AN: This was a request from Shadowwolf1997
"Darn kids!" Macao sniffed as he, Romeo, Wendy, and Isla made their way out of the guild hall where all of the older children were getting an ear full from their parents about the massive Twilight Ogre rumble they'd started that afternoon. Fortunately Isla wasn't quite old enough to be getting into those kinds of shenanigans yet, so the Conbolt adults had been spared the heart attack.
For now.
"Don't you be getting any ideas," Romeo told Isla, waving a finger in her face from where she was propped up on his hip. Wendy giggled as she walked alongside them, hands on her belly. Even at only three months she was already starting to show, though that wasn't surprising considering she was carrying twins. Macao found himself smiling. Two more grand babies for him to love on! He couldn't wait for the twins to get here.
The Conbolt family continued on their walk until they made it to South Gate PArk. The minute they reached the park Wendy sat down on a bench, panting for breath.
"You okay, honey?" Romeo asked.
"Yeah, just out of breath for some reason, I'll be okay," Wendy assured him. "Just give me a minute."
Romeo frowned in concern, but said nothing else as he sat down next to her.
"But, Mama, Daddy, I thought we were going to play," Isla said.
"C'mon, sweet'ums," Macao said, taking her hand. "Pop-pop will take you to the playground."
"Okay!" Isla said merrily, taking her grandfather's hand as he led her away.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Romeo asked once their daughter was out of earshot.
"Yeah," Wendy nodded. "It's just that I keep losing my breath after walking for a while."
She finally caught her breath and leaned back against the bench, placing a hand on her stomach. "It's funny, because I didn't have this problem when I was pregnant with Isla."
"Well, you didn't have two babies in there with Isla," Romeo said, placing his hand on top of Wendy's. "That's a lot more pressure on your body."
"I guess," Wendy shrugged, looking down at hers and her husband's hands covering her small but growing bump.
"So," Romeo said after a blissful moment of silence. "Do you think they're boys or girls?"
"Why not one of each?" Wendy answered, smiling.
"Yeah?" Romeo grinned. "You think that's it?"
"Mm-hm," Wendy nodded.
"What if you're wrong?"
"Are you doubting me?"
"Never!"
Wendy giggled at him. "So I guess we should come up with three names."
"Three?" Romeo arched an eyebrow.
"A boy name, a girl name, and a gender neutral name."
"Oh," Romeo nodded. "Huh. That's actually not a bad idea."
"Okay, so you go first," Wendy smiled.
"Me?"
"Yeah. What's a boy name you like?"
"Oh," Romeo thought for a moment. "Well, I have always liked the name Oliver."
"Aw, that's adorable!" Wendy smiled. "Oliver Romeo Conbolt."
"Romeo?" the father in question smiled.
"Well, of course," Wendy said. "Why wouldn't we name our first son after his father?"
Romeo's grin widened. "So I guess our daughter's middle name should be Wendy."
Wendy giggled. "If you insist."
"So, what will her first name be?" Romeo asked.
Wendy pursed her lips together as she thought. "Nora?"
"Nora?" Romeo repeated to make sure he'd heard correctly.
Wendy nodded.
"Nora Wendy Conbolt," he smiled. "That's a name almost as beautiful as her mother."
Wendy giggled as Romeo kissed her cheek.
"Aw," she then suddenly said, puting slightly.
"What?" Romeo asked.
"At this point everyone in our family will have a namesake except your dad."
"Well, guess we'll have to have another after these two get here," Romeo said, patting her stomach and kissing her cheek again.
"Romeo!" Wendy gasped as he chuckled at her.
"Y'know, we could have our back-up name be a namesake for Dad," Romeo said.
"But Macao isn't gender neutral… Wendy pointed out.
"True," Romeo thought for a moment. "So Macao for a middle name if we end up with two boys, and Mackenzie for a middle name if it's a girl?"
"Aw, Mackenzie is cute!" Wendy grinned.
"Well, thank you," Romeo said proudly. "So a first name...uh...Adrian?"
"Dakota?"
"Finley?"
"Quinn?"
"Hm," Romeo thought. "Guess we'll have to workshop that one a bit more…"
Wendy giggled again.
