Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Lawyer Tom: You know, I probably could muster up something that will make you own something of significance.

Oh yeah? How're you going to do that?

Lawyer Tom: Easy. I can introduce you to a publisher.

You know a publisher?

Lawyer Tom: Nope. But I probably would get introduced to one.

I'm almost afraid to ask but… how?

Lawyer Tom: Easy, if you just say you own everything that you've written, the publisher of the series you're ripping of-

Okay! Back to my subconscious you go!

Meh… Again.

Just a warning, this chapter can be considered filler. Nothing much happens, just some talks between the people and more world building. Though if I contradicted something, please tell me. I'd be happy to fix it, or at least try and work around my mistake, like any human being would. *shots fired against the human race*.

And just to be clear, this chapter will have minor details that aren't that obvious but will play a large roll to what happens next. Hey, messing with another world will cause the continuum of that world to go askew, from minor details, to major ones. You'll just have to read to understand what I'm talking about.

Also, Shirou isn't Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu didn't pick sides, while Shirou would gladly pick sides. Don't mistake one for the other just because one raised the other.

XxX

In the end, he accepted.

They had asked him to help them find the people that had been taking the magic, and to bring them to justice.

What they had told him made sense. People without magic could not survive, he knew that. And though they obviously weren't telling him everything. They were forthcoming with all his questions. He really had no reason not to trust them, and almost all of them had the best interest of the people in their hearts.

He said almost all, since the man with the white coat and psychotic eyes looked like he didn't really give a damn as long as he was having fun.

And so he accepted, and the meeting was soon adjourned. He was thankfully given a room to stay in, and though he wanted to go home, he really wanted to help them. Not just for the sake of the people, but for their futures as well. They lived in blissful ignorance simply because they feared the Exceed that lived above the clouds. That was no way to live, and had Rin been the one in his place, she would have probably chastised the people – king or not – that their way of dealing things was wrong. He didn't agree to their methods either, but he understood the need to stay unconscious to those things. He knew that the stature of secrecy that the Magus Association had erected was there for a good reason. Had the secret got out, had the magi with the power to level cities, reanimate dead bodies, and even break the laws of certain physics been found out, then the world would go into a frenzy. The people – regular people without magic – would panic, simply because they wouldn't feel safe anywhere. This fear would lead to anger, and this anger would lead to mass hunting. The witch hunts during the dark ages happened because a magus had enough of the secrets, and had told people – high ranking people – about magic. It also didn't help that the church really didn't like magi at the time as well.

Here though, panic would not lead to mass hunting, it would lead to rebellion. When the people figured out that the king was as weak as they were when compared to the Exceed, they would question why they needed a king in the first place, why they needed laws when they could so easily be smote down. This would lead to crime, whether this is murder, rape, or extortion. People would rebel against the laws that were erected for their safety, simply because their lives, lives that they thought were secured, weren't as secure as they first believed.

And this would only happen to those that feared the Exceed, the newer generations, the ones that did not witness first hand the destruction that the Exceed wrought, would seek to destroy the thing that made them scared. Which would only lead to bigger genocide if the Exceed decided that they couldn't coexist anymore with people that had lost all semblance of civility.

The future of the people, no, the future of mankind in this world rests on the clutch that was ignorance. He would find a way for the people and the Exceed to exist, that he promised. But first, he needed to deal with the problem that threatened the peace.

The guild known as Fairy Tail.

When he accepted, the first thing he asked was what he should do. The king only told him to look for the guild known as Fairy Tail, as they were the only guild left that stole magic. He had asked what happened to the other guilds, since the king had insinuated that there were others, but the king only shook his head and told him that they were 'dealt with'.

He didn't question the king after that.

Soon, he was led out of the anteroom by Knightwalker. She had reminded him that she wanted to show him something, and she wanted him to see it as soon as possible. He had acquiesced to her, as he really had nothing better to do. But on the condition that she show him where his room was after their affair was sorted out. He didn't want to blindly walk around the castle for the entirety of the night looking for his room.

She had agreed, and they were on their way.

"So," He began as he looked at Knightwalker, who was walking just beside him. Knghtwalker tilted her head slightly to the side, with her eyes staring at him from their corners. "What exactly did you want to show me?"

Knightwalker's response was to smirk at him, before she turned her eyes back forward. "I want to show you my armory."

He raised an eyebrow at her, but it was completely missed as she had her head turned forward. So instead, he voiced his confusion. "Is that the only thing you want to show me?" He asked. From the previous conversations he had with Knightwalker, he thought she wanted to show him two things.

Knightwalker shrugged her shoulders, but didn't stop walking. "I wanted to show you some of the Fairies that had been caught, but I figured they could wait for a bit. After all, it's not every day I meet someone that loves weapons as much as I do."

He frowned at her. Fairies? Did she mean members of the guild Fairy Tail? They had caught some of them? And just what did she intend to do with them? Also, he didn't necessarily love weapons. They were tools that he used, and he couldn't in the right mind, find it in him to get emotionally attached to the weapons in his mind. If he did, he'd end up crying every time he broke a Noble Phantasm and it exploded in his face. No, the weapons in his mind were just tools. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I don't love weapons." He said as he kept pace with Knightwalker. He noticed that she was looking at him again, so he let out a small shrug. "To me, weapons are tools that you use. Whether it's to kill, wound, or protect. Weapons are meant to be used, and they shouldn't be personified." Of course, he didn't say all of these things because he was pragmatic. It was simply because he could Trace, re-Trace the weapons in his World at a whim. They would never leave that place, and he would never run out of weapons to hold. In the right hands, the weapons in his head could become living weapons. But in his hands, they were nothing more than tools that he used.

Of course, the irony was that in his hands, he could master them all simply because their previous owners mastered them. And those said owners had spent their entire lives practicing the techniques using the weapons.

