Guild Disaster

Alex and Mira were both happy this war had finally ended. They both knew they were due for a big reward from the council but found it incredibly hard to care in their current states. Instead of going directly to the council, Alex gave his report to them remotely as they made their way to his closest teleport pad. He didn't even want to spend the time flying back to Magnolia, anything that could get him to the comfort of his own bed the quickest was a win for him.

The magic council was very pleased with the report and their efforts, praising them multiple times and asking them to come in at their earliest convenience to claim their rewards and hand in an official report of everything that had happened over the last eighteen months.

Quickly teleporting from Iceberg to Magnolia, they made a B-line to Alex's house. They slept uninterrupted for 2 days before finally crawling out of bed to go greet their friends. As they were walking Mira was trying to use the communication orb to reach her siblings.

In all the chaos and constant fighting they had completely lost any concept of time. However, talking with the council and having them request a report for the last 'EIGHTEEN MONTHS!' made them realize how strange it was that they hadn't gotten a call from their families. The original duration hadn't registered in their sleep deprived brains and it had taken them getting proper rest for it to truly register. Now they were both running towards the guildhall, panic slowly gripping their hearts.

When they entered the guildhall, the atmosphere was so depressing it had turned into an almost physical thing. Romeo was sitting face down at a table, Macao was at the bar with his back to the guild drinking quietly with Wakaba. Nab was still at the job board, and Jet and Droy seemed to have drunk themselves unconscious. It wasn't an incredibly uncommon sight, the quiet reserved atmosphere sure was.

The first one to notice them was Bisca. She let out a loud gasp before running in their direction. "Mira! Alex! You guys are back!" she shouted with tears in her eyes. Her shout had drawn the attention of all the remaining members within the guild and even roused the depressed Romeo.

What followed next was nearly everyone trying to ask questions over each other until Macao shouted at them to shut up! "Boy are we ever glad to see you guys! Things have been a little depressing since the Tenrou team disappeared", Macao said once everyone had calmed down. There were tears in his eyes from genuine happiness.

"Disappeared? What are you talking about? You are going to need to explain a little better. We have been gone for months and have had no contact with anyone", Mira said, her eyes scanning the guild periodically.

'What the hell is going on here? Did I miss something or change something major?' Alex asked himself as he tried going through his memories of the story. 'Tenrou team? Could he be referring to when Acnologi.. Oh SHIT!' Alex shouted internally as it came back to him. The only time any group was referred to as the 'Tenrou team' was when Acnologia planted Tenrou Island on the bottom of the ocean.

Alex could admit that his memories of the anime had been slowly leaving him, but the seven year gap was a big event within the story and it had completely slipped his mind. If it played out like he thought it had and his guesses about the timeline weren't too far off, the major players of the guild had been missing for the better part of a year and a half. Almost the entire time they had been fighting the demons.

Alex listened to Macao's description of how things played out while he held the sobbing Mira. For all she knew, both her siblings had been killed fifteen months ago with most of the people she grew up with. The sight of Mira crying almost crushed Alex and he wanted to tell her they were alive, but he could not. He didn't know that. While he suspected that they were fine and hoped the events had played out the same as they had in the anime, he couldn't be sure. His own interference in this world could have directly affected that particular event. Not only had he made Natsu, Laxus and Gray many times stronger than they were in the original, but Ultear and Meredy would also not be part of Grimoire Heart. He didn't know if these things would change the outcome of Acnologia showing up, but the 'butterfly' effect was a powerful thing.

The retelling of the events that transpired all those months ago had most of the guild members in tears again. Alex asked how Wendy and Liam had made it on to the S-class trials and everyone was confused when they really couldn't answer him. Wendy had apparently been asked to partner up with one of the S-class participants that nobody could seem to remember the name off, causing momentary confusion amongst all the guild members.

As for how Liam got there, he had gone with Carla and Lily on their own when Lily and Carla felt something was wrong with the situation. Alex was annoyed with the boy and wanted to smack him for doing something reckless, but he wasn't here.

They went over to one of the tables and the group kept filling them in on the events that transpired since Tenrou island disappeared. They told of the allied guilds searching the waters around Tenrou for the last year, hoping for any sign. They told of how they had blown through most of the guild's resources with their own search. They told of a bunch of their members leaving once the magic council stopped sending A-class quests and above as they had no wizards that could do them consistently. They also told of the other magic guild that had moved to town and set up shop, driving even more of the business away.

When they reached this point, Alex couldn't help himself in thinking it was a failure on their part. They should have never let that guild get set up within Magnolia. When he also learned that certain members of the magic council were putting pressure on Macao, as the new guild master, and calling in some of the debts that had been swept away by Makarov being a Wizard Saint, he felt his blood boil.

