Chapter 37: Ominous Alliance Part 1

Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331

.

.

.

-Akame Beach-

"After the destruction of the Tower, I found Wally, Sho and Millianna unconscious on the beach's shore." said Simon, him and the group Sitting in a spacious room filled with countless luxuries. The main Fairy Tail group was invited somewhere with more privacy and by these people, which everyone found out were related to Erza and Broly's past. A tall and burly man Broly called Simon started to speak, giving the group a small resume of their past. 

Meanwhile, Wally had the staff collect all the members of Phantom Lord and bring them to the local Rune Knights branch stationed nearby. Rubbing salt to their wounds, he alluded to sending multiple bills at Phantom Lord's guild to pay for the damages done, emphasizing the need to pay back or face consequences. Milliana was especially proud, puffing her chest and commenting on the power of the rich.

"There were others we found, though many were missing regardless of how long we searched. So, we decided it was better to move on before any reinforcement showed up and captured us again. Our first stop was Rosemary Village, a place we once called home." 

Erza tensed up, recalling memories of her time in that village. Her former home where she lived before getting kidnapped by the raiders. "Is everyone still…" She asked, her expression being more than enough for Simon to figure out what she wanted to say. 

"Hah… I wish I had something good to say to you, Erza. But the place was abandoned and apparently everyone moved away after what happened with the kidnapping. They most likely didn't feel safe there anymore and thus left to search a safer place — everyone." 

Broly squinted his eyes, sensing the meaning behind those words. While in the tower, he recalled Simon talking about a sister who managed to evade their fate. The likelihood he searched for her was high and came out empty-handed. "Some of the survivors decided to settle over there, remake their past home. But I couldn't… I had to search for her."

""I understand."" 

Both Erza and Broly said in unison, their hands crossed as both gave a nod simultaneously. A sight that made Simon and Wally chuckle, the nostalgia washing over them. 

'She hasn't changed.' 

Millianna raised her hand, "Of course, we couldn't just let Simon go out all by himself nya! So we tagged along as well, some of us had family somewhere out there as well." Her eyes trailed to Wally, the blue suit polygon-faced wizard shrugging his shoulders before taking a puff of his cigar. 

"Of course, that included both of you." He added.

And so, Simon continued his story. "Eventually, days turned to weeks, months, and without knowing, an entire year passed. We realized that the strategy of searching for bits and pieces of clues in different places wasn't ideal. So, we decided to settle down, stopping at a local village nearby, where there were plenty of opportunities for work even for newcomers like us. To settle down for a bit, gather resources and search for your whereabouts more efficiently rather than running around blind." 

"A year you say? Hm, I hadn't even gotten my S-Class wizard title back then and I was still very new to guild. So getting any clue would have been impossible. Why didn't you immediately come to Magnolia?"

"You can say that again, we had doubts ourselves but it didn't hurt to try. As for your question, we did, it was amongst the first places we passed through given that was where Fairy Tail resided but found no traces of you. Guess we came there far too early…" 

Meanwhile, Lucy, Cana and Mirajane sat on a couch attentively listening to the story. Not knowing how to even involve themselves and just trying to follow along. Natsu sat near Broly while weirdly quiet the entire time while Gray stood outside the balcony with a lit cigarette between his fingers. Levy went upstairs, scouring through a library of different books collected by the resort's former owner. 

"Funnily enough, we learned about one of you in a rather unexpected way. It was from the local newspaper. Imagine our happiness upon discovering not only that Erza was safe and sound but also a member of the Fairy Tail Guild and the youngest S-Class Wizard. Millianna cried a lot that day, we were all overwhelmed with emotions." 

