After the Battle

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.

December 15, x784.

While most of those present on Tenrou Island had already returned to the camp, everyone on the island could see the green flare that went up near the area where the Grimoire Heart airship landed.

"It looks like they did it." Ur said from atop the walls of the [Frozen Fortress] she created when the island was first attacked.

"Well, Alfonzo went that way when this all started, right?' Ultear asked from next to her mother. "So, this was kind of expected."

"Oh, so you have so much faith in your boyfriend, huh?" Ur asked with a smile. Then, her expression changed to one filled with frustration. "But no, he actually went to get Gildarts first. And… Well… I think we all know how that turned out."

"I'd be frustrated too if the guy I liked slept through the whole thing because he got too hammered." Ultear muttered.

"What did you say?" Ur asked, narrowing her eyes as she did so.

"What are you talking about, Mom?" Ultear replied with a sweet smile. Then, she pointed in the direction of the Grimoire Heart airship. "Oh, look, there's Master, Alfonzo, and Lici."

Instead of responding immediately to Ultear's change of topic, Ur glared at her with her eyes narrowed for a few more seconds. And while Ultear managed to maintain her sweet smile, she could feel the cold sweat forming on her back under her mother's icy glare.

'Did Mom learn some kind of [Eye Magic]?' Ultear thought to herself as she felt herself getting colder under her mother's glare. 'Seriously, I wish you'd stop looking at me like that… It's kinda… no… really scary.'

"My children, we have returned." Makarov said as he, Alfonzo, and Elicia returned to the base camp with Hades, Bluenote, and Himiko toga in tow. "And just as we have always done, Fairy Tail returns victoriously!"

Hearing Makarov's shout, all those who had returned to the camp cheered loudly.

"Welcome back, Alfonzo!" Ultear, taking the opportunity to get away from her mother's glare, shouted as she jumped off the wall and threw herself at Alfonzo and wrapped him in a tight hug. "You didn't get hurt, did you? I mean, I felt you fighting the one with the strongest magic power from the other side."

"I'm fine, Tear." Alfonzo replied with a smile as he returned Ultear's hug while looking around the area. Then, when he noticed Ur, who was still glaring at Ultear, he could not help but smile wryly. "So, Tear, what did you do to make your mom so mad?"

"I didn't do anything…" Ultear replied while pouting cutely.

"Uh-huh…" Alfonzo replied, clearly not believing Ultear.

"I really didn't do anything. I only told the truth." Ultear replied. "It's not my fault she likes the guy who slept through everything."

Even though Ultear was not particularly loud, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Makarov could feel Ur's anger growing by the word.

Before Alfonzo could reply, however, a few more girls came running out of Ur's [Frozen Fortress].

"Fonzie! You're back!" Cana shouted as she actually used her [Enhancement Cards] to beat everyone else to Alfonzo. "I'm glad you're okay!"

Shifting Ultear slightly to the side, Alfonzo stretched out one of his arms and caught Cana, who also hugged him tightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Oh, and let me congratulate you on becoming the newest S-Class wizard of the guild."

Hearing Alfonzo's congratulations, Cana smiled brightly before she raised herself on her toes and stole a kiss.

Meanwhile, the other girls, namely, Mirajane, Marin, and Sun, rushed out of the camp and piled onto Alfonzo with smiles on their faces. All the while, Cana held her kiss while aggressively invading Alfonzo's mouth with her tongue.

'Although I'm not gonna complain about the kiss, Cana.' Alfonzo thought to himself while enjoying the passionate kiss with Cana. 'Don't think this will save you from your punishment for thinking something so stupid before the exam.'

"I get the feeling they forgot I was here." Elicia muttered while watching the other girls group hug around Alfonzo. "I think I might actually be jealous."

"If that's the case, you should just join them." Erza, who arrived from the forest, said as she dragged Natsu and Happy towards the camp.

"Come on, Erza, let me go!" Natsu shouted in irritation. "Gramps is definitely gonna make me go through 'THAT' again if he catches me."

Ignoring Natsu's complaints, Erza dropped him and Happy off next to Makarov while she kept walking forward. At the same time, she grabbed Elicia by the arm and pulled her over to the hug-pile. Then, she put Elicia between herself and the rest of the group as she joined the group hug.

"I'm glad you're safe, Alfonzo." Erza said sincerely. "You were fighting Grimoire Heart's guild master, were you not?"

Meanwhile, Elicia could only smile wryly at Erza's actions. At the same time, she was trying to shift her position.

'It's nice how she just dragged me along to do what I should have done from the beginning.' Elicia thought to herself. 'But she's crushing me between Mira and her armor.'

Meanwhile, back on the ice walls, Lucy, who had arrived next to Ur was watching Alfonzo and his seven girlfriends/fiancées with envy in her gaze.

"If you want to hug him so much, you should just go do it." Ur said with a smile. "I'm sure neither Alfonzo nor any of the girls would mind."

Although Lucy's eyes lit up at the idea, she still shook her head to Ur's suggestion.

"I'm sure you're right." Lucy replied. "But I can wait a little longer. We're supposed to go on a date, after all. We just haven't' been able to with everything that's been going on. I mean, as soon as we got back from Edolas, everyone started preparing for the S-Class exam."

"If that's what you want." Ur replied. "But you could still go celebrate with them."

With that, Ur nudged Lucy forward. Unfortunately for Lucy, Ur's nudge was more like a full powered shove for a wizard with her level of physical strength, and she went flying from the top of the ice wall.

"Oops." Ur muttered as she watched on dumbfoundedly.

"Kya~~~~~!" Lucy screamed in surprise.

