Kids

by DD42

There are those who say that the future is not written in stone; that our destinies are ours to make. However, when a new group arrives at the doors of Fairy Tail, they will turn that theory upside down and then some (Multi-Pairing). *Cover art by Toni Boloni*

22. Chapter 17

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! I once again apologize for this chapter being so, so very late. I've been really busy (what else is new!?) with school work ranging from papers, tests and projects and I've been dealing with work and some personal stuff on the side so it's all been really hard for me to manage my time.

It's just been one thing after another, so my stress level has been a little high.

I know I've said this before, but if I ever go too long with writing, attribute it to the fact that I may be busy or have something else going on that requires my attention. If I think I won't be able to write for a little bit, I'll do my best to let you guys know before hand in an Author's Note or something like that. I will not give up on writing unless it is absolutely necessary that I do so.

So, in the meantime, I think I have about four weeks of school left so naturally, things are going to get hectic on my end of things. I probably won't even write during finals week which is the second week of May because I want to focus on studying. After that however, I'll be free once I head back home for the summer and should be able to update more frequently.

Despite all of my late updates, I honestly appreciate how you all have been patient with me.

So, enough of that; on to this!

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the chapter you have all been waiting for; the truth as to why the kids traveled back in time!

I spent a significant amount of time thinking on how I wanted this to play out (while also going toe to toe with a case of writers block). I revised this chapter more than once because I wasn't satisfied with the end result and I actually had to stop once or twice to prevent myself from getting too into it. I say that because this chapter is a particularly sad one and it also means this story will be taking a turn for the dark side of things. So, I hope I don't make any of you sad or upset with this chapter but it is what it is.

So, I guess that means I should place a disclaimer or something of that sort.

WARNING: Character death(s) ahead with violent content. Reader discretion is advised.

So, before we begin, here is a shout out to you guys for your positive reviews:

-fylith: Hello and welcome to the story, I'm glad you like it. I did rev up the tension towards the end there didn't I?

-SpaceAlchemy7: Hello there! Haven't heard from you in a while so welcome back! I'm glad to know the previous chapter had a good cliffhanger for you, you don't know how many times I had to rewrite that scene in order to get the final product…but hey, it worked didn't it?

-kazenoseiren: Why hello there my lovely reviewer from afar; how are you on this fine day/evening? Where have I been, hmmm, let's see…buried under a large pile of college work, that's where I've been. I am so, so, terribly sorry for making you wait that long for the previous chapter. I just got so busy and you know how that is. Trust me when I say this; I will let you guys know when this story is done and over with and that won't be for a while. I'm glad you liked the change in pace for the previous chapter, it's been a while since I wrote a good fight scene. I know you were excited for this chapter since the beginning so I hope you like this one; remember that shock and awe I kept mentioning? Here it comes!

-Kaida-Nee Alberona: *Removes ear-plugs* Hi there and welcome back! *Scrolls through previous reviews* I do believe you're right when you "called it" for the previous chapter…feel better now?

-Alien She: Hi there, what's up!? You are correct, in a manner of speaking, for Levy suspecting that there was something wrong with the future. I actually gave subtle hints to it when it came to how she interacted with Saito and when she and Gajeel went searching for answers back in the beginning of Chapter 15; Saito's facial expressions in the dream should've been the cue that something was off. Those dream sequences foreshadowed this chapter…along with something else that I am not at liberty to discuss.

-AyeeItsCoco: Hello and welcome back; glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter. Indeed, you were correct in your guess but I put off the reveal to keep you guessing until the time was right; guess it worked out didn't it? Yeah, only in Fairy Tail can the truth come out via a screaming match. You were correct in your wording for the phrase, "biting your lips." Personally, I tend to bite my lips too or wring my hands together when I get nervous; it makes me feel accomplished as a writer to know that I can get that kind of response from you as a reader. Sorry you lost sleep over the previous chapter. I lost sleep just writing it! Oh well, it was worth it! As for your use of exclamation points well, I attribute it to the fact that exclamation points are, and I quote; FUN!

-Mistwing: Hello and welcome to the story; I'm glad you're enjoying it. Glad I helped with your insomnia lol. Man you must be a speed reader if it took you only two days to get caught up reading this. Yeah, that note on the back of the picture was a bit of foreshadowing toward this chapter so rest assured, all shall be revealed…or will it?

-Unraisedmango: Hello and welcome to the story I'm glad you like it! Ever since chapter one? Wow, that seems like forever ago. I don't know if I'm going to make a sequel for this or not. I do have another story that is a bit of tie in with this published at the moment but it only has three chapters so far; I've been focusing on this story because my thought train is on a role. If you want to check it out, go right ahead!

-Toni Boloni: Hello and welcome! I'm glad you like-correction-love this story. It's not weird for you to like the scene you mentioned. It took me a little bit to figure out how to make that scene work out but I now know it paid off. Your praise…your praise, I am unworthy of such praise from an artist like you! It's also nice to know that you like my OC and character development. A lot of people have mentioned that to me more than once so it's nice to know I can create believable characters.

-Special thanks to Toni Boloni: Toni Boloni, I know we've covered this in the PM's but once again, thank you so, so very much for the wonderful fan art you created. That's right people; FAN ART! I'm still giddy over it! For those of you who ever wondered what my gaggle of OC's looked like, here's your chance; follow this link and bask in the awesomeness that Toni Boloni created!

(unfortunately the site won't let me post the full link so if you want to see the picture, just PM me and I'll try to figure something out)

Toni Boloni herself is a wonderful sketch/color artist and writer and you can view her Deviantart profile by following the links on her page or you can visit her Tumblr; whencreativitystrikess a.k.a. "The Doodling Center-Tumblr."

Well, I think I've put this off for long enough. Without further ado…let's begin.

XXXX

CHAPTER 17: The Truth

XXXX

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."-Oscar Wilde

XXXX

"…YOU. ARE. DEAD!"

Igneel took in a shaking, short breathe. His shoulders and hands shook with the labored motion as all of his pent up anger and sorrow began to break free of their cages which were locked away deep in inside his heart.

"YOU ARE ALL DEAD!" Igneel yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice reaching all in the Guild.

Igneel took a series of panting breathes as the anger filled haze began to clear from his mind.

In turn he was met with…

…Silence.

Absolute and utter silence.

It was the kind of uncomfortable silence one found when they entered a building that had been abandoned for ages or even a graveyard for that matter.

Igneel's revelation had rendered all who were present into a shock filled silence as they tried to comprehend what the young mage had just said.

It was something they were not in the least bit suspecting when Natsu and his son had begun their argument.

"W-what?" Natsu whispered as he finally found his voice. His expression slowly changed from pure shock to worried confusion. Lucy had brought her hand up to her lips in surprise, her eyes just as wide as Natsu's and Makarov stood dumbfounded with his mouth slightly agape.

Igneel took in another shuddering breathe that made his hands clench to the point where his knuckles threatened to break past the skin covering them. His lower lip trembled slightly as tears slowly formed at the edges of his eyes.

"You heard me." Igneel bit out in a voice that was laden with pure agony.

"You…you are all dead…every last one of you." Igneel said as he looked at all who were present in the Guild Hall.

"You…Mom…Aunt Erza…Uncle Elfman…Master Laxus…Master Makarov…everyone!"

Igneel's face changed from pained anger to that of absolute despair. It was the look of heartache, loss and extreme emotional pain all coiled up into one single, tear laden expression.

"And it's not just you guys," Igneel choked out, "it's not just the Guild too."

Igneel raised a shaking hand and pointed to the front door of the Guild.

"Everyone and everything in town is gone."

Natsu followed his sons hand with fear filled eyes. As much as he tried to play off Igneel's words, his heart was telling him that Igneel spoke the truth.

"Everything is gone; there's nothing left!"

Natsu turned to his son when he heard those words and was promptly shaken even more by what he saw.

Igneel was openly crying as tears fell like rain from his now haunted and bloodshot emerald green eyes.

In the time that he had gotten to know his future son, Natsu had seen things get under the young mages skin and make his temper snap…their confrontations with each other these last few days helped prove that. But Igneel had always found a way to mask his pain whether he went off to be alone or cry in his sleep.

To Natsu, his son had always stood tall and strong; even in his most heated moments.

But never before had he seen his son openly weep like the way he did now in a mixture of anger, grief, frustration and pain.

Especially in front of everyone.

It made Natsu realize the gravity of what Igneel was saying.

"The reason why we came here to the past…is because we don't have a home to return to, no future to speak of…our world, as we know it, is gone." Igneel said through a choked sob.

Igneel took a forced breathe.

"Everything…it's gone…just…gone."

And with those words, the pain that the young man had fought so hard to control, broke through the walls of his inner most defenses.

The recent events and being able to finally let the truth out proved to be too overwhelming for Igneel.

He sank to his knees and let out a pained gasp before he began to cry. It started out small at first but before everyone knew it, Igneel had buried his face in his hands as muffled cries and wracking sobs shook his body.

Lilly was at her twins side in an instant and she wrapped her brother in a tight embrace as he latched onto her as if she were a lifeline.

Lilly herself was in no better shape herself as she held her brother. Tears flowed from her eyes as she kept them clenched shut; he lip quivering as she wept with her brother.

Seeing their children like this prompted Natsu and Lucy, along with other members who were coming out of their shock, to look at the other kids.

Saito stood with his arms tightly crossed against his chest, his fingers dinging deep into the fabric of his jacket. His lower lip was sucked in slightly as his upper and lower canines bit into the soft flesh; a small drop of blood forming where each tooth met. He was trying and failing to stop the tears that slowly leaked out from underneath his sunglasses. He could feel the gazes of his mother and father staring at him with their disbelieving eyes. The young man lowered his head slightly…he couldn't bring himself to look at them.

