The group was spread out, each person on look out. Everyone was tense after Jellal had spoken about the three brothers. Crime Sorciere had found more information on the men. "I can't believe we forgot they were looking for Aquarius' key!"

Jellal's lips quirked downwards as he suddenly recalled the pain the brothers' made Meredy go through. All for a single key. "We were too consumed by the fact that they were from Edolas."

"Calm down, getting them back to Edolas will solve everything. They won't be able to find another piece of the key." Erza's soft voice soothed. Everyone relaxed, except for Natsu and Gray whose attention was elsewhere. The scarlet-haired wizard turned to the fire and ice wizards with a glare. They leapt apart and smiled charmingly. She was glad to see that Natsu and Gray had their arms around each other and were chatting.

Lucy groaned, "That's not it. What if they already have some of the other pieces? I'll never be- I mean we'll never be- able to complete Aquarius' key! I'll never see her again!"

Natsu walked up behind the girl and placed his hand on her shoulder. He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Luce! I promise we'll get mermaid-woman-girl back!"

Lucy turned her head and smiled gratefully at Natsu. "Thanks, Natsu."

Rain squealed quietly at the moment. She already shipped Natsu and Lucy, just like Mira and Erza did. She'd developed many ships after seeing all the guild members together. She shipped Jellal and Erza, Natsu and Lucy, Mira and Laxus, and a lot more. Varian laughed at the girl. "Why in the world are you squealing?"

The dark-haired girl smiled and pointed at Natsu and Lucy sneakily. "I ship it!"

The wizard looked at her with confusion. "What? Ship? What are you shipping and how?"

Three blue lines appeared on the girl's forehead. "Shipping people is when you want two people to be together. Not an actual ship."

"Oh..." Varian laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I get it!"

'I ship us,' the boy thought fondly, watching as Rain skipped away.

Soon enough, the path widened, trees and shrubs growing together in clusters. At the sight of the familiar location, the wizards quickened their pace.

"Race ya!" Natsu yelled, nudging Lucy with an elbow. He sprinted ahead, Gray close at his heels.

"How childish," Erza remarked, chuckling lightly. Despite herself, she transformed into her Flight Armor and raced ahead, making her way down the path.

"Shoot!" Gray exclaimed, rushing after the scarlet-haired titania.

"Home sweet home," Rain mumbled sarcastically. She took a deep breath, facing the empty town with a newfound confidence. "Okay. Let's do this."

Varian stepped out from the pack of mages and strode over to the middle of the clearing. The looming trees towered over him, casting shadows, darker than ink, across his face. The silver-haired man gazed up at the blue sky, watching the clouds.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Erza asked at last. The question everyone feared.

There was no hesitation this time.

"Yes."

Lowering his gaze, the man closed his eyes, and took a breath, deep and long. No one dared to move.

Just when everyone had thought Varian had given up, a faint golden light began to glow, enveloping his hands, climbing up his legs, covering his body. He was a ball of blinding, white-hot light, fierce and fiery. The white illumination began to consume him, burning his skin, taking the boy over. His eyes flashed dangerously, the blue color draining from them, only to be replaced by a colorless white. His hair paled, while a crystal, blue color crept up his forearms and legs, twining their way around his hands and bleached face. The glow faded away, his new figure turning to the group. "Get close to me, when the anima appears it'll start to work immediately." His eyes were fixated on Rain, whilst her silver ones begged him to stop. This boy, he was no longer Varian, he was some other being, and it startled the others. But not Rain.

The girl wrapped her arms around his waist, digging her face into his back. "Please be okay." The Mirror mage nodded at the fragile girl as an odd glow engulfed the group.

"Mirror... Anima." A loud sound, cracking like lightning, accompanied a white swirl in the sky. Everything started to disappear, taking the wizards one by one.

A few seconds ago eight wizards stood beneath the lonely trees at the end of the never-ending dirt path.

Now?

There was nothing.

Erza opened her eyes to a world inverted. The sky wasn't quite blue, and the grass was far from green. She couldn't have been happier. Disoriented, she sat up straight and took in her surroundings. "Jellal?" she called. "Natsu? Lucy? Wendy? Gray?!"

"E-Erza?" Lucy gasped, her eyes flickering. Everything was much too bright.

"Thank god," Erza replied, picking herself up from the ground and heading over to her friend. Her head was spinning and she swayed on her feet, fighting to stay on her feet, she inched her way over to the blonde.

"Is it just me or is this island moving?" Lucy groaned, shielding her eyes from the bright moon. "And where is the sun? You would think the sun would be up."

"I don't recall it being like this last time," the armoured mage murmured, kneeling beside Lucy. "I don't know where we are, but it's definitely not Earthland."

"Well," Lucy commented, sitting up at last. "There's that." She paused. "The others can't be far from here, right?"

"It's Edolas," Erza said, as if that answered everything. "We've got to go. This island is definitely not stable."

"Just our luck," she burst out. "Why do I always have the worst luck?"

Jellal woke to nothing. It took him a while to realize his eyes were already open, and that everything around him was dark.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Jellal asked aloud.

"Well, it sure is a crappy afterlife," Rain yelled back. "Being stuck here in the dark with you. I can't even see my own hands."

"Ugh," Gray groaned. "Mr. Atone-for-my-sins and Rain?"

"Guys," Jellal said, growing frustrated. "We've got to get out of here."

"Mr. Obvious," Rain and Gray chorused. A hot blush dusted the girl's cheeks as she realized Gray had spoken along with her.

