Chapter 11: One Month

AN: And now, Reviewer Replies!

Sorry if I'm a little briefer than usual with these, I'm writing these at 2 in the morning and the wifi dropped my connection and lost the first draft as I was uploading it. Very, VERY frustrating.

Reptil: He has to tag objects with his magic before he can teleport them, but if he were to learn another brand of spatial magic, such as say...portals? That would change. The closest we'll see to Trafalgar Law's Ope-ope no mi is Minerva's Territory magic. It was actually a combination of both that made him pass out, but that'll be explained a little bit more next chapter by someone who is really REALLY good at figuring this sort of thing out.

Raidentensho: First off, my apologies, I misspoke last week. THIS is the chapter that explores Celestial Magic more in depth. Yes each of the three Slayer magics will be getting much more attention and explanation in this story, similar to what this chapter does for Celestial Magic. There are unique dangers posed by Dragon Lacrima, but those will be explored as well. As for the Battle in the Rift, there's no guarantee that Jerry won't put a stop to that before it even starts since he has a lot of the same reactions I do such as, "I'm sorry, I must've misheard you. I could've sworn you just said that your plan was to throw the thing that can eat magic with no known upper limits INTO AN INFINITE WELL OF POWER WHICH HE CAN PROBABLY EAT TO BECOME UTTERLY INVINCIBLE?! WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!" Yes, that was an incredibly stupid plan and I said so the instant I learned about it, ESPECIALLY considering that all Slayers have one great big absolutely GLARING weakness in common which I cannot BELIEVE Mashima forgot so completely and thoroughly. I love Fairy Tail, but it could NOT be more obvious that Hiro-san had no idea what he was doing in those last few chapters. There will be lots of time for Jerry to hone his skills and grow stronger on his own soon enough, but it won't be on solo jobs. I don't know where so many writers get the idea that next tier powerups are something that just pop out of nowhere in the middle of high stakes fights. I can only guess that they've never actually BEEN in a fight. Breaking out new moves that you've never even tried before is a really good way to get your ass kicked because you haven't worked out the bugs yet so you're every bit of that much more likely to screw it up and give your opponent an opening. That's actually something Jerry brought up in Chapter 9 right before he discovered the formula for Crash magic. Glad you're still enjoying! :D

Me (Guest):It's going quite well, thank you for asking. Yes the special distraction tactic and curb stomp with Erigor was very fun to write, I'm glad you enjoyed it. There are actually several reasons for Jerry getting hurt so much which will be gone into more as the story goes on, as well as one rather meta reason which will become very VERY obvious in retrospect once its revealed. Worry not though, this'll be his last big injury for...(goes to check the schedule) ...such a long time that even I'm not entirely sure when the next one is going to hit. I'm thinking it'll hit in around three months in universe at the earliest, which is a lot, and I mean a LOT, of chapters away. Yes that bit with Lucy in the start of the last chapter was intended to be uncomfortable because she was actually very much correct to be worried about Jerry. If Natsu hadn't been waiting outside and ready to give the Lullaby a Happy assisted Fire Dragon Iron Fist to the face the instant its true form stabilized and stop its magic from going off, everyone would be either hospitalized or just outright DEAD in Jerry's case, along with most every non-wizard within the Lullaby's range, for reasons which will be explained next chapter. You see next week is a special chapter which is going to feature viewpoints other than Jerry's set at the same time as this chapter, including one from someone who is actually really good at figuring stuff like this out. As for the letter to the Magic Council, I was originally not going to let Jerry write it since in-universe it had BAD IDEA written all over it, hence Mirajane and Erza immediately trying to talk him out of it. Buuut, since you asked for it, I changed my mind. He and Levy assisted Makarov with writing the letter, and the Council's reaction to it will be addressed in next week's special chapter.

And now, ON WITH THE SHOW!

Chapter 11 – One Month

Porlyusica let me go home that night, albeit with an admonishment not to use my magic so recklessly again until I was healed and a declaration that I was extra stupid even for a human. I slept like a rock that night and felt good as new in the morning. Or at least, I felt as good as I had before the Lullaby socked me with death magic.

Lucy and Levy had both finished Pirates of the Caribbean and were now jumping up and down for the next installment. I told them it would take time and got them to reluctantly, poutingly agree to wait until I was recovered from being buried alive.

