~ OH MY GOSHIE WE MADE IT TO 50 AND I'M SO PSYCHED! For reals, this is amazing to me. YOU are amazing.

There will be more chappies to come my loves, don't worry ^.^ More babies and fun in store for Incidents. ~


Chapter 50

While Bickslow and Koa were laughing out in the kitchen, Wendy and Cobra were stilled into a deathly calm at Lucy's name coming from those foreign chapped lips. The male of the two bared his teeth as deep red seeped from his persons involuntarily at the threat to the Celestial Mage.

Surprising both Cobra and Ji'ku with the ferocity of it, Wendy snapped her own commanding growl at Cobra not in defense of the trembling woman next to her, but because his poison would do more damage to their dievinu's home than anything Ji'ku could do without the cuffs still wrapped around her wrists. Wendy was the only thing keeping her upright for Mavis' sake.

This prompted one amethyst eye to roll sardonically before he spat out in his usual venomous tone, "Better start explaining why you're fucked up face is looking to find Lucy quick."

Which prompted Wendy's eyes to roll before reminding him that he was the one that said she wasn't here with ill-intentions before ignoring his existence entirely to focus on Ji'ku. Her arm was still wrapped around her frail shoulders before the raven haired mage gently removed it and took a deep breath.

Neither dragon could have prepared for what she came here to say.

"I have to explain from the beginning for things to make sense but even I don't have all the pieces. I come from the guild Ein Sof where my...birth mother is the Master. In the same exchange that gave me my magic, she sacrificed another to something she calls the Boratiritino, the Volatility Exchange." Her head lowered as her eyes squeezed shut, the pain from the dark magic burned into her very being before she felt hot tears fall down her ageless face.

"Before the change, I already had perfected my inherited magic and whatever magic the other person had must have been decently powerful. My magic multiplied so many times, my magic containers growing and multiplying all at once, all in one instant, I thought I had died. I'm sure I died for a moment before I woke up, my mother's face lit up with the hazy red glow of my mutated magic...my dark magic...with a hideously perfect grin on her face. She wants to use them, the twins and Lucy to see what the Boratiritino will bless her with. She'll start with the babies and see which of the two more worthy. She'll raise him like a tool and lock him away if she has no use. We have to get them away from here. She knows when they are supposed to be born and she knows where she will be. She's a Leech Mage and near immortal thanks to her mastery over the Dark Magic," though she knew she would have no place to go, she lifted her head to look into Wendy's doe eyes, "but she will know not to come if the fathers are also gone. I've lived years with Master Lillian and she is no fool. They have to separate or you'll all be helpless".

Just as Cobra was about to open his mouth to spew the biting sarcasm at how easy that was going to be, both Koa and Bickslow popped their heads out from opposing archways from the kitchen.

"Alrighty pretty mamacitas, we have made you…"

"...authentic fusion tacos!"

Both held their toothy grins, the Seith's tongue flopping out of his lips before noticing the gloomy vibes coming from everyone at the same time Koa seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"Oooh, not the time, Bixbro."

Both slithered back into the kitchen to pack all their delicious food away to join in on the funeral happening in the living room. Quiet chuckles coming from the teen at his errant thought.

The Sky Maiden turned her attention back to Ji'ku, her dragon on alert but only at the news that she just delivered not from the mage herself. Wendy believed her wholeheartedly. You couldn't fake that kind of emotion and the young girl already suspected something less than savory but the kind of dark magics she was talking about was really dark. It would have made her more uncomfortable if she wasn't freaked out by it all.

Cobra knew the kind of dark magic she was talking about. It was the kind of magical bullshit he specialized in. His voice was edged but not so much so that Ji'ku felt threatened by it as he absently ran a hand across his scarred eye. "That kind of magic usually requires rituals, rites and very absurdly specific bullshit that makes things like it easy to shut down."

Giving a respectful nod of her head, Ji'ku filled in the gaps his statement had implied. "She would take them to Kaukaba Cave. I've only remember these...brilliant stones of every color of the rainbow. I remember watching one of the young sisters disobeying Master Lillian's warnings about the stones. She pressed into the swirling black stone. I watched her eyes melt into black inky lines down her face before wisps of black hands reached out and pulled her in." She only paused long enough to take note of two males elbowing each other playfully until they settled on opposite sides of the couch. "It was freezing cold, even through my cloak. I was drawn to the heat of the red stone but was quickly pulled away."

"Kinda sounds like place Gajeel went nutso." Koa was making absent poofs like spark rocks in his palms as he lazily interjected from his lazy position over the cushioned armrest.

After a moment of silence, he poked his head up from the couch to see everyone staring at him. Rubbing the back of his head at the undivided attention he pulled, he continued with his pitch rising out of confusion because he was pretty sure he'd heard the story about a million times from both Natsu and Lucy, "You know? The cave at the top of Mount Jirshou or Shirji or whatever. Cassie told them not to touch the stones and then she used Natsu's mysterious love connection and then she died and Gajeel turned into a feral ghoul. I'm paraphrasing but you get the point."

