A/N: I would like to thank some of you who left positive reviews and nice suggestions for this story including Awesome.anime.girl33, CrissCrossover, and the Guest reviwers. I have a fan wikia page for this story if any of you want to contribute to it. Just search Edtaku Squad Ed, Edd n Eddy's Anime Edventure and the wikia page will be there. For now, let's all get right into the last chapter of the Fairy Tail arc.
Chapter 4: Fairy Ed - Part 3
Mercurius Dungeon (Fairy Tail Universe)
Deep in the inner sanctums of the Royal Palace, Fiore's mages were kept locked away in an Anti-Magic prison. Away from any source of natural light from the outside world. In one of the larger cells were the Fairy Tail mages, who wallowed in silence and hopelessness as they were surrounded by darkness, with only the torches and lanterns that gave some visibility.
Makarov Dreyar, the master of Fairy Tail, frowned as he sat in despair, besides Mirajane Strauss, her siblings, Elfman and Lisanna, and the master's grandson, Laxus Dreyar. They, along with Lucy Heartfilia, Levy McGarden, Juvia Lockser, Cana Alberona, Gildarts Clive, Carla, Pantherlily, Jet, Droy and others were imprisoned by the imperial forces of the King and Queen of Diamonds. The strongest mages in the strongest wizard guild have been left to rot in a dungeon, wondering if they would see the light of day again.
Lucy emphasized her feelings the most due to being unaware of her closer friend's whereabouts and concerns for their safety. Ever since Natsu disappeared and their home was annexed, the Celestial wizard prayed that some glimmer of hope would come out of this. Out of all the situations that she and her guild went through, this may as well be their most difficult testament yet.
'Natsu...' Lucy thought as her memories of the Fire Dragon Slayer flashed in her mind. She remembered a few days prior when she saw Natsu for the last time.
3 Days Earlier
Lucy, Natsu and Happy were walking home after coming back from a strenuous job with Erza and Gray. The salmon-haired teen offered to take Lucy home to which she gladly accepted. As the two strolled by the canal in the chilly autumn weather, with a tired Happy sleeping in Natsu's arms, they conversed about their recent trip.
"Damn, am I bushed." yawned Natsu.
"I know. After going on that crazy journey, fighting those pirates and saving a bratty princess from certain death, I think I'm gonna sleep for the rest of the day tomorrow." Lucy sighed, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Yeah, me and Happy might do the same. Right, Happy?" asked Natsu.
"Shh! He's sleeping!" whispered Lucy as the Exceed snoozed peacefully.
"Oh, sorry Happy." said Natsu as he patted his feline friend's head.
They finally reach Lucy's apartment, which meant that the two had to part ways for now. "Well, home sweet home. You sure you can walk back to your place by yourself? It's kinda cold out here." Lucy asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry 'bout me." Natsu smiled assuringly as he heads back to his home with Happy in tow.
Lucy unlocked her apartment door, but she hesitates before she could enter. Certain feelings were aroused in her mind about her friend, and she felt that maybe now it would be a good time to share them with him. She turns to Natsu, who continued to walk the opposite direction. Lucy calls out to him before he went any further. "H-Hey! Wait!"
Natsu hears Lucy's call and turns to her. "Yeah, what?"
The Celestial mage hesitated again before mustering the courage to speak. "You know I like you, right?"
"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" said the Dragon Slayer.
Lucy knew that's not what she really meant when she said she liked him, but the context didn't matter. She smiled as Natsu replied with a warm grin. Finally, they both take their leave as she closes the door behind her and he walks away. Unbeknownst to the former, this would be the last the two would see each other.
Present Day
Lucy's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of anguished yelling. The loud cries were familiar to her as she got up and listened to the high-pitched screams.
Cana was leaning against the bars of the cage as Lucy went over to investigate the screaming.
"You hear that?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, it's coming from the Extracting Room again. Judging from thise screams it's probably Ichiya in there." Cana assumed as she took a swig from a flask full of whiskey.
"What do you think they're doing in there, Cana-chan?" Juvia asked.
"I dunno. When they brought Jet in there, I kinda figured he would tell us. But whatever happened to him, he won't say anything because of it." replied Cana, as she looks over to Jet, who looked so emotionally drained to the point of sobbing while Levy and Droy tried to console him.
"I'll tell what they did." Laxus spoke up as the three girls turned to see him stabding behind them. "I should know, me, Freed, Evergreen and Bixlow were in there, too."
"Laxus..." Makarov said with concern in his expression before Laxus stopped him.
"No, Gramps. They have a right to know. It'll spare them most of the shock anyway." Laxus insisted as Makarov continued to sit in silence.
Cana scoffs. "What could be so shocking about that room? It can't be that terrifying."
"It's no joke Cana. Those screams you hear in there, they don't lie." stated the Lightening Dragon Slayer. "They have machines in there that are designed to extract the Ethernano inside your bodies."
"Why do they need that much Ethernano?" Lucy inquired.
Laxus shrugged. "I don't know much. But whatever they need it for, it's probably for some kind of Super Weapon of World-Ending Magnitude as far as I can tell."
Extracting Room
"I just LOVE supplying Ethernano to our Super Weapon of World-Ending Magnitude!" Leader 4 smiled gleefully as their ultimate weapon collected the Ethernano from the bodies of dozens of mages in the most excruciating way.
The wizards are placed on examining tables, hooked up to wires and are shocked as their magical energy was transferred to the machine. It slowly charged with every mage that came in and out. Leader 3 and 4 listened to the horrible screams with sadistic joy.
The Blue Pegasus mage, Ichiya, was one of the mages being depleted of their energy. "OH MY BODY! MY GLORIOUS TEMPLE! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANY LONGER!! MEEEEENNNNNN!!!!"
"Such a beautiful opus." commented Leader 3. "We should be composers."
"Perhaps. But our mission comes first, my King. Once this machine is filled to the brim with Ethernano, we'll use it to destroy all life on this stupid world, while we move on to the next!" stated the Queen of Diamonds as she pointed to the vat of liquified Ethernano, mixed with Corruptonium. Above the vat was a complex machine, which was built for the purpose of using the Corrupted Ethernano to create incalculable devastation to the country of Ishgar and beyond.
"Your majesty! There's a present for you outside the palace!" informed Polly the doll.
"A present? Oh, goody!!" Leader 3 grinned.
"Really? Who sent it?" Leader 4 asked with a suspicious tone.
"I don't know. But come on! You have to see it!" urged Polly as the King and Queen followed their servant up to the highest balcony of the castle.
When they finally got to the balcony, Leader 4 takes her telescope and scans down to the courtyard below them. In the courtyard stood an enormous doll that stood about 80 feet tall. A doll that is obviously crafted by amateur craftsmen.
"You've gotta be kidding me." The Queen said blankly as she observed how this doll was clearly some kind of trap.
"I know! Doesn't it look pretty?" Leader 3 said naïvely.
"There's something off about it. Polly, take the guards down there to investigate it." ordered Leader 4 as she sends her servant to bring her Diamond-themed guards to inspect the doll-shaped structure.
Moments later, the guards began filing into the courtyard in an organized and militaristic fashion. They surround the giant doll with spears, rifles and cannons drawn in case this was, indeed, a convaluted ploy. The captain of the guard was the first to approach it with extreme caution. He takes his sword and pokes the wooden hull with the blade.
When the coast seemed clear, the captain decides to open the small hatch on the front side of the doll. Before he had the chance to open it, however, he suddenly came into contact with a powerful kick to the face as Luffy, Goku, Edward, Eren, Gray, Erza, Wendy and Gajeel came bursting out of the doll.
A chorus of war cries rang out from the charging fighters as they fought against the guards. Multiple armed men are defeated almost simultaneously as the protagonists take down melee fighters, gunners and cannoneers. The King and Queen watched from the balcony as the battle unfolds in front of them.
"EGAD! My Queen, it's those smelly dinguses that are in league with the Eds!" exclaimed Leader 3.
