Prince Jelal Nagotsym groaned as he saw himself in the mirror. His formal clothes felt more like a death trap designed to be itchy. He could only imagine his best friend holding this image for the rest of his life and beyond it. After all, he'd also laugh if he ever saw ZD in these pathetic outfits.
There was one bright side to these annoying formal parties: ZD would also suffer with him.
"I think royal blue suits you, sir! It matches your hair and everything!" The lanky, re-purposed Bottle-1 droid said as he held up a mirror. Jellal and ZD called him Roger because he always would respond with, "Roger Roger."
"Roger, not now." The seven-year-old prince groaned. "I don't want to go."
"What do you think I feel? Everyone in those parties thinks they can just order me around! I mean, they can, but..." The lanky robot slouched as he realized he wasn't programmed to say no to simple orders like refilling drinks and getting other people's food.
The robot's eyes started to blink. "Ah! We gotta go! The General is going to be here soon!"
Jellal rolled his eyes. As he predicted, the party was a complete bore. His sister just stayed with him in one corner while all those stuffy adults kept saying the same thing, "My! You are so precious!" "What a fine young pair of royal siblings!" And so on and so forth. All empty flattery with not a genuine smile for miles. Jellal promised that when he became king, he'd get rid of these parties after banning all formal wear forever.
The worst part about this party was that ZD contacted him at the last second and said that he'd be late as he and Professor Redray made a mistake in the lab. Gods, Jellal would rather be in the lab than this place.
"Ahh! Prince and Princess Nagotsym! There you two are!"
The casual tone made the young prince believe ZD had finally arrived, but his brain realized something: ZD sounded nothing like an adult woman. To the crowned prince's disappointment, Grand General Irene Knightwalker was the one who walked up to him and his shy sister.
"My! You've grown since I've last seen you!" Jellal noticed something different about the beautiful woman than the other nobles saying that to him. She meant what she said.
Or she was the best actor in his father's court.
Both options were dangerous for different reasons. And the prince wasn't going to ignore the possibility of it being both.
Still, she seemed excited as she looked around. "Your highness, there's someone I would love for you to meet." She then looked behind her, and her smile widened in a way that Jellal noticed looked more serene than her energetic self.
Then her smile turned far too young and mischievous for a feared grand general. She side-stepped to reveal someone behind her...
And well... let's just say the prince's life would forever change at that moment.
"Go on, my rose." Irene kneeled to the girl. "Say hello."
"Hi! I'm Erza Knightwalker! It's an honor to meet you, Prince Nagotsym!"
As one could imagine, being a prince isolated Jellal from many children his age. His only friends were a somewhat functioning and recycled test-robot, a scientific prodigy, and his crybaby sister. So when he met a girl around his age, his hormones sucker-punched the preteen in a way that would make MMA fighters jealous.
The poor punk didn't even last a second as he saw her smile at him.
Funny to think that the fate of two worlds fell into chaos because of a boy's first crush.
ZD may have understood the complexities of magi science, but even he had problems with the biology of teenage boys. Thankfully, time was on their side—kinda—and by spending more time with Erza in the castle, Jellal was able to befriend the daughter of the Grand General.
"Have you heard of the Exceeds?" Erza asked one night while the two lay down on the garden grass.
While she looked up at the stars, Jellal did his best not to notice how she was prettier than the celestial bodies. "The angels? What about them?" He focused on her topic and not how her voice made his heart beat faster.
"Have you seen them?"
The prince thought back to whenever there seemed to be some miniature lockdown in the castle. Also, ZD let a few things slip that clued the prince his dad was meeting with Exceeds, but he was the King of Edolas. Why did he need to hide the fact that he could meet with the Gods of the land? "No. But my dad and Ivan have."
"My mom says they're the cutest thing in the world!" Jellal didn't expect Irene to have seen them as well. But as he thought about it again, he realized that she would be privy to that privilege, seeing as how she was part of the king's inner circle.
"I wanna cuddle one in my arms!" Erza Knightwalker squealed as she thought about hugging what her mother described as the most adorable, fluffiest, and cutest thing she ever saw.
Now, hearing his crush say such a thing, a really, really, really stupid idea formed in the young prince's mind.
"Sir?" Roger asked as he put the security system into a loop so no alarms and records would go off. "Are you sure we should be sneaking into the clearly labeled "Level 1 Lab: Authorized Personel only"? I know they only have mechanical guards, but like what are the chances of them..."
"Roger, don't blow a fuse. ZD Showed me how to get into the lab without anyone knowing."
"Sir, that's not what I meant."
"Oh, shut it and activate the kill switch."
