The shapes continued to move past Edo-Kotone. She watched them go, not really focusing on them anymore. Each symbol trying to comfort her, but none succeeding as they raced by to form the ladder to the next level. The first couple of the symbols drove nails through her eyes and infiltrated her mind as they melted into an icy liquid that froze around her heart. Each symbol of comfort was adding another layer to that already frozen heart. The symbols were for her. The rest of them were sent there for her. She was another delay tactic. She was assisting her own doom. She was at peace with her fate. She wasn't going to let Kotone make the children live the rest of their lives with regret.
Edo-Kotone looked down at Daniel's sleeping face and continued on to Wendy, the innocent little girl she was. Next to Wendy was rough Gajeel, who reminded Edo-Kotone of a porcupine. He has a hard, repelling shell, but if he lets you past that, he's a total softy that could pass as a teddy bear. Next to him was Natsu. He was the perfect representation of his own element. He can do amazing things and is always full of energy but if you upset him he'll burn you. Next to Natsu was Alice. Alice, oh Alice…cocky brat that is full of herself but has the ability to make you love her anyways. Next to Alice is Daniel, completing the circle. He has no magic even though he was born in a family that was known for its unusual magic. He is a little too serious about things, but is just as sweet as his sister. Then last but not least, Edo-Kotone was back at the beginning, herself. She could only think of one word for herself: Hyper. She knew that there was more to her, but she couldn't think of anything that would make her feel better about herself.
She sighed and decided to do something she had promised herself she would never do, use her deduction skills to trump Kotone. It was only then that she felt better about herself and started moving. She princess carried the boy who was two heads taller than her and threw him into the now liquid ladder. Daniel grunted as he hit the Jell-O like ladder. Then the ladder reacted and the rainbow liquid rippled as it stretched across his body. It slowly pulled him in and then he was like a bubble in a straw, slowly making his way to the top.
Edo-Kotone grinned as she picked up Wendy next, who stirred slightly, signaling that everyone would be waking up soon. Edo-Kotone threw her at the ladder as she picked up Gajeel next. He took a little more time than Edo-Kotone would have liked. She ended up dragging (actually rolling) him to the ladder. She hurried back to Natsu, but he was fidgeting by the time she got to him. He actually woke up for a moment right before she was going to throw him into the ladder.
"What's going on? We need to destroy the bug!" he exclaimed, causing Alice to rub her eyes.
Edo-Kotone glanced at Alice as she rolled onto her back and yawned. Edo-Kotone quickly replied to Natsu, "Taken care of!" She knocked him out with one strong punch to the stomach and threw him into the ladder.
Edo-Kotone turned to see Alice watching her, still half asleep. When she saw the liquid ladder sucking Natsu in, she became wide eyed, "What was that? Don't come near me I don't want to go near that thing!"
Edo-Kotone silently cursed her bad luck before a thought occurred to her and made her smile triumphantly. "Wow," she said, "I didn't take Alice for a coward. I guess Natsu and Gajeel really are stronger than her to be able to jump in there without hesitating."
A tick mark appeared on Alice's forehead and a frown replaced her gaping mouth. "Yeah right!" she exclaimed. "I just saw you knock Natsu out!"
Edo-Kotone sighed and stood there for a moment, coming into a staring contest with Alice. To an observer, they could see lightning sparks from their determined eyes. Suddenly Edo-Kotone had Alice in an arm-lock and shoved her into the ladder.
Alice struggled to fight off the tentacles of the rainbow ladder, but they succeeded as expected. She still banged against the walls of the ladder while trying to hold her breath.
"Calm down and you'll get out faster! Don't struggle and it's okay to breathe you know!" Edo-Kotone yelled up to her as she entered the ladder as well.
Alice couldn't hear her and attempted to bang the walls even harder but the ladder was difficult to move in. She felt something bump against her feet and saw Edo-Kotone holding her head as she motioned for Alice to calm down. Alice complied and then found herself shooting up. She flew out of the ladder and landed with a grunt.
