AN: Hey guys! I know it's been more than a month, but I am finally uploading some chapters today! Yes, that includes the chapters I was not so sure about last time, but thanks to all of the wonderful people who helped me, I figured out what I needed to do in order for the story to flow. So special shout out and thanks to all of you who helped me! And thank you so much for continuing to support me as this story goes on. I can't do it without the support of my awesome fans, so stay awesome! Anyway, I don't want to blabber for too long so, R&R!
Team Gajeel:
The door to Bosu's office burst open, surprising the team. They all looked back to see what was going on, when they spotted Gajeel by the door with two people huddled over his shoulders.
"Put me down, you lunkhead! How could you treat us like this, you metal-brain!" said the girl who was struggling against him.
Levy stood up from the couch and took a hesitant step forward. "Gajeel, what's going on? Who are they?" She couldn't see their faces, since they were hanging over Gajeel's shoulders, but she could at least tell that one of them was a small child. Why would Gajeel be holding children?
"Put us down now! How dare you treat your children so roughly! If you don't put us down right now, I'm gonna kick your ass, you pierced freak!" the girl said again.
She spoke so fast, that Levy barely heard what she said, but she did hear her. Levy gasped and put her hands up to her mouth. No words could escape, even though she wanted to scream.
"What's wrong, Levy?" Evergreen asked. She didn't hear what the girl over Gajeel's shoulder said clearly, but she could tell by Levy's sudden shock that maybe the small blue head did. She walked over to her and placed her hand on her comrade's shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked when tears started to fall from Levy's eyes.
Juvia got closer to the woman, and Elfman stood right behind them.
Levy stood still for a moment, not caring that her friends were trying to comfort her. Her sole focus was on Gajeel and… "What did you just say?" she finally whispered.
The girl was still struggling on Gajeel's shoulder, and it seemed like she had enough because she turned her hand into a hammer and knocked Gajeel on the head really hard. He dropped both of the kids to clutch at the pain, and the girl grabbed her little brother and held him tight. "Are you insane?! What kind of person reacts the way you do after finding out that we're your kids?! I'm so glad I take after mom and not you, cause I think I wouldn't have made it as a mage like I am now!" the girl yelled.
Gajeel glared daggers at her. "What kind of daughter hits her father in the head with a hammer?! I was only bringing you here to meet the rest of my team, and yet you act like I was kidnaping you. How could I have a daughter like you?! I would have sold you a long time ago!" he yelled back.
"Oh yeah!" the girl said, setting her brother down behind her and standing up to her full height. "Well take a good look at me, papa, cause you indeed raised me this tough. I'm your protégé, as you call me. All I know is what you taught me. Still wanna sell your essence, you pointy-eyed jerk?!"
"Wha- Why are you calling your father names, when you're just as pointy-eyed?! Don't you have any manners!"
"Didn't I say you raised me?! If you don't have any manners, why would I?!"
"I thought you said you're nothing like me? Guess you lied, huh. If you were anything like Levy, I wouldn't be having this petty argument!"
The girl gasped and squinted her eyes. "I'm petty now?" she said in a spine tingling voice. The boy who was standing behind her backed away quickly, knowing something ugly was about to happen.
Gajeel didn't even have time to block the club to his face, not really prepared for his own 'daughter' to sock him. He was thrown to the side, and hit the door. He was surprised at her strength, his cheek pain telling him that she was strong, and he couldn't help but feel pride rise up with the pain. Which was something he shouldn't have been thinking about, because then he would have had time to block her second attack to his ribs. He did manage to grab her clubbed hand and hold it tightly.
"How dare you say I'm petty?! And I. Am. Levy's daughter. Who asked me to look like you?!" She tried to grab her arm away, but stupid Gajeel had it in a tight grip.
Gajeel chuckled. "You have a temper. Guess you got that from me. And you're emotional. I guess you are Levy's daughter."
Tears glistened in the girl's eyes, and before she could hide them away, arms crept up from behind her and hugged her tightly.
Levy, Juvia, Evergreen, Elfman and Lily were witnessing the argument turned fight that was going on between Gajeel and the girl version of Gajeel. They heard everything and knew what was going on. The two kids Gajeel brought in were his and Levy's future kids, and by the way the girl turned violent because of her temper, further proved her parentage. They couldn't believe it. They were meeting more kids of the future Fairy Tail, but after the fight started to get heated, they stayed away and just watched.
