EX Mission: A Midsummer's Nightmare Dream Vacation

Cherry the Pixie | Fairy Banquet

Cherry sighed. If only Cleo could just learn to keep it in his pants, or if that Oberon weren't present, things could have been far more amiable. Her parents often told stories of Queen Titania's grace and benevolence, and she'd had the pleasure of witnessing her in the flesh once, over a decade ago. She shared their admiration, and so lamented having to fight her here. Oberon, on the other hand... her grandfather didn't even try to hide his detestation of the man in front of his family and she could see here why. Of course, he'd always advise them to be polite if they ever met him. She could attribute that to this oddly belligerent and fairly childish demeanor.

Taking another sigh and cursing Cleo under her breath, she steeled herself and stepped up. Zephyr followed, recognizing the two clearly aggressive opponents as enemies. "Zephyr, listen to miss Nena and don't try to charge in!"

In his strange state, the most Zephyr could do was distinguish between enemies and allies, but his combat instincts themselves told him well enough that these two were stupidly strong. Whether he heard Cherry or not, his extensive training kicked in to tell him he stood no chance using his usual tactics. As such, he put up his buffs and held his spear, but unlike usual, he immediately equipped his kerambit in his off-hand as well. Rather than rush in blindly, he waited to watch for his allies movements before taking action. He felt as if he were staring down two iron walls, not that that would stop him from trying to fight them anyway.

Titania flashed a look in Oberon's direction, lips curling. "Oh no, he was more than happy to give me away to another man... with a donkey's head."

Oberon gave a tired sigh. "Must you, dear? Right now?"

Titania gave a delicate snort and turned her attention back to Cleo. "Quite right. We're here to entertain with our bodies, not our words. And I wouldn't want to keep you waiting. So, young man, let's see how well you dance~"

With a sweep of her wings, the wind she'd wrapped around them let loose in a powerful shockwave that would have blasted Cleo away if she'd aimed it directly at him. However, she aimed it low towards his legs, giving him a chance to avoid it... with a little flourish, hopefully.

Meanwhile, Oberon regarded Zephyr with narrowed eyes, his smile never wavering, as the Vanguard prepared his spear and kerambit. "My sweet queen has a delicate touch. But I wouldn't want to insult the ones who challenged me by giving anything less than my best!"

He whipped his wings forward, unleashing a sweeping torrent of flames toward Zephyr. Swearing, Nena flew in and grabbed him by the arms, pulling him up into the air just in time as the flames licked at the tips of his boots.

That's it. She'd had enough of faeries.

"Zephyr, go ape on this fairy fop!" she roared, dropping him directly over Oberon as she whirled around in midair and fired an Impure Reach spell at the back of his head.

Monet

"If only we had a picnic to go with this wonderful view!" Monet pleasantly sighed, as she gently placed her left hand under her cheek and glanced around at the wonderous scenic view before her eyes locked with Bastions even more wonderous eyes.  

A good bottle of expensive wine from the tavern with some home fresh home made baked good.  What else is good picnic food?  Some bread with some jelly? maybe some cheese, a sandwich?  It... just doesn't seem good enough.

I mean I could make illusions but you can't really eat illusions, but she could spice up the scenery a bit more.  She waved her hand and suddenly the immediate surrounding area turned somewhat into a makeshift ball room an elegant carpet with small fancy lights littering the area as the trees and sky spanned above the view making an open top ballroom scene.

Maybe there's some place nearby that they can get some food from in the fairy forest.  But... maybe.

Monet muttered as she walked over to a nearby clearing, the attacks from combat barely missing the two of them as she pointed to a nearby tree in the forest full of an an assortment of various herbs of different colors.

"The magical properties of the forest is a great place to make dyes, I can show you some.  It's how my family mainly crafted their paintings." Monet said with a kind smile as she began collecting various berries and gathering them next to Bastion.

"So, shall we commemorate this moment with a painting!" Monet stated with a gleeful smile as she pulled a canvas out of her bag and began drawing the scenery around it, putting extra emphasis on Bastion and his handsome appearance.

Zephyr Arc - Banquet Brawl

Zephyr prepared to enlarge his Kerambit to use as a shield when Nena quickly swept him up. He appreciated the assist, allowing her to drop him over Oberon as he swung his rapidly growing spear at his back with no hesitation.

Cherry sat on Nena's shoulder, ready to assist at any time when an idea came to her. "Ms. Nena! Can you get Komori to buff Zephyr? It should help even things out!" She exclaimed urgently.

- Cleo -

Cleo smirked at Titania’s words. “Milady must be very forgiving to still be with him then.” He said as she turned back towards him. “I might have considered the donkey an upgrade.”

He dipped his torso in a half-bow as she wound up her attack. “For a creature of beauty, such as yourself, a little wait is nothing. I’d be more than happy to be your dance partner for this evening.”

Rising from his bow, Cleo narrowed his eyes at the whipping wind. This demon definitely planned to play with him, but she wasn’t going to play nice.

Playing dirty is no hardship.

Grinning, Cleo whipped his katana upwards, using Winter’s Bite to throw a wave of frigid air into the wind. The two exploded on contact, sending glistening crystals of ice and snow back down in Cleo’s direction. It was clear that she would overpower him in a battle of pure force, but the sudden change in temperature took all of the power out of the wind, leaving a still smirking Cleo standing amidst the picturesque swirl of cold mist.

