"LETS GO LADIES!" A voice shouted as several rabbit eared figures flew through their surroundings, which was a forest with trees so large their interiors could be carved out for homes.
The next thing the rabbit in the front of the group knew a large humanoid figured leapt out and snapped its teeth at him, which he very narrowly avoided by using his ODM gear to make himself spin to the side. As the Titan's attention was on him though, another rabbit flashed right by as they carved a chunk of flesh out of the back of the Titan's neck, killing it instantly.
That was just the beginning though, as an entire horde of Titans suddenly appeared and attacked the squad of rabbits. Rather than panic though, the one who had just nearly been eaten shouted,
"FORMATION 27-B!" Immediately the other rabbits began moving in uniform as they systematically avoided the Titan's attacks, before eliminating them within minutes.
As the last Titan began dissolving into the steam, the rabbits gathered to discuss the battle and any areas they needed to improve in. During their discussion though, the environment around them began to change as they went from the large forest to the very edge of a sheer cliff that was so far up, it appeared as if they were standing on the edge of the world.
Immediately the rabbits moved into a formation as they watched all sides for oncoming enemies, until one of their's ears began to twitch.
"Is that....buzzing?" One asked in confusion as he looked around for the source of the noise, before glancing over the edge of the cliff they were on. For a second nothing happened, before a swarm of massive wasp-like creatures began swarming up at them from the fog below.
"WASPS! SCATTER!" The rabbit-man yelled right before they all took off in different directions.
There appeared to be hundreds of Wasps, composed of the four different Wasp-type fiends that one might find in Spira, that surround the one massive Wasp Queen. With so many small enemies appearing the idea wasn't to stay gathered in one place to become a target for all of them, but to split up and scatter so that the Wasps also had to split into smaller groups to give chase.
And that was exactly what they did.
With each rabbit having tens or dozens of Wasps chasing them, each with deadly stingers that were nearly a foot long with a cocktail of toxins in them, they all focused on evasion rather than conflict. Instead, they all kept careful track of where their comrades were as they raced through the air, and when an opportunity presented itself, two of the rabbits would perform a flyby to eliminate several of the Wasps that were chasing the other.
With every one of the rabbits cooperating without any form of verbal communication between them, Wasps were soon raining down from the skies as they quickly and efficiently worked to eliminate them. If a rabbit was coming up on them from the front of the one they were chasing, then another would strike from the side to cull the swarm even more. Then when they were distracted by the sudden attack, the same rabbit they had weary of before would strike from the front.
Soon even the Wasp Queen felt the need to become involved as she began giving chase as well. Unlike the rest of the Wasps though, she possessed much more power with a longer and deadlier stinger, meaning that within seconds the rabbit that was her quarry could feel the air vibrating around him from the beat of her wings.
Immediately from the side one of the other rabbits came in with her blades at the ready, only for the both to snap as they struck in the incredibly hard exoskeleton of the Wasp Queen.
"Damn!" The rabbit-girl swore as the Wasp Queen turned its attention to her, prompting her to quickly take off as the massive stinger stabbed right in the spot she'd been just a second earlier.
Again the Wasp Queen gave chase to the new target as she quickly closed in on the rabbit-girl, only for yet another rabbit to swoop in from the side to try another attack with completely fresh blades. Again however the blades snapped against the Wasp Queen's exoskeleton, but this time she didn't change target as she persistently chased the rabbit-girl.
When the next rabbit moved in at the side though, the Wasp Queen was ready this time as she immediately pivoted in midair and poised her stinger right in the rabbit's path, only for him to use his ODM gear to make a last second ditch effort to avoid her attack. As she was focused on him though, another rabbit plummeted down from above as they used their ODM gear to move as fast as possible at his target.
"TRY THIS!" He cried out as he began spinning like a top, before his blades sliced cleanly through the very thin and weak segment holding the two parts of the Wasp Queen's body together.
As the two segments came apart the rabbits gathered once again on the edge of the massive cliff, and watched as they fell back into the mists below.
"That....haa....haa...wasn't too hard..." One of the rabbits said as he tried to catch his breath, but no sooner were the words out of his mouth before the scenery around them changed once again, and the entire group found themselves falling through skies above a chain of active volcanoes, which were the homes of hundreds of wyverns.
***
"Man, I really love these Dresspheres!" A high pitched voice declared in the middle of the crowded lunchroom at the Academy, a voice belonging to the young witch, Yukari Sendo.