Levy was the one who was trembling. She didn't want to just stand back and watch, when her kids were right in her face. Studying them, she saw how the girl, who she remembered Bosu called Livia, looked just like Gajeel, only beautiful and feminine. She had the same hair length, color and spikiness. She also had the same red eyes and the same piercings as he did. The only thing she had of Levy's was her beauty. Levy couldn't hold back anymore and charged forward with her arms out. She hugged the girl, who was beginning to cry, and placed her own tear-streaked face in her daughter's back.
"Hey! What are you-"
"You're my daughter. My daughter. My beautiful daughter. It's really you…" Levy couldn't stop saying. She couldn't stop crying either, which just made the girl she was hugging even more uncomfortable and emotional.
"This is so unreal," Evergreen said. "To think that Gajeel can have a kid just like him, but without his hideous looks."
Elfman smirked and just gripped Ever's shoulder tenderly. "Yet she's as manly as her father, and maybe a little stronger if you ask me."
Juvia just felt her heart melt, and clutched her chest. The sight was so heartwarming, and she wished she didn't faint when JoJo was revealed to be her and Gray-sama's daughter, because they're reunion, or rather union, would have been filled with love and plenty of smothering.
Levy finally let go of the girl and turned her around so she could see her face. "You're slightly taller than me, and you're only fourteen. I don't know why, but I feel a little relieved. I guess Gajeel can't call you shrimp like he does me," Levy said laughing.
The girl smiled, tears still filled in her eyes. "Guess not. One day I might surpass him in both height and strength."
"Won't ever happen," Gajeel interrupted, carrying a little blue headed boy in his arms. "He was over in the corner cowering. So I figured I should bring him over to join in."
"Oh, Tetsuo," Livia said, reaching for him, only to be surprised when Gajeel pulled him back from her reach. She scowled and stomped on Gajeel's foot, which gained a huff of pain from him. "Give me my baby brother," she said in a threatening voice.
"You've had him enough. Maybe you should let your future mother see him, Livia," Gajeel said between clenched teeth.
Livia's eyes widened. She remembered something. The way Gajeel called her name reminded her of the way her father from her time used to call her sometimes. She dropped her arms and lowered her head, a little embarrassed to show her blushing cheeks.
Gajeel looked down into Tetsuo's hazel eyes, big eyes just like his mother's, and did his best to smile without it being menacing. It failed miserably, yet the boy in his arms didn't get scared. In fact, the little boy held Gajeel's shirt hem tighter. Gajeel patted the boy's head and then pointed to Levy. "This shorty is your mother, Levy. Levy, this is your son Tetsuo."
Poor Gajeel couldn't even finish his introductions before Levy grabbed the little boy from his arms, and crushed him to her. "My baby. My little boy. My little boy with his mama's looks…" she said in between the tears. Her son was so tiny for a four year old. She couldn't believe that the future her didn't get a chance to see her baby this big, yet she did. She held him to look at him clearly, and just smiled. He was her everything. He had nothing of Gajeel's, which she secretly appreciated, and yet she could see the same sternness in Tetsuo's eyes that she would see in Gajeel's. It was scary, specially since he was four, but it was also comforting. "So, you're Tetsuo. Ever since I heard about you and your sister, I've been dying to meet you. You're absolutely perfect." Levy glanced at Livia. "You both are."
Gajeel ruffled Livia's hair and then leaned on her head, an action he often did to Levy. "Isn't this a nice family reunion?" he said with a smile.
Livia glared up at him and said, "If this was your intent, you could have done it in a nicer way, you brute."
Gajeel grinned. "Nicer is not my style. I wanted to drag you in to meet Levy. I just wanted to make her joyous. She's had a lot of sadness over the past several months, and if meeting you guys would make her this happy, I won't regret how I brought you."
Livia 'hmphed' and jammed her elbow in Gajeel's side. When he flinched, she smiled. Levy did have dark circles under her eyes, as did the rest of the team as she observed. She knew that their journey was not easy, especially since she escorted Team Wendy here, so she understood the need for happiness. This Gajeel reminded her of her father. He would do anything to bring sunshine in her mother and his kids' lives, even if majority of the time he was a brute. But that's what Livia loved about him.
