Song Of Hope: I know I always say SOON but I know it isn't happening just quite yet. Thank you for the followers who choose to stick with me though! You may be reading silently, and you may even be making fun of me, but I still appreciate that I have 15 people who put in the effort to read every chapter I write, even if I only have 3 reviews. That means a lot to me.
Also to the guest who sent in a new review, understand that Layla is just a child. She's not even 6 and has ADHD like Natsu, should Fiore have names for disorders like that. She's gonna go back and forth a lot like her dad. Remember that Natsu is the same person who had a burning righteous fury towards Sabertooth for kicking out Yukino and literally forgot all about it the next morning. Trust an ADHD/autistic person. We are really like that. R&R
Layla, Lucy, Happy, and Natsu were all walking towards the guildhall, with Natsu holding Layla's hand tightly.
"Man, it's really cold today for this time of year," said Lucy. Natsu smirked and put his free arm around her shoulders.
"That better?" She blushed a bit but nodded, smiling and putting her hand over his.
"Yeah, it is."
"You two looove each other," mimicked Layla with a giggle. Happy snickered with her.
"I-I wouldn't go that far! We're only just starting to date!" Lucy's face was getting redder the more she thought about it. "Am I really doing this? Dating Natsu of all people?"
"Happy, Layla, stop teasing," said Natsu. "You do know that sweets and fish are treats, right? We don't have to give them too you."
"No!" Layla had the biggest tears in her eyes. "Don't take away my sweets!"
"Fish are all I eat," whined Happy as he tightly hugged his fish that he was holding.
"That's not healthy even for a cat," Lucy deadpanned as they reached the guildhall. "Seriously, fish don't have everything you need!"
"Of course not," said Happy as he opened the door, "but they're good for you and yummy!" They all walked in to see Alzack, Bisca, Cana, Juvia, and Gildarts all leaning over a map while the rest of the members of Fairy Tail stood around them, as well as Jellal, Meldy, and the members of Sabertooth who had come the previous day.
"What's going on," asked Lucy, frowning in confusion as she walked in, looking around a bit.. "Where's Macao?"
"We're planning out our assault on Underworld Origin," said Erza. "We can't let them get the jump on us again. We have to stop them. As for Macao, he took Romeo and Wendy to Lamia Scale to get their injuries treated by Shelia. From what I was told, they're going to be staying with Lamia Scale until their injuries recover. That's how seriously they were hurt."
"That's awful," said Lucy. "I knew they were in bad shape, but not even Shelia can help them?"
"At least we can start here," said Gildarts, hand on the map. "We've got to figure out what Isi's next move is and stop his dark plans and get him back to his senses."
"Don't forget," said Levy, "our primary target is Thanatos right now, not Isi. If we can get rid of the lacrimas Thanatos has that has the souls of Natsu and Lucy's future selves, then their whole plan falls apart. They need those lacrima to conduct their spell to free Serenity."
"Doesn't mean we aren't gonna decimate them," said Gajeel with a big smirk. "I'm gonna make that Breeze girl regret ever even looking at that damn tree."
"Tree," asked Pantherlily.
"Nothing pal. Just forget it."
"And why are Jellal and Meldy still here," asked Natsu, his face knit in confusion as he pointed at them.
"Well they're clearly a dark organization," said Jellal. "That's what our guild does. We take down dark guilds. Even if they don't call themselves that, that's what they are."
"Not to mention they used Zeref's magic to get to this point in time," Meldy added. "Who knows what other dark spells they're going to use to accomplish their goals. All three kinds of Reaper Magic? Puppeteer Magic? What next? Reaper Magic of every sort was created by Zeref, and they're using it. So is Puppeteer Magic. We have to stop them. We wouldn't be Crime Sorcière if we didn't."
"Okay," said Lucy, "but why is Sabertooth still here?"
"We wanna help," answered Lector.
"You can't have something so huge going on and not expect us to want to join in," said Sting with a smirk. "Besides, you could use us."
"Rufus is currently acting as the stand in guild master until we return," explained Rogue. "We don't have to be back at Sabertooth for a while. We can be gone for a maximum of two months before Rufus is officially instilled as the new guild master."
"This isn't an affair for you to concern yourselves with," said Master Makarov. "I appreciate the concern from all of you, but this is Fairy Tail business. It wouldn't be right to ask you to help us."
"You didn't ask," said Yukino firmly. "This isn't an offer either. We're going to help you fight Underworld Origin. This may seem like a Fairy Tail matter, but someone so powerful like the Goddess Serenity isn't just the matter of one guild. It's a matter for the whole world. We're going to help whether you want us to or not."