The swords retained memories of their owners, but they didn't retain any emotion. That was why he couldn't rightly hold sentimental value to them. Even Excalibur was just a tool to him.

He had made sure never to say that to Saber's face of course. He didn't feel like experiencing Excalibur's might directed towards him.

"A pragmatic individual then." Knightwalker said, her stride never breaking. "I can understand. I hold no love for my weapons as well."

That… didn't make sense. "Err," He began, unsure if Knightwalker understood what she had just said. "You just-"

"Contradicted myself? Yes. I did." She completed his sentence for him, making him even more confused. If she knew she was contradicting herself, then why was she doing it in the first place?

He was about to voice out that question, but Knightwalker chuckled, making his words die in his throat. "I'm contradicting myself simply because I do not care if my weapons break, but I hold some weapons dear to me." She stopped walking, prompting him to do the same. He looked at her, and then at the door in front of her. The wooden piece was nothing of note, just a simple wooden door with a handle attached on it. Quite a difference from being opulent.

Come to think of it, the throne room wasn't as opulent as the exterior of the castle. Maybe that was the king's real personality. He understood why they would do that anyway. It was to give a sense of stability, even when they were all scared. Chalk another point up to them and their explanation.

"This is my armory." Knightwalker began as she pushed open the door and walked in. He made to follow her, but stopped dead in his tracks as Knightwalker spoke up again. "It also doubles as my bedroom. Watch your step, it's messy in here."

Did she just say this was also her bedroom?

"Err," He began nervously. For some reason, this was awkward beyond awkward. You didn't just invite someone you just met into your bedroom. It was weird, plus it was indecent. And who introduced their room as an armory before saying it was where they slept! "Is it okay for me to enter?" He asked outside the door, not taking a step inside.

"What?" He heard Knightwalker speak from behind the slightly ajar door. "Couldn't hear you, come in here so I can." He sighed. Well, that was an invitation right? Though… it was a rather poor one.

"Excuse me." He bowed his head as he pushed the door open. He was surprised however, when the door refused to budge as he tried to open it fully. He stepped through the doorway, and leaned past the door to stare at what was holding the door from opening fully. He felt his jaw drop at the heap of… unmentionables stacked just behind the door and was being pushed into the corner of the square room.

He blushed as he realized he was staring at unmentionables, before he quickly rushed through the doorway and closed the door. Not looking back. Well, at least it smelled nice, which meant it was all washed… which also meant he actually smelt the heap of said unmentionables. Damn it.

"Don't worry," Knightwalker spoke up, but he refused to look up at her and he only stared at the floor. Which was surprisingly clean. No sight of unmentionables, clothes, or thrash could be seen. So he chose to stare at the floor. "Those are all washed. I can't stand the stench of dirty clothing, much less dirty clothing heaped together." That… He had nothing to say to that.

"Uh," He began. He looked up, locking eyes with Knightwalker, who didn't seem at all perturbed that he was in there. He took a deep breath, before he spoke. "Is it okay for me to be here?" He asked, honestly uncomfortable at being inside a woman's (dirty) room.

"What?" She tilted her head in confusion, her long red ponytail swishing to her side as she stared at him with confusion. "Of course it is. This is my room. I invited you in here." She said, as if that explained everything. Such simple mindedness could be applauded. But as it stood, this was still beyond appropriate for him.

"Err, that's not what I meant." He scratched the back of his head nervously. He didn't look away from her eyes however. That would be… disrespectful. Yeah, that was disrespectful. He wasn't looking at her just to avoid seeing another heap of clothing on the opposite end of the room. "I mean, is it okay for… err. Me to be here?"

Knightwalker frowned. Her confusion even more prominent as her face scrunched up slightly. "I just told you yes. Why would it not be?"

He let out a sigh. Okay, maybe something more direct… "I'm a guy inside a girl's room. That's inappropriate." He spoke, his eyes still locked with Knightwalker's.

A second passed, and then two, and then three before Knightwalker finally blinked. Her earlier confusion turned into bemusement. "Are you a celibate?" She asked him, her tone as teasing as it was curious.

He blushed. Not because the question was embarrassing, but because that question led to certain… thoughts. Thoughts that denied him being celibate. Quite well in fact.

He shook his head. "No," He answered, he could feel blood rush to his ears and face. But he nonetheless kept eye contact. "It… just seems inappropriate because we just met."

At his words, Knightwalker smirked. "Well, aren't you the innocent flower?" She teased, which honestly annoyed him.

He let out a small sniff. "And you're quite the showy woman." He blurted out without really thinking. He didn't know why he did that, but honestly, being called a flower, as well as innocent, he wasn't going to let that slip.

Silence permeated. He looked up at Knightwalker, only to see her staring at him with a look that he couldn't quite discern. He blinked, he didn't just insult her did he? Well, yeah, he did. But it was offhanded and meant as a response to her saying that he was a flower. After a few more seconds, Knightwalker threw her head backwards and laughed uproariously, garnering confusion from him.

"Ha!" She exclaimed after laughing. "You're not afraid of speaking your mind do you?" She asked him with a grin. He couldn't help but shrug with a small smile on his face. Something that was taken positively by Knightwalker. "Good! I was getting tired of those milk-drinkers and their sucking up. It's nice to have a fresh face around here that isn't scared or reverent of me who also doesn't have the same respect my peers show me."

Did… Did she just say she wanted someone that disrespected her? Sure it was a roundabout way of saying it, but still, the context of that entire sentence told him that Knightwalker wasn't someone that was disrespected. She was probably strong… No, not probably, she was strong. You had to be to actually become a knight, much less a knight captain in charge of a legion of soldiers. Still, why did Knightwalker want to get disrespected?

"Don't get me wrong," She said as if answering his thoughts. "I'm just not one for revering someone you have only heard about. I respect power, and it's obvious you do too. That's why it's refreshing." She grinned at him again. "Simply because you're the first person I've met in a long time to think that you're at least better than me."

