Chapter Thirty Five - Invading Edolas

Mystogan stood before the Fairy Tail Guild. Far more of them had avoided the anima than he could ever have dared hope. Lee, Levy, Lucy, Millianna, Konata, Juvia, Evergreen, Natsu, Wendy, Elfman... no, there were actually too many of them to list. A few had been lost - Erza, Mirajane, and Makarov, to name the ones he noticed missing - but most of them were here. He felt a smile tug at his lips. His father would have no idea what he had gotten himself into.

"Let's go!" Natsu cried out, anger in his voice. "Those jerks took our guildmates, and we're going to get them back!"

"Mirajane..." Elfman said, tightening his hand into a fist. "We'll save you," he said, swearing at the sky.

"All of you need to eat one of these," he explained to them, offering the rest of the guild X-Balls. "I don't have time to explain-"

"He's a good guy from the other universe and these let you use magic in that universe," Konata interrupted. "He can also send us there."

"...yes," Mystogan agreed. He looked at the girl. Was she also from Edolas? That might explain why she was so... unmagical. Lazy. His guildmates ate the X-Balls quickly, and he began to send them to Edolas, one by one.

It was an exhausting task, sending so many over... but it was his duty, at the same time. Both as their guild mate, and as the child of the king.

* * *

We were transported directly into a town on the outskirts of Edolas, and pretty much immediately found ourselves in conflict with the royal army - or at least, the local contingent thereof. Of course, despite their numbers and magical items... they were up against the might of the Fairy Tail Guild, with me and Wendy backing them up with our healing powers. If somebody got hit, I quickly reset them backwards in time, letting them keep going endlessly.

It didn't take long before we'd won. They never even had a chance, really - that's how powerful we were, compared to them. We'd effectively seized the city of Louen from the kingdom within an hour.

They had, however, captured most of our best leaders. The closest remaining were myself, Natsu, and Gildarts - Gildarts was the one who wound up taking over as administrator, though he obviously wasn't too well-suited for it. "Alright. So we won," he said, plopping down on his ass, rubbing his chin for a moment. "Where is the rest of the guild, though?"

"They're in the giant lacrima in the capital. This isn't the capital," Konata explained.

"Aha!" He said, snapping to his feet, raising his finger into the air. "So, where is the capital, then?" He asked, pointing at Konata, who just shrugged. "Damn. This is going to be tough," he said, rubbing his chin again.

"We could simply inquire among the locals," I pointed out.

"You're a genius," Gildarts agreed, pointing at me. "Actually, why don't you handle the decision making from now on."

"Excellent," I declared, straightening up. "I will lead us forward to a glorious victory!"

"Hey, why does he get to be the leader instead of me?" Konata asked. "I was helping too."

"Oh yeah. Maybe Konata should lead," Gildarts said, rubbing his chin again.

"Oh. Wait. I don't want to do that. It sounds like a lot of work," Konata corrected.

"Members of the Fairy Tail Guild!" I called out, to my comrades, stepping up on a conveniently located box. "We have seized the city of Louen, yes - but not the capital, where they're keeping our comrades! We must move, fast, to take it!" How to do that, well, I could figure it out. They did it in canon with like a tenth as many people.

* * *

Erza Knightwalker pressed her cheek into her husband's chest, listening to the gentle, repetitive thump of his heartbeat, to his soft breaths. He was the man she loved the most in the world... his fingers idly stroked her hair, as the two laid there, naked bodies entwined with one another. When they had first made love, on their wedding night, he had not been so skilled as he had become, but they had built their lovemaking together. Learned what delighted the other, and did it. This was the serene perfection of a long, healthy, monogamous marriage - which is precisely what both of them wanted.

There was a pounding on the door. "Captain Knightwalker! Captain Lee! There's been an attack on Louen!"

In a moment, she swept herself to her feet, rapidly gathering her armor and weapon, ready to fight. Lee was more laconic in his movements, more workmanlike, but that was natural... she had quite exhausted him, after all. She smiled at the thought of the look on his face, when she'd taken him in her mouth and simply devoured his length again and again until he was finished.

She left the room when she was done, leaving him half-dressed and behind her. "What's happened in Louen?" She asked, her voice sharp as she looked down at the soldier before her.

