Chapter Five: The Break-In and the Build-Up
Okay. NOW we can get on with the plot. Had to screw around for a couple of chapters. Zuri's present, so it was only natural.
Also, I lost over half the chapter due to weird saving things. So, uh, re-writing them was annoying as hell and any sloppiness or incoherence comes ragequittery.
Finally, this chapter was getting really unwieldy. Over 10,000 would've been inevitable. Hell, possibly 11,000.
-FAIRY TAIL-
The guards of the Capital Castle stood at attention, their spears held at the ready. A beautiful woman, one so exquisitely exotic that neither had seen anyone remotely like her, approached them, her hips swinging hypnotically as she walked. She swept out her hair, looking at them for a moment, and only several years of training and a deeply ingrained fear of Knightwalker and Faust kept the guards from abandoning position right then. The amazing woman walked up to them and looked down, clasping her hands together, not-so-subtly pressing other assets together, emphasizing them.
"I... I need to see someone," the woman said, meekly, her eyes pleading, "It's v-very important to me."
Given that their brains weren't at full capacity, the guards nodded, hurriedly.
"Y-yes. Of course."
"Oh... thank you...," the woman said.
One of the guards nearly went weak-kneed at her voice. The other, with just a little more dignity, whirled around and flipped the switch. The gate opened in a moment and the beautiful woman walked on through.
"I won't forget your kindness!" she called out behind her, just as the gate began to close again, the guards staring at her.
The guards returned to position, silent for a moment.
"You know something, Jerry?"
"Yes, Linda?"
"I think I'm a lesbian, now."
-FAIRY TAIL-
Thirty minutes after Linda rediscovered her sexuality, something utterly horrifying happened. The sun was blocked out by the Roaming God's Island, the strangest of the five God's Islands, and from it descended hell. A flurry of strange missiles flew down towards the front of the castle, and each landed with an explosive impact, but no actual fiery explosion. A moment later, familiar entities broke out of the pseudo-missiles, each one grinning.
"It's the damn Fairy Tail guild!" Linda shouted, rushing forward, her spear in hand.
"SOLDIERS!" Jerry shouted, punching a large button, "CALLING ALL SOLDIERS!"
Edo-Gray tossed a disc up in the air, caught it, spun around to give it more momentum, and then tossed it straight at Linda. The guard smacked the projectile through the air with her spear, ducked down and charged ever swifter, nearly knocking into Edo-Gray if it weren't for Edo-Jet appearing in front of Linda in a blitz of motion and delivering a swift kick. Edo-Jet brought his leg back down, and his boots, both seeming to be powered by a sort of engine, hissed and steamed. He smirked, seeing the female guard fly through the air.
"Punk," Edo-Jet said.
Edo-Gray pulled out another disc and readied it, just as Edo-Juvia spun about her umbrella, before popping it open. The mages rushed forward into the army, raging as they attacked.
-FAIRY TAIL-
Lucy led the group through the halls of the castle, attempting to sneak as best as she could. She kept her back against a wall at all times, and her comrades imitated her. Mostly. Natsu wrapped his scarf around the lower part of his face and Happy pulled his tail around his own.
"Nin-nin!" Natsu whispered.
"Nin-nin!" Happy shouted.
"Shush! You gotta whisper it!"
Erza smacked both of them over their heads, "Shut up."
"Nin-nin? What are you, four?" Gajeel asked.
"Shut up, Mr. Shooby Doo Bop!" Natsu retorted, pointing angrily at Gajeel.
"Shooby doo bop is an expression of pure awesome."
"Both of you be quiet before someone hears us," Gray snapped.
Lucy looked up the hallway, then towards the wall on her left and blinked, before glancing down at the map. She looked up at the wall, back down the corridor they just "snuck" through, then over to the hallway, then back at the wall. Her frown became more and more pronounced.
"Uh... guys?" Lucy asked, "The... the map is wrong."
"We were betrayed," Erza hissed.
