Chapter 34 - Guardian and Beast
Crocus
It wasn't too long ago that the citizens were just hoping to enjoy the display of skill of the many magical guilds of Fiore. With those guilds hoping to show off their abilities for the sake of winning the Grand Magic Games in the name of pride and a hefty financial aware. Only now, those skills were being put to the test with the wizards being at their limits.
As possibly the most catastrophic event is occurring and the fate of the kingdom and the human race is at stake. Only things seemed very dire as there were only a small handful of people capable of defeating the dragons. If that wasn't enough, they were being led by Rogue Cheyney from an alternate future who desired to rule the world by destroying humanity. Simultaneously being recognized as by the subconsciousness of the world to the point it was using Lucy as a bridge.
Now the Holy Maiden was being put to the test to help strengthen everyone.
"Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus and Gate of the Goat: Capricorn!" Lucy cried out.
With that, two of her celestial spirits were summoned to her side and ready to fight. Not caring one bit about what dangers they may face as they are loyal to their contracted user.
"I am at your call, my lady. What is the situation?" Capricorn asked while doing a polite bow.
"Yeah Lucy, I'm ready to fight and all but ah… I wouldn't mind some details." Taurus said.
"There's a lot going on and it involves dragons attacking us, but that isn't your objective. I'm going to perform a magical ritual and need cover." Lucy explained.
"At once my lady, no winged beast will touch you." Capricorn said.
"It's not the dragons that are the problem." Lucy said, confusing the celestial spirit.
The two spirits watched as Lucy pointed at the incoming waves of dragon tooth warriors heading their way.
"Oh just some small fries then. We can definitely handle that." Taurus said before charging right at them.
Taurus let out a loud "moo" sound before jumping directly at the center of the first wave. Creating a massive shockwave that destroyed many skeletons. Capricorn was about to join him when he saw a dragon flying over Lucy's head and dropping several black eggs. Capricorn quickly launched himself into the air and began kicking away the eggs to prevent them from hitting Lucy.
"Such a disgusting tactic, from a well respected beast of myth no less." Capricorn said as he landed gracefully.
As they fought to defend her, Lucy was trying to connect herself with the Throne of Heroes and request the proper summoning of a Grand Servant in the event that Natsu cannot defeat Rogue by himself. Unlike her other servants or the time she summoned Orion, Grand Servants can't be casually summoned even with the massive mana reserves that Lucy has. They were literally made to counter beasts that could destroy humanity.
"Come on, just one. Anyone, even Orion would be good right now." Lucy said as she tried to summon a servant.
All the while the rest of the guild were trying to fend off the dragons with their enhanced powers.
Elsewhere, with Natsu
The two dragon slayers continued to trade blows with Motherglare struggling to hold out. The impact of the attacks created shockwaves that made different points of the capital shake.
"I cannot begin to explain how annoying you are, Natsu. Not that it will matter." Future Rogue said.
Natsu scoffed, "Enough of the "you are gonna lose because you're a bug" speech! This is a fight! Not a debate!" he shouted as he punched Future Rogue in the jaw.
Future Rogue stumbled backwards, almost falling from the hit. He quickly composed himself and generated a lot of his magic into his palm.
"Shadow Dragon's Haste!" he shouted.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted back.
Future Rogue blocked the attack with his palm, causing the two skid backwards with Natsu almost falling off of Motherglare's back. However, it also briefly stunned Future Rogue. Natsu took the risk of falling and tried to attack Future Rogue while he was stunned.
Natsu generated a spear of flames and launched it straight at Future Rogue. Future Rogue barely had the time to react to it as it was inches from his face. He quickly activated his White Shadow Dragon mode in an attempt to use the surrounding aura to shield himself from the attack.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a perfect defense as the spear grazed Future Rogue's face and left a nasty burn that not even his scales could stop.
Future Rogue cried out in pain as he clutched his face, ignoring the golden flames that made the pain worse.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" Natsu yelled as he rushed towards Future Rogue.
Future Rogue growled as his fangs started to grow and his scales became more visible. As Natsu came barreling like a missile, Future Rogue raised his palms.
"White Shadow Dragon's Vestments!" Future Rogue shouted as he fires a barrage of magical beams at Natsu.
Natsu charged through the beams, ignoring the damage he took as he pushed through them. He then reached Future Rogue and slammed his forehead against his face. Future Rogue staggered backwards again before kicking Natsu back. Natsu stood his ground and kept his balance as he started charging up his magic again.
"I don't even know why you want this so badly Rogue. Are you that jealous of me and everyone else for being tougher than you?" Natsu asked.
Future Rogue sneered, "You believe I am doing this because of a strength measuring contest? I am not as idiotic as my present self or the rest of Sabertooth anymore. I am doing this because I want to become the Dragon King." he said.
Natsu scoffed, "You're making up titles now? You really are petty and jealous." he said.
Future Rogue shook his head as he flared his magic and prepared to attack again.
"In the future, the world is ruled by Acnologia and I did not have the power to challenge him. Now I do and when you are all gone, there will be no one left to challenge me and then I will I eliminate the Black Dragon myself." Future Rogue explained as he started looking more monstrous.
Natsu had enough and decided it was time to humble Future Rogue as he can his past self wasn't humbled enough.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted, releasing his strongest roar yet.
"White Shadow Dragon Roar!" Future Rogue shouted back, releasing a roar equal to Natsu's.
The two clashed for a solid minute with neither showing signs of victory. Only stopping once their attacks ran dry. Future Rogue managed to hang onto Motherglare while Natsu started feeling disoriented.
"I see you are not used to your new power yet. There's no point in having something you can't control." Future Rogue said.
"You jerk, I'm gonna… woah!" Natsu said as he started losing his footing.
At that moment, Future Rogue slugged Natsu across the face and made him fall off of Motherglare. Just as he was about to escape, he saw a pterodactyl catch Natsu and chase after Motherglare.
"What!?" Future Rogue asked.
He saw Quetzalcoatl chasing after him with Natsu by her side.
"Get her close, luchadore lady!" Natsu commanded.
"Hold our cahones, hermano." Quetzalcoatl said as she tried matching Motherglare's speed.
Future Rogue continued to fire more Vestments at the pair with Quetzalcoatl having a hard time trying to adjust her mount. It wasn't easy to maneuver a prehistoric beast with wings, but the Aztec goddess was doing it. Although she was more impressed by how well Natsu was handling things.
"Hey, I just noticed. You don't look sick." Quetzalcoatl said, remembering Natsu has motion sickness.
"Why would I be… shoot, I forgot you're a rider!" Natsu exclaimed before feeling nothing. "Never mind, I guess Lucy gave me power over motion sickness." he said.
"Oh that's nice, now then…"
"I am invincible! I have conquered the menace that is motion sickness!" Natsu exclaimed as he crafted a bow with his flames.
