05-25-2015, 06:11 PM
As soon as their eyes locked, the rest of the room disappeared. Erza experienced a strange, serene calm like she hadn't since arriving in this strange Omniverse. No longer was she wondering what the heck Carn was or why Desco had immediately yanked him along, nor who this Dictator Guu was and why she was important. No, the only thing Erza could see right now was the man Guu had been pulling along behind her. A wide, hearty smile slowly spread across her face as she held up a hand and offered a wave. His mouth fell agape and eyes widened in shock and awe. He began to slowly walk forward, jaw firming up in determination, gaining momentum as he went, and took his first completely voluntary steps since having been roped into Dante's Abyss. "Gildarts! I was looking for -"
Erza's cheery greeting was cut off by Gildarts' arms wrapping around her in a sudden but not unwelcome embrace. "Erza... You're here. You're alive." A chill fluttered down Erza's spine, goosebumps beginning to form on her skin in defiance of Gildarts' natural warmth. "I'm... Alive?"
It was then that she well and truly realized for the first time that there were still people back home who had no idea where she'd gone off to. A few days was pretty normal for Erza, but that was only in the Omniverse. Who knows how much time had passed back in Earthland while she'd been here, out of their reach? Gildarts let her go, arms remaining temporarily on her shoulders as he allowed his relief and a small smile to settle in. Oh Gods. I've abandoned them AGAIN? "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to leave, you know how Omni is, he just pulls people and you don't get to go... back..." She trailed off as Gildarts' facial expression shifted from abject relief to puzzlement. "Or, didn't I?"
"Uh... No?" Gildarts scratched his head with his real arm, allowing the prosthetic to fall to his side. "I mean, usually I'm the forgetful one, but... Well, do you not remember the S-rank test? Acnologia? Omni saved me from our island's destruction, but I didn't think anyone else made it. I'm just... So glad that you're alright. Have you seen any of the others?"
Wow. Forgetful indeed. Intimidating, powerful, loyal, but certainly had been knocked around a time or two. "And you don't remember ANYTHING from after that?"
"What? No, I would have died. You too, if you hadn't also been pulled here. We're powerful mages, but against THAT thing... I thought that coming here, to this Abyss thing, would help me find a way to save them. I was tricked. And now, I have even less time to get back." The relief he'd felt at seeing Erza seemed to erode just as quickly as
Well, that was strange. Was it perhaps possible that what he was saying was true? That this Gildarts WAS, in fact, brought here in the year X784, instead of being preserved for seven years on the island with the rest of the Guild's strongest members? Had he not experienced the rebuilding of the Guild hall and the Grand Magic Games? The rest of the Dragons coming to the future?
Did that mean that this was a different Gildarts from the one with whom she'd experienced those fantastic things? Was this a different, duplicate copy, yanked from earlier in his timeline than her own? And did that in turn mean that she wasn't actually the real Erza? Or was the universe she'd experienced, the world in X791, not actually the same world she'd come from, just a strange copy from a dream, or a coma?
Enough philosophical rambling. She was the true Erza, she knew it in her heart. And not just an alternate-reality semi-duplicate, like Knightwalker had been. She was the real deal, and nothing could sway her from that notion, even if she WAS, maybe, technically, a copy. Which meant that even if these things were true, even if Gildarts was a copy, or not technically the same one she remembered, it was still Gildarts, her Gildarts, and she was glad for it.
"Gildarts. Listen to me for just a moment. I think we were pulled here from different points in time. I survived that catastrophe, the breath of Acnologia. Actually, you did too, though... Anyway. We were saved by the First Master, don't ask me how, just it was seven years in the future, and a lot of stuff happened, and... Anyway. They're alive, Gildarts. At least, they were when I was brought here, seven years and change later."
Erza couldn't tell Gildarts' emotions from his expression, though she thought herself something of an expert in figuring him out after their long time as friends. It was almost as though he'd lost something, something precious to him that was keeping him sane. But at the same time, she could feel pure, tangible joy radiating from his very being, that same joy she'd felt in their short embrace, but amplified for every single person he had known on that island.