Leader 4 scowled and smashes her telescope with rage. "I knew those stinkers would screw this up! Zeref better be finishing that weapon by now, or else I'm gonna beat the living crap out of him!" The duo quickly ran down to the Extracting Room while the battle went on.
During the chaos that transpired in the courtyard, the heroes and the Fairy Tail wizards fought the guards with ferocity. Luffy used his Gum-Gum Elephant Gun to take out the cannons alongside Gajeel, while Erza and Edward took out the riflemen. Wendy assists Eren by supplying compressed air to the gas-powered mechanisms in his ODM gear.
Goku takes down throngs of the pursuing guards at a speed faster than light while Gray uses his Ice magic on the offense while also using it for defense.
"How long do we have to keep this up?" Gray asked as he kept his focus on the fight at hand.
"Long enough for Natsu and the Eds to sneak into the dungeon to free the prisoners. And for Naruto and Happy to scope out the upper levels of the palace and capture the King and Queen of Diamonds." informed Goku, punching guards as he spoke.
Meanwhile, Natsu and the Eds took the opportunity to dig under the palace to avoid detection and so the prisoners can find a quick escape. Since they didn't have digging tools, they relied on Ed to dig their way into the dungeon while the others followed suit.
"Dig a hole, dig a hole, dig a hole." Ed chanted repeatedly as he used his bare hands to claw his way through the loose dirt.
"Double-D, how far are we now?" Natsu asked.
"According to this map of Mercurius, we should be close to the first room." informed Edd as he analyzed the ancient map of the royal palace.
"You heard'em, Ed! Go, baby, go!" Eddy cheered his friend on as the persistent simpleton continued to dig.
"Dig a hole, dig a hole, dig a hole." Ed kept digging until he found an opening. "I've found the room guys!"
"Good work, Ed!" Natsu said
"YAY! I AM THE DUNGEON MASTER!" yelled Ed as he popped his head through the hole. "DUNGEON!!!"
He soon realized that the room he was in wasn't the dungeon, but rather a bathroom where a lady servant was taking a bath. She notices the peeping Ed-boy staring at her and froze in place.
"Hello! Is this the dungeon?" Ed asked innocently.
"AAAAHHH! PERVERT!!!" shrieked the servant, throwing a wet loofah at Ed, giving him a black-eye.
"Whoops. Pardon me." blushed Ed, as he retracts his head back into the hole. "Not the dungeon."
"Well, then, it looks like we have to press forward. I guess." shrugged Edd as the four of them continued to search for the dungeon.
Just then, Naruto and Happy infiltrated the upper area of the palace as the Exceed carried the teenage ninja and flies onto the high balcony.
"Okay, let's scout the castle and find the King and Queen before they cause more mayhem." said Naruto as he and Happy entered the royal bedroom.
"Aye, sir!" exclaimed Happy.
"SSSHHH! Quietly!" hushed Naruto.
"Oops. I mean, aye, sir." whispered Happy.
Naruto silently motions for the Exceed to follow him. The duo quietly sneaks through the effeminately decorated bedroom and into the hall where the corridors were lined with pink streamers, stuffed animals, doilies and glitter. The interior of the palace seemed to belong in a little girl's dream home.
"Wow. I've never seen so much pink in one place before." gawked Naruto.
"Believe it or not, Mercurius is a lot more dignified without all this frilly girl stuff." Happy commented.
As they passed by an old painting vandalized by crayons, Ed suddenly pops his head out from the painting, surprising Naruto and Happy.
"DUNGEON!" exclaimed Ed. "Hi Naruto! Is this the dungeon?"
"Uh, no, Ed. You're in another part of the castle." Naruto explained. "What are you guys doing?"
Just then, Natsu's head pops out from the painting. "Well, we were digging under the palace, but I think we're lost."
"Hey, if anyone's lost it's Shovel-Head, here!" exclaimed Eddy as he stuck his head through the painting.
"But I know we're close, Eddy! I can feel it in my butt!" said Ed.
Edd pokes his head through the painting. "Ed, that's MY butt you're feeling!"
"Oops, sorry." Ed apologized.
Suddenly, the painting gives way and all four of them come crashing down onto the floor. Naruto and Happy stared blankly at them as they got back up.
"Well, that plan didn't work. But at least we got inside without being detected." Natsu said as he wiped the dirt off his clothes.
"If only we knew where the dungeon was. This map Erza gave us is severely outdated." said Edd, looking over the old map.
"What about Yuna? Doesn't she have a map?" Naruto asked.
"I already tried contacting her, but apparently the magical field that's surrounding the palace is blocking out the signal on the communication device she gave me." informed Edd, fiddling with Yuna's communication watch.
"Well, now what do we do?" Happy asked.
"I dunno. Why don't we just go around the castle unlocking doors with this golden key I found?" Eddy suggested, waving around the Leo key he found. "I bet there's a secret treasure in this royal dump!"
Natsu suddenly recognizes the key in Eddy's possession and snatches it from the short Ed's hand.Eddy glares at the pink-haired teen. "HEY! GIVE THAT BACK, YA IDIOT!"
The short Ed-boy tries to snatch it back from Natsu, but the teen pushes the small adolescent away as he uses his heightened sense of smell to track a familiar scent.
"This is one of Lucy's spirit keys! She must've left it behind when they captured her!" Natsu realized. "Her scent is somewhere in this castle."
"Her scent? How can you tell it's her scent? And since when did you learn how to track scent? That's kinda creepy." The shinobi grimaced.
"Natsu's sense of smell comes from being a Dragon Slayer, as well as his sense of hearing and motion sickness." informed Happy.
"My how intriguing." Edd said with interest.
Eddy rolled his eyes in sarcasm. "So he's a mixed Bloodhound with motion-sickness. Big whoop."
"But he's our mixed Bloodhound with motion-sickness! Would you like a treat, poochie?" Ed pulls out a ear of corn from his belly button and offers it to Natsu.
"Uhh, I think I'll pass, Ed." Natsu rejected politely while Ed eats the disgusting corn, which grosses out the others. "Come on! Let's follow Lucy's scent and find my friends!"
"Not so fast." said a squeaky voice. The group turned around and looked down to see Mr. Yum-Yum and Polly Poo-Poo armed with automatic weapons.
"Don't move." Yum-Yum threatened as he raised his assault rifle.
"Polly doesn't play nice, so don't do anything stupid." warned the doll.
"We surrender!" exclaimed the Eds in unison.
"Natsu! Those toys have guns!" exclaimed Happy, hiding behind the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"Don't worry Happy. They may have guns, but we've got the real firepower." assured Natsu while balling his fists.
"You know we're still gonna get shot at, right?!" reminded Eddy while he, Edd and Ed raised their hands.
"Of all the situations we've been in, being held at gunpoint by sentient toys is something quite unique, to be honest." Edd said intellectually before being fearful again. "And yet this is still utterly terrifying!"
"They're just like the Possessed Doll Soldiers from War of the Demon Plushy Tribe: Director's Cut." Ed commented randomly.
"There's only two of them. We can still take'em on anyway." smirked Naruto as he and Natsu were ready to fight the armed dolls.
Their stoic bravery subsided, however, when Yum-Yum gave a loud whistle and a whole army of stuffed toys with weapons was summoned, cornering the group. The shinobi and mage's faces drooped as they were overwhelmed by the self-aware toys.
"Should we run away now?" Happy asked.
"Yup." Everyone said in unison as they started running frantically down the hall.
"FIRE!" commanded Polly as the toy army fired their guns at the fleeing boys.
"Quick! Everyone split up!" ordered Edd as he, Ed and Eddy separated from Naruto, Natsu and Happy while they dodged the pursuing bullets that barely grazed them.
Courtyard
Very little guards remained as the heroes and the mages finished off what was left of the infantry.
"All right, we've cleared out this area for now. Let's head into the palace and stop the King and Queen." ordered Erza as everyone began to infiltrate Mercurius, until a loud explosion interrupted the silence. Fire and smoke erupted from the empty town that surrounded the palace.
