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Chapter 42: Phantasmal Beings

Natsu and Lucy arrived at a scene where squads of Edolas military had converged and blocked off a single stretch of road within the city. They were closing in at one spot from all sides where the sounds of combat rang true. Even from a distance, Natsu and Lucy saw the occasional man screaming for his life as he was sent flying into the air.

None of the Edolas kingdom soldiers noticed the mages' arrival, but Lucy wasn't patient to try and sift through them. Lucy took the initiative by making a beeline for the soldiers. Her right fist was pulled back encased in golden flames further fueled by Lucy's rather fiery emotions.

"Out of the way!" Lucy exclaimed. "Fire Demon's Killer Fist."

She attacked like the spear thrust of a giant, sending men flying into the air by the dozens as she barreled through. The flames of hell lashed out violently and the soldiers screamed as they felt it burn to their very souls. Lucy was hardly using her legs when the force of her punch gave her the needed propulsion to go forward. She stopped just before the last few lines of soldiers, who were now aware of the danger behind their ranks.

They were soon dispatched themselves by a swing of an axe owned by the Celestial Spirit Taurus with steam billowing out of his nostrils. And right next to him Dusk and Dawn blazing was Cynthia shooting light and dark magic bullets into the crowd around her.

"Come on, come all!" Cynthia cried maniacally. "I have enough to take all of you on. How about another spirit?"

"Someone shit stomp that shrimp before she summons more of those things!" One of the soldiers cried.

A comrade was quick with a reply. "With what, a castle?"

"WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT!?" Cynthia growled ferally, her eyes darting for the one hitting at her height.

"CYNTHIA!"

The brunette turned behind her and widened at the sight of familiar golden locks of hair. "BEST BUDDY!"

"L-L-Lucy!?" Taurus cried, his jaw dropping slightly.

Being one of Lucy's original Celestial Spirits, he was there to see her grow up and felt how he was abruptly cut off from her after that day. While Taurus was glad to have a new summoner that was close to Lucy, he still held regrets to this day failing the girl.

That didn't matter much seeing how much Lucy had grown. Taurus had seen it many times, but it blew him away the power she displayed as she jumped in the air and breathed an inferno of golden fire upon the enemy. With the forces successfully routed, Lucy wasted no time in crushing Cynthia in a bear hug after landing back down on the ground.

"Thank god," Lucy said, breaking the hug to hold Cynthia at arm's length. "I thought you were trapped with your magic being stolen."

Cynthia blanched. "I was almost WHAT!?"

However, the Edolas soldiers that remained saw the new distraction from Lucy and Cynthia's reunion.

"Get them while they're distracted!"

They had managed to pick up their spears before another interloper came upon them. Leaping from one of the rooftops was Natsu with his crimson flames growing over his arms till they resembled a pair of dragon wings.

"Hey, they're having a moment right now!" Natsu roared. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

The wings of fire slammed on the ground, uplifting earth and hurtling soldiers into the air. With them dealt with, the mages were left a peaceful pause to themselves. Suddenly, Lucy and Natsu perked up to the sound of a group running towards them from up the street. They straightened themselves for another fight only to relax when they saw it was the rest of the group approaching them.

"Hey guys, what's with all that racket?" Gray exclaimed. "Wait, Cynthia!?"

"Sup," Cynthia said. "Glad to see I'm not the only one stuck in this mess. How are you guys here?"

"That's what we would like to know, too," Erza said. "After Anima hit, we thought we were the only ones left after Magnolia was taken."

Cynthia started to explain. "Well, it starts with-"

"Hold it," Edo Lucy spoke. "Look, I'm happy for your little reunion, but how about we get out of dodge before we're swarmed by the entire Edolas army?"

Cynthia's eyes squinted when she finally noticed Edo Lucy. She blinked a few times and rapidly swiveled her head between Lucy and Edo Lucy as her mind tried to process what she was seeing. She scratched at her eyes before Cynthia voiced her concerns.

"Oi, Lucy," Cynthia said. "I think there's something in the air because I'm seeing two of you and I'm pretty sure my eyes aren't wonky."

