Tears welled up and overflowed from Makarov's eyes as he looked at the girl on the cot. He could clearly see now why she looked so familiar before. She was a perfect mix of Mirajane and his own grandson. He had a great-granddaughter!
"Oh, child," he rushed forward and pulled the girl into a hug. He felt her arms wrap around him as well, desperately returning the hug. From what he gathered, she never got to meet him. He briefly wondered how he dies in her future and if there was a way to avoid it. He would truly love to watch the child in his arms grow up into the little woman that she is.
Trying to not interrupt the family moment Bicklow grabbed the discarded book and started flipping through it curiously. He looked closer at his friend's families, memorizing the future kids that still looked happy no matter the shit they had to have gone through. There were even a few families from other guilds; Blue Pegasuss, Sabertooth, Crime Sorciere, and Lamia Scale. One thing that really stood out to him, however, was something that wasn't there. Himself. He couldn't find anything about himself. A sense of unease filled him and he looked at Zera in a slight worry. He kept silent, however, until the moment between Zera and Master Makarov passed.
"We shall do our utmost to get you back home my hear, " Makarov reassured her, "Though do keep in mind it may take a while. Time magic is not something to be trifled with so we must be very careful."
"I understand grandpa," Zera said with a smile.
Makarov beamed as she addressed him as grandpa, "Until we find a way home for you, we'll introduce you as the newest member of Fairytail. We may need to bring Gray into the know to ask him about the woman that helped you. I assure you that Gray can keep a secret he holds his own secrets close so the only way he may tell us about the woman is to explain the circumstances.
Zera bit her lip in worry before nodding, "Okay, but only him for now. I have a feeling that the fewer people that know for now is the best."
"That is fine, but do be aware that Wendy may know something is up. She is the one that found the guild mark on you."
She fidgeted slightly in thought, hugging Bix a bit closer to her unconsciously, "I'll talk to her later and decide whether to let her know or not." She knew that she'd be able to trust Uncle Gray to not tell anyone anything, but she doesn't really know what Auntie Wendy was like when she was younger. She is closest to both Liam and Silver out of all of her psuedo cousins so she tends to spend more time with those families. With the way aunt Juvia goes on about her husband Zera knew pretty much everything about him. Plus, Aunt Wendy spends a lot of her time on Tenrou Island as their main healer. The fewer people that resided on the Island the easier it was for the first master to keep it hidden from Zeref and his demons. So she didn't get to see her all that much.
"You can stay with me until we find you a way home, " Makarov offered her eagerly. He wanted nothing more than to learn about his great-granddaughter.
A frown pulled at Zera's lips, "As much as I'd love to Grandpa, that will make it a lot harder for me to blend in. As far as I know you've never taken a new member into your own house. I've always heard about dorms?" she questioned. She wasn't completely sure about that, but she was pretty sure that was what Aunt Erza used to talk about, "Couldn't I just stay in one of those rooms?"
"It would probably be best if you didn't, for now at least. From what little you've told us about the future, right now is going to be very different for you. I think it would be best for you to be with someone, so you aren't left by yourself. We don't want you to get lost or overwhelmed by anything." Makarov told her.
Levy wiggled excitedly and raised her hand up, "Oh, she can stay with me. I've got a guest room at my new house and I don't mind having a temporary roommate. I can teach her about how things work right now."
Relief flowed through her. While she had been the one to suggest it she really didn't want to be alone. She was never really by herself back home. Plus, she had a feeling she wasn't going to be over her experience in the place the demon had sent her. The last thing she wanted was to be alone if she has a panic attack.
She smiled at Levy, "I'd like that. Thanks." She saw Gajeel give a satisfied smirk that confused her a bit. What exactly was he planning? Her attention was drawn away by Bickslow as he spoke up.
"Uh, hey kid. I can't seem to find anything about me in this book of yours. What gives?" Bickslow finally asked what had been itching at him.
