The New Edolas
The three Dragon Slayers stood triumphantly over their defeated foe, all three of them absolutely exhausted.
"Can't believe we had to work together again," Gajeel said, glaring at Natsu.
"Neither can I," Natsu said, also glaring, before opening his wings, "I'm going back to my boy now!" However, when he tried to flap up, he promptly collapsed back to the ground.
"Damn! I forgot my wing's broken," Natsu said, holding up his broken wing.
"Let me heal you," Wendy said, scurrying over, and beginning to try and mend her brother's wing.
"You did good, Wendy," Natsu said with a grin. Wendy looked up, and also smiled.
"Thanks, big brother," she said.
"You're so sweet I think my teeth are going to completely rot away," Gajeel said.
"Screw you!" Their exchange was suddenly interrupted by a massive rumbling. They all looked up, and saw the horror: the islands of Edolas were beginning to crash to the ground.
"The islands are falling!" Natsu said.
"Its… the end of the world," Wendy said in terror.
(with the Exceeds)
The Exceeds and taken shelter in the ruins further from the city. Shagotte could see the islands all collapsing as well.
"The islands were kept suspended in the air by the world's magic energy," Shagotte muttered, "And now that they're falling, that means…." Streams of magic energy began floating out of the world, into a massive void in the sky.
"…. magic is disappearing from this world."
(in the city)
(Flashback)
Mystogan lead Pantherlily through the wreckage of the Edolas palace, into one of the few rooms that was still standing.
"This is the room that produces the Anima," Pantherlily said, "What are we doing here, your Highness? I thought you closed all the Anima."
"Indeed I did," Mystogan answered, "But I recently came to a decision. Having seen both this world, and Earthland. There is conflict there as well, but for different reasons. The conflict in this world is from magic. It needs to change." It didn't take long for Pantherlily to realize what he was indicating.
"I'm going to open a reverse Anima," Mystogan said, "This world is going to lose all of its magic."
(End Flashback)
Mystogan did not regret what he was doing. If there was one thing Makarov taught him in the years, it was that anything was necessary to stop conflict. To go this extreme…
"Your Highness," Pantherlily said, "Are you still sure…"
"Absolutely," Mystogan answered, "Thanks to the dragon, the army has been scattered, and the central government destroyed. Anarchy will soon enshroud the people. Perhaps we get rid of the source of so much of the destruction, ever so much progress will be achieved. Change must be forced in this world. It won't happen naturally."
(with Fairy Tail)
"All our tools are falling apart!" one Fairy Tail member said.
"Everything is!"
"What's going on?" Heartfilia asked softly, cuddling the still crying Haru.
"The world is coming to end," Cocoa said softly, terse streaming down her sky.
"We're losing everything," Cana said softly, "Now that magic is disappearing."
"What're we going to do?" Elfman asked.
"Calm down!" Earth-Levy said, "Keep your heads!"
"'Keep our heads'?!" Edo-Levy snapped, "All the magic in this world is being lost! What'll happen to Fairy Tail?"
"We survived, but is the world going to die?" Natsu mumbled. As everyone cried out in dismay, the Exceeds stood in the middle.
"Carla," Happy said softly, "What are we going to do?" But Carla flew into the air.
"Will you all shut up!" she shouted. The guild looked up at her.
"In his dying moments, Särakaotus imparted to you a means to rebuild your world," Carla said, "Are you going to let his gift go to waste so quickly?" Ashley looked at the book that the dragon had given her. She then slowly opened, and started flipping through it slightly. She saw strange note, numbers, and pictures, details she never knew anything about.
"This is Science?" she asked, "How are we supposed to get all these different facts so soon? How can we rebuild a world from this?"
(in the city)
The people of the city were trying to regroup after the attack from the dragon, trying to salvage what they had. But now that magic was completely vanishing from the world, they were even greater chaos then when the dragon came, as all their devices and commodities began to stop functioning.
In the Anima room, Mystogan watched the magic swirl up in silence. Pantherlily also was watching, but couldn't do it as calmly as his prince did.
"You said you're hoping to bring progress by destroying the source of destruction," he said, "But all the people have known is what magic can do. Without the kingdom to give them any sort of order, there is going to be complete chaos."
"Which is why they need a new leader," Mystogan answered, "A new king to create a new Edolas out of the wreckage of the old." He then looked at Pantherlily.
"You must be the hero to untie this world," he said, "I could never be the king, because I'm the villain who took away the magic from this world. I'll also be the one who released the dragon over the city. You have to execute me, the rebellious traitor who unleashed the dragon upon the world, the villain of this time. You will become the hero on both sides, who struck me down." Pantherlily stared at him in silence, before he clenched his fists.
"No way in hell!" he declared.
"You're an Exceed, and a member of the Royal Army," Mystogan said, "You have trust on both sides. You're the only one who can do it." Pantherlily then hoisted up him by the color.
"You're going to run away from this!" he yelled, "You're the one who did this to Edolas! And now you're just going to dodge responsibility like this! You made this cross, its yours to bear! I can't be the hero! I'm a traitor to both Extalia and Edolas, there's no place for me to go after this!" After giving his rant, he then took a breath, and set Mystogan down.