In response to her declaration though the boy next to her, Millicas, chuckled dryly due to the numerous looks Yukari's declaration drew their way. Noticing Millicas' reaction, but not apparently why, Yukari quickly and loudly declared as she latched onto his arm,
"But not as much as I love you Millicas!" This time several of the surrounding students were the ones chuckling in amusement at Millicas' current predicament. Like a chain reaction, the rest of the girls sitting at their table immediately tried to hog Millicas or make a pass at him themselves, but a single look from Yukari was enough to cow them, for the moment.
Though she wasn't necessarily powerful compared to the majority of them, Yukari was still Millicas' 'Queen', and she managed to retain her position for a reason. What she lacked in strength, Yukari more than made up for in intelligence and raw talent in almost any school of magic she laid her hands on. Not only that, but she was also prone to inventing any number of magical items that had any number of effects, which she wouldn't hesitate to use to harass or embarrass those who irked her.
On top off all that, Yukari had also collected one of every type of Dressphere that had recently become available, which was helping her draw out all the benefits her position as 'Queen' gave her. Though she was originally more compatible with the 'Bishop' piece to begin with, Yukari was also becoming more accustomed to the traits associated with the 'Knight' and 'Rook' pieces as well due to the Dresspheres.
Despite the fact that there were some limits placed on people who obtained Dresspheres, to keep them from simply collecting every single one even if they wouldn't be able to master even one, Yukari had gotten her hands on all of them. This was due to her peerless intellect and talent, which allowed her to excel at all of them to certain extent within a short amount of time. She still had a VERY long road ahead of her to completely master them of course, but Yukari was still a fair ways ahead of the majority of those who also received the Dresspheres.
Millicas on the other hand was trying to prevent any fighting from breaking out amongst his peerage, using the advice Alex and his father gave him to take a firmer hand, when he suddenly received a message from his mother.
"What's up?" One of the girls asked curiously as Millicas' expression changed when he read the message, to which he replied,
"I have to cancel our plans tomorrow."
***
"And here we are!" Alex declared to his family, before the older children responded by squealing and shrieking in excitement as they ran out to explore their surroundings.
Currently Alex had brought a good chunk on his family to a large chasm in Asora that had been recently discovered by Artemis and her huntresses. Winding through the chasm was a large river that was being fed by a waterfall, which was also surrounded by towering trees and lush greenery. At the edge of the river though was a long expanse of sandy beach, which was what Alex and the others came for.
With him was of course all of Alex's children, as well as their mothers, the members of his peerage, and a few others. With his countdown expiring the following day, they decided to have a nice and fun family day beforehand.
"This place looks really cool~Nya!" Kuroka declared as she readily removed her kimono, revealing her mature and alluring figure to all present, though thankfully her most intimate areas were hidden behind her scant bikini.
Normally Kuroka would rather strut around naked, despite the children, but with Millicas, Vali and Elfman also accompanying them she reluctantly wore a swimsuit to help ward off prying eyes. However her bikini was still revealing enough that Grayfia sent her a pointed look, but ultimately decided to hold her tongue until Kuroka did do something to warrant confrontation.
All around the girls mimicked her by stripping down to their swimsuits, with the girls either in one or two piece swimsuits, and the guys in their swim trunks. The girls then began laying down blankets and getting out the various necessities and toys they'd brought for the little ones, while the children themselves started exploring.
"Alec, Anna, come back here so I can get some sunblock on you two!" Anne called out in a firm voice, which brought the twins reluctantly back to her to be covered in the protective lotion. And with all of Alex's children carrying his devil traits, meaning they were more susceptible to sunburns, every single one of them was forced to come back and receive their share of block.
As they did that Alex explored an open area above the beach, and marked out a squared area about twenty feet across in both directions. Once he was done marking it out, Alex then called out,
"Millicas, Alec, Regal, come here a moment." When the trio of boys were finished getting sunblock applied to them, the older two approached Alex curiously while Regal excitedly ran up to him.
Picking the little Phenix up in his arms, Alex said to him,
"Hey little man, wanna help daddy out?" Regal excitedly bobbed his head up and down as Alex told him and the older two,
"I want you guys to go out and find as much firewood as you can. Remember, nothing green, just stuff that's already dead." While Millicas just nodded in affirmation and headed out to do as Alex asked, both Alec and Regal paired up as they ran off into the brush, both excited to help their dad.
