FULL DISCLOSURE:
THIS IS A SEQUEL TO EMPRESS OF ALVAREZ. If you haven't read that first, there are spoilers and a lot of concepts that you won't fully understand without being familiar with it.
In case you guys are new to my work, I go to school for Film Scoring, and as such, in many of my longer and more intricate stories, I list soundtracks at the beginning of each chapter and a corresponding scene that they go with. While it's not necessary, I strongly recommend that you look up and listen to them while reading, to give more of an emotional feel to that scene. This story in particular will use My Hero Academia and Fire Emblem soundtracks rather frequently.
I don't expect this to be close to as long as Empress. I'm predicting about 12 chapters or so. Without further ado, enjoy!
Songs
Fighting and Time Travel: APETITAN (Attack on Titan OST)
Nightmares: Yonaka ni Kiku to Kowai (My Hero Academia OST)
The Guild: Sea Winds and Travelers (Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia OST)
Exploring Magnolia: Rinkan Gasshuku (My Hero Academia OST)
Attack in the City: Villain Invasion (My Hero Academia OST)
Future Gray: Endeavor no Chikara (My Hero Academia OST)
Future Gray vs. Fairy Tail: Honki de Tatakitsubusu Shozon (My Hero Academia OST)
Storm and Nashi Arrive: Tori ni Iku (My Hero Academia OST)
Storm and Nashi vs. Future Gray: Koutekishu to Kaite "Tomo" to Yomu (My Hero Academia OST)
Nova Arrives: Mecha Meke Meke (My Hero Academia OST)
Nova vs. Future Gray: Sanmiittai (My Hero Academia OST)
Lightning Soul Nova vs. Future Gray: Jet Set Run (My Hero Academia OST)
Post-Battle Collapse: Heiwa no Shouchou no Kyuusoku (My Hero Academia OST)
Who they really are: Childhood Memories (Naruto OST)
Re-Introductions: Main Theme 2016 (Fairy Tail OST)
X814
"How much longer?! We're running out of magic power!"
"We just have to wait until Nova pushes them back far enough so she can help us!"
"Nova's not as strong as her! Do you really think she'll be able to do that!"
"You don't know how strong she can really be, Reiki. Don't worry, she'll do it."
Above them, flashes of lightning streamed across the night sky, so fast that no one could see what it really was. There continued to be collisions across the sky, until finally a blonde-haired girl was sent falling towards the ground, recovering by using her magic. The other force sped down and landed across from her.
"Hrghh…"
"What part of this seemed like a good idea to you? You know that you're no match for me."
"You clearly haven't been paying very much attention, have you? Why do you think I'm the only one fighting you?"
"Because you have a personal vendetta against me and you're merely buying time for your friends to use a time travel spell." Nova gritted her teeth.
"Clearly I'm correct by your reaction. You're trying to do what I did to get help. But they can't use the spell without your magic power. And they won't be getting it anytime soon. I'll beat you so senseless that you can't even move, and then kill all of your friends right in front of you."
"You monster...Rin and Sylvia are only ten years old. Would you really kill children for your own satisfaction?" She growled.
"Of course I would. The thought of it excites me. I can't wait to lick the blood off their corpses." Her opponent cackled.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" She gathered electricity in her mouth and fired a beam at her, rushing off to the others behind the guild.
"Nova! What happened?!"
"There's no time! We have to go now!" Nova added her own magic power to their circle, and finally a pillar of blue light engulfed them, and they soon after disappeared. Everything became quiet once they were gone.
Another figure jumped down to where their enemy got hit.
"Now what do we do?"
"They went back in time. We'll follow them, there's nothing else for us here."
"Are you sure that's wise? We don't want to mess up the past and change the future, right?"
"Are you questioning my orders, Erza?" The intimidating figure grasped her throat and began choking her not even a second later.
"N-No…." she whimpered.
"Good. You'd do well to remember what I've already done before wondering if I'm in the right." She was dropped, and Erza began coughing, glancing up at her superior.
"But first, let's grab a few things." They grinned evilly, heading back towards the city.
X
Her home in flames. Corpses littered across the guild. Her friends, her family, fighting against her. And one person standing over the rest of them.
"Come now, Nova. Come join us."
"I will never join you, trash!" Nova was swiftly beaten by her enemy, sent flying through the guild, surrounded by the burning fire. "They" Walked through the entrance, not minding the blaze at all.
"I don't see why you're still resisting. Everyone that you care about is already on our side. Why fight against all of us on your own?" They bent down and held her face in their hands.
