A/N: Happy 2019, everyone! I hope you all great holidays like I did, surrounded by family and/or friends.
Now, let us see what happens to our Fairy Tail friends with the Grand Magic Games now complete, and a dragon horde on the horizon!
OP Song: Masayume Chasing (Original or cover by Amalee)
P.S. Still haven't seen the DBS movie yet, so NO SPOILERS! I know SSJ God Vegeta and Gogeta are in it, but that's it! NOTHING ELSE!
Magic Battle Nexus Arc: Chapter 11
Eclipse
"We did it," Gray said with the biggest grin that Gorun had ever seen on him. "We did it! We're number one!"
"We did it," Gorun repeated with a half-laugh. He watched his comrades rejoice with smiles and shared congratulations, with even Gajeel cracking a grin. He too wore a smile, but the look in his eyes was a hollow one. We won the Grand Magic Games, he thought. But can we survive the Dragon King Festival to come?
Future Lucy had told them the original name of the games, from the era when human slaves competed- often to the death- for the entertainment of their dragon masters. In modern times, there were few who knew of the current festivities' violent origins, but the irony would be present nonetheless, he thought. Just as they would be celebrating their human strength, the dragons would return to remind them of the terror they had inflicted upon them four hundred years ago.
He shook his head, his long hair swishing quickly as he chased the morbid thoughts away. No, he thought, his eyes flashing emerald for a fraction of a second as he watched Erza and Gray give one another a one-armed embrace while Gajeel and Laxus exchanged a fist-bump. I can change their future. I will change their future!
"Hate to interrupt the celebrations, guys," he said firmly, causing the others to turn toward him. "But we have a king we need to see."
"Wait a sec," Sting's voice said before anyone could respond. "I got a question before you guys go."
"Actually, much as I hate to admit, we need you to come with us," Gorun said as he turned back to face the blond slayer, who looked surprised. "You can ask whatever it is you wanted to ask us on the way."
"Erzy?" Millianna asked as she drew closer to the group. "What's this guy talking about? Why do you need to go see the king?"
Gorun let the girl answer her friend as he gestured for Sting to walk with them as he reached into his pocket. "What is it?" he asked the other young man.
"Well now I got a bunch more questions, but I really wanted to know why Natsu didn't compete in the games today," Sting replied. "Your guys' fusion thing totally kicked mine and Rogue's asses, so I was surprised when you didn't do it again today."
Gorun let out a long sigh before he muttered, "We have a lot to catch you and Rogue up on." Pulling out a small sack from his pocket, he undid the string holding it closed and reached inside. When his hand emerged, he had five senzu beans in his palm. Calling his comrades closer, he raised his voice and said, "Come and get one, guys. If Lucy's timetable was accurate, we all need to be in top shape for what's about to hit."
He was going to say more, but he was interrupted when a hologram of the pumpkin man, Mato, appeared in the sky, much like he had on the first night of the preliminary round. However, unlike then, the Games' mascot was not in a cheery mood. "All competitors in this year's Grand Magic Games, regardless of whether you passed the preliminary round or not are requested to gather in the King's garden for a very important announcement," he said. "Please do hurry, pumpkins, there's not a lot of time!" With that, he vanished as soon as he had appeared.
"Does that have something to do with what you were gonna tell me?" Sting asked curiously.
"I hope so," Gorun said dryly. "Or else we may have just run out of time."
"What're you doing here, Rogue?" Lucino asked the shadowy man roughly. "And what's with the new hairdo?" The others guessed that the fused wizard's antagonism stemmed from Yukino, though the silver-haired girl would have never had the nerve to speak so roughly to the dragon slayer.
The man paused and frowned at the young woman, not recognizing her. "And just who are you?" he asked coldly. "I don't recall seeing you among Fairy Tail's number before."
"Who our guild recruits is none of your business," Mirajane said with some force. "And I'm curious to hear your answer, too. You're supposed to be participating in the games with your guild- if you really are Rogue, anyway. You hardly look like him."
Rogue's visible eyebrow rose fractionally, but before he could speak, Natsu interrupted to say, "It's Rogue, all right. I never forget a smell, especially other dragon slayers."
"Then why is he here?" Carla asked in an undertone, eyeing the man with distrust. Something about the way that he was carrying himself and the fact that he had possibly terminated so many people so callously was unnerving in the extreme.
"I am not the Rogue that you are all familiar with," he answered. "I come from seven years in the future- a future where not even ten percent of the human population lives, and dragons rule as masters over the ashes that remain."
The others winced at the blunt description of what was to come, but since they had been told of the situation by Future Lucy, it wasn't so much of a shock. "So you came back from the future, eh?" Natsu asked him warily.
"I'm not the only one…" Future Lucy murmured to herself.
"That means that he must have been the person that Gorun sensed on day three of the games," Wendy muttered in a low tone.
"Yes, I have been here for a little while," Rogue said in answer to Natsu's question. "And I have but one goal: to use Eclipse."
The others regarded him with surprise for a moment, Happy muttering in an aside to Carla, "Gorun won't like that."
"We can worry about that later, tomcat," Carla chided him. In a slightly louder tone so that Rogue would hear, she added, "Let's at least hear why he wants to use it."
"As you know, Eclipse can be used to travel through time," Rogue explained patiently. "However, the device has a secondary purpose- as an offensive weapon, it can unleash an energy blast comparable to an etherion cannon."
"The sacred light of the magic council?" Mirajane asked dubiously. "It has that much energy?"
"In this day and age, yes," Rogue nodded. "The time that I come from has a damaged Eclipse Gate, one that cannot function as a weapon. That is why I have come- if we don't use the Eclipse Cannon, ninety percent of humanity, along with our entire way of life, will perish."
"Well, at least that makes it simple for us," Natsu said, finally grinning a bit. "All we gotta do now is go see the king and tell him about this plan of yours!"
"Heh," Rogue grinned back. "Already taken care of. The Princess Hisui is preparing to use the gate even as we speak."
"How can she get it to work without Lucy or Yukino?" Lucino demanded. "I thought it functioned with celestial wizardry, and without a celestial wizard, the gate is useless."
"You are mistaken," Rogue said as his smirk grew. "The gate only requires the zodiac keys to unlock it, nothing more. The princess apparently 'borrowed' their keys during their stay here, and has already used it to unlock the door to time. When the time is ripe, she will unleash into the swarm of dragons, securing mankind's future." Then his grin faded in place of a scowl as he said, "And now that I've spilled my secrets, I think that it's only fair that you do the same. Who is this girl that knows of celestial matters?"
"I'm Lucino, ya edge-lord wannabe," the girl sniffed imperiously. "I'm a fusion between Lucy and Yukino- not to mention the greatest celestial wizard that's ever lived. And I don't really like the fact that you and the princess 'borrowed' their keys without permission."
Rogue's eyes widened in surprise, then bent downwards into a frown. "I assume that this is a result of that man that fought Sting and my past self, alongside Natsu? He was not present in my time."
"He helped this happen, yeah," Lucino smirked. "And he's strong enough to conjure a hundred etherion cannon blasts, so we don't even need your plan."
"Wrong again," Rogue growled.
"A swarm of ten thousand dragons?!" Jenny of Blue Pegasus screamed. "Are you kidding me?!" Her cry of alarm was echoed by many other wizards in the crowd, though none of them originated from Fairy Tail or Sabertooth. Those wizards wore grim, yet accepting expressions at the King's announcement that royal intelligence had discovered that the kingdom was about to come under siege from ten thousand raging dragons.
"All of you, please calm yourselves!" the king, a small, white-haired man commanded, his voice deep and booming. "I did not summon you here to panic. I invited you here to beg your help! Please!" To their collective shock, he bowed low to them as he implored, "I beseech you now, wizards of Fiore! Do not allow these monsters to destroy everything we have worked to build in their absence! Do not let them ravage this precious kingdom of ours! Even as we speak, my daughter readies our army to make a stand against what is to come, but we cannot do it without you! Please… help me to protect this beautiful nation that I love so dearly!"
There was a small pause of silence as the wizards absorbed the man's request.
"Come ten dragons or ten million, we will stand our ground against them," Erza declared on behalf of the fairies when the diminutive ruler awaited an answer. "For king and country!" The wizards around her roared their support, quickly followed by the mages of Sabertooth.
"For our guilds and our country!" Sting shouted with a large grin on his face. Others took up the call, and soon, every wizard that had assembled to compete in the games was shouting their support, though none could match the volume of the Fairy Tail Guild.
Strangely though, Gorun did not join in the swelling roars as the guilds came together to show support for their king. He stood off, alone, save for Kinana, who had noticed him separate himself from the others.
"Hey," she said as she approached. "What's going on?"
