Ultimate Fairy
Chapter 58: Edolas
Part IV
…
Last time on Ultimate Fairy…
"I did what I did for Circe, not you." Biowulf said as he left them.
Rex was silent hearing that as he didn't know what happened after he black out from wailing on Van Kleiss, it brought him some comfort, but also sadness, but Van Kleiss' agony made it somewhat better.
"How much of this did you plan?" Ben asked Mystogan as Biowulf, the lacrima disappearing, the X-pills all of it seemed too coincidental.
"Not as much as you think." Mystogan said as he merely worked off a situation, but did plan for certain things in the event he should ever return to Edolas such as the reverse anima and the Dragon Slayers' arrival.
Ben looked off into the distance seeing his friends fight "How long is left?" he asked feeling his strength and what little he had being pulled in two directions assuming the Dorma Anim and something Mystogan did.
"You truly are worthy of the rank of S-class Ben." Mystogan said to him knowing Ben would do well in the exams "You were chief amongst the guild's choices for the rank and my only choice." he said to him as Ben was worthy and displayed all qualities the guild desired.
Ben smiled at the praise and sat back and watched the battle of dragons.
…
"Time to settle the score old man." Natsu said looking at the Dorma Anim.
"You think you can stop me Dragon Slayer!" Faust said laughing seeing them as nothing more than ants.
"No we are gonna stop you ain't that right shrimp." Gajeel said looking to Wendy backing up a bit as she glared at him.
"I ain't a shrimp Gajeel, but yeah were gonna crush that this thing, but first." Wendy said looking like she was inhaling.
"What?" Faust said in confusion seeing the Dorma Anim was losing power "What's going on how am I losing power!" he said angrily.
Wendy wiped her mouth "I drained all of Ben's mana from your toy, now your hunk of junk ain't as powerful and I got a fire in my belly now." she said stealing Natsu's signature line "You guys ready to roar!?" she asked her the elder slayers who grinned.
"Fire Dragon…!"
"Iron Dragon…!"
"Sky Dragon…!"
"Roar!" they all roared together a spiral of elements hurdling toward the Dragon Knight.
Faust felt the explosive attack "How are you all so powerful!?" he asked angrily "You will be my thralls I will drain every last bit of your magic power and more!" he yelled at them.
"No, we won't!" Wendy shouted "We are Dragon Slayers, we slay dragons and we won't lose to some weak pathetic imitation of one." she said as Natsu and Gajeel smiled.
The battle went on Faust's Dragon Knight seemingly capable of more physical feats as it displayed strength, speed, and great manuverability.
The Dragon Slayers were at the point of exhaustion following Ben and Rex's previous condition of using their power all day.
"I'm running on fumes." Gajeel said in admittance as while he hated to admit it fighting the battles they have all fought today took their toll on his body.
"Ah you've reached the end of your rope, this battle is over." Faust said sounding superior thinking his victory was inevitable.
Natsu glared at the man with rage his eyes having a burning passion of rage in them "Screw that!" he said angrily.
Gajeel and Wendy looked at him in shock unable to believe the power of his spirit.
"Even if I have no power left in me, even if my body is beaten, broken, and bruised, I'll still fight, and not just for me, but for my friends." Natsu said as he got up "If I've got no more strength I'll borrow some from tomorrow!" he said feeling a rush of energy pass through his very being.
Gajeel and Wendy were inspired and felt the same energy going through Natsu.
"How." Faust said in a hush whisper unable to comprehend how they could still fight or even stand to the Dorma Anim.
The three Dragon Slayers unknowingly gained looks resembling their parents, the intensity one would feel upon meeting a dragon was palpable and even visible as Faust saw three dragons behind the Dragon Slaye, one made of armor like his Dorma Anim, one looking to be a combination between bird and dragon, and the one that looked like what anyone would expect a dragon to look like seemed the most frightening, it had scars along its body and seemed to be breed for combat and seemingly stood above the two previous dragons, but either through greed or Madness Faust stood tall in his Dorma Anim and the fight resumed.
"You ain't going anywhere old man!" Gajeel said changing his arm "Iron Dragon Nails!" he said as while he couldn't make the drill arm he got from Laserscale's enchantment spell, he could at least do this, he stappled multiple nails into the Dorma Anim's foot "Get out of this you old geezer!" he said dashing back to the other.
"Gajeel I need you to throw me!" Natsu said having an idea.
Gajeel wasted no time tossing Natsu straight at the Dorma Anim.
"I need you both to roar!" Natsu said igniting his body.
"You ready Gajeel!" Wendy said not needing to think as she took a deep breath Gajeel following her lead.
"Roar!" Gajeel and Wendy said as their combined roar hit Natsu dead center.
'He's riding our combined roar and adding his fire to the rotation.' Gajeel thought as riding the rotation was one thing, but adding to it not only made it more dangerous it would also increase the speed and damage to his physical attack.
Faust saw Natsu appoach and couldn't do anything as he was trapped and unable to move his mechanised dragon and felt Natsu's attack reach the Dorma Anim, the hull being shredded upon impact.
The Dorma Anim lit up and glowed brightly exploding.
The three dragon slayers smiled seeing the fake dragon explode signalling their victory.
…
Mystogan smiled seeing their victory, he was happy that his father had fallen and knew his world would soon be rid of magic 'Thank you all so much.' he thought bowing his head in gratitude.
Ben was opening and closing his eyes after a hard and rough day of toppling an empire 'When was the last time I did this?' he thought to himself unable to recall, he chuckled as this one felt the longest and hardest "Hey Rex are you gonna vanish with us?" he asked his EVO friend.
"How would I vanish?" Rex asked him curiously as he didn't have magic.
"Van Kleiss' Alpha-Omega nanite had a lacrima in the battery. If he made nanites doesn't that mean the nanites you got from him mean you have magic in you?" Ben asked his friend as the thought came to him.
Rex's eyes widened in surprise, forgetting they saw the lacrima added to the nanites batteries.
"Hey, you got a place with me man…although you may have to sleep on the couch." Ben said as he didn't have any other rooms 'Pantherlily better be bunking with Gajeel.' he thought as they were full already.
"Thanks man." Rex said as while Edolas had its fair share of problems and he had been mostly helping fight the kingdom and sticking it to Van Kleiss "You mind keeping him locked up?" he asked Mystogan as he didn't want Van Kleiss to be free.
"I am…unsure, we are intending to blame him for the loss of magic, the people may call for his execution." Mystogan said to him as that was the simple truth.
Rex did not care as Van Kleiss was a wanted man for multiple acts of terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism, bioterrorism, mass destruction to NY, mass murder given all the EVOs he has killed by absorption alone, attempting to cause another nanite event, and killing Circe "Do whatever you want Mystogan, he's a deadman in my world anyway." he said to him as he didn't have any love for the man, but he would pay for his crimes, but Rex wouldn't deliver it, he was no executioner and wouldn't kill especially not in Circe's name.
