A/N Hello my Royal Loyal Readers! I'm going to call you that from now on, yeah…I think I will. Finals are over!Sorry it took so long for this chapter to get up, but because of an intriguing idea I got in a review, I edited the events that were originally going to take place in this chapter. I was able to write this today because I had burst of inspiration to do so!

Wendy's tears had reduced a considerable amount before they continued walking through the ever changing scenery. Now all they could hear from her was her footsteps, but even those were quite.

Her silence was nerve wracking and had the group glancing over their shoulders. The only ones that seemed unaffected were Edo-Kotone and Alice, who were also being glanced at. Edo-Kotone had stopped cartwheeling and was walking normally. Alice couldn't stop cracking her knuckles and seemed jittery.

The guys were wondering if it had something to do with how a girl's mind works, and as time went on, their concern didn't falter. The girls' symptoms seemed to only get more intense the farther they walked.

Daniel, starting to feel awkward in the tense atmosphere, tried to start a conversation going. "So," he said, "where are we going?"

Edo-Kotone twitched and returned to life. Her smile turned up to full blast as she turned around while still walking, "I have no idea!" She started cartwheeling again. Her cartwheels were so fast that she was starting to become a blur. She almost bumped into Wendy, causing her the flinch.

"Wait!" Natsu exclaimed. "What do you mean you have no idea? You mean we're walking around, wasting time?"

"Calm down Natsu! We don't want you to blow a fuse because I know Alice is going to follow shortly," Daniel commented.

*Twitch* "WHAT WAS THAT?" Alice erupted. "SHRINKY-DINK SAYS WHAT? You little turd monkey! I'm gonna make you regret that!"

Alice stomped over to Daniel and brought her fist up, only to have it grabbed by Edo-Kotone. "I would prefer it if there was no violence while in this dream." Her grip tightened, causing Alice's hand to turn a slight shade of purple.

"What do you want, Fraud?" Alice snapped. "You're not even the real Kotone and you pretend like we're best buddies!"

Edo-Kotone's smile turned bitter as a cloud passed overhead. She glanced up and her smile disappeared as she threw Alice's hand away from her. "We need to keep moving," she said. She turned around and glared up at the cloud.

Daniel looked at the sky to see what Edo-Kotone was seeing, but he didn't see anything unusual. The cloud was light a fluffy, almost playful as it drifted lazily through the sky.

Alice wasn't done though; she pushed Daniel away from her and moved onto Natsu. She got right up in his face, "It's been bothering me ever since you rammed into me when we first met. I've wanted to beat the crud outta you for as long as I met you…FIGHT ME! Right here, right now!"

Natsu's face twisted into one of rage. He got right up in her face as well and said, "Oh yeah? I've wanted to fight you ever since I heard you were a dragon slayer. A water dragon slayer even! I bet my fire will burn you before you can touch me!"

"You imbecile! You're at an automatic disadvantage! I'm gonna wipe the floor with you and use you as a snot rag before you can count to three! That is, IF you can count at all!" Alice yelled into his face.

Gajeel scoffed and pushed both of them. "I don't care what either of you say. I know none of you can even compare with me!" He kept walking forward, only to be arm railed by Edo-Kotone.

"Calm down," Edo-Kotone stated before she continued cartwheeling.

Gajeel growled at her, rubbing his neck. He huffed as he passed her, snarling like a dog.

Alice pushed Natsu before charging at Gajeel, "Yo metal face! Get your butt back over here! I gotta teach you a lesson!"

"You can't beat me! I doubt you can even beat Wendy! Where is that little pip squeak anyways?" Gajeel grumbled angrily.

Alice kicked Gajeel's knees out from under him, watching as he fell. "Well I can't find her over your fat head!"

"She ain't that tall moron!" He snapped back.

Natsu stomped over, stepping on Gajeel in the process, "If you can beat Wendy, then you can try to beat us!" He motioned toward the blue haired girl behind him. Something was off. Daniel knew this. As to confirm his hypothesis, Edo-Kotone was eyeing him out of the corner of her eye in an almost angry-calm fashion…neutrality with a bite. She was standing up, not cartwheeling, but she was swaying back and forth, as if impatient to continue walking.

Daniel spun around and saw Alice pushing everyone out of her way, heading towards Wendy. There it was again, that feeling, that something was wrong. He turned to Edo-Kotone to see her still watching him out of the corner of her eye, but her bite was gone. She looked relaxed, not happy, but relaxed. Daniel's head cocked to the side in confusion before he heard Alice's screams. He looked back to see Alice on the ground, holding her ankle.

