Chapter 54: Time's Turn Part 4: Sounds of Silence

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Team Shadowgear were silent, staring in horror at the prone figure of Mira. The demoness was sprawled across the floor, one hand outstretched like she was outing all her weight into punching something.

"Levy," Jet's voice was hoarse as he gazed at the pair of glowing golden swords sticking from their friend's body. "What… what is this?"

"Is she dead?" Droy asked, trying with little success to keep the hysteria from his voice.

"…I'm not sure." Levy crouched over the prone takeover mage, examining the glowing blades. Tentatively poked a finger into Mira's exposed belly, turning her gaze on the mage's face to see if there was any reaction. It was like poking a rock, Mira's skin refusing to budge under Levy's finger and the word mage's eyes narrowed.

"She's stiff."

"You mean stiff like…" Jet swallowed. "a corpse?"

Levy shook her head. "More like she's paralyzed." She gave swords a suspicious glance, and Jet caught her look.

"If we pull the swords out, will that fix her?" Jet asked, stretching out a hand for one of the glowing hilts.

"Don't touch them!" Levy yelped, grabbing his hand. She gave him a look, "C'mon, Jet, what's the first rule of Team Shadowgear?"

"When in doubt, don't touch anything." Jet answered automatically, looking sheepish. "Sorry, Levy. But still, think if we remove those swords she'll be alright?"

"That does seem likely, but…" Levy frowned at the blades.

She could think of several types of magic that could leave someone so helpless, but they tended to revolve around actual petrification, and Mira's body was clearly still flesh. The swords had to be something else. Levy raised her phoenix quill and slashed it through the air, running through several identifying spells. In moments, she had her answer.

"Divine magic," she breathed, swallowing hard. She'd read about this kind of magic.

Divine fire and holy light that stood opposite the black fire and brimstone of demonic magic. It was believed to be the weapon of true saints and holy beings. This was the kind of holiness that declared justice and peace could only be had when all its enemies were ashes.

It wasn't a very friendly magic and could often rival or even surpass demonic magic in terms of nastiness. They probably would have seared Jet's hand off if he touched them.

Levy raised her quill again and wrote out 'DISPEL'. The word floated toward one of the blades and settled against it. There was a flash of light and Levy's spell burned away. Levy frowned, and jotted out a few more words: 'WEAKEN, GUTTER, DESIST'. Each word burned away just the same, leaving the sword burning bright as ever.

Levy sucked in her breath. Okay, so tampering with the swords was a no go. That left one option. The word mage placed her quill against the Mira's flesh and thought for a few moments.

And began to write.

FORGIVENESS

ABSOLUTION

SANCTIFY

The swords flashed angrily, and her words started to disintegrate. Levy narrowed her eyes and wrote faster, pouring more of her magic into every letter. The underlying principle of divine magic was that was meant to punish the wicked. Mira used demon magic, but that didn't mean she was one. She conquered demons and took their magic, turning it to help those who needed it. She did not deserve to be punished for it, Levy just had to make the blades understand.

Levy began to sweat with the effort of the writing, each letter taking more out of her as the swords blazed resentfully against her efforts. But she also could see the them starting to flicker, as though her words were making them doubt their own righteousness.

Pouring every last bit of magic into a final word, Levy's quill flashed through the air.

MERCY

The word shined on Mira's skin like moonlight and, with one final flash, the swords winked out of existence.

Mira went limp, her body slumping to the floor and shuddering as her lungs drew in a shuddering breath. The mage took a few more breaths before turning her face toward Levy.

"Thank you." The words were quiet, and Levy could see tears running down the woman's face. The word mage felt a stab of outrage but did her best to keep her voice level.

"Mira, can you stand?"

Mira lay still for a moment, before nodding. She tried to push herself upright, but her arms were shaking, and they slid out from under her. Jet and Droy stepped forward, sliding their arms under her shoulders and lifting the take-over mage to her feet.

