"Once Fae and I are inside the palace, we will make contact with my friend, Panther Lily, to get more information about where all of our guild is located. I'll be tampering with the Anima in order to create a stable route home for us."
"What about Fae?"
"If she isn't assisting me, I imagine she'll find something to do."
-vVv-
:There is an art to properly setting a fun-trap: I explained to the purple snake around my shoulders as I rigged my trap, both G2 and the Naruto ninja headband allowing me to effortlessly calculate the proper angle and tension for the trip wire I was setting up. I was just leaving it wound into a seam in the stone floor, dormant. For now at least.
:against friends and allies, you want it to be harmless and amusing. Against enemies, you can let your venom flow: I paused for a moment in consideration of what I had just said.
"Wow, that is actually an idiom. Snakes, man." Cubellios tilted her head, not understanding my last words.
:hatchling?:
:Just remarking on some linguistic differences between your speech and human speech:
Parseltongue has a word for 'linguistic' but not 'prank'?
Mystogan and I had snuck inside the palace through a disused tunnel. He had gotten me to lead him to the main control area for the Anima.
"My sabotage of that has to be a little more subtle. And I have to reverse engineer it so that everything that was pulled through with its last use will be restored."
"You do know I could literally learn everything about it with a touch, right?"
"I need you to keep watch for me and do what you can to ensure that as many troops as possible are locked out of the palace or have a lot of trouble getting in. I'm sure you can figure out all kinds of inventive traps to keep people occupied."
So that's why I was setting up a hallway to make anyone who walked down it regret their life descions leading up to that point. Cubellios had sniffed out a janitorial closet and the lab Mystogan was in was basically mad scientist grade freaky.
It also meant it was a prankster's playground. I had carefully gone through the whole lab, documenting each substance with a touch and letting G2 process the compounds I could potentially mix up, or the items I could make with what was available. It had been fun, and people would probably regret letting me do this later.
Ooh, what if I copy the concept of the Body Switch Curse? People are always a bit messed up if they're having an out of body experience. Especially if they end up in a different body entirely.
Cubellios was helping by keeping her coils to the ground to sense people coming by randomly, which I couldn't always account for, and occasionally serving as muscle if I needed something moved or concealed.
I finished hiding the trip wire and placed the rune, drawn in magic infused ink, helpfully left out on a desk. Then I added the command to my rune syllabary to activate as needed. The longer I was inside the palace walls, the more comprehensive a map I had of the place.
Ok, that makes about five one time traps on this floor and four self resetting ones. I think I can call it good for this floor...After a few more simple ones.
A Sticking Charm on a large section of the floor, Grease in another area, all tied to my handy dandy device.
I checked my magic levels and popped another x-ball into my mouth.
I've hit up two floors so far with traps. If I can get my hands on the main gate that would help a lot, and if I could get at the barracks...
I probably could if I left Mystogan behind. But I wasn't about to do that this deep into enemy territory.
I mentally checked on my mentor, carefully thinking of him as Mystogan instead of Edo-Jellal. It avoided the worst of the echoes. Even distantly wondering about Gajeel's current whereabouts got two sharp pings on my mental scanner. Having their be two people by the same name, being members of the same guild
He is approximately 40% finished with his current task.
Ok...Let's put some paint bombs out, just for fun. Recipes? I'm thinking a good ten foot section, covered in paint.
You will require 100 grams of...
-vVv-
"Edolas Fairy Tail may not be as combat oriented as ours is." A glance at Fae made her shrug.
"Too many echoes for me to tell. The only thing I know is that there's a double for almost everyone we know in Fairy Tail, and they have different enough skills to make it hard to listen to. Only thing that is exactly the same is the guild mindset of helping people whenever and however they can."
"That'll be enough."
-vVv-
Wendy had no idea who they were going to meet. But she had other things to worry about. Carla was gradually becoming more and more anxious the more time passed. She was carrying her under the cloak Lucy's spirit, Virgo, had brought them upon Lucy's request.
