It's been one hundred years! Kidding, but seriously it has been awhile but we're here now! It has been a struggle and a half, but I finally managed to finish a chapter.

Sting let out a sigh, coming at a standstill in the lounge of the inn Sabertooth were staying in.

He had spent a good three hours looking for Rogue, since he hadn't seen him since the two talked before he went for a shower. Frosch had woken up by the time he had come out of the bathroom and asked where Rogue was, of course not wanting to worry the exceed Sting lied. The blonde didn't want to lie, but Frosch would have just cried until Rogue returned, and quite frankly Sting was already emotionally drained and he didn't want to deal with that. Plus lying didn't do much as Frosch still looked worried, as Rogue wasn't around, but it was better than telling them the truth that he had no clue where his friend had gone either.

So once the exceed had gone back to sleep, Sting snuck out of the room and went off to search for his friend. But to no avail, Rogue couldn't be found. He couldn't even smell or trace his magic energy anywhere near, it's like he had disappeared off of the face of the earth.

Rogue was never one to keep anything from Sting, if anything needed to be said then he'd say so. He was very black and white about everything. Yet all of a sudden he keeps disappearing, twice in one night in fact.

Not only that but Rogue could be out any longer, as the GMG's had a policy that everyone who participates in the Games must return to their lodgings by ten at night. So he had to be somewhere, the only question is where? Sting didn't believe Rogue had any other friends in the competition, as he normally kept to himself. Admittedly, he knew that Rogue's only friend was him and Frosch.

Spotting Rufus in the corner of the room sitting on the couch reading, Sting approached him. "Hey, Rufus."

The memory make mage looked up from his book, "Sting," he greeted his guild mate, well, the newly appointed guild master. Rufus looked at the blonde intently, head tilting as he noted the troubled look on his face. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"It's Rogue, I can't find him."

"He's missing?" Sting nodded in reply. Rufus was surprised, as it was rare that the two were rarely apart. Most of the time, where you found Sting, you often found Rogue. "I'm sorry but I am of no use, I haven't seen him since the guild meeting earlier."

Sting sighed, "Thanks." Running a hand through his hair, the dragon slayer dragged his feet down the corridor, making his way to his shared room. Closing the door behind him, he made his way to the bed Frosch occupied. Sitting down he lifted his hand to stroke the exceed gently, Frosch purring before curling up into a ball. The blonde smiling, only for a brief second before his mind trailed back to the whereabouts of his best friend.

Where are you, Rogue?

"Lu!" The young boy exclaimed when the blonde walked into the room, instantly jumping off of the bed and running towards her before being enveloped into a hug.

Lucy held onto the boy tightly, a relieved sigh falling from her lips. "I'm so glad you're safe."

Ryō pulled away, eyes glossy with tears as he stared up at his guardian. "I'm sorry for running away but d-dad… I wanted to see him so badly," he rambled, fumbling over his words. "But then Natsu and Wendy…and then…I just got lost and I-I," he was cut off by the blonde hushing him softly, soothing him from his hysterics.

The four Fairy Tail wizards watched on as the two reunited with one another, warmed at the moment between the two yet in awe at the fact that standing before them was Lucy.

But not their Lucy, Ryō's Lucy or Lu, as he liked to call her.

"It's okay, you're okay," Lucy continued, pulling away far enough to cradle his cheek in her hand. She noted the frown he wore, eyebrows furrowed which reminded her too much of the expression his father would sometimes pull. Speaking of his father, Lucy glanced over Ryō's shoulder to see the Sabertooth mage on the bed, assuming that he was asleep. She'd ask about that after, but right now… "No more running away, do you hear me?" the blonde spoke weakly, almost as if she was begging him.

"Yes, Lu."

Shooting him another smile, she pulled the young boy in for another quick hug before standing, her eyes averting to the four mages who had been standing quietly observing her and Ryō.

Her teeth bit into her bottom lip as she looked at the four people she had loved and lost back in her time, people she never thought she'd have the opportunity to see ever again. It felt surreal, Lucy knew using the Eclipse Gate to come back to the past would mean that she'd had to see everyone again, she just didn't bank on it affecting her this much. Brown eyes brimming with tears threatening to fall, she glanced down before sniffling. "I'm sorry, this is a little overbearing seeing you all." She choked out, her voice wavering.

Ryō glanced up at Lucy, noticing how upset his guardian looked before taking a hold of her hand, she squeezed lightly in return of his comforting gesture.