The cat girl nodded enthusiastically, "True! I wanted to drop everything and leave to meet you, but unfortunately, our work became more and more tedious nya…"

Simon sighed, taking back everyone's attention. "Indeed, responsibilities. You see, not long after our arrival, Milliana encountered an old man being robbed by bandits during one of our excursions outside the village. Little did we know, he owned Akame Beach and was one of the wealthiest individuals around. He offered us a position at the inn, and we gladly accepted since it was a good source of revenue. Funnily enough, this girl over here became like a daughter to him." He said while casually patting the brunette's hair. "And upon his passing last year, she inherited his fortune, making her the owner of the resort and keeping this place functioning at first wasn't easy." 

Broly listened intently, finding their journey fascinating and magical in a sense. A tinge of frustration present in his heart, a strange emotion he pushed down with force. At one point, back when he still helped the slaves around in the tower, he remembered making countless promises which involved roaming the world with them together. In a way, he was doing just that while in Fairy Tail, together with Erza, Lucy, Cana, Natsu and everyone else. 

Yet if he had remained behind that day instead of running away, hiding deep within the forest until he was found. 'No, I would've put them in needless danger once again.' 

He was the reason why they all nearly died back then, and the last thing Broly wanted was to repeat the past. And yet he created more trouble for them when they met again. "That's quite the story," he remarked, with a forced smile upon his face. "I'm just glad you're all safe."

"We should be saying that, you were the one we worried a lot about." Added Sho, "Like seriously, we even started to think you were in a completely different kingdom!" 

"And what about you, Broly?" Asked the cat girl while holding onto Happy with a death grip. The feline pleaded with him and Natsu to save his life, but neither boys were willing to risk their skin to separate these two. Especially Natsu, who suffered from distinct scratch marks on his face as he tried to save his friends initially, only to regret his actions very soon. 

"Well, my side isn't that exciting. I… I was also trying to find news about you from where I was but couldn't find any clues. Erza here has been doing the same as well," the redhead nodded at his words, having used her guild resources on many occasions to search for their whereabouts. "As for my side of the story, there is not much to say other than the fact that I went into hiding and found a nice place within the woods. It was safer that way, for everyone else."

Seeing the group of people gathered around him, he felt uncomfortable and unsure how to react to their reactions. Trying to ease the tension, "You don't have to look so worried; I was in no danger of being harmed nor chased by any remnants of prison guards. It's quite the opposite, in fact. I ran into Lucy over here, who was the first person I met since leaving — I found her crying as a monkey was chasing her." 

"It was a Gorian!" Lucy shouted from the side, face red with embarrassment at the way he described the story. "A-A-And I wasn't crying!"

Her reaction caused everyone's attention to turn towards her, scaring the blonde to regress back into the background. Cana and Mirajane unable to hold back their smiles at her reaction, the latter commenting how it was adorable and further turning Lucy's face red "U-Um… putting that aside, n-nice to meet all of you! My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I'm a Celestial Wizard." 

"Heartfilia? Oh, right, you're Jude's daughter?" Wally smacked his to his palm gently recalling details about her name and connecting the dots. "Never expected for Broly to end up meeting that family of all people. No offense, your father gave me the impression of being someone rather… strict."

Lucy sighed, "Trust me, I'm not offended in the least with the truth."

"He wasn't so bad," Broly added. "He only sent Wizards to get rid of me once and after Lucy went to talk to him he stopped." 

"... That makes it worse." 

"Hehehe, guess it does look like that, but I had fun the entire time. Lucy and the servants of her mansion taught me many things and I wouldn't have joined Fairy Tail if it wasn't for her." The man was certain that if they hadn't met, he would have stayed hidden within the forest for who knew how long. "Other than that… there's not much else to say." 

"Someone help me…" Happy whined, still trying to get away from Millianna's clutches. Everyone ignored him, Erza still wanting to catch up with her former friends started another conversation with Mirajane and Lucy joining them.

As for Broly, Simon discovered the man was nowhere to be seen soon after everyone was distracted. Though he didn't have to search for long, as he had an idea where he could have gone.

