Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
October 10, x789.
After leaving Irene's house, Alfonzo rushed home. By the time he arrived, Shizuka was just about to leave with Maria driving her to the hospital. And he naturally joined them.
After that, it did not take long to arrive at the hospital. Nor did it take long for Shizuka to be admitted. However, once she was in the delivery room, things started taking their time. And it took a little more than sixteen hours before the sound of a baby's cries echoed.
The new born, a brown-skinned boy with blond hair and hazel eyes, was given the name, Calvin Edward Marcus. And although the labor was quite long, he came out as healthy as could be.
And after getting the chance to see the child for a while, the rest of Alfonzo's wives and girlfriends made him go home and get some sleep, as he had been awake the entire time Shizuka was in labor. And he listened. Because despite the fact that he wanted to spend more time with Shizuka and Calvin, they had both fallen asleep shortly after the delivery.
The next day, after getting a good night's sleep, Alfonzo spent the whole day with Shizuka. But the following day, he went to the guild hall to fulfill some point requests and to try and find the fifth member of Team Steel Threads.
"Finally, I'm done… for now." Alfonzo said as he came out of the guild hall's kitchen with a bacon cheeseburger and an order of jalapeño poppers. "This was a lot more fun when I was a kid."
"It's probably because everyone is more used to you after so many years." Laxus said from his seat at the bar.
"You're probably right." Alfonzo replied with a shrug as he set the order in his hands down in front of Laxus. "They still act like the same pack of animals if I go too long without cooking for them, though."
"Well, can you blame them?" Laxus asked as he picked up one of the poppers. "You are the best cook in Ishgar, maybe even the world."
"That's a bit too much." Alfonzo said with while shaking his head.
"Maybe." Laxus replied while chewing his food. "By the way, did you find your last team mate yet? I'm really looking forward to facing you guys in the tournament."
"Looking forward to getting your ass kicked again?" Alfonzo asked with an eyebrow raised. "Did Saya and Chico turn you into some kind of masochist? No, that's not it. You've been like that since I was six or seven. Could never get enough ass kickings, could you?"
"Shut the hell up." Laxus replied, the word masochist making him shiver while remembering Darkness.
Alfonzo could not help laughing at Laxus reaction. Meanwhile, he glanced in the direction where Elicia and Marin were sitting with Brandish, undoubtedly trying to convince her to join Team Steel Threads.
Sun would have joined them, as well. However, she was at the hospital with her mother visiting Shizuka and the baby.
"So, I noticed you have a theme going on with your kids names." Laxus said after swallowing a bite of his burger.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Alfonzo asked, Laxus statement bringing his attention back.
"Well, it's kind of obvious." Laxus replied. "Amar'e, Bianca, Calvin… A, B, C. Is the next one gonna start with D?"
As if he had not noticed, Alfonzo opened his eyes wide in surprise. Then, after processing everything, he shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows." Alfonzo said. "If it happens it happens. But if it does, then I'll follow the theme for the rest of them. As long as their mothers are okay with it."
"I see.' Laxus replied with a nod. "By the way, Saya and Chico are finally ready to have the wedding. They wanna do it on the first of the year."
"You all sure took your time." Alfonzo said.
"That's because no one knew when you were going to take another long term job." Laxus replied snappily. "And since you accepted to be my best man, we had to make sure first."
"And what made you think this would be a good time?" Alfonzo asked in a curious tone.
"Because you're participating in the tournament." Laxus replied. "And I'm certain you think you're going to win. So, you'll be training for the GMG after that. At least, that's what you should have planned."
Laxus then grinned challengingly.
"Too bad those plans will be going up in smoke, though." Laxus said confidently. "But at least you'll be around for a while. It should take a while to set up any big jobs after you find yourself with all that free time, after all."
"You really have gotten confident." Alfonzo replied, a challenging smile of his own spreading across his face. "No, that's not it. You're just angry, angry that you lost to Mermaid Heel, aren't you?"
*Zap!*
*Bang!*
"Damn right I am!" Laxus growled as his lightning clad fist slammed into the bar top. "I'm gonna get back at them and show them that Fairy Tail is and always will be the strongest."
"Good ambition." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "But let the real professionals handle that, alright? Team Steel Threads will bring the title back home. Just sit back and enjoy the show."
Hearing that, Laxus' eyebrow shot up while his expression turned deadpan.
"You wanna say that again?" Laxus asked in a calm, yet threatening tone.
"We'll let our matches in the tournament do all the talking next week." Alfonzo said while waving his right hand dismissively.
