"Hisui! Where did you go? I was searching high and low for you!"
"I apologise if I worried you, father. I went to take a walk outside with Arcadios," Hisui greeted her father with a smile.
"Taking a walk every now and then is a good thing to do, it helps to sort out your thoughts," Toma E. Fiore nodded in agreement. "Alright, it's getting late now. Have a good rest, Hisui. I'm sure that the games tomorrow will be as entertaining as today's."
"And I believe so as well. Good night, father."
The father and daughter went their separate ways after bidding each other good night, and Hisui finally talked to her faithful knight after she was sure that they were out of earshot.
"Arcadios, the Garou Knights?"
"I've summoned them over as per your orders, Your Highness. They will be there when we arrive."
"Good," Hisui nodded as her eyes narrowed slightly in determination. Tonight, everything ends here.
She walked towards a specific room within Mercurius that was built for her own private use. It was where she used to meet with her informant who claimed to be from the future. Looking back at her actions thus far she could still feel herself breaking out into a cold sweat whenever she realised just how close she was to making a catastrophic mistake. If those four unknown mages hadn't stepped in, if they hadn't had that misunderstanding, if they hadn't checked their facts against an impartial and objective third party who possessed the needed knowledge that she lacked…
"Invel" was right. Even if she could be trusted, the same couldn't necessarily be said for her informant. She had never fully trusted her informant, but she also had never found anything that would warrant any doubt to his words. "Invel" was right. She is a foolish naive Princess, and as her subject, "Invel" was right to say that she was a fool and that he woe the day she wore the crown her father currently wears.
She had nearly made a very fatal mistake that could have brought doom to her own country. That is unacceptable.
"Your Highness," Arcadios spoke, "forgive me for my rudeness, but shouldn't we inform His Majesty…"
"This is my mistake, and it's only right that I clean up my own mess. After this is all over, I will tell him everything that I had done and receive my rightful punishment," Hisui decided, her fists clenched before she forced herself to relax. "I'm sorry for implicating you in this mess, Arcadios. Everything was my mistake."
"When I was knighted, I swore by my sword that I would stand by you no matter what happens, and I intend to keep that promise. Your Highness, if you had indeed made a mistake, then this mistake is mine as well, because if I was more cautious, if I had done my due diligence, we wouldn't have been duped by that informant."
"That is not a mistake I intend to repeat ever again," Hisui said grimly. As a Celestial Spirit mage herself, she knew that the words spoken by Lucy's spirit, Crux, could be trusted. If the spirit was certain that the Eclipse Gate's function as a cannon is non-existent, then it is indeed non-existent.
She had been played for a fool all along, for so many years, and she nearly brought a world-ending catastrophe to her own people. This is unforgivable.
"Let's go, it's time to bring things to a conclusion."
Her resolve made, she allowed her feet to carry her forward and bring her to that private room. She sat down on a luxurious couch in the middle of the room and brought out a small lacrima orb that her informant told her to use if she ever needed to contact him.
This will be the last time she will ever use this dreaded item.
She infused a trickle of her own magic into the orb and waited patiently. Arcadios stood behind her the entire time at full attention, knowing just what they were here for. They weren't kept waiting for long.
That familiar inky darkness appeared, swelling on the floor before it rose and coalesced to take the shape of a man. He had arrived.
"You called for me, Princess?"
"I did. There's a change of plans," Hisui's words rolled out smoothly from her tongue, her mind surprisingly calm and clear. Future Rogue Cheney gave one wary glance at the knight standing behind her, having spotted the person who had never been a part of their conversations ever since they were acquainted.
"I was of the belief that our conversations were always going to be between the two of us."
"Arcadios can be trusted," Hisui replied, leaving no room for discussion on this matter. "I just need to confirm once more, are you certain that ten thousand dragons will be here to lay waste onto the kingdom on the last day of the games?"
"I thought that we had been through this many times? Yes, they will come. I had told you, that if you don't believe me, wait till the last day of the games. Fairy Tail would somehow be the victors of the games, as unbelievable that may sound."
"The dragons, how would they come?" Hisui pressed on with a question she had asked him before. This is his last chance.
"I told you, I don't know. I wished I knew," Rogue gritted out through his teeth although Hisui still couldn't tell if the emotions she heard from his voice were true or not, if all of his actions were merely an act. That does not matter now, what matters is how truthful Rogue had been to her right from the start.
"You said they appeared from the horizons, flying in a swarm so large that they eclipsed the light of the sun."
"That's true."
"In which direction did they fly from?"
"I believe it was from the west, but I could be wrong. Everything was so chaotic back then, and the dragons seemed to be everywhere."
"Are you sure? Did they not fly in from, let's say… the Eclipse Gate?"
A deafening silence fell in between them. Hisui E. Fiore calmly stood up from her seat, looking squarely into Rogue's eyes. She is the Princess and future monarch of the Kingdom of Fiore, and she would not tolerate anyone who tried to do her kingdom and her people harm.
"The Eclipse Gate, it was never meant to be a cannon. It wasn't created to be one and was never meant to serve such a purpose," Hisui listed out the cold hard facts that denounced the false information that Rogue had fed her previously. "The Gate's only purpose was to be a door. Like how its name implies, it's meant to serve as a "gate", to open the doors between two points in time, be it the future or the past."
