Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome back to more "The ABCs of Natsu and Erza!" Today's letter is E for Edolas!
I was actually kind of excited to write this, even though Edolas is my least favorite arc in all of Fairy Tail. I dunno, it feels like filler, but canon filler, if that makes any sense. But the point of setting a scene in Edolas is, well, we know how Natsu Dragneel and Erza Scarlet interact, but what about Natsu Dragion and Erza Knightwalker? I feel like I crapped out on this, but I'll shut up and let you decide for yourself, maybe elaborate on the outnote.
As always, I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. I do own Paradisa Otta and Edo-Shitou.
This chapter is rated T for strong language.
Erza Knightwalker was in a surly mood.
Of course, this was nothing new for the former Fairy Hunter. Especially ever since the Earthland mages had left Edolas, taking her world's magic with them. At the same time,King Jellal – or as he was publically known, Mystogan I – had risen to power after his defeat of the "Great Demon Lord Dragneel."
Honestly, her country was full of idiots.
Anyway, her new King had pardoned the Fairy Tail Guild and forbidden any more attacks on them. Ironically, though she took this news the hardest of all the then-remaining Generals, she was the only one who stayed with the Royal Army.
While those fools were loyal only to Faust, the former King, Erza's loyalty lied with her country, not its King. She served the Kingdom of Edolas, not its King, and especially not that fool Mystogan. She remembered confronting him about the Great Demon Lord Dragneel. His only response to her exposé was that they (Erza and herself) wanted to protect the same thing – Edolas.
But that was all irrelevant. Now she was having herself a nice pint or two at her favorite bar in a small city outside the capital. How she loved Paradisa Otto, and the fact that she could drink to her heart's content in total anonymity.
Anonymity. That was a word she could not for the life of her say. "Anomity. Anonity Anonymititty," she muttered to herself.
"I see the liquor's getting to you, General Knightwalker," said a cool voice. Erza turned around to see a man dressed in a black hooded cloak with a mask covering his eyes to hide his identity. However, Erza instinctively knew him by his voice.
"Jellal," she growled, knowing not to call him by his title. "You are aware that that mask makes you look like a crazy person?"
"Exactly," replied Jellal. "No one would dare approach a crazy person. In fact, the fact that you're even talking to me makes you seem just as mad as I do."
"Oh, I'm mad, all right," seethed Erza. "And did you seriously just say 'In fact, the fact?'"
"And what if I did?" replied Jellal.
"You don't find that at all redundant?" Erza asked.
"I find you redundant. Is that any better?" said Jellal with a shit-eating grin that almost made Erza punch her king in the face. Seriously, what business did this smartass have on the throne?
"I sense your hostility, Erza," said Jellal seriously, but with a hint of mischief. "You haven't killed a member of Fairy Tail in how long again?"
"Three months, one week, and five days, but who's counting?" replied the former Fairy Hunter.
Jellal sighed. "You are aware, of course, that you are forbidden from harming Fairy Tail members as long as I am king, correct, General Knightwalker?" he asked.
"Yes, my King," replied Erza reluctantly.
"Then I would like you to direct your attention to the table in the back," said Jellal. Erza did so, and to her displeasure, she saw several of the former Fairy Tail mages – Gray Surge, Jet, Droy, and Natsu Dragion.
"What? So? They're a bunch of Fairies, am I supposed to be impressed?" Erza asked.
Jellal sighed. Clearly, subtlety and ambience were lost on his General, so he decided to be blunt. "I want you to seduce one of them," he said simply.
Erza stared at her King, her mouth hanging wide open. "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"That's what the mask would have you believe," said Jellal. "And your screaming is starting to attract a crowd." It was true. All eyes were currently on the duo, or at least it seemed they were.
This annoyed the Champion of Edolas to no end. "What are you all staring at? Can't two people drink in peace?" she shouted.
"Yes, and I would recommend you offer the same courtesy to your fellow bargoers, or I will have you both removed from the premises," replied the old barman sternly, having watched the whole scene.
"You will have us removed? Do you even know who we are?" Erza screeched.
The barman was not intimidated. "I don't care if King Mystogan himself came to drink here," he said threateningly. "As owner and operator of Paradisa Otto, I proudly claim the right to refuse service to anyone who would cause a disruption in my bar. And I do mean anyone." He punctuated his statement with a knowing glare.
Erza opened her mouth to retort, but Jellal raised his hand to silence her. "Forgive us, Shitou-san. It was not our intention to insult you in your own establishment," he said humbly. Shitou smiled at Jellal, flashed the "I'm watching you" sign at Erza, and went back to cleaning his glass.
"There is no way I'm seducing a Fairy," said Erza defiantly once all the attention was off of her and Jellal.
"I know, it's a blow to your pride as the Fairy Hunter to sleep with one of the Fairies you so eagerly hunted," said Jellal. "But-"
"You want me to SLEEP WITH one of them?" Erza shrieked.
"Erza, keep it down, or you'll get us kicked out," said Jellal sternly. "And I'm pretty sure when you seduce someone, the intent is to have sex with him or her. I don't know, I'll look it up later. But back to what I was saying. I've noticed that you've become rather prideful as of late."
