AN: And here's chapter 25! I know a lot of people are gonna review or PM me with a ton of questions. I look forward to it :)

A little while earlier…

"You're doing great, Lucy! Just one more push, okay?" Alyx encouraged.

Lucy's face was red, and she wasn't certain if everything was going as well as Alyx and Elliot were telling her. Her babies were coming into the world two months early, and she was afraid. What if they weren't fully developed? What if one of them had health issues… or both?

She grabbed behind her knees and pushed harder, wanting to see her babies with her own eyes to see if they would be okay.

"That's it, Lucy. One big push."

Lucy screamed as she pushed with everything in her, feeling the scorching pressure of one of the babies sliding out.

And then she heard a small cry.

Tears burned in her eyes and escaped down the side of her face. One of her babies had healthy lungs with the way he was crying.

"You did it, Lucy! He's so precious. I'm so proud of you," Alyx said, as she kissed Lucy's hair.

"Which one…" Lucy tried to get out.

"It's Tenjin. He's your first-born."

Lucy looked over and saw Elliot wrap baby Tenjin in a blanket while cradling him. "There there, little man. You're safe." Then Elliot turned and stared at Lucy with awe in her eyes. "Ten fingers and toes. His lungs are developed, and it looks like he's breathing great. He's perfect." When baby Tenjin stopped crying, Elliot put him in the incubator and went back in between Lucy's legs. "Okay, you should have felt the pressure of baby number two. You ready?"

As soon as Elliot mentioned it, Lucy felt the pressure return and started to push. Alyx held her hand and encouraged her every step of the way.

Another five minutes passed and Elliot was holding baby Blaez in her hands. At first, he didn't cry, and she tried to coerce him, but he just stared up at her silently, his eyes a little glazed. Elliot rushed away from Lucy. "This isn't good."

"What? What isn't good?" Lucy started to panic. "Is he okay? Is my son okay? Alyx?" she looked her friend desperately.

Alyx soothed her arm and glanced over to Elliot, who was trying to pump fluids out of Blaez's lungs. "He's fine. Sometimes babies need a little help with that first cry. He's gonna be fine. Elliot won't let anything happen to him."

The room was silent and filled with a thick tension. Lucy gripped Alyx's arm tight, the only thing preventing her from getting up and going to her son. She trusted Elliot, but he was her son. Tears leaked down her face as she waited anxiously.

After what seemed like an eternity, Blaez took in his first breath and cried, but not as loudly as his twin. Lucy exhaled her pent up air and felt relieved. "Is he okay?"

Elliot wrapped him securely in a blanket and brought him over. "He's fine. Ten fingers and toes, but he's slightly smaller and weaker than his brother, which doesn't mean something's wrong. They're both really healthy for being born two months early. I'm shocked."

Elliot placed Blaez in Lucy's hands, and Lucy melted as she held her son. He was so tiny. His hair was that brilliant pink, just like his father's, and his eyes were brown like her. She put her finger in his palm, and he curled his tiny fingers around hers. Lucy gasped excitedly, and then cried. Her babies were healthy. That's all she wanted.

Alyx walked over and picked up baby Tenjin. "He is too adorable. Don't tell the adult version of him that I said that," she warned.

Lucy laughed and waved Alyx over so that she could see both her sons. Alyx joined her and placed Tenjin in her arms alongside Blaez. The babies looked precious next to each other. The three women gasped in awe when the two babies reached for each other and grabbed one another's hands.

"This is killing me, "Alyx said.

"Yeah, imagine how Lucy feels," Elliot said with a smile, and then went back between Lucy's legs to make sure she was okay.

While Elliot went back to work, Alyx leaned in and kissed Lucy's head. "Now I understand why Tenjin was so protective and clingy. Just watching you cradle your babies and the look in your eyes just make me want to hold you and never let you go."

Lucy laughed. "Careful. Tenjin might get jealous and retaliate."

Alyx joined in her laughter. "I wonder where he gets that from? You or his father?"

Lucy smiled, wondering how Natsu would react to seeing his children born. She wanted him to be here, to be a part of this, and wondered where he was. The last memory she had before she went into labor was hearing his voice.

