Chapter 18 - Rescue Operation
The Royal Capital, Hotel Room
With everyone feeling distraught and hopeless after having witnessed the lacrima. With Faust intending to drain it of all it's magic as well as continuing with the cycle of getting more lacrimas. The worst part is, those lacrima contain fragments of Earthland but seeing how an entire world is gigantic. Edolas has only obtained parts of Magnolia town, bit by bit. So there was no telling if the Fairy Tail guild or any of it's members were inside of that lacrima.
It didn't matter, as lives were on the line and everyone needed to stop Faust and his kingdom.
"We can't just sit here!" Natsu exclaims.
"But what can we do Natsu? I don't think we can just charge in there this time." Happy said.
"Luce, can't you just have a spirit or a servant… I don't know! Stuff that lacrima inside of a burlap sack?" Natsu asked.
Lucy sighed, "I could try to consult everyone in me. Maybe someone can give us advice." she said as various tacticians and leaders were putting their heads together.
"This is bad civilization. Steal what is yours and destroy the rest." Altera suggested.
"Maybe we can bargain, do we have gold or something nice? That would feel golden." Sakiti Kintoki suggests.
"As if I would share my treasure with any mongrel who wants to waste a perfectly good human for gas money." Gilgamesh responds.
"As much as I dislike the idea, negotiation if off of the table. We may have to rely on underhanded tactics." Artoria said as her counterparts more or less agree.
"Just charge in there anyways captain. You have a fleet of us on standby." Blackbeard suggests, just ready to plunder the whole capital.
Surprisingly, some of the other pirate captains agreed. Mainly because they thought it would be fun to take whatever nice things Edolas has. With them ready to argue that it's a form of compensation because of the fact that Edolas stole from them first.
Lucy tuned out the inhabitants of the Throne of Heroes as she saw Charle working on something.
"Hey Charle, what are you up to?" Wendy asked.
"A map child, I am no artist but I do believe I made a well detailed map of the castle." Charle answered casually.
"You are?" Wendy asked.
"Yes, I managed to locate an entry point in the outskirts. We can try to break into castle and find a way to steal back the lacrima, including the missing fragment." Charle says.
"Hold on a minute! How do you know the layout? Have you been here before?" Natsu asked.
"No, but the information from arriving in Edolas is going through my mind. Allowing me to have a good idea as to the castle's entry points and detailed layout." Charle answers, but it sounded suspicious.
Surprisingly, Natsu caught onto this first, "So you just happen to know the layout of a big fancy castle you have never been to just because we're in Edolas?" he asked.
"Yes of course." Charle said as if Natsu were an idiot.
"This is suspect." Lucy says.
"And why do you say that?" Charle asked.
Lucy sighed, "Charle, I sincerely doubt that unless you are a computer and Edolas transferred a file to your head. You won't know the layout, otherwise something here is clearly wrong." she said making everyone nervous.
Charle sighed, "You would not understand. I think you just need to have faith that I know Edolas very well." she said, but it didn't convince anyone but Wendy and Happy.
Happy believed Charle, not entirely because of his feelings for the feline. Rather, he felt like there is some sort of connection to Edolas but Happy just lacks that perception. Wendy is still a bit naive, but has faith in Charle as she's the brains as the two. Although, there will come a time when Wendy has to fully realize that she has to think on her own and there are some things Charle cannot be depended on for.
"Everyone, if Charle knows Edolas so well. Then that should be a good thing." Wendy said.
"Sure Wendy." Natsu said making the Sky Dragon Slayer smile.
Only Natsu himself had doubts, maybe it was a sense of maturity. After all those lessons in fighting in took whenever he fought with someone with more experience like Achilles or Odysseus helped him understand to be aware of his surroundings. It also helped that Natsu tried to bother Charles Babbage about him being a robot which he thought was cool. Only get a long winded lecture about ancient machines called computers which have yet to be replicated.
Unless Archive Magic and equivalent techniques counted since they are used to store and create data. Similar to what computers were meant to do when they were first designed. Somewhere in that lecture, Natsu understood basic logic that was needed for a computer to function.
So among all the boring lectures and lessons, Natsu's mind was failing to connect how Charle understands everything.
"Now that you see reason. Let me explain our plan of action." Charle said as she revealed her hand drawn map.
Outskirts of the Royal Capital
Everyone stood outside the cave that Charle lead them to. Night had come very quickly, so things had quickly become dark. So it would do them much good to generate light before heading inside of the dark cave.
"Hey Natsu, can you still eat fire?" Lucy asked.
"Maybe, I don't know." Natsu answered.
"I was thinking, since I have a few spells. I can probably conjure some fire and see if you can generate some of your magic back." Lucy explains.
Natsu grinned, "Let's try it!" he said.
"Okay, but only a little first." Lucy said as she ignited a fire in her palm.
"Thanks Luce!" Natsu said cheerfully as he swallowed the fire.
"Hey, try not to get saliva on me!" Lucy berates.
Happy stifles a laugh, "Are you feeding him or kissing him?" he asked because of how weird Lucy made it sound.
Shirou shoved a fish into Happy's mouth, "Shut up cat." he said.
'Jokes on you Shirou, I welcome the fish.' Happy said as he started eating the fish.
"Hey, I feel something. I can't do anything big but the fire is building up." Natsu said as his stomach felt like a furnace.
Lucy smiled, "Okay, I'll try an upper tier spell. So move back." she said as Natsu did as she said. Lucy took a deep breath as she extended her palms, "Fire Storm!" she yells out as a giant blast of fire hits Natsu.
Before anyone considered panicking. Natsu slowly ate the flames until they were all gone. At the same time, he looked completely unharmed just as every other time when he devours eat. To test out his magic reserves, Natsu summoned a small flame on his finger.
"It's there, but I shouldn't waste it right away." Natsu said.
"Lucy did it!" Happy cheered while still eating.
"I knew your Dragon Slayer abilities worked like skills. You don't need magic, just the ability." Lucy said as Natsu would be fire resistant regardless of his magic reserves.
"I'm almost fired up. I think I can even light some torches for us while I'm at it." Natsu said as he got some wooden staves together.
After tying some cloths around the tip of the staves with Shirou's help. Natsu light the cloths on fire and handed one to most of the group. Before they were finally able to head inside of the cave.
"So any plans as to what we're going to do when we're inside?" Shirou asked as Charle didn't have a plan when she suggested this.
"I can have Gemini copy King Faust's appearance. When they do that, they take their memories and skills. Only a bit though, but just enough to help us find a way to send the lacrima back." Lucy said as she was thinking things over.
