3rd POV
Outside of the Royal City, far away, in a hidden section of the Edolas Kingdom, a Guild, or in this world, a Dark Guild, was currently in a state of chaos. The vine-like tree that was the Guild's base would tremble ever so slightly every few seconds; sometimes, a person would be thrown out from the entrance, only for them to enter quickly.
Stepping out from the forest, Mirajane and Erza watched from a distance, their expressions one of slight relief after finally finding something familiar after spending nearly three days in this new world.
"This world is very confusing." Mirajane softly spoke while rubbing her cheek, gazing at Fairy Tail. "Yes. Though it seems whatever this world is, Fairy Tail is still the same." "Fufu, I don't know whether to laugh or sigh." Mirajane chuckled softly, and Erza faintly nodded, agreeing with her, only for her expression to harden as she approached Fairy Tail.
With Mirajane following beside, the two reached the entrance, though a large familiar body was thrown at them; catching the body, Erza forced the person down, only to raise an eyebrow recognizing the person. "Elfman?" Raising his head, Elfman looked at Erza, tears streaming down his face, causing Mirajane to scowl.
"Who made you cry, Elfman? Tell me; don't be afraid, your big sis is here." Both furious and comforting, Mirajane dropped to a knee, gently rubbing Elfmans' cheek, only for him to shake his head. "S-Sis, L-Lisanna, s-she's. S-She's in there!"
Instantly, Mirajane froze. She looked at him in disbelief, then nervously gulped and opened the door. Amid the chaos, her eyes immediately recognized Lisanna, hidden behind two people. "L-Lisanna?" Tears instantly welled up in her eyes as she dashed towards Lisanna, though she was interrupted as two Natsu's were flung into her, knocking her to the ground.
"Gray!" "Not cool, Gray." Angry and meek, the two Natsu stood up from Erza, glaring and looking at Gray, who was practically naked, while another Gray had nearly seven layers on.
Groaning softly, Mirajane slowly rose to her feet, only for a firm, guantled hand to clamp on her hand, stopping her. "Mira, wait a moment, look around… That Lisanna, it might not be our Lisanna." As Erza stopped Mirajane, she looked at her and then looked around, noticing the two Natsu's, Gray's, Lucy's, Cana's, Elfman's, and even herself.
"W-What?" Mirajane grabbed her head, feeling lightheaded from the drastic haywire of emotions; Erza, seeing this, unsheathed her sword and stabbed it into the ground before shouting. "STOP!" Even without her magic, her commanding voice sparked fear into every single person as they stopped.
"E-Erza, you're here!" Forcing a smile, Natsu stiffly turned and waved at Erza, prompting Gray to put on his clothes and Lucy, Cana, and Wendy to approach her. However, while the people she knew were afraid yet mostly happy, the others, the Edolas versions, were genuinely terrified.
"S-Shit, how'd she find us!?" "D-Dammit! Not Knightwalker!" "Get your weapons!" Quickly, everyone, from Edolas-Lucy to Edolas-Reedus, formed a circle around Erza, pointing their magic weapons at her. "Eh, w-wait, guys, this is our Erza, she's a good girl! Well, mostly good girl! She's from Earthland, just as we are!"
Seeing the drastic change, Lucy stepped forward, quickly trying to fix the misunderstanding while Erza's face twitched at her words. "How do we know that?" Edolas-Lucy, the de facto leader of Fairy Tail, hesitantly glanced at her counterpart before staring at Erza.
"Well, first off, our Erza uses a sword. And secondly, her full name is Erza Scarlet, not Knightwalker." Stepping forward beside Lucy, Cana gestured to Erza, who was currently sheathing her sword; after a few tense moments, Edolas-Lucy lowered her magic weapon, prompting everyone else to do the same.
"If she were truly Knightwalker, she wouldn't have come alone… Welcome to Fairy Tail, or well, our Fairy Tail." Shaking her head, Edolas-Lucy looked at Erza, only to flash a faint, rugged smile.
"I would like some explanation." Erza looked between Lucy, Cana, and Edolas-Lucy.
So, for the next half-hour, the three women explained the situation to Erza, plus Mirajane, who was half paying attention.
"I see… Given everyone's reaction, I guess, my Edolas counterpart, Knightwalker, is an enemy?" Nodding with furrowed brows, Erza glanced at Edolas-Lucy, who snorted before nodding. "Enemy? You're basically our executioner… She's already killed some of us." Edolas-Lucy gritted her teeth, her face glossed with fury, prompting Erza to change topics.