The rest of the team came over to introduce themselves, which wasn't necessary since Livia knew them all, but it was nice for Tetsuo to finally meet the family she grew to love, admire and respect.
Team Natsu:
Erza couldn't get her cheeks from being red. She couldn't stop blushing and she couldn't control her emotions. What DJ, Midnight Sun's guild master, just revealed to her and her team was astounding, and surreal. She still was trying to process it all, but she was afraid her brain was on overload. This entire guild was made up of people who were from the future, and some of those people included future Fairy Tail kids.
She had a daughter who was here in the present, and her daughter was with one of the other Fairy Tail teams. Could this all be true? And also, could Fairy Tail really fall so suddenly in the future?
Gray was dumbfounded. He's heard a lot of crazy talk, and has witnessed with his very own eyes a lot of things that should have been impossible, but this…this took the cake! He was a father, but that wasn't all. The mother of his daughter was… "Are you sure it's that woman?" he asked DJ tensely.
The bald master just nodded his head, amusement filling his eyes.
Gray gulped and pictured the blue headed mage finding out the news of them having a kid together. He sighed heavily and then held his head in his hands. "Mavis save me."
Loke was surprised as well, finding out what really happened to Lucy, and also finding out that Lucy and Natsu's own sons played major roles in this all. He couldn't believe that his master's own offspring could be their mortal enemy. "You never explained why Blaez is really here," he said to DJ, which made Erza and Gray forget their momentary worries, and focus on the bald man.
DJ sighed and then tucked his folded hands under his chin. "The truth is, my father was Dante, younger brother to Cain. They were working on acquiring all of the dark magic they could to over throw even Zeref himself, in order to take over the world. They had a master, who was a Time mage, the last of his kind, and they both discovered that many different alternative eras existed. I believe you have experienced this yourselves when you brought back Miss Lisanna from Edolas. Cain, being the greedy son of a bitch he is, didn't want to have to compete with other alternative eras, so he created a machine that would destroy all of them except the one he wanted to rule. It's called the Relapse Core. The only problem is that it requires a great deal of special magic. First, he tried to take magic from the dragons, but they were hard to acquire. He even targeted phoenixes, ancients in their own right, but phoenixes are scarcer than dragons, seeing as how only one ever serves in a century. The one phoenix that he captured escaped, and he's never been able to lay his hand on it again.
"He built a guild, which you know as Shadows of Darkness, and taught all of his underlings Shadow magic. They were to bring him all sorts of magic that he needed. He targeted slayers, but realized that their magic wasn't enough. The offspring of slayers would probably have more power than their predecessors, but majority of the slayers were young. For years he stole magic from many mages, and then he stumbled upon celestial spirits."
Loke's eyes opened wide, and he stared at DJ in disbelief. "What do you mean he sought after spirits?"
DJ didn't hold back. "Cain started out small, with lesser spirits. To most people, lesser spirits are nothing special, but to be able to cross the plains between Heaven and Earth, so to speak, takes a great deal of magic. And you of all people should know that spirit magic is rare in itself. So he kidnapped and killed spirits, draining them of their powers. But it still wasn't enough. He realized that those who controlled celestial spirits had even more magic than the spirits, and then targeted celestial mages. He killed so many in his quest, yet nothing was enough. And then sadly, he bumped into an innocent mage, and discovered that not only was she a strong celestial mage, but she was also wielding dragons inside of her. Their magic combined was what he was looking for. They would complete his fuel to launch the Relapse Core, but sadly, you know the future past of Lucy's story. Cain, who is known as Shadow King, instead raised Blaez to be his successor, and Blaez was poisoned to even target his own past mother and unborn self and brother in order to fulfill Cain's dream."
"So what exactly are you saying?" Gray asked.
DJ grinned. "I'm saying that he's here to finally end the world."
Team Natsu couldn't believe the more shit that was dumped on their plates. They had to stop Blaez, or Dark Prince as he called himself. If they didn't, it would be the end of their world. And even though he was Lucy and Natsu's son, they had to. DJ told them earlier that he was only telling them everything so they would decide if they wanted to help or not, but what choice did they have?