“You know, we’re awfully far apart to call this a dance.” He swaggered forward, clearly in no rush. “If you really want to give them a show, you’re going to have to come a lot closer.”

- Titania and Cleo -

Titania sighed at Cleo’s remark. “Forgiving... and patient.”

She shot a sidelong glance at Oberon, who seemed to be enjoying himself too much to notice how his queen was faring at the moment.

“Very well.” She laughed softly and floated nearer to him, stopping just out of reach of his sword. “Then let us dance.”

Her skirt swirled about her legs as she twisted, pointed her finger at him, and shot a bullet of raw maga at him. “Magic Arrow!”

As though performing an intricate dance around him, she twisted her body, her feet only just gracing the tips of the grass before moving into a new position. Each time she moved, she fired off one of her Magic Arrow shots at him, a mischievous smile playing across her lips.

——————————

- Bastion and Monet -

Bastion followed after Monet, drifting almost like a sleep walker across the grass as she picked the various berries for dyes. Neither seemed to notice Titania’s Magic Arrows flying around and ricocheting off the trees and grass around them.

They both took seats in the grass, smiling dreamily at each other. Monet, cheeks flushed, looked between him and her paintings, hands working delicately at each stroke. Bastion was content to simply watch her and drink in her beauty. But as he sat there, he noticed a lovely little flower, golden like Monet’s hair, peeking out of the grass between them.

He reached for it, eyes fixed on her, and pulled it up. “For you, Monet! Golden as your hair, or a sunshine day!”

As he held it to her, beaming, he failed to notice the Magic Arrow that had flown past, shearing off the top and leaving only a dangling, forlorn stem.

——————————

- Nena, Cherry, Zephyr, and Oberon -

Oberon looked up as Zephyr swung at him from up above with his enlarged spear. With a smirk, he raised his arm and his sword, both toothpicks compared to Zephyr’s weapon, and easily blocked it without budging. With his exceptional levels of maga, he could easily supplement his diminished physical size.

“Not bad,” he said, lazily batting away Zephyr’s spear. “You have the potential to someday pose a challenge!”

Taking advantage of his smaller size, he darted in and thrust his sword at Zephyr again and again in a series of fencing jabs. Then he raised his sword, which shimmered with maga.

“Taste my Brave Blade!” he cried, swinging it down on the Vanguard.

As Nena watched from the sidelines, too afraid of hitting Zephyr to fire off a spell, Cherry pleaded with her to get Komori involved.

“Uh, Komori, dear!” she called.

He looked up from his place lying on the grass, staring up at her shapely legs. “Yes, my love?”

Love... She bit her lip. “Would you cast a buff on Zephyr for me? Pretty please?”

He sat up immediately like an excited dog. “Of course! Anything for you, my Buxom Buttercup! What would you like?”

Buxom Buttercup?! Nena spluttered and flushed red, trying to refocus her attention on the fight. Oberon was overwhelming Zephyr with his speed, so maybe...

“S-“

Then Oberon pulled up and unleashed a strong attack, causing Nena to change course mid-word.

“-trength! Strength!”

Komori winked and directed his hand at Zephyr, calling out, “Buster Force!” just as Oberon’s sword fell.

Forest - Fairy Banquet
- Vayu -

Nihility’s relentless prodding brought him back to the situation eventually. He turned around, eyes still glazed over, searching for Scarlet, who had moved away when he was distracted.

Vayu looked at Nihilty, trying to put the words together.

"Barbecue?” he asked Was this a barbecue for all of them? But who was doing the barbecuing?

“Yes, yes,” he agreed and motioned for Nihilty to take a seat. “Eat all you want…”

Then he turned around, blissfully unaware of the battle going on nearby. Since he couldn’t see Scarlet, he stopped dead in his tracks, searching for her beautiful image with puppy dog eyes.

Zephyr Arc - Banquet Brawl

Oberon was able to react and block his blow, quickly launching into a barrage of counter attacks. Just as the fairy king had him on the ropes, Cherry and Nena's intervention landed in the form of Komori's buff; Buster Force.

Zephyr felt a massive wave of power rush through him as the buff hit. Further amplified by his own Overdrive, his strength now easily dwarfed Oberon's. He used this new found strength to parry Oberon's attack and possibly knock the sword out of his grip. Having commit too much to the strike, it was unlikely the fairy king would be able to pull back in time.

Not wasting the opening the move would create, he punched at Oberon with his other arm, aiming to knock out the pesky fairy. If not, he at the very least wanted to wind him. Of course, a full blow from him in his current state may even break some bones if his opponent wasn't careful.

- Cleo -

For a moment, Cleo had enjoyed the closer quarters, but now he grimaced as he sidestepped each Magic Arrow. There were so many lovely women in the grove, and if one of them were to get caught by such a blast, it would be truly unfortunate. At least his dance partner didn't seem too concerned with the festive decorations, which were being systematically destroyed by her attacks. As the thought crossed his mind, an Ice Wall rose to block one of the arrows that had drifted a little too close to Nena.

Muttering a curse, Cleo shifted his weight to move into a better position. If he couldn't stop her from firing off attacks, the best he could do was point them somewhere useful. Rather than simply trying to dodge, Cleo tried to place Oberon and Zephyr behind him at each moment Titania faced him. Maybe the potential of catching her husband in the crossfire might give her pause. Or maybe she'd enjoy giving the poor fool a good blast for ignoring her.

"Milady dances beautifully." Cleo commented, trying to maintain an air of ignorance about his positioning.

