This chapter has been rewritten as of 5/6/19.

Chapter 6

The nearest person's reiatsu was fluctuating wildly, which made it easy to sense even though it wasn't all that strong. After running towards it for a minute, Gildarts and I could hear shouting. My eyes narrowed. I recognized that voice, albeit barely.

"That sounds like Wendy," I said.

"Wendy?"

I glanced back at Gildarts. Apparently, he was just as out of the loop of Fairy Tail as I was. He'd been on a quest for three years, and a lot had changed in that time.

"She's the small, blue-haired girl. I'm sure you've seen her if you've been at the guild at all. She's there a lot."

Gildarts' face filled with recognition. "Oh, right. Her."

"Is anyone out there?" Wendy yelled, her voice breaking. She had her back to us, and that white cat of hers was standing a couple yards away from her.

"Wendy!" I called back. "Right behind you." Gildarts and I stopped near the small dragon slayer, who was on her knees with Carla looking oddly serious, almost resigned. Wendy craned over her shoulder to see us, and when she realized we were actually there, her eyes filled with tears. When Carla saw Gildarts and me, though, her eyes widened in shock.

"How on earthland are you two still alive?" she asked, her feline features twisting in genuine surprise.

"I think we were far enough away from the worst of it," I answered vaguely. "I asked Gildarts for a spar, so we went out into the forest. We came back as soon as we saw whatever that was."

"What did happen, anyway?" Gildarts asked, eyeing Carla for a second before focusing on Wendy. "Do you know what that spell was, and what that hole in the sky is?"

Wendy shook her head mutely, her eyes wide and watering. It was clear that she was on the verge of even more tears, and I quickly knelt in front of her, putting my hand on her shoulder. She looked too much like my sisters had in the start of the war in that moment, overwhelmed and afraid.

"Hey," I said softly. "Keep it together. We'll fix this, okay? We'll all work together and we'll get everything back." I had no idea how, but we couldn't have her breaking down now.

God, she was just a kid. Even worse, there had probably been a ton of other kids and innocents caught up in that spell. Who the hell did something like this?

Wendy nodded, clasping her hands in front of her chest and swallowing the breakdown.

A second later, Natsu burst out of the sand a few yards away, spluttering and confused. He noticed me first, blinking. "Whoa, Ichigo." He took in the rest of the group. "Wendy, Carla, Gildarts…what's going on? Why's everyone here?"

He looked around, slowly climbing to his feet. "Where is here? Where's the guild? I could've sworn I was just in there."

"They all vanished," Wendy replied, sniffling, her voice strained. "They all glowed white and then disappeared into the hole in the sky!"

"Hole in the…" Natsu repeated, looking up. When he saw the flashing portal, he jumped, his eyes going wide. "What the hell? When did that get there?"

"Recently," I said. "We're still in Magnolia, I'm pretty sure, and it looks like some kind of spell just…took the city and everyone in it."

Natsu sobered. "The whole city? Even the guild?"

Gildarts nodded grimly. "Ichigo and I were lucky to be far enough away," he said. "I have no idea how you three stuck around, though."

Carla looked away. I frowned. That resignation…That looked a lot like guilt, now that I was really paying attention. "Carla," I said, making her stiffen, "do you know something about this?"

Wendy frowned. "Carla?"

The cat hugged herself, closing her eyes. I couldn't read all her expressions; I wasn't familiar enough with her to know what was going through her head.

"I do," Carla admitted. She shot a glare at Happy, who had only just freed himself from a sandy prison with Natsu's help. "And you should too, tomcat."

Happy blinked, as lost as everyone else. "Me?"

"Yes, you. That hole in the sky leads to our home."

"Our…home?"

Gildarts, Wendy, and Natsu looked just as confused as I felt. Carla huffed. "Yes, our home. Edolas."

Utterly confused, Happy looked to Natsu for an explanation, but Natsu didn't have any to give. "I don't understand, Carla," Happy said, hugging his green sack for comfort. "What are you saying? Are we from a different world? But I was born here."

Carla shook her head. "No, you were not. You and I were sent here with others of our kind from Edolas to complete our mission."

I frowned. "Mission?"