{Break}

-Outside-

Walking to the balcony, Simon rounds to find the Saiyan sitting at the top of the roof or by himself. Gazing at the stars with an unreadable expression on his face, quiet with the sound of waves and music from people dancing on the beach in the background. Despite not showing much emotion on face, he was still very easy to read, at least to Simon.

"A beautiful sight don't you think? Every result surprises visitors from all over the continent and even beyond Ishgar believe it or not, Minstrel, Stella and even Pergrande. We've seen folks from all walks of life travel long distances just to come here to relax, spend time under the sun, and throw their worries away while they are here." He took a seat next to Broly, the latter not saying anything and continuing to listen. "Some of the locals from Fiore are not used to how many different types of people visit this place, I saw plenty of disbelief filled faces with them seeing travelers from far away kingdoms like Alvarez."

A second passed before the Saiyan spoke. "I met a young woman a few years ago who came here to visit Lucy's mother. She brought her daughter and Lucy and I learned a lot about the outside world from her. The outside world is vastly different from Ishgar from its landscape and even magic according to her. She even invited us to go on a journey with her but we declined. Through her daughter, Brandish became good friends with Lucy and sends us letters from time to time."

"Glad to see you also managed to make friends all over the world. Heh, you never were much of a talker back at the tower." 

"Trust me, I barely did anything. Most of it happened thanks to Lucy." It was the truth, he truly hadn't done much other than getting rid of the man who tried to kill the mother. But perhaps Lucy could have managed without him, especially with Aquarius's help. 

Simon's face changed, his smile dying down till a neutral face took hold. "Tell me honestly, Broly, did you really not come search for us because you couldn't find us or were you deliberately staying away from being found?" 

Despite the heavy topic of a conversation, Simon said it without missing a beat which the Saiyan was surprised to hear, speechless as no answer came out of his mouth.

Simon sighed, "If the others hear this they would be heartbroken… though I'm pretty sure that they might have their suspicion. But I know that you didn't do it to be mean or because you didn't care. So, when you feel up to it buddy, I'm here to hear you out.. " He spoke calmly to which Broly continued to remain silent afterwards.

"It was better that way, the fact that you failed to find me is a good thing."

.

.

.

"You know, no one here blames you about what's happened in the past. Not a single one of us blames you for what happened and you should stop thinking that it's all your fault." 

"I nearly killed you all and nothing is stopping it from happening again. That's why despite being happy to see you guys, but it would be better if I stayed away from you all. Humph, I haven't been here for a day and I already caused you enough trouble as it is." Granted, his opinion would have differed drastically if he had arrived before the Galuna Island quest. What he initially believed was to have been a power under control was rendered to be nothing but an illusion. If Erza and the others were still on that island or close to i—Pa!

"Ouch!" 

He felt a smack on his back, followed by Simon, the man's palm having reddened from the strike. "Is your body made out of steel or something? No wonder the guards didn't bother trying to attack you, I bet you broke their weapons by just standing still." 

Well, he wasn't far off the mark, normal blades were unable to pierce his skin. His defenses grew substantially in his wrath state and further beyond as a Super Saiyan. 

"Listen Broly, I don't know what's going on in your mind but you need to start believing in us more. If it weren't for you then I doubt we would have ever escaped from that shithole tower. We all are grateful for that and do not fear you in the slightest, you shouldn't think we fear you nor will we ever. Besides, I see you have friends around you." 

"Yet they nearly died in our last mission." 

"And they still remained with you. Wizards are stubborn folks, more so Fairy Tail members according to rumors. And seeing them before me, I can tell you are in good hands — it helps Erza is also with you. And that Natsu fellow is on a level of his own, he wouldn't stop trying to beat those Phantom Lord wizards even with ten people holding him back." 

Stubborn… he had to agree, these people just didn't know the meaning of giving up. 

"Will you be leaving early?" 

"Most likely, Erza mentioned how we need to inform Makarov about the Phantom Lord attack. Even if we manage to beat them, according to her their Master is known to be very petty and can try to cause more trouble." Also, Erza worried that the others would try to find Gajeel for a fight, especially Natsu. "Now that I know you're here, I'll be paying you to visit more often."