Bickslow was impressed at the semi-accurate retelling before offering a more articulate version to clarify the confusion on both females pretty tilted faces. "First off, the word you were looking for and almost had was Joushou and if that's the case, both Laxus and Gajeel know where they need to go to stop this ridiculous plot against our most notorious damsel and to provide a more easily understood version of that fantasy-take on what happened to Gajeel, this was when Preggers passed out and stayed in the infirmary while Bossman sulked and the Tin Man searched for heart. All was well and now we have the perfect information to counter evil plot number 143 that targets Lu. The real issue is going to come when you tell daddy dragons they have to be out of arms reach of their newborn sons. Did I mention that neither of them leaves the boys alone for longer than 20 minutes at most while they shower in the locker room? Or how both of them get all melty like fondue when Lucy holds them? And don't get me started on the lightning tickle sessions between Laxus and Rai-rai. Or Gajeel crying when Rohan sneezed molten metal and then ate it."

In an instant, Wendy looked at Bickslow with crystal clear eyes and had the most intense moment of telepathic clarity as both blunettes had slow forming cheshire grins on their faces, "We have to get to Lucy first."

Ji'ku cleared her throat as she flushed and softly asked Wendy if she could use the restroom before they left.

Without hesitation the blunette stood to help the bandaged woman up with Cobra's reluctant assistance to take her to the bathroom downstairs while Bickslow and Koa prepared for task of getting Lucy alone to tell her the news.

XxXxXxXxX

Lucy was taking a walk with Kinana and Levy when Kekoa and Cobra walked through the door, the former with his arms crossed over his chest and an angry gleam in his eye while the latter had a victorious grin on his reptilian features.

In a moment of thoughtless action, the Celestial Mage nearly yelled to the young Combustion Mage, "Koa! Thank the stars you're okay! I was so worried about you," in the few moments between yelling his name and her being worried, she somehow managed to cross the entire guild to appear in front of him as her hands went to his cheeks to pinch at the skin, "You about gave me a heart attack with that comm call. I thought you were in real trouble," before pulling him into a firm crushing embrace that was something short of miraculous considering she just gave birth to two little people, "but I'm so happy you're here. They twins are so wonderful and I'm sure they'll love you. Well, Rohan will love you. Raiden will electrocute you but I think he thinks it's funny thanks to Laxus."

Taking in the hysterics that was the blonde wrapped around his middle, he wrapped his arms around Lucy in a hesitant returning of the gesture before offering blindly, "You look, like, really amazing for just popping out two kids, Mama bear."

Rubbing her tears and snot on his shirt, she beamed up at the young boy for the much needed compliment before looping her arm in his and using him as a crutch while she talked his ear off towards the stairs.

Suddenly she was moving at a glacial pace that made Cobra think this might go easier than they had originally thought.

xXxXxXxXxX

It was not easier than they thought. While Laxus and Gajeel were distracted by Porlyusica's crash course in baby dragons, Natsu wanted to make sure that his mate didn't push herself too hard so soon after giving birth. He knew she had been getting stir crazy and she was just crazy enough to try something, well, Lucy-crazy to ease that feeling.

He instead walked into Erza's S-Class office to Lucy saying something about 'how long would she need to be away from her dragons' and he immediately shifted into Dragon Force as a gut reaction to the thought of having to leave her alone before his mate moved to look him in the eye, unfazed by his draconic features to explain things in terms he could understand without upsetting him any further.

His first question wasn't surprising in the least to anyone present knowing how inseparable the two were.

"But I would be with her and the twins, right?"

Cobra's dry voice drawled with a flippant hand gesture, "We wouldn't dream of separating you two lovebirds. Hell will run cold and pigs will fly before that happens so cool your embers."

With a renewed smile, his arm wrapped around Lucy's shoulders as a bubbly tone that didn't fit the Fire Slayer took over his voice, "Then I have no observations."

"Objections, you mean."

Without looking at his mate, he nodded and agreed cheerfully, "Whatever."

The blonde beauty had a less shiny view on the world as she tried to prepare for the onslaught of testosterone that was surely about to come at her for thinking that this was the right thing to do but it would only be temporary. Only until Fairy Tail and the two of them destroyed Ein Sof for good and with the help of Ji'ku and her memories and magic, finding them shouldn't be any harder than finding Kekoa in the jungle.

The moment Lucy returned with Natsu, Raiden lit up with arcs of lightning connecting his exposed skin to Laxus' arms as he blew excited bubbles while Rohan's sleepy face slurped up the molten drool from the corner of his mouth to make little tired kissy faces at the pinkette. His eyes barely opened before he was trying to gum at the studs in his half-asleep father's arms.

Lucy's usually lilting voice took a firm edge after she cleared her throat to address everyone hanging around the infirmary, "If everyone would make their way out of the infirmary, I have something I need to talk to my mates about in private. It shouldn't be too long but I'll be laying down soon for a good nap and those jobs aren't going to do themselves. Go do Fairy Tail proud and help the people of Fiore".

