I do not own Fairy Tail. So sorry for the late update, I've been busy lately (even though it's summer and I shouldn't be...). I'm also going to be bust next week and won't be able to update after Wednesday for a few days. 'll try to post another chapter before that. Enjoy this one!
"Are you absolutely positive?"
Gray's frown deepened as the man across from him answered with a lifeless nod. Wrinkles and age spots coated the man's skin; eyes drained of enthusiasm stared back at the raven. One hand was resting on a wooden staff, supporting the elderly man's weight. He looked as if a gust of wind would knock him over. Any one on the street would pass by him and assume he was just any helpless elderly man. The ice mage held a different opinion of the man, same as anyone who saw the green crest on the senior's arm. Without a doubt the maker mage respected this man beyond the average being. His old master, Makarov, and the other Ten Wizard Saint he used to know, Jura, combined wouldn't be equal to this man's power.
"I fear…Labhrás may strike us at our core soon."
Gray dropped his head in his hands and rubbed his temples, trying to calm the raging headache that was beginning to form. He let his mind contemplate every possible scenario that could arise out of this. They say wisdom comes with age, which had certainly proven true for him. He would always be the first to admit his plans were never perfect but in the past years he had become quite the strategist. His tactics had become legendary, and the skill it took to match his moves was close to being nonexistent.
"Leoncio…despite all the obvious motivations, what gave you the sudden idea he would attack out of the blue?"
The older mage scratched his scraggly beard, unsure how to go about his explanation. "I sent out a man the other week to investigate, only to find there was nothing to investigate. Labhrás has kept up all threats and assaults as he always had, but he himself has been in solitude from our eyes. What's more is that the type of magic we have usually found being used in his territory has drastically changed. It's more…unnatural."
"Unnatural, huh?" Gray folded his hands before him and closed his eyes in concentration, a habit he had adopted over the years. "Northeast battalion…" He mumbled.
"Hmm?" Leoncio raised a bushy eyebrow at him.
"Northeastern troops." The ice mage repeated. "We send a squadron in that direction and close off Labhrás' movements. From there we dispatch foot soldiers onwards to any trouble regions."
"You know what that means for you, correct?"
Gray nodded. "I've postponed having to leave them alone for as long as I could…but at this point it's unavoidable. I'll head out to the war ravaged zone tomorrow, the sooner we start this counterattack the better."
The other great mage bobbed is head in approval. "Very well, I trust you'll do your best for the sake of our lives."
Makarov walked down the cobblestone streets of the town of Magnolia. Besides him a faint humming could be heard by his ears and ears of his children if they would have been accompanying him to the postal facility today. For the time being, it was just him and a very energetic childlike spirit. The first master of Fairy Tail spun, danced, and skipped aimlessly down the street alongside him. Makarov smiled at the always eager apparition before returning his attention to the envelope in his hand he had just picked up. His face fell at the address of the sender posted in the corner. How he knew that address, and how he had come to loath it in his years as master of the most unpredictable guild in Fiore.
Reluctantly, he tore open the sealed paper and pulled out the letter that was contained inside. Black, block text was printed on the page. An official seal was pressed into the corner of the document. The filed compliant was in his hand was long enough it could be considered a dissertation. The overall letter wasn't the part that came close to making his heart stop. It was the high cost of damage and repairs that needed to be made at the end of the letter.
"What is it? Another epistle from the council?" Mavis stopped in her humming and looked over the stunned elderly man's shoulder. Makarov tried to cough out a few words in response, instead his words stuck in his throat, refusing to come out while he was in his stupefied state. The specter let out a giggle and skipped ahead of him. "They're such a joyful guild." She called back over her shoulder.
The guild master snapped out of his horror and waved the letter around furiously. "They're a pain in my ass! Damn brats! Where did they get the idea to always go overboard? How are we supposed to pay this off this time? We're all out of funds, dammit!"
A handful of citizens turned and gave the old man a strange gaze, wondering who the nut was talking to. Mavis gave him a blank stare before losing interest and glanced around for something much more eye catching than the annoyed old man. "What's that?"
