AN: Thank you InstinctMW, Goku275, NinjaFang1331, RMtya, AliceCullen3, and Kriim-Sauce786.
Recently, I realized something interesting about the 7 year time skip while at a timeline on the Fairy Tail Wiki for this fic. Acnologia's attack on Tenrou Island took place on December 16, X784 and the X791 Grand Magic Games began July 1. Accounting for the period where the Tenrou Group adjusted to the changes and the 3 months of GMG training, this means that the time skip was really only 6 years and 3 months. Also, this becomes even shorter in the anime (which I recently watched parts of), as the Key of Starry Sky arc mentions some time passing between the appearances of Michelle and the Legion Corps.
It just seemed like a neat little fact. Now, the chapter. Enjoy!
Not long after Natsu annihilated the Sabertooth guild hall, Laki and Kinana arrived with Doranbolt and a contingent of Rune Knights. Jiemma's belief that the Magic Council would not act against Sabertooth because of their power had turned out to be completely wrong. If anything, such a high-profile guild breaking the law spurred them to act faster, for fear of Sabertooth inspiring others to disregard their authority.
The Rune Knights began interrogating Fairy Tail and Sabertooth immediately. Fortunately, this process was much quicker than during the Phantom Lord incident. The testimony of Rogue and Sting (the latter of whom spilled everything while expressing complete admiration for Natsu) had made it clear that Jiemma had been solely responsible for the kidnapping.
This was further corroborated by several concerned citizens, who had reported seeing Jiemma drag Millianna and little Erza (now nicknamed "Blaze" by her parents) through town. Apparently, the weak weren't as subservient as Jiemma had expected them to be.
On a side note, the criminal status of Minerva was slightly less certain. While it was true that she had broken several laws, various Sabertooth mages informed the Rune Knights of how heartlessly Jiemma had treated his daughter while "training" her. It was clear that Minerva was a victim herself, which made it unclear how much of her behavior was truly her own as opposed to fearful attempts to live up to the expectations her father had beaten into her.
Three days passed and the mages of Fairy Tail returned to Magnolia. As the conflict had not changed the guild's inability to pay rent on their current guild hall, they purchased a new, more affordable building (a tavern on the outskirts of town). Fairy Tail then spent a few days relocating.
A celebration was held exactly one week after the Guild War, commemorating the official opening of Fairy Tail's second building. The tavern may not have been much, but it was now the headquarters of Fairy Tail, and that made it a second home to everybody in the guild.
Doranbolt grimaced as he stared at Fairy Tail's new guild hall. He turned towards the seven individuals following him.
"You better wait here while I explain the situation," the intelligence officer said, sighing. "This is going to be a difficult and awkward conversation. I can only hope that the newfound maturity that Natsu has been display as guild master will keep it from turning violent."
"Greetings, Fairy Tail," announced Doranbolt as he entered the building. "I am here to inform you that…"
He trailed off, gaping at Natsu and Happy. The two were standing atop a table, performing a silly dance. As Doranbolt stared, slack-jawed, Macao and Wakaba walked up to him.
"Hey," greeted Macao, taking note of Doranbolt's expression. "Judging by your face, I guess you're surprised to see Natsu acting so childish again."
Doranbolt nodded dumbly, his mouth still hanging open.
"Personally, I'm glad to see Natsu acting like his old self again," commented Wakaba. "After he become guild master, he took a complete one-eighty from total goofball to deathly serious. It's good to see him finally striking a balance between the two extremes."
After a few seconds, Doranbolt finally recovered his wits enough to resume speaking.
"Well, hopefully he is still mature enough for the news I've brought. It's… not ideal."
At that moment, Natsu noticed the three men talking. With a friendly wave of his hand and a shout of "Doranbolt!" Natsu got off the table and walked over to them, taking the attention of the entire guild hall with him.
"It's good to see you man!" spoke Natsu cheerfully. "You here with good news about the Magic Council's decision about our Guild War with Sabertooth?"
"Sort of," replied Doranbolt awkwardly. "There is some good news, but also something I don't think you'll like."
Natsu's expression become more serious at the council officer's words, and the atmosphere in the guild hall turned somber. This actually made Doranbolt a bit less nervous, as he had years of experience interacting with stoic councilors.
