Chapter 323

The Shadow: There and Back Again is the 323rd chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail.
As the crowds and other competing guilds celebrate Fairy Tail's victory in the Grand Magic Games, Natsu and his friends continue their battle in Mercurius, suddenly being assisted by a giant shadow. As Jellal, Arcadios and Hisui all suddenly figure out that there are in fact two people from the future currently in Crocus, the shadow takes on the form of a man, who introduces himself as Rogue Cheney.
==Summary==
 
The Grand Magic Games of X791 are officially declared to be over with Fairy Tail as the winner, and all over Crocus the different competing guilds offer their congratulations to the team that came in with hardly any apparent prospect of winning. As he sits bruised and battered with Frosch, Rogue comments that it is one of the first times he has ever felt calm over losing, continuing to state that he wants to become a better man who cares for his friends. Also with his Exceed partner, Sting suddenly addresses the members of Team Fairy Tail, asking them why Natsu wasn't participating in the event at all, whilst the team can only nervously glance towards Mercurius and ponder their friends safety. 
The team sent in to rescue Lucy do not seem to be okay though, the forces of the Royal Army and the regrouped Garou Knights slowly draining the group of their energy and Magic Power, allowing the kingdom fighters to gain advantages over them. However, just as the group begins to be overwhelmed, a swirling mass of shadow speeds along the floor towards them, sucking down all of the kingdoms fighters, whilst leaving them completely unharmed. 
Concurrently, Jellal finally realizes the key factor he has been missing in his uncertainty over Future Lucy. Remembering that Crime Sorcière has felt the malicious force of Zeref every year of the Grand Magic Games, Jellal makes note that Lucy was stated to have arrived on the fourth of July in X791, whilst he remembers meeting her on the night of the third of July. Also seeking answers is Arcadios, who storms over to Princess Hisui's location, demanding to know the current state of affairs she plans to undertake. Replying that her source from the future can now be trusted due to their correct prediction of the Grand Magic Games results, Hisui states that the Eclipse Plan shall be postponed in favor of the Eclipse 2 Plan. When Arcadios questions this, Hisui says that whilst the Eclipse Plan will still go ahead, it is more important to protect the citizens of Fiore from the incoming peril. Suddenly, Arcadios draws his sword, pointing it at his own throat whilst demanding that Hisui tell him the truth. Before Hisui can reply, Arcadios continues, saying that Lucy from the future had no idea the Eclipse 2 Plan even existed, and as such could not have told her to go through with it, as she merely came back to protect her friends. After he finishes, Hisui stares at him blankly, revealing that the person she spoke to from the future was male. Having reached the same conclusion, Jellal simultaneously states that the Lucy he chased on the evening of the third was a different person altogether; someone else also from the future. 
In the walls of Mercurius, the shadow that sucked the Royal Army down begins to approach Natsu and his friends. Swirling up and taking on a solid form, the person steps towards the group, whilst they demand to know who he is. As the Crime Sorcière Mages run towards the castle and question the motives of the other person from the future, the shadow man steps forward, introducing himself as Rogue Cheney.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
==Battles & Events==
*Lucy Heartfilia's Rescue from Mercurius
*Rescue Team vs. Fiore Forces (concluded)
==Magic, Spells, and Abilities used==
===Magic used===
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*Terrain Effect Magic
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===Spells used===
*Vines
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===Abilities used===
*Swordsmanship
===Armors used===
*White Lily Armor
===Weapons used===
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*Sword
==Navigation==