"Look, Mommy! Isla!" a small voice called.
Wendy turned to find Reina walkin into the park, holding Vera by the hand.
"Can I go play with Isla? Please?" Vera begged.
"Of course," Reina said as she let Vera's hand go. The little girl scampered off, eager to join her friend as her mother made her way towards Romeo and Wendy's bench.
"Mind if I sit here?" she asked.
"Have a seat," Romeo said, scooting over and patting the bench next to him. Reina smiled as she took her seat.
"How are you, Reina?" Wendy asked.
Reina sighed. "Fine, besides my oldest two giving me a heart attack."
"Yeah, they seem to be fitting right in with the other kids," Romeo chuckled. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, though."
Reina smiled softly. "Well, usually it's a good thing, but today…"
Wendy and Romeo laughed.
"Really, though," Reina smiled. "I'm glad they've found their niche."
"Speaking of those two trouble makers, where are they?" Romeo asked.
"Probably headed to clean up the mess they made with Laxus and Mirajane," Reina said.
Just then her lacrima went off. Reina pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it.
"Is everything okay?" Wendy asked.
"Yes, Benedict just noticed a job he thought would be a good fit for me on the way out," Reina answered. "I'll see if I can pick it up when I get back."
"You've been working a lot lately,haven't you?" Wendy asked.
Reina sighed. "Have to when you're the sole provider for three children."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Wendy blushed.
"It's alright," Reina replied. "It is what it is, and I'm thankful to be able to make a living, which is more than I could say before coming to Fairy Tail."
"Well, y'know, S-Class trials are coming up," Romeo said. "Maybe you'll make the cut. I hear you were S-Class while at Phoenix Grave. In fact several of the stories I've heard have told me you were a beast before, well…"
"Yes, I know," Reina sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm nowhere near as strong as I was before Mace...well…"
She sighed. Beast? Oh, yes! She'd been quite impressive in her younger days, able to take on any of the boys and hold her own. Then Mace came along, whispering in her ear, telling her everything she wanted to hear. She helped him through his S-Class trials best as she could, because he convinced her he deserved it. She campaigned for him to be the next guild master after their old one retired, because he told her he'd care for the guild and make it stronger than ever. She married him, because he told her she was the most amazing woman in the world and he wanted to care for her.
Of course "caring for" in Mace's mind meant keeping to himself, shuffling her away, only bringing her out when he felt the need to brag. She was never really his wife, she was his trophy. Just like his S-Class title. Just like his role as guildmaster. By the time she figured that out, she was shackled to a wedding ring with her first baby on the way.
After Benedict was born Reina thought it would get better. She'd given him an heir. She'd done everything she'd ever promised him.
But it only got worse. The chase was up. He had the pretty, S-Class wife, and had squeezed everything he could out of her. A son was just the last item on a list of things he wanted from her. Now that he had it, his attention and affection, though shallow before, became nonexistent. His trophy was no longer shiny, so he put her in a cabinet of indifference and forgot about her, only pulling her out when he wanted a bit of late night fun.
When she was pregnant with the girls things got a little bit better. Mace only needed one son to have an heir, but two or three would have boosted his ego. It would have only further proved his masculinity. After Portia was born, though, he hardly spoke to Reina for a year. After Vera was born…well, five months later they all ended up on trial.
Reina sighed again. Mace had taken her, everything she was, slowly, manipulatively ripping her identity from her hands. He used it to climb his way to power, smashing and shredding it with each step he took up the ladder, and then throwing it away once she reached the top, letting her crash and bleed on the ground without so much as a blink of an eye.
For years she'd slowly pick up the pieces, sewing herself back together on a torn strip at a time. Finally, in the past year, she'd begun to feel whole again. The stitches were still fresh, though. The scars were still sore. While the power she'd long ignored and forgotten about had begun to return, she was nowhere near reaching her former glory.
"I don't know about that," Wendy said, setting a hand on Reina's arm. "I've heard you've done incredibly well on your past few jobs."
"You're too sweet," Reina said.
"No, she's right," Romeo said. "Folks have been talking about the soft-spoken terror who can create control mountains."
