Hey guys! I'm back. I also want to talk to you guys before we start. About a few things.

First, I want to talk about the speed of the story. It's come to my attention the progress in the story has slowed, so I hope you guys are alright with that. I am juggling two timelines right now so less happens in each due to my own time and attention constraints.

Anyway, Enjoy!

Eight years after the Kronos incident

Elise stared down at her mug as the liquor inside swirled around, following the motion of her wrist.

"How the hell am I supposed to bring up the fact that I fell in love with her?!"

Elise's head resounded off of the table with a loud thump. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she thought.

...Love?

Keita was in love with her. Like...Love love. But she became absolutely stumped when she tried to figure out how. Or why. Or when.

Keita had not acted very differently throughout the years they'd spent together. Sure he'd opened up more and became very friendly with her, but she just assumed that's what happened when he got close to someone. He was like that with Michael and the others after all.

But after hearing him argue with Michael the other day...Hearing those things...

"Ugh fuck..." Elise groaned angrily. "This is so dumb."

"You okay sweetheart?" Elise looked over to find her mother standing there with a small smile on her face. Elise coughed and sat up, trying to shake it off.

"Yeah, just fine." She said with very little confidence. Her mother sighed.

"God you are exactly like your father." She said, sitting down on the bench next to Elise and moving the mug and it's contents away from her. "Don't drink yourself into oblivion and talk to your mother. What's bothering you?" Elise looked wistfully at the mug before she met her mothers gaze. It was warm and caring, but Elise was still reluctant to say anything. She didn't want her mother involved in her problems...

"It's nothing I can't solve." She said, lying to the both of them outright. "So leave it there. Slid my drink back here too" Her mother frowned and slowly pushed the mug back to Elise, who grabbed it thankfully. She raised it to her lips and started to down the liquid.

"A job?" Her mother asked, confusing Elise. What was she getting at? "Someone rude?" Elise raised an eyebrow but continued to down the drink. "Keita?"

Elise choked on her drink and threw the mug down, covering her mouth as she coughed viciously. She turned to look at her mother as she got the booze out of her lungs and saw she was smirking.

"Got you." She said, Elise glaring at her. "Keita. What happened?" Elise looked down at the table and clenched her fists in her lap.

"N-Nothing." She replied shakily. "Seriously I'm fine."

"Okay." Her mother said innocently. "I'll just go tell Gajeel he did something to you and it's clearly upsetting you. I'm sure I'll get an answer after...!"

"Alright, sheesh!" Elise said, grabbing her mother as she stood. "I'll tell you, just keep your mouth shut!" Her mother sat back down happily and pretended to zip her mouth shut and throw away the key. Elise took a deep breath and crossed her arms leaning on the table.

"It was a few days ago." She said. "Keita wanted to talk to me about something, so I went to go see him."

"Okay? What then?"

"I had to track him down through the city, and I found him with Michael at some coffee place..." Elise put her head down and rested in on her arms. "And I overheard them arguing."

"About what?"

"Apparently..." Elise stared down at the table, steeling herself. "From what he said...He...Well, he said he loves me." Elise didn't look at her mother at first but once she did, the look on her face was more quizzical humor than it was anything else.

"Is that it?" She asked, and Elise stared at her mother in shock.

"Uh, yeah." She replied. "It's kind of messing with me mentally as of now!"

"Well what's the big deal? If it's our approval I'm all for it, Keita's a great guy. Gajeel will come around even if he doesn't like it right now. What did you say?"

"I...Ran." The two watched each other before the smile on Elise's mothers face died slightly.

"Oh honey..."

"I panicked okay?! I didn't know what to say...Or how to react..." Elise slammed her head down on the table and groaned. "And now I don't know if I can look him in the eye..."

"Well..." Elise felt a hand on her back, rubbing a small circle. "I think it'd be best for you to figure out your actual reaction instead of confusion. How do you feel about him?"

"...I don't know." Elise answered, her mind swimming with details from the last eight years. "I mean he's great and everything but..."

"Well, that's a start I suppose." Her mother shifted a bit. "You just need to figure out how you feel in return. Surely spending eight years with him helped, did it not?"

"I...Wait." Elise sat up and looked at her mother. "I never told you about what Keita and I spending time together for these last few years."

