"20 minutes?!" Meredy gasped at the sudden drop in time. "H-He can't do that!"

"I'm afraid he just did, Meredy…" Ultear replied with a serious expression. "This isn't good at all…with 40 minutes things may have just been able to work, but with only 20, I don't believe things are going to play out very well…"

"Then it looks like we can't be standing around anymore, can we?" Jellal asked while standing up. "Fairy Tail needs all the help it can get right now, and I'm sure the last thing they want is their very home being burned down like this…"

"Ul, can't you just…I dunno, reverse the timer or something!?" Meredy asked, believing the idea was worth a shot.

"I wish it was that simple…" Ultear replied. "Unfortunately, I cannot. The timer is in his head, and from what we've been told, he's a very ill-tempered child…it was only a matter of time before he got bored…"

"We're wasting too much time." Jellal pointed out. "20 minutes to save Magnolia from becoming a burning wasteland."

"He's right…" Ultear nodded, her orb floating up beside her so she could keep an eye out on the situation. "Jellal, you go ahead. Meredy and I will catch up."

"As you say." Jellal gave a nod before a heavenly light engulfed his body. "Meteor!" After the mage exclaimed this, he started to bolt forward. But the moment he did, he had to come to a halt, as multiple pillars appeared in front of him. "What?!"

"Someone's here?!" Ultear turned around. Standing behind the three members of Crime Sorciere was...Red Joker.

"Who..." Meredy stared at Joker, feeling the depths of his magic power.

"...I'm afraid I won't allow you to step closer to Magnolia." Joker said while crossing his arms. "You'll get in my way."

"This guy...!" Ultear was starting to sweat. Joker's magic power was incredible. "Who are you!?"

"I am Red Joker of Dealer." Joker stated firmly. "I've been tasked with eliminating Jack Corvus. His reckless actions have proven to be a detriment to Dealer as a whole."

"You're going to kill that child?" Jellal asked with a cold gaze.

"And any who stand in my way." Joker replied with his own cold stare.

.

.

"20 minutes!? Is that kid insane?!" Gajeel shouted, eyes widening at the rapidly decreasing timer. 20 minutes soon became 19. With time short, it felt like it was running out even faster than it was before.

"Dammit!" Spade cursed, stomping his foot into the ground after. "It was only a matter of time before Jack became bored but I was hoping he wouldn't react this badly…"

"You knew this was going to happen?" Levy asked with a brow raised. "You're stalling us, aren't you!?"

"Tch!" Spade scoffed at the accusation. "I've told you, what I'm doing here has nothing to do with you, but since you've decided to get in my way I'm left with no choice but to cut you down…but not, I don't think I have enough time to do so…" Spade weighted down the current options in his mind for a few seconds before deciding the best course of action. "You've lucked out today. If I had more time I would continue this little fight, but lucky for you, I don't…"

"The hell do you mean lucky for us!?" Gajeel snarled, preparing to attack Spade once again, but he could see where Spade was coming from once he glanced at the timer again. Time was very short.

"Next time, Redfox and McGarden…" Spade said, but with a wicked smile. His training would come in useful, because there were magnetic seals attached to Gajeel and Levy, who were still wet from the rain he released earlier. The two of them were drawn together, slamming into each other.

"Agh!" Both Levy and Gajeel shouted in pain.

Spade then formed a red and blue magic seal in front of him. "ROCKET LAUNCH!" A rocket exploded from the magic seal, rapidly soaring towards Gajeel and Levy.

Gajeel, realizing what was about to happen, forced his body to move. His iron scales appeared along his body and he stood in front of Levy, arms spread out to protect her. "Damn it!" He braced for impact. A gigantic, electric explosion shook part of Magnolia. It swept both him and Levy away, and they were both down from the impact. Gajeel was on the ground, his eyes pure white. His body was still covered in scales, but the high voltage lightning coursing through his wet body knocked him out...and Levy was unconscious under him from the impact, although her body was far less injured than his own.

"..." Spade sighed heavily. He won, but at the same time...this victory wouldn't matter if he couldn't stop Jack. "C'mon..." He told himself, rushing off to try and find Jack.

.

.

"20 minutes…this isn't good…" Erza said aloud while running through the empty streets. She was still injured but right now that wasn't something that mattered. "I'm too far away to make it in time…There must be something I can do to help this situation turn out better…" Erza kept going through all the possible things in her head, all of which would be easy if the Wicked Flames weren't cutting her off every other second. "This is starting to irritate me…" Erza let out a low growl of aggravation. "Perhaps it is time to start cutting through these flames one by one…" She was about to try something when she heard some kind of metallic noise behind her. "Hm…?" She turned around; spotting a floating lacrima device that was emitting visible jamming waves throughout the city. "Wait…could that be…?"

