So here is chapter 20. If any of you were wondering where the line, "With my strongest i will beat your strongest" in chapter 19 came from, it was another anime called Chivalry of a failed knight. Its become one of my favorite animes and its kinda hard to explain why without you actually seeing it. But back on track for now, this chapter was a hard one. I will show you a different side of Mikoto, one that i have shown very little of in this story or ace of aqcademy city. I hope you all find it interesting. on another note, i am going to create a poll for another side story. As I said, the main storyline will consist of 3 stories, but i plan to make multiple crossovers between this universe and other animes. The three animes i have in mind are as follows, Date A Live(after the second season of the anime), SAO(right after end of SAO2) and a familiar of Zero. SAO and Date alive are the two animes i know the most about, but familiar of zero is the one i saw in answer to a previous question. So the poll will give me even more incite into what you all would prefer. I would also love for you to leave a review on this chapter as well as to explain your answer to the poll. On that note please enjoy this chapter
Mikotos eyes widen as fear pins her to her spot.
No! I thought that if i interfered enough he might not have come! I was wrong. If i'm right, even he will be stronger than he should be, like all of the others i have fought so far. I can't fight him in my current state. My power is at zero and if my magic couldn't even beat Azuma then it has no chance against the black dragon of the apocalypse. I don't even think Touma can win. I need to get him to safety!
Those thoughts raced through Mikotos mind in an instant, and her sudden change in emotions drew the guilds attention. Makarov had been yelling at Laxus for returning, but this got him to stop.
"Mikoto whats wrong? Are you upset about the S class trials not being continued?" Wendy asks, walking over.
"No that's not it. Look at her eyes, that's not anger, that's fear. She's afraid of something," Laxus comments after seeing the fear in her eyes.
"Mikoto, talk to me child, what are you afraid of? The fights over," Makarov says, walking to stand in front of her.
"Yeah! We kicked Grimoire hearts butt!" Natsu exclaims, not fully grasping the situation.
Finally Mikotos lips begin to move, but her voice was low and filled with fear, "He's coming, I I I can't beat him. What can we do but die? He's coming, He's coming, He's coming," she just kept repeating this last bit as she collapses onto her knees, looking up.
"Who's coming!? Mikoto! You have to tell us!" Makarov yells. He was getting anxious, who could there be that Mikoto could not beat?
"I can't beat him" Mikoto whispers, then suddenly says, "I must protect Touma!" Her magic surged, creating two massive magic circles behind her. From those magic circles, out came her wyverns. Suddenly Midnight grabbed hold of Mikoto and took off. Touma who had been running over to comfort Mikoto was also grabbed by Drogon. Since Drogon did not grab hold of Touma directly, instead grabbing hold of Toumas shield, he was not neutralized. The two wyverns flew them both over to another island, one that was still inview of Tenrou Island. Once landed, the wyverns were desummoned as Touma had reach Mikoto, grabbing her with his right hand.
"What are you doing Zapper! We have to go back and be with our Guild." Touma yells.
"We can't, He's coming!" Mikoto responds looking at the ground.
"Who? Who's coming!" Touma presses, shaking Mikoto slightly. His fear for his guildmates showing clearly in his voice.
"Acnologia" This one word, the name of the greatest threat to the guilds survival, stunned Touma for a second.
Then he spoke, "You need to get me back over there!"
"I can't! I won't put you at risk!" Mikoto responds, finally looking him in the eyes.
"You have too. I'm the only one who can cancel his attacks!" Touma presses. Now it was Mikotos turn to shake him, as tears welled up in her eyes.
"You may be able to cancel his attacks but that doesnt mean you can win! Its not like fighting accelerator, where you beat his ability you win the fight. Acnologia is a dragon! If you counter his magic all he has to do is step on you to kill you, and your shield wont protect you from that." Mikoto yells back, her voice filled with her love for him.