"You have plenty of choices," DJ said, answering their thoughts. "The problem lies with deciding what the right choice is. You can certainly go after Blaez to stop him, which is something I wouldn't hold against you, since I am already building an army for battle. Or you can leave him to his brother… or parents."
Erza thought to herself. She knew what they had to do, what had to be done, but was it right to go after him when it felt like his family had all rights to stop him first? When she wanted to take down Jellal, her friends surely helped her, but she was the one who had to defeat him, no one else. So… what should they really do?
DJ smiled, reading the fiery woman's thoughts. He was glad that he invited them into this fight instead of listening to Tenjin and leaving them out.
Just then, Law burst through DJ's office door and marched straight to his leader. "I don't like this," he yelled.
DJ's gray eyes trained on Law's impatient face. "What is it this time, young Law?"
"Master, bringing them here is a mistake. We don't need their help. They'll just mess everything up anyway."
Erza stood up, forgetting her previous thoughts, and faced the green haired teen. "What is your problem? Obviously your master has no quarrels with us, so why must you start trouble?"
Law exhaled heavily and turned his attention to the noisy woman. "No one was speaking to you," he said in an eerie voice."
For the first time that she's met him, Erza could see Law's eyes behind the bangs. They were big and blue, just like his mother's, but stern just like his father's. He was being serious with his anger and disgust against them, which pissed her off, especially since he resembled her most precious nakama.
Law descended his spear from his long sleeved leather jacket, and the tip hit the floor with a thud. He eyed all of Team Natsu's members for a second before gluing his sight back to Erza's. His face was calm, but his eyes revealed his contempt and burning desire to get rid of "his" enemies. "I am not your nakama," he said in between clenched teeth.
Erza glared at him, guessing that he was reading her thoughts, and took a normal fighting stance. "If you are the blood of my nakama, that makes you also my family. And if you dare draw your weapon to fight me, you'd better be prepared to take a beating like a nakama, cause I hold back for no one." Her eyes were just as fierce as Law's, and she had enough of his bratty attitude.
Before Law could draw his hand up to take a leaping swing, there was a loud squeezing sound heard throughout the room, and then the spear dropped to the floor. Law looked down at his hand and saw that it was being squeezed to the point of almost breaking. Sweat immediately dotted his forehead and he looked shockingly at his master.
DJ's eyes turned from their calm gray to swirling silver. His stare was calm yet menacing at the same time. His hands were folded under his chin and he just started at the now frightened green haired boy.
Erza didn't know what was going on, neither did Gray or Loke who got up to defend Erza if a fight ensued. They followed Law's stare and saw DJ staring calmly, but his aura told them that he was anything but.
DJ remained seated, but he seemed bigger than the room. "I tolerated your attitude far enough, young Law. Even though right now they may be in the same age group as you, technically these are the same people who helped raise you. I suggest you show some restrain."
The way he spoke was calm, as if he was matter-of-fact with his words, but Law knew that DJ was angry. He looked down at the invisible force that was crushing his hand and swore before nodding.
DJ smiled. "Good. Since we'll all be fighting on the same side, we should learn to get along, and if you can't get along," DJ dropped his smile and scowled with his blackest stare. "You can sit this one out."
Law, Erza, Gray and Loke all held their breath and felt the inevitable chill run down their spines. DJ's angry face was nothing to mess with, and it felt like he was clutching their very souls.
Law's hand was released and he grabbed it and tried to massage the pain away. He picked up his spear and left the room in anger.
DJ laughed, his face back to the calm nonchalant man that Team Natsu met in the beginning, but he wasn't fooling anyone. They got to see a piece of what he looked like for real, and it was down right terrifying. "That boy can never just let things go," DJ said with a smile.
Gray remembered something. "When we met you at the gate, didn't you say that he had a reason for his anger?"
DJ nodded and turned his stare from the door Law just left from to the team. "Yes, there is a reason."
"What is it? What did we do to him to deserve such treatment?" Erza asked.
