Ripples

The dark clouds shifted closer to one another, covering the grey skies as the wind picked up, sweeping through the empty streets. The soft patter of rain created a lulling shush in the area and a cloaked figure darted around the corner into a nearby inn, ignoring the murky water that splashed up messily as a result of her quick pace. A chilly mist settled down upon the land quickly, almost foreboding in nature, and she sneaked a cautious glance around behind her, eyes scanning the grounds in an almost paranoid fashion. Sensing nobody nearby, the shady figure pushed open the door to the inn and slipped in silently.

The inn was a modest little place, with only a few paintings adorning the shabby walls and wooden floor panels lining the corridors. The female brushed past the receptionist, who spared her a short glance before sliding a key across the polished counter surface. She nodded and dropped a few coins in front of him. A slender hand reached out from within the folds of her cloak to grasp the key and the woman proceeded up the stairs.

She entered the room and shut the door behind her quietly. The overhead light sparked into light at the flick of the switch but soon, its illumination fizzed into a series of flashes, throwing eerie shadows dancing around the dimly lit room. The woman brought up her hand and clenched it into a fist tightly, her small frame shaking visibly.

With the sudden disappearance of magic in Edolas, she had hoped to overthrow the old fool, Faust, and his heir and become ruler. But unfortunately, Mystogan had managed to discover the X-balls, thus allowing the continuance of magic to exist in the kingdom and gaining a strong support amongst his people.

A small sneer tugged at the corner of her lips. But it didn't matter. It wouldn't matter once she used her magic. Because she was a time mage, and she could manipulate time in any way she liked. A pale hand swept back her hood, revealing long raven hair and ghostly features. A year on the run had drained Ultear of much of her youthfulness but the flames of hatred burning in her soul couldn't have been stronger.

A hysterical laugh erupted from her ruby red lips and Ultear stretched out her hand. A soft orange glow surrounded her fists before slowly spreading. Soon, her whole body was enveloped by it.

This kingdom was hers. This world was hers. And now, it was time to unravel the time stream.

She slammed a hand on the table with more force than she had intended but she'd be damned if she back down now. She was Erza Knightwalker, Royal Army Captain of the 2nd Magic War Division, Champion of Edolas! She was the fricking Fairy Hunter for goodness sake!

"And what is wrong with moving squad two to the border?" Erza snarled.

Mystogan glared back at her, refusing to change his stance either. "Stationing troops on the border is a hostile act! They'll use it as an excuse to invade us!"

The female leaned forwards threateningly. "They're going to invade us anyway! Better to prepare a defence before they can catch us by surprise!"

It was annoying how Mystogan never seemed to agree with her. She didn't doubt his good intentions for Edolas, but she was growing very tired of his pacifistic views

"And potentially start a war with a neighbouring country?" Mystogan leaned forwards dangerously as well, "are you mad?"

Their faces were so close that they were almost touching and he could feel the aggressive tension radiating from her. They remained in this position for a while, their hot breaths mingling with each other before Mystogan gave up, sitting back in his chair.

"I'm just trying to protect our country!" She spat out bitterly.

Mystogan growled under his breath. This was soon becoming a daily routine. He would propose to do something and Erza would crush the idea. Then she would suggest something else and he would refuse to approve it due to some flaw. It was no doubt tiring and obviously not particularly efficient and not much was achieved throughout his ever so short reign. However, he recognized the value of this bantering as it enabled him to ultimately make the best decision and for that, the king was willing to undergo this grueling process every day even though half the time, he just wanted to strangle that infuriating woman.

"And you don't think I'm trying to do what's best for my country either?" He challenged her, eyes narrowing.

Erza placed a hand on her hip haughtily and turned to leave, waving dismissively. "No, I just think you're plain stupid."

"Knightwalker," Mystogan growled but the door had already closed and he was left staring at the piece of wood. He ruffled his hair and slumped back in his chair. Damn, he hated talking to that woman sometimes.

Erza embraced Mest tightly, or as he was now known as Doranbolt.

"Thank you," she whispered tearfully in his ear, voice thick with emotion. After waiting for so many years, losing and reuniting with Jellal only for him to be taken away, Jellal was now finally able to regain his freedom. She had been so afraid that he would be sentenced to execution all this time that this moment was so overwhelming.

