Delicate, fine silverware and plates danced around Lucy in a flourish of shine, beauty, and money as the well-dressed waiters and waitressed moved with professional and memorized ease through Castle Fiore's Great Hall. She followed one cute looking young man with her eyes as he darted through the various well-dressed wizards (save for Quattro Cerberus, Natsu, Gajeel, Gildarts, and a few scoundrels from Orochi's Twilight) until he vanished behind the kitchen doors. Her eyes then fell to Natsu, who sat happily at a table with Rogue, Gajeel, Gray, and Juvia. Happy and Frosch were doing a little dance in tune with the music; Frosch had never seemed happier.

Minerva's bellowing laugh stunned her from her glance and she returned her attention to the table. Minerva sat next to Lucy in a fine blue gown, revealing everything she wanted to but ensuring that her tight, powerful muscles reminded everyone she was not a woman to be messed with. She had a champagne glass in hand. Tables were all circular, and by the time Sabertooth joined the dinner, there had only been two seats left. Lucy happily gave them away to Minerva and their good friend Yukino Agria, who sat opposite Lucy. Rounding out the table were Erza, Kagura, and, Sherry Blendy, who'd taken the trip with Lamia Scale in support of her sister.

Erza set down her glass that magically refilled with wine. "Quite the story, Minerva. I had no idea that the tailor in Onibas was such a big fan of yours."

"Once these games are done we'll have to go together, Erza," Minerva said. Lucy stared at the elite Sabertooth wizard. She no longer saw a face of vile and villainy, but rather a woman of heart and power. She wore loads of makeup but Lucy still saw her beauty even when she'd become part-Demon. Minerva's eyes drifted from their table, as Lucy's had, toward table with the Exceeds dancing and stayed there a moment.

"Oh, that reminds me," Yukino said, folding her hands on the table. "Lucy, I read through your book. I quite liked it a lot. I wanted to give it to Sting to read, but he's been so busy preparing the guild for the games."

"Not to mention reading isn't his specialty," Minerva said, her eyes still away. They filled with a bit of gloss and her voice softened as she spoke, "Rogue, though, would definitely read through it. In a heartbeat."

"Did you just skip a heartbeat, Minerva?" Erza asked, cheekily taking another drink.

Minerva grinned and calmly turned her head to the scarlet warrior. "It may have, but I did not swoon as you would if you'd seen that man Jellal."

Erza grinned and squeezed her cup almost to the point of breaking. Cracks formed all along it. Lucy couldn't help herself but burst into a fit of laughter at the sight.

"My, my," Sherry said from behind her own glass of wine. "You girls and your boys. Whatever are we to do?"

Kagura had her sword resting against the table, sheathed as always. Her eyes wandered for a moment. "Speaking of Jellal, isn't he—"

"Lucy!" a voice boomed, and Lucy rolled her eyes, leaning back to look over to Natsu's table. Rogue, embarassed, had his hands in his face while Natsu giggled and showed a small black flame being tossed around with ease by Happy and Frosch. "Check it out!"

"They worry me," Erza said.

"They worry everyone," Lucy said, and gestured to the Master's Table.

Everyone followed her gesture. All the Guild Masters sat there, with notable abscenses from Mermaid Heel and Orochi's Twilight. Scores of Guild Masters huddled together, basically one from each guild. Makarov would've been difficult to spot had it not been for his large arm stretching up over the crowd, then down and slapping Natsu on the side of the head. Another loud voice boomed in laughter, and Lucy saw Sting sitting there next to Makarov. Weird to see him at the Master's table, especially among others like Bob from Blue Pegasus or that old hag from Lamia Scale.

Lucy felt a little chill when she thought of her, and lowered her gaze a bit.

"I'm amazed how they could fit so many people in here," Minerva said.

"They could fit all the participants," Erza clarified.

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "I see most if not all of Fairy Tail here, Erza, I'm not sure what you mean."

"And I'm literally sitting right here," Sherry said.

Erza put her hands up in defense. "Hisui's personal invitation allowed us to all come to the dinner. I don't want to gloat-"

"Though you should," Minerva said, and Kagura and Sherry noticeably nodded. "It was Fairy Tail's greatest spell that defeated Acnologia and one of Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers that that cemented this defeat, as well as destroying Zeref."

"Fairy Tail led the resistance against Alvarrez, something none of us could have done on our own as you did," Sherry said. "Have pride in Fairy Tail."