"It's okay, take your time." Gray smiled reassuringly at who appeared to be a later version of Lucy. However his efforts to comfort her had seemed to have set the waterworks off, the blonde now fighting back a sob.

"Nice going, idiot," Natsu grumbled, glaring at the ice mage.

Gray shot him a glare back before stepping forward carefully, like a predator stalking its prey, hoping to not startle it. He didn't want to cause her any more distress, as she looked like she had been through enough as it is along with Ryō running off from her. "I'm sorry, I know this must be hard for you—" he paused abruptly, dark eyes widened as Lucy's hand shot out to grab his.

Lucy inhaled sharply, eyes closing shut as she familiarised herself with the feel of his hand against her own. She had to, needed to convince herself that this wasn't a dream, that he was standing right in front of her. Granted she hadn't come here for herself, but for Ryō, however she couldn't pass up the opportunity to be close to Gray one last time, even if it did hurt her and remind Lucy that he was gone in her time. His hands were cool to the touch, as they always had been.

Even if it was for these brief few seconds, it wiped away her doubts and took her to a safe haven. Yet as usual, even though this was his past self, she found his touch to be comforting. "It's real… You're real." she mumbled.

"Huh?"

The blonde blinked, eyes glancing down at her and Gray's joined hands. Her cheeks grew a colourful shade of pink as she let go of his hand instantly, "Sorry, I just…"

Gray shrugged off her apology, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "It's fine, no worries."

Lucy averted her gaze downwards, only to meet Ryō's curious eyes. She shook her head, it's nothing, as if a means to silently tell him to dismiss whatever he saw.

Gajeel let out a grunting sound, prompting everyone to look at him. "So you're the one who brought the little runt," he paused, shooting a glare at Ryō, "Here through the gate?" he questioned.

"Yes, that would be me." Lucy nodded, only to frown at the iron dragon slayer. "But I would appreciate it if you called Ryō by his name."

The iron dragon slayer snorted amusedly, "Oh yeah, that's blondie alright."

Wendy blinked, mind trying to register what exactly had just happened. The supposed Lucy from the future had taken a hold of Gray's hand, almost as a means to comfort herself. If Juvia had of seen that she would have thrown a fit, she could hear the annoying yells of 'love rival' ringing in her ears already. However part of her felt like there was more to it than what they had seen. Nobody knew what future Lucy had been through, or experienced. Deciding it wasn't best to question the future, Wendy shrugged it off, stepping towards Gray and Lucy. "You look tired, why don't you rest?" the dragon slayer suggested.

Lucy shook her head, "Oh, I can't. I need to talk to Rogue and—"

"You've most likely been running around after Ryō all night. Have a rest, even if it is only for a few hours. Besides I don't think he'll be waking up any time soon," Gray spoke, glancing over his shoulder at the shadow dragon slayer before looking back at Lucy.

The blonde was about to protest, but the concerned looks Wendy and Gray were giving her stopped her from doing so. Letting out a sigh, Lucy nodded.

"Okay."

Rogue grumbled incoherently as sunlight streamed through the thin curtains, rousing the dragon slayer from his slumber, the mage attempting to bury his face further into the pillows to block out the harsh rays. Along with being rudely awoken by the sun, the Sabertooth mage could feel a dull throbbing at the back of his head. Whatever he had gotten up to last night must have been somewhat wild for him to be feeling this way.

Deciding to try and sleep this feeling away, Rogue shifted his body into a more comfortable position before settling down—

"Woah... Can you show me that again!?" A voice all-too-hyper-for-mornings exclaimed excitedly, as if they were in awe of something. You'd have thought it was Christmas morning with the way they were shouting.

So much for going back to sleep.

"Ryō, quite down. Your fath—Rogue, is sleeping." Another voice scolded.

Neither of those voices sounded like Sting or Frosch. Eyes slowly blinking open, Rogue glanced around the room only to realise how different it was to Sabertooth's inn. No elaborate curtains, no purple or fancy brick walls, and by the feel of it no plush mattress. What in the— Sitting up a little too fast, Rogue's eyes slowly focused on the three people sitting in the corner of the room.

Gray Fullbuster and who he believed to be Lucy Heartfilia, from Fairy Tail alongside a young, dark haired boy. Ryō. His son, apparently. The ice mage crafting animals out of ice as the young boy watched on in fascination, the blonde smiling at the two interacting.

It was at that moment last nights events came back to him, which made Rogue wish that it was nothing but a dream.

Well, a nightmare.

