Chapter Two
Lucy pushed open the doors to the guild, and was greeted by the site of the entire body of Fairy Tail assembled in the hall. She attempted to wedge her way in between the throng, but gave up halfway through and instead raised herself up on tiptoe, searching for the top of Natsu's pink head.
"Lucy!" she heard Levy call, and turned with relief to see the small girl wriggling her way towards her.
"Hi, Levy!" Lucy replied, very relieved. "I'm so glad you're here! Are you excited?"
"Yup," Lucy said, suddenly determined. "I feel like this is my year, you know? I feel like I might have a fair chance at winning!"
Levy nodded. "It'd be an honor for me to even be chosen," she said thoughtfully, glancing up at the state where Makarov, Mira Jane, Erza, Laxus, and Gildarts were standing. "I really hope we get it, Lu!"
Before Lucy could say anything, however, Makarov sized himself up and bellowed to the guild, "ATTENTION FAIRY TAIL MEMBERS! ARE YOU READY FOR THE S-CLASS ANUNCIATION CEREMONY?!"
Fairy Tail clapped and cheered in assent.
"Gildarts – take it away!" Makarov gestured for Gildarts to step to the front. The tall man waved merrily at Cana in the audience, and then began his speech.
"This year has begun a lot differently than the previous S-Class years, hasn't it?" he started, scanning the guild members' faces. "We've felt it best to lean more towards a democratic standpoint in selecting the elite members of the guild. The victor, after all, will be added to our council as a leader and example of the power of Fairy Tail. Now, ARE YOU READY TO HEAR WHO THE NOMIEES ARE?"
More cheers resounded from the crowd.
"Give it to them, Mira!" Gildarts shouted, and Mira Jane stepped forward to announce the candidates.
"The numbers are in!" she said excitedly. "And in seventh place, with a grand total of nine votes: Wendy Marvell!"
Wendy turned a faint shade of pink and disappeared underneath a crowd of admiring huggers.
"In sixth place, with a total of twelve votes – Levy McGarden!"
Levy squealed and gave Lucy a hug. "I did it! I made it back in!"
"Congratulations, Levy!" Lucy said earnestly. Levy grinned and turned to look at Gajeel, who was staring at the beer bottle in his hand with great interest.
"In fifth place, with a total vote count of twelve votes – Elfman Strauss!"
Elman roared mightily, temporarily deafening the people surrounding him. Evergreen slapped him on the arm.
"Next up, in fourth place, with a total of 14 votes – Yukino Aguria!"
Yukino looked very surprised, and was quickly overwhelmed by the earnest congratulations of everyone around her. She glanced towards Lisanna, who gave her a wink.
"In third place we have Cana Alberona, who collected a grand total of 16 votes!"
Cana nodded solemnly, but her expression quickly turned to shock when Gildarts jumped off the stage and ran to her, crying with happiness the entire way. She was unable to stay for the remainder of the ceremony, as her father ended up chasing her all the way out of the guild.
"In second place, with a total of 17 votes – Gajeel Redfox!"
Gajeel's 'eyebrows' flew up into his hairline, but he said nothing and merely gave Natsu a wicked grin.
"And tying for first, both with a grand total of 18 votes each – Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster!"
The guild roared with approval as Natsu and Gray rounded on each other, glaring daggers into the other's face.
"Just how many votes did you sneak in, Flame Brain?" Gray shouted above the noise, throwing a punch at the dragon slayer.
"What, afraid that I'll end up becoming an S-Class wizard before you, Snowflake?"
They engaged themselves in an all-out duel, while Lucy looked on with the others, trying her best not to cry. Levy noticed and took her hand comfortingly.
"I'm sure you were very close, Lucy," she told her friend. "If not this year then definitely next year, for sure!"
Lucy smiled appreciatively, not trusting her voice, and squeezed Levy's tiny hand. "But Levy – you're up against Gajeel this year," she said shakily, wiping a few traitorous tears from her eyes. "That's so tragically romantic. It can be like Romeo and Juliet!"
The solid script mage flushed. "Really, Lucy, sometimes you make no sense at all."
Makarov cleared his throat loudly as the guild began to quiet down. "Yes, yes, very exciting and all – now, the details of the exam will not be given until the actual day. All you must know is that there will be five examiners, and only one partner per candidate is permitted at any given time. They cannot be S-Class, and they must be from Fairy Tail. All candidates must meet at the top of Jourabone Mountain at six in the morning one week from today. That is all; DISMISSED!"
Lucy was about to make a break for it and run back home as fast as she could when she heard Makarov call from his place up on the stage, "Oh, and before I forget – will Lucy Heartfilia please come meet with the S-Class council in my office immediately."
Lucy whirled around and gave Makarov a look that said, "Me? Surely not," but he pointed a finger directly at her and then to the door of his office, then marched offstage, followed by Mira Jane, Erza, and Laxus.
Confused, she looked at Levy for help, but Levy merely shrugged and gestured towards the Master, suggesting that she'd better go and see what he wanted. Lucy strode cautiously towards her guild master, and knocked on his door as a formality.
"Get in here, Lucy!" he barked from the other side, and she walked in nervously, getting the inexplicable feeling that she had done something wrong.
"Erza has had an idea," he started, making Erza look down, suddenly fascinated by her shoes. "She believes that the Celestial Spirit realm would make an excellent testing site for our Exams, and that you have the power to get us in. Is that correct, my dear?"
Lucy raised an eyebrow, but nodded all the same. "Yes, sir."
"And exactly how much would twelve hours in the Spirit World amount to, then, in Earthland time?"
"About a month and a half, Master," she replied, blinking. "Is that why you called me in here, sir? You want me to ask to Celestial Spirit king for permission to hold the exam in his realm?"
The S-Class members exchanged glances. "Well, it's only part of the reason, really," Mira Jane answered her, smiling." What we're about to disclose is highly classified, top secret information, and though you are a trusted member of the guild, under no circumstances may you speak of anything that is to happen or be said in this room. With that said, I can get to the point -Lucy, we would be honored to have you sit as an examiner during the trial."
Lucy's jaw hit the floor. "Are you serious?" she said, gaping. "Me?! An S-Class examiner?"
Laxus nodded. "You actually came in just after Yukino, with fifteen votes," he explained. "But we voted you out of the contest because we really wanted you to get us into the Spirit World instead."
Lucy wasn't sure whether or not to take that as a compliment, but was thrown off by what he had said. "Fifteen votes!" she cried, feeling as though she could do cartwheels. "That's so awesome! Next year it'll be even more!"
"Oh, don't worry, you're already in the running for next year," Erza grinned. "After all you've done, how drastically you've improved…there's no way you wouldn't qualify for S-Class."
"Yes!" Lucy felt like punching the air. "You guys wait and see. Ol' Mustache owes me a thousand times over, he can't say no to me!"
She rushed from the room, squealing excitedly. The S-Class council looked at each other, amused.
"I bet she partners with Natsu!" Erza cried, and thus was a betting pool started.
…
A/N: Yup! I know a lot of you were upset that Lucy wasn't nominated, but she was! Makarov just wanted her to wait one more year to actually compete, and I needed her for plot purposes.
Originally I was gonna set this whole exam in Edolas, but I had absolutely zero ideas on how to get them there. Oh, well. The Celestial Spirit World is cool too. :P
Next chapter has a bunch of partnering up! Heheheee :D
