A/N: I should be doing projects not writing this .-.

Ah screw it I procrastinate anyway XD

Team Magia was at their hotel, discussing the events of the last match.

"Man, that was so lame!" Kyoko complained.

Mami was still shaking her head over the outright absurdity of how the match ended. "You can say that again."

"I wonder if this is how people were feeling when you surrendered, Mami-san?" Nagisa said.

"I suppose so," she replied. She thought back to their reactions when the match ended.

With a thud, Mystogan fell to the ground.

"U-um… it looks like Mystogan is down! Actually down! Jura Neekis from Lamia Scale is the winner!"

Sayaka's jaw dropped at the announcement. Mami and Nagisa merely widened their eyes, mouths open with an unspoken statement. Even Homura had to facepalm at the overly obvious interference.

"...What the hell?"

"Thank you, Kyoko, for pointing out the obvious."

"You're completely welcome, Miss Sarcasm."

"That definitely wasn't what any of us were expecting," Mami added as she sweatdropped.

"Still," Homura began, "I wonder why someone would try to interfere? It's almost as if they wanted to keep whatever that spell Mystogan was about to cast a secret…"

"Homura?" Sayaka asked as she saw her eyes narrow.

"...I might be onto something here. Obviously, I will need more proof to piece together what's really happening… but I have a few theories."

"You'll tell us once you have something concrete, right?" Nagisa requested.

"Of course," she replied. It's been three years, after all…

1 1 1

"Bacchus?"

The man in question grunted and looked back at her. "Yo! If it ain't Erza!"

"...You reek."

"And you're just as fine as always."

"It's been a long time," she sighed.

"You know him, Erza?" Lucy asked.

"That's right."

"Well, I've heard you went missing for seven years," Bacchus continued.

"True enough. You're not participating in the Grand Magic Games?"

Bacchus shrugged. "I was going to leave it to the young 'uns, but then they had to go and get smashed like that!"

This peaked Erza's interest. "Who beat them?"

"It was the guild that finished fourth in the Sky Labyrinth, Magia. I suggest you keep an eye out. That Kyoko girl decimated half of the team all on her own, and that was before two other girls got the jump on them."

Erza blinked in surprise. "Kyoko?"

Lucy gasped. "Wow, I didn't know she was that strong."

"Anyways, I'll see ya later. My soul is always Wild…!"

"...Four…"

"C'mon, you gotta give me a little more enthusiasm!" he laughed as he pushed open the door and headed out.

2 2 2

Carla gasped as she sat up abruptly, paw clenched tightly over her heart. That vision…

"Is something wrong?"

"Porlyusica…" She took a deep breath in before deciding to tell her. "I think I saw a prophecy."

The healer frowned. "What did you see?"

"Like always, it was just fragments… but… I saw a white knight, a giant magic circle… pale robes purged by pink light… and something I couldn't believe…"

"What was it?"

"...Mercurius falling," the cat began, "while someone was singing inside… But that's not all. The person singing… was Lucy…"

2 2 2

"And now, the second day of the Grand Magic Games has begun!" The crowd cheered, eager to get started. "Our guest for the second day is the renowned reporter for the Weekly Sorcerer, Mr. Jason!"

"Coool!"

"The competition for today has already been set up! Its name is Chariot!" A long chain of wooden carts rolled along the streets of Crocus. "This competition takes place upon a line of vehicles, with the goal being to reach the finish line without falling off!"

"The vehicles will always be moving, so a slight misstep could mean failure."

"The vehicles will wind their way among the sightseeing spots of Crocus, but which team will arrive at the Domus Flau? You can watch the exciting competition via Lacrima Vision!"

Kyoko launched herself forward, leaping from wooden cart to wooden cart. Hounding at her heels was Kurohebi of Raven Tail, with Ichiya, Yuka, and Risley following behind.

"Tch, you guys sure are persistent!" she hollered behind her.

"Never underestimate a chubby girl!" Risley called back.

"Wave Boost!" Yuka thrust his hands back, propelling him in front of Risley and Ichiya. "You won't be able to use magic in my shockwave!"

Risley merely grinned and dashed along the side, using her gravity-altering magic to push herself back in front of Yuka. Ichiya plugged two vials up his nose.

"Fleet-footed Parfum! Zero-distance Inhalation!" Using his own magic, he dashed past Yuka.

