With the news spreading that the attack would come the very next day, the entirety of the island was busy preparing for their arrival. At its center was Shia as she recounted the details of her brief vision to the others so that they knew where to defend, though she kept saying that her vision wasn't absolute.
Shia's visions depended on the choices of certain people to be realized, meaning that if someone made a different decision for some reason then the entire outcome could change. It was for this reason that Alex never placed too much emphasis on Shia's visions to begin with, only opting to use them in situations such as this. This was a decision that both Markarov and the Exceed Carla, who also possessed the ability of precognition, strongly agreed with.
Around them everyone was hurrying too and fro to prepare defenses that made the ones from the day before look pathetic in comparison. Large amounts of earth was being moved to create trenches and fortifications, magical traps were being laid, even Anne was helping by planting some of the seeds she kept in her storage before using the power from her last system purchase to make them grow. Meanwhile those that couldn't help prepare were either doing some last minute training, or were running food and other supplies back and forth to help those working.
Alex however was sitting cross legged while levitating a short distance away from the Fairy Tail building, and was using his 'Domain' to place various trap spells across the island in the event that some of the attackers tried to circle around them. After a few minutes, Alex cracked open an eyelid to see Lucy approaching him with a chilled drink in her hands.
"I thought you might be thirsty." She said while holding out the drink, which Alex gratefully accepted as he stood back up.
"Such a thoughtful wife..." Alex said teasingly as he took a sip, making Lucy blush and fidget slightly from embarrassment, even before Alex quickly leaned forward and stole a kiss.
"Get a room you two!" Macao suddenly called from the side while a few other passing guys started whistling or cat-calling, making Lucy turn even redder as she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her face. She was then given a reprieve when the guild master of Blue Pegasus, Bob, fluttered over with his wings and asked,
"Lucy~, can we ask you to help with the fortifications? If I recall right one of your spirits is good at digging, right?" Grateful to escape the embarrassment, Lucy practically leapt over to Bob's side and said while grabbing one of the keys on her belt,
"Yep! Open the gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" There was a flash of light as Lucy channeled her magic power through the golden key, before it cleared to reveal a beautiful young woman with pink hair, dressed only in a black bikini with white ruffles at the edges with a matching band through her hair, and a pair of metallic shackles on both wrists that had a length of chain attached.
"Is it time for punishment princess?" Virgo immediately asked with an eager gleam in her eye, to which Lucy retorted,
"Why is it you always ask about being punished?! And what is with that getup?!" Seemingly unperturbed with the way Lucy reacted, Virgo assumed a sexy pose with her butt and chest being emphasized before plainly stating,
"It's fan service!" Lucy could only facepalm as the guys around them exclaimed in awe at Virgo's appearance, while Alex couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. Eventually Lucy released a long sigh before tiredly saying,
"Let's just get to work..." She then started discussing with Bob the areas that Virgo would need to dig for the trenches to help slow down the enemy, completely unaware that Virgo herself seemed to notice something interesting and walked away.
"How's that sound Virgo? Virgo?" Noticing that her spirit wasn't behind her like she thought, Lucy looked around before adopting a deadpan when she saw where Virgo had gone.
"Will YOU give me punishment master?" She asked to Alex, making him cock a brow as he wondered why she was suddenly referring to him as master. Instead of spending time wondering about though, a sadistic smile formed in his face.
Virgo shuddered when she saw that smile, even before Alex placed his finger under her chin and leaned down until his face was mere inches from her own before asking, "Are you sure you want my brand of 'punishment' Virgo? It's quite intense you know?" Again Virgo shuddered when Alex said that his 'punishments' were intense, before she pleaded,
"Please punish this worthless maid..." Alex's sadistic smile widened as he leaned in even closer, blowing lightly into Virgo's ear to make her body shudder in anticipation for the third time, before he suddenly backed away.
"Eh?" Virgo muttered in confusion, to which Alex smirked,
"Well you see, I'm not sure about 'punishing' someone when they haven't even done their job yet. I might consider it though if you finish all of the work needed before nightfall..." Though everyone who was still spectating wanted to comment that you usually punished someone for not doing their work, not the other way around, their words caught in their throat as Virgo promptly leapt up into the air, before performing a beautiful swan dive into the dirt below as if it was water.