"This better be for the security and not us." The lanky robot put his limb over his optics before pressing the switch.
The door opened, and both prince and friend-servant waited for a barrage of alarms to activate and alert the entire kingdom of the foolish act they were doing.
Yet, nothing came.
This was a horror to one and victory to the other.
"Alright, come on!" The young prince raced into the lab. But it was only called a lab in name as the size of the area rivaled that of several warehouses.
The reason for this size was that this was one of the Projects ZD was working on: a new single-pilot aircraft dubbed the Icarus. Sleek in design with an ebony coating, this aircraft could theoretically break the sound barrier in under a few seconds.
"Why can't we steal a normal fighter plane? Why are we going for a vehicle that hasn't even been tested!?"
The prince put a finger up to his mouth and shushed his companion/partner in crime. "Do you know how many guards are there in the skyports? At least in the lab, it's all robotics."
"That's slander!" The lanky robot began before the prince shushed him again.
"Come on, Roger. Quit worrying." The young prince said as he continued to trespass in top-secret labs filled with technology for tomorrow. "I'll be in and out before anyone notices."
Future Prince Jellal would have tackled his younger self to the ground if he was there at that very moment. Instead, the young prince readied the experimental plane and the ignition codes.
Despite what many below believed, Extalia had its own fair share of problems.
"King Zabia, I implore you," Pantherlily spoke to the ruler of their lands with more familiarity than decorum. "Allow me to lead the investigation into these attacks!"
"Yes, because moving the most stalwart warrior among Extalia away from the castle won't tempt these attackers to strike the royal castle." King Zabia was a man always striving to be a king worthy of the lands he loved. To those that knew him, they would say he had long passed that mark.
But for now, he didn't mind letting all formalities go to tell his friend he was being an idiot.
"The attacks are getting worse, my King! First, it was just crops and rumors, but now churches in the inner city are being destroyed! These terrorists are growing bolder with each attack!"
"Terrorists... right..." Pantherlily wished his king would take this threat seriously. He didn't realize his disbelief wasn't on the attacks but the idea of it being done by terrorists.
"Pantherlily," The King began as he looked at his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you certain we are alone this night?"
The black exceed warrior only nodded his head once.
"Very well. I have something I must admit to you. Promise me that you will hear me out in my entirety first." The king inhaled. "What is that over there?"
Pantherlily was confused that he started with a question, but he realized his friend was being literal and turned around.
"I," Pantherlily had to admit he never saw shooting star going up instead of down. "Do not know."
Then, said shooting star started to curve towards them. But why did Pantherlily suddenly smell burning metal?
"Wait," King Zabia stepped forward. "That's!" Without another word, he summoned his wings before he trailblazed towards the 'shooting star'.
Pantherlily followed his friend. It didn't take long for the black Exceed to realize the object in the sky was a machine instead. But the machine crashed into one of the outer islands.
The King of the Exceeds flew faster, racing to the crash site. He didn't even stop as he landed, sprinting towards the plane with a look of horror across his face.
"No," The King repeated the word as he recognized the vehicle. He ran up to the cockpit and pried open the cracked glass. As he did, he spotted a young boy with his head bleeding.
"A human?" Pantherlily caught up with his King. "What is a human doing here?"
"Not just any human, old friend, the prince." King Zabia sighed as he picked up the young boy in his arms.
"Even if he is royalty, no human is allowed in Extalia." Pantherlily stopped talking when the king started to fly.
"I will return him." The King turned to his friend.
"I will accompany you."
The King became silent for a second before smiling. "Thank you, my friend. But please go to the queen. I will be quick about this."
"The queen is safe at the capital, but you will be alone with the humans! I must stand by your side."
Pantherlily got quiet when Zabia flew into the air. "Please, keep my love and future child safe."
There were these times that when King Zabia spoke, many would listen. Even though Pantherlily wanted nothing more than to follow his king, the friend knew that he was asking more with his tone. It was more personal and caring than one that held the voice of a leader. Seeing how important this was to Zabia personally, Pantherlily would follow this command that he'd regret every day afterward. "It will be done, sire."
King Zabia nodded before flying back with the injured Prince Nagotsym in his arms. The king looked down and moved strands of hair from the child's face with all the gentleness of a parent's touch. "... With you coming to this land, everything we've tried to keep secret has been revealed. Oh, prince, I am truly sorry for what is to come next. And I am sorry for your father most of all."
[Years later...]
Everyone could not believe what Mystogan—no—Prince Nagotsym had just exclaimed. One would not even realize there was about to be a war fought over the royal castle because of the impossible things happening one right after the other.
