The Paradox of Time - A Fairy Tail Fanfic

Chapter 9

Lucy, Gray, and Erza had made their way back to the guild, tired from the relentless 12-hour period of tracking down Natsu in this alternative time dimension. It was 7 pm, and the only thing that Erza had in mind was settling down on a piece of strawberry cake. Even with all the chaos arising with Natsu's evil version of himself and the changing of the whole present due to a simple mission, the scarlet mage found it absolutely necessary to take a sweet break. Neither Gray nor Lucy objected, as they found themselves making their way to the guild bar as well.

"Can I get a coke?" Gray asked Mira, desolately placing his elbow on the counter.

"Strawberry cake, please."

"I'll take coffee."

The three of them seemed exhausted, sluggishly sitting on the bar stools.

Mira smiled in response before fetching their requests. She placed the cake and beverages on the bar counter. "You all look drained! How was your day today?"

Lucy gave her a dimpled smile, yet she didn't know how to respond to her question. "It was all over the place, that's for sure."

The Take Over mage's grin suddenly dissipated, her eyes narrowing. She leaned towards them, her voice lowering to a whisper. "You didn't look for Natsu, did you?"

Erza exchanged a look with Gray and Lucy before her eyes shifted to Mira. "Need I remind you, it was for research purposes only." Her lips were tight as she hissed out those words.

Mira backed up, her eyebrows furrowed. "So you did look for him. And you found him?"

Gray nodded, his eyes glued to his soda. "He was burning a village."

Mira shook her head in disapproval. "I can't believe you all came back alive. Master would be furious if he heard about this."

Lucy's face brightened in a matter of seconds, her eyes widening in realization. Master! Why didn't we think of this before?! Master was the one who brought Natsu to Fairy Tail, so we can just ask what happened the day, July 7, x777! Lucy shot up from her seat, looking at Mirajane with sparkling eyes. "Where's gramps? Can we talk to him?!"

Mirajane cocked her head, confusion clouding her expression. She wrinkled her nose. "Gramps? No no no... Gramps isn't our master anymore..."

The three of them shot their eyes at her, the same perplexity reflecting on their faces.

"What do you mean? You're saying Makarov isn't Fairy Tail's guild master?"

Erza questioned, completely in a state of bewilderment.

"If Gramps isn't our guild master, then who is?" Gray asked, anxious for an answer.

As if on cue, a bulky, muscular man began walking down the stairs of the second floor. A fur coat was draped over his shoulders, and a scar shaped like a lightning bolt was configured on his face. It was Laxus, but something was very different about him in this time dimension. The left side of his face was engraved with a large burnt mark, spreading from his hairline to his cheeks. It covered his eye as well, texturizing his skin with scarred tissue. Mira made her way to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him into a warm embrace. He returned the gesture, hugging her with his muscular arms. He bent down and gave her a gentle kiss. "Hey, babe."

"Good afternoon, Master Laxus! I haven't seen you all day!" She giggled, pulling away from his grasp.

Lucy spat out her coffee, Erza dropped her spoon, and Gray choked on his cola. The three of them were utterly speechless.

"You're master?" Erza pointed a shaky hand pointing towards him.

"You two are d-dating?!" Lucy stuttered. She had never felt so many surprises in one day.