Back with the continuation

"speaking"

""thinking""

On with the story

Mest led Erza down to the guild's underground. It was a well-hidden area that not many people had access to. Erza folded her arms across her armored chest, glancing around. "I didn't think there'd be something like this under the guild…"

"Well, the entrance isn't easy to find." Mest clarified.

"So…Mest…why is it only me that can come down here?" Erza asked

"That's because you're the seventh guild master." Mest explained. "We're about to entered restricted grounds now. Under normal circumstances, even I wouldn't be allowed here. But as Guild Master, it's only right that you know about Fairy Tail's biggest secret." Mest opened the large double doors before them, revealing to Erza the largest secret: Lumen Histoire. The body of Mavis Vermillion inside of a crystal.

Erza gasped as she tried to register the shock of what she was seeing. "The First…!?"

"WHOA!" Gray, Lucy, Wendy, and Charla all tumbled down from the door as they were spying on the two while Natsu just entered the room casually

"you followed us!?" Erza said in surprise

"Man…" Mest sighed. "And even after I told you guys that this place is for Guild Master's only…"

"for them it's not" Natsu told to Mest "I already know of this from the old man"

"you do?!" Erza said in surprise

"Wait…" Gray's jaw dropped. "What the hell? Is that the First?"

"She's naked!" Lucy exclaimed as she poked Gray's eyes

"gaaahh!" Gray screamed in pain as he holds his hands over his eyes

"Why's she crystallized under the guild?" Charla said as they returned to the question at hand

Erza turned back to Mest. "Explain."

Mest was silent for a moment. "I don't even know myself if I'm to be honest. But, one thing's for sure; she's here for a really important reason."

Suddenly, images began to flash in everyone's mind. "What's this…? Inside my head…?" Wendy placed a hand against her forehead.

"Images?" Erza questioned.

"My memories." Mest explained.

Flashback

"12 years back…oh, but maybe 5 years back for you Tenoru people…I was given a mission by Makarov."

12 years ago in the Fairy Tail guild. A young Mest Gryder stood in shock at the mission given to him by the guild master. "Work undercover at the Council?"

"It's something only you could do." Makarov said, sitting crossed legged on the table with his eyes closed.

"So, what am I to steal then?" Mest said cockily.

"It's not that kind of mission." Makarov explained. "I want you to be our inside man, feeding us information regarding the western continent.

"So…it's stealing?" Mest stared.

"I don't need you to do anything like that, so don't. Just…make sure you pick up as much as you can about the western continent and keep me updated." Said Makarov.

"Why…?" Mest was confused. This was the first time he really heard Makarov mention something about the western continent.

"Just do it, please. It's for the protection of our guild."

It was hard to argue with an answer like that. Mest let out a soft sigh before finally agreeing. "Fine. But if I'm gonna do this; I might as well be thorough about it. So I'll erase my own memories too…"

"Don't…" Makarov already knew that was more trouble than it was worth…

One month later

Mest met up with Makarov as the member of the Council. Unfortunately, his investigation didn't show too many merits just yet. "Hmm…it might've been because we stopped interacting with them so much, but I'm not getting much information."

"Hmm…I see…" Makarov nodded as he started thinking

"Oh yeah…and the guild is becoming a pretty sensitive topic in the Council." Mest groaned.

"So, you're serious about erasing your own memories, huh…?" Makarov asked.

"It's no problem. There's a way to get it back, and you have the keys." Mest shrugged at the notion as the man was serious for his mission.

"That's handy of you…" Makarov was about to name drop, but Mest cut him off.

"Whoops! Call me Doranbolt. That's my name now." Mest cleared that up before it became an issue.

A few months later

Makarov met with Mest again, however since his memories were erased, he didn't know what his meeting was about. "What does Fairy Tail's master want with me? I remember seeing you a month before or something, but…."

"I was right. This is such a pain…" Makarov groaned as he had to restore Mest's memories every meeting every time.

And months later

Mest and Lahar were sitting together in the cafeteria. After hearing that Fairy Tail's master was here for him once again, the wheels started turning in his memory lacking head. "Fairy Tail's master is here for me again?"

"This is becoming frequent…" Lahar grumbled.

