Chapter Thirty Six - The 1st Annual Grand Magic Games: Day Off - July 6th X773

The next day was simple, and we all sat around in our gigantic room. Freed had written runes all over the walls and doors, preventing anyone from listening in.

Freed, Brandish, Levy, Bickslow and Evergreen were there for support and also for suggestions.

Even though Enno and Reedus weren't competing, they were still barred from the room, as they were adults.

"Alright," I said, turning to the four who would be participating with me. "Who wants what team? You can take them on alone, or with a partner. Either is fine."

"I want Phantom Lord," Lucy said immediately, turning and smiling at Levy, who was hobbling her way over to hug Lucy. "As long as I can keep them all in one place, and maybe have someone guard me, I should be able to use Urano Metria pretty easily."

"What's that?" Brandish asked, interested.

Lucy gave a happy smile. "It's a super awesome spell Ellie-nee told Virgo to teach me. I can't wait to show it to you tomorrow, it's so pretty."

I snorted. She wasn't really wrong. "Got it; Lucy gets Phantom. Anyone else?"

"Juvia would like Lamia Scale," Juvia said. "But Juvia would also like some assistance…"

I turned to Laxus. "Feeling up to a Unison Raid?"

He smirked. "Sure, I'm always up for giving everyone else a heart attack."

I snorted, and turned to Cana. "Blue Pegasus, or Quatro Cerberus?"

She paused. "Do you think I'm strong enough to take on Quatro Cerberus?"

I nodded. "Yeah, don't worry, you should be fine. We can plan out particular attacks later."

I turned to Lucy. "Virgo can come out on her own, right?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, and Aquarius can too, but-"

"Wait, she can?" I asked.

Lucy cocked her head and nodded. "Yeah. The more powerful I get, the stronger my Spirits get. They'll be able to open their gates on their own and stay out for a much longer time, too. While I was practicing with Ophiuchus, Aquarius was also practicing her ability to come out on her own. She said it was 'in case I ever need it', and looked really sad about it."

I bit my lip and nodded. "Can you summon Virgo?"

Lucy nodded and summoned Virgo, who none of the other kids have met yet.

"Punishment, Princess?" Virgo asked.

"No, no punishment, Virgo," Lucy said, giggling. "But Ellie-nee asked me to summon you."

Virgo nodded and turned to me. "It is good seeing you again, Elle-sama. How have you been?"

I smiled. "Very well, thank you. Now, it's eleven years earlier, but Lucy is going to fight Phantom Lord in the Grand Magic Games."

Virgo's face hardened. "Understood."

"Lucy wants payback for Sol hurting Levy," I said, gesturing to Levy's leg. "So she wants to take them all at once with Urano Metria. I want to know if you can come out on your own to guard her until she finishes the spell."

Virgo nodded. "It's possible, yes, but you know who would be a better choice."

It was a statement.

I nodded. "Yes."

"What do you mean, eleven years from now?" Levy asked. "What does that mean?"

"Time flows differently in the Celestial Realm, remember?" I said. "Most Celestial Spirits knows what's going to happen to the same point in time I do."

"From my point of view," Virgo said, "I've actually already met you all. Though, of course, I know much more about Levy-sama, as she is one of Hime-sama's closest friends."

At that, she abruptly disappeared and reappeared just as quickly. She handed Levy a potion. "Drink this. It will help you heal faster. While you will probably still be impaired for a week or two, your bone will be fixed within a month, definitely."

"I didn't know you could do that," I said.

Virgo nodded. "The King has allowed permission this time around, so I will freely be controlling Princess's dietary and fashion needs in the future, as well as many others. Now that we can freely access everything in the Spirit World, she will be treated like the Princess she is!"

Lucy was blushing.

"Where am I?" Brandish asked sadly.

"Without Elle-sama's intervention, you would have never met Lucy until far into the future, and you wouldn't become friends for a very long time."

"Thank you, Nora," Brandish said quietly.

Lucy hugged her.

I turned to them. "Lucy, how would you like one more surprise to show Fiore tomorrow?"

She cocked her head. "What is it?"

"How many gates do you need to keep open for Monoceros?" I asked.

"Five," she said immediately.

"And how many can you open?" I asked.

She drooped a bit. "Four."

I nodded. "That's right. You can hold open four Golden Gates at once! And it would be impractical to pull out Monoceros in a fight anyway, because he takes up so much magic and he's used for a series of things that are mostly not battle-oriented."

Lucy was still sad. "So?"

I shrugged and smiled. "I can't give you Monoceros right now, but I can give you Corvus."

And with that said, I requipped Corvus's gleaming Platinum Key into my hand. He had told me, after seeing Lucy's battle from the Spirit World (where they apparently watch her life like it's Reality Television (which I guess it is, kinda)), that he was finally ready to make a contract with her.

I would also probably give her Pegasus, too, after the Games.

I mean, it's not like he comes out and spends time with me, or anything.

Though, I think he's able to.

"Corvus?" Lucy asked, shocked.

