Façade
Chapter 6: Magic Council
Fairy Tail had outdone themselves this time. And not because Natsu was the one responsible for the destruction. But because Erza destroyed the Ryushika Train Station and parts of the railway. Most of the fighting was Natsu's fault, but he wasn't the one blamed today.
"The Eisenwald guild may have been defeated, but that's only one small victory and a much larger battle." Said Org.
"The number of dark guilds have been increasing, we have to come up with a plan to stop them." Michello declared.
"But how would we do that?"
"However it's done we cannot allow Zeref's magic fall into the wrong hands." Org held out the flute for Lullaby, which could've killed many people had Fairy Tail not stopped them.
Jellal needed to find a way to divert the attention from Fairy Tail, "Although they're usually causing destruction, it seems Fairy Tail was able to prevent further chaos by saving them."
Belno shook her head, "I still don't like them."
Jellal knew the old people wouldn't fare well with Fairy Tail. "You may not want to accept it, but that's the reality of the situation. In the end, the attack on the guild masters was prevented, lives were spared, and, none of us had to give up our hard earned positions on this council to save face."
Michello gasped, "You fool! Are you insinuating Eisenwald would've actually killed us?"
Jellal looked at him amusingly. The geezers thought they were untouchable. "Not even that. If they killed the guild masters, what kind of impression would the mages and people have upon us? They'd take us for cowards, we'd be known as the council who sat still and watched the destruction."
"I have to agree with you Jellal, but Fairy Tail unnecessarily destroyed things, a few places weren't even related to Clover." Belno countered, "Additionally, the person who did all the damage was none other than Fairy Tail's most disciplined."
What? Erza did all that damage?
"Then why don't we reiterate the Magic Council's power loud and clear for the other guilds as well? We'll settle this peacefully and simply discuss the matter with Fairy Tail." suggested Jellal.
"They're actually going through with this?" Lucy squeezed through all the people that came to watch Natsu and Erza fight.
"Oh hey Lucy," Mirajane waved.
Lucy gasped, "Don't you realize this can tear our strongest team apart?" Lucy asked Gray, who didn't catch on to what she was talking about.
"The strongest team?"
"You, Natsu, and Erza ya dummy!"
Gray laughed momentarily, "Yeah, which idiot fed you that line?"
Mirajane smiled for a bit and then broke down into tears. The ice wizard backed away slowly as if Mirajane were about to harm him. "You- you're not an idiot Mira."
"Smooth move, Gray," chimed Lucy.
"I'll hand it those two they're pretty tough, but there are guys in Fairy Tail stronger than both of them. Like this guy!" Elfman exclaimed, pointing to himself.
"But calling Erza the strongest woman in the guild is a pretty safe bet," Levy admitted.
"As far for the boys it's a tough call, but I'd put my money on Jellal or Laxus, and maybe even Mystogan." Jet listed three candidates, much to Lucy's surprise.
"What do you mean? Jellal's a Wizard Saint, he's even stronger than Master!" Lucy said as if she stated the obvious.
"Power isn't the only thing that determines a Wizard Saint," Mira corrected after recovering from her breakdown. "The council must put their trust in a Wizard Saint, they must be knowledgeable about magic. Versatility in spells is big too. But Jellal had an advantage since he became a council member. He's probably the most intelligent out of all the Wizard Saints."
Lucy nodded, "I see, that's still rather hard to believe."
"I know, but we've never seen a three-way fight between these mages. So we can't exactly determine a winner."
"It's been a while since we squared off like this," Erza recalled, to which Natsu scoffed at.
"But this time you're going down!" Natsu declared.
"Well I'm not going to be going easy on you; in fact, I have the perfect armour for this occasion." Erza requipped into her Flame Empress armour.
"Isn't she all fired up, like Natsu would say?" Millianna giggled.
Mirajane realized they had returned from their job, "How was it?" Mira asked Simon, who watched Erza and Natsu gear up for their fight.
"It was good, but we had to come back early because Jellal had a number of things to deal with back at the council," he added. "I believe it had to do with Erza, who saved the guild masters from Lullaby."
Mirajane wondered why Erza was the only one mentioned. "Oh really? There was no mentioning of Natsu, Gray, or Master?"
Sho recalled what Jellal had told them. "Jellal said they didn't mention anyone else, but he had a hunch that it was Natsu."
"It won't be long till the Magic Council does something."
Sho shook his head, "It'll be sooner than you think, Jellal was called back yesterday."
