Hello all! First things first let get the thanks out of the way.

kurahieiritr JIO: I'm actually glad I had the idea of putting the dragons in before you mentioned it lol. The name is ridiculously long and I will never say it again.

Guest: thank you. I hope I can keep up the excitement for you

Thank you to joesluis,medinavivanco and Lothoredien for following/favoriting.

Now the reasons for this late update is because I actually lost all the chapters I hadn't posted yet :(. I had to rewrite them all from memory. Thank god I hadn't deleted the summaries I made for each of them. Now I know to back everything up to a flashdrive or two.

And this is for any manga readers who are currently caught up: This story will not follow the manga after chapter 420 as it conflicts with what I had planned immensely, pertaining to certain character relationships, backstories and plot.

Chapter 17. The Beast Above

Devi shifted her feet in the gravel while the group from Fairy Tail tried to comprehend what she had said.

She was Devi. It rang through their thoughts without a pause.

The normally chill girl that had disappeared before their eyes was replaced with a seemingly cold-blooded warrior from their storybooks. They all recalled the fanatical adventures she and the rest of the Seven Deadly went on. Gildarts, after learning of their limited history of the group, held an impromptu story telling session to feed their unnourished minds. How they fought demons and dragons all while, shielding the people of yesterday with their hardened bodies from the fires of hell until their fate was lost amongst forgotten history. Mei and Devi were the only members besides Zeref who had solid endings, dying to save Earth-Land from endless threats. But obviously, that part of the fairy tale was conjured up because the living legend stood before them unharmed and shared a destiny with Lia, the girl in the book.

Erza's brow was furrowed. "You're Devi? Our Lia is…"

The levelheaded red head was unusually shaky in her speech.

Devi held up a hand before she could continue. "We'll have to continue this while walking. We have to make it back to the hideout before nightfall or else it'll be too dangerous to travel." Her silver hair switched back and forth, as she strode away from the group. It reached the end of her back, significantly longer than the Lia they knew. Wendy noticed it was a little shorter than Lia's hair before it was cut. Most of the length had to be taken off, for it was too damaged from whatever had burned her before she was placed in the book. They ran to catch with her quick steps.

"How is that possible? We didn't even know you could time travel or maybe you just never age?" Lucy stumbled alongside Devi. Devi quirked an eyebrow in her direction. Lucy squirmed under her piercing gaze until she tore her eyes away.

"What exactly did Lia tell you?" She spoke of her future self as if she was another person entirely. And as they traveled past barren fields that were singed from blazing fires and saw her unmoving expression, they felt more comfortable with the idea.

"That you guys used to slay demons," came Wendy's simplified version. Devi snorted at the younger girl's answer.

"Well we do more than slay demons."

"Why didn't she ever tell us?" Lucy wondered.

The ancient world was a frightening place indeed. Towns were scattered throughout the lands but the dwellers rarely left their domain, as it was too dangerous to travel. Some starved from lack of food or water as most of the rivers or lakes dried up from the numerous fires the dragons caused. Everything was so different from the Fiore they knew and they thanked the heavens that they didn't grow up in a world like it. Even though their time was turning into shambles from the disputes among the wizards and demons, they didn't have it half as bad as the people then did.

"She probably thought you guys couldn't handle it. I can't blame her really, because the looks on your faces right now are quite aggravating. If you guys are going to stick around here for a while then you'll have to pull up your big kid pants and let go of your fears. You'll never survive here if you don't and I don't have time for dead weight." Her voice was matter of fact but they still flinched.

"Are you saying she didn't trust us?" Juvia asked.

"Look either she didn't trust you or she didn't know how you would react. Don't be so worried. Worry about 'protecting' me or else the Lia you know will never be." There was an inkling of kindness hidden beneath her harsh words. It gave them hope that they could find a way to get along with Devi while they were stuck in the past. Like she said, if they didn't protect her and find the ones that assassinated her, not only would they never know her anymore but they would be doomed to live out their days in ancient times.

Devi would have flown the rest of the way back in Metahuman form, as it was only way she could fly, to the hideout but with her surprise guests she found herself trekking through land she had never stepped foot in. Metahuman was one of the three forms the three Holy Black Magic mages could all use. It increased damage output, resistance and magic power for a short amount of time. Devi usually avoided those areas as they teemed with demons she was not ready yet to take on by herself. The demon she faced when Fairy Tail found her was a low level. Massive in size but lacked an advanced mind to be a proper threat. Prance insisted upon accompanying her or one the others but she persuaded him to stay behind, as she knew she could handle it on her own. He seldom let her out of his sight, not sure she was ready to fight on her own without backup. It was only two years prior that they went back to the time they had left behind to help fight. History told them it was a part of their destiny. The majority of Devi's training had been in defense. Her defensive skills were unparalleled. She had a large supply of magic power. Because of that, her offensive training was limited to lower level spells and incantations until she could control her magic output properly without causing too much destruction. The first six years of the three Holy Black Magic mages, Living, Spacetime and Soul, their magic was in a dormant state. They went through a special 'ritual' to awaken their magic through emotional, mental or physical means.

When they fled their home country, Prance found little use of continuing her lessons. She no longer had an anxious family that wanted her skills to develop to the point where she could rival her mother, who was renowned in her time for being the strongest Spacetime wizard the world had seen in 200 hundred years. Ophelia had lost most of her power when Devi was a toddler, however, and the family needed a new heir to be the face of the clan. The wizarding clans Devi was born into treasured strength above all and united their lines to make the unprecedented combination that was her brother and she. Their clans hadn't intermarried since their clans came into power. The years Devi could remember were spent pouring over ancient scripts and texts and honing her abilities. Their younger sister had the privilege they didn't of a normal childhood with next to no formal training. Polly was deemed upon her birth, unfit to fight and had little magic talent. It did not help that she was only their half-sister, born of a father from a less powerful wizarding family whose powers always skipped every three generations. At the age of ten, Devi was permitted to join her brother on missions. Before there were guilds, there were powerful wizarding families. Most countries were run by their domestic clans; the younger members taking on odd jobs and missions to gain practical experience.

