"He is so cute!"
"Absolutely adorable!"

"He's so precious."

"You must be so proud."

"You guys made such a beautiful baby!"

Everyone in the Guild was swarming around Lucy as she held the now seven week years old Ryu in her arms, sucking on his pacifier. The little baby boy was looking on in wonder at so many people that were surrounding him and his mother. He was not used to this many eyes surrounding him and he wasn't sure what to think of it. All the girls were making a giant fuss of him, calling him cute and more, while the guys were busy congratulating Natsu for finally becoming a real man. The Guild was even more lively than it usually is but no one really seemed to mind.

"Lu-Chan, he is just so cute!" Levy cooed, playing with one of Ryu's little feet and squealed in delight when she saw the baby laugh in amusement.

"He'll be a real heartbreaker when he grows up," Cana said with an amused smirk in Natsu's direction. "That is, as long as her inherited his mother's smarts. If he is anything like his father Fairy Tail will be waiting for another couple to get together for years just like we did." her words caused everyone to laugh, making Natsu pout.

"Well excuse me for not understanding stupid dating customs. Igneel taught me much more important things." he mumbled under his breath, putting an arm around Lucy's shoulder and looking down at his son. "Still, I guess if he gets Lucy's brain I wouldn't complain. It just means he can think of even cooler ways to use his fire."

"His fire?" Lisanna looked at the proud father with confusion. "What do you mean his fire?"

"I'll show you" Lucky flew over to Ryu, pulling the pacifier out of the baby's mouth, making his eyes start to water and letting all know that he was about to cry, but Lucky quickly flapped his wings in front of the little boy's face and flew away.

Ryu scrunched up his nose and sneezed out a ball of fire, causing everyone besides his parents to scream in shock. "Well it explains the heartburn." Lucy said weakly, putting the pacifier back in her son's mouth before he started crying. The baby happily sucked on his pacifier, glad to have the amusing device back.

"Yep, he's a natural just like his father." Natsu glowed with pride as he spoke, showing off his own fire magic.

However no one was listening to him.

"I am so sorry for you, Lucy." Gray put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe we should have gotten her fire extinguisher instead of baby toys." Elfman added in.

"They'll be homeless in a matter of months if Natsu trains him." Wakaba joked next.

"I can hear you!" Natsu cried, pushing away all the negative people away from his family. "They'll all against me, I swear." he pouted, crossing his arms and glaring at his so-called friends that were saying such mean things about him.

Lucy saw his pout but could only laugh at the look on his face. "Relax, they'll only joking," she let her head rest on his shoulder and smiled up at him. "It's just their way of showing how happy they are for us."

Natsu smiled next, putting his one arm around her waist. "Yeah, you're right." he rested his chin on her head and with his free hand played a small game of tug of war with his son. Ryu grabbed his father's finger and tried to pull it to him, enjoying the game that was going on between him and his father.

"Awww! So cute!" The entire Guild cooed at the sight, little pink hearts in their eyes at the cute moment that they were witnessing.

"They're not going to stop, are they?" Lucy gave a weak laugh.

Natsu just shook his head. "Nope." not that he really minded. He liked that so many people were there to celebrate the birth of his son. It was all Fairy Tail had been doing for the past couple of weeks, they prepared the entire Guild to celebrate Ryu's birth while Lucy rested at home with her newborn.

"We can't help it," Mirajane came skipping over, a stuffed toy dragon in her hands. "We'll just so happy for you guys. You're new parents with a precious baby boy, we can't help but express ourselves!" she cooed, eyes shining when she saw Ryu take the dragon she had given him and placed it inside his mouth to suck on that instead of the pacifier.

"I see you've already taught your kid to love Dragons." Gray came over to stare down at the new Dragon Slayer.

Natsu just grinned, "Of course! After all his grandfather is an actual Dragon so why shouldn't he love them."

"That reminds me," Lucy looked up at Natsu with a sweet smile. "I wanted to ask you something important."

"Sure, what is it?" he asked, wondering what she wanted to ask him.

Lucy took a moment to answer, thinking over what she was going to say. "I was wondering if it would be ok to visit my parents?" she asked softly, noticing how their friends had moved away to give them room to talk. This was a touchy subject with Lucy so they knew she didn't everyone crowding her. "I had promised mama that if I ever had a family of my own I wanted to introduce them to her, so I was wondering if we could go and visit them?" she was a little unsure about his reply. Taking their new baby on a trip could be dangerous and Natsu was pretty protective of them both, so she wasn't sure what he would say.

"Well sure," she was surprised that he answered her so quick. A bright grin on his face as always as he spoke. "Why didn't you say so in first place? I'm sure your parents are just dying to meet Ryu."

"Not the best choice of words, Natsu." Gray reminded the fire mage that his wife's parents were both dead.

Natsu froze when he realized what he had just said. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I was just-!"

Lucy waved it off, not bothered by it. "It's fine. I'm just glad that you want to go." she was being honest. She was very happy that he wanted to go with her to visit her parents.

"Of course I want too. They're my family now too and it's my duty as a new family member to pay my respects to my in-laws!" he told her, patting Ryu on the head and smiled when the little baby reached for his hand to play some more. "See, even Ryu agrees."

Lucy looked at both boys in her life and smiled brightly at them. "I'm glad to hear it." she kissed them both on the cheek and laughed when she saw the same goofy grin appear on both their faces.

"Then we'll leave tomorrow!" he announced, throwing a fist in the air and was already planning their adventure in his head.

Lucy saw this look and smiled, "Tomorrow it is," brown eyes traveled down to stare at the young baby boy in her arms. The same color eyes as hers stared right back, looking very amused at the funny faces he saw his father making. "Mama, Papa, soon you'll get to meet your first grandson." she was so excited that she couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.

On second thought Lucy was starting to wish that this day had never come at all. Right now she was sitting on the train with Natsu sitting right next to her, fighting to keep the food he had eaten earlier in his stomach and it looked like Ryu was having the same problem. The little baby in her arms kept whining and making a fuss no matter how hard she tried to calm him. "Yet another trait he got from Natsu." it was almost scary how much their son resembled his father.

