Forever's Not Enough
A/N: SURPRISE! Another chapter of FNE! Well, I'm trying to update as fast and as many chapters as I can. I won't have time for updating when classes resume again, so I figured that updating this often during May until June would be the solution. Anyways, this story would be on hold soon, if not on hiatus then maybe going on a slow updating schedule. Okay? Okay.
Story Update:
- Summary Changed!
That was TFIOS reference if you were attentive. Enough of this rant! Let's get on with the story!
Chapter Thirteen - Mission: Time Run!
"Jellal! Hey, w-wait up!" a pink haired mage panted. She ran after a certain Heavenly Body mage, who seemed to interested in following Fairy Tail's guild master and some other people. "Jellal! I said, wait!" she hollered, her steps getting slower. She fell on her knees as the said man came to an abrupt stop and glanced back at her with an annoyed and curious look.
He sighed. "I'm sorry Meredy, I just feel like there's trouble once again. Seeing how Erza got squashed by her own guild master worried me more than anything. Wouldn't you feel the same way if you see me get defeated by someone I admire?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Meredy shook her head and grinned, which made Jellal's eyebrows twitch in irritation. "Some friend you are, Meredy" he said in disappointment, earning an apologetic from the pink haired mage, who was trying her best not to laugh. He pouted at her reaction.
"Don't take it badly, Jellal. I wouldn't trouble myself of seeing you get squished, pounded or whatever. I know that you won't let yourself get easily crushed by anyone! You're a strong mage and I believe that you're not so easily conquered by anyone or anything" Meredy replied encouragingly, giving Jellal a small smile, making him nod in agreement and confidence. "And then suddenly, you ran out of words. I appreciate a simple 'oh, that's so sweet' or a 'thanks, you're really a good friend'." she snorted.
Jellal chuckled a little but then he turned back to his serious state. Meredy gulped and sweat dropped. "We better get moving, Fairy Tail might need our assistance in some things. Hopefully, they could also explain why they just crushed my friend. I would like to know the reason" Jellal said firmly and looked to where Fairy Tail rushed off to. Since they were already far gone, he quickly grabbed Meredy's hand and smirked. Meredy narrowed her eyes at him. Before she could even talk, Jellal had already activated Meteor and dragged them both onwards.
Meanwhile...
Makarov, along with Bran, Lector, Sting, Lucy and an unconscious Team Natsu locked up in his giant hands, made yet another grand entrance in the enormous guild doors of the Fairy Tail guild. The members inside were obviously shocked and gaped at the scene. Some had mouths open, others just stared at them with pure curiosity, others glaring at Sting and Lector. Lucy, of course, eyed them sternly but tried not to offend them. Sting glared daggers at all the members while Lector mimicked his partner's movements. Bran felt uncomfortable with the awkward staring contests between Fairy Tail and them. It was silent until Levy McGarden, the stout blue-haired mage, tackled Lucy to the ground.
"Luuuucy!" she cried in excitement and squeezed the poor celestial mage to death. "I missed you so much! How are you?! I-I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to visit you or write, even!" she apologized, still embracing Lucy. The whole guild made small chuckles then turned to happy murmurs. Sting sweat dropped as he saw Lucy gasping for air.
The blonde woman huffed until Levy let go of her and snickered. "L-Levy!" she said heavily, "I missed you, too... I'm fine and no, that's okay. I understand why..." Lucy's voice trailed off at the last part. The guild gave her apologetic and worried looks, heck, even Laxus Dreyar, who watched from the sidelines, felt uneasy with this weird atmosphere.
To end this, their master cleared his throat and all attention was brought to him. "Listen up you brats, we haven't much time for this!" he yelled as loud as he could so everyone could hear. "Team Natsu's under a manipulating spell, wherein they are not themselves since they kicked Lucy out of their group until today. If you're wondering why I knocked them out, here's the reason why: first, Rogue Cheney, the present one, has been captured by his future self and is currently trapped in a Time Dimension! Future Rogue would only release him if Lucy hands him the Key of Time. Now we don't really know the reason unto why he wants the key, but we cannot just let him have it. We have to know his real objective and at the same time save Rogue Cheney"
"I know most of you are wondering why Sting Eucliffe and Lucy Heartfilia are here, but let's just welcome them both to the guild. They don't deserve to be treated the way Team Natsu did, but please understand that they are not them right now! We had a feeling that Future Rogue manipulated them because we always end up destroying evil plans if we are still connected to Lucy. He did that to let her hand the Key of Time without causing a huge fight. However, his plan went a bit corrupted because Sting Eucliffe was by her side, making it hard for him to do get his hands on the key. With that, he had to find his present self and hold him as a hostage, to bribe Sting with the key" Makarov further explained.