"I guess we will." Laxus replied before taking another bite of his burger. "Anyway, have any idea what happened to that chick from the Village Hidden in the Mist? What was her name again….? Whatever… Anyway, wasn't she supposed to come here to form an alliance with us?"
"Mei Terumi." Alfonzo replied blankly. "She's the new Mizukage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Mist. How the hell did you forget her name?"
"Because I don't make it a habit to pay attention to wizards from other nations unless I have a quest to work with them." Laxus replied with a shrug. "Plus, all my thoughts are on Saya and Chico. So, I don't' have the time to think about other women."
"Good answer." X 2
Hearing those voices from behind him, Laxus quickly turned in his seat. When he did, he saw Saya smiling at him with her arms crossed under her breasts while Chico was standing next to her with her hands resting on her hips. And when he saw his two fiancées, cold sweat started to form on his back.
After Alfonzo reminded him of Mei's name, he remembered what she looked like. And he was about to say something about how good looking she was. But if he had, he knew he would have been in a world of hurt later if Saya and Chico had heard him.
"Hey, Saya, Chico, what's up?" Alfonzo asked, smiling at Laxus' almost unfortunate predicament. "You two just got back from a quest, right? Well, I'm working in the kitchen today. So, I got you if you want anything? Provided you have the points, that is."
Hearing that, both Saya's and Chico's eyes lit up.
"I'll have an open-faced roast beef sandwich with au jus dip, please." Chico said excitedly with drool starting to drip from the corner of her lips.
"And I'll have Steak and Shrimp Hibachi with fried rice and steamed vegetables." Saya added.
"Okay, I'll have that out in a few minutes." Alfonzo replied while wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead.
Though cooking the meals was no issue. Saya had a knack for ordering things that were rather exotic. For example, there was one time she caught Alfonzo cooking in the guild, and she ordered roast venison with a boysenberry sauce.
While that was not a terribly troublesome dish to cook, Fairy Tail's guild hall did not often stock venison… Or boysenberries, for that matter. So, he had to ask Maria to take a trip to the market to see if there was any venison and boysenberries on sale. If there wasn't, there would have been nothing Alfonzo could do about it. But there was. So, Alfonzo had to go through the process of tenderizing the meat before cooking it.
In the end, it was the longest he had ever taken to prepare a dish at the guild hall. So, he always had a little dread whenever he took Saya's order.
Even so, Alfonzo accepted the two ladies' orders and returned to the kitchen.
Meanwhile, as Alfonzo surmised while talking to Laxus, Elicia and Marin were sitting at a table with Brandish, who was sitting with her arms crossed and staring at them impassively.
"So, what you're telling me is, I was only your second choice?" Brandish asked in a tone that did not display her discontentment.
However, it was easy for people like Elicia and Marin to see through the façade Brandish had put on. Even so, neither of them were deterred.
"That's right." Elicia replied with a smile. "I know it sounds bad, but it's not because we think any less of you."
That sounded like an excuse to Brandish, though. There was only one person in the guild she thought was a better choice than her to join Team Steel Threads. But knowing Irene as well as she did, and as well as the members of Team Steel Threads should, she thought there was no way they would have asked her. So, Brandish was a little upset to think that they came to her second.
"Well, we actually expected our first candidate to say no." Marin added. "But Fonzie told us the worst that could happen was Irene telling us no. Still, that was no reason not to try."
That caused Brandish to open her eyes a little wider.
'So, I was second after Irene., huh?' Brandish thought to herself. 'Well, I guess I can't really be all that mad about that. But still, to think Alfonzo would ask her even though he knew what she would say. I guess he was just trying his luck. There's always a chance that she might have been in a good mood. And then, from what I've heard from Lucy, there's a chance that she might have said yes after they had some of the mind-blowing sex she always talks about, too.'
With those thoughts running through her head, Brandish could not help blushing slightly after thinking about all the rather vivid descriptions of Alfonzo's and Lucy's sex life that Lucy always told her about during their girl talks.
Meanwhile, Elicia and Marin both saw the color float to the surface of Brandish's cheeks and they turned to look at each other. However, neither of them knew what the younger girl could have been thinking. They had no idea that Lucy often bragged about her sex life to the child of her mother's best friend, after all.
"*Cough* Anyway, I can understand why I was the second one you asked to join your team, now." Brandish said, coughing to draw Elicia's and Marin's attention away from her blushing cheeks. "If it were me, I would have tried to get Irene on my team first, too."
"Then, does that mean you'll join our team?" Marin asked with a bright smile.
