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Chapter 74

Assault at the Plaza

The fateful day had finally come. Today was the day that everyone in Edolas had been looking forward to. The day that the magic power will be extracted from the lacrima in the plaza and be given to the masses. The citizens who wanted to see the extraction happen all hung around the plaza feeling very excited. There were entertainers entertaining the masses, food stalls, and even some children were playing. Most of the other civilians stood on either side of the street eager for the ceremony to get underway.

However, there were some of those who weren't taking part in the festivities who instead had a job to do. The soldiers that served the king. They were among those who were making sure that things didn't get too out of hand and making sure that no one suspicious would come along and disrupt the peace. They were a couple groups that stood by the stalls watching the civilians, but most of the others were standing around the lacrima forming a perimeter and staying vigilant and on guard making sure that it was well protected and that no one, civilian or suspicious person, would come close to it.

As the soldiers did their duty, one of them took notice of someone. A certain journalist was standing by a pillar scribbling away on his pad of paper with his pen. The soldier who saw them then walked over to him along with a few other soldiers. The journalist then looked up having to have heard the soldiers coming to find that he was surrounded by those soldiers.

"What are you doing?" demanded the soldier. "And who are you?"

The journalist tipped his hat and then flashed a smile. "I'm just your average journalist," he said brightly. "Also, let me be the first to say, thank you for all of your hard work!"

The soldier raised a brow feeling a bit put off. "OK... anyway, you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just covering the ceremony," replied the journalist. "It is a pretty big event after all. In fact, I would love to interview you and ask you a few questions. That is if you don't mind."

The guard scowled at the journalist. "I've got nothing to comment," he spoke gruffly. "Now beat it!"

"I also couldn't help but notice that the king has most of his troops stationed along the northern side of the plaza," continued the journalist as he readied his pen and paper. "So, therefore, is it safe to assume that there are soldiers stationed on the southern side of the plaza as well?"

There was a long silence as the soldiers were a little blindsided by the journalist's question. Then they immediately pointed their weapons at the journalist aiming dangerously at the journalist.

"Just the get out of here!" snapped the soldier. "Scram!"

The journalist then put his pen and pad away and walked away not wanting to be on the receiving end of the soldiers' weapons. "My apologies my dear gentlemen," he said. "I didn't mean to disturb you at work!"

And with a tip of his hat, the journalist walked away smirking to himself with glee. He then looked up searching on top of the towers that were close to the lacrima. Then on top of one the towers close by, he saw two cloaked figures looking down from above.

WILLY'S POV

Gajeel and I looked down from the tower were standing on surveying the plaza below. There were lots of people surrounding the lacrima including the royal soldiers. The reason we were waiting was that Edolas Gajeel was gathering information on where the soldiers were, so we could go through with the plan without having any trouble.

"Damn it. Just our luck," grumped Gajeel. "There are too many people down there, so we can't rush in. If we do, then the crowd will get caught in the crossfire if the soldiers attack us. So what can we do?"

"I'm not really sure," I spoke. "We'll just have to wait for an opening to come. After all, Mr. Gajeel said that he'd let us know where to attack. Until then, we'll have to wait on him and hope that he'll get the info that we need. "

Then suddenly, the beating sound of drums could be heard and we saw a parade of sorts comprised of royal soldiers coming towards the plaza. They were similar to the soldiers we've seen, but they had drums and beating away to some kind of rhythm. Behind those drummers were people that wore long white cloaks with green sub cloaks on top and wore light blue cloth masks bearing the symbol of Edolas with strange gold crowns on top of their heads and also carried long wooden staffs with a blue metal top also bearing the symbol of Edolas. Behind and floating behind them a strange looking structure. It was big, clay, tower-like tank of sorts from the look of it, making me guess that it was the container where they were going to place the magic they planned to drain.

Seeing those soldiers, as well as the other men behind them, and the tank made us realize one thing, the ceremony was getting underway and there wasn't much time left. If they were able to succeed in extracting magic from the lacrima, it would all be over.

As we continued to survey the plaza, we then saw Edolas Gajeel who was walking around among the people in the ground. He looked up and as soon as he saw us, he winked and gave a tip of his hat letting us know to hang tight. Then he walked off heading for the southern side of the plaza.