Yet, Mystogan revealed something from under his cloak: what looked to be the head of a rusted robot. As he activated the item, the screens all changed.
Everyone watching a screen could see what was being broadcasted. But even though their eyes witnessed the video, their minds could not believe it.
It was a fight between two figures: King Faust... and King Zabia, the King of the Exceeds and proclaimed god of the world. The video showed the two fighting with blades, but King Zabia was injured and beaten. In one move, Faust overpowered the Exceed before...
"KING ZABIA!?" A voice everyone else recognized as Ivan Redray's screamed over the sound of metal piercing through a heart.
However, even with his heart pierced, the King of Exceeds looked in the direction of the camera. "GO ALREADY!" Using his strength, he tackled King Faust away through a wall. Everyone watched as the "camera" showed itself being picked up and running away from what looked to be a destroyed lab with dead bodies abound.
The video feed cut back to reveal Prince Jellal. "The video is real. I watched King Faust kill the King of Exceeds with his own hands. If not for Ivan Redray, I would truly be buried under my memorial." His gaze hardened. "Edolas, that monster on the throne has been lying to everyone for years! The true murder of the King of Exceeds was done by none other than my father, King Faust!"
Silence filled all of Edolas' capital.
"King Faust," Pantherlily looked up to the video as his breathing became erratic and his hands trembled. A small part of him wanted to disbelieve what he saw. However, seeing the face of the prince his king tried to save was already proof enough that the video was true. "Killed King Zabia? All this time, I was serving the man who killed my dearest friend?"
"Dang, that sucks, dude," Everyone else turned to Kain after he put his foot in his mouth. "Uhh, I know this is probably inappropriate, but does this mean we don't have to fight anymore?"
When Kain heard the sound of literal trumpets coming from the sky, he fought the urge to facepalm with his armor.
Happy and Carla woke up to find themselves taken in by a couple of Exceed outcasts. It took them a while to process what had happened to them, and after some kind words from their hosts and a few heart-to-hearts, they were going to make their way back to Wendy and Natsu.
However, just before they could make their leap of faith, Carla felt a sensation and pulled Happy back behind a tree.
"Carla, what are you?!" The blue Exceed followed his friend's line of sight and figured out the reason why she had stopped them.
The sight before them made them both gape in awe and brought fear back to them. Yet, Happy realized the direction it was going: the big tree in the distance, where Natsu and Wendy would no doubt be.
What was it?
For the rest of Edolas, it was a legion of Exceeds, all as tough-looking as Pantherlily and flying higher than the airships that filled the sky. The trumpets and the light gave the impression that god's army was descending on all of them.
Humans!
A booming voice, a female one, echoed throughout the city.
"My queen?" Pantherlily looked up in disbelief. While Kain mentally readied himself for crap hitting the fan as soon as he realized the sound from earlier was war trumpets.
For too long, we have let you live under our lands. For too long, we have tolerated your heresy. Now, you claim the Great One died at the hands of your king?
"Great one?" Pantherlily stepped forward. "You never called him that..."
We have let you live long enough. The age of humans... is over.
Now, Kain has heard stories of the end of times told by the bible. He had to admit it was hardcore even compared to the likes of the mythological Ragnarok of Norse Mythology. So, seeing the heavens split open and a swarm of Exceeds (that looked like angels) started attacking anything in sight made him think of one thing.
"This is dangerously reaching an anime cliché..."
"What?" Gajeel Bluewolf looked to Kain with an understandably confused look.
"Ignore him; he shouts random nonsense every now and then." Gajeel Redfox responded.
Laxus looked back up before his eyes widened with alarm. "Everyone, move!" He yelled as Fairy Tail scattered before Faust attempted to kill them by stomping his foot down on the distracted people.
"King Faust!" Sugarboy screamed to the man he swore allegiance to. "Is what the Prince said true?! Did you kill the God of this world!?"
The only response he got was when Dorma Anim turned one of his hands towards him and fired a shot that pierced through where his heart should have been.
Luckily for the man, Hugh tackled his ally before he got hit. Unluckily for him, a piece of his rib got blasted off in an attempt to save his friend's life.
Sugarboy couldn't hear his own voice over Hugh's scream of pain. The power of Dorma Anim could even tear through specialized armor.
Kain acted fast. "Bluefox, get Wendy out of here!" He pointed in the direction Edolas Fairy Tail ran off to. In the meantime, Fairy Tail started to move with Laxus attacking Dorma Anim and Ivan redray running straight to the injured Hugh. Bluefox nodded and started to run, only to look up to see an Exceed—getting kicked in the face by a sped-up Wyvern Rider.