"You just did." Elise's eyes widened as her mother laughed. "You think we're idiots, don't you? Gajeel smells him hanging around whenever you came back to pick up another job. I just left well enough alone. You were in good hands after all. So? Does that change anything?"

Elise thought about it. Keita had been there since day one. For eight years whenever she needed someone, he'd been there. Her shoulder to cry on, her comfort in times of doubt, her companion when she was in trouble, her friend when she felt alone, and overall, someone she held very close to her heart.

"Elise?"

"What?" Elise looked over at her mother, who was smiling weakly.

"You're blushing." Elise gasped and covered her cheeks with her hands, feeling the intense burn as well. If there was ever a moment she was blushing, it was now.

"S-So?!" She asked. Her mother rolled her eyes.

"Look, I won't ask for a twenty page essay on what's been going on these past eight years and why it might be pivotal in your feelings for the guy." Her mother smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just saying you need to think about it instead of sitting here and wallowing about it. If anything you should be celebrating!"

"Wha...Why?" She grinned and elbowed Elise with a sly smirk on her face.

"Because a hot guy likes you!" She whispered with false giddiness, making Elise groan. As her mother walked off, it gave Elise time to think over what she'd said. Sure, Elise admitted, Keita was great.

But...

She wasn't sure that a relationship was what she needed right now. She had no idea how to be in one of those. The only even remote experience she had close to it was when the boys had been entranced to be in love with Nashi, Ultear and herself eight years ago...

Elise winced at the memory and stared down at the table as images of the five flashed through her mind.

It's almost been a decade...And I still haven't avenged them.

Her fists clenched at the thought. That was what she had set out to do, right? So...What was she going to do? It had been her sole purpose for seven years. She'd spent so much time hunting, praying, hoping...

Was it all in vain? Could she move on?

Was she allowed to?

I need more time to think...This is so confusing!

Roughly Eleven years before the Kronos incident

Nashi stretched as she walked through the streets of Magnolia, yawning as her back cracked.

"Holy hell, I did not sleep well last night." She hissed, the others looking just as bad.

"Well we did kind of sleep on the street." Drake answered her. "So it's not like we didn't do it to ourselves."

"Still." Ultear said, cracking her own back. "I didn't realize sleeping like that was so painful."

"The more you know." Simon muttered. The five of them were planning on going to Crocus and retrieving the book Ultear learned Arc of Time from. This would allow them to try and get back to their own time period, with a little luck anyway. As long as, as Ultear put it, "They didn't fuck up"

Which, given their track record, would be quite the feat.

"So, what's the plan?" Damien asked. "Why are we going back to the guild hall?" Ultear crossed her arms.

"We might as well tell our parents about our plan." She replied. "They'll need to get Mest over here as soon as they can so that he can get to work on erasing the memories we've caused."

"Makes sense." Simon said. "After that we can get the hell out of their hair and stop risking making a problem for ourselves." The group had finally reached the guild hall, but they stopped at the entrance, for fear of causing a scene.

"Here's what we'll do." Damien said, looking at everyone. "I'll go and find my Dad, and tell him to get Mest over here and that we're leaving to try and return to our on time. You guys just hang out and wait for me, okay? It'll only be a minute."

"Okay." Nashi said, nodding. "Hurry." Damien nodded and walked inside. Nashi crossed her arms, leaned to her left, and waited.

Despite the fact that it was a beautiful day. her stomach refused to settle.

Drake stared down at his feet and counted the lines in the streets to pass the time. He was bored out of his mind doing so but it passed his time well enough so it worked.

Looking up, Drake saw Nashi standing to his left, looking apprehensive. He frowned.

"You alright?" He asked, making her look over at him. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah." She said. "Just...Got a weird feeling."

"What do you mean?"

"Like...I don't know. It's nothing." Drake made a face and looked over at Ultear and Simon. Although the two just seemed to be waiting for Damien to return, neither of them seemed comfortable either.

And when Drake thought about it, neither was he.

What is this feeling? Is it just because we're risking tearing apart time and space or what?

Drake was shaken from his thoughts as something hit him in the back. He heard a girl cry out as well. He turned, and his eyes widened.

Steph was sitting on the ground, rubbing her head from falling.

"Ow..." The girl murmured. She looked up and smiled at Drake weakly. "I didn't see you there, Drake." Drake just stared at the girl in surprise, not sure what he was supposed to say.