NO POV

As Edolas Gajeel made his way to the southern plaza, he got out his notepad and flipped through it. He then came to the page he was scribbling on and resumed writing with his pen. Eventually, he made his way to the southern plaza where the crowds of people were gathered around lining the streets with the royal soldiers standing in front making sure no civilian got in the way of the parade. Edolas Gajeel silently made his way past the people until he was close to the streets where the soldiers stood until he was close enough to one of them.

"Well, it seems that things are finally getting underway," he spoke casually to the soldier.

The soldier nodded absently in agreement. "Yes. Now the kingdom will be much more stable after this," the soldier said.

"This is the southern part of the plaza," continued Edolas Gajeel. "So if you don't mind me asking, is the security as tight on the eastern and western sides of the plaza as it is here?"

"No it isn't," replied the soldier shaking his head. "The reason being is because there isn't any need to. After all, there isn't enough room for any suspicious individuals to hide over at those sides."

"Oh really? Is that so?" spoke Edolas Gajeel. "How very interesting."

The soldier then turned finally realizing that he was speaking to a journalist and almost jumped out of his suit his eyes popping.

"Please don't write that in an article!" he begged hastily. "It'll get me in trouble!"

"Why I wouldn't do anything of the sort," said Edolas Gajeel innocently. "I can assure you, a journalist like me is very much aware of what's appropriate to write in my articles and what isn't. After all, I do strive to be a fair journalist after all."

"Uhh... yeah. Sure," said the soldier doubtfully.

Then Edolas Gajeel left the streets gently pushing his way past the people in the crowd just as the parade of soldiers and men with cloaks grew closer and closer to the lacrima. He then took out his notebook and flipped to a particular page. It was a diagram of the plaza of which he had been drawing based on the information he had been gathering.

"There are troops stationed on the north and southern sides of the plaza and only those sides," he thought to himself. "However, the north of the south side of the plaza is undermanned and according to my sources, the ceremony will be taking place on the south side of the lacrima. That is where those two should make their attack."

WILLY'S POV

Gajeel and I were still waiting for Edolas Gajeel to signal us. So far, we haven't been able to hear from him and I was starting to get a little antsy and the parade was now directly in front of the lacrima. Then suddenly, I saw Edolas Gajeel tipping his hat to us. He then turned around and pointed in the direction of the lacrima. He repeatedly pointed towards the direction he was pointing, then he walked away disappearing into the crowd. We both looked at each other and the two of us knew just what to do.

"So we're heading to the southern part of the plaza then," I spoke. "Looks like the time is now, Gajeel."

"Yeah. I know," spoke Gajeel flashing a dangerous and gleeful smile. "Well then, looks like we'd better get going. You ready to do this, water boy?"

"Of course I am," I replied. "And would it kill you not to call me that?"

The two of us then jumped off the tower we were standing on diving towards the ground below. Just before we hit the ground though, I grabbed a hold of Gajeel and spread my water wings. Thanks to the wings, we were able to glide towards the ground silently and undetected. We then made our way into the crowd gently pushing past the citizens and heading towards lacrima.

As we did, the parade had arrived in front of the lacrima and the soldiers that wore cloth masks stood in front of the lacrima while the drummers continued to drum away. The soldier's cloth masks then took aim pointing their staffs at the lacrima as they metal part of their staffs began to glow in a bright blue color. The lacrima also started to glow and the crowd began to cheer wildly meaning that the ceremony had started and they were starting to drain the lacrima.

"Oh no! They're started Gajeel!" I whispered urgently. "We gotta hurry and stop them!"

"I know! I know!" Gajeel whispered. "But we can't do anything! This place is so crowded here, we can hardly move!"

NO POV

Edolas Gajeel carefully made his way into the crowd making sure that he was close enough to the lacrima and where Willy and Gajeel were. Then he dug into his coat pulling out several strange looking cylindrical tubes. A man who was watching the ceremony happened to notice Gajeel pull them out and couldn't help, but feel a little curious.

"Hey. What are those things?" he asked.

"Oh, these? They're fireworks," spoke Edolas Gajeel smiling. "These little babies are just a little way for celebrating the magic power extraction ceremony."

"Fireworks, huh? That's cool!" said the man excitedly.

"Just wait," smirked Edolas Gajeel. "They're even cooler once they get started! Check it out!"

He then aimed one of the tubes up towards the air and a beam of light shot forth from the tube.

"I hope this reaches you, my friends," he thought. "With that, I'll leave the rest up to you two."

