Negotiation with August

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Negotiation with August
Location:	In the Far East of Fiore
Date:	X792
Participants:	Natsu Dragneel Lucy Heartfilia Happy Brandish μ Mest Gryder August

Negotiation with August is an event that takes place during the Alvarez Empire arc.

Prologue

Brandish compromises to persuade August

Later after the defeat of Jacob, Natsu announces he is planning to confront August, which Lucy and Happy agree to follow him but is given an angry retribution by Makarov and the other guild members. Brandish, freed from her cell by Natsu, claims that if August is the strongest man, then Irene Belserion would have to be the strongest woman, attempting to clarify the misleading power hierarchy of the Spriggan 12. Brandish continues on to say that due to her citizenship of Alvarez she cannot deliberate any information on her country, but because of her debt to Lucy she will compromise to negotiate with August as collateral. She goes on to state this will be a one-time thing, expressing that she can't betray her homeland and will thus refuse becoming an ally to Fairy Tail. Continuing on, she claims that excluding Irene, no Mage is capable of defeating August, and that she can talk wit August because of their bond since she was a child, thus believing she might be able to persuade him to pull back. Regarding Irene, however, she expresses the improbability of success in that, as Brandish herself never had any personal relationship with her. Mest, however, retorts back at her offer, saying that she'll use this opportunity to escape, which Brandish says it doesn't matter if they believe her or not, causing Lucy to say aloud that she does believe in her, which Natsu follows up by agreeing to trust her.

	The group makes contact with August

After coming to an agreement later on, the group of Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and herself begin to travel to August's location. She gives some information about August, stating he is very gentle but loyal to the Emperor while explaining to Natsu he would die the moment he confronts him The four are then joined by Mest who still holds distrust towards Brandish, despite Natsu's explanation that she isn't all bad. When the others wonder if they'll have to walk to meet August, Brandish uses her Magic to enlarge Happy. She states that they will make it in good time, before she hugs Happy's leg, calling him fluffy, which causing Lucy to call her girly. On their way, Brandish is seen still cuddling Happy and it is shown she has enlarged Natsu's head, and later even Lucy's chest, much to the girl's dissatisfaction. Their fun is interrupted when they all sense a large magical presence and as Brandish informs them that she knows for a fact that Magic belongs to August. Before long, they spot the man standing still as they land.

Negotiation

August angry at Brandish's betrayal

When August's opposition has gotten off Happy, he wonders about of Brandish and her intentions, with Brandish returning that she's come to negotiate with him. August then quickly asks if Jacob has been killed with Brandish replying that he's been defeated at the hands of Natsu and Lucy, and that he isn't dead, but simply a prisoner of war now. Brandish proceeds to ask where God Serena is, with the Wizard King, tapping his chest, states that God Serena is right there with him, continuing on to point out that Brandish doesn't seem to have been tortured by the enemy, wondering aloud if he's to interpret the woman's actions as betrayal. Brandish states that this couldn't be further from the truth, that she'll always be loyal to Alvarez but she simply can't find meaning in their Emperor's war. August retorts that those very words are in direct betrayal of his majesty's will, reminding Brandish that the members of the Spriggan 12 have dedicated their very beings to his majesty, and then states that if, in spite of that, Brandish still can't comprehend why she must fight for their Majesty's cause, then she's nothing more than an enemy whom he shall eliminate, causing the Brandish and the others to sweat in fear.

Manipulated Brandish stabs August

However, August continues to listen to his comrade's words as she weighs in her viewpoint of the war being nothing but Emperor's bloodshed, that he simply attempting for a one-sided annihilation and that nothing but genocide will come from a war absent of both of the countries' ideologies. He tries to attempt to implant the thought into her mind that His Majesty is to decide how the war ends but is quickly cut off by as she urges him to think for himself. Brandish reveals to him that she finds the Fairy Tail Guild to be far from evil; August's eyes sway away to glare at the three Mages behind Brandish, seemingly recognizing Natsu from somewhere. He then sighs but eventually agrees to hear out Fairy Tail, not wanting to make a fool out of Brandish, this gleefully making the young Spriggan 12 happy as she thanks her "grandpa" for listening to her ordeal. However, as she still is in glee, her eyes quickly go blank, moving to promptly stab the elderly Mage with an enlarged dagger. August quickly falls to the ground, which Natsu turns to Mest as he points it was his doing that made Brandish stab August, which Mest says it was only in the case of protecting the guild.

August releases a heat pillar

As Lucy murmurs Brandish's name in fear while Brandish calls for her comrade August's safety, the elderly Mage quickly points out to Brandish, as he darkens his skin color in a transformation, that this is the true colors of their enemy. Angered by the turn of events, everyone in the vicinity looks in fear of the powerful King of Magic, with Brandish once again calling for him but he quickly moves his hand by her face, putting his comrade to sleep as he realized she was being controlled. Lucy rushes for Brandish but as August begins to build his rage, Natsu quickly deduces this and jumps and holds Lucy to protect her from his incoming attack. August tells the Mages to dissolve, unleashing a humongous and colossal pillar of heat that completely decimates the traitorous Fairy Tail Mages, so large that it can be seen from their actual guild hall in Magnolia. Simultaneously, Irene concludes her battle with the Dragon King Acnologia by unleashing her new era Magic that completely reorganizes the entire map of Fiore, warping all the participants of the war to new locations.

Aftermath

Brandish shrinks August's wound

After the bright light of Universe One begins to disspatie, August and Brandish are found sitting together underneath a tree. Brandish shrinks August's wound to a smaller size that won't affect him and proceeds to ask what did he just do, to which the Wizard King replies that this wasn't his doing. He tells Brandish that it was Irene's compression ability, as the mighty woman has enchanted the entire nation with her Magic, and that she has changed its very shape. The result of this is that the people of Fiore were rearranged atop of the newly modified geography at random. Brandish asks August what Irene could possible gain from this, but August notes that these were just the side effects of her spell, and the true goal was to rearrange two particular persons: to bring his Majesty as close to Fairy Heart as possible and send Acnologia somewhere far in the distance; this causing Brandish to state that she wanted to end the war as quickly as possible.