"I don't want to be soft anymore. I want to be bloody knuckles and glass shards and I want people to be afraid of hurting me"

"How much longer?"

"We'll get there when we get there, will you just stop your—" He paused, mid-snap, casting a glance over his shoulder and faltering upon seeing me. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Dunno, you looked funny," He stated. I huffed in response, and he seemed to take this as his cue to shut up. He was right, though. If I looked anything like I felt, I'm sure I appeared a bit more than funny.

We'd spent ten, adrenaline filled minutes hiking up a lilting precipice—one which Laxus had promised would give way to the camp Jellal was hiding at. I was all nerves, my mind and heart fluttering dangerously as we clambered up the crag. The only time Laxus and I even exchanged words was when I asked him if were there yet for what had to be the millionth time. Obviously, I was getting on his nerves, but I couldn't help myself. I was strung tight like a bow. Coiled up like a spring, just waiting for my moment to be sprung. My muscles were pulled taunt and my conscious was beleaguered with a manner of horrendous thoughts. What if Ultear wasn't there? What if she was? What would she think when she saw me? Would she be happy? Sad? Angry? Would she greet me with open arms? Would she cast me out? Has she changed? Or is she the same?

"Hey, Jellal!"

A voice ripped me from my stewing emotions, and I watched as Laxus jogged a few yards ahead, his muscles rippling underneath his shirt as he called towards the figure of Jellal. The blue-haired mage turned, his expression one of bewilderment.

"Laxus?"

Two other cloaked figures stood within the vicinity of Jellal, each with their back to me. Both were covered with sweeping navy cloaks; both had hair cascading down their backs. One had flowing locks of creamy coral ringlets, and the other with sleek strands of ebony.

I couldn't help it, I gasped. Both women turned. My foot scraped back, catching dirt, stumbling over a stones as I staggered.

I stared at Ultear.

Ultear stared at me.

A second passed. A minute. A week. A month. A year.

Decades. Lifetimes. Centuries. Millenniums.

Eons.

And then I was crying.

~Laxus' POV~

I knew something was desperately wrong when I saw the tears spring up from Alexandria's eyes. Something was ineluctably, irreparably off with the world.

I'd rarely ever seen Alexandria cry; in fact, I could hardly remember the last time she did. She hated it; I suppose she thought it made her look weak. Rarely did she shed a tear, and if she ever did, there was always a patently obvious reason. Alexandria was one of the strongest person I knew, and that was saying something. It could be a problem, considering her obstinate determination to hide any and everything that might be considered a weakness, even to those closest to her. The most vulnerable I'd ever seen her was when she discussed her upbringing with me, and even then that was only after I'd bared all and given her my sob-story of a history.

Yet here she was, sobbing and sniffling and literally melting before my eyes.

I didn't know what to do. Should I comfort her? Would she be insulted if I tried to help? Hell, she'd probably be pissed off that I saw her like this in the first place. Why'd she have to be so fucking confusing?

I wanted to reach out and grab her. To hold her in my arms and wipe each incorrigible, stubborn tear that leaked from her eyes. To hold her until the pain subsided and the ache dulled and the anger and frustration fled. But why? Why the hell would I want to do that?

The answer evaded me, and, besides, the moment was too intimate for me to impose upon in the first place. I couldn't touch her. I shouldn't touch her. I shouldn't have even accompanied her to begin with. She was erratic and impulsive. Eccentric and aggressive. A human fire ball. She'd burn everything she'd touch. Even me.

Still, when Alexandria's childhood companion stepped forward, I couldn't help but feel my arm twitch.

~Xandria's POV~

Someone wrapped their arms around me. I couldn't see who; my face was buried in my hands to try to stifle the waterworks. But I knew who it was. She smelt of peppermint oil and determination. And there was only one person in existence that smelt like that. Her name was Ultear.

"Don't cry," She urged. A tenderness that I'd never known was encased within the cadence of her voice, and I looked up in surprise. A gloved hand raised to my cheek, brushing away a stray tear.

She looked so similar, yet so different too. She was Ul through a looking glass. Like looking at Ultear through a bowl of water. Her appearance was the same, just… distorted somewhat. She had the same vermillion eyes, the same inky black hair, the same alabaster skin. But things were different. She was healthier, fuller. She glowed.

