Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
November, x784.
"Hey, everyone!" Gildarts, after Ur, Gozaburo, and, mostly, Masa explained the identity of the new guild hall, shouted upon entering the main hall. "I'm back!"
"Hell yeah!" Natsu shouted, lunging at Gildarts as soon as he was inside. "Now that you're back, fight me!"
With is flames acting as boosters, Natsu quickly closed the distance between himself and Gildarts. Before he could throw a punch, however, Gildarts flicked his right arm upward, the back of his hand smacking against Natsu's chin, launching him straight upward into the air.
*Bang!*
In fact, the force behind Gildarts seemingly simple deflection was so great that Natsu slammed into the ceiling so hard that he was imbedded into it.
"Haha…" Natsu chuckled weakly with a happy smile on his face. "Gildarts is back!"
Before the celebration could continue, or even get started for that matter, Gildarts started to shiver. Looking around for the source of this uneasy feeling, his eyes eventually landed on a brown skinned young woman with dark brown eyes and shoulder-length, straight, black hair who was glaring at him with her hands resting on her hips.
Before long, however, Gildarts recognized the young woman in front of him. And when he did, his eyes opened wide in disbelief.
"L-Lici…?" Gildarts questioned while subconsciously taking a step back and covering his crotch in fear. "No, you've got the wrong idea. I didn't mean to damage the guild hall… It… It was an accident."
"Lici, stop scaring my dad." Cana said with a chuckle. "This time it wasn't completely his fault. If Natsu hadn't charged at him, he wouldn't' have done that."
Immediately after Cana's statement, Elicia's glare switched over to Natsu, who was just pulling himself out of the indent in the ceiling.
Unlike Gildarts, however, Natsu wore an excited expression after noticing Elicia's glare.
"Oh, are you gonna have a fight with me, Lici?" Natsu asked excitedly as he landed on the floor. "Oh yeah! I'm all fired up, now!"
Before Natsu could charge forward, like he was planning to, a few threads wrapped themselves around his ankle. At the same time, a few more pressed the button on the elevator, causing the doors to open.
"If you wanna fight, use the training rooms." Elicia said in a menacing tone.
In the next instant, Natsu was lifted from the floor, suspended upside down with a confused expression on his face, before being thrown into the elevator.
*Bang!*
The sound of Natsu's collision with the backwall of the elevator was loud enough to make quite a few wizards flinch. Yet, controlled enough that the elevator was not damaged in the slightest. Then, using the same bundle of threads she used to open the elevator, Elicia pressed the button for the tenth floor before retracting her threads.
"Lici, wait!" Natsu shouted in panic. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
At that moment, while Natsu was reaching out to stop Elicia, the doors of the elevator closed before it started ascending towards the tenth floor. Meanwhile, Elicia had not looked in Natsu's direction the entire time.
"Hmph!" Elicia snorted after punishing Natsu. "I've made it clear that no one is to damage the guild hall, haven't I?"
In response, everyone, even the more hard-headed members of the guild nodded their heads frantically.
"Good." Elicia replied with a nod. "Then, I hope everyone will keep that in mind for the future."
"Geez, Lici." Ur said, walking up to Elicia as she spoke. "You're so protective of anything Alfonzo makes."
As soon as she was close enough, Ur reached up and patted Elicia on her head, a rather awkward sight, considering that Elicia was a couple inches taller than Ur.
"He worked really hard to make a nice place for the guild." Elicia said, smiling wryly at Ur's actions. "But can you stop, Aunt Ur? I'm not a…"
"Don't call me Aunt!" Ur said, changing her patting hand into a fist before bringing it down on the top of Elicia's head.
Reacting quickly, Elicia spun out of the path of Ur's fist, hiding behind Alfonzo in the process.
"Get back here, you little brat!" Ur shouted angrily as she chased Elicia around Alfonzo, who could only smile wryly at the two.
Meanwhile, Gildarts, after hearing Cana stopping Elicia from punishing him, had his sight locked on Cana, completely ignoring everything else in the guild.