Wait, did she read that much into the situation? Well, what she said wasn't exactly wrong, but it seems like she thought he was underestimating her. And that just wasn't true. He knew he was a walking Deux Ex Machina sure, but still, that didn't mean he walked through life easily. He knew that his weapons wouldn't do good for every fight, so he learned how to fight, how to win in a situation that was hopeless. How to find openings in an opponent and capitalize on those mistakes.

That was why he knew that most of the Knight Captains he had seen were people he would be hard pressed fighting. From the confident way they stood when he walked by them inside the antechamber, he knew that they didn't look at him as much of a threat. If anything it was them that was underestimating him! But… Of all the knights, only Knightwalker, the large hairy knight, Sugarboy, and that white-coated man with the crazy eyes didn't seem to underestimate him.

It was strange, Knightwalker's actions and her words were contradictory. She was… if he had to describe her, was like a long-winding path. It would curve, slant, and even turn back, but it would go towards the same destination, it was up to the one that was walking on said path to see it through to the end.

"Anyway," He was snapped out of his musings as Knightwalker clapped her hands. "I brought you here for a reason." She said as she turned her back on him and started walking towards a door on the far end of the room. Presumably to where her armory was. He idly wondered if her armory was enchanted and that the inside of the room was larger that it seemed. There were no Bounded Fields that he could detect, but still, that didn't mean they weren't there.

He quietly followed not sure what else to say since he really had nothing else to say. He avoided looking at anything else, as most of those other things were unmentionables that he probably shouldn't be seeing. So he faced forward, staring at Knigthwalker's back. His eyes took notice of the way she walked, with quiet confidence that was quite the anti-thesis to her outspoken personality. He shook his head however, as he finally took notice that he was staring a little bit too long at her. Great, just when he had resolved not to look at unmentionables, he had gone on to look at the unmentionables currently on Knightwalker.

"Aside from the one in the middle, you may touch everything else." She said without turning back at him, he wondered what she meant, but decided he would at least answer her.

"I'll try not to touch that then." He honestly didn't need to touch anything. If he wanted to examine something, he would just Structurally Grasp it. Bonus points if what he was Grasping was a weapon of some sort.

"Hmm." Knightwalker nodded her head, but since she had her back to him, he could only see her ponytail bobbing up and down that indicated the action.

Knightwalker walked up to the door, and placed a hand on the handle. He heard her mutter something, but only caught the tail end of it. "…Might."

In a flash of light, runes of some sort appeared on the door, and after a few seconds, the door returned to its previous structure, no runes or anything to indicate that it had been tampered with. And when Knightwalker pushed open the door and stepped inside, he quietly followed.

He was right, the room behind the door did expand.

He said he was right, simply because whatever this place was, it couldn't have been inside Knightwalker's room. And since he was pretty sure Knightwalker's room didn't comprise eighty percent of the castle, then it was pretty obvious that this place was a Bounded Field of some sort.

He stared up at the ceiling, estimating that the room was past twenty-five meters. The room was tall, yes, but it was also pretty narrow. At most, only three people could fit in the hallway of the room, and that was from shoulder to shoulder.

He then looked down, and then onto the rows of weapons lined alone the walls of the room. Spears, swords, hammers, shields, and whatever else you could use as a weapon were lined along the walls. They were all neatly arranged in wooden holds, and even then, most of those racks were overflowing with at least two or three excess weapons. As if that wasn't enough, racks were stacked upon those racks until they reached the ceiling.

All in all, the narrow room reminded him of a library… if a library consisted of weapons stacked upon each other on racks that is.

He looked down the room, and found that Knightwalker had left him and was in front of a weapon that wasn't with the others. Silently, he made his way towards her. His eyes wandered at the weapons around him as he did so.

Each weapon he gazed upon, was recorded almost immediately. It didn't feel dirty, nor did it feel like he was doing something bad. Simply because these things were tools, tools that were supposed to be used.

From a sword that could generate air as it moved. To a spear that spewed fire from its back end, to a hammer that struck as fast and as hard as lightning. These weapons were the ones in the rows around him. Not quite Noble Phantasms, but more like Mystic Codes. They were of average make, but they were still potent when given the right use.

Finally, he reached Knightwalker, but before he spoke up, he took a look at a unique row of weapons. He said unique, because unlike the other racks, which had differing weapons stacked upon them, this rack had identical black spears lined upon it.

He Grasped one of the identical spears, and was actually impressed. This one was amazing in make, not just in quality, but also in its use. It changed shape depending on the person's need for it. It was versatile, and it was powerful. It didn't surprise him when he scanned the spear, did he find out that this was the preferred weapon of choice by Knightwalker. It was versatile, and it made all the other weapons in this room obsolete since this spear could do things the others could and then some. Maybe that was why most of the weapons in this room were slightly dusty?

He shook his head, before he turned back towards Knightwalker. Who was staring down at an altar of sorts. On top of the altar, was a single longsword. The sword itself was four feet long, longer than the average sword, and had a pommel and guard that was silver in color. The handle was royal blue, and at the bottom of the hilt sat a single ruby jewel that had seemed to have lost its shine.

Idly, he Grasped it. And as he processed the sword, watched its history as well as its make. He wished he hadn't.

This… This wasn't a tool. This sword, it would never be used again. He remembered another sword like it. Clarent was her name. Part of King Arthur's – Arturia's – legend. Clarent was never a sword of war, it was a sword used in peacetime, used on the shoulders of knights as the King bestowed upon them the highest honor he could. It was the hope of the people that this sword replaces Excalibur. Replace the sword of war, with the sword of peace. But it was this sword that would eventually be stolen, and it was this sword that would eventually slay Arturia. On that hill of swords, this was the sword that dealt the killing blow.

Yet, the weapon before Knightwalker and Clarent were the same, yet opposite.

