A/N: So, I thought I'd surprise you guys with another update since you waited so long! Thanks for the support and I truly hope you enjoy this!
"I was just about to turn seven," Kei started, a deep sadness shadowed his eyes and Erza and Jellal stood silently staring at him, their fingers gently intertwined with each other. It was almost as if that light touch was the only thing tethering Jellal to Earthland. Lucy couldn't imagine what Jellal felt… She could imagine what Erza felt. Horrible thoughts crept into her mind; she couldn't imagine losing Natsu. Having to feel the pain of losing someone so important, someone so cherished. To have to watch your children grow up without their father… It was heartbreaking. To see Kei have to recount the tragedy of his father's death was a new form of heartbreak that cause her to slip her hand into Natsu's and squeeze tightly. He seemed to be thinking something similar, because she risked a glance at his face, and it help pure grief. Having lost her future self right in front of her and Natsu was horrible and tragic, but the only consolation was that that Lucy didn't technically exist because the future changed. She was at peace. Jellal, on the other hand, was very real and he was very much so gone in just a short amount of time from their present.
"When Dad was part of Crime Sorcière, he, Meredy, Ultear, and the rest all made a lot of enemies. You all faced a lot of bad people to bring them to justice… And they didn't all remain brought to justice." Kei paused to take in a shuddering breath. "There was a group of members from dark guilds, as well as some insane Zeref supporters, that banded together to get revenge on Crime Sorcière. My dad… You were on your way back home. Mom and I were waiting for you at the guild… You had gone to pick up a birthday present for me as an early surprise and they ambushed you. You were badly outnumbered and there were some mages using terrible black magic. You… Didn't stand a chance." Kei stopped again, tears pooling in his eyes. Erza looked horrified and Jellal had a look that Lucy couldn't quite place. Ultear looked positively furious, but kept her mouth closed while the young boy spoke, her fists clenched at her sides.
"We knew something was wrong when you didn't return for hours… So, a group of you from the guild went out to find you. Mom told me to stay behind with Shutora and Yaje, but I didn't listen…" He wrung his hands together anxiously. "I followed them before Shutora and Yaje could stop me, and when the guild finally found you… There was nothing they could do. Wendy tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't." Tears ran heavily down Kei's cheeks as well as Erza's who looked to be in anguish. "I-I saw you… I saw Mom holding you, and… I just knew…"
Lucy was holding back her own sobs, her hand covering her mouth for good measure. This poor boy had been through so much, no wonder why he was struggling so much. Lucy didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that Kei was seeing Jellal again. If Ultear couldn't help stopping this from happening, she wasn't sure what this whole ordeal would do to Kei. Even Natsu and Gray looked a little misty-eyed as the listened to Kei's story. Ryuu, Stella, and Briny all seemed to be clinging to their respective fathers for dear life. She was sure that it wasn't the first time they had heard this story, but Lucy was also sure the story never got any easier.
"It didn't take Fairy Tail and the Magic Council long to figure out who had done it, but…" Kei's eyes flashed murderously, "But they didn't care. They had taken out Crime Sorcière's leader and that was good enough for them." Kei finished angrily, wiping his tears. Shutora and Yaje looked at him sadly and swallowed hard.
"We should have looked after you better, you shouldn't have had to see that." Shutora whimpered and Kei actually smiled sweetly at her while Yaje squeezed his sister's hand.
"It's not your fault, Shutora." He replied quietly and then turned to Erza and Jellal. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this. I just can't… I can't go back without knowing that I tried my best to stop this." His eyes welled again and he sniffled. "I miss you so much, Dad." Jellal locked eyes with his son and swallowed hard and crouched in front of him. His eyes glistened with emotion as he finally pulled Kei in for a strong hug.
"I'm here now, Kei." Jellal murmured and Lucy drew in a shuttering breath as emotions got the best of her, her own tears spilling down her cheeks.
"We all really miss Jellal, but… I hope that this can be fixed for Kei." Ryuu whispered to Lucy and Natsu. "Kei and I used to play together all the time. Me, Kei, and Briny. Now all he does is… He's just not the same. I wouldn't want to lose you, Dad." Ryuu turned an earnest gaze on Natsu, who was surprisingly choked up.
"I'm sure we all miss Jellal very much." Lucy replied, wiping her tears. "If we can help any of this at all, I want you to know that we will try our hardest to fix this." Ryuu nodded solemnly and quickly embraced her, snuggling his face into her side.
"Thank you, Kei." Ultear responded quietly. "I am very sorry that this happened. I have an idea of how to prevent this. Again, I do not want to make any solid promises, but… I will try my very best." She smiled sadly at Kei, his eyes lighting up a bit. The dimness in them seeming to diminish ever so slightly.
