UPDATED!
Here we go with day 5. I apologize in advance that this is so tragic and angsty, but the prompt was just asking for it. You can't talk about irreplaceable without someone almost dying.
At least I added a happy ending here, as opposed to Break Them All.
Hope you enjoy my plot twists for this arc, I thought it would make things more interesting.
It was July 7th, the last day of the Grand Magic Games. Anyone would assume it was a day for celebration, specially for those who won. However, just as in many fairy tales, everything fell apart once the clock stroke midnight.
It wasn't long before the wizards who had participated found themselves in a world of chaos when dragons suddenly invaded the blooming capital of Fiore. They were plunged into a hellish nightmare as the animals flew around the city, burning and destroying everything.
Beautiful houses were turned to rubble and many people ended up dying that terrible night.
Among these people was Juvia Lockser, Fairy Tail's own water mage. She had been a member of the guild for a few months and had managed to warm her way into most of the members' hearts, including Gray Fullbuster.
Ever since they had met, Juvia had claimed to be in love with him and it wasn't long before he found himself falling for her as well. He intended to tell her that night, but his timing couldn't be worse.
They were in the middle of war and thus their focus needed to be on staying alive- they couldn't be distracted by long-overdue confessions.
So Gray forced himself not to think about the realization he had made a few days before or the intense kiss they had shared after winning their battle against Lamia Scale's top wizards.
It hadn't been a part of the plan, but he just couldn't help himself when Juvia was standing there in front of him; so beautiful despite the many injuries covering her body.
Before he could reveal his feelings, they had been called by their friends to the main square where the king announced the terrible news: their world was on the brisk of the apocalipse as dragons invaded the city. So the two mages had quickly recomposed themselves and prepared for battle.
Thankfully, they didn't have to fight the enormous dragons, only mini ones. That doesn't mean it was an easy fight, though. Gray and Juvia had trouble keeping up against them, but at least they had the help of his brother/rival, Lyon Vastia.
After a valiant fought battle, they decided to find somewhere safe to take cover while regaining their energy. Unfortunately, the couple somehow ended up being separated.
With no choice but to keep looking for cover, they kept walking while keeping an eye out for any dragons that might come by.
Along the way, Juvia came across a familiar head of pink hair.
"Juvia!" It was Meredy, her close friend. The bluenette was confused to see her there, but guessed that Crime Sorciére must've been warned about their impending doom.
"Have you seen Ultear? I lost track of her a while ago." Before the water mage could respond, Gray appeared out of no where and pushed them to the ground.
"Get down!" Juvia could see that three mini dragons were firing their lasers just then, right in their direction. He had saved them just in time and she felt extremely grateful, while also ashamed of herself for being so careless.
"Stay focused. This is a war zone!" Lyon yelled, also showing up all of sudden. It was as if he had read her thoughts and she lowered her head in shame.
"Sorry." Juvia heard Meredy sheepishly say.
As more dragons showed up, the two boys joined together to fight against them.
Juvia remained unmoving, mind overcome by terrifying thoughts. What if it ended the same as last time? What if she couldn't stop it?
"Juvia, are you ok?" Meredy asked.
"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine." The water mage replied unconvincingly, unaware that Gray was watching her intensely.
While trying to find her, he had come to two important realizations: One, this wasn't like any other battles they had previously fought. The stakes were higher and he knew that there was a chance they might not survive this night.
Therefore, this might be his last chance to tell Juvia how he felt- to finally give her the answer she deserved. He couldn't wait any longer and, truth be told, he didn't want to.
He had waited until the Games were over; for five tortuous days and now he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and say those three words he had thought that he'd never say again.
"Juvia, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." Gray said, catching her attention. She was quick to stand up and blue eyes stared into his, showcasing hope and love.
"Okay." He suddenly felt nervous, despite having planned this moment for days. Was this supposed to be this hard? Why couldn't he just confess?
"Is something wrong?" Juvia asked once he remained silent for too long.
"No, I just have to do this before it's too late" He avoided looking at her, thinking it might be easier that way. He missed the moment her eyes widened as she realized what he was about to say.
"No." Juvia shook her head, overtaken by fear. It was all going exactly as she remembered, which meant the worse part was yet to come.
While she was lost in thought, he took a deep breath before finally looking at her.
He was surprised to see her pale face and fearful eyes, but didn't think much of it.
"Juvia, I…" Lyon's loud scream interrupted his confession.
