Chapter 93

Time of Life

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip

"Chelia!" Lyon shouted into the field as Meredy and Juvia stood over Gray's body. "Where are you!? Chelia! We need you! You're the only one who can save him! He'll die!"

"I… i think it's too late." Meredy mumbled through her tears.

With Natsu

"The time has come for your death." Rogue declared. "Now finish him!" Motherglare charged and Atlas Flame flew aside, forcing another chance.

"I'll never give up!" Natsu declared before jumping off.

"Doesn't matter how much power you have. You're still too injured to do anything!" Rogue declared as he moved and dodged the punch. Natsu landed back on his uncle and Rogue smirked. "Fine. Maybe destroying you another way will end your resolve."

"The hell are you talking about?" Natsu asked.

Rogue pointed down and Natsu looked to see as Laki jumped from a claw swing from the smoke dragon, only to get hit by the tail. The girl had the wind knocked out of her and flew into a building, completely destroying the structure. Pushing herself up, she looked up as the beast opened its mouth.

"LAKI!" Natsu jumped of his uncle and dived at the dragon. The smoke dragon turned and swung its claw, ready to take his head off.

With Ultear

The time mage still stared up at the sky, her eyes glancing to a nearby clock tower. 'My whole life has been in the shadows. I thrived on manipulation and scheming. But still, Gray gave me a chance of forgiveness, compassion… Crime Sorciere was my chance to atone for my sins. But I was only fooling myself.

'Someone like me can never change, a witch crumbling under the mass of her sins. I would take the life of an innocent. I no longer have any right to life.'

16 Years Ago

Grimoire Heart Airship

Ultear sat at a desk in the library, reading a book. "All these books are about Time Magic?" Hades asked, making Ultear leave her seat and kneel. "You have no reason to kneel to me, child."

"Master, you once spoke of a magic that could return lost happiness." Ultear said as she stood up. "Well, I finally found something."

She turned and picked up a book off the desk, letting Hades see it. "Last Ages…" He mumbled. "You must never use that spell."

"Why!?" She asked back. "This is exactly what I was looking for! It turns back time and lets you do things over again. I would do whatever it takes to master it."

"The price to master that spell is too great to pay." He replied, confusing her. "It does turn back time, but at the cost of the users own time. In other words, their own life. Time will travel back for the world, but the casters own time will be used in return."

Present

'I will gladly pay that price.' She declared as she stared at her own hand. 'If it means I can end this life of sin with some dignity, I would gladly do so.' Her hands started glowing before she slammed them to the ground, causing a glowing eruption of magic around her. "Arc of Time: Last Ages!"

The glow intensified as her body started burning up. 'Let my life be enough! Turn the world back to when that damned Gate was still shut!' Her clothing started tearing and her skinned darkened from the spell before it finally died. In pain, Ultear started falling over. 'I… I did it…' She glanced over to the clock and went wide eyed. 'One minute…!? Is that all my life was worth? I couldn't… save anyone…'

Gray, Meredy and Juvia blinked in confusion. "The hell was that?" He asked.

"I saw it as well." Juvia added, making the group look over. More dragon creatures appeared and Gray blasted them with Ice Magic.

"That's what I just saw!" He shouted. "How the hell did that happen?"

Natsu looked down and saw Laki fighting a dragon. Both went wide eyed and Laki jumped out of the way of the tail swing before punching the head with poison and wood. "Don't worry about me! Take that guy out!" She shouted back up, making Natsu smile.

Wendy and Laxus blasted Zirconis back with a pair of roars as the others watched on in confusion of what just happened. "Princess, the wizards can handle things from here." Arcadios declared to the vernette. "We need to get you to safety."

"I'll escort you." Yukino added.

"No." She snapped back. "It is my duty to remain here. I cannot leave my people in a time of crisis."

"Hey, guys!" The three turned and saw Lucy running over, holding a brown book in her hand. "You need to look at this, now!"

"What is is?" Yukino asked.

"It's Laki's diary." The blonde explained. "Her future self's diary. I know how to stop this now."

"What do we do?" Arcadios asked.

"We have to destroy the Eclipse Gate!" She replied. "Without it, the one in her time will stop existing and the dragons can't come back to our time."

"Then it sounds like we need to do what Fairy Tail does best." Carla chuckled as the Exceeds reached the humans.

"Maybe, but this is a rather daunting task." Arcadios confessed as he turned to the Gate. "Our recourses are spread thin and the Eclipse Gate is forged out of an extremely magically resistant alloy. Destroying it won't be easy."