"That may be the quickest way to end this." Charle said.
"Sounds easy enough." Natsu said before they ran into a dead end. "No sweat, I can break it down." he said sounding cocky.
"We should be careful, just in case the whole cave falls down on top of us." Lucy said stopping Natsu in the process.
Shirou and Wendy looked around, "Everything looks sturdy." Shirou said.
"Then let's do it without causing a major explosion." Lucy said as she pulled out a key. "Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" she calls out.
Taurus came out mooing loudly, "Yo Lucy, are you setting me up on a date with a swimsuit model or this just business?" he asked sounding interested either way.
Lucy sighed, "Come out Nitocris." she said as a ghost came out of her.
Taurus sweat dropped, "What's this? A blanket monster?" he asked.
Nitocris removed the sheet covering her body. Revealing her attractive and luscious body to the Celestial Spirit who drooled at the sight of her bikini. Nitocris was definitely not a fan of this, but knew there was another reason besides motivating Taurus. Keeping the Egyptian Queen motivated to help her master. That and Scheherazade would likely break down in fear if she was forced to do this.
As well as beg to not be killed like she always does when conflict arises.
"Can you please let my party through?" Nitocris said as she rubbed her hip against Taurus.
"Aye aye beautiful! MOOOOOOO!" Taurus yells as he shatters the wall with great speed. At the same time, preventing a cave in, "Call me if you bikini babes want to hang out again." he said before leaving.
"Thanks Nitocris." Lucy said as the Egyptian disappeared using Presence of Concealment.
"Ignoring your form of persuasion, we should be making good progress within the next room." Charle said as she lead the way deeper into the cave.
As expected, things seemed oddly quiet. It was expected as it was not a common practice for someone to run around in caves. That was obvious enough but this still felt too convenient. Although on the other hand, this is not the strangest ability everyone has come across. Natsu did have to fight Cobra who could hear literally anything including thoughts. Which ended with Natsu having to scream into Cobra's sensitive ears after a long battle.
Perhaps the worlds of Edolas and Earthland just had no sense of logic. That's probably what magic was. Maybe there was no reason to act suspicious about Charle's cartography skill.
At least until everyone minus Charle and Happy were wrapped up in a substance similar to spider webbing.
"I knew this was too convenient!" Lucy yelled.
"Who's there!?" Natsu asked, trying to break free.
When suddenly, a woman that looked like Erza with wild hair and a strange bikini mixed with armored outfit appeared. Ignoring the fact that the woman looked like she just came from Burning Man. It was safe to say that this was not Erza as she was flanked by Edolas guards. All of whom appeared to be waiting.
"I guess this place guards their caves too." Shirou muttered.
"Excellent work your lordships." Fake Erza said as she and the guards kneeled before Happy and Charle.
"What are you talking about?" Happy asked fearfully.
"It was as decreed by the Exceed Queen, that two exceeds such as yourselves would bring forth the intruders. Of which, this kingdom is thankful for." Fake Erza said with graitude.
"No, this is wrong. Tell them Charle." Happy pleads.
"I… I…" Charle was lost for words.
"Charle you didn't! You sold everyone out!?" Happy asked with wide eyes.
"I didn't! I just saw this path in my mind and knew to come here!" Charle replied.
"And that is what you did. Now let us escort you back to Extalia once we escort the prisoners." Fake Erza said.
While Happy tried to reject this order as Charle was too stunned to do anything. Lucy, Natsu, Wendy and Shirou were taken away to the prison cells. With Natsu yelling insults and demands to be let go so that he can assault the guards. Meanwhile Lucy nodded to a trio of Assassins that she managed to sneak in.
"That mean lady looks like Erza, but only more mean! I wanna cut her heart out!" said a childish voice.
"In time child, first we must assess the situation before assisting Lucy and the boys." said the voice of a gentleman.
The next morning, with Gajeel
Gajeel quickly maneuvered around the alleyways as he looked for a subtle way to climb up the building. Following closely behind him, was a cloaked individual who was helping him with his endeavor.
"Do you see a latter or something?" Gajeel asked his companion.
"I am afraid not, we are doomed unless we risk a great amount of attention." said the companion.
"Such a downer, anyways how is other me?" Gajeel asked.
"It appears that your counterpart is just standing there. The guards all give him suspicious looks." the companion said.
"Good, we still have time and I think I can just hop on these boxes. Let's hurry." Gajeel said as the both of them went roof jumping.
As the two continued to cross between buildings. The Gajeel of Edolas was suddenly approached by a crowd of guards. Correction, he was being threatened by guards into explaining what he was doing. As the other Gajeel earned infamy for writing stories for the newspaper about Edolas and it's government. Some of which is not putting King Faust and his administration in a good light. Of course, Edolas Gajeel just dodged or deflected their questions as he states that he's just standing around looking for a new story.
This gave Gajeel the opportunity to jump over to a tower. With the companion still following close behind.
"I'm going to bash that thing with my magic. You stay here and give me cover once the mess starts." Gajeel ordered.
"Very well, I will try to limit any harm aimed for innocents as well." the companion adds.
"Whatever you say." Gajeel said as he moves to a good vantage point.
Seconds felt like minutes and every breath felt limited for Gajeel as he prepared his magic. As it slowly transformed into a large pillar of iron. When he suddenly jumped high into the air and dropped his pillar shaped fist onto the lacrima.
"Iron Dragon: Iron Pillar!" Gajeel roars as he uses every bitof strength he has to break the lacrima.
As it shattered, the lacrima unleashed a powerful blast of magic. Completely blinding guards and civilians alike as the lacrima returned to it's original state. Revealing an unconscious Erza and Gray who lied on the floor.
"This is no time for a nap! Wake up!" Gajeel yells.
"Stop them! They have stolen the lacrima!" a guard captain ordered.
"Hey Archer, now is a good time for some cover!" Gajeel yells.
Suddenly, several bursts of wind started to pierce through the wind. With each blast hitting the guards and knocking them unconscious as if they were bullets. The first wave of guards did not stand a chance and would not last more than 30 seconds.
The Archer class servant then tossed away his cloak, "How sad, their convictions were not as strong as their wills." he said as Erza and Gray woke up.
"Gajeel, where the hell are we?" Gray asked.
"I'll explain later. Now put on your pants and follow me!" Gajeel yells as he leads the way.
Archer, being the capable and trusting servant. Continued to barrage Edolas guards with wind bullets as reinforcements arrived.
"They will be on high alert now that their magic has been stolen." Archer said before disappearing.