"Something's not right," he muttered, almost to himself. "Natsu's team is still missing, and that worries me. We have two dragon slayers in their group, and I need to make sure that they're at one hundred percent before the dragons show up. Normally I'd be able to feel them this close to the palace, but with so many wizards gathered around and fired up, it's hard for me to sense any one individual."
"Now that you mention that, it is a concern," she agreed, her lovely features becoming marred with a frown.
"That's not all, though," Gorun added slowly. "There's… something else. Something just beyond my senses, and it's driving me crazy. Something I feel like I've forgotten, but…" He grabbed at hair in frustration. "Augh! C'mon, think, Gorun! Humanity is on the line!"
"Hey," Kinana said in her most soothing voice as she hugged him from behind. "Just breathe, like you taught me. Your ki is going to become hard to control if you get too worked up, remember…" She let him draw in a few deep breaths before she asked, "Is Sherria's magic still affecting you somehow? Her spells really seemed to throw you off."
"No, it's not that," Gorun answered after a moment, his voice a little distant. "I took a senzu after I fought her, before I crushed Minerva and ascended to Super Saiyan 2, so I'm healthy right now. Like I said, it's something that I can't sense properly…"
"Is the moon affecting you?" she asked, looking up to see that it was full, not to mention beginning to eclipse, part of it turning blood red. "Could that be what's bothering you?" She had no idea how an eclipse might affect him- he'd never mentioned it before.
"It's not that, either," he mumbled, sagging a little in her grip as he tried to relax. "My tail is covered, so even if I looked at it right now, it shouldn't affect me. Plus, I think the eclipse would prevent some of the blutz waves from reaching me down here, anyway." He drew in a breath to say more, but then he stiffened, his fists clenching.
"Sorry," she said in a small voice, realizing that he must have already had these thoughts in advance, and that she was probably not helping matters by repeating old ideas.
"No, don't be," he said, turning in her grip to face her and grasp her arms with wide eyes. "Tell me, what did I just say?"
"Umm…" She baulked, bewildered by his strange request. "Something about how the eclipse won't let the blutz waves reach you?"
"The eclipse," he repeated, his eyes widening.
"Yeah, I guess there was supposed to be one tonight…?" she said slowly, not seeing where he was going with this.
"No, not that eclipse," he said slowly. "The other Eclipse." He allowed her a moment to realize what he was getting at before adding, "The king mentioned that his daughter was preparing to combat the dragons, right?"
"Yeah," she nodded, finally understanding where his mind was. "You don't think… they're gonna try to use it right now?"
"Maybe they plan to go back in time and do something to affect the dragon race so that they can't become a threat today," he mused aloud. "Regardless, I'll bet that wherever the Eclipse project is, I'll find Natsu and the others."
"What makes you say that?" she asked.
"Because based on what you've all told me- and what I've seen- that guy has a habit of landing in the thick of things," Gorun said dryly. "Problem is, I have no idea where the thing is, and I can't sense where Natsu and the others are. That bothers me, because if Lucy and Yukino used the rings like I told them to, their combined energy should be like a lighthouse in the midst of a storm."
"Maybe they weren't able to use them," Kinana suggested. "That or whatever magic is preventing us from making telepathic contact might also be interfering with your energy sensing."
Gorun paused in mid-thought. "I hadn't considered that," he admitted. "If that's the case, my instant transmission won't work properly while I'm near the castle- I need a solid energy signature to lock onto."
"Or maybe you can go look the old-fashioned way," Kinana said with a light shove on his shoulder. "You can fly faster than the speed of sound, can't you?"
"Oh yeah," he grinned sheepishly. "There is that." Then the grin faded and he took both of Kinana's hands in his own. "This scene looks familiar, doesn't it?" he asked her, his friendly gray eyes dark and somber.
She glanced around at their surroundings- the moonlit night, the balcony they stood beside, the sound of wizards getting excited surrounding them- and had to agree with him. "Just like the Magic Ball," she nodded returning her eyes to his gaze.
"I told you how I felt that night," he said softly. "It feels like that was lifetime ago, where I didn't know how you felt about me."
"Gorun, where are you going with this?" the girl asked, a little worried by his behavior. It wasn't like the Saiyan boy to be nostalgic.
"I just wanted to spend a moment remembering the best night of my life before…" he trailed off.
"Before what?"
"Before the world goes to hell," he said through a catch in his throat. "No, that's not all I wanted… I really wanted to spend this moment of peace with the girl that I fell in love with." As he added the last part, he pulled her into a tight embrace so that she couldn't see the tears beginning to fall from his eyes. "I love you, Kinana," he murmured. "And before we go into what might be our last battle, I needed you to know."
He started to pull away, but a hand reached up and grasped at his hair gently, yet firmly keeping him in place. "I love you too," Kinana told him through a quavering voice. "Do you…? Is this really going to be the end?" Everyone else had been so focused on staying positive and preparing to conquer yet another impossible enemy, that in all the excitement, Kinana hadn't really paused to consider that after this battle, she and the others could very well be dead, just like in the future. Obviously, Gorun had been wrestling with more morbid thoughts than the rest of them.
"I hope not," he said, his heart aching more acutely with every word that left his mouth. He had tried so hard to convince himself that he could change the future like Trunks had all those years ago, but as the enormity of the moment drew closer and closer, he couldn't help but feel certain dread settle into his bones.
"I'm going to fight my very hardest to make sure that we all make it through the night and whatever may follow. But on the chance that I fail… I needed you to know that while Fairy Tail gave me a family, it was you that gave me a home, Kinana. I love you for it, and so many other reasons. Thank you for giving me the life that I've dreamed of for so long. No matter if we win or lose, it's way past time you know what you've done for me." He leaned his forehead to hers as he closed his eyes.
"You've given more than you know," the girl said softly through her own tears. "The only memories I had were of a broken guild trying its hardest to not only stay together, but struggling to raise me and the others that relied on it. Then you came and brought hope into our lives that things could get better. Then you said that you believed in me, taught me to stand up for myself, and gave me love that I never knew existed, even if you didn't know how to say it. Thank you so much, Gorun. I love you too."
"Ha…" Gorun laughed through a sob as he squeezed her closer to him, wishing for a magic that would allow him to freeze time and remain here in her arms forever.
"Did'ja miss the part where I said Gorun can zap all the stupid dragons with etherion?" Lucino scowled at Future Rogue.
"I heard you just fine, but there remains a fact that you are unaware of, and it is imperative that you understand the gravity of what I say next," Rogue growled back. "There is a reason why we failed to destroy the dragons during their initial assault seven years in my past." He paused to make sure that he would not be interrupted, then said in a severe tone, "Someone prevented Eclipse from activating. Thanks to them, ninety percent of humanity lies dead in my time."
"Someone stopped Eclipse?" Carla asked.
"Maybe it was Gorun?" Happy suggested. "He doesn't seem like he wants it to open."
"I doubt it," Pantherlily muttered, still cradling an unconscious Cana. "He mentioned that Gorun was not present in his time, so I don't see how it could be him."
"Correct, it was not that man," Rogue nodded quickly. "Regardless, I have come to ensure that the person responsible for Eclipse failing does not doom humanity again." The way he said it sent shivers down the spines of several of the fairies.
"How do you plan on stopping them?" Mirajane asked the man. "By detaining them until the dragon attack is dealt with?"
"Hardly," Rogue said with a negative- and very definite- shake of his head. "That won't be enough. Unfortunately, the only way to prevent them from accomplishing their fated task is to eliminate them."
The others physically recoiled in shock at his harsh words. "Who made you judge and jury, pal?" Lucino demanded. "Why not at least try talking about it with the person first, instead of jumping straight to murder?"
"Because when fate decrees that something must occur, the people involved have no choice but to comply," Rogue said, his eyes downcast. "There are certain events that are immutable unless drastic steps are taken, and this is one of those times. Destiny has taken away choice from these unfortunate souls."
"Yer wrong," Natsu growled. "Gorun bein' here proves that things can change. So there's no justification for murdering someone who hasn't done anything wrong yet."
Rogue's eyes narrowed in anger. "Spoken like one that remains untouched by the fires of a hell on earth," he growled. "I came here with a mission to carry out, and I will see it through, with or without your help."
"Oh yeah?" Natsu challenged, taking a fighting stance. "And just who is it that you think you're gonna kill?"
"The person that closed the gate seven years ago must be stopped," Rogue snapped, taking his own stance. "She will be stopped!"
"She?" Future Lucy whispered.
"You!" Rogue bellowed reaching back as if to hurl something, yet there was no object in his hand. His visible eye was fixated directly on Lucino, who suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. "You let humanity die! Lucy Heartfelia!" He moved to cast his arm forward as shadows gathered in his hand, but two things happened in the instant that he did.
