Natalie was the first to wake up the next morning, far earlier than they had to. She had a splitting headache and groaned in annoyance as she rolled out of her bed while trying not to wake the others. She checked the time only to realize that she still could have had two hours to sleep. Looking around, she smiled, seeing that everyone was asleep in the cutest ways, even Lilac who was curled up at the foot of her bed.

Sighing, Natalie stretched and decided to take a shower and use her extra time to relax and hopefully chase away the alcohol-induced migraine.

'Funny, as I recall Eleanora and me both got super drunk. I wonder how we got back to the hotel room without one of us breaking a leg. I guess someone from our guild must have gone out looking for us, even they wouldn't be dense enough to forget that their friends went out for a drinking contest and never came back.'

Smiling, she headed into the bathroom, running a shower with the water flow set to gentle so as not to make much noise and wake the others before they had to. As she stood under the hot water, she allowed her mind to wander, and she found herself thinking of Caiden more and more. An ache found its way into her heart, and grew more and more the more she thought about him. She had tried so hard to forget… and now look. She was being shoved right back in front of her own guild.

It had taken her up to the Grand Magic Games to finally push away her overwhelming feelings for Caiden, and now here he was, forcing himself upon her.

'He doesn't have the right to do this to me. I asked him to come with me, but he didn't. He chose to stay in Fairy Tail with everyone else. So that means that he should have tried to forget about me just as much as I tried to forget about him. So why, then, why is he acting like we're still best friends? Why is he acting as though I never left? Why is he bringing all of this pain down on me? It isn't fair! And Kailah… how can he be so happy after what happened to Kailah? I still feel that pain every day. It's all I can do to laugh and be happy with my friends; I can never forget her. Why is he always so cheerful?'

She hadn't been aware of it at first, but now she was quite painfully aware of the streams of tears falling down her cheeks and into the water that was draining around her feet. She cried until it felt as though she couldn't cry anymore, then finished up showering and got out. She wrapped a small towel around her hair and another around her body and headed out into the hotel room to get changed, praying that nobody was up.

A flash of nervousness shot through her as she saw a lamp on, but realized that it was only Lilac, standing at the foot of the bed, and that Sandi had left the room.

She sighed and sat down on her bed, fishing for her outfit for the second day of the Games. Lilac crossed her arms and said, "Natalie, have you been crying?"

"What of it?" Natalie said coldly, refusing to look her beloved Exceed in the eyes. She knew that if she did that, she would end up spilling out all of her problems to her friend, and then Darius, Eames, and Eleanora would probably wake up, and that would cause much more trouble than it was worth.

The Exceed narrowed her eyes and put a paw on Natalie's arm. "Look at me, Nat." she murmured, and Natalie looked at Lilac. She suddenly felt the tears flooding her eyes again, and she grabbed Lilac, hugging her close to her chest and crying again. She stifled any sobs, still afraid of waking up the others and getting pelted with questions. Lilac looked at Natalie in shock, but then spread out her paws to hug Nat as much as she could.

They were interrupted by a quiet voice next to them. "Natalie, why are you crying? Was it Caiden? I swear I'll beat him up if that's what you want. Nobody makes my friends cry and gets away with it."

Natalie turned her head to look at Eleanora, who had an awful glare on her face. If looks could kill, everyone in Fiore would be dead. Lilac wiggled out of Natalie's arms and sat beside her, and Natalie shook her head at Eleanora.

"No, it wasn't, not really. Well, yes, he did make me cry, but please don't beat him up. He means too much to me. I wish he didn't but he does. I'll tell you what, if you get put in a battle with him, you go ahead and pulverize him. But don't do anything like that outside of the Games. And it wasn't all him; I was thinking about Kailah too. I wonder… I wonder if she would have been in the Games too. She was a great wizard."

Eleanora smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sure she would've been in the Games. Don't act like she isn't here anymore, Natalie. She's still with you in your heart."