Jenny had buried her face into her brother's chest as she leaned into him for support. Her tears were mixed ones if she was being honest. A small part of her was relieved that the truth they had kept from their parents for so long was finally revealed…but the rest of her was filled with sorrow as her grief overtook her. Sam gently ran the fingers of his hand through his sister's hair, much like he had done on the train ride back from Crocus, while his other hand held her close. He was glad Chiara was in the other room…he didn't want her to see her big brother and sister like this. Sam, like Saito, tried to fight his pain…but the tears that pooled in his eyes and froze to his cheeks proved that it was losing battle.

Senna, for all of her composed nature and stoicism, was having just as hard as time of the others. She was glad that she hadn't tied her hair up into its usual knot. Her aqua and crimson strands acted like the blinds of a window; hiding her face and the tears she freely let fall down her face as she silently held back choked sobs while her shoulders shook. She had defensively wrapped her arms around herself.

Words could not describe how the parents of said children felt at that exact moment in time.

Shock…disbelief…speechlessness…fear…

Those were just some of the words that came to mind.

"What-I mean…how?" Gray asked finally finding the courage to speak.

Igneel's sobs had started to die down but as he looked up at all those who were watching, tears still continued to spill from his now red eyes.

Surprisingly, it was Gildarts who managed to make his way through the crowd to the fallen mages. He gave Igneel and Lilly a small but sympathetic and concerned smile as he extended his hand out. Understanding the gesture, Igneel took Gildarts hand with his shaking one and slowly stood with his sister still holding onto him.

"Take it easy kid, you'll be alright." Gildarts said gently as he guided the siblings to an empty table and helped them sit down.

Once the two were settled, Gildarts crouched down so he could look at Igneel eye to eye.

"I want you to relax and take a deep breathe…can you do that for me please?"

Igneel did as he was told…albeit a little too quickly. He ended up choking on his own breathe as he tried to calm his nerves.

"Easy…" Gildarts repeated, "Easy."

Igneel nodded and repeated the motion. After doing so several times, the shaking in his shoulders ceased although the same didn't go for his hands. He still cried but silently, not caring if he was or wasn't anymore.

Gildarts gave another calming smile.

"Alright…now that you've settled down, I want you to tell us what's going on…why you're here in our time."

Igneel bit his lip and lowered his eyes.

Gildarts frowned slightly.

"It involves those mages doesn't it? The ones you fought in Crocus?"

Igneel and Lilly both nodded but didn't answer.

"Igneel…you seem to be the one with all the answers here." Gildarts said as he placed a hand on the younger boys shoulder, "Keeping silent isn't going to solve anything."

Igneel raised his eyes once more and looked Gildarts back in the eye. The S-Class mage was surprised by the pain that had filled Igneel's eyes…but he didn't show it.

"We need to know what's going on…you have to tell us."

Lilly squeezed her brothers arm closer to her as she closed her eyes tightly while resting her forehead on Igneel's shoulder.

"Please Igneel…we have a right to know."

Igneel swallowed hard.

"Please…start from the beginning."

After pausing for what seemed an eternity, Igneel looked at Lilly and gently kissed the top of her head. Lilly looked at her brother and a silent conversation passed between the two. After a moment, Lilly reluctantly nodded her head slightly and interlaced her fingers with her brothers.

Igneel closed his eyes, took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. He then turned and looked back at Gildarts.

Flexing his jaw, Igneel found his voice and drew up all the courage he could muster. He would need it for what he was about to say.

"Where do I even start?" Igneel finally said. He didn't bother raising his voice.

The Guild had become silent to the point where a pin could be heard if it were dropped outside.

"Where do I even start?" Igneel repeated as he removed his glasses and wiped his eyes. He didn't put them back on. He instead slowly turned the frames over and over again in his hands.

He then let his mind drift back to the day that haunted his every waking moment.

The day everything changed.

XXXX

The future…24 years from now… May 22nd, X815

"Man oh man, is it gorgeous out today or what!?" Kaito Strauss said as he raised his arms above his head and cracked his back.

The day was just starting to turn into the afternoon by the time Igneel Dragneel and Kaito Strauss returned from their mid-morning hike. The sky was a clear and vibrant blue and the sun casted brightly over Magnolia Town.

For May, this was exceptionally clear weather.

The young takeover mage and his best friend had just strolled back into town after leaving the East Forrest.

Kaito Strauss was tall and muscular for his age of seventeen years. He looked much like the way his father did when he was young but he took after his mother in regards to the wire frame glasses around his eyes and the occasional streak of chestnut brown that ran through his otherwise snow white hair.

The takeover mage wore a simple red muscle shirt that hugged his broad chest and shoulders while a pair of cargo pants adorned his legs. A pair of simple sandals completed the look.

Fifteen year old Igneel could only smile and nod at his friend's statement. Igneel wore his usual white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up at his elbows, but it was left open to reveal the red graphic tee he wore underneath. A pair of denim jeans and hiking boots completed his ensemble.

"I agree, it really did turn out nice today." Igneel said as he watched a flock of sparrows take off from a nearby tree. The duo were now passing through South Gate Park.

"And here we were told we we're going to get heavy rain; ha! What a load of crap; shows what those forecasters who stare at Lacrima all day know!"

Igneel chuckled.

"Can't argue with you there. Besides, if the weather holds out maybe we and the others can head down to the lake latter tonight for a bon fire or something like that."

Kaito grinned when he heard this.

"The lake eh? Admit it, you just want to see Senna in that new red bikini she just so happened to mention in our last conversation."

Igneel spluttered as he turned an impressive shade of embarrassed crimson.

"I-I-I do not!" Igneel protested.

"Bro, seriously, you don't have to act so surprised…she is your girlfriend after all." Kaito said with a sly smile.

Igneel paused.

"How…how did you know? We've…we've been trying to keep it a secret."

Kaito gave a pleasant smile as he locked his hands behind his head.

"Igneel, Senna's been eyeballing you ever since you two were thirteen and vice versa for you. You two were bound to get together sooner or later; hell, that was half the consensus amongst the Guild. But the thing is, they don't know that I know you two are already together. The Guild still thinks you two are just tiptoeing around each other."

Igneel swallowed slightly.

"When did you figure it out?"

Kaito gave a mischievous grin.

"When I just so happened to see the love bite on your wrist that you were working so hard to cover up that one day and when Senna would sit next to you, she would place her pinkie on yours."

Kaito did his best to stop his laughter as he watched Igneel turn an even darker shade of red.

"Relax man, relax. You're secret is safe with me. Besides I don't want have Senna use me for sword practice and see you get turned into paste by Aunt Erza and Uncle Jellal. I don't know who'd be worse out of the two."

Igneel slowly regained his composure and readjusted his glasses.

"Don't act so high and mighty yourself Kaito; at least I still haven't told anyone about you and Aria."

All the color drained from the takeover mages face as he stiffly turned his head to look at Igneel.

Igneel made a dark grin that would have made Natsu proud.

Time for a little payback.

"I don't know what's worse when I think about it. The fact that you two are hiding your relationship from not only Uncle Sting and Aunt Yukino, but Uncle Rouge as well, or…"

Igneel's eyes flashed wickedly.

"…the fact that you two have started sleeping together whenever you two just so happen to "cross paths" on a job. Is that what they call romantic dinners these days? I wonder who would snap your neck first; Uncle Sting or Aunt Yukino? You know how much Uncle Sting is protective of his daughter. And Uncle Rouge-"

Igneel let out a genuine shudder.

"-man I don't even want to dare think about him. The man is her Godfather, I can only shiver at what he would do if he found out."

It was now Kaito's turn to change from pale white to burning red.

Kaito pointed his finger at Igneel accusingly as he began to babble incoherently at his best friend.

"You really need to learn to not leave your bank statements out in the open dude," Igneel said as he crossed his arms triumphantly, "it can give people an interesting look into your personal life."

"Shut up!" Kaito said in defiance, "At least I've manned up and made it to home plate; how far have you and Senna gotten!?"

"That's not the point Kaito." Igneel said levelly.

"Oh yes it is; seeing as how you know about my love life, I'm entitled to know about yours!"

"What!? No you're not; we haven't done anything like that!"

"Or so you claim!"

"Kaito, dude, stop it; this is going nowhere!"

"Like your relationship!"

"What!?" Igneel said in exasperation, "That doesn't even make any damn sense!"

The two were about to go head to head…

…but were stopped when a tremendous amount of magical energy flooded their senses. It was something they had never felt before.

The magic was dark…very dark. It was like a great force was rapidly forcing them under water; the pressure from the darkness was almost suffocating…oppressing even.

Kaito and Igneel had dropped to their hands and knees as they panted for air while sweat seeped down their brows.

But just as quickly as the sensation had come, it had passed.

"What…what was that?" Kaito asked as he regained the feeling in his knees.

"I…don't know," Igneel said as he wiped his forehead, "but whatever it was, it can't be good. I think we should get to the Guild and see if anyone else felt that."

"Right." Kaito said as he helped Igneel to his feet.

Before the two could so much as turn in their desired direction, the sound of an explosion echoed throughout town.

"That was the market." Igneel said as a new sound reached his ears.

It was the sound of panicked screams.

Without speaking a word, Kaito and Igneel looked at each other, nodded in silent agreement, before bolting off to the market.

"Are we under attack!?" Igneel asked.

"No clue but whatever's going on, we have to contain it until the Guild responds!" Kaito replied.

