Part 9
6 months later
The Grand Magic Games were about to start. This year Fairy Tail had sent in Erza, Natsu, Laxus, Bickslow and Mira as their team and in the elimination round this year eight teams had qualified. Team Fairy Tail had finished in fifth place this time.
"In just a moment the curtain will rise on this year's Grand Magic Games", Chapati Lola said excitedly. "I'm your emcee Chapati Lola and at my side I have Yajima-san and the member of last year's winning guild. The lovely Lucy Heartfilia!" The audience cheered loudly.
"I'm so happy to be here!" Lucy said cheerfully. "We're gonna win this year as well! Our team is super pumped!"
"It's great to have you here Ms. Lucy", Chapati said and then all three looked at the field. "But now it's time to introduce our teams! Starting with the team that is ranked in eighth place! The hounds of hell are at it again! Welcome Quatro Cerberus!"
Bacchus and his teammates entered the field. They were cheering loudly and being their normal self. Cana cheered for them happily. After all, they were good friends of hers and her of their. There were rumors about her and Bacchus being more than just friends but nothing was confirmed. Macao was worried what would happen if that news reached Gildarts.
"In seventh place the all-female guild, the dancing girls of the great deep Mermaid Heel!" Chapati cheered loudly and the audience cheered loudly as well, mostly the male part. Kagura being the favorite of her team was cheered for the loudest. Lucy cheered loudly for their friends in that team as well, making Yajima smile and Chapati grin.
"In sixth place", Lucy said happily. "Are the bright blue sparkling wings in the pitch dark, dear friends of mine… Blue Pegasus!"
This time it was girls that screamed the loudest when the boys of Blue Pegasus entered the field. Lucy blushed a little when she looked at Hibiki and Ren. Eve had lots of fans as well. Jenny did too and some boys and girls fainted when she winked at the camera. Ichiya got cheers and quite a few laughs.
"And in fifth place last year's winner", Chapati cheered. "Will they keep the title as the strongest in Fiore this year as well? Fairy Tail!"
When Laxus, Bickslow, Erza, Natsu and Mira entered the arena the cheering got louder than ever before. They wore red uniforms this time and around their upper arms they all wore black bands. Natsu was raising his fist to the sky as they walked, grinning widely. Bickslow was grinning just as wide. Mira had a soft smile while Laxus and Erza looked dead serious. Gajeel had been supposed to be on the team but his shattered hand still needed some time to heal. So Bickslow took his place for the moment.
"Good luck everyone!" Lucy cheered in the mike. Chapati looked at her and saw that she was wearing a black band around her arm as well.
"Lucy what is that band about?" Chapati asked into the mike and Lucy's smile faltered a little. "Everyone in Fairy Tail seems to be wearing them. Even your members in the stands."
"Well", Lucy replied softly. "Just a few months back our guild lost one of its members and we're doing this to honor him. I thought Fiore knew about it by now. It was big news when it happened."
"In Magnolia perhaps", Yajima answered. "Not so much outside of Magnolia."
"Is that why the team looks so different this year?" Chapati asked Lucy. "Neither Gajeel Redfox or Gray Fullbuster is on the team this time around."
"Gajeel was badly injured on a mission", Lucy mumbled. "Gray…"
Yajima knew of the loss. He saw the pain behind Lucy's eyes and decided to continue the event.
"In fourth place", he said and Chapati stared at him. "The goddess of love and war, the holy destroyer… Lamia Scale!"
The audience cheered loudly. Lamia Scale had always been a favorite in Fiore. They were skilled, funny and had many good looking members. On their team this year they had Cheria, Sherry, Toby, Yuka and a guy Lucy had never seen before. Sherry had returned to compete with the guild which was why Ren could compete with Blue Pegasus. But the members of Lamia Scale, contrary to Fairy Tail, weren't wearing anything black. Lucy was a little confused by it. True that Lyon had been kicked out of the guild, but still… Jura who was watching from a special compartment for Council members was wearing black though. Warrod who was sitting beside him was wearing a black band around his arm.
"No Lyon Vastia?" Chapati asked confused. "Was he too upset after last year's losses to show his face again this year?"
"Chapati where the hell have you been?!" Lucy yelled angrily. "Lyon Vastia and Gray Fullbuster died in a dragon attack in Kiiruuna months ago! That's why they aren't here!"