"Arcane Tether!"

A cord of maga attached to an arrow zipped through the air towards Titania, and Cleo's eyes widened in surprise. Judging from the put-out look on Scarlet's face, she'd grown tired of waiting for his return and was none too pleased to find him dancing with another woman.

- Oberon & Zephyr -

Oberon gave a start of surprise as Zephyr not only met his strike, but managed to knock it away. His body twisting away from the recoil, he was easily able to swivel about and dodge the punch.

"Hah, you've gotten an impressive boost to your strength," Oberon said as Zephyr came at him again. "But it does no good if you can't land a hit!"

Nena glared at him. Maybe they would have to handle that as well.

"Komori, dearest," she called. "A quick boost for Zepyhr, if you please?"

Komori beamed at her from his place cross-legged on the ground, picking flowers. "Ah, I can do better than that, love!" He lifted his hand toward Zephyr. "Quick Spike!" Then directed the other. "Featherfoot!"

Oberon gave a start as Zephyr suddenly propelled himself forward, dancing on the air as deftly as the fairy king himself. After the momentary shock wore off, Oberon began to laugh with delight as he dodged and flitted this way and that like a desperate fly, avoiding Zephyr's attacks and Titania's haphazard spells.

"Now, this is a show!" he declared.

--------------------------------------------------

- Titania & Cleo -

Titania flashed a beautiful smile, giggling as Cleo danced to her tune. He was quite clever, though maybe not as much as he thought. She was aware of what he was trying to do, but it didn't much matter to her, so she allowed him to direct the redirect the flow of their battle. It was more fun that she'd had in a while.

But then, the moment was shattered. An arrow flew through the air toward the fairy queen, and she turned with exceptional grace at the last moment to sidestep the arrow as it whizzed past her golden hair. Her demeanor changed in an instant, from playful to frosty, as she hovered higher into the air.

"I've endured multiple indignities tonight, but a unprovoked attack after our cordial invitation is more than I can stand."

Nena winced. Fairies... flighty as anything. If they didn't managed to flip her back to fun mode, this could get very deadly, very fast.

Titania lifted her hands, wisps of cold emanating from them. The ground beneath Scarlet frosted over in an instant, blades of grass becoming a field of icicles. Then the ice shot upward like spears, ready to skewer her.

Forest
- Vayu -

His eyes found her, just as she was attacking Titania. Her look wild and full of fury. What a sight to behold.

He rushed to her side and took her hand, pulling her with him towards the banquet table. “Look at the feast prepared before us,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “Allow me the honor of your company while we eat.”

The ongoing battle was only intruding at the edge of his consciousness, but as long as Scarlet was there, he was unable to focus on it and thus unaware of the dangers he had just pulled her from.

Nihility ~All in Buffet


“Yes, yes,” he agreed and motioned for Nihility to take a seat. “Eat all you want…”


The magic words were spoken. Nihility's eyes sparked with excitement as she squealed in delight. "All that I can eat!?"

Delicious food was everywhere. Where should she start. Nihility clutched her fits, crossed her arms at her chest and surveyed her options with glee. "Ooh... that Fomorian sitting at the table looks exceptionally juicy. I bet he could be chopped up into loads of pieces of varying shapes and sizes."

Nihility ran her tongue over the side of the Whip-Sword while hungrily eyeing the Fairy.

“Allow me the honor of your company while we eat.”

"Huh!?" Vayu's voice jolted her attention away and onto them. Nihility's eyes sparkled once more as they laid upon Scarlet.
"Oh yes, yes.. How could I forget, we shall feast indeed." The hunger starved woman licked her lips and swallowed her saliva as she approached the Scarlet wonder and held her free arm.

"Yes, yes, we shall have a wonderful feast." She lovingly cooed while tenderly stroking Scarlet's arm.

- Scarlet -

“Not now, Vayu.” Scarlet huffed, trying to squirm out of his grip. “That winged upstart is trying to steal my dance partner.”

She twisted away in attempt to point her bow at the fairy queen once more. “I need to teach her not to flutter into the middle of someone else’s relationship.” Her tone was clearly agitated.

-------------------------------------

- Cleo -

Cold energy wash up his arm as Cleo drew his wakizashi. With a sweep of the blade, Titania’s wave of frigid spikes simply melted away under the influence of his Cast Jamming, amplified by Sage Focus. It appeared that Vayu was trying to pull Scarlet away from the battle. Hopefully, the man would make it quick. Having Scarlet and Titania near one another didn’t bode well for anyone involved.

“My apologies, milady.” Cleo turned back towards the fairy. “My companion isn’t quite herself tonight. Your husband’s charm spell seems to have made her a little more volatile than usual. So, I do hope you’ll forgive the intrusion.”

He seriously doubted that would be the case, but a guy could dream, right?

Titania's eyes flashed as she turned from Scarlet and Vayu, who'd narrowly avoided her spell to gather where Nihility was currently ravishing her way through the lovely banquet feast, back to Cleo.

"Forgive the intrusion indeed!" she snapped, wings beating more rapidly. "Do not take me for a fool, young man. I indulged you while it amused me, but I will not easily allow more disgrace upon myself and this festival!"

She turned and aimed her hand toward Nihility, Vayu, and Scarlet, who was even now struggling to let off another arrow at the fairy queen. Chill gathered in the air and frosted the ground, where another forest of icicles would erupt and skewer them all.

