Out in the woods just beyond Magnolia in Aslant, Roger and the crew got the Transcendents settled in the heart of the forest.
He slapped a runed-up array disk smack in the middle of the clearing, stood up, and told Charlotte, "Alright, soon as we bounce, this bad boy auto-activates. Boom—instant Transcendent crib."
Charlotte's eyes got glassy, but she bowed deep. "Roger, sir, the Transcendents owe you forever. Door's always open—come crash anytime."
"Bet. I'll swing by," Roger said with a chill nod.
A blue mama cat in a green hood waddled up, grinning like a proud auntie, and raised a paw. "Happy, you come play too, sugar."
"Aye!" Happy chirped, then scratched his head, cheeks pink. "Dunno why, but you smell like fresh-baked cookies and hugs—like mom vibes. I dig it."
Mama Cat's eyes welled up; she scooped Happy into a fluffy squeeze, petting his noggin. "Aww, I dig you too, kiddo."
Natsu rubbed his chin, eyeballing the two blue cats. "Yo—Happy and Auntie here? Same fur, same scent. Kinda sus."
Lucy slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes bugging. "Wait—are they actually mother and son?!"
The cats pulled apart. Happy opened his mouth—just as a white tomcat with a badass mustache strutted up, flexing. "Keh! Sniffin' scents? You pups ain't ready for that level!"
"Aye!" Happy snapped to attention on reflex.
"Keh!" White Cat spun away, cheeks flaming red.
"Real men don't cry—toughen up!"
"Aye!" Happy barked again, then blinked. "Huh? I ain't cryin'—Auntie is—"
"Keh! No backtalk!"
"Aye!!"
Mira giggled behind her hand. "Heh~ Looks like the tsundere gene runs in the family."
Right on cue, both Carla and White Cat sneezed like they'd been called out.
After the sappy goodbyes, word got out Roger was hitting Daphne's lab. Curiosity hit the guild like a drunk dragon—everybody tagged along.
They cut through the mini-forest by the guildhall and—bam—there it was: a jacked-up building with two massive dragon horns stabbing the sky.
Lucy sweat-dropped. "=_= I knew she was dragon-obsessed, but turning her pad into a damn dragon cosplay? Extra."
They rolled up to the glass front doors. Before anyone knocked, the doors slid open like they were late for a hot date. Magic circles lit under everyone's feet, floating them inside smooth as butter.
"Whoa!" Wendy yelped, wobbling. Her hand shot out and—boop—hit an invisible railing.
"?" She patted it. "A handrail?"
"Yup," Roger said. "Array reads your vibe. Freaked? Invisible rails pop up. Chill AF."
"Sick!" Wendy gawked at the metal walls blurring past.
Next stop: a hulking steel vault door. Two life-size cat plushies strutted up, paws to chest, bowing like butlers.
"Welcome, Lord Roger," they purred in silky robo-voices. "Lady Daphne is mid-experiment. Hang tight."
"Oh!" Natsu bounced over, circling them. "You talk now? Last time y'all just clapped and threw flowers!"
"Correct," Left Cat smirked. "Lady Daphne upgraded us—daily chores, lab assist, weather logs, plus top-tier AI and emotional sim packages."
"Right Cat added, "Multi-language packs, voice bank galore." Their eyes flashed. Voices flipped:
- Deep daddy vibes (Suoh's growl)
- Sultry big-sis (Fujiko's purr)
- Stoic bro (Red A)
- Tsundere gremlin (Mikoto's zap)
In creepy harmony: "Pick any voice you want, cuties."
The squad blinked, then lost their shit. "WHOA—BADASS!!" Clap storm.
Lili, shrunk to Happy-size, deadpanned, "So this is other-world magic? Mind blown."
Lucy: "=_= Nah, this ain't magic—this is straight sci-fi."
Roger stroked his chin. "Random voice swap every few lines?"
The cats grinned like glitchy emojis. "Roger that."
They popped open belly compartments—smooth as fridges—and handed out gourmet snack packs. "Nibble while you wait. Anti-boredom protocol."
"Sweet!" Natsu and Happy dove in.
Lucy recoiled, hands flailing. "Hard pass! ←_← Feels like they pulled it outta their guts—gross."
Only the bottomless pits took the snacks. The cats' pixel eyes drooped sadly, then pinged back—pushing the vault door open.
"Lady Daphne's free. Enter the lair."
They stepped in… into a blank box room. Lucy opened her mouth—cat pressed a hidden panel.
WHOOSH—freefall!
"AAAAH!" Screams cut short as the drop braked. Lucy clutched her chest, pale. "I'M GONNA DIE!!"
Front door slid open to a colossal underground factory. Hundreds of cat-bots zipped around—sweeping, hauling gear, filing paperwork like a hive on adderall.
Erza pointed, jaw dropped. "All… robots?"
Mikoto voice: "Negative. We two are Daphne's perfect accidents."