"Fro agrees!" Master Makarov gave them a small smile.
"You all remind me of when I was young. The world wasn't in danger as often though, but still, the spirit you all have will carry on for generations and it comforts me. At least, it will if any of your children are as spirited as Layla." He smiled at the little girl, who smiled back at him.
"We were all rowdy," she said with a smile, "at least that's what we were told. Me and Para used to get in a lot of fights, but Amir always stopped us." Her smile became sad. "Amir always kept us in line. He was two years older than me, but he always treated me like I was his equal. I miss him…" Natsu gently rubbed her back with the arm that wasn't around Lucy.
"Hey, it's alright." He ruffled her hair slightly. "We're still here."
"Besides, I'm here," said Asca proudly with a smile, throwing her hand up into the air and going over to Layla. "We can be still friends, can't we Maddie? I know you've got your cool future friends, but I can be your past friend!"
"Of course we're still friends Asca," said Layla with a smile as they grabbed each other's hands, "but my name's Layla, not Maddie! Or you could call me Nashi! That's my middle name and it sounds more like Maddie! Some people called me that, but almost everyone called me Layla."
"I thought she looked like a Nashi," said Happy proudly.
"Then I'll call you Nashi," said Asca with a giggle. "I brought some drawing books! We should draw something together!"
"That sounds like fun!" Layla giggled with her and they ran off to a corner with Asca as they grabbed a box of crayons and started to draw and color. Lucy couldn't help but smile.
"Sometimes she'll act so mature, but then I remember that she's still just a little girl." Erza looked at her too, unsureness on her face still.
"What's wrong," asked Jellal, looking over towards her. She looked towards the rest of the group before motioning her head away from the rest of the group while they talked attack plans so that they could walk out of earshot. "Erza you seem troubled. Don't say you aren't, I'd recognize that look from anywhere."
"It's just," she folded her arms, "I don't know why, but Layla still makes me uneasy. On one side I absolutely want to trust her and I have no doubt in my mind that she's Lucy and Natsu's daughter. I can just feel how similar her magic is to theirs. But then there's just the fact that everyone trusted her just about the moment they saw her. I just, I can't get rid of this feeling that there's something wrong with her." She smiled a bit. "Sad, isn't it? I can't even bring myself to trust a harmless child."
"Any child of Natsu's can't possibly be harmless," he replied with a smile, "but it makes sense that you don't trust her. She has a spell on her, and I recognize it as one of my own. Her eyes have been enchanted so that those who see her eyes trust her. It's a visual based magic, so since you have an artificial eye, its effectiveness is halved. Because of that, partially seeing through it, you get this sense of distrust because of the confliction. Here, try just closing one eye and looking at her." Erza gave him a suspicious look, but she closed her right eye, looking at Layla with her real left one.
"I… feel and overwhelming sense of trust for her and I don't like the way this feels."
"Alright, now look with your fake eye." She closed her real one, switching over to her artificial one. "Now what do you feel?"
"I don't trust her, not quite yet, but she doesn't make me feel quite as uneasy." She opened both her eyes and looked back towards him. "Do you think you could break the spell? It's a little disorienting."
"I could," he said as he smirked, "but this is more fun. Besides, it's a useful spell. And it makes it really hard for someone to cause her any sort of harm. I know that they've claimed they won't harm her because they need her for the spell, but once it's complete, what's to stop them from killing her?"
"No matter how dark he's gone, he's still Isi Kiyoyama," said Erza, frowning and looking down, a little frustrated at the development and complete contradiction of the Isi she knew and this new one. "I know I shouldn't defend him but, he's still an important member of our Fairy Tail family, even if he's done some horrible things. I still can't believe he did any of it, and I honestly don't think I'll be able to until I see him for myself."
"Erza, he killed all of the children in Layla's Fairy Tail," Jellal pointed out, although he didn't seem happy about it. "He might just kill Layla too. He's not the same man you knew. He's been out of Fairy Tail for years at this point, even more so since he left before you were trapped in the Fairy Bubble, and he's from 14 years in the future. That's at least 21 years."
"23," she corrected. "He left right after his wife died, and she died three months after Lisanna was taken to Edolas. From his perspective, he left the guild 23 years ago."
"So much changed in just 7 while you were gone. How much do you think could've happened in 23?"
"You make a good point," she admitted, sighing. "I just, he was such a kind man. I know that Hope's death affected him greatly, but for him to kill members of the guild she once loved so dearly? I can't imagine it. Besides, he was a member of Fairy Tail longer than her. The only reason he left is because he was scared for his children. It's understandable, within the span of three months we'd lost three members."
