I AM ALIVE! I'm also so sorry it's been so long. I was doing…uh…really really not good in one of my classes…so yeah. But luckily, I'm out of school! Thank you all who messaged me to see if I was alright! Also, previous Fantasia songs: First song was Standing When It All Falls Down by John De Sohn, and second was Heroes, by Zayde Wolfe.

Chapter One Hundred and Five - Who Has Time To Relax, Nowadays?

I sighed and relaxed back in Laxus's arms.

I loved all the kids, I really did (after a life of loneliness, it seems I had people fighting over me now) but it also seemed like I never had any times to breathe, nowadays.

"You okay?" Laxus asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. This is just…nice."

I spent so much time taking care of the other kids, it felt amazing to just let go and let Laxus take care of me.

He gave me a small kiss.

We were inside, cuddled up on my bed and watching another episode of Sherlock.

A few days after Fantasia, after yet some more stress from the kids, Laxus and I packed up for a short vacation on Tenrou. We spent our days on the beach and our evenings watching more of one of my favorite shows.

Sherlock was one of those shows that I didn't dare show to the kids, because 1) over half of them would try to act like Sherlock and it would make the adults start trying to kill them and 2) I wasn't exactly sure it was appropriate for most of them.

Then again, I showed them Harry Potter and Avengers…

Well, I can show it to them later. But if I show it to them too early, I can't take it back…

Anyway, Laxus's sister was due in around a week, so Laxus insisted I relax before Mari gives birth.

I had no reason to argue, so I went. If needed, I have an emergency contact card if Mari goes into labor, so I can teleport there directly.

But for now, I relaxed next to Laxus and drifted off as our show ended, thinking about what had happened in the weeks before we left.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE LEAVING?" Erza shouted.

Jellal was holding her back.

The other kids, while slightly scared, still stood up to her (though that might have been because Jellal was restraining her).

Literally, the day after Fantasia, the five of them dropped the bomb on us.

I knew it was coming.

"We're going to go traveling," Richard said, crossing his arms and looking down at the smaller girl. "We've already decided."

"But WHY?" Erza yelled.

"We wanna see the world, Erzy!" Millianna said.

"Millianna, I can guarantee at least four cats next year," I butted in.

"What does that even mean?" Gray muttered.

"It means we're getting cats!" Natsu shouted excitedly.

Laxus pulled him off the table he was standing on.

"Elle!" Sawyer said angrily.

I ignored the boys behind me and looked at the group in front of me. Richard, Wally, Sawyer, Sho and Millianna. "I'm just stating facts. She would've been more upset at me if she disappeared for a few years and I had never told her there would be cats soon, especially when I already knew it ahead of time."

Millianna was nodding. "That's right!"

"Look, we're not leaving the guild, sis," Sho said to Erza quietly. "But we wanna take a break, alright?"

"When will you be back?" Jellal asked, completely unfazed by the struggling girl in his arms.

They shrugged. "When we feel like it?" Wally offered.

Erza slumped over. "You're really leaving?"

"Well…" Richard turned to the youngest of them. "Millianna, it's up to you. We can come pick you up in a year or two, if you'd like."

The nine-year-old hesitated, before finally relenting. "Alright fine, I'll stay awhile longer!"

Erza brightened and then she was squeezing Millianna with her breastplate. "Good! Since Sho will no longer be sharing a suite with me, you should move in!"

"What?" Sho asked.

"Erza!" I said. "What did I say about hugging? You need to requip into something else if you want whoever you're hugging to still be comfortable."

"Oh, right," Erza said, requipping into a regular blouse and then hugging Millianna again.

You know, sometimes I think she forgets on purpose.

"When will you guys be leaving?" I asked Richard, Wally, Sawyer and Sho.

"At the end of the year," Richard said. "But not immediately. We still have over two months left."

At this, Erza shouted for joy and the rest of the guild, who had been watching us from the sidelines, burst into cheers that we'd have more time with them.

"PARTY!" someone shouted, and I'm sure you could guess what followed.

"Lucy, we need to have a talk."

The girl froze in her tracks, and slowly turned around to face me. "Ellie-nee?"

I took her hand and teleported us back to my house, in my room, so we could have some privacy.

"What is it, Ellie-nee?" Lucy asked, shifting nervously.

My eyes narrowed. "I don't know, Lucy, why don't you tell me?"

