[Re-written 01-15-23]

Happy Sunday! –Back to regular update schedule after today.

I hope you all had/are having a wonderful winter holidays!

I considering putting together a Deviant Art page for all the quick sketches and what not that I do for FTTD in case any of you are interested in some visuals to lend more to the story. Art work is my other big outlet, (as in the current cover art depicting dragon force), let me know your thoughts.

23

-Counterparts-

"No way! You and pinkie?!" Gray balked as the leather clad Lucy across from him peeled off in fits of laughter, hugging her ribs as she nearly rolled off the bench she was seated on.

Gray pointed at Lucy's counterpart with a giant grin on his face as he waggled his eyebrows at her. Lucy merely deadpanned back, irritated with her friend's amusement in the idea of Natsu and her being together. It didn't matter that he was laughing at their counterparts' relationship, his laughter was pissing her off anyway and she leaned over to knock the back of her fist into his head. "Owww, geez Lucy," he whined, rubbing at the back of his head as he fixed her with a mock expression of hurt.

Edo Natsu approached them, gentle eyes shifting over the trio seated at the table, it looked to Lucy like he was debating on whether or not to turn tail and run. But just as he pivoted to make an escape, her other self reached out quickly to grab hold of the back of his jacket and pulled him down onto the bench beside her. He groaned as she wrapped him into a headlock and ground her knuckles into his pink locks causing him to flail comically as he begged her to stop.

Adopting his earlier exaggerated grin once again, Gray eyed Lucy and cocked his head in the direction of the Edolas pair. "Oh come on Lucy! Isn't that the best thing you've ever seen? Admit it, it would be fun to handle our Natsu like that!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. Finding out that her Edolas counterpart was also involved with Natsu's counterpart had been a little surprising, especially given the spectacular differences in their personalities. But as she watched her other-self smile brightly down at the pink-haired man still in her grasp, and the way Edo Natsu resigned himself to letting her do as she pleased if it made her happy… Well, maybe they weren't so different. Having only known the pair half a day, the love and trust she could see between them was undeniable.

"Just think about what Natsu's reaction would be if he was here," Gray continued obliviously. Lucy dropped her chin onto the palm of her hand and watched him out of the corner of narrowed eyes. "I mean there's a guy that barely grasps that men and women are different!" More laughter and Lucy's eye twitched.

If only he knew… the blonde was going to relish in his reaction more than anyone else in the guild when she and Natsu chose to reveal their relationship to the guild. She had a sneaking suspicion Mira may have figured it out because her teasing had dropped significantly, but Haru, Wendy and Happy, of course, were the only ones that really knew.

Gray's laughter cut off abruptly when his own counterpart dropped onto the bench across from him and asked, "Do you have no shame? Where are your clothes?!"

"Do you have no pride? You are literally shapeless!" Gray retorted.

Giggling slightly as karma had its way with the ice mage, Lucy glanced around the dingy basement that the Fairy Tail rebels called headquarters. They'd strung up some strings of mini lacrima lights that bathed the space in a soft glow that helped lighten the atmosphere a bit, but it would still be depressing if it weren't for the warmth of the band members. She and Gray had arrived yesterday afternoon and Lucy been itching to leave almost immediately after regrouping to begin searching for their comrades. Despite that, Edo Lucy had managed to quickly wear her down into staying a night and recuperating after catching her pressuring the cowering Natsu into taking her to the capital on his bike.

Yesterday

Upon learning that the sleek red bike by the make-shift bay door belonged to the meek rebel, Lucy had skipped over excitedly. "Natsu, do you think you could take me to the Kingdom? Are we far now?" she added as an afterthought.

Startled, he halted from his polishing to spin toward her and pulled at the zipper of his jacket nervously. "What? I can't do that… My ride is our only means of discreet, fast travel."

"Please?" Lucy said bowing slightly, "my comrades will be there, and I need to find them."

