A/N: Episode 190.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: THE ONE WHO CLOSES THE PORTAL

"Still, wow! We can hear it from here." Orion commented.

"It sounds like all of Crocus is shaking from the cheers for Black Sun." Aster agreed.

"I wish they'd shut up already. They're gonna make my wounds vibrate." Nox complained.

"Oh, don't be like that. Those are cheers of congratulation." Massorao claimed.

"Seems like everyone had their happy ending." Aster hummed, looking over at Sting and Lector who were still in an embrace. Aster smiled at the sight.

"Listen to that cheering!" Chapati announced.

"Kabo! I never thought they'd get through the final day without any losses!" Mato commented before turning behind him. "Kabo?"

"Indeed, they started from last place and pulled off a major upset!" Chapati said. "Come to think of it, they were split up into Team A and Team B at first, right?"

"Sebastian didn't participate in the final battle, but ultimately, maybe the guild's solidarity is what made all the difference." Yajima responded.

"I see! Mato-kun, what do you think?" Chapati questioned.

"Oh, it was amazing-kabo!" Mato replied.

"Still, we've seen a lot of great matches, haven't we?" Yajima asked.

"Mato-kun, which match made the biggest impression on you during these..." Chapati paused as he saw that Mato was no longer there.

"Huh? I wonder where he went." Yajima said.

"Th-Then, what was the best part for you, Yajima-san?" Chapati questioned.

"The swimsuit competition, of course!" Yajima answered.

"That?"

"It's over, huh?" Orion asked.

"The tournament, anyway." Aster answered.

"Massorao, how are your injuries?" Nox questioned.

"Nothing I can't handle." Massorao replied.

"Still, you know... It just doesn't feel the same without constant screaming." Nox stated, referring to Sebastian.

"Can't argue with that." Massorao agreed as Maxim only nodded in reply.

"Although it's a pain in the ass with him around..." Nox continued.

"Can't really argue there either." Massorao chuckled.

"Hey..." Sting spoke up, getting the Black Sun members attention.

"What is it?" Aster questioned.

"I was just wondering why Sebastian didn't participate." Sting responded.

An irk mark appeared on Nox's forehead. "That's right! Where is that flame head?" He exclaimed.

"You mean you guys don't know where Sebastian-kun is either?" Lector asked.

"No. It's unlike him to just disappear like that. I wonder where he went." Orion replied.

"We can answer that for you."

The Black Sun members turned, seeing the Fairy Tail team limping towards them.

Mercurius...

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu called out.

"Hellfire Dragon's Roar!" Sebastian shouted soon after, releasing his breath attack the same time as Natsu did. The two attacks combined and headed straight for Uosuke.

"Gravity zone!" He shouted, directing the attack away from him. "It won't work no matter how many times you try it-tai!"

"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed.

"I'm hungry, dammit!" Natsu complained.

Kamika had purple paper that was between her fingers. "Confetti! Purple Dance!"

Purple paper latched onto Lucy. "Again with this?! I think you stick with the same pattern too much!" Lucy said.

"Then how about this? I'll start by shredding your clothes!" Kamika said as gray paper were made into ninja stars and headed towards Lucy.

"Wait! That's no joke!"

Lucy soon disappeared into a hole made by Virgo. "This may be too forward of me, but I executed emergency avoidance, Princess."

"Thank you, Virgo!" Lucy thanked her.

"You should be ashamed, coward!" Cosmos claimed as plants headed for Loke, who easily dodged them.

"You know, your angry face is very charming. What do you say the two of us slip out of here and get a bite to eat or something?" Loke suggested.

"You're pushy!"

"Melt! Melt!" Knepper exclaimed.

Purple acid shot up in the air as Wendy blew it away. "Please let us just get by already!" She pleaded.

"That ain't gonna fly! Come on and play with me some more, Dragon Slayer!" Knepper said.

Lily and Raden continued trading blows with Kama. "Give up, sinner!" Kama exclaimed.

"Let us pass!" Lily shouted back.

"I already told you! You're not going outside!" Kama said.

"Listen to me!"

"This is for the peace of the people of Fiore! Sinners must be put to death!" Kama claimed.

