The Crimson Wolf
Summary: A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...
The Second Incident
Thanks to Lucy Ashley and Fireball Natsu, the Earthland mages arrived in the Royal City the night before King Faust was supposed to make an announcement, presumably about the lacrima containing the rest of Fairy Tail and the citizens of Magnolia Town.
Mitsu was rooming with Gajeel and Natsu in a hotel owned by a man Lucy Ashley said they could trust. The Dragon Slayers were driving Mitsu insane, slowly but surely.
"There's no way that iron tastes better than fire," Natsu insisted.
"You're so full of shit!" Gajeel fired back. "Iron is way better than fire. Fire is just heat, but iron has substance to it."
"Says you!" Natsu growled.
"Will you two shut up?" Mitsu groaned.
"IRON IS TEN TIMES BETTER THAN FIRE!" Gajeel roared.
"ALRIGHT! IT'S ON GAJEEL!" Natsu yelled back.
"ENOUGH!" Mitsu shouted, dispersing his magic across the pair unintentionally. Mitsu took a deep breath, and retracted his power. "Both of you are going to stop fighting, or so help me I will pin you to the wall with my katana."
"Oh yea?" both Dragon Slayers retorted.
"Yea," Mitsu said, drawing his sword slowly and glaring at them hard enough to make a demon flinch. His eyes glowed red and his face was covered in shadow, and the Dragon Slayers felt the air in the room grow cold, heavy, and nearly caustic.
"Fine," Gajeel finally relented. "I was ready to sleep anyway."
Natsu looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it when Mitsu put the tip of his blade under his throat. The Fire Dragon Slayer settled down.
"Good," Mitsu said. "I'm going to meditate now, so keep it down. The two of you could wake the dead if you tried hard enough."
Both of the other two guys grumbled under their breath. Happy flew in the window with an odd looking fish, but Natsu covered his mouth before he could scream something about his fish.
For his part, Mitsu sat down on the floor with his legs folded and his eyes closed. He took deep breaths to ease himself into the depths of his mind.
He began to see the regular image of the forest that was his mindscape. Feeling breathing on the back of his neck, Mitsu turned around and met noses with the great crimson wolf. The swordsman cleared his throat.
"I know that you know exactly what I've forgotten. You probably know everything about who I really am, including the explanation for whatever that vision was," Mitsu said. "I also know that you can communicate with me, even when I'm meditating. At some point, I want you to tell me everything."
The wolf shook its head and told Mitsu mentally that it could not tell him anything without inviting dangerous memories that his mind was not ready to accept, not even mentioning the sheer number of forgotten memories. If the wolf were to allow him to remember it all at once, it would do far worse than cripple him.
"I understand and suspected as much," Mitsu said. "But I need to grow stronger. I need to focus on being strong enough so all of us can survive the coming storm. I feel in my gut, instinctually, that something... bad is going to happen soon. I'm not as confident as Natsu is that we can conquer Faust and his armies with ease. Will you teach me more of my forgotten spells, or, if not that, at least train me?"
The wolf bowed its head, before standing up on all fours and snarling, silently telling Mitsu that it could not teach him anything; he must remember his magic on his own, for safety's sake.
Mitsu drew his sword from over his shoulder as he asked in frustration, "What is it I must remember? What memory is sealing my magic?"
But the swordsman received no answer besides a snarl and vicious attack from his inner wolf. Mitsu twisted his body around, dodging the wolf's sharp canines and throwing the beast away from him. The wolf glowed a bright crimson for a moment before it was surrounded by shadow images of swordsmen wielding all manner of blades from katanas to oversized kitchen cleavers.
Despite being little more than shadows, Mitsu discovered their attacks were as solid as if they were real men from outside his mind. He ducked under the blow of one while kicking another in the stomach, sending it flying into the broad trunk of a tree. But Mitsu paid for his attack. The wolf latched onto his back and two of the other shades cut at his arms, blows that would have disabled him had they been real.
Still, the pain was real enough to force Mitsu to scream. In retaliation, Mitsu blew the wolf off his back with a burst of magic, and then covered his blade with the blood-colored power before striking at the shades aggressively. For every shade he cut down, the wolf replaced it with two, making the fight progressively harder. Soon, Mitsu was leaping over shades to escape being surrounded and pushing off trees to augment the strength of his strikes. Several bursts of magic shot from the palms of his hand, sending more shades back to the nether for a moment. Still, Mitsu took damage from the wolf and his minions, though they merely left the ghosts of the pain from the strikes.
