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[X784, Magnolia]
— Dannis Martell —
"Ah. Home sweet home."
He let out a sigh of content as he sank deeper into the reclining chair he had set up on his patio. A light breeze wafted through the trees that brought the faint scent of Magnolia's cherry blossoms. It was a rare moment of peace.
Mira giggled beside him as she sipped her cool fruit drink. "It was nice of the master to extend our vacation for a bit," she said. "Relaxing like this is just what we need after that whole debacle with Phantom Lord."
"You're telling me," Dannis muttered, rubbing the side of his neck where the bruises still lingered. The relaxation was just what he needed. After all, he's got a lot on his mind recently.
Mira turned toward him slightly, eyes softening. "Are you okay, Dannis? You've got that distant look again."
He paused. Mira had always been quick to read him—quicker than most, honestly. He debated just brushing off her concern, but instead leaned forward with a quiet sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't expect to see the Thunder God Tribe of all people."
Having Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen to pop in Porlyusica's hut while he was healing was something he didn't expect.
The whole conversation after that was also quite surprising. According to Freed, Laxus was getting better. He still believed in the whole strength superiority thing but it had milded out in recent years.
"They're up to something," Dannis muttered. "Some kind of secret mission."
While they didn't say anything outright, he knew them enough to realize that they were keeping something from him.
Mira tilted her head, curious. "You think the master sent them?"
"Has to be," Dannis replied. "The only reason they came back was to check up on me. It must be a pretty important one for the master to not call on him back during the war."
He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the clouds. "I'm not worried, though. If Laxus is handling it… well, he always finishes what he starts."
Mira studied him for a long moment, then gently placed her hand over his. "You're thinking about them, aren't you?"
A small chuckle escaped him. "Can't help it. Been a long time since I thought about when it was just me and Laxus. We trained harder than anyone, took missions we had no business taking, and somehow survived all of it."
"You told me once you founded the Thunder God Tribe with him, right?"
"Yeah," Dannis nodded. "Back then, it was just the two of us. No one else our age in Fairy Tail except Cana, and she was… well, dealing with her own stuff. So we stuck together. Partners. Brothers."
His voice quieted, memory pulling at his tone.
"There was this mission." Dannis said. "We were supposed to stop a smuggling ring, only for it to escalate when we found out that it was a bunch of slavers led by former rune knights from Bosco. They already kidnapped a bunch of the townsfolk and nearly made an escape."
A small smile appeared on his face then. "That's when I had this stupid plan to try and combine our powers. We were nowhere near ready at the time, but we were desperate. Funnily enough, that was when we first did a successful Unison Raid."
Mira's eyes widened. "You and Laxus did a Unison Raid? That's rare."
Dannis smiled slightly. "Yeah. It just… happened. That kind of thing doesn't happen unless there's real trust. Real connection."
He leaned back again, arms crossed behind his head. "That's also when we met Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen. They were just kids. Caught up in it all because of their magic. We took them in, trained them. Made a team."
A wistful smile appeared on his face. "We went through a lot, the five of us. Went on so many missions together."
The smile turned into a small frown. "It all changed when Ivan was excommunicated."
Mira didn't press, letting him speak when he was ready. He eventually continued, voice lower.
"Laxus changed after that. He got colder. Angrier. Started seeing power as the only thing that mattered. We fought. I left. I told the Thunder God Tribe to stick by him no matter what. In his state of mind, being alone would only make everything worse."
The images of that day were repeated in his mind.
"LEAVE YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!"
"That was the last time I saw any of them. Until now."
Mira squeezed his hand. "I'm sure things will get better soon."
He smiled at her. "I hope so."
"Dannis, there you are!" Levy's voice interrupted as she waved at them with a rolled-up scroll in one hand. Gajeel followed close behind, his hands in his pockets.
Dannis raised an eyebrow. Mira's expression cooled just a little, her eyes locking on Gajeel. She hadn't quite forgiven him for his attempt in attacking Lisanna back then, though she remained polite in respect to Master Makarov.
Gajeel, for his part, simply nodded at Mira in greeting. She returned the gesture.
Of the high-ranking Phantom Lord mages—Gajeel, Juvia, and Totomaru were the only ones that survived the war. Being relatively young mages with a lot of potential, the Council deemed it a waste if they were to simply rot in jail for the rest of their lives.
Considering that the malice towards Fairy Tail really only stemmed from Jose himself, the three of them were given a pardon and were to act under surveillance for a period of six months.
During this, they had to be watched over by trusted people until such time that they finished their probation. Makarov, being the kind old man that he was, invited the three to join Fairy Tail.
Totomaru refused, saying he didn't want to be a light mage anymore. Instead, he signed up in a magical academy as a teacher of fire magic.
Gajeel and Juvia were reluctant, as any would in their position. After all, what kind of sane person would join the guild that they just had war with?
Makarov understood their apprehension and came up with a solution. It was a trial run of sorts. Gajeel and Juvia would mingle and socialize within the guild for a month of two. If they didn't enjoy it, then they're free to go anywhere else.