A few minutes later
After regrouping into a more quiet and safe area. Gajeel waited on his Edolas counterpart to arrive and help him explain things.
"Tell us what is going on Gajeel." Erza said.
"Yeah yeah, I'm getting to that tin princess." Gajeel said as he counterpart arrived. "This guy is also Gajeel." he said surprising him.
"But you're Gajeel!" Gray argues.
The two Gajeels put their arms around each other's shoulders, "That's right, but we're in a whole new dimension." he said.
Edolas Gajeel nods, "We're quite different here in Edolas compared to your world. For example, I'm a journalist but still a great musician." he said.
"I'm not risking that theory." Gray said thinking Edolas Gajeel is also horrible at singing and playing jazz.
Suddenly Archer appeared, "I am sorry, I was just lamenting on everyone who I harmed. I believe I overdid it on some of them." he said.
Gajeel sighed, "I swear, you are as much a crybaby as Aria." he said.
"I see you have Tristan with you. Does that mean Lucy and some of the others are here as well?" Erza asked.
"I haven't seen Bunny Girl lately. I'm assuming she's here somewhere, but that's besides the point." Gajeel said.
"Then what else is going on?" Erza asked.
"Where do I start?" Gajeel asked.
"I can get into details from this kingdom's point of view." Edolas Gajeel suggested.
Some time later, with Lucy
Lucy patiently waited in her cell while worrying about Natsu, Wendy and Shirou. Mostly Shirou as he is still a child and so is Wendy, albeit a couple of years older. Still, she could not wrap her mind around Charle did or if it was her fault as the exceed was clearly shocked and did not understand what went wrong. It only further reinforced Lucy's thoughts about Charle suddenly knowing about the castle's layout.
Before Lucy could worry about Charle's situation. She had to worry about herself first and her fellow prisoners.
"Big sister!" said a childish voice.
"Huh?" Lucy asked.
Suddenly a small child appeared with several keys, "I found you!" they said.
"Jack! You found me, but what about the others?" Lucy asked as she approached the bars.
Jack The Ripper, the terrifying yet mysterious murderer of Victorian Era England, yet embodied by a little girl. Looked unsure as she tried to unlock Lucy's cell.
"Shirou-kun is being helped by Mr. Phantom and Queen Egypt, but I don't know about Wendy or Natsu. So that's why we're helping the two of you escape first so we can find them." Jack said as she eventually found the right key.
Lucy slowly stumbled out of her cage, "Did any of the guards see you? What about that woman who looks like Erza?" she asked.
Jack shrugged, "The mean lady is doing rounds, whatever that means. Her name is also Erza? Did you know that?" she asked.
"I guess if there's another Lucy and Natsu, there's another Erza." Lucy said realizing this information.
"Erza Knightwalker is a crazy lady and a mean one. She says she wants to kill fairies." Jack said as she cut Lucy's bonds.
Lucy's eyes widened, 'Kill fairies? Wait! Fairy Hunter!' she thought, realizing Erza was the one Edolas Lucy mentioned.
Right before Lucy ran into her group. Natsu mentioned that there was another Fairy Tail guild in Edolas. Only they were branded as dark mages and criminals for having magic, which the kingdom wanted to keep for itself out of greed. With a Fairy Hunter working to wipe them out for good. It only added more reasons to escape the prison and find everyone else before a more psychotic version of Erza appears again.
"Let's go find Shirou, Jack." Lucy said as she picked up Jack her arms.
"Okay big sister, to the rescue!" Jack said as she she pointed at the direction where she came from.
With that, the two ran down the halls of the castle. Where they would eventually run into Nitocris and the Phantom of the Opera who found Shirou.
"There you are!" Lucy said picking up her future child and wrapping him in a hug.
"Not now mama. I overheard the guards say that they took Wendy and Natsu to another tower." Shirou said.
"Really? Where exactly?" Lucy asked only to avoid a spear aimed for her head.
Jack immediately sprang into action as Erza Knightwalker appeared. With the child servant blocking the random strikes before kicking the woman in the face.
"You think you can just run away and escape me?" Knightwalker asked.
"Well that's the plan so." Lucy said while making a hand gesture.
Knightwalker glared at Lucy's bad pun, "You will not leave here alive!" she yells.
"While I do see my own Erza as a good leader, despite some perverted quirks. I don't think I'm inclined to listen to you." Lucy replies as she looks for a good way out.
As Jack holds off Knightwalker, Lucy recalls Phantom and Nitocris. While also thinking of someone who can help out in this situation. Only not too long after, did Lucy find a pair of familiar faces flying by the window area.
"Lucy!" Happy calls out.
"Happy! What happened to you?" Lucy asked.
"A lot of stuff and it involved lots of farming." Happy answered only to see Jack skid back
"This meanie is tough, she won't let me cut out her heart. Not that it's tasty." Jack said bitterly.
Just as Knightwalker was about to continue her assault. Charle flew in front of her and halted the Fairy Hunter's attack.
"Your greatness, please move out of the way." Knightwalker requests.
"How dare you order me around? I am the Princess of Extalia and I order you to cease violence at once!" Charle says while demonstrating authority.
"I cannot do that. It was under orders of the Queen that we must execute the criminals." Knightwalker replies.
"Well I received new orders as of now and I am to personally deliver them personally. As I can see that insubordination is a common practice." Charle says with a critical eye.
Happy, for some reason, suddenly believed Charle was a real princess. At the same time, Knightwalker felt nervous. Sure the King of Edolas was someone who received orders from Shagotte, but now a "princess", the heiress of the Exceed Queen was here with updated orders. Straight from Extalia too from the looks of it. Sure this was all played out to distract Knightwalker, but while this happened. Jack was recalled by Lucy who summoned a Rider outside the balcony to help the group escape.
Just in time too, as a large exceed with several knights were about to arrive.
"Stop them! They are fallen exceeds!" the larger exceed yells out.
"Fallen exceeds!?" Knightwalker asks, sounding shocked.
"Run Charle!" Happy yells just as more guards appeared, ones from Extalia.
"We are here to catch the treacherous fallen as well!" yelled Captain Nichiya.
By now, Lucy and Shirou jumped off of the balcony. As Happy attempted to save them, both he and Charle crashed onto the deck of floating ship. All the guards were briefly stunned by the large floating ship being manned by Bartholomew Roberts. Who then began to sail away despite the narrow space.
"Do not let them get away men!" Nichiya yells as he leads the way. Just as Bart fires a cannon ball at him, "I will stop it! HIYAAH!" he yells as he charges at the cannon ball.
