| Third Person |

Hercules smiled slightly, eyes trained on the rain. It had been almost a week since he and Wendy joined, and he already loved it at Fairy Tail. Blowing out a small breath, he glanced around looking for Mira. Cana, who was seated next to him smirked when she noticed his gaze wondering. "Looking for Mira?" She asked the love-struck Dragon.

Hercules flushed, but nodded sheepishly. "Do you know where she went?" He asked.

Cana frowned, "Kardia Cathedral. It's the uh, anniversary of her sisters death." She explained quietly. "They went on a S-Class mission two years ago and Lisanna didn't make it."

Hercules's eyes went sad, and his mind drifted to Sakura. "Yeah...I know the feeling.." He mumbled quietly to himself. Cana however heard him and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Who did you lose?"

Hercules stiffened, "Oh, uh, well-"

Cana softened, "It's okay, you don't need to say anymore."

Hercules smiled and nodded gratefully before letting his eyes roam around once again. Natsu was snoring off in a corner, and Hercules couldn't help but draw his gaze to Gildarts. The man was in a corner, watching with a smile as his guild mates fooled around. Standing up, Hercules approached the mage, the his scent reeking of Dragon, but not in the Slayer kind of way. Hercules flicked his gaze to the glimpse of a wooden leg, before adverting it.

He slid onto the seat across from the Crash Mage, well aware of Makarov sitting next to Gildarts. The two looked at him in confusion, and Gildarts asked, "Can I help you?"

Hercules gave a friendly smile, reaching out to shake hands, "Sorry if I bothered you, I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Hercules. I'm new to the guild."

Gildarts smiled broadly, but Makarov narrowed his eyes. It was obvious he knew that Gildarts had encountered a dragon and that Hercules was about to talk to the crash mage about now that the Dragon Slayers were occupied. "I'm Gildarts." The S-Class mage replied, shaking his hand.

Hercules let his smile slip away, leaning forward and dropping his voice to a loud whisper that couldn't be heard by any eavesdroppers. "So then." He tilted his head, "If my nose is correct than that Dragon you encountered is no joke."

"Hercules." Makarov hissed sharply.

Gildarts had stiffened in shock, eyes wide and locked onto Hercules' own emerald orbs. "How-"

"Acnologia and I have a bad past. I'll explain in more detail later, but only the what's needed. Basics? I'm part dragon and I'm over 800 years old, and /you/ are the only human to survive an encounter with him. How did you do it?"

Gildarts glanced at Makarov, and the old man sighed but nodded in confirmation. Gildarts turned to Hercules and answered, "I don't know, luck I suppose. I laid there bleeding out when a few people found me and fixed me up. The Monster must have just thought I wouldn't survive."

Hercules scowled to himself, "Stupid hypocrite must've thought you below his time. Or maybe a message?" He shook his head. "Thanks for the information. Acnologia has been a pain in the ass for almost 400 years. I'm glad you got out of there alive."

Before Gildarts could respond there was a boom of lightning, and all there vision went dark.

When Hercules awoke, it was to a barren white wasteland with a masked mage hovering over him. He jolted, moving swiftly into a battle stance. The masked mage held his hands up, "Relax, I'm a comrade." He said.

Hercules let his surprise show when the man removed his mask to reveal Jellal, and Hercules spluttered for a moment before the scent hit him. "You, You're-"

"Indeed, and you haven't aged a day since we parted." Jellal replied. He sighed, "It doesn't matter. Here" He popped a small pill into the gaping mouth of a shocked Hercules, lips quirked into an amused smile, "You'll need that for Edolas."

"Edolas?" Hercules asked, "What the hell is Edolas?"

"It's a parallel world, the one where all of Magnolia was taken. I plan on sending you there. As of right now, the other Dragon Slayer and Gray and Erza are holding them off but they will need your help. You need to recruit the Edolas Fairy Tail guild to aid you as soon as possible. I will find a way to return Magnolia."

"Explain now. And where is Wendy?" Hercules demanded.

Jellal sighed, "Edolas is my homeland, and it has limited magic. The King is using something called Anima to gather magic from this world and use it to supply Edolas. Only beings off Draconic origin or with Draconic magic are unaffected. I wasn't taken because I'm from there. The normal mages, even the civilians, are now in Lacrama. We need to free them and transfer them back here."

Hercules didn't waste a second, "And Wendy?"

"Is helping save the mages in Edolas, she can handle herself, she insisted actually."

Hercules nodded, "Send me there, now."

Jellal nodded, "Of course. I'll send you as close to Fairy Tail as possible."

And with that, a bright white light overcame Hercules vision