Your Time, Part 1
As night falls in Singapore, a couple stand close to each other behind the railing of the second left viewing platform of the Helix Bridge. They smile blissfully as they wrap their arms around each other's waists and admire the beautiful view of the Singapore River and city skyline in front of them.
"Singapore at night sure is beautiful, isn't it?" The man said to his wife.
"Indeed." The woman replied as she leans her head on her husband's shoulder. "When we return to Tokyo, we should thank Nadia for suggesting this place to spend our honeymoon in."
"And we really should travel outside Japan more often." The man said.
"You had to wait until the ceiling of my braided cord shop comes crashing down to finally come up with that idea, huh?" The woman deadpanned as she frowns at her husband.
"What? No!" The man panicked as he turns to his wife. "I did thought of travelling outside the country for quite-"
"I was just pulling your leg!" The woman chuckled as her frown is quickly replaced with a cheerful smile. The man sighs in relief before he and his wife burst into laughter.
When the laughter dies down a few seconds later, the couple look back at the city skyline, and the woman's lips slowly curve downwards.
"I wonder what time it is in Wisconsin now?" The woman said worriedly.
"Well…" The man holds up his left arm and looks down at his watch around his wrist. "It's 7:40 pm here in Singapore." He lowers his arm and lifts his head up as he does the math inside his mind. "Which means it's 8:40 pm in Japan, so…minus 26 hours would be…6:40 am over in Wisconsin." He turns his head to his wife. "You're thinking about your sister, aren't you?"
"Yeah." The woman nods her head. "I haven't seen her and Banyat for more than a year now. I hope they are doing fine."
The man quietly gazed at her for a few moments. He is fully aware that ever since his wife lost her mother, witnessed the destruction of her former hometown, being separated from the boy she loves for eight years, and nearly lost her father to leukemia, she grew more worried over time as she fears what hardships may come for them and their loved ones next down the road. But soon, a warm and tender smile plasters across the man's face.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they are alright." The man said as he pulls his wife closer to him. "You should know Yotsuha and Banyat well. They are some of the toughest people we ever know. I'm sure as long as they are together, they will be fine." He leans towards his wife's ear and whispered, "Just like us."
The woman looks back at her husband with a weak smile. "Sometimes I worry what else in life is going to throw at us in the future. And I admit, there are still times when I thought our reunion is just a dream." She said.
"So do I. But when we wake up every morning and see ourselves lying next to each other on the bed, I'm immediately reminded that fate does want us to be together. So, no matter what hardships may lie ahead of us, we will always have each other by our side. We will always face them together." The man said reassuringly.
"I love you, Taki-kun." The woman said softly to her husband.
"And I love you, Mitsuha-chan." Taki replied to his wife before he leans forward and plants a small kiss on her forehead. In return, Mitsuha lifts her head up and kisses her husband's cheek. The couple stare lovingly at each other for a few seconds before Taki looks down at his watch again. "The show is about to start in fifteen minutes."
"Then let's go to the Merlion already!" Mitsuha cried ecstatically. The couple laugh again as they turn around and leave the viewing platform together. They turn to their left, run across the bridge and quickly make their way to the iconic statue where they can have a perfect view of the upcoming display.
Meanwhile, Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Virgo, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia walk out of Makansutra Gluttons Bay after finishing their dinner. As they walk past The Esplanade and make their way over to the Jubilee Bridge, both the Fire Dragon Slayer and the summoner of Mizuho sigh blissfully as they rub their stomachs.
"Ah, those noodles and chicken wings sure hit the spot." Natsu said.
"Aye! And I never imagine Earth fish would taste just as good as Earth Land fish!" Happy cried happily as he rides behind Natsu's neck and shoulders.
"The food here on Earth sure is delicious." Sheena said to Darren and Alicia. "And the places you brought us to are amazing as well. I should really come here more often."
"You should. Singapore is less than a billionth percent of what you have seen here on Earth." Darren said before turning his head back to the front and looking skyward. "There are so many other beautiful places out there in our world."
"And Darren and I hope to visit all of them one day." Alicia said as she gently grabs Darren's hand. They both smile at each other as she continued, "It isn't perfect, but we can't find any other world to be our home."
"If what you say is true, Darren, this is probably the biggest and most populated world we have ever visited yet." Lucy said.
"I'm inclined to agree. This city feels more bustling than Crocus, and there are probably more like this out there." Erza remarked.
"Who would have thought after countless requests we have accepted over the years as a guild which have led us to so many interesting places in Earth Land, Edolas and Elentir, there are still so many others out there that we have yet to explore?" Gray said with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Like I said, no matter where we go next, adventure still lies ahead of us." Karol said.
"This is truly an amazing world that Darren and Alicia lived in, which is why just like Earth Land and Telsis, we have to protect it." Judith said before they all stop and turn to each other.
After all the battles and near-death experiences they lived through during the war against the Abbey and Cornelia's forces two and a half years ago, they realized their lives cannot be taken for granted, and that peace and stability do not last forever. They all solemnly nod their heads to each other, vowing to protect and defend Earth from any threat and danger so that it will not suffer the same tragedy that happened in Fiore.
Darren later turns to his left and looks to the other side of the Jubilee Bridge, where many people are already standing around the pier of Merlion Park.
"Come on guys. The show is going to start soon." Darren said before looking back at his friends with a wide smile. "Let's go."
"Aye!" Everyone except Virgo yell excitedly and pump their fists into the air in response. Without saying another word, they quickly run across the Jubilee Bridge and head over to the Merlion Park.
