Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.
Fair warning: this fic is rated M for a reason.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
"This is quite disturbing."
After what Jellal told them, Makarov felt each and every last of his years on top of him. Waiting until they digested what he just told them, Jellal continued: "It is only a theory Ultear once mentioned, but if Deimos is somehow capable of reaching it…"
"He can change time to his will" Not wasting time, Gildarts sent every available mage all over Fiore in search of Deimos.
This was two days ago. Today, Natsu woke up to find a similar, yet, very different Fiore from the one he knew.
Chapter 34: Seven Years
"Oh, I get it: This is a dream!" Natsu reached in conclusion "I'm still asleep! That's it!"
Mystogan just stood there while Natsu pranced around. As far as he could tell, the Edolas mage didn't feel like he was a figment of someone's dream. "Natsu, I think your assumption is wrong."
"Asump-what?" Natsu stopped prancing "Hey, if this is a dream then where is Lisanna and Angel?"
Mystogan gave Natsu a questioning look. "Natsu knows Lisanna died 3 years ago, and who is this 'Angel' he speaks of?" the only Angel that Mystogan could think of was the infamous Oracion Seis Angel, and he hardly doubted that she was the one Natsu was referring to. He had little time to wonder about it when it started to rain lightly. Noticing a group getting closer, Mystogan stood ready for anything.
Natsu noticed the group as well and, even when they were still far, his nose told them who they were "Those guys? Not my first choice, but then again; dreams are weird."
The group consisted of four men from which three of them were snickering, the largest was crying and the lone girl of their group opted to remain with an emotionless expression. Natsu grinned when he saw two of his nakamas while Mystogan tensed when he recognized them.
"Element Four. Iron dragon slayer." The cloaked mage said.
"Not bad. At least you recognize greatness when you see it." Gajeel said before focusing on Natsu "And who the heck are you? You're a dragon slayer, but I've never seen you around here?"
"Stop kidding around, it's me; Natsu!" seeing their confused expressions, Natsu added "Come on! Dream or nor, at least you must know me?"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Totomaru asked, only to be ignored by Natsu "HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"
"Quiet down there, I'm talking to my two nakama's here" Natsu motioned to Gajeel and Juvia "Not you three sore losers."
While Totomaru growled, Gajeel repeated the foreign word confused: "Na-kamas?" Seeing Natsu nod, the phantom mages, Juvia included, shared a laugh, much to Natsu's surprise.
"Oi! What's so funny?"
"Nakamas! Us with YOU!?" Gajeel laughed even harder, action mimicked by his companions. Clutching his side for all the laughter, he pointed with his free hand to the guild mark in Natsu's shoulder "LIKE WE WOULD EVER BE ALLIES WITH FAIRY TAIL GARBAGE!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Natsu resisted the urge to punch some sense into Gajeel and calmed himself down; even after what he said, Gajeel was still one of his friends. Taking a deep breath he added "I'll ignore that, it's not you, but my head that's dreaming all of this."
"Dream?" Gajeel asked while Natsu casually approached him, despite Mystogan's warning.
"Yeah, in real life; you and Juvia are my nakamas."
"Nakamas huh?" Gajeel waited until Natsu was closer to ram his fist on the pink head's stomach. "How's that for 'Na-ka-ma'!"
Natsu crouched on the ground and looked at Gajeel with pain in his eyes "Why?"
"Why, you ask?" Gajeel kneeled down and stared straight at Natsu' "I'll tell you why." After saying that, the iron slayer viciously kicked Natsu away as a response. Mystogan tried to aid Natsu, when he found himself surrounded by element 4.
"Drip, drop, you won't escape Juvia, for she is a rain woman."
"Non, non, you can't run from us, oui!"
"S…So sad!"
Even when he was stronger than each of them individually, against the four at the same time Mystogan doubted he could win.
"Let's light this party!" Totomaru ignited a flame in his hand when he suddenly stopped and started shaking. "W-W-What is this feeling?"
Mystogan noticed the rest of element 4 also froze before he felt the environment getting hotter. Finding the source of the heat, Mystogan's eyes widened "Natsu!?"
Flames so hot that actually evaporated the rain and melted the dirt emanated from Natsu. Element 4 took several steps back while Gajeel stood his ground, despite the sweat running down his forehead.
"Why…?" Natsu kept his eyes hidden in a downcast look "We are supposed to be friends. Gajeel; despite what you did in the past, we accepted you as one of us, I accepted you as one of my nakamas!"
"Are you retard…" Gajeel stopped mid sentence by the harsh glare he received from Natsu.
Natsu's eyes softened a bit as he looked at the water mage "Juvia; don't you remember how you wanted to join a guild where it was ok to laugh and be happy?"
"J-Juvia…. doesn't know…" Taken off guard, Juvia was unsure how to answer.
"And you three…" Natsu pointed towards the rest of element 4 "you're just a trio of jerks."
"HEY!"
Gathering his wits, Gajeel growled at Natsu "Shut up! Who are you to talk to me like that!? You are nothing more than garba…"
Gajeel never got to finish what he was saying when, in the blink of an eye, Natsu punched him in the jaw, sending the iron dragon slayer crashing away. Jumping back on his feet, Gajeel wiped the blood from his lip and stared at Natsu "You'll pay for that!" Gathering air in his lungs, Gajeel used his most powerful attack "Iron Dragon's Roar!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu's dragon roar quickly overpowered Gajeel's, whose eyes widened when the attack hit him. Even when Natsu reduced the intensity of his flames so he wouldn't hurt Gajeel, his roar completely decimated the iron dragon slayer. Once Gajeel was out of the picture, Natsu swiftly dealt with Totomaru, Sol and Aria, leaving only Juvia.
Waking from her trance, Juvia attacked Natsu "Water slicer!"
