To me, it had been just an ordinary day at the guildhall. The skies were overcast and a heavy rain was pouring down, making everything shimmer with a silver sheen as the pearl grey sky deepened with each droplet which fell from above. It was fitting, such a sad day, it almost felt like the world was weeping. Elfman and Mirajane had already left to go and visit Lisanna's grave, as today was the day that she had tragically died. I remember that day years ago when Mirajane had brought Elfman back, carrying her brother whilst sobbing uncontrollably. It had been a while before we had managed to get the full story out of the two of them, Elfman in particular had been so distraught and grief stricken that I had worried he would never pull through.
The rain was nostalgic, and I was content to watch it pour down from the steps of Fairy Tail, contemplating my own thoughts as the clouds swirled overhead. Everything had felt normal, giving no indication of what was going to happen next, but before I knew it there had been a great sensation of outlandish power and it was as if I had been forced into sleep, closing my eyes to find nothing but emptiness. For a while I simply drifted, not even awake enough to be confused until finally, a great burst of sound and energy woke me up.
I was on the ground, feeling hot and dazed but beside me I could sense my sister. When I opened my eyes, I saw her bright crimson hair pooling in front of me before she started to stir. Erza, I feel so strange. What happened to us? Almost autonomously, I stood up alongside my sister and Gray, who was also with us, all of us remaining completely unresponsive until we opened our eyes and blinked. "Hm?" I looked around quickly, seeing a mass of strange looking soldiers in a place I did not recognise. This wasn't the guildhall, where the heck were we?
"You've gotta be kidding me, it was just the three of them?" Gajeel, I can see him now. What was he doing here? "Alright you're free, so look alive!"
"Gajeel, where are we?" I questioned, lifting a hand worried as I stepped closer to my sister and turning so that our backs were facing one another.
"Hey what's going on?!" Gray panicked, whirling around quickly as he stared at the unfamiliar place we had woken up in. This didn't feel like Magnolia or Fairy Tail, and it definitely didn't look like it either. In fact, this didn't even feel like Fiore, or Earth Land.
"We can talk about that later, right now we need to get out of here." Gajeel informed us sternly, turning as the strange soldiers charged forwards to try and capture the four of us. Instantly I froze up, sucking in a deep breath as I tried to summon my magic to cast an enchantment, a spell, anything, but nothing happened. Terror rippled through me as I stared at my hands, trying once more but still had the same result.
"I can't use my magic! It's not working" Gray also stood in a similar situation, failing to use his Ice Make magic.
"I told you I'd explain everything later." Munching on a block of iron, Gajeel then turned around whilst sucking in a deep breath. "Iron Dragon…ROAR!" His powerful Dragon Slaying attack blasted through an entire hoard of soldiers, giving us four time to quickly escape. Erza grabbed a hold of my hand as we started to run, keeping me close to her side as we disappeared into this strange place. I was glad to be holding my sister's hand, at least I was not alone here. So long as I had Erza with me, I had no need to be frightened.
"So how come you were able to use magic?" Gray questioned dryly as we finally stopped running. I was slightly out of breath, clutching my chest as I pulled up the hood of my cloak in order to hide myself a little further out of sight.
"I'll tell you once you've taken one of these." Lifting up a bottle of dark red pills, I frowned as I folded my arms, suspicious and wary.
"Enough already! Just tell us what happened." Erza commanded, standing slightly in front of me as she faced Gajeel. That iron headed slayer seemed to be enjoying this just a little too much, the idiot. He had a goofy grin and I wanted nothing more than to kick him in the shins and just make him talk since I was completely at the end of my tether with this unbelievable occurrence.
"The three of you were turned into a giant lacrima." A new person approached us, making me instantly start however when I heard the familiarity of the person's voice, I paused slightly. What the heck is going on? Wait, no way…there are two Gajeels'?! Why are there two of them?! I'm so confused, what happened to us? Where is everyone else?!
"Told you it would be easy."
"Indeed, but I'd expect no less from the Earth Land me. I knew you were the right man for the job." As my jaw dropped I pointed at the two of them, completely freaking out the same as Gray and Erza as we all exclaimed in shock. "Although we look alike, we're actually quite different. Edolas Gajeel at your service."
"Wait, Edolas?" I repeated as I recovered slightly from the surprise. "Is that what this place is called? Edolas? And what do you mean we were turned into a giant lacrima? And how come the three of us can't use magic but Gajeel can?!" I demanded to know before flinging out my hand to point at Gajeel and…Gajeel, who had their arms slung over one another's neck and grinning like morons. "And stop with the creepy double act! My head's about to explode from everything that's happened and I've been awake for less than five minutes!"
