Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Akane Beach. 

December 28, x789. 

A little more than a week has passed Since Mei, Ao, and Chojuro arrived in Magnolia. During that time, Alfonzo, Laxus, Marin, and Shizuka were in charge of showing them around the town and keeping them entertained. And the four Fairy Tail wizards showed them everything they could think of during their time in Magnolia. From the tour of the guild hall to a visit to Alfonzo's Mansion on the Lake. 

However, Alfonzo was not completely invested in showing the Mist shinobi around the town, as he was frequently seen taking calls on his lPhone. And from what everyone knew, those calls were related to the idea he had just before Ur had him and the others go to the train station to pick up Mei and her entourage. 

Despite everyone knowing he was planning something, no one was able to get an answer from Alfonzo in reference to what exactly he was planning. Instead, all they received was a knowing smile and a reminder to look out for a special message on their lPhones. 

Another thing that made everyone suspicious was the fact that there were a number of container trucks pulling into Magnolia over the last seven days. However, no one, except for the people working at a warehouse that Alfonzo owned knew what was inside. But like everything else, Alfonzo kept that information under wraps. 

Eventually, the day when Mei, Ao, and Chojuro had to return to the Kingdom of Caelum arrived. However, instead of taking the train back to Akane Beach before boarding their ship, Alfonzo decided to deliver them to Akane Beach in style. 

"I still can't believe something so big and made of metal can fly through the sky." Mei said, a hint of awe in her voice as she disembarked from the Blackbird. "Having one of these would make travel much more convenient." 

"I'd sell you one if I could." Alfonzo replied with a shrug as he followed Mei, Ao, and Chojuro off the Blackbird and into the Akane Resort's docks. "But after seeing the Blackbird and the Fairy's Tail at the Grand Magic Games, the king passed a law that disallowed me from selling airships to powers outside of the kingdom. And to be honest, I can understand why." 

"Indeed." Mei replied. "Even though there is an alliance between all the nations of Ishgar, that could change at any moment if any one nation gets more power than the others." 

As she spoke, Mei narrowed her eyes at Alfonzo. He was the factor tipping the power balance that she was referring to, after all. 

"Exactly." Alfonzo replied with a nod, pretending to be oblivious. "Anyway, it was nice to have you here with us in Fiore. Hopefully our forces can work together again. Preferably not during a civil war next time, though." 

"Yes, I think that would be nice." Mei replied with a smile as she extended her hand to Alfonzo. 

In response, Alfonzo extended his own hand to accept Mei's handshake. 

"And who knows, maybe we'll be able to work together in a more personal way the next time we meet." Mei added in a somewhat sultry tone as she used her thumb to sensually rub the back of Alfonzo's hand. 

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Alfonzo was not dense enough to miss Mei's meaning. However, he was taken aback. Never did he expect the leader of a major power to be so blatant in her flirting. Even if he had already noticed the rising romantic interest she held for him back in the Mist Village.

"Well, I certainly would not be against it." Alfonzo replied with a smile. 

"*Cough* Lady Mizukage, I do believe that its almost time for us to return." Ao said, breaking up the atmosphere that was turning more intimate by the second. 

In response, Mei glared at Ao with the threat of melting him burning in her eyes, which caused Ao to gulp audibly before lowering his head in apology. Mei then sighed in exasperation before turning back to look at Alfonzo. 

"Ao is right." Mei said, reluctantly releasing Alfonzo's hand as she did so. 

"I guess so." Alfonzo replied with a smile as he stepped back. "Well then, I wish you all a safe voyage." 

With that, Alfonzo waved his hand before turning around to return to the Blackbird. However, just before he reached the stairs, he turned back around. 

"Oh, and don't forget to watch for notifications on your lPhones in the next few days.' Alfonzo said with a grin. "I promise you, you don't wanna miss it." 

"Really, Alfonzo?" Mei asked while pouting. "Even now, you won't tell us what you're planning?" 

"You only have to wait a few more days to find out." Alfonzo replied with a chuckle. He then winked at Mei as eh continued. "Don't be impatient." 