"Then you go back! We just can't abandon them to die!" Touma continues to press.
"I can't. I can't beat him right now, my power is too low at the moment and my magic is not strong enough to beat him," Mikoto admits.
"Come on Mikoto. When has that ever stopped you before! You overcame your limits to save my life, and you gained the ability to use magic to save the lives of people you barely even knew. You don't have to straight up beat him, just delay him long enough for the guild to escape!" Touma explains frantically.
"But i don't even know if I can do that!" Mikoto says, her pain and sadness of defeat in her voice.
"But you have to try, You are their only chance Mikoto. You must be able to come up with some way to save them." Touma says, pulling Mikoto close to him to calm her down.
Meanwhile on Tenrou Island, the guild was in panic. Mikoto suddenly collapsing in fear and then taking Touma and herself away scared them more than anything else that happened today. Everyone was running around, when suddenly someone yelled out to get to the ship. Natus carried Makarov as the guild took off to the ship, but then the person in the front of the group stopped. It was Laxus, and he was looking up in the sky in shock. The rest of the guild followed his gaze, and they too were locked in fear. Flying above them was a black dragon. The dragon circled above the island before dropping down to land behind the guild. Once landed it let out a huge roar, as a challenge to the guild. It was apparent that it came to kill anyone on the island.
"What is that thing?" Lucy exclaims in fear.
"Its a dragon!?" Lisanna states. Some of the guild members looked over to the dragon slayers, as if expecting them to do something. But all three of them were staring in in shock, and amazement at the same time. The guild didn't know what to do, if they turned to run then the dragon would just cut them down. But if they tried to fight then could they beat it? Suddenly Makarov stepped forward, quickly transforming into his giant form.
"Run! I'll hold it off!" Makarov yells out, about ready to face the dragon. Uproar from the guild was his answer.
"I will not abandon you!" Erza yells out. The rest of the guild joins in, offering to support their master.
"Will you kids just be quiet and follow your masters final wish! It's a parent's job to give everything for their children!" Makarov yells out with force.
"Come on gramps! I'm a dragon slayer! It's my job to…" Natsu couldn't finish as Laxus started to drag him off. With his lead the guild follows regrettably. Seeing the majority of the guild running away, acnologia charges, but is blocked by makarov. Makarov manages to land some punches, but it seems to have no effect as the dragon puts all his weight forward, forcing Makarov back. Then it rams its shoulder into Makarov's injured stomach, breaking Makarov stance. Then it uses its tail to knock him onto the ground. It then began to crush Makarov under its front feet. Suddenly Natsu appeared, both grabbing the dragon and attacking it. In its sudden anger it sends Makarov into a cliff side, forcing him out of his transformation. Then standing in front of him was the rest of the guild. Guided by Laxus, they do one massive unision raid with everyone but the 3 first generation dragon slayers taking part. The attack forced the dragon back a couple of feet, but otherwise it did no damage. But the guild didn't give up, with the dragon slayers using a unison raid consisting of their breath attacks. This was enough to send the dragon flying into the water. The guild begins to think that they had won, when suddenly Gildarts breaks the bad news.
"He's playing with us! He is using less strength now then he did against just me," Gildarts explains. Before the guild has a chance to even fully comprehend this, Acnologia bursts from the water, once again landing on the shoreline, as if to prove Gildarts point. The guild breaks down, as it seems like all hope was lost. They had no more ideas, no way to escape fate. They were going to die here, and there was not a thing they could do. Not even the dragon slayers could beat this dragon. Acnologia charged up a breath attack, intending to finish the guild off in one blow. Suddenly, just as he was about to unleash the attack, a huge electrical pulse hits him from behind with enough force to send his face into the ground. A ball of electrical energy formed up in front of the guild, and from that ball of energy, Mikoto formed, in her level 6 form at that. She turned to look back at the guild, a faint smile on her face. The guild answered that smile with cheers, until suddenly Mikoto level 6 form disappeared and she collapsed onto one knee. Wendy charged forward, determined to get to her friends side, when a huge magic energy was released. Acnologia had got back up and fired his breath attack. Mikoto responded though, blocking the attack with an electrical barrier. The sound of the two attacks clashing was loud, but Mikotos voice was heard above it.
