Chapter 13: Search and Rescue

Makarov Dreyar considered himself a relatively even tempered man, he had to be to be the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail. He was easygoing, friendly, and loving man. He tended to turn the other cheek, especially with those he considered family. Some would accuse him of spoiling his loved ones, and he would freely admit it was true for the most part. He was a bit too soft on those under his care, but only because those who found their way to Fairy Tail tended to be those who suffered the most. They didn't need a hardass leader, they needed compassion and love. As a result, seeing him angry was a rare sight indeed.

But when Mariane had brought the news of what had become of Laxus, they didn't see the Guildmaster angry. Nor did they even see the old man irate. Hell, they didn't see him furious.

They saw him Goddamn WRATHFUL!

Upon hearing the news, the Master had called an assembly had been called of all Fairy Tail members currently in Magnolia. The bell of the Guildhall tolled proud, thrice rung, and it reached the ear of many Fairy Tail Magi. Within a half an hour they were assembled, chatting and talking nervously in the Hall, waiting for the Guldmaster's guidance and wisdom.

No exception to this was Link and his friends, gathered and huddled in one corner. They kept close to one another, not talking, merely staying close to each other, drawing strength from each other. Mariane was talking with Makarov on the second floor, getting details of earlier events straight and trying to figure out a course of action. Each of the eight youngest members of Fairy Tail were desperately trying to keep calm, while sorting through their own whirling emotions.

Erza was seething with rage, and paced like a tiger. Though she was not as close to Laxus as Link or Simon, she consider Laxus a friend and part of the extended family she had come to love over these years. She was worried that perhaps Ivan may try to hurt him, but she couldn't bring herself to imagine a parent hurting a child. But from what Mariane had told her, she should expect mad things from Ivan. She had never truly liked the man and had seen him as an intruder upon her family. Now he had dared to harm a friend. She would make him pay.

For Simon, he had grown unexpectedly close to Laxus in his time in Fairy Tail. Perhaps it was because Simon was close to Link and Laxus was Link's self-appointed brother, but Simon had grown to have a special fondness for the aspiring Lightning Mage. Erick was in the same boat with Simon, feeling a responsibility to get Laxus home safe. He too was worried for their friend, but he was also frightened of himself. Erick considered himself even tempered, but sometimes he struggled to contain the Dragon aggression within him, and right now his inner beast was howling for revenge.

Kinana squeezed Erick's hand, giving him a comforting smile. Kinana herself didn't know Laxus that well, but she did know that Erick was close to him, along with her other friends. Kinana's natural shyness kept her from getting to know Laxus, but she still did not wish for harm to come to him. Despite herself, she was more worried about how this would affect Erick than about Laxus himself. She knew that was a bit selfish, and she was worried about Laxus make no mistake, but she simply cared more about Erick and those around her.

Cana found herself in a similar boat as Kinana, albeit she was more worried about her pseudo-brother Link. She knew that Laxus and Link were close, but she herself was always sort of left out of that equation. To her Laxus wasn't a personal friend, more the friend of a family member and therefore a friend by association. She didn't want him to get hurt, but her first priority was her cousin, and that was that. She had only recently gotten her family back, and she was not going to let them get hurt. Gildarts could mostly take care of himself, but her pseudo-brother had a hero complex that tended to get him into trouble. She was going to have to keep him from rushing head on to meet Ivan and find a way to save Laxus.

Sho and Milliana sat close together, ardently whispering to each other and trying to think clearly. Both of the two youngest members of the group were frightened by what had happened, and both were remembering Wally and what had become of him. Neither would say it aloud, but both blamed themselves for Wally's fate and had sworn to never allow it to happen to a friend again. Underneath their fear was growing a strong sense of determination. They were not helpless anymore. They had magic at their fingertips now, power ancient and terrible, and they were going to use it. They were not going to lose another friend.

Link sat in their corner, glaring down at the floor, his repaired sword held loosely in one hand. Link was frightened of course, but like Erza, he was pissed. Like his friends he remembered the island, and the pain of losing Rob, Wally, and Jellal. Link had mourned both Rob and Wally, but it was Jellal's fate that had burned at him the most. Jellal had been a brother, a friend he could count on for anything, and he had betrayed them. Link couldn't help but feel responsible for it somehow. And now another brother in arms needed his help once more. Another friend was in need, and this time Link would not fail. This time he would be the Hero he was born to be. This would not be like the Island. He would not fail. Not again.

