Tartaros

The weeks passed peacefully in magnolia. All the members of Fairytail that had been involved in the Edolas incident had spent a couple days relaxing and the guild was finally settled down about Lisanna being back as well as the Exceeds being in earthland. Alex spent his days studying the vehicles he had stolen from Edolas and hanging out with those he was close too. Mira hadn't quite moved in with him, but she was staying at his place more often than not and even had full access to the wards there.

The introduction of magical fuel to the kingdom was widely praised by the non-wizards. While the magical vehicles were seen as a luxury item, nobody could argue that they weren't convenient. Many merchants had also realized they could vastly speed up their trading routes to a point that the vehicles paid for themselves in months. With the target customers being merchants themselves it was actually very easy to get factories set up. After creating the plans for the vehicles and the fuel to operate them, Alex created a contract with the companies that would essentially pay him a percentage of the profits for the rest of his life. He made the contract hereditary so any children he had in the future would also be taken care of. At this point in time he felt like he had no need for any more money but just felt it dumb to stop working at such a young age.

Alex had never stopped his daily training but always made time to spend helping Wendy and Liam increase their own control and power. They were beginning to get very powerful for their age. Carla and Happy had come to terms with the fact that they had parents and said parents were now within reach. They still held some resentment towards them but after figuring out why the queen had done what she did, they forgave her. They would go visit occasionally, and Shaggot had even visited Magnolia once or twice. Panther-lily had not only proven himself a valuable partner to Gajeel but also a strong new member of the guild. There hadn't been any of the other Exceeds that had joined the guild, but aside from Laxus there weren't anymore dragon-slayers in the guild and the Exceeds only seemed to want to bond with them. Unless they had a bond like 'Ichyia' and 'Nichyia', Alex didn't think the Exceeds would partner up with any other humans.

Alex had been messing around in the pools with Mira when Wendy had burst in with important news. The young slayer had gone bright red at the scene of Mira and Alex being all lovey-dovey but calmed herself long enough to tell him that the master needed to see him right away. She then bolted out of the pool room as fast as her little legs could take her, she even boosted herself with wind magic. Alex laughed hardily while Mira chuckled lightly while sporting a blush. They had not been totally naked, but they might as well have been. Figuring they wouldn't be interrupted anymore, they finished what they had been doing before reluctantly heading to the guild.

When they got to the guild the atmosphere was just as lively as it always is so Alex figured the news couldn't be that grave. Mira split off to go talk with Lisanna while Alex went to the masters office. "Oh Alex. Glad you could make it", Makarov said from behind his pile of paper.

"What's going on master? Wendy made it sound kind of important without being grave. The atmosphere of the guild tells me it's either not grave, or private", Alex said conversationally.

"It is both actually", Makarov started before getting serious. "Demons from the dark guild Tartaros have been active in eastern Ishgar. They have been wiping out villages from Joya to Enca and all the way up to the southern Pergrande Kingdom. We don't know what they are doing yet or how long it has been happening but none of the Wizards in these areas have been able to stand against them. The magic council is at their wits end with what to do and have sent out a SS class request to any of the guilds throughout Ishgar to take them out once and for all. This leads me to why you have been summoned", Makarov stopped to clear his throat and drink some beer.

"The council has once again issued a personal request to you. They need you to head up near the Pergrande kingdom and investigate anything you can find about their plans. We have reports that their guild building can fly and is why it has been so hard to track them, but they have been slowly heading north so this is our best bet. I will warn you though, they request you spend at least a year in your search if you are unable to find them. If you are able to find them, they will allow you to act however you see fit to deal with them", Makarov finished with a long pull from his beer. He had a look of someone that wasn't very pleased to give out this assignment but seemed resigned for the greater good.

Alex sat in silence for a very long few minutes. Slowly going over all Makarovs words. He had been looking for information on the dark guild Tartaros for a while now, always paying special attention to rumors and even questioning all the merchants he had dealings with, about anything they might have heard on the elusive hooligans. Finally he had a direction and solid evidence but now he was hesitating. His relationship with Mira was just taking off and a year was a long time. Had he still been a single man he would have jumped on the opportunity. Letting out a breath he came to a decision.

"I am going to need to talk with Mira and my household about this. A year is a long time. I know there are devices we can communicate with, but it is still a very long time", Alex said, his tone considering. He really wanted to go and deal with them, the allure of getting stronger was like a drug. At the same time, his relationship was just blossoming and the feelings were getting stronger. He was torn.