Hisui looked at Future Rogue with no fear in her eyes or her heart. Things will end here tonight.
"The Gate is merely a machine that mixes the Book of Zeref with Celestial Spirit magic. However, this year, at midnight on the 7th of July, there will be a full moon. The presence of the full moon will disrupt the magic power contained within the Gate and it will cause the Gate to run rampant. It will not respond to the controls, it will not respond to the coordinates we will set and program into it. What it will do that day if we ever open that gate at that time is to lead us to the past 400 years ago where dragons still roam the land. What will happen if we open the Gate on that day that you spoke of will be to invite them to destroy our world."
Throughout it all, Hisui had to force herself to remain calm.
"Rogue Cheney from the future, do not take me for a fool. You knew all along what would happen if we opened the Eclipse Gate on that day at midnight, didn't you?"
Rogue Cheney didn't visibly react to her words initially. The silence continued to fill the air between them and slowly, a psychotic grin broke out across his face. That man began to chuckle, and he eventually howled in full blown laughter.
"So it's true. All along, you planned to invite ten thousand dragons into our time through the Eclipse Gate. That was your true intentions."
"I guess the foolish little Princess had some brains in her after all," Rogue wheezed in laughter, finally showing his true colours. "Truth to be told, I never expected this to happen, but I guess this may be a result of trying to mess with time. Already, there were things that did not add up in accordance with what happened to mine."
"You will pay for your crimes," Hisui declared with a cold voice, her fury ignited.
"I'm not so sure about that. After all, strictly speaking, you are no longer needed. I would prefer if we waited until the end of the games, but the Gate should have already collected enough magic. All I need to do now is to get my hands on the twelve zodiac keys and I know where to get them. Oh, and also to shut your mouth, permanently."
"You won't have your way," Arcadios declared, putting himself in between Rogue and his Princess, sword already drawn.
"We shall see about that," Rogue grinned maniacally and Hisui knew that she must put this madman to a stop right now.
"Garou Knights!"
Her knights appeared on her command, having hidden themselves here prior to her and Rogue's arrival upon her instructions. She had ordered them to take the life of whoever she will be meeting tonight and that is what they will do even if it means costing their lives.
Future Rogue is too big a threat to be left alive.
"Tut tut, I thought I smelt rats when I came here. Five big smelly rats," Future Rogue easily danced around the assault on his person and Hisui got progressively worried as the seconds ticked by. The Garou Knights are the best elite unit the Royal Family has to offer and even when Rogue was outnumbered five to one it looked as if he's able to fight them with complete ease.
Future Rogue is too powerful, she may have underestimated his capabilities. Fortunately, she brought along additional insurance.
She knew that her worries would come through when Future Rogue soon dispatched and defeated all five of her Garou Knights. It's hard to believe until she saw it with her own eyes, but her best knights were easily defeated by one individual who barely broke a sweat doing so, toying with them the entire time.
"It's your turn now, Your Highness," Future Rogue spoke with a singsong voice, maniacal glee colouring his tone. Hisui, on the other hand, had full faith that Future Rogue's plan would never turn into reality.
"It's my turn now," She corrected the criminal before speaking to seemingly nobody. "Please, aid me."
"Who are you talking to? The wall?" Rogue broke out into a condescending laugh, believing victory to be his. "Oh, you poor thing-"
"Meteor."
The attack was swift. A fast moving ray of light punched Rogue in the face, hurling him into the nearby wall and crashing through several empty rooms. He quickly stood back up on his feet, having realised that Hisui had brought in reinforcements and it was no wonder why she was acting so collected the entire time.
"Flash Forward."
Numerous lacrima orbs smashed into his previous location and it would have grinded him into paste if he hadn't melted into the shadows in time. Numerous magical swords manifested into thin air and stabbed into his shadows, surprising him when they were able to inflict injuries when he was supposed to be intangible in that state and forced him out of there. These swords were not normal swords.
"Who's there?!"
Rogue received no verbal response. That same ray of fast moving light appeared once more as Rogue gave his answer by commanding the shadows to meet it. Their magics clashed, and the cloaked figure leapt backwards as Rogue did the same. The unknown assailant was joined by two other cloaked individuals who were obviously women. Rogue took a sniff and it took a while for him to recognise their scents since it's been so many years for him, but he knew them. To be more accurate, he knew "them" from his original timeline.
"Crime Sorciere, you weren't supposed to interfere. Isn't that right, Jellal?"
"You look different from your current self, but I recognise that magic anywhere, Rogue Cheney," Jellal took off the hood of his cloak, finally revealing his face as Meredy and Ultear did the same, no longer seeing the point in keeping their identities hidden when they had been identified.
"The last time I saw you, you were a midday snack for a dragon," Rogue's grin was one that displayed the hidden insanity he had been concealing for so long. "You should have seen it for yourself, just how sad Erza had cried for-"
Rogue didn't get to complete his sentence because Jellal fired a powerful spell at him at that moment, cutting him off entirely.
"Jellal, get a grip! He's trying to mess around with your mind!"
