[Author Notes]
PG-13: ... I don't believe it.
Natsu and Kain: Congrats, PG-13!
Erza: 1000 followers. That's an amazing milestone.
Gray: And if you keep up with the story, you're sure to get 1000 Favorites in no time flat.
PG-13: Thanks. I'm just... I'm just in shock that this story did so well. All I've written are idiots always getting into adventures over their heads. I can't believe I've made it this far. Granted, I did jump on the bandwagon of the Self-insert thing.
PG-13: And seriously, thank you guys for supporting this story. I know my uploads aren't as frequent as they used to be, but despite all odds, the story continues on because of the support I get even when I'm not writing this.
PG-13: But once more, thank you. There are still more adventures for this Timeline in Fairy Tail. I hope you have as much fun as I do when I'm writing these misadventures.
Coco couldn't believe her eyes as they darted between the statue of the deceased prince and the man standing before the princess at that very moment. They looked exactly the same.
"W-What? How? W-Who!?" The princess could only babble and stutter out words of confusion as she stared into the eyes of someone she never expected to see again. Yet, deep in her soul, she recognized those eyes. Her body started to shake, and her eyes watered as her subconscious recognized a feeling that she never thought she'd feel again.
Despite having his head being threatened to get blown off, Mystogan found himself smirking. "Unbelievable. How are you still crying when you're the one holding a blaster to my face? You're still such a crybaby, Sui."
That was it: the taunting smugness of an older brother who knew what buttons to press and a nickname she had all but forgotten.
Hisui didn't care as she dropped her arm and rushed to hug the cloaked man in front of him. "You're alive! You're alive!" She gasped between sobs.
"In a matter of speaking." Mytogan's features softened. He knew what was at stake, but honestly?
He also missed his sister.
Even though Mystogan returned the hug, he felt Knightwalker standing back up. True enough, he turned and saw the Royal Captain raising her blade at him.
"Prince Nagotsym," For the first time in her life, her sword hand trembled. Mystogan fought the urge to laugh after hearing that name and title after so long. "W-What is this madness!? You died all those years ago! Killed by..." Realization moved across the Royal Captain's face. "What is going on!? Why are you working with the man who killed you and the former King of the Exceeds!?"
Hisui stopped crying and looked up at the blue-haired man. Mystogan carefully separated from his family before looking Erza Knightwalker in the eye. "Ivan Redray did not attempt to kill me. In fact, it is because of him that I'm even alive."
"How?" The two turned to Hisui. "What happened that night?"
"That," The blue-haired prodigal began before he looked back to his memorial. "is a long story. I'm sorry, but I don't have time for it. I need to make my way towards Anima."
However, even as he turned away from Erza Knightwalker, Hisui stepped in front of him to bar his path.
"No."
It was one word. But for the first time in her life, Princess Hisui wanted something for herself and not to impress someone who wasn't paying attention.
Not wanting to harm his sister, Mystogan attempted to move around her. "Sui, I need to leave."
Yet like before, she intercepted him. The look on her eyes changed, and Mystogan swore that she looked more befitting a ruler now. "I thought you'd been dead for fifteen years! You aren't leaving again! I need to know what happened. What's causing all of this madness?"
Mystogan stared at the girl he once knew that always ran to him when something(everything) went wrong. There was something new in her eyes that he didn't see before. However, he knew what was at stake, and he must make it to Anima.
"I will tell you everything. First, where is Anima located?" Mystogan unhooked one of his staves.
"We stationed it at the Star Platform." The princess said.
The prodigal prince turned to his sister. "What? It's not in the Grand Convention?"
Hisui shook her head. "No, we moved it to the upper tree levels."
Mystogan clicked his tongue. "Alright. I'm opening a portal there. At this point, there's no time."
"You promised to answer." Hisui looked at her brother.
"I will. I will. But I need to..." He trailed off when Erza Knightwalker stepped forward.
"I do not know what is going on, but I can recognize that you are against the kingdom I have sworn to protect." Erza Knightwalker pointed her blade at the prodigal prince. "Surrender now, or else I will be forced to kill you again."
"Wait, Erza!" Hisui began.
But she was interrupted. "Princess, you were ordered not to leave your room. Of all times to continue breaking the rules, why did it have to be now?"
"Hisui? A rule breaker?" A small smile escaped Mystogan's face. "Don't apologize, Sui. I am not a traitor to the kingdom. The King is."
The casual declaration of something so heretical made everyone else gasp. "What!?" Knightwalker shouted. "How could the King be a traitor!?"