Quetzalcoatl shrugged off the odd behavior and adjusted her pterodactyl and gave Natsu a good view. Natsu fired several arrows at Future Rogue who dodged each projectile. However, the amount of power within each arrow had hurt Motherglare who began to waver.
"Motherglare, release your eggs!" Future Rogue commanded.
Motherglare roared as they flew higher into the sky and dropped several black eggs that looked more like giant drops of oil. The drops wouldn't reach Quetzalcoatl and Natsu, but they did hatch quickly. Although the eggs looked like they exploded rather than break apart like a normal egg. Releasing slimy small dragons that chased them around.
Quetzalcoatl was unable to follow after Future Rogue as the mini dragons obscured her path. The Rider started swatting them away with her club, but it felt like she was swinging at a wave of flies.
"Do you mind clearing this, hermano?" Quetzalcoatl asked.
Natsu nodded, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted, destroying a chunk of the mini dragons.
Only to watch as Motherglare created more mini dragons to head their way.
"This is going to be annoying." Natsu said.
Back with Lucy
Back on the ground, Lucy was surrounded in a golden aura as her celestial spirits continued to defend her from the onslaught of Dragon Tooth warriors.
"This is getting ridiculous." Taurus said as he started huffing.
Capricorne adjusted his sunglasses, "Yes, quite tedious indeed. Perhaps there is a an origin point that we could combat." he said.
Suddenly, a massive chunk of the skeletons were destroyed as the spirits saw Nero appear at the center with a rose in one hand and her sword in the other.
"Fear not brave vanguard, the Emperor of Roses stands with you!" Nero exclaimed.
Capricorn bowed his head, "It is an honor, your majesty." he said respectfully.
"An honor to witness your physique. Your curves, they are the true sign of your royal status." Taurus said, not even trying to hide his perverse attitude.
Resulting in Capricorn gripping the back of his head and forcing it to bow. At the same time, Nero did not think much of it.
"Yes indeed, my form is beautiful and only rivaled by my voice. However, I have no time to regal you with my musical talent." Nero said before looking at Lucy's form.
Nero sighed, wondering how Lucy's mental state is in. The new state of power entering Lucy is so powerful that Nero felt like she was standing next to a nuclear reactor just by being so close to her. The emperor of Rome could only focus on the battle ahead and put her faith in Lucy in hopes her finding a way to end the madness.
"You are doing good work by defending her, honorable vanguard." Nero told the spirits.
As the servants and celestial spirits got to work on continuing the fight. The royal army of Fiore finally arrived, not that many noticed given the attack. Although its most likely that Princess Hisui snapped out of her shock and the trauma that came from the truth of her actions.
While there was no super weapon to destroy the dragons she tried to stop. there was no use in feeling sorry for herself and action needed to be taken.
"Soldiers of Fiore, form up and stop the spread of the smaller beasts!" Arcadios shouted from his position.
The soldiers cried out and started attacking the waves of Dragon Tooth skeletons. Which made it a bit easier for Taurus and Capricorn. Especially as Lucy radiated with even more energy at this moment.
"I do believe that will be helping our situation." Capricorn said just as a Rock Dragon arrived. "Now that may be more difficult." he added.
Just as everyone prepared their defenses, a massive crate filled with glass bottles crashed onto the rock dragon. The rock dragon looked mildly annoyed but unharmed as there was no damage done to it. The rock dragon looked to the side and saw a muscular Ichiya glaring right at it with another crate on hand.
"Reptilian monster! You have forced my hand and now I will destroy you using your own strength against you!" Ichiya shouted.
"You get him boss!" Ren, Hibiki and Even said.
"What are those odd yet finely dressed men up to?" Nero asked.
Ichiya threw another crate filled with glass bottles at the rock dragon. By this point, everyone was feeling sick as their nostrils were invaded by a fowl odor. Luckily for Lucy, she was in too deep a trance to notice the terrible smell but the others were not lucky.
"Not even the foulest of odors of the most depraved men could smell this horribly." Nero said as she started turning green.
"What in Earthland's name is Mr. Ichiya doing?" Capricorn asked.
Ichiya explained himself to the dragon as it looked mildly confused.
"Monster, like the Dragon Slayers, you have great keen senses which include hearing and smell! That way…"
"I have no nose." the rock dragon said, shutting him up.
"Pardon me?" Ichiya asked.
"I have no nose, an unfortunate aspect but it only strengthened me." the rock dragon said, making Ichiya pale. "No perfume or human female's wiles will defeat me." he said.
The last part referred to Jenny who looked depressed and scared. Which gave Nero an idea.
That's when Nero held her breath and rushed at the rock dragon. Before it could attack, Nero stabbed her sword onto the top of it's head and held on as tightly as possible.
"If bad smells and beautiful women are not enough. Then let me serenade your dragon! Allow me to cleanse your soul!" Nero announced.
"You speak as if I am evil." the rock dragons said with a snarl.
"No, I believe you to be merely misguided. Thus I regale with a song made by those of the Judeo-Christian faith." Nero said, confusing him.
Before anyone asked, Nero took a deep breath and invaded the rock dragon's ears.
"AVE MARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAA!"
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" The rock dragon screamed.
It didn't have a nose, but it appeared to have ears or some method of hearing. The rock dragon shook wildly as it tried to throw Nero off of his head. Not even the humans were spared from the Roman Emperor's terrible singing. Only the rock dragon wishes he was tone deaf and not Nero.
"GRATIA PLENAAAAAA, MARIIIIIIAAAAA GRATIIIIAAAAA PLENAAAAA!" Nero continued to sing.
Shocking enough, only Ichiya stood there in stunned silence as a single tear fell down his cheek.
'Such marvelous singing. Who is this majestic woman?' Ichiya wondered.
Meanwhile Jenny and the boys were screaming and covering their ears in pain. Hibiki tried using his magic in an attempt to formulate something to cancel out his ability to hear sound with his Archive Magic. Instead, he just saw several dragons were making their way towards his location.
"This isn't good!" Hibiki exclaimed.
Zirconis arrived and let out an annoyed roar, "Where is that sound coming from?! What animal could be crying out in such pain that it has to cry out in pain?!" he angrily asked.
It was at that moment that Nero stopped and looked at Zirconis with angry eyes.
"Are you comparing my beautiful singing voice to the sounds of a dying animal?" Nero asked.
"Get her off! Get her off!" the rock dragon shouted.
Zirconis then let out a powerful roar at the rock dragon's head, attempting to kill Nero. Nero managed to avoid the attack, but it ended up knocking the rock dragon to the ground. At that moment, Ichiya ran towards her and caught her.
"How dare you fiendish beasts try to attack an artist? Are you all deaf?" Ichiya asked, having suddenly become a fan of Nero.
This is most likely the one time his entourage would never agree with him on something. Seeing as how the boys and Jenny were still recovering from Nero's terrible singing.
"I thank you my dear fan, but it seems that dragons are domesticated enough to understand culture." Nero said.
