SailorStar9: And we hit Chapter 100; figured was about time I updated this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of putting fic on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and my OCs.

Chapter 100: Droplets of Time

SailorStar9 (in cartoonish Paul Revere voice): The feels are coming! The feels are coming! The feels are coming!

Early the next morning, the aged Ultear awoke from her bed, put on her slippers and smiled.

"Everyone!" Wendy called. "We've got our ride home."

"And it's cheap." Carla added.

"That's some fancy carriage." Erza remarked, the team having gathered around the carriage.

The Garou Knights arranged it." Ulyo replied.

"Was it Cosmos and Kamika?" Carla wondered.

"We're gonna... ride in that?" Natsu panicked.

"This'll be a hellish journey for Natsu." Lucy teased.

"It's okay." Happy assured. "Wendy and Ulyo have anti-motion sickness magic."

"I forgot about that!" Natsu brightened. "Sorry, but I'm counting on the two of you."

"In actuality..." Ulyo sighed.

"We're sorry." Wendy muttered. "We've used up so much magic in these past few days, it looks like it'll take a while before we're charged up again."

"And there you have it." Ulyo shook her head.

"Don't worry about it." Natsu mumbled.

"You're pathetic." Gray chided. "Walk home on your own two feet."

"It's all in the way you look at it, Natsu." Erza added.

"Instead on relying on other people all the time, why not work it out yourself?" Carla suggested.

"You don't need to tell me what I was gonna do anyway!" Natsu fired up.

"He's really single-minded, isn't he?" Ulyo looked at the white Exceed in amusement.

"So, in the end, this is what happens?" Gray twitched, Wendy soothing the relatively sick Dragon Slayer. "Don't get near me!"

"His will lacks discipline." Erza snapped.

"Is that really the case?" Ulyo was not convinced.

"I'm still wobbly..." Natsu muttered, slumped on a boulder as the group took a break.

"What you are is a mess." Gray chided, sitting on the grass.

"What do you expect?" Natsu retorted. "I can't stand that rattling ride."

"The terrain is rough." Happy pointed out.

"You'll just have to suck it up for a while." Lucy remarked as she, Wendy and Carla braided flowers.

"Another half a day, and I think I'll have regenerated a little more magic." Wendy added.

"When you do, I'm counting on you for that anti-motion sickness magic." Natsu requested. "I wonder what's up with him?" he looked over at Gray who was walking away from the group and towards the oddly silent Ulyo.

"Aqua Rhapsody." Ulyo summoned a watery harp and started strumming the beginning chorus of 'Lala no Komoriuta'.

"Is something the matter?" Wendy walked towards the couple. "Everyone's talking about what they'll do when they get back home. Don't you feel well?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Gray replied. "When we were fighting the dragons, did you get a weird feeling?"

"Like a vision of the future or something like that?" Wendy prodded.

"I think I was hit here." Gray rested a hand on his chest. "The weird feeling that I... died won't go away. I can't really explain it, but I've felt that way before. Come to think of it, I guess I haven't told you yet. About what happened when I was a kid; Deliora, a demon from the Book of Zeref, attacked my hometown. It murdered my family and was just about to kill me, when Ul saved me. She taught me Ice Make Magic. Ul saved my life twice. I don't have the grounds to believe it, it just seems familiar. When I had the feeling that I saw a vision of my death, it felt strangely... warm. Sorry, I'm bending your ear with nonsense." he chuckled. "Lamia Scale's Lyon was also Ul's disciple. And Ultear from Crime Sociere is Ul's daughter and Ulyo's elder sister."

"Even though we have different fathers." Ulyo chimed in.

"That reminds me, whatever happened to Ultear?" Gray wondered. "When the dragons attacked, I wonder if she was fighting somewhere, too."

Ulyo just let out a small smile, her free hand tightening around the letter she had hid in her pocket.

Ulyo, my sweet little sister,

Forgive me for breaking my promise; in that last battle, I had to use that spell and I failed. Because of that, the spell rebound and resulted in my life-force being shortened. But I have no regrets, it's the duty of the elder sibling to protect the younger; my journey ends here. Please be happy with Gray for my sake.

"I feel sick..." Natsu muttered, after the group continued their journey.

"I'm sorry." Wendy apologized. "With anti-motion sickness magic, if you cast it several times, the effect weakens."

"Why don't you just give up?" Carla chided.

"Yeesh, I can't even take a nap because of his noisy groaning." Gray complained.

I always cursed my own life. The aged Ultear looked up at the sky as the carriage drove by. With anxiety and fury I couldn't hold back, and hatred... but when I stopped and looked up at the sky, I realized how small I was. And an infinite world spread out before me.

Back in the carriage, the drapes blew open and Ulyo happened to look out and a flash of recognition came to her as she cast her gaze on the old woman. "Nee-san..." she whispered, a hand covering her mouth. "Stop!" she barked. "Stop the carriage! Never mind..." she relented, seeing Ultear shake her head at her. Is this the result of you using the spell, nee-san? She wondered, realizing what Ultear had done. Last Ages; the time magic that robs someone of their time.

Goodbye, my beloved little sister. Ultear bade the younger female mage farewell as the carriage continued its journey.

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.