Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
November, x784.
The next morning, eight people were sprawled out over the large bed in the master bedroom of Alfonzo' and Elicia's mansion. Naturally, those people were Alfonzo, Elicia, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, and Sun. After a night of wild and unrestrained sex meant to reduce the stress the group who returned from Edolas felt, they all ended up sleeping in.
"*Yawn*" Alfonzo released a massive yawn as he slowly opened his eyes.
Looking down, while his eyes adjusted to the change in light, he saw seven heads, each with a different hairstyle and color using his body as a pillow. A moment later, once his eyes had adjusted properly, he found it amusing that both Erza and Mirajane, who were using his thighs as pillows were nuzzling their heads against his morning wood.
"I think I'd better get up before I can't control myself." Alfonzo muttered with a wry smile.
With that thought Alfonzo carefully extricated himself from the soft bodies that were covering him. Then, he made his way to the bathroom once again before taking a quick shower.
After a quick wash, Alfonzo made his way into his closet and started rifling through his clothes, trying to decide what he would wear today.
"*Sigh* Although I don't like doing it, I think I'll skip training today." Alfonzo muttered to himself as he pulled a comfortable pair of pants and a long sleeved, button-down shirt off their hangers.
Then, after picking out some underwear, an undershirt, socks, and a pair of shoes, he got dressed quickly.
Once he was dressed, Alfonzo made his way to the kitchen and made a simple breakfast for himself and the girls. Then, after storing the girls' breakfast, he ate his own before leaving the house.
As soon as he stepped out the front door, however, he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, Lahar is here." Alfonzo muttered. "The Magic Council must have sent him to investigate the disappearance of Magnolia. And now that its back, he's probably coming to our guild to get the details."
Thinking this might be interesting and deciding now was the perfect time to put one of his plans in motion, Alfonzo smiled while he walked at a brisk pace to reach the guild hall.
Meanwhile, at the guild hall, everyone was having breakfast as usual. Though, the absence of Alfonzo and his girls was quite noticeable as they were usually early to have breakfast and train.
"*Sigh* I miss the days when Alfonzo cooked breakfast every day." Laki said. "There's no better way to feed your stomach than with his food, after all."
"I agree." Alzack replied. "Those were the days."
"Did… Did he really used to cook breakfast every day?' Wendy asked curiously.
"Yeah." Levy replied. "No one ever skipped morning training back then. I mean, once they were here, there was no reason to."
"That makes sense." Carla said with a nod.
"Anyway, I'm surprised Natsu isn't here yet." Gray muttered while drinking a cup of coffee. "I don't remember the last time he was late for breakfast."
"Aww… Are you worried about your friend?" Gajeel asked in a teasing tone. "That's so sweet."
"Shut it, Metal Head." Gray shot back.
"Why don't you make me?" Gajeel asked in a challenging tone with a provoking smirk on his face.
"Seriously, can't you two wait until we're done with breakfast?" Lisanna asked.
"No, if they're real men, they should settle their dispute right now." Elfman said loudly.
"You're not helping, Big Brother." Lisanna replied exasperatedly.
Then, just as Gray and Gajeel were about to start fighting, the guild halls' front doors slid open. A moment later, Natsu, with Happy flying behind him, ran into the guild hall with the panicked expression on his face.
"Guys! Run away!" Natsu shouted frantically.
"What's wrong, Natsu?" Gildarts asked from his seat at the bar.
"Yeah, and it better be good." Ur added. "It's too early in the morning for your stupidity."
"Just calm down, Natsu." Makarov said with a mug of ale in his hand. "Just tell us what's going on.
After speaking, Makarov took a swig of his ale. Meanwhile, Natsu took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then, he shouted the news he brought with him.
"The Magic Council is coming this way!"
Hearing what Natsu had to say, Makarov immediately spewed his mouthful of ale all over the place. Unfortunately, Ur was sitting right in front of him.
Luckily for Ur, however, she reacted quickly, freezing the incoming ale instantly. Still, she could not help but glare at Makarov fiercely. Makarov, on the other hand, did not even notice Ur's glare.
"The magic Council, but why?" Makarov asked. "We haven't done anything in a while. There haven't even been any complaints about property damage in over a month."
Not only Makarov, but everyone in the guild began to panic. It was a well-known fact that the Magic Council did not look at Fairy Tail in a good light, after all.
"*Sigh* You really are getting senile in your old age, Old Man." Ur said in an exasperated tone.
