Beach Filler Episode (OPEN)

[Gildarts]

Gildarts was mostly satisfied. The storm trooper lady was hot, and though he'd had a bad experience with their kind in the past, this was undoubtedly a very good experience.

Maybe Dust had seen from the cracks of his kissing booth tent, but meanwhile, Gildarts had chased after the storm trooper lady and then landed on the beach again. A piece of pollen hung on the breeze and landed right into Gildarts' left nostril.

The beginning thundering rumbles of a sneeze began, he tried to hold it in, but that always just made his nose more itchy. His face convulsed.

"Ahhh..."

"Ahhhhhhhhh...."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....!"

"Ahhhhh... CHOOOOOOOO!!!!" Gildarts unleashed a mighty surge of magic across the beach and it slammed right into a girl sunbathing. Only thing was... Gildarts didn't see his magic spell had landed.

There was a burst of magic light and the woman had been cast with the most recent spell Gildarts had used. Luckily it wasn't fatal... but it was... One of a kind.

The lady sunbathing in a bikini had been chibified, an army of little sunbathing ladies began to appear in mountains.

Blink's chibified! Use your army well!

[Gildarts]

"Ugh now we have to fix you up. You were still damaged from Dante's Abyss. I was rooting for you the whole time though. Don't tell Guu!" Molly said.

"For cheering for me?" Gil said.

"No, for me watching it and the battling and killing and stuff," Molly explained vaguely.

"Oh..." Gil trailed off. That probably wasn't age appropriate, then again, he'd found her in a very not so appropriate place. Ambrosia was better for her, or so he'd thought. "Don't do it again."

"You killed some guy and now you're stabbed and you're the one telling me not to do it again? I say you're getting about the age to retire, that's what I say." Molly said in a huff.

"Yeah, I was fighting him. Plus he was a prime. He came back." Gildarts said as though it somehow made his actions just.

"But what if it hadn't been? What if he'd been like me? Weak, mortal, just at the wrong place at the right time?" Molly's voice broke as the underlying issue was revealed.

"It was a competition, you have to sign to enter, I'm sure every contestant knew what they were getting into this year..." Gildarts tried to soothe.

"You didn't your first time there." Molly sniffled.

"That is true, however, those moments remain in the past. Right now I have this moment with you, and I have the future with you too. You're not going to die. You'll be safe and fine, Guu and Ambrosia will always have your back when I am away." Gildarts comforted. "And I'll be there when you need me too."

"But what happens when I get to be older than you and I die? And you keep living?" Molly said her expression -/ mournful as a wilted rose.

"Molly, if that ever does happen, I'll live on. Carrying the legacy of memories we've shared and those we will share with me. You'll be eternal, just as I am, because you'll be alive inside me, brought back to life every time I think of you." Gildarts spoke wisely and sweetly.

"Uh... Well... You're cheesy. And that doesn't sound all that pleasant. I hope you don't think of me in the same way as those women you kiss for five minutes. That looked nothing like the movies by the way." Molly's brow raised.

"Wha- you weren't supposed to be watching!" Gildarts blushed embarrassedly. "To be fair she extorted me."

"You liked it." Molly's eyes narrowed.

Gildarts looked away but he couldn't deny it. "Listen Molly, I just found out I had a daughter from my home realm here-"

"WHAT?! I have a sister?!" Molly jumped up and down, "When do I get to meet her?"

"She's... Not here. I think Omni sent her home." Gildarts spoke with a little white lie to cushion the blow.

"Aww no way, I wanted to meet her..." she fussed.

"You didn't even know she existed a second ago!" Gildarts pointed out with a laugh. "My point is, I'm living on. But... I do miss her, however I also have the memories."

"Yeah I guess, I'm sorry to hear about that Gil," Molly shrugged. "And since we are having confession time... Dust and I kissed."

...

...

...

"WHAT?!"

"Does he know you're just a little girl?! The second I agree to train him and it hasn't been even an hour on the beach and... Oh. He and I are going to have a talk. RIGHT. NOW." Gildarts seemed a little upset. Like a protective dad who was reaching for his shotgun mounted on his wall.

"Wait Gil! I asked him to! He has a kissing booth on the boardwalk!" Molly explained trying to hold back the strongest Prime.

The man was as relentless as a stampede of buffalo. Nothing would stop him from getting to that tent. Finding Dust. And having that talk.

[Clownpiece]

Clownpiece cautiously peeked around the corner, her golden hair glinting brilliantly under the summer sun. The ostentatious fairy of hell watched her pursuer as stealthily as she could, her lunatic purple eyes tracking her every movement. The blonde witch leaned in, pressing up close to a pair of animal youkai, and though she couldn’t hear from this distance, the fairy had a pretty good idea of what she was saying. Clearly she was fawning over how adorable they were in those outfits.

A frown crossed the girl’s face. Pranking had just gotten a lot tougher. She needed something to throw this witch off her trail. The brawls she could cause with her torch would only lead the woman to her, and her fancy new trick required her to be seen. With a discontented sigh, Clownpiece tore her gaze off the trio and looked around her general vicinity. Her eyes flicked from person to person, stand to stand, in a desperate search for something that could be used. Ice cream? It sounded nice, but it wasn’t exactly something she could use. Another stand offered a silly game of some sort. Again, useless.

Her eyes fell upon an answer in the form of a fellow fairy. Wandering aimlessly through the crowd was a small girl with short brown hair and a white two-piece swimsuit. Black and red butterfly wings sprouted from her back, held behind her carefully so she didn’t smack them against anyone. Clownpiece threw a quick glance back over towards the witch, before shooting off into the crowd. An exclamation rose up from somewhere behind the fairy of hell, and she knew she didn’t have much time to work with.

“Hi!” She exclaimed, sliding up right next to the black-winged girl. Her sudden greeting elicited an undignified squeak from the fairy, and she instinctively hopped back about a meter, rising into the air as she did. The flame of Clownpiece’s torch grew brighter for a moment, and she swung it across her body, painting a radiant purple streak through the air. Torchlight washed across the two-toned fairy, and her timid visage twisted into something completely confident.

A bright grin crossed the star-spangled fairy’s face as her eyes flicked over, falling on the swiftly-approaching form of the blonde witch. Her free hand shot out, and she gave the lunatic spirit a quick spin in the air, pointing her towards the oncoming pursuer. Clownpiece turned on her heel and took off, disappearing into the crowd and leaving behind only a childish giggle and the cries of an overenthusiastic, torch-maddened fairy.

The hell fairy deftly weaved between people as she flew, making a few random turns between stalls, and though she was trying to shake someone off her trail, that mayhem behind her was just too tempting to abandon. She found herself looping back around, the sounds of madness slowly growing louder. All around her people were fleeing the scene of the rampaging fairy, and although most of them probably could have taken her, since a single fairy couldn't put up much of a fight, they still didn't want to chance it. No one wanted to tussle with a maniac, after all. Clownpiece slowed to a halt on the other side of the carnage, touching lightly into the sand. Pressing lightly up against the wood of the booth, she peaked around the corner to watch the fight.

Not a few meters away, the torchlit fairy collapsed to the ground, exhausted and beaten, while the blonde witch stood over her, striking a triumphant pose. Clownpiece frowned, a little disappointed that her little meatshield had worn herself out so fast. There wasn't much she could do about that. Though she could track down that fairy later when she was in less shit. For now, she needed something else to throw that woman off her trail...