Their attention went back to the competitors, "Let the fight begin!" Makarov announced as the two competitors started charging full speed at each other. Natsu and Erza kept dodging each other blow after blow. Lucy was surprised at their skills.
"It's a good fight," commented Elfman, to which Gray shook his head.
"This fight sucks." Gray blurted.
Erza pointed her sword at Natsu, threatening to pierce him. Natsu's right hand was engulfed in flames, ready to swing his arm at her. They were prepared to charge at each other with full speed. However, just as they were about to wipe one another out, their fight was interrupted.
A loud clap stopped everyone in their tracks. Erza's sword was inches away from Natsu's face. They both looked up at the intruder.
"This fight is over." Croaked a toad, stopping everyone in their tracks. "May I have your attention please, I have come here on behalf of the Magic Council."
"No way, why would they send someone here?" Levy exclaimed, unaware of the previous conversations circulating about the Magic Council.
"Sooner than we thought," Mirajane mumbled.
"As a result of the Eisenwald incident, a member of your guild has been charged with eleven accounts of property damage." She turned towards Erza. "Erza Scarlet, you are under arrest."
Natsu was dumbfounded, "You're putting her under a what?"
Everyone remained silent, seated on the benches of the guildhall like any normal guild would. All because one of their fellow members were arrested. Nobody smiled like they were supposed to, and a certain salamander was trapped in a glass.
"This isn't fair guys let me out of here!" the salamander complained.
"Natsu, calm down, you'll go on a rampage." Mirajane tried to hush Natsu, who wasn't done complaining.
"I swear I'll be good, now please turn me back and let me out!"
"The second we turn you back, you'll run off to save Erza. Honestly, I don't understand why you tried doing that in the first place."
Gray crossed his arms and frowned. "Even if we wanted to face off with the council, it's not like we could."
"But don't those jerks realize Erza did what she had to do in order to save the lives of the guild masters?"
Leave it to typical Natsu to badmouth about the council because Jellal kept his mouth shut.
"If the Magic Council says you're guilty, then you're guilty. They don't care what we have to say."
Elfman sighed, "I don't understand why they decided to pick on us now, we've destroyed plenty of things in the past."
Makarov hushed everyone, "Jellal's there, I'm sure he'll get us out of the mess."
"Right, he'll do it." Concurred the salamander.
Everyone stared at the small creature, confused that Natsu remained obedient almost immediately. "Natsu never gives up that easily. What happened to the fire in your belly?" asked Millianna, making fun of the mage.
Erza was being escorted to her trial, noticing Jellal was leaned against a wall, completely calm and observant. The frog immediately knelt down before him. Erza was about to do the same until he stopped her. Instead, he tried containing his laughter.
"Sorry, did I miss something? Am I supposed to kneel down now?" she asked.
"No, it's not that. It's part of proper conduct for those who serve the council." He eyed the amphibian who was kneeling down. "If you could be so kind to give us a few moments."
They kept their eyes glued to the floor and nodded obediently, walking towards the end of the corridor through which Erza came from.
Erza smiled. "They must be keen on listening to what you have to say."
"Yeah, that's why I sent her away for now. But they are polite, so I don't really mind them being around. Most of the amphibians here are magical technicians and messengers, they keep the Magic Council's headquarters safe."
"That's good. So, what brings the great Wizard Saint here?"
"I'm not all that grand, but I'll gladly take the compliment." He grinned, making Erza smile. "The council's decision to arrest you is just for show. It's a formality they use in order to keep the magical world in order."
"I see, and they couldn't find a better replacement than me? The guild is worried sick because of this."
"In that case, you can blame me. I suggested this because the geezers wanted to take action." His biggest concern at the moment was Natsu. "Hm, does Natsu know about this?"
"We were having a match when a member from the Magic Council came to take me away."
They both grinned, knowing what would happen. "If the guild doesn't watch what he does, he might end up in a cell tonight."
Another voice interrupted their conversation. "Uh, Mister Fernandes, are you done? The council is expecting Erza Scarlet."
He backed away from the wall he'd been leaning on and nodded. "I'll see you shortly."
"Alright," she tried waving at him and managed to slightly twist her wrist.
The toad looked at Jellal, bewildered, then back at Erza. She blushed in embarrassment when she asked Erza, "Uh, I don't mean to be scandalous, but are you and the great Wizard Saint a thing?"
Despite the amphibian not making sense, Erza sighed and softly replied, "No, of course not."