"Because Cynthia," Lucy explained, "Edolas isn't just a different world. It's a parallel dimension, with its versions of ourselves and even another Fairy Tail. And so that 'second' Lucy is the Lucy of Edolas."

"Oh," Cynthia responded before her eyes narrowed cursing. "Oh, that bitch Multiverse Theory can just bite me in the ass. Of all the asinine shark-jumping bullshit, it's the fucking multiverse that's out to get us."

"I mean, it's the one universe," Natsu added.

"You get my point!" Cynthia replied.

"Can we focus on getting the hell out here!?" Edo Lucy yelled, fully out of patience.

Without time to protest, Lucy grabbed Cynthia's hand and dragged her away as Edo Lucy and Fairy Tail made a mad dash out of the city. But in the time they ran, Edo Lucy could not help but think how powerful the magic these people of Earthland possessed. No wonder they had so much confidence in taking on the kingdom.

Slowly, the seeds of hope took root in Edo Lucy's mind. Maybe, just maybe - they might be the key to ending all of this.

(Later)

Once they were confident they had escaped, Fairy Tail and Edo Lucy rested in a small clearing in the surrounding forest. They were all sat upon fallen trunks that were conveniently placed in a circle. While Natsu, Wendy, Cynthia, Juvia, and Edo Lucy chose to sit down, some of the others chose to stand with Gray and Adrian leaning against a tree, and Happy and Carla were seated in the laps of their respective partners.

"Alright Cynthia," Lucy said. "Tell us how you were out and about like that. Did you somehow escape when Edolas captured you?"

Cynthia shook her head. "You guys first. Unlike you guys, I have a legitimate reason for how I escaped this 'Anima'. So how did you guys end up here? Like, did you just land here after everything happened?"

Lucy shrugged. "We don't know. One moment, there was a bright flash, and the next any of us knew all of Magnolia was gone except for all of us you see here. We thought you were taken as well."

"Wait, you mean all of you were immune?" Cynthia said in confusion. "The only way I managed to get out of that disaster was because of Horolgium. You know the one, Lucy. It's the clock dude with that overpowered defense magic that can withstand spacial anomalies. The Anima is space-time getting a hole punched through it, and that made Horolgium summon himself to protect me. The next thing I knew, Magnolia was literally gone off the face of the world, and if it weren't for the overpowered clock guy I'd ended up like the rest of the guild."

"Well, that explains how you got unscathed from the Anima," Carla replied. "The question is how did you even get here?"

"Mystogan," Cynthia answered. "And the most shocking thing is he looks exactly like Jellal, right down to the weird tattoo on his face. So either I found his actual twin brother or Jellal has a clone hanging around that just so happens to be one of Fairy Tail's top dogs."

Erza's eyes widened. "Wait, Mystogan looks like Jellal!?"

"So that's who he is under all that wrap," Natsu said.

Wendy and Adrian exchanged glances for a moment before directing their attention back to Cynthia.

"So we talked a little bit, he gave me a pill that he insisted I take, and used his magic to send me through the Anima," Cynthia continued. "Then I just searched for any clues I could get on you guys. Sure is great that I managed to find all of you."

"I still don't understand," Wendy commented. "How does Mystogan know so much about Edolas? He even knew that we wouldn't be able to use our magic properly."

"If our luck works out, we might get the answers out of him," Cynthia said before her face turned serious. "What really matters right now is getting our folks out of here from this kingdom of kidnappers. Not just Fairy Tail, but all the citizens of Magnolia too. Even if that means turning this 'Edolas' upside down."

"...You boneheads still want to take on the kingdom all by yourselves?" Edo Lucy said with a frown.

"Of course," Natsu said matter-of-factly.

"It's just natural to us," Gray added.

"They took our friends and our home," Erza said resolutely. "If we don't save them, then who will?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes at her counterpart. "Is that really such a hard thing to believe?"

"Taking on the entire Edolas military is tantamount to suicide," Edo Lucy stated.

"Are you deaf?" Lucy replied with a growling undertone. "In case it escaped your mind, we have our brand of magic that doesn't need tools if you didn't notice by now."