[Proto Man]

If it were physically possible, he would probably have a beard at this point.

As it were, his organic layer was incapable of spontaneously generating follicles, and even if it were capable of such adaptations, the preteen machine doubted he’d fall into the proper age range anyway.  Instead, he simply sported a tan—the unintended result of too much exposure to UV radiation.

Disembarking from his boat, he tossed the heavy line to the mooring and reeled himself up along the little dock.  Over his head, the boardwalk was suspended about a dozen feet above the salty ocean spray and the sandy beach.  Noises drifted down from overhead, and the mechanical whir of the nearby oceanic theme park combined with what his olfactory sensors labeled ‘pleasant cuisine-related odors.’  

Mickey had mentioned something about corndogs and cotton candy being the ‘bee’s knees,’ but the android hadn’t bothered to remind his companion that he couldn’t taste on any human/mouse level.  Instead, Proto Man had simply made a promise to return to their own beachside bungalow with snacks for the pair of mice and the others who inhabited the island.  For whatever reason, Mickey and Minnie continued to stick to their charade of being secondaries.  There were some moments when the android even believed that the pair had convinced themselves.  But Proto Man would never judge the two—they had experienced enough in the Omniverse to last a lifetime.  It was well within their right to pursue a more pedestrian lifestyle.

“You ready boy?”  Proto Man asked as he glanced over his shoulder at the mechanical dog still sitting on the boat.  Since the red robot was also a machine, he imagined there must be something in the canine’s programming that made him dislike the water, because Rush had spent the majority of the voyage with swirling eyes and a greenish tint to his cheeks.

“Rets goooo,” Rush barked as he hopped from the boot and shook himself free from the water that had been spraying and splashing them for the last few hours.

With his metal dog behind him, Proto Man made his way up to the boardwalk proper, where he got a few notifications that the place smelled like ‘saltwater and fried foodstuffs.’  Rush, who perhaps had more advanced system in that regard, seemed more intrigued by the overload of booths and food carts than his companion.  Along with the food, there were plenty of people milling around, dressed out in their beach clothes.

For the last year, Proto Man and the two mice had lived in the small Hawaiian seaside community with Lilo, Nani, and their various neighbors.  Try as Mickey and Minnie could, their presence also attracted other wayward souls.  Most of them found Mickey ‘vaguely familiar,’ and the mouse would often be stressed out later in the evening when he confided to Proto Man that they were from his home universe.  It appeared that no matter where he went, Mickey was a magnet for his people.

“Where to, Boy?”  Proto Man asked as he rested a hand on Rush’s shoulder.

[Proto Man]

He had been there for a grand total of fifteen minutes when his wifi finished updating all of his various applications. When that process completed, a year’s worth of memos and messages and notifications bombarded the android’s virtual display. A lot of it was messages from old acquaintances and spam mailers from corporations, along with a few invitations to Syntech events. Proto Man shuddered at the latter, and he took a few moments to delete all the offers to subscribe to the live stream of the current Dante’s Abyss.

Through the din of emails, one of the more recent ones caught his attention.

Monsters? Slaughtering people?

Proto Man pulled up the text and saw that the Omniverse had been experiencing episodes of ‘darklings’ attacking various verses. Efforts had been launched to turn back the tide, and while there had been success in some locations, the monsters had remained unchecked in a few spots.

Including this place?

The preteen machine scowled. One of his tiny hands clenched into a tight fist as he pressed his teeth together with all the indignant rage that an eleven-year-old machine could muster. How long had this been going on? How many days (weeks? Months?) had he let these monsters go unchecked while he was off building sandcastles in the sand with Mickey? How many people had been slaughtered during his tea party with Lilo last week?

Memories of the Blight popped up on Proto Man’s virtual display. The images of twisted, deformed animals shrieking for blood—their lives lost because someone had allowed that infection to go unchecked for too long.

Now it had happened again, and this time, he couldn’t play the ‘I wasn’t in the Omniverse when it started’ card. This malfeasance had been born and proliferated under his own nose…

Proto Man raked his cybernetic head for the opportune word to spit out—something virulent that would encapsulate his wide range of conflicting pseudo-emotions. He settled on something he heard Mickey mutter once after stubbing his toe on the corner of a table. “Dagnabbit!”

Another message seemed important—a mass mailer from someone called ‘Doctor Regal.’ Proto Man left it on his display as he turned to Rush. “Jet mode, Boy!”

Rush, sensing his owner’s discomfort, nodded his head and slid down onto his tummy. As he did, his joints locked into place and his back opened to reveal a recessed platform for Proto Man to stand inside. Hopping onto his robot dog, the preteen machine took him into the air above the boardwalk. He immediately noticed that he was drawing attention from frolickers and that the jets had blown apart a few of the nearby concession stands.

“Sorry!” Proto Man shouted over the hum of the mini turbines buzzing beneath him. “There are people being slaughtered… just save me some cotton candy, okay? It’s for a friend!”

With that, the red robot rocketed off toward the warzone at the center of the Vasty Deep.

[Guu]

Dama was surfing the dataverse, searching pictures of Isabelle. After seeing her antics at the kissing booth she couldn't help but be reminded of her love of Shih Tzu's. She was surprised to learn her house was in the Ashen Steppes. Hardly a place to lay your head to rest.

While surfing, she learned of the news, the Ashen Steppes was being invaded by monsters, everything there was in peril.

She stood up and looked down at the beach, the dog was running around with her cat friend. She imagined the dog coming home, finding it destroyed. She imagined Isabelle's puppy dog eyes.

"I know what I must do now." Dama said, as she flew off towards the Nexus gate.

[Cirno]

As Cirno and Daiyousei were walking and talking like good old times they came upon a kissing booth. Daiyousei nudged cirno and giggled evilly as Cirno red faced walked forward. As She walked up to the stand she could see the person that killed her causing her to become as red as a tomato. While she did not particularly how Dust looked but Daiyousei had dared her to go kiss the man.

With that in mind she walked up to the table and sighed while setting down a snowman on the table. As Soon as Dust saw the ice fairy he remembered how he had killed the ice fairy. Cirno put the cash and sighed. As Dust looked at the ice fairy he was unnerved. "Dai-chan I can't do it so think of it as a donation Wolf youkai. She left the snowman on the table and walked away with Daiyousei in tow to the ocean to enjoy some serious swim time.

[Blink]

Blink was just minding her own business, hardly paying attention to the crowd around her. She was laying on a green and white towel that complimented her pink skin well, enjoying the glow of the sun that beamed down on her. There was something about the malleable sand underneath her heels that just made her so relaxed. She almost blanked out for awhile, half listening to the voices around her but mostly just thinking up random thoughts. How does the sun work in this verse? What purpose does it serve if it isn't sustaining life? Are there fish in the ocean of the Vasty Deep? Do they have their own ecosystem. These were the important questions that she had to think through while she actually time to relax.

It was chaos around her, as everybody ran along the beach, boardwalk and amusement part. Some people even just stepped literally over her. She stayed completely out of it. She wanted no part in other people's adventures for a change.

