The Gate is Opened...Farewell to the Slumbering Fiore.
Mikoto watched at the darkness creeped further and further across the sky, It's everlasting blackness getting closer and closer. Meanwhile, the Gate of Entry seemed to be getting brighter and brighter, as if the power it had needed to open had finally charged.
"It's finally time.." Mikoto murmured.
Nicole nodded. She walked over to Maverick's silent form and picked him up in her arms as tears began to pour down her face.
"We should bury him.." said Lucy. "Here..on this beach...before the gate opens"
"We don't have the time to dig a hole.." Happy said.
"No..but I still have some magic energy left." said Lucy taking out a gold key. "Open, Gate of the Maiden..Virgo."
In a flash of golden light, a girl in a maid's outfit appeared and nodded at Lucy. "I shall do it Princess."
Virgo spun her body, drilling a hole in the ground. she leapt out and watched as Nicole gently lowered Maverick into the hole. Mikoto couldn't help but marvel at how peaceful the little Exceed looked. It was as if he was sleeping...
As Virgo closed the hole over Maverick's body, Natsu blew a slow steady stream of fire over some of the sand next to him until he had a large rectangular shard of glass. Natsu traced his finger in the molten glass until it said:
Here lies Maverick,
A True Member of Fairy Tail.
Natsu took the glass shard and placed over the spot in the sand where Maverick was buried. "It's not much...but I'm sure the others will give him something more proper once this is all over..."
Mikoto wiped a tear from her eye. Her eyes seemed to burn a bit. She could imagine how red they were, she had spent much of today shedding tears. They had sacrificed much, and they had seen much...Mikoto was pretty sure an adult would say that at her age, it was thoroughly unhealthy. But it didn't matter anymore what the long term affects of this would be...she was already dead...in the end, her grave was clearly marked, it was likely she would never see her little sister Lucy Misaka come into this world.1
"Kinda makes me wonder what they'll put on our graves." Mikoto murmured.
"I know what I'd put on yours.." said Lucy with a smile. "Here lies Mikoto...possibly the strongest person I have, or ever will meet..."
"I'm not that strong.." Mikoto said as she blushed slightly.
"You kidding?" said Natsu. "You had an entire leg blown off, and you didn't even say a thing about it!"
"It's going to grow back.." said Mikoto. "Either that...or a Xenomorph is gonna hatch out of my chest..whatever that is.."
"Mikoto," said Happy. "A Xenomorph is those monsters from the movie Alien."
"Oh..so he was joking." said Mikoto with a slight chuckle. "I could never tell with that guy."
"Come.." said Nicole looking up at the Gate of Entry. "It is time."
Sure enough, the gate was beginning to open outwards. For such a large gate, it was astounding how noiselessly it opened...silently gliding it's doors outwards like ghosts. The massive doors opened to reveal a massive shimmering rainbow collored energy surface...much like the Rainbow Gateway that was now sealed within darkness back at Magnolia Town.
"It's only going to be open for a short time.." said Lucy. "We have to hurry!"
"I will carry Princess's friend.." said Virgo as she picked Mikoto up in her arms. "Is this alright?"
Mikoto nodded. "Yeah, thanks."
As the group began to walk towards the gate, Mikoto looked back at the darkness which was now only inches away from the beach. She could see the bright star in the sky that was the Celestial Spirit King, using his magic to hold back the darkness before it could reach them....
"Farewell Fiore.." Mikoto said. "Thank you for everything.."
Mikoto then looked down at the edge of the beach. There she could see Ghost Slumberer, silently watching the group leave, his scythe glinting in the moonlight.
Mikoto heard a voice in her mind.
"I see you future girl....your death....it will come...but it will not be a complete death....do not trust the Soul Reapers...they will tell you that you shouldn't exist...they will attempt to trick you....but remember, not everything is as it seems.....my mastes desire your death yes....but who is to say they will always be my masters? Beware Mikoto Misaka...the end...does not necessarily mean....The End.."1
And with that, Mikoto saw nothing but bright shimmering rainbow lights as she and Virgo passed through the tremendous gate. For a moment all she could feel was a cool sensation, as if she was passing through a waterfall...then...
Mikoto opened her eyes again to find that they were standing in the middle of a dark parking lot next to a large red brick building. The parkinglot and building were on a hill next to rows of houses in what appeared to be a small town.
"Where are we..?" Lucy asked. "It doesn't look like anywhere in Japan.."
Natsu looked up at the building. "Heh..looks like a church."
"Dahlonega Baptist Church.." Happy read on a nearby sign. "I've never heard of Dahlonega before.."
"My phone has a GPS.." said Mikoto. "It's in my pocket."
Nicole took Mikoto's phone from her pocket and looked in it. "Dahlonega...it's a small town in America..in the northern part of Georgia. It's quite small.."1
"Alright.." said Mikoto. "Natsu..check if the church door is locked or not...if it is locked..let me get close to it.."
Natsu did as Mikoto said, going over to the door and moving the door handle of the large rows of double doors that sat side by side at the church. "All locked."
Virgo nodded at Mikoto and brought her close enough to the door to where Mikoto was able to brush a finger over the lock. An electric spark jumped out of her finger and electromagnetically opened the lock.
Lucy pulled the door open, and the group piled into the small entrance hall that preceded the sanctuary hall, Virgo set Mikoto on a couch in the hall as Lucy and Nicole brought out the old map.
"Here.." said Mikoto pointing at three different locations on the map. "Those are the three locations of the different gates we need to pass through to find Dravis's heart peice. I don't know how these gates are supposed to lead us to it...My dream said something about the Roads of Time...I'm not sure what that is..but it doesn't look like we need to pass through the gates in any particular order...so we'll head to this one first..."
Mikoto pointed at a small chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean. "Here...Hawaii..there's a volcano marked here..I think it's Igneel's gate.."
"What about this one though?" said Lucy pointing at the one in Britian. "It looks closer."
Mikoto shook her head. "No..that's where Necessarius is based.."
"But they're are allies right?" Natsu said.
"Yes..but where they are...the Roman Catholic Church's magic seats aren't far off...at least that's how it is nowadays.." said Mikoto. "And we don't want to mess with them...We'll figure something out after we get the first two gates done..."
"And how are we going to find the gates?" Nicole asked. "Is there any way you can tell their exact location."
"If I get close.." Mikoto said. "I think Elanis's power will help me sense it...I think that's the reason she bonded me in the first place...I needed her to find the gates.."
"And once we pass through all this gates?" Elli asked. "What then?"
Mikoto's face turned absolutely determined, a feirce light ignited in her eyes. "Then...we take down Dravis....For good..."
Everyone else nodded.
"Whatever happens next.." said Natsu as he put his hand forward.
"Whatever the cost." said Lucy as she put her hand on Natsu's hand.
"Through fire or through thunder." said Nicole.1
"For everyone we care about." said Elli as she put her paw to join the others
"For Fairy Tail and all our friends." said Happy also putting his paw forward.
"We will end this." said Mikoto as she put her hand with all the others. "Once..and for all."
End of Book 6.
Stay tuned for Epilogue and be on the look out for Book 7: The Sparking Skies.