During the journey to the hideout, Devi tried her best to be cordial and asked them many questions. She finally got around to asking their names and magic when they were halfway to their destination.

"You four are dragon slayers right?" She asked Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy.

"How'd you know?" Gajeel asked.

"I grew up around some of the first dragon slayers. It's hard not to spot them."

"The first dragon slayers were around in this time. I guess it's safe to assume you're also from here?" Natsu stated.

Devi gave a secretive smirk. "It's very safe to say, child of Igneel." She laughed aloud at his amazed expression. "Deducing you're dragon slayers also goes along with knowing which dragon you belong to.

She paused briefly for a moment as if she had a sudden idea. "Actually, we're coming up on a spot where we meet some of our dragon allies. If you don't mind the wait, you could meet your parents if you want."

Wendy's eyes brimmed with tears at the thought of seeing Grandeeney again. She squeezed Carla to her chest and bobbed her head excitedly up and down.

Gajeel was speechless as Lily patted his arm, trying to stir him from his thoughts.

"My old man is here?" Natsu whispered.

Devi nodded. She pointed to a large open field a ways away. The group ran to the edge of the field. Natsu made his way to the middle of the field bouncing around; smelling the air for the dragons.

"This explains why time was as effected by your murder as it was. I couldn't figure out why until now," Erza commented.

The rest of Fairy Tail marveled at the sudden transformation of Devi. She was acting like the Lia they knew and couldn't be more pleased with her unexpected personality switch.

"But if you say time shouldn't be effected that drastically, I wonder what could cause our memories to stay intact?" Erza questioned. Devi shrugged.

A dark shadow made its way toward the field Fairy Tail was. Devi's content smile vanished from her face as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

"Not now…" she mumbled. Erza looked towards her. "What is it?"

Devi shook her head. "Natsu! Get back here immediately!"

Natsu stopped spinning and looked to their guide. "Why? Igneel is gonna be here soon!"

"Damnit Natsu just do as I say!" Devi fast walked over to Natsu hoping to reach him before…

Natsu's head shot up to the figure passing over the trees. Fairy Tail gasped and trembled at the intruder. Flashes of helpless memories poured into their minds as they watched Devi try to make it to Natsu.

Devi ran the rest of the way to Natsu, pushing him behind her just as Acnologia landed in front of them.

The trees behind his tail were uprooted. The ground quaked and the air swirled with flying dirt. The dragon king made his presence known with a simple landing.

Acnologia opened his mouth to speak, showing off a set of sharpened teeth.

"You dare protect this monstrosity?" He glared down at Devi. Natsu tried to move from behind her but she pushed him back more.

"That's rich coming from you," she slid in a private jab lost onto the ears of the others.

"Do not play dumb with me Chibi-Lia. You found him didn't you? And you somehow made him older? While your skills are impressive I'm afraid I'll have to destroy your handy work. Step aside; you know I cannot harm you."

Acnologia tried to move her out of the way but she dodged it. "You wouldn't dare," she hissed. "I fought you once and I'll do it again if I have to."

"You think you can match up to me in my present form? Chibi-Lia even when I was a human you had no chance. Don't be stupid."

"Don't be so sure Acnologia. We are cut from the same cloth remember? Our first encounter was obviously going to be uneven as I had little to no prior battle experience." Devi stood her ground.

"He killed Igneel!" Natsu blurted out. Fire slipped from his mouth as he tried to attack Acnologia but Devi stopped him before he could lay a finger on the dragon king.

"Calm down Natsu! Igneel is fine he's…"

"And I shall kill you." Acnologia sucked up the air.

His dragon's roar was as devastating as it was on Tenrou Island. Fairy Tail closed their eyes, knowing they failed in their mission and would be ascending to heaven any second.

To their shock, they were alive after Acnologia's attack.

Devi, on instinct alone, had casted her Angel Wings protection spell. She had Natsu wrapped in her arms as Acnologia stood above them. He flew away, finding it bothersome to try to deal with the fire dragon slayer with Devi around. He wished not to inflict the wrath of Zeref if Devi was caught in the crossfire.

The impact of roar shattered the shield. The first time Angel Wings had been destroyed. Devi lay unconscious on the grass. The power of Acnologia's roar had depleted her magic power. Fairy Tail remembered the consequences of Angel Wings and raced to her side. They didn't understand how Devi could have protected them from Acnologia. The power levels between the Lia they know and Devi was perplexing. When Lia used Angel Wings against Cain Genesis she collapsed shortly after. Devi also collapsed just then but the power of Cain and Acnologia should not even be compared. Devi was obviously stronger than their Lia. Something must have happened to weaken her between then and the time she was placed inside the book. As they recalled, the Seven Deadly in the legends were revered for extensive amounts of magic power.

Truth be told, Acnologia only used two-thirds the normal of power in his roar. He knew Devi would stay in his way and knew she would survive if he turned down the damage output. He had hoped Natsu wouldn't have been so lucky but should have predicted Devi using Angel Wings to protect him and the rest of Fairy Tail from his rage.

Both of Devi's eyes had turned completely black. They were glossy as doll eyes and stared up at the sky above, as their owner was in a peaceful sleep.

Three more shadows moved to the field. They landed near the huddled group.

Gajeel surveyed the arrivals.

"Metalicana…"

Next chapter sneak peak: more dragons, more of the seven deadly and a trip to the hospital. Until next time :) R&R