Hey everyone! I decided to post one of the fanfictions I've been working on! This story will be revolving around time traveling, and because this topic can become so complex, I tried to interpret it in my own way in order for it to fit my storyline. If there are any questions or concerns, please let me know in the comment section, and I'll be sure to explain it to you the best that I can. Anyways, I have a feeling that this story will have a lot of chapters, so stay in tune when I post them!
"'Go back in time? Stop thieves from robbing a family?' I'm not buying any of this." Gray scoffed, reading the paper he held in his hands. The paper Lucy grabbed from the mission board requested strong mages to help return a family's fortune.
The celestial mage took back the paper from his hands and read over it. "I don't know, I just thought it was pretty interesting. Time traveling to the past? That sounds cool! And look," Lucy pointed to the award. "We get 120,000 jewels for completing the mission!"
Gray raised an eyebrow at Lucy. "Sure, the price is good, but don't you know what could happen if we change the past? That could mess up how our life is now! Don't you remember the last time we time traveled?"
Lucy thought back into her memories, recollecting the time when she accidentally opened a book that sent them all back in time. That was when Natsu gave his younger self the scar on his neck, and it is the reason why he has that same scar today. If we never went back in time that day, would Natsu ever have that scar in the first place? Lucy shivered, easily creeped out by how trippy time traveling could be.
She giggled, pushing the complexity of time traveling to the back of her head. "I guess your right, Gray. We don't know what could happen if we go back in time!"
Erza and Natsu came from the bar, eager to see which requests the two mages were looking for them all to do. They noticed the paper Lucy held in her hands and decided to ask about it.
"Hey Lucy! Did you find a mission?" Natsu asked, intrigued about their job request.
"Not yet, we're still looking." Lucy replied, pinning the time traveling paper back onto the mission board.
Erza leaned over to get a good look at the flyer Lucy placed back. In dark bold words, it read:
HELP NEEDED. Dark guild thieves stole my family's fortune on July 7, x777. Go back in time to return our fortune, and you will be awarded 120,000 Jewels!
The Scarlet mage read this out loud, clearly interested in the mission's request. "This sounds like a great mission, and it also pays high. Why did you put it back?" She asked.
"Gray thinks that we shouldn't mess with time." Lucy responded, already searching for another request.
Natsu was frozen. Did he hear that right? Natsu snatched the paper from Erza and read it again, noticing the date 'July 7, x777' imprinted onto the paper.
Gray looked back at Natsu, shocked by his sudden actions. "Woah, flamebrain, What's up with you?"
Natsu, still looking down at the paper, slowly responded to Gray. "We have to do this mission. I have to go back to this date."
Lucy's eyes softened as she looked at Natsu. She forgot that was the date when Igneel disappeared. She couldn't have imagined how it must have felt to Natsu after seeing his father be mercilessly killed by Acnologia. After years of searching, the truth was that Igneel was with him the whole time, and after they finally got to meet again, Igneel died in the hands of another dragon. She knew that this pulled a heavy toll onto Natsu, but he nonetheless continued to smile and stay strong for his family. She had no idea how much pain Natsu must have been going through internally as he mourned the loss of his father.
Lucy softly spoke. "Oh yeah. July 7, x777 was the day that Igneel disappeared."
Natsu looked up at Lucy. "I was looking for Igneel since the day he left. If only I could tell my younger self where he really was, then maybe I would've lived more peacefully, knowing that Igneel was always with me." He gently curled the corner of the paper as he shifted his gaze back onto the date. This pained Lucy, she wanted to reach out to him and hug him, tell him everything was going to be okay, but Erza spoke instead.
"It's official, then. We will go on this mission!"
Gray widened his eyes as he looked at Natsu. "Natsu, I understand where you're coming from, but I don't think it's a good idea to tell your past self that. Do you know how that could change the present?"
Natsu narrowed his eyes at Gray. "Yes, I do. It will stop me from trying to look for Igneel!"
"But that might not be the only thing that could change!" Gray responded.
