Era: Council Room
"Those idiots from Fairy Tail have gone and done it again!" A councilman raged. "This time they've destroyed a park and damaged property all the way to the docks of Hargeon."
Granted, that had been Lucy's doing, but Team Advent hadn't bothered to clear that up.
"What's the matter with them!?" Another Councilman concurred.
"I'm actually quite fond of those dimwits." The azure-haired councilman, Seigrain, remarked with a smirk on his face.
Beside him was a short old man named Yajima, who was quick to support his words. "Hmm… They may behave like fools, but we mustn't forget they are also an extremely capable lot."
"Yes, they present quite a quandary." Another councilman piped up.
"I think we should leave them be." Seigrain commented. "After all, if it wasn't for those fools, think of how dull this world would be."
Fairy Tail
Team Advent arrived before the guild with Haruki and Lucy in tow.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy announced.
Erza turned to their tagalongs. "While you have our approval to join the guild, you must first meet with the master to make it official."
"He's a good guy, there should be no problems on that end." Law added. "Once he's made it official, you can get your stamp from Mira."
Lucy clasped her hand with stars in her eyes. "You mean THE Mirajane!?"
She was a huge fan of the beauty that frequently did shoots for Sorcerer Weekly. A few years back, Erza would have been annoyed with a new member idolizing Mira, but their rivalry had diminished. Now, Erza saw her as a real friend and close confidant.
Natsu, figuring things were settled, unceremoniously kicked the doors open. "WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!"
Immediately, all eyes were drawn to Team Advent. Naturally, this gave Lucy and Haruki a good look at their new guildmates.
"Heard you guys went overboard in Hargeon, Natsu!" A buck-toothed man chuckled. "How'd you go starting trou-"
"HAAA!" Natsu kicked the man in the face before raising his fist at the downed man. "You lied about that Salamander, jerk! I'll kick your butt!"
"Hey, don't be mad at me!" The buck toothed guy was raging at the pink haired teen. "I'm not the one to blame! I was just passing along a rumor!"
"It was just a rumor!?" Natsu howled.
"You want to fight!?"
"Let's go!"
A cloud of dust was kicked up as the two started trading blows across the guild, which saw a majority of the guild getting involved. There were only a few exceptions, one of them being Cana drinking from a mug at the bar, who Law approached.
Cana smiled. "Given what I heard, and the fact you returned with your team, I can only imagine how things turned out on that quest the master had you take."
"Nah, that request went smoothly." Law shook his head. "It was the return trip where things got hectic." He grinned. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
"Naturally." Cana grabbed him by the collar and pulled his head down before giving a seductive smirk. "Still, you were gone for a while. Believe you and me, we will be making up for lost time."
"You always say that like I ever complain about it." To Law, only an idiot would have something to complain about in this relationship, and he was no idiot.
Cana gave him a quick, passionate kiss before releasing him. Despite what the pair got up to behind closed doors, this was as far as they went in public. That was more about common courtesy. Law took a seat next to Cana as the fighting raged throughout the guild.
"I'm standing in the Fairy Tail Guild Hall…" Lucy muttered.
She and Haruki soon quivered a little when they noticed Erza punch the wall next to her in frustration. "You can't go one day…"
She lept into the fray; however, putting a halt to it was impossible these days. Her training with Natsu had done the Dragon Slayer a little too good. Now, instead of being an upholder of peace, she was just another brawler.
Happy tried more peaceful means to get everyone to calm down. "Now, now, Natsu…"
A person promptly fell on top of Happy and catapulted him into a wall. From a nearby table, a brunette sitting with three others had been fanning her face. She now snapped it closed before smirking arrogantly.
"Oh, Erza's joined the fray again?" Evergreen questioned. "Well, I can't let my rival for Queen of the Fairies get the upper hand!"
Evergreen was part of a team of strong contenders for S-class known as the Thunder Legion. Beware looking into her eyes, or you might be turned to stone. A man in a black-and-white striped suit with a metal visor over his eyes laughed with his tongue hanging out.
