Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

                                       "Nats-….ing? ….dange…"

                           "Idi-…! ….realis….one?"

                 "-a..su….."

     "na..su..!"

"Natsu!"

Natsu blinks awake, the pain from Zeref's last attack still sending sharp pains and throbs into his every vein and muscle at every slight movement. Shuffling slightly onto his side, he finds himself face down on a hard, wooden surface, gentle murmurs of chatter floating above him, which is weird because there was only he and Zeref (and Mavis, but she was out cold) left in the guild.

His blurry vision clears as a salmon-pink blob appears in front of him, too-familiar dark eyes reflecting in his own. Natsu blinks again, and this time sees a short old man dressed in orange, and it's at this point he knows something is terribly wrong.

Memories of the end of his fight with Zeref (brother, monster, murderer) flash through Natsu's head, and he startles as he recalls the last moments. He fell through the doorway when trying to tackle Zeref in one last desperate attempt to kill the immortal man. He fell through the doorway - the doorway Zeref said would send him to a new world where he could start over from 400 years ago. The 'Neo-Eclipse'. And Natsu fell into it.

Back in reality, the short man waves a hand in front of his face as he asks something that Natsu, quite honestly, does not have the energy to process, too busy thinking about how the last time he saw Gramps ("he died on the battlefield") wear that silly orange outfit was far too long ago. And oh, Natsu realised, he's gone back in time. He blinks once, twice.

Ah. Shit. His team's gonna kill him.

When Makarov Dreyar agreed to take on the role of Fairy Tail's Third Guild Master, with no small amount of reluctance on his part, he imagined he'd experience all kinds of insanity. That's just how his guild worked, they were destructive and argumentative and explosive, but at the end of the day, they were a family. He knew that all his fellow guild members would look after one another, and it was with this knowledge that he accepted the craziness.

He didn't expect he'd have to become a father-figure to so many young children in the x770s, but he rolls with the punches and welcomes each new guild brat (as the older members oh-so lovingly call the kids) into his home, teaches them how to use their abilities for good and justice, how to become better people.

When he met a young boy with spiky pink hair and devastated eyes on a rainy day in July x777, Makarov knew exactly what he had to do, damn the consequences. He fed the child, gave him a new shirt, and tried his best to communicate with a child that could barely comprehend basic Fiorian words, let alone any other local language. After some time, the child revealed his name to be Natsu Dragneel, a young dragon slayer who claimed to have been raised by a dragon, and Makarov came to realist that the more he learnt about the boy, the more questions he had. But still, he brought the child into his home like so many before, and watched as Natsu grew more secure and confident, more emotive and destructive. And despite the destructive tendencies that rivaled Gildarts, despite the constant brawls with other members, Makarov knew Natsu cherished the guild, and that they, in-turn, cherished him.

So when he heard a loud bang from downstairs in the hall, Makarov pays no mind to it. Natsu had only recently returned from his Eisenwald quest with Erza, Gray and that new girl, Lucy, and he likely had far too much energy to burn off. However, it was the dead silence that caught the guild master's attention.

Fairy Tail was many things, some good, some bad; but it was never silent.

By the time he had made it to the ground floor, he could see the remnants of a spell dissipating back into the air, and a body on the ground. "What on earth just happened?"

"Master!" Mirajane approached him from where she had been stood at the bar, "I'm honestly not quite sure myself, but some kind of portal just opened up in the guild hall and dropped someone on the floor."

"Hey, Gramps?" Makarov turned to look at Natsu, who was steadily making his way towards the person laying face down on the ground. And now that Makarov actually looked at the stranger, he noticed many similarities to the young man that was approaching. Spiky pink hair, tanned skin, a white scarf and that colour scheme in his outfit, it's all eerily similar to Natsu, a relative perhaps?

"That guy's scent," Natsu paused, taking in a deep breath to steady himself, for what though Makarov was unsure. "It's really similar to my own. He even smells like Igneel, and he has the same scarf as me."

"What on earth… How can this man possibly have the same scarf?" Makarov received no verbal answer to his question, but watched as Natsu approached the stranger on the floor. "Wait, Natsu!"

It was at this moment that the stranger slowly shifted onto his side, grunts and winces of pain escaping his mouth. The guild members who had crowded around all took a step back, readying themselves for any potential threat, except for Natsu and Makarov himself. Natsu had knelt down in front of the man, only to backup in surprise upon seeing his face. Seeing the shock on his child's face, Makarov decided to see for himself what this strange man looked like. Moving closer to where he lay, Makarov knelt down and pushed aside a stray tuft of pink hair (why is is so familiar?) and oh.

Oh. It was Natsu's face.

His child's face was blearily blinking at him, like he had just awoken from a restful nap, confusion bleeding through their shared gaze.

"How can this…" How could this strange man possibly be Natsu when the child was standing a metre behind Makarov? The guild master quickly cast an identification spell on the man, something he really should have done already, and sets up a quick entrapment rune around the man while the identification processes - and honestly, he should encourage his children to branch out into other magics more, even if just the basics, to enhance their repertoire of spells.

"Master? Are you alright?" Ah, bless Mirajane for bringing his focus back towards his guild.

"Yes, however this man is certainly an enigma."

Erza walks over, sword in hand and eyes on the man (not Natsu, how could it possibly be Natsu). "How so?"

"Well, for starters, where did he come from? And why? And most importantly of all," He pauses, looking across the concerned faces of his children, "why does he bear such an uncanny resemblance to Natsu?" Makarov watches as shock passes over the crowd, eyes quickly turning towards the dragon-slayer who was still sat on the ground.

"Hey, I dunno what's going on either. Or why he looks and smells like me."