Levy swallowed. They couldn't bring Mira with them. Not like this.

"Droy, can you get her out of here?"

Droy nodded, pulling more of the takeover mage's weight onto him. "Sure thing."

"Do it." Levy turned. "Jet, you stick with me. If they brought down Mira and Erza, the others are probably in trouble too. We need to find them."

Jet nodded, stepping crouching and turning so Levy could climb on his back. Once he had ahold of her, he took off back down the tunnel, searching for friends in need.

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Focus. Breath. No matter what, don't lose sight of the objective. Ultear collected herself as she stared the red-haired mage dead in the eye.

The swordswoman could not have escaped from that trap on her own, it was simply beyond her skillset. So that means…yes, third screen down on the far left. Team Shadowgear. Fairy Tail had an additional wave of support follow in the first. No, they wouldn't have split up into waves, they would have swarmed all at once. Nearby allies who had somehow become aware of the situation then. And, of course, it was Team Shadowgear. Ultear's mind whirled through the ramifications.

Shadowgear was the only tactical group in the entire Fairy Tail guild, and the skill with which they tore through traps far outstripped her own ability to create them. If they were present, then every trapped member of Fairy Tail would likely be loose within the hour if they could figure out how to maneuver through the labyrinth of passageways, and given their reputation that was a very strong possibility. However, more likely than not, by the time any of the freed mages managed to make their way to Ultear's chamber, the fight would be finished. That meant that the only real threat remaining to her goals was the knight.

A sword to the neck, no matter how threatening it might seem, wasn't a true danger to her. Ultear had always known that Erza Scarlet was likely to be her biggest obstacle. She who was closest to Goku, and who would take the greatest issue with his capture, the most tenacious of Fairy Tail's mages, and the one who would push herself past any of the others to try and rescue her friend.

And she was the single worst equipped S class mage in the entirety of the guild when it came to facing the Arc of Time.

Don't engage yet, every single drawn out moment is another step closer to the goal. Stall for time. Keep their eyes off the finish line.

With a discreet twitch of her finger, a black film silently slid shut over the window to the top of Goku's cell. Now he wouldn't be able to tell the time left based on the light filtering in from the top. She needed direct exposure, anything less might be enough to convince him to ignore Erza's orders and take himself out. Then with a more obvious gesture, the window to Goku's prison turned pink, and all sound from his end was silenced.

"Apologies Son Goku, but we shall have to put our debate on hold. It appears I have more pressing concerns to work out at the moment. If we have time, afterwards, I would be willing to continue our discussion."

Now…try and drag it out.

"And what, pray tell, will this brief conversation pertain?" The time mage asked carefully. Erza scoffed in response.

"Don't toy with me now. Open this prison right now, or I shall strike you down and sort it out myself."

"You don't want to kill me. If you do, he will never get free. You will be forced to watch as he starves to death through that window. Actually, I suppose that would dehydration, wouldn't it? Either way, it will be a very slow, uncomfortable death."

"Alternatively, if I allow you to live, I grant you more chances to complete your plans. At the moment, I feel that it would be easier to free him without you involved at all. Last chance to cooperate."

Not even a minute had passed and avenue for talking appeared to have dried up. Apparently, the redhead wasn't in the mood for a conversation. That was fine. There were plenty of other options to run down the clock.

With another twitch of her fingers, a field of green washed over the room and then vanished, leaving behind a soft humming in the air. At the same moment, a spark of magic leaped off Ultear's neck, dancing along the length of the sword and the gleaming blade was reduced to a pile of dust. The swordswoman reflectively looked down at her hand as even the pommel turned to rusted flakes. Ultear used the moment to step back.

"Runic Magic: Sterilization Field." She said, causing more glowing green runes to burst into life around the walls. "That field will destroy any nonanimal organic matter that attempts to enter the room." she said. "Just in case you wanted to start summoning plants to attack me."

