A/N: Episode 200.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: DROP OF TIME

An old woman was sitting by herself as a waitress walked up to her. "Would you like more coffee?"

"I suppose I'll have some."

"Did you sleep well last night?" The waitress asked, pouring some coffee into her cup.

"Yes... Like a log."

"Did you watch the Grand Magic Games?"

"Oh, yes. Indeed."

The two women glanced up at Domus Flau. "It was an amazing battle, wasn't it?" The waitress questioned. "I was rooting for Mermaid Heel, so I was let down a bit. My co-worker on the other hand, was cheering on Twilight Phoenix."

"Is that right?"

"How about you, ma'am?"

"I'm not especially partial. Though if I must choose, I suppose I'd say Fairy Tail."

The waitress began fangirling. "They're great, too! That ice wizard, Gray, is so handsome, don't you think?"

"Yes. I wouldn't disagree with you."

Twilight Phoenix's inn...

"I can't believe it's time to head back home already." Dusk commented.

"It does feel like we've been here an extremely long time." Bruno agreed.

"The masters have already left, right?" Hana questioned.

"Yeah. They wanted to get a head start." Ezekiel replied. "Although, some people are still out celebrating."

"I heard Master Harumi gave the reward money to Fairy Tail." Chii spoke up.

"That's correct." Akame nodded.

The Fairy Tail members looked in shock as Harumi held out a large brown pouch to Makarov. "W-We can't possibly-!" Makarov started to say.

"It's fine, Makarov. I'm just happy that my guild is number one. All we need is a trophy." Harumi smiled at him. "I don't know what I would do with 30 million jewel, and you'll probably find a better use for it than I would."

"Is everyone ready? If we don't leave now, we'll miss the train."

Everyone turned to see that Zack and Julian had entered the room, followed by their Exceeds.

The Twilight Phoenix members boarded the train, placing their stuff away and sitting down in a compartment. "You know, we've been through a lot." Dusk mumbled to himself as he waited for the train to depart from Crocus.

"There's no sign of Ul." Meredy informed as her and Jellal were walking through the ruins of the dragon battle with their hoods up.

"No."

"I just hope she isn't hurt." Meredy stated.

"Yes, it seems 'time' doesn't heal wounds." Jellal said as Meredy looked down. "We heard that the portal was destroyed and 'time' is back on track. Rogue and the dragons returned to their rightful time periods. I don't know what happened to the Future Dusk who lost his life in this age, but our memories, injuries and the wrecked town are all still here. By rights, everything should have been 'erased' as if it never happened."

"There were too many disruptions in the time stream for everything to go back to normal." Meredy pointed out.

"Certainly, it helps that our memories are intact... but there are negative aspects as well." Jellal stated as the two looked at a destroyed Eclipse portal. "Of all things, the royal family's use of Dark Magic has been reported to the Council. If this isn't handled carefully..."

Footsteps were heard from behind the two, making them turn to see Doranbolt walking towards them. "Doranbolt..." Jellal muttered.

"You wiped the memories of the Council members?" Jellal questioned in shock.

"That's right. I altered all the memories of everyone who was here." Doranbolt replied.

"I'm surprised. I didn't know you had such power."

"It's my job to use that magic for undercover investigations."

"Still, why would you go to all that trouble?" Jellal asked.

"Eclipse is one form of magic from the Books of Zeref. It'd be a disaster if word got out that the royal family was involved in Dark Magic." Doranbolt replied.

"Don't tell anyone else about this!" Doranbolt scolded Toma, Hisui, and Arcadios.

"You scolded the king?!" Meredy questioned in shock.

"Think about it. The public would lose faith, and at worst, the monarchy would be in danger." Doranbolt explained.

"I see."

"I want no part in undermining the royals. As a member of the Council myself, I did have second thoughts, but sometimes you just need to turn a blind eye." Doranbolt said.

"I'm surprised you managed to convince Lahar." Jellal commented.

"I didn't. I revised his memories, too." Doranbolt responded. "He's got a bright future ahead of him. I didn't want involve him in my skullduggery."

"I didn't know there were people like you on the Council."

"There are probably villains like you on the Council, too."

Jellal sent him a smirk in which Doranbolt returned. He then looks at Meredy, who had a distressed look as she sighed.

"You haven't found Ultear yet?" He asked.

"No." Meredy replied.

"She isn't the type to disappear without saying anything." Jellal added.

Doranbolt turned around. "Well, it's got nothing to do with me... If I'm worrying about people like you, it probably means I'm losing my edge." He claimed.

"Wait."

