"Would you quit complaining?" Gray huffed, placing a glare in Natu's direction. "No one can help that the weather is shit."

"We can go on a job tomorrow, Natsu. I've got to pay my rent soon anyways," Lucy consoled, stretching her arms over her head and sighing. "Besides, it's nice to have a relaxing day once in a while, don't you think?"

"I guess," Natsu moped, his head squished against the bar's top in front of Mira who watched him with a sympathetic expression. "But it's been raining for days, I wanna punch something! Gray!" Gray rolled his eyes and huffed again, slinging an arm around Juvia's shoulders.

"Not today, flame-brain. We're heading out." He gestured to his blue haired girlfriend who nodded with a smile. Everyone was still getting used to the fact that Juvia and Gray were finally together, but it was a good thing. After all, Gajeel and Levy were about to have Shutora and Yaje, and everyone had grown over the years, gotten older. It didn't surprise Lucy that their friends were starting to settle down.

And then there was Natsu who was now pouting like a sullen child.

"Me too," Erza replied, a brush gliding through her long red hair. "Don't cause any trouble, Natsu. Everyone deserves a day or so of doing nothing so don't go and cause chaos." Erza gave Natsu a hard stare and he just sighed.

"We'll be back a bit later!" Juvia called from the guild's door, an umbrella already propped between her and Gray.

"Give Jellal our best," Mira chimed in as Erza followed after the pair, her face turning as red as her hair. "It's quite obvious where you're off to." She giggled from behind the bar as Erza grimaced behind her blush. Lucy joined in with Mira's laughter, and waved to Erza as she left.

"It's nice to see them finally getting some time together, don't you think?" Mira mused as Lucy sipped her morning tea.

"Yeah, they deserve it after everything." Lucy agreed, setting her cup down carefully and sent a sidelong glance at Natsu who seemed like he didn't care in the slightest about the conversation the two girls were having. "Hey, where's Happy?" Lucy had just noticed that the little ball of fur wasn't floating around their heads.

"With Wendy and Carla, where else? The traitor." Natsu grumbled into his arm and Lucy stifled a giggle.

"My, you'd think it was Valentine's Day with all the love that's been flowing through the guild.

"I guess so," Lucy pondered; she had noticed how more people were spending time together. Elfman and Evergreen were definitely a couple, but they would fight anyone who said so, even when they were found in a compromising situation, by Bickslow, in a storage closet. Gajeel and Levy were having breakfast at one of the tables near the bar; Gajeel was fluffing a pillow for Levy's back, even though she was already surrounded by them. Her belly was about to pop any day now, so she had been advised by Porlyusica to stay at the guild or in the girl's dorm, even though she and Gajeel lived together, so she would be close to the infirmary when she went into labor. Gajeel hadn't left her side since, or really at all since he found out Levy was pregnant. Lucy thought it was adorable how he doted on her, and Levy undoubtedly deserved it. They would be a lovely family and Lucy couldn't wait to meet the twins when they finally blessed the guild.

"Lu...cy... He-llo..?" Natsu was poking her arm, pulling her back from her thoughts. She quickly flicked his hand away, causing his pout to deepen, and Lucy rolled her eyes. Mira just smirked, but Lucy was more focused on why Natsu was wailing at her.

"What?"

"I've been trying to talk to you for, like, ten minutes." Natsu sat up straighter and crossed his arms over his chest, still not losing the pout of dejection.

"I'm ever so sorry, Natsu. What is it that you need?" Lucy responded in a sickly sweet voice causing Natsu to frown and Mira to giggle.

"I was asking if you had food at your apartment." Natsu stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Lucy supposed it was. Natsu was always hungry.

"What's wrong with the food here?" Lucy pointed out and Natsu stretched an arm across his chest and sighed.

"Not as good as yours," He replied simply and Lucy rolled her eyes, though she could feel the heat of a blush on her cheeks.

"Are you just asking me if I'll make you food?" Lucy sighed and Natsu grinned his megawatt smile at her that she couldn't help but contain her own behind her hand.

"Fine! You're so obnoxious. But do not make a mess of my apartment!" Lucy warned and Natsu leapt up excitedly.

"Alright! I'm all fired up!" He cheered and bounded towards the exit.

"You're just going to eat!" Lucy cried exasperatedly after him, "Wait! Please grab an umbrella, I do not need you traipsing water all through the house!"

"You two have fun, Lucy." Mira smiled, her eyes sparkling with mischief as Lucy chased after Natsu who had elected to ignore her comment about an umbrella.

