A lone woman was walking through the woods, the rain dampening her skin and drenching her clothes to the point that they risked clinging to her body. She wasn't bothered by it, however. She finally obtained the person she's been looking for so long. The person that can help her achieve what she always longed for ever since she was a little girl. With her dream within her reach, the woman could handle a little water. The woman was even more ecstatic than ever because she just took another step that would not only help her reach her goals, but also tie up some loose ends so that said loose ends won't ruin it.

She soon reached her destination, coming face-to-face with a young girl with pink hair, golden hair clips in the form of large wings, and a red cloak. The girl was happy to see the woman.

"Is that?" She asked. The woman nodded, setting the person she's been dragging with her on the ground.

"Yes, that is Lord Zeref." Meldy was awestruck at the man who they've been searching for being right in front of her. Her excitement wore off when she remembered something.

"What about Gray Fullbuster?" The young witch stated. Ultear sat the Black Wizard down and turned to address her daughter.

"No need to worry, everything is taken care of. Gray Fullbuster is no longer our enemy." Ultear responded softly. This surprised Meldy, considering what she had heard regarding the Fairy Tail wizard, her adopted mother's own mother, and their history together, and after what she just went through all for the sake of "avenging" her mother's mother so Ultear could be happy.

The girl was caught off guard when the Arc of Time mage started to lower her head and began chuckling under her breath.

Ultear revealed how she managed to deceive the Fairy Tail wizard into believing her faux tale that Ur wanted Hades gone and that he needed to use a fatal spell to do so. She almost couldn't believe that it really worked, she couldn't stop herself from laughing. Her daughter stared at her adopted mother in disbelief, looking at her like she just went insane. Ultear eventually calmed down and caught her breath.

The time witch turned her head and saw the unconscious bodies of the two women her daughter faced. One of them she was able to tell right away was a Fairy Tail member, the other on the other hand looked unfamiliar to her. But Ultear had a guess on who she was.

"The one with the cloak. She's from the Scouts, isn't she?" Ultear asked her daughter. Meldy gasped a little and turned her head towards the fallen scientist. She responded with a calm, but quiet tone.

"Yes. She came to aid this Fairy Tail woman in battle." Meldy confirmed. Ultear didn't reply immediately. Instead, she walked over to where Juvia and Hange were lying down, and stood over the rain woman.

Meldy told her about the fight she had with the two combatants to her mother, who listened to every word. Once her daughter's tale was done, Ultear took out a fancy-looking sword that was designed similarly to her outfit with a golden rimmed clock in the middle of the hilt, much to Meldy's confusion.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Meldy asked urgently. "They are no longer a threat, they're unconscious!"

"Be quiet." Ultear replied. "This will limit Gray's options in the future. He can either be killed by Hades, or die using Iced Shell. Seeing his dear friend and an "innocent" casualty will only drive him towards the inevitable!" Meldy gasped at the heartless nature her mother was showing. Ultear had a sadistic smile plastered on her face as she brought down her sword, aiming to kill the rain woman in one, fatal, blow.

Before Ultear could bring her sword, it was encased in something cold. Something solid. She gasped when she turned her head and saw the rain woman being carried away by the man the time witch thought she easily deceived, using his ice to slide in a circle away from the Grimoire Heart members and to a safe distance. When he landed on the ground, he looked up, giving them a fierce, icy look.

Gray made it just in time.

"He found us!" Meldy exclaimed. Ultear returned her sword back to the temporal space her magic provided, wanting to see how this played out.

"I knew there was something rotten about you." He accused Ultear. She seemed amused by the whole thing.

"Well, well, did you? And when did you finally catch on?" Ultear playfully, but condescendingly mocked.

"From the second you opened your mouth. I knew everything that came out of your mouth would be crap!" Gray rebelliously replied.

"Is that so?" Ultear questioned, that same teasing tone and smile still present. "You're were just playing along the whole time. Trying to figure out what my true motives were." Ultear tilted her head, oddly impressed at how Gray saw through her the whole time.

"I made a promise." Gray stated. "I swore that I would never try to use "Iced Shell" ever again!" He explained, setting Juvia down gently. His mind drifted to the first time he tried using that fatal spell that Ur used a long time ago

"If I didn't let you do it before, why would I let you do it now?!"

"I'm not going to let you go out like that!"

"I don't care if this is Ur's will or not. Because I've got a will all of my own! And it says my friends and I are going to walk the path of life!" He proclaimed. Unbeknownst to him, Juvia had a smile on her face when he said that, and his would-be murderer felt her world be flipped on its side once again.

Life…

"My, my. I guess you're not so loyal to your master after all." Ultear said, no longer smiling.

"I thought I could count on you to eliminate Hades for her sake. It's such a shame. Here I was hoping I wouldn't have to fight you myself." Meldy turned to her mother and watched as she took a few steps forward. Gray prepared himself.

"I'm surprised. That witch loved you even more than her own daughter." Meldy was gobsmacked at what was coming out of her mother's mouth. The woman let out a malicious chuckle.

"I'm afraid I might enjoy killing you so much my heart will explode. With joy." The time witch's magical aura flared, purple light glowing off of her as the purplenette's hair rose up from the power. Gray was not pleased to say the least.

"You need to show some respect for your mother. And since she's not around, I'll have to do that lesson for her!" Gray declared, stripping down to his battle phase. He stood against his master's daughter, who looked more irritated and crazy at his statement.

"You're such a fool!" Ultear responded, the mad look in her eyes getting more intense. "You've made an extremely grave mistake in threatening me like that!" The time witch raised her arms, her magic power flowing through her at a more damning rate.

"For I am the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory!" She bellowed. Gray took the chance, moving in, his own anger going up at her arrogance.

"And scum like you is no match for me!" Ultear boasted. While taking advantage of her hubris, Gray lunged forward, summoning an ice cluck around his fist and giving a mean right hook that sent Ultear back. The two female dark mages were caught off guard by the sudden attack, especially Ultear.

The purplenette landed on her feet and told Meldy to flee to the boat with Zeref in tow, which her adopted daughter did so swiftly. Gray asked Juvia to do the same, the rain woman happy to oblige but forgot that she injured her own leg during her battle against Meldy and couldn't walk properly. Juvia assured Gray that she'll be fine when he asked her, vowing that nothing will stop her from doing what her love asked. She crawled like a human spider with a menacing, lovestruck look on her face as she chased after the young teen, simultaneously scarring the girl for life as she ran like hell.

"I'm counting on you, Juvia." Gray said softly. He turned around when he felt something and was surprised when Ultear rushed up to kick him on the side of the head. He barely lifted his arm in time to block the attack, but still felt the force of the hit as he skidded back from the force.

Ultear summoned her orb and multiplied copies of it with her magic, sending the spheres at Gray. He blocked his arms and readied himself for the barrage.

All of a sudden, a lone arrow came out from the side and pierced one of the orbs, shattering it into pieces. With it came along a large blast of sounds, having vibrations so intense that it shook the surrounding area and destroyed the other orbs. Gray and UItear were forced to cover their ears to protect their hearing.

'Where did that arrow come from?' Ultear pondered. The two wizards heard rusting and the sound of something being fired being close. The dark mage gasped when she felt not one, but two presences behind her.

Two shadows emerged from the treetops above, a glint shining as the sound of sharp metal could be heard swinging through the air.

Ultear barely managed to dodge in time, jumping over the assailants at a height they weren't expecting, only having two thin cuts on her arms that started to bleed, but weren't enough to fully damage her.

"Damn it! How high can she jump anyway?!' A voice rang out. A voice that Gray recognized.

"Connie?!" He exclaimed. The two figures that jumped Ultear were none other than Connie Springer and Jean Kirschtein. From the woods, Sasha Braus arrived on the scene.

"What are you guys doing here?" Gray asked. Sasha flashed him a goofy smile.

"We're here to help you, duh!" She stated.

"Yeah, we weren't just going to leave you with this witch." Connie added, showing his support.

"This is our fight too. We can't stay out of it, no matter what." Jean declared. The huntress surveyed the area and grew shocked when she spotted something near the trees.

"Is that Section Commander Hange?" Sasha asked, gesturing to the older brownish redhead with the goggles lying down.

"Yeah, I found her like that. She's knocked out for now, but she'll be fine." Gray reassured her.

"I wouldn't worry about her. She's not the one who will have to face my wrath." Ultear gravely warned. The four gazed at her, Gray being full of resolve to take down his master's sadistic daughter, while the three cadets felt sweat dripping on their heads from the looks the woman was giving them, as well as the malevolent aura coming off of her, although Jean managed to hide it well enough and was giving a similar expression as his icy comrade.

Gray turned to his scouting friends. "Get Hange out of her and rendezvous with the others. I can handle her." He declared.

"What are you saying, Gray?" Connie exclaimed, stupefied that Gray was asking them yet again to leave the time mage to him.

"It's personal." He replied.

"Not this time, pal." Gray turned his head to see Jean staring at him intently.

"This chick is the leader of Grimoire's Heart Seven Kin, we can just leave you to face her alone."

"I got this!" Gray insisted.

"Please, Gray!" Jean fiercely. "We helped Loke take on Capricorn when he was possessed by that son of a bitch Zoldeo. We can help you here!" He exclaimed back. The two stood up, not backing down. Until Ultear herself spoke up.

"I don't mind, really." She stated, getting the four's attention. "It won't make a difference. You stopped the others with your combined might, but I won't be so easily defeated by numbers." She said confidently.

Gray shifted his eyes from his unexpected enemy to his unexpected allies. He knew this wouldn't be easy, that was obvious, but he was confident in his abilities, the magic that Ur taught him, would be enough to defeat her daughter. But the soldiers didn't look like they wanted to leave him on his own. Giving a small smile, he readied himself for battle. Jean and the others caught his smirk and they smiled, knowing his answer.

"Let's go!" Gray shouted, the three scouts flanking his side ready to back him up. Ultear produced a wicked, but pissed off smirk at the four, standing tall against them and eager to pound them into a pulp.

The camp was in a state of uneasy rest. They managed to regroup, but they were still missing members from both the scouts and the guilds. Not to mention that many of them were wounded, out of commission, unable to help, and more importantly, unable to protect themselves should the enemy come in with the attack.

Everyone was currently getting all the finite rest they could muster, needing every ounce of strength they could conjure as they were all tired out and seriously harmed from their fights against the so called "devils".

The three original members of Team Natsu were sitting aside on a couple of nearby logs, Happy giving the rundown of the woman Natsu was facing earlier. Ultear Milkovich, a wizard who's an expert in a branch of Time Magic known as "Arc of Time", being able control the time of a living object, able to regress it back to its early stages or forward it in time at its final form. The blue cat talked about how Natsu was having a hard time against her due to the dark mage being able to reverse his flames before they started or go in their future where they are put down, something that Natsu was in denial about.

Lucy expressed her concern about Gray because his magic is even more base-level on the nature of elemental creation, to which Natsu crudely brushed off that he doesn't need any help from him. Lucy called him out on his seemingly callous remark about his own friend, to which Natsu explained that he has known the guy for a long time now and that he wouldn't want others getting in his way. They also talked about the nature of Ultear's gender, where Natsu thought her true hot form was a farce and her old man disguise was the real deal, something that made Happy hope "he" didn't hit on Gray, and made Lucy sweatdropped as they reminded the boys they had bigger things to worry about. Virgo showed up and antics ensued between her and her princess, involving Natsu making an ironic comment toward Lucy after she yelled at Happy for his hypocrisy, and the blonde shouting at him in response, the Maiden not understanding the situation and asking to punish her, making the Celestial Spirit mage snap at her as well.