Carla expression darkened for just an instant before she shook her head. "In any case, we do not have much time before the portal above us closes. Once it does, we will have no way to get to Edolas and rescue our friends."

"Whatever mission she had," Zangetsu commented, "it wasn't anything good. She's hidin' something important."

"For the time being, we cannot worry about that. I can sense instability in the reishi near the portal; the cat is correct. It does appear to be closing."

How long?

"I cannot say. I am not familiar with this kind of situation. The degradation is not consistent. At most, twenty minutes. At minimum, five, perhaps fewer."

Great.

"Before we do anything," Gildarts said mildly, "we should probably make contact with the others who survived this portal's opening."

"There are even more?" Carla asked. "How is that possible?"

"Well," Natsu said, "Wendy 'n I are both dragon slayers. Ichigo and Gildarts were outta range, so I bet that iron idiot Gajeel is kicking around here somewhere."

"There's another dragon slayer?" Gildarts asked. Then his confusion cleared. "Ah, wait, I remember Makarov telling me about that whole situation when I visited him the other day. Never mind."

"So there's me, you, you, and you," Natsu said, pointing to Wendy, me, and Gildarts in turn. "Then Gajeel, and I can smell…" He sniffed the air a couple times. "Lucy?"

"Lucy?" I repeated. How did that make any sense? "She's not a dragon slayer, though."

Natsu shrugged.

"We shall ask her once we find her," Carla decided. "Where is she?"

Natsu pointed and then took the lead. We followed him across the sands until we came across Lucy, who was walking around looking utterly lost. Her whole demeanor changed when she saw us.

"Natsu? Wendy, Ichigo, Gildarts—you're all okay!"

"Mostly," Gildarts said with an amused look shot at me.

"I healed what I could," I muttered.

"Yeah, we are, but how did you stop yourself from getting sucked into the sky?" Natsu asked, pointing. Lucy patted her keys.

"One of my spirits sensed the danger and came down here to protect me. I would've been a goner if not for him, but I was worried that I was the only one left. It all just happened so fast. I didn't know what to do."

Carla crossed her arms. "So we have a wizard protected by a celestial spirit, two wizards who were outside the area of effect, and then two dragon slayers who were unprotected and right in the middle of things."

"Three," someone said from behind me. I turned and saw Gajeel, who was brushing sand off his clothes with a scowl on his face. "Three dragon slayers. What the hell happened here? Where the hell is the damn town?"

Someone else was approaching—someone I didn't recognize. "Before that, any of you know that guy?" I asked, pointing over Gajeel's shoulder. The man walking towards us was dressed strangely, even by my loosened standards. His cloak was torn in several places, his legs wrapped in bandages below his shins, and his pants looking more like odd armor pieces than clothing. His hair was as blue as Wendy's, and a strange red marking passed over one of his eyes.

Natsu stiffened, heat rising off him in shimmering waves. "Jellal," he growled. I glanced at him.

"An enemy, I take it," I said, reaching for Zangetsu.

The approaching man raised his hands in the universal gesture of peace. "Wait, please," he said. "I am not your enemy."

Natsu hesitated. "Wait, you're—"

"I am Mystogan," Mystogan said. "While I share the appearance of the man you knew as Jellal, I am not him. You must believe me. You saw at the cathedral, did you not?"

Natsu slowly lowered his fists. Copying his example, I relaxed too. "What are you doing here?" Natsu asked.

The man of the hour was an odd mix of uncomfortable and grave; his expression was pained, and his mouth was set in a grim line. The lightning in the sky reflected off his hair, making it look that much brighter while throwing his face into sharp contrast.

Mystogan glanced at Gildarts and me. "You…Gildarts, and I do not know who you are."

"Ichigo," I said. "I joined Fairy Tail just a little while ago."

"You are not dragon slayers," Mystogan said. "How are you here? The anima should have absorbed you."

"Real comforting."

"We were just outside its range," I said. "We ran back here as fast as we could, but we were too late."

Mystogan shook his head. "No, that was for the best. The more allies we have in this fight, the better."

"This fight?" Gildarts repeated. "What exactly are you expecting?"

Sighing, Mystogan unhooked one of his staves and used it to take some of the weight off his feet. "How I know what I know is a long story that I have neither the time nor inclination to bore you with, but I can give you the shortened version. You see, I come from Edolas."