Nena swore under her breath. This really was the worst case scenario! But how could she stop both of the fairy monarchs?

"Oh." Her eyes widened, and her lips parted in triumph. Her charm spells may have slid off Oberon like oil over water, but she knew too well the stories. She knew the fairy queen's weakness.

Wings whipping about her, she spiraled toward Oberon and the flask that hung around his waist. As Zephyr parried his strike, she slipped beneath their arms and snatched away the flask of love potion. Oberon gasped but couldn't reclaim his flask, as it was now his turn to block a blow from Zephyr. Nena uncorked the flask and hurtled it at Titania just as she made to release her spell.

"Ugh!" Titania cried as the mist from the potion washed over her like cloying, scented wave. She shook her head, her magic dispersing, and blinked around. As she did, her eyes fell on the form of Mongo, who'd just extricated himself from Nena's bag, panting and crawling toward Aeris.

"Most... wonderful," Titania breathed.

In a flutter of wings, she raced to Mongo and caught him up in her arms, holding him aloft and spinning about. Mongo whined dizzily, but Titania took no notice as she gazed in adoration at him.

"Never in all my days have I seen anything so beautiful," she sighed. "We shall be together forever, my sweet."

As Titania made her vows, the buffs on Zephyr began to wear out. Oberon, grinning triumphantly, knocked Zephyr back and send his weapon skidding across the grass. But before he could go in for the winning blow, he caught sight of Titania and blanched.

"Oh dear..." he sighed.

Nena folded her arms and glared at him. "Not so funny now, is it?"

Oberon huffed and looked away. "Very well. You have all provided sufficient sport for our festival, so I can do this much at least."

He flew over to Titania, who took no notice from him as she peppered Mongo's head with kisses, even as he squirmed desperately to escape her grip.

"Titania, my dear, he cannot love you."

She looked up, glaring at him. "How dare you! He does love me! He must!"

Oberon put a soothing arm around her. "My dear, see his eyes! He's been charmed by some other! We must undo the curse to set him free. Only then can he be together with you."

Titania contemplated him, then Mongo, before finally smiling. "Very well. Let it be so."

She crushed Mongo to her bosom with one arm as she and Oberon took to the air, pressing her free hand against his. They spun about, their wings releasing a torrent of shimmering light like a rain of moonlight that swept over the clearing.

"Let all manner of fantasy be like a Midsummer Night's Dream!" they called together.

Nena watched in wonder at the beautiful display, but become much more focused on the noticeable change in the rest of the group. They began to shake and stir themselves, like waking from a dream. The dazed look in their eyes faded, and when Komori turned to look at her with the warm, familiar look she saw from across the bar every night, her heart lifted.

"Hey..." She flew slowly up to him, hand extended. He took it and stood up from the grass, gazing at her demon form for the first time. Panic swept through her at how he might change what he thought of her, how he might look at her, but his expression never wavered.

"I have a feeling the last few hours have been pretty wild," he mused.

A commotion up above drew their attention, and Nena turned to look up with a smirk. "You could say that..."

Titania had just come around as well, and judging by the way the once-struggling Mongo had now fully-embraced his position, so had he. With a cry of disgust, Titania ripped him away from her chest and hurled him down into the bushes with an impressive right throw.

"You!" she cried, turning on Oberon.

"Now, now, Titania," he said, waving his hands. "I didn't enchant you this time!"

Her wings beat with a fury as she rounded on him. "Don't you give me that excuse! You started this with your infantile pranks and your infernal love spells!"

She fired off a Magic Arrow at him, and he narrowly dodged it as he rose further into the air.

"Titania, be reasonable!" he cried.

But the fairy queen was done being reasonable and took off after him. As they danced about the sky over the clearing in a blaze of magic, Nena settled against Komori's side, smirking as she enjoyed the opportunity to be the one watching the show.

Fairy Forest
- Vayu -

Vayu was about to protest, trying to pull Scarlet in closer when suddenly the fairy spell was lifted. Shimmering dust rained down on them.

With a sudden gesture he pulled his hands back from Scarlet like he’d burned himself. Feeling dazed, he stagged a few steps back against the banquet table. What had just happened? It seemed like a dream and it was fading just a quickly. Nothing he could remember from the time they went searching in the woods made much sense.

He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking in his surroundings. Things began to make sense and he shook his head. Fairies.

Suddenly he could hear roaring laughter in his head that he easily identified as Catequil.

Oh I’ve never seen you make a fool out of yourself. The demon could hardly speak.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Vayu muttered, clearly not as amused. “Why don’t you do something about it next time?”

No way, that was too amusing. Seeing you run around like an idiot.

Vayu could feel his cheeks burn red hot. Well as least it seemed like everyone had also been in their own world.

To play down the awkwardness he actually sat down at the banquet table.

“So…now that all the fuzz is over, are we actually invited for this feast?”

Zephyr Arc - Banquet Brawl

With the aid of Komori's buffs combined with Overdrive, Zephyr was head and shoulders above Oberon in terms of raw strength and speed. However, the Fairy King's superior agility and experience lead to them having a fairly evenly-matched exchange. The two were locked in a stalemate, exchanging blow for glorious blow as the danced across the battleground.

Cherry and Nena watched on as the melee reached its crescendo. Both combatants began to grow ever so slightly more sluggish, and Zephyr's inferior maga stores were just about to bottom out. As he prepared for a final hurrah, Nena saw her chance and slipped between then, throwing both Zephyr and Oberon for a loop as he was forced to weaken his blow, while Oberon was only barely able to parry it.

