#never simple

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It was a miracle that they actually managed to reach Antartica, but soon enough they found themselves in the middle of the frozen town; ruins scattered all around them.

It was cold, devastating and hopeless; but at least they were safe. They had survived somehow.

However, death wasn't yet done taking away their loved ones, as Lucy dropped to the ground seconds after they arrived.

While inspecting the blonde, Juvia realised with horror that she had been hit with one of the dragon's spikes and there was blood dripping from her shoulder.

"She's hurt!" The water mage told the others while attempting to lift the pregnant woman up, Dorenbolt quickly rushing to help her.

"Quick! In there!" Porlyusica used her magic to build a tent in record time and the two carried Lucy towards it; Yukino and Levy following them. The former held the sobbing Asuka in her arms while the latter was numb to everything around her-still processing the news of Gajeel's death.

Lucy was placed on a bed and the healer began to examine her, face paling with each passing moment.

A few minutes later, she turned to the others with horror in her eyes. "I'm afraid it's much worse than I feared."

"No." Juvia shook her head, refusing to believe it.

"The baby. Will she...She has to be okay!" The celestial wizard pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." Porlyusica sighed. "The wound wasn't as superficial as I hoped; you've lost a lot of blood and I'm afraid there's no way I could keep both of you alive now."

"Oh, no." Yukino gasped; she sat on one a chair with Asuka still in her arms.

"What will you do, then?" Dorenbolt wondered.

"Save her." Lucy spoke before the healer could reply. "Please."

"No. Don't do this." Levy pleaded, speaking for the first time since she learned that Gajeel was dead.

"There must be a way." Juvia tried, but Porlyusica shook her head.

"The only way I could save the child is to remove it, but that would only cause her death since it's too early." Tears streamed down Lucy's face.

"I can't...I can't lose her." Placing hand on top of her stomach, she cried. "She's all I have left."

"I refuse to believe that this is the end." Juvia stubbornly said. "We must save little Layla; I'm willing to do anything."

Silence fell upon them until Porlyusica came up with an idea.

"There is a way." All eyes turned to her, interested-except for Asuka, who had fallen asleep.

"What way?" Levy asked, standing up and approaching the bed.

"I know a spell that can transfer the child." Seeing their confused looks, the healer explained. "This way another person will carry her and deliver her, so that Lucy can survive."

"I'll do it!" Juvia said without hesitation as soon as she understood.

"Juvia..." Lucy turned to her, brown eyes filled with gratitude.

"This baby, your baby, has been my reason to keep living. The thought of losing her after everything I've already lost is too much to bear, so I'm willing to do anything to save both of you." The water mage sincerely told her, taking her friend's hand.

"Thank you." It was all Lucy could say before she burst into tears.

It was settled then. Natsu and Lucy's child would be transferred to Juvia, who would carry her until it was time to give birth. Then Lucy would get to raise her little girl like planned; with everyone's help. They would find a way to be happy, even after everything they'd lost.

That was their plan, but it didn't work out that way.

After the baby was removed and then placed inside of Juvia with Porlyusica's magic, the healer turned to the celestial wizard to heal her, but it was too late.

Lucy was almost gone, brown eyes barely able to keep open and she only managed to thank Juvia one more time, plead for her to keep her daughter safe and give two small vials-which had been hidden in the celestial spirit world with Loke-before passing away.

Her death marked the moment Juvia's determination, which had diminished after Gray's death, came back full force. As she watched her friend's brown eyes close and the knowledge that Lucy would never get to met her daughter sinked in, the water mage vowed to herself to find a way to go back and undo their tragic pasts.

It took 3 months, but eventually, Levy and Yukino managed to finish reconstructing the gate. They activated it using the latter's celestial keys and there wasn't much of an argument on who would cross it. Juvia had long since made clear that she would be the one to warn their friends about the dragons' invasion.

Since she was 9 months pregnant by then, right on time to give birth, the Gate's reconstruction turned out to be timely because there was a chance the baby might be born in the present and get to meet her parents like Juvia had wanted.

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                                     Present day...

"This is crazy!" Gajeel yelled once Future Juvia finished her tale.

"So we're all going to die?" Mirajane frowned.

"No." Juvia shook her head, looking at Gray with teary eyes. "I can't lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere." The ice mage wrapped an arm around her, bringing her close.

"So…so Lucy and I…" Natsu struggled to comprehend it.