"You sure you didn't manage to stumble your way into cloning yourself, flame brain?" Gray said from the other side of the crowd.

"Shut it, droopy eyes! I really don't know what's going on."

"Boys." Makarov thanks the gods above every day for Erza's ability to reign the brats in with a single word. She turned towards the guild master after glaring the two younger mages into hugging each other from terror. "I suppose his appearance his why you've used Archive magic?"

"Yes, I've cast an identification spell, which should hopefully be- Ah, there we go." Makarov turns towards the archive screen, expecting to see any sign of transformation or perhaps illusion magic. He does not expect to see that the archive confirmed what he had just seen. He stares at the archive screen in shock, not noticing his children gathering around in curiosity at the results.

"Gramps, what's it say?"

"It," Makarov pauses in an attempt to recollect himself, breathing in slow and steady to calm down, "it says that, against all conceivable logic, this young man is, in fact, Natsu."

…

"WHAT?!"

Natsu was very, very confused. More confused than he'd be if Gray stopped stripping for more than a single day, or if Erza didn't eat at least a single strawberry cake while at the guildhall, or if he suddenly started using water magic rather than fire (he ignored the slight pain in his chest that came with the thought of losing his fire magic). He was even more confused than when he was trying to learn Fiorian from Erza, and that was probably the most confusing thing he's experienced.

All that to say, Natsu was extremely confused. Why was he so confused, you may ask? Well, a lookalike of him was just dumped in the middle of the guildhall out of a portal that just disappeared as fast as it appeared, with not a single caster for it in sight. And this lookalike was, according to Gramps' magic, Natsu himself, albeit about two years older and far more scarred. Hell, the guy even had Natsu's scent. So, yes, Natsu was confused because how could he be looking at an older version of himself when he was fairly certain that time travel, even in this world of magic, was not something that existed.

But hey, he's well aware he's not the smartest guy around, so what does he know about time travel?

As he sat up from the floor, a hand clutching his chest over where he was sure used to be a hole in his flesh, Natsu glanced around the room, taking in the familiar faces of his guildmates, noticing the differences the years had made to them all. He hissed under his breath as he managed to sit up properly, leaning back against the leg of a bench for support, and looked up towards where Gramps stood before him. A couple of screens were floating in the air next to the guild master, but Natsu couldn't tell what they were saying, even if the information was the right way around from his point of view.

"So," Gramps started, "I suppose I should ask the obvious question." The old man's gaze suddenly felt heavy, like a weight had been placed on his chest. "Are you really Natsu Dragneel?"

Natsu stared at him, taking a minute to process the question. "Yeah? Why wouldn't I be me?"

"Because Natsu Dragneel is sat over there," Gramps pointed to his left, right where a young man with spiky pink hair and a scaly scarf knelt, and- oh. That was him. He hadn't realised yet that being in the past, surrounded by younger versions of everyone in the guild, would mean seeing himself too. Though in his own defence, he'd just woken up after a really rough fight against the Zeref, he deserves some slack.

"Ah. Yeah, I see that. However, I am me."

"So you say, and all our testing of your identity has come up with the same result, that being that you are Natsu, if slightly older. And yet I have trouble truly believing this to be the case. Time travel is a little too out-of-this-world, even for our guild," Gramps lifted a hand to his face, massaging his temples.

"Well…" Natsu scratched the side of his head, thoughts starting to speed up as he gathered his bearings more. "I could tell you something only I would know if that helps?" Gramps nodded in response, asking the younger Natsu (Natsu really needed to figure out a nickname for the younger version of himself) to confirm the information's truthfulness.

Natsu thought to himself for a moment, before slamming a fist down on his palm, "oh! Way back when, before Igneel disappeared," he didn't miss the slight flinch Natsu Jr. (no, that doesn't sound right) gave at the mention of the dragon, "he kept trying to teach me how money worked by using leaves, but every time he breathed out the air would blow the leaves away, until he finally gave up and burnt all the leaves off the ground and just wrote it into the dirt with a claw instead."

Gramps looked over to mini-Natsu (nope, not that either), seeing the way the teen held his arms close to his chest, a single tear running down his face, "Natsu?" The teen jumped slightly at the sound of his name, before quickly blinking and unfolding his arms.

"Yeah, yeah he's right, that happened. So I guess we know time travel's a thing now, huh?"

And wasn't that just a lovely revelation? Natsu would laugh at the reactions of his guildmates if not for the sudden darkness overtaking his vision and the weakness encompassing his muscles.

Ah. He was fainting. Well, at least he could avoid the sure-to-be absolutely awkward conversation that was sure to be happening soon for a little longer.

"Natsu!"

Chapter Text

Waking up in the guild's infirmary was not as rare an occurrence as Natsu would like to admit, and waking up to Porlyusica's intense glare had become an even more familiar sight over the past few days.

"You're finally awake? Good, then you can sit up and eat something, you've clearly not had enough food recently." The healer set down a bowl filled with a stew and a spoon on the bedside table, watching as Natsu slowly lifted himself up against the wall.

He winced as aches passed through his muscles, though noticed that the sharp pains had disappeared. He looked at the older woman, a small smile spreading across his lips. "Thanks."

"Tch, just eat up, you damn brat." With that, she left the room, cloak swaying behind her as she marched to her next destination. Natsu decided that he didn't really care where she was headed, because Porlyusica was right about how little he'd eaten recently. Though he supposed that was due to him being bit busy dealing with a war and all…

Anyway, he was practically starving and the stew smelt divine (definitely Mira's cooking) so he quickly dug in, almost missing the sound of the infirmary door once again opening over his slurping.