First, Mirajane tackled Natsu out of the way as Juvia, who had been all but forgotten, extended her middle and pointer fingers at Rogue and screamed, "Hydro Beam Cannon!" A jet of highly condensed water shot forth from her fingertips, piercing Rogue's shoulder and causing him to scream as his throw went wild, a shadow blade of some sort shooting upward to stab the ceiling and then fading out of existence.
Then a window that stood between both parties exploded inward, heralding the arrival of the Super Saiyan, Son Gorun. "I thought I sensed a time breaker's energy when I got closer," he muttered as he touched down and looked over at the wounded Shadow Dragon Slayer. "But I was only looking for Lucy. I certainly didn't expect to run into- Rogue, was it? What in Shenron's name are you doing here?" He frowned as he recognized the slayer's magic signature.
"He's a psycho that tried to kill Lucy!" Happy called out as the man glared at Gorun with undisguised hatred. "Juvia got him with a water gun thing!"
"Glad to see you," Lucino said to the blond man from behind Future Lucy, who had placed herself between Rogue and the fused fighter. "I thought I might be in a hot mess there for a second."
"Good to see that the rings worked," Gorun said with a brief nod towards them. "I just came from a meeting that the king held with all the guilds from the games- you should go join them in getting ready to fight the dragons. I'll handle grumpy over here." Without another glance, he tossed Mirajane a small sack that sounded like it contained marbles. "Eat one, each of you. They'll get you back up to full power for the fight that's to come. Mira, I want the rest of 'em back when I next see you."
"We're not leaving you to fight this guy!" Natsu protested. "I wanna fight him!"
"C'mon, Natsu," Future Lucy begged him, tugging on his bare arm. "Let's leave this creep to Gorun."
"No," the Salamander growled, pulling away from the blond girl. "He threatened you, and he's not gettin' away with that."
"Natsu, you're a good friend and a powerful ally," Gorun said without turning around. "But I swear to Beerus, if you don't get moving in the next two seconds, I'm going to Kamehameha you into next week! Go! Defeat the dragons, but do not let them use the Eclipse project!"
Pantherlily and the others didn't need to be told twice- they turned tail and ran away from the impending fight, the only exceptions being Natsu, who stubbornly refused to retreat and Future Lucy, who was trying to convince him to go with the rest of them. "C'mon, hotshot," Lucino said, grabbing onto Natsu's free arm. "If you want a fight, it sounds like we better head outside and get ready for those dragons to show up."
"You're not going anywhere!" Rogue snarled, transforming into a shadow that sped after the retreating group.
"You threatened my comrade," Gorun growled, just before he interposed himself between Rogue and his target. "And you were ready to kill your own guild mate to get to her. You really are a rotten piece of work, aren't you?!" He accompanied the last two words with a punch aimed at Rogue's shadow that connected with resounding force that shook the hallway.
Using his pulsating ki to disrupt the shadow magic keeping Rogue out of his grip, he watched with grim satisfaction as the shade recoiled and reformed in front of him, still gripping his wounded shoulder, where blood could be seen dripping from his vest. "You're the one who's not going anywhere, Time Breaker," the Saiyan boy growled.
"You can't stop me from killing Lucy Heartfelia," the dark wizard snarled, releasing his hold on his shoulder. "The Eclipse Gate will open this time!"
"Can't I?" Gorun asked with a slightly cocked head. Raising a hand, he began to raise a finger at a time in correlation with his words, saying, "Let's do a body count, shall we? I crushed Olga on day three of the games, which I now know you were watching. Natsu and I decimated you and Sting together on day four, though if we set egos aside for a moment, I could have taken you both on myself and come out on top. And earlier today, I killed your guild's single strongest mage, and I barely broke a sweat doing it. So far by my count, that's four for four. You really wanna be number five?"
"If you think that the Sabertooth wizards of today set the standard for my abilities, you're gravely mistaken," Rogue chuckled darkly. "I'm twice the man you fought, and Minerva might as well be an insect for me to squash. None of you understand the true might of a dragon slayer."
"Then how's about you show me?" Gorun challenged him, his golden aura flashing brighter. "I'm tired of listening to Sabertooth morons going on about your strength. If you want me to bow before your supposed might, you'll have to use force to bring me down."
"I want you dead, not defeated!" Rogue screamed, his power level suddenly skyrocketing at an alarming rate. There was a flash of blinding white light, and when it faded, Rogue had undergone a bizarre transformation. The shock of black hair was no longer covering the right side of his face, allowing Gorun to see that his right eye was gone, replaced by an angry-looking scar. That same side of his face was now tainted pitch black, as if dipped in tar, and his lengthy mop of hair was standing on end, not unlike a Super Saiyan, save that it did not change colors into a golden mane. "Change form," he said with a dark laugh. "White Shadow Dragon Mode."
Gorun hesitated, settling into a defensive stance, readying his barrier technique just in case. "Dual elements, huh?" he muttered, recalling Natsu using something similar against him during their sparring match, and seeing Gajeel combine his iron with present-day Rogue's shadows in one of the lachrymas as he passed by earlier in the day. "Guessing Sting had a hand in this new ability of yours?"
"One could say that," Future Rogue smirked evilly. "Truthfully, when I killed Sting and took his power, I realized that I should have done it a lot sooner. Oh well- all's well that ends well. With light and shadow working as one, your twilight approaches, stranger."
"Trust me when I say that whatever you're planning won't end well for you," Gorun replied testily. "You made an enemy of Fairy Tail, a fatal mistake to any dark plans you've conjured up."
"Dark plans?" Rogue laughed. "And here I came back in time to help save the future."
"Is that the lie you fed the others so they didn't blast you on sight?" Gorun scoffed. "I've dealt with your kind before- I know evil attempting to hide when I see it. Any true ally of ours wouldn't have tried to kill Lucy, for any reason."
"I don't have time for you," Rogue muttered impatiently. "The time is drawing nearer, and you can't be allowed to interfere with my designs." He raised a palm, the darkened one, and murmured, "White Shadow Dragon Rough Silk." A countless number of razor-sharp shadows outlined with a fierce lighting shot towards Gorun at a speed that surprised even him.
"Barrier!" he cried, the shield coming up just in time to block the attack, Rogue laughing hysterically as he unleashed barrage after barrage of white shadows at him. Struggling to maintain his shield against the ferocious attack, Gorun grunted out, "Tell me… Why do you want Eclipse activated so badly?!"
"It holds the key to securing my future," Rogue chuckled. "A future that you will not live to see!" He redoubled his efforts to pierce the energy dome, but Gorun's power held fast before him.
"Not if I stop you!" Gorun snarled back. "And as soon as I finish you, I'm going to destroy that abomination so that it can never be used again! The passageways of time are meant for the gods alone to walk; it is not for upstart mortals like you!"
He engaged his instant transmission and teleported behind the newly powered-up Rogue, chopping at his neck in an attempt to finish the fight quickly.
"Why is Gorun so adamant about destroying the gate when it might be our only shot at fighting off the dragons?" Cana asked as the group jogged through the gardens of the palace. She had recovered when Mirajane ordered a short rest break as soon as they made it outside, passing out the senzu beans that were in the small bag Gorun had given her, with Pantherlily force-feeding it to the unconscious card mage. As soon as the bean had made its way down her throat, Cana had woken and been caught up to speed on what was happening.
"He hates just about anything that has to do with time travel," Mirajane responded. "Remember what he told us back at the bar? The first person to break the gods' laws on time travel could have been imprisoned for eternity by the god of time, so even though she let him off with indentured servitude, it's a pretty serious crime to time travel without her permission."
"That's only if you get caught," Cana grinned, causing several of the others to roll their eyes at her brazen attitude.
"Angering the god of time seems like something even our guild should try to avoid," Juvia warned her. "It's not like provoking the magic council, where all we guilds usually get is a slap on the wrist. Breaking laws like this could have much more severe consequences."
"Yeah, so what'll happen to me if this Supreme Kai lady ever finds out about me?" Future Lucy whispered hoarsely.
"We'll worry about all that Super Kay crap when we've beat off the dragons," Natsu grumbled, still sore about being forced to retreat from what would have been an epic fight. "And if anyone thinks they're taking your future away, they got another thing coming, Luce." The girl blushed and cast her eyes downwards at his strong words, causing the fused fighter in the group to chuckle a little bit at the future counterpart that made up half of her existence.
"Hotshot's right," Lucino nodded. "Right now we need to regroup with the others."
"Hey, is that them over there?" Wendy asked, pointing to a large gathering of people that were just on the edge of the royal gardens.
"Not unless Fairy Tail suddenly started carrying spears and wearing uniforms," Pantherlily remarked as they drew closer.
"Crap, it's the army," Cana muttered, reaching for her cards.
"Hold on," Lucino said, stopping the card mage from launching a preemptive strike. "I'm sensing a butt load of celestial magic energy from the head of that group. Based on what we've been told, there's only one thing other than me that can output that much celestial magic power at once." At her words, everyone stopped running and ducked around a bend in the bushes that hid them from view.
