First I'd like to thank RosieJade for getting me off my bum and getting this second chapter done.
Second thanks be to Ego Amorem Deum for beta-ing this chapter and helping me out so it wasn't a convoluted mess of words.
Third I want to say thank you to my other reviewers Sunny and ShiningStellar for reviewing. Sunny in answer to your question you are going to have to wait a while to find out. I hope you enjoy the journey.
And onwards…
Chapter Two
Lucy's head hurt. A lot.
Groaning she pushed herself into a sitting position and groggily opened her eyes. She was met with beautiful sunlight streaming through the trees.
Wait… Sunlight!
She slept the entire night on rocky ground? No one found her? No one looked for her? Oh, someone was going to get it when she got back home. It would be a lot easier now that she could actually see where she was going.
She looked up the hill that she had fallen down and saw to her surprise the hill was actually covered in grass and other plant growth creating a soft looking outcropping. It didn't feel like that last night, she thought with a glare at the offending hillside. She also knew by just looking at it that there was no way she was actually going to be able to climb back up it.
"Crap. Now what?" she growled. She looked around in her sitting position and noticed that a stone path wound around the base of the hill. Using the plant growth around her she stood up and dusted her skirt off. She picked a few errant twigs out of her clothes and looked around for her satchel. It was gone. Then after that realization she patted her hips.
Her keys were gone!
Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief and she began to madly search the area for the gold and silver glint of metal. No, no, no! They were gone! How could they be gone! She felt for her belt. Yes, that was there, but the pouch for her keys and the tie down for her whip were gone. She was defenseless. She couldn't summon her spirits and the whip that Virgo gave her was also missing.
She looked back up the hill. Knowing her luck, they were sitting up there stuck to the damnable root that sent her down here in the first place. "Hopefully, this path takes me where I need to go," she said grimly and began to walk.
Thank fully, the path was flat and smooth so she wouldn't have any clumsy moments, discounting her tripping over her own two feet of course. Not so thankful was the fact that the path did not venture up the hill where she needed to go. In fact it turned away and ducked back into the forest. Lucy debated whether or not she should try to scale the hill since this wasn't going where she wanted it to, but she couldn't seem to get her feet to stop.
She kept moving at a brisk pace as the trail turned right and left in gentle curves like a river. She could almost imagine the water flowing and lapping around her ankles, the slight popping sound of her breaking the fine skin of the water as she stepped. It would be incredibly relaxing if she could just stop walking when she wanted!
There was something strange going on, she decided. Of course, walking on a stone pathway that wouldn't let you stop was a big clue, but that wasn't the only thing that seemed out of place. She thought back to the hill that had looked completely different in the daylight. The ground was completely covered in vegetation and there were no rocks or other sharp objects sticking out. If she had fallen down that hill, it should have been a much smoother fall.
Every so often she glanced up through the trees as the sun progresses across the sky. She continued her jaunt down the pathway knowing that she had to have been walking for hours yet strangely she wasn't tired at all. That was strange in itself. She should be tired shouldn't she? She should have found some semblance of civilization by now. Heck, she should have found a road!
She was curious to know where she was being taken to. She certainly wasn't going of her own volition!
She didn't have to wait too much longer. After a few more curves the trail ended at a cave in the mountainside.
Mountain? There were no mountains this close to Magnolia.
Lucy should have seen that coming when she was looking up through the trees. After all mountains weren't an easy thing to hide. They were tall and easy to see for miles upon miles. So how could she have missed it?
While she was looking up at the imposing side of the mountain her feet had continued to take her right up to the opening of the cave. She had the peculiar sense of being spat out from the stone trail: she tripped a bit across the hard stone floor before she regained her balance. Quickly, she noticed that her feet and legs were beginning to ache from all the walking.
Turning to see if there was a place to sit down she saw that the world had changed around her. There was a small rock that jutted out of the wall perfect for sitting. That wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that it was that her seat was where the cave opening used to be. She was trapped in a mountain with only one way to go.
With a bit of fearful grumbling she sat down. Might as well rest while she had a chance, she thought rubbing some life back into the sore appendages. There was no way she could be in Earthland anymore. She didn't know of one place that was this strange sort of overly magical world. Earthland may be full of magic, but there was nothing this crazy that she knew of.
After a few minutes of resting she stood and began to walk down the tunnel wondering where she was going and what was going on. The rock walls were lined with torches that lit the tunnel enough for her to easily see where she was going. Looking upward for a moment she saw that the tunnel ceiling reached far above her head. Turning back to watch where she was walking she saw that the tunnel continued straight ahead and ended at what looked to be a door, but she wasn't sure since it seemed to be far off in the distance. Either that or the torches were playing tricks with her eyes.
