Alright here is chapter 3...
I know the chapter is on the shorter side but I hope it's just as good...
As usual I Do NOT Own Fairy Tail or it's characters or even the storyline completely...
The original was Somewhere In Between written by Cerberus Angel Last updated October 6th 2017
So safe to say it's not going to get updated anytime soon...
Mine has a bit of a twist in here...
I hope you enjoy!
Guild Hall - 2 hours later
Wendy smiled at the two blonde toddlers that looked at her wide eyed and mouths wide open in wonder. They both held their breaths as a blue aura that came from Wendy's hands and reached out to them as she scanned them to make sure they weren't hurt.
Zoey couldn't help the giggle that slipped passed her lips when the aura reached her. "Andie Endy! Dat ickles!" Zoey exclaimed. It tickled her belly and arms followed by a warm feeling that enveloped her. It reminded of how it felt to be held by her mama and papa which made her want to curl up and sleep.
Seth was distracted by Zoey's reaction and gasped when he felt like someone was tickling him and then giggled at the strange feeling. He turned away from Wendy and Zoey and wobbled toward his mother to get away from the tickling feeling.
Lucy giggled when Seth let himself drop into her arms as his eyes went half lidded as if he was about to fall asleep.
Laxus bit back a smirk when Zoey fell on her butt, but continued to look at her hands in wonder at the blue aura that surrounded them.
"Papa luuk!" Zoey held up her hands to show her father.
"How are they?" Freed asked once Wendy was done giving the twins a look over.
"It gone!" Zoey exclaimed bringing her hands down. She shook them but nothing happened. "Papa! It gone!" Zoey said in amazement.
"Were you able to help them?" Bickslow asked not giving Wendy a chance to respond.
"Would the both of you stop crowding her..." Evergreen grabbed them by their sleeves and forced them to take to a step back. Laxus tugged Zoey over to him and placed his chin gently on her head as she continued to shake her hands.
"They're fine... They only had a few scratches on their arms..." Wendy explained while smiling adoringly at the toddlers.
" What a relief..." Freed sighed as he felt relieved that there was nothing really wrong with the little ones.
"I already dealt with them..." Wendy looked at Lucy and Laxus. "They should be fine now, but they will most likely need to take a nap soon..." Wendy said with a giggle as the toddlers yawned in unison.
"They take naps during the day?" Laxus asked confused.
"Not naps..." Freed was quick to correct him. "A nap... At this age they will only need one..." He looked at Seth, who was already starting to doze off in Lucy's arms. "Normally most toddlers take them after lunch..." Freed explained.
"But it's not lunch time yet..." Bickslow said with a frown as his babies hovered over Lucy and Seth causing Seth to let out a sleepy giggle. "Not to mention... How the hell do you know that anyway?" Bickslow asked in disbelief.
"Yeah that's a good question..." Laxus pointed out.
"We should try to keep them awake so they can eat, then they can take their nap..." Freed said ignoring the curious looks he was getting.
"They did have a long morning..." Carla spoke up for the first time since the Thunder Legion grabbed Wendy the moment she arrived at the guild and asked her to look over the toddlers. She had been shocked into silence when she caught sight of the little ones and their scent only confirmed what she was seeing. "It's not a surprise that they would want to sleep sooner than later..." Carla crossed her arms. "Laxus, Lucy, would the both of you like to explain how these two came to be?" Carla asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Carla..." Wendy said in warning.
"I'm a bit confused... I don't recall the 2 of you dating... Unless you were doing it in secret..." She ignored Freed's attempt to cut in. "If you were then I must congratulate the both of you for doing a excellent job at keeping it a quiet affair especially with the Demon..." she motioned to Mira who was behind the bar, "being on top of anything involving relationships and then you have Team Natsu's over protectiveness of Lucy..." Carla continued in her normal snobby way.
Instead of feeling annoyed, Laxus was quite amused by Carla, while Lucy could only look at her wide eyed when the Exceed kept throwing her a look that had her feeling self-conscious. Laxus glanced down when heard Zoey yawn and saw her rubbing her eyes.
