"W-W-What is…" Cynthia could hardly bring out any words. The sheer presence of Acnologia instilled a strong sense of fear, hopelessness, and despair in her. Not only that, but she could hardly stand straight. Her nerves were on end and she couldn't even breathe properly.
"A-A-Acnologia!" Carla shakily exclaimed with widened eyes. She then looked over to Wendy, realizing the cause for her condition was the Black Dragon. She literally couldn't handle it. "W-Wendy…! We have to get her out of here…but I can't even move…"
"C-Carla…C-Cynthia…" Wendy choked out, her entire body shaking.
"L-Leave it to me…" Cynthia said while steeling herself, dark red flames flaring around her body.
"What do you mean leave it to you!?" Carla yelled while her wings began to spread. "Cynthia! That dragon is much too dangerous for you to even THINK about taking it on!" As Carla spoke, Acnologia raised one claw, putting it down in attempt to crush the females. Carla grabbed Wendy and quickly flew to the side, only for the after shockwave effect to throw her off course, sending her and Wendy back to the ground. Cynthia rolled to the side but was knocked down by the after quake.
"Ugh…" Cynthia rubbed her head before staring at Acnologia. He took interest in Wendy and Carla, and she couldn't have that. "Hey, pick on someone who can fight!" Cynthia exclaimed while dashing forward, cheeks puffing out. "Omega Fire Dragon's ROAR!" Cynthia opened her mouth, unleashing a large funnel of red flames towards Acnologia's face. It hit the side of his head, but there was no damage done whatsoever. This caused Cynthia's eyes to widen; this was her first encounter with a dragon, and her magic proved to be ill effective. "N-No way…" Anologia turned his head to Cynthia. There was what could be called a grin on his lips as he gazed at the young girl. "…!" Cynthia nearly froze on the spot; the gaze was terrifying. Still, she had to protect Wendy and Carla and threw out another attack anyway. "Radiant Blaze of the Omega Fire Dragon!" She hurled a large fireball towards the Black Dragon, but the dragon merely placed his wing up in defense, throwing it out quickly to blow out the flames and blow Cynthia back. "Aaaaaah…!"
"Cy-Cynthia…" Wendy was starting to calm down now. She looked up, eyes widening as all she saw was Acnologia's tail coming down on her and Carla. There was no time to move, but just before impact, Doranbolt sped through and picked up both Wendy and Carla, carrying them to safety next to Cynthia. "D-Doranbolt-san…!?"
"You're here…?" Carla was not questioning the rescue, she was happy that Doranbolt once again saved her and Wendy.
"Yes…" Doranbolt replied before looking towards Acnologia. "I didn't expect this monster to show up…This isn't a very good time for this…"
"What do we do…?" Cynthia asked. She had only heard of the story of Fairy Tail's first encounter with Acnologia.
"We can't run…it'll just cause damage elsewhere…" Carla grit her teeth. "This isn't good…we're all running on fumes now after all that fighting…"
.
.
"WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE HELL IS THAT!?" Diamond shrieked at the sight of Acnologia. It only took her a second to recognize the dragon after the initial shock. "W-Wait a minute…is that…Acnologia!?"
"W-Whoa...!" Spark gasped in shock. This was the most terrifying thing he'd ever come across...!
"The one time we DON'T want it to show up, it does…" Spade groaned while pinching the bridge of his nose. "What the hell are the chances, right?"
"Ngh…" Natsu finally stood up, shaking off the feeling. "He's back…"
"Any ideas…?" Jellal grunted while staring at the Black Dragon from afar.
"Hit it hard?" Strong suggested.
"Like something that stupid would work…" Heartless bluntly replied. "If only I had access to Meteor G…I don't understand why it's not working…"
"IF I may…" Daigo started while clearing his throat. "It's likely someone changed the passcode…"
"We know that…" Heartless grunted in annoyance. "But who could..."
"Natsu…!" Lucy's group ran in, all of them looking terrible.
"Whoa, what's with the new getup…?" Natsu said while staring at Lucy's Stardress: Taurus.