He had spent the last eighteen months working for those guys, in almost constant communication with them. Not only had they not mentioned, even once, the disappearance of half their guild but they were pressuring the remaining members for funds they didn't have. He didn't doubt for a single second, they knew Fairytails financial situation.

Alex forcefully calmed himself down, he would ask them in person, what was going on, when he went to collect his rewards. He could feel Mira tense up when the group was talking about the council as well, no doubt reaching the same conclusion he had.

The group spoke for long hours into the day. When Alex learned of the efforts of the allied guilds he asked what Macao had done to show them our appreciation. When he got confused looks in return he explained that they should send letters of thanks and maybe even gift-baskets to the guilds that spent time and energy searching for the missing guildmates. Even though the efforts have been so far in vain, a gesture of good faith can go a long way to letting people know you appreciate the effort they are putting forth.

He also told Macao that the guild finances should be taken care of by the end of the day as he was going to make the council recall them or pay out of pocket. He knew from the increase of magic-mobiles that he should be many times more wealthy than he already was. Everyone was happy to hear his words and for the first time in a year they started to feel hope again. Alex eventually excused himself. Mira was still not over the potential death of her siblings so he picked her up in a princess carry and flew back to his house. He needed to figure out the situation with the magic council before going to the area surrounding Tenrou Island and doing a scan of his own.

Getting back to his house, he asked Mira if she wanted to join him in "Giving his report" to the council. She declined, stating in a rare moment of rage fueled clarity that she would probably do something she would regret if she saw any of the council members right now.

Alex understood her thoughts perfectly. He was incredibly pissed off that they hadn't bothered to say anything to them after all these months and he couldn't really understand their motives. Were they worried they would drop the quest, to kill the demons, if they found out that fairytail was in trouble? That was probably it actually. The council had proven in the past that they weren't above doing shady shit in the name of 'Balance', or to keep their power base.

Alex left Magnolia in a flash and reached Era in record speed. He wanted to bust the doors down and demand answers but thought better of it in the end. They would probably use that as an excuse to not pay him.

Deciding on a different approach, he entered the tower as if nothing was wrong in the world. Making his way to the main room, he gave a quick and precise report of the quest he had been undergoing, clear up to the point Tartaros fled the continent.

He waited until after they told him of the rewards and were on their way to collect it, to casually ask why old 'cancelled' debts were being called towards Fairytail. His question had caught the entire group off guard and as he figured, not everyone was involved in it. The 'Anti-fairy tail' side of the council had used this opportunity to drown the remaining guild in debt while giving them a convenient 'bailout'. All they had to do was disband the guild and all the debts would be forgiven.

Alex let his entire magical aura loose in the council room, the pressure was way more than it had been before this quest and actually took the breath away from the council members. Alex didn't have any plans to attack the council, but he absolutely wanted to impress upon them that he was not to be taken lightly.

"If this shit continues. Not only will I never assist the council again, but I will use everything in my power to go against you. I've spent the last eighteen months working for you ungrateful bastards. Not only did you not tell us when our guildmates disappeared off the face of the earth but you chose that moment to launch a financial attack on those that remain. You may all think you're 'high and mighty' but I know I could ruin you all, financially and politically if I tried too. Do. Not. Push. Us." Alex growled. Some of his words had come out with a demonic cadence as he got angrier.

Having said his piece and figuring his reward was ready, Alex left the council chambers and very frightened members. He was still mad, but he wanted to put these idiots out of his mind. They had their warning and if they continued to target Fairytail he would act. At this point he was one of the wealthiest people in this kingdom and as the magic-mobiles spread further, he would only get wealthier. Money was dirty power and Alex wasn't above using it to his advantage.

Approaching the front desk, Alex met up with a very cheery frog person who was smiling way too widely. Their smile slipped momentarily when they saw his dark look, but then returned full force as he got closer. "I trust your meeting went well, mister Black", They asked rhetorically. "For an emergency long term quest, here is your reward. I am also obligated to tell you the council can hold on to it to be withdrawn at your leisure should you not wish to carry so much Jewel on your person", they followed up.

"No thank you. I am fine with taking the full sum", Alex said simply.

"Very well. Here you go", they said, handing over the briefcase full of cash. "We, the Magic Council, look forward to working with you again in the future", they said with another smile.

"I wouldn't count on that. Pretty sure your employers just burned that bridge", Alex said simply before making the case disappear and walking out. Leaving the frog person startled and confused about his words but unable to ask any further questions.

When Alex got back to Magnolia, he took the briefcase over to the guild and told Macao to use the funds for the guild and not to bother paying off the council. Their claims were bogus and it was a ploy to get Fairytail to disband. He didn't bother lowering his voice and made sure everyone heard him, causing many angry murmurs in the hall. The last thing Alex did before leaving was shout out "The next five rounds are on the master!" before leaving the guild to cheers. He headed straight home and crawled into bed next to Mira. She had cried herself to sleep and both of them just wanted to forget about this day.