A large explosion destroyed a large portion of Edolas castle; this immediately prompted the castle guards to rush over to the area. A group of guards turned the corner, only to be blown back by another explosion. "GAH!"
"What's going on?!" Mystogan yelled as he ran down a corridor with Coco by his side.
"I-I don't know...!" Coco replied, unable to help but speed past Mystogan.
The castle rumbled as another explosion occurred. Mystogan increased his sprint as a result. "Dammit! Where's Knightwalker?!" Mystogan turned the corner, only to see Coco and Sugarboy fly back into the nearest wall. "What?!"
Knightwalker swung her Ten Commandments spear around, an evil smirk on her face. Her hair created a shadow over her eyes, but it was clear that the Fairy Hunter had indeed returned. "Finally joining the party, "King"?"
"What is the meaning of this?!" Mystogan yelled; he had so many questions at the moment.
"I'm doing what I've always meant to...~" Knightwalker replied with a smirk.
"This is absurd!" Mystogan exclaimed. "Stop this right now!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Knightwalker merely replied as a sadistic smirk curved onto her lips, the Ten Commandments Spear now illuminating as it began to change once more; the form now the Vacuum Spear. "Mel-Force!" After Knightwalker shouted this, intensely powerful gust of wind shot out towards Mystogan, though the gust of wind utterly destroyed the walls and created a destroyed pathway. Mystogan had no time to react to the incoming gust of wind, so it slammed into him, sending him through the nearest wall with no trouble.
"D-Dammit…!" Mystogan groaned, as he laid in the pile of rubble, trying to pick himself up.
"Like, whoa, what's going on with Knightwalker!?" Hughes questioned as he helped Mystogan up.
"I don't know, but I indeed to find out…" Mystogan replied with a low tone of voice. He started to run once again until he remembered something; his eyes widened with fear now at a worst case scenario that ran its way through his head. "No…!"
In a different section of the castle, members Edolas Fairy Tail looked around with curious and fearful (for some members such as Natsu Draigon) expressions. "Oi, what the hell is going on around here?!" Lucy Ashley screamed at those who served in the castle began to ran away. No one was answering her, as they were all interested in saving their own hides, but she could tell something dangerous was happening. Angered, the short haired blonde grabbed the nearest guard and yanked him over forcefully. "You! Explain what's going on!"
The guard flailed, afraid that this little hold up would cost him his life. He figured the sooner he answered the sooner he'd be let go "K-K-Knightwalker's lost it…!"
"K-Knightwalker…!?" Ashley's eyes widened. "What the hell's gotten into her?!" She threw the guard down, now sprinting in the direction the people were running away from.
"Where is that idiot going?!" Edolas Levy asked as Ashley ran off.
"She's…S-She's going to get herself h-hurt…!" Dragion exclaimed as he began to panic.
"We have to go after her…" Edolas Elfman mumbled.
Knightwalker continued her destruction through the castle, her smirk only growing wider and wider. "I've missed this. I cannot believe my counterpart convinced me to stray away from this path…"
"Yes, Erza Scarlet is quite the nuisance, don't you agree?" Hyde asked as he watched Knightwalker enjoy herself from the sidelines. "Wouldn't you just love to have the chance to eradicate her from Earthland?"
"From Earthland…?" Knightwalker pondered the thought for a moment before her sadistic smirked turned into an ear to ear grin. "That idea sounds lovely…"
"Hey!" Shouted Ashley as she reached Knighwalker and Hyde. She didn't recognize Hyde, so her attention immediately shifted over to him. "Who the hell are you and what did you do to Knightwalker?!"
"Oh, what have we here?" Hyde asked as he tilted his hat up to glance at Ashley. "Hm…You must be Earthland Lucy's counterpart…"
"Answer my question, you bastard, otherwise you're in for an ass kicking!" Ashley yelled as she took a step forward, but she stopped when Knightwalker made a slight movement.
"Oh yes, quite the opposite indeed…" Hyde chuckled a tiny bit as he tilted his top hat back up. "So abrasive…"
"Tch…" Ashley would've made a move, but she had been in Knightwalker's sights. It was only a matter of time until the hunter took her prey now. This was bad, because she had a daughter waiting for her back home...!