"You're tired..." Laxus stated turning her to face him. Zoey didn't bother to deny it as she continued to rub her eyes and lean toward him.
"Wand gros ome..." Zoey's forehead came to rest on his shoulder as her eyes slid closed. "Go ome now..." Zoey said with another yawn
"We will..." Laxus said as one his arms circled her waist and pulled her off table so her small body leaned on his chest. Her small hands curled into fists as she grabbed his shirt and she turned her head to the side so her right ear was pressed against his chest. The sound of his heart beat was a lullaby that lured her to sleep.
"Papa..." Zoey whimpered in her sleep as she sniffled. He slid a hand through her blonde hair feeling her calm under his touch. He may have had his doubts, but they needed him and he didn't plan on failing them.
Train Station
Gajeel, Lily and Levy all exited the train after being away on a job for almost two weeks. Gajeel was looking forward to being back in the guild. Lily was always great company and Levy could make the worst jobs bearable.
He knew he could trust the Script Mage to have his and Lily's back. Even so he missed the loudness of the guild and his afternoon naps while knowing that Levy was reading one her books close by. He would never admit he missed picking fights with Salamander or purposely trying to tease Laxus.
Gajeel glanced at his Shrimp and once again felt something in his chest at the sight of her holding Lily in her arms as she walked beside him. It wasn't the first time he's seen her like this, but it never failed to get a reaction out of him. The corner of his lips quirked up. The wind blew and Gajeel almost missed the familiar scent. Almost.
'What the hell?' Gajeel wondered internally. He stopped walking and tilted his head up to catch the smell again. It was gone and yet the hairs on the back of his neck stood as if he were being watched. The Iron Slayer's gaze roamed the area and even chanced a look over his shoulder, but found nothing suspicious and yet the feeling remained. Although it didn't feel threatening.
"Gajeel?" Levy's voice interrupted his thought. Gajeel looked forward again to see Levy and Lily had gone off ahead and were now waiting for him. "Is something wrong?" Levy asked her voice filled with a hint of concern. And just as quickly as the feeling came, it was gone.
"No..." Gajeel said as he began to walk again.
"Are you sure?" Levy asked as Lily looked at him suspiciously.
"I'm sure..." Gajeel patted her head. "Let's go home Shrimp..." He said and chuckled at her pout.
In An Alley Around The Corner
"That was a close one..." Rogue let out a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the shadows once Gajeel, Levy, and Lily were no longer in sight. He glanced over at Laxus who was frowning as he stepped out from the shadows. "What's wrong?" Rogue asked with a raised eyebrow.
"How about a warning next time before pulling me in?" Laxus said as he tried not to shiver at how it felt to stand in the shadows. Just those few seconds had unnerved him. A darkness that clawed at his mind with whispers that sent chills down his spine.
"I'll keep that in mind..." Rogue said with a slight smirk as he looked back at the way Gajeel had gone not knowing that Laxus at that moment formed a new level of respect for him. "Do we follow him back to the guild?" Rogue asked.
"No..." Laxus growled as his hands curled into fists. "I have no doubt that Gajeel still sensed us even when we were hiding in your shadows..." Laxus said as he narrowed his eyes at the Shadow slayer.
"If one sensed us then the other two will as well..." Rogue sighed as he cursed internally.
"And I don't want to disrupt the balance here anymore than it already has been..." Laxus said.
Even so Rogue could tell that Laxus wanted to head over to the guild to see if the twins were there.
"How about I go check if Seth and Zoey are at the guild instead? It'll be easier for me to go through the shadows without you and less risk of being detected..." Rogue pointed out with a smirk.
"Fine..." Laxus said with a sigh. Rogue thought it was slightly odd that he didn't put up much of an argument knowing that the guild had to be checked. Although Laxus wanted to go himself, he knew that Rogue going had a better chance of success of not getting caught. After all, the entire point of bringing the Shadow Slayer was to be as discreet as possible.
"You do know that if your younger self found them then there is no way of going about this discreetly... We will have to make ourselves known especially if that thing responsible for attacking Lucy is here with them..." Rogue said crossing his arms seemingly in thought.
