Hi everyone, welcome back to Fairy May Cry!

Let me just say that I am beyond pleased that I was able to catch you off-guard with the revelation of Vergil being the mastermind behind the Eclipse Gate! That is precisely what I was hoping for! I was worried that I might give it away, so I was extra careful to keep Vergil stoic and avoid any possible hints throughout the entirety of this arc, especially during the final battle of the Grand Magic Games tournament. But the surprises aren't going to stop there.

Can Fairy Tail stop the Eclipse Gate and the apocalypse that will ensue from its opening? Find out right now!

Abandon Hope, Ye Who Stand at the Gate

Natsu and Dante stood together, both glaring with tears of rage and teeth barred at their adversaries, Vergil and Future Rogue, both of whom looked rather frustrated with the turn of events before them. Behind the pair were their friends as nearly all of them had surrounded the still-shocked Lucy and Yukino protectively.

"Lucy, you and Yukino need to get out of here." Natsu told her.

"Wha… But Natsu…" The blonde tried to protest, her mind still reeling over what had just happened with not only her eldest cousin's betrayal, but even the death of her future self.

"You two need to get to the Eclipse Gate." Dante added, his back to Lucy as he didn't take his eyes off his brother and his accomplice. "Your magic is the only thing that can do any damage to it, remember? Smash it to pieces before these two idiots start a damn apocalypse."

"B-but I can't just leave! We can help…!" Lucy tried to plead.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, NOW!" Dante all but screamed, his back still turned to her.

Lucy gave a gasp, not expecting that sort of tone from him. But before she could dwell on it, she felt a hand on her shoulder, this one being from Trish as she looked at her with a serious yet understanding expression.

"They're right. We're still on a timetable. We need to go."

Before Lucy could say anything, she was suddenly picked up by Happy as he sprung his wings. "Yeah, might be a good idea to move away from the psychos!" But when it looked like they were about to fly away…

"You're not going anywhere!" Future Rogue reached out as an enormous shadow-hand grew out from his own hand to try and reach and grab for Lucy, only for that hand to be burnt away from a breath-attack from the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Natsu…!" He was then pounded across the face from a blazing punch from Natsu himself.

Dante then gunned straight for Vergil with Rebellion out, the elder twin had the Yamato quickly drawn to block the strike. The second their blades made contact, a small shockwave erupted from their collusion as it blew much rubble away from the surrounding area.

"Yeah, we definitely wanna be in the way of those guys right now!" Cana stated as Modeus had picked her up bridal style and leapt towards the rooftops with Trish beside him, while Carla had picked up Wendy with Lily doing the same for Yukino. Lisanna had turned into her harpy-form to pick up Lady while Mira had grown a pair of demonic wings from her back to pick up Kyrie as all of them met Happy and Lucy in the air to fly away from the erupting battle.

As they flew and ran across the rooftops, Lucy and even Yukino couldn't help but look back with tears in both of their eyes.

The twin Sons of Spada had their blades locked as their eye met. The icy-cold stare of Vergil was a clear contradictory from the burning rage in that of his younger brother, even as he delivered a headbutt to push Vergil back with Future Rogue stepping by his side as they faced Dante and Natsu once more.

"You trying to stop us was not unexpected." Future Rogue commented.

"But regardless, even if they do make it to the Eclipse Gate, they can't stop it." Vergil added. "It will open, we've taken precautions to ensure that it does."

"Then we better hurry and butcher you two right now!" Dante quickly drew Ebony and Ivory and opened fire, focused on his brother, who had the Yamato quickly drawn and spun in front of him rapidly like a helicopter blade to block the bullets while Future Rogue's body moved through the shadows along the ground and went straight for Natsu, popping out to deliver a punch to the face and push him back while Future Rogue leapt into the air.

While airborne, Future Rogue unleashed a vortex of shadows onto Natsu, who braced himself from the effects just as Vergil zoomed past Dante, the Yamato drawn as blood spilled out from Dante's side, but the younger son had already used his Quicksilver style to disappear and re-appear behind Vergil to deliver a mighty swing with the Rebellion, which Vergil parried while also flipping in the air for multiple rapid slashes of the Yamato, which Dante blocked as Vergil landed on the other side and they clashed swords again.

"She was really holding out hope for you!" Dante told her, tears still in his eyes, and the Perfect Amulet that Future Lucy had still worn around his neck. "I was too! But I guess some things never change, do they?" When Dante swung horizontally, Vergil ducked and drove the hilt of Yamato into Dante's stomach to push him back, who happened to come back-to-back with Natsu as Future Rogue landed to face him.

"The Lucy who came through the Gate was already doomed." He told both Dante and Natsu. "I could sense her body was rapidly deteriorating. She didn't have access to all twelve Zodiac keys, so she must have used her own lifeforce as a substitute."

"And even if that weren't the case, your goal to destroy the Eclipse Gate would have caused her to vanish from existence." Future Rogue said. "Her fate was sealed."

"That still didn't give you the right to do what you did…!" Dante growled.

"She was not my target, and her body was weakened. She doomed herself." Future Rogue countered.

"There's hope and then there's false positivity." Vergil said. "The Lucy from the future was already doomed no matter what occurred. And Mundus' return is inevitable. For this world to live, he must die and someone else must take that throne. And that will be me."

"…I don't care about any of that." Natsu growled, turning to Vergil's direction. "Your mistake… was breaking Lucy's heart the way you did. She had hope, even when I didn't. I never liked the way you do things. And I don't give a damn why you're doing it." The look in his eyes was one of a fiery vengeance. "We made a promise… to protect the future…!"

"And that's what we're going to do. Even if it means putting both of you in the ground." Dante added with every bit as serious as he could get. No jokes, no witty remarks, no subtlety. Nothing but the desire to see this mission through, and a promise to keep, no matter who he had to fight to do it.

Once again, Dante and Natsu stood back-to-back as they faced Vergil and Future Rogue respectively. The four foes locked eyes before they went at each other for another tremendous clash.


Meanwhile, everyone else was running or flying across the rooftops as fast as they could to get to the Eclipse Gate. "Can we still call the others?" Kyrie asked.

"No… I'm afraid that Warren's telepathic link has still be cut off." Modeus said.

"That royal bitch! I'm gonna knock all her teeth out when I see her!" Lady exclaimed.

"Let's get to the gate first." Lily said. "Perhaps there is a chance we can reason with the princess." However, he also noticed that Yukino, whom he was carrying, was breathing heavily and rapidly, with a terrified look in her eyes. She was having a panic attack. "Everyone, set down now!"

The group came to a stop as all the flyers set down on the rooftop for them all to see Yukino fall to her knees and hands.

"The gate… Vergil… Lucy… all of it…!" She breathed rapidly. "My fault…! All my fault…!" She clenched her head with her hands. "Why…?! I can't…?! I have to…!"

