3rd POV
With Cooper having left Magnolia to rescue Vijeeter and destroy a dark guild from the face of Ishgar in the process, the rest of Fairy Tail, although worried, heeded his commands and continued with the upcoming festival.
Once they finished the final touches, the women, with Mira's lead, headed into the changing room, preparing for the Miss Fairy Tail contest, something which everyone seemed eager for.
"Damn, I can't wait to see all those beautiful young women in bikinis." With a perverted smile, Macao stood closet to the stage, Wakaba beside him with an equally perverted smile. "Hehe, a man with a child shouldn't be saying that." "I'm single, though." "Yes, you are."
As the two most perverted among the guild stood at the forefront, the others stood a few steps back, desiring to appreciate their members' beauty rather than gazing upon them with solely lust. Gray, Natsu, Happy, Elfman, Warren, Reedus, Alzack, Jet, Droy, and Nab stood further back, gazing at the stage in anticipation.
"Who do you guys think will win?" Gray's voice swept over the men, causing them to smirk. "Hmph, stupid question, Mira will win." Supporting his sister, Elfman confidently raised his head. "Bah, that's a basic response. I've got Laki." Warren, scoffing at Elfman's remark, shook his head. "I think Bisca has a strong chance of winning." Faintly blushing, Alzack nodded, showing his support for Bisca, earning a knowing look from several others.
"Anyway, I've got Levy!" "Same!" The duo of Shadow Gear, Jet, and Droy displayed their obvious support for their unofficial leader; of course, some of the more perceptive could sense their hidden feelings. "Erza's winning." At Nab's remark, everyone went silent, donning a solemn expression. "Wait, Erza's participating?" "Yeah." "Fuck, I didn't know that." "Damn, my sis has real competition now, Erza might win."
"Oi, Reedus, who're you rooting for?" Natsu, hardly paying attention to the conversations, playfully punched Reedus's plump body. "I-I'm rooting for them, I want them all to get 1st place." "But if everyone gets 1st place, then no one won." Happy, offering a philosophical response, flew around Reedus, who opened his mouth, though failing to argue back.
While the group of ten continued to lightly argue who the winner would be, the two heavy favorites being Erza and Mirajane, sitting beside Makarov was Romeo, the two sitting on a table to get a better view, given their short stature, and in the far back was Gajeel, who had fully healed after eating several pounds of iron.
A few minutes passed by when Max, dressed in a suit, holding a microphone, appeared on the stage, gathering everyone's attention as his voice echoed within the guild. "Gentlemen and Gentlemen, welcome to the Miss Fairy Tail Contest!" As the small crowd cheered, Max grinned and gestured to the middle of the stage, snapping his fingers as the curtains opened.
"For our first contestant, Cana, Alberona!" Following Max's words, Cana confidently walked onto the stage, wearing nothing but a bikini as she flaunted her curves and beauty before using her magic cards to infatuate the crowd. Ending with a kiss to the crowd, causing Macao and Wakaba to bleed from their noses, Cana turned around and walked away.
"Our second contestant, Juvia Lockser!" Initially shy, Juvia, who was also wearing a bikini, gained seemingly endless confidence when she noticed Gray, prompting her to walk to the edge of the stage and use her water magic to charm the crowd; brushing her hair, she spun on her heel and walked away.
"Our third, and arguably most anticipated contestant, Mirajane Struass!" Yelling louder than before, Max and everyone else eagerly gazed at the stage. When Mirajane appeared, she wasn't wearing a bikini, but a beautiful, innocent dress you'd see any young woman in the city wear; however, she herself was in her Satan Soul transformation.
Mirajane, combining the innocence of the dress and the demonicness of her appearance, stepped onto the stage, her gait confident and hypnotizing as she excessively swayed her hips, her long tail following suit. Once she reached the edge of the stage, Mirajane slowly turned around, whipping her tail at the crowd, creating a powerful gust of wind that violently ruffled their clothes. With her back facing the crowd, she looked behind her and winked before walking off, disappearing into the back under the watchful gaze of the stunned crowd.
"U-Um, o-our fourth contestant…" Max, still stunned at Mirajane's performance, fixed his pants, hiding a specific body part before clearing his throat. "...E-Erza Scarlet!" Gesturing to the stage, Erza stepped out onto the stage in her usual Heart Kreuz armor, causing everyone to furrow their brows.