{Flashback}

"Okay, let's contact Ace before we do anything else," Erza nodded, switching the lacrima on. All that came from the Lacrima was a bunch of static; not a call could be made. "What the?" Suddenly, the screen switched to Jack, who had a confused look on his face.

"Nani?" Jack blinked a few times, staring into the lacrima screen. "The hell do you asshats want NOW?!"

"W-Wrong number!" Lucy flailed. "Hang up, hang up, HANG UP."

"Oh, I get it!" Jack then smirked. "You were trying to make a call to someone! Nice try, but I thought ahead and made sure that all calls would be redirected to me, so I would know about it!" Jack let out a maniacal laugh. "It was a nice try, but as long as the special jamming device is within the city, you won't be getting any backup! See you in 57 minutes, losers!" After that the transmission cut off.

{End flashback}

"Of course!" Erza's face beamed. "This is the device Jack brought to stop our lacrima calls from going through to anyone else!" Suddenly, a rather sharp blade appeared in Titania's hands, and she gripped it tight. "Hyah!" She cried out, slashing the device with her blade, but there was not a scratch on the device, and it just kept moving throughout the city. "Oh you've got to be kidding me…incredibly sturdy, is it? Very well…" Erza couldn't help but smirk at the machine. "I've over 100 armors in my arsenal, and I can defeat you in less than 20 minutes!"

.

.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Pause!" Strong shouted after Jack's announcement, causing Gildarts and El Rayo to stop in their place, giving Strong a confused look while keeping their guard up. "What's 40 divided by 2?"

"…Is he serious right now?" El Rayo asked with a shocked expression.

"I think so…" Gildarts sighed, rubbing the back of his head before answering Strong. "20. That's how many minutes we have left, so I suggest you get out of our way."

"20!? That's like….half of what we had left!" Strong's eyes widened immensely as the realization finally set in, but his route to the conclusion left Gildarts and El Rayo speechless. "Crap! This isn't good at all! I gotta go stop him!" After Strong said this, he dropped his fight with the two mages and quite bolted back towards the heart of the city, hoping to reach Jack before anything bad happened."

"…Despite what just happened inside his head…I think it's best we make a move on too…" El Rayo pointed out.

"I agree…20 minutes is not a lot of time, especially when you're in a city as large as this…" Gildarts nodded. "Split off. You're not a bad fighter, by the way, but don't think about challenging me anytime soon, son."

"Believe me…I know when I am outmatched…" El Rayo gave a nervous laugh before splitting paths with Gildarts.

.

.

"So…do you really think now is a good time to be carrying out your petty revenge…?" Selene asked calmly, though she was really in a rush to get out of there and get to Jack as soon as she could.

"Tch…" Diamond scoffed, eyes glancing towards the timer yet again. "20 minutes…is that kid really out of his mind!? He doesn't know what will happen if he actually follows through with this!"

"Huh…?" Selene blinked a few times. The sound of Diamond's voice changed clearly and it surprised her somewhat. "You're concerned…?"

"I never said that!" Diamond shouted in a defensive tone, clearing her throat after. "Something very bad will happen to Jack if his revenge follows through. I doubt he'll listen to you cretins so that's why I'm trying to get to him as fast as I can. He's a violent child and he's snapped, and violence is only going to make things worse. If he's fought and he wins…" Diamond trailed off, shaking her head after. "Gah! Why am I even telling you this!"

"Huh…" Selene blinked a few times before it clicked in her head. "You…You're not as evil as you're trying to make everyone think you are, are you?"

"Eh!?" Diamond nearly growled at the statement. "I'm who I am! And I don't have to tell you these things, I'm only trying to prevent the worst from happening…! Gah! Whatever. We'll settle this another time! Because I have to finish this now!"

"Finish this now?!" Selene scoffed at the idea. "You're not going to beat me." She took a step forward, only to see that her legs were glued to the ground with diamonds. "Is that your best idea?" She then tried to slip into the Shadows with her dual mode, but unfortunately for her...Diamond's ice wasn't allowing her to do so.

"It is." Diamond placed her hands on her hips. "You can eat my diamonds...but if I encase them with ice...what then?" Selene's eyes widened at this information, because it was true. She tried to break them, but there was no luck.