"It doesn't matter to me how many people you have with you. I will never join you, you inhuman filth! I won't stop until you suffer in the ninth circle of Tartarus for what you've done!" Not a moment later, she was slammed into the wall and choked, feeling her consciousness fading. The last thing she saw was that malevolent smile and that look of madness and disdain in their eye.
"I'm really getting sick of that rude mouth of yours. Is that any way to talk to your-?"
"GHHHH-!" Nova flung herself awake, sitting up immediately. Trying to regain control of her breathing, she kept telling herself that it was a night terror, not a memory. The situation hadn't escalated that much yet….Yet. Why did she have to use that word?
Finally calming down, she fell back against the bed and laid her head on the pillows. Wait, bed? Pillows? Where was she? What happened? She looked around, seeing a window to her left with the curtains closed and an armchair next to the bed. Over on the wall, her coat was hanging up, with her shoes below, neatly lined up on the floor. To the right were other beds, filled with familiar faces.
"Guys? Hey, guys. Wake up." She called softly, the others slowly coming to.
"Mmm...Nova, what happened?" Nashi asked.
"I don't know. I don't remember anything past that light."
"Me neither."
"Hey, you guys are finally awake!" A voice called out, opening the door. A beautiful young woman with long blue hair walked in, the others' eyes widening.
"How are you feeling?" They all looked over to Nova for guidance.
"A little sore, I guess, but fine otherwise." Her eyes softened a bit. "If you don't mind, could you tell us where we are?"
"Oh, of course! This is Fairy Tail, the mages guild! My name is Juvia. Juvia Lockser! If you guys are really feeling up to it, come downstairs and meet everyone else. We'll tell you what happened and get you fed too."
"Thank you, Juvia. We'll be right down." She smiled and nodded at them, closing the door again. The kids sat in silence before Sylvia spoke up.
"Mommy's so pretty!"
"Sylvia, keep it down!" Nova hushed her. "Didn't you notice how much younger she looked? Clearly Nyx's time travel spell worked. We're in the past. And she also used her maiden name, meaning that she hasn't married your dad yet. We don't even know if they're engaged yet, or even dating. We can't let them know who we are, or we'll risk changing the past!"
"Changing it how?" Nashi asked.
"Haven't you ever seen any sci-fi movies? If we tell our parents who we are before we're even born, we risk them not falling in love and getting married, and then we cease to exist! We can't let that happen, it would also erase our own timeline. So for the time being, don't reveal your last name to any of them, and don't ask any stupidly obvious questions like 'What year is it?' We'll find out on our own."
"Hey, where'd Storm go?" Rin asked, causing them to realize that a blank space now occupied where he previously was. Nova dashed out of the room and saw him down the hall, speaking to Juvia again.
"What year is it?"
'That little dumbass!'
"Huh? It's X793. Did you guys really get hurt so bad that you can't remember the year?" She asked, pressing her hand to his forehead.
"Ah, yeah. It's all coming back to me now though. Thanks." He nodded at her and jogged back into the infirmary. Nova grabbed him by his collar and brought him back inside.
"What did I just say?!"
"To not use our last names or we risk our existence, yeah, yeah."
"I also said to not ask any stupid questions that would give us away. Like that one!"
"Hey, she took it well, though. She thought we hit our heads is all."
"Well, don't do anything else like that. We want to be cautious for a while. Remember, we still don't know if your mom is dating your dad yet."
"She said X793, right? They should be. They got together shortly after Olympus, remember?"
"Ah, that means my parents are already together, too! And maybe even engaged!" Nashi cheered.
"Mine too…" Nova murmured. "I guess we should get downstairs to see the others." She walked over to the wall and grabbed her coat, slinging it over her shoulders. Heading downstairs, they saw the guild full of other members, and all of their parents sitting with each other. Nova briefly locked eyes with her mother before looking away quickly.
"Ah, there you all are!" Mira said cheerfully, the others going and sitting at a table together. Nova stood nearby, leaning against the stairwell.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better, I guess." She began to scan her eyes around the room, first focusing on their hands. She spotted her mother's engagement ring, a black titanium band with a large purple diamond and a circle of white sapphires around it, already resting on her finger. Nova sighed in relief. She glanced over at the others, also seeing rings on all of the other couples as well: Kinana's ring, a gold band with two heart shaped gemstones facing opposite ways on top, one an emerald and the other a garnet, separated by three small white diamonds, also adorned her finger.