With that, Alfonzo turned back around and headed up into the Blackbird. Then, after only a couple of minutes, the airship's engines roared to life and the Blackbird took off before orienting itself towards Magnolia. Finally, it flew off at high speed. 

"*Sigh* He really likes his secrets, doesn't he?" Mei asked in an annoyed tone. She then turned towards Ao and Chojuro as she continued. "Okay, let's board the ship. I want to be back in Caelum by nightfall. Understood?" 

"Ma'am." Ao, Chojuro, and the crew of the ship replied in unison. 

Then, while everyone was boarding the ship, Mei took her lPhone out of a pocket and looked at her reflection in the screen. 

"I'm really curious to know what he's up to." Mei murmured as she stepped onto the ship. 

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia. 

December 31, x789. 

"Hey, Lici, good morning." Marin said as she entered the dining room, looking as if she had just woken up. 

"Morning." Elicia replied with a smile while she fed Amar'e. "Did you sleep well?" 

"Yeah, more or less." Marin said as she sat at the table. 

Marin's smile then turned into a pout. And Elicia knew exactly why that was. However, before she could say anything about it, someone else entered the dining room. 

"Oh, you actually got here before me today, Marin?" Lucy asked as she, too, entered the dining room. "That's unusual. But why are you pouting so early in the morning?" 

"Oh, hey, Luce." Marin replied, her pout turning into a smile in an instant. "I'm just frustrated." 

"It's about what Alfonzo has been planning, isn't it?" Lucy asked as she took a seat at the table next to Amar'e. 

"Yup." Marin replied with a nod. "*Sigh* Even if it's a surprise for us, why does he always keep secrets from us?" 

"Oh, stop making it seem like he's the bad guy." Lucy said while rolling her eyes. "You got the same way when he was building the mansion." 

"Lucy is right." Erza added as she entered the dining room, as well. "Alfonzo would never do anything behind our backs to hurt us. But I'm sure you already know that, Marin." 

"*Sigh* I know." Marin said in an annoyed tone as she laid her head down on the table. I'm just so curious." 

"Well, normally I'd just tell you to ask Fonzie." Elicia said with an awkward smile on her face. "But in cases like this, that doesn't really work. Fonzie likes his surprises, after all." 

"And theatrics." Ultear added as she entered the dining room just as Erza sat down. 

"Ain't that the truth." Cana said, following just behind Ultear. "*Burp*" 

"That's so charming first thing in the morning, Cana." Mirajane said with Bianca in her arms. 

"I know, right?" Cana replied with a cheeky grin on her face while holding her bottle of champagne up as if making a toast. "I'm just so classy. I'm a real f'in' lady." 

"Foregoing the orange juice altogether this time, huh?" Marin asked with a grin while looking at Cana. 

"Nah." Cana replied as she took a seat at the table. She then continued with a smile. "I just didn't' have any orange juice in my room. But there was no reason to not get started without it, was there?"

"*Sigh* You never change, do you, Cana?" Lucy asked while shaking her head in exasperation. 

"Nope!" Cana replied, once again raising her bottle into the air. 

"Would it be so bad if she did?" Saeko asked as she, Shizuka, and Rika entered the room, as well. "All that alcohol can't be good for your liver, you know?" 

"Don't worry about it." Cana said nonchalantly. "My magic power treats the alcohol like poison, dispelling it without conscious effort from me. So, my liver should be fine. At least, that's what Porlyusica and Shizuka told me." 

"Yup." Shizuka said as she sat down with Calvin in her arms before unbuttoning her blouse to start feeding him. "But I've never seen anyone else's magic power treat alcohol like that, though. It's kind of a mystery." 

"I bet Bacchus' magic power used to do the same thing for him." Elicia replied. 

"Used to?" Lucy asked in an unconvinced tone. 

"Well, I heard from Ikaku and Yumichika that he doesn't' drink anymore." Elicia replied. 

"Well, a near death experience like the one you put him through might do that to someone." Marin said with a smile. 

"Maybe." Elicia replied while rolling her eyes. 