Then she felt it. It was a strange sensation. At first Blink thought it was wet. Then it felt more like wind; a gust blowing her sideways and completely off her towel. She rolled comically with the fabric a few feet until she ended up sitting on her butt, her feet sticking out in front of her. "Wha...?" she asked aloud, but stopped when she caught how high her voice was. Then she looked at her wiggling toes in front of her. She knew she had tiny feet, but... "Ooohhh..." she said under her breath, exhaling as she held her tiny lil baby fingers in front of her, examining them. Wait...baby fingers?

"Have I always had little legs like this?" Blink asked herself.

Blink looked up. She hadn't said that. But that was definitely her voice, or at least the one she just used. Then she saw it. It was like staring into a cute mirror, where only cute things came out of it. You get the idea. Standing in front of her was a little pink girl with big, sparkling green eyes and fluffy, purple hair. She was looking down at her feet, moving them around in the sand as she tried to process their size. "Who the heck're you, girlie?" She asked her. Wait, did she just say girlie?

"I was gonna ask you that!"

She looked to her right. There was another one, this one was wearing the typical green cloak that Blink was known for. It was right about now that Blink realized both of these copies of herself were very short compared to Blink above-average lanky frame. When she rose to her feet, she had to balance herself as if she was just learning how to walk again. Then she noticed that, sure enough, her height was equally low in stature.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?"

"Look, we're like sisters!"

"I have sand all over my butt!"

"Get off of me!"

"Ow, stop pushing!"
 
What initially was a one on one conversation got out of hand quickly, as more and more of these tiny clones of Clarice Ferguson appeared along the beach. It was noticeable enough that other people had to move out of the way as each clone seemed to multiply over and over again. What was two became four. Four became eight. Eight became...you get the idea. Each one was a little different from the last when it came to their physical appearance. One had little bookworm glasses over her little button nose. One had a beanie over her head and a cigar in her lips. Another just had on the bikini Blink had been initially wearing, and was just still sitting out in the sun like nothing had happened. One thing they did all have in common was that they all were confused. And just like Blink Prime, most of them were just naturally in a pissed off state.

"Someone better have answers for me!"

"I'm gonna punch you in the face!"

"Can't a girl sunbathe in peace? Is there no limits?"

"Is that a kissing booth?"

"EVERYBODY JUST CALM DOWN!" One of the seemingly endless supply of Blink mini-copies jumped up onto a cooler and put her little arms in the air, screaming out into the army of little pink globs. Everybody went quiet and all of the emerald eyes turned to the attention to the one. "We can think through this rationally! We just have to come together, figure out why we're like this, and then we come up with a sensible solution. Okay?"

There was silence among the crowd of Little Ms. Fergusons. They began to mumble amongst themselves as they tried to figure out what to do. There were some nods in agreement, along with plenty of confused faces. Then one voice shouted out among the adorable faces:

"Fuck you!"

Then there was a single FWOOSH sound and a ball of green energy appeared in the back of the crowd. All of the heads turned towards the voice. There was one single pink portal floating in the air, seemingly where one of the Blinks once stood. As if they were all one collective brain, every single little Blink that was paying attention looked down at their hands, and then back up to the portal. To their hands. Then to the portal.

"Whatever you do..." the bossy Blink on the cooler tried to say. "Do. Not. Teleport!"

By the time she got the last word out, the entire crowd seemed to vanish at once, leaving pink portals or little green mist shrouds of where they used to stand. Out among the waves, the beach front, the boardwalk and the amusement park began the chaos of a hundred tiny Claire Fergusons.

[Tearen Wover]

Well.

Things were certainly starting to get very interesting around here. Between Gildarts Clive asking him if he wanted to go drinking with a loose-lipped molester on a private island, and the gathering cloud of marauding darkness on the horizon, the eldritch human was honestly beginning to feel just a tad overwhelmed. A pall had fallen across the otherwise ideal day, and a light wind was beginning to kick up an uncomfortable, sand-ridden breeze across the beach. Bathing beachgoers trundled back to their camps, battening down coolers of food and bags of sunblock as the downdrafts began to roll in.

Tearen was disappointed, but, for the hour he had been able to relax, it had certainly been nice. Now, though, it seemed as though the desperate nature of the Omniverse had caught up with him. Tempting though it was to go pound Dust into the dirt for smooching Gildarts' adoptive daughter, it was neither his place nor his satisfaction to have. Let the Strongest Prime tend to his horn-dog; Tearen was needed elsewhere.

That was, of course, until a red and grey clad android jetted overhead on a flying dog. The elder Prime only vaguely recognized the blur that was Protoman, but if nothing else, the sheer gravity of his power was enough to convince Tearen that, if he was on the job, the Shadow was not needed. It was good, then, that Malon decided to call him at that moment in time. As he went about gathering up his beach sundries, he had a short conversation regarding meeting up with the young Hylian and helping her cope with her new life. To the average passer-by, it would have appeared as though the dark skinned man was talking to himself, but it would have hardly been the oddest thing they had seen today.

As Gildarts went marching off to accost Dust, Tearen couldn't help but crack a wan smile. The prospect of drinking their sorrows away on a remote island did have a sort of melancholy allure to it, but alas, a father's work was never done.

A few minutes later, a crow departed the shoreline of Costa Del Sol. It was time to get back to work...

Thanks Izzy for the fun thread!


Tearen Departed for the Nexus

[Blink]

The Army of Blinks came all at once. A storm of pink blurs just descended upon the boardwalk of Costa Del Sol. If they weren't so tiny and gosh darn adorable, they would have caused a huge alarm. All at once, dozens of pink portals opened up around the beach and little amusement park, allowing about a hundred tiny pink girls to just tramble through like they were Running of the Bulls. For the short amount of time they had, it was chaos.

The strangest part was they were all different pink monsters. No little teleporter was the same.

There was Chill Blink, who just hung out on her towel in a little two-piece green and white bathing suit, rolling over on occasion to get when she felt the need to switch it up. For as much action was happening around her revolving around people that looked just like her, she was completely comfortable just enjoying the Vasty Deep's sun.

Bookworm Blink was similar in that she wasn't causing any violent trouble. She was still being a bother, like her 'sisters,' trying to absorb as much information as possible. She would peek over tourists' shoulders on the boardwalk, looking down at their magazines or their Dataverse Devices. She tried a couple times to steal one of those devices, but she was shrugged off pretty easy.

Bossy Blink spend most of her time trying to wrangle up her sisters, to no avail. She yelled at Candy Junkie Blink and Snuggly Blink who took it upon themselves to steal as much things as possible from the boardwalk and hoard them underneath the stairs leading down into the sand. It was definitely illegal to have stolen that much ice cream and teddy bears, and it was also pretty damn impressive.

At the amusement park, Punk Rock Blink had teleported herself on top of the ferris wheel, causing it to stop spinning. Plenty of people were yelling at the little pink monster for causing them to be stranded up top, but she didn't care. She was too busy shredding her air guitar and headbanging her hair up and down over her face to pay them any mind.

Idiot Blink had successfully stolen some ice cream and was eating it. She did not realize it was glue.

Chaos was especially reigning at the actual beach, where the shore-line hit the sea-line. As water brushed up onto the sand, Mean Blink could seen firmly attached to the back of a particularly busty blonde's head, tugging on her mane as the woman ran around wildly trying to dislodge the girl from her. Behind her were a bunch of Minion Blinks, mindlessly following and throwing rocks or shells at the woman from behind. None of them actually knew what the woman did to deserve it. Come to think of it, neither did Evil Blink.

