These two are the training chapters. To the people who want me to jump ahead to Gray and Erza, I will be talking my time in them. You will likely not see Gray until we reach over 40 chapters. Sorry about that.

However, with my updating schedule, it probably won't be more than two or three weeks. :)

Chapter Twenty Five - Training, Part One

"Why am I so damn hot?" I yelled.

Even outside, in nothing but a bathing suit, I was nearly dying. "It's fucking January!"

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Stop being a cry baby. Now here."

He threw clothes at me.

"Why are you throwing clothes at me?" I yelled at him. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

"Of course he did," Corvus said. "But in order to be completely in tune with fire, we need to heat you up."

"Honestly, you're fine with staying in a prison cell for three days, but a little heat gets to you," Phoenix said.

"A LITTLE HEAT?!" I yelled. "I'm going to get heatstroke." I groaned, and started putting on the clothes.

"Of course you are," Corvus said. "That's why we're here."

"Oh, so that's why you didn't want to go to Lucy right now."

"How long are we staying here, anyway?" Phoenix asked.

"Until May."

The first few days (while I was gone) were spent preparing my living space, which was in the library. Luckily, I had taken a cooling lacrima with me, so that kept me at a decent temperature inside. I also had three or four fans.

But now it was January 1st, X773, and it was time to start my training.

I was starting with Fire.

I'm starting to hate the heat.

All I wanted to do was strip completely naked and run into the ocean.

Instead, I was stuck on the beach, standing on burning hot sand (that felt like hot coals), wearing three layers of clothing, and sweating my ass off.

"Now," Phoenix said. "Sit down and meditate."

I glared at him, but did as he said and plopped onto the ground, concentrating.

"Concentrate specifically on how hot you are, Elle," Phoenix said. "Oh the feeling of being unable to breath from the heat-"

"Shut your stupid face, I get it already," I told him, not looking up.

And despite the overwhelming heat, I quickly fell into a magical trance.

Hours later, I wavered. Nothing had happened, and I felt horrible. I was in a different position, and I couldn't open my eyes. My body felt heavy, and the air didn't feel right.

"Are you sure about this?" Corvus's voice said.

"Definitely," Phoenix said. "She needs a jump start."

"Or you could just be patient," Corvus said.

"Look, she already has heat stroke, and nothing has happened!" Phoenix said.

I had what?

But I still couldn't move.

"Look, you remember the King said something about a higher power or something, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So I'm thinking that this is a sign I should give her a boost. Nothing is happening because I'm right here and I'm available, but not doing anything."

I heard shifting before Corvus said, "When did you get so smart?"

"You may be older, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid," Phoenix grumbled. "Now stand back."

The air shifted and the heat intensified, before I felt burning.

I managed to open my eyes and looked down at myself, covered in fire. It hurt, but my skin looked fine. In fact, I could see more of my skin, as the fire started to burn my clothes away. Before long, I was surrounded in fire, which licked at my skin. The burning stopped hurting as much, but my skin still felt weird.

And then I passed out again.

When I woke up, I was inside again, lying on my bed.

"Hey, you're awake," said a cheery voice.

"Shut up, Phoenix," I grumbled.

There was some laughing at that, and I finally managed to open my eyes.

Phoenix and Corvus hovered over me, watching me.

"Could someone explain what happened, exactly?" I asked.

"Sure," Corvus said. "Basically, Phoenix made you impervious to flames."

I blinked. "Really?"

Phoenix nodded eagerly. "Yeah, your fire magic wasn't starting up so I gave you a kick, and then healed up your heat stroke."

"What do you mean by 'starting up'?" I asked.

"Generally, Fire Magic cannot harm the user, but the mage could still get hurt by someone else's fire magic."

I nodded. I had seen that, with Natsu fighting both Bora and Totomaru.

"I made you impervious to all flame, including any sort of slayer flame. The only thing that could possibly harm you was the user itself."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"A fire dragon, a fire god, and a fire demon. If any of these slayer types try to hurt you, it wouldn't do anything. Nothing but the real deal would harm you – an actual fire dragon, an actual fire god, and an actual fire demon."

"Why is it so strong?" I asked.

