(Last five chapters, are you readddyyy? C: )

Chapter 28: Normal POV:

"Are you… really you?" Lucy heard Bickslow ask, and she felt concerned. She understood why he would ask the question. But no other version of them had ever made it this far. They watched most of them die. End up in the ocean. Drowned or otherwise. She was the one he'd been with the whole time. "Me? What… how are you alive? It threw me out and I let go of you." She protested against talking about what happened to her. Lucy's focus was everywhere. Bickslow just happened to take most of it out of sheer shock of him being alive. She had truly believed he drowned in there like she did. Stuck out there in the ocean, dead and lost like the rest of them.

The expression of Bickslow made Lucy feel how heartbroken he was. She couldn't describe the sadness in his eyes. "You drowned. I watched you drown and then it spat us both out because I held onto you. I couldn't save you. You were dead. I let go of you and screamed, when I stopped I didn't even need to look to know you were gone. Thrown away from me. I couldn't…" She listened to him, feeling horrible. She could remember talking before they were thrown into the water. She didn't stand a chance with only half a breath. In the middle of saying they didn't have a choice. It was ironic. They had so many choices in this situation, but only one of them would matter. Only one of them would matter in the end. Only one of them was the right path to their uncertain victory. But they had to try. She could see they needed each other. She could see this was wearing Bickslow down. She'd hardly ever seen him cry until they reached this island. Lucy wanted to wipe his tears but she couldn't let go of everyone else. "I-" She remained focused even as Laxus chimed in, "The man was a mess. I've never seen him so distressed before. Lucy. Is there a way we can fix this before this happens again?"

The mention of Bickslow being in so much distress had Lucy worried. Far more than she was before. She really hadn't been aware of just how much the man had become invested in her. A crush, absolutely. They'd kissed once. Lucy knew she felt for him too, but this was different. Somewhere in her heart she knew what Bickslow meant to her. And it was more than friends. More than guildmates. More than eye candy. Lucy didn't know how to answer Laxus' question, however. She had a potential solution but she couldn't say it aloud, in fear of alerting the Anomaly. It was clear to her that it could listen. "I have an idea, but I can't put anyone else in danger. So no one else try to help." She implored. She could see that Bickslow wanted to help but there was nothing he could do with what she was doing right now. Then Lucy summoned Leo, speaking to him shortly after. "Loke. I know this won't last long. Neither will your soul if I try this again alone. Just don't fight against him. Trust him like I do." Lucy beseeched her spirit. She didn't think he would ignore her wishes but she remained with her first impression of the spirits. They were people too. They deserved every bit of a choice as she did. Lucy hated putting Leo in this position a second time, forced between his own safety and hers. Sure, they had been here before, but most enemies didn't threaten to steal his very existence just for existing itself.

Leo finally spoke, "It's here, Lucy. I'm going to try-" But the spirit was cut off. By the sounds of herself screaming. She couldn't take the sound in her head. The bright flash was too close and it hurt. The blonde fell to her knees and held her head. How long had she been on her knees? She wasn't sure. But she felt bodies rush by her. Alive, familiar bodies. She saw nothing but white around her with vague figures until one of herself and another Bickslow turned to her and looked down at her. She tried to open her mouth to speak but only more screams of pain left. Like a disembodied voice, the other version of herself spoke, "Tick. Tock." It spoke, the voice of herself sounded distorted, like it was struggling to get through. "You can't fight time, Mrs. Heartfilia. I've tried." It revealed. "It's better to be on its side. Stop fighting." It warned, turning to face the other Bickslow. She knew this one wasn't the one she knew. This one's eyes were black. And yet it spoke to her too, using the voice she had come to treasure hearing. Betraying her. "Your plans with that man will only end in suffering. Join us." It taunted Lucy. The celestial wizard screamed again, yelling the word no. Begging to be freed of whatever this nightmare was. Until she heard her name behind her. She whipped her head around. There was no white, just the island and Bickslow. The island and her friends, guildmates. Brothers and sisters.