"I have the greatest pride in my guild, but until this competition is over, I won't hold it above anyone else's," Erza said. "It would be unbefitting of me, as our team Captain."

Kagura and Minerva grinned. "Ah, so my suspicions were correct," Minerva said. "Rogue had been guessing that Natsu would be your team captain."

"I won't reveal my team's roster just yet," Erza said. "But yes, I am leading the team."

"I think we can guess one of your members right now?" Minerva said, side-eyeying Lucy. The blonde sat up a bit taller.

"I won't speak until the captain says so," Lucy said, and Minerva chuckled again.

"Very good, Lucy," Minerva said. "But so long as we are sharing such details I would be remiss in mentioning that I am the Captain for Saber Tooth."

"And I Mermaid Heel," Kagura said. "Knowing all of this I consider it a great honor to have been elected by my guild and to stand in such elite company."

"Indeed," Erza said.

Sherry giggled and leaned back. "You're all so cordial amongst each other." She wore a scandalous pink dress, but it wasn't as if anyone would make mention of it. Almost anything she wore would appear that way, even if it weren't intended. Sherry Blendy was well-regarded as one of the most beautiful women in Fiore, rivalling Mirajane and Jenny Realight.

"We're saving it for the battlefield," Yukino said. "Besides, why fight now?"

"For real," Lucy said. "I already feel much better about these Games than any before. The vibe here is so, I don't know, relaxed? Calm?"

"There's no Eclipse Gates, no Zeref, no dragons," Erza said. "It's friendly competition. I'll be honest, in all that's happened these last two or three years, I'd nearly forgotten what it was like."

The kitchen doors opened in a flourish and all the waiters and waitresses poured out of it with trays of hot food in their hands or on various carts. Several annoying and distinguishable roars of hungry men swelled in the room while all the women at Lucy's table smiled at the sight of food. After a long day on the road, this was quite the welcomed meal.

The staff distributed quick and cordially, but before anyone could dig in-even Natsu-Hisui rose and tapped her golden glass, signaling for everyone's attention. She sat on a raised platform, with the Guild Master's long table just in front of it, forming a "T" in the back of the Grand Hall by the throne. Hisui was adorned in her typical outfit: the slim white dress and cloak with her silver crown and jade jewel atop her head. She looked splendid, and even among the massive crowd, large and authoritative.

"Good evening," she said, her voice a song over the sudden hush of the dining hall. The tinkling of forks upon the plates sounded as everyone's attention fully fell upon their queen. "And thank you for coming, my friends. It's been a year of peace and joy, and of rebuilding. Our homes were destroyed, our lives changed, but our friendships and bonds remained. We remained true to ourselves, and to the hope we have in each other. While we're not quite done yet, I felt it important that we show the kingdom that those who stood before the darkness can shed a little more light to mark the one-year passing of Fiore's greatest threat."

Everyone clapped for her, a few people hollered for her. Most of the drunkards weren't there—save for Cana who sat at a table with the Strauss family and her father. Lucy's eyes wandered again. She saw Wendy, Sherria, Carla, Gray, Juvia, and Lyon sitting together. Laxus and the Thunder Legion sat close, but not far, from Makarov, and were joined by Orga and Jura Neekis, who was not participating—thank goodness—but was there as a supervisor for the Magic Council.

Hisui went to speak again but finally noticed, along with everyone else, the creaking of the doors at the back of the hall. Feet and chairs scuttled against the ground to turn and see the participants, and Guild Master, of Crime Sorciere, all dressed up and ready for some food. Lucy couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear at the villains-turned-heroes. Jellal led them, of course, wearing a long blue robe that hid the tuxedo beneath. Meldy was in a flowing pink dress that hid her massive bust impressively well, and also wore the blue cloak that Jellal did.

Cobra was with Kinana, of course, and while she had a dainty light blue dress, he had a deep purple suit with a green tie to match her. His one good eye wandered around and Lucy could see the beads of sweat dripping down his face. Sorano wore something similar to Yukino, though a bit less modest because that was how Sorano rolled. Macbeth, Racer, and Hoteye had similar garb to what they wore, just with a bit more flourish.