"We need something to keep our marks and maybe even our faces from being recognized. Clothes are the easiest thing to change."
Lucy was now sporting a stylish pair of gloves to conceal her guild mark and a hat shadowing her face, her bright blond hair tucked up under it to make it look a lot shorter than it actually was. Natsu had gotten a hooded short sleeved jacket very in line with his usual look to cover his guild mark. Virgo had assured him that it was fire resistant, but would burn if held at sufficiently high temperatures. This and his scarf obscured enough of his features to let him pass with minimal scrutiny. So long as he didn't say anything at least. Wendy had a cloak and hood light enough to not hinder her if she needed to move or use magic quickly. It was loose enough that she could conceal Carla under it. Happy was riding in a backpack, carried by Natsu.
She eventually inclined her head towards her first friend, whispering to give the conversation a measure of privacy.
"What's the matter Carla?" The Exceed's body was tense as she huddled into Wendy's side.
"I'm only worried, child. The others of my race...They did not have good intentions when they sent Happy and myself to Earthland."
"What do you mean?" Wendy deliberately lowered her voice still more, spinning some air currents to ensure no one could overhear.
"I mean the tomcat and I had a mission, child. One which he doesn't remember, and I chose to ignore. But I'm afraid that by you being here, we are playing into our enemies hands."
"I'm sure it'll all work out. Mystogan knows what he's doing." It had been difficult at first to call him by that name instead of the one she had known him as. But after seeing him in the guild hall so frequently, having people casually refer to him by that name, it had felt right. More so because Erza's friend Jellal was now also part of their guild. Though he had been spending time in hiding getting back to full strength. He had actually just walked into the guild hall when everything had gone white and the Anima pulled them through.
Regardless of what she called the S-Class mage, Wendy still trusted him.
Her attention came back to the present when Natsu's shoulder straightened suddenly. He had smelt something. She inhaled as well, searching for the scent.
Lucy?
She smelt unusually strong...They had been travelling but it wasn't like her normal travel worn scent. This was...coming from two different places.
A woman wearing a hooded jacket was sitting on a bench outside a restaurant of some kind. She appeared to be reading a newspaper, but Wendy could feel eyes on them.
Natsu however bounded right over to her and flicked her hood off her head, cocking his head.
"Wow. This body double thing could be kinda cool."
"Shut up, idiot!" The other woman wearing Lucy's face grabbed Natsu's scarf and hauled him into an ally. The real Lucy and Wendy all hurried to catch up.
"What the hell are you doing here, you're supposed to be running supplies over to Louen!"
"Chill out, Lucy! If that is your name here too..."
"Of course it's my name, dumbass! Did your car fumes make your memory go foggy?"
"No this is pretty normal for him." Lucy said, striding forward towards the pair. The other Lucy turned her defensive posture going slack with surprise for an instant.
"What the-?"
"It'll take a while to explain and I'll be happy to tell you whatever I can. But for now, just let my Natsu go." The other Lucy wore dark clothing and a perpetual scowl. She looked so different from Lucy with her light clothing and usual smile that Wendy was starting to get a headache. And not one that she could cure...
"Alright other me. If you knew how to find us then you've gotta have had good contact with our people. Start talking, but make it fast. I don't have all day."
Lucy started by pulling off her right glove and displaying her guild mark for examination.
"There's another world that's like a reflection of this one. We're from that worlds version of Fairy Tail. A world with a self replenishing supply of magic, where everyone has their own personal store like an Exceed does here. Your king sucked our whole guild and city into this world to drain them of their magic power." As Lucy said this, her counterpart flicked her eyes all over the three of them, both listening to the report and trying to get a good look at all of them at the same time.
"There are about 60,000 people currently trapped in the capitol. It's the citizens that will die first when Faust starts to drain the magic. We came to ask if your Fairy Tail would help us."
