"There's something quite important that I need to discuss with the four of you," Makarov paced in front of the fire, looking nervously between Laxus and Hisui, and Siegrain and Jade, all of whom seemed rather befuddled. "And, regrettably, it does have to do with Ivan."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Her brow furrowed in confusion. "And what does that have to do with me and Sieg?"

"That's a good question," Hisui put in, nervously twisting her hair in her hands. "Has something happened, Makarov?

He turned to his granddaughter in law who, unusually, looked her age. It still stunned him, sometimes, to recall that Laxus himself was already forty and Hisui was thirty five. There were times, of course, when he was well aware that he himself was getting quite old and that, tough as he was, his health had been starting to wane over the years. Nevertheless, it was rare for Makarov to feel as compelled as he did now. He despised the sense of betrayal he felt in what he knew he was going to do, but he was afraid of what would become of the truth if he did not let it out. Bella would forgive him, he told himself, though he was still afraid of how she would react when she found out what he had done. Sensing their eyes on him in his silence, Makarov finally turned around.

"Nothing new has happened," He said calmly. "However, there is a serious matter that has been neglected for several years and needs to be brought to light now."

He paused upon seeing six year old Lana Marie, who was still napping in her mother's lap, start to stir. Nervously, he lowered his voice and turned to Jade:

"You've never really trained your magic, have you?"

She shook her head. "I don't use it regularly," The purple-haired mage said. "But I'm still a Celestial Spirit mage, although I've always had….odd moments of...clarity and have some manipulative abilities over aerial elements. My mother had been worried about that growing up...so whenever I had...visions, or the dizzy spells, she would tell me to try not to feel it, that she was concerned it would hurt me. She never said why, though, but Sieg…"

"Plenty of Celestial mages have additional, if weaker powers," Siegrain put in, giving her a gentle smile. "Hisui, for instance, has always had some control over electricity. It's not unusual, love. Belno was probably worried about nothing."

"That's not entirely accurate," Makarov said, pausing for a moment to clear his throat. "I imagine, at any rate, that she was more trying to prevent Jade from attracting attention."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Given the way I acted until I was nearly twenty five, that was never going to happen and I'm sure my mother knew that."

"Still," Laxus put in before Makarov could respond. "What does any of this have to do with Ivan?"

Makarov hesitated. "First," He said tentatively. "Have you and Hisui made any progress in attempting to find your mother?"

Laxus and Hisui turned to each other, surprised.

"No," She said, eyeing Makarov strangely. "Again, what on earth does that have to do with anything?"

Lacey, beside her, perked up a little upon seeing her mother's diamonds glint against the light and began to reach for them. Laxus took her into his arms, shifting her to one side and wrapping his free arm tightly around his wife, his hand resting protectively over her small baby bump. Next to them, Jade and Siegrain exchanged nervous looks. Makarov finally stopped pacing, his face becoming much more somber. It was not a sight that could be conceivably called reassuring; if anything, it was quite the opposite. For a man who ordinarily made bold declarations of how little of a damn he gave of his perception by the Magic Council and, indeed, of the rest of Fiore, Makarov seemed extremely cognisant, almost afraid even. So rarely had any of them seen that and, for Laxus, he felt taken aback.

"Firstly," Makarov said, taking in a deep breath. "I would like to say that I'm quite sorry that this was never addressed before now. However, seeing as it was not, I have no other choice than to do so. I had meant to five years ago but ultimately decided against it….in light of some pressing circumstances."

Jade paled. "Are you saying it's true that Ivan was involved in what happened to my mother?"

Makarov nodded. "I presume Bella believes the same? She's said as much before."

"Yes," Jade chewed at the inside of her cheek. "But…."

"But what am I getting at?" Makarov shook his head, gesturing to her and then to Laxus. "I will be blunt: Laxus, Belno Norwich is your mother, making Jade your half sister. She and Ivan divorced rather messily when you were two years old, and Ivan took you away from Bella and went on to threaten her after she remarried and especially after she had your sister."

Jade and Laxus suddenly looked at each other in utter disbelief.

"What?" Laxus exclaimed, his mind reeling. "That's why I never knew? Why you never would tell me a damn thing? Because my father was threatening my mother and took me away?"

"Holy shit…" Jade breathed, swallowing hard, her high, soft voice sounding unusually small. "So that explains why she never talked about her first marriage…"

Makarov sighed. "What happened between Bella and Ivan was quite ugly, and I'll spare you both the gory details but, I"m sure, you have more than an idea of what happened. Bella did not want me to tell you this because she believes Ivan will hurt anyone who knows...but I disagree and, even if he does...the fact that you know means that you have something to fight with."