The Council would usually never have allowed a single guild to house lawbreakers like them, especially troublemakers like Fairy Tail. But they were currently busy with the whole assassination attempt on Ultear.
It also helped that Draculos cleared all the proceedings for them, saying it as a form of apology for the actions of his former student.
Thus, Gajeel and Juvia agreed, and here they were.
Levy volunteered to be Gajeel's liaison, while Juvia said that 'Gray-sama' will be hers. Gray reluctantly agreed. While the first week or two were tough, they slowly but surely integrated with the whole guild.
"What's up, Levy?" Dannis asked.
"A messenger dropped by the guild," Levy said, handing over the scroll. "Said it was a request specifically for you."
Dannis opened the seal and read it carefully. Mira leaned in beside him, eyes scanning the letter.
[Investigate suspicious activity located on an island on the coast of the Caelum Kingdom. Dark magic detected. Suspected Cult of Zeref. Possible Etherious involvement. S-rank. 2,000,000 Jewels.]
"The messenger said they wanted the 'Devil Hunter of Fairy Tail,'" Levy added with a small smile.
Dannis raised an eyebrow. "Etherious again, huh?"
"Seems like it," Mira nodded. "Makes sense they'd request you personally."
"Looks like I know where I'm headed for the next week," he said, folding the letter. "You wanna come with, Mira?"
"Can't," she said regretfully. "I've got a modeling job in Crocus in three days."
Dannis turned to Levy and Gajeel. "What about you two? You wanna tag along?"
Levy blinked. "Eh?"
Gajeel tilted his head. "You're asking me?"
"Yeah. You haven't been on a mission since you got here, right? And since Levy's your liaison, her coming is expected. Might be good to stretch those muscles." Dannis continued. "I need Levy's help anyway. She's been among the ones to study in depth about the Etherious."
Gajeel glanced at the script mage, who gave a supportive smile. "It's up to you. You're free to go on missions if you want. You probably won't get a full cut of the reward since you're still not a member, but…"
He shrugged. "That's fine."
Then he turned back to Dannis, a slight smirk on his lips.
"Sure. I'll come. An S-Rank mission sounds good to get back in shape."
Dannis grinned. "Great."
…
— Jellal Fernandez —
A low chuckle rumbled in Jellal's chest as he leaned further back into his throne. In his hands was a goblet of deep red wine. His gaze focused on a massive chessboard positioned before him.
He took a sip, eyes narrowing with satisfaction.
The pieces were moving—just as he had foreseen.
The double doors slammed open, and a wave of chaotic, bitter magic surged into the room. Jellal didn't need to look to know who it was. Heavy footsteps pounded across the floor that belonged to his newest ally.
"My guild is destroyed!" Ivan snarled, his voice ragged and full of venom. "Cobra just sent word! Every single member, either dead or captured!"
Jellal didn't move from his relaxed posture. "Calm down, Ivan."
"Calm down?! Calm down?!" Ivan's voice cracked. "Everything I've spent years building, gone! You expect me to be calm?!" Ivan continued to rage.
"Yes, because getting angry would get you nowhere." Jellal calmly replied. "What else did Cobra tell you? Do they know who did it?"
Ivan took a deep breath as he sat down on the steps leading up to the throne. "No, but I have my own suspicions. A group of mages have been hunting down dark guilds affiliated with Oracion Seis recently. And every time—every single time—there's talk of a lightning mage leading a trio."
He looked up, fury still simmering in his eyes. "There's only one lightning mage I know that fits that description. Only one boy with that signature spell style. My damn son."
Jellal's lips curled into a knowing smirk. "Laxus Dreyar… the Thunder God."
Ivan just growled low in his throat.
"So I assume this group of three must be the Thunder God Tribe?" Jellal mused, swirling the wine in his glass. "Freed Justine, Bickslow, and Evergreen. The prodigal prince and his loyal knights."
Footsteps echoed once again in the chamber, calm and steady this time. Jellal looked up just as Orion entered. He bowed deeply at the base of the throne.
"My lord," he said. "The request has been delivered to Fairy Tail. As predicted, the Devil Hunter should have received it by now."
"Excellent." Jellal replied as he grabbed some stone spheres from a nearby bowl and channeled his magic through them, a soft glow radiating from his hands. "Dannis Martell.. With his penchant for hunting down devils, he'll easily take the bait. He'll never ignore a lead tied to an Etherious."
He lifted his hands to reveal the stone spheres now reshaped into chess pieces. One the shape of a black blade, while the other was shaped like a lightning bolt. "And with the Thunder God looking for you, Ivan, it's only a matter of time before your son tracks you here. It seems all the pieces are converging."
A smile graced his face as he put the figurines on the chess board. "Everything is falling right into place."
…
AN: Dannis gets a new mission, which turns out to be bait by Jellal. Good thing he ain't going alone, huh?
I did say that this arc will involve a lot more factions than it initially did in canon. I hope this was a pleasant surprise for you guys.
With this, everything should be properly set up for the Tower of Heaven, which should kick up next chapter.
Hope you're excited, it's gonna be a good one.
Cheers!