Ben saw the look and understood it well, but he had a point as given everything Van Kleiss has done his sentence would be a death sentence even by Plumber standards, as while they never killed unless, in the line of duty, they had to act on a universal level sometimes surrendering their prisoners to planets they come from or keep the prisoners given how galactic their crimes were and would face a galaxy court 'At least that's what Judge Domstol told me.' he thought as he had met with the judge on many occasions and often asked questions during and sometimes after the cases which he won.
Mystogan nodded all the same.
"You have a charge?" Rex asked his friend who shook his head "How much time do we have?" he asked Mystogan wondering how much time was on the clock.
"I give it about ten minutes." Pantherlily said to him.
Ben chuckled at the irony "Well I'm gonna take a nap, goodbye Mystogan." he said laying on the ground a bit a peace as he felt his friends victory was at hand "Oh and Mystogan." he said causing the double of Jellal to look at him "You'll be a great king." he said closing his eyes.
…
Ben woke up on the ground in a familiar spot 'Hey this is where I took Erza for our date.' he thought reminiscing a bit and was glad to see Magnolia in its proper place, but was brought out of his thoughts seeing Pantherlily, but in a much smaller size "Hey bud." he said to him getting a nod in return.
"Greetings Ben are you able to move?" Pantherlily asked as this man had his king's respect as well as his for what he did.
"Yeah hold on." Ben said seeing the Omnitrix had a bit of charge in it and hit the dial "Cherub!" he said transforming into his Exceed form thinking it would take up the least bit of power.
Pantherlily looked at Ben's Exceed form and walked up to him and began to sniff him.
"Um dude?" Cherub asked not sure if he should be weirded out.
"You smell like me!" Pantherlily said in total surprise.
Cherub was a bit confused by that as he got this form before ever meeting the cat 'The X-pill.' he thought realizing Mystogan used his blood "The Omnitrix must've scanned your DNA from the X-pill I ate." he said explaining that he was essentially the donor for his Cherub form.
"Oh, but please put clothes on." Pantherlily said as he found it odd Cherub was nude.
'I swear the Omnitrix is screwing with me.' Cherub thought to himself needing to add clothes to this form.
"Ben?" Rex asked seeing the Omnitrix on Cherub.
"Hey man want a lift to town?" Cherub asked not seeing the others, but did see someone near Rex 'Oh my god.' he thought as he saw…Lisanna 'But she died!' he thought not knowing how this was possible "Are you Lisanna of Earthland?" he asked needing to ask the girl needing an answer.
Lisanna looked at the Exceed and nodded.
"Ok this is gonna be a strange day." Cherub said as he slammed the dial becoming XLR8 and ran dashing each member of the group to his home.
…
XLR8 felt awkward as he told Lisanna he'd bring her sister and brother to her, he first started with his team thinking Natsu and Happy had the right to be there given their personal connection to Lisanna and Erza, Gajeel, and Wendy lived with him so there was not much else to say about the others, he was a few feet away from the Strauss siblings and heard Mira crying, he felt terrible for disturbing them on this day and in this place, he walked up to them.
"Ben?" Elfman asked seeing XLR8.
"Is something the matter?" Mira asked him seeing a few nervous ticks in his form.
"I need to take you both somewhere, if it wasn't important I wouldn't be here." XLR8 said to them unable to say what was going on as they needed to see it to believe it 'If someone told me grandpa Max was alive after I thought he passed, I wouldn't have believed it.' he thought remembering when his grandfather blew himself up during the Highbreed invasion getting sent to Null Void.
Mira found this odd but nodded, she wiped away her tears and soon due to XLR8 speed they were in Ben's house, she saw the others, but soon she saw her…Lisanna Strauss, her little sister, alive and well "H-How?" she asked in a short whisper as she and Elfman broke down crying and Lisanna came to them.
No one dared speak a word allowing the siblings' reunion to go interrupted.
XLR8 made a quick dash outside collecting a few items and soon returned home and transformed back into his human form.
…
"Ben…thank you." Mira said as Erza filled her in on Edolas and everything that occurred and while it somewhat blew her mind she just felt peace knowing her little sister was back, they were having a small private celebration in Ben's home to celebrate her sister's return home as while she'd like to have her to herself with Elfman, the people here brought her back and had a connection to her as well, she couldn't do that to them.
"I didn't really do much Mira." Ben said as they were cooking in his kitchen.
The chopping board Mira was using suddenly split on the place where she last chopped some vegetables.
"Ben, you brought my sister home and saved Magnolia, what you did was a lot, don't undermine your accomplishments." Mira said to him as what he did meant the world to her "Let's change the topic, you need more room on your house?" she asked seeing the two new heads in the group "How long did it take you to do Wendy's room?" she asked knowing he did it in a day.
"A few hours, I used Grey Matter for planning, Four Arms for construction, Upgrade to move some wires, and Lodestar for the metal." Ben said to her simply.
"Have Grey Matter write up some plans and we can knock it out in a few hours." Mira said as Laki owed her a favor so Ben would get free wood, Elfman would undoubtedly help after what Ben had done "Rex is good with machinery right?" she asked as she heard bits and pieces about him, but she knew Ben had put technology both of his world in his home and even in the walls, if Rex could help he'd be very useful.
"Alright, but hey you mind if I take Natsu and Elfman somewhere tomorrow?" Ben asked Mira curiously.
"I don't mind, but why the sudden request?" Mira said having no problem replacing Elfman with Gajeel or someone else in her plans, but was curious as to why he wanted them.
"I'm worried about them, Natsu had a few nightmares about losing Lisanna and Elfman seems off." Ben said to her.
Mira nodded and smiled 'Men.' she thought as most of the men in the guild often thought of themselves as real tough guys, but at their cores they were real softies "Where are you gonna take them?" she asked curiously.
"Near Mt Hakobe." Ben said as it be a perfect place for Natsu.
'Perfect place for Natsu only thing he can burn or set on fire is snow.' Mira thought to herself "The S-class trials are in about a month's time." she said reminding him of that fact "You know you're part of it right?" she asked him curiously wondering if he knew how much he earned his place.
"Yeah, hell Mystogan said I was his only choice." Ben said to her.
That was quality praise in Mira's mind as Mystogan while a practitioner in the exams never truly put anyone down "Think we have enough food?" she asked as they made a lot for this celebration.
"We have two Dragon Slayers that eat a ton and a developing Dragon Slayer, my girlfriend, and your brother." Ben said to her simply.