"I know!"
"I guess it was fortunate that you died before her, because you didn't see how your Erza was torn apart into two by two dragons who were trying to eat her!" Rogue continued to run his mouth, undeterred by the odds he was facing. "Ever seen how dragons played tug of war with their food? No? Well, I've seen it! I'VE SEEN IT HAPPENED TO ERZA SCARLET! The dragons were playing tug of war with her entrails!"
Another loud explosion rocked the Princess' quarters in Mercurius, this time, courtesy of Ultear.
"You want to know what happens in the future? Let me tell you all about it, because I am the future!" Rogue melded into the shadows as he started his counterattack, firing powerful spells that were able to match those used by Crime Sorciere. "Dragons came through that door, Jellal! Dragons! Oh we managed to shut the gate shut alright, but do you know what happened seven years later? Acnologia, the King of Dragons came. He decided to rule the world because he got bored! Humanity was on the brink of extinction! We were soooo desperate, desperate enough to repeat our past mistakes! We reopened the Gate once more! Shadow Dragon's Blade!"
A shadowy blade was launched at the three mages of Crime Sorciere, forcing them to scatter.
"We decided that if Dragon Slayers were not enough to defeat the Dragon King, then maybe a horde of dragons would! We invited dragons from the past to join in our party! Oh how well that turned out to be," Rogue spoke mockingly as he barely evaded Jellal's attack only to be hit by Ultear's, but he was still far from being defeated. "It was a damn clusterfuck, a three way war between humans, dragons, and Acnologia. You really should see it for yourselves, how utterly fucked we were. Oh wait, you will see it soon, in seven years. Maybe this time, you can live long enough to see for yourself how dragons used your girlfriend to play their tug of war!"
Another powerful blast of magic fell from the skies as Jellal invoked Grand Chariot and to his growing frustration, somehow, Rogue was able to block the worst of it.
"Then I decided that the only way to change the future was to change the past," Rogue revealed his true intentions as he unleashed the shadows beneath his opponents, erupting them in a shadowy blast. "I abandoned that horrid future and walked through the Eclipse Gate. I know that I wouldn't be able to take on Acnologia on my own, so I came prepared. I need to build myself an army, an army of dragons for me to command."
"You are delusional," Meredy spat as she fired her magical swords at Rogue, who understood that the only way to not get injured by those special swords was to either dodge or destroy the magical constructs. He released a Dragon's Roar, causing the section of the building that they were in to topple and crumble onto them while he easily emerged from the rubble thanks to the wispy nature of his magic.
"Delusional? No, no, no, my mind had never been clearer. With Dragon Supremacy magic, I will kill and take over Acnologia as the Dragon King, but it's not like I expect you fools to understand anyway."
A blast of magic erupted as Jellal burst Crime Sorciere out of the rubble. The look in Jellal's eyes was especially murderous.
"Don't look at me like that, I was merely stating the truth of what will happen in the future. In front of dragons, we are nothing more than food. Geddit? To them, we are merely livestock."
"That's your future," Jellal responded with frozen fury, his hand raised in Rogue's direction in preparation to invoke his next spell. "The Eclipse Gate in this future will never be opened, the past has already been rewritten, and so will our future. Your future will not be repeated in this timeline."
"Pfft," Rogue had to actually try and stifle his laugh at Jellal's foolhardy declaration. " Are you actually dumb? After all that I revealed from the goodness of my heart, you still don't believe what will come? You are the delusional one here."
"You know, generally, there isn't so much talking in a fight," Ultear cut into the conversation and derailed the topic of discussion entirely. "When that happens, it's because one party is buying time to wait for something to happen. He's planning something, Jellal."
"How astute, as expected from the leader of the Seven Kins. Since you brought it up, let me show you what I've been buying time for," Rogue allowed an insane grin to plaster across his face as he finally gathered enough magic to activate his strongest form that he gained from killing his former partner.
"White Shadow Dragon Mode."
Shadows and light danced within the palm of his hands as he commanded them to rain vengeance upon his adversaries, grinding even rubble into dust and forcing Crime Sorciere onto the defensive from the sudden increase he had in power. In this form, he's undefeatable.
"I've been waiting to do this all along! So what were you guys waiting for, huh? What were you waiting for?! White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!"
A multitude of extremely thin beams of light and shadows converged to pierce his targets, intending to end their lives at that very instant. This is an ultimate offensive spell that was created to kill, a spell that was created to tear through any form of defence.
So Rogue was taken aback when his spell suddenly disintegrated for no apparent reason, allowing Crime Sorciere to emerge unharmed.
"Finally," It was Jellal's turn to smile as he took this brief opportunity to wipe off the sweat accumulated on his forehead with the back of his hand. "You asked what we were waiting for? We were waiting for this."
Bright beams of light shot up into the dark night sky from all around them, gradually criss-crossing with each other to create a bright cage of light to trap them all in. Rogue started to panic when he realised his magic started to grow weaker, as if they were being actively suppressed by something unknown.
"You know, I've always hated you Sabertooth assholes."
An unfamiliar voice rang through the air as a new player joined the game. Another hooded figure appeared from seemingly thin air and stood on Crime Sorciere's side, his body glowing faintly with the glow of holy light.