Clarent turned into a sword that sought blood after it had killed its master, it would be perverted, it would be defiled, the sword of peace, turned into a sword that sought war, that sought its master's blood. But the sword before Knightwalker, the sword he had Grasped. This sword was blood becoming stagnant.

If Clarent was defiled, than this sword was redeemed. From its bloody past, this sword that sought nothing but blood would stop as its gluttony for what it sought turned on its wielder.

Clarent was a sword for peace, defiled as it stabbed its master. This sword, this sword was a sword of war, redeemed as it tasted the blood of its master.

Its past was quick, bloody and personal for Knightwalker. He closed his eyes, and pushed the sword to the back of his mind, all its memories, experiences, even its name. She would tell him in her own time. He could at least give her respect in that regard.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't compliment the sword. "It's beautiful."

"You really think so?" Knightwalker asked without turning towards him. Before he could answer though, Knightwalker continued. "Because I don't."

He waited for her to elaborate. "This sword, it was used to kill my father." There was a hint of regret in her voice. "My father, he was a hero to me, but a traitor for the kingdom. He was the best Knight this kingdom had ever seen, had ever had, but he was also the worst it would ever have. He served the previous king, not the one you had seen." So he served the king that had started the war?

"He was the first casualty." Knightwalker's words made him look at her back with sadness.

"You…" He trailed, hesitating on what he should do. Finally, he let out a breath, before he raised his hand and placed a hand on Knightwalker's shoulder. The act made her flinch, but she made no move to remove the hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to tell me."

Knightwalker was silent, and for a second, he thought that she wouldn't say anything more. But before he could let go of her shoulder, she spoke up. "He wasn't killed by the Exceed."

He knew that, he knew that even though he shouldn't. He had seen the memories of the blade, they weren't pleasant memories.

"When the war started, my father was against it." Knightwalker explained, her voice was stoic, and her back was straight. "He objected to it, telling everyone that it was suicide, that it would only lead to death and suffering. No one listened."

"This sword, he always had this sword on his person." Knightwalker continued. "My father wasn't a good man, he had killed innocents before, had killed people and even children with this sword. All in the name of the king, his king. He was the perfect example of a knight that served his king. His code of chivalry ignored all the other rules except for one, to-"

"To follow the king's orders without question." He finished for her. He knew the code of chivalry the knights used. He hadn't expected it to be the same in this world however.

Knightwalker turned around and faced him, her face showing obvious surprise, but she was also slightly impressed with him. "It seems you also know the code of chivalry. Were you a knight?" She asked him. He frowned, before he shook his head.

"I wasn't, I was just taught about it." He answered vaguely. Not wanting to reveal anything more than he should.

"I see." Knightwalker closed her eyes, before she nodded her head. "My father always followed that tenet, never failing to follow it."

"Until the war." He completed what Knightwalker was about to say. Causing her to smile a little at him.

"If you keep completing my sentences for me, people might assume we're in love and know what the other is thinking." She teased him, and he couldn't help but blush a little.

"Err, sorry." He apologized before he gestured for her to continue with her story, but it seemed like she wasn't about to let it drop.

"Though I wouldn't mind." She said, her voice sultry. He could feel his face burning, and he looked away in embarrassment. He knew she was teasing, but still, she was a very beautiful woman, and he couldn't help but react.

Finally, after two seconds she laughed. "You're like a babe," She teased, and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at that.

"Who are you calling a baby?" He pouted but didn't look at her, he could still feel his face burning.

Knightwalker's reaction was only to laugh. As she calmed down however, she spoke about her story again. "When the war was declared, my father was against it. He begged the king to reconsider, that this war was suicide." Knightwalker sighed, her face turning to that of melancholy. "But the previous king would not listen."

He turned back towards Knightwalker, and saw that she was gripping her hands in a fist so tightly that it was turning white. "The previous king accused my father of treachery, and ordered him to be executed."

From the tone and the way she was telling this story, he guessed what would happen next. "He did it himself."

Knightwalker nodded her head. "As I said, he was the best, and the worst of us."

Silence descended on them both. It wasn't awkward, but it was uncomfortable enough. Finally, after a few seconds, Knightwalker spoke up again. "Well, I have shown you my armory, as well as given you an added story." She said with a nod of her head. She then faced him with some excitement in her eyes. "Now it is only fair that you show me yours, complete with a story of your own."

He was amazed at the Knightwalker's sudden change of mood. Maybe she was used to her story? But then, she did say that she preferred her family name instead of her given one. And she had also said that she saw her father as a hero instead of someone that betrayed the kingdom. There were things that were missing in her story, and even though the sword he had Grasped told a complete story of it, only bits and pieces of Knightwalker's own story was mixed with those memories.

He didn't know why, but he was getting curious about Knightwalker and her past. He guessed because their pasts were similar. But didn't think about it too much.

He had another problem to deal with, and that was telling Knightwalker that he couldn't just show her his armory.

"Err," Carefully, he made to explain why he couldn't just pull out his armory. Hopefully, they could come to an agreement, and she would then show him to whoever she had imprisoned in this castle later.

A Magi's Tale

XxX

"Guah!" She blinked at the reaction. She had been expecting him to react the same way she did when she had been freed from that crystal, staying calm and collected, just like his own magic. What she didn't expect however, was for him to react so violently… and without clothes.

She placed a hand on her face as she watched Gray Fullbuster look around him without any clothes except for his underwear on. She swore, his disappearing clothes was a magic all in itself. She was only glad that he was the only one affected.

"Er-za?" Gray began tentatively, looking around the forest they had situated themselves in. By 'they', she meant her and Gajeel. They would have tried to find a cave or something, but Gajeel's injuries had been severe. She was amazed at the tenacity the Iron dragon slayer showed when they were carrying the lacrima, he hadn't once complained and had only fallen over when he couldn't walk anymore.

