Chapter 35: Captured

Someone was prodding Sting's arm. The Dragon Slayer raised his head groggily and stared at the person responsible for waking him up with half-open eyes.

Wendy murmured, "They're almost here. We need to get ready."

Sting sleepily stood up, stretching his arms out and yawning loudly.

Edo-Lucy smirked at him, "Tired, much?"

The White Dragon just nodded, not really in the mood to talk. He walked outside with the two girls, where the rest of the guild was waiting with Rogue and Gajeel.

The Shadow Dragon cast him a sideways glance, "Late, as usual, I see."

Sting didn't get angry like he normally would. Edo-Mira's story about the Purge the night before had made him look at things differently, and he just couldn't help remembering the sacrifice the Edolas Rogue had made for the sake of his guild. He noticed that Mira was staying far away from the Shadow Dragon, and avoiding even looking at him.

Edo-Lucy tapped his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, "What's your deal? Your'e very quiet. Is something wrong?"

Sting shook his head, "Nah, it's nothing…Just some stuff from yesterday that Mira told me…"

The blonde girl's eyes darkened, "Did she tell you about the Purge? I thought that might be on her mind considering…"

She motioned in Rogue's direction and the White Dragon nodded, "Yeah, that's it."

He didn't lie completely, but Edo-Lucy was also a reason why he was in disarray. Sting was still confused about the burning feeling he'd had the other day; he wasn't sure if he really was jealous of the Edolas Natsu, or what, but it'd been bothering him ever since. He was surprised to find that he really wanted to see the Earthland Lucy as soon as he could.

The White Dragon froze at the direction his thoughts were heading. Usually, he only flirted in Fairy Tail as a joke, but the prospect of actually experiencing this made him uneasy, made him remember what had happened before…

Sting shook his head, trying to dislodge the thoughts from his head. I'll have to be more careful when I get back. I can't let this happen again…

The Dragon Slayer frowned as he heard an odd sound approaching, "What's that?"

Edo-Lucy's eyes brightened, "They're here!"

The strange noise got closer, and Sting saw a vehicle racing towards them. It swerved to a stop right in front of the guild and the doors opened. Sting raised an eyebrow as a person he instantly knew was the Edolas him stepped out of the passenger seat.

He was wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants and boots, with a ragged cloak around him. A sword hung from his side. Other than the clothes and sword, Sting couldn't tell any outside differences between himself and his counterpart. The other teen looked expressionless, not smiling, but didn't appear upset, either.

Edo-Mira stepped forward, "Welcome back. How was the trip?"

Edo-Sting shrugged, still expressionless, "It was alright. We got the last lacrima the black market had, but it's probably only enough to transport us one time."

He pulled out a small orb that glowed with magic power, handing it to Edo-Levy to place in the transport machine. Edo-Sting looked over at his Dragon Slayer counterpart, and raised an eyebrow as well, "Just like Lucy said, exactly the same."

The White Dragon nodded, "This is an odd feeling, for sure."

They both studied each other quietly, before someone else got out of the car and came around, "That's really weird. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

Sting looked up and his eyes widened momentarily when he realized the other person was the Edolas Natsu.

Edo-Natsu walked forward, nervously looking between the two Sting's. The White Dragon eyed him curiously. The Natsu he knew was never intimidated by anything, but then, this wasn't the Natsu he knew.

Edo-Lucy walked up and hugged the teenager, who froze in place. She mumbled quietly, but Sting's keen ears caught the words, "Idiot, where the have you been? You scared the hell out of me…"

Edo-Natsu gulped, "Uh, Lucy…?"

Everything was quiet for a moment, then suddenly, the punk blonde was on the boy's shoulders, drilling her knuckles into the side of his head with a yell, "Capital punishment! Screwdrive Crush!"

Edo-Natsu screamed, "AAAAGHHH, I'M SORRY!"

The White Dragon's jaw dropped at the sight, "Okay, definitely NOT the Earthland Natsu. He'd kick your ass if you started doing that to him."

Edo-Lucy paused in her torture and stared at him, then smirked, "Really? That sounds kinda fun…"

Gajeel laughed, "Hey, this blonde chick's kinda dirty. Hard to believe she's bunny girl's counterpart. Gee-hee!"

