Disclaimer: I do not own either Fairy Tail or its characters; that right belongs to Hiro Mashima. Nor do I own the Xeno game series or its characters; that right belongs to Namco and the game creators.
Getting home and getting packed didn't take me too long since I had learned to keep a small bag pre-prepped for these occasions. More so, since Natsu and Erza both had a habit of wanting to do missions at random. Smiling to myself, I tossed in a few extra necessities and the journal with extra pens. Quickly, I zipped the bag closed and locked the window to the room. With a small smile, I turned and ran out of my rented apartment, closing and locking the door behind me, silently thanking the Kami's that I lived no more than ten minutes from the train station.
Upon arriving at the train station, I gave a quick cursory glance, quickly spotting a rather impatient looking red-head. Pursuing my lips to hide the smile, threatening to split my face in two, I made my way to Erza's side. Knowing she knew I was there, I dropped my bag and leaned back, watching the crowd. Not many knew it was a hobby I had acquired since coming to Magnolia Town, but I liked to people watch. There were so many different kinds of people, with their looks, personalities and such. It helped a lot with my writing whenever I found myself stuck.
"Those boys had better show up soon. I'm not too fond of tardiness. Was an hour too much to ask for?" Erza hissed half under her breath as she crossed her arms, leaning back to rest against her giant cart of belongings.
I wasn't too sure if she was talking to me or just in general, so I chose to be quiet and continue to watch people. The sun was starting to descend now that Noon had already come and gone, casting its golden glow over the people walking along with the platform. Occasionally, I would catch an exciting piece of gossip here and there and file it away to ask either Levy or Mira later. Blinking my brown eyes as I thought I caught a brief flash of rosy pink hair, I stood up, tapping Erza and pointing in the direction I had seen it. Her lips curled up into a smile as she nodded her head in confirmation.
"Good, they are here. I already bought the tickets, so let's start loading our luggage." Quickly she turned, grabbing the handles to her cart before marching towards the luggage compartment.
My gaze snapped back towards where I had seen Natsu's hair only moments before and found them bickering. Rolling my eyes in frustration at their usual antics, I shook my head and raised my hand to gain their attention during their brief break from shoving and name-calling. Pointing to our car, I turned and walked away just as Natsu gave me a foppish grin. That grin always made my heart flutter like crazy, and this time was no different, but then again, when Gray settled his dark cobalt gaze on me, my stomach did flips, and my heart skipped a beat. It was nice knowing that I was on Fairy Tail's strongest team, but they were also the best looking members of the guild as well.
At that thought, I have a small, snorting laugh, catching the conductor off guard as I climbed into the cart. The poor man looked somewhat strained after seeing Natsu heading his way. Making my way down the aisle to our usual seats, my mind wandered back to what Mira had said about the dream. I rolled my eyes, telling myself that it wouldn't be like that, but I would humor her because she was serious. I flopped down next to the window to enjoy the quiet while it lasted and hoping that Natsu wouldn't sit next to me.
The ground shook as the ceiling to the room began to crack and fall to the ground. A tan-skinned youth looked over his shoulder to see his friend Jun fighting the Gnosis with just his katana. To his right, his other friend, the battle Android KOS-MOS, was using her three chambers fifty caliber Machine Gun also to attack the Gnosis as they continued to flood the room. A small, sad smile curved his lips as he heard a female cry out to all of them, just before a metallic thud was heard. Glad that the door to the room had closed, he silently muttered a prayer that God would get Shion and all of them out safely. He was already doing his best to hold Zarathustra at bay, but it was taking his body. He knew deep down that his parting words to Shion about meeting in Old Jerusalem might be false hope at this point.
The seal on his power of Anima had been removed by the soul of Mary Magdalene, who resided in KOS-MOS when she manifested as Nephilim. The girl now stood on his left, holding her hands up, using the female version of his Anima and Animus. Both of them were trying to stop Zarathustra from resetting the whole Galaxy as they all knew it, but being a few thousand years old, and a spirit to boot, there was a significant limitation to the ability one could use. With that knowledge, he focused his crystalline teal on the spinning machine and quit holding back his power. Soon his whole body began to glow a brilliant white, flowing down his hands before its shot at the machine.