Mystogan returned Erza's glare with one of his own, one that held decades of disdain. "He's been lying to everyone for years."
I've heard of rollercoasters moving at 100 miles an hour, but I've always wanted to ride one, not have one thrown at me at that same speed.
That being said, I dodged a rollercoaster being thrown at around 100 miles per hour. But I saw the pink guy made this projectile 'soft' before the purple-armored guy launched it at me, so I knew it would bounce back in the same spee—and there it is.
I ducked under what was essentially a killer rollercoaster boomerang, then sped into one of the stalls for some time to think of a counter-strategy. My two opponent's powers are magnetism and the ability to 'soften' things to the point of liquidation. Considering how I'm an avid fan of Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, I know even one of those powers is enough to kill me, especially since they're paired together. Two different but compatible powers are nightmares that usually take a team of equally adept users to defeat. And all I have is a buffed Power Ranger armor.
"Quit hiding and fight us like a man! Your armor should be yellow, not red!" I didn't get the purple guy's name when Redray addressed them. But Redray mentioned the guy replaced an older family member. Maybe he might not be as experienced in a fight like this as I am, inadvertently. But the last time I tried to take them on, they trapped me in liquid metal, which I could only escape by causing an explosion right in my face.
One of these days, I am going to die by the stupidest power, like shrinking or something, at the rate things are going.
... Why do I suddenly have the feeling that I jinxed myself and have Déjà vu?
"If he's not going to show himself, we can hunt down Ivan Redray and his henchmen." Dang it, the flamboyant one is more sensible than he dresses.
I'm forced to move out of my hiding spot and fire a sword beam to where I heard the voice. Afterward, I keep speeding until I'm behind a giant clown statue. The attack had no real aim, but it should keep them here until the others think of something.
Wait, I'm the plan guy that means I'm supposed to be thinking of something.
Drat.
"That'll be problematic. We can't leave, or else we'll be giving our opponent a clear shot at our retreating backs." The pink one mused. I am so glad the armor gives me powers similar to a Wyvern. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to hear their plan against me. But even with these OP powers, my opponents are just as OP and competent.
I remember a while ago, I tried to blindside the purple guy with my speed and flight after I escaped from the hold. I was both surprised and not to find myself punching rubber. Then I had to get out of there when the purple guy tried to trap me in another metal liquid bubble. The pink guy must have changed the nature of both his and his ally's armor. Physical trauma does nothing if their rubbery state is going to send the force of my attacks elsewhere.
I'm in a bad match-up. All I know is punching and hitting people. If Natsu was here, he'd have more advantages with fire but...
God, I wish I was one of those power fantasy heroes that could defeat weak bullies and lame villains without breaking a sweat.
But nooo. I had to actually earn my victories and get my ass kicked like a normal person in an anime world. This is so unfair.
Alright, enough being a bitch. How do I beat magnetism and melting without heat?
Wait a second. I said rubber-like. They're not actual rubber. Huh. Alright, I think a plan is forming.
I jumped out of my second hiding spot. "Hey, assholes! I'm right over here!" And there's the carousel ripped from the ground heaved in my direction.
I activated my wings and flew into the carousel, passing through the pole horses before spotting the place where the purple guy got this item. That poor candy-cane-colored horse did not appreciate me ripping him/her out of their post and using it like a javelin to throw at the pink guy. Good, he backed away from the projectile, making the space wider between him and the magnetism guy. I used the Omni Tool to change it into a lasso and tied up the magnetism guy before flying back into the air. I spotted where the guy pulled the carousel from, and as I expected, he just ripped it from the ground. Without another thought, I moved fast and whipped my captive right at the torn, sparking metal of the ride.
He landed with a crash, followed by the flash of electricity... and he's completely unharmed. Damn it. Of course they have their bases cover—WhatWasThat!?
CRASH!
I had to land back down with a slide to avoid getting hit by a giant teacup. When I looked back up, I saw the pink guy walking at me with his blade unsheathed.
"Did you think to shock us with electricity? Our armors are designed to take on high voltage without problems! This is your end, rebel!" Faster than I was ready for, he launched himself in a thrust—
My battle instincts and problem solving kicked in where my present mind couldn't. The Omni Tool shifted in my hand to form a staff. I twirled the item the same time as I tilted my entire body right to avoid the stab meant for my face. My body spun on my heel, took a position, then jabbed the staff into the wrist of Sugar Boy's scaphoid in one clockwork motion. The impact of the blow forced him to let go of his Rosa Espada, his weapon that channeled his softening and liquidating ability. My armor's cape turned to wings, and I snatched the sword before stabbing it into the ground beneath the pink-armored warrior.