"No time for that…!" Lucy replied, and it was something she didn't want to talk about just yet. She pointed to Acnologia, expression clearly showing fear. "W-We have to do something! That's where Wendy and Cynthia were!"
"What…?!" Immediately, Natsu's eyes widened in shock. He knew how strong the duo was, but even they wouldn't be able to stand against a threat like this alone.
"We have to hurry…" Hikaru said while holding her chest. Tristan was there to support her, but even he was starting to reach his limit with all the fighting.
"Happy, can you fly?!" Natsu asked.
"I-I can try…!" Happy replied.
"I'll go see if I can help…" Jellal nodded while the yellow aura he always donned appeared around his body once again. "Meteor!" He sped off, but he didn't get very far. He felt a powerful presence coming his way so he quickly made a U-turn and grabbed Hisui just as a red wave of energy flew past them, causing everyone's eyes to widen.
"What the hell!?" Natsu turned to see who fired that shot, but as soon as he turned he was met with a large fist which sent him flying backwards, skidding across the ground on his side before flipping and catching himself. "Gah…!?"
"Laser!" The attacker exclaimed, unleashing a large red beam of energy towards Lucy and the others.
"Ha…!" Diamond quickly raised her palm, creating a large ice and diamond wall to block from the sudden attack. Her diamonds actually held up, so she used her manipulation magic to draw the wall back and morph it into a blade of the two materials. "Who the hell…"
When the smoke cleared, there was a lone figure standing before them: Red Joker. "I missed." Joker spoke in an indifferent tone.
"J-JOKER…!?"
"I won't miss again…" Joker said while pointing his arm forward, unleashing a plethora of missiles towards the group.
"You, again?" Jellal muttered to himself before pointing his hand forward. "Heavenly…"
"HA!" Tia swung her scepter forward, unleashing lances of water that countered the missiles, resulting in large explosions. When the smoke cleared, Jack and Tia were standing just a few feet away from Joker, scowling. "Joker…"
"Oh…I see the traitors have all gathered together in one area…" Joker spoke with a slight scoff. "That's fine…I can take you all down in one fell swoop…"
"Leave him to us…" Tia ordered Natsu, Lucy and the others.
"A-Are you sure…!?" Lucy spoke with concern.
"GO!" Tia shouted. "You have to save Wendy and Cynthia, don't worry about us!"
"O-Okay…" Lucy nodded. With that, she was off with everyone else, minus the Ex-Dealer members.
"How the hell are you alive…" Heartless demanded Joker to tell them.
"You blew up! Things that blow up don't come back…!" Strong exclaimed the issue in the simplest way possible.
"There's no point in telling a story to a corpse, is there?" Joker replied while cracking his neck. "Operation: Endgame will still occur. Now is the perfect time…"
"You're still on about that…?!" Jack grit his teeth in annoyance, clenching his fists as deep rooted anger began to resurface.
"I don't care how or why you've come back…" Tia said while taking a step forward, pointing her scepter towards Joker. How unfair it was, that Joker gets to stand before them, but Ace was still gone. Joker's crimes against the people she cared about could not be excused. "All that matters now…is that I finally have the chance to make you pay for what you've done to Ace and the others…"
"The 'others'?" Joker raised a brow before letting out a bellowing laughter. "HA! Don't tell me…has the cold hearted Queen Tia softened up around the edges? Has she begun warming up to the people who used to be called enemies?" His expression then shifted to a serious death glare. "You make me sick. All of you. Becoming 'friends' with those scum who interfered with King's glorious plan! I'll be sure to eradicate you where you stand! There won't be a single trace of you traitorous scum left!"
"They've…become people I can trust…" Tia replied, her serious expression. "I won't allow you to hurt them again…and you WILL pay for what you did to Ace!"
"Humans…even demons too…" Joker shook his head before taking a stance. "Very well…if you think you all have a sliver of a chance at defeating me, I urge you to take it. For this will be your last fight ever!"
.
.
