Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
October, x784.
Around two weeks have passed since the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament and the Fantasia Parade happened. In those two weeks, not much of note took place. Most of the members of the guild went back to their normal schedules, taking quests, tending to their businesses, for those who owned one, or just spending time in the guild hall drinking, chatting, and starting fights.
About a week after the Tournament, Alfonzo's body had healed to the point he could resume all normal activities. And as soon as it did, he dove into an intense training regimen, to make up for lost time. He also continued his studies in the library. Though, what he was studying was a mystery to everyone other than Elicia.
After another week, today, Laxus was also cleared to return to his normal activities. Not before he was harshly reprimanded by Porlyusica, though.
"Damn… She's given me the same lecture more than ten times." Laxus said to himself while sitting at the guild's bar. "I'm not so dumb that I didn't get it after the first time."
"Don't get upset, my boy." Makarov, sitting on top of the bar in front of Laxus, said with a smile. "Although she's quite harsh, Porlyusica only acts like that because she cares."
"If she cared so much, she wouldn't beat me over the head with that damn broom just after clearing me for duty." Laxus grumbled before taking a bite of his breakfast. "Damn, I never wanna get that hurt again. I miss the taste of real food. I mean, seriously, Gramps. How the hell was I forced to eat hospital food while I was in the guild's infirmary."
"Oh." Makarov said with an amused smile on his face. "That was under my orders. Just a little punishment for not letting me know what you were planning with that tournament ahead of time. Do you know how much money the guild lost out on because it was a surprise?"
"Greedy old man." Laxus grumbled while chewing his food.
"What you should be concerned about, though, is Alfonzo." Makarov said, his smile widening. "Because of your idea, he ended up 'working for free,' as he would put it."
"Like I care." Laxus replied after washing down his food with a gulp of water. "If he's got a problem with me, he can come see me about it any time."
At the same time that Laxus made his statement, the elevator doors opened with Alfonzo, Elicia, Cana, Erza, and Mirajane walking through them. And even over all the noise in the guild, Alfonzo managed to hear him.
"Oh, did you do something I need to come see you for, Laxus?" Alfonzo asked as he approached the bar with an eyebrow raised.
"Hmph!" Laxus snorted but he did not reply.
"Oh, Alfonzo." Makarov said with a gleeful smile. "We were just talking about all the lost money making opportunities from the tournament."
"Oh, that, huh?" Alfonzo replied, splitting up with the girls as they went to take showers and get cleaned up after their training session under high gravity. "Well, you don't have to worry about that."
"What do you mean?" Makarov asked, a disbelieving expression on his face.
"Although I'm not happy that I wasn't paid for the show, I still made a lot of money." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Sixth Sense Catering was a huge success at the tournament, after all."
"Wait, that was your company?" Laxus asked in disbelief. "but how? When did you have the time to cook all the food they were selling?"
"Oh, that's simple, I made a magic item that would do the cooking." Alfonzo replied casually as he took a seat next to Laxus. "After that, it was just a matter of finding people to add ingredients to the magic items and serve the completed products."
Hearing that, both Makarov and Laxus could only look at Alfonzo with shock and disbelief in their eyes.
"Damn, Nell didn't do this kid justice when she called him a genius." Makarov grumbled to himself. "He's way past the level of a genius. Nothing short of a monster, I'd say."
"Anyway, now that you're free to move around, Laxus, what do you plan to do?" Alfonzo asked, not wanting to brag about his business ventures any further.
"I'll spend some time training before I start taking quests again." Laxus replied with a shrug. "I might even take you up on your offer to train with the rest of you a few days a week."
"Cool." Alfonzo said with a nod. "Whenever you're free, just come on by. We usually use the rooms on the sixth floor."
"Oh, that reminds me." Makarov said, cutting into the conversation. "I've already told the rest of the S-Class wizards, but don't take any S-Class quests for the next three or so weeks. The king of Fiore has asked several guilds to work together to complete a few high profile requests. Though, I don't have the details just yet."
"Not that I planned to for a while, but is it really necessary to hold all the S-Classes back?" Laxus asked, curious about these joint requests.