"Three," he repeated in confusion, "I thought it was just Hope and Lisanna."
"No," she replied, "there were three people who died. There were Lisanna, Hope, and then Manna Natani. That incident was in between the two, I wanna say about a month after Lisanna, but less than a month before Hope."
"Manna Natani," he echoed, "why does that name sound familiar?"
"Because she was an extremely famous wizard in her time," she answered. "She was a Body Spirit wizard."
"That's some pretty dangerous magic. She must've been very powerful."
"She was," Erza confirmed with a nod. "She was even an S Class wizard, far more powerful than Hope. She used to compete with Gildarts, but she could never get the best of him. They had a rivalry of sorts." Meldy looked over towards them.
"Jellal, Erza, wanna actually join in on the conversation, or do you want some alone time," she teased. Both of their faces went red.
"Stop it Meldy," Jellal chided, "we're coming back!" He turned to Erza. "You can tell me more about Manna later."
On the edge of Magnolia was a young boy, wearing a scaled scarf around his head like a hood. He looked up at the town, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
"This looks nothing like the Magnolia I know," he said softly. He went up to someone and gently tapped on her hand, waiting for her to turn and look at him. "Excuse me, but do you know where the Fairy Tail guild hall is? I'm a little lost."
"Fairy Tail," she repeated, "now why would someone so young want to go there?"
"I'm looking for my friend," he replied with a smile. "I missed her and I came all this way to see her! Plus I found something that I knew she'd want! I think she's at Fairy Tail, so can you please point me in the direction of the guildhall?"
"Well it's just down that street," she answered, pointing. "Go down that way for three streets, take a right and go down two, then a left and you're there!"
"Thank you!" He started to walk off.
"Such a nice boy," she said to herself with a smile, "but that scarf he had wrapped around his head looks a lot like Natsu's scarf! I wonder if he's a fan of his! Then again, most of the little boys are."
Lucy and Natsu sat down at a table, sitting rather close as everyone talked around the guildhall.
"It's good to have a plan," said Lucy, "but I can't help but be nervous. I mean, Mavis set us all up with the best opponents for our magic, but I still think we need some more time to work this out. I mean, I have no idea who my opponent is! I've never heard of the guy before!"
"Eh, I think it'll work out fine!" He smiled at her. "We're gonna take care of them for sure! Besides, I still haven't finished my fight with Thanatos!"
"Well no one really finished their fights," said Lucy. "I mean, from what I heard Maddie, I mean Layla, stopped all of the fights with that spell Mavis made."
"She's pretty powerful," Natsu beamed as he looked towards her while she colored with Asca. "Man, it's still hard to believe that she's my daughter. Future daughter maybe, but still. I was kinda hoping if I did have kids I have a son, but you know what? I'm glad we have Layla in the future."
"About that," said Lucy with a red face, "I don't know but it just feels weird to me."
"What'd ya mean?"
"I mean I never imagined myself as a mother." She sighed. "I just, I know my mom was a good mom. She was always kind and loving, but I, I was raised by my dad. Even though he and I reconnected before he died, I just can't help but remember that for most of my life, he was cold and distant. He left my upbringing to Mrs. Supetto and other people. He never actually cared enough to raise me himself. Those were the parenting tools I was given. What if I'm like that?"
"No way in hell," said Natsu confidently. "Lucy, you'll be an amazing mom. You're so passionate and fierce. Not to mention, you don't seem like the kind of person who'd let other people raise your kid. Besides, your dad had lost his wife." He slipped his hand into hers. "You're always gonna have me." Her face grew red again.
"Y-Yeah!" She tried not to let herself get frazzled by this, but she was still getting used to her and Natsu together.
"They love each other," teased Happy from a distance, standing next to Carla and Pantherlily.
"Well this was a long time coming," she said, "and you don't need any form of predictive abilities to see that."
"I agree," said Pantherlily with a smile before turning towards both Happy and Carla. "I have a question for you two. When Gajeel and I were fighting against Breeze, she almost flung Levy against a tall oak tree in the park. Something snapped when Gajeel saw that, but he won't tell me what happened. Just that he'd never let Levy be against that tree again. Normally, I would wait for him to tell me, but he just got so angry it was almost scary. I was hoping you two might have some insight into this since you've both been in the guild longer than me."
"I'm afraid I don't have a clue," said Carla with a frown. "Frankly, this is the first I'm hearing of it."
"I think I know why Gajeel got angry," Happy answered. "You see, he wasn't always a member of Fairy Tail. He used to be a member of a guild called Phantom Lord."
"I haven't heard of them before now," said Pantherlily with a frown.