As the deadly water blades flied at Natsu, they evaporated by the immense heat emanated by his flames. Training his sight on her, Natsu hesitated in attacking her, which gave Gajeel an opening to strike.
"YOU'RE MINE!" Gajeel rammed his Iron Dragon's Sword, aiming to stab Natsu through the heart, but to his surprise, Natsu met his attack with Rebellion in a stinger attack. For a moment, it looked like Gajeel's arm would last, but when cracks started appearing over it, it was clear who the winner was. Breaking the iron around his arm, Rebellion followed its path and carved a deep wound in Gajeel's chest that sent him the ground for a second time that day.
Natsu watched with a mixed feeling of anger and regret at Gajeel, but this version of the iron slayer was a lot like the old Phantom Lord Gajeel. As for Gajeel himself, he was trying to stand back up, but the wounds were too much for him to recover so easily.
The water mage was frozen in fear after witnessing her guild mates being defeated so easily that she couldn't even think of running. When Natsu turned to look at her, Juvia took a step back fearing the worst, but to her relief, Natsu ignored her and walked away. Once she regained her senses, Juvia rushed in to aid Gajeel. As she watched him leave, Juvia could only wonder how did that man knew about her wish.
As for Natsu, the fire slayer was deep in thought "What's going on? Is this really a dream?" looking up to the anima, the slayer wondered if Lisanna was on the other side waiting for him. Then, what about Angel?
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Natsu prepared his fist to retaliate, only to stop when he realized it was Mystogan.
"Natsu; you and I need to talk."
Natsu was about to reply when he felt Angel in distress "Angel!" Natsu broke into a sprint when something else hit him; he also needed to cross the anima to reach Lisanna and save his nakamas trapped Edolas. Thorn between both choices, Natsu looked at Mystogan "How long will the anima remain open!?"
"Judging the size, a few hours" Mystogan answered "Are you going to cross it?"
"Yes, but first I have to get Angel" Natsu looked up to the anima "I can't just leave her here alone, wait for me Lis-chan."
Moments before…
Like Natsu, Angel slowly woke up in a place very different from where she was, but at the same time, in a familiar place.
"What…?" Recognizing the place, Angel checked it twice just to be certain "What's going on?"
The place Angel found herself in was none other than her old room inside Oracion Seis guild; a castle they used as base before the guild was disbanded. Checking the bond, Angel felt relieved when she could feel Natsu's presence somewhere far, but Lisanna's presence was almost nonexistent. While Angel wondered about this, someone knocked outside her door. Angel didn't need to feel the presence to know who it was when she recognized the voice. "Cobra."
"Hey! Are you in there?" Cobra asked from outside "Master wants to see you."
Acting fast, Angel replied like nothing was out of the ordinary "I'm not decent! Give me a few minutes!" With that said, Angel assessed her situation; she knew Cobra was not really psychic, but he could tell the thoughts of people with frightening accuracy, although he rarely heard the thoughts of the other members of Oracion seis. Nonetheless, she had to be careful not to give too much info away. As for Brain…
"Like that's ever stopped me before" Cobra stepped inside with Cuberos coiled around him, taking Angel by surprise. One glance at her and Cobra stopped on his tracks. Realizing what it was, Angel cursed herself for missing an important detail; her long hair in contrast to her shorter hair from before.
Cobra eyed her for another moment which Angel felt like an eternity and said "Nice hair extensions"
"Y-Yeah! They look good right? Angel replied in relief before kicking him outside "And that's for entering my room without permission! Next time wait outside! Got that?"
"Ok, ok, got it!" Cobra laughed while Angel huffed, standing up he added "Anyway, let's get moving; Master wants to see you for something, who knows what for?"
"Fine, let's go" Angel said without a hint of wariness, but on the inside she was terrified "I'm screwed! I'm SO SCREWED!"
Reaching the main living room, Angel found her former guild mates doing what they usually did back in the day; Hoteye counting the jewels earned in recent jobs, Racer watching a racing show on the movie lacrima and Midnight was sleeping on the couch, but Angel's main concern was standing in front of the main window with his back turned to them.
"Angel, so good you could join us" Brain said as he turned around "There's a disturbance…" Brain's expression changed from calm to surprised and then to anger. "IMPOSTER!"
Angel barely dodged the beam sent her way, courtesy of Brain. Before she could retaliate, Cobra spoke up "What the hell are you doing!?"
"You fool! Can't you see it's not her?" Brain said while he charged another attack "Her guild mark is gone! It's not Angel!"
"I still have my guild mark!" Angel knew it was a lie, but she had little to lose "It's just hidden beneath my dress!"
"Nice try, but if you were really Angel you would know that the guild mark of Oracion seis is directly linked to Master Brain!" Klodoa, Brain's staff, said to her.
Knowing the damn skull was right; Angel stood up and prepared to fight him when Cobra stepped in front of her "Back off old man! I can tell her thoughts, she's the real Angel! Cuberos can back me up! Sure, she looks different but it's only because of her hair extensions!"
Angel never expected him to defend her and didn't know what to say "Cobra."
By now, Racer and Hoteye were also standing and were watching the situation unfold "Maybe we should all calm down and talk about this, Right?"
Ignoring them, Brain sent a piercing attack at Angel but, to everyone's surprise, Cobra took the attack for her. "Cobra!"
While Racer and Hoteye were unsure what to do, Angel kneel over the bleeding Cobra "Hang in there! Don't die on me!"
"Foolish girl" Brain tossed the angry Cuberos away and raised his hand over Angel's head "Time to die"
Feeling a deep hatred inside her, Angel grabbed Brain's arm and burned it with the blue flames emerging from her. Feeling his skin literally melting, Brain struggled to get free from her grasp and resorted to attack her at point range with one of his strongest attacks, only for Angel to deflect the attack with ease before tossing him to a wall.