"W-WhAAAT!?" It was something to behold even though I didn't think of doing it. The ground beneath my opponent turned to liquid, and he sank into it until I pulled it out, leaving him as a head above the ground.
But I didn't have time to relax. Using the stolen blade, I sped off before doing the same to the purple guy: stealing his wand and causing him to sink into the ground before it solidified around his head.
"Thanks for the weapon," I found myself saying as I tossed the rose saber up from my hand before catching it. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a revolution to support."
Without wasting another second, I flew out of the area. But holy crap! I beat 2 anime villains by myself! Sure they were sidemen, but still! Whoo! This is awesome!
Alright, now where the hell do I go now?
KABOOM!
Okay, I can take a hint.
Time slowed down for Gajeel as he moved his head and body a little to the right, which was the best he could do to avoid the giant blade attempting to run him through. The reflection on the blade showed Gajeel smiling as he moved to deck Pantherlily in the right cheek. The blow would have usually knocked lesser men down for a week. But Pantherlily, driven by hatred and anger, took the hit before dropping his blade and using his freed hand to return the punch at the iron dragonslayer.
Gajeel's footing was bad as he took the blow but rolled as he took the impact of the punch. However, his smile continued to remain as he fought his opponent.
"Right! You're perfect! Maybe you could even beat that lawyer's wyvern!"
Pantherlily clicked his teeth. "I have no time for whatever babble you're spewing." Within a second, his wings reappeared. Gajeel realized that his opponent was about to escape. Instincts knew his opponent leaving would be a bad thing, so he did what he had to do.
Pantherlily found flying difficult when the weight of ten men hung on his tail. He looked back and saw Gajeel pulling on his extra limb. "Let go!"
"Like Hell, I will!"
Try as Pantherlily might. No matter how many dives, kicks, and turns, he could not shake off Gajeel. After a few attempts, Pantherlily shrunk his blade to the size of a dagger with intent to stab into Gajeel's hands. Gajeel, not wanting to risk the strength of Pantherlily breaking through his steel skin, fired an extended punch the moment he saw an opening. Yet, the dragon slayer's quick thinking got him into more trouble than not. The reason for this was because he forgot he had just knocked out the guy who was carrying them both in the air while moving around 100 miles per hour.
As such, Gajeel's eyes widened before he and Pantherlily smashed through both the window and the ground with enough force to make an explosion.
Gajeel shook his head. "Where's the planning brat when you actually need him?" His nose detected multiple scents surrounding him. One half behind him felt familiar— "Levy?" The Iron Dragon Slayer ran and noticed what looked to be prisoners. The words of Kain came back to him on how there was a different version of everyone in Edolas, including another Fairy Tail. Gajeel knew the dust around them was settling down, so he worked to break everyone's constraints.
However, as fast as he was, he didn't have time to free three people as the Firing squad meant to kill the criminals now saw Gajeel freeing a confused Levy Le' Fleur.
Pantherlily saw this and realized how many problems it would cause if Fairy Tail was to be freed at this moment. "Firing Squad, now!"
Gajeel acted fast as the Edolas soldiers pointed their weapons in his general direction. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"
His storm of metal overpowered the rifle blasts and blew away the firing squad. This created an explosion that a Wyvern Rider spotted in the distance.
However, Pantherlily flew around the attack of Gajeel. With speeds of a blur, he unleashed an uppercut at the Iron Dragon Salyer that sent him rocketing upward. The Royal Captain held his blade back that grew five times its size. He intended the cleave all of Fairy Tail in half.
As he swung, his senses spotted something moving at him faster than his blade. Pantherlily's preservation instincts forced him to let go of his blade before Kain swooped in then kicked the flat side of the Exceed's blade, making it crash in the ground before it could even hit one of Edolas's Fairy Tail.
Kain summoned a blade before unleashing a flurry of slashes that freed all of Edolas Fairy Tail.
Pantherlily noticed the quick movements of his opponent. He shrunk his blade to regular size and swung forward in an attempt to strike down Edolas Levy, but in a red flash, Kain appeared with the Omni Tool in the shape of a shield. The lawyer found himself getting pushed back under the strength of his opponent even though he thought he had the strength of a Wyvern himself.