"Come on—" he whined pathetically, "it's not fair that you ask a favour that kindly, with my girlfriend's face!" Lucy's eyes widened as surprise hit her, with all the opposites between their worlds, she hadn't expected similar relationships. But she shook that off, about to counter with another appeal when a hand slapped down on her shoulder and she found her own face grinning back at her.

"Edo Lucy!"

"Edo?" the other Lucy asked with a hearty laugh, "is that what you're calling us?!"

Lucy stuttered some broken words, thinking she'd offended her double, but the girl just waved off her concerns. "Alright, listen up girly, I'm not going to let you go running off recklessly. Do you have any idea where your friends would be? The capital is a big place you know?" She watched as Lucy chewed her lip, having no answer. "That's what I thought. Do you also think it is wise running in by yourself, even if you did know where they were?"

"Well, uh, no…" Lucy trailed off, dropping her eyes as her cheeks heated in slight embarrassment. Maybe Natsu was rubbing off on her.

"Okay, I know my Other-Me is way too smart to do something stupid and reactive. Right?" She shot Lucy a smirk, "stay the night, let us strategize. If your friends are anything like mine, then they can take care of themselves a little longer."

Now Lucy felt an immense gratitude for the reprieve of being surrounded by the familiar faces of her family. Even if they weren't her guildmates, they all had their own quirks that lent familiarity and made her feel completely at home. She pulled her eyes off the other blonde as she considered the other Lucy's words yesterday.

As a very conservatively dressed Cana placed a tray filled with mugs of tea down on the table for them, Edo Lucy released her boyfriend who rolled his neck to sooth the seizing muscles. She smiled at him affectionately and leaned into his side as he draped an arm around her shoulders as though she hadn't just been torturing the poor guy. Yep, they won the award for weirdest couple.

"Thanks Cana," the other blonde said, then she leaned into the rest of the group conspiratorially. "Okay, I think it's about time we discuss how to take down those assholes on the Guard," she proclaimed, reaching out to snag a mug of tea which she proceeded to down a couple long swallows. "About time we go find your friends, eh, Other-Me?"

Lisanna sauntered up then, having caught the shift in conversation and gracefully sat down next to Lucy, "—And Mirajane," she added. Lucy learned yesterday that Lisanna had made the rash decision to follow the Knightwalkers to Earthland, only after her sister had been imprisoned and she was currently being sought for treason. Though Lisanna hadn't divulged what events had led to that, it did at least, explain some of the girl's short behaviour and exaggerated anxiety surrounding the guardsmen. Some of the story was still missing though, of that Lucy was sure.

Lucy cracked her knuckles absently, a habit she'd probably picked up from Natsu. "Okay, so let's get planning," she said with a grin.

Erza

The wind whipped red hair around Erza's face as Happy carried her north at his top speed, she glanced back to check on the white cat carrying a guilt-stricken Wendy. Gauging the vacant expression on the girl's face, the redhead called back to her as the wind rushed in their ears. Wendy's gentle eyes met hers, glossed over with tears, but she said nothing. The cats both diligently looked forward just focusing on their task.

Even three on one, Edo Haru had proved to be just as much of a tactician as theirs, and when combined with his ruthless tendencies, he claimed a definite edge. He'd proven able to assess and take advantage of their weaknesses mid battle and adapt to changing situations quickly. After all, when Wendy had turned the tide of the battle allowing herself and Natsu to prepare for a unison raid, the hunter had seamlessly switched tactics and taken the teen hostage.

It had all happened so quickly that Erza had been stunned and before she could even consider the options, before she could even fully register Natsu's frantic yelling or Edo Haru's uncaring rebuttals... The Fire Slayer had willingly traded places with their little Sky Slayer. It hadn't been until Edo Haru was in front of her comrade, clocking him with his staff and without any attempt from Natsu to resist, that she'd realized what had happened. Natsu hadn't just been yelling at their enemy, he had been negotiating for Wendy's release. The strange flying beast had swooped across the sands, leaving Wendy and snapping Natsu up in a clawed talon. The next moment the hunter was flying off with their friend.