"You…YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" Adding Cobra's sacrifice to the lifetime of torture suffered by Brain, Angel reached her devil trigger "Take over: Angel Soul!"
An overwhelming light momentarily blinded them all before receding back to Angel, who looked almost the same, except for the fact that she now had a pair of feathery angel wings on her back, blue flames surrounding her and a murderous look directed towards Brain.
"T-This Power! How was she able to reach it!?" Brain trembled by the immense aura surrounding Angel. "I'll show you your place! Dark Capriccio!"
Putting everything he got behind his attack, Brain's hopes of saving himself were shattered when Angel effortlessly dodged the piercing beam and reappeared in front of him with a speed that put Racer's magic to shame.
Still with her murderous look on her eyes, Angel shattered Klodoa and raised one of her hands to Brain's forehead.
"W-WAIT!" Brain felt a burning sensation running inside his body before slumping down on the floor. After witnessing all this, Racer and Hoteye refrained of moving from their spot while Angel headed towards Cobra.
Finding his voice, Racer asked: "Is Brain…?"
"He's alive" Angel focused her eyes on Cobra as she spoke "I refuse to lower myself to the likes of Brain and kill him, even if he deserves it. That's not what Fairy Tail stands for." While they wondered what she meant by that, Angel's wings shined a white light over Cobra that completely healed the dragon slayer.
Opening his eyes, Cobra found Cuberos next to him and a changed Angel with, if his eyes were not playing a trick on him, a pair of wings on her back. Moving to a sitting position, Cobra looked at Angel and chuckled "We know about your obsession with angels, but even You have to admit that those wings are a little too much."
"If that's the thanks I get for saving your ass, then you're welcomed!" Angel drily replied while lending him a hand.
Grasping the offered hand, Cobra stood up and eyed Angel "Funny; I can't hear your thoughts, but my nose and Cuberos tell me it's really you. What happened to you Angel?"
"It's a long story, I'll tell you on the way."
"On the way?" Cobra asked. "Where are we going?"
"Nowhere" Angel and the others turned to see Midnight, who just woke up "You took father away from me, and for that I shall make you…"
From Erza, Angel knew how dangerous Midnight was with his illusions, so she made use of her newfound speed and knocked Midnight out with a swift hit to the neck before he was able to use his magic. Dispelling her devil trigger, Angel addressed Racer and Hoteye "You two; DON'T follow us. Cobra, let's go."
Nodding dumbly, Cobra and Angel mounted a grown up Cuberos and sped off towards Magnolia, leaving Racer and Hoteye behind.
"What was that all about?"
"I'll tell you what it was" Hoteye replied "My lucky break, Right?"
While they headed to Magnolia, Angel used this time to think and wonder about their current situation and explain to Cobra the truth. Suffice to say that the poison dragon slayer was a bit skeptical, but agreed to help her for the time being.
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
Angel looked at him "Go ahead."
"Why do you trust me?" Cobra turned to look at her. "You saved me because I took that hit for you, but why trust me and not Racer and Hoteye?"
"Because you stood up for me when Brain was accusing me" Angel replied. "if I knew you were more noble, I would have made an effort to get to know you more in my world."
Cobra didn't know what to say to that, so he decided to leave it at that. They resumed their trip in relative silence for a while until Angel asked "Tell me about this world?"
After feeling that Angel was alright and coming his way, Natsu relaxed a bit and decided to wait for her. While they waited, the dragon slayer answered all of Mystogan's questions.
"I see" Mystogan had just finished hearing Natsu's tale and was pondering about it. Even when it sounded extremely farfetched, Mystogan found no trace of deceit in Natsu's words and his knowledge about Edolas was accurate enough to back it up. "But; even if you are truly the Natsu from seven years into the future, that doesn't explain why are you here."
"Beats me" Natsu shrugged. "I just woke up and was here all of a sudden."
Mystogan studied Natsu, or more precisely, the large broadsword strapped on his back "Natsu, can I see that sword you're carrying?"
"Rebellion? Sure, here you go."
Mystogan studied the large sword in detail before giving it back "I feel a powerful force imbued into the sword."
"Really?"
"Yes. And there's also something dark inside it." Mystogan quickly added "Nothing to be concerned of. Maybe this sword is responsible for bringing you here."
Natsu scratched his head while he thought "I guess. But Vergil never mentioned anything about that."
"The half devil you spoke of?" seeing Natsu nod, Mystogan got his answer. "What were you doing just before coming here?"
"Well, we were following this guy called Deimos that stole Ultear's magic."
"Wait" Mystogan interrupted him "Did you said Deimos?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"I assume Deimos is not the king of Fiore in your timeline, am I right?" Seeing his questioning look, Mystogan explained: "Because he is in this one."
A few minutes later, Mystogan finished telling him about Deimos and how he became the king of Fiore, leaving Natsu perplexed.
"So you're telling me that Deimos stole Ultear's time magic and came back to the past just so he could become a king?"
"It is a theory" Mystogan said "In your timeline; Deimos just recently appeared, while in mine he's been the king of Fiore for years."
Everything Mystogan said was starting to make sense to Natsu, who now was getting worried. "Mystogan; what else is different from my timeline and yours?"
Jellal saddened a bit "A lot."
Capital of Fiore: Crocus
When Deimos and Astria arrived seven years ago they did more than just take over the kingdom of Fiore; they also made sure to eliminate everything that could put a stop to their reign. The first thing they did was to dispose of Hades and destroy every bit of knowledge he possessed about Arc of Time. Next was making sure to put Ultear in a path away from Grimoire Heart. Once that was taken care of, Deimos became the new master of Grimoire Heart and left Astria to rule Fiore in his wake. Next step was to make the Balamb alliance official guilds and allow the already existing guilds to step over the rules set by the old council. In less than a year, almost 90 percent of the existing guilds turned to less 'noble' actions.