When they arrived there, they see several more people sitting on the stairways beside the Merlion Statue. Fortunately, Darren found that there are still some empty rows on the right stairway that is enough to fit at least twenty people.
"There!" Darren said to his friends as he points his finger at the empty rows. They quickly go over to the right stairway to occupy them. Darren, Alicia, Natsu, Lucy and Happy choose to sit close to each other on the same row. As they sit down, Natsu gently places Happy on his lap. Behind them are Gray, Wendy, Carla, Karol, Erza and Sheena. Wendy also places her exceed friend onto her lap as she and the others sit down on the step behind Darren, Alicia, Natsu and Lucy. Finally, Yuri, Estelle, Judith, and Virgo sit together on the highest step of the stairway behind everyone else.
Ten seconds later, Taki and Mitsuha also arrived at the Merlion Park after reaching the other end of the Jubilee Bridge. They take a moment to catch their breath before Taki looks down at his watch again.
"Just in time." Taki said with a smile of relief. The couple stand up straight and cling onto each other's hands before they walk into the pier of Merlion Park. They walk through the huge crowd of people and over to the edge of the pier so they can have a closer look at the upcoming light and water show.
Meanwhile, at the top of Fullerton Hotel, a five-star luxury hotel and a national monument of Singapore that is built a few hundred meters behind the Merlion Park and on the other side of the road, the diners sitting inside the rooftop restaurant look to the direction of the river and ready their phones as they wait for the show to begin.
But unbeknownst to all of them, there is a short girl walking on the far-right side of the hotel's rooftop and towards the edge. She has long dark brown hair, bright purple eyes, and wears a short-sleeved orange dress that goes down to her thighs and has light blue outlines and a wide vertical white stripe in the center. She also wears orange gloves, long white socks, and orange shoes. But the most distinguishable part of her appearance are her large rat ears above her head, and a long light pink tail at the back of her waist and dress. When she arrived at the edge of the rooftop, the girl sits down and looks out to the Singapore River. She holds up her right hand and summons a lacrima orb in her palm.
"Everyone, I'm in position." The girl said to it. "Wait for my signal."
"Yes ma'am." She heard several voices responding to her in unison. The girl dematerializes the lacrima afterwards. She places her elbows on her thighs and puts her chin on top of her palms as she waits for the light and water show to begin.
"I hope you guys will love it." Darren said to his friends as they continue staring at the river.
"I'm sure we would." Lucy said as she places her hand on top of Natsu's. She and the Fire Dragon Slayer briefly smile at each other before looking back to the river.
Finally, after a few more seconds, jets of water began pumping into the air at the other side of the Singapore River, and the Shoppes, the Marina Bay Sands building, the ArtScience museum, the Helix Bridge and the Singapore Flyer all brighten up and shine through the night sky. Many people in the Merlion Park cheer and applaud in response.
As the lights on the rooftops of the Shoppes and Marina Bay Sands building switch and fade to various colors, a visual projection of a dove flapping its wings with colorful circles in the black background played below the lotus-shaped roof of the ArtScience Museum. Taki and several people in the Merlion Park are holding up their smartphones to record the entire light and water show so they may keep this memory inside their devices for all time.
Meanwhile, as Darren and his friends continue watching the spectacular display with their eyes wide and their mouths agape, Virgo summons Lucy's camera lacrima before getting up. She descends to the bottom of the stairway and walks about a meter away from the others before she turns around and gets down on a knee. She holds up the camera lacrima and takes a few good shots of Darren and his friends looking amazed by the show in front of them.
Afterwards, Virgo climbs back up to the highest step of the stairway and stands behind Yuri, Estelle, and Judith. She holds up the camera lacrima again to take a few shots of the light and water show at the other side of the Singapore River, right before lasers began shooting down from the top of the Marina Bay Sands building and onto the water, causing everyone in the Merlion Park to briefly cheer and clap their hands again.
"This is beautiful." Estelle said softly, feeling mesmerized by the display.
"I agree." Yuri said as he wraps his arm around Estelle's shoulders and pull her closer to him. Estelle wraps her arm around Yuri's waist as they lean their heads against each other.
Sheena leans her head forward and suggested to Lucy, Natsu, Alicia and Darren, "We should take a picture of us with the show behind us. What do you say?"
"Good idea!" Lucy nodded.
"Sounds great." Alicia added.
"I want to join too." Erza said to Sheena.
"Look after Happy for me, Karol." Natsu said as he turns around and passes Happy to Karol.
"You got it." Karol replied as he gently places Happy on his lap. Darren, Alicia, Natsu and Lucy get up from the step and they, Erza and Sheena climb to the top of the stairway to join Virgo. As they leave, Wendy, Karol, Happy and Carla turn their heads and smile briefly at each other before they all continue watching the light show with the others.
When Darren, Alicia, Natsu, Lucy, Erza and Sheena are at the top of the stairway, they ask Virgo to take a group picture of them. Virgo obliged and held up Lucy's camera lacrima again as Darren and the others wrap their arms around each other's shoulders and smile for her. Virgo proceeds to take a few good shots of them.
"Alright, my turn." Darren said as he and his friends remove their arms from each other. He gets out his own smartphone, turns on the camera and holds it up in front of him.
"Smile, everyone!" Darren said as he looks at his camera and plasters a grin across his face.
"Wait!" Lucy said before she goes over to Virgo and grabs her arm. "Join us, Virgo."