"Took you long enough."
"Give me a break, the incantations for this spell were eight pages long. Eight, damn, pages. Do you know how hard it was to recite the entire thing in the heat of the battle without getting a single word wrong?"
Rogue could feel his strength slipping with every passing second and he knew that he had to destroy this spell as soon as possible, and the most obvious way to do it would be to kill the caster.
So, he lunged, gathering as much magic as he could to obliterate this unknown mage in a single blow. In his mind, this mage is simply another anomaly that resulted from him messing with the flow of time, and is an unknown factor to eradicate.
The unknown mage simply raised one hand and to Rogue's surprise, the shadows and light that he commanded started to vanish at a rapid rate.
"Do you know, that while there is a God of Light, there isn't a God of Darkness? Why is that the case? It's because darkness is simply a state where light is absent. Light and darkness are essentially the same thing, just two different sides of the same coin. Just as the God of Light ruled over light, the same God ruled over darkness as well. As such, a true ruler of Light will also be able to control the darkness, because in the end they are one and the same. I'm sure you can understand that since you were able to control both White and Shadow magic."
Chains of light started to emerge from the ground, wrapping themselves around Rogue and chaining him down.
"See this cage? Everything within here is my territory, my domain, where light falls under my complete command and by extension, darkness too. Your only mistake, Rogue Cheney, was to have the audacity to use White and Shadow magic in my presence. Your ending had been set in stone the moment my domain came into being."
Rogue continued to struggle with furious roars, trying his darnest best to break out of his constraints but no matter how he tried, his magic just refused to respond.
"ARGH! WHY?! WHO ARE YOU?!"
"Just somebody who holds a grudge against Sabertooth assholes. Now that I think about it, I still owe you a punch or two."
A loud smack resonated across the ruined section of Mercurius as Argus' fist met Future Rogue's skull and the mage from the future fell limply onto the ground, unconscious.
"There, so much more quieter now."
"I think you might have just cracked his skull. Pretty sure I heard a crack," Meredy quipped as the cage of light around them started to fade, its purpose fulfilled and thus no longer needed. She released a sigh she never knew she was holding until Rogue was confirmed to have been restrained and defeated.
"Don't think too much about it, it won't happen," Ultear brought Jellal out of his thoughts when she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Jellal was taken aback for a brief second, before smiling and shaking his head.
"I know. We will never let it happen," Jellal agreed. The future that Rogue spoke about, they will never let it come to pass.
That peaceful moment was abruptly ruined when a loud voice cut through the silence.
"Halt! Raise your hands up where we can see them!"
"Ah, here we go again, the same old shit again," Argus let out an audible groan, his hands covering the sides of his head in frustration when a large gathering of Royal Knights started to surround them amidst the ruins of the palace that was once the Princess' private quarters.
"That's weird, the Princess said she would ensure that we would not get into trouble."
"Yeah, and your brain must be made of wool for taking her words at face value."
"Excuse me?" Meredy narrowed her eyes at the Light mage in warning, arms crossed across her chest.
"Children, can we first focus on the important matter at hand?" Ultear tried to mediate the usual argument between the two junior mages when they realised that the Royal Knights were indeed being hostile to them, about to attack at any second now. This is really bad, this is not in accordance with the agreement they had with the Princess.
"No, on the contrary, I think it's about time we settle our score," Argus shook his head and imitated Meredy's actions, crossing his arms as well. He curled his right index finger at the sensory mage in a taunting motion, issuing his challenge to her right there and then.
"Come on, you and me, right now. This is long overdue."
"Gladly. By the end of tonight I will have you barking and calling me big sister like the dog you are."
"The only thing you have that is bigger than me is your damn boobs."
"You don't want to go there, you puny midget."
"That was years ago, you washboard. In case you cannot see, I'm taller than you now."
"Children."
"This won't take long, Ultear, five minutes. Somebody needs to beat some manners into him."
"So not only do you have big boobs, you say some big words too."
"Want to test it out? Maguilty-"
"O God of Light, hear my voice-"
"Can we get moving?!" Jellal finally lost his temper and yelled at the two junior mages just as the Royal Knights started to charge at them while shouting "ARREST THEM!" at the top of their lungs. Whatever suspicions they had when the Royal Knights first surrounded them, they had all come true in the worst possible manner.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
In an unexpected show of teamwork Ultear and Jellal would never expect from the bickering duo, the two junior mages actually simultaneously fired their spells at the Royal Knights charging at them and sent them all flying away, clearing a path for them.
"Hey, that was my target! Don't steal my prey!"
"Suck it up, you pissy little boy! I will hammer some manners into you tonight and you better believe it!"
"Less talking, more running!" Jellal screamed at them as he quickly slung the unconscious Rogue across his shoulder before breaking out into a run. Already, the knights were starting to identify him as the ex Wizard Saint who escaped imprisonment. His face was too recognisable and his hood had been removed during their fight with Future Rogue earlier.