There was another reason why she was not pleased with how this day was going.

"Man, you are such a loser."

"Lucy if you like I can knock Natsu out if that would help."

"I'm sorry, but my Troia won't work on two people at once."

Gray, Erza, and Wendy had all decided to join them on the trip to visit her parents graves and like every mission she had been on things were loud and annoying.

"Oh, shut up." Natsu groaned, trying to keep from vomiting all over the floor. He hated how he had to take the damn train, the trip wasn't that far but with the baby they couldn't risk it to walk so he had agreed to ride the train for his son's sake.

"Poor Ryu," Wendy looked sadly at the baby across from her and saw the upset look he was wearing. "It looks like he doesn't like transportation either."

"It seems he inherited more from his father then we thought." Charle said from her seat on Wendy's lap. She, Happy, and their son Lucky had also decided to join everyone on this trip.

"Yes, it seems so." Lucy shifted Ryu in her arms, trying to get him comfortable but so long as the train was moving the little baby in her arms wouldn't be happy.

"Poor guy," Natsu moved his head to rest on Lucy's shoulder. "I know how he feels. I ain't ever letting him ride anything unless absolutely necessary." he said, trying to sound serious but it wasn't having any real effect with his cheeks puffed out, trying to keep the vomit down.

Lucy looked at both the boys in her life and felt so bad for them. She wanted to do something that could help them. With a deep breath she started humming a soft tune, a sweet little lullaby that her mother had once sang to her whenever she was feeling ill. It had worked for her as a child and she hoped it would work for her son as well. Thankfully it did. Ryu listened to his mother's soft voice, calming his mind enough to forget the sick feeling he had and fell asleep soon after his mother had started to sing. Light snores could be heard from him just as loud snored could be heard from his father, who like his son, had fallen asleep soon after hearing Lucy sing.

"Looks like Lucy has the right touch." Gray said with a wide grin. He was proud of how mature she had become over the few months she had become a wife and mother. He was impressed with her process and had no doubts that she would make the best mother/wife for the ones she loved.

"Yes, it seems she does." Erza smiled softly, also impressed with her friend. She had adapted to her role as a new mother and wife very well and that had impressed the scarlet-haired woman very much. She had promised to help protect the new family but it seemed like they were doing just fine on their own.

"Mama Lucy is a nice mama!" Lucky exclaimed, flying up to his human mother and rested on her the top of her head to take a quick nap himself.

"Looks like everyone is in agreement." Gray said and the remaining members that were still awake all agreed with a hearty laugh. It had been a while since they just got to sit back and enjoy spending time together as a group of friends.

"Mama, Papa, I have someone I want you to meet," Lucy had walked over to the two graves that held her parents and showed Ryu to both. "This is my son, his name is Ryu Satu Dragneel." she spoke softly, watching as her son stared with interest at the two graves. He wasn't making a fuss or crying or any of his usual antics when he's in a new place. It almost seemed like he knew who his mother was introducing him too, almost as if he knew these two deceased humans were his grandparents.

"Yep, he's a proud member of Fairy Tail just like his parents," Natsu came to join her by the graves, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Sorry if I never got to meet either of you properly but I'm Natsu Dragneel. Lucy is my wife and Ryu is my son and I fire swear to both of you that I will always protect them and love them." he gave a brilliant grin to the two graves and for a moment as the wind blew by it sounded almost as if he received a reply back.

"I swear the same," Lucy announced, smiling proudly at her parent's graves. "I'm very happy right now, I have a family and friends that I love very much and I promise to keep them safe and happy to the best of my abilities." she made this vow on her parent's graves, she would never break this promise and she knew the same would be with Natsu. They would both love each other for eternity as well as love their children just the same. "Bye Mama, Papa, I'll see you both soon." she waved goodbye to her deceased parents and walked away with her son and husband. Natsu putting an arm around her waist and Ryu snuggling closer to her chest, both boys seemed to know she was sadden by visiting her deceased parents and both were trying to cheer her up. "They really are so much alike." she looked from her son to her husband and back at the road in front of her. Ryu was so much like Natsu, she really had given birth to his mini version and secretly she was glad for that. If he really was just like his father then it just meant that Lucy had nothing to worry about. He would have a bright and wonderful future, one filled with smiles, happy memories, and so much more.

"This was nice," Natsu pulled her closer, a wide grin on his face as they walked back to their friends. "I finally got to meet your parents." he held a childlike smile on his face, making her giggle.

"I think you and my parents would have gotten along very well." she leaned her head on his shoulder, remembering the few happy moments that she had experienced when her mother was still alive and her father who was a very kind man that during the time with his wife. Back then he was a man that cared more for his family than his work.

"I'm sure I would have," he kissed the side of her head, nuzzling his nose into her hair. "I know you're worried about us but don't worry, Luce. Our children's lives will be different from both of ours." his words surprised her. She had been thinking a lot about of how she had grown up and there was a slight fear in her that her son would grow up the way she had. Of course she knew Natsu was nothing like her father but at one point her father had been a smiling man before he turned into a business tycoon.

"I have faith in Natsu. He is someone I know that will never change." She knew deep down that her fears were strange but she didn't need to worry. Natsu had matured as he became a father and a husband but he was still the same carefree, loving, goofy, and special guy that made everything in life seem so much brighter.

"I know you're worried, I am too," he stopped them from walking, putting his free hand on his son's head and gave the largest grin anyone has ever seen on his face. "I want to do whatever I can for our family so don't worry. I'm not gonna let anything happen!" his smile told her that his words were true. He would keep their family happy, forever.

"And when he screws up we'll be there to help you out." the couple turned around to see a smirking Gray coming up to them with Erza, Wendy, Happy, Charle, and Lucky following close behind.

