A/N: Chapter 26 of Fairy Tail: Earth and Phantom. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Special thanks to the reviewers, I truly appreciate it.
Chapter 26: Extalia
Palace…...
One of the guards roughly shoved Wendy into a prison cell by herself and closed the door with a bang. Since the capture of the group, Wendy and Lucy were separated. They saw the return of their captain and after watching the stiff gestures, they could infer that Lexi managed to escape.
"Don't get your hopes just because your pal escaped." She spoke to Lucy and Wendy in a monotonous voice. "I would say her survival rate is quite slim….not with that wound that I dealt her."
"There's no way Lexi could ever lose to the likes of you!" Lucy said courageously even though she was shivering on the inside.
"Lexi?" Erza spoke, touching her lips with her fingers. "So that's her name….Lexi. Hahahaha, interesting! I'll capture her without fail."
"It doesn't matter what you do! She'll elude your capture and then kick your ass!" Lucy retorted.
"We'll see about that." Giving them one last glance, she turned away and left after snapping at the guards to throw them inside.
"Where's Lucy, Charla and Happy?! What are you planning to do to them?" Wendy gripped the bars and rattled them harshly as she questioned her jailer.
"Lucy…" The guard paused mid-stride and turned to look at her. "Ah, you mean that girl…..'fraid we don't have a use for her. Guess she'll probably be executed?" The nonchalant way he said that rubbed Wendy the wrong way and she snapped angrily, tightening her grip till her knuckles turned white.
"If you harm Lucy in any way, I'll make sure that Fairy Tail will kick your sorry butts!"
"Oooooh! I'm shaking in fear!" The guard mocked. "Geez, are all of Earthland's magic users so scary?"
"Why only Lucy…. What about Charla and Happy?" Wendy decided to take another approach into getting the answers she wanted.
"You mean the Exceed? Since they've accomplished their mission, the Exceed have been returned to their native land. They're probably getting their reward and stuffing their faces right about now."
"That can't be. I don't know what the mission was about but Charla said she'd abandoned it."
"Nope, they completed it perfectly."
"What is it? The mission that Charla and Happy had to accomplish….."
"Haven't you realized it yet?"
Extalia…...
High above the city floated another island, one whose population consisted mainly of cat people. Happy and Charla woke up in a very strange environment.
"To think that my intelligence would end up as a trap…." Charla muttered angrily to herself.
"It's not your fault!" Happy insisted, waving his arms to emphasize his point. "We were just unlucky. Don't beat yourself because of this."
"But I swore to protect Wendy…." Charla started to argue but the harsh knocking on the door reached their ears. The door popped open and in strolled a cat.
"Are you the ones who have completed your mission on Earthland? Mm…A lovely perfume."
"ICHIYA?!" Happy shrieked as he recognized the similar pose from the Earthland Ichiya.
"What is there to be surprised about? Are we not one and the same, the Exceed?"
"Nichiya-san." Another cat strolled in, his right fist moved up and down in rapid motion. "You do realize this is the first time they have been in Edoras. It is definitely their first time seeing Exceed, no?"
"Oh!" Nichiya nodded his head in understanding. "So that's how it is." He got into his famous pose and introduced himself properly. "I serve as the captain of Extalia's Imperial Guard. I am called Nichiya."
"Nya'm Nadi. Good job on your mission." Nadi purred loudly.
"I am afraid time is of the essence. The queen awaits. Please follow me." Nichiya spoke before walking out the door. Nadi followed but not before gesturing for the two of them to hurry. Charla looked a bit pale at the mention of the queen's name.
"Charla….." Happy whispered quietly to her as they watched the two cats at the door. "Leave this to me. For now we gotta look at the situation. I'll definitely protect you." Giving a slight nod of her head, Charla allowed Happy to lead her outside, following Nadi and Nichiya through the streets. On the way to the queen's castle, they got a bunch of cheers and applause from the others.
"Just so you guys know, we're nyot cats, we're Exceed." Nadi spoke to them cheerfully. "Standing above the humans; guiding them; we are the Exceed! And this is our kingdom Extalia." Opening the gates, the two cats ushered Happy and Charla inside.
"You see, humans are an incredibly foolish, inferior people. We have to manage them carefully."
"On top of that, they smell terrible." Nichiya commented slightly.
"The queen governs the humans from here." Nida continued talking, "It's troublesome when they start to increase in number at their own discretion. Thus the queen has determined that any additional humans…." He turned around unexpectedly, pulling off a really scary face. "…..are to be killed."
"W…why would you do that….?" Happy asked.
"In order to normalize the magic that we are steadily losing." Nida explained. "That is what her majesty has said. The queen not only governs the humans of this world, but those of Earthland as well."
"Does she decide the 'death' of a human being?"
"Her majesty has the power to do that because she is a God." Nichiya said as they approached the throne
"A god…!" Happy whispered as he started to imagine this queen.
"What was our mission?" Charla spoke for the first time since their arrival to the palace. "It's been ground into me since the time I was born. That I was chosen in accordance with the queen's human management plans to obliterate the dragon slayer Wendy."
"W…WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? CHARLA!" Happy snapped as he stared at her in an appalled way.
"Be quiet." She replied calmly but Happy continued to screech.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, OBLITERATE WENDY?!" Then an idea donned on him and he gripped his head in fear. "Then…my mission…huh? It can't be."
"I guess this is what they call 'ignorance is bliss'. Huh." Charla sighed
"TO OBLITERATE NATSU…THAT WAS MY MISSION?!"
