CH11: Times of Grace
Zancrow woke up in a cell. It was a comfortable place by the looks of it. It had a sink, toilet, a queen size bed, and a large bookshelf filled with literature.
"Ok, so I know I'm not in the wizard prison. None of their accommodations are this good."
He got up from the bed and began to look around. The cell door was solid steel and just beyond the entrance he could see the Fairy Tail banner hanging overhead. "They presume to capture me?" Zancrow tried to power up, to no avail.
"What's going on?" The God Slayer looked at his wrists where his battle gauntlets once were only to have been replaced by bracelets. He tried to generate a simple flame in his hand only to have the bracelet faintly glow as he tried. "Magic sealing bracelets. I got all the power in the world but am unable to utilize it due to these infernal contraptions."
He tried to take them off only to find that they were placed with a protective spell. He guessed anyone in Fairy Tail besides him could easily take the bracelets off. Still, two was a little excessive. "What are they so afraid of? Hehehe." The God Slayer chuckled to himself.
He was in this cell for what seemed like hours. He was so bored he began to read a book from the shelf to pass the time. When he got bored of reading, he would do pushups and sit ups should a female jailkeeper come to visit him.
He then heard a door open. He looked up the flight of stairs to where his means of escape was only to see Makarov and four of his children descend towards him.
"Hey Makarov, how's that old noggin treating you? Hahaha. How's your arm?"
After about a minute of an intense stare down, Makarov spoke.
"Laki here tells me you saved her life."
"Yea, what if I did?"
"Doesn't seem like the kind of thing a dark guild member such as yourself would do. Especially one whose goal was to destroy the entire Fairy Tail guild." Makarov inquired.
"Girl needed help so I stepped in and did something about it. I didn't know she was a part of your guild at the time. It's not a big deal." Zancrow rolled his eyes clearly annoyed.
"That's where you are wrong my boy. Every good deed you have done has been brought to my attention during our meeting upstairs. And saving Laki as well as defending the guild from Twilight Ogre, tells me that underneath this heartless exterior, there is some potential good in you."
Zancrow locked eyes with Laki. "What else have you told him?" She looked away with embarrassment and blushed a little.
"Not just her. Macao and Wakaba also vouch for you. And Kinana says you even helped her solve certain boy problems she had not too long ago."
"Is there a point to all this banter old man?"
Makarov's giant aura enveloped him and Zancrow backed off from the cell door in caution.
"The point is, whatever happens to you from here on out is solely my decision. I could hand you over to the Council, hell I could even kill you for what you tried to pull yesterday." Makarov's aura faded away as he calmed down. "But after much convincing from my family, I have decided to spare you a prison sentence. I have decided to spare your life in general for that matter."
"So what, are you going to expel me from the guild?"
"Not quite." Erza responded.
The two wizards stared at each other intensely. Zancrow had not forgotten the pain the scarlet haired wizard had caused him.
"Ahem," Makarov cleared his throat to ease the tension. "You will remain a part of Fairy Tail. Of course, there will be rules that only you will have to follow but it's for the good of the guild. Should you break any of the rules I'm about to list, Erza will break you. It's not just her you have to watch out for. If you cause any trouble at all for our guild, pray that I send my grandson after you and that I don't take care of you myself."
"What if I refuse this o so generous offer?" Zancrow asked seriously for once.
"Then you can make yourself a new home in either a coffin or a prison cell. What I am doing right now is giving you grace and heaven and earth both know you don't deserve it. But, as one of the Ten Wizard Saints, I must come to accept that there is hope for even the lowest of scum. And I believe that with a little guidance and compassion, you will change to become what you never could have been on your own."
"And what's that old man?"
"A part of a family."
Makarov and Zancrow glared at eachother for what seemed like hours. Even Erza and Laki were starting to become uneasy with the dead silence.
"Do we understand each other?" Makarov asked with solemn authority in his voice.
Zancrow just nodded.
"Excelent. Firstly, there will be no more attempts to kill Natsu, or any other of your guildmates. You may spar, you may argue, but if I come to hear that you tried to kill anybody, you will wish you had chosen a life in prison. Secondly, female guild members will be given their space. After what you pulled on Erza during your battle I figured I had to address the issue. You may talk to them, hell, you can even try to flirt assuming you survive the beating they will probably give you for even attempting such a thing. But you will not assault anyone sexually in this guild without their consent. Whatever you do to one of my daughters, I will do to you. And that is a promise. Understand?
Zancrow gulped and nodded again. 'Guess doggy style is out of the picture now.' He thought.
And finally, as long as you operate with that crest on your chest, you are a part of Fairy Tail. I am this guilds master. My word is law. Disobey me, and you will live to regret it especially if one of your thick-headed stunts puts any one of my children in danger. Are we clear on these matters?"
Zancrow could barely stomach what was going on. He assumed they would get rid of him entirely. After trying to obliterate the entire guild just yesterday, Zancrow couldn't believe they would offer him anything other than a one way ticket to hell.
"Yes…sir."
"Excelent. I have instructed for Erza to release you from your cell and your magic binding bracelets in the morning. The rest of the day you will be here. Think about what you can become. Here in our guild, anything is possible. Even for you."
With those last words of wisdom, Makarov, Laki, Erza, Macao, and Wakaba all left Zancrow in his cell to ponder what his new life will be like as a true member of Fairy Tail.