By this point, as if the harmful voice of Nero's singing was that powerful. Lucy returned to consciousness and created a summoning circle around her. One that spread out over a hundred feet and even surrounded everyone that was nearby. While the rock dragon bickered with Zirconis for attacking him. The two stopped and noticed the powerful summoning ritual taking place. One so powerful that even they were forced to back off.
The resulting invocation of a servant was beyond that of a typical servant, even some of the stronger ones like Heracles or Gilgamesh. The blinding light was truly the defining moment of what makes a grand servant stand out from their counterparts.
It was by this point that several servants arrived, believing Lucy was in danger or something. With a few Fairy Tail members arriving to see what was going on.
"What is that? Did Lucy summon a bomb?" Gray asked.
"I hope not!" Wendy said.
"No, it's beautiful!" Nero exclaimed.
Nero was right to say that. For when the light died down, standing before Lucy was a tall man surrounded in golden armor with great wings. Radiating with divine energy and giving a presence to Nero that forced even the former emperor to bow. Unlike her, several others found themselves having to bow without any choice in the matter. The grand servant leaked with that much of a divine presence that even the dragons felt their own egos were being threatened.
"So tired..." Lucy muttered as she nearly collapsed.
Only being caught by the grand servant who helped her stand.
"Rest now maiden, you have done your part. Now it is my turn." the servant said before witnessing the destruction. "Rome is not how I left it. Even years after it fell, what remains of it is being threatened once more." he said before approaching Nero who began to feel anxious.
"Lord Romulus?" Nero asked.
"Nero, child of my empire. Raise yourself, you are an emperor are you not?" Romulus asked.
Now everyone was confused as to what was going on.
"So is this guy a Gilgamesh cosplayer or something?" Happy asked.
"Absolutely not! This is Romulus! The founder of the Roman Empire!" Charle yelled.
"Is that like a restaurant chain?" Happy asked, further frustrating Charle.
"Behold citizens of Fiore, you are in the presence of my empire's founder." Nero said.
"Roma!" Romulus shouted randomly.
"We welcome you, your majesty! Roma!" Erza said, thinking this was a high honor.
As Romulus acknowledged Erza's reaction as a sign of respect. The dragons finally snapped out of their stupor and glared at the humans. Most especially Nero who they blame for their pain.
"Get that human female with the annoying voice!" the rock dragon shouted.
"This lady and her voice is a treasure! You miscreants!" Ichiya yelled.
"Her voice feels like a plague!" Zirconis argued.
That's when Zirconis found himself being knocked away several hundred meters away. In a quick instance, those with the best eyes would have saw Romulus flying directly at Zirconis and generating a lance made of crimson energy. With the slash leaving a deep scar across the dragon's face right before sending him flying.
"That will teach you to mock my child." Romulus said.
"Lord Romulus, were you not born centuries before Emperor Nero?" Wendy asked.
"All people of Rome are my children. They are all my family. Everyone in this land if my child as well. Rome is not perfect and it is no longer here, but I can feel the descendants and successors of my great country." Romulus said.
Only to hear the rock dragon growling at him. He turned and saw the rock dragon trying to destroy him with a dragon's roar that destroyed the ground where he briefly stood. Romulus avoided the attack and quickly blasted the dragon with a powerful concentrated energy beam from its palms.
"Do not interrupt me, human or god, I deserve basic respect and courtesy." Romulus said as the rock dragon fell onto its back. "Now then, who is the current ruler of this kingdom?" he asked.
"We just saw the king earlier, he's probably in some shelter or very far away." Gajeel said, taking a guess as to where King Toma went.
King Toma wasn't a coward per se, some might argue that's the case. However it's like the old saying, where one is either brave or stupid and Toma isn't exactly a fighter. He may be short and old, but he's not Makarov who can still fight despite his age.
However, that is when Arcadios arrived and his zealotry was loud enough for Rome's founder to hear.
"King Toma is currently indisposed, but his daughter and our future ruler still stands by us!" Aracadios announced.
He then pointed to Hisui who moved through a small crowd of knights. The Princess was confused as to why Arcadios needed to put attention onto her. However, she wasn't going to hide herself and soon found herself in the presence of Romulus. Before Hisui said anything, Romulus gave her an intense stare as if she was being evaluated.
"And who are you? Are you Roma?" Romulus asked.
"No, I am Princess Hisui E. Fiore of the Kingdom of Fiore." Hisui said.
Romulus nodded, "So Roma is now Fiore. Very well, everyone who is Roma is also Fiore!" He said.
"I'm afraid, I don't understand…"
"Time to do battle, Fiore, grandchild of Rome! Do not let your radiant Kingdom be reduced to ashes!" Romulus exclaimed as he patted Hisui's shoulder.
Romulus then took flight and went after more dragons. Leaving a few confused individuals including a disoriented Lucy who struggled to get to stand on her feet. Luckily Hisui snapped out of her stupor and took Romulus' words as words of inspiration.
"Do not stand around! Even our predecessor has returned to fight by our side! Fiore is in danger and I ask all of you to keep fighting!" Hisui said with all the confidence she could muster.
The knights were quick to react and started forming up. With the rest of Fairy Tail and the servants returning to battle as well. Leaving a few such as Lucy to take a moment to catch their breath.
"Lucy, is Fiore part of Rome?" Wendy asked.
Lucy, who was being helped up by Shirou and Arthur, was blinking a few times while holding her head.
"Wendy, I was mostly conscious for most of that and I think I heard Nero trying to sing like she's in an opera house again." Lucy said, trying to explain how disoriented she is. "Also for your question, that might depend on evolution of the world's geography." she said.
"Are you okay mama?" Shirou asked.
"I think I'll survive." Lucy said before noticing his form. "Oh look, you are big again." she said, noticing Shirou turned into a teen again.
"Do you need to rest?" Arthur asked.
"I'm fine, I think I'll just command Romulus from a distance." Lucy answered.
The two helped Lucy take a seat on a piece of debris while they went to join the fight.
"Let's go Wendy!" Shirou said as he grabbed Wendy's hand.
Wendy blushed as she saw how big Shirou became in his new form. All the while wondering how she would look as a teenager. Then her young mind was filled with various fantasies and outcomes.
'Now isn't a good time for that!' Wendy mentally told herself.
Meanwhile, with Future Rogue
As Future Rogue continued to fly over the kingdom as Motherglare dropped their eggs over Mercurious. However, he could feel the intensity of the magic that summoned Romulus. It annoyed and he didn't understand it, Future Rogue felt like a dog that smelled a cat stepping onto its territory.
It already became a pain to know that Future Rogue was in a separate timeline where his efforts were being impeded. He didn't fully understand the appearance of the servants, but could see his seven dragons were far from enough against Fiore's forces. It became worse as he saw Bahamut was too powerful for him to control and command.
"I am going to have to rethink this. For now I will have to bury this city in ash." Future Rogue said as he spread his magic into Motherglare.