Natsu also had his own ring, a gold band with a large ruby and a circle of diamonds around it on his. Nova almost forgot, Lucy was the one who proposed to him.
Juvia's, Levy's, and Erza's rings were also on their own fingers. I guess they didn't have to worry so much about their parents falling out of love.
The next thing she focused on was their outfits and appearances. Most of them looked to be around 19 or 20, about their age, maybe a tad bit older. Most of them still wore their regular outfits back from when they fought against Alvarez. The only two exceptions seemed to be Natsu and Mirajane.
Natsu, following Olympus, had chosen to remain with his outfit while there: black pants, a black shirt, and a red and gold flame patterned jacket. He had stopped wearing his scarf.
Mira wore the outfit that Hemera gave her following her training: black boots, orange leggings, an orange corset, a long black coat, and a royal blue side cape draped over her left shoulder. She also no longer had a front ponytail, leaving her hair down, and growing her bangs out again.
'I haven't seen her wear that outfit in a long time...Wow...I forgot how beautiful she is…' Nova had a faint shade of pink on her cheeks as Mira smiled at her.
"So...would you mind telling us a little bit about yourselves? Like who you are and where you're from? How you got here?" Lucy asked.
"Well...I'm afraid we can't tell you where we're from or how we got here. It's not really something I feel comfortable telling you. As for who we are, my name is Nova."
"Storm."
"Gale."
"Nashi!"
"Reiki!"
"Ryu."
"Rosemary!"
"Sylvia!"
"Rin!" The others introduced themselves, and the Fairy Tail members got a chance to see what they looked like.
Nova wore black leggings and black boots, a light green sleeveless blouse, and a brown coat with a fur collar over her shoulders, seemingly keeping her warm. She looked about 18 years old, and had long blonde hair, with half of it tucked behind her ear and the other half hanging over her face, covering up her left eye. Her eyes were a bright blue. In terms of body physique, she was already quite mature, having assets comparable to her mother.
Storm, similar to his older friend, had a somewhat serious demeanor to him. He wore black shoes, dark blue pants, a black shirt, and a dark blue coat with a white fur collar. He looked to be 17, and had spiky, dark blue hair. His eyes were a cobalt blue.
Gale didn't seem to have a serious demeanor to him as much as an indifferent one. He seemed to often seem aloof. He had spiky green hair and a few piercings on one of his eyebrows, as well has having red eyes, a strange natural color. He wore black pants along with a spiked belt, and had a black undershirt with a green jacket and a necklace hung around his neck. He, like Storm, was 17.
The next one, Nashi, seemed to be have a more happy vibe to her. She had long pink hair and chocolate brown eyes. She wore pink shoes, tall white socks, a short bright pink skirt, and a black tank top. Nashi, even though she was only sixteen, already had assets that were quite large for her age, seemingly having her family's hourglass figure.
Reiki, the fifth, had medium length light red hair, though still noticeably darker than pink. He wore black shoes, gray pants, a gray tank top, and a green sweatshirt that he left unzipped. He was also about 16.
The next one was Ryu, who was a few years younger than the rest. He had spiky blonde hair, and wore black pants, a red shirt with a black jacket. He looked to be 13.
After him was Rosemary, who wore black leggings, a green blouse, and a blue jacket. Her scarlet hair was kept braided into a ponytail that reached a little beyond her shoulders. She was about 11 or so.
Finally were the twins. Sylvia, the older of the two, had light blue wavy hair, and wore black pants and an orange sweater. She kept her hair in pigtails and had a yellow flower hairpin on her left side.
Rin, the youngest of all of them, had medium length light blue hair, but unlike his brother, it was not spiked, and in fact remained down. He wore tan shorts, and a simple green t-shirt. Both he and his sister were 10.
"It's nice to meet you all."
"Likewise. Oh, I meant to ask. Was there a purple-haired girl with us, a little older than myself?"
"Ah, yeah. The hot one." Gray chuckled, earning a scowl from Juvia and a few laughs from the guys.
"Yeah, her. Her name's Fushigi."
"Yeah, she was the one who brought you in last night." Mira explained. "I was about to lock up when she came in with all of you, unconscious. She insisted that I take care of you, and then went off on her own."
"Did she say where she was going?"
"No, she didn't mention it. She seemed a bit in a hurry, too."
"Hmm…Well, she'll be fine. She's strong."
"Alright, good. I'll tell you what, why don't we go out for a bit?" she suggested.
"Huh? Go out for what?"