"I've been practicing this move just for you!" Diamond then jumped into the air with her break hammer. A large, crystal diamond appeared under her, rapidly expanding in size. "This big diamond...is all yours! Diamond Breaker!" Diamond slammed her hammer into the diamond, which crushed it into the ground. Since it was imbued with ice as well, Selene wouldn't be able to chew through it so easily. As such, she was smashed under the gigantic diamond, which shattered into dozens upon dozens of pieces. Selene was on the ground, KO'ed after the impact.

Diamond landed and took a breath after that. Training paid off after all... "Maybe I am strong enough to help him..."

.

"20!?" Luke gasped at the shortened time before turning his gaze back to Brutal, who was beginning to charge at both him and Lucy once again. "We don't have the time to be playing with this thing!" Luke then extended his hands, unleashing a few orbs of lightning at the charging bull. Each sphere struck Brutal and began to slow down its charge due to the paralysis, but the speed was still high. "Crap!"

"Hold on…!" Lucy shouted, throwing her whip around the horn of the Brutal, using what strength she could to slow down or possibly halt the charge. The Brutal wasn't having any of it and just swung its head forward, throwing Lucy into Luke. "Gah!"

"Oof!" Luke grunted, falling over with Lucy on top of him in a rather awkward position. "Ugh…can this not happen…?"

"It's not my fault…!" Lucy huffed before scurrying off of Luke in a comical fashion, dusting herself off after. "This isn't going anywhere…We don't have that much time left, I doubt we'll be the ones to make it to Jack…!"

"We can't just leave this thing roaming around the damn town, though!" Luke replied, shaking his head while thinking of an idea. "If we can get rid of those horns, maybe we can finish it off in one blow."

"I think I have an idea!" Lucy then pulled out a golden key. "Gate of the Crab, I open thee! Cancer!" A bell chime occurred and the hair sniping crab appeared, scissors at the ready.

"Ebi!" Cancer said. "What is it you need, ebi?"

"Cut the horns!" Lucy pleaded.

"I don't think…" Luke started, but Cancer was already on the move, and within a second, the horns were cut off, leaving the Brutal in a sheepish state after its horns were gone. "Huh…"

"Luke!" Lucy shouted.

"Oh, right!" Luke snapped out of his small shock and focused back on the battle, puffing his cheeks out as lightning surged around him. "Let's try this one more time! Roar of the Lightning Dragon!" After Luke exclaimed this he threw his head forward and unleashed another torrent of lightning, slamming into the Brutal powerfully. The bull exploded into nothing a few seconds after the attack. "Yeah!"

"We did it!" Lucy high fived Luke with a grin. "See, and this time, you weren't in mortal peril...!"

"Let's not bring that up again…" Luke said with a sigh before looking at the timer. "19 minutes…"

"What are we going to do?" Lucy grimaced. As they were deciding what to do, a man appeared appeared from around the corner. It was the same man Lucy encountered in the Council Ball. "Ah...?"

"Oh, it's you, young lady! Are you staying safe in all this chaos?" The man said.

"Uh...who is this?" Luke looked at the older gentleman, and then Lucy.

"An acquaintance I met during the Council Ball." Lucy explained. "Sir, it's really dangerous here. You should get someplace safe as soon as you can!"

"Ho ho ho!" The man laughed in response. "Always looking out for people. I knew you were a good one. I'll be alright, I promise. You can call me Jigan."

"Well, Jigan, it's still dangerous here." Luke crossed his arms. "We've got less than 20 minutes to deal with that crazy kid..."

"A shame, that child..." Jigan looked over to Kardia Cathedral. "I wonder what has him so riled up...perhaps he just needs an adult to talk to. The world would be a less dangerous place if people were able to nurture children to be less destructive."

"Yeah, we're trying..." Luke scoffed.

"Remember, young lady...you have that card, don't you? Don't be afraid to use it to turn the tables." Jigan said with a soft laugh. With that, he started to walk off.

"I won't forget...!" Lucy said. Jigan was soon gone.

"What a weird old man..." Luke sighed.

Shortly after that, a lacrima screen appeared, showing a smiling Erza. "Lucy?"

"Erza!?" Lucy's eyes widened at the lacrima communication. "What happened?! Did you find that device!?"

"I did more than find it!" Erza replied, moving the lacrima screen to the broken device, which had a lot of craters around it. "It took a while, but I finally managed to break that contraption, so now we should be able to make a call to Ace."

"I knew we could count on you!" Lucy beamed before the idea she had before suddenly came back to her. "You go ahead and tell the others to contact Ace! I have another call I need to make!"

"You do…?" Erza blinked a few times, unsure of who Lucy was going to call for a few seconds before it hit. "Oh…I see…very well. Best of luck to us then." With that, the communication ended.

