The rock dragon and Scissor Runner were beheaded by Ben's golden solar sword. No blood came out of the cut because the sword was hot and seared the wounds closed. Then just like Motherglare, he put them in a different space that he created.
Ben flew to where the evacuated people were and landed in front of Mira and his kids. The kids run to him, so he hugged them as Mira joined in. Other people also surrounded him and wanted to celebrate his success, but he told them it wasn't over yet.
"Mira, can you insert your magic power into these lacrimas? I want to send a message to them." Ben said with a sad tone.
Mira's eyes widened and she looked at the kids before asking, "By them, do you mean...?"
Ben nodded and then a sad expression formed on Mira's face. Everyone else is confused, but they didn't ask any questions. Then they saw Ben give a black and white lacrima to Mira who proceeded to touch them. Both she and Ben then pour a lot of magic power into the lacrimas while closing their eyes.
They finish after a while and Mira took the kids from Ben's arms. Ben then turned around and flew back to the city. He flew to the top of a building where 5 people were hiding their presence there. The 3 members of Crime Sorciere, Lucy and Future Lucy were there.
"It's time to destroy that gate. Older Lucy, I have a favor to ask before you return to your time. Give these lacrima balls to my kids and this one to Wendy." Ben said after taking 3 lacrima balls out.
The 2 lacrima balls are the Shadow and White Dragon lacrimas he took from Future Rogue. The other one was a white-bluish lacrima ball that he created. It was a Sky Dragon lacrima he made for Wendy but he hadn't given it to her.
Ben already knew the use of dragon lacrimas for 1st generation Dragon Slayers. But he also knew that they need to reach high levels to optimize the effects of dragon lacrimas. Wendy isn't ready yet. She will just be like Sting and Rogue if she used it at her current level.
That's why he wanted to give it to Future Wendy who obviously needed it more. He didn't know why his future self didn't give it to Wendy, but there must be a good reason. However, they can't keep running away, they need to fight or at least get stronger to increase their chance of survival.
"Give these to them, but don't use these until you find a really good hiding spot. Then after they use these, you guys need to do everything you can to become as strong as possible." Ben said.
"I understand. We actually found the best hiding place, but there's a big problem. It's your secret lab in your old village that Wendy found in your journal." Future Lucy said.
"That doesn't sound like it's a problem." Jellal said.
"It is. There's a secret code to prevent people from entering it. Have you tried to open it?" Ben asked.
"No. Wendy was against it before we were sure we could open it with one try." Future Lucy answered.
"Phew, that's good. That place will burn anyone who failed on the first try. If they survive and try again, they will be crushed by really strong gravity, and the 3rd try will make the lab self-destruct. The power of that destruction is enough to decimate Waas Forest." A relieved Ben said.
Everyone there was shocked by the explanation, especially Future Lucy who was also relieved.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Ultear snapped.
"Not really. Those things can't kill me, so if I was the one who failed, I would be fine. Also, no one knows about that place and it's location is hidden really well. I also made sure no one could find it by coincidence. So those who found it must've deliberately searched for it. Well, it doesn't matter, I'll give you the key." Ben said.
The key Ben meant isn't a literal key, code or password. He just grabbed Future Lucy's right hand and a mark appeared on the back of her hand. The mark was a 3 colored crown with black, red and gold colors.
"Just enter the cave where Wendy and I trained. Then place your hand anywhere and pour your magic power through your hand." Ben said.
Future Lucy waited for more instructions, but she never got any. "Um, that's it?"
"Yeah." Ben nodded.
"A-alright." Future Lucy replied.
There are some other things about it, but Ben didn't feel the need to explain them. When they enter the lab, they will understand everything even without his explanation. Besides, explaining his lab would take too long to finish.
"Ah, there's one other thing. Don't leave the lab unless it's absolutely necessary. I've stored a lot of things there that will help you survive for 5 years inside the lab. Your only jobs are to survive and become stronger. Be patient and a miracle will surely happen, I promise you. Also, good job surviving till now. You have gone through a lot and more challenges are bound to come. But don't ever lose hope because as long as you live, you will find a way to get through everything." Ben said as he patted Future Lucy's head.
Tears came out of Future Lucy's eyes because she hadn't had someone comfort her in a long time. The last one who did it was Future Mira before her death. Since then, she became the pillar of the group as the oldest person there.
Ben then gave her one more item. It was another lacrima ball. It looked like a normal lacrima ball, but it had a teleportation spell installed in it. This lacrima ball is used to teleport the user and a few people around them to the cave that Ben mentioned.
He knew that Future Lucy's group was near the Eclipse Gate because she used it to travel to the past. The distance between the gate and the cave was large, so they will need to travel far. They will be exposed to a lot of danger, so this teleportation ball will help them out immensely.
Then Ben flew over to Atlas Flame who was talking to Natsu right now. He only wanted to make sure he didn't create another timeline by changing something. So he gave a message to Atlas that was meant for his past self just like he got a few years ago.
After he was done, Ben flew to the Eclipse Gate alone and landed on top of it. He touched the gate and closed his eyes while feeling all the magic power inside it. Quorra also scanned the Eclipse Gate to fully understand it's mechanisms.
"Don't lose hope, my children. Daddy will always protect you, no matter what. I will never break my promise to you too, my sisters, my friends." Ben said as he opened his eyes.
Ben took out a large lacrima ball that didn't have any color, it's crystal clear. He placed it above the gate and magic power started to come out of the gate. The clear lacrima ball absorbed the magic power from the gate and it started to become black with a gold color on the outside.
It took a while for the crystal to absorb all the magic power from the gate. When it's done, the gate became grey like stone. Then with a stomp, the gate was reduced to pieces.
When that happened, the bodies of all the time travelers start to glow. Future Lucy, Zirconis and Atlas Flame are glowing and their bodies start to disappear. They are about to return to their respective timelines.
Future Lucy bid farewell to Lucy and Crime Sorciere and they told her to stay strong. Atlas Flame bid farewell to Natsu and told him to become stronger. As for Zirconis, he can only curse Ben as his body disappeared.
The time travelers finally returned to their time after a while. Now, the only things left are the memories of them and destruction. But these things will be a great foundation for their future and prepare them for more challenges.
People are rejoicing now because they survived this catastrophe. A majority of the Dragon Slayers on the other hand weren't happy because out of 9 Dragon Slayers, only Ben managed to successfully slay real dragons. They just realized how powerless they actually are, although they're happy they and their friends are safe.
The only one that can't be happy yet is Ben because this might not be over yet. Future Lucy said that Acnologia will appear after the other dragons appeared. So he is still wary right now even though all the dragons were gone.
Even after waiting for a long time though, Acnologia didn't show up. He might not look tired, but Ben was tired after using Dragon Force. His battle with the 4 dragons might've looked easy, but he actually used up most of his magic power.
Ben was truly relieved when Acnologia didn't appear until sunrise. With the sun's return, his magic power was restored. But he was still tired, so he laid on his back and fell asleep.