"Yes, Lucy-sama." Virgo replied solemnly as Lucy pulls her over.
As Alicia, Sheena, Erza, Natsu, Lucy and Virgo now huddle around him, Darren takes a shot of all of them with the light show and the Marina Bay Sands building in the background. Darren later puts his phone back into his pocket before he and the others return to their seats at the stairway and continue watching the light and water show with their friends.
The show lasted for another ten minutes until the water stops pumping out from the river and the lights and projections from the buildings fade out. Everyone in the Merlion Park cheer and applaud once more as the display comes to a close. The dark brown-haired girl who is sitting on the rooftop of the Fullerton Hotel also claps her hands slowly with a dull expression on her face.
"That was incredible." Mitsuha said to Taki as the people on the pier begin to leave.
"Indeed." Taki said as he lowers his smartphone. "And in front of such a lovely view of our hotel too. Let's take a picture of this."
Mitsuha nods her head to him. They both turn around and lean their backs against the metal railing before Taki holds his phone up in front of them. The couple gently wraps their arms around their waists before they smile warmly for the camera and Taki takes a shot of them.
"That was amazing, Darren!" Wendy said ecstatically to Darren as he turns around to face everyone sitting behind him.
"Thanks for showing this to us." Karol added.
"We love it." Gray said with a warm smile. Happy, Carla, Erza, Sheena, Yuri, Estelle, and Judith all nod their heads in agreement.
"I'm glad you all do." Darren said. "Why don't we take one last picture of us together before we call it a day?"
"Sure!" Estelle replied in delight.
"You got it." Yuri said with a smirk.
"Let's do it." Erza said as everyone get up, turn around and climb up to the top of the stairway.
While holding up the camera lacrima in front of her, Virgo backs away from everyone until she sees a clear and wide view of Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia standing at the edge of the stairway with the Marina Bay Sands building and its surrounds behind them in the distance.
"Say cheese!" Darren said to his friends as they all huddle close to each other.
"CHEESE!" The others shout in unison and show off their smiles before Virgo takes the shot and creates another memorable photo that they will cherish for years to come.
Back at the pier, Taki and Mitsuha gently plant a kiss onto each other's lips as the former takes a selfie shot of themselves. They look down at his phone after breaking away from each other.
"It looks great." Mitsuha smiled at their latest photo. "But now I want a photo of us with the buildings in the background."
As they lift their heads up and look around however, they realize that they are now the only ones left in the pier.
"I guess most of them are just here for the show." Taki said. Mitsuha looked around a little more until she notices Darren and his friends walking towards the Jubilee Bridge in the distance.
"Let's ask them!" Mitsuha said ecstatically before she and her husband rush over to the large group.
Darren and his friends were nearing the Jubilee Bridge as they make their departure when they suddenly hear Taki and Mitsuha calling out to them.
"Hey! Guys!"
They quickly stop at their tracks and turn to their right to see the couple running over and waving their hands at them.
"Can I help you?" Darren asked as Taki and Mitsuha stop in front of him and his friends.
"Sorry to bother you." Taki said as he and his wife bow apologetically to them. "But we are wondering if you could help take a few pictures for us?"
"Oh, sure. No problem at all." Darren smiled as Taki hands him his smartphone. He turns to his friends and says to them, "You guys wait here. I'll be right back."
"Sure thing." Natsu said as he and the others nod their heads to him.
"Don't worry about us." Alicia said.
"See you later." Darren said as he, Taki and Mitsuha began walking over to the end of the pier.
Meanwhile, at the rooftop of the Fullerton Hotel, the girl has been gazing down at the photo inside her golden heart-shaped locket that she holds in her left palm. She lets out a heavy sigh before she closes the locket and dematerializes it.
"He would have loved this place." The girl said dishearteningly as she puts her left hand down. She turns to her right and holds up her other hand as she now summons her lacrima orb. "Are you all ready?"
"Yes ma'am." Several voices responded to her in unison.
"We're ready to execute the plan when you are." One voice said to her.
"I am, Giuseppe." The girl replied solemnly with her eyes narrowed. She gets herself up and looks down at everyone who is still gathered around the Merlion Park to take pictures of the statue and river or buying food and beverages from the nearby stalls. She thrusts her other hand at the direction of the park and a small orb of white energy forms in front of her palm.
Back at the pier, Darren takes a few good shots of Taki and Mitsuha leaning their backs against the metal railing and wrapping their arms around their shoulders with a clear view of the Marina Bay Sands and its surrounds behind them in the distance.
"Done." Darren said as he lowers Taki's smartphone.
"One more picture, please." Taki said to him.
"Okay." Darren replied. Taki and Mitsuha turn to each other and gently kiss each other on the lips again. Darren smiled at the couple as he holds up Taki's phone and takes a few pictures of them locked in their tender kiss. "Done."
Taki and Mitsuha break away from their kiss and embrace before walking over to Darren. Darren hands the phone back to Taki and the couple takes a moment to look at the pictures he had taken for them.
"They look great." Mitsuha said. Taki nods his head to her before he and Mitsuha bow down to Darren.
"Arigatou." Taki and Mitsuha both said to him.
"Doitashimashite." Darren replied as he bows back to them. Taki and Mitsuha stare blankly at him, and he chuckled sheepishly as he rubs the back of his head. "Yeah, I know some Japanese."
Taki and Mitsuha laughed before the latter asked, "By the way, those are some very interesting looking friends you have over there. One of them is even dressed in a maid outfit."
