Hi!

Thanks for reading, following and/or favoriting this!

As for the updates, you can look to my profile: I will try to write on it where I am left in the chapter, so you can guess when I will be posting :)

Also, a BIG, BIG thank you to the ones that sent a review! Here, I'm going to reply to the guests' ones. So again, thanks FelicitousVixen, Guest and Lullubell. FelicitousVixen, I'm glad you think my story isn't crappy and I hope the next parts won't be :D

I'm really glad you liked the first part and I hope the next ones (maybe one or two parts left, depending on my mood) will satisfy you! Don't hesitate to tell me what you think about it!

That settled, let's get back to business!

Part 2

"Are we there yet?"

"No, Natsu, for the hundredth time, we're not!" Lucy yelled.

Larcade sighed. They were like that since they decided to go back to the guild. Bickering back and forth. With sometimes that strange flying cat commentating their words. It was strange for him to see his parents like this. Especially his mother. When he was a child, she would always be sweet, caring and very smart. For that point, he had to change his perspective about her. At least when she was with him.

Larcade clearly did not like it. AT ALL. And he knew it was that guy's fault. His father.

He was such a bad influence, Larcade thought. He wondered how they ever got together.

"Hey, Larcade, how do you think our dad was?"

His sister was looking at him with her big green eyes as if he had all the answers. He became intimidated by the pressure. How could he admit his own ignorance?

He was about to stutter some excuse, but then, a voice came out.

"Your father was one of a kind. Stubborn, but strong and fiercely loyal to the ones he cared about. He would have done anything for them. Even going back from the dead..."

"I guess that's why mommy loved him so much!" Nashi grinned.

But only Larcade was in a corner, thinking deeply about his uncle's words. If he was like this, he thought, why wasn't he there?

Larcade sighed. His uncle. He did not know how he should react. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding. He wanted to believe it. He really did.

But here they were, in front of the ruins of what once was Magnolia.. Or was it Crocus? They did not know anymore.

He saw his parents staring at it, his mother with tears in her eyes. Natsu gazed at her intensely. It made Larcade uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.

Natsu sneaked behind her with a cheeky smile and whispered to her ears. She shivered. Then calmed down. That would have gone unnoticed had the ones looking were not observant. Unfortunately for poor Lucy right there, she was with the wrong persons to be discret.

"No, Natsu, I'm not ready to have kids right now!" Lucy replied with a stern and loud voice. The only thing that was showing her embarrassment was the huge flush on her cheeks.

Natsu pouted and crossed his arms. What a kid, Larcade thought.

Then, he spotted his son looking at him. He grinned and approached him. Oh boy, he was in trouble.

"So kid, I want to know everything." Natsu began, throwing an arm on his shoulders with his big smile still on. "What's your favorite food? What's your power exactly? What's wrong with that crux behind your back? Do you know how to read and write? Well, of course, you do, wouldn't be Lucy's son if you didn't... What about your fighting skills? I'm sorry to tell you, but I think I can teach you one thing or two..."

"Just learnt that he has a son from the future and here he is, all fired up about his education." Lucy mumbled, a hand on her forehead as if she had a bad headache.

"That's Natsu for you!" The little cat grinned.

Larcade sighed. The guy was annoying.

"Now is not the time to catch up." He stated harshly. "Just tell me what you're going to do when you'll be in front of my uncle."

"Your uncle?" Lucy stared at him, bewildered.

Natsu took his arm uneasily off his supposed son and Larcade's eyes widened in understanding.

"You didn't tell her?" He asked him, flabbergasted.

"... Nope."

"Didn't tell me what?" Lucy snapped.

"Lucy..." Natsu began.

"Maybe I can help with that, mistress Lucy."

The voice came behind Larcade's back, to Natsu and Lucy's surprise. His cross, in fact.

Larcade smiled. "Crux! I thought you'll never wake up."

"Crux?" Lucy's eyes widened.

It was indeed one of her spirits, here, on the back of her son from the future.

But what was even more surprising for her was to hear what he had to say. Natsu's head lowered at each word he was saying, more and more ill-at-ease. At the end of the story, the spirit returned to sleep. Mouth agape, Lucy turned towards her partner.

"So, you mean to tell me that you're secretly the little deceased brother of the biggest villain the world had ever know, that if he dies, you die, and you were hesitating to tell me about that fact?"

"Er... That's kind of it..."

"Fine."

"Fine?" Natsu gaped at her, disbelievingly.

"Fine." She crossed her arms, visibly irritated.

She turned towards Larcade with a sweet (almost sickening) smile.

"Larcade, I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I don't think you will ever be born. Not in that universe anyway."

"WHAT?"

"Hey, that's so not fair!" Natsu whined.

But Lucy ignored him. He pouted. Larcade was wondering when they will stop being childish. The two of them had obvious problems of communication. But then, Natsu turned towards him, smirking.

"Well... I can only guess that's your mother that gave you that name." Natsu sighed dramatically." You're lucky she did not name you Plue junior..."