"STUPID ROOT!" She yelled.

"That's just sad. You didn't even make it to Wendy!" Natsu exclaimed.

Alice glared at him as Gajeel fell to the ground, rolling with laughter.

Alice started mouthing off at the both of them, but Natsu soon joined Gajeel on the ground, both were crying from laughing so hard. This made Alice jump on them and a brawl broke out. Their screaming and yelling were fuelled by a breeze that drifted through the new scenery of Alice's old training ground. They rolled into the water and Daniel felt even more uneasy. Edo-Kotone, he noticed, wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead, she was looking at the sky, where a few clouds hovered now.

He kept glancing around, confused. "What's going on?" he screeched at Edo-Kotone, who was still looking at the sky.

"Negative energy…" she murmured, "so this is what she wanted us to do…" Daniel looked up at the sky, there were multiple dark clouds forming and circling.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?" he yelled over the gusts of wind that now filled the old training ground.

Then suddenly everything went quiet, much to the fighting trio's obliviousness. "VERY WELL!" Alice boomed, "Let me fight Wendy and that will settle this!"

"Don't trip on your way over there!" Natsu teased.

Alice stood and faced Wendy, "You ready Wendy? Be careful, we're fighting in my domain now. I know this area inside out, not to mention there's water everywhere." She brought her hands up and stepped into deeper water. "Got any last words before I prove how weak you are compared to us?"

"Wshh yald shuddin," Wendy murmured, looking at the ground.

"What was that pushover?" Alice taunted. "If you're scared, I can give you the first punch."

Wendy's hand flew up, pointing at Alice, and she glared at her as she said, "I repeat, 'I wish you all would shut up!'" All the pent up wind shot at Alice, pushing her into the sky filled with dark clouds, until she was a speck that could not be determined.

Natsu's and Gajeel's jaw dropped at the unexpected burst of power. Natsu lamely pointed a finger at Wendy and tried to say something, but no sound came out. Gajeel started blubbering like a fish out of water and raised his own trembling finger.

Daniel was pulling at his hair, over run with panic and worry. "Oh no," he said, "Wendy killed Alice!"

But then there was a faint sound of screaming and everyone looked to the sky. A small figure came down like a speeding bullet, but it looked like a snail's pace for the people on the ground.

Alice's descent appeared to become faster and faster until she was almost upon them. Her feet were flailing beneath her and hair flaring above her in her ponytail.

Wendy's fist flew up and Alice's jaw landed right on it, causing Gajeel and Natsu's jaws to drop all the way to the ground. Alice slid off of Wendy's fist to the ground, unconscious.

Wendy spun around and glared at the boys, "I'm not weak!"

Both of them raised their hands up and shook their heads. "Of course not!" they said in unison.

Daniel was biting his nails as he glanced at Alice and then at Kotone, "Um, not Kotone?"

She looked in his direction, but not exactly at him. "Yes Daniel?" Her eyes wandered to the sky and then to the ground, then to the new scenery of the Empress Shark's home.

"What's going on?" he asked, his hands started shaking.

Her eyes drifted past him as she started pacing again. "Well," she said, "I think what's going on is that the dev-oh there's a spider web over there!"

"What?" Daniel asked, watching her as she ran to a corner of the room. "What were you saying?"

"Oh, right. I'mgoingtohavetotalkfastsoIdon''ttakenasecondlookatitsinceshe'screateditandithasn''! Phew all in one breath! Quite amazing don't you think Mr. Dustbunny? Oh! Don't run away! Oh look at the chair! It's so shiny!" Kotone wandered.

"What? What did you say?" Daniel asked, shaking.

"Idiot! Basically she said that the music box is incomplete and there are bugs in it, causing us to act out our worst qualities," Gajeel snapped.

"Well then why didn't she just say that?" Natsu yelled.

"Because it's freaking obvious that her worst quality is her lack of focus! She had to say as much as she could before she forgot!" Gajeel yelled back.

"Oh yeah? Then what's your worst quality? I bet it's everything!" Natsu retorted, getting up in Gajeel's face.

"Wrong hothead! It's the same as yours and Alice's! We have a short-temper!"

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"You're right. Maybe your worst quality is actually your stupidity!"

"It's not that either! Maybe you're the stupid one!"

"Am not! I was the only one who understood the other Kotone!"

