Since I ended it at a really mean cliffhanger last chapter I decided to post the next chapter for today. See, I'm so nice to you guys! Anyway, I think you're really going to enjoy this chapter. Not much fighting but something very important ;)
luciannedaughterofposiedon: Maybe, I'll think about it, you'll be able to decide which one you want so just hang on ;)
Chaos: Yes a friend, now who could this friend be? Hm...
Dark impetus: You'll find out very soon, read down and you'll find out!
Rez: Good! That's how it's supposed to be ;)
Alex: Well I'm a good person and updated the next day. I'm glad the Lucy scene is good and will hold you together till the next one. Right now it's Kera time and what the hell Rogue did to her! Well I hope some things will be explained in this chapter ;)
Lingering will: Oh yes, it's just getting better and better.
xMisaka: Maybe I am. Rogue may be helping me with these mean cliffhangers. Hehe, and with Hibiki, well to say the truth my first choice was Sting, but he was way back in the story, mostly right about now and that was a bit to long sine a lot of people wanted a pairing way earlier, so the next best choice was Hibiki. I think he's cute and awesome. Well... when he isn't with the Trimes going all player but I still think he's cute.
Erza slashed at the nearest dragon killing it. Pulling her sword out she tried to turn around but was blasted back. She cried out in pain as she fell back and hit the ground hard. She gritted her teeth as she tried to get back up, but her arms were failing her.
Damn… my injuries are getting to me. She thought bitterly. I should have listened to them. The red head collapsed back on to the ground. I can't… I… I can't…
The dragons advanced on her ready to kill her. Erza gritted her teeth as her eyes were closed. I failed… I… I'm sorry Kera… I can't… keep my promise this time… I'm sorry…
Erza waited for the attack to come. The attack that would kill her and send her to the afterworld. The only guilt she had was that she couldn't be there for Kera, that she couldn't help her… that she couldn't be the big sister she needed.
She failed her.
Before the beasts lunged at her and killed her, a light appeared in front of her. That light turned into a blast sending all of the dragons back.
Erza slowly opened her eyes. She groaned while moving her head, but when she did her eyes went wide. "J-Jellal?" She asked shocked.
The man was kneeling in front of her trying to help her. He moved her slightly. "You can't give up now Erza. Kera still needs you."
She groaned in pain as she moved, but glanced up at him. "You… you saved my life."
He grabbed her hand and helped her to sit more comfortable. "Well I couldn't have just let you die. Like I said, Kera still needs you."
"But I failed her, I can't… I can't protect her." She told him. Jellal gave her a soft look. Sighing he helped her back on her feet. "Listen, I… I've been keeping an eye out for you ever since I got out of jail, ever since you came back from that seven year time skip and… I noticed that you and Kera… nothing can change the relationship you have. You two are sisters and it doesn't matter if it's by blood or not. You are her big sister and you have protected her so much and you are protecting her all the time."
The red head looked at him confused. Jellal put a hand over his heart. "In here, she knows you'll always be there for her and I'm here to make sure that it's going to be physically too."
She smiled at him. "Thank you Jellal…"
"Don't worry about it. I don't want to ruin… your family, your new family." He told her.
"You know, you're part of this family as well, no matter what." Erza told him.
He snorted. "Tell that to your sister and overprotective friends. They still want to kill me."
"Well then I won't let them." She said with a smirk.
Jellal put an arm of Erza's over his shoulder, wanting to help her walk. "Come on, we need to get you to a safer place."
"I can still fight." She told him with a slight glare.
Jellal sighed. "Yea well… I sense something coming."
Erza glanced at him worried. He could sense something coming? What was it? "Something good or bad?"
He lowered his head. "I don't know."
Archangel looked up at the person with a frown. "Who are you?"
The figure smirked. "Is that how you greet a friend?" Okay, it was a woman, but she had no idea who this was. Archangel glanced at her confused. She was wearing a hood so she couldn't see her face.
