Fast Forward

Chapter 1

Whatever she'd fallen asleep on smelt a lot like lavender. Err, rather soap. A strong scent of it. Blinking, she opened her eyes to be welcomed with darkness. And beneath her head the feeling of flesh.

It was rather shocking to her as only laid there, eyes widening as she tried hard to recall the previous night. But all she remembered was hanging out with Lucy and Levy, eating takeout in the latter's room in Fairy Hills, reading over some silly old spells and poems. Just goofing off. Even Natsu hadn't been invited.

…But who was she with at the moment then?

The hand that was laying there, against the other person with her head, she used to gently pat the flesh beneath her. It was someone's chest. And upon patting lower, she felt abs. Who-

"Too early," the man she was with groaned before literally shoving her off. "Knock it off."

She knew the voice, but it didn't compute with her immediately. Shifting away, she found herself in an unfamiliar bed and, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, an unfamiliar room.

Sitting up then, she pressed a hand to her mouth as she tried in vain to figure out where exactly she was. They hadn't been drinking that night. And, as she slowly recalled, she'd even left Levy's place and headed back home. She remembered talking to Mira and Elf and then going back up to her own bedroom.

So what had happened after that?

Shoving out of the bed then, she found that she wasn't naked, but rather clothed in an oversized t-shirt. One that she for sure didn't own. Probably belonged to wherever it was she was with. And she didn't see any of her own clothes littering around. Where-

"What are you doing?" the man grumbled then. "Lisanna?"

That voice. She knew that voice.

"I-I have to go home," she told the man quickly, her own voice hitting her ears. It didn't sound right. It sounded…deeper maybe? What was wrong with her? Was she drunk? She didn't feel like that. Just…confused. Very, very confused. "I-"

"You're having a bad dream, babe," he grumbled, moving to sit up as well. "C'mere."

It was then, with the help of the moonlight streaming through the window, that she was able to see the face of the man that she'd apparently spent the night with.

"Bickslow?"

"Lisanna?" he repeated, in a mockery of the same shocked voice she was sporting. Then he grinned. "Come back to bed. You just had a dream or something."

Her mind was racing then. When could she have ever even been around Bickslow that night to have the chance to hookup with him?

"I-I have to go," she told him. "Mira is-"

"Mira's probably asleep. It's, like, three in the morning, Lisanna." He was pushing up out of bed then, groaning slightly. "You're gonna make me come over there, huh?"

"B-Bickslow," she said slowly as he came closer. He was only in his boxers, which usually would have made her blush, but that wasn't what was bothering her at the moment.

"What?" He was reaching out to touch her, but she dodged him.

"Y-You're so…old."

Frowning then, he moved to pat his chest. "I ain't old. What are you-"

"I have to go," she said before turning to run off.

"Go where? Lisanna-"

She went out the first door she saw…which happened to lead her into a bathroom. She couldn't leave though as Bickslow was blocking the doorway then.

"What's wrong with you?" he grumbled, fumbling around in the dark to hit the light switch. "Are you okay? Are you sick?"

"I-" Her breath caught in her throat as, in the light, something in the mirror next to them caught her eye. Turning, she slowly went over to the sink, staring at the mirror above it.

"I'm old too."

"Lissy, are you drunk?" He frowned. "Because-"

"What happened?" she whispered as she continued to stare at herself. It wasn't dramatically so, to a normal person, that she'd aged, but to someone who'd gone to bed that night nineteen (twenty-six with that seven year gap) and woke up to be, more than likely, in their thirties, it sure felt like it. "How-"

"Do you need to go see somebody? Are…you gonna vomit or something? Or-"

"Bickslow," she said slowly before glancing over at him. "Where are we?"

"At home, silly." He was trying hard to sound normal, but she could hear the concern in his tone. Coming closer, he reached out to touch her shoulder. "Come back to bed, Lisanna."

When she looked up at him, the man only grinned before leaning down to kiss her head.