"Cana…" Gildarts muttered, finally finding his voice. "Daddy's home!"
In the next instant, with a burst of speed, Gildarts appeared in front of Cana and wrapped her in a tight hug.
"It's been more than three years." Gildarts said, lifting Cana off the floor and spinning the two of them in place. "Oh, Daddy's missed you. And look how much you've grown. You're almost as tall as Daddy!"
"Dad, stop. I'm not a little kid anymore." Cana muttered helplessly with a wry smile on her face as she patted Gildarts on the shoulder. A moment later, however, she noticed that something was wrong with her father's left arm. Then, with a frown, she asked. "Dad, what happened to your arm?"
Hearing Cana's question, Gildarts stopped spinning. Then, with a heavy sigh, he put her back on the floor.
"I ran into some trouble on the quest." Gildarts said in a solemn tone. "I ran into something that even I couldn't handle… A black dragon."
With that, Gildarts swept his tattered cloak to the side, revealing the rudimentary, wooden prosthetic in place of his left arm.
"That big son of a bitch got my left arm, my left leg, and left my inner organs hanging out of my stomach before it got bored with me and flew away." Gildarts said, pointing at the scar that stretched across his lower abdomen.
Hearing that, not only Cana, but the rest of the guild wore shocked expressions while Cana's eyes were welling up with tears. Then, she flung herself into her father's arms and began to cry silently.
"You don't have to worry, Cana." Gildarts said with a small smile. "I made it home safe and sound. Besides, you know how strong your daddy is, right? Just losing an arm and a leg won't slow me down at all."
Though Gildarts reassurance did not stop the tears falling from Cana's eyes, it did calm her down enough that she could look up at her father. Then, she turned her teary eyes in Alfonzo's direction.
"Fonzie, can you help him?" Cana asked. "Like you did with your arm and Ur's leg?"
"Huh?" Gildarts exclaimed in confusion as he followed Cana's gaze. "Your arm and Ur's leg? What does--- Wait, Kid, is that you?"
Finally noticing Alfonzo after his entrance, Gildarts was surprised to see how much he had grown in only three years.
"Wow! You've grown a lot, too." Gildarts said as he made his way over to Alfonzo. Then, once he was right in front of him, he raised a hand to measure their relative heights. "Damn, you're even taller than me, now. But just because you're taller than me, don't think that will stop me from kicking your ass if you make my baby girl cry."
"Dad~~~!" Cana squealed in both embarrassment and annoyance.
"Yeah, I'm happy to see you, too, Old Man." Alfonzo replied with an eye roll. "But yeah, I found a way to reconnect my arm and Ur's leg. So, if you still have your severed limbs, I can reattach them with no problem. It'll hurt like a mother fucker, though."
Hearing that, Cana looked at Gildarts with anticipation. Unfortunately, she was destined to be disappointed.
"*Sigh* If I had known that, I would have kept them." Gildarts replied. "Finding a way to preserve them would have been a pain, but I would have managed. But I had no way of knowing you could do that. Besides, they were pretty mangled. So, the thought of having them attached didn't even cross my mind."
Once again, Cana's expression darkened.
"Well, even though I can't reattach your missing limbs, I can at least get you fitted with a decent set of prosthetics." Alfonzo said while scrutinizing Gildarts left arm and leg. "You can't even use your full power with those things. They don't conduct magic power at all."
"Yeah, but they were the best I could get on such short notice." Gildarts replied with a shrug.
"I get it." Alfonzo said with a nod. "Well, come with me tomorrow. We'll go see Porlyusica and find out what would be the best prosthetic for your situation."
"Sure." Gildarts said with a smile and a nod. "But for now, I gotta go see the old man. Need to give the report of my first failed quest. *Sigh* This sucks. My perfect record has been broken."
"Fonzie~~~~!" Elicia shouted from the other side of the guild hall. "Help me! Ur is gonna beat me up!"