"Come on." She gave another encouraging smile, trying to put any doubts about Gildarts' emotions in the back of her mind and allowing the world around them to reform. "Introduce me to your friend here. Dictator Guu, was it?"
*Whumph*
Erza's cheery greeting was cut off by Gildarts' arms wrapping around her in a sudden but not unwelcome embrace. "Erza... You're here. You're alive." A chill fluttered down Erza's spine, goosebumps beginning to form on her skin in defiance of Gildarts' natural warmth. "I'm... Alive?"
It was then that she well and truly realized for the first time that there were still people back home who had no idea where she'd gone off to. A few days was pretty normal for Erza, but that was only in the Omniverse. Who knows how much time had passed back in Earthland while she'd been here, out of their reach? Gildarts let her go, arms remaining temporarily on her shoulders as he allowed his relief and a small smile to settle in. Oh Gods. I've abandoned them AGAIN? "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to leave, you know how Omni is, he just pulls people and you don't get to go... back..." She trailed off as Gildarts' facial expression shifted from abject relief to puzzlement. "Or, didn't I?"
"Uh... No?" Gildarts scratched his head with his real arm, allowing the prosthetic to fall to his side. "I mean, usually I'm the forgetful one, but... Well, do you not remember the S-rank test? Acnologia? Omni saved me from our island's destruction, but I didn't think anyone else made it. I'm just... So glad that you're alright. Have you seen any of the others?"
Wow. Forgetful indeed. Intimidating, powerful, loyal, but certainly had been knocked around a time or two. "And you don't remember ANYTHING from after that?"
"What? No, I would have died. You too, if you hadn't also been pulled here. We're powerful mages, but against THAT thing... I thought that coming here, to this Abyss thing, would help me find a way to save them. I was tricked. And now, I have even less time to get back." The relief he'd felt at seeing Erza seemed to erode just as quickly as
Well, that was strange. Was it perhaps possible that what he was saying was true? That this Gildarts WAS, in fact, brought here in the year X784, instead of being preserved for seven years on the island with the rest of the Guild's strongest members? Had he not experienced the rebuilding of the Guild hall and the Grand Magic Games? The rest of the Dragons coming to the future?
Did that mean that this was a different Gildarts from the one with whom she'd experienced those fantastic things? Was this a different, duplicate copy, yanked from earlier in his timeline than her own? And did that in turn mean that she wasn't actually the real Erza? Or was the universe she'd experienced, the world in X791, not actually the same world she'd come from, just a strange copy from a dream, or a coma?
Enough philosophical rambling. She was the true Erza, she knew it in her heart. And not just an alternate-reality semi-duplicate, like Knightwalker had been. She was the real deal, and nothing could sway her from that notion, even if she WAS, maybe, technically, a copy. Which meant that even if these things were true, even if Gildarts was a copy, or not technically the same one she remembered, it was still Gildarts, her Gildarts, and she was glad for it.
"Gildarts. Listen to me for just a moment. I think we were pulled here from different points in time. I survived that catastrophe, the breath of Acnologia. Actually, you did too, though... Anyway. We were saved by the First Master, don't ask me how, just it was seven years in the future, and a lot of stuff happened, and... Anyway. They're alive, Gildarts. At least, they were when I was brought here, seven years and change later."
Erza couldn't tell Gildarts' emotions from his expression, though she thought herself something of an expert in figuring him out after their long time as friends. It was almost as though he'd lost something, something precious to him that was keeping him sane. But at the same time, she could feel pure, tangible joy radiating from his very being, that same joy she'd felt in their short embrace, but amplified for every single person he had known on that island.
"Come on." She gave another encouraging smile, trying to put any doubts about Gildarts' emotions in the back of her mind and allowing the world around them to reform. "Introduce me to your friend here. Dictator Guu, was it?"
![[Image: Erza_kicks_Happy.gif]](http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121027120537/fairytail/images/e/ed/Erza_kicks_Happy.gif)