Natalie stopped crying and was able to finish getting ready. Sandi returned, claiming that she went to talk to Zyle, and she and Eleanora both got ready. Lilac took the liberty of waking Eames and Darius and forcing them out of bed to get ready for the day ahead of them. Eventually, they were all woken up and ready and they left to get to the Games.

They arrived early along with the B team and chatted about random things while waiting for the other guilds to arrive. Only Eames seemed to notice that Lilac was standing right at Natalie's feet the whole time and Eleanora stood closer to Natalie than normal with her arm slung around the girl's shoulders. He assumed it was just because she woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something like that.

Finally, the time came for the first event to begin. All the teams stood around as they waited for the announcer to explain what the first event would be.

"Welcome to the second day of the Grand Magic Games-kabo!" the voice came over the speakers and everybody in the crowds cheered with excitement. "Today's event is going to be a race. Just a normal race, with magic of course-kabo! Remember that the key to this event won't necessarily be to run the fastest; you can use magic power to boost yourself-kabo, and we won't break up fights if they break out-kabo! So, go ahead and pick your participants-kabo!"

Eleanora grinned and said to her teammates, "I think I got this." They nodded and she went up to participate.

When all of the participants had been decided they were thrown at the end of a long street leading up to the arena in the city. There was a strange silence before a loud whistle was blown and the members were allowed to start going. The Fairy Tail teams and Star's Flight teams seemed to be neck and neck for a while.

Eleanora had what appeared to be throwing starts sticking out of the bottom of her shoes and was using the blades to dig into the ground and propel herself along the ground. Next to her was Caiden, using water-make magic to push the people behind him back as he ran forward. He also gave himself a bit of a wave to ride on. Zyle was simply running, using none of his magic, right next to Eleanora. He had a neutral, bored look on his face. Mirajane was next to them as well, using Satan Soul to enhance her running abilities.

"What the heck, Eleanora?" Darius snapped, "Why isn't she using her true power?" The others shrugged. Eleanora was a skilled fire wizard and could manipulate other things as well. Throwing stars were just an extra specialty she had, as she could make them out of any element to enhance their skills.

All four people seemed about to reach the finish line when Eleanora's hair burst into flames. She let out a scream and the people behind her stopped in terror. The commentators started screaming about her hair catching on fire and how someone had to help her, but then she simply broke out into a rather demonic laughter. The flames licked behind her and suddenly she shot forward like a jet pack. She flew across the ground toward the finish line.

Caiden narrowed his eyes and summoned a humongous wave from the ground. It swallowed him up and crashed down over the finish line, landing on top of Eleanora and putting out her flames just as they both crossed the finish line.

"W-who won?" a commentator asked, confused.

The dust cleared then and they saw Caiden standing on the other side of the finish line. Eleanora was lying half across the finish line, her arm outstretched and her eyes swirly. She was drenched in water and seemed to be shaking uncontrollably. Mirajane came up next and helped Eleanora to her feet, taking her over to the wall just past the finish line and sitting her down as she transformed out of Satan Soul.

Zyle crossed next and the others followed in suit, earning their points respectively. Fairy Tail A was given 10 points, Star's Flight A 5, Fairy Tail B 3, Star's Flight B 2, Midnight Panther 1, Kawaii Kitty 1, Sabertooth 1, and Blue Pegasus 0.

They announced the places and the number of points and then went back to their guilds, Zyle picking up Eleanora and dragging her to the infirmary. A few other guilds were doing the same thing with their injured guild-mates who had been hurt in the event.

They went on to announce that the battle rounds would begin shortly but they were going to give everyone time to rest up before it began, and there would be a 15 minute break before they started again.

Eleanora came to after about five minutes and Darius laughed. "Geez, Elea, you really do go out just like fire."

Eleanora scoffed and said, "Well, Darius, I was fire. Water could easily put me out and unfortunately that's exactly what Caiden did. We'll make up for that second place though. We can win our battle easily, I'm positive."

After fifteen minutes, they announced that the first battle would be between Fairy Tail A and Star's Flight A, Natalie vs Jamison.

"Wish me luck!" Natalie said to her guild-mates as she walked out.

Sandi yelled, "As if you'll need it!"