"Mountains? I don't know about that," Reina chuckled. "It's been almost twenty years since I've done something like that."
"Hey, if you did it once you can do it again," Romeo shrugged.
Reina smiled. "Maybe…"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Catch me, Pop-Pop, catch me!" Isla cheered as she slid down the slide. Macao smiled as he caught her at the bottom. Isla giggled as he lifted her up and set her on her feet.
"Catch me too, Isla's Pop-Pop!" Vera called as she took her turn.
"You too?" Macao asked as he caught her and set her on her feet.
Isla continued giggling, doing a little happy dance as Macao set her friend down next to her. She then anced to Vera's side and wrapped her arms around her neck. Vera smiled, returning the hug.
Macao smiled as he watched the two little girls giggle and run back to the playground. Nothing like the gleeful joy of playing children.
Still, as Macao watched his granddaughter and her friend play, he felt a chill crawl down his spine, like something just wasn't quite right. He looked over his shoulder. A group of wizards from the newest guild in town, Wyvern Claw, were approaching the playground.
Macao didn't think much of it at first. It was a public playground, of course people from different guilds would come here to let their children play.
That was until he realized there were no children with them. He frowned deeply. This was weird, and he didn't like it.
"Pop-Pop!" Isla called from where she and Vera had climbed to the top of the playground.
"Hey, Isla girl," Macao said as he approached the two little girls. "Listen, see that old tree over there?" he asked.
Isla and Vera turned to look at the twisted oak tree Macao had pointed to.
"Uh-huh," Isla nodded.
"I need you and Vera to go hide in there," Macao said.
"Why?" Vera asked, bottom lip trembling. "Is there a bad guy?"
Macao smiled comfortingly at her. "Don't worry, cutie, I just need to check something out. It will take only a second."
Vera nodded slowly as Isla took her hand and led her towards the tree.
"Come on, Vera," Isla said. "It'll be just like hide and go seek!"
"Okay," Vera whimpered.
Once the two little girls ran off Macao turned to face the Wyvern Claw wizards.
"Hi, folks," he said in a friendly voice, trying not to look suspicious, but ready to fight if need be.
The leader of the group of Wyvern Claw wizards sighed deeply as he approached Macao.
"Sorry I have to do this," he said before raising his hand. "Blazing light!"
A blast of burning white light shot from the man's palm toward Macao.
Macao dodged it and shouted, "Purple Net!"
A net made of purple fire appeared, roping the Wyvern Claw members into a tight cage.
"Heh, that was too easy," Maca chuckled.
"What happened!?" three voices asked.
Macao turned to find Romeo, Wendy, and Reina running towards him.
"Eh, just taking care of some trouble makers," Macao answered.
"Where's Vera?" Reina asked.
"And Isla?" Wendy added.
"Realx, I sent them to hide in the tree over there before things got too hairy," Macao said as he led the parents to the hiding place, only to find upon reaching his destination that the girls were not there.
"Wait…" Macao said. "Wait...they were right here! I saw them, they were right here!"
"Isla?" Romeo shouted. "ISLA!?"
"Vera?" Reina shrieked. "Vera, where are you!?"
"Hold on," Wendy said, sniffing at the air. "This way! They went this way!"
The four adults began to follow after Wendy, until several blots of light shot past them. They turned to find the Wyvern Claw wizards had escaped from Macao's net and were running after them.
"You two get the girls," Romeo said, conjuring up two flames in his hands. "We'll take care of them!"
"Right," Wendy nodded as she and Reina ran off after the girls.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Stop it! Let us go!" Isla screeched as she kicked at the woman holding her and Vera under her arms.
"I'm sorry, little things," the woman said as she carried the two little girls to where two wagons were parked. "But the only way we can get Twilight Ogre off our backs is if we prove we're against Fairy Tail, so we need you two."
"Ouch!" Isla cringed as the woman tossed her in the cage on the back of one of the cages and locked it.
"I want my Mommy!" Vera cried as she was locked in a cage on the back of the other wagon.
"This won't take long, I promise," the woman said as she climbed into Vera's wagon. "As soon as we get a ransom this will all be over. Just sit tight."
The two wagons pulled off, in two different questions.
