Y'all need to calm the fuck down.

Chapter Sixty Five - Tower of Heaven, Part Three

"ELLE!" The name left his lips in a scream.

He turned from the direction the shot came from, and his glaring gaze fell upon a man holding an old-fashioned gun – the type used without magic, that fired physical bullets.

"YOU!" he roared.

Laxus's body exploded in lightning, and he flew into the air, charging straight at the man. "YOU DARE? YOU DARE TO HURT HER?"

"I'm sorry!" the man squeaked.

"LIGHTNING DRAGON IRON FIST!" Laxus shouted, punching him in the face. "OH, YOU'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO BE SORRY," before the other man was fully up, Laxus was in front of him again. "LIGHTNING DRAGON HEAVENWARD HALBERD!"

The lightning-made halberd struck the man, and the white-hot anger Laxus had left with it, leaving only an empty, gaping hole where it used to be.

Laxus turned and flew back to the main center of the cavern, and he noticed Elle, Lucy, and the newer kid, Jellal, all lying on the floor unconscious.

But despite that, and her heavy breathing, Elle was still alive, and his heart felt like it was starting again.

"What happened?" he asked, coming to a halt and kneeling next to her.

"We're not quite sure," Macao said. "They're unconscious, but Elle's in bad shape, and the only ones who know healing magic are her and Phoenix, and Phoenix's gate closed when Lucy was hit."

Laxus desperately turned, searching. "Corvus!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "Where are you?"

Corvus came out of the shadows. "Sorry, I was cleaning up a mess on the other side of the island."

"Can you ask your brother to come out on his own and help heal Elle?" Laxus asked. "She was shot. Like…actually shot."

His voice cracked again.

Corvus frowned, but nodded and returned to the Celestial Spirit world.

"Woah, what the hell happened here?" Gray asked, entering their space.

Laxus whirled around to glare at him, Lyon, Nab, Ultear, Evergreen, Bickslow, and Brandish, who for some reason had separated from Lucy. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"Helping people escape," Ultear said cooly. "Why?"

It was Brandish's gasp that alerted everyone to the problem. "Lucy…Nora…"

"Nee-san…" Ultear whispered, her face paling.

"Shit," Bickslow said. "What happened to Big Sis? And Lucy, for that matter."

"For some reason, those three were hit by something and passed out. In addition to that, though, Elle got shot only a little bit before."

"Are you guys alright?" Cana asked, rushing into the room, followed by Juvia, Freed and Levy – Juvia exchanging a blushing glance with Gray on the way. "What happened?"

A burst of flame appeared, and Phoenix joined the part, Corvus phasing into existence a little bit afterwards.

"ONEE-SAMA!" Juvia shrieked, running forward as she noticed Elle. Instead, she was held back by Freed.

"Juvia-san, we mustn't disturb Phoenix," he said, his face pale and his voice shaking. "I'm sure he will help Ella-sama, but we must put our faith in him."

"Oh, that's not good," Phoenix said, running to Elle and holding a hand over the entrance wound.

"What's not good?" Corvus asked.

"You know, other than the fact that she might be dying," Laxus said sarcastically and angrily, turning to them, impatient over everyone talking when they should be moving.

To the surprise of everyone, Brandish lifted her head and pinned Laxus with a glare. "You need to calm down, Dreyar. We understand you're upset, but that's no reason to take your anger out on your nakama."

Laxus swallowed, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Fine…just…" he looked away. I need to distract myself. "What were you doing, anyway? Weren't you supposed to be partnered with Lucy?"

"Corvus and Loke assured me that they would have her back, and so I stuck with Nab and Bickslow for a bit so I could make all of the boats bigger, so we could carry more people as we evacuated."

Laxus nodded, watching over Elle and Phoenix.

"You're going to need to do it," Phoenix said to Corvus.

"What?" Corvus yelled. "I can't heal!"

"Not that!" Phoenix said. "The bullet didn't exit. You need to pull it back out. I won't be able to do it, it'll heat up and burn her. And while it's possible that it could essentially cauterize her from the inside out, that's generally not something that can be done to humans. Or anything."

"Wait!" Brandish said. "I can make the bullet smaller, so it comes out easier. At least that way, removing it should hurt her less."

Corvus nodded and moved over, and Brandish put a hand above the wound, closing her eyes and concentrating. It was a tense few moments before she pulled her hand away, and Laxus could easily hear the beat of his heart in the wake of the silence. "Alright, it's less than half of its original size. Is that good?"

"Yes, thank you," Corvus said, taking over. Using an extremely small shadow, he sent it inside the wound and tightened it around the bullet, coaxing it out until it was free.