She looked up into Alyx's face, as the phoenix haired woman stared at the babies with adoration. "Alyx. I know you know something. I need you to be honest with me."

That caught Alyx's attention and she turned to Lucy. "About what?"

"Where's Natsu?" Lucy whispered, not realizing that she was getting a little more emotional, and it didn't have anything to do with her sons.

Alyx stared into Lucy's eyes, not wanting to lie to her. She sighed. "All I know is that he's somewhere on the compound. Everything was happening so fast that by the time I looked up, you were in labor. I don't know if he'll be able to reach you."

"Why?"

Alyx shook her head. "Before you came into the infirmary, we got a report. The guild was under attack by a lone mage, whose descriptions matched that of Dark King, aka Blaez. But I knew… basically we all knew that there was no way he would have infiltrated the forest alone. He would bring his army, not willing to take chances. The report didn't explain how the intruder got in, but I figured that he was brought in."

"Brought in? Why would anyone bring him in?" Lucy asked a little confused.

"A while back we gave out a bounty mission to guilds affiliated with Midnight Sun and our counterparts. The bounty was to retrieve Dark King. We knew it would be close to impossible to capture him, but we really just wanted a location of where his guild might be. We sent that mission out before Tenjin acquired you, and he made us realize that the description we gave of Dark King was a match for Natsu as well. So when one of our branch teams informed their leader that they captured the enemy, we knew that it was a strong possibility that they got the wrong person."

"And you guys just let them capture Natsu?"

"Well, just because we assumed the capture was a bust doesn't mean we were a hundred percent sure."

"So now that you know it was Natsu that was captured, what happens now?"

Alyx sighed and glanced over at Elliot, who was finished cleaning up Lucy and was now trying to busy herself to avoid the conversation. "I don't really know what happens now. DJ doesn't care that he's here, as long as he doesn't bring trouble or cause it, but Tenjin thinks him being here might jeopardize your safety, which I'm inclined to agree with, as much as agreeing with him hurts."

Lucy's face showed her shock. Natsu was so close, yet she still couldn't reach him. "How would he jeopardize my safety?"

"Think about it. Him being here will make his team think he was captured by the Shadows, and they will have no choice but to search blindly for him. All of that will grab the attention of the Shadows, and they would literally shadow your friends and follow their every move as they search for Natsu. The closer they get to him, the closer the Shadows get to you and the babies. Tenjin, nor any of us, are willing to risk that."

"So what, you guys will catch Natsu and just throw him out?" she asked with hurt and sadness in her voice.

Alyx knew that Lucy's emotions were clouding her logical thinking, but she couldn't blame her. For months she's been separated from her guild, from people who love her. Although she made new friends and gained new love, Alyx knew Lucy was hurting inside and pining for her old friends. For the man she loved.

Alyx didn't have an answer for her, but she hoped that DJ and Tenjin came to an agreement that wouldn't garner Lucy to hate and lose trust in them.

Before she could answer Lucy, the building shook, almost like an earthquake, knocking things over and tossing the women down from standing. The lights shook and flickered and the infirmary rocked hard. Alyx tried to calm Lucy and the babies, and Elliot tried to save the things that were getting knocked around. Several seconds later, everything was calm, or at least that's what Alyx assumed.

The babies started fussing in Lucy's arms and she tried to cradle them to soothe them. "What's going on?"Lucy asked.

Alyx didn't know. The babies got antsier, so Alyx tried to pick up Tenjin to help Lucy. Before she could even lay her hand on the baby, an electric shock generated between her hand and Tenjin, and she got zapped.

She pulled her hands back and stared down at the baby, and then Lucy. "What was that?"

Lucy shook her head, as shocked as Alyx. "I don't know."

The building shook again, but didn't rattle things around. The babies started crying, gripping each other's hands.

"It's okay," Lucy crooned. "Mommy's here." As much as Lucy tried to soothe the babies, their crying got worse… and then it happened.