"Strictly speaking… No." Makarov replied with a gentle shake of his head. Then, he took a swig from his mug of ale before continuing. "But I'd like to have as many S-Classes available as possible. That way we'll be able to assign the right person for the right job, so to speak."
"Understandable." Laxus replied with a nod before taking another bite of his food.
'Damn, the suspense is killing me.' Alfonzo muttered internally. 'I'm almost certain that one of the requests is to deal with the Oración Seis. But I have no idea what the other one could be about.'
With that, Alfonzo, Makarov, and Laxus continued to chat and speculate on what the two requests could be about. Eventually, more of the guild's young wizards came down from the training rooms to either take showers or get lunch before taking their showers.
"Oh, you're out of the infirmary." Natsu, who just came down the stairs, shouted as soon as he saw Laxus sitting at the bar with Alfonzo and Makarov. "Great! Now that you're out, Laxus, fight me!"
With that, Natsu propelled himself through the air at Laxus using his flames that he ejected from his feet. Approaching at high speed, Natsu reeled his right fist, wreathed in flames, back. Before he could throw his punch, however, Laxus turned into a bolt of lightning, vanished from his seat, reappeared next to Natsu, and punched him in the top of his head.
*Bang!*
Laxus Punch was enough to slam Natsu face first into the floor. As a result, Natsu lay there with his limbs spread while his body twitched in pain.
"Nice punch…" Natsu mumbled. "Why don't we call this one a draw… We'll have a rematch again later."
"Hmph!" Laxus snorted as he rematerialized on his bar stool and continued to eat his meal as if nothing happened."
Around the same time, Elicia and the other girls left the showers. Making their way over to Alfonzo, they walked past Natsu and gave his twitching body curious looks.
"What did he do this time?" Elicia asked as she snuggled up to Alfonzo after his arm wrapped around her waist.
"Same ol' dumb shit." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Came down the stairs, saw Laxus, challenged him to a fight, attacked without getting a reply, and got one shotted."
"He did the same thing when you were cleared for duty, too." Cana said, wrapping her arms around Alfonzo's neck from behind.
"*Sigh* He'll never learn." Erza added, picking Natsu up from the floor. "It seems we need to train his discipline."
"There's no sense in beating a dead horse, Erza." Mirajane said with a smile that she covered with her right hand. "Just take him to Lisanna, I'm sure she'll get him to calm down."
As if she was waiting for her name to be called, Lisanna, along with Elfman, Juvia, and to everyone's surprise, Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen, exited the elevator.
"Laxus, you finally got out!" Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen shouted as they ran from the elevator over to the bar.
"Yeah, and I ain't goin' back." Laxus replied with a solemn expression on his face.
"Why does it sound like he just got outta prison?" Alfonzo asked with a wry smile on his face.
"I was just thinking the same thing." Elicia said with a smile as she climbed up into Alfonzo's lap before stealing a kiss.
Seeing that the space next Alfonzo, opposite Laxus, was now free, Mirajane casually walked over and wrapped Alfonzo's arm around her waist with a smile on her face.
Meanwhile, Lisanna, Elfman, and Juvia made their way over from the elevator at a much more leisurely pace.
"*Sigh* What did Natsu do this time?" Lisanna asked after noticing that Natsu was unconscious and being held up by the back of his collar by Erza.
"Exactly what you are expecting he did." Erza replied, holding Natsu out to Lisanna.
"*Sigh* He got knocked out when he challenged Alfonzo last week, too." Lisanna said as she took Natsu from Erza. "At least challenge them in the proper place, would you? Then, they probably wouldn't knock you out like that."
"Ha! Natsu challenged stronger foes, just like a real man." Elfman blurted out loudly.
"Anyway, what do you girls plan to do with the rest of your day?" Alfonzo asked, his question aimed at Elicia, Cana, Erza, and Mirajane.
"I'm gonna go with Marin on an A-Class magic beast subjugation quest." Elicia said excitedly. "She wanted to test her new ideas on live targets."
"I'm taking a quest with Elfman and Lisanna." Mirajane said. Then, she looked at her siblings with a smile. "Have you two decided on the quest, yet?"