"You say that, but you're not even S-class like her!" The guy declared.
Five floating wooden constructs laughed together and repeated 'S-rank' simultaneously. This man was another member of the Thunder Legion, capable of taking possession of wandering spirits and placing them into inanimate objects to do his bidding.
Like Evergreen, he has an ability in his eyes. Should a foe make eye contact; Bickslow can take control of their soul. He is usually a jovial man who enjoys a good fight, whether he's watching or taking part in it.
Evergreen twitched and swatted Bickslow in the face with her fan before diving into the brawl. Bickslow grumbled a little before leaping in himself. A man with long green hair and who wore a long red coat with a white cravat shook his head slowly as he leaned back in his chair.
"Always so quick to fight." This man, Fried Justine, is the leader of the Thunder Legion.
His loyalty to Laxus Dreyar is second to none, and he formed the Thunder Legion to support Laxus as best he could. Fried specializes in enchantments, using them in just about any manner. Back in the trials of x776, Laxus' tendency to recede had been slowed.
His loss to Law, unknowingly to him, showed Fairy Tail could still be strong. After Natsu reinforced this at the x782 trials, the Lightning Dragon Slayer had become far more open to the guild, and the three members of the Thunder Legion followed suit.
Of course, those three were still first and foremost loyal to Laxus, but they've followed him into becoming friendlier with their guildmates. Arguably, out of the Thunder Legion, Fried has the strongest tie outside the team with Mirajane. She was a close friend.
"I can tell you want to join them." Laxus smirked as he lifted his mug of beer. "Better get in on it now before gramps crashes the party."
Fried's face went red. "I-I…no! I couldn't possibly!"
"Go on, Fried!" Mira encouraged, approaching the pair. "Fight for the honor of Laxus!"
"V-Very well, but I shall fight for your honor as well." As any noble gentleman would, he lept into the fray with gusto.
"Either he doesn't realize you have him wrapped around your finger, or he just doesn't care." Laxus snorted in amusement before taking a good drink from his mug.
"That's what makes it fun!" Mira giggled before spotting Lucy and Haruki still standing close to the door. "Be right back."
Laxus shook his head while never dropping his amused grin. He was different from how he had been. That said, his fight with Law, as well as his subsequent fight Natsu and Erza years later, hadn't been enough to make him change his view completely. Still, those two instances started it.
Before those three, he thought his grandfather's soft ways were making the guild weak. That he allowed too much mischief which caused a majority of the guild to grow complacent. Then, his eyes were opened to the truth. As things stood, Fairy Tail had nine S-class mages.
Eight of those were currently active, with one of them even on a Centaury Quest. On top of that, the fact Natsu and Erza reached S-class seemed to inspire people. Even if they themselves weren't shooting for S-class, the guild seemed more determined to grow stronger.
So yeah, Laxus was a lot more open-minded these days. He even joined everyone else on the first floor, whenever he lingered around the Guild. That's not to say he wasn't prideful anymore. If you challenged him, he would likely end up kicking your ass.
"When will you guys learn." Yujozen commented.
He was adapt at reading situations and taking advantage of his surroundings to the point he could maneuver guild members in the way of larger objects thrown his way. Unluckily for him, dealing with Erza was a whole other subject.
He attempted to kick a table into her path before making a tactical retreat into the brawling masses, but she cut it down the middle. The knight then slammed the dull side of her blade into his gut.
"This is why we're together Law." Cana threw an arm around her boyfriend's shoulder. "You actually have class."
"Come on Cana, you know things would be boring if they didn't do this." Law retorted.
"Never said I didn't like it…" Cana took a swig from her mug. "…merely meant I'm glad you got restraint."
From Erza's earlier hit on Yujozen, he'd been sent flying into Natsu's back. "Gah, hey who threw him?"
Elfman walked into the guild, up behind Lucy and Haruki, with his arms crossed in a disapproving manner. "It's only noon, yet you're whining like a spoiled baby Natsu."
Natsu growled as he threw Yujozen into Elfman with enough strength that the two were sent sailing out of the entrance to the guild.