Their cry became unison, and their tone became a loud pitch that brought Alyx and Elliot to their knees. Alyx felt bile rise and tried to cover her ears with her hands.

The pitch was loud, penetrating Alyx and Elliot's eardrums and sending vibrations rocking through their bodies. Elliot vomited on the ground and then collapsed with her hands over her ears. Alyx tried to hold out, but being so close to the noise was wrecking havoc to her body. She spit up blood and tried her best to hold back the rising bile. She was curled into a ball and tried to stay still and just ride it out.

Abruptly the pitch seized, and it took Alyx a few tries to get herself off the floor. She then helped Elliot and turned to face Lucy.

She gasped and rushed to Lucy's side. "Lucy? Lucy?" she said frantically while shaking the blonde's shoulder.

Lucy's ears were dripping blood and her eyes were glazed over, as if she was in a trance. Alyx shook her again, and Lucy took a while to come through. "Oh, um… what… what just happened?"

Alyx stared confused and worried. "Lucy, are you okay?"

"Yeah… I think so," Lucy said, very confused. The babies stirred in her arms and she cradled and rocked them. "I guess they don't take well to extreme stressful situations, like buildings rocking."

Alyx looked down at scorch mark on her hand. "I think we might have a bigger problem than them not liking stressful situations."

Lucy looked over at Alyx. "What do you mean?"

"We don't know what they can do or not. With your celestial magic and Natsu's fire dragon slayer magic, your kids could be holding some serious hardware. I mean, they got startled and combined their wails into a… a…"

"Unison raid," Elliot replied, slumped over the counter trying to get herself settled. "I've never seen anything like that."

"Me neither, and that worries me," Alyx agreed.

Lucy nodded, still cradling the twins. "You think this is why the Shadows want them? How's your hand?" she indicated Alyx.

"It's fine, but something's weird. I don't think I was electrocuted by electricity or lightning."

"Then what? Here, let me see your hands," Elliot said.

Alyx let Elliot examine her hand while she speculated. "I think it was energy. But not normal energy."

"That doesn't make sense."

"I know, Elliot, but I can't really explain it. It happened too quick for me to analyze what was going on."

"Do you think this is why the Shadows want my babies?" Lucy reiterated.

"It could be, but how would they know? I don't even think Tenjin knows about this, and I doubt anything like this happened in his childhood."

Lucy looked down at her now sleeping babies. "Then what do we do? I don't want to put anymore lives in danger."

Alyx shrugged, taking her now bandaged hand from Elliot to walk over to Lucy's side. She smoothed the blonde hair on Lucy's head before picking up a sleeping Tenjin. She could feel the commotion going on inside the guild, and knew that something was off. She needed answers, but she didn't want to leave Lucy and the babies. She sighed. This is a one time only thing here. What's going on? she sent out telepathically. She hated using that magic, but she didn't have much of a choice.

I think we have a problem. How's my mother? Did she give birth?

She's fine and yes. You're pretty cute as baby. Wonder what happened. Anyway, what do you mean we have a problem?

We just got word from Bosu.

Bosu? The branch team? What happened?

He said that his teams are making contact with Fairy Tail.

Alyx inhaled, but hid if from Lucy by cuddling baby Tenjin to her face. That's not good.

No, it's not. But he didn't mention if Fairy Tail suspected anything, so I think for now, we're in the clear.

Is that the problem?

Silence stretched for a minute before Tenjin responded. We're preparing for war. I think he's making a move.

Alyx was alarmed. How could you tell?

I feel it, just like I know you feel something isn't right. And now that the babies are born, there's no way he doesn't already know. You need to take Lucy and the babies and get out of here.

Wait, what? That surprised her. She never thought in a million years that Tenjin would suggest Lucy go somewhere he wasn't.

I know what you're thinking, and I don't like the idea either, especially with Natsu here, but we don't have much choice. DJ is certain that the Shadows can't get here, but Natsu got in with one of our own. My brother isn't stupid and probably already has a plan on how to infiltrate.

Mind if I join in, since my name has already been mentioned, DJ interrupted.

Sure. I need someone else here to tell Tenjin that he's lost his marbles, Alyx replied.