"That's gotta be the Eclipse!" Wendy exclaimed. "If Lucino can sense the energy gathering, then they must be getting ready to use it against the dragons!"
"That's weird," Natsu muttered, sniffing at the air.
"What's up, pal?" Happy asked him.
"I don't sense any dragons nearby," he frowned in response. "And I don't smell 'em, either. Why're they getting the cannon thingy ready if the dragons aren't close yet?"
"Maybe we should get in closer to have a listen," Cana suggested, her joking demeanor from earlier gone. She was peering around the corner to get a better look. "I can see a group of people standing in front of this giant gate-looking thing… Hang on! One of 'em is that Minister guy! Wasn't he against this thing from the beginning?!"
"Yeah!" Lucino said angrily. "He tried to lock Lucy and Yukino up to keep this from happening, then we find out that their keys were taken while they were napping?!"
"A rather suspicious set of circumstances, wouldn't you all agree?" Carla muttered.
"Rrgh…" Natsu growled. "So am I gonna get to punch the midget or not?!"
"Maybe," Mirajane murmured, making a hand signal for them to keep their volume down. "However, I get the sense that we still don't have all of the pieces to this puzzle."
"I'll turn into a puddle and get in closer for a listen," Juvia volunteered. "People are less likely to notice a bit of water than one of you eavesdropping." With that, she was collapsing into her liquid form and seeping away swiftly.
"Be careful," Future Lucy called softly after her.
"Why don't you die?!" Rogue snarled as he blasted a column to smithereens, just missing Gorun, who was zipping around in the air above him, like an annoying firefly. So far, Gorun's Saiyan Soul transformation was proving to be every bit of a match for his White Shadow mode. Although the future dragon slayer was conserving his power for the upcoming task, he was still taken aback by how resilient this Gorun character was.
"Cos I've got better things to do!" Gorun replied waspishly as he outstretched his hand, sending a Tyrant Lance at the White Shadow Dragon Slayer. Rogue countered with a short breath attack that temporarily blinded his target from the brilliance of the colliding energies.
"Even if I can't kill you now…" the dark wizard growled, his voice taking on an echoing cadence as it did whenever he became a shadow, "it won't be long before you see the end come crashing down around you…"
"Did you forget I can sense your life essence?!" the enraged Super Saiyan snarled, gathering ki in his hands, not caring that a full-power, point-blank Kamehameha would level half the castle. His eyesight was back, and he quickly located the deep shadow that betrayed Rogue's presence, eyes narrowing as he prepared to cast his power.
Then a burst of magic energy pulsated through the night air; a wave so intense, it nearly made Gorun black out from the magnitude and proximity. It was a hauntingly familiar energy, too. "No…" he whispered, the shadow all but forgotten as he floated to the ground, staring out one of the many windows that had been destroyed during the fighting. "It's happening…" So great was his disconcertment that he lost his hold on the Super Saiyan power, his golden hair fading to black and falling loosely around his now-pale face.
He knew only one source of energy other than Towa or Mira that could be putting out that much Time Breaker Energy. "They've activated Eclipse…"
The entire group gave a start of surprise as the giant gates of the bizarre-looking machine began to groan.
"Are they going to travel through time now?" Wendy wondered out loud.
"No," Juvia answered as she quickly reappeared beside them, drawing herself up from the puddle she'd sunk into. "They plan to use the Eclipse Cannon against the dragons. According to the people talking beside it- Minister Darton, Colonel Arcadios, and Princess Hisui- the cannon takes time to charge up before it can fire."
"That explains why they'd be starting it up now, even though we haven't seen any dragons," Future Lucy muttered.
"But it doesn't explain how they know about the dragons coming in the first place," Lucino pointed out. "I mean, we didn't tell them, but according to Gorun, they were getting the wizards ready for an invasion. And we only knew in advance because Lucy told us the other night."
"And I didn't meet up with anyone inside the military," the time traveler added.
"Wait, then how could they possibly know about the dragon invasion?" Carla asked with a worried frown. "We have yet to sight any of the beasts, or even sense them. And as powerful as they are, even if there were only a few, we should be able to sense them by now if they were anywhere near us."
"Something's fishy here, and not the good kind of fishy," Happy mused.
"Uh, guys?" Cana asked while sweating lightly. "I think I may have figured out where they got their intel from."
"What?!" most of the others exclaimed in hushed voices, still aware of the hundreds of soldiers only a short distance away. "What do you mean?" Mirajane added.
"They said that they were gonna use it as a weapon," Cana replied. "Where'd we hear about the weapon function from?"
It didn't take long for the others to figure it out. "That Rogue from the future must be telling them how to use it!" Pantherlily exclaimed.
"But if he's set on killing Lucy, then what happens when the Epic Cannon fires?" Natsu growled. "My gut's tellin' me that whatever he wants ain't gonna be good for the rest of us." The others nodded or muttered their agreements. Despite Rogue claiming that he had travelled back in time to help them, his actions spoke of a darker motive- something about him just didn't add up.
"We've got to warn the princess that their informant may be up to something!" Juvia declared. Before she could get going, however, Mirajane's strong grip stopped her. "What is it? We don't have much time!"
"I think we'd better stay here in case Gorun needs backup," the she-devil said mildly as she pointed at an approaching golden streak laced with lightning.
"It's Gorun!" Wendy exclaimed.
"Yeah," Natsu agreed as the boy came closer to the gate through time. "And judging from how high his energy is, he's pissed."
Gorun landed in between an army of soldiers and the three leaders, his body blazing with the golden energy and lightning of his Super Saiyan 2 power. "Shut it down," he said in a cold voice before anyone had a chance to ask him what he was doing there. From what he could see, there were several locks on the door, though even as he landed, the fourth one slid open.
"I beg your pardon?" said a tall man in silver armor, his sword drawn and pointed at the intruder. "Do you have any idea who it is that you are speaking to?! This is Hisui E. Fiore, crown princess of the kingdom! And you have the audacity to give her an order?!"
"Peace, Arcadios," said the only woman present, her voice calm yet carrying the unmistakable ring of authority. Her hair was a deep green, her eyes were like matching gems, and her beauty was undeniable. She wore a short white dress and, was adorned with fine jewelry and a white cape. Fixing her jade green eyes on the man standing before them, she said, "I saw you fight during the Grand Magic Games- a masterful, if brutal showing. As I understand it, you were seen with the other wizards only moments ago, preparing to combat the oncoming dragon swarm. Why have you come here instead?" The ninth lock was coming undone now.
"I kept getting the feeling that something wasn't right," he replied. "And the fact that I couldn't sense any nearby power levels until I got inside the castle grounds themselves only added to my suspicions. You all didn't want anyone to know about your little time travelling project, so you used some kind of energy field to distort outsiders' senses to avoid anyone seeing this."
"Hold on, how do you know about the Eclipse project?" Hisui demanded.
"Our guild had a visitor claiming to be from the future," Gorun replied, his voice still harsh and cold. "She told us about what was to come, and about how she used Eclipse to come back and warn us."
"Hold on," the smallest of the three leaders- Minister Darton, Gorun remembered- said, frowning. "You said a woman came to visit you?"
"What of it?" Gorun snapped. "I thought that you were against this whole operation in the first place- why are you here?" He glanced at the contraption, where the twelfth and final lock was coming undone.
"The circumstances changed," the short minister answered vaguely.
"We too had a visitor claiming to be from the future," Hisui interjected. "They told us of the incoming disaster, and how to stop it. If we use the Eclipse Gate as a weapon, the energy will be on par with that of an etherion blast, capable of wiping out an entire nation. They even gave us proof that they came from the future by predicting that your guild would claim victory without losing a single member in combat. However, our source was not a woman, but a man."
"A man," the saiyan boy repeated slowly as he put the pieces together. "Let me guess- long white hair, dressed in dark robes."
"That's him exactly," Hisui replied with some surprise. "I'm guessing you've met him, then?"
"We've had words, and now I've got a few in mind for you," Gorun snapped, then he let out a massive roar that was accompanied by a sharp rise in his power level, prompting Arcadios to move the princess and Darton away from the boy, who turned to face the gate, which was beginning to swing open. The air around them was actually racing away from him at gale force speeds, making it hard to even stand anywhere near him.
"I can't believe you were so gullible to believe everything that shady would-be murderer told you!" he screamed at them. "Whatever it is that he's planning, you can bet that it doesn't involve helping us defeat dragons! Now shut down the gate before I do it myself!"
"You can't!" Hisui cried. "Only a celestial wizard can shut down the gate once it's open! And even if you could, you would risk the destructive energy inside it immolating all of Crocus!"
"Wrong, princess!" The boy snarled, slamming his hands together in front of him, lightning beginning to shoot out from where his palms met. "The only kind of energy I'm sensing is Time Breaker power! There's no cannon here- just a door where you have no idea what could be on the other side!"