However, as she began walking, she performed her re-equip magic, causing her armor to slowly disappear, only to be replaced by another outfit; when she arrived at the edge of the stage, she was wearing thigh-high stockings and a one-piece skirt, with her hair tied into a ponytail. "Hello, boys." Lending forward, a seductive voice, one no one has ever heard before, escaped from Erza's mouth as she brushed aside her hair, gazing at the crowd before turning around and walking away, leaving everyone's heart pounding.
"H-Hey, Gray." "Y-Yeah?" "W-When did Erza get so s-sexy?" "I-I don't know Natsu." Gray and Natsu, staring at the stage as if they'd just learned the truth of reality, didn't even hear Max's voice. "So, for our fifth contestant, Levy McGarden!" As Levy nervously walked out onto the stage, wearing an everyday yet cute outfit, she used her word magic to amaze the crowd before quickly walking away in embarrassment.
"Our sixth contestant, Bisca Mulan!" Appearing in nothing but a biki, Bisca carried her rifle onto the stage and tossed five small coins before shooting them each down with her eyes closed, shocking the crowd. "Yeah! Bisca!" As Alzack's voice reached Bisca, she faintly blushed before quickly retreating off the stage.
"Our seventh contestant, Lucy Heartfilia!" Just as Lucy, nervous yet excited, stepped onto the stage, another voice, one filled with contempt, echoed.
"Hmph, bunch of lousy women, only I deserve to be the winner." Following the sound of that familiar voice, Lucy was promptly turned into stone, causing everyone to frown as they watched Evergreen appear on the stage.
"Oi, Evergreen, it's not your turn." Frowning, Max tried to regain some semblance of control, yet, with a wave of Evergreen's hands, the curtains fell, revealing several stone statues of. "As there is no other contestant, I am the rightful winner." Unfazed, Evergreen proudly raised her head while the rest of the Thunder God Tribe walked onto the stage, shocking everyone.
"Laxus, what is the meaning of this?" Deeply frowning, Makarov stood and stared at Laxus, who ignored him, wrapping his arm around Lucy, resting a hand atop her breast. "Let's play a game. It'll determine the strongest in Fairy Tail… However, to keep everyone abiding by the rules, we'll keep the women petrified, think of them like hostages." Grinning, Laxus looked at the petrified Lucy before gazing at the rest of his guild mates, most of whom were either irritated or confused.
"A game to decide the strongest!? Haha, awesome!" Natsu, the dense fool that he was, clenched his fists in excitement and lunged towards Laxus, his fists enveloped in flames, though just as he stepped onto the stage, a bolt of lightning struck him, knocking him unconscious immediately.
"No, no, no, that's not how you're supposed to play this game… You will be given three hours to defeat the Thunder God Tribe and Laxus; if not, they will die. The battlefield is the entirety of Magnolia." Shaking her head in disappointment, Evergreen looks at Natsu before shifting her focus to the rest of the guild.
With them giving all the information they believe is needed, the four of them promptly vanish, disappearing from the guild.
Seeing how Laxus didn't seem to be lying, everyone promptly exited the guild, heading into Magnolia in search of the Thunder God Tribe and Laxus, seeking to free their guildmates.
"Damn brat, don't think I'll go easy on you this time!" Cursing under his breath, Makarov removed his hat, aggressively throwing it onto the ground, following everyone else, though just as he was about to step out, he slammed into an invisible wall.
Makarov, seeing as he couldn't leave, stares at the floating runes that only appear when he tries to leave and clicks his tongue. 'Brats!' Furious, Makarov enlarges his fist and punches the entrance, seeking to obliterate it, yet his fist merely bounces off it. "Dammit!" Realizing he couldn't break it, he plopped onto the ground, his frustration and anger growing. Still, he didn't give up and examined the enhancements, trying to find a loophole, though even after several minutes, he could find none.
"Reedus, bring Porlyusica here." Dusting himself off, Makarov stood up and glanced at Reedus, who hesitantly nodded before exiting the guild, leaving Makarov alone with an unconscious Natsu.
As Makarov sat down, growing anxious at being unable to help his children, his eyes suddenly widened. "Cooper and Vijeeter! Dammit, Laxus! You drove Cooper out of Magnolia on purpose, didn't you!?" Gnashing his teeth, Makarov slammed his fist onto the table, crushing it while thinking of Cooper, who had just arrived in Acalypha Town.