WILLY'S POV

Gajeel and I were still stuck in the crowd not sure what to do, but then suddenly we heard a loud bang. We looked up and we saw explosions of lights flashing about in the air.

"Whoa! Those are fireworks!" cried a woman.

"I hope they shoot some more!" said a man. "Now it's starting to feel like a party!"

"What the...! No one mentioned anything about fireworks!" a soldier said with shock.

Gajeel and I were surprised to see the fireworks too, but we saw something even more surprising. The fireworks that were going off began to form letters. Five of them in total.

N_O_R_T_H

"Gajeel, you see that? That's gotta be Mr. Gajeel!" I said.

"Yeah. The north, huh?" murmured Gajeel. He then spoke loud enough for the soldiers to hear him. "Soldiers! That must be some kind of warning! North must mean the north end of the plaza!"

"There must be someone suspicious over at that end of the lacrima!" I joined in. "We must go over to there and protect the lacrima at all costs!"

"They're right! We have to do something!" cried a soldier urgently. "That's all the way on the rear side of the lacrima!"

"You're right!" spoke another soldier. "There's not a lot of men positioned over at the south side!"

"Keep your men positioned over here while I take the others to the north!" the first soldier said. "One of third of you guys here will be more than enough to defend this side while we're gone."

The first soldier along with a large group of others then rushed away leaving the second soldier and the one-third of others left at the plaza.

"Push back the crowd for their safety!" commanded the second soldier. "We don't want anyone getting hurt!"

"Yes, sir!" acknowledged another soldier. Then he turned towards us as well as the people. "You heard the man! Everyone, please move back!"

The citizens did as they were told and moved away from the soldiers. Everyone that was except for me and Gajeel. This was what the two of us wanted. Now that there were no people to get in the way and that there were fewer soldiers, now was the perfect time to attack.

"All right then. It's about time for us to make our move," smirked Gajeel. "Now we can go all out."

"Right," I said. "Let's do this."

Then a soldier came walking up to us. "Hey! You two! What do you two think you're doing?" he said. "He said to move back!"

The two of us ignored the soldier and then ripped off our cloaks revealing our normal clothing attire. The two of us then charged straight at the soldiers.

"Gajeel? Are you sure that this is going to work?" I called out.

"We've got no choice!" Gajeel called back. "That Mystogan guy may be a suspicious and creepy looking weirdo, but we got no choice but to trust him and what he said for right now."

Gajeel's arm then transformed into a giant steel club as he attacked a group of soldiers.

"IRON DRAGON CLUB!" he yelled as he bashed his club into the soldiers sending them flying.

Some of the soldiers gunned straight for Gajeel aiming at him with their spears, but I quickly jumped up and slammed my hands to the ground.

"WATER DRAGON GEYSER WALL!"

The ground rumbled beneath the soldiers and then, a giant burst of wall gushed forth sending the soldiers flying into the air. Now that the soldiers were clear, Gajeel and I then jumped into the air and attacked the lacrima. Gajeel's arm now transformed into a long, jagged, and spiked steel blade while I conjured a large pair of water stars.

"IRON DRAGON SWORD!"

"WATER DRAGON DOUBLE STAR!"

Gajeel swung his sword and piercing it directly at the lacrima while I threw my water stars. His sword dug deep into the lacrima making a giant crack while my stars pierced the lacrima as well causing huge punctures with cracks to form. The lacrima bucked, but it didn't break or fall apart. However, one more attack would finish the job.

"One more time, Gajeel!" I yelled. "It's about to give!"

"Oh yeah! Ain't no stopping us!" responded Gajeel. "We're just getting started!"

Gajeel then pulled out his Iron Dragon Sword and brought it back before swinging with all of his might while I conjured two more water stars and threw them with a great force. Gajeel's iron sword slammed right into the lacrima while my water stars hit and punctured it once again digging deeper into the lacrima's surface.

The onlooking crowd, as well as the stunned soldiers, stared in shock and horror what we just did as we landed on the ground. The lacrima cracked and it seemed that it was about to crumble, but then it suddenly began to glow in a bright white light causing everyone to shield their eyes. Gajeel and I had to shield our eyes too.

"What the heck is going on here?!" exclaimed Gajeel.

"I don't know!" I cried.