The closer she got the more she knew it was a door, but it was the oddest door she had seen. The closer she got the more it seemed to change. When she first saw it seemed to glow like gold with the torch light, but then it changed to a dark door that seemed stone like. Now as she neared the end of the tunnel she saw it was a wood door that had been carved within an inch of its life. It was twice as tall as her and twice as wide as a normal door.
As she continued to look at the carvings they seemed to blur and move almost. With every blink she saw something she missed before. She could have stood there for a long time just staring when something smacked her on her leg.
"Ouch!" she yelped and looked down at her leg. There was a welt on her lower leg from whatever had hit her. Looking down at the floor she saw a key. Picking up she noticed that it was similar to her celestial keys but it seemed to be made out of bronze and had no symbol on it. It was a perfectly ordinary key in a world of magical strangeness. There had to be more to it.
Where had the key come from? She turned to look and thought she saw the retreating figure of …something. If she squinted it looked vaguely blue, but she couldn't be sure. Holding the key she turned back to the door and kept her eyes averted from the carvings. She could have been sucked into them and not moved again for probably a long time. The key hitting her had pulled her mind back.
She quickly scanned the door for a key hole and found it smack dab in the middle of one of the carvings that seemed to depict a tower and a woman with long hair that was as long as the tower was tall. The key hole was right where the doorway of the tower would be. She inserted her brass key and turned as the lock made an audible click as it unlocked. There wasn't a door knob so she pushed on it and felt it give as it opened. For such a tall and wide door it was easy to open once she got it going.
The door opened to the most opulent and luxurious library she could imagine. Carved white marble columns gilded with gold, book shelves made of dark mahogany filled with books. As she walked into this paradise for books, she grabbed the key and held on to it. Somehow she knew she was going to need it again.
The door slammed shut behind her making her jump and the books nearest to the door quivered from the force. A head of blue snuck around one of the columns. Brown eyes blinked quickly as she took in the blond that clutched the brass key to her chest.
"Oh! A visitor! And you have the key! That makes this so much easier!" The blunette exclaimed. She ran forward and grabbed one of Lucy's hands and towed her further into the library.
Lucy laughed, "Levy! You don't have to tug so hard! I'll follow you." She was so glad that she finally met someone she knew. She was getting worried that she really was far from home.
Levy dropped her hand as if burned. She stared at Lucy with eyes wide for a moment with what seemed like fear before she quickly covered it up. "Of course!" she answered turning to head back into the large room. Lucy followed behind a few steps as she wondered why Levy would be so fearful of her.
They emerged from under the balcony of the library into the main part of the library. Lucy looked up to see how massive the library really was. It soared upwards for three stories with a large glass dome that let in sunlight. Under the dome was a massive crystal chandelier that when lit would shine light down to the center of the library.
"This place is so beautiful." She said in awe as she looked around.
"I know." Levy responded as they both looked around. A noise from the left had both girls turning their head. Jet was carrying a stack of books from a corner of the library. "Jet!" Levy admonished as she walked over to him. "That stack needs to go up to case thirty-four not eight."
Jet just nodded before heading off. Levy turned back to Lucy with her hands on her hips. "I swear I can never find good help. Anyways, come with me. We need to get you in the system."
"And how do I go about that?" she asked the blue haired girl.
Levy turned and walked over to a comfortable looking desk chair and motioned for Lucy to sit down. "Have a seat here and I'll go get our resident computer expert." Levy answered.
She sat down in the chair and watched as Levy disappeared between book shelves. She looked around as she waited. There was a fireplace near her with what she considered nice plush looking chairs that you could just sink into while you were reading. She really wished she could afford a chair like that for her apartment.
She sighed. Even if she could afford a nice reading chair like that she wouldn't get it. Natsu and Happy would destroy it in a week. She never realized how much stuff the flame mage and Exceed could destroy. Leaning back in the chair she looked up towards the dome. On the second story she saw someone jump back away from the railing. She thought she saw long green hair but they moved out of the way so fast she wasn't sure.
Not too long after that Levy reemerged from the book cases with a young man in tow. Levy's computer expert turned out to be none other than Hibiki from Blue Pegasus. "Hibiki. What are you doing here? How is everyone back in Blue Pegasus?" Lucy asked the blond mage.