"This…is really not good…" Reve mumbled under his breath. As cocky as he was, even he wasn't stupid enough to know this was going in a positive direction. He stood at the top of a building, pointing his six chambered magnum towards Acnologia from afar. "Bang…" He clicked the trigger, unleashing a massive bullet of magic that covered a wide radius towards Acnologia's side. The bullet made contact, but there was no visible damage done. Not even a scratch. In fact, the dragon didn't even acknowledge Reve's presence. "Shit…"
"Eat this…!" Gajeel leapt into the air, his arm morphing into an iron pole. He then thrusted his arm forward, shooting the pole right to Acnologia's skull. It was a direct hit, and there may have been some damage done due to it being Dragon Slayer magic, but other than that Acnologia didn't even flinch and just smacked Gajeel away with its wing into the ruins of an old building.
"White Dragon's…" Sting rushed in from the ground, light covering his fists. "Drill Punch!" He aimed his holy magic covered fist for Acnologia's leg in hopes to do some type of damage, but the light on his hand fizzled out the moment contact was made. "N-No way…"
"Nothing we're doing is working…" Blues exclaimed in annoyance. "We're dragon slayers and we can't even hurt this damn thing!"
"This dragon ain't something we should be fighting…" Satoshi commented. He was a lover of dragons and was against any and all violence towards them…but even he knew this circumstance was above his beliefs. "We should be hauling ass."
"Sorry to burst your bubble old man…" Waiston said with a slight sneer. "But this isn't something we can even try to run away from. It's got us in its sights and we're not being let go until it decides…"
"Let's make it flinch at least!" Daryan was determined to get some kind of reaction from Acnologia with his attacks. He specialized in the weak spots of his foes, and he did unsuspectingly slay his foster father. "Skeletal Dragon's…Roar!" Daryan threw his head forward, unleashing a funnel of sharp bones towards Acnologia's legs. "A dragon's legs are their weakest spot! Without their legs they can't keep balance!" He felt confident that he would be able to slow Acnologia down, but the roar merely dispersed once hitting the Black Dragon; not a single mark was left and the bones shattered. "N-No way…!"
"Is this dragon invincible…" Magnus grunted in shock that not even Daryan's attacks were working.
"It's gotta have a weakness…" Elfman clenched his fist; a magic seal appeared over his body and he entered his Beast Soul. Using the enhanced strength and speed, he made way to Acnologia's leg and aimed a brutal punch, but Elfman was the one who got hurt instead of the dragon. "Gah…! That skin is manly…"
"Not this thing again…" Freed had a sweat drop on the side of his head as he recalled the last encounter with that monstrosity.
"Funny how things turn out, huh…" Bickslow said with a slightly nervous chuckle.
"Once again…" Evergreen clenched her hand into a fist.
"But this time…" Laxus said while crossing his arms, staring towards the dragon. "We aren't going to lose. Isn't that right?" After speaking, he raised his hands into the air, gathering lightning into his hands.
"Right," Freed nodded, drawing his sword. "We won't lose. As a member of the Raijinshu, I must give it my all." Runes began to cover his body. "Dark Ecriture: Darkness!" His body then took the form of a demon. "Darkness Breath!" Freed exhaled, unleashing a beam of darkness towards Acnologia.
"Let's go!" Laxus exclaimed.
"Byron Formation!" Bickslow yelled while his babies formed a circle, spinning around rapidly as seith magic began to gather in the center, which then turned into a large beam that cut through the sky.
"Fairy Bomb: Gremlin!" Evergreen swiped her fan, clouding the two attacks with explosive Fairy dust.
"Raging Bolt!" Laxus finished up the Unison Raid with his own halberd of lightning. The three attacks merged into one which collided against Acnologia's neck, causing it to lean slightly only from the explosive force. "Did we hit it?" Laxus questioned. Acnologia turned to face the Raijinshu, now showing only little signs of damage; as a result, he was also getting very irritated.
"It doesn't look happy…" Evergreen said with a nervous laugh.
"Hey you!" Gildarts exclaimed to Acnologia while walking up to the dragon, a scowl on his face. He was beginning to gather Crash Magic in his prosthetic arm. "I don't like leaving my jobs unfinished!" He then threw his arm forward, unleashing a massive beam of Crash Magic towards Acnologia. The beam of crash magic struck Acnologia in the chest, causing an annoyed growl to come from the creature.