"What'd you call me, you scrap-iron bastard?!" She yelled back.

Edo-Sting snorted, "Don't deny it, Lucy, you really are sometimes."

The blonde girl glared at him, but said nothing, instead going to look for Edo-Natsu, who had vanished while she was distracted. Sting frowned at his counterpart. There was nothing joking about his tone like Gajeel's had been, but it wasn't offensive either. It was just…empty. There was little to no emotion in his voice, and it kind of disturbed the White Dragon.

Edo-Sting called out, "Natsu, get back here. You have to take these guys to the Capitol, remember?"

Edo-Natsu snuck out from the crowd and made a run for the car, slamming the door shut as Edo-Lucy finally caught sight of him.

"You go with them. I'll guard the guild for a bit." Edo-Sting murmured.

The blonde girl smirked and nodded, climbing into the passenger seat.

A scream was heard swiftly after, and Sting shook his head, "Those two, in a relationship? What, does the Edolas Natsu even get a choice?"

The guild behind him roared with laughter, and Edo-Lucy yelled from the car, "What the hell's THAT supposed to mean?!"

Edo-Sting motioned to the car, "Natsu can drive you to the edge of the Royal City. From there, you're on your own, but there's a guy who hangs around the castle who might help you out. He's a reporter, and he's got inside information on the plan the King's got in mind. As for who he is…well, I think you'll recognize him quickly."

The teen turned away and walked into the guild without another word. Sting followed his counterpart with his eyes, but then something clicked in his head and he paled, "We have to go in transportation?"

Edo-Mira frowned, "What's wrong with that?"

Wendy laughed nervously, "Well…these guys get severe motion sickness, but don't worry! I'll use Troia to cure you temporarily."

"Phew, thanks Wendy." Gajeel sighed in relief.

Edo-Jet snorted, "Sting, with motion sickness? Jeez, you two are totally different, other than looking exactly the same. Don't tell me Earthland Natsu's like that too?"

The White Dragon reached up to his neck and grasped the white scarf wrapped around his neck, "Yeah, him too. All Dragon Slayers are like that…or at least most of them. Wendy seems to be an exception."

The little girl clasped her hands behind her back shyly, "Well, I think maybe that's because I'm nowhere near as strong as you guys…"

Edo-Lucy leaned out of the car, "Well, do your little spell thingy and let's get going! It's a long way to the Royal City and back, I want to be home before it gets too dark."

Wendy nodded quickly and began to cast Troia on the older Dragon Slayers. Once that was done, they all got into the car and the shy, Edo-Natsu suddenly did a gear shift in personality, "All right! Let's roll!"

The vehicle rumbled to life, and shot off at high speed. Wendy squealed and her, 'brothers' gripped the seats nervously.

Edo-Natsu, however, shouted, "GO FIRE!" and raised the speed even more. Sting shut his eyes and tried to ignore the fact that they were going absurdly fast in a vehicle driven by a seemingly crazy happy teenager.

/\/\/\/\/\

It took hours, but eventually, they reached the edge of the city. Edo-Natsu swerved the vehicle to a stop by the edge of an overhang looking over the Capitol. Sting finally opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep sometime during the trip, and now felt a little more refreshed from the long night before.

But he swiftly got out of the car; it seemed Wendy's Troia was wearing off, and he was quickly followed by Gajeel and Rogue.

Edo-Lucy smirked from her seat, "Happy to be out?"

"Damn right, we are." Gajeel growled, a little weak.

She laughed, and Edo-Natsu leaned around her, "If you go to the western area just outside of the castle, there's a bar. The journalist Sting told you about should be there; we told him to expect you just in case."

Sting grunted, "Bar in the west by the castle, got it."

Edo-Lucy looked a little apologetic, "Sorry, we'd help you more, but…well, we're wanted fugitives. Going in there would be like handing them our heads on a silver platter."

Rogue shook his head, "It's fine, you've already helped us a lot by taking us here. Just get back to Fairy Tail in one piece."

"Leave kickin' their asses to us." Gajeel said with a grin.

The blonde girl smiled, and started to close the door, but Sting stopped her, "Hey, Natsu. You might not be my real brother, but…It's good to see you're alright."