"Stupid popsicle." Natsu grumbled, glaring in annoyance at the ice mage that just ruined a good moment.

"What Gray means to say is that we are here to help whenever you guys need it." Erza added, sending a quick glare towards the dark-haired boy, saying she did not approve of his words from earlier.

"Well isn't this a sappy moment." they all turned around to find Gajeel and Pantherlily coming towards them. "I finally finish my damn mission and now I'm being forced to watch some stupid lovey-dovey moment." he scoffed, one hand clenching his bag over his shoulder and the other shoved into his pants pocket.

"So this is where you disappeared to?" Gray commented on the iron man's whereabouts. He had been missing for a few weeks and no one really knew where he had disappeared too.

Gajeel just shrugged, "I'm not really into the whole family special moments so I left long enough for all the celebration to calm down." he grumbled, looking away from Lucy and her new baby.

Erza grinned, "It sounds almost as if you are embarrassed." she sent him an amused look and they all nearly lost it when his eyes grew wide with a flabbergasted look on his face.

"Why the hell would I be embarrassed?" He cried loudly, cheeks turning a light shade of pink and another scoff escaped his mouth. "I don't give a damn about the kid so why should I care what happens?"

"You may not care but we do." The group of friends turned quickly around to find two strange men in black cloaks standing a few feet away from them, a strange look in their eyes. "We want the child so if you could please hand him over it would make our lives a lot easier." they each held out their hands for Ryu to handed over to them, acting as if the request the ordered was a normal one. The two men before them wore cloaks to conceal themselves but they could still make out that the men were twins, each once with dark black hair. They looked so similar it was scary, the only real difference between them was the one had brown eyes and the other had blue eyes.

Lucy gasped, clenching her son closer to her chest and backing away from the men. They wanted her child but she would not let them take him. "What the hell did you say?" Natsu had jumped in front of his family, a deep growl escaping him as he glared at his enemies. "How dare you come here and threaten my family!" his body burned bright, igniting for the anger that he felt from those who dared to try and harm his family.

"You certainly have some nerve." Gray had his hands ready to send every ice attack he had master to go flying at the creepy men in front of the.

"I agree," Erza had already transformed into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, swords ready for battle. "If you think for even a second we'll give you Ryu you are horribly mistaken." her glare was deadly enough to freeze an entire army in fear but these men did not budge.

"We want the child and you will not stop us." They both spoke at once, hands still outstretched and waiting for the baby boy to be handed to them.

"No way in hell." Lucy glared at the men that wanted her son. Loke's key was already gripped in one hand and ready to summon every spirit she had to keep her son safe.

"So there were two leftovers?" Gajeel stepped forward, cracking the bones in his hands and neck.

"What do you mean by leftovers?" Erza questioned, wanting to exactly who and what they were dealing with.

"My mission was to destroy a certain merchants Guild that sells illegal items. They were pretty known for stealing anything that they deemed worth a pricy amount and it appears they've set their eyes on your brat." Gajeel explained, standing in front of the group and watched the two men ahead of him, waiting to see what their next move would be.

"But why would they want Ryu? He's just a baby." Lucy couldn't even begin to imagine what can of twisted place this was if they wanted to steal her child.

"Your kid became pretty famous in the world of magic. He's only a few weeks old and yet already he's showing signs of great magical power," Gajeel looked back at her, blood red eyes looking over the blonde that had gone into protective mother mode almost instantly. "Many dark Guilds and merchants want his power for themselves and what better time to take it then when he's still a helpless little baby."

"So the mission you went on was to destroy this place that set their sight on Ryu?" Gray questioned, never breaking eye contact with the weird men that suddenly appeared.

"The old man wanted me to take this request before any of you found out but looks like that part of the deal is done." Gajeel transformed his arm into an iron bar, ready to start fighting once more.

"Who cares," Natsu growled, body burning bright from the anger he felt towards his enemies. "These guys are threatening my son and my family. There's no way in hell I'll let them get away with this!" his flames burned the all around, making the air around him become heavy as the heat reached them. The enemy angered a fire Dragon and now they were feeling his wrath.

"Lucy, I think it would be best if you took Ryu and escaped. We don't know what kind of magic they use and it's too dangerous to fight with the baby around." Erza told her friend, her swords all pointed towards their enemy to keep them from even trying to get close to the young boy.

Lucy nodded, "You're right," she knew that neither she nor Natsu or any of them could fight properly with Ryu around. They would be to worried about not only keeping them safe but also keeping their attacks from accidentally hitting them.

"Lucy, we should hurry." Wendy grabbed her hand and lead her away from the group. She along with the Exceeds would remain with her and her son to act as backup in case the enemy somehow managed to follow after them.

"Resisting in futile," They both spoke at once, their eyes following the retreating figure of Lucy as she ran with her son. "We will have the child."

Natsu roared, "The hell you will!" he jumped into action, hands burning bright as he charged at the two men that dared to say they would steal away his son. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" his attacked exploded once it made contact, making the heavy become heavy from the sudden heat but none of his friends cared, they were used to it and they would rather be hot then allow one of their own to be taken away from them. "Got ya." he grinned, proud of himself from stopping those men.

Sadly that proud feeling didn't last long. Only one of the men was seen as the smoke cleared, his arm glowing a bright orange as he blocked the attack. "I told you it was futile to try and stop us." he spoke in his monotone voice and Natsu gasped when he caught the other man's scent.

"Lucy!" He yelled to his wife, trying to warn her of the danger that was coming. His eyes widen in fear and shock when he saw the other man was chasing after them and was catching up. He tried to run after to help his family but he was held back by the man he attacked.

"You cannot win. We were made to succeed and only death will stop us." he spoke softly, firing a yellow beam from his hands but Natsu jumped away just in time before it could hit him.

"Just who the hell are you?" The fire Dragon Slayer growled, he was annoyed and angry at these men for what they were trying to do. "Why do you want my son?"