She raised her sword at her while standing back up again. "I don't know who you are. Take down your hood so I can see your face."
The woman smirked. "Very well, but I'll tell you now, you won't like it."
"I don't care! Just pull it down!" She shouted at her. The woman shrugged and grabbed her hood, pulling it down.
Archangel's eyes went wide. She let her sword drop to the ground and stumbled back. "No…" She muttered. She glanced back at the unconscious form of Kera before turning back to the person right in front of her. "This… no this is some kind of trick."
"Was Lucy a trick? Was Rogue a trick?" She pointed at Kera quickly. "She needs help before things get way out of hand. Before… before she kills everyone."
The Exceed narrowed her eyes. "And how do you know?"
"Because I come from the future where I kill everyone." She said glancing into the Exceed's eyes.
Archangel shook her head, still not believing this. "But how?"
"Archangel, listen to me. I am Kera!" The woman shouted at her. The white cat looked the woman over again. She had brown hair but longer, her green eyes… they were filled with guilt and pain. But her face… she looked exactly like Kera…
"So you're the future Kera?" Archangel asked carefully. The woman nodded. "From when do you come?"
"From ten years into the future." Future Kera told her. "I… I came here to help myself. If things go as they are now, I will kill everyone that is near me… including you." She said while her eyes filled with sorrow and guilt.
Archangel glanced at the unconscious form of Kera. Their Kera. She remembered when the dragons came out she got a headache and when she was fighting that dragon she wasn't herself. No something was wrong with her and it seems her future self knew what.
The Exceed turned back to the older woman. "So what is wrong? Why is she like this?"
"Because Rogue is controlling her, mostly." Future Kera explained. This confused Archangel but she didn't have to ask because the woman in front of her kept on explaining. "When Rogue first came here we fought. Remember? You and… Erza… tried to protect me even though he told you that I was the reason for human extinction."
She nodded. "Yes… I remember."
Future Kera sighed. "Well, I found out that when that beast… that… thing came out she tried to fight Rogue. And for a time I was winning until he blasted me in the chest."
Archangel nodded. "Yes, that's when you turned back to normal."
"Now I know why. That blast is the reason why she is like this. There is darkness running in her body, clouding her heart and corrupting the dragon. In other words, she is out of her mind." The older brown haired girl explained. "As long as that darkness is running through her body she will be dangerous. The beast inside of her is corrupted by darkness and will kill everyone. She has no power or strength to fight against it. She needs help."
"But how!? How can we help her?" Archangel shouted.
Future Kera nodded. "There is only one way to help her. That darkness needs to be vanquished. And there is only one way to do that."
Archangel slowly realized what she was saying. "With light…"
The brunette nodded. "Yes, that's the only way to get rid of the darkness inside of her, but you have to be quick. She won't stay unconscious for long. She is the Queen, the most powerful wizard in the entire world. If you don't stop her right here… then all of your friends will be gone."
There was a pause. Archangel looked up at the older woman. She knew what she had to do. She knew who she needed, but she still needed to know more about what will happen. "Kera… you… you hesitated when you said Erza… why?"
She flinched and Archangel saw this as clear as day. "What happened?" The Exceed demanded slightly.
Future Kera sighed while looking away. "She… she tried to help me. But… I wouldn't see it. I was clouded with darkness and… and… I… killed her. It still haunts me till today. She tried to reach me, she put a hand on my shoulder, but I grabbed it and broke it. She fought me, hoping she could reach me some way, but… I was ruthless, even when she was down and out of it I didn't stop. I… I pulled her up by her neck and… I ripped her heart out…"
Archangel couldn't believe what she was hearing. That was… so cruel. The brunette shook her head. "I could see it in her eyes. Oh god those eyes! Even though I killed her she still didn't look like she hated me! Her last breath was… was… sorry… she… she should have hated me!"