"Yukino." Lisanna was already in front of her as she gently grasped both of Yukino's hands into her own. "Breathe." Yukino locked eyes with Lisanna, but her rapid breathing didn't stop. "Yukino, I need you to breathe. In…" She took a deep breath of her own for demonstration. "And out." She let her own breath escape. "Come on, just breathe. In…" She took another deep breath, and this time, Yukino did so. "And out…" They both exhaled. "In…" Both inhaled once again. "And out." Another exhale. This allowed Yukino a chance to calm herself down, to inhale and then exhale, which she had done at least three more times before she appeared to calm down. "Okay. All better?" Lisanna asked with a smile.

But all Yukino could do was look away in shame. "I'm sorry… I don't know what…"

"Everyone has a breaking point." Lisanna assured. "And after what we just saw…" Her own smile faded as she could never unsee Future Lucy dying and crumbling to dust, none of them could ever unsee that as they all looked away with expressions of sorrow and regret, with Lucy appearing the most reeling with Trish putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But… we can mourn and process it later. We have a job to do."

"Go without me." Yukino said, still looking away much to everyone's surprise. "I can't help you… This is my fault."

"How the hell is it your fault?" Lady questioned.

"I cooperated with them…" Yukino muttered. "With the Eclipse…"

"This was all the princess' doing." Modeus said to her. "It was her idea to rebuild the Gate when she shouldn't have."

"He's right." Carla added. "And even if you didn't cooperate with them, they would have found a way to get either you or your keys. They even tried to abduct Lucy for that very reason."

"And they sold you all that save-the-world bullshit." Cana put in as well. "It's not your fault they manipulated you the way you did."

"But Vergil…" Yukino tried.

"It sounded like Vergil had already figured out about that Gate before you even knew about it." Wendy said, but that wasn't what Yukino was upset about. The look in her eyes, the look of heartbreak, that was something that Lucy recognized.

"I see… you looked up to him, didn't you?" The blonde figured out, to which Yukino only gave a single nod.

"He defended me… even after I was humiliated in Sabertooth…" She was on the verge of crying. "He even said I had the potential to be strong…! But now… he's involved in this…? Did he know they were planning to use me? Was he just using me to? Was I just as much as a pawn to him as I was to the rest of Sabertooth?!"

That caused them all to wince with sorrow and anger, being reminded of what Sabertooth's former guildmaster had done to her before being recruited by the royal army. And now, she was dealing with all this too?

"I know how you feel." Kyrie came up to her and kneeled to her level. "How someone you look up to isn't who they say they are, or the cause that you believe in isn't as righteous as you first thought… that feeling of betrayal… that heartbreak. I know it all too well."

"You were dealt a crap hand, sure." Cana said. "But that is not your fault."

"You may have been a tool for others, but that doesn't mean you have to remain one." Modeus added. "Look at where you are now, trying your hardest to stop the Eclipse Gate even after everything."

"Vergil said a lot of bullshit, but he was right about one thing." Trish put in. "You are strong, and you can get much stronger than you are now."

"Dante and Natsu are both fighting their hardest right now, and we need to do the same." Wendy said as well.

"It's what the other Lucy would do too." Happy added as there were some tears in his own eyes as well. "She would want us to keep going, to keep fighting no matter what."

"We've all seen what you're capable of." Mira smiled. "And nobody here blames you for any of this."

"Nobody is worthless, Yukino." Lisanna held her hands firm as she smiled at her distant relative. "You are not just a strong wizard, you're a good person with a good heart who was trying to do a good thing. Even if someone tried to take advantage of that, that does not make you any less good."

"I… You all…" Yukino looked around and saw that everyone around her, Lisanna, Mira, Happy, Wendy, Carla, Lady, Panther-Lily, Trish, Kyrie, and Cana, they were all smiling to her, giving her the best encouragement they could. Despite everything that's happening, with time running out and watching Future Lucy die only seconds ago, they were still smiling. Still fighting.

"When we first met…" Lucy walked up to her, with Lisanna moving out of the way as Lucy took Yukino's hands herself. "You said I was the superior Celestial Wizard. But I don't buy it. I saw what you did in the tournament, what you were capable of as we fought our way out of the dungeon and against Moloch! You love your spirits, and you're a more than capable fighter. You're an amazing Celestial Wizard, Yukino. And right now, I need that. Celestial Spirit magic is the only thing that can destroy the Eclipse Gate and I can't do that on my own. I need your help, Yukino. We need your help. The world needs your help. Yeah, there's a lot going on, and I can cry my eyes out over it, but now is not the time to cry." She helped Yukino to stand on her feet. "Now is the time to fight. But when it's all over, and there's no more fighting to be done… I promise… we'll both cry our eyes out and let all the people we love hold us as we do. But now is not that time. So… are you with us?"

That's right. Everyone was fighting to stop the Eclipse Gate from activating and bringing about the end of the world. Her sister was fighting. Dante was fighting. All of Fairy Tail was fighting! And she joined this group to fight alongside them and protect the world! And nothing was going to stop her from doing just that. She could cry later, but she was going to fight now!

Clenching her fists and wiping the tears from her eyes, a determined look formed on her face. "Let's go."


"In preparation for the demons' assault on Fiore, we will begin the Eclipse Cannon's firing sequence!" Hisui announced to all the gathered soldiers as she stood in front of the Eclipse Gate. "However, in light of recent revelations, we are prepared to abort the operation if we have indeed been deceived! Are mages in position at the controls?"

"Yes, your highness!" One of the four wizards at the left side of the Eclipse Gate reported as they stood by a large and old-fashioned lever.

"Your majesty, how is that device capable of closing the Gate?" Darton asked as he and Arcadios stood by Hisui's side.

"It's a device that will automatically expel all of the stored magic within this machine." The princess explained. "I had it prepared in the event of an emergency. If what Arcadios has said is indeed true, and there is a possibility we have been deceived, we will abort the process."

"Princess, it took seven years for us to collect this amount of magic power to even operate the Gate, in the first place." Arcadios advised. "And if this becomes a public matter, the amount of political backlash we could receive, especially from the Magic Council, means that there is a very likely outcome that we may never even use the Gate again."

"I realize that. But I must be prepared." Hisui replied before turning towards the Gate itself. "Unlock!" With that command, the enormous device began to move.

The moon-shaped symbol near the bottom of the door began to slowly move up toward the right in the direction of a circle and all watched with anticipation.

'I can't believe it. The Gate is finally opening.' Darton thought nervously.

'The two contradictory stories from the two-time travelers…' Arcadios thought with seriousness. 'The fate of the kingdom itself may hinge on whether we open the Gate or not. I only hope that we make the right choice.'

The moon-symbol had reached a certain point in the Gate to where one of the twelve holes in the circle, one of the twelve enormous locks on the side went up, beginning the process of unlocking and opening the monolithic device.

"Have there been any updates from our lookouts?" Hisui asked her troops.