"We can do it. Yukino, we need to hit it with all the magic power we have." Lucy told the other Spirit Mage.

"Right." Yukino nodded and the two pulled out their Spirit Keys. All twelve glowed and the spirits appeared around them before they crashed into the Gate, creating a blinding light. The glow died and the portal was completely undamaged. "Again!" Both girls shouted and the spirits crashed into it again.

With Natsu

Atlas Flame flew through the sky and crashed into Motherglare, letting Natsu jump off and reach Rogue again. "I'll knock you out of here!" Natsu shouted before kicking the time traveler in the gut. "Back to your own time!" The foot caught fire and he punted Rogue in the face, forcing him back.

"I won't leave until I'm finished here!" Rogue declared before changing inti shadows and slinking around Natsu. "If Acnologia lives, there is no future! That's why I came here, to take back our world!" The shadow zoomed past Natsu and sliced his side, forcing him to grip his wound.

The two dragons spun around in the sky and Natsu was forced to hold on for his life. The twisting stopped and Natsu charged Rogue, who unleashed a swarm of light and shadow at him. Natsu twisted and ducked before he finally reached Rogue. "Natsu!" Atlas Flame shouted and wrapped his 'nephew' in flames.

"No matter what happens tomorrow, I'll keep fighting for today!" Natsu shouted as he slammed into Rogue and launched him off Motherglare. The two screamed as they flew through the sky, unknowingly headed in the right direction.

Mercusius

Both girls panted as their power was starting to run out. Happy turned to the side and saw a bright light increasing, his wiskers starting to burn. "EVERYONE MOVE!" He shouted at the mob, forcing them to run as a flaming 'comet' crashed into the gate. The dust settled and everyone watch Motherglare fall over as Natsu stood up in the destroyed Gate, standing over the defeated Rogue.

"He… he just destroyed the Eclipse Gate." Arcadios mumbled in shock. "That should have been impossible!"

"Then, if Lucy's theory is correct…" Hisui mumbled.

"Then the dragons in this timeline should fade away, having no way to get back to our time." Yukino finished, just as Motherglare started glowing.

Sparkles started flowing off as its tail stubs began fading away. "We're returning to our own time." Atlas Flame said from above, glowing himself. "I will never forget you, Natsu Dragneel…"

He turned to glowing powder as Natsu stared at his opponent. "Couldn't have done it without you, uncle." He said, unsure if his ally even heard him.

"No! This can't be!" Zirconis shouted in anger as he stared at his glowing hand. "You're just a bunch of stupid humans! There's no way you can beat me!" He slammed his hand down and forced Wendy and Laxus back.

"Please forgive me." Hisui spoke up as she walked forward. "The Gateway between our timelines was constructed under my orders. Which means I alone am to blame for throwing your time into array. You lived four hundred years in the past, we were never meant to have meet. But I interfered, and I apologize for that."

"Who are you?" The dragon asked.

"My name is Hisui E. Fiore." She replied. "In the language if my ancestors, it means 'Jade'. The same as your color."

"The Jade Dragon…" Zirconis mumbled, scratching his chin. "Got a nice ring to it." He smiled as he faded away, leaving only dust. The same happened to Motherglare as Rogue stared at his hand.

"I may nit know Rogue that well, but he'll never become you." Natsu declared.

"Darkness…" Rogue spoke up, catching Natsu's attention. "The darkness of my power has always stained my heart. He's relentless, and he won't be satisfied until it swallows me whole."

"That won't happen." Natsu snapped back. "You have a bright light right next to you. Two, in fact." Rogue looked up in confusion before Happy landed on Natsu's shoulder. Yukino walked forward and smiled at him, making him smile at his foolishness.

"All these years, I never even noticed that light…" He chuckled before fading away, finally ending the nightmare.

3 Days Later

Dressing Room

Yukino stared at herself in a large mirror, wearing a fancy green dress. "Do I really need to wear these kinds of clothing?" She asked aloud.

"Come on, you look great in that, Yukino." Laki cheered in her undergarments.

"Yeah, they look great on you." Lucy added, equally undressed.

"Lucy, I need some help!" Lisanna called out from behind a curtain.

Mercusius

All of Fairy Tail stared in amazement at the massive banquet for all eight competing guilds. "Wow, this is beautiful!" Lucy called out as her friends started eating the fancy looking food. "I can't believe the king is generous enough to invite all of us here."