"Let's go out with a boom…!" Roy grinned while pulling out a large bomb from his celestial bomb bag, hurling it towards the Black Dragon. The bomb exploded on Acnologia's back, dealing miniscule amounts of damage.
"What a hoarse voice you have…" Cobra said while strolling into the scene, eyes narrowed at Acnologia. Poison began to surround his hand, and he rushed towards the dragon. "Don't forget, I can hear you!" He exclaimed, but he was reminded that not even he could hear Acnologia's thoughts, and he was smacked away by the tail, landing harshly on the ground after. "Ugh…"
"Diamond Dragon's Armored Horn…!" Selene pushed herself from the ground with sharp diamonds covering her forehead. She slammed right into Acnologia's chest, but her diamonds couldn't hold and shattered, causing her to rocket back to the ground. "Agh…! W-What is this thing…"
"Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Takeru lurched forward, unleashing a funnel of shadows that struck Acnologia's wing, but it did little damage.
"And!" Natsu came in from above, flames blazing around his hand. He was aiming right for Acnologia's head. "Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" There was a blazing impact to Acnologia's skull, but the flames on Natsu's hand quickly fizzled out, leaving the fire dragon wide eyed. "Guh…" And then Acnologia swung his head, throwing Natsu down to the ground harshly. "Gah!"
"Natsu-san…!" Wendy quickly went over to Natsu. "Are you okay?!"
"I think…" Natsu replied.
Acnologia's wings began to flap; the dragon slowly ascended to the air. He was about to wrap things up, but before he got too far Gaia flew in in her full body dragon form, tackling Acnologia down to the ground, letting out a mighty roar after. "I don't think so!"
"That's Gaia…!" Alex's eyes beamed.
"Still kicking…" Evanee let out a short huff. She was glad to see Gaia still around, only because she wanted the pleasure of defeating the dragon in her full form. Other than that, she cared not.
"She won't last too long…" Mithril said with Sora on his back. "She's the weakest dragon here…but she's also the only one of us at full strength."
"She's buying us time, in other words…"Adam clarified.
"Buying us time? To do what…?" Rogue questioned.
"To escape," Makarov assumed. "This beast…he's still far too dangerous, even with all of us around…"
"Unless she's actually planning to fight…" Calium pointed out, coughing slightly after.
"Whatever she's planning, we don't have much time," Reve pointed out. "So what the hell are we actually doing?"
"We could take it…" Adam said with a serious expression. "Three against one…not even he should be able to handle us."
"You three…?" Reve raised a brow. "You're not even at full strength, Adam. Don't bite off more than you can chew."
"Mi-kun can do it…!" Sora exclaimed.
"Don't leave us out of this!" Natsu got their attention with a bellow. "We're dragon slayers, and we have to pay this thing back for what it did to us eight years ago!"
"Don't get in the way," Mithril replied. "Otherwise you may get crushed, Son of Igneel….
.
.
"Gigaton Pillar!" Joker stomped on the ground, creating a mass of pillars that rose from the ground to strike Tia and Jack in the gut. Both moved, and Joker merely let out an annoyed tsk. He pulled his hand back, generating a sphere of magic in his palm. "Dread Bomber!" He threw the 'bomb' forward, which would cause a massive explosion on impact.
"Ha!" Tia slammed her scepter into the ground, a ring of water appearing around herself and Jack. The Dread Bomber exploded against the Aqua Ring, but it did provided protection. Jack and Tia slid back, but Tia continued to strike. "Destroy it all! Aqua Dragon!" From her scepter, a raging aquatic dragon shot out and struck Joker, dragging him back a few feet.
"Gnk…you insolent…" Joker shook off the blow. "Your tricks have grown stale, Queen Tia…you too, Jack Corvus…"
"We're just getting started you red bastard!" Jack growled.
"Look at them go…" Diamond said while rubbing her arm. "I want to help…but I'd just get in the way…I'm not strong enough to hurt him even still…"
"This is their fight anyway…" Heartless reassured Diamond. "I know Tia's been wanting to rip Joker's face off for a while now…and Jack too."
