The next day.
Dark clouds hung over Magnolia. A cold wind blew through the quiet streets, foreshadowing the coming storm.
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall.
Though it was still daytime, the weather had forced the magical lights on. Everyone with nothing to do was drinking, chatting, and brawling as usual.
"I cannot believe Chase and Gildarts almost met in Guiltina. Fate is a strange thing."
At the bar, Mirajane rested her chin on her hands. Her eyes were gentle as she looked at Chase, who was sitting across from her. "So, you two did not fight?"
"No. I would have liked to, but he was in no mood to fight."
Chase sighed, disappointed. He took a bite of his fried chicken leg.
After exchanging information about the Flame God Dragon and the Black Dragon, Gildarts had just looked tired and said he wanted to rest. He had no desire to fight.
Besides, he had not yet fully adapted to his prosthetic.
There was no point in forcing a fight under such conditions. It would not be satisfying. And the chances of getting new cards were almost zero.
"That is too bad. I had two thousand Jewels on you winning~" Mirajane blinked.
After Chase and Gildarts had left the guild the day before, Macao had started taking bets on them fighting. Even Makarov could not resist. He had wanted to take his kids' money.
Unfortunately, the bet had not paid off.
"Oh? You believed in me that much?" Chase asked.
"Gidarts is certainly strong. But..."
Mirajane tilted her head. Her soft white hair fell over her wine-red dress. Her eyes sparkled with determination. "I just had a feeling you would not lose."
"Haha! Good eye!" Chase shamelessly agreed.
They had never fought for real. So he did not know how strong Gildarts would be going all out.
But he was confident he would at least not lose.
In the few moments they had been talking, the rain had started coming down hard. Thunder and the sound of falling water enveloped the town in a haze.
"Ugh, so bored..."
Lucy, having just finished talking with Éclair and Wendy, wandered over and sat down next to Chase. She slumped across the table like moldy bread.
"I wanted to go shopping with Levy-chan since we cannot leave Magnolia," she sighed.
"You evil woman. You are probably blaming Juvia for this!"
Juvia appeared out of the shadows. Her eyes were full of resentment.
Before she met Gray, the love of her life, and joined Fairy Tail, wherever she went, it would rain.
"I am not! Do not make me out to be so mean!" Lucy was startled.
"Even so, do not think Juvia will let you have Gray-sama!" Juvia said coldly.
"I do not want him!"
Lucy could not win. Why does she keep targeting me?
"Then Juvia is happy. We are best friends, right, Lucy~"
Suddenly bright and smiling, Juvia ran off to bother Gray. "Gray-sama~"
Lucy: "..."
"Come to think of it, the rain really is coming down hard," Mirajane said, looking out the window.
Unlike Lucy, she would soon go with Elfman to visit Lisanna's grave. Like every year, they would tell their little sister about the guild and share family memories.
No matter how hard it rained, she would not let that stop her.
Chase put down his chicken bone. His expression grew serious.
According to the original timeline, the large Anima from Edolas should be appearing soon.
He could sense the agitation in the air, hidden by the rain.
"Chase, Lucy, you two chat. I need to go to the church."
With that, Mirajane put on a solemn black coat. She grabbed two umbrellas from under the counter and found Elfman, who was scolding Jet and Droy.
It seemed Jet and Droy had been so useless they had slowed Levy down on a quest. Elfman felt they were an embarrassment to manliness.
The two did not dare to argue.
Mirajane's timely appearance saved them. The two siblings left the guild with their umbrellas. They looked a little lonely.
"The church? What are they going there for?" Lucy wondered.
"It is almost the anniversary of Lisanna's death. Her grave is behind the church," Chase explained.
"I see..." Lucy looked down at her steaming tea.
She had heard about the tragedy from Levy. About Lisanna.
Meanwhile, the guild was doing business as usual.
Macao and Wakaba wondered how Cana could drink barrel after barrel. She cursed them out. Gildarts being back had put her in a bad mood.
Bisca and Alzack, the shy couple, could not even look at each other without blushing.
Wendy watched Erza scold Natsu and Gray. Her little head was full of thoughts.
Makarov was on the second floor, eating alone and looking at a dirty magazine.
Nab was still standing in front of the request board. Max was going around talking to everyone.
BAM!
The sudden sound of the door opening broke the peaceful scene.
Mystogan stood in the doorway, soaked to the bone. His handsome face was no longer hidden behind a mask. It was full of urgency. "Everyone! Nirvana is reacting!"
Mirajane and Elfman, who had left earlier, had returned. They stood behind him. Their faces were grim.
That one sentence shattered the daily routine.
"Wait, Nirvana is reacting. That means..."
Lucy's breath quickened.
"Bored, are you? Your wish has been granted," Chase said calmly, patting her on the shoulder.
Lucy snapped out of it. She ran out of the guild with the others.
The sight before she made her eyes go wide.
In the dark, hazy rain, a massive black pillar of light shot up from the lake. It churned the thick clouds, connecting the sky to the earth.
At its end, lightning flashed. The dark clouds swirled like a vortex. The black hole at its center looked like the eye of an abyss staring down at the town.
"This level of evil intent... it is too much!" Lucy gasped.
The last time she had seen Nirvana's detection magic in action was when they had returned from the Oración Seis mission.
The black lines had been the size of threads then.
"Do not just stand there, brats! Follow the plan!" Makarov was already at the front of the group.
"Yes!" they all shouted.
Understanding the gravity of the situation, everyone got ready.