At first, there were those that opposed this change, but with the Balamb Alliance backing them up, they were all swiftly dealt with.
Right now, Deimos and Astria, King and Queen of Fiore, were meetingt with the council they selected themselves.
"It's just like Brain to leave us waiting for him" Jose Porla, master of Phantom Lord and recognized wizard saint spoke up.
"I am certain he will get here in time" Siegrain, fellow wizard saint also council member and leader of the seven Kin's added "He did mention there was something he needed to take care of first."
"He better get here in time" Deimos and Astria arrived and sat on their thrones "Jose, have you investigated the phenomenon over Magnolia?"
"By your command, I sent my strongest mages to investigate it" Jose said with a dark smile "The preliminary reports tell me that the entire city, including that loathsome guild vanished from the face of this planet"
Fairy Tail was one of those guilds that opposed his rule, but Deimos left them alone knowing that the anima would eventually take care of it "And you, Siegrain? How is project R coming along?"
"Right on schedule my master" Siegrain replied "With the thousands of 'volunteers' you gave me, the new tower of heaven will be complete in just under a year. Lord Zeref will finally be revived."
"Can you guarantee this, Siegrain?" Deimos asked "You promised the same thing last time, and yet you failed me."
"Last time the 'sacrifice' was inadequate, but this time I shall not fail you." Hearing someone laughing, Siegrain narrowed his eyes and turned to his left. "I was unaware that I said something funny, Luzbel."
The master of Trinity Wraith focused his crimson eyes on Siegrain and said "Your tower of heaven project is laughable, it will never work."
"And kidnapping defenseless white haired girls will" Siegrain countered, earning a glare from Luzbel "Be careful; I heard some of those girls bite."
"Maybe I should try my hand with red heads instead" Luzbel said "Tell me Siegrain, what is your strategy? Do you make them fall in love with you first or after sacrificing them?"
Siegrain stood up with his meteor mode active while Luzbel withdrew Yamato "Enough!" The room grew quiet by Deimos command "Both of you will refrain of childish fights during our meetings. Jellal, continue with the construction of the new tower. Luzbel, I want a full report on your findings. Is that understood?."
Both mages nodded before moving onto other topics. Once the meeting was over and everyone was gone, Deimos and Astria were left alone to discuss private matters.
"You barely said anything on this meeting."
"Forgive me, my lord. I just wasn't feeling like myself today."
"If it's because of the projects of reviving Zeref, remember that I only allow them to go through it to keep them busy. The fools have no idea that Zeref died a long time ago and that he will never be revived." Deimos flexed his hand "It's quite a shame I used all of Deliora's power to get here, but at least we finally fulfilled our purpose."
"Of course" Astria replied with a faraway look "Our purpose is done."
Putting a hand on her shoulder, Deimos said "I must go with Siegrain to meet with the master of Tartarus, I will return in a few days."
Once Deimos was gone, Astria's faraway look changed into frustration. Grabbing the nearest object, she tossed it to the wall in a fit of rage "NO, MY PURPOSE IS NOT DONE!"
Now it was Natsu's turn to digest everything Mistogan revealed to him. "Laxus is the master of Fairy tail!?"
"Unfortunately, yes" Mystogan replied "After he became master, he kicked several members he considered 'weak' , leaving only those worthy for his new guild."
"That bastard! Why didn't the old man put a stop to him!?
"I'm sorry Natsu, but Master Makarov passed away a few months ago."
"what..." Natsu was shocked to hear this "but he is alive in my time! What changed?"
"His health was deteriorating due to his advanced age. When Laxus executed his coup during fantasia parade…his heart gave up."
Pushing Makarov's death away for the moment, Natsu asked: "Then Erza or Gildarts? Surely they would never let that jerk get away with this!"
This time, Mystogan got a sad look on his eyes "Erza disappeared several months ago."
"What! Erza is gone?"
"Yes. No matter how far and wide we searched, we were unable to find her." Mystogan cracked his knuckles in frustration "I was never able to find any trace of her."
"Erza…" Natsu was still in disbelief after hearing all this.
"As for Gildarts; he went searching for you and we haven't heard of him ever since."
"Me?" Natsu pointed at himself while Mystogan explained.
"Remenber when I said that I hadn't seen you in three years?" Seeing him nod he added "After Lisanna died, you left the guild in a fit of sorrow. Gildarts went searching for you, and like you, we never heard back from him."
Natsu's brain was still trying to understand this when he realized something: "Wait! What about Happy and Lucy?"
"After you left, Happy was sad for a long time, but he still held onto the hope that you would eventually return. When Laxus took control of the guild, Happy was one of the members kicked out of Fairy Tail. last time i checked, he was staying with Gray at his house."
Natsu felt regret for his partner and more hate for this version of Laxus "What about Lucy?"
"There's no one with that name on Fairy Tail."
"Damn it" Natsu was certain that Phantom Lord was responsible for her not joining Fairy Tail, but he doubted Gajeel and his goons were still around to interrogate. Sensing Angel getting closer, Natsu cheered up, if even a little bit.
When Angel and Cobra arrived, the first thing the celestial mage did was jump off of Cuberos and run towards Natsu while Mystogan narrowed his eyes at Cobra. Cobra returned the gesture but to both his and Mystogan's surprise, Angel latched onto Natsu and kissed him on the lips. Both knew about them, but seeing it with their own eyes was quite different than hearing it.
Natsu and Angel were in their own world, not caring that they were being watched. After a long moment, Angel broke the kiss and rested her head on Natsu's shoulder. "When I woke up and didn't see you or Lisanna, I was afraid."