Cheerful as usual, Mira helped to herd the last of their guildmates out with more of a rough touch on the complainers of the lot, calling over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her, "Don't forget you'll be getting visitors bright and early from the overnight train and Master Sting is known for taking out our doors."

Sweatdropping after the reminder that the overnight train her brother would be on arrives at 6:30 in the morning, she deflated a little before hearing a distinct impatient throat clear that could only have come from the Poison Slayer. Rubbing the back of her neck at the prodding, she released her hold on Kekoa after giving his arm an affectionate squeeze and sat in the comfiest chair they could muster for the new mom.

It took Natsu all of two seconds to sit on the arm of said ratty mom chair with an intimidating spark in his gold-flecked eyes that made all the dragons present bristle from the dominating auras coming from the blonde and pinkette including the youngest of them in a funny show of random gumming at both their fathers arms.

Drawing the attention of everyone left in the room, Lucy let as much of her love and support as she could through her bonds with her mates while fidgeting in a rare show of insecurity.

Gajeel's voice took a warning edge to it as his eyes narrowed suspiciously, all dredges of sleep long gone now that his mate was clearly upset. "Bunny Rabbit...not a huge fan of the silence so ya better start fillin' it before one of us gets irritated."

"I hate to gang up on you, Blondie but you're not exactly making me feel better," turning his steely eyes to the newcomer and sending her his sharpest glare, Laxus spat out an unfriendly but not unusually so question aimed at Ji'ku, "And who the fuck is that?"

Tilting his pink head of hair while scratching his chin, Natsu added far too late and far too casually for Lucy's liking, "Oh yeah, I guess I've been wondering about her for awhile."

"Oh for the love of stars," the Celestial Mage's hand moved to smack her forehead before hissing out, "you just met her, Natsu. Her name is Ji'ku and she's the reason we're here talking to Laxus and Gajeel."

Waving his hand in a dismissive motion, the Fire Slayer settled back into the chair. "Right, right, go ahead, Luce. Let 'em have it."

Before Lucy started, both Wendy and Cobra moved to flank either side of their dievinu, making both Lightning and Iron Slayers very uncomfortable at the show of protection from them.

XxXxXxXxX

Somewhere around the third hour of pacing and yelling, Laxus ran out of reasons to not just take the dark guild out and solve this problem before things could get out of hand and Gajeel was tired of being kicked by Wendy and Plue everytime he happened to let out a swear word, forcing them both into silence as dark clouds hung around their grumbling sulking frames.

Ji'ku having remained silent safely tucked away in the infirmary bed just behind Lucy for most of the argument, spoke up for the first time surprising all present enough to give her varying shades of disbelief in their eyes, "I know you don't trust me but Master Lillian's magic only fails if her targets are out of range. She's had countless years to perfect and hone it to have an area effect for miles. She and the twin dragons would need to leave right away in order to remain safe. I've seen the savagery she's capable of and she will stop at nothing to acquire them."

Silence laid heavy over the room as Laxus and Gajeel gave their little stubborn mate looks to convey just how unhappy they were with her conspiring against them only to have the tiny slayers riot in their laps at the change in tone towards their mother.

Rohan was getting fussy by way of sucking the Iron Slayer's studs into his mouth and melting them and Raiden by way of his usual electro-tantrum that lead to the unfortunate discharge that managed to not only hit Laxus and Gajeel but Rohan, Koa, Bickslow and Wendy. Rohan remained completely and miraculously unfazed as did the Lightning Slayer but the others weren't so lucky as Lucy, Ji'ku, Cobra and Natsu all watched the Fairies try to control the random muscle spasms and twitching from the unwanted attack.

Before either child could do anymore damage, the Poison Slayer with a face set to murder at almost being shocked, casually walked over, scooped up both boys without complaint from either of the tiny bundles and practically dumped them in Lucy and Natsu's laps before crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall where he started.

As everyone else just looked with abhorrent awe that Raiden actually let the surly man not only pick him up mid-charge, but stopped all flow of electricity and fell asleep in the short time the little Lightning Slayer was his arms, he was over this whole predicament. He had a pregnant mate waiting for him and regardless of what either daddy dragons tried, Lucy and the twins needed to leave with Natsu in order to keep everyone safe. His annoyance with the entire situation was prevalent in every sharp syllable that dripped from his lips, "Lambchop and the wonder twins need to get out. Pinky can keep them safe until the rest of us take out the big bad baddie. If my mate and my hatchlings were in jeopardy like yours, I'd sure as hell quit acting like morons and do what needed to be done. Or we could do things the draconic way. And please, make my fucking day and pick the draconic way because I've been trying not to rot your idiot brains from your thick skulls for the passed three goddamned hours".