"Well, for a regular mage, you're close to a rather important person. Ribbit." Croaked the messenger.
"Important, huh?" she whispered to herself. Erza was always reminded where she stood, and where Jellal stood.
"What's the matter? It seems you lost the fire in your belly." taunted Makarov, who shot his magic from his palm to reveal Macao, who used transformation magic to become a salamander.
"It's Macao!" Levy yelled, much to everyone's shock.
"That was you!?" Lucy, Laki, and Elfman yelled in unison.
Macao smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry guys, but I owed Natsu a favour. I turned myself into a salamander so everyone would think I was him."
Elfman yelled, "Where is he?"
Gray grit his teeth as he made a good guess. "He went after Erza, didn't he?"
"I'm afraid so."
Elfman panicked, "You're kidding, that idiot will try to fight the whole Council!"
Makarov quieted everyone, who were hyper aware the council would be broadcasting the trial. "Would everyone just calm down? We have no choice but to wait and see what happens," a very furious Makarov concluded. If things went badly for the council, Natsu and Erza would stay the night there, in a cell.
A gavel resounded throughout the courtroom as a supervisor spoke, "This court will now come to order." She continued reading off a printed script. "Before us is the defendant, Erza Scarlet. Please take the stand, Miss Scarlet."
She stood there passively, praying Natsu wouldn't disrupt the court trial.
The chairman began the opening statement. "Erza Scarlet, you stand before the Council to answer the charges from the standing incident regarding Eisenwald. These charges include extensive damage to Oshibana Station, the collapse of the Ryushika Railway Bridge, and the complete destruction of the Clover Meeting Hall. There are eleven property damage charges against you. According to eyewitness reports, the perpetrator is described as a heavily armoured female wizard-" the chairman was interrupted by an explosion from the side of the courtroom.
Jellal had expected this coming. The explosion revealed a ridiculous person dressed in a ridiculous outfit. Natsu's spiky pink hair stuck out from the front of the scarlet wig that almost imitated Erza's shade. Natsu's "armour" (if one could call it that), was a barrel encasing his upper body, ankles, and wrists. His hands were gloved with feathers sticking out from his neck and wrists.
"I'm the crazy lady in armour you old-timers have been looking for! If you have a problem with the way me and my guild do things, you can fight me! I am the all powerful Erza!"
"You thought I was destructive before, but you ain't see nothing yet!" Natsu cackled loudly. "Do you think the stuff I destroyed is more important than the guild master's lives? Hu-" Natsu collapsed when Jellal struck him with his Heavenly Body Magic, sending arrays of light towards him. That one attack sent him crashing onto the floor.
Moments of awkward silence passed until the chairman sighed in defeat and said, "Take them away."
"I'm truly sorry for this Your Honour," Erza bowed towards them apologetically.
Natsu got up to his feet with difficulty and told Erza, "Don't apologize to these council jerks!"
Jellal knocked him unconscious with his magic. "I apologize, he has a tendency to run his mouth at the wrong times. I'll escort him to the cells."
"Not only the boy, but Erza as well!" yelled Belno. The Rune Knights dragged Natsu away while Erza followed behind, angry to say the very least.
When Natsu woke up, Erza delivered a slap to his face, "Took you long enough, I was worrying you'd die on me!"
Natsu couldn't believe what she just said, "You mean it? After all the trouble I caused, you'd still want me alive?"
"Oh Natsu, you've caused so much unnecessary trouble..." she sounded almost defeated.
"I'm sorry, Erza! I didn't mean it, I thought those old people imprisoned you, it just wasn't fair!"
"That trial was just a formality!"
Natsu's mouth gaped wide open, "Seriously?"
"It's a glorified spectacle! The council is using me as an example to remind the others that if you break the law, you'll be punished. It helps them maintain order in the magical world." she explained through gritted teeth.
"So this was all for show?"
"They probably would've found me guilty, then sent me home, with just a slap on the wrist. But thanks to you, I'm stuck in a jail cell!"
Natsu panicked, "WHAT? ...I'm sorry"
Erza sighed, returning his horrified expression with a soft smile, "It's okay, you meant well."
Natsu grunted when Erza gave him a brain-damaging hug, "Ow, that hurts!"
Above the two prisoners, Jellal still roamed around the halls of the Magic Council's Fiore Branch in his Thought Projection, with Belno hot on his feet.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.
Jellal continued walking, "To the jail cells."