"And you do?!" Arcadios shouted back, making his way toward the boy with his sword in hand, despite the wind and lightning. "Step away from the gate, or I will cut you down where you stand!"
"Go ahead and try it, key thieves!" a new voice broke in. Before anyone could turn to see who had spoken, ten figures burst out of the gardens, charging at the shocked princess and her attendants.
"Fire Dragon Crushing Fang!" Natsu bellowed as he swiped at the colonel's sword, breaking it in half with little effort.
"This is for stealing Lucy and Yukino's keys!" Lucino shouted as she clocked him in the head with the brand of Taurus on the back of her left hand. The man hit the ground, hard, and lay there, helmet severely dented, groaning, and quite possibly concussed.
"Don't come any closer unless you want some of the same!" Cana grinned as she flashed some of her tarot cards at a few soldiers when they started to advance. Flanking her were Juvia and Mirajane, both of them looking lethal in their own rights, so none of the soldiers thought that attacking seemed like a good idea just then.
The exceeds surrounded Darton, Pantherlily holding his sword in his smaller form, while Happy threatened him with a fish. Of the two, Darton was not sure which one he feared more. Then again, the white cat had some very sharp-looking claws…
Wendy and Future Lucy came to stand on either side of Hisui, both of them looking very cross with her. "I'm guessing you're the one who ordered our keys taken to power the Eclipse," the blond girl said in a low voice. She didn't feel like explaining that she was a different Lucy, and was simply banking on the hope that Hisui recognized her as one of the Celestial Wizards that had participated in the games.
Hisui's jaw set in a firm line, even as the massive doors to Eclipse finally finished opening. "I did what I had to for the good of the kingdom," she said stubbornly. "With the energy inside that gate, we can save our kingdom from the oncoming dragons."
"Like hell you can!" Gorun shouted, his attack nearly done charging. "I'm blowing this gate to dust, and then you're gonna answer to the Magic Council for using a spell from the book of Zeref!"
"Gorun!" Lucino cried, her face as white as a sheet as she moved away from the fallen colonel, towards the Saiyan boy and the Eclipse Gate. "You need to destroy the gate, now!"
"I'm charging the attack as fast as I can," he grunted, even as a yellow ball congealed in his palms. "I'm nearly there, what's the rush?!"
"Grandpa Crux- one of Lucy's spirits- just passed me a message!" the fused girl said urgently. "He says that there's no possible way for this thing to be weaponized! It's just a gate that connects points in time!"
"Ya don't say?!" the ascended Super Saiyan replied pithily. "Can you tell me something I don't know?"
"This is no time to be a smartass!" she shot back. "The eclipsed full moon is messing with the inner mechanisms, forcing it to lock onto a single point in time!"
Gorun didn't bother to wait for her next words- he had a pretty good idea of what they were going to be. Besides, he was done gathering energy, which meant… "Stand back!" he bellowed, the orb in his hands swelling to burst. "Final Fla-!"
BLAM!
In an instant, the energy in his hands was snuffed out as a large, scaly forearm burst out of the gate and crashed into the boy, sending him flying through several dozen rows of bushes, and out of sight.
"Do my eyes deceive me?" Darton gaped as a titanic figure stepped through the shining light of the Eclipse Gate. It was easily the size of a city block, covered in shiny metallic scales, with blood-red eyes that stared down at the assembled soldiers with disdain. Wings as big as its body each spread out as soon as they were clear of the gate, and a tail with an end akin to a spiked club wove dangerously through the air. It was, beyond the shadow of a doubt, a live dragon.
It let out a roar as it fully exited the gate, the volume of its challenge alone enough to destroy the pavement around it, along with many statues, buildings, and other features of the city. It stamped its clawed forefoot seemingly for emphasis, and several dozen city blocks were destroyed as a result.
Hisui and Darton were horrified, realizing just what their actions had unleashed. The Fairy Tail wizards were hardly any better. Future Lucy was nearly catatonic, babbling incoherently as she stared up at the dragon, every nightmare she had ever feared now returning to haunt her.
Only Lucino and Natsu looked like they were ready to put up any kind of a fight, but even their resolve seemed shaky at best, seeing as it took only a single blow from this thing for one of their strongest members to go down. Things only got worse as another dragon, this one blue in color, followed its cousin into the current time period.
"What is happening?!" Hisui cried, tears of horror running down her face as she sank to her knees. "I was told that this would save our future, not destroy it!"
"Hey!" Lucino growled, pulling the other girl to her feet, and yanking her to be face-to-face with the fused warrior. "This is not the time for a pity-party! Tell me how to shut down the gate, and do it fast!" Now a dragon made purely of flame was emerging from the gate through time. When Hisui only opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, Lucino shook her roughly and shouted, "Freak out after you've told me how to stop them! That gate is currently locked into the era when dragons ruled Earthland, so unless you actually want to face ten thousand of these things, you'll tell me how to shut that door!"
Even as she was yelling at the princess, a black and red dragon stepped into the castle courtyard and roared its challenge, the shockwaves erupting from its maw strong enough to send many of those present flying.
"I've had enough of this!" Natsu growled, flames dancing in his hands. "Lucy and Yukino, get the gate shut! I'll hold 'em back so that no more get through!"
"Be careful, hotshot!" the fused girl called after him.
"Natsu, don't!" Future Lucy begged, reaching out her hand after him. A memory seared her mind like Natsu's fire, a memory of him charging headlong into a swarm of dragons- and paying the price for his arrogance. "Please, come back!"
"I'll be back, Luce!" he called over his shoulder with a confident grin. "I won't leave ya again, I promise!"
"It's okay," said the now-deeper voice of Mirajane, who had assumed a blue-and-white demon takeover form. "You're not alone this time. We'll fight beside him."
Meanwhile, Lucino, who was far more hot-tempered than her counterparts, was through trying to coax the information out of the princess. "Last chance to talk before I toss you into that gate for screwing this whole thing up!" she shouted angrily, hoisting the princess up by her fancy robes.
"You wouldn't dare!" Arcadios called from where he was struggling to get to his feet. "She did not mean for this to happen!"
While he spoke, a reddish dragon with a pincer-like snout made its way through the arch of the Eclipse. Natsu rushed it, launching a ferocious wing attack at its face. The massive beast snorted as if stung, then used a wing flap to blow him back, sending him flying out of the gardens. Happy let out a cry of alarm and went to fetch his best friend. Future Lucy let out a strangled sob and ran after them.
"Whether or not she did, this is all a result of you guys meddling in stuff you had no right to test!" Lucino snarled. "Where. Is. The shut-off switch?!"
"Th-There…" Hisui finally managed to stammer, pointing with a shaky finger at a large bar that protruded from a console near the Eclipse Gate.
"Good," Lucino said shortly, dumping the girl where she stood, and turning swiftly on her heel to run towards the lever. "Now stay out of our way. We have your mess to clean up." A dark green dragon with heavy eyebrows had made his way through and was taking to the sky to join his brethren. Lucino was nearly blown away by the wind generated from his wing flaps, but her fused body withstood the assault better than either Lucy or Yukino could have alone.
She reached the lever and heaved with all her might, pouring her celestial magic into the mechanism, willing it to shut- to no avail. "Why won't it close?!" she screamed in frustration. Already, they could sense another dragon approaching from within the gate, feel the ground trembling as its heavy footsteps made their way into the present time. "I should be putting out enough magic power, so why won't it shut?!"
"Didn't you say that the moon was messing with it?!" Cana called over from where she was guarding the colonel. "Maybe that's your issue!"
"In which case…" Lucino panted as she backed away from the mechanism. "I need another way to shut the gate."
"Can't your spirits help?!" Wendy called out hopefully, even as a furry red snout began to inch its way out of the gate.
"Strictly speaking, they're not contracted to me, so even if I call them out, I don't know that they would help me!" Lucino replied, sweating with exhaustion and fear. "Haven't you noticed that I've avoided calling them this whole time?! I don't want to break any contracts Lucy and Yukino have!"
"Are you friggin' kidding me?!" Cana shouted. "You're made up of those two, the spirits will understand that! Stop being a pansy and call 'em out to put the brakes on this thing!"
"Celestial Spirits are different from -"
"HAAAAAAA!" Gorun suddenly appeared in front of the gate and let loose with the biggest Kamehameha that any of them had ever seen. It smashed into the furry dragon attempting to approach and held it in check- for the moment.
Elsewhere, the dragons had begun to wander aimlessly around the city, stomping on buildings that obstructed their path, or in the case of the fiery one, incinerating everything it touched on contact. Fairy Tail had elected to remain at the meeting place while the other guilds had moved out into the city before the dragons began to arrive, and now the scorching heat of the fire dragon drew near to them.
