"Lucy, run!" Natsu shouted as he proceeded to let out another Fire Dragon's Roar at an incoming dragon that swooped in to take a swipe at them. Lucy didn't hesitate as she ran through the streets of Fiore, stumbling every now and then from the uneven terrain. Everywhere she looked, it was nothing but debris and ruin that awaited her.
There was nothing left as she continued to run, hearing Natsu protect her as she runs towards the Eclipse Gate that stood ominously as more dragons left the gate. It was terrifying, really, and Lucy found herself looking at the onslaught of danger before her that almost made her want to give up right then and there.
There was nothing she could do as she stood and watched in pure horror as a mass of 10,000 Dragons entered Fiore, destroying everything in their path.
She got separated from the others during the initial attack, but the lack of magic and prideful shouts that she knows Fairytail was capable of, confirmed her doubts to be true.
Everyone was dead.
Lucy Heartfilia looked at the last remaining member, other than herself, as she stood before the Eclipse Gate. Natsu was roaring, throwing and breathing fire everywhere as he desperately tried to protect what was left of his home.
They both knew it was futile, and they were left with no choice. Lucy wiped her tears from her face and stared at the Gate before her defiantly.
She had to take the chance.
She had to go back.
That was the plan, in case things went south.
The Eclipse Gate was capable of extraordinary things, right? So it was entirely possible for her to enter the gate and have it send her back into time, preferably to the beginning where she first met Natsu. If she's able to hold her knowledge and retain the information that she's learned throughout her time in fairytail, then maybe they have a chance to stop this crisis.
She looked down at her Gate keys and let out a small, tearful smile.
They vibrated with energy as they screamed at her to let them help her.
Lucy let out a wet chuckle. "You guys, there's nothing left to be saved. Everything is gone ."
She won't let them see this, not her precious spirits. Not her celestial family that she's gathered after all this time. She won't let them stop her either, as she took in a deep breath to enter the gate.
"Luce."
Lucy's lip trembled at the hoarse sound of Natsu's voice and slowly looked over her shoulder. There he was, struggling to remain standing as she stood before the gate with blood matted all over his body. It could've been the dragon's blood that she saw on him, but with every breath he took, he winced, and she realized that majority probably was his own. Yet he still gave that toothy eye smile that shone brighter than ever as she tried not to collapse and sob on the spot.
"You got this, Luce. Go save our future."
Lucy knew that whatever changes should she go back to the past, meant that what was left here was probably going to disappear. It meant that this world- her world, this Natsu- her Natsu.
Would cease to exist.
She's leaving everything behind to try and make a better future.
"I-I will. You'll be at peace soon, Natsu." She whispered lovingly, her gaze holding everything that she had wanted to say if only they had enough time left in the world. Natsu's eyes widened at her eyes and he sent a look of his own, understanding immediately what she was desperately trying to convey.
"You know I-Luce-"
"I know." Lucy sniffed. "I do too."
Natsu let out a sharp laugh and nodded. He held up a weak L sign with his finger and pointed at the sky and Lucy did the same with fresh tears in her eyes. He gave her one last smile before he turned around to stare defiantly at the dragons before him for one last stand, and Lucy stepped backwards into the light and call of the Eclipse Gate.
She closed her eyes slowly as she felt the cold pull of the powerful magic that created the Eclipse Gate, when she heard a scream that she knew far too well, and opened her eyes as she instinctively screamed, " Natsu! "
Natsu was kneeling onto the ground suddenly, with a shadow blade that has sunk through his chest, blood pouring from the wound as a figure stood behind him. The figure had retracting his magic and made eye-contact with a cruel smirk, causing Lucy's eyes to widen in shock at the sight before her. She narrowed her eyes and snarled viciously,
" Rogue. "
Rogue smirked, "Heartfilia."
"Looks like we'll be seeing each other soon."
Lucy's frantic eyes stared at him in shock as she tried to leave the grasp of the Eclipse Gate but it was too strong, she'd been in there too long already. It was pulling her inside with a strength that only grew, and all she could do was breathe out one last curse before it completely sucked her in.
