Heya! Thanks for still reading this story! This chapter is a little different again, with two perspectives instead of one, but in the same timeline. Long live the mess! Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 57: In Town

Four years after the events surrounding "The Squid"

Name: Floyd Blazer

Age: 19

Occupation: Mage of Sabertooth

It seems Tilly is mad at me for some reason, so I team up with Martin, Rose and Ghost Lilly. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Ghost Lily is here, and how she is.

We go through a couple streets and Ghost Lily points at buildings and things and says something about it. History of somekind. But everytime she notices she's in the middle of a story, she says 'but I guess that doesn't matter if it's not real.'

Eventually, we stop at a pink house with a purple door. It makes my eyes hurt.

'This is the place?' asks Rose. Her voice is shaky. Ghost Lily nods and opens the door. The inside is just as much barf as the outside.

'Welcome to my home. Would you like some…' Ghost Lily smiles. 'Sorry. Of course not.'

We sit down on a pink couch with a strawberry pattern on it, Ghost Lily on a white chair. She keeps on smiling and I find it creepy.

'So,' she says, 'how is stuff?'

Martin and Rose look at one another. Rose is as pale as ice cream.

'We've kind of went our own ways,' I say. 'I joined a guild.'

'Like Fairy Tail?' Ghost Lily asks, and she sounds so excited my heart aches a little. Because she's dead.

'Yeah,' I say, 'kind of. We just chose a new guild master, so that's-'

'I'm so sorry,' Rose says all of a sudden. 'If I had known you were here, I would've come sooner.'

Ghost Lily blinks, but keeps smiling. 'But how could you know? I didn't even know I was here, or whatever " here" means nowadays.' It sounds bitter.

'Lily,' says Martin, with one hand on Rose's knee, 'we just, kind of, don't know how to grasp this. We, uhm...we mourned.'

Ghost Lily's smile fades a little. 'Thanks, I think?'

I know Lily only as the prettiest girl in our class. Not that all guys we're after her, it was just kind of common knowledge. As a mage, I think she had potential.

'Anyway,' I say, and all heads turn to me all of a sudden, 'what can you tell us about this town? And what do you remember of us?'

Ghost Lily stares for a while. 'The strange thing is...I remember living two lives. This morning I woke up to my life here, but when I saw you guys my other life seeped in. Right now, memories of both are flowing between one another.' Her voice gets softer. 'It makes it kind of hard to know what's real.'

Rose takes Lily's hand. 'We'll figure it out. We'll break this curse and get you out somehow.'

Ghost Lily nods, but I can tell she doesn't believe it. She sighs, looking at Rose's hand. 'I had another name here as well, you know. Melody.'

'That's pretty,' Rose says, stroking Ghost Lily's hand with her thumb. Ghost Lily looks up.

'Do you know Laurence?'

Martin looks at me, basically asking if I know, but I shrug. Ghost Lily lets go of Rose's hand and stands up. She starts walking in circles across the room.

'I'm just wrapping my brain around this,' she says, and her voice is less shaky, 'because I have memories of him both here and...well, there. The school, I mean. Here his name is Laurence, but over there…' She stops, places two hands on her head and closes her eyes. We wait. Then she jumps. 'Layton.'

I honestly never got over the fact that Layton died. A try hard knuckle head, but a friend. One of us. So I jump off the ugly couch. 'Are you sure?'

Ghost Lily removes her hands from her head. 'I think so. He has a woodshop not far from here.'

This is insane.

'Let's go, then!' I'm basically at the door already when the others have yet to stand up.

'But, uhm,' Ghost Lily says, 'I don't know, well...he's not a very nice person here.'

'But you remember how he was with us, right?' I ask. She hesitates.

'Lily,' says Rose, 'what is it?'

Ghost Lily shakes her head. 'Nothing. I just...don't want to see him right now.'

'I'll go, then,' I say, with half a sigh. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

Martin stands up. 'I'll come too.' He looks at Rose. 'So you guys can catch up.'

Rose kisses him on the cheek. Ghost Lily gives us a bunch of instructions for where to go and I just hope Martin is paying attention.

Then we're outside. The townsfolk greet us, and I have to remember not to stand out.

'I kind of get why anyone would be an ass here,' I say to Martin, but he doesn't find it funny. I don't know if he even knows what a joke is.