"On one condition." Brandish replied. "I want to fight Alfonzo. If he can defeat me, I'll join. If not, then you all have to join my team. Sure, the result will be all of us on the same team. But I'll be the leader instead of Alfonzo."
"Hmm… I see." Elicia said with a nod. "I guess that makes sense. No one wants to take orders from someone weaker than them, after all."
"Exactly." Brandish replied. "In fact, I can't understand why no one has petitioned for Irene to take over as guild master yet. You know, since she's the strongest member of the guild."
Just at that moment, Ur stepped out of the elevators and happened to overhear Brandish. And her eyes lit up as she started considering how to convince Irene to become the fifth guild master of the guild while she headed to the bar to place an order with Alfonzo.
"Well, Gildarts wasn't the guild master either." Marin pointed out.
"That's because that would have been a terrible idea." Elicia countered. "Gildarts just can't stay in one place long enough for that to work."
'I can still remember when Macao named Gildarts the fifth guild master in the anime.' Elicia thought to herself while trying not to giggle aloud. 'It couldn't have been more than a few days before Gildarts disappeared, only leaving behind a letter naming Gramps the sixth guild master.'
"Well, when Alfonzo is done in the kitchen, we can ask him if he's willing to go along with your proposal." Marin said with a smile. "But you know he's the publicly recognized second strongest member of the guild after Irene, right?"
"Even so, I want to see his strength with my own eyes." Brandish replied. "And if he is weaker than reported, I'll take control of this team and rename it to something I like."
"Then, we'll just have to wait and see." Elicia said as she turned to look at the door leading to the guild hall's kitchen.
Thanks for reading. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. If you are, drop some comments, throw some stones, and leave a review.
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Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
October 10, x789.
"Hmm? Where is everyone?" Irene asked shortly after walking through the guild hall's sliding doors.
"Did they all leave on quests?" Juliet asked in her usual upbeat tone.
"I doubt it." Heine replied. She then pointed at the tables scattered around the guild hall's first floor. "Look, there are a lot of empty plates and glasses on the tables."
"You're right, Heine." Irene replied with a nod. She then focused on the lone person sitting at the bar. "But I think there is someone we can ask sitting over there."
At the end of Irene's line of sight, Ur, nursing a glass of wine, sat at the bar, seemingly deep in thought.
"Ur, good afternoon." Irene said as she, Heine, and Juliet approached the bar. "Quite the unusual sight to see you sitting at the bar alone. Did something happen?"
"Oh, Irene." Ur said, her eyes lighting up as she laid them on Irene. "Just the person I wanted to see."
Immediately, Irene went on guard. Ur looked way too excited to see her. And she did not like it. Not one bit.
"And what can I do for you, Ur?" Irene asked, making sure not to show her caution in her tone.
"There are two things, actually." Ur replied with a smile. "As I'm sure you are aware, there are a couple of openings among the Wizard Saints, most notably, one of the Four Gods of Ishgar. And I was hoping---"
"No thank you." Irene replied before Ur could finish her sale's pitch. "I'm simply not interested."
"Well, can't say I didn't see that coming." Ur replied, undeterred. "As for the second thing, how would you like to be the fifth guild master of the Fairy Tail wizarding guild. And before you reject, hear me out, at least."
Ur's last sentence cause Irene to not decline immediately. So, she gestured for Ur to continue. Meanwhile, Heine and Juliet were excited by the prospect of Irene becoming the next guild master. In their opinions, no position in the guild would fit her better.
"You see, ever since the Grand Magic Games started, I haven't had the opportunity to participate." Ur continued.
"Because guild masters cannot participate." Irene said, nodding in understanding.
"Right." Ur replied with a nod of her own. "In fact, that's the reason Alfonzo always rejects whenever I ask him to be the guild master in my place. He's always wanted to participate in the Grand Magic games. Unfortunately, his work has gotten in the way for the last few years."
"I see." Irene replied, once again nodding in understanding.
"So, I got to thinking…" Ur said, leaning a little closer to Irene as she did so, her eyes sparkling in anticipation as she continued.. "Since you aren't interested in taking part in the Grand Magic Games, it would be the right call to put you in the position of the guild master."
"I can definitely see where you're coming from." Irene replied with yet another nod after letting Ur's reasoning sink in.
"I know, right?" Ur replied with a wide smile stretched across her face.
"You're still young enough to compete with the best the kingdom has to offer." Irene continued. "Powerful enough, too. It's no wonder you want to join the Grand Magic Games."
"Exactly." Ur said, nodding her head with great vigor as she did so.