"Slow down, I don't want you choking to death and wasting all the work I just did on you." Ah, Porlyusica had returned, and she was being followed by the old man and his teammates, including his younger self. He placed the nearly-empty bowl back down on the table, spoon balanced on top, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Natsu looked up at the group, their faces almost identical to those of his friends from his time, except Gray didn't have that stupid scar above his eyebrow, and Erza had a slight scowl as she stared down at him, defending herself even around her family, and Lucy's eyes seemed bigger, more unsure of herself than she should be. Even Happy was different, the small scars he'd collected from countless falls and bumps missing from Natsu's view. And Master, Natsu noticed, looked far less tense than he had when Natsu had last seen him ("there was no need to apologise to Makarov, he di-"), more open and relaxed, even accounting for the current situation.

And then there was himself. Natsu never really cared much about what he looked like, as long as he wasn't a complete eyesore to anyone he didn't mind his appearance. But there was something eye-opening about staring at himself, especially when that version of himself was so much younger than him. Not younger in the actual age sense, if you don't include the time he spent frozen in time on Tenrou Island (thanks, Acnologia), but more in the sense of experience. He wished his Lucy were here to help him come up with the right words, she always seemed to know how to explain things.

But as he stared at the younger version of himself (maybe he should use one of Gray's dumb nicknames for him, flame breath maybe?), he noticed the lack of sleeves on his open vest, exposing the lack of a scar from where the Future Rogue had got him, his face unmarred by the nasty scar Zeref had given him. Natsu hadn't really noticed it until now, but he had changed a lot since he met Lucy. He wasn't sure how much of it was for the better, but he hoped all of it was.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Gramps cleared his throat, bringing the room's attention towards him. "So, Natsu, I'm not entirely certain how to go about this, but I suppose I shall start with the basics. How and why have you travelled back to the past?" His friends looked towards him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"So uh, funny story, I didn't mean to come back."

Gray facepalmed, "of course the pyro would do something as stupid as accidentally time travelling." He was quickly stopped from making anymore comments by Erza's sharp glare, as was younger Natsu's (maybe Pyro would work as a nickname?) attempt at a rebuttal.

"Please, elaborate. This is quite the confusing situation."

"Yeah.. so, very long story short, I was fighting someone, they opened some weird portal thing, kept talking about how they were going to go four hundred years into the past to 'fix everything' that was wrong with the world, then I tried to tackle them, they dodged and I fell into the portal. Actually, now that I think about it, why aren't I 400 years in the past?" Natsu finished his brief explanation, watching as all the faces in the room grew more and more dumbfounded with each new sentence.

"So what you're saying is that you fought a guy in front of a magic portal that was capable of taking people to the past, and you fell into it?" Happy asked, tone laced with disbelief.

"…Yes."

"Natsu, you idiot!"

"Hey! I didn't want to go into the stupid portal! I was tryin' to stop that annoying bastard from goin' into it!"

Erza straightened up, shoulders rising slightly as she spoke up. "And just who is that 'annoying bastard' that you were fighting?"

Natsu flinched slightly before he could stop himself. "Ha, well, that answer needs a ton of info to actually understand," he scratched the back of his head before muttering, "'specially since I don't feel like being called an idiot again…"

A small cough was heard from next to the knight as Gramps once again brought the room's attention back to himself. "Well how about you explain some things about your situation then?"

The fire wizard swallowed, taking in a deep breath before starting a proper introduction, staring into the eyes of each person as he spoke. "My name's Natsu Dragneel, I'm from the year x792 and I don't know if I can go back to my own time."

"x792? You're from 8 years into the future?!" Lucy exclaimed, body taking a step backwards at the news.

Pyro (that'll work for now) perked up, clearly confused by the whole situation. "I thought Gramps' ID spell said you were only a couple years older than me? Not eight years older."

"Oh, yeah, almost forgot about that. It's another long story, but me and a lot of other members of the guild were frozen in time for seven years."

"WHAT?!"

Master cleared his throat, "well, putting that discovery aside for the time being, what did you mean when you said you didn't know if you were able to go back?"

Natsu sombred at that. "Well, the portal was made using a mixture of magic that I don't have, as well as something that I absolutely refuse to use."

"And that is?"

The dragon slayer looked straight into the Master's eyes, face stone-cold serious. "The Fairy Heart." The old man gasped as he took several steps backwards.

"H-how do you-?"

"The guy I was fightin' was after it, and he used it as well. That's how he opened the portal up."

Gramps took in several deep breaths, trying to recollect himself, "I… I see…"

"I don't! What the hell is Fairy Heart and why is some random guy after it?" Gray asked in annoyance. Gramps looked over at the young man, contemplating how to answer the question that all the young wizards (bar Natsu, of course) wanted a clear answer to.

"What I am about to say cannot, under any circumstances, leave this room without my express permission, do you understand?" A series of confused but determined nodding followed, and Gramps exhaled slowly as he began to explain. "The Fairy Heart, also known as the Lumen Histoire, is Fairy Tail's greatest secret. It is incredibly powerful, and anyone who wields its power could, theoretically, have access to infinite magic power."

Noises of surprise and mild horror filled the room, before Lucy gathered herself. "Wait, I don't understand, if its powerful enough to open a portal into the past, then it can open one back into the future, right?" She looked directly at Natsu, "so why are you refusing to use it if it can take you back to your time?"

He swallowed, "'cause usin' the Fairy Heart is really dangerous, at least that's what Gramps said. Somethin' about infinite etherion blasts? But even if I could use it, I still wouldn't."

"Why not?" Happy asked, a soft look on his face as he sat down on Pyro's shoulder. "If it's your way back to your own time, shouldn't you want to use it?"

