I swear this was not intentional, this idea just wouldn't go away so here it is. Oh, and mandatory I don't own Fairy Tail, durr.

Matter of Succession

I

An Oath of Devotion

Erza Scarlet

August 17th, X784

The late morning sky was overcast with many a sickly-looking grey clouds and the sun was lukewarm at best but at least reconstruction of the Fairy Tail guild hall was finally underway. Although the guild war with Phantom Lord had been brief it had by no means been pretty: the guild hall had been reduced to rubble and many of the guild had been injured. Both Natsu and Lucy were still confined to beds for the most part and Erza herself was only walking with the use of a crutch and had one arm in a sling.

Erza's wounds were the least of her problems though as ever since the end of the war with Phantom Lord several days prior Magnolia had be host to an over abundances of the Magic Council's officials. In the end both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord wizards that were around when the Magic Council had arrived were rounded up for questioning. It was a sorry state for two of the oldest and most influential guilds in the country to be in. Phantom Lord's former guild master Jose Porla had been dragged away in chains the previous evening after much deliberation had seen the blame for the entire incident fall on his shoulders. Phantom Lord had been forcefully disbanded by the Magic Council as a result of the ruling and though they were allowed to remain active, Fairy Tail was hardly in a position to claim any real victory.

Although Jose had been arrested, three of the Element Four had escaped capture and Black Steel Gajeel, after pummeling Natsu almost to the point of being unrecognisable, had also vanished. What's more, some of Fairy Tail's members had chosen to leave the guild after the Magic Council had cleared them of any major wrong doing on this occasion. Most of them had been fearful that what remained of Phantom Lord's elite would come looking to finish what they had started whilst others had simply been injured to the point where remaining an active wizard would be detrimental to their long term health.

What's more, Master Makarov had fallen in battle.

Despite having had much of his magic drained away from him in an ambush when Fairy Tail had assaulted Phantom Lord's base of operations in Oak Town he had still come to their aid at the last moment. In his crippled state he had ended the war with the a single use of a spell known as Fairy Law. The strain the spell had left on his already weakened body had caused his heart to give out shortly thereafter.

In all of the mess, and confusion, and questions that the Magic Council had thrown at them, the remaining members of Fairy Tail had not even had time to bury their beloved master. Instead Erza, who was at the end of her rope, had been the highest ranking official left in Fairy Tail who was present for the war with Phantom Lord and thus was temporally put in charge of the guild. It was all the redhead could do to not break down and weep as she'd struggled to keep things together in front of the Magic Council and her guild mates.

She'd never need Makarov's guidance more than she did when the Magic Council arrived.

But it was finally over. At least for the most part, as nearly all of the Council operatives had packed up and left in the last twenty four hours with little left to do now the verdict of guilt for the guild war had been delivered. All that was left was one rancid grey tent, slightly larger than the rest of the Council's tents had been, which belonged to the councilwoman who had been in charge of the entire investigation.

And it was in the entryway to the tent that Erza stood, dressed in her usual blue skirt and white top, the flap of the tent was drawn back and the redheaded knight stood watch from her position, overlooking what remained of the active members of the Fairy Tail guild as they began to set about rebuilding the guild hall. She would have much rather been out there with them, she thought, but given her sudden position of power and injuries she was currently incapable of assisting them one way or the other.

Instead she awaited the arrival of the councilwoman who had requested one last meeting with her. The woman was one of the member's of Magic Council who she was vaguely familiar with, seeing as she had been one of the one's to oversee her trial the previous month. She also seemed to have some sort of relationship with Siegrain. In the end Erza could only consider it a blessing in disguise that the blue haired man had not been the one placed in charge of the investigation. The sight of Jellal's brother probably would have pushed her past breaking point.

Instead the councilwoman was a dark-haired, pale skinned beauty who introduced herself to Erza as Ultear Milkovich. Something unsettled the Queen of the Fairies when it came to the councilwoman, and it wasn't her connection to Siegrain, but rather the odd interest she seemed to have in Gray of all people. Aside from Erza, Gray was the only member of Fairy Tail Ultear had questioned personally and the Ice-Make wizard had come out of the interrogation looking as though he had seen a ghost and been tight lipped about whatever had passed between himself and the councilwoman; the interview between them had run almost twice as long as anyone else's.

"Good morning, Erza," Ultear greeted politely as she appeared in Erza's peripheral vision, approaching the tent with some documents collected together in a folder that she held against her chest. Erza turned to greet the councilwoman but found the words died in her mouth as the dark-haired woman, dressed in her usual white dress, passed her by without further comment and left her in the shadow of a towering blonde who Erza was more than familiar with.