Looking in the direction of the shout, everyone in the guild saw Ur chasing Elicia down the stairs.
"Damn, have they already been upstairs?" Alfonzo asked in amazement. "I knew Lici was fast, but to think Ur could keep up with her for so long."
"Stop being impressed and help me!" Elicia shouted as she dodged an ice rose that tried to bind her in place.
"Stay out of this, Kid." Ur shouted as she ran with her hands in her casting gesture. "Or I'll freeze you, too."
"*Sigh* You're lucky I love you, Lici." Alfonzo said quietly. "I don't even call Ur 'Aunt' anymore. What the hell were you even thinking?"
Although he did not speak very loud, Elicia and Ur were able to hear Alfonzo clearly. While Elicia smiled happily, Ur frowned and got ready to cast a spell to stop Alfonzo from interfering.
"I wasn't!" Elicia replied with a smile.
Shaking his head at Elicia's admittance, Alfonzo could only shake his head in exasperation before he shifted his attention towards Ur.
"Ur, if you let her go, I'll cook a full meal for you and let you have a bottle of wine from my private stash back at the house." Alfonzo said.
Immediately, the magic power Ur was gathering to cast her spell scattered and she came to a halt. Then, she turned in Alfonzo's direction with a smile on her face.
"Well, I guess it can't' be helped that Lici called me Aunt." Ur said as she walked towards Alfonzo with a little extra pep in her step. "I mean, Orlando was like a brother to me, after all."
IN response, the entire guild could not help but roll their eyes when they heard Ur's shamelessness. The only exception being Gildarts, whose eyes lit up in excitement.
"That's right, Kid." Gildarts said, placing a hand on Alfonzo's shoulder. "How about whipping up a little something for me to eat, too?"
"*Sigh* Fine." Alfonzo said with a shake of his head. "But you'd better go find out about the new guild rules from Gramps after you eat. Since this will probably be the last time I cook for you in the guild hall."
"Huh? What do mean?" Gildarts asked in a confused tone. "Why would this be the last time?"
"Like I said, go find out from Gramps." Alfonzo said as he made his way towards the kitchen. "I don't want you taking your anger out on me. Oh, and if you destroy the guild hall in anger or because you lost control, I'm gonna be pissed and we will fight."
Gildarts only smiled in response at Alfonzo's threat.
"Maybe I should, I'm looking forward to how much you've grown since I left." Gildarts said.
In response, Alfonzo did not even turn back. He only rolled his eyes as he continued towards the kitchen.
"Anyway, what do you want to eat, Old Man?" Alfonzo asked, still not turning around. "Oh, and Ur, I'll cook for you at my house later. I'm sure you'll want to have that wine with dinner, right?"
"Sure." Ur replied with a smile. "That's fine with me."
With that, because he had already stepped into the kitchen, Alfonzo ended up cooking for the entire guild, for a price, and the night passed like any other night in Fairy Tail would. With several fights taking place over the next few hours Alfonzo making a little pocket money, and Gildarts eventually going back to his house to rest after his three year absence. And to no one's surprise, Cana went with Gildarts to spend the night at her old home after not seeing her father for almost four years.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
November, x784.
After Gildarts' return to Magnolia, another few days flew by with nothing of note taking place. While Alfonzo continued with his research in the guild library while trying to recover the magic power he used to create the [Soul Weapon Embryos], Elicia spent most of her time working on new designs for the upcoming year.
On top of that, Gildarts had been measured for a new set of prosthetics. And with Alfonzo's experience when making his own left arm, Gildarts would be able to output just as much power as before he lost his arm.
"*Sigh* I think I've almost got it." Alfonzo said as he walked lazily into Elicia's workstation while heading for the bedroom after a long day spent studying.
Putting down her pencil, Elicia turned towards Alfonzo with a smile.
"That's good." Elicia said, stretching her back as she spoke. "I just hope it works. I mean, getting stuck in stasis for seven years would kinda suck."