She was about to order him to rest, but was stopped as he only shook his head before he told her that "I need to break the lacrima first."

Which was what he did, and now they were here, with a half-naked Gray looking around as if he was seeing a strange land.

She wanted nothing more than to tell him to sit and be calm, but priorities first… "Gray, your clothes."

And for the second time that day, she heard her friend shout. "Guah!" as he frantically searched for his missing clothes. "How does that keep happening?!"

She let out a sigh, before she turned towards Gajeel before quickly making her way towards the still injured dragon slayer. "Damn," He muttered as he slumped against her. She gently guided him to the floor while looking over the extent of his injuries. "Don't suppose you can spare a few swords or pieces of armor you aren't using anymore Scarlet?"

She thought about it for a second, before she nodded her head. She focused on her magic, and called for an iron weapon. She felt it appear in front of her, before she grabbed the hilt. It was a normal sword, no special properties whatsoever. She got it as a gift from a blacksmith a long time ago, and she never got to using it simply because she had better weapons than it. But still, that didn't mean she didn't regret parting with it. "You owe me a sword." She said half-jokingly, half-seriously at Gajeel, who only let out a slight laugh.

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her joke off. "Just gimme the damn thing. That clown took the wind out of my lungs. Literally." As she handed the weapon to Gajeel, she looked up at Gray, who had already clothed himself, and was looking at them both with surprised and slightly worried eyes.

"Hey, is the iron-lung-" He began, but was cutoff by Gajeel.

"Bad choice of words ice pick!" He shouted as he chewed on the sword. Making it sound slightly garbled, but nonetheless still understandable.

She sighed for the… third time? She lost count. But honestly, this wasn't the time.

"Gajeel, Gray," She spoke with authority, making them both look at her with slight fear in their eyes. He smiled a little, at least they still listened to authority. "Good. Now, Gray, if you can help me with Gajeel."

"Hang on Scarlet." Although he was still scared, Gajeel managed to interrupt her. He looked at him, only to see him pulling out another pill like the one she was told to swallow when she first woke up.

He then tossed the pill towards Gray, who deftly caught it in his hands with confusion. "Drink that ice pick, it'll restore your magical powers."

"Restore my magic?" Gray repeated, confused as he looked at the small red pill. He looked away from the thing, before he spoke again. "What do you mean by that?"

Gajeel had returned to eating the sword, and was in the process of swallowing a piece of it when he answered. "It means that you don't have any magic you dipshi-" She narrowed her eyes at Gajeel, who noticed it from the corner of his eyes. He swallowed, before he amended what he was about to say. "-you ice man?" He tried, and she nodded her head.

"Right, it means just as I said ice man." Gajeel turned back towards Gray, who was barely containing his laughter as he saw the exchange between the both of them. She turned her glare towards Gray, who straightened up almost instantly as she caught sight of him. "You can't use magic right now. Mystogun told me that drinking that'll restore your magic."

"Mystogun?" Gray repeated as he looked at the pill dubiously. "What does- Whatever." He shook his head. "I can use my magic just fine, I don't need a stinking pill to-"

"Gray." She cut him off. "When I first woke up here, I noticed that my magical reserves were at an all time low." Gray blinked at her. "Tell me, do you feel like you can use your magic?" She asked him with raised eyebrows.

Gray huffed, before he answered. "Of course I can! See?" He raised his right hand and stared at it calmly. She waited for three seconds, before she gave him another look.

"See what?" She asked.

"Wha-?" Gray shook his head before his face scrunched up into that of concentration. "What the hell! I can't use my magic!"

"Like I said ice-wad." Gajeel began before he sat up. She moved back a bit to give him some room. She noticed that his wounds were already healing, but they were still pretty severe. So if they were supposed to move, it would have to wait. The wound on Gajeel's chest was large and quite possibly life-threatening if strained. "Just drink the freaking pill so we can- gah." He keeled over as he clutched his chest. Almost instantly after that, she was upon him.

"Don't strain yourself." She chided her guild mate. And though her words were stern, she knew her tone was like that of a caring mother/older sister. She loved her guild mates, and she would be damned if she had to watch them suffer while she was in their vicinity. "Your wounds are still fresh. We can't walk around yet if you're that injured."

Gajeel however, only clucked his tongue in frustration. "Like hell we're resting." He objected as he began to stand up. She placed a firm hand on his shoulder, before she pushed him back down to lie on the grass.

"You need to rest." She ordered him with stern eyes. Gajeel for his part, quietly complied. "And besides, you still haven't explained to us what's going on."

She felt Gray right beside her. He was still standing up, but from his position, he couldn't be looking at anywhere else but at Gajeel. "What happened to you?" The question was directed at Gajeel, but she decided to answer for him.

"He was injured in a fight trying to get us free from the lacrima." She pointed at the remnants of the lacrima crystal Gray had been sealed inside of. "You and I were both trapped inside of it until Gajeel freed us." She frowned as she realized that that was really all she knew about the subject.

She looked down at Gajeel and gave him an expectant look. Quietly telling him to take over the conversation. He sighed, before he spoke. "Mystogun didn't really explain everything to me all that well-"

"Didn't explain well, or you didn't listen well?" Gray's comment earned him a sharp elbow to the knee from her, forcing him to curse before he was forced to bend down and sit.

"Be quiet and listen." She ordered him. There really was no time for insults and jokes. Her previous joke aside, whatever Mystogun explained to Gajeel might help them understand what is going on.

Gajeel only huffed, before he shook his head. "Most of the things he said went over my head actually." Well, at least they could count on Gajeel being truthful. "But what I understood from what he told me is that the kingdom in this world is using magic from another world, to power their world."

She blinked. She didn't need to turn towards Gray to know that he had the same reaction as she did. "What do you mean by world?" It was Gray that asked the question both of them were quietly stowing on.