Mikasa was by herself deep in thought when she heard the commotion, walking over there to greet her friends.

"Hey, Mikasa. What's up?" Natsu asked. The girl didn't respond right away, taking a seat on one of the stumps nearby.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked in concern. The cadet still didn't say anything.

"Are you still upset for Natsu acting like a dummy and taking off?" Happy asked, getting the dragon slayer to look at his best friend in annoyance.

"No, Happy. That's not it." Mikasa finally answered. The girl looked down and grabbed at her scarf, getting Natsu's attention.

"Is it Eren?" He asked. Mikasa looked up and nodded, getting sympathetic looks from the team across from her.

"You miss him, don't you?" Lucy stated softly. The top cadet still wouldn't look up.

"We searched almost everywhere for all the time we've been here, going along with you on jobs to explore more of Fiore, and we still haven't found any leads on him. Not even any rumors." She said. The group stayed silent as she continued.

"I still don't know how he got separated from us when we were all together, even Annie is here and she's not part of the Scouts. He's out there somewhere and I'm worried something might've happened to him." Mikasa choked out.

"Mikasa." Lucy muttered.

"Eren's always been like that." The group turned to see Armin walking over to them, taking a seat on a stump next to Mikasa.

"For as long as I've known him, he's always tends to rush into things. Usually when it's out of his control, all while making us worry sick over him." Armin spoke out.

"Sounds like someone else we know." Lucy commented, her and Happy shooting a smug look at Natsu, who just raised his eyebrow at them. Armin smiled softly, remembering that time when Eren was confronting their neighborhood bullies who stole his food money, the fight escalated when Mikasa came and when their old soldier friend started his own brawl with one of the salesmen that threw his beer at his head when he didn't do anything to stop the conflict. The whole market was in shambles and soon the Military Police got involved, stopping the fight altogether by scaring the bullies away. But Eren couldn't let it go and he chased after them.

"Still, for all that hardheadedness and reckless anger, he's always been there when you need him." The blonde added, recalling all the times Eren's been there for him ever since that fateful encounter when they were kids.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy smiled at the boy's comment, even Mikasa looked a little better. The dragon slayer then thought of something.

"Say, how did you meet Eren anyway?" This caught the duo off guard.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, you didn't really say much about your past." Lucy acknowledged. The blue exceed turned over to his soldier buddies.

"What was meeting him like?" The cat said innocently. Armin was about to say something when he noticed that his black-haired friend was shaking. Something that the others noticed.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, her face full of concern. Mikasa didn't say anything.

"Hey, Mikasa." Armin spoke softly, putting his hand on her shoulder. The scout snapped out of it and turned to the young genius. "What's the matter with you?"

The girl looked down again. "Sorry. It's just." She looked up to see everyone staring at her.

"I'm grateful I met Eren, but the circumstances of our meeting weren't pleasant to say the least." Mikasa answered. The others looked confused, and a little worried on top of that.

"What does she mean by that?" Natsu asked gently. Armin turned over to address him.

"I don't know what happened, but Eren and Mikasa weren't introduced to each other in the best of circumstances." He clarified. Armin turned back to his friend, who was still silent.

"Look, if you don't want to tell us about it, that's fine. We don't want you to bring up past memories for our sake." Lucy explained, attempting to ease the girl in case they accidentally crossed the line.

"Aye." Happy stated, raising his paw in the air.

"No, it's okay." Mikasa spoke out suddenly. "I'll tell you." The others looked at her in shock, even Armin. The girl calmly sat up straight and began to tell her tale.

She remembered it all.

Mikasa was just a little girl. She was practicing knitting with her mother, a beautiful long, black-haired woman whom they both share a striking resemblance to each other. Her father was a short, light brunette man with a tuft of facial hair on his chin. Her mother was lecturing her on the duties she will have to partake in for the sake of their clan when Mikasa has children of her own.

The girl curiously asked how babies are made, embarrassing her parents unknown to their child, with her father poorly trying to explain it when his wife shifted the question on to him. Saved by the knock, her father eagerly rushed to open the door, expecting the notable Dr. Grisha Jaeger for a check-up.

But that went all to hell when her father's body suddenly began to fall over, blood pouring out of his stomach.

Three men were at the door, one of them holding a knife. A bloody knife. They stated they were just dropping in. And just like that, everything was a blur.

Her mother screamed with fury that only a parent could muster, rushing at the intruders with a pair of scissors. The men were caught off guard by the vicious attack, and the one being attacked in particular swung his ax in retaliation, cutting the mother's shoulder open. She could only call out to her daughter as she fell to the floor, desperately trying to cover her fatal wound.

Mikasa was petrified. Her parents were gone in a blink of an eye. She couldn't even think when her mother's killer warned her to behave, before knocking her out with a single blow to the face.

A knock was heard at the door. From the outside, a young man with his son was at the door, standing out in the rainy weather as they waited for the owner to answer.

It was Dr. Grisha Jaeger and his son Eren. He told him that the Ackermans have a daughter named Mikasa around his age, allowing him the chance to have another friend. Eren agreed, only if she was nice to him so they won't have a problem.

Sighing, Grisha told him that that attitude is the reason he only has one friend. He turned to the door, confused on why no one was answering the door since they knew he was coming to visit.

Growing concerned, Grisha gave another knock before turning the handle and opening the door. He was horrified when he saw Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman laying down on the floor, blood seeping out of open wounds.

He knelt down and checked on them, then looked around for the daughter. He turned to his son and ordered him to remain at the bottom of the hill while he fetched the Military Police. Grisha called out to his son so that he made sure he understood what he was told. But Eren didn't respond to him

He just stood there with a dead look in his eyes, his father's voice quite literally falling on deaf ears.

She woke up in a strange house, her eyes dazed and her mind unalert. Mikasa could make out the voices. All she saw was two figures, one standing over her, the other in the chair. The people that murdered her parents. She was dazed, but she could make out what they were saying.

It was fuzzy, but Mikasa heard something about how much she would pay, who would like getting her, who she was the last of her kind, and then finally shouting between the two men over the death of her mother.

She wondered what was going on, when all of sudden a knock was heard at the door. The man that rolled her over with his foot earlier when they were talking about her like an object and not a human being came to check on it and opened up to see a young boy who looked especially worried.

The boy explained that he got lost and saw their cabin, hoping that they could help him. The other trafficker signaled to his ally and he knew what to do with the kid. He played the role of a kind stranger, petting his head and saying how he and his pal would take care of him.

He was not aware of the danger he was truly in.

Without warning, he felt something enter his throat. The man's eyes widened when he saw a knife stab right into neck. The boy brushed the man's hand off his head. Mikasa's hearing got better and she could make out the voice.

"I appreciate it sir, but I'm not stupid." The man looked in horror as a frightful, youthful face looked up, glaring at him.

"And I'm the last thing you'll ever see!" With one swift motion, the boy yanked the knife out of the man's neck, letting his now deceased body fall to the floor. The other man looked on in shock, disbelief at what he was seeing.

The boy had a terrifying look in his eyes, closing the door. The man chased after him with the ax in his head, opening the door and meeting the boy with another knife attached to the end of a broom: a makeshift spear.

The boy let out a howling roar of rage, piercing into the man's shoulder and forcing him back. The man was sent to the floor from the impact of the crude weapons. The boy took his initial knife out of his jacket, spinning it in his hand before jumping in the air and aiming his small blade into the mans' chest.

The boy repeatedly stabbed into the man, not relenting as he butchered the animal in front of him. Mikasa looked on in shock when seeing the brutal display of violence before her. She could hear what the boy was shouting, his voice enraged and boiling like lava.

"YOU'RE AN ANIMAL YOU HEAR ME?! NO! YOU"RE A DISEASE!

"THIS IS WHAT YOU GET YOU SON OF A BITCH! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING WHAT YOU ARE!

DIE!

DIE!

After killing the other kidnapper, the boy wiped his head of the sweat that was pouring down. He turned his head towards Mikasa, who was still frightened by the whole ordeal. The boy reassured her that she was safe now.

He laid down his knife and began untying the ropes that bound her. He began to introduce himself to her.

"My name's Eren."

He said he was Doctor Jaeger's son and that they came by their house to check up on them. The boy also told her that he met her parents a couple of times. Mikasa's eyes widened when she remembered something that slipped her mind.

"Where's the third one?" Eren looked confused until the two kids heard something behind him. The third trafficker.

Eren's eyes shot open at the man's appearance. He dove for his knife, but was kicked away. The man walked over to him, hounding him on whether he was the killer. Grabbing Eren's hair, he lifted him in the air and began to strangle him, demanding him to answer.

With little options left, Eren called out to her.

"Take him out!" Mikasa couldn't believe her ears. What was this boy asking of her?

"Fight!" Mikasa looked up at Eren, who was still struggling to get himself free, saliva dripping out of his mouth.

"Kill or be killed! The only way to live is to fight!" His words echoed in her head, causing her to be completely still.

"It's the only way!" Eren grunted out!

"Who the hell do you think you are, you little brat!"

"The only way to live, is to fight!"

Mikasa was in shock. She knew what the boy was saying, but she wasn't sure if she could go through it. Scared and confused, Mikasa grabbed the knife and held it in her hands, shaking uncontrollably.

"I can't, I don't think I can do this!"

Eren couldn't hold on for any longer, his hands falling down to his side as the oxygen was leaving his lungs.

She felt something inside of her. Something that made her know exactly what she needed to, as if she could do anything. Her body stopped shaking. She was in complete control now.

Focused… ready….

What the boy was saying, she's seen it her whole life.

A praying mantis chewing on a butterfly that was struggling for dear life while her and her mother were out in the garden

Her father hunting ducks for food with his rifle on the same day.

Mikasa knew all about it, but she just looked the other way. Now she knows what her home really is: A cruel world.

"Fight." The mantra echoed in her mind.

"Fight!" She gripped the handle of the knife so hard that it broke.

"FIGHT!"

She stomped the floor, the boards snapping as she let out a shrilling battle cry, running straight at the man. He turned his head over, unable to do anything as the unintended target of their attack came rushing at him for vengeance.

Mikasa was outside with Grisha's coat wrapped around her. He arrived with the Military Police moments later, the soldiers still in utter disbelief that two kids could do something so violent even if they were acting in self-defense

Grisha was scolding his son, asking if he even knew what he did. Eren tried to reason his actions, saying he wasn't going to be sorry that he put down a couple of filthy animals that only looked human. His father couldn't believe what was coming out of his son's mouth.

Eren argued further that the Military Police wouldn't make it time, that they couldn't afford to wait otherwise the traffickers would've already been gone by that point, something that his father should know better about.

Grisha countered that by saying that wasn't the only problem. Eren is too young to be gambling with his life like that. He was lucky he made it out alive at all!

Not being able to take it anymore, Eren started crying, saying that he just wanted to save Mikasa as quickly as he could, and he didn't know how else he could do it….

Grisha gasped at his son's statement, closing his eyes and contemplating Eren's words. He stood up and turned to Mikasa, asking if she remembered him. He sympathized with her, saying that he couldn't imagine the horror she just went through.

Mikasa didn't respond to that, only confirming that she did in fact remember him and asked Dr. Jaeger if she could return home now.

It was too cold outside….

She was so tired…

With nowhere else to go…

Father and son gazed at the girl, Grisha looking at her in sadness. Seeing the girl on edge, Eren unwrapped his scarf without hesitation, wrapping the whole thing lazily around Mikasa's head.

