Hey Guys!

Wow, it's December already! I can't really believe it. Anyway, the story is hitting its climax. I'm thinking anywhere from two to three more chapters and then the story is done. And for those of you who are waiting for a revenge on Julius moment, you'll get a little taste here.

As always, enjoy! - Singed

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Laxus marched with the others in silence. He needed to do this now before things got to crazy. He was walking behind Elfman and Evergreen as they talked. Elfman was arguing with Evergreen about inviting Mira to live with them.

"I don't think its necessary, Elfman," Ever huffed. "We're about to have our own baby and two newborns in the home is going to be crazy!"

"I know but she's my sister." Ever sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I know," she was silent for a moment, before continuing. "But, don't you think that she my want to move in with the father?"

At this Elfman shook off her hand and crossed his arms angrily. "If he can't stick around to take care of them, then he doesn't deserve it! I still can't believe that my sister would have a one night stand. It's not in her."

Laxus, seeing an opportunity to become part of the conversation stepped in before he lost his nerve. "Oh yeah, and how would you know that? You talk to some of her lovers?"

Elfman glared at Laxus and Ever shifted uncomfortably. Neither of them had completely gotten over his absence at their wedding. Well, if they were already mad at him, might as well break the news.

"No, but as far as I'm aware Mira's only had like one or two. And I know that she always waited until she was sure of the relationship. My sister is very sensitive Laxus, something you might not understand." Laxus hid his flinch and nodded as a peace offering.

"Alright, but how are you sure that the father even knows that Mira's pregnant? Maybe they've been seeing each other secretly and he's been away." Ever, seeing that the conversation wasn't going to end soon, wandered off towards Freed and Bigslow while Elfman thought and nodded slightly.

"Okay, Mira might do something like that. However, this abduction made national and then world news. He would have heard about it by now. If he were a real man, he'd be here by my side helping us to free Mira and the others."

Laxus couldn't have asked for a better opening. "Don't worry Elfman, he is."

"What?" Elfman stopped dead, which was a good thing because they were towards the back of the crowd anyway and it let the others pass them. Laxus didn't want this to be too much of a scene.

"You know who it is?" Elfman started looking around, but of course there was no one really around anymore.

"Yeah, I just found out." Elfman nodded and waited. Laxus sighed and wondered if this was such a good idea but it was the right thing to do. He needed to make peace with Elfman before he brought Mira into his home. He'd already spoken to Lisanna. She'd figured it out a while ago and while she wanted better treatment for her sister, she had understood. Elfman he knew would be a different story all together.

"Look Elfman, I'm the father." Elfman grew very still as his pupils shrunk. "I just found out," Laxus continued before he could say anything. "And no, Mira and I haven't been seeing each other secretly, so it was a one night stand. But I also know that for the last year I've been in-love with Mira and she'd been in-love with me."

"Then how could you leave her! Do you know what this baby has been doing to her? It could kill her!"

Laxus bristled at his tone and started yelling back. "Yeah, I've been informed! Look, your sister didn't even bother to tell me when I returned. I had to find out through some papers. Trust me, if I had known…"

"It still would have taken this mess to get you to admit it and settle down!"

"What?"

"Laxus, do you think we're blind? Everyone has known for an entire year how you two have felt for each other. I'm not going to lie. I suspected you might be the father. But, I hoped you weren't."

"Why?"

"Because everyone knows that you don't want a family or that kind of responsibility. A guild, fine it works for you. A wife and a child, forget it. That's just too much commitment."

Laxus just stared at him and bristled a little to know that Elfman was right until just a few weeks ago. "I've changed."

"Yeah, I bet you have thanks to your instincts as a dragon slayer. Though apparently, you did it wrong."

"Yeah, you're right I did. But I'm going to prove to you and everyone else that I'm here to take care of my family. And, I really do love Mira, dragon slayer instincts aside." Elfman just looked away and huffed.

"Look man, just punch me and get it over with."

"What?" Elfman asked.

"I'm giving you permission to punch me, but only for the next five seconds. After that you've…" Laxus didn't get a chance to finish as he was laid flat by a very satisfied Elfman.