The salmon-haired teen blinked in surprise as he replied, "Um, thanks, I guess. Be careful in there."

The White Dragon nodded, before Edo-Lucy closed the car door and then the vehicle sped off back where it had come from.

Sting grasped the scarf around his neck and turned to the city, "Now, then…Let's see what these guys have got."

The other Dragon Slayers walked up beside him, staring down at the Royal City with determined eyes. And for the 'brothers', and to a lesser extent, Wendy, their dragon instincts fixed the look of hungry predators on their hunting grounds.

/\/\/\/\/\

Wraith strode through the hall to Drake's room quickly.

Damn it, Gajeel, that would have been nice to know earlier! he thought.

The lieutenant had met with his elder brother to exchange information again, and Gajeel had paled when he mentioned that Erza was hunting the Dragon Slayers. He informed Wraith that Fairy Tail was escorting the Earthland Mages to the Royal City, and were supposed to meet with him. The lieutenant had immediately returned to the castle, which was where he was now.

He burst through the doors to his Captain's room, and Drake looked up in surprise from where he was talking with Lily, "What's wrong?"

Wraith shook his head and closed the door behind him, "You won't believe what I just found out." he growled. The lieutenant wasted no time informing them of the Dragon Slayer's movements.

When he was finished, Drake swore, "Dammit, it's getting complicated already! If we had known that, we could have just snuck them in and no one would have ever known they were here!"

Lily crossed his arms, "This makes things tricky…I didn't think Fairy Tail would ever venture this close to the Capitol…We made a tactical error."

Wraith rolled his eyes, "If Gildarts found out about this, he'd probably whip our hides."

Drake laughed, despite the situation, "Yeah, probably. It's not a total loss though…You said Fairy Tail got their hands on some magic power, right?"

The lieutenant nodded, and the Captain continued, "Then this could work out alright. If Erza does find them, they can transport and buy more time by making her track them down again. In the meantime, the others have no idea the Dragon Slayers are already here, and we can catch them off guard. Also, Erza not being here makes our job that much easier."

Lily considered this, "That's true, but that's also assuming they don't get caught in the city. Your brother's counterpart has the highest bounty out of all those renegades, so they'll still be hunted here."

Drake nodded, "I know, but they're strong. They should be able to keep out of trouble…I think…"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that his brother would get himself into some sticky situation. That wasn't very reassuring.

/\/\/\/\/\

The Dragon Slayers slipped quietly through the streets of the Royal City, avoiding unwanted attention. Rogue had found a clothing shop earlier, and had snuck in to steal a couple of dark cloaks that covered their faces with hoods.

Sting looked around as they went, "Damn, this place is a lot bigger than I thought."

"Tch, are we even going the right way?" Gajeel growled.

The group heard a commotion a little ways ahead, and they picked up the pace slightly to see what was going on. A group of about four soldiers appeared to be arresting someone, a blonde girl who looked exactly like…

Sting's eyes widened, "Lucy?!"

"How? The Edolas Lucy's long gone…This must be the Earthland one, but wasn't she turned into a lacrima?" Rogue asked.

Wendy shook her head, "That doesn't matter now, she needs help!"

The White Dragon walked forward, "I'll get her."

"Don't make a big mess." Gajeel grunted.

He nodded as he went, getting closer to the scene. The soldiers had Lucy pinned to the ground, where the Celestial Mage was protesting, "Hey! I haven't done anything wrong! What's your deal?!"

One of the soldiers grunted, "You're Lucy Ashley, one of Fairy Tail's strongest members. That's the only reason we need to arrest you-gah!" he fell to the ground, unconscious.

The other soldiers froze in surprise, but Sting lunged at them with enhanced speed from his White Drive, knocking them all out in seconds before picking up Lucy and fleeing the scene.

Off to the side, a tall, hooded figure watched them leave.

He ran through an alley to the street on the other side. The blonde girl almost shrieked, "Put me do-"

"Shut up!" The White Dragon hissed.

Lucy stopped and stared up at him, "Sting?"

"Finally. Who did you think it was?" Sting replied with a grin, putting her down.

Gajeel, Rogue, and Wendy walked up to them from the shadows of the alley, Gajeel growling, "You could have made less noise, blondie. Would have made things easier."