Zera's stomach dropped at the question and she turned to look at him with wide eyes. How was she supposed to explain to someone that they died? Bix buzzed sadly in her arms and Zera nibbled her lip nervously. Where to evecn begin?
Slowly she finally said, "I thought you might have pieced it together by now." That had been her hope. That he'd figure it out so she didn't have to be the one to tell him. Honestly, it was still a bit odd for her to talk to Bickslow in person.
She knew the moment everyone else seemed to find the answer. Levy gave a small gasp and covered her mouth as she stared with wide, nearly watery, eyes at the metal sphere. Gajeel's lips barely noticeably twitched downwards. He may not be friends with the guy but he still didn't want to see him dead. Makarov gave a sad quiet, "Oh." As he looked between the sphere and Bickslow.
Now Bickslow wasn't stupid, but his mind didn't want to accept what the pieces of the puzzle meant. Things Zera had said during their conversation flashed through his mind.
The soul connection is my totem's doing. He was a seith mage, but he died to protect me.
He was my Godfather.
My partner other there, his name is Bix.
My dad is Laxus Dreyar.
Connections started forming in his brain. Laxus was and is a very private person. He chose a few close friends and kept most others at a distance. The only two people that he could think of Laxus allowing to be his child's godparent were Freed and himself. Only one of them was a Seith mage, however. And the odds that Laxus met another seith mage and named him godfather was astronomically low. His eyes darted down to the metal sphere the girl, his best friend's future daughter, was hugging to her. Holy shit he dies. He was dead in the future.
"I… I'm…" he couldn't even form a complete sentence. Panic was taking hold. He didn't want to die!
Zera saw his panic and reached out to grab his sleeve to get his attention, "I'm sorry. Yes, in my timeline you die when I'm three. That doesn't have to be your fate. The lady said our paths diverted the moment I showed up here. I can hopefully give you all enough information to save not only yourself, but many others as well."
Zera let go of Bix and he flew up and circled around Bickslow's head chirping supportively. He landed on his younger version's head and let out a series of hums, trying to communicate.
"He says not to worry, you'll change your future. But if you don't manage to do it, being like he is, isn't so bad. The company isn't bad at least." She gave him a sad smile.
Bickslow stood up, grabbed the totem off his head, and gave him back to the kid, "Thanks Kid. I've got a bit to think over though." He glanced over to Master Makarov, "I'm going to head home for the night." he ruffled the kid's hair, "I'll see you tomorrow."
They all watched him leave, his own totems floating after him. Bix flew back onto Zera's lap and she frowned softly at her godfathers' back.
Is he going to be okay?" she asked worriedly.
I'm sure he'll be fine. He doesn't show it often but Bickslow is pretty tough. I'll bet you by tomorrow he'll be acting as though the thought never bothered him." Levy reassured her.
Zera stayed silent looking at the closed door. Acting like it didn't bother him didn't mean the fact still didn't bother him. Bottling things up wasn't healthy. Plus, she was used to Bix telling her everything. Honestly, he sometimes told her much more than she ever wanted to know. The fact that something may be bothering him made her stomach do weird flips. A yawn surprised her and she covered her mouth.
A small laugh escaped Levy, "I'm sure you could use some more rest. Depending on how late you sleep we'll either come back to the guild for breakfast or lunch."
Gajeel got up and stretched a bit before walking over to Zera's bed. He scooped her up and she clung to his shirt. With a squeak of surprise. Bix circled around them and Zera could clearly feel his amusement.
"I… um, I can walk." She stammered with a slightly red face.
"Eh, this is faster. Gather her things and catch up Shrimp. We'll see you tomorrow old man." Gajeel said before simply walking out the door.
Levy sighed and quickly gathered eras things that had been spread out in her attempt to research the book. She waved goodbye to Master Makarov before chasing after them. While Gajeel and herself weren't technically dating yet, he did spend a lot of his nights at her house. Quite honestly, he practically lived with her at this point. Not that anyone else at the guild needed to know that. If Lucy or Mirajane found out about it she would never hear the end of it. She chased after what was apparently her future husband and her future niece.
