Alright, everyone, enjoy your super long chapter. Seriously. This thing is a monster.

And, I got a bit confused about Reedus's age so I took him out from where he showed up before and put him in here.

Also...

I HAVE NO REGRETS!

I'm not sorry.

Chapter Twenty Seven - Reedus

I ended up going back early.

Juvia's birthday was at the end of April, so I decided to go home early – there was no point in stopping by for Juvia's birthday and then returning a few days later for my birthday.

So I said goodbye to Zeref, popped home, and unpacked.

Finally feeling back to normal, I dressed in my regular clothes and walked to the guild, taking in the beautiful forest and the air of Magnolia.

I had missed this place.

Reaching the doors, I kicked them open. "I'm baaaaaaaaaack!" I sang.

The kids, who were all eating breakfast, perked up.

Honestly, there were so many people shouting different variations of my name that I couldn't even pick them out any more. Now it was just a huge cacophony.

I was mobbed into a group hug (with the exception of Laxus) before Makarov pulled me out of the pile with his Titan Magic. "I know you're all excited to see Elle, but I need to speak with her privately," he said.

I smiled. "Alright. Guys, finish up your breakfast."

Makarov set me down and led the way upstairs to his office. I sat on the couch while he moved to his chair.

"Elle," Makarov said.

"Yep?" I asked.

"Tell me about your previous life. From the other universe."

At that, I froze. I had been expecting a conversation about the letter I had thrown at him. I hadn't told him I was from another universe. Had I?

I couldn't remember.

"It's funny," I said quietly. "But I don't think I remember telling you that."

"Because you didn't," Makarov said calmly.

"I told him!" said a perky voice, and I turned to see Mavis Vermillion. She smiled at me. "Hello, Elle, it's nice to finally meet you in person!"

"Oh," I said. "You were listening, on Tenrou, weren't you?"

Mavis nodded, smiling. "And it really warms my heart that of all those possibilities, you chose this guild as your home. But why don't we fill in Third a bit more?"

I nodded, before I took a deep breath.

"My name is Eleanor Rigby. Honestly, I didn't have a name, originally; I was just a child left on a doorstep."

"The Matron at the orphanage was old fashioned, and ended up naming me Eleanor, after a famous woman she respected. Her husband was much more famous, but that Eleanor did all the work. When I had to be given a last name, I ended up with Rigby, because there's a famous song about a girl named Eleanor Rigby."

I gave a sad smile. "The song is about being alone, and I guess for my first life it fit me pretty well. I was alone. I moved from orphanage to foster home to many different places, each horrible in their own way. Finally, at around the age of twelve, I ran away. I found an abandoned apartment to live in, and managed to get a job."

"My refuge was in stories. I would spend time reading, or watching television. And almost all of the stories had very close familial bonds, but one stood out to me the most."

"It was called Fairy Tail, and it was about a wizard guild in the kingdom of Fiore. And it was a family. It was what I always wanted."

"I ended up obsessed with it," I continued. "I fell in love with the stories, the characters; the lifestyle. I'll admit, my life was difficult, but I could deal. I was exhausted from all my working, but then I would think about this guild; of belonging here and going on a few jobs every once and a while and having a family, and honestly, it was better than I ever lived. I wanted to be a part of the guild. I wanted to wake up, and go about my day, fighting for my nakama."

"But it was just a story, and I went about my life as normal. Then, one day, walking to work, I ended up in a car accident, and I died on my nineteenth birthday."

I smiled at them. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me. There's a theory, in my old universe, called String Theory – it's the belief that if it's imagined, it exists, in some reality, somewhere. Even fictional realities. Even though this was just a story, I could become a part of it. Somewhere, from the point of time I appeared in this world, another universe was created off the main timeline – the one I know. And that's this world, with all the changes I've made."

"You should have told me, my child," Makarov said, and I realized that it was the first time he called me that. "I was worried, especially about your intentions. And the way you act."

I gave him a bit of a sheepish look. "I never really got a chance to be a child last time around, and I'm guessing that getting physically de-aged made me mentally regress a bit, too. I know I'm a bit reckless, and I'm trying to think things through a bit more…"

He sighed. "As long as you try." Then he froze, as if realizing something. "Are you saying that all of my problems are caused by the person who created this universe?"