With the trio setting out to collect the firewood for him, Alex started working on his job.
Following the markers he'd set out, Alex used his 'Telekinesis' to begin digging a giant hole twenty feet wide and long, and five feet deep. With him going slowly to make sure he got the depth and dimensions how he wanted them, by the time Alex was done the three boys had collected enough firewood to completely fill the pit, mostly logs and stumps they ripped out of the ground.
Regardless of what they brought, Alex told the three of them to throw it all into the pit as he made sure the wood was scattered evenly. Once that was done Alex said to them,
"Ok, now we only need to l-l-AAAAAACHOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Sneezing suddenly, blazing flames shot out of Alex's nose and into the pit, making all of the kids that were watching exclaim in surprise and amazement, while some of the wives didn't appear quite as amused.
Regardless of how it was started though, there was now a raging fire in the giant pit that Alex dug. Letting it burn for the moment, Alex then turned his attention to why he started the fire in the first place.
"Alright boys, let's prepare dinner." As it was still early enough that several people were still full from breakfast, Alex's words caused some confusion even as he produced numerous types of meat that had been stored in a spatial ring, along with a massively large pot.
He then walked the three boys through prepping and wrapping up the dozens of meats, which included giant chunks of ham, turkeys, beef, and several other cuts taken from the creatures that had been hunted in Asora. Then, in the massive pot, Alex dumped a bunch of water from the river, which he had already confirmed was clean, before tossing in fifteen whole prepped chickens, a few bags of carrots, tomatoes, garlic, onions and celery, before topping it off with a handful of mixed spices.
Looking over their spread of meats, Alex nodded to himself and said,
"Looking good, but I feel like we're missing something...?" Thinking for a moment as the three boys watched him, Alex suddenly made an 'aha!' gesture before walking right up to the edge of the river, and diving in.
As wide as it was, the river was also very deep with numerous cavities and small caves dotted in the sides and bottom for things to hide in. But even as they tried to hide from him in the deep, dark waters, Alex was still able to locate what he was after.
Within minutes he reemerged from the river with two still struggling catfish slung over his shoulders, both of which were nearly twenty feet long with mouths big enough to even swallow people whole. Despite their struggling though, Alex slung them down on the beach next to the rest of the food they were preparing, and within another minute there were four long flays harvested from the fish that were similarly prepped, before being wrapped in tinfoil like the rest of the meats.
"Alright, that'll do it!" Alex then looked back at the three boys, and said,
"I'm gonna show the three of you one of the best ways to slow cook your meats while camping! First you make sure they're all wrapped up like so!" Alex then gestured to the meats they had already prepared, all of which were wrapped in tinfoil while the large pot had been topped and magically sealed to prevent leakage.
"Then you get a nice bed of coals going in a deep pit!" Alex then gestured to the fire that was still going beside them, but under Alex's influence it had turned into a nice and hot bed of coals.
"Next we're going to place all of our meats directly onto the coals, before shoveling more coals on top!" Alex then led the boys in doing exactly that, with the massive pot going directly into the center of the pit, while each of the meats were arrayed around it.
Once everything was neatly arranged, Alex then finished,
"And finally we fill the hole back in and leave everything there until we dig it up tonight!" Naturally his words caused a bit of a stir amongst those who hadn't heard of cooking in this fashion before, and Alec asked with tears eyes,
"Is the food no good daddy?!" Smiling wryly at his son's distress from burying the meats, Alex shook his head and explained as he used his 'Telekinesis' to sweep the dirt he'd removed earlier back into the hole,
"No, but the dirt is going to seal in the heat and help the meat cook. When we dig it up it'll be really good, trust me!" Deciding to trust in his father, Alec became notably happier to hear that the meat would still be good after they buried it, and became really excited to eat it when they had dinner.
After that was a day of fun as everyone enjoyed themselves on the river.
Alex led his children as they all charged and dove into the water to splash and play as they pleased, while the youngest children were being carried by their mothers to the edge of the water so they too could splash around.
Looking around, one would see the princess Hisui carrying her newborn daughter, Jade, Levy was sitting at the edge of the water with her son Andre in her lap, while Millicas gently walked his little sister, Lana, around. Meanwhile many of the older children were excitedly running around, swimming, or climbing the cliffs to jump off into the river.