"Daddy?" Lacey stared at her father with wide eyes, tugging at his hair. "You sad?"

"I'm fine, Lacey," Laxus quickly told her. "Just…"

"Stunned?" Hisui finished.

Laxus nodded. "You could say that."

"So…" Jade hesitantly looked to her brother, fidgeting with her glasses. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

Laxus hesitated but Siegrain cut in.

"I have questions," The Wizard Saint said, reaching up to gently squeeze his wife's shoulder when he sensed her tension. "But….for now….what do we need to know?"

"Quite a bit, actually," Makarov said grimly. "Allow me to start from the beginning."

"You two did what?" Levy stared at Mest and Cana in utter disbelief. "It's a miracle the two of you aren't dead!"

"Yeah, that's what I said," Mest muttered. "It wasn't pretty, but at least we know for sure where Ivan Dreyar is staying for the time being. We're going to tell the royal family soon, but we heard a few other things that are….definitely questionable."

Gajeel's eyebrows shot up, shocked, and he glanced briefly towards his toddlers. Thankfully, both Lila and Casper were still soundly asleep.

"What do you mean?" He said gruffly. "That sure as hell don't sound good."

Levy nodded. "It sounds really bad," She said quietly. "What happened?"

Cana sighed. "Well, Ivan said a few things that are definitely concerning. It was about Laxus' mother, actually. He was complaining about her, but, you know, that's not a surprise. He's a douche, and we have always known he hates whoever she is...but…"

"But?" Gajeel pressed, frowning.

"Ivan thought Cana was Jade," Mest told him, crossing his arms. "It's ludacris."

"Why'd he think she was Jade?" Levy eyed him in confusion. "That doesn't line up."

"Because Cana told the psychic who's harboring him that she was related to Ivan," Mest sent Cana a dark look, to which she merely shrugged. "That was stupid, by the way. I love you, Cana, but you could have gotten us killed. Honestly, Levy is right. It's a damn miracle we didn't get ourselves killed. What happened was terrible, and, to be honest, it was uncomfortable too."

"Sure," Cana shook her head. "Come on, though. How often do we have decent leads?"

"That doesn't make it better," Mest countered. "Please don't talk me into doing something like that again. I don't want to think about what almost happened."

Cana groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Come on, Mest," She moaned. "I thought we had already hashed this out."

"You two…." Gajeel laughed a bit to himself. "I won't lie, this is pretty damn funny to listen to."

Levy lightly elbowed him. "But, again, why did Ivan assume that meant she was Jade? Jade isn't related to the Dreyars."

"She may be," Cana said, looking up and shaking her head. "He claimed Laxus is Belno's child too. I have no idea why, but it seems too….it doesn't seem like the kind of thing you lie about, even if you're the kind of dick like Ivan is."

Levy and Gajeel stared at them, blinking in shock.

"Are you serious?" Levy finally said, regaining her composure. "What in the world…."

"My mom never said anything about that," Gajeel eyed them strangely. "Although I guess she never wanted to talk about him either…"

"You really believe this?" Levy pressed.

Cana nodded. "I do. It sucks, but I really think it's true."

"I don't," Mest said, shaking his head. "Ivan Dreyar is a gross liar, of the most blatant kind and his sinister figure is permeating every aspect of what has been happening for quite some time, but his purpose and design are still shrouded in mystery. You have to understand that about him. I know this feels compelling, but I just can't quite believe it."

Levy sighed. "God, that's going to be an interesting thing to tell the royal family about."

Gajeel stood up suddenly, walking over to the phone line.

"Calling your mother?" Mest asked.

Gajeel said nothing, but the three of them were well aware of what he was doing. Levy, better than anyone, knew that he had to be feeling awful. Everything to do with his adoptive mother had been sensitive for years, and her return had only exacerbated that.

"Mom," Gajeel said the second the line picked up. "I hate to do this, but I have to ask you something."

A nervous silence fell over the line. "And that would be?"

"It's about Ivan Dreyar," He lowered his voice.

Belno sighed. "What of him?"

"It's not just him," Gajeel went on. "It's…"

Cana snatched the phone from him. "Belno, hi," She said quickly, her voice shaking. "Gajeel can't bring himself to say it, and I don't blame him, but Ivan thought I was Jade when Mest and I managed to peg his location and broke in to see him. Look, he…..are Jade and Laxus siblings?"

Belno took in a sharp breath. "Where is he?"

"In Crocus," Cana said, trying not to have Gajeel take the phone back from her. "But -"

"I'll meet you, Gajeel, Levy, and Mest tomorrow," She said shortly. "I would like more information before I let any of my cards out."

Cana bit her lip when the line clicked off.

"That doesn't sound good," She said, setting it down slowly. "Not at all…."