DJ sighed. "Young Law has a poetic soul. He has a weird way of thinking things and his actions don't portray his true feelings. You would probably be surprised if I told you that his anger towards you is actually a shield to block out how he truly feels, which is hurt and disappointed mixed with love."
That threw the team for a loop.
But before they could voice their confusion, DJ continued. "When you all died, you left those kids orphaned, but that couldn't be helped. All of those kids looked up to you lot as heroes, so seeing you dead was a harsh blow to their psyche. But I think Law took it the hardest since he was the eldest. He felt that you dying was a disappointment to his belief that Fairy Tail was the greatest and strongest guild ever, and he turned that sad, hurt feeling of losing his heroes into hatred to shield his heart."
Erza and the gang felt the blow of that explanation. It was sad to think that their future counterparts' deaths made the next generation this deeply hurt. And Erza and Gray felt even worse thinking about how their own kids must have felt.
DJ smiled and said, "See. A poetic soul. Both him and his brother, but I think Law's is just a little more sad."
"Is he also mad at his parents?" Erza asked.
DJ sighed again. "Probably at them the most."
Team Wendy:
The team sat in the room, all spacing out and thinking about the news.
Bickslow was heavy in thought and then he snapped his fingers so loud, it brought everyone's attention to him. "That explains it," he shouted.
Freed, who was sitting next to his Thunder Tribe partner, covered his ears and glared at the puppet master. "Why are you shouting? And what explains what?"
Bickslow smirked and glanced at Carle. "When we were lost in the forest looking for the other teammates of that Gajeel girl, me and tiny cat ran into a wall that resembled yours," he said pointing to his comrade.
Freed looked confused, as did the rest of the team. "What are you talking about?"
This time, Carle moved closer, pouting that Bickslow called her "tiny cat". "When we were split up, me and lunkhead ran into walls we thought you used with your runes. Then, we saw you. You even talked to us and told us to follow you, after you dropped the walls."
Wendy remembered something and gasped. "You and Bickslow came back yelling that Freed was going too fast or something. And then you got mad, but Freed was with us the whole time."
Carle nodded.
Bickslow smiled. "And now, everything is explained."
His team said in unison, "What is explained?"
Bickslow wasn't prepared for a harmonious answer, but his grin deepened. "We thought it was you who put up the walls and we thought it was you that we saw in the forest, but I think it was actually your son Demon."
The gasps were also unison, except for Freed who only widened his eyes.
"What if your son can use both your magic? It would explain everything."
Freed glanced at Mirajane, and she looked just as shocked as he did. They didn't meet Demon face to face, but it was possible that he had both of their magic, which would make him a beast, literally.
(*****)
Mira escaped the confines of the room and found a door that led outside to a little patio that overlooked the mountains. Cana offered to come with her, but she just needed to be alone with her thoughts. The idea that Demon… her son… could use both dark ecriture and takeover magic both thrilled and frightened her. And if what Bickslow said was true, that meant that Demon could not only become beastly, but he could turn into other people, which was very advanced. Did she teach him that? Probably not since she died when he was only ten. Who taught him then? Was it her eldest son, Law?
The door to the patio opened, and Freed walked over to where Mirajane was standing, holding her hands around the metal bars that closed off the patio from the world. She looked exhausted, but most of all, she looked sad. He understood. Not only did they find out that they had children, but they also found out that their future counterparts were dead, and that their children were raised without them. And now, they find out that their son, possibly sons, also could wield their dangerous magic.
He stood right by her side, but didn't exactly know what to say or do. Mira reached over and took his hand in hers, shocking the hell out of him. His eyes widened in surprise and he looked at her. She was smiling, and his heart did a little flip, something he didn't even know hearts could do. Her big beautiful blue eyes had tears swimming in them, and that pained him, but she was smiling.
"I guess physical contact like this is nothing for us, seeing as how we have multiple kids, which means we've been intimate multiple times."
Freed knew that she was joking, but it didn't help the blush that rushed to his cheeks, and seeing him nervous like that made Mira laugh out loud.
She wiped the tears from under her eyes and let go of Freed's hand to walk to the two chairs that were placed to their right. When his hand was released, Freed felt an emptiness that he never knew he had, and followed her.
"What are we going to do?" she asked, staring into his blue green eyes.