I nodded. "Yep. It takes, at most, the strength of holding three Golden Gates open to utilize him completely in battle. In addition to that, he can come out on his own easily. He even taught me hand to hand combat, previously."

"Wow," Lucy said, and took the key as I handed it to her.

"Open, Gate of the Crow!" she chanted, and a brilliant gleam filled the room. "Corvus!"

Corvus appeared in front of us all, but his magical presence seemed much, much stronger than before.

"Hello, my Princess," Corvus said, bowing to Lucy. "I am quite impressed. I have never been summoned with this much power before."

He smirked. "Once we have a contract I can easily kick that Lion's ass!"

"That Lion?" Freed asked.

"Apparently, Corvus has a bit of a rivalry with Lo- with Leo the Lion. Probably because Corvus uses Shadow Magic, and Leo uses Light Magic. And also because, since Leo is the Leader of the Zodiacs and Corvus is the lowest of the Platinums, they're considered on par, and its unknown who is more powerful," I explained.

"Do you have Leo, Ellie-nee?" Lucy asked.

I shook my head. "No, I still need Aries, Leo, Libra and Pisces. Though Freed, Laxus and I will be going after Pisces next month."

"Can I come?" Lucy asked.

I shook my head adamantly. "No way. Cana was hit by a compulsion spell on the last expedition, and nearly touched an object with dark magic. As Celestial Magic is a pure magic, it will be a lot harder for a spell like that to get its hooks in you, but if you do touch dark magic, it will surely affect you much worse than normal."

"Oh," Lucy said, slouching a bit.

"It's more than that, however," I said. "We might not even be able to go without Gildarts."

"Why?" Laxus asked.

I bit my lip. "I'll explain later, alright?"

The thing was…

Pisces wasn't exactly in Fiore.

While it was on Ishgar (the continent Fiore was on), it wasn't in Fiore. More than that, it wasn't even on continental Ishgar – it was on an island off the coast of Caelum.

So yeah, that might be a bit problematic.

And after everything that happened at the last one…

Yeah, I'll probably have to bring Gildarts.

"Going back to the subject," I said.

Lucy nodded. "What days are you available?"

"Whenever you wish, my Princess," Corvus said. "My only wish is being able to come and go as I please."

She giggled. "Alright. Virgo does that, too."

Virgo nodded.

"What can you tell me about your magic?" Lucy continued.

"As Elle explained before, I control Shadow Magic. I can solidify shadows, I can control the shadows… I can turn myself and you (along with others) into a shadow and travel through them. I can also turn into a crow, and am a very good spy. In addition to that, I can control crows if needed, and use them to attack others."

Lucy nodded. "And do you have any weaknesses I should know about?"

"Yes," Corvus said. "Light magic. While, in general, I do not mind Light Magic being cast, especially if it provides me with shadows, if it's too powerful then there will be no shadows at all. If, for instance, Elle was to hit me with a pure beam of her Venus magic, I would be more likely to be returned to the Spirit World then, say, being run through by a sword."

Lucy nodded. "Got it," and put her notebook away. She paused. "Have you ever been run through with a sword?" she asked curiously.

"Several times," Corvus said. "I've gotten used to it. However, it has been awhile since I've been summoned at all, and I'll probably have to adjust to it again."

"I don't want you to get run through with a sword!" Lucy said, shocked.

Corvus smiled at her, and suddenly he seemed to lose control. He grabbed Lucy tight and hugged her, squealing and spinning around.

What. The. Actual.

FUCK.

"My Master is the sweetest and most precious one in the entire world! She's the cutest and the strongest Celestial Mage ever! AND I GOT HER FIRST, TAKE THAT YOU DAMN LION!"

"What do you mean by 'first'?" Lucy asked, seemingly completely unperturbed at nearly being smothered to death by her spirit. Then again, I think I've done a few things similar. And Enno did that when they met…

Well, Lucy is a fucking adorable kid.

"In the last timeline, that damn Lion got to you first!" Corvus said angrily.

"Oh," Lucy said. "When did I get him and when did I get you?"

Corvus grew sad, and put Lucy back on the bed. "You got him when you were seventeen, and…well, you didn't get me."

"What?" she cried. "Why not?"

Corvus shrugged. "None of the Platinum Keys were found. We were all hidden too well. Elle only found us because she knows a lot of things and is stubborn as hell. And really loves you."

I blushed as Lucy tackled me. "Thank you thank you thank you Ellie-nee. Thank you so much!"

"Hey," I said, rubbing her head. "I love all you guys. You're nakama."

"I have a question," Freed said, and we all turned to him. He looked directly at me. "Ella-sama, you all speak as if this has happened."

I blinked. "It has, Freed. Time is only experienced in a linear manner, and that's not even true for everybody. This technically has happened."

He shook his head. "No, what I'm saying is that this is different! You're different!"

He paused, his finger pointed at me, and silence descended upon the room. "Ella-sama…you weren't in the last timeline, were you? That's why you say, 'last timeline' instead of something like 'future possibilities'. It's not something we're all waiting to experience. This world has already been lived through a cycle once, and someone restarted it and dropped you in it."

