Chapter Thirty Four - The Edolas Arc Begins

After my training session with Erza, I decided to focus myself on training with Ikaruga and Gildarts instead. It provided me with plenty to do over the following days.

"Oh, wait..." Konata said, as we lay in bed together, "isn't the Edolas arc the one that comes after the Oracion Seis? Or, maybe Daphne's in the middle? Uh, guess that depends on if we're doing anime only?"

"What is this Edolas arc you speak of?" Erza asked, her expression curious.

"Uhh. Well, the whole city gets turned into lacrima and teleported to an alternate universe. Basically."

"I see," Erza said, nodding and rising from the bed, instantly Requipping. "We'll have to evacuate the city immediately, to save all those who would perish."

"Oh, they don't die," Konata said. Erza's head whipped back around for Konata. "I mean, you can still turn them back from lacrima. Canonically, that's what happens anyway, so don't worry too much."

Erza's expression momentarily shifted, then she simply nodded. "Good. But we'll still have to evacuate the city."

"Uhh. I don't think that'll work, Erza," Konata said. "It's targeting the Guild, so it'll shoot us no matter what. Well, most of us, anyway. Dragon Slayers are immune, and so are Happy and Wendy. Also, I don't actually know when, specifically, it'll happen."

"I see." Erza paused, thinking about it. "I'll speak to Master Makarov. We'll build a second Fairy Tail guild hall, well outside of the city limits, and then move our members there. Then, we'll build a third and fourth Fairy Tail guild hall, and split our numbers between them. We'll continue to build extra guild halls, expanding our numbers and space further and further outward. By the time this strike comes, we may well have seven, eight, nine or ten guild halls, if we act quickly and take advantage of our magical abilities!"

"Oh." Konata blinked a few times. "I guess that'd work too."

Erza promptly rushed out of our home to go find Master Makarov and tell him all about this. Since my powers made it very easy to build things - simply begin the process and fast-forward time until after it was complete - I wound up helping us dot the countryside around Magnolia with duplicate guild halls. I had the vague suspicion it wouldn't actually work, and everybody in the Guild who wasn't quite as trusting of Konata groaned and complained.

"Would you rather be turned into lacrima?!" Erza demanded, scolding Jet and Droy, who were whining about how long it took to get to the market from the new guild halls. "A simple walk is brisk exercise! It will help you to build up muscle, perhaps even aid you on your various quests!"

"Yeah!" Elfman agreed. "Listen to Erza. She knows what it measn to be a real man!"

"Oh, you shouldn't be too hard on them," Mirajane said pleasantly. "Jet and Droy are trying very hard."

"Thank you, Mira-chan!" The two said, almost as a one.

"Hard for them, anyway," Mirajane corrected, instantly dealing a devastating blow to the egos of the two. I made a mental note never to attract the woman's ire, for her friendliness seemed to be merely a mask for a far darker cruelty than anything Erza could manage.

I left that particular guild hall, trudging towards Gildarts' little home that was even further from the city than the guild hall itself. Ikaruga was already there waiting for me, kneeling by the door, wearing her maid uniform. "Damn, you have a really hot maid," Gildarts said as I entered, making the same commentary for the twelfth time. "You should introduce me to her."

"We have already been introduced, Gildarts-sama," Ikaruga said, her voice cool and her expression showing that old vicious edge to it.

"Urgh," Gildarts said, taking a step back with a defensive posture. "That's some serious killing intent when I'm just flirting."

"My body, soul, and very self belong entirely to my master, Lee. For another man to dare to flirt with me is an insult that I tolerate only because Lee told me to."

I was pretty sure that Gildarts could kick Ikaruga's ass, but there was no reason to find out. "Come on, Ikaruga. I want to practice my swordplay some more."

"Yes, Master. You have been improving quite rapidly," she added, stepping out of the building with me. "That man is truly lascivious, Master. Why do you insist on dealing with him?"

