So obviously, it's been awhile. I didn't do my normal holiday stuff this year – nothing for Chanukah, Christmas, or New Years, and I am sorry about that. I had sorta created that as a tradition I really liked. Unfortunately, my mind is a mess right now. And I'm extremely stressed. I'm still sorry that it took so long for me to finally update.
I would like to thank the wave of new readers I got, with a special shoutout to DragonFairy1231 for some very enthusiastic comments, and ShiroIsKing1304 for commenting a lot on another read-through. Reading those really made me smile and relax a bit, which is a pretty big accomplishment these days. They also helped me get off my ass and finish this chapter. Also, a warning – this year (X778) will go by pretty quickly. I think I only have four or five main plot ideas. Just a heads up. Now that just about everyone has joined the guild (or will in a few chapters) we're going to be picking up speed to the main timeline. And I know most of you are really excited in seeing what the hell I'm doing with that, especially with all of the changes. :3
Sorry about this extremely long note, thank you again guys for being the best readers ever, and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen – Romeo
The end of the year had been calm, surprisingly.
The beginning of X778 was not.
January started off with a bang.
Or more importantly, a bunch of crazy shit that happened within five days.
Okay.
So, to clarify, a bunch of crazy shit always happens in Fairy Tail.
I mean, Erza turned out to be a dragon slayer like a week ago…but I digress. ('Digress', that's a funny word).
Because then there was more crazy shit.
And as much as I wish I could blame it on the usual perpetrators, it was actually all of the girls causing chaos this time.
To start with, since the kids were getting older, Porlyusica had decided to start doing a biannual check – okay, wait, I actually don't know what bi-annual means. If it means twice a year, then I'm using it right. If it means every two years, then I'm not. But anyway, Porlyusica checks all of the kids who have a chance of developing Magical Overload (like I did) twice a year – one during January, and one at the end of June.
This year, we found two – Cana and Brandish.
So a group of us sat down (me, Makarov, Porlyusica, Cana, Laxus, Mari and Gildarts) and discussed why Cana would have it when, as far as I knew, she didn't in the last timeline.
Porlyusica and Makarov agreed that it was probably because she was reusing power cards, and her magic, like mine, was developing faster than her body could. And since Cana had yet to reach the point where her magic reached another plane, like it did with all maturing wizards (which is why, in the future, people were able to have such strong magical presences – they didn't keep all their magic in their bodies at that point), Cana was going to have to be careful until she did mature.
Luckily, it didn't seem as bad as mine, or even Brandish's, or even Ultear's, which was barely even a problem anymore. Ultear was twelve now, and it would probably be gone in a year or two. Cana, at eleven, also probably wasn't going to have Overload for too long.
Brandish, however, had a much more serious case, like mine, and she was only ten, so hers would probably last much longer.
Speaking of ages, it's time for the timeline update!
Of course, I also had to add all of the new people; and take down Layla's name.
But it was already gone when I went there to adjust them.
Lucy told me later that she had taken it down and kept it. She didn't say it, but I knew that she took it down so I wouldn't have to.
Because she's so stupidly sweet it's ridiculous.
With the updated chart, it now read:
January 1st – Rogue (5)
January 3rd – Jellal and Mystogan (12)
January 19th – Reedus (20)
January 20th – Sting (5)
January 26th – Ur (30)
January 28th – Maggie (36)
February 2nd – Brandish (10)
February 5th – Yukino (4)
February 13th – Gajeel (13)
February 16th – Rex (33)
February 28th – Laki (11)
March 1st – Makarov (81)
March 8th – Gray (11)
March 17th – Max (10)
March 29th – Wendy (5)
April 7th – Gildarts (38)
April 10th – Sorano (11)
April 14th – Millianna (9)
April 26th – Juvia (10)
May 1st – Elle (14)
May 14th – Ultear (12)
May 25th – Mari (34)
June 1st – Lucy (10)
June 8th – Erik (15)
June 16th – Jet (11)
June 24th – Nab (13)
July 9th – Levy (10)
July 12th – Cana (11)
August 1st – Natsu (10)
August 7th – Erza (12)
August 24th – Evergreen (13)
August 31st – Enno (24)
September 4th – Ash and Violet
September 8th – Macao (30)
September 14th – Simon (12)
September 25th – Droy (11)
September 30th – Freed (13)
October 9th – Orga (9)
October 16th – Lyon (12)
October 23rd – Bickslow (14)
October 26th - Amber
November 9th – Kagura (9)
November 16th – Porlyusica (72)
November 18th – Wakaba (30)
November 23rd – Laxus (17)
December 1st – Maxie (2)
December 9th – Macbeth (16)
December 16th – Erigor (20)
December 22nd – Silver (31)
December 29th – Jude (32)
Looking at it was exhausting. We had to add the slayers (and Mystogan), as well as all of the new babies. Maggie and Rex finally put their names up with everyone else. I also took down the names of the group that were leaving – Richard, Wally, Sho, and Sawyer.