"If it didn't mean causin' damage to the entire country and the First Master's body, then sure." This sent another wave of confusion throughout the room.

"Since when have you ever cared about not destroying stuff, ya damn pyromaniac?" Gray said.

"What does the First Master have to do with this?" asked Erza, glancing in the old man's direction.

"Well, the Fairy Heart is the First Master, Mavis Vermilion; her body is hidden underneath the guild, preserved inside a giant crystal."

"Oh…" The celestial mage looked down, "Well is there any other way of going to the future that anyone knows about?"

"Well there's that Eclipse Gate thingy, but I dunno if it'd work."

"The Eclipse Gate? What's that?"

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, muscles aching in protest at the movement. "I don't really understand it, but it uses a whole lotta magic and all the golden keys, and it was only ready to be used in the x791 Games anyway. Ain't like it matters anyway, 'cause that's not the reason why I can't go back." The other occupants of the infirmary looked towards him expectantly. If Natsu was being completely honest with himself, he really had tried to not think about this too much, because it felt like admitting it was like losing a part of himself, like giving up on his family who had fought so hard to protect their home, only for it to not even matter in the end.

"The guy who made the portal, he called it the Neo-Eclipse, he said he wanted to make a new world where everythin' was better, by goin' into his past and changin' the outcomes. And when I asked what would happen to us, to the people of our world, he said…" The fire mage trailed off, eyes downcast as his hands gripped his arms tightly. He took in a shaky breath, eyes glistening with tears. "He said that we'd stop existin'. So 'cause I fell into the portal, that means that my home, my family… They're gone now. And it's my own damn fault."

No one quite knew what to say to that, a cloud of silence and mourning hanging over the infirmary. The younger wizards looked at Natsu in horror, tears gathering in their eyes as his younger self stared down at the ground, water splashing against wood tiles.

"Natsu, my child," The guild master begun, grief, regret and care swirling in his eyes as he laid a hand on Natsu's shoulder, "do not blame yourself for an accident. You were not the one who created that portal, nor were you the one to go after the Lumen Histoire. You cannot blame yourself for the actions of another man-"

"You don't get it Gramps, it is my fault!" Natsu yelled, tears flowing freely from his eyes as his whole body shook. "None of this would've happened if it weren't for me! He wouldn't've gotten the Fairy Heart if I'd just managed to kill him! Or if I hadn't..." He trailed off, wiping tears from his eyes, thanking Lucy for the tissues she passed his way under his breath.

"You are barely an adult, the responsibility of taking someone's life should never fall on your shoulders, especially not at such a young age. No matter what indirect part you may think you have in this man's motives, his actions are not your blame to carry."

"Tch, you humans, always so annoying." Everyone jumped in surprise at hearing the healer's voice, all of them having forgotten she was still in the infirmary with them. "Did you fools forget that this idiot is still injured? Stop causing him distress or he'll never heal up!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"And you," Porlyusica pointed her broom at Natsu, who was sniffling on his bed, "stop being stupid. These fools would want you to live your life to the fullest, regardless of what time you're in. So even if you can't go back to them, live on and keep your loved ones inside your heart, keep moving forwards for them." Natsu looked up to the healer, a small but genuine smile cracking across his trembling lips.

"Y-yeah, I will."

Chapter Text

Once all the tears had dried up, the members of Team Natsu and the guild master sat down on the surrounding beds, deciding for the time being to exchange more simple information.

Natsu chose to start of the conversation, "so what's the date today? I never actually asked that earlier."

Happy answered from where he had curled up on Natsu's lap, content to provide and receive affection to his best friend. "Today is the 14th July, x784!"

"14th July, huh? Well that explains why there's no scar on the ice princess' stupid face."

"What'd you say, flame brain? You wanna go? I bet I can take both of your ugly mugs on!" Gray pointed at both Natsus, despite the younger one not even being involved in the argument, for a change. Not that he lasted long before spitting back at the ice mage.

"The hell you could, droopy eyes!"

"Eh, you could maybe beat mini-me if you actually tried, but you don't have a chance against me." Natsu shrugged, not really threatened by a Gray who hadn't even learnt Demon Slayer magic yet.

"WHAT?! Future Me, why would you say that? He can't beat me!" Ah, Natsu was starting to get a feel for how Erza must've felt all these years.

Deciding to ignore the two dunces who were now literally butting heads, Erza shuffled a bit closer to Natsu. "When does Gray receive a scar?"

"Huh?"

She leaned forwards a bit, like she was trying to intimidate him into answering, though her tone was more curious than demanding. "You said a minute ago that Gray was missing a scar on his face, when did he receive it?"

"Oh, right, that." Natsu rubbed his chin before returning his hand to it's task of rubbing through Happy's fur. "I think we took the mission a few days after we got back from Eisenwald and you got arrested-"

"Erza got what?!"

"So in a week from now, I think?"

"No! No, no, no, Mister, don't just brush over what you just said!" Lucy stood up from the opposite bed and reached towards Natsu in an attempt to shake him into answering.

"What? Oh you mean Erza's arrest? I think she said it was just for show or somethin', it ended up fine so don't worry about it."

The knight in question raised an eyebrow at the dismissive answer. "How reassuring. But if it doesn't have any lasting harm then there's no reason to discuss it further." She glanced at Gray before facing Natsu once again. "But back to the matter at hand, what was the mission Gray was injured on?"

"Oh right, it was an S Cla-…ss…" Natsu quickly realised his mistake as Pyro started viciously shaking his head, motioning to the older pinkette to shut up, but the damage was already done.

"Natsu."

"Yes Gramps?"

"Did you take an S Class quest?"

"Yeah…"

"With Erza leading it right?"

