Hey Guys!

Well, even though I was gone for the entire weekend I was able to finish this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy and yes, starting from this chapter its going to get action packed.

As always, enjoy!

- Singed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

"I'm glad that they at least allow us this time to ourselves." Erza said, sitting next to the others. A few days after they'd arrived, it was determined by the researchers that the women would all be given some time to hang out with each other. Lucy and Levy had decided that it was because everyone had been far to upset so isolated, and since most of the women were pregnant they didn't want anything hindering their health.

"Yes, I felt as if I was going insane. And being pregnant I couldn't even summon my spirits for company," Yukino sighed, rubbing her stomach. All of the women were showing now and Lucy wished she could see how their mates would have lit up and watched them all the more closely now that their children were showing.

"At least you aren't writhing in pain," Wendy whispered and shot a look over to Mira. She had fallen asleep after Wendy had used her healing magic to ease some of her discomfort. None of their magic worked, accept Wendy's and only when they allowed it. For most of the women, it was because they were pregnant. Lucy, Levy, and Wendy had been forced into a special bracelet that stopped their magic. Wendy's bracelet though, allowed her to use healing magic when the women were together.

Looking over at Mira, Lucy saw that she was looking worse and worse. She'd lost weight, something that was never good during pregnancy and there were dark circles under her eyes. They had to do something, but the only thing that had worked before was dragon slayer milk and here they couldn't give it to Mira.

"I think, we need to speak to Reina," Lucy finally ventured. By then everyone had figured out that Reina was the one and only sympathetic ear. No one else had been down to speak to them after the women had been introduced to the team on the second day. Julius had given a very suggestive leer towards Lucy, but so far he had thankfully stayed away.

"Who should speak with her?" Juvia asked.

"I will," Wendy volunteered. "She might take the request more seriously if it came from a healer." All the girls nodded and looked back over at their friend. Gavey was playing on the floor with a toy Reina had brought in with her. Ali and Igneel were placed in seats near him. They were watching him with interest and Igneel kept trying to take Gavey's toy. Oh boy, Lucy thought. He's going to be a handful.

Lucy opened her mouth to say something more on the subject, when the buzzer that announced their time was up went off. All the girls jumped and looked at the clock in confusion. On every other day they'd been given an hour to relax and talk with their friends. Today, they'd only been given twenty minutes.

"What's happening?" Kinana whispered. She and Yukino had become good friends and they clung to each other as the doors opened and in walked Julius. Lucy inwardly groaned and yelled at herself for even thinking of him a few moments ago. It had probably summoned him.

"Sorry my beautiful ladies, but Haja has demanded that your socialization time be cut short so that we may interview each of you separately." Groaning, all the women stood and began to make their way to their rooms. The common room was large and circular, with doors leading into their individual rooms. Wendy woke Mira, who obviously needed the sleep and helped her to her door. Lucy went with Levy to pick up Igneel after she was sure Wendy could handle Mira. Igneel seemed glad to see his mother. He eagerly stretched for her as she smiled and bent to pick-up her son.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her butt. She straightened quickly and jumped away. She turned daggered eyes on Julius who was smirking at her. Levy went to stand next to her and both women made their way to their rooms. Lucy shut her door quickly and made her way to the bed as it was the only comfortable spot in the cell. Igneel started fussing and Lucy knew that it was his feeding time. She was worried though that Julius might come walking in at any moment and take advantage of the situation. Instead, much to her relief, she heard Mira's door open and what sounded like five people entering her room. This gave her some time at least.

Igneel was fed and changed before a light tap on her door had her looking up at the researchers as they made their way into the room. Most of them ignored her presence all together, but Reina nodded and Julius licked his lips. Lucy ignored him and turned her gaze to Haja.

"Mrs. Dragneel," he began. For being an evil jerk, he was always so formal. "We have a few questions for you about your son, Igneel." Lucy stiffened and shifted in concern. She wasn't giving these guys anything.

"What about?"

"Just some basic information, I assure you. Now, how old is he? Please be as exact as you can." Lucy knew that this was a bogus question. They no doubt knew that information already.

"Three months, two weeks and five days." He nodded and continued.

"How often does he nurse?"

"Four to five times a day. It depends on how much he sleeps."

"What is his sleep schedule?"

"He sleeps whenever he wants, but he usually sleeps from ten in the morning until noon, then three in the afternoon until five. Then he normally goes down between seven and eight at nights and will require an early morning feeding at threeish."

"I see, and after the early morning feeding, he sleeps until…"

"About seven in the morning."

"Good, thank you for the help. How many diaper changes does he normal require?"

"Six to eight a day. It depends really."

"Good, that is all we really need?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, it will help us make a schedule."

"Schedule?"

"Yes, Mrs. Dragneel. We are going to begin our brainwashing of the children along with our research on the pregnant mothers. So we need this information to create a schedule." Lucy, who had been standing during the interview, grabbed Haja by the front of his shirt before she even knew what she was doing.

"You will not have my son!"

"You have little control over the situation, Mrs. Dragneel. In fact, Reina, take the child now."