The Rider turned back. "Go!" That was all he could offer before he pushed with his shield to make the blade slide off without hitting anyone. Kain summoned a blade in hand and used his speed to keep up with Pantherlily's offense. However, it was easy to notice that, like Erza Knightwalker, the Exceed's swordsmanship surpassed that of Kain's. The lawyer overextended in his defense before Pantherlily stomped on the Lawyer's foot and punched him in the stomach. Even with his stomach being protected, Kan felt the impact then gasped for air from the blow. Pantherlily moved his hand out of the punch, ensnared Kain's head with his large hand, and then slammed him into the ground with enough force to form a crater.
Pantherlily exerted his force in his hand and saw the helmet's shape and visor crush under his fingers. However, a shine from the visor's reflection made the Exceed look—
Then get sucker-punched by a steel pole at falling velocity.
Gajeel landed on the ground near Kain as his armor started to reform. "Did you take care of those two idiots?"
"Y-Yeah," Despite the armor healing, Kain himself still felt pain and dizziness. "I can't touch their top brass, though."
"Leave this one to me. You get the other Fairy Tail out of here." Gajeel said as he locked eyes with Pantherlily.
Kain looked up. Behind his visor, his eyes widened. "Aww, come on!"
The iron dragonslayer looked in the direction Kain complained at. When he did, he started to see why the adolescent was alarmed: the flying ships surrounding the castle's airspace turned around with guns aimed in their general direction.
Kain used the Omni Tool to stand back up as his wings turned into the shape of wyvern wings. "Okay, guys. Whatever you guys planned without me, it better work!"
Luckily for the two—and not—the first explosion wasn't from the faraway ships but from above them in the castle.
Natsu started to wish Kain was here. To Natsu, Kain always knows what to do when something can't be punched.
Eisenwald and those metal tin cans aimed all their guns at Fairy Tail. If they so much as sneezed, they'd all have enough holes to make swiss cheese jealous.
"Hey!" One of the dumber, common-looking robots said. "Where'd the prisoners go!?" The robot then broke formation and started to fire in random directions.
"Watch it!" "Stop firing!" "Hey! I suddenly can't see too!" "Change your optics!" "Change YOUR optics!"
Edolas Erigor soon noticed that it wasn't one problem. All the other drones started to lose their sight. They panicked and flailed around, ultimately allowing Fairy Tail an opportunity to fight back.
One opportunity Edolas Mirajane Rhea did not hesitate to use. "Everyone, blitzkrieg maneuver!" With one motion, she pushed her weight and crashed into the box container they brought. Jet and Droy smashed the nearest robots while trying to cover the others. And Natsu did what he always did. A second later, everyone heard the sound of what sounded like a mechanical version of a monster roar. Instead, a Lacrima-powered motorcycle busted through the box and crushed and destroyed many of the Kingdom's robots within one straight line.
Edolas Erigor moved closer to the guard rails. "Rayule, Karacka! Get down there and—" However, his instincts kicked in and made him jump in the air to avoid what looked to be a circular laser blast. However, it hit his other two men. Oddly enough, they looked frozen. No. They were slowing down?
"Tch. I hate fast people like you." Erigor turned to see someone wearing a lab coat with swept-back blonde hair and a pointed nose. He also wore sunglasses and held a bizarre-looking gun. Erigor narrowed his eyes as he realized this was their ambusher: a scientist? "You really gotta learn to slow down sometimes."
"Aren't you one of Professor Oracion's men?" As the word left Erigor's lips, his eyes widened as he realized that the man before him couldn't possibly have planned this all by himself! "Professor Oracion is a traitor!?"
"Dang it." The guy clicked his tongue and pointed his gun at the chief commander. "I really hate fast people."
The man fired several more of his "slowing" beams at Erigor. But the Eisenwald captain avoided each blast and closed the distance. However, he instantly noticed the smirk on the man's face and jumped back.
"Too late, Captain Erigor." A new voice made the Reaper of Justice look to his left. Only to get hit in the face by some puff of smoke. He felt his entire body shut down on itself, despite his attempts to fight it.
Another young man with short black and white hair and huge bags under his eyes tossed a pouch of sleeping power up in the air for him to catch. "I wished my inventions worked on me."
"Cutting it a little close, Macbeth." The slow-themed guy released a gasp when Erigor made a move for him. "Fast guys like him scare me."
"Sorry, Sawyer. To be honest, I wasn't expecting the good captain to move like that." The sleep-deprived man walked towards the bars. He spotted Fairy Tail finishing off the last of the robots. He raised his hand. "Yo, Fairy Tail!?"
Natsu Dragneel looked up. When he did, his mind flashed back to one of his toughest missions yet, one involving the death of others indirectly by his hand and many close calls. "W-What!? Oracion Seis!? What are you guys doing here!?"