"…"

"Right?"

"… In my defence, it was the cheapest and I did take it seriously."

Every member of Fairy Tail currently huddled outside the infirmary went silent as the sharp sound of hard slap rang through the hall. They all winced in sympathy for the unlucky recipient.

"YOU ABSOLUTE FOOL!" Makarov couldn't believe that one of his children could be so stupid. Actually, yes, he could, the whole guild was filled with well-meaning fools, but they knew not to break the rules and risk expulsion for the sake of doing an S Class mission before they were ready.

(And Makarov knew Natsu was a strong young man, he saw the way losing Lisanna effected him, the way he isolated himself from everyone else under the guise of training more and growing stronger. But as strong as Natsu was, taking an S Class mission without permission was just asking for trouble.)

Natsu, the older one that is, looked sheepish but unrepentant, a slight chuckle on his lips. "Sorry Gramps, but can we skip the lecture? You've already punished me for this." Ah, right. If this happened to Natsu in his past and he's still in the guild, then clearly he'd already gone through this song and dance (and knowing himself, and the slightly haunted look in Natsu's eyes, Makarov knew he gave the boy that punishment.)

Makarov paused before smirking at the young man, "I suppose that's true. As for you…" He turned his head to face the younger Natsu, who was sweating nervously, avoiding eye contact with the occupants of the room in between quick glares to his older counterpart.

"Woah, Master must be really disappointed if he's giving so many Slaps of Disappointment™"

"What are you idiots all doing around the infirmary?"

"Laxus! You're back?"

"I haven't even done anything yet!" The younger Natsu cried out as Erza tugged him into a corner by his ear.

"The fact that you were planning it is reason enough for punishment!"

Lucy sighed as she watched the scene play out, slowly getting more used to the chaotic mess the Fairy Tail guild is. She shook her head fondly before turning towards the slightly more mature Natsu. "So you said Gray got injured on that quest right? Does that mean you dragged him with you?"

Gray scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Like I'd ever join that arsonist on a suicide mission"

"No, I had to force him to come with us so he couldn't go back to the guild and send Erza after us."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Natsu, "'us'?"

He perked up, eyes brightening a bit (she hadn't noticed until now just how dull his eyes looked, and she found herself glad that she, however unintentionally, helped return some brightness to his eyes) before sitting up a little straighter. "Yeah! Me, Happy and you!"

"And…" Lucy trailed off as she shakily raised a finger to her own face in disbelief, "m-me…?"

"Yep! The reward included one of your keys so I asked if you wanted to join and you did!"

She shivered as she felt two icy presences glaring at her, disappointment evident. Well, looks like she's done for. She lasted a good seventeen years, and at least managed to achieve her dream before she was killed off.

"Uhhh, Lucy?"

Oh, woe is she, an unfortunate victim of Natsu's insanity.

"She's a lost cause."

May Lucy rest peacefully in the afterlife, and may her memory live on in the novel she never had a chance to finish.

"Oh wow, she's really deep into la-la land, huh?"

The people of Fairy Tail will remember her as the poor blonde girl who died too young, too soon, too-

"Lucy! Snap out of it!"

Lucy blinked awake as she was shaken by Gray. "Huh? Wait, I'm not dead?" A series of smacks sounded across the room as each occupant facepalmed.

He sighed. "No, you're not dead. Unlike firebreath over there you didn't actually plan it, so you're off the hook as long as you know not to do anything that stupid in the future."

Lucy shouted an 'aye, sir!' before she sagged her shoulders in relief.

Erza, finished with her scolding of a now-bleeding Natsu, turns her attention back to the older dragon slayer. "So what can you tell us about this mission? Assuming you had a chance to finish it, that is."

Natsu blinked, a bit surprised at how direct the knight was. "Honestly, I don't really remember the details, it's been a long time since then. But I can tell you the main things, and that we really should go there soon."

Lucy looked at Natsu, a bit taken aback by the more serious expression on his face. She had noticed he acted more mature than their Natsu, but, well, he was two years older. But knowing that he had matured and seeing that maturity were two different things, and she still hadn't gotten used to Natsu being this serious. She watched as both Erza and the Master nodded.

"Why the urgency?" The Master questioned, a trace of concern in his voice.

Natsu grimaced a bit before responding. "The quest was to lift a curse off Galuna Island. When we got there, the moon was purple and the people in the only village on the island were cursed. They turned into demons at night, and their memories were a bit messed up."

The celestial mage gasped in shock, raising a hand to her mouth as sadness filled her at the poor villagers' situation.

"We looked around for a bit a found a temple, and underneath it…" Natsu trailed off as he turned towards Gray. Gray, in response, only raised his eyebrow.

"Spit it out pyro."

Natsu sighed, "under the temple was a giant block of ice. And inside that ice was the demon Deliora."

Gray shot up, choking on air as he tried to say something, but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat. His eyes had widened in fear and anger, shock and rage, and he began to shake as he clenched his fists. Lucy looked at him in worry, having never seen Gray act so emotionally. "Gray…? Are you alright?" The sound of tears hitting wood was her only answer.

"…was the demon Deliora."

Gray shot up off the bed he'd been sat on, fear taking a hold of him as the mention of that wretched demon's name was spoken. It swelled in his gut, threatening to spill out of mouth, so he bit the inside of his lips to keep his mouth shut. Trembles and shakes ran through his body as his eyes widened.

How. How could Natsu know about Deliora? Why was Deliora not still in the north? Had it broken free somehow? Had it come to Fiore to destroy yet another family of his, leaving him alone in the cold, unforgiving wreckage, surrounded by the corpses of strangers and loved ones? Did the spell not last forever? Had Ur's Iced Shell been broken somehow? Had Ur failed?