"Edolas?" Lucy asked, her eyebrows drawing together. "What's that?"

"Edolas is a world that exists separately from our own," Carla explained. Mystogan nodded, not seeming at all surprised that Carla knew about this connected dimension.

"She's right," Mystogan said. "Edolas is a world entirely distinct from this one." The lightning and eerie silence that came with the disappearance of Magnolia only made his words seem all the more ominous. "A separate dimension, really, one that is linked to this world by portals called anima."

Separate dimensions. Portals. Was this what I was looking for? Was this anima like a Garganta? Could I use it—

"I'm gonna guess that that's an anima," Gildarts said, jerking a thumb up towards the massive hole in the sky. Mystogan nodded, closing his eyes briefly.

"Yes, that is an anima. I've dedicated my entire life to closing them before they can do any harm, but I couldn't stop this one. It was too powerful."

"This has been going on for a while," I clarified. Mystogan nodded.

"Once the ones controlling them figured out the details of the spell, the anima targeted areas with high concentrations of magical energy. The Fairy Tail guild, being the strongest in Fiore, was a logical target."

"They went after us just 'cause we're strong?" Natsu asked. He ground his teeth for a moment, clearly frustrated. "I'm gonna make those jerks regret messing with our guild!"

"Hold on, Natsu," Gildarts said, his tone mild. "We might want to learn everything we can before we go charging to Edolas." Natsu grumbled for a moment before yielding to Gildarts' advice. "You never said who these 'controllers' are."

"The king is the one in charge of the entire project," Mystogan said after a moment's hesitation.

"The king?" Lucy repeated. "There's a king in Edolas?"

"Yes. His name is King Faust. He lives in a well-fortified and heavily guarded castle in the Royal City."

My eyes narrowed. There was something in Mystogan's tone, something in his body language when he said that name. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, though, which was irritating. All these vague feelings always led to something bad, but I could never get a step ahead.

"You said the castle is heavy guarded. Is there a formal military in Edolas?" If this king controlled the anima, there was no doubt that he would be upset if we were to try to take it all back.

Mystogan nodded slowly. "There are four Magic War Divisions in the Royal Army, each headed by a powerful Royal Captain."

I couldn't help the feeling of relief sliding through me. Portals in the sky, alternate dimensions, magic—I wasn't experienced with any of that. But war? War, I knew.

So, intel.

"These opponents are probably going to be strong if they're captains," I said. "Mystogan, what are their names?"

He took a deep breath. "Pantherlily is the captain of the first, Erza Knightwalker is captain of the second, Sugarboy is captain of the third, and Hughes is captain of the fourth division."

"Hold on," Lucy said. "Erza?"

"That's what you meant earlier," I said, connecting the dots. "When you said Jellal was a different person than you, and that you came from Edolas. Coincidence doesn't explain your resemblance. It doesn't explain the coincidence of Erza's name matching one of the captain's." I paused for a beat to let my brain catch up with my mouth. I normally spoke slowly and deliberately, but time was of the essence. "How closely is Edolas related to this world?"

"Very," Mystogan said, his expression unchanging but pain flashing in his eyes all the same. "Nearly every person has a counterpart in Edolas. Not just members of the Fairy Tail guild, but the entire world as well."

"Whoa, so there's a me in Edolas too?" Natsu asked. "That's so cool! We're gonna be best pals, dontcha think, Happy?"

The tomcat nodded, still looking lost. Carla's information dump had really affected him.

"So when we go to Edolas," I mused, "we're going to be fighting against this Royal Army, which has some version of the Erza we know. Is there anything else we should know about the royals?"

Mystogan thought for a moment before replying. "The reason behind all of this is King Faust. He is obsessed with saving the magic in Edolas. He banned wizard guilds so he could consolidate it in the Royal City for himself and the captains of the Royal Army."

"I'm not super close friends with Erza," Lucy put in, somewhat timid but speaking nonetheless, "but that doesn't sound like something Erza would support."

"Yeah, that's right," Natsu said, looking at Mystogan. "And why would the king want to 'save' magic?"

