Edolas, Edolas Continent, Royal Capital.
November, x784.
"What's going on?" Lucy asked as she and Erza snuck around the royal castle. Peaking her head around a corner and watching the soldiers run down the corridor, Lucy could not help but ask her next question with a confused expression on her face. "Why are there so many people running around the castle like that?"
"Perhaps Elicia and Marin have been discovered." Erza replied. A moment later, however, she shook her head as she continued. "No, I doubt there is anyone in this castle that can see through her [Camouflage Magic]."
"Then what's going on?" Lucy asked as she pulled her head back from around the corner.
As previously mentioned, Coco, the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Edolas Kingdom, had stolen the key that allowed entry to the room where the Anima device was located. After finding out about her deed, King Faust ordered for her to be captured and the key to be retrieved immediately.
Naturally, after hearing the king's orders, all the soldiers in the castle began to scramble, searching for Coco in every corner of the castle. Meanwhile, several platoons were stationed at the castle's entrances to stop her from escaping.
"That's not important for now." Erza said. "We need to find the device that pulled Magnolia into this world. But we need to be even more careful with so many people running around the castle so haphazardly."
"Right." Lucy replied with a nod.
Currently, Erza and Lucy were searching in one of the castle's towers. After somehow hiding from all the soldiers searching for Coco, they were ready to climb the stairs and search the tower's top floor before moving onto another area of the castle if they were unable to find anything.
*Boom!*
With Erza in the lead, the two girls left the spiral staircase leading to the top floor of the tower. Before they could leave the corridor and search the nearest room, however, the wall next to the door exploded towards them.
"Kya!" Lucy screamed as her throat was grabbed.
"Lucy!" Erza shouted after hearing Lucy's scream.
*Bang!*
[Requipping] a long sword into her hand, Erza watched the dust cloud that was created when the wall was destroyed. She did not move into the dust cloud to rescue Lucy, however. Besides knowing that she was still alive due to her [Magic Power Detection], she had no idea what had attacked her comrade due to the same reason.
"Well, well, well… If it isn't Lucy Ashley." A familiar female voice said as the dust began to settle.
"Who are you?" Erza asked aggressively. "And what have you done to Lucy."
When the dust finally settled, Erza could see that Lucy's back was pressed against the wall while she struggled to free herself from the hand that was wrapped around her neck. And that hand was connected to a woman who shared the same facial features and long crimson red hair as herself.
"No, you're not Lucy Ashely." The red haired woman, Erza Knightwalker, said while examining Lucy closely. "You must be from the other world. Even so, you wear the mark of those criminals, Fairy Tail. Which means you should be killed like the rest of them."
"Release her!" Erza shouted as she charged forward with her longsword raised.
"Not so fast." The Edolas Erza said, dragging Lucy in front of her.
Seeing Lucy in the path of her slash, Erza quickly stopped her forward charge.
"Such a disappointment." The Edolas Erza said while looking at Erza disdainfully. "To think someone with the same face as I would side with such traitorous filth."
"Ha!" Lucy wheezed out while clawing at the Edolas Erza's arm and hand. "Just because you… look alike… don't think… Erza is… anything like… you…"
"I can see that." The Edolas Erza said while glancing at Lucy. "She seems to care for you quite deeply. Why don't we put that to the test."
"What are you planning?" Erza asked with her sword ready to strike should her counterpart show an opening.
Instead of replying, the Edolas Erza swung the spear in her other hand at the wall she had previously been pressing Lucy against.
*Boom!*
With just a swing of her spear, The Edolas Erza was able to blow out the wall effortlessly. Then, with her hand still wrapped around Lucy's neck, she dragged the blonde girl to the opening in the wall and dangled her over the ground below.
"Since this girl seems to mean so much to you." The Edolas Erza said, putting on a sadistic smile as she spoke. "If you wish to save her, use that sword in your hand to end your own life. In return, I will let her live."
Hearing that, both Erza and Lucy opened their eyes wide in surprise.
"No… Erza… you can't…" Lucy wheezed out.
*Bang!*
*Crack!*
"Silence." The Edolas Erza ordered as she slammed the shaft of her spear into Lucy's ribs, cracking at least one of them with the strike.