Motherglare growled as they were surrounded by the dark magic. Prompting them to drop more eggs as if they were bombs falling out of a plane. Just as Motherglare started to change their path on Future Rogue's command. They were suddenly hit by a wave of smaller dragons.
"What?!" Future Rogue asked with wide eyes.
He was confused as to why there were so many small dragons. They were bigger than the small ones that Motherglare's eggs spawned. They weren't as big as the dragons he controlled, but they were definitely a threat. Some even started attaching themselves onto Motherglare and attacking them.
"Get off!" Future Rogue shouted. "White Dragon Roar!" he shouted, blasting them away.
As he got them off of Motherglare, he noticed the damage done to his mount. Motherglare already had several bad scars and other exterior damage.
"Where did they come from?" Future Rogue asked as he saw dozens of more dragons arriving.
Future Rogue attempted to manipulate them with his Dragon Supremacy Magic. Only to be knocked off of Motherglare by what felt like a flying torpedo that hit his back.
"What now!?" Future Rogue angrily asked.
"ROMA!" Romulus screamed.
Future Rogue assumed Romulus to be another servant and tried to blast him away with his Shadow Dragon magic. Only to find Romulus tanking the hits before slamming Future Rogue through several emptied buildings. Eventually, Future Rogue escaped Romulus' grip and came flying out and landing onto the stone brick road.
"What was that?" Future Rogue asked.
"Are you the one who threatens my Roma?" Romulus asked as he walked out of the debris.
"Roma? What are you talking about?" Future Rogue asked.
"This land, Roma used to stand here and now it's grandchild is being turned to cinder by these lizards." Romulus said.
"You mean Fiore, I'm not directly responsible. I'm just trying to get rid of the people and rule over the dragons." Future Rogue said with a smirk.
This only angered Romulus, "Roma is not Roma if you threaten the children of Roma!" he roared.
Feeling righteous anger from Future Rogue's desire to destroy Fiore. Romulus flew directly at the Beast and tried to tackle him into another building. Future Rogue moved away quickly enough to avoid the attack.
"I don't care who you are, but you will fall just like the rest." Future Rogue said as he flared his power.
Future Rogue then raised his hands as several dragon tooth warriors and miniature dragons made by Motherlgare arrived. With his domination magic, Future Rogue enhanced them and commanded them to attack the Grand Lancer. Romulus did not look deterred and welcomed anyone willing to fight him.
"My love knows no bounds!" Romulus said as he stood his ground.
As the incoming monsters came. Romulus placed his palms together and generated a vast amount of crimson energy. Which he condensed into a singular blast that destroyed all of the dragon tooth warriors and miniature dragons.
"You are truly the Beast of Humanity. A monster hiding in the darkness of this world." Romulus said as Future Rogue just stared at him. "I will banish your darkness and teach you to never forget Rome's radiance!" he exclaimed.
"Will you shut up about Rome already!?" Future Rogue yelled as he attacked. "White Shadow Dragon Rough Silk!" He yelled.
Romulus raised his arms to shield himself before he was sent crashing into a nearby building. It only took mere seconds before he came bursting out of the debris.
"How dare you!?" Romulus screamed.
Once again, Romulus rushed at his foe while generating more crimson energy. Future Rogue stood his ground and blocked the first punch thrown by Romulus. He traded punches and blows with Romulus, delivering heavy punches across his jaw and chest. Only to find Romulus refusing to back down as the man delivered a heavy slash attack from his crimson energy.
"MARS!" Romulus shouted as he sent Future Rogue skidding across the ground.
Future Rogue snarled as he started to look more like a dragon than man. A demonic looking dragon in fact. He looked at Romulus who did not look remotely tired or hurt.
"My people have entrusted their faith onto me. I will not betray their trust." Romulus said.
"White Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Future Rogue roared.
Romulus once again focused his attack towards Future Rogue's dragon's roar. This time, Romulus could definitely feel a lot more resistance as Future Rogue started looking less human. Romulus focused on trying to win the clash only for both blasts to stalemate. When it ended, Romulus saw that Rogue was replaced by a half white half black shadow with small wings on the back.
"You reduced yourself to a silhouette? How shameful?" Romulus asked before Future Rogue appeared in front of him.
Once again, the two traded blows but this time. Romulus found himself off guard as Future Rogue clutched him tightly by the head. Where he released another dragon's roar to the face that sent Romulus flying across the capital. Seeing this, Future Rogue's wings expanded and he wen fyn after Romulus who started to recover mid flight.
"I cannot fall now. My divine duty will not permit me." Romulus said as he stopped and balanced himself. Where he saw Future Rogue rushing at him, "Monster, gaze upon the Apex of Rome!" he shouted.
Future Rogue let out an inhuman screech as he began to grow. Romulus flew directly at him and the two crashed into teach other, resulting in a shockwave that shook the entirety of Mercurious.
Elsewhere
Siegfried stabbed his sword through the thick hide of a dark dragon. The dark dragon screeched in pain as it tried to claw off the dragon slayer of norse folklore. Siegfried held on tightly as he started pulling his sword down the dark dragon's back.
Before the dark dragon could take flight, Gajeel jumped up towards the dark dragon's face.
"Iron Shadow Dragon's Club!" Gajeel yelled as he slammed a shadow club into the dark dragon's face.
The dark dragon staggered backwards, leaving itself open for more attack. Which became more troublesome as Ventus was flying in the air and repeatedly fired at him.
"Firaga!" Ventus shouted, further staggering the dark dragon.
As the dragon whaled around furiously, Levy presented Gajeel with the literal word "IRON" to feed him with.
"Thanks shrimp, but it could use seasoning." Gajeel said as he ate it.
Levy frowned and raised her pen again, "Spicy." she said while writing on the iron.
"OW! Not that kind of seasoning!" Gajeel complained.
As the two complained, Siegfried climbed up the dark dragon's back and slashed at the dragon's throat. The dragon roared in pain as it tried to take flight again. Only to find itself by surrounded by the waves of smaller dragons sent by Daphne.
"What is this?" Siegfried asked as he saw the smaller dragons swarming him.
"Siegfried!" Ventus shouted. He then aimed at the waves of small dragons, "Shot Lock!" he shouted.
Ventus' attacks hit about a dozen or so dragons, but only got them to move away from Siegfried. Many of them looked furious and started chasing Ventus who decided to retreat.
"This is bad! This is bad!" Ventus said as he tried losing the small dragons.
Gajeel sighed, "The nun's brother is gone." he said before focusing on the dark dragon. "Iron Shadow Spicy Dragon's Roar!" he shouted.
"Hey, did you add spicy because it gave you power or to spite me!?" Levy asked.
Gajeel ignored Levy and aimed at the swarm of dragons and destroyed several of them. It resulted in Siegfried falling from the dragon's back and crashing onto the ground.
"Hey, you okay?" Gajeel asked.
Siegfried grunted as he stood up, "I will be fine." he said.