The two were now running down Main Street as a steady flow of terrified civilians ran past. Many of them recognized Kaito and Igneel from Fairy Tail and therefor cleared a path for them so they could reach the scene as soon as possible.

"Get clear, get clear!" Igneel said as he waved his arm in shooing manner.

One more turn at the road up ahead and the market would be in sight. They could see a small plume of smoke rising from somewhere in the market district. The two mages however slid to a halt when something unspeakable happened in front of them.

Two civilians, both men, had just rounded the corner of the street that led to the market in what appeared to be obvious fear and panic.

"It's right behind us!" The one man cried out.

Before either Igneel or Kaito could call out to the two men, it seemed that whatever was chasing them had finally caught up.

What could best be described as a living shadow rounded the corner with fluid speed before pausing long enough to fire a spike made from hardened shadow into the first man. The spike practically lifted the man off his feet before nailing him to the wall of nearby building.

The second man suffered a far worse fate than that of his companion.

A tendril of living shadow slid out from the main shadow and wrapped itself around the second man's ankle, causing him to fall face first onto the cobblestone. The tendril yanked the man back before flipping him into the air with whiplash speed and slamming him back down onto the ground; the sound of breaking bones causing Kaito and Igneel to flinch. The man, though broken, was still alive as he was lifted upside down and hung before the shadow, almost as if he was being inspected like a piece of beef. Then, the man was tossed to the side like a piece of trash and into a nearby building. The violence of the action caused the man to die on impact.

The shadow then noticed the two Fairy Tail mages before its shape changed once again. Soon enough a person emerged and took form from the shadow. The person wore a cloak that covered most of their body while a hood covered their head only to leave the lower portion of their face revealed. From the shape of the face and the body beneath the cloak, it was obvious that the person was a woman.

The attacker cocked her head to the side slightly.

Igneel and Kaito took defensive stances and drew upon their magic.

The attacker in turn did something unexpected…her lips curled back into a fierce, manic grin that made a cold shiver run up Igneel's spine.

And then she attacked.

Shadows flew out from beneath the woman's cloak and darted for Igneel and Kaito.

Igneel quickly formed a hard light shield that easily deflected the attack while Kaito used his Beast Arm: Iron Bull spell to block the attack aimed at him with both his arms crossed across his chest. He was pushed back slightly due to the strike of the shadow, however.

The woman smirked as two shadow swords formed in her hands while she charged Igneel. Igneel formed a hard light sword and countered the strike as the blades locked together.

Igneel gritted his teeth as the woman pushed her blades against his.

"You're quick on your toes boy," the woman said as she still maintained her grin, "but not quick enough."

Igneel barely managed to dodge the shadow spike the sprung from the ground towards his stomach.

Igneel broke his attack and back flipped away, giving Kaito his opening to attack.

With an angered roar, Kaito pounded his fists into the street as the woman bobbed and weaved between his attacks. The cobblestone shattered and flew out of the ground as Kaito's fists connected with each strike.

The woman ducked beneath one of Kaito's swings before kicking the takeover mages feet out from under him. As the mage fell, the woman delivered a fierce kick to Kaito's cheekbone which sent Kaito rolling back end over end.

"Kaito!" Igneel called out.

Kaito wound up flat on his back but quickly recovered from the attack. His glasses weren't so lucky however. Sitting up with a menacing glare on his face, Kaito removed his glasses and wiped the blood from his cheek. Looking at the now ruined spectacles, Kaito tossed the lenses aside as he stood.

"Those were a gift from my Aunt Lisanna, you bitch." Kaito bit out.

The woman gave an indifferent smirk.

Kaito barred his teeth.

"Beast Arm: Iron Bull; Toro Strike!" Kaito said as the armor on his arms changed. The plating became thicker while his hand armor changed into large gauntlets that resembled an angry bull.

Kaito quickly charged forward and slammed both arms onto the street. The ground rippled and broke apart as the shockwave surged forward towards the woman. Before the attack could hit, the woman leaped high into the air and landed behind Kaito. Before Kaito could respond, the woman delivered a series of precise and devastating punches to Kaito's kidneys. The young mage fell to his knees in pain just as the woman pivoted on her heel, hooked her bent right leg around Kaito's neck and forcefully flipped him onto his back. Using her shadow magic, the woman delivered a punishing blow to Kaito's liver which caused him to cough up blood.

"Get away from him you psycho bitch!" Igneel roared.

The woman grinned once again and focused her attention on Igneel. The mage was prepared this time. Raising his hands, Igneel rapidly fired beams of light from at the woman. Said attacker easily dodged and weaved in between Igneel's blasts and even deflected one or two with her hands. Quickly charging up a mass of light in both his hands, Igneel combined both of his appendages together as a larger blast of light fired from his open palms. The attack seemed to work as the woman disappeared in the blast.

When the smoke cleared however, the woman was nowhere to be seen.

"The hell?" Igneel said as he scanned the area in front of him.

Where had she gone?

"IGNEEL LOOK OUT!" Kaito called out in a panic.

Following his friends terrified gaze, Igneel's head snapped to his upper right…and froze.

The woman had materialized out of the buildings shadow. In her one, raised hand, she clutched a solitary spear made of shadow.

The woman smirked.

"You're good boy, I'll give you that much…" The woman said.

She cocked her arm back and leveled her spear.

"…but not that good."

And with that, she launched her projectile at Igneel, who was too shocked and terrified to move.

XXXX

Other side of town…

"What in the hell was that?" Seventeen year old Jenny Fullbuster asked as she looked at her surroundings, trying to pin where the source of the mysterious and dark magic signature had come from.

"What was that Ane-san?" Three year old Chiara asked as she huddled against Juvia's chest.

Although she was still very young, the youngest child of Gray and Juvia Fullbuster was starting to show signs of being very sensitive to the magic of the world around her. She would, without a doubt, become a gifted mage one day.

Juvia gently kissed her daughters forehead to comfort her while Gray's shoulders began to tense slightly.

"Whatever it was, it can't be good. That magic's aura was very oppressing and it felt close. I think there's a Dark Mage somewhere in town."

"Then we should get to the Guild and see if everyone else sensed it too," Jenny added, "I think master Laxus will want to try to rally everyone before we go after whoever is in town; consolidate our numbers, so to speak."

"You're probably-"

Gray cut himself off as his head snapped over his shoulder while stomping his foot down onto the ground; hard.

A shield of ice erupted from the ground and just in the nick of time as it caught a medium sized spear dead in its flight.

Chiara let out a surprised scream as Jenny and Juvia involuntarily took a step back.

Gray let his ice barrier break apart as he glared at the top of a nearby building…where a woman stood with a bag of what appeared to be a multitude of spears slung over her back.

"Nice catch hot stuff," the woman said tauntingly, "think you can do that again?"

The woman drew another spear from her bag.

Gray unconsciously removed his jacket before tossing it aside as ice formed on his hands. Gray cracked his knuckles and then his neck.

"Jenny." Gray said in a low voice.

"Yes daddy!?" Jenny asked as she snapped out of her surprise, noting her father's tone.

"Take Chiara and head straight for the Guild; I don't want you two getting dragged into this."

Jenny gaped in surprise for a moment and made to protest but quickly realized that doing so would be pointless. Her father was right; she was skilled when it came to fighting but she was nowhere on par with her parents.

Jenny nodded and quickly taking Chiara into her arms. The little girl looked at her big sister and then at her mother as her brow began to knit in confusion.

"Mommy?" Chiara asked as fear began to creep slightly in her voice.

"Don't worry sweetie, mommy and daddy need to…handle that mean lady who tossed that sharp stick at us."

Jenny gave Chiara and Jenny a comforting smile.

"Jenny onee-chan is just going to watch you for a little bit until we get back, okay?"

Chiara could only nod.

Jenny gave her parents a quick, worried glance.

Juvia shook her head in a disarming manner while Gray made a small smile.

"Get going, this won't last long." Gray said confidently as he jerked his chin in the Guild's direction.

Jenny took a final look at her parent's, pulled Chiara closer to her, spun on her heel and ran off.

"Well now…isn't that cute." The dark mage said, catching Gray and Juvia's attention.

The two mages of Fairy Tail glared at the woman as Juvia joined her husband's side.

"Makes me sick." The woman continued, "Perhaps when I'm done with you two, I'll play game of tag with those two lovely girls of yours."

A wide and spine shivering grin split across the woman's face.

"And when I say tag, I mean nailing them to the ground with my spears." The woman said as she withdrew a second spear.

"You'll never get the chance." Gray hissed with venom in his voice.

Juvia's nostrils flared as her body quickly began to shake in anger. Nobody threatened her family, especially her daughters, and got away with it. Nobody.

"Is that a challenge?" The woman asked.

"More like a statement." Gray bit back.

The woman let out a brief cackle of laughter.

"Oh, this is going to be such a wonderful day!" she said gleefully as she leapt down from her perch.

And with that, the battle commenced.

XXXX

Fairy Tail Building, Main Hall…

A heated and worried buzz filled the Guild hall as the members of Fairy Tail tried to figure out what was going on outside.

At first, it had been a normal day as Mirajane Dreyar had tended to her patrons with the help of her daughters Selina and Kiri. Mira worked the bar while her daughters carried the orders to their respective consumer. Wendy would have helped out like she normally did, but seeing as how she was seven months pregnant with her and Romeo's first child, she didn't want to put any unwanted stress on the baby.

Things were normal as they always had been.

Today seemed like no exception.

That was…until the dark magic presence made itself known. Many of the Guild members had nearly collapsed form the intensity of the magic but were back on their feet the moment the presence was lifted.