Natsu was jumping up and down to go on a job, and again, I thought I convinced him to wait until I was recovered enough to not be fainting after using my magic in earnest. Erza offered to let him go on a job with her since she took another one right away, but Natsu chickened out at the thought of being alone with her, so she went by herself.

I spent the afternoon that first day digging through the archives to see if there was anything else on Slayer magic. If there was any way to jack my magic levels higher so that I could do what I needed to without rendering myself nearly comatose, I wanted to know immediately. Levy came down to see what I was up to when she found out from Mira that I was there. She quickly wound up helping me search, but not until after she had read Precht's thesis on the matter. "Do you really think this conversion process will work?" she asked me with a thoughtful frown.

I nodded, "Oh the absorption rate increase I know for a fact does. It's the only reason I haven't been collapsing from magic exhaustion on an even more regular basis than what I have. As for the elemental conversion, I haven't had a lot of opportunity to practice with it, but I'm certain I was able to turn light into ethernano and absorb it the day I found that."

Levy almost dropped the paper in her hands, "What?! Show me!" I raised my hand and the air around it grew dark as the light that drew within the sphere of my magic was converted into ethernano and absorbed. I looked at it and frowned thoughtfully, then I spread the conversion field across my whole body. I was immediately blind, but the rush of power into my system was incredible. My bones stopped aching, my muscles felt stronger, and most of all, I felt absolutely wired. It was the exact inverse of magic exhaustion, I felt like I could turn an entire mountain to rubble and still have juice in the tank! I willed the conversion field to pull back away from my eyes and was able to see again.

I smiled at Levy's stunned expression even though I know she couldn't see it, "I haven't tried it with anything other than light, but at the very least this works for me. I think I'll call this Blackout Mode…whatcha think? Cool?"

"That. Is. AMAZING!" Levy declared with stars in her eyes. Then she quickly turned her eyes to the paper and quickly began to study it. A few moments later, she wrinkled her brow in concentration and a few moments later her eyes popped wide open as she apparently got it. "Ho-ho-holy crap…" she laughed giddily as she rocked back and forth with a huge smile on her face, "I feel amaaaaaziiing!"

I grinned and waggled a finger at her, "Now try Blackout Mode. It's even better."

Levy's eyebrows went up, "Ooh!" She grinned and closed her eyes before dropping into a meditative position and a moment later she was shrouded in darkness and laughing as power surged through her. I tilted my head, now that I saw someone else doing it, it was surprisingly creepy to see what was basically a living silhouette.

"Ya know Levy," I mused as I allowed my own Blackout Mode to fade away from my head, "If I had known it looked this bloody creepy, I would've limited it to just covering my cape."

The eerie silhouette thing that was Levy stopped laughing and tilted her head at me, "Creepy?"

"Can you see out of it?" Levy's eyes suddenly materialized, looking all cute and innocently confused but still friggin' creepy due to the featureless black mask they were set in. I allowed mine to cover my head again and then let my scariest most evilest laugh bubble up and out of me. Levy actually squeaked in terror as I leaned in her direction.

Her Blackout Mode immediately faded off her head to reveal her frightened expression as she pointed at me and sat back and away from me, "Okay turn that off! You're right it's super scary when it's over your face like that!"

I sat up and let it fade away and just encompass my cloak, "See? Told ya." Then an idea occurred to me and I let it slide up over my head again, not most of my face but enough to cover my nose and the skin around my eyes. I pulled two points up out of the top and said in a ridiculously deep voice, "I'm Batman."

Levy blinked at me in surprise, then she started laughing as she asked who Batman was. I blinked and then a grin split my face as my mask faded away. In less than five minutes I had explained the concept of superheroes to Levy and had her utterly enraptured with tales of the Dark Knight of Gotham. I burned an entire afternoon telling Levy Batman stories, and then I went home with a book on card magic.

I would've asked Cana for tips and training in it, she'd been very good at explaining how to do the Calling Card spell, but I didn't dare disturb the boozy brunette any more than my magic already had. We hadn't spoken since I had given her the knowledge I had of Crash magic, but I'd occasionally catch her shooting glances at me. They weren't angry, they seemed almost sad. I considered talking to her, but I didn't have a clue what I'd say.

Also, the fact that she never wore more than a bikini top and her capris was exceptionally distracting even from across the bar if I didn't have Mirajane or Lucy or Erza nearby to draw my eye. I knew that if I got up close to her again, I wouldn't be able to keep my lecherous instincts from directing my gaze and making an already awkward conversation even more so.