"See? I told you guys trusting that damn Princess was a bloody mistake!" Argus ranted out loud as they finally started to make their chaotic escape and Jellal was too preoccupied to do anything else and was forced to listen to his complaints. "I swear upon my name of Hisui E. Fiore that your safety will be guaranteed… My goddamn ass! Mark my words, I swear upon my name that the next time I see that damn bitch I will fucking strip her naked and hang her from the palace roof!"
"Argus, language!" Jellal yelled.
"You are seriously telling me off for my language now?!"
"Is it too late to take up on your offer?" Ultear casually mentioned as she manipulated the past and futures of her favoured weapon, the lacrima orb, to carve a path out for the group.
"What offer?"
"To join you on your, quote-unquote, pilgrimage back to Alvarez?"
"If you want to, why not? Hey, come to think about it, I think I made history, the only mage in modern history to be actively persecuted by two kingdoms. Should I head to the other kingdoms and be on their shit list too? Then I would truly be an international criminal! Wow! Don't you guys think that this is such an interesting idea?!"
"I don't think that is something to be proud about," Meredy replied, the tone of her voice drier than the desert.
"At least we managed to prevent a future where ten thousand dragons come through the Gate to destroy the kingdom…" Jellal attempted to have the youngest mage among them try to think on the brighter side of things by trying to change the perspective of his thinking, but knowing the boy, he wasn't really banking on it. Argus was clearly on the brink of insanity after experiencing the very long list of things that had gone wrong for him today. From what he can see, the boy is about to snap anytime now.
Like, right now.
"Yeah, and now we are wanted criminals! I just knew something would go wrong tonight! This kind of shit always happens whenever I help you guys out! Taking part in the stupid games, fighting a goddamn Wizard Saint, then somebody had to make the stupid mistake of getting discovered within the palace which forced us to kidnap the fucking Princess, fighting a dual element Dragon Slayer from the freaking future that forced me to recite an eight page long incantation, and now, look at this!"
Yup, he failed spectacularly. To be fair, Argus had a point. If he hadn't blown their cover when they were sneaking around in Mercurius they wouldn't be in this situation now.
Then again, they wouldn't have resolved this unseen threat so early too… but maybe he would try comforting the irritable Light mage again once he finally cooled off, hopefully soon. Argus' temper is obviously at his boiling point right now.
"In case you haven't realised, you genius, we were wanted criminals all along," Meredy pointed out matter-of-factly.
"That's not the point! The point is, I told you guys that the Princess could not be trusted! See, I was right! Look at us now!"
"She's the Princess! What else can we do? Kill her and hide her corpse in the countryside?!"
"EXACTLY!"
"ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIND?!"
"CAN YOU BLAME ME?! WHEN THIS KIND OF SHIT ALWAYS HAPPENS WHENEVER I CHOOSE TO HELP YOU GUYS?!"
"YOU CANNOT, JUST, KILL, A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY YOU BIG IDIOT!"
"THE ONLY THING THAT'S BIG IS YOUR GODDAMN CHEST!"
"SAY THAT AGAIN YOU MIDGET?!"
"I SAID-"
"Children, not now!"
Crime Sorciere somehow managed to force their way out with much yelling and arguing between their two junior mages accompanying them the entire time, a scene that the two senior mages were all too familiar with ever since they met and befriended the potty mouth Light mage. They finally spotted the main gates of Mercurius. Once they get past this pair of gates, the chances of making a successful escape would skyrocket.
"They are closing the gates! We need to knock it down!" Jellal quickly yelled out loud when he spotted the gate guards trying to lock them within Mercurius. Wizard Saints or not, things would go very bad for them very quickly if that happened. In response, Argus simply chanted another incantation.
"O benevolent spirits, protect our homeland! We call for the destruction of the darkness, we call for the warmth of the light! Bless us with your divine blessings, and answer our prayers!"
A massive lance of light manifested in his hand, humming and vibrating with dense magical power.
"GET DOWN IF YOU DON'T WANNA DIE, YOU GODDAMN MAGGOTS!" Argus yelled out loud in warning for the Royal Knights to hear, who also recognised the very credible threat the magical lance of light posed simply by standing in its presence. It was also at this moment that Crime Sorciere realised that Argus' mind had well and truly snapped, because while his language had always been a little crude, it was never to this extent.
Still, they really couldn't blame him. His point was a valid one when he tried to talk them out of trusting the Princess because looking at the situation that they are in now, this was exactly what Argus tried to warn them about. It's true that their actions had dragged Argus into this unredeemable mess.
"Starlight!"
Argus hurled the spear and everyone- literally everyone- ducked out of its way as the spell crashed against the gates of the palace and instantly reduced it to rubble.
"Glad that we won't be paying for all the property damage," Meredy let out a low whistle in appreciation of the sheer destruction that Argus wrought as they used this opportunity to quickly make a run for it. The exit was just right in front of them, right in front of their sights-
"Iron Rock Wall!"
"Oh come on!"
Familiar earthen walls blocked their path forward, forcing the four mages to take a leap backwards as well. Jura of the Wizard Saints had arrived.
"Fairy Tail Argus, you have a lot of explaining to do."
"You don't want to do this, baldy. I'm fucking pissed today and you don't want to fight me when I'm pissed," Argus audibly cracked his knuckles, tilting his head from side to side to stretch the muscles in his neck for a short warmup. "You want a Round Two? This time, I will pluck out that beard of yours too."