"I know." Alfonzo replied. "But until the day it's needed, there's no way of telling. Either way, we'll have to somehow stay alive until Acnologia gets bored and just decides to nuke the whole island."
"Yeah, I'm not really looking forward to the S-Class promotion exam this year." Elicia said, getting up from her seat and following Alfonzo into the bedroom. "If nothing changes, we'll have to fight against Grimoire Heart, too."
"I don't think they'll be much of an issue, though." Alfonzo said as he sat down on the side of the bed. "I mean, not counting us, the rest of the guild is much stronger than its canon counterpart. On top of that, we've got Sun and Marin, too."
"Plus, Laxus will be there from the start." Elicia added, flopping down on Alfonzo's lap. "But will Gildarts be okay? I mean, it took you at least a month before you could even move your arm properly, right?"
"He'll be fine." Alfonzo reassured as he combed his fingers through Elicia's hair. "This time I have the Techno Organic Metal, remember. And all though it'll hurt like a bitch, the healing will be much quicker. And because it will only be a small portion, the stiffness shouldn't last too long, either."
"That makes sense." Elicia replied with a nod. "I'm actually surprised you came back alone, though."
"Actually, when I came up from the basement, they were in the middle of a fight." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "I didn't check to see what the fight was about, but It was probably over something stupid and I was too tired to try and break it up."
"I see." Elicia said with a nod of understanding. Then, with a seductive smile on her face, she continued. "Anyway, you really do look tired, Fonzie. Why don't you let me help you get some rest."
With that, Elicia licked her lips as she placed her hands on Alfonzo's chest before gently pushing him to lay back on the bed. Then, just as Alfonzo was lying down, both their eyes opened wide in surprise.
"[Metal Magic: Anti-Magic Dome]." Alfonzo chanted.
In the next instant, Alfonzo and Elicia's bed slid away from the wall, stopping in the middle of the room, as it was covered by an adamantine dome with a staggering number of sigils inscribed on its inside. Though, thanks to the lack of light neither of them bothered to worry about them.
"Using a metal bedframe was the right decision." Alfonzo's said while nodding to himself. "Otherwise, our bed would have been destroyed when I put up this barrier."
"*Sigh* I'd been feeling like I was forgetting something for the last few days." Elicia grumbled as she let herself fall on top of Alfonzo. "But it's definitely time for that, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "Honestly, I'm really looking forward to see what our Edolas counterparts will be like, though."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Elicia said with a smile.
Meanwhile, while Alfonzo and Elicia chatted without a care in the world, a large vortex had formed over the town of Magnolia. And as it spun, everything in the town, from the inhabitants, to the buildings, to the animals, were turned into motes of magic power before being sucked into the vortex. Eventually, the only thing left was a fine white sand.
A few minutes later, although the vortex in the sky had not disappeared, it had stopped spinning. As a result, nothing was being pulled into the sky anymore. At about that time, Alfonzo decided to lower the barrier he had created.
"Damn, if I had known the exact date of the beginning of the Edolas arc, I would have dragged the other girls back with me." Alfonzo muttered.
"Well, look on the bright side." Elicia said cheerfully. "It's been a long time since it was just the two of us, right?"
"It looks like it still won't be just the two of us, though." Alfonzo said as he looked up towards the vortex. "There go Natsu and Wendy. They probably left without getting an X-ball from Mystogan."
"Oh, that means Lucy and Gajeel are still here then, right?" Elicia asked as she too watched Natsu, Happy, Wendy, and Carla fly into the vortex. "We should probably go find them before we get left behind."
"Yeah, let's go." Alfonzo said as he swept Elicia into a princess carry. "I already found Lucy and Mystogan."
With that, Alfonzo and Elicia sped towards Mystogan, who was explaining the situation to Lucy.
"Yo! Mind explaining things to us, too?" Alfonzo shouted as he and Elicia approached the duo.
Shocked by the unexpected shout, both Mystogan and Lucy's heads snapped up towards its source.