"Oh? Looks like you're catchin' up," Kyoko grinned. "Guess I'll have to step up my game!" She whipped out a spear and leaped into the air. As she spun it around, the shaft broke into pieces, a long chain connecting them all. "HYAH!" She slammed the chain spear into the ground, flipping and snapping the wooden carts apart. "See ya later, suckers!" she catcalled, leaping nimbly from pile of debris to pile of debris. "Try not to fall off!" She sped into the distance and hopped across the finish line.

"And just like that, Kyoko Sakura claims first!" There were many cheers at this statement. "Like yesterday, they achieve first place in the competition!"

"Magia is this strong…?" Makarov wondered to himself.

"She's certainly become much stronger since I last saw her three years ago," Mavis noted.

"In second place, Kurohebi from Raven Tail! In third, Risley! In fourth, Yuka! Fifth is Ichiya! All that's left are the three battling it out in the bottom!"

"Go ahead. I'll give this match to you." Sting huffed at the two Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail. "After this one, we're just going to keep winning anyway. What does one or two points matter at this point?"

"You better not cry about those lost points later, kid!" Gajeel sneered. Both Gajeel and Natsu roared out their respective battle cries while still moving like molasses.

"Motion sickness?" Kyoko spoke to herself, having already joined her guildmates. "Lame."

"Their determination is something else, though," Mami pointed out.

"...Let me ask you something," Sting began. "Why did you decide to participate in this tournament? For fame? For glory? Public image? The strength of your guild? The Fairy Tail I know wasn't like that. They didn't give a damn about what other people thought. So why the change?"

"...For their friends!" Natsu hissed. The Fairy Tail members stared at him in shock. "Seven years… is a long time to wait. And yet, they waited for all that time… for us! No matter how painful it was, no matter how sad it was, they still waited! Even when people made fun of them, they held on… and protected the guild, for their friends! And now we're going to show everyone… the proof that Fairy Tail's been soldiering on, all this time! So we're not going to give up!" He clenched his teeth and hollered as he pushed onward to the finish line once again.

"Aaaaand GOOAAL! Fairy Tail A's Natsu Dragneel earns two points for being in sixth place!"

"First points!" he gasped.

"Fairy Tail B's Gajeel Redfox gains one point!"

Murmurs and voices rippled through the crowd, people turning to their neighbors one by one and discussing the rousing speech that Natsu gave. Shortly afterward, applause rang out in the stadium.

"Great job, Fairy Tail!"

"I'm gonna be rooting for you from now on!"

"I knew you guys had it in ya," Kyoko smirked as she watched the spectacle.

"Finally, Sabertooth's Sting gains zero points for dropping out!"

"For their friends, huh?" he muttered. "What nonsense…"

"At any rate, Raven Tail has risen to first place, by only two points! Sabertooth follows behind with a close second!"

"Sabertooth's in second?!" Lector sputtered.

"I say it's Sting's fault," Fro noted.

2 2 2

"Is Natsu okay?"

"He's fine. Just has motion sickness," Porlyusica explained.

"And Wendy?"

"She's recovered a lot."

Lucy smiled in relief and turned to Carla. "Are you back to normal now?"

"Yup…"

"Well, thank goodness for that!" She turned and headed out the door. "Everyone's waiting, so I'll get going!"

Porlyusica gave a pointed stare at Carla. "You don't intend to say anything?"

"What good will telling her about the future do?" she replied, a sullen look on her face. "There's no way she would believe me."

"When you don't believe it yourself, you certainly won't have other people believe as well."

"That's right, I don't believe that stuff! It was just a dream…" She stared resolutely at the wall. "It was just a dream… not a premonition!"

2 2 2

"Now, moving on to the much-anticipated battle part, we have Kurohebi of Raven Tail versus Lamia Scale's Toby Horhorta! A confrontation between snake and dog! Who will win?"

"I hope we see a fair fight," Yajima added.

"Toby is way dog! Coool!"

"Now then, let the first fight BEGIN!"

Toby howled and lunged at Kurohebi, paralysis claws out and unsheathed. In response, Kurohebi leaped back and twisted into sand.

"He disappeared?"

"Fool! It's Mimic magic!" Jura yelled from the stands.

"Sand Rebellion!" He slammed into Toby and reformed out of the sand.

"Mimic magic… quite unusual," Mavis observed.

"You're strong," Toby huffed.

"You're tough, too," Kurohebi replied.

"Kurohebi's a cool name."

"It's not my real name…"

"It's not your real name?!"