The Exceed looked at her with sorrow. She had to go through a lot. "And you!" The brunette yelled. "I… I stabbed you and cut your head off with your own sword! I… I couldn't stop myself!"
"It's not your fault." Archangel told her but the woman snapped. "Don't you dare say that! It is my fault! I killed everyone in Fairy Tail! Oh god, I even killed Lucy and Wendy who were running! I killed Wendy! That little girl… she… I promised her I would protect her! And I killed her! So don't you dare say that it wasn't my fault! It is my fault! It's my fault that Fairy Tail is gone, it's my fault that everyone is dead!"
Archangel put a hand on her shoulder. The woman flinched. She probably didn't have any contact with a human being for a while. "Don't you worry Kera. You'll be alright. Everything will be fine."
Future Kera took a deep breath. "Thank you… I can't… I can't stand it anymore. My dreams are always nightmares of how I killed everyone. I just… I want to make things right."
"And you will. With what you told us we can help her. But can I ask one more question?"
Future Kera nodded. Archangel looked her in the eyes. "How did you even get here? Through Eclipse or…"
"No… Rogue wouldn't even dare to let me near that portal. I used my powers." She explained.
"You mean your magic?" Archangel asked and the brunette nodded. "I asked Kayeleth for one more chance… I asked her to let me make things right. Ten years I had to suffer… ten years I had to carry the guilt and the memories of killing all my friends, the memories of killing my entire family. I asked… no I pleaded to make things right again. Just one chance… to make sure that my family would live again."
Archangel nodded. "I will make sure of it."
The woman smiled softly. "Thank you Archangel. Thank you so much… I just hope I wasn't too late. That there is still a chance… that he's still alive."
"You killed him too?" She asked slowly. Future Kera nodded. "Yea… all of the Dragon Slayers… even Natsu… he didn't die by Rogue's hand… he died by mine. The biggest threat wasn't the dragons anymore…it was me."
The white Exceed stood up straight ignoring her injuries. Future Kera saw this and quickly moved to her. "Please, let me heal you. Let me at least make sure you are fine." She hovered her hands over her injuries and they started to glow.
"You can heal? I thought only Wendy can do that."
Future Kera nodded. "Normally yes, but in those ten years I tried to do so many things to repay for my sins. I learned new magic, magic that lied in the power of an Elemental Dragon Slayer. That included healing. Here I only could heal myself if I was deeply unconscious and that beast did it for me. Now I can do it by myself." Soon the white Exceeds injuries were all healed up. The brunette smiled softly. "There… that should be better."
"Thank you." Archangel then turned towards the unconscious Kera and picked her up. "I vow to you that I won't fail."
Future Kera nodded. "But do me one more favor Archangel. And I'm asking you this, not as a friend, but as protector of the world. If you do fail…"
Archangel turned her head slightly looking at her, waiting for the favor.
Future Kera raised her head. "Kill me."
Erza hissed in pain as she hit her injured leg again. Jellal quickly apologized. The red head smiled at him softly. "It's alright. I just… never really thought that this would happen."
"The dragons and us almost dying?" Jellal asked but Erza shook her head. "No, you saving me."
Jellal stopped for a moment. He looked around and noticed that there weren't any dragons around. They could rest. "Here let me help you." He said as he led Erza to a pile of rocks and set her down.
The red head sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just…"
The blue haired man stopped her. "No, it's alright. I understand what you are saying. Normally… I am the one who destroys your life."
Erza stayed quiet for a moment. But after a minute she spoke up again. "You know… Kera still doesn't like you, or can forgive you for what you have done."
Jellal sighed. "I don't expect her too. I actually thought you would hate me as well."
She shook her head. "But she did tell me that she will treat you as a friend."
He looked at her surprised. "Why? I… I tried to kill you, I drilled a Lacrima in her back! She should hate me!"
"But she also knows that those sins are making you a better man. You did some terrible things in the past Jellal, but there's one saying from Kera I absolutely hang on to." Erza told him.
