Chapter 43

Fireball

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback / Dreams

Location / Date / Time Skip

Different Part of the Desert

A cloaked figure stared out at a town that looked like it was made completely of hut. "Figures they'd be carted off to a crazy place. F my luck with a duck." Gajeel growled out as he marched into town.

Soon enough, the blonde had led the six to the small city of Luen. "I thought we'd never make it here." Happy complained as they looked out over a cliff.

"It's very... round." Wendy tried to think of a nice word to say. "Thanks for coming with us, Lucy."

"Whatever." The blonde said, trying to act tough. "Follow me, you're gonna need some magic or else you're all as good as dead."

"Thanks, scary Lucy." Natsu said with a smile.

"Quit trying to make me mad!" She shouted back before leading them into town.

"What's with all the closed shops?" Laki asked, looking around.

"They were magic shops." E. Lucy answered. "Once upon a time, magic was as tradable as anything else. But then the army started cracking down on shops. Now they started making possession of magic a crime. Now there's only one place you can get magic."

"You can get in trouble just for having it?" Natsu asked as they stopped in front of a closed store.

"What about those who can naturally use it?" Wendy asked.

"What do you mean 'naturally'?" E. Lucy repeated. "If people don't give it, they go to jail or worse. So, most people just give there magic up."

"Now I get it." Carla mumbled. "Magic here is treated like objects in this world. Magic power here is refined, so no one has the ability to use it like us. Instead, they combine it with weapons and such, and call this finished product magic."

"So no one here can cast magic, they just use tools?" Rose asked, earning a nod. "That sucks."

"We're here." E. Lucy said at the top of some hidden stairs. "The black market is the only place you can get magic anymore. We'll need it if we're gonna keep traveling."

"Black market?" Wendy repeated.

"It can't be helped." Laki said. "It's their world, so we should follow their rules."

"Let's go check it out." Natsu cheered.

"That was a pretty fast adaptation." Carla mumbled.

In another section of town, Gajeel leaned against a building and stared up at his hood. "I'm here, so what now? Well, better start asking questions." He flipped his hood down and walked out of the alley. "Hey, can I ask a-" The man merely walked away, as did everyone he turned to. "Geez, and I thought the punks back home were rude."

He glanced over to find three men chuckling at him. "Should have know. You want information, go to the bottom feeders." He walked over to them.

"You wanna start something?" The mohawked one in the middle asked.

"Step off, ya horse fly." The fat one said.

"You got a lot to learn about insults, chubby." Gajeel said back.

"Stop talking." The middle said. "We're not here for a lecture, maggot." They laughed for a bit until Gajeel head butted him. The other two threw punches and hit Gajeel in the face, only to wince in pain. Two stomach jabs later and they fell out the ground as the middle one stood back up.

"Hey!" Gajeel reached out and grabbed his shirt. "Where's the giant lacrima that popped up here a while ago?"

"I don't know!" The punk shouted.

"Really?" Gajeel chuckled, pulling his head back. "Let me jog you're memory."

"No, I swear! Please don't hit me!" The middle man begged as the other two stood up. "Right!?" They nodded in agreement and Gajeel let him go.

"Fine, you're off the hook." He huffed as he motioned for them to go.

"Hey, when the heck did you get so strong, Gajeel?" The middle punk asked, confusing the pierced man.

"Seriously, you don't look like the guy willing to pick fights." The fat one added.

'Must mean the Edolas version of me.' Gajeel thought. "So, what does you're Gajeel do here?" His question confused the group. "I'm not him, I just look like him." The middle one commented on how much they look alike. "Answer the question or you're getting another punch."

"He's one of them freelancer journalists." The mohawked one answered. "Got a reputation for being really nosey."

"A what?" He asked back.

"He's written a bunch of articles about the kingdom that the higher ups ain't to happy about." The fat one added. "People around here don't like him."

"No wonder people ignored me." Gajeel mumbled. "A reporter, eh? This could be fun."

Blackmarket Shop

"Does no one here clean this place?" Carla asked as the others were amazed by the various magical items unique to Edolas.

"Of course not. I'd risk damaging the antiques here." The shop owner chuckled. "Besides, a little mold never hurt anyone."

"We don't care about the mold." E. Lucy said. "All we want is usability. Some of this stuff might be fake, so double check everything before you buy."

"Hey, got anything that shoots fire?" Natsu asked.