The white light from the lacrima continued for a few seconds then the light began to dim. When I was finally able to see, my eyes widened in shock. The lacrima that was remotely huge was beginning to shrink. It grew smaller and smaller until it almost next to nothing. Not only that, but the lacrima then split in two and then the two pieces reformed into two unconscious. One was a young man that was half-naked with a pair of pants and shoes with familiar spiky black hair and the other was a young woman who wore familiar armor on her upper chest with a blue skirt and metal boots and also had long crimson red hair that was also familiar. The two unconscious bodies then slowly stood up like they were puppets on strings. I immediately recognized the bodies immediately as did Gajeel.

"No way! It's Erza and Gray!" I gasped.

"You gotta be kidding me..." said Gajeel. "That lacrima was only just the two of them?!" He then snapped out of being stupefied and then called out to them. "Hey! You guys are free now, so look alive and get up!"

"Yeah! Come on Erza and Gray!" I yelled. "You both gotta snap out of it!"

Erza and Gray remained motionless for a moment, but then the two of them opened their eyes as if they woke up from a long dream. The two of them looked around now realizing where they were and they felt very confused.

"What the... where are we?" wondered Gray. "What's going on?"

Feeling overjoyed, I immediately ran over to them and tackled them in a hug feeling a bit of tears forming in my eyes. "Erza! Gray! Thank goodness you're both OK!" I cried happily.

"Good thing you're both conscious," smiled Gajeel. "I was worried that they'd fried your brains."

"W-willy?! Gajeel?! Wh-what's going on?!" demanded Erza who looked more puzzled than before.

Just then, the royal soldiers began charging straight at us pointing their spears dangerously. Gray and Erza seeing them coming got ready to fight. Gray put his hands together attempting to use his magic, but nothing happened.

"My magic isn't working!" he cried.

"What?! What do you mean?!" asked Erza.

But before Gray could respond, a few of the soldiers swung their spears aiming for Gray and Erza, but I immediately jumped in front of them and conjured my twin water swords.

"WATER DRAGON DOUBLE BLADE!"

In a flurry of strikes from my swords, I slashed the soldiers that attacked cutting their spears and their tough armor. Erza and Gray were now even more puzzled.

"Wait a second! What's going on here?!" gawked Gray. "How come Willy is able to use his magic, but I can't?!"

"We'll explain everything later! Right now, we gotta make like a tree and scram!" said Gajeel. "Hey, Water Boy! Help me make an exit!"

"You got it, Gajeel!" I called back. "And stop calling me that! Can't you call me Willy for once?!"

The two of us then took a deep breath taking aim at the soldiers that ran towards us and then unleashed our breath attack spells together.

"IRON DRAGON..."

"WATER DRAGON..."

"ROAR!"

Gajeel unleashed a gray tornado of iron from his mouth while I unleashed a blue torrent of water from mine. The two attacks blasted the guards that came at us sending them flying and screaming in agony. Thanks to the two attacks, we saw our opening and took off running away from the plaza as fast as we could.

Eventually, we were able to get away from the soldiers and were now hiding in an alley, so no one would find us.

"Alright you two, you both got some explaining to do!" said Gray sounding a bit peeved. "Firstly, how come you two were able to use magic?"

"Yes. And please tell us in every detail," Erza spoke sternly.

"Take it easy you guys," I said. "We'll explain in a second. Right now, we're waiting for someone to come and meet us. Once he gets here, we'll explain everything. In the meantime..." I then turned to the iron dragon slayer. "Hey Gajeel, you still have that vial of X-balls?"

Gajeel then dug into his pocket and then pulled out the very vial. "Got it right here," he said.

At that very moment, Edolas Gajeel appeared around the corner coming up to us.

"So there you are," smiled Gajeel. "You sure took your sweet time getting here."

"Sorry I'm a little late," he said tipping his hat. "I was busy watching the show and I gotta say, I'd expect nothing less from Earth Land me and Willy Falconer. You both rescued those two handily and efficiently. Just the kind of people that were right for this job."

"Well... it was your plan that worked Mr. Gajeel," I said smiling. "We wouldn't been able to pull it off without some of your help too."

I then happened to look at Erza and Gray who were both staring dumbly at Gajeel in shock.

"What the heck?! Am I seeing things?!" exclaimed Gray.

"I... I don't believe it! There are two Gajeels?!" cried Erza.