"Oh I don't know about that." Simon answered with a mysterious smile. "I sure do miss traveling, staying in one place was never the kind of life that suited me. But let's not focus on that for now, I believe the others have started having a party already." 

On cue, a large tower of flames shot through the sky from the ground. They both looked below to find Natsu laughing maniacally holding a torch and a bottle of booze. 

"That's… not a good sign." 

[Break]

(Next morning)

At the break of dawn, the Fairy Tail Guild Members woke up with splitting headaches. The unexpected reunion with Erza and Broly's childhood friend led to another party at the inn. They all decided to celebrate the occasion with plenty of booze and entertainment from the staff. Cana was obviously ecstatic, having emptied an entire barrel all by herself, while Natsu decided to try out some tricks done by the performers. However, it obviously backfired, and instead of spewing alcohol from his mouth, the dragon slayer drank the entire content and used his own magic to produce flames. Intoxicated, Gray and Natsu started to fight, and it took Mirajane to calm them down with a solid chop to the neck, rendering them unconscious for the day.

"Ugh… I don't think I ever drank so much in my life… my head won't stop ringing…" Lucy commented, holding her head as she suppressed the urge to vomit. "How are you feeling alright, Cana?"

"Meh, I'm used to getting drunk so my body just got used to, so hangovers don't suck that much when I wake up. Don't worry, you'll get used to it in the future." 

"I certainly hope not!" 

Levy shared a similar sentiment to the blonde Celestial Wizard. "It's just you who can be okay after drinking so much. Not even Mirajane was spared from a hangover, just look at her!" 

She pointed at the white-haired woman who was actually being carried inside the train still sleeping by Broly. For some reason when Lucy tried to wake her up, Erza advised against it unless she wanted a black eye. 

"Nee-chan can be a bit… aggressive when she's drunk, though at times she's also super passive. So it's a gamble, better to not take any risks." Elfman said, himself grabbing onto an unconscious Gray who lost a game of drinking against Cana last night. The effect of his folly still affected him till the morning. 

"Is everyone ready?" Erza shouted, making many flinch while holding onto their heads from the ensuing headache. The next morning hangover hit them hard, and no amount of magic helped soothe the pain since they didn't have any healers amongst them.

As for Broly, after having left Mirajane in a room within the train, where she continued to sleep — the man returned to where the main group sat and froze in his steps as there were two new additional members.

"What are you two doing here?" Sitting inside the train, he couldn't help but mutter in shock as he gazed at the two new arrivals.

"What do you mean by that? We are obviously going to accompany you back to Fairy Tail and have fun nya!" Millianna cheerfully declared, while Simon nodded in agreement. Erza, equally shocked, looked at the older man next to the cat girl, hoping that he would provide them with a better explanation than what little her friend said. 

"Wait, don't you two have the entire resort to handle?" she added.

"Well, Wally and Sho are more than capable of handling the affairs of the resort. Millianna here gave them all the power and authority needed to run such a place without her present. So it was a no-brainer as to what our next course of action should be, and what better way than to catch up with you and then check out ourselves what kind of guild Fairy Tail really is."

"Hell yeah!" Shouted Natsu. "Gramps is always happy to have new members join, and I'm sure you'll love it there! This is going to be so fun; I can't wait to see how strong you a—urgh!" The boy couldn't continue any longer as his face turned green with the train starting to move, collapsing on the floor while Happy was all the way in the back shivering at the sight of Millianna.

"Kitty cat, what are you doing over there? Come over here so I can give you a hug and some head pats!" She called to Happy, making him lose all his color and turn pale. Scrambling onto the floor and trying to escape that vicious monster's grasp. Here he thought they could have been gullible and she would have given him all the fishes he asked in exchange for a few cute poses. Happy underestimated how effective his cuteness was. 