"...We need a lot more food." Mira said in admittance as sometimes she forgot her guildmates acted like animals or had the feeding habits and stomachs of some.
"Why do you think I bought it in bulk." Ben said as when he left earlier he went for supplies.
They began cooking a feast for their friends and family.
…
Ben was cleaning up a bit in the kitchen as the festivities went on and he saw Carla enter the kitchen "You and I need to have some words." he said having Mira leave and silently asking her to keep everyone out "Still having doubts about what I said?" he asked her wondering if she was still in denial.
Carla's ears dropped "No, the queen confirmed your words, I can see the future, she predicted that Extalia would fall." she said to him.
"Yeah but it didn't Carla, your powers see things but they aren't set in stone." Ben said as Extalia didn't fall "I hope you learned from this." he said as he got a nod "Good, because if you EVER let innocent lives die or let them be in a position where they can die, you will regret it and not only because you will be responsible, but because I will make sure you are punished severely." he said seeing the spark of fear in her eyes "But that won't be the only thing, you won't see Wendy ever again, because this was evil plain and simple and you made up for your mistake, but this is your only second chance are we clear." he said seeing how nervous she was as she could tell he was being deadly serious and it frightened her as she knew nothing he said was a threat, but a promise he intended to keep "Good." he said his seriousness dropping as she stood there and soon left.
…
Wendy slowly began to open her eyes and saw that most of her friends were sprawled out everywhere, she saw Elfman holding his two sisters basically cradling them as they hugged each other, but soon Wendy noticed her own position, she was in Ben's arms with Erza seeing his jacket over them acting as a blanket.
"You are so adorable." a voice said that startled Wendy and she looked in multiple directions not seeing anyone and in a bright pink flash she saw an elderly woman in a blue robe "Hello dear, I'm Verdona." she said to the little bluenette.
"Ben's grandmother?" Wendy asked and soon looked at Ben seeing he wasn't moving.
"Won't move dear, a certain time traveler owed me a favor, it's just you and me." Verdona said literally shedding her skin and revealing her anodite form "Want to have some fun?" she asked, having a simile identical to Ben's.
Wendy slowly nodded and soon Verdona snapped her fingers and they were outside in the air, her body having a purple glow.
"Do you like to fly?" Verdona asked seeing Wendy shake her head and soon they took off going faster than any bird.
Wendy was loving this feeling of having the air hit her face it was indescribable.
"Want more speed?" Verdona asked getting an excited nod of approval.
They flew like birds or rather hotdogging pilots performing many tricks and stunts.
"Oh, you are so much fun!" Verdona said as she smiled at Wendy "As fun as it is flying with you, I wanted to talk to you." she said landing on the guild hall roof with Wendy "How are the bracelets I made you?" she asked Wendy seeing her surprise.
"You made these for me?" Wendy asked her getting a nod.
"I saw how you kept Ben's crystals he gave you and wanted to get more use out of them, so I infused them with my mana, the ethernano Ben collected, and Chromastone's natural sunlight ability." Verdona said to her "But you are developing in a way I never saw, isn't that exciting!" she said as she squealed.
"How'd you think I develop?" Wendy couldn't help but ask.
"Oh that you'd use those bracelets to use mana, but no my dear you are developing it and so is Ben!" Verdona said as she conjured an image "When you and Ben were being drained." she said not liking that whatsoever and looked more than just annoyed. "Ben's body was forced to produce more mana in order to survive." she said as that happened when certain groups tried capturing young anodites "He lost a bit of control but came back." she said as it was impressive in her mind as Ben kept his humanity despite the power he let out 'He may need less training than he thinks.' she thought as it took over seventy years of training to master anodite powers, but Gwen was learning to channel more and more mana through meditation and Ben was somehow able to do it on sheer will power 'Mind and spirit.' she thought to herself as her grandchildren were able to find a middle ground of sorts.
"I'm developing mana?" Wendy asked her, wondering how that was.
"It recently caught my attention mana can sometimes act when we anodites are unaware, when Ben was suffering his only thought was to protect you and Natsu." Verdona said both proud and saddened by that "But his mana acted differently with you Wendy, he loves you as if you were his flesh and blood and your own magic reacted to that." she said to her patting her head "You have mana in you and are now making it, I do not know what will happen to you, but human, anodite, or dragon, Ben and I will love you because you're family now." she said seeing the tears Wendy had falling down and pulled her into a hug.
Wendy hugged her tightly feeling the warmness and love Verdona was giving off and didn't want to let go.
Verdona smiled as she let Wendy cry some more "I have to go soon, but Wendy remember you are not alone, you have family with the guild, but especially with the Tennyson family." she said placing Wendy back in Ben's arms where she had awoken and snapped her fingers the girl getting a few more moments of rest "But you and I have business." she said looking at Wendy's stomach.
…
Verdona found herself in a meadow filled with flowers as if at the peak of spring, but her eyes landed on the rows upon rows of pink and purple flowers "Come out Dragon." she said tauntingly and not very amused, she soon saw a white feathery dragon appear "Your daughter was absorbing mana at her own pace, but you tried to take more in for her, that was dangerous." she said as while mana acted on its own and Ben wanted Wendy protected it could've gone wrong if Wendy absorbed more than her body could handle "You may be her mother, but that girl is almost like my grandson's child and I will obliterate anything that will cause him more suffering." she said as all the flowers that were pink and purple glowed and the sky turned purple.
"I'm sorry." Grandeeny said to her "I…panicked, I feared for my daughter, I did not wish her or your grandson harm, I beg for your forgiveness." she said, bowing her head.
The sky lost its purple shade. "Do not gamble with powers beyond your understanding, your daughter will develop when her time comes and…I normally would admonish you for not telling your own daughter of what is happening to her, but seeing what some people become I see your warranted fear." she said as the dragon was silent.
"Does your grandson truly love my daughter?" Grandeeny asked her a small bit of uncertainty in her tone.
"Like I told Wendy, she's basically his flesh and blood." Verdona said to her "If it would ease you, I see she is special as well and will treat her as my grandson does." she said as it was obvious, but she was providing the mother dragon with some comfort, mother to mother.
"Thank you." Grandeeny said, bowing her head even lower.
…
Ben woke up smiling as he saw Erza resting blissfully in his arms and saw Wendy was still asleep, he gently got up and put Wendy into Erza's embrace leaving his jacket with them, he walked outside and to the guild wanting to give the master some heads up on the shock he would later receive with Lisanna's 'resurrection'.
Ben made it to the guild and saw the master stealing a few mugs of beer "Hey master we need to talk." he said in a tone letting him know this was serious.
They went up to his office and soon talked about what had gone on for three days but as he spoke Ben noticed something.
"You knew about Edolas didn't you." Ben said not seeing any hints of surprise when he brought it up, unlike revealing Lisanna was alive.