She was certain her eyes betrayed what she was trying to show. That she was fine. She was nowhere near fine. Somewhere along a timeline, they had given up. Simply decided they would join forces with this Anomaly and cooperate. But what did that mean? The time it wanted was hers. Her spirits. There would be no way she could give them up like that. Not even for her own life. It was now or never that they fixed it. But Lucy's surroundings came back to her. It was so dark, darker now that her eyes needed to adjust as she focused on Bickslow. Realizing she had let go of everyone in the process of trying to speak to the Anomaly through Leo, Lucy launched herself at the seith mage. Herself and three others knocked to the ground. She cried for Bickslow, grasping his shirt desperately. Yelling his name. She could feel the seith mage sit up with her in his lap once more. Only then did Lucy realize that the rest of the group had disappeared from her once more. Laxus and Gray remained aside from them. While the tears didn't stop, they didn't let up, either. Lucy found herself struggling to say her words. "It won't work, Bicks… It's never going to work. I tried to speak to it. It showed me… things. It showed me how we ended up in another life. It's not alone." It was a vague explanation but she didn't have time to go into detail. They never had time, and yet, somehow they always ended up with more time than they ever needed.

"Do you still trust me?" The celestial wizard heard Bickslow ask. A question she knew she didn't need to think about. Not with him. Not now. She was terrified but they had to do this. What life could any of them live while trapped here? Living forever until they died? Reliving the lives of themselves in different times. Lucy slowly nodded her head. She could see that he was trying to smile for her. "Lucy, look at the stars." She heard him request her. The blonde frowned slightly before she moved her head up to see nothing. Nothing but dark sky. Void of stars. This wasn't right… She knew that. Was it because of her? Because she refused? She knew her spirits were still around, she could feel them. An illusion, perhaps? She looked back down at Bickslow and frowned once again. "There are no stars… Bickslow… That's no-" She began, only to be cut off by lips against hers. Familiar lips. She let him kiss her, returning it shakily as the man put his hands on her cheeks. She didn't want it to end. His comfort and warmth nearly melted all of her fears away, until he pulled away with a wry smirk. "Screw the date, Cosplayer. If we get out of here alive, we're going on a long ass vacation together." He'd decided. Whether together as friends or as something else, Lucy smiled at him. It was do or die, and she loved the sound of a vacation that would eventually end. Not run on forever. A shiver went down her spine the moment she lost control of her body. She knew what was happening this time. She saw it coming. Lucy could feel the freezing water again, her mind told her to panic. But she tried to force it down.

In the next few moments, Lucy could feel her magic flow through her. It was easy for her but she could feel Bickslow straining. She only hoped her spirits would make it a little bit easier on him. Lucy hoped the man could summon the ones he needed in order to stop this Anomaly. Surprised, Lucy hit the ice wall as she saw Capricorn emerge from thin air first. She could see Laxus and Gray beginning to get up from their spot, looking about as confused as she had felt before. Questions were being asked but she couldn't hear them. She was shivering but she had an idea, watching Bickslow summon Gemini as a second one of herself. Lucy took a large breath in and submerged herself into the freezing water that trapped her in her mind and swam as far as she could downward. The water seemed endless but she didn't want to see the light above her any longer. As soon as the celestial wizard reached that point. She focused. Released her air, and held what little breath she had left and tried summoning the last of her spirits through Gemini. The blonde had no idea if it would actually work without being in any kind of control but she had to try something. She felt useless inside her own mind. Aquarius first, then Leo. Aries and Virgo. Cancer and Scorpio. Taurus and Sagitarious. She pulled together her love for them. For Bicklsow and her guild. Anyone she cared about. Her spirits. Calling them forth the same way she had when she fought so hard for Leo to be brought back.