"But…" Irene said before pausing for dramatic effect.
That one word was enough to make Ur's smile freeze on her face, the feeling that she was not going to like what followed after the "but" rushing to the forefront of her mind.
"I really have no interest in taking the position of guild master." Irene said. "I truly enjoy the fact that I can spend my days as leisurely as I'd like. Taking quests when I feel like it. Not having to deal with the Council, spending time with my daughter and my new family. It's all I could ask for."
Immediately after hearing that, Ur hung her head in defeat.
"*Sigh* I understand." Ur said in a defeated toen. "I suppose it would be cruel to ask you to take on a responsibility like that after everything you've been through and what you've finally been able to attain after so much hardship."
Seeing Ur's downcast mood, despite how sadistic she could be, Irene felt pity for her. So, before Ur's mood could spiral downward any further, she spoke once again.
"But I may have a solution." Irene said.
As if a light had shined down from above, Ur snapped her head up to stare Irene directly in her eyes.
"Wha… What is it?" Ur asked as if she were grasping at straws.
"Well, why not ask Mavis?" Irene suggested. "I'm sure she would love to take charge of the guild she founded. Especially since her time as guild master was cut short thanks to Ankhseram's curse."
Ur's eyes shot open, surprise and realization dancing in their depths.
"Plus, Alfonzo sacrificed a Philosopher's Stone to have that curse removed, didn't he?" Irene asked, a smile spreading across her face at the sight of Ur's excitement. "And that means, not only will she finally start aging like anyone else, but she doesn't have to worry about hurting anyone she cares about, either."
"That's right, he did.!" Ur exclaimed happily. "I'll definitely ask Master Mavis once she gets back from visiting Warrod!"
"Good." Irene said. "Now, may I ask you a question, Ur?"
"Of course." Ur replied, clearly on cloud nine at the moment. "anything you want."
"Where is everyone?" Irene asked.
At the same time, in the large training chamber on the tenth floor of the guild hall, most of the guild was gathered, standing against the walls of the training room. Meanwhile, at the room's center, Alfonzo and Brandish stood across from each other.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Brandish?" Alfonzo asked, not really interested in having this match.
"Why, afraid you'll lose?" Brandish asked in an almost bored tone.
Despite her tone, the excitement in Brandish's eyes could not be hidden. It was clear shew as looking forward to her upcoming fight with Alfonzo.
"*Sigh* Fine, if this is what you really want." Alfonzo said as he started shaking his arms to loosen up.
Instead of replying, Brandish raised her guard in a standard kickboxing stance. At the same time, she started bouncing on the balls of her feet, which looked a little strange with her high heeled sandals.
"Are you ready?" Brandish asked.
Seeing that Brandish was not using a weapon, Alfonzo did not draw his own, either. Instead, he took a Philly Style boxing stance, with his left hand dropped low and his right hand up near his chin. Then, he two started bouncing on his toes.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Alfonzo replied.
As soon as Alfonzo gave his affirmation, Brandish shot forward in a blur of speed. Then, once she was close enough, she snapped a jab at Alfonzo's chin.
In response, Alfonzo, though not wanting to have this fight, was focused, his right hand shot out, batting Brandish's Jab to the side while simultaneously tilting his head to the side, as well, as Brandish's hand opened just after her punch was batted away.
"[Command T: Expansion]." Brandish chanted.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
Alfonzo's left hand then shot up from below, knocking Brandish's left arm up before she could retract it. Then, Alfonzo stepped in and ducked under her raised arm while he hooked his left arm under hers and shifted his body around behind her in one motion.
Unfortunately, the spectators behind Alfonzo's starting position missed the smooth transfer into a grapple as the barrier separating them from the sparring ring was impacted by nearly a hundred tree limb-sized splinters.
"What the hell?" Gray exclaimed as he jumped at the pieces of wood that came flying from out of nowhere.
"Hmm… She must have had a hand full of saw dust or something like that in her closed hand before she opened it." Erza analyzed.
"Wait! Are you saying she was trying to throw all that in Alfonzo's face?" Lucy asked in horror.
"It looks that way." Erza replied with a nod. "Not that it would have harmed him, though. It would have probably pushed him back at the very most."
"Still, that's really dangerous." Lucy said while shifting her gaze back to Alfonzo. "By the way, why are those two fighting, anyway."
"I have no idea." Erza replied with a head shake.
Meanwhile, After slipping behind Brandish, Alfonzo tried to hook his right arm under Brandish's right, as well. However, Brandish reacted quickly, throwing her right elbow back with all her might.