Phoenix scoffed. "One, I'm a phoenix. We're badass. Two, I'm a Celestial Spirit. The strength of the Heavens beat any sort of imitation, and despite what they all wish to believe, all slayers are only human imitations of the real thing."

"Huh," I said. That means that Natsu couldn't harm me with Dragon Slayer magic.

E.N.D.'s magic, however, was another thing.

"Anyway, even though Fire Magic can't burn the user, the user usually has to go into some sort of heatwave or fire in order to gain control. They usually have to risk getting burned, at one point or another."

"Phoenix just decided he wanted to jump some of your training time in half," Corvus said.

I laughed. "I'm impatient too, so I'm a bit grateful. We'll still be here as long, but I can spend the rest of the time training other magics. I was also hoping that at some point, you guys could teach me hand to hand combat."

Corvus looked at me in surprise. "You want to be a melee fighter?"

I shook my head. "No, not really, but I need to learn how to do it anyway."

"Can't argue with that!" Phoenix said. "Sure, it'll be fun!"

The next two weeks was spent on conjuring fire and manipulating it into Mars's spells, all of which were very interesting.

Phoenix, in particular, had fun throwing balls of fire at me. Instead of creating all of the spells by myself, he also wanted me to be able to take my enemies' fire and use it as my own.

Corvus, who was in charge of my physical training, would also have me going through a routine while Phoenix sat off to the side and paged through all of the books I had gotten about Stellar Magic, checking them for errors.

At one point, while Corvus was having me do push-ups (I hate push-ups), Phoenix shouted, "Hey, Elle, am I allowed to correct this?"

"As long as you make a copy of each book, you can do whatever you want. But please do it to the copies," I said, grunting as I pushed my tiny body up and down.

"Awesome!" Phoenix yelled, and went back and reflipped through the books he had already approved, before taking them all and disappearing back to the Celestial World.

I swear, if I find dick pics on those copies...

"Where did he go?" I asked.

"He probably went to ask Gemini to create copies of the books," Corvus said. "Also, you're slouching."

Fixing my posture, I continued. "I thought Gemini could only turn into people.

"No, that's Gemini's main power," Corvus said.

"Main power?"

"Over time, and depending on the strength of the Celestial Mage, a spirit's powers will grow. Barely any Zodiac, or any spirit, has fully unlocked their potential at any point in time, though I believe that the spirits Princess Lucy is contracted to are especially close to more of their powers."

"I see," I grunted. "Am I done?"

"Hmm…how about fifteen more?"

I groaned, but continued pushing.

After those two weeks on Mars, we moved onto Pluto, with Corvus leading me through it. Since I had already started with Pluto's Body, it was easier to access the shadow magic. It was definitely easier to control than fire, which always seemed to get away from me.

Well, the fire never actually got away from me, but it felt more difficult to control; almost as if it was alive at times.

"Do you guys have a schedule?" I asked. "I mean, it's like you've completely taken over my training."

"Yes," Corvus said. "We're hoping to improve your physical fitness as well as teach you the basics of Mars, Pluto, Neptune, and Venus. The last two months here will be spent directly on hand to hand combat. The second to last month will work on perfecting your control of the elements, and the last one will focus on using more than one element at once.

"Nice."

Once I got the basic moves of Mars and Pluto Magic done, we moved onto Neptune. I would spend time in the water, meditating and swimming, and doing both at once.

"You're a pretty good swimmer," Corvus commented.

"Thanks," I said, doing the backstroke. "Why don't you guys jump in?"

Corvus snorted. "You're funny."

"We're birds, silly," Phoenix said. "We don't swim!"

"You need to take a bath sometime!" I yelled at them, splashing water at them.

"I'm also a phoenix!" Phoenix yelled, running farther away from the water. "I like fire. Not water. F – I – R – E."

I laughed and went back underwater again. I had started manipulating it, but I remembered Juvia making a Water Dome, that had air in it. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on moving the water around me and encasing me in a bubble of air.

Smiling, I felt it take, and I let in a deep breath of air.

And then my concentration broke, and water flooded my senses.

I frantically swam for the surface, and broke it, coughing up water.

"Elle?" Corvus asked.

"Elle! Are you okay?" Phoenix shouted, moving a bit closer.