"Don't worry, you can keep it." He said, finishing the wrapping with a single wave landing on top of Mikasa's face.

"That oughta keep you warm, right?" Eren asked, looking slightly shy. Mikasa felt the red fabric in her hands. Smooth and soft to the touch.

"I think so." She confirmed. Grisha walked up to her and asked if she could come stay with them. She's been through a lot tonight and she needs rest. Eren looked from his father to the girl in front of him and saw her hesitation. The girl turned from his father to him, as if silently asking him if that's alright.

"What's the problem?" He asked, taking the sleeve of one of her arms.

"Don't think about it, just come on."

Eren turned to her one last time.

"We gotta get home."

With those words, Mikasa burst into tears, gasping at the statement. After everything she was put through, what she lost. Here was this boy, this boy that risked his life to save her without a second thought, and now was welcoming her into his home with open arms. Her heart felt a warmth that she hadn't felt before.

"Yeah, okay."

"And that's what happened." Mikasa concluded, finishing her story.

Everyone, including Armin, looked stupefied and awestruck at what they just heard.

Lucy had a few tears coming into her eyes in disbelief at what Mikasa went through as a child. Her heart went out to the poor girl. She was also taken aback by the sheer brutality of their escape, unable to believe that a couple of nine-year-olds were able to commit such a vicious act of self-defense. But, Lucy also had a small smile and blush on her face, happy of the heartfelt conclusion it ended on.

Natsu and Happy felt the same. The dragon slayer's anger steadily grew as Mikasa told her story, but was taken aback when she talked about Eren's actions, feeling excited and relieved that he killed the traffickers, as well as Mikasa fighting back against her kidnappers and parents' murderers. The exceed was just as stunned about the story as his teammates, and was glad that they survived the ordeal even with how bloody it ended up being.

Armin himself was at a loss for words. He knew that the circumstances of Eren and Mikasa's meeting was complicated but he never thought it was anything like this, and always knew about Eren's willingness to fight others. This however, was something else.

Team Natsu looked at Mikasa, the girl quiet after explaining her tale. Armin put his hand on shoulder, getting her to look up and see the look of concern he had. She placed her hand over his.

"I'm fine. Thanks." She said softly. Mikasa took a hold of her scarf, something that caught Natsu's attention as he mirrored her action, dwelling on what he heard.

"You know, after that story. I wouldn't worry too much." This got everyone's attention as they all looked at him with wide eyes.

"Natsu!" Lucy lightly scolded. "Why would you say that?!"

"Don't get me wrong, it's fine worrying about someone you haven't seen in a while and wondering if they are okay." Natsu stated. Lucy and Happy gasped, realizing who he was talking about. "I don't know Eren that much, but from what I've heard, he's one hell of a tough guy. I have no doubt that he's looking for you and the others right at this moment, and after what you just told us, ain't no way in hell he's going to kick the bucket that easily without going down without a fight." Natsu stood up and walked over to the oriental girl, placing his hand on her head.

"Have faith Mikasa. Eren will come back to you guys in no time." He reassured her. Mikasa looked up at him, eyes sparkling and her face red. She gave a soft smile at his words. The others also smiled at the heartwarming scene.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" The group looked over to see the Eld and the Special Ops Squad walking over to them.

"Just reminiscing, sir." Armin told him. Eld and Petra took a seat next to them on a couple more stumps, while Gunther and Oruo decided to stand.

"Well I hope you're done going la-la down memory lane. If you haven't noticed, we're still at war with Grimoire Heart. There is no rest until we win this battle, got it." Oruo ordered, trying to come off as intimidating and tough. This only resulted in everyone looking at him nervously.

"Whatever you say old man." Happy commented.

"Yeah man, you got to knock it off with the Captain Levi act. It's getting old, and it wasn't that spectacular to begin with." Natsu added exasperatedly. Oruo gritted his teeth at the comments he was receiving.

"Watch your tone, you brats! I'm a highly-skilled veteran that's been hand picked by the strongest soldier humanity has to offer, and I have the highest kill count of all of us plus I've been taught a very versatile and efficient magic. I can take you on no problem, so you better put a sock in it-!" Oruo felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping his tirade. He turned to see Gunther shaking his head at him.

"Lay off, Oruo. They aren't doing anything wrong. Besides, taking a moment to think back on better times might do us some good for morale before we head straight into battle. You should know that better than most people." Gunter lectured. Oruo gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything in return.

"So, what were you talking about?" Petra asked. The group looked at each other, being unsure if they should say anything. Eld picked up on this due to the experience of being a veteran for a while now, a keen eye being a critical part of the resume, let alone an essential survival skill required when facing man-eating giants on a near daily basis.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. Don't feel pressured." The veteran told them. Mikasa felt relieved when he said that, something Lucy took note of.

"We were just talking about family." Mikasa answered her superiors. This surprised the Levi Squad, who adopted somber looks.

"I see." Eld spoke out.

"What's wrong Eld? Why do you look so sad?" Happy asked.

"It's nothing, Happy." Eld answered. Seeing the little blue furball, the soldier still found it hard to believe he was talking with a sentient, abnormally-colored cat that could not only understand completely what he was saying and stand on his two legs like a human, but could also answer him back perfectly in English. If he wasn't explained what he and the other exceeds were, Eld would've thought someone put something in his drink.

"I'm guessing you're thinking about your family's back at home?" Natsu questioned. The younger veterans looked surprised that the dragon slayer was able to pick that up almost instantaneously.

"Are they doing alright?" Lucy asked tactfully. Eld looked back down.

"Yeah. I just hope she's not sick with worry, but I wouldn't be surprised if she is considering how long we've been gone and how we ended up here in the first place."

"She?" Armin wondered.

"Uh.." Eld stumbled, realizing that he said something without thinking. Gunther and Oruo sent him knowing smirks while Petra flashed him a light smile.

"Our scruffy blonde bun here has a special lady waiting for him." Oruo teased with a shit-eating grin. Lucy clasped her hands in front of her mouth as she gasped delightfully.

"You're engaged?!" She silently squealed with a healthy blush and a big smile. The boys in her team looked shocked. Even the cadets were surprised, with Mikasa having wide eyes at the reveal.

"Woah!" They said in sync. Eld felt embarrassed being put on the spot like that.

"Lighten up, Eld." The blonde member looked up to see Gunther putting his hands on his shoulders while giving him a small smile.

"Yeah, it's great you have someone waiting for you that you can spend the rest of your life with." Petra cheered. While she was happy on both the outside and inside, the pragmatic and pessimistic part of her was trying to remind Petra that is if he continued to survive in the first place. Those words resonated with Mikasa, who looked down at the sentence.

"So, who's the lucky lady?" Lucy teased, having a mischievous grin.

"Oh not you too, Lucy." Eld said exasperatedly. He looked over, and saw that Natsu and Happy were "very" curious about his relationship with his bride-to-be. Sighing, Eld decided to indulge them about it.

Her name is Mildred, a young beautiful brunette with long hair. She and Eld met during his cadet days, back when he and Gunther were part of the 102nd Cadet Corps, something that was surprising to the 104th Cadet Corps graduates. It was near the early years of their training, where Eld met Mildred while they were out at the market before Eld applied for the military. They started having a friendly conversation at first before it turned into them talking for hours and hours in a day. As they hung out more, they started to greatly enjoy each other's company and soon they were dating. When Eld graduated with Gunther, he decided to marry Mildred as a sign of not only their love for each other, but a symbol that he will come back to her no matter what. When he was done telling the others, his male squadmates were sending him teasing grins, Natsu and Happy had big smiles on their face, clear that they were happy for their friend, while Petra and Lucy were squealing happily about their engagement, more so Lucy since Petra had to learn to contain herself as part of her training.

"What about you Oruo? What's your family like?" Lucy kindly asked. The man became standoffish, still trying to poorly imitate his idol, but the look the blonde gave him when he lifted one eye open to see, causing him to cave in.

"Well, if you must know." He sighed. The soldier looked up and kept up the obvious stern expression. "I came from a family of nine. My eight younger siblings and I were raised by my ma and pa worked hard to raise all of us." Oruo stated, surprising the others.

"Wow, Oruo. I didn't know you came from a big family." Happy asked. He then thought of something.

"So are you the oldest because of your looks?" This did not make Oruo happy in the slightest. He looked at the cat with such annoyance you could swear he lost his pupils.

"Why you!" He said through gritted teeth, while both the blue feline and Oruo's orange-haired comrade were trying to contain themselves. Even Armin found it funny, but didn't react so as to not get in trouble and Mikasa had no visual reaction at all to the scene. The soldier took a deep breath and calmed him down.

"But yeah, yours truly is the oldest. My brothers are a lot years younger than me, so I had to keep an eye on them and help ma and pa in raising them. Those rascals were a pain in the neck, but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world." Oruo stated, his words and facial features carried a heartfelt and gentle quality that no one, not even his squadmates, even saw before. All except one that is.

"I'm glad the real you is still under there, Oruo." Petra said sincerely. Oruo was embarrassed to say the least and quickly shifted to his "Captain Levi" persona.

"Well, a big brother has to look after his younger, more innocent family members. Why do you think I joined to become a soldier and be part of the Scouts, let alone be the soldier with the highest kill count apart from our captain of course." Oruo responded in a light condescending but obnoxious tone, which made Petra quickly flip her smile upside down.

"Now if only we can get rid of that ridiculous shit someday." The girl deadpanned. Their squadmates smirked and chuckled at the scene. Mikasa however had her gaze hardened a little at the pipsqueak's name.

"Give him time, Petra. He'll grow out of it." Eld added, making his younger companion pout with his arms crossed. The Fairy Tail wizards smiled at the scene of camaraderie in the squad. It felt no different from the kind they felt from their guild. Armin and Mikasa gained smiles of their own, remembering the times they had in the 104th with their fellow cadets and the times they would play as kids with Eren in their childhoods.

"My folks should be alright." Gunther chimed in. "They are getting old, but they are still as lively as ever.

"What are your parents like, Gunther?" Natsu asked this time. The pointy-haired soldier stiffened up for a second before he clarified his statement.

"Well, my grandparents to be more accurate. My father passed away when I was younger, and while my mother is still around, she was stricken with an illness that left her crippled when I was a kid, leaving her parents, my maternal grandmother and grandfather, to raise me." He told the fairies. This shocked everyone, even Oruo and Petra. Eld looked at his friend with a somber expression, already having known what the Schultz's predicament was when they both cadets. Armin and Mikasa gained similar looks, being reminded of their own losses in their families.

"Oh man." Natsu muttered, worried that he might have just accidentally crossed a line. When he brought up his father, the dragon slayer stiffened himself for a moment.

"That's so sad." Lucy mumbled, the situation hitting too close to home.

"It's nothing you need to worry about." Gunther reassured them with a gentle tone and small smile. "We grieved for my father, and while my mother has trouble walking by herself from time to time, she's slowly recovering and is as healthy as ever." The vet added, calming the wizards down in relief.

"How about you Petra?" Happy asked, directing the conversion to the last member other than the captain.

"My folks are doing fine. Dad wasn't too thrilled about me joining the military, let alone the Scouts." Petra giggled, remembering how her mother and her had to calm him down for hours on the day she told them which regiment she picked.