Eventually, Mitsu had to start getting creative with his magic. The swordsman began extending pulses of power beyond his clenched fist, simulating a punch and sending the wolf and his shades flying without ever making true physical contact. He delivered shockwaves to the floor with devastating effect, though that exhausted Mitsu quickly. Bit by bit, the wolf pushed Mitsu to his very limit.
When his muscles tired out and his sword seemed to weigh more than he did, Mitsu brought a truly inventive side of himself to light and instinctually created a spell to empower himself. "Crimson Wolf's Soul!" Mitsu yelled. His long pink hair turned the crimson color of his magic and his already prominent magic aura grew larger. Mitsu felt greater strength within his legs and noted razor sharp claws glowed on the tips of his fingers in place of his nails.
The wolf jumped back warily, mentally informing Mitsu that this was new. Mitsu grinned savagely at that thought before he rushed at his inner companion and his minions. Never had Mitsu felt so powerful. His movements were far more precise and much faster than they were when he dueled Erza in the forests outside Magnolia, and he effortlessly cut down the shade swordsmen that previously offered him such great difficulty.
The wolf still proved troublesome, matching Mitsu's increased speed with his own. Displaying incredible precision and power, the wolf knocked Mitsu's blade from his hands and into the trunk of a nearby tree. Without missing a beat, Mitsu swiped at the wolf with his clawed hands and tackled the beast.
If this fight had been real, both combatants would have killed each other long ago; blows were aimed for every vital spot imaginable. Throats were bitten. Arteries were slashed. Bones were shattered.
Mitsu felt his magical reserves dwindle much faster than it ever had before, and the power sustaining his Crimson Wolf's Soul spell ceased entirely a moment later, reverting him to his regular, non-nightlight appearance. Quickly, Mitsu shoved the wolf away from him with what small portion of his strength remained.
If nothing else could be said, the wolf definitely knew when Mitsu was past his limit. Granted, the limit on his magic was a self-imposed replication of how far Mitsu could stretch his magic in the physical world. There was no point to simulating battle without also simulating limits. It would likely trick Mitsu into believing he could go farther than he could in reality.
After several minutes of rest, the wolf sat in front of Mitsu and bowed its head as it did when it wished for Mitsu to touch him. Sensing the wolf's desire, Mitsu gently set his hand on the beast and closed his eyes as he pet its large head.
For a very brief span of time, Mitsu saw a series of flashes of himself, though the wolf blurred the image for some reason, so the swordsman assumed it was himself in the vision, wielding two blades simultaneously. The effect was devastating and beautiful, just as Erza's incredible swordsmanship proved to be.
"This is a lost skill of mine?" Mitsu asked after the series of blurred images passed by.
The wolf confirmed this, but...
"This isn't a simple memory, such as a magic spell, is it?" Mitsu asked earning a nod from the wolf. "I won't be able to wield two blades at once after witnessing a memory of myself doing it. I'll have to relearn this the hard way." Mitsu sighed a bit before chuckling and running his hand through his hair. "I guess that's fair enough. I'd best get started on that as soon as I can. But where will I find another sword in Edolas?"
As he pondered on the possibility of dual wielding, Mitsu caught the wolf's intense stare. The creature's eyes held an unsettling mixture of fear and excitement, as though it knew something that was a peculiar mixture of good and bad was going to happen. And Mitsu suspected it did, in fact, have some foreknowledge related to his memories.
The swordsman could not hold the wolf's gaze for long without shuddering involuntarily and eventually deciding to withdraw from the depths of his mind.
When Mitsu opened his eyes, Gajeel commented over the loudly snoring Natsu, "That meditation shit you do is kinda freaky."
"Why do you say that?" Mitsu asked the Dragon Slayer.
"With all the glowing you got goin on at certain points, it looks like you would explode or something if you lost focus," Gajeel replied gruffly, following his statement with a shrug.
"I can promise you I won't blow up," Mitsu laughed. "If anything, my power is more stable when I meditate.
"Anyway, I'm going to sleep now," Mitsu said.
"Yea," Gajeel grunted before closing his eyes. Within moments, his own snores battled with Natsu's.
"Do I have any chance of getting any good sleep?" Mitsu asked himself when he noticed even Happy was snoring, though the cat was much more quiet than the Dragon Slayers. Still, the swordsman forced his eyes shut and tried to block out the thunderous snoring.
Morning came early for Mitsu, mostly because his sleep came late. Gajeel was already munching on a piece of iron for breakfast, though he managed, somehow, to do it quietly. Mitsu groaned when the light struck his eyes, but forced himself awake.
"You look like death warmed over," Gajeel grunted.
"Funny," Mitsu moaned, "I feel like death warmed over. Is incredibly loud snoring a Dragon Slayer thing?"