"Alfonzo, Lici, you two are alright!" Lucy shouted back happily. "But how? Everyone else was sucked into that vortex. And according to Mystogan, only the Dragon Slayers and their cats should have been safe from it."
"I guess you forgot about the first time we net, didn't you, Mystogan?" Alfonzo said as he landed in front of Mystogan and Lucy. Then, he continued as he put Elicia down. "You weren't wearing a mask then, though."
"You knew I was the same boy from back then from the beginning, didn't you?" Mystogan asked as he took off his mask. "I should have expected as much from you, Alfonzo."
"Huh?" Lucy exclaimed in confusion after seeing Mystogan's face. "Mystogan is Jellal? The traitor to the Magic Council is hiding in our guild?"
"*Sigh* And this is why I always wore a mask." Mystogan said calmly. "But to answer your question, no, I'm not Jellal Fernandes."
"But you…" Lucy said, not knowing how to continue.
"I think you should let him finish, Lucy." Elicia said, wrapping her arms around the younger girl.
"Yeah, let him explain." Alfonzo added.
Hearing that, Mystogan began to explain his origins, the vortex in the sky, and what happened to the town and all its people. While Alfonzo and Elicia stayed calm, having already known everything Mystogan had to say, Lucy wore a shocked expression.
"So the town and everyone in it were turned into a giant lacrima on the other side of that vortex?" Lucy asked in a tone of disbelief.
"That's right." Mystogan replied with a nod.
"And on the other side of that vortex is a world like ours with people that have similar appearances and names to ours?" Lucy asked, continuing to find everything unbelievable.
"Right again." Mystogan replied.
"And you're the prince of the kingdom who turned everyone into a lacrima?" Lucy asked while rubbing her temples. "This is so strange."
Once again, Mystogan nodded in response. Then, he looked in Alfonzo's direction.
"So, what are you gonna do?" Mystogan asked, already knowing the answer to his question.
"Isn't that obvious?" Alfonzo replied with a smile. "We're gonna make them pay for taking our guild and town away. Plus, do you have any idea how much our house cost? Oh, they're definitely gonna pay for that, too."
"As expected." Mystogan replied with a nod and a small smile. "Then, before you go, take these."
As he spoke, Mystogan reached into his cloak. When he pulled his hand out again, he was holding a small, glass bottle filled with red pills.
"These are X-balls." Mystogan said, beginning his explanation of the pills he was holding while extending the bottle towards Alfonzo. "On the other side of that vortex is a world known as Edolas. And in that world, people do not have magic power in their bodies and can't use magic without the use of magic items."
'I actually forgot about that little bit of information.' Alfonzo said as he accepted the bottle from Mystogan. 'There's actually a chance that King Bradley and the other person I felt without magic power were from Edolas like Mystogan. I seriously doubt that, though.
"When you cross over, you'd be the same as the people on the other side." Mystogan continued. "And you wouldn't be able to use your magic. And that's where these pills come in."
"So, these little pills will allow us to use our magic over there?" Elicia asked curiously. "Does that mean there is ethernano in the air? Otherwise, how would we be able to regenerate the magic power we use?"
"That's right, there is ethernano in the atmosphere." Mystogan replied. "But the amount is finite. And will eventually be exhausted. But that is of no concern, for now. Instead, these X-balls will cause you to regenerate magic power without the use of atmospheric ethernano."
"Interesting." Alfonzo muttered as he scrutinized the little red pills in the bottle he was holding. "If I were a chemist, I'd love to see just how these things were made. Unfortunately, I'm not. Oh well, whatever."
"Anyway, when you see Natsu and Wendy, can you give them some of these?" Mystogan asked. "Before I could finish the explanation, they flew off into the vortex with Happy and Carla."
"Let me guess…" Elicia said with a wry smile. "They ran off as soon as you said something about the guild being turned into a lacrima on the other side, right?"
"*Sigh* That's right." Mystogan replied in a tired tone. "In fact, I don't believe there are more than a few wizards in our guild that would take the time to listen to the entire story."
