????? POV
It was the end... The end of everything...
Horrifying devil creatures were killing everyone all around...
The few remaining people just kept on running and escaping while trying to save their own lives...
Every single major city and town in Fiore was in total ruins...
And in between of all this chaotic scenario, my mother and I were desperately running towards the almost completely destroyed royal palace while looking for the last hope we had of preventing this whole crisis.
We were both traversing the capital city of Crocus while witnessing the whole destruction and battle roars all around us.
Ice and water attacks could be seen from afar, hitting almost every enemy in sight... Sounds of metal and swords clashing against each other could also be heard, as well as the potent strike of yellow lightnings destroying everything in their path. And in addition, there was also the sight of blazing orangish golden flames burning whatever was getting in their way.
There was no doubt, the few survivors of our guild were doing everything in their power to fight back the demonic monster-like army and keep my mom and I safe even though there was really no way they could win.
At any rate, my mom and I finally did it. We got to reach the royal palace and ventured ourselves to the deepest part of it, where the only option we had at that point lied...
The Eclipse Gate...
According to my friends, the Eclipse Gate is a giant mechanism that takes part in a very powerful, but also crazy dangerous, celestial magic spell capable of forming a bridge between 2 points in time.
The reason we needed something like that is that... I was chosen... Chosen to be sent back in time to long before this catastrophe even began... and prevent it from ever taking place for good.
"Ok then... It's time!" my mom firmly claimed as I tensed up a bit at the sight of the huge metallic door that was now fully operational and displaying a stunning golden light. "You... You gotta cross now, dear. We don't have much time!"
"B-but mom..." I replied with a troubled expression, only to be interrupted some moments later.
"You are going back to a time in which I was still very young... A time in which your father and I haven't even declared our love to each other yet"
"Y-yeah... I get that... But..."
At that moment, my mom took a firm but gentle grip of both of my shoulders and then made me look at her directly. "Remember everything that I told you about what you can and can't do while in there"
"Mom..."
"You must not reveal who you really are... at least not completely. You can only reveal one of your parents' names if necessary, but not both of them... understood?"
"W-well, I..."
"I said... UNDERSTOOD?!" my mom once again asked in a slightly scary way, to which I startled a bit and then ended up nodding at last. She on the other hand, remained silent for a couple of seconds and then nodded as well. "Good" she added in a low and troubled voice, after which she took out something she had been carrying for a very long time now... An old golden pocket watch. "Here... take this and don't ever lose it. Without it... you won't be able to..."
"I won't be able to return. I know, mom" I bluntly replied before my mom could finish. Then, I asked her one more thing with a concerned and depressed expression. "Mom... Are you sure this is the best choice?"
My mom startled a bit at that question. "O-of course it is. It's our only choice left"
"B-but... I don't know if I'm fit for this mission. I don't even know if I'll see YOU and DAD again if I succeed!"
"Dear..." my mom replied in a low voice. And then, she approached me and hugged me tightly while showing me a more than caring and loving smile. "Your father and I will always love you... No matter what happens"
"M-mom..."
"And you don't need to worry in the slightest" my mom continued as she broke our hug only to stare at my sobbing face. "You have my MY wit and HIS guts after all, so I'm sure you will succeed and then meet us again..."
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...
...
"...in a far better and brighter future"
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...
...
That was it...
Right after saying those last words, my mother hugged me lovingly one last time before finally letting me go. And so, I slowly approached the giant time traveling gate with the golden pocket watch in my hand.
However, just before crossing it and disappearing from that era for good, I turned around one last time only to witness my dear mother showing me a caring smile... and making the unforgettable Fairy Tail sign with her hand, after which she was then brutally slashed to death by one of those demonic creatures as the entire world surrounding me turned white at last...
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Lucy POV
It was a bright and beautiful day at our great and newly reformed guild. After all, thanks to the more than well-deserved first place we had obtained in the Grand Magic Games a few days ago, we earned back our position as the #1 guild in all of Fiore. And also, we gained more than enough money to rebuilt our guild hall better than it had ever been.
I in particular was seated at one of the tables while enjoying a delicious drink accompanied by Erza, Wendy and Carla. And what is more, from there I could actually see many other comforting scenes all around me...
Juvia being as clingy to Gray as always...
Levy reading a book with Gajeel right next to her...
Mira serving more of our dear friends at the bar...
And also Natsu and Elfman fighting and causing a mess like usual...
Yup! Everything was back to as it was supposed to be. And I couldn't have been more glad about it.
Nonetheless, even with all the normality that was reigning over the guild at that very moment, we all still ended up startling after noticing a weird stranger barging into our main hall while showing off some brown long old robes and a hood.
Whoever that mysterious figure was, it's presence immediately managed to break the relaxing mood as it suspiciously kept on walking towards the very middle. Then, when it finally stopped without saying a single word, it immediately spoke out loud only to politely ask for the presence of our master.
"Eh... Excuse me... This is Fairy Tail, isn't it?" the stranger asked Erza in a calm voice, to which she nervously nodded in return. "G-great... Could you please let me see master Makarov? I need to talk to him about something very important"
No one said a thing after such sudden request from the stranger's side, not even Natsu who was normally the most immature and childish out of all of us. Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure Erza knew we weren't gonna reach any kind of conclusion at that pace. Because the next thing she did was ask the mysterious person who it really was and what sort of business did it have with our master.
In return however, the stranger decided to take off its brown hood only to reveal a young-looking girl with black eyes and medium-sized disheveled light-blue hair that reached slightly past her shoulders. "I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you who I am" she then muttered with a troubled expression. "I do can say that the fate of the entire world is at stake here. So, please... Let me speak to master Makarov"
That girl... How curious...