They were now back on the trail that Lucy and the others were on as they chased after Kotone. A little dirt path that is commonly used by traders or traveling performers. Trees were all that could be seen on either side of the path and the path seemed to have been used recently, due to many footprints.
Alice put her hands on the ground and realized she was on something soft, she looked down and saw Wendy waking up.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Alice screamed for a moment as she flung herself away as fast as she could. "Don't come near me either! I don't wanna go sky diving again!" Alice rubbed her sore jaw, "Or get a wicked punch like that again!"
Wendy sat up and stretched as she yawned her salutations. Alice crab walked backwards but bumped into something as she was scurrying away. She glanced up and saw her other nightmare. Edo-Kotone rubbed her mouth as her eyes focused on Alice.
"Alice," Edo-Kotone said as she started cracking her knuckles, "why didn't you listen to me the first time when I said to calm down? Now I have a lump on my head with your name all over it! How are we going to solve this dilemma?"
Alice gulped as sweat formed on her forehead, but to her relief, Natsu hopped up and spotted Edo-Kotone.
"Yo…whatever you want us to call you!" he yelled. He stomped over to her, stepping on Gajeel in the process. Natsu squatted to look Edo-Kotone in the eye as he glared at her, "Why did you knock me out?"
"To get you to the next level without you getting motion sickness, I was only thinking of your best interests," she replied. She disregarded the hostile growling coming from Natsu as she helped Daniel get up. He was holding his stomach in agony but seemed to get over it as he walked it off.
Gajeel whacked Natsu for stepping on him, causing Natsu to stop growling at Edo-Kotone long enough for her to get their attention.
"I destroyed the first bug and we have two more to go. I sincerely hope we get this floor done faster than the last since it's about 11:00 in normal time. We've wasted almost five hours of normal time on the first floor and I can guarantee these next two floors are harder. Kotone wouldn't make this easy and I sure don't want to waste time. At the rate we're going, you'll get out of here at 11PM normal time. Since I know you don't want to waste a day in here, I suggest we get a move on. The only way the bugs will reveal themselves is if we walk through each floor. Since we are aware of the bugs we will notice them faster, making up valuable time. Knowing Kotone, this level will probably be either something to do with the body or another characteristic of emotions. If either of these is not the case then I will say that you guys have been played for fools. Because she knows deductive skills is not a strong point for any of you. What this means is that if this level's bug's side effect is random, then Kotone has figured out that I am here, which I'm pretty sure she knows by now, and that I am helping you guys get out of here. Are there any questions?" Edo-Kotone asked in her assertive voice.
Daniel raised his hand like a kid back in school and waited to be called upon. When Edo-Kotone nodded to him he asked, "Well, um, other Kotone, what happened to the bug? How did you find it and, well for lack of a better word, destroy it? This information could help us detect the next bug."
Edo-Kotone hesitated as she watched Daniel wait for her answer, "Well, uh…where did I find it? Um, well…why your stomach hurt so badly when you woke up is the answer to that question. Before you ask how I figured out where it was, I noticed you twitching when everyone else was like a stone. That meant that you were being affected differently and since I couldn't see the bug on you I figure it was in you."
Daniel's hand flew up to his mouth and realized how tired it felt. Like when you go to the dentists and they pull your lips away from your teeth in order to get a better view. It felt like that only ten times worse. His hand went to his throat and realized how dry and sore it felt. "But," he said, "how did it get inside of me without me knowing?"
Edo-Kotone shrugged, "I don't know. And if any of the other bugs are in us, then they will be dormant until we enter the sector that they react to. Shall we start moving?"
Everyone nodded, feeling a little violated even though none of them knew whether or not there was a bug inside them.
"Well, uh, other Kotone?" Wendy asked.
"Yes?" she replied, starting to cartwheel away. Everyone was now used to her speed and kept up easily as they talked.