"My name is Jiro and my brother's name is Shino. Our goal is simple, to obtain the newborn Ryu Dragneel and take his back to our headquarters so that those who wish to posses his power may get what they want." he said, preparing another attack. His blue eyes seemed to glow as his attack was readied but before he could fire he had to jump away when ice was thrown at him.

"Natsu, leave this guy to us" Gray cried, running towards Jiro as more of his ice was made to attack.

Erza came next, two swords in her hands as she attacked, making Jiro step back to avoid being hit. "We can handle this man. You need to go and help Lucy!"

Natsu nodded, putting out him flames. "Right, thanks guys!" he sent them a quick grin before taking off after his wife and son and the man that was chasing them.

They watched their friend go for a moment before turning their attention back to Jiro. "Now then," Erza pointed her sword at him, summoning enough weapons that could take out an entire army. "Your fight is with us. However I believe it is only fair to warn you that if any harm should come to Ryu or his parents I personally will make sure that you suffer." her threats seemed to reach Jiro, a look of fear was shining bright in his eyes and her threat even reached her friends who were standing behind her and trying not to shake.

"She's insane." Gajeel muttered under his breath, trying to calm his body down.

"Erza is still the same as always." Gray tried to make a joke to lighten the mood but he was still shaking in fear at the woman's words.

"Intense." Even Pantherlily was shaking at her words.

"Anyway I will agree with her on that," Gray turned the ground around him to ice and glared. "If these guys want to even dream about putting their hands on our friends then they better be ready for the full force of Fairy Tail."

Gajeel chuckled, a wide grin spread out on his face. "I like the way you think." he was ready to go all out on this guy.

"Let's go!" Erza cried and they attacked.

Lucy gasped for air as her lungs burned. After nine months of not doing anything her body was suffering at the sudden activity and it was beginning to affect her. She was running at full speed and her body was screaming at her to slow it down, but she couldn't. If she even slowed her pace down a little then that man would take her son and she wouldn't allow that to happen. So despite her aching body she kept her pace and ran. Ryu was in her arms, making a fuss at the sudden turn of events and she tried her best to calm him but that wasn't easy when running at full speed to escape the bad guy.

"It doesn't matter how far you run," they heard the man behind them call out and the girls released a scream of shock when the ground in front of them sudden disappeared. "You will not escape us. We will achieve our goal."

Lucy growled, holding tight to her son. "There's no way I'll let you take my son. You'll have to kill me first!" she cried, holding the golden key in her hand and let her magic flow. "Open, Gate of The Lion, Loke!" she summoned her most powerful and loyal spirit to come and defend her. After months of not using her magic it felt great to see her old friends again.

"It's been a while Lucy," Loke grinned, fixing his glasses and sent her a pleased looked. "Although I would have liked it better if you summoned me on better terms."

"You and me both," Lucy held his key close, pouring as much of her magic into it to give him power. "Please Loke, you need to stop him." she refused to let these men take away her child and she would do everything in her power to stop them.

"On it," Loke nodded, hands glowing gold as he jumped to attack. "Regulus Punch!" he went in to strike but at the last moment his enemy jumped into the air and landed away from the blast. "You're fast but let's see how long you can keep this up?" Loke grinned, his hands still glowing as he readied himself for the next attack.

"You are indeed strong," Shino straightened himself out and frowned. "Though I am not surprised. The child's parents must be strong for him to have a great magical power as well."

"And that's why you want to take my son away? Because of his magic?" Lucy glared, angered by what she was hearing.

Shino shook his head. "It is neither I nor my brother who want your son's power but the ones who sent us the request. Our Guild has been asked to acquire the infant Ryu Dragneel and once we have him we will take him back to our base and from their he will be sold to the highest bidder."

Lucy felt her anger increase. "How dare you! My son is not some object to be sold and purchased. He is a living being and if you even dare to put your hands on him I'm going to make you regret ever being born!" she pulled out another key and let her magic flow through her body once more. "I open thee, Gate of The Maiden, Virgo!"

"Princess, do you wish to punish me?" Virgo appeared, asking the same question she always asks.

"No!" Lucy cried, wishing she wouldn't ask such things.

"Lucy..." Loke gasped in wondered as he stared at the blonde. "You summoned two spirits at once." he couldn't believe his eyes. He knew that she had great magic and that she could summon more than one spirit after another but she never could summon them at the same time.

Lucy only grinned, "I am a mother Loke and like any parent I will do anything to keep my family safe."
Wendy stared on in wonder at the blonde. "Lucy is amazing." she whispered out softly, in awe at how far the young mother was willing to go for her son.

"She sure has grown." Charle agreed with her. She was just as equally amazed as Wendy was.

"Aye sirs!" Happy and Lucky both cheered on, flying next to her. Lucky flew on top of her head while Happy stayed afloat, a determined look on his face. "Don't worry Lucy, we will help you."

Wendy nodded, the wind around her suddenly picking. "I will do my best not to fail you."

Shino only sighed. "You are all an annoyance." he glared at them, slightly annoyed at how they kept delaying him and his brother from their plans. "You should know that you cannot win and you should just give up." he added.

"Sorry but as Fairy Tail wizards we don't know the meaning of give up!" Lucy cried ahead at the man in front of her, she would not let him intimidate nor threaten her. Ryu was with her. He was no longer crying but instead throwing his hands up in the air, as if he was trying to show that he would fight too. "That's my boy." Lucy hugged him, praising him for his bravery.

"He really is Natsu's son," Loke commented before jumping in to attack once more. "That just means I can't lie about. I won't be outdone again!" his hands glowed bright with power and he was directly above Shino. "Lion Brilliance!" his body shot out a bright light, making the whole area around him lit up and making Shino cover his eyes before he lost his sight.

"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Wendy shot out giant whirlwinds from her arms and landed a direct hit on Shino, making him cry out and get thrown back.
"Spica Lock." Virgo came next and used her magic to trap Shino within rocks, crushing him slowly.