"I also remember those letters of yours praising our dear captain. Gee, with how much you talk about him, I wouldn't know any better and think you have a little something something for him. And you complain about me admiring him." Oruo laughed, making Petra blush this time. This got Armin and even Mikasa to look shocked, the latter raising an eyebrow at the notion

"It's not like that!" She retorted loudly, getting the attention of the other campers before she squeamishly told them that everything was alright. Once they returned to what they were doing, she turned back and faced the group.

"I really do admire him for his astounding skills and great cause to our fight for freedom." Petra admitted, remembering the expedition they went on during the struggle for Trost. "But I don't see him as the type to pursue a romantic relationship, let alone with one of his subordinates. Besides, we already have to worry about losing someone on a daily basis with what we do, getting that close to someone will only greaten the pain. So we don't exactly have that luxury." She said sadly. This reminded the trio of what their predicament was like, bringing the mood to a more depressing tone.

"That's right, you are all soldiers. Having to fight against terrible beasts that are much larger than you and only want to eat you alive." Lucy stated, the words coming out of her mouth scaring her. She shuddered to what it would be like if she actually encountered a real Titan, even if Lucy knew she and her guild could easily take them. The thought of something so human, yet acting so animalistic was just frightening to think about. She turned over to the cadets, remembering what they told the guild when sharing stories with each other during their time here.

"We've been spending so much time together and having fun, I forgot that was taken away from you back home." Happy said sadly, his ears dropping to his side. Eld saw this and went over to the little blue feline, giving the anthropomorphic cat a little pet that caused him to look up.

"It's okay, Happy. We're soldiers, this is what we signed up for. It's a scary job, there is no doubt about it, but sometimes we have to do scary things to protect the ones we love and to keep on living the lives we want. It's no different than our fight against Grimoire Heart right now." The soldier comforted, making Happy gain the feeling he was named after with a hopeful smile. This in turn got everyone's hopes up. Natsu then thought of something from all this.

"You guys were on your 54th expedition before you got teleported here, right?" Natsu asked. Eld stopped petting Happy and looked over to him.

"57th, but yeah we were. Why?"

"What were you planning on doing?" The dragon slayer said curiously. This got everyone's attention, especially Armin. Eld took a second to think of an appropriate response, not wanting to accidentally say anything that shouldn't be said.

"We were planning on traveling to Wall Maria, to go to Shiganshina District to see if we could find a way to plug the hole in the wall." Eld answered half-honestly. He didn't tell them about Eren and his role, as well as the possibility of a hidden agenda that was kept from them.

"Oh right, you were leaving Calaneth District and were just starting the expedition when you were sent here, right?" Lucy pondered.

"That's right. But something about our unexpected visit here still puzzles me." The blonde scout admitted.

"What's that?" Gunther asked.

"The sun was acting very strangely just before we ended up in front of the guild hall. It's clear that that was the cause of "how" we were sent here, but we still don't have clear answers. Since we got sent to a place that's full of magic, you would think that a special type of it would be the reason. But we haven't found anything that could even remotely explain how we ended up here. I know the Commander and the higher-ups, along with Master Makarov are looking into it, but I don't think they found anything either if they haven't spoken up about it. I don't see the reason why this would be considered "classified" information."

"So either magic wasn't the cause of our transport, or isn't the sole part of it." Gunther clarified.

"There's also the matter of "why" we were transported and why only a select few of us made it over here. That sunlight enveloped the whole brigade and yet none of our other comrades joined us when we were founded by Fairy Tail. Why only us? Why did we get brought over to this place, but they were left behind? What happened to them?" Petra pondered, rubbing the bite mark over her hand. Something that caught someone's keen eye in front of them.

"If you ask me this situation is too complex for any of us to really grasp what the hell is going on." Oruo said, being the rare instances where he didn't pretend like he knew better. "But if you ask me, there is one part of this that doesn't make any sense whatsoever." The soldier confessed.

"What's that, Oruo?" Lucy asked. The light- brunette shifted his eyes and the Celestial Spirit followed them, landing on the other blonde girl at the camp.

"That Annie girl. Out of all of us, she's the person that has the least reason to be here right now. Unlike her buddies, she didn't become a scout, using her position in the Top Ten to join the Military Police. And yet, she came here along with us while no other Scout did. Why is that?" Oruo said.

"You think that maybe the light reached the walls somehow?" Petra wondered.

"Probably." Gunther responded. "However, that only leaves more questions than answers. If the light did transport people in the walls, why didn't most of the population gain sent to Earth Land along with us? She's the only Military Police member here and yet no other Military Police, or even Garrison was transported. Not even any civilians." Gunther added.

"All good questions that I don't think we'll be getting good answers to anytime soon." Eld stated. This got Natsu, Lucy, and Happy to start pondering about it, as well as Mikasa and Armin. The blonde cadet was glad someone else thought it was strange when Annie arrived with them. He wasn't complaining, but the fact it didn't make any sense bothered him. Plus there was also the matter of how they got here. He and Mikasa took everything that they heard in, not saying a word, but still questioning the nature of what's really going on like everyone else. The girl took it upon herself to keep an eye on Annie while they were at it. Eld turned over to see the others at the campsite reconvene.

"Looks like it's time." He said. The older veteran looked over to his squadmates, fellow Scouts, and Fairy Tail allies.

"You're ready?" He asked. The rest of the Special Ops Squad nodded their heads, raring to go. The cadets nodded along with their superiors, looking as determined as them. Team Natsu joined them, gaining their own hardened looks. Natsu punched his fist into his palm and snarled, cracking his knuckles.

"We're gonna get pay back on that old geezer for what he did to Gramps and everyone else."

"I'm right with you, Natsu." Lucy backed up.

"Aye, sir!" Happy said his signature catchphrase, raising his paw in the air.

"We're with you!" Armin supported.

"This conflict ends now." Mikasa said darkly.

"We won't let that old fart get away with this!" Oruo chimed in.

"He will pay dearly for what he and his so-called sad excuse for a "guild" have done." Petra added, having a pissed-off look in her eyes.

"If they are devils, then we'll be sending them back to hell where they belong." Gunther spoke, narrowing his eyes in conviction and anger.

"Then it's settled. Let's go." Eld ordered, in full agreement with his friends.

The group made their way back to the others and the teams were formed, composed of members from both organizations ready to finish the battle they didn't start, but they weren't going to run away from.

With all that said, two individuals overheard the group's conversation. One of them waking up a while ago and listening in on what they were talking about. To females known for being closed together that were reminded of their own "families".

And the tragedy that followed them and was forced on the girls themselves.

Gray started the battle off, casting Ice-Make: Lance, but it was quickly dispelled in the blink of an eye. Gray is shocked at this, but gets over it and casted another spell: Ice-Make: Hammer. But the same result happened.

"Flash Forward!" Ultear casted her Time Magic on her orb and the projectiles flew at Gray. He tried to protect with Ice-Make: Cocoon, but the icy structure met the same fate as the others and it left him vulnerable to his strikes. The soldiers watched the battle from above.

"She's getting rid of Gray's spells like they're nothing!" Sasha called out. Her and her teammates were using their gear for an aerial advantage when they saw the events play out below them.

"It looks like she can control the time of inanimate objects, that's why Gray's ice is disappearing like it's just been melted. She's sending that ice to its future." Jean analyzed.

"What power." Sasha exclaimed quietly. The 9th in the Top Ten wasn't sure how they were going to face off against something like that, but they didn't really have a choice in the matter.

"We still have our magic. It's nothing like that "Human Enslavement Magic" that freaky guy possessing the goat man had, so we don't have to worry about our own power weakening." Connie pointed out.

"You have a point." Jean responded. "We still can't let our guard down. This woman is the leader of the Seven Kin. I doubt she's going to go down easily like all the other members." The 6th of the Top Ten warned.

Jean looked down at the battle below them. Gray was really struggling against this woman, all because his magic seems to be a bad match-up to her type of Lost Magic. He kept his eyes on the dark mage known as Ultear. From the looks of it, Gray had some kind of connection to her judging by the dialog between the two.

Apparently, Ultear was the daughter of Gray's late master: Ur Milkovich, the one who taught Gray his signature Ice-Make magic. For some asinine reason, Ultear was hell bent on killing her own mother, which is why she mastered Arc of Time specifically, because its effects were well suited to deal with Maker Magic wizards. Jean felt sick at how gleeful and sadistic she was acting in taking revenge on her own flesh and blood.

"Regardless, we still need to back up Gray. Sasha, take the right. Connie go to the right." Jean ordered. The reddish-brunette and the 8th of the Top Ten nodded their heads in confirmation, firing their gear off and going in their designated directions.

Jean fired off the hooks from his own gear and together, the three soldiers swarmed in on the Grimoire Heart Kin. Ultear noticed this and was surprised to see the soldiers in action with their ODM gear. She didn't really get a good look back when that boy and girl joined that idiot who socked her in the face before and his team and Kain appeared to deal with them himself. She had to admit. For as simple as it looks, this Omni-Directional Mobility Gear looked to be a fascinating and useful tool in combat.

To move in Three-Dimensions with nothing but metal and a couple of hooks….

How intriguing…

Connie got behind the younger Milkovich, his speed allowing him to glide over there in a matter of seconds. Ultear's eyes widened at the sudden swiftness.

"Super Sonic Slicer!" Connie dashed forward, his blade at the ready. With a single slash, Conne sped forward and delivered a double horizontal slash from the left to the right with both blades. Ultear couldn't react in time and was hit by the powerful slash.

Gray saw the opportunity and froze the ground, creating many ice spikes. Ultear managed to get hit by them this time, but like the others, Ultear casted them into the future where they sublimate. However, she heard the sound of metal piercing into the stones nearby.

"Got yah!" Sasha shouted. Channeling her magic through her blades, she clashed the two sharp steels togethers, creating a clunking sound that grew in volume and intensity that brought Ultear to her knees.

Seeing a chance to strike, Jean shot his left hook near the top of one the spikes and flung himself over the top in a perfect arc. Jean expelled more gas from the main body of the gear to increase his speed to in turn increase the power of his strike. Ultear summoned her orb again, throwing it at Jean who sliced it in half with his blades.

More copies of the same orb appeared, coming at him at intense speeds. Jean's ODM gear skills were tested as he was forced to maneuver around the projectiles while switching between the two grappling hooks on his hips to balance himself and not lose his speed.

Eventually, the soldier saw an opening. Firing his hook and waiting for it to become taut quickly, he pulled the trigger on his left operating device. He reeled himself into his location and with a downwards diagonal slash from the right, cutted his target who blocked with the wrist guards on her person.

"That's some nice gear you all have there." Ultear smirked. "Too bad it's completely useless against me!" With one swipe of her hand, the ODM gears began to decay, the metal rusting and breaking apart while the swords instantly shattered into pieces.

The trio of soldiers gasped when they were sent tumbling to the ground, landing to the ground with a harsh thud. Sasha took the bigger hit since she was higher in the air.

"Sasha! Jean! Connie!" Gray called out. Ultear stood there with a sinister smirk on her face.

"The only reason you and your pathetic brigade are even remotely a threat to us is because Fairy Tail decided to teach you magic. Without that, you're nothing but pests in my way." She coldly stated. The trio looked at her with painful glares, trying to get themselves back up. Gray gritted his teeth at the way she was talking to her friends.

"Don't you go running your mouth about things you don't understand!" Gray put his fist over his palm, creating an icy aura around them.

"Ice-Make: Bazooka!" Gray created the explosive firearm and shot it at Ultear, who didn't even move as she simply lifted her hand up and soon the projectile and the bazooka itself were dissolved into the air, greatly shocking their creator.