"You just had a bad dream, Lissy." She didn't move as he moved to wrap his arms around her, hugging her slightly. "Now come back to bed before you wake up the babies."

Babies?

Oh yeah. She was with Bickslow. His stupid dolls must have been lurking around.

What he said did make sense though. Sort of. She wasn't waking up from a bad dream. She had to be in one. One very realistic, very odd dream. But considering before she'd gone to sleep, they were playing around with some weird spells and some ancient books, maybe her mind was just all discombobulated.

Allowing him then to drag her away, Lisanna followed Bickslow back into bed. He only jumped into it with a bounce after letting her go. He was smiling at her, but Lisanna couldn't mimic it. Slowly, she moved to lay down with him as well.

"You okay?" he asked, shocking her as he moved to lay on his side before wrapping an arm around her. Laying as still as possible, she let him snuggle up to her and press a kiss to her head.

Some dream.

"Yeah," she whispered, breathless as she stared up at the ceiling. He only gave her one more kiss before relaxing his grip some, shifting to get more comfortable as well.

"Just go to sleep, huh?" He laughed slightly and, when she glanced at him, all she could focus on was that stupid face tattoo. "You'll feel better in the morning."

She sure hoped so.

Lisanna tried hard to sleep, but it was mostly impossible. She'd never slept in bed with a man before and it was screwing with her head. That among other things…

At some point though, she must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew, she wasn't staring at the ceiling, counting the minutes, but rather being gently shook awake.

"Lissy," she heard. "You wake? Lissy?"

Groaning slightly, she peeked an eye open to find herself snuggled up on the bed. No, more like, a bed. Because it wasn't her bed. And it wasn't Mira waking her up (though the moniker she'd never heard of was enough of a tip off to that).

"I gotta meet Freed for a training session," she heard then as her eyes focused on Bickslow, who was standing at the side of the bed. He was wearing his helmet, or the one that she knew, at least, but his outfit wasn't the one she'd grown accustomed to seeing him in. Then again, he changed frequently what he wore out on jobs, so-

"Get up," he was insisting then, tugging at her arm. "Unless… You're not still sick, are you?"

Groaning, she shut her eyes tightly once more. Something wasn't right. In fact, it was horribly wrong.

And this was coming from the woman that totally got transported to another parallel world after nearly being killed by her older brother.

"Bickslow," she said as he started to walk away once seeing she was awake.

"Yeah?" He was going towards another door, not the one leading to the bathroom. When he opened it, she saw it opened to a hallway. "Lissy?"

"I have to tell you something," she said, scrambling to get out of bed. "I'm not…me. Or the me that you think I am. I'm, like, not this. And whatever time we're in isn't my time."

Frowning, he glanced over his shoulder at her, pushing his sallet up while he was at it.

"You okay, Lisanna?"

"No," she insisted. "I-"

There was a noise then, one that she didn't immediately recognize.

"Shit, Lissy," he grumbled, heading right out of the door. "You woke up the baby."

What?

Rushing after him then, she followed him into another room, clearly decorated as a nursery, what with its pastel pink walls and soft toys littering around. Oh, and the screaming that was coming from the crib in the corner. That was a big tip off.

When he'd mentioned babies, she'd thought he'd meant his dolls. Did they...were there actual...children? That they had? Together?

"Bella," he groaned as he went to pick the child in the crib up. "You awake? Huh?"

Lisanna only stood in the doorway, staring at him, watching as he lifted a toddler out of the crib, pressing a kiss to her head before dropping her on the ground.

"Mirabelle's cryin'," she heard from behind her, about stopping her heart. Given the whole situation, they were all just lucky she hadn't feinted already. "Papa."

"You think I don't know that?" Bickslow grumbled as he reached down to pat his daughter on the head. Lisanna took a step to the side as, from behind her, came in all of Bickslow's stupid little wooden dolls, looking the same as always, as well as another child. A little boy who looked far too much like Elfman.

Her psyche was forever ruined.