"I'm fine," I coughed. "I'm just gonna hold off on trying that until I have some more control."

"What were you trying to do, anyway?" Corvus asked as he led me from the water.

"I was trying to breath underwater."

"You're trying to grow gills?" Phoenix yelled.

Corvus facepalmed.

"No, I'm trying to create a bubble of air in the water. I managed to get it for a few seconds, but then it broke and I was breathing in water, not air."

Corvus sighed, and I continued my training.

By the time March hit, I was nearly done with learning Venus. Two weeks ago, Phoenix and Corvus had declared me proficient enough in Mars, Pluto, and Neptune to move on.

While of course it was stronger when I was in the sun (or any light), Venus magic was a bit odd.

It consisted of solidifying light and using it as a weapon. In some ways, it was harder to use, because I constantly had to maintain it. In other ways, however, it would be a lot handier. It was the purest form of magic any of my elements took, and Corvus said that it was probably the closest to Celestial Spirit Magic.

Now that I had finished Mars and Neptune, my body temperature seemed to have evened out, and I was back to dressing normally.

Which meant I was wearing a bathing suit when a card went off.

I froze and requipped out the flashing card.

Evergreen.

Figures, almost, that the Raijinshu would be united first.

Without stopping to change, I sent my magic through the card and immediately appeared at Evergreen's location.

I was clearly inside a house, and was startled to see a group of girls throwing things at Evergreen. Another girl was clearly a statue, in the corner.

"This is what we get for helping you with a make-over? You freak!"

"You turned her to stone!"

"Enough!" I yelled, stepping in between them. Reaching down, I picked up a pair of broken glasses off the floor, and handed them to Evergreen without looking at her. "Put these on."

The frame was broken, but the lenses we're still intact, so it should still work.

"She's a monster!" one of the other girls said.

"She's a mage," I retorted. "If you want her gone so badly, gather all of her stuff and bring it to me."

I brought the young girl a few ways away, and squatted down to look at her.

"I…I can't control it. I'm sorry," Evergreen sniffled.

I shook my head. "They're stupid. You're only a kid, Evergreen, they have no right to expect perfect control over a power you're born with."

I gave her a hug. "My name is Eleanor, though I typically go by Elle or another shorter version. I'm going to take you to my magical guild, Fairy Tail. You can learn how to control your power there; you're not the only one with magic linked to your eyes."

"You really think I can learn to control it?" she asked.

"Of course," I said.

"You…you said Fairy Tail?" Evergreen asked. "Like…fairies?"

I nodded. "You know, there are several types of magic associated with fairies. You can choose one to go with your Stone Eyes."

"Is that what it's called?" she asked.

I nodded.

One of the other girls came over with a bag.

I took it from her and handed it to Evergreen. "Here, make sure that everything is there. I need to talk to these girls."

I walked away from her and over to the other girls. "Will you guys tell me what happened here?"

"Yeah, we were going to help that freak and give her a makeover and she turned one of us to stone!"

I sighed.

"Um…Elle? I'm missing my Ma's brooch."

"Fine, take it you freak!" One of the girls yelled as she threw the brooch at Evergreen.

I caught it in mid-air, and the needle jabbed into my skin. Blood trickled down my hand, but I didn't pay it any mind.

"Come on, Evergreen," my voice said coldly. "We're leaving."

I took her arm and transported us outside, before turning to her. "Lead the way, and I'll speak to whomever about you joining Fairy Tail."

She nodded. "Um…Elle? Are you…alright?"

"I'll be fine," I said, pulling out the brooch and wiping off my blood. Clean, I handed it to her.

"You're getting reckless," a new voice said, and after the shining light faded, Phoenix stood beside me.

"What are you talking about, she was always reckless," Corvus said, appearing next to us.

I sighed in annoyance. Phoenix clucked his tongue and took my hand, waving his over mine.

"Evergreen, meet Phoenix and Corvus. They're Celestial Spirits."

"Did you summon them?" she asked.

I laughed. "Nah, I'm nowhere near powerful enough."

"Please, you could summon me," Corvus muttered.

"When I've never summoned a spirit before? Sure," I said. Turning to Evergreen, I smiled. "No, I didn't summon them. Corvus and Phoenix are some of the strongest spirits to exist, and because of that, are able to open their gates on their own. I'm currently holding onto their keys for a friend of mine. They tend to come out and join me."

