The heavy, six-wheeled jeep rumbled into the outskirts of Louen, a bustling town located in the shadow of the Royal Capital. Unlike the desolate wasteland they had crossed, Louen was alive with people, though the atmosphere was oppressive. Royal Army banners hung from every building, and soldiers patrolled the streets in tight formations.
Lucy Ashley steered the vehicle down a narrow, trash-strewn alleyway, parking it behind a stack of crates.
"We're here," she said, cutting the engine. "Keep your heads down. If they see the Guild mark, we're dead."
Arriving in Louen, Edolas Lucy takes them to the guild's underground base.
She led them into a nondescript tavern, nodded to the barkeep, and opened a trapdoor hidden beneath a rug in the storage room. They descended a ladder into a cramped, damp tunnel system that eventually opened into a small, reinforced bunker. It wasn't as impressive as the Crawler, but it was safe.
"This is one of our safe houses," Lucy Ashley explained, lighting a lacrima lamp. She walked over to a weapons rack. "If you're going to walk around outside, you can't be defenseless. Since you Earthlanders can't use your magic, you'll need these."
She tossed Natsu a strange, red-bladed sword. "Magic Sword: Mel Force. It can generate fire bursts, but it has a cooldown. Don't go wild."
Natsu caught it, looking at it with disdain. "A sword? I want to punch stuff with fire!"
"Punching doesn't work here, idiot," she snapped.
She handed Wendy a pair of wind-enchanted fans. "These will let you create gusts. It's not Dragon Slaying magic, but it'll blow a soldier back."
She looked at Blake. "What about you, big guy? I have a heavy spear or a Magic Bazooka."
Blake shook his head, patting the hilt of Tensa Zangetsu. "I'm good. My sword works fine, and my... power... isn't reliant on your atmosphere."
Lucy Ashley eyed him suspiciously but didn't argue. "Fine. But don't blame me if you get shot."
"We need intel," Blake stated. "We need to know where the Lacrima crystal is being held and the layout of the Palace."
"Agreed," Lucy Ashley said. "But we can't move as a big group. It draws too much attention."
They split into three groups.
"Natsu and Happy, one group. Try not to destroy anything," Blake ordered.
"Aye!" Happy saluted. Natsu just grunted, swinging his new sword awkwardly.
"Lucy Ashley, Wendy, and Carla, one group." Since Wendy was young and Edolas Lucy knew the terrain, this made sense.
"And Me and Cana as another group."
They exited the safe house, merging into the crowds of Louen. The town was strange—a mix of medieval architecture and weirdly advanced magical technology. Cars drove past horse-drawn carts. It felt disjointed.
Then they all go in different directions, looking for any clues.
Blake and Cana walked through the market district. They blended in well; Blake's imposing figure and Cana's confident stride made them look like mercenaries or travelers, people you didn't mess with.
"No magic in the air," Cana murmured, trying to shuffle a deck of cards that felt like dead paper in her hands. "It feels... suffocating. Like holding your breath."
"It's just different physics," Blake said, his eyes scanning the crowd, his Observation Haki a constant radar. "People here rely on tools. It makes them weaker individually, but their tech is dangerous."
They listened to gossip in taverns, read wanted posters, and watched the Royal Guard movements. They learned that the "Great Lacrima" was being prepared for a ceremony in the Capital Plaza in two days.
"Two days," Blake whispered. "That's our timeline."
Suddenly, the ground shook.
BOOOM.
A plume of smoke rose from the eastern sector of the town, followed by the distinct sound of screaming soldiers and a very familiar, gravelly roar of frustration.
Blake stopped in the middle of the street. Cana stopped beside him. They both looked at the smoke column rising into the twilight sky.
They didn't look worried. They didn't look surprised. They looked resigned.
Blake and Cana sigh in perfect unison.
Then Blake asks, "How do you wanna bet that Natsu was the reason for the explosion?"
He smirked at her. "I'll give you ten-to-one odds it wasn't him."
Cana scoffs and says, "You know that is a losing bet, and I would not bet on it. Even drunk, I'm not that stupid. It's obviously Natsu. He probably tried to eat a magic car or fight a lamppost."
"Fair enough," Blake chuckled. Then they both started moving to the area where the commotion started.
"I told him," Blake said, rubbing his temples. "I distinctly remember saying, 'Natsu, don't destroy anything.'"
"He lasted twenty minutes," Cana checked an imaginary watch on her wrist. "That might be a new record for restraint."