"I think while we are looking for the next bug, we should be thinking of a new name for you," Wendy asked from Gajeel's back. Poor Wendy's small legs couldn't keep up with out jogging so Gajeel picked her up and Wendy was currently riding piggy back.
"A new name?" Edo-Kotone asked, "Why would I have a need for a new name?"
Wendy watched as Edo-Kotone switched to doing back bends and flipping out of them. "Well I don't think we should just keep calling you 'other Kotone'. It just doesn't feel right."
Daniel nodded his agreement, "It's the least we can do for you helping us."
Edo-Kotone switched to fast walking as she scratched her head, "Well to be honest, I don't know if helping you is the right thing. I want to help you, but as we know, sometimes the thing you want isn't what you need."
Gajeel moved so he was walking next to her, "What do you mean by that? That helping us might not be the right thing?"
Edo-Kotone looked up at the huge porcupine, "I've deduced that the music box was meant to be another delay tactic for you guys. If I help you, then the delay tactic wouldn't be as effective as Kotone would want it to be. Since I'm sure that she knows I'm here, she knows that if you and I met, that I would help you. She might take extra measures or, knowing Kotone, she knew before she even made the music box that I would help you…GAH! She is so good with her deduction skills! It's hard to know what she wants me to do!"
"What?" Natsu asked.
"I think I just proved to myself that I need to help you guys…" Edo-Kotone face palmed as her walk slowed. "She knows I'm here. If she knows I'm here, then she knows that I would help you. If she knows that I would help you and if you combine that with the fact that the music box is a delay tactic, she would have made precautions already. So, if I don't help you, then you guys will never get out of here. Such a twisted plan…"
Edo-Kotone started mumbling incoherently but after a while she started cartwheeling again, much to their relief.
"What about Jenny?" Wendy asked.
Everyone looked at her with confusion written all over their faces.
"For her name. No, Jenny wouldn't be a good name for her," Wendy pondered. "How about…Paulina?"
"No," everyone chimed.
"Well then what do you guys suggest?" Wendy asked.
"How about Joy?" Natsu asked. "Since she's always so happy."
"That's a good name, but I don't see her as a Joy," Alice said.
Everyone nodded their agreement.
Names kept being shot out and rejected, much to Edo-Kotone's displeasure. She didn't want a name because then Kotone would have a name to remember her by. A name to bring up memories left forgotten. Even if in a century everyone who knew about her is dead and gone, what would happen if Kotone came across someone else with the exact same name as her? It would be bound to bring up bad memories that would bother Kotone. Besides, she's breaking a promise that she made to herself when she rejoined Kotone and she knows Kotone wouldn't be happy if she knew what Edo-Kotone was doing.
It was while Edo-Kotone was having this thought when the gears started shifting. Edo-Kotone was mindlessly cartwheeling but then she realized something and came to a complete stop, sitting with her legs crossed.
Alice wasn't looking where she was going as she thought up names and ended up stumbling over Edo-Kotone. She went face first and Daniel couldn't help but laugh at the sight. The girl who loves being in the limelight was now head deep in mud.
"Walk much Alice?" Daniel asked.
Alice lifted her head from the mud slowly and her eyes seemed to glow red as a ferocious smile played on her lips. "What was that? I thought I just heard Scrawny make a rhetorical question!" Daniel just kept laughing at the mud covered expression as Alice turned to face Edo-Kotone.
"But I'm going to deal with whoever caused me to trip before you Scrawny. Be grateful!" Alice growled.
Natsu walked over, just noticing that everyone had stopped. When he came he saw Alice's face and joined Daniel in his laughter.
Alice paid no mind to them as her eyes focused on Edo-Kotone, who smiled at her angry friend. "My, my…looks like Alice wanted to go on a trip without us," she commented.
"Mud has water in it you foul girl!" Alice grumbled as she stood up.
Edo-Kotone smiled sweetly as she said, "But dear girl, who are you talking to? We both know that if I'm just a girl then all of you can't be considered to have been born yet. Besides, it's a good thing your head just got dirty. No one wants a hurt head." Edo-Kotone's smile grew with every word, leaving Alice to gulp as she realized how much she didn't want to pick a fight with an angry version of Kotone.