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Eren.
"Oh, come on! Don't tell me another bad guy is gonna show up!" exclaimed Edward.
"I hope so! Cause then we can fight'em!" Luffy said with determination.
"You feel it too, Gray?" Goku asked the Ice-Make mage when he felt a huge power level nearby.
Gray nodded in reply. "Yeah. It's someone with really strong magic."
"I already have one idea." growled Gajeel as he recognized the level of magic that stood in their presence.
"Oh, no! Not him again!" gasped Wendy, feeling the same power level as Gajeel did.
"Him? Who's him?" Eren asked.
His question was soon answered, when out of the smoke came a hefty figure with long dark blue hair. He wore a collared black cloak as well as black trousers and a dragon claw necklace around his neck and beared light-blue markings on his body. He walked towards the palace with an undaunting stride, while also expressing a straight, intimadating face.
The mages were on edge when they see the ancient Dragon Slayer approaching them, while the heroes were surprised and yet also very tensed by this new individual. It is clear to everyone that this was a threat both new and old.
"Acnologia." Erza frowned. "I figured the rumors of his return were true, considering the circumstances."
"Acne-who?" Luffy asked.
"He's a Dragon Slayer who was corrupted by his own magic centuries ago. He's so powerful that he can destroy the world if he pleases." Gajeel explained.
"We defeated him not too long ago. But now he came back for some reason." Wendy added.
Edward scoffed. "He doesn't scare me."
"Don't underestimate him, Edward. He's beyond powerful." warned Gray.
"Why? Because he's so powerful? Big deal, I've seen a lot of powerful guys before. He's still human, Dragon Slayer or not." stated the alchemist.
"I can hear you from over here, runt." Acnologia spoke up, as he stood about ten feet away from the others. The mages and heroes readied themselves as they were prepared to fight the Dragon Slayer.
"All right, you bastard! Are you ready to go straight to hell? Again?!" challenged Gajeel.
"I don't have time to fight any of you. I'm here for Natsu." scowled Acnologia as he casually walked towards the group. "Step aside if you wish to live."
"Like hell we will!" yelled Gray.
"Wait. Stand down." Erza raised her hand, ordering the others to back down. Everyone stood by silently as Acnologia walked by them without even looking at them. "Let him through."
"Erza, what are you doing?" whispered Wendy.
"If he's as strong as before, we can't risk fighting him. Otherwise, we may end up dead." Erza warned the others silently.
"What about Natsu? Shouldn't we warn him?" Goku asked.
"We will. But we need to plan ahead before we do anything." advised the armored woman.
Eren watched as the sinister Dragon Slayer slipped by them, without anyone standing up to him. Anger broiled inside of him when he saw how his own comrades would let this man harm one of their friends. He clenched his fist angrily while looking down towards the ground. The scout notices a large rock and decides to put it to use.
"You guys saw how evil he looked, right?" Luffy commented.
"Yeah, the guy is just brimming with hatred. I wonder what Natsu did to piss him off." said Edward before Eren does the unthinkable.
Eren picks up the rock and furiously throws it at Acnologia. The Dragon Slayer, however, turns around and catches the rock with one hand.
Everyone watched in bewilderment as Acnologia's scowl deepened. "You really shouldn't have done that, boy. I'm already pissed enough as it is." He crushes the rock with tremendous force.
"You should be! If you wanna kill my friend, then you're gonna have to fight me! Unless you're too much of a coward!" Eren shouted.
"EREN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" exclaimed Luffy.
"You're gonna get yourself eradicated, you friggin idiot!" Gray yelled.
"Like you guys would've done anything about it! At least I'm not gonna wuss out when my friends are in trouble!" Eren screamed harshly to the others as he faced Acnologia himself.
"Tch. Fine." scoffed Acnologia. "I was going to make my revenge short and sweet, but since you decided to make this a lot more difficult than it needed to be, I may as well take you down along with this whole city."
Acnologia's body began to morph into the shape of a dragon. The dragon's strong roar pierced ears of those who are close enough to hear it. The monstrous creature used its wings fly to the top of the palace, towering over the city of Crocus. The monster leered at the heroes and mages from the roof of the palace while it started to charge its Dragon's Roar.
"Well, that's not fair! He gets to turn into a dragon!" Luffy complained, while Edward facepalms himself in agitation.
"EVERYONE GET DOWN NOW!!" ordered Erza as the others took cover behind fallen debris, while Goku charges up his Kamehameha Wave.
"KAMEHAMEHAAAAAA!!!!" roared Goku, firing his Ki blast at Acnologia's roar. Both attacks collided halfway and imploded upon impact. The sinister dragon growled enragingly as its attack failed to cause damage.
"Is everyone all right?" Goku asked, running over to the hiding place where the others used as cover.
"Yeah, we're fine." replied Gray.
"How the hell are we supposed to fight that stupid lizard when he's bigger than us?!" Edward yelled.
"Me and Gajeel can fight him! We've beat him before and we can do it again!" Wendy suggested.
"Even if we gave it our all, Acnologia's too strong for us." said Gajeel.
"Then I'll fight him!" Eren insisted. "I'm the one who challenged him in the first place, so I'm gonna finish what I started!"
"Whoa, now, let's not get cocky, Eren!" Goku warned the scout.
"If you think you're going to fight Acnologia on your own, then you're beyond foolish." chastised Erza.
"I'm not being cocky OR foolish! I'm not let gonna let you guys get killed! If anyone is gonna die it should be me!" yelled Eren as he unmounted his vertical maneuvering gear.
"Eren, please! You can't just throw away your life like this! Even if it's for good intentions, you might as well be dying in vain!" implored Luffy as he tried to reason with the teen.
"I'm not gonna argue with you guys! I can't afford to make the same mistake again!" said Eren, taking off the last of his gear. "When I go to face that dragon, I'll distract him while you guys run into the castle as fast as you can!"
"But, Eren--" Luffy said but Edward stops him.
"Hey, let him go." Edward said calmly. "If he's willing to risk his life for us, that's his choice. We can use it to buy ourselves time to go help Natsu, Naruto and the Eds."
Gray nodded in agreement. "And the rest of our comrades, too." The rest agreed with him.
"Here, hold my gear." Eren said in a serious tone as Edward held on to the scout's ODM gear.
"Aren't you gonna need this?" Edward asked.
"I won't. Trust me." It was all Eren could say as he got up from their hiding place to confront the dragon.
"He's gonna die in a millisecond, isn't he?" Wendy commented as everyone nodded in agreement.
Acnologia's dragon form continued to decimate the rest of the city from on top of the palace as Eren glared at the monster. "HEY! BASTARD! DOWN HERE!!!"
The dragon stopped its rampage when it heard Eren's screams and jumped down from the palace roofs, hitting the ground hard enough to make the earth shake. It growled lowly at Eren while the teen raised his right hand to his mouth. His emotions aroused within his mind as he was determined to defeat this dragon and protect his new friends.
'I'm gonna kill you, you SON OF A BITCH!' Eren thought to himself as he bites flesh on the side of his thumb, piercing the skin and drawing blood which triggered the immediate transformation.
Lightning struck from above and struck the boy, igniting his inner ability, shaping the scout into a new entity. A 50-meter naked, muscular giant with messy hair manifested before the dragon. The giant took a fighting stance as it prepared to beat Acnologia's draconic form.
The others watched in astonishment. "Did you guys know he could do that?" Goku asked Edward and Luffy, who merely shrugged in ignorance.
"I don't believe it," Gajeel gasped.
"He's huge!" exclaimed Wendy.
"Well, yeah, but he's also naked." Gajeel commented while Wendy stared blankly at him.
"And squeaky clean, too." Erza added pervertedly, receiving a surprised glance from the Sky Dragon Slayer.
"And I thought I was the only one with a stripping habit." Gray commented.
The dragon charged towards the giant, slamming its mastodonic against the giant's body. The humanoid creature wrapped its arms around the neck of Acnologia while the two titanic opponents stumbled into buildings, destroying them as they wrestled each other into the ground.