"I'm sorry, I abandoned all of you," Mikoto says, tears streaming down her eyes. The guild was in shock, Mikoto was crying?
"I'm so so sorry. I should never had left. If I had stayed, maybe we all could have been off the island before he came. If only I gave a proper warning," Mikoto says.
"It's not your fault! What are you saying!?" Erza yells out, realizes that if Mikoto lost her focus, then the electrical barrier that was currently blocking their death would disappear.
"But it is my fault. I knew he was coming, and instead of warning everyone I let fear consume me. Instead of protecting my guildmates, I focused myself on protecting the one man i truly love. You are all people i consider my friends, but Touma. I couldn't stand the thought of him being here in a fight he could never hope to win, and in a fight I could not save him from. So I ran, I decided to put his life above all of yours, and for that i'm sorry," Mikoto cries through her barrier stayed up, still protecting them.
"But you came back! You came back and put your life in danger to save us!" Wendy yelled out, her own feelings flowing into her voice.
"It wasn't my choice to come back, well not completely. Touma convinced me. It's kinda funny, but i came to this world to beat Acnologia, but when it's time to do that, i attempt to run away in fear. I actually pity myself, after all this time i still let fear control me?" Mikoto states truthfully.
"That's not true!" Wendy still presses.
Mikoto smiled slightly, her heart warming up to the fact that someone still trusted her so much. A huge amount of power returned to her as her emotions settled, and she used it to actually force Acnologia's attack back. He was once again knocked to the ground, giving Mikoto enough time to tell her plan.
"Listen up! I need you all to promise to follow what i am about to tell you to do, no matter what it is!" Mikoto yelled out. The guild responded immediately, showing their faith in her.
"I am no longer part of Fairy Tail!" These words shocked the guild, but Mikoto didnt give them enough time to respond as she continued, "From this point on think of me as some random stranger that is willing to give her life for a guild she never knew. I want you all to run, and never look back, thats why i don't want you to think of me as a friend, or a guild mate." Mikoto says.
"Mikoto, why are you saying this, you're gonna beat this dragon right?" Lucy asks in fear.
"I can't beat him," Those words crushed all hope in the guilds hearts. "At least, not in my current state. I am already pushing my ability to its max, and i don't know how long i have till run away kicks in and when that happens I will lose. My magics not strong enough to beat him currently," Mikoto admits.
"So you want us to turn tail and run, sacrifice your life for our own?! We can't do that! You are our friend!" Natsu exclaimed.
Mikoto turned to face the guild, looking them all over, a look of regret on her face.
"Makarov, can I make one last request as a member of Fairy Tail?" She asked.
"Sure my child, whatever you want," Makarov replies, tears welling up in his eyes.
"I want you to let Laxus back into the guild," She lets the shock subside before she continued, "He has changed from when he attacked the guild, he showed so through today. He gave everything to protect this guild, one that was not his own anymore. He deserves another chance. I know we had our differences, specifically when it came to my methods of dealing with problems, or my inability to listen to your orders, but please do this for me. You will need a strong lightning mage in the years to come," Mikoto finishes. Laxus was about to speak, when Makarov interrupts and says, "Your wish is granted, Laxus is part of Fairy Tail once again."
"Mikoto, how can we be sure you won't die if we turn and run?" Erza asks, looking for some hope.
"You can, in fact i will most likely die. But don't worry about me, remember i'm a time traveler. If I die here, then my master can just come back to the second before I die and save me. Kinda funny, even now i'm not truly at risk, I guess that's why i should let everything go," Mikoto responds.
"What do you mean by that last bit?" Natsu asked, confused.