"It's ok" Natsu reassured her "I was afraid too."
Now closer, Angel could feel the sorrow deep within Natsu. Giving him a questioning look, Natsu said "I'll tell you on the way to Edolas."
Nodding, Angel and Natsu turned to their comrades, who were over the shock of seeing them kissing and returned to glare at each other. "What is Cobra doing here?"
"I'll tell you on the way to Edolas" Angel copied Natsu's phrase, earning a smile from the fire slayer.
Seeing that Mystogan was still on guard around Cobra, Natsu said "It's ok, he is coming with us."
"Are you sure about this?" Mystogan asked, not once taking his eyes off of the poison dragon slayer or his pet snake.
Not one to stay quiet for long, Cobra spoke up "if I wanted to attack you, I would have done so by now. The only reason I'm here is for Angel. She saved me and I'm in her debt."
Trying to dispel the tense atmosphere, Natsu spoke "Let's go, we must head to Edolas and save Lis-chan and the others." Facing Mystogan he asked "Can you give us one of those watcha called them pills so we can use magic?"
"I am guessing you are referring to this" Mystogan took some X-balls from his flask and gave Natsu and Angel one each. Looking at Cobra, Mystogan reluctantly gave him and his pet one each too. Cobra was still doubtful about the pill, but he could tell by Mystogan's thoughts that the pills were safe to eat.
Once everyone ate their pill, Natsu looked at Cobra "Hey, can you make your pet snake bigger so we can all ride it?"
"His name is Cuberos." Cobra harshly replied "and why would I do that?"
Before they broke into a fight, Angel stepped forward "We need to reach that giant hole in the sky. Just trust us ok?"
Sighing, Cobra motioned Cuberos to grow and allowed each of them to get on top of his friend.
Once Cuberos took off, Natsu got ready to throw up when, to his astonishment, he realized that the ride wasn't causing him nausea "Wow! This is so cool!"
Cobra could only watch as Natsu jumped up and down "I'm already regretting this."
"Tell me again: How was ONE mage capable of defeating all of you?"
Element 4 stood before Jose as they told him about Natsu "You see sir, the mage wasn't completely alone; Fairy Tail's Mystogan was with him and…" Jose's fist breaking the arm of his chair silenced Totomaru.
"EXCUSES! YOU YOURSELF TOLD ME MYSTOGAN DIDN'T INTERFERE AT ALL!" Element 4 cowered at Jose's dark glare "YOU ARE SUPPOSED YO BE THE BEST: ELITE MAGES FROM PHANTOM LORD!" Calming himself, Jose turned his back to them "Perhaps we need to change Element 4's members."
The four mages before him instantly started babbling more excuses until Jose grew tired of hearing them "Enough! While nothing would please me more than kicking you out of my guild, we can't let your Embarrassing defeat be known; Phantom Lord has a reputation to uphold. You will be given a second chance."
"Thank you! Thank you Master!"
"Get out of my sight" Just when element 4 was scrambling out, Jose called them "And where is Gajeel?"
Inside his private chambers, a bandaged Gajeel was resting on his bed while a crestfallen blond girl tended to his injuries.
"That damn slayer!" Gajeel cursed for the fifth time "I'll find him and kill him next time we meet!"
The blond girl bandaged his injured arm and then kissed it "I know you'll do it master, I believe in you."
"I told you NOT to do that!" Gajeel slapped the girl away. Standing up, the iron dragon slayer grab hold of her hair and lifted her up, ignoring her cry of pain "Remember your place!"
"Forgive me master! Please forgive me!"
Reluctantly, Gajeel let go of her when his body started protesting due to his wounds. Not that he would admit it. Returning to bed, Gajeel motioned for her to join him, which the girl did. "Remove your clothes"
It was like this every day since they captured her; the slayer would take her until he got tired and then he would kick her out. At first, Lucy hated him for this, but with time her captivity turned into a twisted sense of love form him.
Edolas
While Natsu and Angel were in Earthland, Lisanna woke up in her old room inside the Fairy Tail in Edolas. Like Natsu, Lisanna thought this was some sort of dream, but when she saw the wedding band in her finger, she knew it was real.
"Natsu…" feeling the bond between them almost non existant, Lisanna wiped her tears and regained her spirit "Stop crying Lisanna! What would Vergil say if he could see us? One way or the other we'll find our way back to earthland!"
Seeing today's date, Lisanna realized that she was seven years back in time, more precise; the day Natsu and Happy came to Edolas. Hiding her sorrow behind a mask, Lisanna went to do her day to day activities until Natsu would arrive to the guild.
Fortunately for her, she didn't have to wait long when she soon felt Natsu and Angel coming to Edolas through the anima. Lisanna could barely contain her relief before their reunion, and when Natsu was close enough to sense him, Lisanna dropped the tray she was carrying and ran outside to greet her fiancé.
With Natsu and company:
"So, let me get this straight: you and flame breath over there are a couple?"
"That's right." Angel replied to Cobra as they flied to their destination.
Shaking his head, the poison slayer added "Well, you do have horrible taste for fashion, might as well add bad choice of company while you're at it."
"You're one to talk" Angel pointed to Cuberos, making Cobra fuss about it. When Angel saw the large purple snake again, she realized that Cuberos was indeed Kinana, not that she was going to tell Cobra. Not yet anyway.
While Angel explained to Cobra about the dragon bond, Natsu watched the path they took to reunite with Lisanna.
"Wait for me Lis-chan, I'm coming for you!"
"Natsu, we must plan our next move" Mystogan said to the slayer "After rescuing Lisanna, we must seize control of the anima chamber so we can return to Earthland."
"You're coming too?" Angel joined the discussion.
"Yes. It's more important to restore the original timeline." Mystogan explained "There's only a slight chance that by defeating Deimos we can restore it, but we must try."