Calm and disinterested, treat her like she isn't a threat. Keep her confused, keep her off balance, keep her angry. Don't let he hit you, whatever happens.

Erza threw a punch of her own, the gauntleted fist of the Giant's armor promising to cave her skull in, but the blow was sloppy—Goku would have wept to see it. Ultear threw herself out of the way, reaching out a hand to brush against the yellow metal. Rust immediately stretched out across the entire surface as the Giant Armor joined the sword as a pile of dust on the floor.

"REQUIP!" A flash of light and Erza was wreathed in silver armor, with dozens of swords rotating around her form.

"Heaven's Wheel again? That didn't work very well the last time you put it on, are you sure?" Ultear asked flatly.

Erza flicked her wrists and the swords left orbit around her and instead surrounded Ultear. Over a hundred weapons circled her, with every last point aimed straight for her heart.

"Ah. I can see that this time it is being put to better use."

"This battle is over. You can't hope to rust them all before they skewer you." Erza said, moving to walk around the rotating circle of weapons towards Goku's window. "Twitch a single muscle and I'll turn you into a pin cushion."

"…Really? How many times has someone said something like that to you throughout your life? Has it ever once been true?"

"Would you rather I just kill you then?"

"I'd rather you don't underestimate me. My powers don't require physical touch you see. It's merely more directed." Ultear threw her arms to the side, unleashing a bubble of yellow energy out of her body that flew outwards and consumed Erza's blades.

The red head immediately scrambled away to preserve her armor and took to the air. Ultear watched her carefully, but when it was apparent that the red head wasn't going to try and charge in, she allowed her barrier to drop.

Erza was hanging back now, and the way her eyes were scanning the room said that she was trying to work out some kind of strategy. Giving her time to actually work something out seemed suboptimal, so…

"Do you really think you have time to just float there watching me? You do realize that you are on the clock, yes?" Ultear watched in satisfaction as Erza's eyes hardened and waited for the next attack. Instead of charging though, Erza landed a short distance away and allowed her armor to fade away, donning her ruined clothing instead.

"You're right…I'm on the clock. Holding back will get me nowhere." Rearing back, Erza slammed her fist into the ground, and a giant wall of stone rose up to surround her. Slowly, the stone turned cherry red and began to compress down around her. Then, pieces of the stone were blown off as beams of glowing rainbow light exploded off of her and then began to wrap themselves around the red-hot rock. A pair of dragonfly wings burst free from the back as the rock finished compressing, revealing an entirely different warrior.

"Titania Mode…Diamond Queen suit." Erza's quiet declaration seemed to vibrate the very air in the room.

"…Ah. That's…less than fortunate." Ultear began slowly backing away. Erza took a single step forward, and the time mage immediately brought up her hand, unleashing her time magic to it's fullest on the fae's armor.

"What's that expression? Diamonds are forever?" The utter confidence in Erza's voice set the hair on Ultear's neck on end. Despite her investigations, there was next to no credible information available on the fae, and nothing she found would allow her to win the fight. Still, she was not without options.

"In humanities frail sense of time perhaps. But in the end…" She threw up her hands as Erza charged. "Arc of Time: Flash Forward!"

Erza roared, lunging forward with her sword held high. Ultear didn't move, couldn't move. She was focusing everything on this technique; dodging or reacting in any way would cancel her magic. She only had one shot.
Erza's armor transformed from sparkling crystal to the dull gray of graphite, shattering with her movement and sending her sprawling. The woman immediately began forcing herself up, growling as the chunks of armor falling from her body left great gray streak on her skin.

Ultear grinned, a bead of sweat trickling down her brow. "Everything kneels before time, Erza Scarlet." She put her hands behind her back and smiled. "Is there anything else you'd like to try?"

Erza glared at her, eyes blazing as she stepped forward, then paused. A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "And yet, you still can't use your magic on a person." She said slowly. "Otherwise, I'd already be dust."

…Oh dear.

