Chapter Twenty One:
Benedict panted, trying to calm his nerves as he watched his father climb down the steps towards him.
"Are you sure you want to fight me, boy?" Mace asked.
"Want? NO!" Benedict shouted. "I want nothing to do with you. I don't want you in my life, period!"
Mace all but growled, swinging an acid coated fist towards Benedict. Benedict ducked.
Mace's fist went straight over his head and through the wall behind him. Benedict to his chance to try and escape.
"Sound magic, solid wave!" Benedict called, a flurry of sounds materializing in a spiral formation below him. Benedict jumped onto the solid sounds, sliding towards the ground floor of the building.
Mace growled as he pulled his fist free. "Acid rain!"
Drops of acid fell on Benedict's speel, dissolving it until it crumpled underneath him.
"Augh!" Benedict shouted as he began to plummet downward. Well, if he was going to go down, he'd at least take his old man with him.
"Sonic BOOM!" Benedict cried, the sound wave destroying the stairs underneath mace.
"ACH!" Mace called as he too began plummeting towards the ground floor of the office building. Now with his dad taking the fall as well, Benedict began to look for a way out of his predicament. He saw a glass wall to his left, framing what looked like a lot of archive desks.
"Sound projection!" Benedict shouted as he punched his fist to the side. The impact hit Mace in the chest sending him straight into a concrete wall that cracked under the impact. The attack also pushed Benedict backwards, through the glass wall, and right into a desk. He grunted as he flipped over and fell to the floor behind it.
"Ugh!"
SPLAT!
Benedict looked up and saw a splatter of acid on a support beam behind him. The acid ate away at the beam, causing it to collapse. The ceiling began to groan and sink without the support. Benedict jumped to his feet and ran to get out of the impact of a possible collapse.
SPLAT!
Another shot of acid flew past his face, landing on the wall behind him.
Benedict dropped to his hands and knees, ducking behind a desk. He waited for a while, holding his breath, trying to see what Mace would do next. He heard meaning footsteps crunching on the glass he'd broken earlier.
"Benedict," Mace called. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."
Benedict's hands trembled as he began to try and quietly crawl away from Mace.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Nashi looked around. Everywhere she turned there was nothing but smoke and fog. It looked almost like the void she'd first walked into, only there was a bit more light here, and the constant sound of thunder and lightning that broke through the silence.
Her parents and the other adults had been stuck in here for nearly a week? This was awful! How on earth were they still sane? Were they still sane?
"Mommy? Daddy?" Nashi called as she tried to figure out where up and down was in this crazy place.
"Mo-OOF!" Nashi flew right into the ground. At least she thought it was the ground. Carefully, slowly, she tried to stand to her feet. When she managed to do so successfully she put her wings away and cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Mommy? Daddy? Hello? Anyone? Can anyone hear me?"
Her brow furrowed when she heard no answer. What if she was too late? What if she'd been brought to the wrong place?
"HELLOOOOO!" She called.
Then she heard it, whispering in front of her. She stepped forwards, waving her hands about to try and find her way in this fog.
"Hello?"
"...there it is again…"
"Sounds almost like a kid."
"What's a kid doing in here?"
Several whispering voices said somewhere in front of her.
Nashi broke into a sprint as she bolted forward. "Hello! Guys! Guys, I-oof!"
Nashi collided right into something. Or someone.
"Nashi?"
"Uncle Macao!" Nashi cried as she looked up at the older man.
"What the heck are you doing here, ya little ankle biter?" Another voice called as a figure appeared behind Macao.
"Uncle Wakaba!" Nashi jumped to her feet and threw her arms around the two older men. "You guys are okay!"
"Well, as okay as we can be trapped in this...whatever it is…" Wakaba answered.
"Hey, Natsu, Lucy, get over here!" Macao shouted over his shoulder.
"What do you want now, you old geezer?" an annoyed voice called that made Nashi's heart skip.
She pushed the two older men aside and ran forward.
"Daddy!" she called.
Natsu's eyes widened at the sight of the little girl running towards him. "Nashi?"
Nashi jumped towards him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Daddy! You're okay!"
Natsu stood there stunned, then his eyes grew wide and he let out a screech as he threw his arms around her.
"AH! Oh, my poor little girl! They've got you trapped in this hell-hole too!"
Nashi giggled and shook her head. "No, Daddy. No one's trapped me here, I came myself."
"You WHAT!?" Natsu exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing? Why would you come here! You better have a good explanation for this, young lady!"
"I came here to get you out," Nashi explained.