"Good," Phoenix said, pushing Corvus over and using enough healing magic to close the wound. He turned to the others as he finished, though he was breathing a little heavily, and Laxus remembered that he was out here on his own accord. "Is anyone else hurt?"

"What about Lucy and Jellal?" Erza asked.

Phoenix shook his head. "Nah, they're fine. All three of them are just unconscious, though Elle is definitely going to need to be careful with it for the next few weeks. Even with healing, it will be sore for awhile, and she'll have some phantom pain."

Laxus nodded, feeling relived as he relaxed by Elle's side and pulled her head onto his lap, brushing her hair out of her face. He'd make sure that she didn't strain herself, in the coming weeks.

"I don't understand," Erza said. "Why did all three of them pass out? What was that, from the sky?"

"While I'm not sure if I can answer your questions about the sky or why they passed out…" Corvus said. "I do know that there is definitely one thing that they all have in common."

"And what's that?" Laxus asked.

"They all use Stellar Magic."

"Uhhhhhh," I stated, drawing a bit of a blank. "I'm not dead, am I?"

I couldn't be dead. There was so much more shit I needed to do. The Oracion Seis was still missing, the Dragon Slayers hadn't even arrived yet. I couldn't let Gajeel go through Phantom Lord again. That just wasn't fair, to him, Levy, or Fairy Tail. And Wendy shouldn't have to go through the whole ghost ordeal…

"No, you're not dead," she smiled softly. "You're just in a coma."

"THAT'S NOT MUCH BETTER!" I screeched.

Though that was kinda a lie; at least I didn't have to try to start over, or do something else entirely. I don't think I could handle that...

She gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry, you'll wake up before anything happens. You'll still have time for all of your plans."

I breathed a sigh of relief and followed her over to a table, where she sat down.

"So…." I began awkwardly.

She gave another laugh. "Hello, Elle. I do have a few things to say." She leaned forward. "First, I'm proud of you."

My throat clogged up, and I felt a familiar burning sensation behind my eyes. "What?" I croaked.

She smiled at me again. "I'm proud of you, Elle. I've been watching, and I must say, I'm very proud of the decisions you've made, with the exception of a few…but those are understandable, considering your age."

I frowned, and I deterred from the nonsense she was saying and finally brought up something that had been bothering me. "So, I have a question. How old am I, really?"

"Well…it's kinda complicated," she hummed thoughtfully. "You see…I couldn't exactly store all of the knowledge of a nineteen-year-old into a nine-year-old's brain properly. There would…well, it's not that there wouldn't be enough room, but it wouldn't exactly be compatible. I put a block on most of your memories; enough so that you can still easily remember them, but also so they wouldn't overwhelm you. That's why when you get too close to the past, you start to feel so overemotional. You're thinning the barrier, and the emotional turmoil from it starts leaking into your consciousness."

I paused, staring at her. "What?"

She sighed. "Look, how well do you remember your previous life? When is your first clear memory?"

"I guess it would be…here," I said, frowning. "It's a lot clearer than anything before it."

She nodded. "There's a type of aura surrounding this place that tends to make it happier, and easier to be in. So I can understand that. You wouldn't have felt all of your serious emotions in here, and since you went directly from here to your new world, you've never really felt the full brunt of your previous emotions and experiences."

"What…what do you mean by that?" I asked. A rock was sinking in my stomach.

That seemed to be a common problem, lately.

"Elle…your previous life was horrible. Another reason I locked it away was so you could get the childhood you never got the first time around. The one you deserve."

It couldn't have been that bad, could it? I mean, I didn't try to commit suicide, or even consider it...

And suddenly I wasn't so sure that was entirely true.

"So…" I asked, focusing on my original question. "How old am I, really?"

"You're in a type of limbo state," she said. "But truthfully, you're closer to your physical age, mentally. Your memories will release slowly over time, so you can handle them easier, and by the time you're nineteen, you'll remember everything."

"Oh," I said quietly.

"Don't worry," God said. "You're strong, and you can handle it. And I'll be there if you need me."

I blinked at her. "How?" I asked. "Aren't you busy?"

She gave me a confused look. "Elle, you aren't the only person I'm speaking to right now. I am everywhere, always helping other people. I'm probably speaking to a few hundred people, currently. And watching over many other people's lives. Some of them are quite interesting."

So…God had ADHD. Huh. Who knew?

I hesitated, before blurting out. "Why am I like this? So messed up? Why are we all like this?"

"People are not meant to be perfect…" God said.

"But I thought we were made in…Your image," I said.

