Hello, everyone!! I know I've been gone super long, but I have an excuse! A very valid excuse!

Mira: And what excuse would that be? 

Meena: Oh hey, Mira! The excuse would be that I had no wifi. Literally. But I have been writing this consistently! I have everything written out, and am currently writing the epilogue! So sad!

Mira: It's ending already? But I haven't been on here that long!

Meena: Sorry, Mira. But all good things must come to an end, unfortunately. Hopefuly, you'll be happy with the end. 

Mira: *pouts* Yeah, whatever....

Meena: Anyway, are you still going to do the honors, or are you just going to pout?

Mira: Yes! Now, without further ado, here is chapter 45!

            "FIRE!" a voice shouted, before a giant boom was heard, and something collided with Acnologia's jaw, pushing the giant dragon backwards, and forcing him to let go of Lucy. She cried out as she hit the floor, the wind knocked out of her temporarily. She blinked back tears, and tried to turn to see what was happening, but she was in too much pain to do even that.

            "FIRE!" The voice sounded again, and this time Lucy was sure it was familiar.

            She heard another explosion, and a flaming ball found its mark on Acnologia's chest this time, driving him further back. Lucy recognized the weapon now: it was a cannonball! She didn't know who was attacking or whether it was the imperial forces, but at this point, all she cared about was that someone had come to their aid.

            Lucy knew she had to move, somehow get away from Acnologia. She gritted her teeth, and mustered up her strength, trying to push herself into a sitting position. Pain exploded in her abdomen, and it was all she could do to keep from crying out. Tears streamed down her face as she scanned the rocky ground, that she now recognized as the destroyed cave, for her weapon. Her attention was diverted, however, as she saw a blue head of hair running towards her. It was Levy, ducking Acnologia's tail while he roared in fury as she ran towards her, her determined honey brown eyes glistening with tears.

            She finally reached her as the voice cried, "FIRE!" yet again. She knelt down next to her and scanned her over, eyes widening in horror.

            "Oh, Lu-chan," she gasped.

            "Levy-chan, you shouldn't be here," Lucy gritted out, feeling slightly light-headed from blood loss.

            "We came here together for a reason! Now, I may not be some all-powerful being that's supposed to maintain the balance in the world, but I am your best friend! I have as much of a right to be here as you do!" Levy said vehemently, her pent up frustration from not doing anything bursting out in this one statement.

            Lucy didn't have time to respond as the bluenette then grabbed the hem of her dress in her hands, and pulled, ripping the fabric until her underwear was practically exposed. She then wrapped the orange fabric around Lucy's mid-section, and tied it tightly, causing Lucy to whimper in pain.

            "Sorry, but that should stop the bleeding for now," Levy said. "Now come on, we need to get you out of here."

            She wrapped one arm under Lucy's arm, and hauled her to her feet. Lucy bit her tongue to keep from screaming, wanting nothing more than to just lie down, but she knew she couldn't afford to do that. Slowly, they made their way around Acnologia, who was currently being crushed under an onslaught of cannonballs. The familiar voice kept yelling fire, but Lucy couldn't discern just whom it belonged to through the burning in her abdomen. Soon enough, they were behind Acnologia and in front of a large rock that seemed to be a remnant of the cave wall the dragon had blasted through. They hid behind it, and Lucy looked to see that Romeo, Porlyusica, Lily, Carla, Frosch, Sting, and Rogue were all there as well. Romeo turned pale as he took in her state, and Sting and Rogue grimaced, looking guilty for some reason.

            Levy set her down against the wall, explosions echoing from behind them. Porlyusica immediately stood, and Lucy saw that a bloodstained bandage was now wrapped around her head. She came to her side, and clicked her tongue softly as she took her in.

            "Look in what state you're in," She berated her. "How are you supposed to fight now?"

            "Sorry," Lucy apologized, feeling that was the answer Porlyusica wanted, though she couldn't see how getting injured was her fault.

            "Where are the others?" she asked, trying not to focus on her wound.

            "We don't know where Natsu and Gajeel are," Levy said solemnly. "They haven't come back since they were flicked away by him."

            Lucy's heart contracted as she immediately jumped to the worst scenario.

            "Wendy flew after them with Happy and Lector," Romeo chimed in. "But they haven't come back yet..."