"HEY!" Lucy shouted, offended. Then, she mumbled, crossing her arms. "Said the one that named his talking cat 'Happy' because everyone was laughing at him the day he was born..."

"Hey! That's mean, Lushieeee!" Happy whined.

"What's the problem with Larcade? It's cool!" Larcade protested.

"Is not!"

"Is too!

"Is not!"

"Lucy! When he's born, be convinced that I'll make sure you won't ever name him like that." Natsu turned towards Lucy with a serious look.

"What the hell?" Larcade shouted.

"Actually, I think that the name Larcade is quite cute..."

"Thanks mom, I... WHAT? It's not cute at all, it's fearsome!"

Natsu snickered. "See, even your mom thinks it's girly..."

"Shut up, Natsu." Lucy replied irritably. Then, she continued with a soft smile towards her future son. "Whatever your name will be, you'll have to know that it was given to you with all the love and thoughts a mother can bring to her child. By hearing your name being called, you can thus be sure that someone cared so much about you that she or he couldn't help but presenting you to the world with it. Be proud of it."

After that, there was a little silence. Father and son looked at her with wide eyes. Then...

"I love you, mom..." Larcade hugged abruptly (albeit very tenderly) the blond-haired woman who suddenly blushed.

"Hey! Stop hogging Lucy all to yourself, kiddo!" Natu shouted, irritated.

Larcade sticked his tongue out.

"Oh, so you want to play that way, son?" Natsu snarled, offended.

He suddenly hugged his partner from behind, glaring at his supposed-son.

"Before you're getting all fired up, know that before you had your mother all to yourself, she was mine first!"

"Oh yeah? Too bad, finders keepers, loosers whiners!" Larcade smirked.

"We'll see about that..." Natsu groaned.

"Natsu, Larcade... I can't breathe.." Lucy stated breathlessly... and kind of bored.

"The kids, these days..." Happy commentated.

Then, he froze. The atmosphere had suddenly changed without their knowledge. They heard a voice snarling at them.

"Tsss Tss, Larcade. I'm kind of disappointed. I had such expectations for you..."

"Uncle..." Larcade disantangled himself from his mother and put himself in front of her.

"Well, I guess it had to be expected..." Zeref sighed sarcastically.

"Such a pretty family picture, don't you think?" He added casually. "I'm kind of offended not to be in it... What do you think, Mavis? Family sticks together, right?"

Said-girl was behind him, shaking slightly and eyes glaring despairingly at her enemy.

"The first! What have you done to her?" Natsu shouted.

"Nothing for you to worry about. She will only be the witness of all that."

"NATSU! LUCY!" Other voices called.

They turned to the origin of the noises. Erza Scarlett. Gray Fullbuster. Juvia Lockser. Levy McGarden. Gajeel Redfox. Cana Alberona. The eighth master was not in sight, neither their strongest mage, Gildarts Clive.

"Stop in there!" Natsu shouted. Which was effective. They stopped right there, gaping at him.

"Well, I guess the more the merrier." Zeref laughed humorlessly.

But then, his gaze dwelled on Lucy.

"Layla's daughter. How ironic."

Lucy stiffened. Natsu's hold of her strenghened.

"Uncle... Why didn't you told me about them? About our family? Is it true? Did you..."

Said-man shook his head with a disbelieving smile. "So, you know, now. I would have hoped it would be much later. Such a shame..."

He did one gesture, and then Larcade knew he was screwed. He couldn't move anymore. Crap. How did he let himself trapped that easily?

"You damned..." Natsu began.

"Did you find another way to fulfill your purpose, brother?" Zeref interrupted.

But it was Lucy that answered. Rather harshly."No way he's going to do that, you creep!"

Larcade stared at her, flabbergasted. Nobody had ever dared to talk to his uncle like that. And stayed alive.

"Natsu is our friend and we will never let him go like that!" Happy added, determined.

His mother's eyes widened suddenly.

Zeref sighed pleasantly. "Then I guess everything is fated to go according to my plan. You're rather useless, brother."

Here came the silence.

"WHAT?"

"Sorry to say that buddy, but he's kind of true right there." Happy commentated.

"ZEREF, COME HERE AND I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!" Natsu shouted, offended.

"NO FREAKING WAY!"

That's when Lucy slapped him. Hard. He stood and stared, shocked, as if not believing what was happening.

"If you think I'm going to watch you giving up your life that easily, then you don't know me at all!" She yelled.

Then, she continued, more softly. "Do you really want to leave us? Again?"

His head lowered. His gaze was downcasted.

"I won't EVER forgive you if you do that, do you hear me? I promise it!"

He winced.

"I promise it, Larcade! If you ever dare to use Plue as a punching ball, I will make sure your life becomes a living hell!" A shrieking voice yelled.

Nashi. Her pink hair was messed up as she was glaring at him.

