A.N. - This was a series of omakes that eventually upgraded to be considered canon. Split into multiple parts, this chapter is a brief summary of a version of Vale from Edolas.
Tales of Enchanted Evenings
The Royal City of Edolas…
"This is an ugly sight."
A young cat gazed at the large lacrima crystal a distance away from the city.
"Seriously, to think this is taken with the lives of so many people."
It sickened him to think about, but there was nothing he could do. No, all Vale Everhart could do was wait for the Fairy Tail members from Earthland to come and save those that were trapped inside the lacrima.
He tried his best to see if he could sabotage Anima for as long as he could. But deep in his heart, he knew that this day was coming.
Because that was what he saw, as someone who could see the future.
}-{
Royal Army Captain of the 5th Magic War Division.
That was his official title as the only other Exceed to work for the humans.
Admittingly, it was a difficult period of adjustment to see that humans were not lesser beings just because of their race. Panther Lily was a big help in that regard, having no qualms about seeing other humans as equals at first. For Vale though, it took him years to drop the idea that the Exceeds were divine beings.
The visions helped like they always did. It revealed to him the truth about his former queen, and her efforts to maintain the illusion over the people of Edolas.
Vale sighed.
"What troubles you, young one?"
He grimaced as he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Stop it with the old people's talk, Lily."
Vale swore he could feel Panther Lily's eyes roll behind him.
Sighing once more, he turned around.
"What do you want?"
"I need some help fixing my weapon." The other Exceed gestured towards the massive weapon hanging on his back. "The change time's been getting slower, is it possible to speed up the activation speed?"
"Set it on the floor."
As Panther Lily followed his order, Vale began to remove several tools from the satchel hanging off his body. Using the tools, Vale began to observe the various lacrima attached to Panther Lily's weapon, Bustermarm.
"Ah, I see." Vale looked up. "The problem is that the transformation speed gets slower if the magic inside the lacrima is low. It shouldn't be a problem once you fully charge it, but you might be in a pinch if you're caught in a drawn-out battle."
"Can you fix it?"
He snorted at that.
"Who do you think I am?" Vale asked. "I'm the god-damn best Enchanter in this city. Just pick it up later today once I'm finished."
"Then you have my thanks."
Unlike the other Captains of the Royal Army, Vale's job was less of a combatant role and more of a supporter role. His duty was to maintain and improve the weapons of all the other Captains in the army, as well as invent various tools for them to use.
This allowed him to gain a certain amount of access to the more secretive projects of the king, such as his plans on the Dragon Chain Cannon.
Admittingly, it wasn't as if he was informed what it was supposed to be used for. If it weren't for his magic allowing him to see the future, he would never have discovered the horrifying truth about its purpose.
It was because of knowing these things that Vale knew that Edolas was doomed.
All his efforts these past few years to make sure that Edolas wouldn't be left to fend for themselves would finally pay off once the magic of Edolas disappeared. His efforts to create alternative sources of energy, and his plans for a post-Reverse Anima society, all would finally come to fruition soon.
Everything was for the sake of Edolas.
Even if he wouldn't be here to see it for himself once it came to pass.
"What?" Vale stared at the soldier kneeling before him. "You've managed to capture the intruders?"
"Yes," the soldier responded. "The two dragon slayers are currently being kept for extraction of their magic power. The third is considered useless, so we are planning on executing her—"
"Don't," he interrupted. "I believe that it would be wise to research her body first. After all, the mages of Earthland seem to be able to utilize magic energy similarly to the Exceed."
"B-But Sir," the soldier looked up in surprise. "It was by the order of the Queen herself that—"
"Quiet," Vale sent him a glare, causing the soldier to shut his mouth. "The Queen does not hold any authority over my division, not as long as I have anything to say about it."
"Y-Yes Sir…"
Poor him, since Vale could tell what he was currently thinking. Since Vale was considered a Fallen by the Exceed, he didn't exactly have the authority to revoke an order from the Queen himself. But due to his unique status, it was at least possible to delay for time to argue her word.
But that didn't mean that he had long. This was his best chance to convince the humans from Earthland to help before they acted.
"Take me to her cell."
}-{
The doors opened with a loud sound, and Lucy looked up to see what was going on.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." A cat-like creature stood in front of her. "My name is Vale Everhart, Royal Army Captain of the 5th Magic War Division."
An Exceed, just like Happy and Carla.
She gave him a suspicious look. "What do you want? What did you do to my friends?!"
"Your friends are currently locked away in a separate cell from you. At this moment, their magic power is being extracted from their bodies to utilize and power a superweapon under the control of the King."