All these thoughts and more swirled in the heads of the children as Makarov and Mariane walked out onto the balcony above them. A hush fell over the Fairy Tail Mages as though on an unseen cue as they looked up at the Makarov Dreyar and his daughter –in-law.

For the children, they had always seen Makarov as a somewhat ridiculous figure. A goofy and fun grandfather to be precise. Someone to love, but never exactly taken seriously. Now though, now they could see the steel beneath the smile. Makarov was dressed in his full Wizard Saint regalia, a look of abject fury on his face. The air around him shimmered with power, a sign of his barely checked rage. Mariane was also dressed for battle, wearing an all-black outfit with a set of silver plate armor over it. Both looked dangerous, both looked powerful. Bother looked ready to go out and destroy anything that got in their way.

Makarov hopped up onto the railing and addressed Fairy Tail as he had many times before, but those had been under much happier circumstances. This, if anything was a council of war. A General addressing his troops.

Makarov spoke. "As I am sure you've heard, one of our own has been kidnapped. Laxus, my grandson, has been kidnapped by his own father. My son, Ivan." He said, and a furious spell of whispering broke out among the assembled mages. Makarov held up a hand for silence. "One of our own has betrayed us, and we shall not stand for it. That is why, today, we are going to tear Magnolia apart looking for them." He said fiercely. "We will find Ivan and punish him, and we will bring Laxus home. We will show the world what happens to traitors in Fairy Tail!" declared the old man in a powerful voice, gaining a roar of approval from the crowd. It was clear that Makarov was taking the betrayal of his son personally.

It was no secret that the relationship between Ivan and Makarov had been strained these last few years. Something dark had been growing in the Guildmaster's son, and everyone seemed to see it. Except Makarov. In truth Makarov had not been blind to this growing darkness in his son, he had simply hoped that it would not rule him. So the old man had held out hope, had fought with all his might to save Ivan from himself. And yet, it was all for not. Whatever devil inside of Ivan had been there ruled him now. It broke the old Wizard Saint inside, but he couldn't allow himself to grieve right now. He had to get his grandson.

Mariane, however, felt little grief. She and Ivan had not loved each other for a very long time. She had only stayed for her son's sake as she knew Laxus loved Ivan very much. But now she was in full grizzly-bear-mama mode. Ivan had dared to hurt her child, and now she was going to carve out pieces of him before she finally put him down. And if Makarov tried to stop her, well that was his problem now wasn't it?

Makarov surveyed his Guild Members and saw in their eyes a strength and soul that no ordinary could match, but he also saw hesitation in them. Not out of fear of Ivan, although he was an S-Class mage for a reason. It was the idea of hunting down one of their Guild like an animal, no matter what he had done.

Makarov sighed, feeling every one of his years upon him like a lead weight and spoke. "I know, it's hard. Attacking one of our own. But this isn't about the Guild anymore. This isn't about loyalty to each other anymore. This is about a child kidnapped by an unstable man. This is a rescue mission to find and save an innocent." Fire filled his eyes as he looked out into the crowd. "And if you're the Mages I hope you are, you can see that too! This is for Laxus!" Cheers met his words, and Makarov felt his heart swell in love for the Guild. These brave souls, these wonderful people going out to find and save a child.

Mariane stepped forward. "Now listen up, local law enforcement has agreed to help us in our search and will be taking the Merchant's Quarter and the Residential Quarter. We will be covering the Industrial and Costal Quarters." Nods and murmurs as they registered Mariane's words. "We'll be splitting into groups of four, no one goes anywhere alone. Remember, if you find them, your priority is to get Laxus the hell out of dodge and get back to safety. Got that?" she said. "Ivan. Is. Mine." She said, putting all the fury of a winter storm into her eyes. No one dared to object. After all, Mariane was S-Class for a reason too. For that same reason she was called the Human Thunderclap. She was one of the best.

Once Mariane and Makarov had given their little speech they began to assign teams, and first in line were the "Children's Crusade" as the adults had jokingly come to call the children who had made Fairy Tail their home. Makarov took one look at them and said, quite assertively, "No."

They groaned as one and Simon muttered to Link, "I told you he'd say that." Link nodded. Simon HAD said that.

Link stepped forward. "Master, Laxus is our friend. We have every right to go out there too." He said with as much conviction as he had. "We're Fairy Tail too, this is our job as well." He said, the rest asserting their agreement behind him.

Makarov glared back at Link. "I know Link, but you are also children. Exceptionally gifted children true, but children all the same. And Ivan is an S-Class mage. I cannot, in good conscience, send children out to face an S-Class Mage." He said sternly, but he saw the stubborn gleam in each of their eyes.