"My own magic may be too weak, and my power is running to low, but i still have one card left to play, one that might be enough to hold back the apocalypse long enough," Mikoto grabbed hold of the bandana on her left arm, ripping it off, revealing the strange markings on her arm. Immediately noticed where the two dragon shaped markings.
"Back in edolas i attacked the dragon chain cannon. When i did so, all of its dragon slayer magic, consisting of Wendy's and Natsu's power escaped and flowed into me. This whole time i had it in me, with it slowly growing to match my own power. With it i will have the power of a dual element dragon slayer, and if i combine my own power to it, i might be able to get a third. But it's a one battle move, and will only last for so long. But hey, let's give it a shot!" Mikoto yelled out, holding her left arm upwards. Fire burst out, flowing all over her. Then suddenly the air around her began to circulate and combine with the fire. Her teeth transformed into the typical dragon slayer flames. Then a weird transformation happened, with wings of fire sprouting from her back. Finally the transformation ended with Electricity also combining into the aura of power around her.
"She's a dragon slayer!" Lucy whispers in shock.
"A triple element dragon slayer!? Unbelievable!" Gajeel's exclaims in disbelief.
"A flaming lightning sky dragon?!" Wendy says.
"Now Run! Forget me!" Mikoto yells out. Acnologia had gotten back up and was charging forward. Mikoto summoned in speakers across the island, and it played My Funeral by Dope.
"Oh no you dont! This guild is under my protection!" Mikoto yells out turning and blasting Acnologia with a beam of her new combined magic from her left hand. Then she used her wings to fly forwards, landing blow after blow to the dragon. Acnologia tried to strike back, but Mikoto was too small and quick for his massive body to land a blow. She lands an uppercut to his jaw so powerful, it knocks him upwards a bit, then swiftly deals a kick to his neck to send him flying backwards. She didn't let him even land, as she moved underneath him and sent a blast of magic energy upwards that sent him into the air. Acnologia uses his wings to stop his upwards movement and fires his breath attack straight down at Mikoto. She intercepts it by expelling just enough magic energy to deflect it, sending it uselessly into the ocean. But then Acnologia charged, slamming his arm into her and sending her flying towards her retreating friends. She lands on her feet, but her momentum drags her across the ground till she comes to a stop just behind them. Acnologia then charged with the purpose of hitting Mikoto head on. He knew she wouldn't dodge, if she did his attack would hit her friends instead.
Mikoto planted her feet, and sucked in the magic into her stomach.
"The flaming lightning Roar! Of the Sky dragon!" Mikoto yells out while letting out an enormous breath attack. The sheer power of this attack made the fairy tail guild members turn around to watch in amazement. The blast hits Acnologia, actually managing to push him back but suddenly Mikoto realized something.
As I thought! He is still playing with me! Raiden told me that the secret to acnologia's power is that he can absorb any element, but right now he is not doing that. That must mean that my power is not strong enough to even have him consider absorbing it. This is bad.
She turned back to her friends to give them a fierce look and says, "Get out of her! I can't last much longer!" Mikoto then used her fire wings to charge forward at an extreme rate, moving around Acnologia landing blow after blow, but none she was aware that all of these blows were doing no damage. But each blow was pissing him off. Eventually Mikoto turned away and began to fly towards the water. Acnologia gave chase, determined to knock her out of the sky. Mikoto seemed to be slightly faster, when suddenly her wings faltered and she dropped out of the sky. She realized then that her magic was about to run out. She managed to get back flying, but now Acnologia was very close. She flew back towards the island, her heart dropping to see that the guild was still nowhere close to the ship, and to safety.
Shit. I need to buy them more time but how? I can only see one option, but it involves running. I can turn, and try to draw Acnologia away from the island. But that will fail if he catches me out decides to turn back.
Then a realization pops into Mikotos head.