"Western look out reports no demons sighted." One soldier reported.

"Nothing to the east either, your highness." Another stated.

"What about the evacuation?" She questioned.

"Already underway." A different soldier replied. "His majesty has even deployed many healing mages to all the competing wizards from the tournament and hopes to rally them together as a defense force to combat the demons if the plan fails. Among them include six active Wizard Saints, with one of them being Lady Kurenai."

"Then all we can do now is hope that we've thought of everything." Hisui muttered as she saw the moon-symbol reach the second hole and release the second lock.


It was painstaking work as soldiers went to every building in the entire town of Crocus to begin the evacuation of the city. Though most people had gathered to Domus Flau to observe the finale of the tournament, with so many people altogether, it was hard to organize them all, though Lahar and Doranbolt had dispatched some of their Rune Knights to assist in the evacuation. So far, it seemed like the evacuation was moving smoothly, though most of the civilians didn't like it.

"Let's move! We need everyone out of town, quickly!" One of the soldiers prompted a line of civilians as they walked down a road.

"Everyone, stay together! Take only your essentials!" A Rune Knight waved the civilians along.

"Please hurry, this is an emergency!"

"It's the middle of the night!" One civilian complained, along with many others.

"The Games had just ended and now there's an emergency!? What gives?!"

"Explain yourselves!"

"Yeah, what he said!"

"This is really cutting into my drinking time!"

"Alright, this caravan is ready to move." One soldier said as a group of civilians had gathered around a wagon to help carry some nervous children away.

"Wait! Please, we got some more!"

The soldiers turned and looked in surprise to see Alzack and Bisca, the latter holding Asuka in her arms, with Macao, Morrison, Patty, Romeo, and Kinana right beside them.

"Wait, aren't you from Fairy Tail?" One soldier asked.

"Yes, we are, but we got some kids that need to go too." Macao told them.

"Alright then load them up." Another soldier allowed.

Bisca set her daughter down in the wagon with several other kids. "Okay, sweetie, you're going to stay with Patty, Mr. Morrison, and Kinana. They're in charge, okay?" She told the toddler.

"But Mommy…"

"No buts, honey." Alzack said as he rubbed his daughter's head, the pair of parents doing their best to smile and assure their little girl. "This is grown up stuff that we gotta do."

"But don't worry, we'll be back before you know it." Bisca promised as she kissed her child on the forehead.

"Patty, you gotta come too." Morrison pulled her along, but the blonde looked more than a little reluctant.

"What about Wendy?! Or Lucy?! Or Dante?! They haven't come back yet!" She protested.

"Those guys can handle themselves; they'll be fine." Morrison said.

"Patty, you know you can't fight." Kinana gently held the girl's hand. "Neither can I, and I know how frustrating it is. But the best thing we can do for our friends, is to at least have them not worry about us. Okay?"

The girl looked away with a sad look in her eyes. 'What good am I if I can't even help everyone? Am I really part of Fairy Tail?"

"Romeo…" Macao looked towards his son.

"Forget it, Dad! I'm staying here!" Romeo stood his ground. "I'm not a little kid, I'm a wizard and a member of Fairy Tail! If there's a fight coming, than it's my job to fight back with the rest of the guild, right!? So don't try and send me away when you know I can fight!"

Macao looked in a mixture of pride and worry. He couldn't help but fear what kind of danger Romeo could get into. With the city about to be evacuated, and what he knew about the Eclipse Gate, something big was definitely about to go down, and his son could be smack dab in the middle. But at the same time, he was beyond proud to see that his kid was willing to stand up and fight whatever came his way.

"Alright." Macao accepted. "But you stay by my side, okay?"

"Sure thing, Dad." Romeo smiled.

"Big brother…" Upon hearing Asuka call him, Romeo turned around to see the little girl smiling. "You and Mommy and Daddy kick plenty of bad guy butts!"

Romeo smirked as he gave the little girl a thumbs up. "Count on it."

"Alright, let's move out." The soldier ordered as the wagon was pulled away with all the kids, including Asuka and Patty, onboard as Kinana and Morrison joined in the evacuation, leaving the four members of Fairy Tail incredibly nervous before they left to rejoin their comrades.


Meanwhile, every wizard from all the competing guilds, including Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, Quatro Puppy, and Blue Pegasus, as well as the independent Wizard Saints, they had gathered with the royal army and the Magic Council rune knights at the very center of Crocus, in the Li In Crystal Plaza. All the wizards who had competed in the tournament had received healing magic from the royal army mages, but with so little time between the tournament's end and the present situation, there was only so much they could do, but everyone was currently standing and appeared to have only minimal injuries.

However, when all had gathered together, many of them happened to look towards the members of the Sabertooth guild, and nearly every single wizard present couldn't help but glare as well as murmur towards themselves questionably. Rufus, Orga, and Dobengal happened to notice the looks of distrust and disdain and ended up glaring back, but Rogue, Sting, Frosch, and Lector at least had the decency to look ashamed; given the actions their guild took throughout this tournament, the Twin Dragons and their Exceed companions couldn't exactly blame the other guilds for not liking them.

"Your attention, please!" All eyes set on the enormous crystal that was at the center of the plaza, where several royal soldiers had gathered around the small man that was the ruler of this kingdom, Toma E. Fiore. "Thank you all for coming!" He began to address the wizards present. "I hate to spoil the mood after the splendid display of wizardry we have seen today, but… I'm afraid that the very heart of Fiore may soon be in the infernal grasp… of a horde of a hundred thousand demons!"

All the wizards looked in surprise as they started to speak among themselves with worry and concern.

"A hundred thousand demons…?" Gildarts questioned as he and Makarov looked with concern.

"I can't recall any demonic threat with a number that high." The former guildmaster of Fiore commented.

"You'd think we could sense that many if they were about to show up any minute." Nero said to some of his fellow guildmates.

"There is also the matter of what has been going on at the castle with that Eclipse Gate. Perhaps they are connected." Freed assumed.

"And Dante and the others still aren't back yet…" Levy said worriedly.

"As we speak, a large-scale counter-offensive is underway at the council." King Toma announced, getting everyone's attention once more. "The Eclipse Cannon!"

"Wait… Eclipse Cannon?" Nero questioned. "I thought it was a giant door…"

"We will use it unleash a blast rivaling that of an Etherion blast to decimate the demons! All of them at once!" The King revealed.

"All at once? How do they expect to pull that off?" Elfman asked.

"I don't think Lady Kurenai or Sparda ever said anything about the Eclipse Gate being a weapon though." Levy added.

King Toma looked towards the worried wizards and understood their confusion. "I can sense your concern. Regrettably, given the sheer number of the demons, there is a very strong possibility that a few thousand may survive the attack, and we have no way of knowing whether they be high-ranked or low-ranked demons either."

"Yes… I would assume so." Makarov looked down.