Edo Lucy was matching her counterpart's glare. "Yeah, but that does not take away the fact you are just a few people against an entire military force that has free use of the few stores of magical power we have. Let me put it like this: back when the king first started to ban magical item uses, most of the guilds rose against them. Each had their own stores of power, yet they all lost in the end. So take it from me that you guys have no chance."

"...You know, I think I understand the difference between you and me," Lucy said with a hard look. "You're a coward."

Edo Lucy's eyes widened before there was a glint of sheer rage. That was the only warning before Edo Lucy sprang forth and grabbed Lucy by her collar. The Fire Demon Slayer saw her counterpart move clearly but allowed herself to be grabbed. Even when Edo Lucy had her against a tree, she didn't break eye contact and kept a blank stare. Her friends were starting to move to assist Lucy, but the Demon Slayer held an open hand to stop them.

"You have no idea," Edo Lucy growled, moving her hand to Lucy's throat, "You have no fucking idea what I went through. What we all went through because of that dipshit king! But I learned one thing; there's no winning against him. If we want to live like the good old days, then that means always staying one step ahead. Moving from one place to the other, never showing off in public lest we get everyone we know and love killed!"

Lucy stared at her counterpart, completely ignoring the hand gripping at neck in a vice grip just barely away from closing her windpipe. Then, she gripped the arm that held her neck and slowly pulled it away. Edo Lucy grunted as she used all of her strength to resist her counterpart, but it all proved nothing to the Demon Slayer who treated this as a warm-up. She started to whimper in pain as Lucy twisted her arm only stopping before serious damage could be done.

"I would rather die than be a slave to this shithole of a kingdom," Lucy declared. "You're letting them win like this, making them not pay for all they've done to you. Sometimes, it isn't about us winning. It's about denying them victory."

That was Lucy said before she gave a 'light' shove, but with her absurd strength she had sent her counterpart flying back to her seat. While Edo Lucy was trying to get her bearings, Lucy returned to her spot and sat next to Natsu.

"So basically," Cynthia surmised, "we're dealing with what is most likely a totalitarian government that has fully monopolized the whole world's source of magic power, which will undoubtedly have the most advanced magical tool weaponry complete with a full military might and most probably an elite force armed with the best there is. Meanwhile, we're a bunch of ragtag group of maniacs from our world's greatest guild."

Cynthia gave a long pause, allowing her words to hang in the air. To most, it seemed Cynthia was talking about how hopeless their situation really was. Edo Lucy seemed to think so as she leaned back with an accepting look.

Then Cynthia shrugged and concluded. "Yeah, I think we have a pretty good chance."

Edo Lucy tripped in shock and accidentally fell backward onto the ground. "You can't be serious."

"We never did say it was going to be easy," Lucy said, using her hand to rub the top of Cynthia's head. "That is before we stumbled onto this ball of brains. She could make up a plan to bring down the royal kingdom."

"Really?" Edo Lucy said unconvinced as she looked at Cynthia. "You believe she can make up a plan where only you bozos can take down the kingdom and rescue your friends all at once."

"Meh," Cynthia replied. "Depends. Is there a hotel you can fix us up in?"

(Later with a hotel at Louen)

They had managed to rent one room with three bedrooms. Despite how much of a squeeze it was with the amount of people, they managed to find themselves comfortable enough to rest for the day and continue on tomorrow. While most of the Earthland mages were cleaning themselves out, Cynthia was pouring over pages of detailed schematics of the royal city and the castle where the king lived. All the while, Cynthia was using a pen to make random notes or sketches on paper attached to a clipboard. Occasionally, she drank from a cup of coffee while her eyes darted at every inch of paper.

Sitting with her were Natus and Wendy while the Exceeds sat on the laps of their respective partners. They were looking at one piece of parchment that detailed a map of the whole world of Edolas. According to the map, it put their current location halfway across the world from the royal city where the denizens of Magnolia are trapped. Off to the sides of the hotel suite were the rest of the gang making arrangements to sleep for the night. Erza had already changed into a pair of pajamas, and Juvia and Gray were waiting to use the bathroom. Adrian had chosen to sleep only in his pants and tank top shirt where the rest of his articles were hanging off the guards of the Ten Commandments.