"I don't know," Gajeel said. "It could be. Metalicana snored loud enough to shake the ground at times."
"How could you sleep through that?" Mitsu asked in shock.
"Just did," Gajeel said. "Actually, for a while after he vanished, I had problems falling asleep without the snoring. It took a long time to get over that. If you ask me, that's the worst thing about him leaving."
"The worst part of you foster father leaving was the fact that you had problems falling asleep without his snoring?" Mitsu deadpanned, not believing a word from Gajeel's tough guy attitude. The machismo was irritating at times.
"Yea," Gajeel grunted. "The rest of these idiots will probably be asleep for a while. Let's bust out of here and start asking questions."
"Fair enough," Mitsu said. "But I think we should just listen instead of asking. That did not work well for me in Louen. Unless of course, you had some luck with questioning people back there. You never told me how that went."
"Nothing worth talking about," Gajeel said. "Apparently, Edolas' version of me is some investigative reporter type guy that nobody likes."
"Well, that at least makes sense," Mitsu said. "I'm pretty sure nobody would talk to me because of my sword. I guess weapons aren't all that common there, unless you're military."
"Is that why your sword is on your back?" Gajeel asked.
"Yea, it is," Mitsu said. "I still reach for it at my hip occasionally out of habit, but I kind of like having the blade sheathed against my back. It's out of the way, and my draw attack, while different, has a bit more power behind it from the chopping motion."
"Whatever," Gajeel grunted. "I just think your sword looks tasty."
"You better think twice before even trying to eat this steel," Mitsu muttered. "You would bitterly regret that decision."
The Iron Dragon Slayer completely ignored him and strode into a restaurant with a bar that, surprisingly enough, was open and bustling in the early morning. Mitsu orders two drinks so the barkeep would not hassle them about loitering around the place, and handed one to Gajeel when they settled down at a table to listen to the customers gossip.
After nearly an hour of completely worthless conversations, Gajeel finally grumbled, "I don't give a single shit about that bitch breaking up with her boyfriend."
"I swear that is the only conversation I can hear if I don't deliberately block it out," Mitsu complained. "It's incredibly early to be getting drunk over something like that though."
"Of course," Gajeel said, chucking and lifting his drink in the air slightly, "it's never too early to drink for a Fairy Tail mage."
The duo caught each other's eyes and grinned a bit. "Especially if you're Cana!" they chorused with a laugh.
With that, the pair returned to listening to their surroundings, sipping on their drinks occasionally to avert attention from themselves. Soon enough, Gajeel finally heard someone mention a giant lacrima and gestured for Mitsu to keep watch while he asked about it.
Mitsu kept his eye on the door, leaving Gajeel to investigate. That is, until he heard Gajeel slam back into his seat with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"And this one looks like Natsu Dragion, but with longer hair," someone commented. Mitsu shifted his eyes from Gajeel to see another Gajeel, though Edolas' version looked far less aggressive and intimidating.
"Edolas' Gajeel," Mitsu asked, turning to Gajeel Redfox, who grunted in response. "Honestly, what are the odds of us meeting so many of our look-alikes.
"We still ain't met the other you," Gajeel grumbled.
"So, tell me about yourselves," Edo-Gajeel implored. Mitsu sighed to himself.
"There are two worlds, Edolas, here, and Earthland, where we come from," the swordsman muttered.
"I'm Earthland's version of you," Gajeel said. The Dragon Slayer was far more invested in talking with his other self, so Mitsu decided to leave it to him. "But Mitsu ain't Natsu. We don't get why they look alike."
"Interesting," Edolas' Gajeel said. "So how did you get here?"
Mitsu tuned the pair out entirely until Gajeel bumped his shoulder half an hour later, "Come on, the other me is going to show us the lacrima. The king will be speaking soon."
"I'll go get everyone else," Mitsu said. "Wait, why was the other you bothering to ask about the lacrima if he already knew where it was?"
"You never know what someone else knows, my friend," Edolas' Gajeel said. "It's my job as an investigative reporter to get every shred of information I can."
"Great," Mitsu said.
"From what the Earthland me said, you need to bust up the lacrima in order to save your friends," Edo-Gajeel said.
"That's right," Mitsu said.
"I'll help you guys out, if you need it," the reporter said.
"Course you will," Gajeel said, wrapping his arm around his counterpart's neck. "You're me after all. Wouldn't make any sense for you to not help."
As Mitsu jogged away toward the hotel, he muttered to himself, "Those two make an odd pair. They're pretty chummy though."
Within a few minutes, Mitsu burst through the hotel doors. "Natsu, wake up already," he said. "We've found the lacrima!"