"On a different note," Edo-Kotone continued, "we've reached the area where the bug activates. Now we just need to find it."
Gajeel let Wendy off, making Alice slowly shuffle to the back of the group again. "How can you tell we're here?" Gajeel asked.
"Have you noticed that since we came to this floor, the scenery hasn't changed once? Also, you see this?" Edo-Kotone said as she pointed to some prints in the dirt. "These are my hand prints. If I put my hand on it, it's the exact shape and size of my hand, meaning that we've already walked on this part of the path before. Another clue is that Alice has fallen into the only mud puddle on this path. I marked it before when I noticed the scenery wasn't changing. See, look, there's the fish I drew that's riding a dolphin. I believe that this level was designed as a loop hole, meaning that if one of us were to run into the forest on one side of the path, they'd end up walking onto the path from the other side."
Natsu stood up after his fit of laughter had passed, "Oh boy! Someone's gotta test it!" He ran into the forest without listening to Wendy's and Alice's protests.
Gajeel examined the drawing Edo-Kotone drew and gave her a quizzical look, "A fish riding a dolphin? Why'd you draw that?"
"Well if it was something common then that wouldn't have proven anything. Like if I drew a smiley face, a stick figure, a heart, or a flower none of these would have proven that we were in a loop hole. Another traveler could have drawn something so common so I drew something that wouldn't be the first thing people would draw," Edo-Kotone said as she stood on her hands.
Natsu's yelp of surprise caused everyone to look around for him and saw him deep in the woods on the other side of the path.
"So my hypothesis has been proven true," Edo-Kotone said.
"This is weird!" Natsu yelled. "I can see you when I face this way, but if I turn around I still see you!"
"What?" Daniel asked.
Edo-Kotone hopped onto her feet and turned away from Natsu and saw him on the other side of the path as well.
"What is this?" Gajeel asked as he kept turning around and around. Soon enough he ran into the forest and joined Natsu's gawking.
"Wait Gajeel!" Alice exclaimed. "Natsu, you too! We don't know what's out there! Come back!"
"No way! This is too cool!" they chorused.
"They should come back…"Wendy said, walking up next to Alice. Alice shuffled away and glared at the innocent blue haired girl.
"I'll go get them," Daniel said as he started maneuvering his way through the trees, glancing over his shoulder back at the girls who waited patiently.
"Daniel! Come back here Scrawny!" Alice yelled frantically.
Edo-Kotone sighed and watched him go. She glanced at Wendy and Alice, both begging her with puppy dog eyes to stay. Their hands clasped in front of them. Edo-Kotone scratched her head and her ears perked when she heard Natsu inviting them over.
"Don't worry," she said, "I'm not going over there and leaving you two alone. Both of you are obviously scared."
Alice tackled Edo-Kotone and gave her a big bear hug, only to recoil when Wendy did the same. Alice glared at Wendy, who was totally oblivious of her friend's behavior. Luckily for the all, Edo-Kotone was.
"Hey Daniel!" Edo-Kotone yelled. "Check the ground! If my hunch is correct then the passage to the next level is right where you guys are standing!"
Daniel and the others grinned as their hopes were lifted and they scouted out every inch.
Wendy and Alice looked at Edo-Kotone with confusion, much to Edo-Kotone's pleasure. She quickly grabbed both of them by the neck and threw them to the ground away from her as she dropped to the ground. Wendy and Alice started choking from the shock of being grasped so tightly and gagged as they watched Edo-Kotone move dirt. She started digging frantically until she found what she was looking for, a pen. She smiled and quickly uncapped it. It glowed slightly and she started writing in the air.
"What are you doing?" Wendy asked as she rubbed her neck.
"Stay down!" barked Edo-Kotone. "If you get up I won't hesitate to beat you to a bloody pulp!"