She remained silent.

"Lucy, you've barely touched your magic. Why?"

She turned away. "I…I don't want to talk about it, Ellie-nee."

I glared at her and crossed my arms. "No, Lucy. This is not okay. Something is wrong, and you are going to tell me what it is right. Now."

There was silence as I stared at her and she squirmed, looking away. After a few moments, she quietly said, "I don't know."

"What?" I asked.

Okay, to be fair, I don't even remember what I asked her after our long stare down.

"I don't know Ellie-nee! But…I can't use magic because what if the mark goes away?" Lucy cried, throwing herself at me.

I wrapped my arms around her and comforted her. "It's okay, Lucy," I shushed, stroking her hair and rocking her back and forth. "We'll figure it out, alright? But you need to breathe and tell me what's wrong, so we can solve the problem."

Lucy, still crying, nodded, and tried to lower her sobs. With each and each hiccup, she got quieter, until she was finally composed.

"Alright," I said, hugging her and trying to sooth her. "Now tell me what happened."

"…You remember when Mommy died?" Lucy asked.

I tensed.

How could I forget?

"You remember when she drew on my forehead?" Lucy continued.

I pulled back so I could look at her, looking at her eyes and brushing her hair behind her ear. "What about it, sweetheart?"

"Well…there's a mark now," Lucy whispered quietly, looking back at me.

My eyes darted up.

"You can't see it," Lucy said immediately. "I think only I and my spirits can. And it glows when I use magic. And…and it's the only thing I have left of her. I don't wanna lose it."

We were both quiet.

"Ellie-nee?" Lucy whispered.

"I'm thinking," I told her, started out of the silence. I played with her hair some more. "Alright? We'll come up with something."

She nodded and leaned into my embrace.

"I have some books I can look through," I said. "Do you want me to take you back to the guild, or do you wanna walk?"

"…Walk," Lucy said, giving me a soft smile, and a quick hug.

I watched her walk out the door and down the trail to the city.

"You can come out now, Zeref," I said.

He stepped through a wall and into my sight. I turned to face him. "You know what it is, don't you?"

He nodded, his face puzzled. "Though I don't know why no one else can see it or why it's been glowing. But it's called an Heir Mark."

"An Heir Mark?" I asked.

He nodded and sat next to me. "It does exactly what it sounds like; marks the next Heir of the family."

"And by Heir…" I trailed off.

"I usually mean the future Head of the family. It shows who is next in line, and it also carries the power and blessing of previous Heads. The one with it is usually the first born, though not always, and it is usually the most powerful child of the generation in that family's specific magic."

My mind was starting to connect to some things, but first… "Is that why Levy doesn't have the same Mark on her face as Jellal?"

Zeref nodded. "Yes. As far as I know, the Fernandez family is the only one that still actively claims their Heir and does the ceremony. From the sounds of it, Layla tried to do the same last minute, as she was dying."

"Why didn't she do it earlier?" I asked, though I realized as soon as I asked the question. Layla hadn't been able to use magic because of her Magical Deficiency. I remembered how she said that she didn't want the last of her magic to go to waste. "Wait, I think I get it."

I turned to look at the boy sitting next to me, thinking, before my mind connected it and I sat up straight. "Is that also why Levy didn't get hit when we were attacked by the light from Ivan's machine during the Tower of Heaven raid?"

Zeref nodded. "Yes."

"But wait…" I frowned. "Didn't Yukino get hit by the light, too? She's not the first born."

"You're right, she's not," Zeref said. "But I believe that she is the Heir, not Sorano."

"Why would it skip Sorano?" I asked, confused.

Zeref shrugged. "It just happens sometimes. And while it means that Sorano will still be skilled in her Moon Magic, it also means that it's probably been her secondary magic all along, and that her primary magic is another form."

I groaned. "Alright. Anything else I should know?"

Zeref shook his head. "I suggest we do research, and also see if Corvus will come out on his own to answer questions. But I think that's all for now. I still do not know why it glows, or why none of us can see the mark."

I nodded, before asking. "Zeref…"

He looked back at me from where he had stood up. "Yes, Elle?"

"What does my Heir mark look like?" I asked him.

His face softened. "There's no way for you to get one, Elle. But you'll be able to pass it to your children, once they're born."

He smiled and left.