"Uh. Because he's really strong?" I didn't mention that I, having seduced many, many different women, was in no position to talk. "Plus, I do want to get together with his daughter," I admitted, "and I want his approval when I do it."

"I am surprised a man such as he could even manage to sire a daughter," Ikaruga said with a haughty note to her voice. "Perhaps, during the times I am waiting for you, I should talk you up as a lover?" She drew her blade a moment later and rushed towards me, forcing me into a hasty defense as she took a page from Erza's playbook and simply began to fight without the tiniest warning. "For the sake of you, my master, I will provide my everything!" She declared, and I wasn't entirely sure if she was talking about her work as a wingman, or the way that she was going all-out in her sword-based assault on my personage.

Either way, it was very sexy, particularly given that I could actually manage to somewhat-adequately defend myself against her attacks. Given that she was an incredible swordswoman, able to go toe-to-toe with Erza for at least a little while in the original material, it was pretty impressive to manage just "aching arms and a few smacks" in our little duels.

"You truly have reached a level I would never have expected, particularly of one who was not raised with the blade. You've begun to move like a child," she said, smiling like that was a compliment, as we both took a breather.

"Like a child?" I asked.

"If you are raised with the blade from an early age, you learn to use it, to wield it, as an extension of your body in a way that an older talent simply never quite does. Other elements of form and technique can compensate, but the gulf is unmistakable. The sword becomes an extension of your arm, your entire balance built around it - and this is the way you have begun to fight, despite only learning as a full-grown man. You are truly-"

That was when I noticed the rain. It was coming down, hard, over one of the guild halls. It was far enough away I couldn't really be sure which one it was. Was it the one with Juvia? With Erza? I squinted into the distance, and Ikaruga trailed off as she saw I wasn't talking to her, turning her head to watch. It took only a few minutes, a torrential downpour beginning seemingly from nowhere. Hopefully it was just Juvia's aura of bad weather. Perhaps, even, the anima would pass us by entirely - that would be the best I could hope for, I think? It wasn't as if I could pick up waifus from the other world... I went into the shed to fetch Konata and see if she could tell anything.

"Yep, that sure is a storm or something," Konata said.

"Is it the anima?"

"Iunno. How could I possibly tell that?"

"You do remember the anime in far more detail than me," I pointed out.

"It's a big circular storm-thingy," she said, with a casual shrug, and then a titanic pillar of magical force impacted the guild hall in question - no, it was big enough to actually sweep up two, I realized, as they both vanished from sight. "I guess that they were the anima," she said. "Are you going to seduce any Edolas version girls?"

"I cannot say." It seemed like a big hassle, since as I recalled we were just going to get expelled back to our world, if things went like canon.

"So yes, then," Konata said with a yawn.

"You have said that in this other world, the people are inverts of us, yes?" Ikaruga asked. "Do you know what the other version of me is like?"

"Nope," Konata said. "Uh. In the world I foresaw, Erza slew you back in the Tower of Heaven," she said, raising her hands and wiggling her fingers. Given the state that Ikaruga had been in before I had healed her with my time magic, I wasn't entirely sure that that wasn't true of this world, too.

"I see. Thank you, Master, for saving this lowly worm from her certain death at the hands of Mistress Scarlet," she said, bowing her head deeply and giving me another great look down her cleavage again. "It is far more than I deserve."

Those kinds of lines were definitely too sexy to correct. "We need to find Mystogan," I said.

* * *

He was too late. He had rushed back to Fairy Tail when he felt the anima opening, but it had been too much, too fast. He could see the sky tearing open, revealing that terrible power, simply smashing down into the ground and leaving nothing but a flat plane where... once... the city was still there? What had happened?

"Oh, Mystogan," came a male voice. He turned, recognizing the figure - Lee. He'd heard from Master Makarov that the boy had incredible talents as a wizard.

"What happened?" Mystogan asked. "Why... why are there multiple guild halls arranged around here?"

"I knew that Edolas was going to kidnap a bunch of us, so I had people spread out," came the petite blue-haired girl. Konata, that was her name, wasn't it?