"Yes, but no. Mankind was always supposed to be a creator with me as well. Step by step, side by side. That is why people are not perfect, and thrown into a series of random situations. Free will is what matters, and it's up to them what they do with it." She turned back to me. "Do you understand?"

"I think so," I said quietly. "It's okay to be different, or 'messed up' and we can take steps we think are necessary to change it…"

"That's good to know," she smiled. "Now, I believe our conversation is almost over. Are you ready to wake up?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Remember…time passes differently here. You'll still wake up in time, though…and I have some gifts for you…"

Lucy blinked up at the world around her. It was so pretty…

She stopped rotating so she could see when she came across a giant man with a ridiculously-long mustache.

"Hello!" she called out cheerfully. "My name is Lucy! What's yours, sir?"

"I am known as Cepheus," the giant said.

"Cool!" Lucy said. "That's a cool name. You've got a cool mustache, too, mister!"

The odd man smiled.

"Where are we?" Lucy continued.

"This is the Celestial Spirit world," Cepheus said.

Lucy's mouth dropped and her eyes grew wide. "This is?"

Cepheus nodded.

"How am I here?" Lucy asked. "I thought humans can't go to the Celestial Spirit World."

"You are here only in spirit, not in body," Cepheus explained.

"Does this mean that you are a spirit, too?" Lucy asked eagerly.

"Yes, I am," he said.

Lucy paused. "Wait, does that mean you remember the other timeline?"

Cepheus nodded his ginormous head.

"Did I ever have your key?"

He paused, then shook his head.

"Then…" Lucy lowered her eyes. "Maybe you can tell me, because sometimes I don't know if my spirits are telling the truth…"

Cepheus was quiet, waiting for her to speak.

"Was I a good Celestial Spirit Mage in the last timeline?" Lucy cried.

"What do you mean by that?" Cepheus asked.

"I mean my spirits, they were still my friends, right? I didn't become a bad wizard…or be mean to them…"

His face softened. "Princess Lucy Heartfilia…I can tell you right now that you are possibly the greatest and kindest Celestial Spirit Mage to ever exist, in whatever timeline."

Lucy's eyes teared up. "Really?"

He nodded.

She ran forward and hugged him, which was more than a little difficult, considering his size. "Thank you, Mustache-Man!"

He gave a throaty laugh. "You do not need to thank me for speaking the truth, my dear. Now, old friend…" he looked up at the sky. "I believe that it's time for you to wake up."

Lucy nodded. "Alright. It was nice meeting you, Cepheus! I hope I'll see you again, soon!"

"Learn how to Astral Project, and I think you'll do just fine," the spirit said, chuckling.

Jellal backed away from what he was watching in horror. "What? What is this? Stop it!"

"This is what happened last time around," a deep voice from behind him said.

Jellal spun around, and saw an older version of…himself? "What do you mean?"

The other Jellal ignored him and looked upon the scene. "It's well-known that Eleanor Rigby knows the future. But it's not exactly true, and that's something you will learn as you join the Fairy Tail guild. She actually knows what happened originally, and she is trying to stop all of that from happening in the first place." The man paused, looking at the scene. "We owe her everything, otherwise that would have become reality."

Jellal gasped, and fell to his knees. "I killed Simon! And…and tried to kill Erza!"

"There is no need to cry," the older Jellal said, and Jellal looked up at him. "That future has been avoided."

"But…Jellal.." he paused. It was odd to talk to himself like this…

"Call me Siegrain," the man interrupted.

"Siegrain, then…" Jellal said. "It's not that we managed to avoid it, it's that I let it happen in the first place. I did this! I could do it again! I'm evil!"

The older man sighed. "We spent most of this time being controlled, and influenced. It...It wasn't really our fault…"

Why is it so hard for you to admit it, then? But Jellal kept quiet, and when he finally spoke, he didn't voice that question. "Why would you show me this?"

"So you know the possibilities," he said. "So you don't let it happen again."

"And one last thing…" Jellal spoke. "Who are you? If you're from another timeline, how are you here?"

"I'm the part of you that awaits on the Astral Plane," Siegrain said, starting to fade. "And you'll understand what that means soon enough."

And then Jellal woke up.

"Jellal!" A scarlet-haired monster lobbed herself at him, and he felt something hard and metal hit him on the head as he was pulled into a hug. "I was so worried about you!"

"Erza?" he asked. "You're hurting me."

Erza backed up, and he smiled at her. Though she was dressed a bit oddly, with a type of armor coating her, she seemed brighter than ever, and much louder.

"Did everyone get out okay?" Jellal asked.