It's only after that it occurred to me that Zeref had said 'children', even though there's only one Heir.

A frown crossed my face just thinking about it, but I shook it off. Laxus and I didn't have much longer on vacation, and I wanted to enjoy it before I went back to a pregnant woman and the guild's usual chaos (and don't get me wrong I love it, I just need a break).

I stretched in my seat and curled into Laxus's side.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, playing with my hair.

"No," I said, my head laying against his heart. "Everything is right."

Everything was not right, everything was not right.

Mari was giving birth, and it was not going well.

Gildarts was five seconds from being kicked out of the room, even though I think Mari was holding his hand so hard it wouldn't separate for weeks.

Laxus was hovering in the doorway, trying to keep Jellal and Cana calm, though he wasn't doing a very good job of that.

And Porlyusica was too distracted to yell at them to get out because she was muttering about a C-Section under her breath.

I paled.

I had read about what happens during C-Sections. And let's just say it's something I never want to see.

"Can't I just use Haumea's Deliverance?" I asked her. I had already used Haumea's Blessing to get rid of Mari's pain. She was mostly clinging to Gildarts now because of habit.

Porlyusica shook her head. "Unless you have a spell that moves the baby, we need to do a C-Section. She's facing the wrong way."

Moves the baby? What…

"Haumea's Shift."

There it was again. Happening without me even realizing it.

Porlyusica leaned down again. "Alright, we're in the clear."

"Haumea's Deliverance," I said, and the baby popped out.

Both Mari and I sagged in relief. Mari from finally finishing, and myself from finally being done with the spells, which were a lot more difficult now that I know what I'm doing.

I also wasn't feeling very well, but Laxus passed me some crackers. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better," I said, eating one of the crackers.

He smiled at me, and Porlyusica approached Mari and Gildarts with a now-swaddled baby. "Are you two ready to meet your new daughter?"

Mari reached out her arms eagerly for the girl. She and Gildarts smiled at each other, before looking back down at their daughter.

Laxus and I moved closer to the couple and their new child, and Jellal and Cana entered the room more.

"She's beautiful," Mari said, smiling.

The child's hair was a glossy orange/gold color. Her eyes opened and looked directly in mine, and I lost my breath.

"How about the name-" Mari started.

"Amber," I whispered.

"What?" she asked, looking at me. "Yes, that was what I was going to suggest, but how…?"

I couldn't even hear her. I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe, and the world was tilting. My head was pounding, and I was suddenly swarmed with images, pictures, so many memories…

The last thing I remembered was Laxus catching me as I passed out.

I woke up on a soft bed. The air was still and I was looking at the ceiling, and I felt extremely comfy.

"Well," came a voice. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

I stared at her as I sat up. Are you fucking kidding me? I'm here? AGAIN?

Aloud, I said, "You know, you've really got to get a better way of contacting me."

The woman smirked. "This wasn't exactly planned. Now…" she shut her book and sat up, her eyes meeting mine.

"Well, Elle," God said. "It's time we have a chat."

Next stop, will be Elle's memories and backstory. Also, I'm glad I managed to get this up today, because it's the One Year Anniversary of Ripples's posting! :D

Now, unfortunately, updates will probably slow down for a few reasons. One, I've got a busy summer planned. And two, my muse is acting up. It's pretty much grabbing me and shoving me in Rick Riordan's direction, shouting, "YOU REMEMBER PERCY JACKSON? REMEMBER WHEN YOU TRICKED YOURSELF INTO THINK YOU WERE A DEMIGOD BECAUSE YOU HAVE ADHD AND DYSLEXIA AND WERE IN 6TH GRADE? DO YOU REMEMBER HOW MUCH YOU LOVED THIS FUCKING SERIES? NO? WELL GO LOVE IT AGAIN."

And that was kinda what happened. So here's the problem. There's only one way for me to stick to both Percy Jackson (because that won't stop anytime soon, unfortunately) and also Fairy Tail (and yes I'll still be updating Ripples and DoD and stuff).

So I've created another story! Yay.

Sorry for all the WIPs, guys. Anyway, it's in the Fairy Tail section (it's not a crossover), and it's a Percy Jackson AU, where all the wizards are pretty much demigods. That one will probably be updated more often than Ripples and DoD, but they'll all be slowing down until the series starts up again in the Fall and I get some new FT content. I'd appreciate it if you check it out!