"Oh that bites the big one..." Edo-Lucy pursed her lips. "I'd be all for kicking Faust in the teeth before he can ruin more lives, Mirror-me. But I'm not the one who calls the shots for the whole guild. Master got hunted down earlier this year and no one's got the heart to try and replace him." No, Wendy couldn't imagine anyone else as Guild Master except Makarov. Even her, as a newcomer, could see how he regarded the guild wizards as his children, and they returned the affection. To lose him would have been devastating.
The other blond girl finally seemed satisfied with her examination of their party, relaxing marginally.
"I'll take you to the guild hall. Let you say your piece to everyone there. It's all or nothing for us, but we'll do what we can. Here in Edolas, us fairies stick together." She stuck out her hand which Lucy took and shook firmly.
"We do in Earthland too. We're gonna be starting trouble tomorrow. If you can come and fight, we'll welcome your help. But if not, there will probably be a lot of people who could use some assistance too." Edo-Lucy gave a grin that seemed more in line with what Wendy had seen on Cana's face.
"You got some balls on you, Mirror-me. But the army isn't gonna go down easy, no matter how many magic items you've got."
Wendy's ears twitched as Carla pawed at her.
"Guards are coming, child." She hissed in an undertone. Wendy gulped. We need to stay low until tomorrow...!
"Natsu...!"
"I hear em." He said, turning to face the entry to the ally way with a big grin. "Let 'em come."
The men, six of them, didn't even have the chance to speak. Natsu was among them in a flash of fire, fists flying. One he punched into the ground, and used him as a base to unleash a spinning, fiery kick that sent the other five crashing into the walls of the narrow alley with enough force to leave cracks in the stone.
Wendy glanced back at Edo-Lucy who was staring with open shock.
"Damn..." Lucy preened the tiniest bit, and Wendy had to hide her own proud smile behind her cloak.
"Somehow, I don't think that the army is going to last as long as you think."
-vVv-
"Stay undercover. Once Fae and I are discovered causing trouble in the palace, the barracks in the city will be called in to try and contain or capture us. That will draw guards away from the lacrima, though it won't take away all of them."
"Good. I hate boring work."
-vVv-
"Incredible..." Gajeel was currently subjected to a thorough examination by a man who looked exactly like him, who had even introduced himself by the same name. "I had heard that Faust stole the magic from a world that mirrored our own, but to see it in person is thrilling beyond belief!"
The suit and tie Edo-Gajeel was wearing looked so formal and uncomfortable, Gajeel itched just looking at it.
"Well get a good look while you can. I've got a job to do."
"Perhaps I can be of assistance." The Iron Dragon Slayer looked at his doppelganger and waited.
"I am somewhat of a journalist. I excel at getting to places and finding information that others miss or overlook. I imagine your overall plan is to return the magic stolen from your world?"
"No." Gajeel grunted shortly. "Your king stole the lives of the people my guild protects. We're getting them back, not just magic."
"So the situation is more dire than I feared." The other man mused, rubbing his chin in thought. Gajeel abruptly recognized the tell, Metalicana had beaten it out of him years ago. Edo-Gajeel was thinking about something that made him nervous.
He turned aside abruptly, intending on disappearing and leaving his counterpart, who was clearly not the Dragon Slayer raised by a dragon, when-
"Wait!" A hand grabbed his vest collar. "Taking away such a massive lacrima will upset the people of Edolas, no matter how it is done."
"I don't care." The people of a country built on this kind of cannibalism was one that could go burn as far as Gajeel cared.
"-But! If you get them on your side, then you won't have nearly as much trouble from the militia! The regular army will still oppose you, but the militia won't and neither will the civilians. It'll cut down the opposing forces by more than 50%!" This made Gajeel pause.
He liked a brawl as much as anyone. And so did Salamander and most of his close friends. But they were still only 8 people, currently against thousands with limited magic. And he had no way of knowing whether the first lacrima he had chosen would have anyone good for a fight in it.
"How many are there now?"
