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The Earthland versions of Gajeel and Dealana had put their plan into action with the help of their new friends and Edolas counterparts. Gajeel was able to launch an Iron Dragon attack on the giant lacrima in the plaza causing it to glow insanely bright. Despite Mystogan telling them to use their dragon slayer magic on the lacrima, the duo weren't told what exactly it would do. They could only trust Mystogan.

Dealana was regretting it.

The blinding light finally faded and revealed something the two Dragon Slayers weren't expecting; Gray and Erza. Dealana gasped as she watched them move to stand up.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Gajeel said, "It was just the two of them?" Meanwhile, Dealana couldn't help the sigh of relief and smile on her face.

"Erza...Gray..." She breathed.

"Alright, you're free! So, look alive!" Gajeel told them. Gray and Erza slowly rose from their knees to their feet and opened their eyes. Their eyes expressed confusion but when they saw Gajeel and Dealana in front of them, the two Earthland wizards could only assume they were going to be fine. "I was worried they'd fried your brains."

"And I was worried Gajeel accidentally killed you," Dealana smirked.

"Gajeel...Dealana?" Erza realized. Gray looked around and noticed all the royal army soldiers surrounding them.

"Hey! What's going on?" He questioned.

"We can talk later, right now we gotta get out of here," Gajeel explained just before the royal army soldiers charged forwards shouting for them to halt and surrender. On instinct, Gray started to put his hands in the maker magic position, only to find that nothing happened.

"My magic isn't working!" He exclaimed. Erza looked at him worriedly, "What?"

Gajeel was munching on a chunk of iron, courtesy of Lorna, while Dealana spoke up, "We'll explain later!" She then turned with Gajeel to face the crowd of soldiers.

"Storm Dragon..."

"Iron Dragon..."

"Roar!"

The two swirling roar attacks plowed through the army of royal army soldiers, sending them flying and providing an opening. As Dealana and Gajeel lead the magicless Erza and Gray through the crowds, a figure jumped from a nearby rooftop and landed behind them in a crouch. Dealana instantly recognized it to be her counterpart wearing the white mask with blue warpaint over where the eye openings were. Her sky-blue hair flowing behind her along with the two tails of her yellow scarf.

Erza and Gray looked at Dealana bewildered when she gave a whoop of excitement. Edolas Dealana tilted her masked face at the soliders, subsequently getting them to halt and assume defensive positions. They seemed to recognize her mask and knew her reputation. Reaching into her pouches, Edolas Dealana retrieved eight small smoke bombs and displayed them between her fingers while holding her arms in a 'x' shape before flinging her arms forwards and setting off the distraction.

As the smoke began to form large clouds, the royal army soldiers could no longer see in front of them. The masked Dealana turned and sprinted off in another direction, planning to meet up with Gajeel and her mini-self later.

Earthland Dealana and Gajeel lead their guild mates to a shadowed alley, away from prying eyes. Gray, who was leaning against the wall, spoke up in question of the whole situation. "So, how come you two were able to use magic?" he questioned.

Gajeel held up the bottle of X-Balls that Mystogan had given him and smirked. "I'll tell ya once you take one of these,"

"What is it?" Gray wondered before Erza interjected saying, "Enough already! Just tell us what happened." Before Gajeel or Dealana got a chance to explain, a new voice spoke from behind them.

"The two of you had been turned into a giant lacrima," Turning around to face the newcomer, Dealana felt her lips twitching upwards upon seeing that it was Edolas Gajeel.

"Told you it'd be easy," Gajeel commented in reference to their plan. His counterpart tipped his hat to shadow his face as he spoke.

"Indeed, but I'd expect no less from Earthland me and Dealana. I knew you two were the right people for the job!" He exclaimed, flicking his the rim of his hat upwards to reveal his face.

Gray and Erza immediately freaked out. "This is insane!" the ice-mage shouted.

"Is this true?" Erza demanded, her eyes wide while Dealana stifled her laughter. The two Gajeel's slung their arms over each other's shoulders while the Edolas version was the one to explain.

"Although we look a like, we are actually quite different. Edolas Gajeel at your service," He introduced.

"I gotta say, this guy's been a big help not to mention pipsqueak's counterpart and her band of merry friends," Gajeel said. Gray and Erza looked over to Dealana and she shrugged in response. "Crazy how much he looks like me, we're like twins!" Gajeel laughed. Only, Erza seemed to be on a different wave length entirely.

"Nevermind that! What do you mean 'we were turned into a giant lacrima'?" She demanded to know.

"Guess she's not impressed," Earthland Gajeel remarked.

"I doubt many chicks would be impressed by two of that ugly mug," Gray quipped, resulting in Dealana snickering at the Gajeels' defeated expressions. The group then began to explain the situation to the recovering Earthland wizards.