Although Lucy could feel them, she had no idea if she had actually summoned them through Gemini. Through herself or through Bickslow. She had to believe and hope that it either worked or that Bickslow knew what he was doing. The longer she kept herself in the dark water, the more she felt at ease. Like she didn't need to breathe in here. She couldn't drown. When Lucy finally opened her eyes, she noticed a brighter light coming from above her. Where it used to be dark, it was almost blinding, but red. She swam back to the ice to find almost none. It confused and concerned her. Was she meant to regain control? The celestial mage stuck her hand over the ice and found that her hand was where it was meant to be. Then as the rest of her climbed over the ice, she found herself in control again. But it was different. Like the restraints were loosened, not cut. She turned her head to see Bickslow's hand holding hers. The other half of the insane man was inside of the broken sphere. He was screaming, losing control. But Lucy could see she had summoned the rest of her golden spirits. The rest of them holding a hand each into the Anomaly. The other hand on Bickslow or herself. "Bickslow!" Lucy called, watching the seith mage turn to her immediately. "Get in here, I need the help! Laxus and Gray too if you're feeling like being a hero!" He yelled painfully.

"What?" Gray yelled over the blast of wind that shot through the area they were in. Lucy grabbed Gray's hand with her free one and brought it to the sphere. "Bickslow?" She asked, hoping he would know her question. The man simply demonstrated by taking his hand out, ripping pieces of the Anomaly with it. But his arm was covered in blood. Even shaking it off almost made more. But he was crushing pieces of glass with his shoes. Even as the world around them rapidly changed from night and day. Season to season. The Anomaly was angry, furious. "I don't underst…" Lucy began, but stopped as Leo reached in and pulled out a piece of red glowing ethereal substance. Then he used his Lion's magic to disitintigrate it. The wispy, squishy material turned hard, then to dust and then to ash. But something didn't feel right to Lucy. Despite everything… She felt like this was too easy. It didn't put up enough of a fight even though she had died once. It wanted her time. Their time.

Imagery of the doe running through the forest that was turning black had turned white in her mind. Any pools of water showed the dark sky with stars. The wolf stood before the doe, paw bleeding, whining. Pieces of glass floating around them like a trap, inescapable for any of them. Even the constellations were beginning to disappear from the reflections. But not in reality. Lucy watched every one of her spirits take a piece out of the Anomaly and crush it to ashes. Wordlessly. She supposed this didn't need words, but the world was silent. Too silent. Yet, she reached inside, feeling her hand get sliced as the Anomaly's glass shredded at her hand in an attempt to make it stop. She screamed in pain, pushing through her tears. The celestial wizards guess was that it couldn't move itself from this spot. With them having made it to this spot, it couldn't move them without moving itself. Not while attached to it. Not while stealing its own lifeforce and crushing it to pieces. She didn't blame Gray or Laxus for not doing what they had to do.

But the thing had put them through enough pain as it was. It needed to go, living thing or not. It was a menace. A malicious sentient thing that thrived on the pain of others. The time. The lives of others, whether it knew it or not. Lucy knew if this thing got big enough it would ruin Fiore. It would ruin Alakitasia and Ishgar as a whole. She couldn't let the lives of other innocents be taken for this Anomaly's greed. It's anger it feels from having time stolen from it. When it should have been blaming Acnologia. When Lucy felt something softer than glass, she grabbed hard and pulled her hand back out. Screaming again, as her hand was let go. The dying light or the blood, she couldn't tell the difference on her hand. Only by feel could she determine the difference. The blonde took a deep breath and crushed the strangely squishy material between her fingers. Turning the rest of it to ash.

She didn't let go of her held breath, however. She expected an explosion. A screech. A demon to pop out. Instead what she got was the sky to stop spinning and all of her friends returned to her sight. She felt like she couldn't trust it. The glass that had been floating lost its capability and dropped. Larger pieces shattering to the ground. The ones from the sky above weren't illusions, they descended, breaking and shattering with tremendous force. Dropping in the ocean and on the island. The ship. Lucy felt exhausted. Like she had been awake for months. Years, maybe. She could barely hold herself up, but forced herself to Bickslow's form. But instead of him catching her, they both toppled over and things went dark.