Year X784

December 3

It was a beautiful snowy day in Magnolia, and the team Aura Void was getting ready to leave on their latest mission while the candidates for that year's S-Class Trials were all on Tenrou Island.

"COME ON, Chason!" Ryn bounced on the balls of her feet, lugging her bag over one shoulder. "We're all ready to go!"

"You better hurry up, or Ryn'll roast you alive!" Kisho joined in.

"I'm coming, just wait a minute!" Chason's voice shouted back in the distance, from somewhere deep in the Guild Hall.

Blanche frowned. "You sure about this job?" "Why?" Ryn tilted her head at her.

The Speed Control Magic Wizard had a deeply troubled look on her otherwise normally serene face.

"I've got...a bad feeling."

"The request to save a population? What's so bad about that? Fairly mainstream for an S-Class."

"... I don't know." was the hesitant response.

"It may sound difficult, but we're a greatly efficient team, even if we are so secretive."

"We are one great team, guys!" Kisho said enthusiastically, punching a fist in the air. "Go Team Aura Void!"

"It'll be fine, Blanche." Ryn put a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me."

Little did she know, it would not be fine at all. In fact, out of their brief moment of peace would come a sudden and inevitable storm.

"I have arrived!" Chason bounded out through the doors. "Let's go!" Ryn announced, and they all set off to travel to their destination: Dellmere, rumored to be a distant land with a moderate population.

What they couldn't know was that it had never existed in the first place.

"This happens a lot, doesn't it?" Kisho shook his head.

The four of them were on the train to Ahnsa, a town close to Dellmere by train, and as per usual, Ryn had passed out.

"It's gonna to take forever to wake her...and you know how scary she gets when she wakes up!" he freaked.

"Poor thing," Blanche sympathized, looking up from her book. "She must be all worn out from the S-Class excitement."

"Uh, you know that she didn't even get picked to supervise the Trials, right?"

"You know, it's funny. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering that she's actually an S-Class Wizard after all."

"Yeah, because she's so childish all the time, right?"

"Speaking of which, have you even met yourself lately?"

"What's that s'posed to mean?!"

Meanwhile, Chason had hesitantly scooched closer and closer to his sleeping teammate.

She looks so...peaceful when she's asleep. He blushed immediately at the thought.

I wonder what'll happen if I lean...just a little closer-

"We're here!" Kisho yelled excitedly. "I'm awake!" Ryn opened her eyes at his shout and bolted upright, unaware that Chason's head was only mere inches from hers.

THUD.

"Owwwwwww!"

"How's that bump?" Blanche smiled sympathetically at Ryn.

They were all walking the rest of the way from Ahnsa, passing green fields, little villages, and settlements along their path.

"It hurts like nothing you wouldn't believe," the dark-haired girl complained. "Chason has a hard head."

"Well, at least I wasn't the one who leapt up," Chason retorted from the front of the group, where he was walking with Kisho.

"Please," said Ryn carelessly, waving his comment off. "And just who was the one who was an inch from my face?"

"Whatever." he muttered, and crossed his arms.

"I'm sure both your heads will feel much better by the time we get there," Blanche soothed, and just like that, their brief argument was swiftly forgotten.

"I'm kinda hungry," Kisho announced after a while. "I sure hope there'll be something to eat when we get to Dellmere."

"Believe me, food is the least of your worries right now." Ryn muttered, lost in thought.

"Something wrong?" Chason slowed down.

"No, it's just...like what Blanche said earlier, I'm starting to get a bad feeling too…"

"That cannot be good." Chason said thoughtfully. "If two of the four of us are getting such powerful negative feelings about this job, maybe we should-" he looked reluctant by this point. "-turn back?"

"No, we really shouldn't, though." said Blanche. "Ryn?"

"Blanche is right," Ryn said finally. "We'd be tarnishing Fairy Tail's reputation by not keeping to our request. We should keep going."

And so, the journey continued.

"Um, guys?" Kisho said nervously after a few minutes. "What is it?" Ryn stopped.

"There's something wrong." he replied.

"Are you certain?" Chason surveyed the area: just peaceful rolling green hills and a lush forest as far as he could see.

"He's right." Blanche said grimly. "According to my map, Dellmere is supposed to be...right here." She pointed straight ahead of them.

But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing there.

"That can't be!" Ryn protested. "The job request told us to save the population of Dellmere. Even the people of Ahnsa knew of it. What's going on here?"

"Maybe the request is incorrect?" Blanche suggested. "Like maybe the client got the wrong place?"

"Impossible," Chason answered. "If the townspeople of Ahnsa knew of it and even pointed us in this direction, then Dellmere must be a real destination. They even told us they knew of our client!"