"No kidding…" Spade said while rubbing the back of his neck. "They're going at it pretty hard…"
"Too hard…" Strong added.
"Dread Punch!" Joker aimed his fist towards Jack, landing a direct hit against the young boy.
"I'm not letting you go…!" Jack said while gripping Joker's hand with his talons, causing sparks to fly. "Wicked…Eruption…!" Dark purple fire erupted on their location, causing Joker to grit his teeth. He used his free hand to knock Jack away, the eruption ending abruptly. "Ugh…you jerk…you'll pay…"
"I'm done playing around with the both of you…" Joker took a step forward, and then halted. Something in the air wasn't right and he picked it up almost immediately. "…What…?"
"Now!" Tia leapt forward, the bottom of her dress starting to spread out. Electricity began to zap around her lower body. She slammed into Joker with all her might, only managing to cause him to slide back a few feet with some damage. It was then she felt the shift in the tension, along with everyone else around. "What the…"
.
.
"This situation seems dire…" Jellal muttered to Cobra.
"It is…" Cobra calmly replied to Jellal while watching Gaia and Acnologia throw down. Gaia swung her earth covered tail at Acnologia's side which was a direct hit, but Acnologia retaliated with his own tail and sent Gaia skidding back, landing on her side. "She's not strong enough. She'll fall in a matter of minutes…it'll be up to the others to try and defeat this monster if they're still up for it…"
"I see…" Jellal nodded. Everyone else was throwing out attacks to stall Acnologia while Gaia got up. Jellal then glanced at Cobra, noticing something different about his expression. "…Are you alright…?"
"….That's not possible…" Cobra mumbled to himself, eyes slowly widening at what he was hearing. "That's not right…he's right here already…his voice is exceptionally loud…"
"Erik…?" Jellal called Cobra once again, but there was no response. Whatever Cobra was hearing had the upmost priority.
"No…this is actually happening…this isn't good…" Cobra kept talking. He then turned to Jellal, having the most serious facial expression possible. "Jellal. We must leave immediately."
"What…?" Jellal was confused. "Just what were you hearing…!?"
"Don't you feel the tension in the air!?" Cobra nearly shouted. He was on edge, which was rare for someone like him. This had Jellal concerned, Cobra was never like this. "It's even thicker than when the first one showed up…"
"The first one…" Jellal was now completely lost. "What did you hear…? What are you hearing…?"
.
.
In the council stronghold, Aiden let out a small chuckle. Even miles away, he could feel the tension in the air growing. "Hahaha…How about that…"
"What's so funny, Aiden…?" Layanna was tasked with keeping watch over the prisoners while the captains were away dealing with the threat in Crocus. "I don't see anything amusing about being kept behind bars, waiting for execution…"
"Oh, is that on the list too…?" Aiden merely shrugged indifferently.
"It seems as though…" Hyde began from the cell across from Aiden. "That in the end, our script has been playing out perfectly…the production is still going as planned…"
"What are you two talking about?" Layanna demanded answers. She opened the cell while requipping a sword, holding it right to Aiden's neck. "You're going to give me the answers I want right now."
"Ha…!" Aiden laughed in the face of death. He had nothing to fear. "Very well…since you seem to be so pushy on the issue…you know how Rogue of the Future is wandering about our current timeline, yes? How do you think he got here after the Eclipse Gate was destroyed?"
"You're responsible for this…and Erza Knightwalker too, I assume… " Layanna nodded before pressing the blade into Aiden's neck a little. "Keep talking."
"Building a machine that could pull out anything I wanted from the future…" Aiden continued. "I began to think…if I can pull out a man from seven years…why not focus on something much, much bigger?"
"Something that will gracefully destroy everything this world has to offer…" Hyde continued.
Layanna's eyes widened. She immediately understood what the two men were getting at. "You didn't…I heard that machine was destroyed in the report from Cosmic Star…"
"Oh yes…my daughter Alex did a number on that machine…" Aiden admitted. "However, what kind of fool do you all take me for? My machines are much more durable than they look. These past few months…my machine has been gathering enough energy. And now, I think it's finally time; the process has been completed. Fiore, Earthland, and the world shall know true destruction!"