Yet, even with the empowered kick, the Exceed Soldier took the blow even in the air. Kain let his guard down as the Exceed grabbed his leg and threw him back to the ground.
"You dare, morta—" The Exceed didn't get to finish his spiel when he noticed something tied around his arm: a lasso? It took him less than half a second before he got yanked towards the dust cloud he threw Kain in. And, with even less time, then saw a red fist bursting out of the smoke to nail him in the face.
Kain swiped his hand, making his cape wings unfold and blow away the smoke around him. "Religion is a sore topic for me. Let's just stick to fighting." As the lawyer said this, he looked up to see more Exceeds flocking to his location.
Meanwhile, Ivan Redray knelt down to Hugh. If there was one "lucky" thing in his situation, it was that the blast mark cauterized his wound. "Clarence, you need to get Hugh out of here. To the medical pod, if you can." He told Sugarboy.
"R-Right!"
Ivan looked up before attacking and blocking an attack from the many ant-eater robots. "So they finally digitized your mind, Byro?" Ivan said as Sugarboy flew with Hugh in his arms.
"You left very detailed notes after your exile. I must thank you for being so thorough." Byro's voice responded through the machine.
"I don't suppose this new revelation will make you stop attacking me, right?"
"I obey the king. And he said nothing about stopping your execution, Ivan." The robot's eyes shined.
Ivan fought the urge to sigh when he spotted more robotic clones rushing to his location. "Let's get this over with."
On the top of the Capital Tree, even Edolas Doranbolt stared in horror as he realized what was now happening. "The Exceeds are invading!?"
"Well, duh? Don't you guys see the army attacking us right now?" Natsu of Earthland responded before he realized something. "Hey, wait a second, aren't the others down there!?"
Before anyone could respond to him, the wall behind all of them busted open, revealing a Legion of Exceeds flying in.
Doranbolt started to panic. When the first of the Exceed Warriors flew in, he pointed his weapon at them. "Fire!"
The lanky robots started to fire on the Exceeds. However, the blaster fire only bounced off the auras of the angelic creatures.
Mirajane Rhea acted fast and closed the distance between her and Edolas Doranbolt. The traitor could barely gasp before she unleashed a heavy punch that sent him tumbling into other robots.
"Let's go, Natsu!" She pulled on the cowardly Natsu Dragion before sprinting away. She threw the freed man on top of her bike, causing his whimpering figure to change.
"Alright, we need to escape!" Dragion cried out as he put on his goggles and started the roar of Rhea's Lacrima bike, which caused some Exceed angels to turn in their direction.
"Escape!? We can fight them!" Natsu Dragneel cried out as he ignited his fists with fire.
"Our friends are more important!" Rhea had a point as she used a chain like a whip to destroy several robots aiming at them. "We also need to get to your friends too!"
Natsu grunted but knew that everyone was right.
It didn't take long for more Exceed to come in and start retaliating back against the mindless robots.
"Come on! We've got people to save, people!" Natsu Dragion cried out as he used the bike to move ahead, followed by Jet and the others.
"Professor Oracion!" Mirajane turned to their Kingdom mole. "Where did you say the Lacrima from Earthland was?!"
Mystogan expected a revolution, not a rapture.
"The Exceeds!? Now!?" The prodigal prince cried out.
The room shook as more fighting started to break out through Edolas' capital. Erza Knightwalker looked over to the Royal Siblings. "We need to evacuate the area!"
Hisui's eyes widened. "What!? Not yet!" She ran up to the screen that still played the whole broadcast system.
"People of Edolas! Both Rebels and Loyalists! I know that we have always had our differences, but as of right now, innocent lives are in danger! Please, whatever your reasons for fighting, I know that you all want a better future for those you care for! Please help each other, protect each other, and help the civilians escape!"
As soon as Hisui exclaimed her words, the wall to her right tore open. A particularly buff Exceed rushed for Hisui until both Mystogan and Knightwalker intercepted the angel by using a staff and performing a flying kick respectively. But as the three flew back, two more Exceeds flew past the older pair and aimed their claws right for the princess.
Hisui gasped before she closed her eyes when she saw the glint of claws.
She heard a bone-crunching sound... but felt fine? When she opened her eyes, Captain Erigor of the Eisenwald Police force stood over the two downed Exceeds.
"Princess," He said without turning to her. "I agree with that statement fully." Odd, could she see a smile forming at the edge of his face?
His tone returned to the sharp voice the Reaper of Justice was known for. "That is why Eisenwald has already started the mass evacuation. Thanks to your words, I think we're getting all the help we could ever receive." Soon, Knightwalker and Mystogan heard what sounded like a dozen winds heading in their direction, signaling more Exceed coming in their direction.