Makarov glanced up to where Mavis was looking. A large bulletin board was on display outside a magic store. People were crowded around it, muttering and pointing to a posted paper on the center of the notice board. The guild master approached the board and read the paper for himself. An evil smirk played on his lips as he finished reading.
Gray massaged the crook in his neck, trying to get the bothering discomfort to leave him be. He sighed in relief as houselights appeared in the distance, giving off some light in the dark night. Finally, after a long day's work he could rest for a moment, or at the very least, get something semi-warm to eat for a late dinner. At last, his hand rested on the brass doorknob of his home.
One set of dark blue eyes glanced up at him for a brief moment only to returning to the book they had been previously scanning, losing interest in the ice mage. He didn't know what it was, but there was something about teenagers that they all picked up a heartless, uncaring attitude. They only wanted to be left alone and refused to show compassion to those that held them dear. Gray smiled at his older daughter regardless. Maybe Ur wasn't as open as she was when she was a child, but to him she was still that little girl that he had to help with creating ice cubes.
"Dad!"
Gray beamed at the young girl that just ran up to him. His only other child reached up and hugged him. The ice mage bent down and picked her up, holding her against his chest. The younger girl was much more affectionate than her sister. He couldn't think of a time when she wasn't loving and kind towards everyone. He kissed her on the forehead lightly before giving her a "scolding" look.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?"
Tara giggled at the funny look her dad was giving her. "I was waiting for you to get home."
"Sure you were. So it has nothing to do with you still being hyped up on sugar from that ice cream you just ate?"
"How'd you know?"
"I can see the kitchen from here, kid. Next time, hide the evidence. You're making my job way too easy." Tara gave him an innocent smile in response. Gray moved over to the couch and sat down; Tara climbed onto his lap and cuddled up against him. "Glad you're up, though, I'm calling a family meeting."
"Does that mean I'm excused?" Malachi called from his position on the coffee table.
"You're still part of this family." Gray commented.
"Not willingly."
The ice mage ignored him and made sure he had the attention of the other two in the room. Ur gave him an irked look, probably annoyed that she had to communicate with another human being. Tara looked up at him with those warm, chocolate brown eyes of hers. Gray swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Well there's no easy way for me to say this, but…I'm going to be heading out tomorrow."
Tara scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. "You mean on a mission?"
"Kind of," Gray sighed. "It's a little more serious than that. More importantly, I don't know when I'll be back. It could be anywhere from two weeks to several months. But I promise I'll try to be home as soon as I can. Until then, I'm setting the ground rules to the extreme and then some, got it?" He glanced over to Ur when he said that. As calm as she could be at times he knew she could be the definition of recalcitrant when she felt like it. Ur just gave him an unreadable expression before returning to the volume she had been absorbed in.
"Got it." Tara answered. At least someone in this family bothered with words.
Gray kissed her once more on her forehead. "Good, now go get ready for bed." Tara nodded before hopping off his lap and leaving. After making sure she was out of earshot he turned back to the other two still in the room. Malachi wasn't bothering to even appear he was listening to a word he just said. If it wasn't how loyal he knew the reptile secretly was he would be wondering why the creature even put up with them. He glanced over to Ur, whom was giving him a displeased glare.
"You don't have to sugarcoat everything for her. She'll figure it all out eventually."
The ice mage frowned at her. "Let her have a childhood. She's just a kid; she doesn't need to know how serious life becomes just yet." Ur didn't reply to that. His words probably went in one ear and out the other anyway. "I'll keep in touch. If there are any opportunities to come home, believe me, I will. Till then I need you two to watch your step. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"I never drag myself down to your level of stupidity, human." Damn dragon.
"Thank you, for your unselfish actions." Gray remarked. "While I'm at it," He turned his attention back to Ur. "No S-Class missions during my absence. I don't need you being away for long periods of time." Ur gave him a look of disbelief before slamming her book shut and storming out of the room. He couldn't blame her for that. He remembered when he was told not to do something back when he was her age. Of course it had been Erza who had always thrown those kind of orders out. That knight was scary enough that everyone listened to her though. Speaking of the scarlet, he wondered if she was just as terrifying now as she was back then. If she was a monster when they were young he'd hate to know how frightening she was now.