Bickslow was the first recovered from his unexpected shock therapy having been the most used to channeling a current through his body from all the zaps from Laxus. Running his hand over his mouth to try and rub the feeling back into his face, he asked from where he landed on the floor in a quiet daze, "Something tells me the draconic way also means the hard way."

Before anyone could make comment, Lucy's entirely too casual response sounded from the chair, her focus totally on the blonde bundle of joy trying to clamber up Natsu's thigh to get back to his drooling twin, the molten metal cooling over Natsu's bicep like the melted wax dripping from a candle, "The draconic way would mean my brood picking sides and fighting like a bunch of barbarians. Without a doubt, it would end up Laxus/Gajeel vs Wendy/Cobra/Natsu and there is absolutely no way I'm dealing with the aftermath of that idiocy so here is how things are going to go," pausing to lift Raiden high enough for her pink-headed mate to let the tiny dragon cuddle between the warmth of his bare chest and his brothers bundled form, one little hand searching for his twins and the other making grabby motions at his mom, "we are going to take the morning train to Sabertooth where the boys, Natsu and I will be very safe and very sound in the ski cabin on the mountains. It's miles from their guild hall without being completely inaccessible. If anyone has any objections or comments, I'll hear them now," lifting her head from the bubbly smile she was giving her hatchlings to meet everyone's eyes with an even, unreadable gaze to add with a tilt to her head, "but I'll warn you now, if you think you have it hard, I'll be traveling with three Dragon Slayer babies on a seven hour train ride so think long and hard about the next words to leave your mouths."

As the rest of the mages in the room trembled from the Scary Lucy currently sitting in front of them, Natsu just cooed under breath at the slow blinking Rohan trying to gum at the metal already cooled to his skin, "Munchy munchy baby dragon, mama Luce will make the train so much better. You'll see."

It was the rough baritone of the Iron Slayer that rumbled next forcing involuntary cringes from Laxus and Bickslow at all the different things he could say to piss off the blonde two seconds away from going full blown mama bear mode. "...fine, but the next time damn near anythin' comes between me and my kin, I get to kill somethin'..."

Running his hand down his face in a show of sheer exhaustion with his family, the Lightning Slayer let out a tired, "Enough. I'm not spending tonight arguing. Wendy, go get Porly and tell her what's going on. Blondie and the boys will need a way to get our magic while they are gone so Bix, go get Freed and Levy to get that shitshow covered. Koa, you can either stay with Gaj and I or you can go with Lucy but it'll be better-"

"I'm staying here." The teen's words were loud and brash but as concrete as the determination in his eyes. "There's no way I'm missing out on this fight."

Looking off the side while scratching the back of his head, the Encan native added in a rush, "and I really don't want to be anywhere near Master Sting. The last time we went to Sabertooth that sparkle freak kept trying to fight me every time I looked at mama bear. He's like, obnoxiously overloaded with feelings."

Throwing his hands out towards the Combustion Mage with a toothy smile on his face now that someone else finally said it, Gajeel exclaimed as he stopped pacing, "Fuckin' right?! Queenie is such a fuckin' fruit loop he even scared the kid away!"

Lucy and Natsu looked at Gajeel with blank expressions before bursting into laughter.

"Did you just say fruit loop?"

At the boisterous laughter rolling from the two, Raiden's golden eye split open to glare at the interruption only to have his face go blank when Rohan's bubbly laughter lilted from his little chubby cheeks, mimicking Lucy's lilting giggles instead of Gajeel's usual unique 'gihi'.

The instant it sounded, the older twin let out his own peal of giggles, his feet kicking wildly out of excitement at hearing his brother so energetic. The action was so adorable, Bickslow and Wendy about melted into puddles on the floor as Lucy's honey eyes shined with tears before meeting both Laxus and Gajeel's watery eyes. The two quickly moved to cross what little space acted as the invisible line in the sand to fill the spots on either side of the boys, the Iron Slayer kneeling between his mate's legs as his scarred fingers ran over his son's soft head of hair while Laxus stood on the other side of Natsu, one hand on the Fire Slayer's shoulder while the other gave his son's nose a gentle playful tap.

Rolling his eyes at the domesticity of it all, Cobra gave the Seith Mage's body a kick before lifting Wendy up by the back of her dress and motioning for Koa to follow behind. He gave the dievinu of his brood a rare genuine smile before it morphed into a smirk. "Look alive marshmallows, we're about to have a rough ride without Bright Eyes here to smooth things over," before heading out to start preparing for life without Lucy. The thought sending a wave of horrifying chills through his core at the images of a Fairy Tail running rampant while he had a child to think about.

XxXxXxXxX

Six months had to pass before the problem that was Ein Sof and its guildmaster to progress in any way which lead to some ornery and unhappy dragons. This making life for the Fairy Tail end of things a living hell aside from the newest addition to the guild, Jin. She was an amazingly adorable bundle of quiet joy with ringlet curls of deep purple and bright lilac eyes. Her features matched the reptilian look of her father's with her sharp observant eyes and short button nose.

