Forever's Not Enough

A/N: Alright you beautiful creations! The action starts here...with a dash of mystery! I just have to add him here. Who's he? You'll find out when you keep reading. He'll be revealed here...And guess what? Fairy Tail is...Okay I won't spoil it. Okay I'm weird. Here's the 12th chapter, hope you like it! If you're still wondering about The Key of Time, feel free to PM me. Don't worry I won't bite.

Story Updates:
- Category: Humor [changed to] Adventure

- Chapter # [changed to] Chapter Names

- Chapter 8 [edited]

- 100th Follower: belle ride

Thank you for your support! Keep reviewing, it motivates me~! By the way, the 100th reviewer/follower/favorite-r will receive prizes from me. I'll send the winners a PM. You can win: a free one-shot story written by me, have your ideas instantly inserted into the story (regardless if it changes the plot but not the pairing) or both if you are the 150th.

I'm doing this so I can hear from you, not for this story to gain fame. Besides, I needed new ideas from the readers anyway. If you think your idea is needed in the story, do your best to be the 100th reviewer/favorite-r!

Chapter Twelve - The Wizard's Purpose

"Zeref..." a small voice grumbled in a small cave. Though the voice was small, it echoed through the whole cave, making the said wizard flinch. He loved the voice, but it was too high pitched.

"Hmm?" Zeref asked, one eye closed and his arms crossed.

"You can't do it all for me... You're hurting innocent people. Please don't drag them into this, just because you want me to be alive again. I can stay like this forever... It's not really bad. Please, Zeref, don't do this. I know it hurts for you, but if you really...if you really want me back, you would stop this. And if you really think...if you think...that you know the value of life once again, you wouldn't be doing this" the voice pleaded.

Zeref's eyes started to water, but he gritted his teeth to prevent the tears to drop. "Actually, I'm not killing people. I'm just scaring them so they can give me the right to do what I want. But unfortunately, Fairy Tail won't let me hurt anyone even if what I'm doing is for your good. If they just learn to understand—"

"They would understand what you're doing, but what they won't understand is that why you need to scare people. You could ask nicely"

He shook his head. "The world doesn't work that way. Usually, they'll ask for something in return: either something dangerous that I couldn't give them. Or something man-made like money and treasures. They could also ask for something I cannot easily hand over. Humans are greedy" Zeref glanced behind him, seeing a pleading face.

He gulped, he felt guilty now. "B-But if you want it your way, fine. I won't hurt the people. But just so you know, I'll continue to scare them. If they force me to hurt them, I will. If they learn to listen, then that's even better" he said, breathing.

"Thank you!" the voice happily chirped. Zeref felt cold invisible hands hug him from behind. Unfortunately, there was no one there, but him. Although it felt cold and lifeless, Zeref knew it was meant to be warm. And it made him smile.

With Sting and Lucy...and the newly arrived people...

"Bran? And...Fairy Tail?" Lucy wondered. Of all people, why Fairy Tail? And why is Bran with them? She bit her lip. Sting crossed his arms. He hated Fairy Tail, not because of the Grand Magic Games, but because of what they have done to Lucy. And he didn't like that Bran guy. He felt something unusual about his presence. Plus he smells weird. He has this familiar scent but he covered it by drenching himself in manly perfume, which made Sting wrinkle his nose. He glanced at Fairy Tail and earned nothing but mild glares from them, except for the small old man who was playing with his mustache.

"Hey there my little Lucy. Remember me?" Bran asked, flashing her his best smile yet. Sting scowled and glared at Bran. My Little Lucy? He hated how Bran said that like he owns her. And the way he said it was irritating to Sting's ears, which made a vein pop. His angry thoughts were interrupted when Bran started to speak again. "I'm sorry I have to bring them," he glanced at Fairy Tail, who looked bored and uneasy, "I just thought they could help me reach you. I've heard of the unfortunate news and I apologize for that, too" Bran said slowly with sympathy, making Lucy's eyes tear up a little.

The blonde celestial mage tackled him to a hug, earning curious looks from both Sting and Fairy Tail. Bran was easily pinned down to the ground with Lucy's arms squeezing his muscular body. The man hugged back, which made Sting grunt. They easily parted when they heard a small cough that came from Makarov, who was staring at the scene with a weird look. "Ahem," Makarov stated, "I wish I could rejoice in this reunion, too. But Lucy, I wanted to talk to you and Bran". The old man felt his members and the White Dragon Slayer stare at him with wonder. "Alone and far away" he added firmly.