"We've narrowed it down to two." Lisanna replied. "But we can't figure out which one to take."
"Yeah, why don't you help us decide, Big Sis?" Elfman said.
"Sure." Mirajane said with a smile. Then, she pecked Alfonzo on the cheek before separating from him. "I'll see you guys later."
"Have fun~~~!" Elicia said energetically as she waved her hands at the Strauss siblings.
"What about you, Cana?" Alfonzo asked, tilting his head back and resting the back of his head on Cana's chest.
"I'm gonna try and formulate some new spells." Cana said. "I need some close combat spells."
"Perhaps I could assist." Erza said, placing a hand on Cana's shoulder. "Though I may not use [Card Magic], I think I could help you in terms of close combat."
"I guess that will work." Cana replied, placing her right index finger on her chin as she considered. "If nothing else, you could tell me just how practical the spell would be. And considering just how skilled you are with a variety of weapons, You could give me pointers there, too."
"Indeed." Erza replied. A moment later, she clenched her fist and pounded it against her chest plate. "Leave it to me. I will do my best to assist you."
"Alright, then let's had home." Cana said, releasing Alfonzo from her hug. "I'll bounce some ideas off of you while I think up the proper card combinations to actualize the spells."
"Wonderful." Erza said with a smile. "Maybe we could stop and get a snack on the way home, too."
Giving Alfonzo a quick kiss on the cheek, Cana started walking towards the guild's entrance. Meanwhile, Erza approached Alfonzo, intending to give him a little goodbye kiss as well.
"You don't have to go buy anything.," Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "I made a strawberry shortcake for you last night."
Freezing in place for a moment, Erza blushed at being seen through so easily. After her brief pause, however, she quickened her approach before placing her hands on Alfonzo's cheeks and pulling him into a deep kiss.
"Come on, Erza." Cana said with an eye roll. "I know you're happy, but we've got spells to create."
Breaking the kiss at Cana's call, Erza quickly pecked Alfonzo on the lips one more time before she skipped away. Clearly, she was happy that there was a strawberry shortcake waiting for her at home.
"Ultear is too good for a playboy like you." Juvia, who had been silent ever since she arrived by the bar with Lisanna and the others, said in a disdainful tone.
"She probably is." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "But that's for her to decide, not you."
In response, Juvia could only stomp her foot in frustration as she looked away. Even though she still doesn't like Alfonzo very much… rather at all… she can admit that he makes Ultear happy. Even if she does so begrudgingly.
"Speaking of Ultear, I guess she already left for Isvan with Ur, Gray, and Meredy, huh?" Elicia said, tilting her head cutely.
"Huh?" Juvia exclaimed in panic. "They left? Why didn't Juvia know about this?"
"Probably because they didn't want you stalking them the whole time." Alfonzo muttered.
Juvia only glared at Alfonzo in response. Then, she stomped her foot one more time and started walking towards the guild's entrance. However, she was stopped not too long after she started walking.
"Hey, Juvia, since Ur and the others aren't here, why don't you come on this quest with us?" Lisanna asked from the quest board. "In fact, I think we should team up more often. I think your [Water Magic] and my [Take Over: Animal Soul] could really complement each other if we worked on it.
"Huh?" Juvia exclaimed in confusion. Then, she looked back at Lisanna before looking at the front entrance once again. "But.. I… Ur… Gray… Ultear…"
"Seriously, leave my girlfriend out of your stalking." Alfonzo said with a grin.
Once again, Juvia glared at Alfonzo.
"Come on, Juvia." Lisanna said, making puppy dog eyes. "It's not like they're not coming back. Besides, I really wanna get to know you better."
Seeing the look in Lisanna's eyes, Juvia felt her resistance crumble quickly. Then, she averted her eyes and nodded her head, agreeing to Lisanna's request before she walked over to the quest board and joined the Strauss siblings.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo, Elicia, Makarov, Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen watched there exchange.
"Lisanna is living proof that cute is justice." Elicia said in a surprisingly serious tone.
"Not that I disagree, but that was unfair." Alfonzo said. "I don't know many people who could refuse a request after seeing eyes like those."