Suddenly, they all heard the sounds of electricity. They all looked up and saw Astolfo flying in the air with Frankenstein's monster sitting behind him. Where the Berserker raised her staff in the air and released a heavy amount of electricity to knock the smaller dragons out of the air.
"Get out of here you nasty little bugs! You scared poor Ven!" Astolfo shouted as he flew around like a bug zapper.
As this went on, the dark dragon collapsed onto the ground but still looked very alive. Seigfried quickly stabbed his sword into the dragon's throat to prevent it from recovering.
"We must finish it now!" Siegfried yelled.
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Gajeel yelled as extended his arm.
Just as Gajeel was about to help finish off the dragon. Everyone present felt another wave of magic. This resulted in Gajeel falling and gripping Siegfried too tightly to where the Norse Dragon Slayer pulled out his sword. The dark dragon howled in pain as they felt pain from the sword being removed. Before they could attack, the dragon looked towards the location of where the magic came from.
The dark dragon looked confused and started stumbling towards there before eventually taking flight. Astolfo tried to fly after it only to be attacked by a wave of smaller dragons.
"Where are these things coming from!?" Astolfo asked.
Frankenstein snarled in annoyance as she tried zapping the smaller dragons away. All the while Gajeel, Levy and Seigfried felt confused as to where the dragon was going.
"Did that thing get bored of us?" Gajeel asked.
"It must trying to retreat or found another source of interest." Siegfried said.
"Then let's go after it!" Gajeel said.
"Can't we rest? Lucy's enhancements are cramping up my body." Levy said as she winced in pain.
Gajeel sighed, "Just climb onto my back Shrimp. The new magic is probably too much for you." he said as Levy climbed onto him. "If you were like Titania or Salamander or even the barmaid, you could probably handle the abuse you are taking on." he said.
As the trio left to follow the dragon, it seemed like Lucy's magic had a side effect as she believed. For now it just looks like something minor and hopefully treatable later.
With Lucy
By the time Lucy regained her strength, she decided to perform one last summoning. It wasn't going to do much to her body other than flare a lot of magic. Resulting in all of the dragons focusing on Lucy's location once it's finished.
"Come forth, Primordial Mother Tiamat!" Lucy exclaimed.
With a blinding flash, Lucy summoned Tiamat Larva who looked confused. Tiamat just seemed to be curious and unsure of what was going on. Even looking startled as she heard the nearby explosions. Unlike her true self, Tiamat was in a more youthful form that was a bit more expressive if given the motivation.
"Lucy, why am I here?" Tiamat asked.
"To sum it up, your kids travelled through time and now they want to destroy the kingdom." Lucy said.
Tiamat winced as she heard a loud crash. Like an annoyed mother, Tiamat turned around and glared at the sight of seven dragons stumbling towards her direction. Tiamat then turned back to Lucy, looking very stressed. Something that Lucy is not a stranger to as she remembered a few times where she made Layla feel a bit annoyed.
The difference being that when it was Lucy's fault, Layla just had a small talk with Lucy. Tiamat on the other hand, looked like she was about to slap someone.
"Do you mind giving me some support? I think it's time my descendants heard my voice." Tiamat said.
Lucy nodded and sent a signal to Bahamut. The dragon arrived and looked shocked to see Tiamat. Before he could question anything, Lucy asked him to let Tiamat stand on is head. Bahamut nodded and bent down to allow Tiamat to climb onto his head and use it to meet the dragons.
"Thank you child." Tiamat said gratefully.
Then like a cartoon character, Tiamat blew on her fingers to get the attention of the dragons. Making them stop and listen to Tiamat.
"Dragons of the past, hear me now and stop your rampage. I am Tiamat, your progenitor." Tiamat announced.
Zirconis scoffed, "You speak in lies, child. You call yourself the mythical primordial being? How arrogant." He said.
Tiamat scowled at Zirconis before shooting a laser at him, causing him to crash into one of his compatriots. The other dragons looked startled and decided to be quiet before Mercurious becomes their gravesite.
"Does anyone else want to interrupt mother?" Tiamat asked.
The dragons lowered their heads while Zirconis took a moment to recover from the blast that nearly gave him a concussion.
"If I might add, Zirconis briefly destroyed the clothes of a bunch of humans. I don't know why it's bad, but he did it to strip them of their dignity." a random dragon said.
"No I didn't!" Zirconis yelled.
Tiamat suddenly watched as several knights who looked uninjured but naked ran past her line of sight. It didn't help that she could see Arcadios having to navigate Princess Hisui who was blindfolded.
"Careful now princess, take slow steps. I will not allow you to fall or have your eyesight violated by naked men." Arcadios said.
"Arcadios, just please keep me from being stripped as well." Hisui pleaded.
"It will be my priority!" Arcadios said.
Even if they were far on the ground, Tiamat had great hearing like her descendants and didn't need to hear anymore to understand the evidence. Zirconis could be seen trying to back away only to be shot with another laser. Even Bahamut and Tarasque lowered their heads in fear of Tiamat's wrath.
"All of you may age slowly, but you are all adults! You are not savage animals!" Tiamat continued to rant.
The wizards stopped in place as they watched the dragons being scolded like a bunch of children. They were not sure what would result from such a sudden and very weird situation. Although now it looked like the dragons were forced to heel to their mother's beckoning. At the same time, Future Rogue's control over them seems to have snapped.
"And really? Allowing yourself to be controlled by one individual? A mad man who is so short sighted that his only plans are destruction?" Tiamat asked as the dragons groaned.
Lucy just smiled at the scene, 'Hopefully Romulus is beating Future Rogue.' she thought.
Just as things seemed to go so well, everything was ruined by Natsu being himself. Which involved him biting down on a dragon made only of fire named Atlas Flame. The first thing Natsu did when he arrived was see this dragon and decided to try and eat it. Seemingly unaware of Tiamat and what she was doing.
"Hey, your fire tastes good!" Natsu said.
Atlas Flame growled, "Impudent human! How dare you try and devour me!" he yelled.
"I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer! I need fire so I can beat up Rogue!" Natsu yelled.
Just as Tiamat finished, she saw Atlas Flame running around like an angry bull in an attempt to shake Natsu off of his body. The Primordial Goddess started to feel annoyed as she saw those two destroying the town. Only stopping once Atlas Flame felt some familiarity with Natsu eating him.
"What's this? Why do you feel like the Fire Dragon King?" Atlas Flame asked.
"Huh? That's Igneel's nickname!" Natsu said.
"You know Igneel?" Atlas Flame asked.
"Yeah, he's my dad. He taught me everything I know and raised me too." Natsu answered proudly.
This shocked Atlas Flame, "Impossible, he was our king and my close friend. Then again..." he said.
"Cool, you know Igneel?" Natsu asked, losing all aggression towards Atlas Flame.
Before the fire dragon could respond, the two of them were shot by a laser coming from Tiamat. Where they hit the ground harshly as the primordial goddess glared at them.
"What is wrong with those two?" Tiamat asked.