"Sorry for the late arrival," Jellal said, his voice filling the entire arena. "Couldn't find a place for the carriage, apparently there's a tournament going on."
It garnered a few chuckles—and a hearty laugh from Erza. Jellal nodded to Meldy who happily guided the rest of the guild to the remaining open table, where their food awaited them. Jellal glided through the crowd, and everyone watched him the entire time. Lucy only did so out of reverence that he could show up, late, to a royal dinner and have no worry or face to show for it. Hisui just smiled down at him as he took up his seat next to Bob, who grinned at him and said something. Jellal just nodded.

Erza, of course, hadn't taken her eyes off of him, and visibly jolted when Hisui called for the attention once more.

"Good, then we're all here now," she said, nodding her head to Crime Sorciere settling in at the back. "I'm glad to see all of your faces once again, or for the very first time. This past year, as I'm sure it's been for all of us, has been that of struggle and rebuilding. Perhaps a guild was lost or a loved one was taken from us by our foes, but know this: their strength, and the strength we all share, has come to bring us to today and propel us into the future. No matter the darkness, or the odds, or that feeling of loneliness, we are truly never alone. There is love unbound in this world now that it's great darkness has been thwarted, and for that, you all have my sincerest applause." As Hisui bowed low to all the wizards, Arcadios, Darton, and the other Fiore Knights around, like Riana from the White Tiger force that defended the Dragon Cry staff years ago.

Hisui continued, "The Grand Magic Games, once known as the Dragon King Festival, have stood as a symbol of unity for our kingdom for so long. Once, long ago, it brought together dragons, humans, and even demons alike; until recently, the games garnered a popular and warm reception. Unfortunately, this was changed, and now we know why truly this time of the year was known as the Dragon King Festival." Hisui closed her eyes, exhaled, but all the worry washed free from her face. "Henceforth, it has been decided to honor those brave Dragons and Dragon Slayers that fought against the forces of Face and Acnologia, the Dragon King, and rename the Grand Magic Games and Dragon King Festival into, simply, the Dragon Festival."

More applause all around, though Lucy looked and saw all the Dragon Slayers, save for Natsu who just looked a bit perplexed at the situation, blushing and trying to hide their faces. Even Cobra could barely keep his scowl from turning into a smile, but Kinana encouraged him regardless, trying to draw that grin out.

"The Games proper shall begin tomorrow, but more on that later," Hisui said. "For now, please, enjoy this meal and this time of gathering and friendship. All we ask is that you do not wander the halls without permission or an escort." She nodded and moved to sit back down, then stopped, stood, and looked to all the Fairy Tail tables and said, "No, it's not another of your little conspiracies." She looked directly at Natsu. "And no, Natsu, you may not go looking for the Mato outfit."

The hall burst into laughter again, with Gajeel's roaring laughter breaking out among the rest, as Natsu just shrugged and started going at his food. Happy started digging into some fish and Frosch, Lucy, watched, couldn't decide if part of Rogue's plate or Happy's fish looked more delectable. Lector, at Sting's table, had his own little set of food set up next to Sting. Lucy would've worried that the Guild Master on that side of Sting would be angered, but seeing as it was Master Bob from Blue Pegasus, Lucy worried more for a handsome man like Sting than anything else.

She clapped her hands together, said her thanks, and started into the food, her body instinctually kicking into her more lady-like tendencies. Erza was the same way, though Lucy could tell she strained to not just jab the chicken with a sword and shove it down her gullet.

"My, Lucy," Minerva said next to her, tenderly sliding a piece of broccoli into her mouth. "I'd have thought your time with Natsu would have made a bit more vicious with food."

Lucy actively heard Natsu's snarls and growls as he ate his food down the Great Hall. She sighed. "Sixteen years of hard etiquette has to get a girl somewhere, right?"

"Pardon me for asking, but, aren't you supposed to be on a Century Quest, Lucy?" Yukino asked, still cutting up her food.

Lucy nodded. "We'd only gotten a day away from Fiore before Makarov called us back for the invitation. Crazy how that worked out."

"We'll be leaving once the Games are over, likely heading out from here," Erza said.

"What's the quest?" Sherry asked.

Erza grinned. "It's not my quest to speak of."

"It's Natsu's," Lucy said. "He invited me, Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Carla. Juvia will probably hitch a ride with us, she can't stay away from Gray for more than six hours."

"An oddly specific number," Kagura said from behind her wine glass.

"It's how long she sleeps," Lucy said, and Yukino almost spat up her drink from laughter. A bit of it trickled through her fingers.

"So sorry," Yukino said. "I just don't see how someone can be so obsessed with another person."