"Magic is limited in Edolas," Mystogan explained. "People don't have internal sources of magic; instead, they use magical items imbedded with Lacrima."

"So what is it about the people?" I asked. "They're not just duplicated in Edolas. That doesn't explain the personality differences, and I doubt the magic has anything to do with it."

"You're right, it's not the magic. Their personalities are different as well."

"Which would explain why the Erza I know could be associated with the Erza you've described," Gildarts said, thinking aloud.

"Still, does this mean there's a Fairy Tail guild in Edolas?" Wendy asked, hope shining in her eyes. "Maybe they can help us! Even if they are a little different, they've gotta be able to give us a hand."

"I believe there is a dark guild that goes by the name Fairy Tail," Mystogan said. "They are the only surviving magical guild."

"Which brings us back to something important," I said. "You said that magic in Edolas is limited, which means they're using the anima linking our world to theirs to replenish their magic from the unlimited supply here."

"Right," Mystogan acknowledged.

"If people in Edolas have to use lacrima to use magic, does that mean living things can't use magic in Edolas?"

Mystogan nodded, then paused to glance up at the portal. "We don't have long," he muttered. "Yes, you are correct. Humans in Edolas cannot use magic."

"Why not?" Gildarts asked, genuinely curious.

"As you all know, magic is replenished when the body absorbs Eternano in the air," Mystogan explained. "In Edolas, however, there is very little Eternano and it is not meant to be stored in a living body. The change in atmosphere interferes with your own magic abilities. Essentially, your magic is incapable of leaving your body and affecting the world in any way."

"But you have a solution," Carla stated. "Otherwise, you would not send us to fight against such a force unarmed."

Mystogan sighed. "Yes, you're right as well." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small vial with red spherical pills in it. "Eat one of these, and you will be able to use your magic in Edolas."

"How does it work?" Wendy asked, examining the pill that Mystogan handed to her.

"It's a long explanation that has to do with the formation of an anima within your bodies. I do not have the time to go through it. Just trust me."

"Hey, why don't we get any?" Happy asked.

"Exceeds have an internal source of magic that is designed to fit in with Edolas' decreased Eternano atmosphere," Mystogan explained. "Your race, the exceed, are the only beings in Edolas that have their own magic source."

"Wow, Happy, that's awesome!" Natsu said, grinning at his best friend. Happy smiled a little as well, shaking off some of his previous melancholy as the idea of a rescue slowly became more and more plausible.

"So what kind of races exist in Edolas?" I asked, discreetly pocketing the pill. I didn't want to know what magic like that would do to me. "You've mentioned humans and exceed. Is that it?"

"Those are the two main races, yes," Mystogan confirmed. "The exceed see themselves as gods because of their magical abilities, and the humans believe that their queen is all-powerful and judges who lives and who dies."

Everyone in the group turned to look at Happy, who shrank under the sudden attention. Carla, on the other hand, only began to look more serious. She refused to make eye contact with any of us, including Wendy.

"Is that true?" I asked. It wouldn't be my first time taking down a god, but it would make things far more complicated.

"From what I can tell, no," Mystogan said. "But no one seems to be willing to test it."

"Makes sense," Gildarts said thoughtfully.

"So, Edolas has mirrors of us that are different in personality…is there a Magnolia there too?" Lucy asked.

"Not that I know of," Mystogan said, shaking his head. "The land in Edolas is different than the land here. Large islands float above the main ground, supported by magic energy. That is why Happy and Carla and the exceed are so well suited to the environment there; their wings give them an enormous advantage over the humans."

"Is the Royal City on one of these floating islands?" I asked. Mystogan nodded.

"As is the home of the exceed, Extalia. The two are close to one another."

"That makes it easy," Natsu said decisively. Happy glanced up at him.

"Huh?"

"Happy, you and Carla can visit your people while we storm the king's castle. Easy, right?"

"I can't say how the exceed will react to these two," Mystogan cautioned. "They are a proud species. Carla and Happy might be treated as lesser because of their time spent here. Exceed look down on humans as insects; they believe us to be dumb and weak." Mystogan spared another glance at the sky. "We don't have much time. If you have any questions left, ask them now."

"Any customs over there that aren't like here?" Gildarts asked. "It's happened to me a couple of times while travelling."