Actually, I agree with him.

What? Alyx was so baffled that both DJ and Tenjin wanted this.

The appearance of Tenjin's father surprised me, and I want to take extra measures when it comes to Ms. Lucy and her young ones. By the way, how are the babies? Did they get a chance to suck on those huge boobs of hers?

Hey! both Tenjin and Alyx yelled. Watch your mouth. That's my mother you're talking about.

Don't get so defensive, DJ snorted. We were all thinking it.

Anyway, Lucy and the babies are fine. Where am I going to move them, since both of you want her out of here?

I already thought of that. Take the underground cave that leads from the infirmary and head to the hidden ravine in the back of the forest. Only a handful of people know about the ravine, so I'm not worried about anyone else finding it, DJ instructed.

Who is the handful of people? Tenjin asked.

You, your lackey, Alyx, me, and Bosu. It should be fine.

Alyx sighed and looked down to find Lucy staring at her the whole time. "Is everything okay?" Lucy asked.

Alyx tried to hurry her telepathic conversation so that she could give Lucy some answers. What's in this ravine? Is it safe for Lucy and the babies?

You'll know when you get there. Take Elliot with you, just in case.

Alyx, Tenjin began. She could hear the strain in his voice mixed with worry for his mom and her sons. Please… please take care of Lucy and the babies.

Alyx nodded her head, which was directed at both Tenjin and Lucy. I will.

Hurry. I don't know how much time we have, and I want to rid Lucy and the babies' scents from here just in case. We have a lot to do Tenjin, so get you and your lackey's ass moving. And then DJ left.

Alyx waited for Tenjin to say something, as she could still feel him lingering in her mind, but then he too abruptly left without wasting an extra word.

She looked down at Lucy. "This is the plan."

Somewhere in the forest…

Lisanna followed the red forest where Jeremy directed her. She ran for what seemed like forever, but she didn't come across any green shrubs. Happy felt heavy in her arms and she had to take a quick break to rest.

Her legs trembled and her arms felt leaden from carrying Happy, but she didn't care. She had to reach her friend. It sucked that she was technically alone, since Happy still hasn't woken, but she was determined.

Her little rest got her thinking about things she wanted to leave alone, but she couldn't help it. She kept thinking that none of this would have happened if she hadn't returned home. If she would have stayed in Edolas, than Lucy would still be on Team Natsu, and the Shadows would have never bothered her.

Lisanna didn't want to blame herself, but she couldn't sensor her own thoughts. She wanted to weep for days for what her and her guild has been through… for what Lucy had to endure, but she shook her head. Not yet, Lisanna. We made a promise to find Lucy and that's exactly what you're gonna do.

She got up and held Happy tighter to her. When you find Lucy, apologize for causing her so much stress… I hope the baby inside her is okay. And then she continued running in the forest.

Normal POV:

Harpy Meadows

"Where the hell have you been!?" Evergreen yelled as Gajeel, Levy and a now semi-conscious Juvia, who was leaning on Gajeel, came back to the cave they were staying at. "We were waiting here for a long time, wondering if the Shadows got to you or something. Where's your lacrima? You couldn't pick up and call to let us know that you were gonna be out."

Elfman sighed and rolled his eyes. The woman has been ranting and raving for the last hour on how she was going to kill Gajeel if he didn't come back soon, and it was driving him and Lily crazy. "Ever, maybe they were—"

"You shut it," she pointed at the takeover mage. "And don't you ever call me that," she blushed. Then she turned back to Gajeel and noticed three new additions to the gang. "Who are they?" she said roughly, not willing to trust anyone who wasn't a part of her guild.

"I don't feel like getting into all the details at the moment, but they're good guys. They might lead us to where Lucy could be."

"Might? And now that I take a closer look at you guys, what the hell happened? Did you get in a fight?"

Elfman and Lily looked at their companions and noticed their torn clothes, all except for Levy. "Did you run into the enemy?" Elfman asked.

"Not exactly," Gajeel said between clenched teeth, while trying to sit Juvia down.