She then immediately began burrowing through the ground until she reached the area that Lucy and Bob had been discussing before, and started creating a series of trenches and tunnels through the earth at a speed that left everyone dumbfounded. Alex however continued smirking as he made his way to the flamboyant guild master, and said,
"I'd make sure she has plenty of areas to work on to get as much work as possible done before night, something tells me that she'll make sure every single bit is done." Bob could only nod slowly in agreement as he watched the fervor in which Virgo worked, while Lucy approached Alex and asked while pinching his side,
"What was that all about?" Alex returned her question with an awkward smile, before leaning in close and whispering into her ear,
"A title that I gained after 'taming' a well known S is 'Super Sadist', which I'm guessing Virgo sensed due to her own masochistic nature. So what do you think, wanna give it a go sometime?" Though Alex was only joking, Lucy still couldn't help but to get the image of the two of them bound tightly in leather outfits in her head, making her nearly pass out in response as steam started rising from her head.
Alex chuckled lightly to Lucy's response at his teasing, who now looked as if she was about to pass out from over stimulation. He then wrapped his arms around her to keep her standing straight, until the next task that she needed to help with came along.
***
Meanwhile, inside Fairy Tail's building, another group was taking brief break as Mirajane brought them some chilled drinks. They included Shia and Mirajane's younger siblings Elfman and Lisanna.
"So the three of you use a form of transformation magic?" Shia asked curiously, her eyes sparkling as Lisanna nodded and said,
"Yep, it's called 'Take Over', and let's us assume the forms and powers of specific beings!" She then demonstrated by suddenly sprouting rabbit ears and a tail while short white fur spread over most of her body. As she struck a pose Lisanna continued,
"The 'Take Over' I use is called Animal Soul, it allows me to take the forms of various animals to power up my physical abilities!" Lisanna then pivoted on one foot while the other swung up into the air, and she proceeded to demonstrate what she meant by kicking the empty air at such speeds that most of those around them couldn't even follow her foot.
"Wow!" Shia exclaimed with stars in her eyes, before she then turned towards Elfman with an expectant look. Smirking confidently, Elfman stated,
"I also use 'Take Over', but my transformations are a bit different." He then held out his right arm, which changed into a monsters arm with fur and several nasty looking talons on each finger. He then explained,
"I use what's called Beast Soul, it allows me to take the form and abilities of monsters I've defeated in combat, until recently however my transformations were only limited to my right arm..." When she heard his explanation though, Shia didn't appear as impressed as she was with Lisanna's. Instead she adopted a thoughtful look before asking,
"Isn't that just the same thing as Alteration magic? Someone I know called Ryutarou can already do that..." Though Elfman frowned slightly when Shia mentioned someone else apparently managing a full Take Over, he and Lisanna still asked at the same time,
""Alteration magic?""
"Yep! It's a type of magic where I come from that's an Age of Gods magic, dealing with manipulating living beings. Another use is taming and strengthening monsters, but the one I'm referring to allows you to take the same form as monsters that you've subjugated, like your Take Over." Both Elfman and Lisanna listened to Shia's explanation with growing interest, while also wondering if it would be possible for them to be able to learn this Alteration magic as well. Before they could ask about it though, Shia then asked,
"So the two of you use Take Over, what about your sister, Mirajane?" An awkward silence descended over the table as Shia asked about the oldest of the Strauss siblings, before Lisanna eventually began,
"Mira-nee also used to use Take Over, but after a certain incident se became unable to use it properly anymore..." Elfman nodded and, with pain visible on his face, continued,
"The version nee-chan used though was called Satan Soul, which, similarly to my Beast Soul, allowed her to subjugate and take the powers of even demons, which also resulted in her nickname of 'Demon'. Because of it she was even able to become one of the guild's S-class mages at a really young age, but now she could only use some basic magics outside of combat..." With a fairly somber mood settling over the table Shia internally cursed at herself for bringing up such a subject, and then tried to change it by telling the siblings about the type of magic she preferred to use, Physical Reinforcement.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the guild hall, Sun was sitting by herself as she tried to find the courage to interact with someone. Due to her powers Sun had spent most of her early life being avoided by other children, and was only really able to socialize with her own club members throughout high school. Though she had made leaps and bounds in interacting with others since she met Alex, started training to use her voice without her powers, and had so many 'sisters' around her to talk with, it was another matter entirely to talk to groups of new people on her own.