"Whoa." Haruki was stunned. "I knew S-class means you're strong, but to think one of them can floor a guy that big with just their strength."
"No kidding!" Lucy was floored.
"Jeez, it's so noisy around here, huh?" An orange-haired man, with glasses, remarked.
He was lounging with two girls at his sides before a projectile cup hit him square in the forehead, finally earning his ire.
He stood up and waved at the two girls. "I'm going to go fight, if only to protect you two."
"Good luck, Loke!"
"Well, he's definitely off my list…" Lucy deadpanned as she turned away. "What the heck is wrong with these people!? There's not one sane person in this place!"
"While Fairy Tail seems to have a higher concentration of eccentricities, such things are not all that uncommon in the world." Haruki noted to himself.
"Why hello." Mira had finally reached the new people, smiling serenely as she did so. "Are you two new here?"
Lucy went into fangirl mode. "It's Mirajane! In the flesh!"
Mira giggled at the blonde's squealing before looking at Haruki, who jabbed a thumb at the brawl wreaking havoc through the guild hall. "Don't you think we should stop them?"
"It's always like this around here." Mira laughed at their antics. "I just leave them alone, like a few others around the guild. Besides…" The unconscious body of Fried was thrown straight at her, causing what she said next to come out strangled. "…it's kind of fun, don't ya think?"
Lucy panicked. "WAAAH! Don't die, Mirajane!"
"This is starting to get out of hand." Cana turned to her boyfriend. "Mind giving me a hand?"
"Not at all." Law nodded. "They've had their fun, and I'd rather our guildhall not be destroyed."
Cana drew a card as she turned on the other Wizards. "That's enough guys. I suggest you knock it off."
Law's five slots on his DiaDhank folded out as two cards slotted out of his deck. "Fun is fun, but there's got to be a limit."
In response, Yujozen activated his Duel Disk and two cards of his own slotted out. "I'd say we're not there yet."
Elfman transformed one of his arms into stone. Evergreen tried to lock eyes with Erza, who had none of it and busted out her Purgatory Armor. Bickslow was making his 'babies' explode while Fried was preparing some type of enchantment.
"You punks can be such a nuisance." Loke tapped into a green ring and started charging up some kind of attack as well.
Natsu bathed one fist in flames and the other in lightning. "I'm ready for ya!"
"Whoa, are they really about to go that far?" Haruki questioned.
Lucy, meanwhile, quivered behind him as some form of defense. Before they were about to throw down, a silhouetted giant got into the middle of the rowdy bunch.
"WOULD YOU STOP BICKERING LIKE CHILDREN?!" He bellowed.
Everyone froze upon realizing their guild master was among them…Well, Laxus was the exception, but he did still look his grandfather's way.
"He might just be the size of my Ancient Gear Golem." Haruki thought in awe.
"I'm sorry." Mira giggled sheepishly. "I didn't realize you were still here, master!"
"Did you say master!?" Lucy cried.
Natsu, meanwhile, laughed uproariously with his hands on his hips. "Man, talk about a bunch of babies! Looks like I won this…"
The Lightning Flame Dragon Slayer was summarily squished by Makarov's giant foot. "Well, it seems we have new recruits!" The old man had noticed the pair at the door, so he shrunk to his regular size before holding up a hand in greeting. "Nice to meet ya!"
"He's tiny!" Lucy shouted in disbelief.
"Is he really in charge here?" Haruki questioned.
Erza Requipped into her Heart Kreuz Armor before striding over to the pair. "Yes, he is. Meet Fairy Tail's master, Makarov."
The old man backflipped up to the second floor, only to hit his back on the railing. He managed to climb up it before coughing awkwardly.
"You've gone and done it again; ya bunch of clods!" The master waved a stack of papers in the air. "Just take a look at how much paperwork the Magic Council sent this time! This is the biggest pile of complaints yet!