"You've done a great service, then," Mystogan said, reaching into his jacket pocket to take the vial of X-balls he had. "I'll send you to Edolas to rescue what of the guild has been captured," he said. "Take these," he added, handing over the X-balls.

Konata, Lee, and the pink-haired maid all obediently at them without the slightest hesitation. He was humbled by their trusting natures. They hadn't even asked what the X-balls were for.

"Ah, I want to go with Erza," Konata said. "Unless Erza's one of the ones who got kidnapped?"

"I would also prefer to go with Erza," Lee said. That, he well understood - according to what he had picked up, reading through that Sorcerer Weekly article, Erza was Lee's lover. Of course the two would not wish to be separated.

"Yeah, she's super strong and can kick any Edolas loser's ass," Konata said, making a punching motion in the air.

"That is indeed why I want to go with her."

"If it is my master's wish, then I shall also request we delay until we can reunite with Mistress Scarlet."

"Oh." Mystogan paused, looking around at the various guild halls. "Which one would she be in, then?"

* * *

"Mwahaha," Lee said, leaning back in his chair. Truly, life was grand for him, the Captain of the 1st Magic War Division.

"Why are you laughing like that, darling?" Erza Knightwalker asked him. She was seated on his lap, and was also his lover, and the Captain of the 2nd Magic War Division.

"We've managed to capture quite a lot of Earthland wizards, this time. Whatever has been screwing up the anima hasn't-"

"Let me clarify," Erza said, her voice suddenly sharpening. "I understand the cause for celebration. Soon, that Fairy Tail guild will be crushed, and perhaps this great taking of lacrima marks the end of that counterforce. All this I understand well. Ordinarily, however, you laugh like, 'Hehehehe,'" she said, doing an excellent impression of Lee. "This time, however, you went, 'Mwahaha.' Are you feeling ill, darling?" She asked, gently touching her hand to his forehead.

"I simply felt like changing it up," Lee said, defensively. "I can laugh in multiple different ways, if that's what I want to do."

"very well. If that's what you wish to do, I won't stand in the way of it, darling. It is simply strange, is all."

It was then that Kunio wandered into the room. Erza hopped off of Lee's lap without the tiniest hint of hesitation, going up to the petite blue-haired boy. Lee mentally reminded himself that Erza's affections were entirely of the maternal sort, no matter that blue-haired little pervert's obvious wishes to the contrary. Perhaps he should impregnate her - then, she would have his child to lavish those sweet maternal feelings on, rather than that boy. Despite Kunio's size, he was actually eighteen, too, so the kid definitely knew what he was doing when he asked for hugs and pats on the head and kisses from Erza, no matter how oblivious he may have acted.

"I've developed a new design," Kunio declared, earning a cooing noise of surprise and interest from Erza. "I call it, a 'rocket'. It allows one to attack from a great distance and do grievous damage to a target, all without any use of lacrima. In time, the kingdom's reliance on lacrima will vanish to nothing, and then, we won't even need to deal with those Earthlanders any longer!" He laid out a piece of paper on the table, spreading it out and began explaining every detail.

Lee knew his trick, of course. The designs bore far too much resemblance to those of his old world to be anything but stolen from there. Lee hadn't let on yet, though, that he knew what Kunio really was - a fellow reincarnator! Unlike Lee, who had been forced to work hard to learn skills useful to his new world, since in his old world all he knew was anime, Kunio had been some kind of gun nut who had obsessed over the details of firearms and military technology to the point that he had revolutionized the kingdom's technology within a scant few years, and ascended to an incredibly high role in this world's society...

"Is it good, Captain Knightwalker?" Kunio asked.

"It looks truly incredible," Erza said, leaning down to peck him on the top of the head, completely unaware of the contemptuous smile the boy was giving Lee.

Lee decided that enough was enough. "Erza," he said, standing up. "Would you mind cooking us some dinner? I'm certain that Kunio would love a homecooked meal by you."