"I think I do... right here." The owner pulled out a sword handle and pommel, but the blade was missing. "This right here is the Seal Flame Sword. Just load up the cartridge and presto." He did just that and a blade of flames appeared.

"That flame looks kinda weak, but I guess I'll take it." Natsu mumbled.

"Why are you only selling one glove?" Laki asked, holding a green and brown glove.

"Because that is the Plant Frenzy Glove." He answered. "All you do is touch it to the ground and all sorts of plants appear. It's a bit difficult to use, so I haven't found anyone willing it buy it yet."

"You have now." She smirked back.

"And can we get this too?" Wendy asked, holding a blue thermos.

"Why do you want that?" Carla asked.

"It's so tiny and cute." The bluenette smirked.

"This here is called an Air Shatter Cannon." The shop keep explained, taking it from Wendy. "All you do is pull these pieces apart and-" He did just that and wind began blowing around Wendy.

"Okay, we're all set." Natsu said.

"Alright. All together they cost twenty thousand." The owner said. "But since I like you, I'll knock it down to eighteen."

"Wow, really generous." Rose sarcastically said.

"Don't blame me. These items are extremely rare." He defended.

"Hold it." E. Lucy spoke up. "I don't know why I didn't ask this first, but you don't have any money, do you?"

"What would make you think we have any money?" Natsu chuckled.

"Not funny!" She shouted back.

"Come on, Lucy. Pay the man." He joked.

E. Lucy stared at him in shock and thought. 'Got to admit, him having the guts to boss me around is a nice change of pace.'

"You okay?" Laki asked, snapping E. Lucy out of her thought.

"Fine." The blonde huff. "I'll pay for you guys just this once."

"Absolutely not." The owner protested. "After everything you've done for me, it wouldn't be right for me to take your money. If it wasn't for you, I'd be in jail right now."

"That was ages ago." She said back. "And all I did was lend a hand."

"Even so, please take them as a present from me." He insisted.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." E. Lucy accepted.

They grabbed their items and left the shop. "Scary Lucy is much more dependable than our Lucy." Happy said aloud.

"I told you to drop the scary, cat!" She shouted.

"From the way he talked about you, seems like you're hot stuff." Natsu mumbled.

"Don't suppose there's anything we can do for you?" Laki asked.

"Actually..." The blonde mumbled. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to hear more about your Lucy."

MonMon Cafe

"Ahahahaha!" The Edolas version of Lucy pounded the table in laughter. "Seriously? I'm writing novels? Ahahahahaah! And I'm some rich girl who uses magic keys!? Ahahahahahah!"

"Well, you're just as loud as our Lucy." Natsu said, making the blonde stop laughing.

"I ain't that loud!" She shouted back.

"I can't remember how this thing works." Wendy mumbled as she pulled out her Cannon.

"Put that away!" E. Lucy shouted. "Magic is banned in this city. If we get caught with it, we're in big trouble."

"Sorry." Wendy mumbled, putting it away.

"So, magic was part of everyday life here?" Rose asked.

"Yeah... and then the royal stooges decided to steal a part of our culture for himself." E. Lucy mumbled.

"Why would they do that?" Laki asked.

"Becasue they wanna have a monopoly in it." The blonde answered.

"So if those jerkwads don't wanna share, I say we get the magic on our own." Natsu chuckled.

"What are you talking about, stupid!?" E. Lucy asked, standing up. "We don't stand a chance against the royal army."

"So then why are you following us?" Natsu asked.

"All I'm doing is showing you to the city. Nothing more, nothing less." She explained. "I'm not planing on fighting anyone."

"Well, thanks for everything." Laki said. Natsu agreed and the blonde avoided eye contact.

"They're they are!" The group turned in horror as a squad of royal knights sealed off the area.

"The army!?" E. Lucy shouted in a panic.

"You're Fairy Tail wizards, aren't you? Surrender now!" One shouted.

"How did they find us!?" Rose shouted.

The Knights charged them as Natsu pulled out his new sword. "I've been itching for a fight!"

"Don't do it!" E. Lucy tried to warn him, but it was too late.

"Fire!" He pressed the button and flames shot out of the sword.

"How do I use this thing?" Wendy asked as she and Rose tried opening the item.

"Why are you asking me?!" Carla asked.

"That's what I call firepo-" Natsu stopped bragging as the flames died, showing the knights protected by shields. "That's not fair! One more time!" He tried using it again, and only got a puff of smoke.

"What part of 'limited magic' don't you understand!?" E. Lucy shouted. "You can only use it so many times!"

