Naruto woke up earlier than everyone else. The sun peeked over the horizon, its rays not yet covering the land. The blond yawned and stood, looking to get an early start. He walked towards the shoreline, wading into the shallow water. Naruto, now chest deep in water, took a big breath and sank below the surface, letting the cold current refresh his sore, groggy body.

'I'll figure out how to use magic,' he assured himself, still underwater. 'I won't let these three months go to waste.' With a new resolve, he planted his feet on the sand under him and jumped out of the water, landing lightly on its surface. His eyes lit up as a new idea cross his mind; he made his way to deeper water and sunk back down. The blond swam to the bottom, which was about 15 feet deep, and planted his feet, getting a wide stance. Looking up, he could see the water brightening as the sun rose. Another moment passed before he jumped, this time, with more force than before. He sped up towards the surface, but was unable to break completely through. His body had come out of the water, but only to his knees, before he sank back down.

"Naruto!" a voice called from the shore. The blond looked up to see Lucy waving out to him and began swimming to her.

"Hey, Lucy. What's up?"

"Everyone was wondering where you were. We've got breakfast ready, so you should probably come eat before Natsu eats it all," she explained.

"Good idea, but if he does get greedy, there's plenty of fish out there," Naruto said, pointing a thumb to the sea. "I'm sure Happy wouldn't mind some of that." The two teens laughed and walked back to the camp.

Everyone ate at a leisurely pace, except for Natsu, who was already impatient. "You guys are wasting time!" the dragon slayer said, crossing his arms.

"Calm down, flame brain," Gray jabbed, earning a glare from Natsu. "We've got plenty of time. Nobody here has a bottomless pit of a stomach."

"That's not completely true." Naruto said, revealing that he was already done eating. Gajeel had also finished his meal. "Since you guys are ready, let's go work."

"That's what I'm talkin' about. I never go to fight you either." Gajeel said, grinning.

Naruto turned back. "You sure you're ready? You can't even beat Natsu convincingly."

The iron mage's grin widened when he heard Naruto's remark. Natsu felt the slight rise in Gajeel's magic power and stepped in. "How about a three way sparring match?" he asked, placing his hand on Gajeel's shoulder. "It'd be a great warm up."

"Sounds good," Naruto said smiling. The three of them walked down the beach, not too far from the campsite.

Gajeel showed his approval of the location by sending a metal pillared punch at Naruto, which connected heavily. "Ha!" the teen yelled in triumph. "Keep you guard up, dumbass." His smile turned to a frown when he saw that Naruto had substituted himself with a clone.

The iron dragon slayer was suddenly blindsided by a fiery punch. "Don't forget about me!" Natsu yelled.

"Damn you! Get the hell out of my way!" he yelled back, running at the pink haired mage, who followed suit. While each of them ran, something reached from under the sand and grabbed their ankles, tripping them. Naruto crawled out of the sand and looked down at the two struggling teens.

"Come on guys. I thought this would be more fun," Naruto said. "I don't know if I should even take you two seriously," he added, feigning disinterest.

Natsu, anger filling his features, coated his body in flames. The fire was hot enough to melt the sand beneath him. The heat continued to spread as more and more sand took on a molten form. Gajeel coated his body in armor to withstand the high temperature.

The two dragon slayers stood and looked at Naruto with intense stares. "So," the metal mage began, "are you still gonna take us lightly?"

"Is this a two on one fight now?" His question was answered when each of his opponents released a breath attack. Their respective attacks merged as they grew closer to Naruto. 'That is not something I want to try to block,' he thought as the mass of partially molten metal hurdled towards him. He pumped chakra into his legs and jumped high into the air, clearing the attack by a large margin. His relief was short lived when a metal clad fist threatened to leave a dent in his face.

The shinobi managed to bring his arms up to block the attack, but the impact was still strong enough to send him flying to the ground, where the sandy shore welcomed him with a loud thud. "That'll teach him to mess with us," Natsu said to Gajeel. They watched as Naruto got up slowly, groaning in pain, rather, making a poor attempt to groan. Something so simply became impossible when there was an absence of air in the lungs.

Natsu and Gajeel ran to Naruto to check on his condition. When they were close enough, they were astounded to find that, despite the pain he felt, he was grinning.

"You guys," he spoke with great effort, "are a match made in heaven," he finished with a cough.

"That didn't sound weird at all," Gajeel said.

Naruto sat up, catching his breath. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that you two work in perfect sync."

"Perfect sync? With this guy?" Natsu asked in disbelief. "I don't think so."

"The feeling's mutual," Gajeel said with a sideways glare.

Naruto stood and dusted himself off. His body protested his decision, pain shooting through him. "Anyways, I accept defeat. There's no reason for me to force myself right now. Besides, I'm sure everyone would want to hear about this.


Lunch time


"You lost to them?" Lucy asked with wide eyes.

"What can I say? They knew what they were doing," the blond replied. "It was crazy. They combined their Roar attacks to form lava. Try to imagine that coming at you."

"I'm sure you dodged it without a problem," Gray said, "so what did they do to land the final blow?"