Laxus Dreyar had finally returned and he looked down at Erza with an expression that was equal parts disappointment and disgust. Erza was not one to normally be intimidated by the hostile blonde, but as she stood there in his shadow, she couldn't help but feel a nervous twinge run down her spine.

What was Laxus doing there? He'd played no part in the war with Phantom Lord except the few short minutes it had taken him to refuse to help them. Yet here he was in the aftermath, arms folded over his chest and his fur lined coat draped over his shoulders like he owned the place.

The nerves quickly disappeared and Erza found herself looking back at Laxus with a furious expression. How dare he show his face around the guild again – let alone so soon after his grandfather's death. If Laxus had just put his hubris to one side Master Makarov might still be alive and with them.

Seeing her expression Laxus just scoffed in amusement, rolling his eyes. "You might have everyone else scare of you, but not me, Titania." Laxus taunted as he finally walked past her, purposely making sure to knock into her shoulder, causing her to lose her balance and place too much weight on her injured leg as she tried to balance herself. Catching herself after a second, the redheaded knight glared at Laxus' shoulders as he settled on standing in front of the makeshift desk which Ultear now sat behind.

Doing her best to regain her composure, Erza hobbled forward awkwardly before sinking into the available chair in front of Ultear's desk.

"Excellent," Ultear spoke, not looking up as she shuffled some of her papers, "with Laxus having returned and a verdict having be reached on the fates of both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord, observation and disbandment respectfully, we can get down to the last and most important matter with have yet to address." Whilst Ultear spoke, a pen began scrawling down her words on a blank sheet of paper on the desk's edge.

"And what the hell might that be?" Laxus demanded, looking uninterested for the most part. It seemed he knew as much as Erza about the entire meeting.

"That would be the matter of inheritance and succession." Ultear responded calmly, smiling gently. Erza could feel herself frown at the announcement, whilst Ultear always spoke politely she couldn't help but feel like the older woman was actually mocking whoever she was speaking to. It was just another thing she could add to the growing listen of reasons not to trust the councilwoman. The almost predatory smile didn't do anything to ease her nerves either.

After a moment as the pen in the corner continued to scribble away Erza could feel Laxus turn his gaze towards her, a look of triumph in his eyes as her heart suddenly stopped. Were the Magic Council seriously going to give control of the guild to Laxus of all people? No, this couldn't be happening. Master Makarov would never accept the idea of Laxus as he was as his successor.

There had to be another way.

"It seems that Master Makarov did not submit a copy of his final will and testament with the Magic Council." It was a simple enough statement but Erza could feel herself grow slightly more panicked with each passing word. Ultear looked up from a note which she was consulting to add; "It is likely that if he indeed had a will at all, Makarov kept it within the Fairy Tail guild hall and it was destroyed in Phantom Lord's attack.

"It is therefore the Magic Council's decree that Makarov's estate along with his worldly possessions that were not destroyed in recent events pass to his closest living relative, which given the unknown whereabouts of his son, Ivan Dreyar, leaves his grandson Laxus Dreyar as the sole inheritor."

It was like the world was about to fall out from under her, Erza could only sit there in stunned silence as Laxus took a quiet second to revel in this momentous moment. Fairy Tail was his now. Or so they both thought before Ultear pulled them both out of their own thoughts.

"There is one notable exception, however," Ultear's usually rather passive expression changed as her lips coiled into a smirk that gave Erza goosebumps. The woman was clearly enjoying toying with both of them.

"The hell do you mean exception?" Laxus hissed, Erza on the other hand could feel hope suddenly take hold once more as she waited with baited breath for the councilwoman to continue.

"The title of guild master." Ultear said plainly, pushing two sheets of paper in their direction before clasping her hands on top of the desk. Laxus looked utterly furious at the declaration whilst Erza could only find it in herself to breath a silent sigh of relief. "Now understand that the title of guild master is not heredity or something that can be inherited by virtue of being a blood relative. It is passed from wizard to wizard when it is proven that one is capable of leading a guild in the stead of the other and as Makarov named no official successor we find ourselves in this position where we must now select a candidate from the available s-class wizards. That's the two of you."

"What about Mirajane Strauss?" Erza asked, Mira was still a technically an s-class wizard even if she wasn't exactly active nowadays. If anything her constant presence in the guild and her position as the unofficial mother of all the wizards in the guild made her the perfect candidate for the the job of guild master.