"Nooooooooo! Stay away from me, you crazy cat lady!" He shouted with dread.

"Come back here! I have some more fish with me!"

"Fishes? N-No! I won't fall for your trap anymore!

For the entire trip, Broly didn't know what to say. Erza, on the other hand, recovered rather quickly and even had a giant smile on her face, ecstatic to have more of her family join the Fairy Tail guild. Simon placed his hand on the Saiyan's shoulders, conveying a look that hinted that the man didn't need to worry about anything and that everything would work out in the end. It was a sentiment that he didn't know how to feel about, whether it be joy or fear that there was a chance he could lose control once again. But a part of him felt warmth again, unable to stop a smile from emerging on his face as he silently muttered, "It's good to have you back, Simon."

"Heh, same. Let's join them, I'm sure they'll be happy to see us. Can you hold your alcohol?" 

He grinned at that question, "Not even Cana can beat me." 

"Humph, if that ain't a challenge if I heard of one." 

{Break}

-Fairy Tail Guild-

A few hours passed before the train arrived in Magnolia. The group left the station with Erza practically dragging Millianna by the hand towards the guild, wanting to have them join as soon as possible with their own guild stamps. 

Simon remained behind, walking alongside Broly who chuckled at the scene. "This reminds me of old times, she was the unofficial big sister to many. Glad to see she hasn't changed at all." 

"Hey, Simon… Do you have any news about Jellal?" As Broly asked, Simon paused in his steps before resuming to walk. His reaction making the Saiyan's face grow dark at the implication. "So he's…"

"Not dead." His friend interrupted him, making a wave of relief flood his heart. "I know he's alive, that boy is too crafty to die back there or be recaptured. Before leaving, I made sure to search the ruins for any traces of him and found nothing. At first I feared the worst, but after traveling for half a day I found this." 

He retrieved a pouch, taking out the contents which turned out to be a dried out handmade bracelet made with old roots and long since dead flowers. "This bracelet was a gift he was given by one of the slaves I recall. I found it near a tree far away from the ruins. I tried to find him but couldn't track any kind of clues of his whereabouts. But I'm certain he wasn't captured, I know he's somewhere out there as well." 

Broly grabbed the item, focusing on it with a determined face. Good, he was alive, that's all he cared about. Even if Jellal got captured again or held up somewhere in the worst case scenario, he swore to free him no matter what. 

"Keep it, I'm sure he would've preferred you to hold onto it. You can give it back to him in the future, I'm certain we'll find him soon." 

"I… I promise, Simon. I promise I'll find him and the others." Perhaps this was the goal that he needed, similar to a tiny ember that sparked a fire within his heart. "It was my fault I ran away that day, I swear to rectify my mistake no matter what and find everyone else." 

"That's the spirit!" A more prominent grin appeared on his face hearing those words. "I got your back, I'll help you out in any way I can." 

"Thanks, Simon." 

Jellal, Broly recalled that the boy was always the most cautious of their group. If Erza was the hotheaded one then he played the role of calming her down and thinking rationally. 

"What are you two talking about?" Cana popped in the middle of the two, inspecting the bracelet in Broly's hand and his expression before piercing it up together. "Heavy stuff of your past I reckon?" 

"Kind of, just a reminder of what I should be focusing on in the future. And… I guess I'll keep it as a good luck charm." 

As they got closer to the guild, Broly instantly sensed something was amiss, his senses going off and warning him about an ominous presence upon them. 

"Wait!" He stopped Erza, having the woman unsheath her sword due to the tone of his voice. 

"Did someone attack the guild? Are we being followed?" She asked a series of questions, all of which the Saiyan shook his head at. 

"No, rather, don't you think the guild is too quiet right now." He commented, no longer hearing the loud cheering and laughs he'd grown used to and Natsu also took note of this change. 

"Yeah, I don't hear anything either. Hrm, this smell… it's familiar…" his nose twitched, getting a familiar scent that even Broly picked up on. 