Unfortunately for the arrogant exceed captain. Nichiya was really weak and ended up getting hit in the face by the cannon ball. Causing his face to look like a pancake before he started falling. With many other guards meeting the same fate as the pirate ship continued to unload it's batteries onto them.
"Where to admiral?" Bart asked Lucy.
Lucy looked at Shirou who then whispered into her ear, "The West Tower, wherever that is." she said.
"I'll make haste then." Bart said as he navigated across the sky.
With the royal guards from Extalia refusing to give up. Including Nichiya who continuously battled against the cannon balls that he refused to avoid. It was safe to that his already hideous face would need a lot of surgery without swollen it has become.
"To the right meeeen!" Nichiya commands.
"Starboard side!" Bart yells as more cannons are fired at the guards.
"We be close to the tower, arg!" Happy says like a pirate.
"Stop fooling around Tomcat… er, Happy I mean." Charle said, finally referring to Happy by his name.
As the pirate ship continued to give chase. It made a sharp turn as a battalion of Edolas guards lined up. With King Faust himself being there as well. Followed by Knightwalker and her own squardon who also managed to arrive on time. As the ship did it's best to avoid crashing or being hit by projectile weapons. Faust ordered his military to fire a cannon at the incoming exceeds who were still chasing after Happy and Charle.
"Begin Code ETD!" Faust commanded.
"What?" Knightwalker asked as she saw her comrades firing a cannon at the Exceeds.
"Carla we need to take cover!" Happy yells as Carla nods.
Once they managed to outrun the other Exceeds. The cannon''s ray trapped Nichiya and everyone else into a single spot. Where they found themselves paralyzed and unable to fight back against the humans.
"What treachery is this!?" Nichiya demands to know.
"There is no treachery!" Faust yells. "There are no more gods in this world! Only us humans!" he adds as Nichiya curses him.
Despite the struggle, it was pointless. For the entire exceed squadron sent after Carla and Happy were trapped in a giant sphere of energy. Where they all transformed into a giant cat shaped lacrima. Crashing down hard onto the ground with the royal guards inspecting it before cheering at their success. Revealing that King Faust is already planning to overthrow the Exceeds.
"We humans are the true dominant species! Let this be the start of a great journey my people!" Faust shouts as his guards cheer for their leader.
Everyone was shocked and confused by what the king did, "I thought the exceeds were respected more than royalty itself. Why are they betraying them?" she asked.
"I don't know Lucy, but it's probably bad." Happy said looking scared.
"We have to save Wendy and Natsu first before anything." Shirou said snapping them out of their thoughts.
"Shirou is right, we have to worry about our friends and then the lacrima in the capital before we can do anything about them." Lucy said feeling pity for the betrayed exceeds.
"West Tower, I think this is it admiral." Bart said as he parked near an entry point.
Inside of the West Tower
Once there, Lucy's group along with Bartholomew started to search the tower. It was a great help that Shirou was able to overhear the guards as he mentioned earlier. As he said that Natsu and Wendy were being held in the basement. Prompting everyone to run down the stairs in an attempt to find both Dragon Slayers. Only to run into more guards, with Knightwalker somehow appearing as well.
"Is that crazy version of Erza able to teleport?" Shirou asked.
"That is far enough!" Knightwalker yells as her subordinates prepare to attack.
"And here I thought Natsu was persistent in fighting." Lucy said as she sweat dropped.
"By order of King Faust, you are to be executed!" Knightwalker yells.
Lucy shook her head, "No way! Now move out of our way so we can save our friends!" she demands.
Only to suddenly hear loud screams of sheer pain. Lucy's eyes widened as well as Shirou's and the exceeds. Knightwalker smirked as she knew that those screams belonged to the Dragon Slayers. As they were currently being tortured by a scientist named Byro who is currently harvesting their magic.
"There they are, but you will have no time to reach them once I am through with you." Knightwalker says as she charges at them at full speed.
"Sanctuary!" Lucy casts, generating a large glass diamond around her group.
Knightwalker crashed into the barrier and began to stab her spear against it. With her loyal subordinates following her and doing the same in an attempt to shatter the barrier. At the same time, Lucy was preparing a counterattack before the forces of Edolas could reach them. Doing so, she summoned Tawara Tota and Sasaki Kojiro to her side.
"Everyone get ready. I'm going to lower the barrier." Lucy said as everyone drew their weapons. Right before she did, Lucy fired several rings in front of everyone, "Ark!" She casts.
"What are those?" Happy asked.
"A cool spell, with lots of uses. They even let us enhance our weapons." Shirou answered just as the barrier fell down.
Knightwalker quickly realized the situation, "Retreat!" she ordered.
It was too late to run away, Shirou along with Tota and Bart fired their arrows or in Bart's case, cannons. Cutting down the royal guards even the ones who already had their shields up. Completely decimating 90% of Knightwalkers forces as she jumped back along with her few subordinates that remained.
"I'm not going to go easy on you. Just move out of the way." Lucy demanded.
"You are too arrogant if you think you can order me around." Knightwalker snaps back.
Just as Knightwalker was about to charge in again. She was stopped by a trail of ice that divided her and her underlings. Turning around, Knightwalker spotted the origin of the ice. Finding Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster standing behind her and ready to fight.
"I don't know what your problem is, but I think it's time you stop picking on our friends." Gray said.
"It's Gray Surge!" a guard yelled confusing, Gray with his Edolas counterpart.
Knightwalker was very confused as to the sudden appearance as well as why there was another Erza in the room. However, like Scarlet, Knightwalker did something that her counterpart would do in a situation such as this one. Run head first into battle and ask questions later. In reality, neither one of them ask questions due to their poor patience.
Resulting in Erza blocking her counterpart's attack, "Lucy, what is the situation?" she asked while Gray finishes off the guards.
"Natsu and Wendy are in the basement and being tortured." Lucy says.
"Then take Gray and find them! I'll hold off this impostor!" Erza yells as she pushes back Knightwalker.
"I will not allow that!" Knightwalker yells as her spear changes form. "Silferion!" she yells as she charges at the group in a newfound burst of speed.
With Scarlet countering her, "Heaven's Wheel!" she yells, as she blocks her path.
"Thanks Erza!" Lucy says as the group escapes the battle.
Basement, with Natsu and Wendy
Upon arrival, Lucy and company found Natsu and Wendy on the ground and unconscious. The Holy Maiden immediately began to heal the two. While Gray and the rest tried to find signs of whoever did this to them. Only they would not know what happened until Natsu woke up.
"OUCH!" Natsu shouts.
"Calm down, I'm healing you as best I can." Lucy said.