"Nothing I can think of right away," Mystogan said, pushing his weight back onto his feet while he unhooked a different staff. "Just stay aware. Happy, Carla, remember your status. The people of Edolas won't know you're not from there." He looked among our group. "All of Magnolia would have been converted into a lacrima when it passed through the portal. It will be massive. Find it. Dragon slayer magic should be able to restore your friends to their original states. I can send you all through the portal before it closes without that transformation taking place. It will still be unpleasant, but there shouldn't be any lasting effects."

"You're not coming?" Lucy asked.

"No. There are things I must handle here before I can join you in Edolas."

Energy swirled around his staff. One by one, he tapped the end of his staff against each of our foreheads. I watched Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, Happy, Carla, Gildarts, and Lucy all turn to white light and shoot off into the sky. My stomach turned.

This wasn't going to be pleasant.

The staff hit my forehead. My world blurred into nauseating slurries of white and gray and blue. I lost all sense of my own body, all sense of touch, sight, sound, and smell.

When it all came crashing back, gravity took hold twice as hard and I fell to my knees, heaving. My eyes adjusted to bright sunlight, my hands to the dirt pressing against them. My stomach was somewhere in my throat, my brain two inches to the left of where it was supposed to be.

Waking up in one of Magnolia's back alleys had been more pleasant than this. Pressing my fingernails into my palms, I willed everything back into working order. Once I could breathe without tasting bile, I opened my eyes again.

Wendy was right next to me, holding out a hand. "Are you okay?" she asked.

I let her help me get to my feet. My balance was off for a second, but I got it back. "Bad reaction," I grunted. Seeing every other wizard and cat staring, all of them looking perfectly fine, I realized that I was the only one to get hit that hard. "Really bad reaction."

That hadn't been anything like Kisuke's portal. Hadn't even gotten the chance to ask Mystogan how any of the anima technology worked.

"Perhaps this king or his captains can give us the information we seek."

Maybe.

I finally realized that the oddly dark cloud nearby wasn't a cloud and was, in fact, a giant floating rock easily four times the size of Karakura Town. The real sky was far higher, dotted with intermittent fluffy clouds.

I'd half expected them to be sideways.

Edolas looked similar to Magnolia in that there were plants, and ground, and a sky—but the ground was in pieces and floating in that sky, and the plants were crazy colors, shapes, and sizes. Basically, it didn't look at all similar to Magnolia.

"We're still fuckin' loopy from that portal," Zangetsu grumbled.

"You feeling okay?" Gildarts asked, giving me a concerned look. "Seems like that portal hit you harder than the rest of us."

I waved him off. "Fine. I've never handled that kind of thing well."

"You can say that again," Lucy said.

"Still sorry about that," I mumbled.

"Edolas is so pretty," Wendy said, spinning around with wide eyes. "Look, Natsu, there's a river in the sky!"

"Yeah, wow, that's cool." Natsu shaded his eyes with one hand, peering at the distant stream of water twirling through the sky. "Think it's got fish in it? Happy, what do you think?"

"I dunno."

Natsu crouched down to his feline friend. "Hey, buddy, are you okay? You've been acting pretty down."

"It's just…what Carla said, about me being from here, about that mission. I don't remember any mission. I don't remember here. But she's so certain about everything and I don't know what I did wrong."

Natsu reached out and patted Happy's head. "It'll be fine," he said. "I'm always here for you, all right? We're best buds."

Happy nodded.

"We're gonna find this king, kick his butt, and save our friends," Natsu added. "And you're gonna visit that kingdom of cats and figure out how you and Carla found me and Wendy. And then we're all gonna go home."

Another nod. Happy wiped his eyes with his paw. "Yeah. We're all going home."

Natsu grinned.

"You're gettin' ahead of yourself, Salamander," Gajeel said, his arms crossed. "We got no idea where the king is from here."

The last of the fog was finally clearing from my brain. "The first thing we should do is find the Edolas Fairy Tail guild," I said. "They'll know Edolas better than any of us."

"Getting in touch with locals is always a good idea," Gildarts affirmed. "It looks like there are people living out here." He gestured to a steady column of smoke rising in the distance. "We can speak to them and see if they have any knowledge of where Fairy Tail would be."