"I'm going to punch that cat in the face," Gajeel said.
"There's no way Pantherlily betrayed the Exceed," Charle snapped.
"Hey, no problem. The throne room is always in the center of the bottom floor! Faust'll definitely be there! COME ON, HAPPY!" Natsu roared.
"AYE, SIR!"
Happy clung to Natsu's neck as the Dragon Slayer activated the rocket gauntlets and began rushing through the castle walls. Gray and Erza made to grab for him, but only ended up bumping into one another. Gajeel cackled.
"Idiot! The center of the castle isn't that way. IT'S THIS WAY!" Gajeel shouted, as he began breaking through castle walls, "SHOOBY DOO BOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!"
"...so, what now?" Wendy asked, "I mean... it's only a matter of time before guards find us, now."
"You're right," Lucy said, "Oh, those idiots. What do we do?"
"Split up," Erza said, "Cover as much ground as possible. We have to find Faust, quickly, to swiftly bring him to justice."
Everyone nodded and took off, as quickly as possible.
-FAIRY TAIL-
Gray wandered through the castle, cautiously yet quickly. He rushed down the halls, but waited at corners to look both ways. Eventually, when there just weren't any guards for the first fifty times he checked, Gray stopped checking and just kept running. He had gone up three flights of stairs and had run through so many hallways, by the time he finally found the regal-looking doors.
"...Let's see what's behind door number one," Gray muttered as he slung open the doors.
Standing a few feet from his bed in full armour was Sugarboy, his blade unsheathed and pointed at Gray.
"Hello, boy-o," Sugarboy said, "I take it you're one of the insurgents?"
Gray blinked, "Where's Faust?"
"Telling would ruin the entire point of switching around the castle, don't you think?" Sugarboy asked, "Though, I don't think you'll be making it to our King."
"Psh, I'll mop the floor with you. Whoever the hell you are."
Gray dashed forward, his gauntlets radiating cold. He punched Sugarboy in the chest and some of the knight's armour froze over and cracked as the commander stumbled back. Mid-stumble, Sugarboy turned it into a spin and slashed Gray across his chest. The Ice Mage grunted in pain as the wound began to bleed. Gray clasped his hands together, focusing the freezing effect to form a durable blade, which he dragged across the ground, carving a gash in it. Satisfied, he rushed forward and made to strike Sugarboy's sword to the side. What happened instead was that his ice blade suddenly turned back into water and Sugarboy punched him in the face. Gray fell back and Sugarboy slashed him across the chest.
"You're used to using Internal Magicks, aren't you? Not used to the idea of a sword that possesses magical power, like say, being able to cut through anything? Ice and rock liquify at its touch," Sugarboy taunted.
Sugarboy slammed his heel into Gray's temple and the Ice Mage shouted in pain, his whole head consumed by it. The knight kicked him in the side, slamming him into the wall.
"You see, stupid mage, I've already got you on the ropes. If knowledge was power, then right now? I'm your god."
Gray made to get to his feet, only for Sugarboy to slash his back open and stomping him to the floor. He didn't make to get back up. Sugarboy went to his door, whistling.
"Now to go screw over the Exceed. See ya in a few, punk, if you don't bleed out before I get back. I imagine you've got useful knowledge about Earthland. But I just don't have the time to beat it out of you right now."
He closed the doors behind him, and Gray groaned in pain beyond pain.
-FAIRY TAIL-
Erza immediately took two flights of stairs down and kept going. She ducked under a sigil that sprayed flame and kept running beyond the one that began releasing a poison mist. Scarlet felt unprepared without an arsenal of swords to back her up, but what she had would have to do. Three guards emerged from a hall up ahead and immediately took notice of her.
"You there!" a guard shouted, but upon realizing who she looked like, the guard quailed, "M-Miss Knightwalker! My apologies!"
Scarlet noticed how all three treated her with fear and kept running past them.
"Get to the battle!" she barked, as she kept going downstairs, "I have to attend to the King!"