So, rather than deal with that awkwardness and risk mucking it up by trying to tackle it before Cana was ready, I let her have her space and dug up a book on card magic to see just what all it could do.

…

…

A week after the Eisenwald Incident, my bones were still creaky, my head was itchy from being covered in bristles where my hair was starting to grow back, and my face was still healing from having half of it scraped off, but other than that I felt pretty good. Porlyusica had given me a magic healing salve that she said would allow my skin to recover with little to no scarring, so every other night I unwrapped all the bandages on my head to apply the salve. It usually hurt like pulling off extra sticky tape and often times pulled open some of the old scabs, but with a little help from Mira the first time (she was surprisingly not at all disturbed by the squick factor), I quickly got good enough at it to do it myself without pulling a bunch of scabs off and getting blood everywhere. I still wound up having to use telekinesis to clean it up just due to the sheer amount of it that got all over the bathroom while I was still learning, but it was actually very rare for me to wind up doing it by myself.

I hadn't realized Virgo had a nurse's outfit, or how incredibly cute she looked in it. More than that though, I hadn't realized how very good a nurse she was. At the risk of sounding trite, her hands were as soft as starlight and she was every bit as attentive as anyone could ever ask for. I hadn't even thought to summon her the first time she popped up to help. I tugged one bandage that was just a little too sticky and yanked a scab half the size of my palm off, leaving a lovely raw patch oozing blood and going wild from the exposure to air on the raw nerves.

It was a rather lengthy and explosive stream of swearing that Virgo startled me out of. I nearly jumped through the roof when the chime announced her arrival. She knocked on the door gently, "Master? Would you like some help in there?"

I opened the door, "Hey Virgo, yeah, thanks for coming. Ah, do you know how to do this?"

Virgo smiled at me gently, "Master, do you know how many Celestial Wizards I've served in my life? I've had…far more practice with first aid than I ever wanted." There was a very somber look in her eye and I immediately realized I'd just dredged up what was probably a lot of painful memories.

"Oh, um…" What the hell do you even say in a situation like this?! "I'm sorry, I…didn't mean to bring up any bad memories…ah…shit…erm…" I floundered and then Virgo smiled at me.

"Master, I don't regret a single thing I've ever done for my wizards, and even if my memories of them hurt to think about, I still wouldn't trade any of them for the world," she told me softly, "Now please, sit down and let me help you."

I did and as Virgo gently undid the rest of my bandages without the slightest hiccup I had to wonder, just how many people had she done desperate first aid on trying to save their lives? I didn't dare ask. Virgo might be a masochist, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the type of pain she was into.

Then as Virgo started rubbing the healing salve across my scalp she mused quietly, "You know, maybe you should punish me…you wouldn't be like this if I'd been faster during the avalanche…"

My hands snapped up and caught her wrists. I gently held her hands to my head and raised my eyes to meet hers, which I noted with a hint of displeasure were glittering with excitement, "Sit down Virgo," I growled.

Virgo sat immediately with her shins tucked under her as she asked with a big smile, "Punishment time?"

I gently took her head in my hands and looked her in the eyes very seriously, "Virgo, if you had not been there, I would be dead now. If I'd had any idea what my magic was capable of, I would've summoned you before I started. The failure there was mine, not yours." Virgo looked very confused and I exhaled slowly, "I understand that you're a masochist Virgo, and I'm willing to help you indulge that, but don't ever blame yourself for my screwups. You've been an incredible help to me at every turn, and you've never asked anything of me in return except punishment."

Virgo nodded and I took a breath, "I just thought about it, but I never did ask you what the limits on our relationship actually are. You remember when we were first making our contract and I asked if there was anything I couldn't or shouldn't ask you to do?"

Virgo nodded and I took a moment to steel my nerves knowing that this was quite possibly going to very deeply offend her, "What I wanted to ask you was if you and I could have…" shit, too nervous, can't say it… "erm…intimate relations, I suppose you might say. With you being the Maiden and all, I didn't want to risk putting you in a compromising position or hurting you or anything like that."

Virgo blinked at me curiously, "But don't you have Miss's Mirajane, Lucy, Cana, Erza and Levy?"

