Roger's gaze swept across the group, and Cana was on him in a flash. She plastered a boot-licking grin on her face, slapped both hands onto his shoulders, and started "politely" pounding away with just the right amount of force.
"Ohhh, our wise, almighty, sky-high-strong Big Bro Roger~! Taking a handful of nobodies like us to another world? That's child's play for you, a total cakewalk!"
She threw her left arm out dramatically, face locked in a look of unbreakable resolve, voice booming like a battle cry:
"And! As Lisa's absolute bestie, ride-or-die gal-pal, closest confidante ever!"
"At this super-important homecoming moment in her life, how could we not be right there by her side, seeing her off on this final leg of the journey?!"
"That's loyalty! That's friendship!!"
"Uh—hey, Cana—" Lisa timidly raised a hand, trying to pipe up in a tiny voice. "I'm not dead yet—using 'final leg' feels a little—"
Before she could finish, Lisanna clapped a hand right over her mouth.
Lisanna flashed a dazzling smile at Mira and Roger. "Mira-sis, Roger-bro! Think about it—Lisa's been gone so long, she's gotta feel kinda lost and out of place in Edolas, right?"
"With all us besties tagging along, she'll settle in way faster and really feel like she's home!"
"My, my~" Mira folded her arms, smirking at her little sister. "Lisa grew up in Edolas. Does she really need an escort just to get comfy in her own hometown?"
"O-of course she does!" Lisanna choked for a second but bounced right back. She whipped around to Lisa—who was still muffled, only able to let out pathetic little "mmph-mmph" noises—and secretly pressed the hand on the back of Lisa's head forward.
Lisa's head dipped in a tiny nod.
"See? Mira-sis! Lisa totally agrees! We all gotta come!!" Lisanna pointed triumphantly at the "agreed-upon" Lisa and declared it like it was law.
"Wendy and I are going too," Charle announced, arms crossed, chin tilted up like she was the most dependable cat in the world.
"I've got intel on the Edolas Kingdom's army and inner workings. I can give you guys solid strategic info."
(With this guy—no, with Roger around, even facing the king and his whole army shouldn't be dangerous.)
(I've gotta use this chance to figure out what the heck these missions and memories in my head are all about!)
Happy—still sporting a giant lump on his head—flapped over in a hurry. "If Charle's going, then Aye sir, we're definitely going!"
"Alright!" Natsu slammed his left fist into his right palm.
"If Happy's in, there's no way his best partner's sitting this out! Adventure in another world? Sounds freakin' awesome!!"
Happy heard that and flicked a paw at him in disgust. "If Natsu's coming, he can go munch walnuts with Lucy and stay outta—"
WHAM!
He didn't even finish before another heavy fist landed on his skull, adding a third goose-egg.
Happy's eyes spun like slot machines; he wobbled in circles and face-planted with a thud.
Lucy clapped the dust off her hands and glared at the motionless cat. "Don't think I don't know what 'munch walnuts' means! Geez, you never learn—get beat up once and you still run your mouth!"
After venting, she scratched her cheek shyly and looked at Roger, eyes sparkling with hope. "Um—honestly? I'm dying to see what another world looks like—"
"So… can I come too?"
Roger's eyes slid sideways and landed on Gajeel, who was hugging his arms, pretending to be totally uninvolved while inching closer to the crowd.
He raised an eyebrow on purpose. "What's this—Gajeel, you wanna tag along?"
"Wha—who said anything about going?!" Gajeel jumped like someone stepped on his tail, jerking his head away and barking in denial. Still, his eyes kept sneaking peeks at Roger while he muttered under his breath, barely audible: "I heard you're taking on another world's king… one more body means one more fighter, one more helper—"
Realizing he was showing his hand, his face went red. To double down, he bellowed, "I—I ain't going to another world to look for some cat!!"
"Don't any of you get the wrong idea!!"
Lucy's mouth twitched hard. "=_= Tsundere really doesn't suit you at all, dude."
"Your motive's already screaming loud and clear!!"
Watching this noisy, chaotic crew, Roger let out a soft chuckle, turned, and strode toward the guild doors. "Fine. If everyone's in, no point wasting time—let's roll!"
"Woooo!!" The second he agreed, cheers exploded. They scrambled after him, crowding around as they spilled out the guild entrance.