Lucy stepped in. "Natsu, I know you went through a lot of pain because you didn't know where Igneel was, but maybe Gray is right. Telling your past self where he is could change how things are right now."
"Fine, I won't talk to my past self. But can we at least do the mission?" Natsu asked, exchanging a pleading look with everyone.
"Of course! Everyone, we are leaving in an hour." Erza confirmed, leaving the group to get ready.
Gray knew not to mess with Erza when she comes up with a decision. But still, he couldn't understand how nonchalant everyone could be about the topic going back in time. He shook his head. Maybe I'm just overreacting. I mean, just stopping some thieves shouldn't affect anything, right?
: : :
The destination was only 40 minutes away, so everyone decided to walk (besides happy, who flew), for Natsu's sake. The team traveled down one of the many trails that were intertwined within the forest, walking towards the outskirts of Magnolia. It was a rather peaceful journey, with the comfort of close friends chatting with each other under the breeze of a Saturday morning. When they approached their destination, they found a small, simple farmhouse with a ranch in the backyard. Children were playing in the garden while an old woman sat on a rocking chair on the porch. Erza was first to confront the woman, looking around as she absorbed her surroundings. "My name is Erza Scarlet, and my team and I come from Fairy Tail. We are here to help you with the mission that you requested." The elderly gave a sincere smile as a way to welcome her guests. "Ah, I'm so glad Fairy Tail accepted our request." She stood up and gestured for them to enter the house. "Please, get comfortable. You will find my husband in the living room. I'll make some tea for you all."
Erza returned a warm smile. "We are all thankful for your hospitality."
The team walked in the small house. An open space was in the center, with two couches facing each other with a coffee table in the center. An old man was seated on one of the couches, eager to see his guests. "Do sit down! I want to thank you all for helping us retrieve our fortune back. My name is Louis Blackwood, and as you must have read, the Grim Sparrows had sent thieves to rob my family from our riches 14 years ago, which had left us with absolutely nothing. We used to live in a beautiful mansion, where my children were able to live carefree lives. I worked my whole life to achieve prosperity, just so my future generations wouldn't have to worry a thing about labor or suffering. It wasn't until that fateful night, when those thieves stole everything from me. After that, we had nothing left. After they sucked dry our mansion from all of its precious fortunes, they blew it up, leaving nothing but rubble behind. I am just glad that my family was able to escape in time, so none of us got hurt. We were lucky that this kind farmer took us in, and that is why my family is living on this ranch. But my children nonetheless have to work every day out on the fields, something I vowed to myself that I would never let happen. Please, I don't want to sound selfish, but I need for you all to go back in time so I could have my riches again. So I could provide for my family. We will pay you back as soon as we get the money back."
Louis left everyone speechless. They did not imagine the backstory to this request to be so despairing. Lucy outstretched her hands to hold the man's in hers. "I understand exactly how it feels to have your fortune taken away from you. My father was a wealthy man himself, but that all changed after he lost his business. Don't worry, we'll make sure you get every jewel back!" Lucy held a look of determination in her eyes, her chocolate brown eyes burning a desire of spirit and courage. Natsu always was fond of her passion, and it inspired him when he sees her like this. Natsu jumped up, pumping his fist into the air. "We'll get your riches back! I'm all fired up now!" Happy repeated Natsu's movements, punching his paw upwards. "Aye, sir!"
Louis chuckled, then picked up a book that was on the coffee table. "Alright!" This book had a four clover leaf on the cover, with the words Memory Days: Volume II imprinted on it.
Erza leaned forward, recognizing the cover on the book. "Memory days…" she read, "wasn't that the book that sent us to the past last time?"
Gray looked at the cover as well, noticing how it did resemble the one they found in the library that took them back in time. "You're right! But the one we used wasn't volume II… Is that the book that's going let us time travel?
The old man nodded, running his fingers along the edge of the book. "Yes, there are only a few in the world, and this one seemed to be one of the only books that survived the explosions. I believe this book might be a newer model than what you've seen before. You see, every page is a different day in history, and each page has two columns of hours written on them; one column for the morning hours and one column for the afternoon hours. So, instead of you simply thinking of the memory, this book was made to read the exact date and time from its pages, and then it will lead you there."