"And the cats?" Gajeel asked, jerking a thumb at Happy and Carla. "That Mystogan guy was pretty clear that they're not gonna fly under the radar here. Besides, you and Ichigo look like you just got in a brawl."

I glanced down at myself. Gajeel had a point; my left pant leg was missing up to the knee while the right leg was torn all over the place. My shirt hadn't fared much better; it was more hole than cloth at this point. The intermittent bloodstains weren't helping.

"Wait," Natsu said, looking between us. "Did you fight each other?"

"We sparred," Gildarts said before I could think of an excuse. "Ichigo's a new member, and I guess he was pretty eager to see how he matched up. I couldn't say no to a new face."

"He kicked my ass," I said with a shrug. "I should've known better, but I had to see for myself."

"Of course he did," Natsu said with a grin. "He's crazy strong!"

"Somehow," Lucy put in, "I doubt that Ichigo let himself get thrown into the ceiling."

"We were sparring outside," I said. "If we were inside…"

"I feel like we're gettin' off-track," Gajeel said. Nearby, Wendy nodded hesitantly.

"Should we head to that fire?" she asked. "I mean, Lucy and I could go talk to whoever's there, since all of you look a bit…different."

She had a point. "Yeah," I said. "Just be careful."

"We will be," Lucy said, patting her whip. "And with our magic, we should be fine."

"We'll wait for you here," Gildarts said. "Just yell if you need help."

Once Lucy and Wendy had disappeared into the trees, Gildarts sank onto a fallen log with a quiet groan. "I was looking forward to a solid night's sleep," he sighed. "A final day of recovery." He eyed his prosthetics. "Meant to get these replaced, too."

They were looking a little worse for wear.

"Can't do anything about that now," Gajeel said, finding a log of his own. He stared at the trees. "I hate waiting."

"You'd just scare them," Happy said.

"You got a problem with my face, cat?"

"He does have a point," I put in. "Your piercings are pretty noticeable, and you do have the whole thug thing going on."

Gajeel blinked. "The whole…thug thing? The hell are you trying to say?"

I sighed. "Nothing. Forget it. I'm still out of it."

Sitting a ways down on the same log as Gildarts, I rested my elbows on my knees and massaged my temples. I still felt a little sick, but it wasn't bad.

I needed a plan. That portal—the anima—was cross-dimensional magic unheard of in Fiore. Unlike all the other spells I'd come across or seen hints about, the anima was a permanent transportation into another, indirectly linked dimension. I needed to see the magic it used. I needed to talk to the king.

I needed to get home.

Gildarts and Gajeel made simple conversation. Natsu occasionally chimed in. I was content to stay in the background.

If we found the Fairy Tail guild and at least one person agreed to help us, we could probably get to the Royal City without too much trouble. Once there, Gildarts alone would make a great distraction while Natsu and the others focused on the lacrima containing Magnolia. Happy and Carla could go visit Extalia, and I…I could figure out the anima.

Taking a deep breath, I focused on steadying myself. Getting desperate wouldn't help anything.

It was then that I noticed what was strangest of all about Edolas. The feeling of differencewasn't just due to the trees or the floating islands: there was reishi here. A lot of reishi. Not as much as there was in Karakura Town, but definitely enough to support Quincy techniques.

Another deep breath. Magnolia's lack of reishi and reiatsu had been damned disconcerting. This was practically complete relief. But why? Edolas still had magic. Unless…

"The disappearing magic is being replaced by reishi," the Old Man finished. "It's possible. We have established that the two types of energy are not entirely compatible. It could be that, here, they were never in balance, and now the spiritual particles are slowly destroying the magic."

Which meant that, no matter how much magic the king pumped into this world, it would always disappear eventually.

Maybe one day they'd have Shinigami running around.

Lucy and Wendy emerged from the trees, neither looking overly troubled. Lucy pointed back the way they'd come. "One of the locals said that a really weird tree sprouted up that way a couple days ago."

"A tree?" Natsu repeated. "How's that help?"

"They said it had a banner with this symbol on it," Lucy said, pointing to the guild mark on the back of her hand. "That answer your question? It's gotta be them."

"What were the locals like?" I asked.

