09x320 - Neo Eclipse

[bunniefuu]

Christina DX, heading out!

Yeah! All right!

Try to keep up,

you old fire-breather!

Captain, this way.

[ICHIYA]

Mhm.

My friends.

Everything will be explained

on the way to our destination.

[WOMAN]

Indeed.

That should give me ample

time to get you up to speed.

Right. But who might you be?

Hang on tight, guys!

Things are gonna get

a little bumpy!

[ERZA gasps]

Um. Please excuse me!

Yeah. No problem.

Wendy.

This ship was built

with Dragon Slayers

and their tendency for

motion sickness in mind.

Relax, calm yourself

and take a deep breath.

[ERZA]

How does she know Wendy?

[gasps]

[WOMAN]

See? You're just fine.

[gasps]

Perfect. Acnologia's

giving chase!

Let's have a little

fun with him.

Roger that!

Charging focused magic

cannon Jupiter!

Here we go!

High-speed rotation!

Target...

...is locked!

[JENNY]

Energy charge %!

And fire!

Oh, yeah! That's a bulls-eye!

He just ate it?

No way. Is he immune to magic?

How 'bout conventional weapons?

He still looks kinda hungry.

Maybe he can eat some lead!

[EVE]

as*ault Pegasus!

[ACNOLOGIA]

Do you really believe

you can get away from me?

You don't have a chance!

His speed's increasing.

No one outruns the

Heavenly Horses!

Magic boosters... ignite!

Excuse me!

No problem.

Wow. It's really you.

Leveling out our orientation!

So you remember me, Wendy.

[WENDY]

You're our teacher, Anna!

Her "teacher"?

[ANNA] What you may not

know is I'm an ancestor

of a close friend of yours.

The girl known as Lucy.

We are part of the same family.

I don't understand

what this means.

No matter who you may be

if you truly have a plan

to defeat Acnologia,

you must share it with us.

I know you're quite eager,

but be patient.

All things come in due time.

It's good to see you,

Wendy. You've grown.

Miss Anna, I'm still so

confused about everything.

[ANNA]

It's all right.

And I'm sorry about what

happened to Grandeeney

and the other dragons.

But if it's any comfort,

know their efforts, their

sacrifices, were not in vain.

[ANNA] I was the one

who years ago

taught Wendy, Natsu,

and the others

about language and civilization.

I also passed through the

Eclipse alongside them

to the current era.

[WENDY gasps]

[ANNA]

We came to the year

in pursuit of a

singular purpose:

Defeating Acnologia.

Y'okay?

Hey, Lucy. What's wrong?

This book.

How can this one book

possibly contain Natsu's life?

He's more than that.

Natsu's special.

But he's still a person like us.

So how?

[yelling]

[ZEREF]

Yes!

Give me more. Come on, E.N.D.!

That's it! k*ll me!

Try to destroy me!

Come destroy yourself!

What in the hell is

wrong with you, brother?

[ZEREF]

Now, E.N.D.!

My name is Natsu!

Man!

Four hundred years ago,

we had no way to

fight Acnologia.

Things were grim.

So the dragons created a plan

that would place their

hopes in the future.

They would enter Dragon

Slayers' bodies,

then travel forward in

time, into this era.

I know. Grandeeney

told us about that.

I'd heard that was

due to magic power,

because our current

period is rich in it.

That's true.

Magic power is quite prevalent.

It's proven to be a wise choice.

I opened the gateway,

but it was created by Zeref.

[JELLAL]

Zeref?

He studied time and

how to manipulate it.

However, despite his

extensive research,

he was never able

to make his dream

of traveling to

the past a reality.

Still, I believe he

thought salvation

could be found in the future.

We had a powerful wizard

connect us to this era.

Her name was Layla Heartfilia.

I opened the entrance,

and she the exit.

Lucy's mother was

involved in this?

I came along in order to explain

the whole situation to her.

I would accompany

the Dragon Slayers

and raise them until

they were ready.

You were supposed to

raise us together?

You were still children,

with so much left to learn.

But things did not

go as planned.

An unforeseen accident flung

you all through the gate

in different directions.

You, Natsu, Gajeel,

Sting, and Rogue.

It took me five years

of following leads

to track down all of you.

[ANNA]

And when I did,

I saw that you had all found

your own lives in this new era.

I decided that I should

wait to make contact,

and not further

disrupt the situation.

Things happen in due

time, after all.

While I was conducting

my search,

I happened upon an

extraordinary discovery.

