Chapter Text
Leo thinks this is a crazy idea, no he Knows this is a crazy idea. He refuses to believe it is the only option. How they, (they being the dragons, Zeref, and Anna) think this is a good idea honestly puzzles him.
Not only are they sending cubs actual children into the future to help fight the greatest dragon slayer alive Acnologia, The dragon king. They wouldn't have memories of what happened to their parents to minimize the risk of Acnologia being able to find them. They planned to also make it so they wouldn't be able to remember anna, any of the celestial spirits, or Zeref. The poor cubs would be all alone and more than likely terrified he feared. He tried to bring this to the attention of his master but she was convinced it was the only way.
They also would have to trust his master Anna's descendants to even make the gate open in the future. Not that he doesn't trust his master Anna, but there were just too many uncertainties in the plan. Like what if one of the descendants didn't have any children, who would they leave with the diary Anna had written to help explain all of the steps to open the gate, or what if one of them opened the gate too early and the plan failed because the magic partials weren't dense enough yet.
This brought him to the two biggest problems Natsu and Zeref. While Leo adored Natsu she was also a demon, while he knew she was just a goofball at heart, she also had the powers to destroy continents. They were just no telling when her powers would act up and hurt someone. Not to mention the emotions for being 'abandoned by her father might be enough to bring them to the surface faster even with the magic seal Zeref would be putting on them.
The most pressing issue was Zeref himself. Now Leo loved his master she was beautiful, kind, and intelligent but she was also naive, she wanted to see the best in Zeref.
Leo knew better, despite acting flirty and rather silly he was still the oldest of all the zodiacs having been born when the celestial king made the constellations in the sky. He had been alive for thousands of years and would live for thousands more. He had long since given up on believing the best of people, it made the betrayals and deaths easier to handle. Leo had met people like Zeref willing to do anything and everything to have their loved ones back. The difference between Zeref and them is that he had been able to accomplish it but not without a heavy price to pay. This would be his downfall Leo knew.
Without anyone to help Zeref feel less alone because of his curse and with his beloved younger sister gone there no telling how his messed up mental state would become. Even Leo had his fellow zodiacs to help cure his loneliness. The zodiac would not be able to help him either because while his cure couldn't kill them, they still became severely exhausted when it hit them. This combined with the fact that they had no idea when the cubs would return (without any knowledge of who Zeref was) would drive him quickly insane.
In conclusion, Leo needed to find a way to stop them or at the very least fix this whole mess. He hoped he could just let them keep their memories but the more people knew the more there would be a danger of Acnologia knowing their plan. So how could he prevent that he pondered?
Then it hit him Natsu! If he could just find a way to preserve her memories it would be perfect she was the oldest and strongest of all of the cubs. Not to mention she the most protective of the bunch and he knew she would keep her younger siblings safe. Since she would know she was a demon she would also have better control of her powers if they got out of hand. This came with the bonus of being able to calm Zeref if he mentally deteriorated in the future. This would ensure that she knew to train harder in case of Acnologia attacking.
Sure this new plan wasn't perfect but at least it gave the cubs a better chance and a protector. Of course, there were problems like how he would be able to ensure that she could keep her memories after Zeref sealed them. And Leo loathed to bring her so much heartache by making her aware that she would be leaving her big brother all alone for who knew how long.
Not to mention knowing that her father Igneel would not be there physically. But he knew she was strong and would only grow to be an even stronger lioness or perhaps Drangoness would be more appropriate.
He would need to plan carefully and be sneaky to avoid the suspicion of his master and Zeref. The morning of the day the cubs left would be the perfect time to strike with all the manic and craziness happening he would be able to give Natsu a warning and returned her memories all while disguising it as a goodbye. For now, he would have to concentrate on figuring out how to fix her memories.
( Little did he know that this one sudden idea would one day change so much)