"It's not you Luce, it's that stupid old man with the weird laser sucked a bunch of magic from us!" Natsu said angrily.
"Who?" Lucy asked.
"I don't remember his name, but now I'm mad!" Natsu said angrily.
"Natsu being mad because of someone else. That's news to me." Gray said sarcastically.
Natsu glared at his worst friend, "Who invited you, stripper!?" he asked.
"Shut up Natsu and listen. Gajeel sent us…"
"Wait, how did you and Erza know we were here?" Lucy interrupts.
Gray sweat drops, "Weird story, anyways Gajeel sent us here and explained what's going on. He also wanted us to give you these so you can get your magic back." he said handing them a bottle of red pills.
"I don't want those. I bet they're laxative!" Natsu said moving away from them.
"Hey I've seen those, Mystogan gave me some." Lucy said confirming the pills to be legitimate.
Natsu crossed his arms and looked away, "I don't trust him or Mystogan." he said.
Lucy sighed, "I know Mystogan sucks at communication, but we can worry about him later. Now eat up!" she commands as she forces Natsu to open up.
As this happens, Wendy slowly wakes up. She whimpered in pain as she sat up. Charle walked up to her friend and tried to comfort her. While at the same time, Wendy hugged Charle as she was happy to see her again. Only for Wendy to whimper in pain again.
"Let go child, you need to be healed." Charle said as Lucy moved onto Wendy.
"I guess we can explain everything to Wendy later. For now, we gotta worry about Gajeel taking down another lacrima." Gray said.
"They already have more!?" Natsu asked.
"I remember now! Charle said that there was a chunk missing because of how oddly shaped the first lacrima was." Shirou spoke up.
"Oh yeah." Natsu said.
"Apparently Mystogan told Gajeel that only Dragon Slayer magic can break those lacrima. So Gajeel is just waiting on us to regroup along with Tristan." Gray explains.
Lucy felt confused, "Tristan? Did he somehow leave my side?" she asked as she mentally asked everyone to do a head count.
"Probably, maybe Gajeel borrowed him for a job." Gray said. "Anyways, maybe Happy or Charle can take Gajeel and fly up to that lacrima. It's somewhere in the sky." he said.
"Aye sir!" Happy said, volunteering himself.
"A brave one, hmm!" Tota said feeling impressed by the cat.
"And the rest of us can try to find another way out while Gajeel saves everyone trapped in the lacrima." Gray finished.
Suddenly Wendy gasp, "Wait, are you not Edolas Gray?" she asked making Gray feel depressed.
He didn't want to blame Wendy for being ignorant, "I see, you didn't recognize me. I guess it's pretty dark." Gray said, sounding depressed.
"The girl is a bad listener, hmm." Tota said making Wendy blush.
"Let's just go Wendy. Hopefully you do not panic at the fact that Erza has red hair and not blue." Charle said.
"Everyone stop picking on Wendy!" Shirou said out loud.
"No one is bullying your girlfriend kid." Sasaki said making Shirou blush.
"Speaking of which, we should warn the exceeds. The kingdom has betrayed them and is now planning to turn them into lacrima as well." Charle said, making Wendy look shocked.
"But aren't the exceeds worshiped here?" Wendy asked.
Charle closed her eyes and shook her head, "Not anymore I suppose, either that or they have been planning this for some time now." she said unsure as to what Faust is planning.
Natsu quickly jumped to his feet, "Shut up everyone! We gotta go!" he yells as he runs out.
Lucy groans, "I hate it when he leaves without knowing where to go." she said.
Suddenly Natsu ran back, "It's horrible out there! There's two Erza's! Two demons are ripping this place apart!" he yells fearfully.
"At least karma decided to kick in." gray said with a snicker.
Some time later, amusement park
"Okay where are we now?" Gray asked.
"An amusement park, what kind of crappy design is this?" Shirou asked.
"I'm not architect and I do admit this is sweet. This place literally makes no sense." Natsu said while scratching his head.
Lucy looked around, "Is this place deserted?" She asked.
When suddenly the amusement park came to life. The electricity came on and every ride function as it should. Despite the clear sign that there was no one in the entire room. At least until they heard a cocky voice coming from the pirate ship ride.
"It's amazing don't you think? This is what magic does for us. It's going to be rough to live in once the magic is gone." said Hughes, a commander in the royal army.
"I'm guessing these guys have never heard of fossil fuels or clean energy." Lucy said.
Oh the horrors she triggered. Lucy grasped her head in pain as all the scientists and scholars in her mind started ranting. Talking about the various ways Edolas should be able to sustain itself. Everyone ranging Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Charles Babbage, Leonardo Da Vinci and even Frankentstien's Monster. With the last one even grunting about the various ways to form electricity.
"I do admit, while this is a hectic debate. I fail to see why this nation has refused to come up with alternative energy sources." The voice of Sherlock Holmes said.
"I think my Niccolo Machiavelli said something about this. He himself was a bad leader, but capable of helping people understand. I think I have one of his books here." Leonardo said
'Guys, keep it down please.' Lucy said.
"It will be a shame, that's why we can't have you ruin our way of life." said another commander, named Sugarboy.
"You guys aren't going to stop us from saving our friends!" Natsu yells.
Hughes scoffed, "That's where you are wrong. With this, I control everything in this room." he said pulling out a wand.
Then using it to manipulate the pirate ship ride he was on. Afterwards, jumping off as he made the ship crash into the other side of the room. Hughes gave his foes a smug look as he waved his magic tool around.
"Wow, you broke your own ride. Are you going to spray paint your own walls next?" Shirou asked with a dry look on his face.
"I bet this guy is one of those people that return puzzles to stores. Where he complains that they sold it to him broken." Natsu adds.
"He probably sold a good cow for milk money." Gray also adds as the boys laugh at Hughs.
Hughs was very annoyed by this point, "Laugh it up right now, but look at what else I can do." he said as he manipulated a rollercoaster.
The rollercoaster released one cart, granting it life as it moved on it's own. To the point it flew off of the track and generated a separate track to continue moving. Leaving Fairy Tail not looking threatened or impressed one bit.
"I guess that's cool. You wanna ride on it Shirou?" Natsu asked.
Shirou shook his head, "No, I like bumper carts." he said.
"Then we'll go to the bumper carts then. After we eat of course." Natsu said.
"I wouldn't mind funnel cake." Lucy said.
"Hey, do you have any funnel cake?" Natsu asked for Lucy.
Sugarboy started to laugh at Hughes, "I am not some lowly amusement park worker!" he yells angrily.
Natsu scoffed, "Rude, I want to talk to a manager." he said while crossing his arms.