"It's the Fairy Tail Guild!" Damned Dark Guilds. Once they had finally squashed the Fairies, that would be the last of them - but while they still lived, it would be hard. "They used incredibly powerful magic of some type."

Lee emerged from the room, frowning at the young soldier's words. "The whole guild?" There was a faraway look in his eyes for a moment, as if trying to recall something from very long ago, but then he shook his head. Erza had grown accustomed to her husband doing such things. "If the entire guild has attacked Louen, this is our chance to strike them once and for all."

"Unless that's precisely their plan," Erza said, her voice sharp. Sometimes Lee could be brutishly simple. "To draw out our main forces so they can counterattack the capital. It's four days march to Louen, and they must know we now have the resources to-"

"Wait," Lee interrupted, and Erza fell silent. "Do we know anything about the wizards that we captured, from Earthland?"

"We used our largest anima ever," Erza said, by way of reply. "We had to, due to whatever obstruction is in Earthland, constantly disrupting our anima. Beyond that... I'm not aware of any particulars. Why?"

Lee stared at her for a long second, then kissed her on the lips, sharply. "I may ask you to do something crazy, Erza," he told her, and she nodded along with his words. "I promise, if I do, it's to save Edolas. Do you trust me?"

"Of course, my beloved," she said, gently pressing her hand against his cheek and smiling. "But what is it that has you concerned?"

"It might be nothing..." he replied, shaking his head, then glancing down at the soldier. Erza snapped her head down to the soldier herself, and her glare quickly made him scurry away. She watched him go, then turned her gaze back to her husband. "But I think the wizards... might not be our Fairy Tail. And if they aren't... it means so much."

"What does it mean?"

"You remember that I told you I remembered my past life, in another world?"

"Of course," she said, with a smile, grasping his hand in her own. "I'm glad that you trusted me with such a personal secret," she told him. She had learned it on their wedding day. It hadn't changed her feelings for him at all, of course. It didn't matter where they came from - only where they went. And that they were going to go there together. She squeezed his hand tight in hers, and he momentarily winced.

"That other world... may have relevance to this one," he explained. "I can't say more. It's too dangerous."

She nodded. "I understand." She turned her gaze down the hall. "We do need to begin preparations to retake Louen. We can't spare our main force, for fear this is a mere distraction."

He nodded himself, kissing her one last time on the lips, and she let out a soft sigh against him before he pulled back.

She loved him so much. Together, they could take down the Fairy Tail guild, once and for all.

* * *

Lenette tried her hardest to keep a straight spine. She, along with the rest of the crew of the Red Banner Airship, had been captured by the Fairy Tail guild. The king would send his forces, crush the last of the dark guilds, and bring peace to Edolas. She had to believe that.

Most of the royal army stationed in Louen had escaped, of course. The crew had tried to retreat with the rest of their forces, but they'd been downed by some type of... well... if she was forced to describe it, she would have called it a hairdresser. That was obviously not what had attacked them, though. She would have to come up with a better way of describing the creature.

She, and the rest of the Red Banner crew was now housed in Louen's own military gaol. It was ironic. These rebels were using the very same sort of facility in which they would soon be housed. If they were forced to abandon the city, of course, her comrades would recover her...

"Hail," came a bewitching male voice. Lenette's gaze immediately flicked to the man it belonged to. A tanned, blonde vision of male perfection. Almost angelic in his physique. The sort of figure of her sexual fantasies. He wore dark sunglasses, and seemed vaguely familiar. "I am the great and powerful Lee!" He told her, and it came off as simply a common sense fact. Lenette's tongue licked out past her lips. "I require you to assist me in using the airship to reach the royal capital quickly!"

Her comrades in arms immediately began to shout at Lee in a cacophony of anger. "Of course we won't do that!" "You damned rebel!" "How could you, Lee?!" One of them asked, apparently shocked by the betrayal. Lenette didn't understand it.

"How could I what?" Lee asked the man, mirroring Lenette's own thoughts.

"Betray the Kingdom! You're the Captain of the 1st Magic War Division!" What?! This was the Lee? She'd never seen the man up close, and he was wearing those bewitching sunglasses which made him look extremely handsome.

"You must have me confused with someone else," he said, idly rolling a size 60G bra in his hand. One which looked exactly like her own bra. She blinked, looking down, and yes, she had lost her bra. That was her bra. Her cheeks burned. The Captain of the 1st Magic War Division had stolen her bra! She swallowed, looking at him nervously.