"I know it's a bit hard to believe, but it's true," I spoke. "Erza, Gray, I'd like you to meet Gajeel's Edolas counterpart, Edolas Gajeel."

"At your service," said Edolas Gajeel tipping his hat. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I would also like to add that while we may look alike, we're actually quite different."

"This guy's been a major help to us," said Gajeel patting his shoulder. "But it's still crazy how much he looks like me. It's like we're twins!"

"Never mind that!" barked Erza. "Just tell us what is going on here!"

Gajeel and Edolas Gajeel were a bit taken aback by Erza's response and I couldn't help but smile.

"It... seems she wasn't impressed," Gajeel said to his counterpart.

"I doubt any chicks'll be impressed by seeing two of your ugly mug," Gray chuckled.

The two Gajeels growled in embarrassment feeling a bit sheepish.

"Anyway, since Edolas Gajeel is here, we'll explain everything," I said. "Long story short, Magnolia was sucked up by a strange wormhole called an Anima and has been turned into a giant lacrima along with the people of Magnolia and the wizards from our guild. All of it was planned by the king of Edolas who wants all of the magic power Earth Land for himself."

"We assumed that the lacrima in the plaza was the entire guild since it was so enormous," added Edolas Gajeel. "But as it turns out, it was only the two of you."

"Then if that's true, how big is the main lacrima?" asked Gajeel. "I mean that lacrima in the plaza was freaking huge!"

"Now that you mention it, that lacrima did appear to have a jagged edge," said Edolas Gajeel. "So it must have been cut off of a larger one."

"Man... I've got so many questions, I don't know where to begin," spoke Gray. "First and foremost, what's that vial of pills? You're not gonna force them on us are you?"

"You're gonna have to if you want to use your magic, Gray," I said. "They're called X-balls. Apparently, they're special kinds of pills that will allow you to use your magic in Edolas here since it's a finite world of magic."

Gajeel then gave one pill to Erza and another to Gray. The two of them eyed them suspiciously.

"What do mean by "apparently"?" asked Erza. "Who gave them to you?"

"Mystogan did," replied Gajeel. "The guy was a bit weird and he sent us here before an explanation, but that's what he said."

Erza and Gray looked at each other and then swallowed their pills. Then Gray put his hands together and I could feel cold air escaping his palms as he created the Fairy Tail mark out of ice with his hands. Erza also made a sword appear in her hand.

"Well, it seems that we can use magic again," spoke Gray. "But now what do we do?"

"Well for starters, we must find the main lacrima at all costs," said Erza.

"But where is the lacrima?" I asked. "I mean we don't exactly have a clue as to where it is."

"I think I might have an idea," spoke Edolas Gajeel. "Considering that the king is a magic hungry man, I would think that we would want to keep the most of the magic power all to himself. Which means that the lacrima can only be in one place; the Royal Palace. If the main lacrima is anywhere close by, it's gotta be there."

"Then I'd say, we go over to that palace and take down the king and that lacrima!" grinned Gajeel. "Once we take down that lacrima, we'll be able to turn Magnolia back to normal by using me and Water Boy's magic."

"Then let's get going," spoke Erza. "I'm not sure how much time we have, but we must hurry."

"Then, follow me," spoke Edolas Gajeel. "I can lead you to the Royal Palace."

"Thank you Edolas Gajeel," I said. "You really have been a big help to us. Let's move!"

And then the five of us soon set off running through the streets heading towards the Royal Palace.

Soon enough, we managed to arrive at the Royal Palace which was a large castle that would you see in medieval times. After that, Edolas Gajeel left us, so he could search around for more information in case things went south. As for us, we were hiding close to the front of the gates where several guards standing by the entrance.

"Looks like we made it," spoke Gray. "But I don't see our friends anywhere. They must hiding the lacrima somewhere nearby."

"Willy, can you use your Aqua Sense to sense where the lacrima is?" asked Erza.

"I can, but I'd have to be inside of the castle," I said. "I haven't really tried it in a castle before, but if they're anywhere inside, they have to be in there. But... should we be... I don't know, stealthy about it?"

"We got no time to be stealthy," spoke Gajeel. "We need to find that lacrima as soon as possible. Besides, I've already got a plan. I'm gonna go and cause a commotion over there and while that's happening, you guys get inside the castle and find the others."

"But Gajeel, what about you?" I asked. "Not that I'm doubting your power and everything, but are you sure you're gonna be able to fend off the soldiers?

