Fairy Tail went dead quiet for several moments, before a certain blue exceed spoke up. "Impossible! Lucy-san would never be part of a Dark Guild!" Happy flew towards Yuuto of Thanatos with an angry speed before Natsu grabbed him.
"Happy's right! Do you have any proof of your claim?" He growled. Yuuto gave him a knowing, predatory smile.
"Here's all the proof you need." He swept his hand behind him towards the two cloaked children. In unison, they reached up to pull their hoods away from their heads, earning a collective gasp. Everyone could see the resemblance.
Aside from his straight, blonde hair, the boy was a spitting image of the eight-year-old Natsu from the past. The girl was also identical to Lucy, except for her long, spiky pink hair, which she inherited from her father. They both held their heads high, only their slight fidgeting betraying their nervousness as they looked around the room.
Makarov nodded towards the children. "What are your names, little ones?" While the girl obviously didn't like being called little, she seemed too shy to speak, so the boy stepped towards, bowing respectfully towards the old man.
"My name is Kaoru Heartfilia, and my sister here-" He pulled her forwards and pushed her head down in a bow,"-Is Kaori Heartfilia. We are the twin children of Lucy Heartfilia, Matriarch of Thanatos." All was quiet as they rose from their bow.
The girl spotted the three exceeds and, having forgotten about the crowd of people in the room, asked "What are those cat creatures? They look so cute! Don't they, Kaoru? Although we better keep them away from Chewy, or he'd probably try to eat them." Kaoru face palmed at her statement, and PantherLily puffed up.
"I would not let myself get eaten!" Happy wore a horrified face at the thought of Carla getting eaten. "I would die before letting Carla get eaten by anything!" Despite the situation, Rin and Shun cracked up at the thought of anything eating the Exceeds, earning them both a smack upside their heads from Erza. Natsu was frozen in place as he stared at his children.
"Very well, we will help, but not for you, Yuuto of Thanatos. We will help for the sake of our child, Lucy, and her children, who are inadvertently also children of this guild. Erza, Gray, Wendy, Levy, and Natsu will join you. Kaoru and Kaori, you are free to stay here at the Guild for as long as you want. Yuuto is welcome as a guest until your departure tomorrow morning." Makarov turned and retreated to his office.
Kaoru and Kaori were ready to argue that they were not staying while their mother was missing, but a look from Yuuto kept them quiet and they trudged away, muttering to each other about the unfairness.
..O..
Yuuto found himself at the bar, watching as Natsu stalked up to him and others backed away. He took a sip of water before the Salamander spoke.
"I don't think you should be coming along." He growled. Yuuto raised an eyebrow, inviting Natsu to continue. "You're the leader of a Dark Guild, we don't know you, and I sure as hell don't trust you!" The man was surprised when he laughed.
"Oh really? I think I have more of a right to go and find her than you do." At Natsu's death glare, Yuuto sighed as he felt the need to elaborate. "I wasn't the one who strung her along. I wasn't the one who cheated on her after taking her first time. I wasn't the one who made her start hating herself. And I sure as hell wasn't the one who drove her into a tight shell." Yuuto dodged a flaming fist, leaving it to hit the bar counter.
"SHUT UP!"Natsu boomed, readying himself to take another swing. He stopped himself as Levy stepped in between the men and turned a piercing glare on Natsu.
"Although I must thank you, Natsu Dragneel. If it weren't for you breaking her heart like that, she and I wouldn't have meet. We wouldn't have formed Thanatos, and she wouldn't have gotten over you thanks to me. If it weren't for what you did to her, I wouldn't be a father in every way to those children except for blood."
Almost as if on cue, the small pink haired girl appeared at Yuuto's elbow. "Papa, is that guy causing you problems? I could beat him up for you!" She said, giving Natsu a look that said Don't mess with me that was identical to Natsu's, and warranting a chuckle from Yuuto.
"No, sweetheart, there's no need for that. Now you go on with Kaoru and play with those other kids." He turned her by her shoulders towards the group of mage kids talking in the corner and gave her a little pat on her butt to get her going. He gave a victorious look towards Natsu, and the Dragon Slayer stormed out of the building, knowing he might destroy the place in rage if he didn't leave.
Levy shook her head at him and turned to Yuuto. "Finally, someone who thinks like I do about this matter." She muttered. "But tell me about Lu-chan, has she changed at all?"
Yuuto smiled and shook his head. "I don't think so. She's very fierce when she gets angry, but still kind when calm and happy. Although, she always puts on a sad smile when talking or thinking about Fairy Tail and what she left behind." Levy smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. Gajeel put an arm around her for comfort and she looked up at him gratefully.
"Did she change her appearance at all?" Erza was the one who asked this question, although Gray, Mirajane, Wendy, and Levy also wanted to know.
Yuuto laughed and nodded, taking out a picture. "This was taken only a few months ago." He showed it to the group and they gasped. The picture took place in a beautiful meadow, and in the meadow stood a woman, half turned as if she heard her name. Her golden hair was waist length and blowing in in the wind along with some loose flowers. She wore a tight black jumpsuit, although one leg was the length of a pair of short shorts while the other reached her ankle. She wore a pair of heeled leather boots that almost reached her knees.
A black band wrapped around her bare thigh, along with a tattoo of a purple heart being run through with a silver dagger. A studded belt sat at an angle on her hips, and a chain hung from it, connecting at the front and back on the left side of the belt. On the right side was a leather pouch of keys and her signature whip coiled around it. Her waist and torso were encased in a dark blue overbust corset with black lacing. The expression on her face was calm and kind, and she obviously had a sweet spot for whoever had called her name. An indication of who had called her name was shown at the bottom right corner, the object of her attention, where a strand of pink hair could be seen.
"She grew out her hair…" Was all Levy could say as she turned and hugged Gajeel. "She looks so different, but her expression still says 'same old Lu-chan'." Happy laughed, and Carla nodded mutely. Everyone who saw the picture knew that whatever had happened, Lucy hadn't lost what made her unique, what made her the Lucy they had all loved. They could also see that even though she was now part of, no, a founder of a Dark guild, she was also happy and healthy. Yuuto obviously took good care of her.