"Reducing the pride of your armory to such a state isn't enough?" Ultear's grin stretched a little wider, perhaps desperately wide. "What else can you hope to challenge me with?"

Erza stared at her for a moment, then shook her head, sighing as she straightened herself. "I am ashamed that it took me this long to determine the weakness of your technique. Nastu would have beaten you much faster." Erza let out a long-suffering sigh before she gathered up her Requip magic once more.

Breast bindings, red pants decorated with flames, and a tie for a pony tail flared up into existence around her body, without a single weapon in sight.

"Now, the worst that you could do to me is simply leave me naked." Erza said with a crack of her knuckles. "Absolutely nothing compared to what I can do to you with my bare hands."

That… was not incorrect.

Ultear flung her hands up calling forth her magic, calling down crystal orbs to try and brain the warrior where she stood. Her magic aged the knight's clothes to dust. Erza was unperturbed, batting away the weapon with contemptuous ease. Then her wings began to buzz and she vanished. The next thing Ultear knew, a fist was planted firmly in her stomach.

Ultear's eye went wide as spots swam before them. She felt a second blow and then everything went dark.

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She awoke to voices, muffled through her muddled head, and a bone deep ache that stretched throughout her entire body. Her arms and legs had all been bound together behind her back, blood had pooled on the ground around her head, and her head was throbbing such a way that assured her that she was concussed.

How…how long had she been out? Was the moon overhead? Was it still nighttime? Did she still have a chance?

She couldn't tell. Three more people had the time to come in, help bind her up and start a conversation. There was no way of telling just how long that could take.

Ultear clamped down on her panic. Panicking would accomplish nothing. The best option right now would just be to continue on as if the moon was still hanging up in the sky, and that Goku was just a single open window away from giving her every last drop of power she would need to use her spell.

The four voices were at the far side of the room, standing around Goku's window. Two males and two females…Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Erza. Good, Mirajane wasn't here. After what Red had done to her, rapid healing was an impossibility without a specialist, which their team lacked. Her absence suggested not much time had passed.

Her best bet was to break her bindings, throw open the window, and then dive for the converter as Goku transformed and use the boost to her power to blow the Fairies away until the power peaked.

Her time magic flared up, rushing across her body and into her bindings…and it harmlessly dispersed, leaving them totally intact.

What?

"She's awake." Erza's voiced snapped loudly over her comrades, silencing them instantly. And just like that, there went any chance of playing dead and stalling for time. With a sigh, Ultear cracked her eyes open and twisted her neck around to try and figure out just what was binding her. Some sort of red rope…hair?!

"My best friend specializes in transformation magic." Erza explained at Ultear's wide eyed confusion. "She taught me enough that simple things like growing out my hair is an easy trick. I waited until I had enough to work with, and then sheer it off. Of course, that was hardly my first choice in dealing with you." Erza shot a glare towards the other three…or more specifically, Gray.

There was a bruise just underneath her eye. Internal fight? Could she exploit that, distract them-

"You were about to smash her head open with your bare fists when I showed up, Erza. After what happened the last time you turned your pixie powers on, I thought maybe it might be a good idea to stop you BEFORE you had the chance to land the killing blow. You're not going to want to have killed her when you snap back out of it."

"My powers have nothing to do with this! It has to do with the fact that our friend is still standing behind us, silenced and caged up to be used as a battery when we cannot do anything to release him! Fae powers or no, I am more than capable of killing someone if I believe that they are threatening the lives of my friends! Look around you! This entire complex was designed to trap us and brutalize us in the event that we took issue with the fact that she was trying to kill our comrade!" Erza gestured angrily to the screens on the wall. "She was sitting here watching us! Look at what she has done to Mira! We do not even know if Wendy will be able to save Juvia! And we can't figure out where Gajeel's room is! I cannot and will not forgive someone like her!"