Porlyusica suddenly burst through the guild doors, startling everyone, and cutting through the emotional tension like a knife.
"What's wrong?" Lucy fretted, the look on the older woman's face terrified her.
"How is Levy?" Makarov shot up as fast as his old body could from where he had been quietly observing the events unfold.
"Levy is fine." She answered, raising her hands in front of her to calm everyone. "However, her labor is quickening. I don't think you have much time left to get these kids back to their own time before things start to go south for those two." She pointed a finger at Shutora and Yaje. Her voice was gruff and the twins looked terrified and on the verge of tears. She must have realized this and her face softened a bit and she sighed. "I'm sorry, I just thought you all should know. Wendy, could you please assist me? I may need your healing magic." And with that, Porlyusica was rushing back to the infirmary with Wendy on her heels.
"What are we gonna do, Lucy?" Happy suddenly popped up next to her ear after having been silent for so long. Lucy opened her mouth to reply, but it was Shutora who spoke first.
"What if we used another book to get home?" She asked, a small, hopeful smile on her lips as she held up a fresh looking brown book with gold text on the front that she pulled from her bag. "This was given to me just yesterday, er, in our time." She handed the book to Freed to inspect and he smiled a bit as he read the inside cover.
"To my dearest Shutora, I hope this brings you great joy and may it inspire you to start your own great adventure! Your loving godmother, Lucy. It seems to be one of your novels, Lucy." Freed finished and Lucy felt her face heat up.
"I-I'm your godmother?" Lucy stammered and Shutora and Yaje both smiled.
"To both of us!" The twins answered in unison and Lucy, once again, felt her heart squeeze with emotion.
"O-oh, that's… That's wonderful!" Lucy beamed at them and they smiled back.
"Of course you're takin' attention off another one of your achievements," Natsu shook his head, smirking. Lucy looked at him in confusion and he chuckled. "Luce! You have another published book! You should be so proud." He smiled proudly at her and Lucy felt her face heat up.
"That's right, that book is your newest published novel. You gave it to me as a gift." Shutora smiled at Lucy and held it up for her to see after Freed handed it back to her. On the cover, in gold foil, were the words Fairy Tail. "You wrote all about the adventures you all had. You wrote about Fairy Tail. Everyone was so excited for this to come out; you gave it to me a few days before its official release."
"Huh, that's pretty cool." Gray chuckled and Juvia nodded in agreement.
"It would be so nice to eventually read our story in your own words, Lucy! I bet it's the greatest!" Juvia agreed and Lucy felt mildly embarrassed, but couldn't help but feeling proud of herself.
"Sorry to interject," Ultear looked around apologetically, "But do you think that an item like that may be able to be used in place of a picture?"
"It may actually have enough residue of Lucy's magic power that we may be able to harness it and focus that energy on opening another portal to their time." Freed conceded.
"And I think we all know well enough what current day Fairy Tail looks like that, if we imagine it hard enough, I bet we could create our own imagery using that harnessed power!" Yaje continued, looking around excitedly.
"That just might work!" Lucy agreed, smiling widely. But that smile faltered as she thought about the spell. "But… Did we figure out enough about the spell to know how it works and how we can potentially reverse it?"
"Levy put in a lot of work in a short amount of time," Mira giggled, her voice slightly startling Lucy; they all had been quite for too long, none of them were used to such a silent and heavy atmosphere. Mira held up the paper that Levy had been madly scribbling on before Natsu and Lucy went down to the library. "I think she figured out how to reverse the spell in order to create a portal going backwards in time."
"Oh, that girl is brilliant." Freed murmured, looking over Levy's writing.
"That's our mom." Yaje smiled proudly and Lucy grinned. She was tempted to look through her book, but it was not the time for that and, even though they wouldn't remember any of this in the end, there were some things that she wanted left as a surprise.
"It seems as though if Shutora casts the spell, in a certain sequence, on herself, it should create a projection to their time. Since this book is so new and Lucy's magic power is essentially infused with it, it should project them back. Though I don't know if it will be the same day or yesterday, in your time, I apologize." Freed explained and Shutora nodded.
"I don't think it matters whether it's today or yesterday that we arrive, as long as it's present day."
"I can offer my own magic power, when the time comes, to cast onto the spell. I think that with my time manipulation, I should be able to control at least what day you return." Ultear smiled and Lucy felt giddy, everything was coming together, the kids were going to be okay.
Just as things were looking up, Wendy burst through the guild's doors, her eyes wide with concern and Carla at her heels. Once again, Lucy felt terror wash over her. The younger girl looked terrified as she saw that the kids were still in their time.