"I don't know why though, but this whole thing feels a bit fishy to me." Gildarts put in.

"So, I implore you, guild wizards! Please lend Fiore your assistance, in dealing with this crisis!" The King pleaded. "You are the best hope at slaying any demons the Eclipse cannot!" He bowed his head to them all. "I beg of you! Don't let this kingdom fall into ruin!"

Though there was silence for a few seconds…

Right before it broke out into a multitude of cheers from all the gathered wizards and fighters.

"Wild!" The members of Quatro Puppy all hollered.

"We'll be glad to help!" Levy proclaimed.

"You can count on us!" Makarov exclaimed with a grin as Gildarts pumped his fist with a grin of his own.

"We're in!" Everyone in Blue Pegasus spoke simultaneously.

"We won't be beaten by these underworldly pests." Lyon said proudly, speaking for all of Lamia Scale.

"You even need to ask?" Sapphire crossed her arms with a smirk, standing with the rest of Mermaid Heel.

"This is a nice kingdom; it would be a shame if we let it die." Sting commented.

"We've battled demons before." Rogue said as everyone in Sabertooth was on board.

Upon hearing all their cheers and declarations to join the effort, Toma couldn't help but cry in joy. "Thank you all…"

Erza turned to one of the royal soldiers. "The royal army has captured some of our comrades, but we're going to need their help."

"I will try to contact the princess as soon as possible." The soldier said.

"Alright, let's bust some demonic skulls in." Gajeel grinned.

"Ha, give us a real challenge." Nero grinned as he and Gajeel shared a fist-bump.

"Slaying a couple thousand demons? We can do that in our sleep." Sting cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah, you show those creeps whose boss!" Lector cheered.

"I'll cheer for you, too!" Frosch cheered as well.

However, Rogue had a concerned expression on his face as he turned to his own guildmates. "Hey, where are Vergil and Minerva?"

"No clue." Orga shrugged.

"Yes, I haven't seen either of them since today's tournament match began." Rufus added.

"Most concerning." Dobengal put in.

"All of the top ranked guilds in this kingdom working together as one after battling each other in such a glorious tournament." Ichiya said as he stood alongside his Exceed counterpart in sparkles.

"Such a wonderful parfum indeed." Nichiya said in the same tone.

"Demons against pangasi? What a photo-op." Eve said confidently.

"Let's do this." Hibiki declared.

"Fine, I'll go along with it." Ren said coolly.

"Let's show the Underworld how tough Blue Pegasus really is!" Jenny proclaimed.

"I'll make all these bastards choke on my icy-flames!" Sapphire stated as she generated a blue fireball in her hand.

"Kagura, should you really be fighting?" Milliana asked with concern. "You should rest."

"No, I can stand, so I can fight." Kagura assured.

"I have a feeling we'll need everyone on board to hold off this crisis." Lucia said. "Injured or not, it is our duty to protect the weak."

"Got that right, doll-face." Wally tipped his hat, standing alongside his own guildmates. "It's do-or-die time. All or nothing, and I like our odds."

"Let's show those ugly sons-a-bitches our wild power, right boys?!" Bacchus rallied his allies.

"YEAH!" All in Quatro Puppy hollered.

"I suppose that I can stomach working with you." Lyon said to Gray with a teasing grin.

"Just try not to slow me down." Gray cracked back.

"Is Wendy okay? I haven't seen her." Sherria asked Juvia.

"She's with our Dante, Natsu, and the others, so I'm sure she's fine." Juvia assured.

"A war against demons…" Jura said with an eager smile.

"I'll spin them all! Let me at em!" Ooba spun in her place like a bat out of hell.

"Hey Sis…" Sho walked to join Erza. "Jellal's going to be here, isn't he?"

"Yes, and I suspect we may fight alongside him." She replied before looking to her old friend. "Will you be alright with that?"

Sho looked with some minor frustration. "I don't like it, but… now's not the time to dwell on the past. And whatever happens…" He gave her a smile of determination. "I got your back."

Erza smiled back as a sword materialized in her hand. "And I have yours, Sho."

"The Thunder Legion will be by your side, Laxus." Freed said as he, Evergreen, and Bickslow stood by their leader.

"Alright, the gang's back together and ready to kick some demonic ass!" Bickslow stuck his tongue out.

"It feels like forever since we all fought together as a team again." Evergreen said.

"Yeah, it really does, doesn't it?" Laxus smiled reminiscently.

"Mind if I join in?" Elfman stepped up to them. "You could never have too much manliness, can ya?"

Evergreen smiled. "I suppose your raw power could benefit us."

King Toma continued to cry in joy. "Thank you…! Thank you…!"

"Hey, come on, don't cry your highness." Gildarts smiled. "It's just human decency."

"I mean it… Thank you…" His voice was becoming more high-pitched as he cried. "Pumpkin…!"

All his soldiers winced as the celebrations came to a halt, with everyone looking toward the king with circular eyes and dots for pupils.

"Wait… What…?" Nero muttered.

"Did…" Sting added.

"He…" Lyon uttered.

"Just…" Sapphire stumbled.

"Say…" Wally questioned.

"Pumpkin…" Even Erza was perplexed.

"Hold on a sec…" Gildarts blinked in utter surprise.

"I know the parfum of that voice…!" Ichiya spoke for everyone.

The King, who still had the same high-pitched voice of a certain mascot that everyone all knew, looked around in brief worry before clearing his throat as his voice returned to normal.

"Our fate is in your hands, wizards!" King Toma announced, and the cheering echoed once more.

However, not everyone was in such a celebratory mood. "I don't believe it…" Lahar muttered as he and Doranbolt stood together on a balcony in the plaza.

"That all those wizards could work together?" His comrade asked.

"No, the Eclipse!" Lahar replied with clear disdain and disapproval. "The mere existence of that device violates no less than thirty different laws! This is serious! We should inform Council HQ of the situation!"

"Before you do that sirs…" A voice spoke up from behind them, drawing their attention.

"Lady Kurenai?" Lahar did not expect the guildmaster of Mermaid Heel, and the top-ranked Wizard Saint, to appear before them.

"What is it?" Doranbolt asked.

The woman's eyes were closed briefly before she opened them with a deathly serious expression. "I have a… most unusual request."

"We should join them, too." Aurora said as she, Bruni, and Gandelina were together near all the large alliance of wizards. "They may need all the help they can get."

However, Bruni suddenly took off, much to their concern.

"Bruni?! Where are you going?!" Aurora called out.

"To the castle!" He called back as he was already running at top speed. "I got a gut feeling that Natsu and the others are gonna need some serious help!"

"I'll come too!" Gandelina was right behind him as well. "Aurora, you stay and help the others!"

"Alright… be careful!" She called back to her comrades.