"…I've got a great idea…" An evil smile crossed Mest's lips. "I'll infiltrate that nasty guild with my powers!"

"Oooooh..!" Lahar liked the sound of this! Maybe he'd find something that could help them against Fairy Tail.

"Let's see…I'll start by overwriting Makarov's memories and making him believe that I'm one of them under the name Mest!" The irony of it all. Perhaps the constant deletion and restoration of his memories began to interfere and mix with one another. This was the start of the problems he caused later on. Mest opened his mouth, beginning to chew on Lahar's head in a comical manner. "Oh, I'm so curious! I need to know Fairy Tail's dirt!"

"that hurts" Lahar said as Mest was chewing on his head

"…So that's why you were at Tenroujima with us…" Erza was glad to finally know that.

"Hey." Gray said as he held deadpanned expressions at this new information.

"…Really sorry about that. That's my bad." Mest frowned.

"And four years later, right after the battle with Tartaros ended…"

It was the night before Makarov made his announcement to disband Fairy Tail. Mest was the first person he wanted to tell. The two of them stood at the guild's remains after it was destroyed by the demons of Tartaros. "I'm ending Fairy Tail." The Sixth told him.

"Huh!?" Mest's eyes widened.

"The information I've gotten from you all along was for a personal investigation. This is the only way I could save the guild." Makarov explained.

"You're disbanding the guild over the results of the investigation!? And why now? I don't get it!" Mest yelled.

"It doesn't matter." Makarov turned to look over his shoulder. "The Kingdom of Alvarez in the western continent…is one that is very, very dangerous."

"So what about it!? That country attempted to invade Ishgar 13 years ago but failed!" Mest's voice was still high. He didn't understand Makarov's intentions.

"Do you know why the failed?" Makarov began. "Lumen Histoire. The reason why Alvarez invaded 10 years ago was solely to obtain it for themselves. They didn't fail, either…but were merely stopped with the help of the Council."

Mest's eyes widened as the revelation hit. "Etherion…" Mest muttered out as Makarov nodded

"And from what we know, Face was supposed to be the Council's backup plan if they needed one." The Sixth continued. "Although…making something like that was extremely difficult for the other countries to accept. They wouldn't go at Alvarez if they had the choice. I assume you've heard the news recently? The Council is without leaderships…many Wizard Saints have abdicated their roles, Face has been destroyed, and the Etherion can't work without the vote of the Saints. Do you know what this means?"

"Ishgar has lost its only defense against Alvarez…?" Mest said.

"Yes. The invasion will begin once more." Makarov's tone was low and serious as his face held no humour at all

"I still don't understand!" Mest continued to object to the notion of Fairy Tail disbanding. "What does that have to do with disbanding the guild!? Just because of an investigation with a western continent! I don't get it!"

"The whole reason I'm disbanding. There are about 500 guilds in Ishgar, Fairy Tail included. And for the kingdom on the western continent…there are roughly 730 of them, all of them coming together to form a gigantic kingdom. The military-run kingdom of Alvarez." Makarov said this calmly

"…That's…" Mest stuttered out

"730 of them against one is like taking candy from a baby. Furthermore…there are mages there whose power could even rival that of the Wizard Saints and even that of Natsu's" Makarov said

Mest began to shake "No way…" Mest said in shock as he couldn't imagine the mages whose power rivalled that of the wizard saints and that of Natsu who was the strongest of them all "So what do we do!?"

"I will go to Alvarez." Makarov turned his back to Mest. "I'll let them know that we've got Lumen Histoire if they are ever to attack. And I will stall for as long as I can. This will be a gamble…but if the guild can get back on its feet in time…"

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Mest raised his voice, but Makarov ignored him to keep speaking.

"If I fall, the kids at the guild will be next. AND I CANNOT LET THAT HAPPEN! SO FORGET ABOUT THE GUILD'S HISTORY AND WHAT IT WAS! THERE'S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN FAMILY SO I WILL DISBAND!"

