Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
September 2, x786.
With most of those present in Alfonzo's airship hanger gob smacked by Irene's true form, the hanger fell into silence for nearly a minute. However, as experienced wizards, everyone came back to their senses quickly enough. The only exception being Shizuka, who had stopped paying attention shortly after the reveal thanks to Alfonzo combing his fingers through her hair.
"So, what are you going to do with them?" Ur asked after getting her surprise under control while gesturing towards Irene and Brandish, who was lying next to Irene's front right claw.
In response to Ur's question, Alfonzo finally stopped combing his fingers through Shizuka's hair, which earned him a pout and a dissatisfied whine.
"Well, the first thing I'm gonna do is turn this mother fucker into an anti-magic zone." Alfonzo said as he tapped his heal on the hangar's floor.
In the next instant, the floor, ceiling, and walls were covered in anti-magic sigils. The only exception being the area around Irene.
"Why did you leave them able to use magic?" Gildarts asked with a furrowed eyebrow. "If they wake up, they could do a lot of damage while we can't use our own magic."
In response, Alfonzo glared at Gildarts with a look that screamed: "What kind of amateur do you take mee for?"
*Smack!*
Before Alfonzo could start berating Gildarts, however, the orange-haired wizard was slapped upside the head by an exasperated Ur.
"Is your brain in your head just to make your head heavier so you can deal more damage with head butts?" Ur asked while shaking her head.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Gildarts asked in an agitated tone.
Though Gildarts was annoyed at being slapped by Ur, it was only because it happened in front of Cana. Over the time he had been dating Ur, he had realized that he was not the sharpest tool in the shed. So, he knew that he had just asked a stupid question. However, he wanted to uphold the image of a reliable father in front of his little girl.
"Seriously, Dad…" Cana said in an exasperated tone. "Weren't you even paying attention? Both Irene and Brandish are restrained with anti-magic restraints."
Cana was right. Although it could not be seen, under the threads Elicia used to wrap up Brandish, Alfonzo had also placed anti-magic cuffs around Brandish's wrists and ankles. On top of that, Gildarts was present when Alfonzo restrained Ireen. So, he should have already known the answer to his question.
"Oh, that's right." Gildarts said while smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, Kid. I was just caught off guard by the revelation and forgot."
Meanwhile, Tsunade and Retsu, who had never seen Alfonzo create sigils on such a large scale, were checking their own magic power.
"Quite impressive." Retsu said as she partially drew her Zanpakuto, Minazuki. "I couldn't release my [Bankai] even if I wanted to in this space."
"Yeah, and I can't gather my magic power for my [Magic Empowered Strength] technique, either." Tsunade added. A moment later, however, she leveled a glare at Gildarts. "Still, you shouldn't get any bright ideas about trying to do what you tried last time. I can still beat you to within an inch of your life without my magic power."
Immediately, Gildarts began to shudder as he remembered the punch he had received from Tsunade years ago.
"I'm still curious to know what happened that has Gildarts so scared." Ur said with a mischievous, yet interested, smile.
"I don't think we need to go into stories about the past, right?" Gildarts replied with cold sweat streaming down his back. "I mean, the kid hasn't told us exactly what he's planning yet, right?"
Hearing that, Ur decided to drop the subject. Meanwhile, Tsunade had no intention of telling the story in the first place. And seeing the two's reactions, Gildarts exhaled a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, his relief did not last for very long.
"Oh, I know that story." Cana, with a bottle of tequila she pulled out of her [Storage Card] in hand, said with a mischievous grin. "Don't worry, Ur, I'll tell you about it later."
Hearing that, Ur wore a similar grin to Cana. Meanwhile, Gildarts face paled in horror.
"Serves you right, you filthy man-whore." Tsunade said disdainfully.
"Anyway, I believe we've gotten off topic." Retsu said with a gentle smile. Then, she turned towards Alfonzo before continuing. "I am quite curious what you plan to do now that you have them in this situation."