Panicky Blink appeared at the entrance to the boardwalk, looking out into the big city of Costa del Sol. A look of distraught crossed her face, and she teleported away.

Pro Wrestler Blink was cutting her best promo on an unsuspecting elderly woman, who had no idea what was going on. She confusion only escalated when the little sports entertainer tried to lift her up and do a body slam, but was not strong enough to do it.


Some of the Blinks actually fit into the beach-party setting very well. A foursome of Singing Blinks were pulling off an impressive version of a barbershop quartet. Acrobat Blink bounced around the various stalls of the pier to cheers everytime she flipped and rolled down onto her feet. Emo Blink was reciting poems off of the top of her head (to no one on purpose), which some of the younger tourists took to be some weird style of rap.

Prankster Blink was using her powers of teleportation for evil. She was deliberately conjuring up portals underneath unsuspecting people and sending them into the water out on the actual beach. This version of Blink was probably the worst.

Most of the Blinks were wearing some version of the woman's bikini she had purchased earlier. Then there was Serious Blink. This version of Mini-Claire Ferguson was just as cute and adorable and all the others, but she was standing solid in one place. She had teleported herself up to the top of the hotel over-looking the beach, which gave her the highest vantage point in the distance. She looked up with an open mouth in awe as she examined what lay in the distance. Far beyond the horizon, deep out into the waters of the Vasty Deep, was just black. Dark shadows in the distance. It didn't take a full-sized humanoid to know that wasn't good.

She looked down at the chaos spilling over the boardwalk. It had been about three minutes. In those three minutes, a lot of things happened. Emotions ran deep in both directions. There were happy Blinks, sad Blinks, scared Blinks and angry Blinks. This transferred over to the people enjoying the beach itself. Some of them were loving having these adorable little portal-gurus bounce around. Some were having the worst day of their life.

Serious Blink's big, green eyes bounced around all of her little clones down on the boardwalk, watching as one by one, they began to disappear in puffs of magic. With each one poofing away, she could feel a little ping in her heart, as if it was being poked. It didn't hurt; if anything it felt good. It felt like something was returning to where it belonged. She didn't know why this happened; why she suddenly ended up as a hundred versions of herself out of nowhere. But it did make her realize how many personality traits she really had. Somewhere inside of her, there was a Mean Blink, a Bossy Blink and even a Cute, Snuggly Blink. She wasn't just Serious Blink. There was a lot more to her then anyone, including herself, gave her credit for.

By the time all of the little chibi Blinks were gone from the boardwalk, Serious Blink was able to compose herself. She looked down at her hands and realized they looked different. Or rather, they looked normal. They were normal human-length fingers that wiggled and reacted like she wanted. She looked down to see her normal, lanky height all the way to her feet. She was once again dressed in her cloak and hood. She inspected her pockets and her powers to ensure everything was where it was and working right. There didn't seem to be any issues.

She looked up at the shadows in the distance, and then down at the pier. There was a ship that had just broken port and was moving out into the vast waters of the ocean in front of it. Deciding split second that was where she wanted to be, Clarice opened a portal next to her.

"I am never going to the beach again," she promised herself. Then she stepped into the portal.

She never did find out what the hell happened.

[Dust]

Dust waved the three off, feeling a little odd about the whole encounter. While they were adorable, and Dust could still feel the warmth of their mouths on his, he was left wondering if he should stop while he's a head. The magical kissing booth had been here before him, he was sure it belonged to someone. On top of trespassing, he was worried he needed a kissing license to be able to do this out in the open like this. Then again, he probably needed a kissing license period. He glanced back at the coins in his jar and the cones on the table, feeling a little guilty that he was doing this while some little girl was out there without her candy. He all but decided he should go hunt her back down and return the 4 she must be missing when someone else walked in.

The still half-naked man turned, strangely expecting the girl or Gildarts to be looking for him, only to catch in his eyes a girl in a bikini.

His heart jumped and pushed fresh color in his healing cheeks as he set eyes on a foxy red-head with curly locks with volume to spare as her hair almost floated around her pretty face. Among the orangish red hair were some really cute heart sunglasses that sat on her head like a tiara. Her earrings were simple gold hoops that you could throw marbles through, and around her neck was a simple gold chain, a cute heart pendant dangling past her bust and across her stomach. She was sporting what could be called a bikini if only in technicality. The bright pink patches censored her body but floated there on strings. Around her wrists were plastic bangles, thin metal bracelets, and a hand-made friendship bracelet with those cheap dollar-store beads and some string. She also had on hot pink flip-flops, but Dust's eyes never got past the little navel ring in her flawlessly tanned skin. Topping it all off, she had a beauty mark on her right cheek.

She smiled up at him as she pushed open the flap to the tent, and then using her hot body to hold it open she turned to someone behind her. "Oh my Omni, Lexi, he's cute!" She said without skipping a beat, and that made Dust's heart begin to pound. "Come on, before the line gets any bigger." Then she pushed through, pulling a wallet purse into view. Its beautiful pattern was wasted on the color blind prime, but then again he wasn't focused on that. "You are still open, right?" She baited him, her smile curling her pink-painted lips and her hip twisting in a flirty kind of way.

If Dust's jaw dropped any harder he would have to go looking for it before he could pop it back in place.

Next walked in a girl who had more clothing on but was no less attractive than her friend. She had dirty blond hair, pulled back in a high ponytail, her dark eyes darted around nervously, her cheeks were a bit warm already. She also had gold earring hoops and half an arm full of bracelets and bangles, but they were chunky and for fun rather than show off her value. She had button nose that girls wanted so badly, and has pierced the left nostril. Her beachy waves were a curtain behind her shoulders and ruffled every time she moved her head to look around. She had a darker tan the first girl, but it was hard to see how far the sun as touched her as she was wearing a loose frilly shirt that was so bright yellow that even Dust knew what color it was and a pair of stark white jean shorts that barely covered her body.

Lexi, according to the first girl, nervously spoke up. "W-We didn't mean to bother you, sir." She stopped whens he finally looked at him.

Dust was starting to panic now that there were two of them, and when Lexi abruptly stopped to stare at him he had the impulse to check his mouth for drool. Smoothly he pushed the back of his hand across his face, finding it dry.

"I told you he was hot." The red head said with a little laugh, and then grabbed her friend's arm, the one that wasn't lugging along a large tote bag. It looked like it was made of burlap but had some stripes. "Now get your money out so you can kiss him!" She had a playful force to her tone, which made Lexi blush but doesn't for whatever might hold her money in the bag. Instead, she played with her bracelets nervously.

On the other side of the room Dust was having a mini-heart attack. He would have looked down to see if his heart was trying to punch through his chest, but he didn't want to look and weirder in front of them. Suddenly the Kissing Booth sounded like the best idea he's ever had!! And yet, he still had no idea who's tent this is. Who's business he was stealing, or if this was stealing at all? It could be a public thing, just to get conversations started and meet interesting people. Actually.. Logically that made sense. He was just too busy freaking out.

Like Molly trying to keep herself in control, Dust tried to leash himself back as well. Taking a deep breath was nearly impossible, but he managed a good one. Long enough for the red-head to nudge her friend. "If you don't do it, I'll go first." Then the breath expelled from his lungs as if he'd been punched in the gut. These girls were going to kill him.