"Last count for the royal city alone was 25,000, but only the officers have magic items and the training to use them. I did a story on it, protesting the need for so many while we're at peace-"
With an army of that size, peace ain't what they got on their mind. Gajeel thought derisively.
"And your idea will make that how many instead?"
"My best guess, it would take it down to 12,000. 10 if we're lucky."
It's still a stupid big number, but it is better.
"Alright, other me." Gajeel turned, giving him a sharp grin. "What is it you need from me?"
"An interview. Faust may try and stifle my articles, but they are still read by the majority of the city, only the most pretentious of the nobility ignore it entirely. With your word outlining what will be lost if the lacrima are harvested, it will cause outrage, riots and dissent in large numbers."
"People ain't got no reason to believe a word I say."
"But they do believe us, my compatriot and I. We've been right too many times for them to simply dismiss what we say."
Gajeel considered it for a while longer. He did still have a lot of sabotage he wanted to do, it would let him build up an excess of magic power for when the fighting broke out and he'd have to rely on his reserves alone to get by. But this guy didn't smell like a liar, and it would give them a better chance of pulling this off without leaving a smoking ruin in their wake. And there were some people who did consider that to be important.
These fairies really are rubbing off on me.
"Fine."
-vVv-
Mystogan had finished rewiring the Anima late in the evening, and had then carefully hidden a small spell token to supply the illusion that everything was still as it ought to be.
"This illusion will only last for 12 hours, and if anyone interacts with it, it will drain it faster."
"I can put up some diversion wards?"
"No. This will blow up sooner or later and I want you as close to full strength as possible." Mystogan picked up all the staves he normally carried. "Come on, we need a place to rest and wait until tomorrow."
Somewhere no one will look inside the palace where we can sleep?
G2 was silent for a moment before creating a mental map with several safe zones highlighted in my minds eye. From my walking through every floor of the palace, subtly setting traps and managing to avoid detection, I had garnered a very good knowledge of the place.
"There's one...two floors up. Unused guest room." Mystogan gave me a look.
"What about this floor? We want to be close to our exit."
"Well, yeah, there's a storage closet- Oh, you were literally talking about someplace to sleep not an actual bed." G2 recalibrated her map markers according to the new parameters I had unconsciously set. "Yeah, there's like three places on this floor alone people hardly ever go."
"Better. But we need the highest odds possible. You're going to need your rest."
"Well..."
"...I know your sense of humor has always been peculiar, but this irony seems a bit much, even for you."
"There is a 93% chance of us being able to sleep here undisturbed for at least 6 hours. And an 86% chance of us getting up to 8 hours of undisturbed rest." I touched one of the walls absently and flinched, quickly withdrawing my hand.
Dungeons were never a pleasant place to be, and this branch of cell blocks was avoided by the guard patrols because of the rumor that there was a ghost from a suicide lingering nearby.
There had in fact been three such deaths, not just one. But only one had been messy enough to become a palace legend. They had all been wizards who had refused to take Faust's rule, aka tyranny, lying down and had been chucked down here to rot.
But I could not fault the reasoning. No one would think to look for intruders in the literal prison cells.
"You'll be ok?" I touched a bracer, activating the premade Patronus defense I had linked to it permanently.
"I'll be fine Mystogan."
"If you're sure." He propped several of his staves in the corner and took another two crossing them in front of the doorway.
Creating an illusion of an empty cell, and covering up most sounds.
Basically setting up camp.
There were two cots built into the walls, but I imagined we would only use one of them. We would still be better off to be able to keep watch in shifts instead of risking us both being caught off guard.
"What did you manage while I was working?"
"Booby trapped four floors of the palace completely, along with some moveable equipment I found lying around..."
I had found the kitchens and found several guards there having lunch. Their spears and other weapons had been set aside. It had been pushing the limits of my magically enhanced stealth to get to them. But Culbellios, shrunk down as small as she could and sticking to the shadows, had scared some rats out of the walls into sight of the kitchen help. The shrieks and panic had been enough of a diversion for me to be able to sabotage half of their weapons, about 12 of the total number that had been there. You never knew when you would need a random glitter bomb to the face of an enemy after all...