Wendy paled at the threat and shrank away. Alice did the same but tried to see what she was writing. She couldn't decipher the foreign language that looked almost like squiggles and lines with a few dots. Alice was so confused about why Edo-Kotone was frantically writing things in the air, until it clicked and she jumped up horrified.
"No, you can't do this to us!" she yelled as she charged at Edo-Kotone.
She dropped the pen and brought her foot around, connecting with Alice's stomach. Alice gasped for air as her lost her breath and fell to the ground. She held her stomach as she glared at Edo-Kotone.
"I said to stay down imbecile. I swear you bugs are going to end up as the bane of my existence," she said as she turned around to continue writing.
She dropped the pen again and placed her hands on the words she wrote. She slammed her hands to the ground, causing the letters to leave imprints on the ground. They glowed slightly then disappeared.
"What was all that for?" Wendy asked.
Alice growled as she got to her knees, "She's trapped us in here with her."
Wendy gasped and looked around, only to notice that they couldn't see Natsu or the others anymore.
Edo-Kotone stood up and grabbed Alice's neck again, pulling her into the air. Alice struggled to breathe and clawed at Edo-Kotone's hand that was slowly squeezing Alice's neck.
"I can't kill you yet. Unfortunate, but unavoidable," Edo-Kotone growled as she squeezed even harder.
Wendy stood up and said, "Stop it! Don't hurt Alice! Roar of the Sky Dragon!"
Edo-Kotone glanced at Wendy before throwing Alice directly into Wendy's attack. She nimbly jumped out of the way and fetched the now injured Alice, returning to squeezing the life out of her neck.
Wendy charged at Edo-Kotone, successfully tackling her, even though she didn't budge.
"Why are you doing this?" Wendy asked as she tried punching the silver haired girl.
Edo-Kotone looked over her shoulder, "What? What are you talking about? Why aren't you helping me?"
"Why would I help you hurt my friend?"
Edo-Kotone started laughing, much to the dragon slayers' confusion. "What, this thing? This isn't Alice! This is why I can't destroy it…because I need it to tell me where the real one is."
Wendy stopped punching Edo-Kotone and glanced at Alice, who was begging Wendy to help her escape with her eyes. Wendy cocked her head to the side and investigated further. Alice decided to make it obvious that she needed help by mouthing 'help me' as she squirmed in Edo-Kotone's hand.
Wendy gasped and jumped behind the silver haired girl, who was just a tad bit smaller than herself. "You're right!" she exclaimed. "It's not Alice! But if it's not Alice, then who is it?"
"What do you think it is? It's the bug we've been searching for. A nice tactic if the bug hid itself amongst strangers who had no idea what the name of the person next to them was. Unfortunately, Daniel knows Alice's behavior and has been eyeing her this entire time. Then I've also…no it was Kotone who has gotten a pretty good idea of what Alice is like from watching her and everyone else over the years. Alice would have demanded a rematch from Wendy as soon as she could. Not scream upon seeing her. Also Alice would have been one of the first people to run over to Natsu and check out the loop hole. This makes me believe that the door to the next floor is somewhere close to that area. Then, you've been keeping your distance from Wendy as if you were both the north side of a magnet and being forced away from each other. Wendy, I would like you to poke this bug," Edo-Kotone said.
Wendy gulped and took a step out from behind Edo-Kotone. "You sure I won't get hurt? Or even infected?"
"If my suspicions are correct, then you are already infected Wendy. You poking it will only benefit us."
Wendy's eyes widened and she nodded, becoming dead serious. She faced the struggling bug that was kicking Edo-Kotone, but to no avail. Wendy lifted her hand, her index finger stretched as her hand crept towards the imposter. Soon her hand was in arm's length of the bug, but it started shaking as the space between them steadily decreased. By the time Wendy's hand was two hand lengths away, her hand was violently shaking and the fake Alice was trying to get as far away from it as it could. The bug was even snarling at it as it glared at Edo-Kotone. The bug started to whine a high pitched, almost dog like, whine that had Edo-Kotone squeezing even harder. Wendy put her other hand on her arm, in an attempt to steady herself as sweat formed on her forehead.