The Dragon Slayer leapt up, fire spewing from his mouth. "ALRIGHT! Now I smash it, right?"
Mitsu laughed as he walked out of the room to knock on the girls' door. "Yea, you get to smash it, probably."
"What do you mean probably?" Happy asked. Mitsu glanced at the cat.
"There might be something Natsu wants to smash more, like the people that must be guarding it," the swordsman explained.
Lucy opened the door, dressed and awake, saying, "I heard you through the wall. Let's get going!"
"Wait, don't we eat first?" Happy asked.
"Don't you have a fish or something in the ridiculous knapsack?" Carla asked as everyone headed out.
"Uh, I ate that," Happy said.
"That doesn't matter," Wendy said. "Where's Gajeel?"
"With Gajeel," Mitsu said flatly.
"Another doppelganger?" Lucy groaned.
"Uh huh," Mitsu hummed. "And this one's a bit annoying. But Gajeel loves the guy. Anyway, there they are." Mitsu pointed toward Gajeel and Edo-Gajeel standing together, still looking chummy, right where he left them.
"So this is Earthland's Lucy? And Wendy too," Edolas' Gajeel mused when he saw everyone. "And Natsu. If all three of you pinkettes were together, well, that would be amusing."
"Not as amusing as you might think," Lucy muttered, thinking of being around her copy and mixing Gemini into the mix.
"Not to be rude," Mitsu said, "but if we don't get going soon, Natsu will likely start setting the town on fire."
"That'll happen anyway," Gajeel Redfox grumbled, though the Iron Dragon Slayer had a small smirk on his face.
"We'd best get on our way then," Edo-Gajeel said, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.
Everyone was fairly quiet as the investigative reporter led them through the city. It was not that long of a walk, but tensions rose every time someone looked at the odd group. The citizens were not likely suspicious of anything, but the mages recognized that they would likely be fighting the kingdom soon. With the exception of Natsu and Gajeel, the Fairy Tail members were anxious, though Mitsu was fairly certain they would be able to handle everything the army could throw at them in an emergency response.
By the time they finally arrived at the lacrima, a crowd was already gathered and quickly growing.
"That is not the entire lacrima," Carla said.
"You're right," Mitsu said. "The edge at the bottom is too jagged."
"That is a piece they broke off to show everyone?" Lucy asked in wonder.
"As if our friends are some kind of prize," Natsu growled.
"To our kingdom, they are," Edo-Gajeel said. "Though I doubt everyone would be all that excited if they knew where the lacrima actually came from."
"Keep quiet," Mitsu said, bringing his finger up to his lips. "The people around can hear us if they try." The swordsman had an unsettling feeling in his gut, and leaned toward Gajeel to whisper, "You need to be ready. I doubt Natsu will be able to keep his cool for long."
"Natsu has cool to keep?" Gajeel questioned. "Gi hi hi!" Still, the Iron Dragon Slayer glanced at the flame-eater, noting his already tense and agitated stance and expression.
Before anyone could say anything else, a man in a long brown cloak and large, bishop-like hat stepped out onto a platform erected near the lacrima. He held a staff in his hands, and Mitsu suspected it was a sort of weapon, and, assuming this was King Faust, it likely was not just for show.
"People of Edolas! My holy country! This is the result of our work! Through the use of Anima, we have created ten years worth of magic power!" Faust proclaimed haughtily.
"Created?!" Natsu growled, flames already dripping from his mouth. Lucy grabbed him around the waist, calming the Dragon Slayer slightly. He was not the only one though. Mitsu had to stop himself from grabbing his sword, and Gajeel's crossed arms bulged as he held himself back as well.
"But this is not enough for my people!" the king continued. "I have plans to produce so much magic this amount will seem like garbage!"
Then he did it.
To emphasize his point, Faust struck the lacrima with his staff, breaking a piece off.
For a brief moment, nobody among Fairy Tail acted due to the shock while the crowd cheered. The recovery was quick. And very violent.
Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu tighter, but that did not stop the roaring flames from flowing out of his maw. She quickly released him, realizing the strength Natsu's rage offered; he could probably take on the army right then.
Mitsu's soul demanded blood, but Gajeel grabbed Mitsu's arm as he tore his blade from its sheath aggressively. "I'll handle the lacrima," Gajeel growled. "You and Natsu make 'em pay. I'll join soon enough.
Natsu certainly did not need Gajeel's permission. "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" he screamed. The torrential flames made the sun seem dark in comparison as they swallowed dozens of soldiers whole. Mitsu doubted they lived.
