Wormstock (Arcadia's S-Rank Exam)

Arcadia woke up early that morning. Little did she know it would be one of the weirdest days. She might have decided to sleep in if she had known. The littlest slayer made sure to put the Silver Star of Odin around her ankle to ensure she wouldn't be so little for the day. Maybe one day she'd figure out the cause of this de-aging condition, for now she at least she had found a way to treat the symptom.

She got dressed and tucked a glowing crystal rose behind her left ear. Lastly, she grabbed her iLac and new scissors. It was tempting to use the scissors just to portal across the street, but she didn't want to make that too much of a habit. If she portaled to the guild hall straight from her room across the street, Arcadia would miss out on breakfast down in the Fairy Hills lobby.

It was not every morning, but she took advantage of it when she could. Better cooking than on her own, and tasted better than something from the guild hall and was both closer and cheaper than heading to the nearest bakery.

Heading downstairs, Arcadia got into the short line, and began picking out her breakfast. She got a couple pancakes, and part of a cheesy omelet with vegetables. It was more like a cheesy egg scramble with a few diced vegetables mixed in, and that made it easier to split up and spread out over her two pancakes.

As she got into line, a text came in from a contact at the Magnolia Theatre Company, saying to call at the slayer's earliest convenience. Arcadia figured she should head over to her Executive Manager office across the street to best call them in private. That's why she was spreading her cheesy egg scramble over the pancakes and rolling each pancake up as it it were a tortilla. She'd go ahead ad eat her pancake breakfast burritos along the way to her office.

Arcadia waved goodbye to her various dormmates, and headed out Fairy Hill's main doors. The bare foot slayer considered using her scissors again to portal straight to her office, but she wanted to pick up a watermelon-strawberry juice mix to turn slushie and finish off her breakfast. Portaling wouldn't save her that much time in that case.

Waiting for a wagon and magic vehicle traffic to clear up, she ate her first pancake breakfast burrito. She thought it was weird there was so much traffic this early, but paid little attention to who was being dropped off in front of the guild hall as she took the time to look over the text she'd gotten.

When the street was clear, all was back to the usual low to no traffic she was used to, especially this early. She slipped her iLac into its pocket in her dress and headed across. Arcadia was hungrier than she had thought, because by the time she was ready to push the grand doors tot he guild hall open, she was finishing her last bites of pancake burrito.

She opened the doors, meaning to head straight to the bar to pick up her usual watermelon-strawberry juice mix, then up stairs to her office. Arcadia didn't make it more than five steps as the doors closed behind her. Her sparkling faerie green eyes stared around, wide in shock. The lobby was filled with hundreds of... worm people? She wondered just how sheltered she had been back in ancient Dragnof, because modern Earthland sure held many things and people she never would have dreamed of.

What was more, these worms appeared to be girls, all of them holding some of the collectible figurines she had ordered made for the Fairy Festival. They seemed to have either Aven or Mura figures or both, and a few worm girls had signs proclaiming things like 'I <3 Aven!' and 'Mura, I want to have your baby!' All of them such signs proclaiming various levels of fan love. So these worms were Aven and Mura fangirls. By the sound of their building chant they wanted to see both of the boys, and wouldn't be leaving until they did. Unfortunately, Arcadia knew very well that wouldn't be possible, because both Aven and Mura were off on important jobs.

WC: 719
Total WC: 719/3000

The bar staff were busy enough keeping up with drink orders, and the fairies... The fairies! In all the stories she remembered from growing up in Dragnof, the Fair Folk were not to be trifled with. Arcadia did not find it hard that out of hundreds of excitable fangirls, one or a couple of them would have managed to annoy the wrong fairy, and get themselves and everyone else turned into worms.

She made her way through the slimy vermian crowd to the reception desk. Leaning over the desk, she greeted the fairies on duty, asking as politely as possible in their language of these enthusiastic fangirl guests were worms when they came in. When the fairies seemed confused and wondered why she would ask such a thing, a relieved Arcadia did not press the matter and moved along to find out when the fangirls came in. It turned out the crowd of worms had gathered firs thing in the morning and already been waiting around an hour or two despite the bar staff Initially telling them both Mura and Aven were busy and away from the guild hall.

That complicated matters, if these worm fangirls had already been told they couldn't see the wizards they swooned for and still demanded to see them, then what could she do to make sure the crowd didn't turn unruly. She briefly considered the possibility of opening a portal underneath the vermian crowd and opening the other just outside the guildhall. There were two things wrong with that idea. One, it would be horrible from a public relations point of view, and two, there was no way she could open a portal big enough to get them all. Arcadia didn't have it in her to be that mean either. Not to some girls who only wanted to see their idols.

