So after doing some soul searching (lol not really) we have today's chapter. Maybe what happens should have been for 200 chapters instead, maybe not. We'll find out!

Enjoy!

Nine years after the Kronos incident

Elise sighed as she walked through the crowded street of Magnolia towards her guild hall. She had not slept well at all, but she really had no idea why. She'd gone to bed at a decent hour and woke up as normal but she still felt tired and not at all herself.

Whatever, not important.

As she reached the guild hall, she looked up at the tall building as wind blew past her.

A smile grew on her face.

A genuine one.

Elise had gone through a lot in the last nine years. So much so that the majority of it seemed like a nonsensical blur of rage and anguish.

Because of Kronos and what he'd done.

But...

Elise looked down at the ground.

"I'm done." She whispered to herself as she stared at her feet. "I'm not going after him anymore. I want to stay here and be happy. With my mom, dad and Lilly...And Keita. I don't want to feel sad anymore."

It was a mantra she had told herself everyday for almost a year now. Ever since she and Keita had started to go out she'd sworn off hunting that man. She didn't want anything to do with him, his peons, or the Olympians anymore. It was over. It had been for a long time. She could move on and stop being so angry all of the time. And so far it had worked really well for her. She'd gone out of her way to make herself and everyone around her happier and it was working.

So, smiling once more, Elise opened the doors to the guild hall and walked inside.

"Morning Elise!" It was her mother who called out to her. "Sleep well?"

"Nah." Elise replied, walking over to her parents. "Anything interesting going on today?"

"No, just the usual." Her mother said. Elise looked over at her father, who had a rather irritated look on his face.

"What's up with you, Dad?" She asked. The man just growled and turned his head away from her, which made her raise an eyebrow. Her mother just giggled.

"Gajeel don't be that way." She scolded. "Tell her." The man didn't reply at first, but he turned and gave Elise a look.

"You boyfriend came looking for you." He snarled, making Elise laugh. "Go find him."

"Oh dad enough, is enough!" Elise said in between chuckles. "Keita's not a bad guy."

"Yeah I know..."

"So what's your problem?" All her father did at this was growl and get up, storming to the bar to order a drink from Mira.

"Don't mind him." Her mother said. "He can't get over the fact that his baby girl is all grown up now."

"Shut it, Shrimp!" he shouted from the bar, making a lot of people laugh. Elise smiled as a warm feeling spread from her head down her body. Knowing her dad that was the truth, but he was such a hard ass most of the time there was no way he'd ever admit it outright.

"I'm going to go find Keita." Elise told her mother, who nodded. "You go make sure dad doesn't have a hissy fit."

"Little more difficult then it sounds, honey. Have fun!" Elise thanked her mother for the sentiment and left the guild in search of the Shadow Dragon. She knew her dad didn't really have anything against Keita, he was just protective of her.

Understandable given what she'd been through.

Elise didn't even break stride thinking about Phantom Dove.

It had happened so long ago she didn't even consider it half the time. Sure she didn't like thinking or talking about what happened, no sane person would be, but it almost never crossed her mind enough for her to care.

Unless it was about her friends.

This caused Elise to stop as a breeze rolled past. Phantom Dove...What had happened to her was the reason that she had not disappeared with her friends. Because she had remembered what happened, she had stayed away from the arena and had not been attacked by Kronos, and as such she got to live. While the others...

Elise shook the thoughts from her head. All those thoughts did was get her on a slippery lope to anger and depression. None of that anymore, she'd promised herself and Keita.

"Something the matter?" Elise smiled as a voice asked her that.

"I told you to stop doing that." She said, turning her head to look at the shadows on the wall next to her. "You scare the shit out of me every time." A chuckle came from them, and a man materialized from the darkness. Elise's boyfriend Keita now stood there, a smile on his face.

"You didn't even jump that time." He said. "You're getting good at expecting it."

"Yeah well you aren't exactly full of surprises, now are you?" Elise asked, a coy smile on her face as Keita muttered under his breath. "My mom said you came looking for me. Am i that late to our breakfast date or what?"

"No..." Keita said, his face going red. "I just..."

"Just what?"

"Elise don't do this to me..."

"Just whaaaat?"

Just...Wanted to see you." Elise smiled widely as Keita boiled in embarrassment. The guy was so shy it was ridiculous he managed to kiss her without losing consciousness.

"Aw, you big softy." She said, getting herself close to him and trying to close the gap between their faces. Keita look unimpressed.

"I told you how I feel about public display." He warned, his hot breath hitting her right in the face. "Stop it."

"And I told you how little I care." She replied. "If I want to kiss you, I won't stop because there are people in the vicinity." Keita rolled his eyes, but he didn't create a bigger gap. They stayed right in each others business for maybe another thirty seconds until Elise laughed.