"Huh?" Natsu arched an eyebrow, clearly confused.
"Oh, thank Mavis!" a weepy voice called as someone else snatched Nashi into a hug. "Please get us out of here! There's no booze in this dump, and I'm dying!"
"Hey, let go of my daughter you raging alcoholic!" Natsu shouted.
Nashi however, smiled, and returned the weepy woman's embrace. "Aunt Cana!"
"I promise to make you my favorite niece if you just get me out of here!" Cana loudly promised.
Nashi laughed, tears pooling in her eyes.
"Let her go!" Natsu said as he snatched his daughter back.
Nashi just kept laughing, tears now trickling down her face.
"Nashi?"
The little girl gasped, and turned at the sound of another familiar voice. "Mommy!"
"Nashi!" Lucy bent down, holding her arms open for her daughter. She held her close, tears streaming down her face as well.
"Mommy, you're okay!"
"What are you doing here, Nashi?" Lucy asked weepily.
"To get you out," Nashi said.
"Get us out? How?" Lucy asked.
"By using my Styx spell," Nashi explained. "Now that I'm inside here with you I can open a portal and let you out."
"But how'd you get here in the first place?" Natsu asked.
"Uh…" Nashi scratched at the back of her head. "That's a bit of a long story…"
"Hey, Nashi, did you find them yet?" Persephone's voice called.
"Huh, oh yeah, I found them," Nashi replied.
"Uh, Lucy I think your kid's gone bonkers," Cana muttered.
"Huh? Oh, no, I was talking to Persephone through our archive link."
"PERSEPHONE!" a loud voice shouted as a tall, burly man came running out of the fog.
"Uncle Gajeel!" Nashi cried.
"Eh-NASHI!" Gajeel bent down and tossed Nashi into the air. "Well, look what the cat dragged in!"
"I didn't drag anything in."
"Lily!" Nashi cheered as she saw Levy and Pantherlily walking out of the fog towards her.
"Are any of the other kids here?" Levy asked.
"No, just men," Nashi said. "The rest are getting ready to help you out once we get through. Speaking of which, has anyone seen Uncle Gray?"
"Yeah?" said the ice wizard called as he and Juvia stepped out of the fog.
Nashi smiled as she ran to them arms open.
"Oh, Nashi!" Juvia called, snatching the little girl into a hug.
"Nashi? How the heck did you get here?" Gray asked.
"A long story, but listen, we need your help…" Nashi said as she began explaining everything that happened.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Carmen sighed deeply as he waited on the sidelines with the other five kids and the rest of Phoenix Grave, waiting for the timer to go off. He had a sick feeling in his stomach. He wasn't exactly sure what Elena and her comrades were planning to do now that they were free, but he was sure it wasn't going to be good.
If only the Fairy Tail kids could have helped them. Carmen wasn't mad at him. He knew they'd tried, but-
"Hey, Carmen!"
Carmen jumped at the sound of Persephone's voice.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, why…?"
"Why? Because it's mark erasing time! I'm about to download a map into your brain. Once the game starts, come to the circled location so Storm's dad can take those marks off you!"
"What, really!?" Carmen gasped.
"Oi, shut up!" a Phoenix Grave wizard hissed as he smacked Carmen on the back of the head.
"Sorry," Carmen muttered.
"I said shut up!"
Carmen simply frowned. Just then a map appeared in his mind.
"See it?" Persephone asked.
"Yeah, I see it," Carmen answered silently.
"Good, get here as quick as you can. Nashi and the adults will be back soon!"
Carmen's heartbeat quickened. Was this nightmare really about to be over? Carmen reached into his shirt, pulling his mother's necklace out and staring at it. It had been over a year since Elena had taken him. He'd all but given up hope of being free. Dared he hope once more?
"Five," the countdown began. "Four!"
Carmen quickly grabbed Malla's hand, whispering in her ear. Her eyes widened as she whispered to Georgiana.
"Three!"
Georgiana whispered to Collin, who whispered to Tierra.
"Two!"
Who whispered to Tate.
"One! BEGIN!"
All of the wizards took off running. Carmen quickly turned a corner, the rest of the children in his group following him.
"And off they go!" Chapati announced.
"Carmen," Tierra called. "If you're wrong about this I'll kill you!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Come out, son," Mace called. "Enough of these childish games. If you want to talk to me like a man then you come out here and face me like a man!"
There was no answer.
"Benedict!" Mace shouted, sending a blast of acid through a stack of desks. The desks hissed as they melted to sludge, but there was no sign of Benedict anywhere.