I didn't know what it was, but there was something very familiar in her. What is more, everyone around seemed to have noticed it as well, because they all seemed slightly surprised and also a bit weirded out at the unknown girl's appearance.
In any case, and given that she didn't really seem to have any kind of evil intentions in mind, Erza did in fact end up guiding her to our master's chamber and even waiting for both of them just outside of it.
Some minutes later, they came out while displaying a very serious expression. And in addition, the very first thing our master did after stepping out of his chamber, was call for a gathering of the entire guild in order to tell us an important announcement.
"Ok then..." master Makarov began out loud. "I'm sure you are all curious and eager to know who is our unexpected guest. But before going to that, you must all know there's a high chance she isn't lying about anything of what she's about to tell you"
Everyone present startled slightly at those words, and not without reason. I mean... What kind of major information could this girl had that involved the entire world and its fate? Seriously, it seemed kind of ridiculous to make such a big deal of this. Especially after all the crazy stuff that me and my friends had already been through by that time.
Nevertheless... that was only how I thought at first. Because when the mysterious girl finally decided to state where she even came from and what was her business here, none of us could believe it at all.
"Well, the first thing you need to know is that I'm not from this time" the girl bluntly claimed. "I travelled back from the future in order to prevent a terrible catastrophe from taking place"
"Wait... What?!" Gray asked while in shock.
"That's impossible" Levy claimed this time. "There is no way to travel back in time anymore. The Eclipse Gate was shut down just some days ago!"
"Yeah, that's right!" I added in a surprised voice. "I was present when it happened. It's just not possible for another time traveller to appear again after my future self!"
"Maybe not in this time" the mysterious young girl replied. "But in the future, the eclipse gate was restored just for the purpose of sending me back in time"
"Wait a sec..." Cana then intervened. "If you really are from the future, then how many years from now did you travel back?"
The girl remained in silence for a couple of seconds before finally answering the question. "Around... 25 years from now" she replied in a serious expression, to which we all couldn't help but to widen our eyes in shock yet again.
"25 years... from now?" Natsu muttered.
"Are you saying something from 25 years ago had severe consequences in your future?" I asked this time.
"That's right" the girl replied. "That's why I came in search of Fairy Tail. I need your help to prevent this crisis, and only you can help me"
This was... too much to digest...
The girl sounded more than secure about what she was saying. And what is more, we were all starting to actually believe in her words given that we already had more than enough prove about time traveling being possible in real life.
Nonetheless, there were still some people who weren't fully convinced about what she was saying. "Hold on a minute" Laxus suddenly claimed while crossing his arms. "That story is crazy and all but, you can as well just might be lying about it"
"Wh-what?" the mysterious girl nervously replied. "N-no! I'm not lying about it!"
"That's true" Gray added this time. "You might as well just be another evil time traveller"
"Yeah, just like that future Rogue I fought" Natsu finally claimed as the young stranger desperately tried to convince us that she was not lying at all.
Then, when she unfortunately realized that most of the boys were still not so sure about trusting her yet, she finally decided to prove she was an ally by taking off her entire cloak and hood, only to reveal nothing else than the Fairy Tail mark itself plastered on her right shoulder.
"This is enough, isn't it?!" the girl asked. "I... I know a lot about almost every single one of you!" The girl turned to face Gray at that moment. "Gray! I know that your father was named Silver! And also that the names of your master and her dear daughter were Ul and Ultear!"
Gray startled in shock at the girl's words. "H-how did you...?"
"And Lisanna! I know you spent several years lost in another world called Edolas! And I also know about the great bond that you share with you dear brother and sister!"
"It can't be..." Lisanna muttered with her eyes wide open. "Only my friends are supposed to know about me disappearing in Edolas"
"You see?!" the girl claimed to everyone around this time. "I... I know all of these because my mother told me all about you! You are all dear friends of mine! I know I'm not a real member of Fairy Tail yet, but I'll be one in the future! So, please... Just trust me!"
At that moment, she began sobbing slightly and also letting out a few tears while startling us yet again and touching our hearts with the next thing she said between tears.
"Please... I b-beg you... Trust me... I d-don't wanna see... my dear friends die in front of my eyes again"
I don't know why, but at that exact moment, I could clearly sense the honesty in every single word the girl was saying. She really had... something... Something so familiar that even reminded me a bit of myself. And just because of that, I ultimately ended up approaching her and stretching my hand for her to take.
"I believe you" I muttered to her with a comforting smile as she startled slightly. "I still don't know who you are, but I really do feel as if we could be great friends..."
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...
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"...Could you perhaps... tell me your name?"
The girl didn't say a single thing after having asked her that. She seemed to be mulling the question over and over inside her mind. Almost as if she was trying hard to decided whether it was a good idea to answer or not. "S-sure... I'll t-tell you" she then finally replied with a slightly troubled expression, after which she proceeded to let us all know her real name. "My... my name is..."
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"...Angelane Shard"
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...
"Angelane... That's a very nice name" I claimed while still smiling softly.
"Th-thanks..."
"Very well... Angelane..." Erza said with a serious expression. "I got one more question for you if you don't mind"
"Eh? Ah... sure. What is it?"
"You said your mother told you many things about us, and that obviously means she's in fact someone really close to us. So, tell me..." Erza approached Angelane and stared directly at her. "Who exactly is your mother?" she then finally asked as Angelane startled at the sudden question.
At first, this last one stated she couldn't really reveal that kind of information given that it could end up being dangerous for her own existence. But then, after a very long and kind of annoying discussion, she finally agreed and cleared her throat, only to then leave us all in shock with what she replied with a few moments later... while pointing directly at me.
"It's her" she stated. "She is my mother. Her name is..."
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"...Lucy Heartfilia"
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...
Huh?