"What?!"
"That is why I will need your help."
Without warning, the Exceed suddenly pulled out a key and unlocked the cuffs attached to her wrists. Lucy was unable to hide the surprise in her eyes as she rubbed her hands.
"What? Why are you letting me free?"
"Follow me first, we'll talk on the way."
He took the lead, and Lucy had no other choice but to follow him. Unfortunately, both of them stopped when another figure appeared around the corner.
The Exceed scowled. "Knightwalker!"
"Erza!"
Lucy couldn't believe her eyes. The Edo-version of Erza was right in front of them. Despite her situation, Lucy found herself relaxing from seeing a familiar face.
"Everhart." But that feeling faded away when she saw the serious look on the other girl's face. "What are you doing? The Queen has ordered for the execution of the girl."
Vale looked nervous. "This might be bad…"
Then Erza saw Lucy and glanced at her unbound wrists before her eyes narrowed. "So, you were planning on freeing the prisoner."
"Shit, run!"
Vale suddenly grabbed Lucy's hand and began pulling her the opposite way from Erza. Lucy let out a cry of alarm at that.
"W-Why? I thought you guys were working together!"
"Silfarion!"
"Dodge!" Vale threw his body into Lucy's and the two barely moved out of the way as Erza flew past them. "Well, obviously that's not the case at the moment! We need to get away from here!"
As the two scrambled down the corridor, Lucy couldn't help but shout. "Can't you just fly us out of here?! I thought all Exceeds could fly like Happy!"
"I can't."
"Why not?!"
"Because I don't have any wings!"
Before she could process what that meant, Vale suddenly pulled her arm again. "Jump out the window!"
"What?!"
But it was too late. Vale had already jumped off the ledge on his own, and Lucy had no other choice but to decide whether or not to follow him.
Should she jump or not?
The voice of Erza echoed behind her. "The prisoner has escaped! All units, capture the prisoner!"
Well, that answered her earlier question.
Closing her eyes, she leaped off the ledge.
Despite falling at an incredible speed towards the ground ahead of him, Vale didn't panic.
Grabbing onto the screaming Lucy, one of the rings on his hand began to glow as he activated the spell in it.
"Enchant Ring: Float."
Both of their bodies suddenly slowed down to a halt just a few feet above the ground. Gently lowering their bodies, Vale allowed the spell to fade as the two stumbled to their feet.
"Come on, we have to get out of here!"
"Wha-"
Vale pulled on Lucy's hand. "There's no time. If we don't hurry, Code ETD will begin!"
"Wait," Lucy pulled back her hand. "Look, I appreciate that you helped me escape. But you still haven't told me why you helped me in the first place."
"Twenty words," he answered. "Edolas won't just stop at turning your friends into Lacarima. They're also planning on turning all the Exceed as well."
"Whaaat?!"
"That's why I need you and your guild's help."
"Lucy," a voice suddenly cried out from above. "You're okay!"
Both of them looked up and saw two Exceeds flying above them. Lucy's face brightened as she recognized who they were, while Vale only stared up in confusion.
"Happy! Carla! You're both alright."
"Wait," Vale blinked. "Did you say Carla?"
The two Exceeds landed, and Happy jumped to hug Lucy while the other stared at Vale.
"We have to move, a bunch of Exceeds are after us."
"R-Right," Vale stuttered. "I'm guessing you're the Exceeds paired with the two dragon slayers. I know where they're being kept."
"Lead the way."
}-{
The daughter of the queen was here.
His sister.
Vale tried his best to ignore the urge to turn around and observe the cat that was supposed to be his elder sibling. He heard from others how his mother had once sent an egg to Earthland during the first initial trials of the Anima project. To think that they would reunite under such circumstances.
It was a pity that the other Exceed didn't seem to recognize him.
But how could she, Vale thought. She probably doesn't even realize who her mother is. And any familial relations between us would barely matter since we're basically strangers.
"KYAAAAAAA!"
The four of them came to a stop as the sound of screams broke the silence.
Carla's eyes widened. "That's Wendy's voice!"
"Their cell should just be up ahead," Vale said. "They're trying to drain their magic!"
"Then let's hurry!"
But before they could take another step, a vision suddenly appeared in Vale's mind.
—̴M̸ ̷ag̶i̷c̴ ̶S̴p̴e̵ar̴-̵
-̷T̵en̸ ̴C̸o̵m̵m̴ ̷an̷d̸m̵e̷n̴t̶s̴—̷
—̶E̸X̶P̸L̵O̶S̶I̶O̷N̴—̸
"DODGE!"