"You don't need to forgive her! Hell, I'm not even saying not to kill someone trying to kill you. I'm…pretty sure that I just killed that wind guy a couple of minutes ago. But there's a big difference between killing someone in a fight, and executing someone who can't fight back anymore! She was out cold!"

Ultear scoffed, unable to help herself.

"To hear you lecture about restraint after what you've done…I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that I doubt anything resembling those ideals of yours were bouncing around in your skull when you brought about the death of my mother." Gray's mouth, open to fire off a retort, snapped shut as he finally noticed the woman's features. With no small satisfaction, Ultear watched as his face turned ashen. In the background, Lucy yanked Natsu back to keep him from interjecting his own opinions on the matter, while Erza stood passively, her arms folded and eyes narrow.

"You… you're…"

"Ultear Milkovich, at your service. By your expression, I can assume my mother Ur at least spoke of me to you at some point in time."

"You…" he choked, flailing for words. "Ur said that you died! She was heartbroken!"

"As was I when I found out about her death. I spent most of my life up until that point trapped by a group of dark mages to be used for experiments, and when I get free what do I find?" she sneered. "I find that a little boy's rage-induced lust for revenge had put her in the path of something she could not hope to defeat. Then, you ran off to find a new family, while I was left without so much as a body to burry. It's funny to think about actually. We might have grown up as sibling had our situation been different. As things stand now though…you are one of the primary reasons that I was orphaned and set myself upon this path."

"I…I never wanted to hurt Ur. That day…I went there to die trying to kill that demon. I knew I probably wouldn't succeed, but I couldn't live with myself without making some sort of attempt. Ur couldn't live with another kid she cared about dying…so she took my place instead. That's why I've been trying to live my life how I think she'd want ever since that day. You've got to know that she would never want anything like this."

"Your friend in the cage already tried to talk me off my path," Ultear answered, uninterested. "and he did a far better job of it too, despite his more…limited vocabulary. I'm set on this path, and I'll keep trying until the day that I die. I will get my mother back, no matter what."

"Every person in this room has lost parents or guardians in some tragic fashion in their lifetime." Erza said, looking down her nose at the prone time mage. "But none of us use that pain as an excuse to cause suffering to others. You will never get another opportunity to try, and you'll never walk free again. You can't wield your magic, and even if we cannot free Goku now, you aren't capable of doing anything to him either. Your plans have failed."

"...It's true, now that you have an understanding of the limits of my Time Magic, I can't hope to beat you with it. Your choice of bindings leaves my power worthless. However," Ultear's eyes narrowed. "I am not just the result of those experiments forced upon me."

The temperature in the room suddenly plummeted below zero. The hair bindings turned to fragile frost, and with a simple tug of her arms Ultear stood free once more. Her next gesture reopened the window within the cage.

"I am my mother's daughter."

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Goku didn't even have time to register the change in light before something primal inside his head began to scream.

BA-BUMP.

Pupils dilated, then expanded, covering the entire eye in a red film.

BA-BUMP.

Muscles swelled and clothes tore as hair sprouted across the entire body.

BA-BUMP.

Fangs grew from teeth as each nail turned into a lethal claw.

BA-BUMP.

The body swelled, taking on the form of a behemoth monster, confined within a glowing white prison.

BA-BUMP.

Finally unleashed after so long, the Oozaru roared his arrival to a silenced bubble as his prison began to hum with magical power. His body swelled further, pressing up against the walls. The runes flared, paralyzing him and began to drain him dry.

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She only had half a moment to act before the Fairies recovered from her little surprise, Ultear didn't waste it.

"Arc of Frozen Time: Artic Time Lock!" From the neck down, Erza was encased in a glowing blue glacier, one whose existence had been frozen in place with Ultear's secondary magic. It was forever trapped in the moment of its appearance…and forever impervious to any attempt to conventionally shatter it.