Although Retsu was smiling gently, everyone could see that she was not simply asking to hear Alfonzo's plan. He had stopped her from killing the woman who tried to kill her, after all. So, he had better have a good reason for doing so.
Ignoring Retsu's pressure, Alfonzo glanced at everyone in the hanger, briefly making eye contact with each of them. His eye contact with Shizuka being the briefest. She had been looking at him with watery eyes ever since he stopped combing his fingers through her hair, after all.
"First, I'm gonna have Shizuka heal Irene." Alfonzo said, patting Shizuka's head as he spoke.
Immediately, everyone, other than Elicia, who knew what Alfonzo was planning, and Shizuka, who was enjoying the head pats, glared at Alfonzo. Before they could start complaining, however, Alfonzo held up a hand to stop them from condemning him.
"Before you lose your shit, let me finish." Alfonzo said while shaking his head.
Lucky for Alfonzo, that was enough to make everyone hear him out. Though, it was clear that they weren't happy about it. Still, Alfonzo explained his plan while mentioning what he had noticed as he observed Irene with his [Magic Power Detection].
Naturally, when the group heard Alfonzo's plan along with his findings, Cana, Gildarts, Ur, Tsunade, and Retsu were dumbfounded. However, after Cana and Ur scanned Irene with their own [Magic Power Detection], they noticed that Alfonzo was right. So, they relented.
And with Cana and Ur's confirmation, Gildarts, Tsunade, and Retsu also understood what Alfonzo was saying was true. However, Tsunade, and especially Retsu were still skeptical.
"Even if I believe what you're saying to be true, this is still reckless." Retsu said, her gentle smile replaced with the furrowing of her eyebrows. "What if it's not enough to make her change sides?"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Ur said confidently. "With a guild as strong as ours, there's bound to be a spy, or two. And Alfonzo was aware of that."
"Yeah, so Fonzie planted a backdoor." Elicia added excitedly. "So, he can either destroy or render it useless whenever he wants."
Hearing that, Retsu opened her eyes wide. She knew the object in question, the [Soul Armament] was created based on the Soul Reapers' Zanpakutos. However, even the greatest minds of the Soul Continent, where Soul Society was located, were unable to do something like that with the Zanpakutos they gave to each Soul Reaper. If they could, it would make the threat of traitors much lower.
"How is that possible?" Retsu asked in astonishment.
"Sorry, Master Unohana." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "But that's a secret. Something that shouldn't get out. Although everyone who has a [Soul Armament] knows that I can deactivate or destroy it in case they betray Fairy Tail, not even they know how. In fact, even my girls don't' know."
"Yeah, and I don't like the fact that you're keeping secrets from us." Cana said with a pout. "Even if I understand the reason behind it."
"Stop it, Cana." Elicia said as she pulled Cana into a hug. "You know Fonzie only keeps secrets from us for our own good. I mean, look at our new house. That was a good reason to keep a secret, right?"
"*Sigh* I know." Cana replied while smiling weakly. "It's just, our wedding is coming up. And my emotions are going out of control."
"Yeah, I get it." Elicia replied while hugging Cana even tighter. "Just know that he's doing it for our own good."
Alfonzo even kept the secret from Elicia, despite the fact that he usually told her everything like this. And there were two reasons for that. The first was the incident with Yoruichi, which caused him to lose his blind trust in her. And the second was the fact that he didn't want someone with the ability to read minds to scan her thoughts.
Elicia was aware of Alfonzo's reasons, as well. And although the first reason saddened her, the second was a good enough reason for her to let it go.
Eventually, Elicia was able to calm Cana. Meanwhile, Gildarts was trying his best to ignore the conversation. Luckily, there was someone to change the subject before it became unbearable for him.
"So, you want me to heal the dragon?" Shizuka asked with her eyes glinting excitedly. Then, she hugged Alfonzo's left arm while pressing it between her breasts as she continued. "That's Irene, right? Do you think she'll take me for a ride through the sky when she's healed again?"
"I'm not sure." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Maybe if you ask her nicely. But if she won't, I'll take you flying, okay?"