"Don't worry about me," smiled Gajeel. "Besides, I've been meaning to knock some heads around."

"Then we'll leave the rest to you," said Erza. "While you're fighting the soldiers, we'll get inside and look for our friends."

"Make sure to beat some of those soldiers' heads for us," said Gray.

Gajeel flashed a toothy smile. "Oh, you know I will," he said.

He then jumped out from where we were hiding and then unleashed a powerful breath attack at the soldiers.

"IRON DRAGON ROAR!"

The soldiers were blasted away sending them flying. Gajeel then went to town fighting the soldiers. I felt a bit worried, but I knew that Gajeel will be able to handle himself. Right now, I had to focus on the task at hand.

While Gajeel was fighting the soldiers, and without anyone else noticing, Erza, Gray, and I quickly ran inside the castle.

Inside, the place was filled with several corridors which were made with gray stone. It was practically a maze.

"Geez, look at all these corridors," said Gray. "A guy could get lost in this place."

"Willy, use your Aqua Sense," said Erza. "See if you can locate where our friends are."

"Will do," I spoke as I placed my hand on the ground closing my eyes. "AQUA SENSE."

I began to glow in blue light as a pulse of magic went through the area. In my mind, I could see the various, blue, humanoid, shapes which represented the soldiers. So far, I could sense only those shapes, but then five blue shapes caught my attention. They were not too far away from us and one of them was blue with a yellow color mixed in and the other two were very small and both of them had a green color mixed in.

The other two were a bit far from the other three. One of them was red and the other was an emerald green. Not only that but like a candle, they were slowly shrinking as if they were being drained. I recognized the five immediately. The yellow one was Lucy, the two with her were Happy and Carla and the last two were Natsu and Wendy.

"Guys. I'm sensing five magic powers here!" I said. "It's Natsu and the others!"

"Then let's find them!" said Gray. "Where are they?"

"Not too far away. They're over in that direction," I replied pointing to a corridor. "But we should hurry! I think they're in trouble!"

"Then let's go!" spoke Erza. "If they're in trouble, then we must find them before it's too late!"

The three of us then ran down the corridor I pointed and raced as fast as we could.

NO POV

Meanwhile, at the Royal Palace, a lot of things were happening at once. Chaos would be a better word.

To keep things short and simple, Natsu, Wendy, Carla, and Happy made their way through Edolas being unable to use their magic but still were desperate to save their friends. They also eventually met up with Lucy who was also sent by Mystoga and also met their Edolas counterparts. Soon enough, they too made it to the Royal City.

However, things took a turn for the worse. You see, the group had planned to infiltrate the palace with the hopes of using Lucy's Celestial Magic to summon Gemini to copy the king's mind, so that they could find a way to return their friends to normal, a plan created by Carla, but somehow the Royal Army predicted their attack and captured them.

Happy and Carla were at Extalia which was their original homeland originally being praised as heroes, but the two eventually escaped that place regaining their Aera magic in the process.

As for the others, Lucy was sitting in a cell awaiting execution while Natsu and Wendy were taken to a separate cell with the king planning to extract their magic from them using them the king's greedy purposes.

While in her cell, Erza Knightwalker dropped by to see Lucy before she is executed and Lucy went on to talk to her about how much she reminded of the Erza back home. Feeling insulted and angered, Erza took Lucy to the balcony and tossed her off hoping to kill her, but luckily Happy and Carla were able to rescue her in the nick of time. However, their relief was short-lived as the Extalia Royal Army were in hot pursuit. The king then initiated an operation called Code ETD making his soldiers turn the entire army into a giant lacrima. Using the confusion as a cover-up, Carla, Happy, and Lucy quickly hid inside of the west tower with the hopes of finding Natsu and Wendy with Erza Knightwalker and in hot pursuit. They soon found out that Natsu and Wendy were somewhere inside the basement in the West tower thanks to Carla playing a ruse on Knightwalker.

Eventually, they were chased into a storage room hiding from the soldiers and catching their breath. Happy was laying on Lucy's lap due to him being injured during the chase.

"As it stands right now, we're trapped like rats," spoke Carla quietly.

"They've no doubt beefed up security around them for sure wherever they have Natsu and Wendy," said Lucy. "We probably can't get anywhere near it." She then looked at her hands which were bound by a strange white substance. "If only I had this gunk off of me. I'd be able to use my magic."