"What do you want to eat?" Lucy called from the kitchen to where Natsu lay sprawled on her couch. It wasn't necessarily an abnormal occurrence that Lucy was cooking him food. At least twice a week, if not more, Natsu would claim that the guild's food didn't taste good and he wanted to eat at her apartment. Lucy didn't mind, that much, and of course Natsu was more than happy to make his own food, but he nearly burnt down her apartment one time, without even using his own magic. So, Lucy had taken over making meals. She had come to actually really liking cooking for someone other than herself for once. She was able to try new recipes because, no matter if they came out perfect or subpar, Natsu would eat it without complaint. She, of course, would cook for Happy too, but they had been seeing less and less of him since he had been spending more time with Carla lately.

"Ooh! What about that spicy chicken you made that one week?" Natsu shot up, an excited grinned plastered on his face. "Man, that was so good!"

"Oh, with the cajun spices?" Lucy grinned to herself as she gathered the ingredients. "Sure."

"Do you have any pie left from Monday?"

"Somehow, yes. I don't know how you and Happy didn't inhale it yet, but it's in the fridge." Lucy gestured to the refrigerator with the tongs she was using to flip chicken breast in seasoning. Natsu shot up and dug out the pumpkin pie she had baked earlier in the week.

"I would say you'll ruin your lunch if you eat that, but you won't," Lucy sighed and shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. Natsu dug in happily and Lucy busied herself with making their food.

It didn't take long after Lucy finished cooking that Natsu has also inhaled their lunch, and Lucy tried to savor hers, but Natsu managed to steal a few bites of her own food. They were cleaning up the kitchen; Natsu always helped clean up which made her not mind cooking all that much more, when Happy burst in as a chaotic ball of blue fur.

"You guys!" Happy gasped causing Lucy jump and make the bowl she was scrubbing clatter into the sink. "Come quick!"

"What's wrong?" Natsu demanded, on full alert, fists clenched while Lucy clutched her chest, still near a heart attack after the fright.

"What for? Is someone hurt?" Lucy felt as panicked as Happy looked. He vigorously shook his furry head and Natsu cocked his head to one side in concern.

"Then what happened?"

"These weird kids showed up at the guild! They won't let anyone know who they are, but they want everyone there." Happy explained and Lucy felt beyond puzzled.

"Kids? A-are they threatening people?" Lucy stammered trying to get a hold on the situation as she gathered her things to leave and follow Natsu and Happy back to the guild.

"No, not so far. They just asked for the guild to be there. They said they can't say who they are, but a couple of them asked specifically for you and Natsu."

"Hmm..." Lucy rested her chin in her hand as she walked, deep in thought. "That's weird. Maybe they're hoping that if everyone is there they can persuade us to let them join? How old are they?"

"Kids...?" Natsu muttered, lost in his own thought.

"Dunno, but the two oldest look like they may be twelve or thirteen? They look like they're twins. The rest are younger, I think." Happy replied as they steadily made their way to the guild.

Lucy was at a loss, she couldn't drum up any clue on what a bunch of kids would be doing at the guild hall. The only kids that were ever there were Romeo, Wendy, and Asuka, it wasn't in Makarov's interest to let children join for their own safety. The closer they got to Fairy Tail, the more Lucy felt apprehensive. Something felt strange about the whole situation. Why won't they tell us who they are...?

As the guild came into view, Natsu all but flung himself through the doors. He had been strangely quiet their whole walk over, but granted the guild wasn't far from Lucy's apartment.

"Alright, what's goin' on?" Natsu called to the group gathered in the center of the guild hall.

"Took you two long enough." Gray replied, those his voice held an edge to it and his eyes never drifted from the center of the group everyone was in.

"What's going on here?" Lucy scurried after Natsu, standing close to where Levy was, rubbing her belly. When Lucy flicked her gaze to Levy, her eyes looked glassed over and were wide open, staring at what Lucy had yet to see. "What in Earthland..."

"I-I'm glad everyone is here now..." A new voice Lucy had never heard before spoke up, and the group shifted enough so Natsu and Lucy could be part of the makeshift circle. There, standing in the center, was a motley group of kids. Happy was right, the two eldest looking ones did look strikingly similar, a boy and a girl, both had grayish-blue hair. Then, there was a slightly younger, quieter boy with bright red hair who seemed to not want to be in the guild. Next to them was a boy, though younger than the twins and the red headed boy, but he seemed to be the next oldest along with another girl. The boy stood strong with blonde, almost unruly hair and an oddly familiar stare. His brows were drawn down in an almost serious glare, but a hint of mischief played behind his green eyes. The girl next to him had light blue hair, and she stood timidly with her hands clasped behind her back. Finally, the youngest of them all was a girl, no more than five or six, with light pink hair and big, bright brown eyes. A devious grin was on her face and Lucy couldn't help but feel a pull towards her and the blonde haired boy.