But he felt no sympathy, and quickly joined Natsu, not even bothering to contain the destruction. The fools deserved it. "Crimson Wolf's Soul!" the swordsman growled. His magic aura flooded over the panicking citizens. Lucy openly gawked at the startling difference between the normally cool-headed Mitsu and this fierce and frightening crimson-haired man.
"Die," Mitsu commanded gruffly as he rose from the ground. He then swung his katana in an arc in front of him, devastating the surrounding area with the magical shockwave that rushed from the stroke. The force of the blow forced almost everyone in front of Mitsu to the ground, and the few that remained standing wished they had.
Within the next moment, Natsu unleashed another attack. "FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!" the Dragon Slayer yelled. What little there was that was not on fire already was set aflame instantly, and those that remained standing after Mitsu's attack were roasted alive.
The entire courtyard, and likely the majority of the city at that point, was terrorized. Jumping from building to building, Natsu's flames began to consume the city in his unrestrained anger. Meanwhile, Mitsu's own malice soon focused on the man who caused all this: Faust.
It was the king's own fault really. First, he breaks off a piece of the lacrima containing their friends. That started the entire scene. His second mistake was trying to attack the ferocious swordsman.
Faust fired several blasts of magic from his sceptre, though whether this was in desperation or arrogance Mitsu did not know. However, the bolts of magic dissolved within meters of Mitsu, much to King Faust's utter befuddlement. Unfortunately for the mad king, this caught Mitsu's attention.
Glowing crimson and sparking dangerously, Mitsu's eyes narrowed as they settled on the king.
"Fool," Mitsu growled. "Crimson Wolf's Fang!" The powerful bolt of magic tore through the air, leaving a trail of blood red magic in its wake.
Faust listened to his fear and jumped out of the way of the heavily charged spell, barely managing to avoid the blast. Mitsu did not follow up his strike for one reason, and one reason alone: Gajeel had shattered the lacrima. Faust wisely took the opportunity to flee.
Once this distraction settled, Mitsu realized how quickly his magic drained and quickly released his spell, falling to the ground below, shaking from fatigue. The bright light emanating from the broken lacrima snapped Natsu from his fiery rampage.
Despite their shock at their friend's somewhat justified actions, Lucy and Wendy quickly rushed toward the magical flash. Mitsu looked up from his position on all fours once the light died down before smiling slightly.
"I had a feeling that it could have been those two," he breathed hoarsely when he felt the familiar magic signatures.
"I knew that the lacrima was only one part of the whole, but..." Lucy began, but words escaped her.
As the last remnant of the light died down, two figures rose from the ground: Titania Erza Scarlet, and Gray Fullbuster. Gajeel's mouth gaped open.
"Wait, what? That huge thing was only? But that? I, uh..." Gajeel stuttered.
"Yes, Gajeel, it was only the two of them," Mitsu muttered as he shakily struggled to his feet, reaching in his pocket for the X-balls.
"What's going on here?" Gray asked.
"We'll have to explain soon," Lucy said.
"For now, both of you need to take one of these, courtesy of Mystogan," Mitsu said, tossing the small pills at his friends.
"What is this?" Erza asked.
"It'll let you use your magic here," Wendy said.
"Will someone explain what is going on?" Gray yelled. The ice mage had already stripped off his shirt. Gray probably did not even know it.
Mitsu had turned his attention to the sky above when he heard a roar in the distance and spotted dozens, if not hundreds, of the flying creatures Lucy Ashley identified as Legions. The Royal City's armies, and likely several of Faust's other forces were reacting.
"Lucy wasn't being coy when she said we had no time," Mitsu said, recollecting what little energy he had left. "The military is on its way. We have to move. And now. There is no way we can take on the entire army right now. With a plan, there is a chance that it is possible."
Mitsu began to move, but his legs quickly failed him; he had definitely overdone the magic.
"You will explain everything to me," Erza said as she wrapped Mitsu's arm across her shoulders to help him move.
"You got it, Scarlet," Mitsu groaned. "When we get out of this, we'll explain everything."
Edo-Gajeel walked up, briefly staring at the destruction in awe. "I'll keep my ear to the ground and see if I can find anything valuable out," he said.
"Brave man," Gajeel said with a grin and bumped fists with his Edolas counterpart. "And Mitsu? Next time, make sure to leave something for me to do!"
"Why did we have to hide out here in the forest?" Lucy asked.
"They will search the town first," Mitsu muttered.
"And then they'll check here!" Lucy yelled.
"This will work for now," Erza said, firmly cutting off any further argument. "This Edolas is a strange place," the requip mage mused.
"I'll say," Gray said.
"Where did your shirt go, Gray?" Mitsu asked.
"I actually took it off on purpose this time," Gray said smugly while patting the ground beside him. "It's right here."