While they planned all this, Cobra wondered about his future. Angel had yet to reveal what the future had for him, and since he could not tell her thoughts anymore, he made a mental note to ask her about this later.
Seeing the Fairy Tail from Edolas coming in view, Natsu motioned Cobra to descend just as a person exited the guild. Sensing who it was, Natsu wasted no time and jumped down to meet her.
Lisanna smiled in joy when she saw Natsu and ran to meet him in a bone heartwarming hug when he dropped down.
"When I woke up, I thought I lost you" Lisanna muttered into the embrace. Kissing her forehead, Natsu lifted her chin to look directly at her.
"I'm here now, I found you as I promised I would." Natsu replied while giving her a smile.
Looking at each other, Natsu and Lisanna's lips got closer and closer…
"Eh-em!"
Hearing Angel, Natsu and Lisanna looked to see a group watching them, much to Natsu's dismay "Come on! Couldn't you wait a few sec…"
Lisanna forced Natsu's face towards hers and claimed his lips in a passionate kiss. After a few moments, Lisanna broke the kiss, leaving a gob smacked Natsu and several stunned faces from Fairy Tail.
"Like I care if they see us!" Looking towards Natsu's companions, Lisanna saw Angel and Mystogan, but failed to recognize the third person and the large purple snake, but more importantly; where was Happy, Charle and Wendy?
"Natsu…?"
Looking at her expression, Natsu knew what she was about to ask and shook his head "It's a long story."
"We have time."
Just as Natsu said that, someone from the guild shouted "The Fairy Hunter! She's here!" Looking towards the sky, they could see a silhouette approaching on top of a Legion.
"Erza" Natsu and Lisanna realized "But last time it took longer for her to find us?"
"It's because our unique ride draws too much attention" Mystogan said, pointing to Cuberos.
"You're welcome!" Cobra replied back. "Next time we'll fly on top of you instead!"
"Everyone, head back inside the guild and prepare to move it, we'll deal with her!" Lisanna shouted to the Fairy tail mages. The edolas fairies doubted for a moment, but in the end did as told, leaving Natsu and his crew to deal with Knightwalker.
Touching down her Legion, Erza Knightwalker looked down at the group before her: "More weak Fairies to dispose of."
After learning from Mystogan about her sister's disappearance, Angel was reluctant to fight her "Erza, please listen: You don't have to fight us. Believe it or not, in our world we belong to the same guild."
Erza stared at Angel as if she had grown a second head "What nonsense are you talking about? If this is a new way of begging for your lives, then it is a pathetic way of doing so. Prepare to die!" Charging her spear at her, Cobra moved Angel out of the way while Natsu parried the spear with his sword.
Crossing blades, Natsu said to her "I don't want to fight you Erza, but I won't stand aside while you hurt my nakamas."
Erza disengaged and put some distance between herself and Natsu "Then die along…side..th..em…" Erza suddenly dropped asleep on the ground, courtesy of Mystogan.
"Apologies Erza, but we can't waste our time fighting you" Mystogan took her spear away and carried her over his shoulder "Everyone get inside! The royal guard is coming. We must go!"
Just as Mystogan said, the royal guard (led by Sugarboy) arrived at the scene, but by then Fairy Tail was long gone.
Once they reached their new destination, the earthland mages explained the situation to the edolas Fairy Tail. At first they were reluctant to believe them, but in the end they convinced them they were telling the truth when they realized that this Natsu was not their's.
"So, you three come from a place called Earthland" Lucy Ashley pointed out, to which Natsu and his girls nodded "and not only that, but you're also from seven years into the future and want our help to take down the royal army?" Nodding again, Lucy's couldn't hold back the laughter anymore "That's the lamest story I have ever heard! Hahahaha!"
"It's the truth!" Lisanna argued back, but the blond kept on laughing.
"I believe in them" Mirajane announced, surprising everyone.
"So do I" Elfman added "We have known for some time that Lisanna here is not really our Lisanna, but her counterpart from Earthland."
"Mira-nee, Elf-niichan…" Lisanna couldn't help but feel sad even when she had lived through this already. Putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, Mirajane told her it was ok.
"As lovely as this is, can I ask something: Why haven't we killed that bitch?" Cobra pointed to a heavily chained Erza sleeping in a corner "She wanted to kill us, and she's also part of that army you want to defeat."
"Lizard boy has a point" Levy agreed with Cobra "the fairy hunter didn't doubt when she killed several of our own. I say let's dispose of her!"
The other fairy tail mages agreed with her suggestion until Mystogan put himself between Erza and them "Regardless of what she did, you will not lay a hand on her."
"You can't tell us what to do" Jet and Droy lunged at Erza, only for Mystogan to repel them with some well placed hits of his staffs. Mystogan had already suffered the loss of one Erza on Earthland, there was no way he was going to see this one die on his watch.
"Listen to yourself!" Natsu shouted gaining their attention "The Fairy Tail I know would never lower itself to the same level as their enemies. If this is really Fairy Tail then you must follow the same principle as us!"
Everyone at the guild stayed quiet as they thought about what Natsu told them. "Fine, we won't kill her, but after we're done helping you, she must pay for her crimes"
"Does that mean you'll help us?" Lisanna thought they wouldn't agree, but it seemed that Lucy agreed to help them.
"Wait as second! We never agreed to help them!" Levy said.
"Scared, are we?" Lucy countered, causing Levy to glare at her.
"It's not fear but being smart" Levy retorted "then again, smart doesn't go with you."
"Here we go again" Max commented.
"SHUT UP!" Lucy and Levy yelled at him.
"Let's say what you say is true, but even if we work together, what odds do we have?" Edolas Wendy asked Natsu. "They outnumber us like a thousand to one! We won't stand a chance against them!"