"Remember to try and stay far from us," the driver of Isla's wagon called. "So long as we stay split up we stand a good chance of one of us making it back to the guild hall."
That never happened, though.
The two wagons never made it out of the back alleyway they'd parked in. Just as they were about to pull out into the streets two walls of stone suddenly appeared, blocking their exit. The drivers put on the breaks as quickly as they could. Vera's managed to stop just in the nick of time. Isla's did not, crashing into the wall, crunching up the front.
"Ah!" Isla screamed as she bounced inside her cage.
"Isla?" Vera asked, just as her wagon backed up, trying to turn around and make it's exit through the park. Before that could happen, though, a row of stalagmites shot out of the ground, puncturing the wheels. Two larger stalagmites appeared on either side of the wagon, protruding out in slants, skewering the wagon from either side, trapping it in place.
Vera screeched in fear, covering her eyes as she cried.
"Vera?" Isla called. Vera peaked through her fingers in time to see the Wyvern Claw wizards who had been in Isla's cart suddenly climb out, snatched her cage off the back, and then run towards the stone wall that had trapped their escape. One of the wizards' arms suddenly grew, stretching and wrapping around his comrades and Isla's cage. His legs then grew as he stepped over the wall and they took off running.
"Isla!" Vera shouted.
"Isla!" another voice called out.
Vera turned to find two figures standing between the alleyway the wagons had been parked in and the park. Vera gasped. The one who'd shouted Isla's name was Aunt Wendy, and the second one was-
"Mommy?"
"Go," Reina told Wendy. "I'll handle them."
Wendy nodded as she conjured up a gust of wind they blew her into the air and over the wall.
Vera watched her go, and then felt her cage move.
She gasped as she looked around. One of the bad guys was trying to take her cage. Now the bad guys were going to take her over the wall!
Or at least they were trying to.
As soon as the Wyvern Claw wizard had appeared, she suddenly vanished, falling straight down with a shout as if he'd fallen through the earth.
Because he kind of had.
The stone pavement below him had opened up and swallowed him up to his neck, leaving only his head exposed.
"Uh, what? What? WHAT!? GUYS, HELP!" he screeched.
The other Wyvern Claw wizards climbed out of the wagon to grab Vera and help their friend.
But that plan didn't pan out either.
Just like the ground had opened to swallow their comrade, it opened up and swallowed their wagon. A pillar of stone appeared under Vera's cage, lifting her into the air out of Wyvern Claw's reach.
"Eek!" Vera shouted as she bounced around inside her cage. Once she stopped she crawled towards the edge, peaking out at the scene down below her. "Careful, Mommy! They're bad guys!"
Reina didn't look up at her daughter, she instead stared at the Wyvern Claw wizards in front of her, frowning, waiting to see what they'd do next.
Likewise, the Wyvern Claw wizards were sizing her up, well, all except the one she buried up to his neck.
"Guys, serious, someone get me out of here!"
His comrades ignored him as they all tried to think. This woman had proved she could control the pavement they were standing on. One wrong move and she'd swallow them up.
Finally deciding they could get the advantage over her with a strike from above, two of the wizards took a flying leap into the air. Reina raised both of her arms, and with them two slabs of stone appeared, blocking the two flying Wyvern Claw wizards. They both screeched before slamming into the slabs.
"Ouch!"
"Ugh!"
Reina took a step forward, a seemingly graceful one, pushing both of her palms forward. The two slabs of stones flew backwards. The remaining Wyvern Claw wizards screeched as they jumped out of the way. The two flying slabs crashed through stone walls that Reina created to block the wagons off before. Clouds of dust stirred up from the crash, making it difficult for Vera to see her mother.
"Mommy?" Vera asked. "Mommy!"
Another Wyvern claw wizard jumped out of the dust cloud, trying to perform a spin kick on Reina, who was still standing in the same spot as before. Reina didn't move, but simply stated:
"Stone Skin."
A thick layer of stone climbed over her body, sealing her inside. The Wyvern Claw kicker's toes cracked as his foot slammed into her.
"YOW!" he screamed as he began jumping up and down, nursing his broken foot on his hands. Reina grabbed his shoulder. The stoney skin covering her transferred to him, climbing over him and sealing him in a thick suit of stone, making it impossible for him to move.