"P-please return my bra, sir," she said. He toyed with it for a moment, then approached her cell. Her cheeks burned brighter as he drew close. If she had known that the Captain of the 1st Magic War Division was so handsome, she would have tried to serve in a different section of the army!

"Hello, beautiful," he said, and her heart raced hearing those words. She was falling for him. Wasn't he married? Ah, hers was a forbidden love. "Would you be willing to help me?"

"I-is there a good reason for what you're doing, sir?" She asked, nervously. Her comrades began to shout at her from their own cells, but she had to follow her heart...

"Yes, there is," he told her. "A very good reason. Some of my comrades have been kidnapped by the king of this country, and I intend to save them and dethrone him!"

The king had turned on his own soldiers?! Lenette felt her heart rage with anger at the very idea! "I'll help you, sir!" She declared, with gusto, and he handed her back her bra before unlocking her cell. She would get him to the capital so quickly that the king would never know what hit him, that rat bastard! "But we scuttled the airship," she said, realizing that fact suddenly. "It won't be usable without major repairs, if that."

"Oh, don't worry about that," he said. "I fixed it already."

"What?" She asked, stupidly.

* * *

I had gone along with Lenette's request that I be the one to assist her with the piloting of the airship. Technically anybody could do it, if they were being guided by a more experienced person, but I knew that I would pick it up faster than any other member of the guild, except maybe Levy, thanks to my cheat abilities.

I had initially had the impression that she had mistaken me for the Captain of the 1st Magic War Division, whoever that was (Konata said it was Panther Lily, the cat-looking guy, which was obviously incorrect, as I don't look anything like a cat), and that was why she was doing whatever I said. I was increasingly under the impression that this girl was not doing it because of that, but rather because she found me incredibly appealing. She was a buxom beauty, with long, dark green hair and equally cutting green eyes, looking like so many other women of this universe: enchantingly beautiful.

As I recalled - and confirmed, with Konata - the resolution of this arc saw everybody from Earthland being forcibly ejected from Edolas, leaving the Edolas people behind. Maybe there was something later on, where they could meet up again? But that would be a long time away...

"We'll need to take a stop, sir," she said, putting the vessel on autopilot for the moment, the vehicle just float. "Without a full crew, it won't be safe to travel the full distance. We can pause here, away from the capital, get in a quick bit of rest, then finish the journey."

"I see," I told her. Her claims fit well enough with what she had told me about the vessel, so I nodded. "You'll have to leave first, just in case this is a trick on your part." She flushed at that.

"Yes, sir," she agreed, halfway skipping out of the pilot's room. I locked it behind us. Well, 'locked' isn't the right word. I smashed it until it couldn't be opened any longer. I'd use my time magic to fix it later, and I headed to one of the crew quarters to get in a quick nap.

* * *

I woke up to find myself not alone. Lenette was in my bedroom, wearing what looked like a swimsuit, and currently straddling my largely-naked body. "Sir..." she purred out, her fingers trailing along my bare chest. "Why do you sleep wearing those sunglasses?"

Now, of course, I would gladly have fucked her silly and added her to my harem, but for two major issues. Firstly, I had no idea who she was, unlike all the other girls that were members of my harem. Secondly, I would be forced to abandon her in a matter of days, if not hours. So I unceremoniously tossed her off the bed, using time magic to snap myself back to consciousness as I got 'dressed.' "I'm not sleeping with you," I told her.

"Please, sir! I know you're married, but I promise, I'm okay with being a mistress! I love you!" She declared, grabbing onto my leg as I tried to make my way to the door. "I loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you, it's-"

"Shush. We need to pilot the plane. We can discuss this later." By which I meant, never, since I'd fly off to another universe. She could figure it out from there, I was sure.

* * *

As the airship landed, Lenette bounced on her feet nervously, chewing her lip. Her attempt at seducing Lee had failed miserably. She'd made herself look like such a fool... he must have been so loyal to his wife... she was truly a lucky woman. They set down an hours walk outside of the royal city, since the airship wouldn't be allowed over the city without proper clearance, which she didn't have.

"How do we make our way into the city?" Lee asked her, and she started.