.
.
Gaia and Acnolgoia butted heads. The two of them were in a fierce stalemate. Even if Gaia wasn't as strong as this monster, she was still a dragon, and she could still fight. Acnologia drew a fist back and slammed it into Gaia's chest, forcing the Earth Dragon to slide backwards a great deal. But she held her ground, refusing to yield. She flapped her wings, large spires of earth shooting upwards in an effort to stab and skewer Acnologia. The black Dragon flew into the air, swiftly evading the spires that sought to destroy him. But he wasn't expecting chunks of the earth to encase him in a thick sphere, which is what Gaia was aiming for. "Earth Roar!" She exclaimed, firing off a potent blast of earth magic that consumed Acnologia, throwing him backwards.
This didn't last very long, as Acnologia soon countered with his own roar that tore through the city. Gaia brought her wings up to defend it, but she was still sent skidding backwards as a result of his power. Acnologia let out a breath after, his expression unreadable in this state. His eyes only bore that of one thing: destruction. "You..." He began to speak to Gaia, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "You hail from that cursed land, don't you?"
"So you grace me with your words...and here I thought you were some mindless beast." Gaia responded.
Acnolgoia let out a breath. No laugh, no amused noise. There was only one thing on his mind. "I will bring about destruction...to every dragon in this land. I will be the Dragon King. You will be the first one to fall by my hand in 400 years..."
Gaia couldn't help but sweat slightly to that, but she put on a brave face. "I won't allow you rob another dragon, or human of its life. Do you understand me!?" But before she could continue, something in the air shifted. "Huh?"
Acnologia sensed it as well. "...?" What a familiar sensation. Almost too familiar. Identical, even...
"…There's another shift in the air…" Aira finally caught on. She stared into the sky with a serious face.
"Another shift…? Is something else coming…?" Luke turned to look at Aira.
"I think so…" Selene felt her heart drop. Even more so than when Acnologia first appeared. "I don't think I like where things might be going…"
"I sense it…" Makarov intently stared into the sky. "I don't like it…"
"Not possible…" Adam said while glancing at his brother, who was sensing the exact same thing. There was a dangerous anomaly in the air that threatened to lower the hope of the situation at hand.
"There is another...?" Acnologia spoke aloud, this time shocking everyone.
"He can talk…!?" Lucy gasped.
"Matters not…I will eradicate everything here…" The dragon then lifted his head to the sky, feeling an all too familiar presence. "How humans work to fight against each other and cause destruction among their own land is far beyond my understanding…and I do not think you will have the time to understand your own faults. For humanities time has run out right here and now."
"I'm scared…" Cynthia made sure to stand close to Wendy. There was a bad feeling in her stomach.
"What's…happening…?" Leon said while clenching his hand.
Out of sight and mind, Future Rogue was watching the entire situation. He was about to jump in and claim victory when he felt the tension. For him, he caused his eyes to widen and his body to shake. "…N-No…that scientist didn't…"
All fell silent for a moment; no one dared to make a move. The tension was too thick to even try. There was a slight whistle in the air before something landing on the ground harshly on the other side of the city. When the smoke from the landing cleared, what everyone saw shocked them. It was another Acnologia, though this one was covered in battle scars and was missing an arm. Still, the beast from the future let out a terrifying roar in time with his present counterpart, creating an earthquake that shook the entire country of Fiore.
"T-Two Acnologia's…" Future Rogue stammered.
The Acnologia of the Future looked around at the scenery. How familiar. And his eyes soon landed on his present day counterpart. If there was anyone who understood the depths of his emotion and desire to destroy, it was himself. Immediately, the two of them came to an understanding.
"This land...WILL BE DESTROYED!"
.
.
Natsu: "There's TWO of them now?! How the hell are we supposed to deal with that!?"
Joker: "It's simple! You don't! This is the true Endgame…how fortuitous…"
Lucy: "W-What do we do…!? We can't handle one…"
Natsu: "We'll make it out of this somehow…I promise…"
Next time: Double Doom.