Just ignore me grinding this out. I finally figured out a good way to end this whole thing so I should have a much more regular upload schedule for this story. But that is not guaranteed considering I still got life to do on the other side.

Enough about all that though, just because I know how to end it doesn't mean it is going to be a short ride.

Enjoy!

Natsu felt his chest rise and fall with every breath. He pumped his wings and furthered his ascent into the dense magical fog. He looked down and could make out little glowing bits here and there. Almost like stars, but he wasn't looking at the sky in this instance. This would have to be good enough.

No more failing, no more regrets. Mira, I'm on my way. Everyone, we will see you all again. Count on it. Natsu's determination solidified as he pushed himself through the miasma of magic. He roared triumphantly and unleashed millions of volts of electricity. No fire for now.

One bolt rained down and shattered a small boulder with ease. Natsu sighed at that, 'definitely gonna have to work on holding back a bit if I want even a small chance of getting out of here.'

Instead of going for maximum power, he increased the number of bolts of lightning. While less powerful, he could increase the number of gems he could peer through, while not destroying the gems themselves in the process.

After the lightning around him settled, he dove through the purple miasma. Below he behold thousands, if not tens of thousands, of brightly glowing blue gemstones. Each one the size of himself or smaller. Pacing the paths he could fit through, Natsu studied each of the rocks as much as he could in the split moment he had to check each one out.

Not to mention the fact that he could only make out the image on the other side while the boulder itself sparked with electricity. Even with his advanced senses, this was like trying to find an ice cube in an ocean before it melted. The expanse of the Ravines of Time stretched beyond the horizon and faded into nothingness. The unyielding expanse that continued in all directions was not lost on Natsu.

The odds of him being lucky enough to find a boulder that just so happened to lead him back to his timeline were less than slim to none. This was just the next test, there was a chance. Mira had been able to find himself and Acnologia and she wasn't even conscious then.

He may not know how she managed to traverse through the ravines, but even with the surmounting odds she didn't give up.

Natsu imagined how she must have felt through all of that. Could she use her magic here? He certainly knew himself and the other dragon slayers could. How long did she search? How far did she walk? Did she even walk? Crawl?

He had to shake his head to clear it of the thought. Even now he was stampeding his way through the enormous glowing boulders. Many were still actively showing a clear image of the other side as he ran by.

Natsu decided to do something that changed the game however. After seeing the other side and recognizing nothing, he would manipulate the lightning around the rock to one next to it that was either no longer giving a clear image of the other side or nothing at all. He had to cover his bases, one gem unchecked could mean a century here.

The ones without any electricity were quickly sparked back to life as Natsu recharged them with the surrounding lightning. As he charged through the maze of rocks his mind wandered back to how long it was his turn to be trapped in this place after Mira and Acnologia.

From what Acnologia had said, he'd been searching for Natsu for a while, but that didn't help. Acnologia was already well over 400 years old himself, a while to him could mean decades, if not centuries. Mira could have been searching for months, possibly years before stumbling across something, anything that meant a chance. She only had that hope inside of her that she would find him in all of that time.

There must have been a desperation for someone to be there. Anyone to help. Lisanna had died, for real this time. The rest of Fairy Tail, and all of Ishgar left to nothing in Acnologia's wake. Mira must have known what the gamble was by coming here, to find him. He outwardly winced at this.

Even if she had looked for years…if people didn't age in this space, how long would he be trapped in here? He didn't have years. He extended his wings outwards. Stretching them to their limit. Electricity began to jump around his wings in fervor. His maw opened wide and as he condensed the magic on his wings, he began to unleash a deafening roar. The ground began to shake slightly and he could swear he saw a glimpse of something familiar out of the corner of his eye. A bright golden flash, hiding amidst the bright lightning rising to the sky. But he couldn't stop now.

"Lightning Flame Dragon Secret Art: Meteor Crash!" From Natsu's wings surged millions of volts of electricity into the sky, turning night into day for a moment. The bright flashing light of the lightning pierced the purple miasma and was swallowed up within the Ravines of Time.

Then he waited.

He waited longer than he ever thought he could, at least four seconds, maybe six? Reaching his arm up, he pulled back on his magic, commanding the lightning he'd sent above to come crashing back down. That should do it.

In a few short seconds the same light from before lit up the surrounding area for as far as the eye could see. And with Natsu's new height and further increased vision, he could say that he saw very far. Gemstones for miles around lit up with different images in every one. Without missing a beat he lifted his wings and put them to use again.

As he got higher and higher he looked below and was stunned at how much ground he covered with one attack. It wasn't like the lightning just went in a perfect circle. The lightning had lit up a giant scar across the Ravines of Time, electricity jumping from gem to gem, giving a crystal clear image of exactly what was on the other side. Sure he held back to not destroy the rocks but this was crazy. If he had to guess it was at least the size of the mountain range near the capital of Fiore. If he had been serious, he could have wiped out an entire city. With ease.