I am still questioning the sanity of some of these people when they just happen to have had glitter in one of their storerooms. I really, really wanted hammer space. I could have done so much looting! G2 and Cubellios had gotten me access to all kinds of supplies, both mundane and otherwise. I had managed to rig some foam to come spurting out of the chandelier in the main hall with just a touch when the lights were on...Or in theory anyway. Even if it went wrong, it ought to be good for a quick diversion.
But mostly what I had done had been trip lines, electric wires extended to some unexpected places, and many, many smoke bombs, flashbang grenades and sundry other hazards. And luridly bright paint on a hideous portrait of King Faust, which would only show itself with the proper lighting.
Cubellios had had the idea of something she had done with Eric.
Capsuling her poison and using it to undermine structural integrity of some walls and floors. With a time delay activation, I could hit a button, so to speak, and within two minutes, there would be floors caving in on themselves all over the palace.
I summarized what I had done for Mystogan as I dutifully ate the small snacks he had with him. (The unprepared did not last long as a solo fighter after all.) Then he told me to lie down and go to sleep.
"I'll just nap." I told him. "You need to rest too."
"I can handle it, Fae." I didn't like the way he was looking. Way too serious and depressed. Yes, this situation was dire, yes we were diving headlong into a lot of trouble but...We wouldn't get through this being super professional and tough about this. We would get through it like we always did:
By being Fairy Tail. And that basically meant doing whatever we wanted and thought was right.
And it was not right that Mystogan lose more sleep over this than he already had. Some things he couldn't change, and others weren't going to change yet. But...I was going to change the serious look on his face. With a trick taken from Natsu and Happy's book. Only my silliness was far more calculated.
"Maybe you can handle sleeplessness, but you don't have to and I'm gonna be stubborn about it. You're not a machine, you need sleep too. And you're going to get it while we have the chance if I have to knock you out myself." I completed this statement with a fierce scowl that was a careful blend of Natsu's 'Absolute Fact', Gray's 'Not-Budging' and Erza's 'Obey Me Mortal'. Everyone in Fairy Tail had specific expressions that indicated some aspect of their thoughts or present feelings. Labelling them wasn't necessary for me. I had started naming them for the benefit of others who didn't have my insight.
Mystogan's expression , for example, was a hybrid of several looks I processed too quickly to assign names to. Nostalgic, weary, fond, etc. But it started off with 'What Are You Doing?', a universal favorite among most adults. Also one I was very good at digging out of even the most taciturn human being.
"You've been studying Erza's patterns of caring for others, I see."
"Usable only for cases of extreme hardheadedness."
"So, Natsu."
"Only on train or boat rides. She's actually been expanding to Gray too lately."
"Go to sleep Fae." He sounded fondly exasperated. But he looked far less like a tired war vetran when I did finally close my eyes. His expression had settled onto a much more pleasant 'I Still Have Enough Humor To Find This Endearing.'
Cubellios coiled herself up as a pillow and hissed gently in my ear.
:Well done hatchling: She sounded pleased.
Guess she could sense he was upset, or something...
-vVv-
They had been underway for only an hour, making their way through the town through the back streets and alleys. Every way they could travel while staying out of sight and away from scrutiny. According to their local guide, while Natsu's handling the patrol of guards had solved their immediate problem, it could trigger a larger hunt once their bodies were found.
"Only a Fairy Tail member could have handled six that quickly and quietly. They'll be on us like buzzards on carrion."
"Sounds like you have the same reputation here that we do at home...Only here they actually try to arrest you."
"Arrest? Please, there are only two members of Fairy Tail who don't have 'kill on sight' orders out for them."
Wow, this is way more scary in person! Wendy's heart had never pounded like this before and it felt...oddly satisfying.
Fae had mentioned that she would get more and more used to high stress situations.