Darren turns around and glances at his friends who are still standing near the Jubilee Bridge and currently conversing with each other. He looks back at the couple and said as he tries to think of an answer, "Yeah, well…"
Back at the rooftop of the Fullerton Hotel, a strong aura of white energy now forms around the girl as she is almost done casting her spell.
"Unleash…" The girl spoke. "ENERGY DOME!"
A huge beam of white energy fires from the girl's hand. Soon, six more white energy beams also fire from the top of the Swissôtel The Stamford and some office towers near and behind the Fullerton Hotel, and they all fly over to the Merlion Park. One couple is eating hot dogs together near the Merlion Statue when one of them looks up and widens his eyes upon seeing the beams coming towards them.
"What is that?!" The man cried incredulously.
His cry caught the attention of everyone in the Merlion Park, including Darren, Taki, Mitsuha, Alicia, Sheena, Virgo, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia. They all look around and see the seven white energy beams hitting against the airspace above the Merlion Park and slowly form what seems to be a clear gigantic dome over and around the area.
"This is magic!" Lucy cried as she and her friends watch in alarm.
Sheena soon turns to the Fullerton Hotel and sees one of the energy beams coming from the rooftop. She frowns as she barely notices the dark brown-haired girl standing at the edge.
"What the…" Taki said as he, Mitsuha and Darren look equally dumbfounded. They turn around and see the boundaries of the dome coming down about 20 meters away from the end of the pier and into the waters of the Singapore River.
Alicia, Sheena, Virgo, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia also turn around and see the boundaries of the dome landing about 25 meters from where they stand and going through a small part of the Jubilee Bridge. A few cyclists unfortunately could not stop their bikes in time, and they all slam against the dome and fall onto the ground.
As the civilians who are trapped inside the dome began screaming and panicking, Alicia, Sheena, Virgo, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia hold up their clenched fists and get into their fighting stances.
"We are trapped inside a dome!" Erza shouted to her friends.
"Stay vigilant, everyone!" Karol added.
"Guys, I noticed one of the energy beams coming from that building on our right called 'The Fullerton Hotel'. I think I saw a girl with a tail standing on top of it." Sheena said to the others.
"Someone with a tail? Sounds like a demihuman to me." Judith said.
"Great. An Earth Lander is already causing trouble here on Earth." Natsu mumbled as he and the others turn their heads to the said building.
As they stand at the pier, Darren, Taki and Mitsuha could see from a distance that some of the civilians are running over to the side of the dome facing the quay alongside the One Fullerton shopping centre and slamming their hands and fists against the wall as they cry for help.
"Taki-kun! What's going on?!" Mitsuha cried to her husband in horror.
"I don't know." Taki replied anxiously as he wraps his arms around Mitsuha, trying his best to calm himself and his wife down. "I don't know at all."
"It looks like we are trapped inside some sort of dome-shaped force field." Darren said to the couple as he looks around the dome.
"What?" Taki said as he and Mitsuha stare at him in confusion.
"Guys, please calm down." Darren said to Taki and Mitsuha while holding up his hands. "I don't know what is going on either, but I'm sure my friends and I will find a way to get us out of here."
"W-What are you talking about?" Mitsuha asked bewilderedly.
"Phase 1 is complete." The dark brown-haired girl said diabolically to her accomplices through her lacrima orb. "I'll begin the next step of our plan."
"Yes ma'am!" Several voices responded to her. The girl dematerializes her lacrima orb before she closes her eyes and extends her arms out in front of her.
"Sheena is right! There is a demihuman girl on top of that building!" Wendy cried as she points her finger at the girl on the rooftop of the Fullerton Hotel.
"I see it too!" Natsu yelled as he and his friends stare at the demihuman in the distance.
"What is she doing now?" Gray asked with a frown.
"Now…" The girl said as an aura of white energy now forms around her body. "Return to those days of distant memory…" She snaps her eyes open and glares at the dome she and her accomplices have created. "LAW OF RETROGRESSION!"
Suddenly, thick clouds of white fog began forming inside the dome. Everyone except Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Virgo, Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia moan and place their hands on their foreheads as they began to feel dizzy and drowsy. As Darren looks around and tries to figure out what is going on, he turns back to the couple when he hears the couple moaning.
"Ugh…Taki-kun…I don't…feel…well…" Mitsuha said softly as she and Taki place their hands on their foreheads and wobble about.
"Me…too." Taki replied as he and Mitsuha now close their eyelids and are about to fall back from each other.
"Hold on!" Darren cried concernedly as he quickly goes over and places his hands on their backs to prevent them from collapsing in time. As he kneels, he gently places Taki and Mitsuha down on their knees and wraps his arms around their shoulders to support them.
"What's happening now?" Alicia asked as she and her friends narrow their eyes and barely see the civilians either falling on their knees, collapsing onto the floor, or leaning against the Merlion statue or a tree to support themselves.
"Whatever this is, the magic is taking a toll on these people." Erza replied. "They clearly aren't resistant against our magic from another world."
"Why aren't I affected by it?" Alicia inquired.
"Probably because of your time spent in Earth Land with us." Estelle theorized. They all close their eyes as the fog has now overwhelm the dome, and everyone's vision is temporarily blinded by it.
When the fog is lifted a few seconds later, Natsu blinks his eyes and realizes that the civilians in the Merlion Park are now…different. Not only did their clothes have changed, but so too are their size, height, and facial appearance.
