Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Worth Woodsea.
November, x784.
As he announced himself, Ichiya intended to continue with his usually "gentlemanly" routine. Unfortunately, someone else had another idea. With the rose still between his lips, Ichiya's eyes widened comically as he was slammed into from behind.
Then, due to the unexpected impact, Ichiya fell forward, rolling down the mansion's front steps before continuing to roll the full length of the red carpet.
At the same time, positioned at the windows above the mansion's front entrance, the Trimens, Hibiki, Eve, and Ren had just started throwing flower pedals to add to Ichiya's elegant image.
"Ichiya, sir!" Hibiki, Eve, and ren shouted in surprise as they stopped with the flower pedals shortly after they started when they noticed Ichiya rolling down the red carpet.
A few moments later, Ichiya came to a stop at the end of the red carpet, just in front of Ur, Gray, Ultear, Natsu, and Happy while lying on his right side with his right hand supporting his head while putting on what he thought to be a charming smile.
"*Sniff* Ah... Miss Ur, your perfume is as chilling and relaxing as ever." Ichiya said.
*Bang!*
Instead of responding, Ur kicked Ichiya to the side and looked towards the open doors to the mansion.
Standing at the end of Ur's gaze, Karen Lilica was frantically looking around. Then, when she noticed the person she was hoping to see was not present, she scowled.
"If Elicia isn't coming, I volunteered to take on this quest for nothing." Karen said to herself in a huff.
Like Fairy Tail, the Blue Pegasus guild was also asked to send a team of wizards, consisting of two S-Class and two A-Class wizards, on this quest. And Karen was one of the two A-Class wizards. The other A-Class who would be participating was Hibiki Lates of the Trimens, whose [Archive Magic] and [Telepathy] would be very useful during this operation.
"I told you she wouldn't be here." Another female voice said, its owner making her way from inside towards the open doors.
"Don't talk to me, Bitch." Karen said in an angry tone.
A moment later, a relatively short, pale skinned, beautiful, young woman with light blue hair and brown eyes wearing a dark blue headband, a revealing, short, white dress that revealed a large portion of her breasts, cleavage, and the sides of her waist, and most of her legs, and short, white high heeled boots walked into the doorway, stopping next to Karen with a smirk on her face.
"Oh, Karen, don't say that." The young woman, Sorano Agria, formerly known as Angel of the Oración Seis, said in a teasing tone. "If it weren't for me, you would have never met the person you long for so much."
"Hmph!" Karen snorted in reply before looking away.
On top of almost dying at her hands in the past, Karen also held a grudge over the fact that Sorano also managed to become an S-Class wizard before her, despite joining Blue Pegasus for less than two years.
"I don't even understand why Master Bob even accepted you into the guild after almost killing one of its members." Karen said.
"He might have had second thoughts about it if you weren't such a bitch." Sorano replied with a smile.
"What did you say?" Karen asked, narrowing her eyes in the process.
By now, Ur, Gray, Ultear, Natsu, and Happy had made it to the foot of the steps leading up to the mansion. At the same time, Hibiki, Eve, and Ren rushed out of the mansion's front door to check on Ichiya's well-being.
Being so close, Ur, who had met Sorano in the past, noticed the Blue Pegasus guild stamp on her left waist. In surprise, she looked up and made eye contact.
"Now that's a surprise." Ur said with a slight smile. "To think you ended up joining a guild whose member you almost killed."
In reply, Sorano smiled.
"Well, if it isn't Ur, the Ice Witch." Sorano replied. "I actually expected to see you rather than those other two, Alfonzo and Elicia."
Shrugging in response, Ur opened her mouth to answer Sorano's question before she was interrupted.
"That's right, where is Elicia?" Karen all but demanded as she asked her question.
Narrowing her eyes, Ur glared at the disrespectful younger wizard.
"Would you like to try again?" Ur asked, her magic power starting to leak.
Feeling the weight of Ur's magic power, Karen's pupils dilated. Still, she did not retract her previous question to ask it in a more polite way. So, as time went on, Ur's magic power put more pressure on her.