Mest patted her on the back gently and she released him from her embrace slowly before wiping the silent tears from her face. Ever since Grimoire Heart's defeat and failure to revive Zeref, the members had gone underground, plotting their revenge. During that time, Mest had witnessed Fairy Tail's help first hand and also grown to understand them. A week later, the new Council had announced that Jellal would be spared and released on the condition that he have his memory wiped clean with Mest's magic. It had broken her heart that Jellal wouldn't remember anything but though reluctant at first, Erza had come to accept the decision and was now waiting for Jellal outside the prison's gates. Though Mest had never admitted outright that he had put in a good word for both Fairy Tail and Jellal, Erza knew better. Glancing at the councilman's retreating back, she bowed respectfully.

The clang of the metal gates shutting jolted her from her heavy thoughts. She straightened up and found herself face to face with Jellal.

He stared at her expectantly as she was the only one waiting there.

"Um hey there," the man scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Jellal…"

Jellal stared at her strangely, a flicker of unrecognizable emotion flashing across his features for a second, but held out his hand for a handshake. "You're Erza, right?"

Erza did not respond and his outstretched hand closed into a fist. He shifted the bag over his shoulder nervously but then a radiant smile graced her face and Erza stepped forwards and hugged him. Jellal stumbled backwards slightly under her sudden weight. He could smell her scent. It was…fresh, clean, almost pure. He held her against his chest more tightly, savouring the first human contact he had had in years. He couldn't remember anything except for his name but there was a warm familiarity with this female that he couldn't quite place. Still, it soothed him to know that someone in this world cared about him.

The redhead looked up and Jellal was surprised to see silent tears glistening in her onyx eyes. Gentle hands reached up to brush away the tears on her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" Jellal asked, feeling pained. He had a certain feeling that the he was somehow the cause and a pang of guilt tugged at his heart strings. What had he done? What could cause such a beautiful creature so much pain?

Erza smiled through tearful eyes and he felt his heart flutter. "Don't worry, I'm just really happy, that's all."

Ignoring the stunned look on his face, she threaded her fingers between his and dragged him off. "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"Let's just get away from everything, just for a little while."

They had, after all, all the time in the world.

Ultear sat unmoving in a bar in the small town of Lavin, hands clasped around her glass of vodka. Her plans of reviving Zeref had failed and she had learned of the truth behind her mother's actions.

Gray Fullbuster…

She downed the shot greedily. Relishing the burning feeling in her throat, she threw down a few coins in payment and exited the bar. She had nothing left in this world. Zeref was no more, Gray Fullbuster was no longer her enemy, she was a wanted criminal who couldn't join a guild for jobs. She didn't really have any more purpose in life. The female trudged through the streets slowly. Still, deep down she knew it wasn't true. Resentment and hatred still remained in her heart and she wanted nothing more than revenge on those scientists who had robbed her of her childhood, of her mother, of her happiness.

A faint breeze brushed past her and she stiffened slightly. Years of experience had taught her to notice the slightest change in her surroundings and now, she could feel a fair amount of magic buzzing in the air. Ultear stopped. Although magic was abundant in Earthland, there were no guilds in this town. She stiffened visibly at the thought. Had the council finally caught up with her?

You want revenge, don't you?

Her eyes widened at the voice. Whipping around, she saw no one in the vicinity.

I can help you with that in exchange for a little help from you.

She recognized this voice. It was…her voice…in her head. A second later, she threw back her head and laughed hysterically. The defeat must have come as a bigger blow than she had anticipated. She was now imagining things in her head. This was just brilliant.

You're not imagining things, Ultear. I am simply speaking to you from a parallel world.

Well that certainly sounded stupid. Ultear shook her head. She was going insane, how pathetic.

Suddenly, a burst of light materialized in front of her and Ultear tumbled to the ground in a panic. Eyes widening, she watched in horror as a person identical to her stepped through the light. As the light dissipated, she could see that the other her was slightly transparent and had shorter hair than she did.

The ghostly image smiled deviously. "Hello Ultear."

Ultear merely gaped at her and her counterpart shook her head in disbelief. Was this weakling really her parallel counterpart?

"I am Ultear," she rolled her eyes at this part, "but I'm sure you know that. What you probably don't know is that I come from Edolas, the place where Mystogan, the counterpart of Jellal, comes from." She flicked her hair casually and continued but stopped as Ultear trudged past her, muttering under her breath.