Have you lost your minds!? All you kids are good for is getting the higher-ups mad at me!" This seemed to have a sobering effect on most of the guild, though Laxus leaned on his table with a small smirk. "That said…"
He conjured fire in his left hand and burned the pile of paperwork to a crisp before pitching the fireball over the assembled guild, to be eaten by Natsu. "I say to heck with the Magic Council! Now, listen up. Any power which surpasses reason still comes from reason, right?
Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform Magic, one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus.
It should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul. If all we do is worry about following rules, our magic will never progress. Don't let those blowhards on the Council scare you, follow the path you believe in. 'Cause that's what makes the Fairy Tail Guild Number One!"
When Makarov held up his thumb and index finger, the rest of the guild mirrored him while cheering boisterously. Even Laxus showed support, knowing exactly what that pose was. He had been the one to come up with it after all. Lucy and Haruki smiled at this.
Later…
Mira gave Lucy and Haruki their marks. The Celestial Wizard requested it in pink and on her right hand while the Duel Monster user asked for his to be placed on his left arm in purple.
"Alright, you're both members of Fairy Tail!" Mira chirped.
Haruki smiled. "This guild might be crazy…" His mind turned to the sense of comradery and the master who helmed them. "In the end, I think this will have been the right choice."
Lucy danced a little before proceeding to show her mark to Natsu, Erza, and Law, who were at a table together. "Look you three, Mirajane just put the official Fairy Tail mark on my hand!"
"That's wonderful Lucy." Erza replied amicably. "Welcome to the guild."
Cana sauntered over to the group with a drink in hand. "So, you guys met this girl in Hargeon, right? Did Erza already give her the once over?"
Natsu sweat dropped at the casual way Cana popped that question in Erza's presence, and wisely chose not to answer himself.
A tick mark appeared on Erza's forehead, but before she could rebuke the brunette, Law smirked. "You know how my little sister is, Cana." He shrugged. "When has she not immediately given them the once over?"
"You got me there." Cana voiced.
Erza did calm, Law tended to naturally have that effect on her, so Natsu followed up. "Erza's just a little worried, but I wouldn't break up with her for some other girl. Heck, she's probably the only girl who could handle me. After all, there's all those stories about knights and dragons."
Erza blushed fiercely at the potential innuendo, but immediately did her best to suppress it.
Lucy wanted to steer the conversation away from this, so she looked to the brunette. "So, are you S-class as well?"
Cana took a drink before nodding. "Promoted a year before Natsu and Erza." She smiled. "Typically, it's one promotion a year, but those two forced the master to make an exception. Can't say I'm not a little jealous since I'd have loved to be promoted alongside Law."
"You feel that way now, but back in x776 we were barely aware of each other." Law voiced.
"While I know that's true, it feels like a life time ago." Cana returned.
"Enough about the past you two." Erza stated. "We should instead focus on Lucy and Haruki." Upon hearing his name, the Ancient Gear user came over. "The two of them are new to the guild, so let us turn our attention to jobs."
"If you want to be eased into it, speak with the master." Law offered. "Erza and I, when we arrived, ended up starting a tradition where he'll gather a pack of Magnolia jobs. They're typically enough for one month's rent at decent starter apartment I could direct you to."
"I think I'd like something with a bit more bite." Haruki noted. "While this is my first time in a guild, it's not necessarily my first job. I did all kinds of things, above board, to keep me going as I journeyed across Fiore."
"I'm looking for something a bit more exciting." Lucy voiced.
"Given we brought these two in, despite anything they've done prior, we should take responsibility." Erza voiced. "It'd be right to at least find them a job. After giving them at least today to enjoy, we'll accompany them on it to make sure they're safe."
"Uh, it's okay." Lucy smiled nervously. "I could probably take a job solo."
Haruki didn't speak up, but he was confused why Lucy was hesitant.
"That's exactly what Natsu tried to do when we were younger." Erza retorted. "Thankfully, I stopped him before he got in over his head."
"Gimme a break!" Natsu groaned. "I couldn't read anything but the reward!" Then, like flipping a switch, he rubbed his hands together mischievously. "Hey, I got the perfect job lined up for them."
Erza and Law both knew where Natsu was going with this.