The three looked at one another. One of them made to go after Erza, but the other two stopped him.
"Look, if she's going for the King, it's probably not for his sake," the first one hissed.
"Which is exactly why it's a good thing she's currently going the wrong way," the second whispered.
"Now, let's go to the battle, before Knightwalker comes back up here looking for the King and finds us."
-FAIRY TAIL-
As soon as he thought about it for more than two seconds, Natsu realized that his jet boots were basically vehicles. Non-living things that propelled him through the walls. Vehicles. He promptly crumpled mid-flight, but kept going. He became a spinning ball of destruction. Two or three soldiers who stayed behind for the purposes of protecting Faust yelped in fright upon seeing a flash of pink and white, before said flash slammed into them and kept going. Half of the bottom of floor's rooms had at least a wall bashed in, if not totally destroyed, by Natsu.
And he just kept going, wishing he could just throw up and be done.
"NATSUUUUUUU!" Happy wailed.
-FAIRY TAIL-
Edo-Wendy ducked under a soldier's one-two punch, then slashed her leg out. The soldier fell to the ground with a cry of pain and Edo-Wendy jumped to her feet and snapped a leg down into his crotch. Pain exploded through the soldier's body, before Edo-Wendy raised up her Air Shatter Cannon and blasted him in the face. Using only a fraction of the power, the ground nonetheless shattered beneath the soldier and he passed out.
Wendy's Edoras counterpart looked towards the castle, feeling again the fear of what was undoubtedly happening to all of her comrades. She gripped her cannon, snarling in fear and rage. Argh... Three soldiers came for her, but Edo-Wendy was well-trained and prepared. She flung three shield-disturbing daggers in a split-second, cracking the guard's shields in an instant. The Magic feedback left the guards crumpling, until Edo-Wendy finished them with three quickshots of the Air Shatter Cannon.
"Gahhhh... I don't have time for you losers!" Edo-Wendy snapped, before rushing for the castle.
The soldiers didn't have time to get in her way, before they were shot down by the Air Shatter. Edo-Wendy's eyes burned with determination.
-FAIRY TAIL-
Lucy Heartphilia walked down the stairs, quickly, her hands jittery. This wasn't a good situation. She was used to having someone around when she infiltrated deep, dark, dangerous dungeons like this. She saw traces of blood on the floor, and the screams of battle seemed to be directly above her. She couldn't directly summon any of her Stellar Spirits to really help her in a fight; she could only draw on their power.
The Stellar Spirit Mage looked around, wondering which way to go, before finally deciding left, most likely in order to go in the opposite direction of the blood trail. The halls were totally silent aside from the muffled sounds of battle, barely a whisper of the fighting and dying.
"Where is it... where is Faust...?" Lucy hissed, quietly, as she turned a corner.
"...there you are, Fairy Brat. I was a little curious as what was going on upstairs," Erza Knightwalker said, "Battle? I'll get to that in a moment. Pleasure before business."
Lucy tried to run, but Knightwalker was too fast for her. Very soon, she would find her to be too strong as well, and much too cruel.
The spear went to work, and Lucy began to scream...
-FAIRY TAIL-
Zuri highly doubted Knightwalker had really suspected her of anything. Really, the succubus hadn't done anything to give herself away. All she had done was offer to go under the sheets again when Knightwalker jolted upright and started spouting something about battle sounds. Then, uh, then things started to suck. Mostly because Knightwalker jammed her Ten Commandments spear through Zuri's chest, where a heart would be. Only Zuri liked to shuffle her organs around, to keep potential jackasses like Knightwalker on their toes.
As a result of the shanking, however, the succubus was crawling through the halls. Just one floor above, Lucy was screaming as Knightwalker went to work on her, but Zuri couldn't hear it. She was too focused on dragging herself through the halls. There was a door before her. A huge, royal door. It had that fugly king-guy's face emblazoned in ugly gold. That was him. That was the King. King What's-His-Face!