"It's quite perplexing," Minerva said. "Say, Erza, doesn't Jellal look quite handsome tonight?"

Lucy almost reciprocated Yukino's actions but managed to keep her composure. If Erza saw her do or say anything, Fairy Tail would likely need another participant on their team. Erza's face turned the color of her hair, which cascaded down just a bit to cover one eye. She cleared her throat.

"As a Guild Master he should be dressed appropriately for the occasion, so yes, he should look quite handsome as well," Erza said. "Though I thought Rogue looked particularly dashing tonight, I've never seen him so relaxed and in-the-moment."

"I think I shall take the credit there, I've been actively trying to get him to open up a bit more," Minerva said.

Man, talk about humble, Lucy thought as she started to eat her own food. Yukino nodded from across the table.

"Indeed," Yukino said. "It's quite impressive."

"Perhaps we'll have you do a crash course on proper social interaction with Natsu, then," Erza said. "Levy seems to have wrangled Gajeel pretty well."

Sherry slid forward a bit, leaning in as if to whisper, "Is it true what they say?"

"Who is they?" Lucy asked.

Sherry grinned. "That Gajeel and Levy are trying to have a kid?"

"Absurd," Erza said but did so much too fast. Sherry grinned, content with the answer she got. Kagura remained silent, but observant eyes smiled back at all the others. She was just soaking all of this up, wasn't she?

The women finished all of their meals, but rather than get up and mingle like everyone else, a lot of people actually came around to their table. Lucy spotted Flare in the crowd mingling about with some of the other Mermaid Heel girls, but before she could ask a stupid question, recalled that Flare, indeed, joined up with Mermaid Heel after the Alvarez War. The two made eye contact and smiled at one another.

The Guild Masters remained, for the most part, at their table, but with two noticeable departures: Sting and Jellal. Lucy's eyes followed Sting, who had Lector atop his shoulder, to Natsu and Rogue's table, where he burst into chatter with Natsu, who, Lucy could tell, was upset that he wasn't going to get to fight Sting since Sting was a Guild Master was thus disqualified from participation in the main event.

When she tried to find Jellal she felt someone kick the table and a masculine, calm voice said, "Good evening, friends, it's so great to see you all."

Lucy swiveled her head back around to see Jellal standing between Erza and Kagura. He grinned at everyone and rested one hand on Erza's chair and then another momentarily on Kagura's shoulder. He squeezed and she patted his hand, grinning up at him and saying hello. Jellal removed his hand. Erza's face, still red, kept the smile on Lucy's face.

She realized nobody had said anything back, "Good to see you too, Jellal. How's everything been for you guys?"

"We just got off a mission near Bosco hunting down a few Dark Wizards kidnapping young women," Jellal said, and cast a dark glance to the table with Orochi's Twilight. "That man Bora used to be among that crowd."

Lucy rolled her eyes. Bora had been that hack Fire Wizard that tried to kidnap Lucy the first time she met Natsu all those years ago. He was part of the Revenge Squad—just another name for Orochi's Twilight, a guild specifically designed for taking down Fairy Tail. Unlikely, but, it would be cute to watch.

"Will you try and bring him in?" Minerva asked, swishing around the wine in her glass. Their bottle was nearly empty. Damn. Lucy looked to her own glass and saw it was hardly drunk of. She frowned.

"Not unless he tries something, which would be foolish," Jellal said. "I'm sure Natsu would like another crack at him."

"How do you know about that?" Lucy asked.

"My time as Seigrain helped me learn a lot of things, Lucy, one of which being the destruction of Hargeon Town on multiple occasions," Jellal said. Erza's face turned even redder. "Fairy Tail wasn't, and isn't, known for its subtleties."

"Subtlety wouldn't have beaten Alvarez," Sherry said. "So I'm thankful for it."

"Oh, I agree," Jellal said. "Isn't that right, Erza? I heard you destroyed a meteor hurtling toward the Earth, and even slew a Dragon."
Erza nodded and finally looked to Jellal. Lucy could see the spark in their eyes when their gazes connected. It was actually a little off-putting.

"Indeed, such things are true, but I was not the one who attacked Acnologia head-on," Erza said.

Minerva sighed and leaned down so only Lucy could hear, "You think their egos are as big and obvious as their love?"
Lucy chuckled. "Probably bigger."
"Lucy," Erza cut in, and the blonde froze, "Why don't you escort Jellal to help bring over the desserts?"