"Well, you may not want to tell us just yet, but I can tell that whatever happened to you has you shaken up."
"H-How can you tell?" Nova muttered, surprised.
"Your heartbeat's off."
"You can hear my heartbeat? How?"
"I have a few different special abilities. In any case, it seems that I'm right, so why don't we take your mind off of everything by doing some shopping?"
"...W-Well, alright. I guess it can't hurt." She looked down. Mira tilted her head to the side curiously. It would take more than she thought to cheer this girl up.
X
Mira brought Nova, Storm and Nashi with her. The others decided to stay at the guild, and Nova hoped that they would take her advice and keep their situation quiet, especially their identities. While MIra and Nashi were in the changing rooms trying on a few new outfits, Storm hung back to talk with Nova.
"I wanted you to tell me why it is that we're not telling them anything other than our names. I thought the entire point of coming here was to get help against them!"
"You should already know why, Storm. Because we're in the past, and I'm being cautious. I don't want to change the future in any way that affects us."
"That's all good and fine, but we could at least let them know our situation."
"No, we can't. Have you forgotten, Storm?! All of our members, OUR members, are on her side because their souls were removed and they have to obey her! What would they say if we told them that we were running from their future selves and that they have to fight them?"
"I don't know that they'd find that believable…"
"Exactly...in this time, it's only been a year since they defeated Isabella. And while they fought both against and alongside mages that were even hundreds of years old, I think the future is a bit more farfetched. Zeref, Mavis, Grandpa Yury, Victoria, Isabella...they all had some form of immortality. We, however, haven't even been born yet. I suppose it's not completely unbelievable, though. Did you notice that they all had engagement rings already?"
"Yeah...So then, when do you plan on telling them?"
"I don't know...I wish Fushigi were here to help…"
"Hey, we don't need her every time."
"It feels like we do...she's like our big sister, she leads all of us. I can't hope to match up to her…"
"You're both Dragon Slayers."
"She's more proficient with it. She's stronger, prettier, smarter...Face it Storm, she's just plain better than me." The two remained in silence afterwards, as Mira and Nashi came out.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine...are you all set?" Nova sighed, once again avoiding Mira's gaze.
"Yes. Let's get going, I suppose." They began to walk towards the exit, and Mira glanced back at Nova inconspicuously.
'Poor girl...what's happened to her? And...she seems to be distant from me in particular...what did I do?'
X
"Ah, this brings me back. This year...X793, I'm guessing?"
"Indeed. You know what I want you to do."
"You got it. Time to wreak some havoc."
X
Things seemed to be normal as soon as Mira left the store until they heard screaming and saw a fair amount of people running.
"What's happening?!" Mira yelled, the others going on guard immediately. They turned their heads as soon as they saw a building crashing. Storm's eyes widened as the structure became encased in ice.
'Damn it...they followed us here! They can travel through time too?!' Nova bit her lip.
"Stay here!" She jumped off towards the commotion, ignoring the others calling out to her. She arrived at the top of the building adjacent to the icy one, looking down to see if she could find the perpetrator. She did find a shadowy figure, seemingly wearing a hooded cloak. The individual noticed her and began to run off, and Nova followed.
"Oh, Mirajane!" Mira turned around to see a civilian nearby, panicked. "The man who did this, he was heading towards Fairy Tail next!"
"Thank you! We'll go there right now!" She began to run, Storm stopping.
"What about Nova?!"
"She'll be fine! You said that she's strong, right? I trust that she'll be okay! Now come on! We have no time to waste!" Nashi pulled Storm along with her, following Mira back towards the guild.
X
"Hey, is it suddenly getting colder around here?" Lucy shivered.
"I don't feel anything." Gray said.
"That's because you're used to the cold, ice boy." Natsu stood up, channeling heat through his body to keep himself warm. The front doors suddenly flung open, an icy wind blowing through, causing many of the other members to huddle up, their body temperatures quickly dropping. Natsu walked out front, noticing that some of the grass had begun to freeze over. Standing opposite him was a mage, surrounded in the cold wind.
"Gray…?"
X
Nova continued to follow her target into the forest, finally landing in a clearing.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I'm just doing my job." She couldn't recognize the voice, they were using some kind of sound magic to make their tone deeper and ominous.
"And your job is to destroy our city and instill fear in the populace?"
"Precisely. I serve The Conqueror." Nova's eyes twitched angrily. She ran up to him and punched him, only succeeding in knocking the cloak into the wind, no body visible underneath.