Natsu stared at the cliff face. They'd arrived a few hours ago and had just finished setting up camp. Somewhere, inside that rock was a hidden building that held Lucy and the others. At first, some of the guild members were ready to believe Natsu had gone crazy, but Sherria was able to give Eric just enough healing power to restore his hearing for a few moments. He heard enough through the stone walls to let everyone know that there was an entire compound behind that rock. Surprisingly, it was Wakaba who found the entrance. He used his smoke magic to go through every crack and crevice. Eventually, they found a hidden door.

"It won't be easy getting through this, and of course they know we're here." Gajeel said coming back and sighing.

"Stealth was never our objective Gajeel," Mest said. The other dragon slayers nodded. "However, I'm sure we surprised them. Natsu?" Natsu closed his eyes and saw the world through Lucy. All the women were together currently and were leaning worriedly over Mira. She was most definitely not looking good. All the pregnant women were showing now, in some capacity or another, and Natsu could hear alarms.

"They haven't told the girls anything yet. However, there are alarms sounding everywhere."

"Yeah," Laxus said. "According to the file, they were assuming that if we ever did find this place, it would be after the mates were killed. They do have a contingency plan just in case this happened prematurely."

"What plan?"

"Not sure. I'm thinking a back door though." Everyone nodded and Mest turned to Happy, Patherlily, Lector, and Frosh to give them orders. They had all been visiting the other exceeds, but news of the abduction had reached them and they'd come as fast as they could. Since they were here Mest was going to use them. They were to fly around the entire mountain side and see if they could locate a secret entrance. Carla was also there, but she was currently helping Romeo with a project to help the mates and Wendy in case there was an intense need of healing. Mest watched Romeo for a second. It was no surprise that everyone assumed that he was going to be Wendy's mate when she became old enough to have one, but such thoughts brought sharp pains to his chest. He knew it was wrong to harbor such feelings for someone who was still but a girl, but he could only control his actions, not his emotions.

"Did you see any of the others?" Eric asked. He tried to be nonchalant, but Natsu knew he was worried.

"Yeah, they're all together. Kinana seems fine. Has a small baby bump now and she seems very chummy with Yukino, whose baby bump is larger than Kinana's."

Sting's eyes filled with pride and he leaned back with a nod. "Yeah, twins run in Yukino's family. It was always a possibility that she might be pregnant with twins."

"Mira?" Laxus asked.

Natsu grew quiet and Laxus turned away in anger. That was all the answer he needed. Lisanna and Elfman who were nearby, started whispering and Elfman turned an angry gaze towards Laxus. Laxus rubbed his jaw where he'd been punched.

"What of Levy?" Gajeel asked.

"Fine, but she's mad. Just as mad as Lucy for having her children taken away from her. They are going to go on quite the rampage tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, some big plan Lucy and Levy spoke about. They apparently came up with it while we were still asleep, but tonight is the night they chose."

"Man, it's like they knew we'd be here to give them coverage." Rogue said.

Natsu laughed and grinned up at Rogue. "Come on man, haven't you seen us work together before? We have always just been in perfect sync. But yeah, we'll give them all the backup we can. I'm sure that that door can't stand up against five really pissed off dragon slayers." All of the dragon slayers smiled and Laxus stood, rolling his shoulders.

"Natsu," he said, "keep that bond open and let us know when to strike."

"And you're absolutely sure that the dragon slayers are all out there, waiting for us to make our move?" Erza asked. Lucy nodded, opening her eyes. She smiled and sat down. Natsu thought he was smooth, but Lucy had perfected the bond connection months before he had. In fact, she had been well aware when he'd gotten it to work and had found a way of covering her own presence while he was observing. She never thought of using it to lie to him however, so all the information he gleaned from the bond was true. It worked out better that way.

"Yes, they are there and Natsu and the others will attack when they see us move."

"Luce," Levy said, "you are going to have to show me how to do that."

"Sure thing Levy. When we're back and settled. Oh, one more thing, basically everyone is out there. From what I saw, Gray and Jellal will definitely be coming in as well. Everyone will be coming for their own, but of course if you see someone just go with them." They all nodded and sat back. A nervous energy was flowing through the room and Lucy just wished it was over.

"When you say everyone ..." Mira piped in.