"Within 20 hours, Lucy was assigned by Future Rogue to hand the key over or he will kill Rogue in the Time Dimension. So we only got 20 hours to defeat Future Rogue and know his plans. We don't have Team Natsu with us now because whoever their manipulator is, he could be hearing our conversation and make them attack us. I order you brats to find Future Rogue, defeat him, save Present Rogue and bring Team Natsu back to normal. But before that, I need to group you all before we start infiltrating on wherever their hideout is. I reckon that Future Rogue can't do all his plans alone" he added.
Lucy and Sting nodded to his words. The guild had these serious looks on their faces and Makarov could feel their determination. "The infiltrating team: Sting, Lucy, Bran, Levy, Wendy, Gajeel, Juvia! You are assigned to go after Future Rogue, know his plans and save the Present Rogue!" he exclaimed fiercely. The mentioned mages nodded accordingly. "The guarding team: Laxus, Mirajane and myself! We are in charge of guarding Team Natsu in case they wake up. Regardless if they are our friends, we have to do everything to keep them unconscious, or else our plan will be ruined!"
The guild gasped, except for Sting and Lucy. They were already aware of it. "I, and Meredy, would like to participate in your plan as well" a voice came outside of the open doors, revealing Jellal and his companion, the Maguilty Sense mage. The duo looked at the whole guild with smirks on their faces, save for Meredy waving at Juvia, who waved back.
"Crime Sorcière!" they all exclaimed.
"Hello!" Meredy greeted with a small grin.
"Yes, we're sorry to interrupt. We have heard of your plan on saving the Present Rogue. Recently, we found out that Future Rogue currently has connections with the Black Wizard, Zeref. We're planning to track down Future Rogue but he seemed aware of our goal, thus making it hard for us to confront him. I figured that if we help in any way possible with the infiltrating team, we could question him about Zeref. But we're not just doing this for our own objectives, we also plan on helping you, Fairy Tail" Jellal explained, crossing his arms.
Makarov smirked at him. "Very well, you may help in any way you want. We appreciate it!"
Turning to his children with his other eye closed and a victorious smile plastered on the old man's face, he yelled, "This is..Operation: Time Run!" And with that, the whole guild cheered with bravery and dauntlessness. Lucy couldn't help but smile. She surely did missed it.
"Master Zeref," a hateful redhead's voice said weakly, "Should we prepare in case the snooping guild comes by, attacking all of our associates? I'm aware that Future Rogue is already in position, but we are expecting some nosy fairies soon, sir"
The said wizard sneered. "Let them come. After all, I'm sure they would like to hold back once they learned the truth about our real plans. They don't have Natsu or Erza with them, so there's not much to worry about other than the White Dragon Slayer and the Celestial Spirit Mage. Keep an eye on both of them and don't let them step a foot near the gate. Try not to torture them too hard" he ordered plainly.
"We'll see to it that your orders are followed correctly, sir" the redhead bowed, his cape draping about, "If you may excuse me, we still have to fulfill your plans" Zeref watched as he retreated away from the room and closed the blood-red doors. He scowled at his redhead advocate's not-so-interesting tone, but his thoughts about the redhead were quickly interrupted by a small voice that rang in the Black Wizard's mind. He couldn't help but blush a little whenever it appears.
"Zeref," the little voice said in his mind. "I can see that you're trying your best to not hurt anyone. I just can't see if this is the right way of doing it to resurrect me. There are other ways, Zeref. Please try to see those ways so we don't have to face them. I don't want both your followers and them to get hurt" it pleaded, making Zeref grit his teeth in confusion and slight anger. He hated the fact that he can't do something easily without fighting anyone or anything, but also the fact that this voice was too intimidating yet he loved hearing it.
It was indeed ironic for him and he can't help but feel mentally disoriented. "Listen! There is no other way!" he yelled out loud instead of just thinking about it. His growling voice echoed through the whole hall and bounced back in his ears. He cringed about it and rubbed his temples, feeling bad for shouting at someone who isn't even physically around. "I'm sorry for shouting," he said lowly, "Really...I'm sorry... Forgive me for my temper. I-I just can't wait to hold you again"
"It's fine, Zeref. I understand you. After all... We were close seven years ago"
Zeref rested his head under his hand, placed on the armrest of his throne. "Seven years ago, we were close" he said, some tears welling up in his eyes.
And that's it for today! I'm guessing that you already know who the voice in Zeref's head is. More explanation comes in the upcoming chapters of Forever's Not Enough, so stay tuned often. By the way, do you guys want more pairings in this story?
A certain Black Wizard x Fairy pairing is already going to be canon here, so there's no need to ask for that. How about RoLe? Or maybe even some bits of JerZa in the end? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Tell me the pairings you want and I'll see if I can make them happen. You can either PM me or tell me in the reviews.