Though Alex already confirmed that there were giant catfish in the river capable of swallowing them whole, none of them were worried as, not only could each of the children easily take care of themselves, but Alex's presence alone was enough to deter the large fish from even leaving their hiding holes. Instead, there was probably more of a risk of the children swimming down to try and catch some themselves.
As the day wore on and got hotter, everyone took a break from playing to eat some lunch, which consisted of a simple but satisfying sandwiches and chips. Afterwards though everyone got a treat as Mizore, Tsurara, Yuki, and Aurora used their ice powers and fresh fruit to make some frozen treats for them.
Taking a big bite out a piece of frozen watermelon that Tsurara's daughter, Aurora, brought him, Alex smiled widely and said to her,
"It's really sweet, just like you!" As he said that Alex gently poked her nose with his finger, making Aurora smile widely and giggle a little as she ran off to get him another piece.
After lunch they all took of bit of a rest as they waited for the food to digest, before going out to play with even more vigor than they had that morning. Alex even made his way up to a tree that hung out over the edge of the cliffs, and tied a piece of rope to it for the children to use as a rope swing. Then, with a call like a certain 'king of the jungle' he swung out and dove into the river from over a hundred feet in the air.
Along with his own children though, Alex also made sure to spend some time with his goddaughter, Vali's daughter, Lilith.
She too was growing fast due to Vali and Aiko spending time in their own personal space-time orb like Alex did, and was roughly around the same age as Lana. Alex found this somewhat humorous due to the fact that they were both from the Lucifuge and Lucifer families, which were always closely related in the past.
As the day wore on and the sun sank lower, more and more members of their groups began to get tuckered out from all the playing and excitement, and went to collapse on one of the many blankets that had been spread out on the sand. As dusk began to creep up on them though, Alex decided that it was finally time to dig up the food they buried earlier that morning.
As the dirt was lifted away, and Alex pulled the many meats out of the still glowing coals, a mouth watering aroma filled the air once the meats were unwrapped, one by one. Immediately there was round of growling as everyone's stomachs began to roar in anticipation for the feast ahead.
"Alright everyone," Alex said as he unwrapped the last of the meats. "Dig in."
Though they were all eager to dig into the food, everyone hesitated until Rias asked the question on everyone's minds.
"Where's the eating utensils?" Alex however cocked his head in confusion as he asked in return,
"Utensils?" He then smiled widely before reaching down and picking up a particularly large piece of meat with a single bone through, what others commonly recognized as 'anime meat', and tore into it before saying through a mouth full of food,
"What utensils!? We're going caveman here!" Following their father's lead, the children then readily tore into the food before them like a pack of ravenous animals.
Realizing that Alex was being serious, many of the girls looked at each other questioningly, even as Elfman also followed Alex's lead and began tearing into the food with gusto.
Slowly but surely the rest of the girls began to dig into the numerous meats, though they tried to act a bit more civilized than Alex and the children were acting. Eventually there was only Grayfia standing there without any food, clearly unsure of what she was supposed to do.
Alex then approached her with a massive drumstick that he ripped off of one of the turkeys, and said while offering it to her,
"Here, eat up!" Though her eyes twitched at the gesture, Grayfia eventually sighed as she adopted a defeated look, and accepted the drumstick from him. Alex then watched with a widening smile as she hesitantly bit into the drumstick, which then covered her mouth and chin in gristle from how juicy the meats were.
Laughing loudly at how awkward she looked from the new experience, Alex loudly declared,
"Eat up everyone! There's plenty for everybody!" He then removed the large pot from the coals as well, before also removing the lid to allow the smell of the chicken soup to spread throughout the surroundings.
Alex then produced the only utensils he'd allow for the meal, small bowls, and took one to scoop up some of the soup before loudly slurping it as the delicious broth trickled down his throat. Again everyone followed his lead as they too tried some of the soup, before they continued to gorge themselves on meat.
Soon after the feast was over, everyone then laid down on the blankets and stared up at the stars as they began appear. They then spent the rest of the night watching the night skies as shooting stars streaked across, as one by one the children quickly began to drift to sleep after a full day of playing, followed by a feast of various meats.
After the kids Alex's wives also began to drift to sleep, until he was the only one left. It was only then that he too closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep under the stars, surrounded by his children and loved ones.
***
The next morning everyone awoke on the same beach they all played so enthusiastically on the day before, covered in sand of course.