"Gray, look out!" Gray turned around only to see a laser was coming right at him. For a moment he was frozen in shock, until he was suddenly pushed aside. Confused, he looked back only to find Juvia standing in the same spot where he had been a second ago.
"What?" He tried to comprehend what had just happened, but upon noticing the red stain on her dress as she fell to her knees, his face paled.
"No. No!" He quickly got to his feet and ran towards her. "Juvia!"
She looked at him; her face showed surprise and, for a reason he didn't understand yet, relief. "I'm sorry."
"No, please." Gray knelt by her side before taking her in his arms. Frantic and cold hands pressed against the wound, trying to contain the blood.
He completely forgot that they weren't alone, ignoring Lyon and Meredy's screams before they focused on eliminating the dragons.
"It's okay, my love." Gray didn't realize he was crying until her pale hand gently touched his cheek.
"No, it's not okay. Why did you do that?" He felt angry; at himself for so many reasons and at her, for sacrificing herself. Didn't she know that this would only hurt him more?
After all, he had long since confided about his past and the people he had lost. Juvia knew that he still blamed himself for Ur's death, so she was well aware that putting her own life in danger for his sake would only break him even more.
"I'm sorry." She repeated ever so gently. "But everything's going to be okay."
Gray wanted to believe that, he truly did. But he knew better.
This wasn't some romantic fairy tale. There was no happy ending guaranteed for them and, judging by the amount of blood that colored her dress and the concerning paleness of her face, their story was about to end in tragedy.
He hated it. Hated the thought of losing her, of being powerless to stop it. It was like a curse that had haunted him his entire life and he hated himself for being foolish enough to think that it would ever be over.
He blamed Erza for that, since she was the one who convinced him that it was okay to love Juvia- that they'd be happy together.
Gray almost scoffed. Happiness didn't exist in his world. He wasn't meant to live the happily every after-all that awaited in his future was pain and loss.
For a moment he wondered why he bothered trying when he knew exactly how the story would end. "Stop it."
He was brought out of his thoughts by her voice. It was weakened and faint, but he could still hear it. "It's my fault."
Juvia shook her head. "No. I wanted to save you." She placed both hands on his cheeks, holding his face so he'd be forced to look at her. "I will always want to protect you, because I love you."
"I know." The tears began falling once again and he didn't stop them. There was no point in pretending to be strong when his whole world was falling apart.
"You don't need to cry." She gently wiped them away. "It's not over yet. In fact, this is only the beginning of your story."
"What?" Gray was confused for a second, before he understood.
She was telling him that this didn't mean his future was lost, that he'd move on and find a way to be happy someday. It was the classic "You can learn to love again" that he didn't believe in.
Not when it came to Juvia. There wouldn't be someone else, because she was the only one for him.
He had always known that-even before loving her. She had been the first person he opened up to in over 10 years and he knew that, once she was gone, it would never happen again.
The walls he had kept around his heart- barriers she had broken down one by one- would come back, never to fall again.
"You're wrong." His hands fell from her stomach once he realized it was useless to keep trying to contain the blood. Her wound was too severe, so it couldn't be healed. "I won't move on from this, because no one can replace you, Juvia." He hoped she'd understand the hidden meaning behind his words.
"But I'm not her, Gray." He was caught off guard.
"What do you mean?" Juvia coughed a few times before answering.
"I'm not the Juvia you love. I'm another version of her." His eyes widened.
"What?" He could tell it was really hard for her to speak- she was clearly weak and tired. Still, she kept going.
"I came from the future…with Lucy. We crossed through the eclipse gate together." Gray was speechless. This was so absurd, yet his hopeful heart wanted so hard for it to be true.
"You're…the future?" He tried to ask and she smiled.
"Yes. I came to warn myself about what would happen, but it didn't go as I hoped." Another pause as she coughed again. She was fading fast, but tried to stay strong, for him. She needed him to know that it truly wasn't over, that he still had a chance at happiness.
"I found her last night. She was lying on the ground, nearly unconscious. I assume whoever attacked her was coming after me." Juvia sounded so sincere that he didn't think much before believing her.
"Juvia was attacked?" His face changed to concerned.
"She's alright, she's safe. I took her to Porlyusica, who promised to keep an eye on her. I only took her place because I didn't want you guys to be distracted and lose the Games." Relief filled his broken heart. His Juvia was alive. She was safe.
"Where?" Gray could barely form a coherent sentence- his mind was too busy trying to take this all in.
"She's at the the castle's infirmary. Princess Hisui agreed to hide her there." He needed to go to her, needed to see with his own eyes that she was still there.