Her last vision of her universe was Rogue walking to the Eclipse Gate after murdering Natsu, his blood that covered his white coat, with the intent of following Lucy to the past.
A blinding light surrounded her as she felt her body get pulled with an unfathomable pain.
She'll never forgive him, not even in her dying breath.
-L-H-
Crying is what woke her up this time around, and Lucy felt herself blink with wariness as she tried to figure out what was going on. Everything felt slow and groggy when she tried to move, feeling as if she was slowing sinking into quick sand at a morbidly slow pace. She felt off, she didn't feel like she was inside her own body.
Did she succeed?
Did she get sent back in time, to right before the Gate opening?
Or perhaps she went back a bit further, to the time where she first met Natsu after meeting that fake Salamander con-man?
Regardless, it seems like she had succeeded somewhat.
But who was crying-
" Mama …" Current nine-year-old Lucy Heartfilia sobbed quietly in her room as she laid in her bed, holding onto her stuffed animals as she felt overwhelmed with grief. Her eyes were red that filled with never ending tears as she wailed into her bunny, letting out painful cries because that was all that she could do. It's all she has done for the past couple of days as her mother's health declined dramatically, to the inevitable end that awaited her.
She had watched as her father slowly fell into despair and locked a piece of himself away once she had officially passed.
At the funeral, he didn't even shed a tear as he watched them bury her casket.
Lucy felt as if while she had just lost her mom, it felt like she was losing her dad too.
Lucy let out another sorrowful cry as she breathed into her small oasis ontop of her bed, that protected her from the real world as she cried. Layla had told her once that the stuff-animals that found their way to her bed were because they were lonely, and that they were looking for a friend.
A family.
Were these stuffed animals all that she had left?
"No, it's- it's not."
A sad voice filled with old grief in Lucy's mind said to her. Lucy's eyes widened as she sniffed in confusion and sat up slowly, blinking around the room as she wondered where she had heard the voice come from. There was no one here in the dimly lit room, the servants had already checked up on her a while ago.
They had wished for her to go outside to get some fresh air, but Lucy didn't want to.
She used to walk through the small gardens in the center of their manor with her mother.
It hurt too much to look at the flowers without her now.
"W-What?" A soft, strained voice whispered into the air. "Is…someone there?"
"Not literally, but I'm here."
"Here?"
"Inside your mind, I think."
"Oh." Lucy frowned at the thought of a voice in her head, and she began to wonder if maybe she was starting to get sick too.
"Not quite. Perhaps we'll be able to meet soon enough."
Lucy didn't say anything as she laid back down and began to drift to sleep from utter exhaustion. She's been crying for a while now; she doesn't know what time it was anymore. Not that it really mattered, she didn't have anything to do anyways. She's been laying in the dark, feeling sad for what felt like forever.
She didn't know why she whispered this out loud, but she did.
"Mama's gone, now."
Lucy didn't hear a reply for so long that she had begun to drift asleep.
"I know." The voice eventually said heavily, filled with an emotion that was very similar to her own.
Lucy faintly wondered if the voice had lost their mom too.
-L-H-
Lucy found herself sitting criss cross in the middle of a small garden with small flowers that littered around the area, but if she looked too far ahead, it all disappeared into a pool of grey. She had recognized some of them, the closer she looked. Lucy liked daffodils, tulips too. She saw a dandelion, and couldn't help the small smile that came over her face at the sight.
Those were her mother's favorite.
"Dandelions can be found everywhere-" Lucy began. Someone cut her off to finish the thought though, catching her off guard as her eyes widened as she turned around.
"-which means that you can be too. So be sure to travel and see the world, Lucy, because there's more out there beyond the loving arms of your father and I," Future Lucy finished as she stared at her younger counter-part, the one that was relevant to this current universe. She had succeeded, it seemed, and her universe is probably official gone by now.
It hurt, as much as she tried not to let it.
It hurt badly.
Lucy looked at her older self in absolute wonder, looking more bright and curious as she's looked in the past couple of days. Her brown eyes were full of shock and surprise as she looked at her older-self, which looked down at her with faint amusement when she stood up. Lucy pointed at Future Lucy,
"You look like..me?" Lucy gasped out.