Gajeel for his part, only tilted his head, which looked ridiculous seeing as his head was still planted on the ground. "Can't you tell? We're not in Earthland anymore."

That much she could grasp. It was obvious since she had been carefully observing her surroundings when they had stopped. Unsurprisingly, it was the green sky that she took notice first. Followed by the strange flora and fauna that she could see. She had two theories on that could explain both instances. One, they were in another world altogether, or, they were in another continent. The latter seemed much more realistic, since the Earthland was a large place. They could have easily been in another continent, but that did not explain the green sky. It was common knowledge, the sky was blue, no matter where you went unless magic disrupted that. And since she couldn't really detect magic in the sky; that left the other option.

That they were in another world.

"What else di-"

"What do you mean not in Earthland anymore?!" She rubbed the bridge of her nose with armored digits as she heard Gray's outburst. Why couldn't he be calm and collected like his magic? Why did he have to have a hot-streak just as bad as Natsu's?

"Exactly what I said icicle." Gajeel replied calmly as he stared at the both of them. It was almost disconcerting how calm he was, given the situation. She had honestly half-expected Gajeel to have thrown a tantrum or even be slightly edgy. Then she immediately dismissed the thought. Gajeel wasn't Natsu. Even if they were both hard-headed and were dragon slayers. "We aren't in Earthland, Mystogun told me this place was called-" Gajeel paused, his face scrunching up in frustration as he tried to think of something. "Edo-something. Edogalant, yeah I think that's what its called. Edogalant."

"Edolas." She corrected him. Well, he may not be as hotheaded as Natsu, but he was just as intelligent. She wasn't insulting Natsu's and Gajeel's intelligence, when the time called for it, they both were geniuses in their own rights. But sometimes their lack of formal education showed.

She also knew it was Edolas because she had caught sight of one of the fallen guard's that were sprawled around the village they had left. Conveniently, both Earthland and Edolas operated under the same alphabet system, also even more convenient was that the guards apparently paraded around with the name of their world on their armor.

Maybe this world was more united than Earthland?

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was Edogalant." Gajeel commented as he nodded his head, as if what he said was the truth and what she had said was a fairy tale.

She just stared at him blankly. "Name aside," She tried to move the conversation forward. But she shot a look at Gray as she caught him about to say something, prompting the ice-mage to stop. She nodded her head, grateful that Gray was so understanding. She then turned back to Gajeel, who still had his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest. "What else did Mystogun tell you?"

Gajeel opened his eyes, and then uncrossed his arms. "Well, the turman said that all our guild mates are in one giant lacrima over the castle." Gajeel paused for a second, before he seemed to remember something. He snapped his fingers and muttered an 'oh'. "But flame-brain, Lucy, and Wendy aren't in there. They were separated when the portal that threw us in Edogalant tried to turn everyone into a lacrima crystal."

"Wait," It was Gray who spoke up. And for a second, she expected a sensible question, like 'why did they turn everyone into a lacrima?' or 'what are they going to use the lacrima for?' Instead, she got a question that made her want to rap the man above his head. "Who's turman?"

"Mystogun." Gajeel answered immediately. She made a move to stop the conversation, but Gray just had to ask.

"Why turman?"

"You know, cause he's always wearing that turban to hide his face."

She wanted to palm her face, and had it not been for her armored hands, she would have done so. But as it stood, she didn't want to hurt herself, so she settled for the next best thing.

Smack! Smack!

She moved swiftly and her hit was accurate. She looked at Gray, who was clutching his head in pain as he crouched down. She then shifted her gaze to Gajeel, who had the same look on his face, though looking more annoyed than outright hurt.

"What was that for Erza?!" Gray exclaimed. She felt her eyebrow twitch. That question was even worse than the previous ones! He didn't know what he did wrong!

She cracked her knuckles as she stared both men down. "Can we get on with the explanation?"

They both nodded their heads at the same time. Making her smile. She sat back down, before she faced Gajeel. "Now, why are our guild mates part of a giant lacrima crystal?"

Gajeel let go of his head, before a deep frown marred his face. The frown disturbed her, there was an intensity there that she almost couldn't recognize in the iron-dragon slayer's eyes.

It wasn't until Gajeel next spoke, did she understand what that intensity was. She couldn't believe she couldn't recognize it. It was the same intensity she had when she was protecting her guild mates, and Gajeel, it seems he wants to protect the guild just as much as her. Even though he was still new to it.

She didn't need to look at Gray to know he felt the same way either. It seems all three of them knew what they had to do.

"The lacrima is going to be used to smash into another kingdom in the clouds." Gajeel's voice was bristling. And she couldn't really blame him.

Lacrima was a fragile crystal. It could hold magic, but a simple strike with a hammer could render it completely useless. That was why it was mostly used as lightbulbs, or even put in swords to enchant them. They were also literal batteries in magic; a single lacrima crystal the size of a regular sized human could hold as much magical energy as three wizards.

But it was still fragile. And getting smashed into another kingdom would definitely destroy it. As well what's inside it.

"What?!" Gray's reaction was expected. She would have done the same really, but she needed to remain calm.

"Mystogun said that the kingdom of Edolas wants to destroy the kingdom in the clouds called Extalia. So the king's going to use the giant lacrima to smash into Extalia."

Our guild mates are going to die. Was what Gajeel's words were hiding just underneath their surface. Gray caught on quickly, and only looked away as he balled his fists in frustration. She took a deep breath, as much as she looked calm, she was stowing inside. She wanted nothing more than to charge and free her guild mates. But…

As if responding to her thoughts, Gajeel flinched as he grabbed his chest. She was immediately upon him, helping him lie down on the grass. But as she did so, she was met with resistance from Gajeel.

"No!" He protested as he tried to sit up, only to be forced back down by her. "I can't afford to rest! Mystogun told me that only a dragon slayer can free the people inside the lacrima!" He tried to fight, but she only pushed him down even more.