April 4th – Sawyer (13)
July 16th – Richard (18)
July 22nd – Sho (10)
October 6th – Wally (13)
They were moved to the side, so that way we still had reminders to contact them, but it was so we knew that we wouldn't throw a full-scale party.
Or whatever. This list is getting too long. At some point, I'd try to make it simpler. Like with a calendar or something.
Not right now, through.
Gajeel tried to head me off to talk about 'Dragon Slayer Puberty', and I tried to actively avoid him by doing other things, such as working on pushing Natsu into interacting with Zeref more. Laxus and I were also on the lookout for a good S Class quest, because we weren't 'official' S Classers until we finished one.
Mystogan decided to hang out more, and ended up drifting to Simon, Nab, and sometimes Reedus, who were the calmest and quietest boys that we actually had.
Every once in awhile, Wendy would draw Mystogan out of his shell a bit, which somehow lead to Erik manipulating Jellal and Mystogan into playing pranks on everyone in the guild by pretending to be each other.
Jellal (when not pranking) was also one of the calmest (and probably sanest) members of the guild. He had fallen into researching magic as a whole, and Zeref was having fun talking magical theory with him. I think that Jellal reminds Zeref of himself at when he was younger.
Zeref also used this as an excuse to avoid Natsu, because he's an idiot, but at least Mavis won't let him use the conversations to get out of babysitting, so he usually had one of the kids with him. (Usually August, who would sit patiently and seem to actually try to understand the high level of conversation about the inner workings of magic. Babies normally can't do that, but Mashima threw child development out the window and he was already magical in the first place, so who cares anyway). Larcade would usually spend a lot of time with Mavis, Lucy, and the most childish dragon slayers (i.e., Natsu and Sting (and sometimes poor Rogue who was dragged along with everyone else).
Erza was spending time with Irene, who (while technically her mother) had fallen into more of an older sister role, though there were still some awkward moments between them, probably when they both started thinking about how at least one version of Irene abandoned her. They were focusing a lot on Erza's Dragon Slaying Magic, and Irene was giving her tips in enchanting. They would also spar as often as they could, both of them extremely enthusiastic over their swords (especially when they got their hands on the previously-confiscated lightsabers).
What was left of the Oracion Seis and also the Raijinshuu usually caused the most trouble, being their extremely dramatic selves. Freed and Macbeth were probably the worst, as they were calm for a majority of the time before doing something dramatic or extreme when triggered by some other crazy guild member. Erigor (and sometimes Bickslow) would spend their time flying a bit higher in the guild and laughing at the chaos below. I don't blame them.
Kinana, Yukino, and Brandish, were (usually) all oddly situated in the middle of the room. These were generally the calmest girls in the guild. Ultear would also linger there, usually calm until she was summoned away to deal with her idiot brothers, which usually lead to her shouting. Kagura and Wendy were pretty calm, even though they sometimes got a bit too overenthusiastic about some things (like sisters and swords, and cute things). Erza, and Juvia would sometimes join them, but would usually go back to being insane if something happened. Yukino and Kinana seemed to maintain complete calmness throughout the whole thing. I've yet to see either of them break composure (which is not a good thing, considering Yukino's age. Even though it's okay for her to be quiet, she's still a bit too reserved, past the point she should be). Brandish would usually sit in the middle of the chaos calmly with them, usually sipping tea and watching all the chaos with a smile on her face, which is probably one reason why Macao, Wakaba, Gildarts, and Silver are ridiculously scared of her.