"Benedict!" Mace shouted again, stomping around, trying to find the teenager. It was then he noticed something, a reflection in one of the few unbroken windows in the room. A reflection of Benedict carefully crawling his way back up the stairs, trying to slip away. Mace grinned evilly, his brows lowering over his beady eyes.
"Gotcha!"
Benedict gasped as he watched his father whirl around towards him.
"Acid cyclone!" Mace shouted as a tornado of acid headed straight towards Benedict.
"Screeching fury!" Benedict screamed. A blast of shrieking noise cut through the cyclone, destabling it so that the acid simply fell down through the open space in the middle of the spiralling staircase. Smoke rose up as the acid began to burn the bottom floor and Benedict raced up the stairs, Mace following after him.
"Get back here!" Mace ordered. "I told you to-AUGH!"
A series of shrieking, cutting noises assaulted Mace's sense when he stepped onto the step he'd first spotted Benedict at. The trap Benedict laid continued to torment Mace until Benedict reached about three stories above him. He then stopped to both catch his breath and to see where his father was.
It was about that time that Mace broke free of the spell, glaring up at Benedict. Benedict yelped as he kept running up the stairs, never noticing his father shooting a mass of acid at a stretch of steps just ahead of him.
Benedict stepped over the corroding patch, the steps giving out under his weight and sending him crashing to the floor below.
"AUGH!" Benedict cried as he bounced off the ground.
A disappointed, and angry sigh came from behind him. Benedict gasped as he turned around to find his father standing behind him. He began trying to scoot away from his father, kicking his feet against the ground as Mace loomed over him and bent down. Benedict closed his eyes, waiting for a grabbed him by the face and forced him to look up, his beady eyes narrowing on the yellow mark upon his neck.
"Hmph," he sniffed. "Just when I thought that wretched woman couldn't stoop any lower."
Mace threw Benedict towards a wall. Benedict groaned as he bounced off it, putting a hand to the Fairy Tail mark upon his neck.
"Of course you didn't put up much of a fight did you?" Mace continued.
"You took her side when she slandered me in front of all the masters."
"It's not slander if it's true," Benedict hissed.
SMACK!
Benedict's vision doubled as Mace's slap knocked him to his side. As he fell to the ground Benedict thought he saw a yellow flash go by outside a broken window. Benedict gsped, looking up. Was that what he thought it was?
His vision disappeared as he felt a kick to his back. Mace planted his foot squarely into his back.
"You were right with what you said earlier, boy," Mace hissed. "You're no son of mine."
"Yeah, no kidding," Benedict coughed.
Mace grabbed Benedict by his hair and lifted him off the ground. Benedict hissed in pain, beating as his father's hands to try and free himself.
"No son of mine would stoop so low as to align himself with an enemy, abandoning his family!"
Benedict frowned at his father, then noticed something.
A flash of yellow zipping down the staircase. A new jolt of strength, a burst of hope, gave Benedict the extra push to swing his body back and kick his father in the gut. The impact shocked Mace enough to let go of Benedict's hair.
Now free, Benedict ran to get out from under the hole Mace melted in the staircase earlier.
"Come back-AUGH!" Mace shouted as a sonic boom knocked him off his feet and onto his back.
"I didn't abandon my family," Benedict called as he stood, panting at the end of the hallway, a determined look on his face.
"I found it."
ZZZAAAPP!
A burst of yellow lightning shot down from the hole in the stairs, striking Mace right in the chest and sending him flying backwards. He crashed into a wall as his body continued convulsing a few seconds longer.
He only gained control of himself in time to see a teenage girl jump through the hole. Burst of electricity jumped off the floor as she landed in between him and Benedict.
Mace's eyes grew wide at the sight of her.
There was no pupil, no iris of color in her eyes, only electric white. Her teeth were pointed. Yellow, scale-like patterns covered her arms, legs, neck, and face. Her hair flew behind her, dancing as bolts of electricity ran through the auburn locks.
Benedict's eyes also grew wide. "Farrah, did you just-ugh!" Benedict's legs gave out under him, his muscles seizing with pain.
"Stay down," Farrah answered, her voice echoey as she turned to him, a smile on her face. "I can handle it from here."
"Well, as I live and breathe," Mace chuckled. "The legendary dragon force."
Farrah turned back to him, a frown on her face as her lightning began crackling all the fiercer.
"This will be fun," Mace smiled.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"So...let me get this straight…" Laxus said as he and the rest of the Fairy Tail adults stood around Nashi, listening to her tail.