Erza huffed. "And your point is?" she ground out.
"I can't have my generals be ruled by foolish pride, especially not my Kingdom's Champion. I believe if you were to bed a Fairy Tail mage, it would go a long way towards teaching you to swallow your pride when the time calls for it," Jellal explained. Of course, this was the bullshit explanation that he would give Erza to hide the fact that he just thought it would be funny, but there was no need to tell her that.
Erza hesitated to reply, but Jellal spoke once again. "If it makes you feel any better, think of it as a new form of Fairy Hunting." This made the situation a little more bearable for Erza, but she was still unsure.
No, she said to herself. She was Erza Knightwalker! She was never unsure about anything in her life! "If my King commands it, then I suppose it has to be done," she said firmly yet reluctantly.
Jellal smiled warmly, though Erza made no mistake of the pleasure he found in torturing her like this. "Excellent," he said. "As I said, this is a new form of Fairy Hunting, and I can think of no better conquest than Natsu Dragion."
Erza flinched. "N-N-N-Natsu Dragion?" she sputtered. She had heard of Fireball Natsu. During the days of magic in Edolas, Fireball Natsu was the expert in terms of magical vehicles. But when he wasn't behind the wheel, he was a freaking coward! "But he's obviously the wimpiest member of Fairy Tail by far!"
"You'd be surprised, Erza," said Jellal. "The loss of magic has forced the people of Edolas to adapt, and in those… what was it now? Three months, one week, and five days? No, screw it, I'll round up.
"In those four months since magic left Edolas, the people – Fairy Tail, especially – have adapted quite well to their new world. New advancements in science and technology are being made each day, and… ooh, she looks lovely tonight…"
"FOCUS!" Erza snapped.
"Right, right! Now, what was I saying? Oh, of course!" Jellal cleared his throat and continued his speech. "New advancements in science and technology are being made each day, and the peoplehave been forced to mature in ways they had never imagined. As I said, this is especially true for Fairy Tail. I'll say nothing more on the matter except that you may find yourself pleasantly surprised at the change in Natsu's attitude. Now go get him, tiger!" Jellal finished encouragingly.
"Please don't call me 'Tiger' again," said Erza, eager to get this over with. Jellal just ignored her. Sighing, she reached for the remainder of her beer before the King piped up with "Stay sober, General!" With a growl, she made her way towards the table where the Fairies were sitting.
Sure enough, the former Fireball was laughing boisterously at a dirty joke, a sure sign to anyone that knew him that he was obviously drunk. Good, Erza thought. He's less likely to remember tonight that way. He got up, presumably to order more drinks or use the restroom, so now was the time to accost him. Shifting into what she thought of as "Seduction Mode," she grabbed Natsu's shoulder and purred, "You lookin' for a good time, Fireball?"
Whatever reaction Erza was expecting, it certainly wasn't the one she got. Natsu grabbed her sides, dipped her, and smirked mischievously. "Sure," he said. "I was looking for a little excitement, and riding a Fairy Hunter could be just what I need." He then planted his lips roughly on hers.
Jellal just smirked from his place at the bar. He had invited Natsu and three other Fairy Tail members out drinking on his dime under the alias Siegrain. He knew from speaking to Natsu that he (Natsu) was on the verge of perfecting a new form of fuel to power the vehicles that formerly ran on magic, which, combined with meeting his Earthland counterpart and a little bit of alcohol, had done wonders for his courage.
But why would King Mystogan I go out of his way to set up his General and a Fairy? Simply put, Jellal had always seen the potential for a romantic relationship between the Natsu and Erza of Earthland. Those two brought out the best in each other – Erza drove Natsu to keep getting stronger, and she always seemed to open up around him. He had hoped things would turn out the same here in Edolas, with Erza teaching Natsu courage and Natsu teaching Erza humility.
But beforethat, Jellal knew he would walk into tomorrow morning's strategy briefing and be met with his strongest General's murderous gaze that longed for him to abdicate the throne just so she could kick his ass without fear of treason. At this thought, he only smiled.
She would thank him in the long run anyway.
Like I said, I crapped out here. The writing I don't have a problem with. I think Knightwalker and Mystogan was fun, if not a little OOC. My theory is that Mystogan has a playful matchmaking side he obviously picked up from Mirajane during his time in Earthland, but he never really got to show it because he had to keep his face hidden for Erza's sake.
Now the big problem: Dragion's character. I wasn't sure how to write the character interaction between him and Knightwalker, and I really have DiagonAlley's fic "The Best Ride In Town" for that. That's where I got the idea for Dragion to be close to developing a new fuel source for all of Edolas, which excites him to the point of being in his Fireball personality near constantly. At first, the Edolas chapter was supposed to be about Knightwalker falling for Dragion, but then it became about Mystogan setting them up and me making him into a Sosuke Aizen/Light Yagami clone. Sorry, Mystogan. You're better than that!
I want to do a lemon for a future chapter, but failing that, I'll see what I can do about a sequel to this. But that's not for another few chapters. G is already written, so after I do F, I'll give the lemon some thought, and if my virginity screws me over, then I'll go with the sequel plan. So until next time, peace and love from Nightlingbolt!