One of the fairies she had been talking to at the reception desk offered an idea that might work. The fairy offered to turn Arcadia into Aven or Mura for a day, and then at least one of them could make an appearance to appease their worm fanbase. Arcadia wasn't so sure, but it did sound like the only thing that might hundreds of vermian fans filling the guild hall. She just needed a way to make both sets of fans happy. The fangirls of which guy she chose to be, would for sure be happy. The other fangirls would be disappointed their idol didn't appear, and still might not leave.

Arcadia hit on inspiration that could make this plan work for the whole crowd of worm fangirls. She could use her puppets of mist to create the illusion of the wizard she would not look like. The young slayer would just have to excuse the illusion's mute nature on a loss of voice, or she could have the fairies set up one of the floating microphone lacrima with voice changing mode.

It would be a matter of using her puppet transfer spell to seamlessly jump between disguises. To do that, she would have to remember to change the appearance of the illusion she was switching places with. Usually the puppets she switched with, looked just like her. Switching between a puppet that looked different without being noticed would be tricky. Otherwise the crowd would just see that Aven and Mura had magically switched places.

Arcadia decided to go with the lost voice excuse, but asked the fairies to bring out and ready the microphone lacrima with voice changing mode just in case. The pale blonde slayer followed the one fairy upstairs, out of sight of the worm fangirls.

Before the fairy turned her, Arcadia closed her faerie green eyes and whispered an apology, though she knew none of them could hear it. "Forgive me Muwa, Aven... and big sister. Please don't come back to the guild today. It'd be hella embarrassing if any of you saw any part of what's about to happen."

The young blonde slayer was hesitant about this idea for more than one reason. Last time she had a spell like this cast on her to act as a celebrity body double, Arcadia had nearly been killed by taking a poisoned attack by a crazed and obsessed fan.The other problem was choosing which celebrity Fairy Tail wizard to be for the day. With a deep breath, she nodded her readiness to the fairy.

Choosing which of the two was made easier by the thought of Nessa coming into the guild hall and thinking even for a second that Arcadia was Aven was utterly horrifying. She was greatly relieved that the other option was not the ever mysterious Markus. Though being mistaken for Aven was still a possibility if she had to break down and play both idols for the work fangirls.

The fairy cast the spell and Arcadia could feel herself growing taller and decidedly more masculine in shape. Her voice was an octave or two lower than normal too. "La la la la. Me me me.This is totes weirder than being Lina."

Arcadia sighed and conjured a Aven puppet of mist, "Please don't kill me worm fans. Literally, please don't." To ensure a showy entrance, Arcadia opened a hands-free portal that lead back down to the lobby. The worm fangirls wouldn't know to associate the portals with her, so it was a safe show opener. Arcadia-Mura and mist-Aven stepped through the portal to thunderous cheers of worm fangirls all over the guild hall lobby.

Arcadia lead her puppet of Aven up toward the floating microphone lacrima the fairies had set up. She had the image of Aven bow as she waved, "Hey all! We were out on important guild business, but they got word out to us that all the best fans were waiting for us right here back at the Fairy Tail Guild Hall! So and Aven and me wrapped up our jobs with all the awesome you saw in our fights to get back and see you! Mura and Aven fans are the best fans!"

Wild cheering was a good sign, but Arcadia had to wonder how much of this it would take to clear the crowd out of the guild hall.

WC: 1041
Total WC: 1760/3000

Slowly the worm fangirl's cheers died down, and Arcadia began to weave her way toward keeping the crowd happy. The transformed slayer continued in Mura's voice, ”Our mission was so dangerous, Aven here lost his voice. So I'm sorry to those of you who came to see and hear him, but I can answer questions for him.  So girls, are there any questions?”

That question was as big an understatement as it was a mistake. They sure had questions, and overflowing enthusiasm to ask them.  The crowd of worm fangirls couldn't seem to help themselves from simply blurting out whatever question of their own that had burning to get out. Most of which she didn't know the answers to, and some were maybe a little embarassing.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"What's your strongest spell?"

"Will you sign my figurine?"

"Do you like worm food?"

Arcadia held up her Mura-hands to try and silence the crowd, and see if she could handle questions in a calmer, one at a time fashion. Only they didn't stop coming, and only got more and more and more embarrassing. Some weren't even really questions

"Boxers or briefs?"

"I love you Aven!"

"I want to have your babies!"

"Are you both virgins?"


It was horrifying, not only couldn't she truthfully answer even half of these questions, she didn't want to even try and make up answers for some of them. Arcadia could feel her cheek burning flush red at some them. That was just the questions she could make out of the increasing crowd noise the questions were becoming. She needed a different way to distract the crowd, and fast.