Future Lucy smiled softly. "That's because I am you, in a different universe."
"Like-Like a space traveler? In the stories I read?!" Lucy let out a small glee of excitement. Future Lucy was just happy to see that her presence brought some feelings of happiness even if it didn't changed her reality once she woke up. She placed a hand on her hip and brought a hand up to her chin as she thought about it dramatically, feeling the anticipation of her younger self for an answer.
Future Lucy nodded. "I'd say more like a time-traveler, but very close, younger-me."
"Woah." Lucy let out a wow'd breath as she stared at herself. "So you're me? From the f-future?"
"Yeah." Future Lucy let out a small but pained smile as she was reminded of her now past. This felt surreal, really.
"Well that means that we're both named Lucy then, right?" Lucy cocked her head questionably and Future Lucy bit back a coo. Was she always this cute? She doesn't remember much of her childhood anymore, thanks to all that she's been through.
"That's right."
"Well that's-that's pretty confusing, isn't it?" Lucy muttered as she began to think deeply about her next course of action, whatever it was. Future Lucy was beginning to realize that despite them being able to inhabit the same body, their typical thoughts were separate. She had no idea what Lucy was thinking about right now as she awaited her next response.
Yet when she cried for their mother, she understood and felt the pain and grief that she was feeling at that moment. Future Lucy had a feeling that Lucy could feel the old, nostalgic reminiscence of missing her mother that she had felt once she realized where she was too.
"Rushii." Lucy finally said, and Future Lucy snapped out of her thoughts to pay attention to the younger girl.
"Rushii?"
"It's our name in another language that-that Mama told us before." Lucy swallowed sadly and let out a small wave of angst that her older self felt.
"Is that my name now?"
Lucy just looked at her future and shrugged, looking away shyly. "If-If you want it to be. You could pick your own name too if you really want too."
Rushii sighed as she looked down at her younger-self, feeling a bit pained in letting go of her original name. Yet at some point, it wouldn't have mattered to keep it any longer, considering the world didn't need two Lucy Heartfilias in one universe. It was another example of how things must be sacrificed for the fate of a better future.
Sacrificed.
Natsu-
Lucy felt a massive wave of anger and sadness from Rushii as she watched her older-self let out a small sigh as she held herself together. Her eyes widened again at the sight,
"If-If you didn't like it, it's okay. You could've told me."
Rushii bit back a harsh laugh, she really had to pull herself together for fuck's sake. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself down. After a moment, she opened her eyes to see Lucy standing before her with tearful eyes.
"Rushii is a fine name to be bestowed. Thank you, Lucy."
Lucy's tears quickly went away as she blushed at the compliment and just shrugged softly. Rushii had forgotten that she used to be a shy, uncertain child. It took much effort to hold back a wave of anger at the treatment and neglect that she remembered their father had begun shortly during the final days of their mother's death.
Maybe…maybe there's more than can change with her help.
Rushii slowly sat down and Lucy was quick to follow her as they mirrored each other, taking in the sight. Lucy was wearing a pink t-shirt with a skirt and some fuzzy socks, with her hair in low pigtails, with front bangs. Rushii was wearing a black ragged cloak with worn, blue clothing underneath. Her hair was completely down, it was long, and her eyes were tired but alert.
It suddenly hit Lucy that Rushii was the future .
What was the future doing here?
"Why are you here, Rushii?" Lucy asked hesitantly. Rushii couldn't help but smile softly at the question, it seems that she had forgotten how clever her younger self was before she concerned herself with other trivial things. Like her looks, or her weight. She'll make sure to not have the current Lucy care about that stuff, it all means nothing in the face of ten thousand dragons in the end.
"I-" Rushii suddenly let out a choked sound and her head began to pound heavily as she felt herself begin to sink in that same quick sand feeling as early. She quickly closed her mouth and let out a harsh breath as she looked back at Lucy, who was completely confused.
