I hope this chapter goes over well
XXX
The pie fell to the floor with a ring from the tin as chocolate spattered like abstract art except more delicious.
There was a moment of silence where everyone acknowledged that that had happened. That someone had actually thrown a chocolate mousse pie at the guildmaster and that it had hit.
Most of it slid down his face.
Some of the filling glooped slowly to the floor.
There was a silence. An electric silence.
The pie pan clattered rolled down the steps, landing at Mickey's feet.
She picked it up. Swept her finger around the rim and stuck her finger in her mouth, slurping the leftover filling off. "What", she said, her voice extra piercing in the silence, "it's still good.''
"Mickey". It's out before Gisela can stop it. It's out and suddenly the whole guild is laughing and Gisela is laughing too because she lives in a world of magic and people who get pied in the face.
That is her actual reality now.
Chocolate mousse pies. In the face.
Splat.
Macao took that moment to clean his face, Gisela caught him quickly wiping the chocolate mixture off on the sleeve of his jacket.
I hope it doesn't stain. That would be unfortunate.
Still there is a hint of seriousness in his face that has Gisela standing taller and she could see the reaction being echoed in the people around her.
As funny as the pie was, and as glad Gisela is that it happened because she has always wanted to see someone actually get pied in the face, this isn't the time for a food fight.
Unfortunately.
"Right", Macao said, coughing, "as you all know you guys have stuck me with the paperwork from running this place"jeers filled the room and he had to wait for the shouts to die down, "until the Master comes back, and, as I hope you all realize the budget it part of that. I have an announcement as a question for afterwards because I believe that this should be handled as a guild, not just me making decisions for all of us".
There is a sudden rumble of conversation and yelled questions, in moment the warmth and energy of the room is gone and the room is instead filled with potent fear.
This time when Macao is called for silence he gets it. Suddenly every is facing forward, cats about to pounce.
Fairy Tail can be serious when they need to be.
It was one thing to read it in a manga. It was another thing entirely to see it.
Gisela chooses not to focus on the words coming out of Macao's mouth, instead she watched the faces of her guildmates, trying to figure out how they were reacting.
Do they see that they have done all they can? Because Gisela had. Gisela had seen that they were trying so hard to keep the guild going, to keep fighting for the home that they had built while not giving up the search.
Are they going to continue?
Will anyone bring up anything that Gisela can build on. Some hint.
"-just abandon them", Jet is shouting above the sudden hubbub.
"We are not abandoning them", Laki shouted back as people shifted.
Gisela braced for another brawl in a blur of movement.
It didn't happen. Instead Gisela could see actual battle lines drawn in the guild for the first time. It sent a chill down her back, this was not the causal chaos of a brawl but something far more real and potent.
Did this happen in canon? Gisela wondered wildly as she stood in the middle of the two groups, not quite sure if she had a vote.
She wasn't sure if she wanted one.
She wasn't sure if anyone would listen to her.
The two sides kept shouting back and forth. It was loud like Fairy Tail always was, but angry loud, with none of the normal cheer underlying it. This was bitter old grievances added to the new as Fairy Tail took real sides.
Gisela heard shouting about the thunder palace and the Raijinshuu added in.
I remembered that. That was in the manga. It took her a moment to place it. That was Laxus's coup.
Is this the same thing? Did I cause the same thing?
Lucy had brought Fairy Tail together once more. Gisela had remembered that because Lucy had been one of her favorite characters and that had been a moment where Lucy had actually gotten to shine and-
And Gisela is not Lucy.
Lucy was not here right now.
Gisela couldn't breathe, the iron bands wrapped around her throat as her nails bit into her palms.
It didn't help at all.
It still felt like she was being strangled while crushed, the pressure was coming in on all sides.
There was so much magic in the air it feels like the world is breaking, it feels sharp, wild.
It felt like the past.
The hurricane was raging around her and there was nothing she could do, she was too late to too slow she had failed and now people were suffering.
It was the same, one of the storms was real and one of the storms was people but it was the same thing.