"Talk to this!" Hughes yells as he make the rollercoaster cart head for Natsu.
Which he immediately destroyed, "Is that it? You suck dude." he said before facing Sugarboy. "Hey, what can you do?" he asked.
"Don't you dare ignore me!" Hughes yells as he creates more rollercoaster carts.
Things finally became hectic as the rollercoasters moved towards the group. This prompted Bart to move to the front and summon a pair of cannons. Then opening fire on the rides as Hughes continued to make more.
"I can do this all day. After all, there are so many rides here." Hughes said as he started manipulating more rides.
Before anyone could move out of the way. The whole floor started to sink as if it were made of quick sand. Only it felt soft, as if it were made of clay or a similar material. That's when Sugarboy decided to participate as he started sliding on the floor with the chest piece of his armor.
"You asked what I can do. So I'll tell you, I can liquify anything with Rosa Espada." Sugarboy said as he moved closer.
"Absolute Cancel!" Lucy yells as the floor turns to normal.
"Well Lucy here can negate all your cheap magic!" Natsu yells as his entire body is covered in flames. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu roars as he unleashes his flames onto Hughes.
The commander smirked as he waved his wand around like a music conductor. Making the flames split in half and move elsewhere. Before moving onto manipulating more rollercoasters to fly directly towards the group.
"What!? That's cheating!" Natsu yells.
"You wish, you Earthlanders are all greedy with your magic. Don't you think it's time to share…?" Hughes was interrupted as a hay bale hit him in the face.
"You talk to much about greed, but you are the thief, hmm!" Tota said as he prepared to throw another hay bale.
"What did you just throw at me!?" Hughes asked.
"A perfectly good hay bale you wasted, hmm." Tota answered as he threw another one.
"Then don't throw them!" Hughes yelled as he lifted up a wall to block the bale.
With Gajeel
After using the Class card for Iskandar, Happy was able to take Gajeel and Tristan to the sky where the floating lacrima was hidden. Not long after, Tristan jumped onto the island and seeks out a proper vantage point. While Happy drops off Gajeel and starts patrolling the skies.
"You know what to do Gajeel! Tristan and I will cover you!" Happy shouts.
Gajeel nods, "Thanks cat!" he yells as he changes his hand's form. "Iron Dragon Sword!" he yells as he starts smashing the lacrima.
Tristan slowly opens his eyes and looks around, "I do not like this. This lacrima is far larger than the first piece and I doubt this fragment would be left unattended." he said.
"Maybe they think that no one else has the ability to fly. Except us exceeds." Happy replies.
Tristan nods, "I suppose, even with their magic tools… Sir Happy, to your left!" he yells.
"Eh?" Happy asks as he avoids a sword strike.
"I won't let you destroy that lacrima!" yells the giant exceed, Panther Lily.
"No way! We're saving our friends!" Happy yells as he drives his chariot towards Panther Lily.
"I don't care! I'm under orders to protect this thing!" Panther Lily counters as he blocks a slash from Happy.
"Our comrades matter more than your ruler's greed." Tristan says as he fires air bullets at Panther Lily.
Panther Lily ignores Tristan and Happy's words. At the same time, he attempted to avoid them as to attack Gajeel. Only to find himself being hit by Happy's chariot, making him crash onto the island. Where Tristan barrages him with air bullets. Gajeel even landed a heavy blow to Panther Lily.
"Gajeel, focus on the lacrima!" Happy ordered.
"Don't tell me what to do cat. We both know that this bigger cat isn't going to let up until we beat him together." Gajeel says as Panther Lily strikes Gajeel with his heavy sword.
"I think the time it will take to save the lacrima. Will only take longer either way." Tristan said as he kept tugging on his harp shaped bow.
"Forget the lacrima, I'm taking this cat as my own!" Gajeel said as Panther Lily growled at him.
Back with Natsu's group
Several explosions went off in the amusement park. Followed by Gray chasing after Sugarboy on a motorcycle. While Natsu and Shirou were smashing through various theme park rides. Leaving Lucy to negate any random strafing runs made by Sugarboy as well as trying to get close to the annoying Edolas commander.
"You can't stop us." Hughes said arrogantly.
"I can if I distort your want. That thing uses magic and I can seal it up!" Lucy yells as she flies towards him.
"I like to see you try." Hughes said as he summoned several waves of water towards Lucy.
Which Natsu burned away as he ran up to Hughes, "Think again jerk!" he yells.
"How about you think first?" Hughes asked as a giant ferris wheel rolled towards him.
While avoiding that along with several other traps. Lucy flew past whatever Hughes through at her. It also helped that Shirou was constantly firing explosive arrows at anything that Lucy could not avoid. As Lucy finally got close enough to Hughes, she tackled him down and grabbed his wand.
"Hey let go!" Hughes yelled.
"You let go!" Lucy yelled back.
"It was mine first! You're going to break it!" Hughes continues to yell.
"Fine, you can keep it. Magic Cancel!" Lucy casts, completely disabling the wand's power.
With the sealing spell taking place, every amusement park ride suddenly stopped and completely fell apart. Allowing Natsu to run back to the fight. Where he saw Lucy punch Hughes in the face. Making the man recoil as he clutches his eye.
"Ow! I really need to work out more." Lucy said as she cradled her hand.
Natsu laughed, "That's cute Luce, but this is how you do it." he aid jumping into the air before landing a punch into Hughes' stomach. Once knocked out, Natsu patted Lucy's shoulder, "I knew you had it in you. Though maybe we should start with cardio first. We'll do punching later." he said happily.
Lucy winced, "I didn't agree to training, but whatever. Where's Gray?" she asked.
"Probably doing a private lap dance at his stripper side job." Natsu jokes just as Sugarboy appears.
"For an Earthland wizard, you sure are slow." Sugarboy taunts.
"You won't be laughing when I rearrange your smug face!" Gray yells while riding on a motorcycle.
That's when Shirou jumped by, "Should we help?" he asked.
"Nah, the ice princess can beat that guy on his own." Natsu answered before hearing something in the distance.
"Coco! Come back here with that key!" yelled an old man.
Natsu snarled at the voice, "I know that voice! It's that jerk who tortured me and Wendy!" he yells as he runs after the voice.
"Really Natsu? Again?" Lucy asked as Natsu runs off on his own.
"You have to be ready for disappointment mama. You know him already." Shirou said as they followed Natsu.