"I know it sounds crazy but all the Earthland Fairy Tail wizards were turned into a lacrima," Edolas Gajeel told them. "The king wants to get his hands on your magic power. The one in the plaza was so big, we thought everyone from your guild was inside it." He confessed.

"But, obviously we were wrong 'cause it turned out to be just the two of ya," Gajeel continued. "Geez! How big is the main lacrima!?" He realized.

"Mentioning it now," Dealana spoke up, rubbing the scar on her nose in thought, "the lacrima in the plaza had a jagged surface, like it was taken and cut from a much larger one." She recalled.

"So many questions, I'm not sure where to start," Gray told them, pointing to the bottle of the tiny red orbs that enabled Earthland wizards to retain their magic. "First, what's the stuff your forcing on us?"

"These pills are called X-Balls," Gajeel revealed. "You won't be able to use your magic here in Edolas unless you take one of them." He explained giving both of them one pill each before adding, "I mean, that's what I heard at least." Erza studied the red pill with suspicion. She turned to Earthland Gajeel in question.

"Oh? And who told you that?" She questioned. In response, Gajeel shook the bottle lightly, causing the pills inside to rattle.

"It's what Mystogan said when he gave them to me," the Iron Dragon Slayer told her with a smirk.

"You saw Mystogan?" Erza gasped.

"Yeah, he's a jerk face who doesn't give clear directions," Dealana scoffed, crossing her arms. "But all that aside, we have to hurry and find the lacrima with all our friends in it and save Natsu and Wendy. The problem is, Dragon Slayer Magic is the only thing capable of freeing the guild from the lacrima." Dealana began to explain.

Before anyone could say or ask anything, the same masked figure from before with the smoke bombs, once again jumped from a nearby rooftop and landed with a roll in front of them. Erza and Gray seemed to be on instant alert while Dealana turned around and high-fived her counterpart.

"Who's the masked chick?" Gray asked Dealana. Erza was still tensed, as if the figure might choose to attack despite the apparent friendly grounds they were on with Dealana. The Storm Dragon Slayer's counterpart tilted her head in response. Pulling down her scarf, Edolas Dealana removed her mask to reveal the identical features to the smaller version of herself standing beside her.

"Taa daa~!" She grinned with a wink. Without missing a beat, she turned to Earthland Dealana and Gajeel with a smile, "Glad to see you guys got out of there safely."

"Thanks for the cover, by the way," Dealana told her before Erza and Gray finally found their voices.

"Hold up! That's this world's you?" He questioned Earthland Dealana.

"She's the same but different," Erza remarked noting the obvious difference in age and stature. The redhead also took note of the unreadable emotion that flashed through Edolas Dealana's eyes when her heterochromatic gaze fell upon the requip mage.

"It's amazing, I know," Edolas Dealana grinned before her expression turned serious, "I can get Gray and... Erza into the castle to look for your Dragon Slayer buddies while mini-me and Earthland Gajeel search for the rest of the lacrima containing your friends. Gavin should be searching for it now too." She explained.

"You think you can get them into the castle without any trouble?" Edolas Gajeel questioned. He appeared slightly concerned at the prospect. Edolas Dealana nodded.

"Mhm! If anyone can get in and out of the royal castle without being spotted, it's me," She smirked, crossing her arms. She looked to the two Dragon Slayers. "The lacrima containing your friends will be massive compared to the one in the plaza, which means it has to be hidden from public view at this point. Underground or up in the air is your best bet for locating it, but we don't have much time." She expressed glancing at the sky before meeting their gazes. "With breaking you guys out and news of Fallens, the king is likely going to move up the schedule for your friends' lacrima." She warned.

"Well, then, let's get to work," Earthland Dealana smirked, cracking her knuckles and letting remnants of thunderstorms crackle and rumble along her bare arms.

"Sounds like a plan," Gray was the first to comment. Erza nodded in agreement, "If that's true then we need to hurry."

➵

Edolas Dealana had slipped her mask back onto her face as she lead the Earthland counterpart of Gray and Laxus' murderer along one of the poorly guarded areas of the castle. The royal army had been growing larger, which made no sense to the sky-blunette, but she hadn't been able to discover the reason yet.

Her hand, out of habit, rested idly on the tanto blade, sheathed on the back of her belt. Prior to splitting up, her mini-self had infused some of her magic power into the blade, much like with the souvenir lacrima fireworks but this time, for attacking purposes. She could feel the magic pulsing through the blade every time her fingers even brushed against the hilt of the blade.

"So, you're the Edolas version of Dealana?" Erza questioned. Dealana paused and looked over her shoulder, her expression hidden behind the mask. She nodded before Erza continued. "Is it safe to assume this world has its own Fairy Tail guild?"

