It was the Knight Erza, in all her raging glory. She had the same fiery red hair, but cut short above her shoulders and tied up in a half-ponytail. Her armor was silver and had the kingdom's diamond emblem on the chest. She was also wearing a headpiece and choker which resembled Erza Scarlet's Titania armor. With her furrowed brow and lethal glare, she was all too similar to the Earthland Erza.

"L-L-Lady Titania! We've found criminals!" With trembling fingers, Wakaba pointed at the pair frozen in front of her.

Erza stared down at them. "So the copycat wizards are here. I'll take them with me and inform the others." She tied Natsu and Lucy's wrists. It seemed as if their arrest was inevitable, and they couldn't take her on in here.

"Hey! What about our pay?" Macao shouted.

"Quiet bounty hunter. You didn't defeat them yourself, nor did you turn them in properly to a knight. I came to investigate because of the commotion." Her eyes narrowed at Macao. "I'm letting you off easy this time. Don't demand things you have no right to."

"Aye!" Macao saluted.

Once again Lucy and Natsu found themselves side by side, tied by the wrists. At least she could be grateful for being allowed to walk on her own instead of tossed on the ground like a bag. She looked at Natsu, who she knew was already planning their escape.

"One," she mouthed. Natsu nodded, already understanding what she was planning. The plan would even work better this time, considering that Erza tied them both with easily burned rope. Was she not informed of Natsu's magic?

"Two."

Erza looked back at them. "You know, I almost feel the need to apologize for the theatrics. I can already tell that you are not using any form of illusion or transformation magic."

Lucy paused her countdown. Natsu looked as confused as she felt.

"Choosing not to speak? That's fair, considering it is a trial we are headed to. The truth of this arrest is that its purpose is to show the citizens that they have no reason to fear. No matter your crime or lack thereof, we are not planning to punish you harshly."

"I don't get it. Fear of what? And if we're innocent, what's the point?" Natsu asked.

Erza sighed. "I'm sure you've heard some rumors... that the Queen of Hearts is planning a major attack." Lucy gasped. The Queen of Hearts? Were the Diamonds and Hearts at war? "I won't go into details, as royal politics are complicated. But times are very, very dangerous right now. This alleged attack would be the first ever direct hit on us by her, and it is pertinent that we arrest you supposed impostors to give our citizens peace of mind. It will seem like we foiled one of her plans, which works in our favor."

"But why are we the scapegoat?" Lucy asked.

"You mages are from another world. Lucy-I mean Lady Lucy- could tell even before you said so, since your magical energy is different." She smiled at the mention of Lucy, a complete 180 from her deathly glare at the bar. "You need to get back home, don't you? We'll help you if you help us."

"Help you with what exactly?" Natsu asked, skeptical.

"The war, of course."

No. Lucy cared about humanity, and she cared about her friends especially. Even if this was another world, she felt sympathy for the Fairy Tail members here too. But even so, Natsu and her did not want to get caught up in another war again. War is costly, in money and in lives. She couldn't afford either.

Lucy looked at Natsu and mouthed, "Three," then jumped back.

A wall of flames ignited between them and Erza. She stood still in shock; the bright flame's reflection lighting her face up in an orange-pink color. She and Natsu turned and ran, hoping that Erza would back off from the fire and they would have enough time to get far enough away. What really sucked was the fact that they couldn't retrieve Happy's knapsack, and they were back at square one. Criminals on the run.

"I'm sorry Erza," Lucy thought. "But the price of war is too high to pay."

"Shi-!" A blurry shape whizzed past Natsu, causing him to lose his balance. He stumbled into Lucy, knocking them both into a tree. He helped her up, but was cut off by the shape again. The shape was actually Erza, who had transformed into a taller woman with pointy ears, pinkish skin, and translucent, glimmering wings. She had two red stripes under her eyes. She folded the wings closed and pointed a finger at Natsu.

"I didn't want to do this, but you've forced my hand. I'm taking you in for resisting arrest!" She declared. She lunged at Natsu, but he stepped out of the way.

Lucy realized that Capricorn's magic wouldn't do much. What spirit would work well here? She didn't need to beat Erza, just run away from her. Think Lucy, think...

Erza fought with only her fists, but with her appearance change also came more power and speed. She didn't even seem human. Natsu ducked and rolled out of her punches, but she finally caught him under the jaw, sending him flying upwards.

"Aries!" Lucy cried. The spirit appeared before her, already sending wool out to cushion Natsu's fall. Luckily he landed on the soft material. Now that she knew she could summon spirits for certain, she felt more confident in being able to defend herself.