"Mhmm!" Makarov, Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen all hummed while nodding in agreement.
A moment later, Elicia noticed Marin making her way into the main hall from the showers.
"Oh, Marin's here." Elicia said, sliding off Alfonzo's lap. "So, I'd better get going, too."
After giving Alfonzo a goodbye kiss like the other girls, Elicia jogged over to Marin and started chatting animatedly.
"Well, I guess I'll head on down to the library." Alfonzo said, standing from the stool he was sitting on. "After taking a shower, that is. Oh, and Gramps."
"What can I do for you?" Makarov replied.
"When Sun gets back from her quest, let me know." Alfonzo replied. "She's been gone for about a week. I miss her."
With that, Alfonzo made his way to the showers. Then, after a nice, long shower, he went down to the library to continue his research.
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Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
November, x784.
Two and a half weeks have passed since Laxus was able to return to his wizarding duties. And in that time, nothing of note has occurred. Or that would have been the case if a messenger from the royal family of Fiore did not show up at the guild hall.
The messenger, a brown-haired, portly man accompanied by two a familiar squad of three knights strolled into the guild hall hesitantly. Something that was completely out of character for him.
The reason for his hesitance was simple, Fairy Tail's reputation for disregarding authority. On top of that, he had been warned by the king before he left that his usual high and mighty attitude would have no effect on the wizards of Fairy Tail. So, he was very careful with is actions.
Two of the knights, on the other hand, were following the messenger casually. The third, however, was looking around excitedly, hoping to see a certain member of the guild.
"Where is he?" Darkness muttered. "I heard how badly he beat up the guild master's grandson. I really wanna meet him. Maybe he'd have a spar with me and accidentally go a little too far."
Luckily, the female knight's voice was low enough that the royal messenger did not hear her. Her subordinates, on the other hand, heard everything she said, loud and clear.
The messenger, on the other hand, after wrestling with his hesitation and while wishing he was anywhere but here, finally decided to announce his presence as no one seemed to be paying him any mind.
"By decree of the---" The messenger began to say.
"What did you say, you frozen streaker!" A shout cut off the messenger's announcement.
Taken aback by the loud voice, the messenger flinched before looking in the direction the shout came from.
At the end of his line of sight, the messenger saw a pink-haired young man, Natsu, standing on a chair with one foot on the table in front of him glaring down at a black-haired young man, Gray, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear.
"Did all that fire burn your eardrums, Flame Brain?" Gray replied in a combative tone. "Or maybe you just didn't understand, proving that I was right and you are an idiot."
"I'll show you who the idiot is!" Natsu roared before lunging across the table and punching Gray in the face.
As a result of the force behind the punch, Gray was lifted off his seat and sent flying into the table behind him, flipping all the food and drinks on impact.
"Damn it, Gray!" A dark blue-haired, middle-aged man, Macao, shouted angrily after wiping the contents of his flipped mug out of his face. "I just spent the last of my points on that meal! Now, I'll have to do more quests to eat Alfonzo's food again!"
With that, Macao kicked Gray, sending him flying into another table where a similar angry roar followed shortly afterward.
This process repeated several times, with Gray being flung from table to table. Eventually, a guild wide brawl was started while the royal messenger watched on in horror.
Meanwhile, the male knights looked on without much change in their expressions. Which made sense, they had seen a similar situation when the representatives from the kingdom came to hand over the patent documents to Alfonzo after one of his inventions was approved. That was before they were assigned to Darkness' squad, of course.
Darkness, on the other hand, was watching the brawl with an excited gleam in her eyes while her breathing grew ragged and she started rubbing her thighs together in anticipation. Oh, how she wanted to join the fray and feel all those blows land on her body.
"I really hope someone comes to break up this brawl soon." One of the male knights whispered to his comrade.
"Yeah, before the captain does something to embarrass the knights… again…" The other knight replied in a whisper of his own.
"*Sigh*" Both knights sighed at what their lives have become after being assigned to Darkness' squad.
At that moment, a brown-skinned young man with dreadlocks, Alfonzo, came into the main hall from the restroom before scanning the area. Not that he was intimidated by the thought of making his way through the bedlam. Instead, he was calculating the path that would require him to beat up the least people on his way back to his seat.