Erick spoke up next. "All due respect Guildmaster, but wasn't it you that said Erza, Simon, Link and I would be ready for the S-Class exam ourselves in a few months?" he said aggressively. "Besides, we're not stupid. Getting Laxus out is priority numbero uno. We know not to Kamikaze our old buddy tall dark and douchey. Course that is if someone's hero complex doesn't make him think he can go He-Man all of a sudden." Said Erick, shooting a look at Link. Link had the courtesy to blush in embarrassment.

Makarov sighed and continued in his stern mentor voice. "You have power, but you also have little to no experience in these matters." He said. "I'm not having your lives on my head as well." He said fiercely.

Mariane, who had assembled her own old team of herself Macao, Wakaba, and Macao's wife Ceecee, heard the whole thing and shook her head. She herself was uncertain of what to do. She loved those kids like her own, but she didn't want them in danger either. Then, much to her surprise, Macao walked past her to stand by the kids.

"Guildmaster, let me ask you something." Said the Fire Mage. "These kids here, they're Fairy Tail kids right?" he asked rhetorically. Makarov simply glared at Macao, but the Fire Mage either didn't notice or didn't care. "Right. Think about that for a second. Fairy Tail. Children." He said in a tone that one might use with an especially thick child. "Do you really think that forbidding them to go is going to do anything at all?" he asked with a small smile.

Makarov blinked. Honestly, he hadn't thought of that. But it made way too much sense. He looked at all eight of the children, staring at him with wide-eyed innocent looks. LIES! "If I say no you'll just go out on your own won't you." he said dryly. Nods from all eight. Makarov nodded. "Point taken." He said. "Mariane! Bring the rest of your team over!" he called to his daughter in-law.

The powerful blonde and her remaining two teammates walked over, Mariane wearing an impatient look. She was eager to start looking for Ivan. "Yes Gramps? What do you need?" she asked quickly.

"I know you want to get out there soon so I'll make this quick. You and Wakaba will take Link, Erza, Simon, and Cana with you. Macao and Ceecee, you two will take Sho, Milliana, Erick and Kinana with you. If they insist on going out then I want them supervised, understood?" he ordered.

"You got it boss man." Said Macao with a thumbs up, and the others agreed.

Mariane frowned. She didn't like the idea of her team splitting up, they worked best as a unit. But she knew that the eight kids around them needed proper supervision and a group of twelve would draw too much attention. So she, reluctantly, agreed as well. Besides, she could give the kids a lesson on how to properly murder a traitor. "Fine, but let's get going." She turned to Ceecee, Macao's wife. "Ceecee, make sure that your husband doesn't fuck up." She snapped. "Move out!" she snapped at the others, heading straight for the door, her assigned group on her heels, trying to keep up.

Ceecee and Macao looked over the children in their charge. Quite suddenly Ceecee broke into speech. "I want one." She said to Macao.

Macao looked confused. "Ceecee, we can't keep them. They aren't like kittens you know." He said, slightly amused. Ceecee glared at him until he finally got it through his thick skull what she was talking about. "Ceecee I told you I'm not ready for kids." He said in a slightly panicked tone.

"THEN WHEN WILL YOU BE READY YOU PERVERTED JERK!" she cried.

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY!" he shouted back. Kinana, Milliana, Sho, and Erick all sweat-dropped. This was going to be a very long day.

Two years. It had been two years since Gray Fullbuster had set out for Fairy Tail from the Northern Continent. He hadn't expected on the journey to take this long, he had not planned for it, but as it turned out there were many things he hadn't accounted for. For one, it was harder than he thought it would be to travel when your only money amounted to less than the worth of an old shoe. For two, he had never been in this land before, and without the money to buy a map he was pretty much up a creek without a paddle.

But what he really hadn't counted on was Juvia.

He couldn't just leave her alone, nor could he send her back to a family that didn't love her. So he was forced to take her with him. Besides, when she found out that he was going to a Magic Guild she insisted on going as well, announcing proudly that she was a Water Mage. She got a weird look in her eyes when she learned Gray was an Ice Mage. She kept muttering about destiny and a perfect fit.

Traveling with a companion, as it turned out, was a lot harder than traveling alone. The train was out, and so was a car, so they hoofed it on foot. But still, even though it was harder than by train Gray found himself having fun. Juvia was a nice traveling companion, and she knew a lot of Fiore inside and out. They had seen many of the beautiful things in the land. The singing falls of the South, the iron tower of Babren, and one time they traveled three days straight to see a football game. It was the first time since Ur had died that he really felt happy.