The tears started to fall. Makarov was doing this because he cared…but Mest also cared about Makarov. After hearing the potential that the Alvarez Empire was packing…how could he not be worried? "But Master…you can't stop a country all on your own. It's like you're going on a suicide mission…"

"Well, I carry the lives of my family. That's what a parent ought to do!" Makarov said firmly. His mind was made up. Truly, he was a parent who would do anything for his kids.

After listening to the story, Gray and the others were in shock to know the real truth behind the guild's disbandment

"He disbanded the guild to protect us…" Erza said.

"That's right." Mest nodded. "He was…worried about Alvarez."

"And you haven't heard from him in over a year…?" Gray tilted his head.

"Yeah." Mest reaffirmed.

"Didn't you try stopping him, Mest-san?" Wendy asked

"You really think he would have listened?" Charla's reply contained a little bit of sass.

"We can't tell if we're dealing with them, or if the country has isolated itself." Mest paused, preparing to offer up the possibility no one wanted to hear. "Or even…"

"Stop, please." Erza cut him off as she knew where that was going and didn't want to hear it.

"I've been following Makarov's orders and working to bring a functional Council back. Warrod-san was very helpful in reviving the Council" Mest said.

"Oh yeah…" Lucy recalled speaking with Lyon back in Lamia Scale. "The Council wanted to know his whereabouts too."

"Master Warrod knows what's happening, but I'm certain the rest don't. However, the threat they feel from Alvarez is the same. They've been sending reinforcements to the west and strengthening their defences there."

"But if the old man's trick worked, he would've been back by now…!" Gray said, realizing the contradiction in all of this.

"Well, yeah…" Mest nodded. "But…like I said, we can't be sure if it's because he hasn't heard of this, or if he can't make it back."

"we're going to rescue him, right?" Natsu voice out as he had been silent in the whole conversation

Everyone looks to him as the man had his arms crossed over his chest

"yes…I've revived the council as he had requested so now I'm free to act as a Fairy Tail wizard now" Mest said

"then let's go!" Gray said as he pumped his fist "let's go and save gramps!"

"yeah!" Lucy agreed as everyone did

"you guys go first" Natsu told them as the man was walking away "I have something to get first before I catch up with you guys"

"what? What are you going to get?" Lucy asked but Natsu just suddenly disappears into thin air without replying

On the surface, Gajeel could hear everything being discussed below. "Huh…so they're sneaking out…"

"What's wrong, Gajeel?" Lily asked.

"A small number for infiltration…huh, I see…" Gajeel felt a plan formulate in his mind. "I guess we've got to get moving too…"

Juvia walked around, head swivelling from side to side as she tried to locate Gray. "Cana-san, have you seen Gray-sama?"

The wrong person to ask. Cana was drunk and laughed it off. "I drank him all up with my booze, hahahahaha!"

Juvia immediately moved forward, placing her hands on Cana's jaw to pry her mouth open violently. "HOW COULD YOU!? GRAY-SAMA!"

Mira happened to pass by with a tray of mugs in hand. "He went with Natsu and Lucy a while back. Apparently, they were following Erza and Mest."

"Lucy…again…?" Juvia began to sweat as her mind wandered. She imagined Lucy and Gray touching hands…and suddenly they were…they were…! Well, before she could think anymore, Gajeel's arm rested on her head, and flattered her against the table. "Guh…Gajeel-kun…"

"What, you wanna drink with me?" Cana teased.

"We're forming the B Team." Gajeel stated.

"The B team?" Mira blinked.

"Ain't the Games over already?" Cana tilted her head.

"We're gonna go find that Lightning Bastard." Gajeel smirked.

"Lightning…?" The mere mention of it caused Lily to sweat.

"What's all this…?" Mira was interested.

"Wait…you know where Laxus is!?" Cana asked.

The Council building. Levy made a trip to hand in the paperwork concerning Fairy Tail's revival. Jura Neekis acted as the 5th Wizard Saint once again and looked over it all. "Hmm…no problems with this paperwork. Well done! The next guild master is Erza-dono? What an excellent choice!"

"And with this, Fairy Tail is officially back in business!" Levy looked up to Jura with a wide grin.

"Yes. Here's to hoping you find Makarov fast, then." Jura nodded. "It's such a shame to lose someone as capable as you in the Council though, Levy."