From losing his match earlier, to Jiemma getting a hole blasted in his chest by Sting along with Lector held captive. Minerva then crowning Sting as the new guild master, only to put a stipulation in place that they had to win the Games just so Lector would be returned safely. Then he had Kagura giving him pitiful looks for having his ass handed to him by Jiemma, only then to be told that in the future he has a son with the Mermaid Heel ace. Out of all the years he had been participating in the Games, yesterday was one of the wildest trips he had ever been on, and no alcohol or drugs were involved.

Rogue could feel the impending headache causing him to let out a small groan, only to have the blonde's gaze to turn to him. "Oh, good morning." she greeted him with a smile. Gray and Ryō then turned their attention towards the dragon slayer causing him to feel self conscious. A few seconds passed in silence, as Rogue simply stared at them. Say hi back, idiot. "Uh, hey." Rogue stood from the bed, his footsteps slowly moving him towards the trio before stopping, kneeling down across from Ryō, the ice mage to the right of them.

Lucy sat in the chair on the left, observing them, watching Gray entertain the child. It had been a few hours since she had been reunited with her charge, having taken a short nap before waking up. Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy weren't there when she woke up, only Gray and Ryō. The ice mage told her that the three had gone to sleep in Gajeel's room, as he had a spare bed.

"Have a nice nap?" Gray asked dryly, earning a look from Rogue which caused the ice mage to smirk.

The dragon slayer resisted replying with a snarky comment, it wasn't worth it neither was it a reasonable enough time of day to be functioning properly. He wasn't sure what time it was, all he knew was that it was too early to be awake. "Where are the others?" he asked.

"Sleeping. Since we took this room, they had to sleep in Gajeel's room." the ice mage replied.

"Oh, right."

Silence fell amongst the group again, well apart from Ryō and Gray. The Fairy Tail mage explaining his maker magic after the boy had asked him about it. Rogue and Lucy watched as Ryō listened intently, his eyes seeming to light up and hang onto every word the ice mage was saying.

"He's a good listener," Rogue commented.

"He got that from you and…" The blonde paused, a forlorn look appearing on her face, brown eyes casting downwards. "You and Kagura." her voice growing quieter when she mentioned the Mermaid Heel ace.

The dragon slayer didn't know what to make of it; both her expression and what she had said. He got that from you and Kagura. You and Kagura. Me. He had almost forgot that Kagura was the mother to his child, almost. That was still unbelievable in of itself, how him and the gravity mage somewhere in the future had gotten to the stage of…that, to produce a child.

Staring at the boy, his son, he noticed the white cloth which peered through his hair, covering a good portion of his forehead. He had a suspicion of whose exactly it was, yet he'd ask Ryō for confirmation later. Admittedly, what they had produced was an awfully cute kid. Don't let any of them hear you say that, they'll think you're comfortable with this. Which in fact, Rogue wasn't. The fact that a boy, his child, had apparently travelled back to their version of the past, which is this present time, with Lucy for reasons unknown. Speaking of Lucy. "I assume you're the one who travelled with Ryō..?" Rogue questioned, glancing up at the blonde sitting in the armchair.

"Correct."

"And how exactly did you get here? Back in time, that is?"

"The Eclipse Gate," Lucy answered. Noticing his confused expression, she continued. "It's a gate, it allows you to travel through time during a solar or lunar eclipse."

Rogue frowned, "Such a thing exists?" He was sceptical, unsure whether or not to believe her words. A gate what allows you to travel through time? Sure anything was possible, especially in a world of magic. In a world where humans were able to wield the power of dragons, so such a thing as time travel be possible?

"It's true. I've seen the gate." Gray added. Both the blonde and the dragon slayer glanced at the Fairy Tail mage. "When Ryō found us underground we were lead to it, it exists." the mage nodded before looking at Ryō, who nodded in agreement of his statement.

"And how does the gate function?"

"The gate requires a lot of magical energy, near enough the same amount to power an etherion blast. It's opened and closed by the twelve Zodiac keys, however due to one of the keys missing the gate was never shut. It was free for anyone to use..." Lucy trailed off. Missing... In her time, Libra and Pisces's key was missing, along with Ophiuchus and the owner of those keys. "However the gate can be closed another way, but being the only Celestial wizard I couldn't do it, not with Ryō in my care." she added, glancing at the young boy. As much as the gate should have been closed, Lucy could never have given up her life to close the gate. Not when Ryō needed her.

Running a hand through his hair, the Sabertooth mage tried to make sense of it all. A time travelling gate what only opens and closes with Zodiac keys. She had said that Libra and Pisces's keys weren't present, he knew that Yukino was in possession of those keys meaning—fuck. Rogue glanced at Lucy to see her looking back at him. Her expression answered the question he didn't want to ask out loud. "Holy shit.." the dragon slayer muttered under his breath.

