This story takes place about eight months after Master Makarov was rescued from Alvarez. Zeref and his followers have been quiet since the rescue mission and a sense of calm and normality had overtaken Fairy Tail... For now Fairy Heart still remains a secret...
Disclaimer... I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.
The Dragon Gates
By: The Bay Man
Prequel...
The Magic Council had more than enough on their plates, with the ever growing threat from Zeref and his followers from the kingdom of Alvarez, the sudden return of Acnologia and now... Now murder! Normally murder was something the Council would leave to local authorities but this case was different as it involved a mage and a Celestial Mage at that. With only one active Celestial Mage remaining the council feared the world would soon loose a rare and powerful magic so for the time being the last active Celestial Mage has been in hiding... Under house arrest to be more precise and with the forced confinement of Lucy Heartfilia, a false story was con-cocked to appease those at Fairy Tail!
But those weren't the only issues the newly formed Council had to deal with. There were also rumours! Although very subtle in nature, these new rumours were vexing to the council none-the-less... Rumours of an unknown mage was wreaking havoc on Dark Guilds throughout Fiore and if they connected the dots, the path of destruction clearly led to one place... Fairy Tail! Those at the Council cringed as virtually all trouble seemed to point towards them... They were like a magnet that attracted trouble and this concerned the Magic Council.
As for Fairy Tail, they had been a little sombre these past few months as their favorite Celestial Mage was away on a request from the newly formed Magic Council... It was tough for the tight-knit family of Fairy Tail to accept that the 'Light of Fairy Tail' would be away from them for an undisclosed amount of time...
And Team Natsu had all-but-begged Makarov and the Magic Council to allow them to accompany Lucy on her secret mission but both had flatly refused to allow the three destructive mages anywhere near her objective. All records of her mission were sealed as 'SSS Eyes Only', effectively leaving the three disappointed mages in the dark.
...But someone was coming that would change all of that!
Chapter 1
AN POV
It was another normal day at Fairy Tail, 'no' it was a mad-house as mages ran to and fro as they busied themselves for the up-coming S-Class trials. Makarov figured it would be a great moral booster since everyone seemed so down after Lucy had left, especially Team Natsu... Natsu, of-course took it the hardest as his best friend and partner was no-where to be seen!
Two days later the excitement had reached a fever-pitch as everyone stood waiting quietly while Makarov surveyed the crowd of anxious mages from his vantage point high-a-top the balcony's rail.
"Listen up brats!" Makarov laughed as he noticed the quiet crowd before him. Normally at this point he would have to discipline someone but this year he could literally, hear a pin drop. His eyes fell to Natsu who stood quietly with his arms folded across his chest and a small sigh escaped his lips. Makarov's disappointment was evident.
"Old man we are listening!" Macao laughed in an effort to lighten the atmosphere but it only added to the unusual lull in the crowd.
Makarov sighed again as he felt the weight of the world and the disappointment of his children upon his shoulders. "I understand that you all miss Lucy, I do as well, but do you really think she would be happy to see such solemn faces on Fairy Tail mages?"
The deadly silence was broken by a small blue-haired Exceed, who flew up and landed on Makarov's shoulder... The tears in his eyes told Makarov what everyone was feeling! The sadness in their hearts was still etched upon their faces and the little blue-one spoke what those in that room felt.
"Gramps!... We miss Lusshy!" Happy sniffled as he dropped his head and mumbled. "Can't we go and bring her home! P-L-E-A-S-E!" He begged!
"I'm sorry Happy!... I truly am but we can't do that right now!" Makarov sighed and in that instant a plan formed in his head, one that he hoped would boost his children's spirits. "I'll add an incentive to this years trials for the winner or winners..." He paused as he noticed everyone seemed to lean forward just a little in anticipation of his announcement. "...The winners have my permission and my backing to go and bring Lucy home!" 'Council be dammed!' Makarov thought.
With those few words the guild that was quiet only a moment ago burst into a loud roar. Makarov cringed at the thought of how he would handle the Council but to see his children happy for the first time in eight months made those worries quickly fade away.
"I'm all fired up!" Yelled an ecstatic Natsu as Happy buzzed around him happily. It was the first real sign of life Natsu had shown since his partner had left.