"We'll need to get out of here," Erigor began. "They'll overrun us if we fight here."
"We need to get to the Lacrima Crystal!" Mystogan shouted. He did think about using his portal spell. But seeing as how they were about to be swarmed, and considering how wonky that magic has been ever since he returned to Edolas, he decided not to use it.
"We'll take the stairs then." Erigor nodded before the four of them ran before more Exceeds could enter the video room.
Even though the situation was serious, a thought stirred in Edolas Jellal. Or rather, a feeling that was years in the making resurfaced at a very odd time.
"So," The prodigal prince turned to his right. Erza Knightwalker gave him a confused look as the once-thought-dead prince started to smile at her. "Do you still think Exceeds are the cutest things in the world?"
Knightwalker was about to open her mouth to ask what the prince was talking about. Then her memories hit her harder than any blow she received from Fairy Tail's worst. She remembered everything about the night before the prince left, saying how she really wanted to see an Exceed to a strange but well-meaning prince.
Her mind moved as fast as her swordplay. It didn't take long for Knightwalker to wonder if all of this madness was because... the prince... wanted to impress her?
Hisui and Erigor got treated to an interesting sight: the famed Fairy Hunter, Erza Knightwalker, had her face as red as her hair while she failed to form a single coherent word.
Mystogan couldn't help it when he saw how a few simple words undid the girl he "used to" (read as "still") had a crush on even after all these years. Instead of nearly killing himself and ruining everything, all he could have done to impress Knightwalker was just tease her back?
He laughed. It was such a pure and reliving laugh even though they were being chased by the heavens wanting to rip them all asunder.
Mystogan supposed he spent too much time in Earthland's Fairy Tail. Or perhaps the opposite? Maybe he spent the right amount of time. He knows the faults he created, but thanks to Fairy Tail, he's looking forward to righting all those wrongs.
But first thing first, they had to survive the exceed onslaught. Mystogan had no idea what to do, but if there was anyone among Fairy Tail of either world who could pull off a miracle, it was ironically the one person who had less magic than even those that only use magical items.
In other words, the fate of the two worlds now rested on the bizarre but magnificent mind of Kain Reynolds.
"WHO ELSE WANTS A PIECE OF ME!? COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YOU'RE HARD ENOUGH!?" Kain shouted as he stood on top of a pile of (hopefully) unconscious and broken Exceed bodies. The lawyer has truly embraced Anime Powercreep if even he's now counted among Fairy Tail's powerhouses. A shame he couldn't appreciate it due to the unhealthy amount of adrenaline coursing through his veins.
It was at that point that over a dozen Exceed Warriors, all wearing armor and pointing their weapons at the armored rider, surrounded Kain as if they considered him a noticeable threat.
"Stand down, men~. This one is mine~."
The lawyer from Fairy Tail recognized that voice. But there was no way he should have been here since both Earthland and Edolas Blue Pegasus never got to...
Kain started to remember where he was. He looked up and no one saw his absolutely confused look as he saw an Edolas Ichiya, an Exceed with the more human and detailed jawline staring him down with anime sparkles.
"I will stop you, red warrior!~" Somehow, Edolas Ichiya posed while flying in the air. "For I am General Ichiya Vanguard Rejoicer!~ The manliest of all Exceeds~ Men~! And I will take you down, stranger!~"
And then Kain sped up to him and decked him hard into the ground with enough force to create a sonic boom.
"I'm sorry, but," Kain looked down at the dust cloud he created. For some reason, he was having trouble finding words. "I really don't want to deal with that."
To his surprise, some of the other Exceeds about to attack him were intercepted by none other than Panther Lily.
Kain went on guard for a second before realizing that the Royal Captian could have struck him down when he had the chance. "Why are you helping me?"
The lawyer noticed the hardened and bitter look on the black Exceed's face. "I need your help to find Redray. I lost sight of him when Byro attacked him."
Kain saw that Laxus and Gajeel were still fighting against King Faust and his mecha dragon. And it looked like Wendy finally woke up as he spotted what looked like wind magic. But even though this explained how Pantherlily lost track of Ivan, it didn't explain why.
The Royal Captain could tell Kain was thinking that despite wearing a helmet. "He is the only one who can help me get to the queen. We need to stop her invasion."
Stopping the invasion of the Exceeds. Yes, that would be a high priority for Kain. "Alright then, how do we find him?" The wyvern rider got his answer when a part of the castle exploded from what looked to be the inside instead of an attack from the fighting around them. "I can take a hint."