"And you still seem to haven't learned your lesson on how ineffective your magic is against me." Ultear summoned her lacrima orb from the damaged wrist guards, having it sent flying against her enemies.

It hit Gray first, before bouncing off of him and hitting Sasha right in the stomach, then ricocheting to strike Connie right in the jaw. The three were then assaulted with the orbs appearing from multiple angles, along with other companies.

Ultear got so lost in the onslaught she insinuated, she didn't see a leg coming straight for her head. She shifted her eyes to the right and saw the leg coming, catching it before it could strike her.

Jean was taken off guard by his attack failing, only to have Ultear grab his leg and lift her own to strike his face, making him grunt from the hit. She threw him to the side.

"You're way out of your league, foolish soldier. You can't rely on your peculiar gear to help so since I can just move its time forward into the future where its rusted and broken, therefore useless to its wielder!" She bragged.

Jean groaned as he lifted his head. He should've expected the woman to be a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, but it was still a shock to him.

"Yeah, maybe we're in over our heads. It's not the first time I've felt this way." He remembered the faces. Those god awful faces that stared back at him, as if they were looking directly into his soul. Way back in Trost.

"But, we have a chance now to change things, and I'm not going to let you or your shitty pals let it go all to waste just to satisfy some sick fantasy!" He shouted, astonishing the time witch. She grew irritated with the man's words and summoned her sword to finish off right there.

"Besides." Jean spoke again, making Ultear stop what she was doing.

"Your magic can't affect living things." Ultear raised her eyebrow at what he was getting at. So that means your precious "Lost Magic" is absolutely useless against me!" Jean screamed, transforming into another form while colliding against Ultear's figure, knocking her back.

"Animal Soul: Pangolin!" Jean shifted his form into a giant, red scaled mammalian with an albino face and melanistic claws. The scales were diamond-shaped, pointing upwards, but still flexible and able to align with the rest of the armor to allow for fluid movement.

Ultear was knocked into the wreckage nearby, only to feel some slimy wrapping around her waist. She looked up and gasped when she saw the pangolin and its long green tongue pierced right into the ground. The witch felt herself being pulled downwards and right through the ground, being forced back up by Jean, swinging her into a nearby tree.

'A Take Over spell?!' Ultear shouted internally.

Sasha stood by, taking in the environment of her surroundings using her five senses: Touch, taste, smell, sight… and hearing.

When she took everything in, Sasha held her hand out and clenched her fingers, focusing everything single noise she heard into one point.

"Hearing Bomb! Ultear turned her head to see where Sasha was, but she was suddenly with a blast of sound that appeared right where she was, hitting her in the back with an absurd mixture of sounds, like the rain falling combining with the sound of one of the animals native to the island.

Standing a few meters away, Connie was moving while standing still, moving at such a fast pace you could feel the kinetic energy just by standing near him. After enough time, Connie sprung forward and pulled back his fist, sending it straight into Ultear's face.

"Knockback Force!" Connie shouted. Ultear was sent skidding against the rocks before she summoned her sword again, stabbing it into the ground to stop herself from moving further. She clutched the handle while on her knees, breathing heavily as she began to bring it to a slower, more controlled rhythm.

She chuckled, surprised by that turn of events but strangely pleased with them.

"Well, now. You may not be so pathetic after all." The purplenette muttered out. She got on her feet, her hand gripping the clock-handled blade tightly. She smirked, letting out a low chuckle. The cadets didn't move, waiting for Ultear's next move before they made theirs.

"You called my magic useless because it didn't have an effect on your transformations." Jean narrowed his eyes, keeping his guard up.

"While it's true I can't affect your forms directly." The woman looked up with an intense gaze in her eyes, swinging her sword to the side. "It's absolutely foolish to think I can't attack you in any other way." Ultear narrowed her own eyes.

"You have no idea what Lost Magic is truly capable of." She held her other hand out, turning it into a fist.

"Rewind." Jean raised an eyebrow at what she said when he heard Sasha's voice call out to him.

"Jean! Above you!" Jean looked up and was shocked to see a giant hammer made of ice come crashing down onto him. Connie ran forward and grabbed Jean in time, right when the lethal block of ice was about to do him in.

"That was Gray's spell, how did it come back?!" Jean screamed out. Ultear had a smug face at that line.

"I can control the flow of time for non-living things and non-sentient living things, remember? That includes their future, and their past." Ultear casted "Rewind" again, summoning the ice spike that had dissolved earlier, surprising the soldiers as Sasha jumped out of the way when an ice spike appeared in the spot she was just in.

'She's flowing back time to use my attacks against us?!' Gray thought incredulously. As if her turning his magic into nothing wasn't enough!

Sasha landed nearby safely away from the turned ice spells and looked over to the purplenette. She held out her hands and started to cast her Sound Magic spell again.

"I don't think that will work again, honey." Ultear taunted, snapping her fingers. Suddenly, the dark clouds began to move away revealing a beautiful red-orange sky with the sun over the horizon.

"What the hell? What now?!" Jean screamed out. He wasn't shocked for that long. His body started to heat up from the inside, before it got to the point that he let out a cry of pain and was brought to his knees.

"Jean!" Gray shouted, running over to his friend.

"What happened, man?" Connie asked.

"I don't know. It's like my body was hit with a sudden surge of energy that was too much for me to handle." He explained. Connie was confused when suddenly the same thing happened to him. It was like hot liquid was flowing into him all at once.

"Connie!" Sasha cried out. She fell victim to the same effect from the Arc of Time spell. Gray found himself under the same effect. Jean looked up to the woman causing the change of the time of day, the brunette glaring hard at her.

'I'm guessing that the day shifting is what's causing this.' Ultear's smirk grew.

"You're more perceptive than I give you credit for." She praised. "Since my magic is part of the time family, I also have control, albeit limited, over the time of day. I can shift it to any point of time and with any point, comes along a "condition" that one must abide with the change. This is what happens when the dawn is upon us. Your bodies are hit with sudden surges of energy that your bodies can't contain, causing immense pain and happening at random intervals." She explained. Jean felt his body returning back to normal, feeling better again.

"Guess that means it wore off." Jean said. Connie heard his friend, and then his body felt normal like before.

"Now's my chance!" Connie said, sprinting into action and heading straight to Ultear. Gray saw the shaven gray-haired boy running at the woman. The ice wizard saw the face on his master's daughter, and knew she wasn't done yet.

"Connie, wait!" He called out, reaching his hand for the short soldier. But it was too late. Connie was sprinting at the time witch and positioned himself to prepare for a powerful kick.

"Falcon Heaven Soar!" Before his foot could strike her in the sides, Ultear put her hands together and held them in front of her.

"Warped Senses!" All of a sudden a stone appeared, hitting Connie and knocking him back.

"Connie!" The other three shouted. That large stone came out of nowhere. Sasha felt herself sinking and saw that the ground had turned into liquid.

"What's going on?" Gray turned back to the person behind this.

"That spell, she must've altered the time of all the items in random time, moving them forward or turning it backwards!" Gray explained.

"So that stone would appear in the future and that spot where Sasha was came from the past." Jean rationalized. He heard something coming his side and saw that there were waves from the oceans coming at them.

"I got them." Gray said, using his magic to freeze the waves before they could hit them.

"Close call. Thanks." Jean said.

"Don't mention it." The Fairy Tail mage responded. The two face the Grimoire Heart mage, who summoned her orb again and summoned multiple versions of it. They shot at them, forcing the two boys to block them with their arms. Jean changed back into a pangolin and jumped in front of his magical comrade, taking the hits instead.

"How did she manage to turn the tide against us so quickly?" Gray asked.

"Don't know, but the fight isn't over yet! We still have a chance." Jean said. They turned over and saw Sasha struggling to free herself. Gray froze the liquid rock, shattering it and freeing Sasha, who thanked him. Connie got back up and sped back to the others to regroup with them.

"Back together again? Big mistake." Ultear held her hand out and a large tree with curling branches in different directions appeared. Gray dodged the attack but the scouts weren't so lucky. The twirling branches hit them straight on, knocking them back in the forest in random spots.

"Guys!" Gray called out. He turned back to his master's daughter, who had a haughty smile that showed how pleased she was with her work. The disciple of Ur gritted his teeth at Ultear's actions against the Scouts. He started to cast another Ice-Make spell, but it was easily dispersed by her time magic. Ultear dashed forward and sent a straight kick to Gray's abdomen, making him gasp for air as he was sent crashing into the same spot Ultear was not too long ago.

"No, I'll beat you with Ur's Magic." Gray shot his right arm to the side and summoned a spike of ice around his hand and forearm. Ultear scoffed at the notion and told him to go ahead, but she was taken by surprise when Gray had a notable gash on his lower waist. She watched in awe and disbelief as his ice was slowly turning from its signature light blue, to a dark red. A second spike of ice appeared, forming around Gray's left elbow instead. To clog the wound, he froze the spot.

"I'll free you from the darkness… I'll seal it away…. forever…" Gray declared, echoing the same exact words his late master said to him on that fateful day.

Ultear snapped out of it and reminded him that his magic won't work. Gray ignored her, lunging straight for the dark mage and began attacking her, catching Ultear off guard when she found she couldn't control the ice like before.

"What the hell's going on?!" She screamed in anger and confusion.

"It's over now, because you can't control the time of living things!" With that sentence, Ultear put the pieces together and realized that that wasn't ice he was wielding: It was his own frozen blood.

Gray continued striking her, until his attack was finished and the frozen blood shattered.

"Ice-Blade: Seven Strike Dance." He muttered, turning over to his downed opponent. He dropped to his knee, clutching the self-made wound. Although it would heal thanks to his magic, it still didn't stop the pain from continuing. Gray shifted his body to face his opponent, keeping an eye on her while thinking about what happened to the others.

"Losing the battle to win the war, such tenacity." Ultear said, complementing the out-of-box thinking to get around her time magic.

'But I can't afford to lose." Ultear thought to herself. Gray saw the look in her eyes. He could tell she was about to unleash something big. He had to take her down before that could happen.

"Ice-Make: Sword!" Gray fashioned a blade out of pure ice, but with the difference of it being made out of his cold blood. Ultear summoned her sword again and the two rushed at each other, clashing their blades together and locked in a standstill as they stared each other down.

They backed away from each other, glancing at the other fiercely. They ran towards each other again, making continuous slashes only for them to be blocked, dodged, or parried by the other. Ultear tried to force the cold-blooded blade downward on Gray. He let the additional weight fall down, making Ultear trip and allowing herself to be open from a side kick.

The witch planted her feet on the floor and skidded on the slippery ground, stabbing her sword into the dirt to slow down her speed. She stood back up and saw her mother's "beloved" pupil with his sword over his arm, pointing directly at her.

The younger Milkovich summoned her orb, the crystal ball appearing in her free hand.

"Parallel Worlds." She said calmly. In a flash, tons of orbs appeared in the air, multiplying by the second. Gray was stunned at the display in front of him, but kept his focus up. Ultear hardened her gaze as she commanded her objects.

"Flash Forward!" The orbs flew at Gray at tremendous speeds, faster than he was expecting. Gray got hit by a few of them, delivering rapid blunt force trauma to his body. He gritted his teeth and started slashing at them, cutting them in half. He defended himself at multiple angles, preventing the spheres from crashing into him.

"Impressive, Gray." Ultear lightly praised. "But you should know by now that that isn't the only thing whose time I can control." She lifted her sword up to her face, turning the blade in a vertical position.