I shrugged. "Essentially. His name is Hiro Mashima, if you want to curse his name or something."

"DAMN YOU MASHIMA!" Makarov yelled, before leaving his office.

Not actually expecting him to do that, but I probably should have.

Mavis and I exchanged glances, before following Makarov out onto the balcony. "Listen up, everyone!" he announced. "I now know the name of the one causing all of our problems. Every problem, no matter how small, is caused by a man named Hiro Mashima. I cannot currently explain how he is able to cause all of these problems, but they are all caused by him. That being said, DAMN YOU MASHIMA!"

I mentally shrugged. Eh, why the hell not?

"Damn you Mashima!" I shouted.

"Damn you Mashima!" Most of the kids shouted.

"DAMN YOU MASHIMA!" the guild shouted.

My face was smiling so hard it hurt. No one particularly knew what was so funny about this, but it was honestly priceless.

After breakfast, we all conveyed in the training room (all being me, the rest of this kids, Macao, Wakaba, Gildarts, and the Master (who would do paperwork in the corner)).

However, there was one new person.

"Hello, Reedus, it's nice to meet you, how is your Picto Magic coming along?" I asked.

Reedus seemed frozen.

At the time, Reedus was a lanky teenager. I had thought that Reedus was part of the older generation, like Macao and Wakaba, but Reedus had actually just turned sixteen in January, and joined sometime a few weeks ago.

Since he seemed to be about in the middle of both age groups, he would spend most of the time in the training room, (though he spent more time of it drawing and painting than actually training).

While he would still end up in the guild hall, and paint all of the crazy rowdiness, he preferred being in the training room with the rest of the younger generation (and you know…Makarov doing paperwork, Macao, Wakaba and Gildarts who have nothing better to do than to play around with children and sometimes Enno when she got tired of being hit on by everyone in the main hall, and she would just rather practice her music magic).

Speaking of Enno's magic, I finally realized I had no idea what magic she had, and asked around so I could find out. She had a set of pan flutes she would use that could put people to sleep, and even control other people around her (and their magic!). In addition to that, her dancing magic, like Vijeeter's, would enhance her own and her teammates powers, while weakening an enemy's.

"I'm sorry," Reedus said. "But…how?"

"Elle just sort of knows things," Cana said, waving a hand. "Just go with it."

Reedus paused, then shrugged, and seemed to go along with it.

Something tells me he'll spend more time keeping quiet and doing art than actually getting active.

"Alright, I really missed you guys," I said. "I'm sure you've all got things to share, so let's go around in a circle."

"What's new with you, Elle?" Makarov asked.

I smiled. "You'll see when we're done. I'm going to want to fight someone, someone as strong as or stronger than me." I looked to Gildarts. "Would you be willing to fight me? I know that in a serious battle, I wouldn't be able to beat you, but I'd like to try, and see how far I've gotten."

He nodded. "Yeah, sure, why not?"

"Other than that, you've gotten taller," Wakaba teased. "You're growing up!"

I've gotten taller?

'Growing up'.

I realized that it was the end of April, and that my birthday would be coming up soon.

My birthday.

It's hard to believe that I've been here for almost a year.

Almost a year, and I've got a group of people that care for me. A family.

It's what I've always wanted.

When I was in my previous life, I had dreamed something a bit like this. Where I had a real family and I went away to college, and when I came back to visit it was all hugs and kisses and warm family gooeyness.

But then I would wake up, or the dream would dissolve back into the cold water of reality, and I would go back to being alone, with no one to care about me and no one to care for.

I might have been able to hold it back at Christmas, but I couldn't anymore.

"Ellie-girl? What's wrong, you're crying…" Macao said.

"I'm not crying, you're crying," I said, wiping away my tears.

"Who's the tsundere now?" Laxus asked.

I punched him. "Still you."

"Ow! Fuck, Elle, that hurt!"

Makarov sighed. "Look at what you've done, Elle. My grandson can't stop cursing now."

"It would have happened sooner or later," I said, shrugging. I breathed away my tears and turned to the kids. "So, who wants to tell me what's new?"

"Oh, Juvia is turning six in two days!" Juvia said happily.