"We'll be dodging around every corner just to get to the royal city," Wendy bemoaned. "It'll take us weeks to get us there."

"So how's the plan going?" Happy asked Cynthia.

"It's progress," Cynthia said, tapping her head with the end of her pen. "I'm so glad Edo Lucy had a map of the royal city and this huge palace. I mean, look at the size of this thing. If that doesn't scream, egotistical dictator king then I ain't a dhamphir. And look at those tunnels in the underground and the infrastructure. It's like a goddamn maze. Oh, it's helpful definitely. But you know what would also be helpful? Maybe if I know where the patrols of the guard are. Maybe even a treasure stash."

That last few sentences were sent at Carla, who huffed. "Don't blame me for lacking the specifics. All Exceeds, or at least me, only have general information about Edolas. We don't have any specific information."

Cynthia narrowed her eyes at Carla. "If this information was there before you hatched, how can we say that none of the knowledge you have is artificially fabricated?"

Carla stilled at Cynthia's accusation. She tried to meet Cynthia's stare but quickly wilted at the intensity behind it. The Exceed feared Cynthia was going to take drastic measures until her serious expression turned into a beaming smile.

"Just kidding!" Cynthia chirped.

Carla sagged in relief but her scowl became more pronounced.

"Hey, isn't Lucy and Edo Lucy still in the bathroom?" Cynthia wondered.

"Yeah, why?" Gray replied.

"They seem to be taking a bit in there," Cynthia noted.

"Are you worried they might fight like they did in the forest?" Wendy asked.

Cynthia waved off the Sky Dragon Slayer's concern. "It not that. I wanted to share a theory I came up with why all of you guys managed to get away unscathed by the Anima."

This caught the attention of everyone else in the hotel suite, including Erza. Cynthia now had everyone's ears, curious to what she had to say.

"Well, lay it on us," Gray said.

"I think all of you guys were unscathed because all of you use Slayer magic," Cynthia stated.

She received confused stares at her theory. Wendy was the one to voice this.

"How does that work?" Wendy said. "I know Slayer magic is Lost Magic but how does it mean we're immune to Anima?"

"And didn't Anima also take all of Magnolia, including the buildings," Gray added.

"Then allow me to expand on my theory," Cynthia cleared her throat before going on her explanation. "Whether it's dragon, demon, or god, it all comes down to what makes Slayer Magic into Slayer Magic. I like to think that Slayer Magic as a very advanced mimicry mystical art, just amped up to ridiculous levels. Why do I think that? It's because any Slayer Magic works by imbuing the user with the thing they're trying to slay. What I'm trying to say is that users of Slayer Magic aren't entirely human. I mean that literally; there's a significant part of you, maybe even your DNA, that belongs to either a dragon, demon, or god. It's how Natsu can grow scales in Dragon Force when humans aren't supposed to have those. He's part dragon."

"How does that explain how we're immune?" Natsu asked with a tilt of his head.

"I'm getting to that," Cynthia said. "So users of Slayer Magic who have parts of the things they slay with them being demons, dragons, or gods. What do those three things have in common? They're phantasmal beings."

Cynthia preened thinking she had wonderfully explained herself. Her smile fell when the confused stares only increased. Not even Juvia, Gray, and Erza, arguably the smartest people in the room second to Cynthia had no clue what she was talking about.

"Are you serious?" Cynthia said with a facepalm. "Have any of you read a book? Fine, guess I'll explain that one too. So, phantasmal beings. It's basically a theoretical category composed of certain species, most of which could be mythical, and many of their records are lost to time. It's not enough for something to be incredibly powerful. To be classed as phantasmal beings, the species have to bend the world around them just by existing. The most well-known phantasmal beings are dragons, and we know that they literally breathed magic into the world. Wherever they went, magic rose exponentially. Mountains suddenly become active volcanoes. Lands of snow turn into deserts overnight and said desert could become a rainforest the next week. And that's literally all we know about dragons.