Lexi, the blond, gave her friend a dirty look before looking back at Dust. Finally, she relented to the other girl's teasing and searched her bag for some form of payment. Dust felt a little light headed as he pawed at the table mindlessly, finding it's solid surface and using it for much-needed support as he leaned. He felt his knees buckle, and let his butt touch the table top before he landed on the floor - next to his unhinged jaw. After finding what it was she was looking for, keeping it in her bag to hide it from prying eyes, she produced a piece of metal that the locals used for currency. She brought it over, hesitant at the last step towards him, and then dropped it in his jar. Dust watched it all with the sound of his heart getting louder and louder in his ears. He could just barely hear the chime that metal and glass made when the two clattered together.  Then her pretty blue eyes looked up at him, expectantly.

Dust's arm felt weak at her gaze, and he knew if he didn't get off of it. "O-oh, right!" He stuttered. Then gulped down a lump in his throat. "The kiss." He mentioned the obvious, feeling really foolish but not having anything to fall back on experience wise. He was mid-teen years when he's star had awakened inside him, all his awkward teenage years were skipped, and now he was forced to experience them now. Lycan sat up on his hips and went to approach it like he knew what he was doing. In reality, he did, had he been his old self he could have scooped the two up - one in each arm - and turn to one and then the other with a kiss like it was nothing. Now he was falling apart at the sight and sound of pretty women showing him attention for once.

Ookami tried to keep it cool and reached up with a nervous hand. At the last second, he steeled his nerves to touch along her neck and scoop his fingers into her bound hair. His heart was thunder in his ears as he leaned in, coaxing her closer with his hand. Finally, he met her lips with his. She got three long seconds, and when he pulled back they were both a red as could be. He looked away shyly, and she giggled, apparently amused that such a handsome face could look so cute.

"Woo! Hawt!" Her friend interrupted, and Lexi was plunged back into her nervous self. "Now stop hogging him and that sexy bod!" The red head exclaimed, letting her excitement crack her voice in a vulgar way as she pulled her friend out from under Dust and then pushed her way in. Without any respect for personal space, she threw her arms around his neck and pushed their barely covered bodies together. Dust felt her belly flatten against his and the fabric of her swim-suit into his chest. If she could have, she might have put more of her body against his, but the image of that was enough to push Hokori's heart to the limit. "Give me some sugar, sweetie~!" She declared before planting her own kiss on him.

The poor man flinched as he was aggressively pounced, his eyes went wide at how forward she was, and his hands just barely caught her as she twisted herself back. Lexi watched as her friend dangled off the floor, held up by the man's hesitant but strong arms. His palms were flat on her back, touching her soft skin, but couldn't enjoy it as much as he would regret he should have later because he was too concerned for her falling and hitting her head. Her hair floated in the open air as she kissed him as hard as she could. He didn't even count the seconds he was just so caught off guard. The red-haired girl was into it though, kissing him more and more as the seconds ticked away, her passion was charging him up faster. If only he could transform, this one kiss would be enough to do so!!

Eventually, she pulled off, grinning up in a very mischievous way. "You are so good!" She said, then stole another quick on. "You can let me down now big guy." She teased.

Volk wasn't sure how this happened but untangled them as best as he could with sweating palms. She giggled at his expense but was as helpful as he could be in the participation of unwinding around him. He had a hard time looking them in the eye afterward, not because he felt dirty because he lacked the confidence. Even now, he couldn't believe he just made out with two hotties. The red-head dropped his payment in the jar with a wink and they both left, she giggling and Lexi blushing.

With that encouragement, Dust decided to move back to his stool and wait for the next customer. He was about to try the delicious looking fluff when he heard the conversation outside only to look up at a very familiar face walk through. Her short blue hair and its bow, the wings made of ice, her image less bloody and weakened. The air inside the tent was cooled rapidly and left the man behind the table with a slight chill. Suddenly there was a snowman, and while Dust looked it over perplexed as to what its purpose was she explained she couldn't do it even on a dare and that the money that she dropped should be used for donation's purposes. His eyes watch as the money clatters to the bottom of the growing pile, then when he looked up again he was left alone with the snowman who was staring at him with button eyes and a goofy grin...

[Gildarts]

In the line for the Kissing Booth Gildarts saw a group of giggling girls leave. In front of him was a male. This must've been a partner act, one girl, and one Dust selling their lips for a show. Well, Gildarts was still scathing, and waiting in line was never the prime's forté. When he'd try to burst in, the giant scary looking guy turned toward Gildarts and with his slow, deep-toned voice said:

"No. Cutsies."

Gildarts gulped. There was a finality about his voice that was distinctly... Dark. He didn't want to step on anyone's toes, not to mention this guy who was about seven feet tall, half giant, with muscles of stone. He had a huge beard, going down to his waist, which was a monumental feat of about four-feet long. The giant was only wearing a fur loincloth around his waist. Scattered across the Barbarian's body were the stains upon his flesh signifying scars of battle cut with claymores and various other dings and scratches.

"Oh boy! Me up next!" The giant beast of a man said with giddy pleasure as he stepped through the tent (ducking the entire time) and left a narrow slit behind him so that Gildarts could narrowly see what happened within.

Well, he wasn't a peeping tom, but he was looking forward. And had nearly no choice. Meanwhile Molly hung off Gil's arm like she was trying to do pull ups, "Gilly don't embarrass me! We can still leave!"

"After I waited in this line? Oh, I don't think so. Our chat will be lovely. I'll teach him his first lesson officially: Don't make me an enemy."

-

Through the tent, the burly Barbadian, Gladiator-wrestler sauntered. A pink blush forming across his face. "Greetings... Kissing... Master!"

"O-oh," Dust smiled shyly as he sized the guy up. "I'm not the master, but thanks a bunch for sayin-"

The giant pulled out three large gold coins that wouldn't fit in the tip jar and stacked them on the table like rungs on an exercising bar.

"Uh, where were you keeping those?" Dust asked.

"Enough question! Me want smooch." The man puckered his lips through the scruffy curls of his shaggy beard. The giant offered a big eager smile, grinning from ear to ear.

"Sure, sure," this was Dust's first time kissing a guy in this verse, he was a bit nervous, not to mention, the giant was taller than even him! And rather Brutish, but Dust didn't care much to judge a book by its cover. He was sure this guy had a big heart. More sure than he would be sure of anything else that was big about him.

"Pucker de lips!" The man commanded. Then he ruffled up Dust's hair, and planted his list on Dust's. Firm, passionate, yet gentle.

It was the best kiss all day. Almost the best kiss of his life, save the lovely miss Tamsin.

By the end of it, Dust was blushing more than the big guy. "Is dat enough?" The giant said to Dust and pointed at the three hulking gold coins.

"U-uh, m-mhm!" Dust muttered.

"Thank you much for time sir!" The giant grinned through his blushing, beardy cheeks, and bowed out of the room.

"You stay outside," Gil asked in a quiet tone.

Dust was still foggy from bliss and coming back to reality, his eyes mistook the next person entering his tent of solitude was Gildarts. Dust blinked the delusion away and yet Gildarts remained.

"O-oh Gil you're here for a kiss too?" Dust asked still fumbling for words after the giant's gentle press of lips upon his own.