Before he had known it, two years had passed. And now, here he was, in Magnolia, ready to make his way as a member of Fairy Tail and hopefully finally find a way to free Ur. It was a long shot, but if there was any hope it was with Makarov Dreyar.

"Gray-sama!" cried Juvia, catching up to Gray as they entered the town limits, crossing over. "Gray-sama, how much farther to Fairy Tail? Do you want Juvia to carry you?" she asked brightly, looking like the giddy schoolgirl she was.

Gray smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, uh, no Juvia. I'm good." He said, quite suddenly realizing his shirt was missing. Silently cursing his stripping habits Juvia sighed but the perked up almost immediately.

"It is good that we are almost there Gray-sama, Juvia can hardly wait!" she said brightly, and she meant it. To meet others like her, Mages who wouldn't be afraid of her like other people were. To sleep in a real bed and eat real food without having to travel a county over. To finally have a place to call home. But most importantly, she and Gray-sama would have a place to be together!

The past two years she had spent with the Ice-Make Mage had been the happiest of her life. Never once- NOT ONCE! –had the awful rain come. It was wonderful, and it was her Gray-sama that made her feel like that! He made her feel happy inside, something that she had never known she could feel. She was determined to protect him and go wherever he went. She knew that she was a bit young, but she knew damn well how she felt. She was absolutely in love with her Gray-sama! Now she just needed to make him realize that he loved her as well.

Simple in theory, but difficult in execution as it turned out. Her Gray-sama seemed to be especially nervous about his feelings for he hadn't even given any indication that he had seen her feelings! All she could think of so far was to be there for him, help him work through his grief at the loss of his beloved teacher Ur and be there for him as a friend. Albeit she was a tad bit clingy, but she was not going to let anything happen to her beautiful sunshine boy!

And if there were any hussies in Fairy Tail that wanted to steal her Gray-sama away from her, well Juvia would have to show them just who exactly Gray-sama belonged to. She wasn't afraid to show off her strength to those little harlots.

As they entered the market Gray noticed that there seemed to be an awful lot of activity going on, especially in the knights around. "Juvia, is something weird going on or is it just me?" asked Gray, a bit confused.

Juvia shook her head. "No Gray-sama. Juvia can feel it too. Something very bad is going on." She said, very serious.

Gray nodded and prepared to call upon his magic if need be, immediately scanning for threats. For the moment they would continue to head towards Fairy Tail, but there was clearly something fishy going on.

Unfortunately, he was so fixated on scanning for threats he missed the pink haired guy and ran right into him.

Natsu Dragneel was positively PUMPED! He was here in Magnolia at long last, and ready to start kicking ass and taking names in the legendary Guild: Fairy Tail! And to top it all off, his bestest friend in all the world, Lucy Heartphalia, was right there with him. Together, they were going to rule that Guild!

For a whole year Natsu had lived on the Heartphalia Estate, not in the mansion itself but lurking on its grounds. He couldn't bring himself to live in that posh and fake-ass place, but he also couldn't bring himself to leave Lucy. Seriously, she was so lonely that she latched right onto the weirdo half-naked kid who was robbing her kitchen. Natsu didn't have it in him to be that much of a jerk to leave her alone. So he'd stayed, hanging out in the grounds and raiding the various houses there for food and water.

Lucy had strenuously objected to this, but then she saw that Natsu was quite capable of looking after himself and decided to let it drop. One weird thing he seemed to do, though, was that he slept in her bed. It kind of weird, partly because she had no idea how he kept getting in, but it was also welcome. He was like a giant, warm and cuddly teddy bear.

For a whole year things had been good for the two of them. Natsu had a steady and complete supply of good food, and Lucy had a real friend for the first time in her life. She even introduced Natsu to her Celestial Spirits, albeit they had both gotten soaked by an irate Aquarius who had apparently been in the middle of her beauty sleep.

There was only one stain on Lucy's newfound joy at life: her father. The man kept getting more and more distant, ignoring her more and more. Natsu kept wanting to beat up the older man, but Lucy wouldn't let him. Partly because she knew that her father would arrest and hurt Natsu, and partly because, despite everything, he was still her father. She loved him still. Natsu couldn't understand that. He would admit that he wasn't the sharpest customer out there, but he was smart enough to know that family wasn't supposed to treat each other like that. Blood shouldn't matter, he and Igneel hadn't been related! But still, it obviously meant something to Lucy, and she was his friend and he had to respect her choice.