"Parallel Worlds." She chanted again.

This time, multiple versions of her clock sword were summoned, but Gray noticed how none of them were like the other. The blades of the swords were bent and broken in various ways, like they were the futures of times where the sword was damaged or destroyed, while others looked like they were designed like that on purpose. Others looked like swords morphed into completely different weapons, like a double-ended version of the sword, or one that looked like a polearm of sorts.

Ultear lifted her arm at her opponent and commanded the swords to fly straight at them. Gray slashed at them at rapid speeds, switching from defense and attack on the fly as fast as he could. However, some of the twisted blades were able to scratch and slice at him, leaving behind many cuts.

Gray grunted in pain, feeling his skin being sliced open by the clock sword variants. Gray fell to his knees, clutching his side when a particular blade cut him deeply. Ultear charged forward and drew her original sword back. She thrusted forward, which Gray recovered in time and put his hands together in their signature position, summoning a blood version of his "Ice-Make: Shield", stopping the attack.

A blur came out of the woods and at blazing speeds, it broke apart the blades into little metal pieces.

"Gray, get up man." Connie exclaimed, stopping in his tracks to stand by his comrade. Ultear was surprised that the short cadet came back into the fray so soon.

"You again?" The purplenette stated. She didn't have time to be fully shocked when a loud screech came from her left and knocked her back, flipping her over. She landed on her feet, but felt dazed and struggled to get on her feet. Ultear looked up and saw the huntress, pointing her bow and arrow at her as if warning her not to take another step.

"How are you still here? I thought I got rid of you!" She shouted, her frustration at failing to eliminate her targets.

"The next time you want to kill someone." Ultear turned around and felt a fist knock her straight. She felt her body being lowered as a pair of hands roughly grabbed the hair on the side of her head and soon a knee clashed into her chin, causing her mouth to ache painfully.

Ultear's eyes looked up and they saw the perpetrator of her recent pain. Jean socked her in the stomach, causing all the air in her lungs to be let out in an excruciating manner. The time wizard looked up, seeing Jean transforming his right arm into a scaly appendage with sharp claws. He slashed at her, leaving behind claw marks on her face and chest, pushing her back and knocking her down.

"Make sure you don't grow complacent and check to see if you actually finish the damn job." Jean ironically scolded. Ultear held her hand to the clawed wound on her cheek, trying to ease the wound for now. Connie and Sasha joined Jean, flanking each of his sides.

"You know, for dark mages from the most powerful Dark Guild of the Balam Alliance, you all are sure doing a piss poor job of actually killing us." The soldier spoke out. Ultear looked up at the soldier with aching, but raging eyes.

"You think that this would be a cake walk for wizards of you caliber, but the fact that none of you have actually permanently end any of us despite how much of a pain in the ass you and your so called "kin of purgatory" were with your fucking "lost magic" should say something. Fat good that did. We made sure not to underestimate you, but now I'm wondering if we actually "overestimate" you." The soldier coldly scrutinized. His teammates looked at Jean astonished, not believing what just came out of his mouth.

"Dude." Connie gasped silently.

"Jean." Sasha added, shocked and concerned about her friend's behavior. Even Gray was looking at the ashy-brown teen stupefied.

Ultear gritted her teeth. How dare….. HOW DARE DOES THIS CRETIN THINK HE CAN GET AWAY WITH TALKING TO HER LIKE THAT. TO DISMISS THE POWERFUL LOST MAGIC SHE SPENT YEARS SEARCHING FOR AND HONING HER SKILLS IN TO ACHIEVE HER DREAMS!

The time wizard knew that she couldn't win on her main magic alone. It pained her to do it, but she had little options.

Ultear stood back up, getting the soldiers and Gray on edge. She started taking a stance, clasping her hands in a familiar stance. A stance that caught her mother's pupil off-guard.

"Ice-Make…" Jean's eyes popped open when she began speaking.'

"Is that-?" He gasped. Connie and Sasha were as shocked at their teammate when they heard the words come out of the woman's mouth.

"ROSEN KRONE!" Ultear Milkovich shot her hands out and in a flash, large, thick, spiky branches attached with roses made out of violet-colored ice came out of the ground, spiraling towards the groups and knocking them back with the thorns, making them scream out in pain.

The four crashed into the ground. Connie was the first to get back up, taking a battle stance immediately.

"She knows Ice-Make Magic too?!" Connie shouted.

"For someone who decided to learn a specific magic to counter Maker magic, she sure isn't against using that power herself." Sasha called out.

"You okay, Gray." Jean asked, checking on his friend. The ice wizard sat up, trying to recover from the attack. Ultear didn't want to get them any time to catch their breath, immediately clasping her hands together again.

"Ice-Make: Bloom!" Ultear put her hands on the ground and another set of icy roses with thorns appeared, this time sprouting up from the ground to attack the group from below. Connie was quick on his feet, and grabbed everyone in time before the spell could hit them.

Once they were clear, Connie set his friends down and kept his gaze on Ultear, ready to act if she tried anything. Their focus was broken when Gray started to talk again.

"That spell. I never thought I see it again." Ultear broke out of her blood-induced trance and gasped at his words."It was hers. You used Ur's magic." Only for it to come right back as soon as her mother's name was mentioned. Connie and the others looked at Gray as he slightly lifted his head, having a soft smile.

"I guess it's natural, since her blood is flowing through your veins."

"SHUT UP!" Her breaking point has reached. Unable to take anymore, Ultear slammed her hands down, forming a row of raceme flowers with the bottom petals opening to reveal the stamens on the inside. The flowers raced towards the group, shifting their shape into a pack of wolves with floral designs, such as a row of petals around their necks that took the place of collars.

"Ice-Make: Wolfsbane!"

"Sasha! On me!" Jean ordered, running up to get in front of the others.

"Right!" Sasha confirmed. The two stood in front of their comrades. Jean's body began to have purple blocks appear all over his body until his entire form shifted completely.

"Animal Soul!" Jean transformed into a giant rodent with a black body and sharp white quills.

"Porcupine!" Sasha perked up at the sound of the animal's name.

'Oh man, I really could go for pork from the bar right now." She daydreamed, drooling at the thought of the delicious meat. Ever since being in Earth Land, Sasha decided to gorge herself on the luxuries of so many different types of cuisine from different and rare ingredients that weren't exactly available to people like her back at the Walls due to their colossal predicament. Tasting all the local foods here, not to mention any foods that have a magical kick to them was simply appetizing.

"Sasha!"

"Huh?" Sasha turned over to the big mammalian, who looked miffed at her right now.

"Now's not the time. Focus!" He lectured. Sasha remembered that they were still in a fight and couldn't afford to be dozing off right now.

"Oh, right! Sorry!" The reddish-brunette replied. She looked at the wolves of ice rushing at them, snouts open and fangs out. She focused her ears again, taking in all the noise that her eardrums could pick up in the immediate vicinity.

"Hearing Barrage!" The huntress held her hands out, channeling every single sound around her, and throwing them in the form of projectiles of sound that raced towards the horde. Jean added on to that by allowing the quills on his body to be shot out, being carried by soundwaves.

The sound-enhanced needles struck the chilling canines, breaking them apart the second they made contact. Ultear, noticing that her spell was being dealt with, urgently followed that up with another one.

"Ice-Make: Jardines de Solanáceas!" From the ground, a field of nightshades appeared. The petals unfolded into their natural appearance, revealing the berries underneath. The vines constricted the quartet, leaving them open to attack.

The ice berries started to explode, breaking it apart and causing icy-fueled explosions that bombarded the crew.

"Any ideas on how we're going to beat this chick?" Connie asked, trying to block the explosions as best as he can with his arms despite being restrained by them.

"Not at the moment, I don't" Sasha admitted, also trying to free herself.

"You three keep the attacks coming, one after another. Leave an opening for me to take it." Gray ordered. Jean looked at the Fairy Tail wizard and had a feeling on what he wanted to do.

"I'll take the first attack." The brunette shifted his forms. In place of his furry transformation earlier, was a black scaly armored reptile with a yellow underbelly, wide snout and similarly yellow fangs and claws with a darker tint.

"Animal Soul: Alligator!" The now changed crocodilian used his powerful jaws to snap the ice branches into pieces, freeing him and his friends from their grasps. They landed back on the ground and Jean roared, running for Ultear with how fast his short legs could carry him.

"Oh please, you really think that slow tank of a body can hit me?" Ultear sneered. Jean ignored her taunts, only focusing on getting close to his target. When he was in position, the melanistic animal turned his body to bring his tail to the right, aiming to hit his opponent with it. During this attack, Jean's mind was reminded of something with all the recent talk about family and

"Jean-Boy! I have your favorite meal ready!"

A young Jean Kirschtein was playing with the neighborhood kids when his mother called for him. Though he was embarrassed about the nickname, he quickly brushed it off as he knew why his mother was calling him for.

"See you guys later!" Jean went inside and was beyond happy when he felt the delicious smell of his favorite food his mom makes. He ran to the plate and his mouth watered when he saw what it was: an omlet.

Simply, but appealing, Jean didn't wait any longer and started devouring the egg dish. Mrs. Kirschtein watched as her beloved boy enjoyed her cooking.

"Thank you, Mom! This is yummy!" Jean said in between his chowing.

"I love you! You're the best mom ever!"

Mrs. Kirschtein's eyes widened and she covered her mouth. Tears of joy ran down her face and couldn't help herself from running to her son.

"Oh, my baby!" She squealed, holding on to her son, who was very embarrassed about the big show of affection.

"Mom!"

….

Jean was walking through the neighborhood. He didn't have to go to school today, so he had a lot of free time. But he couldn't find much to do, so Jean decided to go for a walk to find something to do.

He was near the military base in the middle of Trost when he saw someone else.

A young boy around his age with parted black hair, with a pair of light brown eyes and freckles on his face. Jean saw as the boy was watching at the stronghold and the soldier with a sense of awe he didn't see before.

"Hey!' Jean called over to the boy. He turned his head over and noticed Jean walking up towards him.

"Uh, yeah?" The boy asked, puzzled.

"Why are you looking at this place?" Jean bluntly asked. The boy turned back to the base, not answering him right away.

"I want to join the military." The boy responded, taking Jean by surprise.

"Why? What for?" The kid turned over to him, giving him a small smile.

"So I can serve his Majesty. It's always been my dream to be right by the King and serve him, helping him and the people of these walls in any way I can!" The boy expressed determination and excitement when he spoke, as if he already reached his dream. Jean was taken back by the ambitious, if idealistic views of the boy. He had to admit, it was pretty noble of him and the brunette could tell he was genuine.

"Well, that's some dream there." He stated. The boy turned back to face Jean, the next he said really catching him off guard.

"What's your dream?" Jean didn't know how to respond to that one.

"Oh , uh?" He rubbed the back of his head, slightly shy after being put on the spot. "I guess I really don't have one." The boy admitted.

The black-haired boy looked surprised, but then smiled again. "That's okay. It takes time for people to figure out what they do. Hey, why don't you and I become friends and we can reach our dreams together!' He offered.

Jean didn't know how to reply back immediately. He just met this kid and now he wants to be friends? Well, he seemed nice enough, even if he's too excited about his goals.

"Sure, why not?" Jean grinned. "I'm Jean. What's your name." He held out his hand and the boy took it, introducing himself.

"My name is Marco."

…

"I'm fine, Mom. Leave it!"

Jean said exasperatedly at his mother, who was getting on his case almost non-stop.

"I'm just making sure you're ready, Jean-Boy!" She defended herself.

