Mystogan Finally Makes His Move

Edolas, Edolas Continent, Floating Landmass.

November, x784.

"Well, no one could ever claim that either of these mother fuckers have a glass jaw." Alfonzo muttered to himself as he watched Gajeel and Panther Lily exchanging punches at high speed. "I mean, seriously, do either of these sons of bitches know the meaning of defense?"

Nearly half an hour has passed since Elicia ended her fight with Byro. In that time, Elicia and Marin met up, with Coco following Elicia around like a lost puppy, Byro returned to his human form, and the girls dragged their prisoners out of the castle's underground. Along the way, they had to knock out Hughes, as he kept trying to call for help, despite being under the effects of Elicia's [Hiding in Plain Sight] spell.

On top of that, Erza had also returned to the Royal capital. Then, with the Edolas Erza slung over her shoulder, she rushed to where she could feel Natsu's presence to lend her assistance. Though, it would be wholly inaccurate to say that Erza felt Natsu's presence. Instead, she ran towards the towering flames in the distance, expecting to find Natsu nearby.

Meanwhile, about five minutes ago, Gajeel and Panther Lily expended their magic power to a point that they could no longer maintain flight. In fact, Gajeel couldn't even maintain his transformation. So, they both landed on the landmass housing the giant lacrima and just... started throwing punches. And have been doing so until the present.

"If this is all you've got, you'll never defeat me!" Panther Lily shouted as he shrugged off a body shot.

"Oh, I'm definitely gonna... Ugh... beat you and make you my cat!" Gajeel shouted excitedly as he received a right hook to the chin.

"*Sigh* This isn't fun anymore." Alfonzo muttered as he looked away from the ongoing slugfest. "I wonder when Mystogan is gonna make his move."

As if waiting for Alfonzo to ask his question, a large, winged creature with dark grey fur flew up from just outside the city.

"Oh, there he is." Alfonzo said with a grin.

As the large creature approached the floating landmass, along the way, Alfonzo noticed that there were several people who leapt from its back into the city. And based on the magic power signatures he could feel from their weapons, those people were going to assist Erza, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla. Meanwhile, the large creature, known as a Legion, continued on its flight path towards the floating landmass.

"Legions are just as ugly In real life as they were in the anime." Alfonzo muttered as he watched the Legion approach.

Eventually, when the Legion drew near enough to the landmass, even Gajeel and Panther Lily's focuses were drawn away from their brawl to the new arrival.

"What the hell is that thing?" Gajeel asked in shock. "There aren't too many animals uglier than that."

"It's called a Legion." Panther Lily replied. "But how could it have been able to fly all the way here without anyone stopping it?"

"Well, if you weren't so focused on your fight with Gajeel, you would have noticed that there is a rather big commotion in the city." Alfonzo said, standing up to meet the new arrivals. "I doubt they had the extra manpower to deal with the Legion."

"What?" Panther Lily exclaimed in disbelief.

A moment later, Panther Lily ran over to the edge of the landmass and looked down at the Royal Capital. Unfortunately, because the wizards from Fairy Tail were involved in the commotion and there was no chance of losing points thanks to their destruction of public property, a decent portion of the city had been completely leveled. On top of that, most of the leveled areas were currently burning, as well.

"How could this have happened?" Panther Lily asked, falling to his knees in despair.

*Whistle* Salamander is really doing a number on that city, isn't he?" Gajeel asked after making his way to the edge of the landmass as well.

Meanwhile, the Legion finally touched down on the landmass, not far away from Alfonzo.

"I thought you'd be here sooner after Natsu and the others started causing a fuss in the Royal Capital." Alfonzo said, looking up at the man standing on top of the Legion's head. "I mean, this is your hometown, right Mystogan... Or should I say, Prince Jellal."

"Just what don't you know, Alfonzo?" Mystogan asked as he hopped off the Legion's head. "I even made sure to leave that bit of information out when I told you about the situation in Edolas."

As he spoke, Mystogan removed his mask and bandana, revealing his face.