Natsu let out a cry of pain as he was thrown to the ground. Above him stood the most menacing wizard he had ever laid his onyx eyes upon. He held his hands up in surrender, knowing all too well that it wouldn't matter. The mage was no longer humane in their exploit. He saw a gleam of piercing silver and knew his life was over. "Prepared to be punished." Natsu gulped at his captor's words, probably the last words he would ever hear.
"LISTEN UP, BRATS!"
Natsu let out a sigh of relief as the blade stopped an inch short of his throat. The scarlet standing above him retracted the weapon and let the fire mage regain his composure. The knight turned to who had spoken. Master Makarov stood atop the Fairy Tail bar where he could be clearly scene by all.
"Every last one of you has cost this guild a great deal. The council has sent us a fine that if not paid will result in possible disbandment of the guild. By the looks of our funds, we can no longer afford to pay it off."
Murmurs rose in the guild, some of which held to tone of panic to them. Guild members shifted from foot to foot, their nervousness clear as day.
"However," the elder continued. "An opportunity has arisen that could be very beneficial to us. If taken full advantage of we could afford to pay off our debt and gain enough recognition that the council would never dare to even think of closing our guild."
All eyes were focused on the old man now. Anxiety was replaced with excitement. Mavis appeared next to the old master and had a flyer in her hand. "Tada!" The spirit turned the flyer towards the guild so everyone could see it. "The International Grand Magic Games!"
Faces around the guild hall fell and a few wizards muttered something about that being the worst idea they've ever heard of. "Is that really such a good idea?" Lucy was the first to speak up. "After last year the whole idea of the games just seemed taboo."
"That's right!" Cana shouted. "Do we really want to take a chance after what happened?" More protest of the event were yelled out.
"Enough!" Makarov shouted over the yelling of the guild. "What happened last year was coincidental. None of us would have gone had we known however-"
"Then why are we going this year?!" Some shouted.
"Mavis and I have already thought this through." Makarov added, not wanting someone else to throw in their opinion.
The first master nodded and opened her mouth to speak. "Magic power was stolen from wizards last year to power the Eclipse plan. But that was to power something for the country of Fiore, powered by Fiore wizards. Now we have wizards from around the world to participate. No country would try a stunt like that involving citizens of other countries. If they did they would risk straining their relationships and possible cutoff from that country. So you see we have nothing to worry about this time."
"It's still an awful idea!" Someone yelled. "With that many competitive wizards in one spot something's bound to go wrong!"
Makarov waved the statement aside. "I have no doubt precautions will be taken by every government that has citizens of theirs competing. Of course we'll take our own, just to be sure."
"I'M ALL FIRED UP!"
Everyone turned to the fire mage that just jumped up. Natsu had both fists pumped in the air and determination rolled off of him in waves.
"A little competition to show everyone who's the best? Bring it on!"
Makarov let out a relived sigh, someone agreed to this. "Now that you all have begun to come to your senses, let me explain how the games are different. Mavis and I have already looked into this quite a bit."
"First of all," Mavis started. "Teams are different. Instead of only five players we now may have up to seven."
"Seven?" Erza asked. "That right there will almost guarantee our victory."
Mavis nodded. "What's more is that different categories have been set up. The games in Fiore allowed only wizard guilds to compete. Here single mages may also compete."
"Hear that, brats? That means if you're not on our team you're still competing. We're dominating this year!"
"Single mages, huh?" Gajeel smirked. "As in we can gain the title strongest mage in the world, gihi."
"Like you would get that title." Natsu challenged.
Makarov sighed as the two dragon slayers started another one of their fights, which soon brought in more mages to it, until half the guild was in an uproar. Mavis sat beside him, giggling. "They're such a rowdy bunch."
"As long as they're in…" Makarov groaned.