With Coco and Byro
Coco, a young girl that can move at great speed, is currently being chased Byro. The "jerk" that Natsu had mentioned. Byro is a well respected scientist and researcher who used his skills to work in favor of King Faust. By utilizing the magic of the Dragon Slayers for a plot against the Kingdom of Extalia and the exceeds living there. Only now he was missing the final piece of his plot and it was being taken by Coco.
"Coco, there will be nothing but dire consequences if you do not return that key to me at once!" Byro commands.
"No! I won't let you kill Panther Lily!" Coco yells.
"Panther Lily knows this task requires sacrifice! You should understand that as well! Do you not wish for Edolas to obtain it's magci!?" Byro asks as he continues to chase her.
"I do, but not at the cost of killing our friends!" Coco answers with tears in falling down her cheeks.
As Coco cried, she fell down on the floor while still clutching her key. While normally fast, Coco had the misfortune of angering King Faust. Resulting in the elderly monarch using his staff to electrocute the girl and damaging her feet. Making her run slower as every step she took was filled with pain.
The reason for this was because the next stage of King Faust's plot involved the lacrima that Gajeel is on. Which at the same time, is being guarded by Panther Lily. However, this plot involves the destruction of the lacrima along with Extalia and more than likely killing Panther after the explosion takes place.
"Hand over the key girl! I am done playing games!" Byro yells as he struggles to rip away the key.
"No! You can't have it Byro!" Coco yells as she tightly grips the key.
Byro continued to try and rip out the key. When out of nowhere, Natsu arrived and punched Byro's bald head. Making the old man crash into a wall as Natsu arrived.
"There you are jerk! I've been waiting to get you back for zapping me and Wendy with your stupid machine!" Natsu yells angrily.
Byro rubs his head as he sits up, "What is this!? This is impossible! You were never able to use your magic when you were captured!" he yells with shock evident in his voice.
"Well now I have it and you are going to be in a world of pain!" Natsu says as he punches his fists together, resulting in brighter flames.
Byro laughed maniacally, "You may be loud, but you are an interesting specimen." he says as he reaches for a vial in his pocket.
"Enough talk!" Natsu yells as he charges at Byro.
Who countered Natsu's assault by throwing the vial. Resulting in a giant explosion that made him skid back. It did not stop Natsu for too long as he ran at Byro again, but this time. He summoned a sword to his hand and prepared to strike down the old man. As well as quickly slashing at two more vials that generated fire. Which Natsu devoured very quickly.
"I see fire was a mistake to use." Byro said quickly understanding Natsu's abilities.
"You bet!" Natsu said just as Shirou and Lucy arrived.
Byro shook his head, "Nonetheless, I will obtain that key!" He yells.
"There's no way you're getting one of Lucy's keys!" Natsu yells, unaware of what Byro meant.
"I think he meant this one." Shirou said pointing at Coco's key.
"Oh, whatever. This guy is evil." Natsu said as Byro threw another potion.
"What are in those things!?" Lucy asked as she avoided another explosion.
"A bunch of junk! I'm ending this now! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu shouts as he punches the floor in front of him.
With the sheer strength of his attack. Natsu shattered the floor underneath Byro, causing him to fall. Unaware of how deep the floor underneath the amusement park is. Leaving Lucy to glare at Natsu who gave her a sheepish smile.
"You went a bit too far." Shirou comments.
"Hey, that machine he used really hurt. Don't complaint to me if something like that happens to you." Natsu replied.
Coco grimaced what Byro was plotting and at the same time was at awe at how powerful Natsu is with his magic. Leaving her feeling envious but at the same time feeling saddened. As the there were lives at stake with the lacrima and yet Coco was more than happy to take them before Panther Lily was in danger. This made Coco feel like a hypocrite and made her wish to fix her mistakes.
"Take it." Coco said as she lifted up the giant key.
"What?" Lucy asked.
"Take it, it's part of Byro's next plan. I really want magic in Edolas, but not if it means that people are going to be killed." Coco said tearfully.
Lucy smiled as she tried to grab the key. Only to fall as the floor started to shake. As several red tentacles sprouted from the giant hole in the floor. Revealing Byro in some monstrous octopus form as he crawls out.
"Your magic is very unique indeed! It only leaves me salivating at the potential we can unlock once we gather more from Earthland!" Byro exclaims as he crawls from out of the hole. Where he then looked down upon Coco, "First, I will deal with you, traitor!" he said picking up Coco.
As Coco was lifted up by Byro, the little girl dropped they key on accident. Shortly before being crushed by Byro's tentacles as punishment for betraying the kingdom. Coco's screams of pain prompted Lucy and the boys to save Coco while disregarding the key as they were not fully aware of it's purpose. Leaving it unchecked as Sugarboy made another roundabout and took the key for himself.
"Thanks!" Sugarboy yells as he escapes yet again.
"You are starting to give me a headache!" Gray yells, still chasing Sugarboy around the amusement park.
Sugarboy scoffed, "Someone needs anger management." he taunts as he moves faster.
With Byro
As the mad scientist turned into a disgusting octopus monster. He proceeded to squish Coco while at the same time, smash up up the environment around him. Yet, his monstrous rampage would not last too long as he had three Earthland wizards to worry about who were more than happy to beat him up.
"In this form, I'm invincible!" Byro says arrogantly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I heard it all before." Natsu said as he ran up one of Byro's tentacles. Where he proceeded to doge every attempt to throw him away, "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" he yells as he headbutts Byro.
Byro started to stumble backwards due to the strength behind Natsu's attack. Followed by Shirou launching several arrows over Byro which exploded upon impact. The pain was too sudden and great, making Byro let go of Coco as he nursed his head. Resulting in the girl slowly plummeting towards the floor at a high speed. When Lucy managed to catch the girl in her arms.
"An angel?" Coco asked.
Lucy grinned, "Close, this magic is similar to ones used by angel like creatures." she answered as she gently put Coco down. "Now you might want to run before that crazy old man destroys the place." she said.
*BOOM*
Lucy's face contorted to one of grimace, "Or if Natsu beats him to it." she said as Coco took cover.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!" Natsu yells as he pushes Byro back further.
"You annoying pest! That hurt!" Byro yells as he spits out ink at Natsu.
Shirou then changed the form of his next arrow, "Caladbolg II!" he shouts before launching it at Byro's face.
"That won't work again!" Byro shouts as he attempts to use ink again.
Only to trigger a bigger explosion due to Caladbolg's impact. Further pushing Byro back into the water. Where Lucy came up with a great idea to help defeat the octopus monster even faster.
"Natsu, try to push him into the water!" Lucy yells out.
"Sure thing Luce! Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!" Natsu shouts as he claws at Byro's body.