"Levy is about to give birth, I'm sorry." Wendy burst out. As the words left her mouth, there seemed to be an odd wave that passed through the guild hall and Shutora and Yaje's bodies seemed to almost glitch.
"We need to cast the spell, now." Ultear stated firmly and Lucy felt her heartbeat quicken.
"Luce," Natsu tugged on her hand suddenly and she turned to still see Stella snuggled on her shoulder. He said nothing else, just stared wide-eyed at her, his gaze flicking between Ryuu, Stella, and her, almost pleadingly.
"I know," Lucy whispered out, her eyes watering. They wouldn't have enough time to properly say goodbye to the children; her heart felt like it was being ripped out of her. She dared a glance at Erza, Jellal, and Kei and felt like her heart was being stomped on. Kei was clinging to Jellal, who looked helpless. Erza's tender gaze was on Kei, looking like she didn't want to let him go either. Shutora was busy with Freed getting the spell ready to cast, while Yaje paced back and forth with his brow creased, looking more and more like Gajeel with each step. Gray and Juvia were whispering to a teary Briny and Lucy quickly turned to Natsu, Ryuu, and Stella.
"I'll miss you guys." Ryuu quietly stated, his large green eyes glancing between Lucy and Natsu. "I know that we'll be going back to you, but… It was nice to see you guys like this. Thank you for helping us." He smiled slightly and Lucy pulled him into a tight hug, Natsu's hand ruffling his hair affectionately.
"Yeah, Daddy had no eye wrinkles here!" Stella giggled behind her hands as she lifted her head from Natsu's shoulders. Natsu's hand froze and he stiffened, his eyes bugging.
"I have wrinkles?!" Lucy couldn't help but burst out laughing and shot a sympathetic smile his way. "Well, it just sounds like you led a very happy life, Natsu. It sounds like they're laugh lines." Natsu seemed to relax a bit at the thought and smiled softly at her.
"Well, if this is where my life brings me, I suppose wrinkles are a pretty good price to pay." Lucy smiled warmly at him and snuggled Ryuu and Stella, once again, between the two of them. Happy, comically, squeezed himself in causing them all to burst out laughed. "And of course we can't forget about you, buddy!" All of the hasty goodbyes were interrupted by Shutora's voice.
"It's time." She informed them solemnly just as she and Yaje seemed to glitch again. "I'm really sorry. I wish we could say goodbye to Gajeel and Levy too, but if we don't leave…" Shutora trailed off and Yaje swallowed hard. Lucy felt her eyes well up again and she felt Ryuu squeeze her hand.
"It's okay, we'll meet again." He smiled, looking strikingly like Natsu. "Come one, Stel." He reached for her hand as Natsu set her on the floor. She reached for her brother and turned over her shoulder, and it was like Lucy was looking at a photograph of herself when she was young, just with pink hair.
"Bye Mommy and Daddy, it was fun playing with you." Stella smiled brightly and Natsu swallowed hard next to Lucy. They waved to their kids as the grouped up with Shutora and Yaje. Natsu silently grasped Lucy's hand as they watched them go. Juvia was wiping away tears on her cheeks as she, and a misty-eyed Gray, said goodbye to their little girl. Kei was the last one left, clinging for life to Jellal.
"Kei, I'm really sorry, but we have to go." Shutora's sorrowful voice called for him and he let out another sob.
"I-I know," He gasped in between sobs and placed a tearful stare on Erza and Jellal. "I hope that you are there when we get back." He rubbed his eyes once again, embraced them, and joined the other children around Shutora and Lucy's book.
"Ready?" Ultear asked, her eyes looking as if something heavy weighed on her mind. Shutora nodded and began to recite the reformed spell. Lucy watched as a glow appeared around the group of children, Ultear creating a time bubble around them. A sudden thought plagued Lucy's mind and panic began to flutter in her stomach. As if sensing Lucy's sudden change in emotion, Natsu squeezed her hand.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I… I just thought of something that I read about. About time travel and changing things that are destined to happen." Lucy swallowed hard as her eyes met with Natsu's. "It said, "Where there is death, there will always be death."."
"What does that me-" Natsu's sentence was cut off by Jellal's slightly panicked voice.
"Ultear," He addressed the woman and Lucy noticed the cracks in her "timeless" body growing. "Please don't do anything… Anything too crazy for my benefit."
"Don't be silly, it's not for you. And it's nothing crazy." Ultear smiled, her voice playful. A moment later her face became serious once again. "It's for him. And it's for Erza. And don't worry, one day I will cease to exist in this world, and in the time planes." Jellal's eyes widened slightly. "But today is not that day." And with that, the last thing Lucy saw was the kids waving goodbye as they blipped out of existence in their time.