"Sir, since you have the opportunity to go back in time, then why did you wait until now to go save your fortune?" Lucy asked, analyzing the book from where she sat.
"Well, yes, I have thought about countless of ways on returning my fortune, but it wasn't until recently when I found this book lying in the rubble of my burnt mansion. That reignited my hope, and that was when I decided to call for strong mages to help go back in time for me to stop those robbers." Louis responded, exchanging a look at each of his heroes with big, warm brown eyes.
His wife scurried into the room holding a tray with teacups and a teapot. She passed a cup to everyone and filled their cups with tea. "Now, now, Louis. You mustn't bore these kids with all of your rambling."
Erza waved a hand to dismiss the lady's concern. "No worries, Mrs. Blackwood. He is simply telling us all the information we need to know for this mission." She sipped a cup of her tea. "Now, Mr. Blackwood, are you ready to send us back in time?"
Louis flipped to the correct page, the date July 7, x777 printed in bold in the top center. He ran his finger through the afternoon column until he reached 7 o'clock pm. "Of course! The bombs were set off at a quarter to eight, so I'll get you there around 7. Oh, and since I will be reading this spell out loud, I will go with you all to the past as well. This is so once we return, I will still have a memory of this request I gave you, and so you will all be awarded."
"Alright dear, I will step out of the room; I don't want to time travel as well! Oh! The predicament that would be!" She chuckled, before scurrying out of the room. "And good look to you all, Fairy Tail!"
Louis chuckled at his wife's joke before saying, "Don't worry, Ida, we will be going to the mansion to do this.
"We are going to the mansion?" Lucy questioned.
"Yes, it is not too far from here. It will make things easier once we travel back in time. Now, if you follow me." Louis closed the book, stood up, and waddled to the door. He was a slender short man with gray hair and brown eyes. He could fit the description of an average grandfather who goes fishing with his grandchildren. The team quickly stood up, following in pursuit as he led the way.
Louis walked into the forest, following a dirt path that ran along the outskirts of Magnolia. Trailing not too far from him, Gray put his hand on his chin, contemplating on dark guild's name. "Mr. Blackwood, you said these dark mages are from Dark Sparrow, correct?"
Louis nodded, eager to hear that Gray was aware of this guild. "Yes, do you happen to know them?"
"Yeah, I remember going on a mission that related to them stealing stuff. They're a pretty weak guild, so I'm sure we will defeat them without a problem."
Louis embraced a sweet smile. "Thanks for reassuring me, young one, you and your teammates are very kind."
About 15 minutes later, they reached the end of the forest. What used to look like a garden was now patches of soil covered in soot and ash. It stretched for half an acre, reaching the wooden frame of a mansion, it's broken beams charred into black weakened structures. The windows were shattered and the building itself looked like it would crumble at any moment, making it seem as if the wind was strong enough, it would carry the fragile mansion away.
The team looked at the abandoned mansion in awe, taking in the rough features it has been through.
Lucy covered her mouth, gaping at the atrocity before her. "This… looks horrible!
Natsu clenched his fists and lit one on fire. "Whoever did this, I will burn them to ashes!"
Gray shot an angered glare towards Natsu. "You better not burn down the mansion before we have a chance to save it, you dimwit!"
Erza grabbed both of their heads and collided them together, causing groans from both of the mages and bumps to form. "We're ready." She said, looking at Louis while the boys rubbed their heads, sliding insults to each other.
Louis pulled out the book again and flipped to the right page. He put on his reading glasses and cleared his throat. "Alright now, everyone hold hands. We'll need to be connected with each other if we all want to travel together." After everyone interlocked arms, he proceeded, reading the date and time off the book. "July 7, x777, 7:00pm. Did I say that right?"
A warm glow grew from the book, intensifying as it became brighter and bigger. Lucy shielded her eyes while Erza diligently waited. Natsu, Happy, and Gray watched in awe, admiring the light that danced across the air and around their bodies. Slowly, the light completely consumed their vision, and all they could see was a blanket of white.