"Whoa! Whoa!" Edolas Jet went up and put a hand on Natsu's shoulder. "Chill! I don't know what they are in Earthland, but those guys must be with our spies here in the kingdom." Jet looked up. "Are you guys with Agent Oracion?"
"Ugh, fast people." The man Natsu knew as Racer's counterpart groaned.
"Let me handle it from here, Sawyer." Natsu didn't really know what to make of the Edolas Midnight, but darn. The guy looked like he could use even a five-minute nap with how bad his baggs are. "Fairy Tail, we need to move. Professor Oracion is already at Anima."
"Anima?" Edolas Mira looked up. "No, we're here to find the Lacrima storages!"
"Sorry to say, they've been switched. We couldn't warn you fast enough, but come on! My father already had an idea of what to do next!" Edolas Mcbeth motioned everyone to follow after him.
As they all left, they didn't realize that something was flashing red in Captain Erigor's pocket.
"Captain? Rayule? Kracka!? Respond! I can't get to anyone else but our private line! Gah! Where's Kage when you bloody need him!?" An electronic voice complained from Erigor's pocket.
...
"The kingdom switched the locations of Anima and the Lacrima Crystal? Those jerks!" Edolas Droy cursed as he ran with everyone else.
"All it means is that we need to change the plans!" Edolas Mirajane shouted over her bike.
"Don't worry. Professor Oracion already took control of the Anima machine." Edolas Mcbeth kept his eyes forward. "He's just doesn't know the coordinates to send them in. We hoped one of you would."
"Dragion might!" Lisana refered to Edolas Natsu. "I'll give him a call!"
The team eventually reached a large open area that looked like another docking bay. However, instead of ships, a large and ornate machine took everyone's attention before sharper people noticed the deactivated battlebots scattered around.
Natsu Dragneel froze when he saw the face that hurt Wendy and almost killed Kain.
"There you all are. I hope you know what the codes are." Natsu shook his head after hearing the voice. There wasn't any ambition behind the familiar voice, unlike in Earthland. "I can activate the Anima Portals, but even for general locations, I'm going to need numbers."
However, Lisanna started to look worried. "Something isn't right." Lisanna jumped off the motorbike. "Dragion isn't responding."
"That's because he's a little tied up at the moment." A new voice made everyone freeze where they stood.
Everyone turned towards the entrance.
"It's you!" "Bastard! You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here!" Edolas Jet and Edolas Droy got into position as they saw someone holding a gun up to the head of Natsu Dragion. That someone being...
"Doranbolt. So you finally show your face." Mirajane Rhea scowled as the traitor revealed himself.
Natsu Dragneel felt confused. He knew it was a different world, but it felt odd to see the Doranbolt guy as a member of Fairy Tail.
"Speaking off faces, how can I be holding Natsu at gunpoint here while he's standing right over there?" Doranbolt pushed the gun closer to the whimpering counterpart's head. "This other world stuff is confusing but wild business."
"Let. Him. Go." Mirajane demanded as she gripped her bike handle in one hand and the other around her chain whip.
"How about you step away from that console, Dr. Oracion, then we can talk?" Doranbolt looked over towards the scientist.
Natsu wanted to do something, but he couldn't risk hurting himself. (Huh, is this how Kain feels when he gets weirded out by something?)
Yet before anything else could go on, they were all distracted by an explosion below them.
Laxus had to be careful. Yes, he could move fast and hit as hard as his element, but his opponent was no slouch. No matter how many hits he landed with the intent to knock Arcadios down, the armored knight always got back up.
Then, there were the robotic ant-eaters. These machines took on electrical blasts like sponges to water.
Two opponents, both could take on his elemental spells with great ease. Well, luckily for him, he used more than just elemental spells. Now, if he could just move them all a little...
"Aren't you a slippery one?" Byro's voice played out in the surrounding machines. "It's time to end this!"
The 4th Guild Master saw the machines starting to converge into one area for some reason. Instead of standing there to watch, the Lightning dragonslayer started to move. "Good, we agree on something." Laxus placed his palm on the floor. At that instant, black runes started to appear all across the hallway.
"Justsu Shiki." The words left as one would exhale. However, the effects were as fast as Laxus' magic. A giant cage appeared around the many Byron machines and Arcadios before they suddenly slammed down to the ground.
"All those wearing more metal than their body weight automatically can't move." Laxus stood back up as he saw his opponents struggling to even twitch.
"W-What is this madness!?" The Byron bots all cried out.
"It's called magic. I have more spells in my arsenal than just electricity." The 4th Guild Master dusted himself off. "Don't worry. It'll wear off in an hour or two."