"That is totally fine. This is a request by the council, it can be refused. You could even ask Mira to go with you. Now that her powers have returned she might even want to", Makarov said with a light chuckle.

"Yeah, it would be an opportunity for her to get a few more forms as well if I understand her magic properly", Alex said with a smile. 'That could work, hell that might actually be really fun!' He thought.

"Very well. Discuss it with your family and girlfriend tonight", Makarov said with a waggle of his eyebrows. "Let me know tomorrow as time is of the essence when Demons are involved", he finished much more seriously than moments ago.

***

Alex invited Mira over for dinner that night and told her to bring her siblings, he had something important to discuss with her and he didn't doubt her siblings would want to know as well. He told Liam, Wendy and Carla they also needed to be there and set a proper time for the meal. Alex spent the rest of the day grocery shopping and wine hunting before going home to prepare an awesome meal. He wasn't too worried about it going cold as he could stuff it in his {Inventory} to keep it warm.

Mira arrived first and helped him set the table while also helping herself to the wine before dinner. The others showed up a little later and the night and dinner was a very pleasant one. Everyone knew there was something important that needed to be discussed but that didn't stop them from enjoying themselves. It wasn't until dessert was over and the dishes were cleaned that they all met in the living room to talk.

"The master had another personal request for me from the Magic Council", Alex started. Seeing he had everyone's attention he kept going. "It involved the dark guild Tartaros. They have been targeting towns in the countries north of here and the council wants me to investigate", he said looking around.

"Isn't this good news? You'd be helping people", Wendy asked.

"The problem isn't the job. The problem is they want me to be gone for a full year and even attack Tartaros if I am able", Alex replied. His face was grave with maybe a hint of excitement.

"A full year.." He heard Mira mutter. She had spoken to herself and had a very unsure look on her face. The rest of the Strauss siblings were sitting quietly, waiting for the reason Alex had thought they would want to be here.

"I invited you all here because I wanted to ask Mira to join me. I knew she would need to speak with the two of you before she made any decision on the matter and the master has requested I give him an answer by tomorrow morning. With peoples lives on the line, everything is very rushed", Alex said to the silent Elfman and Lisanna. His gaze turned to Mira and he winced at her pained expression. She seemed to be having a little bit of a war within herself and Alex wondered if he had gone about this the wrong way.

Turning to Wendy, Liam and Carla he could see acceptance on all their faces and he knew they would support him in leaving. While a year was a very long time, they had already known Alex was a drifter and had the magic devices to speak to each other when they got lonely. Out of the three of them, only Carla seemed to realize this whole meeting was because of his relationship with Mira. Had that not been a factor, Carla figured Alex would have already been on his way to carry out this quest. It seemed a little cold, but all the members of his household knew what to expect coming into this relationship.

"I really want to. But that is a really long time and Lisanna", Mira started. "It's fine big sis! Go and save the people. It's only a year. Big brother Elf will keep me safe until you guys get back!" Lisanna said happily. "Yeah! Go and kick some Demon butt like a real man!" Elfman shouted. His statement even made the hesitant Mira laugh slightly. "Fine, but you will keep one of Alex's communication orbs so I can talk to you whenever I want", she demanded. Her tone commanded no arguments from either Alex nor Lisanna.

"Yes ma'am!" Alex said with a smile, holding out one of the small orbs to Lisanna. "Just channel magic into it with a thought in your head about whose orb you want to connect too. I'll give one to Elfman as well. This orb will even connect to Wendy, Carla, Liam and the master should you desire it. If kept in a storage item, it will vibrate when receiving a call", Alex explained while holding out two rings to the white haired siblings. "These are storage Items. I haven't given them to the guild yet, but their handiness cannot be understated", he said happily.

The Strauss siblings thanked him for the items and the group spent the next little while discussing the quest before Mira had to leave with her siblings to go get ready. After Mira and her siblings left, Alex spent the rest of the night talking to the kids about living on their own and how to access the vault should they ever run into financial trouble. He didn't think they would as they were all making their own money, but with team members as destructive as Wendy's, Alex wouldn't write off the possibility. Liam had asked if he could join them and that led to Alex telling him everything he knew about the curse magic that the demons wielded. The danger level was too high for Liam and Alex would be distracted if he had to watch the boy. He reluctantly agreed and soon the house was once again returned to silence as they slept.