            Suddenly, Sting slammed his fist into the ground, gaining everyone's attention.

            "I feel so useless," he growled, and Rogue nodded his head, looking at the ground in shame.

            Lucy then remembered that although their wounds were physically healed, their bodies were too fatigued by the sped-up healing process for them to fight. She felt their frustration, and wanted to comfort them, but knew nothing she said would make them feel any better. She offered them a smile instead, and she asked, "What's happening out there? Who's attacking Acnologia?"

            Levy frowned as she looked at her. "Didn't you recognize the voice?" she asked.

            Lucy raised an eyebrow at her, and gestured to her abdomen.

            "Right," she said, looking apologetic. Then a smile crossed her face, eyes glimmering with hope. "Look for yourself."

            Since Lucy was just on the edge of the large rock they were hiding behind, it wasn't difficult for her to crane her neck around it to see what was going on. She gasped as she took in the sight before her. Standing on top of the mountain that had been overlooking their hideout was a whole group of people gathered around several cannons that were firing at Acnologia. Right at the forefront of them stood a woman. Lucy squinted as she looked at her, but the flying flaming red hair said it all.

            "Is that Erza?" she asked incredulously.

            "Yup," Levy said happily from behind her.

            As Lucy continued to look, she saw that not only was Erza there, but so were Gray, Juvia, and Cana, all with weapons drawn and fully geared for battle. Behind Erza she could also make out Jet and Droy, and as she looked closer, she could even see Loke, Aquarius, Scorpio, Aries, and even Virgo. Aside from them, there was a whole group of people Lucy didn't recognize.

            "B-But how?" she asked in amazement, turning back to face the others.

            Levy smiled mischievously.

            "You did it?" Lucy asked. "How?"

            Levy's proud smile grew wider, and she started to explain.

            "As soon as I knew we were going off to fight a dragon, I knew we were going to be needing some backup. There was no way our group could take on a dragon by ourselves, but we left in such a hurry I wasn't able to contact anybody. That is, until we stopped in Magnolia."

            Realization dawned on Lucy as she remembered.

            "Back when we went to visit the orphanage you lived in... you ran back..." she said, the pieces falling together in her head.

            "Exactly. I left a note explaining things and where we were. I knew I could depend on my family," she said.

            "And because Erza, Gray, and Cana used to be there too..." she started.

            "They got the message," Levy finished for her.

            "Levy, you're a genius!" Lucy said, grinning despite her pain.

            "I know," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

            Lucy wanted to hug her best friend, but refrained from doing so as to not cause herself any more pain than she was currently in. She looked back at the battle scene unfolding behind their hiding place. Acnologia seemed severely wounded, but every time a cannonball hit him, his marks glowed blue, and he would start to heal himself. He seemed royally pissed off by now, and though Erza seemed to be pelting him relentlessly, he was gradually gaining ground. He suddenly roared furiously, whipping his tail through the air, destroying more of his surroundings in his rage.

            Acnologia charged forward in an instant, taking advantage of the fact that they seemed to be reloading the cannons. Lucy could see Erza recoil, and start to order everyone to retreat, but there was no way they could all get away in time. Lucy watched in horror, fear striking her very being at the thought of all the people she cared about being ripped apart by her mother's murderer. Her heart pounded against her chest as she watched, terror gripping at her insides, unable to do anything. By this time, Levy had realized that something was wrong, and peeked her own head around the slab of rock, gasping as she did so. Sting and Rogue struggled over to join her, and she heard a panicked growl emanate from Rogue's throat as he saw the situation, but even if they he tried to fly in and stop him, in his current state, he would never be able to get there on time. Lucy could see Erza bravely raising her sword as she realized there was no avoiding it, Gray, Juvia, and Cana right beside her. Just as Acnologia's jaws were about to close over them, Lucy's foreboding sense of loss, nearing its peak, a voice whispered in her head: 'Lucy...'

            Lucy froze, a strange sensation filling her body. The pain from her wound subsided, and the sounds around her as well as Levy's fear-filled grip on her shoulder seemed to grow far away.

            'Lucy!' the voice said again, this time more urgently.

            Lucy was about to fade away completely before battle cries filled the air, snapping her from whatever trance she'd entered.