"I know that and we'll cross that bridge once we get there..." Laxus said still feeling uneasy.
Neither slayer noticed the figures standing above them watching from the roof of a near by building.
Roof Of The Near By Building
"That was a close one for sure..." A female voice said to someone behind her.
"I'm just glad you got the munchkins here without getting caught... Which you do realize when they find out it was us they will have our heads..." A male voice chuckled from his perch on the roof.
"Yeah I know specially since that thing came through the portal too... This was meant to save those 2... Although Lu wasn't supposed to be left behind..." The female said.
"She would have killed you the second she found out what you did... Let's just hope Laxus doesn't try to skin us alive..." The male said as a shiver went up his spine at the thought.
"I never thought you would be afraid of Laxus?" The female teased.
"I'm more afraid of Lu than Laxus... But still he's equally as threatening..." The male said.
"Well yeah Lu can be scary as hell when you piss her off..." The female mused.
"No kidding... I remember the last time Natsu and Gray pissed her off..." The male shivered at the memory.
"It was funnier when you pissed her off..." The female said.
"I didn't mean to... The request that came in was urgent and I had to leave right away and didn't have time to tell Erza that I had to leave and couldn't make it to date night..." The male grumbled.
"You were begging Lu for weeks to forgive you for that one and that was after she kicked you across town after you returned..." The female giggled.
"Don't remind me I'm still picking gravel out of places that gravel doesn't belong in..." The male sighed.
"You deserved it... Or would you rather have Erza punish you?" The female asked but giggled when the male shivered and shook his head rapidly. "You need to grow a pair when it comes to those 2 women..." The female said. "Now who do we follow this time? Laxus or Rogue?" The female asked.
"Well, since we were already at the guild and know the munchkins are safe let's follow Laxus... Hopefully he doesn't smell us though..." The male said as he put his hand of the females shoulder.
"Yeah that would be bad..." The female giggled.
The Guild Hall
Gajeel stared wide eyed at the 2 blonde toddlers. "I'm gone for two weeks and you knock up Bunny and start a family... Since when did Thee Laxus Dreyar ever want to settle down in the first place? What happened to you never settling down that you preferred to hit and quit it..." Gajeel teased after he recovered from his shock. Lily simply shook his head and glanced at Laxus apologetically.
Lucy looked away to try and hide the sting she felt in her chest at the comment Gajeel made about Laxus.
"Gajeel..." Levy felt her right eye twitch at his comment. "Please tell me that Metalicana at least educated you on how long it takes for a baby to be born?" Levy said as she pitched the bridge of her nose.
Gajeel looked like he was deep in thought for about a second before he smirked. "Nah... He just skimmed through that part... Actually he skimmed through the entire process of procreating..." The Iron Slayer shrugged. "Not that it really matters because I know for a fact that I'm more then well-endowed when it comes to hitting the sheets... Gihi!" Gajeel chuckled as The Script Mage felt her face burn up and smacked him on the arm. "Ow! Shrimp! What the hell was that for!?" Gajeel rubbed the spot that stung from her hit.
"Levy, take it easy on him..." Laxus grinned as he shifted Zoey's weight to his other arm. "At least you now know he's good in the sack..." Laxus said as he fought back a smirk at Levy's red face.
"We're not having this discussion..." Levy said facepalmed even though she was turning redder under Laxus's smirk and Gajeel's elbow nudging her was not helping said situation. "And you're changing the subject..." Levy snapped as she glanced at Lucy, who was speaking to Erza and Lisanna as she held another sleeping blonde haired toddler in her arms.
"Unfortunately there was no baby making process..." Laxus grumbled sounding disappointed.
"What?" Levy said as her gaze quickly swung back to Laxus giving him a look of disbelief. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Laxus's hand on the sleeping toddler's back, his thumb stroked slowly back and forth. His chin rubbed lightly over blonde hair.
"They just popped in with Virgo..." Laxus said like it was no big deal.
"Quit screwing around..." Gajeel growled as he took a seat across the table from Laxus.
