"speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
Christina was flying in the sky and was leading Acnologia and END away from Magnolia as the ship flies in the middle of the ocean
The two monsters roared out as they followed each other
"they're coming in hot!" Jenny squealed.
"engine at max! we can't get any more speed!" Ren said
"it's fine! We got them into the ocean waters!" Ichiya said as Christina shifts to the right and did a major turn
Acnologia chased after the ship but END grabs the dragon and the two crashed into the ocean's water
"looks like they're busy with each other for now" Hibiki said as they watch the battle of the two monsters
"now that we're out of harm, it's time for the plan, madam" Ichiya said as the door to the ship's navigation room was opened
"yes" a woman's voice was heard as Wendy looked to the woman
"Y-You are…" Wendy stared.
"you've grown so much, Wendy" the woman said with a smile
"Anna-sensei!?" Wendy exclaimed
"Sensei!?" Erza stared surprised
"I am the ancestor of a girl you all know well. Lucy." Anna explained before the ship suddenly shook
"what's going on?!" Ichiya exclaimed as Jenny stirred the ship to higher altitude
"those two monsters are fighting each other to the death that their attacks is causing high gust of winds to blow out!" Hibiki exclaimed as the ship shook once again
END and Acnologia roared out to each other as they wrestle in the ocean water
"stabilize it" Anna said to them "right now, our plan to stop Acnologia is still in the middle"
"roger that" Eve said as he pressed more buttons and Christina's flight was stability
"I still don't get all of this" Erza said "what is going on?"
"is it true? Do you have a plan to stop Acnologia?" Jellal asked as Anna nodded before the ship suddenly took a hit to the side
"Wing one damaged! Ethernanos fuel is leaking!" Hibiki exclaimed as the ship was shifting to the side "the crew are dealing with the damage but we're losing altitude!"
END roared as the demon breathes out a flaming breath attack against Acnologia as the flames burns Acnologia
"lighten our load! Throw everything heavy into the ocean! We've to stay in the air!" Ichiya exclaimed to the Trimens
"roger!" the Trimens complied as they did what he ordered
"It's a real shame what happened to Grandeeney and the other dragons. But what they did wasn't in vain." Anna said while embracing Wendy. "400 years ago, I taught Wendy, and the others to read. I came along with the dragons to this age through Eclipse in the year X777, all to beat Acnologia."
"RAAAAH!" Natsu roared while landing another blazing punch against Zeref's body, sending him flying away. The battle between the two continued to heat up as they put everything on the line to stop one another.
Zeref caught himself on a knee, an insane grinning crossing his lips as his black aura continued to flare in an unstable manner. "VERY GOOD! KEEP COMING, END! I…WILL…DESTROY YOU! AND YOU WILL DESTROY ME!"
"MY NAME!"Natsu exclaimed as he ran towards Zeref and sends blazing punches at him "IS NATSU!"
"400 years ago, there was no way to defy Acnologia. That's why the dragons entrusted their hopes to the future. A future where they'd enter the bodies of the dragon slayers to come to this age."
"I heard this from my Mother…" Wendy recalled the events of Tartaros
"Indeed. This age is overflowing with magic power." Erza leaned against the wall.
"And taking the results into account, this plan was a success. The one who built the gates was Zeref, and I opened them." Anna said.
"Zeref!?" Jellal's jaw dropped.
"He always researched 'time' but at that point. It wasn't his wish to go to the 'past'. I think he still had hope for the future…" As Anna spoke, Ichiya made a sharp that caused everyone to brace against a wall. "The one who connected us to this era was Layla Heartfilia. She opened the entrance and I opened the exit."
"Lucy's mother!?" Erza asked.
"Originally, I explained the circumstances to the ones at the exit, saying that I need to cross the gates with them to fulfill my role as their caretaker." Anna continued her explanation.
"Caretaker?" Wendy asked
"Yes, you all were just kids…" Anna said. "But something unpredictable happened, and after the gates were opened, you all were separated. it took me five years to find you all but something terrible had happened to Natsu as he went missing"
The ship shook as the battle between the monsters were monstrous in speaking
"While I was in search of you, I found something unthinkable. I'm not sure if it caused the incident at the gates, or something else did, but I discovered the existence of this 'thing'."
As Anna spoke, a tangerine rolled across the floor. "I couldn't stand by and do nothing, so I started investigating this thing."
The ship rolled and everyone nearly fell over once again. Anna braced herself on the wall. "This thing is a power remarkably huge and dangerous. Well, it's not exactly a 'power' but something similar to a universal law. The Timelaspe. It's our only hope to seal Acnologia and send him to the absolute nothingness."
