Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

Makarov was eighteen when he made the decision he'd forever regret as a guild master of Fairy Tail. He had been spending years getting used to the new position and what it meant for everyone. Makarov was dealing with sorting out jobs, making sure the right teams took them, and trying to keep the wizards at least somewhat in line. Yet, with his inclusive leading style, it was almost a lost cause. The council kept sending him letters, demanding that he find a way to stop all of the property destruction when Fairy Tail's wizards went on jobs these days. They were gaining a reputation, and it wasn't entirely good thus far.

Three and a half years had been enough time for him to at least start to adjust to his new position. The other wizards were getting used to the idea of him being guild master, and he'd even approved a few new members recently. Some had left, not happy with the transition, but for the most part, everyone was still working together. Makarov's old team was working on jobs, though Makarov himself could no longer go with his responsibilities here. He'd been attending the yearly conferences with other guild masters, and there, he'd learned more than he could even begin to discuss from other masters with far more experience than he had. Still, he had been doing fairly well, and his decisions had not led to any tragedies thus far.

Makarov's old team had come to him, asking to go on a regular job to investigate some dark guild that had been forming an extremist group. Rumors were saying they had been kidnapping young wizards, so the Council had given out a job concerning the group. They wanted to know what was going on, and put a stop to it before it was too late. Given the sheer amount of dark wizards they might encounter, Makarov had given it an S-Class rating, though his team had been promoted to the higher rank earlier that year. They'd been doing well, and if Precht had thought Makarov was strong enough for the title years ago, so were they.

He'd sent them off, wishing them luck and warning them to be careful. "This guild supposedly worships Zeref. I don't have to tell any of you what extremists focused on Zeref do, do I?"

"Of course not, Maky." Bob smiled at him. "We are still invested in finding him for you too, you know."

"Yeah. We don't give up on any job, not even that one." Goldmine grinned. "These cultists won't know what hit 'em, and we'll come back to tell you all about what we learned."

"It will be me that gets the answers, Goldmine. After all, I am Fairy Tail's strongest fire mage."

"And I'm our strongest earth mage!"

"Boys." Porlyusica sighed, shaking her head. She gave Makarov a small smile, amused with their antics. "I think you both know that I am far more suited to getting answers than either of you, and I don't even have magic. If you want to be more useful, stop fighting and work together for a change."

"Porlyusica does have a point." Makarov smiled at them. "You two need to get along, or else you will find yourselves in trouble on this job. It isn't for a team that can't work together, but I know that you all know each others strengths well." He nodded at them, patting Rob's arm. "Good luck. I look forward to what you have to say when you return."

They'd left after that, excited for the job. Makarov hadn't thought much of it, seeing it as a normal thing for them. He'd never quite gotten around to telling them the pointlessness of the search for Zeref, but it was harmless for them to try anyway. They'd taken jobs focusing on dark wizards, and from what he'd heard, they'd followed the rules he had originally began setting down. His old team wasn't breaking any laws, and they were doing good work by stopping dark wizards in the process. Overall, their reputation had grown stronger, and the guild no longer viewed them as one of the weakest teams due to the jobs they took. No one doubted their right to S-Class ranks as wizards, though Porlyusica was technically not quite there. She was always a part of the team, so he never refused to let her join, though.

It didn't take long for Makarov to prepare a letter to send to the Council, informing them that he had a team working on their task. With the job request set aside from the board as a quest in progress, Makarov sighed and began sorting through more paperwork. There was a constant inflow of jobs, and as master, he had to time out which ones to put on the board at what time, and what level of difficulty to label each of them under. Then, there were all of the letters to respond to. The Magic Council was always the most urgent to look through, but there were always complaints from businesses and residents of cities for the recklessness of some of the other wizards. He was starting to see why Precht had always tried to push for control over magic before going out on jobs that would involve fighting in towns. It prevented a lot of this mess, and the narrowing funds of the guild itself.

While Makarov was not a business man, he did at least know that he had to find some way to save the guild. So, he'd been working with magazines and other companies in town to find funding through other means. While a portion of each reward for a wizards' job went towards the guild directly (the amount listed on each job was the portion the wizard would receive for completion), it wasn't always enough to make up for the expenditures they had if wizards were too destructive. If Makarov could find a way to make a profit even with their recklessness, he could just ignore the problem entirely.

Magazines often paid guilds to hear inside stories about their members. They wanted to know what famous wizards did during their daily lives, especially wanting information on romantic interests. With a few members agreeing, Makarov had managed to get a few interviews going, along with occasional photos sold to them. To boost sales even further, he'd reached out to toy companies, asking if they'd like to purchase the rights to make action figures of well-known wizards, with a portion of profits going towards the guild. It was not the normal method of gaining money for a wizards' guild, but Makarov had to think creatively and prove he could do things like this alone, as Fairy Tail's master.