"It doesn't matter what happens," Pantherlily says, "No matter what happens, both of us have to suffer somehow." Mystogan stared at the ground, clenching his fists.
"What are we going to do?" he asked.
"Commander!" Pantherlily turned, to see a soldier running forward.
What is it? If its about the magic, then I already know," he said.
"With the king and the rest of the commanders gone, you're the highest ranked person in the kingdom!" the soldier said, "You need to take command here!"
"How can I take command of a ruined kingdom that's losing its livelehood?" Pantherlily said.
"Its not just that!" the soldier said, "A demon has appeared in the city!" That got the attention of both Mystogan and Pantherlily.
"What?!" both asked.
(in the city)
Everyone stared in horror at the figure cloaked in swirling dark magic, and wind. At first it looked like a little girl, but her eyes were glowing with dark power, her teeth were razor sharp, and her dark hair swirled in the wind.
"I am Mar'Vel!" she declared, "Daughter of Särakaotus, the Dragon of the Eclipse! I am here to finish what my father started, and destroy this world!"
"Wendy?" Mystogan said, as he looked up in shock at the girl he knew since she was young.
Wendy was incredibly embarrassed. This had been Natsu's idea, that Wendy, using her newfound Eclipse powers, make herself out to be the bad guy, if only to maybe bring the people of Edolas together again.
"I will suck this world dry of magic energy!" "Mar'Vel" declared, "And then you will rot, just as your king is!" She then gestured towards Faust, who was tied to a post on the roof.
"The king!"
"She captured his Majesty!"
"Now my fellow dragon spawn!" Wendy said, "Destroy what remains of this city!" She hated talking like this, but she trusted her brother, and did hope that this would go all well. Natsu then swooped down, still in Dragon Aspect, as he breathed fire over the rubble.
"That guy's breathing fire!" Gajeel rather promptly did the same with is dragon iron. Wendy then held up her arms, creating a swirling mass of magic that took the shape of Särakaotus' head.
"Let all who oppose the will of my father crumble under the terror of dragon breath!" she said.
"Stop!" Mystogan yelled, as he leapt onto a roof, "The hell are you doing, Wendy!" Wendy glanced at him.
"Wendy?" she asked, "My name is Mar'Vel! The daughter of the Eclipse Dragon, and the Sky Dragon!"
"You don't need to continue this!" Mystogan said, "You've won!"
"I'm here to destroy this world!" Wendy said, "And as long as you live, Prince Jellal, I won't succeed!" That caught all the people below off guard.
"As in the prince that disappeared seven years ago?"
"Has the prince really returned after all this time?" Mystogan just glared at Wendy, not sure what to do.
From the balcony, Pantherlily watched in shock.
"What's going on here?" he asked.
"I can offer an explanation." Pantherlily looked over, and then saw Nadi coming up.
"Sir Nadi?"
"I overheard what you said to the Prince," Nadi explained, "I relayed it to them. They then came up with this plan." Pantherlily then looked out towards Mystogan, out near Wendy. Nobody believes in him yet, he thought Is he supposed to be the hero, and they're supposed be the villains?
"I'd get ready if I were you," Nadi said, "You've got to be sure we're going to do."
"This is no way to bring any semblance of order!" Mystogan said as he charged Wendy and the others. He pulled out one of is staves, only to realize that it was completely dead.
"Without your magic, you're nothing!" Wendy said, as she inhaled, and released her breath attack. Mystogan dodged it easily. Too easily at that. Mystogan realized that she had intentionally missed.
"Stop it!" he yelled, "I'm not the hero!"
"Destroy him my brother!" Wendy ordered, pointing. Natsu then swooped past her, towards Mystogan.
"Damn it, Natsu!" Mystogan said as he jumped out of the way of Natsu's claws, only to get smacked in the face by his tail.
"Natsu!" Mystogan said, glaring at the Dragon Slayer who landed before him, his chest glowing, "You aren't going to fool anybody like this!"
"Then you better put on a good show," Natsu hissed, before springing at him again, swinging his wing at him, which Mystogan managed to avoid it. He then punched Natsu in the face.
"Do it your Highness!"
"Destroy the demon!"
"It seems that the crowd's buying it," Natsu said, cracking his neck, and swishing his tail.
"Then why don't you just go down already and stop wasting time?"
"Because this is the Fairy Tail way of saying goodbye," Natsu said, as he breathed a cloud of fire at Mystogan, who dodged it, until Natsu punched him the stomach.
"Recite the three laws anyone leaving Fairy Tail must have!" Natsu instructed. With a grunt, Mystogan punched him in the stomach. He didn't want to leave Fairy Tail, it was more of a home than Edolas ever was, and Makarov more of a father than Faust ever was. But….
"You must never reveal information that could threaten the guild," Mystogan said as he blocked an attack from Natsu, "You must never contact past clients for personal gain."
"And third?" Natsu said, as he smiled at his guild mate.