"Now's our chance! Follow me!" ordered Goku as the others followed him into the palace.
Suddenly, Erza hears a screeching sound emanating near them. She turns to see a scarlet-colored dragon flying towards them. Before she could react, the scarlet dragon swooped down and snatches the armored mage like a hawk catching its prey.
"Erza!" yelled Gray.
The Requip mage shouted and struggled in the dragon's grasp. "Go on without me! It's probably me that she wants!"
"We're not leaving you!" argued Gajeel.
"Just go!" ordered Erza.
"You two are Dragon Slayers, right?" Edward asked, glancing at the Iron and Sky dragon mages, who nodded in reply. "Good. I might need your help with this."
The Alchemist took off his crimson jacket and gloves as he used alchemy to forge a blade in his automail arm. "We'll take care of the gecko while you guys finish our mission."
"Hey, what about me? Shouldn't I go help Erza, too?" Gray asked.
"JUST GO HELP NATSU OR I'LL FEED YOU TO THIS DRAGON, GRAY!!!" snapped Erza, startling the Ice wizard.
"Okay, whatever you say, Erza! Time to go!" Gray said in a panicky tone as he, Goku and Luffy ran into the palace in fear.
"Erza's pretty scary, isn't she?" Luffy asked.
"You have no idea." cringed Gray.
Edward ran swiftly towards the dragon, stabbing it in its left abdomen, forcing it to free Erza from its clutches.
"Thanks, Edward." thanked Erza as she equipped her Japanese Cloth Armor as she, the blond alchemist, and the two Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers fought the scarlet creature.
Unaware to the latter, however, three familiar female figures snuck into the castle in search of the three Eds.
Eds
Ed, Edd and Eddy ran from the deadly toys that pursued them. The short Ed-boy took up the front while the simpleton Ed-boy followed close behind. The sock-headed Edd was lagging behind even though he ran as fast as he could.
"Fellas! Could you please slow down?! I am unable to keep up this rapid pace despite having to push my stamina to its maximum capabilites! D'YEOW!! Cramp! Cramp! Cramp!" Edd yelled in pain as his abdomen cramped up.
"What part of a chase scene do you not understand, Sockhead?!" Eddy snapped as he kept running.
"RUN!!! RUN OR PERISH IN FLAMES!!" Ed shouted, scooping up his two friends to further distance themselves from the toy army that chased them.
The Eds make a sharp turn into another long corridor, leading the trio towards a dead-end. But not before Ed slammed into it, dragging his two friends into the wall.
Ed giggled mindlessly as he and the two Ed-boys slowly peeled off the wall. "That was fun."
"Oh, great! Now we're cornered!" exclaimed Eddy, rubbing his bruised forehead from the blunt impact of the brick wall.
"Eddy! I can hear them coming! Hurry, think of something!" Edd yelled, grabbing the short adolescent by the collar.
"Don't look at me, you're the braniac of the bunch!" Eddy retorted, smacking Edd's hands away from his shirt.
"You know I can't think straight in stressful predicaments such as this!" Double D shouted in a panicked tone.
"Stop shouting at me!" yelled Eddy.
"I'M NOT SHOUTING!!" Edd suddenly recived a hard slap to the face from Eddy in order to calm him down. "Okay, you're right. I should use my inside voice."
"Hey, guys, I found a chain thingy. I bet it leads to a secret passage." said Ed as he used his abnormally long tongue to pull on the hidden lever, cleverly disguised as a torch mounted on the opposite wall.
"Ed, I don't think this would be the right course of act--" Edd rebuttaled just before the wall suddenly swiveled, sending the Eds on the other side of the wall into another room.
Both Eddy and Edd were startled while Ed tried pull his tongue out of the wall that was caught in the hidden door.
"What just happened?!" exclaimed Eddy.
"I think Ed has found a secret room in the palace." said Edd, equipping his watch's built-in flashlight. "It was quite fortunate of us that we've stumbled upon this secret area."
"See, I told you it was a secret passage!" Ed muffled, his tongue stretched out as he tried to fold it back into his mouth.
"It looks like this room has kept numerous artifacts in this room for years, if not centuries." Edd said, shining the flashlight on old relics such as paintings, sculptures, furniture and other dusty objects that have been kept under white sheets.
"Yeah, and I bet there's some treasure in this here room that'll make us rich." Eddy grinned as he rubbed his hands with insurmountable greed.
"Eddy, we are not stealing any treasure from this room. It belongs to the rightful ruler of this country." chastised Edd. "Anyhow we do not have time to look for valuables. We need to find a way out of this room and rendezvous with the others."
"Well, we can't go anywhere with those psycho plushies looking for us. We're holed up in here until somebody comes and finds us." reminded Eddy.
"If someone finds us, that is." Edd added as a strong scent suddenly hit his nostrils. "Hey, do you smell that?"
Eddy sniffed the air, catching the pungent musk. "Yeesh! What reeks?"
"It smells like fresh cut spring flowers strewn across a babbling brook with a hint of lemon." Ed commented, describing the unknown fragrance.
Double D had an immediate realization. "Oh, dear, you don't think--"
"What? Pfft, nah, there's no way." Eddy said dismissively. "I mean, what are the odds of THEM being here? Besides, someone probably spilt their perfume bottle in here."
"I suppose so. After all, the smell of feminine oils do share familiar scent molecules to keep the female body fresh." Edd said informatively.
Eddy and Ed giggled at the word 'fresh', imagining it in a dirty context.
"That is not what I meant." scowled Edd, wagging his finger at the two scoldfully. Just then, the watch's flashlight flickered and went out. "Oh, drat, the flashlight setting on the watch has malfunctioned."
"I told ya that watch was fake. That Yuna chick is a real crafty salesman if you ask me." grumbled Eddy. "Where's the stupid light switch in this place?"
As he said this, the overhead light came on, illuminating the dark room. "Well, there's your answer." Edd retorted.
"Hey, who turned on the lights?" Ed asked.
"I thought you turned them on, Ed." Edd assumed.
"Wait, I thought Double D did." Eddy figured.
"But I couldn't have. I was standing next to you the whole time." Edd explained.
"Well, so was I." Eddy said, pointing his thumb at himself.
"So if Eddy didn't turn them on, or Double D," Ed said, pointing and shifting his finger to Eddy, Edd and himself. "Or me, then it must be... THE PHANTOM OF THE EARWAX!"
Eddy and Edd stared blankly at their redundant friend as they suddenly hear a fourth voice in the room with them. "Guess again, boys."
The trio turns to see three figures, draped in white sheets, standing behind them. Each figure pulled off their white sheet, one at a time, revealing a few familiar faces that the Eds never thought they would see again.
"Hi-ya, senpais!" greeted Lee, Marie and May Kanker in unison, making the Eds tremble in fear.
"K-K-K-KANKERS!!!"
Meanwhile, with Goku, Luffy and Gray, the Saiyan heard the Eds' loud cry from across in the palace.
"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Goku asked, hearing the Eds' shouting.
"Hear what?" Luffy asked.
"I dunno, it sounded like somebody screaming 'Plankers', or maybe it was 'Bangers'?" Goku pondered.
"How about 'Flanders'?" Luffy suggested.
"'Flanders'? That's sounds like a lame Christian name for a stereotypical religious fanatic from an animated sitcom." Gray randomly commented.
Elsewhere in the Simpson's Universe, Ned Flanders was trimming his hedges when he suddenly gets a chill up his spine.
"I do say I sense a disturbence in the Hiddily-Diddily force that someone is making a copyrighted satire of my family name." shuddered Ned.
"Shut up, Flanders!" Homer Simpson shouted off-screen.
"Oh, nevermind." Ned sighed as he continued trimming. "That might've been just the good Lord himself giving me a sign, I guess."
Naruto and Natsu
The Dragon Slayer, Shinobi and Exceed ran from the malevolent toys as they turned a corner and hid behind the wall.