Realizing that Ur was reaching the limits of her patience after a few moments, Sorano acted quickly, grabbing Karen by the back of her head and forcing her to bow.
"Don't mind her, Ur." Sorano said with a smile. "She was just really looking forward to seeing Elicia again. And she forgot herself."
With that, Ur gradually reduced her magic power output. Before she could retract it completely, however, a few things happened in short order.
"Now, now, Ladies, there's no need for you two to fight." Ichiya said in what he thought was a charming tone. "Perhaps we could sit down for a cup of---"
First, Ichiya, who had recovered after being kicked away by Ur, had arrive by her side and tried to grasp her hand in an attempt to calm her down.
Second, the three man team from Lamia Scale, led by Jura Neekis, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, arrived on a moving earth platform controlled by Jura's [Earth Magic].
Jura was a tall, massively muscled man, with a bald head, black eyes, black oval shaped marks over his eyes, and no eyebrows wearing clothes reminiscent of ancient Mayan attire.
Third, Ur, feeling Ichiya's finger tips on her skin, reacted by kicking him as hard as she could. As a result, he flew away from the mansion at high speed.
"Men~~~~~~~!" Ichiya screamed as he flew through the air.
"Ichiya~~~~~!" Hibiki, Eve, and Ren shouted, chasing after Ichiya once again.
Finally, Jura slowed down the moving platform of earth so as not to crush Ichiya, who was flying in its direction.
*Bang!*
Even though Jura stopped the earth platform, Ichiya still crashed into it violently. Then, after a moment, he slid down before falling to the ground.
"Please ladies, flowers such as yourselves should not fight." Ichiya said in a weak voice. Then, as his head slumped forward, he spoke one final word. "Men...!"
"Ichiya!" The Trimens shouted in worry seeing Ichiya seemingly lose consciousness.
Meanwhile, back at the mansion's entrance, Karen and Sorano watched as Ichiya flew away.
"Still wanna piss her off?" Sorano asked Karen in a whisper.
In response, Karen snorted as she looked away. Then, in a small voice, she spoke words of apology.
"Sorry for being so rude." Karen said, barely louder than a whisper. "I just really wanted to see Elicia again."
"*Sigh* It's fine, I guess." Ur replied while shaking her head. "And just to let you know, I did not choose Elicia for this quest because things are rather personal for me and my daughter this time around."
"I understand." Karen replied.
"Oh, I remember you mentioning something about that from when I got captured." Sorano said, tapping her right index finger on her cheek. "It was something about Brain and the Bureau of Magic Development, I think."
Before she could remember the whole story, however, Jura and his teammates arrived near the rest.
"Ur, it's been a while." Jura said politely once he and his teammates arrived. "How have you been?"
"Jura, it's good to see you again, too." Ur replied with a polite smile. "And I've been pretty good. I got my leg back and all that."
"Wait, you got your leg back?" One of Jura's teammates, a bluish-silver-haired young man with dark eyes and his hair spiked upward, except a bit of his bangs that hand down and cover the left side of his forehead, asked in astonishment.
"I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to greet me, Lyon." Ur said with her arms crossed. "It seems your manners have slipped since the last time I saw you."
"No, Master, that's not it." Lyon replied quickly. "I was just waiting until your conversation with Jura was finished."
"Mhmm." Ur hummed skeptically. Then, she turned her attention towards the last member of Jura's team. "And Sherry. How have you been?"
"I've been wonderful." Sherry, or Sherry Blendy, a pretty, pink-haired young woman with long hair worn loosely and blue eyes wearing a pink dress with black trimmings, said dramatically as she clenched her right fist to her chest and spread her left arm outward. "And I'm glad I was able to come on this quest. We must defeat the Oracion Seis... For love!"
"Well, it's good to see that you haven't changed, Sherry." Ultear said with a wry smile. "And has any of that love born fruit?"
In response, Sherry glanced at Lyon before she slowly shook her head.
"*Sigh* Both of my disciples are the same." Ur said while shaking her head forlornly. "They both have beautiful girls who are head over heels over them. Yet, they can't appreciate it."
"Master, do you have to bring her up?" Gray asked, a little put off by the topic. "I might be more willing to get to know her if she weren't constantly stalking either me, you, or Ultear."