I gave her a smile. "I know sweetheart, that's why I came back early."

"I beat Laxus!" Cana bragged.

"For the last time, I won!" Laxus yelled.

"It was a TIE!" everyone else (besides Reedus) yelled.

I couldn't help laughing.

"Oh, the Queen is pregnant!" Levy said.

"I know!" I said, smiling.

"How?" Cana asked. "You know what, never mind."

I turned to Bickslow and Evergreen. "How are you guys doing with your eye magics?"

Bickslow smiled. "I'm doing good enough I don't need to cover my eyes anymore!"

Does that mean he would never wear the helmet in the future?

"Isn't it 'well', not 'good'?" Levy asked.

"Yes, Levy-san," Freed said. "Don't let the heathens mix up your grammar."

"I'm almost at that stage!" Evergreen said excitedly, completely ignoring Freed and Levy's side conversation about the joys of grammar. "Soon I won't have to wear glasses anymore!"

"Nice…" I said. I turned to Gildarts and Cana. "How is your house? It better be habitable the next time I drop by."

"It's great!" Cana said. "We repainted it and everything, and Gildarts let me choose most of the colors!"

I turned to Macao and Wakaba. "What about you two? I heard you joined in on regular training. Are you stronger now?"

They smiled sheepishly. "Maybe a bit too strong right now. We need to keep training; we don't have enough control over our magical power. We kinda broke a few buildings on our last job. Even got in trouble with the Rune Knights…"

Rune Knights.

Rune Knights.

Rune Knights.

"Fuck!" I yelled. "I forgot about Mest!"

Everyone stared at me.

"Who?" Makarov asked.

I ignored him. "Cana I need to make a card for another person, I can't believe I forgot him!"

"Calm down, Elle," Cana said, pulling out a blank card and holding out a hand.

"Who is Mest?" Laxus asked.

"Someone you'll meet in the next decade," I said.

After that I ignored him and made the card with Cana, before safely tucking it away in storage.

"Are you going to explain what all that was about?" Laxus asked.

"No," I said to him.

I turned back to Gildarts, "Has everyone tried using you as a magical battery, yet?"

He shook his head. "We don't feel that Bickslow and Evergreen are ready yet, though Bickslow can probably try by next month. Freed and Levy tried it a few months ago."

"What about the older gen?" I asked, jerking my head at Macao and Wakaba.

"We figured we'd let them get a hold on their own magic without letting them borrow someone else's destructive power," Makarov said.

I snorted. "And Reedus?"

"I am not ready," Reedus said quietly.

"Do you mediate every day?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Oui. I have been practicing, but I am having some troubles."

I smiled at him. "Give it time, Reedus. Picto Magic is amazing, and it's one of the magics I regard as most useful and well-rounded."

"What else do you consider?" Makarov asked.

"Well…" I said. "While Teleportation Magic and Location Magic are both extremely useful, I wouldn't exactly call them 'well-rounded'. But I would call Requip well-rounded – I can keep anything in my storage space, from weapons to clothes to first aid kits to magical objects. Even food. That's certainly handy. Other than that, I think that Card Magic and Solid Script Magic are both extremely handy, as well as (as I said) Picto Magic. You can get a well-rounded assortment of attacks, as well as everyday uses with them. I also find Maker Magic very handy, though it's a bit less because it's stuck with one element, and Rune Magic, because it allows you to create your own little worlds full of whatever rules you wish. With these magics, you can become as creative as you want. It's only limited by your imagination."

I paused. "And your power strength. That's why we're going to work on increasing your magical container and stamina, alright Reedus?"

He nodded slowly. "Oui. I see."

I turned to the rest of the group. "Any other news?"

"Oh, hey Elle?" Laxus asked. "Do I get motion sick in the future, or something?"

"Trains?" I asked.

"Yeah…" he trailed off. "How do I get rid of it?"

"As far as I know, you never do," I shrugged.

"That's not what I want to hear, Elle!" he yelled.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll stop by Porlyusica's, see if she has any sort of special tricks. Or could make one. Alright?"

He breathed easier. "Alright."

"I will also help in this endeavor to cure Laxus-sama's motion sickness," Freed said. "Levy-san, we must develop a rune!"