Hibiki looked back at Levy. "You're right." He turned back to Lucy. "Forgive me miss, but I am not acquainted with you. Or this blue Pegasus you speak of."
Lucy stared at him slack jawed. "What?" She whispered. "No Blue Pegasus?" Turning to Levy she asked, "What about Fairy Tail?"
"Fairy tale? We have plenty of books about that. I think it's in case 12." Levy answered pointing in the direction that the books would be located.
"No, it's a guild like Blue Pegasus. For mages." Lucy said shaking her head at Levy.
"A guild for mages? There's nothing like that here."
"Then where am I? I'm certainly not in Fiore or anywhere near Magnolia where my guild is." Lucy stated in confusion.
Hibiki answered her. "Our illustrious queen calls this country the Excellent Realm of Infinite Fish or E.R.O.I.F. for short."
"Infinite Fish? Sounds like something Happy would come up with," Lucy murmured to herself while she looked at the two people in front of her.
They froze. "How do you now our queen's advisor?" Levy asked slightly fearfully.
"Happy's the queen's advisor?" she asked in shock. They nodded. "Things are certainly different. The question is what do I do now? I need to get home, but I have no idea how to do that." Lucy whined and put her head down on the table in front of her.
"We can help with part of that," Hibiki responded as he stood up. "I need to register you in the system and then we can help you find what you need." He placed his fingers in the air and a screen flickered into life complete with a keyboard. It was Hibiki's magic after all.
"Okay, I need your hand for a minute." Lucy put her hand in his and he wrapped some part of the computer around her hand and let go so that it hung in the air. He typed a few more keys and there was a sting in her palm.
"Ouch!" she cried out in pain. It was like a bee sting only worse because it continued for a few moments without letting up.
"Sorry about that. I needed a blood sample for the registration process." Hibiki said sheepishly. A few seconds later the computer beeped and the computer let go of her hand. She brought her hand to her chest and rubbed the afflicted spot.
Levy watched Lucy while Lucy wondered what was going on. Everything was so different, but in some ways the same. She leaned back in her chair again and just let her mind wander while she waited for whatever Hibiki was doing to finish.
A few minutes later the computer began a sequence of beeps that brought Lucy's attention back to the present. She watched as Hibiki's fingers flew across the keyboard and even poked a couple of the screens as he finished up. With a wave the computer disappeared and he sat down again.
"All done. You are now registered in the computer for the country. I must say though that you are unlike anyone we have seen before in this library." Hibiki said with a small smile. Levy sat up straighter in her chair as if a signal had been given.
"How so?" Lucy asked the computer mage. She found it strange that she had to register in a computer to be active in a country. All she could do was just chock it up to another weird thing in this world.
"Do you remember how you arrived here?" Levy asked more animated now than before. It really made Lucy think a signal had been given. Too bad she had seemed to miss what it was.
"Well, I fell down a hill and got knocked out." She answered.
"Um… Before that." Levy responded.
"You want the whole story?" the blond asked her companions at the table.
"That would probably be best." Hibiki stated quietly. He leaned on the table with his elbows.
"Well, my friends Natsu and Happy, were fishing and then they argued. Happy flew off and I talked Natsu into going after him and reconciling. They were supposed to come back, but never did. By the time it was dark I was left with their fishing poles and my satchel. Carrying all that I went back into the forest thinking that I was heading back home to Magnolia, but I ended up going in the wrong direction. I ended up going through some tall shrub like trees and then tripped down a hill. When I woke up in the morning things seemed different. Then they got strange with that stone path and the mountain." She saw them flinch at the mention of names but continued on never the less. "That's it really. I followed a tunnel through the mountain that lead to a door."
"Did the door open?" Hibiki asked quietly.
"Yeah. I had a key that unlocked it. This key." Lucy showed them the brass key that she kept in her hand.
Levy and Hibiki exchanged a glance filled with meaning before turning to look back at her. "It seems you went through a fairy ring. They can transport you to different worlds that can be vastly different to startlingly similar." Levy explained as she recalled the information.
"Do I go find another fairy ring to get back?"
"No. More than likely that will take you to yet another world. I think there is something that you need to do here and that's why you came here. Our world is known as Wonderland. You are in one small part of that world." Hibiki replied quickly. Too quickly it seemed to Lucy, but she knew these people. Well she knew their counterparts in her world.