On the other side of the separation, Natsu was having a blast with Rohan's Molten Metal Dragon Slaying Magic while Lucy was having to try and deal with Raiden's boundless amounts of energy before he shorted himself out and sleeping like a brick for hours. She adored the time she was getting to spend with her boys and the Fire Slayer but she missed Gajeel and Laxus. She missed her nakama and she missed being a part of their lives.

The first few months were tough but they had plenty of help between all their friends in Sabertooth and frequent calls with Fairy Tail but it was growing disheartening and Lucy was getting restless.

She and Natsu were enjoying a quiet moment while the twins napped together, or so he thought before his mate's not so quiet rumblings sounded from where she laid back flat on the rug after her post-mommy workout, "...friggin' ridiculous, waiting around like a bunch of babies while we have to be up on this stupid mountain and away from Laxus and Gaj. I hate it and I hate that bitch keeping us up here. I'd like to see her try anything with either of those little lizards. Rai-rai would thundershock the shit out of her before she could lay a hand on Ro and all Ro would have to do is sneeze and cover her in a random molten metal, most likely blinding her and melting skin right off her face at the rate he's going…"

Natsu turned his head to take in the oddly aggressive emotions coming from his mate, his hair now long enough that he had to pull it to the back out of his face or he risked Raiden yanking it out but the way it was naturally layered, pieces still escaped to stick out around his face even with his scarf holding most of it back, in a dishevelled mess that only made him look more mature and attractive to the hormonal Celestial Mage.

"You feelin' okay, mama?"

He was only worried that his partner was hitting that special point of restless where she suddenly became the reckless, go in swinging, full frontal attack half of the duo and he had to become the level-headed, let's make a plan, efficient half. He hated when he had to be the Lucy of the group. He was bad at it and it always ended in him getting in trouble. They had in insane amount of fun when it happened but still, now was not the time.

Frustrated and stir-crazy, she sat straight up with a fire in her chocolate eyes that both excited and terrified Natsu before she let an unreadable smile form on her cryptically happy face.

"I am so much better than okay, huney. You remember that job with the-"

Natsu was only willing to take so much before cutting off her words, "Luce?"

Which she ignored in favor of speaking the rest of her thought, "-freaky hut people who wanted to collect 'a taste of your essence' with that soul sucky thing and instead of waiting for me to call out Virgo, you just charged in and destroyed them all?"

The Fire Slayer opened his mouth to answer but was cut off mid-word by the blonde.

"Because I'm thinking you and I should do some search and destroy to get this over with. I'm tired of waiting and I miss Magnolia so I figure, you and I swing through, leave Rai and Ro with Sting and Rogue and then bing, bam, boom, free to go handle our problem the way we do; completely unrestrained and most likely going to end with one or both of us getting yelled at by Laxus and Gaj."

Blinking at the foreigner who suddenly inhabited his mate, the pinkette spoke cautiously as he reached a hand out to help her up from the floor, "Just to be clear, you're all for running in headfirst and just...taking them out? Just like that?"

Taking the offered hand, Lucy enjoyed the sensation of his warm, calloused palms on her skin as he pulled her right into his chest with his unwavering and adoring gaze locked on hers. While she knew this was very unlike her, she was honestly done with this cabin and done with being away from her mates. Between Raiden and Rohan's bursts of magic and her residual magic from bonding with both her absent mates, she wasn't at risk like before but her heart ached for them and their bonds grew tight and uncomfortable with the distance.

"Just like that." She couldn't help but run her fingers through the loose bits of his hair before tugging his face to hers in a impish play to get him riled up. Something she did often and a lot in the times where they weren't distracted by the twins or the boys were with their Sabertooth nakama. She couldn't believe the bounceback of her hormones at being alone in a confined space with her best friend and fiery mate.

Before he could process that she was even kissing him, the insatiable woman was tugging on the soft flesh of his lips with her teeth in a playful show. He should have been used to her near voracious appetite when it came to their instinctual need for each other but everyday it happened and everyday he was thankful for the fates decision to bring them together.

Gently pulling back to rest his forehead on hers, his voice was low and filled with his undeniable desire, "If you were trying to leave, why're you taking off my clothes?" He was teasing of course but her moods have been all over the place and he wanted to make sure they were still going to do the whole dark guild solo mission thing first because like his divine blonde goddess, he was itching for a fight. His fire was getting harder to keep contained around her and this would be the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Except three birds and they weren't using stones but giant balls of fire.

Pouting slightly, Lucy peppered his throat with featherlight kisses as she spoke with sultry heat that pulled chuckles from deep in his chest, "Because I can't decide if I want to fuck you or fight somebody."

Taking a moment to mull over their options, Natsu gave her a wide toothy grin before offering, "Both is good."

"I think fight first then we can commence in the lovemaking." The level of casualness in the simple exchange akin to that of choosing what they wanted to eat for dinner.