"What's so funny?" Keita asked. Elise shrugged.

"Nothing." She answered, still pressed up against him. "Just that we're being more publicly affectionate because you refuse to kiss me than if you had already." Keita seemed to notice this as well, so he growled and gave her a quick peck on the lips, which she took as him being stubborn but also caving at the same time.

"Was that so hard?" She asked.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Keita asked, taking a deep breath with a smirk on his face, making Elise look flustered. "Cause all I smell is morning breath."

"Whatever." Elise said, turning her back on him. "I forgot okay? Like you're any better."

"I'll have you know I had a piece of gum in my mouth before you got here." Elise pretended not to here him and decided to change the subject.

"Where are we going for breakfast?" She asked. "I'm hungry."

"As always, huh?" Elise stuck her tongue out at him, making him chuckle. "It's this way, come on."

Elise took another hue bite of her breakfast and looked over at Keita to find him watching her with a weak smile.

"What?" She asked, mouth full.

"Nothing." He answered. Elise narrowed her eyes at him, and his smile changed into a smirk. "You eat you weight in food and you'll get fat." Elise blushed and dropped her fork, glaring at him.

"Don't call me fat." She hissed.

"What do you mean?" Keita asked innocently. "I was just offering you advice, honey."

"Advice, he says." Elise mocked. "I didn't call you fat, he says. You're just as bad as me, Keita. The bill for this will be enormous." Keita nodded.

"I know. That's why we split it. We eat our weight so often it's a miracle we aren't obese." Elise laughed. He had a point after all. As the two continued to eat, Elise pondered what they could talk about. Silence with Keita was plentiful seeing how quiet he was, but she enjoyed talking to him.

"Hey," She said, making him look up. "What's been going on at Sabertooth? Any drama?" Keita shrugged.

"No." he answered, picking up his napkin and balling it up in his hands. "Nothing big."

"No?"

"Nah. Well there was one thing."

"Which is?" Keita stared into the distance for a bit before he looked back at Elise.

"Some kid asked Ally out." He said. "Michael nearly killed him." Elise stared at Keita before she burst out laughing.

"Seriously?!" She asked, Keita nodding.

"Poor kid probably shit his pants...And Ally gave him one stern talking to."

"How stern."

"As in she used Libra to make him float upside down as she cursed him out." Elise laughed even harder at this and rolled her head back to do so.

"Oh that idiot had it coming." She said. "She's fifteen for God's sake, let her have a chance. Now she's gonna be known as the girl with the angry Dragon for a brother." Keita nodded.

"As if she wasn't known for that already." The two went quiet and Elise just stared up at the sky as she thought.

"Hey, Keita." She said, not looking down. He hummed to signify he was listening. "What happened that all I cared about was how badly Michael messes up?"

"What do you mean?" Elise looked down.

"I just feel like I'm wasting time." She answered. "i know I swore off hunting that bastard but..." Keita looked up at the sky as well.

"Look at it this way." he said. "It's what they would've wanted." he looked back down at her. "I know your friends were...A different bunch, but they'd want you to be happy first and foremost." He reached over the table and put a hand on Elise's. "Are you happy?" Elise watched him closely before she smiled and lifted her hand to grip his tightly.

"Yeah." She said, smiling brightly. "I am."

Eleven years and seven months before the Kronos incident

It was the day after.

Despite Damien's assault on the city, he'd left the guildhall mostly untouched. And this was where Nashi was sitting, staring down at her hands as she contemplated what she'd seen the day before.

"Onii-chan!"

She grip on her self tightened as she thought back to that voice that cried out. Drake, Simon, and herself had been right there when it happened. So far she was only one who'd shown up to the guild.

She didn't expect to see Damien at all. Or his parents for that matter.

She had vivid memories of these days. The time that followed Steph's death was so depressing Nashi was certain it may have helped her own start. Everyone got so sad and quiet that Nashi hated it.

But now she was reliving it with a more mature outlook, and it was killing her. She was incredibly grateful Mira ad Laxus weren't at the guild hall because she wasn't sure she could handle hearing Mira's cries. Not after this.

Someone sat down next to her.

She could tell from the scent it was Drake.

"Hey." He greeted hoarsely. Nashi only nodded, not looking up at him. The two sat in silence, neither feeling like a topic of conversation was appropriate.

After a few moments, Nashi leaned into his side. His warmth did nothing to soothe her.

"...Why?" She asked weakly. "Why did this happen again?"

"Dunno." Nashi felt tears threatening to fall when she spoke, so she refrained from doing so again for a moment, until she took a deep breath.

"I just want peace." She whispered. "I just...Why does this stuff keep happening? What did we do to the Gods to deserve such torment?"

"Dunno."

"i mean...Reliving this...it isn't fair. It was bad enough the first time, but this is just unfair...Why do we always...!" An arm wrapped around Nashi's shoulders and drew her closer, causing her to be silenced.