"Wendy, are you okay?" Edo-Kotone asked.
"I'm trying, I promise! It's just that my hand won't go any farther," Wendy grumbled as she gave one last push.
She got a millimeter closer, but Edo-Kotone was suddenly air-born, being dragged by bug the bug, who was screaming as it flew through the air. The imposter's arms and legs were flailing as Edo-Kotone tried to keep her grip on the bug. How it was squirming and her lack of balance in the air was hard to handle as she tried to regain her stability. She gasped as she felt her fingers slip off the neck of the bug and her eyes caught the evil smile the bug flashed as she threw her leg at Edo-Kotone's face.
Edo-Kotone blocked, but the blow caused her to lose her balance again, allowing the bug time to catch its breath. The bug landed on its feet as Edo-Kotone scrambled to land without taking damage. She tucked her head as she rolled and planted her feet to create a drag. When she found that she was still sliding she dropped her hand to the ground and called out to Wendy with the other.
"Wendy! Cover your ears!" Edo-Kotone yelled.
Wendy's hand flew to her ears, but the bug heard as well. Its grin was twisted as its hands covered its ears. Edo-Kotone saw this and changed tactics quickly, her smile confused the bug as she finally came to a stop. The bug watched curiously as Edo-Kotone stood and ran in the opposite direction. Then almost immediately, the bug was on its stomach and its hands were on the ground. Edo-Kotone put its hands behind its back and held them there with a knee. She then used her free hand and pulled the imposter's head back by the hair.
"Eradication…achk blogh!" Edo-Kotone started coughing uncontrollably and rolled off the bug, which stayed there. Wendy ran over, still holding her ears, and crouched down next to Edo-Kotone who waved her away as she crawled a little ways off to the side. Her back was to Wendy as she continued to cough, causing Wendy's concern to grow exponentially.
Eventually the coughing stopped and Edo-Kotone ran her fingers through the dirt a few times before she turned around with a reassuring smile. Wendy hesitantly smiled back, but she knew it was weak. Edo-Kotone motioned that it was okay to take her hands away from her ears, which Wendy obediently abided. She ran over to Edo-Kotone and helped her stand up, asking if she was okay.
Edo-Kotone reassured her with a nod and walked over to the bug.
"Stand up," Edo-Kotone commanded.
The bug got up and stood at attention, glaring at Edo-Kotone.
Edo-Kotone motioned for it to walk over and the bug walked until it was millimeters away from Edo-Kotone. She smiled kindly at the bug who smiled back with just as heart-warming as Edo-Kotone's. Edo-Kotone's smile faltered as her head fell onto the bug's shoulder. Her legs gave out under her and the fake Alice caught her, embracing her in a gentle hug while still smiling.
Wendy ran over, offering to help, but Edo-Kotone's quiet, "it's okay" stopped her. The bug picked her up, princess style, and started walking.
"Where are you going? Where are you taking her?" Wendy asked and she hurried after it.
"To Alice," it replied. Edo-Kotone's coughing started up again, causing the bug to stop and place the girl's head in the crook of its neck. It continued to walk through the forest on the side of the path before Wendy could catch up and would occasionally squeeze the girl in its arms or run its fingers along her arms. Edo-Kotone's arms were around the bug's neck as she coughed her lungs out.
"Are we there yet?" Edo-Kotone whispered from the bug's neck, her long braid swinging as they walked.
"Almost," the bug replied.
"How far is almost?"
"A little longer."
"How much farther is a little longer?"
"Just keep breathing. We'll be there shortly."
Wendy started jogging/running to catch up. The bug moved so gracefully, for how fast it was walking. Once Wendy, finally caught up, she tripped and face planted at the sight she saw.
The bug's neck was covered with a red substance that Wendy recognized immediately. She scurried to stand up and chase after them again.
