A/N: The SYOC is now open for Tartaros/Alvarez Empire Arcs! Go to the beginning of the book, where you'll see 'UPDATED OC FORM', as I have changed a few things.
Episode 198.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE: GOLDEN GRASSLAND
Lucy was standing in front of the portal. "We'll just have to slam into it with all our magical power." She claimed.
"Right." Yukino agreed.
All of the Zodiac Keys flew into the air once more, creating a circle and shining a gold light. Lucy and Yukino joined hands and had their eyes closed.
"Open..."
"...the 12 Gates!"
"Zodiac!" Lucy and Yukino shouted together as the Zodiacs appeared once more.
"Everyone, please!" Lucy pleaded.
The Celestial Spirits charged forward towards the portal as a bright golden light was shown. When it dispersed, the portal still stood.
"I don't believe it! We didn't even make a dent!" Lucy stated.
"It's made of Magnanium alloy, which is highly resistant to Magic. It won't be easy to destroy." Arcadios informed.
"Even so..." Lucy trailed off.
Ayuna was on the ground before taking flight and slamming into Mother Glare as Akame hopped on its back.
Levy was running through the town. "Gajeel!" She exclaimed to herself.
"Go back to your own..." Akame presses his foot onto Future Rogue's stomach. "...time period!"
Akame struck Future Rogue with a kick infused with red mist, making him stumble back.
"I have no intention of going back." Future Rogue claimed.
"Then what'll happen to the current Rogue?!" Akame asked.
"Eventually, I'll become one with myself." Future Rogue answered as he turned into a shadow. "Like two overlapping shadows..."
"So you wanna steal Rogue's future, too?" Akame questioned.
"There is no future! Not as long as Acnologia exists!" Future Rogue surrounded Akame, who glanced around. "That's why I came here, to create the future!"
Future Rogue struck Akame with holy light as he fell down from Mother Glare, but he quickly hung on. Future Rogue soon appeared as he chuckled darkly. Akame climbed back up on top of Mother Glare as he coughed, making Future Rogue laugh.
"Where's Frosch?" Akame asked suddenly.
"Dead." Future Rogue answered.
"He's alive. And I bet he's terrified right now... because of you..." Akame claimed.
Lector had a stick in his hand as Frosch covered his eyes. "It'll be okay! I'm here with you!" Lector reassured.
"He'll die... about a year from now."
"You can't protect him?"
"I couldn't protect him."
"He's alive right now!" Akame argued.
"I don't care. I'm not the same man who kept a cat as a sidekick." Future Rogue said.
Akame charged forward. "You..."
"Someone who has never known despair wouldn't understand." Future Rogue activated his Magic. "I finally obtained hope, and I won't let the insanity of a desperate man interfere!"
Akame easily moved through the attack. "Your hope..." He leaped over the attack. "...means turning the past into despair?!"
"Not everyone can be equally happy! Grow up, Akame Ketsu!" Future Rogue shouted.
"Even if you're right, everyone has the right to choose the future! We're headin' for the future that we chose! Not the one you chose!" Akame claimed.
"Akame!" Ayuna called out.
"We don't have to know what tomorrow holds!" Akame continued, joining with Ayuna's red mist and slamming into Future Rogue. "That's why we can live for everything we're worth today!"
"Everyone... Akame!" Dusk muttered to himself, trying not to sob. More explosions were heard as Dusk turned around, seeing the palace crashing down. Dragons flew above him as they spat out fire, causing more explosions as a dragon aimed its attack at Dusk.
Dusk was suddenly wrapped in someone's arms, barely missing the attack. Black spiky hair was shown.
"Glad I made it on time."
"Akame..." Dusk muttered.
"Bastard..." Akame cursed as a dragon landed in front of them. "Quit bein' cocky! I'm Akame Ketsu! A Dragon Slayer! Which means I'm gonna kick your sorry Dragon ass!"
The dragons attacked again as Akame charged forward. "Blood Dragon's Raging Fist! Roar!" Akame began attacking the dragon. "Blood Dragon's Claw!"
"Akame! Stop... It's no use!" Dusk told him as tears fell down his face.
"Don't give up yet, Dusk! This is what our Magic was meant to do!" Akame claimed.
A dragon suddenly struck his fist at Dusk, causing an explosion. "Dusk!" Akame shouted, running towards him.
Blood appeared from Dusk's head and his stomach. "No, no, no..." Akame muttered. "Damn it!"
"Hey! Dusk!"
Dusk was not responding, nor was he even moving an inch.
"Shit..." Akame mumbled under his breath before closing his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Dusk. Don't blame yourself for what I'm about to do, okay?"
Akame lets out a sigh as he places one final kiss on Dusk's lips. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art!" He shouted, placing his hand on Dusk's wrist.
A dark red Magic Circle appeared underneath him as a tear fell from Akame's face.
"Blood Transfusion!"
Akame could feel his blood leaving his body and transferring over to Dusk. Once the spell was completed, Akame's now lifeless body collapsed to the ground, and half of Dusk's hair turned black.
In the present, a huge sphere made of red mist appeared.
The Celestial Spirits tried once more to attack the portal. "I've reached... my limit!" Lucy exclaimed as she and Yukino had their hands clasped together.
A large golden sphere soon shined brightly before it dispersed again. And still, the portal stood. Lucy collapsed to her knees.
"How can the portal be that strong?" Lucy asked herself.
"It hasn't mooved an inch..." Taurus stated.
A red glow soon got everyone's attention. "Huh?" Yukino said in confusion.