I couldn't have been more surprised if she'd slapped me with a wet fish. I blinked in surprise and started ticking them off on my fingers, "Mira's certainly a valid point to take into consideration but she's adamant on not developing a serious relationship. The jury's still out on Lucy. I think Cana's still pissed at me over the whole Crash Magic thing. Erza I hardly know, and cute as she is, Levy's more like a little sister to me than a potential girlfriend. Besides, I had only even really met three of them when I met you, and I hadn't known any of them for more than three days."

Virgo lowered her gaze, "You're not wrong to wonder about my title as "The Maiden". You're right, I can't lose my virginity. It's an integral part of my being, so it could have very bad repercussions for me, but there's…also the other thing…" Even though she had hung her head and her bangs obscured a fair bit, I could still see her face twist in unmistakable pain and definitely not the kind she enjoyed, "Master, you…do understand that I'm functionally immortal right?"

I felt her fingers clench slightly as she shook, "You don't know what it's like for a Celestial Spirit to lose their wizard…every time my wizard dies before passing on my key…it's like a chunk of my soul getting torn out! Even if they do pass on my key before they die, I still see them go, and even if I don't, I still know the instant they're gone. It doesn't hurt as bad but it's still the most horrible feeling imaginable… It hurts so much…" she told me quietly as tears leaked out, "Everything else pales in comparison, it's so bad that physical pain feels like pleasure to me because that's just so much worse!" She leaned forward and rested her forehead on my chest, "If I fell in love with my wizard…and they died…I can't even imagine how much worse it would be. I thought I'd die of grief the first time I lost my wizard…if I lost a wizard I'd fallen in love with…I know I would…"

I held her gently until she found her voice again through the tears that I could feel tickling across my chest. When she spoke again, she laid a hand over my heart, "The contract is a link on our very souls, so I can sense what you're like and where you are. I can get a sense of what you're thinking too, so I know why you asked me about this." She looked up at me and gave me a watery smile full of understanding, "I really appreciate it. You're probably one of the most considerate wizards I've ever had about this, but I think it would probably be better if we didn't go there." Then she glanced away and bit her lip with a grin as a blush rose across her face, "It is a hot thought though…I had never even considered something like that…I'm gonna have to try that…"

Then she shook her head and smiled at me, "But for right now, let's get these bandages of yours changed. After that I'll go on back." And so she did, leaving me with quite a lot to think about.

…

…

A few days later, I wound up strolling out in the forest for some reason that I can't remember, I was probably on my way to or from Porlyusica's, and bumped into Gray. Gray had been on his way back from a job and we were jumped by a pack of what I can only dub wannabe wizards. The little troll looking dude was a halfway decent sand mage, but Max with the broom could've swept him like a barroom floor, so of course Gray punted him probably halfway across the forest. There was a weird looking chicken guy who I pretty quickly blasted into submission (don't tell Porlyusica!), and Gray knocked out a pair of knife wielding twins before they knew what hit them.

Then the last one told our fortunes after groaning in a sort of ominous way. "You'll meet someone special, but the stars point to great trouble with water and women unless you heed the advice of your friends," he told Gray. Gray was unimpressed, but I stopped him from clocking the guy and pestered some tips on it out of him before letting him go with a five hundred jewel note as thanks. I told him to go get himself some food and pointed him towards town, he looked famished. He hugged me and ran off. I looked after the rapidly fleeing fortune teller flatly, "What a pack of weirdoes…and I hang out with Natsu!"

…

…

On the evening of August the first, I came to the startling realization that I had only been in the world of Fairy Tail for a month. At the same time, I had been there a month. As Lucy handed me her twenty five thousand jewel in rent money with a smile, I could only stand there in the door stunned and accept it with what must've been a rather odd expression on my face.

Lucy noticed and frowned, "What's wrong? Is it not enough? Because you know I tried to tell you that it was a dirt cheap rate and…"

I cut off her budding tirade as she reached for her purse. "It's not that at all," I told her quietly. I took a deep breath and explained, "Lucy, you do realize that this is the first really significant mark of time I've had since I got yanked here from my world right?"

Lucy blinked and then her eyes went wide as that registered, "Oh! Sorry, I just wanted to pay my rent, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories or…"

I raised a hand to still her panicked babbling, "Nothing of the sort, it just caught me off guard. It feels like a lifetime ago already, so it's kind of surprising to realize it's only been a month." I leaned against the doorframe, "So much has happened…This has to have been the most hectic month of my life…" I tilted my head back to look at the ceiling, "My folks are probably still freaking out over my disappearance…They'd be so pleased if they could see me now but they probably think I'm dead…of course," I smiled slightly, "This world could be heaven. It's everything I ever wanted in a world."