"That's man!" Elfman reared back and roared above the loud crowd.
Makarov watched his children celebrate for what seemed like an eternity! That was until he realized he had forgotten what the original purpose of this meeting was about and he mumbled an inaudible curse on himself for getting sidetracked.
"Quiet!" He roared. It took a few moments but eventually the loud ruckus died down. As the last mage finally went silent he spoke, "...and don't make me regret that offer!"
"We won't disappoint you Master!" Mira and Erza said in unison. They each looked at the other and smiled. It wasn't unusual for the two ex-rivals to but heads but when it came to Lucy they were always on the same page and it showed in their response to their Master.
"Glad to hear it!" Makarov smiled. "Anyway!... This years S-Class trials will be different than the last one. This year there will be no easy route, no partners and all mages will fight an S-Class mage during the first stage... So it will be that much more difficult to pass this years trials!"
"So there's only four participants this year!?" Gray sighed.
"No there are six participants this year!..." Makarov said as his smile slowly turned to a knowing grin. "...But there will also be a few surprises along the way!"
"...But Gramps if there are six participants and only four S-Class mages, then you're two people short!" Natsu said with a cocky grin.
"Hey flame-brain can add!" Gray said as he elbowed Natsu.
"GiHiHi!" A loud voice boomed from across the room
"Oi!... Wanna go stripper!" Natsu growled.
"Are you two fighting!" Erza glared at the two mages, who quickly threw an arm around the other and smiled a terrified 'no'. "Good!" She smirked.
"Then you plan on bring in two mages from some other guild?" Wendy shyly asked.
"No child! This years trials will once again be held on Tenrou Island so only Fairy Tail mages may participate!... We wouldn't want our friends getting hurt!" Makarov grinned as he heard his children murmur - talking among themselves. Everyone seemed to be puzzled by the announcement but Makarov only laughed. "Like I said, there will be surprises!"
"Master, you won't tell us will you!" Evergreen lowered her glasses and smirked at Makarov, who in turn glared back at the self-proclaimed 'Fairy Queen'. Evergreen quickly raised her glasses and quickly hide behind a laughing Laxus. "Scary!" She mumbled loud enough to cause everyone to break into a loud fit of laughter.
When the laughter finally died down Makarov spoke again. "This years participants are Freed Justine, Juvia Lockser, Natsu Dragneel, Gajeel Redfox, Gray Fullbuster and..." Makarov sighed as he looked out over a happy but confused crowd. He had been dreading this moment but he wanted to say it, if only for the sake of making himself feel a little better. "...If she was here, the sixth spot would have gone to Lucy Heartfilia but as she isn't able to be with us this year, the final participant is Mest Gryder!... Congratulations to the six of you!"
"Let's win this for Lucy!" Natsu yelled as a large grin spread across his face. This was the first good news he'd received in the last eight months... His life came to a halt the day he showed up at the guild and found out that Lucy was gone. He'd been distraught and heartbroken by her absence but now he had a chance to bring her home and he wasn't going to loose to anyone, not even Gildarts. Natsu slowly rubbed his hands together and smirked as an evil laugh escaped his lips, sending shivers down the spines of even the strongest of mages.
"Aye sir!" Happy fist pumped while everyone took a quiet step away from a heated Natsu.
"I pitty the mage that has to go up against him!" Bickslow laughed as he pointed to a now flaming Natsu. Erza, Mira and Laxus cringed but Gildarts just grinned at the overly confident Dragon Slayer.
"Everyone go get some sleep, we leave for Tenrou tomorrow at seven sharp!" Makarov jumped off the railing and headed towards his office. "...And don't be late!" He roared back.
As Makarov neared his office door he heard mages running towards the exit and a loud door slamming in the background. All that was left was the sound of Mira as she sighed and went about her normal closing routine. Makarov laughed to himself as he closed the door behind himself... 'Tomorrow would be an interesting day indeed!' He thought as he settled into his duties as the Eight Master of Fairy Tail.
The Next Morning on Tenrou Island...
Mavis sat on a gravestone that marked her place of rest and smiled as two cloaked mages made their way towards her... 'Today was gonna be an fun day,' Mavis thought.
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