Happy then flew up next to her, "Well Natsu is Natsu, he's Igneel's son so that means he's your grandson." he said.
Tiamat sighed at the thought of being related to Natsu. Not that she was entirely a fan of humanity in her current mental state either. Still, she would see that there was something coming from the meeting between the dragon slayer and Atlas Flame.
In the distance
In the mountains, several servants and mages were helping with the citizens escaping from the attack. Kinana was among the many there to help but stopped as she had this odd feeling.
"Eric? Is that you?" Kinana asked.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Caster Cu Chulain.
"No one, I just thought I heard someone." Kinana said.
Cu sighed, "Just don't get lost. It's bad enough Lucy didn't summon me as a Lancer and there's too few of us to stop any loose dragons." he said.
Meanwhile others such as Bedivere were helping with keeping people calm and moving.
"Everyone, please stay in formation. Avoid trampling anyone in your path." Bedivere said. "Please keep your hands to yourself unless you are carrying a child or helping someone sickly and/or injured." He added.
Cu sighed, "I hate crowd control." he said.
As the Caster went to help the other servants and wizards. Kinana continued to watch from a distance as she felt Cobra from the Oracion Seis trying to call out to her. Slowly reminding her that she used to be a snake named Cubelios until Makarov had found her.
Kinana shook her thoughts and tried to focus on her mission. When she was caught off guard by a massive explosion of darkness in the city.
"Please be safe everyone!" Kinana said before helping the civilians.
With Romulus
Romulus skidded backwards as Future Rogue sent him flying back with a massive blast of magic. Romulus shook off any dirt that hit him as he stood up and glared at his foe who looked irritated and only surrounded himself with a massive amount of dark magic.
"This is the era of the dragons. I don't know why you fight when it's the end of humanity." Future Rogue said as he raised his hands in the air. "Acnologia will not be able to hold a candle to me. So once you die. He will be next. I will rule as I see fit and become the true Dragon King." he said arrogantly.
Romulus closed his eyes and opened them to glare at Future Rogue.
"Roma is no longer what it used to be." Romulus said.
"There is no 'Roma'! I don't know what that is! Whatever you think it is, the world will be reborn in the illumination of my power!" Future Rogue exclaimed.
"You call yourself a king but all you wish to do is destroy." Romulus said as he stood up straight. "Again, Roma is gone, but the life it created. The knowledge, the strength, the blood, it all continues. Even with the name gone, Roma lives with a new face." he said.
Future Rogue had enough with the founder of the Roman Empire and blasted him with an extreme amount of dark magic. Instead, Romulus irradiated with light and pushed away the magic. Where he then flew into the sky and extended his arms and legs as a magic circle appeared above his head. Allowing the shining stars to glow brightly.
"Come forth, our four limbs. The divine power... the power of light... the power that shall reach beyond the stars!" Romulus chanted as lights from the sky came raining down onto Future Rogue. "Per Aspera Ad Astra!" he yelled.
Future Rogue snarled as several magic circles appeared under him as he fired back at the beams of light. The battle between light and darkness clashed and even with a mix of light dragon slayer magic. Future Rogue was starting to falter as Romulus pushed him into a corner.
"The shadows will become a cleansing light!" Future Rogue shouted.
"I have no use for a false light. This world has no need for a false king who cannot build his own kingdom." Romulus said as he continued to open fire on him.
Eventually Future Rogue engulfed himself in an explosive wave of dark magic. Only to be blasted with a powerful wave of fire that disrupted his defense.
"What!?" Future Rogue asked before being pierced by multiple lights.
As Future Rogue collapsed, Romulus landed on the ground and watched as Natsu arrived while riding on Atlas Flame's back. Future Rogue looked at the dragon with angry eyes.
"Atlas Flame! How dare you betray me!?" Future Rogue asked.
"I did not betray you, I followed my heart." Atlas Flame said.
"And his mom scolded him." Natsu said, making Atlas Flame sweat drop. "But that's beside the point. This guy is my uncle and we're friends now!" he said.
"Uncle?" Atlas Flame asked. He then shook his head, "Regardless, this boy is the son of my friend Igneel. We will defeat you and end your reign." he said.
Future Rogue prepared to use his Dragon Supremacy magic only for Romulus to shoot him from behind with a crimson beam. Romulus prepared to attack when Natsu threw a fireball at him.
"Hold on old man! I'm the one beating this jerk! I'm showing him why friendship between a person and a dragon overpowers his need for control!" Natsu said.
Romulus would have argued, but the simplistic statement made Romulus think. In fact, it made him respect Natsu because of this desire.
"Very well, as a son of Roma. I will leave it to you, my child. Defeat the false king with your companion and prove why he is wrong." Romulus said before flying into the sky. "I will nurse the wounds of Roma's descendants!" he said as he left the battlefield.
Natsu grinned, "Sure thing grandpa!" he said with a thumbs up.
Future Rogue glared at Natsu, "Fine, I'll just destroy you both! White Shadow Dragon's Vestment!" he shouted.
With Atlas Flame's body, Natsu powered himself up and released a massive breath of fire.
"Feel my hell flames!" Atlas Flame exclaimed.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu roared as he cancelled out Future Rogue's attack.
"What? Impossible! You used combined the fires of Atlas Flame!?" Future Rogue asked, sounding shocked.
The two continued to clash and the battle resulted in a bright explosion. As the two sides skidded back, Natsu held onto Atlas Flame who managed to stay floating while Future Rogue was starting to look quite sluggish.
"Woah, are you okay uncle?" Natsu asked.
"Indeed, I am pure fire. Physical attacks like that will not harm me." Atlas Flame said proudly. "Now then, son of Igneel. We must finish off this fool who takes the title of King so lightly." he said.
"Right! I'm still fired up!" Natsu exclaimed as his flames grew brightly.
Meanwhile Future Rogue struggled to focus as pieces of his flesh began to chip away and leave behind some kind of dark essence under his flesh. Most likely showing one of the sacrifices that comes with becoming a Beast of Humanity.
With Romulus
As the Grand Servant left things up to Natsu, he decided to help everywhere else. Seeing as how Tiamat managed to control her descendants. That still left all of the mini dragons that were tearing up the place. Unlike the larger dragons, these smaller ones were mindless and incapable of thinking about anything but destruction.
"Beasts of humanity! I will not allow you to destroy Roma!" Romulus yelled.
Romulus flew directly above the sky, "I will have to use this technique once more! Our arm reaches anything, tears everything, and clears all paths. Eventually it will reach even beyond the stars in the sky! Per Aspera Ad Astra!" he shouted.
Moments later, the sky was once again lit up with the sight of Romulus summoning lights from the sky to pierce all the miniature dragons. Filling the air with screeches of pain as they were destroyed within a small amount of time. While the city was damaged during the counterattack. There would still be enough of the city left to be rebuilt.
Romulus looked down as he saw just about every mini dragon being destroyed. He then lowered himself back down to the surface where King Toma stood with his guards. Romulus turned his head and saw the short man as his guards pointed their weapons at him.