Many of those that had not been at Tenrou to fight Acnologia reacted with horror as the flaming creature landed a few hundred feet away from them, growling malevolently at them. "That's a dragon?!" Warren screamed in fright.
"And we're expecting hundreds more of 'em?!" Max added, pale with terror.
"How're we supposed to beat these things?!" Romeo added, feeling very small and insignificant as he beheld the monster.
"The hard way, how else?" Gajeel grinned crookedly. He was completely healed from his battle with the possessed Rogue earlier in the day, thanks to a senzu bean that Kinana had given him. Cracking his knuckles confidently, he stepped up to the front of the group, saying, "I've been wanting a rematch with Salamander for a while, but I guess I'll settle for the next best thing."
"I don't know if-" Kinana began, but she was cut off as Gajeel let out a challenging roar and ran full pelt at the flame monster.
"Iron Dragon CLUB!" he bellowed, aiming right at the dragon's head with his strike attack. The heavy club passed through the beast's head, and for a brief second, Gajeel actually thought that he'd taken it out.
Then the dragon snorted, saying in a gravelly voice, "I am the Dragon Atlas Flame. My body is made purely of fire- physical attacks pass through me, and spells are incinerated as soon as they come close enough to touch me!" As if to prove his point, Gajeel winced and withdrew his arm, which was glowing red from the heat.
When the limb transformed back into flesh-and-blood, it was burnt and smoking, carrying the unpleasant smell of burned flesh. Still, he grinned crookedly through the pain and grunted, "Sheesh… That was nothin', you overgrown campfire. I've felt way hotter flames than that- a little burn ain't gonna stop me!"
Atlas Flame snorted again in contempt and promptly unleashed a breath attack that incinerated a large portion of the castle gardens, and caused a massive wall of flame to erupt between him and the wizards. The blowback scattered the lot of them, so he left them for dead, wandering off in search of less annoying food.
"Gorun!" Lucino cried out in relief, though it was noticeable that Yukino's voice seemed the stronger of the two in that moment. "You're okay!"
"These things don't mess around, and I can't keep this up forever!" he grunted, his voice strained, and somewhat hard to make out over the noise of his attack and the lightning dancing across his body. "If you have a way to shut this thing down, do it now!" As he spoke, blood trickled out of his mouth and down his chin. It was obvious that the first dragon had done him some serious damage with its attack.
Throwing caution to the wind, Lucino reached into the pouch hanging from her sash and pulled out all twelve of the golden zodiac keys. "Please don't let us down," she whispered before tossing them high into the air. "Spirits of the Heavens, hear my call! Open now, all twelve gates, so that I may vanquish the wicked!" She paused, feeling nothing from the keys, then added, "I know that I have no contract with any of you, but please! On behalf of Lucy and Yukino, I ask that you lend me your power! Open, all twelve gates- ZODIAC!"
The keys flashed to life with the brilliance of the sun, arranging themselves in midair so that they formed a perfect circle. The light shone down on the fused wizard, bathing her in a serene light, even as shapes began to materialize around her. Her eyes widened as she saw a grinning Leo come to her aid, followed by all other zodiac spirits.
"Bout time you realized you can call on us," he said easily. "You might have a different name and look a little off, but I can still sense Lucy in there. Our keys are yours to call on, same as Gorgeous."
Lucino's eyes misted a little, but she wiped them away and said with a confident grin, "Glad to hear it, Loke. Now do me a favor and shut that gate before Gorun dies of internal bleeding or something."
"Our pleasure," he said with that easy grin of his. Turning to the others, he raised his voice and said, "You heard the lady! Let's move it, Zodiac!" With a burst of golden light and magic power, the twelve spirits flew up and around, intent on doing their masters' bidding.
Six spirits each took to one of the massive double doors through which time was an open passage, surrounded by a golden aura as they slammed into the gate, heaving with all their physical and magic might, forcing the gates to close, despite the locked gears. Gorun's Kamehameha was weakening, and the furry red dragon tried to push past it, but he redoubled his efforts to keep it at bay, more blood dribbling down his lips as he concentrated harder, his body trembling. The zodiac spirits, seeing his effort to aid them, redoubled their efforts, forcing the gate closed first by inches, then by feet at a time, gaining momentum in their endeavor.
Finally, Gorun's body gave out, and he returned to his black-haired base form, even as the spirits managed to shut the gate in the face of the fuzzy dragon, sealing the door through time.
Mirajane was quickly by the boy's side, reaching into the pouch and producing a senzu bean for him. As she scooped him into a sitting position, she was able to see just how badly the first dragon had injured him, unprepared as he had been to take the attack. His shirt had a couple of gashes in it, and blood flowed freely from his torso and mouth, both signs of serious internal bleeding. She was sure that most of his ribs would have been shattered by that vicious blow, which only increased her admiration for the boy, seeing how he had held the last dragon at bay despite being seriously wounded, and the drain that such a powerful takeover spell would have put on his body.
She fed him a senzu bean, which he was barely able to swallow past the blood in his throat. However, as soon as the bean had gone down, he sighed, breathed deeply, and stood up, wiping the blood from his chin. "Thank you," he said breathlessly. "For a moment there, I thought I was going to lose to that beast."
"Gorun!" Lucino called, running up to him, short on breath from the effort of summoning all the zodiac spirits at once. "You're okay!"
"Thanks to you and Mirajane," he grinned slightly. Then he frowned, a thought occurring, "So, how many of those do we have to deal with?"
"You up for fighting seven more?" she asked him with a grim smile.
"Seven made it through, huh?" he muttered, turning around, a thoughtful look on his face. "Yeah, I'm picking up on that number of ridiculously strong power levels out there…" He looked like he was about to say more, but a familiar voice stopped him.
"Bah," Future Rogue grumbled as he appeared in the red moonlight atop one of the castle turrets. "Ten thousand dragons is too many to control, anyway. Seven will do just nicely."
"You…" Hisui said in a trembling voice as she got to her feet, fear and outrage mixed in equal portions on her face. "You traitor! Why have you done this?!"
"Be silent!" he snapped at her with a wicked grin taking ahold of his face. As he raised his hands skyward, Gorun noticed a strange change in his energy- he was exuding a relatively small amount of power, but it didn't feel like an attack. Then he said, "Take heed, my ignorant subjects! I declare that the rule of man is no more! Here, at the Dragon King's festival, do I take my rightful place as your new ruler!" As he had been speaking, the seven dragons that came through the gate landed or hovered near to him, inclining their heads toward him, almost as if in an imitation of a bow.
"They can't be… listening to him?" Wendy asked in a small voice. "Can they?" She and the others had abandoned their posts of guarding the people responsible for the Eclipse and moved to join Gorun in front of the gate.
"Why would dragons listen to a human?" Cana wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but his energy is doing something strange, something I haven't seen before," Gorun answered warily. "That may have something to do with it."
"Let this world end in fire!" Rogue declared. "And from the ashes, a new kingdom- my kingdom- will be born!" With that, he leaped into the hand of the metallic dragon, the one that had injured Gorun so badly, and together they flew off.
"I've got a bone to pick with that dragon and its rider," the Saiyan boy muttered.
"Hold on!" Cana said as she stopped him with a firm grip on his arm. "If you go in without a plan again, you're just gonna end up dead. You're supposed to be an S-class wizard, start acting like it!"
Her words cut through the anger that he'd been building. He stopped, drew in a breath to calm himself, pushing down the Super Saiyan that was threatening to take over as he studied the flying beasts, noticing where they were each heading, measuring their power levels, and what kind of magic they were likely to have.
He noticed with some apprehension that there was a green one headed back towards where they were gathered, and that the fire one seemed to be heading towards where he could sense the other Fairy Tail members. "All right, here's my plan," he said, speaking quickly. "Wendy, it looks like you're going to have to fight that green one that's headed for us. Don't worry, you won't be alone. The other girls will give you a hand, right?" He looked hopefully to the others, and sighed with relief when they nodded in agreement with his idea.
Wendy was a dragon slayer, so her magic was best suited for this encounter, but she was still young and admittedly hesitant in combat, and compared to veterans like Cana, Juvia, and Mirajane, she was woefully inexperienced. She would need all the help she could get.
"I'm going to take Pantherlily to meet up with Gajeel and see if he can take on the stone dragon I just saw," he added, pointing to the brown beast as it flew over some of the southern city blocks. "He's not the most nimble guy, so he'll need all the mobility he can get."
"Understood," the black cat said.
"What about Natsu?" Lucino frowned. "He got hit by a dragon, too."
Gorun paused and double-checked the energy signatures he was feeling. "He's fine, far as I can tell," he answered. "My guess is that being a dragon slayer probably means that dragon's attack didn't hurt him as bad as it did me. And Happy and the other Lucy are with him, so they should be okay, for the moment. I'll use instant transmission to try and set him against the flying funeral pyre first chance I get." He jerked a thumb to indicate Atlas Flame currently burning down part of the business sector in Crocus. "After that, I'll do my best to make sure that every one of those flying lizards is met with a dragon slayer."
