Extalia

With a grunt, Natsu and Wendy were both tossed into the cell. The moment Natsu hit the ground, he charged the guards, slamming into the bars right as they were closing.

"You ain't coming out of here," Hughes said.

"You bastard!" Natsu roared, "Where're the others!"

"The others?"

"Lucy, Happy, and Carla!" Wendy said, "Where are they?!"

"Well the blonde may be pretty," Hughes said, "But she's got no real use. She'll be executed." Wendy was horrified at that, but as for Natsu…

He didn't say anything, but instead let out a massive stream of fire at Hughes, who managed to dodge just in time.

"Whoa!" Hughes said in surprise.

"If you touch her, you will burn," Natsu growled. He opened his mouth, which was glowing, only for more that goo to be shot onto it, sealing the fire in his mouth. Hughes, standing out of reach, smirked.

"So Erza was telling the truth?" Hughes said, "You really can breath fire. That's like, totes awesome! I'd love to get that as well!"

"How can you do that to Lucy?" Wendy said, "She's pregnant!"

"So?" Hughes asked, with a shrug. Natsu's eyes blazed, but the goo was suppressing his magic. His chest glowed brighter than ever before.

"You also asked about the Exceeds, didn't you?" Hughes said, "Well I'm pleased to say that they carried their mission out to the letter, so we took them back to Extalia. Chances are they're feasting right now on their reward."

"What do you mean?" Wendy asked in horror, before remembering what Carla told them before they went to Edolas, "That's impossible! Carla abandoned it!"

"Is that so?" Hughes asked, "Well, you're wrong. The exact opposite in fact."

"N…. no," Wendy muttered, "Why?"

"You're idiots," Hughes said, "To not know this by now."

(in the Royal City)

Greenwolf jotted down some notes, as he walked down towards the lacrima.

"Stop right there!" a soldier said as a platoon came up to him, "This area is off limits!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Greenwolf said, "I'm just a reporter who needs information!"

"We're not here to be interviewed," the soldier said, "Scram!"

"Come on, surely you can spare one comment?" Greenwolf said, "Are all sides of the lacrima as closely guarded as this one?"

"Did I stutter or something? Scram!" Greenwolf grinned, as he shrugged.

"Can't win 'em all," he said, before strolling away.

From the shadows of a nearby alley, Levy watched closely. She cringed. This was getting progressively harder. They had a plan, but it was currently in jeopardy. She glanced up at the tower, Redfox was supposed to be watching closely.

"This better work," she muttered.

(somewhere else)

In a large deluxe room, on a bed that would be large even for a human, Happy and Carla lay asleep. Happy stirred as he looked around.

"What happened?" he asked, before looking at Carla and nudging her slightly, "Wake up!" Carla stirred as she woke up as well.

"Tomcat?" she asked, "What's going on? Where are we?"

"I don't know," Happy answered, looking around. Carla stared at her lap. She thought about everything that had happened.

"Apparently all that time I thought I was guiding them, I was just leading them into a trap," she said.

"Don't say that!" Happy said, "There's no way that could've happened! It wasn't your fault!"

"I betrayed Wendy," Carla said, clenching her paws, "This is all my fault!" The door then opened, causing the two to look up, and see a face they were hoping they would never have to see again.

"Meow! Meow!" the cat that may have been supposed to be like a lion said. "Supposed to be" is key. It was essentially just Ichiya, if he was a cat.

"I take it you are the triumphant heroes?" he asked.

"Is that Ichiya?!" Happy cried, "He's a cat!"

"First and foremost, I am Nichiya, the Captain of the Extalia Royal Guard! Second, I am an Exceed, not a cat!"

"Now, now, Sir Nichiya," a new cat, which was black and constantly pumping his paw, said, "Don't forget they've never been to Edolas before, much less have seen another Exceed."

"Is that so?" Niche said, "Well, then it is pleased to meet you, I am Nichiya! Meow!"

"And I am Nadi, the Head of State in Extalia. Well done on your success."

"What are you talking about?" Happy asked.

"The Queen wishes to see you," Nichiya said. With that, he and Nadi left.

"Come on, Carla," Happy said, "We got to figure everything out." Carla just continue to stare into space.

"Don't worry!" Happy said determinedly, "I'll protect you!" Carla then looked up at Happy, before finally agreeing. With that, the two were lead away.

"I bet your excited," Nadi said, "You should be, considering what you've done."

"Maybe we'd be a bit more excited if we knew what was going on," Happy said.

"All in good time my friends, all in good time," Nichiya said. At that moment, they were lead into the light. Happy and Carla couldn't believe there eyes.

Everywhere they looked, there were cats. Cats walking and talking, just as Happy and Carla had always been able.

"You free tonight?" one asked, "Because I found this new kind of milk."

"Sounds good," said another, "What time?"

In another part, two more cats, or perhaps Exceeds, were bartering for fish.

"I'll take two blue trout, and one mackerel," one of them said.

"You know what, you've got so many little ones, that I gotta throw in too more for free," the fish monger said.

"Thank you so much! My kittens will love them!" Over in one part of the town, were a series of young Exceeds sitting at desks. There was a chalkboard with an older Exceed with a pointer.

"So basically while the Queen is of course above us, we ourselves are far beyond the humans," he said, "As such, the humans rely on our ever growing wisdom for guidance. And we are constantly guiding them, whether they know it or not." Carla and Happy just stared in awe at the sight of this. There were no words to describe the feeling.

"Look its the royal officials!"

"Meow! Sir Nichiya!"

"Meow, men!" Nichiya said.

"And the heroes of Earthland!"

"What's going on?" Happy asked.

"You are in the holy land of Edolas," Nadi said proudly, pointing, "Extalia, the home of the Exceeds, and the center of the universe!" Carla and Happy followed his finger, and saw a massive colorful palace.