Giving up, the blue-haired man decided to take matters into his own hands. He pushed himself up onto his aching feet and looked around. Nothing but darkness shrouded them.

"Jellal? Rain?" Gray shouted.

"Over here," Rain responded. "Follow my voice! I'm here!"

Gray cautiously stepped forward, taking care not step on anyone by accident. "Jellal! Rain!"

"Here!" they yelled.

"Wait- call me one at a time. Rain- I'll find you first."

"What do you have against me?" Jellal's voice echoed. "Seriously?"

"Erza likes you. Duh."

Something tapped Gray's shoulder, and he let out a high-pitched shriek.

"Boo," Rain whispered in his ears while giggling.

"You're seriously freaky," Gray sighed, shaking his head. "We'd better find Jellal before he wets his pants."

Natsu woke to a world of pink Goblins. The small, furry creatures were everywhere, scurrying up the side of small hills and leaping from tree to tree. It was easy finding the group that landed on that island. A whole lot of shrieks and commotion brought them together, hunched behind a boulder, each of them wielding a stick from one of the nearby bushes.

"This is stupid," Natsu pouted, examining his stick with mournful eyes. "Why are we hiding from tiny, pink things? We should fight them!"

"Just hush," Carla snapped, shooting a nasty look at the boy.

"They're harmless, anyway," Wendy chimed in, setting down her stick. "I think we'll be fine."

"I'm sure everyone will be heading over to Royal City," Lily determined confidently. "Well- if it's still called that."

"I doubt everyone knows where to go." Carla's voice was full of uncertainty.

"Let's hope for the best," Natsu said at last, throwing the stick carelessly over his shoulder and brushing his clothes off. "Come on!"

"You idiot, child," Carla said, shaking her head.

"What?" the boy asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh," Wendy said in a small voice. "Oh no.."

"What?!" Natsu protested.

"You, uh, threw the stick..."

"..into the nest of those 'furry, harmless creatures,'" Pantherlily sighed.

Natsu turned to follow their mournful gazes.

"Not so harmless now, huh?"

Varian didn't wake at all.

His eyes didn't even flutter. His body didn't twitch. He lied on a small patch of dead grass, his skin pale and cold. No energy radiated from him as if... he had none.

The darkness was overwhelmingly strong, tugging at him, begging for him to give up.

His heart stopped, frozen in time.

"Where... where am I?" His voice echoed in a dark room.

"You tell me." A voice, seemingly far away, echoed back.

The silver haired man looked around the cold place. The ground beneath him started to heat up, while a warm light appeared above him. He looked down to see hellish place. There were people chained together, marching through lava while other beings, with horns, threw scorching rocks at them. Varian shivered, looking up towards the warm light. He could see people smiling, dancing, and having fun. Beings with wings were giving them gifts and such.

"The place between heaven and hell..." the words pushed past his lips, before he could stop them.

"Correct." The voice echoed back. A tall man with no face and wings appeared in front of him. "I will ask you a series of questions to determine where you will go."

Fear flashed through Varian's usually bright blue eyes. "O-Okay..."

"Who do you love most?"

A small smile appeared on his face, the fear easing. "That's easy. Rain."

"Did you deserve to die?"

Shock jolted Varian awake. "What?"

"Did you deserve to die?" The creature asked again.

Varian held his hands together. "I... I-" He sighed. "I didn't. At least, I don't think I did."

The winged creature remained quiet, an odd aura emitting from it.

"I was just doing what was right," the boy insisted. Silence greeted him. "...right?"

The powerful being ignored his wary question, and instead chose to ask it's final question. "What are you afraid of?"

The atmosphere grew tense as the simple question paralyzed it's victim. "What am I afraid of?" The man laughed nervously. "That's many-"

He was interrupted by the creature. "What are you most afraid of?" It's voice was loud and booming. Heat pricked at the man's feet like metal thorns.

He tried to come up with something, trying to ignore it. "Losing Rain," he whispered.

"What are you most afraid of?" the winged creature repeated in its monstrous voice. Heat began to climb his legs, searing his skin.

"Losing my magic." He tried another response.

"What are you most afraid of?" An odd light started to open up behind him, but he didn't pay attention to it.

"I-I'm," his voice cracked as a tear slipped down his cheek. "I'm most afraid of going back to them!"

A strong push sent him flying into the odd light behind him.

"Wha-?" The silver-haired mage spotted two villagers taking his things. "Hey! Wa-" A searing pain shot through him as his mouth shut.

"The island doesn't connect," Lucy announced, moving away from the edge. "Erza?"

"It's the same here," Erza growled. "There's no way off."

"For once I wish Happy was here," the celestial mage murmured. "What are we going to do?"

The scarlet-haired woman shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. Just... hang on."

"Hang on?" Lucy exclaimed, flapping her arms wildly. "That's all? That's the best you got?"

"We can't fly and we can't jump," Erza continued, sitting down on the grassy ground. "We can hardly even stand."

Lucy grudgingly released her tight hold on the tree beside her and sunk to her knees with despair. She reached for her ring of keys and unhooked one of her golden keys. "I could try to-"

"It's not going to work, Lucy," said Erza calmly. She was resting her head against a boulder, eyes shut.

"Well, I'm going to try!" Lucy exclaimed. "O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate! Gate of the Lion, I open thee! Leo!"

A smile flickered across Erza's lips. With her eyes still closed, she asked, "Didn't work, huh?"

"I guess this is where Natsu would yell 'This is boring!'"

Erza had barely opened her mouth to reply when the island jerked forward. The two female mages hung onto the shrubbery for dear life.

And then... the island fell from the sky.