"Where is, Master?" Edolas-Lucy briefly froze at that question before lowering her head, tears dropping onto the table. "He's dead." Her words surprised the three others. "Dead? How?" Asked Cana, finding it difficult that Makarov, even if it's a counterpart with no magic, could be dead. "I hope it was peaceful, Master is old; perhaps in his sleep." Said Lucy softly as she lowered her head.
"W-What are you talking about? Master wasn't old, he was only 22." Wiping her tears, Edolas-Lucy looked at Lucy, causing the three to tilt their heads. "Wait, who was the Guild Master?" Erza narrowed her eyes, leaning closer, watching Edolas-Lucy's gaze soften, her expression one of deep longing. "Laxus Drager… He was our Guild Master."
"Laxus!?" Cana widened her eyes in shock, staring at Edolas-Lucy's dreamy expression, her lips puckering ever so slightly. "Lucy?" Erza's voice snapped her out of her daze, a faint blush creeping onto her cheek as she nodded. "Y-Yes. Laxus was our Guild Master. He died two years ago; we were surrounded, our deaths were guaranteed, but, Laxus, he carved a path for us and stayed behind."
Although the three were still surprised to learn Edolas-Laxus was the previous Guild Master, it brought up another topic. "What about big bro?" Edolas-Lucy tilted her head at Cana's question. "Big bro? Whose that?" "Big bro. Cooper. Tall, muscular, dark-skinned, long white hair, red, vertical slit eyes, sexy… Very Sexy." "You didn't need to add that last bit, Cana." Lucy shot Cana a blank look before shifting her focus to Edolas-Lucy, who was tapping her chin.
"No. No one like that rings a bell." As Edolas-Lucy shook her head, Cana, Lucy, and Erza softly sighed. "Maybe… Maybe in this world, big bro didn't survive that tragic event." Although they didn't like such a thought, Erza and Cana nodded, agreeing with the likely possibility.
However, before they continued questioning Edolas-Lucy, three figures suddenly burst through the entrance. "Master!" "Master!?" "Yo, Gramps!" "Tsk, me and Minerva are here too!"
With an annoyed expression, Max glared back while pointing at himself and Minerva, only to go quiet when he noticed the numerous duplicates, only to see himself. "Whoa? What a freaking ugly haircut." While Max looked at his Edolas version, Minerva was doing the same, staring at the innocent, joyful Minerva.
"Oh, you look just like me! I'm Minerva! Are you also Minerva?" Edolas-Minerva smiled happily, enthusiastically shaking Minerva's hand before dragging her away. "Be careful, Minerva." "Mhm, got it, big sis!" Edolas-Minerva waved at Edolas-Wendy, who was an adult with a busty figure and immaculate beauty.
"Erza, and um, Lucy(s). Please explain… I'd also like a beer." Approaching the table, Makarov looked at Erza before glancing between the two Lucys, only to hop on the table while sighing.
After another half-an hour of explaining, Makarov was brought up to speed, just in time for Edolas-Nab to hand Edolas-Lucy a newspaper. "Look, seems something huge happened at the Royal City… Do you think it's her?" Excitement laced his voice as he stood behind Edolas-Lucy.
"What happened?" "The castle was attacked and suffered great damage; it seems 4 out of the 5 Royal Commanders were required to intervene… No, it's unlikely. Big Sis would've killed them all." Having skimmed the newspaper, Edolas-Lucy placed it on the table, letting the others read it before shaking her head at Edolas-Nab.
"It was Cooper; we arrived at the Royal City two days ago, and he attacked the spire." "Why would he do that?" "He said it would act as a signal." As Makarov replied to Erza, she rubbed her face, sighing in annoyance. "Big bro is so dumb; why would he attack an unknown place with no magic power… Actually, why did you just allow him to do that, Master?" Rubbing her temples, Erza shifted the blame to Makarov.
"Stop him? Impossible without my magic; besides, everyone else also had no access to magic power." Makarov shook his head while Erza sighed. "Anyway, with some of us having gathered, we need to figure out… How do we get back home?"
___
___
Cooper POV
Slowly coming to, I was met with darkness and a deep, full-body pain. Groaning, I slowly sat upright while my vision adjusted to the darkness, seeing through it without a problem. Glancing down at my body, I clicked my tongue at my injuries; I've been worse, but not by much.
'Tsk, if I didn't let my guard down with Erza, I could've taken at least 1, maybe 2, with me.' While trying to get comfortable, which was impossible with my wrecked body, a feminine voice came from my right.
"You're awake."