Those who Natsu remembers were adults, have turned into either teenagers or children no older than the age of 12. The teenagers have also turned into children, and the children have turned into toddlers. When all the civilians regain their senses and get back up on their feet, they look at each other and are completely dumbfounded by what had happened to them.
"T-T-They have all turn younger!" Natsu yelled with his eyes wide.
"So did you!" Lucy cried. Natsu looks down at his own body and drops his jaw, realizing he is now dressed in his red short-sleeved shirt with yellow buttons, dark yellow shorts, maroon shoes and light yellow sash around his waist that he remembers wearing often as a kid. Only his trademark white scaly scarf remains around his neck.
He places his hands all over his head and body for a moment, trying to comprehend if he had really turned into a child, and he did. He turns to Lucy, Alicia, Sheena, and the other members of his team and yelps again when he sees that they have all revert to their child forms as well.
Lucy's hair is now shorter, but still tied to a small side ponytail. She is also currently wearing a sleeveless pink dress with a swirly white horizontal line in the middle, a blue ribbon tied around its white collar, white socks, and red shoes.
Erza's hair is still long but she is back to wearing her plain sleeveless black dress. Gray is wearing his long-sleeved white fur jacket, blue shirt, dark blue pants, and brown leather shoes. Wendy now has short bob hair and wears a plain white short-sleeved shirt, blue shorts, and dark brown shoes. And Happy and Carla appear in their smaller and younger selves.
Alicia realizes she is back to her ten-year old self when she has shoulder-length blonde hair and wears a short-sleeved light blue shirt, brown shorts, and yellow shoes. And Sheena is reverted to her eleven-year old self when she wears red robes, red pants, red gloves, brown shoes, and a long yellow scarf around her neck. Her hair remains the same, being tied to a messy ponytail by a pink ribbon.
"W-W-What is this?!" Alicia said in bewilderment as she and Sheena place their hands all over their heads. When Sheena looks down at her current form, she drops her jaw for a moment before she bites down on her lower lip and some tears well up in her eyes.
"M-my…my…" Sheena stuttered as she places her hands on her chest. As she whimpers in despair, Erza lowers her head and places her hand on Sheena's shoulder.
"It's alright. I know how you feel." Erza said grimly.
"Brrrr…I feel cold." Happy shivered as he and Carla wrap their arms around themselves.
"Me too. My fur isn't as thick when I'm a child." Carla added.
"Here, wrap these blankets around you." Virgo said as she passes the exceeds some blankets that she summoned.
"Thank you, Virgo-hey!" Happy widens his eyes at Virgo after he and Carla take the blankets from her. "You look exactly the same!"
"I guess the magic has no effect on Celestial Spirits." Lucy said to Virgo who is still in her normal form.
"It appears so." Virgo nodded to her mistress.
"Is it just me or does this remind us of our mission to unfreeze the Sun Village years ago?" Natsu said as he scratches his head.
"You're right." Erza responded as she turns her head to Natsu. "The same thing happened to us back then."
"Never thought you would remember that." Gray said to the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsu yelled in annoyance as he jabs his finger at him.
"Why did they do this to us?" Yuri asked bewildered as he strokes his hand through his hair and realized it has been shortened to shoulder-length, just like how it was when he was ten years old. He is also now wearing a short-sleeved light green tunic, pale blue pants, and dark gray shoes.
"You look kind of cute though, Yuri." Estelle said as her cheeks blushed. Her hair is now tied to a bun, and she currently wears a light blue blouse with short white sleeves, light blue skirt, white socks, and black shoes.
"Is this really the right time to make comments like that?" Yuri asked Estelle incredulously.
"Whatever the reason is, it can't be good." Judith said, answering Yuri's question as she and Karol turn to each other. While the krityan's ears and headtails remain the same length, her hair is now shortened to chin-length, and she wears a short-sleeved white tunic, blue pants, and blue shoes.
Karol nods his head in agreement. The leader of Brave Vesperia now has short neat brown hair and wears a simple white t-shirt, red neck scarf, dark green pants, and dark brown shoes, just like how he looked like when he was only six.
Back at the pier, Darren lifts his head up when he hears the cries of panic and despair coming from the park. From a distance, he can see some of the adults who have turned into teenagers and children are looking baffled by their younger looks and the different clothes and hairstyles they are now sporting, which they remember having them during their youths, but have mysteriously returned. Others are trying their best to comfort their children who have turn into toddlers, and they cling onto their parents as they wail. The teenagers who have turned into children are asking their friends and romantic partners what have happened to them. Darren can even hear one of them asking does this mean they would have to experience puberty all over again.
"What on Earth…" Darren uttered as he gets up and backs away from Taki and Mitsuha. He looks down at his body and yelps when he realizes that he is now wearing his red t-shirt, red shorts, and black shoes that he remembers liking during his childhood. He gets out his smartphone and switches the camera to selfie mode so he can take a good look at himself. He yelps again when he sees that he has short black hair and wears a larger and rounder pair of glasses which he also remembers wearing many years ago.
"I'm a kid again?!" Darren said incredulously as he places his other hand on his cheek. When he heard groaning, Darren lowers his phone and looks back at Taki and Mitsuha.
"Taki-kun, what happened?" Mitsuha asked before she and her husband look up at each other.
"I don't…know?" Taki said in bewilderment. They both frown and lean their heads towards each other. "Is this a dream?"
"Maybe." Mitsuha replied. "Can we pinch each other?"
"Sure." Taki said before he and Mitsuha grab each other's cheeks and pinch them hard.