"Don't know that?" his dolls crooned as they, instead of circling around Bickslow, took to flying around the head of the crying toddler until her tears disappeared and she began laughing. Lisanna had taken to leaning against one of the walls for support. She was losing her mind.

"We named a kid after Mira?" was what found its way out of Lisanna's mouth. It was the only thing that was processing, honestly. "And how many do we have?"

What exactly had happened? With Edolas, at least she'd been able to trace the events. She'd been hit by Elfman, woke up in a new world. Okay. But this time, what'd happened? Huh? She'd fallen asleep and…and…woke up into a nightmare?

"Something wrong, Lisanna?" Bickslow glanced over at her with a frown. "I mean, if we need to go to the doctor, tell me. Or if you're…you know…" He made a drinking motion with his hand. "Just say so. I'll take 'em down to the guild then."

"I just need to see my sister," she told him then. "Quickly. I-"

"I'll stop by the guildhall and tell her to come down here," he said with a shrug. "But tell me, are you… Are you?"

"No," she hissed, frowning at him. "I'm… Please just get my sister."

"Alright, alright." He shook his head before looking down at the boy who'd come over to him. "Women, you know?"

The little boy only giggled as Bickslow gently tapped him on the head.

"Make breakfast?" he asked.

"I can't, buddy. I gotta go. Mommy'll make you guys something though, huh?" He looked to her then as she was still only rubbing at her head. "Lisanna?"

"What?" Turning back to them, she only frowned.

"Can you make 'em food? Please?" He came closer then, staring down at her. She could feel his eyes behind the sallet. Softly then, he said, "Can I leave? Or do I need to stay?"

"Go," she said quickly, deciding within a moment that that would be for the best. If he left, maybe she could clear her head some. "And tell Mira that I need to see her, alright?"

"Cool." Her head got a kiss before he went back to the kids. He ruffled the boy's white locks, messing them up further than his bed head already had. He picked the toddler up though, much to her enjoyment and the detriment of his dolls, who complained.

"Tell the kids bye, babies," he told the dolls as they followed him out of the room. The little girl in his arm only giggled though. "We gotta go train."

"Go train," the dolls whined as they went to tell the little boy goodbye. He tapped each one on his head, giggling. "Tell bye!"

"Bye-bye," the boy said. "Pappa, Puppu, Pippi, Peppe, and Poppo."

At each of their names, the wooden dolls gently rammed into the boy's chest, much to his amusement. Then they floated after their master, who Lisanna figured it was best to trail as well.

"Here, you go, Bella." Bickslow dropped her on the couch when they got to a living room. "Papa's gotta go. I'll be back for dinner."

"Bye-bye," their apparent son called as he raced after his father to hug his leg.

"I'll be back, kid. Just training." He ruffled his hair before looking at Lisanna. "I'll go get Mirajane for you, if you really want."

"I do," she told him after swallowing. "Quickly."

"Sure thing," he said, going to kiss her head one more time. Then he was going towards a door. The front door, she figured. When he opened it though and it was to another hallway, she frowned.

"Great," she sighed after he was gone. Flopping down onto the couch, she said, "We live in an apartment. And I'm with Bickslow. This is the worst dream ever."

"Mama," the toddler next to her giggled as the woman sat down next to her. Looking down at the dark headed little girl, Lisanna only sighed.

"And I'm a mother. Great." She hung her head. What was she going to do? The whole going to sleep thing didn't work. Maybe she needed to…to…throw herself off a building or something? Don't you wake up before you die in a dream?

"But what if it isn't a dream?" she groaned.

Just then, she felt someone pat her knee. Glancing up, she saw the little boy standing there, staring at her.

Her son. Right.

"Gonna make breakfast?" he asked her, as if hopeful. "Mommy?"

She blinked. "I…I guess I can. What do you want…little boy?" That sounded weak, but she hadn't caught his name yet.

"Mmmm…eggs!" With that, he dashed off. "Come on, Mommy."

