The dawn was breaking over the battered Royal Capital of Edolas, but the light that illuminated the ruins was not from the sun. It was the ethereal, swirling luminescence of the Reverse Anima.
In the center of the devastation, amidst the wreckage of the Dorma Anim and the Titan.
Meanwhile, Prince Jellal has finished his preparations for activating Reverse Anima.
He looked up, his eyes weary but resolved. He saw Edolas Blake climbing down from the cockpit of his giant robot.
"It is done," Mystogan called out, his voice echoing with a magical amplification. "The portal is stable. I can send the magic back to Earthland. I can save this world from its own hunger."
Edolas Blake nodded, jumping down to the ground. He adjusted his goggles. He knew what this meant. It meant a world without magic. But it was necessary.
"Then it's showtime," Edolas Blake said. He grabbed his radio. "Listen up, Earthlanders! The curtain is rising!"
"We need to give the people of Edolas a common enemy," Edolas Blake broadcasted to Natsu, Gray, Erza, and the others. "If magic just disappears, there will be panic. They'll blame the Prince. But if the 'Demon Lords' of Earthland are defeated by the Prince... then the loss of magic becomes the price of victory. So, be scary!"
Natsu grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Be scary? I can do scary!"
Natsu leaped onto a pile of rubble. He inhaled, his lungs expanding.
"ROAAAAAR!"
He unleashed a massive column of fire into the sky. "I AM THE GREAT DEMON DRAGNEEL! I WILL EAT THIS CITY!"
"You sound like an idiot," Gray muttered, but he joined in, freezing a row of statues into menacing gargoyles. "FEAR THE ICE DEMON!"
Lucy Ashley cracked her whip. "Come on, everyone! Defend the capital! Don't let these Earthland monsters take another step!"
The Edolas Fairy Tail members, who had just now arrived, charged forward. They weren't actually hitting their counterparts hard, but to the terrified citizens watching from the windows and alleyways, it looked like a desperate last stand.
"Take this!" Edolas Natsu shouted, throwing a firebal.
"Is that all you got?" Earthland Natsu laughed, kicking over a wall for dramatic effect.
---
High above, on the floating island of Extalia, the commotion woke the sleeping giant.
Earthland Blake opened his eyes. He was lying in the plaza of the Exceeds, surrounded by concerned cats. His body ached, his Haki reserves were low, but his mind was razor-sharp. He heard the roar of the Anima below. He felt the shift in atmospheric pressure.
"So... he's doing it," Blake whispered, sitting up. "The Prince is pulling the plug."
He walked to the edge of the island. He looked down at the Royal Capital miles below. He saw the fake battle. He understood the strategy instantly.
"They need a villain," Blake smirked, buttoning his coat. "And Natsu is a terrible actor. They need a professional."
"Geppo."
He stepped off the edge. He didn't float; he plummeted. He picked up speed, turning into a black missile. The wind screamed in his ears.
He aimed for the absolute center of the plaza, right between the two warring factions.
BOOOOOOM!
His landing was catastrophic. He didn't use a superhero landing; he used a cratering impact. The shockwave blew Natsu, Gray, and the Edolas guild members off their feet. A massive cloud of dust rose up, obscuring the sun.
From the dust, a voice emerged. It wasn't loud, but it was laced with Conqueror's Haki, projecting a wave of pure, primal fear that brought every soldier, civilian, and mage to their knees.
"PATHETIC!"
Blake stepped out of the dust. His eyes were shadowed, his expression terrifyingly cold. He drew Tensa Zangetsu, pointing the black blade at the palace.
"Is this the best this world has to offer? I am Blake Corvus, the Shadow of Earthland! I have grown bored of your resistance! I will shatter this kingdom, burn your history, and leave nothing but ash!"
The citizens of the capital screamed. This wasn't a goofy fire mage yelling about eating cities. This was a man who had stopped a falling island with his bare hands. This was a monster.