At the same time, Panther Lily's attention was drawn away from the burning Royal Capital when he heard Alfonzo mention Prince Jellal.

"Prince! Is it really you?" Panther Lily asked as he stood up and rushed over to Mystogan. Then, once he was in front of him, he dropped down to one knee while staring up into Mystogan's eyes. "Prince, where have you been? You've been gone for so long."

"Lily, it's good to see you again, my friend." Mystogan said with a smile while patting Panther Lily on his shoulder. "I've been trying to stop my father from causing things to escalate to this point. So, I've been roaming Earth Land closing all the Anima that opened up on that side. But as you can see, I've failed."

"Then, why didn't you tell me about your plan?" Panther Lily asked after taking a moment to digest what Mystogan had to say. "I would have been more than willing to support you in your endeavors."

"I know, old friend." Mystogan replied. "But because of my opposition to my father's plans, I was on the verge of being declared a traitor. And I did not want to drag you down with me."

Hearing that, Panther Lily could only lower his head.

Meanwhile, after getting his fill of seeing the city being ravage by Natsu's flames, Gajeel made his way over to Alfonzo.

"Think fast." Alfonzo said as he tossed something over his shoulder.

Catching the object on reflex, Gajeel looked at what he held in his hand. And when he saw it was a piece of magically charged black iron, his eyes lit up before he immediately bit into it. As a result, Gajeel wore a euphoric expression while his magic power was being recharged.

'I gave him that metal because I had a feeling that he was about to ask if Mystogan was trying to steal his cat.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he looked over his shoulder to see Gajeel eating the chunk of metal with glee. 'Part of me feels like I'm thinking too much. But the other part feels like it was the right move.'

"Not that I want to interrupt your reunion." Alfonzo said, trying to get the conversation rolling before Gajeel finished eating. "But what's your next move, Mystogan?"

With Alfonzo's question, Mystogan and Panther Lily stopped their conversation and looked in Alfonzo's direction. While Mystogan looked at his guild mate calmly, Panther Lily could not help but look at him with some apprehension. Especially after Alfonzo insulted his sword and swatted him away like a naughty child, not long ago.

"Before I answer your question, can you tell me what the others' situation looks like?" Mystogan asked.

"Well, let's see." Alfonzo said as he closed his eyes to focus more on what was going on in the Royal Capital. "Erza beat her counterpart. In fact, she's dragging her around while helping Natsu and the others deal with the Royal Army. Marin and Lici's battle is over, too. I don't know who they fought exactly, but they're just about to leave the castle with a few people in tow."

"Hmm…" Mystogan hummed in thought. "Well, I can't say that I know them very well."

"Maybe if you actually showed up at the guild hall every once in a while, instead of playing all mysterious, you would." Alfonzo muttered.

"But I'd guess they went to find the key to the Anima, right?" Mystogan asked, ignoring Alfonzo's jab. "Along the way, they probably fought the rest of the captains. Maybe even Byro and Coco, too."

"Do you really think Coco would have fought them, Prince?" Panther Lily asked. "From what I've heard, one of them looks like the late Captain Phyllis."

"Hmm…" Mystogan hummed in consideration once again. "You're probably right, Lily. I doubt Coco would have been able to fight Elicia. She was raised by Captain Phyllis, after all."

"Seriously?" Alfonzo asked with his eyes opened wide in surprise. "Does that mean Lici's gonna have another one added to her band of weirdo admirers?"

"I've heard about that." Mystogan said, not able to hide a smile. "And I must say, it's quite possible."

Knowing what Coco looked like from the anime in his past life, Alfonzo could only shake his head with a wry smile on his face while he imagined the little girl following Elicia around like a puppy.

"Anyway, if what you've said is true, they probably did defeat the rest of the captains." Mystogan continued from where he left off. "Meaning, my father's protection detail should be at its weakest. So, now is probably the perfect time to take him in to custody. He needs to pay for his crimes. Not just those against Earth Land, either. But for what he's done to all the people of Edolas not living in the Royal Capital, as well."