Erza frowned, and Jellal noticed where he was. "Is this…an infirmary?"

"Fairy Tail's," Erza said.

Jellal gasped as he recognized the people in the other beds. "Elle! And Lucy!"

Erza nodded. "You're the first one up. Which probably supports Master's theory about using magic."

Jellal noticed the insignia on her arm. "You got your guildmark!"

Erza nodded. "Yep! We're waiting on you. Come on!" Before she left, she turned to the other awake person in the room. "Laxus? Are you coming?"

As Jellal got out of his bed, he spotted the other boy sitting next to Elle, watching over her. "No. I'm good."

Erza left, and Jellal followed her down a flight of stairs, his knees still a little wobbly. "What's the theory? You know, that you said the Master had."

"Everyone who got hit used a type of Stellar Magic. Or, were born into a bloodline with Stellar Magic. There's a little girl here who hasn't started practicing her magic yet, and she got hit for a few seconds, but woke up almost immediately afterwards. Compared to Elle and Lucy, you've been practicing your magic the least. Following this pattern, Lucy should be the next one up."

"Okay," Jellal said, before pausing as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Wow." He stared at the chaos in front of him. "What's this?"

"A party, for Grandpa Rob," Erza said, tears starting to well in her eyes. "I'll explain more later, though…come on." She dragged him away.

"Where do you want your mark, my boy?" asked a small man sitting on the table. "I'm Master Makarov, and I'm the one in charge of this circus."

"Uhhh…" Jellal looked over and saw where Erza had her mark. "Here!" he pointed to it on the opposite arm for him. "And in red."

"Alrighty, then!" Makarov said cheerfully, pressing the stamp onto his upper arm. The red matched Erza's hair perfectly…the same way that her blue stamp matched his hair.

Maybe it was a coincidence, but Jellal liked it.

"Now, my children…go enjoy the party while it lasts!"

In addition to meeting members of the guild, Jellal also met the guildmasters of Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus.

And learned that when Erza had said that 'they' (the rest of their group) were waiting on him, she didn't mean that everyone else had already gotten their guildmarks – just that they'd already made their decisions.

"You guys are serious?" Jellal asked them, wide eyed.

"We promise we'll visit!" Millianna said. "But…we want to join some other guilds. This is a bit too much for us."

"All of you?" Jellal asked in shock, before turning to the two who had joined Fairy Tail. "Erza, Simon, help me out."

Simon was too busy doting on his younger sister by three years, and Erza was spending just as much, if not more time with her than he was.

Okay, think Jellal. What will help them stay…

"Millianna, didn't you like it when Elle was petting you? If you stay, you'll get it more often."

Her face started to get conflicted.

"And Wally, what about your brother! You know that Fairy Tail and Elle will help you find him."

Wally's face joined Millianna's in confliction.

"Sho, don't you want to be near Erza? She's practically your sister, at this point. And more than that, there's that girl, Cana. She's a card mage, she can tell you more about your magic."

They all were looking worried, but it wasn't enough.

Jellal searched his mind frantically. He had met so many people over the past hour…

"Lyon!" he called.

The ice kid ran up. "Yeah, Jellal?"

"You can make dynamic ice, right?" Jellal asked.

"Yeah."

"Can you make me a mouse, please?"

"Sure," Lyon said, shrugging. "Ice-Make; Mouse."

A tiny little mouse sprung up in front of them and Millianna ran towards it excitedly. "Oh, a mouse!"

"I'm sure if you ask, someone around here grows catnip, Millianna," Jellal said.

She bit her lip, thinking. "Fine, I'll stay!" and then ran off after the mouse, which was already making its way across the room.

Jellal turned and looked at the last two.

"That's just playing dirty," Wally said.

"It won't be forever," Sho said. "But I'll stay. So I can learn more about my magic."

"Fine," Wally said. "When I get my brother, though, I'm leaving."

But Jellal felt like cheering, because this means that he already got something done right.

Fairy Tail was all about family, and he'd be damned if he let some of his family go.

Here's some Ellaxus, Jerza, and a pinch of Gruvia for you.

So I might have to take a short hiatus here; I need to do some adulting, and I'm also having some trouble working out the transitioning to the next major point. (I know what I'm doing, I'm just having trouble getting it down).

Also, for those of you interested, the beliefs mentioned are beliefs that come from Jewish mysticism, also known as Kabbalah. As I said before, I'm Jewish, and these beliefs are a big part of me.

I've seen people give the Celestial Spirit King the name 'Orion' (because it's a fucking prominent constellation) but I don't understand why when there's already Cepheus, who was literally named after a king in Greek mythology, so...