            "SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!"

            "IRON DRAGON'S ROAR!"

            "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

            Lucy grinned in relief as three cyclones of wind, iron, and fire combined and headed straight at Acnologia. She heard Sting whoop in happiness behind her. Their combo attack hit him head on, and the giant specimen of a dragon was knocked at least 40 feet away from Lucy's loved ones, his talons digging into the stone. Her grin faltered, however as she took in the state of two of the dragon slayers. Gajeel's face was dripping with blood, and he was being held up by Happy, his left wing bent at an odd angle. Blood was dripping down Natsu's right arm, as it was limp at his side, and he was hovering from side to side in the air, his balance seeming impaired as blood also ran along his face He must have hit his head pretty hard. Wendy seemed to be the only one uninjured, and she watched the other two warily. Lector was hovering beside her, looking on fearfully.

            Acnologia seemed to be struggling to recover, his right side having been destroyed by the attack, but it was quickly reforming, and Lucy knew they didn't have much time before he was fully recovered again. Natsu turned in the air, seeming unstable, as he scanned the ground. She realized with a jolt that he was looking for her. She struggled to shift her position so that her body was peeking out from behind the rock, and waved her arm, hoping to gain his attention. He seemed to see her, but his eyes struggled to focus, and Lucy worried for how hard he had his head. Did he have a concussion?

            He grinned as he saw that she was okay, however, and that was when it happened. Natsu's body relaxed, and his eyes lolled back into his head. His body dropped from the sky towards the ground. Wendy's eyes widened in horror, but she was too late in diving after him. He would hit the ground before she made it to him as they already weren't that high in the sky. Lucy closed her eyes in panic, but heard no impact. She opened her eyes to see... Gray? He had apparently rushed down the mountain at some point just in time to catch Natsu. Lucy pushed herself up, her pain having subsided due to the strange state she'd been in earlier, and forced herself towards Natsu. Levy called after her, and she stumbled. Two arms caught her, and she looked to see Sting and Rogue on either side of her. Together they rushed over to Natsu. Gray had placed him down on the ground, staring at him in bewilderment, taking in his inhuman form for the first time.

            "Gray!" she called to him.

            He turned to her, and his eyes widened in alarm, whether from seeing her wound or the two ryus flanking her, she didn't know. He seemed relieved to see her nevertheless, and welcomed her with open arms, mindful of her injuries. Sting and Rogue stood at either side of her, arms crossed over their chests. Over the short period of time they'd been together, it seemed the two ryus had become protective of her. Sting eyed Natsu in concern, and Lucy too was worried for him as she stepped out of Gray's arms.

            "I cannot believe you ran off like that—well, flew off," he scolded, icy blue eyes piercing her with accusation.

            "Sorry," she said quickly, eyes flitting to Natsu's limp figure. "I had no choice."

            Gray followed her gaze, and sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "So I guess all the weird comments you were making over the past few weeks were in reference to him." He nodded his head to where Natsu was laying.

            "Yes," she said, as Wendy, Gajeel, Happy, and Lector came to land beside them. Gajeel collapsed to his knees immediately, and Happy rushed over to Natsu.

            "Gajeel!" a voice cried, and Lucy turned to see Levy running towards them, tears in her eyes. She practically collided with Gajeel and wrapped her arms around him. He grunted but patted her on the head, smirking.

            "I'm alright, Shrimp," he said. "Nothing to worry about." He then looked down at Levy, and blush immediately flooded his cheeks as he looked away hastily.

            Gray looked taken aback by this sudden surge of creatures straight out of a fairy tale. He massaged his temples wearily, and said in a resigned voice, "We are discussing all of this later, but for right now, we have more pressing issues at hand." He looked towards the healing dragon. The cannon fires had ceased since Erza had ordered a retreat, and they were struggling to retake their positions. Acnologia would not stay down for long. Again, she felt a strange presence in her mind at this thought, but pushed it away, only intent on making sure that Natsu was okay.

            She knelt down beside him, and gently touched his face, ignoring the warm sensation of blood.

            "Natsu," she called him. "Natsu!"

            She lightly slapped the sides of his face, worry creasing her brow. Slowly but surely, as she increased the strength of her slaps, he came to. His eyes fluttered open, his onyx green orbs erratic as he lurched upwards, suddenly alert.