What's happening? Is the fake Alice bleeding or is this other version of Kotone bleeding? Why are they walking so fast? If they slow down I might be able to help! Wendy thought as she ran after them.
Suddenly they came to a stop, letting Wendy catch her breath as she tried to for a sentence through her labored breathing. When she looked up, she saw the bug reaching for air. She observed as its hand seemed to make contact with something solid, then it retracted its hand. The space where its hand was seemed to fold on itself and twist, then it changed color. Wendy watched in awe as a door appeared out of thin air. A regular wooden door with no special design or anything, with a golden knob that turns, towered before them, waiting.
"Well go ahead," the bug said. "Open it."
"Me?" Wendy asked, eyeing the bug suspiciously.
It grinned at her saying, "Remember how you couldn't touch me earlier? We'll it's because you were also infected by me. I was told by Kotone to split and become a key and an eye glass. The part that is hidden in you will return to me when you open the door because only one part can find the door, while the other opens it. Kotone wanted to prevent you from progressing by making it hard for us to be together in the same place at the same time. This little girl here has released me from my orders, so I can help you." It glanced down at Edo-Kotone and kissed her forehead.
Wendy blinked and rubbed her eyes as this Alice in front of her morphed into another Kotone.
"This little one is the soul, I am the body, and the one on the floor before this was emotions. Together, we make up Kotone's humanity. The emotions joined with the soul when Kotone told her to eat it when you guys had progressed to this floor. Now I will join her as well so she can become stronger. The soul may want to go along with Kotone's plan, but I believe we need to stop it. Kotone doesn't have to live without her humanity. I'm going to make sure that she doesn't lose her humanity," the new Kotone said as she helped Edo-Kotone stand.
"Is she okay? What's happening to her?" Wendy asked, watching Edo-Kotone wobble.
This new Kotone glanced at her as she said, "She used Kotone's magic to free e. With us being the humanity, we shouldn't have access to that. But since she is the soul she could reach out to Kotone and drag out some magic. It appears that she can't handle the magic without damaging herself though. I doubt you can use your magic to help. If you open the door after I combine with her, she will undoubtedly be better. The act of me joining her again will heal her, but she won't be able to be able to do anything without both parts."
Natsu and the others stumbled upon the three of them, freezing in their tracks. Seeing two other Kotones was confusing enough, but not knowing what they were talking about was like listening to a foreign language for the guys.
The new Kotone smiled at Wendy before she turned to Edo-Kotone and rested her head on Edo-Kotone's forehead. She took a deep breath and dissolved into wind and sakura petals that flowed around Edo-Kotone, who inhaled and stood up straight from the big breath. She sighed and whipped the remaining blood from her mouth. Wendy watched with fascination as Edo-Kotone stretched with renewed vigor.
"Yep! Ever since I smashed the first bug, I knew why I felt so funny in this music box. When I smashed it, the pieces spelt out, 'This music box is my humanity.' So I knew that when I was dragged into here I was split up to create a delay tactic for you guys, it's also how I knew where to look for the bugs…Wendy, part of me wants to go along with Kotone but another part thinks that there is another way. I believe that you and the others have the ability to save Kotone from herself, but you better hurry," Edo-Kotone said, indicating to the door.
Wendy nodded and put her hand on the handle. "What will happen when I open this door?"
Edo-Kotone pondered for a moment before saying, "It will lead to the next floor, but since I'm the last key, you guys might just end up waking up from the dream."
Daniel and the others walked over, finally understanding the last bit of the conversation. Daniel crossed his arms as he asked, "But then what about your name?"
"What about my name?"
"That's right!" Natsu exclaimed. "We haven't thought of your name yet!"
"I think," Gajeel stated, "that it should be Kanon."
Wendy smiled, "That would be perfect, 'The sound of flowers.' You're silent and cannot be heard by others from where you live inside Kotone. Kotone is the sound of a harp while you are the sound of a flower."
Kanon smiled, "I think that's a great name. Both of us are sounds, but we dwell in different frequencies."
