Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
March 1, x786.
It took a few minutes to cheer up Shizuka after she found out that Alfonzo had not come back with Ultear and Juvia. During which time, a brawl started in the guild hall. However, the more levelheaded members of the group continued cheering up Shizuka.
"So, where is Fonzie?" Elicia asked curiously once Shizuka's smile was back on her face.
"*Sigh* We'll have to wait until Ultear and Juvia are done fighting to get an answer to that question.
At that moment, the elevator opened. And when it did, Gildarts and Ur, walking hand-in-hand exited the elevator. And upon seeing the ongoing brawl, Ur sighed audibly. Then, she let go of Gildarts' hand before making her casting gesture.
"[Ice-Make: Rose Garden]." Ur chanted in an exasperated tone.
In the next instant, a number of ice roses grew from beneath all the brawling wizards. Then, before any of the wizards could react, their stems coiled around them, stopping them from moving.
As soon as everyone was immobilized, they all looked in Ur's direction, knowing that she would only stop one of the commonly occurring brawls if something important was happening. Or... If the fight resulted in her spilling her wine.
"It looks like Alfonzo, Juvia, and my daughter have returned..." Ur said as she scanned the faces of those taking part in the brawl.
"Uh... Hey, Mom." Ultear said while smiling sheepishly.
"But the thing I wanna know is..." Ur continued, ignoring Ultear's greeting. "Why hasn't anyone come to report to me yet?"
With that, Ultear and Juvia looked away guiltily. However, neither had anything to say on the matter.
"Um... Actually." Elicia said, raising her hand so that Ur could see her.
"What's wrong, Elicia?" Ur asked in a stern tone.
"The thing is...' Elicia said hesitantly. "Well... Fonzie didn't come back with Tear and Juvia."
Hearing that, Ur froze momentarily. Then, she remembered the fact that the Magic Council had summoned Alfonzo.
"Oh, that's right." Ur replied casually. "Alfonzo won't be back until sometime after the fifteenth."
Hearing that, everyone in the guild hall opened their eyes wide in surprise.
"How did you know about that, Mom?" Ultear asked in a shocked tone.
"I received a message about it from the old man." Ur replied. "The Magic Council summoned him for some reason. In fact, I'll be meeting up with him in Era in about two weeks."
"Seriously?" Lucy asked in a dumbfounded tone. "But why would he have to see the Magic Council? Did something happen?"
Not only Lucy, but most of those present, other than Ultear and Juvia, wore similar worried expressions. And for the wizards of Fairy Tail to panic in a situation like this was not out of the ordinary. Despite the fact that the Magic Council had been completely rebuilt, most of the wizards of Fairy Tail still remembered how much the Council hated them. So, they began to think the worst.
Before the panic could fester for too long, however, a gloomy aura washed over the guild hall, drawing all eyes to its point of origin.
"How long have you known that Fonzie wasn't coming back to day, Ur?" Elicia asked in an eerily calm tone.
'Oh, shit, I forgot about Lici when I decided to keep this a secret from the guild.' Ur said to herself as her eyes opened wide. 'She can get kinda out of hand when it comes to her Fonzie.'
"For about three weeks, or so." Ur replied with cold sweat dripping down her back.
"And you didn't think to let us know?" Elicia asked, her eyes narrowing as she asked her question.
At the same time, in a burst of speed, a beautiful woman with a curvaceous figure, long, bright pink hair tied into a pair of buns on her head, green eyes, and a beauty mark under each eye wearing a flowing white and pink kimono with an oversized katana strapped horizontally across her lower back appeared behind Elicia with her right hand gripping the katana's hilt. On top of that, she was glaring at Ur with hostility.
"There's no need for that, Ikaruga." Elicia said as she waved her hand at the woman, Ikaruga, the former leader of Trinity Raven of Death's Head Caucus. "Besides, you're no match for her."
"Yes, Mistress Elicia." Ikaruga replied as she released the hilt of her katana. However, she did not stop glaring at Ur. And she would continue to do so for as long as Elicia was unhappy.
As previously mentioned, after Ikaruga was released from prison. Mostly due to her good behavior and the fact that she repeatedly mentioned that she wanted to serve Elicia. The Magic Council, under Makarov's insistence, released her on probation, hoping that Elicia would be able to reform her. And if that did not work, they knew that Elicia was more than strong enough to subdue her, should she revert to her old mentality.
"*Sigh* Because Alfonzo was supposed to appear in front of the Magic Council alone." Ur replied. "And I knew if I told you about it, you would want to follow him to Era."
In good conscience, Elicia could not deny Ur's statement. In fact, ever since Ur said something about Alfonzo being summoned before the Council, Elicia was thinking about going back to the mansion, hopping in her Z3, and driving to Era to meet up with Alfonzo.
"Does that mean no one can go with you?" Shizuka, who was also looking forward to seeing Alfonzo, asked Ur while looking at her with puppy dog eyes.
'Damn it.' Ur thought as she made eye contact with Shizuka. 'Why can a twenty-eight year old woman look so cute while making puppy dog eyes? It's not fair.'
"No, I'm allowed to bring one person with me to witness the proceedings." Ur replied while trying, and failing, to break eye contact with Shizuka. "And I was planning to bring---"
"Then, can I come with you?" Shizuka asked excitedly as she appeared in front of Ur in a burst of speed.
'What the hell?' Everyone in the guild hall exclaimed internally after seeing Shizuka's burst of speed.
At the same time, Shizuka grasped Ur's hands while looking at her with the light of hope shining in her eyes. Meanwhile, Ur, after seeing the look in Shizuka's eyes, felt her resistance start to crumble immediately.
Originally, Ur wanted to bring Gildarts with her. Using the trip as an excuse to spend some uninterrupted time with her new man. But that notion almost flew out of the window after meeting eyes with Shizuka.