"But there's seven dragons, and six dragon slayers," Juvia pointed out. "Or do you plan to leave the one Rogue is flying on alone until we can all regroup?"
"More or less, since fighting that shadowy punk is hard enough alone, forget the castle-sized dragon he's standing on. But you're wrong about the number of dragon slayers," Gorun replied, his eyes closed in concentration. "I can sense a new player on the board, one with energy reminiscent of a dragon slayer's. Problem is, Jellal knew of only one other dragon slayer that would be here in Crocus…"
"Wait, you don't mean…" Wendy said, paling as some unpleasant memories rose from seven years ago.
"I've never met him, but I know of him," Gorun nodded. "And unfortunately, right now Jellal is right in calling him an asset."
"Is he talking to you now?" Mirajane asked curiously.
"Only long enough to pass a message," Gorun confirmed. "He said to go make sure that Cobra of the Oracion Seis keeps his word." Placing two fingers on his head, he held out a hand for Pantherlily to take and muttered, "I'll be sure to send reinforcements this way once I get the chance. And Wendy…."
She started, looking back up at him as he grinned gently at her. "You're strong," he told her. "Remember what I told you, and you'll take that overgrown lizard down before I can even come back to help." Then he was gone with Pantherlily.
The next instant, the massive green dragon touched down between them and the gate, sending them all stumbling away from the force of his wings, save one. Wendy stood tall against the monster, despite feeling small and insignificant next to his power and stature. But with Gorun's words ringing in her ears, she knew that she could not afford to back down from this fight. This would determine not only the fate of their lives, but that of the entire world.
Resting Day of the Grand Magic Games…
Mavis had just finished outlining her plans for both teams and was dismissing them all when Gorun pulled the dragon slayers aside for a private chat. "There's one other thing you guys should be aware of before we make our move," he began as the others left the meeting place.
Gajeel raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "What, did you forget something from your story that yer still feeling guilty about?"
"No," the boy retorted, looking annoyed. "It's actually to do with your magic, specifically your latent potential that I can sense. From a few scattered memories of being part of Narun, I remember him calling this hidden power the 'Dragon Force'. Correct me if I'm wrong."
"It's the final stage of Dragon Slayer magic," Laxus nodded. "Supposedly those that can use it can wield their magic with such strength that they're comparable to a real dragon."
"And you've unlocked this power, right Laxus?" Gorun prompted him. "Some of the others told me about your strength when you fought Gajeel and Natsu, and later on, Master Hades of Grimoire Heart."
"Sort of…" the Lightning Dragon Slayer admitted. "I can increase my power several times over by taking on a different form than my normal state, but it's not the true dragon force. More like… a pseudo version of the power, if you know what I mean. I think it's a side effect from not being trained by an actual dragon or something."
"Huh," Gorun muttered. "By all accounts, it sounded like the real thing. Never mind, this is more for those of you that can't activate the power at will."
"I've used it twice, against Jellal and Zero," Natsu bragged. "Totally kicked their butts, too."
"You used borrowed power to trigger the Dragon Force both times," Gorun pointed out. He'd heard the tales recounted by the members of his team. "My guess is that because of that, it wasn't even close to the real level you could have achieved."
"Huh?" Natsu gaped blankly.
"He's sayin' you cheated," Gajeel chuckled.
"Who're you callin' a cheater, you walking scrap pile?!"
"You, sparks-for-brains!"
"Focus!" Gorun snapped at them both. "This could make the difference between living and dying later!"
"What is 'this', exactly?" Wendy asked with a frown on her small face. "You still haven't told us what you're getting at."
"I want to help you three unlock your ability to tap into the Dragon Force whenever you need to," Gorun stated bluntly. "From fighting Sting and Rogue, I noticed that their method of powering up is very similar to my own. If the Dragon Force is similar to the Super Saiyan power, then I should be able to teach you how to use it, too."
"Really?" Wendy exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Awesome!" Natsu grinned.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna involve some weird alien ritual?" Gajeel muttered skeptically.
"Nothing so bizarre as that," Gorun replied with a grin. "In fact, it should be pretty simple when we get down to it." He looked at them in turn, his face becoming serious again before he said, "There are two steps to unleashing your dormant powers. One is to realize that your current limits are not the final hurdle. There will always be new boundaries to test, unrealized potential to be tapped. Do not let your mind limit what your body can do, but rather use it as the ultimate sharpening instrument for the weapon that is your body. The second thing you need is a trigger."
He paused, thinking of how to explain this, so Wendy asked him, "What kind of trigger? Like an external source of magic power to boost our own?"
"You can do that, but then the power isn't really yours," Gorun replied. "No, the true strength must come from within yourself, your own desire to succeed. Actually, no, that's not right…" He paused again, searching for the right words.
"I think he's talking about an emotional trigger," Laxus interjected. "Take Natsu for example." The others turned to look at him in surprise as he continued, "He might have used external energy sources every time he's used the Dragon Force so far, but both times he had a reason why he did it. With Jellal, he wanted to protect Erza. Against Zero, he had to save Cait Shelter and the coalition force."
"Laxus is on to something there," Gorun nodded, finally realizing what he needed to say. "My ancestor, Goku, the one who figured out the Super Saiyan ability? He always used to say that the greatest power comes in response to a need, not a desire. For Natsu, it must have been something more than just wanting to beat somebody. There was something personal involved each time, right?" He looked to the Salamander for confirmation, who nodded once, remembering those dark moments when it seemed that his own strength would not be enough.
"If he hadn't felt such a need to grow in his abilities, I doubt whether or not he would have been able to access the Dragon Force at all, extra energy or no," Gorun said gravely. "So that's it, then. Find your trigger, your reason for needing to grow stronger, and then just maybe, we'll have a chance at beating those dragons."
"And what if your way doesn't work, and this is just a big waste of time?" Gajeel asked.
"Then we're all probably gonna die," Gorun deadpanned.
"Figures."
Present…
I need to protect my friends, to return the favor… because they've always been the ones protecting me, Wendy thought, glaring up at the giant who stared back at her, looking amused.
"Well hello there, little cutie pie," he crooned mockingly. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"
"I'm not the one who's where he shouldn't be," Wendy replied stubbornly, holding her ground as he drew his face closer to hers, his white fangs glistening with saliva. "So it looks like I'm going to have to send you where you belong." As she spoke, the wind was picking up speed, whirling around her body, kicking up dust and some debris left over from the dragon's entrance.
"That's a pretty bold statement, small fry," the green dragon snorted, drawing his head back and chuckling in amusement. "I really doubt you can take on the great Zirconis, but I am pretty hungry. You'll make an excellent appetizer to go along with the main course." He eyed the other women hungrily as he spoke, his gaze settling on Lucino, who reddened with anger.
"Eyes of the merchandise, pal!" she shouted at him, causing him to chuckle darkly.
"Perfect," he rumbled. "Tender and spicy. You're gonna be my favorite meal here, I can tell."
"Don't ignore me!" Wendy shouted, the wind surrounding her suddenly picking up in speed, enough so that Zirconis had to fold in his wings to keeps from floating away on an updraft. "I'm not done with you yet, Zirconis!"
"Hey wait, I know that magic," the dragon frowned, an old memory stirring. "Isn't that Grandeeney's-" He got no further. Wendy suddenly shot up at sonic speeds, her fist smashing straight into his jaw, causing him to bite his tongue and yelp as he retreated a couple of pace to glare at the little girl that had dared to strike him.
Only, she looked very unlike the little girl that he had been threatening him only moments before. Whereas her hair had been dark blue before and falling on either side of her face, it was a light pink color, and standing on end like Gorun's had when he transformed, her eyes matching the tone as she glared fiercely at Zirconis, her teeth bared and showing sharper canines. White feathers had appeared on her body- on her wrists, ankles, and shoulder blades. Her hair was now whirling above her head in the wind she was generating. Her magic power was through the roof, and all the humans present stared at her in wonder.
Only Carla could bring herself to speak in that moment, and even then, it was only a hoarse whisper that was lost in the sounds of the gale force winds whipping through the area. "The Dragon Force…"
"So, will you help us?" Lahar demanded as he glared the one-eyed wizard standing beside a panting Doranbolt.
"There are dragons preparing to attack the city- we could really use your power," the teleporting wizard added.
"Ya don't say?" the one-eyed man, known as Cobra the Poison Dragon Slayer, drawled. "I already heard." He was tall and slender, with deeply tanned skin despite the fact that he had spent the last seven years in a dark cell. His hair was brown, and his remaining orb was purple in color.