"I…am from the future," Rushii began slowly, testing out what the Eclipse Gate would allow her to say or not say. "I'm afraid that there are things that I can't say, as they are pretty important for your future."
"I came back for a reason, however. It is…dangerous, in my lifetime. I had to come back to make sure things don't repeat itself."
"Is it really that bad?" Lucy said tearfully as she looked at Rushii with fear in her eyes. She was only nine-years-old, Rushii thought. She didn't think she'd come back so far into the past, and was unprepared for deal with a child and fostering her abilities. At the same time however, the earlier she starts making preparations, the better.
If she'd gone back to the original timeline she had wanted, they'd be about two years away from the catastrophe.
Now, she had at least ten.
"It's a scary world, yes." She finally responded. There was no point in lying.
Lucy looked down nervously at her lap, fiddling with her skirt. "B-But we're strong by then, right? Mama gave us the keys, the gold ones. We can protect ourselves, right? You look strong."
Rushii's eyes dimmed as she began to recall all of the times her teammates had to save her, all of the times that she had felt utterly useless in the midst of a battle, all of the times that she had to run away because others thought that it was too dangerous for her. Team Natsu was the strongest team in Fairytail, and yet she felt as she was the mascot the entire time. Even Happy had some usefulness to him, to a certain extent.
Yes, she did end up gaining more power. The Star Dresses-but by then it was too late.
She wasn't strong enough, fast enough in her life.
It can be different in this one though.
Ten years.
They can do this.
"Looks can be deceiving, Lucy. Even as you look at them with your very own eyes. Let that be the first lesson that I teach you, and this will be the second. To be a strong Celestial Spirit Mage, means that you trust your spirits, you develop bonds with them, but most importantly, you gain enough independent power to protect them as well."
Lucy looked at Rushii with wide-eyes as she absorbed the information that Rushii had told her. Rushii could tell that Lucy took it seriously, she could feel it inside of her as well, the feeling of newfound determination and pride.
"Mama was a strong Celestial Spirit Mage, right?"
Rushii nodded without hesitation. "Without a doubt."
Lucy gave a small watery smile at Rushii, who after a moment, opened her arms for a small hug. Lucy ended up launching herself immediately into her arms as she began to cry again softly, burrowing her face into Rushii's chest who just hummed softly and patted her head gently as she held her. She understood her pain.
It doesn't just disappear in an instant.
"You'll always miss her." Rushii says softly, "But it does get a bit easier as time goes by."
"B-But Father-"
"Don't worry about him," Rushii rushed to cut her off. She remembered the entire incident where her father had ordered those henchmen to remove her from Fairytail and bring her home. They ended up reaching an agreement of some sorts to allow her to stay, but as she sits here and feels the sadness that has built up inside of present-Lucy, she finds it hard to not swallow down a feeling of disgust and resentment at Jude.
How could he leave a child to fend for herself for all of those years, all alone?
Rushii doesn't think she could forgive him a second time, going through what she's been through and having to restart over again.
"Don't worry about him because family doesn't mean that you have to be related by blood. He's our biological parent, but he doesn't give you any attention anymore, and that's why he's not our Father."
"Father died when Mama did too." Rushii finished off coldly and Lucy could only hold on to her tighter. Rushii just looked down at the smaller girl in her arms and let out a soft sigh,
"You won't be alone like I was though. I'll be here with you."
"Really?" Lucy said muffled against her chest and Rushii let out another, longer sigh and grumbled.
"Well it's not like I can go anywhere."
Lucy let out a small giggle at Rushii's grumpiness but let out a small sigh of her own, which caused Rushii to look down at her. "I think…I think I still want to try. With Father. Maybe he's just sad like me, missing Mama every day."
Rushii closed her eyes. She's already down this before, she's already went down this path.
But this was not her life anymore, and she opened her eyes to see a fire burning in Lucy. Perhaps things could be different this time around. But Rushii was not going to be hopeful, and she made that clear. She'll remain by Lucy's side though, and watch as Jude inevitably repeats his neglectful actions as he once did in her lifetime.
"Do as you please. Just remember that I tried to warn you."