"You can't be serious, is it because of them?"
He turned around and stopped abruptly. "Yes, now would you please stop following me around?" Requested Jellal.
She remained by his side as he got access to the bottom floor, where Erza and Natsu resided for the time-being. Belno scoffed, the employees sucked up to Jellal whenever he asked for a favour.
"You should avoid appearing at the Magic Council at this hour, the employees talk."
"And? Nothing scandalous, I presume?" he acted as if he hadn't heard the toads speak about him, especially the female ones.
"You know what I'm talking about. Keep in mind, being an easily accessible target allows your enemies to kill you."
"I know, I learnt that lesson a long time ago."
"Hey!" Belno half-yelled. "You'd better not try anything funny."
"I won't." He turned around, hands in his pockets. From the corner of the eye, she could see him fish for the keys that could unlock the cells. Belno knew better than to get involved in Jellal's antiques, turning around when he was nearing the staircase. If Crawford found out Jellal set the prisoners free, he'd get into trouble. It was unlikely, since Jellal did a lot of things under the Magic Council's nose.
He continued down the stairwell, fumbling with the keys until he reached the cells to his right. Barely anyone were in these cells, because many of the offenders resided in the main branch of the Magic Council where security was tight. "Jellal!" hollered Natsu, gripping the iron bars that separated the Wizard Saint from the other mages.
He approached them with no security on the bottom floor. "We're getting out of here."
Erza stood up and crossed her arms, "Are you allowed to be here?"
"No," he paused, "but everything will be fine. So long as we keep quiet, the chairman won't find out. Belno won't tell him either, rest assured."
"Another councillor saw you here? Jellal, you need to go home!" demanded Erza.
"Too late," he turned the key to the cell and Natsu ran outside.
"So, where's our escape route?" asked Natsu, scanning the maze of cells.
Erza grabbed him from his scarf, "You're not going anywhere. If we're getting out, we have to rely on Jellal's sense of navigation."
The Fairy Tail wizard swallowed hard. He could tell Erza wasn't in the brightest mood.
When they reached the guarded stairs, the Rune Knights crossed their weapons, blocking access to the hallways on the first floor. "Sir, we need confirmation that you're allowed to free the prisoners."
"I have the authority to free prisoners as I seem fit. Any Magic Council member has that right." Jellal glowered at them, startling Erza and Natsu.
"Jellal, Natsu and I can stay the night here. It's okay." She whispered, watching his unrelenting gaze pierce through the guards.
"We apologize." They lifted their weapons and let the mages through, bowing their heads down.
"Do all members really have the power to release prisoners?"
"Yes, unless they've committed grave offenses. Then again, you wouldn't find any of those prisoners lurking around these unsupervised cells."
"Thanks Jellal," laughed Natsu, as the three mages exited the Fiore Magic Council, floating in the air. They looked at the height between the floating building and the ground.
Natsu grabbed onto Jellal, "That's too high!"
"Well, our only way out is to use magic."
"Requip: Flight Armour!" Erza raced to the bottom at full speed, slowing down a few metres before touching the ground.
"Two can play at this game. Meteor!" Jellal dragged Natsu down with him, reaching the forest floor faster than Erza. "Is that really your fastest armour?"
Erza smirked, "That wasn't a race as far as I was concerned, but I'll gladly take you on someday."
"Challenge accepted."
Natsu put his arms up in the air, "That was so fast! Maybe I can use my fire to do something like that!"
"Well, since Heavenly Body Magic is intertwined with astronomy, my energy comes from stars and meteors, which is why I can travel almost as fast as a meteor. Hence my spell's name."
"As fast as a meteor?" Erza changed back into her Heart Kreuz armour and blue skirt, staring at him in astonishment. "But then I assume that doesn't last long, because you generate this energy."
"As long as I have ethernano in my body, I'll be fine. Meteor doesn't use up much of my energy, unlike my grand spells."
"Interesting, I want to learn more about these magic containers in our bodies."
"I do too, but there's barely enough information that reveals the significance of the containers. They probably won't have adequate information for another decade. The dark guilds might have a sense of this information because they typically experiment on other mages." The thought of dark guilds using human lives for experiments disgusted Jellal, which is why he was so keen on tracking them down.
"Speak English, my brain cells are hurting!" told Natsu. The two S-Class wizards stopped in their tracks and smiled.
"Typical Natsu, I bet you're hungry."