"You clearly got into a fight. Your shirt's all torn up and there's dirt all over you." Then Evergreen looked at the three strangers. "They look pretty messed up too. What the hell happened?"

Gajeel stood up and glared at the busty mage. She was beginning to get on his last nerves, and he wondered why the hell she was placed on his team.

Scarlet stepped forward, getting annoyed with the woman talking and held her hand up. "I can explain everything that I can, but now we have to move. We don't have a lot of time for me to explain why, but trust me. Grab what you can and let's go."

Before anyone could protest, Scarlet left the cave, followed by Creed and JoJo. Evergreen stared at the empty space they left and then glared at Gajeel. "I hope you trust those kids enough to follow them. Do they even know that the Shadows have Lucy?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. The Shadows don't have Lucy."

"What?" Evergreen, Elfman and Lily said.

"Yeah. Erza contacted us and told us. The Shadows don't have Lucy, so we need to look in another direction, and the only direction we have now is to follow those kids. They have another team and Wendy's team will follow them. It's the only lead we've had in months. Are you still gonna be suspicious?"

Evergreen crossed her arms and grunted. "I'll always be suspicious, but if it's our only lead, then I guess we have no choice."

Elfman put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which she shrugged off, and the rest of the team gathered their things and readied to get a move on.

Outside of the cave, Scarlet and her crew were listening in. Creed looked at his comrade and folded his arms. "You okay?"

Scarlet nodded and stared squarely in her friend's eyes. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Normal POV:

Team Wendy, Livia and her brother were sitting on a train traveling farther than Mira and the rest of her team anticipated. They spent majority of the night running inside the forest, so everyone thought that they were meeting up with Team Gajeel, but then Livia took a turn that led them to a town west of Harpy Meadows.

Livia promised to answer questions once they got on the train from this town, so once they settled in, Mira, Carle and Wendy sat across from Livia, Tetsuo and Cana.

"I guess you want to ask a bunch of crap now, huh?" Livia said.

Mira smiled shyly and nodded. "We assumed that we would be meeting up with your other team."

Livia swept the hair from her brother's eyes, as he slept with his head in her lap. She gazed out the window. "If the other group encountered your other team, then they'll be heading where we're going now."

"And that would be?" Cana asked.

"My guild. Our leader would know what to do, and he would probably be the only guy who could help you find your missing friend." Livia said. Tetsuo stirred and she ruffled his hair to soothe him.

"Who is this leader of yours? How can he help us find Lucy?"

Livia took her eyes from the window and looked at Cana. Then she looked at Mira and lingered. "Let's just say that he knows a lot of things… about a lot of things."

Neither Mira nor Cana knew what the girl meant, but decided to let that subject drop for now. Mira looked around the cabin. "Where's Demon?" She had no idea why she needed to know where Livia's teammate was, but something in her just had to locate the boy.

Livia, who seemed bored and was now staring back out the window, pointed to the roof of the train. "He hates enclosed spaces, so he's riding out on the roof."

Sitting right behind the women and children were Freed and Bickslow. Of course they heard every word that was being exchanged, and something inside of Freed pulled him to the conversation regarding Demon. When they first met the boy back in Mai Park, it was briefly, but something about him made Freed unsettled. Until he figured out why, he wanted to keep an eye on Livia's mysterious comrade.

"That kind of reminds me of Natsu," Wendy said shyly. Mira laughed and Cana grinned at the memory of their friend getting nauseous riding in vehicles… memories that seemed so far away.

Livia glared at the smiling faces and then shrugged her shoulders, rolled her eyes and stared back at the scenery outside.

"I wonder where Team Natsu is right now. Wonder if they're closer to finding something than we are," Cana said.

"Maybe. They do have Natsu with them, and you know he's not going to stop until he finds a clue leading to Lucy. And Erza is as stubborn as he is. All we can do is link up with Gajeel and his team and hope this little escapade leads to Lucy," Mira answered.

"Nee… cha…" Tetsuo stirred, and Livia lifted him and seated him in her lap with his face resting on her chest. She rocked him gently, not wanting him to wake until they reached their destination, and was grateful for the distraction so her thoughts wouldn't go back to the mentioned names earlier.