Giving Natsu a knowing look, Lisanna said: "Why don't we show them what we're capable of?" Stepping outside the guild, Lisanna took an X-ball from Mystogan and joined his fiancé and Angel in a display of power. "Takeover: Dragon soul!"
"Takeover: Angel soul!"
Everyone was taken back by Lisanna's display of magic power, but not as much as Lisanna when she saw Angel's takeover: "When did you learn that!?"
"Today" Angel replied with a smirk "Jealous?"
Lisanna pouted and turned away from her. In the middle of both girls, Natsu activated his lightning dragon slayer mode. While the edolas mages picked their jaws from the ground, Mystogan said.
"I think our odds are very good"
Capital of Fiore: Crocus
"The entire city, you say?" Astria tipped her cup of wine a bit while she waited for Jose to answer her.
"Yes, your highness" Through the lacrima, Jose informed her about the Anima in Magnolia "An acceptable loss if one counts the demise of that pathetic guild."
"What of the mage that attacked your men?"
Jose got a bit nervous "I beg your pardon?"
Standing up, Astria approached the lacrima "Don't act surprised, I know all about the mage that humiliated your men."
"Forgive me, your highness! I will send my best mages searching for that mage at once!"
"Relax. I won't punish you for letting him go." Taking a sip of wine she said "Get your men ready; he will come to us soon. We must be ready for when that time comes."
"As you command!"
"And Jose" Before ending the connection she added "Lie to me again, and I'll kill you a second time, is that understood?"
"Y-Yes your highness!" Jose was confused about what she meant by that, but refrain from asking to avoid her wrath.
Once the connection ended, Astria sunk deep in thought:
Astria clutched her bleeding side and glared at her creator. Even after all this time, after gathering all that magic from her fallen brothers, she was unable to achieve her one true purpose in life.
Across from her, a pair of red eyed met hers "You are still a failure, but I have one last use for you…"
Astria crushed the cup in her hand as she recalled that particular meeting. Tossing the useless item away, she rested on her throne "It seems it was always you, only you…Natsu."
A.N.
I consider this chapter more like a necessary filler leading up to their last fight with Deimos (a pain to write, but a necessary pain). Apologies in advance for not answering the question of why Natsu is back with all of his memories, but all of this will be explained in the next chapter.
Also, sorry for the delayed update, but if I rushed it then the chapter might have come out wrong (there are still some parts I could have done better, but nothing too serious).
Next chapter will end this arc and the chapter that follows is the most awaited chapter by all of you. If you don't know what i mean, here's a hint: Wedding.
xgeansean: Thanks for the ego boost! Once we start the next arc, there will be more Mira x Vergil scenes. Stay tuned.
JacksBlade: The reason why Natsu has all of his knowledge will be answered in the next chapter, and don't worry: Ultear will return to normal soon enough. On a side note; great work with your story "Fairy in a Sabertooth's Jaw's", your story inspired me for something new in the next arc.
Ryvius: As always, thanks for the long review. I have to say that Gray won't have a chance to show us his new technique; after editing this chapter I decided to save his technique for the future.
Deimos turned out to be way overpowered, but consider the fact that at the moment he had Deliora's power. As for his weakness…in this chapter I've left some hints about who is really running the show here. Thanks for the review.
P.S. good work with your Kamen ryder story, I'll swing by it to read the next chapters soon.
StarCaptain: Never fear! Ultear will return to normal soon. Yukino will be played as Angel's sister in the next arc.
As for the Dmc reboot…let's just say that I'll stick with the Vergil from Devil may cry 3. (DmC looks to me like a god-awful mix of Devil May cry and Twilight, The horror!)
Reatssa: Maybe, who knows?
djohnson2: Yeah, I also hate cliffhangers when reading a good story, but I LOVE to leave them in mine, hehehe.
Lucas Bane: It's no dream my friend, Natsu did propose. And yeah: Freed is gay. What a shocker, right?
ThegirlWHOshipsLISANNAxLUCY: Correct: I'm going to make my own theories about Natsu and yeah; Acnologia's human form looks awfully a lot like Natsu. What could it mean?
Regarding that shower scene: I'll think about it.
Thanks to Digital-mail, Storm111, Slayer-234 and ilhamcrazy123 for their reviews, glad you like the story. As thanks for all who reviewed, here's a special scene set before the wedding taken from episode 125:
"Do I have to?" Natsu whined while being dragged by Lucy.
"Do you really need to ask?" Once outside, the celestial mage explains to Natsu the importance of him learning to dance "Natsu, the wedding is only a few weeks away. You need to learn how to properly dance before then."
"We still have time. Next week we'll start" Just when Natsu was about to leave, a dark looking Mirajane and Elfman stopped him.
"Natsu, you WILL learn how to dance for the wedding" A dark aura covered Mirajane while she sweetly said that. "You wouldn't want to disappoint my baby sister now, would you?"
"It's not of men to escape one's manly duties"
Shrinking back, Natsu stepped back "W-Well, when you put it that way."
"Nee-san, Nii-san" Lisanna appeared behind Mirajane and Elfman "Leave Natsu alone, I know he'll do just fine." Looking at her fiancé she added 'Won't you, Natsu-K-U-N"
Natsu wasn't sure how, but he got more scared by the way Lisanna said that to him "R-Right!"
Standing in front of Lucy, the slayer listened patiently while she explained to him the proper way to dance. "First, hold my hands"
"This is boring" Natsu said, but one look towards Mira changed his mind "What's next!?"
While they danced, Romeo asked what where they doing to which Happy and Mira explained it to him. Next to them, Vergil scoffed:
"This is an exercise in wasting time."
"You really think that, Vergil?" Mira asked "Because you and I are next."