"I'm not..." Laxus said, When Levy saw that he was being serious she took a seat next to Gajeel.
Lily who had been quiet the entire time, spoke for the first time. "Tell us everything..." Lily said in a serious tone.
Middle Of The Forest
Laxus paused in the middle of the forest as he caught the faint scent of someone familiar. He felt tension grip at his heart slightly and made it skip a beat when he realized it wasn't just one scent, but 3.
'Seth... Zoey...' Laxus growled internally. He followed it, but there wasn't much. A person's scent didn't stay in one place for long and he knew that it was a miracle he had even caught a whiff of it.
The Lightning Slayer sped walk further down tracking the sight of crushed leaves and broken branches. He came to a sudden stop when his gaze landed on a part of the ground that had been disturbed as if something had fallen.
'Not something... But someone...' Laxus said as he narrowed his eyes looking over the area. He saw 2 sets of small footprints and 2 sets of bigger footprints beside it. He studied the footprints. The one set of bigger ones was smaller then the other like a females. The other one's were definitely male. He sniffed the air and raised an eyebrow.
'Virgo?' Laxus questioned internally. He knew the scent well, considering the maid was always popping out to do random house work. Or to steal the children for an hour here and there which was a few days on Earth-land. He didn't mind, he had time alone with his wife that way. But the house work would annoy his wife to the point of it being comical. He had a feeling that the maid only did it on purpose in hopes that her key-holder would actually give in and punish her.
'Weird fucking spirit... Though not as weird as some of the others she has...' Laxus mused internally remembering some of the weird spirits his wife had. But he shook his to get his head back on track.
He wanted to let out a dragon roar, he wanted to tear into the thing responsible and rip it limb from limb. He wanted to do so many things but he didn't know where to start. He still had no idea where Seth and Zoey were and if they were safe or not. Their tracks had vanished as if someone had whisked them away again. But he still saw Virgo's.
'Maybe she was carrying them?' Laxus asked internally. 'But what if that thing has them?' He growled at his thoughts. Lightning sparked across his body reflecting his emotional state. The thought of never seeing the twins again had him almost releasing a shock wave that would have destroyed the forest and the animals that resided within it. A wave that would have made Magnolia itself tremble with the force of it.
"Laxus..." Lucy's voice echoed in his mind. "Make sure that you come back to me as well..." Her voice was so soothing that it calmed the anger, doubt, and fear that had a hold on him. The lightning receded and fists uncurled.
'If I lose control I won't be able to keep my promise to Lucy... I won't be able to bring Seth and Zoey home... I won't be able to go with them...' Laxus took a deep breath and calmed himself down again. His mind already running through possibilities on where the twins could be.
A smirk curved on his lips, his mind set on going to check his old home for any clues. Even with the years that were separating them or in another dimension entirely, Lucy still helped him. She never failed to pull him back from going over the edge.
'Thank you Love...' Laxus smiled to himself with the thought. He smirked and went into his lightning body mode and streaked through the air. 'I'm bringing them back home no matter what...' Laxus thought in determination.
Guild Hall
Rogue had been very careful with sneaking into the guild in his shadow form. The hard part came when he was inside the guild. The Shadow Slayer almost cursed as he was forced to quickly retreat back into the shadows when Natsu tilted his head and sniffed the air.
"What the hell are you sniffing at ash breath?" Gray asked looking at the fire slayer with narrowed eyes.
"It's not like I can catch a good whiff with your stench around Ice prick!" Natsu growled.
"Says the one who showers once every two weeks!" Gray said in a cocky tone.
"Wrong!" Natsu pressed his forehead roughly against Gray's. "I take one every week!" Natsu said as he and Gray pushed back and forth against each others foreheads.
"Now, now boys..." Ezra walked up to them. "Remember that there are little ones sleeping..."
"Butt out!" The Fire Slayer and Ice Mage yelled as their fists shot out not bothering to pay attention to who had been talking to them. The guild went dead silent. They could only watch in fear as Natsu's and Gray's fists connected with Erza's face.
