Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.

June 30, x789.

"Ahahahahaha!" Cana's and Rika's laughter echoed through the Blackbird's cabin.

"Really, Fonzie?" Elicia asked while rolling her eyes from the Blackbird's co-pilot seat.

"What do you mean?" Alfonzo asked while tilting his head in confusion.

"Don't give us that, Mister." Lucy said in an exasperated tone. "You actually used your [Telepathy] to listen to everyone's reaction to the Blackbird, which I don't have a problem with..."

"But you actually echoed, 'That's what she said,' through the connection when you heard someone say, 'It's so big.' Irene said, finishing Lucy's thought with an amused smile on her face. 'Seriously, will you ever grow up?"

In response, Alfonzo only smiled at the accusation. Though, he did not even try to deny it. Instead, he just enjoyed everyone's reaction.

"What makes it even funnier is the fact that Fonzie has to say it, or he gets severe stomach cramps." Cana said after getting her laughter under control.

That statement only drew a flat stare from Irene.

"You can't be serious." Brandish said in a dumbfounded tone.

"*Sigh* Unfortunately, Cana is telling the truth." Elicia said while rubbing her temples. "When we were kids---"

"Were?" Irene asked in an amused tone as her dry stare turned into an amused grin. "You can stop calling yourselves kids in front of me after you reach your first century."

"We actually took Fonzie to see Porlyusica because he told us that when we were younger." Elicia said as she rolled her eyes at Irene. "And she examined him, confirming what he said about having to say it, or stuff like it."

Immediately, the more recent members of the guild riding in the Blackbird looked on in dumbfounded amazement.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who has had his [Magic Power Detection] active ever since they left the airspace over Magnolia, slightly furrowed his eyebrows after feeling a familiar magic power signature. 

"I guess she's back." Alfonzo muttered quietly while shaking his head as he carefully set the Blackbird down on the Sixth Sense Hotel's roof. "I just hope things don't get too out of hand when some of the girls see her."

Deciding that he could think about that later, Alfonzo shook his head. Then, he shut off the Blackbird's magic engines and raised his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking." Alfonzo said, speaking into the Blackbird's comms as he did so. "We have landed at our destination, Crocus, the Capital City of the kingdom of Fiore. The time is 3:27 pm and the external temperature is 88° F. In other words, the day is beautiful and perfect for enjoying the festival atmosphere. So, I hope you all genuinely enjoy your trips to our nation's capital. And thank you for flying with us. The airships doors will be lowered momentarily. Please make sure you have all your personal items before disembarking and have a great day."

In response, everyone familiar with Alfonzo's antics, meaning everyone aboard the Blackbird, rolled their eyes in unison. Still, they all smiled at the silly announcement. Then, they all gathered their belongings and got ready to disembark.

At the same time, as is customary among Fairy Tail wizards when leaving Magnolia, everyone spread their [Magic Power Detection] to be ready for anything. However, when that happened, Elicia, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy all twitched an eyebrow.

"*Sigh* This isn't going to be a peaceful trip, is it?" Elicia asked s she unbuckled Amar'e from his special baby seat.

"That bitch!' Cana growled. "She's back!"

"Good." Marin said with a nod. "I've always wished I had hit her more than once."

"Huh? What's going on?" Levy, who despite having known everyone who seemed upset for so long, asked in confusion.

"Sorry, Levy." Lucy said while smiling wryly. "It's kind of a personal matter. Still, I didn't expect to see her again."

"Who are you all talking about that's got you in such a mood?" Irene asked in a curious tone.

"*Sigh* Yoruichi Shihouin." Ultear said in a somewhat dismal tone. "It's been a few years since any of us saw her. I thought we would have gotten over our past grievances by now. But…"

"Speak for yourself!" Cana shouted. "After what she did to Fonzie, I'm never going to forgive that bitch!"

Although Cana's words were not directed at her, Elicia lowered her head with guilt, as she was just as responsible for what happened back then.

"Don't worry about it, Lici." Alfonzo said while wrapping Elicia in a hug from behind. "It's in the past and you've been forgiven. Just let it go."

"*Sigh* I know you're right, Fonzie." Elicia said as she leaned into Alfonz's hug with Amar'e in her arms. "But I can't help it."

By now, everyone had noticed Alfonzo trying to comfort Elicia, and the atmosphere calmed.

"Look, I'm not gonna tell you all how to feel about her." Alfonzo said while shaking his head with a bitter smile on his face. "I might have gotten over it, for the most part. But if you don't like her, you don't have to try to. Just don't do anything that will bringdown Fairy Tail's reputation, got it?"

Those who knew what was going on nodded in understanding with differing expressions. At the same time, everyone who did not know the details of the situation looked even more confused than before.

"Anyway, let's go check in at the hotel." Alfonzo said, his tone much more cheerful than before. "And look at it this way, with Yoruichi and Sui-Feng here, the Games will, at the very least, be much more interesting, right? Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe dominating the competition has gotten pretty boring by now, right?"

Though they were mostly done begrudgingly, Alfonzo's ladies who were involved with him during the whole Yoruichi debacle nodded their heads in agreement. Meanwhile, Alfonzo and Elicia, after feeling the increase in Yoruichi's magic power, were both smiling internally. Then, they made eye contact for a moment.

'We might actually get to participate in the Grand Magic Games next year.' Alfonzo and Elicia thought simultaneously during their brief eye contact.

After that, everyone on the Blackbird disembarked and met up with those who just disembarked from the Fairy's Tail, the identical airship with a different color scheme that Alfonzo made for the guild. Then, after heading into the hotel from the roof, they met up with the members of the guild who were not lucky enough to get a ride on either airship before checking into their rooms.