"Which is a good thing, because Elle can get hurt a lot," Phoenix said, letting go of my hand. "And I'm a wonderful healer. All better, Elle."

"Thanks," I said, squeezing my hand. I held it up to show Evergreen. "See? Good as new."

She smiled, before deflating a bit. "Hey Elle?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Are…are there more kids at the guild?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked.

"Kids….kids don't like me. Especially…especially girls."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be silly. I'm a girl, and I like you." I stopped walking and held onto her shoulders. "Listen, Evergreen, you're a special kid, and you're not the only one. The other kids at Fairy Tail all have their own sorts of magic, and more than a few of them were bullied, too."

"Really?" she asked.

I nodded. "All the boys in the guild were bullied by their own fathers. One of them is a Seith Mage, which means that he has power over souls, and he was born with something called Figure Eyes. Like your Stone Eyes, it affects people when he looks them in the eye. He ends up grabbing onto their souls, and he had a lot of trouble controlling it at first."

"Is he better now?" Evergreen asked.

"I honestly don't know," I said. "You see, I tend to know a few things about the future. One of those things is the names of people in particular who will end up joining the guild no matter what, and I decided to monitor them. You in particular will join our guild," I smiled at her, "which is really just one huge family. You'll be a part of it."

I looked away again. "I've spent the last few months training, and I honestly won't be back until May. But your card went off, and I knew that I had to come pick you up."

"Oh…I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it," I waved it off. "It's fine. Anyway, where was I…oh yeah. There is this other girl, Juvia. She's even younger than you. She's only five, though I think she'll be six soon if she isn't already. She was born with a body of water. She can completely turn to water, and when she was younger, it would always rain around her. Until she joined Fairy Tail, she had never seen a clear sky. Now she has, and she can control the rain. She was bullied for it a lot, too, when she was younger, but now she has control over it."

"Oh," Evergreen said. "So…"

"Don't worry," I said. "They'll like you. You're also older than all of the other girls except for me, so they'll probably look up to you."

In the other timeline, Evergreen was very haughty and stuck-up, for the most part. Seeing her past, I could see why; it was a defense mechanism.

"You said…something about Fairy Magic?" Evergreen asked.

I nodded. "Mmmhmm. I'm pretty sure that it's a physical form of Light Magic."

"Light Magic?" she asked.

"Yep. Light can be solidified, and be particularly strong when used, too. As far as I know, Fairy Magic is long range, and is mostly controlled through explosions and the like."

"Cool," she said. "But…"

"But you want to be pretty while doing it, right?" I asked.

Evergreen nodded. "How did you know?"

I laughed. "Some things I just know, remember? How about this. You're going to be a Fairy, right? Well, we'll make you a fairy, then. If we put you in the right dress, you can still move around as freely, and you can wear leggings underneath. That way you'll still be able to fight. If you work hard with Freed, and maybe Cana and Levy, who you'll meet in time, they might be able to make you a pair of wings, so you can fly."

"Really?" she asked, wide-eyed.

I nodded. "Yep. That way you can fly around and cast your fairy explosions at people from a distance. What do you think?"

She smiled warmly. "That would be fun. But are you sure I can be pretty?"

My brow furrowed. "What the hell are you talking about Evergreen? When you're older you'll be gorgeous."

She looked down sadly. "But I'm not right now."

I snorted. "You're eight. No one is gorgeous at eight unless they aren't real. Don't worry, you're a cute and adorable kid. I understand that you're self-conscious, but if anyone teased you it was probably because you were jealous."

"But…those girls were going to give me a makeover…"

I shook my head. "Some kids can be really mean, Evergreen. If their jealousy was really bad, they might have even tried to convince you to change the way you dress or your hairstyle or something so you look more plain."

Evergreen stopped walking. "Here we are."

I looked up. Another orphanage.

I sighed, and requipped some shorts and a tank top. "Get your things from your room, I'll talk to the Matron."

Evergreen stared at the clothes. "How did you do that!"

"I'll have Freed and Levy explain it to you," I said. "Sometime in the future, I might make you learn it too, once you've learned to control your wings."