It's been two years since the fall of Shiganshina, and Wall Maria along with it. Jean and the other residents were understandably frightened by the news, but eventually after nothing major happened, things settled down for the most part. During this time, Jean decided to join the military and have Marco's goals as his own: To join the Military Police.

However, it wasn't exactly for altruistic and selfless reasons. Jean knew that those in the Military Police Brigade pretty much lived a life of luxury, and he wanted a part of that, especially after resources had become limited and even the simple things like bread was pretty much valuable in these circumstances.

He was on his way to where the enlistment process was being held. But his mother was nagging him on what to bring and to not forget anything.

"Now make sure you have everything, okay dear?" Mrs. Kirschtein lectured. Jean groaned at his mother's behavior, but forced a smile nonetheless.

"Yes, Mom." His mother smiled too, either not noticing the fake smile or ignoring it.

"Be safe out there okay." She told her son. He noticed the sincere tone in her voice and knew that even with her overparenting annoying him, it came out of a place of love.

"I will, Mom. Don't you worry." He told his mother. She smiled at him and gave him a hug. Jean wasn't expecting it, but returned it even if he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"Make sure you visit me at some point!" Mrs. Kirschtein called out to him. Jean waved at his mother as he departed for the training grounds.

"Don't worry, I will!"

'Not until four years later.' Jean remembered the mock invasion that was part of their training near the end of their time in the 104th. He remembered his behavior towards his mother and while he understood why he acted that way, he wished he didn't snap at her like that. He was grateful for her sending him the omelet he loved from his childhood, as that allowed him to get the idea to recreate it and win the cooking competition for commander Dot Pixis of the Garrison.

'At least it didn't turn into something like this.' For all the times he felt annoyed by her, Jean still loved his mother dearly. Something that can't be said for the woman he was currently fighting.

The purplenette jumped up, easily dodging the appendage. Ultear was going to retaliate when she saw that Jean hadn't stopped moving. The alligator turned around as fast as he could and jumped up and bit right into Ultear's left leg, making her cry out in pain.

The soldier swung her around, his iron-like lockjaw not letting her go for a second. He threw her in the air, where the huntress was waiting for her.

While she was focused, Sasha's mind was also somewhere else…

"Daddy, what are you doing!" A young Sasha watched as her father looked to be messing around with some weird tools. The man looked to his little angel, giving her a soft smile.

"Daddy's going hunting, pumpkin." He answered her simply. The young lass was curious about what all the stuff her father had was. She leaned forward to get a closer look. However, since they were outside and Mr. Braus was over on the other side of a fence, Sasha climbed on top of the wooden structure and leaned over to a closer look, causing her to slip and fall, landing in a puddle of mud. Her father heard the splash and went over to check on his daughter.

"Sasha! Are you alright?!" He asked urgently. Sasha lifted her head from the mud, giving her dad a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry Dad." She apologized. Her Dad shook his head, but had a smile present the whole time. He picked her up, not caring about his clothes getting dirty, taking her into the house to clean her up.

"Here. Let's get you cleaned up and then I'll show you how Daddy hunts." He promised her.

"Hooray!"

….

A seven-year old Sasha was out hunting with her father. He taught her the basics of hunting in the way of their people. It took her a few tries, but she soon proved to be an absolute natural at being a hunter.

Right now, the two Brauses are out in the woods, her father guiding her while she prepares herself for her first kill.

"Wait." Her father held his hand out, stopping Sasha in her tracks. She wondered what was going on, until she saw what made her father stop.

A lone deer, eating away at the grass without a care.

"Sasha, take your position." Sasha nodded and armed herself with the bow she brought with her for this very occasion, reaching for the one of the arrows out of her quiver.

"Steady your arms, keep your angle right, and stay calm." Her father advised one last time. Sasha had been practicing with the bow every chance she took to perfect her skills. Every day since then has been leading up to this point.

She took a deep breath. Sasha readied the bow, shifting the direction of the arrow until she was aiming it right in the spot she needed to make a killing blow.

Sasha held the bow, keeping her hands steady as best as she could. Never taking off her eyes of the horned mammal, a bead of sweat rolled down her face.

Without another second, she let go of the string, the bow flying through the air and hitting its target.

It was a moment. Sasha stood there for a moment, taking everything in. Until a huge smile grew on her little face and she began jumping around.

"I did it! I did it!" Sasha cheered. Her father grabbed Sasha under her arms and spun her around, ecstatic about his daughter's success.

"Yes you did sweetie, I'm so proud of you!' Mr. Braus happily replied.

This was a day they wouldn't forget.

…

Sasha was preparing to go, leaving the home that raised her for a new turning point in her life.

She was joining the 104th Cadet Corp.

The redhead brunette was preparing herself for the grueling hours over the course of years that she was going to have to endure. She was in her room until her father came in.

"Hey Sasha, you're doing alright?" He asked her. Sasha turned around to see her father standing in the doorway.

"Oh, yeah Pops. I'm doing fine. Just fine." She said urgently. Her father picked up the tone of her voice, able to tell his daughter was extremely nervous about the whole thing.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do, pumpkin?" He asked her. Sasha stopped what she was doing to ponder on her Dads words.

"Yeah, I have to. We are going to take back our land and soon we'll have enough food to satisfy us for a lifetime!" Sasha announced. Papa Braus sighed, giving a small smile afterwards. Ever since the recent incident that happened in Wall Maria, food has become scarce, resulting in his daughter gnawing on every piece of food, mainly meat, she could get her teeth in. It's been hard for them and the rest of the people in their village.

It hit Sasha hard, having grown resentful over the so-called "intruders" invading their lands. He remembered the talk they had when Sasha got her hands on another piece of meat.

Times were changing, and people needed help. You can hang on to the old ways of life, but don't be surprised when you need help from the people you turned your back on.

"I'm sure you will, honey." Papa Braus told her. Sasha dwelled for a second, before turning around and giving her father a hug.

"I'll miss you, Dad." She said, a few tears escaping her eyes. Her father returned the hug and stroked her hair to sooth her.

"I'll miss you too, Sasha." He said back.

After that, Sasha got her things and was ready to travel to the place where the recruitment process was taking place. She waved goodbye to her folks and was on her way. Making sure to pick up a potato for later…

Sasha smiled a bit, recalling all the good times she had with her ma and pa. But right now, she has a duty to follow. As a soldier, and a friend to the people that helped her out.

"Abhorrent Melody!" Sasha sang. Without warning, Ultear's ears were assaulted by a terrible symphony of different sounds that didn't sound like they mesh well together, making her ears hurt as she was blown back by the sound waves.

Out in the distance, Connie sprinted at high speeds, building up the momentum with each sprint in. The shaved head young soldier went in a specific order, gathering more energy with each straight line he ran in.

Once she was in his line of sight, Connie used his enhanced speed to jump higher and performed a straight hook, knocking Ultear to the ground.

"Pressure Point!"

While this was going on, Connie was doing his own reminiscing

"Oof!"

A young Connie Springer took a hard fall, rubbing his back to ease the aching. He was busy climbing up some trees and accidentally misplaced his foot, slipping and falling to the ground. The other kids in the villages began laughing at him.

"Watch your step, Springer!"

"Unless you want that egghead of yours to crack open!

"Clumsy Springer!"

Connie did not take the insults well, getting on his feet with an angry expression.

"Shut up you jerks! I'm not clumsy!" He shouted at them. This didn't stop the other kids from pointing at him.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" One of them challenged.

"You're on!" Connie responded. The boy was about to climb the tree again, making sure to be as careful as he could. However, he misplaced his foot and fell again, causing the other children to roar in laughter.

Connie sat up, both angry and sad that the others were making fun of him. Tears of those emotions poured out of his eyes and he tried to wipe them off so as to not give the other kids more ammo in their relentless verbal assault.

"Connie! Dinner's ready!" The young Springer looked over and saw his mother waving for him. Despite the bullying he was getting from, Connie's spirits lifted when he saw his mom.

Ignoring the other kids, Connie ran to his mom, tripping for a moment before reaching her.

…

"Connie! Come here for a second!" Mr. Springer called for his son, who was busy chilling out and enjoying the day. Mr. Springer was working on some construction for their house, having a set of nails, wooden planks, and tools such as hammers, a saw, etc.

"Alright Dad!" Connie went over to his father. He was working on expanding their house and he would need some assistance for their project. Although Connie didn't prefer working, he wasn't going to turn down his Dad for help.

He was carrying a few planks, holding them at the side so his father could pick up another one at the ready. It was going smoothly until Mr. Springer asked his son to get more wood. Connie went to where the other planks were and was about to pick up more wood until he got so many that he couldn't see, having trouble seeing where he was going.

He tripped over a stone, crashing into the ground and dropping all the planks. The noise attracted the attention of his Dad.

"Connie!" Mr. Springer climbed down the ladder he was on and went over to check on him.

"I'm fine, Dad. Sorry about the wood." Connie responded. The two heard chuckling and saw a couple of the villagers laughing. They caused Connie to become a bit downed, while his father frowned at their amusement.

Over the years, Connie unfortunately gained the reputation of being a dumb, clumsy kid. Although he wasn't uncoordinated or low on intelligence, so many incidents happened that while the villagers appreciated his presence, they didn't really respect him. At least in Connie's eyes.

Connie got up and was helping his father pick up the scattered when they heard laughter again, but of a different kind. The boy turned to see a group of kids playing that were quite younger than him.

"Hey Connie, come play with us!" One of them called out, the others agreeing with loud cheers.

Despite the reputation he's garnered, Connie was still popular with the young ones, acting like an older brother figure to them. Playing games, reading them stories, or just spending time with them.

"Sure, I'll be there in a second!" He called back to them. Connie looked to his father, his face silently asking him if can go play with the kids. Mr. Springer smiled at him, tilting his over to the directions of the young ones.

Connie's face brightened and he sat the planks down, running over to the kids to play a game together. Mr. Springer smiled at seeing his son so happy, glad that he was able to find joy even with the rough patches in his life.

…

"Okay, I'm off!"

Connie called back to his parents. He recently enlisted to join the military now that he was old enough to be part of the 104th Cadet Corps. The young lad was about to get into a carriage that was going to take him to the training site. He got his stuff ready and waved goodbye to his parents and all the other villagers.

"See you Connie!"

"Good luck with the military!"

"Try to make it back in one piece!"

The villagers and the kids were saying their goodbyes, which Connie appreciated, but his attention was focused on his parents, who kept their eyes on their son the whole time.

"I'll be back home before you know it!" He called out to them. They smiled when hearing this, his mother especially.

"We'll be here to welcome you back! Mrs. Springer called back. Connie nodded and got into the carriage. While riding in the simple wooden vehicle, Connie thought back to his main goal.

'I'll join the Military Police. I will be respected by my village!"

Connie enjoyed the memories that resurfaced, but pushed them back at the moment to focus on the current situation.

Ultear landed on her feet, looking up at fury in her eyes. "I had enough of you." She was going to cast another Ice-Make spell when Gray grabbed her, knocking her off balance and making them roll on the rocky surface.

"Let go!"

"What the hell's wrong with you?! When did you become such an evil person?!" Gray asked, the two wrestling over to the cliffside. Ultear scoffed at his insistent scrutiny.

"Like you care!" She retorted. They were closing in at the edge, which alerted the scouts.

"You can never understand what I've been through!" Ultear shouted in rage. She and Gray wrestled until they were sent rolling off into the ocean.