After a while of fighting with the children to get them up, Alex and the girls did a sweep of the beach to make sure they had cleaned up every single piece of trash they might've left. Then, they headed home.
"How long until we leave?" Rias asked as they returned to the Misty Manor, to which Alex replied,
"I don't really want to delay any longer than necessary, so how about getting to Luca by noon?" Nodding in confirmation, Rias and the rest of the girls swiftly vanished into the space-time orb to have more time to recuperate from sleeping on the beach, and especially to wash up.
While they did that Alex took the children to the baths in the manor, helping them all to wash and clean up as well alongside himself. Then, with no idea what was waiting for him on the other side, Alex made a quick trip to any place that might need his attention before departing.
Thankfully there wasn't any major issues that required Alex's attention, and by the time he finished making his rounds the girls were finished resting and getting ready in the orb.
"This is so exciting!" Yuna said as everyone got together once more, to which Kuroka seriously responded while nodding her head,
"Yep yep~Nya. Even if Alex can take everyone with him through Asora, only we are able to directly travel with him~Nya. This is our privilege~Nya!" Yuna was then surprised as everyone nodded seriously in response to Kuroka's strangely serious remark, showing her just how honored they were be a part of Alex's chosen.
A sense of pride and responsibility then filled her as Yuna was once again reminded of who she was now, and what her future would hold as Alex's 'Pawn', the last of his Evil Pieces. That was a thought seemingly shared by everyone as Lucy stated,
"It's still weird to think that this will be all of us." The rest of the girls muttered their agreements as they slowly looked at one another, until Alex said to them seriously,
"I chose all of you for a reason, and I would never change that for anything. Hold your heads high and walk proudly." As he said that the girls all puffed out their chests, a sight that was more mesmerizing when some did it than others, and held their heads high.
With everyone ready, Alex opened the first of the portals they would be going through.
Firstly was a wall of mist that led directly into Luca, right where they had first arrived to Spira with Anne. There, Alex then surprised everyone as his figure began to shrink down slightly, while his fur began to disappear and his hair began to grow shorter.
"Why'd you change back to your base form Alex?" Mirajane asked curiously, while Yuna gaped as this was the first time she was seeing Alex in his base form.
"A precaution." Alex said simply before adding,
"All of you too, the people where we're going are very sensitive to strong energy levels given off by people. Until we know exactly what things are like on the other side, force your energies down so we can keep a low profile."
In response to his warning, the girls all then took a second to force their respective energies down to negligible levels, or equip artifacts that would cloak their energies for them if they couldn't. Once they were done Alex smiled widely, his excitement peaking at the thought of the world they were about to enter, and another portal formed before him that Alex readily stepped through.
The moment everyone was through, they all looked around in awe of where they were.
Surrounding them was a city, but was completely unlike any city Alex and the girls had ever seen, except perhaps Lala and Yami. There were towering skyscrapers all around them, but at the top of several of them were round bulbous sections that expanded out to the sides from the rest of the tower, kinda like a dandelion. Also above them was a series of tubing of various sizes, which were used as roadways or walkways.
There was also numerous flying vehicles zipping between the buildings, while on the streets before them was a mixture of vehicles that either hovered, flew, or rolled on wheels like more typical vehicles. What really caught the girl's eyes though was when a massive shadow eclipsed them, courtesy of a giant dinosaur that flew overhead.
"This place sure is strange..." Shia muttered as she took in the sights, which Alex figured it was for her, Yue, Lucy, Mirajane, and Erza specifically due to them coming from more medieval world's. But, before he could reply to her comment, something else caught Alex's attention.
Unlike the flying dinosaur that seemed pretty chilled as it passed overhead, the people on the street level appeared to be on the verge of panicking as they hurried too and fro up and down the street. Realizing that he more than likely didn't end up in the time he aimed for, Alex immediately waked up to a random man on the street and asked,
"Excuse me, what's going on around here?" The man looked at Alex like he was stupid, and snapped irritably,
"What, do you live under a rock or something?" Alex just shrugged and replied,
"I live out in the countryside with my family and don't get the news. I just came in for some supplies with my wives and saw the panic." Though the man's eyes passed briefly over the women behind him, his expression softened slightly upon realizing that Alex genuinely didn't know what was going on as he said,
"It's the end man... In one week, all of us will be killed..."