In general, his efforts had been fairly effective. Fairy Tail's debt had shrunken down, and they were managing so long as no one destroyed a major monument in some town. He was pleased with the results, and they were becoming quite well-known, not only for their destruction of towns but also for who they were with the publicity. It meant more jobs were being sent their way, with people knowing their names and what sort of magic their wizards could manage. The entire situation was benefiting their guild, leaving them with more work and more funds for now. As a result, the main issue was appeasing the Council, not that Fairy Tail wasn't paying for all of their damages already.

When weeks went by without the return of his team, Makarov had begun to get worried. The cultist activity was only a days' train ride away, and even if they spent time immersing themselves in the area to find out information, they should've returned by now. Even asking around the guild hall, no one had heard word from his former team. The wizards were giving him some distance, seeing the exhaustion on his face and the way he was pacing about, wondering what had happened to them. Should he send a team after them? It wasn't common to do so, since wizards needed to have faith in other teams. Yet, there was also a point when they needed to find out if the job had failed.

Swallowing, Makarov sat down at the bar counter, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to be worrying so much over one little job, but he couldn't help it. All of his friends had gone out together on it. While he still cared for every member of the guild, it wasn't as personal as that team. When the doors of the guild hall opened, he sat up and looked over, grinning when he saw Goldmine walk inside. Yet, Goldmine did not return his smile. He was wearing sunglasses over his eyes, and his head was lowered with his hands clenched into fists by his side. Behind him, Bob seemed to pat his back gently, rubbing it as they walked into the hall.

They had a slow pace, approaching Makarov. Yet, Porlyusica shoved her way past them, glaring at anyone who tried to come near her. "That's it! I'm done with everyone. People are awful things, and I don't want to deal with any of you anymore!" She stormed past Makarov even, pausing only for a moment to glance towards him. She nodded, taking in a slow breath and closing her eyes. "I'm sorry. But I just can't do this anymore."

He stared at her, his eyes wide. What was that about? He turned towards the others, who looked pale at her fleeing through the guild hall towards the infirmary. Bob and Goldmine walked towards him, finishing their trek through the open area of the guild hall. "Hey…Master?" Goldmine always called him Makarov, not Master. He was still, watching them carefully. "Can we talk in the back for a bit? Or in your office? There's some stuff we need to go over, about the job."

Nodding, Makarov rose to his feet, leading them towards his office. Other members watched quietly, before returning to their former activities. It was painfully obvious that Rob was missing from their group. Makarov was aware that he was likely going to hear about the need to plan a funeral, or at least a memorial for the man soon. Rob was gone and not returning. "What happened?" He didn't look at them. He had to be the strong one now, the one that didn't cry over lost members. Yet, his eyes burned anyway. Makarov wanted to cry, but he had to hold himself together for the guild.

"We found them." Goldmine spoke quietly, lowering his gaze. "The cult — because there's no way that was just some dark guild. They weren't all wizards even…" Goldmine trailed off, shaking his head. Bob patted his shoulder looking up at Makarov.

"They seemed to have members coming from Bosco on occasions. Shipping them slaves, Maky." They were forcing people to join, regardless of their abilities and skills? Makarov's brow furrowed, and he could feel the crease forming between his eyes. "We were being discrete at first. Just listening and finding out information. Of course, that's how we always try and work these things before making a plan. Their members were a bit scattered, searching in some old ruins. Nasty things there, if we're being honest. I swear, we walked over the bones of dead wizards, but they didn't care."

"We did." Goldmine grimaced, looking up to stare at the back of Makarov's head. Makarov was focused on breathing slowly, trying to calm himself for what would be coming. "To be honest, I think those were the ruins of Mildian Magic Academy." Makarov turned at that, knowing the name well. That was the school Zeref had supposedly studied at. "Because they definitely were looking for something of Zeref's there. They talked about the 'Great Lord Zeref', about how they needed his work to make sure his legacy lived on. All the usual spiels, really."

"That doesn't explain why Porlyusica is cursing everyone now, why Rob is not with you."

Bob and Goldmine shared a look, before Bob folded his hands in front of him. "Well, we needed to put a stop to them, Maky. They were forcing slaves to search for them, getting ready for something big. Already, we could see people in braces and cuffs, likely the children that had been going missing lately." They'd been kidnapping children to be slaves. Makarov scowled at that, staring at his desk. "So, we made a plan to deal with them. We were going to stop them in one blow, and search the ruins later for information on Zeref like they'd been doing."