Once all the check ins were complete, everyone was free to explore Crocus as they liked. During that time of exploration, Alfonzo walked around with Cana, Ultear, and Marin, the ones who wanted to find Yoruichi the most. Not to say he was against them trying to settle their differences in a more physical way. But... Now just was not the time. Especially with all the bystanders who could get caught up in their conflict.

Like that, the rest of the afternoon passed. Eventually, all the guilds slowly trickled back into their lodgings, expecting the preliminary round of the Grand Magic Games to begin as the clock struck midnight. And they were all correct, as a loud sound and a hologram of the Grand Magic Games' mascot, Mato, appeared in the skies of Crocus just as the clock struck midnight.

July 1, x789.

{"Hello! Hello! And Good evening!"} Mato cheered excitedly, his high-pitched voice projected all over the city. {"It's that time of year again! The time that you've all been waiting for! Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to thin the herd. From the hundreds of guilds that call Fiore their home, we'll bring that number down to eight. And this is how we'll do it!"}

As Mato reached that point, his hologram blinked, turing into a different image. Now, the image floating above the city was that of a tower with eight levels.

{"During this year's preliminary round, every team will enter this tower."} Mato continued excitedly. {"And they will have a challenge to overcome on each floor. And just like every year, the first eight teams to finish will gain entry to the main event that starts in the morning. So, is everyone ready?"}

At the same time, a [Teleportation Magic Circle] lit up in the plaza outside the Flower Light Palace, Mercurius.

"Well then! On your marks! Get set!" Mato shouted, raising the tension without even explaining where everyone should go to start the prelims. "Go!"

With Mato's shout, hundreds of five-man teams shot out of hotels from around the city racing towards the plaza where the [Teleportation Magic Circle] was set up.

"Yup, this is gonna be a tough year for us." Alfonzo muttered after seeing that Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe were the second team to reach the [Teleportation Circle].

"Yeah, Yoruichi is still as fast as ever." Elicia added while she looked out the window of the hotel room with Alfonzo.

"Regardless of anything, she's really strong." Marin said in a huff. "Something tells me that if she didn't let me, I would have never been able to punch her back then."

"You're probably right." Erza said with a nod. "As someone who fought and lost to her, I advise all of you to not underestimate her strength."

In response, Cana, Ultear, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy nodded in understanding. Though, Cana did it quite begrudgingly with gritted teeth and clenched fists.

{"And it looks like our first team has completed the challenge!"} Mato shouted as the image of the tower with teams streaming in through the entrance on the ground floor changed to show a five-man team standing together on the top floor. {"And it's the reigning champions, Laxus Dreyar, Saya Takagi, Fried, Bickslow, and Evergreen of Fairy Tail!"}

"Look at the way everyone is looking at Saya and Fried." Alfonzo said, pointing at the hologram in the sky. "How much you wanna bet that this was not a test of might. Instead, it was a test of brains."

"Definitely." Saeko replied with a nod. "And there was a reason why Saya was the best student at Fujimi Academy back before the zombie outbreak."

"I still don't understand what she sees in Laxus, though." Mirajane said while rocking Bianca in her arms. "I mean, I know how intelligent Laxus is, when he stops to think, that is. But he almost never shows it in his day to day life."

"Wow! Mira, you're making it seem like he's as dumb as Natsu." Elicia said in a fake aghast tone.

"Oh, heaven's no." Mirajane replied with a smile. "Trust me, as his sister-in-law, I have come to understand just how dumb Natsu is. And there's simply no comparison. All I'm saying is that Laxus tends to hide his intelligence more often than not."

Mirajane's response drew giggles from the other girls in the room.

{"The second team has emerged!"} Mato shouted, interrupting the conversation. {"And it's the ladies from Mermaid Heel. It looks like they're making a strong start this year!"}

Putting their conversation on hold, the group looked up at the hologram, expecting to see Kagura, Anko, Yoruichi, Sui-Feng, and one from Araña, Risley, Beth or Millianna. They were all surprised when they saw the gorgeous woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a rack that could match Tsunade in size.

"What's the deal with all these blondes and their abnormally big tits?" Cana asked while looking at her D-cup breasts that looked small when compared with the woman in the hologram.

"What do you mean?" Shizuka asked while tilting her head in confusion.

"You know what...? Never mind." Cana said while throwing her arms up in frustration before taking a bottle of liquor out of her [Storage Card].

"It's not just blondes, though." Ultear said as she stepped between Erza and Irene. She then poked each of them in the breasts as she continued. "There's something about redheads, too."

While Erza barely reacted to Ultear's prodding, Irene smiled proudly and crossed her arms under her breasts and hefted them up, emphasizing the largest pair of breasts that anyone had ever seen even more. 

While the others joked around about breast sizes, Alfonzo and Elicia continued to stare at the newest member of Mermaid Heel with the light of recognition in their eyes. Then, they exchanged glances with anticipation replacing the recognition.

'The chances of us getting to be in next year's magic games just keeps going up.' Alfonzo and Elicia thought simultaneously as smiles crept onto each of their faces.

However, all that excitement came to an end when Amar'e, who had been sleeping in the bed between Alfonzo and Elicia, climbed out of bed and slowly made his way over to his parents. He then pulled on Alfonzo's shorts, getting his father's attention.

When Alfonzo looked down at his son with a smile on his face, Amar'e, with a sleepy look in his eyes, raised his arms, indicating that he wanted to be picked up.

"Dada..." Amar'e mumbled sleepily.

Immediately, the room fell silent, as if everyone had been paying attention to Amar'e once he started moving. A moment later, Alfonzo's smile widened to an unprecedented degree while Elicia's expression became frustrated. Then, Alfonzo bent down and swept Amar'e up from the floor excitedly.

"Hahahahaha!" Alfonzo laughed boisterously. "He said his first word! And it was Dada! Hahahahaha! Suck it, Lici!"