"But you're still injured." Her voice was calm. She looked down sadly at Gajeel, who had stopped his kicking and moaning as he stared at her. "Going there now, you would only be a hindrance to whatever plan we create." And they didn't even have a plan yet.

"Erza's right metalhead." She felt gray on her left. He was standing, and was looking down at Gajeel. But her eyes were still on the iron-dragon slayer, going back through his injuries. "We need to plan how we're going to attack a kingdom. I doubt that we can just march in there and destroy the lacrima."

Gajeel, instead of agreeing to them both, only scoffed. "What are you two so scared of?" That question made her narrow her eyes. "The police force here isn't all that strong! I managed to get to you two by going through everyone. We can get by the knights no probl-"

"Except you aren't just going to go through the knights." A new voice interrupted Gajeel, the voice, it was familiar, yet so foreign. It belonged to someone from her past, someone she would never forget. Yet, it also belonged to another.

She looked back, towards where the voice came from. Gajeel and Gray were also doing the same, looking back and trying to discern whether or not who spoke was an enemy or not. But she knew better, and even though she didn't know him personally, even though she never met him face to face, even though he forced everyone to sleep when he came by the guild, she knew who he was.

"Mystogun." She said his name as he appeared from behind a tree. His turban still over his face, and his tattered and worn clothes were flowing as he started walking towards them. The numerous magical items he always carried (she knew because the master told them what magic he used), were strapped on his back. Most of them staves, but some were of the bladed variety.

"Gray, Erza, Gajeel." He nodded to them all, before he slung the pack of magical items to his front, and placed it on the ground carefully. His turned away from theirs, as he crouched down and began examining the items in his pack. "It's a shame I had to meet you three in trying circumstances, but I'm afraid my hand has been forced."

She raised her eyebrow in question. But before any of them could ask what he was talking about, Mystogun had finally finished his examination, before he drew a dagger from the pack. He then gently threw it at Gajeel, who deftly caught it and stared at it as if wondering what he should do with it.

Mystogun straightened himself, before he gestured towards the dagger. "Eat it."

She caught sight of Gajeel looking at Mystogun dubiously, before he shrugged and dug in. The crunch of metal getting crushed under teeth echoed around the forest. It took Gajeel a total of three big mouthfuls to get to the hilt of the dagger, which he couldn't eat as it was made from leather, before he threw it back at Mystogun, who caught it without much trouble.

"No offense turman, but that didn't really fill me up." She saw Mystogun raise an inquisitive eyebrow at what Gajeel called him, before he shrugged and replaced the dagger into the pack. He then picked up the pack, before he spoke up.

"It wasn't meant to fill you up." He then pointed towards Gajeel's chest. They all turned towards it, and even Gajeel looked down in curiosity as to what exactly it was that was on his chest.

She saw nothing that would indicate that it was tampered with. She wondered exactly what did the dagg- wait, nothing?

"Hey!" Gray exclaimed as he pointed at Gajeel's chest. "You don't have your wound anymore!"

"Well, what do you know!" Gajeel said with a grin. He then placed a hand on his chest as he examined it, particular where his previous wound was. "I don't feel a thing! Whatever that stick of metal did, it was good!" Gajeel then tried to stand, but fell back on the forest floor as soon as he planted both his feet on the ground.

"Hey! What gives?" Gajeel tried to stand again, only to fall back on the floor again. He tried again for the third time, but the same thing happened.

"I apologize, but you cannot stand as the dagger will force you to sit down and wait for its job to finish." Mystogun began as he stared at Gajeel with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"What'dya mean by that?!" Gajeel exclaimed as he tried to stand, but fell right on his ass as soon as he was upright.

"The dagger, it isn't really a dagger meant to hurt people. Quite the opposite actually." Mystogun began to explain as he walked over towards Gajeel. "As contradicting as this may sound, the dagger is meant to heal wounds rather than inflict them. Though the normal operating procedure for the dagger would be to stab the one afflicted, I hazarded a guess that it would be much better for you to eat it. You see, it's rather fragile as it is."

She hummed in thought. An act that caught the attention of the three others in the forest with her. "A dagger that heals? I've never heard of such a thing before. Did you come across it during your travels?"

Mystogun nodded his head. "That I did, but that is a story for another time." He changed the subject, much to her disappointment. She rather liked getting news about new weapons and armor, and tried to fish for information so she could add to her collection.

"You mentioned something about the knights not being the only obstacle." She began as she stared at Mystogun. His eyes locked with hers, and it honestly made her uncomfortable how familiar they looked. She looked away first, unable to really stare at them for too long. "What did you mean by that?"

Mystogun seemed to hum in thought, before he answered. Completely ignoring Gajeel as he tried to stand up again. "While it is true that the police force won't be much trouble for you. The ones leading are the ones that will spell trouble."

"'One's leading'?" It was Gray that voiced the question. "What does that mean?"

Mystogun only nodded his head at them. "Exactly what it means." He began before he grabbed hold of Gajeel's arm, and pulled him to lie down on the floor. This prompted the iron-dragon slayer to give Mystogun the stink-eye, but it was wholly ignored as Mystogun continued his explanation. "The King has platoons of knights led by Knight Captains. While it is true that a hundred lesser soldiers won't be any trouble for any of you. Even one Knight Captain is probably equal to a Wizard Saint in Earthland."

"Surely they aren't that strong." She tried to refute that statement. The Wizard Saints were the best of the best. They had wisdom, strength, and power. And they were revered as the strongest the kingdom of Fiorre had to offer

Mystogun however, only shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not joking." He said seriously, looking at all three of them with grim eyes. "They are battle-hardened, and they can stand toe-to-toe with a Wizard Saint if they so chose."

That was… that was grim. If they really were that strong, then just mindlessly charging forward into the kingdom would be the foolhardy thing to do.