"I used it once!" He shouted back.

"You could have used it over a hundred if you controlled the output!" The blonde shouted back.

"Let me try." Laki placed her gloved hand on the ground... and a single flower appeared in front of her. "What the hell!? Did he let people sample with this thing!?"

"Probably!" Rose shouted as she and Wendy finally opened the thermos. A tornado shot out of it and flung the six into the sky. "Why did I open that thing!?"

"I'm sorry!" Wendy shouted as they fell out the tornado and crashed into another warehouse. "Ow..."

"Quite." E. Lucy said as she stared out a hole in the door. Guards ran past them, thinking they landed where the tornado hit. "Good news, we're safe. Better news..." She flipped a box over and showed a trap door under it. "We landed right in one of our emergency escape houses." She flipped open the lid and climbed down. "Let's go."

The others followed her and soon they reached the end of the tunnel, popping up outside a different city in a small forest, in a faux stump. "We're safe." E. Lucy climbed out and the others followed.

"Magic here sucks." Natsu grumbled.

"Or maybe you just suck at using it?" The blonde suggested. "Hey, mind telling me the plan you had to save you're friends from the army?"

"Uh... we wing it." Happy said.

"You guys can't even use our magic properly! So how do you plan on fighting the whole kingdom!?" She asked.

"Our plan doesn't matter." Natsu said. "We're going to save our friends, that's all that matters!"

"Yeah!" Happy cheered.

E. Lucy stared at them in disbelief. 'These guys are incredible...' She thought as they began talking about a plan. 'Maybe these guys... really can change the world.'

Shicca Town

Hotel

Laki sat in the tub at a small in the inn Edolas Lucy had booked for them. 'I still can't believe it. In this world, Lisanna is alive.' She stared at the ceiling, thinking about a promise.

"We know Natsu likes us both." Lisanna said three years ago. "No matter who he picks, we'll always be friends. Okay?"

"Okay!" Laki nodded, hugging her friend.

The door opened and Laki snapped back to reality as she turned to find E. Lucy in a towel walking in. "What are you doing!?"

"Taking a bath, duh." E. Lucy said as she took off her towel.

"But-I-we-we're both girls!" Laki shouted as the blonde climbed in the tub.

"So? Me and my Laki do it all the time." E. Lucy said as Laki turned around in embarrassment. A smirk appeared on the blondes face as she leaned forward. "Hey, let me check something."

Outside the bathroom, the other five were studying the map E. Lucy bought them. "AAAHHHH!" A scream grabbed Natsu's attention and he opened the door to the bathroom, only for the blonde to fly into him.

"What's the big deal? I was right." E. Lucy shouted. "Turns out, you're both the same in every way."

"You violated me!" Laki shouted before looking down from the blonde. "Natsu?"

"I heard screaming..." He mumbled. "Wanted to help..."

"Scary Lucy, put something on." Wendy requested. "Natsu's here with us."

"And I should care because?" The blonde asked.

"It's the right thing to do!" Laki shouted. "The only person Natsu should see naked is me!" She realized what she said and turned beet red.

E. Lucy stared at the purplette for a few seconds. "Wait, you like Natsu in your world?"

"Like? They're dating." Rose said.

E. Lucy stayed silent for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "Man, my Laki is gonna get a kick out of this. In love with Natsu, ha!" She stood up and went back into the bathroom.

"That was incredibly bizarre." Carla said.

"She's nothing like our Lucy." Natsu groaned as he sat up. "She's a lot louder for starters."

"I ain't that loud!" The blonde shouted through the door. "Jeeze, how'd you fall for someone that dumb?"

"For starters, he's braver than anyone I've ever met." Laki said as the two sat back to back. "He's strong, fearless, kind, and loyal to a fault."

"My Natsu is nothing like that." E. Lucy said.

"Hey, do you have someone in your life?" Laki asked.

"Where did this come from?" The blonde asked.

"Just curious." Was Laki's answer.

Edolas Lucy stared at her knees before giving an answer. "No, I don't. In this world, you forget the little things like meeting boys and falling in love. When you're focused on just surviving, all that matters is how good they are in a fight."

"So, why did everyone look so happy back at your guild?" Laki asked.

"It's important to keep your spirits up, even if you have to force them." The blonde explained. "And when that doesn't work, we remember that people here need us. So even though we're labeled a dark guild, we keep ourselves together. We'll always be there to lend a hand." She stood up and let some water fall off of her. "But sometimes, that's not enough." She mumbled.