But it was too late. The last thing Vale saw before he fell unconscious was Knightwalker's face as she threw her weapon toward them.
Vale woke up with injuries all over his body and a pounding headache.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but judging by the fact that he seemed to have moved to a different location from before, he figured that it was quite a while.
Turning his head, he found himself staring at the group of humans and exceeds gathered against the wall. Not just the ones he came with, but new humans as well.
"W-Wha… happened?" he mumbled. "Where's Knightwalker?"
"The Erza from our guild is fighting her," Lucy answered. "We just found Natsu and Wendy. Right now, we're trying to figure out our next move."
Vale tried to stand up, only to stumble as his legs almost collapsed. An arm supported him, and he turned to find an exasperated Carla helping him up.
"Geez, you shouldn't be moving around so much yet."
"O-Oh, thanks…"
Vale blinked as he noticed Happy giving him jealous looks before he realized exactly what the blue cat must be thinking at the moment. He shuddered, before slowly removing himself from Carla's arms.
Ignoring that for now, he turned back to the humans. "So, who are the others?"
"That's Gray," Lucy pointed to a half-naked man as she said that. "The two over there are Natsu and Wendy, the dragon slayers that were trapped here until we came."
"Yo," Natsu gave a friendly wave. "So, you're another cat like Happy? That's cool, you seem nice unlike the ones from before."
"Hello," Wendy smiled from next to him. "Thank you for trying to help us earlier. Lucy told us how you tried to help her escape."
"No thanks are needed," Vale replied. "Because I need all of your help."
"Help?"
"Yes," and Vale's face grimaced. "Because I cannot save Extalia on my own, I need to request your aid in convincing the exceeds there to help save them from disaster?"
"Disaster?"
"The Dragon Chain Cannon," he began to explain. "A weapon using the accumulated magic gathered from the two dragon slayer mages. If aimed at the floating islands where the lacrima are, it will crash into Extalia and kill every exceed there. As well as your human friends."
"""WHAT?!"""
"I need to get to Extalia to warn them about the danger." He lowered his face. "But I have no wings of my own, I cannot fly there."
"You don't have any wings?" Carla looked horrified. "What happened to them?"
"I lost them when I was younger," Vale answered. "To save a human who was dying from his injuries, I sacrificed them to heal him and save his life."
It was the reason why he and Pantherlily became Fallen, and why he was working with the humans until now. But even though he was cast out by his people, he couldn't allow them to die due to the wishes of a mad king.
"There are two things I need your help with. One is to warn the exceeds of the coming danger, and the other is to take control of the Dragon Chain Cannon."
"Take control?" Gray gave him a confused look. "Don't you mean destroy? This thing sounds like it's a pretty bad thing."
He shook his head. "No, because if you utilize it correctly, you can use the cannon to turn your friends back to normal."
"Really?" Natsu lit up. "You're saying it can be used to help us?"
"Yes, just aim the cannon at the lacrima and the accumulated dragon slayer magic will transform your friends back to normal."
"That's perfect," Gray exclaimed. "We finally have a way to get everyone free."
Vale nodded, then turned towards the two exceeds. "You two are the only ones who can get to Extalia. Can I ask you for help on this matter?"
"I dunno…" Happy replied with a frown. "I'm not sure they'll be happy to see us."
Carla hesitated. "I don't have a good opinion of the exceeds either. But still, it's not right to leave them unaware of what's coming."
"Please." And to everyone's shock, Vale knelt on the ground and lowered his head. "Help them, please."
"Why?" It was Wendy who asked. "Why would you want to help them? Lucy said that you were part of the army, so that must mean that the exceeds must have banished you. Even after that, why would you want to help them?"
Vale took in a stuttering breath. "Because despite everything they've done to me in the past, they're family."
Everyone seemed satisfied with the answer.
"Alright then," Carla said. "The cat and I will ask them for help. Are you going to be coming with us?"
"No." Vale shook his head. "I still have something else I need to do."
There was one last person he needed to meet before things turned for the worse. Stopping the humans and saving Extalia wouldn't be enough. Because the only one who could take over after the mages from Earthland defeats the king would be his son, the lost prince of Edolas.
Vale needed to meet with Prince Jellal.
"Prince Jellal…"
The Exceed spoke his name, and Jellal knew that he was going to have a serious conversation. Both of them were alone at the moment in the room where Anima was produced, magical power already acting up as he enacted his plan. Because of him, Edolas' magical power was being swept into Earthland.
"It's been a long time since we last met, Vale."
"Your Highness, I know what you plan on doing." Vale lowered his face. "Lily was supposed to be here with me, but he was held up with something. Thus, it falls to me to convince you to change your mind."