Cana was usually at the bar with coffee, along with Gray and Lyon. Sometimes they'd get into fights and pull Natsu and Gajeel in, but usually they weren't too bad.
While Natsu was spending time with Larcade and Lucy (and Sting and Rogue), Gajeel would be with Team Shadow Gear, as Levy tried to lead him through learning Fioran (or English to me, but who cares at this point (ever since I mentioned French to Reedus and he was confused I've given up. He says Oui all the time, but has never heard of French. Just like Goldmine has never heard of Spanish, despite having 'Quatro' in his guild name)). Gajeel would also try and teach Levy Ancient Draconian, because she was a nerd like that and Gajeel would use a lot of things as an excuse to spend time with her. (When Levy would go off to Jellal so she could get to know her family better, he spent most of the time scowling after her while Erik laughed at his misery).
Max and Laki, when they were actually at the guild, would rotate between the group at the bar, to splitting with the quiet kids, to randomly cackling (Laki) and sighing in defeat (Max) next to Macbeth, Bickslow, Erik, and Erigor when something went horribly wrong.
Of course, there was also Orga, who was an absolute menace who only got away with half of the stuff he does because of how adorable he is. He'd bounce around excitedly between the hyper dragon slayers, to all of the kids way older and more chaotic than him, to playing with the babies, which were generally with their mothers (mostly because they believed that if they looked away for five seconds, their husbands would lose them, which is not entirely unfounded after Silver somehow lost Ash previously. You'd think he'd be better at this, since he had previous experience with Gray, but he was not, and Ur was utterly done with him).
As for me and Laxus? Well, I would usually bounce around between the kids, as they needed me and wanted my attention. Laxus would sometimes follow me along, and when we weren't migrating, we were moving between the chaotic groups and the kids so I could play with them, and watch them.
Laxus says that it's kind of counterproductive to put me in charge of the setting limits for the chaotic crew, but I don't really agree with him. I know when to stop. Usually.
Well, that's what he's for, then.
When the rest of the guild would be too much, or too noise, Laxus would usually move over to the kids' area, lean back, close his eyes, and listen to music. He'd also usually move me next to him so he could cuddle with me. And the reason he moved to the kids area is because he knew that I'd probably still want to play with them if I wasn't resting like he was.
All in all, we settled into a routine, in our own version of normal, even if it wasn't normal at all.
We celebrated birthday, practiced magic, went on quests, had sleepover movie nights, and would just spend time together, being a family.
It was honestly perfect. I'd be fine with doing this every day.
January was simple, after things got settled down. Richard, Sawyer, Wally and Sho left, Cana and Brandish got fitted for Overload, Freed's stories got really popular (like people were sending in fanart of me and Laxus in his different scenarios – like in the middle of robbing a bank, or with angel wings, or mad scientist people). I also found out that several girls had gotten their period by now without telling me (Evergreen, Erza, and Cana) and I told them and the other girls that we should really pay attention to that stuff because dragon slayers, unfortunately, can smell blood.
About halfway through January, things picked up a bit with a new member of the family.
"Haumea's Deliverance," I intoned, and Romeo popped out.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Macao asked excitedly, unable to move from Enno's tight grip on him.
"I already told you it would be a boy," I said, rolling my eyes as I swaddled the baby and passed him to Enno.
Enno cooed down at him. "So adorable, my little Romeo."
I smiled at them fondly.
"What are we naming him?" Macao asked.
Enno stared at him. "I literally just called him Romeo."
"Today's been a stressful day, okay?"
"I'M THE ONE WHO GAVE BIRTH!"
I sighed. Yeah, that sounded about right.
"Elle."
I looked up.
Enno and Macao exchanged a glance, and Enno handed Romeo out to me. "We want you to be Romeo's godmother."
I stared at them. "Really?"
They nodded.
I blinked away any tears as I took the baby from them. "Hello, little Romeo," I said to him. And then, before I realized what I was doing, I reached up and tapped his forehead. "Haumea's Gift."
A wave of power rippled out of the room.
For a second, the world seemed frozen.
"Elle…" Enno said slowly. "What did you do?"
"Uh…" I didn't exactly think saying 'I don't know' was the right answer here.