"Oh yeah I would!" Kunio agreed, practically bouncing on his heels, looking up at Erza with intense interest and joy.

"Normally you don't want me to cook... but if you do, darling, then I definitely will!"

Erza left the pair of them alone, Kunio's eyes wandering far too much for any boy feigning innocence to pull off. Lee was on him in a second, pushing him up against the wall. "Stop trying to seduce my wife, you little brat. Get your own harem. That's my woman."

"Are you su-ggkkk!" Kunio said, as Lee's fingers squeezed down on his throat, just tight enough that it wouldn't leave a mark. He stared down at the silent, asphyxiating boy, as he spun and windmilled his arms.

"I'm sure. She is merely oblivious to your lascivious intent, and would never reciprocate your feelings, so stop all that nonsense." He nodded as best he could, and Lee released his throat. "I'm sorry about that, I just love her far too much. If you tell the king about this, I'll deny it; and if you do anything truly untoward with her, I'll kill you no matter the cost. Understand, brat?"

"Tch. Yeah, whatever," Kunio said, and his reward for that backtalk was another few seconds of asphyxiation. He behaved himself after that.

Erza's homecooked meal was terrible as usual. Even Kunio couldn't really hide that fact, despite his desperate attempts to do so. He still hadn't given up, that much was obvious to Lee, but of course, Erza was completely, utterly loyal to Lee... and Lee to her. He never even glanced at other women, any more. When that brat was out of their hair, they made sweet, passionate love in their bedchambers, and he made sure that she cried out his name a dozen times.

* * *

Juvia tried to push away the terrible thought that kept running through her head, now that she was alone in Edolas with her beloved Lee. Not alone, Lucy and Levy and Millianna and Konata and Ikaruga were all there too, but Mirajane and Erza had both been captured by the anima, leaving some of her most dangerous competitors completely out of the running. No, that was a terrible thing to think about her guildmates! But if they couldn't actually manage to save them, then Juvia would be without any true rivals except Lucy! She shouldn't think such awful things! Her beloved Lee would never leave her, and it would hurt him if Erza and Mirajane really were turned to stone! It would be, bad! Wrong!

She just clung to his side to try to get these terrible, awful, cruel, wrong, bad, unladylike and unattractive thoughts out of her head. She needed to be loyal to her beloved Lee, and to her guildmates!

* * *

Sorano simply opened the door to Lee's home. She would seduce him again, but this time... this time it would be different. She would see that indifferent look of his turn absurd, watch his sunglasses fall askew and then off his face! She'd show him what a real woman was made of, this time for... sure?

The home was empty. Not even the maid was present. Where was he? No matter. She simply got into his bed and stripped herself naked to wait for him. When he came... oh, then she'd show him. She'd show him such wonders that his pitiful little brain would melt out of his ears! She silently laughed to herself in glee at the thought.

She wound up lying there, on her side, waiting for his return, until midnight, at which point she just fell asleep in his bed, drinking in his scent as she drifted off to sleep.

She dreamed of him, of his naked body pressed up against hers, of sweat and lovemaking, of him declaring that she was so much better than any other woman he'd ever had, that her pussy was the best, that he would abandon all other women, his entire guild, the very idea of morality itself, merely to be with her. His hard length would plunge into her waiting sex, again and again, over and over, each inch filling her up entirely until she and he were joined in perfect ecstasy, their minds as one, only the thought of raw physicality and pleasure present in either of them.

She woke up a mess of sticky sweat and other fluids, the sun high in the sky, and not a single sign of Lee. She sighed and got dressed, still blissfully unaware that he was in another world entirely. She simply assumed he had taken a vacation or something. She'd seduce him when he got back. Oh no, she'd do better than that - she'd prepare for when he got back, then she'd show him things he'd never even dreamed of in all his previous lovemaking. Yes, that was it. She would leave no chance that the orgasmic bliss of their lovemaking would overwhelm all her defenses again!