At that moment, Laxus sensed energy that he never recognized before. Not only that, he heard something he never thought he'd ever hear: his father's screams of pain.
All logic left Laxus as he raced through the hallways towards where he heard the scream. Yet, his senses warned him to stop even at the speeds he was going.
When he reached what looked like over a dozen layers of metal barring his path, the 4th guild master reclined his fist backward.
Gajeel Bluewolf had the sudden urge to get away from the exit. Considering how he got his best news scoops from his hunches, he listened to it. And once more, his hunch got proved right when a bolt of thunder tore through platings of steel as if it was made of cheap plastic.
Laxus flew through the entrance he made and spared a glance at Gajeel Bluewolf and a still unconscious Wendy.
Whatever words he could have mentioned got ignored when they both turned towards the sounds of explosions. After Laxus lowered his hand, his eyes widened when he saw what looked to be Ivan Redray being caught by some... whatever it was.
"A simple power armor." King Faust's voice came out of the machine. "That's all you face me with, Redray!? Dorma Anim was designed to rival and defeat dragons! I thought you better than this!"
Instead of a retort, the leader of Edolas Fairy Tail screamed as the machine attempted to crush the man caught in his claws. Laxus raced in with a flash of thunder and smashed his empowered fist into the head of the machine.
The impact made the machine buckle and let go of Redray. In a flash of lightning, Laxus caught and set down his fath... he set down Redray before looking up to the machine.
"So you're the king?" He walked forward. "Why am I not surprised you're hiding behind all that metal?"
"You. How are you able to use those abilities without a weapon or armor?" While the Emperor said this, Laxus noticed the dent he made in the machine slowly started fixing itself. This clued the dragonslayer that Dorma Anim had self-regeneration. "You must be from Earthland, aren't you?" As the word left his lips, the King of Edolas started to shiver. "W-Wait. No... not now!"
Laxus looked up to the machine. "So you're the asshole behind stealing my guild right from under my feet. Let me show you what happened to the last bastard that tried to steal Fairy Tail from me." Laxus' body pulsed with electricity as he exclaimed this.
"Fool!" No one noticed the man behind the machine starting to twitch uncontrollably at Laxus' spike of magic. "I am in-in-in- Do-Do..." The King of Edolas spasmed before his body suddenly dropped.
Laxus felt something off. The air around them shifted, and the 4th guild master felt this strange sense that someone was watching him.
The machine suddenly flared to life. Its tail, despite being as big as a train cart, moved with enough speed to force Laxus to use his elemental powers to avoid it.
Laxus moved in and struck—no. Dorma Anim moved its shield arm with enough speed to intercept lightning. Alarmed but keeping his guard up, Laxus climbed to the top of the shield before firing a thunderbolt on the machine's face.
However, the machine opened its maw and absorbed the electricity. Laxus saw the rising energy and got out before the machine fired a laser beam out of his maw. Yet, as he avoided the attack, his mind noticed something off about the angle. He looked back and noticed the beam trailed in the path of both Redray and Edolas Gajeel with an unconscious Wendy. Laxus cursed in his mind as he used his speed to enter back into the path of the laser.
"Lightning Dragons..." He inhaled as the light started to glow brighter.
"ROAR!"
The 4th Guild Master unleashed a roar to meet with the attack of the machine. However, the problem was that this clashing of attacks happened while Laxus himself was too close to the epicenter.
As such, he and the others were caught in the explosion that made all of Edolas look towards the castle.
No matter how many times I try to prepare myself, I keep getting caught off guard with how my situation keeps spiraling out of control. Was this some kind of sign that I should have been a bigger nerd and actually read Fairy Tail?
I'm digressing again. Half of the castle just went up in smoke—my mind moves quicker than my thoughts as I realized that everyone's distracted from this dust cloud.
"Fairy Tail!" I yelled out to where I last saw everyone. "Get in the remains of the castle! Use the cloud to make your escape!"
"You heard the man!" I'm still not used to hearing Levy's voice being so commanding and brash-sounding. "Commander's back up can't baby us forever!"
"What about Natsu and—"
"Lucy, us first then we can worry about the others!" Who's that woman? Wait, I see blue hair. Edolas... Wendy? Why is she an adult? Ugh. No time for this! I keep my senses open when something tries to attack us while Edolas Wendy leads Edolas Lucy away.
Gajeel tenses beside me first before I also pick up the sound of something moving in the dust cloud. The Iron Dragon Slayer and I move towards the sound and end up intercepting this annoying humanoid panther guy!
