343. Send Them Back

The Rock Dragon and Scissor Runner are being beheaded by Ben's Golden Solar Sword. No blood is coming out of the cut because the sword was very hot it burnt the cut. Then just like Motherglare, he puts them in a different space that he created.

Ben flies to the evacuated people and lands in front of Mira & his kids. The kids run to him, so he hugs them as Mira also joins in. People also surround him and want to celebrate his success, but he tells them it's not over yet.

"Mira, can you insert your magic power into these lacrimas? I want to send a message to them," says Ben with a very sad tone.

Mira widens her eyes and looks at the kids before asking, "By them, do you mean...?"

Ben nods and Mira also has a sad expression on her face. Everyone else is confused, but they don't ask anything. Then they see Ben gives a black & white lacrimas to Mira who then touches it. Both she & Ben then pour a lot of their magic power into the lacrimas while closing their eyes.

They finish after some time and then Mira takes the kids from Ben's arms. Ben then turns around and flies back into the city. He flies to the top of a building where 5 people are hiding their presence there. There are 3 Crime Sorciere members, Lucy, and future Lucy there.

"It's time to destroy that gate. Older Lucy, I have a favor to ask before you return to your time. Give these lacrima balls to my kids and this one to Wendy," says Ben while taking out 3 Lacrima Balls.

The 2 lacrima balls are the Shadow & White Dragon Lacrimas he took from future Rogue. Then the other one is a white-bluish lacrima ball that he made. It is a Sky Dragon Lacrima he made for Wendy but he hasn't given it to her.

Ben already knew the use of Dragon Lacrimas for 1st generation Dragon Slayers. But he also knew that they need to reach high levels to optimize the effects of Dragon Lacrimas. Wendy isn't ready yet, she will just be like Sting & Rogue if she uses it at her current level.

That's why he wants to give it to future Wendy who obviously needs it more. He doesn't know why the future him didn't give it to Wendy, but there must be a strong reason. However, they can't keep running away, they need to fight or at least get stronger to increase their chance of survival.

"Give these to them, but don't use these before you can find a very good hiding spot. Then after they use these, you guys need to do everything you can to get as strong as possible," says Ben.

"I understand. We actually have found the best hiding place, but there's a big problem. It is your secret lab in your old village that Wendy found in your journal," says future Lucy.

"That doesn't sound to be a problem," says Jellal.

"It is, there is a secret code to prevent people from entering it. Have you tried opening it?" asks Ben.

"No, Wendy was against it before we are sure that we can open it in one try," says future Lucy.

"Phew, that's good. That place will burn anyone who fails on the first try, if they survive and try it again, they will get crushed by very strong gravity, and the 3rd try will make the lab self-destruct. The power of that destruction is enough to decimate the whole Waas Forest," says Ben in relief.

Everyone there is shocked by his explanation, especially future Lucy who is also very relieved.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Ultear snaps.

"Not really, none of those things can kill me, so if it's me who failed, then I will be fine. Also, no one knows about that place and its location is hidden very well. I also made sure that no one will find it by coincidence. So those who find it must've deliberately searched for it. Well, it doesn't matter at all, I'll give you the key," says Ben.

The key that Ben means isn't a literal key, code, or password. He just grabs future Lucy's right hand and creates a mark on the back of her hand. The mark that he made is a 3 colored-Crown with black, red, & golden colors.

"Just enter the cave where I & Wendy trained in the past. Then place your hand anywhere on the ground and pour your magic power through your hand," says Ben.

Future Lucy waits for another instruction, but it never comes. "Uhm, that's it?"

"That's it," says Ben.

"A-alright," replies future Lucy.

There are some other things about it, but Ben doesn't need to explain them. When they enter the lab, they will understand everything even without his explanation. Besides, explaining about his lab will take too long to finish.

"Ah, there's one more thing. Don't leave the lab unless it's very necessary. I've stored many things there that can help you survive for 5 years inside the lab. Your only jobs are to survive and get stronger. Be patient, and a miracle will surely happen, I promise that to you. Also, good job for surviving till now. You have gone through a lot and more challenges will surely come. But don't ever lose hope because as long as you live, you will find a way to go through everything," says Ben while patting future Lucy's head.

Tears come out of future Lucy's eyes because she never has someone comfort her for a long time. The last one who did it was future Mira before her death. Since then, she became the pillar of her group as the oldest.

Ben then gives her one more item, it's another lacrima ball. It looks like a normal lacrima ball, but it has a teleportation spell installed. This lacrima ball is used to teleport the user & some people around them to the cave that Ben meant.

He knows that future Lucy's group is near the Eclipse Gate because she used it to return here. The distance between the gate & the cave is very far, so they will need to travel a long way. They will be exposed to danger, so this teleportation ball will help them a lot.

Then Ben flies to Atlas Flame who is talking with Natsu right now. He only wants to make sure that he doesn't create another timeline by changing something. So he tells Atlas a message for his past self just like what he got a few years ago.

After he's done, Ben flies to the Eclipse Gate alone and lands on top of it. He touches the gate and closes his eyes while feeling all the magic power inside it. Quorra also scans the Eclipse Gate to understand its full mechanisms.

"Don't lose hope, my children. Daddy will always protect you, no matter what. I will never break my promise to you too, my sisters, my friends," says Ben as he opens his eyes.

Ben takes out a very big Lacrima ball that doesn't have any color, it's crystal clear. He places it above the gate and magic power starts to come out of the gate. The clear lacrima ball absorbs all the magic power from the gate and it starts to become black with golden color on the outside.

It takes a while for the crystal to absorb all the magic power from the gate. And when it's done, the gate becomes grey like a stone. Then with a small stomp from Ben, the gate gets destroyed into pieces.

When that happens, all the time travelers' bodies start to glow. Future Lucy, Zirconis, and Atlas Flame are glowing and their bodies start to disappear. They are about to return to their timelines now.

Future Lucy is bidding farewell to the current Lucy & the Crime Sorciere and they tell her to stay strong. Atlas bids farewell to Natsu and tells him to get stronger. As for Zirconis, he can only curse Ben as his body disappears.

The time travelers have finally returned to their time after a while. Now, the only things left are the memories of them and destruction. But these things will be a great foundation for their future and prepare them for more challenges.

People are rejoicing now because they have survived this catastrophe. But the Dragon Slayers are not that happy because out of 8 Dragon Slayers, only Ben succeeded to slay real Dragons. They just realized how powerless they actually are, although they're happy that they & their friends are safe.

The only one that can't be happy yet is Ben because this might not be over yet. Future Lucy said that Acnologia will appear after the Dragons' appearances. So he is still wary right now even though all the Dragons have gone.

Luckily, even after waiting for a long time, Acnologia doesn't appear. He might not look tired, but Ben is actually very tired after using Dragon Force. His battles against the 4 Dragons might look easy, but he actually spent most of his magic power.

Ben truly gets relieved when Acnologia still hasn't appeared till sunrise. With the sun's appearance, his power also starts to return. But he is still tired, so he lies on his back and falls asleep.

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