"No it isn't," Natsu laughed. "Stripper!"
"What?! The hell did my shirt go? I swear I put it there!" Gray yelled.
"Shut up," Gajeel growled. "You idiots are going to call the entire army down on our heads."
"Gajeel is right," Erza said.
"What are we gonna do?" Wendy asked.
All the while, Carla was dutifully ignoring Happy, much to the blue cat's chagrin. Carla seemed distracted by something she was thinking about, so whether she was intentionally ignoring her fellow cat was up for debate.
"I think we should go after that king guy!" Natsu said excitedly. "There will be tons of people to fight!"
"Fighting sounds fun," Gajeel said. "That pathetic fight in Louen barely classified as a brawl."
"Idiots," Gray muttered.
"I agree," Mitsu said to Gray before clearing his throat slightly. Most of his magic seemed to have recovered at that point, so the swordsman was feeling much better than earlier, though he was still sore.
"Our goal should be to find the rest of the lacrima that Gray and I were broken from," Erza said.
"And then we smash it!" Natsu said.
"You're annoying," Gajeel growled.
"And neither of you will even think about fighting right now," Erza warned, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"We can only hope that the other Gajeel manages to find where the lacrima is," Lucy said.
"I think you're right," Mitsu agreed.
"What is he can't?" Wendy asked. "Find where the lacrima is, I mean."
"Then we go to the king and beat him up until he tells us!" Natsu suggested. Everyone groaned except for Gajeel.
"Natsu may be an idiot," the Iron Dragon Slayer began, ignoring Natsu's protests, "but I think he is right. What other option do we have? We know that this Faust character will know where it is, or someone in the castle at least."
"As much as I hate to admit, the Dragon Slayers are probably right," Mitsu said. "We can't look all over the world for it. There is just too much ground to cover, and that isn't even counting the floating islands. We don't have the time to waste."
"You're probably right," Erza agreed. "But all this is assuming that this other Gajeel can't find it for us."
"Yea," Lucy said, drawing her knees to her chest and sighing. "Edolas sucks."
Everyone chuckled a bit at Lucy's comment, but otherwise did not respond.
By the time Edo-Gajeel found the mages, the sun had long since set. The reporter was immediately bombarded with questions from the impatient wizards, but he quickly gestured for them to be quiet.
"First off," Edo-Gajeel said, "the king has announced that all of you are enemies to Edolas and terrorists and are to be detained on sight. You probably won't be able to go anywhere anymore, what with the money Faust put out for your heads."
"Does he have pictures of us out yet?" Lucy asked nervously.
"No, not quite yet. But they do have your descriptions," Edo-Gajeel said.
"Did you manage to find out where the rest of the lacrima is?" Mitsu asked the reporter.
"I'm afraid not," Edo-Gajeel said, sadly shaking his head. "The king is keeping that information very close."
"Would it be feasible to attack the castle?" Erza asked. "If only the king or members of his court would know, we need to get them to tell us."
Edo-Gajeel laughed. "Maybe if the guards are sleeping and you get lucky," he said. Natsu started to get angry, but the reporter quickly continued. "I don't doubt your strength at all. In fact, I'm certain you might have been able to manage assaulting Faust's fortress under normal circumstances. But, as it stands, more of the military than normal is here right now, even before your little show in town. Now, more and more forces are pouring in from all across the country."
"By the way, how bad is the damage to the city?" Lucy asked with a slight wince.
"Well, they are still fighting the fires in several places, and the citizens have been placed under collective house arrest, unless, of course, their house is on fire," Edo-Gajeel said.
"You overdid it again, flame-for-brains," Gray muttered.
"Yea," Natsu said, not even bothering to argue with his friend. The Dragon Slayer never wanted to hurt innocent people, but he just lost it back there.
"Regardless of what happened," Erza said, "we need to take action. Eventually, Faust's armies will find us. We need to strike first."
Natsu quickly shook off his depressed mood, though Mitsu could tell it was slightly forced. "We can still take them head on! We're Fairy Tail wizards!" the Dragon Slayer said.
"Don't be foolish," Erza snapped back. "They vastly outnumber us, and we have no idea what kinds of magic tools they have at their disposal."
"King Faust has geniuses developing magic weaponry for him," Edo-Gajeel said. "There is every chance that they retrofitted something they already have to handle the bunch of you already."
"So?" Natsu asked.
"So we don't assault them head on," Mitsu said, drawing everyone's attention. "We sneak in. Infiltrate the palace. We can definitely handle their armies as long as we don't take on the whole chunk at once."
"Sounds good to me, but how do we get in?" Lucy asked, glancing at Edolas's Gajeel for a second.