[Flashback: The year X777]
Multiple shooting stars flew off into the night sky over the capital of Fiore: Crocus. A young Hisui was leaning on the balcony while looking up. "Waaah! Look at those stars!" Everyone down below could see them and it was a beautiful.
"But stars should fall down, not rise towards the sky…" A younger Arcadios realized that something was amiss about them.
"Look, there's so many of them!" Hisui pointed at the sky, completely ignoring Arcadios' deduction.
"By the way…has anyone seen His Majesty? Where has he gone…?" The knight wondered aloud.
Toma was down below where the Eclipse Gate was. Imagine his surprise when the gate opened for the first time in generations. "The gate that has been handed through generations by our dynasty….to think that someone capable of opening it showed up." Layla was panting heavily after opening the Gate. But it worked, for a woman walked from the other side. "Wait…someone came from the gate as well!?"
Anna stepped from the gate and took a look around. "Hmmm…excuse me, but what year is this?"
"The year is X777." Layla responded with shaky breaths.
"Yes! I did it!" Anna was elated to know her plan worked. "I travelled 400 years into the future!" But wait…she realized that she was alone. "Wait! Haven't you seen several children around here as well!?"
"When the gate opened, several lights came flying out from within it." Toma explained, gesturing to the ceiling that had multiple holes in it. "They were quickly propelled towards the sky…"
"no" Anna looks in shock
Anna and Layla met on a balcony that overlooked the city. "So the gate really does connect different times."
"And you opened it. Thanks for that." Layla offered a smile.
"To you who, lives in an era of powerful Ethernano, when the sun and moon intersect, use the 12 keys to open the Gate." Layla held up a book. "It was hard for me to believe this, but my family has owned this book since before my grandmother's birth."
"Yeah. I am its author." Layla explained.
"Wait a second! I…I don't get what you're talking about…" Toma interjected.
Anna would clear it up for him. "In order to arrive in the fuure, I needed someone from this era to open the gate."
"So…you actually came from 400 years ago!?" The King questioned
"That would be correct." The elder Heartfilia nodded.
"Though the book did not specify your reasons behind your journey." Layla mentioned. "Why exactly did you come?"
"I will explain all of that in due time." Anna said.
"I see…" Layla had no choice but to accept this answer.
"Hm…if Layla-san opened the gate now, then that must mean this era is brimming with a lot of magic power?" Toma quietly surmised.
"I don't know." Layla turned to the king. "This isn't really something that has a set value. I had a different reason. The reason why I chose to open the gate right now is my daughter, Lucy. I don't want her to carry over this responsibility. I want her to be free. That's why I decided to end the duty of the Heartfilians today."
"I see. Thank you for everything, Layla." Anna gave her descendant a smile, taking her hands with her own. "I am proud of my linage for having followed my mission. You've done a wonderful job."
"It was nothing." Layla said with a sheepish smile.
"That said, to think that 400 years later human culture would thrive so much. I was correct in assuming that Acnologia would have no interest in attacking men…." "However, was this really the right choice? No! I musn't waver! I have to believe in the dragons' plan!" She had to trust them. "Now that you have fulfilled your duty, you and your family are free to live together."
"Y-Yes…" Live together. It sounded nice but Layla was already fully aware that by opening the gate, she sealed her fate. At least Lucy would be able to live…
"However, I need to get going. I need to find the children; they are integral to the plan. Well then, I'll be off." Anna waved as she departed.
"Take care!" Layla said.
"Oh, by the way, King Toma. Be sure to destroy the gate!" Anna said
"Oh, right…" Toma nodded.
[End flashback]
"But before I had realized, she passed away just a few days later…" Anna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "soon I found out that Natsu had lived in centuries in the past and had been there alone"
"But that power you mentioned…" Erza said
"Right." Anna smiled a bit. "When I investigated, I found out about this power. In this era, this power appeared at 'that place'. It's not an element. It isn't light nor darkness…it's the very essence of 'nothing' itself."
"The nothing?" Jellal said as he didn't understand
"Such a type of power shouldn't exist in this era, or any era for that manner. After investigating I found out what it was. The Timelaspe!" Another sharp turn of the ship and everyone staggered.
"It appears that our crossing of the gate from 400 years ago caused a distortion in the fabric of time itself. Also…it seems as though someone else had manipulated time itself in some way, which only caused this 'hole' of sorts to grow even larger. Inside of this whole, there is no time nor space. Inside of it, nothing can exist."