He really had to think about how much power he used now. There was still a thought that lingered though, could he get stronger? Were there others stronger than him? Even if there were, he'd be ready. No more time to regret not being strong enough. First things first, he had to find Mira. Glancing to all the lit up boulders his brow furrowed. There was work to be done.

This was nothing.

Time to get started.

Back in the world Natsu and Acnologia made a mockery of…

The monsters were gone. The sky still swam with an ever apparent danger of random bolts of lightning crashing down. Buildings were being searched for survivors. But it was pointless.

If there were people that managed to bear witness to a battle of such a scale and survive, there would be a different kind of problem on the peoples hands.

Heroes had done all they could to save as many innocents as they could. Rank didn't matter anymore. Anybody that could move was helping another. Evacuation had been troublesome to say the least.

No matter the distance between the fleeing citizens and the epicenter of hell on earth, every attack, roar, flare of power, lighting strike and even the very growls emanating from the dragon's throats, felt as if it were at the back of their necks.

"Status report." A small mouse-like creature ordered. He had gray fur and a scar over his right eye, and wore what must have been a once fancy suit. Now, it was in tatters and had scorch marks littered around it, embers appearing to have burnt holes into the material as well.

"The city is lost, it has been almost entirely destroyed." A man with angel-like wings on his back said. His hair matched the color of the wings, being that of an auburn orange color. The visors he wore rested on his forehead now as he stared seriously at the ground between his feet.

"To hell with the city, Hawk! What are the casualties?" The mouse-like man demanded more firmly.

Hawk looked taken aback for a moment before smiling slightly, even with the charred remains of their homes surrounding them, the principle of UA was able to keep his head cool under the pressure.

"42% survival rate of civilians but there massive losses in our number of heroes. Kamui Woods has fallen, along with Mt. Lady and even Endeavor was killed trying to control the flames from the red dragon. Best Jeanist is in a ctricial condition and isn't looking good, the burns are getting worse. That and his nervous system is shutting down. All Might has managed to put out the rest of the flames but the lightning won't stop." His report concluded, images of hell raining from the sky flashing across his vision.

"Alright then, we must relocate to the nearest unaffected city. After Recovery Girl does what she can for the wounded we will head there. Backup is already on the way, even America and Russia want their hands on this." The principle sighed with a strained smirk on his face. He looked to the dark sky above in the distance.

Sure enough, just as Hawk had said, the lightning from before could be seen and heard crashing endlessly in the distance. The main base had been set up approximately 22km away from the battle, with his super intelligence Quirk he had been able to discern the distance at which the flames' heat would be unable to reach them, along with their embers. That and at this distance the thunder from the lightning didn't deafen the survivors as much at this distance.

He had seen just how much damage even small embers cause. Houses burnt to a crisp in a matter of minutes. He could hear the faint screaming as he got lost in thought, thinking back to the escape.

Never had any hero in all of their world felt a crushing defeat as this, to do nothing. That they could do nothing. The principle took one thing from this whole experience, never let your guard down. There is no guarantee for anything to happen everyday, just be ready for whatever shit hits the fan when said shit hits the fan.

The principle sighed once more and looked back to Hawk, "One more thing."

Hawk looked back up, " How do you feel about being an instructor at UA next year?" The mouse-like principle asked with a wide smile, his hand outstretched to the winged hero.

On Earthland…

Northeast of Fiore black cracks appeared amidst the mountains. From the cracks emerged massive black clawed fingers, all of which were prying open the crack in space and time. No sooner than they appeared was the dragon hit with salt on the wind, near the ocean.

Acnologia's massive dragon form breached the dimensional slash he made to escape the Ravines of Time. He stepped forward on his hind legs, walking bipedally. This was due to his left arm being entirely missing and his right hand holding securely onto the now conscious form of one Mirajane Strauss.

One Mirajane Strauss who just so happened to be making the Dragon of the Apocalypse much more aware of just how awake she was than he cared to know. Through a myriad of curses that was much more like the Mira of old, she let the black dragon know exactly how she felt about him.

She would be made useful. While wounded from the fight, not having his other arm was becoming more irksome. Back to bipedal travel instead of flight.

He had a plan for that. And it involved the loud white haired witch in his hand.

Acnologia was a stubborn and proud, possibly insane, dragon. Still, before he was a dragon, he was a Dragon Slayer, and before that a human. A human doctor.

Without even looking down Mira was knocked back into the realm of unconsciousness. Acnologia sighed before unfurling his wings and assessed the damage. His empty white eyes seemed to widen even further.