I didn't know if it was a

result of what had gone wrong

during the opening

of the Eclipse,

or if it was merely

coincidental,

but something new had

come into existence.

[ANNA] I stayed in the

shadows all this time

so I could investigate and

properly prepare for it.

It possesses tremendous power.

A dangerous amount.

Perhaps... not a power;

it's more like a concept.

What is it exactly?

I mean, can you describe

it a bit more clearly?

I'd call it a rift in time.

[BOTH]

You found a rift in time?

Indeed.

We can trap Acnologia inside

that place of nothingness...

...forever.

A lunar eclipse?

Well, that's a rather

unsettling sight.

Look up at the sky, Mommy!

[CLOWN A]

Come to Ryuzetsu Land

amusement park's grand opening!

Wow! Pretty sh**ting stars!

Now that is odd.

Something is off about them.

sh**ting stars are supposed

to streak down, not up.

There's five! Look at 'em!

[ARCADIOS]

Princess, I believe we should

go and find His Majesty.

[HISUI]

Yeah, I wonder where he went!

The royal family has

watched over this gate

for many generations.

And now at long last,

somebody has arrived to open it.

[TOMA] Hold on, there appears to

be someone else coming through.

Who could it be?

Wait. Where am I?

The year. What year

is it currently?

[LAYLA]

Uh, right. It's the year .

Four hundred years. Huh.

That means it actually worked.

[gasps]

The children! I was

traveling with five children.

They should've come through!

[LAYLA]

Uh...

I'm not sure of what

I just saw exactly.

There were several lights.

They flew by at a

tremendous rate of speed

when the gate opened.

Look there. They sh*t

right through the ceiling.

It's amazing. The gate really

connected time after all.

Thank you for opening it.

I'm grateful.

[LAYLA]

"To the one of a grand era.

A time that is rich in magic.

At the instance of the sun

and moon crossing paths,

use the keys

to open the gate."

I was a bit skeptical,

but this book has been

passed down for generations,

by my mother and

many before her.

I know it quite well,

for I wrote it.

Wait a moment.

Will you please explain

what's going on here?

[ANNA]

To connect our time periods,

I needed someone from this

era to open the Eclipse gate.

I'm gonna write a

book about myself

traveling far into the future!

[DESCENDANT A]

I'll take that!

[DESCENDANT B]

I'll pass it on!

[DESCENDANT C]

What is this book?

What do they mean about

"connecting time"?

[DESCENDANT D]

I don't really understand this,

but I hafta pass it on

to the next generation.

The time's finally come!

I need to open the gate!

[ANNA] My descendants passed

this book of secrets on

for many generations,

until Layla opened the gate

for me to enter into this era.

You're telling me you came

from years ago?!

Indeed, that is true.

Sorry, but what's so

special about this era?

The book doesn't

say specifically.

[ANNA]

I can't say just yet,

but I promise I will

explain everything

when the time is right.

When you're ready.

But why were you the one

to finally open the

gate, Lady Layla?

Were you made aware

of something?

Or did you just know

magic is stronger now?

Honestly, I'm not

sure what it was.

It's not really a

quantifiable thing.

I felt that it was

the right time.

Plus, I considered my daughter

Lucy's role in this.

I didn't want to pass

this burden on to her.

It puts a great amount

of responsibility

on one's shoulders.

I want her to live a life

that's full of joy.

The time is now.

This ends with my generation.

If this era wasn't

rich in magic power,

the gate would not have opened.

So your judgment

proved to be correct.

I'm sorry the burden

weighed on you like that.

Your mother served well,

as did those before her.

I know it's a peculiar task.

I appreciate you all.

Of course.

[ANNA]

I was worried,

but mankind and

civilization still exist

years in the future.

Just knowing this

world is thriving

fills with me with happiness.

[ANNA] However, does this

mean everything I've done

was for nothing?

Did the world need me?

Because if it

turns out Acnologia

isn't a thr*at in

this era, then...

No matter what, I need

to keep moving forward.

I need to be sure.

I'll handle everything

from now on.

You can go and live a happy

life with your family.

Thank you.

But, Anna, can I ask what

you plan on doing first?

[ANNA]

All things come in due time.

But the first order of business

is to track down

the missing children.

I'm rather worried about them.

Once that's done, I'll return.

[LAYLA] Yes. I won't

tell a soul about this.

[ANNA] Your Majesty, I need

you to do one more thing.

You must destroy the gate.

[TOMA]

Uh. Of course.

[ANNA]

Sadly, before we had the chance

to see each other again,

Layla fell ill and passed

away not long after.