"I've heard of them," said Carla. "Not much, but they were almost neck and neck with Fairy Tail as far as being the top guild in Fiore before they attacked Fairy Tail and were disbanded for violating the Magic Council's inter guild conflict clause on their guild charters." Happy nodded.
"That's exactly right Carla. But it wasn't just a fight. They destroyed our guildhall, our home, almost killed everyone in Magnolia. But more than that, Gajeel feels personally responsible for what happened to Team Shadow Gear. Although then again, it was completely his fault."
"What happened," asked Pantherlily cautiously.
"He…" Happy looked down, "he attacked them in the middle of the night. He beat them really badly, and then pinned all of them to the biggest tree in Magnolia, painting the Phantom Lord guild mark on Levy's stomach." He looked over at Levy and Gajeel as they talked, smiles on both of their faces. "She hasn't worn anything that shows her stomach since then. He hasn't forgiven himself for what he did and I don't think he ever will."
"I can't imagine Gajeel ever doing something so vile," said Pantherlily with a hint of disgust, looking at his partner.
"Neither can I," agreed Carla. "It's hard to believe."
"But he's changed a lot since then! He's even taken a lot of hits for Levy and does his best to protect her! Deep down, I think he cares about her a lot, and tries to make up for it by protecting her with everything he has."
"I see." Pantherlily looked towards his partner again. "He's always seemed like a good person. I guess people really can change, bad to good, but good to bad as well."
"He definitely doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd do something so horrible." Carla looked at Levy. "And Levy doesn't seem afraid of him at all. I don't know if I could ever talk to the person who did something that horrible to me."
"Levy's strong," Pantherlily said almost proudly. "She doesn't give up when things get tough. She never lets others take care of her and helps out the best she can. She's pretty amazing."
Suddenly, the doors to the guildhall were thrown open as the young boy walked in.
"Is that," asked Nab quietly.
"Natsu's scarf on his head," finished Vijeeter.
"I'm looking for Layla Dragneel," he announced. "I was told she was gonna be here!"
"Who are you," asked Master Makarov with a frown, "and how do you know about her?" Layla got up in curiosity, recognizing the voice.
"It can't be," she said softly. "It can't be!"
"Layla," said the boy with a bright smile, taking the scarf off his head to show bright blue hair and violet-gray eyes, "it's really you!"
"Amir," she slowly got out, tearing up. She couldn't stop herself from running up to him, throwing her arms around him and sobbing into his shoulder. "Amir, I thought you were dead!" He smiled and wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey, it's alright," he soothed, rubbing her back, "I'm not dead, I'm right here and I'm okay."
"I'm sorry! It's because of me that your parents were killed! You must hate me now!"
"I could never hate you," he promised as he wiped away her tears. "You're my best friend and you always will be. Why would I have come all this way if I hated you?"
"But how did you survive," she asked, wiping her eyes. "I saw you… I saw everyone-"
"Lamia Scale," he replied. "They're the guild closest to Magnolia and they were one of the first to respond when Fairy Tail was attacked. I almost didn't make it, but Shelia's magic saved my life, and everyone else's."
"Wait, then everyone survived the attack," she asked hopefully.
"No, sorry. I guess I should've phrased it better. But the Strausses are all okay, and so is Para, Silver, Harper, all our friends are okay. There's a few others who survived thanks to Shelia, but we did lose a lot of people. The people who did survive are rebuilding the guild." Layla looked down, visibly disappointed. Amir held her just a little bit tighter to comfort her. "I'm sorry about your parents, but things are gonna be okay Layla, I promise."
"How'd you get here," she asked, looking up at him.
"I begged Miss Yukino to send me." He let go of Layla and started to wrap the scarf around her. "When we were going through the rubble I found this and knew you'd want it. I would've gotten your mom's Gate Keys too but Miss Yukino said she'd hold onto them until you were ready."
"Um, what's going on," asked Max. "Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry," said Amir with a smile as he looked up at everyone, "my name's Amir Fernandez! I'm a member of Fairy Tail from the future!"
"Fernandez?!" The whole guild looked back towards Jellal and Erza, both of whom had gone red.
"Looks like you two get pretty close in the future," Meldy teased with a big smile.
"Oh, so you're my past Mom and Dad," Amir asked, looking up at them. "Wow Mom, you look even scarier now!"
"How many of us have children in the future," Mira asked with a giggle as she looked at Amir and Layla. "First we have Natsu and Lucy's child, now Jellal and Erza's? I wonder if all of Fairy Tail's couples have children!"
"Now they know how we feel," said Lucy with a smug look.