"By the way, where's Sun?" Rika asked after pouring herself a cup of coffee. "She's usually one of the first ones up in the morning." 

"I'm in here." Sun's voice carried from the kitchen. "I'm getting cooking lessons from Grayfia and Maria. That way, Alfonzo won't always have to cook for us alone with the maids." 

"Oh! That sounds like quite the good idea." Erza said with a nod. "Perhaps I, too, shall start taking lessons." 

"No!" x 10 

The strong denial she received from all her harem sisters made Erza balk for a moment. However, she then lowered her head in defeat. 

"*Sigh* Not even mother will allow me to learn how to cook." Erza said in a downcast tone. "Is my cooking truly that bad?" 

"Erza, Honey, how many times have you almost burned down the whole kitchen just trying to boil water?" Elicia asked while wiping Amar'e's mouth, who started giggling happily. 

In response, Erza could only lower her head further, burying the tip of her chin between her breasts in the process. 

"Anyway… Anyone have any idea about what Fonzie has been doing for the last week, or so?" Cana asked curiously after laughing at Erza's misfortune for a while. "I mean, he hasn't even been here when we wake up in the mornings."

In response, all the other ladies shook their heads while Amar'e, Bianca, and Calvin perked up at the mention of their father's nickname. 

"I have no idea, but it's probably something big." Sun said as she walked into the dining room, flanked by Grayfia and Maria, with a platter of food in her hands. "I mean, so many people and goods have been brought into town since he had that idea that Laxus mentioned." 

"Yeah, I even saw Loli Chapati walking around the town a few days ago." Ultear added. 

"Really?" all the ladies asked in an amazed tone. 

They then started discussing all the celebrities they had seen walking around in the last few days, and those people included famous songstresses, the most famous being Sun's friend, Lunar Edomae, a few theater troops, the most famous among them being Rabian, the owner of the Scheherazade Theater in Onibus. The same theater where Team Natsu helped with the production of the play, "Frederick and Yanderica," a few years ago. 

"Yes, I've seen him, as well." Erza said after Rabian was brought up. "He even asked if we would be interested in performing Frederick and Yanderica once again." 

Erza then hung her head in defeat for the second time this morning. 

"But when I brought it up to the rest of Team Natsu, they all firmly denied my request." Erza said in an almost heartbroken tone. "*Sigh* And we put on such a good show back then, too." 

"You're clearly delusional." Lucy said with a scoff. "I've seen train wrecks that were better put together than what we did back then." 

"I'm sorry to say, but she's right, Erza." Elicia said while smiling wryly. "If it weren't for Lyra, Lucy's Celestial Spirit, that would have probably been unwatchable." 

"Indeed." Mirajane added with a nod and a hint of sadism in her tone. "I mean, you freeze up on stage, Gray forgets his character's name, and Natsu… Well, Natsu is Natsu." 

With every point Mirajane, who had come to see the very first performance of 'Frederick and Yanderica" with Makarov, made, Erza lowered her head even further. And by the time she was finished, Erza's face, up to her cheeks, was buried between her breasts. 

*Buzz!*

*Beep!* *Beep!* 

*Ring!* 

*Jingle!* 

However, before Mirajane could continue to remind Erza of how bad the production was, everyone's lPhones began to vibrate, sound out with notifications, or both. And they all took their lPhones out to look at them. 

"For the first time ever, a broadcast like no other will be brought to you live from Magnolia's Central Plaza to celebrate the new year." Elicia said, reading the message aloud. "There will be performances from some of the most famous names in Fiore's entertainment world for your viewing pleasure. So, please tune in at 8 pm for something the likes of which no one has seen before." 

Not only the ladies living in the Mansion on the Lake saw this message. Instead, every person on the continent with an lPhone received it. And needless to say, the majority of those who saw it were intrigued at the very least. The levels of entertainment in the world were still at the level of the Middle Ages on Earth, after all. So, something they had never seen before was something to look forward to for most people. 

"I think I have an idea what Fonzie is planning now." Elicia said with a smile on her face. "And if I'm right, tonight is going to be fun."