"I wish I could say you were wrong, but…" Alfonzo said, trailing off at the end.
"Anyway, what will you do, Mystogan?" Lucy asked curiously.
"I'll see if there is anyone else who wasn't pulled through the vortex by the anima." Mystogan replied. "Then, I'll give them some X-balls and after I'm sure everyone has been found, I'll head over myself."
"Sounds good. And Gajeel should be in that direction." Alfonzo replied, pointing his finger in a particular direction. "Then, I guess we'll see you on the other side."
With that, Alfonzo held his free hand towards Mystogan with his fingers balled into a fist.
Surprised by the friendly gesture, something he rarely received as he often stayed alone, Mystogan hesitantly raised his own fist before bumping it against Alfonzo's.
"Oh yeah, and I hope you told Erza about who you really are." Alfonzo said as he pulled his hand back.
"Sort of." Mystogan replied. "I didn't know how to tell her about Edolas, though."
"Well, that's better than nothing, I guess." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Anyway, we'll get going."
"See ya later, Mystogan." Elicia said with a smile while waving her hand.
"Yeah, we'll see you later." Lucy added.
With that, Alfonzo poured out a total of three X-balls from the bottle, giving two of them to Elicia and Lucy before popping the third in his mouth. Naturally, Elicia and Lucy did the same. Then, Elicia pulled Lucy in front of Alfonzo while she clung onto his back. A moment later, she wrapped her threads around the three of them.
"Okay, Fonzie, let's go!" Elicia shouted energetically as she raised her righthand and pointed at the vortex in the sky.
"Right." Alfonzo replied with a nod.
A moment later, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Lucy were slowly ascending towards the vortex. And as time passed, their speed increased. Eventually, before Alfonzo could reach is maximum speed, they passed through the vortex, disappearing from Earth Land.
Edolas, Edolas Continent, Unnamed Plains.
In the middle of a plains area, under the lime green Edolas sky, stood a building. Though, if one were to call it a plant, there would not be much room to argue, either. And although the area around this plant-building was peaceful, that atmosphere was broken when a vortex opened above the plant-building.
From the vortex, a young man and two young women, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Lucy, were spat out, free falling towards the ground.
"Ahh~~~~~~~!" Lucy shouted as she wrapped her arms around Alfonzo tightly. "We're falling! We're falling! Alfonzo, do something! I'm too young and pretty to die like this!"
"Calm down, Lucy." Alfonzo said calmly. "I've got everything under control."
As he spoke, Alfonzo adjusted the group's flight path and speed with is [Electromagnetism Magic]. Then, after a few moments, the three Earth Land wizards were standing safely on the ground.
"Oh my god…" Lucy muttered as she dropped to her knees in relief. "I've never been so happy to be standing on the ground in my life."
"Now, you're just overreacting." Alfonzo said with a smile.
"Yeah, there's no way Fonzie would have let you fall, Lucy." Elicia added while patting Lucy on the shoulder.
"*Sigh* In my heart, I know you're right." Lucy said as she raised her head to look at Alfonzo and Elicia. "But considering how many dangerous situations I've been in with Natsu, Gray, and Erza since I joined the guild, I'm never really sure. Anyway, where… are… we?"
As she asked her question, Lucy caught sight of the large plant-building. And although seeing a plant that was shaped like a building was strange, what caused her to trail off was the familiar banner hanging on the front of the plant.
"Is that… the Edolas… Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Looks like it." Alfonzo replied calmly.
"Should we go say hi?" Elicia asked curiously.
"Why not?" Alfonzo replied with a shrug.
Like that, Alfonzo and Elicia started walking in the direction of the plant. Meanwhile, Lucy only looked at them with a shocked expression on her face.
"How are you two so calm?" Lucy asked loudly. When she realized that Alfonzo and Elicia weren't stopping, however, she quickly climbed to her feet and ran after them. "Hey, Wait up! Don't' leave me behind! "