She glanced back down at the little girl at her side who was busy sucking on her thumb. If she was stuck there anyhow, she might as well help take care of the kids. Besides, what if it was like with Edolas? What if these were, like, her actual kids in some other world? She couldn't hurt them anymore than she could Edolas Mirajane and Elfman.

Getting to her feet, she grabbed the toddler next to her before heading after the boy. He had run off into a tiny kitchen that was right off the living room.

She figured it was best to go ahead and get it all over with when she asked him, "What's your name?"

He had gone over to the table and clambered into a seat. Already sitting out was a coloring book, which he was immediately interested in.

"Mommy," he giggled as she came closer.

"I'm serious. What's your name?"

"Ryker," he giggled as she stared down at him. Frowning, she dropped the little girl in one of the chairs.

"That's a dumb name," she mumbled. "Who… Right. I'm married to Bickslow. Great."

…Wasn't she? Married? When she glanced down at her finger, she didn't see a ring, but then again, she hadn't put one on. Maybe she'd usually take it off before bed?

"Hey, um, Ryker?" She smiled at him, or at least tried to, when he looked up. "I'm your mommy, huh?"

"Mmmhmm."

"And Bickslow-"

"Papa," he said, going back to coloring then. "Bella's baby."

"Right, but…are Mommy and Papa married?"

He only giggled. That was no help.

Figuring it didn't matter at the moment, she decided to go ahead and get them fed. Because if it wasn't just some sort of a sick dream, they needed to eat.

"Can the baby eat eggs?" she asked the little boy who only shrugged. Just swell. She looked old enough though. Maybe about two? She didn't know.

While she was watching though, the toddler reached over to grab one of the little boy's color crayons, which she immediately started to put into her mouth.

"Hey," Lisanna groaned, going to snatch it from her. "Can't you help out any, Ryker? Don't let her eat things."

"Hungry," he said with another shrug. "Me too."

"Well, just hold on alright?" Her head was spinning. Going over to the fridge, she went to see if they even had any eggs. Lucky her, they did. It took some time even after that to find a fry pan, even with as small as the kitchen was, but eventually she got some breakfast on the table for the kids. The little girl wasn't tall enough to reach the table, so she had to actually hold her in her lap as she ate, which Lisanna did not find fun at all.

Not that she didn't usually like kids. She did. And it would have been fun, she was sure, to actually have some.

To actually remember having some.

Not to mention with someone else, but apparently it was too late for that.

"Hey, Ryker?" she asked after a minute or so of just sitting there. He kept eating, but did glacne at her. "How old are you?"

"Mommy," he giggled some more. "Ask lotta questions."

"I know I am, but just tell me."

He dropped his fork just to hold out his hand to her, all his finger up except for his thumb. "Four!"

Four. So she'd at least been with Bickslow for four years. At least. That didn't really help anything though.

When would Mirajane get there? Huh? She really needed her.

Or, rather, she needed her Mirajane. What if this Mirajane wasn't any help at all?

The little boy somehow managed to get himself messy during breakfast (he insisted on covering his eggs with ketchup because, according to him, that's what Papa did) which meant Lisanna had to get him cleaned up. The baby too, though she really just needed a diaper change and some new clothes.

"I need to get dressed too, I guess," Lisanna mumbled at one point. Slowly, she was becoming so numb to her surroundings that she was actually contemplating what it would mean if she really was at that point in time. If somehow she'd been…transported there. Like with Edolas.

Edolas. Man, she hadn't thought so much about that place in awhile. But it had to be the key to everything, right? Maybe…maybe she was just in another place like that? Or…what if those spells they had been reading…

It was all too much for her to figure out on her own. She really needed her big sister.

"The sooner Mirajane gets here," she sighed to herself at one point as Ryker repeated, at noisome, all the numbers he could count to, thinking that was why she'd asked his age earlier, "the better."

After dropping both the kids on the bed in the master bedroom, she went over to the closet to check it out.

"At least he buys me things, I guess," she mused as she stared in at all the different shirts and pants she had. Then she made a face and shook her head.