"Guess she's not impressed." Earth Land Gajeel noted with a little bit of disappointment, both of them leaning backwards to avoid my pointed finger.
"I doubt there'd be many chicks who'd be impressed with two of your ugly mug." Gray shrugged, making me pause before bursting into a fit of laughter. Okay, so that was a pretty decent burn, I have to hand it to him and I felt a little better now for laughing.
"I know it sounds crazy, but all of the Earth Land Fairy Tail wizards were turned into a lacrima. The king wants to get his hands on your magic power." Edolas Gajeel explained to the three of us after all of our tensions had calmed down a little so that we could listen. "The lacrima in the plaza was so big that we thought everyone from your guild was inside it."
"But obviously we were wrong because it turned out to be just the three of you." Earth Land Gajeel continued, gritting his teeth slightly in irritation. "Jeez, how big is the main lacrima?"
"You know now that you mention it, I did happen to notice that the lacrima in the plaza had a jagged surface, as if it had been cut off from something much larger."
"So many questions, I don't know where to start." Gray mused, standing half naked with his torso completely bare. If Juvia were here right now, she would be squealing for joy and gazing lovingly at Gray the way she always does whenever he unconsciously strips down of his clothes. Damn, I hope everyone is okay. Cana, you better be alright, otherwise I'm going to be super mad when I find you. "But first, what's that stuff you're trying to force on us?"
"These pills are called Ex-Balls, you won't be able to use your magic here in Edolas unless you take one of them." Gajeel informed us, shaking three pills into his palm before offering them to us. I took one, rolling the bead like pill between my thumb and index finger as I inspected it closely. "That's what I heard, at least."
"Oh? And who told you this?" My sister questioned, lifted her hand and placing it upon my wrist to stop me as I had gone to eat the pill, telling me to wait silently. Guess she's not totally convinced.
"It's what Mystogen said when he gave them to me. He's also the one who told me to come here and get you guys out." Gajeel revealed, causing all of us to stare at him. No way, for the longest time I had thought Mystogen was just a myth that someone in Fairy Tail had cooked up, I only started believing in him when my big sis told me that she had seen his face and that he looked like Jellal. Could it be…could Mystogen was actually from Edolas, and that's why there had been two people who looked like the same Jellal? "Anyway, you better eat up fast or you'll be helpless out here. We got things to do."
Looking at Erza, I gave a confident nod of my head before placing the pill in my mouth and swallowing it. I didn't feel much of a difference, perhaps a little popping sensation and a little warmth, but that was it. Just to be sure, however, I made a small enchantment to check that I had my magic back as Gray created a small ice figure in his hands. "Great! We have our magic back! You sure saved our asses back there Gajeel, we owe you one." I grinned, flinging out my arms and hugging him tightly. "I knew you were a real softie at heart, you're so cute coming to save us like that!"
"Hey! Get off me you weird little runt!" Gajeel yelled at me as he tried to push me away but I just continued to smile and hug him, refusing to let go. "Seriously, not cool."
"You're just saying that." I giggled, letting him go and stepping back. "So what's the deal? If we're the only ones who were trapped inside that lacrima, then that has to mean that the others are in an even bigger lacrima elsewhere. Wait, how come you weren't turned into a lacrima too, Gajeel?" I asked him, making both Erza and Gray straighten as they realised I had made an excellent point.
"It's because I'm a Dragon Slayer. Don't know all the details, but basically because my magic is old and special the way it is, I didn't get turned into some dumb sparkly rock. Since that's the way it is, it also means that Salamander and the little kid is also here somewhere." He means Natsu and Wendy. I hope they're both okay and that they managed to stay together. I couldn't imagine poor Wendy somewhere all alone in this strange place.
"I got word from my sources that your friends are currently being held up at the castle. I don't know the specifics, but from what I've heard they're both prisoners." Edolas Gajeel stepped forwards. "I can take you there if you like, since you guys don't know you're way around, you're gonna need a reliable guide."
"Thank you, we appreciate your assistance." Erza nodded her head, immediately assuming a controlled and determined persona. "Gajeel, since your magic was what freed us from the lacrima, it'll be up to you to find and release the rest of our guild. Find that other lacrima, then rendezvous with us as soon as possible."
"No problem. Better watch your backs though, it's likely you'll be meeting your own Edolas doppelgangers, so make sure you don't get one another mixed up." He grinned, flicking out his hand as he walked away. That's right, since there were two of Gajeel, it stood to reason that there would be our own doubles in Edolas. Man, I'm kind of nervous, what would the other me be like? There were just so many possibilities, since there was more than one way to be opposite to someone. Whatever the case, I just hope the Edolas Zera will be on our side.