Erza physically shook the replay from her head, there was no point dwelling on what she might have done differently now. The Knightwalkers were clearly going to be tough opponents and she'd have to watch for the manipulative strategies they would apparently employ if it meant their success. A town sprawled out beneath them, and Erza considered their options. Happy and Carla wouldn't have the magic power to get them all the way to the capital even as it loomed up in the distance and she wanted them well rested, in case they needed a quick escape.

"Happy, Carla, take us down," she commanded. Happy glanced passed her to the town beneath them, it was a small town, the architecture would have been beautiful if the buildings weren't so worn down and damaged, a toll likely taken by the war. The two cats began descending swiftly as Erza requipped a black cloak and a mask to hide the bottom of her face and the eye-catching colour of her hair. It was a necessary precaution, knowing her counterpart had a less than pleasant reputation amongst the general population. Wings vanished as their feet touched down and the cats settled in to take a rest, Happy slumped over Erza's shoulder and Wendy cuddled Carla in her arms.

The streets were largely deserted here and the occasional person they did cross paths with eyed them nervously, giving them a wide birth as they passed. "Stay close Wendy," Erza instructed softly as they continued through the ominously clear town, until they found themselves in what the redhead assumed was the town square. A large decorative fountain rose in the middle, but bore no water now, the white stone long since stained and cracked. The windows of some of the surrounding buildings had been boarded up, and the clusters of trees dotting the plaza clung to only dead leaves now. Erza imagined the town square could have rivalled Magnolia's own, in another time. It was sad to see it in this state, stripped of its potential beauty and with no citizens to enjoy it.

Sighing as she pivoted to lead the way down another adjacent street, she caught sight of a couple townspeople, "Wait, please," she called to them. The people froze, and hesitantly took a couple steps away from them, but ultimately stopped long enough for the mages to approach them. They shifted on their feet nervously, as they took in Erza's appearance, she supposed a masked face wasn't the best way to instill trust in someone.

"My companion and I just need to find some food," she trailed off and the man glanced between her and the woman he was with, contemplating.

"You won't find food here, not for outsiders," the woman began but there was no malicious tone behind the words, just a guilt-laced truth. "We barely have enough to feed ourselves here, the capital strips us of everything. I am sorry, but we cannot help you."

Erza nodded in understanding, "It's okay, thank you for your time, please take care."

She and Wendy watched the couple slowly disappear down the street, the redhead placed a reassuring hand on her young comrade's shoulder. Happy and Carla were still fast asleep from the demands of a top-speed flight over multiple kilometers, so the best course of action would be to find somewhere to sit and stay hidden while they recovered. They might have more luck finding some food in the Kingdom. "Come on, let's go."

The girls continued through the streets to find an inconspicuous spot to rest up for a bit when a voice broke the quiet, "Wendy?"

Both heads whipped over in the direction to find themselves looking at a woman with long green hair, her lower lip thrust out in confusion. "Bisca!" The woman's eyes widened a fraction when Erza addressed her by name as well, she stepped forward, fingering the trigger on the rifle propped over her shoulder. Leaning in slightly to look Erza in the eyes, clearly trying to figure out who it was behind the mask, "please Bisca, not here, is there somewhere safe we can—"

As the words left Erza's mouth, Bisca jumped back with a gasp, grabbing Wendy's wrist tightly to drag her back and instantly had her weapon trained on the redhead. "Knightwalker! How did you know my name," the other woman spat, "and what are you doing with Wendy?"

Erza's mouth worked in denial, but Wendy reached up to grip Bisca's arm, "Wait, we aren't from Edolas, we are the Earthland counterparts of the people you know. Erza would never hurt me!"

"If that's the case, then you won't mind if we take extra precautions," a deep voice said from behind Erza, as the cool metal of gun settled between her shoulder blades. Erza eyed the man who had snuck up behind them, and greeted Alzac with his name as well, undeterred by the pistol.