"We were so close too..." Carla bitterly spoke clenching her hands."It's over... Wendy..."

Then Happy began to stir on Lucy's lap as he slowly opened his eyes making Carla and Lucy feel relief wash over them.

"Happy... you're alright," spoke Carla.

Happy then struggled to feet, determination etched on his face. "We can't give up! Not now!" he spoke defiantly. "We owe it to Natsu to keep on fighting till our last breath! I'm sure that's what he would do for us! We can still win if we have just as much faith as he does! If we don't honor his fighting spirit and help, we don't even deserve to survive or call ourselves Fairy Tail wizards!"

"But... do you have any idea what we should do?" asked Lucy.

Happy looked up and saw a large stack of flour. That was when he had an idea.

In a corridor, a bunch of soldiers stood outside of a corridor where muffled screams could be heard from behind a pair of big doors. Suddenly, with a mighty yell, Happy came bursting out of the darkness carrying a large sack in his hands.

"It's a fallen! The blue exceed!" cried a soldier.

"Get ready for my poison mist attack!" yelled Happy as he threw the sack unleashing its contents.

The contents spilled out creating a big white cloud of dust blinding the soldiers. They all hold their breath not wanting to inhale the dust that was considered to be poison, but they soon realized that it wasn't poison at all.

"That's not poison! It's just flour!" coughed a soldier. "It's a trick!"

As the flour cleared, Happy shot right past the soldiers disappearing into the corridor with the soldiers following in hot pursuit. As soon as they left, Lucy and Carla peeked out from the corner making sure that it was safe.

"It seems like the plan worked," spoke Carla.

"I just really hope that Happy can outrun them," said Lucy worriedly.

They both then went on ahead of them hoping that they wouldn't get caught, but then a huge explosion blasted in front of them sending them both flying back and hitting the ground hard. The two girls looked up and to their horror, they saw Erza Knightwalker along with her soldiers standing before them.

"Creating a diversion to draw away our forces is the most predictable strategy you could have chosen," she spoke. "Did you take us for complete amateurs?"

At that moment, a soldier walked holding a very slightly beaten Happy and threw him to the floor. Then they all heard a pair of voices screaming in agony. A male and a female voice. Lucy and Carla knew who those voices belonged.

"That's Natsu and Wendy!" cried Lucy. "What are you doing to them?!"

"In order for us successfully execute Code ETD," explained Erza with an evil smile. "We must acquire the necessary magic power to do so. And with that being said, your devil's luck has run out. It's time to die."

As she continued to hear the sounds of Wendy and Natsu's tortured screams, Carla's eyes began to flood with tears not being able to bear hearing such sounds.

"Please! You're going to kill them!" she sobbed. "You have to give them back!"

Erza didn't listen. She raised her staff as it sparked with power preparing to finish the job, but then she stopped. Happy had struggled back up to his feet and staggered over to Carla standing in front of her. He eyes had tears in them too, but his face was full of bravery as he glared at Erza.

"I... won't... let you hurt Carla," he panted. "Not while I'm here... You'll have to kill me first!"

Erza scoffed not feeling intimidated. "Very well then," she smirked. "If that's what you want, your wish is my command!"

She took aim with her spear and was about to kill the blue cat, but then the wall beside them exploded and a cold mist billowed from it causing the soldiers to clamor in surprise.

"What's happening?" demanded Knightwalker.

Then, they all heard three voices coming from inside the mist.

"You got some nerve lady!" growled a male one. "You know that they're with us and you decided to mess with them anyway!"

"Anyone who would lay a hand on our fellow guild members will be dealt with accordingly," said a female voice.

"And you should also know, that it wouldn't be wise to get on our bad side," said another male. "Those who do so will get no ounce of mercy from us!"

Carla, Happy, and Lucy who knew who those voices belonged to, all had their eyes wide with shock.

"But... but how?!" murmured Carla. "I thought that you were all gone."

Lucy's eyes then filled with tears as a joyful smile crept on her face as the mist cleared revealing the three who stood in front of them. A redheaded woman wearing armor with a blue miniskirt, a shirtless man wearing pants and shoes, and a young boy who wore a blue shirt with arm guards with black shorts.

"Erza... Gray... Willy..."

Another chapter come and gone!

If you guys have any other questions or want to give me some pointers, Review or PM me!

Until then, Dragoman out!