"As for the question…" Hyde began as he began to walk forward, but stayed behind Knightwalker. "I simply showed Knightwalker that she doesn't have to walk down the path that was forced upon her. She chose the path of the evil Fairy Hunter on her own accord, yes? Why can't she stay on that path? All because some soft hearted scarlet haired female told her not to? I think not…"
Ashley narrowed her eyes as Hyde spoke, finding his explanation to be the stupidest thing she's ever heard. She opened her mouth to speak, but she noticed Mystogan, Byro, Coco, Sugarboy, and Hughes coming from the corridor around the corner, while Edolas Fairy Tail ended up turning the corner that was behind her. "Anyone else hear what this asshole just said!? Who the hell does this guy thing he is!?"
"I am the script writer, of course…" Hyde replied as a dark smirk curved onto his lips. "Knightwalker…there's no need for this female in my script."
Upon hearing the words Hyde spoke, Knightwalker twirled her spear around, a bright light appearing around it once more as she changed it into her Velocity Spear. "Don't move…don't utter a sound…" Knightwalker whispered as she vanished in a blur; no one could keep up with her movements. Within the next second, she appeared behind Lucy Ashley in a position as though she just finished a slash. And that she had done. Ashley froze in place, her eyes widened, though hers weren't the only ones. Everyone but Hyde had their eyes widen in shock. Ashley's torso was covered in a dark shade of crimson from the deep chest wound Knightwalker made with her spear, and she couldn't even utter a sound, just as Knightwalker had said. "You have been caught, my prey…" With that, Ashley fell over lifelessly with a thud, a pool of blood forming around her body. Nobody made a sound after; they were trying to believe what they just witnessed.
"N...Nashi..." Ashly muttered that name weakly as she fought desperately to keep her eyes open, but her vision was fading, and fast...
"Excellent work, Knightwalker…You are a fine actress indeed…" Hyde gave a slow applaud for Knightwalker's actions. "This plot will move along swimmingly…"
"L-Lucy…" Mystogan was frozen, he couldn't move a muscle, and neither could anyone else around.
"It appears your performance has shocked our audience…" Hyde grinned, before pulling out his cane. He then tapped the floor with said cane, causing the floor to crumble beneath the Edolas castle guard and Edolas Fairy Tail, sending them plummeting to the floors below. "I don't wish to spoil them…Now then…where is this Anima Machine? I know there is one in this castle."
"This way," Knightwalker said, leading Hyde to the Anima Machine in the depths of the castle. Upon reaching the machine, Hyde began to fiddle with the controls, turning the machine on. Just like the one Aiden had created, it had to warm up before it could create the portal between Edolas and Earthland.
"This may take a while…" Hyde sighed somewhat, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. A few minutes did pass, and the portal opened, much to his delight. "Ah, wonderful!"
"S-Stop…!" A wounded Mystogan barely managed to shout. The stave mage limped forward, one hand on his arm as he desperately tried to stop Knightwalker and Hyde from making their escape.
"Ah, ah…interrupting a plot in progress is terribly rude…" Hyde wagged his finger in a condescending and disapproving manner. First, Knightwalker jumped into the portal, followed by Hyde.
"Wait!" Mystogan pleaded, rushing over to the portal, but before he could even prepare himself to jump, the machine exploded, sending him flying back a few yards, hitting the ground on his back. The last thing he saw was a large cloud of dark smoke before he finally passed out.
.
.
Luke and Skye strolled into Magnolia, the pair looking around for a particular shop. Luke rubbed the back of his head as he glanced around, trying to remember his way around the town since he had a bad sense of direction. "Where'd you say this shop was again…?"
"In the center of the town!" Skye replied with an energetic attitude. "We have to hurry up, too! I don't want Erza grabbing any of those weapons or armor before I get a chance to!" With that, Skye then changed her walk into a run, leaving Luke in the dust.