Hearing that, Shizuka's eyes lit up even brighter as she nodded her head vigorously.
Meanwhile, Retsu continued to frown. She didn't think it was a good idea to heal Irene. However, there was nothing she could do about it.
Well, that was not true. She could simply approach Irene while she was immobilized, step into the only part of the hanger that was not covered in anti-magic sigils and kill her with her [Bankai]. However, she knew that would destroy the alliance between her guild and Fairy Tail.
"*Sigh* Do whatever you want." Retsu said, deciding she would stay out of Fairy Tail's guild business. "But if things don't go the way you expect them to, I'm going to kill her. And there's no way around it."
Hearing that, the mood in the hanger fell immediately. As a result, everyone looked towards Retsu with solemn expressions. A moment later, since it was Alfonzo's plan, he was the one to respond.
"Don't worry, you won't have to." Alfonzo replied in a steely tone. "If she decides to refuse my offer or betray me after getting what she wants, I'll kill her myself."
Hearing the cold resolve in Alfonzo's tone, Retsu's switch was almost flipped for the second time today. However, she managed to reel in her blood lust before it got out of control.
Because of Alfonzo's declaration, the hanger fell into silence once again. Though, the silence did not last long. Instead, Alfonzo ushered Shizuka towards Irene and stood guard as she healed the dragoness. Because despite the fact that Irene's magic being sealed, and her front claws and wings being restrained, Irene's tail was still a dangerous weapon. So, just in case she decided to retaliate, Alfonzo was fast enough to get Shizuka out of danger.
September, x786.
It would take a while for Shizuka to completely heal Irene. During that time, she was unable to take any shifts in the guild's infirmary. So, Ren covered for her, something she had no issue doing for the bubbly healer.
Retsu also decided to stay in Magnolia just in case Irene betrayed Alfonzo's good will. And to be honest, she was hoping the dragon woman would do just that. Then, she could justifiably kill her for ruining her motorcycle ride.
On top of that, during the time Shizuka was healing Irene, all of the residents of the mansion and the teams they formed to take on their quests returned to Magnolia. And after finding out what happened while they were gone, they were not surprised. Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy were upset that they missed the chance to fight a dragon now that they're power had increased thanks to their [Soul Armaments].
Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe had also returned. And just like the other Dragon Slayers, Laxus was also upset that he missed the chance to fight Irene. However, even more than Laxus, Elexion, Laxus' [Armament Spirit], was disappointed that he was unable to make his debut against another dragon.
On another note, Brandish woke up shortly after Shizuka started healing Irene. However, because she did not have access to her magic, she could only bide her time. On the upside, though, Alfonzo did cook all of her meals during her captivity, so things were not all bad.
Irene regained consciousness several days later. However, after realizing that she had been restrained with especially strong anti-magic equipment, like Brandish, she decided to bide her time... So, she simply waited to hear why she had not been killed while enjoying the dragon sized portions of food Alfonzo delivered to her.
Eventually, not long before Irene would be fully healed, Alfonzo approached Irene and Brandish with a solemn expression on his face.
"Okay, ladies, I think it's about time we stopped with the games." Alfonzo said as he created a chair with his [Metal Magic], despite the fact that the room was covered in anti-magic sigils. "I know you came here because I kicked that Eight-Dragon Douche's ass. The question is, why would the two of you, who are at least as strong as him, help him get revenge on me?"
As he finished speaking, Alfonzo pulled a device out of his pants pocket.
"And I would appreciate it if you didn't lie to me." Alfonzo said while holding up the magic item towards Ireen and Brandish. "This is a lie detector. And it will beep when any of us tell a lie."
With that, Alfonzo activated the magic item.
"The sky is green>'
*Beep!*
"I like wearing women's clothing."
*Beep!*
"I have one wife and seven fiancées."
This time the magic item did not react.
"I hope that's proof enough." Alfonzo said, maintaining his solemn expression. "Now, I hope we can have a friendly talk."