"I guess congratulations are in order." Erza told him.

"I knew that you two would end up together." Cana smiled victoriously.

"I think we all did." Levy added.

"But having a baby and so soon…" Lisanna spoke. "That I didn't expect."

"I am glad that I managed to come here in time." Future Juvia smiled. "Layla deserves to meet her parents."

"Layla…." Natsu whispered, staring at her still in shock.

"So, what do we do now?" Elfman asked no one in particular.

"Now that we know what's going to happen, we must find a way to stop it." Master Makarov stated the obvious.

"But how?" Gray frowned.

"What could we possibly do against so many dragons?" Juvia wondered.

"Do you really not know where they came from, Juvia?" Cana asked her future counterpart.

"No. They just showed up out of no where on the last day of the Games." The latter replied before groaning as another contraction hit her.

"Her contractions are too close now, she needs to go to the infirmary." Evergreen said and Elfman stared at her in confusion.

"How come you know so much about pregnancy?" She shared a nervous look with Freed and Bixlow, but said nothing.

"This is not the time." Freed said.

"I can help you get to the infirmary." Juvia offered gently.

"I'll go with you." Gray quickly added.

"Why don't you join them, Natsu?" Erza suggested, but much to everyone's surprise the dragon slayer shook his head.

"No, I have something more important that I need to do." Many people frowned.

"Like what?" Gray asked, raising a brow.

"Lucy." Future Juvia answered, smiling.

"I gotta save her." Natsu confirmed a moment later.

"But how?" Laxus asked, frowning. They had already established that going anywhere near the castle was a terrible idea.

"You don't have… to worry… about that." Future Juvia said between pained groans-Gray and Juvia each held her upright as they began to lead her towards the door.

"What do you mean?" Erza was confused.

"I'm not the only one who came back." The pregnant woman answered.

"Oh, really?" Many eyes widened.

"Who else is here?" Juvia asked, curious.

"Yukino." Her future self answered. "She went to rescue Lucy while I came here to talk to you guys."

She groaned again and they knew that it was best to take her to Porlyusica immediately, so Gray and Juvia rushed her there while the others stayed behind and began devising a plan to avoid getting killed by the dragons.

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                                Inside the Mercurious...

"Who are you?" Lucy stood up quickly, getting into a defensive position.

"You can relax, Lucy." Yukino's eyes widened once she heard the voice.

"Wait, what?" The blonde stepped back, staring at the hooded figure in shock.

"How is this possible?" The white-haired celestial wizard had never been more confused.

"I know this must be confusing for you." The figure told them before removing the hood.

"Yukino?!" Lucy looked between the two women in confusion.

"You're me?" Yukino gasped.

"I've come from the future." Her twin told them.

"The future?" She frowned.

"How?" Lucy asked.

"The Eclipse Gate." Future Yukino answered before looking around, appearing nervous. "Look, we don't have a lot of time now, but I promise I will explain everything later."

"If you really came from the future…Why are you here?" Lucy frowned.

"I came to rescue you." The other woman smiled.

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Yukino raised a brow.

Her counterpart reached for something inside the hood before taking out her keys. "By taking us to the Celestial Spirit World. That way we can arrive outside of the castle without anyone noticing."

"You have your keys." Lucy noted with a hint of sadness in her tone.

"I have yours too." She then noticed that there were 12 golden keys instead of just 3.

"How?" Tears welled up in Future Yukino's eyes.

"I have a feeling that you don't want to know." Her present self stated.

"Let's…Let's just go now." Future Yukino sniffled before taking out two keys; for Libra and Taurus. Within seconds both celestial spirits appeared before them and the bull-like creature stared at Lucy with such sadness in his eyes. "Miss Lucy…"

"Are you okay, Taurus?" She asked, confused.

He simply stared at her silently until Future Yukino instructed him. "Taurus, could you destroy the cells?"

"Yeah." Sniffling, Taurus nodded. "You'd better stand back, Miss Lucy."

Seeing as she was frozen in place, Yukino grabbed her hand and pulled her backwards. Once the cells had been destroyed and the two celestial wizards were free, they joined Future Yukino and Taurus outside. Then, Libra, after receiving a signal from her contract wizard, used her magic to take them to the Celestial Spirit World.

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                                 Near the infirmary...

"Ugh this hurts." Future Juvia groaned in pain, holding Gray's hand a little too tightly.