Lucy was about to speak only to be interrupted by the door practically swinging off of it's hinges, courtesy of Natsu kicking it open. "Morning!" he grinned, bounding into the room like someone had lit a fire under his backside.

Gray scowled, "Could you not open the door like a normal person?"

"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but Natsu isn't normal." Gajeel grumbled, walking in behind the fire dragon slayer with Wendy trailing behind him.

The sky dragon slayer was carrying a bowl of porridge, which she hands to Ryō. "Thought you might be hungry," she smiled warmly.

Ryō muttered a thank you to Wendy before digging in.

He had always liked aunt Wendy, she was his favourite. But Minerva was close second, mainly because she always baked him nice stuff like brownies and cookies. Dad would always tell him off but a glare from aunt Minnie would always shut him up. Let the boy live, besides it's not like it'll hurt him. He burns up all his energy running around all the time, she would say. Dad would grumble to himself before returning to doing paperwork. Ryō didn't understand what his dad was doing, but whenever mom visited the guild hall she would complain about him doing 'Sting's work', then her and uncle Sting would get into an argument. However dad sometimes allowed him to stamp things with uncle Sting's stamp signature, so Ryō didn't care too much. He just liked stamping things.

"So," Gray started, looking around the room at the mage's and their guests. "What's the plan?" Nobody said anything. The ice wizard blinked, "Nothing? Are you guys kidding me?"

Rogue lets out a sigh, only to feel a pair of eyes staring at him. Looking to the side he notices Natsu staring at him. "What?" he questions, brow raised.

"Don't you have anything?"

"Why would I?"

The fire mage shrugged, "I don't know... It's your kid."

"What's that supposed to mean? I didn't ask to be dragged into this unholy mess!" the Sabertooth mage sneered, only for his eyes to widen when he noticed Ryō flinch at his harsh words. Seeing the deflated, hurt look on the boy's face had him feeling sick. It made him feel like he had just kicked a puppy. "Wait, I didn't mean— I just..."

"You're right," Lucy interrupted him, "We shouldn't have come here. Sorry for wasting your time." she stood from the chair.

Gray frowned, "No, please sit. Sorry about him, he's just being an asshole just like the rest of his guild." he shot back, putting emphasis on the insult. He watched Rogue's shoulders slump, his gaze cast downwards. "We'll help you, I promise. Just tell us why you're here."

All eyes turned to Lucy, the blonde returning to her seat. "Right, well..." she paused, eyes glancing at Ryō. She didn't want him hearing this, even if he didn't understand why some of it happened. Wendy noticed this and suggested that her and Ryō should go do some colouring in Gajeel's room, only for the young boy to run towards his guardian.

"No, I wanna stay with you!" Ryō pleaded, staring up at the blonde.

A few seconds of 'that look' was all it took for Lucy to cave in before the young boy was seated on her lap. You'd think it was story time with the way he was getting comfortable, however this story didn't have a happy ending. "If you're wondering how far from the future we come from, it's seven years to be exact. You all know that we used the gate to travel back in time. We were recovering from a war when," she paused, taking in a deep breath to steady herself. She couldn't cry in front of Ryō, not now. "When the gate was opened and the dragons attacked. They destroyed everything, people died, a lot of people died." Lucy paused again to glance at Ryō's face, the blank look he usually wore making it's appearance. "When his mother... She asked me to keep him safe, safe from harm." From his father. "He has nothing, no one, so I thought coming back here could change the future. The gate needs to be destroyed to prevent it from being used in the future."

"Who brought the dragons through the gate in the first place?" Wendy asked, her voice barely audible in the room which had fell silent.

Lucy's eyes slowly lifted to look at the mage who sat on the floor, watching as the realisation hit him with each passing second. It hurt to see him go through several emotions at once, knowing that before now he was unaware of his future self's actions.

"It was Rogue."

This chapter killed me. It's been ages since I've wrote for this so apologies if it's rusty. I'm trying here! Also shout out to writers block. You da best.

But finally, it's done. If you guys want to see any specific in this fic, let me know! I'm always down for suggestions plus your help would be forever appreciated, especially with the final day of the GMG's because I have no idea how I'm going to write that. Sigh, that's gonna be tough to weave into the storyline. It's strange, like I've planned the ending, but have no idea about where the rest of this is even going. Weird.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! Hope to have the next chapter up soon, hopefully. Pray for me.