Before a single question could be uttered, the sound of an explosion which was followed by another one, echoed from outside.

"What the hell is going on, are we under attack or something!?" Jet asked as helped Droy back on his feet.

"Whatever or whoever it is, we're going to stop it regardless." Laxus said, his voice catching everyone's attention.

Making sure everyone had their eyes on him, Laxus stood atop a table so he could see the Guild.

"I think it goes without saying that our home turf is now being imposed upon so I'll make this quick; we're going to go out in teams and help the townspeople while the rest of us find out what's happening. Once we find who's responsible for this, we are then going to sufficiently kick their ass into neck week to the point they won't even dare pull a stunt like this again."

Laxus's words brought a rallying cry from the Guild…all accept for one Lilly Dragneel.

While Laxus and Cana went about arranging teams and discussing an emergency triage, the young fire dragon slayer was anxiously looking about the Guild for her twin brother.

Turning to her parent's, Lilly asked the simple question that was on her mind.

"Where's Igneel?"

Natsu stopped mid battle cry as he heard his daughter's question. His brow quickly furrowed in concern as did Lucy's.

"I…I don't know." Natsu answered honestly.

"He went out for a hike with Kaito earlier and…" Lucy said before pausing. The implications of Lilly's question began to register in Lucy's mind as her eye's steadily widened in fear.

Lilly nervously wrung her hands together.

"They should have been back by now, they're never this late." Lilly said.

Lilly' words did not go unnoticed.

Elfman and Evergreen Strauss found themselves in the same situation when they quickly realized that their son had yet to return with Igneel. The two were always punctual and they made it point to let people know when and where they were going someplace.

"Do you think something happened?" Evergreen asked as she nervously looked at the front door.

Elfman gently pulled his wife closer to him, doing his best to hide his own nervousness.

"Don't worry now, Kaito's a tough guy; he'll be alright."

Sam Fullbuster turned to Saito Redfox, who was standing with his parents, as he nervously clenched his hands.

"My folks and sisters are still out there." Sam said.

Saito patted his best friend on the shoulder and looked at his parents.

"You think it would be alright if I went out and helped him look for his family?" Saito asked.

Gajeel frowned while Levy bit her lip in thought.

Before either could answer, another explosion from outside brought the situation back to everyone's attention. Saito frowned as he felt Sam tense up. Something didn't feel right about all of this. Something felt…wrong.

The Guild doors suddenly slammed open as Jenny came rushing inside with a visibly shaken Chiara in her arms.

"Jenny, Chiara!" Sam said and was at his sister's side in an instant.

"What's going on out there; are you two alright!?" Sam asked as he pulled his siblings into a tight hug.

Jenny set Chiara down on the floor who quickly latched on to Sam's leg in fear.

"We're fine but that's not important right now; mom and dad are fighting a dark mage near the center of town. They need help!"

Jenny took a deep breath of air.

"It's a nightmare out there…people are panicking…nobody knows what's going on…and…and I think there's more than one dark mage here in the town."

"What do you mean?" Senna Fernandes asked from her parents table.

"On our way here…I saw this man leaping from the rooftops and then another man in an armored suit right before he…he…"

Jenny wrapped her arms around herself as she began to shake.

"Dear Gods…with just that sword of his…all those people…"

Chiara let out a terrified whimper as Sam quickly knelt down to hold his baby sister.

"Did you see my brother; did you see Igneel!?" Lilly asked.

Jenny shook her head quickly.

"No, with everything that was happening outside…I…I wasn't really looking for people."

This information caused Lilly to cast a worried look at her parents.

"Mom…Dad?" Lilly asked pleadingly.

Natsu nodded as his featured hardened.

"Oi, Laxus!" Natsu called out.

"Yeah?" The current Guild Master of Fairy Tail asked.

"My son is out there, I'm going to go look for him." Natsu said. His tone left no room for argument.

"I'm going too, Kaito is still out there with Igneel." Elfman added.

Laxus looked over the two mages quickly before nodding.

"Understood, both of you go bring your boys back…but be careful. If what Jenny said is true then we have multiple hostile mages on our hands."

Before Natsu and Elfman could make a move however, the main door opened again. Turning to see who it was, a collective sigh of relief was let out as Igneel walked past the threshold.

"Igneel!" Lilly said in obvious relief as she quickly moved to meet her brother.

"We we're so worried about you, where…have…you…" Lilly's words quickly died on her lips as she neared her brother. Her hands snapped up to cover her mouth in horror as she suddenly got a better look at her twin.

His face and the front of his shirts…were covered in blood.

"Igneel!?" Lucy cried out in panic as she and Natsu rushed forward.

Igneel didn't answer. His eyes were wide and unfocused, as if he wasn't really seeing anything at all. His mouth was slightly agape as panted breathes escaped his lungs.

"Igneel, what happened; are you alright!?" Lucy asked as she gently shook her son's shoulders.

Giving Igneel a quick once over, Lucy was relieved to see that Igneel wasn't injured. There were no obvious cuts or wounds that would have produced the amount of blood Igneel was covered in.

Her son was alright.

…But then…if Igneel wasn't bleeding…

Lucy swallowed hard as she held Igneel's shoulders.

"Igneel," Lucy asked hesitantly, "whose blood is this?"

Igneel didn't respond.

"Igneel," Lucy asked a little more firmly, "Igneel, why are you covered in blood; what happened?"

The young mage didn't answer and instead, he numbly pushed past his mother and walked right up to the bar. Walking around to behind the counter, Igneel went to the small sink used to clean the dirty glasses and turned on the tap. He then cupped his hands under the cold running water and then splashed it on his face, not caring that his glasses were still on.

The water seemed to shake Igneel out of his shock as the blood on his face was wiped away with the water. He slowly watched the red tinted liquid drip from his chin and onto the metal of the sink.

Igneel suddenly gripped the edges of the sink as his body began to shake.

…The memory began to play out again in his mind's eye.

It was also then, that people began to notice that Igneel was alone.

"Where's Kaito, wasn't he with you?" Lilly asked as she looked at the front door and then her brother.

Igneel didn't answer. His head was hung low and his arms continued to shake.

"Igneel," Lucy asked as she approached her son, "where is Kaito?"

Walking behind the bar, Lucy gently placed a hand on her sons shoulder and frowned when he flinched at her touch.

Once again noticing the blood that had stained Igneel's clothes, Lucy's eye began to widen as her mind began to think in a direction she didn't want it to.

"Igneel," Lucy asked, the fear evident in her voice, "that blood…whose is it."

Igneel bit his lip.

"Oh no," Lucy thought as she brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes now widening, "oh no, oh Mavis, please no."

"Igneel, where's Kaito?" Evergreen asked as she approached the bar, her hands clinging together in stress.

A strangled gasp escaped Igneel's lips.

It was also then that Elfman had had enough.

"Where is he!?" Elfman yelled as he reached over the bar and lifted Igneel up off his feet by the collar of his shirt.

"Where's my son!?"

Igneel looked at Elfman as he weakly clutched at the older man's thick wrist. Tears began to flow from his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Igneel choked out, "Uncle Elfman I'm so sorry; there was nothing I could do!"

Elfman and Evergreen's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What…what are you saying?" Evergreen asked.

"Kaito…he…oh Mavis…I'm so sorry…" Igneel sobbed.

Evergreen let out a horrified gasp as what Igneel said began to register to her.

"…No." Evergreen whispered.

Elfman simply shook his head slowly in denial.

"No…you…you're lying."

"Kaito…he…he didn't make it." Igneel said as Elfman's grip loosened and dropped him to the floor.

"No…NO!" Evergreen screamed as her hands gripped her head and she collapsed to her knees. Freed and Bickslow were at their teammates side in an instant as they tried to comfort the now distraught mother.

"You're lying…YOU'RE LYING!" Elfman roared in defiance.

Igneel could only shake his head in shame as he lowered his eyes. He couldn't look Elfman in the eyes.

"He…he died protecting me," Igneel continued as he clenched his eyes shut, "we were attacked and he…he pushed me out of the way.

The memory would forever be burned into his mind's eye.

"IGNEEL LOOK OUT!" Kaito called out in a panic.

Following his friends terrified gaze, Igneel's head snapped to his upper right…and froze.

The woman had materialized out of the buildings shadow. In her one, raised hand, she clutched a solitary spear made of shadow.

The woman smirked.

"You're good boy, I'll give you that much…" The woman said.

She cocked her arm back and leveled her spear.

"…but not that good."

And with that, she launched her projectile at Igneel, who was too shocked and terrified to move.

Time seemed to slow for the light casting mage. He couldn't bring himself to move. Why the hell couldn't he move!?

The spear was quickly closing in; he was going to die!

So why the hell couldn't he move!?

Suddenly, Igneel found himself tossed back and knocked onto his haunches as a powerful hand slammed against his chest and shoved him back.

Igneel could only gape in shock and horror as he watched Kaito throw himself in front of Igneel in order to protect his best friend. The takeover mage had somehow forced himself to his feet and dashed forward to Igneel.

As soon as Igneel landed, the spear hit Kaito.

The shadow weapon easily sliced through the left side of Kaito's neck which immediately caused dark red blood to quickly spray forth from the open wound, while the spear landed in front of Igneel just a couple of inches from his left foot. The force from the cutting blow caused Kaito to turn around as his eyes closed in pain; a silent scream ripping forth from his mouth.

Igneel felt something warm and wet splash over his face and chest and was barley aware that it was Kaito's blood that was doing so.

Regaining his senses, Igneel could only watch in unparalleled horror as Kaito fell to his knees while his hands reached up to grip his neck. Blood quickly seeped in between Kaito's fingers as they latched onto the wound, applying what pressure they could to vainly stop the bleeding.