Wait! This is a planet just like the one i am from. Each planet has a limit to how high it can be livable. If I can get acnologia to chase me straight upwards, I might be able to trap him in space. It would mean sacrificing myself, but it's the best chance i have to actually beat this monster.
Mikoto flew towards a cliff side, and then suddenly flew upwards, causing acnologia to go crashing into it. When he had gotten back up from this impact, Mikoto assumed he was pissed enough to chase her till she died. She flew upwards as fast as she could, with Acnologia right behind her. They kept going, with the air getting thinner and thinner. Mikotos magic began to fail, but she kept pressing forward, adding more of her ability to keep her flying. Finally they reach the edge, and Mikotos magic completely runs out.
I did it! I won!
Mikotos hopes were dashed as acnologia appeared above her, a breath attack fully charged.
No! It didn't work! I forgot that it would take longer to neutralize him then it would me! I failed.
Acnologia fired the attack. Mikoto tried to block it with her esper ability but even that was overwhelmed.
From the island the guild watched as a blue flash happened far in the sky above them. They watched as a object raced towards the water, crashing into the ocean, never to appear again. They quickly grabbed hands, realizing that Mikoto had been beaten and that all they could do was try to create a defense spell strong enough to block the next attack. Acnologia flew just above the island, charging and releasing another breath attack, obliterating the island, to the shock of everyone watching from around the area. With the island destroyed and no sign of Mikoto and his power drained, Acnologia turned and flew away. Touma collapsed, believing to have just watched the death of his friends and the girl he loved. Suddenly the ocean began to stir and separate. There from water appeared Mikoto, using the last of her ability to move herself to Touma. She lands in his arms, completely drained of energy. In each other's arms they cry, believing to have failed at their job. Suddenly a bright flash enveloped them both as they were teleported back to their own world. Mikoto opened her eyes to see Raiden's teleport chamber inside of the base. Realizing where they were she collapses, finally letting her body rest. Raiden came running over, and with Toumas help they get her to a room and bed to let her rest. From there Raiden began to patch up her wounds, not yet saying anything.
"We failed Raiden," Mikoto finally speaks, not yet asleep.
"First of all, just so you remember it has only been 3 days in this world since i sent you to earthland. Secondly, you may think you failed but you did not," Raiden responds.
"What do you mean? Fairy tail was destroyed." Touma responds.
"No. They were saved by mavis using Fairy sphere. The problem is that the spell has trapped them for seven years. That was how the it originally happened to. If you did not fight him, they would have died instead because he came stronger this time than in the original timeline." Raiden explained.
"So i actually saved them?" Mikoto asked, some happiness returning to her heart.
"Yes you did. I am going to give you a week to heal, then i am sending you both back to seven years later. Acnologia is going to attack again, and this time you will be prepared for him, whenever he strikes." Raiden says. With that he leaves, letting Touma deal with getting Mikoto to go to sleep. As sleep washed over her, she had one last thought.
So i get another chance to deal with that monster. Another chance to make my wrongs rights. Another chance to save my new friends. Fairy Tail, I will not let you down again.
Now, as I lay here in the dark
And I think back to the start
I know some things have to end
for the next one to begin
I walk alone, free at last
I feel the pressure letting go
from the very bottom, of my soul.
Flesh and bone fall to past like the ashes in the rain.
And fade away...
It's my Funeral,
welcome you all.
This is the end of the line,
So thank you for coming along.
My time has come,
I don't wanna leave you behind,
But this one I'll do on my own!
Now, as we stand two worlds apart,
the time's hardened up my heart.
From a world of no regret,
that I hope won't soon forget.
I walked the line on broken glass,
I let the passion take control,
of the very bottom of my soul.
Cross the line, fade to black,
hold the candle to the flame,
and light the way.
To my Funeral,
welcome you all,
This is the end of the line,
so thank you for coming along.
My time has come,
I don't wanna leave you behind,
But this one I'll do on my own.