The audience got quiet at her yell. Those who knew of the tragedy didn't say anything but those that just got to hear it for the first time started crying loudly. Yajima patted Lucy's arm soothingly and she wiped her eyes and tried to collect herself. Chapati was red in the face, blushing from shame.
"I-In third p-place", he stuttered. "Um they came in ninth place last year. The darkness to Blue Pegasus' light… Shadow Fang!"
Shadow Fang were famous for their likes of dark arts. They had tried to recruit both Rogue and Mira before competition even started. Natsu didn't like the look of the Shadow Fang team. They all looked like creeps and something about them made his skin crawl. What annoyed them the most was how they all constantly flirted with Rogue and Mira. Sting was especially annoyed by this. Rogue was his partner after all and he needed him by his side, otherwise they wouldn't be the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth!
The members of Shadow Fang were all really pale and dressed in dark colors. The only color on that team was that of a girl with hair that looked like blue flames. No one knew the real names of the members of Shadow Fang, only their aliases. This year the members were the ones called Hecate, the girl with blue hair, Pluto, Anubis, Thanatos and Hel.
Hel was a young woman with long black hair that reached the ground. She was dressed in a black dress that hugged her body in all the right places and her skin was so pale it was almost snow white.
Pluto was as big as Elfman but his skin was ash gray. He wore a pair of pants, was barefoot and had a big sword on his back.
Hecate as I mentioned had blue hair. She wore tight black leather pants, a grey shirt and a black vest over it. She was barefoot.
Anubis wore a black sharp suit and had his black hair combed back. He looked like a businessman.
Thanatos wore a monk robe and was really pale with dark circles around his eyes. He had shaggy black hair and a manic smile on his face. He was the one constantly flirting with Rogue.
Anubis however looked at team Fairy Tail and walked over to them.
"Mirajane", he said and bowed to her. "It is most unfortunate that you chose to stay in your guild with shining light. However should you ever change your mind you are more than welcome to join our ranks."
"That is very kind of you Anubis", she replied with a sweet smile. "But I'm happy where I am."
"I see… well I shall not give up trying to win you over. However I wish you luck in the tournament and that if we meet each other in combat I wish that you are not holding back your darkness."
"Don't worry", Mira said and patted his cheek. "I'll kick your ass I promise."
Anubis smirked and kissed her cheek before walking back to his team. Elfman started screaming at him from the stands and for some reason the air around Laxus crackled with electricity. It wasn't that he was in love with Mira but she was like a little sister to him. He had promised Elfman to protect her from Shadow Fang and he intended to hold that promise. Bickslow just laughed loudly but stopped when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around and nearly screamed in fright. Hel was standing way too close for comfort.
"You have a very dark magic", she said and reached up and caressed his mask. "Come join us? We can have so much fun together. Don't you want that?"
Lightning did strike this time and Hel jumped back from Bickslow. She glared at Laxus and then stalked over to her own team.
"Oooooh drama already", Chapati said happily. "The game hasn't started yet Laxus! Wait for your turn!" Laxus didn't reply, just kept glaring at Shadow Fang.
"And in second place", Lucy continued. "Will they regain the title as the strongest guild in Fiore? Strong as a mountain lion and swift as a cheetah. Sabertooth!"
The audience cheered almost as loudly as they did when Fairy Tail entered the field. Sabertooth was still really popular after all. Yukino, Orga, Rufus, Rogue and Sting entered the field. All of them looking happy and excited. Sting was nearly bouncing that's how happy he was. Since he was the master they'd been told he wasn't allowed to compete. To solve that he'd made Minerva the master. He ran up to Natsu.
"Good luck Natsu-san!" he said with a big grin. "Let's have a great time, yes?"
"Of course", Natsu cheered with a laugh and they high fived. Rogue smiled gently but then squeaked when Thanatos appeared beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist. Thanatos licked Rogue's cheek and Rogue shivered in discomfort.
"HEY!" Sting yelled and punched Thanatos in the face but all that was there was smoke. Thanatos appeared by his team. Sting growled darkly at them and Rufus and Orga had to hold him back… while Yukino tried to comfort Rogue. Lector and Frosch cheered from the stands. Gajeel sniggered at the antics though, wishing he was down there as well.
"And our final team", the announcer said excitedly. "Is a new guild from the far north! Welcome Winter Solstice!"