"Then you'll help us?" asked a newcomer that startled the gathered men with his sudden appearance. It was Son Gorun of the victorious Fairy Tail Guild. "I've got a dragon out there with your name on it."
"How did you know where to-"
"Jellal contacted me, said I might find a helping hand out here," Gorun said quickly, cutting off Doranbolt. He held out a hand to Cobra, who was looking at him with strangely narrowed eyes. "Hey, did you hear me? Are you gonna help us or not?"
"Your scent…" the man muttered, too softly for most ears to pick up on. Gorun however, had excellent hearing, and heard the strange remark. Before he could ask about it, Cobra asked in a louder voice, "How do you know Cubellios?"
"Cubell… What?" The boy answered, confused. "I don't know who you're talking about, and now isn't the time to be discussing any mutual acquaintances. Dragons are-"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard," Cobra said dismissively. "If you want my help, it ain't gonna be free."
"I busted you out of jail!" Doranbolt said angrily, but Gorun waved him back.
"What do you want in exchange for the slaying of a single dragon?" the Saiyan boy asked the slayer, a note of challenge in his voice.
Cobra grinned at that. "You got stones, kid, I'll give you that," he said. "Fine. I kill a dragon, and you let me see Cubellios again. And drop the whole 'acquaintance' act. People don't start smelling like other people unless they spend an awful lot of time together. I'll even give you a hint- giant-ass purple snake. Jogging any memories?"
Gorun froze at those words. There was only one person he knew of that had spent any amount of time as a snake, and she definitely spent a lot of time in his company.
He means Kinana…
Gajeel, having been brought up to speed by Pantherlily after Gorun had teleported them in the path of the stone dragon, which had been preparing to make a light dinner out of Blue Pegasus, grinned as he stared up at the ugly beast before him. "Iron beats rock any day," he grinned confidently, though his exceed's account of what had happened to Gorun and Natsu definitely saw him keeping his guard up.
"You maggots came out of the dirt, and to the dirt I'll send you back," the stone dragon sneered at him.
"Funny, the only dirt I see around here is this walking canyon clod," Gajeel sneered right back, reaching deep within for the power he sought as he spoke. "Maybe I'll make a nice rock garden out of you when I'm done."
A need, not a desire… he thought silently. The hell does that even mean?!
"I'm going to enjoy making a meal out of you," the brown dragon shot back. "And when I'm done with you, your friends are next. Can't expect to get a full meal out of something so little as you, can I?"
For whatever reason, as soon as the dragon mentioned his friends, memories of training hard with Pantherlily and talking to Levy in the bar back at the guild hall seared through his mind. Glaring up at his enemy with red, hate-filled eyes, Gajeel growled, "You can insult me all you want, you stupid lizard. But don't ever threaten them!"
His vision pulsed red, and he felt the power he sought shift easily into his grasp, the strength he had wanted for so long, even if he denied it to himself, but never needed until now. Black scales grew over his skin, encasing him completely, and his hair took on a new sheen that had not been present before. Pantherlily noticed with trace alarm that his comrade's powers were growing exponentially, and the rate it was happening, in conjecture with his new look, it could only mean one thing.
"This must be his Dragon Force…" he mused out loud, readying himself for what would be the fight of their lives.
Elsewhere, Kinana was struggling to hold back the fire dragon alongside Laxus and the Thunder Legion. She had elected to lend them a hand instead of retreating with some of the other girls, who were seeing to the evacuation of the city. "Gallick GUN!" she screamed, sending the laser blast at where she thought his face would be- with his entire body being made of fire as it was, it was difficult to tell what was what.
"Lightning Dragon HEAVENWARD HALBERD!" Laxus bellowed, his torso exposed due to his expanded muscles and scaly arms ripping through his shirt. He had accessed his 'psuedo Dragon Force' as he called it, and was attempting to put its power to good use, though Atlas Flame was certainly giving them a hard time of it.
Without even making a move to defend himself, the dragon had injured Makarov's hands so badly that the old man wouldn't be able to fight for the rest of the battle unless a healer saw him. Seeing as Makarov was still ranked as a Wizard Saint, one of the strongest ten wizards on the continent of Ishgar, this boded poorly for them.
Even so, they put their best feet forward and struck at him as hard as they could. "D'ya think that did anything?!" Kinana called out over the sound of the resulting explosions.
Laxus didn't answer, simply waiting for the smoke to clear.
A few seconds later, there stood Atlas Flame, seemingly as invulnerable as Acnologia had been to their attacks on Tenrou Island. "My hellfire incinerates all magic that comes near me!" he bellowed. "That didn't even tickle!"
"Dammit!" Laxus seethed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Where the hell is Natsu?! He's a Fire Dragon Slayer, he'd be able to take this thing on!"
The slayer in question was getting to his feet, using his scarf to bind a cut that he'd received from the torn-up pavement with Lucy's help. "I told you not to go," she said bitterly. "You could have been killed, Natsu! I couldn't take that again!"
"Yeah, like I'm gonna sit back while everyone else is out there risking their lives, fighting dragons," the boy replied snappily as she finished tying the makeshift bandage in place with her hand and teeth. "I ain't givin' up that easily."
"Aye, sir!" Happy added, sprouting his wings in preparation to rejoin the fight.
"You'll die, I know it!" Lucy wailed, unable to contain herself any longer. Tears running down her cheeks in rivulets, she threw herself against him, wrapping her one good arm around his chest in a vain attempt to get him to stay. "Please… don't leave me all alone again," she begged, sniffling. "Do you have any idea what that's like?"
He paused, the thought of Lucy being devoured by a ferocious dragon burning through his mind hotter than a breath attack from Igneel. No… he thought angrily. I won't let that happen! Never!
"I told you, Lucy," Natsu said as he gently gripped her arm without looking back, his tone giving no sign of the seething hatred building up inside of him. "I won't give up. I won't stop until this world is safe for all of us, and we can go on more adventures together, just like you wanted." He paused before adding in a lower voice, "I have to protect you… You're what matters to me."
"Natsu..?" the girl whimpered, suddenly conscious of the fact that Natsu's body was becoming unbearably heated, to the point where smoke was rising from his skin. "What…?"
"Hey pal, what's goin' on?" Happy questioned, noticing that Natsu's magic power was rapidly increasing.
"Guess I found my trigger," the pinkette grinned, clenching his fists, even as red scales grew on his forearms and cheeks. Lucy could no longer take the heat, and was forced to release him, blowing on her arm to try and cool the limb down.
Natsu looked back at Lucy, that familiar spark in his eyes as he grinned widely at her. "I know what's important now," he told her. "Thanks, Lucy. You've always been there when I needed ya. Glad to see that doesn't change in the future." Flames were licking at his scales as he stood tall, ready to continue the fight.
"Happy, get Lucy somewhere safe," he told the blue cat, who looked surprised.
"But how will you get back in time to help?" he asked Natsu.
In response, Natsu was surrounded by a cocoon of flames that carried him up into the sky, leaving both Happy and Lucy open-mouthed with surprise. "I stood up to ten thousand dragons before, I can take seven on, no problem!" he laughed down at them. "I'll meet up with you guys later! Right now, I'm goin' dragon hunting!"
Gorun: All right, now we're getting into the thick of things!
Saiki: Are you sure it was realistic for all of them to be able to access their Dragon Force so readily?
Mataras: I don't see why not. They've always been able to do it, they just needed to figure out how. From what I can gather, Dragon Force seems to have similar mechanics to Super Saiyan, so it wouldn't be that much of a stretch for Gorun to be able to teach them.
Saiki: Ah.
Mataras: For those of you that still want to be able to check out the image of Lucino, even though I took it down from this site, it's still up and alive on my instagram at the_red_swordsman
Gorun: When will the next chapter be up?
Mataras: Should be at the beginning for February, and the title will be Beyond the Touch of Time.
Saiki: Also be sure to check out Mataras' new story; Fire Sword Shrouded Destiny, which went up last week.
Mataras: Until next time, have a Happy New Year!
Next Time on Saiyan Tail...
Gorun's mind felt as though it was filled with a thousand hot firebrands- he could barely form a cohesive thought. He did, however, remember that the dragon in front of him needed to die. And die he will, he promised himself.
"How about we set dragon against dragon?!" he shouted, settling into a fighting stance mid-air, drawing his right fist back as if preparing to throw a punch. However, the energy erupting from his body lent itself to the thought that this was not going to be a simple punch. I don't have long in this form, he thought as he prepared the attack. I need to end this… soon! Already he could feel his vast reserves of energy draining rapidly, like a broken dam releasing all the water it had kept back.
"Ready to die, dragon?!" he challenged.
"Real cute, blondie!" Zirconis laughed. "I already told ya- no human can beat a dragon!"
"I'm not human," Gorun replied, his green eyes wild with power and maybe a hint of madness. "I… am the Super Saiyan of Fairy Tail! And you can burn in hell!"