Happy looked up to see a large red sphere heading in their direction. "Get back! Everyone, get away from the portal!" He warned as everyone did so.
The red sphere soon crashed, making Lucy get thrown back as Happy, Carla, Jim, Bruno, and Lily ducked. When the smoke cleared up, it was revealed that the Eclipse portal was destroyed as Future Rogue was knocked out.
"The portal is broken!" Happy cheered.
"Akame!" Dusk shouted as Akame breathed heavily.
"I don't believe it... A door made of Magnanium, destroyed..." Arcadios commented.
"What will happen now?" Hisui asked.
"We believe the portal in the future can't be used." Yukino replied.
"In other words, Rogue can't come back to this time period." Lily elaborated.
"History will return to normal." Carla added.
Mother Glare soon began to have a golden glow. "The dragon's body..." Happy noticed.
"It's glowing!" Lucy said.
Ayuna's body was glowing as well. "Are we going back to our own time?" She wondered.
All of the other dragons bodies were glowing as well.
"Running away with your tail between your legs?" Cobra taunted. "No..."
Zirconis's body glowed. "What is this?!"
"The dragon..." Laxus started to say.
"It's disappearing?!" Wendy finished.
"Humans did this?! Lowly humans did this?!" Zirconis exclaimed.
Hisui walked forward. "I'm sorry."
"It's still dangerous!" Wendy warned.
"Princess!" Arcadios called out.
"Hey!" Laxus said.
Hisui stopped in front of Zirconis. "I'm the one who constructed the time portal. I disrupted the natural flow of your time stream. You, who live 400 years in the past... and we, who live in the present... have no real reason to fight. I perverted nature."
"Who are you, wench?" Zirconis asked.
"Hisui E. Fiore."
"Hisui?"
"That's right. Hisui, or jade, the same color as your body." Hisui stated.
"The same, you say?" Zirconis quoted.
"The same." Hisui smiled.
"Stare..."
"Jade Dragon..." Hisui said.
"Jade Dragon... I kind of like the way that sounds. Wait a second! Dammit! I fell for it! I'm..." Zirconis's sentence was cut off as he disappeared completely into a ball of light as did Mother Glare.
The mini dragons vanished as well as the remaining dragons.
"Did we do it?" Sting asked.
"It looks like we won." Lector said.
"Fro thinks so, too."
"I won't forget you, Akame... Ketsu..." Ayuna spoke before she vanished.
"Thanks, Aunt." Akame thanked her.
"They're gone!" Lucy said in relief.
The rest of the little dragons disappeared. "The little ones are disappearing!" Dawn noticed.
"Did we beat 'em?!" Riku asked.
"I don't know how, but it's over!" Ajar said.
"The dragon vanished..." Gajeel muttered as Levy rushed up to him.
"You did it, Gajeel!" Levy cheered.
"Yeah. But..." Gajeel trailed off.
"This isn't satisfying." Quartz sighed as he had sat down.
"None of the Dragon Slayers... were able to take down a dragon." Mavis muttered as she was levitating over Crocus.
"Pathetic, huh?" Sting questioned.
"Makes me sick of hearing the term 'Dragon Slayer.'" Rogue replied.
"It just goes to show how strong dragons are. And Acnologia is probably stronger than them."
"Yeah, well, forget him for now."
"Agreed. It doesn't feel like we won, but for now, the battle is over."
"We won." Sting and Rogue looked at each other. "We protected our comrades."
Sting grinned in response as Rogue returned it.
Future Rogue's body began glowing at Akame glanced down at him. "The Rogue I know ain't gonna become you." Akame claimed.
"The shadows... The shadows try to consume me... They follow me around, wherever I go... and the day I lose Frosch is the day the shadows and I become one." Future Rogue said.
"Frosch ain't gonna die."
"A year from now. Be sure to tell me... to protect Frosch in one year." Future Rogue says a name, making Akame's eyes widen. "...is going to kill Frosch."
With that, Future Rogue vanished, leaving Akame to contemplate the information he heard.
Beneath Mercurius, Future Dusk's body glowed as well before it vanished completely.
He soon woke up, being met with a bright, azure sky. He sat up, seeing he was in a golden grassland.
"Where am I?" He wondered. He looked over, seeing a familiar white Twilight Phoenix emblem on his right shoulder, making him touch it as he sighed in relief. He stood up and began walking through the field, looking around.
"Hey! Dusk!"
Dusk turned around upon hearing a familiar voice call out to him. He teared up when he saw the Akame of his timeline rushing forward.
Dusk rushed forward, slamming his body into Akame's chest. "It's you... I finally get to see you again..." He muttered, making his body shake with sobs.
"Still a crybaby, huh Dusk? I guess some things never change." Akame teased, hugging him tightly. "I'm not leaving this time. Now come on, the others are waiting."
"Okay."
In the present, tears fell down from Dusk's face as he touched his cheek with his fingertips.
"Huh? Why am I crying all of a sudden?" He asked himself.
Dusk rushed towards Akame, hugging him from behind and surprising him. Akame looks up at the palace.
"What's wrong, Dusk?" He questioned, lacing his fingers with Dusk's as the moon became normal.
Dusk hugs him tighter, burying his face into his back. "Nothing. Just a sudden feeling I had... Thank you."
A/N: And that's the end of the Eclipse Arc!
I can already tell you now, it's not going to be Gray who killed Frosch. It'll be someone from Twilight Phoenix. As for who it is? Well, you'll find that out :)
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.