Bad Lisanna. Bickslow was not someone she wanted to be married to.

She'd just settled both the kids down in the living room after having gotten dressed when there was a knock at the front door. Rushing to go answer it, she was welcomed to the face of her sister.

Also aged. But still, Mirajane would look good if she was twenty or if she was a thousand.

"Mira," she cried. "I need your help. I-"

"Calm down," she said as she made her way into the apartment. At the sight of her, both kids got excited which, of course, meant that she had to go over there and greet them. They were playing with their toys on the ground and the boy, Ryker, wanted her to join, but Mira only pressed a kiss to his head before looking to her baby sister.

"Okay," she sighed as she went to go take a seat on the couch, Lisanna quickly following. "What-"

"I'm me, but I'm not this me. I'm not supposed to be here. I'm from…the past I guess, but I'm not supposed to be here. I know that I'm not. I'm not this old. And I don't have kids. And I certainly, most importantly, am not married to Bickslow. I don't even know him that well! So can you help me?"

Mira only sat there, seemingly shocked for a moment, before saying, "So you found out."

Lisanna's eyes widened. "F-Found out?"

"Well, I guess you know what this means," she said slowly. "We're going to have to…kill you."

"What?" Lisanna jumped up. "What are you- I don't- Help me!"

Frowning then, Mirajane said, "I was kidding, stupid. Sit down. I thought you were joking. You're not… Are you serious, Lisanna?"

She only stared at her, keeping her distance. "I-"

"You're upsetting them," Mira sighed as she too got to her feet. Ryker was staring up at them, as if wondering what was going on. "Come here. Let's talk in the kitchen."

"Not if you're going to kill me."

"Lisanna," she groaned before reaching to take her by the arm. "Come here. And Ryker, watch Bell, okay?"

Lisanna let herself be drug off as, really, did she have much of a choice? Mirajane was Satan Soul, after all. Or at least her Mirajane was. She really didn't know what this one was.

"Now," she said once they were in the kitchen, away from the children. "Tell me before we go any further. Are you and Bickslow doing drugs again or something?"

"What?" She jerked her hand free. "Mira-"

"I thought you guys said that you were done with all of that, Lisanna, back when you first got pregnant. What are you-"

"I'm not…stoned or something," she told her. "Or drunk, like he thought. I'm seriously not from this place. I know I'm not. I have no memory of any of this. I went to bed at our house, with you and Elfman there, after hanging out with Lucy and Levy. Now I'm here. That's all I know."

Mirajane stared hard at her for a moment before saying, "You really shouldn't smoke when you're around the kids, Lisanna."

"Mira! I'm not. I don't…I don't even have kids! I don't. And I know that there is no possible way that I would have ever ended up with Bickslow. It's impossible," she went on. "I don't even know him. Not really. He's just a member of Fairy Tail. That's it. I don't…"

She started tearing up then, if only a little, making Mira sigh and come closer.

"You're not kidding me?" she asked softly. Lisanna only shook her head.

"I'm serious, Mira. Is this… This isn't like Edolas or something, is it? Because I can't do that again. I really can't."

"Shhh," Mira sighed, moving to hug her. "Just…take a breath. Or better yet, go take a shower, huh? Then we'll go down to the guildhall and see if we can get this all figured out, huh?"

"But-"

"Go, Lisanna. You need it. Maybe it'll help clear your head some, huh?" Mira's smile was as infectious as always and it almost calmed Lisanna's queasy stomach. "I'll watch the kids, okay?"

"'kay."

"We'll fix this. Or at least figure it out. Alright?" Then Mira kissed her head, as if they weren't both grown, before going to head back into the living room. For a moment, Lisanna only stood there before letting out a long sigh.

"What a morning," she sighed before heading off. Hopefully a shower would help.

Hopefully.

I'm thinking ten chapters, but we'll see. If I can end it at five, I will, but I doubt it. And if we have to go to fifteen again, that's fine too.