"Just take deep breaths." Her present self tried to comfort her, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"You're doing great." The ice mage said between gritted teeth, trying not to focus on the pain in his hand.

"You okay?" His girlfriend asked, worried but also slightly amused.

"Ye-Aaah." He couldn't keep himself from yelling.

"Sorry." Future Juvia offered him an apologising look while letting go of his hand. "Oh God." She then hunched over, hands grabbing at her stomach.

"That's a big one." Juvia pointed out.

"We really gotta get her to Porlyusica." Gray said, urgently.

"We're almost there." She told him before looking back at her twin.

"Ugh… Bisca never said it hurt so much." The latter complained just before her face relaxed. "Finally."

The couple struggled to hold her once she nearly fell backwards. Sharing worried looks, Gray and Juvia decided they'd better fasten their pace.

"Come on." The ice mage called while dragging the pregnant woman towards the infirmary.

They arrived a few minutes later and thankfully there were no more contractions. Once they arrived, Porlyusica, who was already waiting at the door, scolded them for not bringing Future Juvia in sooner.

They apologised while helping the pregnant woman settle down in one of the empty beds. Once she was comfortably lying against the pillows, they turned to the healer for instructions.

"All we have to do now is wait." She responded, much to their disappointment.

"How long exactly are we supposed to wait?" Gray asked, impatient.

"I'd say it will be at least a few hours before it's time for the birth." Porlyusica replied.

"Really?" Future Juvia's eyes widened. "I thought it was almost time."

"It's hard to know when the right time will be since it's up to the baby." The healer explained.

"I see." The former smiled while caressing her stomach.

"We'll stay with you until the end." Juvia told her, offering a reassuring smile.

"It's not as if we have anything better to do." Gray shrugged.

He turns to see Nile, who looks off guard.

“I’ll need antihistamine and hydrocortisone. It should be in the first aid kit where Andy is.”

“Huh! Why?” Asked Nile as she finally notices that their guest was starting to look red.

“He needs a bath-”

“Hey!” Yelled out the runaway as he continued to scratch only for Lan Wangji to stop him.

“We must relieve the sting and remove the nettle hairs.” He then walks back to his house. He avoids the curious and careful looks from his friends.

He didn’t care about the question of how or why. All he cared about was that Wei Ying was back.

~~~~~~~~~

After the embarrassing failure of his escape, it forced Wei Wuxian to be in an even more embarrassing scenario. He was being bathed by Hanguang-jun.

To be correct he was getting the nettle hairs removed and dear heavens was he red in the face. It spanned from the top of his back to his lower back and each removal lead a whimper out of his mouth. Who knew that a little stupid patch of plants, meant to break his fall, would cause him more trouble that it’s worth. At least his host was kind enough to remove it. Even if it’s from Lan Wangji, whom he was still trying to convince himself that he is a descendant of the illustrious Hanguang-jun.

He held back his whimpers as Lan Wangji was now working on his lower back and removed the last one. The water that was lukewarm was now starting to get chilly, but his host had a towel ready for him. Wei Wuxian breathe a sigh of relief. For sure the torture was over, he could get dressed to go to bed and try to escape in the morning. He was wrong as the Lan made him face down the bed and rubbed the cold lotion on his back.

“It’s so cold!” He yelped.

“If you didn’t jump on my garden, then you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Who keeps plants that will cause you to itch in their garden!?” Lan Wangji raises his eyebrow as he looks away. Oh, right, this guy. “So, uh, after I do all this I’ll be on my way-”

“You’ll stay.”

“Aren’t you being so bold? I only have this rash and as soon as it’s gone I should be good to go.”

“Wei Ying, stays” His blood freezes, his fear confirmed. He wonders if he can play dumb.

“Who’s this Wei Ying? Is this a sweetheart?” Lan Zhan looks right at him, nonplussed.

“It’s you” Wei Wuxian laughs, trying hard to throw him off, even if he felt the irritation from the rash.

“I’m Yuandao, not Wei Ying.” Hanguang-jun looks away. Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure, but he felt that he wasn’t buying it.

“Yuandao is Wei Ying.” A knock at the door brings their attention to Nicky, who holds up a paper man.

“Is this what you were hoping I could find?”

Lan Wangji looks back to Wei Wuxian. “Only Wei Ying can use this paper man. You are Wei Wuxian.”

Wei Wuxian misses Nicky’s shocked face, who quickly closes the door, intent on letting Andy know the latest curveball.