From when Natsu's claws had dug into his scaled wings, right at the apex of the arch on his right wing, he knew he didn't imagine it. The claws were being superheated and pierced right through his scales and into the meat of the wing. The heat seared the wound shut just as quickly as it dug deeper. So when the claws were dragged through the feather-like scaled wings, it gouged out dozens of large scales, melted several, and left a deep gorge of a scar. The scar went the length from the wingtip to the main arch on the outer side of the wing. Just holding it out to acknowledge the power of the hatchling dragon, it ached painfully.

He could feel the same heat around the back of his neck, wrapping around almost to the front. Like magma, melting and burning through and all he could do was thrash about pathetically. His tail smashed the ground in response. Even then, as the three pronged, javelin-like tail whipped in motion, it instantly altered the geography around him. The ground in a quarter mile radius spiderwebbed and cratered deeply, the cracks running dozens of feet deep. The particular mountain he'd been standing on reduced to a plateau in an instant.

If that dragon boy really wanted to end the fight he could have electrocuted him after piercing the dense scales around his neck. The lightning after the penetration could have been lethal, but Igneel's son was nowhere near ready to make the final blow. Or he isn't aware of all he is capable of yet. Either way, Acnolgia smirked.

If all went as planned then the new Lightning Flame Dragon King would have more than enough reason to kill him.

Looking down at the human and battered form of the mage in his hand his mind began racing with possibilities.

Surveying the surrounding cratered mountain top, Acnologia nodded in approval and got to work.

One could say Mira was fortunate Igneel had taken his left arm, he was right handed.

So when he returned to his human form and with a true doctor's precision he used a clawed finger to slice Mira's vocal cords. That woke her up.

Waking up after being abducted by Acnologia wasn't exactly how Mira planned the rescue mission.

Her body hurt in more ways than one, every inch of skin feeling sensitive to even the wind. Her lungs hurt, breathing feeling as if she were breathing in toxic air. She couldn't move her arms or legs either.

Her white hair whipped about, flailing forward and back, side to side as her mouth was agape in a strangled scream. Blood poured from the thin incision horizontally across her throat for a moment before stopping entirely, scarring over just as quickly.

"Your voice has been an annoyance one too many times." Was all the dragon said in acknowledgement of her missing voice. Trying to move her arms and legs was pointless in her vertical position. Tears fell from her eyes at losing her voice, but feeling an even more intense burning sensation in her upper thighs dragged her attention elsewhere.

Now it was her turn for her eyes to widen, and more tears fell. Her once bright sky blue eyes dulled even further. Icy cold and unfeeling white ones replaced them.

Mira's upper thighs had been split down the middle, revealing the bright pink and red muscle beneath. One leg being split clear down to the calf, all the skin removed as if she'd been skinned alive below the knee. She could see clearly down to the bright white bone as her muscles, tendons and ligaments had been severed and removed. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as her body shook in tremors. Her mouth hanging open began to drool as her eyes rolled back slightly into her skull as her body went into shock.

Acnologia had a small table with various tools on it. Some resembling pliers, scissors, knives and even clamps. They were all covered in copious amounts of fresh blood.

Next to her vertically positioned chained self, was another table, larger in size and with her ligaments and muscles organized into a somewhat organized system. On the same table was a glowing blue lacrima from the Ravines of Time. Acnologia picked it up, before pinching some of the dust off of it. Then sprinkling the lacrima particles over the thigh wound, not even sparing the still shaking Mira a glance.

No sooner after the powdered magic gem made contact with the bone did new tendons and muscle begin to generate from the femur and then the same occurring with the fibula.

Mira's eyes fluttered before opening all the way, her vision was blurry and her shoulders heaved for breath. Just after regaining her senses again she could make out her surroundings much better.

The middle of a mountain range, nothing for miles around, at least in the direction she could see. Her attention was dragged back to her leg as a claw pierced the side of her knee. The claw dug around inside, searching for something, until he seemed to find what he was looking for. All the while Mira strained against the restraints. Said restraints had her arms shackled above her head, her legs shackled to the same vertical slab of concrete.

Now was when she realized she was stark naked. Her usually white pristine skin was still dirty from the war with Alvarez. As for what remained of her clothes after going through the Ravines of Time, they would be useless even as rags. There were minor wounds littered around her body that she could make out through the grime and still fresh blood. She wasn't given any time to be embarrassed over her current lack of clothing however.

It was at this time the Dragon King grabbed the same knee he'd severed the ligaments in and ripped the shackled ankle free, forcefully moving the injured joint. Mira's body jerked at the motion and she once again was reminded that she couldn't scream in agony.

"Use your Satan Soul, doesn't matter which." Acnologia firmly held her leg in place with his one hand. She glared through the tears in her eyes, already red from the nonstop flood. The dragon made no indication of seeing the glare at first. Suddenly her knee was bending backwards as her toes now faced her. He had snapped her leg instantly, causing her head to be thrown back at the explosion of pain and see stars in her vision.

