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CHAPTER START---
"Why do they always do this?" Gildarts mutters to himself while looking at the cabinets behind Fairy Tail's guildhall bar. "I swear it's never in the same place tw—"
He excitedly grabs a bottle of clear rum from the back of the cabinet and pops up over the counter.
"Found ya!" he excitedly grabs two glasses, looking at the eerie and empty guildhall around him. The ground floor was empty and dimly lit aside from himself, and he didn't fail to appreciate the rare silence in the room.
Taking the glasses and bottle, he struts over to the stairs and makes his way up to the S-Class floor. Only his footfalls and the creaking of wooden stairs echo through the room as he walks through the privacy barriers to hear Master Makarov speaking.
He sees the man at the far end of the floor with a tray of sandwiches beside him, a stack of papers on the table, and a Communication Lacrima directly in front of him.
"This is how Wizard Guilds operate," Makarov says. "I'm not risking Fairy Tail's guild charter for you. If you have a problem, take it up with the Magic Council."
An old and rough voice responds through the Lacrima. "The fewer people know about this, the better. Which is why I'm concerned about more of them popping up."
"Well, you have two, so it hardly matters. Without all of them, it can't be activated."
"It would be better if I got my hands on more, maybe one that can be destroyed."
Gildarts takes a seat opposite Master Makarov and smiles, to which the old man shakes his head.
'Your Crash Magic can't destroy these tablets,' Makarov communicates telepathically.
Gildarts shrugs and pours their drinks before getting a sandwich.
"Look, if more of them show up, then send us a Job and I'll put Oberon on the case…considering what he did to your apprentice," Makarov barely suppresses his laugh, but Gildarts doesn't even try.
A low grumble flows from the Communication Lacrima before the man speaks. "At least that boy is under your care. Gods forbid he was found by one of those Wizard Guilds. I'll inform you if anything else appears. I think it's best we work together on this, since other entities are clearly interested in the tablets."
"I'll be sure to give you a fair price," Makarov shuts off the Communication Lacrima before his friend could respond.
Gildarts passes a glass to Makarov, a large grin on his face. "How long have you two known each other?"
"Eh, who remembers things like that?" Makarov sips his drink. "I think we met a few decades ago, before either of us was even considered for the role of Wizard Saint. He was stuffy back then too."
"Damn, since ancient times."
"We aren't that old."
"Sure you're not. Anyway, did he take the whole Oberon and Jura thing personally?"
"Oberon offered to talk it out first, so aside from his apprentice being crushed by mine," Makarov says with a mischievous smile on his face. "Perfectly fine. I'll be sure to remind him of this when I see him."
"Once I'm not in the room when you two start going at it. Well, if Uncle Warrod is there, that'd be cool."
"Three Wizard Saints in one place? Don't be ridiculous."
"He mentioned wanting to meet the golden boy, by the way. But he's on his way to some desert up north, so that'll have to wait."
"I'd rather Oberon not meet Warrod yet," Makarov says, setting the Lacrima aside and grabbing some of the documents. "But that's for later. Let's talk about what's going on tomorrow."
"Are we doing this tomorrow? Figured you'd start next week."
"If anyone passes this year, I want them to have more time on S-Class Jobs, since the announcement has been moved forward."
"Still don't like this. I mean, changing the Magic laws across the world like this. If all the Wizard Saints didn't even agree to outlawing Charm Magic, Assassination Jobs, and all the other things on that damned list, where does that put the Wizard Guilds that will follow them?"
"All those who continue that sort of behaviour will be classified as Dark Wizards and Dark Guilds. They will be hunted and arrested."
Gildarts taps his chin thoughtfully. "I can think of more than a few heavy hitters that won't like that. And a few more people who will be out for revenge on anyone taking part in this process."
"Yes, Fairy Tail will be a target. So, having more people pushing to grow stronger will benefit us. And quite frankly, I'm concerned about the longevity of the Guild."
"What are you saying?"
"Wizard Saints clashing can be catastrophic. In one of these coming conflicts, if anything happens to me—"
"One of the S-Class will have to step up, which means me."
Makarov nods.
"Please don't leave me to babysit these guys. I mean, the most I've played house is those few years I was married, and we know how that ended."
"All the more reason for the trials. It will give everyone the push they need to keep growing, even if they don't pass. And those who pass can be trusted to step up if needed."
Gildarts narrows his eyes at Master Makarov. "Uh-huh. And if Oberon passes, you can teach him the three Fairy Magics, so we have another superweapon on the battlefield."
"I will admit that is part of why he'll be included this year."
"Which I still don't agree with. I mean, he's what, two months from turning 9?"
"If it were only up to me, he'd wait until he's 16. But Mavis wanted me to include him last year, and this is as much as I should delay it. She is the Fairy Tactician, so I trust her judgment on this."
"As do I, even if I don't agree with it," Gildarts says. "He probably could have won last year if I weren't the obstacle."
"Which is why you won't be involved as much this year. Last year, we decided not to promote anyone, so you blocked them all. This year, Oberon will be up for a real promotion, so he'll likely get to the final stage. From there, Mavis will take over."
"Yeah, and who else do we involve, or promote?"
"Who would you like to nominate?"
"Macao and Wakaba," Gildarts says. "Not for promotion, but I think having them compete again will do them some good."
"Honestly, I don't think anyone but Oberon is worth promoting," Makarov sighs. "Are my Wizards really being shown up by an 8-year-old?"
"Considering how much of a freak he is, how could they not?"
"Still. The Magic world is about to split in two, dark versus light. And Fairy Tail will certainly come under attack. I hope it doesn't take anything tragic for some of our members to realize this isn't a game we're playing."
"I'm sure they'll get the message when the announcement is made. Oberon will be back tomorrow, I'm guessing, right?"
"He's in Crocus right now. Already collected his rewards."
"Ooh, I've never seen one of the twelve golden zodiac keys before. Which one did he get?"
"He didn't say. Actually, he doesn't know. Says knowing will make it harder to resist using it before becoming S-Class."
"Smart kid. He healed up?"
"Not even close. That Sandblaster Magic did a serious number on him. Probably another week or two before he's in top condition."
"So how do we set up the trial to account for that?"
"We don't," Makarov says. "We'll just let Mavis handle this one."
"Guess that works. What about Laxus?"
Makarov frowns.
"Between how quickly Oberon's gotten stronger, all the attention everyone gives him, and now this."
"Jealousy is danger, so I'll think of some way to involve him too."
"And are you going to tell him the truth?"
"Eventually."
"Eventually?"
"I don't know what to do with that. If he understands the severity of it, he'll hate my son, his father. If he doesn't, he'll blame me for expelling Ivan from the Guild, and hate me. It's a lose-lose."
"The longer you wait, the more likely he'll find his own conclusions, which could be a lot worse."
"Don't you have any advice that can actually give a solution?"
"Nah, I dodged having kids," Gildarts laughs. "Although I'd like to think I never would have ended up in a situation like this."
"You've still got time."
Gildarts chokes on his drink, feeling rum burn his nose and throat as he coughs. "Not funny."
Makarov nearly doubles over laughing, and somewhere in Magnolia, Cana Alberon, Gildart's daughter, is sleeping peacefully in her bed…
CHAPTER END---
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