"I'll go first." He warned the others and went forward, pushing the doors open. His eyes widened at the familiar sight of a certain black-haired dragon slayer partially covered in bandages and a mean glare aimed at him. Looking no different to an enraged dog on a leash ready to pounce at any second. 

Next to him was the woman who nearly drowned and a few other members he did not recognize. But all of them had sustained some level of injuries, so most likely the ones Natsu, Gray and Elfman fought. Though the one person who caught his attention was the one standing right next to Makarov, a rather tall man whose smirk sent a chill down the Saiyan's spine. It was not due to sensing a powerful source of power, this person was around the Master's power level, but rather the intentions behind those eyes did not bode well in his opinion.

"Ah, so the main group has finally returned, I see. Hope that little break of yours was relaxing. Also, I'm happy to see that you managed to become acquainted with members of my guild even though it was more… physical exchange than I would have liked. But at least this will make you all more familiar with each other during your next quest together."

"You…" Recognition flashed before Erza's eyes, making the person's grin grow more crooked. 

"Titania, glad to see you remember me. I would like to give you well deserved congratulations for becoming an S-Class wizard. I always knew you were worthy of such a title, unfortunate that it required Makarov to waste your time with a pointless test." 

The redhead clenched her hands, a vein throbbing on her forehead as she did her best to restrain herself from punching this guy in the face. 

"Master, what is going on here?" Erza asked, ignoring the other Phantom Lord Guild members, Levy and Cana having the same reaction to Jose's presence.

Still wearing his Wizard Saint robe, Makarov spoke in a slow and powerful voice. "Children, Fairy Tail has received orders from the Magic Council to ally ourselves with Phantom Lord, as well as a few other guilds, to participate on a mission dealing with one of three Dark Guilds of the Balam Alliance. Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail will be leading this operation alongside Blue Pegasus and Cait Shelter. I hope you will all get along well for this mission."

"What the hell, you can't be serious!" Exclaimed Natsu, anger evident on his face at this turn of events.

"Yeah, these people just tried to cause trouble against us for no reason just a few days ago!" Gray added. 

"I am well aware of the happenings in Akame Resort, rest assured that such a matter will not be taken likely." Makarov turned his attention to Jose, the latter having his gaze set on Broly. "But for now, we'll need to focus on more important matters. So bear with it."

"You still have a way with words. You made it sound like you're working with a dark guild instead of the great Phantom Lord." 

"Jose, sometimes I wonder that when it comes to you. Right now, I feel like I'm in the presence of a thief more than a Master, let's just end this as soon as possible." 

Tension rose between the two, thankfully neither took any action and remained civil. Though the same couldn't be said for the guild members, despite their injuries, Phantom Lord remained one of the strongest guilds in Ishgar, second only to Fairy Tail itself. So no one in the hall was willing to underestimate them.

"Gihihihi, getting cold feet, as expected of you Fairy Tail clowns." Despite the bandages around his face, Gajeel managed to show a rather smug expression while glaring daggers at Broly.

"Hello, Sun man," though the woman behind them weirdly enough greeted him with a shy yet gentle smile that differed greatly from the others. He could already sense a whole lot of trouble from these people.

Seeing all of them calm down, Makarov nodded, glad to see they were able to hold back their anger just as well as he could. When he first heard about Erza's group getting in a fight with these people and for the audacity of their guild master to come at his doorstep to force an alliance put him in a bad mood. 

More so because he suspected what was Jose's true intentions with all of this. 

He was just using it as an opportunity to get closer to Broly and attempt to take him away. Not that it would even work as he found the very idea of it laughable, the boy had a family, as well as being fiercely protective of little Lucy, and he never gave him the impression of preferring either fame or power over that. 

But what worried him the most was the extent Jose would be willing to go to reach his goals and he hoped none of his children would get hurt for it. 

--------------

The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 1 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.