Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

Levy had been reviewing the notes on Neo Eclipse for the third day in a row when she was finally interrupted. "Sorry to disturb you, but I was informed that I would find you here." August smiled down at her, walking in. "I heard your plans have changed…it appears as if war preparations are resuming already."

She nodded, feeling cold. "They…they are." She paused, lowering her gaze. "Zeref…he was actually alive, you know? I saw him, spoke with him for a moment. It felt like things were going to be okay. But—but then he just…" She broke off, looking away. "He brought up a problem with Dimaria, and…"

"I am aware." He glanced at her, sighing. "I returned yesterday. She spoke to me of what you were doing, and insisted that I not interrupt."

"Probably best not to, really." She looked down at the notes. "The more I stop focusing on the intricacies of the spell, the more I think about what it will take to actually manage to use it. With Fairy Tail, I'd like to try and talk to them first, but Master is protective, of Fairy Heart. I don't know if he'll believe me, after all this time, that I still mean well. Likely, he'll just write it off as some random whim and insist there's a better option, but really, do we even have time to find one?"

"No, I suppose we do not." He paused, glancing over at her. "This spell, it will transport you back, along with any belongings on your person." She nodded. "It will be obvious to those near you, that something has changed. Hiding it will not bode well, I think."

"Yeah, I was trying to figure out when to go to in the first place." She rubbed her head. "We don't know when the time rift became unstable. All we know is that it was stable at the start of the war. But going back that far…"

"It would sacrifice everything we've worked for, and the relationship you've developed with his majesty."

Levy nodded. "And even if that wasn't the case, what about the others? Nab and Loke, they only got to this point because of the war, and they're happy, I think. I mean, Nab's actually leaving the guild hall for a change, and trying to take jobs. Plus, Natsu has Igneel back, and then there's Dragneel…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "Part of me wants to go back to when we hatched the dragon. We were all together, and not much would change, starting from there."

"I see." August watched her, and Levy closed her eyes. "Yet, we need the guarantee that we can fix the rift, and therefore, it needs to be at some point during the war, or before." He paused, raising his eyebrows. "Now, it will not solve all of your problems, but have you considered bringing your companions back with you? Anyone you feel would be negatively impacted, or even more, if you'd prefer."

But Zeref wouldn't be able to come. She could help everyone keep the future they wanted except for her own, and Zeref's. Her chest ached with the thought. Everything she'd worked towards, it would just vanish. She'd go back to Fairy Tail, and be a normal wizard again. Wait, likely not even that. She'd go back to being a rune knight, with her guild nothing but a distant memory. Zeref would return to wanting his own death, miserable because of his curse. It just wasn't fair to anyone.

Then again, it was fair. A price had to be paid, for ignoring the issue. "Dimaria will have to come. Otherwise, I don't think she'd go against Zeref's orders." August nodded.

"In that case, perhaps I should go as well. She is not the most discrete of individuals, and will need someone to keep her safe until she is finished."

"And Nab, and Loke…" She trailed off. "I don't know if I should stop at that, or not. The rest of the team, Natsu, and even Lucy since she's Loke's celestial wizard, they'd want to remember, but I don't know if they need to."

"It is your decision to make, ultimately. After all, you will have the energy to transport as many as you'd wish, with Fairy Heart at your disposal."

That was what it all hinged on too. She'd need to obtain her guild's most guarded secret. The thought of making the guild her enemy was almost just as bad as the thought of abandoning the future she might now have. But could she build it again?

"Would—do you think the others, Brandish and Invel, would be willing to go too?"

"Likely. Though I do not see a reason for it."

"Because…I…I don't want to abandon all of this. I love Zeref, and if I'm bringing him back with this spell anyway, I won't just let him sit in his misery at home. I'll stop him, before the war starts. Meet with him…"

"And to do so, you'll need allies close to the heart of Vistarion." Levy bit her lip, before slowly nodding. "I must admit, it is an intriguing idea to attempt. I cannot say it will be easy to manage; torn loyalties within an empire are rarely a desirable thing." She nodded. "Yet, that is coming from the perspective of an advisor. As his son, I think I'd wish to make such an attempt. I have not seen him as happy as he was with you in all of my time with him."