"There is no need for the guns, I will cooperate," Erza told him. Alzac pulled a set of cuffs and she presented her wrists even as the two gun slingers continued to watch her skeptically.

Erza had a feeling they weren't fully aware of how Earthland's innate magic power worked, because the restraints they'd placed on her were ordinary cuffs, and she could break out of them easily, if she chose. But for now, she would maintain a show of good faith as the two rebels led them away.

Haru

Rocking anxiously on the balls of his feet, Haru sat in a squat as he watched Mira make her way down the hill to the town of assorted repurposed scrap metal buildings. It would take half the time to travel through the town than it would to go around and if they were very, very lucky, he might even be able to pick up on their friends' scents or magic signatures if they'd made it here. But Haru couldn't just go waltzing into a town, not when he shared a face with one of the townspeople's number one enemies. Mira couldn't do so either, considering her counterpart was undercover in the Elite Guard, it was possible she wouldn't be welcomed among them either. However, she was also well versed in transformation magic and before Haru could argue, she was heading away from him with a head of brown hair in hopes of finding a cloak or something to disguise him with. He did not like letting her go alone, but they couldn't really afford the luxury of time to go around the town, so begrudgingly he sat back on his heels and trusted in her.

She disappeared around the corner and he eased back to sit crosslegged, dropping his chin into his hand with a huff. They were connected telepathically, in case she needed back up but the lack of visual still irked him. Fortunately, it didn't take long before he was watching her return back up the hillside, brunette curls washing out to flowing ivory locks as she approached. Mira stopped in front of him and dropped an old frayed hooded jacket in his lap, he held it up and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"That was quick."

"A kind local gave it to me," she smiled mischievously.

Haru looked at her, suspicious but amused. "What did you do…"

"Nothing at all, I just mentioned that I could use a little protection in the desert," she told him innocently.

"And the poor defenceless, simple-minded male mind couldn't resist your big blue eyes," he finished for her, putting two and two together.

Her smile widened even more as she giggled, "His wife seemed less than pleased!"

"Never stood a chance," he told her as he shrugged into the jacket and pulled the hood up to cast his face in shadow. "Well, guess we better get moving then."

As they moved, Haru sporadically reached out for their comrades' familiar magic signatures, and continuously searched for their scents. There were a lot of scents to search through though, and the heavy saturation of environmental ethernano made it a challenge to isolate an individual's innate magic.

"Do you think any of our friends are here?" Mira asked as she glanced around the dusty streets.

"Hard to say, if they're with Lisanna, then it seems likely they would have at least passed through."

"RUN—SHE'S HERE!" a chorus of frantic voices and warnings raised in the distance. The two mages shared a nervous look as they watched groups of locals go running by, bumping shoulders and tripping in their hurried attempts to flee.

Haru grit his teeth, debating on whether to follow the escaping people, or check out whatever was going on. It would normally be an easy decision but with Mira in tow, he had to be more cautious. She made the decision for him though, disguised-brunette hair fanned passed his face as she charged over in the direction of the chaos, Haru threw his hands up exasperatedly as he chased her down. He followed her into a wide street, now void of people, aside from a few heads peeking out the odd window of buildings framing the street.

The Water Slayer grabbed Mira's arm and wrenched her back, "Mira, we have to be careful, we have no idea what we're walking into!"

"Ah, so my tracker did pick up dragon..." Both mages' heads whipped upward, tracking the smug-sounding declaration. "Honestly, I wasn't sure what to make of the trackers picking up slayer signature here in Edolas, but..." the new woman gestured at Haru in a silent 'here you are.'

Poised on the roof of the building ahead of them, Erza Knightwalker sat, swinging her legs lazily over the edge. Clothed in what was essentially an armoured bikini, thigh high boots with iron shin guards, gauntlets over her forearms and shoulder guards from which a deep purple cape flowed. Her long red hair was drawn into a thick braid pulled over her shoulder as she stared down at them, her expression a balance of sadistic excitement and awed wonder.