Ivan avoided another tongue lashing in the most literal sense possible. Even though he destroyed already a dozen of the robotic anteaters, three more appeared after destroying one. Of course, he already knew why this was getting him nowhere, but the only way to stop Byro now would be to...
Ivan felt a shadow over him and cursed himself for getting sloppy. One of the Byro bots shot out its tongue to snake around Ivan's neck and begin crushing his neck. He did have reinforced armor—that was now being dented inward and doing a poor job of allowing him to breathe.
Ivan attempted to pry off the metallic tongue, but as he did, more of Byro's machines rushed to overwhelm the downed rebel commander.
"Fire Dragon's Talon!" A familiar voice rang as not only fire but a blast of green energy struck the multiple robots attempting to down Redray. The one restraining his neck also got torn and cut up by what looked to be a single sword beam that cut off the head of the beast.
Ivan looked back to see the team he sent to free the crystal in one path while the other split in the hallway held Mystogan with Knightwalker, Princess, and Erigor.
Both parties turned to each other. Specifically, Erza Knightwalker and Mirajane Rhea readied their weapons before Mystogan stepped forward. "No time! We're on the same side!" He didn't even leave room to argue as he and Natsu rushed over to help Ivan.
"Thank you, all of you," Ivan picked up the decapitated head of one of the Byro bots. "I never got the chance to do this until now." As he said this, he opened a latch behind the head of the robot.
"What are you doing!?" Byro cried out.
"Being digitized has disadvantages just like living does, Byro. Yours are just harder to exploit if someone doesn't know what they're doing." He reached for his pockets and fished for what looked to be a USB drive. The remaining robots made a desperate charge for Ivan but all of his former enemies and current allies stood fort to protect the man who had been fighting for decades. "But I know everything."
He placed the USB inside a port. The moment he did, a entered and paralyzed all of Byro's robots where they stood.
"That will keep him occupied for the next 5 hours." Ivan casually tossed the head to the side.
"What did you do to him?" Erza Knightwalker raised her brow as she looked at her former ally.
"Trapped him in a loop of annoying pop-up ads and equally grating pop-songs." Ivan looked back among the fallen robots. In one of the holes in the wall, Pantherlily and Kain flew in before spotting the group.
"Kain!" "Natsu!" "Pantherlily?" "Erza, good to see you well."
That was all the pleasantries exchanged before the Royal Captain looked over to Ivan. Everyone noticed the scowl on the Exceed's face, but he turned to see Prince Jellal, the boy who his king once cradled in his arms. The life of the Prince was proof enough that he had spent a long time in the wrong, so he had to make up for his mistakes, which meant... "Do you know what happened to the queen? She is a gentle soul. She would never hurt a fly, let alone call for humanity's erasure."
Ivan looked up to what looked like a star in the sky. "To make a long story short, your king and I had a secret enemy. It makes sense that even with the protection King Zabia put up in the event of his death, they finally got their hands on the royal family."
Pantherlily's day continued to get worse. Not only did he just find out that he was working for his friend's killer, but the one thing his friend asked him—to protect his beloved family—he failed them too.
"No!" He looked up while trying his best not to snarl. "There has to be a way to save her!"
Ivan sighed as if knowing what it was like to be in the same exact situation Pantherlily was in. "Why do you think King Zabia had so many secret meetings with us in the first place? We were working on a way to save everyone, but... it all fell apart." The gold-platted man shook his head.
Pantherlily gripped his fist. In a way, it felt worse to hear that there was a chance of hope but was lost along with King Zabia.
Yet Ivan turned his head back up. "But I owe it to him as well to protect those that are left. The only way to stop this fight is to get to Queen Shagotte and subdue her."
Silence filled the halls even as the fighting raged outside.
But Kain saw how the fighting continued and knew the longer they hesitated, the more lives were at stake. "Okay, we all need to move. We'll need a team to get to the queen while another team handles everything here."
Ivan nodded to what Kain was saying. "Aside from the original plan, the second god gives out a new problem. Even though she isn't a fighter, Queen Shagotte's ability to see the future will make it impossible to properly pin her down. There's a good chance she already saw this conversation we're having and our plan to take her down."
"... Funny thing about Fairy Tail plans," Kain looked over to Natsu before looking back to Ivan. "We either don't have one, or I make them up as we go along. This isn't the first time we've had to deal with impossible powers, so I volunteer to help out with the Exceed Queen." Then the lawyer turned to his friend. "Natsu, the other Dragon Slayers are fighting Faust right now. If you want to go with them..."