It was the same effect.
Nothing would be the same again.
I caused this. I caused this.
Because even if Mickey said that Gisela was okay earlier, that Macao wasn't mad for Gisela bringing up not spending more money on the search.
Even if he thought it was apparently a good idea.
This is still happening.
"Enough", Macao is yelling and the two sides fall silent. "We are all going to look at the paperwork together first. Then we are going to have a polite discussion about this. We all lost somebody and we all share that pain. That is what it means to be a guild. When I talk about ending the search I am not talking about giving up on our family, I am not saying they are not family anymore". He took a breath and looked at all of them in turn, face like stone, "what I am saying is that we trust them to find their way home. That we have to live and grow and make sure that there is still a home for them to come back too".
He paused for a moment.
"They would want us to live.''
After that it was a formal voting period of two weeks, two weeks full of tension.
It was a relief that Mickey had found them a mission that got them out of Magnolia for a week in the middle.
Well, it was supposed to be a week.
They were interrupted when the single flying snake that they were supposed to be recapturing turned out to be a pregnant mother snake, instead of the male snake, and they ended up having to hunt baby flying snakes for an extra three days.
They were kind of cute, well, except for the whole 'going to be highly toxic and an invasive species when they grow up', that was less cute.
So it was with one day and three extra snake bites that Mickey, Gisela, and Laki made it back to Fairy Tail
The tension was worse than what Gisela had remembered. There were more people too, including a little kid who had dashed in after arguing with his dad.
Gisela tried not to listen in. It was hard not to though, the kid was just so loud.
"This shouldn't happen, we are Fairy Tail", he was yelling. "We can't abandon them.''
The Guildmaster just seemed frozen before going into the same spiel that Gisela had heard on the first day.
"Stop repeating that. What would Natsu say?", Romeo begged.
"You're stupid older brother isn't here", Mio shouted back.
"Shut up, you don't even have magic. You're not really a member".
"So. I can still tell you're being a baby".
There was a wordless scream of rage as Romeo threw himself at Mio, fire flickering around him.
Suddenly it was snuffed out by a wall of smoke. "What", Mio panted, "did you say about me not having magic".
Mio had planned that.
Gisela felt like she was trapped, watching a disaster unfold in slow motion.
Suddenly it was over.
Macao and Wakaba had grabbed their kids, pulling them apart as the rest of the guild watched.
At least I wasn't the only one who froze?
Romeo was back downstairs about thirty minutes later, sulking.
Mio didn't come back down.
She probably is just tired from awakening her magic.
"That happened", Mickey said dully.
Gisela wasn't sure if there was any good reaction. "Will Mio be okay?".
"Why wouldn't she be. He dad shares her magic with her, I'm sure he'll be delighted to 'bond with his darling daughter'". Gisela could hear the air quotes around the second part.
It was almost funny how reflexive that fear of her's was. This was a mage guild, of course Mio would be fine.
"Will Romeo be okay?". Gisela purposely didn't look at the kid. She could feel his fuming anyways.
"Are any of us?".
"Point".
Gisela curled up in the corner of the guild, hanging back as everyone who hadn't voted got a paper to drop into a hideous orange and blue striped hat.
Everyone who had waited voted, even Romeo, for all that he had tried to get the vote canceled. He glared at everyone as she aggressively dropped his ballot into the world's most hideous hat.
Is it bad that part of me will be happy when that hat is no longer on constant display.
"I will never abandon them,'' he shouted, defiantly glaring out as he strode back to his spot. It looked surprisingly powerful for someone who was like seven years old.
Was he seven?
How do kids age?
It didn't matter.
Gisela wanted to sink into the floor again.
It got even more awkward.
"Did we miss something?", A green haired women with deeply tanned skin.
"Who did we lose?".
"It's more like who we are going to lose,'' Jet said.
"What do you mean?".
"They want to stop looking for team Tenrou", Droy spat out.
"They want to what?", Bisca shouted.
"Let them speak", Alzak said. "Master?".