            "Natsu! Natsu!" she said, grabbing his horns as she tried to calm him. They immediately vibrated at her touch, and his eyes found hers, relief filling his gaze, immediately followed by fury as he took in the blood-soaked rag tied around her mid-section, the sorry remnants of Levy's dress. He growled low in his throat.

            "I'll kill him," he snarled.

            "That is what we're attempting to do," Gray commented.

            Natsu's eyes flicked to him, and examined him, eyes flicking over every inch of the now half-naked Gray.

            "Gray, could you please put on a shirt!" Lucy groaned.

            Gray looked down at himself, and his eyes widened in shock. Then his face returned to its neutral expression, and he shrugged. "I feel better fighting this way anyway. Plus, it's not like any of these guys have shirts on."

            Lucy blinked as she realized it was true. Basically all the ryus except for Wendy were shirtless most of the time. She supposed she had grown numb to it over the course of time she'd spent with them.

            "Gray-sama!" A familiar voice cried before Gray was tackled from behind by Lucy's other favorite bluenette. She began attacking him with her fists, punctuating each blow with a word, "How. Dare. You. Run. Off. Like. That. Without. Juvia!"

            "Ow, ow, Juvia, let me be!" He cried, grabbing her by her arms, and flipping her over his back to face him. She glared at him before she noticed Lucy and her eyes glistened. She immediately grabbed her in a hug, and started crying.

            "Okay, okay, Juvia. I missed you too, but you're hurting me!" Lucy said, wincing as Juvia's body dug into her wound.

            "Sorry!" Juvia immediately apologized.

            Lucy smiled at her friend, relieved to see her again.

            She looked around to see that Romeo had joined them, Wendy hugging him as she was relieved he was safe. Lily, Carla, Frosch, and Porlyusica joined them, everyone eyeing each other.

            "Lucy!" a voice barked. Lucy flinched, immediately recognizing the voice as Erza strode towards them, Cana right behind her. She turned to face the redhead, her imposing aura radiating off of her in waves. Gray shrunk back immediately, and even Natsu, who knew Erza only through Lucy, cowered in fear.

            "You," she seethed as she came to stand before her.

            Lucy gulped, and attempted to smile at her. "H-Hey, Erza."

            Erza glared at her, and raised her arm. Lucy closed her eyes, preparing to receive a blow, but was surprised as she felt herself be pulled into a hug, though it hurt anyway because of her armor.

            "I'm glad you're safe despite your stupidity," she said.

            "Aw, group hug!" Cana chimed in, and wrapped her arms around the both of them. Lucy giggled; she had missed them immensely. They let go, and Erza turned to face Levy, who was still clutching onto Gajeel, but was now facing them.

            "You too, Levy," Erza said, smiling warmly.

            Levy sighed a breath of relief, and smiled, clearly grateful she was not getting yelled at. Suddenly Cana whistled appreciatively, and Lucy turned to see her eyeing Levy. Lucy suddenly understood, and looked at Levy, her blue underwear peaking out from between her legs. Levy followed their gazes, and looked down. Her face turned beat red, and she immediately crossed her legs, turning to face Gajeel once more as she hid her face in his chest.

            "I-I-I used it t-to bind L-Lu-chan's w-wound!" she stuttered out, mortified.

            "Sorry, Levy-chan," Lucy hastened to say.

            "Okay, this reunion is great and all, but we have more pressing matters on our hands," Gray said, glancing back at Acnologia who was shaking himself off, rising slowly to his feet.

            "Right," Lucy said. "Everyone introduce yourselves quickly."

            Everyone went about saying their names, and Lucy couldn't help but laugh as she saw her friends' bewildered expressions when the exceeds started talking.

            "So what's the plan?" Cana asked.

            "Bunny Girl," Gajeel said simply.

           "What?" Erza asked, confused.

            "He means me," Lucy said, slightly glaring at him from the corner of her eye.

            Her friends looked at her, the confusion evident on their faces.

            "It's a long story, but I'm apparently some magical being like my mom was, and I'm supposed to have powers that can take Acnologia down," she hurried to explain.