Kagura walked forward, an annoyed look on her face. "I told you all this doesn't suit me." She told her guildmates in her own dress.

"You look so pretty, Kagura." Arana replied as the others agreed. Millianna merely hung her head in thought.

"To think we'd be able to set foot in the castle one day…" Makarov chuckled as he and Yajima sat on the bar, mugs of beer in their hands.

"It's good to live a long life." The former councilman chuckled.

"Miss Lucy." The blonde, eating a tartlet, turned around to see the princess walking over to her. "So it is you. From the Heartfillia Company…"

"Uh… I used to be, but…" She nervously replied.

"I was a friend of your father's." The royal continued. "Even though he helped me out so much, I caused you all that trouble."

"I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. I'm used to trouble." The blonde chuckled.

The princess smiled at her calmness as Laki walked over, now in an elegant purple dress. "Has anyone seen Natsu?" She asked, earning a shake from both girls.

"Gray, my darling." Juvia called out as she walked over to the ice mage. "Please, dance with me."

"Not gonna happen." He snapped back, crushing her. "From now on, I'll just spit out wither I like stuff or not. And right now, I don't like you."

"Then that means I have hope." She replied, scaring Gray even more.

"Wow…" Wendy and Chelia called out as they stared at the fruit filled jelly. "It looks like a little jewel!"

"It's beautiful. I wonder what it takes like." Chelia asked before the girls spoon the jelly and taking a bite of it.

"It's so goooooood!" Both cheered, unaware that Mavis was staring in jealousy.

Erza finally spotted Kagura and walked over. "Have your wounds healed, Kagura?" The red head asked.

"I should be asking you that." The violette replied.

"Much has happened between us, but can't we be friends?" Erza asked. "We're from the same village, after all."

"No." Kagura snapped back, surprising Erza. "I'd… prefer to think of you as a sister…" She explained, a small blush on her face.

Erza stared at her before she smiled, pulling her into a hug. "Of course you can." She chuckled back, making Kagura blush even more. The other members of Mermaid Heel cheered as Erza glanced over to the side. "Millianna, stop sulking." She requested, only for the catgirl to stay the same way. "It can't be helped."

She reached into her… chest and pulled out Happy, dressed up like a doll. "Kitty!" Millianna perked up, only to return to her sulking self. Erza pulled out the other three Exceeds as well and instantly, Millianna changed moods, grabbed all four cats and started cuddling them.

"Yo, Natsu! Let's have a drink!" Sting cheered as he held up a bottle and a glass to Laki. "Huh, where's Natsu?"

"We don't know, we're all looking for him." She replied as Gajeel stepped towards Rogue.

"Ryos." He called out, making the third gen shake his head.

"It's Rogue." Rogue said back. "And don't worry, I won't end up like that version of me." He said with a smile before gasping in shock. Sting and Gajeel turned to see him staring at Yukino as she walked over.

Frosch cheered as he raced forward, hugging her leg. "H-hello." She mumbled.

"It's good to see you again." Sting said with a smile. "You should know that Jiemma and Minerva are missing now. I've taken the reigns as master. We're rebuilding the guild from the ground up, trying to be a guild that cares about its members."

"What are you saying?" She asked.

"I'm saying we want you back in our guild." He answered only for a heavy clang to catch their attention.

"Unacceptable!" Kagura declared, a drunken blush on her face. "Yukino's life belongs to me. She's joining Mermaid Heel."

"You're just drunk!" Sting shouted back.

"Should we say something?" Lucy asked, whispering to Laki.

"It's her choice what she wants to do." The Slayer replied. "We can't force her to do anything."

A trio of bangs caught everyone off guard as Arcadios stood up on a balcony. "Everyone! His Majesty, King Toma E. Fiore will adress you all!" Everyone turned to the outlook and watched as the short king step forward, ready to give a speech."

Outside the Castle

"Let me in!" Natsu in a tux shouted as he pushed against guards. "I'm supposed to be there!"

"I'm sorry, sir!" The guard on the left declared as the two pushed him back. "But no one is allowed to enter the palace now. Regardless of who you claim to be, you are not entering."

"Let me the goddamn in!" Natsu shouted with one final push. The two protectors stood strong and pushed him back, sending him down the stairs. "Aw crap." Natsu reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black box and opened it. "She is gonna be pissed I missed this party."

And with that, we close the door on the Eclipse project. And yes, the pun was intentional. Changed up more of what happened after the battle as well, so if you can't figure it out, something is wrong with you. See ya next time.

Beta read by General Feng Xiang