"It's complicated, come over here".
Nobody spoke as they watched Alzak and Bisca talk in the corner.
I'm glad they made it. Fairy Tail wasn't doing so many distance missions lately, Alzack and Bisca were the last two to make it in.
They just walked into a minefield. It was her fault. She had created said minefield.
Probably.
Nobody voted while they waited.
It was somehow worse than before.
"We understand", Bisca said, taking a deep breath before peeling off to talk to her husband in another corner.
Gisela just stood there, frozen.
Had this happened in canon?
Was Fairy Tail still searching? Did they keep looking the entire time.
Gisela didn't even need canon to answer that question. Of course they wouldn't.
It would take someone like her to bring this ip.
People are listening through.
So maybe it wasn't her. Maybe it was Mickey or Laki or Chico or Max or Reedus. One of the minor characters who barely ever showed up because they weren't such a huge part of Team Natsu's, and thus canon's, orbit.
Maybe it was them who suggested this.
Gisela wanted to believe that. She wanted to believe that so badly.
She just couldn't stop thinking.
There was a presence near her feet. Gisela looked down.
"H'ou are you", the small child, Asuka, her name was Asuka asked as Gisela resisted the urge to flinch away.
The kid was just tiny. "I'm Gisela".
"New here?".
"Yes".
She couldn't stop the flinch at the random hug. Gisela stood with legs like rocks, barely aware of the tiny kid holding on.
What do I say?
What do I do?
How do I child? Is child a verb? Does that matter? Would she cry if I picked her up. Am I supposed to pick her up? Would her parents get mad if I picked her up?
The kid was still hugging her legs, a slight warm pressure so different from the tension of the rest of the guild.
What do I do?
Asuka was younger than Aki and Aiko, she couldn't make the kid meditate.
Thankfully rescue was on the way, Alzack swooped in to pick up the little girl, setting her on his hip. "Sorry about that, I'm Alzack. I'd shake your hand but-". Je shrugged, bouncing his daughter slightly.
"I'm Gisela. It's nice to meet you".
"Are you a new member?".
Am I?
They had just said that she could be if she wanted to, just before a vote that Gisela knew would drag the guild into chaos, and not the normal everyday type of Fairy Tail chaos.
This would be real. "I might join?".
"You'd be welcome".
"How'd you know that?". It didn't make sense.
"You look like you do. I've been here since I was ten, I have a bit of a feel for people who belong. It's all in the eyes".
Gisela had no idea where he was going. "Thanks?".
There was an awkward moment that just stretched on.
"Dad", Asuka whined, pulling on his shirt. "Want mom".
"Okay, okay,'' he said, turning around, a chariot for his child, "I'll be back", he called over his shoulder.
That doesn't help at all. Voting was taking forever and Gisela understood why it had to, this was a huge decision for Fairy Tail. This was not something like what they wanted to drink, through that was also something else that Gisela had seen her guildmates spending forever on, this was a choice that had to do with the very principles of the guild.
This was Fairy Tail and Gisela didn't know what the right answer was. Didn't know if she had done the right thing in bringing up the search.
Who will find them on Tenrou island? Had them been part of the search too?
She didn't know. All she could do was stand in the guild hall that was maybe home and listen to the chatter of choices.
There was no one yelling.
Somehow that was the worst sign of all. Fairy Tail was always yelling and screaming and chaos.
It wasn't serious.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
In.
"-you I'd be back".
"Sorry".
"Meditating? You have good form".
"Thanks".
You're welcome", he said, face lighting into a cheerful grin. "Now back to the topic, you should join Fairy Tail".
Maybe. "You know this is my fault". Stupid. Why did I say that?
"What do you mean?".
"I was helping budget and suggested cutting the budget".
"So? We are making our own choices. All you did was help out. Nobody is going to hold having an opinion against you", he paused for a moment, thinking, "at least not seriously".
"It just feels wrong", Gisela paused awkwardly, mouth half open. Alzack nodded, "did you vote?".
