Chapter 5 - Escape

On July 6, Fairy Tail consisting of Laxus, Gray, Erza, Gajeel and Natsu competes in the GMG finals. At the same time, Lucy and Yukino are still locked in the cell.

"Hi." - a masked person wearing a cloak and a helmet suddenly said, immediately drawing the attention of Yukino and Lucy - "I came to get you out."

"And who are you?" - Lucy asked.

"You can call me Rushi. And these are yours." - Rushi said, giving Lucy and Yukino their keys, then her hand was covered with a streak of light and quickly broke the lock of the cell. She then opened the door and said - "My real name must remain a secret for now, but I will explain to you later. For now, all you can know is that my presence here is related to Eclipse Gate. Now, hold on to me."

"Why-" - Yukino started, but suddenly the floor collapsed beneath them. Rushi quickly pulled out the brown key and grabbed Yukino while Lucy quickly did the same. They both immediately summoned their wings and landed in the catacombs. After Rushi made sure everyone was safe and close, she saw Princess Hisui.

She remembered this young woman well. She had a strong determination to do what was best for the kingdom and all the citizens of Fiore, and sending them here allowed Arcadios to be saved. For a few hours.

After the broadcast ended, Rushi was the first to speak - "We have to go. Arcadios needs help."

"But how do you know that?" - Lucy asked. To this, Rushi took off her helmet and showed her face while saying - "I am you from the future. You still call me Rushi so as not to be confused. Now let's go."

With that, Rushi put her helmet back on and moved forward. Lucy and Yukino stood there in shock for a moment but followed Rushi.

On the way, Lucy asked first - "So, why did you come from the future?"

"I already explained this to Jellal, but in short, a great war with dragons is coming. After the first attack, I would become one of the few survivors, and then I would fight for years to come. We will win, but the cost was too high. That's why I decided to change it. Or at least give you another chance. This will most likely create a new timeline, but considering there's another time traveler, it should still be a plus."

Lucy and Yukino were a bit concerned about Rushi's almost indifferent attitude, but after several years of war, it was probably bound to happen.

"Um, Rushi-sama... how are you going to stop the dragons?" - Yukino asked.

"They will exit the Eclipse portal." - Rushi said.

"No." - Yukino said, starting to break down - "It means that my help helped start the war with the dragons. Rushi-sama, you said you were one of the few survivors. Does this mean that others died..."

Rushi quickly grabbed Yukino and hugged her, trying to calm her down - "It wasn't your fault. You wanted good for yourself and others. Save your sister. I understand that completely. I would probably try to help my mother myself if I had the opportunity. So don't blame yourself."

Yukino then looked at Rushi who took off her helmet and showed one of the smiles that clearly showed that she was the future version of Lucy. Rushi helped Yukino up, put on her helmet, and the three of them moved forward.

After a few moments, Lucy started to get nervous.

"You noticed." - Rushi said.

"What?" - Yukino asked.

"There's someone here besides us. Someone watching us." - Lucy said quietly.

"Garou Knights." - said Rushi - "I was hoping that we would have a little more time than last time, but it's hard to say. I should be able to deal with them myself, but if anything happens, you'll have to support me."

"I thought it was just a legend." - Yukino said.

"If I remember correctly, any of them can qualify for S-Class Mage." - Rushi said.

Lucy thought for a moment - "Wait. It's you alone against 5 S-class mages. How do you even want to do that? And will you be able to use magic at all? After all, now I have Loke and others under contract."

"I learned new magic in the war. Additionally, Harlequin allowed me to contract these four on a temporary basis." - Ruchi said, showing 4 colored keys - "Each of them requires a lot of magic, but at my current level I should be able to summon two."

"Two!?" - Lucy asked in shock.

"What happened, Lucy-sama?" - Yukino asked, seeing her shocked friend.

"Each of them requires as much energy as 3 Zodiacs!" - Lucy replied, to which her friend also looked surprised.

"Magical energy is less of an important part in summoning spirits, and focus is more required." - said Rushi - "I discovered it a few years ago, during training. It is easier to summon 2 Zodiacs in Guardian Form than 3 in Normal Form. For example, if Master Makarov now decided to become a Celestial Spirit Mage, he could only open one gate with minimal training, but his magical power would allow him to open one of the colored keys. This burden can be reduced with the right spells and more Celestial Spirit Mages performing the summon at once. But now focus. We're almost there."

And so the group stood in front of a large rock. Rushi and Lucy quickly spread their wings and flew above her. Lucy took Yukino while Rushi went ahead alone. They quickly found Arcadios lying on the ground with wounds all over his body.

As the girls flew towards him, Nappa of the Garou Knights jumped out and tried to attack them. Unfortunately for him, Rushi and Lucy had already sensed his arrival, so Lucy quickly whipped out a bronze key of the shield to defend herself from the attack, while Rushi quickly jumped at Nappe and hit him directly in the face with her hand surrounded by silver light, sending him flying into the ceiling. The blow was so powerful that Nappa was embedded in the ceiling and was held there for several seconds before falling to the ground unconscious.

However, the girls had no time to celebrate their success when an attack came from underneath them. Lucy's shield took the hit, but it was close to breaking. She and Rushi took Yukino and Arcadios respectively and then flew away to the hill.

"Lucy, I need Fairy Sphear for a moment. Yukino, let Libra press them." - Rushi said, and Lucy quickly agreed and activated Fairy Sphear, while Yukino summoned Libra, who immediately used gravity magic to press the remaining Garou Knights to the ground. They didn't even say a word, clearly shocked that one of their comrades had been defeated so quickly.

Rushi began the incantation - "By Gemini, Cancer, Hydra, Crater, and Corvus. For the sake of the coming Summer, show your true form and lend me your power. The Vermilion Bird of the South, Zhu Que."

A large bird appeared above the girls.

"Lady Lucy." - Zhu Que said.

"Heal this man and defeat these four, but do not kill." - Rushi said, pointing to Arcadios and the other Garou Knights one by one.

"As you wish." - Zhu Que replied and immediately sent his breath to the entire area. The Garou Knights quickly moved to the portcullis and it actually looked like they might succeed. But then, the Vermilion Bird focused more on the four executioners instead of the area, and they were overwhelmed. A moment later, a golden-red flame flew from his tail and immediately healed Arcadios. After that, Zhu Que disappeared.

"But how?" - Arcadios said in shock - "That was the strongest assassin team in the kingdom, and you wiped them out in less than a minute."

"Lucy and Yukino helped too." - Rushi said.

"No, Rushi-sama, we barely did anything." - Yukino said modestly.

"Even without our help, you would have defeated them." - Lucy said, amazed at the strength of her sent version.

"Arcadios, can you walk?" - Rushi asked.

"Yes." - Arcadios replied, standing up.

"All right. Take weapons from the armory and prepare for battle. We wait until the portal opens and intervene at the last second. Too soon, we will all die. Too late, the dragons will kill everyone. Wait for my sign. Have I made myself clear?"

"Aye, sir!" - replied the other three.