It was similar to their usual plans. Thus far, it didn't seem unusual. "Things went as expected. We went in, kicked them out, and it seemed like it was over. Rob acted as lookout, while the rest of us started searching for information in the ruins. Porlyusica was already fairly upset at that point anyway - she isn't all that fond of slavery, though I can't say anyone is." Makarov nodded, aware that she'd be complaining already. "She had just found something to read through when Rob gave a shout that someone was coming. We started to clear out, but Porlyusica wouldn't let go of that damn paper. She wouldn't tell us a thing about it, wouldn't stop reading it. She just sat there, reading. So, Bob, Rob, and I, we decided we'd make a stand and fight them off. It wouldn't have been too bad, but they had an air wizard, a strong one."

"You've handled them before."

"This one had this strange technique. I can't describe what he did, but once he used it on Rob, he just collapsed. The other members were grabbing him before we could move, taking him away. Bob and I were prepared to keep fighting, but their leader came out. He offered to let us leave alive, if Porlyusica surrendered what she'd found."

"The dear was so protective of it, insisting they would never get it from her hands." Bob took over, shaking his head. "She didn't understand what was on the line, Maky. There were too many of them, and they'd already taken out Rob with ease. It was just too much, even for us." Bob let out a sigh. "Goldmine saw her struggling, as did I…and we realized we had to make the choice for her. He knocked her out so we could take what she'd found away, and trade it for our escape. The poor dear still won't even tell us what was so wrong about it, but no paper was worth our lives."

"And Rob?"

"Still with them, I'm afraid." Goldmine's hand clenched into a fist. "We were useless to stop them. I couldn't even tell where he'd been dragged to…" He trailed off, looking away. "I bet he's joining their slaves now. Being forced to work…not knowing when we'll come for him. Makarov, we have to get a team together to put an end to this…to bring him back. Rob's one of our members, and we can't just sit back and let this—"

Makarov shook his head, taking a seat. "I can't…not right now." He clasped his hands together, meeting their gazes. "From what you've told me, this job is more dangerous than the council led us to believe. An entire team of S-Class wizards could not manage it, and if they had back-up, it means this group reaches further than just this area. There's no telling how large this organization is, and at that level, it becomes a matter for rune knights, not guilds." His stomach churned at the thought. He couldn't break the laws, though, not like this.

"You're giving up on Rob? On your own team member?"

"I don't like it any more than you do, Goldmine."

"Then do something about it. You're Master, you can make the call."

"Goldmine—" Bob tried to calm him down, but Makarov was already continuing on.

"And I'm telling you, I can't!" Makarov felt his nails digging into his palms, and he slammed his mouth shut for a moment. He was getting too loud, and soon, the rest of the guild would be hearing him. "Can't you see that I want to? That I want to go out and save him?" Makarov's arms were shaking, but he couldn't let it show. He couldn't break down, not now. "But we already are getting the Council angry. The sudden shift in guild master was bad enough, then we started destroying things on jobs and now—now I have to make sure I follow the rules, at least with this much."

"We've never cared about the damn rules before. What happened to our team? To not caring what others say?" Goldmine glared at him. "Isn't that what started this all? Our search for Zeref began because we all agreed it was a stupid rule to follow. Now, Rob is gone and it is just one more stupid rule stopping us from getting him back."

Taking a deep breath, Makarov closed his eyes. Should he go after the man? Rob was his friend, his teammate for years. Makarov wanted so badly to do so, but would that make him a failure as a guild master? "The rune knights will find him." He couldn't meet Goldmine's gaze. "They are strong. Yajima is with them, I could tell him to look for Rob—"

"You—you really are abandoning him?" Goldmine stared at him, taking a step back.

"Goldy, honey—"

"Not now, Bob." Goldmine looked up at Makarov. "I know the rules, so don't bother spitting them out." Rules? Makarov frowned at him, watching as Goldmine yanked his sleeve up, revealing the guild mark on his arm. After a quick moment, it vanished from sight, leaving Makarov feeling numb. "I'm not staying around in a guild that abandons their own members. Whatever guild you're turning this into, Makarov, it's not one I want to be a part of." With that, he spun around, storming out of the office.

"Maky, he's just upset. I'm certain he'll be back."

Makarov swallowed, staring after him for a moment. Had he chosen wrong? Yet, he couldn't take it back now. "No, I don't think he will be. Bob, is this the end of our team? Are we falling apart because of me?"

Bob reached over, patting his arm. "Don't think like that. Goldmine and Rob, you know they were always close." Despite their rivalry, they had relied on each other. Makarov knew that.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly nodded. "Right. I—I had no choice in the matter." He glanced at Bob, giving him a weak smile. "Thank you, for trying to stay by my side too. I know I'm making stupid mistakes right now, but I don't know what else to do. Right now, I need to talk to Porlyusica and try to find out more." His eyes were burning again. Rob was gone, Yajima had left long ago, and now Goldmine was with them. All of his friends were vanishing, and despite trying to keep Fairy Tail together as a family, he'd never felt so alone.