"My boy when we met I was aware of Edolas and of Mystogan's origins, in fact I once met him while inspecting a possible Anima location, I believe it was after he parted with Wendy." Makarov said to him.
"So who did you meet?" Ben asked him.
"That…is a discussion for another time, but you should know Ben there are tears made and tears that happen naturally, the person I met came through a natural Anima and I am assuming the same occurred for Lisanna, but in reverse." Makarov said to him as that was his best guess.
"I won't push for details master." Ben said to him as everyone had secrets he was no exception.
"It is lucky you came in today my boy, the council is trying to move against us." Makarov said to him having received word on multiple fronts.
Ben raised an eyebrow at that as after what happened with Lahar he thought they'd back off.
"They wish to see the skeletons in our closet, we have none, but let me ask you Ben, do you remember Mest Gryder?" Makarov asked him "And think back to last year or how you met Wendy." he said to him.
'Last year I wasn't-!?' Ben thought, somehow having memories about last year's S-class exam solely on Mest "Ok memory alteration, I wasn't here last year how did you pick up on it?" he asked him been in this situation before .
"Documents I have a list of all guild members and I take their documents with me for the S-class trials I was getting everyone's in order but Mest has none and we both know Mystogan worked alone and he left Wendy with Cait Shelter." Makarov said to him as information could shed light on falsehoods anytime.
"So what do we do, use this or just say screw it all?" Ben said as he had no problem doing all of the above.
"I am unsure of what to do, what are your thoughts?" Makarov asked him wondering what his views were on in this particular situation.
"Can you tell me the base of the S-class trials, not the events but generic information?" Ben asked him.
"Eight participants with a partner, grand total is sixteen, not counting examiners, we go to Tenrou island." Makarov said to him as this information was generic and wouldn't affect the trials.
"I say it's a bad idea to give a non-member access to our guild's sacred land, plus we don't know if they'll stay and wreck it." Ben said as he doubted people like Lahar would treat the island with respect.
Makarov had to concede to that point as the council would very likely desecrate the island or claim it as their own in some way "I'll remove him from the roster." he said to him.
"Can I ask why you told me?" Ben asked, finding it odd he told him of all people.
"Because Ben like Gajeel you seem trustworthy enough to keep information hidden and you trust me enough to keep information private." Makarov said as Ben and Gajeel had this trait in spades.
Ben conceded that "Want me to do anything about the Council we can still blackmail them or get them shut down?" he asked as he hated corrupt politicians and these seemed to be the very worst.
"No, I shall have Jura be on standby, but Ben you should know something, Mest was looking at our newest members that have joined the guild." Makarov said as he sensed the explosion coming.
It took Ben a moment to realize, but Wendy and Gajeel were part of that list "Master…if he even comes near Wendy, I will blow the lid off the council, I am not kidding." he said to him simply.
Makarov wouldn't blame the boy as using a child for cover was deplorable at its core, he also noted Ben's hair was shifting from a shining pink to his natural brunette hair 'Doranbolt I truly hope you gain some sense.' he thought to himself as if Mest crossed Ben using Wendy, he was a deadman.
Ben took in a breath "Anyway, I'm gonna be gone most of the day, I'm gonna take Natsu and Elfman training for the day." he said knowing the master would catch on to why they needed training.
Makarov nodded as he knew those two would be rattled with Lisanna returning some issues and past emotions they barried.
"Oh before I forget Mira won't be working today and she may be taking Laki I need my house updated." Ben said to him as he needed the room "Someone I know from another world ended up in Edolas, he was part of that Fairy Tail guild, mind if I fill in some forms for him to make his membership more official?" he asked him.
Makarov gave him some forms and allowed Ben to fill them in for one 'Rex Salazar' "I'll need to meet him later on." he said to him getting a nod in return "But we have to talk about Carla." he said as in Ben's report he informed him of Carla's thinking and actions.
"I have an idea of what this is about." Ben said to him "I think we should give her a second chance, but be aware of the consequences next time she does something like this." he said as he was sure his friends would keep this private for the sake of Wendy "Thousands of people could've died and she was ok with letting that happen, trust me I know." he said to him "But I warned her if she ever attempted anything like this she'd pay." he said as Makarov saw he would be watching Carla carefully "We all make mistakes master, but if we don't learn from them or give up without trying to be better we're no better than the people we stop." he said as he nearly gave up on some people but they lived up to his expectations.
Makarov nodded in agreement and smiled as he got what Ben was hinting at 'I hope you are well Laxus.' he thought of his grandson hoping he was well and alright.
…
'Ok this is fairly simple.' Mira thought as she read the schematics and saw they were informative and simple as they were literally adding a level to the house 'Smart making the space above the living room the new master bedroom more spacious and private bathroom.' she thought as she shared a bathroom with Elfman and that was not fun, she imagined sharing a bathroom with the others could be rather complicated, she looked at the clock and sighed as she'd take her sister to the guild and after the initial shock she'd take her home and have Happy keep her company knowing she'd want to connect with her child after so long apart from each other 'Happy has grown.' she thought as Gray and Gajeel informed her on some of his actions and it sounded like Happy finally matured or grew a pair 'Too stand up to Erza as an enemy, you certainly grew Happy.' she thought very proud of her 'nephew' but thought Lisanna might not like the change given he is still her baby in her.
"How long do you think this will take?" Erza asked as Mira was terrific during the guild remodeling.
"You, me, Rex, Laki, Gajeel, and Wendy shouldn't be more than two-three hours." Mira said thinking those estimates were accurate.
Erza like those picks as they would expedite the process of adding a level to Ben's home 'Besides the new master bedroom, there will be two more guest rooms, Ben's old room will be available, and another bathroom.' she thought as Rex was getting Ben's old room, so that left the two additional rooms.
As the girls spoke Rex was in the basement his nanites adjusting to the alien tech to Ben's plumber bandages 'And I thought White Knight's office was tight with security.' he thought as Rex had his nanites search through the tech in the walls as Ben seemingly implanted much defenses 'Security cameras, high voltage electricity, state of the art equipment, and these badges.' he thought as he was able to link with them easily enough, but it was still new to him as some of the tech was extremely advanced compared to earth's means 'And he made these from scratch.' he thought as Ben was able to make these with his aliens but still to make tech like this to this degree.
Rex was very appreciative of Ben allowing him to stay here and it was nice he was given an actual room in an actual home, he loved his family, but he always felt like he was more agent given how his rooms usually were 'Fairy Tail always has its charm.' he thought as Fairy Tail no matter what world Edolas or Earthland treated the members like family.