"Haha! So this is Fairy Tail's Ace? There's no need to wait till the final day, let's just fight it out now! A battle royale! LET'S GO WIIIIILD!" Bacchas laughed drunkenly, swaying from side to side and Crime Sorciere immediately realised that all of the participating guilds in the games were also gathered here and had surrounded them, and they were not looking friendly.
"Still think the Princess is a foolish naive girl? She played us for suckers," Meredy gave Argus a look, one that the Light mage pointedly ignored.
"I have to admit, it's a good move. This is a checkmate," Even Jellal decided to give his own praise because, well, what the Princess did was technically killing two birds with one stone. Taking advantage of them to stop Future Rogue from bringing ten thousand dragons into their timeline and thereafter, removing the independent guild made up of dark mages, Crime Sorciere.
"Argus, what is the meaning of this? What happened?"
Erza Scarlet walked a few steps forward. Fairy Tail had arrived as well.
"Oh great, loverboy, even your girlfriend is here to arrest us too," Argus sarcastically remarked as Jellal's face quickly blushed and he tried to hide it with an awkward cough, not that it was of much help.
"They are in loooove," Happy chimed in. As usual, Fairy Tail just couldn't read the mood.
"Hey, it's Argoo!"
"IT'S ARGUS YOU FUCKING PYRO!"
"Hey, what's Argus doing there?"
"Oh boy, Master is going to tear out all his hair. See those gates? Think about the money needed to repair all those damages…"
"Shhh! Don't let him hear it! His blood pressure, remember?!"
The rowdy ramblings from the gathered Fairy Tail mages was interrupted when an imposing figure stepped to the front, leading the mages from Sabertooth. That man is Jiemma, guild master of Sabertooth.
"Step aside. Sabertooth will apprehend the dark mage Argus."
"Oh, it's you guys again. You know what? Screw this, it's high time I give you kittens a tooth extraction. By the time I'm done with you guys you will be known as Sabertooth-less kitty cats."
"Argus, not now!"
"Step aside, Meredy, this is personal. I have a score to settle with these assholes. Trust me, I'm a certified dentist."
"Damn right, we have a score to settle," Sting replied in agreement as he activated his full power from the get-go, activating Dragon Force alongside his partner Rogue. "This time, you are going down."
"You want a fight, you punk? Come and get it. I will show you true Light magic you fucking second-rate lightbulb."
"ENOUGH!"
A loud shout silenced the rowdy mages instantly and everyone looked towards the source of the voice. Arcadios led a squadron of heavily armoured knights that were obviously different from the norm as everyone parted to make way for them, recognising the knights to be escorting the Princess of the Kingdom, Hisui E. Fiore.
"Kneel! You are in the presence of Her Highness, Hisui E. Fiore!"
There was some confusion initially, but the mages from the various guilds quickly knelt down when they realised that they were indeed in the presence of the Princess. Although, there were four people who didn't do so and among them, one individual voiced those intentions out loud and clear.
"Oh fuck off!" Argus screamed, and Meredy had to frantically try to push the offending middle finger back down that Argus was giving the Princess, much to everyone's horror.
"Argus! You cannot point your middle finger at the Princess!"
"I ain't kneeling to a bloody backstabber! Hell, even Emperor Spriggan wasn't able to make me kneel down to him! What made that bitch so special, huh?! Who gone and made her the King of me?!"
"ARGUS! LANGUAGE!"
"Watch your mouth! You are in the presence of the Princess of Fiore!" Arcadios reminded once more, his sword drawn and pointing towards Crime Sorciere, to which Argus simply replied with "Shut up you square-nose bastard!", past caring about consequences at this point because today was simply not his day and he had nothing else to lose.
To everyone's surprise, Hisui E. Fiore walked up to the front, unafraid of the Light mage who was still running his mouth off without a filter.
"Hello, Invel, or should I say, Argus?"
"You have some nerve showing your face to me after what you've done, you backstabbing bitch."
"Oh I heard your threat loud and clear," Hisui replied without fear and a smile on her face. "Something along the lines of, the next time I see that damn bitch I will fucking strip her naked and hang her from the palace roof?"
Mercurius had never been quieter after Hisui recited the threat word for word. The silence in the air was palpable as the mages from the participating guilds looked on with wide eyes in disbelief after hearing what they just heard, not even daring to break a sweat. The silence was broken when the Princess simply laughed, before quickly recomposing herself to say her next words in the official capacity as the Princess of Fiore, her facial expressions now elegant and regal as she should be.
"Upon the authority bestowed upon me as the Princess of Fiore, I, Hisui E. Fiore, thereby pardon the members of Crime Sorciere of their existing crimes in recognition for the contributions they made in preventing a disaster that would have otherwise spelled the destruction of the Kingdom if it wasn't for their timely assistance. Along with Fairy Tail mage Argus, they will not be held accountable for the things that happened tonight that resulted from their assistance."
Confused looks were exchanged by the people present, primarily between the mages who were called here on orders of the Royal Family as they were not kept in the loop of what's going on and neither were they aware of what had transpired thus far that led to this situation. As for Crime Sorciere…
"So… I think I might have heard things wrongly, but… I think… we were pardoned?"