"Hey, Mystogun." She looked up at Gajeel, surprised at the tone he was using. It was… cautious. "Was the guy I fought, was he a Knight Captain?"

She looked up at Mystogun, waiting for his answer. But to her disappointment, he only shook his head. "Sorry, but I did not see who you fought with. Perhaps if you gave me a descripti-"

"Red hair; used two curved swords that were black and white. He was dressed like a clown, that is, he had a white t-shirt with blue sleeves and jeans. I didn't see his shoes, but he also had golden eyes." Gajeel described the opponent he fought. And she really couldn't refute him for what he had said. After all, she had caught sight of him as well. But…

"He wasn't really clownish looking." She corrected Gajeel. His clothes weren't really all that strange really.

Gajeel however, just shrugged at her. "Looked plenty like a clown to me."

He heard Gray snicker right next to her. "So you got your ass beat by a clown? Talk about pathetic!"

And as expected, Gajeel reacted like she thought he would react. By throwing a challenging glare towards Gray. "I can still take you to school like I am now you walking icicle!"

"Yeah, well I wanna see you try metalhead!" She let out a breath, honestly, this was getting stale.

"Gajeel, Gray. Enough." She then turned back towards Mystogun when she was sure that both Gajeel and Gray got her message.

"In any case, he might not have been a Knight Captain, nor do you know who he is, but there's a question that's been on my mind for awhile now." Not really all that true. It had been on the back of her mind for awhile, but she never gave precedence to it except for now.

Mystogun nodded to her, giving her the signal to go ahead and ask. She stared right into Mystogun's eyes, she didn't want him to lie, not on this. "How do you know all this?"

It wasn't that she distrusted Mystogun, in fact, she trusted him with her life. But as it stood, he knew too much if he had arrived in this place with them. It was like, like he knew all about this before.

Mystogun let out a sigh, before he reached for his turban. She watched as he pulled the blue piece of cloth over his head, revealing his head of messy blue hair and a tattoo that was very much like Jellal's, except it was on the opposite side of his face, on the left side.

She heard Gray shout in surprise, while Gajeel looked on in confusion. It was expected, Gajeel didn't know who Jellal was, so he wouldn't know who he was. "Jellal!" Gray shouted, she tried to stop him from doing anything rash, but found that she didn't need to, as Gray couldn't conjure his ice.

"The hell?!" He shouted as he pounded his left fist on his right palm. It was one of his typical stances when he tried to use his magic, but it seems that he hadn't taken the pill yet.

"You didn't take the pill yet did you?" It was Mystogun that asked the question. She watched as Mystogun stood, and then went over towards Gray. He reached for something in his pocket, before he flicked it over towards Gray, who deftly caught it. "This time, don't throw it away."

"I didn't throw it- well, maybe I did." Gray mumbled the last part, before he took the pill and swallowed. She watched with curiosity, it was one thing to feel your magic returning to you, it was another to see it happen to someone else.

To her disappointment however, there was no glowing, no flashy lights, only Gray straightening his posture. Well, if her previous experience with the pill was any indication, than it shouldn't affect the environment, only the drinker. But still, it was rather underwhelming.

After a second, Gray held out his right hand, and closed his eyes. And a second later, ice started to form in his palm. The ice began to congregate to the center of it, before it formed into the symbol of Fairy Tail. "Yes! I can use magic again!"

"Don't use it up too much though." She turned back towards Mystogun, who had already taken back his seat from across hers. "You can't regenerate your magic as much as you normally would here in Edolas. I'd estimate that you'll have to rest for two weeks if you use up all your magical energy."

"Two days?" Gray repeated, disbelieving. "I usually regenerate my entire pool in two days. How do you know that it'll take two weeks?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, how did you know Mystogun?" She didn't mean to sound intrusive. But well, what Mystogun knew about this world was suspicious.

Mystogun for his part, only tilted his head, his blue bangs swinging in front of his eyes as he stared at them with confusion. "I know because I can estimate Gray's magic pool."

Not… Not the question she wanted answered. Though it was amazing that he could do that from afar. But still, it was like he was skirting from the question, and that was unacceptable.

She narrowed her eyes at Mystogun. "I think you know that's not the question I was asking." She said as she stared at Mystogun. Their eyes locked, but this time, she didn't look away.

Mystogun let out a stead breath, before he slumped. "Well, I guess I had to tell you guys sooner than later." She relaxed herself as she caught sight of Mystogun's face. His face was wistful, while his entire body looked like it was slumped in defeat.

"I know because I was part of this world. Part of Edolas."

…

…

…What?

"You were…" She paused as she stared at Mystogun. "You were part of Edolas?"

Mystogun sighed, before he stood up. He faced all three of them, before he bowed. "Let me introduce myself properly." He straightened himself, before he looked up with a defeated smile that was directed at them. "I am Prince Jellal. Heir to the royal throne of Edolas. And I come here, asking for your help."

XxX

Shorter chapter than I usually do, but well, it's kind of hard to start writing this. I'm not being lazy, but without this chapter, you'd probably be confused in the next chapter.

Anyway, to explain this chapter. Well, the first major divergent is already here. Don't notice it? Then it's probably overlooked by a lot of people. But to make it easier for you guys, the divergent is Mystogun himself.

In the manga and anime, Mystogun wasn't part of the main force in freeing the Lacrima, he kinda just arrived at the last second to save the day. Well, here, thanks to Shirou injuring Gajeel. They (that is, Erza and Gajeel) were forced to stop in a forest. And, I don't normally do this, but a little spoiler for the next chapter. Mystogun wasn't following them, he was just walking around. It was by pure chance that he caught sight of them. But in the canon world, they wouldn't have been there in the first place. They would have invaded the capital already, leaving Mystogun to keep walking without meeting anyone.

Anyway, that's it for this chapter. The next chapter will have Shirou meeting Wendy and Natsu.

C.O.Y.L out, peace!