Natsu roared as he clashed his fist against that of Future Rogue, aftershocks of flame and shadow engulfing both of them as Dante and Vergil rapidly clashed their swords against one another. Vergil dashed past Dante to slice him up right before Dante thrusted Rebellion backwards to impale his elder brother, who then conjured up a dozen Summoned Swords in front of Dante to move in and slash at him repeatedly, allowing Vergil a chance to wrench himself free from Rebellion and deal a kick to his head to knock Dante back, who flipped on his hands before landing on his feet to draw Ebony and Ivory again and fire at Vergil, who had used his Summoned Swords technique to intercept all the bullets.

"Quicksilver!"

"Darkslayer!"

Just as Dante had used his technique to slow down time and move in at Vergil, the eldest of the twins had used his own technique to sever the Dante's attempt to slow down time and break the younger brother's advance before slicing vertically, dashing past Dante as blood sprayed out from a line that ran up and down his body, an attack that would have bisected a normal person.

"Your technique is impressive, but should one get the timing down, countering it isn't all that difficult." Vergil commented. However, he appeared to be engulfed in a flaming tornado as Dante had just quipped Agni and Rudra.

"You talk too damn much." Dante said in a growl.

However, that vortex ended up being blown away by a large surge of dark indigo lightning, courtesy of Vergil now wielding Zeus. The Devil Prince glancing at Dante once again before he spun his double-bladed spear around to send more bolts at Dante, who had quipped into Beowulf to dash and avoid many of the bolts while also using his Trickster to propel himself high enough into the air before unleashing his Doppelganger to split himself into four shadow copies, each wielding Beowulf as they gunned straight for Vergil, who used the staff of Zeus to block the assault, though the impact did cave in much of the ground with Vergil at the center though he stood firm before unleashing another all-encompassing blast from Zeus to obliterate all of the clones, and blast Dante back.

"Fire Dragon Roar!"

"Shadow Dragon Roar!"

The two-opposing breath-attacks collided with Natsu attempting to press his flames against Future Rogue's shadows. However, it seemed like the older Dragon Slayer's breath attack was the strongest as it not only pushed back against Natsu's fire, but even extinguished it before engulfing Natsu completely.

'This feels different than before…' Natsu felt as he braced himself against the shadows. 'He's not just stronger. His scent… it's changed.'

The shadows were quickly dispersed by a blinding light as Future Rogue covered his face. The light soon vanished and before Future Rogue could react, Natsu was already on him, with his fist in his opponent's stomach as flames and electricity surged around him.

"Lightning-Flame Dragon Wing Attack!" Natsu dashed past Future Rogue, consuming his opponents with flames which were followed by an aftershock of lightning. Not even giving his enemy a chance to recover, Natsu, with the added boost in speed from his lightning power had appeared above where he thought his opponent would be and brought down his foot, coated in fire and lightning…

Only for a beam of white light to shoot out from the residual lightning and strike at Natsu's head, much to his own surprise before he fell back on the ground.

"The hell…?" Natsu muttered as he felt his forehead where it was not only burnt but even bleeding. That wasn't a shadow attack.

"You already demonstrated that technique seven years ago."

What appeared to be Future Rogue stood in the middle of an encompassing wave of darkness with a bright white light underneath. The phenomena had soon vanished to reveal that he had undergone a transformation.

His skin had turned all black, with his hair standing straight up and being pure white with streaks of black stretching up and throughout the flowing locks. The sleeve on his left arm had been torn off to not only reveal the pitch-black skin, but bright white glowing dragon scales. His face was now fully revealed as well, with the black tattoos on the left side of his face now glowing white, the sclera of his left eye was no longer white but glowing red with a bright white pupil. His right eye was now missing with a jagged scar running across diagonally along the right side of his face, but there was now a dark red glow in the socket of where the eye once was.

"White Shadow Dragon Rough Silk!" Thrusting his hand forward, the enemy had unleashed a multitude of white and black beams that sliced and pierced Natsu all across his body. The Salamander cried out in agony as this attacked sliced and drew blood across not only his body, but even obliterated much of the surrounding area around him before Natsu himself was sent flying.

The cries of his friend, as well as the attack drew Dante's attention. "Natsu…" However, that split second had left Dante open as his elder brother was now directly in front of him, taking a certain stance as he gripped the Yamato tightly.

"Don't get distracted."

Dante only turned just in time to see a circular wave of blue energy form around Vergil before spreading out to catch Dante in a circle as he felt all the energy surrounding being drawn directly into Vergil, specifically the Yamato, with Dante unable to move.

"Judgment Cut!"

In the blink of an eye, it seemed like space itself had been cut as countless slashes could be seen in the air, with Vergil appearing past Dante, the Yamato being sheathed.

A split second later, and Dante's entire body exploded as he felt himself being cut inside and out a thousand times over, blood splattering everywhere before he fell backwards on the ground, his face in terror as his mind tried to process what had just happened.

'How…? What…? I didn't… even see him… draw the sword…'

"I did not use this technique on you during our battle in the Games." Vergil explained, his back towards his brother once more. "Because of your seven-year displacement, I feared using this technique would end even your life. I am glad to have been proven wrong."

'You're kidding…!' Dante thought as he recalled his fight with Vergil back in the tournament. 'I knew he was going all out… he even used his Devil Trigger… but he still had one last ace up his sleeve…? If he had used this… with his Devil Trigger… it might have even broke through my Inferno Trigger…!'

When Dante tried to breathe, he could actually see his own breath as he felt a sudden chill in the air. "What…?"

Even when Natsu tried push himself up, despite being covered in several bleeding wounds, on his hands and feet, he could feel the temperature in the area drop significantly. He too could see his breath and as some frost had formed on the ground.

"Why is it so cold…?"

Both he and Dante, despite their respective positions, looked towards Future Rogue as the cold air seemed to be centered around him.

"If you felt our White-Shadow Dragon Mode was impressive…" He tore his right sleeve off to reveal something unexpected.

It was a glowing white tattoo with two triangular-shaped lines pointing up from his wrist, with a hallow arrow pointing upward and a dot in the middle, and a pair of curved horns at the top of the mark, almost like Devil Horns.

'Why does that… look familiar…?' Dante's mind flashed to when he saw Lady's own markings whenever she used her own magic. Magic that she didn't use before. The magic that resulted from her own father experimenting on her.

"Ice Devil Rage!"

He unleashed a breath attack. But not one of shadows, or even light. No, this breath attack was that of ice. Specifically black ice. It was a black blizzard of icy-cold winds, black ice and even black snow, that struck the downed Natsu and Dante, sending them both up in an icy cold explosion as they both hollered in pain before landing in the middle of a large crater with Vergil standing on one side, and Future Rogue on the other. Both the Salamander and Crimson Knight appeared partially frosted over, icy steam coming off their bodies as they could barely move.

"Black ice…?" Natsu looked to his hand that was covered in black frost.

