The Paradox of Time - A Fairy Tail Fanfic

Chapter 8

On a quiet afternoon in Magnolia, three mages spent their hours researching on how to successfully reverse the effects of time travel. Lucy invited Gray and Erza into her apartment that day, silently pleading that she wouldn't regret it. In fact, she was surprised to see that no one was digging through her drawers, wasting her bath water, or browsing through her diary, because they were all too involved in the books they had their noses in. Before they reached her house, they stopped by the guild to pick up books that seemed valuable enough in the guild library. The thought of asking Levy for help crossed Lucy's mind, but she decided it was best to not get her involved. However, one thing that they did do was ask questions, and they took note on how things changed around the guild. For example, when Lucy asked Cana "how did I first come to this guild", the drunken teen responded by saying that it was Erza who took her in. Also, they wrote down other things they noticed, such as Elfman's lack of pride, the fact that Romeo's dad has yet to return, and apparently the fact that Sabertooth was still a petty guild. All of these notes were spread across Lucy's apartment floor, along with the books from the library.

At Lucy's apartment, Gray slumped back, physically tired from all that reading. "Alright, Erza, mind giving us a report on what we've found so far?"

Erza collected the loose papers from the floor, organizing it in her hands. "Basically, we understand that the Elfman, Macao, and Sabertooth have all been directly affected due to Natsu's absence in their lives. Since Natsu wasn't here to confront Elfman the time Lisanna 'died', then that could explain why he is acting like a coward in this time dimension."

Lucy pitched in, grabbing the note card that had Macao's name written on it. "For Macao, it seems that he is still missing, because Natsu never went on that mission with me to look for him." Lucy couldn't help but feel nostalgic, thinking back to one of the first missions she did with her best friend.

Gray decided to add on to the report, explaining the situation about Sabertooth. "Alright, and for Sabertooth, I guess no one stood up to them the way Natsu did during the Grand Magic Games, which is what causes them to still be a 'bunch of jerks' in this alternative present, well, at least according to Gajeel." He sighed, still trying to piece things together. "But still, I don't get it. If everything that Natsu directly affected has changed, then why is Gajeel still in fairytail? Or how come we aren't a bunch of lacrimas in Edolas?"

Lucy put her hand on her chin, complementing his questions. "I guess it's because alternative events unfolded that caused the same result to take place. For example, it's like when Cana told me that Erza brought me to Fairy Tail. Even if Natsu never defeated Gajeel that time, maybe someone else did instead. I guess that's just how fate works."

Gray hung his head low. "That could explain why I'm still alive today. I remember getting ready to give up my life to use my iced shell on Lyon. If Natsu wasn't there, could it be that something else stopped me from doing it?"

Erza shook her head, a smile embellished on her face. "No, and in fact, I believe that event had never happened in this time dimension, because it was Natsu who made us go on that mission in the first place." Her smile soon left her as well, when she remembered her own suicide attempt made in the tower of heaven before Natsu came to her rescue. What prevented me from sacrificing myself, if it wasn't Natsu who saved me? Was it my fate to stay alive?

At that moment, they all came to realize just how important Natsu was in their lives, whether he affected it indirectly or not. They created a newfound respect for him, as well as a growing emptiness in their hearts for the nakama that they missed.

Erza neatly stacked the notecards onto the floor. "Alright, so now that we have that across, I have another point that we will need to address." Lucy and Gray looked at her, giving her their undivided attention.