Chapter 13: Carla's Plan! Straw Hat Entrapped!

Wealth, fame, power…Gold Roger, the king of the pirates obtained this and everything else this world has to offer. And his dying words drove countless souls to the seas.

"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I've gathered together in one place! Now you just have to find it!"

These words lured men into the Grand Line in pursuit of dreams greater than they've ever dared to imagine. This is the time known as 'The Great Pirate Era'.

The king of Edolas, Faust, walked up to the podium and the crowd cheered, happy to see their king. Not too far from the crowd, Gajeel stood behind one of the columns, in the shadows, watching what was about to take place. Natsu and Luffy looked and saw that the citizens had smiles on their faces, confused on why they're smiling.

"Children of Edolas, it brings great joy to my heart to tell that the anima program has produced enough magic power to last another decade!" Faust said proudly. "Let us rejoice together! Let us sing and dance! Let laughter roar through our sacred kingdom! The power within this lacrima belongs to all of the loyal subjects of our fair homeland! Today, we hold the future in our hands to ensure its prosperity into tomorrow and beyond! Therefore, we must swear to protect this gift from Heaven with our very lives! My dear children, today I shall make a most solemn pledge to you as your malevolent ruler." Faust swung his staff back into the lacrima behind it, creating a crack in it. "I will bring you more power, such much more than you possibly imagine!"

Then the crack Faust in the lacrima grew and a small piece of it fell off. The looks on Luffy and Natsu's faces turned from shock to looks of pure anger.

In a nearby hotel, Natsu and Luffy looked out of two separate windows as the sun sets behind the castle. Nami sat next to Lucy and Wendy in silence. Chopper and Happy sat close with sad expressions on their faces as Carla was on the table in the middle of the room, writing something on paper.

"I can't just sit around like this forever!" Luffy said, walking to the door. "I'm storming the castle!"

"Yeah, I'm coming too." Natsu said, following the Straw Hat boy.

"That won't do any good." Carla said, stopping the two boys.

"Oh yeah why not?!"

"Without a solid strategy in place, you don't have a prayer of saving anyone."

"But still, they were turned into the castle." Wendy said. "And we don't know how to change them back."

"The king would have to tell us that himself." Carla said as she started writing again.

"But the king will never do that!"

"He will when we beat it out of him!" Luffy shouted.

"Oh yeah, do you think the king actually does know how to reverse the spell?" Lucy asked, standing up.

"Probably…" Wendy answered.

"Then we still have a chance." Nami said, standing up. "If we close to the king, then we can pull this off!"

"For real?!" Luffy asked.

"But how do we save them?" Chopper asked.

"We can use Gemini!" Lucy said. "Now only do they have to turn into the people they touch, they can also read the mind of whoever they turn into. That means if they're able to turn into the king, they will be able to tell us everything he knows. But timing will be a major when using them because they can turn into someone for no more than five minutes. And they can remember a couple of people at a time, literally just two."

"But the real question is how do we get close enough to him?" Nami said. "That's tough."

"Yeah no joke, he always got a lot of guards surround him." Wendy said.

"I've came up with a plan for getting within range." Carla said, surprising the group. "As with any home of paranoid ruler, when the castle was originally constructed there was a tunnel as an escape route which links to a mine shaft outside of the city walls."

"Hold on, how do you know about it?" Nami asked.

"It's just in head, coming to me in little bits and pieces." Carla said. "From the moment we stepped foot in Edolas, it was as though I had a mental map that's slowly being filled in."

"Well my head is still empty." Happy said sadly.

"If we find that tunnel, then we may have a real shot of getting close enough to the king." Nami said.

"Alright, let's get inside that geezer's head!" Natsu shouted.

"Yeah!" Luffy shouted.

"Let's go!" Wendy shouted.

"Aye-Aye sir!" Happy shouted.

"Not yet." Carla said.

"Why are you always stopping us?!" Natsu shouted at the white feline.

"She's right." Nami said. "We'll go under the cover of night. Right now, we should get rest."

As the darkness of night shrouds over Edolas, the pirates and wizards quickly ran through the streets of the Royal City and outside of the city's wall.

"We should be arriving at the entrance to the tunnel, any minute now." Nami said, looking at the map Carla made. The group continued to run until they reached a mine shaft with logs in place to keep it from collapsing.

"Is this it?" Chopper asked.

"Yes, I'm positive." Carla said.

"In we go!" Luffy said as he starts to walk into the shaft.

"Wait!" Carla said, stopping Luffy.

"Again with the stopping?!" The Straw Hat captain shouted.

"I understand that time is on the essence, trust me." Carla said. "But we would need a source of light in the tunnel."

"I got this!" Natsu said, balling his fist. "One torch coming up!" Natsu threw a punch at the air, hoping to use his fire magic but nothing happened.

"You've seem to have forgotten again." Carla said. "Your magic power simply doesn't work here in Edolas." Natsu sweat dropped as he remembered that fact.

"I can't exactly see Lucy being the only one of us that can use magic is a comforting thought." Happy said.

"Give it a rest, Happy." Nami said as she and Lucy walked towards the blue cat.