            This apparently didn't help as they all looked even more lost, but there was no time to explain as a roar suddenly ripped through the air, and they all turned to see Acnologia barreling towards them. Natsu and Gajeel struggled to their feet, Natsu's tail wrapping immediately around her waist, Gajeel doing the same to Levy.

            "Disperse!" Erza ordered.

            The available ryus and exceeds each grabbed onto a person, and flew off.

            Explosions sounded from behind them as Natsu flew shakily, and Lucy knew they had started firing the cannons again, not that that would do anything but stall him.

            "So, any magical idea as to how we can defeat this thing?" Natsu asked, shaking his head as he struggled to concentrate.

            She glanced at him worriedly.

            "I—" she started, but the voice interrupter her thoughts, this time yelling, the voice flooding her entire being.

            'LUCY!'

            Everything faded away from view, all sounds of the battle occurring disappearing. Lucy was vaguely aware of Natsu calling her name, but her consciousness was too far-gone. When she next opened her eyes, she was surrounded by thousands of suns, or at least she thought she was. She was floating in some sort of ethereal place illuminated by thousands of small glinting orbs, like thousands of stars gathered in one place.

            A section of these such stars clustered together, forming a human figure as they glowed brightly before fading away, revealing a person Lucy thought she'd never see again. Before her stood former Queen Layla Heartfilia in all her regal glory, and Lucy was struck by how much of a copy she was of her mother, though she had often been told that. The blonde was standing straight, golden tresses piled high on her head, and pinned with glimmering star-shaped clips. Her gown was unlike any Lucy had ever seen, and really seemed fit for a guardian of realms. It hugged her chest loosely, its long sleeves fanning out at the elbow to finish in a point at her fingertips. It flowed out from under her bust, the rest of the dress having no semblance of a form. The fabric itself was made of a strange shimmering material that glowed white one instant and another color the next. It seemed made of the fabric of the heavens itself. Layla was smiling softly at her, her brown eyes gazing at her fondly.

            "M-Mama," Lucy choked out disbelievingly, tears coming to her eyes.

            "Hello, Lucy," she said, her voice as silky as Lucy remembered. "My, how you've grown."

            Lucy wasted no time in running into her mother's arms, starting to cry. It was warm, and she felt the same sense of security she did in Layla's arms as she did when she was a child. But she knew that Layla was well and dead, so how was she here? Lucy pulled away, wiping at her eyes as she realized this should be impossible.

            "How are you here?" she asked, her voice sounding heavy from emotion. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but I saw you die."

            Layla smiled sadly at her, regret flashing in her eyes.

            "As you now remember what happened that night, I see no point in keeping it from you. That night, I honestly knew when Acnologia requested to contact me that he would do something rash," Layla said, her eyes pained as she clutched at her chest seemingly unconsciously, clearly reminded of how she had been killed.

            Lucy shook her head, not understanding.

            "Then why—"

            "Why would I deliberately agree to talk to him?" Layla asked, guessing her question. "Because I had to try to convince him through words his actions were wrong. I thought that maybe... my words still had an effect on him, but I was wrong."

            Layla frowned as she said this, an unrecognizable emotion flitting across her face. At her words, Lucy remembered her flashes back to the night Layla was murdered, and how she had made an allusion to some sort of history between them.

            "Mama, how do you know Acnologia?" she asked, sensing there was more to this story than she knew.

            Layla sighed, and sat down, indicating for Lucy to sit beside her, though there was no floor visible to Lucy in the vast space. She settled herself beside her mother, looking at her patiently.

            "It was a long time ago," her mother started, her eyes glazing over as she recounted the story. "When I was still in training to become a full-fledged guardian. One day, when my mother, your grandmother, was taking me on one of our regular trips to the human world, I met him. It was far out on the countryside, just by the border of the magical realm and the human realm. At that time, Acnologia was but a boy and still human."

           At Lucy's incredulous look, a sorrowful look entered Layla's eyes, and she nodded, saying, "Yes, Acnologia was indeed once human. He lived in a quaint little village whose main form of subsistence was farming. We met by chance as my grandmother stopped by the small marketplace to hear the news of what was going on in the human world, and I had wandered off by myself. He was a completely unassuming and innocent boy at that time, and I was fascinated with him as I didn't know any other children. Unfortunately, my mother and I were some of the last of our kind.