"Calm yourself male cat." Charla sternly ordered, "We have not completed our missions, and we have never intended to do so! Despite all this, why have we been told that we have?!"
"Memory loss?" Nichiya asked Nadi.
"We didn't have any other option. 'Superimposition' causes various side effects." Nadi replied.
"Answer me!" Charla barked, feeling impatient.
"Nya'll explain." Nadi took the floor, completely unfazed with Charla's temperament. "In accordance with her majesty's human management plans, 100 Exceed were sent to Earthland 6 years ago. They were provided 'information' in order to find and destroy the Dragon Slayers after they hatched. However the situation changed. The man-made 'Anima' created other possibilities. It was something created not to kill humans….but to make use of their magical energy. But it appeared that the Dragon Slayers were also absorbed and turned into special magical energy. Thus your missions were modified at the last minute. Modified to 'Capture the Dragon Slayers', that is."
Palace…...
Wendy stood still as her mind slowly processed the information. She couldn't believe her ears and she didn't want to believe the words tumbling out of that man's mouth. Her determination to see Charla intensified and she was certain that Charla wouldn't abandoned her friends. She silently pondered the best course of action as the man continued speaking.
"What we really wanted was you. The dragon's magical energy. But of course, Erza failed to capture that one." He gave a grunt of displeasure and snorted, "She's probably back out there hunting again. I just hope that this time she doesn't kill her prey because that would be disastrous and we would have to recalculate another strategy so you be a good girl and I'll come back for you later." Turning on his heels, the man left.
Please Lexi be careful. Wendy thought as she stood back and sat down, her legs refusing to support her anymore. The only things she could think about is the well-being of her friends as well as herself.
Extalia…...
Charla sunk to her knees as she heard what she was supposed to do. Happy just stood there, his mouth hanging limp in shock.
"As I thought, it looks like commands don't get transmitted will through long-distance 'Superimposition'." Nadi said.
"But it was all right in the end, since you led the Dragon Slayers here." Nichiya added. "We leave the magicalization to the humans. They are better at that sort of thing."
"T…..that's not right. I came to Edoras on my own accord…." Charla whimpered.
"Nope….you were just carrying out the order." Nadi wiggled his finger.
"I brought them to the tunnel…to help everyone…."
"Didn't you notice? We were guiding nyou there."
"I…..wanting to protect Wendy….because I care for her…"
"That was simply a kind of illusion. Your mission was changed from 'Obliteration' to 'Capture'…in other words, it was modified to 'Do not kill the target'."
"THAT'S A LIE!" Charla screamed as tears flowed freely. All her plans and her emotions just crumpled completely.
"All your actions were subject to our commands." Nichiya growled as Charla continued to cry.
"WE AREN'T YOUR PUPPETS!" Happy added his own voice, his own tears spilling down his face. His glare mimicked that of Natsu and his tail bristled with anger. He stood in front of Charla, protecting her just liked he promised. Nadi and Nichiya took a step back in fright, unsure on what to do.
"WE ARE…MAGES OF FAIRY TAIL!"
"Happy…." Charla managed to say as she found a new respect for him.
Log Cottage…...
"You're awake." A gruff voice spoke as Lexi opened her eyes. Blinking a couple of time to chase away the blurs, she sat up slowly. There was a sound of steel grinding against rock and turning her head, she noticed someone sharpening a weapon against a grinder.
"…..Where am I? Who are you?" She asked her savior. As an overall appearance, she looked like a normal woman, except for the ears, wings and the tail. Her jacket looked akin to a gangster's fur jacket and she had a couple of silver chains clipped onto her belt just as a fashion accessory.
"My name is Riku and you are in my house or shelter as I prefer to call it." Riku spoke calmly, stopping now and then to inspect her blade. "I found you unconscious in my water supply, bleeding to death like a badass. If I hadn't fished you out, I would have to go without clean water."
"Oh….sorry about that and thanks for saving me." Lexi lightly brushed her fingers over the bandage on her stomach. There were times where she could actually taste the steel of Knightwalker's blade exiting her body and it made her shiver. Thinking that her visitor was cold, the woman removed her jacket and placed it on Lexi's shoulders.
"…..I'm…not actually cold but thanks." Lexi wrapped the leather closer to her body. She noticed that she wasn't wearing her usual outfit, she was dressed in loose rags.
"I washed your clothes while you were out." Riku spoke as if she could read minds. "I'm going out to hunt for a bit. I left you some fruit juice on the table since you can't really eat solids for a while. The doors not locked but I recommend you to stay put. Any sudden movements and your wound would reopen." With that, she left.
At least she's friendly. She actually patched me up good. I'll probably rest for a few until I am 100 percent okay. Lexi sighed as she laid down, staring at the ceiling. She hoped that Wendy, Lucy, Happy and Charla were safe wherever they are. Suddenly, she heard a suspicious noise coming from the outside. Climbing out of bed carefully, she made her way to the window and moved the curtain to take a look. If it weren't for her dragon sense, she wouldn't have dodged a strike to the head. The window completely shattered and Lexi fell on her back, reopening her wound. She laid there in pain, hearing the soft thump of her attacker's boots hitting the floor.
"It took me awhile to pick up your trail from the river but," Lexi's eyes opened at the familiar voice and she was greeted the tip of Erza Knightwalker's weapon in her face. Looming over her, Erza's piercing cold glare bore into those sapphire orbs filled with pain.
"I found you."