"Eheh…sorry…" Levy rubbed the back of her head.

Warrod stood in as the 4th Wizard Saint. He was standing in the corner, watering his plants with a soft chuckle as he overheard the conversation. "Hoho…"

"Master Warrod seems awfully cheerful…" Jura glanced at the old tree man.

"I thought it was a joke at first when they said they were disbanding." Warrod hummed. He looked cheerful on the outside, but internally he was serious. Fairy Tail's revival was up first, now came the second part of the plan. "All that's left is for Mest-kun to rescue Makarov as planned…"

"Master Warrod…! The water's overflowing!" Levy warned Warrod as he was within his thoughts.

"Oh no, that's just me doing my business!" Warrod replied without missing a beat, causing Levy to deadpan. "Just kidding."

"Old Man Warrod…how long are you planning to fool about like that?" This was the 3rd Wizard Saint and one of the Four Kings of Ishgar: Wolfheim."

"Master Wolfhiem…! You were here!?" Jura gasped.

"Woah…that's one of the four Kings of Ishgar…!" Levy's eyes widened.

"Oohhh! Wolfheim, my boy! Still got that weird name?" Warrod laughed, but his comment only angered Wolfheim. "I'm kidding! Kidding!" Wolfheim's form then grew larger; a hulking beast now loomed over Warrod with a deathly stare. "Hey, hey, hey…!"

"This is hardly the time for gardening, especially when we've got our fair share of trouble with the Alvarez Kingdom!" Wolfheim snarled.

"…Hey." Warrod said once again.

"Eek…!" Levy felt a cold sweat bead down her forehead.

"P-Please stop, Wolfheim-dono!" Jura pleaded.

"Stop this now." Another voice interjected. This was the acting 2nd Wizard Saint: Hyberion. His appearance made Levy and Jura sweat, while Warrod, and Wolfheim seemed fine "We're no longer Wizards unbound by duty. Now that we're working with the Council, we must ensure that Wizards stay safe."

This was too much for Levy. She collapsed from being in the same room with three of the four Kings of Ishgar. "Whoa…three of them…all in the same room."

"It's true that tensions are rising…and it's our job to neutralize those threats." Hyberion said while pouring some more wine into his glass. "If war breaks out, we're done for. We need a way to deal with this peacefully."

The fact that one of the strongest mages in Fiore was saying this was bad enough. "I-Is Alvarez really that strong?" Levy asked, her body trembling from fright "don't we still have God Serena and Natsu on our side!?"

"indeed, we still have Dragist on our side for now but the Wizard that was once one of the Four Kings of Ishgar…and formerly the first of the 10 Wizard Saints…meaning he is one of the strongest mages on this continent…" Hyberion said. "God Serena…"

"Oh…why isn't he here this time?" Jura asked as this made the mood more sour

"Why is everyone so down…?" Levy had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Did something happen to God Serena…?" Jura asked.

"he turned traitor" a voice spoke as Natsu appeared in the room

"Natsu?!" Levy exclaimed in surprise "I thought you were at the guild!?"

"what do you mean!?" Jura exclaimed as he thought that he was hearing things from Natsu

"he left Ishgar many months ago" Natsu told them as he leans against the wall "for someone who is such a bragger, to think he turned tail and turned into a coward"

Levy and Jura screamed at this information. "NO WAAAY!?"

Hyberion nodded. "It is true. There are 12 Shields that protect Emperor Spriggan. They are referred to as the Spriggan 12. God Serena has become one of those 12."

"…You're telling me one of the strongest wizards is with Alvarez now?!" Levy asked with fear in her voice

"We don't know exactly why he defected…but we for sure know that he is not one to be underestimated for his power rivals even that of Dragist" Wolfheim said as he looks at Natsu

"neither am I" Natsu said as he leans off the wall "and I'm here to state something to you guys"

Natsu reached into his pocket as he takes out his Wizard Saint Medal

"I'm quitting the Wizard Saint" Natsu said as he dropped his medal and made everyone in the room look in shock

"I am no longer one of the Council anymore" Natsu said before he leaves the room "see you later"

"y-you're kidding, right?" Jura said as he looks in shock

That's a wrap!

Bye bye