"I mean it. Everyone. Even some of the pregnant women who can't use their magic are there to make sure that we're taken care of properly when we get out. Many stayed behind though, but you couldn't have kept Bisca, Cana, or Evergreen away." A nod of consent ran through the women and they chatted for a time, before the buzzer sounded.

"Remember, be careful but prepared," was Lucy's parting words and all the women nodded before heading back into their rooms. Lucy used her time to prepare a sling for carrying Igneel. It was really nothing more than her bed sheet, but still it would work. She had been relieved when Reina had let it slip that there were in fact cameras in every room, but that there was no microphone. And to give the women some privacy they were pointed away from the toilets. Lucy used this information to prepare now. Acting cold, she wrapped her blankets around her and went to the toilet. There, she removed the sheet from the blanket and tied it into the sling shape she needed. She then left it there by the toilet and walked back over to the bed with the blanket and laid down.

The worst thing was the boredom. They literally didn't give them anything to do. At least a book or some kind of puzzle would be nice, but no. They were afraid that by giving them anything that they'd use it against Haja and his crew. Well tough, because that was already going to happen. Lucy counted down the minutes before the door was going to open and she was going to corner Reina. Luckily, Reina was already on their side so she probably just had to ask nicely.

Finally, around Igneel's feeding time the door opened. Lucy stood ready to greet Reina, but cold dread filled her veins instead. Julius was there with a sadistic smile on his face and he sauntered up to Lucy. She quickly stood up on the bed and glared down at him.

"What do you want Julius?"

"Come on babe, you've known full well for months now what I want."

"I thought you weren't allowed to touch any of us?"

He sighed and walked closer, touching the blanket that Lucy had wrapped around herself. "I wasn't, because then your distress and unfaithfulness would become a big honking beacon to your mates, but since they're here already we've had to take drastic measures."

"Meaning?" Lucy had already decided to beat this fool to a pulp, but she knew that Natsu was listening so the more information she gleaned now the better off they'd be.

"Meaning that we're going to take the children we have and kill all of you. It will be quite the set back, but it's better than nothing. Of course," Julius said, ripping the blanket out of Lucy's grip, "I'll get some fun first. Starting with you."

Lucy didn't say a word. Instead, she launched herself from the bed and kicked Julius in the head. He slammed into the wall and slid down. Lucy stood, rage coming off of her in waves. An answering rage was coming from Natsu. He wanted to kill this guy. Well, Lucy was going to let him. She could have done it herself with her bare hands but that would slow her down and the idea of intentionally killing someone, even Julius, caused her stomach to turn. Instead she decided that while he was unconscious, she would free the others. She walked over to the sling and picked it up. Then grabbing her wrist, she pulled off the bracelet. The idiots hadn't realized that Lucy had purposely been starving herself to become thin enough to slip it off. Nursing Igneel helped her lose even more weight. Natsu was going to be a mother hen for her thinness, but it was a small price to pay. Before walking out, she took the keys from Julius's belt and quickly unlocked the other doors.

Once they were all out, they nodded to each other and headed for the exit. Just as they made it into the hall, they heard the base door explode.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" The collective roar of the dragon slayers screamed. The door exploded and Natsu was the first in, ready to destroy Julius. Laxus was right behind him and he even passed the fire dragon slayer, only to come to a sudden stop in shock. Standing there before them was Jegan. He stood there, staring at them and Laxus cracked his knuckles.

"You here to die?"

Jegan lifted a brow. "I'm to die, am I?"

"Yeah. You took our mates and now you're in our way," Gajeel seethed coming up behind Laxus.

Jegan simply stepped aside and showed them the ground littered with the soldiers the researchers had hired to protect the base. "I'd rather not die," Jegan informed them. "In fact, I'd rather be allowed to leave and go back to living in obscurity like I'd been before Haja found me and convinced me to join rank. Worst decision of my life. He's manipulated me at every turn and I went along with it."

"You're a dragon slayer man, what could he possibly have on you?"

"My mate." The dragon slayers stiffened and nodded. "First, he convinced me that I could still win the woman I thought was my mate if I joined him. He said he had a special potion to make people forget. A lie, but I thought Julia was my mate. Of course, I didn't learn the truth until I met Reina."