…
"Since when do you fight like ice stripper Elfman!" Natsu said angrily as Elfman was in a new Take Over, one he dubbed Take Over: Arctic Soul, his skin was blue and scaly, he had spikey protrusions that went down his spine which was connected to a lizard tail, he gained an a white armored underbelly, his fingers were claws, and his eyes were an icy white color, besides the cosmetic changes his hair remained the same and he kept his pants.
"Don't compare me to him man, my magic makes me shirtless!" Elfman said as he fought best with no restrictions so he genuinely lost his shirt with his Take Overs, but kept his modesty wearing pants.
"Can you two stop bickering." Arctiguna said as he was in this form in order to help Elfman better use it for combat and with two ice-powered people the chance Natsu could cause an incident decreased.
"Fine, but he isn't the only one who has new powers!" Natsu said as he entered his Atomic Flame Dragon mode.
Arctiguana was still nervous with that mode as after his spell in Edolas Natsu felt a change in his person that Gajeel and Wendy seemed to lack 'I picked NRG so he could safely use that forms powers and not die, but did it leave a trace?' he thought wondering if it had anything to do with Natsu already having that power in him before the spell 'Either way I'm testing him when we get back.' he thought as he had the Omnitrix scanning for radiation and despite whenever Natsu attacked he seemed to just be making pure heat.
The men continued to fight Natsu, brushing off most of the cold he and Elfman threw his way, the men decided to go to a nearby cave. Natsu lit a fire that kept them warm enough not to feel the cold.
"So how are you guys doing with Lisanna's return?" Ben asked bluntly, seeing as he was with the two most blunt people in the guild.
Both men tensed at the question.
"It's nerve-wracking. I feel as if I'm dreaming and this is some cruel joke." Elfman said as he didn't want that to be the case as while he had accepted his mistake all those years ago, he truly wished for his sister back.
"I know what you mean." Natsu said as he left Happy with her before they left and to actually see her and talk to her felt incredibly surreal.
"It gets easier, but you need to think of ways to confirm this is all real." Ben said as when he thought his grandpa died and saw him again he rationalized him being alive, thinking that the Null Void projector sent him there in the initial explosion which was where he did find him, using his own near-death experiences to think that his grandfather could do the same.
Both men nodded as that seemed like a good idea in order to make this situation less awkward.
"Oh Ben before I forget Lisanna found this before running into you." Elfman said handing him a tattered old book with a pink rune on.
Ben saw the mark and had a strong guess what this was 'To transfer from Edolas to here, this is magic or mana.' he thought looking at the symbol and the purple glow is all he needed to know this was made of mana 'The Tyrant of Legerdomain.' he read as it was the only part in English "Addwaitya." he said as there were two possible passwords and this was one of them.
Elfman and Natsu saw the book glow in Ben's hands.
Ben read the first line and was spooked slamming it shut "I'll read this when we get back." he said to them "So do you know what you'll do when we get back?" he asked them getting nods.
"Yeah, but I want to fight you Ben." Natsu said as Elfman groaned in annoyance.
"Do you get beaten too much?" Elfman asked as he wondered if Natsu suffered some form of head injury every time he lost and that made him double down on stupid.
Ben sighed and agreed as Natsu wanted more and more matches ever since he defeated Gildarts 'He has grown.' he thought as he noted Natsu was growing up as before Edolas after the party of his new status as the ace of Fairy Tail, Gildarts told him how he lost his limbs and the Black Dragon he faced, they talked Natsu down from chasing after it 'But its name.' he thought as Gildarts told him what the dragon was 'Sounds like a massive threat.' he thought as the name Dragon of the Apocalypse didn't seem like a title that was handed easily especially considering how old this dragon was if the stories were meant to be believed.
Elfman watched the fight from the cave wanting to get to that level of strength and while his strength and skill had improved he knew there was more he could do to get stronger "Hey, I still got some fight left in me!" he said rushing in.
…
Mira admired their work and saw the house was done and they were filling the new rooms with furniture, she did take both of Ben and Erza's beds and gave them a massive queen bed 'Enjoy Erza~.' she thought the knight not knowing of her action "Where the hell is she?" she asked herself not seeing the scarlet knight for a while.
…
Erza was with Rex in the basement seeing him use his nanites to work and extend Ben's additions to the house and its security.
"Alright, I've increased the house's security, the self-sustaining battery is pretty cool, but I increased the output and reduced the heating, the cameras take less memory, and I found a barrier system Ben had in place." Rex said to her.
"A barrier?" Erza asked, wondering what it was.
"It's a force field and with the battery, it can last pretty much forever or until someone who lives here stops it." Rex said seeing the barrier was linked to the cameras and there was a white list only to people who lived here 'Guess it takes less space than to add the entire guild.' he thought to himself.
Erza was looking around Ben's basement. It looked more like a forge to her as she saw many tools and equipment all seemingly handmade and from scratch 'Guess he would need to work from scratch.' she thought as she looked at her Plumber badge wondering how much work Ben put into each one he made for her and the team and her housemates her eyes landed on a small crystal vial that was seemingly glowing.
"Be careful with that." Rex said as he and Ben were discussing what to do with the nanite as both knew how dangerous it was 'We have no way of destroying it.' he thought as it was too risky to make something to destroy nanites given he had them in him and if that method was ever copied it wouldn't be good for him and he had no urge to put that inside his body given it was made by Van Kleiss and Alpha was half of that nanite, so it was incredibly dangerous in his mind.
They were interrupted as the house shook for a moment.
"You got something to say ice dumbass!" Gajeel yelled loudly from upstairs.
"Yeah, you rust-covered moron, your music sucks!" Gray said as they were taking a break and Gajeel being in close proximity to his guitar wanted to play.
Erza and Rex decided to go upstairs and as they did they were unaware that the shaking caused the crystal vial to fall and open.
The fused nanite of Alpha and Omega was more alive than most nanites, the Alpha part of it was somewhat functioning not having the same personality as it did before, Van Kleiss having wiped it, but as Alpha-Omega and no longer running the risk of deactivation changed many if not all parameters that the previous Alpha had, now it desired a host, it moved at incredible speeds looking for a suitable host, scanning Rex it saw he had an Omega nanite and Alpha-Omega decided to not merge with him, it soon spotted a redhead woman sensing an incredible power similar to the one inside of itself it was genuinely attracted to her, it entered her body soon being flooded with the energy her body was making having it mix with it's own energy the nanite bonding to her more deeply than any other nanite, even more than Rex's Omega or even the meta-nanites.
"What are you all doing!?" Erza asked not wanting her home to be destroyed or in Gray's case to freeze her floors and ruin the wood.
"This tone-deaf moron says my music sucks!" Gajeel said angrily.
"Cause it does, do you not hear yourself man!" Gray said as his ears hated him for letting them listen to whatever the hell genre Gajeel was trying to sing.