Roger stopped. A cyan magic circle flared to life in front of him, bathing everyone in light.
The next instant, a gentle breeze lifted them all, rocketing them skyward toward the gray vortex overhead—now shrunk to about the size of a person.
Right as they neared it, Roger reached out with his right hand, fingers spread like he was prying the sky open. The vortex whooshed wide.
The wind hugging them surged. Blinding white light swallowed everything!
When they instinctively shut their eyes and opened them again, the world had completely flipped.
No more familiar Magnolia streets. Instead—countless bizarrely shaped islands floated in the sky.
Those floating isles were carpeted with never-before-seen plants: some glowing softly, others crystal-clear and sparkling.
Clear rivers drifted through the air like weightless ribbons, winding lazily.
Every now and then, weird-looking fish would leap from the streams, arc through the sky in a silver flash, then splash back into the floating water.
"This… is Edolas?" Lucy's eyes were saucers as she gawked.
"Everything's brand-new! Actual floating islands and rivers! It's straight out of a fairy tale!!"
No sooner had she spoken than an especially hideous fish—looking like someone mashed together every fish flaw imaginable—burst from a nearby stream and SMACK landed right in front of her face.
Its dead, soulless eyes locked with Lucy's stunned ones.
Before she could blink, the ugly thing puffed its cheeks—PFFFT—and blasted a jet of water square in her face!
Lucy froze solid.
The culprit flicked its tail, nimbly dove back into the floating creek, and vanished.
Lucy stiffly raised a hand, wiped the faintly fishy water off her face, and stared at the sky, lips twitching. "I… take… it… back."
"Yeah, the islands and rivers are fairy-tale cute—but that soul-crushingly ugly fish just obliterated every ounce of magic and wonder!!"
Lisa, watching the whole thing, covered her mouth and giggled, then explained gently, "Lucy, that was a Splasher Fish."
"They're definitely not winning any beauty contests, and they love pranking people by spraying water in their faces, but their meat is super tender and delicious."
She paused, smirking. "They breed fast and they're slippery, but because of that random spraying habit, fed-up folks hunt them down and sell them to foodies who don't care what they look like. That's why they're pretty rare now."
"Running into one the second you arrive? In a weird way… that's kinda lucky."
"(=_=) If that's 'lucky,' I'm good…" Lucy sagged, suddenly exhausted.
Lisa smiled and pointed at the floating islands all around. "These islands are packed with magic power. Together with the Exceed homeland island, Extalia, they keep this world's magic in balance."
"Eh?!" Lisanna's eyes bugged out as she re-examined the drifting landmasses. "These things do that much?!"
Cana instinctively pulled out her cards and poured magic in, expecting her usual jug of booze.
Nothing. The magic inside her felt asleep at the wheel—no response.
The cards just sat there, unchanged.
Her face went dead serious. "What the heck?! I can't use my magic?!"
She rubbed her chin, eyes darting. "Wait—is this some unknown side effect from crossing worlds? Or… did I mutate in some weird way?"
"Next, by the script, Natsu jumps out to mock me for losing my powers, then my golden finger awakens, I skyrocket in strength, slap faces left and right, and end up dominating all eternity!!"
Giant sweat drops rolled down everyone's heads.
Natsu bristled. "Hey! Why am I always the trash-talking villain?!"
Lucy face-palmed. "(==) Your priorities are wild."
"Shouldn't we be pointing out that 'mutation' or 'dominating eternity' is straight-up impossible?"
"Sadly, looks like you're disqualified from eternal domination," Charle said coolly, arms still crossed. "According to the intel in my head, mages from our world can't freely use their magic in Edolas."
"It's not some mutation or travel after-effect—it's this world's rules."
"Hmm~?" Cana cracked up at Charle's mini-adult act. She swooped in, scooped the cat into a big hug despite her struggles, and nuzzled her fluffy head. "Aw, our little Charle's only been in the guild a short while and already learned how to shut big sis down with facts!"
She grinned mischievously. "You've got potential, kid~ Wanna let big sis teach you some fun stuff too?!"
"Let—go—of—me—you—boozy—fool!" Charle's face screamed disgust as she shoved at Cana's cheeks with her paws. "You reek of alcohol! I'm not learning your weird junk!"
She suddenly remembered something and got even madder. "And I still haven't settled the score for the weird crap you taught Wendy!!"