"that would include even Acnologia…!" Jellal exclaimed
"Correct." Anna nodded.
"but for such thing to exist, how come no one has ever discovered it?" Jellal asked
"that is because I hid it" Anna replied
"is it truly a space between time?" Wendy asked
"a year ago, when Eclipse was opened it reacted to the hole and in so I am curtained of it" Anna explained
"a hole?" Erza asked as Anna picks up a tangerine
"yes, normally it can hardly bee seen as it is smaller than this tangerine" Anna replied "but if you were to be touch by it even by mistake, that would be the end for you, as you would never ever come out ever again"
Ichiya appeared, a lacrima screen appearing to display their course of action. "Ladies and gentleman, our plan is simple! We'll swiftly dodge the Timelaspe and wait for Acnologia. Then, we'll bait Acnologia into coming after us and…MEEEEN!" The screen displayed Acnologia being swallowed by the Timelaspe.
"…This sounds too easy, do you really think it'll work?" Erza asked.
"but how are we supposed to lure Acnologia into the hole?" Jellal asked as Acnologia was still in a war against END
"our only chance is either Natsu who would lend us a hand or we have to wait for either END to kill Acnologia or the other way around" Anna explained as the ship shook once more
"captain! Look at this!" Hibiki exclaimed as everyone watched the scene
END roared out before the demon flames died down and slowly the giant demon slowly disappears into nothing
"did he….lose?" Ren muttered
"not quite.." Hibiki said "its more like he disappeared on will"
Acnologia growls before the dragon sets his eyes upon Christina
"looks like he wants us now!" Jenny exclaimed as the ship started to fly away with Acnologia on its tail
"head towards the Time Lapse hole!" Anna exclaimed as the ship's engine went full throttle "this is our one and only chance to bring an end to Acnologia once and for all"
"will such plan even work?" Erza asked
"there's no other option" Anna said
Natsu and Zeref battled against each other in rage as both wanted to destroy the other
"Is that all, END? YOU'VE BETRAYED MY EXPECATIONS!" The Black Wizard held his hand out, a strange black mist striking Natsu and began to bind him and drain away at his life. "I REALLY THOUGHT YOU WERE CAPABLE OF DESTRYOING ME!"
"GAAAAAAH!" Natsu cried out.
"BUT NOT TO WORRY! IT'LL ALL GO BACK TO HOW IT USED TO BE! If I get Mavis' power, I can return to the 'myself' of back then! THANKS TO NEO ECLIPSE!" Zeref exclaimed like a mad man "A gate that leads to neither the past nor the future; it starts everything over. It'll reset time itself. I will return back to when I was mortal."
"Is that your true goal!?" Natsu asked as his veins became visible. The magic around him was starting to consume his entire body.
"NO ONE WILL SUFFER FROM WHAT I HAVE DONE ANYMORE!" Zeref screamed. "YOU'D BE HUMAN AGAIN! ACNOLOGIA WOULD NOT GAIN ANY POWER!? WON'T THAT BE QUITE THE HAPPY ENDING?!"
"But what will happen to my friends?! My family?!" Natsu exclaimed
"Who knows." Zeref held a dismissive tone. "Perhaps this world might disappear."
"WHO CARES IF WE SUFFERED IN THIS TIME BECAUSE OF YOU!" Natsu screamed while trying to pry himself free, but to no avail. "WE'LL STILL LIVE ON!"
Zeref merely smiled at those words. "Two keys are needed to open Neo Eclipse. The first is Mavis, and she's heading here right now. And the second one is…The Timelaspe itself!"
Christina flew across the ocean with the dragon in hot pursuit.
"Is he really going to follow us…?" Eve said
"he's after Wendy" Anna said "he wants to destroy every single Dragon left in this world, he will chase us"
"Anna-sensei…" Wendy looked up to Anna. "I still really don't remember anything…"
"It's not your fault." Anna said with a soft smile. "the rest can't remember me either, yes? It's probably because you all passed through the gate at such a young age!"
"I want to regain my memories, but…" Wendy sighed.
"Your feelings are more than enough." Anna told the dragon slayers. "You will regain your memories one day. There is an order for all things!"
Erza looked on, watching the dragon slayers interact with Anna. She then turned to Jellal, who was contemplating the situation. "Don't make such a face."
"The reality is that we can't defeat Acnologia without her plan. I'm not even certain if we should trust her story or not…" The sinner trailed off.