"Elena has teamed up with Mace and Phoenix Grave to do...something, and she's entered those six kids in under Phoenix Graves' name?"
"They aren't bad, though," Nashi said. "They're just forced to go along with it because Elena put a curse or something on them through their guild marks. It has some sort of demon magic in it, which means Uncle Gray's the only one who can get rid of it."
"But my darling's been stuck in here with no food for nearly six days," Juvia said. "I'm not sure he'd have the strength-"
"To save the lives of six innocent kids I will," Gray cut her off. "So what's the plan for getting out of here?"
"Let me make sure everything's ready on the other end," Nashi said before contacting Persephone.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Psst," Carmen whispered as he and the other five children poked their heads in the door Persephone had told them to come in. Storm and Persephone were both waiting for them.
"Carmen, just in time," Persephone waved for them to come in.
"Big Brother Carmen, what's happening?" Tate asked.
"Don't worry about it, Tate," Carmen said as he grabbed Tate's hand and dragged him into the room behind all the others.
Persephone smiled as they gathered around her. "Alright, Nashi, we're ready!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Great," Nashi smiled as she turned back to the adults. "We're ready! Remember, Uncle Gray and Aunt Juvia have to go first to save the kids Elena stole. Everyone else can go after them."
"Alright, you heard the girl, make a line folks!" Laxus ordered. "Gray and Juvia at the front!"
Nashi took a deep breath. She'd never made a portal this big before. Nor had she held one open for so long. Still, she had no choice but to follow through now.
A gentle hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up to find her mother smiling down on her. "We'll go last," Lucy said
"Really?" Nashi asked.
"Well, duh!" Natus said, setting his hand on Nashi's other shoulder. "We're not leaving here without you, Firecracker!"
Nashi smiled, then rubbed her hands together. "Okay, let's go."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Farrah and MAce stared at one another, each waiting for the other to move. Benedict panted as he watched from behind Farrah, his entire body trembling.
Finally Mace moved, charging straight towards Farrah.
"Acid slicer!" she shouted.
Farrah bent down, dodging the attack and rolling forward. The minute both her feet landed back on the ground she called.
"Lighting dragon, talon!" lightning shot out of the bottom of her feet, projecting her towards Mace. She grabbed him around the waist as she propelled them both towards a wall. The wall cracked under the impact.
Mace groaned as the breath was knocked out of him. He slid off the wall, catching himself on his knees before he fell flat on his face.
"Lightning Dragon, Jaw!"
A shocking, numbing force hit him in the back of the skull, sending his face cracking against the floor. Though blinded, he somehow managed to get a hold of Farrah's ankle and jerked her off her feet. Farrah landed flat on her back as Mace jumped to his feet and loomed over her.
"Acid-"
"Lightning Dragon ROAR!" Farrah shouted.
A pillar of lightning hit Mace in the chest and sent him flying straight through the ceiling and up three stories. He groaned as he hit a support bannister and crashed to the ground.
FWOOM!
A ball of lighting flew up after him and smacked him in the face, sending him flying on top of a desk. Mace shook his head to stop the spinning as he looked up. Farrah stomped her way towards him, lightning still coursing through her body.
Mace just smiled evilly as he asked. "So, what, girl? You think fighting me here will help protect your baby brother from Elena?"
"July?" Farrah asked.
"She's on her way to your hotel now to collect the one baby that she lost, why not take a few spares while she's there?"
Farrah gasped, her dragon force disappearing. Her eyes and skin went back to normal.
Mace grinned as he pounced off the desk. "Gotcha!"
Farrah gasped again as he flew towards her.
"Acid blade!"
Knife-like masses of acid flew towards Farrah.
"Shattering screech!" someone called.
Shrieking screams destabilized the acid, causing it to fall. Both Mace and Farrah turned to find Benedict running to Farrah. He stood between her and Mace, arms outstretched.
"Leave her alone!" Benedict shouted at Mace. "This is between me and you!"
"Yeah, fat chance," Farrah scoffed, pushing his hand down.
"Farr-"
"If he wants to mess with one member of Fairy Tail then he messes with all of us," Farrah stated.
"But over half of you ain't here," Mace scoffed.
"Guess I'll have to do it," Farrah answered, eyes narrowing.
Mace just stared at her, then glanced down at Farrah and Benedicts hands, realizing their fingers were interlocked.
"Oh, I see what's happening," he nodded, turning to Benedict. "And just how long did you think you would be able to keep your little girlfriend away from me?"
Benedict just glared at his father.