"Come on, finding out about Layla was pretty cool!" Natsu put and arm around her. "Besides, Amir looks older than Layla. Looks like Erza and Jellal got busy before we did!"
"Natsu." Erza's face was red, but her voice had a dangerous tone to it. "I want you to tell me something. Do you enjoy walking with all ten toes? Or would you prefer it if I remove a few for you?"
"No ma'am!" Laughter erupted from the guild.
Lahar and Doranbolt were in Era, inside of the headquarters of the Magic Council.
"After everything you've told me, I don't understand why you don't want to report it to the Council," said Lahar, annoyed. "This is a serious matter! The Eclipse Gate is forbidden magic created by Zeref! What if word gets out that someone created one?"
"I know," he replied, "but this is more than the Council can handle. I didn't stay to get much, but we know that Layla needs that Eclipse Gate to travel back so she can survive."
"You didn't stay to get any information on who attacked them," Lahar asked in disbelief. "Why Layla Dragneel was sent back in the first place? You didn't bother getting any other information?"
"Not really." Doranbolt shrugged. "I thought the less I knew, the better. This is something Fairy Tail should handle. Besides, what can we do against time traveling threats?"
"We can destroy the Eclipse Gate that Layla came out of," Lahar suggested, throwing his arms out, "or at the very least go investigate it and seal it off so no one else can get through! This is a serious matter! I've never heard of someone using such a serious magic!"
"If we destroy the gate now then she'd have never traveled back and could very well be killed in the future," Doranbolt argued. "Besides, who even knows if you can seal that kind of magic off? It just isn't a viable option here! Things aren't black and white Lahar! You're a full grown adult, stop acting like they are! Does Fairy Tail violate a lot of laws? Hell yeah. But do they save lives? Also yes! Time and time again, Fairy Tail have been the ones to rescue the world, from Grimoire Heart, the Neo Oraciòn Seis, the Infinity Clock, the R System, and so many others! Normally, I would agree that we step in, but this isn't one of those times. This is one of those things we need to let Fairy Tail deal with and stay out of their way." Lahar just started at Doranbolt for a few seconds before frowning.
"This isn't like you to be so gung ho about breaking council laws." He pushed up his glasses. "However, for the time being I will agree with you. If I see even a hint of this going wrong though, then I demand that we immediately report this to the Magic Council. Until then, I suggest we monitor the situation carefully." Doranbolt sighed, a relieved smile on his face.
"Thank you Lahar."
"Don't thank me yet," Lahar warned. "If there's any reason that I think you're going to betray the Council, know that I'm ready to report you too. You're going farther and farther away from us every day and keep being drawn to Fairy Tail. It worries me, but unlike you, I will hold my duty above my personal feelings on what we should do. I will only go against that this once and you had better not make me regret it."
Jellal and Erza watched Layla and Amir talk with Asca.
"I can't believe we have a child," he said softly.
"Neither can I," Erza agreed. "It's so strange to see. He looks just like you." She smiled softly. "That's a good thing. You were always rather handsome."
"But he has your eyes," Jellal noticed. "He's definitely your son."
"So you're saying he's definitely not the son of your fiancé," she asked with a smirk.
"I don't have a fiancé, what are you," he stopped, realization hitting him in the face like a magic mobile. "Dammit Erza."
"I couldn't resist," she said with a sly smile. "I respect your reasons whatever they may be, but Jellal, you have always been a horrible liar."
"I know," he replied with a light blush, "but I didn't think you'd figure it out so easily. Then again, who else is crazy enough to want to be with me?"
"I don't know." She smiled at how kindly Amir treated both Layla and Asca. "He's a kind boy though, I can tell. Reminds me of you when we were young."
"When I was young I enslaved probably a whole town's worth of people," he reminded her.
"Before that," she emphasized, laughing. "Is it impossible for you to say something good about yourself?"
"Possibly," he replied, "but it's nice to see that I can make something good."
"Are you going to try and get to know your son?" She looked towards him. "You're sticking around to help out with Underworld Origin anyway, you may as well take the time to meet your own child."
"It could be dangerous." He looked back towards Amir. "You never know what situations like this could bring. But why did he travel back in time? Just to hand her a scarf?"
"Well they did say they were best friends," she reminded, looking over and Natsu and Lucy. "I can imagine a couple of other people who would do the same thing."
"How old are you," asked Natsu, looking curiously at Amir as he leaned forward, hands on his knees and his head tilted.
"I'm 8," he replied, "So two years older than Layla!"
"And you're Erza's son," said Lucy. "You don't look like it. You definitely look more like your father than anyone else."