It was in that silence that Seth and Zoey woke up from their nap. Seth was rubbing his eyes. Zoey yawned and stretched her arms. Virgo quickly appeared beside Lucy when Gray's and Natsu's jaws went slack at they realized their mistake.
"Princess, should I take the young ones upstairs?" Virgo asked as the toddlers looked at her with their doe-like eyes causing Virgo's face to soften.
Erza's hand curled into fists as her gaze narrowed with the promise of pain. Lucy risked a glance toward Laxus to see him cupping the back of Zoey's head so she wouldn't see what was too come.
She looked back down at Seth to see him looking up at her as he rubbed his right eye with his small fist.
"Mama?" Seth mumbled sleepily.
"I think that it's fine that they stay... For now anyway..." Lucy said hoisting Seth up so his chin now rested on top on her shoulder and began to sway side to side. Virgo watched with a smile as Seth sighed in content and seemed to melt more into Lucy's embrace. She flashed out of the room wanting to tell Loke and the others about the twins.
"Show them no mercy Titania!" Gajeel yelled from his spot throwing his fist in the air..
Natsu didn't have a chance to form a response against Gajeel when Erza's fist connected with the top of Natsu and Gray's heads and sent them crashing to the floor leaving a dent from the impact.
"Natsu!" Happy cried out the when the Dragon Slayer went through the floor and only had his feet in the air sticking out of the hole.
"Gray, my love!" Juvia cried out, but could make no move to reach him less she provoke Erza's wrath.
"Ezra..." Mirajane called sweetly from behind the bar as she dried one of the mugs. "Please try not to damage the guild too much..." Erza took a deep breath before placing her hands on her hips.
"Wendy..." The youngest Dragon Slayer almost jumped out of her skin at being addressed.
"Yes?" Wendy called out uncertain.
"Don't heal either of these two... They must learn from this... Is that clear?" Erza more like demanded then asked.
"Y-Y-Yes ma'am..." Wendy almost saluted her.
"Good..." Erza said with a smile as she patted her on the head when she walked passed her.
Rogue sweat dropped as he was once again reminded how crazy Fairy Tail could be. Now that the commotion had died down he was able to take a moment to look around the guild. He couldn't rely on catching their scents with so many around.
Rogue looked for Laxus and Lucy. When he caught sight of a younger Lucy holding a blonde haired toddler he felt the breath rush out of his lungs. It was only when he saw a younger Laxus with the second blonde haired toddler sitting next to the younger Lucy that he was able to breathe again. Relief flooded him at finally knowing that the twins had been found and that they were safe.
Now he had to go meet with Laxus and tell him that he found Seth and Zoey.
Cana was occupying herself with drinking her beer and listening to Macao and Wakaba tell her about the recent job they did when she felt a tug on her capris. She glanced down surprised to see that it was one of Laxus and Lucy's blonde haired twins. She couldn't help the smirk that threatened her lips as she looked down into big honey doe eyes that were very much like his mother's.
"Hey there buddy..." Cana placed her mug down.
"Wogue?" Seth asked.
Cana looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Wogue?" Cana asked clearly confused.
"Wogue!" He pulled on her capris again. "Where Wogue?" Seth yelled.
"Who's Wogue?" Cana asked as she looked back at Macao and Wakaba for help, but they were just as lost as she was.
"Cana…" Seth pouted. She felt her face become considerably warm as a rush of affection filled her at the thought of how cute he looked.
"Zetty!" Cana heard Zoey yell causing her to look toward the bar to see Lucy holding Zoey. "Thime to eet!" Zoey waved her hands in the air as if trying to get Seth's attention. Which ended up working since Seth had turned to look at them.
"Let's get you fed..." Cana sighed as she swooped him up into her arms and made her way to the bar. Macao and Wakaba were shocked as they watched her walk away with Seth. She didn't even finish her beer. "Can someone tell me who or what is Wogue?" Cana asked the Fairy Tail ladies that were hovering over the bar area as she took a seat on the stool beside Lucy's and placed Seth on her lap.