It took them 10 minutes to reach the place where they heard blast sounds. The Royal Army was swarming the area. Soldiers were running toward an alleyway, shouting about a "pink-haired terrorist" and a "blue cat monster."
"Yup," Blake nodded. "Definitely them."
Then Blake uses his Haki to locate Natsu and others.
"Found them," Blake said. "They're moving fast. Leaving the city."
And he finds them all running towards the forest.
"They're heading for the Western Woods. Probably trying to lose the guards in the dense terrain."
"Let's go," Cana said.
And Blake and Cana follow their trail to the forest. They bypassed the soldiers, using Blake's speed and knowledge of blind spots to slip out of the city gates unnoticed. They entered the alien forest, where the trees were massive mushrooms and floating rocks obscured the path.
They caught up quickly. In a clearing ahead, they saw a chaotic scene. Natsu was swinging his magic sword wildly at a group of Royal Soldiers who had pursued them. Wendy and Carla were backed against a tree. Edolas Lucy was using her electric whip, which was discharging lightning arcs to defeat a soldier.
But then, something—or someone—else stepped into the clearing.
A blonde woman wielding a whip, but moving with the fluidity of a seasoned mage. She summoned a giant clock shield to block a soldier's attack.
"Get back!" the newcomer shouted.
Blake and Cana landed in the clearing just as the soldiers were driven off.
When they reached there, Cana was surprised to see Earthland Lucy and Edolas Lucy standing next to each other.
It was a surreal sight. Two Lucys. One in black leather with wild hair and a tough attitude. The other in her familiar blue-and-white outfit, looking elegant and... wait.
"Magic?" Cana blinked. "She used magic?"
The two Lucys were currently staring at each other.
"You're me?" Edolas Lucy asked. "Why are you wearing such flimsy clothes?"
"I'm you?" Earthland Lucy countered. "Why do you look like a delinquent?"
"Lucy!" Cana called out, walking over. "You're safe! But... how? Everyone in Magnolia was crystalized. Blake and I barely escaped."
Earthland Lucy turned, relief flooding her face. "Cana! Blake! You made it!"
"When the Anima hit, Horologium sensed the dimensional distortion," Lucy said, patting the key at her hip. "He automatically summoned himself and pulled me inside. The clock's dimension is separate from space-time, so I wasn't converted into Lacrima. I just... fell through the hole."
" I met Mystogan on the other side. He gave me these pills—X-Balls. They allow Earthland mages to use their internal magic even here."
Natsu, who had been listening, jumped up. "Magic pills?! Gimme! I hate this sword! It's heavy, and it doesn't explode right!"
"He just gave me one pill, which I ate. We will ask him when we see again," Lucy said, holding up a hand.
Then, with a smug, confident grin spread across her face. She flipped her hair. She preened, looking at Natsu and Wendy. "None of you can use magic. I'm the only one who has her magic with her. That makes me the heavy hitter. The Ace. The top dog. Finally, Lucy Heartfilia reigns supreme!"
She struck a pose. "You may worship me now."
Natsu grumbled. "She's gonna be unbearable."
Then Happy pours water on her happiness.
"Aye," Happy said innocently. "But Lucy... Blake can still use his powers."
Happy pointed at Blake, who was leaning against a mushroom tree his presence heavy and undeniably powerful even without casting a spell.
Happy explained. "Blake's been beating up monsters since we got here. He can knock out a whole squad of soldiers just by looking at them."
Lucy froze mid-pose. She looked at Blake. Blake just raised an eyebrow and gave a small, two-finger salute.
"Yo."
Lucy deflated visibly. Her reign as the "Strongest" had lasted approximately thirty seconds.
Hearing that, Lucy says, "Well... second strongest."
"Still better than Natsu!" she added quickly, sticking her tongue out at the Dragon Slayer.
"Hey!" Natsu yelled.
With the group reunited—Blake, Cana, Natsu, Wendy, both Lucys, and the Exceeds—the dynamic shifted. They weren't just scattered survivors anymore. They were a team.
"Okay," Blake said, taking command. "We have magic support now thanks to Lucy. We have a guide thanks to... other Lucy. And we know where the guild is."
"The Royal City," Edolas Lucy said, holstering her whip. "The crystal is in the plaza. They're planning to use it to ram Extalia—the island of the Angels—in two days."
"Extalia?" Wendy asked.
"The floating island," Edolas Lucy said.
"We have to stop them," Natsu said, clenching his fists. "We have to save the guild and stop this... island ramming thing."
"We can do it," Edolas Lucy said. She looked at her Earthland counterpart, seeing the celestial keys, seeing the confidence. Then she looked at Blake and the others.