Into the arena walked three people. All of them wearing clothes with hoods that cast their whole faces into shadow. One of them wore a dark brown coat with a hood on, black pants, dark brown boots that reached the knees, black fingerless gloves and a belt with a sword attached to it. The second wore a black fur trimmed hooded jacket over a white shirt, with black tight pants, brown shoes, brown gloves and a wore a silver chain around the neck. The third wore a cloak with a hood over a black sweater, white pants, black thigh high boots, black elbow long gloves and around the wrists of the glove there were thick silver bracelets. The three carried a snow white flag and on it was a symbol of a gear-looking sun. They stopped in their place and looked, well at least that's what everyone thought, around at their competition. The arena was quiet.
"Huh?" Lucy asked. "Three?" The audience was as confused as her.
"What the hell! How can they compete when there's only three of them?!" Natsu yelled.
"It's against the rules!" Sting objected.
"There is a rule stating that a guild is allowed to enter all their members into the competition and if all of them pass the elimination round they are allowed to take part", Yajima explained.
"Winter Solstice is only a week old and only consists of three members and their guild master", Chapati spoke into the mike. "Which is why they are allowed to compete with only three members. Is that a fair thing Yajima?"
"It will be more dangerous for them if a member gets hurt since they don't have a replacement and in the final stage they will most likely not stand a chance", Yajima answered. "However since we know nothing about them we cannot write them off completely."
"We only have what the citizens of Lulea calls them."
Lulea was a town that was located a bit south of Kiiruuna but in comparison to them they didn't think magic evil. They were very proud of getting their own guild in the town. Some people from the town was now in the audience, cheering for their guild.
"What are they called", Lucy asked Chapati.
"The man wearing the cloak is called Tundra", Yajima answered. "The one with the jacket is called King Booré and the one with the coat is called Bifrost."
"So they all have ice powers?" Lucy asked and looked at the three young men down in the arena.
"I'm not sure what powers they have", Chapati replied. "But I know that they are strong. Now I'm going to introduce the program for this year's games!"
The program appeared on the field and everyone started looking. Just like last year there were competitions and battles every day. The team had already gotten points from the elimination round and now it was time for the competition round.
"Each team will chose a member for the competition and for the battle parts the votes from the audience will be a deciding factor", Chapati explained. "For competitions the winner gets ten points, loser zero and with a tie five points each. And now for this year's opening competition… give it up for the Foot Race! We need one player from each team! I'll explain the rules afterwards."
"Too bad we didn't choose Jet as the substitute", Erza remarked calmly. "Then victory would've easily been ours. So who shall we choose for the race?" Natsu raised his hand at once.
"Me, me, me!" he cheered and grinned. "I'll use my fists to rocket myself forward!"
The others agreed that it was a good idea, so they chose Natsu. Sting volunteered for Sabertooth, Toby for Lamia Scale, Miliana for Mermaid Heel, Anubis for Shadow Fang, Ren for Blue Pegasus, Rocker for Quatro Cerberus and Bifrost stepped forward from Winter Solstice.
"Ah now all eight contestants have been chosen", Chapati said. "It's time for me to reveal the rules of the Foot Race!"
All the members that were on the field looked down when they saw the field start to glow.
"The rules are simple", Chapati explained as the town appeared in the middle of the arena. "The first person to get to the cathedral at the end of this main street you are all standing on will be the winner and gain ten points. The person coming in second will be getting eight points. The person in third place will gain six. The fourth place will gain five. The fifth place gets four points. The sixth place gains three. The seventh place gets one point and the person coming in last gets nothing. If the last person hasn't passed the finish line after 30 minutes they are disqualified and gain no points. Magic is allowed when you've passed the red line just outside the starting gate. Magic attacks are allowed to be prepared before but not allowed to be unleashed before the red line is past. The only magic not allowed is flying and teleportation."
"This will be a piece of cake", Natsu said with a grin. "Right Sting?"
Sting smirked. "I'll defeat you this time Natsu-san!"
"Take your places!" Lucy said into the mike and watched as her friends in the arena got into a starting position. Everyone was standing there calmly. But then Natsu got a whiff of something and froze. The scent was very familiar but he couldn't place it. He looked around at the other competitors but they didn't seem to notice. Sting looked a little confused.