She actually smiled at me, and I gratefully returned the grin and the embrace.

"It's so good to see you," I exclaimed, my voice strained as I spoke.

"It's been too long," She conceded, and I raised clammy palms to my face to wipe the remaining tears from my eyes. Thought, a few rebellious droplets managed to slip past against my will.

"You've changed," I stated.

"As have you."

"Lex? Is that you?"

I turned to the inquisitive voice, noticing a voluptuous woman standing a few yards behind Ultear and I. My jaw unhinged.

"Meredy?" I exclaimed.

"I missed you so much!"

I was tackled into a hug by an ecstatic young woman, and I stared down in shock at my former friend. Tears pooled on her face, and I held her at arm's length.

"Oh, Meredy,"I blurted, and she cocked her head.

"Hmm?"

"You're all grown up. Absolutely stunning, by the way, but still… It makes me sad—knowing that our little Melody is all grown up." The girl flushed, and I gave a sad, diminutive smile, turning to Ultear. "And you… look at you. You look so happy."

"What, was I always angry before?"

"Something like that, yeah," I paused, grinning, "You're also looking a little old. Oh, Ul! Is that gray hair I see?"

"Oh shut up," Ultear retorted, but Meredy flashed me an indulgent smile and leaned over to whisper to me.

"It is gray hair, I've been nagging her about it recently," Meredy informed me.

"I've only got gray hair because of how much you make me worry." The elder woman snapped, and Meredy and I both laughed.

Meredy and I had rarely laughed together before, and when we had it had never been as good-natured as this. It was a truly unbelievable experience. Almost surreal, and surreal was not a word to be taken lightly.

There was an uncomfortable cough as someone cleared his throat. "We'll give you some space then…" A distant voice interrupted, and I released a laugh. Of course. Laxus. As awkward as ever.

Ultear was suddenly aware of his presence as well. "Why is the Dreyar boy here?" She asked, confusion clear in her tone.

"Jellal told him where I could find you, and Laxus insisted that he tag along after I said I wanted to find you," I explained, and a look of understanding dawned across Ultear's features. "He's extraordinarily socially awkward," I added, "so if you'll just excuse his behavior."

"Of course," Ultear agreed, and we exchanged smirks. Laxus scowled.

"Hey!"

"Yeah, we'll give you three some space." Jellal agreed, and with that he dragged the hulking blond after him in the direction we'd come from.

I turned my gaze back to the two women that stood in front of me, and paused for a moment to inspect them. Their changes were blatantly obvious now that I spoke with them. Meredy had matured into a warm, loving individual. Not only did she bubble over with enthusiasm, she'd developed a real sense of humor—one that didn't revolve simply around cruelty—and managed to overcome her eating disorder. Ultear learned how to smile, and I could see that her manipulative tendencies had lost their edge. They both wore their new lives like a brand new dress. I could see how comfortable they were. It made me happy.

"I can't believe it's already been seven years…" Meredy muttered, and Ultear nodded in agreement.

I softened. "It's been a little over three months since Tenrou Island for me. Almost a year since I've spoken with either of you," I paused, my smile faltering. "Why didn't you come to see me earlier, though? I've been in Crocus for three months now, you could've at least… I don't know, sent a letter?"

"We didn't know…" Ultear said, the timbre of her voice low and melancholic. "We thought…" She inhaled sharply, and fixed me with a piercing stare. "You know that saying, 'you don't know what you have until it's gone'?" I nodded. "Well, it's true. When I lost you… I realized how much you meant to me. I guess you'd never mattered that much before. We grew up together, but you always had a habit of getting in the way of things, and believe me when I say that could be a major pain in the ass." She gave a short, indisputably awkward bark of laughter before continuing once more.

"But, when I lost you, I realized how cruel I had been to you. You'd shown me love and affection through the years. Sure you'd been a pain too, and you'd had plenty of cruel spots yourself, but you still cared. It was a manipulative, sinister sort of caring, but deep down you loved me. You wanted to protect me more than you desired to use me, and that was something I'd never experienced before. You cared enough to tell me to get away from Hades. You cared enough to offer to help me escape. But I didn't listen. I didn't want to accept that you were right—that there was no way I'd be able to fix what I'd spent my whole life ruining." Another uncomfortable bark of laughter. "I committed many sins as a member of Grimiore Heart, so many that I doubt I could ever atone for them."