'He said… Ice Devil…' Dante thought as he felt a burning sensation all of his body. 'My wounds aren't healing… this sensation… it's just like… with him…!' He thought back to when he fought Job from Grimoire Heart, the Devil Slayer with a light-based magic that could severely hurt Dante, up to the point of inflicting wounds that were slow to heal without Wendy's help. 'But this power… it's way stronger than that preacher's…!'

"Hey…!" Natsu tried to push his head up as he looked towards the time-traveler. "Who are you…? You look like Rogue… but you're not him. You don't smell like him… you smell… more like a demon…!"

Vergil had a knowing yet serious expression as he looked towards his accomplice who simply smirked before answering. "How perceptive of you, Natsu Dragneel. Indeed, we are no longer Rogue Cheney. Our name is Legion. For we are many."


Back at the Eclipse Gate, the princess and all her followers watched as the moon-contraption passed the seventh hole on the gate, and the seventh lock was now open. They were more than half-way there.

"We only have one shot…" Hisui said. "If we can't wipe them all out, we need to destroy as many as we can with this."

However, one of the soldiers on the left flank noticed a group of certain individuals just arriving. Happy, Carla, and Lily had brought in Lucy, Wendy, and Yukino respectively while the flying Lisanna and Mira set down Kyrie and Cana before ending transformations as Modeus, Lady, and Trish all leapt down as well.

"Intruders!" The soldier reported, drawing the army's attention, as well as Hisui, Darton, and Arcadios. The soldiers pulled all their guns out; while Modeus, Lady, Trish, and Cana were at the front as they had their own weapons drawn, with the rest of their comrades, including Lucy and Yukino, looking ready for a fight.

"Stand down!" Arcadios ordered. "They are from Fairy Tail, and our allies! Lower your weapons immediately!"

The soldiers did as their superior told them and lowered their weapons, clearing the way to allow them to pass, though as they did, the members of Fairy Tail all glared at them and kept their guard up. Lady also noticed the princess making her way toward them, prompting her to increase her march and meet her half-way.

"I am glad that you're here. We need…"

Before the princess could finish, Lady had already swung her fist to punch the Hisui in the face and knock her to the ground. The soldiers were immediately on-guard at that, with the rest of Fairy Tail ready to fight back at moment's notice.

"Don't!" Lady exclaimed as Arcadios and Darton both stepped onto scene and Hisui picked herself up to rub her cheek which already had a bruise on. "Don't give us any more bullshit, not after what you put us through!"

"You kidnapped our friends, threw us into a dungeon, sicked executioners and a sadistic demon to try and kill us!" Lisanna added.

"Please listen… I never intended to…" Hisui tried.

"Shut it down." Trish ordered, much to the princess' confusion. "Shut the Gate down now!"

"I can't!" Hisui argued. "We need the Eclipse Cannon…!"

"There is no cannon you stupid bitch!" Lady all but screamed. "There are no demons! You've been played like a god damn fiddle!"

"What are you talking about?!" Hisui questioned.

Modeus looked towards Arcadios. "The Lucy from the future is dead." His revelation caused the man to look in surprise.

"She was murdered by the man who contacted you from the future." Lily said. "The one who claims to be Rogue from Sabertooth."

"Wait… you met him…?" The princess muttered.

"Yes, we've met him… and he's working with Vergil!" Mira revealed, much to further surprise of Hisui, Darton, and Arcadios.

"Vergil met the guy about a year ago and they made up a plan to use the Eclipse Gate to bring an army of dragons and take over the world!" Happy said.

"Dante and Natsu are fighting them right now and they gave us a chance to go on ahead and stop the crisis that you are about to start!" Carla added.

"You've been tricked! The Eclipse Gate isn't a weapon, it's just a doorway to the past! That's all!" Wendy said. "Please, we have to stop this before it's too late!"

"Vergil knew of the Eclipse Project too…?" Darton looked towards Arcadios and Hisui, with the princess in a state of shock.

"No! We did not bring him into this project! We told him nothing!" The colonel replied.

"He figured it out on his own." Yukino said. "It seems that even you underestimated him, Colonel."

Lucy then walked forward and stared Hisui dead in the eye with a determined and angry glare. "I saw myself die. She even died right in my arms. My cousin… one of the last few members of my flesh-and-blood family is trying to unleash an army of dragons so he can kill Mundus and take over the Underworld for himself. Dante and Natsu, two of the people who mean more to me than anything, are risking their lives right now to stop him and his partner. They gave me a chance to come here because only my magic, and Yukino's, is the only thing that can do damage to the Eclipse Gate. You are going to either shut it down right now, or I'm going to pull out every single one of my spirits to smash that awful thing to pieces! And if I have to fight you to do it, I will. So, either help, or get the hell out of our way."

Hisui's eyes widened in shock, her pupils shirking as she was trying to process all of this. She was tricked? The Future Rogue who advised her had deceived her? Arcadios had brought up the possibility when he returned to her side just moments ago, but to hear it confirmed was something else. And it wasn't just him, but Vergil too?! She had met him several times the last few years, and he seemed an honorable warrior, one she highly respected. But he not only discovered her plan, but even turned it against her?!

"I… I didn't…"

"If you're just going to space out, then move!" Lucy had pushed her to the side as she marched closer to the Gate…

Only to watch as the moon-symbol on the Gate had reached the twelfth and final hole, releasing the last lock, before the moon moved up on the diagonal line towards the sun-symbol on the center and overlap it, where it glowed red, and the whole gate shook.

A line had appeared down the middle of the massive doorway…

And the Eclipse Gate slowly began to open. Steam emerging from the enormous doorway and a bright light could be seen from within, much to the shock and horror of everyone in Fairy Tail.

"No…" Modeus muttered in fear. "We're too late…!"


The midnight boll tolled; the sound echoed throughout all of Crocus. At this moment in time, it was now July Seventh, of the year X791.

"Hope those aren't tolling for us." Gajeel commented as he along with most of his guildmates, and a few other wizards and royal soldiers, were still in the central plaza.

"The seventh of July…" Nero said. "That's same date your dragons vanished, right?"

"Yeah… and I got a feeling that Eclipse thing opening up on the same date fourteen years later ain't a coincidence."

"Alright, Hibiki and Warren, you will stay here with Makarov and the other Guildmasters" Kurenai began to instruct as she to remained in the central plaza alongside Bob, and Ooba, Goldmine. "Your Telepathy and Archive magics will help us to communicate and coordinate our efforts, and several royal mages will assist you in helping to establish a base. Makarov himself will act as your protection."

"Ooh, just like old times.." Bob smiled. "Yajima and Porlyusica are helping the evacuees leave the city."

"Yep. Feels like the old gang is back together." Goldmine said with crossed arms and a smile of his own before it faded slightly. "It's a shame that Rob ain't with us though."

"I'm sure he's rooting for us, and we'll do our best to make him proud." Makarov smiled, causing his former teammates to smile back.