Freed wished that he had the words to tell her, but he was just as stumped. So he did the only thing he could think of to comfort her. He held her hands and stared into her eyes with confidence. "We're going to get through anything, one step at a time."
Mira was a little surprised at first, but then she smiled, knowing that he was very dedicated to what he said. She took one of his hands and held it to her cheeks, a fresh new batch of tears rolling down them, and then she smiled. "Okay."
Freed's heart jumped in his through and he was stunned at what to do or think. In the back of his mind, he knew he felt something special towards the white haired mage, especially after she helped him change his ways, but he never dreamed that it would lead to them having a family. But he saw nothing wrong with that, and in fact he was happy that she would be the mother of his sons.
A gust of wind blew their way and they had to shield their eyes for a moment before they noticed a cloak-wearing figure, about the same height as Freed, standing by the patio door.
Mira gasped and held her hands to her mouth, knowing that behind that cloak was Demon.
Freed stared at the figure, and when Mira looked as if she was going to charge over to it, he stood up and blocked her, not sure why he didn't want her to immediately advance.
Mira wanted to shove Freed aside, but his demeanor gave her pause. She looked back at the figure and smiled. "Demon, right?"
No words were spoken from the figure, but Mira knew it was him.
"It's okay. You should know that we would never hurt you. We're actually really happy to know you exist, and if your father wasn't holding me back right now, I would jump at you and squeeze you until you couldn't breath."
Father… Freed thought, and his guard slipped a little as he processed what Mirajane just said. It was the perfect opportunity for her to get past him and do exactly as she said. Neither Freed, nor the cloaked figure was prepared for her sudden actions, and she was quick.
Demon was quick, and great at teleportation, just like his father, but there was no way in hell he was fast enough to move out of the flying takeover mage's way. In the matter of half a second, she managed to escape Freed, lunge herself at Demon, and squeeze the snot out of him.
Mira cried. She cried loudly and held her son so tight like she was afraid to let go. "Demon… my son…" she said in between sobs.
Demon knew that she nor Freed could actually see him underneath his cloak, so for Mira to just assume that he was Demon was absurd to him. But that was so Mira. She was just like his mother from his past, and he couldn't help but be still under her clutches.
Freed on the other hand was anxious. He didn't want Mira to get her hopes up and things turn out for the worse, but he knew that stopping her was impossible, so he just watched carefully.
After a moment, Mira let the figure go, and raised her hands slowly to the hood of the cloak. Hands stopped hers, holding hers in place. Mira smiled. "I need to see your face. I need to know that this is real. Please," she begged, "don't hide from me. My heart can't take the anticipation any longer."
Demon wanted to wait, knowing that when she saw his face, it would be heartbreaking, but she was right. He wanted her to see his face too… and his father.
With her hands still in his, he peeled back the hood, and revealed himself to his parents.
They both gasped.
Demon looked just like Mira, except in a slender, yet toned, male body. He had long white hair just like hers, and big blue green eyes, just like hers, and he had a calmness that was just like his parents. But that wasn't the only thing that was heartbreaking. What was truly heartbreaking was the long scar that stretched over his forehead. He normally wore a bandana to hide it, but he left it out, knowing that he was going to reveal himself, showing them all of him. The scar was long and rigged, as if it was a horrible gash mark.
Mira lifted her hand and touched the angry scar, and as soon as her flesh touched his, tears flowed from her eyes. She didn't know the history behind the scar, but she figured it was why he always covered himself that not even his own team remembered what he looked like. She grabbed his head and bent it, kissing the scar to let him know that she didn't care. She would love him no matter what.
Demon couldn't help but be in shock. When he was little, that scar happened because of a terrible accident between him and his mother, and here she was… not his true mother… kissing him. She reminded him of his precious mother from his time. She loved him no matter what too.
Mira lifted his head and smiled. "Livia was right. You are very pretty for a boy, or should I say handsome?"
Demon blushed. His mother always used to say that to him, but it's been years, and he had no idea that those simple little words would affect him so much.
"Look Freed," Mira said while looking back at her companion. "This is our son. Isn't he so handsome?"
Freed stepped closer and nodded before taking Demon's hand in his, shaking it. "He sure is. He gets that from his mother."
AN: Onto the next one!