"Don't look at me," he said. "I'm just a reporter. Breaking into the castle is insurgency. Not that I'm unwilling, however. I just don't know how to get you guys in."
"Infiltrating sounds fun," Gajeel said. "We'll be like ninjas, Gi hi."
"Oh, please don't mention ninjas!" Lucy groaned while looking at Natsu and Happy.
"I knew our skill would be needed again, little buddy!" Natsu said, already having wrapped his scarf around his head.
"Aye!" Happy cried.
Mitsu laughed at the ridiculous pair as they darted around, moving their hands into bizarre symbols and generally acting like idiots.
"But seriously, how do we get in?" Lucy asked everyone again.
Carla cleared her throat. "I may know a way in," she said, though she still seemed uncertain. "My memory of Edolas has been constantly improving, and there is a tunnel nearby that the king likely uses as an escape tunnel."
"All of you sort this out," Mitsu grunted, walking away from the fire and farther into the woods. The swordsman never trusted Carla's "memories" the moment he heard of them, but they had no real alternative at the moment. Still, he could not be a part of this planning when he doubted the very premise it was based on.
"Ugh," Mitsu groaned. "What's going on with me?" he asked himself. "I've been on edge ever since I meditated last night. Damned wolf and his eyes. What was scaring him? The damn thing knows more about me, and probably everything else, than I do. I shouldn't let it bother me, but it definitely seemed scared of something."
As he walked through the trees, Mitsu struggled to understand why he reacted so strongly to the wolf's nervousness. Sure, it was disconcerting, but it still did not warrant such tension.
Eventually, Mitsu found himself back among his friends. "Have you got everything figured out?" he asked.
"Yes," Carla said. "We will be entering the tunnel, which is very close by. From there, we follow the tunnel until it opens into the castle. Then we find the king, or someone else who would know where the lacrima is, and get the information."
"Fine," Mitsu grunted. "Sounds good enough to me. Still risky, but anything we do will be at this point. Let's get going. No time like the present."
"I'll head back to town," Edo-Gajeel said. "I'm more useful to everyone there."
"See you soon, other me," Gajeel said with a smile.
With that, the Fairy Tail mages followed Carla in relative silence to the tunnel she spoke of.
Wendy walked next to Mitsu for several moments before finally deciding to ask, "Mitsu, do you hate Carla?"
"Huh? Why would you ask that?" the swordsman asked his young friend.
"It just seems like you don't like her. I mean, you got angry at her back in Louen and then when she said she might have a way into the castle you stormed off like you were mad," Wendy said.
"Well, I'm sorry if that was the impression I sent off," Mitsu apologized. "Back in Louen, I did get mad at her, but I wouldn't hold that against her. She was scared because she couldn't use her magic, and the rest of it was just her attitude, which admittedly rubs me the wrong way a lot. No, I don't hate Carla. She is my nakama, just as much as you are, and I would and will do anything I can to protect all of you."
"That's great!" Wendy said. "But, uh, why did you stomp off when Carla spoke up earlier?"
"Oh, that," Mitsu muttered. "Well, I don't really trust her memory anyway, but that was just the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. I've been pretty tense since last night. I didn't leave because of Carla."
"Okay," Wendy said. "What's going on?"
"Well–"
Carla, unintentionally cut Mitsu off. "This is it. We're here."
"That block of solid stone is the door?" Gray asked.
"Can I smash it?" Natsu asked excitedly.
"What is with you and smashing things recently?" Lucy asked. "It's weird. You normally like fighting."
"Hey, I went without magic for a day. I just wanna set stuff on fire and fight," Natsu said with a huge smile on his face.
"Don't smash it yet," Mitsu said, stepping toward the sealed doorway. "Let me check this out. I think I sensed some faint magic." The swordsman placed his hand on the cold, damp stone and focused.
"What is it?" Lucy asked.
"It's a very weak magic," Mitsu said. "I can barely tell it's there, much less what it does."
"It's probably a trigger to open the door. I doubt someone would want to push that thing," Gray suggested.
"I suppose that's possible," Mitsu said. "I still find it odd. We might want to be careful."
"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!"
The stone blocking the path was gone.
"I should've seen that coming," Mitsu sighed. "Well, might as well go in. The magic was dispersed with its shattered container."
"Idiot," Gajeel grumbled. Natsu just ignored him.
"Lead the way, Carla," Mitsu said, gesturing for the cat with the map to take point.
"Thank you, Mitsu," Carla said in her normal, refined, or snooty to some people, tone of voice.
As the group followed Carla through the tunnels, Erza fell in step with Mitsu. For several minutes she stayed quiet before finally speaking up. "Why did you leave the group earlier when we were planning everything?" she asked.
