Sorry. Forgot to mention. There will be no periods, from the insistence of most of you, and the fact that I do not write things as F.B.I vs FBI.

Also, no, I will not abandon Ripples. Right now I'm having the same sort of issue as I am with DoD – I need to find out how to transition to the next big thing that's going to happen. I've been working on a timeline, and that seems to be helping me. Either way, the next chapter will hopefully be up in about a week OR SO.

And since Gajeel's and Jellal's birthdays are BEFORE their point in the timeline, they're the only ones who are a year older.

Chapter Four – Tony, Part Three

"It wasn't complicated before?" Tony joked.

I rolled my eyes and continued. "There is a type of magic called 'Dragon Slaying Magic'. It's considered a Lost Magic, which is generally only able to be learnt from the original thing or through a magical lacrima that's fused with the body."

"The real thing?" Tony asked. "So…dragons?"

I nodded. "Dragons."

"Because why the hell not?" Tony muttered, putting a hand to his forehead. "So these people…were taught by dragons?"

"Yep. The dragons gifted them with the magic that also fused with their bodies, and started training them how to use it. Though two of them got their magic through lacrima implantation."

"That sounds like it hurts," Tony commented. "And I still don't really know what lacrimas really are. Lacrima? Lacrimi?"

"It does," I hissed, before specifically letting out a deep breath. "And it's lacrimas. And a lacrima generally looks like a crystal ball, in different shapes and sizes." I requipped out one of the moderate lacrima magical containers, about an inch in diameter. "This is probably around the size they got put into them. And it happened when they were young; if they're learning via dragon it needs to happen before you reach double digits, and if you're getting it via lacrima, you need to get it by ten but before fifteen or so, or it won't adapt right. But if you're not old enough, you won't survive the implantation process."

Tony was quiet before he asked. "Did those two do it willingly?"

I slumped over a bit. "No."

He was quiet, probably thinking back over to his own 'implantation', and how he essentially woke up in a hostile environment with a bunch of dangerous metal stuck in his chest.

Sure enough, his hand was drifting up to his arc reactor.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Were they awake?" he asked.

"Probably," I said quietly. "They weren't forthcoming, and I didn't exactly ask."

He was quiet, and I figured he was probably thinking back to his own surgery, when he was awake without any anesthetic.

"Tony?" I asked.

"I just…can't imagine a kid going through that," he whispered.

"Then don't," I said quietly. "We've all had bad pasts, Tony. But we have each other now."

He's quiet but he nods. "So, what was that about dragon magic and stuff?"

"Well, we've got four dragon slayers."

"Four?" Tony asked. "I thought you said it was Lost Magic?"

"It is," I continued. "There aren't that many people who know it, and the ones who learned without a lacrima – via real dragon – actually got to the X700s by traveling forward in time."

"Time travel," Tony deadpanned. "Because there wasn't enough things in the mix. Alright then. Four?"

I nodded. "Well, four that were with the rest of the group when we died. The rest were all left home. Pretty much."

Tony sighed.

"First, this is Natsu." I showed him a picture of the pink menace. "He's the Fire Dragon Slayer-"

"Wait, are you suggesting that they all have different elements?" Tony asked.

I nodded. "Each dragon had a different specialty, though there were some that same base type of element. The same thing works with the slayers. Anyway, Natsu's element is fire. You can usually find out where he is because something is exploding."

Tony sighed. "You guys are pretty destructive, aren't you?"

"We've been working on ways to hold back," I said. "But when some of our strongest let loose, yeah, we can be a bit dangerous."

"And Natsu…"

"Fire is a destructive element," I explained. "It can get away from its caster, and they can lose their grip on it. It's the most lifelike element there is."

"And so Natsu is destructive because he can't hold back?"

"Yep," I continued. "Natsu's also sixteen, by the way."

"Okay," Tony said. "Who's next?"

"This is Gajeel," I said, bringing up his photo. "He's twenty. He's known as the Iron Dragon Slayer."

"Alright," Tony continued. "Is it Iron like..."

"It's like how we call your suit 'Iron', yeah," I admitted. "He can manipulate different types of metals."

"Cool," Tony said, nodding. "So we've got Fire and Iron. And these were the two raised by dragons, right?"

I nodded.

"How does that work, anyway?" Tony asked.

"Well, dragons can talk, for one. And they like to mimic humans. I've seen one cross its arms."

Tony's eyes widened as he tried to picture it.

"Think of the Geico gecko, but with a more scaled body and a pair of wings. And also the size of this house," I tried to explain, before pausing. "Wait. Is the Geico gecko a thing right now? Has that happened yet?"

"Yeah, he became a big thing a while ago," Tony commented. "They've started up this fairy tale thing this year. Guess it was a sign."

He smirked as I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway, can I continue?" I asked him,

"Wait, first I gotta know..." he paused dramatically. "Does Fire beat Iron?"

"Yes," I deadpanned.

"Does it beat Ice?" Tony was laughing now.

"Are you going to continue making references?" I asked.

"Probably," he said, his laughing dying down. "So who's next?"

I rolled my eyes before changing the picture to Erik. "The next two are the ones with lacrimas. This is Erik. He's twenty one, and has two main types of magic that tend to flicker back and forth between Primary and Secondary."

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Born Magics are usually Primary," I explained. "But so is Lost Magic, which is also usually born. Sometimes, though, if gifted (via Dragon Magic, for example) it can shift. Normally, the Dragon Magic would have won over if it was a regular type of Born Magic. But Erik can hear souls."

"Hear souls?" Tony asked, eyes wide.

"Closest thing you'll get to mind reading from us," I said. "Though he'll probably stay out of yours."

"Why?" Tony asked, breathlessly.

"Well, one, you're a genius, Tony. It would probably hurt to hear everything that goes on up there. And two, because we trust you. The biggest problem is that we usually use Erik for communication issues – like if two people aren't communicating, or two people like each other, or things like that. So we're going to work on your openness, okay?"

"I'm allergic to emotions," Tony claimed. "I break out in hives."

"Then it's best we start getting you immune to it," I shot back.

Tony grumbled about it, crossing his arms, but didn't say anything else.

"Erik is the Poison Dragon Slayer," I continued, before changing the picture one more time. "And last but certainly not least…my husband. This is Laxus. He's the Lightning Dragon Slayer, and one of the strongest members in our guild. He's twenty two."

"You miss him," Tony said softly.

"I've spent a majority of the past twelve years with him," I admitted. "I think the most I was away from him for one time was when I was on a training binge for four months. So yeah, it's going to be rough. But I know we'll be fine." I smiled, before changing the picture again. "So, after Dragon Slayers, we have God Slayers."

"What?"

"We've only got one," I said, continuing. "And Orga only has a lacrima. But it's the same concept, though 'God' probably isn't the exactly right term. And they're not the same as the God who lead us here, anyway."

"Jeez," Tony muttered, rubbing his head. "He's pretty young."

"Yeah," I said. "He's fifteen. Youngest of our group. He's with Laxus right now."

"Why are you guys so young?" He asked.

"Well, for one, we were all de-aged a few months before we came here," I explained.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"We died in December, Tony. By de-aging us, it's easier to keep track of how old we are physically - when I died I was twenty one. Laxus was twenty three. Now I'm twenty and he's twenty two." I shrugged. "But we've also been part of the guild since we were young, so..."

Tony nodded, still lost in thought. "So did everyone else go as a couple?"

I nodded. "And when we get to the next part I'll tell you who's together and where they went. But yeah. Since Orga is also the Lightning God Slayer, he looks up to Laxus a lot. There's a seven year age difference between the two of them. He looks up to me a lot, too."

"You've known him awhile?" Tony asked.

"Around nine years, now," I said, smiling softly. "I've known most of these idiots for awhile. Even the most recent of the group only joined around six years ago or so."

"You're really a tight-knit group…" Tony trailed off.

"It's part of what makes Fairy Tail who we are. Other guilds aren't nearly as family-oriented. Theirs are more about getting a job. Ours is a home...Though Lily actually only joined a month ago."

"Jeez, how many hot women do you have in your guild?" Tony muttered.

I almost choked at thinking of 'hot women' and Pantherlily together. Now I could only picture him in his larger form wearing a coconut bra and a grass skirt, one of his hands bent over his head like he was brushing some hair or he was posing.

"Uh….we'll get to that later," I said, swiping away Orga's picture.

"Anyway," I continued, my voice cracking a bit. "We're almost done. There's only really five of us left, including me, though the last two are special cases. And, this is where is also gets a bit more complicated."

"You keep saying that," Tony pointed out.

I rolled my eyes. "So, we've talked over different type of magic – Elemental Magic, Transformation Magic. Side magics like Transportation and Requip are considered Spatial Magic. But then, for three of us, there's Stellar Magic."

"Space?" Tony asked.

I smiled. "Space. Now, Stellar Magic isn't necessarily Lost Magic – some types are considered Lost, but I know that it would've become Lost within a decade or so if we continued on that timeline."

"So Lost Magic-"

"For our group, is Slaying Magic and Stellar Magic," I said, nodding. "Alright, ready for some history?"

"If I say no, will you stop?" he asked.

I shrugged. "If you really want me to."

He seemed a bit surprised at that, but smiled. "Alright, so what's up with this?"

"So, while again, most people can learn these types of magic, there's also a group of five families called the 'Stellar Bloodlines'. There are five different types of Stellar Magic, and while they can be proficient in the other types, the ones closest to their bloodlines are the strongest."

Tony nodded.

"There were a few others back home," I said. "There was the Royal family (yes, we're distantly related to the royal family back home) who specialized in Sun Spells."

"Sun Spells?" Tony asked. "Does that mean there are Moon Spells?"

I nodded. "The Agurias, some of the girls left back at home, are known as the Priestesses of the Moon."

"Alright, but that leaves three lines for the three members you mentioned," Tony pointed out.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Then there's Heavenly Body Magic."

"As in…"

"Not all of them," I said quickly. "I know the term 'heavenly body' fits planets and stars, but those are left mostly excluded, though Jellal can be pretty skilled with them if he needs too…"

His image flickered from the card. "Jellal is nineteen. Heavenly Body Magic allows him to enhance himself. For instance, he uses a spell called Meteor – it speeds up his body and allows him to move very quickly."

I pointed at his Heir Mark. "This mark on his face symbolizes that he's the Heir to the family. While all of the bloodlines have Heir Marks, the only one that continued the practice was Jellal's, so none of us have them (though Lucy's sometimes shows up if she uses a specific spell, but I'll get to that later)."

Tony nodded.

"Remember Levy?" I asked, bringing up her picture.

"What about her?" Tony asked.

"She's Jellal's cousin, also descended from the Bloodline. But her Primary Magic is still her Solid Script Magic, though she uses Heavenly Body Magic as a Secondary."

"Okay," Tony said, nodding.

"Speaking of being related..." I trailed off for a bit. "Okay, so Jellal and Laxus," I brought up both of their pictures. "Have the same father. Who is a dick that we do not mention. So they're half-brothers. Then Laxus's mom remarried...to Cana's dad." Cana's picture came up. "So...yeah. Thought you should know. Complicated family lines, and shit."

Tony rubbed his forehead. "Let me guess...it gets more complicated?" he asked wryly.

"I know you have a photographic memory, but if you need me to stop or slow down, just tell me," I said. "Same for you, JARVIS."

"I am well, thank you Mrs. Dreyar."

I smiled and continued at Tony's nod, switching out the pictures for Lucy. "This is Lucy. She's sixteen, and has a different type of Stellar Magic. She has something called Celestial Spirit Magic, and it's special because it's a Holder Magic."

"Why is it different from the other Stellar Magics?" Tony asked.

"Celestial Spirit Magic is one of the most difficult magics to learn. While the other magics enhance themselves and the area around them, Celestial Spirit Magic also counts as Spatial Magic, like Requip and Teleportation, because it's a type of Summoning Magic."

"So what does it do?" Tony asked.

"It's kind of what it sounds like," I said. "It's magic from Celestial Spirits. From spirits made from stars."

"Stars?" Tony asked.

"Specifically, constellations," I finished.

"Wait…constellations?" Tony asked in slight shock.

I nodded. "Eighty-Eight constellations, and they're all a Celestial Spirit. Lucy can summon them onto our plane – they're normally in their own plane."

"She can summon…people?" Tony asked, slightly aghast. "Like Pokémon?"

"I can handle this," said a new voice.

Tony jumped and I slapped Corvus in the head.

"You know you're not supposed to do that!" I yelled at him. "Especially because Tony has a heart condition."

Corvus at least looked slightly abashed at that. "I forgot."

I sighed and put my head on my forehead.

"Sir…" JARVIS said. "Sir, I don't understand what I'm picking up."

"What?" Tony asked, still looking at us.

"He registers normally both visually and verbally, but the rest of my scanners are…unreadable."

Tony stared at Corvus. "Who are you supposed to be, then?"

"Tony, this is Corvus," I said.

"The crow?" Tony asked.

Corvus nodded. "I figured having one of us here might help in case Elle got stuck."

"I wouldn't get stuck," I muttered, before turning to one of the cameras. "JARVIS, if you have any questions, you know that I'm explaining this to you, too, right?" I asked him.

"...Thank you, Mrs. Dreyar," JARVIS finally said, and Tony beamed.

"Celestial Spirit Magic is complicated, and as it's not your own, no one would blame you," Corvus said, bringing us back to the subject at hand.

I glared at him before turning back to Tony. "Alright, so I'm going to continue."

Tony nodded, still staring at Corvus.

I rolled my eyes. "In repayment for scaring you while you have a heart condition, Corvus will let you scan him later."

"I will?" Corvus asked.

I hit him.

"I mean, I will," Corvus offered. "Now's not a good time - I can't stay long - but I'll come visit in a few days."

Tony smiled and finally turned his attention back to me.

"Okay, so the Celestial Spirits live on a different plane," I said. "Essentially, Celestial Spirit Wizards use a key to find that spirit's specific doorway between worlds. Using that key, they use their magic to open the door and lend the spirit power, allowing them to enter to the real world."

"That's why it's a difficult magic?" Tony asked.

Corvus nodded. "Yes. They must constantly supply and feed us energy while we're out. There are only a few exceptions to the rule."

"Exceptions?" Tony asked.

"Some of the more powerful spirits can open their doors themselves," I explained. "Corvus is one of them."

Corvus nodded. "But although we can leave on our own, we are still much more powerful if we have a contract with someone, and we will always be more powerful if they are supporting our energy over here."

"A large majority of keys are Silver Keys," I started. "Those are the easiest to summon, and also the most common. Then there are the Zodiac Keys, which are Gold, and of which there are only twelve, plus Ophiuchus."

"And those are more powerful?" Tony asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, but they're also a lot harder to open. And they can only be as powerful as the wizard they're contracted to."

"Yeah, you mentioned this 'contract' business," Tony said, looking back and forth between me and Corvus. "What's up with that?"

"Celestial Spirits are people, too," I said, shrugging. "They have their own thing sometimes, so there are some times that they're not allowed to be summoned. That's part of what the contract is about. And sometimes they don't want to do certain things. And I know what you're thinking of, STOP IT."

Tony looked away and laughed awkwardly. "Sorry. But it's kinda accurate?"

"Kinda," I said, sighing. "Get your head out of the gutter, man."

"I don't get it," Corvus said.

"Virgo," I replied.

Comprehension dawned. "Ah. Wait. Contract?"

I sighed and turned to look at Tony. "Do you have a tablet or something you we can use real quick?"

He nodded and passed it to me. I opened up Wikipedia, found the specific page, and handed it to Corvus.

"Alright, let's keep going," I said, turning back to Tony as Corvus read through the articles.

Tony nodded. "So Celestial Spirits make contracts with wizards so they can be summoned."

I nodded. "The highest level of spirits are known as the Platinum Spirits. There are seven of them, and they are the hardest to open. Each higher rank of Platinum Key takes around the amount of one more Golden Gate to open."

"Generally, how much can people open?" Tony asked.

"One golden gate," I answered. "If they're particularly skilled, two. Which is part of why Lucy is so special."

Corvus's head shot up from the tablet and stared at Tony, his hands cupped together as he dazed off dreamily. "My Princess is soooooooooooooooo wonderful! Best wizard I've ever had-"

I sighed and pulled him back down so he wasn't in Tony's face too much. "It takes two golden gates to open Corvus's key, and three to use it to the full extent. Up until Lucy, only the two lowest gates, Corvus and Pegasus, were properly opened. And Pegasus was only opened once. Phoenix was summoned one time, but the strain of summoning killed the summoner."

Corvus winced.

"It killed the summoner?" Tony asked, voice in shock.

"Yeah," I winced, looking at Corvus. "Whether or not you know more though is up to him. But it was a bad shock, and it was his worse summoning. What's worse is that Phoenix is immortally a fourteen-year-old, for all sakes and purposes."

Corvus nodded. "That's why I helped him hide our keys." He looked over at Tony. "If you've been summoned once as a Platinum Key, you can come out on your own, but it's on a completely different level. I guess the best way to say it would be like being underwater. You're trying to fight and do things underwater, and you're breathing but a smaller amount of oxygen than you usually get. If you've got a contract and come out on your own, it's like normal. I'm like you guys, but using up my own magic takes up my own strength, as if I was lifting weights, and there's a bit of a lag. The more energy I put forward, the more likely I'll get sent back we're to the spirit world. But if actively summoned by our wizard…it's amazing. A bit like your suit, I guess? But it's like a constant adrenaline rush."

Tony nodded. "Okay, I'm starting to get it. But who can Lucy summon?"

"All of them," Corvus said, smirking.

"But…" Tony was thinking. "If it's another gold gate per key, then to summon the highest would be like summoning nine."

I nodded. "Yeah. But Lucy can summon all of the Zodiacs at the same time."

Tony stared. "And you said that most people can only summon one?"

"Well, Lucy is special in more than a few ways. For one, her bloodline has been summoning Celestial Spirits for hundreds of years. Her mom could summon three gates at once. As for why Lucy herself is so powerful…we don't know."

"You don't know," Corvus corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "The Celestial Spirits know, but the Celestial Spirit King have forbidden them from telling us. The reasons she's 'special' is also why she gets to keep her contracts. According to God, Celestial Spirit Magic is becoming a Lost Magic, and as it's filtered out of our previous dimension, it's transferring over to this one."

"Normally," Corvus said, interrupting at Tony's confused look. "When a mage dies, their contract expires. But, again, there are exceptions to the rule. And Leo and Capricorn swore an oath to Lucy's line directly; and she is the last of the line. No one else would be able to wield the keys properly anyway."

"Okay," Tony said, nodding. "Wow. And which are the Platinum Keys?"

"From lowest to highest?" I responded. "Corvus, Pegasus, Monoceros, Phoenix, Cetus, Hydra and Draco."

"She can summon a dragon?" Tony asked, his eyes wide.

I nodded. "And if he agrees with it, then you might be able to do some tests with Draco too."

He seemed almost frozen.

I coughed. "Ah, Tony? Three members left. One more with Stellar Magic."

"Right," Tony said, nodding. "And you're fine with the tests?"

I nodded.

"This is amazing!" he whispered.

I laughed. "You don't even know what my magic is yet."

"I don't care," he said. "But...what is your magic?"

I smiled.

And yes...Elle might have forgotten to mention something important. XD

Oh well. They'll find out eventually.