Just had to get through those the doors... She managed to regain enough strength to heal over her wounds. Had to use a lot of energy to do it, but she managed. Blearily, she shoved open the doors and peered in to see Faust sitting on his throne, idly tapping the arm of the chair. He noticed the door's opening and glared.
"Who has to report my kingdom's victory?"
Zuri stepped in, blood dripping onto the royal carpets. Faust stared at the naked, bleeding woman in something like shock.
"What are you doing here like this? This is no way to report to your King! Clean yourself up, first!"
Zuri hissed, letting her beastly side take over. It was aching to be released... Horns emerged first, then her hands became claws. Faust let out a very unmanly scream as Zuri dashed for him, to make for his throat. Faust seemed to recover his composure, however, and brought a whistle to his lips. He blew and the faintest of sounds floated through the air. Human ears could barely pick it up, more like a puff of air. But Zuri heard it as if it were a gunshot. She instantly stopped what she was doing, and fell to her knees. Faust laughed.
"Yes, yes... the beast whistle... You didn't expect that, did you?" the twisted King demanded, "Well, now you'll be a wonderful little guardian against any other fools who think they can try for my throat! HAH!"
Zuri heard and obeyed.
-FAIRY TAIL-
Erza crashed against a wall as she flew down the stairs, raging as she went. This maze of a castle, all with no map, was beyond frustrating. She could've sworn she had heard Lucy just a moment ago... Scarlet perked up, blinking, upon hearing it again. Her love... was in pain. Pain as Scarlet had once before heard, a long time ago. And then again for nights on end, when Lucy would awaken from nightmares of that awful girl, Venny. Titania gripped her blade all the tighter and shot forward at insane speeds to find her beloved.
-FAIRY TAIL-
Wendy leaped down a stairway, fear coursing through her. She heard Lucy's screams, and more than that, she had focused her sense of smell to detect where they were and smelled Zuri's scent mixed with blood. The castle, so sterilized, still somehow reeked of blood, no doubt from Knightwalker's rampages.
This was Zuri's blood, though, definitely. Wendy shuddered, the thought of her friend in such trouble distressing her. Charle flew after her at top speed, trying her hardest to keep up with her Dragon Slayer charge, and only just succeeding.
"Wendy... what's got you so panicked? Running like this... you'll be worn out before you get to Faust...!"
"Zuri's in trouble! I don't care about Faust! Let Natsu or Gajeel get him!"
"Don't be ridiculous! Zuri is not as important as Faust!"
"SHE'S FAMILY, CHARLE!"
"Stop being stupid about that succubus!"
"I CAN DO WHAT I WANT! AND RIGHT NOW, I'M GOING TO GO SAVE ZURI! NOW SHUT UP AND EITHER FOLLOW ME OR GO YOUR OWN WAY AND YOU CAN TRY TO FIND FAUST!"
Charle gritted her teeth, furiously, but only nodded and followed.
-FAIRY TAIL-
The front castle doors opened wide to allow Sugarboy and Pantherlily full view of the battlefield. The Edo-Fairy Tailers were putting up an exceedingly good fight against the soldiers, fighting harder than they ever had before. The soldiers, so caught off guard and so unprepared, were currently only barely pushing back the Fairy Tailers through their sheer force of numbers. Pantherlily looked to Sugarboy in confusion.
"Castle swapped itself? What kind of magical defense was that? And why was I, the First Commander, not informed of this?" he grunted.
"Well, Pantherlily, m'boy, we feared you weren't wholly trustworthy," Sugarboy said, with a shrug, "What, with you being an Exceed and such. It's not impossible that you were just a spy. It's also why our gracious King had you constantly on missions, you know."
"I'm aware. You're probably also aware that I'm about to attack you."
"Yep. En guarde, then."
