This is the last chapter for Part 1 of this story! I hope you all enjoy!
July 11, X791
Crime Sorcière was walking through the abandoned and ruined buildings of Crocus in search of one of their comrades.
"We can't… seem to find Ultear anywhere…" Meredy said.
"Yeah…" Jellal muttered.
"I hope she isn't wounded…" Meredy said.
"Come on…" Foster placed his hand on Meredy's shoulder. "Ultear's too tough to let those dragons get her…"
At that moment, Foster recalled the vision he had in which he died at the hands of the hatchlings and his smile went away.
"Foster?" Meredy picked up on the change in his demeanor.
"Ultear's probably just waiting for us." Foster tried to change the topic.
"Okay, so I have a question." Morticia spoke up. "If that time gate thing was destroyed, why's the capital still in ruins?"
"Time was restored to its original flow and that Rogue and the dragons went back to their own times, but the future Lucy was killed in this age." Jellal replied. "I don't know what happened to her. Still, our memories and the damage to the capital remain. All of this SHOULD have gone back to normal as well."
"Maybe time was twisted too far and not everything can go back to how it was." Meredy said.
"… Gah, I'm so confused!" Morticia clutched her head and started scratching it.
"I must admit, I'm grateful that I can remember it." Jellal expressesd.
*I don't know if I'd be grateful…* Foster thought sullenly.
"But our remembering has a downside, too." Jellal stated. "The royal usage of black magic has been revealed to the Council. I hope it doesn't become a problem…"
Appearing in front of Crime Sorcière was the spy for the Magic Council, Doranbolt.
"It won't be." Doranbolt replied to Jellal's statement.
"How do you mean?" Jellal inquired.
"The Council doesn't remember a thing about the royal family's use of the Eclipse gate." Doranbolt explained.
"You erased the memories of the Council?!" Morticia gasped.
"Yes…" Doranbolt answered. "They've been rewritten. As were the memories of all those concerned."
"That's surprising from someone who works for the Council." Foster said.
"You have that power?" Jellal asked.
"Yes, which is why I do so much undercover work." Doranbolt responded.
"But what would cause you to rewrite the Council's memories?" Jellal inquired further.
"'Eclipse' is one of the magics in the Book of Zeref." Doranbolt began explaining. "Everyone would suffer if it was revealed that the royal family itself was involved in the use of black magic. The people would lose their trust in the government, and if worse came to worst, it might even destroy the monarchy. I don't want to see the country collapse. Sure, as a council member, I have concerns about my actions, but sometimes you just have to look the other way, right?"
"I'm surprised you managed to convince Lahar of your plan." Jellal said.
"I didn't." Doranbolt stated. "I rewrote his memories, too. He's going to be big in the magic world. I'd rather not compromise his ethics."
"I never thought someone like you could be on the Council." Jellal smiled humorously.
"You were on the council, and you were an ACTUAL villain." Doranbolt pointed out.
Doranbolt looked to the side and saw Meredy sitting against a rock with Foster trying to comfort her.
"Is Ultear still missing?" Doranbolt asked.
"I doubt she'd leave us without a word, but…" Jellal responded.
"Well, it doesn't have anything to do with me." Doranbolt began to walk away. "If I started worrying about the likes of you, I'd really lose it!"
"Wait!" Jellal tried to stop him.
"You can owe me one, but I don't want any trouble!" Doranbolt waved to them without turning to them. "We'll say that I never saw you. Fair enough?"
"I must thank you for what you did before." Jellal said.
"Don't get the wrong idea. This is a one-time-only thing."
"What about Cobra? What happened to him?"
"He went back quietly."
Everyone was surprised to hear that.
"There's more…" Doranbolt continued. "He said… 'The gate to the underworld is gonna open'."
Crime Sorcière was walking down a road with no one else around so they wouldn't attract attention.
"'The gate to the underworld'?" Foster repeated Doranbolt's words. "Tartaros?"
"That's the last third of the Baram Alliance, with the Oración Seis and Grimoire Heart disbanded." Morticia said.
"I don't know what kind of information Cobra has, but maybe he's using it as a bargaining chip to negotiate for leniency." Jellal surmised. "Tartaros… An eerie guild shrouded in mystery… Are they about to make a move?"
"Excuse me…" An elderly voice spoke from behind the group.
Foster turned his head slightly to see an old woman approaching them. They lowered their hoods further to better conceal their faces from her.
"Would you be Jellal, Meredy, Foster and Morticia by any chance?" The old woman asked.
"Huh?" All four of them were taken back a bit that the woman knew who they were.
The old woman held out a letter to them. "A woman asked me to deliver this message."
"A letter?!" Jellal gaped.
"It can't be…!" Meredy took the letter and began to read it.
Jellal, Meredy, Foster, Morticia, I'm very sorry.
"It's from Urtear!" Meredy excitedly exclaimed.
"What's it say?!" Foster asked with just as much enthusiasm.
In the last battle, I used a certain spell, but it was ineffective… and it left me with only a short time to live. Still, I wanted, somehow, to say goodbye…
The joy from their faces drained as they continued reading the letter.
My journey ends here. It appears I will pass on before accomplishing what I wished, but… Always keep in mind the spirit of Crime Sorcière. It means never forgetting your own crimes. And never allowing your crimes to crush you. As well as finally trusting that a day will come when you will be forgiven. It means never hiding yourself from love. Your true battle is still ahead of you… If we cannot defeat Zeref, wizardkind will again be awash in grief. Please live on for me... and keep fighting. This journey of yours… will bring happiness to all. That is what I pray.