"Regulus Impact!" Loke charged once more, this time his attack hit his enemy directly. A large lion appeared from his right hand and it made impact with the rocks that held Shino, doing serious damaged to the man trapped inside.

Shino was thrown to the ground violently when the attack finally touched him. He was lying face down on the hard ground, gasping for air while coughing up some blood. His body was covered in cuts and wounds and it didn't look like he would be getting up anytime soon.

"We did it!" Happy cheered, flying all around in glee.

"We won." Wendy hugged Charle to her and cheered along with the rest of her friends.

"I'm so glad." Lucy gave a sigh of relief and looked down at her son. He was staring up at his mother and he started to smile and giggle in joy when he saw the happy look on her face. Her being happy made him happy as well. "My little boy, I'm so glad that your safe." she whispered softly into his soft patch of hair and kissed his forehead. She was truly grateful to her friends for helping her keep her son safe.

"Y-You people...!" the happy moment didn't last long when they saw Shino slowly start to stand back. Blood was leaking out of his wounds, his body shaking from the pain that he felt but he ignored it all. "All of you..." his body started to glow and he showed them his eyes, a look of pure hatred in his eyes. "I will make you all suffer!" he was angered by what they had done and he would make them pay. Quickly he sent blast after blast at those who attacked him and watched in joy as they were sent flying backwards and made an open path between him and his prize. "I will not lose!" he charged, arm stretched out to take Ryu from his mother and complete his mission.

Lucy gasped when she saw all her friends go down and fear shot through her when she saw how fats Shino was coming up. There was no time left to summon another spirit, not that she had enough magic to summon on. All she could do was hold tight to her son. "Ryu it's our time to shine now!" Lucky suddenly jumped down from Lucy's head and flew in front of Ryu, flapping his wings quickly in front of the little baby before flying back up to safety to watch and wait for the magic to happen. Ryu scrunched up his nose and like before in the Guild released a giant ball of fire out of his mouth. " Fire Dragon's Roaring Sneeze!" Lucky cried out the attack for the little baby that could not yet talk yet. The attack hit its target, catching Shino on fire and burned him to a crisps, making him fall to the ground in a defeated slump.

It was a silent for a moment as everyone took in what just happened. They couldn't believe that a newborn just defeated the same enemy that they were having such a hard time fighting.

"This is so not fair." Loke sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"The young master is very talented." Virgo commented, not at all bothered by what just happened.

"Ryu really is very powerful." Wendy was just amazed at how much power was in one little body.

"He really is a second Natsu." Happy said weakly. He wasn't sure the Guild could survive two fire breathing maniacs.

"We may need to worry." Charle didn't need to see the future to know that this baby boy would cause just as much destruction as his father.

"Ryu is so cool!" Lucky only laughed happily. "I can't wait to grow up and start going on missions with him." he flew down to his partner and laughed at the two played together.

Lucy just stared in shock at her son. She couldn't believe such power had come from him. He was so young and yet he was already so powerful. "Looks like I really have nothing to worry about." she smiled softly, bringing her son in for a tight hug. "My big boy! I'm so proud of you!" she all but squealed, rubbing her nose against his and started to speak like a baby. "Oh, who is such a good fighter? You are! Yes you are! You are mama's brave little boy!" she cooed and Ryu laughed wildly, enjoying the attention he was getting.

"Lucy!" they all turned their attention to the distance to see a giant fire ball heading their way. Natsu was coming up fast, body burning to pick up speed and get to his family. "I'm coming!" he cried, jumping into the air and landed directly in front of his wife and child, making the ground beneath him crack under the pressure. Had he been paying attention he would have heard the loud cry of pain that was heard when he landed. "Are you ok? Where is that guy? Did he hurt you or Ryu? What happened here? Where is that bastard so I can kill him!" he all but growled, turning his head in every direction to look for the man that dared to threaten his family.

"Um...?" Lucy gave a weak laugh before pointing downwards. "You're stepping on him." she pointed to the fallen form of Shino that now had a new bruise to his already tattered body.

Natsu looked down and saw the unconscious man, eyes blinking in confusion. "Who did this?" he saw the burn marks and could smelt the scent of burnt hair, flesh, and clothes. In fact it looked like damage that he usually does when he fights his enemies.

Lucy let out a bright grin. "Ryu did." she happily announced. "With help from Lucky he released a giant ball of fire and defeated the enemy." she brought her son back in for another hug. "I'm so proud of him. Our son's first bad guy defeat!"

"Ryu did this?" Natsu gasped for a moment in wonder before a wide grin spread out across his face. "That's my boy!" he wrapped once arm around Lucy and pulled his family into a quick embrace, his other hand happily patting his son's head. "I told you. He's a natural just like his father!" he said proudly, truly excited for his son's first victory.

Lucy nodded, she was just as happy as he was. "He really is." she was so happy with this moment and she really wished that she had a camera with her right now.

"Princess," Virgo suddenly appeared in front of her with a camera in hand. "Please smile." she said quickly before snapping the shot of the happy family standing over the fallen charred form of Shino.

"Where did you get that camera?" Wendy asked, not really sure where the device came from.

"The Spirit King asked me to take some photos of the young master." Virgo replied.

"So you've had that on you this whole time?" Loke asked. He was just as confused as the others.

"Yes," Virgo nodded before taking out more photos. "I have been secretly taking photos of the young master since Princess conceived him. I have albums as well." she pulled out four giant photo albums, all full of Lucy when she was pregnant to the day Ryu was born and the days after.

"Virgo...?" Loke felt like his head was spinning. "Just when did you take all of these?" he and the rest of Lucy's spirit had been in the spirit world. They came out a few times after Ryu was born to greet the boy but that was the only other time they had come out.

Virgo gave him a serious look before a giant cloud surrounded her and she reappeared out of it in ninja clothing. "Ninja!" she did the hand signs.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Loke cried, his head was spinning from all of this. "And since when did you become a spirit ninja?"

"Then I shall go back to my old form." Virgo transformed back into her maid outfit.