"They're still coming! What do we do, guys?!" Happy asked fearfully.
"Don't worry. I've got an idea." assured Naruto.
The mob of dolls were about to reach the corner when Naruto jumped out from behind their hiding place. "Hey! Look at me! I'm right here!"
"There he is, boys! Get'em!" commanded Yum-Yum as the squad of toys fired upon the shinobi.
"RASENGAN! HA!" yelled Naruto, throwing his chakra ball which wiped out Yum-Yum and his forces. "Yeah! Direct hit!"
Just then, the real Naruto popped out from behind the corner with Natsu and Happy. "Hey, thanks a lot, me!"
"Yeah, good job, Naruto #2!" Happy thanked the shadow clone.
"Hey, no problem." The clone smiled as it disappeared into thin air as his job was already done.
"You gotta teach me how to do that!" exclaimed Natsu.
"Maybe later. Come on, let's go find the dungeon and--" Naruto stopped when Polly Poo-Poo stood in front of the with her assault rifle. "Oh, seriously?!"
"Yum-Yum may have been a dum-dum, but you guys are even bigger ones!" exclaimed the doll, cocking the rifle and aiming it at the three. "Any last words?"
"Actually, I do have one thing to say," said Natsu as he pointed in a random direction. "Hey, what's that?"
"Huh, what?" Polly looked away, distracting the doll while Natsu kicked her hard, sending her out a nearby window.
"Who's the dum-dum, now?!" yelled Natsu.
"YOU ARE! OOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!" Naruto and Happy shouted as Natsu laughed and hollered with them.
Natsu took a deep breathe as he finished laughing. "Whew... okay, I've had my fun. Now, where were we?"
The three continued their trek through the halls of Mercurius until they entered the throne room. They looked around the empty room with neither the King or Queen of Diamonds around.
"Where is everyone?" Naruto asked while scanning the throne room.
"You don't think that the King and Queen escaped?" inquired Happy.
"They better not have, otherwise I wouldn't be able to tear them limb-from-limb!" growled Natsu as he approached the two thrones facing him. He sniffs the air to catch the whiff of two different scents. "I lost Lucy's scent, but I've been picking up on two more."
"Is it the King and Queen?" Naruto asked.
"Hard to say, their trail ends here." Natsu continued searching until he notices two switches on separate pillars on separate sides of the thrones. Curiously, he approaches the switch on the right side. "I wonder this does."
"Wait, maybe these switches can only work at the same time." Happy suggested.
"I was thinking the same thing." Naruto added.
"Good idea, let's do it." Natsu clutched the handle while the Shinobi went over to the other switch and gripped his hand.
"On the count of three, we pull the levers. Ready?" Naruto asked as Natsu nodded. "1... 2... 3!"
The two teens pulled the levers down simultaneously, releasing gears, springs and other mechanisms that were heard tumbling from underneath the tiled floor. A spiral staircase opened up in the center of the room, leading down into the sub-levels of Mercurius.
The two teens and the blue cat looked down the flight of stairs that descended into the inner catacombs of the palace. "Whoa, that's so cool." Happy said, gawking at the staircase.
Natsu sniffed the air again. "I'm picking up those two scents again. They're right down there."
"If that's where they're heading, then we should follow it. You lead the way." said Naruto.
"Right." The Dragon Slayer uses his flame magic to light their way down into the dark staircase. Natsu thought to himself as walked down the stairs.
Eren
The giant and the dragon battled viciously in a colossal brawl, creating immense destruction to the city beneath them. Eren's giant humanoid form wrestled with Acnologia's draconic body, slamming its fists into the dragon's head. The dragon caught the giant's fist in its jaws, causing the humanoid to roar in pain. Acnologia rams into Eren's gigantic form, knocking him down. The giant got back up and returned with a kick to the abdomen, temporarily paralyzing the dragon.
"YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A CHALLENGE, HUMAN," Acnologia spoke in a booming voice. "BUT THE MIGHTY HEFT OF YOUR PATHETIC FORM WON'T LAST FOR LONG!"
Eren's giant form screeched in response as the dragon charged at the titanic humanoid. The giant evaded the attack and leaped onto Acnologia's back, straddling the monster while it gnawed and gnashed its teeth into the nape of the dragon's neck. Acnologia roared in agony as Eren's teeth lacerated his flesh. The dragon grabbed the giant's body, tossing it off its back and onto the ground.
"I'M GROWING TIRED OF THESE GAMES, YOU LITTLE WELP!" roared Acnologia, using his claws to tear at Eren's chest and head.
The giant growled and snarled in pain from the sharp blows to its body. Eren shouted as the dragon's claws kept striking his abdomen. 'Goddammit,' Eren thought painfully as the dragon's claws dug into his giant form's skin. 'If he keeps this up I won't have time to heal!'
Without hesitation, Eren uses his legs to throw Acnologia off him. The giant gets back up and grabs the dragon by its wing, slowly tearing off the appendage before ripping it off its body. The dragon roared in anguish, as the giant gets on top of the beast, grabbing it by the jaws, attempting to pull its head apart. Acnologia uses his Dragon's Roar, burning away at Eren's hands. The giant growled in pain, but still kept on tugging the dragon's jaws with insurmountable force. Finally, a loud snap was heard, as the muscles in the dragon's mouth was torn apart, killing the beast almost immediately. The gigantic humanoid continued to smash the dead dragon's skull until it was sure that the opponent was deceased. A victorious roar echoed in the silent atmosphere.
Edward
The Alchemist and Fairy Tail mages, Erza, Wendy, and Gajeel fought the monstrous scarlet dragon that tried to take Erza. Edward dodged the monster's strikes while using his alchemy to create a spear and attack it. Gajeel flanked the reptilian creature with his Iron magic. Wendy used her Wind magic to paralyze it as Erza cuts down the dragon as it struggles to stand.
"We've got it now, guys!" exclaimed Wendy.
"Care to do the honors, Erza?" Gajeel insisted.
"I'm gonna bigger sword for this. This one is one its last leg." Erza said, as the sword she was using started to wear down.
"Hold on," Edward takes the Requip mage's sword, repairing and strengthening the worn out katana via alchemy. "There you go, good as new."
"Thanks." thanked Erza as she goes to finish off the creature. She jumps and does a back-flip in the air before striking the katana into the dragon's body, stabbing its internal organs. The creature screamed in pain as it keeled over and slowly suffered from its fatal wounds.
"Erzaaaa..." The dragon hissed silently as it collapsed onto the ground, bleeding to death before finally succumbing to its injuries.
Erza was surprised to hear the creature say her name. Edward walked up beside the scarlet-haired woman. "It said your name didn't it?"
"I'm not sure." Erza said in a confused tone. "It must've knew me, somehow."
Edward glances down near the deceased dragon, noticing a round device sitting in a pool of blood. He crouches down to inspect the unknown device. "Now what do you suppose this is?" He picks up the device, examining the intricate design of the small machine.
"Look! It's Eren, guys! It looks like he's hurt!" Wendy pointed to the entrance of the courtyard as an exhausted Eren Jaeger slowly limped towards the others. He had strange markings that appeared underneath his eyes.
Edward and the mages ran to the Scout's aid. "Hey, Eren, you okay? That Acnologia guy did a number on you didn't he?" Edward asked concernly, but Eren was too physically drained to even speak.
"Oi, kid? You're not brain-dead are ya?" Gajeel waved his hand in front of the Scout's face.
"I-I--" Eren tried to speak as blood oozed from his nose as his body collapses from the lack of energy. Gajeel catches the boy before he can hit the ground.
"Gajeel!" yelled Erza scoldfully.
"What did you do?!" Wendy gasped.
"I didn't do nuttin'! He's having an aneurysm!" Gajeel said defensively.
"From using that much energy to pull off a transformation like that, I say that's a bit overwhelming for someone with Eren's physique." Edward said as he rested his hand on the Scout's back. "Believe me, I know."
"Let's get him to a doctor, immediately." Erza said maturely.