"Gray!" Jean screamed, Connie and Sasha looked on in shock at the scene before them.

The two Ice-Make wizards fell to the ocean, Gray keeping Ultear's arms in the air so she couldn't use them.

"My mother." Ultear said.

"That witch, abandoned me!" She finished, causing Gray's expression to soften. The two hit the ocean surface, a faint splash erupting from their collision with the water. The trio ran up to the cliffside, trying to find their friend amongst the waves.

She remembered everything.

When she was a little girl, Ultear was in this strange place with these people with weird masks, saying that they were going to take care of her. But their definition of hospitality and nurturing was a farce.

They sentenced her to strange experiments, strange and painful experiments that were supposed to help her contain the abnormal amount of magic power she was born with, but all it did was cause her agonizing pain. One experiment in particular had her suspended over a large hole that seemed bottomless with a pair of cables that were strapped to each of her arms and legs that sent electric shocks, making the little purplenette cry out in pain whenever they were active.

Soon, she was able to escape, running through the landscapes to find her home and reunite with her mother. Eventually, while ignoring that freezing chill that her tiny feet felt when touching the white snow. That's when she stumbled upon them.

Her mother, Ur Milkovich, was with two boys. One with pointy bluish white hair that stood up and a black-hair spiky one that her mother was attending to. She saw how happy her mother was with the kids, how she was laughing and smiling with them… how she cared for them like a mother would.

The pain in her heart was indescribable.

She'd been abandoned… by her own flesh and blood.

She was left at that terrible place to rot.

"Unforgivable."

Those words rang in the child's head. With nowhere left to go, she went back to the facility. Ultear let the scientists there continue running experiments on her, wanting to see if she can gain the power she requires to get revenge on her mother. However, one of the experiments ended up going haywire because of the overabundance of magic power surging through Ultear, being too much for the system to handle. The facility was destroyed and Ultear began wandering adrift. Eventually she met Master Hades, learning about the legendary Black Wizard: Zeref, and using the resources he gathered over the years to learn Time Magic.

All of those years of pain, patience, and lack of hesitation to destroy and kill is what led up to this moment. This moment where she can finally shift her cursed existence to a life of happiness that would make everything worth it.

Ultear casted her own Ice-Make spell to counter Gray's.

'Ice-Make: Dahlias!'

She shot forth a large dahlias flower, blocking the opposing icy attack in its track. She was about to cast another Ice-Make spell against Gray when she heard something. Something that made her freeze in her tracks.

'It can't be!' She thought astonishingly. There was no way that was possible! But despite how much her mind didn't want to believe it, her ears aren't deceiving her.

She was hearing the voice of her late mother.

Ultear remembered how Ur's body from the Iced Shell spell she casted on the destructive demon of the Book of Zeref: Deliora was melted with the Moon Drip they were trying to acquire on Galuna Island, pouring out into the ocean. Ultear realized that her mother became one with the large body of water.

"This must be her memory." Ultear couldn't comprehend what was going on, but then the voice came up again. Ur's voice.

She started speaking and what she was talking about shocked the younger Milkovich to her core.

She learned that her mother was trying to help cure her of the overwhelming amount of magic power inside her body that she simply couldn't handle at such a young age. It made her have constant fevers that would never truly heal and Ur was told to go to the Bureau to cure her daughter there. However, when Ur came for her, she was told that her daughter had died and the poor woman was left sobbing, believing her daughter to be gone forever.

The memories were so different from what Ultear experienced. She couldn't comprehend it all. While she was distracted, Gray took this opportunity to attack, this time with the intent on finishing the battle for good.

"Ice-Make…"

"GUNGNIR!"

Gray summoned a large three-prong spear, trapping Ultear in the middle blade as she was launched upwards, out of the sea and into the sky. Jean, Connie, and Sasha all watched in awe at the colossal monumental weapon of ice, the leader of the Seven Kin encased in the middle with her head and limbs hanging out.

Gray resurfaced and explained how Ur talked about her and what she meant to her mother, but the memories were too painful. How when Ultear was born, a light shone and Ur couldn't stop crying tears of joy.

This was the power of life.

She saw unlimited potential in Ultear's tiny form when she was born and she became proof of her life. Her tears.

Ur's Tears.

Ultear accepted defeat. She sat on a stone near the water while Gray wrapped his shirt around the self-made wound he caused earlier. To make things up to the soldiers, Ultear used her Arc of Time to restore them back to their previous condition.

"Wow, that is so cool!" Connie exclaimed.

"I guess you're forgiven now?" Jean said unsurely. He was grateful, but was still on guard around the woman

"Don't mention it." Ultear replied. She couldn't blame him for his still distrustful attitude. She turned her head and saw Sasha approaching her.

"Thank you for restoring our gear." The huntress bowed. Ultear was about to reply when Sasha put her hand over hers.

"If it's any consolation, I'm sure your mother was still thinking about you and would not at all hate you for what you've done. You're still her daughter, and she will love you no matter what."

Ultear was taken aback by the warm nature of the girl. She felt happy inside from the superb gesture of kindness the soldier gave to her. It was more than she felt she deserved.

"Sasha, was it? Thank you." The redhead brunette smiled in response. The time wizard did so too, then turned to Gray.

"I guess this means it's over for me, my battle is over now."

"I wish I could say the same, but ours is just starting." He replied.

"Be careful you four. None of you can't defeat Hades on your own, let alone just the four of you." Ultear warned.

"I'd figured as much." Gray responded, getting the time wizard's attention. "But, I'm not alone" The Ice-Maker turned back to his master's daughter.

"None of us are." He added, tilting his head over to the soldier trio next to him. Ultear followed his gaze, and saw the looks of determination on Jean, Connie, and Sasha's face. Unwavering and unyielding. If they had any fear, they were doing a good job of not letting it consume them, which greatly impressed the time wizard.

"This ends now." Jean concluded, his face hardened by resolve. The huntress and the speedster felt the same.

As the thunder boomed, and lightning flashed in the darkened skies, the scattered members of the two organizations bound together in unison looked up at the black and dark gray clouds. They've fought many hard battles today, and while they were challenging and pushed them to their limits, they managed to pull through.

Now with the leader of the purgatory seven kin defeated, as well as many other prominent members of the grimoire, there was only one thing left to do.

Take down the man that started all this pain and misery the fairies and the scouts endured today. The one who decided to take on the name of the ruler of the underworld as his moniker:

Hades

Magic:

Jean;

Take Over: Animal Soul;

Animal Soul: Pangolin;

The user transforms into a scaled mammalian. This form allows for the user to have protective scales as a powerful means of defense that are still flexible for swift movement, long sharp claws for quick and deadly strikes, and an elongated tongue for a variety of purposes. The user can also burrow underground and travel at tremendous speeds

Animal Soul: Porcupine;

The user transforms into a quilly rodent. The user's quills are very versatile, being able to be used for simple defense to shooting the quills. The quills can also be manipulated by the user however they wish, as well as being strengthened in both sharpness and durability as the user grows stronger and is able to increase their forms capabilities, the quills being able to additional perks such as elemental properties or specific characteristics such as longer, thinner quills or shorter, thicker ones

Animal Soul: Alligator;

The user can transform into a large, crocodilian. In this form, the user is equipped with heavy-duty scales that provide near-impenetrable defense, a thick tail that can be used as a painful bludgeoning tool, and giant jaws that can crush practically almost anything as well as have strong grip. The user also can swim incredibly well in water, making the form ideal for underwater combat

Connie;

High Speed;

Knockback Force;

The user runs in place at tremendous speeds, their body vibrating at an alarming rate. When the user has enough energy built up, they move their body toward the intended target, releasing all the energy at a single point that blows back the target at incredibly far distances

Pressure Point;

The user travels to certain spots in a continuous line without stopping, charging up kinetic energy along the way. At the final spot, the user heads towards the target and hits them at full force with the charged up energy, the kinetic force traveling through a certain limb or portion of the body depending on how the user attacks the target. The user has to be careful as the built up energy can backfire and cause the user's body to explode from the vibration

Sasha;

Sound Magic;

Hearing Bomb;

The user can manipulate the hearing of creatures and conjure up the sounds they've heard into a single explosion. If necessary and when at the proper level, the user can also explode the sounds the target is hearing right at their ear, causing tremendous if not permanent ear damage

Hearing Barrage;

The user manipulates the different sounds they are hearing and redirect them at the target, changing them into blasts of sounds that overwhelm and vibrate the target, freezing them in place

Abhorrent Melody;

The user conjures up all the sounds they hear and directs it at the target, creating a wavelength of mixed up, conflicting sounds that harm the user's hearing and stun them in their tracks. Depending on the sounds involved and how loud or quiet they are, this spell can have a different effect such as shaking the ground for louder noises and distorting the senses for quieter noises

Ultear;

Arc of Time;

Rewind;

The user rewinds the time of an object back to its original position, similar to Restore. The main difference is that Rewind has manipulates the time of an object for more offensive purposes, such as reversing the time of an explosion to make it blow up again, or rewinding a projectile attack to have it strike a different target depending on the positioning

Stroke of Dawn;

The user forwards the flow of time of the day into dawn. During this point, time temporarily freezes during the hour of dawn and the frozen time period comes with the added effect of everything in the time stream to sudden bursts of energy that happen at random intervals that they can't handle. When the spell is over or the user is defeat, the time returns to the back to when it originally was before the spell was casted

Warped Senses;

The user affects the timeline of multiple objects at once in the immediate vicinity, rewinding and forwarding the timeline of those objects and using them to attack the target. This spell can drastically alter the environment when is use

Ice-Make;

Ice-Make: Wolfsbane;

The user creates wolfsbane flowers out of ice, using them to attack the target. The wolfsbane shifts into floral wolves that hone in at the target, biting and slashing at the them while freezing them on contact

Ice-Make: Jardines de Solanáceas;

The user creates a multitude of nightshade plants made out of ice, surrounding and constraining the target with the flowers and vines. The berries explode on impact, shooting broken icicles at the target

Author's Note:

It's finally here. Chapter 16. Three months since the last chapter, but at least it's out.

I hoped you enjoyed the things I added in this chapter. It was really fun adding more to Animal Soul, High Speed, and Sound Magic. Not to mention adding a little to Jean, Connie, and Sasha's characters by showcasing their backstories. As well as giving more to the Special Ops Squad.

I really liked showcasing more of Ultear's arsenal, especially more of her Ice-Make magic and her sword, which she doesn't use again after the Tenrou Island arc. She's one of my favorite characters in Fairy Tail, so I hope I did her justice.

Although it's not a question, I will answer a review from my last chapter

Ariel69: First off, thank you so much for the kind words. It hasn't been easy, but I've gotten better and as you can see, I'm still able to work on my story even if it takes a long time. I'm not going to let my condition prevent me from finishing this.

I get your point, and yeah, I really have been just adding Attack on Titan stuff to the canon events in Fairy Tail. However, that happens commonly when it comes to crossovers anyways, especially if the crossover involves a character or a set of characters from one series going into the beginning of another.

Despite all that, I still try to make the chapters engaging and try to change things significantly so that the presence of the Aot characters has an actual impact on the Fairy Tail world, while not straying too far from the main plot otherwise the story would have almost no direction or coherent narrative. I'm glad you're enjoying the Eren chapters though, and you're going to like what I have planned in the future regarding him.

Anyways, we're finally to Chapter 17, one that I've been looking forward to for a while now. I'm going to work on that right away and get it out as soon as I can. In the meantime, thanks for reading the story so far, and until then.