"That's not what I meant!" Loke cried again. Suddenly he felt very tired and wanted nothing more than to go back home and get some rest. "Hey Lucy if it's fine with you I think Virgo and I will go back now." he really needed rest and he needed to talk to his fellow spirit about her sudden weird behavior. Besides that he also knew that summoning two spirits at once was probably draining Lucy of her magic and she needed to rest, so with a quick wave the two spirits went back to their world to report back the day's events.

"Well it looks like you guys are doing good." Just as the two spirits disappeared, the rest of their friends came walking up towards them with a tied up Jiro being dragged behind them. "Looks like Natsu made it in time after all." Gray smirked, he was glad to see that everything turned out alright.

"Nope," Natsu shook his head but was still smiling wildly. "I didn't do anything. All of this was Ryu." he said proudly, wanting to shout out in the open sky at how proud he was of his son.

"Ryu did?" Erza, who was back in original armor, almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ryu had defeated the enemy and at such a young age. "Well I guess we shouldn't be surprised. After all he is a part of Fairy Tail and with who his parents are it really isn't a surprise to hear that he had his first victory at such a young age." she gave a proud smile herself. She was impressed with the infant and already she was making plans on how she would train the young boy when the time came.

Gajeel whistled in wonder. "No wonder these guys wanted your kid's power." he said, tossing Jiro on top of his bother and grinned. "He'll being out doing all of us if we don't watch it." he seemed almost excite at that thought. He probably was thinking about a good fight that he would have with the young boy.

"Wipe that look off your face, Gajeel." Lucy saw right through his expression and glared. "I don't care what you say, you're not fighting my son unless I say so." she would not have her little boy going into dangerous fights unless she authorized them.

Gajeel scoffed, "Whatever Bunny-Girl." he crossed his arms and looked away. He wouldn't admit it but he was a little disappointed that she saw right through him and rejected his plans.

Natsu let out a deep laugh when he witnessed his wife shoot down the iron man's ideas. "Don't worry Gajeel I'm sure once Ryu is older Luce will let you fight him, but not before I do." he was already excited to train and spar with his son. He couldn't wait for the two of them to just go all out and fight like he used to do with Igneel.

Lucy frowned and sent a mock glare up at her husband. "You even think of touching my son and I won't hesitate to leave you." she told him calmly, turning her head away so he couldn't see the smile on her face. As if she would ever leave him.

Natsu however didn't realize her joke and freaked out. "What! You can't do that! We're mates for life. We're supposed to spend the rest of our lives together. Lucy can't leave me!" he grabbed his hair, ripping his short pink locks out as he was slowly losing his mind over the thought of Lucy actually leaving him.

Only when he heard a soft giggle coming from her did he finally stop. "Stupid, as if I would ever leave you." she sent him a playful wink and kissed his cheek.

Natsu didn't find her joke as funny as their friends did, while they laughed he pouted and crossed his arms. "That wasn't funny," he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "Don't ever make a joke like that ever again." he mumbled into her hair, trying to calm down his beating heart.

"But it was just so much fun." Lucy laughed lightly but stopped when she heard a growl coming from him. "Alright, I promise never to do it ever again." she winked at her friends, silently saying she would totally do it again because the results were just too funny.

"Looks like Lucy has Natsu wrapped around her finger." Gray snorted, amazed that such a destructive guy that laughs in the face of death can get so scared at the thought of his wife leaving.

"Bunny-Girl knows what makes his tick. I doubt flame brain is the one that wears the pants in this relationship." Gajeel grinned in amusement. So far this day was turning out they way he liked.

Erza agreed with her friends. "As much fun as this is we should probably get going." they still needed to drop the two brothers off so they could be punished for their crimes. She also wanted to have a talk with their master about this matter and try to come up with a way to make sure that this never happens again.

"You fools," the fun stopped when they saw Jiro sit up, despite his restraints he was moving easily and grinning like a madman. "It's not over yet." in his hands he held two rings, one black and the other blue.

Erza saw the rings and realized what they were. "Stop him"! she cried but it was too late. The rings came together, causing a giant whirlwind to form all around them. "It's air magic, he's going to transfer us to a different location." she called out to her friends, trying to get them ready for what was to come.

"Wendy, can you do something about these winds?" Gray called out to the young girl, creating a giant block of ice around his feet and hand so he could keep his grip and not flying. In his other arm he had Happy and Lucky clinging to him.

Wendy cried out in fear when she felt the winds pulling her but Gajeel caught her just before she went flying. She held Charle close to her and held tight. "I can't. I'm not to winds this strong!"

"This wind is not normal, I doubt she could stop it even if she was used to it." Pantherlily exclaimed, transforming into his original form, slamming his sword into the ground to keep his balance.

"Jiro!" Natsu cried out to the man that was in the middle of this giant storm and laughing like mad. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled, trying to get the man's attention but it was no use, his words fell on deaf ears. "Damn it." he growled when he saw that he could do nothing, all he could do was hold tight to his wife and son during this storm.

The winds picked up and despite their best efforts they were lifted off the ground and went flying in the currents. Their body being twisted and thrown as they tried their best to keep hold of each other. "We need to grab on to one another or else we'll be sent flying in different directions!" Wendy cried out, feeling what the winds were planning and warned her friends.

"You heard her! Everyone grab on to each other!" Erza yelled at her friends, telling them all what they needed to do.

"Ice-Make: Grappling Hook!" Gray fired his ice over towards Wendy and Gajeel, making sure the grappling hook was small enough to be caught and not injury his friends. Wendy caught the hook with ease and wrapped the ice chain around her arm.

"You better not burn me you flaming moron!" Gajeel yelled out at Natsu when he saw the fire forming around his arm.

"Quit whining you big baby." Natsu scoffed, sending out a giant fire claw and attached it to Gajeel's leg, making sure that the flames didn't touch his skin.

"Erza!" Lucy gasped when she saw her friend trying to make her way towards them but the winds kept pushing her back. "Natsu, I'm trusting you with our son." she gave him Ryu and pushed away and sent herself flying in Erza's direction.