The doors to the Space Lift suddenly opened up with Yuna running out of the elevator, equipped with her arsenal. "YIPPIE-KI-YAY MOTHERFUuuu...what?"
"Hey, Yuna, perfect timing." Edward greeted the cosmic girl casually.
"Aw, man, did I miss the action, again?" Yuna said, frowning in disappointment.
"Yeah, whatever, can ya fix this kid here? He might be broken but we're not sure." Gajeel asked, holding Eren up by the collar of his jacket.
Yuna sighs. "I'll go get my med kit."
Eds
The Kanker Sisters stood before their potential boyfriends as the boys grimaced with fear. "What the heck are you three doing here?!" Eddy asked fearfully.
"What do you think, my little dreamboat? We're here for you three." Lee explained.
"You didn't think we'd forget about our precious boyfriends, did ya?" Marie asked.
"Yeah, especially my Big, Cuddly-Wuddly Ed." May chortled while tickling Ed.
"You're not infected by the Corruptonium by any chance are you?" Edd asked.
"Corrupt what? Oh, yeah, that. Nah, we're completely clean." Lee said.
"Who cares if you're corrupted or not, you're still nothin' but trouble! So back off!" snapped Eddy.
"Aww, don't be so grumpy-wumpy, Baby Eddy." cooed May as she and Marie pinched Eddy's cheeks.
"STOP IT!" yelled Eddy, smacking their hands away.
"Ladies, please, as much as we like to stay and socialize, we have other priorities at hand." implored Edd.
"What's the rush, sweetheart?" Marie asked flirtatiously.
"You guys don't have to go just yet. The fun has just started." May insisted.
"Besides, this world as well as the rest of this multiverse is pretty interesting. But it's also dangerous. You guys need protection." Lee offered.
"Protection? We don't need protection! We can handle ourselves just fine!" Eddy said dismissively.
"Yeah, and we've got friends, too!" Ed added as he started counting his fingers and toes. "There's Goku the Mighty Monkey Man from Space, Naruto the Kitty-Cat Ninja, Luffy the Pirate King, Natsu the Human-Dragon hybrid, Edwardo the Egghead Cyborg Gnome, and Eren the Angry Pubescent!"
"What? Those chumps? AHAHAHAHA!! Oh, Double-Dorable, you're just so funny!" Marie laughed as she gave Edd a noogie.
"I'll have you know, Marie, that our friends are experienced martial artists, and they are more than willing to assist us in repairing our home, which by the way is falling to oblivion as we speak! So, please, Kanker Sisters, have a moral compass!" Edd explained while imploring with the passive-aggressive siblings.
"Why need a compass when we already found our destination? Heaven." May sighed dreamily as she hugged Ed while violating his personal space.
"As far as morale goes, we already killed a bunch of idiots just to get here. But it was worth it, anyway." Lee said nonchalantly.
"You did what now?" Eddy said wide eyes.
"Killed? As in the past-tense of the verb 'kill'?" Edd asked in astonishment.
"Well, duh, of course. You were always the smart one, Double D, that's what I like about you." Marie said seductively.
"Fellas, could I speak to you for a second?" Edd asked urgently as he drags Ed and Eddy to the otherside of the room and formed a huddle.
"You're thinking the same thing aren't you?" Eddy asked silently.
"I'm afraid so, gentlemen. The Kankers have reached a new low by committing mass homicide in order to acheive their goal of satisfying their infatuation for us!" Edd whispered as he explained their situation.
"Meaning...?" Eddy inquired.
Ed gasped as it suddenly came to him. "The Kanker Sisters are Yandere!"
"Well, I suppose that is a more simpler way of elaborating the definition of passive serial killers." Edd said in agreement.
"Oh, boys!" May called the Eds who turned towards the three sisters who were applying lipstick.
"If you're done yammering, let's start smooching already!" Marie said impatiently as the Kanker smacked their red lips.
"Pucker up!" The Kankers began smooching their mouths towards their captive crushes.
"No! Please! Not my beautiful face!" screamed Eddy.
"Oh, my innocence!" Edd yelled.
"KANKER LIPS NO GOOD FOR ED!" Ed shouted.
Suddenly, the rotting wood in the floor began to crack from the combined weight of the Eds. The wood finally caves in, sending the three Ed-boys plummeting through the lower levels of the palace.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
"Our boyfriends!" exclaimed May.
"Come on, girls! After them!" ordered Lee as the sisters head to the bottom levels to catch up to their boys.
Goku and Luffy
The Saiyan and Straw Hat, with Gray at their side, raced to the royal dungeon. It took them awhile for them to finally reach the palace's sub-levels.
"This is where the all mages are kept, right?" Luffy asked the Ice-Make mage.
"Yeah, they should be down here." confirmed Gray as they entered the dungeon.
They run past rows of empty cells until they find the imprisoned mages. Juvia's face lights up when she notices Gray with Luffy and Goku from Fairy Tail's cell. "Gray-sama! He's back! And he's brought help!"
The mages in the other neighboring cells rejoiced as help finally arrived.
"Everyone! Are you all right?" Gray asked concernly as he made a key out of ice to unlock the cell door.
"Eh, so-so. Some of us mentally are scarred for life, but for the most part, we're good." Cana said nonchalantly.
"HEY! You there!" shouted a guard as he and two others confronted the the liberating heroes. "Put your hands up where we can see'em!"
The next thing they knew, however, the roof caves in on them as the Eds fell through, landing right on top of the guards. The royal soldiers groaned in pain as the three adolescents recovered from their long fall.
"Ugh, my aching butt!" Eddy groaned, rubbing his sore rump tenderly.
"This palace needs a serious renovation. It's slowly becoming a demilitarized zone." Edd said, brushing the dirt off his clothes.
"I think my spleen went into my gallbladder, guys." Ed commented.
"You three okay? That looked like a nasty fall there." Luffy asked while helping up the Eds.
"But at least it was nice of you to... DROP by." Goku chuckled humorously, but the pun received nothing but dead air.
"I think that was your que to do a rimshot, Ed." Eddy reminded his below-average friend.
"The moment for cheesy humor has already come and gone, Eddy. It would only be cringey and awkward at this point." Ed replied.
Eddy rolls his eyes. "Whatever, so are we gonna pull off this jailbreak or what?"
"Way ahead of you." Luffy began breaking down jail cells while Gray unlocked Fairy Tail's cell, releasing the imprisoned wizards.
"Move along everyone, the exit is right down this corridor." Edd said as he directed the prisoners to the exit.
"Gray-sama!" Juvia cried, hugging her potential soulmate.
"Juvia, is everyone together?" Gray asked the Water mage.
"Not everyone! Lucy-san has been taken into the Extracting Room!" Juvia informed Gray.
"The what room?"
"It's where they took all the mages and extracted their Ethernano! You have to save Lucy-san, Gray-sama! PLEASE!!!" cried the Water mage, grabbing Gray and shaking him back and forth.
"So that's why the King and Queen took all the wizards. But why do they need that magical energy?" Goku asked as he released more prisoners from their cells.
"I suppose that's what we're going to find out." Edd said.
"Where is the room?" Gray asked.
"Juvia's not sure. It might be straight down that corridor, and then a turn to the left. Or was it a right?" Juvia pondered as she struggled to remember the directions.
"Nevermind, we'll find it. Just get outta here while you can, 'kay?" Gray advised the blue-haired girl.
"Gray?" Juvia blushes before she kisses the Ice Devil Slayer on the cheek. "Come home safe."
Gray blushes as Juvia joins the other liberated mages. Luffy stared at the Ice mage awkwardly. The pirate was about to ask but Gray stops him.
"I know what you're thinkin', Luffy. Yes, I do share the same feelings for her, but we are not an item." Gray explained while still blushing.
"Actually, I wondering..." Luffy started off. "Where did your pants go?"
Gray looked down to see that he no longer had clothes on. He turns to Ed. "Hey, kid, can I borrow your pants?"