"Kinda weird," Lucy said. "But they understood us. They didn't look like city people."

"Makes sense," Gajeel said. "Ain't a whole lot of city around here. They're probably farmers or foragers."

Gildarts stood. "In any case, we should find this other Fairy Tail. Which way was it, again?"

"I can lead," Lucy said. "I remember the way. Plus, Wendy said she could smell something strange coming from over there, so there's no way we'll get lost."

"Temptin' fate."

"So, what's the real plan?" Gajeel asked while we walked. "We get to this weird Fairy Tail, see what they're doing, and then what? Even with magic, going against an entire army is just stupid."

Someone else responded. I was too busy staring at Gildarts, who was walking through the trees. He would get close, glow a little, and then the tree would break apart into cubes that just scattered out of his way.

"Gildarts," I said. "Maybe leaving a trail of destruction through the forest isn't a good idea."

Glancing back at the path he'd left, Gildarts paused in surprise. He laughed a little. "Ah, I didn't even notice. Sorry about that."

I caught a piece of Gajeel's incredulity. It was a nice reminder that Gildarts was, in fact, ridiculous.

When we continued, though, Gajeel's attention lingered on me. He kept glancing back, brows furrowed in mild confusion and irritation. I walked a little faster, bypassing Gildarts.

"Something you wanna say?" I asked. "You're staring."

Gajeel scoffed a little and looked away. "Relax. I ain't got beef with you. You just feel different."

"Feel different?"

He waved a hand. "Dunno how to explain it. It ain't smell or anything like that, but it's there. Hey, flame-for-brains, back me up."

Natsu glanced over his shoulder. "Huh? Yeah, I guess, now that you mention it."

Since all the dragon slayers were saying something, I looked to Wendy, but she just blushed and waved her hands. "I'm sorry, I don't really uh, smell or—or sense, I guess, anything. I don't think I really know you well enough to, um, say something like that anyway."

"I don't really know how to respond," I said, refocusing on Gajeel. He shrugged.

"Ain't my problem. You don't know what's causing it, and I don't really care."

Easy enough. We kept walking.

"Perhaps the dragon slayers are somehow sensing that the seal remains undone," the Old Man suggested. I frowned, mentally checking it. Yes, still released. I hadn't even thought about it. Given the situation, though, I could stand to keep my power contained. There were already enough eyes on me with how Gildarts and I had gotten ourselves into this mess.

The seal reformed on my chest, plunging the world back underwater for a minute until I adjusted. Zangetsu grumbled about it, but we both knew better than to draw attention to ourselves right now. I needed to stick with this group until we got to the Royal City. Once there, I needed some excuse to leave. I didn't need anyone else around when I interrogated the king about his anima technology.

"What do you think the me in this world is like?" Natsu asked, putting his hands on the back of his head.

"I dunno," Happy said. "Probably someone super lame."

"Hey!"

"Cat's right," Gajeel said with a smirk. "Super lame would be a pretty big improvement."

"Ah, don't you even start," Natsu said. "I bet you're something really lame."

Happy put one paw up to his mouth, poorly hiding a snicker. "I bet he's a failed rock star."

"You watch your words, cat."

"Don't you threaten Happy. Besides, he's giving you a compliment. 'Failed' means you were good at some point."

They glared daggers at each other. Next to me, Gildarts scratched his chin.

"The me of this world," he muttered. "That's an interesting one." He grinned. "Maybe I have a hare—"

"Uh, guys," Wendy said, stopping. "Remember that thing I smelled?"

Natsu paused in his argument with Gajeel. "The thing that smells like dead fish?"

"Rotting dead fish," Gajeel clarified. "Smells awful."

I was only getting a faint whiff of something unpleasant. How sensitive were their noses?

"Well, I think it's getting closer," Wendy said.

"We are walking towards it, aren't we?" Lucy asked. "I mean, aren't we?"

"Yeah, I think." Wendy pointed. "I thought it was coming from Fairy Tail, but I don't think it is. I think it's coming from—" the ground began to shake—"well, that."

A fish monster easily twenty yards tall and twice as long emerged from the trees on the other side of the small clearing. I couldn't help staring. I'd seen weird hollows before, but this was something entirely new. It looked like a fish, but it had legs.