"U-um, do mind if we sit here?" A timid sounding voice drew Sun's attention to the side, where she saw a pair of young looking girls standing there. The girl on the right had her long blue hair tied up into two long twin tails, and was wearing a flowing white and yellow dress that went down to her knees, while the one on the left had her pink hair tied up into short bushy twin tails with orange bows, and was wearing a sleeveless pink t-shirt with a light blue short skirt. Immediately Sun exclaimed,
"Of course, it's your guild after all!" The two girls smiled and sat down next to her, before the blue haired one said,
"I'm Wendy, Wendy Marvell. And this is Sherria Bendy, of Lamia Scale." Sun offered her hand to the two girls, and said as they shook it,
"Sun Otonashi. I'm not part of a guild, but I am a siren." The two girls tilted their heads cutely in confusion, as Wendy muttered,
"I think I might have heard that word before, but what is a siren?" Sun smiled somewhat sadly at the innocent question, as she didn't think she'd have to explain what sirens were to them, and said,
"Sirens were infamous Youkai that would lure sailors to their death with their songs." When Wendy and Sherria both turned pale at her description, Sun quickly added, "B-but I don't do that! I prefer using my songs to help and protect my comrades instead of fighting, though I will when I need to."
There was a barely audible sigh of relief when the girls heard the second part of Sun's explanation, before Sherria said, "You look like a normal person though?" Sun smiled at Sherria's question, and replied,
"Well we primarily learned how to take human form in order to avoid conflict between humans and Youkai, but my 'true' form isn't much different than what you see now." Immediately there was a sparkle in both Wendy and Sherria's eyes, as they asked,
""Can we see your 'true' form?""
Taken aback by the sudden request, Sun was about to say no when she stopped herself, and reconsidered. After several seconds of thinking she figured that showing them couldn't harm anything since her true form wasn't horrendous or anything, and slowly nodded her head before getting to her feet.
"I'll need to make sure that no ones immediately around me first." After making sure that no one would be affected by her transformation, Sun looked back at the two young girls who looked like they had stars in their eyes as they eagerly awaited her transformation. After taking in a quick breath, a pair of beautiful white feathered wings spread from Sun's back before wrapping around the table to cover it with feathery softness.
Wendy and Sherria both stared at the wings in awe, as the former muttered, "They're just like a bigger version of Carla's...." Sherria however said to herself in voice just barely loud enough that Sun could hear,
"Its like you're an angel instead of a Youkai...." Sun blushed at their words as she made her wings vanish, only to notice that she had become the center of attention in the guild hall due to her transformation. With her cheeks turning a deep Crimson at the attention, Sun quickly returned to her seat while trying to avoid everyone's gazes as she coughed lightly and tried to change the subject,
"Ahem! So anyways, that is my 'true form'. What about you two? What kind of magic do you use?" Startling slightly from the sudden question, Wendy quickly said,
"I use Sky Dragon Slayer magic, and Sherria uses Sky God Slayer magic! After we started hanging out though people started calling us the Sky Sisters." With Sherria nodding in affirmation, Sun asked while looking at Wendy,
"So you use the same type of magic as Anne?" Wendy looked confused for a second before exclaiming,
"One of you is a Sky Dragon Slayer too?!" Sun nodded and said,
"Yeah, Anne is. She's the one helping down on the beach, and one of the reasons we came here was even for her to try and learn more about it as well." Wendy adopted a look of concentration as she tried to recall which of the many women that accompanied Alex she was talking about, before she finally recalled which one was Anne.
As she did Wendy shifted to a complete deadpan as she recalled Anne's very voluptuous figure, dressed in very revealing clothing. Though she wasn't judging Anne's choice of attire, Wendy couldn't help but to look down at her own nonexistent chest and figure in comparison, before suddenly saying to Sun as she took her hands with slightly teary eyes,
"Sun, I'm so glad there someone in your group who's around the same age as us!" Though she was confused for a brief second at the abrupt subject change, this time it was Sun's turn to deadpan as she asked,
"Wendy, Sherria, how old are you two?" The duo looked confused for a brief second before Wendy and Sherria replied respectively,
"I'm thirteen!"
"I'm fifteen!"
Sun shuddered in realization at how the duo thought that she was the same age as them, before looking down depressingly.
"..."
She muttered something that neither girl could hear at first, prompting Wendy to apologetically say, "Sorry? We couldn't hear you?" Slowly, Sun turned her gaze back to them and said with tears shining in her eyes,
"I said, I'm in my twenties..."
An awkward silence settled over the table as the duo realized their mistake, while Wendy also developed a secret fear in her heart that the woman siting across from her would be her in ten years. Their similarities in hair color, dress, and figure only deepening this newfound fear.
