The sun of Edolas rose over a landscape. The floating islands cast long, shifting shadows over the purple vegetation, and the air was thin, lacking the hum of Ethernano they had lived with their entire lives.
The next morning, while wandering around, the group—Blake, Cana, Natsu, Wendy, Lucy, and the Exceeds—moved with a sense of urgency. They were currently navigating a ridge overlooking a Royal Army supply route.
Below them, resting on a flat expanse of rock, was a massive, bulbous vessel. It was an airship belonging to the Royal Army. It was heavily armored, bristling with magic cannons, and soldiers were currently loading crates onto it.
"Jackpot," Cana whispered. "That thing will get us to the Royal City in an hour."
They decide to hijack it so they can make it to the Royal City faster.
It was a unanimous decision. They were Fairy Tail. Grand theft airship was practically a Tuesday for them.
"I'll handle the guards," Blake said, standing up. Then Blake tells them to stay hidden while he takes out the enemies. "There are about twenty of them. If we rush in, they might sound an alarm or take off. I'll do it quietly."
"Quietly?" Natsu cracked his knuckles. "I can do quiet!"
"No, you can't," everyone whispered in unison.
Blake looked at Cana. "Keep them here."
Cana nodded, grabbing Natsu by the scarf. "Don't move, flame-brain."
Blake moved like a phantom. Without the flashy explosions of magic, he relied on pure physical conditioning and Soru. He blurred down the ridge, appearing behind the perimeter guards. A chop to the neck, a sweep of the leg—they fell without a sound.
He boarded the ship. The interior was a maze of pipes and lacrima tanks. Blake moved through the corridors, his Observation Haki pinpointing every heartbeat. He systematically dismantled the crew, knocking them unconscious before they could even reach for their weapons. It was a masterclass in CQC (Close Quarters Combat). Within five minutes, the ship was silent.
He walked to the cargo bay ramp and waved his hand.
"Clear!"
"Awesome!" Natsu yelled, running up the ramp. "We got our own ship!"
"It smells like oil," Wendy sniffed, looking around nervously.
"To the bridge!" Blake commanded.
Then Blake goes to the control chamber to try and fly the ship.
He sat in the pilot's chair. It was massive, leather-bound, and faced a console that looked like a nightmare of engineering. There were no steering wheels or pedals. There were dozens of levers, dials with runic inscriptions, and a massive, glowing lacrima orb in the center.
Blake stared at it.
He was a master driver. He knew the Urus inside and out. He understood combustion engines, suspension, and torque.
But this... this was nonsense.
"Okay," Blake muttered. "Throttle... maybe this lever?"
He pulled a red lever.
A siren blared, and the windshield wipers turned on.
"Wrong lever," Cana said from the doorway, suppressing a laugh.
"It's... intuitive," Blake lied, sweating slightly. He pushed a blue button. The ship lurched sideways, knocking Natsu over, but the engines didn't engage.
Just as they were realizing they had a ship but no pilot, a sound roared from outside.
VROOOOOM!
It wasn't an airship engine. It was the distinct, high-pitched whine of a supercharged, magi-combustion car engine.
A vehicle burst over the ridge, launching into the air and landing on the loading dock with a screech of tires. It was a sleek, red, heavily modified sports car—a sharp contrast to the military drab of the airship.
However, they are saved by none other than Natsu's counterpart.
The door of the car kicked open. A man stepped out. He looked exactly like Natsu, but he was wearing a leather jacket, sleek sunglasses, and had his hair slicked back. He leaned against the car, radiating an aura of supreme coolness.
"Yo," the man said, his voice smooth. "Heard you guys needed a lift. The 'Fireball' is at your service."
It was Edolas Natsu.
"Me?!" Earthland Natsu shouted, pointing. "Why am I in a car?! And why am I so cool?!"
"Get in," Edolas Natsu said, tipping his shades. "This airship is garbage. Too slow. My baby," he patted the car, "can outrun the Royal Guard with three tires blown."
They didn't argue. They abandoned the confusing airship and piled into the magically expanded interior of Fireball's car.
It was a ride from hell. Edolas Natsu drove like a maniac. He drifted around canyon curves, jumped over ravines, and sped through the desert at speeds that made even Blake grip the safety handle.
"YEAH! FEEL THE BURN!" Edolas Natsu screamed, laughing maniacally as he dodged a falling rock. "I AM THE GOD OF SPEED!"
"I'm gonna be sick..." Earthland Natsu groaned, turning green.
"Two Natsus..." Cana muttered, holding on for dear life. "One gets sick in cars, the other is addicted to them. The universe has a twisted sense of humor."
They reached the outskirts of the Royal City in record time. Edolas Natsu drifted the car into a hidden alleyway, parking perfectly between two dumpsters.
"We're here," he announced, killing the engine. "The Royal City. End of the line."
The group climbed out, shaking the dust off.
"Thanks, other me!" Earthland Natsu said, recovering instantly once his feet hit the ground. "That was... fast."
Edolas Natsu stepped out of the car.
And then, the transformation happened.
As soon as his hand left the steering wheel, his posture collapsed. The cool demeanor vanished. He hunched over, his knees knocking together.
"I... I did it..." he squeaked.