*Bang!*
*Crack!*
"Argh~~~~~~~~~!" Brandish screamed from the unexpected pain coming from the tip of her right elbow.
Unfortunately for Brandish, Alfonzo reacted just as quickly, materializing a sheet of Adamantite on the surface of his skin at the point of impact. As a result, the sound of bone cracking echoed around the training room, causing a few of the guild members with weaker wills or pain tolerances to wince, pangs of phantom pain shooting through their own right elbows and arms..
Despite the pain, Brandish moved her arm once again, her hand surging towards the metal plate her elbow just slammed into.
"[Command T: Expansion]." Brandish chanted once again.
In the next instant, the thin plate of Adamantite swelled in size, forcing Alfonzo to release Brandish's left arm quickly before stepping back. Even so, while stepping back, Alfonzo tapped the tip of his right index finger on the sheet of Adamantite.
"[Electromagnetism Magic: Static Discharge]." Alfonzo chanted just as his fingertip touched the adamantite.
In the next instant, a bolt of purple electricity exited Alfonz's finger, the adamantite sheet conducting it into Brandish's body.
"Ahh~~~~~~ Ah baba-ba-baba." Brandish screamed unintelligibly due to the electrical current flowing through her body.
The sheet of Adamantite then disappeared, having been dispelled by Alfonzo before he shot forward again, still in his Philly Boxing stance. Then, when he was in range, his left fist shot out, burying itself in Brandish's abdomen.
"Gah!" Brandish grunted involuntarily as she doubled over Alfonzo's fist.
Then, in one smooth motion, Alfonzo slipped past Brandish, his left arm wrapping around her throat and causing her body to straighten up. Then, he hooked his right arm under her right, forcing her once again into a half-nelson before his left hand locked around his right bicep as he flexed his left bicep slightly as he lifted Brandish's 5'6" tall frame off the floor.
"You giving up? Or do I have to shock you again?" Alfonzo asked with is hold locked in.
However, it took a few moments for Brandish to recover enough to speak, with the injury to her elbow, her body still spasming from the electric shock, and having her breath knocked out of her by Alfonzo's punch.
Meanwhile, a short silence fell over the training room. Although most people expected Alfonzo to win, they did not expect him to win so easily. Brandish had magic power on par with, if not a little lower then, Gildarts, after all.
"I don't' get it." Droy said in a confused tone. "Why didn't she try to use her [Command T] on Alfonzo directly?"
"It's because [Command T] doesn't work on individuals who vastly out strip you in power." Levy replied. "And although it may not look like it, Alfonzo usually hides how much magic power he's outputting at all times."
"But is Alfonzo really that much stronger than Brandish?" Jet asked curiously.
"Honestly, if you had asked me earlier today, I would have said there was no way." Levy replied. "but now, I'm not sure."
"It's not that Alfonzo is that much stronger, actually." Gajeel, looking like he was ready to jump in the ring himself, said, cutting into the conversation. "Instead, he's just that much faster than her."
"what do you mean?" Jet and Droy asked simultaneously.
"I'm pretty sure she has to touch him with her hands to activate [Command T]." Gajeel asked. "Right, Pipsqueak?"
"If I had to guess." Levy replied with a nod while shooting an annoyed pout at Gajeel. "At least, I've never seen her cast it with any other parts of her body."
"That is actually incorrect." Irene, having entered the training room with Ur just a moment ago, said in reply to Levy's analysis. "Brandish doesn't actually need physical contact to cast her magic. The real reason Brandish did not use her magic on Alfonzo directly, is because she couldn't."
Hearing Irene's voice from so close by, Levy, Jet, Droy, and Gajeel all turned to look at her in surprise. However, they still paid close attention to her following words.
"And that's because, despite not having that much more magic power than Brandish, Alfonzo's magic power is so much denser than hers." Irene continued while watching Brandish tap her uninjured left hand on Alfonzo's bicep three times, signaling that she was giving up. "Honestly, it amazes me just how dense his magic power is. And he's not even twenty-five yet."
'Though, I'm not actually a hundred percent sure about that.' Irene muttered to herself. 'Not after all the things I learned about other worlds from him and his and Elicia's guests that stopped by a couple of months ago.'
While Irene was considering the possibilities of interdimensional travel, Alfonzo set Brandish back on the floor. Then, he gestured towards Wendy, asking her to heal Brandish's cracked elbow. Meanwhile, everyone else discussed the rather short spar that just took place. Not long after that, everyone got back to what they were supposed to be doing. Namely, Harvest Festival preparations.
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