Gray clenched his fists, nails threatening to break through skin as his knuckles turned white. No, he couldn't think like that, Ur didn't fail. Something else must have happened. He sniffled as water splashed against the floor, before he glanced up, vision blurred. Natsu knows what happened, he has too. Gray stubbornly ignored the pained expression the other man wore, refusing to acknowledge any sympathy he might have to give (this is my issue, my problem, I don't want my family to get hurt again).

"Natsu… Tell me what happened."

"Gray… Are you sur-?"

"Please." His breath hitched, twin waterfalls running down his cheeks as he used all his strength to stand up straight and look into his brother family friend rival's eyes. "Please… I need to know."

Natsu's dark eyes stared back into his own dark blue irises (and if you stare into the abyss long enough and it stares back) before he slowly nodded, a deeper understanding filling him than even Gray could comprehend. "I know. I know."

Gray sighed, relief and gratitude and apprehension and a whole well of other emotions he was just not prepared to identify right now - or ever, for that matter - swirled around in his gut. He shakily took a couple steps backwards before collapsing into Erza's breastplate (when had she gotten behind him?) and following her movement as she manoeuvred him onto a bed. The knight looked down softly at Gray, concerned and worried for her younger guild-mate, and sat down right next to him, keeping a hand on his leg. He appreciated the lifeline she gave him to reality, the sharp cold of her gauntlet keeping him tethered in the present. He let out a shaky breath and watched as Porlyusica placed a glass of water and a box of tissues down next to him.

"Drink that in sips. I know what you brats are like, constantly trying to drown yourselves by drinking litres in seconds just to prove a point. I swear you humans get dumber by the day." She grumbled as she marched back to the other end of the infirmary. Gray picked up the glass, hands a bit more stable now, and took a large sip before turning back to the older Natsu expectantly.

Natsu looked back at Gray, then around the room. Happy had sat up in his lap, back leaning against Natsu's stomach. Lucy perched on the bed to the left of his, the younger version of himself now next to her. The Master had sat himself down on a chair next to Natsu's own bed, and Erza was sat down next to Gray, all of them looking towards the pinkette.

Natsu took in a long, deep breath and started the tale of his adventure on Galuna Island.

Chapter Text

"So just to make sure I understand this, because what you said is, quite frankly, preposterous, this island is home to a village of demons who think they are humans cursed by the moon, which turned purple due to a ritual being cast to melt the ice that encases a demon from the Book of Zeref? Did I get all that?" Lucy asked, eyebrows pinched together as she massaged her temples.

Natsu looked over to her. "Uhh, yeah, that about sums it up."

"And Gray knows this demon? And the guy who's melting the ice?"

"And who the ice is, yeah."

"And who the what-?"

"Gray is right here, y'know." Lucy flinched as Gray perked up from where he was leaning against Erza, his lips turned slightly downwards. She rubbed the back of her head as she nervously chuckled.

"Sorry, sorry." There was a beat of silence as everyone stared at Natsu expectantly. He blinked once, then titled his head to the side.

"What?"

Lucy facepalmed. Honestly, she didn't understand how this man got through the day with his obliviousness to social cues. Or maybe he just didn't care about them, she thought. She had been slowly getting used to the nuances of life outside massive manors, vast wealth and fancy dresses, but there was still a lot that confused her, and people like Natsu - who lived in disregard of every social norm - were enigmas to her.

Gray sighed heavily as he pushed himself off of Erza's side. "As for Lyon…" His eyes narrowed, "I've not seen him in years, but he always wanted to surpass Ur, so I'm not that surprised he'd try something this stupid. No idea how he managed to move that demon to some random island though."

"Oh that was the cross-dresser." Natsu said.

Lucy blinked at him before she brought her hands together and pointed them at him. "…who?"

"Ultear, she used to be in Grimoire Heart but then she started helping us with Je-" He cut himself off sharply, muttered a quick curse under his breath before continuing. "Anyway, she was cross dressing as some creepy old guy on the island and said that she wanted to control Deliora, and was using Lyon to do it.

The guild master shot up at the mention of the dark guild. "Grimoire Heart is involved in all of this?"

"In this specifically? Not really, but they were definitely a problem by the time the S Class trials came about."

The master nodded, relaxing a bit. "So we have time to plan ahead of them then, good. We can focus on dealing with them after this." He looked up at the group, "now, I believe that we have all the key information, so I would like you kids to go to the island and stop this Lyon figure, and perhaps try to capture this 'Ultear'.

Lucy nodded in agreement, but then paused as she thought of something they had forgotten to ask. "Actually, Natsu?" The man tilted his head towards her. "What is this person's magic? If we're going to be trying to capture her, it'll be helpful knowing what we're up against, no?"

"Uhhh, I forgot the name of it." Natsu ignored the mumbled insult Gray sent his way. "But she uses a type of time magic. She can't use it on people, but can use it on objects n' stuff."

The celestial wizard smiled at Natsu as she thanked him. It was then that Gray spoke up. "not that I don't want to arrest a dark mage, but wouldn't doing that throw off whatever it is that Natsu knows about the future? I mean, if she's involved in Grimoire Heart and they're an issue for us in the future, then won't us arresting her just make the guild's actions completely unpredictable?"

"Hmm, you certainly have a point, Gray." Makarov hummed. "Having insight into the future is incredibly valuable, and we should take advantage of it as much as we can without completely throwing off the series of events that led to the future this Natsu experienced."

A clink rang out across the room as Erza folded her arms together. "So are you suggesting that we let her get away?"

"Yes, but do so without giving it away that that's what we want. If you engage with her, let her escape."