"We need to get out of here fast, for the sake of Fiore!" Raden argued. "Why won't you try to understand that?!"

"A sinner's words are nothing but noise! They have no meaning!" Kama said.

"W-We can't do this. There's no time to fight..." Future Lucy muttered. "If we're too late because of this, then we'll..."

Future Lucy dropped to her knees as Carla turned to her. "Hey, are you okay?" She questioned.

"There's no time!" Future Lucy replied.

"According to Future Lucy, we were in the palace when that time came... We're not imprisoned, but in the end, it'll turn out the same way?" Carla questioned herself.

"Go! Go!"

A wave of guards were rushing towards the group. "Surround them!"

"More reinforcements... We won't be able to hold out at this rate!" Loke informed.

"There, you see? It's time to be executed!" Kamika said.

"The enemy way outnumbers your side, Princess." Virgo stated the obvious.

"I can see that for myself!" Lucy shouted.

Lily and Raden turned back into their Exceed forms. "Crap! My body..."

Kama laughed. "So you've already hit your limit, eh?"

"Now I'm mad! Execution!" Natsu exclaimed.

"We're gonna execute all of you!" Sebastian shouted.

"Charge!"

"Circle around them from there!"

A guard suddenly turned around in alarm, getting his colleagues attention.

"What's wrong? Is someone there?"

"No. Maybe just my imagination..."

"Happy! Carla! You two go on ahead and tell the others!" Lily ordered.

"Aye, sir!" Happy replied as him and Carla were flying.

"Understood!"

That's when they got stopped by Uosuke. "Oh, no, you don't-tai!"

"You again?!" Happy exclaimed.

"You people are not leaving this palace... tai?" Uosuke said as he suddenly got surrounded by black shadows. "What is this-tai?!"

"What the hell is this?!"

"I can't move!"

"What is it?!" Happy questioned.

"Moving shadows?!" Carla said.

The royal guards began sinking below the shadows.

"What is this?!"

"What's happening?!"

"What the...?" Natsu questioned as he was sticking his foot in a guard's face.

"What?!" Kama said.

"The shadows are swallowing people up!" Kamika exclaimed.

"What is this, magic?" Cosmos asked.

"We're sinking-tai!" Uosuke said, holding Knepper's wrist.

"Don't let go, Uosuke!" Knepper told him.

"What is this?!" Kamika questioned.

"Kamika! Cosmos!" Kama called out for them as he began sinking too. "You...! Th-The Garou Knights... done by this?! Princess!"

Future Lucy widened her eyes in shock. "What is it?! I don't know anything about that!"

The shadows soon retreated.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" Sebastian wondered.

Far away from Mercurius...

"I see. So that's what it was..." Jellal muttered.

"Jellal?" Ultear questioned.

"How could I have missed something so simple?"

"Is something wrong?" Meredy asked.

"The Future Lucy said she arrived on July 4th." Jellal began. "But it was actually at midnight on the 3rd."

"We've detected the mysterious magic every year, but she arrived only recently?" Ultear questioned.

"No. The magic force we've felt these past seven years was definitely Eclipse." Jellal replied.

"But this year, it came from a human." Meredy pointed out.

"She came back from the future by using Eclipse, the magic from Zeref's books, and that left a residue of magic much like Zeref's in her body." Jellal explained.

"Zeref..." Ultear muttered. "The Dark Wizard who can't be defeated."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Meredy added.

Jellal turned around. "I understand your anxiety, but right now, there's another problem we need to deal with."

"Right."

"If we assume that everything Future Lucy said is true, she came here late at night on the 3rd. Then the Lucy I saw on the evening of the 3rd..." Jellal trailed off.

Arcadios soon arrived in front of Hisui and Darton. "Princess..." He greeted.

"Arcadios-sama! Then you're safe!" Hisui said.

"Colonel! When I had you thrown into Hell Palace, I'm afraid I was terribly biased..." Darton started to say.

"Let's let bygones be bygones. Does everyone here already know about Eclipse 2?" Arcadios asked.

"Yes. We were just informing all the soldiers. Hopefully word will spread quickly to the Garou Knights as well. The person who came from the future was telling the truth. From this moment forth, the Eclipse Project will move to Eclipse 2." Hisui replied.