Natsu interrupted Kain with his usual smile. "They got Laxus and Gajeel there. If they lose, I'll just swoop in and kick the bad guy's butt for them. Besides, I've always wanted to fight a god!"
"King Zabia saved my life for his," Mystogan walked forward. "If I can repay it by somehow saving his wife, I'll gladly do it." Pantherlily nodded in appreciation.
Seeing the team form, Kain decided to look up before realizing something. "Say, how do we get up there? I doubt even with the few fliers we do have, we can just make a straight dash towards the 'god' of this world."
Suddenly, Mystogan had an idea. Well, more like an old idea that got them into this mess years ago but...
"Hisui, out of curiosity, did no one ever remove my lab clearance?"
Gajeel and Laxus jumped back after avoiding the tail of Dorma Anim.
"That thing is metal! Why aren't you eating it!?" The 4th Guild Master screamed to the former Phantom Lord Agent.
"Look, I've eaten metal. Whatever that thing is—ain't it!" Gajeel thought back to when he thought he had a chance to bite the thing.
He was expecting metal, but the moment he took a chunk of it, his brain told him he was biting sand. Gajeel watched in horror as he opened his mouth, and the metal fell out like water from his mouth before the chunks of metal fell back into the bite and healed itself.
Laxus concentrated a light blast in what looked to be a dented armor on Dorma Anim's arm cannon. His magical attack tore through and created a hole... until the metal around it started to move like liquid, healing the damage as if it was never there.
"Why won't any damage stick!?" Laxus shouted.
As if hearing them, the mechanical dragon made a new sound that almost sounded like laughter. "Nanomachines, apostates! They heal and respond to all forms of trauma! You can't defeat the ultimate machine!"
If Kain were there, he would have recognized—and vehemently complained—that Anime was now copying internet memes.
At that moment, Anim Dorma opened his maw to unleash a powerful laser blast that both Gajeel and Laxus avoided.
In the meantime, Wendy had snuck behind the mech and unleashed her own elemental roar down on the beast, causing it to flinch and stumble forward. However, it wasn't enough as the tail of the creature whipped towards the sky dragon slayer. Luckily, Wendy had more than enough time to avoid the attack before landing near Gajeel and Laxus.
"So how are we going to do this, fearless leader?" Gajeel put his fists together.
"If the machine can heal itself, all we have to do is break it faster than it can heal."
Wendy didn't know what was going on, and while she wanted to know where Carla and Pla were, she knew this fight seemed important. Especially when Laxus and Gajeel tried to get her to eat a strange medicine early on. "That sounds like something Natsu would come up with." She looked up at the muscular Dragonslayer.
Laxus scoffed at being compared to the fire dragon slayer. "Well, Kain isn't here, and he's the plan guy. Where is that punk, anyway?"
While he didn't expect an answer, Laxus also didn't expect something to shoot out of the Giant Tree with the speed of a geyser and race towards the star in the sky where the Exceeds came from. The dragon slayer's enhanced hearing could hear the sound of a familiar but distressed scream before the rocket flew out of even his hearing range.
"Alright," Laxus turned back to Dorma Anim with a burst of electricity. "Just hit that thing faster than it can heal."
Gajeel's skin started to harden while Wendy started to enhance both Gajeel and Laxus with her own magic.
In the meantime, Anim Dorma landed on all four of its limbs. Its red eyes shone brighter as its form readied to pounce.
A while ago, the group containing the Anti-Shagotte team, along with Natsu Dragion, made their way towards what looked to be an abandoned part of the castle.
"They kept your old lab?" Dragion asked as he held a tablet in his hands.
"It's more expensive to get rid of my work than recycle it. And a few words with professor Oracion proved that my work with Edolas was too important to toss away." Ivan answered while Mystogan used his ID clearance to open the sealed door.
Ivan walked in first, and as he did, light started to activate in the darkened room. As the lights powered up, they revealed what was in the center of the room.
The Fairy Tail commander could only give a combination of a scoff with a nostalgic laugh. "Do you want to break my Rocket Jet a second time, prince?"
"Ivan, I stole the prototype. The original one should be somewhere still in Extalia. Hopefully, Edolas didn't botch the brakes and steering wheel in the next stage of testing." Mystogan moved forward towards the black rocket/jet.
"So we're using this thing to get to the god of this world!?" Natsu Dragneel cried out as he started to climb it. "Then let's hurry up and garrrgghhhhh..."
Kain fought the urge to sigh when he saw Natsu's motion sickness kick in. "And the day just continues to go longer." The lawyer only thought this appropriate when he later felt g-force attempting to fuse him with the chair he was sitting on as the rocket blasted into the sky.