"Understood. Let's head out then." The knight stood up, dragging Gray's arm up with her.

Lucy blinked in confusion. "Wait, now? Don't we need to pack clothes or food or something?"

"We can do that on the way, and grab Natsu and Happy will you?" Lucy watched in shock as the older woman marched into the main hall, ignorant to the pleas of the poor ice mage she was dragging behind her.

"Huh. She does that a lot, doesn't she?"

"Yep!" Great. Lucy must be the only sane one in this entire guild. She sighed heavily before she turned around, dragged the younger Natsu out of the corner and poked the sleeping cat awake from his spot on the older Natsu's bed.

"Lucy." She turned her head to the owner of the voice.

"Yeah?"

"…" The older Natsu looked down at his lap where his hands were placed. "Stay safe, okay?"

Lucy tilted her head to meet Natsu's eyes, but startled back at the glistening of unshed tears. Her lips widened into a small but genuine smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. "I will be." With that, she dragged the other two out to the main hall with her, a determined spark burning in her eyes.

"You're in the clear for now, but I swear if you even think about getting into one of those ridiculous brawls your injuries will not be the worst thing you need to worry about. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, now could you stop hitting me with that thing?"

"Only when you get out of my infirmary!"

The slamming of the infirmary door behind Natsu signalled his entrance into the main hall, and the whole building went quiet. Murmurs and whispers broke out as the members of the guild tried to dissect the older Natsu from afar, but clearly forgot that he could hear them all regardless of how quietly they spoke. He sighed as he made his way to the bar and took a seat down in front of Mirajane. The bartender walked over to him, a small, polite smile gracing her lips.

"The others said that you were from the future, is that true?"

Natsu looked up at her, a little surprised to see her back in her old red dress. She hadn't worn that in a while, not since Lisanna had come-. Ah. Right. The whole Edolas thing hadn't happened yet, which means that everyone here still thinks that Lisanna is dead. He clenched his fists. Losing Lisanna had been very painful, for him and the Strauss siblings especially. To know that Mira, Elfman and his younger self were still dealing with that loss, that all encompassing grief? It was heartbreaking, and he couldn't even fix the issue because he had no idea how to even get to Edolas. He took slow breaths, each one calming down the rising tide of his anger.

"Yeah, I am."

Mira chuckled lightly before her expression sombred. "I suppose it would be too optimistic of me to assume that the future is peaceful and pleasant, wouldn't it?" She placed her hands on the bar, fingers rubbing circles into the wood. Natsu watched as she made imaginary lines in the surface and wondered how long it had been since she last used her claws. Wondered how long it had been since his friend, someone he'd grown to see as an older sister, had felt truly happy. Losing her sister had changed them both; Mira grew quiet, took a backseat from active duty, focused on living a simpler life, changed almost her entire personality. Natsu grew quieter too, more serious, focused and isolated, all in the name of becoming stronger.

He was stronger now. He could help his friends now, protect them better, stand stronger for them. He didn't want his big sisters to be drowning in sorrow and regrets any longer. Natsu wanted his guild, his family, to be happy, to be able to finally let go of their past regrets, their grievances, and move onwards into a brighter day. He would make that a reality, no matter the cost to himself. But to do that, he needed to start on the more pressing issues, like making Mira feel happier, even if just for a little bit.

He looked up from where her hands had been wearing down the wood and gave her a small but genuine smile. "Actually, it's not so bad. A lot has happened, and yeah, some of it sucks, and some of it really sucks, but…" He drifted off as he glanced around the guildhall. Macao and Wakaba were having a contest over how much money they'd earnt last month, Vijeeter was showing off his latest dance set, Laki and Levy were chatting about a new novel that had been released, and everyone else was doing their own, usual routine (except for the fact that he could feel the occasional glance in his direction, they really were not subtle). The loud chatter of his guildmates bounced against the walls and the faint smell of beer and freshly cooked meals wafted through the room, all coming together to make this rowdy guild feel like a home.

Natsu turned to face Mira again, "no matter how bad it gets, we'll always have each other to rely on. This is our home, no matter how many times we'll have to rebuild the guildhall, or how many people try to hurt us, no matter how many goodbyes we have to say, we'll all still be in each other's hearts. And that bond of ours will always be enough to get us through the challenges ahead." He ducked his head as he felt his eyes try to water.

"I'm not gonna lie to you Mira, the future has a lot of pain. Each time we beat one big bad, the next one is even stronger. But despite all the hardships we faced, Fairy Tail always came back together, and we shared our tears and our laughter. I won't let things get as bad as they did last time, I won't let you guys go through the same suffering we- I did. We'll beat whoever comes our way, and afterwards we can all sit down and rebuild together."

Mira blinked once, twice, then finally let herself smile, truly smile, as that glimmer of hope for a better future that she had buried deep within her soul finally crackled once again. "Natsu…" She took in a deep breath, opened her mouth to respond properly, and said-

"That was a nice speech, Natsu."

The mages' heads quickly locked in on where that condescending voice came from.

"But if these shitstains who call themselves 'mages' are so weak that they can't even protect the building, then how the hell are they useful in any actual fights?"

Natsu narrowed his eyes, first in confusion and then in annoyance. How the hell did he forget about this asshole? Mira's fists clenched in anger as her magic wrapped around her, creating a dark aura that could be felt across the room.

"Don't you dare insult our guildmates like that! You have no idea what we're up against, so until then you have no right to say a damn word about how strong anyone here is, especially considering you probably won't even help when trouble does come knocking!"

