Earthland-2, Magic Council Headquarters, X776: Erza
"Master Dreyar, you can't just keep rampaging across the continent like this!" Crawford Seam, the Chairman of the Magic Council, shook his head at Fairy Tail's guild master. Erza frowned at him. There's something not right about that man. He's more upset about Fairy Tail than the Cult, he hasn't even noticed us, and he smells like lemon. Lemon! Nothing human should smell like lemon.
Sitting to Erza's right, Jellal looked silently at the floor. He hasn't smiled in three weeks. Not since they saved us, Erza worried. Shou was to her left, hands clenched into fists as he trembled. Next to him was Wally, who still clutched the lacrima recording they'd found during their escape. On the other side of Jellal was Millianna, who was holding Jellal's arm as though he would disappear if she let go, and Simon, who glared at the Council over crossed arms.
"I beg your pardon?" Makarov replied. His voice was soft, almost gentle. Gildarts looked at the older man, who was no taller than Erza herself, in alarm. "Are you reprimanding Fairy Tail for attempting to rescue one of our comrades from a Dark Guild, and liberating the children he'd come to care for?" Erza glanced from Gildarts back to the master. Is something wrong? He's being entirely polite and soft-spoken. Isn't that the appropriate thing to do here?
"You should have come to us." Michello, the councillor who looked like he could be Millianna's evil uncle, glared at Makarov. "We mete out justice through the Rune Knights. It is not a duty to be usurped by guilds who happen to be personally offended."
"Mak..." Gildarts hissed, reaching a hand out toward Makarov's shoulder.
Makarov's grip on his staff tightened, and the wood shattered. "Three hundred and seventeen!" the master snapped. Gildarts pulled his hand back. Most of the Councillors gaped. Oh. The Master's angry, Erza realized. She nodded to herself. Well, he should be.
The cat-councillor was unimpressed. "Is that the number of apologies you've written for Fairy Tail's actions?" Michello drawled.
"No! It is the number of children you abandoned to slavery, agony, and despair in that tower!" Makarov pointed at the Council, who gasped and murmured in response. "Of course we contacted the Rune Knights. We told them about the horrors being perpetrated in that so-called 'Tower of Heaven.' Would you care to hear their response?"
"We can read, Dreyar," a tall, bearded councilor retorted. He only had one eye, and Erza blinked. Why doesn't he have a new one? she wondered. "It is all in the report. Rest assured that your deposition, along with the evidence of collusion you found in the tower, will result in severe punishments for the criminals responsible. If a councilor was any part of this, that wizard will spend a lifetime repenting in Black Vox. That doesn't justify your vigilante actions."
Again, Makarov pointed, but not at the Council. Instead, Erza found his finger directed straight at her. "They do, Org," he said. "Those children have showed more kindness, bravery, and intelligence than any adult in this room. I am in awe of them, as you should be. If you would prefer a world where they are condemned to a lifetime in that nightmare just to soothe your fears of Fairy Tail, then I will take your reprimand as a badge of honor, because I would want nothing more to do with this body!" Erza's face burned, and she mirrored Jellal's toe-staring expression.
"Hear hear!" Ur cried, leaping to her feet, fist raised. Ultear stared at her mother, eyes bulging.
Yajima cleared his throat, and the room fell silent. "Please, everyone, let's try to remain calm. These horrible events have clearly set everyone on edge. Perhaps there are legal issues with Fairy Tail's actions, but their heroism is also to be commended. It should be a relatively simple matter to allow one to cancel out the other."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple at all, Master Yajima," Seam replied, shrugging. "Ishgar relies on the Magic Council to maintain order among the wizard guilds. As noble as Fairy Tail's rescue may be, this is a clear, straightforward example of a guild taking the law into its own hands."
"Untrue," Enno said, holding up a large book. A short blue-haired girl nodded from the dancer's side.
"Loopholes," the Chairman sighed, holding the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. "However positive the results, my dear, we cannot in good conscience ignore this encroachment on the Council's authority."
"Conscience?" Ur blurted, her entire body shaking. "You dare use that word when you have no grasp of its meaning!" Erza's eyes, new and old, widened in shock at the uproar that ensued. Every member of the council except Chairman Seam began speaking at once, some shouting, others snapping in anger. In moments, the entire room was in an uproar.
"Jellal-kun!" Millianna gasped, and Erza turned to find her dearest friend racing to the podium. That's Jellal for you, she thought, smiling in relief, always trying to stop our fights. She stood, preparing to console him when the adults ignored him.
"Please, stop!" he cried, throwing up his hands. The five remaining children gaped in shock, jaws dropping and eyes going round, when the entire room went silent. Wow. I didn't think even Jellal could do that. Erza watched as he bowed deeply. "I apologize for the fuss we've cause. I will take full responsibility."
The entire room reacted with the same word: "What?" Master Makarov's jaw was as far-gone as the Tower kids', while all the Council members had gone so pale they seemed to have bleached out.
"My actions in the Tower of Heaven caused the slave revolt, thus gaining the attention of Fairy Tail," Jellal said, in what Erza imagined must be his idea of an explanation. In Jellal's long history of weak excuses on behalf of others, this has got to be the worst, she decided, groaning. "I will accept punishment in Fairy Tail's stead. Take me," he finished.
"You're not going to listen to him," Makarov jumped in, staring wide-eyed at the Council, "are you? The Council is aware that young Jellal was traumatized both physically and psychically?"
"Master Fernandes," Seam replied, holding his forehead with a heavy sigh, "I suppose you imagine that a noble gesture, but do you truly believe you can use your family connections to absolve Fairy Tail?"
Jellal straightened, looking up at the Chairman and blinking. "What family, sir?"
"Me," a voice that was almost Jellal's echoed from the far end of the room, "presumably." Jellal spun to face the newcomer, everyone else turning to look. The speaker remained in shadow, but was clearly no taller than Jellal. That proves nothing, Erza reminded herself, glancing at Makarov. The visitor walked slowly into the trial room. "I can assure you, Chairman, that Jellal would not do such a thing even if he knew he could. I, on the other hand, urge you to pick a suitably face-saving fine."
"Wait, I'm sure we can discuss this!" Makarov blurted, waving his hands in clear panic.
Org snorted, sole eye narrowing over his long beard. "A fine you will no doubt cover."
"Well, they did save my only surviving family," the new Fernandes replied, "which is more than the Rune Knights managed." The Councillors murmured at that, but Erza couldn't make out anything that sounded like a response. Even my new eye can't see through those shadows, she thought, grimacing. "Truly, you should consider the public outcry if you punish the guild responsible for hundreds of families being reunited. In every city across Fiore and Bosco, they're raising glasses to the wizards who brought someone beloved home."
Jellal leaned forward, eyes narrowing to peer more carefully at Fairy Tail's savior. "We're related?"
The boy stepped out of the shadows, and Erza, who thought she was beyond shock, stared in utter disbelief. Aside from his impossibly clean white clothes, he was Jellal's exact double, down to the bluest of blue hair and the mystic birthmark around one eye. "You don't remember. That makes sense, I'm sorry to say. I remained with Father at the manor while you went with Mother to the country."
"Manor?" Shou blurted.
"That's what I call dandy," Wally replied. Dandy? What does that mean? Erza wondered.
Jellal reached out with a quivering hand. "Who...?"
"Ever since those monsters killed our parents and took you away, Jellal, I've been looking for you. I'm Siegrain Fernandes. Your brother."
Brother?! Erza gaped.