"Eh?" Luke blinked, utterly lost. "Who are you going to call?"

"A little extra help…" Lucy replied.

.

.

Elfman wasn't going to sit idly by as his Sisters were in danger. He was bolting through the streets of Magnolia, only to come across a vicious four legged creature; similar to a bull and a unicorn mixed into one. This creature, known as Brucius, charged at Elfman the moment it saw him. "Get out of my way!" Elfman said while transforming into his Beast soul, lunging at Brucius to punch it into the ground. The mighty creature was no match for the strength of a Man who intended to save his siblings. This wasn't even the first one he crushed either; in his wake, there was a trail of defeated monsters, raging from a different breed of Fenrir, Brutal, and a Peterobronc. These monsters tried to stop Elfman and he mowed them down, one by one, in his efforts to storm Kardia Cathedral and take down Jack. "Nothing's going to stop me from saving them...!" And as Elfman turned a corner, he ran into someone...

"Oof...!" Strong staggered back from the impact of two muscle heads colliding. "Hey, watch it! I got a kid to save!"

"You watch it!" Elfman rubbed his head. It was only in that moment that the two of them realized they were enemies. And they pointed at each other. "Dealer!? What are you doing here!?" A wall of Wicked Flames appeared around them, signifying that only one of them would be able to move on from this point.

"I'm here to save Jack." Strong explained. "You're in my way."

"I have to save my sisters." Elfman cracked his knuckles. "You're in my way. And a Man will never be stopped when it comes to the people he cares about!"

.

.

"It's just down this street!" Happy said, pointing to the long street before them. Just at the end of it was Kardia Cathedral.

"We're almost there…!" Natsu grinned. "With 19 minutes, I'll just have to beat him in under 18!"

"I'm sure we can do it!" Happy replied before his ears perked up. "Huh?"

"Happy look out!" Natsu shouted, jumping to the side along with Happy as a Wicked Flame shot down towards them, completely destroying that part of the street. "That flame!"

"Drat, I missed…" Jack said while descending down from the sky, grinning towards Natsu and Happy. "Oh man, really? I was hoping I would get someone like the legendary Gildarts or even an S class mage…but I'm stuck with you, eh…?"

"Jack!" Natsu growled, his body instantly lighting up in flames. "You better stop that timer right now and give back those hostages, otherwise things aren't going to end well for you!"

"HA!" Jack laughed, loudly at that. "You really think I'm gonna listen to someone like you!? It's your fault this is even happening to begin with! Joker told me all about it!"

"Eh?!" Natsu had a perplexed expression mixed in with his serious one. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I do know that you're making a lot of people suffer right now and that's enough of a reason to take you down!"

"Hmph…You're playing dumb…" Jack's voice got lower as his hand raised, a large Wicked Flame appearing in his palm. "That's fine. I'll just get rid of you first and enjoy as the timer ticks down to the end of your home!"

"Natsu, look out…!" Happy shouted, fearing the two were going to clash right here.

"Prepare to-" Jack began, but something caught his attention. "What?" With precise timing, Jack moved to the left, just as a shadow katana cut through the air, hitting the street where he was previously standing. "What the hell is this?!"

"A shadow katana…!" Natsu's eyes widened, immediately recognizing it.

"Drat, I missed…" F. Rogue said as he leapt down from the building above, grabbing his shadow katana from the ground. "I won't miss again…"

"Future Rogue!" Natsu snarled.

"Natsu." F. Rogue gave a small nod just to show he was acknowledging the Salamander, but his attention stayed on Jack.

"Oh, so this is the infamous Future Rogue King has told us so much about…" Jack said, looking quite unimpressed Future Rogue. "He's not much, clearly. What are you doing here, eh?"

"Take me to your leader," F. Rogue said bluntly.

"HA!" Jack laughed again, slapping his knee in the process. "That's good one! You really think I'm just gonna listen to you? Why should I even do that!?"

"The name brings back some memories, and some things I need to have confirmed. So, you're going to take me," F. Rogue stated.

"Like hell I am!" Jack replied before pointing to the timer. 18 minutes left. "Have you been keeping up? I'm going to burn this town to nothing in 18 minutes, and I…" Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head, causing him to grin. "Heheheheh…" Jack flew up and snapped his fingers, causing two walls of Wicked Flames to appear a few feet behind Natsu and a few feet behind Future Rogue. "You just gave me the greatest idea ever! The ones fighting in here cannot leave until the other has fallen! Whoever wins gets the chance to take me on, but I doubt you'll be able to win or even get to me in time when you're finished! See you loser later!" With that, Jack flew off to the Cathedral once again.