Earthland Lucy walked over. "Hey, thanks for the—"
"EEEK!" Edolas Natsu shrieked, cowering behind the car door. "It's Scary Lucy! Please don't hit me! I drove fast! I was good! I'm sorry!"
"I'm not going to hit you!" Lucy yelled. "Why is everyone in this world afraid of me?!"
"Because your counterpart is terrifying," Blake noted dryly.
---
They left the car and the weeping Edolas Natsu behind (who promised to wait for them) and ventured into the streets.
They pulled their hoods up, blending into the populace.
The Royal City was breathtaking. It was a vertical metropolis built on a massive floating island, connected by bridges of light and stone. But what struck them most wasn't the architecture.
It was the magic.
When the group enters the city, they are surprised to see that Magic isn't outlawed in this town.
Unlike the barren towns they had passed, where people scrounged for scraps, the Capital was awash in light. Streetlamps glowed with eternal flame. Fountains sprayed water that defied gravity. Shops sold magical trinkets openly. People used magic wands to light cigarettes or carry groceries.
"I thought magic was banned?" Wendy whispered, looking around in confusion.
"It is," Edolas Lucy said, his eyes hard. "For everyone else. The King bans it for the commoners so he can hoard it here. He keeps his capital fat and happy while the rest of the world starves."
They moved toward the central plaza, drawn by the roar of a massive crowd.
There, suspended in the air by massive chains connected to the Royal Palace, was a sight that stopped their hearts.
And are shocked when they see a giant Lacrima.
It was colossal. A mountain of crystal, glowing with a soft, pulsating golden light. It hovered ominously over the city, casting a beautiful, terrifying shadow.
Inside the crystal, if one looked closely, one could see faint, frozen swirls of energy. The essence of Magnolia. The souls of the guild.
"That's..." Natsu choked out. "That's everyone."
"The Guild..." Cana whispered, her hand trembling. "They turned them into a battery."
The crowd around them was cheering. Thousands of citizens were looking up at the crystal, their faces filled with adoration.
"Long live the King!"
"Eternal Magic is ours!"
"Bless the Faust!"
"A gift from the heavens!" a woman next to them exclaimed, weeping with joy. "The King said the gods granted us this to ensure our prosperity forever! We will never run out of magic again!"
The hypocrisy was suffocating.
The Mages, especially Natsu, are outraged by the King's arrogant nature and greed.
"A gift?!" Natsu growled, his body beginning to heat up, steam rising from his hood. "That's not a gift! That's Gramps! That's Mira! That's my house! They stole it! They stole my friends and they're cheering about it like it's a prize!"
He stepped forward, his fists clenched. "I'm gonna go up there and shatter that thing right now! I'm gonna beat that King until he—"
"Natsu, stop!" Lucy grabbed his arm, pulling him back into the shadows. "If you attack now, you'll doom them! If you break the Lacrima incorrectly, they won't turn back into people! They'll dissipate and die! We need a plan!"
"But look at them!" Natsu yelled, though he lowered his voice. "They're laughing!"
"We know," Blake said, placing a heavy hand on Natsu's other shoulder. His voice was calm, but his Haki was flaring, a dark, oppressive weight that terrified the civilians standing too close. "We see it. And they'll pay for it. But not yet. We need to find the extraction point."
"Extraction point?" Gray asked.
"We need to know how to turn the process back," Blake said. "And for that, we need the experts."
"Keep moving," Edolas Lucy whispered. "You're drawing attention."
"Follow me," she hissed. "The surface isn't safe."
---
They followed Edolas Lucy down a series of winding backstreets, eventually ducking into a sewer maintenance tunnel. The smell was awful, but it was private.
"The Royal Guard is everywhere," Edolas Lucy said. "It looks like something happened in the city. The King has doubled the patrols."
"The Lacrima," Wendy said, her voice small. "It's... really big."
"Yeah," Edolas Lucy sighed. "It's the biggest haul the Anima has ever brought in."
"We need to meet your Master," Blake said. "My counterpart. You said he had a plan."
"He does," Edolas Lucy nodded. "We're almost there."
Then Edolas Lucy and Edolas Natsu take them to the guild headquarters which is underground of royal capital.
They descended deeper, past the sewers, into the ancient catacombs beneath the floating island. Here, hidden amidst the foundations of the city, was a massive, reinforced blast door marked with a spray-painted Fairy Tail emblem.
"The Crawler is parked outside the city," Edolas Lucy explained. "This is our forward operating base. We built it out right under the King's nose."
She knocked on the door in a specific rhythm. The bolts slid back. The door creaked open.
Inside, the base was bustling with activity. Mechanics were prepping weapons, mages were studying maps of the palace, and the air was thick with the smell of oil and determination.
"Master!" Edolas Lucy called out. "I brought some strays!"
At the far end of the room, standing over a massive holographic map of the Royal Palace, was a man.
He turned around.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in a mechanic's jumpsuit with the sleeves rolled up, revealing arms covered in grease and rune-tattoos. He wore goggles around his neck and had a heavy wrench strapped to his back.
He looked exactly like Blake Corvus, but rougher. More tired. But his eyes... they held the same sharp, calculating intelligence.
Edolas Blake looked at Earthland Blake.
Earthland Blake looked at Edolas Blake.
It was like looking into a distorted mirror. One was a mage of infinite power; the other was a man of infinite ingenuity.