"Though our paths may diverge, you must live your life to the fullest everyday," Mystogan concluded, "you must never consider your own life to be worthless, and and you must never forget the friends who loved you." Right then, he punched Natsu in the stomach, and with that, Natsu keeled over.
"Give everyone my best," Myst… Jellal said, "Raise your son well."
"If you're ever in Earthland, drop by the guild," Natsu said, smiling. The crowd then erupted into cheers in praise of their prince. Wendy should've been holding up the act, but the sight still made her smile. Jellal then noticed Natsu's body beginning to glow, as did Wendy and Gajeel's. The Exceeds also began to glow.
"What's going on?" Pantherlily asked.
"The reverse Anima the prince created is sucking all magic from the world, that includes the magic within the Exceeds and the Earthlanders," Nadi explained. The rest of the Exceeds began to slowly ascend into the sky. Shagotte smiled as she watched her people ascend.
"I guess its time everyone stepped forward," she said.
(with Fairy Tail)
The Earthland Fairy Tail members also began to glow, ash they slowly ascended.
"Looks like we're going to," Earth-Levy said.
"Edolas is kicking us out," Earth-Juvia said.
"Don't go Earth-Juvia!" Surge cried.
"We really don't have anything anymore, do we?" Edolas Mirajane said, crying slightly.
"Come on!" Fullbuster said, thumping his Fairy Tail mark, "You've got your friends, don't you? That's the guild, not the magic!"
"Bye everyone!" Cocoa said waving, "I'll miss you!"
"Say bye bye, Haru!" Lucy said, smiling at her baby, who wasn't crying, but smiling now. Lucy moved his hand to emulate that he was waving. Ashley and Natsu smiled brightly at the sight of their counter's baby. Perhaps one day, they would have a little one of their own.
"So long Fairy Tail!" Happy said waving, crying.
"Come on tomcat!" Carla scolded, also tearing up, "Be stronger than that!" With that, the Earthland Fairy Tail disappeared into the air.
(with the Erzas)
Scarlet began to ascend into the air with the others. As she was, Knightwalker watched, but then noticed something by her side, which she grabbed, and with what remained of her strength, tossed it at Scarlet, who caught it.
"Your spear," Scarlet said, holding the Ten Commandments.
"You'll make better use out of it than me, Scarlet," Knightwalker said. Scarlet smiled.
"Let's not call each other that anymore," she said, "Erza."
"Likewise, Erza," Knightwalker agreed with a smile, as her counterpart vanished.
(with the Exceeds)
"GAH!" Lucky bellowed.
"We're being swept away!" Marl cried.
"Damn it!" Lucky roared, "Not my farm!" With that, they were sucked into the air.
(in the city)
The Dragon Slayers soared into the sky, toward the reverse Anima. As they were, Wendy then noticed a familiar form in the sky. A draconic form.
"Särakaotus," Wendy said. It was indeed him, but he looked different. He seemed astral, like some kind of heavenly creature. His body was also not the dark purple and black, but a magnificent white gold. He hovered in the air, his wings spread, his arms folded.
"It seems you made ample use of the gift I gave you," Särakaotus said.
"Thank you!" Wendy said, smiling, "It was a huge help! Are you coming back to Earthland?" Särakaotus just smiled gently. Wendy understood that, and tears began to well in he reyes.
"I won't see you again, but in due time, you'll see me again," the Eclipse Dragon said "In regards to your mother… Well, perhaps that's best left unknown for now. Farewell, Sky Daughter." With that, the astral dragon faded away.
"Farewell, Särakaotus," Wendy said, smiling through her tears, as she was consumed by the Anima.
Pantherlily smiled down on Jellal as he went to Earthland.
"Don't worry, Lily," Jellal said, "I'll make sure your gift to me is used well."
"That's all I need from you," Pantherlily said as he faded into the Anima.
Shortly after, the Anima faded away, as Jellal stared at the sky in silence. He then looked to his people, and held up his stave.
"Mar'Vel and her brothers are defeated!" he proclaimed, "From the ruins of the old kingdom, a new, greater kingdom will now be born!" The people cheered loudly at that proclaimation.
From over the hill, Fairy Tail watched the people.
"So, what do we do now?" Natsu asked Lucy softly. Lucy was silent as she opened the book again.
"I say its time we become the first science guild!" she declared, "We'll be the ones to lead our home into the future!" Fairy Tail was initially unsure what to do, but eventually, they came around, and all cheered.
As a new day began over the New Kingdom of Edolas, the people began to the long road to rebuild. And in the sky, the golden spirit of Särakaotus smiled over them.
Note: That technically concludes the Edolas Arc, though we of course have the succeeding chapter and what happens there. Then we'll go into the Tenrou Island Arc, but first, I'm going to do a quick one shot, with Haru and his new family.
I know I killed Särakaotus, but I figured that his spirit would remain in Edolas, where he would watch over them. I know that science is not such an incredibly alien aspect in this universe, but its more the force of Science (which is why the "s" is capitalized), as a counter to the force of Magic.
Be sure to review.