Fujiko voice: "The rest? Dumb drones. Pre-programmed only."
"Sup, nerds!" Daphne swaggered in, diet lollipop dangling, glasses flashing. "Big Dragon One and Lil Dragon Two—my ultimate artificial lifeforms!"
Happy: "=_= Names suck. Zero dragon. Call 'em Big Cat and Lil Cat."
Daphne smirked, finger to the sky. "Big Dragon, Lil Dragon—SUPER TRANSFORM!"
CLANK-CLANK-CLANK—
Gears screamed. Bodies flipped, cat heads swapped for snarling dragon domes, fur sucked in—replaced by emerald metal scales. Boom: two badass mech-dragons.
"HELL YEAH!" Kana, Lisanna, and Erza swarmed, hammering the armor. "They freaking morph!"
"Right?!" Daphne crowed. "Stole every mecha manga from the guild lounge. S-Class combat power in dragon mode!"
She chomped another lollipop, mumbling, "Sucks only these two can morph. Drone squad's just scripted murder-bots."
Wendy beamed at Carla. "Still mega cool, right?"
Carla arms-crossed, nose wrinkled. "Kinda nasty—fur vanishes, bald scales. Like a plucked chicken."
Daphne slid over, grinning like a gremlin, offering Carla a red gem. "Heyyy, test this bad boy?"
Carla squinted. "If this is a prank—"
"Psh, never~" Daphne's smile could cut glass. "It'll make you OP."
Carla snatched it. "…How?"
"Raise it, yell 'Rising Sun Heart, Set Up!'"
Carla shrugged. "Rising Sun Heart, Set Up."
BLAM—pink supernova!
'Standby Ready'
'Rising Sun Heart, Set Up'
Electronic chick voice. Pink light swallowed Carla—reshaped her into a white-haired cat-eared babe in blue-white tactical gear, sci-fi staff in hand.
She blinked golden cat eyes at eye-level Wendy. "Wendy? Why'd you shrink?"
Wendy rubbed her eyes. "C-CARLA?!"
Carla frowned. "Kid, you okay? Course I'm Carla."
Happy pointed, voice cracking: "CARLA'S A HOT HUMAN?!"
He rolled his eyes back and ate floor.
Carla glanced down—human hands, no paws. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
Daphne scribbled like a madwoman. "Copied the Judgment Wing system! Staff's got auto-defense AI. Pump magic—boom, energy cannon. Wanna blast?"
Snap—targets rose.
Carla, half hyped, charged the staff.
'Firing Mode'
Petals unfolded, pink array spun—BOOM—targets vaporized.
"Holy shit!" Carla gawked.
Daphne yawned mid-note, cat-bot slid her espresso. She chugged.
Roger eyed her zombie bags. "You pull another all-nighter binge?"
"Duh! Genius strikes—grab it or lose it!"
Roger sighed, flicked his wrist. Dragon Knight armor and Nightwalker's Ten Commandments spear materialized.
"Souvenir from another world. Anti-magic crystals in the plating—laughs at most spells. Study up, slap it on mechs or cat-bots."
Daphne's eyes went full searchlight, drool pending. She lunged, molesting the armor. "New tech tree! Unknown power source! chef's kiss"
Lucy winced. "So… creepy."
"If that suit could run, it would."
Roger flashed a red array—Judgment Wing rolled in. "Battle data's logged. Ability charts too. Sleep first, nerd out later—I ain't scraping your corpse off the floor. No dragons in the afterlife."
Daphne froze, deflated. "…Fine. Science is a marathon."
Happy stirred, groaning. "Weird dream… Carla went full babe-mode…"
Lucy evil-grinned, pointed. Human Carla fidgeted in her skirt, arms crossed.
Happy grabbed his face. "IYAAA—CARLA'S STILL HOT!!"
Mira dangled a yellow gem. "Sn~appy~"
Happy snatched it. "Same deal?!"
Mira leaned in, husky: "Try it—matching 'couples' outfits with Carla~"
"COUPLES OUTFIT?!" Happy's eyes blazed. He jammed magic in—golden flash!
Silence… then guild-wide snrk explosION.
Happy blinked. "Am I a stud now?"
Glanced around—same height. "Wait, why ain't I tall—"
Natsu wheezed, pointing. "HAPPY'S IN A SKIRT! HAHAHA!!"
Happy looked down—blue-white mini-skirt, twinning Carla's bottom half. Skirt.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!" He clawed the hem. "MIRA YOU LIAR!!"
Mira tilted her head, innocent. "But it's identical—total couples look~"
Happy sobbed. "COUPLES MEAN GUY AND GIRL VERSIONS—NOT TWO SKIRTS!!"
Daphne reverted him under duress. After ogling more batshit gadgets, the crew bounced back to the guild. Cue epic rager welcoming the newbies—Edolas arc, closed with a middle finger to boredom.