Then Lucy had come out of the house with a black eye. She hadn't said anything, just cried into Natsu's shoulder and the young Dragonslayer knew everything he needed to. He had run away with Lucy in tow. Lucy hadn't objected, in fact she'd suggested that they find a Magic Guild to join for protection should her father ever decide he wanted his daughter back. So Natsu had endeavored to find the most kick-ass Guild out there, and Fairy Tail had come up almost unanimously. And so it was to Fairy Tail that Natsu traveled, his best friend in tow.

Unfortunately, in their haste to leave neither had grabbed any money. And so, flat broke, they traveled by foot. It had, surprisingly. Taken them a year to finally find Magnolia while riding in Boxcars, hitch-hiking, but mostly by foot once it became clear that Natsu had a horrible case of motion sickness.

But now, here they were. Ready to start their new life in Fairy Tail as the most kick-ass mages of all time! It was going to be sweet!

"Alright Lucy! We made it! Time to show those Fairy Tail guys who the best really is!" declared Natsu, brimming over with enthusiasm.

Lucy sighed, a harassed look on her face. Natsu was a dear friend but he could get quite… troublesome at times. "Natsu, I don't think you'll be able to beat up the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail yet. He's supposed to be a Wizard Saint after all." She said in a tired voice as Natsu darted through the crowd excitedly, looking for what she wasn't really sure. Who could tell with the Natsu: the Dragonslayer with the attention span of a sparrow?

Natsu let out a laugh. "Aw come on Luce! He's supposed to be an old fart! No way he can take me on." Said Natsu, his slightly arrogant confidence showing again. In reality it was actually one of his most charming traits, if annoying at times.

Lucy sighed. "Alright, I won't stop you from trying." She said with a small grin. Hopefully the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail would go easy on Natsu and not hurt him too badly. It might give Natsu something to focus his energy on too, a plus. If there was one thing Natsu was passionate about, it was getting stronger.

Unfortunately the excitable young Dragonslayer was charging forward again, right into someone. "NATSU LOOK-" (CRASH!) "-out." She finished, seeing the damage was already done. Hopefully the black haired shirtless kid and his blue haired companion didn't know any lawyers, otherwise they were screwed.

And like that, one of the greatest teams of Fairy Tail was born.

On a green hill overlooking Magnolia, three figures stood. Two males and one female.

One was a great bear-like man with thick, powerful muscles and a pot belly. His wild and untamed hair was red, with his surprisingly neat beard, matching the color. He wore steel-banded iron with spikes at the joints and the knees. His face was ugly and scarred, but his eyes twinkled with kindness. On his back was a great axe, easily the size of a man.

The second male was a tall and thin, with skin the color of worn bronze. He was nearly naked with his only clothes being simple cloth pants. He was built like a wolf lean and powerful. His silky black hair hung freely to his shoulders, and woven into it were beads and feathers along with other various odds and ends. His purple eyes were amused and bored at the same time. Up and down his torso was the tattoo of a snarling wolf.

The woman was rather short, a dwarf in fact. But her bright pink hair was neat and trimmed. She wore a fancy ballroom dress with a bow and quiver on her back. Her green eyes were wide open and happy, but with a hidden malice within them.

"So, you sure your dove had it right Janos? This town? We've been looking for the Hero for two years. If he isn't here I will kick your ass." said the shirtless man in a bored voice.

The large man, Janos, scoffed into his beard. "You doubt me Yasha? MY little birds are never wrong. The Hero be here." said Janos with utter confidence.

"And if he is here, then we are on the right track. The other Bearers should be nearby." said the woman, walking ahead of both of them. "So... last one into town reports to Elendil!" sh cried, taking off into town.

"Dammnit Elena!" cried Yasha taking after her with incredible speed. Janos simply sighed and raced after his charges. Two worlds were about to come crashing down upon the Hero of the Gods.

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!

AN: Hi there! Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I was eager to get this out there to let you know I'm not dead!

My reasons for not updating this are twofold.

First: I am actually in the process of writing my own novel! Its hard work, but I love it so damn much. So yeah. That's eating up a lot of my free time, so I won't be able to update as often as I'd like.

Second: For a long time I had completely lost my muse for this story. And writing without a muse is just… torture. It hurts you. So yeah. I had to fight hard to get it back. I hope this was a quality chapter even if it was a bit short. My greatest fear is producing low-quality work. I want to make it worth something.

I hope you enjoyed this, and please let me know what you think in the review section. Have a good one all you beautiful people out there!