The woodshop, apparently, belongs to Layton's fake dream dad. I don't remember Layton having an actual family.

The door rings when we enter. There's splinters all over the floor. There are wooden toys, wooden planks, wooden statues and wooden wood. There's a counter at the other end of the shop and for a second I think it's Layton, but when he turns around I see the man's an older and fatter version of Layton. What he might look like in thirty years. He says his son is out in the forest, chopping.

So we go to the forest and just hope we can find him. I wonder if he's an actual asshole.

'There,' Martin says then, and points. Between the trees we spot a sweaty back. He's swinging an ax above his head and brings it down onto a fallen tree trunk. He looks just the same as back in school. We approach him, not too quietly, so he won't jump. I'm nervous.

'Hey,' I say, when I think we're close enough. The ax stops above his head and he looks over his shoulder. He lowers it, his mouth slightly opening. This time I can actually see his previous life is flashing before him. Must be weird.

He turns around. 'Wow.'

'Yeah,' I say, 'hey dude.'

We stand there for a minute. Eventually Layton drops the ax and sits down on the tree trunk, his elbows resting on his knees. 'Wait, am I dead?'

I lock eyes with Martin. And he goes, 'we don't know for sure' and I just facepalm. But it's true. It has something to do with dreams and the subconscious and memories, but I don't know if that means our memories or Kubo's.

Layton looks at the ground before him. 'Damn. So this is all fake, huh?'

'Sorry, man,' I say. 'What's the last thing you remember?'

He thinks. 'I basically blew myself up. My ultimate move, so to speak. Gajeel said not to, but…' He shrugs. 'I thought we were about to be killed.'

Martin bows his head. We were both there when it happened. Unable to do anything. Weakened.

'I'm sorry,' I say, even though I'm not sure why. It was his decision, anyway. But I don't know what else to say.

Layton's mind is somewhere else already. 'So...just help me understand...where are we?'

Martin tries explaining in a few words what we're doing. Kubo placed a Sleeping Curse on a friend of Gajeel and inserted himself into the dream reality. We're here to find a way to break the Curse without being discovered by Kubo himself. And after we break the Curse, we settle what we couldn't do four years ago.

'Four years?!' Layton repeats. 'I thought you guys looked older, but four years…'

'Oh, you should see Jake,' I say, and I rub my chin, 'he has a beard now.'

Layton's eyes, which are big in general, seem about to explode from his face. 'Jake's here too?'

'Everyone is,' Martin says, 'well, except...I thought of this before, back at Lily's place-'

'You guys met up with Lily?!'

'Dude,' I interrupt, 'shut up for a sec.' I know what Martin is going to say.

'Do you know if Ibisan is here as well?' he asks. Layton frowns and I realize he doesn't know of anything that happened after he died. He might've known about Lily, but Ibisan died after the fighting was over. Which made it even more tragic.

Layton shakes his head. 'I remember him from school, but I haven't seen him here. Or heard about him, really. What- you know, I don't wanna know.' He stands up and grabs a shirt from behind the tree trunk. It was apparently hanging there all this time. 'I'm just gonna stop by Melody - I mean, Lily.'

'Are...you sure?' I ask. 'Because, well, she told us she doesn't wanna see you.'

He stops what he's doing, hesitates, and then continues. He gathers his stuff; axe, bag, bottle of water. 'She'll have to. Because...well, if this is a Curse, what happens to us after you break it?'

He starts walking between the trees, back to the town. Martin and I follow a little later.

'Honestly,' says Martin, 'we have no idea.' Great going, man.

'Maybe you've been trapped in here,' I say. Layton stops.

'It doesn't feel that way.' He looks at me. 'I have a family here, you know. My life here is better than it ever was with you guys. No offense, by the way.' He continues walking. 'If it's fake, so be it. Then we'll disappear. But I need to take care of things first.'

I slow down my pace and I feel very sad. Layton didn't ask for this. Whatever part of him is in here, he didn't deserve to live inside a lie. Hell, I wouldn't blame him if he decided he didn't want us to break the Curse. To let him live inside here, for eternity.

We head back into the Town. Layton greets the townsfolk the same as they greet him and it's obvious he belongs here. He seems a different person here, which is kind of what Ghost Lily said earlier. But not a bad person. Whatever part of him is inside this Curse, it has it's own life. And it feels so cruel to have to take that away.