Vergil calmly turned to look at her and said "What makes you say that?"
"Because you also need to learn if you are to properly dance at the wedding" Mirajane replied with one of her sweet smiles, but Vergil was not about to concede.
"I don't dance" With that said, the half devil started leaving when Macao and Wakaba approached Mira.
"Mira, will you do me the honor to dance with me!"
"What a dirty trick! Taking advantage when I'm distracted" Wakaba said to Macao before looking at Mira "Ignore that senile guy, dance with me instead!"
Macao and Wakaba were about to argue when they noticed Vergil glaring at them. Both seniors almost shat in their pants when Vergil took several long strides towards them but, to their immense relief and dissapointment, Vergil took Mira's hand and took her out to dance with him.
"I thought you didn't know how to dance?" Mira asked.
"I never said that." Vergil replied "My knowledge covers several subjects. Dancing happens to be one of them."
Smiling at him, Mira said "Oh, that's right! You said you didn't dance! What changed your mind then?"
"Nothing in particular" Vergil said while giving Macao and Wakaba a winning smirk. Across from them, Gajeel danced with Levy and gave Vergil a hateful glance.
"Copycat!"
Back to Natsu, the celestial mage was starting to regret her decision when the slayer stepped on her foot a fourth time. "Ouch!"
"Sorry!"
Watching them dance, Gray stepped in and took Lucy away from Natsu: "That looks like fun! Let me try!" It would have been a normal dance, if not for Gray stripping almost instantly.
"DISQUALIFIED!"
While Gray flew away due to Lucy's kick, Juvia watched from inside the guild. "Gray-sama flirting with my love rival at my back? If that's what it takes to dance with Gray-sama, then Juvia will also strip!"
While they tried to stop Juvia from stripping, a tipsy Cana dragged Gray back on his feet "Screw Lucy, dance with me instead!"
"Hey! Can you even dance in your current state?" Gray's question fell in deaf ears while Cana dragged around like a ragdoll in what she considered dancing "Slow down!"
Hiding in some bushes, Ultear cracked her knuckles seeing Cana so close to Gray. "Damn it! If only I could go out there, I'd show Gray how to properly dance!"
"Jealous, Ul?" Meredy laughed lightly, but one dark stare from Ultear shut her up "Forget what I said!"
Behind them, Jellal had a bored expression on his face "Why are we here again? We should be taking out dark guilds, not spy on them."
Ultear prepared a comeback to say to Jellal, but seeing someone she said "Oh Jellaaal, come take a look."
Approaching Lucy and Natsu, Erza states: "I was known as the 'Dancing Demon'. If you want to learn how to dance, leave it to me"
Reequipping from her armor to a dance gown, Erza grabbed hold of Natsu (despite his protests) and proceeded to spin him like a top. After only a few spins, Natsu was ready to throw up.
"Looks like Natsu is not up to par with Erza's skills" Mystogan appeared out of nowhere and took Erza's hand "May I have this dance?"
"S-Sure" Erza replied with a mid blush adorning her cheeks.
"You're gonna regret it" Happy warned, but Mystogan chose not to listen.
Now it was Jellal's turn to be jealous "Other ME! Forget about me teaching you my skills!"
Meredy was about to say the same things she told Ultear, but remembering the reply she got from the time mage she decided to stay quiet.
Jellal's jealousy turned into pity when the edolas mage turned green after only a few spins from Erza "Then again…I don't mind him dancing with her."
"Erza is known as the 'Dancing Demon' because everyone that dances with her gets sick" Happy explained.
"S-Sorry…I doubted you…" Mystogan muttered.
Back to Natsu, Lisanna took it to herself to teach him how to dance: "Guess it's up to me."
"If…If you don't mind, can I rest a bit…"
Ignoring his request, Lisanna grabbed Natsu and started spinning him like a top just like Erza did.
"You're doing it wrong!" Taking Natsu from her, Angel started dancing with him in a more normal pace "this is how you do it Lisanna."
"Hey! Get your own dance partner!" Recovering Natsu, Lisanna resumed spinning him, much to Natsu's chagrin. Seeing that Angel was free, Laxus took his chance.
"No offense to Lisanna, but I can safely say that you are much better than her at dancing" Extending his hand, Laxus asked: "May I have this dance?"
After a few moments, Angel turned to her left to see Laxus and said "Oh, didn't see you there. You said something?"
"...nothing important" in a flash, Laxus was back to his old spot sulking when Freed approached him.
"It looks like we are the only ones without dance partner." Fidgeting a bit, Freed gathered the courage and asked "Here's a crazy idea:Why don't we dance Laxus-sama?"
Laxus stared at Freed for a long time before deciding "Well, I could to worse" He was about to accept when he realized what he was about to agree to and instead slowly walked back to the guild, leaving Freed there while Happy snickered.
"You got rejected!"
Just like Erza did, Freed sent Happy flying with a well placed kick.
While everyone danced, Lucy praised them for learning fast how to dance when she realized something: "but somewhere along the way… I LOST MY DANCE PARTNER!"
"You called" Loke appeared and cordially offered his hand, which Lucy gladly took.
Looking from inside the guild, Gildarts said to Ur "What say we show them how it's done, huh?"
As Gildarts put a hand on her shoulder, it froze due to Ur "Next to freeze is where the sun doesn't shine. Got it?"
"ok!" Gildarts replied with a tiny voice while he nursed his Popsicle hand.
In the end, everyone was dancing outside the guild. Some, like Bisca and Alzack danced like a normal couple, while others like Ultear, Cana and Juvia struggled with Gray, forming a bizarre 4 person dance. After several hours, all of them improved considerably.
Natsu danced with Lisanna gracefully, not once taking their eyes off of each other. It was a safe bet to say that the couple was more than ready for the big day.