And once I get the book back from Lucy. It would be handy for Evergreen to keep an extra pair of wings or something in requip space.

Evergreen ran off to her room and I slipped on the shorts and tank top, slipping my feet into flip flops.

I walked in and went to the Matron. "Excuse me, miss, but I belong to the guild Fairy Tail."

I turned and showed her my guild mark.

"I will be taking Evergreen to my guild, where she will learn how to control her Stone Eyes," I said.

The Matron sighed. "Oh, thank goodness. This is about the Mage's Charter for Magical Children, right? I bought her a pair of prescription-less glasses, because it seemed to stop the affects, but I've been extremely worried." She gave me an odd look. "And…she actually wants to go with you?"

I nodded, just as Evergreen ran down the stairs.

"Elle, I've got what I need!" she cried.

I nodded at her, and requipped her bags away. "Alright, then let's go. Say goodbye."

"Bye!" Evergreen said, smiling at the Matron.

The Matron smiled softly. "Goodbye, Evergreen. Have a fun time!" She leaned forward and hugged me. "Thank you," she whispered. "I've never seen her smile, before."

"No problem," I whispered to her, and then took a step back, taking Evergreen's hand and walking out.

Once we were out of sight, I stopped moving and took off the clothes. "Ugh, I hate wearing bathing suits underneath clothes; it's so weird!"

Evergreen laughed.

I rolled my eyes and requipped away the clothes, before holding my arm out for Evergreen. "Ready?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yep!"

I took her arm and teleported us specifically to the training room.

And…right in the middle of a battle.

"Earth Rock Wall!" I shouted, holding out my arm. The seal appeared, and two walls appeared on either side of us, blocking both attacks.

Evergreen looked at me in awe.

"Elle!" Laxus shouted.

And then I was tackled by tiny children.

"Elle-nee-chan!"

"Onee-sama!"

"Ella-sama!"

"Elle-chan!"

I was held by three crying girls, plus one crying Freed. Looking over them, I glanced to the sidelines and saw Laxus, Bickslow, Gildarts, Macao, Wakaba and Makarov.

"What, no hello?" I asked them.

"I'm waiting," Laxus said.

Bickslow stuck out his tongue. "Long time no see, Big Sis!"

Papa flew up. "Hey, Elle!"

I smiled. "Hey, Papa." I turned to the kids. "Alright guys, come on. I can't say hello properly unless you give me room."

They slowly backed off, and I held out my arms, and said, "Youngest to Oldest."

Before Levy could hug me, Papa flew into my arms.

"Papa, you're one hundred and two," I told him.

"I've only been like this for a few months!" he protested.

I rolled my eyes and dropped him. "Come here, Levy!"

"Elle-chan, I missed you!" she cried, hugging me. "I made so much progress!"

"Really? That's great! Unfortunately, this is only a quick visit."

I was suddenly overwhelmed with complaints.

"Enough!" I said. "Calm down. Let's continue!"

"Onee-sama!" Juvia cried, before running forward and hugging me. "Juvia missed you so much! Will you be back next month? Juvia's birthday is in April!"

I blinked. "Did I miss anyone else's birthday?"

They all shook their heads.

"Chronologically speaking, Juvia's is the first of all you kids," Makarov said. "It's April 26th. After her birthday is yours."

I nodded. "Gotcha. Then I guess I'll stop by for your birthday next month, alright?"

"Yay!" Juvia cheered, before letting go for Cana.

"Elle-nee-chan! Guess what!" Cana yelled.

"What?" I asked, hugging her.

"I beat Laxus!"

"You did not!" Laxus yelled, joining in. "I won and you know it!"

Cana let me go and turned to yell at Laxus. "Nuh-uh!"

I sweatdropped, and turned to Freed, who shrugged and said, "Officially, it was a tie." Then he seemed to realize it was his turn, and he jumped into my arms, crying anime-style tears. "Ella-sama!"

"Yeah, hey Freed, I'm here," I said. "It's alright."

"I missed you so much!" he cried. "You left me here with Laxus-sama and Levy-san and those heathens."

"Heathens?" Cana yelled.

"I'm cool with that," Bickslow said.

"What's a heathen?" Juvia asked Levy.