"I was here to distract you. Your real opponent should be attacking your guild right now. By the time you get there, even as fast as you are, they'll be dead, or at the very least, in serious peril. So long, Nova Dreyar."
"Damn you….." She growled, channeling lightning through her entire body, her eyes turning yellow with rage. Wasting no more time, she pivoted on her heel and rushed back towards the guild.
X
"Gray…?" Natsu asked quietly, the strange man resembling his teammate. He wore black pants, a black shirt, and a white coat, and had spiky blue hair as well as a bit of stubble on his chin. He certainly looked older than their version, by about 20 years, actually.
"Natsu. I was right, this is the year X793, from the looks of it. Tell me, where's Layla and my father?"
"Who are you really?" Before Natsu even realized what was happening, he was pinned to the ground and an icicle spear was being pointed at his throat.
"I'll ask again. Where are Layla and my father?" Natsu gulped, a band of sweat creeping down the side of his face. If this guy really was Gray, he was way stronger than he is now...and a lot faster.
"...They're not here right now…"
"Good. That's all I need to know." He grinned before retracting the spear back and beginning to thrust it forward. However, he was stopped, feeling something holding his arm. He glanced behind him to find Taurus there, holding his arm. He looked back in front of him, seeing Lucy holding her key out in front of her, having the kids stand behind the others for safety.
"Hehe...this isn't really a fight you want to get yourselves into. You should just let me do my thing and then I can go." He laughed, surprising the spirit by throwing his arm back, hitting the blunt side of the icicle into the minotaur's head, knocking him back. Gray swiftly jumped up and kicked him away, then hurled the spear at him, piercing his body.
"Taurus! Force Gate Closure!" Lucy quickly sent him back to his realm, not wanting him to get hurt any more than he already was.
"Ice Make: Snow Tiger." Future Gray used a Dynamic Ice Make spell to create a living ice tiger that prevented the others from getting to him. He smirked, quickly freezing the ground, causing the others' feet to be encased in ice, preventing them from going anywhere.
"And now to finish what I started." He walked forward, forming an ice sword and holding it at Natsu's throat. He glanced over at the kids, in the back of the guild.
"I guess this is the end for Nashi, huh?" he asked.
"Not really!" A female voice called out. He whirled around, seeing the pink-haired girl jump down and run past him.
"Oh no you don't!" He turned and prepared to freeze her as well until Storm grabbed him by his collar and tossed him away, landing opposite of him. The tiger turned to Nashi, who narrowed her eyes at it.
"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" Nashi gathered fire into both of her hands and unleashed it in a spiral, melting the tiger. She jumped up and punched the head, shattering the rest of it. Landing on the ground, she transferred heat to her feet, spreading it throughout the ground and thawing out everyone who was frozen. However, they still fell onto the ground, not being able to walk just yet. Mira jumped down and began to heal them, but still advised them to stay back.
"How...you're a Fire Dragon Slayer?" Natsu asked.
"Yes. Stay here, all of you." She ran back to face Future Gray alongside Storm.
"Having fun?" Storm asked emotionlessly towards his father.
"And? What if I am? As I recall, you always went around picking fights too."
"That's different. As I recall, you were the same way when you were my age." he grinned, gathering up his own ice powers into his hands. His hair slowly began to turn white in color.
"Why don't you show us what you really look like?"
"...Very well." Gray's body began to be covered in a thick milky white and hazy blue magic aura, shading his skin as well as his clothing.
"Yes, it's as I thought. You still don't have your soul back yet." Storm claimed, the others becoming bewildered at this revelation.
"I don't need it anymore. I'm stronger this way!"
"You're also a bloodthirsty maniac."
"Enough. You won't be saying that about me when I'm through with you." Gray's devil slayer marks began to form across his body.
"Ice Make: Lance!" Storm made a flurry of lances that flew towards Gray.
"Ice Devil's Rage!" Gray gathered energy in his mouth, firing a blast of purple ice that destroyed the weapons before they reached him.
'Damn...I can't match up to his Devil Slaying Magic…'
"Ice Make: Cold Excalibur!" Storm formed a massive two-handed longsword out of ice and slashed towards Future Gray.
"Ice Devil's Zeroth Long Sword!" He formed a purple ice sword and connected with Storm's attack, the larger surprisingly being cracked and shattered.
"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow!" He quickly switched weapons and fired an arrow towards the now white haired ice mage, who smiled.