"What! No!" Lucy lunged for Igneel, but was caught by Julius who then slammed her hard into the ground. She still struggled even though she was sure that she'd broken her arm. Igneel, sensing her distress, began wailing. Reina, started bouncing him and cooing, but it was to no avail.

"Igneel!"

"Shut up," Julius said, grabbing her hair on the back of her head and lifting her face to watch Reina leave with her son. Lucy saw stars as Igneel was escorted out of her room.

"He will be returned for feedings. However, we are hoping that we can persuade him to nurse from a bottle soon enough." Haja and the rest left. Julius, taking advantage of the situation, kissed her hard and then kicked her so she was catching her breath as he walked through the door.

As soon as Lucy had breath, she began weeping. Some would assume that it was out of the pain in her stomach and arm, but it was neither. She wanted her son. She wanted Natsu and she was going to get out of here! Steeling her resolve, Lucy decided that she would enact her plan in two days, she was just waiting to let Kinana and Yukino in on it. They'd been the only ones she hadn't had a chance to tell yet.

Natsu, who'd been sick on a train, sat up and growled. He felt distress and anger coming down the bond. Quick as he could, he checked it and what he saw and felt had him burning the pillow he had in his hands. They were so dead! Taking his son and hurting Lucy! Yep, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. Especially Julius. He was a complete dead man.

"What now, Natsu," Gajeel asked.

"When we raid this place, I kill Julius." All of the dragon slayers watched him with surprise before they nodded and went back to trying not to throw-up. Sherria had apologized because normally she could have cured them of their illness, but with all the healing magic she'd used over the last several days, she didn't have the strength. They'd understood.

Natsu looked around and saw the entirety of the Fairy Tail and Saber Tooth guilds making a ruckus. Somewhere on the train was Mest, who was acting as a liaison between the magic council and Fairy Tail. Not that the magic council really trusted him after his past had come out, but they at least respected him which was more than the rest of the Fairy Tail members could hope for. However, even with Mest acting as the council's mouth piece, Natsu knew that he'd pretty much let him and the other dragon slayers do what they wanted with these scumbags. Especially since they'd lied and made fools of the council. Everyone on the council claimed complete ignorance of their original plans, but Mest wasn't so sure though he kept this to himself.

Just as he was about to go back to sleep, he saw Gray sitting by himself. Gray had become a good friend over the years, even Natsu could admit to that, but Natsu wasn't sure how to help his friend now. Sighing, Natsu stood anyway and practically crawled towards Gray.

"Hey man, don't come over here and stink up the place."

"Whatever, Ice Princess. I thought you could use the company." Natsu settled in his seat and watched as Gray turned back to the window and sighed.

"Naw," he finally said. "I don't deserve company."

"Why not?"

"Because man, I messed up. Big time."

"So make it right."

"I can't, at least not until I speak to Juvia and if they kill her before we make it to this place, then I'll never have a chance."

Natsu, knowing what was actually going on but deciding to play dumb, said the first thing to come to mind. "What? You'd cheat on her or something?"

Gray was out of his seat before Natsu could react and slammed Natsu into the floor. "You take that back! I'd never! I love her!" The other passengers were staring at them now and Natsu realized that he'd have to fix the situation.

"Okay! Sorry." Gray stood and took Natsu with him, throwing him in the seat across from him.

"Just don't say things like that again. That's all I need. Rumors starting and then Juvia having more reasons to leave."

"So she left?"

Gray was silent for a moment. He pulled a journal out from under his jacket and fingered it for a moment. "Yeah, she did and I can't blame her."

"So what did you do?"

"That's between me and her, but I will say that I've been a pretty awful human being for the last couple of months. She deserves so much better." Natsu nodded and leaned back.

"Well, hopefully she'll take you back. After all, she married your sorry butt, so she must have liked you at one time or another." Gray smirked and hit him with an ice cube, before a comfortable silence fell between them.

"Hey Natsu," Mest called sometime later.

"Yeah," Natsu said, looking up from the bag he'd just filled with his stomach contents.

"We're coming up to the final stop on this line. It would help if we knew where to go from here." Natsu nodded and heaved one more time, before he leaned back and concentrated on Lucy. He was definitely closer. They were far enough east now, but they needed to travel south. At least another day of travel or so. He said as much and Mest nodded before going to pass the message along. Another day of train travel, but then after that, they might get a break and be able to walk the rest of the way. Man, he sure hoped so.

Jegan stood, staring at the screens. He'd just had a long talk with Reina and both of them were well aware that their plan wasn't going to work. True, nothing had really gone wrong yet, but he could feel it in his bones. The dragon slayers were coming and when they arrived, they'd kill them all. He doubted the council would press charges since they'd made them look like fools. He had to get Reina out of here. Once she was safe, he could disappear. He'd take her along of course and make sure that she finally understood exactly why he stuck around.

"Ah Jegan," Haja said, stepping in. "Just the man I wanted to see."

"For any reason in particular?"

"Of course. You know as well as I do that the other dragon slayers are coming."

"Yes, I've felt their movement for days."