"Jiemma Orland has been arrested," began Doranbolt. "And Sabertooth has been disbanded. Fairy Tail and its members will not be facing any charges for their actions during the Guild War. However, in order to protect the reputation of the Grand Magic Games and those who endorsed it, the official story is that none of Team Sabertooth's members were initially aware of Jiemma's crimes, and those who found out defected."
"Further," continued Doranbolt, growing uncomfortable again as he reached the worst part. "To reinforce this version of events, the Magic Council is ordering that Fairy Tail accept all of Team Sabertooth into their guild."
"Sure," responded Natsu immediately.
"I know this is difficult to accept, but—" Doranbolt froze mid-sentence, unable to comprehend the dragon slayer's words. "What!? You're fine letting them into Fairy Tail after everything that happened!?"
"Yeah," confirmed Natsu. "I heard the details from everyone else. Ogre and Roofie—"
"Orga and Rufus," corrected Happy.
"—were horrified when they found out what Jiemma did, and Sting and Rogue ended up switching sides. As for Minerva, it was pretty clear from the way she attacked me and reacted to my strikes that her dad was as terrible to her as he was to us, so I can't really blame her for being so messed up."
"Wait, but if you knew she was also a victim of Jiemma, then why did you beat her up so badly?" asked Doranbolt, confused.
"She threatened my family," replied Natsu bluntly. "Shitty dad or not, nobody does that and walks away unharmed."
"Fair enough," conceded Doranbolt, mostly just relieved that Natsu had accepted the Magic Council's demand. "If you don't have a problem accepting them, we may as well get it over with. Come in!"
Doranbolt turned toward the entrance as he shouted that command, and the seven individuals from before entered; Team Sabertooth, Lector, and Frosch.
The seven of them walked up to Natsu, then bowed deeply.
"We're sorry!" shouted all of them other than Minerva.
"I should have done something as soon as I found out what he did," said Rogue, regretting his initial inaction.
"If I knew ex-Master Jiemma would go that far, I would've never joined Sabertooth," declared Orga apologetically.
"I will always remember my transgressions," stated Rufus, full of remorse.
"I acted like you were all beneath me, when, really, I was beneath all of you," said Sting, his voice full of shame.
"Please accept Sting's apology," pled Lector.
"And Rogue's too," added Frosch.
As they all rose their heads, Minerva finally spoke.
"I won't apologize for my actions," huffed Minerva. "But I will admit that Fairy Tail is the stronger guild and, as such, you had every right to punish me for what I did."
"Ignore her," stated Sting. "She's just trying to act tough. Minerva feels really bad about her actions and wants your forgiveness just as much as the rest of us."
"Wha—No I don't!" denied Minerva, though the growing redness of her face betrayed her true emotions. "I definitely don't want to become a part of this guild and finally learn what it feels like to have a loving family!"
This caused everybody to laugh, which only made Minerva blush harder. When the laughter eventually died down, Natsu responded to the ex-Sabertooth members' pleas.
"Don't worry about it," waved off the guild master. "We all forgive you. Welcome to the guild!"
The seven of them lit up instantly, then grew even more excited at Natsu's next words.
"Now, it's time to party—Fairy Tail style!
It had been half an hour since the ex-Sabertooth mages become a part of Fairy Tail. Happy had spent most of that time talking with Lector and Frosch about their lives.
However, now Happy had to do something important.
The blue Exceed walked up to Natsu rigidly, a determined expression on his face. The dragon slayer had been talking with his advisors, but, seeing Happy's demeanor, excused himself from the conversation.
The two of them met at an empty table, where Happy started the conversation by dropping a bomb on his partner.
"Natsu, I'm leaving for the Exceed Village tomorrow. I'm going to stay there and train, for at least several months."
"What?" asked Natsu, confused. "Why?"
"Because I couldn't do anything during our conflict with Sabertooth!" exploded Happy, releasing a mass of pent-up guilt and self-loathing. "I promised that I would protect Millianna and Blaze, then I was only able to watch as Jiemma abducted them! While everybody else battled Sabertooth mages, all I did was watch from above and knock out an Exceed who wasn't even fighting! I'm useless!"
As his rant progressed, Happy began to cry. After he finished, the blue Exceed sobbed heavily as he said "I'm useless" over and over again.