"He's taking all the aggro," Gray whispered, impressed. "Now that's acting."
Edolas Blake saw his cue. He revved up the chainsaw attachment on his rifle.
"Not on my watch, Demon!" Edolas Blake shouted, stepping forward as the 'Champion of Edolas.' "This is our world! We don't need magic to beat you! We have heart!"
"Come then, Hero!" Earthland Blake roared.
They charged.
CLANG.
Sword met Chainsaw Rifle.
"Nice speech," Edolas Blake whispered as they locked weapons, sparks flying between their faces.
Earthland Blake spun, delivering a controlled kick to his counterpart's chest. Edolas Blake flew back, crashing through a wooden cart (which he had aimed for).
"He is too strong!" Edolas Blake yelled for the crowd. "But I will not yield!"
The Royal Guard, the citizens, even the King who was being dragged away in chains—they all watched. They saw Edolas Blake standing up to a god. They saw that even without magic, they could fight.
"For Edolas!" the crowd began to cheer. "Defeat the Earthlander!"
---
In the center of the chaos, Mystogan raised his staff high. tears streamed down his face.
"I banish the magic from this world! REVERSE ANIMA!"
The sky broke open.
A massive, swirling vortex appeared in the heavens. It wasn't sucking things in destructively; it was a gentle, irresistible magnetic pull.
Light began to stream from the earth. Every magic item, every Lacrima, every weapon powered by Ethernano began to glow.
"It's starting!" Lucy cried, her body beginning to glow with a golden aura.
"Whoa! I'm floating!" Natsu yelled, lifting off the ground.
And every member of Earthland Fairy Tail gets teleported to Earthland.
The magic within the mages was reacting to the portal. It was pulling them home.
Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy—they were all lifted into the sky, drawn toward the vortex.
"Goodbye, Edolas!" Natsu shouted. "You guys were weird, but cool!"
"Take care of the guild!" Edolas Lucy waved to her counterpart.
"Don't catch a cold!" Gray shouted to Edolas Gray (who was wrapped in twenty jackets).
The Exceeds in the sky above were also caught in the pull. Extalia began to dissolve, the magic holding the islands together vanishing. The cats rained upward into the portal.
In the plaza, Earthland Blake stood firm. He sheathed his sword. He watched his friends float away. He watched the magic leave the world.
He looked down at his own hands.
They weren't glowing.
He looked at his feet.
They were firmly planted on the ground.
Edolas Blake, who was holding onto a lamp post to avoid being blown over by the wind, looked at him.
"Uh... Blake?" Edolas Blake called out. "Why aren't you glowing?"
Earthland Blake blinked. He looked at the portal high in the sky. He looked at Natsu, who was already halfway there.
"Ah," Blake said. "Right. No magic. No Ethernano. The vacuum doesn't recognize me."
It was a comical, terrifying realization. The bus was leaving, and he didn't have a ticket because he was too 'normal'.
"If the portal closes," Edolas Blake shouted over the wind, "You're stuck here!"
"That would be a problem," Earthland Blake admitted. "I have a date next week."
He walked over to Edolas Blake. The two men, identical in face but worlds apart in spirit, clasped hands.
"You did good, mechanic," Earthland Blake said. "Keep them safe. Keep the Prince honest."
"I will," Edolas Blake nodded, gripping the hand tight. "And you... try not to throw anyone at castles."
"If you ever figure out dimension hopping with science," Earthland Blake smiled, a genuine, rare smile. "Come find us. The first round is on me. We'll have a party that'll destroy the guild hall."
"Count on it. Now go! The window is closing!"
Earthland Blake turned to the sky. The portal was shrinking. The pull was strong, but not for him. He had to generate the thrust himself.
He crouched low. He focused every ounce of physical strength he had left into his legs. He channeled his Haki to reinforce his bones.
BOOM.
The ground beneath him shattered, leaving a crater ten feet deep. Blake launched himself into the sky like a rocket. He broke the sound barrier, tearing through the clouds.