"Well, Juvia-san is alright," Freed hurriedly said.

I laughed and turned to Bickslow. "Come on, Bicks, give me a hug."

"I-" he started to protest.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed him into a hug. "I missed you, sweetie. How are your Soul Eyes, going?"

"Gramps says I'm doing well," he said quietly, hugging me back.

Yes! Awesome hugs!

"That's great!" I said happily.

He cheered up. "I know, right!"

Without his helmet, and as a kid…Ahh, why were all of these kids so damn cute!

I turned to Laxus. "Give me a hug."

"No. I'm twelve, Elle."

I glared at him. "Laxus, I want a hug."

"No."

I had gotten my hug fix from Bickslow, but now I needed one from Laxus too.

"Laxus, give me a hug."

He started sweating. "No."

"Dammit, Laxus!" I yelled, running at him. He started running away from me. "Get back here!"

Gildarts grabbed Laxus and planted him in front of me.

"Traitor!" Laxus cried.

I hugged him. "Quit being a damned tsundere and hug me back, stupid!"

"I'm not a tsundere!" he yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that."

Luckily, he gave in and hugged me back, before I finally let him go.

"Alright," I said, stepping back. "Normally, I wouldn't cut off my training-"

"That's bull!" Laxus yelled.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You weren't training! You're wearing a bathing suit. You're probably off relaxing somewhere while we're working like dogs!"

I glared at him, and started gathering magic power. "You want to test that?"

Feeling the rise in my magic power (what was obviously a result of my training) had him nervous. "No. No, I don't want to test that."

I dropped the magic. "For your information, Laxus, I was on Tenrou. Do you know how fucking hot it is there?"

"No," he said.

"Well…hot," I said. "Hot as fuck."

Most of the kids sweatdropped.

"Anyway," I continued. "One of my emergency cards went off, so I went to pick up our newest guildmate. Everyone, this is Evergreen."

She waved shyly, and tried to hide behind me. "Hi…"

"Evergreen…" Cana said. "That's a pretty name! Can I call you Ever-nee-chan?"

"I want to call you Ever-chan!" Levy said excitedly.

Without me doing anything, the other girls were all over Evergreen, smiling and welcoming her to the family.

Juvia turned to me. "Onee-sama, can we find Evergreen's treasure?"

"Treasure?" Bickslow asked.

"Elle finds 'treasure'. She tends to give us some stuff," Laxus said.

I nodded. "I found a second set of ruins, but we don't have time to go through that stuff right now. For now, we'll just go through the jewelry from the first site."

I requipped it into a pile, and the girls went diving into it, looking for the right necklace for Evergreen.

"It should be green!" Juvia said.

"Juvia is right!" Levy said. "It's in her name!"

"But what shade?" Cana asked.

"Go for a lighter green," I said. "Like a bright emerald, or forest green."

"What type of magic does she have, Elle?" Makarov asked.

"Evergreen is going to be learning Fairy Magic, and she was born with Stone Eyes."

Makarov blinked. "Really?"

I nodded, before turning to the boys, who were standing at the side. "Freed, Bickslow – I'm counting on your help for this. She's going to need help learning, Freed, and Bickslow – Stone Eyes is a lot like Figure Eyes, it just...well...turns people to stone instead of controlling their soul."

They nodded.

"We found one!" Cana said brightly, holding up a green crystal. "Do you like this one, Ever-nee-chan?"

Evergreen started crying. "I like it very, very much. Thank you."

The girls smiled and hugged her.

I smiled. "Now, listen up, everyone!"

Everyone turned their attention to me.

"When I'm gone, my second command is in charge. That person," I pointed to Laxus. "Is Laxus. Is that understood?"

They nodded.

"While I am gone, Laxus is essentially me. Treat him…as if he is me. Alright?"

Cana smirked. "Oh, Elle-nee-chan!" she tackled Laxus.

"That's not what she meant!" Laxus yelled.

"Oh, fine, Laxus-nii-kun!"

"Onii-sama!" Juvia yelled, hugging Laxus.

"Laxus-sama!" Freed cried.

"Elle, fix this, right now."

I cackled, and threw a letter at Makarov. "Have fun until May!"

And then I teleported back to Tenroujima.