"Ack…W-Wait…!" Luke hurried alongside Skye so he wouldn't lose her, get lost, and then have to pay for it later. He panted somewhat as he caught up with Skye, who was just in front of the door. "At least give a guy a little warning before you just speed off like that…"
Skye gave a sheepish smile before rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry…" She and Luke then walked inside the store, and even though Luke showed little to know interest in the weaponry he saw, Skye was more than interested. "W-Whoa…"
"They sure have a lot of stuff here…" He glanced at a particularly sharp sword before taking a few steps back. "Agh…I feel like I could cut myself just by staring at that thing for too long…" Skye was too enraptured by the armor and weapon set she laid her eyes on to even reply to Luke. It was a set of Jade armor, and it looked quite powerful at that. Skye's eyes slowly wandered down to the price tag, which read in big bold letters. "250,000 jewel" and Skye then realized why it was in the window of the store, and why people were just looking at it and not buying. Her face went pale as she dropped to her knees, and her spirit comically rose from her head as she did so. Luke turned around; curious to see why Skye was acting the way she did until he saw the price on the armor. "TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND JEWELS?!"
"Two…Two hundred and fifty thousand…" Skye sighed defeatedly as she stood up.
"How much do you have…?" Luke asked as he tilted his head.
"45,000" Skye replied with a heavy sigh.
Luke quickly checked his pockets, hoping whatever amount he had combined with Skye's would be enough. "40,000…" Luke sighed. "There's no way…"
"Maybe if I sell some of my blades…" Skye began as she opened up an archive of her weapons, but Luke shook his head.
"No…it's not worth it, Skye…" Luke merely replied.
"But I have to get it before someone else does!" Skye yelled towards the copy mage.
"It doesn't look like anyone's going to be able to buy that thing soon…let's just go back, okay?" Luke said while starting towards the door. Skye sighed, and followed Luke out of the store.
.
.
Fairy Tail was still as noisy as ever, always showing no signs of calming down unless otherwise. Lucy looked over the job request board, as she had to pay her rent within the next week; a concern that always seemed to haunt her in one way or another. "Hm…"
"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu called out to the celestial mage, walking over to her with Happy by his side.
Lucy turned around to see who it was who called her name, a bright smile now appearing on her face. "Oh! Natsu!"
"Lookin' for a job?" Natsu asked.
"Mhm…I have to pay my rent this month, so I need a few jobs." Lucy nodded.
"Then let us help!" Natsu gave a slight grin.
"Aye!" Happy said.
"I know I can always count on you two," Lucy gave another nod before picking a job off the board, scanning it quickly. The first thing that caught her attention was the amount of jewels, 70,000, just enough to pay her rent. "This one's perfect, let's go!" Lucy then grabbed Natsu's wrist and dragged him out of the guild, Happy flying just behind them.
"There they go again…" Cynthia gave a slight giggle before turning to deal with her own business.
.
.
Spade and Strong have entered Fiore, now walking around with the lacrima Joker had entrusted to them. Spade groaned, not liking the idea of being in unfamiliar territory. "Couldn't Joker have asked Jack or Queen Tia to do this…? I hate being in places I don't know about. Heartless and Little Queen were already here."
"But…Joker ordered you to do it…Plus, Lil' Queen ain't here anymore..." Strong pointed out. "He could've asked a higher up, yeah, but that means he has some faith in you, right!?"
"Or maybe he just hates me…he knows he can twist my arm and make me do anything." Spade replied with a heavy sigh. "You didn't see what he did to Diamond, did ya? Nearly killed her…I know he's a heartless bastard and all but at least show some members a BIT of decency…"
"One time he beat me for eating the last strawberry pie…" Strong said as he poked his fingers together.
"You're an idiot…" Spade brought his palm to his face, groaning heavily. "You know he'll literally kill for those!"
"I couldn't help myself! It was calling to me!" Strong protested.
"No it wasn't! That was Queen!" Spade groaned. "Ugh, why me…"
"Oh, stop complaining!" Strong exclaimed as he wrapped an arm around Spade's shoulder. "You got the second strongest guy in Dealer, this mission won't go wrong!"
"You may be one of the strongest…but you're not one of the smartest…" Spade mumbled.
"What was that?" Strong asked while raising a brow.
"Nothing…" Spade replied with a sigh. "Let's just get this over with so we can go home…"