Rex rolled his eyes "Listen…don't wreck my room." he said to them going back downstairs and as soon as he did he saw the vial was on the floor and open 'Crap!' he thought repeatedly putting on his goggles sure the nanite would have a high frequency or energy 'Oh shit!' he thought finding the nanite inside Erza 'Oh Ben is gonna kill me.' he thought to himself.
…
"You just can't help yourselves can you?" Ben asked as Natsu and Elfman attracted some Vulcans and decided to fight them 'This was the job I grabbed.' he thought to himself as he grabbed it before leaving the guild, but he didn't think they were so close to them.
"They came to us and had their manhood tested and failed." Elfman said to him as they looked at the pile of Vulcans.
"Man, I hate these things." Natsu said as he always hated them when he was a kid.
Ben could understand as these things were rather annoying to look at and listen to "C'mon the house should be finished." he said as they had been here a few hours.
…
"My girlfriend is an EVO, how did this happen!?" Ben asked Rex angrily.
"You make it sound like a bad thing." Rex said giving a weak smile as he guessed it was that serious as they still didn't know what this nanite could do.
"Ben I feel fine, what's the worst that can happen." Erza said feeling fine, but also wondering what could happen.
"You wanna tell her?" Ben asked Rex as he only knew the gist of nanites.
"Erza normally in my world nanites cause dramatic physical changes like monster-level changes, you saw Biowulf and Skalamander, those could've been regular people or animals before they went EVO." Rex said as he saw her eyes widen "You have a nanite which normally wouldn't do much, but it's a powerful one and it can make its own nanites, we don't know what effect it'll have on you." he said as there was no possible way of knowing what the Alpha-Omega could do.
Ben rose an eye at that "I may have an idea." he said activating the Omnitrix and soon found the alien he was looking for and slammed the dial "Upgrade!" he said before he merged with Erza as he had with Rex in the past.
Erza felt a slight shiver as Ben fused with her armor and she felt him around her, but this felt more intimate and invasive as she felt him in her.
"Can you guys hear me?" Upgrade said speaking through the Omnitrix symbol on Erza's chest.
"Loud and clear." Rex said to him.
"You are not gonna believe what I'm seeing right now." Upgrade said his vision operating on the microscopic level.
"Dude they're little machines they aren't that spectacular." Rex said as while nanites were complex he didn't think Ben would be dazzled by them.
Erza felt her Plumber badge vibrate in her pocket and saw the symbol was glowing, she held it flat and an image appeared.
Rex did a double take "Are those nanites?" he asked, not entirely sure seeing the microscopic machines seeing two sets of glowing nanites, some green and some purple, what seemed even more interesting was they were…everywhere, her blood, her muscle tissue, and any other part of her.
"Still think these are just nanites?" Upgrade asked him, being very serious in his question "Have you tried curing her?" he asked Rex.
Rex felt like an idiot for not thinking of that 'Been a while since I've cured anyone.' he thought as he placed his hand on Erza's shoulder.
Erza felt something when Rex touched her, but before anything else could happen she felt something coming from her.
Rex felt it too but was immediately shocked. "Ok that's new." he said, having the occasional new and different reaction with nanites, but this seemed different on a whole new level.
Upgrade watched the process carefully. "The nanites are fused to her. I need to find the Alpha-Omega. Maybe it works like a hive mind." he said thinking if he took out the main part of the nanites they would cease "Found it." he said seeing meld with the flesh of Erza's heart and he melded with it.
Upgrade found himself in what could only be described as a circuit city, large blue rectangular blocks with bright blue circuits going along them.
"What is that place?" Erza asked still seeing it from Upgrade's point of view.
"It's a nanite zone center or a place where nanites can commune." Rex said having been there a few time in his dreams, or when he tried talking to special nanites.
Upgrade walked around and soon saw purple and green lights.
Rex looked at the new part of the place he rarely visited "Is that Van Kleiss!?" he said in surprise seeing a yellow figure in Upgrade's view, he was positive he made sure he was nanite free before leaving Edolas and he was probably going to get executed.
Upgrade walked up to him "I don't think this is Van Kleiss, I think it's an avatar the Alpha-Omega made." he said as Van Kleiss was the first host of the nanite, he was surprised when he saw Alpha appear, but his form was glitching.
"Ultimatrix-Ben Tennyson, I require your help." Alpha said groaning in pain.
"Ben, if Alpha is alive we gotta toast this thing now!" Rex said as the fact it was in Erza made this a whole lot worse as Alpha now had a host body.
"Synergy not stable, error in the fusion of Alpha and Omega nanites to host!" Alpha said in pain.
"What does he mean by an error in fusion?" Erza asked Rex.
"It might be referring to what his brother said, Alpha is a nanite that controls other machines, the Omega is controlled by people…I think." Upgrade said not entirely sure he remembered Caesar's explanation well "Let me see what I can do." he said fusing with the avatar seeing much corrupt data go through him "Ok." he said strained as this hurt "I think we need to dump all the data in this thing." he said to the others.
"It has Van Kleiss and Alpha in it, I say dump it!" Rex said as anything involving Van Kleiss and Alpha needed to be dumped.
"No!" The combined voices of Alpha and Van Kleiss were heard as Upgrade gained yellow and red circuit lines over his green.
"Rex, I could use some help here!" Upgrade said needing some assistance.
Rex placed his hand on Erza's shoulder again.
Erza felt much internal conflict inside herself, but she never thought she'd get to see it in this depth.
"Must have synergy!" the avatar said in anger.
"Rex what if we dump the AI, but link it to Erza like your Omega nanite!" Upgrade said trying to think of ways to end this thing.
"We do that, it might be stuck with Erza forever!" Rex said as his Omega was bonded to him in a way it couldn't be removed if he did what Upgrade asked it'd be with her forever.
Erza didn't know what to do as if this was with her forever, that was it "Ben do it!" she said as there was no time to think.
"Initiating hard reset…Programming Alpha-Omega AI to bond to host…Removing corrupted data…and full integration between Alpha and Omega nanites!" Upgrade said going through all the systems.
"Activating!" Rex said from his end as there was a massive shock sending him back "Ben you alright!" he asked wondering if Upgrade was ok.
Upgrade picked himself up and saw a new avatar, it looked identical to Erza made of green and purple lights.
"Ben?" Erza asked him, speaking through the avatar.
"Guess it worked, how do you feel?" Upgrade asked curiously as this had to be a whole new experience.
Erza looked at her body in wonder as this was strange "Scanning." she suddenly said not understanding why.
"The nanite must be acting on some form of programming." Rex said as his nanites had done that rarely.
"Scanning merge with host body 92.79% completion, full symbiosis underway, scanning host energy output in comparison to battery…host putting out massive amounts of energy attempting to sync." Erza said as she did not understand what she was saying.