Keeping his head lowered, Makarov walked through the guild hall, making his way to the infirmary. Porlyusica was there, seeming to be going through their stock of medicines when he walked in. "Go away." She spoke without even glancing towards him. Bob had tried to follow, but Makarov shook his head at the man, shutting the door and leaving him in the hall.

"Bob and Goldmine told me what happened." Porlyusica glanced over at him, scowling as she did so. When he did not leave, she simply moved on, opening a different cupboard to continue her monotonous work. "I need to report back to the Council, Porlyusica. I need to know what sort of information is in their hands now."

"Oh, now you are interested in how dangerous it might've been?" She turned towards him, placing her hand on her hip. "After it's been given away? After I was knocked out by my supposed friends?" Makarov didn't know what to say. She'd always been a bit open and blunt about her opinions, and wasn't afraid to tell people they were wrong. She didn't make friends easily, but their team had stayed close anyway. "I said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm done with people, Makarov. I'm tired of the lies, and the idiocy they have."

"I know." He couldn't salvage the team, not anymore. Yet, he didn't want to lose anyone else. "I wasn't there to tell them otherwise. You were the only one who knew what those documents said, the one who should've made that call." She seemed to calm slightly at that, narrowing her eyes at him. "It can't be changed now, and we've already lost enough to this job. Please, let me try to make it right. From what I've heard, the rune knights will be taking over from here; this group is too widespread. However, they'll need to know what they are trying to stop."

She met his gaze, crossing her arms over her chest. "You aren't going to go charging in yourself to get Rob? I thought you'd be heading the rescue team."

"I can't." He met her eyes. "No matter what I want to do, I can't."

She smirked faintly, shaking her head. "Seems like at least one of you idiots can learn at least." She frowned, studying him for a moment. "That still doesn't change that you are an idiot either, though. Just not quite as much of an idiot as the rest." Coming from her with how she'd been talking, Makarov would take that. "Those documents were notes written by the Black Wizard himself. They spoke of a spell he called the R-System—black magic for resurrecting the dead."

"They—they gave away information on how to use such a spell?"

"Yes and no." Porlyusica shrugged, looking out the window towards the streets below. "The spell itself was incomplete. Or, more accurately, flawed. It took too much energy to cast, far more than any wizard could feasibly gather at once. Though, dark wizards always find a way when they're determined. Given the cost of this spell, I'd be afraid for what they need Rob for."

"Cost?" He didn't know much of this branch of magic, only that it was forbidden for good reasons.

"A life. In order to bring someone back from the dead, a life must be sacrificed in return. That's how the spell was designed."

Of course it would require that. Zeref hadn't exactly hidden the fact that he'd created horrible things in the past. Really, it'd been too long since Makarov had visited the man as well. Would he know what to do now? How to stop this cult from using his spell? Whatever ideas he had, Makarov wasn't certain if he'd be able to listen to them. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome." She paused, looking away. "Do—will you be doing anything, to Goldmine? For what he did during our job?"

"I no longer have the ability to do so." She frowned turning towards him as Makarov walked towards the door. "He just left Fairy Tail because the law will not let me send a team to rescue Rob."

"I see." She sighed, closing her eyes. "I didn't want this, Makarov. I didn't want to lose more of our friends, our comrades." Makarov nodded, his hand hovering over the door handle to leave. He didn't know what to tell her, what to say to make this any better. "For now, please, let me simply be the guild physician. I don't want to be put in a situation like that again, where I'm forced aside because people don't trust my decisions. I'll help take care of injuries when people return, but I won't be involved in anything else. I won't watch anyone else be torn away from me like this."

He turned towards her, seeing her cheeks wet with silent tears. She was trying to stay strong, just like he was. Yet, neither of them could keep going like this. "Whatever you need. I'm glad that you will at least be staying in some form." He scratched the back of his neck. "I've lost too many of my old friends to want another to leave."

"You sending word to the Council now?" He nodded, and she seemed to grow quiet. "Maybe…maybe speak to your other friend as well. This cult is filled with dark wizards, seeking out Zeref's power. Perhaps he knows something about this R-System, about where they might go to build such a spell."

"I will." He still had a promise to fulfill to Zeref anyway and right now, he was probably one of the few friends remaining that Makarov could rely on being there. It was a strange thought, but it still remained. Becoming guild master had forced him to become distant from his former team, but that title meant nothing to Zeref. So, as he left and finished sending off a message to the Council about this job, Makarov made plans to leave the guild. Bob and Porlyusica were given shared duties of watching over the guild in his absence, and with that set, he left on his own personal job to seek out a friend, and a place where he could grieve without being concerned over who was watching.

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