Levy nodded.

"Anything else you guys want to share before Gildarts kicks my ass?" I asked.

"Now you're making me sound bad," Gildarts muttered.

"Actually, I do have one!" Freed said. "Ella-sama, I was wondering if we could meet those Celestial Spirit friends of yours."

Levy got all excited. "Yeah! I'd love to ask them about the Celestial World and other things!"

I sighed. "I'll see if Corvus will come out, but Phoenix can't. He's sick, and it'll take him a week to recover."

"Oh. Will you call him out next week, then?" Levy asked.

I shook my head. "I meant a week in his time. He got sick earlier this month, and he probably won't be able to come out again until January of X775."

Freed had a shocked expression on his face. "Are you telling me that one day in the Celestial Realm is equal to about three months here?"

"That's exactly what she's saying," a voice spoke up.

Corvus, wanting to be all dramatic and the like, popped up out of the shadows.

"How's Phoenix?" I asked.

He glared at me. "Still recovering."

"I said I was sorry," I muttered.

"What could have been so bad that he'd spend a week recovering?" Makarov asked.

"Anhkseram Black Magic," Corvus said.

Makarov gasped. "Elle! Why would you try practicing that?"

"It wasn't me who did it!" I cried. "Geez, it was Zeref!"

There was silence in the room.

I hadn't meant to blurt that out.

"Zeref?" Gildarts asked. "The…dark wizard Zeref? From four hundred years ago?"

"Yes."

I couldn't really turn back now.

More silence.

"…Zeref?" Makarov repeated.

"Yes," I said.

"Elle, you can't blame all of your problems on Zeref," Makarov said. "It's one thing for this HIRO MASHIMA (damn him), but it couldn't have been Zeref."

"She's telling the truth," Mavis said, floating down to join the conversation.

There was a pause.

"What were you doing near Zeref?" Makarov shouted. "I thought you were on Tenrou Island?"

"I was on Tenrou Island," I said.

"Why is Zeref on Tenrou?" he shouted.

"Stop shouting!" Corvus said harshly, and the noises stopped. "That's better."

I sighed. "He's upset with me because I'm the one who suggested that Phoenix try healing Zeref of his curse."

"Curse?" Macao asked.

"The Curse of Contradiction," Mavis said. "The more one cares about life, the more death energy they release. But if they have no regard for human life, they release none at all."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but who's this lady?" Bickslow asked.

She smiled. "I'm Mavis Vermillion! I'm the one who founded this guild."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" shrieked a large amount of people in the room.

I started laughing. "Oh, you guys should see your faces!"

"Elle, you shouldn't joke about our founder," Laxus said.

"No, she's telling the truth," I said. "But your faces are very funny."

Mavis stays the same age while everyone else grows. Everyone else is older in the future and she's thirteen – but she's still thirteen now, which puts her older than all of the newest generation, even Laxus.

Physically, at least.

Well, if we're counting Reedus as the older generation.

I'm still not sure about that; he's only four years older than Laxus, and six years older than me.

"Anyway, that's not why I'm upset with you," Corvus said. "I'm upset because after all that was said and done, you went and asked him to teach you magic."

More yelling.

I shrugged. "What? Mavis did it!"

"Elle, you can't just ask the Dark Wizard Zeref to teach you magic!" Makarov said.

I looked at him. "You do know that Zeref was the one who taught your father magic, right? And Master Precht and Warrod, along with Mavis. If it wasn't for Zeref, Fairy Tail might not have even been formed."

"She's right!" Mavis said excitedly. "The five – well, um, four – of us were attacked by the dark wizard guild Blue Skull, and were recovering in the woods. I ran into Zeref when he was bathing, and saw his curse in effect. Seeing how powerful he was, I asked him to teach us magic, so he did!"

"The Dark Wizard Zeref…taught you magic," Makarov said.

Everyone else was speechless.

"Mmhmm," Mavis said.

"And…my father?" he continued.

"Yep!" Mavis said. "Precht got it first. But then later that night, Yuri figured out that he had to meditate while exercising, because he's hyper, otherwise he wouldn't be able to focus. That was when he got it. Warrod took the longest, but Zeref suggested a different method for him and it worked."