"Doesn't that seem a bit overkill?" Warren asked. "A full-fledged Wizard Saint to protect just the two of us?"

"Like Lady Kurenai said, communication is gonna be key in a large-scale battle like this." Hibiki replied. "We'll be more effective with tight coordination."

"And what about your guild of ladies, Kurenai?" Ooba asked her. "I'm sure they're ready to spin some heads!"

"They'll be on standby on various parts throughout the city with the other guilds. I even sent Gildarts to another location as well." She explained.

"Yes, best that he operates on his own so that he can better go all out." Makarov agreed.

"It's also best that we're not all confined in one space." Kurenai added. "The Magic Council's forces will also work to set up a permitter around the city to ensure the evacuees are all safe."

"Erza, will you be okay?" Levy asked the redhead. "I know the healers in the royal army were able to patch you up, but your arm…"

"I'll be fine." Erza assured as she felt her own left arm, the one that was heavily damaged during her fight with Kagura. The royal army's healers were able to fix most of the damage, but it was still somewhat shaky. Regardless, if she can still hold a sword, she can still fight.

"We might be bruised a bit, but thanks to the royal healers and Sherria, we should be able to hold our own." Gray said.

"It's a shame Wendy and Kyrie aren't here, those two together would fix us up in no time at all." Juvia put in.

"I'm not sure if that moon is a good omen." Freed happened to glance upwards towards the moon as the lunar eclipse was now at its peak, with the surface of the moon now appearing to be blood red.

"The Eclipse…" Laxus said seriously. "Fitting name."

Gray walked a bit closer to Erza. "This brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Yes. It was under another lunar eclipse where we first met Dante." She replied. "We were to protect a town that would be at the mercy of a demonic horde."

"Sounds familiar." Gray responded. "I hope that's not a sign that things are gonna end."

Erza looked towards the direction of the castle. 'Dante, Natsu, I hope you two are alright.'


"Legion…?" Dante tried to flip himself over on his front as he and Natsu glared up at the time traveler that stared down upon them from the edge of the crater before it chuckled and explained.

"During his life, Rogue had consumed demonic power, being a form of darkness that was consumable as a Shadow Dragon Slayer. Every demon he slain meant more power to consume and add to his own, but never did he once suspect that the accumulation of such power would give birth to a separate entity. You could say we are the ghosts of the all the demons he has slain."

"If you're some kind of ghost…" Natsu groaned. "What happened to the real Rogue…?"

Another chuckle escaped the monster's lips. "Fool. There hasn't been a 'Rogue' in this body for years."

Years? Did they really hear that right? So the so-called Rogue that stood before them, the one that tried to reason with them… that was just a façade? It was this Legion entity pretending to be him? Dante glanced back towards Vergil and saw the unsurprised look in his eyes.

He knew. Vergil knew this wasn't Rogue! He knew it was something else in control of this body! Of course, Vergil knew. He was smart enough to at least figure that out, but it was no less infuriating.

"Around this point in time, Rogue had become aware of us." Future Legion explained. "He tried valiantly to keep us in check, to use his power for good. However, some time ago, or rather not too long from now… Rogue would lose the two most important people in his life: his dear Exceed companion, Frosch; and the woman he loved, Yukino Agira. Both were slain, by the very person who wielded this Devil Slayer magic." Future Legion held up the hand with the glowing Devil Slayer marks on it as a dark mist formed in his palm. "Consumed by grief and rage, Rogue slew countless more demons and feed off their power to make him strong enough to claim his revenge, which only added more to our own strength. But soon, he would fulfil his desire for vengeance. He ended the life of the Devil Slayer and consumed his power. As you are both aware by now, Devil Slayer magic, much Dragon Slayer magic, is another form of demonic power, and therefore, a form of darkness that Rogue could consume and absorb. But with his desire for revenge now fulfilled, he had no reason to continue. The loss of his loved ones was too much, and we took complete control. But to ensure that it stayed that way… we took the power of the White Dragon Slayer Sting when we ended his life."

"You what…?!" Natsu questioned in shock while Dante just glared.

"Taking inspiration from Acnologia, as well as to ensure that the white light of his friend couldn't save Rogue, it was both necessary and fulfilling." FutureLegion continued. "Rogue had nothing left, and his mind went silent. Rogue Cheney is gone, now there is only Legion. We are many, we are powerful, we are the power of demon and dragon united as one. And it was that same power… that allowed us to claim the ultimate prize, at least in our time."

A small shadow had appeared at the side of Future Legion as something rose up from it, something with a metal handle, which Future Legion grasped and began to pull out. Natsu and Dante both watched as what he drew appeared to be a sword of some kind. A sword that looked very familiar.

"Wait… is that…?" For one of the few moments in his life, Dante was rendered speechless.

It was the Rebellion!

This thing held the sword that was the Rebellion in its hands. But how could that be? Dante even looked to see that he was still holding onto that very same sword. Unless…

"You figured it out." Future Legion saw the look in Dante's eyes. "Yes, we took this sword and the power of the Dante from our timeline when we killed him in battle."

That was a bomb that neither of them were prepared for. The Dante from Future Legion's timeline was dead?! He was killed by this monster…?!

"It was not easy, that was certain. Even with the power of Ice Devil Slayer magic, and our accumulated Dragon Slayer powers, we almost met our end ourselves. One wrong move and we would have died back then. You even took something from us…" Future Legion gestured to the scar across its face and the missing eye. "But ultimately, victory was ours, and your power was added to our own."

"Did you know about this…?" Natsu glared towards Vergil. "You knew that this monster killed your own brother…?!"

"I did." Vergil revealed, much to Dante and Natsu's further shock. "It tried to do the same thing to me when it entered our timeline, but I was able to defeat it. We have a mutual goal at this moment, but once it's done…" He eyed Future Legion. "Only one of us, will walk away at the end."

"Of course." Future Legion replied. That was the terms of their alliance, help each other this once and then kill the other once the goal was accomplished. "But first, our destiny awaits…"

However, Vergil noticed a flash of gold coming from above and saw multiple golden meteor-like attacks falling down towards him and Future Legion, forcing them to scatter as they used their respective swords to parry the explosive attacks.

"Malik!"

"Fire Dragon Roar!"

Future Legion quickly raised a wall of black ice to protect himself from a dual fire attack from both Sheeree and Sorano, the latter having her flaming angel by her side.

"Flash Forward!"

"Maguilty Sodom!"

A rain of crystal balls and energy blades all condensed upon Vergil, but he quickly gripped the Yamato and pulled a rapid draw that sent a multitude of slashes through the air to slice through all the attacks. However, this seemed to leave him open as none other than Jellal appeared directly in front of him, his body coated in his golden Meteor spell before he struck Vergil in the chest with both his fists, which were coated in golden energy, to blast Vergil back somewhat.