Ultear's vision blurred as the strain from fusing her two magics together drained her reserves, but she managed to maintain her feet enough to stumble clear of the fireball hurled her way. She didn't bother to return fire, opting instead to sprint towards the converter. The next wave of flames crashed into her side, blackening her flesh and fusing her clothes to her wounds.

Ice formed around the burn, so cold that it completely shut down the pain receptors that otherwise would have crippled her. Time seemed to slow as the distance between her and her goal grew shorter and shorter.

"Ice Make: Rosen Krone!" A rose garden of ice erupted upwards at Natsu's feet, tangling him up in ropes of frozen thorns. The attack was practically useless against a fire mage, virtually incapable of doing any damage.

But it bought her another two steps.

She could hear the sizzle as Natsu burned his way free and as Lucy was fumbled for a key.

"Ice Make: Cannon!" The attack splashed harmlessly against a wave of time magic that reduced it to water vapor. Gray's entire repertoire was shut down, and he didn't have enough time to create a counter. Cursing, he started to sprint after her, intending on tackling her to the ground.

Too far away.

Just five steps…

"TAURUS! STOP HER!"

"MOOOOOO! LUCY'S GLORIOUS JUGS DEMAND THAT YOU HALT!"

The bull man appeared directly beside her, swinging its axe downwards like a guillotine set to split her in two. Her time magic flared…and fizzled. In a moment she realized wh. The weapon of a celestial being…a being from a place beyond the normal rules of time…with a weapon beyond the normal rules of time.

Gray was coming. She couldn't take the time to dodge. She couldn't stop to attack. All she could do was keep running.

There was a flash of pain as her arm separated from her body, like white hot daggers being stabbed into her shoulder in a brilliant spray of red. She threw herself forward, her remaining arm outstretched.

And slammed her palm against the rune.

The world ground to a halt.

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BA-BUMP

The Oozaru's form collapsed in a flash of bright white, its body wiped out and converted into pure magic. Goku was left suspended in the air, screaming in agony as the seal tried to claim the last drop of power that it needed to unleash Ultear's magic.

BA-BUMP

His Ki reserves depleted, the runes reached for his life force itself. Goku couldn't break free, he couldn't resist.

BA-BUmp

He couldn't even focus his Ki enough to kill himself before his powers were drained dry. As darkness creeped in on the edge of his vision and his heartbeat began to slow, Goku did the only thing that he knew how to do when facing his death.

BA-bump

He pushed deeper.

He pushed into his very core, dredging up everything and anything that he could to draw out just a shade more power so that he could survive and there was something there, a pulsing core of fury that answered his call.

ba-bump

For an instant, just a single moment, the room flashed gold.

BA-BUMP

The drain slowed…

BA-BUMP

Stalled…

Ba-Bump

Stopped…

ba-bump

He…he survived.

ba…

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Bleeding out against the wall, her body slowly going into shock, and Ultear had never felt more alive in her entire life. With a flick of her hand, her wound was sealed in ice, the spirit was paralyzed, and every mage in the room was trapped in ice.

In the adjacent chamber, Son Goku flopped to the ground, his body completely still. And, for the first time in over a decade, a genuine, happy smile spread across Ultear's face. Year upon year of stress melted off her shoulders in a single instant, and her body felt lighter than it ever had before. With a true, heartfelt grin, she waved towards her rune chamber and the body that lay within.

"Thank you for your sacrifice. I'll keep my promise to you, even though you objected to my plans. I'll see you in a better life."

"ARC OF TIME: LAST AGES!"

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As a young, lavender-haired man had discovered in another timeline, returning to the past did not give the ability to alter it. Instead, any changes merely helped to create another timeline.

The Spirit King's chamber shook as the barrier between dimensions was torn asunder. Time itself split, where before there was a single line, now there were two different paths, travelling side by side of one another. But of those two, only one remained within the path of the Demon King's freedom. And as the dimensional barriers suffered yet another blow, it was all the Spirit King could do to keep the gaps between them closed. Until at last, the quaking stopped and their paths diverged.