            "We started to play the time I was there, though I was quite shy now that I remember it. I must have seemed like an extremely squeamish girl to him, but he did his best to draw me out of my shell anyways. Soon though, we had to leave, but as we did, Acnologia smiled widely at me and told me to come play with him again. I had been extremely happy at that statement, so I would beg my mother to come more often, and as she pitied me because I had no other children to play with, she agreed. This was how I started seeing Acnologia every week, and soon, we became best friends.

            "Unbeknownst to my mother, I had been teaching Acnologia magic. Usually, humans can't use magic as they are unable to access the energy stored within themselves and the planet, but there are always exceptions. I now regret my actions, but how was I to know? He was my only friend at the time, and I wanted to tell him everything. We were as close as friends could be..." At this point, Layla faltered in her narrative, and looked at Lucy warily, as if she didn't quite want to tell her something.

            "You have to understand, Lucy. This was long before I met your father, and it was inevitable that it would happen because of our proximity," she said nervously.

            A sense of dread entered Lucy as she saw what Layla was leading up to, and sure enough, she was right.

            "Acnologia and I... fell in love."

            Revulsion filled Lucy at the thought. Her mother's murderer, the one who had been terrorizing the ryus; that monster of a dragon and her mother had been lovers? And yet, Lucy tried to see things from her mother's point of view. It seemed Acnologia had been the only person her age she had had, and he was of the opposite sex. From her description and the sorrow her eyes held, Lucy could tell that despite what Acnologia was now, he used to be a good person. Lucy pushed away her disgust, and nodded for Layla to continue the story. She smiled uneasily at her and proceeded.

            "I was really quite taken with him. Before the... incident, he truly was a kind person, really, but the thing was that some dragons residing in the magical realm, the more ancient ones, hated that they now had to 'play nice' with the humans, and didn't see why they deserved our protection. So, one night, a horde of them banded together, and pushed through my mother's barrier. Several died just in this process alone, as my mother's barrier was quite powerful, but several made it through. As you can probably guess, they headed for the nearest human settlement: Acnologia's village. By the time my mother and I got there, it was too late. Everyone was dead except for Acnologia who had only just gotten back from an errand in the city. I remember it like it was yesterday, his blue eyes taking in the village that was in flames, and how he wept over the torched corpses of his family..." Layla's voice broke at this point, the emotion radiating off of her. Her eyes flickered with a mixture of regret and guilt. Lucy took her hand, feeling the need to comfort her. Layla smiled at her gratefully, and forced herself to trudge on.

            "That was when everything changed. I tried to comfort him, and my mother and I even offered him refuge with us, but he refused. He was so taken in his grief that he was a shell of his former self, rage and the desire for revenge the only emotions remaining. He disappeared. The dragons that had attacked his village had flown off, hoping to create more carnage. My mother went after them of course, leaving me to Porlyusica despite my protests. As you can probably guess, after a couple successes, she died in her mission to bring them back. I was alone. When I too ventured off to bring back the dragons—since it was against our laws to kill them—I heard wind of a man known as the dragon slayer. It was Acnologia of course. He was making use of the magic I had taught him, and had gone after the dragons himself. I followed his trail, trying to find him and stop him from killing the dragons, but he was one step ahead of me the whole time. I only succeeded in saving one, but he died soon after of grief over the loss of his companions.

            "Acnologia had bathed in so much dragon blood that he too became one of the beasts he so hated. It was on my journey to look for him, feeling that it was my responsibility, that I met your father. He swept me off my feet, distracting me from my mission to try and get Acnologia back. Before I knew it, we were engaged, and you were on the way. I knew I had to tell him everything. Jude was ever the worrier, and became even more worried as soon as he found out. It was understandable of course, but I fear losing me made his worry increase until he thought the only way to protect his family was by having complete and utter control over you."

            Layla looked at Lucy apologetically, and caressed her cheek.

            "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I would've loved to watch you grow up, to teach you all the things about being a guardian, teach you magic, watch you at your first ball, watch you fall in love. I'm so incredibly sorry."

            Lucy was surprised Layla was apologizing to her. It had never occurred to her to blame her mother, who, as she had understood, had only been trying to protect everyone, and atone for something that she thought was her fault. She hurried to express these sentiments.