As Zephyr dropped to his knees, drained of Maga, Nena snatched the flask at Oberon's waist and cast the contents at the nearby Titania. Things devolved quickly from there as Oberon panicked, and ended with the royal couple reversing the majority of the damage they'd caused and rushing off in a cat-and-mouse chase. Zephyr allowed himself to drop onto his back once the healing effect kicked in, Cherry floating over to stand on his chest. He was normally in a berserk state or gambling on terrible odds in most of the recent fights, but he was fully conscious and was able to enjoy this one to the fullest.

"At least you seem to have enjoyed yourself." Cherry piped up with an exasperated tone, he hands resting on her hips. He wasn't fully aware of much of the things that happened other than the general events he'd participated in himself, so all he could do was give a laugh in reply. "Sorry sis, thanks for the save."

- Cleo -

Of course it couldn’t be that easy...

For the first time since the “fight” had begun, frustration appeared on Cleo’s face, and he readied his two blades. Canceling out Titania’s spell had been a one-time thing. If she chose to unload another one, he could only hope to block it by more conventional means, such as stepping in front of it. Of course, he’d have no issue with doing that for the lovely Scarlet, but he’d prefer that Vayu do a better job of wrangling her away from the battle. Unfortunately, in this case, his Spitfire had a mind of her own, and she wasn’t easily denied.

Cleo shifted to put himself in the spell’s way, only for it to die out before reaching him. He watched with great amusement as the fairy queen scooped up Mongo, who struggled to escape her bosom. That was very unlike the imp, but Cleo couldn’t fault him for being blinded by the lethal beauty of one such as Aeris.

Still, the end to the entire fiasco seemed oddly anti-climactic. Not that Cleo was complaining. Watching Titania dance was like watching art in motion, even if Oberon joined her for it. He could just willingly ignore that part.

Smirking to himself, Cleo turned to find Silky standing beside him with a slightly dazed look on her face.

She was cute like that, soft and innocent.

Mine.

Cleo frowned, trying to shake away the thought. The spell had been lifted, and the others were beginning to recover their senses. Even the headache he’d been experiencing had faded now. So, why couldn’t he get control of his own thoughts?

Because you’re finally awake. Finally aware. Ready to take what’s mine.

He blinked to find that Silky was now regarding him with a concerned look. She moved as if to touch him, and Cleo raised a hand to stop her.

“Not now.” His voice was a little more harsh than he’d intended, and she flinched. Great, now he felt bad for scaring her.

“Sorry. I’m just not quite myself yet.”

You’re who you were always meant to be.

The feel of cool skin on his face pushed away the voice. In the moment of distraction, Silky had closed the gap between them and cupped his face to visually inspect him.

“I’m fine. Really.” He couldn’t be further from fine, and judging from the look on the demon’s face, she was well aware of that.

She smells like innocence.

“Please.” Cleo swallowed the rest of the sentence, unsure of what exactly he’d been going to say. It was all he could do to force himself to remain still when what he truly wanted to do was reach for the soft body in front of him.

Silky must have seen the restraint in his eyes, or perhaps the predatory glow behind them, because she suddenly took a step back, her cheeks stained with red.

The fact that she now seemed unable to look him in the eyes actually helped a little. It meant she couldn’t unintentionally draw him in, and Cleo took the brief window of respite to try and reign in his thoughts. The spell had clearly affected him differently than the others, and now that its effects had faded for them, he was still experiencing the sensation that had helped him fight it off, although not as strongly, now that the headache had faded.

His eyes moved across the other, stopping for a moment on Nena. She’d been completely unaffected by the spell. Maybe she could shed some light on his current situation, although Cleo had a sinking feeling that he already knew what was going on.

Samael

"Bastion?  Why are you holding a random stem in your hand?" Samael stated with a confused **** of his head to the left side, as he quickly glanced around seemingly dumbfounded at the situation he found himself stuck in.  Why was he here, what was he doing?

For some reason when he looked at Bastion he was filled with unspeakable terror, but at the same time he felt rather relaxed and comfortable around the vanguard like he had been refreshed and gotten something off his chest.  Maybe one of those fairies played a trick on him?  It was hard to say but his face was turning beat red for some reason.

Samael's eyes slowly lowered as he noticed a canvas in his hand, oh cool!  He had done some painting maybe that would refresh his....

Suddenly the picture of the overly handsome Bastion flooded into his head, as some very unwanted memories hit the vanguard like goki had bashed him upside the head with a club.  This. Was. Bad. He needed to fix this.... uh uh uh!

"Transform!" Samael whispered, as the portrait phased Bastion out of the picture replacing it with just the scenery of the forest for the time being.....

"Y-you were acting pretty strange!  You kept calling out the name Monet?  I'm not sure who that was...." Samael muttered with confusion, as he glanced around at the others and the display hoping that no one noticed what had happened between the two of them.

"Anyways!  Let's listen to Nena, she should explain the situation to us!" Samael quickly stated in an ah-ha moment, as he rose one of his fingers in the air, turning his gaze away from Bastion in a heartbeat.

Nihility ~Aftermath

"Oof, this slippery morsel keeps slipping away. Why won't it stay put so that I can savour her more contently." Nihility pouted as Scarlet once again broke free to get closer to Cleo. "Hmmph. Maybe I should devour that horny thing to lessen the competition." She eyed the blonde Vanguard with contempt.