"Huh?" What do you mean, Ur?" Makarov asked. "Does that mean you have an idea why they are here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ur replied while rolling her eyes.
"is it?" Makarov asked in confusion.
Once again, not only Makarov, but most of the guild shared the same confused expression.
"Seriously, I guess it only takes brawn to become the strongest guild in Fiore, huh?" Ur lamented.
"Can you just explain it, already?" Gildarts asked impatiently.
"And you're the prime example." Ur added, not even looking in Gildarts direction.
"I think she's talking about the town's disappearance." Ren said with a giggle, enjoying the sight of Ur casually insulting the publicly recognized two strongest members of the guild.
"Oh, right." Makarov and Gildarts replied simultaneously.
The other members of the guild also seemed to just realize that was probably the reason for the Magic Council's visit, as well.
"but do you think they think we're responsible for that?" Macao asked in a worried tone.
"I wouldn't put it past them." Wakaba replied. "It's been an iron-clad rule to just blame Fairy Tail if anything goes wrong that they can't explain, for a long time."
In response, most of the longtime members of the guild nodded in agreement with Wakaba's words with a disgruntled expression on their faces.
"I don't even know why you guys are worried about that." Ur said, cutting into the omelet on her plate. "It's not like we're gonna be the ones to explain it to them, right?"
"If not the gild master, then who?" Chico asked from the table next to the Thunder God Tribe.
"Well, the only ones here who went to that other world right now are Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, and the new cat." Laxus replied. "Then, he shook his head. And we can't rely on any of them to do it."
"I do have a name, you know." Panther Lily said in protest.
"Why not?" Chico asked with a smile, ignoring Panther Lily's protest, she was just happy that Laxus replied other question.
"Well…" Laxus said with a contemplative expression. Then, he let his gaze run over the people he mentioned earlier. "First, there are the cats, they simply won't be taken seriously."
Everyone nodded in agreement with that statement.
"Then, there's Wendy and Lucy. Laxus continued. "Although their testimony would be fine, they don't have the reputation to make them take them seriously, either."
Once again, everyone nodded.
"And finally, there's Natsu and Gajeel." Laxus said. Then, he sighed in disappointment.
"What's that sigh for?" Natsu asked in an annoyed tone.
"*Sigh* You two are just too stupid to be taken seriously." Laxus said, concluding his explanation.
"What was that?" Natsu asked, flames covering his fists as he spoke.
"You picking a fight?' Gajeel barked angrily.
Ignoring the two Dragon Slayers, Laxus turned his attention towards his grandfather, Makarov.
"Gramps, I think you should send someone to find Alfonzo and bring him here." Laxus said. "You should probably send Jet, since he's the fastest one here other than me."
"If you're so fast, why don't you go?" Jet asked in defiance.
"Because I can't get past his front gate." Laxus replied with an eye roll. "I've never visited his house, after all."
Hearing that, Jet could only huff in annoyance at the fact that Laxus was correct. Then, he stood up from his seat and turned towards the front doors.
"Fine, I'll go and get Alfonzo." Jet muttered in annoyance.
"You don't have to." Alfonzo said, walking into the guild hall at that moment. "I'm already here."
Hearing Alfonzo's voice, everyone in the guild hall looked in his direction with relieved expressions.
"It's good you're here, Alfonzo." Makarov said, gesturing for Alfonzo to come over to the bar. "We've got trouble. And you might be the only one who can solve it."
"You're talking about the Magic Council, right?" Alfonzo replied casually while making his way over to the bar. "I already know about them. That's why I'm here, actually."
"Good, then we don't need to explain the situation to you, Kid." Gildarts said, patting Alfonzo strongly on the back. "By the way, where's my little girl?"
"Yeah, and why isn't Sun with you?" Gozaburo asked.
"They're still asleep." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. "That brawl you guys had last night must have taken more out of them than anyone expected."
'Like hell I'm gonna tell them that I fucked their daughters until they sounded like they were speaking Polish last night.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'I don't want those problems first thing in the morning.'
While Gildarts and Gozaburo looked at Alfonzo skeptically, trying to see through any lies he might be telling, Ur and Ren looked at him with knowing smiles. Since they often had girl talk with their daughters about how they spent their nights with Alfonzo, they knew exactly what happened last night after the seven girls left the guild hall at the same time.
"Anyway, the officers from the Magic Council should be here soon." Alfonzo said, looking away from Gildarts and Gozaburo. "And from what I'm picking up with my [MPD], I know the one who leads the group. But I don't know the other guy, though."