"Yeah, you're just jealous." Lucy said.

"I'm sorry." Happy said. "Did I say that out loud?"

Wendy and Carla looked at Lucy and Nami and noticed that they were holding something in their hands. "What are you and Nami holding there, Lucy?"

"We got us some torches." Lucy said, showing the sticks with clothes wrapped on one of the ends.

"We took some wood over there." Nami said, pointing at a small shack next to the shaft. "…wrapped them in clothes and dipped them in oil."

"All we have to do is light these babies and we'll have no problems seeing." Lucy finished.

"And will we do that?" Carla asked.

"Good question…" Lucy said with a sweat-drop.

Natsu, Lucy, and Luffy grabbed a little stick with a block of wood. They placed the wooden block and started rubbing it with the stick.

"This has got to be the most humiliating thing I've ever done in my life." Natsu said.

"We've got no other choice." Lucy said. "But it really illustrates how convenient magic can be for even the little things."

"Old time people must be super impressive if they could make fire by rubbing a couple of sticks together like that." Happy said.

Natsu continued to trying to make a fire until his stick in two. "Oh man, I suck at making fire!" He shouted in frustration.

Then a small stream of smoke started to come from Lucy's stick. "Whoa, I did it." She said surprised.

"Yay, Lucy made fire!" Chopper said happily.

"Good job!" Happy said.

"Awesome! I knew you had it in you!" Natsu said.

"I find it ironic that a fire wizard can't even make a single spark." Nami said.

"We got fire now so just drop it, would ya?!" Natsu barked back.

Lucy continued to rub her stick on her block and made a small fire on the stick. "I'm all fired up!" she shouted happily as she lit the torch Wendy was holding.

"Go Lucy!" Happy shouted.

"Now that's over, can I rest for a while?!" Lucy whined. Wendy used the fire on her touch and lit Nami and Natsu's torches. Natsu looked at the flame on his torch.

"Is something wrong?" Happy asked. Then Natsu put the torch in his mouth and pulled it out, eating the fire that was on it. "Yeah, maybe fire will bring your magic back."

"What did he just…" Chopper asked.

"Natsu has a high tolerance when it comes to heat." Happy said. "He can even eat fire."

"Really?! That's so cool!" Luffy shouted.

"That's right." Lucy said. "So did it work?"

"Do you feel it yet?" Happy asked.

Natsu continued to eat the fire that was on his torch and swallowed it. "I'm definitely feeling hot right here." He said, pointing at his stomach.

"Well, does it feel like magic?!"

"I don't know. But I'm starting to think that it does!"

"You got the fire in your belly!" Lucy said. "Go ahead and let it out by giving the old 'Fire Dragon's Iron Fist' move!"

"You bet! Coming right up!" Natsu shouted, punching the air again and nothing happened again. "Sorry, I got nothing."

"I could've told you that would happen." Carla said as everyone except Natsu walked into the mine shaft.

"I thought all I have to do was eat this weird world's fire!" Natsu whined, running after the group.

"Don't worry about." Lucy said. "Thanks to my torches, we're all set."

"But they're not magic." Happy said.

Nami and Carla got in front of the group as they ventured deeper into the shaft. "It looks like no one has been in here for a while." Lucy said, looking around.

They continued to walk until Carla stopped moving. She looked at her map and said, "Put the light right out in front of us." Nami nodded and point her torch towards a part of the wall that is boarded up. One of the boards, it had "KY-2c" carved on it. "That's our link."

Lucy walked up to the boarded walk and knocked on it. "It seems pretty thick." She said. "And I think it's been fortified by some sort of magic."

"Does that mean this is a dead end?" Luffy asked.

"We have to find a way to get through it." Carla said. "I'm sure that the passage leading to the castle is on the other side."

"I guess we're going to have to break it down." Happy said.

"That would be no problem." Nami said with a smirk as she looks at her captain. "Luffy, you know what to do?"

"Yeah, just stay back you guys." Luffy said, cracking his knuckles. "Gum-Gum…" Luffy started to rapidly punch the wall as if his arm had multiplied. "…Gatling!" Luffy's punches broke down the stone wall in front of him, revealing a dark tunnel.

"Hey look…" Lucy said.

"It's a passageway." Wendy said.

"Like I always said, Carla has the one-two punch of brains and beauty." Happy said.

Luffy retracted his arms and worked at his work with a smirk on his face. "Whoa, this was awesome." Natsu said.

"It may not be the magic you have, but those devil fruit powers sure come in handy." Lucy said.

Carla looked inside the tunnel and said, "Whether or not this passage leads to the castle remains to be seen."

Wendy looked at Carla and said, "You've been right about everything so far. I'm sure this is where we want to go."

Happy looked down at the ground. "What's wrong, buddy?" Natsu asked.

"Hey, why do you think I'm not getting any kind of map inside my head?" Happy questioned, causing the group to look at him confused. "I mean, I'm from Edolas just like she is. And supposedly, we both got sent away on the same mission. So how come I don't know anything?"

Carla walked up to Happy and said, "We agreed not to take about that, remember?"

"Aye…"

"I can't give an explanation. That's just how it seems to be working out."