He flew past the floating Exceeds. He flew past the dissolving debris of Extalia.
He reached the event horizon of the Anima.
"Coming through!" Blake shouted.
He punched through the dimensional membrane just as it began to collapse.
Darkness swallowed him. Then, light.
Home
The sensation of falling changed. It wasn't the cold wind of Edolas anymore. It was the warm, humid air of Magnolia. The smell of rain and grass hit his nose.
Blake landed in the middle of the town square with a heavy thud, rolling to a stop.
Around him, chaos.
The entire city of Magnolia, which had been turned into a giant Lacrima crystal, had returned to its original form. Buildings popped back into existence. People who had been frozen in crystal stasis woke up, confused and disoriented.
"What... what happened?" a baker asked, looking at his hands. "I was just selling bread, and then... a light?"
"Are we dead?"
Fairy Tail members were landing all over the city. Natsu crashed into a fountain. Lucy landed on top of him. Gray landed in a trash can.
"We're back!" Natsu cheered, spitting out water. "We're home! The magic is back!"
He fired a stream of flame into the air, and it felt fuller, richer than it had in Edolas. The Ethernano of Earthland was abundant.
Erza Scarlet stood atop a crate, her armor shining in the returning sunlight.
"Citizens of Magnolia!" she projected her voice. "Do not fear! You were taken to another world, but Fairy Tail has returned you safely! The crisis is over! We are home!"
A cheer went up from the town. The confusion melted into relief. They didn't understand the details, but they understood one thing: Fairy Tail had saved them again.
Suddenly, the sky darkened again. Not with clouds, but with cats.
Hundreds of Exceeds, who had been sucked through the Anima because of the magic in their bodies (Aera), began to float down gently. Their wings worked here.
"Where is this?" an Exceed asked, looking around fearfully. "The ground... it is so full of magic!"
The people of Magnolia stared. "Are those... flying cats?"
"Are they with Happy?"
Queen Shagotte landed gracefully near the guild hall. She looked frail, stripped of her 'divine' authority, just a refugee in a strange land.
Makarov Dreyar, the Master of Fairy Tail, walked out of the guild hall. He looked at the Queen. He saw the fear in her people's eyes.
"Welcome to Earthland," Makarov said, his voice kind.
"We... we are intruders," Shagotte bowed her head. "We have nowhere to go. Our home is gone."
Makarov shook his head. "Fairy Tail is a place for those who have nowhere else to go. But you are many. I will contact the Magic Council immediately. We will find a forest, a mountain, a home for your people. Until then... Magnolia welcomes you."
Shagotte wept. "Thank you. Truly... thank you."
---
Amidst the reunion, one mage was happier than anyone else.
Gajeel Redfox stood near the edge of the crowd. He was battered. He was bruised. But he was grinning like a maniac.
Standing next to him, in his small form, was Panther Lily.
"So," Gajeel said, crossing his arms. "You made it."
Lily crossed his small arms, mirroring him. "I did. Though this world... it is loud. And smells of too much magic."
"You'll get used to it," Gajeel said.
Gajeel looked over at Natsu, who was hugging Happy. He looked at Wendy, who was hugging Carla.
Then he looked at Lily.
"I finally got one," Gajeel whispered, a tear of pure joy leaking from his iron eye. "I finally got a cat."
Lily sighed. "Please do not make it weird."
"Too late!" Gajeel scooped the shocked panther up in a bear hug. "You're my cat now, Lily! We're gonna be the best team! We're gonna beat Salamander and his blue flying fish!"
"Put me down, you iron lout!" Lily protested, but he didn't unsheathe his claws.
Blake watched them from a distance, leaning against a restored brick wall. He lit a cigarette, the smoke curling up into the Earthland sky.
"Mission accomplished," Blake murmured.
He closed his eyes, listening to the laughter of his guild. The nightmare of Edolas was over. The party... was just beginning.