The infirmary door burst open, Zeref at the front, who ran in and hugged me, spinning me around, before doing the same with Macao.
"This is great!" he said cheerfully. "I can't believe I didn't realize the connection! Though to be fair it's probably much farther than I thought."
"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Enno screeched.
The group of people at the door – Makarov, Ur, Mari, and Mavis, with Freed, Jellal, Ultear, Levy and Lucy trailing behind (which means that they were taking advantage of me being distracted (and unable to tell them off for bothering the honeymoon stage of Mavis and Zeref's relationship) by demanding that Zeref teach them things). Erik and Macbeth were a few paces behind them, which made me wonder just what the kids had talked Zeref into teaching them about.
Zeref had stopped pacing and stared at everyone's confused faces, all waiting for him to get to the point. "Elle and Macao are related."
"What?" I asked, completely confused. "How?"
"…reproduction from a common ancestor?" Zeref asked, confused. "You're not that closely related, probably only a few generations closer related than you and Jellal or you and Kinana are. But Macao's probably descended from the Rigby line, or else the gift wouldn't take."
"And what exactly is this 'gift'?" Enno asked suspiciously.
"It's kinda like a way of renewing an heir if there isn't one," Zeref explained.
"Wouldn't I be the Heir?" I asked. "Because I have Planetary Magic?"
Zeref's mouth opened and closed. "…Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssss," he drew out, slightly uncomfortable. "It's true that Romeo should probably still count as the same generation, so I'm not quite sure why the gift would take now, unless something specific is fated to happen."
Suddenly it dawned on me. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," I finally said.
"What is it?" Ur asked.
"Something that's not really important right now," I said, shaking my head. "I'll tell the important people about it as it gets closer. For now, let's concentrate on what this means for Romeo. Does this mean he'll have Planetary Magic?"
Zeref nodded.
"Really?" Macao asked excitedly, before sweeping up Romeo and twirling around. "MY SON IS GOING TO BE SO BADASS!" he cried happily.
Enno stared at her husband. "Why is he more emotional than me when I just gave birth?" she murmured.
"Because he's an idiot," I told her.
She snorted. "You're the one related to him."
"You're the one who married him," I said to her.
"Touché," she murmured.
I sighed. "He's gonna be a real pain in the ass."
She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he already?"
"MY KID IS GONNA BE THE MOST BADASS OF THE NEW GENERATION!" Macao shouted out to the guild down below.
"You're wrong, our daughter is gonna be the most powerful!" Gildarts bellowed, scooping Amber high into the air.
"Nuh-uh, my wonder twins will win!" Silver yelled, grabbing Ash and Violet.
"Are you going to get into this?" Mari asked Maggie, giggling, as Maggie leaned against the wall and sipped a cup of coffee with her eyes closed, completely ignoring the chaos and infighting around her.
"Nope. Not an idiot," Maggie said, taking another sip.
"YOU'RE WRONG, MAXIE IS GONNA WIN!" Rex shouted, scooping Maxie off the counter.
"He still is, though," Maggie said, sighing and opening her eyes.
"Are you going to get into this?" Mavis asked Zeref.
He shook his head. "August and Larcade will age 1.5 times faster than everyone else, and they also aren't human. Not even slightly human, like Dragon Slayers or Stellar Wizards."
"I'm sorry, slightly human?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I mentioned that Stellar Wizards are usually connected to Dragon Slayers," Zeref said. "By the end of their lives, they're usually not entirely human anymore. They've started to transcend onto another plane."
I stared at him.
"Didn't I mention that?" he asked.
"NO! NO, YOU DIDN'T MENTION THAT!" I shouted.
He blushed, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry about that. To be fair, I mean, it's not like any mages are still fully human. You guys just hit another level."
I stared at him.
"I guess I was leaving it for Draco?" he shrugged.
I was still staring at him.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" he asked sadly.
"Yes, you are," I told him.
"I'll tell Mavis," he said glumly.
"Good," I said.
"What the fuck did I miss?" Laxus asked, peeking his head in. He'd been out picking up mission requests for the guild, hoping to get first shot at seeing what was available.
"A lot," I said.
"Well, I got us an S Class quest," he said, waving it in the air.
"Great," I smiled at him. "I'll fill you in on what happened on the way. Let's go!"