Mira smiled at the scene of the big sister taking care of the little brother, and was reminded of her taking care of her two siblings, whom she missed dearly. "You two are so precious. You must care for him deeply."

Livia shrugged. "He's a pain at times, but he's all I've got."

"Where're your parents?" Mira asked out of concern.

Livia stared her big red eyes into Mira's deep blue ones. A stare that held so much emotions that Mira couldn't recognize them all. Livia looked away and said, "They died a long time ago." She said it in a tone that told everyone to drop it.

Mira sank back in her seat, feeling oddly similar to the girl having to raise her own siblings, and knew that she touched on a raw subject. She wanted to apologize, but held it to herself, knowing it would be meaningless to Livia, as it was to her once.

"So where exactly is Midnight Sun?" Cana asked to change the subject.

"We're not going directly to the main guild. My guild is a branch located two towns away."

"What do you mean by branch?"

"I mean that my guild is like a spin off. We all work for the same master, but my team, along with others, has a different leader. I've never even been inside the main guild or met any of the members."

"And your leader?"

Livia was getting annoyed again. "Yeah, like I said, he's someone I'm sure can help you. You can bombard him with questions when you meet him." She brought her brother closer and rested her head on the back of her seat, closing her eyes to tell the others that she was done with the questions for now.

Cana rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, needing a drink badly. Wendy held Carle in her lap and just stared out the window. She could sense Livia's growing agitation, but was glad that she lasted as long as she did, answering questions her team had.

Mira sat back in her seat and patiently waited until they got to their destination, her mind on the boy who separated himself from his team and sat on the roof of the train… alone.

Back at Midnight Sun…

Lucy walked carefully behind Elliot, while holding baby Blaez in her arms. They've been walking for twenty minutes, but it felt longer. Walking around after just giving birth was tasking, but Alyx explained that they needed to get somewhere safer than inside of the guild, and Lucy didn't argue.

Alyx walked right beside Lucy, carrying baby Tenjin in a back carrier to leave her hands free. The cave was deeper and darker than she imagined, but as much as she wanted to hurry and get the hell out of it, she didn't want to rush Lucy.

"It shouldn't take us that long. Out of all the caves connected to the guild, this one is the shortest," Elliot provided, almost as if she was reading Alyx's mind.

"You said this leads to a ravine?" Lucy asked.

"Not exactly. It leads us out of the guild undetected, and then we follow a path that leads us to a vehicle. From there, we'll drive to a hidden path that will eventually lead us to the ravine."

"And what happens when we get to this ravine? You can't expect us to lay low in a place like that."

"DJ said that we'd know when we get there. Just trust me."

Lucy cuddled Blaez closer and nodded. What choice did she have? Even though she only knew these people for a short while, she trusted them and knew that DJ was eccentric, but reliable. If he said that the ravine was where they needed to go, then that's where she was going.

Elliot was a few feet ahead leading them further in the cave. They hit a dark patch that slated downwards. "Be careful guys. There could be things on the ground that could make you—ah!"

"Elliot!" Alyx yelled. She grabbed Lucy's arm to stop her from walking forward and waited anxiously for Elliot to say something.

"Damn it! Right when I was going to tell you guys that there might be things you can trip on, I trip on something."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. There's this big ass rock here. Maybe I should push it down to see if it crashes into its cousins."

"Yeah, maybe. You need help."

"No, stay with Lucy and the babies." Elliot put all her strength into pushing the huge rock down the darkness. If it crashed into something, at least they would know that something else was waiting for them.

(*****)

Lisanna took a step into the cave. It was well hidden, like Jeremy told her, but thank goodness she spotted the green bushes. When Jeremy told her that the cave was surrounded by them, she assumed that they would be large bushes, but they were little plants that could have easily have been missed. The cave was wide and seemed deep. She gulped, held Happy tighter, and walked ahead.

She walked for about ten minutes and decided to rest by a large boulder. Up ahead was a dark patch, and she wasn't too anxious to enter the darkness.