A short while later, Nihility reacted to the fairy dust by rigorously rubbing her eyes. Water leaked out from the sides and she ended up wiping them with a leaf from the table. The minty freshness accompanied with twinkling stars brought her back to her homeland. Her community, back home, farmed a few herbal patch of land and she used to lay back next to the mint grove and stare at the starry night sky. Running her fingers around the constellations... "Wait, something feels off. Why does this pattern look so wrong?"

Nihility sped up lining the dots and a blurred image took shape. A familiar yet foreign being. One that felt out of place and yet so close to heart. It was an image of a Great many-limbed creature impaling a young maiden through her heart.


The horror sped through her body like venom rushing through a victim's veins. Nihility's life flashed through her eyes, the ordeals she had gone through woke her from the nightmare.

"GET~OUT~OF~MY~MIND!!" Nihility screamed internally as she plunged a sharp serrated object into her left hand.

The pain pulled her out into the open, among the fairy folk and her fellow vanguards. Shoggoth's presence seemingly faded away. Her throat though did feel dry and coarse with a strong bitter after-taste.


Tyrian licked the area that the blade was impaled through. Nihility lightly pushed his snout away.

"It's okay Tyrian. It is just another flesh wound."

Gripping from the rough side, Nihility yanked the sharp object out from it's slot, leaving a fountain of blood in it's wake.

"Eh..." the wilder beast worriedly squinted his eyes at the act. "I think it would have been better to break it and leave the impaled part in or something like that." Tyrian backed and turned around as Nihility motioned at him.

"Shush.. I'll be fine."

Nihility poured some liquid from the table onto her hand to wash away the wound and then pulled out a hand towel from the satchel around her demon's back. The injured hand was soon tightly wrapped in the purple towel and Nihility proceeded to pop two Maga Beads into her mouth. The bitter taste finally washed down from the sweet nectar that the Maga provided. She then closed her eyes and stretched her back to finally open them and gaze around at everything else that was taking place at the Fairy Ground.

Bastion blinked as his senses seemed to clear, like waking from a deep day dream. Monet... where was Monet? He looked around, but she wasn’t there. No... of course she wasn’t here. He hadn’t gotten up the courage to invite her.

But then, why...

“Bastion? Why are you holding a random stem in your hand?”

Bastion blinked, glanced down at the drooping stem in his hand, its top sheared and smoked as though the top had been blasted off. What on earth? As it dropped from his hand, he realized it was Samael who had asked him. Samael, holding his drawing pad... But hadn’t Monet been...?

This was all too strange. He shook his head.

“Y-you were acting pretty strange! You kept calling me Monet...” Samael said.

Bastion blushed and averted his eyes. “Uh, that’s... well...”

Fortunately, Samael sprang to his feet not long after, and Bastion exhaled a sigh of relief. How embarrassing... How would he ever face the real Monet after this?

With an apology first. Maybe it was best in the end that she was spared from this insanity, but still, he should have given her that choice.

Getting to his feet, he shuffled to join the others as Titania and Oberon’s dance of furious battle devolved before their eyes. Titania and Oberon’s furious blows and counterblows seemed to slow down until their arms were suddenly wrapped around each other, and they were kissing passionately and corkscrewing through the air in a flutter of wings until they settled back on the grass in front of the others.

The fairy court fell silent, and Oberon and Titania straightened up as they realized everyone was watching them.

“Ahem!” Oberon declared. “We hope you all enjoyed this pageant organized just for you, our adoring subjects! With help from our troop of performers here, of course!”

Titania chipped in. “As thanks for their assistance with this... performance, we shall, of course, welcome them to the feast and whatever they desire to eat, as well as safe passage back out of the fairy realm.”

Nena folded her arms, eyebrow raised.

“And... for the fairy who helped coordinate this act,” Oberon said, plucking Cherry out of the group and holding her up. “We shall bestow a marvelous gift!”

In a flash of light, Cherry had evolved before their eyes into a High Pixie. Pulling herself free of Oberon’s hold, she fluttered her wings, testing out the new surge of power in her tiny body.

“As well as a lovely ride in our personal chariot over the fairy woods for two,” Titania added, flicking her eyes from Nena to Komori, standing quite close to each other.

Well... good enough. Nena fought down her blush, smiled, and raised a hand to the crowd of onlooking fairies. “Thank you, King Oberon and Queen Titania! We’re so [privileged to be a part of these festivities,” she said through clenched teeth.

Either the fairies were highly gullible, or they knew it was just better to go along with whatever the king and queen said. They burst into applause and resumed their partying as though nothing unusual had happened. Some of them - High Pixies, Mandrakes, Goblins, and even Spriggans - began to creep up to the Chaldeans, inspecting them curiously. Did they want to come with them?

“Well, this didn’t quite work out how I intended,” Komori admitted, scratching at his chin. “But it’s not every day that Vanguards get invited into a fairy banquet. Eat up, everyone!”

He turned to Nena and smiled, nudging his head toward Oberon and Titania’s chariot as it settled onto the grass near them. “What do you say?”

Nena felt heat spread through her chest as she gazed into his eyes, holding her with warmth and affection, without a hint of judgment or reservation. No spell or compulsion. Just Komori.

“Okay,” she whispered.

As she took his hand, however, her gaze fell past him to Cleo, and she could see that not everyone had recovered from Oberon’s meddling.

“Give me a minute,” she amended. “I’ll meet you there.”