"Well..." He managed as the girl got to her feet. "Watch where you're going, Steph."

"Sorry!"

"What's the hurry, anyway?" Simon asked her. The girl dusted herself off and smiled.

"I told Onii-chan yesterday that I didn't think he was as cool as his older self!" She said, earning a chuckle from everyone in the group. "So he said today he'd prove to me why he was just as cool!"

"And what is he going to do to do that?" Nashi asked. "That's a tall order, being cooler then his older self." Steph looked at Nashi and smiled.

"Don't worry! He said he's got this nice takeover! It's supposed to be awesome!"

...

Drake stared down at the girl as his stomach rocketed in a downward spiral.

No...

He watched as she smiled and laughed.

"He said he was going to show us today! I don't want to miss it!"

Today...Today is...

The girl ran past them, but everybody else had all been stunned into silence.

"...What do we do?" Nashi asked. "We...We aren't just eleven years in the past..."

"It's eleven years and seven months..." Drake said weakly, feeling light headed. "It's...The day Steph died." Again, no one spoke.

"Are you guys kidding me?" Ultear asked weakly, looking just as upset. "We can't get involved! If we do...This is far to big a piece of our history. We need to leave. We need to leave now." Ultear stormed inside of the guild hall, and the remaining three slowly followed her inside, half in a daze.

"This can't be happening." Nashi whispered. "Why...Of all times to return to..."

"Damien!" Damien looked up from his spot at the bar talking to his mother as they approached. "We have to go! Now!"

"What's the big deal?" He asked. "I'll be there in a m...!"

"Now!" Ultear barked, making him jump. He stared at them all as they watched him fearfully.

"What's the matter with you guys?" he asked. "You look like you watched a cat get run over..."

"Damien please..." Simon said. "We have to go."

"Why?"

"Please..." Nashi hissed. "Can we just go?" Damien looked incredibly confused, but Drake knew it was smart to avoid the topic of their shock. If Damien knew what was happening that day...Had he any clue at all...

Drake looked over at the group of kids. All seven were together, and they were laughing about something.

He looked at the little blonde girl. He did his best to memorize her facial features so that he'd never forget.

As if he had anyway.

"Alright, jeez." Damien said, looking over at his mother. "Sorry Mom, looks like I have to go."

"Of course, of course." Mira said, waving him off. "I understand. Be safe honey, don't get into any trouble."

Drake almost wanted to laugh.

Damien jumped off of his bar stool and stretched.

"Alright then." He said, smiling. "Let's go to Crocus, find that book, and...!"

"Alright guys!" It was younger Damien yelling. "Let's go out back and I'll show you!"

"Yes! You're the best Damien!" Younger Ultear shouted.

"Is it really all that?" Younger Drake asked. Damien smiled.

"Trust me." He answered. "This new takeover is awesome."

...

The five froze in place, four heads turning simultaneously to Damien. He stood staring at the group of kids, a ghostly smile on his face.

"Damien," It was Ultear who spoke his name, but her tone was soft and full of understanding. "We have to leave. Okay?"

"..."

"Come on, man." Simon stepped forward and placed a hand on Damien's shoulder. "We can't be here...When it happens." Damien slowly lowered his head.

"It's today..." He whispered, voice full of pain. "She..."

"Yeah..." Drake said. "...We have to leave...We can't risk you trying to stop it. If anything would cause the timeline to erupt in flames..."

Damien was quiet for a minute or two. The four watched him carefully, already planning what they had to say to get him to leave just in case he wouldn't. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"You're right, we have too..."

"Takeover: Demon Xisplate!" The shout could be heard from inside the guild hall, and Drake felt his face drain of color.

"Damien..." He hissed. An explosion sounded from outside and the children cheered. Damien still didn't move.

"Come on, man...!" Simon said. "We have to leave!" Again, no movement. Another explosion. This time accompanied by people in the guild turning to look in confusion as the townsfolk cried out in surprise.

"Damien!" Nashi shouted. The sound of wings unfurling could be heard, and Drake took a listen as Damien, in his Xisplate takeover, rocketed into Magnolia. More explosions sounded.

"It's too late..." Damien whispered. Drake knew he was right.

The most terrifying ten minutes the five shared were upon them again.

Yeah yeah yeah cliffhangers. I'll be back soon enough. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!