Steel from all three of us met and clashed, which caused a shockwave that blew away the dust cover. In the corner of my eyes, I saw one of the ships starting to take aim on the retreating Edolas Fairy Tail. I took one look at Gajeel, who returns mine with one nod before pushing back our opponent. That allowed me to activate my wings and fly between them and Edolas' version of my friends.
Even with super speed, time slows down more as I realize that I have to take on what is practically an entire barrage of laser fire head-on. Yeesh, I thought this armor would be used to protect me. Yet here I am using it to protect others and take on these stupidly big hits.
I must be in a foul mood today if I'm still complaining up to now. Doesn't help that I've been in fight after fight without rest. The fatigue is starting to overpower my adrenaline. Focus, Kain. People still need you. I put the Omni Tool away and summon another blade to my free hand.
I spot what looks like electric-energized cannonballs and bullet shells the size of a truck heading towards me. I threw my hands back as far as I could before I let loose multiple of my sword beams to cause their ammunition to explode mid-air.
But I didn't stop there. I let myself into the same battle-zen-state I was when I stole the pink guy's blade. I ended up firing more sword beams, faster than the first wave. They cut through the dust clouds and reached the same cannons their first volley shot at from.
In less than a second, all visible artillery became cut in half. That's one ship down.
So what am I going to do about the incoming ones?
Up above, Kain had got his answer. When Laxus and Emperor Faust's attacks clashed, it caused an explosion that shook the tree. This made Edolas Doranbolt lose focus for one second that Mirajane Rhea used. With a flick of her wrist, she used her chain whip to strike the weapon out of the traitor's hands. And while he screamed in pain, Jet rushed in and punched the traitor in the face and picked up Natsu Dragion.
Seeing himself freed, Natsu Dragion tossed something to Professor Oracion. Natsu Dragneel noted that it looked like the USB device Lisanna gave Kain before their attack on Eisenwald.
Professor Oracion's eyes widened as he recognized what the device did and plugged it in.
"The fewer interruptions, the better." The Edolas version of Brain then slammed his fist on a giant red button.
Throughout the skies of Edolas, Anima Portals started to appear. And out of them, other fighter jets and flagships not wearing the Edolas Crest appeared and started to fire down on the Edolas Dreadnaught ships.
Kain looked across and saw fighting starting to break out in the skies. But his attention went down when he saw a flash of lightning. From the blast, Laxus powered down, seemingly carrying two people slung over his shoulder with Wendy cradled in his arms.
"Laxus!" Kain yelled as he spotted Edolas Gajeel and an unconscious Redray slung over his shoulder.
"Brat, finally you show up." Laxus wiped some dust near his eye. "I need you to get these three out of here." As he said this, Edolas Gajeel got off while Wendy stirred.
Redray also seemed to come to his senses as he stood back up. "Well, I knew my reunion with the king would be rough, but not like that."
Meanwhile, Gajeel had just broken through Pantherlily's blade. He had just finished claiming the cat would be his before he noticed the look of realization across his future cat's face. The Iron Dragon Slayer looked to where the cat's gaze was and saw the guy in golden armor again.
Wait, the golden guy is the one his cat has been...
"RREEEEEDDDDDDRAAAAAYYYY!?"
Gajeel cursed himself as Pantherlily flew with enough force to create a sonic boom right for the man who killed his king. Luckily for the rebel leader, Kain and Laxus intercepted the incoming Royal Captain by throwing punches with the strength of a wyvern and dragon respectively.
Pantherlily was repelled at the same speed he rushed in. However, even he was able to flip mid-air and land with a slide that scarred the earth.
Gajeel Redfox regrouped with the others. And as soon as he did, the ground started to shake. Everyone knew it wasn't an earthquake, but rather something big and heavy walking in their direction. They all turned to see Dorma Anim stomping through the ruined part of the castle it created with Laxus.
Laxus clicked his tongue. "The hell is that machine made off!?"
"When I helped make it, I made sure it was supposed to be indestructible." Ivan Redray took another fighting stance.
"Please tell me you know a weakness of it if you designed it." Kain raised his blade at what he was realizing was basically an evil dragon Gundam.
"I said I helped make it. I left most of that project to my protégé." Everyone else could barely hear him fighting a sigh. "And he's not here right now."
"But guess who is, Redray!"
Laxus recognized the voice. His mind trailed back to the massive explosion between him and King Faust, making the guild master curse his luck.
Byro's many robotic animals appeared en swarm out the castle with Arcadios flying above them. Obviously, the spell he made to lock them both away must have been burned away by the clash of his previous attack.