"Change my mind?" Jellal chuckled. "But there is no denying the truth. I am the great villain of the world that selfishly decided to eradicate all magical energy. The traitorous prince… what a fitting title."
"Sacrificing yourself won't settle the conflict that will arise because of the chaos. Your father abandoned his duty, will you choose to make the same mistake as him?"
"This is different," Jellal shook his head. "He remained on the throne to maintain his selfish desires, averting his eyes to the people's suffering in his lust for wealth and power. I am choosing to relinquish my position—including forfeiting my life—to do what is necessary."
"But what about the people's transgressions?" Vale asked. "The crimes of this world are the crimes of the royal family. Our sins of stealing magic power from Earthland… your life is not a suitable compensation. Only by atoning for our actions… and working to make amends… only then, can we hope for forgiveness. But for this country to change, we need someone to lead the people."
"Why me?"
"Because the one to lead must be someone with a pure heart." Vale took a step forward. "Someone who puts the needs of his people before him. Someone who has experienced suffering and tragedy. A symbol that the people can rally behind and believe in with all of their hearts."
Vale stood in front of him.
"It has to be you… Prince Jellal."
Jellal was stunned.
"To be honest, I sometimes wonder what would have happened if you never left in the first place. Maybe had you stayed and sought to change things, this country could have been more prosperous while not having to give up anything."
"You expect too much out of me."
"No." Vale shook his head. "It's the other way around, you expect too little of yourself. I truly hope that you can see yourself as the capable prince that I believe you to be."
A vision suddenly appeared in his eyes.
—̴G̶r̸e̸at ̷D̶e̸m̸o̴n̵ ̵L̶o̶r̴d̸ ̵D̵r̶ag̴n̵e̸e̴l̶-̸
̶-̴L̸o̵s̷t̷ ̷P̷r̴i̵n̷c̶e̶ ̸o̴f̸ ̴E̶d̸o̸l̴as̸—̴
̶—̷H̷e̷r̷o̶ ̶an̶d̵ ̵V̸i̷l̷l̵i̴an̶—̶
Vale smiled. "Maybe forgiveness isn't off the table after all."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's go." Vale turned to leave. "There is one last battle left before the end."
}-{
As his body began to glow, Vale watched as the crowd in the distance began to cheer for their prince as he fought against Natsu. Hearing footsteps coming from behind him, he turned around and saw Erza slowly limping toward him.
"Knightwalker."
"Everhart," she returned the greeting. "I guess that you will be leaving this world as well."
"Yeah." He gave a tired smile. "All of the Exceeds will leave Edolas and move to Earthland. I've already said everything I needed to his highness, so I'm just waiting for the time to leave."
"I see…"
"I haven't peered into the future after this," Vale continued. "But there is no doubt that the prince's path will be one full of struggle. He will need you by his side, and you will have to walk the same path he walks."
"That was never in doubt," Erza replied. "I will gladly offer my life in the service of his majesty."
"Heh," Vale chuckled. "With dedication like that, I can guess that Prince Jellal's life will be difficult for a different reason."
"What?"
"Never mind." He shook his head. "I can feel that it's almost time. Any second now, I'll be leaving for Earthland."
"Earthland," Erza whispered. "If the people we fought against are any indication, their world must be a kind one."
"That's right, you've met your counterpart. What is your opinion on their version of Fairy Tail?"
"Powerful," she replied. "But their strength is one born from the love they have for their guildmates. If our country can learn to emulate that spirit of theirs, then maybe there is hope for us."
"Fairy Tail, huh." Vale chuckled. "Maybe I should join them, although I'm more curious about whether there is another version of me in their world. I might go look for him first before deciding on what to do in the future."
His body began to slowly float upward.
"Goodbye, Knightwalker."
"Farewell, Everhart."
And thus, Vale Everhart left this world for Earthland.
And that's the end of Edo-Vale's story, at least for the moment.
Just to clarify, Edo-Vale is not someone from Earth. He is an Exceed with the power of foresight, who is also an Enchanter that makes magic items. Currently, I have no further plans for him in the main story.
Here's a tentative timeline of Edo-Vale:
- Exceed eggs are sent to Earthland to escape the disaster as prophesized by the Queen
- The Queen has another egg, and a healthy Vale is born
- Vale gains an interest in creating magic items (enchantment)
- Vale and Panterlily help Prince Jellal heal from his injuries
- Vale sacrifices his wings to help Jellal heal
- The two exceeds are cast out and labeled as Fallen
- Both join the humans and become leaders of their own divisions
- Vale discovers his ability to see the future