"*Gulp* Does that mean we're gonna go beat up the king?" Gajeel asked after swallowing the last bit of metal Alfonzo gave him. "I've never beat up a king before. This sounds like fun."

"Yeah." Alfonzo added. "I'm down, too."

"Good, then we should get going." Mystogan said with a nod. Then, he looked in Panther Lily's direction. "Lily, will you accompany me on this final step of our revolution?"

"Of course, my Prince." Panther Lily replied while thumping his fist against his cracked chest plate.

"Well, before we get going, let me deal with the uninvited guests." Alfonzo said, looking in the direction of the Royal Capital's airspace. "I really hope they don't die from the fall, though."

At the end of Alfonzo's line of sight, three Legions, each carrying a number of Royal Army soldiers on their backs was quickly approaching the floating landmass. More than likely, they were ordered to pursue Mystogan's Legion. Though, they were only now able to get a pursuit team ready.

"[Electromagnetism Magic: Thunder Clap and Flash]." Alfonzo chanted as he was covered in sparking, blue electricity.

In the next instant, Alfonzo dropped down into an iaido stance, even though he was not holding a katana. Then, he made the motion of drawing and sheathing a sword three times in quick succession. And with those motions, three condensed bolts of lightning were sent flying towards the three Legions.

"Ahh~~~~!" Panther Lily screamed in terror while falling to his knees and covering his head with his hands.

*Roar!* x 3

At the same time, the three Legions roared in pain as the lightning struck. A moment later, they fell from the sky, unable to maintain flight due to the pain.

"Okay, we can go---" Alfonzo said as he turned back towards the rest of the group. But when he saw Panther Lily's state, his words came to a halt.

'I knew he was afraid of lightning.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'But you really only got to see his smaller form cower like this in the anime. Seeing the big, badass Panther Lily curled up in the fetal position like this is kinda…'

Not only Alfonzo was caught off guard by Panther Lily's display, however, Gajeel might have been in an even worse state of shock after seeing the cat he planned to adopt in this situation. Mystogan, on the other hand, could only shake his head.

"After all these ears, I would have expected you to overcome this fear, Lily." Mystogan said. "But I guess everyone has at least one weakness."

"Huh? What are you talking about, my Prince?" Panther Lily replied frantically as he stood up quickly. "I-I wasn't afraid. I was just caught off guard, that's all. I-I-I'm not afraid of thu-thu-thunder."

Once again, Mystogan could only shake his head. At the same time, Gajeel stepped forward and patted Panther Lily on his shoulder with a grin on his face.

"Ther's nothing wrong with being afraid of something, Lily." Gajeel said. "But you don't have to worry. Now that you're my cat, I'll help you overcome it."

Hearing Gajeel's conciliatory tone, Panther Lily wanted to slap his hand away. Unfortunately, he was still trembling too hard. So, he was unable to muster the proper strength to do so.

"Anyway…" Alfonzo said, breaking the current awkward atmosphere. "Lici and Marin are about to reach the castle's gates. "So, we should get going."

Hearing that, the other three nodded.

"But before we do…" Alfonzo said, grabbing Gajeel by the arm. "I'll send you down there, first."

"Huh?" Gajeel exclaimed in confusion.

Then, without explaining, Alfonzo threw Gajeel off the floating landmass towards the Royal Castle.

"Alfonzo~~~~~!" Gajeel shouted as he soared through the sky. "I'll make you pay for this, you bastard~~~~~!"

Meanwhile, Mystogan and Panther Lily only gawked at Alfonzo with their eyes and mouths open wide.

"Don't look at me like that." Alfonzo said after seeing the other two's expressions. "We're taking the Legion down to the castle, right? Then that was necessary. I doubt the Legion would have appreciated having someone puke on its back, after all?"

The Legion grunted in response. And from what Alfonzo could tell, it also nodded in satisfaction at his statement.

A moment later, Mystogan regained his senses.

"Alright, let's go." Mystogan said, shaking his head once again. "Now is the time to bring everything to an end."

With that, Alfonzo, Mystogan, and Panther Lily leapt onto the Legions back before Mystogan had it fly the three of them towards the Royal Capital.