"I do trust her!" Erza said. "Even if we don't trust her, then nothing will happen regardless. It's a gambit, but she's Lucy's ancestor, and that alone is enough of a reason to trust her."
"Ah…" Jellal smiled softly at Erza's willingness to trust Anna so easily. "There's your good side…and your weakness."
"Anna-san!" Ichiya ran forward. "We are getting close to the Timelapse!"
"Everyone! We're going to start the plan!" Anna said. Everyone glanced in her direction. It was now or never.
"Are you sure your calculations are correct, Hibiki?" Eve asked just one more time.
"Of course they are!" Hibiki said confidently.
"If we touch the Timelapse, then we're finished too, right!?" Ren asked.
"Are you sure we should be getting our ship close to something like that!?" Jenny wasn't so sure about the risk-reward here. "It can't be seen with our eyes right?"
"Even though it's a risky bet, we have no other option!" Anna told them.
"Please trust my calculations!" Hibiki pleaded.
"400 meters until the Timelapse!" Eve shouted as the ship drew closer and closer. "300…200…100!"
"Everyone, please hold onto something!" Ichiya said while spinning the wheel. "BARREL ROLL! MEN!" The Christina swerved to the left, avoiding the Timelapse just barely.
"We passed it!" Eve grinned. "The ship has suffered no damage!"
"We did it! Now get the ship closer to the surface!" Hibiki spoke with a wide smile.
"Now Acnologia has to pass through it!" Ren turned back as he saw Acnologia coming hot
"Please touch it…" Anna pleaded.
"He's about to…!" Jenny gasped. Acnologia continued to pursue and then a brilliant flash of light shone. It appeared as though Acnologia only noticed it at the last second, but that wasn't going to be enough. "HE TOUCHED IT!"
But victory was short lived. because Acnologia continued flying. Christina slowed down and this allowed him to catch up and grab onto the ship, causing it to shake violently.
"WHAT?!" Erza gasped.
"THIS CAN'T BE!" Hibiki was in shock as their plan failed
"T-This can't be…" Anna was horrified as to why did the plan fail
"What happened!?" Erza exclaimed in shock
"The Timelaspe is…sealed!?" Anna said in shock
"This is bad! If we let him continue, he's going to destroy the ship!" Eve told everyone. "Damn it!"
"Why…is this happening…" Anna said
"We need to find a different way!" Erza shouted.
"Ichiya throw some pungent perfume at it! It's a Dragon Slayer and its nose is sensitive to smell!"
"righto!" Ichiya exclaimed as he opened the hatch door and stared throwing perfume bottles at Acnologia "smell this!"
Acnologia smelled the scent as the Dragon let go of the ship in disgust of the smell
"All right, he released the ship! We should have some time now…" Ren reported.
"We may have some time, but how are we going to continue?" Jellal questioned.
'We have to forcefully open the Timelapse and defeat Acnologia no matter what!" Anna said with a determined gaze
"I can't maintain speed! He'll catch us!" Ren reported.
Jenny grabbed onto a lever and began to pull it. "Activating the magical booster ignition!"
Once she pulled the lever, the ship gained a boost in speed, shooting it ahead of Acnologia to keep the distance.
"Clever…" Acnologia said. "but as long as even a single 'dragon' exists, I'll forever hunt you down."
"Please, can I have a moment!" Anna tried to get everyone's attention.
"Is there something you can do?" Erza questioned.
"I've already told you I can open the Timelapse. There's no one better than a celestial spirit mage to open a door!" Anna's confident returned full swing as Acnologia released a small roar that struck the left side of the ship, catching a few of the Blue Pegasus members in the lower decks in its wake.
"All dragons will be annihilated! " Acnologia stated out
"can't you fire at him!?" Erza exclaimed
"He destroyed our targeting system!" Jenny flailed her arms in a childish way as they had no way of fighting back.
"then let me handle him!" Jellal said as he opened the hatch door
"Jellal! What are you doing?!" Erza exclaimed
"buying you all some time" Jellal said before he jumps off the ship
"Jellal!" Erza screamed as the blue haired mage uses his Meteor to fly towards Acnologia
"I am the one who found the Timelapse!" Zeref grinned. "It is filled with so much time magic, and now, all of that magic belongs to me! That is why I had to seal it! Until I manage to complete the Neo Eclipse, I cannot have anyone interfere with my plan!"
"GAAAAH! AAAAAGRH!" Natsu growled as he tried to free himself, but it just wasn't working. The darkness was swallowing him whole.
"You can't stop me, END. Not anymore!" Zeref continued to grin.