"Last chance Mace," Farrah warned. "Leave us alone."
"Or what?" Mace asked.
"We'll force you," Farrah answered. "By any means necessary."
Mace just chuckled. "I'd like to see you try…"
Just like before, both Mace and Farrah were caught in a stare-down.
After a few moments Mace noticed Benedict's lips moving, though no sound was coming from them. No sound he could hear, at least. But a dragon slayer…
"What are you whispering about, bo-"
"Lighting blast!" Farrah shouted, a bolt of lightning barely missing Mace's face, shooting by close enough to blind him.
When he regained his vision she noticed Farrah charging towards him.
"Acid blast!"
Farrah ducked, the acid going over her head and hitting a support beam behind her. She somersaulted forward and kicked Mace with a-
"Lightning Dragon, Talon!"
"Solid Sound Wave!"
Solid blasts of high pitched screams hit Mace's side, knocking him onto his back. As he lay there Benedict jumped over him, back hand-springing onto his feet. Mace shot a lot of acid after him, only to have it miss and hit another support beam. Mace continued shooting blasts of acid after his son, missing each time and splattering either a desk, the wall, or a support beam.
"Lighting dragon fist!"
Mace was so focused on Benedict he didn't notice Farrah charging towards him until she hit him. He stumbled backwards, barely regaining his footing in time to dodge another one of Farrah's attacks.
He reached forwards, grabbing onto one of her wrists.
"Gotcha!" he hissed, acid bubbling in his other palm. "Acid pain!"
Farrah somehow managed to dodge Mace's attack while still behind him. The two continued in a tight struggle, Farrah managing to only stay a hair's width away from him.
"Let her go!" Benedict shouted, grabbing a nearby chair and smashing it over his father's head. Mace stumbled forward, his hand with the acid landing against a support beam as he tried to steady himself.
A loud groan came from above him.
"Uh…" Benedict began. But before he could finish, Farrah grabbed him and the two teenagers disappeared in a blast of lightning.
Mace looked up just in time to see the ceiling crashing on him with a loud-
BOOM!
Farrah zapped herself and Benedict to the hallway outside the room they had been fighting in. They both coughed at the dust surrounding them as the ceiling collapsed onto Mace.
"Did...did it work?" Benedict asked.
Farrah carefully walked to the doorway of the room and peaked in. She didn't see anything, but she did smell something burning.
Benedict smelled it too. "Farrah, get-"
With a roar, Mace emerged from the rubble, covered in blood and acid. He whirled on Farrah, eyes glaring.
Benedict pushed her out of the way and shouted: "Sonic BOOOOOOOMMMM!"
This time the attack hit Mace and set him flying out a broken window.
Benedict gasped as he ran to the window, and watched his father plummet to the ground, hitting it with a sickening SPLAT!
Benedict took a step back.
He was gone.
His father...the man he'd had nightmares about for years was...gone…
His knees began to buckle as he wobbled in place.
"Benedict!" Farrah shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the window before he stumbled out after his father. Both teenagers collapsed onto the floor behind them. Farrah sat up, turning to the boy behind her.
"Benedict?"
Benedict was curled in a ball, tears rolling down his face as he gasped for air, almost like he was hyperventilating.
"Hey," Farrah whispered as she crawled to him, pulling him into her lap. "Hey, hey, hey. She. It's okay. I've got you. You're okay."
"He's...he's…" Benedict sobbed.
"He's gone, Benedict. He'll never hurt you again," Farrah assured him. "You're safe."
Benedict wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his face in her shoulder. "Farrah...I…"
"Sh," Farrah whispered, running a hand over his hair.
"Farrah, I...I…"
"It's okay," Farrah said as she cupped his face in her hands and leaned her forehead against his. "I know."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
FWOOSH!
Carmen gasped as a fiery whirlpool appeared in the room.
Persephone and Storm both stared, holding their breaths, waiting to see if this would actually work.
Slowly, from out of the whirlpool walked a tall man with pale skin, blue eyes, and black hair.
"Is that-" Carmen began to ask, before Storm cut him off.
"Dad!"
Gray smiled, sighing in relief as he knelt down on one knee and held his arms open. "Storm!"
Storm jumped into his father's awaiting arms, burying his face in Gray's shoulder. "Dad! You're okay! You're okay!"
"Of course I'm okay, bud," Gray assured his son, running a hand over his hair.
Another figure, this time a woman, stepped through the portal.
"Mom!" Storm shouted as he let go of his father and ran to his mother.