"OW!" They both cry in pain before letting go of their cheeks. They stare blankly at each other for a few more seconds until they finally comprehend that what they are seeing in front of them is indeed real.
"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHH?!" Taki and Mitsuha both screamed incredulously as they back away from each other and sit down on the floor, realizing that they are back to how they look like when they were 17 years old. While Taki's hair remains the same, he is now wearing his short-sleeved white school uniform with a striped dark green and light green tie around his collar, dark brown belt with a silver buckle, dark gray pants, and black leather shoes. Mitsuha on the other hand has her black hair tied to a braided ponytail by a red braided cord and wears a short-sleeved white school uniform with a red ribbon around her collar, a dark gray skirt, black socks, and brown leather shoes.
"M-M-Mitsuha! Y-Y-You're young again!" Taki stammered as he points his shaking finger at his wife.
"S-So are you!" Mitsuha replied as she points her finger back at him. She places her hands on her cheeks with her eyes widened. "Wait a minute, am I still me?"
Taki places his hands on his own cheeks and murmured to himself, "I'm Taki Miyamizu. I used to be Taki Tachibana. My father is Seiji and I used to study in Jingu High School." He looks down at his hands before looking back up at Mitsuha. "I'm still me! We didn't switch bodies!"
"What?" Darren said puzzled.
"Me too! I'm still Mitsuha!" Mitsuha cried in relief.
"Great!" Taki said as he and Mitsuha smile and pull each other into a warm embrace. But they break away from it shortly after and look at each other in concern. "But wait, why did this happen to us? Why are we young again?"
"I don't know. But it seems it happened to him as well." Mitsuha said as she and Taki turn to Darren.
"And everyone else in the park." Darren said before Taki and Mitsuha look at the other civilians who are screaming, crying, and panicking in the Merlion Park.
"I've completed phase 2. Send in the Praetorians and meet me back at our hideout. We will prepare the last phase over there." The girl said to her accomplices through her lacrima orb.
"Yes ma'am." The voices of her accomplices responded to her before signing off. The girl dematerializes her lacrima orb and looks back down at the dome. She briefly watches the teenagers, children and toddlers panicking inside her makeshift prison with a smirk on her face before she turns around and makes her departure.
"What should we do now?" Mitsuha asked concernedly as she and Taki get back up.
"I'm not sure." Taki replied worriedly before they turn to Darren again. "Sir, you said you and your friends will find a way to get us out of here. Do you have any ideas then?"
"Well…"
Before Darren could reply, they are interrupted by the sound of a mysterious figure landing above them. Taki and Mitsuha yelp as they and Darren look up and stare at him. He is a man with short white hair and a long white moustache and wears a large brown cowboy hat, a green metallic armor over his long-sleeved red shirt, a brown belt with a gold square buckle, black gloves, black pants, brown boots, and green greaves. He also has a long yellow scorpion tail at the back of his waist.
Meanwhile, another demihuman also dropped onto the top of the dome and above everyone near the Merlion statue. As the civilians froze and scream in terror, Team Natsu, Brave Vesperia, Alicia, Sheena and Virgo get into their fighting stances as they look up at her. She is a woman with long black hair that goes down to the back of her waist, orange eyes, blue scaly skin and wears a plain sleeveless red tank top while leaving her midriff exposed. Her head, arms, hands, and upper torso still resembles the upper body of a human being, but her entire lower half resembles the body and tail of a blue racer snake.
One more demihuman landed behind the side of the dome facing the quay lying alongside the One Fullerton shopping centre, causing the civilians to scream upon seeing him. He has red eyes, brown short hair, bushy ears that resembles the ones found on a wolverine and wears a red trench coat, a dark tan singlet underneath it, dark tan pants, and black boots. His hands and lower arms are coated with brown fur. As he watches the civilians turn around and flee, his teeth break out into a maniacal grin. He laughs maliciously as he enjoys the view of innocent people running away from him in fear.
The fourth and final demihuman landed behind Team Natsu and the others, and the side facing the Jubilee Bridge. As Team Natsu and the others turn around to see him, the cyclists yelp in fear as they whirl about and run away from them and the dome. He is bald and has a large forehead, orange skin, white eyes, white barnacles over his arms and wears a plain sleeveless black tank top with two extra holes on both sides, a pair of red pants and white shoes.
"Is that a tail?!" Mitsuha cried in bewilderment as she, Taki and Darren watch the cowboy hat-wearing man above them swinging his tail side to side.
"Yes." Darren said flatly as he nods his head. "It's a demihuman."
"A demi-what?" Taki asked.
"Mind if I drop in?" The man said mockingly to them with a smirk as he holds up his right hand and summons a silver metallic gauntlet around it that was given to him and his comrades by the brown-haired demihuman girl. He crouches down and places his gauntlet onto the dome. Darren, Taki and Mitsuha widen their eyes as the demihuman slowly phases through its layer.
The other three demihumans proceed to summon their own silver gauntlets as well and place them on the dome to phase through it.
"Lucy! Wendy! Take Happy and Carla with you and keep the civilians safe!" Erza ordered Lucy and Wendy.
"Right!" Lucy and Wendy obliged as they pick up the exceeds and ran off.
"You go with them, Estelle." Karol said to Estelle.
"Okay." Estelle said before following Lucy and Wendy.
"Erza, Natsu, Gray, you guys take care of the demihuman at the other side. Alicia, Sheena, Virgo, you three will fight the one on top." Karol ordered his friends before he, Yuri and Judith turn around and face the demihuman at the Jubilee Bridge. "Yuri, Judith and I will handle this one."