Shirou helped Natsu continue to assault Byro by running across his tentacles and repeatedly slashing at them. As well as using Trace On to generate multiple swords. Then using them as projectiles to open fire on Byro. Who focused solely on getting rid of Shirou who proved to be a bigger pest than the other mages.
"What's wrong ugly? Are you scared of fighting kids?" Shirou taunts.
"I have had enough of children for one day." Byro says with an annoyed grunt.
"Too bad, I want to make your day even worse." Shirou says, making Byro slightly more peeved.
"I will not allow that." Byro says as he slams down another tentacle.
"I'm not giving you a choice!" Shirou yells as he creates a spear before throwing it at a tentacle.
"OUCH! YOU DAMN BRAT!" Byro screams as the spear penetrates his tentacle.
"Nice shot Shirou!" Natsu says, praising Shirou.
"Thanks Natsu!" Shirou replies as he avoids several shots of ink towards him.
"I think now is a good time to end this. Hey Luce, do you know any enhancement magic?" Natsu asked as he avoided another tentacle.
Lucy thought it over for a minute, "Uh yeah, I think I do but its going to completely exhaust your magic." she said flying over towards them. "I think my plan will be just as good. Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" she calls out, summoning the mermaid shaped Celestial Spirit.
"I half expected you to summon me from a toilet." Aquarius said dryly.
"I just need your help to take that thing down." Lucy said pointing at Byro's monstrous form.
"And now you want me to fight a Kaiju. I expect another dinner, maybe with a mediterranean menu." Aquarius said as she started to suck in the water around her within her vase.
As Byro was preoccupied fighting Natsu and Shirou. Aquarius unleashed all of the water she sucked up and launched them into the air like missiles. Where each one crashed down onto Byro with great force. Making him hit the ground, causing the entire amusement park to to shake.
"Was I just beaten with water!?" Byro asked incredulously.
"You bet! Ark!" Lucy yells out as her Ark transforms into restraints to hold down Byro. "And just for insurance, Perfect Cube." she casts, completely trapping the octopus monster.
"HAHAHA! We beat the jerk! Now how do you like being trapped!?" Natsu asked as Byro cursed his position.
"That just leaves the guy in the pink armor." Shirou said before Natsu picked him up and placed him on his shoulder.
"It should be easy, the Ice Princess has him." Natsu said referring to Gray.
Just as the ice mage came running in with a giant key made of ice, "Hey guys… what's this? Some sort of family photo?" he asked pointing at the trio.
Lucy looked to the side and noticed at Natsu put an arm around her shoulder, "Uh." she didn't know what to say.
Natsu shrugged it off, "What happened to the guy with the stupid hair?" he asked, referring to Sugarboy.
"I literally gave him the slip and broke his sword. Also, I learned about something really big from Sugarboy. So big that I copied the key with my ice magic and destroyed the original." Gray answered.
"What exactly is that key for?" Lucy asked.
"I'll explain after we find that girl who was here just a minute ago. I think she had something to do with it." Gray said as everyone started looking for Coco.
At the same time, on Earthland with Mateus
Emperor Mateus of the once proud Palamecia, sat on his throne in his hidden headquarters. As he sat here, he was wondering how the situation in Edolas was going. Yes he was very aware of the Anima that were randomly popping up. As they were all over Earthland, but mainly in Fiore. While Mystogan was trying to seal these portals to Edolas away. Mateus started using this as a chance to have his researchers look into this phenomenon and find out what he can gain from this.
To his surprise, he learned about a powerful yet very dangerous weapon with great drawbacks. One that caused the destruction of the magic that once enriched Edolas. Prompting them to invade Earthland to take more magic for themselves. Ironically, it came in the shape of a giant robot dragon.
'Perhaps their ancient rulers read too many comic books.' Mateus thought.
Just as he continued to think about the potential he could gain from Edolas. Two of his loyal guards came in, dragging a woman who was tied up and had her mouth covered with a stack of tape. As if she were capable of releasing powerful curses the moment her voice was heard. At the same time, she was thrashing around in the ropes and tried to scream.
"I'm assuming this is Daphne and that she was not willing cooperate?" Mateus asked.
"No your majesty, in actuality Daphne is very interested in your proposal involving her robot dragon." said the first guard, Biggs.
"Then why does she look like she's been forcefully kidnapped?" Mateus asked, not very patient enough to work with someone who refuses to heed his commands.
"Once we released Daphne from her prison, she started advertising her snacks. I think they were called Motato-chan or something. I'm not sure, she's just very annoying." said the second guard, Wedge.
Mateus sighed, "Just remove the tape." he said.
Once removed, Daphne started selling her product, "Good afternoon your highness! Did you know that it takes about two whole sticks of Metamo-chan and you will feel like you ate a complete nutritious breakfast!" she announces.
Mateus already regretted his decision, "I do not care." he said.
"You don't!? A might King…"
"Emperor." Mateus corrections.
"Even better! A might emperor needs to maintain his health! Trust me, by the time you turn 80, you will have the body of a 30 year old! All thanks to my Metamo-chan!" Daphne says as she shakes her butt around.
"What is she doing now?" Mateus asked as a box of Metamo-chan fell out.
"It's practically a steal with this deal!" Daphne said as she tried to pick up box with her bound hounds.
"Silence her." Mateus ordered.
The guards did as they were told and silenced Daphne with the stack of tape on her mouth. Causing the eccentric woman to start shaking and begging to be free so she can continue to advertise her product. Only for Mateus to order Biggs and Wedge to hold her down and make her listen.
"Be silent, I have an important offer and I do not want it interrupted by Macko-chan." Mateus said sternly.
"Mmmph ccmph! (Metamo-chan!)" Daphne corrects with her muffled voice.
"I have heard of your experiment which unfortunately never saw any results." Mateus said as Daphne remembered Lucy's interference. "However, I can grant you another chance of redemption. Not only that, I will grant you the power of real dragons." he said.
This caught Daphne's attention as she listened closely. Completely forgetting about her stupid food product.
"Yes, I know about the dragons as well. I can grant you the same opportunity, so long as you are willing to work under me and create your dream machine." Mateus said. "However, I expect good results and no slacking. Otherwise, such resources will go wasted." He said making Daphne feel panicked.
So Daphne perked up and nodded.
"Good, I see we have come to agreement. Now then, keep her restrained. I do not want to hear more about her laxatives or whatever they are." Mateus said as Daphne explained her Metamo-chan again through her muffled voice.
"Where did she even hide that box?" Biggs ask.
"That's one question, you should never ask." Wedge answered as they left their ruler.
TO BE CONTINUED…