"Rex mind filling us in?" Upgrade asked his friend.
"I think the nanites are trying to merge with her magic." Rex said to him "Van Kleiss put a lacrima crystal inside of it remember." he said as he did that to give himself magic.
"What will that do to my magic?" Erza asked, even more concerned.
The answer came from her own mouth as soon as she asked the question "Synergy desired with host body, attempting to ascertain true symbiosis." she said as she glowed brightly.
Upgrade was shot out of Erza's body crashing into a wall and changing back to his normal form and saw Erza was glowing brightly.
Erza fell to the ground as the light died down, she picked herself up and as she did a sword formed in her hand "This is…the sword to my Heaven's Wheel Armor." she said to herself.
"It's made of nanites and magic." Rex said seeing her sword.
"Symbiosis complete, error data to Ultimatrix has disappeared base scan imprinted on nanites." Erza said while also cursing that she was not in control of when the nanites spoke.
"I don't know what it just said, do you?" Rex asked Ben, seeing him shake his head.
"Scanning host's energy, energy linked to an assortment of materials and supplies connected to host attempting scan-annex-bond." Erza said before she looked at her sword "I think it is scanning my armors and weapons." she said in confusion as she was glowing in a magnitude of colors.
"My Omnitrix and Rex's powers might be allowing you to completely merge with all your armor and powers allowing you to build it, your pocket dimension might be acting as a storage for your nanites to access." Ben said to her guessing the nanites were using his old Ultimatrix base scan to link all of Erza's armor and weapons to her nanite since Erza's magic was holding all of them in her pocket dimension.
"So I can create all my armor and weapons?" Erza said in her blouse and skirt and soon made her Heart Kreuz Armor, then her Black Wing "Incredible." she said in surprise.
"Not as much as you think, it looks like this ability feeds off your magic, but it might be better than your requip." Ben said seeing Erza gaze at him "I mean its using nanites and magic to construct your weapons taking your armor out might not allow you to requip and make it with your new powers." he said to her.
Erza understood that summoning her armor might mean she couldn't make it with her new powers. 'This might be cheaper.' she thought to herself as if she kept her armor in pocket dimension she wouldn't need to pay for repairs ever again.
Before anything else could be said her sword ignited.
"My sword could never do that before." Erza said, admiring the flame.
"Synergy." Ben said remembering what the nanite had been saying "Maybe it gives you the power to combine your swords." he said as she closed her eyes and made the spear to her Lightning Empress Armor and saw water and lightning dance around it.
Erza smiled thinking this would be a massive game-changer for all her future fights.
…
Ben smiled seeing how lively his home was, Wendy was practicing her magic with Gajeel trying to gain more offensive strength, Erza was trying to discover new ways to use her new powers training with Pantherlily who was unused to being so small and not in his normal form, Natsu and Lucy went on a job for rent money, Mira was helping her sister acclimate back to being home and Happy was with them, and Gray was on a job on his own 'Maybe I should do a solo job.' he thought as there was not much else he could do and he needed more money as he was giving Rex time to adjust to Magnolia as he was taking low-class jobs to get his bearings 'Oh right.' he thought remembering he forgot something from earlier.
Ben went inside and picked up the book Elfman gave him "Addwaitya." he said seeing the book glow and he read the first line 'My name…is Spellbinder.' he read as that name was forever engraved on his person as he technically died for this man when Charmcaster offered up six-hundred thousand souls which included his, Gwen's, and Kevin's but the man didn't take the deal which was why he was still here, he decided to keep reading 'Legerdomain is under constant siege from Addwaitya's forces, my brother has given me a portal spell to a world where magic seems non-existent, Addwaitya will have no interest for it, so I intend to send my brother and my daughter Hope there.' Ben read guessing this happened during the summer he met Charmcaster 'But my brother has other ideas, he believes there is a way where he can siphon magic from a world Addwaitya had been.' he read guessing it was Earthland given Hex's fixation on it 'My brother was trapped there for some time unable to return home, but he says he has found a way for us to have enough magical might to challenge Addwaitya and his alpha rune.' he read further.
Ben thought Spellbinder didn't know what his brother had been doing or by what means he had been using, he decided to keep reading the book and saw Spellbinder compare Eathland to Ledgerdomain saying how it was filled with magic and soon the brothers traveled even further to a land of floating islands "Edolas." he said at the mention of islands and it wasn't hard to guess as the book came from there.
'My brother and I came to this land and it seemed 'broken' magic was fleeting and our own powers were weakened, but then my brother told me something I could not believe, he said we could drain magic power from Earthland to here, it seemed harmless, but then I learned many horrors my brother was not going to drain Earthland, he was going to drain cities, I ended this notion but to my horror, he attempted it regardless.' Ben read as this made more sense to him 'I returned the magic he stole and the people were none the wiser, I made it clear he would never attempt this again.' he read as he was impressed Spellbinder undid the spell 'And as I went to check on the people, I saw my brother had already shed blood, he had sacrificed people in order to return home, I was horrified by this discover and realized he did it for power more than he did it for a way home, I fear my brother is becoming more of a monster than Addwaitya.' he read as this was getting darker and darker 'My brother left Legerdomain, I hope I am able to follow, but I fear for my daughter unsure if I my brother will keep her safe or if he is more of a danger to her.' it said as Ben had to agree Spellbinder had every right to worry for Charmcaster 'I enchanted this book to find Hope or for someone who wishes to protect her.' he read as he guessed that was why he found it or it found him even though Charmcaster tried and has killed him in the past, he understood how she ended up the way she has 'She hasn't had a good life.' he thought as with a murdering uncle who has tried to take over the planet and had thousands of kills if not more was detrimental to ones mental health.
Ben decided to put the book away in his nightstand "I'm sorry Spellbinder, I'll make sure Hope gets your final thoughts." he said as the nightstand glowed and soon the book floated back to Ben "Ok guess he wasn't called Spellbinder for nothing." he said as the booked vanished and a mark appeared on Ben's hand "I should find a way to make sure Hex can't ruin any more lives." he said as he was wondering if there was a magic solution if he ever finds the magic user 'I'll send him straight into the Null Void.' he thought to himself as Gwen had a hard time breaking through to there when she sent him there when they were looking for Helen and Manny.
Ben's mind drifted to Hex, thinking of how simple it was to beat him as a kid and how he saw him as a B-list villain 'My villains are worse than I can imagine sometimes.' he thought remembering Captain Nemesis after he broke out of jail killed multiple people and manipulated Jennifer Nocturne, Micheal Morningstar when he has drained people to the point of zombification and those were of the cases he knew, Zombozo had to be a killer as when he met him as a child all he did was feast on laughs and now as he got older the clown fed on fear all to the point the people he fed on couldn't take it 'I shouldn't joke around so much.' he thought as he needed to stop these things from happening better 'Maybe it's time I got better.' he thought to himself as he recently discovered some new transformations, it was time he used them and get better acquainted with them.