Happy stirred, which startled her. The little cat murmured something about fish and then went back to sleep. She chuckled. "Thought you'd be awake by now, Happy," she said while petting his head. She got off the rock, dusted the back of her clothes, and decided to continue.

She paused. Something was coming out of the darkness that she was heading into. It was coming at a speed she wasn't comfortable with. She backtracked and tried to hide behind the boulder, as the rolling rock picked up speed, and slammed into her boulder. The sound was deafening and Lisanna couldn't help the yelp that escaped her mouth.

(*****)

Elliot and Alyx listened to hear if the rock would smash into anything. When they heard a crash, it was accompanied by a screech… from a person.

Elliot palmed her scalpel and Alyx glided in front of Lucy. If they had to engage in battle, she was going to set Lucy somewhere safe with the babies, but before that…

"Who's down there?" Alyx yelled.

Silence. Elliot looked back at her and Alyx nodded. They already talked about battle strategies, and Elliot agreed that it would be smart for her to engage first, so that Alyx could sit tight and protect Lucy.

Elliot ran up ahead and disappeared into the darkness. A few moments later, Lucy and Alyx heard a yell, and then Elliot emerged from the darkness grabbing a woman by her arm and a cat by its tail.

"Please let me go. I told you that I'm not an enemy," the woman pleaded.

"That's not for you to decide," Elliot answered.

Alyx shielded Lucy away from the woman, and tried to stay back so that the intruder wouldn't see baby Tenjin on her back. "Who the hell are you?"

Elliot stopped walking and the woman she was dragging winced at the sudden halt. The woman looked up and tears swam in her big blue eyes. "I'm just someone looking for her friend. Please, I'm no threat."

"How did you find this place?" Alyx asked, more confused on how this woman got into the forest than concerned on why she was here. If people were penetrating the barrier around the forest so easily, could the Shadows do the same?

"I was following my teammate. He was brought here and then this guy told me about this cave. He said that I might find people who could help me. I just want to find my nakama."

Lucy moved from behind Alyx, which she disapproved of, trying to place her body in front of the blonde mage and her child, but Lucy kept moving. Then she froze. Alyx stared at her face and it looked like Lucy saw a ghost.

"Lisanna…" Lucy whispered.

The woman looked behind Alyx and her eyes widened. "Lu… Lucy? Is that really you?"

Tears pooled in Lucy's eyes, and for a second, she felt weightless. Alyx had to grab Blaez from her arms before Lucy collapsed. She bent down to Lucy. "Lucy? Are you okay? You know her?"

Lucy couldn't speak, so she nodded.

Lisanna struggled to free herself from the woman's grip, but she was stronger than Lisanna wanted to admit. "Please. I just want to go to my friend."

Elliot looked at Alyx, who was making sure Lucy was okay.

"Who is she Lucy?" Alyx asked.

Lucy's tearful face looked up at Alyx, and she smiled. "She's my old guildmate."

Alyx sighed, not really sure how to handle all this, but she looked back at Elliot and nodded.

The nurse nodded back, and released the white haired woman.

Lisanna ran to Lucy but stopped when Alyx put her body in front.

"You can't hug her right now. She gave birth today, and her body isn't back to normal yet."

"It's okay," Lucy said, standing to face her friend. "It's okay, Alyx. I need to hug her. I need to know that this is real." She didn't wait for permission, but walked around Alyx and grabbed Lisanna to her. She squeezed her tightly. "I can't believe it's you."

"That's my line," Lisanna whispered through the tears. "You have no idea how long I've waited to see you. Let me look at you." She held Lucy by the forearms and sized her up. "Wow. Just like I remembered."

"Yeah right."

"Well, you do have a tummy now," Lisanna giggled as she touched her friend's stomach. Lucy joined in and they hugged again. "Oh, wait. You just gave birth right. Where's your baby?" she asked while stepping back. Her eyes moved to the little bundle that the woman named Alyx was holding. "Is this…"

Lucy nodded. "This is Blaez." She pulled back the blanket form his face so Lisanna could get a better look.