"Huh?" Laki asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." The blonde answered as she grabbed a towel. "Just thinking out loud."

The Next Morning

"Are you kidding me!?" Laki shouted in anger, waking everyone up. "After last night, she thinks she can do this?!"

"Laki, calm down." Natsu said, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Edolas Lucy just left us!" She shouted, holding a piece of paper. "'The royal city is only three days away on foot. Gotta get back to the guild. Bye.'!? What about that talk we had!?"

"Well, now we know the biggest difference between her and our Lucy." Rose said. "Ours wouldn't just abondon us."

"There's nothing we can do." Wendy said, looking at the note. "She said she wasn't going to fight from the beginning."

"I know... but it's just not right." Laki huffed.

"So, we just keep going?" Natsu asked.

"Aye, sir." Happy nodded.

Outside the hotel, E. Lucy looked up at the sky. 'They might change our world... that's a good one.' She turned and started sprinting in the direction of her guild. 'I can't believe how soft I've gotten. Change shouldn't come from an outsider, it should come from people here!'

She reached the town entrance and ran under the large welcome sign. 'If they can actually save their friends, that's great. But it's gonna be impossible to go up against the whole kingdom. It's time for my Fairy Tail to step up to the plate. We have to stand up, and fight for this world!'

Luen City

Bar

"You hear the news?" One guy asked. "They're gonna start sucking magic power from that giant lacrima in two days."

Gajeel walked over to the bar and sat behind the talking table. "I still want to know where they got that power from. Another world or something?" The second guy at the table said.

"I hope they know what they're doing." The thrid table member said. "That much magic power is just asking for trouble."

"Shush." The first guy said. "You wanna get in trouble with the kingdom?"

"No, that's not what I meant at all." The third guy said in a panic.

"Calm down, no one here is gonna turn you in." The first guy said. "Just leave it to his majesty, and everything will work out."

"Intresting conversation." The three looked behind them as Gajeel and his counterpart spoke t the same time. "You punks wanna tell me more before I make you?/Would you mind explaining it to me in greater detail?" Both turned and stared at each other in shock.

Shicca Town

As the six walked down the street, Laki was still upset at the Edolas Lucy situation. "Guys, we need to cheer her up." Wendy mumbled to the cats. "Any ideas?"

"We could get her a book." Happy suggested.

"That's not going to work." Rose said.

Natsu put his hand around her shoulder and pulled her in. "It'll be okay, Laki. We'll save our friends without her."

"I know." Laki said with a sigh. "I just wish she didn't leave us."

"It's her choice. We can't force people to do something they don't want to." He said. "Besides, once we save our friends we can rub it in her face."

Laki stared at him before chuckling a little. "Yeah, I guess that would be fun." The two started laughing as the other four just stared at them.

"It's amazing how he's managed to keep her for so long." Carla said.

"Hey, he made her smile. That's a win for us." Rose said back.

A rumbling cut the laughter off as a massive shadow over took the street. "What the?" Laki asked.

"Above us." Carla said. They all looked up and found a massive airship above them. Royal solider ran past the crowd staring up at the ship as Wendy pushed the couple behind a pillar.

"What's this about?" One guard asked.

"Didn't you hear?" A second one asked back. "The kings gonna start extracting magic power from that giant lacrima in two days. If you aren't in that ship, you'll miss the biggest event ever."

"That giant lacrima... that's our friends." Natsu mumbled.

"And everyone from Magnolia." Wendy added.

"Guys, we don't have two days to walk to the royal city." Laki said. "By the time we get there, it'll be too late."

"And once the process is complete, we won't be able to reverse it." Carla added.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Rose asked.

Natsu stared st the ship as it reached just a few feet above the ground. "Could we take over that ship?"

His suggestion shocked Carla and Wendy. "You mean 'sneak aboard' right?" Carla asked.

"I'm not a hider." Natsu said back.

"Wait, I thought you hated vehicles?" Rose asked. "So why are you suggestiong one?"

"Duh, because now we have Wendy's Troia spell." He reminded them. "So now it's no big deal."

"Natsu, we can't use magic here, remember?" Wendy asked, scaring Natsu.

"Let's find another way." He mumbled.

"We don't have a choice." Laki said. "We need that airship. Besides, there's always the other way to soothe it."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that." Natsu remembered all the times he use it.

"What's the other way?" Rose asked Happy.

"Natsu just sits head first into Laki's lap." He answered.

