Two Letters

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

February, x785.

"Ooh~~~~~! Lu, you're so bold!" Levy squealed excitedly while Lucy told her about her date with Alfonzo the day before.

"Levy~~~! Keep it down.' Lucy said while covering Levy's mouth with her hands. "I'm telling you, not the whole guild."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Levy said with a smile after peeling Lucy's hands away from her mouth. "Anyway, did you invite him inside?"

"Of course not." Lucy replied while shaking her head. "*Sigh* I ran away..."

Levy could only look at Lucy in dumbfounded amazement.

"... Even worse, I didn't even ask him to be my boyfriend." Lucy said while covering her face with her hands.

With that, the small table where the two girls sat fell silent.

"*Sigh* What am I gonna do with you, Lu?" Levy asked while smiling wryly.

"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu shouted as he approached the table where Levy and Lucy were sitting. "Erza, Happy, the streaker and I are gonna take a quest. You wanna come with us?"

"*Sigh* Fine..." Lucy said while uncovering her face. "It will at least help me take my mind off my major screw up last night."

"Don't worry about it so much, Lu." Levy said with a conciliatory smile. "I'm sure things aren't as bad as you think."

"I hope so." Lucy said as she walked away from the table. "I'll see you later, Levy.'

"Bye, Lu." Levy replied with a wave.

Meanwhile, at a table on the other side of the guild hall, Alfonzo, Elicia, Mirajane, Marin, and Sun watched Lucy join Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Happy for their quest.

"You know, Fonzie." Elicia said with a wry smile on her face. "If I hadn't heard the story from you last night, I would have thought that your date with Lucy went absolutely horribly."

"I know, right." Marin said in a cheerful tone. "But still, seeing her freak out like this is kinda... No, really cute, isn't it?"

While Elicia and Mirajane agreed with Marin, sun watched Lucy leave with a concerned expression on her face. Then, once Team Natsu had left the guild hall, she turned to Alfonzo.

"I think you should talk to her about this, Alfonzo." Sun said in a caring tone.

"*Chuckle* Do you really think I haven't tried, Sun?" Alfonzo asked while shaking his head. "In fact, I tried this morning before training started. But she ran away as soon as I got close. Though, seeing her face that red was pretty cute."

"Anyway, Lucy's just embarrassed." Mirajane said with a pleasant smile on her face. "I'm sure she'll get over it soon. Then, she'll be back to normal again."

"Mira's right." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Anyway, does anyone know where Cana went? She was with us until we finished training. But I haven't' seen her since we split up to take a shower."

"Oh, she'll probably be gone for the next few days." Marin said. "Her dad ambushed her outside the locker room. Said something about taking her out on her first S-Class quest."

"I guess I should have seen that coming." Alfonzo replied while smiling wryly. "Anyway, what do you ladies plan to do for the rest of the day?"

Before Elicia, Mirajane, Marin, or sun could respond, the guild's doors slid open, drawing their attention in that direction.

"Finally, we're back." Ultear said as she walked through the open guild doors.

"I never wanna take a quest like that ever again." Meredy said, sounding like she might pass out at any moment.

"Tear and Meredy are back!" Elicia shouted happily.

Hearing Elicia's exclamation, Ultear and Meredy's attention was drawn in her direction immediately. Then, after seeing her waving at them energetically, they both could not help but smile.

"Hey, guys." Ultear said with a smile. "We'll be right back, we have to report to Mom on our quest. Then, we'll come back down and tell you all about it."

"See you later!" Meredy said with a wave of her own as she and Ultear made their way to the elevator to give their report in Ur's office.

"What quest did they take, anyway?" Sun asked curiously. "I mean, they look exhausted."

"I'm not sure." Marin replied. But I remember when they left, they thought it would be pretty easy."

"We'll just have to wait until they come back, I guess." Alfonzo said while resting his right elbow on the table and using his palm to support his cheek.

Nodding at Alfonzo's assessment, the girls continued to chat happily. Then, after about half an hour, the elevator doors opened, through which, Ultear and Meredy re-entered the main hall.

"So, what quest did you take?" Mirajane asked curiously when Ultear and Meredy neared the table.

"*Sigh* We had to investigate a pub and its inhabitants in a small town in the south called Dublith." Ultear replied as she plopped down in a seat at the table. "It seemed like a simple B-Class quest at first. But we found and saw some stuff that would definitely raise the rank to S-Class if we knew about it beforehand."

Hearing that, Mirajane, Marin, and Sun leaned forward with interest. Meanwhile, Alfonzo and Elicia exchanged concerned glances."

"Oh, before I get too into the story…" Ultear muttered as she turned her attention to Alfonzo. "Mom told me to have you go up to her office, Alfonzo. I ran into the mail man on my way back, and two of the letters had something to do with you."

"*Sigh* Fine." Alfonzo said as he picked himself up from the table. "You'll just have to tell me the story when I get back."

"Of course." Meredy replied with a smile. "And when you hear it, I bet it will blow your socks off."

"Damn… Now I really wanna hear it." Alfonzo muttered as he walked away from the table. "Maybe I should just go see Ur after the story is over."

"Do you really wanna talk to a grumpy Ur?" Elicia asked with a wry smile. "Just go. It's not like you can't hear the story later, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Alfonzo said as he walked away. "See ya later."

"Anyway, what was so weird about that pub?" Marin asked curiously. "Were they hiding some kind of monster that made their drinks addictive or something?"

"If that had been it, we wouldn't have had so much to worry about." Ultear replied.