Tears fell from the takeover mage's eyes. "Oh my goodness. He's so adorable," she said in between a laugh and a cry.

Lucy nodded. "He has his father's looks."

Lisanna laughed. "I didn't think anyone in this world would have pink hair like Natsu. But he is his son."

"That's not all." Lucy went behind Alyx's back for a second. When she came back, Lisann put her hands to her mouth and gasped. Lucy smiled and pulled the blanket back from the baby's face. "This is Tenjin."

"Twins?" Lisanna said in shock and awe.

"Yup. He kind of takes after me… maybe just his hair."

Lisanna laughed and crouched over baby Tenjin. "Hi little guy." Tenjin stirred and yawned before going back to sleep. "This is incredible."

"I hate to barge into your reunion Lucy, but we need to move," Alyx said.

"Move? Is everything all right?" Lisanna asked.

"I can't explain everything right now, but why don't you come with us?" Lucy replied.

Lisanna shook her head. "I can't. I followed Natsu here, and I need to get him back before he does something stupid."

"I think we're a little late on that," Alyx informed. "But we don't have time to elaborate. You won't find Natsu down here, and my guild won't be as nice as us, Fairy Tail mage or not. Your best bet is to come with us for now."

Lisanna stared at Lucy and the blonde woman smiled hopefully. Lisanna smiled and then nodded her head.

"Mmhmm…" the blue cat mumbled.

"Oh, Happy." Lisanna ran to him and Elliot handed him over. The cat was still out of it, and Lisanna felt bad that she forgot about him for the moment.

"Happy?" Lucy said with a smile.

Lisanna walked back with the unconscious cat. "Yeah. He flew me here to catch up to Natsu. It must have strained him that whole time, but he was determined. When we crashed here, he passed out. It's been awhile, but I'm hoping that he'll wake up soon."

Lucy shifted Tenjin in her arms and petted the Exceed on the head. Before she could say anything, Elliot moved. "We need to get going, Lucy. You can do all the catching up when we get there."

Lucy nodded and cradled baby Tenjin to her. She smiled at Lisanna and walked next to Alyx. "Let's go."

(********)

Natsu ran as fast as he could in the direction that Rex pointed. At first he didn't want to believe the guy, but then he picked up a faint scent that could only be Lucy's. She was close. He picked up the pace.

He ran until he reached an area that looked weird. He looked around him at the forest. Everything was red, down to the brownish red dirt. Then Natsu glanced back at the green little bushes. It was weird. He followed the bushes and it led him to a hidden cave, which brought a grin to his face.

He was about to enter when he heard voices coming from inside. He was going to hide, just in case he had to do a sneak attack, but a few scents hit his nose that paused him. "What the…"

A brown headed woman with glasses and a big bust emerged from the cave. She stopped when she saw Natsu and drew her scalpel. "What the hell," the woman said.

"That's my line. Where is she?" Natsu hissed.

The woman got into a fighting postion, readying her blade.

Natsu growled. "Where is Lucy!"

"Wait!" someone yelled from inside.

It was Lisanna. She ran out of the cave with Happy in her arms, and put herself in front of the woman with the scalpel.

"Wait…" she turned around and smiled at her friend, tears in her eyes. "You block head. Do you know what trouble you've caused?" she said to him in between anger and happiness.

"Lisanna? Why are you and Happy here?" Natsu asked a little puzzled. He thought he smelled their familiar scents, and was confused on why.

She laughed. "I was following you, silly. To make sure you didn't cause trouble, but I guess I was a little late." She turned to the woman with glasses. "It's okay. This is Natsu."

The woman looked behind her at the empty space in the cave. Natsu followed her gaze and held his breath as a scent that he's been craving for a long time invaded his nose. He took a step, which made the woman glare back at him.

Then it happened.

Another woman with multi-colored hair stepped out cradling something to her chest. Right behind her was a blonde headed, big chocolate eyed, busty woman, who also cuddled something.

"… Lucy."

Lucy came from behind Alyx's shelter and tears leaked down her face. "Natsu…"

AN: Please leave a review. I will try to upload faster, but no promises. Thanks guys