Still more tears fell as she turned her head and shut her eyes. She just wanted to not be here anymore.

Her mind was already beyond the point of exhaustion. Inside the Ravines of Time the air was so densely packed with magical energy that her skin was made ultra sensitive and the air stung her throat and nose, making her eyes burn slightly. It had taken almost three weeks to locate Natsu, and that was only due to her seeing melted boulders at random and a few destroyed rock debris here and there with claw marks gouged out of them. She had only managed that long due to using her magic as a way to extend her time without food or water, but she couldn't replenish her magic.

Thankfully she was still an S-Class mage and had an above average magic container. Even that was stretched to a new limit. By the time she had stumbled across him, she was beyond her limit and exhaustion had caught up with her. Escaping was like breathing in the air atop of a crisp autumn day.

She could feel her magic returning to her, and the barest images of red and black dragons racing towards her. When she woke up next, tight in Acnologia's grip she could feel a constant drain on her magic. But he didn't seem to be absorbing it, more like he was just erasing any magic trying to accumulate in her magic container. When she had been cursing him out before, that was the last of her bravado in a pathetic attempt to lower his guard enough for her to escape. Being knocked out again and awoken by slit vocal cords, then to be tortured by your enemy for something possibly as simple as it was amusing to see her struggle in vain.

Even now trying to draw on any magic was impossible, she didn't know how but her power was still being kept at barely above empty. Just enough to stay alive.

Acnologia stared into her white iris' without flinching. The bone hadn't pierced the skin in her knee after being snapped like a twig, but she could feel the blood building inside the limb the more time went on.

She still refused to bring out one of her Satan Souls, turning her face away. He reached up with his hand to her chin, pulling her gaze back to his. His finger went down and traced along her Adam's apple before trailing down to between her breasts at the center of her sternum. Her breathing hitched slightly at the pressure on her chest.

Her gaze was ripped downward as Acnologia's claw pierced her skin and cracked bone. A thumb was added into the new wound and grabbed bone, hard. His hand yanked outwards in a quick swiping motion as an entire rib bone was removed from Mira's rib cage. Blood gushed from the wound and soon covered her front in a new coat of bright red.

The white haired mage's body rocked from side to side as much as she could in her contained torment. She heaved as her eyes shook with every breath, all her focus on staying awake. Her wound on her leg had been practically removed, only leaving a massive scar in the shape of a lowercase 't' where the skin had been folded outwards. If something as severe as that had been healed practically instantly, then maybe the same could be done for her rib? She only hoped, but then again, maybe hope wasn't her best friend at the time.

"The sooner you comply, the sooner I'll be done with you," the dragon conceded. He tossed the rib aside, blood dripping from his fingertips. She still ignored his demand. "You asked for this." And he stabbed his hand into her lower abdomen, making her lurch forward in a futile attempt to curl into a fetal position. His hand wriggled around inside for a short moment before being removed. In his grasp he held a small grape-sized sac, attached to it a pink tube only a few inches in length.

Mira didn't need to be any kind of genius to know what he had taken. More tears flooded from her bloodshot eyes. The tears framed her face, flowing down her cheeks and dripping from her chin to her bare chest.

Her shoulders and arms above trembled more than before as she used what little magic she possessed to bring forth her basic Satan Soul takeover. Unlike when she usually transformed however, she was still laid bare for Acnologia to see, in contrast to the pink leotard that donned her form typically. Just from that her shoulders sagged at the exhaustion of expending more magic than she had to spare.

Acnologia's dark hand pat her cheek gently, still rattling her brain in her skull at the contact. "Now that's better. Just sit still and this will all be over soon." There was a dark glimmer in his eyes as he began to reach towards one of the several black cracks that ran along her skin in this form. She could do nothing in her silent prison of anguish.

For those of you that think I don't read your reviews or messages, I DO! Hearing any feedback from you guys at all is all I can ask for, so to the ones that take the time to write a review, favorite, or follow, thank you.

Someone wanted a sneak peak back at the MHA universe to see how their side of things went during the dragon battle, buttt I didn't really want to add all that much detail seeing as the main story is about to take off and there will never be a mention of the characters in their universe from this point on. If you were expecting a giant crossover, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is not that story.

In regards to the fact that our time in the MHA-verse has now come to a close, for all of the ones telling me to mark this as a crossover story, I won't. Simply because I just wanted to have the whole USJ battle and all that fun stuff happen in a different world just because I can. Not trying to do any kind of crossover now, or anytime soon. The most I am really going to do is reference powers, abilities and such to enhance what characters and abilities my story does have.

If you did like what you've seen so far don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts in a review or PM.

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Published 02 November 2021