"S-something is weird here," Natsu stammered, he actually stammered and Lucy stared up at him bug eyed. When the little girl with pink hair saw him, she looked at him so excitedly, as if she was going to cry out. But before she could utter anything, the blonde haired boy hushed her quickly and whispered a few words to her to which she nodded somberly.

"You're right," Gajeel agreed for once with Natsu, his eyes wide as he stared down the children. A look seemed to pass between the two dragon slayers and Lucy watched as Natsu shook his head ever so slightly, his green eyes remaining wide, and his nose twitching. They smell something.

Seeing this interaction, Lucy studied the children harder and came to the realization that all of them felt familiar which was completely impossible since she had never seen them before in her life. But something within her quivered; they had magic power, she could feel it, but it's like she had encountered it before. It was a lesser force of magic that she already knew.

"Lu-" Levy nudged her, but was cut short when the girl in the set of twins spoke up and Lucy realized that she had been the one to speak when she, Natsu, and Happy had arrived.

"Thank you for, uh, coming so quickly..." She began and her brother nodded to her.

"We're sorry to intrude, but we need your help." He finished, the boy's dark eyes sweeping the group before them.

"We don't even know who you are." Gray pointed out as he swallowed hard. This caused the girl with the light blue hair to flinch as if he had struck her, and tears began to well in her eyes.

"Hey, Bri, it's alright, it'll be okay." The blonde haired boy stood in front of her, his hand on her shoulder as he whispered consoling words to her. Lucy felt a pang in her chest at the sight. Who are these precious children?

"Y-you're right," The girl spoke up again. She seemed shy, but there was an air of confidence to her that Lucy didn't miss. "Partly." Lucy was so lost in thought that she nearly missed the end of her sentence.

"What does that mean, partly?" Erza demanded and the red headed boy snapped his head up at her voice. Over his right eye was a large patch that Lucy hadn't noticed before, and she hoped that he was alright.

"May I say something?" The red head rose, his voice was cool and reserved, and he seemed to surprise the other children by speaking up.

"Do not blow this..." The twin boy grit his teeth and whispered out threateningly; it seemed he had a bit of a temper.

"W-where is... Jellal?" He asked quietly, his eyes cast to the ground. Erza nearly choked at the boy's words, her face turning as red as her hair.

"I, um... H-he's not part of this guild." Erza stammered, confusion lacing her words.

"But you... H-he's... You're Erza. But you're Erza!" He exclaimed, the one eye uncovered shone with panic.

"Yes," Erza composed herself enough to kneel down in front of the boy who was now near hysterics.

"We already told you he wouldn't be here." The twin boy rolled his eyes, but his sister sent him a death glare that rivaled Gajeel's.

"Yes, I am Erza and Jellal is a friend of ours, but he's not here right now." Erza smiled tentatively at the boy, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But worry not, he's fine. He visits Fairy Tail sometimes and... and he lives with me," A collective gasp could be heard around the guild and Lucy's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

"Since the hell when?" Gray scoffed and Juvia cast him a wide eyed look, gesturing to the kids. Erza just glared in his direction, her face a bright flush, but she continued.

"He's on a mission right now, but I can assure you he's perfectly fine." The boy nodded and wiped his eye while Erza pat his head. Lucy didn't miss how he seemed to lean in to her touch, but the moment was quickly over as Erza stood up and the red headed boy went back to being stoic.

"As we were saying, we need your help."

"And what help is it that you need, exactly?" Gajeel's gruff voice questioned authoritatively. The sound of his voice seemed to even rattle the twins as the started up at him and glanced at Levy at his side, her hands on her large belly.

"W-we..." The eldest boy began, but he couldn't take his eyes off the pair and Levy's pregnant stomach.

"We need help getting back to our own time," His sister finished quickly and Lucy heard herself audibly gasp.

"You're own time?" Lucy shifted forward in front of Natsu who still seemed jarred by whatever he and Gajeel had figured out. The blonde haired boy blushed as he grasped the youngest girl's hand to keep her in place by his side. They both looked like they were trying their best to stay silent.

"S-something happened, in our own time... And you all are the ones that we thought may be our best hope." The twin girl responded.

"Okay," Levy shifted her weight, "What kind of magic was it?"

"It was a book," The girl smiled ruefully, "I believe you may be the best chance, m- uh, Levy." Her brother scowled at her, but nodded.

"And there's one more thing," Her brother added, "We need to get back before... Before you have your, uh, babies." He cast a bashful glance down at the floor and Levy and Gajeel exchanged a look.

"Er, any particular reason?" Levy asked, a small laugh escaping her lips.

"There's a reason why we can't tell you who we are," The eldest girl replied.

"But if you figure it out, it seems that it shouldn't hinder us getting back to the.. The future." Her brother finished and Lucy felt her blood run icy. Figure out who they are?