Sugarboy brought up his blade just as Panterlily lashed out with his immense sword. Pantherlily's had been infused with magic to resist alterations to its form, and so Sugarboy's Rosa Espada did nothing to it. The two clashed for a moment, then leaped back, flourishing their blades, before Pantherlily dashed forward. His wings activated, giving him further momentum. His blade slammed into the Rosa Espada, and there was a spray of sparks as the lachryma conflicted with one another.
"If you knew I was a spy, why did you never out me?" Pantherlily hissed, kicking Sugarboy in the chest.
The most loyal knight stumbled back, "You were useful for a long time, and I actually was only suspicious that you were a spy until a few days ago, when you practically confirmed it by flying right off to Roaming God's Island."
Pantherlily struck again, only for Sugarboy to duck the blow and slash at Pantherlily's legs. The large Exceed fell back, blood spraying from his legs. Sugarboy grinned, his pompadour pointing up to the skies.
"I'll give my regards to your queen," he said.
Before he could finish off Pantherlily, however, a dart of ice struck him in the arm, going through and pinning it against his side. He snarled in pain and looked over to see Gray, still bleeding a bit from his chest, his right arm extended from throwing the dart.
"Bet ya wish you'd been more thorough with me, now, don't you? Ya damn bastard," Gray snarled.
Sugarboy pulled his arm free of the spike, a gout of blood flowing from his side. He groaned in pain, but still made to go for Pantherlily's throat. However, the Exceed had recovered and brought his blade up faster. Sugarboy fell back, his chest slashed open and bleeding freely. Gray stomped on his face, breaking his nose.
"Stay down, ya pompadour freak," Gray hissed, "We've got enough problems without you butting in."
"I hope... your actions will... in time... benefit the kingdom. If not, then I will come back for your heads," Sugarboy hissed.
-FAIRY TAIL-
A handful of Exceed stayed on board the Roaming God's Island in order to maintain its altitude and station. These poor, unfortunate souls were subjected to the mad cacklings and ramblings of Edo-Terasu, who occasionally attempted to prod some of them into becoming his "subjects". None said yes, under the grounds of "they liked their spleens just where they were". Eventually, Edo-Terasu grew bored with trying to persuade them, and felt "too lazy" to tie up any of them.
When Edo-Terasu, or Earthland's wackjob for that matter, is bored... bad things happen. Of course, who the bad things happen to is entirely up to the wielder of the insanity. Edo-Terasu's aim was initially intended to be at the castle, but his first idea seemed so self-destructive that pretty much every Exceed had the same reaction.
"...Should I just kill you, myself? Because SHOOTING YOURSELF OUT OF A CANNON is going to wind up with the same result!" one of the Exceed demanded.
Edo-Terasu fixed his glasses, allowing the Exceed to get a glimpse of his dissecting eyes. Mixed with his malicious grin, it made for a terrifying image that had the sentient cat trembling in an instant.
"Just try it, little pussy cat. I'll have fun dissecting you in the aftermath," Edo-Terasu said, grinning.
Edo-Ichiya stepped inbetween the other Exceed and Edo-Terasu, giving an amazingly gaudy pose as he did so, sparkling like crazy, "Now, now, no need for that! Queen Shagotte wouldn't appreciate you killing anyone!"
"Who said I'd kill him? A beating heart makes for a better experiment."
Edo-Ichiya and the other cat visibly quailed and scooted back. The other began to flee, but Edo-Ichiya grabbed him by the tail.
"Get the cannon ready. Also, have three others attune it to his exact specifications! GOOOOOO!" Edo-Ichiya screamed, before flying off into the distance.
Edo-Terasu grinned, "Come on, little pussy cat. I've got some math to work out."
In Edo-Terasu's ear, a little earpiece buzzed with Lucy's screams. His hand clenched, tight, and he gritted his teeth for a moment.
"We have a little birdy whose ego needs wrecking," Edo-Terasu hissed, under his breath.