"Natsu focus!" Erza shouted to him. He got a bit more focused but he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity that was tugging at him. His nose recognized that scent but it was also mixed up with something else. He just didn't know what. Unbeknownst to him Laxus, Gajeel, Wendy, Rogue and even Sting had had similar feelings not long before. They had gotten a few scents that they recognized but there was something different about the scents as well. It was familiar yet not familiar. It bugged Laxus a lot that he couldn't figure out what it was.
Natsu looked around at his competition one more time and noticed everyone looking ahead. But he noticed that Bifrost had curled his hand into a fist. He was preparing something, Natsu could feel it but he had no idea of what it was. He didn't get much time to think about it though because the starting signal rang out. All competitors took off running and the audience cheered. Natsu prepared his Fire Dragon Iron Fist Booster and he noticed a few of the others preparing their magic as well. Natsu smirked, he was going to win this. Soon they had all passed the red line.
"What on earth?" Lucy asked into the mike when she looked down into the arena. Just after passing the red line Bifrost had stopped running and just stood there. He looked calm though and not stressed at all. "If he doesn't hurry up he'll lose!"
"I wonder what he is doing", Yajima said and looked at the young man curiously. Chapati started talking about how stupid it was not to run but Lucy looked over to the stands where Winter Solstice had their reserved places. Tundra and King Booré just stood there watching, looking calm. She knew they were calm even though she couldn't see their faces. The audience was laughing at Bifrost but he didn't seem to care. Then he started walking at a calm pace. Lucy was confused. What was the guy up to? The other racers were not caring about Bifrost's sudden stop. They just kept running. Natsu and Sting were in the lead. The people was cheering loudly for them.
"I'm gonna win this!" Natsu yelled and ran ahead. But then…
BANG!
The seven running competitors all hit an invisible wall and fell to the ground in a heap.
"What the hell?!" Natsu yelled and flew up and started pushing against it. "Where did this come from?!"
"We have to get out!" Sting yelled and pressed against it as well. They all did.
"What the hell is this?!" Rocker yelled and hit at it. They all started using their magic against the invisible wall but nothing happened. Then there was a soft chuckle and all seven turned around. Bifrost was walking towards them. His boots made an echoing sound and his chin was visible in the shadow of his hood, so that they could see him smirk. Natsu trembled in anger.
"Asshole", he yelled. "This is your doing! Isn't it!?"
He didn't get a reply. Bifrost walked past the group and continued walking down the street towards the cathedral.
"Incredible!" Chapati yelled into the mike. "Bifrost put up an invisible wall and only he has the power to walk through it! What type of magic is that!?"
"Rune magic", Makarov mumbled and his guild all looked at him. "Enchantments… just like Freed used to do them. However… this young man is much stronger. I didn't even see him write any runes. Somehow he got them up anyway."
Bifrost smirked at the people trying to get through the wall before turning around and heading down the street again. Natsu was losing his temper fast but nothing he did could break down the wall. Soon the signal of the winner sounded but the wall still didn't let up.
"What the hell", Lucy said into the mike angrily. "Bifrost won so why isn't he letting the wall down?!"
The lacrima changed to show the winner and they saw Bifrost stand with his arms crossed. He had perfect posture and looked calm and collected. But it was something about him that made Bickslow shiver and there was something about him that made Evergreen's skin crawl… and Laxus was sure he'd seen that cocky smirk somewhere before but he just didn't know. Bifrost just stood there and when the 30 minutes had passed… he was the only one getting any points. Not until the signal sounded did he let the wall fall and when he did the other racers collapsed in exhaustion. The audience didn't cheer. They were too shocked or dumbstruck.
"Yajima-san", Chapati said as they watched the screen and saw Bifrost turn and walk out of the arena slowly. "Would you like to comment on this?"
"An intelligent strategy", Yajima said calmly. "However this was just a basic enchantment that any Rune Mage could pull off if they were fast enough. I wonder what other tricks and magic this guy's got up his sleeve."
Bifrost joined his guild mates.
"Congrats", Tundra said calmly. "But then again, we knew we'd win that."
"Absolutely", Bifrost replied. "The one that writes the rules wins the game."
Erza looked at the three members of Winter Solstice and shivered. What in the world had they gotten themselves into? Who were these people and were all of them as cunning as Bifrost? If they were, then this wouldn't end well.
TBC