"Oh, Storm, my darling!" Juvia cried, holding her son close as he cried into her shoulder. "Oh, sh. It's okay. Mommy's here. It'll all be okay."
"Mom, I was scared that I'd never see you again!" Storm cried.
Carmen hung his head, gripping his mother's necklace a bit tighter. What he would give to-
"So you must be the kids Elena took," Gray said as he approached Carmen and his friends.
"Yes sir," Carmen answered.
From behind him Tate's eyes grew wide. "No! No! No, this isn't good! Mother will be mad! Mother will be-"
"Tate, it's okay," Tierra said as she wrapped her arms around Tate's middle. "We don't have to worry about Elena anymore!"
"No!" Tate shrieked. "Mother will be so mad! She'll hurt all of us! This is bad!"
"Tate, calm down," Collin said, grabbing Tate's kicking legs. "We'll be-"
"No, Mother will be-"
A pale hand reached out, touching Tate's brow and instantly putting him to sleep. The children all turned to find a tall, beautiful woman with blue, teary eyes standing behind them.
"Poor little thing," she whispered.
"Aunt Mira!" Storm shouted. "You're okay too."
Mirajane turned from Tate to smile at Storm. "Storm. I'm so glad to see you!"
"Alright, set him down," Gray ordered. Collin and Tierra did so.
"Hold his hands."
They obeyed.
"The rest of you sit in a circle and hold hands," Gray said, grabbing Carmen's, who happened to be the closest to him, hand.
Carmen gasped, but didn't argue as he drew closer, reaching out for Malla's hand. The children of Gray formed a circle, holding hands.
"This might feel or look strange, but I promise you'll be okay," Gray assured them as he closed his eyes. Black splotches began to grow over his body. They seeped over from his skin and onto Carmen's.
"Ach!" Carmen exclaimed in surprise as the cold, dark splotches began growing up his arm.
"It will be okay," Gray assured him without opening his eyes. "Just let it do it's thing."
The black splotches continued growing over Carmen's body before seeping into Malla's, then Tierras, Tate's, Collin's, Georgiana's, and back to Gray.
Gray held the children's hands a bit longer as the black spots began to disappear. This time they went the opposite direction. Carmen's were the first to go away, then Mallas, Tierra's. Tate's, Collin's, and Georigianna's.
"There," Gray finally said, releasing their hands. "That should do it."
Carmen opened his shirt, gasping in delight as tears formed in his eyes. "It's gone!"
Collin looked down his shirt. "Mine too!"
"They're gone!" Tierra exclaimed.
"We...we're free…" Malla's bottom lip began to tremble. "We're free…"
The children just stared at each other in disbelief. Was this really happening? Was the nightmare finally over?
"Daddy!"
The children turned to find Persephone diving towards a rather large man, who scooped her up and spun her around.
"Sephy!"
"Persephone!" a rather short woman called as she ran to their side.
"Mommy!" Persephone shouted, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck.
More and more adults continued filing in, gasping and looking about, almost as if they couldn't believe they were really back.
Everyone seemed to be in disbelief that their different nightmares were over.
That is, until the sound of a door slamming open shocked everyone.
"Guys!" Farrah screamed as she and Benedict ran inside.
"Oh! Farrah!" Mirajane shouted as she raced to her daughter.
Farrah's eyes grew wide as she ran towards her mother. "Mama!"
"Farrah!" Laxus shouted as he made his way out of the portal and ran straight to his wife and daughter.
"Papa!" Farrah cheered, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Benedict?"
Benedict gasped as Reina made her way out of the portal. "Mom?"
Tears poured down his face as he ran to his mother, wrapping his arms around her.
"Oh, my boy," Reina cried. "My sweet, sweet boy!"
"Persephone," Farrah shouted, quickly remembering why she'd raced back here in the first place. "Get a message to Nashi STAT!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Nashi's brow furrowed in concentration. She was almost done, she was exhausted, but almost done.
All that was left were her, her father, and her mother.
"Alright, I'll see you girls on the other side!" Natsu smiled as he ran through the portal.
Lucy smiled and took Nashi's hand. "Ready, sweetie."
"Yeah, I-"
"Nashi, wait!" Persephone's voice called. "Don't come through yet! Elena's escaped from jail and she's headed to our hotel to kidnap the babies! You gotta go protect them!"
Nashi gasped and closed the portal.
Lucy screeched in shock. "Wha-Nashi, what'd you do that for!"
"Change in plans, Mommy," Nashi said, opening another portal. "We've gotta go somewhere else!"