Pain tore through his body at using that much Anima, but it would be needed to stop the machine Wilhelm had set into motion. It was a pain he had been willing to bear as he watched his friend hung on a cross to die, a pain he had endured through the ages since that had happened. Now it was a pain he bore unrestrained to help those he had let into his heart and soul escape. Trying his best to focus on the ground underneath him began to shift and heave upwards, he jumped up, allowing a magnificent pair of white-feathered wings to hold him aloft.
"I call upon you to help guide me, father of all. Allow me the power and right to protect what you have created, giving them a chance to exist against all the odds, like you planned." The power emanating from his voice echoed through all the noise around them.
As he looked down, he saw that Jun was leaning against a pillar still and unmoving. Pain flooded his body, making his resolve waver just a bit, before letting his gaze slide to KOS-MOS, who was now missing an arm and the lower part of her mechanical body. It pained him to see the shell that Mary had inhabited for the last five years become destroyed, but that didn't matter in the next few seconds as he felt his wings become bigger as a colossal wave of Anima was ripped from his body and flung at the machine. From below him, he felt the Animus that Nephilim was using flare up and shoot towards the device, mixing the white with pale blue as it encompassed Zarathustra.
The next thing he knew was silence and a sensation of floating freely. Opening his eyes and looking around, he saw nothing but the vast blackness of space, dotted here and there with the light given off from the planets in that system. Sighing, he closed his eyes, feeling the faint presence of Mary Magdalene. Turning his head in that direction, once more opening his eyes, he saw KOS-MOS' body, or what was left of it. A small smile lit upon his lips as he spoke what he thought were His last words: "I guess both you and I still exist in this world, after all. As long as people... as long as the universe desires it, we will continue to exist. We haven't finished what we have to do yet. So, until then, sleep well, KOS-MOS."
The smile fading from his lips, he let his mind lapse into silence, an almost blissful silence for the first time in over six thousand years. He didn't know how much time had gone by when pressure was felt around him, startling his mind to become active again. It was a pressure he hadn't felt in several millennia, causing him to start and try to right his body and bow. When it became apparent that it wasn't his body floating about, but his consciousness, he gave a mental gasp.
"Be at ease, child of Anima. You need not bow to me. I am here to let you know that the prayer you gave has been answered. My father has done as you have asked. For now, the future is up to humans, but there is a price to pay for this wish. The universe still requires your presence, hence why your consciousness is still around. Though you know that no price is paid unwillingly, Child of Anima." The pressure resonated in his head, making him flinch mentally.
"I am thankful for my prayer being answered. It eases my soul, spirit, and haha...consciousness as well. What is the price that is to be paid for my prayer being answered?" he asked, letting the silence envelop him within the pressure once more.
"That your existence here is erased and moved to another universe. Your power will have a great impact in the world since it is a major source of the magic the inhabitants will have. Also, you will no longer be immortal, for then shall you age like others and pass on. You have lived your life and stayed true to your task in utter faithfulness. Becoming mortal, you can take a spouse, and your offspring will be a Child of Anima like you. Do you agree to these terms for the prayer being granted?" Once more, the pressure resonated, making him flinch again.
Giving a soft sigh, he mulled it over before he gave his response, "I accept the terms, but may I request that I look like I do...or did before I lost my body. I will admit my sin of vanity that I was proud of those exotic looks."
A soft chuckle was heard before a warmth spread through his consciousness, like that of a mother's loving embrace. It was the only clue he had before pain washed over his body, as a tearing sensation ripped him from his place in this universe. Soon, his newly returned physical body felt like it was being flung far, the universe he had known winking out to be replaced by one that was foreign in feeling. But what struck him as odd was a grayish-white rift between the planet below him that was vibrant in colorful life, while the other one seemed lifeless with its grays and browns. Opening his senses to feel the life before him, he found that the Anima was rushing once more in full force beneath his skin, allowing him to feel so many different things, the biggest being that one planet had magic and the other was lacking as it did back when Earth was at its prime.
He gave a small smile, only to gasp as he began his descent towards the planet vibrant with color. His new life and destiny would be waiting for him there, and he silently hoped that he would be accepted for who he was, the man named Yeshua, dubbed Chaos.
TBC!