As if he could sense his parents plotting things without him, Raiden's near trademarked wail resounded off the walls and Lucy was being wrapped in an embrace.

Before she could question the action, he was hefting her over his shoulder and they were on their way back into the twins room where Raiden was standing in his brother's crib with a furrow in his brow that made him look more and more like his dad with every frown.

Sensing he was in need of a little movement, she pressed a kiss to Natsu's forehead before waiting for him to release her to take care of the little Lightning Slayer while Natsu checked on Rohan, whose magic was manifesting in an almost molten capacity exclusively. It was something that worried Lucy only from a strictly training perspective. Since Gajeel was the Iron Dragon Slayer and Natsu was the Fire Dragon Slayer, she didn't think it would be a problem but the poor thing has been known to cause some serious damage by accident and he's only six months old.

The first time he met Sting, he let out a whale of a sneeze that resulted in some third degree burns.

Sting thought it was adorable even though he had to wear a helmet of bandages for a week.

Raiden on the other hand, seemed to have some semblance of control over his magic already. He was getting better about strangers holding him but more often than not, he would just keep zapping people until they handed him back to his mom or Natsu. Raiden also seemed to never stop babbling, something that endlessly amused the young Celestial Mage as she swept him up into her arms in a swift motion that pulled giggles from the bundle of energy.

Her voice was bright and bubbly in ways that pulled the sleepy attention of little Rohan as his tiny hands rubbed his cheeks, "How's my handsome man doing? You ready to go for a visit while mama goes and kicks some bad guy butt?"

Setting him on the curve of her hip, she bounced him all the way down the stairs, his little chirpy baby babbles timed in response to her lilting voice as she talked to him all the way into the kitchen to grab her comm and make a playdate for the twins so she and Natsu could take care of the assholes keeping their family apart.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The hair on the back of Laxus' neck stood straight on end all of sudden in the middle of a spar with Koa. Normally this wouldn't be a strange occurrence but he wasn't using any lightning right now which meant Lucy was doing something he more than likely would not approve of and in that moment of distraction, Koa thought he finally caught a break from the onslaught of Dragon Slaying magic he had been taking for a good forty-five minutes already.

He thought wrong.

In the moment it took him to center his Combustion Magic into his palms, Laxus' lightning had him flat on his back staring up at the bright sun as snow flurries started falling on the heated skin of his face.

The oldest dragon slayer's booming voice sounded unfazed by the finality of his blow aimed at a child, "Oi, get up. We got a problem."

Extremely confused and concerned at the implication behind his simple words, Kekoa ran his hands down the sides of his face as he groaned, "Great. What did I do wrong that time?"

Rolling his steely eyes at the teenage antics, Laxus gave a light kick to the young brunette's boot to get him motivated. "Not you and I, Boom-boom," was all he said as he started towards the guild from the training area, the cold December air doing nothing to ease the fire in his belly at not knowing what his mate could possibly be up to.

When the two managed to coax Gajeel up into Laxus' office and just as he opened his lips to address the sudden bottomless pit that formed in his gut, Gajeel's comm went off and the Iron Slayer answered. Anything to keep him from being in a closed space with the Lightning Slayer gone control-freak in the absence of their better half. Koa moved in with Bickslow to avoid being in the Master-to-be's warpath. The rest of the guild pretended that it was perfectly normal for the blond slayer to personally and anally approve every request himself, going over every piece of paperwork meticulously and barely sleeping. Though his Iron counterpart was fairing better outwardly, he also wasn't sleeping well and his dragon was incessantly on the cusp of clawing his way out at the distance between his hatchlings and mate. The tension caused at the result of both their impressively shortened fuses was mostly ignored by everyone save the other slayers.

When Lucy's beautiful face filled the space above the lacrima both the older mages in the room let out an involuntary purr as her lilting voice permeated the tension of the room to ease it into a soft relief, like both could finally breathe for the first time despite having just talked to her earlier that morning.

"Hey there, big bad dragon, is Laxus around? We have something to tell you both and it'll be better to just say it to both of you at once".

Pausing to tap her chin, Gajeel's studded brows furrowed first at her words and then the crevice grew deeper the more he took note of her surroundings looking less and less like Mount Shirotame and the cabin they were supposed to be holed up in.

When she spoke up again, her gaze was presumably on the pink-headed other half of the aforementioned 'we' who must have been standing just in front of her. "Do you think everyone should be there?"

Natsu's casual voice drawled as Laxus and Kekoa crowded the Iron Dragon's personal space to get a peak at Lucy, "Probably wouldn't hurt. They'll be late but better late than never, right?".

Giving a conceding nod of her head, her gaze was back on her screen with a serious look in her eye before taking in the two additional faces to the screen and lighting up with enthusiasm that was infectious even through all three mages tough outer shells formed in recent months. "Koa! Why are you in Laxus' office with Gaj? Did something happen? If someone complained or those morons from the Magic Council had the balls-"

Cutting off her tirade with a rushed but evenly spoken, "Please, I've been a perfect little angel and you made sure to keep me off the Councils radar, mama bear," from Koa himself with a toothless grin.