"Water Body." The arrow went through him and hit the wall of the guild, but Storm's body had a hole in it, where a bit of water was dripping from his stomach.
"Alright, fine. Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Fist." Gray formed his ice gauntlets and started punching furiously, more of Storm's body just exploding and water remaining.
'That's my spell...could he be…?' Juvia thought to herself. Gray finished by punching him through the head, his whole form now gone, but quickly reforming.
"Behind you." He grinned, prompting Gray to glance over his shoulder, Nashi channeling a golden light.
"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...All the stars, far and wide...Show me thy appearance...With such shine."
'Impossible...that spell is…!' Lucy's eyes widened, watching the pink haired girl perform her strongest technique.
"Oh Tetrabiblos...I am the ruler of the stars...Aspect become complete...Open thy malevolent gate...Oh 88 stars of the heavens! Shine! Urano Metria!" The golden energy was focused into a huge blast as Nashi directed it at their opponent.
"There...I hope that did something…" She panted, falling over. As the light faded, Gray stood there completely unaffected.
"Funny thing about Anti-Matter Magic...it rejects everything. Even a spell like that cannot harm me. Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow." Gray once again formed a bow and shot Storm, though this time his body was not water.
"Ghhrk!"
"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Fist!" He ran up and punched him multiple times, knocking him to the ground.
"And now for the finishing blow!" He raised his fist, ready to defeat him.
"Hey. What do you think you're doing to my friends?" Gray looked up before getting kicked away, Nova facing him now, lightning channeling throughout her body.
"Nova…" Storm muttered, looking up at her.
"Don't talk. We'll get you fixed up soon. For now, let me deal with him. Sorry, but I'm going to have to get rough." She didn't wait for an answer, and stepped forward.
"So, it's your turn now, is it? Finally, a real challenge!" She ignored him and grabbed her coat, throwing it off of herself.
"Lightning Body." She wasted no time, generating so much electricity that her very appearance changed. She jumped towards him, faster than he could react to, and got punched and knocked across the field.
"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Fists!" Future Gray formed his gauntlets again and ran towards her, punching, but being unable to land a blow as she was too fast, and sped around to his back, kicking him down. He jumped back up and froze the ground, Nova jumping up to avoid contact, then kicking Gray in the side of the head, causing him to fall back onto the ground. She backed up, and held her hand out, her magic power seemingly changing.
"Darkness Stream!"
'That's mine!' Mira thought, looking at the girl. The dark arms lunged towards the ice mage, who desperately dodged them.
"Ice Devil's Rage!" He wiped out her spell with his attacks, and she once again used lightning magic to rush at him, as he reformed his gauntlets and they matched each other blow for blow. However, Nova was getting hurt more, and was sent flying back.
"You want to know the difference between us? It's our ages. You're only 18, a girl. You're smaller and younger than me, you can't land blows as powerful."
'That may be true, but something's still off about him…Even those blows that connected didn't seem to faze him. I think that Anti-Matter magic is somehow making him more durable as well, or perhaps a form of shock absorption? Either way, I need to step things up if I want to win.' She looked up, thinking back to her training.
X811
"Huh? Magic Inheritance?" The kids asked. Fushigi, Nova, Storm, Reiki and Nashi all sat outside, in a semicircle in front of Vera, who was now 33 years old.
"Right. Master wants me to train you starting today, and I want to focus on what's called Magic Inheritance. Basically, it's a fusion of two inherited magics to make one super-powered one."
"But what's an inherited magic? Can you give us an example?" Fushigi asked.
"Alright, sure. Take myself. My mom taught me Heavenly Body Magic, and my dad taught me Ankhseram Magic. When I combine those two together, I can use Black Heavenly Body Magic, which has the speed and technique of the former, as well as the deadliness of the latter. I can then even combine it with my Dragon Force, unleashing my full power."
"So it's the fusion of magic that we learned from our parents…" Nova murmured.
"Right. And, in a few of your cases, this works out rather well. You see, you're what we refer to as Fourth Generation Dragon Slayers. It's a term that your Grandpa Yury recently came up with. A First Generation Slayer is one who was taught by a dragon. A Second Generation Slayer is one who had a lacrima implanted within them. And a Third Generation Slayer is one who was taught by a dragon, as well as has a lacrima within them. A Fourth Generation Slayer is one who inherited the power from one of their parents."
"So, our dads?" They asked simultaneously.