"I will stop you, Zeref!" Mavis appeared at the guild's entrance, staring at Zeref and Natsu.
"Mavis…" Zeref smiled happily as his plan was nearly completed "Now the preparation for Neo Eclipse is done."
"RAAAAAAAAH!" Natsu roared. This roar was more intense than anything he screamed thus far. This was the roar of a dragon. Flames exploded from Natsu's body, incinerating the darkness that held onto him.
"The power a dragon…" Zeref said
"Dragon Force…" Mavis started.
"It's useless, END." Zeref shook his head. "your demonic form would've been able to end this all..even Acnologia…"
"I'm a human being." Natsu clenched his hand into a fist, drawing it back as a powerful blaze formed along his arm. "I will defeat you as one!"
"Even if you're not a dragon nor a demon, what exactly makes you human, END?" Zeref asked as he drew his arm back, darkness forming within his hand.
"ZEREF!" Natsu bellowed while pulling his arm back even further in preparation to swing. However, just before he could, Mavis stepped between them.
"PLEASE WAIT!" Mavis yelled.
"MOVE AWAY!" Natsu shouted.
"Give me a chance!" Mavis pleaded. "Give me an opportunity to talk with Zeref!"
Zeref then gripped Mavis' scalp, forcefully tugging her head back so she could look at him. "Ugh!"
"What did you say?" Zeref stared down at Mavis, scowling.
"Please, listen to what I have to say, Zeref…" Mavis said while gripping his hand in a vain attempt to force him to release her. "I can save you. I can set you free from your everlasting life."
Those words came as a surprise to the Black Wizard. "Have you ever thought about that? A way that I can 'beat you'?"
"It's useless." Zeref threw the notion away before even giving it a chance. "I've already tried all possible ways to die, and not even END could defeat me"
"So why are you so afraid of Acnologia?" Mavis questioned.
Zeref then leaned closer, their faces inches apart. "It's horrible because even though I am incapable of dying, I cannot beat Acnologia. And that's when mankind will be doomed. In other words, in the end, all mankind will perish. Only you and I will remain. He'll toy with us day after day. I wonder how it will be, since we're both incapable of dying, we'll be his toys forever…"
Natsu only look as he can sense imminent danger coming
"There's a way to end this eternity!" Mavis tried to tell him but the man didn't listen
"Yes. And now I have it." Zeref said then wrapped his free arm around Mavis' waist, ensuring that she couldn't squirm away from him. Once she was securely in his grip, it began. A bright light emanated from the both of them. "THE TRUMP CARD: NEO ECLIPSE!"
"AAAAAAAH!" Mavis shrieked in pain.
"FIRST!" Natsu yelled in worry, immediately moving to stop this.
"I will take Fairy Heart!" Zeref exclaimed
"STOP!" Natsu screamed while closing the distance. Zeref's glare briefly went to Natsu and a shockwave pushed the Salamander backwards. "UGH!
"Zeref…!" Mavis glared up at Zeref.
"Mavis…" Zeref looked down at Mavis, the woman who once held his heart. "Neo Eclipse is a spell that allows one to relive their life one more time. I will go 400 years back in time. I have a family there and a cute little brother. I'll no longer be immortal there and will finally be able to die. It'll be a shame not being able to see you anymore, but…if you don't meet me, I'm sure you'll be happier. I'm sorry, Mavis."
"Ze…ref…" Mavis felt her consciousness slipping.
Natsu tried to intervene but the power overwhelmed him
"But I'll promise I'll give it my all. To beat Acnologia once and for all! I promise I'll fight alongside Natsu. To protect the future of mankind." There were tears welling up in Zeref's eyes. "That's why I have to say goodbye to this world."
"Please…please don't erase this world…" Mavis begged as she started to collapse. "Because…this is the world where we met each other…"
Mavis fell to the floor as Natsu went to her
"FIRST!" Natsu rushed over to Mavis, gripping her shoulders and shaking her a little. "FIRST! HANG ON! FIRST!"
"She won't die." Zeref told Natsu. "But since I've absorbed all of her magical power, she won't be able to stand."
"YOU….!" Natsu's death glare unfazed Zeref.
"It's time…" Zeref lifted both hands into the sky. "This is…FAIRY HEART!" A powerful shockwave blasted out from the Fairy Tail guild, spreading out in all directions. The light faded and there stood Zeref, glowing white with a godly appearance.
"Infinite magical power. The power of a god, which can overcome time."
That's a wrap!
Bye bye