The defense team, Mirajane, Juvia, and Cana, ran into the rain to their assigned areas. They were ready to activate the teleportation circles and evacuate the residents.
The attack team, Chase, Natsu, and the others, followed Makarov to Nirvana's control tower.
Makarov typed in his authentication code. A high-level control panel appeared.
[Beep! Old Man Card!]
"What is that?"
"Hehe, do not mind it, Master. That is your security clearance."
"And yours?"
"Handsome Guy Card."
Makarov: ...
If not for the emergency, he would have smacked the brat.
Glaring at Chase, Makarov did not hesitate. He pressed the large red button.
"Command confirmed. Activating attack sequence. Magic Chaos Cannon charging."
The six magical crystals that stored Nirvana's power released all their energy. The black and white pillars hummed. Holy white light and evil black light erupted.
The two opposing forces pulled at each other, intertwining. Above Nirvana's arena, a massive chaos magic circle took shape.
"20%. 50%. 100%. Fully charged."
"Locking on to source of evil intent. Target locked."
BOOM!
The chaos magic circle released a blinding light. A thick beam of chaotic energy shot up into the sky. Guided by the black light of evil intent, it followed the path of the Anima and struck the center of the swirling vortex.
The two powerful forces collided. The sky exploded in light and fire.
The shockwave cleared the clouds and silenced the rain.
When the rumbling finally stopped, a ray of light broke through the clouds. It fell upon Nirvana, making the remaining arcs of lightning glitter.
The once dark sky had been torn open.
The Magic Chaos Cannon had successfully destroyed the large Anima from another world.
"So this is Nirvana..." Mystogan was impressed. Chase really has brought back an incredible magical weapon.
"Everyone, are you ready?"
Taking a deep breath, Mystogan looked up at the hole in the sky. "Before the channel closes, I will send you to Edolas."
On the way from the guild to Nirvana, he had given everyone the X Red Pill.
It was a magical pill that would allow them to use magic in Edolas.
"Get on with it, Mystogan! I am pumped!" Natsu clashed his fists together.
"I wonder if there will be any unexpected opponents in the other world. I am looking forward to this," Chase said.
"Just you wait! My cat! My cat is there!" Gajeel shouted.
Can you say his name right before you get pumped?
Fighting is not the main objective!
And what is this about a cat?!
Lucy felt better after getting all that off her chest.
"Edolas, another world? Sounds interesting."
Gildarts waved to Makarov. "Count me in, Master. Just for fun."
"'Just for fun'?! Do you even understand why we are going... huh? Gi-Gidarts?! Why are you here?!"
Lucy stopped mid-sentence. She blinked.
She had just been so rude to Gildarts. She was dead.
"Sorry, sorry," Gildarts said quickly.
"Gidarts, why are you here?" Mystogan asked.
"Something that big happens in town, it is hard not to notice... Wait, kid, who are you?"
Mystogan: "..."
"Enough fooling around. Gildarts, if you want to come, then come!"
It was Makarov who put a stop to the nonsense.
Gildarts was strong. He could be counted on. So he did not hesitate.
And so, Gildarts joined the trip to Edolas.
Surrounded by Mystogan's magic, everyone turned into streaks of light and disappeared into the sky.
The dark clouds sealed the hole they had left behind. The rain fell again, but less violently. It looked like it might clear up.
"Now, this old man has work to do."
Makarov sighed. He shook the rain from his cape and walked back toward the guild.
The large Anima crisis had been averted. But the leftover energy needed to be cleaned up.
And there was no hiding what had happened. He needed to explain it to the mayor and the Council.
Edolas.
After passing through the Anima channel, Chase and the others landed on a floating island.
"Amazing! This is Edolas? Happy and Carla and Mystogan's homeland?"
Lucy stood at the edge of the island. Her eyes reflected the incredible sight.
Countless islands floated in the sky. Clear rivers connected them like silk ribbons. It was beautiful.
"It is certainly very different from Earthland."
Even Erza was impressed. She glanced at the naked man beside her. "Gray, your clothes."
"Nani? When did they disappear?!"
Startled, Gray then said, indignantly, "Hey, Mystogan! Why did you not tell us our clothes would disappear in the crossing?!"
Mystogan pointed to everyone else. They were fully dressed.
He was not taking the blame for that.
Happy stared at the strange world. Carla had much the same expression.
Though she had memories of it, this was her first time seeing her homeland.
"Hey! Look at those big birds!"
"I bet they would be good grilled."
Natsu and Gildarts had different priorities.
"Time is of the essence. Let us move."
Chase stepped forward and pointed to the forest below. "First..."
"Let us see who can reach the other side of this forest first!"
"Whoo!"
Before anyone could react, he had already jumped off the island. He was already a hundred meters away, bouncing on giant mushrooms.
"Since when was that the plan?!" Lucy shouted.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Her skirt was blown up by a sudden gust.
"Let us go, Happy! We cannot lose to Chase!"
"Aye!"
Happy carried Natsu through the air.
"A race? Then I will need this!"
Erza, completely serious, changed into her bunny suit. She ran after Chase.
"They are all fools. The river is faster. I will take first place."
Gray jumped into the river. Using his magic, he slid gracefully across the surface.
"My cat! Where is my cat?!" Gajeel ran like a madman.
"Ahaha! Racing in another world? I cannot let my juniors show me up."
"Chase! Erza! Wait for me!"
Gildarts and Wendy and Carla followed.
In an instant, the large island was empty. Only Lucy and Mystogan were left.
They looked at each other. Their eyes twitched in exasperation.
"Is Chase always like this?"
"In a sense, yes..."
***
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