She glared at him, "Well, excuse me. I'm so sorry I got upset from almost being arrested."

Wendy stepped forwards, "How did you get here?"

Lucy frowned, "Horologium saved me when the Anima sucked up Magnolia. Then Mystogan found me and sent me here after he told me what was happening. Oh, he gave me these too!"

She pulled out a glass bottle with ex-balls in them. Gajeel motioned for them, "I'll hold onto those."

Lucy nodded and handed them to him. He then placed the ex-balls in his pocket. Lucy motioned to an area east of them, "I heard from some people in the streets that the lacrima is in the town square, so I was heading over when those soldiers caught me. Would someone mind telling me why they did that?"

Sting scratched the back of his head, "Well, here's the thing…"

/\/\/\/\/\

It took a while to explain everything to Lucy, about the Edolas Fairy Tail and her own punk counterpart. When he was finished, the blonde girl's eyes were wide, "Whoa…That's really different…"

Gajeel snorted, "Damn right. Now show us where the lacrima is, and let's finish this."

Lucy nodded and started to lead them away, but Rogue stopped her, "Take my cloak. My counterpart's dead, so they won't be looking for me." He handed the cloak to her and she thanked him, putting it on.

When they reached the town square, a massive crowd of people was surrounding a giant blue crystal-the lacrima.

Rogue eyed the scene for a moment before he started talking quietly to the rest of the group, "Gajeel and I will walk around on the edge of the crowd to see if there's any openings we can use to get at the lacrima. Sting, you, Wendy, and Lucy go into the crowd and get up close. Try and find a weak point in their security."

Lucy chirped from behind the White Dragon, "Mystogan said that when you find the lacrima, destroy it with your Dragon Slayer Magic. It should reverse the effects of Anima and change them back to people."

Sting cracked his knuckles, "That doesn't sound so hard. Destruction is our specialty, after all. Let's do it."

The wizards split up and walked their separate ways.

Sting led the way into the crowd, Lucy and Wendy right behind him. They got as close as they dared to the huge crystal, when a tall, but certainly old man with a staff stepped onto a platform just in front of the lacrima. The cheering in the crowd doubled and the man raised his arms to the sky.

Sting narrowed his eyes, "I'd bet my bottom dollar that guy's the King."

Wendy nodded, "I think you're right…"

The King put his hands up for silence, before he began talking, "Citizens of Edolas! What you see before you is our future! This mass of magic power that will keep our country running for eternity! But…"

To everyone's surprise, and the Fairy Tail mage's horror, he brought the staff in his hand back and slammed it into the lacrima behind him, breaking off a piece.

"This amount of magic power is just trash compared to what we will soon have! In just a short time, it will rain magic power upon us!" The crowd cheered and screamed even louder.

Sting stared at the broken crystal on the ground. Complete, and utter fury engulfed him, his pupils reduced to slits, his fangs started to grow and he hissed viciously.

The White Dragon strode forward, about to let loose on the tyrant with everything he had, but Lucy ran up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

The girl was trying not to cry, shaking as she held him back, "Don't. Please."

He strained against her, growling lowly, "I can't. That bastard just…!"

She sniffed, "We all feel the same way, Sting. Please, just hold on."

Sting fought against her for a moment more, before he stopped, taking deep breaths to calm himself. The three mages then turned around and walked away from the crowd, silently.

They met up with Gajeel and Rogue, whose eyes were dark with rage. Gajeel growled, "That old fart's got some nerve doing that. He clearly doesn't know he has angry dragons in his city."

Rogue shook his head, "There aren't any openings from what I can see, but that's to be expected with the King here. More importantly, that wasn't the entire lacrima."

The White Dragon stared at him, "What do you mean?"

"One side of the lacrima was rough, but the other side was smooth. They cut this piece off from a bigger one." the Shadow Dragon replied.

The group processed this quietly, before Rogue sighed, "So, we have to find the other piece, as well. I think we should meet up with the journalist Edo-Lucy mentioned, and put a plan together. We can't do anything here right now."

The others agreed silently, walking away from the roaring crowd and it's insane dictator.

/

The group walked a few blocks away, still avoiding attention. They eventually got to the area Edo-Lucy had sent them to and started to notice something wasn't right.