Meredy's tears were falling from her face and onto the letter. "Urtear…"
Foster closed his eyes after reading it a few tears began trickling down his cheeks.
"Excuse me, Madam, but when did you…" Jellal tried to ask the old woman a question, but she had already disappeared and was out of sight.
Meredy started bawling and buried her face into Foster's chest and he embraced her and petted her head as he tried his best to hold back his own tears.
"Magic that steals time…" Jellal pondered what spell Ultear might have casted that would result in her loss of time.
Hearing Jellal's words, Foster finally put the pieces together.
*That vision…* Foster thought. *Did I really die? And Ultear turned time back?*
"Foster?" Meredy spoke up.
Foster looked down at Meredy, who was still crying.
"Ultear told us to live our lives for her…" Meredy sobbed as she looked up at him. "That includes you, too!"
Foster looked into Meredy's eyes and gave a sad smile. "Ultear gave her life to save mine. I won't waste the second chance she gave me."
"'Second'… What do you…" Meredy thought for a second and quickly caught on. "Foster… You died during that battle, didn't you?"
Refusing to say anything, Foster simply looked to the side and downward and sighed. His response was clear to Meredy and she clenched her hands and pounded them against Foster's chest.
"Why?!" Meredy cried. "Why did I have to lose anyone?! Why, why, why!"
"… Don't worry, Meredy." Foster continued holding her and petting her head. "You won't lose anyone else. I promise… to you and Ultear."
Nobody was sure the best way to comfort her, so they just let her repeatedly pound on Foster until she calmed down.
Phoenix Dawn returned to Roseshade after a long train ride. At the guild hall, Blaise placed their bronze trophy on a pedestal at the bar.
"There, now everyone can see this trophy every time they walk into the guild." Blaise said.
"It'd be better if that trophy was gold." Sakura said.
"Minerva played us all." Jayden stated.
"I heard she vanished after the games, along with her father." Spiral said.
"If I ever see her again, I'm giving her one hell of a punch to the face." Jayden tightened his fist.
"After what she did to Aqua and Kagura, that sounds like a slap on the wrist." Hikari said.
"But it's a punch to the face." Jayden tried to point out.
"Uh, I wasn't being literal…" Hikari nervously corrected him.
Aqua was sitting at a table, just staring at her missing right arm.
"I can't even think about what it's like to be without my arms or legs." Azusa spoke up to Aqua. "It must be hard to do a lot of things."
Aqua looked away from Azusa and back at her stubble. "It's not easy… At least I can create a new arm any time I want with my magic… even though it's not practical for things like cooking…"
"Are you going to need help with anything?" Tristan asked as he came up to them.
"You're not going to get in my house that easy, perv." Aqua snickered.
"Don't flatter yourself. You're a bit too young for my tastes." Tristan said.
"Then why'd you ask in the first place?" Azusa questioned.
"For the reactions." Tristan replied with a humorous smile.
Sakura was leering at the bronze trophy for a long while.
"… Next year, we'll win for sure!" Sakura whispered to herself.
Suddenly, Sakura ran past everyone and out the doors of the guild hall, leaving all those left in her dust confused. Flora chased after her, doing her best to keep up with the Dragon Slayer and clutched her shoulder before she lost the rest of her stamina.
"Sakura, what was that about?" Flora questioned.
"What was what about?" Sakura asked.
"Why did you just bolt out of the guild like a frightened cat?"
"We have a year before the next Grand Magic Games! The sooner I start training, the stronger I'll be by then!"
Flora sighed in exasperation. "Still salty about our surrender?"
"It was Spiral who surrendered! Next time, I'll be so strong I can take on all of Fairy Tail by myself!"
"I'm not sure if I should be proud or worried…" Flora muttered aloud.
Deep under the city of Era was the prison for the most dastardly wizards in Fiore. Locked inside one of the magic cells with seemingly no way to escape, Luna was keeping watch over the two guards for whatever chance she could get to take them out. One of the guards looked at her through the corners of his eyes, instantly feeling a chill upon seeing her glare.
"Do we have to keep an eye on the genocidal werewolf?" The guard asked his co-worker.
"Would you rather take the guy in the mental ward?" The other guard questioned. "You know? The one that goes ballistic when it rains?"
"I would much rather watch the woman that dresses like an angel."
"Of course, you would."
Underneath one of the guards' shadow, a form began to rise from it. The other guard noticed the movement and once he got a good view, he began pointing at it and stammering gibberish. The guard looked in the direction and tried to back away from the shadow. Out of the shadows came a cloaked figure holding a scepter with a red, demonic hand. While the guards were frozen in their fear, the cloaked figure turned to face Luna.
"Your hatred burns bright, Luna…" The figure spoke in a voice that sounded inhuman. "If you will accept my invitation, you shall be free of this prison."
"Do it." Luna answered without even needing to consider it.
The figure snapped the fingers of his free hand and the walls of her cell completely vanished. Luna turned her attention toward the guards and they tried to run, but she chased after them and the figure watched the massacre before him with a sinister chuckle.
A/N: That's the end of Part 1 of Phoenix Dawn! Along with a teaser for what I have planned for Part 2! First, I want to roadmap what I want to do before I start writing it. Please notify me if you still want your submitted OC to remain in the story. Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed Phoenix Dawn – Part 1! Stay tuned for Part 2!