"Be at ease, descendants of Roma. I fight for your city of flowers." Romulus said.
"Who are you?" Toma asked.
Romulus stood up and looked down at him.
"I am Romulus-Quirinus. I wave my arms like spears of light and am a servant of humanity." Romulus said. "Are you the ruler of this city? I can sense the regality in you." he said.
"I am King Toma E. Fiore, I am the ruler of the Kingdom of Fiore." Toma said.
Romulus nodded, "You cannot fight, but you stand with your men at the very least. You are indeed a good successor to Roma like your daughter." he said.
"Thank you, but I am more concerned for the state of my kingdom of flowers." Toma said as he saw the destruction in the distance. "This catastrophe was the Dragon Festival as predicted in prophecy." he said.
That's when Romulus suddenly lifted up the small king and placed the man on his shoulder.
"Fear is natural, but you cannot let it win. You stand here today and watch as your people come together to combat the menace." Romulus said, trying to inspire him. "Because of this cooperation, Roma lives through your kingdom of flowers. Fiore is hurt, but it will heal because Fiore is strong!" he said.
Toma was confused by what Romulus was saying but can only assume the man was trying to motivate him. Although it may do him better if Romulus didn't find an excuse to shout "Roma" every few seconds.
Still, from the lights that he saw, Toma could see that this was not the end of his capital or even his kingdom for that matter. Everyone was banding together and even spirits of amazing humans were here today to protect the kingdom. Even when the homes they came from where nothing more than memories and even rumors in some cases.
With Lucy
While Tiamat was keeping her descendants in line and allowed Natsu to take Atlas Flame to deal with Future Rogue. Lucy pulled out a diary that was left on the body of her deceased future self.
"She may be from a timeline that did not exist, but I can still avoid this event from happening at all. If only I could do the same with the other Lucy's timeline." Lucy said as she made her way to the Eclipse Gate.
Lucy wasn't sure if Future Lucy was too depressed or feeling unsure of herself, but this dairy was filled with a few useful details. Including one theory that sounded very plausible. Which was that the Eclipse Gate needed to be destroyed in order to prevent the future events. In a normal case, Lucy would have assumed that by destroying the gate, Future Rogue would never arrive and the events of today would never occur.
However, Future Rogue's actions just seemed to create a whole mess of discrepancies. So much so that the Counter Force saw to it that the world Lucy needed to be empowered and allowed her to summon Romulus-Quirinus as well as granting Natsu a mass power boost.
"So Lucy, what are we going to do?" Wendy asked.
"Destroy the Eclipse Gate. I just hope I can figure out how." Lucy answered.
"BUt why would that help?" Wendy asked.
"Hopefully to prevent the present day Rogue from turning evil among other things. Luckily there isn't an army of worse things from coming out." Lucy said.
Sure, a Beast of Humanity was a threat that would make Acnologia look like a minor pest, but there are a lot of scenarios that could make this worse.
"So will that stop Future Rogue altogether?" Charle asked.
"If not, we still have Romulus and Tiamat and an army of heroic spirits." Lucy said with a shrug.
The girls arrived and stood before the gate as Lucy continued to read the diary. She decided to study it one more time before doing anything crazy.
"Okay, I think..."
"Look out!" Wendy yelled.
Lucy turned her head and saw a small group of miniature dragons arriving and preparing to blast them. Lucy raised her staff only for her, Wendy and Charle to be grabbed by a familiar wave of red hair. The girls were pulled away in time to avoid the blast before being dropped.
Before Lucy could question where the hair came from. She raised her staff in the air.
"Lightning Spree!" Lucy shouted.
Suddenly, several Fairy Tail guild symbols appeared in the air above her and fired powerful beams of light to destroy the miniature dragons. Lucy then turned and heard Wendy scream as Flare appeared and stuck her head out of a corner. Which only made things look worse as her creepy smile made everyone feel unsettled.
While it didn't look like it, Flare was either embarrassed or too nervous to say anything. So the fact that she silently gave them her demented smile, only made Wendy and Charle more scared. At least Lucy could sense that Flare didn't have any hostile feelings towards them.
"Wait, did you escape from custody while the dragons attacked?" Lucy asked.
Flare raised a finger as if to speak when they heard a few loud crashed in the distance. Lucy just sighed and interrupted Flare before she could give an excuse. She looked in the distance and saw the explosions coming from Future Rogue's fight. Along with a massive wave of flames coming from Natsu.
"This fight is becoming too intense. At this rate, the city will be destroyed so long as Future Rogue continues." Lucy said.
Suddenly, she saw the sky being darkened by a massive magic circle. Lucy went wide eyed as she saw the circle break down into smaller magic circles before releasing the shadowy figures shaped like dragons. Lucy then grabbed Flare and pulled her close to her along with Charle and Wendy.
"Sanctuary!" Lucy cried out.
The group was then surrounded by a large barrier that looked like it was made of glass. Just as the spell was about to hit the entirety of Crocus. When a large purple or dark blue wave of magic hit them, the capital and possibly the entire kingdom. The girls suddenly felt a bit dazed before finding themselves in the exact moment when they found Flare hiding behind a corner.
"Wait, did you escape from custody while... hold on. We just did this." Lucy said.
Flare tilted her head and showed an expression that wasn't her deranged looking smile.
"I'm confused, what are we talking about?" Flare asked.
Charle looked down and noticed her watch, which was a cheap gift that Happy gave her, was a minute off.
"Why did I accept such a silly gift from that boy?" Charle asked.
"What?" Wendy asked.
"I don't know if the quality of the watch is bad or if the battery needs to be changed." Charle said.
Lucy looked at the watch and compared it to a clocktower. Showing that the clocktower was one minute ahead and in perfect condition.
"Something is off, it doesn't look like it but something has changed." Lucy said.
Five minutes ago, with Natsu
Natsu kept breathing fire onto Future Rogue who had a hard time going after him. With Motherglare having been summoned by Tiamat, he was alone to fight Natsu. Even with his own power, Future Rogue was having a hard time keeping up as he was already exhausting himself.
"Why will you not give up! This battle is futile! I will end the era of humans!" Future Rogue yelled.
"I'm tired of your stupid speeches! Humanity isn't going to end and I'm going to make sure of it!" Natsu yelled before breathing more fire onto him. "I don't know what happened to you in your timeline, Rogue. But I can see that all you did was become true darkness! It's no wonder you gave up on your humanity!" he said.
Natsu was right, as Future Rogue's skin chipped away, his interior only revealed pure darkness and not flesh or any aspect of a normal human. Nothing that Natsu could see that could be redeemed. However, that did not mean that there wasn't a way to help the Rogue of this time.
Future Rogue gritted his teeth as he unleashed a powerful blast of magic. Sending Natsu flying off of Atlas Flame and sending the dragon crashing into a nearby building. Moments later, Natsu generated a spear and shield out of his fire magic and rushed towards Future Rogue who engulfed himself in darkness before becoming sentient darkness.