"If you're so smart, what are Wendy's and Daniel's worst qualities?"

"Wendy's is her lack of ability to stand up for herself! I have no idea for this Daniel kid! I only met him a few hours ago! He looks pretty panicked though, so maybe his worst quality is that he panics a lot!"

Daniel glanced at them, "No, I'd have to say that my worst quality is my lack of ability to make tough decisions. I usually follow the plan and I never stray."

"Well I don't care!" Gajeel yelled.

Daniel looked away and started fiddling with his fingers, wondering what he should do. Everything was in chaos, making him feel a little lost.

"I just thought of something!" Edo-Kotone said as she leaped over Daniel. "What if we're supposed to find something in the bugs?"

"What? Why would we want to look for something in these stupid bugs? They're annoying!" Gajeel yelled.

Kotone was sitting next to Alice, poking her in the face with a stick, paying no attention to the others.

"Other Kotone!" Natsu yelled at her.

"Right!" she jumped up and ticked off each reason on her fingers, "First, there is a reason Kotone would create something so elaborate. Second, she wouldn't have purposefully placed something for you to find if it was dangerous. Third, when Wendy was-oh my gosh aren't you the cutest thing or what?" She picked up a little bunny from the now forest floor.

"The third reason?" Gajeel chided.

"Oh yes, the third reason is when Wendy was gathering the winds, I saw the hole I've been expecting," she finished and continued rubbing her face in the bunny's fur.

"What hole?" Natsu asked.

"Mmmm, so soft. Oh, the hole. Soft bunny…..THE HOLE! Oh my gosh the hole! The hole that I've been looking for is right above us! But we can't go through it yet," she said, dropping the bunny. "We have to find whatever Kotone wanted us to find before we go."

"What are you talking about?" Gajeel asked.

She smacked her face and said, "Ouch…Okay. The music box has three sections in it. Think of it as a game, okay? Right now, we're on level one and we have to find the key to the door in order to progress to the next level. I bet this is how you're supposed to get out of the device as well. But I doubt she believed you would figure this out yourself. She would have…left an obvious clue for you guys. We need to find it so we know if we're on the right…track." Edo-Kotone was starting to break out in a sweat. She was trying to concentrate when the bugs were pulling at it from all different directions. At that moment she let them take over and her eyes started wandering again.

Wendy walked over, hands on her hips. She looked up at Natsu and Gajeel and stated, "We need to start looking for this 'key' so we can get out of here and find Kotone. Since this other Kotone and Daniel aren't going to be of much help, it's up to us. I suggest we look for anything off in the scenery."

Kotone leaned onto Wendy and started hugging her. Her innocent smile shone at Natsu and Gajeel as she said, "You're so cute! I wish none of you would ever grow up so Kotone wouldn't be lonely when you're all gone!"

Gajeel and Natsu growled at her before they reluctantly scanned the area, but soon they became impatient and started knocking down everything around them. Edo-Kotone rolled when they tried to knock down trees, but the scene would shift and they ended up falling over themselves.

Wendy searched for what felt like forever but she ended up plopping down next to Kotone, who was drawing a mustache on Alice's face.

"You know," Edo-Kotone remarked, "We've spent about three hours of normal time on this floor. There are two more floors and I can only assume that they are just as hard, if not harder."

Wendy groaned as she saw how hopeless their situation was. She looked over to Natsu and Gajeel, who were kicking over rocks, but they seemed to be running out of energy. Wendy watched them make their way to the rest of the group and fall to the ground, asleep. She smiled at their relaxed expressions and looked up to the sky.

The hole Edo-Kotone pointed out was now obvious. It was in the shape of an oval and was a deep blue before it faded away to reveal dirt. The dirt faded into more sky where lazy clouds drifted by.

Wendy lazily drifted off to sleep, just like the clouds above her, leaving Edo-Kotone and Daniel as the only ones still awake. Together, the group made a circle with their heads on the inside and their feet pointing out of the circle. Edo-Kotone had moved so Daniel's head was on her lap and she was running her fingers through his hair since she was the one amongst them that still had enough energy to move.

Daniel watched her face as her fingers worked their magic on his nerves, calming him down. He felt his muscles relax and his tremors stop. His breath moved a few strands of Edo-Kotone's hair, making her smile.

"Someone seems like they are done panicking," she commented.