"Are you abandoning the first plan to eliminate Lord Zeref?"

Hisui shook her head. "No. But first we need to remove the threat that's right in front of us."

Arcadios drew his sword, causing Hisui's eyes to widen. "What are you...?!" Darton questioned before Hisui was handed the sword.

"It is impermissible for a knight to doubt the words of his master. When your words are proven true, I shall lay down my life. By doubting my master for even one moment, I have brought on great shame..." Arcadios moved the tip of the sword closer to his throat. "...and am prepared to die for it."

"Bastard! Have you gone mad?!" Darton shouted. Arcadios looked at him with a serious look, making Darton get taken aback.

"Princess, please tell me the truth."

"Arcadios-sama, what is the meaning of this?" Hisui asked, her hands shaking.

"I met the person from the future. But they had no knowledge of Eclipse 2. The time traveler knew what would happen, but cried because there was no solution for it." Arcadios said.

"No, my contact told me exactly what to do to deal with it." Hisui argued.

"Then, that person from the future... they lied?" Arcadios questioned. "I can't imagine... how she could profit from lying to her comrades!"

Hisui widened her eyes. "She?"

This caught Arcadios' attention as Hisui was now sweating. "The people from the future who advised me were two men." She claimed.

"The person I saw on the evening of the 3rd wasn't Lucy!" Jellal exclaimed. "There must be another person from the future!"

A ball of black shadows soon formed. "All of the imperial soldiers..." Happy started to say.

"...sank into the shadow!" Carla finished.

"Why are we safe?" Lily asked.

A silhouette soon appeared. "Someone's there!" Loke informed.

"Be careful!" Lucy warned.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu asked.

Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear were running down a hill. "What do you mean another?!" Meredy asked.

"Another person came from the future who used Eclipse, so they're also tinged with magic that's similar to Zeref's. Lucy came back to save the future. Why did the other person come back?!" Jellal asked himself.

"The shadows are fanning out to the past or the future? Or perhaps to people's hearts? This brings back memories, Natsu Dragneel. I've come from the future. I'm Rogue." Future Rogue greeted.

"Rogue? You're Rogue?!" Natsu quoted.

"From Sabertooth?" Wendy questioned.

"You're from the future?" Lucy asked.

"Not just me..." Her future self muttered.

"Why?!" Happy said.

"Oh? He isn't alone, you fools."

Another person came from the shadows. Future Rogue chuckled as the person stood next to him. Sebastian's eyes widened upon seeing the person.

"O-Orion?!" Sebastian stuttered.

Future Orion smirked as he tilted his head. "It's been a long time, Sebastian." He greeted, making Sebastian flinch at the use of his full name.

Outside, the moon began to change to a blood red.

"Three people came from the future. One is Lucy. She came back to warn her friends of danger in the future." Arcadios claimed.

"The other two came back to warn the princess of danger." Darton added.

"The three of them have the same purpose, to save this country. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a fourth and fifth person." Hisui said. "And if you're a knight, then point your blade in the proper direction. I'm going to open the portal. To save this country, I shall draw my blade!"

The moon continued to change to blood red slowly.

Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy were now in the town. "I don't know what the other person from the future is after. Let's hurry to the palace!" Jellal informed.

"Did you get rid of the soldiers to help us?" Loke asked.

"You know, you seem different." Natsu claimed.

"Why did you come back from the future?" Carla questioned.

"To open the portal." Future Rogue replied.

"You're talking about Eclipse?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"There are two ways to use Eclipse. One is time travel. The other is as the Eclipse Cannon, an offensive weapon. It's the only way to defeat 10,000 dragons." Future Rogue explained.

"10,000 dragons... can be defeated?!" Future Lucy muttered.

"Then that makes it easy. You're on our side!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Yay! We can beat the dragons!" Happy cheered.

"The future can be saved, right?" Wendy asked.

"No. It isn't that simple. Rogue and I come from seven years in the future. Seven years from now, dragons rule the world." Future Orion replied.

"They rule it?" Sebastian repeated.