"Got it!" Erza, Natsu, Gray, Alicia and Sheena replied before they and Virgo go off their separate ways.
"Get out of here now!" Darren yelled to Taki and Mitsuha. The couple whirl about and run out of the pier before the man lands down and near Darren. He turns around and holds up his fists as he gets into his fighting stance.
"Come now, kid." The man said as he stands back up, towering over Darren by a few feet. "We don't want to hurt any of you. As long as you listen to us adults, we can get along just fine. And besides…" His lips curved up into a lopsided smirk. "Do you really think you can fight me in that form of yours?"
"I'm not afraid of you." Darren replied flatly. The man sighs and shakes his head before giving Darren a scowl.
"So be it." The man said before he suddenly crouches down and thrusts his scorpion tail at Darren. Darren quickly evades it by rolling over the floor to his left before he gets back up and yells as he charges towards him.
After the demihuman at the Jubilee Bridge fully phased through the dome, Yuri and Judith run towards him. But when they throw their fists at him, the demihuman quickly grabs them to stop their attacks. Yuri and Judith quickly use their other fists to deliver an uppercut to his abdomen while Karol runs over to him and throws his own fist at his chest. But suddenly, two extra arms emerged through the holes at the sides of the demihuman's tank top, and they quickly deflect Yuri and Judith's fists and grab Karol's arms when he is near him.
The demihuman grins at them as Yuri, Karol and Judith look shocked. So too are Taki and Mitsuha who are now nearby them as they see what is in front of them. Another pair of arms emerge from the lower holes of his tank top and deliver uppercuts to Yuri and Judith's stomachs, causing them to groan in pain. The demihuman lifts Karol up in the air and throws his large forehead onto his head with the force of a sledgehammer. Karol yells in pain as the demihuman releases his arms, sending him slamming onto the floor on his back with a thud. The demihuman uses his middle pair of arms to grab Yuri and Judith's other arms and slam both against each other. They yelp before the demihuman tosses them to the floor and they both lie beside Karol.
"Let's go!" Taki cried as he grabs Mitsuha's shoulders, and they both ran off to their left and towards the Merlion statue.
Meanwhile, the snake demihuman hissed, showing off her tongue and sharp upper jaws as she pounces at Sheena. Sheena leaps into the air to dodge the demihuman and performs a somersault as she jumps over her. Alicia leaps over to the demihuman from her left and delivers a kick to the left side of her head. As the demihuman slithers to the side, she turns and sweeps her tail across the floor. She thrusts her arms at Alicia and stretches them over to her. Alicia gasps in shock and Sheena swiftly uses Volt's Lightning to run over and push her out of the way before the demihuman could grab her. Taki and Mitsuha stop at their tracks as Sheena and Alicia came to a halt between them and the Merlion statue. The summoner falls on her knees as she breathes heavily.
"Thanks, but are you alright?" Alicia asked in concern.
"Yeah, but it seems using Volt's Lightning has taken a lot of energy out of me." Sheena said wearily.
"That's because this magic not only turn you into children, but also lower your stamina and abilities. Now why don't you stop resisting and cooperate already!" The demihuman screamed as she stretches her arms over to the two girls. Alicia and Sheena turn their heads away and prepare for the worse until Virgo suddenly lands down in front of them and firmly grabs the demihuman's hands. The demihuman widens her eyes in shock as she struggles to pull her arms off from Virgo's surprisingly strong grip.
"You will not hurt my mistress's friends." Virgo said before she quickly tosses the demihuman's arms out of the way and swings her own arms horizontally through the air to throw her chains over to her. The chains wrap around the demihuman's neck, causing her to gasp in pain. Virgo swings her chains downwards to pull the demihuman down and slam her face against the concrete floor.
"Virgo, together!" Lucy cried to her Celestial Spirit as she runs over to the demihuman from behind.
"Hai!" Virgo replied as she quickly releases her chains. She and Lucy leap into the air and lift their legs up.
"LUCY…"
"VIRGO…"
"KICK!" They both yelled in unison as they bring their legs down onto the back of the demihuman's head. She yelps in pain for a moment before passing out.
"You adults need to stop underestimating children!" Lucy chided the defeated demihuman as she stands on top of her with her arms folded.
"Amazing." Mitsuha commented as she and Taki stand by and watch.
"I feel like we are in some kind of an anime right now." Taki added as he scratches his head.
Meanwhile at the side of the dome facing the One Fullerton shopping centre, the half-wolverine demihuman laughs maniacally as he charges at Erza with his arms pulled back and sharp claws extended out from his fingertips. He swings his claws horizontally at Erza, who manages to block them with her sword which she manages to summon earlier. The demihuman twirls around as he swings his leg horizontally at Erza. But the scarlet-haired girl ducks down to dodge the attack. As soon as he brings his leg down, Erza yells as she charges towards him and uses the bottom of the hilt of her sword to hit him in the abdomen. The demihuman groans and stumbles backwards before looking back at Erza with a wide grin.
"You think a puny hit like that will-"
"ICE MAKE: FLOOR!" Gray interrupts him by slamming his hands onto the floor and forms a layer of ice beneath the demihuman's feet.
"Oh-AAAAHHHH!" The demihuman cried as he quickly loses his balance and lands on his back. Wendy, Estelle, Happy, Carla, and the civilians laugh at the display as they watch from a distance.
Feeling enraged and humiliated, the demihuman roars as he turns around and pierces the ice with his claws.