"But what about your shifts in the infirmary?" Ultear asked softly as she finally broke eye contact with the ditzy nurse.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, Ur." Ren, with a mischievous grin on her face, replied before Shizuka could. "I'll pick up her shifts."
Immediately, Ur's head snapped in her friend's direction with a scowl on her face. Meanwhile, Shizuka looked at Ren with gratitude. A moment later, Ur sighed in defeat.
"Fine, you can come with me." Ur said in a resigned tone.
"Yay!" Shizuka cheered as she started jumping up and down with Ur's hands still grasped in her own. "Thank you, Master! Thank you very much."
'*Sigh* Why is it so hard to say no to her?' Ur thought to herself while shaking her head with a wry smile on her face. 'It's even worse than when Meredy and Wendy look at me with puppy dog eyes. She's on par with little Elicia.'
While those thoughts were running through Ur's head, the men in the guild were staring at Shizuka. More specifically, the way her breasts bounced as she jumped around in excitement.
"*Sigh* All the men in this guild are perverts." Chico said in a tone filled with envy. "Do they ever think about anything other than breasts."
"Why don't you say that when you can tear your eyes away from those things." Macao, who was still wrapped up in one of Ur's [Ice Roses] shot back while his eyes followed the bounce of Shizuka's breasts.
And just like Macao said, many of the women in the guild were also staring at Shizuka's chest. And while some of them were jealous like Chico, most of them were just mesmerized by the violently bouncing breasts.
At the same time, Ur, who noticed that Gildarts was among the men staring at Shizuka's breasts, freed one of her hands from Shizuka's grasp. Then, after making a one-handed casting gestured, caused a fist made of ice to form above Gildarts head.
*Bang!*
In response to getting hit by Ur's [Ice Fist], Gildarts did not even try to defend himself. Instead, he only looked at Ur apologetically.
Meanwhile, Ultear and Juvia, after seeing the display between Ur and Gildarts opened their eyes wide in surprise. And while Ultear smiled at her mother happily, Juvia looked mortified. Though, to Ur, Gray, and everyone else's surprise, she did not start boiling in anger.
Naturally, this caused Ur to look at Ultear questioningly. And Ultear mouthed: "I'll tell you later," in response.
"Anyway, Tear, Juvia, come to my office and tell me about your trip to Lamia Scale." Ur ordered after shaking off her confusion. "I'll get Alfonzo's version of the report when I meet with him in era."
As she spoke, Ur released all the wizards from her [Rose Garden] spell. Then, she turned around and returned to the elevator, leaving Gildarts on the first floor to interact with the rest of the guild.
As soon as Ur, Ultear, and Juvia disappeared into the elevator, everyone went back to what they were doing before the brawl started. At the same time, Shizuka, with a wide smile on her face, skipped back to the table where the others were sitting.
"I'm actually surprised that you didn't ask to go with Ur, Lici." Cana said after ordering a drink.
"*Sigh* I wanted to." Elicia replied. "I mean, I really wanted to. But I'm already pushing the deadline for the summer collection. And if I were to take a few days to go to Era, I wouldn't be able to finish in time."
Hearing that, everyone sitting at the table nodded their heads in understanding.
"Still, I wonder what the Magic Council wants Alfonzo for." Levy said in a curious tone. "I mean, we all know it's not because he destroyed anything. So, what else could it be?"
"Maybe it's to give him an award for everything his inventions have done for the people of Ishgar?" Meredy suggested.
"I doubt it." Mirajane replied. "They would have done that a long time ago if they were gonna do that."
"Actually, that's not so far outside the realm of possibility." Saya chipped in. "Don't forget, before the Magic Council was rebuilt, they really hated Fairy Tail. So, they weren't against withholding the praise members of the guild were owed."
Saya's analysis caused everyone to stop and think for a few moments. Then, she received nods from everyone at the table.
"Saya's right." Elicia said with a smile. "But I don't think that's it. Otherwise, Ur would have told us when she stopped the fight."
"If that's not it, then what could it be?' Rika asked curiously.
"Wizard Saint." Laki said with a smile.
Hearing Laki's suggestion, everyone looked towards her. And judging by the smile she was wearing, they all could tell that she was joking, which caused everyone to chuckle. However, if they only knew how true Laki's joke was, they would all be left with their eyes and mouths hanging wide open.
Meanwhile, at the best hotel in Magnolia, Edward and Alphonse were relaxing in their room.
"Winry will be here tomorrow." Alphonse said while sitting on one of the beds in the hotel room.
"Yeah." Edward replied absent-mindedly. "We'll pick her up from the train station in the morning. Then, we'll head to see Alfonzo at the guild hall."
"We'll have to wait until they finish training, though." Alphonse replied. "According to Winry's letter, her train will arrive in the middle of the morning."
"*Sigh* I know." Edward replied. "But since he got back from that job he was working on, there's a chance he might skip training, though."
"That's true." Alphonse replied with a nod.
"Al, I'm still not sure telling Winry about this before we've seen any results was such a good idea." Edward said, changing the subject. "I mean, what if Alfonzo's idea doesn't work?"
"I think she'll understand." Alphonse said. "Winry knows we've been looking for a solution to our problems for almost ten years. I don't think she'll take it as hard as you think she will, Brother."
"*Sigh* I hope you're right, Al." Edward said as he rolled over in bed. "I already promised that the next time I made her cry, they would be tears of happiness. And I really don't wanna break my promise."
Though Alphonse did not reply verbally, if he had a face, it would be split from ear to ear with a smile after hearing Edward's last statement. Unfortunately, Winry, Edward, and Alphonse would all be disappointed when they found out that Alfonzo had not returned to Magnolia.