When Alfonzo's gaze landed on the royal messenger and the three familiar knights, however, he decided that he needed to return to the bathroom… fast.
"Nope." Alfonzo muttered to himself as he turned around. "I'm definitely not dealing with this shit."
Before Alfonzo could make it back into the restroom, however, the elevator door opened, Makarov and Ur walking through it quickly.
"Knock it off, you brats!" Makarov shouted while washing the main hall in his magic power pressure. "Can't you see we have some very important guests?"
Immediately, all the fighting stopped. Natsu, who had been knocked into the air, falling to the floor a beat later. Alfonzo, on the other hand, did not stop walking towards the restroom.
"And where do you think you're going, Alfonzo?" Ur asked in a playful tone.
"Are your eyes going bad in your old age, Aunt Ur?" Alfonzo replied in an annoyed tone. "I'm obviously going to relieve myself."
Hearing the two jabs at her age, Ur's eyes narrowed while a tick mark appeared on her forehead. Then, with her magic power flooding her body, Ur vanished from where she stood in a burst of speed.
"What did you say, you brat?" Ur asked in a menacing tone as she appeared next to Alfonzo, trying to clamp her hand around the back of his head.
Expecting Ur's reaction, Alfonzo ducked the attack and sprinted away from Ur.
Unfortunately for Alfonzo, Darkness heard Ur mention his name. So, the masochistic knight's gaze was immediately drawn to him.
Alfonzo, feeling what he interpreted as the gaze of a predator, flinched while running away from Ur, which led to him being caught. Though, it seemed his luck had not run out completely as he heard the voice of salvation less than a second later.
"Ur, you can deal with him later." Makarov said with a jovial smile on his face. "For now, why don't you help me welcome our guests."
"Tch! Fine." Ur said, audibly clicking her tongue. Then, she leveled a glare that promised untold amounts of pain on Alfonzo. "Looks like you're off the hook… for now. But I'll be back."
Just as she finished, Ur also flinched as the same gaze that caused Alfonzo to pause momentarily landed on her. Looking around, Ur noticed that a blonde, female knight was staring at her like she was a juicy piece of meat.
"What the hell is up with that girl's gaze?" Ur asked quietly.
"She's the reason why I was trying to run away." Alfonzo replied just as quietly. "That's the super-masochistic knight we've told you about."
"Shit!" Ur exclaimed quietly. "And let me guess, the way I was glaring at you flipped her switch, or something."
"You probably hit the nail on the head." Alfonzo replied. "Anyway, you have fun with that crazy chick, I'm going home for the day."
'Thee's no way I'm gonna still be here when Gramps is done talking to them.' Alfonzo thought to himself.
"Tch! Traitorous brat." Ur muttered, envious that Alfonzo could escape such a world-level pervert.
Meanwhile, as if she could tell Alfonzo and Ur were talking bad about her, Darkness' breathing became even more ragged as her face reddened and she started fidgeting in place.
"I'm sorry for the ruckus." Makarov said while approaching the royal messenger. "Please excuse our inhospitality."
Makarov had also noticed Darkness. However he decided to pretend that she was not there. Even though that would most definitely rile her up more, he could not think of a better solution.
"Oh… Um… Ah… Yes, think nothing of it." The messenger said, unsure how to respond to everything he had seen in the short time that he had been in the Fairy Tail guild hall.
"I assume this is about the two request from the royal family, correct?" Makarov asked with a grandfatherly smile on his face, appearing as nonthreatening as possible. "If so, why don't we discuss this in my office. Ur, Alfonzo, as the strongest members of the guild present, you should come with us."
"Damn it." Alfonzo and Ur muttered simultaneously before slowly making their way to Makarov's side.
With that, the three Fairy Tail wizards, the royal messenger, and the three knights made their way into the elevator.
That short elevator ride was probably the most awkward any of the occupants, save one, had ever experienced.
While Alfonzo, Ur, and the two male knights remained silent, Makarov engaged the royal messenger in small talk. Darkness, on the other hand, was fidgeting with an excited flush on her face while her breathing became more and more ragged and her gaze repleatedly swapped between Alfonzo and Ur.