"I don't know," said Natsu with a grin as he leaned back, folding his arms over his chest. "He's got a look in his eyes like Erza. That menacing look that reminds you to listen."
"And not do anything stupid," said Warren with a chuckle, "which you seem to forget a lot Natsu."
"Say that to my face you jerk," Natsu shouted, getting up in his chair and glaring at Warren.
"Calm down Natsu," said Laki, "we don't have time for fights right now. We've got a lot of ground we need to cover on what we're going to do about Underworld Origin."
"They're from the future," said Max, "so that makes things even trickier. We can't turn them into the authorities, we can only send them back to their time but I don't even know how. Not to mention what's our move once they've been sent back? Send Layla and Amir too? They don't even have homes to go to anymore. Plus then there's still the issue of it happening in 14 years. How do we prevent it?"
"We could always find Isi and warn him," suggested Nab. "He may be dark in the future but right now in the present he's still our friend."
"That won't work," said Makarov. "We'd have to know where he is, and I don't know if we can find him in three weeks time. Plus what are we going to do, accuse him of things he hasn't done in front of his sons and daughter? No, we deal with future Isi now, and we cross that bridge when we come to it. From what he told me, he didn't start to crack until he lost his daughter and that won't happen for a few more years, so we have plenty of time to stop him from going dark."
"He was such a good man," said Lisanna sadly. "I never expected him of all people to end up like this."
"None of us did," said Mira, putting a hand on Lisanna's shoulder, "but this won't happen, not yet. We can still save him."
"How can you be convinced he's such a good person," asked Juvia. "He hasn't been a part of the guild in 9 years. He might've changed already."
"Because he was an amazing person," Vijeeter replied. "He was always soft spoken and quiet, but very kind. Kind of the opposite of Hope really. She was always brash and loud but she cared about everyone and so did he. Isi never blamed the team that was responsible for Hope's death."
"What do you mean they were responsible," asked Lucy. "I thought that Hope was killed by a demon of Zeref brought to life by a dark guild."
"She was," said Max, "but that dark guild was taken on by a Fairy Tail team. They called themselves Team Rose, but they didn't take down the whole guild. People got away and no one even noticed. Not long after, Team Rose disbanded and left Magnolia, and the guild. At the time, everyone was blaming them. They didn't do their job and it got one of our own members killed."
"That's too harsh," said Lucy with a little disgust. "I'm sure they felt more horrible than anyone at what happened! You can't blame them for someone else's actions! You should know better Max! It's not like they were trying to get Hope killed!"
"Everyone calm down," said Gildarts. "We won't get anywhere getting mad at each other!" Everyone stopped talking after that. "Now I need to be filled in on what happened. I didn't even know Hope was dead until a couple of days ago. Not only is she dead, but so is Manna. Are there any other dead guild members I need to know about?"
"No one else has passed," said Master Makarov, "like Team Rose, any other members you might be missing have merely left the guild. We had as many came as they left after three of our members died."
"About that," said Lucy, "how come I never read about any of that in Sorcerer Weekly or any other press? I think I've heard of Manna but nothing about her death. You're talking about Manna Natani, right? If she died then why didn't I read about it in Sorcerer Weekly? Hope either. I was an avid reader of Sorcerer Weekly for years before I joined Fairy Tail and paid close attention to the Fiary Tail articles. I don't even remember anyone reporting on Lisanna's death, even though that turned out to be wrong."
"Probably because of the privacy laws that the Magic Council passed," said Sting, everyone's heads turning towards the five Sabertooth members. "About 15 years ago Sorcerer Weekly reported on an affair between two members of rival guilds, one of whom was already married to a member of their own guild. All their sources checked out, but the story was still wrong and almost wrecked that couple's marriage and nearly started a guild war. After that, guilds petitioned the Magic Council to ban reporting on their personal lives. This wasn't the first time Sorcerer Weekly had gotten their noses where they shouldn't have, but this was the first time it went so wrong. This Manna died what, nine years ago? By then the privacy laws were already well hammered out and in practice. Of course, the guild master determines what is and isn't considered private affairs and it varies guild to guild. Some are more comfortable sharing about their personal lives than others, so the difference wasn't really noticed." Sting looked towards Master Makarov. "I'm guessing after Griselda's death, you counted reporting on deaths within the guild as private matters and adjusted your agreement with Sorcerer Weekly to cover that?"
"Griselda, the Crystal Wizard," asked Lucy. "I remember her passing away on a job but I don't remember the report having many details. I do remember it happened about 3 years before I joined. It didn't say anything about how she died though."
"Because those damn reporters didn't know how to be respectful and let us grieve," said Gray, clenching his fist. "They kept shoving their damn notebooks in our faces, even at the funeral."