Haja laughed and slapped him on the back. "I do so love your particular brand of magic." Jegan blanched and looked away. Yes, his magic. Even among dragons, his master had been a rarity. Basically, he was a tracker. If he thought of a person, he would know where they were, what they were doing, what kind of magic they practiced or had on them, and if they were with someone else or not. It had allowed his master to hide for centuries. It had also allowed his master to find him, a scared little boy hiding in the woods from his drunken father. It had been his magic that had allowed them to keep such a secured eye on all the dragon slayers and their mates for so long. Luckily for him, Berial had allowed him to just be the channel for some machines that had actually taken the pictures and recordings. It had saved him from having to be around for some pretty awkward situations.

"So, what is it you wish me to do, Haja?"

"I want you to make sure we win this thing. I have come to terms with the fact that most, if not all of the current dragon slayers will need to die in this upcoming battle. I had hoped to use them years down the line to train their offspring, but it is not to be. They need to die and we need to disappear with their children and mates, but it must appear as if we have died along with them."

"So that is why you've brought in so much oil in the last few days."

"Quick on your feet. Yes. This place will burn down around our ears and we will escape as they die."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Haja smiled, but it was cruel. "Because I know your tricks. You want to be gone Jegan. You've never wanted any part of this, well remember that I still have that death spell on Reina. Poor thing, she still has no idea." Jegan's jaw tightened and he breathed deep. Worst part was that he knew it was there. He could feel it on her whenever he checked.

"Anyway, this is just my friendly reminder. If you help them or don't do everything in your power to stop them, I will kill her without a second thought." With that he left and Jegan went back to watching the screens. So, Haja had seen his treachery coming then. He gritted his teeth and punched the wall, causing it to crack and crumble. It looked like his plans would have to change again and this time he'd have to go against other dragon slayers.

Lucy hummed softly to Igneel as he nursed gently. It was the second day since their separation and according to Reina, he and the other three hadn't slept for more than five minutes at a time. Looking up at Reina from her bed, she could see the dark patches under her eyes. Apparently, Reina hadn't slept much either.

"I've been sneaking Mira some of the milk we've been collecting by the way," Reina said, yawning.

Lucy looked up and nodded. Reina, in so many ways had become a friend to all the girls. Since the first day, she hadn't been nasty to Lucy and she hadn't repeated any of the old hatred. She was actually very nice and motherly to the children and Lucy had seriously begun to wonder if she really meant any of the stuff she'd said the first day.

"This isn't going to work," she said suddenly. Lucy had just finished nursing Igneel and was now burping him. He complied readily, and then snuggled closer to Lucy's neck, sighed once after sniffing her a bit and then fell asleep.

"What's not?"

"This plan of Haja's. Sure, taking the children away and brainwashing them could work, but Igneel and Ali absolutely refuse to sleep or eat without you or Levy and Gavey just cries and hits everyone who comes near him. He keeps crying for his Mama and Papa, and he says he'll protect them. I guess that a dragon slayer's desire to protect is something they are born with." Lucy nodded again and shifted Igneel to her arms and cradled him. Leaning down, she kissed his forehead and held him closer. Looking back up, she saw tears in Reina's eyes.

"I wish you'd just tell me what is actually going on, Reina."

"I want to be a dragon slayer's mate and have dragon slaying children."

"Yes, but all of the dragon slayers have their mates."

"All but one," Reina said.

"Rogue loves Lisanna."

"No, not him. Jegan."

"He's a dragon slayer?"

"Yes. He came to the project just after I did, but like me he was deceived."

"What?" Reina sighed and leaned back. "One day, I'll tell you everything, but what you actually need to know is this. I came to the project, thinking that I would actually be doing research. I of course have been, but when the true purposes of it became clear, I wanted out. I love dragon slayers, I don't want them dead or manipulated. However, Haja has some dirt on me and basically would have had me arrested for my transgressions if I didn't do what he said. So, I played along, fooling everyone but Jegan, trying to find a way out."

"What did you do that gave Haja that much power over you?"

Reina smiled. "You know that conception potion?"

Lucy nodded. "That little baby breaks about fifty council laws and that isn't the first illegal potion I've made. Anyway, same goes for Jegan. Haja has him blackmailed as well."

"Reina, why are you telling me all this?"

"Because when the dragon slayers get here and you and the others finally decide to do something, I can't offer you my assistance, but I won't stop you either. I just want to leave alive."

Lucy slowly nodded and sighed. "I think I can arrange that. What of Jegan?"

"Him too, as long as he doesn't attack you. I'm sure that if he were to do so, that all bets would be off."

Lucy nodded again, and continued to cradle her child, ignoring Reina for the most part. She felt bad for the woman, but where her pity used to go a long way, it had been considerably shortened by Reina's own actions against her family.

"Reina," Julius's voice called through the speaker in the room. "If the child is done nursing, please bring him back. The master says his turn is next." Reina sighed in contempt and rose, not looking at Lucy in her guilt. Lucy stopped her for a moment, and wrapped her pillow's case around the blanket Igneel was wrapped in.

"What…"

"He may be able to sleep if my scent is nearby." Reina nodded and left, looking back at Lucy once, before leaving. Shortly after she did so, the doors unlocked and Lucy and the others walked out into the main room. They all looked at each other and Lucy nodded. Tonight, their plan would get underway.