"Yeah, plus she keeps trying to subtly convince me to break up with Alfonzo." Ultear said with a slight frown.
"Wait!" Lyon shouted in disbelief. "There's a girl that likes Gray... and Master... and Ultear? And Ultear has a boyfriend? What the hell? How is any of that possible?"
Hearing that, Ur and Ultear's eyebrows started twitching. Meanwhile, Gray simply looked at Lyon in pity while making a praying gesture with his hands.
"What do you mean by that, Lyon?" Ur asked, cracking her knuckles as she took a step forward. "Are you trying to say that it's impossible for anyone to fall for me?"
"And why does it sound like you're saying it's impossible for me to have a boyfriend?" Ultear asked, mimicking her mother's actions. "Why don't you explain that to me, Lyon?"
As Lyon began to back away and explain himself, Natsu was left to interact with Jura.
"Hey, your name is Jura, right?" Natsu asked energetically.
"That's right." Jura replied with a nod.
"Are you strong?" Natsu asked expectantly.
"I suppose you could say that." Jura replied. "Though, I'm no match for Master Makarov."
"Of course, he's strong, Natsu." happy said, flying near Natsu's left shoulder. "He's Jura Neekis, one of the Ten Wizard Saints."
"Awesome!" Natsu cheered happily as he slammed his fire coated right fist into his left palm. "Then, how bout we have a fight, Jura?"
"I don't think that is a good idea before such an important operation." Jura replied in a peaceful tone.
Hearing that, Natsu deflated immediately. Jura's next words, however, made him perk up again.
"However, once we've completed our task, if time permits, I would not be against a little spar." Jura continued. "So long as neither of us are two injured after facing the Oracion Seis."
"Oh, yeah!" Natsu shouted, raising his head to the sky as fire spewed from his mouth. "I'm all fired up, now! Come on, let's go beat up those Oracion Seis guys."
"Unfortunately, we're still waiting for the wizard from Cait Shelter." Ichiya, being supported by the Trimens, said as they all approached the group. "So, until they get here, might I invite you all inside to relax until the operation begins? Men~."
"Please, come inside and allow us to host you properly." Hibiki, Eve, and Ren said in unison.
With that, all the conversations stopped, and Lyon was saved from the beating of a lifetime. Then, all the wizards from the three guilds relocated into the mansion where there were couches, chairs, and refreshments ready for everyone.
About twenty minutes later, the leaders of the three teams, Ur, Ichiya, and Jura, noticed that it was getting close to the meeting time.
"Is there really someone coming?" Ur asked curiously. "I mean, I've never worked with Cait Shelter. Master did say that the members of that guild were trustworthy, though."
"Ooba Babasama said the same." Jura replied with a nod. "So, I doubt we have to worry about them not showing up."
"Either way, we have a few more minutes." Ichiya said with a smile that seemed to sparkle. "So, why don't we give them a chance. In the meantime, we can have another cup of tea. Men~."
Ichiya then proceeded to pick up the tea pot and pour each of them another cup of tea. At that moment, however, the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs outside could be heard.
Having heard the footsteps, Hibiki, who was closest to the door while trying, and failing, to flirt with Karen, walked over to the door and opened it.
Just as the door was opened, however, a short girl with long, blue hair ran through the doorway and tripped on the carpet before smashing face first into the floor. As a result, the room fell into a rather awkward silence.
"See? And that's why I told you not to run, Wendy." A flying, white cat with pink ears and brown eyes wearing a mustard yellow top with red accents, a pink bow tie, a pink skirt, and a pink ribbon tied into a bow around the end of her tail, said in a reprimanding tone as she flew through the door a moment later.
"Oww..." The blue-haired girl, Wendy, groaned as she sat up. Then, with tears in her eyes, she looked back at the flying cat. "But Carla, if I didn't run, I would have been late."
And these two, the girl, Wendy, or Wendy Marvell, and the cat, Carla, were wizards of Cait Shelter, the last of the guilds making up the allied forces sent to defeat the Oracion Seis. Thus, the alliance was assembled in full.