-FAIRY TAIL-
The Exceed pulled levers, pushed buttons, twisted knobs, and generally fiddled with the cannon controls as best as they could to all of Edo-Terasu's exact specifications. The man himself slid down into the cannon, feet-first, with a cackle. The crack team of cats cranked the cannon tight, then slammed exact amounts of Lachryma, pre-measured. Edo-Ichiya tapped the end of the cannon.
"Ready?"
"Oh, very much so. Fire... right about... now."
BOOM.
-FAIRY TAIL-
Knightwalker stood over Lucy's bleeding body, grinning. She licked her lips and kneeled, holding up a small knife with her spare hand, preparing to put it against the back of Lucy's neck. She was interrupted, however, by the sound of something whooshing through the air and... screaming? Yes, there was a very loud scream. It wouldn't have caught her attention, except for what was being screamed.
"KNIGHTWALKER, YOU !"
She got to her feet, immediately, her eyes narrowing. She drew her spear, snarling at the memories of that voice. The creeping, wormy, slimeball of a man who came snivelling because of the death of his wife. Fool didn't realize what he was getting himself into! But he escaped, somehow he fucking escaped with that damn tin thing of his.
"...no."
The wall shattered in a flash of magic and Edo-Erza didn't have the reaction time to deal with the threat.
"SOUL PURGE!"
There was another flash of magic, from Edo-Terasu's right fist, and Knightwalker was shot across the hall like a rocket. Edo-Terasu tapped down, snarling. He reached up to the bolt through his head and clicked it once. The bruises on his body and the bleeding stopped a moment later.
"You. Fucking. Bitch. DAMN, that felt good!" Edo-Terasu declared, holding up a fist.
He looked down to Lucy and knelt down.
"Sup? You, uh, look kinda rough. Here," the Doc said, placing a bandage on the back of her neck.
The bandage was obviously magical in some way, because Lucy was able to get to her feet a few moments later. Edo-Terasu stepped in front of her just as Knightwalker dashed forward, her spear in hand. Edo-Terasu seemed to flash through space itself, and he kicked the Ten Commandments' head, slamming it into the wall. Knightwalker immediately drew a knife and slashed Edo-Terasu across his chest, drawing a nice, deep line in his chest. The Doc ducked back, avoiding a second, vicious swipe, then knelt down as Knightwalker tried to step forward. The result was Edo-Erza faceplanting into the stone concrete.
Lucy was on her feet by then, and she glared down at her lover's Edoras counterpart with burning eyes. She held up a Key, and practically slashed the very air with it.
"Gate of the Lion. LOKE!"
The glasses materialized, as did the ring. Edo-Erza got to her feet, just in time for Lucy to deck her across the face with a glowing "Regulus" fist. Knightwalker stumbled back into Edo-Terasu's "Soul Purge", and by that point it was evident she had taken quite enough. Lucy made to punch her again, only for Knightwalker to catch her first. The Regulus Impact cracked a bone, but Knightwalker barely reacted. She seized Lucy's hand with her other arm and there was loud SNAP sound. Lucy, so untrained to deal with such pain, screamed and stumbled back.
Crying, Lucy dispelled Loke, and held up a different key. This one would help her through the pain, through sheer force of bitch.
"Gate of the Water-Bearer. AQUARIUS!"
Lucy's hair morphed, becoming long and an ocean-like blue. Her right hand became a translucent blue, and she stood up straight, her eyes narrowed in sheer rage.
"You think you have what it takes to put ME down?" Lucy screamed, "BEGONE WITH YOU, TRAMP!"
Edo-Erza blinked in genuine confusion and shock. No one had ever talked to her like they were so superior before. No one. The five seconds of sheer "what the fuck" that Knightwalker experienced gave Lucy the time she needed to let loose a flood through the hallway. Knightwalker only had the thought to react by taking in a deep breath before she was dragged underwater by the force of the small, temporary river. Lucy turned towards the Doc and snarled, before shaking herself and dispelling Aquarius. Without the force of "will", Lucy began to wobble and collapsed just as the trying-not-to-be-good-doctor reached out to catch her.