"Then it's settled." She inhaled deeply, meeting his gaze. "We'll all go back, the Spriggan Twelve that I have worked with thus far, along with the team we've worked with before." He nodded, and Levy wondered if he would add something. However, a knock on the door pulled them away.

"Sorry, but my old servant was outside the door trying to get our attention it seemed." Brandish looked over at her, shrugging. "He wanted to talk to you, and since I'm done with garbage that runs away, I thought I might as well make sure you agree."

Looking over, Levy frowned. Based on the cloak and that emblem, it was Jellal, not Mystogan. Behind him, two other cloaked figures had joined him, stepping inside. Yet, August was staring at Brandish, shaking his head. "How many times must we go over procedures for guests within the castle? We cannot simply allow any stranger to come in and speak with the emperor…or empress, in this case."

"But they seemed like friends before. I thought it wouldn't be a problem." Brandish paused, glancing over at Levy and tilting her head. "Is it a problem?"

Shaking her head, Levy pushed a smile onto her face. "It's fine, don't worry about it, Brandish." She glanced over at August, nodding at the man. "Could you start spreading word, of what I had in mind? I'd like to get this over with, sooner rather than later." August nodded, getting up and moving towards the door.

"Very well. I will speak with you again later. Hopefully, your friends will understand your reasoning as well as we do." She nodded, inhaling slowly. When the door shut, she was left in the room with just Jellal and his guild members. Together, they pulled down their hoods. She recognized Meredy, at least, but the other one was an elderly woman, with graying hair and nothing that really screamed reformed dark wizard about her.

"Sorry. It has taken me some time to adapt to this as well." The elderly woman smiled, nodding towards her. "Believe it or not, I am actually Ultear. Jellal tracked me down, with a task that he thought only I could manage. But unfortunately, given the state of things, I don't think anyone can do much to stop it."

Were they trying to stop the time rift too? Levy gazed at them, and slowly lowered her eyes. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"That isn't all we came to speak with you about, Levy." Jellal came forward, reaching into his cloak. After a moment, he pulled a locket out. Levy's breath stopped; it was…Zeref's locket. "Zeref had come to us, seeking our aid in handling this issue. Yet…it seems as if our efforts were made too late." He placed the locket on the desk. Hesitantly, Levy reached out for it, closing her fingers around the smooth metal. "I believe he meant to give this to you. I apologize for prying, but we needed something to convince those here that we meant no harm, and that our words were true, should we have been stopped."

"Yup! We grabbed the other one, too!" Meredy pulled out an identical locket, making Levy frown in confusion. "Though, we figured we'd give this one to Natsu. It's got his picture in it, after all."

Oh, so this wasn't his locket? Levy frowned, clicking it open. It was smooth on the inside, with no photos, but rather an engraving, stretched on both sides. The words on the left alone were enough to bring tears to her eyes. For the one who has become the guiding light to the darkest of minds. She inhaled slowly, turning to see the other side. Let this keep me by your side, even in the darkest of times. -Zeref. She ran her fingers across the words, which would be covered if she actually used the locket for anything. Yet, it was oddly pleasing to see him disregard the practicality of something. He'd wanted to leave her with a message, and a mimicry of his own necklace. However, he could only do so, if the engraving were inside.

Slowly, she let it shut. She held it tightly, before silently slipping it around her neck. "That would be fine. He should have it." Natsu was everything to Zeref. He'd want Natsu to remember him, even if it wasn't in a fond light. "But I imagine this wasn't all you wanted either." She was feeling that hollow ache again, staying on this topic. It likely wouldn't go away for a while, either, not when she would go to a time when Zeref didn't even remember meeting her.

"We have a strange request to make." Meredy spoke, seriousness tainting her tone instead. "Jellal knows more about it. It was an idea he got, from Zeref, but we really aren't certain how you'll react to it."

Levy frowned, glancing over at him. "We intended on sealing the time rift, if at all possible. Yet, after studying it, Ultear claims it will reject such manipulations at this point. However, Zeref had intended to utilize its energy within a spell of some form. If we…if we can locate and identify this spell, I imagine we can do the same." Levy stared at him, her eyes wide. Jellal wanted to use Neo Eclipse too? "I do not know what consequences it will have, Levy, but it may very well be the lesser of two evils in this case. I know, I know this will be difficult, but to complete this spell, we may also have to resume war with Fairy Tail."

"I already know that…" She trailed off, turning away.

