July 7th, x777
Crocus, Fiore
11:50 PM
The Eclipse Gate was finally opened on this starry night. Across Fiore, citizen witness five shooting stars soar through the sky as a single woman exited through the gate. Anna Heartfilia has been waiting for this moment for the past 400 years, and their plan was finally in motion. This was the age where magic was at culminating exponentially.
Anna Heartfila asked the most pressing question at the moment. "Can you tell me what year is it?"
"It's x777," Layla said as she tried to catch her breath. She had successfully opened the gate that was passed down the Heartfilia line for a generation. However, the price of opening the gate without Aquarius was greater than she expected. Her magic container was emptying out faster than her body could handle.
"Oh good," Anna let out a sigh of relief as she reaches out to pat Natsu's head. Panic consumed her face once she realized that she was patting the air to her left. To her horror, the five dragonslayers were not by her side. "Where are the kids? There were five kids with me when I left?! Where are they?"
"We didn't see any kids, but five lights shot through when the door opened." The current ruling king answered with a grim expression. He motioned to the ceiling above them where there were five new smoking holes. "Look, they went through the roof."
"..." Anna could only look up in horror as she came to realize that the five dragonslayers, destined to defeat the worst dragon to ever exist, were scattered.
"Ugh, I glad we only gotta do this shit one more time." Another voice appeared from the gate. Two silhouettes stepped into the night and from the light. "Alright, time for Sabertooth to beat Fairy Tail's butt."
"Is that really what you're planning?" The second voice said with a sigh. "We have a mission to complete."
"Come on, after Sabertooth wins the Grand Magic Games, we'll beat that bastard's ass." The blond man shrugged with an air of arrogance.
His female companion could only sigh as a response. Did he not understand the basis of time travel? If anything, Sting couldn't allow Sabertooth to win. That would cause the future to change, and there was no way of knowing how that will affect events. "Let's just find Master Mavis."
"There's more people..." Anna gasped as she took a step away from the time-traveling duo. "Who are you? Zeref never mentioned anyone else passing through the gate."
"Wait, You're working with Zeref?!" The king shouted in horror.
"Of course, Zeref was the one came up with the plan to use time travel in order to defeat Acnologia." The prehistoric woman explained. "Why is that what's surprising?!"
As the time-traveling bickered amongst themselves, Anna and the king were buried in their own. It was around this moment Layla locked her eyes on the new female time traveler. There was an uncanny resemblance between this unknown girl and Anna. But that was impossible since Anna was Layla's ancestor, and this girl didn't look exactly like any of her other ancestors. Layla couldn't put her finger on it, but this mystery girl was familiar. "Excuse me. I believe some introductions are in order. That may clear up some confusion. I'm Layla Heartfilia. It is nice to meet the both of you."
"Mom..." Lucy's eyes swelled to the brim with tears once she recognized the voice. Lucy was mere feet from the mother she lost at such a young age. Throwing caution to the wind, the lone Fairy Tail member threw herself at Layla and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist. "Mom, I never thought I would get to see you again!"
"Mom?! That's your mother?!" Sting shouted as he ran up to the family reunion. His voice forced the king and Anna to direct their attention to the weeping duo.
"I-I'm sorry. I don't have- Wait, Lucy!?" Layla shouted as the pieces fell into place. "What are you doing opening the Eclipse Gate?"
"Are we even allowed to answer that question?" Sting folded her arms across this chest. "Wouldn't that mess with the future?"
"So you think a question will make an impact the future not which guild wins the GMG?!" Lucy snapped. "What are your priorities, Sting?"
Anna stepped forward once she realized that this might be the teenage version of her Sting. "I'm sorry, but did you say Sting as in Sting Eucliffe?"
"The one and only," He smirked as Anna pulled him into a potential bone-crushing hug. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Who are you?"