Lucy and Bran nodded. Makarov pointed somewhere near a rocky area. "Let's talk over there. Please follow" he said politely. The old man turned to his members with a happy face but then turned to an evil one, making the members sweatdrop and look away. "And you, please stay put. Don't even bother make a step near us or I will pound you to a pulp. Also, do not, I repeat, do not mess with Eucliffe". He glanced at Sting and his exceed. "You, too, boy. Try not to interfere or you will end up in like a flat piece of paper. Hurt my children and you will end up worse". To this, Sting gulped but then glared at Natsu, who snickered at his reaction.

The three walked in silence to the said destination of their unexpected conference. Lucy had this uncomfortable feeling as she walked with Bran, who felt confident and breezy. They reached the rocky part of the area and the old man stopped his steps. He sat down on one large stone and the two mimicked his movement. There was pure silence for a few seconds, until Makarov breathed loudly. "Lucy, I'm so sorry that I have been careless and oblivious from everything all this time" he started.

The said blonde blinked and looked at him and confusion, allowing him to explain further. "Ah, you must be puzzled at that. Before you left Fairy Tail because of Team Natsu's misbehavior, I felt something odd about their actions and movements. I have known Natsu and the rest of them since they were kids, but never expecting that they could do something as rigid as that. I was hoping you'd know something about it because you were the victim. Has something strange been going on?"

Lucy nodded with a fierce look. "Yes," she replied grimly, "Just before you arrived, Future Rogue tricked us into being the real Rogue Cheney. He was looking for the Key of Time and said that I had it. But I didn't know what that was or if I even have such a thing, so he told us that if we don't give him the Key of Time in 22 hours, he will crush the real, present Rogue to death in a Time Dimension. He didn't state his purpose for having it, but he said we have to hand it over! Me and Sting were about to find Bran because I figured he might have it, but I think there's no need for that" she said, glancing at Bran and smiled at him. "It looks like it's already here"

"I safely held the Key of Time with my life, but my time of guarding it is over. I vowed to your Mom that I should return this on the right time. I felt like now's the perfect time to give it to you" Bran said, scratching the back of his head.

Makarov scratched his chin. "I think I get it now! Future Rogue must have brainwashed Team Natsu into kicking you out so that Fairy Tail won't be able to meddle with his plans like before. But his entire plan was a bit ruined because you've met Sting on the way. He figured out a way to intimidate you so you can hand him the key easily by having a hostage! So that means..." Makarov said smartly, his voice trailing off as he said the last phrase.

Lucy and Bran's eyes widened. "T-that means, Team Natsu isn't Team Natsu at all! They're brainwashed or trapped in a spell!" Lucy continued for him. She paused for a moment, then started speaking. "I just found out that the Key of Time could be used for selfish reasons, so I will not let Future Rogue just lay his hands on it. The Key of Time could be the end of everything. We have to save Rogue and get Team Natsu off the spell. Oh dang, what can we do to solve this?!"

The three thought quickly but intelligently. Makarov's face suddenly lit up, but his serious demeanor didn't fade. "We shouldn't tell Team Natsu that they're under a spell, Future Rogue might be watching them, so he could easily tell them to attack us. That Sting Eucliffe guy will help and some other members of Fairy Tail. I will tell the guild of the situation and keep Team Natsu stalled. Sting is a dragon slayer, and Rogue is his close friend, so he could sniff his friend out to reach him" he said, looking over the members of Team Natsu, who were having a staring contest between Sting and his cat partner. "But first, we have to beat those brats then plan everything out"

It was a quick battle for Team Natsu and Makarov. They were easily knocked out and dropped to the floor, unconscious. Sting, Bran, Lucy and Lector sweat dropped as they saw the said team taken down by their own master. Lucy told Sting of the situation and he seemed baffled, but felt obligated for being useful. Makarov's hands grew large and scooped up the inanimate Team Natsu back to the guild. They swiftly dashed to Fairy Tail, where the planning will start.

The five mages, though, were completely unaware that they were being watched by a certain duo. Their eyes trailed them from afar and started moving as they did. "Fairy Tail, what's the rush? What could you be up to, now?"

I'll end it here. Was it a cliffhanger? Sorry, I'm not sure if it's a cliffhanger or not, so please tell me. Ho-ho-ho, and who could the duo be? I'll give you a hint: Pink and Blue. If you already got it, then please try keeping the answer to yourself so we can prevent spoiling. I'm sorry if it's a bit short but this was all I could do for now.

School starts in a few weeks and I didn't even update a lot. I apologize for that!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!