"Uh-oh," he said, muffled before he fell over. "Guysh. I can't move!"
Now there were only three Wyvern Claw members left. Too scared to try and come up with a strategy they all charged Reina at once, screaming at the top of their lungs. Reina frowned at them.
Then her body began to…
Crack?
Her body suddenly dissolved into gravel, spilling out through the alley like a wave.
"Wait, what?" one of the Wyvern Claw wizards exclaimed just before she and her two remaining comrades began slipping on the gravel, tripping over the feet and falling.
Reina suddenly popped out of the stony pavement behind the largest of the wizards, kicking him in the back of the skull, which would have hurt enough on it's own. But given the fact that Reina's foot was covered in stone, it knocked him out cold in an instant.
The two remaining wizards turned towards Reina as she landed, only to perform another spin kick. This time the stone covering her foot came off, wrapping around one of the women's hands. The woman flew backwards as the stone covering her hand pulled her towards one of the stone walls, pinning her to it.
The one remaining wizard let out a desperate battle cry, conjuring up two swords. Reina disappeared into the pavement again. The Wyvern Claw wizard stopped, turning around, expecting to see Reina pop up behind her.
Reina didn't though. Instead a pillar of stone appeared under the woman, shooting straight into the ground.
"WAH!" she screamed.
Reina popped out of the pillar, punching it, causing it to crack and tip over.
"Oh, no, no, no!" the woman screamed as she realized she was going to crash into the alley wall. Before she landed, she turned and threw her two swords at Reina. Reina simply raised her arm, covering the front of her body with a stone slab. The swords shattered against the surface.
"Darn it!" the woman screamed before she finally crashed.
The woman who Reina had pinned to the wall earlier raised her hand, sending out a burst of ice towards Reina.
Reina calmly ducked, dodging it, bringing her arm up with her as she stood to her full height, sending her stone slab towards the woman.
"Oh, this is gonna hurt!" she cringed just before impact. The wall crumpled under the impact and the woman collapsed, unconscious to the ground.
"So, uh, is anyone gonna get me out of here!?" the wizard Reina buried first.
"Tch," Reina hissed as she waved her hand. The pillar that had been holding Vera in the air, out of the line of fire slowly lowered, bringing Vera back to the ground. Reina conjured a stony spike in her hand, using it to break the lock to the cage. She opened the door, pulled Vera out, and clutched her to her chest.
"Vera!"
"Mommy!" Vera threw her arms around Reina's neck.
"Are you alright?" Reina asked.
"Uh-huh," Vera nodded just as Reina's opponents began to wake up.
"She just...kicked our butts!"
"And she didn't even have to move from her spot until it was three-on-one!"
"Seriously, what's up with this-AUGH!"
Stone cages of stalagmites appeared around the Wyvern Claw wizards as Reina calmly walked by Vera in her arms, stepping through the hole she'd crashed through her own stone wall.
Vera whimpered as she tightened her arms around her mother's neck.
"It'll be alright," Reina said as she patted the back of Vera's head. "Now, let's find Wendy and Isla."
"Seriously, is no one going to get me out of this!?" the still buried man asked.
Vera peaked over her mother's shoulder at the trapped, aching, and beaten Wyvern Claw wizards. Her Mommy just beat all of them all by herself.
Vera glanced at her mother, and then tightened her arms around her neck, burying her face in her shoulder. Her Mommy was super strong, she'd be safe from the bad guys now!
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Hurry, let's get out of here!" the man carrying Isla's cage shouted as he and his comrades ran through the streets of Magnolia.
Isla clung to the bars of her cage to keep herself from bouncing around too much. She tried to look and see if she could find someone who could help her, but the cage was shaking too much for her to see anything. They were running too fast!
And then they stopped.
"Ack!" Isla slammed into the bars thanks to her runner stopping to fast. "Owie!" she whined as she rubbed her head and looked up. Why did they-
"Mama!" she gasped as she saw the figure of her mother standing in front of them.
When had she gotten in front of them?
How had she gotten in front of them?
And why did she look so funny?
Isla gasped as she stared at her mother.