As previously mentioned, Alfonzo still knows of Mest/Doranbolt thanks to his meta knowledge. However, after he was affected by Mest's [Memory Control Magic], he had forgotten Mest's magic power signature. So, he could not recognize him at the moment.
"Well, things should work out just fine as long as you can convince them what you said was true." Makarov said solemnly. Then, he patted Alfonzo the shoulder as he continued. "I believe in you, my boy."
'This damn old man.' Alfonzo muttered internally. 'I should have just stayed at home. As the guild master, he should be the one talking to them. But since I still need to make the Council pay for firing that fucking Etherion at us, I guess I'll have to handle this.'
With that, about half an hour passed as the wizards of Fairy Tail waited for the officers and Rune Knights from the Magic Council to arrive. And when the group from the Magic Council finally arrived, the guild fell silent immediately.
"Attention, wizards of Fairy Tail, I am Lahar, the Captain of the Magic Council's Fourth Custody Enforcement Unit." Lahar said loudly, introducing himself as soon as he stepped through the doors of the guild hall. "We require your assistance in our investigation of Magnolia's disappearance over the last two weeks."
While most of the guild looked at the people from the Magic Council warily, Alfonzo scrutinized the man standing next to lahar, Doranbolt, or rather, Mest, before nodding to himself in understanding.
'I see.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'So, that's why I didn't recognize it, I'm under his magic, too.'
On the other hand, Lahar and Doranbolt, though they seemed confident and unbothered, were quite surprised by the sight of the new Fairy Tail guild hall. They also thought to inquire about the one who built it so they could get something like it for the Magic Council and its forces.
"We expected your arrival." Makarov said in a dignified tone. "We would be more than happy to cooperate with your investigation. Why don't we head up to my office. There, Alfonzo, the leader of the wizards involved in the incident, will explain the series of events."
As Makarov spoke, he gestured towards Alfonzo, who was now sitting at the bar with him, Gildarts, Ur, Gozaburo, Ren, and Masa.
"Why should we here the explanation from a young S-Class wizard and not you, Fairy Tail's guild master?' Doranbolt asked with an eyebrow raised.
"*Sigh* As much as I hate to admit it, I was incapacitated for the entire event." Makarov replied in a genuinely disappointed tone. "There were only a few of my children who were able to witness the chain of events. In fact, they are also the same ones who solved the incident and brought Magnolia back to where it should be. And like I said, Alfonzo was the one who led them."
"I see." Lahar replied while adjusting his glasses. "then, we shall here his story. Though, we would like to hear the testimonies of the others involved in the incident, as well.'
"We can discuss this further in my office." Makarov said, not agreeing to let the rest of his children meet with the officers of the Magic Council. "Now, if you'd follow me."
With that, Makarov hopped off the top of the bar and started walking towards the elevator. Closely following Makarov were Alfonzo, Gildarts, and Ur.
Watching the wizards from Fairy Tail move, Lahar adjusted his glasses once again before making eye contact with Doranbolt. Then, after receiving a nod, he signaled for two Rune Knights to follow him as he and Doranbolt caught up with Makarov and the others.
A moment later, there were eight people standing in the elevator. While the Fairy Tail wizards were calm, Lahar, Doranbolt, and the two Rune Knights were confused, wondering why they were told to enter such a small room.
When the doors closed and the elevator started moving, however, the four from the Magic Council were shocked, and almost attacked the members of Fairy Tail on reflex. Lucky for them, though, they managed to hold back those reflexes.
Finally, when the elevator door opened again, they were thoroughly flabbergasted by the sight of Makarov's office and the large floor to ceiling window that allowed them a view of Magnolia.
"Now, why don't we let Alfonzo here tell you all what happened during Magnolia's disappearance." Makarov said after taking a seat behind his desk. "Alfonzo, my boy, the floor is yours."
Nodding in response, Alfonzo waited for Gildarts, Ur, Lahar, and Doranbolt to be seated on the sofa's in the office while the Rune Knights took their positions behind Lahar and Doranbolt.
"Well, where to start?" Alfonzo asked rhetorically. "Well, I'm sure you two saw the vortex in the sky that led to Magnolia returning to Fiore, right?"
In response, Lahar and Doranbolt nodded.
"Well, on the night Magnolia disappeared, one of those opened up over the town before taking it away, too." Alfonzo said, beginning his explanation of what happened in Edolas.