"I'll do you a solid. I hate things that are a pain in the ass. We never met. Got it?"

"I appreciate that."

"Don't get the wrong idea. This is a one-shot deal."

"What about Cobra?" Jellal questioned, causing Doranbolt to stop. "What happened to him?"

"He turned himself in." Doranbolt responded.

"What?"

"It was right after the dragons vanished."

Anti-Magic cuffs were on Cobra. "You really don't need to bind me with this." Cobra informed.

"Oh, don't be like that. A lot of people insist on the bound and helpless look."

"You call me out here, and I don't get to dispatch even one dragon. Jeez, it's pathetic." Cobra said.

"I'm surprised he's going back without a fight." Lahar said.

"I guess even a scoundrel like you keeps his promises, huh?" Doranbolt asked.

"I like being outside. I haven't absorbed so many voices in a long time. I could hear your voice too, Cubellios." Cobra responded.

"Voice?" Doranbolt repeated.

"For now, I'll return quietly to my beloved cell." Cobra turned around. "To save the Demon Generals." He added in his head.

"Cobra!" Doranbolt called out. "What did you hear?!"

Cobra turned to look at him. "Who knows? The gate of the underworld is going to open." He replied. "Until then, you won't be able to fiddle with my memories."

"He didn't say anything after that. I don't know what's gonna happen, but consider yourself warned. See you around." Doranbolt said before teleporting away.

"The gate of the underworld..." Meredy mumbled.

"Tartaros!" Jellal realized.

The train stopped to allow more passengers on. Dusk was laying on Akame's lap as he groaned. Akame ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair, trying to make the ride a bit more bearable for him.

"It's a good thing I drank a blood bag before boarding the train." Akame thinks to himself.

"Say, what are you guys planning on doing once we're back home?" Julian asked suddenly.

"Start working again." Akame replied, noticing that Zack was zoned out. "Zack, you okay?"

Zack didn't respond to him. "Zack!" Akame said as the black-haired male's head shot up.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were okay. You were kind of spacing out there."

"I'm fine, Akame. Don't worry about me."

Akame was taken aback by the use of his actual name. It also surprised Julian and Ezekiel. "Now I'm definitely going to worry. You haven't used my actual name unless something was wrong." Akame stated.

Zack sighed. "Sorry... I just... I got this bad feeling that our peace won't last for long." He said.

"Well, whatever's got you worried, I'm sure it's nothing." Ezekiel told him.

"Probably just your paranoia talking." Julian added as he snorts.

"I sure hope you're right." Zack said.

The train begins to move again, causing Dusk to hurl.

Jellal and Meredy were walking down a path with their hoods back up. "The gate of the underworld, Tartaros. One of the three Balam Alliance guilds, along with Grimoire Heart and Oracion Seis. I don't know what information he got, but does he mean to use it to negotiate immunity?" Jellal questioned.

"Tartaros..." Meredy muttered.

"The scary guild that's a complete mystery. Will it make its move?" Jellal wondered.

The clouds moved in the sky as Jellal and Meredy walked past a windmill. As they continued walking, an old woman stopped in front of them.

"Are you..."

Jellal and Meredy quickly turned around. "Oh, no! Someone's coming!" Jellal said.

"Right!" Meredy nodded.

Jellal and Meredy turned the other direction and rushed off.

"...Jellal-san and Meredy-san?"

Hearing their names, Jellal and Meredy turned back around as the old woman reached into her bag. "A woman entrusted me with a letter for you."

"A letter?" Jellal quoted.

"Don't tell me..." Meredy started to say, opening the letter. "This letter... It's from Ul!"

Jellal... Meredy... I'm sorry. In this last battle, I tried using a certain spell and failed. Because of that, I only have a short time left to live. But I just had to bid you farewell.

Meredy widened her eyes.

My journey ends here. Although I'm passing on before you, never forget Crime Sorciere's spirit. It means never forgetting your crimes. It means never letting your past crimes overwhelm you. It means believing in a day which you'll be forgiven for your crimes. It means never stop loving people.

The true battle has just begun. If Zeref isn't defeated, wizards will once again become steeped in grief.

Please live on for me. And battle on. It is my hope that this journey of yours will bring happiness to all.

Meredy began sobbing as tears dropped on the paper. "Ul..." She choked out, wiping her tears.

"Old woman, when did you get this...?" Jellal started to ask. But when he turned, the old woman was gone. The wind blew, causing Jellal's hood to fall off.

Meredy sobs in Jellal's arms. "Magic that robs someone of time..." He muttered.

A/N: Another chapter is done!

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.