"I saw how powerful the four of them were, and wanted some of that tutelage of my own," I said. "I mean, hell, Warrod is a Wizard Saint now. And Mavis, despite being…well…I mean, look at her. She seems as real as we do. Nothing like how you'd imagine a ghost would be!"

"A ghost!" most of the kids yelled.

"Fairy Tail was founded almost a hundred years ago, guys," I said. "It's amazing that Precht and Warrod are even still alive."

"Elle is right!" Mavis said. "This year is my 100th birthday!"

Silence…

"Really, congrats!" Cana's voice cracked, but she still seemed to get her voice back first.

"Was Zeref scary, Onee-sama?" Juvia asked.

"No, not really," I said. "He was sad. Spent most of the time crying. I told him about you guys, and about how much I love Fairy Tail…why I came here in the first place."

I saw the dawn of recognition in Makarov's eyes.

"He said that he wished he didn't have his curse, and that he could walk in with his brother and join."

I turned to Makarov. "I can't help imagining the Magic Council's face if you went to them to tell them that the Dark Wizard Zeref joined your guild."

I laughed at the look on his face.

"Zeref has a brother?" Laxus asked curiously.

Shut up!

I nodded. "Mmmhmm. He died hundreds of years ago. He's the reason why Zeref was cursed, actually."

Dammit!

"What do you mean?" Gildarts asked.

Oh fuck it.

JUST DON'T MENTION HIS BROTHER'S NAME, IDIOT.

"Well, Zeref had a younger brother. But one day, while he was at his school, a group of dragons attacked their home, and killed his family. His parents were gone, but his little brother's body was intact. So he looked for a way to bring him back to life."

"Back…to life?" Levy asked.

"Yes," I said. "That's what all his creations were. The Etherious – his demons – started out as tests he made, in order to bring his brother back. The R System, as well, was one of his ideas – a way to bring someone back from the dead. But he abandoned it when he realized he would have to trade a life for a life."

"Eventually, however, Zeref was cursed through his research, and then he started making his demons more and more powerful. He hoped that eventually he'd be able to make them strong enough so that one day, they'd be able to kill him."

There was silence.

"It certainly paints a different picture of him than most think, doesn't it?" Mavis said.

I turned to her and smirked. "Oh, we all know why you care so much. You looooooooove him."

She blushed. "Ahh, shut up Elle!"

"No way, the two of you were totally in love; don't even try to deny it. Whenever I would mention your name he'd get this super fond adorable smile on his face."

Her blush deepened, but she smiled. "D-did he?"

"Mmmmmmmhmmmmmmm," I said, sliding up next to her, my eyebrows hopping up and down.

Corvus sighed. "I don't even remember why I came out here in the first place. I'm going back, Elle. Goodbye."

And then he disappeared.

"Well, he's…um…" Macao started.

"Antisocial, I know," I said. "We're working on it. It's better when Phoenix is here, he's able to draw his older brother out more."

"Is Zeref still on Tenrou Island?" Makarov asked.

"Yes, I asked him to stay there. I figured if it was up to anyone about kicking him off it, it should be Mavis. After all, she loooooovees him. Also she founded this guild and it's technically her island."

"I thought it was the guild's holy ground," Freed said.

"Yeah, but we were only able to claim it as holy ground because Mavis was born there and was the only inhabitant for a large part of her life."

"How large?" Levy asked.

"Seven years," Mavis said. "When I was six, the Blue Skull guild raided the island and killed them all. I didn't leave until I was thirteen, when I met Yuri, Warrod and Precht."

Seven years, huh? I thought. Aloud, I said, "Well, if we're done catching up, I would like my fight now."

Gildarts shrugged. "Okay. But uh, just so you know, being a magical battery is actually a really good way to increase magical strength. So, I'm stronger too."

Lovely.

"Well, then maybe we'll all try being magical batteries," I said.

"Are you sure about this?" Laxus whispered as well all moved outside.

"Do I look sure about this?" I asked him.

He took a look at my face and opened his mouth.

"Don't answer that."

"No, you don't look sure."

"Laxus, I said don't answer that."

"I know, but I wanted to do it anyway." He smirked.