Dealana looked down before reaching up to remove her mask. "Fairy Tail is the only remaining Magic Guild in Edolas," her revelation surprised Gray and Erza, but she ignored it and continued. "They're considered a dark guild because they chose to defy the king's order for magic guild disbandment. I'm still a member, but I haven't visited in quite a long time."

"I'm sorry to hear that, please forgive me," Erza told her, "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Edolas Dealana stiffened at hearing the apology leave Erza's mouth. Never in her life would she have ever imagined for Erza to apologize to her. She then remembered that this wasn't the same Erza that she knew. This was Erza Scarlet, not Erza Knightwalker. This Erza wasn't the one to blame for the death of so many Fairy Tail members and the entirety of the Storm Talon Tribe.

"It's not...it's not your fault..." Edolas Dealana said quietly before slipping her mask back on and peering around the corner of the wall they were currently using for cover. Two guards stood positioned outside the favored entrance Dealana liked to use when sneaking into the castle. She turned back to the two Earthland wizards. "Wait here,"

Before they could question her words, Dealana seemed to disappear. They heard a sudden exclamation of alarm that belonged to one of the guards, but it wasn't loud enough to alert anyone around. The sound of two thuds hitting the ground softly prompted Erza and Gray to peak around the corner only to find Edolas Dealana standing over the unconscious bodies of the two royal army soldiers.

With the mask still hiding any possible expression, Dealana motioned for them to follow. Erza and Gray were astonished by the apparent skillset of this world's Dealana, but nonetheless followed her inside the castle. Their footsteps echoed softly through the seemingly empty halls as they navigated closer to the West Tower. According to Dealana's knowledge of the castle's layout, there was a large chamber with no clear purpose in comparison to the other places she had discovered in her break-ins.

To her, it seemed like the best place to start looking for where the king would keep a pair of Dragon Slayers that were going to be used for Magic Power. She easily navigated the winding corridors and stairwells while avoiding any confrontation with guards lurking about. Even if they did run into any trouble, Dealana was quick to knock them out and continue moving along.

"I don't think I would've pictured the alternate version of Dealana to be so...ninja-like," Erza told Gray quietly as they went deeper into the West Tower. Voices and commotion could be heard up ahead, pushing them to move quicker as it could very well be Wendy and Natsu.

"It completely different from her normal straight-out brawling style of fighting," Gray agreed. It was yet another difference in the two counterparts. One fought with stealth and elegance while the other punched right through the obstacles.

"You'll have to kill me first!" Edolas Dealana heard someone's voice say from up ahead, from the wide-eyed expressions of Erza Scarlet and Gray, she figured they recognized whoever was speaking. After motioning to stay quiet, they began to move forward, ready to intervene.

"Very well then," the haunting voice of Erza Knightwalker rang loud and clear in Dealana's ears and she was happy that she wore a mask to hide her no doubt troubled expression. "Your wish is my command. They came around the corner just in time to see Erza Knightwalker lifting her weapon and a white exceed screaming in fear.

"If you're gonna make a move, now's the time!" Dealana told them quickly. Gray didn't hesitate and immediately sent a wave of icy mist in the direction of the guards and the evil Erza. They royal army soldiers became thoroughly confused and even Erza Knightwalker stopped her attack to address the sudden commotion.

"What's happening?" She demanded to know before three silhouettes were visible through the mist.

"You've got some nerve, lady," Gray spoke up. "You know they're with us and you decided to mess with them anyway."

"Anyone who would lay a hand on our fellow guild members will be dealt with accordingly," Erza added on. Dealana chose to remain silent as this wasn't her place to speak up.

"But how? I thought you were gone!" the white exceed questioned, her eyes filled with disbelief as she recognized the voices.

"You've made a big mistake," Gray said to Knightwalker. "and now you're on Fairy Tail's bad side. You should've known better than to mess with us." The mist cleared enough for their faces to become visible. Dealana smirked behind her mask as she noticed recognition and anger cross Knightwalker's eyes upon seeing the notorious mask.

"Stormborn..." Erza Knightwalker growled the name that caused the gullible citizens of Edolas to cower in fear. Edolas Dealana's hidden smirk only grew as she realized that just by showing her masked face she was getting under the Fairy Hunter's skin.

Edolas Dealana probably forgot to mention that she happened to be a notorious criminal who has evaded capture so many times leaving no clues to her identity aside from her war-painted mask.

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Dun, dun, dunnnnn! It doesn't matter if you're in Edolas or Earthland, Dealana will always be a badass! Questions, comments, theories~? I'd love to hear what you think, so don't hesitate to speak (type) your mind!

This chapter felt a bit rushed... what do you guys think?