Natalie looked at Jamison as she stood in a battle stance on the field. It felt eerily quiet as Jamison glared at her. He looked like he was out for blood. "You," Jamison growled in a low voice, "I have so much to say to you but I bet none of it would actually make it through your thick skull."

"You killed Kailah. I'll kill you, you bitch!" He got into a stance and three magic circles appeared around Natalie. She screamed as pain exploded throughout her body. Jamison grinned maliciously and kept doing it. She felt as though everything in her body was being cut open and stitched back together. Her muscles were tensing and relaxing, her teeth clenched throughout all of it.

She tried to scream but found her lungs to be constricted. After a few minutes of it, he finally took a break for a few seconds. She shook, on her hands and knees, gasping for breath. Tears were running down her cheeks and she whispered, "S…stop… please… please stop… I can't…. can't breathe… I didn't mean… didn't mean to kill Kailah… it was… an accident I… I was trying to save her… there's not a day that goes by… that I don't think… think about it… and beat myself up for it… please… just stop…"

She became aware of her surroundings suddenly. The members of Star's Flight were screaming at her to get up and to fight back. The members of Fairy Tail were yelling at Jamison to leave her alone and to stop torturing her. She could hear Lucy, Natsu, Erza, and Caiden's voices rising above the others, and Penelope's wasn't far behind in volume.

Eleanora was yelling at her to get up and fight, and she could hear Lilac and Sandi crying. She suddenly felt the tingling that meant the pain was going to start again. "N-no…" she growled, "Jamison…"

Just before the magic circles took effect, she rose to her feet, shakily slid a foot back so she was in a fighting stance, and said breathlessly, "Roar…. Of the…" she swallowed and said, "Celestial… dragon!"

The beam was stronger than any she'd cast before, knocking Jamison back into a wall and then continuing to pummel him until finally, he lie there unconscious but still alive. Natalie stood tall as they announced that she had won. Then, unable to bear the pain any longer, she fell to her knees, then onto her face, unable to move. All she was able to do was lie there and cry. She saw her guild mates rushing down to help her, but Caiden reached her first.

"Natalie…" he whispered as he pulled her into his arms. She looked up at him through half-closed eyes and smiled weakly before passing out in his arms. His eyes widened and he shook her slightly but she didn't move. He glared at Jamison and muttered, "I'd beat him up for you but it looks like you already took care of that."

Just then, Bailei and Sandi came running over. They glanced at Caiden and Sandi said, "We can take her. We'll let you know when she wakes up though; it looks like you guys have some business to attend to, given that you got down here before her own guild members."

Bailei leaned down and took one of Natalie's arms, slinging it over her shoulders and wrapping her own arm around the unconscious girl's waist. Sandi did the same thing on the other side and they slowly managed to get the poor girl out of the way and to the infirmary, where people immediately got to work on her wounds.

Caiden shuffled back to his guild mates, looking rather pissed, and Penelope put a hand on his shoulder, murmuring, "You can't be too hard on Jamison; he thought he had a score to settle with Natalie even though he really didn't."

"He was going to kill her, Penelope," was all Caiden said before sighing and leaning on the railing.

Both Fairy Tail and Star's Flight were distracted during the next battle; too busy talking about the fight between their guilds. Fairy Tail was pissed at Jamison for attempting to murder his former guild-mate, and Star's Flight was pissed for the same reason as well as the fact that Natalie had gotten beaten up so badly and she was their friend.

Star's Flight B ended up battling Blue Pegasus and tied, and Fairy Tail B won against Sabertooth. After that, both of the guilds went to the infirmary to check on Natalie and Jamison, who was also unconscious.

Eleanora took Natalie's hand in hers and kneeled next to her bed, resting her head on the edge of the mattress and shaking with hardly suppressed anger. The wizard working in the infirmary said that her lungs weren't taking in enough oxygen because of all the strain, and she now had an oxygen mask on and a tube connected to her wrist.

It looked worse than it was, they'd been told. When she woke up, she'd be able to breathe easily in no time, and they could take off all the tubes and such and she'd be fine for the next day of the Games. But looking at her while she was unconscious made it look so much worse, and they all were feeling dreadful about what had happened to their master.