"That ticks you off?"

"You!" Toby roared, lunging at Kurohebi and swiping his claws swiftly. "If I win, you're telling me your real name!"

"That's fine, but what if I win?"

"I'll tell you a secret about myself!"

"Sounds interesting," he grinned.

"Apparently, they've made a really weird bet!" Chapati commented.

"I'm not interested in learning about either one, though…"

"Coool!"

"A bet, eh?" Kyoko remarked. "I like the sound of that."

A fierce exchange was passed between the two combatants. Flurries and swipes were parried through magic. Eventually, one of the competitors was knocked to the ground.

"Toby is down! And he's not getting back up! The match is OVER! The winner is Kurohebi of Raven Tail!"

"So even without dirty tricks, Raven Tail is strong," Lucy murmured.

"I don't think he was even trying in the first place," Gray noted.

"This brings Raven Tail up to a whopping forty points! On the other hand, Lamia Scale has…"

"Twenty points," Yajima supplied.

"Coool!"

"So, what's your secret?" Kurohebi asked.

"My… my sock… for some reason… I can't find the other sock…"

Sayaka's jaw dropped at the sheer incredulity of the statement. "...Are you serious?"

Nagisa merely blinked. Kyoko groaned, Mami shook her head, and Homura had a very strong urge to facepalm.

"...I think he's serious," Kyoko sighed as she rolled her eyes, for the sock in question was hanging around his neck, visible for all the world to see.

2 2 2

"For our second match, we have the Candy Witch of Magia, Nagisa Momoe!" There were many cheers at this statement.

"Wish me luck!" she yelled, seemingly unaffected by the anticlimactic end to the previous match.

"Versus Fairy Tail A's Erza Scarlet!"

"So I'm finally going to see for myself just how strong a Magia member is," she spoke to herself. Her fist tightened. "I will not back down!"

"Good luck, Erza!" Lucy cheered.

"Kick their ass!" Natsu grinned.

"I'll do my best," she promised.

The crowd cheered as the two competitors faced each other in the arena.

"I hope you don't surrender like your guildmate did," Erza began.

"Oh, don't worry," Nagisa giggled. "I'll try not to, but if I absolutely must then I will."

Erza narrowed her eyes at the girl. You and your guildmates are quite young and yet… why do you radiate small amounts of black magic?

"What are you thinking about?"

"Hm?"

"You're thinking about something, aren't you?" she repeated.

"...Yes."

"Is it about our motives?"

Erza blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I'm right, aren't I?" she asked, a carefree smile on her face. "Well, I don't know what we did to garner your suspicion, but we really don't mean any harm. In fact, Sayaka really looks up to your guild. And while Homura might seem threatening and dangerous at first glance, she's really just antisocial and a bit awkward at times, nothing more." She chuckled out loud. "She's probably going to be mad at me for saying that."

Erza frowned at her. "How old are you?"

"Me?" She furrowed her brows and counted her fingers. "Let's see… um… I think I'm eleven? Twelve? I don't really remember."

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She turned an innocent gaze on her. "I read your expression!"

Erza blinked before shaking her head, a smile on her face. It looks as though Nagisa is just unnaturally perceptive for her age. "Let's have a fair fight."

"Yes! Let's!" The two of them readied their battle stances. "Oh! Before I forget!"

Erza turned a curious gaze onto the girl. "Forget what?"

"Let's make a bet! Like the other match before us!"

"And what kind of bet do you have in mind?"

"Whoever loses has to treat their opponent to cheesecake!"

Erza smiled, an almost predatory glint in her eyes. "Make that strawberry cheesecake and it's a deal."

"Of course! That said…" A similarly deadly look surfaced on her eyes. "I don't plan on losing, especially when it's cheesecake."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Now, let the next match… BEGIN!"

A/N: It's so aggravating when FF cancels out your formatting for some of your quotation marks...

Also yes, cheesecake. I find it fitting that the two of them will bond over cheesecake.

Not much to say here, other than follow, favorite, and review! etc. etc.

Also, ALMOST TWO THOUSAND VIEWS! EEK! Put it in context and that's a TON of views!

This chappie was a bit shorter than normal, since /I kind of ran out of ideas for it/ it's more of a transition chapter... hahah. But don't worry! The next chappie will hopefully be better! And things are only just starting to pick up!

Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading and I'll see you in the next chapter! Next time: The Candy Witch, Bebe!