"The other research chick?"

"Yes, she too is kept here against her will. When I realized she was my mate, I couldn't leave her here to be blackmailed. I also couldn't let on to what she was either, for her sake anyway. Haja's known. Haja's always known. Somehow, he has the power to see soul mates with those destined to have them. He saw me coming a mile away and saw where my soul would lie, given the chance."

"So you want us to keep you alive."

"Me and Reina. She's been doing everything in her power to keep your mates and children safe from the likes of Julius and the others." The other dragon slayers turned to Natsu, who nodded.

"Very well," Laxus said, "but get out of our way."

"One more thing," Jegan held up his sword and motioned to them all. "I've disabled the cameras in this hallway so Haja and the others couldn't see what I did. He has Reina under a death spell. He needs to believe that you defeated me."

"So what do you want us to do?"

"I want you to allow me to mark you all with my sword." Before any of them could blink, Jegan flipped through the air and cut them all. They reacted and by the time he landed back in front of them, he was covered in burns and cuts. Another would have fallen; he just nodded and without a word stepped aside. The dragon slayers ran forward.

"Okay remember," Laxus said as they came to their first fork, "if you find any of them, you get them out. I know we all want our own, but this isn't about that right now." They all nodded and they began to split up. Natsu however continued with Laxus and Gajeel. He could sense Lucy and was headed her way.

The girls had only stepped out of their prison and walked but a few short feet before they hit opposition. Some guards ran at them and Levy and Lucy stepped forward. The others ran the other way, a plan they'd discussed earlier. It was a gamble to split, but if they stayed together, they might all be captured again. As individuals, they were easier to conceal. Lucy took the first guard in the gut and Levy caused rocks to fall on three. That left two more. Lucy changed outfits and shot them all with Leo's light. They were down, but now they were separated from the others.

"Well, let's just move forward." Levy nodded and the two mothers made a beeline for where they knew their children were. How? Call it mother's intuition, but whatever it was, it was just as powerful as the dragon mate bond in tracking.

"Come on Kinana!" Yukino called as she rounded another corner. "We have to keep ahead of them!" The two had run right into guard group after guard group, causing their party to shrink with each encounter as everyone instinctively split. Yukino and Kinana had tried to lose the last group in the maze of hallways, but this group had been able to keep up.

"AAAHHH!" A scream ripped through the air and Yukino turned to see that Kinana was no longer behind her.

"Kinana!" She started back, when a few of the guards turned the corner and started running towards her, their spears lowered to kill. Taking a step back Yukino turned to run, only to hit what felt like a wall. However, it was warm and it moved. Looking up thinking it was another guard, Yukino's scream was cut short as she stared into the eyes of Rogue.

"Rogue!" She quickly hugged the dragon slayer. He smiled and pulled her to the side as someone else passed him.

"I'd say get your filthy hands off my mate," Sting murmured with rage, "but for now, keep her out of the way while I kill these guys." Before Yukino could blink, Sting had shot off three quick lasers that left large gaping holes in the chests of the guards. After they fell, Rogue let her go and ran towards where Yukino had last heard Kinana's screams.

"I'm going after Kinana," he yelled. Sting nodded as he turned to Yukino. He had been prepared to approach her, but was surprised to be almost tackled. She hugged him fiercely and String chuckled, before titling her chin up to kiss her passionately. She melted into the kiss and Sting was prepared to deepen it, before an explosion rocked the place.

Pulling away, he sighed. "Looks like Salamander is wrecking the place, which means it's time to get you out of here. M'lady." Yukino smiled. It had originally been the title for Minerva, but after Sting had mated her it had become a joking yet affectionate term of endearment. Looping Yukino's arm around his, he quickly led her out of the building and as Yukino stepped out into the clearing, they were greeted with cheers.

"Now dear," a guard said, pulling Kinana's head back by the hair and placing a knife to her throat. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know! And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" With a growl, the guard pulled back to stab Kinana in the throat, when they were suddenly enveloped in a shadow.

"What is this! She shouldn't be able to do magic!"

"She can't," Rogue said, stepping through, "but I can." Whatever nightmare they were experiencing, Kinana was thankfully spared as he helped her up.