"Okie-dokie! I'm not wearing underwear, but you can have mine anytime, buddy!" Ed begins to take off his pants before Double D stops him.
"NO! Here, I have a extra pair of slacks in here somewhere." Edd rummaged through his bag and pulled out some pants for Gray. "They're a little tight in the waist."
"Eh, they'll grow on me." Gray continued on with the others while he broke into his new pants.
Natsu and Naruto
The Dragon Slayer, Shinobi and Exceed were still climbing down the spiral staircase through the hidden passageway of the palace as Natsu lead the way.
"Ugh, how long does these stupid stairs go?" groaned Natsu.
"I know, right? It's kinda boring." Happy frowned with boredom.
"It won't be long now. I can already see the bottom." Naruto said as the three reached the end of the long flight of stairs.
"What now?" Natsu asked.
"Let's head down there, come on." Naruto pointed to the lit up hallway that illuminated the darkness as the three ran down the corridor towards the double doors at the end.
"Time to make an entrance!" Natsu yelled as he sped down the hall.
"NATSU WAIT!" Naruto and Happy hollered after the Fire mage.
Their warnings came too late as he tried kick down the doors, but failed as the doors slid open, letting Natsu fly through the empty doorway and land face first onto the floor.
The doors led him straight to the Extracting Room, where Leader 3 and 4 amd Zeref were about to extract Lucy Heartfilia's magic. The operation was put on hold when Natsu came bursting in.
"Natsu! The doors were automatic! You didn't have to kick them down!" Happy explained to the Dragon Slayer.
"WELL, WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS JUST TELL ME?!? I WOULD'VE STOPPED!" snapped Natsu, making Naruto and Happy facepalm themselves.
"Natsu! You're back!" exclaimed a strapped in Lucy, who was also attached to the extracting machine.
"Zeref!" yelled Natsu, glaring at the Black Wizard.
"I'm sorry, brother. I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Especially after being resurrected, but, nonetheless, here we are." Zeref explained.
"Save it! I'm here for my friends, not for your emo pity party!" Natsu shouted.
"Ooh, I love parties!" chimed Leader 3.
"That's right, Leader 3. Once we charge up our new Super Weapon of World-Ending Magnitude, (and come up with a better name for it.), we'll have the best party EVER!" squealed Leader 4.
"Not if we have anything to say about it!" proclaimed Naruto.
"Oh, no! The cute little blond kitty boy is SO scary! Protect me, Leader 4!" mocked Leader 3, giggling at the Shinobi.
"He's talking about you." Happy whispered to Naruto, who rolled his eyes in response.
Just then, a second door is knocked down by Gray, who used a battering ram made of ice as he, Goku, Luffy and the Eds came bursting into the room.
Ed's eyes went wide as he recognized who Leader 4 was. "Sarah?"
"The Eds!" scowled Leader 4, otherwise known as Ed's sister, Sarah.
"Jimmy?" Edd said, recognizing Leader 3 as one of the neighborhood kids.
"The Eds!" exclaimed Leader 3/Jimmy.
"David Bowie?" Eddy commented as he noticed Zeref.
"Who?" Zeref said in a confused tone.
"Lucy!" Gray yelled.
"Gray!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Zeref!" exclaimed Gray, glaring at Zeref.
"Hello..." greeted Zeref awkwardly.
"Gray!" shouted Natsu.
"Natsu!" Gray shouted.
"Goku!" chimed Goku.
"Luffy!" chimed Luffy.
"Naruto!" chimed Naruto.
"Aye! Happy!" chimed Happy.
"Eddy! Double D!" exclaimed Ed.
"Ed!" Eddy yelled, glaring at Ed.
"STOP!" Edd ordered as the room went quiet. The sock-headed Ed-boy chuckled nervously. "My apologies. Please, continue."
"Activate the machine!" ordered Leader 4, as Leader 3 pulled a switch and turned on the extracting machine. Lucy screamed in pain as the machine absorbed her magic.
"LUCY! LET HER GO!" screamed Natsu as he charged towards the machine to free the Celestial wizard, but was met with a paralyzing shock as Leader 4 used her dark magic to push Natsu back.
"Don't even try it!" warned Leader 4.
"Natsu! Help!" shouted Lucy as the machine kept harming her body. Gray tries to release the girl from her bonds, but it was in vain when Leader 3 pulls out a magic cannon and fires a dark magic beam at the Ice wizard.
"Sarah! Stop hurting that pretty girl! It's not nice!" Ed pleaded with his sister.
"Shut up, Ed! Or I'm telling Mom on you!" threatened Leader 4, leaving her brother in a full-blown panic.
"NO! Please, Sarah! Don't tell Mom!" Ed begged as he fell on his knees.
"Oh, curse you, Pavlov, and your cruel irony." Edd sighed in contempt.
"LOOK OUT!" Luffy cried, pushing the Eds out of the direction of dark magic cannon's aim of fire.
Goku deflected the magic cannon's barrage by hitting dark beam with his bare hands. Leader 3 growled angrily as he kept shooting at the Saiyan, but his cannon was no match for Goku's strength.
Naruto and Happy took cover while Leader 4's dark magic rained upon them. Natsu and Gray were still trying to pull Lucy out of the machine as the Celestial wizard was being sapped of her Ethernano.
The Eds and Luffy took refuge behind a desk during the chaotic fight.
"So that's your sister, huh? She's pretty mean." Luffy said, glancing towards Ed.
"She can be meaner than the white-hot flames of Hades!" Ed exaggerated.
"Ed! You need to stand up to your little sister for once in your life!" scolded Eddy.
"But if Ed hurts Sarah's feelings, Sarah will tell Mom, and Mom will tell Dad..." Ed paused for a moment as his eyes went wide with fear. "...AND DAD WILL JUST SIT THERE AND WATCH TV!!!"
Luffy gasps. "That's horrible!"
"I know, right?" Ed replied. Eddy groaned and facepalmed himself while Edd rolled his eyes.
Natsu angrily pulled at Lucy's restraints as Gray tries to turn off the extracting machine. "This stupid machine is freakin' indestructible!" growled Gray, as he tried to destroy the device with his Ice magic, but to no avail.
"That's because it's been cursed so that no physical force can destroy or turn it off." Leader 3 explained. "Only the wizard who built it can stop it."
"Yeah, and good luck convincin'em, chumps!" Leader 4 laughed mockingly.
"They already have." The machine suddenly deactivates, shutting down the super weapon in the process.
The extraction process is aborted and Lucy's restraints were unlocked, releasing the blonde girl from the machine's grasp. Natsu picks up the exhausted girl from underneath the machine.
"Lucy, are you okay?" Natsu asked in a comforting voice.
The Celestial girl breathed heavily as she was cradled in the Dragon Slayer's arms. "Natsu... you're back. I thought you were gone forever."
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Natsu smiled warmly as Lucy returned the smile.
"HEY! What's the big idea?!" Leader 4 shouted.
"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you two from the start," glared Zeref after using his magic to shut down the weapon. "You said you wanted to change the world, to make it a peaceful place. It may be hypocritical of me to say this, but I can't let repeat the same actions I made."
"So what? We're evil just for the heck of it." mocked Leader 4.
"Yeah, and we did you a favor by absolving you of your death curse. And in exchange, you served us by helping us build this device." Leader 3 reminded the Black Wizard.
Zeref's bittered expression deepened as his voice grew more stern and angry. "I never asked to be resurrected just to be your slave. I had a peaceful afterlife until you put me through misery just by living this life all over again. My past attempt at destroying the world only caused tragedy in its wake. If I were you, I'd give up while you're ahead."
"Oh, you're right. We shouldn't have taken this too far." Leader 4 frowned apologetically.
"We thought it was fun at first, but we didn't realize how much pain we caused." Leader 3 weeped sympathetically.
The dark softened his expression as he got down to the two ruler's level. "You promise not to cause any more destruction?"
"We promise." Leaders 3 and 4 promised innocently as they both gave cheesy smiles. Everyone sighed, thinking that the looming threat is over.