"You... don't remember me? I'm Anna Heartfilia. I guided the five dragonslayers through the Eclipse Gate, and Layla was the one opened it in this age." She explained as she hoped this would clear up the confusion, but Sting was still lost, maybe even more. Okay, new approach. "Sting, what do you remember before you entered the gate?"
"You mean the thousand of dragons roaming around or watching seeing a ghost sacrifice herself for us?" He raised an eyebrow which confused Anna. Where did Sting pull a ghost from? The dragon part sounds about right, but Anna was packing Natsu's scarf. That was the last thing to occur before they entered the gate together.
"What? Okay, just answer me this." Anna took a deep breath. The answer the eldest woman feared she would receive is one. "How many times have you time traveled in your lifetime alone?"
"Um, once."
Anna fell back once she realized that Sting had amnesia. She looked up at the holes in the ceiling and deducted that the other dragonslayers might have amnesia as well. "This is bad. I have to fix this."
"Mom...what's going on?" Lucy eyed Layla warily. Why would her mother be around the Eclipse Gate? Why was her mother alive in the year x791? Layla Heartfilia died in x777. That part Lucy was absolutely certain. Quickly pulling away from her mother, Lucy ran to Sting's side. "Wait. This must be a trick! It has to be a trick!"
"This is too chaotic. This was supposed to be a simple procedure." The king grumbled. "Now, everyone's confused, but if this mess grows anymore, I will have every here arrested. Let us try to be civil. We all need to be the same page if we're going to understand this magnitude of time traveling. The one named Anna Heartfilia, will you begin?"
"Certainly, but please no one needs to interrupt me," She bowed before collecting her thoughts. "Zeref and I came up with the idea of saving five dragonslayers from the past and send them to the future for the sake of defeating Acnologia in the age where magic reaches its peak. However, during my time in the Eclipse Gate, I am unaware of what Zeref has done these 400 years. In my time period, there was no way of defeating Acnologia, so Zeref and I worked together to give humanity a chance of winning. Also, I hate to be right about this, but Sting must have amnesia."
"Amnesia? Do you really think Imma fall for a trick as simple as that one?" Sting scoffed. He wasn't that dumb.
"Hold on,...Anna, if you're telling the truth, who are the five dragonslayers," Lucy frowned. The concept of time travel was no longer a wild book trope to the Celestial Wizard. But could this Anna really be her ancestor? "And who are their parent dragons? There's only a handful of people who know that information."
A playful smirk rested on Anna's face. "Sting is the son of the Dragon of Light, Weisslogia. Natsu, the Fire Dragonslayer, is the son of Igneel. Gajeel is the son of Metalicana and the Iron Dragonslayer. Wendy, the Sky dragonslayer, is the daughter of Grandeeney. Rouge is the son of Skiadram and the Shadow Dragonslayer. Shall I describe their appearance as well?"
"Holy crap...I'm over 400 years old?!" Sting shouted loudly.
"I'm sorry. Did you truly believe dragons existed in the year x777?" The king raised an eyebrow after hearing Sting's remark. "Dragons went extinct a long time ago. Acnologia is the very last one in existence."
"Don't look at me like that!" Sting snarled. "I was raised by a dragon, so I think I'm allowed a pass on holding that belief."
"Wait, what year did you say this was?" Lucy gasped.
The king paused as if the question bizarre even for this situation. Nevertheless, he proceeded by continuing the conversation. "I'll do you one better. The exact date is July 7th of the x777."
"The day the dragons disappeared," Lucy whispered to herself. If what Anna said was correct, there was an explanation as to why the dragons vanish simultaneously. "That's why Natsu could never find Igneel. He doesn't exist in this age..."
"Do not worry Lucy. Igneel is forever in Natsu's heart." Anna smiled, but she knew she could not say much on the subject. The dragons requested that Anna did not speak much on the matter. "But, now I must ask why did you two use the Eclipse Gate? Did Zeref's plan fail?"