"Wogue?" Ezra asked curiously as she watched Cana grabbed one of the four pieces of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that Mira had cut into triangles and gave it to Seth.
"Seth was asking me about Wogue..." Cana said with a frown not knowing that Seth was moodily biting into his sandwich. "What are you doing?" She narrowed her eyes on Take Over Mage.
"I can't help it..." Mira said as she held out a recording lacrima. "The both of you look too adorable!" Mira gushed
"Would you cut it out!?" Cana growled.
"No..." Mira teasingly stuck out her tongue. "I want to record as many memories as possible with these 2... They are the beginning of the new generation for Fairy Tail along with little Asuka... Plus they are absolutely adorable!" Mira gushed.
"I guess..." Cana sighed and turned to Lucy for help, but the Celestial Mage simply shrugged at her as she smiled. "But back to the subject at hand, who is he talking about?"
"I've noticed that they don't pronounce their R's correctly so they tend use W's..." Lucy explained as she looked at Seth as he continued to eat with a pout. "There, there sweetie..." Lucy cooed as she slid a hand through his silky blonde hair.
Seth turned to look at his mother. "Wand see Wogue..." Seth whined.
Zoey had been busy with practically inhaling her four pieces of peanut butter and jelly sandwich had just finished when her twin had asked the question.
"Wogue!" Zoey perked up as she looked around not seeing him. "Where Wogue?" Zoey asked.
"Wogue not hewe!" Seth yelled at her. "Ting not hewe!" Seth cried.
"Hey buddy..." Cana said gently. "There's no need to yell at your sister..." Cana said as she poked his nose.
Zoey's face crumbled. "Wand see Ting!" Zoey cried.
"It's okay sweetie..." Lucy soothed as she pressed her lips on the top her head. "You'll see them soon..." Lucy said in calming tone.
Levy was taking note that when the twins became emotional the they weren't able to pronounce their words correctly.
"Wand see dem Nows!" Zoey demanded.
"Hmmm... I guess we'll have to search for them..." Ezra decided wanting to calm the little one down.
"Do you even know who you're trying to look for?" Cana asked her.
"I'll figure it out..." Erza said with a shrug.
"It's Sting and Rogue I believe they want to see..." Levy said as she looked at the twins who turned to look at her with watery eyes. "I'm right, aren't I?" Levy asked with a smile.
"Wight!" The toddlers cried out in unison. Levy giggled and mentally patted herself on the back.
"Then it's settled..." Ezra turned around. "We'll just have to contact Sabertooth..." Erza said in a determined tone as she headed to the communication lacrima behind the bar.
"Erza!" Cana called out to Reequip Mage, but she simply continued to make her way to the stairs. "She's really going to do it..." Cana's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"That's Ezra for you..." Mira said with a hint of amusement. "At least we know who they want to see now..." Mira mused.
Lucy shook her head amused. "Sting and Rogue won't fail to show up that's for sure..." Lucy said in an amused matter-of-fact tone.
"They are always looking for excuses to come over..." Cana snorted.
"You mean Sting does..." Mira said.
"So does Rogue... He's just not vocal about it..." Lucy said with a giggle.
"But still…" Cana trailed off with a frown.
"What is it?" Levy asked as she poked Zoey's belly causing the toddler to giggle.
"Why did Seth specifically come to me to ask about Rogue?" She turned to Lucy. "Did he ask you or Laxus about Rogue?" Cana asked in confusion.
"He didn't ask me as for Laxus I'm not sure..." Lucy began but Laxus cut her off.
"No..." Laxus said. Lucy looked over her shoulder to see Laxus approaching. The Lightning Slayer stopped right behind her. His gaze on Seth, who had gone back to eating his lunch this time with more gusto. "This would be the first time he mentioned Rogue..." Laxus explained.
"Interesting..." They could all see the spark in Mira's eyes. Cana gulped nervously. A part of her wished she had stayed drinking with Macao and Wakaba.
Laxus leaned down to whisper into Lucy's ear. "Gramps wants to talk with us..."
"Levy, can you hold Zoey for me?" Lucy asked as Laxus stepped back to give her space to stand.