Silence reigned for a moment and then Lucy piped up, "You should write them a letter! Just in case you ever do get a chance to send one! I…" She stopped herself and fidgeted for a moment before admitting, "I…write my mom letters every time anything interesting happens…I…know she'll never get to read them, but…it makes me feel better…"

I blinked at her in surprise and then smiled, "Thanks Lucy, I might have to try that." Then my oven timer "DING!"-ed and I shot a glance over my shoulder before turning back to Lucy with a grin, "If you're hungry, I'll have dinner ready in a few minutes. Care to join me?"

Lucy looked like she wanted to and then looked down at her admittedly rather filthy clothes as I noted that she did in fact look like she'd been dragged feet first through a pig sty, "Um, I'd really like to, but I really need a shower…"

I nodded, "That's fine, would you like to join me afterwards? I can fix more while you're getting cleaned up." Lucy brightened and agreed before heading for the stairs only to groan as she remembered she lived on the second floor. It was right about then that I noticed she was really favoring her left foot. I cleared my throat, "If you want, you can use my shower instead."

Lucy me shot a grateful look, "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose…"

Her face said otherwise and I handwaved it with a smile, "No worries Lucy. We can even throw your stuff in the washer while you shower."

Apparently, that was the last little bit needed to make an irresistible offer because a few moments later Lucy was in the bathroom with a towel and pushing a lump of clothes out through a crack in the door, "Thanks Jerry!"

I picked up the bundle of clothes and headed for the wash room under the stairs. I tossed in a rechargeable detergent lacrima (yet another convenience I'd found a pleasant surprise) and then tossed Lucy's shockingly filthy clothes in before closing the door, setting it to hot water and heavy dirt, and turning it on. Then I went back down the short entrance hall to my apartment and started fixing more dinner as I pulled out what was ready and worked to make sure I had gotten everything right. Granted it's difficult to screw up a baked potato, but I'd seen far more surprising things in the month I'd been at Fairy Tail. God that still felt so weird to think about…

I tossed two more potatoes into the aluminum foil and then into the oven, then I quickly flash cooked the bacon to crisp and crumbled it into a bowl with my telekinesis. I pulled the potatoes that were done from their foil wrap and set them on two separate plates. I actually had more than two plates now! That was something else that earned a moment of pause as I thought about how many people were in my life now. I'd never had company in my old world, hadn't really even had friends since I'd moved away and started college, which had sucked because my best friends Gabe and Julie had gone to different colleges in different states and I never got to see them. Now it seemed like I was with friends every day again!

I set the table and went back out to the laundry room to check on Lucy's clothes. I frowned as I saw twenty minutes still on the wash timer. Maybe they'll get done before she does? I only allowed that absurd little thought a moment of my brain space, No way in hell is she gonna stay in the shower for an hour when she knows the food'll be ready soon.

I headed back into my apartment and heard the water cut off as I walked in. I winced, ah shit… Then a moment later Lucy called, "Hey Jerry? Are my clothes dry yet?"

"You've only been in there for fifteen minutes," I replied, "Food's ready whenever you are, ah, would you like a bathrobe or a shirt of something?"

"Yeah I can't just come out and eat naked!"

I grimaced slightly as dirty thoughts raced through my mind, "Well I'll close the bedroom door and you can grab what you want out of the drawers." I did so and then went to check on the two extra potatoes. They were cooked enough, so I yanked them out with my telekinesis, unwrapped them and set them on the plates. Foil in the garbage can and I pulled the fridge open to get the drinks and cheese out.

As I was pulling the cheese out, I heard the bedroom door open and when I straightened up, I found Lucy smiling at me clad in what looked an awful lot like nothing but my fuzzy red bathrobe (I had seven, one for every day of the week). She had it tied firmly shut at the waist but that did basically nothing to cover those very long toned legs and it was not hard to see as much as I wanted of her figure. With her hair down and that big smile, I had to stop and stare as I wondered if she was aware of just how damn sexy she looked. She smirked a little as she noticed my blush and I decided, Yep, she knows exactly what she's doing.