A moment later, however, she remembered what Alfonzo said to her in Edolas about staying calm. Then, she reached into her key pouch and pulled out one of her Golden Celestial Keys.

"[Open! Gate of the Ram!]" Lucy chanted as she channeled her magic power into the key.

Before she could finish her chant, however, she felt that she was no longer falling. On top of that, she felt a sense of security for some reason. Then, she looked up and saw that Alfonzo was floating about sixteen feet (approx. 5 m) in the air while carrying her in his arms in a princess carry.

"You alright, Lucy?" Alfonzo asked.

"Um… Mhmm…" Lucy hummed a reply while lowering her head with a blush. Then, in an almost inaudible voice, she continued. "Thanks for catching me, Alfonzo."

In response, Alfonzo only smiled while lowering himself to the ground gently.

With that little episode over and done with, the group returned to the camp and Makarov discussed what they should do with the surviving wizards from Grimoire Heart with the S-Class wizards of his guild. Though, Gildarts and Cana were not present for this discussion.

While Gildarts was still plastered and sleeping off his stupor on the ship, Cana would not officially become an S-Class wizard until the group returned to Magnolia and Makarov announced it in front of the rest of the guild.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Open Seas.

At the same time the green flare that signified the end of the emergency situation went up, Lahar and Doranbolt finally put down their binoculars.

"*Sigh* Things certainly did not go as the Council expected on this one." Lahar muttered as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, it seems that Fairy Tail is significantly more dangerous than we expected." Doranbolt replied.

"They just took down one of the continents three most dangerous Dark Guilds by themselves." Lahar said, sounding rather exasperated by his colleague's words and tone. "And instead of thanking them for it, you raise their danger level? And although you're not wrong, technically, doesn't this seem a little wrong?"

"If you truly believe they've changed for the better, then I can understand where you're coming from, Lahar." Doranbolt said as he turned away from the ships bow. "But like I said before, I don't think a leopard can change its spots so easily. Anyway, I'm going to send a report to the Council about the outcome of the battle."

Watching Doranbolt walk towards the ship's comms room, Lahar could only shake his head.

"What's happened to the Council?" Lahar muttered to himself. "I can understand the bias they hold against Fairy Tail, as they were truly a double-edged sword in the past. Still, being a member of the Magic Council requires more neutrality. And if Fairy Tail were to ever find out that we simply watched while their holy lands were attacked by Grimoire Heart, this could be catastrophic for the Council. And their recently recovered reputation could be damaged to a point where it may never recover again."

Unfortunately, Lahar was not aware that nearly every Fairy Tail wizard on Tenrou Island was aware of the Magic Council Fleet's proximity to the island. On top of that, they were aware of where Mest/Doranbolt went after he escaped from Wendy, Carla, and Panther Lily.

Earth land, Ishgar, Era.

*Bang!*

'How is this possible?' Org growled internally as he slammed his fist into his desk. 'Those ruffians managed to defeat Grimoire Heart on their own while having no casualties? Not even that boy, Alfonzo Marcus was killed. Now, we can't even claim his patents for the Magic Council! Damn it, they ruined my plans, completely!'

"Sir, what are the orders for the fleet?" The communications officer who came to report asked.

Hearing the communications officer's question, Org forcefully calmed himself down. Then, after taking a few deep breaths, he returned his attention to the officer standing in front of his desk.

"Tell them to maintain their position until Fairy Tail leaves the island." Org ordered. "After that, they may return to port. Also, let them know I will be the one to receive their reports. Understood?"

"Sir!" The communications officer saluted before turning around and leaving Org's office.

With that bit of business taken care of, Org returned to his regular duties. Then, after working for the next few hours without interruption, he finally put down his pen and breathed out a relaxed sigh.

"Even if my plans fell through, no one should know about this." Org muttered to himself. "As the second seat of the Magic Council, no one questions me, despite certain things not adding up. And even if they somehow left their offices and noticed the fleet was gone, they'll never know the Chairman wasn't the one who ordered them to sortie. And since he's currently in Fiore meeting with the king, Toma E. Fiore and won't be back until the day after tomorrow, he'll never know the fleet ever left."

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Firoe, Crocus.

"I wish you safe travels, Chairman." The king of Fiore, Toma E. Fiore, said as he and Gran Doma stood in front of the Magic Council airship.

Toma was a short man, standing at roughly the same height as Makarov, with white hair, parted down the middle, and black eyes wearing a set of striped overalls, a belt around his waist, and a cape bearing the crest of the Fiore Royal Family.

"I appreciate your well wishes." Gram Doma replied while extending a hand to Toma for a handshake. "And even more than that, I appreciate the intel you shared not too long ago. Unfortunately, it's because of that same intel that our meeting for this competition you've dubbed the Grand Magic Games must come to an early end. Although, I do look forward to picking up this topic once again, as it could lead to an economic rise in your country. And if everything goes well, perhaps it may spread to the other countries of Ishgar, as well."

With a smile, Toma accepted Gran Doma's hand and shook it firmly.

"For now, I will be on my way." Gran Doma said as he released the king's hand. "I must return to organize our forces to aid Fairy Tail. I only hope that they are able to hold out long enough for us to arrive."

"Indeed." Toma replied while stepping back. "Though, I would rather your preparations were not necessary. But considering our look outs saw the Grimoire Heart airship headed in the general direction of Tenrou Island, I am of the opinion that it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Indeed." Gran Doma replied with a nod. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I bid you farewell."

With that, Gran Doma wasted no more time and entered the airship. Hoping to arrive before sun rise, he would call for a meeting of all the Councilors and give the order for the fleet to set sail at once for Tenrou Island and offer Fairy Tail any aid they could in fending off Grimoire Heart.