"For now, we got to keep to moving forward." Nami said. The group nodded and proceeded to go into the passageway.

"I hope this thing doesn't cave in on us." Natsu said.

"Shut up Natsu or you're going to jinx us." Lucy said.

"This mine shaft is pretty old and run down, isn't it?" Wendy asked.

"I really it's not haunted." Chopper said. He had his fair share of haunted things back in Thriller Bark and he doesn't want to go through that again. Then Luffy and Natsu suddenly stopped with shocked looks on their faces.

"What's the matter?!" Lucy shouted. "Please don't let there be something scary down there!"

"Just hold this thing for me, ok." Luffy said, giving Lucy his torch.

"Why?" Lucy asked, taking the torch. "Please me what's going on?! Did you two have to fight something?!"

"Be quiet and move a muscle." Natsu whispered. Then Luffy and Natsu moved their hands in front of the fire, making shadow puppets. "We found the layer of the shadow monsters!" The group looked at them deadpanned as Nami hit both Luffy and Natsu over of their heads.

"THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR GOOFING AROUND!" she yelled.

"Now let's see." Carla said, looking at her map as the group continues to walk through the passage. "At about 50 paces, we'll take a left. We should turn here."

The group turned to the left like Carla said and entered into another part of the tunnel. This part of the tunnel is filled with stalagmites and stalactites, just like a cavern.

"This is more like a cavern than a tunnel." Nami said, looking around the cavern

"Yes and I believe this cavern is located directly underneath the castle." Carla said.

"I don't understand how you're doing all of this but I'm so glad that you're on our team." Lucy said.

"I am perplexed as well. But like I said, the map keeps getting more and more filled in."

"You're amazing, Carla." Happy said.

"Well being able to find our way through here is sure to be the easy part. But what would truly amazing is sneaking in and out of the king's royal quarter undetected. As defenseless as we are on, this mission will be over the moment that we're spotted."

"Now don't forget, we can always my magic when we get into a pinch." Lucy bragged.

"So you'll save us?" Natsu said. "I don't think so."

"What are you saying?!" Lucy shouted. "The whole relies on using Gemini!"

Nami looked at Happy and asked, "Are you ok, Happy?"

"Aye." Happy answered as the group continued to walk through the cavern. Then a web-like substance appeared from out of nowhere and wrapped itself around Lucy.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted.

"What is that?!" Wendy shouted.

Lucy tried to move her body but couldn't. "Oh no…I'm stuck!" She said. Then the same substance appeared again and wrapped itself around Natsu and Wendy.

Luffy looked around, trying to find where did that substance came from. "Who are you?!" he shouted. "Come out here so I can kick ass!" Then the same substance wrapped around the pirate captain's body and his mouth.

"Luffy!" Nami and Chopper shouted. The web substance then wrapped itself around Nami and Chopper as well.

Lucy tried to move her hands so she can grab one of her keys. "…Can't reach my keys…" she said, still trying to find a way to grab them. The sounds of footsteps running fill the cavern as Edolas appeared out of the shadows and surrounded the pirates and wizards.

"Royal troops!" Happy shouted.

"Why are there so many of them down here?!" Nami asked.

"How in the heck did they find us?!" Chopper shouted. Carla looked at the soldier with a terrified look on her face.

"So these are the magic users from Earth Land?" A familiar voice asked, causing Lucy, Natsu and Wendy's eyes to widen.

"And they must the pirates from the Grand Line." Another familiar voice said, causing Luffy, Nami and Chopper to widen their eyes. The group looked at the direction where the voices came and saw two figures walking towards them. They were Edolas versions of Erza and Zoro.

"Ezra?!" Lucy shouted.

"Zoro?!" Chopper shouted. Happy and Carla looked Edo-Zoro and Edo-Erza with widen and terrified eyes.

"It's interesting how those two resemble those outlaws Natsu Dragion and Lucy Ashley." Edo-Zoro said, looking at Lucy and Natsu.

"And those two resemble Luffy Arnold and Nami Greensly, don't you think?" Edo-Erza said, looking at Nami and Luffy.

"Take them away." Edo-Zoro ordered.

"Yes sir!" The soliders shouted as they dragged their captives away.

"Erza!" Lucy shouted, looking at Edo-Erza. "Please listen to us! Wait!"

"Wendy!" Carla shouted, running after her friend.

"Natsu! Lucy!" Happy shouted, following Carla. But the cats didn't go far as they were cut off by Edo-Erza and Edo-Zoro.

"Great exceeds…" Edo-Erza said, confusing Happy and Carla. Then Edo-Zoro, Edo-Erza, and the Edolas soldiers kneeled before the two cats.

"We're honored to welcome you home." Edo-Zoro said. The Earth Land wizards and the Straw Hats looked at the scene in front of them with widen eyes.

"I don't understand." Nami said. "What's going on?"

"Who are you, Happy and Carla?" Wendy asked shocked. "I thought you were our friends."

"We are most grateful for your help on capturing the intruders." Edo-Erza said. Happy looked at Carla with a scared look on his face as Carla looked at the ground, saddened about what just happened.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Explore! The Exceed Kingdom – Extalia!