"KAITO NO!" Igneel screamed.

"Igneel…run." Kaito said weekly as his voice gurgled out past the blood filling his mouth.

"Get…out…here…run."

Igneel clambered forward and called upon his healing magic.

"No, I'm not leaving you!" Igneel said as he brought his hands to Kaito's neck…only for him to be pushed away.

"No…run…I'll…be fine," Kaito whispered with labored gasps as blood leaked past his lips, "She'll…kill…too…run…home."

Kaito gave Igneel another shove with his bloodied hand.

"Go!" Kaito hissed.

Tears spilled past Igneel's eyes as he crawled back before stumbling to his feet and beginning to run as fast as he could.

"Go…go…" Kaito whispered once more as he watched his best friend retreat through the red haze that filled his achingly slow fading vision.

"Live." Kaito said.

"Oh dear, it appears I missed." A female voice said, causing a shocked expression to form on Kaito's face. He didn't need to turn around in order to know who was behind him.

"You're loyalty to your friends is well placed, I admire that. As a personal favor, I'll make this quick."

Kaito felt the woman place her hand on his back, right behind his heart.

"Mom…Dad…Aria…everyone…" was the last thing Kaito Strauss thought as a concentrated beam of pure shadow energy blasted a perfectly shaped hole through his heart.

Kaito let out a final, strangled gasp as his world ceased to exist. His arms instantly fell to his sides while his eyes rolled upwards.

He then fell forward, never to rise again.

And all the while, Igneel had looked back at his best friend while panicked, pained cries escaped his mouth.

He had to get back home, he had to get to the Guild.

Which is where he was now.

"I'm sorry," Igneel sobbed, "I'm so sorry."

The shock proved to be too much for Elfman. The giant of a man fell to his knees as tears streamed down his petrified countenance; his complexion swiftly becoming pale.

"Kaito…"Elfman whispered as his hands shook, his voice still disbelieving, "Kaito…"

Evergreen's body convulsed as her pained sobs wracked her body. Freed and Bickslow's comforting arms could do nothing to ease her pain.

Lucy had wrapped her arms around Igneel and cried with her son as he recounted the death of his best friend. Senna had quickly joined her boyfriend mere seconds after recounting the traumatic event.

There wasn't a dry eye in all of Fairy Tail.

Especially when it came to the other kids. Kaito had been a part of their small group ever since they were babies and toddlers. He had done everything with them and vice versa.

"Someone is going to die…" Elfman said heatedly through gritted teeth, "SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE!"

"Elfman," Laxus said calmly albeit with a saddened tone, "…Elfman, you need to calm down and-"

"Calm down!? CALM DOWN!?" The takeover mage yelled as he rose to his feet

"MY SON IS DEAD AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN!? FUCK YOU!"

"Elfman-nee, please you have to calm down, Kaito wouldn't want to see you like this and-"

Mirajane never finished her sentence. Not when a massive explosion of concentrated shadow energy blasted the front half of the Guild Hall to pieces.

The pressure blast had come first and was followed by the initial explosion then destroyed the frame and stone work, leaving a ragged and gaping hole in what used to be the front of Fairy Tail.

Anyone near the front of the building was killed instantly or simply disappeared in the blast. Among the casualties were Macao Conbolt, Wakaba Mine, Laki Olietta and Max Alors.

Smoke filled what was left of the interior.

Dazed and confused, many of the mages tried to regain their orientation. As their senses returned, one of the first to stand was young Kiri Dreyar as she clutched her head as it throbbed in pain.

"What…what happened?" Kiri asked as tried to look for her family.

"Mom…Dad…Selina…where ar-"

Something flew out of the smoke at blinding speed. Kiri never had time to react.

The spear punched right through her chest and took her with it as it nailed her to the wall. She had been killed instantly.

"KIRI!" Mira and Selina screamed in horror while Laxus felt his body freeze in place.

"Bulls eye!" A triumphant voice proclaimed as a woman carrying a set of spears in her hands walked in past the rubble.

"Man that was so much easier than those last two mages." The attacker said as she drew another spear.

"Oh no..." Jenny whispered in panic as she held Chiara protectively close to her. Luckily for the two of them, Sam had sensed the imminent explosion at the last second and had threw up a wall of ice to protect him, his sisters, and anyone else behind him. It was the same woman who attacked her parents. Did that mean they were…they were…

With tears running down her face, Selina slowly turned on her knees to look wide eyed at the spear user.

"You killed Kiri," Selina said in a detached voice as she rose to her feet, "you killed her."

Magic suddenly enveloped Selina in a vortex of pure energy. Selina's eyes glowed a deadly red.

"YOU KILLED MY BABY SISTER YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Selina screeched as she charged forward in a blind rage to the attacker.

"Selina!" Laxus yelled.

Selina let out a roar of fury as her takeover magic began to form to her body. Before she could land a single blow, she was suddenly stopped when and jet black, armored mage appeared in front of her…and punched a forearm blade through her chest.

"NO!" Mira and Jenny screamed.

Selina could only weakly struggle against the arm lodged into her chest. It was only then that people noticed what exactly this newcomer was.

"Dragon Skin!?" Gajeel and Saito said in disbelief.

The dragon skinned attacker slowly raised their free hand to clutch the spot where Selina's throat met her jaw. And with a quick snap of the wrist, Selina's neck was broken. The attacker retracted their arm blade and let Selina's body fall to the floor.

Mirajane let out a scream of pure agony. The sight of losing both her daughters was too much to bear. Her Satan Soul instantly took form and she attempted to tackle both the spear user and dragon skin user outside. A high pitched and visible sound wave knocked her back however as another dark mage stepped past the rubble and onto the main floor. Another blast of sound echoed forward and sent the remaining mages scattering as the sound tore one of the still standing walls apart.

Cracking his neck the mage took a quick look of his surroundings before kneeling down in front of a collapsed support beam.

Trapped beneath it, was Romeo Conbolt.

Romeo tried in vain to push the large wooden beam off oh his legs while also reaching out to Wendy who was also pinned beneath some rubble. The Sky Dragon Slayer weakly stretched out her hand to her mate but found it to be a vain effort.

The sound mage suddenly grabbed Romeo's head snapping his head to face him gripping him by the ears. A high pitched warble soon emitted from the mages hands and Romeo froze as his body began to violently convulse. Blood began to seep forth from Romeo's eyes, nose, mouth and ears as the sound magic tore him apart from the inside. With a final jerking spasm, the sound mage released Romeo who promptly fell back to the floor; dead.

Wendy let out pained and horrified scream as she desperately reached out to Romeo.

"ROMEO!" Wendy screamed, "ROME-"

Wendy's words died on her lips when a sword blade pierced her heart through her back. Wendy let out a strangled gasp before her head fell forward. Standing above her, atop the rubble pile was a mage adorned in heavy armor and wielding a large broadsword. The swordsman removed his blade before ramming it through the rubble and back into Wendy, killing her unborn baby.

"Hey that was my kill!" The sound mage protested as he pointed an accusing finger at the swordsman.

Said mage removed his sword and shook the blood off of it.

"You would have made this woman suffer," the swordsman said, his voice possessing a metallic ring thanks to his mask, "and the same goes for her child."

"So? It's not like you haven't killed your fair share of brats and women before?" The sound mage countered.

"I make it a point to grant those that I kill a quick and painless death. Compared to what you do, I give people mercy killings."

"Mercy killings? How on Earthland did you wind up in our group?" The spear mage said as she lazily twirled a spear in her hand.

A sudden roar of anger caught the dark mages attention but not soon enough as multiple bolts of lightning were fired from Laxus's fists. The leader of Fairy Tail coursed with electrical energy, his eyes having turned white while scale like patterns formed on his exposed skin.

A series of bolts hit the swordsman, sending him flying back the way he came and the sound mage was forced to follow in retreat.

Mira had recovered from her previous attack and successfully grabbed the dragon skin and spear mages by their throats and choke slammed them outside.

"Out; everybody out!" Laxus yelled as he used his lightning to blast an escape opening in the side of the Guild.

"Get out of here; go!" The dragon slayer yelled before running off to join his wife.

"You heard Laxus, let's go!" Cana said as she ushered the remaining Guild members outside.

"Where too!?" Gajeel asked.

"Anywhere but here." Cana said.

"What about Laxus and Mira!?" Lucy cried out.

"They can handle themselves, just keep moving."

The remaining members of Fairy Tail filled through the opening Laxus had created and the last to leave were Senna, Lucy and Igneel.

Senna had just crossed the opening when Igneel saw something out of his peripheral vision to the right; it was a shadow, a living, moving shadow.

And out of that shadow emerged the upper half of the same woman who had attacked him. The same woman that had killed Kaito.

The woman grinned from ear to ear as she raised her hand.

"Found you boy." The woman said as a whip like tendril of shadow sprung forth from the woman's hand. Rather than target Igneel, the tendril was aimed at the people in front of him; his mother and Senna.

Time slowed as Igneel made a split second decision.

Pushing himself forward, Igneel pulled his arms back and violently shoved them forward. This action in turn caused Senna to quickly stumble forward and collide with Lucy, the two women finding themselves knocked to the ground. The quickly turned around to see what or rather, who had knocked them down.

The whole series of event had taken less than three seconds.

Igneel had taken the place of the two mages…but had no time to prepare for what happened next.

Searing white hot pain ripped through Igneel's body as the shadow whip cut deeply into the flesh of his back and right shoulder. The whip in turn spun Igneel around and continued to cut into his skin and muscle as it ripped across his left pectoral, stomach and hip.