He smiled as his eye lids fluttered, "Yeah, thanks." He felt like he was lifting lead, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't confirm or deny his beliefs. But he didn't want to, what if she thought he was weird? But she wouldn't because if she was anything like Kotone, she wouldn't think he was weird. Then again, she had been telling them earlier that she wasn't the same as Kotone. But, the important parts were the same. That much he could tell. He looked at her smile and his debate came to an end. He wouldn't feel right if he didn't do it. His hand came up and his fingers brushed her face, causing Edo-Kotone to look at him with confusion.

"Sorry," he whispered, "but you looked just like my sister for a moment. I had to confirm that she wasn't you. She used to brush my hair like this before mom died. She was a lot happier then…too."

His eyes closed and he fell asleep, arm coming down on his stomach. Edo-Kotone felt her energy start to drain away and stopped brushing Daniel's hair. She then patiently waited, fighting off her drowsiness. Her head bobbed as time went on.

A sudden movement caught her eye and she watched as Daniel's face twitched. She gulped and dragged her arm above Daniel's head. She inspected his face, waiting for the twitch…her arm was aching and her fingertips felt numb. Sweat formed on her forehead as she used all of her energy to stay awake and from somewhere in her usual hyperactive body came the strength to keep her arm hovering above Daniel's face.

*Twitch*

Her hand dove into Daniel's twitching mouth, causing him to stir in his sleep.

"Dang bug," she murmured, "you got us pretty good if Daniel didn't wake up to that…forgive me Daniel…"

Her hand went further down his throat until half of her forearm was down Daniel's mouth. She heard him groan and saw his eyes flutter, making her frantic to get the deed done before he woke up. She felt her hand bump into something cold and clutched it. Daniel yelped in his sleep, causing Edo-Kotone to glance at him nervously.

"Daniel, I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to hurt," she whispered. She yanked her hand and the cold item out of Daniel's mouth, producing a scream from Daniel as he curled into the fetal position.

Kotone examined the "bug" in her hand. It was a tadpole-like ball of ever changing color. A ball that captured a rainbow and then fell in snot. It was disgusting but at the same time beautiful.

She lifted it above her head and threw it on the ground with all of her might. It shattered into millions of tiny rainbow pieces, allowing Edo-Kotone to relax. But then the pieces started vibrating. She watched as the pieces slowly moved to the center of the circle, going around Edo-Kotone as she watched them, dumbfounded. As the pieces moved past her, she noticed the rainbow pieces forming shapes. She smiled and started laughing at them. She lifted her head to the sky and said, "I get it. Kotone you sneaky girl." She looked at Daniel's once again relaxed face. Good job Daniel…One down, three more to go…

A/N Are you confused my Royal Loyal Readers? Next chapter Edo-Kotone will finally be named! There something to look forward to! Now for reviews! (because I'm too lazy to finish my A/N today.)

TheOrangeNeko Thank you for wishing me good luck! I managed to get an A- on my Biology final and I hate science! Best grade I ever got in that class too! I'm glad you like how I'm using Alice, your lovely little creation. Quite a handful when with Natsu, but still lovely.

keisha . latumahina Such praise! I'm flattered! I hope I did justice to your ingenious idea. I had a hard time trying to figure out where and how I would fit it into the music box arc because after the music box, they ****** ***** ****. (Classified information has been blocked out for reader's discretion referring to future chapters.) So I had to do it during this chapter or the next…or maybe even the next if I decide to divide the levels into three chapters. Unfortunately, I had to erase my whole initial idea for the music box, but I like this new version just as much. I tried to make her outburst as shocking and as funny as I could possibly make it under the circumstances they were in. *Falls into dogeza* I'm incredibly sorry if you found my altered version to be a failure!

Edward the Pure I must also thank you for wishing me good luck on my finals. I feel bad since I have only read about three more chapters of your story….I plan on raiding and terrorizing those chapters this weekend. ALSO, YES! Your character is perfect! I needed someone like her for a specific role and I originally planned on creating someone on the fly. Everything is just falling into place now! Thank you! Another note, I had debated for a little while about making Kotone fight Agnocolia, but I realized ****** wouldn't work if she fought because then Agnocolia would have to *** ***** in order to ********. (Classified information has been blocked out for reader's discretion referring to future chapters.) Glad you enjoyed my last chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one equally.

Miu: *Waving* That's all for today folks!

Gajeel: I TOLD YOU BEFORE! THIS ISN'T AN ANIME! OR A MANGA!

*Still waving* I still have the ability to put you in a tutu and make you act like a girly girl. Good day!