"Then, what was the big deal?" Sun asked, her curiosity peaking as well.

"Have you ever heard of the term, homunculus?" Ultear asked. "Or maybe, Chimera?"

At that point, the elevator doors closed, separating Alfonzo from the sounds in the guild's main hall.

"Dublith… Homunculus… Chimera…" Alfonzo muttered to himself while the elevator rose to the top floor. "So, they probably ran into Greed. I wonder if the Elrics were there, too. But if they were, then they probably ran into Bradley, as well. Or maybe they just ran into Izumi Curtis and her swoll ass husband, Sig. Then again, since we're in a different world, the whole timeline could be different, too."

Before he could think any further, however, the elevator doors opened once again, and Alfonzo was pulled back to the present.

"Good, you're here." Ur said from behind her desk." Come, have a seat. There are a few things we need to discuss."

Curious about the letters that made Ur call him up to her office, Alfonzo stepped out of the elevator and made his way over to Ur's desk before taking a seat.

"Ultear said there were two letters that came in, and had something to do with me." Alfonzo said after making himself comfortable. "So, what's up? I'm pretty sure I didn't break anything on my last quest."

"We both know that's not why I called you up here, Kid." Ur said with a wry smile. "It's actually for a much bigger deal than that."

As she spoke, Ur slid the first of two letters lying on her desk towards Alfonzo.

Picking up the letter, Alfonzo read it quickly before raising an eyebrow.

"So, a group from Mermaid Heel is coming to visit?" Alfonzo asked as he put the letter back on the desk. "I guess they really were interested in our training facilities after I met up with Yoruichi for that quest, huh? But their guild master is coming with them, too? You know, now that I think about it, I don't even know who she is."

"I've actually never met her, either." Ur said while lightly shaking her head. "But according to the rumors, she might be the best swordsman on all of Ishgar."

'I wonder if she's another crossover that shouldn't even be in this world.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Still, I'm really curious to know who she is. I mean, even in the Fairy Tail canon, I don't think Mermaid Heel's guild master was ever mentioned.'

"Seriously?" Alfonzo asked with interest. "Then, we probably shouldn't let Erza meet her. You know how gung ho she can get about sparring with strong swordsman."

"Yeah…" Ur said while rubbing her temples. "I just hope things don't get out of hand if they meet. Anyway, I want you to be present for negotiations. Like you said, I'm sure they want you to build training rooms for them."

"And I assume the guild wants a cut, correct?" Alfonzo said while lacing his fingers together under his chin and resting his elbows on Ur's desk.

"I don't' even know why you asked." Ur replied while rolling her eyes. "You already know when it comes to matters between guilds like this, the guild gets a cut. But you don't' have to worry, we'll only be taking fifteen percent. So, I hope you fleece them for as much as you can."

By the end, Ur was grinning devilishly.

'*Sigh* The position of guild master has turned Ur into a dirty capitalist.' Alfonzo thought to himself while putting on a similar grin. 'And I like it.'

"Sure, I'll do what I can, within reason." Alfonzo replied. "But if I'm gonna be negotiating with a guild master, I'm sure they'll have a few tricks up their sleeves."

"I know." Ur replied. "But since you're the only one who can build training chambers like ours, for now, we'll still have the advantage in negotiations."

Nodding in response, Alfonzo let his gaze fall on the second letter that was lying on Ur's desk.

"So, what's the other reason you called me up here?" Alfonzo asked.

"*Sigh* It's something I'd rather not have to deal with at all." Ur replied, her mood souring visibly. Then, she slid the second letter to Alfonzo and leaned back in her chair. "Here, take a look for yourself."

Picking up the letter, Alfonzo read it quickly. Immediately upon seeing the contents of the letter, his face split into a vicious smile. And that smile only widened the mor he read.

"So, the Magic Council wants to settle, huh?" Alfonzo said calmly while putting the letter down. "They want to let us punish Org, who was the one that ordered that Mest… or Doranbolt… or whatever he's going by to infiltrate our guild and try to kidnap Wendy. Oh, he's also the one that ordered the naval fleet to just watch us fight with Grimoire Heart, too. And they think that will be enough to drop the fact that they fired the fucking Etherion on us? Yeah, fuck that."

"*Sigh* I can already see where this is going." Ur muttered while rubbing her temples again. And I can already feel the headache that will come along with it. But I'll admit, we can't let them off so easy."

"Yeah, that Magic Council needs to be completely rebuilt." Alfonzo said with a grin. "And if my plan works, you'll be able to wipe that smug smile off of Gramps face, too. And according to this letter, we've got about two months to prepare"

Hearing that, Ur perked up immediately.

"Ooh… Tell me more." Ur said, her devilish grin reappearing on her face.

Like that, Alfonzo and Ur discussed, in detail, the plans for the trial of Fairy Tail Vs. the Magic Council. Meanwhile, in a large house on the shore of Lake Sciliora, a short old man, Makarov, sneezed several times in a row while sitting at a small table holding a chess board.

"What's wrong, Gramps?" Laxus asked while moving a piece on the board. "You catching a cold?"

"No, I don't think so." Makarov replied while wiping his nose with a handkerchief. "There are probably some beautiful ladies talking about me, that's all. By the way, did I ever tell you about how popular I was when I was your age, Laxus? You know, I had more girls interested in me than Alfonzo does…"

'*Sigh* Here we go again.' Laxus thought as he contemplated his next move. 'Grandpa really has gotten delusional in his old age. But at least he's not making me wait for him to make his move while he tells his clearly fictional story of the popularity he had in his youth.'