Lucy and Natsu came into Natalie's room a little while later and Lucy said quietly, "You wouldn't mind if we sat here for a little while would you? Jamison just woke up, and we haven't seen our daughter for seven months."

The members of Star's Flight nodded and moved over so the two could see Natalie. They watched as Lucy broke down immediately and Natsu tried to hide his tears but couldn't hold them back for long and eventually began crying with his wife. Eventually they left, wishing the guild luck and telling them to mention to Natalie that they hoped she'd heal quickly.

Caiden came in after that, and Sandi pointed out amusedly that Fairy Tail seemed almost as concerned as they themselves did. It got to around dinner time and the members of Star's Flight slowly filtered out until it was just Eleanora, Lilac and Caiden sitting next to Natalie. They were silent; the only sound the heart monitor and the sound of her forced breathing.

"She really cares about you, you know." Eleanora finally said, breaking the silence and surprising Caiden, who had not been expecting anyone to speak to him.

"It really breaks my heart. She loves us all in Star's Flight so much, and for that we love her just as much. She's like the older sister none of us ever had, even though most of us are the same age as her and some of us are older." She sighed and continued, "Then, to see her cry over you… man, that hurts. This morning she couldn't stop crying. Lilac and I did our best to comfort her… I can only imagine how hard it must be on her, you know. She thought she was the cause of her best friend's death. She blamed herself so much for that."

"We tried so hard to help her forget about that, and to help her stop thinking about you guys all the time. I think she was finally getting better when we came here. Now, she's becoming a wreck again and none of us really know what to do."

Caiden sighed and whispered, "I wish I'd gone with her when she left Fairy Tail sometimes. She offered, but I refused. My parents are in Fairy Tail, and so are all the friends I'd ever known. But the thing is, I love her too."

They fell into silence again and then they heard the constant pumping of air into Natalie's lungs stop. She took the oxygen mask off and sat up, grumbling about how annoying it was and how it was interrupting her nap. However, when she took it off, her eyes widened and she started gasping desperately for air. Eleanora jerked forward and shoved it back toward Natalie's face.

"You're not used to breathing normally yet, stupid!" Eleanora screamed, sounding angry, but Caiden knew it was just because she was concerned. He smiled as she yelled at Natalie. "Take it off slowly! You just woke up from being unconscious and your lungs were strained."

Natalie did as Eleanora said and smiled at her thankfully. She then looked at Caiden and said, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Fairy Tail?"

Caiden looked down and said softly, "I was worried about you, Nats."

Natalie sighed and smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Well, thanks for being here I guess. How long was I out?"

Eleanora frowned and said, "A few hours. Most people left to get dinner and go back to the hotel. I stayed because I couldn't stand to leave you, and of course Lilac stayed. And, well, I guess Caiden just told you why he was here."

They were quiet once more, but then Natalie began to cry. They looked at her in confusion and worry and she said through her tears, "I feel horrible. I killed Kailah. I should've let Jamison kill me. That's what I deserved."

Caiden and Eleanora both stood up at the same time. Their voices were in unison as they spoke.

"Don't you dare say that!"

Eleanora went on, "Star's Flight needs you Natalie! We all love you so much. If you had died, what would we have done?"

Caiden nodded and said, "And Fairy Tail would miss you too. I would miss you! Honestly we were more worried about you than we were about Jamison. That jerk got what he deserved. Natalie, you mean too much to me to say you should have died."

She sighed and said, "Thanks. I guess you guys have a point. Now, I'm really tired. Can I go to sleep?"

They nodded and watched as Natalie snuggled back under the covers and closed her eyes. Caiden and Eleanora left to give her space, leaving her alone with Lilac. As they sat outside the infirmary, Caiden said quietly, "You know Eleanora; sometimes Natalie can be a big idiot. But I guess, unless you're Jamison, you just can't help but love her."

A/N Hmm. I'm losing inspiration for this story. Help me out guys?

Until next time.