"Shut up." Drake said, voice cracking. "You're making it worse." Nashi just stared at the ground as he said this.

"Okay." She replied quietly. As the two grew silent, another set of footsteps drew close to them.

"Hey." It was Ultear. The girl had not witnessed it, so for better or for worse she wasn't as put down. Didn't mean she wasn't. "Are you guys okay? I heard...I heard you saw."

"Yeah..." Drake croaked. "We need to get the hell out of this time period. I hate it here."

"Well we can't leave without Damien." Ultear said, looking at the floor as well. "And I think he needs some time to recuperate from this ordeal. So we'll have to be here for a while longer. We need to give him time."

"Time is something we don't have." Nashi said. "We risked a lot not laving when younger Damien attacked. The longer we stay..."

"I know." Ultear said. "But unless either of you have any idea where our resident demon went we aren't going anywhere until he comes back." Nashi knew this was true. They couldn't strand their friend in this timeline or that would be their biggest mistake out of them all. Ultear sat down next to Drake, and silence came once again. Nashi couldn't stop replaying that moment in her head, as the beam of darkness engulfed the little girl and turned her to dust that got scattered in the wind... She'd only ever had nightmares about that moment.

And now she could have nightmares about the actual moment.

The guild hall doors opened, and the three looked up to find Simon standing there.

"Morning." He said, eyes obscured by his bangs.

"Morning." Ultear said. Simon stumbled inside, and walked right past them. "Simon? Are you feeling okay?"

"Just peachy." He answered, reaching behind the counter and pulling out a bottle of vodka. "Just, you know, drowning the images." Nashi had to admire his idea, but she was too upset to drink. She'd turn into a mumbling mess. Simon pressed the bottle to his lips and drank as he walked back to them. He burped as he lowered it and looked around. "Damien?" he asked simply.

"No clue." Nashi answered. Simon cursed under his breath and offered her the bottle. She watched him and it closely before she took it and had a sip. She lowered the bottle as the liquid trickled down her throat, staring at it.

"Pass it." Drake mumbled. He freed his arm around Nashi to take the bottle, and stared at it. He raised it slightly. "To Steph." Nashi nodded simply as did the others, and Drake raised the bottle to his mouth. He lowered it and offered it to Ultear, who took it.

"...This is fucked." Simon said, sitting backwards on a chair he'd pulled up. "I..." Simon raised a hand to his eyes. "I can't get the image out of my mind."

"Join the club." Drake answered, pressing his hands together. "I hope Damien comes back soon. I don't know if I can handle looking at Mira or Laxus..." Nashi looked over at the guild hall doors. Only a few days ago had Steph walked through those doors. Only a few days ago had she been breathing, living.

And she was gone.

"Give me the bottle." She hissed. "Get another one."

No one argued.

"Look man, I know this is weird, but you need to do this for me!"

"But kid...This is insane." Damien growled as the villager just stared at him.

"There's a lot riding on this, sir." he said sternly, curbing his temper. "I need you to do this."

"Why?"

"If you don't, the world is in grave danger." The man's face paled.

"Kid I don't know what you're involved in, but I can't do this." Damien rolled his eyes.

"Please." Damien said. "Surely it isn't a big deal?"

"But why?" The man seemed irritated. "I don't understand why you're trying to do this."

"Because I have to do or everyone's safety is in danger."

"But..."

"Just stop! Can you do it or not?!" The man took a deep breath and seemed to be thinking about it. After a few minutes of contemplation, he sighed and nodded.

"Okay...Okay fuck man, I'll do it." Damien smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much." He said, bowing slightly. "You don't have any idea how much this means."

"You're right, I don't. Because you won't tell me." The man smiled weakly. "But if it means that much to you, everything will be fine here. We're a good bunch of people here." Damien nodded.

"I'm sure." He said. Damien turned on his heel and went to leave, his heart heavy with what he had done.

"Hey!" Damien stopped and turned to look at the man. "You ought to say goodbye, kid. She's your little sister after all!" Damien watched the man closely and he contemplated these words before nodding and turning around to walk towards the guys house, all the townsfolk watching him. He entered the home and went inside. He walked down a hallway and peeked inside one of the doors.

There, sitting up in a bed and looking out the window as the sun shone through it, was little Stephanie Dreyar.

Damien had fucked up.

He shouldn't have done it.

But he had.

He should've turned a blind eye.

But he couldn't.

And now he was trying to somewhat fix his impulsive fuck up.

When the others had run of to try and help the townsfolk a few days ago and save lives, Damien found himself at a crossroads. Not save Steph or save her.

He'd made his choice.