Komori nodded, and she walked over to join Cleo and the Silky at his side.

“Have you figured it out yet?” She sighed and folded her arms. “It’s a lot to take in, I’m sure. But... put it out of your mind for right now. This is still our summer break. Enjoy it while you can.”

She put a hand on his shoulder as she started to turn away. “And if you need to talk when we get back to town... you know where to find me.”

Zephyr Arc - Banquet

Zephyr spent some time on the ground to cool off and lose some of the mental fatigue. Cherry sat on his chest explaining the last few hours and filling in the gaps of what he himself knew. It seemed they'd had quite the adventure, even apart from what he himself knew. It sounded like Cherry and Nena had been the ones playing the biggest roles, while Cleo managed to nearly get them all killed... He'd have to give him a nice whack on the head for that one. He was at least glad he'd had enough of his wits to help keep Oberon at bay... and that he got to have a nice no-hold-barred, all-out fight with no pressing issues detracting from him enjoying it.

The short reprieve was interrupted when the royal couple finally finished their little lovers quarrel and return. Oberon made a nice little speech to try and brush aside his actions which lead to this entire debacle in the first place, and it seemed Titania felt the best way to make it up to them, and make sure her citizenry didn't get too wise to mistakes made, was to pretend they were intended guests to begin with. He didn't really care for politics unless it concerned him, Fairy or otherwise, so he didn't feel very inclined to challenge those claims.

Oberon then made to grab Cherry after some glib declaration or other. Zephyr would have swatted his hand away if Cherry hadn't gestured for him to stay put. Damn Charm-abusing sleezebag might be fun to fight, but he should really keep his paws off his sister...

Oberon cupped her in his hands, and a flash of light encompassed her. Cherry felt new strength surge into her, both magical and physical ability rising skyward. She rushed out of his palms, fluttering about at a speed she couldn't imagine before. Once she was done testing her new power, she returned to float right before the royal couple, taking a bow. "I thank the queen and king for their gifts. My late parents wished to give you their regards as well."

Zephyr, on the other hand, was swarmed by denizens of the fairy realm along with the other Vanguard. While the vast majority of them were pleasant enough, one odd-looking creature attempted to pickpocket him during the confusion. He grabbed its arm, already clutching his pouch, to deny the attempt. "Hmm... I guess you'll do." He muttered as he whacked it on the head. "Hop in." He told it. Understanding what he meant, the creature readily entered his gauntlet, not wanting further punishment and ecstatic that it could go around with a Vanguard.

Fairy Forest
- Vayu -

Almost as if to answer his question, the royal couple returned from their fight and declared them honored guests.

Vayu rolled his eyes, making sure it was not in the direction of the King and Queen. He didn’t want to cause another incident. They seemed at peace for now and the mood had definitely brightened.

The Vanguard leaned back in his seat to watch the spectacle of Komori and Nena embarking on the chariot ride through the woods. He could barely hide his grin.

His curiosity sparked when Oberon picked up Cherry and in a flash of light, he turned her into a High Pixie. His eyes followed her as she surged through the air, looking much stronger. Attracted by all the commotion, more demons swarmed the meadow, some approaching them directly. Zephyr didn’t hesitate long, contracting one into gauntlet.

He gave Zephyr a thumbs up, being too far away to shout. A congratulatory gesture on Cherry’s newly gained power.

Decisions. Decisions. While he was contemplating if he wanted to pick up another demon, his eyes fell on Cleo, who still looked like he was still working through some stuff.

Finally, he jumped up and approached the small lake that he could see just beyond the trees. He sat down and held out his gauntlet. He actually had to concentrate quite hard to call forth the Aquans he contracted with at the island. It had been so quiet and calm, he’d almost forgotten about it.

He released the demon into the water.

“I think this is a better fit,” he said. The Aquans dispersed his body into the water until only his face was visible. He gave Vayu a hint of a smile and then disappeared entirely.

Exhaling, he stood up when he suddenly heard a jingle. With a light chuckle, he turned around. Of course, it was none other than Jack Frost standing behind him. “I should’ve known,” he muttered, not really as upset as usual.

Jack Frost’s eyes widened when he saw the fairy banquet only a short distance away complete with all the creatures.

Before he could take many steps, Vayu had already grabbed his collar. “Not so fat, Mister,” he said. “You were not invited and we’ve been in enough trouble with the fairies for one day.” Jack Frost pouted but gave into Vayu after a stern look from the latter. Actually looking quite tame, the two returned to the banquet table where Jack Frost sat down and began to stuff his face after receiving a nod from Vayu.

“Impressive control,” a High Pixie showed up behind Vayu, fluttering around. Vayu raised an eyebrow. “Over such a mischievous demon,” the High Pixie added.

“He just neede someone to show him the way,” Vayu replied. The High Pixie fluttered around Jack Frost, who moved to protect his food from the other demon.

“I think I shall want to come with you,” the High Pixie declared. Vayu looked at him surprised, not sure that demon knew what it was getting into. Finally he nodded and held out his gauntlet. It glowed and the High Pixie disappeared.

Ripped from his thought by the sound of cutlery clattering to the ground, he looked at the banquet table, half expecting Jack Frost to have stirred up some trouble. Instead he saw Nihility, stabbing some kind of sharp object into her hand.

Speechless for a second, the girl had her hand tightly wrapped before had rounded the table.

“Why did you stab your hand?” he asked, opting for a more direct question instead of a casual are you okay?