Suddenly there was a banging on the other side of the door, "Okay Kanon! Get Wendy to open the door so we can go save you and Kotone!"
"That would be Alice. It's time for you guys to go," Kanon said, placing Wendy's hand on the doorknob.
Wendy gripped the doorknob and turned it ever so slowly as Kanon removed her hand. There was a click and Wendy pulled the door open, just a crack. She peeked into the crack and suddenly jumped back as a brilliant, bright light bursted from the door.
They stood in awe as the door swung open, revealing a constantly moving sunset, almost like they were looking at it through water. Kanon stepped up behind Wendy to get a better look and her eyes started watering. Her hand reached out, but right when she was about to touch the water like substance, she stopped.
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.
Her eyes were fixed on the sunset as she brought her hand back to her chest, where it grabbed at her shirt. "It's so beautiful, but I can't touch it."
Natsu peeked over the head at the sunset, "Why not?"
She gazed at the sunset for a moment before she ripped her eyes away and took a few steps back. She saw Gajeel hovering a little away from the group that had formed in front of the door and jumped into his arms. She buried her face in his stomach as he took a step back to steady himself.
"It's not meant for me. Hopefully it won't be for a long time," she said as she turned and hugged Daniel.
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, watching as she turned to hug Natsu, who gave her a bear hug.
After Kanon was released, she gave Natsu a big grin before she turned to Wendy and pulled her into a hug as well.
"It seems that the third floor's purpose has been completed on this floor. Make sure to grab Alice before you completely walk out of the music box," she replied.
Kanon tried to pull away but Wendy held on tightly. "Was the point of the music box really to be another delay tactic?"
"Yes," Kanon replied. "Thank you."
Wendy finally let go, "For what?"
Kanon smiled her goofy, bright smile and said, "I thank all of you, for everything. I hope you will find this journey helpful when you wake up." With that, she waved them good bye and her laughter filled the air as faded away into the air.
They all gulped as they realized that might have been the last time they see Kanon. Natsu got over it quickly as he realized that he wouldn't have anything to worry about because they were going to save Kotone. He smiled and turned to face the dazzling sunset. "Yo! Let's hurry up and save Kotone!" He marched through the door, closely followed by the others.
Alice, who had been waiting for something or really anything to happen, jumped up when she saw a door appear out of thin air. She ran over to it and tried to open it, to no avail. She pressed her ear against it and heard Gajeel say that this other version of Kotone should be named Kanon. She pounded on the door and asked if anyone could hear her. It was then that the door started to open by its self. She swung it completely open and saw a beautiful sunset. Right before she took her first step towards the door, she heard a familiar laughter that had her spinning on her heel. She scanned the area but saw nothing but dirt where ever she looked. Then the laughter came back again and the first wind she felt since she was put in this area swirled around her.
"Seven is the magic number…" the laughing voice called before the wind pushed her threw the door.
Lyuf
This is the longest chapter so far guys! As you can see, Kanon was our winning name! I'm so excited! What happens next is that ******** **** and ****** * *** with ********! Look forward to it!
Review time!
TheOrangeNeko Yes! Wendy did beat Alice and boy is Alice pissed! I hope that when you read this chapter that you realized Alice was acting completely out of character. Next chapter she will be though!
Edward The Pure Yay! I finally got caught up with your story and all I can say is that you are just awesome. To get that any chapters done that fast and for them to be so great, I'm in awe. And your question about the shapes was indeed answered in this chapter. It was words that told Kanon what was going on and then they were apologizing for putting her through all of that. Your character will probably show up in the next chapter. I believe the next chapter will be as big as this one, if not then it will probably be bigger.
keisha. latumahina I'm soooo happy that you like how I portrayed your idea! Your praise just makes me get so pumped up to continue writing. Also I hope that your laptop doesn't have any more problems in the future. My laptop likes to die randomly so I know your pain.
You guys are awesome and expect some epic stuff happening soon! Farewell my Royal Loyal Readers! Until next time!