[Gildarts]

"A... Kiss?" His eyes widened with shock and realization that Gildarts had indeed walked into Dust's kissing booth. His eyes narrowed, "No. I don't want a kiss! You made out with a little girl! Don't you see how wrong that is?"

"I asked him to Gilly!" Molly intruded. Well he'd at least managed to have a moment alone with Dust. "This isn't fair, you can ground me later but right now Dust has customers!"

"We're the only ones in line now Molly," Gil pointed out and turned back to Dust. "You can't just go around kissing children! That isn't PG thirteen or age appropriate! Plus you're running one of these things which means you could have a transferable virus after all the kisses! I don't think Molly's had... The talk from Guu yet."

"Hm? What talk?" Molly asked, dumbfounded.

"See!!!" Gil was panicking. Guu would be mad at him. He had to make this stick.

"Gil are you married? And Molly is your adopted kid?!!" Dust assumed with a frantic gulp. "I didn't think you had it in you. Course, you probably don't wear a wedding band because it would slide off your silver hand. I never realized! This "Guu" is she your wife?"

Gildarts blinked. "Wha- Molly is..." he didn't know how to classify her without losing his point, "Yeah basically. But Princess Guu and I aren't married. Anyway, back to the point. You can't just go around kissing children! It's bad for their development and growth and gives them the wrong idea! Also, you didn't even clean your lips between people! Sexually Transmitted Diseases are a real thing! Only my magic makes me immune!"

"U-uh immune?" There were multiple layers to this conversation, but that was an intriguing statement. "You can't get sick?"

"Don't jinx it!" Gil joked, "the Malefactor told me my new body might be able to, but in Earthland I was- hey wait... don't distract me, I won't be swayed so easily now that I'm cured and I'm mad at you. Apologize and promise never to kiss kids again!"

"Cured? So you were sick!" Dust received a deathly looking glare, "U-uh... Sorry?" Dust was cornered by the strongest mage, "And if we are getting into technicalities she paid me to kiss her."

"You think... That makes it better?" Gil's eye twitched. "My Molly will not be reduced to paying for your services!"

"Don't be mean Gilly, ground me instead, plus it was totally worth it," Molly said, a rouge hue still forming upon her cheeks as she was in the presence of her first kiss.

Gildarts picked up Dust and slung him over his shoulder like a sweat-filled towel. One jump and Gildarts was in the air, blinded by the collapse of the cloth tent over his face and body. Another jump, platformed as a boosting piece of warped gravity in the sky and both of the shirtless Primes had shed the layer of tent, below them was the sandy dunes of the Vasty beach. In one swift motion Gildarts straightened Dust to a stand and with a dash of magic to loosen the condensed beach, pushed the sable haired Lucan into the sand.

Completely buried, save his head.

Gildarts landed firmly on his feet. "You're in time out, Dust. I'll come back when you've thought about what you've done!" Gildarts smacked his hands clean of the sandy filth and strode back to the boardwalk assumably to retrieve Molly, who had snuck up around the two Primes. She was now facing the head of Dust.

"I'm sorry I got you in trouble," Molly said with a girlish pout. Blush still delicately tainting her cheeks like little dew covered roses.

"Aww that's okay, I'm sure Gildarts is just doing what he thinks is right... I think. Even if it gets sand in my trunks.... But does this mean you'll dig me out?" Dust asked Molly with shimmering hope in his eyes.

"Oh uh, no. I'm not defying Gildarts who's already mad at me. Plus, you look cute with your head in the sand. I'll provide you with my company though, if you'll have it." The girl said with a kind smile.

Dust blinked, "That sounds nice. Just don't get caught." The kissing male winked.

"Also I managed to nab these before I came down here!" Molly revealed the cones of cotton candy and placed one firmly upright in the sand in front of Dust's nose. His mouth watered.

This punishment was patience training mixed with the sweetness of reward for his hard work. In other words, cotton candy and time spent with a kind, adorable little girl even while buried in the sand, wasn't so bad after all. Now this was a true vacation.

Gildarts smiled from his perch on the boardwalk as Molly extended cotton candy to Dust. That was more like it.

All was mostly in order. Gildarts let a smile form across his lips as he thought about how some people's lips got them into trouble, and others got them out of it.

The tent was gone and the tip jar was ringing as Gildarts jingled it. He'd have to guard Dust's well-earned money and return it to him later.

"Eh-hem, excuse me is this were the kissing booth is?" a beautiful woman with shimmering eyes asked as Gildarts turned around, realizing that the wooden frame was still attached and the sign still readable. Gildarts dropped the tip jar on the desk platform and a smile grew on his lips.

Gildarts, father, Ace of Fairy Tail, King of Destruction, and now...

King of the Kissing Booth.

[Clownpiece]

Clownpiece turned upwards, eyes crawling along the front of the booth she was hiding behind, and her hands slowly felt along the corner. Right up at the top of the stand was a large sign emblazoned with the words “Kissing Booth,” but that wasn’t the important bit. This booth was made entirely out of wood, making it ripe for the burning. It would be the perfect distraction for the witch. She’d be too busy trying to put out the fire, and the fairy would have free reign to cause some madness. A devilish grin crossed her face, and she ducked back out of sight with a brief flash of gold. Not only that, but with how hot the fires of hell burned, she’d have a tough time putting it out.

A childish giggle rose up from the mad fairy’s lips as she cast a quick glance around, making sure no one was looking her direction. Infernal fire sparked to life in her left hand as she crouched down, turning it palm first towards the base of the booth. The flames of hell glassed the sand around her hand, and began to chew greedily through the wooden fixture. Barely able to contain her excitement, Clownpiece straightened up and sped away, ducking behind yet another stand, and ready to watch hell unfold.

[Dust]

Dust wasn’t completely sure why Gildarts had to be so violent.. But being in his time out he had plenty of time to think. Or he would have had he not had a little girl to entertain. He had been playing with her when he suggested she dig him out, but she made a good point. If ‘Gilly’ found out they would both be in trouble. So for now, he was content with just chilling in the cold sand.

With Molly’s company, the timeout wouldn’t be all that bad. Or that long, surely. He could feel his tail wagging behind him, which only confirmed it was a phantom tail because there’s no way he could wag it while buried, and took a big bite of the fluff ball that was his payment for the kiss. It was quick to dissolve in his hot mouth, his saliva working hard to turn the sugar back into something solid before it vanishing moments later. “MMM! This stuff’s great.” He said, with child-like but genuine delight. This made Molly giggle to the point of having to pull the candy away, just as Dust went for another bite. He only caught air in his teeth, but when he saw and heard her he smiled again.

With the tension and the change of atmosphere, it was easier to be himself. It helped that she wasn’t making as big of a deal as the mage did about the kiss.

When her laughter died down, he was still smiling, but it was small. “You know.. He’s right. You shouldn’t go around kissing boys.” He said a soft voice. He still was oblivious to her feelings for him, or how much his tone could send a fresh splash of color on her cheeks. “You are too cute, someone will take advantage of it.” He explained.

“I know.” She said, looking away and pulling a piece of cotton candy off his cone without thinking, she pushes it in her mouth and waits before it melts to talk. “But I knew you wouldn’t.” She finally said, looking at him. “You are a good guy, Dust.”

Dust blinked at that, then looked away from her, his hair falling in his face.