(in the Royal City)

A parade came down the streets, advancing towards the lacrima. Greenwolf slunk through the crowds, approaching another guard.

"Seems everything is going according to plan," he said.

"Indeed," the guard said, "I'm sure everyone is looking forward to this. The prosperity this will bring our people will be great."

"Tell me something, is security as tight as the East and the West?"

"Unfortunately no," the guard answered, "Most of our soldiers are otherwise preoccupied, so we lack the manpower."

"Really?" Greenwolf asked with an intrigued look.

"Please don't write that down!" the guard said quickly, "I'll get in trouble."

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it!" Greenwolf said, "I'm an honest, fair reporter. I know when to not write something." After leaving, Greenwolf walked back into the crowd. Now he knew that the south side had a weak spot. Perfect he thought. Greenwolf then tipped his hat. Normally he wouldn't be worth any attention, but considering who he was with…

"HEY!" a voice from the south yelled. The guards looked up, and saw Levy standing outside the crowd.

"Its me, Levy Emara of Fairy Tail!" Levy said, as she stuck her tongue and wiggled her butt at the guards, "Come and get me!" Their desire to catch a known, rather infamous criminal, several of the guards charged after, weakening the already less then satisfactory defenses. Levy then split.

"This better work!" she cried. At that moment, Redfox leapt from the tower, diving down towards the lacrima.

"What's that?!" another guard yelled. Redfox held up his arm, which turned into a sword.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!" he roared, as he brought it down onto the lacrima. As the sword came down on the lacrima, it was consumed in a massive light, much to everyone's shock.

"Alright!" Redfox said, grinning, "Who do we got here?" From the light, emerged three figures.

(in Extalia)

Nichiya and Nadi lead Happy and Carla down the halls of the Extalia royal palace. All this time, Nadi hadn't stopped pumping his paw.

"As you might have guessed, humans are so far beneath us that they can't even function," he said, "As such, we must guide them."

"I'm sure you've also noticed their vile parfume!" Nichiya said. Carla and Happy just watched solemnly.

"That said, it is actually Queen who reigns supreme," Nadi continued.

"Now that is a splendid parfume!"

"And because if the humans' numbers grew too high, it could prove quite problematic," Nadi said, before turning with a dark look, "So the Queen decides who gets to live and who gets to die." Happy gasped at that.

"B… but why?" he asked softly.

"To ensure our magic power," Nadi answered, "Bear in mind she is also the one who controls the humans of Earthland."

"She's that powerful?"

"She is a goddess after all, meow!" Nichiya said. Carla abruptly stopped.

"I remember it all now," she said, "The mission that was given to be at birth." The whole group stared at her.

"I was chosen to eliminate the Sky Dragon Slayer, Wendy," she said softly.

"What does that mean!" Happy said, "What do you mean when you…." Then the implications finally hit him.

"Then… my mission was to…," he couldn't say it. He just couldn't.

"I figured you were better off not knowing," Carla said.

(in the Royal Palace)

The Dragon Slayers both stared in silence as that news. Natsu's chest dimmed as the shock hit him. Tears began to gather in Wendy's eyes.

"No..," she whispered, "That can't be…"

(in Extalia)

"Was I really supposed to eliminate Natsu?" Happy said softly.

"Calm down for Heaven's sake!" Carla snapped, "Mission aside, we didn't do anything! So stop talking like we've succeeded!" The two looked at her in surprise.

"Amnesia, perhaps?" Nichiya suggested.

"That would be likely," Nadi responded.

"Don't pretend like you didn't hear me!" Carla yelled.

"Of course," Nadi answered, "Basically, your mission was to seek out these so called 'Dragon Slayers' of Earthland, and eliminate them. Then a wrinkle appeared in the plans when the humans began to use Anima to draw magic from Earthland. So we changed the plan, opting to turn the humans to magic, instead of simply killing them. As such, your mission became capturing, not killing."

(in the Royal Palace)

"With all this Dragon Slayer Magic," Hughes said, "you've got all the power we need. All that remains is to remove it, and we'll be done. And once we merge your magic with that of Subject S, we'll have enough magic to last forever!" But the Dragon Slayers weren't paying attention. Wendy was on her knees crying, while Natsu had sunk to the ground. Images of Happy's egg hatching, his first mission with him, and so many others flashed through his mind.

(in Extalia)

The two Exceeds just stared in horror at those words, as both fell to the ground, tears streaming down their faces.

"From the looks of things, overriding the orders may have been a misstep," Nadi noted.

"Be that as it may, everything worked out for the best," Nichiya said, "The Dragon Slayers have been captured, and all that remains is to wait for the humans to cover them to magic power."

"No…. no… no!" Carla said, "I came hear on my own! I came to save the others!"

"Not true, we've been guiding you all this time," Nadi said.

"But… all I ever wanted… was to take care of Wendy…."

"Insofar as you wanted to make sure you captured her? Well yes, I suppose you could say that."

"NO!" Carla cried.

"Cry about as much as you want, that won't change the fact that what's done is done," Nichiya said, "Since the beginning we've been controlling your movements." That was when Happy rose to his feet, and stepped in front of Carla. Carla looked up, and saw Happy wearing an expression she never thought possible from him.

"I won't believe that!" Happy snapped, "I won't believe that we have just been your puppets all this time! We are not your slaves!" He then held up his head, and roared with pride.

"We are mages of Fairy Tail!"

Note: I figured I'd end it here, mostly to save events for next chapter. I liked this scene, because it gives Happy a big time to shine, which I think canon has been sorely lacking. You should now what happens next chapter if you know this arc.

Be sure to review. Just three reviews for last chapter? Come on everyone.