"Ivan Redray," Arcadios aimed his palms at Fairy Tail, which all started to glow from charging attacks. "You and your men will surrender unconditionally at this moment."
"Come on, let them fight!" A new voice made Fairy Tail look to their left side. Kain inwardly groaned as he saw both Sugar Boy and Hugh had escaped from their confines before. It seemed like the clash returned enemies of Fairy Tail back to the battlefield.
"So we can crush them for good once and for all!" Hugh cried out as he threw his hand in anger.
Fairy Tail closed in together back to back as they faced their opponents surrounding them.
"Okay, I admit. This looks bad." Kain managed to say what everyone was thinking.
"I dunno. I kinda like these odds." Gajeel found himself saying while staring down an angry Pantherlily.
"If I live, it's going to be one hell of a story!" Gajeel Bluewolf agreed with his Earthland Counterpart.
"W-Where are..." Wendy slowly rubbed her eyes.
"Everyone!" Laxus shouted as Dorma Anim started to gather energy again. Fairy Tail got in position to move while the rest of the Royal Captains waited to intercept their opponents.
They were about to enter the fight for the fate of two worlds!
Or at least... that's what was supposed to happen.
"People of Edolas!" A familiar voice rang out. Devices across the capital and the fighting had their signals hijacked by an open message.
"Is that," Ivan Redray looked up in disbelief. "Princess Hisui?"
"Please! Stop what you are doing! All of you! This fight is meaningless!" Her voice proclaimed while those with screens watched her put a hand across her chest.
"I know that many would not believe me simply spewing words as if I knew what was going on." Her eyes held such determination and her voice showed conviction that many fighting stopped to hear her message. "But perhaps you will listen to someone who knows the truth!"
No one noticed Ivan Redray's eyes widening under his mask. "No. Not yet. Please tell me he didn't!"
His prayers fell on deaf ears as Hisui motioned to someone away from her. "May I introduce to you someone who I and everyone else thought was long dead: my brother, Prince Jellal Nagotsym!"
"Jellal? That asshole's here?" Gajeel asked aloud while Kain was as equally confused. However, the Lawyer spotted Edolas Gajeel drop his jaw in shock and saw Laxus remain unnerved. Seeing his Guldmaster not that bothered and remembering that interesting rule with people of similar faces, Kain realized that Mystogan was Edolas Jellal this whole time!?
"People of Edolas," The prodigal prince's voice made everyone lose their ability to think for precious seconds. "It has been too long. However, to stop this war, I must reveal the truth: Ivan Redray did not kill the King of Exceeds."
"What?" Pantherlily looked up, sweating pouring out of his head while he tried to convince himself that his heart was beating too loud for him to hear that properly. "T-That's a lie!" Yet, at the back of his mind, the Royal Captain recognized the voice of the young child so long ago. Even now, aged up as it was, his soul and mind knew this was the Prince that was supposed to have died all those years ago.
"I was there the night he was killed! I bore witness to the true murderer of the King of the Exceeds and was almost killed for witnessing such a heretical crime! If not for Ivan Redray, I would not be reunited with my sister this day."
For one moment, an entire world did not breathe. They watched and listened with equal amounts of horror, surprise, and curiosity as to what was about to be revealed after years of secrecy and lies.
"The true murderer of the King of Exceeds" Jellal Nagotsym declared for all of Edolas to hear. "Who blamed it on Ivan Redray and has lied to you for all these years is my father, King Faust!"
{Author Notes}
Man! This chapter was so hard to write. I had to scrap 3 other versions of this before I finally found something I liked by combining bits and pieces of my past 3 drafts. I think this Arc is going to surpass my Nirvana Arc in chapters because while I thought I was nearing the end, I still have so much to cover about this version of Edolas!
Yeah, there is so much to cover as we've only begun to see what I've planned for this arc! It's big for a reason, and it's still pivotal for my story as a whole!
Some notes to keep in mind. Despite fighting the big boss in canon, I am not done with the Edolas Arc. I think I'm only reaching the mid point by now. Trust me, it get crazier for a good reason. Another thing to keep in mind is that the robots of Edolas are basically B-1 Droids from Star Wars. I love those guys so much, but I didn't want to flat out state it in the story. The notes is alright since some people don't read it.
Anyway, thanks so much for supporting me all this time. And a huge thanks for letting me get 1000 Follows! Thank you so much! That's a huge milestone for me!
My schedule is busier now, but I can still write this story as I do now. It just might not be as high-quality as I want it to be. That being said, good luck out there!