But it's the only way to defeat Kubo.

I catch up with Layton. 'So, what exactly did you do?'

He keeps looking straight ahead. 'I was an asshole to her, basically. But it wasn't my choice.'

Sounds like an asshole to me. 'Must've been pretty bad, then.'

He says nothing for a while. The muscles in his jaws are tensed and he breathes in through his nose. 'Yeah. And it was all for nothing too. See, my dad….or whatever he is, he doesn't like Melody. She lives alone in that house, without a family...it's strange. I enjoyed hanging out with her. But my 'father', just like any other adult here, doesn't like 'strange'. You can't stand out here. If you look weird, or any different than usual, you're excluded. You're basically banned without actually having to leave the place. Everyone just ignores you.'

It didn't occur to me that Ghost Lily living alone is weird.

'My dad,' Layton continues, 'didn't want that to happen to me. So I made sure she'd never want to hang out with me again.'

He doesn't say what and at this point Martin is pulling my arm and gesturing I should stop.

A few paces away from the ugly pink house, Layton throws his stuff on the ground. I'm afraid he's in some kind of 'nothing matters' mood. He knocks on the door.

It takes a few seconds. Rose is the one who opens the door. She must've seen who it was.

'Hey Layton,' she says, in a way I remember from school, 'she doesn't want to see you.'

Great way to treat a guy who's basically dead, but alright. Layton sighs.

'OK. Just tell her I'm sorry then.' He doesn't walk away and Rose looks at him as if he's a steaming pile of shit.

'You think that's enough? I know what you-' She stops and looks over her shoulder. Then she steps aside and Ghost Lily appears in the doorway. Her eyes are red.

'Hey,' Layton says, 'so, I just heard this was all a dream. And I'm not handling that very well.'

Ghost Lily nods. 'Same here. Doesn't make up for what you did, though.'

'I know.' Layton makes fists of his hands. 'I let myself get dragged into this…' He looks around, at all the cream coloured buildings and the smiling people. He looks at it as if it reeks. 'Whatever this is. Nothing of this matters. If they break this curse…'

Ghost Lily nods. 'This is an end of the world situation, huh?'

'Pretty much.'

Ghost Lily steps out the door.

I lean towards Martin. 'Do you have any idea what's going on?'

He has his arms crossed, but points with one finger at Layton and Ghost Lily. 'My guess is that they were about to enter a romantic relationship, but Layton was pressured by his father to end it because of what people might think. So he pretended to be involved with someone else, but wasn't convincing enough. Lily probably realized the reasoning behind it and understood it, but has yet to forgive him. But, now that the chances are they'll both disappear once we've broken the Curse, the odds are they'll become close again.'

I just look at Martin. 'Man. You're good.'

He nods and kind of grins, but when he looks at the doorstep it disappears. Rose stands there, her eyes narrowed. 'Yeah, well, not everyone enjoys analysis.'

Ghost Lily and Layton share a hug and seem good for now. Townsfolk who walk by stop and look, but keep on smiling. It's creepy. If they're in groups, they keep walking while they whisper and point. Layton just committed social suicide. In the name of love. Ain't that nice.

Name: Ary Compressor

Age: 17 ½

Occupation: Healing mage, apprentice of Porlyusica

Greg gasps. I put a hand over his mouth, urging him to shut up. A shadow moves within the cave. The boy looks excited, basically clapping his hands as if he is about to receive a present.

Another growl, but this time it sounds more like a yawn. The beast has just woken up. And I had my suspicions as to who this animal is, and I think I am right.

The bear sits down next to the child, Doki. The child cannot contain himself and jumps into the belly of the bear, pushing his nose into its fur. The bear places, very carefully, a paw onto the back of the boy, and strokes, his nails as far away from the skin as possible.

Doki and the bear stay this way for a while. Eventually the boy steps away and starts telling the bear stories about his day. He visited the bookstore, had a quarrel with the man who works there, went home to find his mother was still at work, and went into the forest to find the bear, whom he calls 'Bobi', pronounced 'Bóbi', but not in the same way as 'booby'.

Doki talks and talks and Bobi just sits there, nods sometimes and yawns and I cannot tell if he understands or not, or if he is just being polite. If that is even a concept a bear can grasp. It is nonetheless clear the animal somewhat cares for Doki.