"Alright, so, you just pissed off Knightwalker in such a way that I find both acceptable and hilarious. Only bad side is now she's got so much sheer rage that she won't hold back in the slightest when she stops half-drowning, which should be in about ten seconds when the water begins seeping through any cracks or stairwells."
"What's our plan, then?"
"I'M GOING TO SKULL-FUCK YOU!" Knightwalker screeched, sputtering through what water remained and thrashing about for a moment as she attempted to get to her feet.
"...run like a bitch."
Edo-Terasu slung Lucy over his shoulder and dashed off, energy crackling around his feet for a moment. Edo-Erza roared like a wounded lioness and took off after the duo, the Ten Commandments in hand. Lucy, meanwhile, felt a deep sense of relief that she had an empty bladder, as she deemed it inappropriate to wet all over her saviour's shoulder.
"YOU'LL DIE SCREAMING! YOU'LL DIE SCREAMING!"
"H'oh boy," Edo-Terasu muttered, "Sounds like you really pissed her off. You are on my good list, girl."
"Er... thanks?"
"You're also on my bad list."
"WHAT?"
"You set that on my heels."
"BUT-!"
"I WILL RUN YOU THROUGH AND ROAST YOU! FUCKING ROAST YOU!"
"...that's not a pleasant image," Lucy whimpered.
"She's such an amateur. See, threats need to come in a very casual variety. A simple 'I'm going to dissect you' is so much more effective than shouting off various methods of killing. By the way, I'm going to dissect you."
"...I hate my life."
"See?"
Edo-Terasu turned sharply and blasted up the stairs, his shoes crackling with light for a split-second, and yet Knightwalker still followed like a rabid jackal. The twisted doctor saw something that immediately made him duck to the side just as Knightwalker rushed to the top of the stairs. She was slammed in the face with the broad side of a blade. The dark knight stumbled back, dazed, seeing only a whirl of red for a moment, before focusing in on it to see short, scarlet hair.
The Titania, Erza Scarlet, stood before her, glaring viciously at Erza Knightwalker.
"Doctor, get Lucy out of here."
"It's the DOC!" Edo-Terasu snapped, already running.
"I have someone to deal with," Erza hissed, pointing the Edoras-blade at Knightwalker, "You tormented Lucy. Tortured, injured, all with no purpose."
Knightwalker growled, holding up the Ten Commandments, "No, there was a purpose. It was fun."
"Monster!"
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
Erza and Erza charged one another.
-FAIRY TAIRU-
The Fire and Iron Dragon Slayers broke through the outermost walls of the castle at roughly the same time, rocketing through the air and then down into the ground. Natsu continued spinning about, Happy clinging desperately to him, until finally Gajeel picked up his Fire counterpart and shook him for a moment, causing the rocket-boots to stop long enough for Happy to unstrap them.
"Okay, that pretty much made my day," Gajeel said, grinning, "You in this kind of shape is just hysterical."
Happy finished tossing the other to the ground, clearly angry with it, then looked up to the skies for a moment as the momentum from tossing it had pushed him back a bit. He stopped and stared up and up, towards the top of the tallest tower.
"The tower is... shiny...?" Happy seemed to ask.
"Why, yes," Gajeel said, staring up as well.
"...hm?" Natsu grumbled, shaking off the sickness after a moment and gazing along with Happy and Redfox.
"It's Lachryma," Gajeel said, grinning with shark-like teeth, "Fuckin' A. That's our target, Natty boy."
Natsu got to his feet and smacked Gajeel on the back of the head, "Natty boy! That's beyond stupid!"
"Suck on it, flame-breath. RACE YA TO THE TOP!" Gajeel cackled, as he began to run up the side of the tower.
Happy clung to Natsu's back and the duo took off at top speeds towards the tower's peak. They were going to rescue their friends, their family...
