I know I took a very long time again, but I was in Thailand! It was so cool, and surprisingly similar to Samoa. I enjoyed it heaps. Also, one of my reviewers said that it was strange that Natsu doesn't call Lucy 'Luce', so from now on he'll call her that unless he is purposely saying otherwise. Anyways, here's the new chapter.
Lucy POV
My nerves were killing me. Though the grand magic games had technically already started, those were only the preliminaries. Today was the real deal. The battle between eight of the strongest guilds in Fiore. The fight to the death where-ok, I was exaggerating. But I couldn't help it. Tension was spread thick across my skin. "Lucy-chan, time to go out." I started in surprise. Sting was looking at me. He was referring to how we had to walk out from under the stadium and into a wide arena-like space.
"R-right." My breathing was becoming harsher, and I forced myself to calm down, then followed Sting and Rogue, wiping my sweaty hands on my shirt and smiling brightly (or rather, attempting to) for the audience.
xXx
The first thing that hit me was the light; it was so bright that I was almost shutting my eyes. Next came the sound. The roars and cheers from the crowd. It was deafening. Nevertheless, I managed to keep a smile on my face and wave. Everything suddenly seemed so vivid, all the faces of the audience were in sharp focus, and every speck of dirt on the arena was visible. But my hearing seemed muted. Strange. Sting grabbed my arm to pull me forward and I snapped out of my daze. I could see other teams walking behind us. They looked very tough. Great.
xXx
"As per the rules, the first place team in a game will earn 10 points following a 2 point deduction for every additionally lower spot. Each team may choose one member to compete, but in the battles, the sponsors will have a right to choose fighting pairs by various factors, like fan votes. In battles, the losing team earns 0 points with the winner earning 10, and 5 each in the case of a draw. The first round of the grand magic tournament is a game like 'hide-and-seek'." The loud speaker boomed out, sounding like it was right next to my ears. We were on the side of the arena, and I was standing with my team. Only, it wasn't an arena now, it was a huge mass of ruins. "Teams, please choose one contestant to compete. Have them step forward within the next five minutes, or a contestant will be randomly chosen to compete from your team." I looked around.
"I will do it." I glanced at the owner of the soft voice. Rufus was making his way forward. I saw members from other teams coming forward, and spotted Gray. Gulping, I hoped he didn't get hurt. Even if he was my enemy right now, I didn't want to see him hurt. He was one of the people I had been closest to, after all, we'd been in the same team. Vaguely, I tried to remember how we'd met, before quickly dismissing the thought from my mind. I had to cheer for Rufus. He was the one on my team, not Gray. I also noticed Juvia. Hmmm. I wondered if she would be able to fight against Gray.
xXx
With a gasp, my eyes widened. Hundreds of the competing contestants had appeared, or rather, clones of them had appeared. As the rules were explained, I stared at the clones in wonder. They were hanging around the ruins, talking to each other and walking around. They were perfect copies with the exception of one thing: they weren't expressing any emotion. Sure, some of them were smiling, but their smiles were blank and weren't genuine. And the Gray I knew - and Juvia, for that fact - would be much louder than this. No emotion...With a shiver, I realized how perfect Rufus was for this. He'd blend right in, with that strange mysterious aura of his and all. I watched as it began on giant screens. Juvia was going wild and quickly pounced on a Gray. It disappeared with a poof and she got some points taken off of her because it wasn't the real Gray. She had to attack the real one to get the points. Since she hadn't gotten any points yet, her points were in the negatives.
xXx
On another screen, I watched some guy eye Gray. He was quite...chubby, to put it mildly. Pretending to be a clone walking past, he suddenly attacked Gray, the real one. Just then, I happened to glance over at Fairy Tail. Master - I mean, Makarov, seemed to be talking to someone. The others around him seemed to be listening and occasionally adding to the conversation. There was a problem though - he was talking to empty space! I squinted, but still couldn't see anyone or anything . What is Master doing? Just then, I had a vision of a little girl sitting next to Master. She looked to be the very definition of cute and innocent. Glancing over at me in surprise, she suddenly grinned brightly and waved. Taken aback, I automatically waved half-heartedly. She whispered something into Master - darn it, Makarov's ear. He also looked at me in surprise, then a strange emotion came over his face. It was a mixture of sadness and, was that a slight hint of hope? What? I blinked, and the cute little girl disappeared. Tsking, I turned back to the fight, only to start in surprise. Rufus had appeared in front of the other players, most of which were reasonably close together, and he used some magic to attack all of his opponents simultaneously. Wow. He was, way better than me. Would I ever be able to catch up to him and the others?
Makarov POV
I was chatting to Mavis when she suddenly leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. "That girl from Sabertooth, I think she can see me." Starting in surprise, I looked at who she was waving at. It was...Lucy...I looked at her, only members of Fairy Tail should be able to see Mavis. That must mean...somewhere deep inside her, she still considered herself apart of Fairy Tail? I don't know. I smiled at her sadly. Why had she left? The guild didn't feel the same without her. Lucy blinked, then seemed to snap out of a trance. Looking slightly annoyed, she turned back to the fight. "That girl, did she used to be part of Fairy Tail?" Mavis asked me curiously. I nodded slowly.
Thank you so much for your patience! Once again, I'm sorry that I suck at updating. It should be a bit more interesting in the next chapter, so..yeah. Now everyone, some people are really wanting this to be Nalu rather than Stilu. Should I really change it? If people want me to, then I will. But also review if you think I should keep it as Stilu, because those definitely help to. Also review just because you're awesome. Please?