reveals that he finally remembered Erza's scarlet hair and the two share a painful goodbye...because they both know that they'll never see each other again. After Jellal is taken away, Erza goes off on her own, and everyone can hear her despaired cries as the sun rises.
  Haru: (in tears) I'm sorry, Erza...
• In the final chapter, Haru is seen sitting with Blue Fang while Natsu and Happy are eating. When Natsu notices his sister isn't joining them, he goes to sit with her and she conveys to him that she can't help but feel sorry for Erza because she knows that she loved Jellal and is heartbroken over the fact that she'll never see him, again. All Natsu can do is try and reassure that maybe fate will allow them to be together, and all Haru can do is hope.
• After everything is said and done, it is soon revealed that Cait Shelter was never a real guild. Roubaul, who was actually the last of the Nirvit Clan and a thought projection after his real body died ages ago, fabricated the guild for Wendy so that she wouldn't feel lonely. Upon realizing that the guild she loved was all fake, the poor girl can only cry in despair and beg her friends not to leave her.
  • It turns into more Heartwarming territory after Erza and the others invite her and Carla to join Fairy Tail.

Natsu and Wendy's Day Out

• Chapter 1 shows Wendy sitting all alone in the guildhall. When Natsu asks why she hasn't talked to anyone, yet, she reveals that everything is so much different from when she was in Cait Shelter. It's obvious that the poor girl is still upset about the loss of her original guild and is having a hard time adjusting to being in a new one.
• In Chapter 3, after taking a break from sparring, Natsu and Wendy watch the sunset together, and Wendy expresses how much she misses her foster mother, Grandeene, prompting Natsu to hold her and say that he misses Igneel, as well. It also doubles as Heartwarming due to the fact that at least the two Dragon Slayers have found kindred spirits in each other.