The Spirit King sat back, and let out a sigh that echoed with the song of dying stars.

He shook his head.

It was only a matter of time now. Whatever chance there might have been of repairing the walls of the universe before he could break free were gone. It wouldn't be soon, and yet…

He was coming.

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Ultear fell to her knees in a pile of snow. The sudden cold tried to bite at her, but the familiar feeling of her ice magic kept it at bay like always. No, better than always. Her magic felt more…pure than she could ever remember it feeling in the past. The beginnings of frostbite that had been threatening her younger self's feet vanished the moment her older magics merged.

She was standing in the middle of a snow coated forest. There wasn't a speck of green in any direction, just white and brown as far as the eye could see. The trees towered over her far more than she was used to, her tiny childish body had only just hit the beginning stages of puberty. But at this height, it only made her surroundings look even more familiar.

She was home.

She had aimed the spell perfectly, straight to the very last day of her trek towards Ur after breaking free from the scientists for the first time. Just through the woods, and past the little creek and over the hill…

Ultear took off running. Her little body started gasping for breath almost immediately. Had her body really been this weak once? This soft? It must have been, but all that knowledge did was force her to pump her legs faster.

In no time at all, she came across the spot that had haunted her nightmares for most of her life. The top of the hill where she had laid down to see her mother teaching her students. The spot where she had become overwhelmed by jealousy, and had ruined herself by turning around.

When she reached the hill's peak, she blew past the spot without a second glance.

They were exactly where she remembered them. The two boys were standing side by side bickering. Ur just stood in front of them, giggling at her students as they squabbled. This time, Ultear didn't break stride, the tears rolling down as she opened her mouth and called.

"MOOOOOOOOOOM!"

Ur whipped around and froze. The two boys instantly broke out of their argument and turned to see a small girl sprinting through the snow, bare foot and clothed in rags. Ultear ignored them both completely.

Ur broke out of her shock just in time for her daughter to tackle her to the ground, wrapping her arms around her and squeezing as though she would never let go.

"Wha-how…Ultear!?"

"Mom!"

Gray and Lyon shuffled awkwardly, glancing at each other as tears began pouring down their teacher's face.

"Ultear! Ultear, oh Ultear! They told me that you died! I thought that you were gone!"

"They wanted to study my core… they that I was special, and that you decided to give me away. They said you didn't want me!" She knew it wasn't true now, she knew it was all a lie, but to just hear it from her mother's mouth…

"Never! I'd never, ever ever, abandon you like that Ultear! I love you! Do you hear me? I love you so much!"

Ultear's ribs started to ache from the force of her mother's hug. It was the single best feeling in her entire life. For just a moment, she forgot all of her plans. She forgot the tower that her mother would inevitably decide to track down and destroy, the demon that she would have to ensure that Gray never had a chance to pursue, and all of the people that she swore that she would try and help this second time through life.

For just a moment, that all fell away.

She was home.

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In the place she had left behind, the tears weren't anywhere near as happy.

"NO! GOKU!" When Ultear had vanished from the timeline, all of the ice retraining the Erza had gone with her. She didn't even land on the ground, instead she blitzed through the air, blasting at the window with everything that she had. Each of her attacks was more desperate and frenzied than the last, and each were equally as useless.

"HELP ME!" She screamed. Natsu and Gray leapt into action, firing off every last attack that they could think of, turning the room into a whirlwind storm of flaming snow. The runes absorbed each wave of magic without flinching.

"DAMN IT! THIS THING HAS TO HAVE A LIMIT, RIGHT?! WE GOTTA BREAK IT!" Natsu roared, scales sliding back across his skin. Beside him, the air around Gray turned pure white as the chill of his body reacted with the hot air, icing the ground beneath him.

The barrier lay unmolested.

Lucy went for Leo's key, hesitated, then pulled out another.

"Please let this work. Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" In a flash of gold and a chime of bells, the pink haired maid flashed into being.