"Dragons are predators. Apex predators. They're not used to being prey, but humans very much are. You're stuck somewhere between the feeling of not tolerating being chased, and also being very used to it. The happy medium is really liking exercise and adrenaline however you can get it."
And she was right, the pressure was there and certainly not comfortable, but Wendy wasn't feeling an undue amount of panic.
She caught a whiff of something. Strong and familiar. Carla tensed as well as she scented it and Happy gave a low hiss.
"Natsu, do you smell that?" The older Dragon Slayer took several deep breaths.
"What are they, part trackhound?" Edo-Lucy hissed at the blond running beside her.
"Better." Lucy said shortly.
"I know this scent, but..." Wendy began hesitantly. "It's always been mixed up with everyone else's."
"It's Erza's-" Edo-Lucy let loose with a string of curses that would have made Gajeel look twice.
"Run!" Wendy could smell the fear radiating off of Edo-Lucy as she started to charge all pretense of subtlety and care dropped in favor of just getting anywhere but here as fast as she could. Wendy struggled a bit, fumbling with her wind magic. Usually the air around her felt like a warm, comforting embrace, like returning home, but now it felt colder. More distant. Almost dead to her senses.
She had never realized just how much she took magic for granted.
Wendy inhaled a short gulp of Edolas's odd tasting air, letting her body process it and then-
New energy surged to life inside of her. It wasn't very pure air, but she could still work with it. She put on a burst of speed that caught her up to the taller runners and let her keep pace with them.
"What's wrong?"
"The Hunter's been tipped off about where our guild hall is. We gotta move it, stat! It'll be another masacre if she finds us! We've lost too many people already!"
They were racing through the town, and Wendy could hear several people calling after them, some complaining when they rushed past, some more cursing when Natsu simply bowled them over altogether and several others recognizing them and calling-
Fireball and Locksmith?
"This way!" Their goal appeared to be a massive tree. Several large somethings were approaching from the sky. The tree was starting to shake.
"Legions!"
"Enemies?"
"The Iron Squadron is dedicated to hunting down all Fairy Tail wizards, they're led by the Fairy Hunter, Erza Knightwalker. She's killed dozens of us!"
Erza?
Wendy could identify that scent on the wind. Only it was spiking with emotion that the woman she had come to know usually kept more controlled.
"Those things are too close!" Happy piped up, peering out of Natsu's backpack.
"They will begin their attack run in less than a minute!" Carla had also stuck her head out from under Wendy's cloak.
"Put some steam into it! We can still make it!" Edo-Lucy called, head down and simply sprinting as fast as she could.
No we can't.
Wendy could smell some strange magic being gathered up on the backs of the beasts, looking like some kind of massive, bull horned insects with feathers, fur and jagged teeth forming mouth like was coming was already charging up a massive attack.
Alter their flight path and the attack will overshoot.
She could see that. See exactly where, and feel how.
"Wendy!" Natsu grabbed her hand, she could feel his magic blazing like a bonfire inside his skin. "I heat it up, you push them back!"
The spell was one Grandeeny had taught her. Something to help in flight. To create a sudden updraft, you needed warm air. She would normally only be able to make a small one, just enough to get Carla off the ground and spiraling upward on a cushion of warmed air. But with Natsu's magic, constantly producing heat at her disposal...
"Skyfire Rising Thermal!" Their two magic circles bloomed over their hands. It was not a Unison Raid. Natsu was just emitting a lot of heat that she was capitalizing on, giving direction and purpose and aiming at just the right spot...
There.
Wendy sent a semi visible current of hot air rocketing up, catching all three of the Legions as they began their attack dive. Natsu yanked her off her feet and bodily carried her the rest of the way to the open door in the tree. The two Lucy's had already made it to safety and were calling after them.
The sudden change in the air rocked them, the three blasts of magical energy that they had been aiming at the Edolas Fairy Tail guild hall behind them went wide, firing straight over their heads. A complete miss.
Just before Wendy was pulled inside and the door slammed shut, she heard a scream of anger.