            "Of course I forgive you, but you don't need to apologize, Mama! You were just doing what you thought was right, and though I won't lie and say living without you wasn't hard, it's okay. I know you died doing what you thought was best and to protect me. I couldn't be prouder to know that you're some all powerful being who basically protects everyone in the world, and keeps the balance between two realms," she said earnestly, putting sincerity in every word she was saying.

            Layla looked honestly taken aback that she wasn't angry with her, and suddenly started laughing.

            "You really are my daughter," she said between laughs, patting her head affectionately, then her face suddenly grew serious. "Which is why I knew I could depend on you when the time came. Before I died, I did two things. One was to alter your memories so that you wouldn't remember how I had died; I didn't want to place such a heavy burden on you at that age, and instead cast a spell so that your memories would naturally come back when the time came. The second was to hide a piece of my consciousness in you, which is how we're talking like this right now. I did this so I could guide you when it came time for you to do what I could not."

            Layla looked at her with an intense gaze that Lucy had never seen before, and the weight of the realization that she had to be the one to save the world from Acnologia's wrath came crashing down on her.

            "I had wanted to find Acnologia and try to help him, thinking he was still salvageable, but I know now that I was naïve. He has killed so many and wreaked so much havoc, terrorizing the magical realm and even knocking the Celestials out of the heavens, making them forget their true identities and forcing them to live as humans. You remember Aquarius right?" Lucy nodded. "Well, why do you think she has that name?"

            Lucy thought for a moment before it dawned on her: the constellation.

            "She's a fallen Celestial?" she gasped.

            Layla nodded forlornly. "But she doesn't remember, and neither do the rest of them."

            "But then, the Kingdom of Celestial..." Lucy started, the pieces falling together in her brain.

            "Only came into existence when the Celestials were cast out of the heavens. It's entire population is made up of Celestial spirits as well as the most powerful ones, the Zodiacs, and their King. It's a fictive kingdom," Layla explained.

            "Oh my God..." Lucy muttered, realizing the magnitude of the sins Acnologia had committed, as well as the range of his power. "What do we do?"

            "You'll have to kill him," Layla said solemnly.

           Lucy knew it to be true—that had always been the plan, but after hearing Layla's story, and hearing the word kill, it seemed more gruesome. Taking a life, no matter whose it was, was an awful matter.

            "But how?" Lucy asked, pushing away her dread at what she knew she had to do. "If he's as powerful as you say he is, then there's no chance I can beat him. I don't even know how to use magic!"

            "There is a way. During my travels in search of Acnologia, I came across a spell that could kill him. At the time, I hadn't even thought of using it because I had been sure I could make Acnologia see reason, but it's time to use it now and it'll have to be you."

            A myriad of emotions shone in Layla's eyes, the more prominent of them being how sorry she was that she was putting all of this on Lucy's shoulders. Lucy swallowed with difficulty, but raised her head high nonetheless. Despite how difficult this task seemed, and how daunting it was, this was her legacy, a duty inscribed in her blood across generations. She had used to find herself pathetic and cowardly, but look at her now. She had taken a chance and come all this way to fight a murdering beast, and had even defied him multiple times. She was no longer the scared girl who didn't dare speak up on her own behalf. She was a powerful, independent woman who was going to do whatever it took to rid the world of the evil that was Acnologia. She could do this. Natsu believed in her, and now thanks to him, so did she.

            "Teach me the spell," she said firmly.

Meena: So, guys! What did you think? What were your reactions to the history between Acnologia and Layla? Were any of you expecting it? What are your predictions from here on out? 

Mira: It was certainly an interesting turn of events, but I could sort of see it coming. 

Meena: *shrugs* Yeah, I'm not super surprised I guess, but I'm wondering what everyone was thinking. 

Mira: The whole Natsu and Lucy saving each other is so romantic, though! *clasps hands with hearts in her eyes*

Meena: I'm glad! Anyway, I do need to go, so Mira, hurry!

Mira: Please vote, comment, and share! Meena takes a lot of time writing this story, and since it's coming to an end soon, please comment your feedback so Meena can improve as a writer! Constructive criticism is welcome. 

Both: So bye, and ja ne!