"Lucy!" Natsu gasped at what she was doing and hide to try and control himself. He was worried for her and wanted to help but he couldn't just leave his son.

"Erza, grab my hand!" Lucy extended her hand out to her friend, reaching as far as it could go so she could reach her friend.

"Lucy," for a moment Erza was stunned by her friend's bravely but she didn't stay stunned long. She reached her own hand out and grinned when the two grabbed hold of each other. "Now what? My weapons won't be able to reach them without causing some form of damage." she explained. All her weapons were made for combat and if she fired even one it could hurt her friends.

Lucy however only grinned. "Don't worry, I've got it." she had her Fleuve d'étoiles in her hand and let the blue magic whip come out. With a quick flap of her wrist she extended her whip and wrapped it around Natsu's waist, successfully bringing everybody together.

"Good job Lucy," Erza complemented her good friend before turning serious. "Now everyone hang on tight. I doubt this will end well but no matter what happens do not let go!" her words reached her friends and they did what she said. Each one held tight to each other and the things that bound them together. No matter what happened they would not let go. Even as the winds became violent and the force was painful they did not let go. Only when they were back on the ground would they release their iron grip on each other but until then they would hold tight.

Thankfully their time in the whirlwind didn't last long. The winds slowed down before coming to a complete halt and everyone inside fell down to the hard ground. Natsu made sure that his landing didn't end badly, he used his fire to slow down the fall and was lucky to land on his feet while the rest of his friends fell face first and groaned in pain. "Is everyone ok?" Erza asked, recovering quickly and stood back up on her feet.

"I think so." Wendy replied, one hand holding her head that felt like it was still inside the wind spinning.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Happy held his two paws in front of his mouth, his blue face suddenly turning green.

"Aye." Lucky was right there with his father, feeling just as sick.

"Well don't do it on me!" Gray cried, trying to get the two Exceeds away from him before he had cat vomit all over.

"Looks like everyone survived." Gajeel stood up easily, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and looked around at their new destination. They were standing on top of a mountain, surrounded by fog and some grass. They were close to the edge and when he looked down he saw how far up they really were. "Shit, we're gonna have a hell of a time getting down." he grumbled. Even with the Exceeds to fly them down it would be hard with the wind currents and how far the trip was.

"It would seem we will need to be careful when going down." Pantherlily said to his partner. He knew that even in his true form he would have trouble fighting against the winds that surrounded them. They would need to think up a way that could get them all down safely or else it would end badly for them all.

"Wahhh!" Their thoughts were cut short when Ryu let out a loud cry. The last few events scared him and now he wanted the comfort of his parents to make him feel better. He started shooting out small flames from his mouth as he cried. Small tears fell from his eyes and his hands formed tight fists, he was displaying his fright with his wails. His cries were very high, almost like a little roar and it was causing everyone's ears to hurt.

"Ryu!" Lucy shot up to her feet and ran to her son. She wasn't as bothered by his cries as the others. She quickly took him from Natsu and held him close in her arms, trying to calm to crying baby down. "It's alright. Mama's here now. There's no more reason to cry anymore." she whispered softly to him, kissing his forehead and started to hum like she did before on the train. She wasn't bothered by the loud cries or the small fire balls that were coming from him. Her son was upset and her motherly instincts took her, screaming at her to help her upset son. Soon enough the cries stopped and soft little hiccups were all that was heard from the little baby boy that looked up at his mother with wide glossy eyes, some tears still lingering in his eyes. "There now, isn't that better." she nuzzled her cheek against his and was glad that now she was hearing laughter instead of crying from her son.

"Lucy, that was amazing." Natsu was impressed with his wife. He didn't have a clue on what to do for his crying son. In fact he was panicking when he heard how hard his son was crying but Lucy seemed to know exactly what to do.

"Well isn't that sweet," the touching moment between the family was ruined when Jiro staggered over towards them, holding his brother up with one hand. "But I won't let you get away with what you've done to my brother." he barked, eyes glaring daggers at all.

Natsu stepped in front of his family and glared right back. "And I won't let you get away with threatening my family." his arms were lit with the flames of his power.

Jiro wasn't impressed and only continued to glare. "I will make you all suffer!" his hands glowed green before he slammed his fist down on the ground, making it shake violently.

"He's using earth magic now! He's making an earthquake happen on the mountain." Erza exclaimed, understand what was happening around them.

"Stop this," Gray called, creating an ice shield all around them as some rocks started to fall. "If you keep this up the whole mountain will collapse."

"I don't care!" Jiro cried, eyes wide and insanity shining bright in them. "I just want you all dead!" he slammed his fist down once again and made another tremor happen.

The earth shook even worse than before, causing all to scream as the earth beneath them rumbled and made them feel helpless. Cracks were starting to form all around and more rocks were starting to fall. Gray and Gajeel did what they could to keep the rocks from reaching them but they were falling down to fast. The cracks that were forming underneath them didn't help either but made their situation even worse. "Natsu!" a giant crack formed under Lucy and Ryu and the ground beneath her gave out, causing her and her son to fall off the mountain. Her cries were heard by all but they could do nothing, all they could do was watch her fall, arm stretched out in an attempt to reach for help. Natsu seeing this reached his own hand out to catch her but it was futile. All he grabbed was wind as his eyes watched as his wife and son fell down the mountain's edge, leaving him only to stare at their fallen forms.

It felt like all life had been sucked out of him. His body was froze stiff and his heart seemed to stop, he was sure that he was dead but dead people don't have images in their heads. All he could see was Lucy and Ryu falling over and over and over again. His breathing turned swallow and he had to gasp for air. The flames that surrounded him dimmed down to almost nothing before exploding into a rage of fury. "Jiro!" he eyes no longer resembled those of a human. His Dragon nature was released and hell would come to the one that did him wrong. He saw nothing, only his wife and son falling down to their certain death. He would kill this man that took away his family.