"Where am I going with this? The other thing that can be agreed on with phantasmal beings is that if something like the Anima came down upon them, all they would do was give it the middle finger and tell it to go screw itself. The Anima can take magic and matter from the world, but phantasmal beings exist above normal rules. That's what makes them at the top of the food chain. And that is why all of you guys went unscathed when the Anima hit because all of you are part partially phantasmal beings due to your Slayer Magic. Understand?"

She received some nods and was happy it was from the expected people. Natsu, Happy, and Wendy still had confused faces, but that was also expected. However, Cynthia's attention was drawn to Erza, who looked morbidly quiet with a downcast look.

"What about me?" Erza said, looking directly at Cynthia hoping for an answer. "What's with me?"

Cynthia couldn't keep down a wince and scratched the back of her head. "See, I could say that you might have a weapon or armor that automatically deploys with space-time anomalies, but that'd be wrong."

"I don't get it," Natsu said. "What's the problem with Erza being here?"

"It's how she's here," Gray countered. "Back in our world, we were left because we use Slayer Magic and we have bits of these 'phantasmal beings' in our bodies that made us immune. But if that's the case, how did Erza get unscathed? She doesn't use Slayer Magic."

"Slayer Magic isn't the only way to have a phantasmal being DNA," Cynthia said, lowering herself at the stare Erza was giving her. "There's grafting, but I don't see a spare part on you. And then there's... the old-fashioned way."

Juvia widened her eyes. "You don't mean..."

"Another way to be classed as a phantasmal being is that the species has to be compatible with humans for... reproduction," Cynthai said with a cringe at the new expression on Erza's face. "That's also how some theorized that Slayer Magic came about with humans procreating with dragons, demons, and gods."

Cynthia suddenly stopped when Adrian raised an arm. All eyes went to the rusty-haired boy.

"I can attest to that," Adrian said. "Unlike Natsu or Lucy, my powers have been with me since birth. My mom was a regular human. The best mom, but a normal one, not even magical. My dad, however... well, how many gods of light are worshipped in Fiore?"

"Holy fuck, you're a demigod!?" Cynthia exclaimed, her eyes almost popping out of her skull. "Holy fuck, there's an actual living, breathing demigod standing in the same room as me. Holy fuck!"

"But the only god of light worshipped widely in Fiore is Ea," Juvia noted.

Adrian looked away awkwardly. "Y-Yeah..."

"O-Okay, let's try to move from that bombshell," Cynthia said, directing her attention back to Erza. "So, uhm, Erza, wanna share with the class?"

"I don't know anything!" Erza exclaimed almost in a shout before forcing herself to calm down. "I mean, I don't know my parents. I never met them in my life. I - I was raised in an orphanage in the village I grew up in. For most orphans who lost their parents to raiders or diseases; parents didn't have a choice to not be there for them. But I was found at the doorstep of the orphanage with nothing on me but a bundle around me. Like I was... Like I was unwanted trash."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Dead silence blanketed the room as they looked at the shaking Erza who refused to look any of them in the eye. Cynthia had a thousand-yard stare like she witnessed something horrible. Not even Lucy and Edo Lucy, who eavesdropping from the hall leading to the bathroom, made a sound. Then Cynthia moved robotically by picking up her pen and clipboard and setting it down on the table.

"I think I've done enough today. Let's just sleep till tomorrow morning."

(The Next Morning)

Cynthia was the first to wake up to the bright rays of the morning. She had slept on one of the couches right next to her stack of papers detailing her plans and scenarios. Natsu and Lucy had taken a bed as well as Juvia and Gray and then Adrian and Wendy for themselves. Edo Lucy and Erza took a sleep either on the floor or any spare furniture.

However, they would all soon be woken up when Cynthia found a note on her table and a certain missing blonde. She was less than stellar at what she found. Her reaction to it served as an alarm for the rest of the gang.

"THAT PISS-HAIRED RAT!"

Yay. More Fairy Tail. Sorry if it isn't moving the plot forward. This was more of an lore dump that I couldn't stop but put it here.

Up next is Chapter 43.

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