Glancing to the floating microphone lacrimas, she figured it was time for plan B. She had almost failed to notice the second lacrima the fairies had set up. A mini-concert would give the perfect excuse to use the microphone's voice changing, so her Aven would't sound just like Mura. A quick examination of the two, and she determined which had the voice changing mode switched on.

She conjured up an extra image of around her image of Aven and an image of Mura around herself. That way when she teleported by switching places with the first image of Aven inside the second image of Aven, it would look like the Aven and Mura had not moved at all to the crowd of fangirl worms.

Arcadia made the transfer, inwardly sighing at how complicated this plan was getting. Being disguised as Mura disguised as Aven was not anywhere close to what she thought her day would be like when she woke up this morning.

Wearing her optical disguise of Aven over her physical disguise of Mura, she glanced over to the silent image of Mura that now stood where she had only a second before. As Aven, she stepped up to the microphone lacrima with the voice changing mode active, preset by the fairies, "H'o-h'okkay! How would you girls like me and Mura.. I mean Mura and myself, to give you a little concert right here? I promise our voices are as sweet as our magic. Promise." Arcadia used Aven's winning smile and a charming wink to help sell even the skeptical in the crowd on the idea. The mircophone lacrimas would be holding up that end of the deal.

Digging her iLac out, Arcadia opened up her music list. There was nothing that struck her as something either Aven or Mura would sing or even be caught dead singing. It would still have to do, so she chose a couple that she knew at least. She tapped the voice-changing microphone to follow her over to the reception desk where she handed over her iLac, "I totes.. er absolutely borrowed my teammate's iLac. Arcadia said we could use some of the songs on it of we got to sing to you all. Fairies would you do the honor of syncing this iLac in with sound system? Thanks!"

Arcadia put her iLac in karaoke mode before setting it on the reception desk. The fairies quickly synced it into the sound system and set the first song to play.



When the last eagle flies over the last crumbling mountain

And the last lion roars at the last dusty fountain

In the shadow of the forest though she may be old and worn

They will stare unbelieving at the last unicorn

When the first breath of winter through the flowers is icing

And you look to the north and a pale moon is rising

And it seems like all is dying and would leave the world to mourn

In the distance hear the laughter of the last unicorn

I'm alive, I'm alive

When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning

And the future has passed without even a last desperate warning

Then look into the sky where through the clouds a path is torn

Look and see her how she sparkles, it's the last unicorn

I'm alive, I'm alive

As Aven, Arcadia strode slowly in front of the crowd. She didn't want to move faster than the microphone lacrima could float along with her. The young slayer had to consciously remember to not exaggerate the sway of her hips or shimmy the way she did when imitating pop female singers while singing alone in her room. Yet some of those moves bled through anyway, the young slayer getting more into her performance than she meant to.

When she reached the end of the song, she backed Aven away from the crowd to make room for her image of Mura to take front stage. As the next song cued up, Arcadia pulled another teleport transfer to put herself back in Mura's place. The outer secondary images again assuring the swap was seamless.



I think Earthland is a pretty gr-eat place

That's saying something, cuz' I've been through outer space

I think it suits me, it's just mah' sty-le

I think I'm gonna stay a little whi-le

I think that strangers are just friends you haven't met

I'm blasting monsters and I neva' break a sweat

I'm really thinking I could call this pl-ace home!

As Mura, Arcadia was a little more bold with her dance moves, because she was really getting into it now. Also the song was shorter, so she felt it needed more to sell it. As well, thanks to the fairy's spell, she didn't need the microphone lacrima to sound like Mura.

Arcadia was happy to hear the worm fangirls cheering more loudly and excited than before. Before the next song could play, she signaled to the fairies at the reception desk to to stop the playlist. She figured she should use the current crowd frenzy to talk them into one more activity, preferably away from the guild hall. She went over to the reception desk to reclaim her iLac, slipping it away. "I'll just hold onto this for Arcadia and give it back to her later. And wooo! I'm glad you liked our little songs for you. How would you all like to end your visit with a little group date with me and Aven to go see the first performance of the day of 'The Exceed' at the Magnolia Theatre Company!"

Still enthused, the crowd of fangirl worms cheered again at the idea of a group date with their two idols. Much to Arcadia's relief, the rest of her day as Mura and sometimes Aven went without a hitch. At least in comparison to how it started. Together they headed out of the guild hall and through the streets to the Magnolia Theatre Company.

Arcadia made sure to give her friends there a heads up via text of the incoming crowd of worms. They fangirl worms were surprisingly well-behaved during the theatre show, if only because their two idols were there to share it with them. Arcadia was able to bid them all farewell as the show let out. As soon as the last worm fangirl was out of sight, she portaled back home to her room, not coming out again until the next morning when the fairy's spell had worn off.

WC: 1374
Total WC: 3134/3000