His plan to do away with Jiro and his brother came to a halt when a fierce roar was heard. They all froze when this sound reached them and a familiar began to swell up inside them, this feeling was even stronger in the three Dragon Slayer. Before anyone could even blink a giant red form flew above them, blocking the sun's rays and allowed all to see its form. "Igneel..." Natsu couldn't believe his eyes. After so long, after all the years of waiting and wishing he was finally seeing his father again. "Igneel!" tears of joy formed in his eyes at the sight and his body began to shake with excitement and glee.

"I don't believe it." Gray was just as shocked as him.

"It's really him." Erza didn't know what to do with herself right now.

"Natsu's Dragon." Wendy was in awe at what she was seeing.

"He's here." Gajeel was in the same state as the young wind user.

"I-I-It's a-a...Dragon!" Jiro fell down in fear, body shaking as the large creature flew down and landed directly in front of him.

"Stupid fool. You have got some nerve for challenging my son and trying to take away his family," Igneel released a low growl, but even that made the earth shake. "For you sins you shall feel my wrath!" He cried into the sky, ready to give this man and his brother punishment. However Jiro passed out before any of that could happen. "Weakling." Igneel snorted, obvious annoyed with the sudden turn of events.

"Igneel!" Natsu ran to his foster father, pure excitement written all over his face. "What are you doing here? What happened to you all those years ago? Why'd you leave me? What about the other Dragons? Are they here as well? What the hell is going on!" he gasped out, trying to get some air back into his lungs.

"I see even after becoming a father you're still the same as ever." Igneel gave an amused chuckle. He was truly glad to see his son after all this time. "Now then, to answer your question I came here to return something to you that I believe you'll want back in your life." he moved his wing down enough to show Lucy and Ryu sitting on his back, Lucy holding onto one of his horns for dear life.

"Lucy!" Natsu jumped for joy. His feet lit on fire as he jumped into the air and landed on the great Dragon's back, grabbing his wife and son so they could climb off and so he could envelope them in a giant hug. "You're both alright." he was so grateful to have them back with him.

"It's Lucy and Ryu, they're both alright!" Happy cheered with joy when he saw his friends were safe again.

"But how?" Gray was still shocked, his mind felt like it was about to shut down. "We all saw you fall?"

Lucy looked over at her friends, a pleased smile on her face. "I'm not really sure myself. One moment we were falling and the next thing I know I'm riding on the back of a giant Dragon." her heart was still pounding and she knew once she got home she was giving Ryu to Natsu and she would go to sleep and not wake up until it was morning.

"I only came because I heard this little one calling." Igneel motioned towards the soft bundle in Lucy's arms that was staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Ryu called you?" Lucy was confused. Her son was only a few weeks only, he wasn't at the stage yet where he could talk.

Igneel nodded, "His cry called out to us and when we understood what it meant we flew to your location."

"We?" Wendy couldn't stop the hope that was blooming wildly in her chest when she heard those words.

"Hello Wendy."

"So you're still alive squirt."

Both Wendy and Gajeel gasped at these familiar but deeply missed voices. Their eyes zoned in on the great creatures that until now they had only seen in their dreams.

"Grandeeney!" Wendy cried, running to her foster mother, arms outstretched to hold the dearly missed Dragon in a hug.

"I missed as well, my child." Grandeeney spoke in a soft tone, one large claw coming to return the hug.

"About time you showed yourself, you stupid metal lizard." Gajeel grinned like mad, pure excitement and joy shinned like stars in his eyes.

Metalicana merely scoffed. "Still acting all high and mighty." the two iron users seemed to glare at each other for a moment before butting heads and grinning like wild men.

"So the Dragons all came because you heard Ryu?" Gray questioned. He had gotten used to this situation and now felt like he could actually form sentences.

"That we did," Igneel replied, lowering his head to stare directly into his foster son's eyes. "We also wanted to come and congratulate you on bringing such a wonderful child into the world."

Natsu felt a proud grin overtake his face. He was truly happy to have such praise coming from his father. He smiled again as he wrapped his arm around Lucy and introduced his family to his father. "Igneel, I'd like you meet Lucy Dragneel my wife and Ryu Dragneel my son." he then ruffled his son's hair and pointed up, wanting his son to see the great creature that he loved so much. "Ryu I'd like you to meet your grandfather" as he said those words he smiled when he saw the smile that was on his son's face as he reached out towards the Dragon, wanting to be just as close to him as his father.

"It's very nice to meet you. I've heard so many great things about you." Lucy gave the great beast a respectable bow and a gentle smile.

Igneel observed her for a moment before snorting. "She's too good for you. How you manage to get her to agree to be your mate is beyond me." he said in a mocking tone that could easily be seen as teasing.

"We wonder the exact same thing." Gray called out, adding in his own thoughts.

"Shut up, both of you!" Natsu growled at those who were making fun of him.

Igneel only snorted again. "So how did you get her to agree to be your mate? You don't know the first thing about romance."

"He kidnapped her." Happy answered, telling him the truth because he knew that Natsu wouldn't.

"Dragon's Eye?" Igneel asked.

Happy nodded. "Dragon's Eye."

"Stupid fool. You really haven't changed." Igneel laughed at his foster son that was now glaring at his so-called best friend and partner. "But then again life would boring if you weren't who you are." he said softly, showing a caring look one would not expect to see on a Dragon.

Natsu returned the look and leaned forward, wrapping himself around the great creature to hug. "It's good to see you again, Igneel."

"It's good to see you again as well, Natsu." Igneel nuzzled against his son, truly glad to be reunited with his loved one. "Now hop on. It's time for you all to return home."

So the three Dragons took them home. They rode their backs down the mountain, each one of them wearing smiles and exclaim in joy at the wonderful moment they were experiencing. This truly was the perfect way to end the day. Ryu had met both sides of his family, his mother's parents and he and his father finally got to meet the great Dragon that was so special in all of their hearts.

END