The Key(s) to Victory

by dxvilcj

There was nothing Lucy could do as she stood and watched in pure horror as 10,000 Dragons entered Fiore, destroying everything in their path. She got separated from the others during the initial attack, but the lack of magic and prideful shouts that she knows Fairytail was capable of, confirmed her doubts to be true. Everyone was dead. She had to go back, to save the future.

7. Quick Author's Note Insight

Hello Readers!

First, I like to make the disclaimer that I do not own Fairytail, just the changes that I'm going to make to the canon material. This is also cross-posted on AO3 (archive of our own) which is where the latest chapters would be uploaded first, followed by here.

Current there are nine chapters published, but I've only uploaded six here just so that people can get awareness of the story on and won't have to worry about playing catch up too quickly. This will also help me determine whether or not to continue to post here, or just stick with AO3, so we shall see!

First and foremost, this is a warning.

The events that happen in canon Fairytail will still take place, but this is a darker spin to Fairytail as we know it. There will be violence, trauma, sadness, grief, etc.

But this is not a completely depressing story, as there will be plenty of elements of fluff, happiness, friendship, even love!

Ultimately, the goal of this fic is to not only give Lucy the character arc and depth that she deserves, but others as well. There is a common complaint about Fairytail being too "power of friendship-y" and how the characters seem rather one-dimensional and shallow. This fic is here to change that, with twists of my own that makes sense to me considering the events that each of these characters go through.

This is in-depth character study in a way, with other people getting a chance to shine a little bit more as well.

For example, Lucy's Zodiac Keys. You mean to tell me that these spirits that have been around for centuries are used to just cut hair in the middle of battle? Just used as "comediac" perverted purposes, but doesn't have much value other than that? The point I'm trying to make is that Lucy's potential to summon these mythical beings wasn't treated fairly, shawty could be so powerful.

With Natsu: In my story, I wanted to do Natsu's reveal so badly, to give him already more character depth than the entire Fairytail anime. It always made me so baffled at how Natsu could feel so optimistic about searching for Igneel despite all of these years, you know? I know if I suddenly appeared at a new place without my parents, I'd feel lost and confused, would even want to take matters into my own hands to search for them myself.

As you can see, these are just glimpses of the impactful changes that I want to give these characters, because they deserve it.

Hopefully you guys enjoy this journey, as much as I do, because it's going to be fun as it is painful and deep.

Please leave any reviews, even for constructive criticsim! If there are any questions, I can answer then within the next update to address anything! They are incredibly motivating and keep me on my toes to continue to push forwards and write this time-travel Fairytail fix-it!

I don't even know if the Fairytail fandom is still alive or not, but if it is, I see you bestie, and I'll continue to write these even if it's just for you.

We in this fandom for life!

Note: LMAO IM SORRY, THERE WAS A MAJOR FORMATTING ERROR WHEN I FIRST UPLOADED THE FIC. I should've known, cuz when the word count said 81k, i was like huh?