"Thanks!" He smiled at her, and jumped out of the wool. It disappeared. Lucy followed as he ran deeper into the forest, away from Titania.

"Sorry!" Aries sent out a massive amount of pink wool, almost drowning Erza in the stuff. Lucy ran to where Natsu was, but she looked back to see Erza seething mad as she transitioned back into her former human appearance. Transformation magic? No... She yelped at the intensity of Erza's glare and ran faster. Aries went back to the Celestial Spirit World as Lucy changed back to her regular clothes, and she sighed in relief as the pull on her magic lessened.

"Don't think this is the end!" Erza's voice faded as they ran farther and farther away.

The pair stopped to catch their breath and leaned against a tree.

"What was up with her anyway? I know she's not our Erza, but those ears? Those wings?" said Natsu.

"I think she's a fairy."

"Eh?!"

It sounded out there, but this was Wonderland, not Earthland. This world played by different rules than their own. Enhanced physical fitness, pointy ears, glittering wings; she was straight out of a novel! Even on Earthland with it's various and strange magics didn't have such creatures like fairies or forest spirits. None she knew of anyways. Spirits had to come from other realms, like her celestial magic.

"She seems really strong. She didn't use any weapons or anything but with that kind of speed and power, she didn't need to." Lucy commented. "It's good that we ran away."

"If she's so strong, I kind of want to fight her! See how she compares to our Erza."

Lucy laughed. Of course Natsu was more likely to run into fights than away from them.

The pair leaned against the base of a tree to catch their sun was finally beginning to set, but it seemed like years had passed since they had defeated those chicken illusions on their job with Happy. As if listening to her thoughts, Natsu wondered out loud, "I wonder how Happy is holding up."

"I'm doing great friends!" Happy's voice echoed from above. He was sitting in the tree, head intact (Thank goodness, thought Lucy) and holding his knapsack. "Thanks for retrieving this for me!"

"Um, you're welcome?" Lucy said. As far as she knew, the bag had been left back at the bar. The cat hopped down and opened it.

"My fish!" He exclaimed. Natsu and Lucy gaped at the size of the fish in that tiny bag. It was at least 6 feet long! He unhinged his jaw and swallowed the fish whole, sighing deeply in content. The pair was silent.

"But actually, I have something for you!" He pulled out a paper which he unrolled to reveal a map.

"This is the map of the Kingdom of Diamonds. On the north edge you can see the forest surrounding the Kingdom of Hearts, which serves as the border between the two. We're near the capitol, Magnolia, in the woods outside of it. The small town you came from is called Hargeon."

"Magnolia!" Natsu smiled. "But why do we need to know this...?"

"Seriously? I'm telling you this to help you. You guys have been evading arrest, but what you actually need is to go to trial!"

"What?!" The pair exclaimed.

"The mage you were chasing can open portals to other worlds. Dunno how, but he's currently in the castle prison. The easiest way to get to him is simply to get arrested yourself. Then you can have him open a portal for you to get home."

Right that's... that's perfect! Cana's card made sense now. They were meant to "go with the flow" and instead of trying to escape Lucy or Erza's arrest, they were meant to go to the castle! There's just one thing that's bothering her...

"How do you know all of this?" Lucy asked.

Happy smiled mischievously. "Never mind that, I'll just say I'm not working alone. Just stay out here for tonight. Erza is probably looking for you as we speak, and it's easier for her if you stay in one place. Good luck." Happy's smile disappeared, leaving them alone.

Lucy thought about her first encounter with Happy. The only real information she got out of him was that this place was called Wonderland. He didn't even want to tell her who the King was! She glanced at Natsu, who was oddly quiet. According to the mysterious cat, her partner knew his identity.

"Uh, are you okay?" She asked. He was staring somewhere in the distance. She waved a hand in front of his face and he snapped out of his daze.

"Yeah, great. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Well, I'm the prince, or like the Natsu here is the prince. That means that his dad is either my biological dad, or Igneel. I…"

"You're not sure who you'd rather see?" She suggested.

Natsu shrugged. "Something like that?"

"But how do you feel? Will you be okay seeing your father again?" Lucy knew herself, and she knew she would burst into tears if she could see her own dad again. Even though she spent so long hating him, after she came back home from Tenrou and found out he was gone it hurt. She remembered the pain in her heart and soul as she mourned the possibility of ever having a good relationship with him. No matter who the king may be, Igneel or his birth dad, it'll still be hard to see the prince having that healthy relationship Natsu himself never got to have.