"I had heard about you… but I must admit, it is still disconcerting to see my lover's face on my target," she told them, drawing a finger along the shaft of her weapon that laid across her knees. Townspeople continued to dart away in a panic when they unwittingly walked into the standoff. A Knightwalker's presence in the town always led to danger, especially if one accidentally got in the way of their mission. Edo Erza seemed amused by the sudden departure of the townspeople, but her eyes returned to Haru's fairly quickly. "So how about you come quietly, so I don't have to make you bleed?"

Haru glared back defiantly, moving himself in front of Mira as he tore the jacket off and tossed it to the side to free up his movements. He eyed the tall trident-like weapon this Erza wielded. Lisanna had told them the elite guard held the most powerful magic weapons at their disposal and he seriously wished he knew what to expect of hers. The redhead leapt down and adopted an offensive stance, pointing the blades toward them. "I guess that's a 'no' then?" she asked.

"Mira, go find somewhere to hide," Haru instructed between clenched teeth, he didn't need to take his eyes off the hunter to know Mira was glaring at him.

But he still felt her hand slip off his shoulder as she retreated away from the inevitable battle. "I will only stay hidden, so long as you're kicking her ass, so you better not lose!"

"Got it," he replied with an eye roll that she wouldn't see as he prepared to meet the other Erza in battle.

The strange trident swung out, and Haru met the weapon with a strong point kick to block, feeling the impact reverberate through his shin. Erza whipped the trident around again and Haru ducked under it, planted his hands on the ground and kicked up with both feet into her ribs. He quickly followed her trajectory and attacked again with a water laden fist. She gritted her teeth and leapt up, gripping the shaft of her weapon at either end, and it glowed brightly before parting into twin daggers that she slashed out in quick succession with. Gasping, Haru skipped back, but not before taking a shallow cut from sternum to shoulder, his eyes narrowed as he eyed the blood staining the fabric of his shirt around the tear. So that's the trick behind her weapon, conversion—but the question remained, what other tricks were up her sleeve? She twirled around him with incredible speed, striking at him with deadly precision and it was all he could do to dodge the blades.

"That's not kicking her ass!" Mira's voice rang out in his head.

"Give me a moment!" Haru barked back as he leaned out of the way of another strike and swung a hammer kick down at her wrist causing her to curse and release one of her blades.

"Water Dragon's geyser!" His palm connected with the ground and the water tower burst out of the dirt street sending Edo Erza flying. As her body flew up, Haru arched back inhaling deeply, "Water Dragon's ROAR!" The massive torrent of water collided with the hunter's still airborne form and she was sent careening into a sheet metal wall and through subsequent walls. The poor construction of the shacks didn't offer any resistance, collapsing immediately after being destabilized.

A few townspeople took the chance to evacuate the surrounding structures after witnessing the destructive potential of the battle, screaming as they went. "Why are the Knightwalkers fighting!" "Lover's spat?" "They're crazy! RUN!"

The Water Slayer watched the people disappear down the streets with a sheepish look. So much for keeping a low profile.

"Haru! You overdid it!"

"Shit… Kinda hard not to destroy buildings that are already barely standing to begin with..." he defended as he considered the pile of junk in front of him, at least the devastated structures seemed to have been empty.

A slight rumbling filtered through the quiet as the remains of the building shifted and then a sheet of scrap metal went soaring through the air, and Edo Erza drove the point of her dagger now turned sword into the ground to push herself up. The hunter glared at him, seething as she carefully stepped out of the mangled metal and rubble. The tip of her blade glinted in the sun as she positioned it to challenge him again.

Haru began to strike out at her with water enhanced long range attacks to distance himself from the devastating combination of her unpredictable blade and impressive speed. The redhead had retaliated by swapping to a long spear and almost caught him with the blade edge, but he flipped back, sliding into a half kneeling position as he shot out a barrage of water bullets at her.