We reached the training grounds and Freed put down some runes for safety. Bickslow and Evergreen, who had yet to really see me fight, waited excitedly with the others. Reedus seemed a bit wary about watching the fight.

"Whenever you're ready," Gildarts said.

This was a real fight – Gildarts knows more about my magic now (not everything, since I just learned three new elements) and he isn't handicapped with Freed's runes.

I nodded. "I'm ready."

"Crush," he sent out a wave of his crash energy at me, and I immediately whipped up my magic.

"Venus's Reflective Shield!" I shouted, and a wall of pure light energy formed in front of me. His magic hit it and sent it back at him.

There were pros and cons to Venus's and Earth's different types of shields. For one, Earth's takes a lot less power to use – I'm not forming the element out of my own magic; I'm raising the ground; simply manipulating the element.

But Venus's shield can be used just about anywhere, as long as I have enough energy to sustain it.

And it's a lot purer, so it would hold up a lot better against things like Zeref's demons.

"Onee-sama, that's so cool!" Juvia said happily.

"What is that?" Reedus asked, as he frantically tried to draw it.

"Ella-sama has a type of lost magic, called Planetary Magic," Freed said. "Before she went training, she could only utilize the planet Earth, which is associated with the element earth, though she was able to use Pluto a little bit. Because she needs to surround herself in the environment specific to that element in order to learn it, she went to Tenrou Island to learn some other planets."

"What's Venus's element?" Evergreen asked.

"Light," Gildarts answered, dissolving his own attack.

I smirked, dropping the shield. "What can I say? It's pretty sunny on Tenrou."

Then I slammed my hands downward and shouted, "Fury of Mars!"

A wave of fire went directly to Gildarts and surrounded him, attacking him from multiple directions.

As he fought that off, I muttered, "Pluto's Body," and jumped into my own shadow, before jumping out of Gildarts's shadow.

"Venus's Sword!" I shouted, a long light-based sword growing out of my right hand. With a well-placed swipe, I slid the sword through his chest.

A burst of power connected as he tried to move away in time, and we both ended up flying many meters apart, onto the other sides of the field. Deep gashes were left in the ground from the pressure of moving Gildarts back.

A distant part of me wondered how I looked. I was still covered in Shadow Magic, but holding onto a sword made of light.

"Two elements at once, Elle? And opposites, at that," Gildarts said, impressed.

I shrugged. "Corvus is a slave driver."

It had taken the longest amount of time to get that down, and originally it was just me jumping out of my opponents shadow while requipping a sword.

However, Corvus made me (eventually) switch that out for the Venus spell, because I can choose what happens to my opponents when I hit them.

The deeper it goes into their body, the more control I can have over them.\

And also, it looks cooler.

Gildarts seemed to realize I had done something as he tried to move, and couldn't. "What did you do, Elle?"

"If I hit my opponent with Venus's Sword," I said, "I can do whatever I wish to them. The deeper the strike, the more power over them I have. For now, all I'm doing is keeping you still. However…"

An evil grin grew on my face and I changed the magic I was running through him.

And then he was on the ground, a high pitched noise coming from his throat.

"What are you doing to him?" Cana cried.

"Relax, I'm just tickling him," I told her.

It was true. Gildarts was rolling around on the ground as my sword activated on his nerves, tickling him like crazy, and his keening noise slowly became a type of wheezing laughter.

"Isn't it great?" I asked.

Despite the fact he was on the ground, laughing his ass off, Gildarts still managed to get up, laughing, and held out his hand to me, preparing a spell. Still shaking, he said, "All Crush."

The wave of explosive power hurtled towards me, and I cast, "Venus's Reflective Shield!" again.

And then a shock ran through my body right as the attack hit, and my power faltered.

And then everything went black.

When I woke up, I was lying on an infirmary bed.

"Gildarts, All Crush is too much for the children!" Makarov was yelling.

"No, it's my fault," I said, holding my head as I sat up. "I didn't get my shield up in time. I still haven't gotten a hang of maintaining a light shield and the sword at the same time."

But why didn't I? That was the question. Something had stopped me at the end, something that I had never felt before.

That was something I needed to check out.

I put it out of my mind for now, and turned to Gildarts. "However, the friendly sparring was to test my skills not knock me out. I didn't even get to use all my new elements."