"I'm okay." was all he said.

Lucy wasn't sure she believed him, but she didn't pressure him anymore. Instead she put a hand over his hand, and held it as they watched the stars for a while. Whatever the future may hold, they would face it together as they always did.

"Lady Titania! I found them!" Footsteps were approaching from behind. Soldiers! Natsu and Lucy jumped up, preparing to face Erza again. The forest was dark, but the soldiers held torches to light their way.

As Erza made her way over to the pair, they held their hands up in surrender. "Go with the flow." Lucy gulped. It was time to face the music.

The scarlet haired knight pointed a finger at the pair and scowled. "You're under arrest."

Natsu and Lucy were bound with proper magic cancelling handcuffs and shoved into a carriage. Natsu turned green and stuck his head out the window, groaning about how he wished they could've just walked.

Lucy sighed. She had travelled with Natsu so many times before and she knew his pain, but right now she really needed him to get her keys for her. She wanted to summon and talk to Loke to see his thoughts on all of this. Although Happy's plan was fine on paper, there were so many things that could go wrong, starting with the upcoming trial.

"Natsu, come on. Just get my keys, please."

"Eeeeeuuugggghh."

"I'll let you rest your head on my lap?" She offered. Lucy rarely offered that since she was always worried he'd puke on her shoes if she did, though Natsu claimed it helped him feel better when Wendy's Troia wasn't available.

His ears perked up at her offer. Natsu sluggishly reached behind her to grab the keys on her belt and tossed it in her lap. He happily laid down, looking less green than before. Lucy rolled her eyes but ran her hands through his hair.

She smiled as she touched her keys, which warmed in her palm. "Open, gate of the Lion, Leo!" She whispered. A dim light flashed quickly as Loke passed through the gate and appeared in the seat across from her.

"Finally. I've been waiting for you to summon me. Do you have any idea what's going on? You got yourself involved in a war Lucy, and you didn't think to summon me until now?"

Lucy blushed at the scolding. "It's not that I purposefully didn't summon you. I've just been running all this time and I didn't have the chance."

Loke waved her off. "Never mind that. What did you summon me for? Need help escaping?" He lifted his palm up and smirked, showing off his magic.

"No, this is part of a plan to get home. According to… someone we met, the thief we caught is now in the castle prison, and he can open portals to other worlds. That's how we ended up here. If we get sent to prison and find him, we can use him to get us home."

"I see. But what if he doesn't help you?"

"I…" Lucy faltered. Loke raised a good point. There wasn't really a plan in place for that.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there?"

Loke sighed. He pushed up his glasses, which glinted white as he stared out the window. They were driving down a rough path through the winter forest, and Erza, just like her Earthland counterpart, only made things worse with her driving. Natsu frowned and groaned at every bump on the road.

"Lucy, listen to me. I've been doing research nonstop since after Aries came back and told us where you were. I even spoke to the Spirit King once we found out where you were. I'm not sure how much you know about the conflict between the Kingdom of Hearts and Diamonds."

She shook her head. "All I've heard were rumors."

"The Queen of Hearts has been gathering supplies and training soldiers for fourteen years. Since the first day she became Queen. She plans to completely take over the Kingdom of Diamonds and make it all hers. If she succeeds in killing the King of Diamonds, she's going after the other kingdoms next." Loke explained.

Lucy gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. This was bad. Like really, extra, horribly bad.

"You and Natsu have to help them, Lucy. They're strong, but without you guys I don't know if they're strong enough."

"Loke…"

"I'll be there with you, I promise. Maybe I'll get the chance to punch that Queen in the face." He chuckled darkly. "But I'm asking you to do this on behalf of the Spirit King. There is an artifact in this world that we can not let fall into the wrong hands. He does have a plan to reclaim it, but he needs your help. The Diamonds need to win this war."

Even the Spirit King was scared. If this artifact involved the Celestial Spirit world, they had to help. Lucy reached out for Loke's hand. She gripped it tightly and with a determined expression said, "You can count on me!"

"Thank you, Lucy." He kissed her knuckles and faded away, returning to the spirit world.

Lucy took a deep breath. She would do anything for her spirits, and if she had to fight another war, so be it.

The ride became bumpy until finally coming to a rocky stop. Natsu sat up, grateful at the lack of motion. The carriage door was opened by Erza who said, "We're in Magnolia now, but the carriage has a broken wheel. We'll have to walk from here." The pair stepped out of the carriage.

Before them was the entrance to the capital of the Kingdom of Diamonds, Magnolia.