As soon as his younger self had gone in for the kill, Damien had used his wings to propel himself past Nashi and Drake to tackle Steph out of the way. He'd knocked her unconscious, but he'd successfully reenacted her death but saved her.

Of course now he realized she needed to go far away.

Damien had used his demon form to fly all the way across Fiore. As far as he could go away from Magnolia. He just needed to get her out of that environment. Away from the guild.

Away.

Steph looked over at him, and her confused smile made him jump back to his reality.

"Onii-chan?" She asked, making him smile weakly. "Where are we? What happened?"

"...Hey Steph." He said. He walked inside and pulled up a chair. "How do you feel?"

"Okay...What happened?" Damien looked down.

"Nothing important." He smiled down at the floor as Steph made confused sounds. He needed to have this talk with her. "Hey, uh, Steph?"

"Yeah?" Damien steeled his looks. This was serious.

"You need to listen very closely, this is important." Steph's eyes widened, but she nodded. "You need to stay here, in this village."

"Why..."

"Because...Because if you don't bad things could happen."

"What bad things?"

"Steph..." Damien stared down at his hands. "Please just do as I ask, okay?"

"What about Mommy and Daddy? And the guild?"

"You won't see them for a long time." Damien answered curtly, and Steph looked upset. "I'm sorry, but...You can't see them."

"But...But Onii-chan..." Damien frowned at his sister as she looked on the verge of tears. "I'm gonna miss you and Nashi and Drake and Elise and Ultear and Simon and Mommy and Daddy and..." Damien brought her small body close to his as she started to shake.

"Jeez Steph I'm sorry." He whispered, rubbing her back. "But you need to do this. I messed up and I'm sorry. Can you do this for me? For our family?"

"..."

"Hey, look at me." Damien let go of the girl, and she refused to meet his eye. Damien reached forward and used his hand to lift her head. He smiled at her. "You want to grow up and be a strong wizard just like Mom and Dad right?"

"...R-Right."

"That's right. And strong wizards have to push through tough times." He smiled weakly at this. "Believe me. So I want you to do one thing for me Steph. No matter how sad you get, do not cry. I don't want you to cry and lose hope, okay? Stay strong for me."

"B-But Onii-chan..." Damien shook his head.

"No tears." He reaffirmed. "I want you to be strong, okay? We'll see each other again one day. There's no need to be sad." Steph just stared down at the ground as he said this, but she nodded slowly.

"O-Okay." She said, sniffling and looking up. "I'll stay. For you, Onii-chan."

"There's a good girl." Damien said, ruffling her hair. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"If you manage to not cry until I come back, you'll be even stronger than me. I cry way too much."

"You're weak, Onii-chan?"

Weak-minded. I can't believe I risked this...

"Depends." He replied. "Will you grow strong while I'm away? Just like Dad?" Steph watched him closely before she nodded.

"Just like Daddy!" She confirmed. "Just you watch Onii-chan!" Damien smiled at this.

"Good girl." He brought her close to him again, enjoying the closeness as he did so. "I love you Steph, you know that right?" Steph made an affirmative sound, and Damien hugged her closer. "I love you so much...My baby sister."

"I love you too, Onii-chan..." Steph whimpered. "And Mommy and Daddy too."

"And Mom and Dad." Damien agreed. At first he didn't want to move. He wanted to stay like this forever and never leave her side.

But he had too. The others needed him. And that was more important.

So he let go of her, but he wasn't done.

He slowly kissed her forehead and then met her gaze.

"Stay strong." He said with a smile. "Okay?" Steph looked on the verge of tears, but Damien smiled as she pushed them back.

"I will." She replied. "You do it too, Onii-chan. I want to fight you when you come to find me." Damien smiled.

"We'll see." He slowly stood from the seat and turned for the door.

"Goodbye, Onii-chan." Damien froze at these words. He slowly turned and looked at his sister. She was smiling at him, but no tears fell. "Please hurry back to your own time, I'll miss you." Damien felt tears pushing at his own eyes, but after that speech he too pushed them back.

"Goodbye, Steph." He whispered. Going any louder and Steph would hear his voice cracking with emotion. He left the room, wiping his eyes as he did so. He returned to the man outside and nodded at him before leaving again.

"When will you be back?" The man asked. Damien stopped.

"...I plan to be back before twelve years pass." Damien answered. "Don't give her a definitive answer though. Just say I'll be back soon."

"But..."

"Just do it." Damien ignored the sounds the man was giving him, spread his wings, and began to fly away. As he did so, he reflected on what he had done.

He'd saved his sister.

God knows what he'd done to the timeline.

But...At the same time...

Steph...my little sister is alive. The timeline can go to hell for all I care.

Haha! You guys were so convinced! But I turned that one on you! Now originally I wasn't going to reveal she survived until later, but I thought of this scene and I couldn't resist writing it. I thought it went well, how about you guys? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!