Jellal nodded to her and Lucy finally stood. Jellal held his arm out and Lucy slid her arm through his, and he guided her through the Great Hall. She felt the eyes drawn upon her. She looked to Master Makarov, who winked at her, but she just shook his head. He shrugged and continued his conversation with Ooba, who spun her plates incessantly.

"Are you excited for this year's festival?" Jellal asked. "Oh, where are my manners, I'm not even sure you're participating."

"I am," Lucy said. "Erza's our captain." She paused. "Probably shouldn't have told you that."

"The Captains are fairly obvious to discern," Jellal said.

Lucy shook her head. "Not from Crime Sorciere. It's anyone's guess, really."

Jellal patted Lucy's arm. "Right now we're just Sorciere so not to cause any public outcry. We've managed to keep a low-enough profile that nobody would know the difference. Everyone's been caught up in the rebuilding since Alvarez."

"Oh, good point, my bad," Lucy said. "Thank you, though."

"For what?"

They reached the desserts table and the chefs nodded to them. Elfman and Evergreen were just down the table, cutely bickering with one another, while Ren was with Hibiki and Riko deliberating over what girls to bring which desserts. Lucy found a strawberry cake with red frosting on it—colored specifically with Erza's scarlet hair color—and took a large chunk and placed it on a plate.

"Facing Acnologia like you did," Lucy said. "You were the only one brave enough to do so."

"Except it was you who came up with the idea for Fairy Sphere," Jellal said.

Lucy shrugged and handed Jellal the plate. "Here, gives this to Erza. She'll really appreciate it."

Jellal didn't even stutter. "Thank you, Lucy."

Lucy nodded to him and folded her hands together and watched him glide through the crowd back to Erza. Her heart warmed a little as an expression of genuine shock and happiness overcame Erza's face. Jellal stood by them and chatted for a little while Lucy oversaw the crowd.

There wasn't a bored expression in the house whatsoever. Everyone was smiling, talking, laughing; it was joy, true joy. After all that they'd been through, the hardships and battles and heartache, Lucy couldn't help but feel a small tear spring to her eye. She wiped it away quickly and swallowed the knot in her throat. With a beaming grin and a touch of her keys, she started her way back through the crowd.

Hisui tapped on her glass again about an hour or so later. Lucy didn't speak with very many others; Wendy and Carla came around to their table for a little chat, then Natsu asked her a weird question—but it was kind of cute the way he asked, Lucy found herself thinking—and finally Makarov paid Lucy and Erza a small visit, and made sure to make good with the beautiful ladies of the table. Everyone noted what a nice Guild Master he was, and Lucy knew the shared pride between herself and Erza was well earned.

Hisui cleared her throat and silenced the crowd again. "I trust dinner and dessert were to everyone's liking."
She didn't pose it as a question, but somewhere in the Great Hall, Natsu exclaimed, "Hell yeah!"

Hisui nodded. "Thank you, Natsu, truly appreciated." She smiled in his direction and blew him a little kiss. Lucy felt a twinge of something—jealousy?—in her gut before Hisui addressed the crowd again. "As I said at the beginning of the evening, the festival proper begins tomorrow. For those of you who are not participating, several of the city's businesses and vendors will have festivities and music available for your enjoyment between rounds. Those wishing to get seats to the stadium will be asked to get there early and please refrain from taking up more room than necessary; after some renovations were done a year ago due to a melting incident, we've been working on proper seating arrangements.

"For our participants, though, I hereby cordially welcome you to the Dragon Festival! Tomorrow at ten in the morning all participating guilds are to be waiting on the roofs of their respective hostels or bases for our preliminary event."

She held her hands out and a holo-lacrima floated down from the ceiling and then lit up, revealing a familiar image to Lucy and all others who participated in the games two years ago.

"The Sky Labyrinth," Hisui said, and the room erupted in whispers.

"I always love a bit of familiarity," Minerva muttered to Lucy.

"The rules of the Labyrinth are simple," Hisui said. "Make it through the end and arrive in the stadium proper for the next event. The first eight guilds to arrive will move on through the preliminary rounds, and all other participating guilds will, unfortunately, be disqualified. If at any point a single Guild Member is to fall and drop out, their Reserve member may jump in to redeem that Guild Member from disqualification from the tournament. Magic is allowed, as is combat, but, obviously, refrain from lethal force. Any lethal force wrought upon another will be met with immediate expulsion from Crocus, and a nice cell beneath Era."