Erza's voice.
But both Fae and Mystogan had said that Erza would be in lacrima form until some dragon slayer magic came into contact with her.
The thought rattled incessantly around in her head as everything when dark and she was lost in a sea of loud confused noise. Only Carla's familiar presence by her chest and Natsu's reassuring warmth and her back let her tune out the blaring sounds and focus.
Edolas is apparently a lot more different from Earthland than I realized.
Lucy is nice, friendly and cheerful back home.
Here, she's tough, no nonsense and...mean.
Back home, Erza is...Erza. She's the Queen of the Fairies. Everyone is afraid of her, but they know she will do everything to protect them.
Here, Erza in the Fairy Hunter who's managed to kill who knows how many members of Fairy Tail.
When Wendy opened her eyes again, it was to see a sight that was foreign and familiar all in one.
There were faces she knew from the party, and some others that she had met afterward. But their expressions were all just...barely different. Though some were very, very different.
"What are you all looking at?" Edo-Lucy rose, dusting herself off and shooting a scowl at them all. "Give em a hand, people. They're fairies like us!"
"Oh god there's two of them?" The first call started a landslide of talk and chatter. Willing hands helped the three Earthland mages to their feet.
"Jumping can be rough on ya the first few times." A man with dusty purple hair said with a shrug. What was his name...? Fae babysat his son sometimes. Macau! That was it.
"I've been thrown, flung, hurled literally in all ways applicable, and all around been turned inside out since joining Fairy Tail. But that didn't feel like anything I've ever experienced." Lucy checked her outfit, correcting a few out of place wrinkles with some efficient tugs.
"It's the only Magical Transporter of its kind." Levy!? This was the voice who had first addressed them when they made contact with the Edolas Fairy Tail guild. "So." She stomped up to Lucy with far more force than she should have been able to muster and glared at her. "Where did you come from Bimbo 2.0 and what do you want?"
Wendy saw Lucy inhale deeply, eyes flashing with a temper that she noticed got a lot hotter whenever she was around Natsu, then the spark went out and she very calmly let the breath out.
"For you to get out of my face, first. And then some time to address all of your guild who is here."
Edo-Levy blinked, rolling back slightly to no longer be pressing Lucy's personal space quite so much.
"...Yeah you're definitely from another world. Our Lucy would have tried to tie me into a pretzel if I did that to her."
"Waddya mean 'tried', you greasy splinter?" Edo-Lucy growled. Lucy spoke up firmly, cutting across her counterparts budding rant with a firm tone. She had been given an assignment by Mystogan, de facto Guild Master and she was determined to fulfil it. Wendy was admiring her for keeping her head when the more they saw, the stranger this place got.
"The thought crossed my mind, but we've got a guild and city to save." She looked around. "Is this everyone?"
"We got a handful of undercovers in some further towns." Jet reported, looking much rougher than the version Wendy was familiar with. "This here is the main body of the guild. We don't go out unless we get a lead on work or a new fuel depot."
"We've already gotten their attention." Carla commented to Lucy, allowing her whisker to peek out from Wendy's cloak. "Present our case. We won't get a better opportunity."
Lucy took another stabilizing breath, then she straightened, pulling her right glove off to display her guild mark, holding up her fist and walking in a small circle as she began to speak in a clear tone.
"The five of us-"
"I only see three-"
"Shut up!"
"-are from Earthland. A parallel world to Edolas. Everyone single one of you has a double there. They can be pretty much identical, like me and Lucy. Or they can be pretty different. Like our Erza Scarlet vs your Fairy Hunter." The mention of their enemy made some people mutter nagrily, but for the most part, all eyes were focused on Lucy as she spoke.
But Wendy noticed that Natsu and Happy seemed distracted. They were watching the crowd, but she could see Natsu's nostrils flaring as he tried to catch a scent.