Blood flew and splashed across Senna and Lucy's faces.

Igneel let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony as he collapsed to his back, writhing in pain as he rapidly began to bleed out.

"IGNEEL!" Lucy shrieked in horror as she scrambled over to her son.

"Lucy, get down!" Natsu yelled out.

Lucy did so without hesitation as she covered her son's body with hers.

"Fire Dragon's Roar" Natsu bellowed and the jet of flame spewed forth and over Lucy. The woman who attacked Igneel had retreated back into her shadow and disappeared before the attack could hit and envelope her in flames.

As soon as the attack had passed, Lucy was back up as she frantically placed her hands on Igneel's torn chest in an effort to stop the bleeding. Lucy began to hyperventilate.

Blood…there was so much blood.

Her son…her baby boy was bleeding to death.

"Help, somebody help!" Natsu called out.

Jenny, having seen Igneel fall, was at his side as both Natsu and Senna gripped Igneel's trembling hands as he gasped rapidly in pain.

"Not good, he's going into shock." Jenny said aloud as she quickly examined her friend's wounds. It was a clean cut but it was deep.

Jenny bit her lip in worry.

"I don't have time to do a proper healing spell, a rough patch will have to do until we have more time."

"Just save my son." Lucy said.

Jenny nodded and let two orbs of water from around her hands. Placing her fingers into Ingeel's wound, the water filled the deep laceration from his hip to his back. The water glowed then flared once and then twice.

The wound had healed but it was just a temporary seal to prevent blood loss and stop Igneel from going into shock. With his pain subsided for now, Igneel began to drift in and out of consciousness. Natsu hefted his son's right arm over his shoulder while Lucy took the right and dragged Igneel along as they quickly caught up with the others.

"Where are we going Cana!?" Lisanna asked, "We can't leave the Mira-nee and Laxus behind."

"My parents are still out there what about them?" Sam asked as he carried a visibly frightened Chiara in his arms.

"Edge of town," Cana said, "we'll head there and plan a counter assault."

"Oh really now!?" A voice called out.

The remaining mages of Fairy Tail looked to a nearby rooftop to see that one of the dark mages, the one with the spears, had caught up with them.

"Leaving so soon?" The mage asked as she sighted in on Cana. Tossing up a spear from her pack, the mage hurled the bladed object with blinding speed at Fairy Tail's second in command.

Cana made to draw her cards while Gildart's moved to protect his daughter. But the spear was closing in fast…or was until the object was cut in two by what looked like a…blade of water?

"Huh?" The spear user asked in confusion before noticing a single drop of water hover in front of her…which was followed by another…ant then another.

Looking down, the mage was taken aback when she saw water quickly seeping through the cracks of the stone tile she was standing on.

"Water Force: Dragon's Tempest!" A voice called out.

The roof began to shake.

"Oh shit…" the dark mage said before she disappeared in the water vortex that had taken the shape of a water dragon. The water magic carried the dark mage off as it careened into buildings and back down the street.

"That attack…" Sam said.

"Mommy!" Chiara called out as Juvia ran out of a nearby alleyway and up to the group. Her clothes were torn and she was covered in a series of deep, bleeding cuts.

"Mom!" Sam and Jenny said in unison before running up and hugging their mother, an action which Juvia quickly returned.

"Oh thank Mavis, I was so worried about you three," Juvia said as she pulled back to look at her children, "are you three alright; are you hurt?"

"No," Jenny said, "we're shaken up but fine."

Juvia let out a sigh of relief…before wincing and clasping her side. Jenny looked at where her mother was clutching her hand.

"Mom, you're bleeding!" Jenny said as she watched a darkening stain from beneath Juvia's hand.

Juvia winced again but shook her head.

"Don't worry about me, it's not that bad." Juvia said trying to ward off her daughters fears.

"Damn it…that bitch must have gotten me in her last attack." Juvia thought.

"Uhm mom…where's dad?" Sam asked noting Gray's absence.

Juvia froze. Sam noticed this and he felt his heart beat pick up…and not in the good way.

"Mom where's dad?" Sam asked again, a little more urgently.

"You're father…you're father's fine, don't worry." Juvia said with an attempt to change her tone.

Sam wasn't convinced and he made to argue but Juvia silence him with a look. She then let out another pained gasp.

"Mom, please, let me help you." Jenny said in panic.

"No…I'm fine…honestly."

Juvia took a deep breathe.

"My attack…my attack won't hold her off forever and I doubt she will just sit back and let me attack her again. She'll want revenge for what I pulled on her and will try to come after you three. That's why I want you to get out of here and find someplace to hide until I come and get you; understood?"

"But mom-" Jenny and Sam tried to argue.

"Understood?" Juvia said more firmly in a tone that left no more room for further argument.

The brother and sister instantly closed their jaws and could only solemnly nod.

"Lucy," Juvia said, catching said woman's attention, "can you make sure my children find a safe place to hide?"

Lucy and Juvia locked eyes in what appeared to be silent conversation. Lucy finally nodded.

"Of course Juvia, you know I will."

"Good." Juvia said with a small smile as she took her children into a small hug.

"No matter what happens, you three look after each other, okay?"

Jenny and Sam stiffly nodded while Chiara stared at her mother with a confused look.

"Sam, I want you to take good care of your sisters until I find you, okay?"

"Okay." Sam said as he tried to fight the tears forming at his eyes.

Juvia smiled again and kissed her sons forehead before doing the same to Jenny and Chiara.

"Chiara, sweetie, I want you to listen to your brother and sister while mommy goes to fight the mean lady."

Chiara could only nod.

"That's my girl." Juvia said before giving her youngest another kiss on the forehead.

The sound of an explosion and a dragon roaring broke the moment. Juvia looked over her shoulder and then back to her children.

"I have to go now." Juvia said before turning around and beginning to run, her hand still clutching her side.

"Remember what I said, get going!" Juvia called out.

Jenny couldn't stifle the pained cry that broke past her lips as Sam numbly began to lead her and Chiara back to the main group.

"Mommy?" Chiara called out as she watched her mother run down the street.

Juvia didn't look back.

"Mommy!?" Chiara called out again as she attempted to reach out to her mother.

Juvia heard her daughters pained cries but forced herself to push forward. She had to…for her sake, the sake of her other children and for her Guild.

Even if it meant making a terrible sacrifice.

"Don't worry Gray-sama," Juvia said with a labored breathe and pained smile, "I'm right behind you."

XXXX

The group soon reached the edge of town, worse for the wear.

The sound of Mirajane and Laxus's fight followed them along with the terrified cries of Magnolia's citizens. The matter was only further more complicated by the fact that Igneel's wound had opened up again.

Natsu and Lucy carefully laid their son down and let Jenny run another healing spell over the opened wound.

"Son of a bitch that hurts." Igneel said through gritted teeth.

"This isn't good, the spell isn't having time to properly set in. At this rate he'll just keep bleeding out again and again."

Igneel grunted again and Lucy took her sons hand into both of hers.

"What are we going to do?" Lilly asked aloud.

"I…I don't know." Cana said as she looked around at the group.

"There are only so many of us left…and those dark mages were able to go head to head with Laxus and Mira…we're…we're way over our heads in this." Cana thought.

It was then that a blast of lighting from Laxus's Roaring Thunder spell arced into the air which was followed by a pained cry that echoed throughout the town.

Cana bit her lip as she took another look at her Guild mates…the kids in particular. A desperate plan began to form in her head.

Steeling her resolve, Cana called Natsu, Lucy, Jellal, Erza, Gajeel and Levy over to her. When the mages huddled around her, Cana told them her idea.

"No, absolutely not." Erza said.

"You can't be serious?" Levy asked as she clutched Gajeel's arm.

"We've been backed into a corner; we're out of options." Cana said.

"There's always a way," Natsu seethed, "there is always a way."

"Not, this time Natsu." Cana said.

"We can't just leave them like this." Lucy protested.

"What would you rather have me do? Tell them to stay here and get caught in the reprisal attack or let them have a chance at getting away?" Cana asked before looking at her close friends.

"I…I don't like it any more than you do…but we're out of options."

Natsu's hands shook as he pulled Lucy close to him. The Celestial Spirit mage rested her head against her husband's chest and let out a choked sob.

The other's had similar reactions.

"Mavis forgive us." Jellal whispered as he held Erza's hand.

"Saito is going to hate us." Levy whispered.

Gajeel placed a solemn but comforting hand on Levy's shoulder.

"I would rather have him live and hate us than not live at all." Gajeel said.

Levy could only nod softly at her husband's words.

"It has to be done." Cana said.

The parent's nodded and turned to face their children. Lucy removed a sterling silver key form her belt while Natsu removed a blue diamond key from his trouser pocket.

The two mates extended their arms and reconnected their shared Celestial Spirit Key.

"Open gate of the Celestial Paladin!" they said in unison.

Night appeared in a flash of light before bowing to both Natsu and Lucy.

"What is thy bidding my masters?" The Celestial Paladin asked.

"Knight, we need you to teleport the kids out of here; as far as you can go." Lucy said.

"What!?" Igneel croaked as the other kids looked at Lucy in shock.

"No, we're staying with you!" Lilly said.

"What gives; Mom, Dad, you're kidding right?" Saito said as he looked at Gajeel and Levy.

"…Right?" Saito asked but paused when his parents didn't answer him.

"May I inquire as to why?" Knight asked.

"We're under attack by some seriously powerful dark mages. We don't want the kids getting caught up in this." Natsu said.

"And we need you to protect them while we handle the situation." Erza said.

