The Negotiations Begin

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

September, x786.

"Now, I hope we can have a friendly talk." Alfonzo said while wearing a solemn expression.

Despite the fact that Alfonzo had not given either Irene or Brandish the opportunity to respond to anything he said, neither of them seemed to be bothered. Instead, they were too busy staring at the magic item in Alfonzo's hands.

Although there were plenty of magic spells that could supposedly tell if someone was lying, none of them were fool proof. And they believed Alfonzo's to be no different. However, something inside of them was telling the two ladies that was not the case.

In fact, Alfonzo's item could not tell if someone was telling the truth or not in the slightest. Instead, He would only be using his meta knowledge mixed with the fact that his magic power could cause the item to beep. And because Irene and Brandish were both shackled with the strongest anti-magic restraints he could muster, neither of them would be able to feel the slight flaring of his magic power.

"So, how did the Eight-Dragon Douche convince the two of you to come here?" Alfonzo asked.

"By the 'Eight-Dragon Douche,' as you so elegantly put it, are you referring to God Serena?" Irene asked in response.

"Yes." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "But please do not refer to him as God anything in my presence. He's just a lucky little shit that happened to get his hands on eight Dragon Slaying Lacrima."

Though they did not show it, both Irene and Brandish agreed with what Alfonzo had to say about God Serena. Because of the Dragon Slaying Lacrima, he had to put in very little effort to reach his level of strength.

"No, he had nothing to do with us coming here." Irene replied.

*Beep!*

Immediately, the hanger fell into silence.

*Sigh* I really would rather that you not lie to me, Irene." Alfonzo said in a disappointed tone. "Especially since I have a deal for you that could reverse your biggest problem."

As he spoke, Alfonzo let his eyes wander all over Irene's body.

"You may not believe it, but I've spoken to Igneel, the Fire Dragon King, Metalicana, the Iron Dragon, and Grandeeney, the Sky Dragon, about you, Irene Belserion, former Queen of the ruined Kingdom of Dragnof, and the world's first [Dragon Slayer Wizard]."

Hearing that, both Irene and Brandish opened their eyes wide. A moment later, Brandish turned her attention to Irene, her gaze asking the question: "Is what he's saying true?"

Irene, on the other hand, was shocked into inaction. So, she did not even notice Brandish's gaze. Instead, the only thing she could see was Alfonzo.

"That's impossible…" Irene said in a tone filled with disbelief. "Those dragons disappeared nearly four hundred years ago. There's no way they could have told you. So, how could you possibly know that? I even made sure that all records of my existence on Ishgar had been erased over the centuries."

Hearing that, Brandish's eyes opened even wider. She was sure that most of, if not all, the Spriggan 12 had no idea of Irene's true identity.

Alfonzo, on the other hand, only shrugged his shoulders. Though it was true he asked Igneel, Metalicana, and Grandeeney about Irene, he already knew the information thanks to his meta knowledge.

On a side note, during Retsu's stay, Alfonzo had asked her if there was a way to communicate with the [Armament Spirits] or Zanpakuto Spirits of others. And to his surprise, Retsu said there was.

Though she could not tell him in detail, as she was not a scientist, Retsu did mention that someone she knew had come up with a way to obtain their [Bankai] without the years of training it usually took by manifesting their Zanpakuto Spirit in the real world for three days. She also mentioned that failure would make it impossible for the Soul Reaper to ever reach [Bankai] in their lifetime, though.

Hearing that tidbit of information jogged Alfonzo's memory about Kisuke Uehara's invention and how it helped him and Ichigo achieve [Bankai] in the Bleach series.

So, he made it his goal to create a much simpler version of Keisuke's device. As a result, the [Armament Spirits] of those who entered Alfonzo's mansion could manifest themselves if they chose to. And naturally, the [Spirits] of all his lovers did so as much as they could. As beings created from aspects of their hosts' souls, they wanted to interact with Alfonzo as much as possible.

Bedlam also enjoyed spending time with the ladies' [Armament Spirits]. Riot, on the other hand, was too shy to show himself in front of either Elicia or Scylla, as he was created from Alfonzo's love for Elicia, then cranked that emotion up to eleven. AS a result, he was like a shy school boy who was unable to talk to his crush.

"Whether you believe me or not is up to you." Alfonzo replied casually. "But the magic item did not go off. So, it should show you that I'm telling the truth."

Hearing that, Irene and Brandish looked at Alfonzo disdainfully. As previously mentioned, they knew that lie detection was not fool proof.

"Anyway, if you work with me, there might be a chance for you to turn back into a human, Irene." Alfonzo continued, despite the fact that Irene had not responded.

Hearing that, Irene's eyes were immediately filled with fury.

"You dare mock me?" Irene growled angrily.

"Take it easy, lady." Alfonzo replied. "I only said there was a chance. I don't have enough information to say anything for sure. But those three Dragon Slayers in our guild have had their dragon seeds removed completely with my method."

Once again, Irene stared at Alfonzo in total disbelief. Meanwhile, Brandish looked on in confusion, not knowing what a dragon seed was in the first place. However, she could tell that the gears in Irene's head were turning. So, she also kept silent.

"I need proof of what you say." Irene finally said after a few minutes of contemplative silence.

Hearing that, Alfonzo smiled. The first step of getting Irene to change sides was a success. So, he stood from his seat and walked towards the elevator leading to the higher floors.

"Fine, you two wait right here." Alfonzo said while waving over his shoulder. "I'll be back with one of the Dragon Slayers."

After the elevator doors closed, Brandish once again looked towards Irene. This time, the uncertainty in her gaze was palpable.

"Irene are you really thinking of betraying the---" Brandish began to ask.

"Silence." Irene ordered sternly. "There's no way he's not listening to this room."