"I'm going crazy, I'm going crazy, I'm going crazy." Ultear repeated this mantra over and over again, wringing her hands in despair.

Edo-Ultear tried again. "I'm speaking to you at the moment through my magic. I want to rewind time and change the future and I have so far succeeded in unraveling the time stream. However, I'll need your powers as well. Mine alone isn't strong enough to do so."

Ultear stared back at the towering figure, brain working madly. Deciding to play along with this hallucination, she straightened up more confidently after a moment of brief silence. "And why is that so?"

"Going back in time is not only limited to my world. It involves all parallel universes and alternate dimensions. All worlds will go back in time and for mine to do so, yours will be no exception. That is why," Edo-Ultear paused for dramatic effect, "you have to act as an anchor for Earthland. Of course, there's also the fact that my magic only works on living things whereas yours only works on non-living things. So I would need both our magic to actually make this work."

Ultear's eyes glimmered as her mind raced and she shot a quick glance at her counterpart. She could tell that the unraveling of the time stream would merge the two worlds together, her counterpart's presence was good evidence of that. This was a perfect opportunity to change things. In fact, she could maybe even gain something more out of this whole ordeal. She had nothing to lose.

"Don't you want to turn back time? To change some things in the past and create a new future? Think of the endless possibilities," Edo Ultear chided gently and extended her hand. "What do you say? Will you join me?"

1 year later...

Mystogan looked up from his paperwork at the sound of a sudden gust outside. Swiveling around in his chair, he gazed out of the large French window behind him. It seemed as if a storm was picking up as an onslaught of rain crashed down against the glass panel. He pushed himself off his chair and made his way to the window. With his cloak trailing behind him, he perched himself on the window sill, one leg drawn up, and looked up at the grey skies.

He loved thunderstorms. The raging winds always soothed him and the irregular beating of the rain on the glass managed to produce a calming effect on him. The dim skies contrasted greatly with his brilliantly lit room and he waved a hand, turning off all the lights. A great rumble sounded in the distance and the king smiled, leaning against the glass. The rain poured down with even more vigour now and Mystogan looked on in fascination. A brilliant flash filled the sky and with the pounding of the rain echoing in his ears, he placed a palm on the glass, watching as the warmth of his hand fogged up the glass outlining his hand. The water blurred the gloomy colours and Mystogan peered through the distorted shapes of the outside. He could faintly see a redhead with her squad training in the midst of the downpour.

Erza chose to look up at that moment and stared straight in his direction and Mystogan grinned. He was pretty sure she could see him there as she was now glaring straight at him. Soon, squad 2 gave up training, as they were completely drenched, and trudged out of the courtyard. Their captain swept from the area, no doubt heading to report to him about her troop's training, and Mystogan scanned the skies once more.

He could feel a large amount of magic in the air, more so than usual, and it bothered him to no end even if the storm did calm his nerves ever so slightly. The dark clouds were now so thick that it almost looked as if he could cut it with a knife. It almost seemed as if…

"It can't be," he gasped, eyes widening.

The clouds were swirling in a circular pattern, similar to a cyclone, and a large dark hole had opened up.

No. It couldn't be. It couldn't be the anima! He was, after all, the only one who still had the power to open or close the portal.

Mystogan bolted for the door, flinging them open. Sidestepping the figure in front of him, he ran for the stairs. He didn't notice Erza's wet attire or the fact that she was completely soaked. He didn't notice the way her clothes clung to her tightly, highlighting her curves. Nothing registered in Mystogan's mind apart from the fact that something similar to the anima was at work and all Erza could do was stare dumbly after him.

Author's note:

You know that I'm having problems writing/updating when the author's note is almost as long as the chapter XD anyway, this is kinda a collab between me and asianpearl, with me taking Edolas and her taking Earthland, but Ginny's busy atm (don't worry Ginny, I'll be suffering with you soon. I've seen my 2nd year curriculum and it's utter hell), so she'll jump back in when she's free! I think I still need to ask her about some details XD

Secondly, I know that this story seems similar to Saint's Mnemophobia but Ultear was the only logical way that could bring together Edolas and Earthland. But I promise you, it's different. It's different from Mnemophobia –stoned-

Yay for thunderstorms. I have a fetish for them XD

And thanks to excapizem ( youtube .com/excapizem) for bouncing ideas with me! Check out her amazing Jerza vids while you're at it!

ILYSC