"You're not useless!" shouted Natsu with such certainty that it snapped Happy out of his self-deprecation. "You've saved my ass countless times with your Aera and your random facts about my opponent's magic!"
Happy perked up a bit, cracking a small smile as he recalled the times that he helped Natsu.
"But…" continued the dragon slayer, grinning. "If you really want to get stronger, I won't stop you. Take all the time you need, then come back when you're ready. It's not like I'll be going on any S-Class jobs for a bit, not when I need to be here to look after my kid."
"Aye, sir," replied Happy, a weight off his chest. "When you see me again, you won't recognize me! I'm all fired up!"
The Dragneels left not long after, as Blaze had started getting sleepy. On the way back to their home, Natsu filled Millianna in on Happy's decision to become stronger. She accepted this, albeit somewhat sadly.
"Blaze and I are definitely going to miss him, though," sighed Millianna. "At least Lector and Frosch are in the guild now. I won't have to worry about finding a kitty to calm her down with if she starts getting upset."
"Aye, sir!" went Natsu, jokingly imitating his partner. "With how loud Blaze cries, you'd think she was a baby dragon! If I didn't know better, I'd think she had my dragon slayer…"
Natsu trailed off, sniffing the air. "Seriously? Following us home again?"
"We are wanted criminals, after all," spoke Ultear as she and Merudy stepped out from behind a tree. "We heard about the fight with Sabertooth and wanted to check in with you, see if everything was alright."
"Also, I wanted to see your baby," added Merudy. She then walked over to Millianna and began cooing at Blaze.
"Things are fine," Natsu answered Ultear, grinning. "We obliterated Sabertooth and burned down their guild hall, then the Magic Council disbanded them and arrested their guild master."
"Good riddance," declared Merudy, still fawning over Blaze. "I only wish that we could have helped you out in some way."
"Actually, there is something I'd like you to do," stated Millianna. "I want you to unlock my magic potential, like you did with my husband and Happy. I want to be able to protect my daughter, not have to be protected alongside her!"
Millianna and Merudy looked at Ultear expectantly, causing the ex-councilor to sigh.
"Very well," acquiesced Ultear. "But we better wait a few months first. Your body needs time to recover from giving birth. We'll return in half a year."
"Mya!" cheered Millianna giving a fist pump with the arm that wasn't holding Blaze.
Natsu smiled affectionately at his wife. He understood what it felt like, believing you were unable to protect somebody you cared about. It was the same way he felt during the Edolas incident, when Millianna's disappearance made him realize how deep his feelings for her were. Plus, her desire to become stronger was pretty attractive.
The four of them talked a little longer before Natsu and Millianna had to leave. Ultear mentioned a plan to take down Dark Guilds, though she kept the details vague.
The Dragneel family made it back home without anything else happening. The three of them piled into bed together and fell asleep quickly, having peaceful (or victorious, in Natsu's case) dreams.
Omake
"Are you absolutely sure about this," asked Macao, referring to the newest additions to Fairy Tail. "Even if they mean well, their time in Sabertooth likely affected what they consider acceptable. They might use more force than necessary during jobs, which could cause them to damage something or, worse, someone.
"Pff," snorted Natsu. "How is that any different than usual?"
Macao tried to come up with a retort, only to realize that being destructive only made them fit in better.
"I'm mostly worried about Minerva," stated Wakaba. "It's clear that her dad traumatized her, but we don't know how much of an effect it has had on her. She may do something terrible without realizing that she's doing anything wrong."
"Relax man," responded Natsu nonchalantly. "If anybody sees Minerva doing something she shouldn't, we can just tell her that she's making a mistake."
"And if she doesn't listen?" asked Wakaba.
"Then I'll just have to whack the lesson into her," replied Natsu casually.
At that moment, Minerva felt a chill go down her spine. Fortunately, unlike her father, she was able to recognize the sensation as fear. She decided then and there to obediently follow the rules of Fairy Tail, even if they seemed ridiculous (though she would still complain about any absurd-sounding ones).
AN: In case it wasn't clear, Doranbolt and co. arrived during Fairy Tail's moving-in celebration, and the omake took place between Team Sabertooth's arrival and Happy's talk with Natsu.
The next arc takes place near the end of the "7 year" time skip. Before that, though, I am going to have a few chapters covering the time between these arcs. Until then, goodbye!