I'm so sorry.

[ANNA] The news of her death

was quite distressing.

It shook me to my core.

She was my descendant.

She was precious to me.

Her talent as a Celestial

Wizard was profound.

She had a family and a

bright future ahead of her,

but she willingly shortened

her life for my plan.

The time is upon us.

Is there anything else

you can share with us?

There is.

I felt... something unusual.

I noticed almost immediately

upon my arrival.

There's an abnormal type of

magic that flows in this era.

It has no basic elements, nor is

it made of light or darkness.

It's simply nothingness.

A magic of nothingness?

That's right.

A type of magic that

shouldn't exist in this era.

But still intriguing.

I had to investigate further.

When I did...

that's when I found it.

[ANNA]

The rift in time.

[gasps]

This is only a theory right now,

but I believe it is related

to the time travel.

We caused the natural

flow of time to warp,

just enough to expose it.

Perhaps it's the very concept

of time correcting,

or at least attempting to.

And that's giving rise to a

power beyond our comprehension.

But regardless...

...inside the time rift

is literal nothingness.

Nothing can live in it.

Everything simply ceases to be.

This would be true for

Acnologia as well.

[JELLAL] So your plan

is to lure him there

and trap him inside of it?

Yes.

Okay. But this is crazy.

I find it difficult to believe

that after all these years,

no one else has found this rift.

That's because I have

kept it hidden.

Miss Anna, are you

positive that this thing

is really a rift in time?

[ANNA]

The Eclipse opened long ago,

during the Grand Magic Games.

The hole had a rather intense

reaction to that disturbance.

This further confirmed

my suspicions.

A hole?

[ANNA]

Yes.

It's normally invisible

to the eye,

but it's roughly the

size of this orange.

If you happen to it

touch it, you're done for.

There's no escape from it.

The plan is astoundingly simple!

[ERZA gasps]

Now if you please, Hibiki.

Sure!

[ICHIYA] We'll travel

around the time rift,

and then wait for Acnologia.

He will likely pursue us

in a straight line,

at which point he will

come into contact with it.

And then, he'll go poof, man!

Gone forever!

[WENDY gasps]

Are you certain

it'll be that easy?

It's the only option we have.

You gonna be all right, Lucy?

[LUCY]

Mh-hm.

Yeah, I will be. Sorry.

Promise me something.

Please don't talk about

destroying the book anymore.

'Course I won't. I promise.

I didn't know it was, like,

"Natsu" before.

Lucy, have you... uh...

...tried opening the book?

[gasps]

I think... I might get what

First Master said before.

When she was giving

the book to you.

At that point, Natsu's

only hope is all of you.

The strength of your bond.

I'm more worried about

that thing with Zeref.

[LUCY]

Huh?

[ZEREF] My ultimate ambition

is to achieve something

far more significant than that.

[LUCY]

Did he tell you something?

Nah.

[GRAY]

Zeref isn't gonna get his wish,

not if Natsu has anything

to do with it.

cr*ck it open.

You can't be done.

Not yet, at least.

You disappoint me!

I was positive the

only one alive

who could destroy me was you!

[screams]

It'll be okay. I can go

back to who I once was.

After I've harnessed

Mavis's power,

then I'll return to my old self.

I call it the Neo Eclipse.

[ZEREF] I won't travel

forward or backward in time.

I'm going to start

over entirely.

Time itself will be reset.

To a moment before I got

this curse of immortality.

No way.

That's your goal? To go back?

That's what you want?

This way no one will be hurt.

You have a chance

to be human again.

We'll k*ll Acnologia together.

I can create the happiest

ending imaginable!

Not for everybody!

What about us?! What'll

happen to my friends?!

I don't know.

The fact of the matter is,

I no longer have any real

connection to this world.

It's not up to you!

We're still here

'cause we've risked everything

we have to survive!

There are two keys that

can open the Neo Eclipse.

Dear Mavis is one of them.

She will be joining

us very shortly.

[growls]

[ZEREF] And the other key...

is the rift in time.

[LUCY]

Acnologia spreads despair

and leaves destruction

in his wake.

Onboard the Christina,

Erza and the others

speed toward the rift in time,

hoping to neutralize

the black dragon.

Meanwhile, back in Magnolia,

Natsu's cherished friends

prepare to open

the Book of E.N.D.

With his plan to reset

time moving forward,

Zeref smiles in anticipation.

Next Time: "Blind to Love."

Long-held feelings are trapped

by the pure darkness.