Luckily for the group, Natsu Dragion drove the machine with expert precision that was true to his claims. Even though it was his first time using the rocket, he avoided legions of Exceeds that were in strategic positions.
Yet, as they got closer to the light, Dragion saw the scanners. Proximity alerts went off, signaling something was keeping up with them. The problem was that if he kept going at this speed, he'd overshoot Queen Shagotte's location. But if he slowed down even a little, whatever was likely tracking them would cause them all to crash anywhere into the city. The Fireball had an idea, and he hoped everyone would forgive him.
Still, at his speed, he couldn't quite speak over G-force. He just prayed everyone would know what to do as he pressed the eject button for the five behind him.
Kain, on the other hand, loathed the fact that he suddenly found himself shot into the air and in the middle of a legion of Exceed Warriors.
"This is our stop!" Ivan screamed as he removed his seatbelt and dove to the nearest floating isle. The only one in their group who couldn't fly was Natsu. Seeing as the dragon slayer was still stunned from his motion sickness, Kain dove in and kicked one Exceed Warrior attempting to attack the still-sick Natsu.
It didn't take long for a legion of Exceed Warriors to rush for the four—plus Natsu—warriors. Yet, it didn't take long for the likes to power through and defeat the first wave.
"Alright," Kain made sure Natsu was... fine... before he turned to the others. "We flew towards the shining light in the sky. Where's our target?"
Apostates that you are, your eyes cannot fathom what is already before you.
The group all turned to what looked to be empty air. Yet, they watched as the air twisting and light shimmering. Kain recalled once in deep Biblical Myths, Angels were creatures that weren't humanoid. Rather, they took the forms of creatures like humans, calves, and even lions but had a multitude of wings with eyes boring into whatever poor souls decided to look at them.
Queen Shagotte was a biblically accurate angel. She took the form of a panther adorned in gold and white armor with six hind legs. She was the size of a monster truck, yet was somehow more powerful and infinitely more graceful. And the six wings behind her each held four-eyes that bore into the souls of all those that dared to oppose her.
"Queen Shagotte?" Pantherlily stepped forward in disbelief. "W-What has happened to you? This... you could never transform into something like this."
Your words mean nothing to me, fallen one. You will die along with the apostates.
"It's as I feared. They got to her." Ivan stepped forward, priming his arm cannon towards the "God" of this world.
"How do we change her back?" Mystogan readied his staves. However, he noticed the commander say nothing in response.
"Ivan!" Pantherlily hated the fact he had to raise his sword on a dear friend. "Hurry up and answer! How do we purge whatever influence over her!?"
Kain had a bad feeling about this.
Freedom? Oh, Ivan, lying even up to now, are you?
The voice of the goddess rang in all of their heads.
You did not come here to subdue me. You came here to kill me. That was the only way for the Exceed to stop their attack on Edolas.
Pantherlily and Mystogan looked on with horror as Ivan remained silent.
That is why...
The light around the goddess faded.
"Do it." A much softer voice spoke to the group. "Before the voice returns."
"Queen Shagotte?" Pantherlily looked towards the goddess of the Exceeds.
However, the light shined once more, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
Your interference ends this day, Ivan.
"The real reason we're here," The Commander of Edolas Fairy Tail began as the air tensed. "Is to commit the greatest cardinal sin of all: kill a god."
The air felt thick. Mystogan and Pantherlily could not believe—
"Dang it all, anime!" Kain shouted from the side before Queen Shagotte rushed for them. "What is it with you and your obsession to kill god!?"
[Author Notes]
And thank you everyone for this story reaching 1k Favorites and Follows! Whooooooo.
Kain: So what's the reward for this milestone?
Author: heck if I know. I never thought I'd make it this far. Uhhh, maybe fan service?
Kain: ... Anyone here can just put on the Mature rating in Fairy Tail's section for that.
Author: crap. Hey wait! I did have something planned.
Kain: What is it?
Author: Tsk. You know? I don't actually know. I might have to talk with some people to get it to work. But I thought it sounds fun.
Kain: ... Your idea of fun is me suffering unbelievably.
Author: I mean- not always?
So, for now, I'll leave you guys off with a thank you as this is my first story with 1k in both Favorites and Follows. I hope you continue to enjoy this story even as I go through a rough time. I'll leave ya off with a deleted interaction I wanted to include this chapter, but couldn't find the right place for it.
Ivan: We'll need him (the king) alive.
"Do we really?" Mystogan asked.
"Peace talks first, daddy issues later." Kain turned to his friend.
Alright guys. Good luck and see ya soon!