Wendy rubbed her hands together, "Is it just me, or does something seem…different than earlier?"

"I sense it too. There's a pressure in the air." Rogue answered.

It was making them uneasy. The air felt thick, and heavy.

Sting growled, "I don't like this. Let's get out of here."

The others agreed without another word, and started to turn around when suddenly, the civilians in the area started to fall down unconscious.

Lucy gasped, "W-what's happening?!"

Gajeel hissed, "Who cares, just go!"

They started to run, but a tall, hooded figure stepped in their path in the middle of the street. The stranger was much taller than them, and was wearing a ragged, black cloak that covered his eyes. A massive war hammer was strapped to his back.

The wizards stopped in their tracks.

Rogue's eyes widened, "Get back!"

He and Gajeel backpedaled immediately, and the others started to follow, but then the pressure in the air doubled. Wendy and Lucy gasped from the force, falling to the ground.

Sting ran up to them with a shout, "Lucy! Wendy!"

They were unconscious, and he glared at the figure in front of them, hissing, "'What did you just do?!"

The man unstrapped the war hammer from his back and tapped the wooden end of the weapon on the ground. Suddenly, the pressure got so intense that Sting was smashed into the ground.

What the hell?! Gravity?!

Gajeel roared behind him, "Hold on, we're coming!"

The White Dragon screeched, "No! Run, you idiots!"

The Iron and Shadow Dragons paused behind him, before deciding there was nothing they could do, and bolted off before the pressure captured them as well.

The man was still for a bit before he walked up to the fallen mages with a sigh, "Man, you guys move too fast. I had to chase you all over the city to get close enough for my magic to work. Well, those other guys got away, so I guess I'll have to track them down later…Jeez, what a pain."

Sting glared up at him, still unable to see his face.

The man looked down on him, and his tone became surprised, "Still awake? Wow, you're a toughie, I'm impressed. Well, let's get you outta here."

He replaced the hammer on his back, and the pressure lifted. Almost instantly, Sting lunged at him, swinging a fist at the stranger's face.

The man caught it with little effort, holding him up in the air. "And you can still move after that…Impressive."

He used his free hand to grab the White Dragon by the face, and slammed his head into the ground with crushing force. Sting gasped in shock as he was rendered unable to move.

Who the hell is this guy?! What insane power!

He managed to process that through his head before he fell unconscious as well.

/

Gajeel watched from a rooftop as a group of soldiers appeared and captured the fallen mages.

He growled, "Dammit, who was that bastard?!"

Rogue shook his head beside him, "I don't know, but we need to find this reporter quickly. Let's go."

The Dark Dragons left the area, heading over to the bar Edo-Lucy had mentioned. They were about to walk inside, when a person with a hat stopped them, "Are you two the ones Sting said were coming?"

Gajeel shot a glance at Rogue before he nodded, "Yeah, that's us. Who're…?!"

The man looked him in the eye, and the Dark Dragons realized that this man appeared almost identical to Gajeel. The man snickered, "Gee-hee. Just like he said, the spitting image. But we can talk more at my place. It's this way."

Edo-Gajeel led them away from the bar and to an apartment. He looked around carefully to make sure they weren't being followed before he opened the door and ushered them inside, closing it quickly behind them as he stepped in as well.

Edo-Gajeel called out after he locked the door, "I brought them. Your turn."

The Dark Dragons stared at him for a moment before a figure stepped out of the shadows from a corner of the room. Rogue's eyes widened as he recognized the person before them.

Captain of the Royal Army Second Division, Firedrake.

The Shadow Dragon hissed at Edo-Gajeel, "Bastard! You set us up!"

The man held his hands up in surrender, "No, no, not at all. Please, hear him out, he's not your enemy."

Gajeel opened his mouth to let loose a furious retort when Drake interrupted him, "He's right, I'm on your side. Just listen to me, will you?"

The Iron Dragon glared at him, "And what makes you think we'll listen to you?"

Drake paused for a moment, before he reached up to his jacket and undid the zipper. The high collar fell away and exposed the details of his face. The Dark Dragons took a moment to process that, but then their eyes widened in shocked realization.

Rogue whispered in disbelief, "You…you're…!"

Gajeel grinned, "Gee-hee!"

"So that's how it is!"