Then something registered a moment late and my gaze snapped back down, "Lucy. What happened to your leg?" She had an extremely large very angry looking black and purple bruise across her shin.

Lucy started in surprise and tucked the leg in question behind her other one, "Oh, I kinda tried to kick a chair off course during one of Natsu's brawls at the Guild Hall a few days ago. I should've just ducked but I was really angry."

"About what?" I asked, mentally noting that something really needed to be done about the guild's bar brawl problem.

"Apparently the entire guild's decided that you, me and Erza are the only ones capable of keeping Natsu in line," Lucy declared with more than a hint of irritation, "Seriously, I bring him back from a job without anything getting burned down once and everyone acts like it's a miracle! Then Master sent us out on another job immediately, and when we made it back from that one with no extra damages, he declared that Natsu was never allowed to go on a job without you, me or Erza along again. I mean, technically it's just until Natsu pays off the insane debt he's racked up, but that lunatic's burned down like a dozen buildings in the last two months! That doesn't even include what happened at Hargeon! The Council covers half of the damages if the damages were incurred on a completed job for the Council, which thankfully most of Natsu's jobs are, but the Guild still has to foot the bill for the other half, and because Natsu usually works alone all the debt falls right square on him. I don't know how he manages to eat since every jewel he makes goes to paying off his debt and the Guild's membership fee!"

Lucy sank into a chair and covered her eyes with one hand, "Apparently this month is the first time he's actually made net progress on his debt in years!"

I felt a small shudder run down my spine, "He has to pay for half the damage he's caused?" I still remembered Hargeon pretty dang vividly. If that was normal for Natsu, then he'd never pay off that much debt! Even if Natsu was only covering half of it, Hargeon alone would've probably been well over a billion jewel!

Lucy shook her head, "Master said the Guild's membership fees cover a fair deal of it, but Natsu still has to fork over most of his reward money because of how much insanely much damage he does. According to Master, if Natsu weren't so prone to collateral damage, he'd rake in more money for the guild than anyone except the S-Class, and possibly even more than them because he takes jobs so often."

I sat down and grimaced, "Do we have an actual number on how much debt he's in?"

"Two hundred and eighty four," Lucy replied flatly.

"…Thousand?" I asked hopefully.

"Million," Lucy declared flatly.

I had expected that, but I still cringed at the sheer size of the figure, "GOD DAMMIT Natsu!"

Lucy nodded, "Mmhmm, and if he tries to skip out on it, then he gets a bounty on his head about equal to that." Then she looked at her potatoes, "This smells good, what is it?"

"Baked potato," I replied, "Don't tell me these aren't a thing here?"

Lucy shook her head and went to take a bite, "No, I've never heard of it." She ate a forkful and her eyes widened, "I'm going to need to do these more often though."

"Try it with the cheese and bacon bits," I grinned. She did and immediately dumped a gratuitous amount of both on her potatoes before digging in with gusto.

"Do you always eat this well?" She asked after slowing down a little.

I nodded, "Is pizza a thing here?"

Lucy blinked at me, "Pizza? Of course it is! Everyone knows pizza."

I nodded, "Ah, that's too bad. I could've made a fortune if I invented pizza." Then I grinned, "Oh well, entertainment's easier anyway."

Lucy blinked at me, "Entertainment?"

I shot her a sly look, "You liked Pirates of the Caribbean riiight? You do realize that I have hundreds of stories like that stored away in my head right? Are movies a thing here? I haven't seen any, but that doesn't mean they don't exist."

Lucy tilted her head, "Movies?"

"Vision lacrima recordings of theatrical performances which can be shot anywhere and are thus not constrained by the limitations of a theater set," I explained. Lucy's eyes widened and I grinned, "I take it that's a new one for you. Well," I took a drink, "I'll have to contact the local theaters once we get a movie shot. The lacrima production will be a bit of a drain, but for the return movies usually see and with the sheer cinematic effect wizards can produce, it should be easy. Heck, I could probably even just record a mission and sell copies of the recording! Would probably help pay for the damages too…" I mused.

"Do you really think so?" Lucy asked curiously.

"It was a big enough thing in my world that nearly every house had the equivalent of a lacrima vision so that people could watch movies and broadcast shows. Calling it a multibillion dollar industry is an understatement," I told her with a grin, "If we pioneer TV itself? We'll be as big as the railroad industry. Possibly bigger."