Hearing someone say that to his face relieved some of the pressure on his shoulders. That is.. Figuratively since the sand was still there. It made him feel better knowing someone thought he wasn’t a terrible person, despite what he knew. It hit him hard when he realized he had been feeling bad about Shock. As a normal human, she couldn’t be in too much trouble, but part of him still believed she was his responsibility. That he abandoned her when she needed him, and after she was kind to him in a world of people who considered him less than dirt. “Thanks..” He muttered.

“I’m not the only one who thinks that either.” Molly continued, picking off another piece of candy before popping it in her mouth. “Gildarts thinks it too. Or else you wouldn’t be here.”

Dust looked up at that, his heart swelled at the idea of Gildarts really thinking he was a good guy. He had to swallow down his excitement before it got him in any more trouble. “Did you read his mind or something?” He asked, but the confusion on his face transferred to her’s. She wasn’t sure what he meant, “You know because you are psychic?”

Molly turned bright red when she remembered the little white lie that she told him to make sure he didn’t think she was a stalker, and laughed a little harder than she intended and rubbed the back of her neck. “Oh yeah. No. He told me.” She said, thinking about coming clean.

“R-Really?” Dust said, barely able to control his own voice. The sand around him moved just the slightest bit as he had tried to lift his arms. His face was brightened by the aspect of his teacher already praising him. Molly couldn’t contain the laugh, though she tried. It came out in a nasally snrk before it pushes passed her lips until she was laughing at him in a fit. Dust momentarily thought she was laughing at his reaction in a mean way, but her laughter was contagious and he couldn’t help but smile brightly back.

His nose flared up, however. He could smell wood burning. He frowned at that, then tried to look around only to be forced to admit he couldn’t. “Aw man.. Someone’s having a bonfire... And we’re going to miss it.” His chin hit the sand as his stomach growled under him. In his grief though, he missed the fact that the sun was still high in the sky. Or high-ish.

[Gildarts]

Gildarts had just got done saying, "I'm sorry, I'm just a stand in. The person manning this booth is in time out. When he's done his break I'm sure he'll be back."

"Not to worry, thanks, cutie," she winked at him like she would've kissed him, and thank god he hadn't been baited.

A moment later someone had torched the kissing booth. Flame crawled along the Prime's arm. Not burning flesh, since it was his inorganic arm. He wasn't really aware of the molten metal, or even the smoking flames until he looked and saw the money crawling over to Dust's tip jar.

"Oi! Who tried to light me on fire?! COTTON CANDY GUY?!! How did you escape the beautiful storm trooper?!!!!" He spoke to the world and quickly snagged Dust's glass jar and used his metal hand (yes, still on fire) to pick up the huge molten gold coins and step away from the fire before it could lap at his shoes.

"Ugh, whoever cause this didn't realize that now the entire boardwalk is gonna go up in flames because it is BUILT ON A WOODEN DOCK!"

"Your metal arm is still on fire," Piqui pointed out, appearing at the sight of flames.

"Ahh!" Gildarts frantically looked around for something to snuff out the flame.

"Quick! Do something!" Gildarts begged.

"I'll take the tip jar before it catches," Piqui said snagging the jar and hovering away from him and the danger with her wings.

"Aww... Dust is gonna be angry when he sees his booth burnt down..." Gil frowned.

"STILL. ON. FIRE!" Piqui howled down from her aerial glide.

"Ahh!" Gildarts comically smashed a whole into the glass dunk tank and pressed his lit-metal limb into the water with a relieving sizzle.

[Dust]

Meanwhile on the beach below..

After a bit of grown man whining about not being able to eat s'mores Dust finally looked up for another bite, only to see that Molly has finished all of it. She realized it shortly after that and then sweated under the pressure of making him mad. "I'm sorry Dust, you can have mine!" She said, before pulling the other one out of the container and holding it for him like he could take it. There was a moment of silence as it clicked and then she apologized with another nervous laugh.

Dust smiled and shook his head, if only because it was the only thing he could do. "Nah, its fine. You enjoy yours." He selflessly suggested, not wanting her to fret over anything.

She felt the heat in her cheeks once more, but pulled it back and sat down to start on her sweets next. Molly was collecting a finger full when something came to her mind. She looked up. "So why don't you tell me about yourself, you're a new face around here. No one even knows where you came from." She explained, paraphrasing what the TVs said about him.

The man looks surprised that anyone would ask questions about him, but then smiled all the same. "Okay.." He looked at the ocean to think about where to start. "Well.. My name is Hokori Hoshi." He began. "I usually just tell people to call me Dust, its easier to remember. Then again, some people already know how to translate it, and call me Star Dust." He let out a nervous laugh. "Funny, huh?"

Molly smiled, but didn't know why other than to comfort him in his comment.

Wolf looked up at the blue sky for a bit, the sand sticking to his skin before he turned back to her. "I don't have any family either, myself. I mean. Blood relatives that is." He paused at that, why did he say that? Was he projecting the image of a family member on anyone? That was strange. He shook his head, no reason to get side-tracked about it. "I didn't have any friends either, but then I met a bunch of people." He gave her a big smile, one that beamed happiness in the purest form. "Who would have thought a guy like me would be friends with Gildarts? Isn't he awesome!"

His tone was pure, and Molly couldn't help shake her head at him.

"Aw.. What's that look for? You don't think he's awesome?" Dust asked, feeling a little self-conscious now.

"I didn't say that!" Molly said, making sure he couldn't misinterpretation what she said or didn't say. "I was just thinking about how silly you are."

Dust's face went slack and he blinked up at her. "Silly?" Then he smirked. "You're right. I can't help it though, I love feeling these things." He celebrated with a bigger smile than ever. She just laughed at him again. He stuck his tongue out playfully. The wind blew through his hair as he looked down at the sand just inches from his nose. "It feels good to know that I can feel again.."

That was an odd comment, even for the younger prime. "What do you mean?" She asked tilting her head over one side of the cotton candy.

His face didn't look up at first, he was looking at himself in the past. The image of a wolvern shadow came back to his mind. "It's hard to explain.. But where I am from, there are people called Contractors. They can't feel emotions like everyone else, its pretty sad. The whole world thinks they are monsters or something they can control." He explains the numbers on his neck were covered in sand, but she could still see the bold black numbers. 389. "Anyways, I was a contractor. Still am, I suppose. Just, now I can feel things like happiness!"

"Is that why you are always smiling? Because you never smiled before?"

Her question struck a deep cord in Dust. He looked up at her as if she'd discovered a secret that was supposed to be buried in the sand with him. Then he looked away as if not understanding something that was said or thought. His grey eyes found her cute face again and he smiled a simple grin. "Maybe." He finally said, the smile growing.

[Harry Potter]

Fluer slipped hurriedly the crowd along the pier, trying desperately to stop the trail of destruction the little fairy was leaving in her wake. She pushed through the crowd, and heard a high pitched squeak, and for a split second she locked eyes with an aggressive looking fairy. The same fairy who had been causing all the mayhem on the pier?

Perhaps a better trained volunteer lifeguard, or a more culturally enlightened one, would have been able to tell the difference in that split second. Fluer did not.

"Stupfy!" Fluer shouted, and a jet of red light exploded from her wand, but the fairy was too fast and whizzed out of the way.

"Peski Pixie Peskanomi!" she tried, to no apparent effect.