"Natsu, they are new recruits." Law voiced firmly. "No S-class requests until they have guild experience under their belt."
"Agreed." Erza nodded. "Their first few requests should be from this level rather than accompanying us on requests from upstairs."
"Upstairs?" Haruki inquired.
"Down here, a mage of any class can accept jobs from that board." Law pointed to the request board. "Only S-class can go up the staircase. Well, unless the Master has business with someone. In any event, it's a strict rule because upstairs has a board with request of a higher difficulty."
"They can be categorized into four levels." Erza continued. "First are the normal S-class request. They hold a higher chance of combat, so they've been ranked tougher."
"Then, there's SS-class." Cana informed. "The master typically doesn't even allow us S-class to take them on because there's that much risk and difficulty afforded to them. Heck, the master's only ever approved a handful if Laxus and Law do them together."
"Haven't done one with him though since before Erza and Natsu became S-class." Law noted. "Perhaps another reason why master is testing me, to see if I can take Erza and Natsu through one."
"Decade Requests are above that since they haven't been completed in over ten years." Natsu pipped up. "Only one man in this guild is ever allowed to take those, but he's currently on the last line of request."
"That last line of requests are Centaury Quest." Laxus informed, as he strolled over. "That's a job that's been available for over one hundred years without completion. This guild's currently strongest man has been on one for the past three years now."
"C-Century?" Lucy breathed out.
"I had no idea there was such variety." Haruki commented.
"How many of you S-class wizards are there?" Lucy asked curiously.
"Fairy Tail has the largest number of S-class at nine." Happy chirped. "Gildarts Clive, Law Pharos, Laxus Dreyar, Mirajane Strauss, Gray Fullbuster, Cana Alberona, Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel, and Mystogan."
"As was expressed earlier, Gildarts has been on a Centaury Quest for three years now, Mira has been inactive as a mage, and Mystogan is rarely at the guild like the rest of us S-class." Erza informed. "Still, he is as Fairy Tail as any of us."
"Eh, enough about that." Natsu smiled. "Since Law just got back from a request, and you two just arrived, we'll take a few days before deciding on requests. Erza and I can take one of you while Law takes the other."
"Just remember, whoever takes Natsu and Erza will end up splitting the reward four ways!" Happy cheerfully pointed out.
Lucy twitched as she realized Happy wanted some of the cut, but before she could speak up, Erza pushed his head down. "Stop misleading new recruits!"
"No kidding." Law shook his head. "Team Advent splits the reward between households, not individual person."
"It's still not fair." Happy cried crocodile tears. "Erza lives with Natsu now."
"What are you even complaining about?" Natsu asked. "We buy you plenty of fish, we're not hurting for money anyways, and we regularly go fishing."
"Don't mind Happy, you two." Law sighed. "The little guy has a tendency to be overdramatic about fish."
Lucy and Haruki smiled appreciatively at the record being set straight. Splitting a reward, from any job they picked, in half sounded better should they end up going with the larger team.
"Well, I'm going to head out and get a place sorted to live."." Haruki walked away.
As he walked towards the door, Law stood to follow. "I think I'll head home early." He looked to Cana. "I'll see you there?"
Cana winked. "You know it."
Lucy intended to spend a little longer at the guild before moving to sort out the same for herself. She had just short of one hundred thousand jewels left, so that should be enough for a month's rent somewhere.
Magnolia
Law exited the guild after Haruki and saw the Ancient Gear user moving towards the stairs down from the guild.
"Hey Haruki, mind chatting with me for a moment over here?" Law asked.
"Hm?" Haruki turned, surprised. "Uh, sure."
They walked over to the right corner of the guild. Haruki was uncertain why they hadn't just continued talking in the guild but was willing to go along with it.
"So, what's this about?" Haruki asked.
"Do you know a Mia Vaden?" Law asked.
"Whoa, that's a name I haven't heard in years now." Haruki voiced.
"What can you tell me about her?" Law asked.
Haruki grabbed his chin as he looked at the S-class closely. "Now that you got me thinking about it, you got a similar looking face, along with the same hair and eye color."