Jutting her chin out in a misdirected act of sass that was supposed to be aimed at that prick Gafi's babyface, she half-threatened the Head of the Magic Council under her breath, "...bunch of arrogant bakas barely got off the hook. I'd like to see them try to take you from Fairy Tail…"

"Luce, we called for a reason and my magic is starting to do that thing where I need to punch something."

"Right."

Prompted back to the point of the call, the Celestial Mage's chocolate eyes melted into pools of hypnotizing swirls before Laxus' gruff baritone sounded from right beside Gajeel's ear, earning the Lightning Slayer a light elbow to the ribs at the closeness, "What the fuck's that mean, woman? I knew you were up to something. Did that good for nothing idiot let you take a job 'cause I swear to Mavis herself, I will have no reservations about shocking Queenie senseless."

Laxus was three seconds away from not only jumping to conclusions but also jumping to Sabertooth when Lucy rubbed the back of her neck in an adopted motion from the Fire Slayer that usually meant the blonde was about to say something they would have a very high chance of not liking. That action coupled with the sheepish tone had both slayer stomachs dropping from the cloud they had found themselves on at the beginning of the short conversation, "Not technically, no".

The teen's distinctly accented voice broke the awkward silence that followed at the result of Lucy's reluctance to explain and the dragons need to quell the fight or flight response that always seemed set to fight at the thought of their mate anywhere except where she was supposed to be. "Uh, where are you? That doesn't look like Mount Saint Saber".

"Yeaah, that's because we aren't there right now."

This time when her hand went to the back of her neck, both Gajeel and Laxus growled before the younger of the two gritted between clenched teeth, "And where the fuck would ya be then?"

His tone left little room for the blonde to work with but the more she thought about how much she hated that her family was split in two, the more her resolve hardened, strengthening her own need to do this regardless of their support.

She honestly tried to keep her tone from getting heated but it seemed inevitable with the fire churning in a slow whirlwind inside of her as her eyes turned dark and her voice grew hard in foreign ways that made all three mages start to feel something worse than the irritation with the circumstances they found themselves in; real fear at what the unpredictable maelstrom of a woman would have to say because whatever it was, no one was going to be able to stop her with that look on her face.

Now with that confident and all-consuming determination glowing from within her, touching all her dragons' souls in a long since lost gift few actual dragons have ever had the immense blessing of having; a soul link with each and every one of her dragons and she didn't even know she was doing it, she continued with finality, "I am not going to wait until something comes after my family and then hope we've prepared for it. This is the time to be proactive; to protect more than just our family. Magnolia has been caught in the crossfire too many times for me to risk the safety we promised them. I will keep my promise to those people and should you chose to join me, most of you should land just in time for clean up."

It was a call to arms to her brood, a direct link from her soul to theirs and on a primal level, each of the dragons immediately felt the pull to go to her. Completely of their own free will, the scattered slayers made the unanimous decision to drop and run. Including both her older mates not because she was in danger and needed their protection but because they wanted to be there with their mate and in some ways more importantly their dievinu, to witness her effortlessly and unnecessarily prove herself to them once again with something more than just raw power.

The celestial wonder had cut the comms before she could feel anything more than the wave of near staggering trust they held for her which she thought was just her mates approving her plan and not the overwhelming support of all her brood. Something that still pleasantly surprised her to the point of charging straight into the cave at the peak of the mountain overlooking Sakura that held more than just Cassiopeia's key.

Thankfully, both Sting and Rogue were in the right state of mind to make sure the twins were safe and sound with Yuki and Orga before stepping into the shadows to meet Lucy.

xXxXxXxXxXx

While Laxus and Gajeel dropped and ran without explanation, Kekoa was left to stew in his confusion for only a few minutes before the pieces clicked together; Lucy was going after Ein Sof.

Best case scenario, Laxus and Gajeel get there before she and Natsu dive in. Worst case, those two run in and get wrecked which both Laxus and Gajeel would arrive before anything more could happen.

As the buff teen contemplated what was about to go down, he could faintly hear the slow-building uproar coming from the main hall. He was content to ignore it until he heard Bickslow's usually easy-going voice yell at someone, something that made Koa feel a fear he hadn't felt since he was a young child.

In a panic, he rushed to the door with the intention of seeing just what had the Seith Mage angry but his distraction made him careless so instead of gripping the door, he accidentally set off a small explosion just before he could forcing the door to slam open from the power of his magic. He cringed as he realized the only thing he could hear now was his own blood pounding through his ears and decided he would rather just stay in Laxus' office.

Knowing the teen probably didn't mean to blow the door from living with Kekoa for the passed six months, he took in a renewing breath to calm his own explosive reaction and call up to the balcony of Fairy Tail, "We gotta go, Koko. If Cosplayer has the balls to run in there head first, she's either really pissed and gonna tear shit up Flamebrain style or she's got a plan."