Hearing that, Brandish immediately snapped her mouth shut.

"Still, if he's truly able to do what he says, then I have a lot to think about." Irene muttered.

Hearing Irene's muttering, Brandish could not help but open her eyes wide in surprise. As the second strongest of the Spriggan 12, Brandish would have never considered Irene's betrayal as a viable option.

Irene, on the other hand, was considering the ramifications of turning back into a human. Most importantly, about making up for lost time with the daughter she had to give up twenty-one years ago.

'*Sigh* I've never been so unsure about something in my life.' Irene thought to herself. 'I went to war with the dragons back during the Dragon King Festival without hesitation. I married that traitorous piece of scum to stop a border conflict, yet again without hesitation. And I destroyed my kingdom full of sheep without hesitation either. But with only a few words, for the second time in my life, I've become indecisive.'

As she thought about what could be, Irene laid her large, draconic head atop her front paws. Then, she closed her eyes to consider what she should do. And after seeing Irene take this position, Brandish remained silent, as she also did not know what to do.

For almost ten years, Brandish had lived in the Alvarez Empire. And for almost as long, she had lived with hatred towards Layla Heartfilia. However, when she heard the truth of her mother's passing, all that hatred vanished. Still, she was loyal to Alvarez.

At the same time, however, Brandish had grown weary of all the fighting and conquest on behalf of the empire. Yet, because the emperor gave her such support during her toughest times, she did not want to betray him. And that's why, despite not wanting to, she acted as one of the emperor's shields.

Eventually, after an undetermined amount of time, the doors to the elevator opened once again. Naturally, this drew the attention of the two prisoners. When they both opened their eyes and looked in the elevator's direction, they saw Alfonzo and Wendy stepping into the hanger.

While Alfonzo casually made his way towards the chair where he previously sat, Wendy followed him timidly while holding the hem of his shirt.

"Don't be so nervous, Wendy." Alfonzo said as he reached back and pulled Wendy forward so that she was walking beside him. "Neither of them can hurt you. Especially not with me here."

"Y-yeah… B-b-b-b-but why did you choose me?" Wendy asked in a nervous tone. "I-I mean, Natsu and Gajeel wanted to come, t-t-too."

"*Sigh* Because you're the least likely to say or do something stupid." Alfonzo replied in exasperation as he remembered his trip upstairs to get a Dragon Slayer to help with his negotiations.

As soon as Alfonzo arrived in the living room, where everyone was waiting to know how the negotiations went, Alfonzo explained how far things got. Then, when he asked a Dragon Slayer to help him, Natsu and Gajeel immediately jumped up to offer their assistance.

Had that been all, then there would have been no problem. However, they both wanted to fight with Irene. And they each spoke of how they would show her the true power of a dragon slayer, despite the fact that Irene was restrained and had been turned into a dragon thanks to her Dragon Seed].

And Alfonzo knew had they acted like that, Ireen's pride would have been triggered. Then, she would have refused to speak any further.

Wendy, on the other hand, seemed sympathetic to Irene's situation. And after talking to Grandeeney, she knew that the same fate would have awaited her if Grandeeney had not sacrificed herself to prevent it.

After seeing Wendy's reaction to his report, Alfonzo immediately chose her. Then, after Natsu and Gajeel got a little too rowdy about not being chosen, he casually knocked them out before handing them to Lisanna and Levy, respectively, to take care of them.

On a side note, Jet and Droy, who were also present, did everything they could to stop Levy from taking care of Gajeel. And after remembering the perturbed expression on Levy's face, he knew it would not be much longer before Levy lost her patience and told them about themselves, as well as her true feelings.

"Damn, I hope I'm around when that happens." Alfonzo muttered to himself with a smile on his face. "Those two's jealousy is way too much. I can't even talk to Levy about magical theory without those two interrupting our conversation. Hell, I probably would have made a move on Levy a long time ago if it weren't for those two. But I just don't wanna deal with their bullshit."

"Huh? What did you say, Alfonzo?" Wendy asked curiously while looking up at Alfonzo.

"Nothing, just thinking about something." Alfonzo said with a smile while patting Wendy's head. "But I know I shouldn't be distracted right now. This is important, after all. Sorry about that."

In combination with his head patting, Alfonzo's apology and genuine smile made Wendy blush as she lowered her head. And had Carla been present, she would have been doing everything she could to keep Wendy away from Alfonzo's clutches.

A moment later, Alfonzo and Wendy reached his chair. Then, before Alfonzo sat down, he conjured another chair with his [Metal Magic] for Wendy to sit in. Then, once they were both seated, Alfonzo focused on his two prisoners.

"Alright, this is the child of Grandeeney, the Sky Dragon." Alfonzo said when he noticed Irene and Brandish's eyes settled on him. "Allow me to reintroduce the Sky Dragon Slayer, Wendy Marvell."

Immediately after Alfonzo's introduction, Irene and Brandish shifted their attention to Wendy, causing her nervousness to increase exponentially.

"H-He-Hel-Hello." Wendy said quietly with a stutter. "It's ni-ni-ni-nice to meet you."

In her nervousness, Wendy completely forgot that she had already been acquainted with Irene and Brandish. However, no one seemed to mind. After a few minutes, Wendy calmed down enough to speak properly.

And when she did, she told Irene and Brandish everything about her experience with a [Soul Armament]. From circulating her magic power through it while it was an [Embryo], to the first shift, to nurturing it until it gained a [Spirit], to releasing its first seal and talking with Grandeeney about why she disappeared four hundred years ago.

Then, as soon as Wendy finished her story, she passed out from the stress. Before she could hit the floor, however, Alfonzo caught her and swept her up in a princess carry. After that, he started walking towards the elevator again.