"You're reading too much into such things." Law voiced coldly.
"Yikes, sensitive topic I see." Haruki chuckled nervously, feeling he wasn't familiar enough with Law to ask. "Anyways, I was young when she ended up leaving our home in the oasis, Higanbana. Not that I can particularly blame her.
I never saw it personally, but people always said she was 'too strong for her own good'. What I did see was how practically everyone, even her own adopted family, would look at her with such contempt. She was just twelve years old, but it became enough for her to run away."
"She was adopted?" Law asked.
"In the early hours of a day years ago, the woman that would become her adopted mother found her as a baby when she went to fetch water." Haruki informed. "Mia had apparently been left within a crate and had a Duel Monster's card with her, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon."
"She was left in the same way as me, even with her own card." Law knew the connection was strange. "Why a Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon? Only two existed, and they were in our island's founder's deck. I don't recall ever hearing of a theft before she took the entire deck."
"To my knowledge, she never built a deck around it." Haruki continued. "Though she certainly made sure to take back that card and the deck she'd been using, as both had been confiscated, before fleeing Higanbana."
"What deck did she use?" Law asked.
"I can't say I recall." Haruki replied.
"Is there anything else of importance you could tell me about her?" Law asked.
"No, I don't think there is." Haruki stated.
"I see." Law turned away from him, preparing to leave. "Thank you for your time."
"Wait, why are you asking about Mia?" Haruki asked.
"I've been looking for her, for years now." Law replied. "I won't go into detail, but she took something from me I can't get back. She also took something from my island, something I will retrieve." He started walking. "No matter how strong she is, I will defeat her."
Haruki didn't know Mia well, he'd been younger than she was, and it's been years since she left Higanbana. Still, she didn't seem like the type to take from someone to this extent. He couldn't exactly play it off as her not being the same person who Law was looking for.
A lot of what Haruki told Law seemed to resonate with him, and that wasn't even mentioning just how similar those two looked. Perhaps there wasn't a family resemblance, but something was still at play here. He just didn't know what.
As for Gray not being here, someone needs to be off on the Erza mission with her here. While I could have had Natsu and Erza on that, I decided it was better to have Gray take it and include the two of them in the events of the prior chapter. Now that we've reached this point, let's rundown them S-class mages of Fairy Tail for this story.
x?-Gildarts Clive
x776-Law pharos
x777-Laxus Dreyer
x778-No Successful Candidate
x779-Mirajane Strauss
x780-Gray Fullbuster
x781-Cana Alberona
x782-Erza Scarlet & Natsu Dragneel
x783-Mystogan
The x776 trail was shown, so moving onto the ones after. x777 was taken by Laxus because he's no longer keeping his dragon slayer magic on the down low and has his loss in the x776 trial pushing him forward. Additionally, the other members we would consider heavy hitter have not hit their stride or have yet to join Fairy Tail. x778 has no successful candidate because I feel it adds a level of 'this is a turning point'.
By there not being a successful candidate this year, after two years of relatively young members taking the rank, it ignites a fire that sees a stronger Fairy Tail as a whole rather than on the individual level. x779 goes to Mira over Erza, due to this Erza wanting to get the rank with Natsu. She opts out, and this becomes a reoccurring them until Natsu is up for promotion in x782. x780 goes to Gray because of prior changes.
You get the sense in canon Gray was never really part of anyone's team, for long periods of time, until Team Natsu. Here he was on a team with Law and Erza before then being shanghaied by Mira. x781 then goes to Cana due to her extra training with Law, some missions with Gildarts & picking up a few things from him, and the fact Natsu and Erza both aren't put up for promotion here.
x782 was the year that Mystogen canonically got his promotion, but here his competition includes Erza & Natsu, two S-class contenders with more strength than their canon selves, who have teamed up. No matter how strong you believe Mystogen to be canonically or how he in turn benefitted from prior changes, I put my money on the Natsu & Erza team over him. This then means Mystogen takes the rank in x783, the year prior to the year we get into Fairy Tail proper.
kuroshiragami0: Thank you.