Knight cocked his head slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Is that wise?" Knight asked, "I can easily teleport them away and be back here to assist you in no time…I feel I would be of better use on the front line."

"No," Lucy said, "If anything happens to us, you're the only one who can protect them. This a direct order Knight…don't argue with me on this." Lucy said firmly.

Knight stiffened slightly before giving a low bow of his head.

"As you command."

Lucy gave a sad smile before taking Natsu's key and her own and holding them out to the armored mage.

"These are for Igneel and Lilly…in case anything should happen to us."

Knight tentatively took the keys before placing them in a slot in his armor.

"I understand, Lucy."

Knight said before walking over to the kids. He then withdrew his sword and plunged the tip into the ground as a magic circle formed beneath the small group.

"What…no, Knight stop it!" Lilly pleaded.

"I cannot." The celestial spirit replied.

Lilly then looked to her mother and father.

"Mom…dad…please…" Lilly said as tears streamed from her eyes.

Natsu and Lucy approached their daughter and took her into a gentle embrace.

"Please…" Lilly croaked.

Natsu kissed the top of his daughters head and gently ran his fingers through her hair, while Lucy mimicked the motion as well.

"We're sorry…but this is for the best. We don't want you getting dragged into this." Lucy said as she and Natsu pulled back.

"The risk is too great."

Lilly could only whimper as she sank to her knees. She felt someone grip her hand and looked to see it was Igneel doing so.

With tears of his own, Igneel gave his sister the best reassuring smile that he could muster despite his condition. Natsu bent down and gave his son a gentle squeeze on his uninjured shoulder.

"Everything will be alright…we'll have this taken care of in no time." Natsu said as he and Lucy stepped out of the circle.

"Natsu is right," Levy said as she pulled back from hugging her son, "when this is all over with, we'll find you and get you back home."

"Promise?" Saito asked.

"Have we ever broken one?" Gajeel asked sardonically.

"I choose not to answer that." Saito said making himself and his parents laugh more to alleviate their fear if anything.

"We'll be right behind you…don't be afraid." Jellal said as he kissed Senna's forehead.

"Who…who says I am." Senna protested.

"It's in your eyes," Erza said before smiling softly, "and…I am too believe it or not."

Erza then unhooked her Katana from her belt and presented it to Senna.

"Take this." Erza said.

Senna gaped openly at her mother.

"What…why? That's your sword."

"If anything happens, you'll need it more than I will…besides, it's not like I can't just conjure up a thousand more if need be."

Senna saw the logic in her mother's response and hesitated before she took the katana.

With that action, the parents stepped away from their children as the teleportation circle began to glow brightly. The kids huddled closer together.

Knight looked back over his shoulder at Lucy, who in turn gave a curt nod. Knight returned the gesture, removed his sword till it was high above his head and plunged it back into the ground. There was a bright flash of light and when it faded, the kids were gone.

Cana let out a sad sigh before looking at the rest of her Guild.

"C'mon everyone," Cana drew her cards, "let's show these assholes who they're messing with."

A battle cry went up from the remaining mages and Natsu punched his fist into his closed hand.

"I'm all fired up." Natsu said with his trade mark grin.

And with that, the mages of Fairy Tail summoned their magic and their courage as they ran off to face their attackers.

XXXX

Minutes later…

All was quiet on a small hilltop that over looked the town of Magnolia. From the view the hill offered, the chaos that went on in Magnolia seemed far away. That was, until a circle of light formed in the center of the hill. With a bright flash of light, the kids reappeared as they softly landed on the thick grass.

No one dared speak. And for a few minutes, that's the way things were. But nothing lasts forever.

"They're going to be alright right?" Saito asked as he looked at his friends for answers.

"I'm mean…our parents are some of the strongest mages in our Guild…they can stop those guys right?"

"I am…uncertain." Knight answered as he knelt by Igneel. It wasn't the response Saito had wanted to hear.

Igneel let out a pained gasp as Lilly focused more of her healing magic onto his wound. For some reason the damn thing didn't want to stay healed.

"Ani-san," Chiara said looking up at Sam, "where's mommy? Where's daddy?" The little girl asked.

"I…I don't know." It was the only answer Sam could give his sister as he watched the battle back in town pick up intensity.

Explosions echoed, smoke began to rise and buildings crumbled apart. It was a scene that seemed befitting of a horror novel.

"They'll be alright," Lilly whispered to herself, "they'll be alright."

All of the sudden, the fighting stopped. Even though they were a considerable distance from town, the dark magic energy could be felt by the kids.

"Something's wrong." Knight muttered as he gripped his sword tighter.

A small dark purple sphere began to materialize over the center of Magnolia Town.

"What…what is that?" Senna asked.

The sphere, although small, began to generate massive amounts of dark energy to the point where it became visible and surrounded the sphere in a violent vortex. A large and heavy gust of wind fanned out from beneath the sphere and across the town and land. The gust was powerful enough that it almost rocked Knight back on his heels.

"What in the-" Lilly began to ask…but was cut off when the sphere suddenly disappeared in a flash of light and was accompanied by the deafening roar of an explosion. The blast wave hit the hill the kids were on first. No matter where they were standing, each member of the small group was knocked down by the blast. Chiara screamed as Sam clutched her close while Lilly and Senna shielded Igneel. Knight crouched in front of Saito, Lilly, Igneel and Senna with his shield lowered to protect them.

Then they saw it.

The shockwave…as it barreled down upon them. Trees were knocked over and rocks were crushed as the massive wall of dirt and debris raced towards the hill.

"INCOMING!" Knight yelled, "BRACE, BRACE!"

Sam threw up a wall of ice to protect him and his sisters while Saito summoned his Dragon Skin and covered Senna with his body. Knight grabbed Lilly and lowered himself before…

"Igneel!?" Knight yelled when he noticed the light caster was no longer laying down.

Igneel had forced himself to his knees and had his arms outstretched before him.

"Light…Magic…Shield." Igneel grunted as blood seeped from his laceration.

A barrier of light formed in front of the group right as the shockwave hit. The noise was ear splitting and the ground shook beneath their feet.

"C'mon, hold…hold…" Igneel hissed in pain and concentration.

But the strain in his body was too much. His arms shook and the shield began to buckle and crack.

"…Damn it…" was the last thing Igneel said as his shield shattered…and darkness enveloped his world.

XXXX

Igneel didn't know how long he had been knocked out, but when he opened his eyes and blinked away the haze, the sun still indicated that it was midday. Grunting in pain, Igneel pushed himself off, pushing off the tree branches that covered his torn clothes. Igneel winced and clutched his chest, feeling the warmth of his blood smear against his palm.

Igneel then looked at his surroundings. He had been blown right down the back of the hill…there was debris everywhere ranging from toppled trees to uprooted ground.

"Guys…"Igneel called out before coughing, "guys!?"

A pile of rubble began to shake before a slab of rock was forcefully kicked away.

"What the hell was that?" Saito asked as he coughed away some dust. He then helped Senna up from the rubble.

A pile of damaged tree trunks were cut away be series of ice shards and water whips as Sam and Jenny cut their way out of their burial spot.

"I-is everyone alright?" Lilly asked after Knight dug himself out of a layer of dirt. Lilly was thankful that Knight's shield bordered on indestructible.

"I…I think so." Igneel said as he winced before looking to the sky once more. He paused when he saw a series of dark, smoky clouds fill the sky. Since when had those been there? Following the clouds, Igneel was soon greeted by a large, mushroom shaped plume of smoke that stretched high into the sky…staining it like the way ink does to water.

Swallowing hard, Igneel slowly rose to his feet and trekked back up the hill.

"Igneel, wait." Lilly said, but her brother didn't hear her.

Igneel was aware of how uncomfortably quiet it was. There was only the hollow rustling of the wind. It was only a pretext for what was to come.

Slowly, if ever so slowly, Igneel reached the top of the hill. And what he saw made him collapse to his knees.

Devastation. Pure devastation. That was all Igneel saw.

The forests surrounding Magnolia had been flattened. Nothing was left standing.

But worst of all was the town itself.

From the center of the large crater that was rapidly filling with water is where the mushroom plume of smoke rose in conjunction along with smaller fires caused by broken gas lines or electrical fires.

Igneel couldn't see the Guild hall, his home or any recognizable structure.

Everything was gone…just…gone.

Magnolia Town, had literally been wiped off the map.

It was too much for Igneel to bear. His hands slowly rose up and tightly clutched his head as tears slowly streamed down his face.

"No…no…no…" Igneel whispered, his voice going hoarse.

A sound, much like the sound a wounded animal makes when it's in pain, slowly warbled up from Igneel's chest.

And it was that sound that Igneel used to voice his anguish as he let out a long cry of terror.

XXXX

Now; Present Day….

Igneel let out a deflated sigh as he paused from telling his tale.

He wasn't immune to the stunned and horrified silence around him. Looking up, Igneel wasn't surprised to see that Gildarts had taken a few steps back from him and was leaning against the bar counter.

Lilly continued to silently cry against her brother's shoulder.

Igneel continued to look around the Guild; slowly.

His parents, starred at him with wide eyes and slack jaws in shock as they held each other close. Having heard how her future daughters died so tragically and suddenly, Mirajane had broken down in tears and was being comforted by an equally terrified Laxus. The same applied for Elfman and Evergreen.

Wendy had passed out and was being held by a very pale looking Romeo.

As for the rest of the Guild, there wasn't a dry eye in sight.

"W-w-what…what happened next?" Makarov asked albeit hesitantly.

Igneel sighed and withdrew the small pack of cigarettes Lilly had out earlier. Placing a cancer stick in his mouth, Igneel used his light magic to light it.