I could almost see Lucy's eyes turning into Jewel symbols. We kept talking for over an hour and after her clothes got dry, I actually got a little kiss on the cheek before Lucy went up to her apartment for the night.

If I hadn't already been involved with Mira, I'd have seriously considered trying to persuade her into another good make out session…at minimum. I still very much remembered how much fun Lucy was to kiss, and this time I was guaranteed there'd be no rumbly stomachs to interrupt since we'd just eaten. Even with my relationship with Mira in mind, I still had to bite my tongue something fierce to keep from trying to turn what I realized in retrospect could possibly have constituted a date into an…ahem…all night affair. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that even though Mira had said we weren't exclusive and that she didn't want anything serious, I'd still seen absolutely no evidence that she was even considering anyone else, and I DAMN sure wasn't about to go and risk my relationship with her for anything.

Doesn't mean the idea wasn't running through my mind for the rest of the evening until I fell asleep though…

…

…

I woke up at some obscene hour between midnight and morning and rolled over onto my back. I'd rolled onto my cast and I now had a lovely red patch across my chest. I was down to just a cast now rather than a cast and sling. It was, refreshing to say the least, having at least some use of my arm back, but I was still getting used to not doing everything with my left hand. You wouldn't think I'd get used to only using my left so quickly that I'd have to start actively remembering to use my right, but I did.

I laid there for what might've been seconds or hours, blearily wondering what had woken me up. Then I heard something moving in the kitchen. I closed my eyes and listened carefully before reaching out with my telepathy. I took about two seconds to register who it was and then I got out of bed, pulled my pants on and stormed out to the kitchen bellowing, "NATSUUUUUUUUUUUUU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY APARTMENT AT THIS OBSCENE FUCKING HOUR OF THE MORNING?!"

Judging by the deer in the headlights look Natsu and Happy were sporting in the erratic and wildly flickering light my rage was manifesting, my fury was not lost on them. Then I felt a slight tug on my magic and a moment later a pink haired figure appeared right behind Natsu and Happy. I blinked in surprise and Virgo smiled at my intruders crookedly, "Shall I throw them out Master?"

Natsu and Happy whirled and caught sight of Virgo just in time for me to shoot her a thumbs up, "Do it!" Virgo snapped her fingers and with a little burst of pink light a hole popped open under Natsu and Happy who fell through with squawks of surprise. The hole closed back up as soon as they were through. A moment later I heard a very loud splash from the canal outside as Natsu howled in surprise.

I blinked, "Virgo…did you just open a portal?"

Virgo grinned at me, her form glowing faintly in the dark, "Yeah. Since you have so many different kinds of magic, I can access yours and mix them with mine. Your Teleportation magic mixed with my Hole magic lets me make holes through space time. Really this is the biggest leap my magic has taken since I learned Hole magic."

I took a moment to process that, "So…we can use each others' magic?"

Virgo nodded, "That's right. A really big part of the Celestial bonding process is exchange of magical ability. Celestial wizards get stronger the more they summon us and we get to draw magic power from them to reinforce our own life force. Without our keys down here on Earth to absorb ethernano, we'd lose our strength and die quickly, that's why we have them. When a Celestial wizard contracts with us, we're able to form a symbiotic relationship with them. We protect and aid them, and in exchange, having our key and essence linked to them and their magic increases our ethernano intake. A side bonus is getting to acquire any types of magic our wizard has, but it's not one we get to use often because of how rare it is for Celestial Wizards to learn other types of magic. Leo and I have both gotten incredible boosts to our magical abilities from being partnered with you," she added with a grin. Then she winked at me, "So, you want to learn Portal magic?"

I grinned from ear to ear, "Let's get started!"

Next time on Mad Little Slice of Heaven!

The sixteen year old prodigy who was honestly Ariel, no, all of Mermaid Heel's pride and joy, sheathed her sword and whirled, whipping out a newspaper from Ariel didn't even really want to know where. Kagura pointed at the front page with an almost manic look in her eyes, "Master do you see this?"

Ariel raised an eyebrow and then looked, smirking slightly, "Malba City's annual rutabaga festival is next week?"

Kagura blinked and turned to look at the front page in confusion. Her eyebrows drew together and she raised her eyes to shoot a dry glare at the woman who was the closest thing she had to a mother, "Master, there's nothing on here about rutabagas."