"It is impossible to stop fate, Natsu. The darkness is here and it has finally devoured me." Future Rogue said, sounding demonic. "Fate cannot be avoided. Some live, some die, but the result is the same. Even in an alternate time, my present self will become what I am." he said.
"That's not true! Your other self has the power to make his own choice!" Natsu argued as he threw the spear at Future Rogue.
Future Rogue raised his hand and destroyed the spear. Then generated a barrier around him as Natsu tried to rush at him with the shield. Natsu then began to use the fires of Atlas Flame to empower the shield and generate another spear. Where he once again tried to destroy the barrier around Future Rogue. Only to feel Future Rogue slowly pushing him back.
"This is the end Natsu, the darkness will be all that shines! It will be all there is!" Future Rogue said as he blasted Natsu back.
Natsu began to skid backwards until Atlas Flame stood up and caught the young Dragon Slayer.
"Natsu, do not let him continue. You must finish him off!" Atlas Flame said.
"I know uncle! We just gotta put everything we have into this final attack!" Natsu said.
As Natsu and Atlas Flame tried to pierce Future Rogue's barrier. The Beast extended his palms into the sky and began to darken it with the same magic circle that Lucy witnessed.
"Sint Tenebrae: Devorabit Omnia Quae Lucet! (Let There Be Darkness: It WIll Devour All That Shines)" Future Rogue said as the magic circles became smaller.
Natsu and Atlas Flame continued to push down before the attack initiated and the spell went to work on destroy all of Crocus. That is until in a last act of redemption.
Ultear sacrificed her lifespan in an attempt to turn back the clocks.
One Minute Ago
Ultear sacrificed everything but could only move back so little with her magic. Yet, it was still enough and there's a good chance no one would know of her heroic sacrifice.
Future Rogue was about to blast Natsu with his power but felt dazed and confused for a moment.
"What happened? I was about to engulf the world with darkness. Or at least, that was what I meant to do, wasn't it?" Future Rogue asked, feeling helplessly confused.
That is until he felt a spear of fire pierce his abdomen. Future Rogue coughed up black blood and staggered backwards.
He looked up and saw Natsu rushing at him with another spear. With all the power he could muster in an instant, Future Rogue attempted to blast Natsu away. Only for the shield made of fire to block it. Giving Natsu a chance to generate another spear of fire and pierce him again. Future Rogue gritted his teeth and tried once again to destroy Natsu only to be slapped with the shield, staggering him even more.
With Future Rogue defenseless, Natsu surrounded his entire body and hit him with enough force to dig a large trench that was over a mile long. Sending Future Rogue skidding across the city with the impact of the punch.
"You should have focused on the fight Rogue! Because you lose!" Natsu yelled as he ran after him.
When he found Future Rogue, he found the man's body cracking again but no longer showing the darkness within him. Instead, Future Rogue began to chip away and be reduced to ash. Ash that would be scattered across the winds.
"Rogue, I can't help you but I won't let the Rogue of this time turn evil like you." Natsu said.
Future Rogue scoffed, "By now, my darkness has already followed him. He will never leave, because no matter how much others change. My fate will be the same and repeat itself one year from now." he said.
"What do you mean?" Natsu asked.
Future Rogue looked at the night sky as his body was reduced to nothing.
"One year from now, Frosch will die and because of that. I will lose myself and the fault of it will be none other than Gray." Future Rogue said before only half of his face was left. "You are free to try as you wish, but I doubt you will change anything." he said before his face was gone as well.
Natsu's bangs shadowed his eyes.
"Normally, I would use this as an excuse to kick that stripper's ass but I think I should keep this in mind." Natsu said before looking up. "Whatever happens, I'm going to protect everyone." he said.
With Lucy
With Tiamat and the other dragons, Lucy asked them to destroy the Eclipse Gate to prevent more catastrophes and prevent a potential future from occuring in this era. Despite how durable the Eclipse Gate was, the combined might of Tiamat and her children was enough.
"Bahamut, finish it now!" Tiamat commanded.
"Yes ancestor! Megaflare!" Bahamut roared.
(Fate Stay Night OST - Ocean of Memories)
With Bahamut's last attack, the Eclipse Gate was obliterated and reduced to mere debris. Much to the shock of Arcadios and Hisui. With the latter breaking away from her shock to approach Tiamat and bowing her head.
"Lady Tiamat, mother of dragons, I apologize for my actions. Your descendants were living in tranquility 400 years ago. I had no right to tamper with history and damage the balance. For that, I wish to repent for my actions and accept any punishment that comes with it." Hisui said, surprising Tiamat.
As the dragons from the past began to glow. Tiamat closed her eyes and considered Hisui's words.
"Child, tell me your name." Tiamat said.
"I am Princess Hisui E. Fiore." Hisui replied.
"Hisui?"
"It means Jade in the language of my ancestors."
Tiamat took another moment to respond to this.
"I am not only the creator of dragons, Princess. I am a primordial goddess, I created the gods of that the people of Babylonia praised." Tiamat suddenly said. "They in turn created in humans. Yet, I could not help but dislike them. They deviated from their purpose. Like the dragons, they too acted foolishly and caused destruction." she continued.
Tiamat then turned and stroked the leg of Bahamut.
"Yet, as an Earth Goddess and therefore a mother. It is by nature that I love my creations and the creations of my children. Despite their flaws, I only wish to see better in them." Tiamat said before facing her again. "As Princess, you are meant to rule someday. When you rule your people and should they act in ways you see as inappropriate, will you do whatever it takes to keep them in line to keep your kingdom alive?" she asked.
As Tiamat spoke, Romulus and his descendants were nearby to hear this. Romulus placed his arms around the shoulders of Caligula and Nero as they listened. All having experienced times of hardship as a ruler. All watching as Hisui took a moment answer Tiamat.
"I will, perhaps I cannot make Fiore perfect. Mistakes will be made, but I will not say that each mistake will make me stronger. I will become stronger so I can make less mistakes and make the difficult decisions that my father and my ancestors made before me." Hisui stated with all her heart.
Tiamat just stared at her in silence before looking away.
"See to it that you do." Tiamat said.
(End of Song)
As the dragons were engulfed in light. They suddenly became much smaller and less dangerous than before.
"What the heck!? Why am I so tiny?" Zirconis asked.
Tiamat shook her head, "Consider this your punishment, Zirconis. You are weakened and now, you will help fix what you have destroyed." she said.
"What!? Why!?" Zirconis asked.
"Do not disrespect your ancestor!" Lucy yelled before kicking him across the street.
Just about everyone in the area laughed at the misfortune of Zirconos and the other dragons who came to this era. All the while, somewhere else, Rogue was haunted by a dark shadow and Ultear was reaching her twilight years.
While the city is destroyed, the people of Fiore and return from this tragedy as they will live the next day and see tomorrow.
TO BE CONTINUED...