Eight of them.

"Y'know, I think I've seen something like that before," Gildarts mused. "Didn't taste so good, though, but I didn't have a lot of options at the time."

I looked at him askance. At the same time, Natsu launched himself at the fish monster, fist trailing flames. One magic-powered punch was all it took: the monster crashed to the ground, scrabbled to its feet, and ran back off into the trees with clear fear in its eyes.

"Thing was probably the most dangerous animal around these parts, and it was that weak? Pathetic."

And here you were complaining about me redoing the seal.

"Yeah, and I'll keep fuckin' doing that. I hate having to fight with handicaps just to have a challenge. It sucks."

I tuned out the rest of Zangetsu's words as Natsu returned. "That thing wasn't strong at all," he said with a disappointed frown.

"Yeah, and because of you, this whole place smells like roasted rotting fish," Gajeel said. "Thanks for that."

"Like you could've done any better, screwdriver."

"Is that seriously the best insult you've got?"

Someone was coming through the trees where the fish monster had emerged from. I didn't sense any killing intent from them, but I still exchanged a glance with Gildarts. Wendy was too distracted by Gajeel and Natsu, but Lucy noticed Gildarts and I on our guard and followed suit.

"Gimme a second and I'll come up with something better," Natsu snarled.

"I'm waiting, toaster."

"Why, you—"

"Who are you people?"

I didn't recognize the man. Tall, with brown skin and black hair. Natsu didn't have the same problem.

"Nab?"

The man frowned. "Natsu? What in blazes are you doing out here? Lucy's been looking all over for y—Lucy?"

Lucy straightened. "Uh, yeah?"

"You're dressed different. And who are these other people? How did you even get here? I just saw you at the guild hall." Nab's gaze landed on Gildarts. His eyes went wide. "Wait, Gildarts? No way, man. I thought you died."

Gildarts stiffened.

"I think this isn't the Nab we know," Happy stage-whispered.

"Obviously, tomcat," Carla said. "He must be from this world's Fairy Tail."

"You two, get behind me," I said. "Remember what Mystogan said? We don't want them to see—"

"Exceed?"

Too late.

Nab hastened into a deep bow, going so far as to press his forehead into the ground. "Forgive me, your excellencies, I didn't even see you. My deepest apologies."

"Uh." Happy looked up at Natsu, who shrugged.

"Maybe we should explain the situation," Lucy suggested. "Hey, um, Nab? You can lift up your head. The—the exceed are with us."

Nab raised his head a little. "What? Lucy, what's going on?"

Defaulting to Lucy as the one in charge when Natsu and Gildarts were right here—and this Nab clearly knew a Natsu and a Gildarts. Was Lucy the one in charge in this world?

"Well, um, I'm not really your Lucy," Lucy said. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, from Earthland. We're all from Earthland, actually. Not Edolas."

Frozen in shock, Nab just stared.

"Yeah, see, your king kidnapped all our friends," Natsu explained, stepping forward. "We came here to get them back."

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would ya?" Gajeel added, doing a terrible job of not looking hostile.

"Um," Nab said. "I…you should really just go to the guild hall. I'm kind of in the middle of something here."

"Something?" Natsu repeated.

"A job. I was chasing this giant fish monster—well, it was kind of chasing me, but when I hid, it kept going, and now it's gone. I really need to find it before I get to my next job, so…bye."

He vanished into the forest, following the monster's trail of broken trees and massive footprints.

"Wasn't that the guy who's always standing at the board and never takes a job?" Gajeel asked.

"Yeah, it was," Lucy said. "That was weird. He acted like we were getting in the way of his job. But that doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe the Nab here takes a lot of jobs?" Wendy said. "Everyone's supposed to be different, right?"

"We should just get to the guild hall," Carla said. "Standing out here isn't getting any of our questions answered, we can be sure of that much."

I glanced at Gildarts, who was scratching his chin. "So I'm dead, huh?" he muttered.

We made it to the guild hall without further incident, though I had to reconsider its classification as a "hall." The guild was a tree. A giant, twisty tree that almost looked like it was made out of vines—but I recognized the symbol on the banner proudly strung up between its two branches.

We'd found Fairy Tail.

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