"Precisely. Dragon Slayers have never had any children before. Well, I mean, Aunt Irene did, but that's sort of a special case. Laxus, Natsu, and Erik are essentially the first dragon slayers in history to mate and have children naturally. We had no idea that when a child is born from that union, they automatically have that type of magic within them, without a lacrima, or prior training from a dragon. True, they need to learn how to use it themselves, but the point is that the magic is genetic, and therefore already inside you, whereas I had to have a lacrima implanted in me to be able to use it at all."
"So it's useful in fusion?"
"Yes. Slayer Magics are very compatible with other types. Hmm...let me think. Fushigi, your mother taught you eye magic and snake magic, and your father gave you Poison Dragon Slaying Magic. So, somehow you could fuse them to make yourself have the abilities of a snake while using Dragon Slaying Spells." Fushigi looked at herself, trying to think of how to use both.
"Storm, your father taught you Ice Magic, and your mother taught you Water Magic. That one's a no-brainer."
"But Ice mixed with water just makes more ice! It freezes!"
"So find a way to make it not freeze. Reiki, your mother gave you Requip Magic, and your father Heavenly Body Magic. Perhaps you could make a new armor?" She suggested, winking at him and making him light up.
"Nashi, Fire Dragon Slaying Magic and Celestial Spirit Magic...that's a tough one. I'm not sure how to use even light and fire together...Golden Fire, maybe?"
"That already sounds cool!" She jumped up and down, cheering.
"And, lastly, Nova. Lightning and Take Over...that's an even harder combination to do."
"Actually, I think I have an idea...I just have to practice and make it work."
"I see. I look forward to witnessing it."
"Take Over: Lightning Soul!" Instead of emitting electricity off of her body like before, this time it seemed to come from within her. Nova's eyes glowed yellow, and her body seemed to be tingling with power. She dashed towards him at blinding speed, her power sparking along the ground. Gray's eyes widened, holding up his gauntlets to defend himself, but failing as she punched right through them, shattering the weapons.
'What…?! What is this power?! She never used this before!'
Nova followed up with a powerful punch straight into his stomach, sending him flying back and coughing up blood. She didn't let up and went after him again, delivering a series of blows and finishing with an upwards kick to his chin. He slowly recovered and used Ice Devil's Rage again.
Nova narrowed her eyes and increased her electric output, changing the lightning's color to purple.
'This is for you, Dad.' Now even faster, she easily barreled through Gray's attack and grabbed his throat, crushing him into a nearby tree. He kicked her away and formed his bow again, firing multiple shots at her, all of which she dodged.
"I've had enough of you! Let's see if your new power can handle this!" She clenched her hand into a fist and channeled purple lightning through it. Gray abandoned his regular magic and used anti-matter, preparing to clash with her.
"Lightning Dragon's…" she snarled.
'Nova…? She's…?' Mira and Laxus asked themselves.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"IRON FIST!" Their fists connected, tearing up the land. However, Nova ultimately overpowered him, and sent him flying back through the forest, blowing through numerous trees and hitting a large one rather forcefully, knocking him unconscious. After a few moments, the anti-matter magic left his body, restoring his normal appearance.
Nova was gasping for air, drained of her stamina. Her powers left her as well, and she fell forward, blacking out.
X
"What's this I heard about an attack?" Layla asked, arriving back at the guild along with Silver.
"Where were you?!" they all asked angrily.
"We were at a meeting for the Wizard Saints. Who did this?"
"This might be hard to believe, but…" They led her through to the infirmary, where Future Gray was lying, getting treated.
"He did this?" Silver examined, stepping forward.
"Yeah...weird, huh?"
"And who stopped him?" he asked, after a few moments.
"Through here. We gave them the Master's Quarters this time." Mira explained, opening the adjacent door. The queen sized bed was full with kids. Storm and Gale were asleep in the armchairs on the sides, but the rest were sleeping with Nova. She laid in the middle, as Nashi and Reiki slept on either side of her, Ryu across the edge, and the twins lying against her chest. Layla stepped in quietly, looking at all of them. The others stood by the door, smiling at the heartwarming sight. She walked out and closed the door, not wanting to disrupt their rest. Having the rest of the guild follow her back down to the main floor, she went behind the bar and poured herself a glass of wine.
"They're your kids from the future." She said, taking a sip. The others took a few moments to process this before shouting out, baffled.
"Wh-What do you mean?! How can you be sure?! And never mind, how is that possible?!" Lucy yelled.