Letting out an egregiously dramatic groan, the deeply tanned Encan stepped out from the office, slinked his way down the stairs and crossed the room with all eyes on him. He motioned for the blunette to come closer before whispering something into his ear.

The rest of Fairy Tail was in a state of utter bafflement at the events of the last ten minutes and the way Bickslow's eyes widened at Kekoa's hushed words with the way all three Dragon Slayers dropped and ran without a word made them worry even more for one of their own, the only one that could elicit a reaction like that from any one of the slayers.

Something was wrong with Lucy or worse yet, the twins.

The two deeply tanned men shared another rushed but unheard conversation with Mira before heading out of the guild with purpose in their strides and serious looks on their faces, something that had the guild as a whole unsettled before the oldest Strauss started explaining what was going on from what Kekoa understood after talking with Lucy.

The mood swiftly switched from anxious tension to outright fury. Mira only hoped the slayers would be enough to take out a guild like Ein Sof alone. From what they gathered from Ji'ku, Ein Sof was more of a cult that a guild and they worshipped at the altar of a being that fed off magical energy in exchange for 'blessings' like Lilith's eternal youth and Ji'ku's magic. Not to mention Lilith's rigid entry process to ensure only the clever or the strong made it into the folds of Ein Sof.

No this wouldn't be a walk in the park and she just hoped her family came home safe and sound while she made sure they had whatever support they needed available at the drop if a hat.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Lucy knew what she was up against. She was fed up and angry, not stupid so in order to slay the monster that was Ein Sof, the Celestial Mage planned on cutting off the head of the beast and leaving the rest to her increasingly fired up mate. She had full faith in Natsu and while she worried for his safety, the booming sounds of his fighting mingled with his own entirely unnecessary shouting somehow settled her into a deathly calm she rarely felt when she fought. It was at complete odds with the swirling magics that now inhabited her body in addition to her own as wound her way through the twisting hallways to where she knew Lilith would be waiting for her. The dark guildmaster may be a Leech Mage but she had fire in her veins, lightning in her heart and an iron will.

Lilith would be ripped apart from the inside out if she tried to take even an ounce of the power she held.

When the blonde came to the end of the stone hallway she had been walking for what felt like ages, she felt an unnatural heat coming from the crack beneath the door in front of her.

It took her all but seconds before she made her way into the room to find something she wasn't expecting even in her wildest fantasies; a harsh looking, sharper version of Ji'ku on her knees with tears welling in her eyes.

Stunned and uncertain, Lucy stayed where she was a few feet into the door and thankfully so as Lilith's hoarse voice turned venomous, her long pristine nails digging into her temples as blood ran from the self-inflicted wounds, "I knew she was useless and weak. She had such promise and I wasted my time, his blessing, on a child destined to crumble".

Lilith's panting grew erratic as another wave of pain took hold and her back bent backwards at a sharp angle that had the corner of Lucy's mouth dropping into a tight frown sprouting from her undeniable compassion.

There wasn't anything she could do when she didn't know what was happening so she watched and waited, alert but unmoving.

Which was how Laxus and Gajeel found their mate after wading through the cannon fodder their young fiery counterpart took care of before he started cheerfully retelling them all about the fight. On witnessing Lucy dead still and hearing the foreign screams of another female, he fell silent as his words died on his lips.

Having heard their approach, their mate's voice was low but it was obvious she was shaken as it trembled and she kept her eyes on the twisting form in the center of a room that looked similar to the one they found Cassiopeia in, "She's been like this for the passed ten minutes but all her words are incoherent and I don't know what's happening."

The gruff baritone of the Iron Slayer sounded from just behind her left shoulder, "Are the boys safe?"

The blonde beauty winced and turned her head away as another blood-curdling scream echoed off the walls before she answered in a rushed whisper, "The boys are safe and sound. How is everyone else? They aren't coming are they?"

"Most likely not. Iron tits and I left in a hurry. Didn't really have the time to tell them all the details," was all Laxus said as he too watched in rapt horror at what the Leech Mage was going through. Even his lightning never made a person do that.

After a few beats of relative quiet, Natsu's voice held a softness that pulled at each of them for his own naivety, "Can't we do something to...stop this at least? There has to be something we can do-"

His conviction was admirable but Lucy had seen enough for the day. Her eyes hardened as they met the haloed eyes of her Lightning Slayer in a moment of what she thought of as mercy, "Please stop this, Laxus. Put her out so at least she's not conscious," before turning around and walking back out to leave the halls that held Ein Sof and it's members to start the wholly unpleasant experience of explaining to the Council's dogs what happened here.


~ As many of you are aware, the beautiful Desna has declared the first ever Pradesh Week to start soon so I'm working on getting those done so I can post them before I leave internet access.

Who knows, maybe I'll get to some good Kaleb/Laxus fluff the world sorely needs XD

I love you guys and I'm so thankful y'all exist! ~