"Don't hurt her!" Erza shouted as her hands tightened around her sword's hilt.
"If you want her to live through this, then you know what to do." The Edolas Erza said, smiling sadistically at Erza.
Meanwhile, Erza was contemplating the chances of rushing past her counterpart, [Requipping] into her [Black Wing Armor], and catching Lucy after Erza Knightwalker inevitably let her fall. Unfortunately, even though she knew that she outclassed her Edolas counterpart in strength, she was not arrogant enough to think that she could rush past her before Lucy fell to her death.
"Too slow." The Edolas Erza said, her smile growing wider as she saw the wheels in Erza's head spinning. "I guess she doesn't mean as much to you as I thought. Oh well… I guess you can say goodbye, then."
"No, don't!" Erza shouted.
Unbothered by Erza's shouting, the Edolas Erza loosened her grip on Lucy's neck. As a result, Lucy's eyes opened wide as she felt herself falling to the ground below.
"No! Lucy~~~~~!" Erza shouted as she was covered in a bright light. "[Requip: Black Wing Armor]."
A moment later, Erza, now wearing her [Black Wing Armor], vanished form where she stood in a burst of speed. Before she could reach the hole in the wall, however, the Edolas Erza stepped in front of her with her spear raised defensively.
"Her fate has been sealed." The Edolas Erza said while bracing herself. "There is nothing you can do to sae her now."
"Damn you, Knightwalker!" Erza shouted as she swung her sword with all her might.
Although she was not as physically strong as her Earth land counterpart, the Edolas Erza was no less skilled in terms of weapon skills. So, instead of taking Erza's slash head on, she caught Erza's sword between two of the blades of her spear. Then, she quickly turned her spear to the side, successfully redirecting Erza's slash to the wall beside her.
*Boon!*
With the skillful redirection her slash and the force she used to swing her sword, Erza significantly widened the hole in the wall that the Edolas Erza had made previously. At the same time, she was now in position to see Lucy, who was still falling from the top of the tower. On top of that, there was now a large amount of rubble that would undoubtedly land on top of her.
"No,… Lucy…" Erza said weakly as she realized that Lucy had fallen too far for her to catch her.
"You should focus on the battle instead of a dead weight like that girl." The Edolas Erza said as she whipped her leg at Erza's mid-section.
*Bang!*
Thanks to the kick from her Edolas counterpart, Erza was flung backward. Before the kick landed, however, Erza noticed a blue streak approaching Lucy from the distance. And although she had been thrown backward, she could not help but smile in relief.
Seeing the smile on her counterpart's face, Erza Knightwalker could not help but frown. Then, feeling that something was wrong, she looked out of the hole in the wall at Lucy to see the moment she smashed into the pavement.
"What?" The Edolas Erza exclaimed in disbelief when she could no longer see Lucy's figure. "How is this possible? Where did she go?"
Looking around quickly, the Edolas Erza eventually found Lucy being carried away by a blue Exceed with a white Exceed flying next to them.
"I won't let you escape!" Erza Knightwalker shouted as she reeled her spear back, prepared to throw it at the intruders.
"I won't let you hurt her again!" Erza shouted, interrupting her counterpart's attack.
*Bang!*
*Crack!*
In the next instant, just as the Edolas Erza was able to bring her spear into a defensive position, Erza slammed into her, shoulder first. As a result, the Edolas Erz's spear shaft was caught between her body and the shoulder of the charging Erza.
"Gah!" The Edolas Erza grunted as she felt several bones in her rib cage break.
At the same time, Erza carried her Edolas counterpart through the skies of the Royal Capital before slamming her into the ground in a forest just outside the city.
*Boom!*
"No one harms a member of Fairy Tail and gets away with it unscathed." Erza said while staring at the dust cloud she kicked up when slamming the Edolas Erza into the ground.
"*Cough* *Cough* If you think that's enough to defeat me, then you're sadly mistaken." The Edolas Erza said in a pained tone while supporting herself with her spear as the dust settled. "It will take a lot more than that to keep me down."
"Good." Erza said as she readied her stance. "You deserve a lot more punishment than that for not only hurting Lucy, but trying to kill Elicia a few days ago, as well."