"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. All it took was a little understanding and child psychology to take control of the situation." Edd commented.
"THAT'S MY GOOD LITTLE SISTER!" Ed exclaimed happily.
"I dunno, something's off." Eddy said suspiciously.
Luffy had the same thought as he watched Leaders 3 and 4 with suspicious eyes.
"Natsu, I know that you and your friends still hold a grudge against me for all the sins I've committed. But for the remainder of my mortal existence, I wish to spend some of it making amends with you... my dear, bro--" *ZAP*
Leader 3 shoots a dark magic beam through Zeref's heart, causing the wizard to slowly turn to dust. The duo laughed wickedly while everyone watched in horror as Zeref fell to his knees. He extends an arm to his brother. "Natsu..."
The former's body dissipated into dust, leaving a pile stacked in one place. Leader 4 blew the dust away, scattering the remains. Natsu's look of shock turned to pure rage. "You... LITTLE SHITS!!!"
"That's what he gets for being a disobedient little traitor!" Leader 3 smirked evilly.
"Killing your comrades is still wrong!" Naruto reprimanded the little boy and girl. "You had no right to take his life!"
"Oh, please, it wasn't anything personal, it's just business." Leader 4 elaborated, displaying a wicked grin.
"YOU'RE A BAD SISTER! BAD!" Ed yelled harshly at his younger sister.
"THAT'S IT! LET'S GET'EM!" Luffy shouted as the Eds, heroes, and Gray chased the two Leaders up towards a catwalk that hung above the vat of Ethernano and Corruptonium.
The Eds blocked the duo on one end of the catwalk they glance over to see the other end blocked by the others. Leaders 3 and 4 peered over the catwalk and shared devilish expressions.
"Okay! You've caught us! We surrender!" feigned Leader 4 as she and her cohort threw their hands in the air.
"We're not gonna fall for the exact same bull, so don't even try it!" warned Gray.
"You're right, you guys are way too smart--Oh look, a distraction!" Leader 3 exclaimed, pointing in a random direction as everyone fell for it.
The two Leaders used the opportunity to jump into the vat below them. The others glanced down the catwalk as the two dived into the corrupted Ethernano.
"Oh no! Sarah!" Ed shouted.
"I don't like the looks of this." Edd said worriedly.
"KISHI O KOROSU HIKARI O KOROSU!!!" screamed a distorted voice as the vat of Ethernano began to bubble.
"You have no idea how right you are, Double D." Goku commented.
A twisted figure emerged from the liquid Ethernano in the form of a two-headed witch. The dark monster's two heads displayed the faces of Sarah and Jimmy, confirming the fate of the little girl and boy antagonists.
"What the hell is that?!" exclaimed Lucy.
"It's Sarah and Jimmy! They're freakin' hideous!" Eddy gagged at the sight of the two kid's evil transformation.
The witch monster growled and cackled as it flew around the room, zapping dark energy while causing widespread damage. It scanned the room before noticing Lucy and Happy. In a moment of sadism, it swooped down and snatches the girl and the Exceed.
"HEY! PUT ME DOWN YOU UGLY SON OF A BITCH!!" Lucy yelled angrily.
"NATSU! HELP!!!" Happy cried.
"Hang on! I'm coming!" Natsu charged at the manic witch, jumping into the air and latching onto the monster. "Let... them... GO!" The Dragon Slayer bit the witch's leg, making it shriek in pain.
"Boys! Initiate Beta Maneuver 2000!" ordered Eddy.
"Do a series of ridiculous stunt choreography that's fluid, well executed, and above all really cool?" Goku asked.
"You know what I mean." Eddy grinned while cocking an eyebrow.
"Ridiculous is my middle name, Eddy!" Ed strecthes out his tongue and uses it to wrap around the other leg of the witch creature as he grabbed Eddy and Edd.
"Ed, wait I--G'AAAHHH!!!" Edd exclaimed as they were lifted off the ground.
The others joined in the fray as they struggled to take down the disfigured form of Leaders 3 and 4. Natsu kept biting at the creature's leg until he remembered something. He digs into his pocket and pulls out Lucy's Leo key.
"Lucy! Catch!" The Fire mage throws the key to the spirit mage, who successfully snatches the key.
"Thanks!" Lucy says as she uses her magic to summon the Zodiac spirit Loke. "I summon the Celestial Gate of Leo!"
Her summoning brings forth Loke, one of Lucy's Celestial Spirits. "How may I be of service, Miss Lucy?"
"Whoa, that guy dressess nice." Eddy complimented the handsome spirit, while Natsu, Happy, Edd, and Ed gave him an awkward look. "What? I'm not like THAT!"
"Loke! We need your help over here with this witch monster!" Lucy commanded.
"Say no more." grinned Loke as he used his Regulas Gatling Impact to paralyze the witch. The disfigured form of the Leaders collapsed onto the ground, releasing its captors.
"Thanks, Loke. You can return now." Lucy said as the Leo spirit returned to the Celestial Realm.
"Guys! Look!" Naruto pointed to the dazed witch as it disappeared and the former reverted back to Sarah and Jimmy's normal forms.
"Ohh, I think my pancreas has a fracture." groaned Jimmy as he slipped out of consciousness.
Sarah rubbed her head numbingly as her vision grew hazy. "Where am I? Why does my head hurt?"
'Hello? Guys? Are you there?' Yuna's rung out from the watch communicator. Edd taps the button on the side of the watch.
"Yuna! Thank heavens! We've apprehended Leaders 3 and 4." informed Edd.
'That's great! Now that the dark magic field has subsided, I can transmit these two to the particle chamber.' With that said, Sarah and Jimmy are immediately transported to the REM chamber along with Kevin and Rolf.
"Yay! Ed's sister is safe at last!" Ed chimed happily.
"Come on, let's get out of here already." said Naruto as everyone headed for the exit. But not before they're met by three sinister sisters.
"Leaving so soon, boys?" The others turn to see the Kanker Sisters leering down at them from the catwalk as the red-haired sister, Lee, spoke up. "The fun is only starting from here."
"Who are you?" Luffy asked.
"The Kanker Sisters." Eddy explained. "Those chicks are bad news."
"You bet we are!" May chimed.
"And we're good at it, too." Marie added.
"That was a cute little show you guys put on. I always knew my loudmouthed Eddy would steal the show." Lee applauded.
"I'd recommend everyone to just walk away, immediately." advised Edd urgently as the others started to walk away.
"You might wanna pick up the pace, though. We planted explosives all over the place while you guys were fighting Leaders 3 and 4." Marie said.
"Why the hell would you do that?!" Gray exclaimed.
"Duh, because we feel like it. Also, it's none of ya business." sassed Marie, making the Ice-Make mage scowl at her.
"You better get along now, the clock is ticking." chortled May, showing the bomb's timer counting down to 1 minute.
"Well, by that logic, we should probably RUN!!!" Natsu shouted as everyone ran out in a hurry as the bombs were close to going off in less than a minute.
"Bye-bye, boyfriends!" The sisters parted ways with their crushes as the girls made their escape.
The heroes, Eds and the rest of the rescued Fairy Tail mages escaped the palace just before the timer on the bombs went off.
Erza noticed the others running out of Mercurius. "Natsu! Lucy! Are you all--"
"TAKE COVER!" yelled Lucy as they all ran for cover.
"Take wha--?" The royal palace suddenly explodes, destroying all traces of the Ethernano laboratory along with the castle itself. Erza sighs and facepalms herself. "Natsu, what did you do?"
"It wasn't me this time, Erza, I swear!" Natsu said apprehensively as piece of flying debris from the destroyed palace landed right on top of him.
"Is there a doctor in the house?" Ed commented.
Yuna sighs as she retrieves her first aid kit. "I'm on it."
A/N: That's it for the longest chapter in this story thus far. The next chapter will pick up at the end of the Fairy Tail arc. I hope you guys liked the Simpsons joke/reference I put in as well. Read Review!