Eventually, after the longest forty seconds of their lives, the awkward atmosphere was slightly relieved when the elevator doors opened to reveal Makarov's office on the top floor.
A few moments later, Makarov was sitting behind his desk with Alfonzo and Ur flanking him on the left and right, respectively. Meanwhile, the royal messenger had taken a seat across from him with the three knights standing behind him in a line, with Darkness in the middle.
Once everyone who needed to be seated had a seat, the royal messenger reached into the magical storage bag on his waist and pulled out a pair of documents.
"The royal family has two requests that must be completed with haste." The messenger said as he placed the two documents on the desk. Then, as he slid them towards Makarov, he continued. "As the guild in Fiore with the most S-Class wizards, His Majesty requests that you send two S-Class wizards to assist with each request."
Once the documents were in reach, Makarov picked up the one on his right and began reading it.
"On top of the S-Class wizards, His Majesty also requests that two A-Class wizards accompany them on the quest you are reading right now." The messenger continued. "As for the other, an additional A-Class wizard is required."
"So, in total, you want seven of my wizards to join forces with wizards from other guilds on these quests." Makarov said with a frown.
"That is correct." The messenger replied with a nod. He grew nervous, however, after seeing the frown on Makarov's face. "Master Makarov, is there something wrong with the request? Something you are unsatisfied with?"
"No, there are no issues with the quests themselves." Makarov said as he set the request in his hand back on the desk before picking up the second one. "But why do these requests have the Magic Council's seal on them? Weren't they disbanded after the Tower of Heaven incident?"
"Ah, yes." The messenger replied, completely understanding Makarov's confusion. "By his Majesty's decree, and with the support of the other nations of Ishgar, the Magic Council has been reestablished as policing the magical community of Ishgar was proving too much for the varies governments."
'And I bet their reestablishment won't be made public until at least one of those quests is completed. Then, they'll be credited with organizing the teams that completed them, so that the Magic Council can be seen in a better light after its massive failure a month and a half ago.' Alfonzo, Makarov, and Ur thought disdainfully while keeping their thoughts from appearing on their faces.
"I understand." Makarov said in an even tone as he placed the second quest sheet back on his desk. "Fairy Tail will accept the kingdom's requests."
"Excellent." The messenger said in a relieved tone. "The dates and locations for the teams from each guild to meet are as stated on the request sheets."
In response, Makarov simply nodded in understanding.
"Then, I believe there is not much more for us to speak about." The messenger said, sounding a bit too happy to end the conversation.
A moment later, The messenger, shortly followed by Makarov, stood from his seat. Then, Alfonzo, Makarov, and Ur escorted their guests to the guild's entrance.
Just before the messenger walked through the open doors, he turned around and bowed his head in Makarov's direction.
"In my capacity as a messenger of the royal family, I thank you on behalf of the kingdom and its citizens." The messenger said in a sincere tone.
At the same time, Darkness and her subordinates stood at attention and saluted by placing their right fists on their chest plates, just over their hearts. Surprisingly, Darkness looked quite dignified as she did so.
After that, the four visitors turned around and left, Darkness turning around to glance at Alfonzo and Ur after every few steps with longing in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo, Makarov, and Ur stood at the entrance, watching their visitors walk away, until the four were no longer visible.
"Ugh… That girl's stare was too much." Ur said when she could no longer feel Darkness' gaze on her. "How does someone turn out like that?"
"Beats the hell outta me." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
"Let's head back inside." Makarov said, trying not to think about the masochistic knight at all. "We have some things to discuss. I want the two of you to each take the lead on one of those quests. We can discuss who will accompany you up in my office."
"Sure thing, Old Man." Ur said with a shrug. "It's not like I didn't expect this when you called us up to your office earlier."
"*Sigh* I was about to have a breakthrough on my research." Alfonzo said, though he did not seem all that disappointed. Then, he put on a bright smile as he continued. "Anyway, how much are we getting paid for this?"
With that, the three wizards returned to Makarov's' office to discuss the details of the two quests.
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