Chapter 15 - Magic Council

--Makarov's Office, 3rd Person---

"Rob is alive!?", Yajima shouted in shock, "He died fifteen years ago in a Demon Attack, how is that possible!"

"He is alive, breathing, and in my Guild Hall!", Makarov refuted, "The man down there is Rob, I want to know who did the investigation immediately!! A Mage Hunter by the name of Vance Tropo sold him to some illegal mining operation!!"

Left reeling from what Makarov told him, Yajima knew Makarov wouldn't make up a story like that. He took what Makarov said seriously which put him in a tight bind.

"Is he okay?", Yajima asked making sure to ask about his close friend's condition.

"Frankly he looks like he could keel over any minute.", Gildarts answered trying his best to keep his anger in check, "Yajima, there are children here too. Some of them are barely old enough to talk and walk...there is no way the Council couldn't have known about this."

"I am afraid there isn't much we Mages in the Magic Council can do. We hold no real authority anymore, we are just here for appearance only really. Our group had to pay a handsome sum to several members on the other side just to pass that self-defense piece of the recent decree.", Yajima admitted with a sad expression, "I can get you the information, but I won't be able to act to punish anyone. The Mage Hunters answer to the Head of the Magic Council, Chairman Togo...saying Mage Hunters sold people would be saying he knowingly let it happen. Our situation right now is very shaky, if we push too hard it will be war with the Church..."

"We understand that, but some of the children were sold weeks ago.", Wakaba stated looking at the sheets, "These are kids that lost everything in the recent fights with Demons. They were sold to die in that place...we can't just turn a blind eye to this."

"...I understand, I will do what I can but I will need backup. Makarov, can you gather the Wizard Saints and come to the Council Headquarters?", Yajima asked, "Ask other Guild Masters to come as well, they aren't going to take us seriously unless we show up in mass. When you arrive, do not start fighting them no matter what they do. We have to play this carefully or the repurcussions will be severe."

Agreeing to that, Makarov made a series of calls to get people together. When Bob and Goldmine heard that Rob was alive and what happened to him, both men said they would head there with their Guilds immediately. They were former teammates of Rob's, and had been greatly affected by his supposed death. To hear that he was alive but almost dead thanks to the actions of Mage Hunters, they were both raring to fight the Magic Council.

Getting the support of several other guilds as well, Makarov left his office to call a Guild Meeting.

---Mael POV---

"...So until further notice all members are to remain in Magnolia till we return. The Magic Council may be directly involved in this so they may try to do something.", Makarov stated.

"Why is he saying that?", Erza asked me.

"All of you can identify people that sold you. You are all a liability to them, and they will want to keep you quiet.", I replied with a serious look.

Listening to him call the names of people he was taking with him, Makarov turned to me when he was finished with his speech.

"Mael, I am leaving the protection of the Guild Hall and everyone here to you. Rob has informed me that you possess very powerful magics so you are the only one staying behind that can stop them. I know you haven't been with us for more than a day, but I am trusting you with the lives of everyone here.", he told me with a serious tone.

Changing into my Angelic Form, I told him I would see to it that no harm befell anyone in Magnolia while he was away. Nodding his head, he took his group and headed towards the Magic Council Headquarters to join the others.

Getting the children settled in, we did our best to make them comfy. The women in the Guild took extra care to make them feel safe and secure. Having seen what was written on the documents, they felt overwhelmed with sadness for the children.

"Sounds like you had a blast.", Mirajane said with a smile.

"Meh, I only found out about the island thanks to see someone get snatched off the streets in Akane Beach.", I replied, "I interrogated the kidnappers, and found out about their operation."

"To think this was going on...it is disgusting.", Mirajane stated, "How cruel can people be!?"

"Humans can be very cruel...", I remarked with a solemn expression, "They can abandon their own flesh and blood for kicks and entertainment."

Realizing that I was slipping into discussing my past life, I stopped myself from going any further. Sensing that I understood how cruel people could be, Mirajane patted me on the back and said that I did a good job. Thanking her, I decided to take a walk to clear my head.

---Magic Council Building, 3rd Person POV---

Having listened into the conversation between Yajima and Makarov secretly, the Anti-Mage faction of the Magic Council were deciding how to proceed. With the powerhouses of Fiore coming here, they were in quite a bind at the moment.

"How should we proceed? We don't have many resources here to subdue that many mages.", one of Council Members stated.

"This is very simple.", Chairman Togo stated, "We will give them what they want. They want the ones responsible dead, let's give them decapitated heads."

"Sir...it will set us back months maybe years.", one of the members stated, "Those are invaluable to our cause."

"I understand that, unfortunately our forces are out suppressing Zeref's Demons so we have little manpower here. If they wanted to, they could finish off here and now.", the Chairman Togo replied, "Round up expendable men, and kill them in their place. The mages won't know that the ones we give them aren't connected to the crimes."

"I see, that would lessen the blow.", a few of them conceded.

"What about the slaves?", one woman asked, "Surely they are a liability as well, they can identify who captured them."

"That is simple enough, we will preoccupy the mages here and use Leslie's newest creations to handle them. With all the Demon attacks going on, the public won't know we caused the attack in Magnolia. It will serve as a warning to those blasted Fairy Tail mages that they need to stay in line!", Togo spat in anger.

"Agreed!", the Council Members present unanimously agreed.

With that, they put their plan into action.