"You better do what she says, Larcade," Their mother laughed. "Celestial mages never break promises."

"Of course we don't!" Nashi added. "You can always be sure that even missing, I would get back there to kick your ass if you do that!"

But then, she cowered under their mother's disapproving look.

Larcade winced too, at the memory.

"So, I guess we're in a dead end there," Zeref said with a slight tired smile on his face.

"Such a shame," He added. "Fairy Tail. Alvarez. It's all going to end here."

Mavis gazed at Lucy determinedly, as if trying to say something to her. She blinked. Larcade saw all of this, frustrated. Something was going on, and he did not understand it at all.

And he really did not like it. AT ALL.

"I guess it's time for me to express regrets, don't you think, Mavis?" Zeref sighed once again. "You always liked that part."

And he continued, his eyes reddening as he talked.

"I have wished everything wouldn't come off to this. I wished I could bring back all of our family together. But it seemed that even the gods were deaf to it. That family of ours was never to be. It needed to be destroyed from the start. It could never worked out in that universe, nor to an other!"

"It could be."

Astounded, Natsu and Larcade stared at Lucy. She had a long time ago disantangled herself from Natsu's embrace and was slowly approaching Zeref.

"Lucy..." Natsu tried to hold her back. She smiled at him.

"Trust me." was all she said. He nodded, ignoring his son's protestation: "And you're letting her?"

"Let go, kid," He replied to him after that with a confident smile. "Your mother is strong. If she says she can handle this, she will."

"Mommy will come back. Always. I know this."

Nashi was grinning reassuringly at him. He stared, unsure and with tears in his eyes.

But she did.

Larcade sighed, and then smiled softly. Of course she will handle this.

Well, he kind of had to trust her, frozen as he was.

Then, Lucy stared determinedly at her opponent.

"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention..." Zeref laughed humorlessly.

"I know it won't," She countered. "People had died already, many will after. We all have lost something or someone. But there's one thing you still haven't understood."

"Now is not the time to talk about love and friendship, foolish girl." Zeref sighed once again, exasperated. "Mavis here is proof enough that it won't save me, nor you."

"Indeed. Only you can save yourself."

"What?"

"All of this were done for one reason. YOU became what you are for one reason."

"You're boring me."

But she continued nonetheless. "Natsu. You couldn't let him go."

"And see where it led me." Zeref snarled.

"Mavis. You loved her."

"And that killed her."

"Larcade. You took care of him."

"It was all part of a plan."

"Was it?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. "I saw it. Even when you wanted to destroy, you created something."

"What?"

"Love for hate, Death for life," She continued listing, taking a step forward."Light for dark. It all mixes together somehow."

Zeref smirked. This wasn't going to end well, Larcade thought.

Hell, since the beginning, it was all screwed up!

"Then, you're going to tell me that One Magic is Love. Tell me something that I don't know, daughter of Layla. "

She smiled softly. "Indeed it is. I feel it. All around me. The bonds we all share. The bonds that make us family. The ones that connect us all to the ones we care about, whether we like it... or, in your case, not."

Zeref laughed half-heartedly. Then stopped, breathless and exasperated. "Enough of it."

"I think we had enough, indeed." She was close, very close to him. Natsu was beginning to be agitated. Larcade even more. "There's only one thing left to do."

Suddenly, she hugged him. Zeref's eyes widened, and so did everyone's. But only he, Natsu and Larcade heard what she whispered next.

"Let go."

Rays of lights appeared at that moment, each of them linking a person to others like some kind of spider's web. Larcade felt other presences all around them, every one of them painfully familiar. Spirits.

"It's all about the bonds we share, remember it," Their mother smiled softly at them while leading them to a tender embrace. "It means that no matter what happens, we will always be there for one another. That's one true magic."

Then, the lights went out. And reality came back to him.

She fell. And did not get up. They stared at her and at the dark wizard.

"LUCY!"

It was Natsu. He ran towards her, as if his life depended on it. But as he was about to touch her, it was already too late.

Her body had disappeared.

He shook terribly, his hand twitching at if trying to catch her essence, but failing at that.

Reality hit the group. It started with one sob. Then, a cry. A tiny blue-haired girl. She was held back by a tall man with dark hair and piercings. A red-haired woman fell on her knees. Some others froze. Others shook. Everything was slowing up in time. But then...

"BRING HER BACK!" Natsu shouted, having caught Zeref by his collar and glaring at him. The fire on his body was already attacking his brother's clothes.

"Natsu, stop!" Mavis cried. "It's over, now!"

Nobody dared to make a move.

"I... can't..." Zeref replied, still shocked by the blond-haired woman's gesture.

"I SAID..." Natsu was about to punch him on the jaw, when suddenly, a trembling voice came out.

"Dad... "

His head turned abrupty towards the origin of the voice, flabbergasted.

"I'm alive..." Larcade was shaking.

"You're..."

"I'M ALIVE!"

Realizations dawned to everyone as Larcade continued sobbing.