"Thank you, Rogue."

"Yeah, thanks," another voice said coming up behind Kinana. She turned to see Eric throw a dead guard away. "However, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to take it from here." Rogue nodded and smirked.

"Fine, I'll stop rescuing girls that aren't mine. I'll go find Wendy then." Rogue stepped away taking his shadow with him. The guards looked around in relief, before they saw Eric's glare.

"Kinana, why don't you turn that corner and plug your ears." Kinana, knowing she'd have no way to stop him, did as requested. He made it quick because she only heard one scream before she felt him touch her shoulder. She smiled up at him and jumped up to peck his cheek.

"Is that all I'll get for rescuing you?"

Kinana smiled. "For now. I'll keep the better stuff for later." Eric smirked and then put his arm around her, leading her to the exit.

Erza panted as she drove her knee into the next guard. He fell to the ground, out cold. "This is so much harder pregnant." She'd stolen a spear and struck another guard out cold as he rushed her.

"Tell me about it," Juvia sighed, throwing her knife into the throat of another guard. "I'm made of water, you'd think I could control it."

"Gruuuh!" A guard screamed, coming up behind Juvia. She turned, knowing that she wouldn't have enough time to defend herself.

"Juvia!" Erza screamed, when suddenly an icicle sprang from the man's chest. He fell to reveal Gray and Jellal.

"Jellal! Gray!" Juvia and Erza said at once.

"Nice shot," Jellal said, before he approached Erza. The two of them looked as if they were about to kiss, but instead they just shook hands and blushed.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Gray yelled, "You two are married!"

Jellal got a very serious expression on his face and nodded. "You're right." He leaned forward and kissed Erza very briefly on the lips.

"Jellal!" She yelled, scandalized. "When did you become so forward!" He laughed and turned, leading Erza out. Juvia turned back to Gray, who had gotten much closer, causing her to jump.

"Gray…"

"Not another word Juvia," he said, taking her hands in his and took a breath. "Not until I've been allowed to say somethings."

Juvia nodded and Gray continued. "I love you more than I've ever thought I could love another person. You loved me when I honestly thought I was unlovable, and I repaid it by making you feel like crap. Then I realized that I turned into exactly what I'd been trying not to."

"Gray, you're not making any sense."

Gray huffed and pushed his hands through his hair. "Alright, let's try again. I'm terrified of this baby Juvia. I mean, I'm a demon slayer and I learned it from my already dead, walking corpse father, whose dying wish almost made me kill my best friend. I've had to fight to survive my entire life and I honestly thought I was unlovable so I pushed everyone away, even you. When I realized that I loved you, I decided to open up but just to you, because I knew my heart was safe with you. However, with a baby, I'll be the father and a magic teacher. I'll have the power to make or break this child's life and heart early. I just… come from such a broken past Juvia. How can I be expected to be the perfect dad?" Tears ran down Gray's cheeks and Juvia whipped them away with her thumbs.

"Oh my love," she whispered. "Why did you not tell me this before?"

"Because I'm supposed to be strong for you."

"That doesn't mean I want perfect Gray. I love you, flaws and all and I too am terrified of this baby."

"You are?"

"Yes! I didn't have a good childhood either Gray, but I'm determined to be a good mother. And I know that if you can remember and learn from what you went through, you'll be a great dad."

"Really?"

"Yes." Gray grabbed her face, mirroring where her hands already were and kissed her. How long they kissed, no one knows, but they finally pulled away when Gray smelled smoke.

"That's Natsu for yah. Burning the place down around your ears. Come on, let's find an exit." He took Juvia's hand and interlaced their fingers before trudging down the hallway.

"By the way, I was thinking. If the baby's a girl, I want to name her River Ur."

"That's nice," Juvia said with a smile. "But I think it's a boy my love."

"Really?"

"Yes. I've been contemplating Storm."

"Uh, Storm Fullbuster. I like it." He smiled at her as he pulled her out of the doorway. They heard a whoop from Cana as Mako groaned.

"I told you they weren't going to be the last ones out! You lose Mako!"

"Whatever Cana! Wakaba and Mest are still in the running."

"Whatever, Natsu and Lucy are so going to be the lasts ones out of there."