"The rest of the Magic Council has ruled out Miss. Strauss on account of her inactivity and belief that whilst perhaps she is indeed more qualified than either of you in some areas, so is also sorely lacking in others." Ultear said with a slightly bow of her head, clearly she'd expected the question as the reply almost seemed rehearsed.

"So what, you think Erza can somehow match me when it comes to qualities needed to be a guild master?" Laxus snorted, shaking his head, "I was the old geezer's grandson, no one knows how to run this guild better than I do: I was raised with the intent of taking over this guild damn it! I'm the strongest option you've got."

"As I said earlier," Ultear spoke although scolding a small child, looking to Laxus with a hint of amusement, "the title of guild master cannot simply be inherited under the laws of the Magic Council and there is much more to running a guild than raw power, Laxus.

"In the end," Ultear carried on before Laxus could cut her off, giving him a pointed look that managed to stop him in his tracks, "the Magic Council honestly does not believe either of you are fit to succeed Makarov Dreyar. You are however, our only choices at this moment in time."

There was a long moment of silence as Laxus began to boil over with rage and Erza could only try and wrap her head around what was being said. Laxus would not inherit the guild, that was something, it meant that he would not be able to tear it apart any further for the time being. Master Makarov would never stand for what Laxus would try and shape Fairy Tail into. Still, they did not see her as a good choice either and she wholeheartedly agreed on that front but if she could block Laxus from taking over then she would do whatever was needed of her if it meant protecting Makarov's legacy.

"It is because of this that the Council has ruled, for the time being, you will both serve as intermittent guild masters and share the responsibility of running Fairy Tail. I will be dropping in from time to time in order to observe you both in and out of the guild." Ultear explained, gesturing with one hand to the folder on the desk next to her. "Over the course of the next few months I will submit regular reports on both of you and your progress and when I have reached a conclusion as to who I feel I should be put forward as the correct successor for the position of guild master of Fairy Tail the Council will bestow the title to one of you based on my evaluation.

"Should either of you choose to, you may relinquish you claim to the title of guild master here and now by signing the waiver I have placed in front of you. Should that happen know I will still remain to evaluate the newly appointed master for a brief period to ensure the guild is in good hands. The Magic Council has lost one of its oldest and most powerful guilds these past few days and even though many of its members are not fond of Fairy Tail it would be a great loss to suffer so soon after Phantom Lord."

"Like hell I'm going to let someone else be guild master, Fairy Tail is mine." Laxus hissed as he picked up the waiver and crumpled it into a ball and cast it aside before turning to Erza. His glare might have been intense and his intent obvious but this time Erza would not let herself be intimated by the blonde. I swear, Master Makarov, Erza thought as she picked up her own waiver, looking down at it for a brief second, I will not allow Laxus to destroy Fairy Tail and everything you taught us. Fairy Tail will always stand as a beacon of what a guild should be; family, a place of learning and acceptance for all those who seek it and not a tool for self gain and power.

With her silent oath sworn, Erza tore the waiver down the middle before tossing aside the pieces and scrambling to stand up and leave. Before she could though, Laxus grabbed one of her forearms, twisting her around to look him in the face. Although his expression was thunderous, his voice was a low hiss of rage as he glared at her; "You're going to regret not signing that piece of paper, Erza. I will be guild master."

"I have yet to not regret any of my decisions involving you, Laxus." Erza said back as calmly as she could, doing her best not to looking away from Laxus' gaze and match his glare with one of her own. "But I will not regret this one because you will only ever be guild master over my dead body."

Laxus released her with a jerk of his wrist, crashing into her side once more as he stormed passed her, a whispered: "If that's what it takes," passing between the two of them. And like that, the furious blonde was gone and Erza was struggling to keep her balance once more.

"Well," Ultear said softly, placing her hands on Erza's shoulder's so as to steady her, "these next few weeks are certainly going to prove interesting if nothing else." The coy smirk suggested there was maybe more to the statement the Erza realised but she was too distracted to notice.

After all, she'd just declared war on Laxus. A war she would need to win if the Fairy Tail Master Makarov had died for was to survive the Lightning God's fury.

A/N: Believe it or not but for the most part I intend for this to be a character piece with heavy emphasis on the relationships between the characters although there is of course an overarching plot and canon threads to take into account and see just how topsy-turvey the world of Fairy Tail gets without Makarov there to keep it in check. One last note, I have played around with backstory prior to my starting point here at the end of the Phantom Lord arc but I'll just let that play out and see who picks up on what, there probably will be some out of character moments as a result as one or two relationships are drastically different than in canon. Give me a shout and let me know what you think of the premise.