"Don't be stupid. This must be another of her damn tricks."
"Argus."
"No, I'm serious here."
"And I'm very serious about what I said earlier too," Hisui walked up to the little group with a smile despite Arcadios' protests. "I called the mage guilds over because just like how I had the four of you as my Plan B, I needed a Plan C too just in case, because the Kingdom and my people are at stake and I needed my plans to be as foolproof as possible in the event where even the four of you were unable to stop Future Rogue. I hope you understand."
"Still doesn't explain why your knights tried to arrest us when you gave us your word earlier that you would leave us alone."
"I sincerely apologise for that too," Hisui bowed her head slightly in apology, "there wasn't enough time to inform all of the Royal Knights that the four of you weren't intruders but rather, the guests that I had brought in. It was a misunderstanding that could have been avoided, but by the time my message was finally passed down to all divisions and when the mages from the mage guilds finally arrived to offer their assistance as per my summons, it just so happened to be the exact moment when…"
Hisui turned to look at the destroyed palace gates, then turned back to look at them, specifically at Argus since he was the one to knock them down. Everything that needed to be said was conveyed from just that.
"You really cannot blame them for mistaking you to be the reason why I called them here after witnessing that, could you?"
"I'm not going to pay for those bloody gates."
"I'm well aware," Hisui replied, still smiling from ear to ear. "So, are you still planning to hang me naked from the rooftops?"
"Now that you say it-"
"HE'S VERY SORRY!" Meredy quickly pressed Argus' head down in a ninety degree bow, ignoring his protests and when it was getting obvious that Argus was about to struggle and break free Jellal and Ultear immediately assisted Meredy in their last ditch attempt to get their youngest mage out of trouble.
"Let me go you three blind mice!"
"Don't be stubborn! Just apologise already!"
"Like hell I- mmph! You bloody traitors- mmph!"
"We apologise on his behalf. Argus, he… He's very… agitated as of this moment, and he had a very long and tiring day. He's currently not in the right state of mind, please forgive him," Jellal quickly made a formal apology on Argus' behalf when it's clear to them that the Light mage was now officially off his rocker after experiencing too much in the short span of a day.
"Don't worry, I won't hold it against him. That said, my offer from before still stands. Will the four of you be willing to work for me? To assist me in protecting our people and their futures?"
"That's…" The members of Crime Sorciere shared an uncertain look with each other while still trying to restrain a struggling Argus, not knowing what to think about Hisui's offer.
"We… need time to give your offer some consideration, Your Highness," Jellal respectfully replied.
"You don't need to come to a decision now. This offer will always be open to you," Hisui reassured the ex Wizard Saint with a smile before her gaze landed on the unconscious mage from the future that was still securely slung across Jellal's shoulder. "Now, regarding him…"
"If I may ask, Your Highness, what are you planning to do with him?"
"Preferably, to send him back to his time," Hisui admitted truthfully. "But after hearing what he had to say, I'm starting to think that maybe it would be better to destroy the Eclipse Gate entirely. With the destruction of the Gate, it would cause a time paradox to forcibly return every anomaly back into its respective time periods. With that, there would be no more time travellers that would be able to come into our timeline and create any more trouble."
"Forgive me, but if Crux's information was to be believed, destroying those gates wouldn't be easy. It is made of Maginium," Ultear recalled with a slight frown.
"But what if all mages from the participating guilds were to combine their power to destroy it?"
"That… It's… worth a shot."
"That's too damn troublesome, and who knows if the Gate would just simply eat up all the magic instead?"
"Argus, would you please just keep quiet for two minutes?!" Meredy hissed as she tried to prevent him and his foul mouth from getting himself into any more trouble with the law. Thankfully, the Princess doesn't seem to mind.
"If you have a better suggestion I'm all ears."
"Now, remember what I said, stand-"
"-far away from you. Yes, we get it."
I clicked my tongue in a mixture of annoyance and frustration. Till now, I'm still stuck here cleaning this mess. Nothing ever went right since the start of the games. Participating in it, fighting the baldy, the infiltration gone wrong, fighting Future Rogue, and now this.
Today really isn't my day.
We were brought deep down into the basement where the Eclipse Gate was hidden by the Royal Family, and Hisui didn't allow anyone else to enter the basement with us upon my request because what I will be doing next is not something that I like to display. It's just the five of us here, just like I requested it to be. The fewer people who see this, the better.
'Oh finally, I get to stretch my limbs.'
'Yeah, you do, but only one arm.'
'Only one arm? Don't be so stingy.'
I closed my eyes and concentrated, gathering the magic within me to finally invoke the magic that I really wish not to ever use again if at all possible. God Soul is not a magic to be taken lightly, and the name of the God within me is not something to be mentioned carelessly. If I ever do a full Take Over blood will be spilled, but if it's just a partial Take Over, then it should be fine as long as I don't overdo it.
A partial Take Over should possess more than enough power to destroy the Eclipse Gate because after all, a fraction of the powers of a God are still powers from God itself.
The air around me began to tremble in response to the partial release of the other soul within me, and I whispered in a voice that only I could hear.