Her hair, normally a dark blue, was now pink like Uncle Natsu. She had crystals growing out of her skin. And there were tiny, white wings on her back. Was that really her Mommy?
Suddenly a strong wind began to blow past Isla. And over her. And under her. And all around her. Isla shrieked as she realized she was floating in a ball of spinning, screeching air that had snatched her right out of the Wyvern Claw wizards arms.
"Hey!" the man carrying her before shouted before he suddenly fell backwards, pushed onto his back by a burst of air.
The two men who had been standing on either side of him suddenly yelped in pain as Wendy flew towards them, somersaulting and kicking both of them in the jaw at the same time with both feet. They both collapsed. Wendy landed just behind them.
Another Wyvern Claw wizard began to charge towards her, a crystal ball with lightning cackling through it. Wendy spun around, waving her hand, creating a tornado that sucked the man up and spat him into the air.
Yet another Wyvern Claw wizard charged towards her, conjuring up two guns and shooting off several shots. Wendy whirled around, waving her hands. Several jets of lightning fast air appeared, blowing the bullets away.
The gunman took a tentative step back just as the two men Wendy had kicked and the one who had been carrying Isla began standing back to their feet.
Wendy raised her hands. "Sky dragon, wing attack!"
"Whoa!" a powerful burst of air knocked the men onto their backs again. The man Wendy had shot into the air came crashing back down on top of his comrades . Wendy now had them all in one place. She planted her feet and took a deep breath.
"Sky Dragon, ROAR!"
A tornado of spinning, cutting ari burst from Wendy's mouth, catching the Wyvern Claw Wizards and sending them barrelling out of sight.
"WE JUST GOT OUR BUTTS KICKED BY A PREGNANT LADY!"
"IN HEELS!"
Isla could only stare, mouth open.
That was her Mama!? But her Mama was always so nice! Who would have thought she could be so scary too?
The ball of air holding Isla slowly began to fade, gently setting her on the ground, but not before testing around the lock until it broke. Wendy knelt down and opened the door, pulling Isla out and snatching her into a hug.
"Isla!" she cried as she began rocking her daughter back and forth. "Oh, baby, are you okay?"
"Uh-huh," Isla answered, returning the hug.
"Are you sure?" Wendy asked, now back to normal, pulling Isla back to look her over. "You don't have any boo-boo's Mama needs to heal, right?"
"No," Isla shook her head. "But, Mama, is Vera okay?"
"Isla!"
Isla gasped and turned at the sound of Vera's voice. Reina walked towards Wendy and Isla, Vera in her arms.
"Vera!" Isla called as she ran towards them. Reina set Vera down so she could run and hug her friend.
"Are you okay?" Isla asked.
"Uh-huh, are you?" Vera asked.
"Uh-huh."
"Reina," Wendy asked as she stood to her feet, panting a little bit. "Have you seen...Romeo and...Macao?"
"No, not yet," Reina answered.
"Then we should...go looking…"
"Wendy! Isla!"
Wendy turned to find her husband and father-in-law running towards her.
"Daddy!" Isla called, running towards her father. Romeo bent down, snatching her in his arms and covering her face in kisses.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked.
"Uh-huh. Mama beat all the bad guys!" Isla answered.
"That so?" Romea asked as he stood up, Isla still in his arms. He walked towards Wendy and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Mm-hm," Wendy nodded.
"Are the twins okay?"
Wendy giggled, nodding as she put a hand to her belly. "Yes, they're okay."
"Pop-Pop!" Isla called, reaching towards her grandfather.
"I'm so glad you're okay, baby girl!" Macao said as he took his granddaughter from his son and held her close.
"Mommy?" Vera asked as she walked back to Reina.
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you tell me you could kick butt?"
AN: As you could probably guess the names "Nora" and "Oliver" won the votes for the Conbolt twin names. For anyone who is wondering, "Jasper" won for the Gajeevy son by a landslide. As for the gender-neutral names (because I haven't decided on a gender), I'm debating a fourth Rowen baby, but I'm not decided on it. So let me know if you guys would like one more Rowen baby after the twins, and if so do you like the name Dakota, Adrian, Finley, or Quinn.