She smashed the condensed water magic apart, swirling the spear to meet each bullet. Then the spear glowed again and reshaped into an oddly curved blade. The Water Slayer pondered the new weapon, it didn't seem like a very functional choice and he couldn't figure out her strategy. Then she smirked, and a chill ran down Haru's spine as his opponent's eyes flicked to something behind him.

Edo Erza dropped her stance a bit, spinning quickly and whipped the blade around to send it sailing right by him with a loud whistle. Haru sucked in a sharp intake of air as he realized where she must've aimed her blade, and in an instant, sped across the distance in arches of water to intercept the blade. As he materialized in front of Mira he caught the blade in the gut and collapsed back with a gasp, eyes trailing up to meet hers in shock. In that moment, he actually felt guilty for taking the hit, the look on her face made it apparent he was forcing her to relive her sister blocking an imminent attack that had been meant for her.

He tried to apologize, but it came out choked in globs of blood, and she dropped to his side with a wordless scream.

"Haru belongs to me, in any world," Edo Erza stated coldly as she came to a stop in front of them. She reached down to drag the groggy water mage up and put two fingers to her mouth, whistling loudly. Mira looked up in shock, her teary eyes darkening with her fury as a winged beast came into view, flying low enough to graze the tops of the metal shacks. The hunter reached up, gripping the beast's ankle and was whisked into the air with her arm wrapped securely around Haru's waist before Mira could act.

"Mira, find the others and please, stay safe." Haru implored as her form shrunk into the distance, and then a burst of purple tinted magic power exploded in a column into the sky and he could only watch in awe.

Natsu

The click of heels rang out down the smooth tiled floor just outside the open door, and Natsu forcibly lifted his throbbing head to peek through the curtain of pink bangs that were clinging to his forehead. Cursing as he watched the Erza lookalike waltz in with a hand on her hip before jolting forward on a set of chains that caused Haru to lurch in behind her, stumbling to regain his balance. The Water Slayer had no shirt on currently, strips of bandage covered his abdominals and wrapped obliquely over one shoulder. A notable blood stain tinted the white of the bandages circling his lower torso. If Natsu had to guess, Haru had taken a bad hit below his ribs and the hunter was forced to patch him up in order to ensure he didn't die from blood loss... Or risk losing another dragon-powered battery.

Scoffing, Natsu jokingly chided, "Geez Haru, what are you doing hanging out with these assholes?"

Only then did Haru really take in his surroundings, tilting his head up as his eyes raked over Natsu's own form restrained to a strange metal panel. Natsu was sure he looked awful, he could feel the cold sweat coating his body, the chains outstretching his arms were causing his shoulders to ache terribly. Haru quirked an eyebrow, a smirk crossing his face as they both glossed over the dire situation they found themselves in. "Couldn't let you have all the fun Natsu, questionable company or not."

Edo Erza glowered, kicking Haru forward, causing him to trip against the restraints and tumble to the ground. He groaned in pain before rolling and propping himself up on an elbow. He gave the redhead his best innocent look, "If you wanted to dance, you could have asked..."

Natsu burst out laughing as the hunter's eye twitched. "We are going to drain you idiots until there is nothing left! Stop acting like you just ran into each other on a fucking vacation!" She whirled to the deranged scientist in the room, jabbing a finger in Natsu's direction, "suck him dry!" she demanded of the short man at the controls.

Continuing to laugh sardonically as the machines hummed to life around him again, Natsu smirked at the furious redhead. "Sorry, but I'm not really into men..."

Apparently his sense of blunt humour only caused Edo Erza to turn her anger on Haru in an attempt to shut them both up. She tore him off the floor and strung him up on the vacant panel next to the Fire Slayer's. Not knowing just how bad the situation was yet, Haru still had no caution to him. So he was in the middle of a witty retort about appreciating his very own panel, when the doctor flipped the switch and Natsu's tortured scream filled the room.