"Bastard!" Natsu shouted before swaying his body to the side, just avoiding a Shadow Dragon's Slash from Future Rogue. "What the hell!?"

"You heard him," F. Rogue replied. "I have questions that need answers."

"Tch…I don't have time to be fighting you…" Natsu snarled.

"What are we gonna do…?" Happy asked Natsu.

"Don't worry, I can do it!" A familiar voice rang through the ears of Salamander and his Exceed, causing them to look around.

"Huh?" Natsu looked around before Cynthia flipped down from the roof tops, landing in between Natsu and Happy.

"Don't worry, I can take care of this!" Cynthia exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Cynthia?!" Happy flailed, never had he been so happy to see the little girl, especially at a time like this.

"Cynthia…?" F. Rouge raised a curious brow.

"Are you sure?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu, how much time do we have left?" Cynthia asked while pointing up to the timer.

"17 minutes…" Natsu replied.

"Exactly!" Cynthia replied. "We don't have the time to be arguing about who should be doing what right now! Just get going! You're practically the only one who can reach Jack at this rate!"

"But he said the only the ones who were fighting couldn't leave…!" Happy responded with panic in his voice.

"Did he now…? Well then…!" Cynthia lunged forward, catching Future Rogue off guard as she slammed a fiery fist in his face, causing him to stagger back with a now annoyed expression on his face. "Now WE'RE the ones fighting!"

"Grk!" F. Rogue grunted at the hit, using the back of his head to check the mark. "You…"

Natsu walked over to the wall of Wicked Flames, watching as it opened up for him. A loophole, as they would say. Natsu's face lit up with a large smile. "Thanks Cynthia! We owe you one!"

"It doesn't matter! Just keep going!" Cynthia replied.

"Aye, sir!" Happy shouted. "Let's go, Natsu!"

"Right!" Natsu nodded, sprinting off with Happy. "We're coming for you Jack, so don't you dare get too comfortable!" After they left, the Wicked Flames closed again, leaving Cynthia and Future Rogue.

"Now then…" Cynthia cracked her knuckles, red fire flaring around her body. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"Heh…" F. Rogue merely smirked at Cynthia, now recognizing where he'd seen her. "I know you."

"Huh?" Cynthia blinked a few times.

"Or rather…I should say I know of you." F. Rogue corrected himself. "Before the dragons attacked my time, there was quite a few events that happened, one of them concerned you."

"Huh…?" Cynthia repeated. "I don't understand you, future boy…"

"Allow me to share a piece of your future with you, just so you know what lies ahead…" F. Rogue grinned at this statement, making Cynthia feel a little uneasy. "This was quite the big deal…and I hope you'll enjoy." The future shadow dragon waved his hand, creating a lacrima screen in front of Cynthia to display images. They were all fast, but to her dismay, she could make them out. Her, or rather, someone like her was harming Wendy. It was a brutal one sided, battle. "See…?"

"W-What is this…!?" Cynthia asked as her eyes widened. "W-Who is that…!? And why are they hurting Wendy!?"

"You don't get it, do you?" F. Rogue asked. "Or maybe you do, but just refuse to admit it…Allow me to spell it out for you then. Cynthia Rose, you will kill Wendy Marvell in the future."

"…!" Cynthia's eyes widened immensely as she continued to watch the images, which ultimately did end in Wendy's death. She caught a glimpse of the figure standing over Wendy's dead body. It was her, or rather; it looked like her, but with a darker presence and red eyes. "N-No…" She stuttered, hugging herself to keep from losing it, but it wasn't working as her flames began to flare dark and out of control. "I…I would never…T-THAT'S NOT ME! I'D NEVER HURT WENDY!" With a near scream, her flames began to tower high into the sky, nearly shaking the city as a result. It was hard to deny proof that was right there in front of her.

.

.

"Huh…!?" Natsu immediately turned once sensing the disturbance, only to see the tower of dark red flames shooting up from Cynthia and Future Rogue's location. "What happened…!?"

Wendy was running through the city until she noticed it too, eyes widening from the familiar flames shooting up not too far away from her. "Cynthia…! Hold on, I'll be right there…!"

.

.

Cynthia: "I wouldn't harm Wendy in a million years! T-That's not me! I refuse to believe it!"

Future Rogue: "It's the future. You can try to change tor deny the future all you want, but in the end of flow of time prefers its original course."

Cynthia: "N-No! It's not true! I-I won't believe this…!"

Wendy: "Hold on…I'm almost there…!"

Next time: The Foreseer!