---Mael POV---

Wandering around the city in my Base Form, I was doing what I could to calm myself down. Having seen the looks on all those children's faces, I wanted to fly over to the Magic Council Building and raze it to the ground. Unfortunately doing that would cause a lot of problems for the world. When the Council was destroyed by Tartaros in the series, it opened the door for the Alvarez Empire to invade a year later.

While I could wipe them out myself...it would mean I would constantly have to babysit this world. My goal was to stabilize the world, not play God. My best bet was to figure out a way to punish the corrupt council members another way.

'With my Demonic Powers, I could make their lives literal Hell.', I thought, 'Maybe I could make it so they couldn't have an erection with their spouses. Tormenting them with nightmares so they couldn't sleep is also an option.'

Thinking of all the ways I could make them suffer, Erza and Mirajane came running up behind me. Asking if everything was okay, they said the children started getting fussy after I left. Nodding my head I headed back to the Guild Hall with them.

Taking a seat in the library, I started to review historical information of Earthland. I wanted to know how far off the timeline things were here for my own sake. According to the documentation in the library, the Potter's were a part of the Magic Council in this world. Harry's parents were very much still alive and he appeared to be living comfortably. As for Ron, his family worked for the Potter's and according to the newspapers...the two were still causing trouble whenever someone wasn't watching.

'Glad to see something's never change.', I snickered, 'I hope they don't crash into me with the car though...I don't think health insurance is a thing here. If they hit me, they are going to need it.'

I couldn't find anything about Hermine in any of the documents, nor any of the Hogwarts staff. The only other Harry Potter person I could find was Voldemort who was a Dark Guild Leader. He had a rap sheet a mile long that included human experimentation, murder, kidnapping, and many other despicable crimes. Voldemort would be someone I would keep an eye out for to kill on sight.

The Black Clover group...well they were a bit more complicated. Their country was destroyed during the war several hundred years ago. While they may not have a country, it didn't mean they were all gone. Most of the Black Bulls were guild members here with the exception of Asta, thankfully. Their captain was MIA, and according to my information he wasn't tied to any Guild at the moment. From what I was reading, he was a Freelancer and wandered around looking for tough quests to complete.

'I wonder of Gildarts and him know each other...', I thought knowing they had similar tastes and hobbies.

Focusing on the Fairy Tail world itself, Zeref was very much dead here. The Mage Hunters did him in, and it apparently had a great effect on Mavis. After his death she became more reclusive, and didn't smile as much as she once had. I wouldn't know if the Dragon Slayers would show up as he died prior to them being sent to the future. It would be interesting to see what would happen in the year x777.

"Well the easiest way would be to find Lucy and Layla.", I chuckled, "If they have the keys and the Gate exists, they most likely will show up."

Putting the books back, I headed back out to the Great Room. The children were sound asleep while the adults were playing cards to pass the time, for the moment things were calm.

---Magic Council, 3rd Person POV---

"We demand answers!!", Makarov shouted loudly, "Why were the Mage Hunters selling children and adults to illegal mining operations!! Several of our members were sold off like lambs to the slaughterhouse!!"

Showing up in greater numbers than anticipated, the Anti-Mage Faction felt the mounting pressure from their anger. Knowing that they were moments away from a fight, the Magic Council Chairman had the heads of several people brought forward. Presenting them to the Mages, he explained what had happened.

"As much as we hate to acknowledge it, several members of the Mage Hunters were dabbling in things they shouldn't have. Thanks to the work of Mr. Yajima we were able to track them down in a timely manner, and dispatch them for their crimes.", Togo lied with an empty apologetic expression.

"Then someone knew!! There is no way you rounded them up that quickly!", Gildarts spat.

"I agree, something smells fishy about this.", Bob spoke up.

"My secretary admitted to providing aide to them in exchange for large sums of jewels.", he remarked, "We are currently in the process of interrogating her for more information. These are just some of the men she has told us of."

Pressing the Council Members for more information, Makarov knew he was lying. The faces on the men were too young to match the ages Yajima provided him with. The Chairman was trying to trick them, and Makarov was growing more and more angry. They were doing all of this just to cover their own asses, the men they killed likely had nothing to do with the actual crimes.

"Mr. Togo, I think we need to discuss what measures will be taken to prevent this in the future and how we will deal with the aftermath.", Yajima spoke up on behalf of the Mage Faction, "Using Mages and children as slaves is simply unacceptable, and something must be done to rectify the situation. There are many children displaced by this tragedy, we need to find them suitable places to live and the Mage Hunters must pay them for the damages."

Backing Yajima, the Mage Faction was unite behind him and started voicing their agreement. They knew it could have easily been one of their close friends, and for all they knew some of the people still out there might be. With the Wizard Saints and several Guilds here, now was the time to force changes in the Magic Council for everyone's betterment.

Twitching with annoyance Mr. Togo wanted to beat the Mages senseless for suggesting there be financial compensation for some brats. The survivors should be grateful they were allowed to live instead of being killed like the filthy vermin they were. Keeping that comment to himself though, he forced a smile and said they could discuss it inside formally.

Following the Anti-Mage Faction to the General Assembly Chambers, the Guilds took a seat while the two factions began their arguments. Letting out two yawns in quick secession, Togo alerted his assistant to send their aces out to clean up the mess in Magnolia. Fortunately for him, the Guilds didn't even realize he had given a signal. Instead they thought he was mocking the severity of the issue, and focused their attention on him.