And I can somehow relate to that. I cannot speak for the boy, but I have a hunch as to why he's here, speaking to a bear. It seems Doki does not care that Bobi is unable to say anything back. At least the animal is willing to listen.

My suspicion is that Doki is lonely. Adults in the town do not seem to really care. I have seen other children, but they were all in groups, playing. I think Doki does not fit in, and this is his way to compensate.

In a way, I was the same. My older brother cannot read properly and can only write his own name. He can take care of himself, to a certain extent, but for most of his life my parents need to help guide him. I was, though no one would dare to admit, a surprise. There was not supposed to be a second child. I am certain my parents care for me, love me, and I do not blame them for not spending as much time with me when I was younger. I love my brother as well.

But that does not mean that I was not lonely. I spent my days reading. Books were my Bobi.

I silently sigh, while Doki continues to speak about what he had for lunch. I gesture to Greg to follow me and we crouch away from the cave, to a place where I hope Doki cannot hear us.

'What the hell was that?' Greg asks, and he sounds relieved to be away from there. I push the big blue book, Eating Clouds, into his hands.

'Go find Gajeel,' I say. 'I will catch up later on.'

Greg looks at the book as a child at a vegetable he does not like to eat. 'What are you gonna do?'

No idea. But I do not say that. 'Talk to Doki. See if I can befriend him, somehow.'

Greg blinks and looks dumb. 'Did...did you see the bear? There's a bear, right there.'

I try not to sound annoyed. 'I am aware of that. But I am almost certain it was not born that way. I think the bear is more familiar to us than you might think.'

I do not care to explain much else. I make my way back between the trees, leaving Greg to stutter to himself. Eventually, he will take off and do as I say. But I would rather not have him around while I speak to Doki. I think Greg will form a distraction. I hope the book tells Gajeel enough, and otherwise it is better to not have it with me as I approach Doki.

The boy's voice can be heard from several paces away. I slow down, but do not sneak. I would want to look as if I just happened to run into them.

Bobi is first to notice me. He turns his big head and looks straight at me. And it honestly scares me, but I force my feet to continue forward.

Doki realizes the bear is no longer listening and follows his eyes. At this point I'm basically standing where Greg and I hid before.

'Oh,' says Doki wearily, 'hi.'

I clear my throat. 'Hello.' I approach them. 'Is he dangerous?' I know he isn't, but that is what an unknowing person would ask.

Doki looks at Bobi and shakes his head. 'No, he's my friend. Who are you?'

I stop in front of the rock the boy was sitting on earlier. 'Ary. I am kind of lost in this forest.'

Bobi stares at me and I wonder if he remembers me. Doki seems to not trust me, which I assume is the result of years of neglect by others. 'My name is Doki. Where are you going?'

I try remembering a quote from one of the characters from Eating Clouds, but it fades whenever I get close, so I parafrase. 'Just looking for adventure. I heard there were little elves around here.'

The mention of the little elves makes all suspicion disappear from the boy's face. I recognize this excitement. It is probably the first time ever he encountered a person who shares his interest.

'You know it too?!' Doki yells. He jumps onto the rock, and he is now taller than I am. 'I've been looking for them forever!'

I feel a little guilty, but I nod. 'Me too!'

Doki seems about to explode. 'Why didn't you say so?' He stands there breathing for a while, just looking at me in awe. Then he places a hand on my shoulder and leans towards me. When he speaks, his voice can barely be heard. 'Can I trust you?'

I nod. Doki looks over his shoulder, at the entrance of the cave. 'In there is my research fabicilty.' I assume he means facility. 'If we share what info we have, we might be able to find the village.'

It has been years since I read the book, so I might have to make a few things up myself. But that comes with a catch. When I became a mage and entered the world of magic, I started questioning everything I had ever read. About ordinary things such as the human body, but also anything related to folklore. Gajeel was trained by a dragon. Dragons did, at one point in history, exist. Perhaps all stories featuring dragons are true accounts of events in history, or at least some. That begs the question: what other stories that are supposed to be fairy tales, myths and legends are actually true? The author of Eating Clouds might just have written historical fiction, or nonfiction, meaning the village of the little elves might actually exist.

Feeding Doki lies would then be troublesome. I have spent enough years in the kingdom of Fiore to learn about the several different species other than man, and the little elves are not among them. I am almost certain they do not exist, but they might have at one point in history.

'Sure!' I say.