Even through the excruciating pain, Natsu could see his partner pulling at his restraints now, his sarcasm cut short to demand that their enemies stop. The machine powered down and Natsu released a sound that was half coughing fit and half dry chuckling. His head lulled to the side a bit so he could face Haru again. "Man, what a—" he choked out another lung full of air "—ride…" he said as though his magic wasn't being excruciatingly torn from his body in short bursts.

Their captors always seemed to give small periods of recovery between extractions, apparently this was meant to prolong the viability of their usefulness in powering the Anima Project. But Natsu had a sneaking suspicion the machine simply couldn't handle the overwhelming power of dragon-born magic because he was always drained for the same predictable periods before Byro was quickly shutting the machine down.

"Haru, tell me, were you with any of our friends?" Natsu asked him between long breaths as he worked to recover. Edo Erza was still visibly pissed with their casual conversation as she fastened a set of the machine's adaptors to Haru.

The water mage looked temporarily taken aback, but he knew Natsu better than anyone, and didn't question his flippant approach to the dangers they were facing. Laughed slowly, Haru's lip twitched into a half smile as he nodded in response. "Yeah, I was… and man, let me tell you, I feel sorry for these guys when she catches up wi—" Haru screamed and Natsu cringed for his friend as the machine's newest target, but he wasn't about to give their captors the satisfaction of acknowledging the torture. Natsu had realized keeping their spirits up and keeping them focused on conversation would help them stay conscious and fighting until their friends inevitably showed up to bust them out.

Knowing Erza and Wendy had both been with him, Natsu decided that Haru must have been with Lucy. She would be the only girl left out of their group with the potential power to go on a revenge spree and Haru seemed convinced that that was exactly what would be happening. Though, Natsu did hope she'd locate some back up before trying to take the Kingdom on alone… That just left Gray and Lisanna unaccounted for. Refusing to ask if Haru was okay, and thus admit they were in a jam worth recognizing, the Fire Slayer asked, "Lucy? Were you with Lucy? What about the others?"

Haru shook his head slowly, "No, sorry Natsu, I haven't seen any of the others... You're not going to believe it, but Mira convinced Cana to card convert her behind our backs—"

"—WHAT? And she's alone now? Shit, Haru, that's not good!"

"Not good for these poor suckers, Mira released her Satan Soul before I blacked out."

Blinking in surprise, Natsu was about to respond when Edo Erza stomped forward and slapped a metal clad hand across Haru's cheek bone before spinning and delivering another hit to his own jaw. "What is wrong with you two?! –Byro, hit them both," she yelled, seething over them continuing to act like old friends simply catching up after some time apart.

"I can't do that! The magic converter can't take that much power, it would cause a melt down!"

The two Kingdom associates argued back and forth, but Natsu didn't pay much attention after the confirmation to his theory. If they could just overload the machine... They could break themselves out, possibly.

A long groan sounded on the other side of Natsu, and the fire mage swivelled his head with a large toothy grin. "Well, look who's back to the land of the conscious! Welcome back, Princess," he drawled sarcastically.

"Oi! I ain't no one's damn princess!" the third captive barked back in irritation.

"Good to see you still have some of that fight left in ya!" Natsu smirked, "hey Haru, meet Black Steel Gajeel, Iron Dragon Slayer."

Prior to Haru being dragged in, Natsu had been distracting himself by bickering back and forth with the other man about who could hold up longest against the torture. Gajeel had wagered that the loser had to write the winner a song about their obvious superiority. Turning back to the heavily pierced man now, Natsu said smugly, "You owe me a song."

A/N. Oi Gajeel! Ya finally show up, only to fulfill your desire to be a human battery? Best bust all your butts outa there soon!

Alright in all seriousness, writing Edolas is such a pain in the butt, distinguishing between the Earthland and Edolas characters. These are the little things I don't consider will be a challenge until in the midst of writing haha, so let me know if it gets confusing at all!

Shout outs to the usual review crew FireShifter, valerioux, and suzaanoelofse01 for sending me thoughts on the last chapter!

See you all Wednesday!

R&R.

xx Loka Muse