"So there's a reason I was brought here? That sounds like a bad plotline in a book." She stated with a grimace. Next they'll tell her she's the only one who can save their world! Should she really be listening to this? They did give her a reason for how she got there, but are they telling the truth? Without her whip and keys she was powerless and knowledge was power, as long as the knowledge was trustworthy. At this point she had no other option or information to go off of so she would have to believe them, for now.
"I'm not saying that this doesn't sound crazy. I don't know why else you came here. We at the library will help you, but you will have to journey to find the reason you were brought here." Hibiki said as he sat back in his chair using his arms to indicate the whole of the library around him.
"…"
"Levy, dear, send Jet for the supplies and bring Warren here." Hibiki told the blunette.
Levy stood and gave a quick peck on Hibiki's lips before trotting off yelling for Jet. Lucy's eyebrows rose into her hairline.
Wait. Did she really see what she just saw?
Hibiki chuckled at her expression. "I take it that we aren't married in your world?" Lucy just shook her head in disbelief.
Hibiki's smile grew. "Is she with anyone in your, what did you call it, guild?"
"No. She wasn't seeing anyone, but many of my guild mates believed she had a crush on someone, but no one knew anything else." Lucy replied. She knew but Levy had sworn her to secrecy. She wasn't about to tell her husband in another world.
"I see. The Hibiki you know, where is he?"
"In another guild called Blue Pegasus." Lucy smiled. "He tends to hit on every female that he sees."
"So I'm a player?" He chuckled at the thought.
"Yeah. I don't know what he's up to. Fairy Tail doesn't see Blue Pegasus that often."
The two chatted idly until Levy returned dragging Warren from Fairy Tail behind her. "I brought Warren."
"Good. Lucy Take Warren's hand and just concentrate on the fireplace. Describe it in detail in your mind. Warren will hone in on that voice and connect to you."
Lucy looked at Warren then at Hibiki in confusion before placing her hand in Warren's. She turned to the fireplace and started thinking about it. It was white marble that matched the columns. There was some faint gilding along the ridges. The firebox showed that a fire had been lit recently and there was a possibility that the flue needed to be cleaned. Those chairs in front look so comfortable but she could never own them.
Lucy? A voice said in her mind.
Warren? She asked back to him.
Yes. A word of warning. Be careful who you trust. "I've connected." Warren said flatly dropping her hand. He didn't look at her and seemed disinterested in the whole affair.
"Thanks Warren. Sorry we bothered you." Levy said. Warren nodded turned and walked off without saying anything else.
Lucy wondered what that warning meant. She hadn't met anyone except those in the library. Was he telling her not to trust them? That would include him as well. Ah! This was so confusing to her.
Hibiki broke her out of her thoughts when he started talking, "With Warren we'll be able to contact you if you need any help. I'll instruct him to keep a mind's ear open for you if need be."
"Thanks." Lucy answered with a smile. It would be nice for someone to help watch out for her.
Jet walked up and put a full bag on the table. "I brought everything you asked for Levy." He said quietly.
"Thanks a bunch Jet. I'll let you get back to work too." Levy said waving the other man away. Lucy watched and had more confirmation that she certainly wasn't in Earthland anymore. She had it explained, but it hadn't really sunk in yet.
"What we have here are some essentials that should help you along. I don't know how far this will get you, but it's better than having nothing at all." Hibiki said standing up from his chair and showing her what was packed in the bag. There were rations for a few days, flint, a torch, a length of rope, blanket, an old knife, and a sharpener.
He handed her the bag and indicated that she should stand as well. "Put this on and keep that key with you. It will come in very handy. I'm sure we will be seeing you again. Levy will escort you out."
Levy grabbed her hand and towed her toward one of the many doors that lined the walls. "Levy I never asked. Why are there so many doors?"
"They lead all over Wonderland. When anyone needs to find us they can. Be careful out there. As Hibiki said, this isn't the world you know." Levy told her seriously as she opened a plain looking wood door. As Lucy stepped through Levy's hand on her wrist stopped her. "I know you can do it. I'm rooting for you." She let go and the door closed behind the blond.
There were a few torches that lined the walls giving Lucy some semblance of light. She didn't look behind her assuming that the door was gone just like before. See? She was learning. In front of her were two tunnels. The one to the right looked to be lined with torches and was very bright. The left tunnel was dark. There were no torches lining the walls there.
What should she do? She had a torch and flint that she could use or she could walk down the lit path and save her torch for later.
So?
What now?
Decision Time
Should Lucy take the path of light or the path of dark?
So there it is. Let me know what you think. I enjoy hearing about it and if you have an FF account I will try to get back to you. Until next time!