"Uh—guys—Cana, Charle, calm down—" Wendy, floating in mid-air, flailed helplessly. She wanted to break it up but was terrified of falling, so she just hovered there, cheeks flaming, totally flustered.
"Can't use magic freely…" Lisa looked at Roger, puzzled. "First I've heard of it. So why can you still cast, Roger-bro?"
"This." Roger pulled out the little vial of red pills, popped the cap, and passed one to everyone. "Eat it. Lets you temporarily use magic in Edolas."
"Mystogan gave them to me. He's from Edolas too."
"Mystogan?!" The name triggered a chorus of gasps.
Lisa could hardly believe it, voice shooting up an octave. "But—he's one of the guild's S-Class mages, right?!"
Lisanna jumped in, stunned. "If he's from this world… that means he can't use magic naturally?!"
"Passing the S-Class exam with just magic items?!"
"That's… terrifying!" Lucy's whole worldview shook. "I can't even imagine how strong he'd be if he could use magic!!"
"Damn it!!" Natsu's hair practically stood on end, fists clenched so tight they cracked. "Why'd even Mystogan pass S-Class and not me?!"
He burned with fighting spirit. "I'm challenging him! Beat him fair and square, and the old man's gotta promote me to S-Class!"
"Hey!" Happy raised a paw, pouring cold water without mercy. "Aye thinks it's impossible. Natsu's not lacking strength—he's lacking a brain."
"Huh? (—,) You calling me dumb?!"
"About Mystogan's exam…" Erza folded her arms, thought for a moment, then spoke slowly. "I remember the Master saying his was done solo."
"From what the Master hinted, Mystogan's overall ability is top-tier. Most importantly, his tactical planning and mastery of magic items are off the charts."
She looked at Natsu. "He probably passed by perfectly combining tactics, items, and his own solid physical skills."
"Speaking of which," Lucy turned curious eyes to Charle. "How come even Lisa didn't know this stuff, but you do?"
Charle huffed, chin high. "We Exceeds were sent to Earth Land by the Edolas King to carry out missions."
"From the moment we were born, tons of data about this world—and the missions we have to complete—were crammed into our heads."
Seeing Lucy open her mouth, she cut her off. "I can't tell you the mission details! Don't ask!"
"Anyway—I'm never doing that mission!"
"Mission?" Happy tilted his head, a giant question mark popping up. His big eyes were pure confusion. "How come I don't know anything? There's nothing like that in my head—"
That set Charle off. She jabbed a claw at Happy, voice rising. "Exactly! Why are you the only one with nothing in there?!"
"No knowledge! No mission! Just a total airhead who doesn't know squat!!!"
Charle's sudden outburst stunned everyone into silence.
Lucy hurried to smooth things over. "Uh—hey, Charle, don't be mad—anyway, we're about to go see the Edolas King, right?"
"We can ask him face-to-face and probably clear this up."
Charle glared at Happy's innocent, clueless face, let out a heavy sigh, nodded lightly, and turned away without another word.
Everyone else quietly exhaled in relief and swallowed their red pills.
The pills melted instantly; a warm rush spread through their limbs.
That hollow, magic-less feeling vanished. Familiar power flowed through them again.
Once everyone confirmed their magic was back, Roger gently lowered them onto the nearest floating island.
He turned to Lisa. "Lisa, where's the Fairy Tail guild in this world? You remember?"
"Uh—well—" Lisa scrunched her brow, thinking hard. "The guild gets raided by the Royal Army a lot, so for safety we never stay in one spot long. Locations change all the time—"
"We'd have to check a few old secret hideouts first, look for special markers that point the way."
"Only by decoding those can we find the current address."
"No need to bother." Roger's mind flicked; he opened the system's built-in map (details in Chapter 4).
His eyes scanned fast, locking onto a blinking Fairy Tail emblem.
He memorized the route, then cast his Ancient Script magic.
The next second, everyone's vision shimmered. Starting at their feet, a soft golden dotted line appeared.
It pointed clearly west, stretching endlessly ahead as far as they looked.
"Whoa—it's giving us directions?!" Cana poked her own forehead in awe.
"That's insane! A route just pops up right in front of our eyes!!"
"Feels like we're in a video game!"
"Just follow the dotted line," Roger said, already walking ahead.