…
"You want to train with me?" Pantherlily asked him curiously "I don't mind but why the sudden interest?" he asked as he also needed training as he was trapped in this form and could only use his true body for a short time.
"I need practice, I know some martial arts from my cousin and I want to see if I can push my aliens a bit." Ben said wanting to see if he could discover more creative ways "I wonder if I can use Cherub to grow like you?" he said as Pantherlily was the source DNA so it was a possibility.
"Let's find out." Pantherlily said as it'd be kinda nice to see Cherub as he never had any family so it was somewhat nice to share blood with someone.
Ben and Pantherlily began training that day and began learning new ways to improve and adapt, both having to take occasional to either recharge or catch their breath.
…
Ben woke up next to Erza both feeling awkward sharing a bed after discovering it was their only one thanks to a certain Take Over mage, they slept in the bed nervously, they couldn't sleep at first but they must've eventually and as he woke up he saw Erza sleeping peacefully with a content smile on her face…but he also found her adorable as she was drooling muttering about strawberries.
Ben decided to let her sleep in and go down stairs "Everyone is still busy today, time to go on a job." he said as he was prevented yesterday from reading Spellbinder's journal and went to the guild.
Ben saw Mira and looked for an A-class quest he could take 'Monster elimination, supply delivery, bandit capture?' he thought seeing one about bandits 'Bandits kidnapping locals on road to Fiore, target children of upper class.' he read feeling disgusted as the age was close to Wendy's.
Mira saw the job he took and wasn't really surprised by the job Ben had picked 'That's odd.' she thought seeing this job was posted by the Kingdom itself and no official name was on it 'How does a job like that come through?' she thought it was odd as there were certain things that came through with a job request, name, location, and job payment amount were all standard and were always on them 'I should look into this.' she thought as she began to do some searching into this job making a call via lacrima, it took her a few moments before she realized this had to come from someone high up 'Not the council.' she thought as they'd rather choke than ask them for help 'If it's the kingdom, then maybe the captain of the guard?' she thought as she was thinking it had to be someone from high up from that point to go over this type of requirement for a job.
…
Ben decided to leave town by walking out wanting to see Magnolia a bit more as it was still hard to believe this was a blank empty crater a few days ago, he made it to the edge of the town, but someone was waiting for him.
"Ben Tennyson." a man with a unique scar design on the side of his head said to him.
"Mest Gryder." Ben said to him simply wondering what this idiot wanted 'Do I still have a spare.' He thought as he began searching his jacket and found the desired item.
"I heard you were going on a mission, I was wondering if you wanted any company." Mest offered to him.
"Sorry, but I only partner with real Fairy Tail mages, not cheap impersonations." Ben said to him seeing his eyes widen in surprise "What surprised I know, I've been a Fairy Tail mage for less than a year and my girlfriend didn't tell me about the S-class trials until a few weeks ago, so I found it odd I know last year's results." he said seeing the man spot his own error and raised his hand which glowed and was surprised Ben seemed unfazed.
"How?" Mest asked in shock wondering how his magic had failed him.
Ben's eyes glowed pink as he glared at Mest "My power may be weak, but once I'm aware of something my power fights it." he said guessing his mana fought against threats to his person similar to the Omnitrix warning him when it detected threats like radiation and the like "I'll make this short and sweet, you've been watching my guild and me for a while." he said guessing this man was watching him "So I'm gonna assume Dark Guild or the Council and before I forget." he said as he made cuffs made of mana around Mest's hands "No more mental party tricks who are you?" he asked as he saw Mest was about to run when he brought up the Council.
"Release me, I am a vice captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit of the Council." Mest said not seeing the point of hiding at this point and wanted him to know the dangers of anything happening to him.
"So you work under Lahar." Ben said remembering the rank of the stiff captain and saw Mest go silent "You lied your way into my guild and have been stalking me, Gajeel, Juvia, and Wendy." he said as that ticked him off "I can report you to the Kingdom I'm heading to Crocus." he said as the Magic Council served under the Kingdom, so reporting Mest there would blow their entire operation.
Mest caught onto what he was implying and knew if that happened the Council wouldn't acknowledge his actions "What do you want to know?" he asked knowing this needed to be some kinda trade off for information.
"Why approach me and why is the Council even here looking into our guild?" Ben asked him those being the two top questions he had.
"The Council wants more information on you, Lahar informed them you have a confession of him and may intend to use it to blackmail the Council and they want information on you to possibly counter it." Mest said to him.
"Ok, I'll buy that." Ben said as he was surprised Lahar admitted to his own idiocy "And what about my guild." he said wanting that question answered.
"The Council wants Fairy Tail gone, they're looking for any excuse due to the trouble the guild causes and see them as a renegade light guild, especially after taking out the Orecion Seis." Mest said to him.
Ben chuckled at that as he bet his interview revealed a lot more about any story the Council released "So the Council doesn't want our guild active because we do your job better than you, we took out the Orecion Seis, stopped the Tower of Heaven which they fired upon and activated, got rid of Lullaby when they couldn't even destroy it, stopped Deliorah from being freed, and a bunch of stuff in between, the Council sucked at its job before Jellal destroyed it and are just afraid people will find it unnecessary with our guild as its competition." he said seeing Mest be silent.
Mest couldn't deny that at all as Ben basically broke down what the Council was really after "That pretty much sums it up." he said in admittance as Ben released him.
"Get out of here, if I see you try and manipulate my friends and guild memories again, you will regret it for the rest of your very short life." Ben said as he was sure his threat while not good was a lot better than a Council member actively manipulating memories would be bad "And before I forget inform your captain I have more blackmail now." he said showing Mest his badge recording this conversation like he did with Lahar "I warned Lahar and I don't bluff tell him that when you next see him." he said transforming into Jetray flying off.
Mest felt this situation was going to get a lot worse and that Lahar and the Council were going to be less than pleased about this development, but he couldn't for the life of him understand why he couldn't stop smiling.
Author's Note- I know some of you might be asking why I put the S-class exam a month from Edolas return, it's just when the episode announced them I think the show cut into days as everyone was trying to do jobs the day the contestants are announced that seemed odd to me so I put a week down from that point, I felt another week was needed for some readjustment time for Lisanna, there was a season change as Magnolia looked like it went from Spring to Winter in a matter of days so I added 2 weeks and decided on 1 month total in days till the tenrou arc for Ben in my mind it made the most sense, anyway hope to see some support on P-A-T-R-E-O-N, link is on my profile.