"I'm guessing you changed your privacy policy after that," asked Meldy.
"Of course I did," said Makarov firmly, hands shaking. "The way they kept tormenting my children for details afterwards, it broke my heart. They wanted to know all the details of what happened and battered several of my children who just lost one of their last family members. So yes, I changed our privacy agreement."
"I see," said Lucy. "That's so sad."
"Most guilds adopted a privacy agreement similar to that after that incident," said Rogue. "Sabertooth has one similar to it since we're a high level guild, but thankfully we haven't had any deaths that we've had to hide from the press."
"Phantom Lord had a similar policy," said Juvia with a frown, biting her thumbnail for a moment. "I never realized we adopted the policy based off of Fairy Tail. We only used it once, when one of our members was killed by a dark guild."
"All of this still leads back to Zeref," said Meldy with a frown. "I can't help but feel that somehow it's all connected. A dark guild used a demon from the Book of Zeref to kill one of your guild members, and Zeref's magic was used by her husband to try and bring her back. This is all starting to tie together, but I'm not sure if I want to see the path this takes us down."
"Zeref is always at the center of things," Yukino noted, looking down. "Just once I'd like to be able to forget about him. My family, my guild, the Grand Magic Games, he's all over now."
"Yukino," said Rogue softly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "it's alright. We'll put a stop to this, don't worry." He gave her a gentle smile.
"You have Sabertooth behind you," said Sting.
"And the help of Crime Sorcière," added Meldy. "With the resources of three guilds working together against this organization, we should be able to stop them."
"We have three weeks," said Lucy. "Josiah told me that when he took over Gray. Three weeks and they'll perform the spell. We need to stop them before then, or else they'll go into the wind until the next opportunity they'll have until they can perform the spell once again."
"They'll probably return back to their time," said Levy, looking through the book she had borrowed. "By what I found in this book, they need to perform the spell on the Phoenix Mountains when the constellation of Leo reigns over the sky during the full moon, and the Full Moon has to be in the very center of its cycle in the very middle of Leo's reign and the moonlight has to center perfectly over the mountain. They have to carve a magic circle into the mountain itself, with the key in the center, the star at the top, and the dragon below. I think that means Layla need to be in the center of the circle, while future Lucy's soul is at the top and Future Natsu's soul is at the bottom. The next time the Moon perfectly lines up over the Phoenix Mountains with the middle of the Full Moon, according to celestial calendars, won't happen for about 15 years. So they'll most likely go back to their present and then prepare for a year until they can complete the spell once again."
"If they go into the future again we can't stop them," said Jellal. "We can't travel to the future. It's too dangerous. We already know too much already, and knowing more could disrupt the fabric of time to irreparable degrees."
"So then the question is, how do we get rid of the lacrimas containing mine and Lucy's souls," asked Natsu. "When I fought Thanatos and he put Lucy's soul in a lacrima, he said that if we broke it, then it would've killed her, but that WAS Lucy's soul, so what happens if it breaks?"
"With everything I know about Reaper Magic, it would destroy their souls completely," said Jellal. "If that's what happens then that's what happens, but we should try and find a different solution first so that at the very least Lucy and Natsu's future selves can pass on."
"It's so weird, hearing you guys talk about our future selves like that," Lucy admitted. "I mean, it was one thing when it was my future self and I still had a chance, but this time I'm already dead. It's kinda morbid to think about."
"It's the truth of the situation," said Elfman. "But that doesn't mean the future has to be like that. If we're manly enough we can change it!"
"Maybe we can check the Magic Archive Tower," suggested Amir, everyone turning towards him. "Mrs. Redfox took us to it and showed us how it was the biggest magic archive in all of Ishgar! Maybe if we go there we can find what we're looking for! It's the in the woodsea so it might look different but I've been there enough times with my dad that I know the way there."
"What's the Magic Archive Tower," asked Wakaba. "Ain't nothing I've ever heard of before."
"And you've been around a long time," Laki joked.
"Oh, that might not be the name is has now," Amir remembered. "I think when you guys found it you just called it the Magic Library."
"Oh my God," said Levy with a horrified look, "I completely forgot about the Magic Library! That place has books so old they don't exist anywhere else!"
"Are we going on another trip," asked Gajeel, cracking his knuckles. "If so I am all for it. Where is this Magic Library?"
"In the southern forest," said Erza. "It's not on the map since the forest is so small, but it's enough to keep the library hidden. I think I should go along with Cana, Lucy, and Levy since the four of us have been there before."