"Yeah".
"Was it a hard choice?". Rude, rude, rude.
Why did I say that?
Alzack was quiet, Gisela let the conversation fall as she glanced around the guildhall once again.
It looked hard for some people while others were just sitting around, chatting quietly while occasionally glancing at the horrendous hat. Gisela still wasn't over how wrong it was to see Fairy Tail quiet and calm.
It was a bad calm too, calm in the way the ocean was before the storm broke.
Gisela was watching the storm come in, she was the one who harladed the storm, who failed to warn people when it was about to break. This was her fault.
Alzak spoke again. "It was a choice I could live with that I can look back on without regrets. That's going to be enough".
There was the steel in his voice. Fairy Tail steel.
Gisela pushed down the envy at that. What would it be like to have no regrets?
It didn't matter.
The afternoon stretched on, evening changing to night as Gisela watched people go over in ones or twos.
The kids didn't go home, instead they hung around by their parents. Soon Asuka was curled up in her father's lap.
At least she wasn't trying to hug me? Gisela thought.
It was a positive thought.
It didn't last.
People glanced at her occasionally and Gisela tried not to shift, instead staying stock still in her spot by the wall.
Gisela tried to stay steady.
This was her fault. It wasn't fair for her to run.
It just kept going, the tension stretched seconds into hours between votes.
No one left.
Gisela wasn't surprised by that.
Mickey was saying something.
"What".
"I was saying it's not your fault since I know you are going to blame yourself".
"You're not wrong".
"We are making our own choices, give us that at least".
"I still caused this".
"We are choosing, you don't get to take credit for everything that goes wrong in this world".
"I don't do that".
Gisela could feel Mickey's eye roll. "Whatever you say, you can figure out your guilt complex later. For now just stick around. You are going to stay around, right?".
"I'll see this through".
"Good".
They sat in silence for a moment. "Do you want to play sticks?".
"What?".
"It's boring sitting around feeling guilty and I've already voted. Let's play to pass the time".
"It's not gonna help".
Oddly enough it did. Gisela had just finished cornering Mickey into losing their second game of sticks when the master coughed.
Everybody froze.
"Right now, I will proceed to count the votes".
There was no magical pressure with this focus, there didn't need to be. Gisela found herself profoundly grateful that she wasn't Macao, stuck like a bug on display while he totaled their fates, one piece of paper at a time.
Small mercies, Gisela through, and then felt guilty for thinking that.
It was her fault that he was stuck doing this in the first place, she could at least have been willing to bear it with him.
Slowly the papers stacked up, dropped into magic cups that slowly ticked up with each one.
One-One.
Two-Two.
Two-four.
Five-four.
They kept going, Macao not indicating which cup was search or stop. The only thing they knew was the numbers.
Gisela itched. She wanted to move. Wanted to run. Wanted to do something, anything to get out.
Nowhere to go but through.
It didn't help.
Gisela felt her magic itch under her skin as she pushed it down. Pushed and pushed and kept pushing.
At some point Gisela felt pressure on her hand.
She looked down.
Mickey was holding on.
They shared a look, only a moment through because they needed to watch the numbers, needed to see them tick.
Then it was over. Macao cleared his throat, once, twice, trice.
"Get on with it", somebody yelled. Gisela was pretty sure it was Jet. Other people joined in the shouts.
Macao cleared his throat for a fourth time.
"The vote passes. We will suspend the search for our missing members".
For a moment Gisela could have heard a pin drop.
Then.
Noise.
The room was chaos once more, through one voice rose above the rest. "You all are traitors", Romeo shouted, "traitors".
He whirled once more and suddenly he was facing Gisela, furying buring in his eyes. "This is your fault. I hate you!", he screamed, all rage, bitterness and betrayal.
Gisela just felt numb.
He dashed out.
He was like seven, wasn't he?
A second later his father followed him.
The chaos continued to evolve without him, an event that was half brawl, half funeral, and half fight.
Gisela wasn't watching the trainwreck anymore, she was on it.