"You just walk inside, sir," Lenette told him, her lips curling into a faint frown. Was he mind controlled, somehow? Why did he not remember that? Even for civilians, there were no real limits on entering the city. It was the model of the future of Edolas, when they had endless energy and could keep everyone in luxury. Of course, it was open to the whole public, so they understood why the kingdom had to do what it did.

"Yeah, that sounds right," said a petite, blue-haired girl, wiggling one pinky finger in her ear as if to clear it out. "In canon they just walked in, it was no big deal."

Lee took a deep breath at that point, sucking in air, then exhaling it back out. "Fairy Tail!" He called out, to the mass of people. Lenette recognized a few of them from wanted posters... she hoped that she wasn't going to get in too much trouble. "Our friends are in there, but we need to be careful until we've found them. So stay quiet and keep-"

He was interrupted by a loud whistling noise, descending from above. "Artillery!" Lenette cried out, rushing back towards the airship to take cover. It wouldn't be much of one - she'd seen an artillery barrage whip through them all - but it would be better than nothing.

The Fairy Tail guild members didn't follow her, she realized. After a moment's confusion wherein Lee explained what was happening, they moved as one to counter the incoming attack. One - Lucy, the Lucy - drew forth a key and summoned something ex nihilo, something she only barely saw, some horrific mix of man and horse. It began shooting arrow after arrow from a bow. Another took the form of a titanic beast and rushed on. A third began firing bolts of fire that intercepted the descending weapons.

It was unbelievable. They had these sorts of weapons all along? No wonder the Fairy Tail guild had managed so long as a dark guild!

One shell landed amidst them, slamming into the hard earth and then exploding into shrapnel. For a moment, there seemed to be numerous injured, maybe even dead - but a blue-haired girl glowed green and saved many, and Lee rushed among them, simply touching them to revert them to full health. It was absurd. This sort of magic... why had they never attacked the capital before now?

When the barrage ended, Lenette let out a sigh. The artillery devices designed by the great inventor Kunio took quite some time to safely cool down and reload. They were probably finished firing. Actually - it was quite a ways, to the city, still. "Since we've been made," she called out, as loud as she could. "I can take you by the airship!"

"What?" "What?" "What?" Came the echoing calls of the crowd. "I can't hear you! What are you saying?"

"I think she said that she got laid, and that she can take my beloved Lee to the base!"

"No! She didn't say that!" Lee called out. "Juvia!"

Even as he spoke, a blue-haired girl began to emerge from the crowd, rushing directly towards Lenette. She had thought Lee's wife was a redhead. Ezra? Erza? Elsa? Something like that. Still, 'Juvia' seemed very angry, as Lee also charged at her, trying to catch up.

Juvia was on her in a moment, simply tackling her to the ground, staring down at her for a long second. "I... hope you make my beloved Lee happy! You hussy!" She declared, before suddenly hopping to her feet and leaving her alone, sniffing loudly - more the haughty kind than the sad kind. Lee reached her, tapping the side of her head.

"She said that we had been made, she could take us by airship," he explained to Juvia, who flushed. "I don't have any interest in her."

"Oh, Lee!" Juvia cried out, suddenly wrapping him in a hug. Lenette just awkwardly looked away.

The rest of the Fairy Tail guild approached the airship as a mass.

* * *

"No, you idiots! You don't fire all at once! We need a sustained barrage, a sustained barrage!" Seeing Kunio rage fruitlessly, yelling loudly at the soldiers, was music to Lee's ears. The little shit deserved worse than that. "You fire, then wait, then fire! It makes it impossible for them to approach! The whole damn Fairy Tail guild is going to attack the capital now, are you happy?!"

"We will handle it," came Erza's sharp voice. "Your advanced weapons cannot compare to the strength and diligence of the royal army!" She said, raising her hand into the air and earning cheers from the soldiers.

"They can! They absolutely can!" Kunio complained, loudly.

Lee ignored the argument for the moment. He would let Kunio dig himself deeper with Erza. Erza respected strength and diligence. He looked out at the tiny pinpricks, four miles out, looking like little dots at best, more like a mass, really, and wondered if his suspicion was right. He had seen gouts of flame, and a bit more, but... it was too far to really say anything.

If he was right, though... that was the real Fairy Tail guild, the one from Earthland, and that meant they were doomed from the start.