Lovely | Jerza One-shots

In The Apocalypse

Present day: August 21, X792. A year after eclipse; after the dragons took over.

A little more than a year ago, the games ended in July. Thanks to a false indication, the princess of Fiore opened Eclipse, a gate that connects time and allows one to travel back in time. The plan was to destroy ten thousand dragons that were charging the city, only... those dragons came from the Eclipse instead. Humans became even more inferior than before and now the population has dwindled from ten percent to five.

Dragons now rule over the earth once more and only few humans still live. Those that do, have to fight for their survival each day. Some in isolation and others in company; either way, the company was either unpleasant, unwanted, treasured or destroyed. So far, not a single person whose lived in isolation has remained sane. That's why the population's numbers dwindled so much. All who were alone eventually set out to find others, very few survive the journey.

However, there are some who have manifested themselves in this new world, adapted to it and studied the dragons behavior enough not just to survive but live as well...

Jellal's pen slipped from his grip as he heard footsteps approaching. He sighed with relief, whether the company was good or bad didn't matter. In a world where almost no one is left to survive, the lines between light and dark have faded. As did those of trust and betrayal. Even in the apocalypse, there were some who only cared to feed their greed. Jellal bent down to pick his pencil up off the floor. He then returned his attention to his makeshift desk within this small cave which he now called home. He smiled as the footsteps got louder. She was okay.

"I see you made it back okay," he said, finishing the paragraph he was writing. He had gotten into the habit of writing when she was out. It helped to calm his nerves.

"Yeah..." He smiled and turned to look at her. That's when his smile faded. She was covered in bruises and scratches from head to toe. The blood from her cuts was smudged thanks to the rain that had been pouring that entire day. The rain had been flowing for the last week. Their cave didn't flood, nor would it, but the water would flow from above and leak inside from the ceiling. They've resorted to collecting that water with clay pots. Puddles would also form from water flowing in from the ground, but that was an insignificant amount. Thanks to the rain however, the cave was exceptionally damp.

"Erza, what happened?!" He exclaimed. He immediately stood up from his chair to walk to her. He walked because running wasn't an option, not when he was trying to save energy. Plus, she was still on her feet, standing upright, that clearly displayed that she wasn't too badly hurt.

"Nothing, was on my way back when I heard dragon wings overhead. I ran to seek shelter but in the process of coming out, I tumbled down a rocky mountain. That's where I received all of these. Luckily, I didn't lose the supplies I got." She gave a confident grin, referring to the over stuffed backpack on her back.

"Erza, supplies or no, your life is still most important. Don't forget it." She smiled at him as he kissed her forehead. How could she forget when he reminded her every day? "So, how's it lookin' up there?"

Immediately, her happy expression vanished. "The dragons have spread out more, so Crocus isn't as crowded with 'em as before but still... there are quite a few lurking around there. The city is still in shambles, not like it will ever be fixed but, yeah. However, in between all the rubble I managed to find us some food and pillows for us to sleep on. At least we won't be all that sore when we wake up now. I also gathered some water from the river on the way back."

"Any people?" To that she shook her head. He expected as much. Seeing another human now-a-days was a rare thing. The two of them are only together because when the dragons attacked and they realized the situation was too dire, they went into hiding. Erza wished to save her comrades but Jellal convinced her other wise. And he was right. She couldn't defeat dragons on her own, not when both she and her friends were so heavily injured. Her foot, which was broken at the time, healed perfectly thanks to the cast on it. But still, both of them were left with wounds, emotional as well as physical, that made deep gashes and left large scars.