"Accio!" Fluer finally cried, pointing her wand at the startled pixie, who screamed cutely as she zoomed into the witches hand. Fluer glared and pointed a glowing wand at the fairy in her hand.

"You 'ave been a bad Pixie!" she scolded as the fairy struggled vainly. "What do you 'ave to say for yourself?"

The fairy bit down HARD on Fluer's finger, causing the witch to scream in surprise and throw the innocent fairy to the ground.

She began to walk over to the defeated fairy, when she heard someone scream.

"Fire!" came a voice.

Fluer jigglesprinted through the crowd, following the smoke and the screams. She came upon the still burning remains of the kissing booth, wreathed in some kind of hissing Fyndefire.

"Aguamenta!" Fluer cried hoarsely, the hellsmoke burning in her lungs. A thick stream of water spat from the tip of her wand, but evaporated as it touched the dancing flames. She thought she heard them laugh. The crowd began to scream as the fire crept along the pier.

Fluer tried desperately to spread the water around the area, to dampen the wood around the kissing booth, but to no avail; the fire crept forward.

"Confrigo!" Fluer cries finally, and a bolt of orange light shoots from her wand blows a gaping hole in the pier at the edge of the kissing booth.

"Confrigo!" She repeats, blasting another hole next to it. "Confrigo Confrigo CONFRIGO!"

Bolt after bolt of orange light blew big holes in the pier surrounding the burning booth, until finally the pier gave way and the flaming attraction tumbled into the ocean.

Fluer looks around at the silent and bewildered pedestrians.

"Is ok," she assures them, breathing hard. "I am zee Lifeguard."

The pedestrians continue to mill about, as pedestrians tend to do.

"Where," Fluer hisses dangerously. "Eez zat PIXIE?"

[Oleander]

It was hot beyond the gate. Salt and sun filtered through the air in a familiar scent. If you smelled the ocean breeze once, you can never forget the oddly soothing nature it had on the mind while simultaneously battering away at the body. The warrior had spent many hours trudging through thick, wet sand, swimming in deep waters and fighting against waves and currents to hone his physique.

He was by no means unfamiliar with – By all the stars above, Why is everyone naked?!

Takezo’s almond eyes widened to saucers as he took in the scene. He could glimpse the blue of the ocean in the distance, but the foreground was littered with barely covered peach bottoms, dozens upon dozens of twin mountains held up with valleys on display and legs that stretched on farther than the sea.

Children were present, yet women exposed themselves in clothing not even suitable for underwear? Were they mad? Did they wish to burn in the sun? So many beautiful women… How is that top even staying up? Is this what the future of Japan would have been like?

The swordsman stood stunned just outside the gate. A few people had stopped in the distance to watch the Prime, brows furrowed. He was already half naked, so his exposed form was not the issue. It was not even the numerous bloody makeshift bandages. The sword was not even that strange in the Omniverse.

What was weird about this Prime was the way he froze in shock. His hands were held up in a defensive manner, as if he were trying to hold this world at a distance. It was almost comical. A few patrons even inched closer, against Takezo’s wishes, to investigate. The ronin stayed in position, trying to figure out what to do.

He prided himself on being adaptable. It was the way of the Vagabond, to assimilate new cultures and blend in. He did not expect to ever encounter a culture so different though. Then again, he never expected to leave Japan.

Burning eyes reminded him to blink. No sooner had he closed his eyes had someone caught on to the man’s inner turmoil. “First time to Costa Del Sol, I take it?” The woman’s voice was sweet. His eyes opened again to an almost familiar sight. The woman in front of him was dark haired, olive skinned and almoned eyed. She looked like a noble from his era, with how clear her skin and healthy her hair was. He assumed, since many had the same condition, that it was common in this time.

“I… Yes… I only just—“

She waved a hand dismissively in the air. “Shinmen-sama, right? I watched you fight in Dante’s Abyss! You were so awesome, just like a Samurai!” His brow furrowed. It was almost strange hearing what looked to be a noble using such an honorific suffix attached to his name.

His hands slowly lower to his side. As he became more and more animated, the small gathering of onlookers disperses. “I… would not call myself a Samurai. Even in Japan, there was no lord worthy of my sword.”

“Oh! So a ronin then? Ooh, that would explain why you were so vicious in a fight, but loyal to your friend!” It did? This woman was making quite a few assumptions… not that any of them thus far were wrong. “Do you follow Bushido?”

His lip curled. “In a manner of speaking. Some things I keep in mind.”

“Like?”

“Never lie. Defend those who cannot fight. Keep your word. Trivial things like that.”

“But you still fight like a demon…?”

Takezo smirked. “I get that a lot.” The distraction was welcomed. The familiar conversation was a security blanket in this new, strange culture. “Before you continue, I believe I am owed a few questions.”

The woman pouted. Interrupted mid fan-girl? Not cool. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

The man out of time turned his gaze outwards onto the crowd once again, eyeing the ample amount of exposed flesh. He was having a most difficult time keeping his eyes up and appropriate. “Where am I, and why is everyone waltzing about in the nude?”

[Clownpiece]

“Eheheh.” The all-to-conspicuous hell fairy giggled madly from her hiding spot behind a ring-toss stand. This mayhem was truly beautiful. The sight of so many people panicking and trying to sink the flaming kissing booth was a sight to behold. They weren’t even trying to extinguish her hellfire, they had almost jumped right into throwing it into the sea below. Her childish giggle rose into a full-on mad cackle as the blonde witch cast the last bolt, throwing the flaming structure right down into the rolling waves.

So preoccupied with enjoying the madness she’d created, the lunatic child didn’t bother to keep her laugh under control. Her unstealthy demeanor caught up with her, and the young fairy’s laugh was caught as a rough hand closed around her mouth and eyes. In a desperate attempt to free herself, her own hands shot up and closed around the powerful arm holding her. In spite of all her struggling, the star-spangled girl was dragged ungracefully into the alley between stalls.

--

Dazzling lights burst into existence, blinding Clownpiece for a few moments as she adjusted to the new, now-illuminated and featureless room she found herself in. The star-spangled girl grunted as she tugged at her restraints. Rope dug into her arms and torso, binding her to her chair even as she struggled. A vague, tattooed silhouette stepped up next to her, his face obscured by the brilliance of the spotlight above. To his side, she could see two more faint, suited figures.

“So you’re the one’s been causin’ this mayhem,” he stated, standing stoically still.

“Of course!” The fairy arrogantly boasted, still desperately wriggling. “I’m Clownpiece, the maddest, strongest fairy in hell! There’s no fairy in hell or on earth that could spread that sort of mayhem besides me!”

“Good, good,” he leaned in, shadows still covering his face. “Just wanted to make sure I didn’t grab the wrong fairy. Y’see, you spooked me real good over on the beach, and I must say, I’m mighty impressed by the way you did it. In fact...” he trailed off, and spun around, crouching down next to the chair she was bound in, and threw an arm over the backrest. “I wanna see more of what’cha can do with that madness of yours, ya hear me? So I’ve prepared a nice little “educational video” here.” Somewhere behind her, a projector whirred to life and cast its light on wall in front of Clownpiece, “To teach ya a little lesson.”

--

“Thanks!” Clownpiece called out to the tattooed man behind her, waving her hand high above her head as she strode out onto the beach. He simply waved back cheerfully. That really had been a nice little lesson. She never knew madness had so many little intricacies that she could take advantage of.