"Ul…" I began, but Meredy cut me off with a wave of her hand.

"Let her finish."

"Meredy and I, we mourned our losses. We mourned you especially. I felt… I felt guilty. I felt guilty for how I'd treated you. I felt guilty for not being able to save you in some way. I felt guilty then and I feel guilty now. Months ago, when I heard the rumors that the group from Tenrou Island had returned, I felt too guilty to look into it; I was afraid too. What if you weren't among the survivors? I'd have gotten my hopes up all for nothing. What if you were? Certainly you'd hate me. Certainly we wouldn't be able to make amends. Certainly I'd end up tainting you again…"

"All the possibilities terrified me, so I decided to play ignorant and go on with my life. It wasn't until I met with Erza and the others that trained with her that I knew with certainty that you had to be alive. A portion of me was ecstatic, but another part, a larger part, felt horrible. When I saw you in the games I felt the same. Jellal offered to arrange a meeting for us. I refused. I refused because I was selfish and embarrassed. I felt guilty, and I assumed that you wouldn't want to make contact with me. After how I'd treated you throughout our childhood…"

"Ultear, stop this." My voice was sharpened steel as I spoke. "Sure, we had our rough spots growing up, but every family does. And for the record, you never treated me any worse than I treated you; we were both pretty horrible as kids. I forgive you for any hardships that you may have put me through, just as I hope that you will forgive me for any strife that I may have inflicted upon you as well. Ul, there was no reason for you to feel guilty. There was no chance of you saving me from Acnologia, and if you had tried it would have probably resulted in your own death. If anyone is to feel guilty here, it is me. I inflicted seven years of worry upon you and Meredy, not to mention a load of unnecessary grief..." I paused, a smile stealing across my features. "In fact, I'm probably the reason that you have gray hair at the moment," I stated, and the three of us laughed.

"I suppose you have a point."

"Of course I do," I replied. "Honestly, Ul, you're far too serious sometimes."

"Someone has to balance out your immaturity," She retorted, and Meredy and I exchanged grins.

"So tell me; how've you been over these past seven years? How did you come into contact with Jellal in the first place? And why are you-"

"One question at a time," Ul cautioned.

"I can only imagine how silly we must look in these ridiculous cloaks," Meredy mused. I shrugged.

"I think they look nice."

"Yeah, well, I don't," She grumbled. "But Jellal and Ul both love them so you can imagine how much my opinion counts on the matter. Which is to say it doesn't at all."

"How many times do I have to remind you that they help to obscure our identities," Ultear chided, and Meredy turned away, thoroughly chastised. "If we didn't wear the cloaks there's no telling how many times we might've been arrested by now—there's a masking charm on them, by the way, Alexandria. Besides, Meredy, I think it adds to our guild's overall charm."

"Oh that's right, you started a new guild, didn't you?" I remarked, and they both nodded.

"Six years ago Ul and I busted a remorseful Jellal out of prison. Ul and I didn't know what to do with our lives, but we knew that we wanted to do something good for once. So we started with something big—fixing something we'd severely screwed up. Which meant Jellal. He had the same mindset as us, and so the three of us formed a guild of our own. It's an independent guild, neither officially recognized nor aligned with anyone or thing. We called it Crime Soricere, which means Witch's Crime," Meredy explained.

"Our one true goal is the eradication of any and all things related to Zeref. This includes Dark guilds and any evil force in the world that seeks to destroy the lives of innocents. We've dedicated the rest of our lives to making this world a better place and bringing some measure of peace to the people we've hurt, till the day we die," Ultear said, and I quirked a brow in surprise.

"Wow, Ul," I said, my voice lilting in awe. "This is so wonderful. Seriously, look at how far you've come. Look at how much good you're doing!"

Meredy beamed at me. "Oh, Lex!" She tackled me in a hug, and I released a jovial laugh as I squeezed the bubbly girl.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Alexandria, but we still have a long way to go on our journey." Something flickered across Ultear's features, and she set her jaw. I tilted my head as she spoke again, "As a matter of fact, we have more pressing matters to discuss. Surely you want to know why we're here? In Crocus?" Ul prompted. She may have changed, but she certainly hadn't lost her rather serious demeanor. What a buzzkill.