He looked her in the eyes waiting for her answer. Erza smiled through her bandages. "The past makes us who we are now. And no matter how horrible that past was, the future can only get brighter that way."
Jellal smiled. "She said that?"
Erza nodded. "Yea, one of the few things that actually make sense." Both chuckled slightly, but the red head hissed in pain again. Jellal frowned. "I'm sorry I'm not much of a help."
"Stop that, if it weren't for you I wouldn't be here now. For all I know you saved my life and that's enough for me." Erza told him with a smile.
He couldn't believe that Erza was forgiving him for what he has done. He never had thought that she would. She was just so kind hearted. She would never hate her friends… she always sees the goodness inside of them.
A sudden noise alerted them. Jellal immediately got up wanting to protect Erza. The red head tried to get up on her own, but with her injured leg it was proving to be difficult.
Looking around Jellal tried to find anyone, the cause of the source of the noise, but at first he didn't see anything. That is until he saw someone walking across the debris wearing a hood.
He frowned. He could feel that strange power from before again and this time it was coming from that hooded person. Jellal moved a foot, but made some noise alerting the person in front of them.
They turned around and saw the two of them. It looked like the person was shocked. And before either one of them could do anything they started to run. "Oh no you don't!" Jellal called out sending a blast right in front of the person. It exploded and threw them back.
The figure hit the ground but still had its hood up. Jellal walked up to them and glared down. "Who are you?" He asked raising one of his hands.
He got no answer and this irritated him slightly. Erza noticed something strange. The person didn't look like they were dangerous. He or she looked actually… afraid… and her eyes…
She saw what Jellal was doing and immediately jumped up ignoring her injury. "Jellal wait!" She shouted. The blue haired man turned around a bit confused.
Erza saw one glimpse of her eyes, but… she had to check this out first. She staggered her way to the hooded person. When she got closer the figure tried to move, feeling obviously uncomfortable being near her.
But why?
Erza fell to her knees in front of the person and put both her hands on their shoulder. The person flinched on contact. For the first minute Erza just looked into those green sharp eyes. She only knew one person who had those green sharp eyes. She smiled slightly. "So you came back as well? Just like Future Lucy."
Jellal still looked confused. Why was she talking to this person? Did she… did she know this person?
The red head smiled. "It's alright, I can imagine what you had to go through."
The person didn't say anything except just raised one of their hands. Jellal got ready, but Erza stopped him. The hand went over Erza's heart and they could definitely feel it beat. But quickly she flinched back. "I… I can't…"
Erza and Jellal both were shocked to hear the voice. Erza knew who this was but was still shocked she spoke! Jellal blinked. That voice sounded familiar. It was definitely a woman.
The red head grabbed the hooded person her hand. "Don't… I don't know what you had to go through but everything will be alright. We got news from Lucy and we're doing our best to make things right. Dragons might be surrounding us but we'll beat them. We got seven Dragon Slayers." She smirked.
"No… I… I'm dangerous." An explosion alerted them all. The woman, still wearing her hood turned to Erza. "You need to leave. It's dangerous here. Whatever you do, don't help or follow Kera… please."
Erza stayed quiet for a moment but nodded. "Very well. I trust you." Jellal helped Erza back on her feet while the hooded woman got up as well, but she ran away immediately. Jellal was about to go after her but the red head stopped him.
"Erza…"
"Leave her, she'll be fine… at least I hope." She muttered slightly. Sighing she turned around. "Come, we need to find the others."
Jellal nodded and again put Erza's arm around his shoulder. They then slowly walked through the damaged streets.
Erza looked back for a moment. I hope you're okay Kera…
Hope you guys enjoyed it. Now you know what's wrong with Kera! And who saw Future Kera coming? Anyone? Well let's see where this will go now. We have a solution but will it succeed? Will it help?
Until next time!