Hearing the nane Elicia, the Edolas Erza's eyebrows raise as anger began to show in her expression.
"So, that woman's name was Elicia as well." The Edolas Erza said in a tone filled with venom. "She even used a similar magic to that foolish woman. I'll definitely kill her after I'm done with you. [Silfarion]."
With Erza Knightwalker's chant, she flourished her spear. And once she was done, the appearance of her spearhead had changed. Instead of four jagged, perpendicular spear blades, the head of her spear had changed into a triangular, arrowhead-like spear blade with a golden armored section, and gold and red stripes.
In the next instant, the Edolas Erza, like her Earth land counterpart had done before, vanished from where she stood in a burst of speed. A moment later, she appeared from Erza's left and thrust her spear through her counterpart's neck.
When the spear penetrated Erza's neck, however, the Edolas Erza felt that something was wrong. And when she saw Erza's figure fade away, her eyes opened wide in surprise.
"An after-image?" The Edolas Erza asked rhetorically.
*Swish!* *Splatter!*
Then, without receiving a response, the Edolas Erza felt a searing pain on her back as she stumbled forward.
Supporting herself with her spear, the Edolas Erza used her free and to reach around and touch her back. Feeling the liquid covering her back, she brought her hand in front of her face to inspect it.
"Blood?" Erza asked in a tone filled with disbelief after seeing the red liquid that was smeared all over her hand. "Is this my blood?"
"I'll admit you're fast." Erza said, appearing in front of her Edolas counterpart with a burst of speed. "But compared to what I've been through in my training, you might as well be standing still."
Instead of responding, the Edolas Erza rushed forward once again. Flashing around the battlefield, she thrust her spear at Erza, who remained in place instead of dodging, repeatedly.
*Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
To the Edolas Erza's surprise, however, Erza was able to parry away all her thrusts with little effort.
"Damn you!" The Edolas Erza shouted as all her thrusts, slashes, and sweeps were parried with little effort. "[Explosion]."
Then, just as one of her thrusts was about to land, the Edolas Erza chanted once again. And with that chant, the head of her spear changed again. Though the spearhead was still in a triangular-shape, it now had dark red edges and bright red blade with yellow wavy lines near its middle while it was fastened to the shaft by a light silver, inverted diamond shaped ornament.
*Boom~~~~~!*
Then, upon impact, a strong explosion was triggered that enveloped both Erza's in flames.
"*Pant* *Pant* *Pant* That's not so easy to parry, is it?" The Edolas Erza asked while the head of her spear was stabbed into the ground.
Meanwhile, in front of the Edolas Erza, the only thing she could see was a cloud of smoke, as the area affected by her explosion had not been cleared yet.
"I've dealt with worse." Erza replied, surprising her Edolas counterpart in the process.
*Bang!*
Then, the Edolas Erza was thrown backward, flying out of the smoke cloud before slamming into the trunk of a tree. And if one were to look closely, they would see that there was a bruise forming on the right side of her face.
"How… how are you alright/" The Edolas Erza asked as she raised her head.
Just at that moment, the smoke was blown away, mostly due to the backhand Erza had thrown at her counterpart while the rest was blown away when the Edolas Erza flew out of the cloud.
Standing at the epicenter of the explosion was Erza, now dawning her [Flame Empress Armor] with her sword pressing the Edolas Erza's spearhead into the ground.
"I think it's time to end this." Erza said as she lowered her stance. "I need to go back and make sure Lucy is all right."
With that, Erza dashed forward. Then, once she was in range, she raised her sword overhead, looking as if she would split her counterpart in half vertically. But instead of swinging her blade down, she slammed the pommel of her sword into the top of the Edolas Erza's head, knocking her unconscious.
"*Sigh* I'll let Mystogan decide what to do with her." Erza said as she [Requipped back into her [Heart Kreuz Armor]. "I just hope Lucy is okay after all that."
As she spoke, Erza [Requipped] a couple pairs of adamantine shackles into her hands before fastening them around her counterparts wrists and ankles. Then, she picked up the Edolas Erza and threw her over her shoulder before starting her trip back to the Royal Capital.