His finger slowly lowered. "That's why you know so much. It's because you were never part of the natural flow here in the first place. You've slid in seamlessly, but you've already learned a large variety of things about this world before you arrived. That's how you know so much, and why you're so confused about certain things. Why you talk about things like 'balance beams' and 'trampolines'. Why you showed us those odd memories that you said were stories on your birthday."

There was utter silence in the room.

They weren't supposed to find this out.

"I should have known you'd figure it out, Freed," I said, giving him a sad smile. "I really should've guessed it would be you, Lucy or Levy, but I honestly thought I wouldn't have to worry about this until you were all a little older. You're right. I'm not originally from this world, and that's why things are different now. The Grand Magic Games, even all of you joining Fairy Tail – those were things that weren't supposed to happen for years."

"It doesn't matter," Juvia said softly, and she got up from the bed and hugged me. "Elle is still my Onee-sama!"

She had referred to me by name, and she had spoken in first person.

"Of course she is!" Lucy said happily. "This just proves Ellie-nee loves us! She came to join us and to make us all happier earlier!"

"You…guys aren't mad?" I asked.

"Why would we be mad?" Cana asked.

"I technically manipulated you," I said. "Yeah, I did it to make us all happy, but it's still manipulation. I knew what would make you all do certain things, and work harder, and I did them on purpose."

"So?" Laxus asked. "Anyone can do that if they know their friends well enough. It's fine. You've made us happy, and you made us strong so we can all fight to protect each other."

"I'm cool with it, Big Sis!" Bickslow said.

"Yeah, you were able to get me a lacrima, too!" Papa said happily.

"Honestly, it's not that surprising," Evergreen said, smiling softly.

"You gave me friends," Brandish said quietly. "And you introduced me to Lucy."

"You gave us our family," Levy said quietly. "We all love you, Elle-chan. You don't need to worry about that."

I smiled, and grabbed them all in a group hug. "I love you all, so so much."

Fuck. I was crying again.

I had cried a lot in my last life, especially when I was hit by a particularly sad story, but I was really crying like crazy around these guys.

"How about we keep this one a secret, okay guys?" I asked, wiping away my tears.

Juvia blushed sheepishly. "Sorry, Onee-sama."

"Princess," Corvus said to Lucy. "I suggest that Virgo and I go back to the Spirit World. You've held us both out here for quite some time, and you've been stretching your container. You need to let your Magical Container refill for tomorrow's games."

Lucy nodded as we all separated from the hug. "Alright. I'll touch your key so you know when to come out on your own, alright?"

Corvus nodded, and he and Virgo disappeared in a flash of light.

After teleporting and grabbing Gildarts, who we then used as a giant magical battery, Cana had made the cards I needed for the plan (as they were some that she had to make in a specific way, or adjust).

And then I paused.

"Hey, guys, I kinda feel like I'm forgetting something," I said.

"Is it the other team?" Levy asked.

"Huh," I said. "Yeah, it is. Do you think we should give those idiots a chance to take out some guilds, too?"

"Like what?" Cana asked.

"Well, you could go with Lucy, and then they can split the team so they go after Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus. I could be the 'jumper' – since I have emergency cards monitoring all of you, I would know if you need help or if something is wrong."

As if it understood what I was saying, my magic roared angrily under my skin, wanting to participate more.

I ignored it.

Cana turned to Lucy. "Want to do it?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, this sounds like fun!"

"Alright then," I said. "I'm going to go scare Team B into doing our bidding."

With that, I popped over to the others, and explained the plan very carefully to them – though I left out the final touch. Once they understood what was happening, Macao and Wakaba decided to go after Blue Pegasus, and the other three decided to go after Quatro Cerberus. I also took spare monitoring cards I had and linked all of them to them, so I knew what was happening.

I finished explaining, and popped back to our room, where it had already gotten late. Everyone was meditating, and I saw Lucy holding onto Horologium's key, which meant she was keeping track of the time.

Smiling, I sat and joined them. They were only doing the part of meditating that expanded a magical container, and filled it with energy. We weren't going to empty them if we had to fight tomorrow.

Eventually, Lucy signaled the time and we stopped. After ordering room service and eating pizza in our room, we curled up in bed for the night.

"Tomorrow, we show Fiore just what we can really do," I said.

"Yeah!" Cana said.

"Juvia is ready!" Juvia said.

"Well," Lucy said. "Let's give them one heck of a show!"

Laxus just laughed, and the others just giggled.

Yeah, I thought. We'll give them a show, alright. "Goodnight, everyone."

"Goodnight!"

So...I didn't really expect for the kids to find out now, but if I go into my writing trance and get things like this, I keep them.

So yeah.

I didn't want to spoil the plans for the battle, so you've got to wait a bit. :)

Also, I know that the kids are kinda overpowered, especially Elle, and I'm working on fixing that a bit. I do promise that when I'm done with this fic, I'll probably rewrite the whole thing. It'd mostly be the same, just a few more scenes and less time jumps and stuff.

Just want to let you know.

Also we probably won't get Ice Wizards for a while after the GMG. Like...chapter 45 or something.

Sorry about that.