"Th-Then what about the people who are left?" Wendy questioned as Future Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"Not even 10% of the current human population has survived. Of course, Eclipse isn't nearly as powerful as it is now. If the dragons aren't stopped here and now, this world will come to an end." Future Orion replied.

"Then let's open the portal and blow 'em away! Boom! Easy, right?" Natsu asked.

"However, seven years ago... That is, in the present, someone interfered with the opening of the portal." Future Rogue continued.

"Interfered? Why would they do that?" Lucy questioned.

"Because of that person, the portal wasn't opened. The Eclipse Cannon that was pointed at the 10,000 dragons couldn't fire. Someone led the world to destruction. I'm here to eliminate that person." Future Rogue claimed.

"That's barbaric! If you talk to the person about their reasons, maybe they won't interfere after all." Carla said.

"There's no need for murder." Lily added.

"At such a critical junction in time, words cannot prevent actions. Even if I did convince the person now, they would definitely close the portal. It's already decided."

"Decided?" Lucy quoted.

"Destiny is inescapable. The living will live. The dead will die. The person who closes the portal is going to close the portal. No matter what happens, as long as they're alive." Future Rogue said.

"I don't really follow you." Natsu commented. "But who is this person that interferes?"

Rogue opened his eyes. "You... Lucy Heartfilia!" He answered as a shadow blade headed for Lucy.

"Lucy!" Natsu called out.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Natsu tried going after the blade. However, the blade struck Future Lucy instead, making everyone turn around in shock.

Future Lucy collapsed on the ground, making her hood fall off in the process. "H-Hey! You!" Lucy shouted at her future counterpart.

"Lucy!" Happy rushed over as Natsu's whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

"There are two Lucys?!" Future Rogue mumbled.

"Well, that was unexpected." Future Orion commented.

"Hold on!" Lucy said.

"Lucy!" Happy soon joined her side.

"I didn't... close the portal..." Future Lucy spoke weakly.

"I know! I would never do that!" Lucy told her future self. "Why did you protect me?!"

"You're me in the past... so if you die, I would disappear anyway. Dying with myself at my side... it feels weird." Future Lucy claimed.

"It feels weird for me, too! Don't die!" Lucy pleaded.

"H-Hey, what about Healing Magic?" Lily suggested.

"With a wound that deep, nothing can..."

"That's okay. Enough... I never thought I would be able to see any of you again... but I did, one more time. That alone... makes me happy..." Future Lucy said.

"Lucy... No! Don't die!" Happy begged.

"I'm not... from this age... No. I'm not from this world." Future Lucy places her hand against Happy's cheek. "The me of this world... will live on with her comrades. Don't be sad."

"I am sad! I don't care what world you're from! I don't care what anyone says! Lucy is Lucy! You're my friend! Of course I'm sad!" Happy bawled as Future Lucy hugged him close while Natsu grits his teeth in anger.

"Hey, show me your guild mark." Future Lucy said as her present self did so. Future Lucy touched her hand over it.

"You... Your right hand..." Lucy muttered.

"Natsu! Look! I got my Fairy Tail mark!"

"I wanted to... have more... adventures..." Future Lucy spoke. "Protect... the future."

Everyone soon turned towards Future Rogue. "She didn't know that she closed the portal." He muttered.

"The hell with the portal! I would never have done that! But still, you..." Lucy started to say.

"That's now. But you'll close the portal several hours from now." Future Rogue said.

Natsu had a dark shadow casted over his eyes.

"I'm not gonna close the damn portal!" Lucy argued. "You talk all this nonsense! What are you after?!"

Future Rogue grits his teeth. "The portal will be closed. It's already decided. As long as you're alive..."

"The future me said she wouldn't close it. I believe myself!" Lucy exclaimed.

"There is no truth in your words! Everything is dictated by destiny!" Future Rogue argued, creating another shadow blade.

Natsu turned around angrily. "I'll burn your destiny to ash!" He screamed, sending a large amount of flames towards Future Rogue as him and Future Orion easily blocked it, sending both time travelers back.

"I won't let anyone steal Lucy's future!" Natsu shouted.

"Protect the future..."

Future Lucy's words rang in Natsu's ears as tears fell from his eyes.

"I promise I will!"

A/N: Another chapter is done!

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.