The eldest Son of Sparda backed closer towards Future Legion as he saw Crime Sorciere all standing together in front of the crater where their injured allies were as they glared at the pair of enemies standing before them.

"They broke through our wall sooner than expected." Future Legion stated.

"Irrelevant. We must get to the Gate." Vergil said, prompting Future Legion to raise his hand and unleash a blinding white light, forcing Crime Sorciere to close their eyes while Sorano quickly summoned Hadraniel to shield themselves from any potential attack, but when the light vanished, both of their foes were gone.

"They've escaped." Ultear glared.

"Guys, down here!" Meredy had already slid down the crater to where Dante and Natsu both laid as they were injured. "They need help!"

"Sorano!" Jellal ordered.

"I'm on it!" She slid down towards them as well. "Raphael!" Waving her hands, Sorano had summoned another angel, this one appeared to be male as he was clad in a green robe and had bright green wings with teal-green colored skin. The angel spread out its green wings to gently rain green particles upon Dante and Natsu, which resulted in not only the erasure of the patches of black frost across their bodies, but also healed their injuries.

"Devil Slayer Magic…" Ultear recognized this form of magic. "I knew that black ice felt familiar. But it was stronger than anything Job could ever do."

"Vergil…" Natsu growled. "That bastard… he…"

"We know." Sheeree assured as she tried to help Natsu sit up. "We heard. And that… thing… that Legion…"

"Is going to die…" Dante said with a deathly serious expression as he stood back up on his feet. The Devil Slayer ice was cleared away, allowing his own injuries to heal rapidly thanks to his own demonic biology as well as Sorano's healing. "It killed the other Lucy." That revelation caught them all by surprise. "So now I'm going to kill it."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Sorano giving a sympathetic and understanding expression. "I'm truly sorry."

"Where are the others?" Jellal asked.

"At the Gate by now…" Natsu answered as he stood up as well thanks to Sheeree's help.

"Then we can't waste any more time." Jellal declared as all seven of them stood together with determined looks on their faces.


Everyone, from those in Fairy Tail, to the royal army, to the princess and her close associates, they all watched as the Eclipse Gate slowly began to open, revealing the bright white light within. They could all feel the magic power coming from it, like heat from the sun, it brought chills to all their spines.

"Close it…" Lucy began before she exclaimed in a panic. "Close it! Close it now!"

"But I…" Hisui didn't get a chance to finish as Lucy grabbed her by the collar and pulled her in close.

"Vergil played you! Unless you want your city to be reduced to a pile of flaming rubble, you'll close that damn thing right now!"

After Lucy pushed her away, Hisui tried to steel herself. She was tricked, wasn't she? No. She won't let her kingdom fall to ruin, especially if it's by her own hand.

"Shut the gate now! Pull the failsafe!" The princess ordered.

"Yes, you're highness!" The wizards at the large lever were about to pull it close, but the second the touched it, the entire device fell apart, with all the pieces falling and scattering at their feet, much to their shock.

"What?! What just happened?!"

"It just fell apart!"

As the wizards panicked at this sudden development, they failed to notice a certain imp perched on the nearest castle rooftop in the area.

Obra gave a high-pitched cackle. "Nobody's stopping this." He leapt up briefly before vanishing in a dark flash.

"Your majesty, the failsafe has fallen apart!"

"What…?!" Hisui exclaimed in a panic. "How…? How did…?"

"Lucy, we need to destroy the Gate if we can't close it!" Happy told the blonde.

"You're right! Yukino, we need…" However, before either Celestial Wizard could even make a move, a large shadow soon loomed over them all, which was followed by an enormous stomp. Lucy hesitated as she slowly turned around, revealing the terrified look on her face as she saw the source of the shadow.

The stomps grew louder and closer, and each stomp caused the area to rumble as everyone turned their full attention to the now fully open Eclipse Gate, where they saw something that made them all look in mixtures of awe and absolute terror.

Hisui, Arcadios, Darton, and every present royal soldier, and everyone in Fairy Tail from Lucy, to Happy, Wendy, Carla, Trish, Panther-Lily, Lisanna, Mira, Lady, Kyrie, and especially Modeus, they all looked with shaky eyes and expressions of horror, especially Modeus as they saw something enormous step out of the Gate.

It was a dragon! But this was no ordinary dragon. It was enormous, about the same size as Acnologia, and its appearance was beyond intimidating. It was covered head-to-toe in bright yellow scales, with a pair of horns on its head that pointed backwards. Its wings were enormous and shined brilliantly with gold and yellow. It had red sclera in its eyes and yellow pupils. It carried a terrifying aura around it that was like the equivalent of a maelstrom, with residual traces of electricity that followed through every stomp.

"Please no…" Modeus muttered. "Out of all the dragons… why did it… have to be him…?"

"Modeus…?" Wendy shakily looked towards her teacher.

"You know this dragon…?" Carla asked.

"Yes…" He confirmed. "The one who led those who opposed human co-existence… the one whose power could rival even that of Igneel's… the Thunder Dragon King… Elexion!"

Once he had stepped out of the Eclipse Gate completely, Elexion unleashed a deathly roar that would cause all of Crocus, and the sky above, to shake.

Done.

Things just went apocalyptic. Despite the valiant efforts of Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere, they were unable to stop the Eclipse Gate from opening. And the first dragon that had emerged just so happened to be the Thunder Dragon King, Elexion; Igneel's chief rival, and the leader of the dragon faction that was against human co-existence.

Not only that, but we also have the reveal that Future Rogue is actually Legion (or rather the Legion from a different timeline), in full possession of Rogue's body. And not only does he wield White Dragon Slayer magic in addition to Shadow Dragon Slayer magic, but even Ice Devil Slayer magic as well!

Basically, in that timeline, Yukino and Frosch were both killed by a certain someone who wielded Ice Devil Slayer power. Rogue hunted that someone down and consumed more demons and their power to add to his own and make himself strong enough to take his revenge. He killed the Devil Slayer and consumed his power, with Devil Slayer magic being a form of demonic power, and by extension, a form of darkness that Rogue could consume. However, in doing so, he had strengthened Legion to the point where he could take full control over his body; and after losing the most important people in his life, Rogue had lost the will to go on and was consumed entirely by Legion.

Note: I know that in canon Ice Devil Slayer magic is purple not black. The reason why it's black here is because it was more-or-less mixed with Rogue's Shadow Dragon Slayer power, a representation of Rogue losing himself and his humanity vanishing, and his literal inner demon taking over.

But even more shocking, the Legion of that time, not only killed Sting to gain his power, but it even killed the Dante of timeline and consumed his power as well, even claiming Rebellion for itself.

Yeah. Future Legion killed the alternate Dante. (Albeit it wasn't an easy fight, Future Legion itself admitted that even one mistake could have cost it its own life, but it won in the end)

Can Fairy Tail find a way to pull a victory out of this impossible and hopeless situation? Find out next time on Fairy May Cry!