"Sure..." Levy said a bit too giddily as she grabbed the little girl and held her securely in her arms. "Take your time..." Levy added with a grin causing Lucy to giggle and shake her head at her friends antics.
"Thanks..." Lucy slid a hand through Zoey's hair before giving her a kiss on the temple. Laxus could do nothing but stare in awe as Lucy did the same thing to Seth. It was still a strange sight to see. Never had he imagined that one day Lucy and he would be having children and yet, it made a part of him look forward to the future. Look forward to what awaited them with Seth and Zoey in their lives.
Laxus stepped to the side to give her space to walk pass him. His right hand moved to her lower back on its own. It was only until he felt the warmth of her back seep into his hand did he realize what he did.
Lucy was used to her guild mates touching her, whether it be her hand, arm, shoulder. She was used the affection from her guild mates with the cuddling, hand holding, and hugs. Laxus touching her lower back should have been no different, but to her it was.
She felt a spark of self-awareness travel up her spine over her shoulders and down her body. His thumb slightly stroking her back made her heart race and her face heat up. She glanced up him to see him looking forward, his expression betrayed nothing, but she felt his hand spasm against her back. The reaction made her feel better knowing that she wasn't the only one affected by the contact. She couldn't help herself as she leaned into him.
Gajeel let out a whistle completely shattering their moment. Laxus discreetly flipped the Iron Slayer the middle finger as he walked toward the stairs with Lucy beside him.
"Hey Shrimp..." Gajeel walked up to Levy. "Let me hold the tyke..." Gajeel asked.
"No..." Levy narrowed her eyes on him as she held Zoey closer. "This is my first time holding her..." Levy said in greedy tone.
"You can hold this one..." Cana said holding up Seth who just finished eating his lunch. Gajeel glanced at the boy.
"Gajy..." Seth called out holding his hands out to him. The only ones who called him that was Lucy or Levy when they teased him. He would never say it out loud that hearing the tyke call him that had him reaching for him, but it was Seth's big honey doe eyes that suckered him in long before he made the choice to grab him.
In a heartbeat Gajeel had Seth out of Cana's hands and into his arms. "Hey there, tyke..." Gajeel cooed, though he would deny he ever did. The boy simply wrapped his small arms around Gajeel's neck and squeezed as he pressed his cheek against his. Seth's little body trembled from the force of his hug.
Gajeel felt a warmth spread through him. It was a familiar and yet a new feeling altogether. Levy has been the only other person to embrace him in such a way. An embrace that they put their all in. This little one that clung to him was doing just that to him. It was, when people would call unconditional. He felt a stinging sensation in his eyes.
"Gajeel..." Mira called out to him gently. "Are you okay?" Mira said with knowing smile.
"Shut it, demon..." He closed one eye and began rubbing it with a fist. "I just got something in my eye..." He felt a familiar weight lean on his side. Levy couldn't help smiling from her spot beside Gajeel as she watched Seth finally let go and lean back. "Levy..." Gajeel called in a gentle tone that he surprised himself with.
"Hmmm…" Levy hummed in contentment.
"I want 2 as well..." Gajeel said casuing Levy's face to burn up as Mira let out a squeal and Cana did not help the situation by laughing. The Script Mage didn't have to ask what Gajeel meant.
She simply had to look at him to know and he was looking at Seth who 'awed' over the piercings he touched. She felt a light tug on her hair and looked down and saw Zoey smiling as she combed her small hand through blue strands.
"Pwetty..." Zoey said in awe.
"You mean pretty." Levy corrected.
"Pwetty!" Zoey beamed.
"I think we can work on that." Levy giggled. 'Maybe two wasn't so bad...' Levy mused internally.
Middle Of The Forest
Rogue found Laxus standing several feet from a two story cottage. "Who's place is this?" Rogue asked gaining Laxus' attention.
"Where I used to live..." Laxus said as he continued to debate about entering and taking the risk of setting off Freed's runes.
"It's a good thing I found you before you decided to break in..." Laxus looked over his shoulder to see Rogue approaching him. There was something different about him. His steps seem lighter than usual. It seemed that he carried less burden.