***
While Alex and most of his peerage, as well as Anne, were either helping prepare for the battle or visiting with various members of the guilds, a solitary figure was lounging in the sun at the highest point she could find on the island, Kuroka. Naked as the day she was born, the black haired Nekomata rolled over while releasing a contented 'nya', her tails swaying gently in the breeze.
She didn't see he point in helping prepare defenses with how powerful she and the rest of Alex's peerage were, let alone Alex himself. It wasn't as if she didn't understand why exactly Alex was taking the back seat in this conflict, except where the other reincarnators were concerned, as she herself was glad that they weren't the ones who were doing all of the fighting this time around. But, she still didn't understand why he was helping these weaklings prepare to fight when he could end it all with a snap of his fingers.
Kuroka then lifted her head slightly when she sensed a group of people approaching her, despite he fact that she was currently laying on a branch at the very top of the great tree covering the island. A quick look around and she noticed those who were approaching her, a decent sized group of small beings flying up to her with a pair of white wings on each of their backs. When she realized that they were those strange cats she had noticed the night before though, Kuroka's brows shot up in curiosity as she quickly equipped her usual black Yukata before they arrived.
"What brings all of you here~Nya?" She asked as the cats landed in front of her, while the black one that was as large as a person set down the girl he was carrying. One of the cats, a blue one with a silly look to him, then approached her with a smile before saying,
"We just wanted to meet you. I'm Happy!" With him starting the chain, the rest of those before her began introducing themselves one after another. The black cat, which had assumed his usual form that matched the others, introduced himself as Panther Lily, then there was a red furred cat named Lector, a green one wearing a pink frog outfit named Frosch, and then finally the white female one named Carla. When they had all introduced themselves the girl that had come with them, who had styled her appearance to resemble that of a cat, eagerly said,
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Millianna of Mermaid Heel~Nya!" Though she introduced herself normally, Kuroka noticed a sharp gleam in Millianna's eyes as she focused on her ears and tails. Ignoring it, she then said,
"I'm Kuroka~Nya, Alex's 'Queen'!" Though they didn't know why exactly Kuroka me at by introducing herself as Alex's 'Queen', a few of them still 'oohed' and 'awed' in admiration, until Kuroka asked,
"So what are you all really doing here~Nya? Surely you wouldn't have flown all this way for a simple meet and greet~Nya?" There was a short silence following her question, as none of them seemed to know how to answer her question, before the white female cat, Carla, stepped forward and said,
"None of us know why, but something about you seems to draw us in and makes us want to be around you." As she finished speaking the rest of the cats nodded in agreement while looking at Kuroka curiously, while Millianna piped up,
"I just wanted see if your ears and tails were real~Nya! So, are they?!" Ignoring the excitable girl for the moment, Kuroka smirked at them and said,
"Well, I am working on becoming a goddess~Nya! Perhaps you sensed that as fellow felines?" Everywhere Kuroka went she drew cats as if she was a walking catnip plant, but this was the first time she had drawn cats that could actually talk. What she didn't expect was for Carla to frown at her words, and say,
"Don't joke about such a thing! You aren't any more a goddess than the Exceed of Edolas were!" While her declaration made everyone shift awkwardly, Kuroka tilted her head in confusion and was about to ask what exactly an Exceed was, when a new voice suddenly cried out,
"Such a pungent and wondrous aroma! This Nichiya is coming my goddess!" The rest of the Exceed there groaned as they glanced over to the side at the newcomer, another Exceed who seemed to have an overly large head with a strangely defined facial structure. As he approached he cried out,
"Please allow this Nichiya to serve you my goddess of aroma, who smells so wonderfuuuuuuuuuul!" As Nichiya approached them Kuroka smiled warmly and held out her hand, seemingly allowing him to approach her despite his strange attitude. When he actually tried to approach her though, Kuroka curled back her middle finger before smashing it into his forehead to deliver a flick so powerful, that it sent Nichiya flying into the jungle below while crying out, "My goddessssssssssssssss!"
The rest of the Exceed and Millianna all felt a cold sweat run down their backs as Kuroka sat back down in front of them, before suddenly grabbing Frosch and pulling him into her lap. Unlike Nichiya though, Frosch was soon purring contently as Kuroka pet his head and scratched him under his chin, before glancing back at the rest of them and asking,
"So, what exactly is an Exceed anyways~Nya?"