Taking a long drag, Igneel exhaled through his nose.

"We…we were in shock…we had no idea what to do or where to go. We just…stayed put. Knight went down into what remained of town in search of survivors."

Igneel looked at the ceiling with a detached look in his eyes.

"He found none."

Igneel took another drag.

"Nothing remained. Our homes, the Guild; everything. Everything had been wiped out by the shadow bomb. Knight looked for hour after hour…but only came back with two scorched diaries…a silver necklace…a torn piece of blue cloth…and nothing else. He couldn't find any bodies. There was too much rubble…or they had simply been destroyed in the blast."

Another drag, another exhale of smoke.

"That was all that remained. Just those four items…two books of memories from my mother…Sam's necklace that belonged to his father…and a piece of my mother's torn skirt. Just enough to make a bandana for my sister."

Igneel leaned back. And slowly closed his eyes massaging his forehead.

"Those photos…" Gajeel said, looking at Saito, "Never Forget?"

Saito didn't even bother to look surprised. He tapped the spot in his jacket where his three photos were and nodded once; his tears still slowly leaking from beneath his sunglasses.

"We stayed close to home…or what was left of it for three days," Igneel continued, "until we were found by a reaction team of mages sent from different Guilds consisting of Uncle Sting, Uncle Rouge, and Aunt Millianna, Aunt Kagura, Uncle Lyon and Miss Chelia. They took us in and vowed to protect us. We were forced to leave our home behind."

Igneel let out a deep and tired sigh.

"Only…the nightmare had just begun. Shortly after we were attacked, the Exceed living in their own part of the world were targeted. Happy, Carla and Lily happened to be there visiting and were just getting the news about Magnolia, along with the rest of Fiore, when they were attacked."

Igneel shook his head.

"There were no survivors."

Happy let out a startled whimper and Carla looked ready to pass out.

"It only gets worse. Soon the other Guilds came under attack. First it Quatro Cerberus and then it was Mermaid Heel. One by one the Guilds across Fiore were attacked. And over the course of six months, they were wiped out. What remained of those Guilds joined up with Uncle Sting and Sabertooth; we banded together and went into hiding. With the Guilds out of the way, the dark mages who attacked us then launched an all-out assault on Crocus. Within a day, the monarchy had been toppled and the city was left in ruins. Only princess Fiore managed to escape. We found her two days after the attack and took her into our care.

"With Fiore in shambles, the Dark mages turned to the other countries. It didn't matter where they went; towns burned, cities fell, and innocent people were slaughtered."

Igneel doused his cigarette against the hell of his shoe.

"Over the course of two years, our world as we knew it, had come to an end. Law and order broke down and those dark mages used it to their advantage. They'd stir up chaos and then finished off what was left of the survivors. As for our group…we were always on the move from place to place, never staying put for long. But it didn't matter. In the end, those mages would find a way to catch up with us and…"

Igneel paused before resting his head in his open palms.

"We lost so many people. By the time the second year had begun, our group of fifty had been whittled down to twenty. Only Uncle Sting, Princess Fiore and Aunt Millianna remained out of the people we really knew. Everyone else had sacrificed themselves to protect us. And the ironic thing is…we never figured out why those dark mages were doing this."

Igneel casted a sad, sidelong glance at the side room where Chiara and Asuka had been ushered away to.

"Uncle Lyon died protecting Chiara…the event was so horrible that I was forced to wipe most of Chiara's memory of the past two years away."

Juvia gasped slightly, upon hearing this.

"You…you mean..."

"Yes…Chiara has no memory of Uncle Lyon dying or about losing you. She thinks we were all on a long camping trip to get away from the bad guys while you and Uncle Gray fought them off. But…something will trigger her suppressed memory every now and then. Make her remember things I wish she couldn't."

"That would explain why she reacted the way she did with Lyon," Juvia thought, "seeing him…must have triggered the memory of him…of him…"

Juvia gasped as the image of Chiara watching the countless deaths of people flashed in her mind's eye.

"And…and I wasn't there to protect her." Juvia thought in horror.

"How…how is any of this possible!?" Makarov asked, "Who are these Mages and how did they cause so much damage so quickly!?"

Igneel's eyes hardened dangerously.

"Their names are Aya Higurashi, Wraith, Shriek, Talon and Thorn. Their group goes by no name; they don't need one. Higurashi is the leader; she uses shadow magic. Wraith is her companion and uses sword magic. Shriek uses sound magic, Talon can manipulate spears and Thorn possesses Dragon Skin. And they were able to cause so much pain and suffering because of this…"

Igneel withdrew the Time Key from his necklace.

"The Master Key; the last Time Manipulation Magic Key in existence. Whoever unlocks its secrets can use the ebb and flow of time as however they see fit. At some point in the future, while we were growing up, Aya found the Master Key and used it to move about time to increase her and her group's magical abilities to the point where they would be almost unstoppable. The only thing standing in their way from truly harnessing this power were the Guilds of Fiore. So in order to achieve their goals, they eliminated anything or anyone who would prove a hindrance. And they started with Fairy Tail; the strongest magic Guild in all of Fiore."

Igneel slowly twirled the key in his hands.

"It was this actually that alerted us to Time magic…and how we could use it to fight back. We Wraith open a small time portal to travel to another side of the country in our last engagement. Princess Fiore recognized the magic and guided our group back to Crocus. Thankfully some of the old archives were still intact. From there we learned about time magic and how to use it. After a month of preparation and planning, and the usage of one of my mother's diaries to check the date and time, we successfully created a one way time gate that would take us back to this part of time; back before Aya and her crew became so powerful. We were chosen because we were the first Guild to be hit…therefore we should be the ones to finish the fight. To avenge all who died…and save the future."

Igneel paused.

"Uncle Sting gave a simple order, "Go back and kill them. Make sure they can never harm anyone again. Worry about getting home when all is said and done," and that's what we intend to do."

A new silence permeated the Guild.

"What about Sting and Millianna?" Erza asked as she sat next to Senna, doing her best to comfort her daughter.

"…I honestly don't know. They said they would find someplace to hide until the damage was undone and time was fixed. But knowing them…they probably were found out by Aya and her team. They're probably making their last stand as we speak."

Erza cringed at hearing this.

"Why didn't you tell us this when you first got here?" Natsu asked heatedly, "Why the secrecy when we could have been fighting these guys from the begging."

Igneel glared at his father.

"Would you have believed us? Would you believe that your children from the future had jumped through time to save the future by killing a group of dark mages?"

Natsu paused midway through an answer he conjured up. Ingeel was right, Natsu realized. The idea would be so farfetched that no one would believe them.

"We needed to build trust…to let you get to know us before we revealed the truth to you all. But I guess things don't always go according to plan…do they?"

Igneel asked with a sad smirk.

"Besides," Igneel added, "can you blame us for wanting to see our dead parents again…to just spend some lost time and get reacquainted?"

A guilty look crossed Natsu's face. The thought of his children wanting to see him alive and well never occurred to him.

There was another long pause.

"What…what happens now?" Lucy asked.

Igneel straightened up as did Lilly and the other kids. Their tears had been shed and in turn had been replaced by determination and subtle anger.

"We do what we set out to do; we find Aya Higurashi and her team…and kill them."

Igneel removed his glasses so everyone could see the fire that burned in his eyes.

"We will find them, or they will come to us…and when that time comes, we will make them pay for all that they have done with their lives."

Igneel slowly rose to his feet.

"We will save the future…no matter the cost."

XXXX

In an unknown location…

Aya Higurashi glared at the vanity mirror that was situated in her room of the castle.

So close, Aya thought.

She had been so very, very close to achieving her goal…only for it to be ripped away by a bunch of teenagers!

Aya let out snarl of fury and drove her fist through her mirror, shattering it.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Aya screamed.

"To be humiliated like that when victory was within my grasp!" Aya seethed.

It was unbelievable.

It was unforgiveable.

It was unacceptable.

Aya barred her teeth in gritted anger.

"Just you wait boy…when I find you, I will make you, your friends, and that accursed Guild of yours pay for this insolence."

Aya channeled her shadow magic into her wounds, healing them as she did so.

"Mark my words."

"Having trouble are we?" A voice suddenly said, startling Aya out of her thoughts.

Aya spun around to see a cloaked figure standing in the back corner of her room.

"Who are you!? How did you get in here!?" Aya said as she formed a shadow sword.

The cloaked intruder raised a hand in a disarming fashion.

"Relax, I mean you no harm. I am merely here to assist your efforts."

Aya scoffed.

"I don't need your help…how do you even know about my plans? How could you possibly begin to understand?"

The cloaked figure took a step forward from the shadow.

"Let's just say that I have a…unique perspective on these things." The intruder said as they lowered their hood.

Aya gasped and took a step back in surprise.

"You!" Aya whispered.

XXXX

A/N: Well everyone, there you have it. The truth behind the kids past (or future…depending on how you see it) has been revealed.

From here on out, things will start to pick up and get a little more than bumpy for the kids and their parents along with the rest of Fairy Tail.

Santa Maria Madre de Dios, this was another long one! 38 Pages is how long this chapter was; I broke my old record by a page!

Like I said before, I'm sorry about the delay but hopefully the length of this chapter has made up for it. I expect things to get pretty hectic before finals so I will try to get the next chapter uploaded by next week or the week after; maybe before finals week.

I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see how things play out. I do encourage you to be patient and sit tight; I'll do my best to reward you for your perseverance with my hectic social/college life.

Next Time; CHAPTER 18: The Attack

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter.

Once again; thank you for your patience.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING!