In this fic, the timeline from Ripples up until they hit the end of X773 is the same, except the Grand Magic Games didn't start. They spent that summer training instead, which means that Lucy and Brandish didn't get to meet the rest of the guild. Jude still isn't that supportive of Lucy's Magic and didn't meet the guildmembers, so they don't get the free train rides with their marks. Erigor did join the guild, and Elle met Laki and Max, and helped Enno pick up Nab. She still talked to Toma about the games (they just didn't happen that year) and put Ame in the crystal after Hisui was born. More details/refresher course below.

Chapter One - Restart

I woke up in the wrong year.

Strangely enough, I don't know what was weirder; that I was suddenly in a twenty-one year old body or that I didn't notice.

I didn't feel like a kid anymore, but I didn't have any memory of the last near dozen years.

That doesn't mean I didn't immediately understand that something was wrong.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit SHIT.

A search of my closet only provided me with clothes that would fit my smaller body. If I was lucky, one of those dresses would work as a shirt.

However, a quick perusal of my requip space revealed clothes that fit me. As well as, suspiciously enough, a lot of canned food.

Was I on the run or something?

After changing into a pair of inconspicuous clothes, I left my house and ventured into town, heading for a newsstand where I checked the date.

Jesus. August of X784.

The timeline had already started?

I mentally screamed and teleported back home, releasing a wave of frustration that wiped out a field of trees.

...Oops?

I closed my eyes and started using Earth to reconstruct the forest, trying to think about what have probably happened so far. Last time, Natsu had met Lucy on July 2nd and they arrived at the guild at July 4th. Had they already taken on Lullaby, or Galuna Island?

So much shit was missed. Fuck.

At least it's not October yet; so Fantasia hasn't happened (not that I was worried about Laxus causing it this time around). Neither, I assume, has the fight with Phantom.

The forest fixed, I teleported inside and locked myself in my study, pacing.

Alright, so what did already I do? Shit.

Slowly, I made a list.

1st, I had arrived and stocked up on everything.

2nd, I included Makarov about my time travel and joined the guild and met Cana.

3rd, I had Juvia join.

4th, I met Laxus and got Ivan kicked out.

5th, I ended up meeting with Lucy and making her the deal on keys.

I paled. Shit. The last time I gave her a key was Christmas of X773, which mean she only has Virgo, Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, Gemini, and Ophiuchus of the Golden Keys, and Corvus, Pegasus and Monoceros of the Platinum.

…Okay, to be fair, that's way more than she had in the original timeline, but still. I feel bad that I essentially just vanished on her.

I shook the thought off and continued.

6th, Laxus, Cana, Juvia and I ended up saving Levy.

7th, I brought in Freed because Laxus was whining.

8th, we ended up fighting Gildarts…

9th, Laxus and I went to Galuna, and then picked up Bickslow.

10th, I visited Ame and Toma and ended up discussing the Grand Magic Games with them (and was then arrested).

11th, I was training for four months with Corvus, Phoenix, and Zeref (who I ran into on Tenrou), and picked up Evergreen.

12th, I found out I had Magical Overload like Ultear had….shit.

A quick count of my requip space had the original amount of bracelets, minus the one that had broken while I was training with Erigor.

I didn't feel wrong...

Okay, next stop Porlyusica.

But for now…

13th, Laxus, Cana and I went after Gemini's key (and also found Scorpio's).

14th, I visited Ame and Toma again to ask about progress on the Grand Magic Games and Ame's pregnancy; then I had a private conversation Toma about Ame's health which lead to Erigor joining the guild.

15th, Ame gave birth and I shoved her in a lacrima…shit.

Okay, second stop; Mercurius.

Or maybe I should get Lucy and Wendy first?

Fuck, moving on.

16th, I had gotten all of the golden keys and the platinums, with the exception of Aries and Capricorn.

17th, Loke joined the guild and started teaching ballet.

18th, I dropped by Laki and Max's and invited them to join.

19th, Nab joined the guild because Enno's aunt died.

20th, I met Brandish and visited the Heartfilias for Christmas, as well as Hisui.

And then….

And then…

What?

And then I woke up in X784, a decade later than I should've.

"DAMMIT!" I yelled, kicking the wall. "FUCK! Ow!"

At least there wasn't a hole in the wall.

So now what?

Was Jellal evil?

Was Ultear a member of Grimoire Heart?

Was Silver still Keyes' puppet?

What happened to the Oracion Seis?

What about the Dragon Slayers other than Natsu?

Was Layla alive?

Was Jude still a jerk?

Did Gray, Erza, Natsu and the Strausses still end up in Fairy Tail?

"DAMMIT!"

I kicked the wall again and sighed.

I'd have to see who had joined Fairy Tail.

But first; I teleported to Porlyusica's.

I took a deep breath and, for the first time, knocked on her door.

She yanked it open. "What?"

Porlyusica froze at the sight of me. "Elle? Elle Rigby?"

"Hey Porly," I said quietly. "Do you happen to know where I've been the past decade? Cause, uh…I don't."

Porlyusica huffed and opened the door wider. "Come in, you need a full check-up. Also, maybe you can get my grandson to pull his head out of his ass."

I froze. "What?"

Even if I was gone, Laxus shouldn't have become an 'ass'; a loner, maybe, but Ivan's influence was gone from early on in this timeline, so he should be fine.

"Laxus has become absolutely wretched over the past few years. I swear, the longer he was away from you, the worse it got. He doesn't even call Makarov 'Jiji' anymore. Almost makes me happy I never told him."

"He still doesn't know you're his grandmother?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, and until you fix him he's not going to know," she said, before handing me some potions. "You seem healthy, and your system has adapted over your Overload safely. I would suggest you be careful about your stomach, however."

"Why?" I asked, looking down. "Oh."

She looked at me. "Did you observe yourself in the mirror?"

"Kinda focused on not remembering a decade," I said flatly, tracing the slash across my stomach which looked freshly closed.

"The wound on your stomach isn't done healing. If you were a normal person, you probably wouldn't have survived it. If you end up fighting anytime soon, you need to be careful. It could reopen." She pointed to the bigger potion vial bottle she gave me. "This should help speed up recovery time, but it could also end up stopping you from doing something too strenuous in battle. The other is a basic numbing agent."

I nodded, taking it from her. "Thanks."

"Drop by for some more in a week," she said. "This should last you until then. Apply it topically to the wound."

I nodded. "Alright, thanks Porlyusica. It's nice seeing you…even if, to me, time didn't really pass at all."

She nodded, and gave me a fond smile. "You too, Elle."

I walked to the door to leave but before it could even open fully, I heard Porlyusica speak again. "Oh, and Elle?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"It's good to have you back," she said, giving me a soft smile.

The first thing I did (after seeing Porlyusica) was break into Makarov's office and go through the Fairy Tail registry.

According to it, Team Natsu had already formed (there was even a note about Lullaby) and everyone who had previously joined had as well this time around, with a note that Lucy's friend was going to join when she returned to Fiore (which was probably Brandish).

That was good.

Erigor was also labeled as an S-Classer (good for him) and had taken a decade mission four years ago. Gildarts had also taken a decade quest (at least he listened and avoided the century quest) but he had only left two years ago.

I bit my lip and resolved to check on them later if I could. Or Erigor, at least, I'm sure Gildarts would end up back in town sooner or later, especially since he knew he had Cana now.

Finally, there was a mark that said Juvia was on an undercover mission for 'the Timeline' which probably meant that she, Cana, and Levy realized we'd still need to pick up all the dragon slayers even though some ended up joining Phantom, and Juvia probably joined them to coerce them to Fairy Tail.

Hopefully.

I don't know if I was happy that I had a link to Gajeel and Rogue or upset that Juvia decided to join Phantom and suffer through that for my plans. Or proud that she'd taken initiative when I vanished.

I closed the book and teleported out. For now, there were still some things I had to do.

I went where most people probably wouldn't go first; but I knew that they would need the most time to make their choice.

I was shocked by how close they were to Magnolia. I guess because they fought the Alliance near Bob's manor, I thought that was where they'd be located.

Even then, I only found one.

"Cobra!" I gasped, hurrying to his side.

He was unconscious, and Cubellios was wound around him, guarding him. She hissed at me as I approached.

"Move, Kinana, I can heal him," I said.

She hesitated for a second, before backing away. I knelt to the ground and concentrated. "Saturn's Healing Winds."

His side, which was badly torn up, began to heal.

"Is he hurt anywhere else?" I asked the snake, requipping some bandages and taping it up.

Cubellios nodded and curled up around his ankle, gesturing to it.

"Alright," I said, finishing up his side before I scooted down to his ankle, which was obviously broken.

I winced in sympathy as I saw it. "I should be able to help, but he might have some trouble walking," I told Cubellios.

She nodded.

I had just finished healing his ankle and started taping it up when his leg jerked away from me.

Looking up, I saw Cobra backing up to a tree, his eyes searching me warily and his hands clutching his side. "Where's Cubellios?" he hissed, his hands turning into claws and leaking a purple smoke.

"She's right-" I wasn't able to finish before Cubellios was already practically smothering Cobra with joy.

"Cubellios!" he shouted, and I couldn't help smiling as I saw his face.

No one could be evil with a face like that; over pure joy of seeing his friend was safe.

Finally, their reunion settled down and I moved forward to tape up his leg.

Cobra tried to kick me away, hissing as he scraped up his ankle while doing so.

"I just healed that, idiot!" I scolded, grabbing it and holding it in place. "Stay still if you want it to work properly!"

"Do you know who I am, woman?" he demanded.

"Of course, I do," I said, taping up his ankle. "You're Erik."

He froze at that, and then growled at me. "That wasn't what I meant."

"Then you're Cobra of the Oracion Seis," I replied, finishing up his ankle and requipping away the rest of my medical tape.

"Then why the hell are you helping me?" he demanded.

"Because you deserve a chance," I said, meeting his eyes. "You didn't even really get a first one."

He froze at that.

"First the Tower, and then Brain," I continued. "You were never able to make choices for yourself. I saw one outlook of everyone's future, and I know what happens. Sooner or later, you will eventually be free, Erik," I said to him, smiling. "I'm just giving you the opportunity to do so sooner."

He looked at me warily. "What do you mean?"

"I'm offering you, and the rest of your nakama (except Brain, because he's an evil douche) to leave the Oracion Seis. I know that dark guilds tend to make fun of legal guilds, but you guys still have a chance to do so; you can join a legal guild. No one knows your identities, only your code names. If you were to leave the Baram Alliance, and join my guild (or any guild, really) under your original name, you could start over. Or start for real, even."

He scowled, and crossed his arms. "Legal guilds need to abide the whims of the council."

I giggled. "Someone should probably tell my guild, then, because I honestly think we get on the council's nerves more than any dark guild does."

"What guild are you in?" Cobra asked curiously.

"Fairy Tail," I said, and then I couldn't breathe.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, as I collapsed on my knees, clawing on my throat.

"Can't…breathe…" I tried to speak, but it was hardly audible. I contemplated fighting, but I was there to make friends, and unlike Natsu, I don't know if I can just beat people into joining Fairy Tail.

A look of understanding dawned on Cobra's face, and he turned to look into the woods. "Midnight, stop it!"

"Absolutely not," Midnight hissed, stepping out from behind a tree, his hand grasped in a choking motion. "I don't know what this bitch has been filling your head with, but-"

"I'm serious, Midnight, we should hear her out!" Cobra shouted, trying to get up and failing. "Back off!"

"She hurt you!" Midnight hissed. "I came because your emergency lacrima went off!"

"She healed me," Cobra retorted. "She found me unconscious, and she healed me, even though she knew who I was."

Midnight continued staring at Cobra, their eyes locked, before he let go.

I could suddenly breathe again, and I took in deep gulps as I laid on my side, trying to regain my vision.

"Geez, overboard much?" Cobra asked him, but he'd untensed a bit.

"You'll…fit right in…" I gasped out between breaths.

"Just take it easy, alright?" Cobra asked, more relaxed but still warily looking between me and Midnight.

I nodded, trying to get my bearings back.

Midnight scoffed, but looked apologetic once as he turned away.

I requipped out a bottle of water and took a few gulps.

"Prepared for anything?" Cobra asked, smirking.

"I don't know," I said, taking in another breath now that I had some water in me. "I don't remember the last decade."

Midnight and Cobra both stared at me in shock. "What?" Midnight asked.

I shrugged. "Last thing I remember, I was nearly ten and a half. Now over ten years had passed. I'm twenty-one and can't remember around half my life."

Here, anyway.

I shrugged. "Anyway…as I was telling Cobra, I know that you guys were handed a shitty deal in life. I'm sorry about that."

"It's not your fault," Cobra said, looking awkward.

"No, but I should have been able to help," I said quietly, looking down. "I'm not originally from this universe. I came here because I wanted to help change things for the better. Instead, I misplace myself and my memory for ten years. I wanted to help you guys, if I could, even before you reached the Tower. Or at least get you out of Brain's possession. And I failed. I'm sorry about that."

I looked back up to meet their gazes. "But we still have time to change things. If you guys leave the Oracion Seis, and join Fairy Tail – or even any other guild – under your original names, no one should know who you are. You can start over. Or just start, since you guys never really got a chance in the first place."

The two of them exchanged look and I held up a hand. "I'm not asking you to make your choice right now. If I remember correctly, you have…at least two months," I said. "But I'm not sure how much longer your anonymity extends after that point. I'm not exactly asking you to make an easy decision; this will change your entire way of living. Anyway, it's an offer open for as long as possible, to you guys and Sawyer, Richard and Sorano, and I also want you guys to know a few things. One…Erik, Cubellios is actually a human. She was cursed into a snake form. I've been researching ways to turn her back, but I thought you should know, since…well, it involves your wish."

"My wish?" he said quietly.

"Your prayer," I replied, before looking away. "Anyway, you can tell Richard and Sorano that I'm looking into their siblings' situations. I know where Wally is, currently; he's still at the Tower, under Jellal's influence. That's another thing I need to fix; Jellal is currently possessed…" I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "Anyway, I'll try and find Yukino soon."

"Could you find someone else, too?" a quiet voice asked.

I turned to see Sorano approach out of the trees.

"What are you doing here?" Macbeth asked.

"I followed you," she said, shrugging, before turning to me. "Anyway…originally, there was another kid with us, under Brain. He ended up escaping while he was supposed to be passed to another dark guild, a guild called Grimoire Heart. We haven't heard from him for years."

I nodded. "Sure, I'll try and find him. What's his name?"

"Orga Nanagear," she said. "He's-"

I held up a hand. "I know who he is, I just wasn't expecting that." I smiled. "Maybe you'll be happy to know, but in around seven years, he'd end up being close friends with your sister, no matter what."

She stared at me, her face stoic, before she gave a small smile. "That's good to know. I didn't even know…if she was still alive…"

I rushed forward and took her hands in mine. "I promise I'll try and help her soon," I whispered, squeezing her hands. "There's some urgent things coming up soon that can't be avoided, but I'll see if I can get to them within a week. They'll probably end up joining my guild, just so you know. If they aren't already a part of one."

Which I didn't think they were.

"That's fine," she said, straightening. "I'm just…I'm so happy she's alive. We dark guilds may make fun of your guild, but…the truth is...our unit has always been close, too."

I smiled at her, squeezing her hands again. "Then you know how much stronger you are when you're together."

"Sorano!" Midnight hissed, and I stepped back.

"Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know, because I figured you'd need some time to think on it. I live near the edge of Magnolia, at a cabin about a mile and half away from the guild hall. If you stand facing the guild hall, it's to your left. You should be able to find me pretty easily if you have any questions, okay?"

They nodded, and I gave them one last wave before teleporting away.