However, there was still the issue of the girl in his arms. Future version or not, she was still Juvia, so there was no way he'd just leave her there.
He needed to find a way to save her too. It was the least he could after she so willingly and bravely sacrificed herself for him.
"There's nothing you can do for me now." Juvia said, almost as if reading his thoughts.
"I have to try. You…you saved me." She smiled sadly.
"You saved me too, so many times." She tried to lift her hand once again, but found herself deprived of energy. "Please, don't be sad. All I wanted was to protect you and I managed that, so I'm happy."
"But I'm not. I'm still going to lose you, even if you're not the Juvia I know." Gray felt ashamed of how much he was sobbing.
"You're going to live a happy life with the woman you love. There's no need for tears." Those were the last words she said to him before everything went silent.
Gray stared at the lifeless body in his arms- big blue eyes were staring at him while an eternal smile was on her face.
She was right. He shouldn't cry so much when there was still a chance for happiness. Even if it hurt to watch Future Juvia die in front of him, there was no use in dwelling on that.
All it would do was bring him heartache and make him forget that the version he knew was still alive and waiting for him.
Therefore, after a few minutes of mourning, he stood up, finally eying Lyon and Meredy.
The two of them gave him sympathetic looks "I…" Gray began saying, but the other ice mage interrupted him.
"You don't have to say anything." Meredy was next to speak, giving him a small smile.
"Go after her, Gray. She's waiting for you." He nodded slowly before turning around and walking away.
He tried to keep his mind off what happened while creating a path to the palace with his magic. Upon arriving there, he ignored Lucy and Wendy's calls of his name and went straight towards the princess.
"Where is she?" Hisui stared at him in confusion until he clarified. "Juvia Lockser."
"Arcadius will take you there." She replied before giving a pointed look towards the guard by her side.
He nodded before walking away as another guard took his place. Gray followed him through a long corridor and then a set of stairs until they reached a brown door.
The guard opened it to reveal a large room with a few beds, though only one was occupied. "Gray?"
He watched her for a moment, having a hard time believing she was real. She wore a hospital gown that failed to hide the injuries on her arms and neck, but at least she was conscious.
"Juvia!" He was quick to reach her, sitting down on the bed after she moved to give him space.
"I'm so glad you're okay." Juvia threw her arms around him in a tight hug to which he eagerly replied. The couple barely noticed as the guard smiled at them before walking out and closing the door.
"Are you okay?" His worried eyes examined her, paying close attention to the bruises on her neck. They looked like burnt marks, but he couldn't be sure.
"I'm alright." She nodded, giving him a determined look.
"I thought I'd lost you." Gray admitted as the image of her dead body returned.
Her eyes widened for a moment before she she had been right to worry about her future self- she had made it clear that she'd only been there to protect Gray and keep him safe at any cost.
"So she's dead? My future self?" He nodded grimly.
"She saved me." A smile came upon her face. "She saved me too."
"I guess she wanted us to be happy." Now that the battle was over, Gray realized this was the perfect opportunity to finally go through with his plan.
"Juvia, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you for a while now." He took both her hands in his and took a deep breath.
"What is it?" She had a pretty good idea what it was as Future Juvia's words came to mind. He loves you. He may not know it yet, but he does. So, please, don't give up on him.
"I love you. I'm sorry it took so long for me to realize it, but..." She interrupted him.
"It's okay." Juvia smiled brightly. "It didn't matter how long you'd take, I would've waited forever."
"Really?" He thought it a bit extreme, but then again, that's just how she was.
"Of course. No one could replace you." Gray couldn't help but to smile as he recalled how he had told her these same words only a few minutes before.
"I guess we're more similar then I thought." He noted while carefully wrapping his arms around her.
"I guess we are." She did the same, settling her hands on his hair. "By the way, I love you too."
They laughed for a moment before leaning in for another intense kiss.
Future Juvia's sacrifice had allowed them a second chance at happiness, so they were determined to make the most of it.
So, what did you think?
Did you like my twists on this episode? Has anyone else wondered what'd happen if Lucy wasn't the only one coming from the future?
What did you think of Gruvia's relationship here? Did you like the talk between Gray and Future Juvia? What about the ending?
If anyone was curious about the kiss that happened before, I wrote that scene on my main story, Connections. It's on chapters five and six. Here's the link: s/12636805/1/Connections
See you tomorrow for the next prompt. Don't forget to leave a comment if you enjoyed this piece.