"I don't know about Zeref's plan, and I don't trust a plan forged by the Black Wizard himself. Fairy Tail fought Acnologia, but they barely managed to survive that onslaught." Sting folded his arms against. "We planned to travel back to July 1st, x791 because of the Rogue from x792 decided to summon a horde of dragons to kill Acnologia. How we went fourteen years too far is beyond me. Lucy and I are the last humans alive, and her ghost of a guild master sent us to the past for humanity's second chance. So much for that..."
"That's horrible. Is there anything we can do to aid you on your journey?" Layla gasped with a hand over her mouth.
Lucy reached out to touch her mother's hand but ultimately reeled back due to fear. Is it even right to speak her when Lucy was aware of what happens to Layla in the near future? Should Lucy treasure the moment she knows won't last? "Mo-Mom, we need the keys from this time period. Sting and I can't stay in this year. Can you send us to x791?"
"I'm sorry, Lucy, but I can't. I already pushed my body beyond its limit." Layla weakly smiled as the pain became more present on her face. "I had to open the gate with Aquarius's key. There was no other choice."
"...Layla Heartfilia, you are aware of the consequences of that." Anna frowned as she walked towards the weakened woman. "To open Eclipse Gate with only eleven zodiac keys, that would require the life force of a Celestial Wizard. I'm sorry, but you do not have long to live."
"I understand the risk, but I did not want to pass this burden onto Lucy. I wanted Lucy to be free to live a life she so chose." Layla smiled as her legs gave out. "I cannot even give you the eleven keys either. Those who do not belong to me were scattered across Fiore once the gate was unlocked."
"Well, how many did you have? If Lucy had ten by the year x791, we might not need to do that much traveling." Sting hoped, but Lucy and Layla avoided his eyes. They were aware of the truth.
"My mom only held a fourth of the keys," Lucy answered lowly. "Capricorn and Cancer should be in her possession. Aquarius is her third key, and I have no idea where Yukino's keys are. I have an idea where Sagittarius and Tarsus might be, but I collected most of my keys in x784."
"Great, so this a blind mission," Sting grumbled. "Yukino didn't really say where she found Libra or Pisces, so that's like seven keys uncounted for."
Anna pondered out loud. "Not necessarily, Lucy, you said that we were aware of ten of the golden zodiac key's location. It is very rare for them to move, so that should give you an idea of where to find most of them. If the worse case occurs, you and I can force Eclipse's gate open."
"NO!" Layla screamed with a horrid expression. "Please Anna, do not force this upon my daughter. I beg of you."
"...Very well," Anna submitted with a heavy sigh. She turned to the king. "Can I trust that you will aid in this quest? If what Sting says is true, the kingdom of Fiore is in trouble."
"We all have a part to play in this, and I am not an exception." He sighed. "I provide what I can."
"Thank you for everlasting kindness, my graceful king." Layla knelt down and bowed her head in appreciation. "Now, I will take Anna, Lucy, and Sting to my estate to plan their next steps."
"Very well, I will make sure your daughter and Sting will have free transportation during their question." The king replied as he sent the four of them off on their journey.
While the original plan was coming to a halt, Lucy and Sting had no other option except to accept this course of events. The year x777 will be more unfamiliar than either wizard could ever anticipate and face more adversities than they ever imagine.
A/N: I curious because I don't know where that whole 'Sting calling Lucy, Blondie, and Lucy retorting with You're blond too came from. In all the fanfiction I ever read about Lucy x Sting, they all have that same exact scene and uses it as playful banter. I'm not saying it's bad; I'm confused as to where it came from.
I remember when everyone was writing those 'Lucy leaving and becoming stronger at Sabertooth' stories, and they were my absolute jam. It's just a shame that every story forced Lissanna to be the bad guy for hogging Fairy Tail's attention, but if you ever want a story done right, you gotta read 'Abandoned Hearts' by HannieB123. Fair warning, this fanfiction is like four years old and rated M.
I personally like the story because of how it handles Lissana as a bad guy. If you're gonna make a 2-D character a villain, HannieB123 did it right in my opinion.