-FAIRY TAIL-
Halfway down a hallway, Wendy nearly wound up attacking "herself" just as her old counterpart practically bounded down the stairs and into the hallway. The two looked at one another for a moment.
"Do you know where Zuri is?" Edo-Wendy asked.
"Digusting girl," Charle muttered.
"Hush, Charle. I'm following Zuri's scent, now. Hurry!" Wendy said.
Edo-Wendy rushed after her Earthland counterpart, trying not to think about that statement. The girls and the Exceed ran through the castle as quickly as they could, with the eldest of the trio at the back, desperately trying and failing to keep up. By the time the three of them leaped down into the blood-smeared hallway, Wendy was forced to wait a few seconds for the teen to catch up.
"Wh-what... what happened here?" Edo-Wendy asked, horrified.
"...She crawled... bleeding, she crawled. To get to that door," Wendy whispered.
"What on Edoras did she get herself into?" Charle muttered, "Fool."
Wendy turned towards Charle, "Listen, Charle, you do not have to like Zuri, but I... I will not allow you to keep disrespecting her! She doesn't chew you out on every available opportunity just because of what you are!"
Charle blinked, her eyes wide with shock. Edo-Wendy put her hand on Wendy's shoulder.
"You're doing, great, kiddo. Just like me. But, um, we really need to help Zuri if she's lost this much blood."
Wendy nodded and rushed on into the room, Edo-Wendy right behind her for the short stretch. Charle shook herself, still obviously quite shocked by her experience. The Exceed flew on after them, concern evident on her face, attempting to push aside the issue for the moment.
Charle entered the room to find, to her shock, Zuri standing upright, hardly bleeding at all yet soaked in blood. Charle should've been less shocked than she was at the nudity, which neither of the girls seemed to take note of. Rather, they took note of the fact that the succubus had made to attack them with a swipe of her claws. Both jumped to either side of the swipe, but Zuri only continued her assault by attempting to bisect Charle. Edo-Wendy immediately shot Zuri in the side of her face and the succubus stumbled and fell to her side. Charle glanced up to see a figure sitting in a large, ornate chair in the back of the room.
"Th-that's Zuri!" Wendy screamed.
"THAT'S Zuri!"
"Didn't you know she wasn't human?" Wendy asked.
"Yes, but I didn't know it meant this."
Zuri got back to her feet and rushed for Wendy, who ducked every swipe, dropped her Air Shatter Cannon, and raised up her gloved hand in preparation. Zuri brought both of her claws against Wendy, but the Air Dragon Slayer jumped over the succubus and smacked her square in the face with her gloved hand, releasing an enormous burst of wind that sent Zuri flying into the wall. The succubus slumped to the floor, seemingly unconscious. Wendy clapped her hands over her ears, her eyes screwed up in pain for a moment, which Charle mimicked, wincing. Edo-Wendy looked at the two in confusion.
"Gah, that noise," Wendy hissed under her breath, "What is that?"
After a moment, Wendy let go of her ears and looked up at Faust, who let the whistle drop from his lips.
"You stupid children!" Faust snapped, "You should've just given up or died up there in the battle! Meddling kids and your stupid cats! I HATE CATS!"
Charle blinked, "...excuse me?"
"Acting high and mighty like you do, up on your so-called God's Islands! I hate your kind most of all! Spreading your word of death, sentencing my people so needlessly to death! You had to be stopped!"
"...he's rambling," Edo-Wendy muttered.
"Which is why my top scientists started working on a secret weapon!" Faust declared, "It was tough to craft an ideal prototype to base future models on. We needed someone strong, someone capable of fueling this prototype Dragon!"
"What on Edoras is this guy babbling about? And why will he not shut up?" Edo-Wendy hissed, "I'm just going to kill him!"
Faust held up his sceptre and pressed a button near the bottom of it. One of the walls swung open to reveal something that shocked Edo-Wendy nearly into cardiac arrest. Strapped into a thick, bizarre, monstrous machine-thing was her "uncle Gajeel".
Dun dun dun...