Samael

Pageant, were they talking about the beauty Pageant they were doing earlier among the female vanguards?  Maybe they wanted to join?  Still.... a lot of the situation didn't add up, and he had a lot of questions.... "Uh..."

"Poor, poor, thing." A cocky, quaint, but soothing voice hummed in a sing-song voice.

Samael quickly turned his gaze in the direction, as he noticed one of the mandrakes were trotting over to Samael with a coy and mocking smile etched onto her face.  She 'seductively' swayed her hips like she was the bell of the largest ball, and slide across the grass like it was some sort of runway that had all the spotlights on her.

"You may know fashion, but you don't know what to do with it at all!" The strange mandrake chuckled wagging her finger in Samael's face before she elegantly drew it back and pushed the flower on her head upwards like some sort of make shift attempt at doing a sassy hair flip.

The flower on the mandrake's head lightly fluttered, as it emitted strange pink like spores that gently flew into Samael's face.  It smelled... sweet?  Kind of like a a form of makeshift perfume made from the flowers in the forest.

"What are you talking about?  I've done a lot with my tailoring skill even on this..." Samael defensively commented, as he thought quickly back to the run way and the various swimsuit outfits that he tailored for the group.

Though, that just seemed to greatly amuse the mandrake more as she began loudly giggling at him like she was talking to some kind of idiot.  After a few seconds of the painful mockery, she held up a cloth handkerchief in front of her mouth to stifle her laugh before wiping away a single tear that had dripped from her eyes.

"DEAR.... 'tailoring skill'?!  You'll never impress handsome over there with talk like that!  Especially when you're disguising yourself as a guy, because I'm pretty sure he doesn't swing that way." the mandrake slyly commented, as Samael's eyes widened larger than he could imagine.

He suddenly hushed the mandrake and quickly pulled her to the side of the forest away from the others who might of heard.  It didn't look like anyone had noticed though, as they were all heading to the banquet.

"This is a fairy forest dear!  Tricks are an art here, and your illusion is another canvas at amateur hour... just look at the spriggan." The mandrake commented, as she gestured with a quick flick of a wrist to an almost invisible spriggan that was picking its noise behind a tree.

The mandrake shuttered at the sight, as she quickly turned her gaze back towards Samael now a little bit more annoyed than before, a scowl appearing on her face.

"Regardless, you don't have a demon, and I don't want to be caught up in these forest boonies anymore!  So, I'll join you.... but you will not just toss me aside!  In exchange, I'll give you some pointers in wooing that vanguard's heart!" The mandrake stated with a smile as she gingerly held out her hand.  Samael could only cover his face in embarrassment as the red tint from his real skin began to glow through the illusion.  He wanted to be mad.... he really did, but he was more worried this plant would just yell he's a woman.

"Fine, deal.  Just stop talking." Samael quickly uttered, as the Mandrake simply winked before jumping in and out of his gauntlet like out of a gymnastics event before yanking Samael towards the banquet where the other vanguards were eating, as he ended up sitting right next to Bastion with her standing on the other side.

"Crazy day hu?" Samael commented at Bastion, before averting his gaze towards the food, as the sound of a hand hitting a face resonated in Samael's left ear.

- Cleo -

”Have you figured it out yet?”

Cleo swallowed to avoid answering that question. The question that, by its very nature, confirmed what he’d already suspected.

”You know where to find me.”

He was unable to draw his eyes away from the form of the demon now walking away from him.

Mine.

“No.” Cleo muttered to himself as his eyes drifted to Komori. “Her heart belongs to another.”

But she could be yours. They could ALL be yours.

He shook his head, still trying to silence the voice, but when he opened his eyes, there was a tiny form taking up his field of view.

“You truly are fascinating.” The high pixie tilted her head, studying him. “I can see why the queen allowed you to dance with her.”

“And why is that?” Cleo asked, trying his best to regard the demon in an objective manner. Normally, he would readily accept the company of a woman, but right now, their presence made him feel uncomfortable in his own skin.

The pixie giggled before covering her smirk with one hand. “Oh, that’s rich. You really don’t even realize you’re doing it.”

“Doing what?” He grumbled, finally able to focus on something other than the soft body in front of him, his annoyance with the tiny woman.

“Nothing, apparently.” She continued to smirk. “But it’s everything about you, really.”

She drifted closer to him, putting her hand under his chin to meet his gaze. “Tormented eyes that make a woman wonder what lies in those depths, a voice that contains all the confidence of a white lie and the gentle rasp of a sexy promise, not to mention you smell like sweet sin, and this forest normally drowns out that aroma with its own.” Her piercing eyes held Cleo’s as she continued to study him. “You’re a natural born heartbreaker, and I have a weakness for those.”

Cleo swallowed, his annoyance now replaced by a mixture of fear and some primal thrill. “I’ll only use you.” He forced out the words.

“But what a way to go.” The demon’s smirk became a hungry smile, showing her teeth. “I’d be more than happy to know I stole away my queen’s dance partner for my own.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but she covered his lips with her hand. “Make no mistake, heartbreak. I already know you’ll never be mine. That doesn’t bother me.”

But you can be mine.

“How could I possibly refuse an offer like that?” Cleo asked, raising an open hand towards the high pixie, who gracefully shifted to sit on his palm.

“You’d be a fool if you could.” The demon kissed his cheek as she began to dissipate. “I look forward to dancing with you for a long time, heartbreak.”