Jellal was right, because Natsu's stomach had been growling for a long time. "So, are you going to treat me to a meal?"
"I think you owe me something for going through all that trouble. But since this resulted from my idea, I guess I'll treat you tonight."
"Woo hoo! You're way nicer than Lucy!"
Erza raised an eyebrow, "You'd expect her to be nice to you after everything you've done? It's impolite to barge into her house at such random timings. I have to agree with her on this one, Natsu."
"She doesn't give me free food like Jellal does," whined Natsu.
"It's because it's hard for her to pay the monthly rent."
"Hmph, since when was she so polite, anyway?" Natsu noticed they'd been blabbering while walking aimlessly. Or so he thought. "So, where are we eating?"
"At the restaurant in Hargeon," answered Jellal.
"No way, man! Their food is so delicious, Luce took me there when I first met her."
"That's also the day you ruined the port, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but it's all fixed, no biggie."
Jellal couldn't help but curve his lips upwards at Natsu's naivety. "You wouldn't say that if you were in the Magic Council. Things aren't looking up for us."
Erza cocked her head to the side as they stepped foot into the restaurant. "Really? What's their plan of action for now?"
A woman stood at the face of the restaurant and smiled as they walked in. "Welcome to Hargeon Restaurant! May I get the number of people tonight?"
"Three," answered Jellal.
"Of course!" she led them to a booth where Natsu and Jellal took a seat on one side, while Erza opposite to them.
The waitress set down a couple of menus before taking her leave. Jellal finally answered Erza's question. "They're trying to find a reason to disband Fairy Tail. They think it'd be in my best interest because apparently it's biased if a guild member works for the Magic Council."
"How so?"
"Well, for instance, let's say Phantom Lord was trialed, and I was judging them. If I had a personal grudge against them, I could use that as a reason to declare them guilty. However, I'd be exiled from my position if I used my power for personal gain."
"I'm sure the Magic Council wouldn't let anyone like that be a part of Era."
Jellal shook his head and gave a sad smile, "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, Erza. The Chairman of the Magic Council appoints the new council members. He's a very...peculiar individual. I don't trust him entirely, I feel like he's plotting something under the council's nose."
"In that case, take precautionary measures. It's possible he shares information with outside contacts. And as a chairman, he probably knows everything that goes on in the Magic Council."
"Yeah, you're right." They turned to Natsu, who stared excitingly at the menu. "So, have you decided what you wanted to eat?"
"Aw yeah! I'm ready to order!"
The waitress was waiting patiently for the mages to finish deciding; then approached them with a pen a notepad in her hand. "Well sir, what would you like?"
Natsu drooled at the sight of all the pictures of the dishes. "Do I have a limit, Jellal?"
"I don't mind."
"Oh boy. Okay, so I'll have two Steak and Spicy Burgers."
The waitress bowed her head, "I'm sorry sir, we don't have any available at the moment."
"Oh, no problem. What about the Deep Stir-Fry?"
"That's not available either."
"Alright then, what about the Tempura Shrimp?"
The waitress shook her head, with the same smile plastered on her face. "Then what do you have?"
"Only hot beverages are available at this hour."
"This sucks," grunted Natsu.
"Well, what did you expect, sir? Most of the restaurants are closed by now."
"Fine, get me whatever you have left."
The waitress nodded, adding a special note. "And for you two?" she turned to Jellal, then Erza.
"Nothing for me," replied Erza.
Jellal shook his head, "Not hungry."
"We always provide water if you need some." With that, she left to go inform the chefs of Natsu's surprise. Jellal couldn't help but notice the smirk plastered on the waitress's face.
"I think we should get going." Suggested Jellal, who knew something was fishy about this place.
Erza caught on and nodded her head.
"But I didn't even get to eat anything!" whined Natsu.
Erza forcibly dragged him, "We'll eat somewhere else, got it?"
"So...hungry..." breathed the oblivious mage.
A guild blocked the way for the Fairy Tail wizards, who stepped back from the entrance of the restaurant.
"Twilight Ogre?" said Erza in disbelief.
The guild master laughed, "Heheheh, so we've found a bunch of Fairy Tail wizards here, hm?"
"So much for escaping the Magic Council undetected."
Jellal smiled, uncaring, "We can worry about that later."
Erza wasn't sure if it was Twilight Ogre or Fairy Tail who had gotten themselves into trouble, but either way, she knew neither Jellal or Banaboster would let up.
They would be fighting the guild in the end.