"I assumed it was because you wanted to see the members of Fairy Tail."

Ultear shot me a withering look. "Sometimes I seriously believe that you lack a brain altogether," She retorted, and I scoffed.

"Well then, please enlighten me, Ul."

"We're here because we sensed a power of evil, reminiscent to that of Zeref, here in the Grand Magic Games," She stated. "Originally we did come to see the members of Fairy Tail—you know as well as I how much Jellal obsesses over Erza—but the only reason we stayed was because we caught whiff of a much more sinister force residing in Crocus. We traced it here, to the games."

"You must've sensed it as well, Lex?" Meredy inquired, and I gave her a sheepish shrug.

"I noticed something, but I assumed it was just the sheer amount of magical energy in one place condensing into something so powerful it seemed dark. Ignorant, I know, but after trying so hard to forget that feeling, I must've pushed it as far to the back of my mind as I could. And after Laxus fought Raven Tail… well I attributed the feeling to the guild. I know it was stupid—I just—."

Meredy nodded sympathetically. "It's alright, Lex. We understand." Ultear nodded in agreement, and I gave them a grateful smile.

"We ended up discovering the source of this evil force," Ul continued. "And while I don't necessarily believe the theory Jellal provided us with, it seems to be the only reasonable explanation at the moment."

"What explanation?"

"Supposedly he came across a woman from the future. A future Lucy Heartfilia, to be exact." She saw my expression and nodded, "I know, it sounds just as ridiculous to me. However, Jellal is more than certain that it is her, and he claims that she provided substantial evidence in concordance with the idea. I can neither confirm nor deny this assumption; I can only say that Jellal is convinced that the woman is really who she says she is, and that she is definitely the source of the evil force we'd been tracking since the onset of the Grand Magic Games."

I fixed her with an openmouthed stare.

"That's impossible. She can't be from the future; she can't have traveled back in time. Not even your magic is capable of manipulating time in such a way—and your magic is some of the most advanced I've seen-"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but hear us out," Meredy urged. I frowned.

Ul launched back into her spiel, "As I was saying, this 'Lucy' provided Jellal with something of an explanation for her appearance. There is a gate, called the eclipse gate, and supposedly it is a device of such great and terrible magical proportions that even a human being such as 'Lucy' can be transported across all of time and space. According to 'Lucy', ten thousand dragons are going to come through that gate tomorrow, and they are going to wreak havoc upon the world as it is today. The gate apparently has the capability of transporting not one, but tens of thousands of dragonsacross all of time and space. Automatically I make the assumption that the eclipse gate must be a device formed from great and terrible black magic, and that must be the theory that this 'Lucy' is going with as well, thus why she has a residual trace of the magic on her. The fact remains, though, that the only wizard I know of that could even be close to having the power capable of doing this is—"

"Zeref," I finished. "But how does that make any sense? The idea that any wizard—that any human could create a device that powerful… And why hasn't anyone discovered this gate yet? Surely the future Lucy told you where we could find it."

"Oh believe me she told us," Meredy stated. "But I can guarantee that you won't believe it."

"Try me."

"She said that it's located at the castle. The king is overseeing the whole shebang. They call it Operation Eclipse—super top secret stuff, you know?" Meredy offered, and I raised my brows.

"You're serious?"

"Cross my heart."

"So either the royal family is composed of primarily black wizards, or this future Lucy is lying to us." I mused. "And I've gotta be honest, it seems a hell of a lot more plausible that the latter is true."

"I've been thinking it over, and I haven't been able to make much more sense out of it than you have so far," Ultear said. "The only other possibility is that the royal family doesn't know what they're getting involved with. It sounds kind of ridiculous—that the royal family doesn't have enough common sense to at least look into what they're working so hard to do. Then again, the Fiore Royalty isn't exactly famous for their intelligence…"

"I really hope that the king of Fiore isn't stupid enough to believe whatever crap his advisors are feeding him…" I muttered, and Ultear offered me an acquiescent nod.

"As do I. However, in our current predicament it seems as though we'd be best not to base any of our decisions off of mere hope."

The sound of rustling leaves to our left interrupted us, and I turned my head to stare at the cause of the noise. Laxus and Jellal were crossing towards us, rather solemn looks on their faces. I blinked at them.