"Okay, now, how do we plan on taking that ship?" Rose asked the humans.

"As much I hate to say it, Edolas Lucy gave us more magic." Laki said, pulling out three Edolas lacrima pills and giving them to Wendy and Natsu. "So let's go this." She placed her gloved hand on the ground and vines started growing out of the stone. They reached soilders and started pinning them in place. "Hurry."

The six started running towards the ship before a squad jumped out in front of them. "Now it's our turn." Natsu said as he pulled out his sword. "Let's show what we can do Wendy!"

"Right!" Wendy nodded as she pulled out her Cannon. The guards charged them, and the two were taken out like flies in a windshield.

"Laki, keep doing what you're doing!" Rose shouted.

"You got it." Laki put her hand down and this time, gourds started growing out of the ground. "No, the first one was right!"

"The ship is leaving!" Carla shouted as the ship took off. The guards freed themselves from the vines and surrounded the group.

"Damnit!" Natsu cussed as the soilders started pinning them in place. As Natsu went face first into the ground, a cloud of dust started moving towards them. "The hell... is that?"

The dust cloud moved closer until the source was revealed. A strange car that turned and slammed into the guards. "Is that a magic vehicle?" Laki asked. "It's got Fairy Tails emblem on it."

The window rolled down a bit. "Lucy sent me, get in." The driver told them.

"Huh, maybe I was wrong about her." Laki mumbled as they all climbed in.

"Hang on to something." The driver shifted gears and the car took off, its wheels flaming. "Go fire!" The car drove right out of town and the soilders couldn't even come close to catching it.

Luen City

"So, let me get this straight. You came to this world by way of a 'mister Mystogan' with nothing but a simple explination?" Edolas Gajeel asked his counter part.

"Yeah, that about covers everything." Gajeel answered. "This is one wierd place, I'll tell you that."

"Well, this is definitely the strangest story of my career." E. Gajeel mumbled as he wrote down some details.

"No kidding. How often do you meet yourself?" The Earthland version asked.

"It's nice to get a simple perspective for a change." E. Gajeel joked.

"Seems like a lot of people aren't to happy about you digging for facts." Gajeel said as his doppelgänger sat on the other side of the table.

"Investigative reporting will do that." E. Gajeel said back. "Of course some people aren't to happy about that."

"Truth is a bitter pill to swallow." Gajeel added. "By the way, there's some loses out there who thought I was you. They're eating dirt right now."

"I thank you for dealing with them, and at the same time apologize for making you deal with my problem." E. Gajeel said, taking a sip from his drink. "Not going to lie, I've become a thorn to many powerful organizations. A lot people blame my writing for problems. But I don't care; as long as I can still write, I'm going to."

He put the cup down and Gajeel chuckled at himself. "When I first heard about this place, I'd thought it be totally different."

Both stood up and wrapped an arm around each other's shoulder. "But you and I are exactly alike./ But me and you are exactly alike." Both said at the same time before the left the bar like that.

"Not only do you not just blindly follow whatever is told, but you dress sharp and write fancy words." Earthland Gajeel said.

"And your just as unkept on the outside as I am on the inside." Edolas Gajeel said. "We have so much in common. By the way, how are you with instruments and singing?"

"The best there is." Gajeel said before looking around a corner as guards ran out of the bar. "Some pals of mine are here too. "They're not the smartest, but they got plenty of heart. So we need to find them."

"I'll let you know the second after I know." E. Gajeel said. "I've got eyes everywhere. The king can't sneeze without me knowing."

"Perfect. I'll stay out if trouble until you say so." Gajeel said. "Don't keep me waiting." The two walked away from each other.

Magical Car

"Thanks again." Laki told the driver as Natsu passed out in the back seat from his motion sickness.

"Not a problem." The driver said. "What were you thinking, trying to take an airship? My wheels are faster than anything in Edolas. I am the fastest man in Fairy Tail." He pushed his goggles up and the whole car stared at his eyes. "They don't call me Fireball Natsu for nothing."

"Natsu?!" The whole car shouted at once.

"It's me?" The Earthland version groaned out.

Remember when I said that there wasn't going to be any Earthland Lucy in this story? Well, this is your first glimpse at the change it brought. It might not be much at the moment, but I like it. Poll update: there's was a lack of votes and reviews last chapter due to... whatever technical issue the site went through that wouldn't let people know about updates. Not much has changed except for a few little numbers.

Beta read by Natsu is Awesome.