"I've been there too and I'd like to go," said Yukino. "I can help with the research, plus as a Celestial Spirit Wizard, maybe I can do something to stop the spell they want to perform."
"I don't know if you can but I'm welcome to your help," said Erza. "I'd take Wendy too, but unfortunately she's in no state to fight."
"I think that's a good idea," said Makarov. "Erza, Cana, Lucy, Levy, I think you should all go to the library. I thank you for your offer Yukino, please watch over my children while you're with them."
"Then I'm going with them Gramps," said Natsu.
"They'll be fine on their own," said Makarov with a glare at Natsu. "Erza is already S Class and Cana and Levy are both at the S Class Level. Lucy and Yukino are talented Celestial Spirit Wizards, and at this point it's not helpful to send too many people. Alright Natsu?"
"But Gramps-"
"Do you doubt my capabilities Natsu," asked Erza, a dangerous glint in her eyes as she glared at a yelping Natsu.
"No ma'am!"
"Then it's settled," said Levy with a smile. "I'm sure we can find something to stop Thanatos. The books in there are so ancient that they might even predate Reaper Magic, so even if we don't find something to stop Thanatos, maybe we can learn more about Serenity and a way to stop the spell like Yukino suggested."
"We're going," said Lector. "Yukino is a Sabertooth Wizard! We go where she goes to protect her! She's our family and we're not letting her go without us!"
"Fro agrees," said Frosch.
"I'll be fine," Yukino insisted. "I can do this with the others."
"I'm worried," said Sting with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest. "I think at least one of us should go with you." He looked towards Rogue. "As the guild master of Sabertooth I order you to go with her Rogue. You too Frosch."
"Got it," said Rogue with a nod.
"And I'm going too," said Meldy, stepping forward and gesturing to herself. "I have experience with Zeref's magic. I practically grew up learning it and I do know a bit about Reaper Magic. I learned all kinds of forbidden magic before I eventually settled on learning Maguilty Sense. I think I can use what I know to help us narrow down the research."
"Well I can't tell you not to," said Master Makarov. "You aren't my wizards. But I will say that I don't want anyone else in Fairy Tail leaving. We now have two children from the future that we need to protect."
"If you don't mind," said Mirajane as she walked up, placing her hands on Amir's shoulders, "Amir and Jellal can both stay us with us at our home since outsiders aren't allowed at Fairy Hills. I'd offer a place for you and your guild members too Sting, but I'm not sure if we can fit five extra people in our house and two cats, but we do have two guest bedrooms so we can try and make it work somehow if you guys want to come stay with us."
"It's alright," said Sting with a smile and a shrug, "I already booked a hotel room."
"Now that I'm thinking of it, where have you two been staying," asked Erza as she turned towards Meldy and Jellal. "Surely you found somewhere to stay."
"We set up camp outside of town and we'll be fine there," said Jellal as he turned to Amir and Mirajane, "but I wouldn't want my son to do that as well and I'd be happy to let him stay with you."
"He took that in way better stride than you did Lucy," Happy teased.
"Shut up you stupid cat," she shouted back. "It was probably easy for him because Natsu and I already went through it first!"
"Can't you stay with us please," Amir begged. "My parents have been gone for months. I know I'm not getting them back since they're gone, but," he clenched his fist, "I've missed them. I've missed them so much. It's been six months since Underworld Origin killed them. I want to see them, and maybe, just maybe we can change the future so that our guild doesn't get wiped out." He looked up at his father, tears in his eyes. "I want to save my family, you and the guild, because that's what makes it Fairy Tail! So please Da- Jellal, please?"
"Now how can you say no to that face," asked Erza with a grin, folding her arms over her chest.
"It's a risk to get too close to someone from the future, even my own son," said Jellal sighing, "but I suppose after all of this is over and we restore everyone to their times, we can deal with it. Just, don't tell me too much about the future."
"I promise not to," said Amir excitedly as he hugged his dad tightly. "Thank you so much!"
"And you can stay with me Meldy," said Juvia with a bright smile. "You can stay in my room! I have a wonderful Gray sleeping bag you can use for the time being!"
"Oh, that's alright," said Meldy awkwardly. "I have my own sleeping bag."
"She can't stay there anyway," said Master Makarov. "It's not that I don't trust you, but simply put, no one other than Fairy Tail members can get into the Fairy Hills dormitory. When the First Master first created the dorms she made sure to cast a spell that only lets in Fairy Tail members."
"I'll be fine," said Meldy. "Besides, we should leave today anyway."
"So then it's settled," said Erza. "At noon we will leave for the Magic Library."
Song Of Hope: So sorry for the wait DX I didn't mean to take so long!