"You ladies done?" Jellal inquired, and I nodded—my demeanor going stiff.

Meredy was the first to speak, "Of course we aren't-"

"We were just wrapping up, yeah," I cut her off, and she gave me a sour look. I ignored it.

Laxus floated to my side, "Jellal was just telling me about Lucy-"

"You mean the stranger he encountered," Ultear interjected, earning a sour look from my companion. I placed a cautioning hand on Laxus' arm and felt him tense under my touch. Jellal turned to Laxus and I, directly addressing the pair of us.

"Tell me, have either of you seen Lucy at all recently?" Jellal inquired, and my mind reeled. Had I seen her? I thought that I might've caught a glimpse of her this morning… I saw her last night, but since then?

"I know a group of them were headed to the bar today. Natsu was babbling about it last night. So I think it's safe to assume that she went with them." Laxus offered.

"So you don't have any idea of where she is at the moment?" Jellal pressed, and Laxus and I both shrugged.

"We have an idea, but none of our guesses are going to be one-hundred percent certain," I stated. "Why?"

"Well, future Lucy told us some rather interesting information regarding her location and the occurrences that will be happening in, oh, I'd say about two hours." Jellal said, and I folded my arms.

"Such as?"

"Look, I need to make sure that my information is correct, so I can't go ahead and tell you two and run the risk of spoiling the whole situation. Therefore I'm going to give it to you in the simplest form: If Lucy is arrested by the Kingdom of Fiore by the end of today, I'll know for a fact that the woman I met was in fact the future version of Lucy Heartfilia."

"Arrested?" I blurted. "Why the hell would they arrest Lucy?!"

"Now, Alexandria-"

"Look, Lex, it's not going to hurt Lucy in any way, shape, or form. If the woman is who she says she is then we'll be able to come up with a plan to stop these events from occurring and save everyone involved. The only con is if we find out that the future Lucy isn't really Lucy at all. And we can't have you screwing with the timeline by telling you when and where certain events are going to happen. You freaking out isn't going to do anything to help the situation," Ultear snapped, and I pursed my lips.

"Yeah, well… Whatever," I grumbled, and Ultear nodded.

"Just don't screw this up, alright?" She remarked, and I shot her a vile look.

"So I'm the screw-up?" I retored. Ultear's eyes blazed.

"What the hell are you—"

"It's about time that we got going," Laxus interjected, and Ul and I scowled at each other.

Jellal gave a fervent nod. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

"We'll be seeing you around sometime," Laxus added, and promptly began to drag me in the opposite direction. Meredy continued to shoot concerned looks back and forth between me and Ul, resulting in a rather constipated expression resting on her face. I clenched my fists and Laxus and I descended. Ultear always had to act like that, didn't she? Even after seven years she still managed to retain the petty, pretentious attitude that always filled her.

Laxus' voice pulled me from my broiling. "You okay?"

"I'm just peachy," I quipped.

"Oh grow up."

"I'm perfect grown up, thank you very much."

"You sure? Because you're acting an awful lot like a toddler at the moment. You ever seen a kid throw a tantrum?"

"I see you every day, so yes Laxus."

"You get your feelings hurt so easily, I swear."

"I've been emotional today, which is saying something considering emotional and me aren't typically two things mentioned within the same sentence. So will you please just stop badgering me and give me some space."

"Alright, fine. I'm sorry," Laxus muttered. "I just wanted to help get your mind off of this stuff." He paused. "Here, how about we go hang out at the markets for a bit? Remember how much you loved our little tour during the preliminaries?"

I grunted.

"It was alright, yeah."

"How about we go around, do a little shopping, maybe? Maybe that'll help." Laxus offered, and I sighed.

"Laxus, I have too many other things to worry about. For example—how the hell are we supposed to stop ten thousand dragons from invading and destroying the world as we know it?"

"Worrying isn't going to do anything to help," He stated. "From the looks of it, Jellal and Ultear have everything under control so far, and Jellal already told me that he's coming up with a plan. You need to relax and focus on what the most important task at hand is for us—and that's to win the games. Everything after that will fall into place, I'm sure of it."

"I guess you're right…" I muttered. "Let's go then."

He nodded and marched forward, and a relieved smile flickered over my features as I followed after his receding figure.