'He brings good news...' Laxus said internally. "You found them…" Laxus said hopeful as he turned around to face him.
"To be precise your past self along with Lucy's past self, found them..." Rogue allowed himself a small smile. "They're at the guild... They're safe..." Rogue reassured him.
Laxus trembled at the relief that flooded him. 'They're safe… they're not alone...'Laxus thought to himself. He wanted to see them right now but knew he couldn't. 'I still have to find that fragment... So as long as it's still out there Seth and Zoey aren't truly safe...' Laxus thought internally.
"We solved 1 of the problems..." Rogue gaze went to the forest. "Now we can focus on hunting down the fragment..." Lightning protruded from Laxus giving him that all-mighty and threatening appearance.
"It left a trail..." Rogue gazed at the path of decay that laid before them. Trees with no leaves and pitch black bark. The ground had turned the same color the bark had. It was unnerving to see all that darkness in the middle of all the green. Laxus rubbed his nose at the smell of rot and ruin that filled his lungs.
"Is the scent familiar?" Laxus asked and the Shadow Slayer nodded as he came to stand beside Laxus.
"It's the same scent I caught when I went to see where Lucy had been attacked... It was the same scent that almost overpowered Seth and Zoey's scents..." Rogue confirmed.
"We should follow it..." Laxus said as he went to start walking but paused and looked around as his nose twitched. Rogue noticed this and did the same thing. Laxus growled low, "Come out now... We know you're there!" Laxus all but roared.
"Who ever it is doesn't smell threatening..." Rogue muttered.
Laxus turned and looked behind him to see 2 cloaked figures jump out of a tree.
"Told you they would smell us..." The male said.
"Yeah yeah... They know we're here now..." The female said as they walked closer to the slayers.
"Hey there Laxus..." The male said as he stepped forward. "Fancy meeting you in this time..." The male said nervously.
"So this was because of you 2..." Rogue asked crossing his arms.
"Yes... Sorry about that but when Sil came to me and told me what she saw we hurried to Lucy but we were slightly on the late side..." The female said.
"We actually meant to send Lucy along with the twins so she could go to Makarov and asked for help but she was swallowed by the shadows and we were only able to send Virgo with the munchkins..." The male said.
"Why send them here?" Laxus asked no amused in the slightest.
"This is a time before that battle with Zeref and Acnologia take's place... I figured send Lucy with the twins here to warn Makarov to try and get rid of it all so it disappears in our time... But Virgo got sent here with them and she wasn't to stay in this time long which why I want to send Lucy..." The female explained. "I never expected that thing to follow us through my portal..." She added.
"So what do you suppose we do now..." Rogue asked.
"Well since the twins are safe with your younger self..." The female began but Laxus cut her off.
"How would you know?" Laxus asked.
"Oh... Heh... You see I already check of them before you guys arrived..." The female said with a giggle. "Your blending into the shadows trick came in handy..." The female added.
Rogue sighed, "I should have never showed you how to do that..." Rogue grumbled.
"We planned on going to Makarov ourselves to explain the situation but on our way we saw you 2 so we decided to follow you Laxus..." The male said.
"What does the rest of your team think of this? And why the hell would you listen to Sil? She works for my dead beat old man..." Laxus growled.
"Worked... Not works, worked... Ivan asked her for a spell to send himself back in time so he could change the future and even she is against that... Us time mages don't take kindly to messing with the past..." The female said.
"Yet you did it yourself... You revealed to mine and my wife's younger selves that they're together in the future and have twins... That seriously makes no sense..." Laxus said with a sigh.
"Yes I'm aware of my mistake... I didn't have time to catch Virgo to explain to her what to do... Your younger self came along and got to them before I could..." The female huffed.
The male and female figures removed their hoods. "Alright then Jellal, Ultear, what did you both have planned?" Laxus asked.
So yeah Chapter 3 is done...
I know I left it as a cliff hanger but I couldn't help it...
^.^ I hope you enjoyed this!
And As always thank you for the support...