"You didn't realize? I thought it was rather obvious once I saw them. They all look like you. As for how it's possible...just look in the other room at who did this. It's clearly an older version of Gray, so I assume some kind of time travelling magic was used to come back here. As for why he did this, and why they're here, we don't know yet. I guess we'll just have to ask them when they wake up."
"Our...kids…?" Mira asked again, blushing. She looked at the others, Lucy the same as her, and Erza and Juvia melted into a puddle on the floor, clearly embarrassed by the mere idea of having sex with their boyfriends.
"So...how are they doing?" Kinana asked, changing the subject.
"The kids are fine, just exhausted. I can't blame them, I'm guessing coming here took a toll on all of them. As for Future Gray, as we'll call him, he's pretty beaten up. I don't think he'll be awake for at least another day or two. For now, all we can do is wait until the children wake up and tell us what's going on."
X
Nova awoke a few hours later, feeling restricted, not being able to move at all. She glanced around her, finding all of her friends by her side.
"Ugh...guys, come on, wake up so I can move." she whined. They slowly awoke and sat up, stretching.
"Nova, how did you do that?!" Sylvia tackled her, pushing her back against the bed.
"Do what?" She asked, returning the embrace.
"Magic Inheritance. What else?" Storm asked, standing up.
"I've...been practicing in secret for a while now. I haven't really been able to sleep well in a long time, so when you guys go to bed, I sneak off and train."
"And you didn't bother to tell us?" Nashi pouted.
"...I was saving it as an ace to use against her." she sighed. They all remained silent.
"...Come on. Let's go." She grabbed her coat and draped it over herself, not bothering to put her arms through the sleeves. They walked downstairs slowly, greeted by the smiling faces of the guild members. They all sat down at an empty table.
"...What?" Nova asked after a minute of silence and staring.
"...You know, they really do look like us…" Erza commented. Nova's eyes narrowed.
"You guys...are our children? From the future?" Natsu asked suddenly. Nova stood up, knocking her chair over.
"Who told you that?" she asked, seemingly unstable. Her voice had a slight tremble in it.
"I did." They all looked up, Layla walking out of a room on the second floor, leaning over the railing, looking down at them.
"Grammy!" Nashi cheered happily, running up the stairs and throwing her arms around her waist. Layla smiled at the girl before looking back down.
"Nashi…" Nova groaned.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I got too excited…" she giggled sheepishly.
"So it is true." Layla locked eyes with Nova.
"...Yes, it's true. How did you figure it out?"
"If it were just your group, it might have been a bit more difficult, but your version of Gray is getting healed up in the infirmary, so it was pretty obvious from that what was really going on. At least it was to me. Who knows what the rest of you ding dongs were thinking?" Nashi giggled, hugging her tighter, as Layla patted her head and returned the embrace.
"So then...why don't you all reintroduce yourselves? For real this time?" Nashi disconnected herself and leaned over the railing, grinning.
"Nashi Dragneel!" Natsu and Lucy's jaws dropped to the ground as the rest of the guild either laughed, pointed, or cheered at the two.
"Alright...Storm Fullbuster." He closed his eyes, Gray yelling and Juvia once again practically passing out.
"Gale Redfox." Gale introduced himself as well, both Gajeel and Levy having similar reactions to the previous two.
"Reiki Fernandes." He smiled at Erza, whose face turned the same color as her hair.
"Ryuu Dragneel." The blonde haired boy was next, and while this did little to affect Natsu anymore, Lucy was even more embarrassed.
'Not just one...but two?' She asked herself.
"Rosemary Fernandes!" Reiki's little sister smiled happily at Erza, who this time gazed in wonder at her daughter, finding her adorable.
"Sylvia and Rin Fullbuster!" The two twins said at the same time, causing more oohs and aahs throughout the hall.
'At least I'm not Juvia…' Lucy thought. All eyes turned to Nova, the only one left. She continued to look at the ground, a faint blush creeping up on her cheeks. After a few moments, she sighed and looked up.
"Nova...Dreyar…" she muttered the last part, barely audible, but still loud enough to be heard by the core members. Mira's eyes widened, taking in the appearance of her daughter.
"You're so beautiful…" She walked over, bending down and hugging Nova. The girl flinched, refusing to return the embrace, but not doing anything to push her mom off of her, at least not in front of the others.
Layla cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention again.
"Well, now that that's taken care of...why don't you tell us why you're here?"
End.
Let it be known that this story will be rated M not so much for the sexual content or language like last time, but for the violence. The main antagonist of this story is going to be far more brutal, violent, and sociopathic than Isabella. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!