"You will pay for that!" The demihuman snapped at Gray as he gets back up. But as soon as the demihuman tries to charge at him, Natsu quickly runs over to him from his left and delivers a powerful punch to his abdomen with his left fist. The demihuman yelps as he leans forward, allowing Natsu to swing his right fist down onto the back of his head. As he collapses onto the floor, Natsu lifts his right foot up and above the back of his head.
"No, you won't!" Natsu said with a grin before bringing his foot down to knock the demihuman out.
Near the Jubilee Bridge, the half-octopus demihuman swings his middle arms and punches Judith and Karol across their cheeks again to send them falling to the floor. Yuri yells angrily as he leaps over to the demihuman from behind and wraps his arms around his neck. But the demihuman quickly throws back his upper right fist to hit Yuri in the face. As Yuri loosens his grip, the demihuman uses his lower left hand to grab his left leg and pull him off his back. Yuri briefly finds himself being flung through the air until the demihuman grabs his right arm from behind with his middle right hand. The demihuman also grabs Yuri's right leg and left arm with his lower right and middle left hands and holds him up in front of him. Yuri throws his head back and yells in agony as the demihuman pulls his limbs forcefully.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You kids can't stop me! No one here can!" The demihuman laughed triumphantly while pumping his upper fists into the air.
"Stop this!" Estelle yelled angrily as she runs over to the demihuman from his right, leaps into the air and wraps her right arm around his neck. The demihuman yelps as he lowers his upper arms. When he does, Estelle quickly holds up her magic-sealing cuffs in her other hand and places one of its sides around his upper left wrist.
"No!" The demihuman cried as his extra arms release Yuri and shrink back into his torso. After Estelle unwraps her arm around his neck and drops back down onto the floor, Yuri turns around and punches the demihuman hard in the abdomen. The demihuman yelps for a moment before he growls and swings his left fist at Yuri, hitting him across his right cheek and sending him falling to the floor. He turns to Estelle, grabs her by her blouse and holds her up close to his face.
"You think I still can't beat you without my magic?" The demihuman said icily to Estelle who struggles to break free from his grip.
"How about all of us?!" Wendy shouted at him. When the demihuman lowers Estelle and looks up, he widens his eyes and drops his jaw as he sees Wendy, Happy, Carla, Karol, Judith and 25 other children and teenagers huddle together and stand a few meters away from him with fierce glares on their faces.
"GET HIM!" Karol ordered, jabbing his finger at the demihuman. He, Wendy, Happy, Carla and the civilians yell as they run over to the demihuman in a wild stampede. The demihuman drops Estelle and could only scream in despair as they all tackle and pin him onto the floor.
"Are you alright?" Judith asked as she helps Yuri get back up on his feet.
"I am now. Thanks." Yuri said to her before looking back at the demihuman who is now being dogpiled by Wendy, Happy, Carla, Karol, and the civilians. "Looks like our little display has motivated them to fight back."
Estelle runs over to Yuri and Judith and hands them three more pairs of magic-sealing cuffs. "Sorry that it took me a while. My summoning isn't as fast as it was while I'm in this body." Estelle said.
"Doesn't matter." Yuri said as he takes two pairs of cuffs from her. "We got to restrain the others and help Darren."
Back at the pier, Darren groans as he sprawls through the floor after getting kicked in the chest by the half-scorpion demihuman. He lifts his head up just in time to see the demihuman running over and kicking him in the face. As Darren goes down on the floor again, the demihuman turns and grabs him by the throat. Darren gasps as the demihuman lifts him up and holds him high in the air like a sick trophy.
"You just had to be arrogant, don't you kid?" The demihuman asked Darren mockingly as he watches the child struggle to break free from his grip in amusement. He pulls his tail back and aims its stinger at him. "You should have stay put like a good little child."
However, before he could strike, Lucy quickly throws her whip over and wraps it around his tail.
"Huh?" The demihuman said in confusion. As Alicia wraps her arms around Lucy's lower body from behind, they both give a hard pull, causing the demihuman to yelp and fall to the floor on his back while letting go of Darren in the process. The demihuman growls as he throws himself back up on his feet and swings his tail to the side to pull Lucy and Alicia. The girls yelp as Lucy releases her whip and they both fall onto the floor together.
But when the demihuman turns back to Darren, the child runs over to him and swings his leg up.
"YEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!" The demihuman howled and leans forward in agonizing pain as Darren's leg makes a direct hit into his crotch.
"And you should have worn a full set of armor." Darren said before he throws two punches across both his cheeks.
The demihuman growls as he retaliates by swinging his left fist horizontally and punching across Darren's right cheek. After Darren rolls over the floor, Judith leaps over and delivers a strong kick to the left side of the demihuman's head, knocking off his cowboy hat in the process and sending him falling on his face. Judith quickly goes over and places one of the sides of her magic-sealing cuff around his right wrist. When the demihuman slowly lifts his head up, Judith briefly pulls his hair and slams his face against the floor to knock him out.
"That takes care of all of them." Judith said to Darren as he gets back up.
"Guys!" Alicia cried as she and Lucy run over to them.
"What is it?" Darren asked concernedly, noticing the terrified looks on their faces.
"This is bad." Lucy said. "One of the civilians is poisoned."
Sovereign: Here is the OVA-style story that I said I wanted to write after the final chapter of Dawn of Arcadia. I hope you all enjoy reading this and stay tune for part 2!
Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu are from Your Name, and the events of this OVA chapter takes place after my story Being With You.