"So what if I don't help? These idiots shouldn't be relying on me to come save the day every time some moron tries to attack. If they can't even defend a building, they shouldn't be in Fairy Tail. And mark my words, She-Devil, when I'm finally in charge around here, you'll be getting kicked out alongside every other useless shithead in here. I won't tolerate weakness in my Fairy Tail."

"You bastar-!"

"Ha! Oh I forgot about all this, oh this is hilarious." The arguing mages turned to look at Natsu, who was now giggling like a small child high off sugar and an unholy cocktail of potions. The room paused, all looking over at the fire wizard in concern or annoyance as he began to calm down.

"The hell are you laughing for, brat?"

"Because…" Natsu finally managed to catch his breath, though a sharp grin presented itself on his face. "Laxus, I forgot how much a asshole you used to be. Damn dude, you really did need that time away, huh?"

Laxus snarled, veins throbbing and eyes widening as he towered above the guild from the upstairs balcony. The world outside darkened as a storm started brewing, and static danced across the air. "The hell did you just say?"

"Give it a rest, would ya? I've got bigger things to worry about than you." With that, Natsu turned away from the older (younger? Oh damn, he was techinically older than Laxus right now, that's so weird) man, ignoring the tingle of electricity in the air, ignoring how Mira backed away from the bar, ignoring the yells of Laxus to 'stop! You're gonna hurt him!'. He merely smirked as he traced his fingers onto the wood in the same pattern Mira did earlier, waiting for the blow he knew was coming.

BOOM

The guild erupted into screams as lightning struck the bar seat Natsu had been sat on, dust and smoke filling the air around it. Mira stormed upstairs to the lightning mage who now sported a sinister grin and wild eyes, and slapped him hard across the face. "Laxus! How fucking dare you! He's still recovering!"

"I don't care! He should know better than to fuck with me. I don't care how many years of training he has, I'm still stronger than him!"

"Sheesh, this really the best you can do? I'm kinda disappointed."

"Natsu?!"

The fire magic stood tall over the wreckage of the chair and bar, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as his smirk grew. Lightning flickered around him for a few moments before dissipating. "I mean, I know younger-me couldn't take a hit like that without getting injured or sick, but damn, I didn't think it was such a weak blow. You must'a been going easy on me. Rude."

Laxus looked down in shock, fingers shaking as his eye twitched. "'Easy on you'? But that- that wasn't-…" He looked down at his hand and clenched his fists, joints cracking from the sudden movement. "No, of course I was going easy on you. Can't afford our little future-teller to go dying on us so soon. I'm taking a mission, don't call for me." The blonde ripped a quest off the S-class board, pocketed it, and stormed out of the guildhall.

The guild members waited with baited breath, listening for any sign of his return, before they all sighed in relief when three minutes had passed. Mira, Levy and Romeo all darted across the guildhall to where Natsu stood, checking him over for injuries.

"Woah, hey, guys, chill out, I'm fine, I swear."

Romeo sniffled, tears spilling from wide eyes, "but Laxus hit you really, really hard! A-and you might of eated the magic and that makes you sick!" Natsu blinked down at the toddler. He had forgotten just how small Romeo used to be, having grown far too used to the young teenager full of snark in his own time. He smiled down at the kid, ruffling his hair.

"I know he did, but I won't get sick from it this time, I promise."

"P-pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise, now go sit with your old man, I don't want you getting any splinters from the wood."

With the toddler gone, the two women finally stopped looking him over for any injuries. Levy sighed in relief. "Natsu, if you don't mind me asking, how is it that you didn't get hurt? Did you manage to dodge the strike somehow?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I just ate it."

"… S-sorry?"

"I ate it. Like how I do with fire?"

The girls' eyebrows twitched in sync, neither able to understand. "But I thought you could eat only fire magic?"

"Yeah, I used to, but I can eat lightning now too, and I can use it as well." He grinned at the dumbfounded expressions the two mages were making.

Mira spoke up, voice slightly dazed. "You know what, sure, why not? That's not even the craziest thing that's happened today. Why am I even shocked at this point?" She then made her way over to the bar to begin cleaning up the mess, Levy following suite, as Natsu chuckled lightly, shook his head and chased after the two.

Ah, how he missed being at home.

Erza looked out at the sea, searching for the first sign of the island she and her group were heading towards. Natsu was hanging over the edge of the ship they had been offered by a lovely group of pirates, motion sickness once again getting the better of him. Happy patted the pinkette on the back in a lazy attempt at comforting him. The other male in their small group was brooding, looking out over the waves as he fell deeper into his own head, memories of his past consuming his thoughts. Lucy was playing on the deck with Plue, a small dog-like spirit she had contracted recently.

A man who went by the name Bobo was sat near her, watching as the blonde mage interacted with the small spirit. He had joined their expedition after he asked if they were heading to Galuna Island, claiming to be from the island. Erza couldn't sense any sign of deceit coming from him, so allowed him to join them as a guide for the island. They could use as much information as possible.

The wind picked up, the breeze sharp and cold despite the summer heat. They must be nearing the island. The knight stood up from her seat, made her way to the bow of the ship, calling for her comrades to gather around. Straight ahead lied a small island, flora and fauna covering almost every centimetre of ground.

"Here we are. Everyone ready?"

"Yep!"

"Yeah."

"Y-ye-ugh…"

"Yessir!"

"Thank you all for doing this. I must wish you well now. Please help my people."

The group turned around, all calling out for the man to wait, but he was already gone.

"What the heck? Where did he go?"

"I don't know, but regardless of that, we must carry out his request. Perhaps we'll find him on the island." Erza could only hope they would.

The ship reached the shore of the island, docking on a small beach and anchored down to the seabed. The pirates waved goodbye to the mages, wishing them luck on their journey through the cursed island.

Time to get to work.