"But the important part is this: Unlike Edolas, Earthland has a self regenerating supply of magic. Faust has been using the device called Anima for years to siphon magic into this world for his use. But he made the discovery that if he used the Anima to pull people through instead of floating ethernano, or ambient magic in the air, then he could exponentially increase his takings. That is exactly what he did yesterday morning." Lucy's voice tightened and almost cracked. "He took our home city, Magnolia. More than 50,000 people are currently trapped in lacrima inside the capitol, helpless. If their lacrima is drained, they will die. But not only did he take all the civilians, he took all but nine members of our Fairy Tail." Sympathy and righteous anger started to show on the Edolas guild's faces. They knew loss. They knew the rage Lucy was feeling. The helplessness you felt when you watched your family vanish in front of you-.
Wendy automatically fell into a meditation breathing pattern to calm her heartbeat and emotions. She couldn't use healing magic if she was distressed or upset. She always had to have a calm core, some neutral magic that could interact safely with her patients. Carla cuddled closer to her, purring gently and rubbing her arm soothingly.
"One of our S-class wizards wasn't in town when Faust attacked. He is the guild master in the absence of all other senior wizards, and he's called us to war against Faust . We are here, first and foremost, to tell you what is going on.."
"So are you here to call us in to fight too?" Edo-Levy's arms were locked tight over her chest, guarded, suspicious.
Tired.
Wendy could see a degree of haunted weariness in everyone's faces. The Edolas Fairy Tail guild was still free, but they were paying a steep price to be able to keep doing the work that they loved.
"I may be relatively new to Fairy Tail, but I do know that none of us need permission to get involved in a fight." This was said with a dry sarcasm that earned a few chuckles and tight smiles from some people. "You can consider this an invitation. We can see things haven't been easy for you. But even if you don't decide to help us fight Faust's army: please come and help the civilians. There won't be enough of us to keep them all out of harm's way."
"You say there's nine of you. Against Faust's entire army, Legions and heavy guns included, plus their captains and Knightwalker herself? We're all for being ballsy, but there's a line between that and suicidal." The comment was reasonable. It made sense. It was completely true that their odds were terrible. It also had a lot of agreement with it. Attention started to wander. At least until Edo-Lucy spoke up.
"Hey, flamebrain, earthland Natsu or whatever I call you." The salmon haired boy looked back at her, clearly not having heard most of what was said. He seemed pretty distracted actually.
"What?"
"You by yourself were good for six guards in less than 2 seconds. They didn't even have time to yelp. You and mini Wendy made the Legion's miss the guild hall when they would otherwise have had us dead in their sights. What kind of wizards are you?"
Wendy allowed herself a small smile.
"We're two of Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers." And the flicker of pride in her heart warmed her, chasing away doubt, fear and worry. Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers. Someplace she belonged, someplace where she wasn't alone. The term made several people straighten and look at them with new eyes. It seemed even they knew what Dragon Slayers were.
"Two?"
"Dragon Slayer magic reverses the effects of Anima on wizards." Lucy explained, head tilting with a bright smile, fingering her keys comfortably. "Our last Slayer is inside the capitol tracking down all the lacrima our guild are trapped in."
"...You guys are still nuts. They've literally got thousands of soldiers and Knightwalker. There's no way-" A flare of pride and fierceness rose up inside Wendy's chest. Something very draconic and dangerous. Apparently she wasn't the only one. She wasn't sure how he did it, but there was a noticeable change in the air. Natsu stepped forward, shaggy pink hair simmering with heat and fangs showing prominently as he bared his teeth at the doubter. The one who had disparaged their guild and their ability to protect what was theirs. Minor or not, and intentional or not, that was what he had done and Wendy didn't like it any more than Natsu.
"You guys wanna play chicken and keep running from these guys, that's fine. We're not running. We're gonna get our guild back and everyone in it. So either get moving to come along, or stay out of the way:" He slammed one fist into his hand, lighting it with a fierce angry flame that spoke about how he was truly feeling inside.
"Cause like it or not, we've got a chance to go home to everyone again. And I got no problem burning down a city if it gets me my friends back."