"Weird," said Kisho.

"Let me see the request," Blanche held out her hand.

Ryn took it out, unfolded it, and handed it to her.

"Come aid.

In desperate times

Please help.

People of Dellmere

In grave and terrible danger

Help fight the darkness.

Come to Dellmere,

A land just beyond the reach

Of town of Ahnsa.

Come aid."

"There doesn't appear to be anything too unusual about it," said Chason.

"Hang on a sec," Kisho said urgently. "Say the last line again."

"'Come aid.'"

"Is that repeated anywhere else?"

"...Yes! It's repeated once more."

"'Come aid.'" Ryn repeated. "Do you notice something, Kisho?"

"Not really," he muttered. "It's just that it's a strange phrase."

"You could be right about that," said Blanche. "Do you think it might have something to do with Dellmere being missing?"

"Maybe it's a puzzle?"

"Yeah, like the words in 'Come aid ' are scrambled or something. I mean, that is the only recurring phrase." Ryn pondered. "It starts and ends the request. They could have some deeper meaning."

"Like Meco Iad?" Blanche suggested.

"Or Emoc Adi?" Chason tried as well.

"This could take us a while," Ryn sighed. "And just what the heck is Emoc Adi?!" she raged at Chason. "I don't know, why don't you think of something?!" he shot right back at her.

"How about...'Come Aid'?" Blanche said helpfully.

They both spun to face her head on. "Blanche, you're ditzing out again!"

Kisho looked like he was thinking hard. "Um…...no, that won't work...um…maybe..."

Then, it suddenly hit him.

"...Cemo Dia." he mumbled out.

"No!" Ryn's eyes went huge at this realization, Chason took a step backwards, Blanche covered her mouth with her hands, and Kisho himself shuddered.

"Cemo Dia is one of the most malicious Wizards we have ever encountered, remember?" Ryn shook. "If her name is in that request, not just once, but twice-"

"This is a trap," Blanche finished.

"We have to get away from here!" Chason hissed. "We could be in some serious danger!"

But too late.

A strange gray mist descended on them, faster than even the S-Class Wizard could handle.

"Sleeping spell," Ryn murmured, watching all her friends quickly pass out in front of her.

"Oh, no…"

Her eyes closed against her will and she could do nothing as her team was left to the mercy of the terrifying, villainous Cemo Dia, leader of the small but greatly feared Dark Guild Cruor Sin.

Her eyes opened to a field filled with white flowers.

"Where am I?" Blanche gasped, and got shakily to her feet. There were blooms of the blank color surrounding her for miles around. As far as she could tell, she was alone.

"I hope the others are OK." she murmured to herself.

Kisho was very groggy when he got up. But not for long.

"Huh?!"

He was in the middle of a giant flower-shaped platform floating in the middle of a lake. Nothing but water as far as he could see.

"What's the deal?!" he shook his fist. "Why am I stuck out on some water?! Where'd the hills go? And just where is everyone?"

Chason found himself in what appeared to be a gigantic cloud.

"What is this?"

There were tendrils of mist all around him, even underneath his feet, and he could see next to nothing through the dense, smoky fog. It was as though he was trapped in an illusion.

"Is this real?" he wondered to himself aloud. "Where is the rest of the team?"

Ryn was faced with a huge crystalline chamber, a cave carved completely out of strange glowing rock. That, and the fact that her head still ached faintly made it feel as though she was dreaming.

"What's going on here?" she clenched her fists. "Where's my team?"

"You are really that slow, huh?" jeered a voice from above her.

"What?" she looked up to see none other than the face of one of her worst enemies, Cemo Dia looming out at her.

"Cemo!" she hissed.

"Relax, little girl." the female Wizard sneered. "This is merely an illusion."

"What do you want?" Ryn demanded. "What have you done with my friends?"

"Nothing of your concern." Cemo waved a long finger carelessly.

"If you've so much as harmed any one of them...I'll destroy you!"

"I haven't done a thing as of yet, girl," she smirked deviously.

"I merely want to have you all participate in my little challenge."

"We're not playing any of your games, Cemo." Ryn said coldly.

"I'm afraid you have little choice." she replied. "Now listen well: If any of you break my rules, one of your members will pay dearly. Is that understood?"

Ryn couldn't know this, but the exact same instruction was being repeated to each and every one of her fellow teammates.

"And let me tell you something," she retorted. "If any of my friends are hurt, you'll be the one paying the price a thousand times over, you got it?"

"Very well." said Cemo, looking bored. "If you even survive that long, so be it."