"If we do not, the time rift will destroy all ethernano in this world, to start. Magic will die, and wizards along with it. From there…" Ultear sighed, shaking her head. "I haven't the faintest idea of what such a massive amount of energy would do."

Dimaria had described that, though. Levy knew the dangers it posed. "The spell you were talking about…" Levy hesitated, before sighing and looking down. She tapped the book with her finger, looking back at Jellal. "It is right here. I was already informed of the situation. And after hearing about…what might happen…" She trailed off, swallowing. "I'm hoping I can convince Fairy Tail to help. But, this isn't something they'll just let me take without good reason. There's a reason Master Makarov didn't want it to be public knowledge."

"Do you know what you need to obtain then?" Levy slowly nodded, and Jellal gave her a faint smile. "Then there is hope for success." He paused, glancing at his team. "Levy, this time, should war emerge, Crime Sorciere will fight on the side of Alvarez, to put a stop to this. Consider me an ally, as we see this conflict through to the very end."

An ally…a new advisor. Levy blinked at him, realization sinking in. "Jellal, you have a team working under you already, right?" He nodded. Levy smiled faintly. "Well, with all of this going on, I'd almost forgotten how overworked everyone was here. If you really want to help, Alvarez could use another general in our ranks."

"You…want me, as a member of the Spriggan Twelve?"

"There aren't really twelve of them anymore, but yes." Jellal gazed at her, and Levy held out her hand. "Typically, each general leads their own segment of the army, which in your case, would be your independent guild. While I would recommend having them train a bit with Dimaria, they seem to be quite adept at staying hidden, and understanding criminal thought. That is why I thought you would actually be rather fitting to replace Bloodman. From what I heard, he helped dictate law enforcement throughout Alvarez, and I thought you'd be capable of doing the same, with proper training."

"We don't have time for that, Levy."

She smiled, shaking her head. "Oh, I know. But we're about to make more time, aren't we?" Jellal stared at her, and she inhaled slowly. "Neo Eclipse, the spell that utilizes the time rift, is a spell that turns back time. We need to do this properly, which means we need to go to a time when we are certain the rift is stable, and seal it then."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know when that would be. I wasn't even aware of his anomaly until recently, I'm afraid." Ultear shook her head.

Meeting their gaze, Levy took another deep breath. "I know of at least one time, when it was stable." She met Jellal's gaze, hardening her expression. "And whether you realize it or not, all of you know of such a time too."

Jellal blinked, staring at her. "The…the war. When Alvarez invaded, Zeref told us the timing was because the rift existed near Magnolia…"

"And was in a stable state." He stared at her, and Levy shook her head. "I'm not going to give up this future of mine entirely, Jellal. I plan on returning to before the war and stopping it before it ever begins. If you want to come with me and hold on to anything you've learned, anything at all, from this timeline, I will want a promise that you won't stand in my way of doing that."

She sounded commanding, for a change. It wasn't like her, to make demands like this of friends and allies at all, yet it also seemed fitting in a way. Her future would not be the same bright path that Fairy Tail had set her on, and it would be filled with its own struggles, but it would bring about a connection with a man who deserved so much better than the world gave him. She'd be Zeref's guiding light once more, and hold on to the words he'd left behind for her. She would not let him fall back into that darkness for long, not without someone by his side to pull him back out.

Meeting her gaze, Jellal seemed to be just as startled at her words as she had been. Yet, she did not back down. "Then, in that case, I shall accept. When the time comes, to free my guild from persecution and give us a place to openly call home, I will gladly serve under you, Empress Levy."

"And of course, you are free to visit Erza whenever you want too, if you're worried about that." He blinked, before his cheeks turned pink. "Oh, come on, I've seen you two sneaking off plenty of times. You're not really as discrete as you think you are, trying to get her attention you know."

He smiled at her, shaking his head. "Being surrounded by women…I feel it gives me more troubles than I thought it ever would." Levy laughed, and Meredy patted his back. Yet, they had a plan. All that was left was to actually enact it for a change. Still, that just may be the hardest part of what was to come. Fairy Tail would be her enemy, and while they might forget the things she'd be forced to do, she would hold on to them, and have to handle the guilt that came when things were finished.

Jellal and his team are now working with Levy on Neo Eclipse as well! Feel free to review and tell me what you think!