"Wendy asked me something similar a short while ago, though for different reasons," Mitsu chuckled. "Well, I suppose I should explain it a bit. During a meditation last night, the wolf within my mind seemed, well, upset. It seemed somewhat scared, and somehow excited all at once. Anyway, I think its anxiety has been affecting me all day."
"It could just be nothing," Erza said. "Your wolf friend seems to want something from you. Maybe it's scared that it won't get what it wants."
"Maybe," Mitsu mused. "But the wolf probably knows everything about me..."
"And it would be the first to know if something were going to happen to you," Erza said.
"Exactly," Mitsu said with a frown. "See why it bothers me?"
"I believe so," Erza said.
The pair fell silent again and followed Carla in silence for several more moments.
"Wait!" Mitsu said suddenly, stopping everyone in their tracks. "There is a large collection of magic power up ahead of us."
"Is it the lacrima?" Lucy asked.
Mitsu shook his head. "No, there isn't nearly enough magic power to be our friends. But there is a lot. Are we under the castle by now?"
"We are close," Carla said. "It is probably just the guards upstairs. Gajeel said there were a lot of men on duty after what you and Natsu did. Nevertheless, we must push forward."
"Man, it stinks down here!" Natsu said, covering his nose with his scarf. "I can't even smell you, Happy!"
"I'm the one that smells like fish," Happy said.
"I know! I can't smell you!"
"Is the stench that bad to you?" Lucy asked.
"It is, actually," Wendy said while holding her nose.. Gajeel nodded his head, but did his best to ignore it.
"Their noses won't be able to smell anything," Erza muttered under her breath.
"I don't like it either," Mitsu responded quietly.
The swordsman's vision blurred slightly and his head ached, but Mitsu just shook it off. His limbs began to grow heavy and he soon swayed on his feet slightly. "Whoa," Mitsu muttered when he stumbled slightly. He could not think straight for a moment, but still realized he could not sense Erza's magic, despite the fact that she was standing right next to him.
"Are you alright?" Gray asked from behind him. Erza also gave him a concerned look.
"I'm fine," Mitsu grunted. "Whatever that was is going away. Maybe I didn't get enough to eat. I just felt strange for a moment. I'm better now."
"Whatever you say," Gray said, slightly sceptical and not fully believing his friend.
Mitsu sighed when he could sense Erza again. Soon he felt Gray and Gajeel behind him. Then Wendy, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Carla. Mitsu's breath left him quickly when his magical sense fully returned.
He double checked.
He triple checked.
Then he stopped dead.
"We're surrounded!" Mitsu yelled, drawing his sword from his sheath quickly.
Light lacrima turned on across the cavern in a wave, revealing a vast army headed by Erza Knightwalker, the Edolas version of his sparring partner.
The rest of the Fairy Tail wizards quickly readied their magic to fight and wasted no time before jumping into the fight. Natsu's fireballs decimated several squads before they even realized they were fighting the Dragon Slayer. Gajeel took out whole swaths of soldiers with his magic, a gleeful, savage grin on his face. Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy followed suit in their own way. Spears of ice. Dancing swords. A giant and very angry bull. Blasts of bone-crushing wind.
But Mitsu's blade never tasted the blood of these enemies. The moment he took a step forward, his katana prepared to strike, Mitsu fell to his knees. Every drop of magic power condensed in his body in an instant, but only for an instant. His magic soon rushed out over the area.
The light lacrima that turned on in a wave turned off in a wave as the magic filled the room. Erza leapt back toward Mitsu, already knowing what had happened. After all, she had experience it before.
"Everyone! Come here!" Erza yelled. She pried Mitsu's katana from his hand when she realized how far gone he was and prepared to defend her nakama, to the death if need be.
What little was visible in the dim light from the lanterns the Fairy Tail wizards carried with them soon vanished as Mitsu's vision left him. As the rest of his senses abandon him, tears pour from Mitsu's eyes.
He had done it again. He had nullified all the magic in the area. What's more, he is losing himself to another violent memory.
He had doomed his nakama.
AN: FINALLY! I am so sorry about the long wait, everyone. I lost my notebook which contained everything I had planned for the chapter, and I could not get any words down without it. Well, I found it, obviously, and I finished this chapter. I decided to post it without checking over it. You wonderful readers have waited long enough. Hopefully, there won't be too many errors. I'll come back over this and proofread soon.
If you didn't already know, I made a Twitter account for my fanfiction. I'm doing my best to keep everyone posted on my progress with my chapters on that. So, follow me TheZeroDragon for exclusive updates and info on my stories. Or don't. But think about the cats. Happy would want you to.