"You have more new elements, Onee-sama?" Juvia asked.

"What are they?" Levy asked. "We've seen you use Earth, Shadow, Light, and Fire."

I smirked. "I learned one more." Gathering my power, I said, "This is for you, Juvia. Happy Birthday!"

"Wave of Neptune!" I shouted, and soaked Gildarts in a huge wave of water.

He stood there, dripping wet, and spit out a little water he had swallowed. "You done?"

I shrugged. "I'm cool."

"Onee-sama can use Juvia's element, too!" Juvia said excitedly, climbing onto the bed with me and hugging me.

"Yeah, sweetheart, after a lot of practice I was able to utilize water, too. I even have a spell that allows me to breathe underwater."

Juvia paused her bouncing a bit, before she began a bit more excitedly. "Juvia will develop a similar spell, too!"

I laughed and ruffled her hair, which was down in waves. She seems to have completely ditched the curly hair she had when I met her.

She looked cuter this way, anyway.

Honestly, I never thought I would end up so close to Juvia, but I love it.

"So are we good to go?" I asked.

Makarov sighed, and nodded.

"Alright everybody, to the training room! I have things we must discuss."

The kids (and Reedus, Gildarts, Macao, and Wakaba – who apparently have nothing better to do than spend time with kids) followed me down to the training room, where I sat.

"Cana, I need four blank cards," I said. "And you ought to be able to reuse them when I'm done."

She nodded and handed them to me.

On one I scribbled 1 and another 2. I put that pair aside.

On the next one I wrote Pisces and then Gemini, and put those two in a pair aside.

"Alright, Cana, Freed. I want you to each grab one from the pile in front of you. Then you get the left over card from the other pile."

I pushed the cards with numbers on them to Cana, and Freed the cards with the Zodiacs on it.

Freed and Cana exchanged glances, and each picked a card.

"I got 1," Cana said, confused.

"I have…Pisces," Freed said, looking even more confused.

I smiled and began to explain. "I have two more treasure sites I need to visit, and I decided to bring one of you and Laxus along with me for those. Cana, we'll be going for Gemini first. We'll probably do that this month. Freed, at some point at the end of July, we'll be going after Pisces key, alright?"

They nodded.

"This is gonna be super cool!" Cana said excitedly.

I smiled. "I'm glad you're going to like it. Now, though…" I turned to Makarov. "Have you chosen?"

He nodded. "Gildarts asked to sit out." He turned to all of us kids. "Now, I'm sure you've all heard of the Grand Magic Games…"

"Yeah, it sounds like a lot of fun, Jiji!" Laxus said. "I can't wait to watch!"

"You won't be watching, my boy," Makarov said. "You'll be participating."

There was silence. Then…. "WHAT?"

I laughed.

"Two teams from each guild are allowed. One of Fairy Tail's Teams will be comprised entirely of your generation," Makarov said. "Each team has five members. I would like Bickslow and Evergreen to sit out, and have Freed as the reserve. Is that alright?"

Bickslow and Evergreen nodded.

"I don't know how to fly," Evergreen said. "And I've spent more time on controlling my Stone Eyes than on learning Fairy Magic."

"The only soul I have is Papa," Bickslow said. "And while I've practiced getting stronger, I haven't really tried any of the attacks."

Makarov looked at Reedus. "I haven't placed you on either team because I wasn't quite sure where you fit in Elle's schematics of 'generation' but I also feel as if you aren't ready for the games yet."

Reedus nodded. "Oui. Merci. I would have asked to be withdrawn if chosen."

Makarov turned to Levy. "Levy, are you alright with participating? We can move you to the reserve, if you prefer."

"I think you should participate, Levy," Freed said. "You have much more offensive attacks then I do."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

I knelt down next to her. "You'll do great."

She smiled. "Alright, I'll do it!"

"That's the spirit!" I said. "Now, the GMG starts on the 1st of July! So we've got to train, guys. Train, train, train! Also, at some point, I would like to try teleporting more than two other people, because I don't know if I can carry all five of us if something happens."

Everyone nodded.

"Great," I said. "I also have a few stops to make and things to do."

"Alright, have fun!" Makarov said.

I waved and teleported away.