"Partial Take Over: God Soul"
'Whisper my name, say it.'
I ignored my God's whisperings of temptation as I allowed his power to flow and take over my right arm. Take Over magic is a battle of wills between the caster and the soul being taken over, and it's taking every bit of willpower in me to not let his influence affect me fully because I cannot guarantee what he might do if that's the case. Even I cannot claim to have full control of my actions if I decided to do a full Take Over, and calling his true name is a crucial step in making a full Take Over possible.
I opened my eyes, confirming that the appearance of my right arm had changed with runic lines and symbols now spread all across it in white streaks of light, glowing in a mysterious and holy hue. I didn't dare to maintain this form for long, so I quickly gathered the magic needed to manifest the corporeal form of the personal weapon of the God of Light in my right hand, a massive lance of light that was given the name of "Starlight", sharing the same name as the spell I used to destroy Mercurius' gates. However, the lance formed by the spell my ancestors created was just an imitation of the real thing, barely possessing a fraction of the power of the original. The corporeal form that I am manifesting was also not the true weapon used by the God of Light, simply just its corporeal form that is nothing more than a much better upgrade if compared to the spell I used earlier tonight. It still cannot hold a candle to the real thing.
I was told by my God that the real physical weapon, the real Starlight, does exist in this world. However, he had lost and misplaced it thousands of years ago and now none of us had any idea where it might have gone. It might have been buried in some godforsaken place deep down under the earth for all we knew, the only thing we were sure of was that it still exists because it is a weapon of a God. It's not an object that can be easily destroyed nor is it an object that would wear down after thousands of years.
The massive backsword that Dimaria wielded was her God's personal weapon, although thankfully, that crazy woman still hadn't managed to unlock its true form and thus it's currently nothing more than an ordinary sword that couldn't be damaged unless the power of another God or those of a God Slayer was involved. That backsword was Chronos' preferred weapon of choice, just like how the preferred weapon of my God was Starlight.
In any case, this lance that I am now holding should be enough to destroy the Eclipse Gate.
'Only one arm? Seriously? You really live up to your reputation as a miser. Why did I choose such a stingy vessel?'
Ignoring the voice in my head, I threw my spear at the Eclipse Gate, and watched as the Eclipse Gate was destroyed in a shine of bright light. Future Rogue's unconscious body started to glow until he faded away completely, indicating that we had succeeded in returning every anomaly back to their respective times.
Maybe I should resume my search for Starlight, wherever that damn spear might be because if I ever had the unlucky chance to run into any of the Spriggan Twelve again, having it by my side would be a massive boost in power. Unlike the crazy vessel that Chronos had picked, I am entirely capable of unlocking the power of Starlight if I ever found it.
"What was that?" Meredy asked when my arm finally reverted itself back to normal and I rejoined them.
"That was Take Over," Jellal recognised my magic and I'm not surprised he did. "But… That power… Just what kind of being did you-"
"Don't ask," I warned with the sternest glare I could ever give. "My mood is foul enough as it is and I really hate using my Take Over. I really shouldn't have agreed to help you guys."
"On the bright side, at least everything ended well…?"
"Don't make that pun. It's cringe."
"You do it all the time too."
"That's different."
"That power you temporarily released was… terrifying. For a moment I wasn't able to breathe," Hisui joined in on the conversation and I had to fight the urge to not make a snarky reply. I'm too tired for this shit. If this was an official job request, a job of this difficulty would net me at least a million jewels or two, and here I am, not even paid for all the shit I've been through for the past 24 hours.
"Are we done here? If so, can we fucking move? I don't know about you guys, but I really want nothing more than to hurry and go to bed right now."
"Argus, language," Jellal reminded me for the umpteenth time tonight, also releasing a sigh as tired as mine.
"It's a little too late for that, don't you think?"
AN: Just a little refresher about canon timeline and why Future Lucy didn't appear in this story, just in case you were wondering or were confused. (I sure was when trying to write this part of the story)
From my understanding, in canon, there were three different timelines that resulted in the story we read in the manga.
Timeline 1: ten thousand dragons came from the Gate, Future Lucy travelled through the Gate to arrive at the "present". She arrived on the 3rd/4th day of the games in "present" time (not too sure which). I'm just very certain that she hadn't arrived on the first day of the games.
Timeline 2: ten thousand dragons came from the Gate, but Lucy quickly closed the Gate and the situation was resolved. However, seven years later Acnologia conquered and ruled the world through his power. Future Rogue decided to go back in time and invite ten thousand dragons over using the Gate, which was why he made the trip back. He arrived way earlier than Future Lucy did and from how the plot turned out, it was implied that he arrived a few years earlier than Future Lucy
Timeline 3: The canonical plot that we are all familiar with, a result of Future Rogue and Future Lucy arriving back in time from their respective future timelines and in the end, their arrival changed the originally bleak future in timeline 3. The intersection of the three timelines at a common point in time (the duration from when Future Lucy successfully travelled back in time to the last day of the GMG because people from all 3 different timelines were present during that timeframe) was what gave birth to the original canon plot.
Hopefully that answered any queries you might have regarding the time travel paradox