"It sucks," Cobra said, accidentally a bit too loud. It didn't garner that many laughs save for most of the Fairy Tail wizards in the hall, and Doranbolt, who stood cordially and patiently behind Hisui.

Hisui grinned. "A few reminders for out-of-game activities: curfew for all participating wizards is midnight. Sharp. Fairy Tail that includes you." She locked eyes with Lucy for a moment. "The castle is strictly off limits, and any damage done to any parts of the city not within the stadium grounds or a part of the games' area of the city will be deducted from the guilds. I'm sure the kind folk in front of me would rather you don't do that."

The Guild Masters, Lucy hoped, were supposed to laugh, but instead, they all glowered at their respective wizards. Lucy didn't dare meet eyes with Makarov.

"And above all else, have fun," Hisui said. "This Grand Magic Games is meant to represent to the rest of Ishgar that Fiore will only grow stronger as time goes forward. We can all come together as a wizarding community and prove our loyalty and friendship to one another through the great spirit of competition. I believe we will all come out the stronger, and the better, for it." Hisui smiled and nodded to Doranbolt, who stepped forward, revealing a case from behind his back. "But of course what is a competition without a prize? Alongside the title of Fiore's Strongest Guild, the winner shall receive a sum of thirty million crown jewel alongside this…"

She stepped aside and Doranbolt opened the case. Everyone gasped, but nothing but memories flooded back to Lucy as she stared at the gorgeous crystal in the case. She and Erza glanced at one another and grinned.

"Granted to us graciously from Queen Sonya of Stella, the winning guild shall receive five pounds of the precious and rare Stellanium crystal," Hisui said. "Priceless in value and the most beautiful gem in Ishgar."

Doranbolt closed the case up and sealed it magically. He remained standing there. "And it's off limits to any thieves. Go ahead and try. Jellal and I have thought up a few ways we could track you down, don't you worry."

Hisui chuckled. Doranbolt stepped back and Hisui took center stage again. "And that is all I have for you, my friends. Go forth, now, and prepare yourselves for tomorrow. I suggest you get a good night's rest; personally, I find the night before the games a most restless affair."

She clapped her hands and candles lit up all around the room, igniting the place in light and signaling everyone to leave. The humdrum of conversation burst up, along with the scraping of chairs and scuttling of feet along the ground.

Lucy rose and saw a hand jutted out before her, with a bit of ethernano floating around it. She traced it back to Minerva, who wore a determined smile upon her face.

"As of this point we are now opponents, Lucy Heartfilia," Minerva said. "May the best witch win."
"She will," Lucy said, and summoned a bit of ethernano to her own hand and clasped Minerva's hand. A small spark lit in their hands.

Lucy walked with Erza out of the Great Hall but was quickly met by Natsu. Gray came rushing up next to him. Natsu and Gray made icy-hot fist contact. Cana, holding two bottles of wine, sauntered up to them. She wrapped an arm around Lucy, but Lucy also wrapped an arm around her. Gajeel joined them as well, knocking Natsu upside the head and standing next to Erza.

Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Cana, Erza, and Gajeel all stepped free of the castle, and as they did, Natsu held up the Fairy Tail hand symbol and roared, "Look our Fiore, Fairy Tail's coming at ya! I'm all fired up now!"


Yes indeed, Team Fairy Tail is assembled and raring to go! Don't worry, we'll be getting into the reasons why wizards like Mira, Elfman, Laxus, or Juvia weren't chosen for the team soon enough. But next time, though, the games BEGIN! I'm so excited to see how it'll play out, this is going to be a really fun story to write and I hope you all have fun reading. I'm having a blast just putting these amazing characters in a room and having them interact with one another.

Remember, if you have any suggestions for one-on-one battles you'd like to see, send them my way in a review or PM and I'll see if I can make it happen (just keep in mind that Sting, Jellal, and the aforementiond Fairy Tail Wizards can't be fighting in the tournament). I've already got two battles set up in mind for later in the tournament, and I think you'll really like them.

So yeah, next time, the tournament begins!

Oh, and if you liked this story, please check out my other Fairy Tail fic: Fairy Tail - New Era. We're closing in on the end of it's sixth arc, so we'll have a break soon and you can get all caught up before Arc VII begins!