"Yes Princess? Have you decided to punish-"

Lucy slapped a hand across the spirit's mouth. "Virgo, I swear that if you can do what I'm about to ask you to, I will use my whip on you as hard as you want me to. I'm going to send you back to the celestial realm, then I'm going to summon you back on the inside of that locked room. I want you to grab Goku, bring him back with you to the spirit world, then bring him back out here when I summon you again. Go!" Virgo vanished, and Lucy spun her key around to aim at the window.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!"

The other three Fairies stopped dead when the spirit burst into existence next to Goku.

"Lucy?" Erza shout. The blonde ignored her, waiting impatiently for Virgo to secure her passenger. The instant the spirit gave her a nod, Lucy sent them straight back to the spirit realm, and then aimed her key beside her one more time.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!"

Goku's body hit the ground, lifeless as a ragdoll.

"Princess, I'm afraid that he isn't breathing. I'm not sure if he is alive." Lucy didn't hesitate for a second. Throwing herself to the ground, she flipped Goku onto his back, straightened his neck and tilted his head back. Then she put her lips to his and breathed, watching his chest to make sure it rose.

Once, twice. Then she pulled back, pressed her palms against his sternum and began to push. Up and down, over and over.

"Nastu! Erza! Find Levy!" she called, counting to herself as she compressed Goku's chest.

"Wh-what?"

"Levy! She's somewhere around here, we saw her on the screens. She has that phoenix quill."

"W-will that help him?" Gray asked.

"Do we have an actual healer on hand?" Lucy shrieked at him, still counting.

Erza was already moving, one hand on Natsu's vest as she dragged him through the door.

Lucy shot her mouth and focused on keeping the chest compressions steady and even. She would not let Goku die. It was not an option.

"What can I do?" Gray asked.

"Hold his head steady." She ordered, "and get ready to switch with me if I get tired." Her mental count reached thirty and she moved over and leaned down to breath for him again.

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In her flight armor with Natsu's nose guiding her, and all the destructive force of her desperation ready to destroy any wall that got in her way, they managed to find Levy and get her to Goku within two minutes.

Levy wasted only half a moment gawping at the sight of Goku before she threw herself beside him, quill raised.

"Erza said all his energy has been drained?"

Lucy nodded, not pausing in her chest compressions. Levy held the quill over his chest and spoke:

"Primal Scripture: Kazing!"

The quill floated into the air and fire blazed around the letters, pouring off the quill and into Goku's chest. As the light surround the quill dimmed, Levy wrapped her hand around it and more fire poured off her skin, joining with the flames and renewing the stream of energy. This continued for several minutes until the quill began to dim once more.

Sweat was beading off Levy's forehead as she, gasped. "I… I can't. I don't have enough magic!"

Erza's hand clamped around the feather, and the dying light blazed into a tiny sun. Magic pouring off them and into Goku's chest. After another minute, Goku's eyes snapped open and he gasped.

"Did…Did we win?" He murmured.

Nobody knew how to answer him.

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DRAGON BALL Z EPIC ANNOUNCER MAN VOICE MAN: COLLECTING THE LAST OF THEIR CAPTURED ALLIES AND RETURNING HOME. THAT IS ALL THE RESCUE TEAM WANTS TO DO. THE WOUNDS FROM THEIR MISSION RUN DEEP, AND WHILE NOT ALL ARE PHYSICAL, THE WORST OF THEM IS.

NEXT TIME IN ESCALATION: DEEP WOUNDS.

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Okay folks, the winners for the Edolas vote are here! In first place, surprising nobody, is Erza with 35 votes. In second place, breaking past the previous second place holder is Mirajane coming in with 25 votes. Gray takes third with 24, just keeping ahead of Kagura's 22. So that means in the Edolas Arc, Erza, Mirajane, and Gray will be joining the main party. Thank you to all my voters, and to all my readers who continue to support the story!