"Well, when I jumped to dodge their attack, they were already preparing their next one," Naruto explained. "Gajeel turned his feel into solid metal slabs. When Natsu punched them, the added fire turned Gajeel into a rocket, launching him directly at me. You can probably guess what happened next."

The others looked at the two dragon slayers in astonishment.

"I'm not surprised. You two did defeat Laxus, of all people," Erza said. "Just one day of training has improve all of our abilities so much. Just imagine where we'll be in three months." The mages around her couldn't help but smile at how bright their future seemed. They continued to eat, discussing how each of them planned to improve, when a bright yellow light filled the area.

"Virgo? What are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meal, but I have a favor to ask of you all," the maid stated. "The celestial spirit world has been stricken by disaster."

"Say no more," Lucy said, grabbing Virgo's hands. "We'll help in any way we can!"

Virgo smiled widely. "Thank you so much. You are all so generous." In another bright flash of light, they whole group was gone.

Within seconds, they were all in an entirely new environment. Amazing and wondrous colors played at the senses of the Fairy Tail mages. They stood speechless, unable to find any would that could adequately describe the spectacle.

A large silhouette came into their view. "Welcome, my friends. I am the Celestial Spirit King."

"So you're the king?" Erza asked, able to shake off her astonishment quicker than her companions.

"Indeed, I am."

"So what's going on? Everything seems fine." Gray said.

The Spirit King smiled. "We brought you here to celebrate your release from the shackles of time!" The mages stared, not yet processing what he'd said. "In other words, enjoy the party!"

The rest of Lucy's celestial spirits came out of their hiding places to greet the mages.

"I can't believe this!" Lucy said, wiping away tears of joy.

"Well, it has been 7 years since you summoned them," Wendy remarked. "I'm sure they missed you!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

Naruto smiled at the scene, remember how things were back home.

'Aww. That's cute.'

'Don't act like you don't miss our old world.'

'Oh, you're right. I really wish I had an Uchiha here to take control of me. There's nothing like having your chakra drained by a lesser being,' Kurama said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

'Point taken. What did you bring me here for anyway? You never really make any comment unless it's something you think I should know.'

Kurama nodded. 'Your energy is still changing. It's nothing too major. The energy in this world is starting to mix with our chakra.'

'That can't be a bad thing right? I absorbed the stuff with Sage Mode yesterday.'

'I know, but it's slowly entering your body, even without your meditation.' Naruto began listening more intently. 'I'm not sure how it'll affect you in the long run, but I've noticed that your abilities in your base form have increased as the magic to chakra ratio has increased in your body. The mixture has caused a slight bump in your speed and strength.'

Naruto smiled. 'That's good, then. I thought you were about to tell me it was destroying my chakra network or something.'

'That might not be an issue now, but we'll have to wait and see. The magic power is forming a secondary reservoir for energy in your body. Logically, it'll stop when the new container is equal to how much chakra you have.'

'Hmm. With all the chakra I have, it'll probably take a while before they level out.'

'Exactly.'

The blond thought for a moment before speaking. 'What would happen if I force the new container to develop? I'd just have to absorb a bunch of magic into my body.'

'That is an option. We'll worry about that later, though. I know you want to enjoy the festivities.'

Naruto nodded. 'You're right about that.' He paused in thought. 'Why don't you join us? I'll create a clone with your raw chakra and you'll have some freedom for once.'

'Hmph. That sounds interesting. I'd like to talk to that Spirit King.'

Naruto grinned and proceeded to create a clone for Kurama to control. His red eyed counterpart looked around, taking in the visuals around him. "I'd better make the conversation quick. All these colors are gonna make me vomit."

"I'd expect you to say something depressing like that." The two of them went about their business. Naruto went to the others and enjoyed the rest of the day.


The bomb had been dropped. The worst case scenario had come true. The mages stared out to the sea, the dreadful words echoed in their minds:

"One day in the Spirit World is three months on earth."

"It's over," they said in unison. Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy fell face down, defeated. Naruto and Wendy sank to their knees. Naruto grabbed a handful of sand.

"Hey, look everybody," he said in monotone. "This is our training time." He then let the sand slipped through his fingers.

Natsu chuckled. "That was a good one, man," though, his features told another story. All the mages were still for another moment, then Erza stood.

"No. No! I won't give up!" she yelled. "Stand up! We have five days until the Games start. That means we just have to train 5 times harder!" The other mages reluctantly stood, hearing her out. "If we train past the point of exhaustion for five days straight, we should be able to make up for our lost time!"

Gray ran a hand through his hair. "I wish it was that easy. If we want any chance of catching up, we won't be able to sleep at all."

Erza frowned. Her idea was simply not applicable. "There has to be some way…" Suddenly, a bird landed on the girl's head, a note hanging from its head. She grabbed the slip of paper and read it. "It's an invitation to the broken bridge just west of here."

"That's a little suspicious, isn't it?" Levy asked.

"I don't think we should go," Carla suggested. "It's probably some trap."

"Well, we've got nothing to lose, right?" Gray said.

"Yeah," Natsu began. "We might as well check it out."

"Who knows? It could be Master gathering everyone together to announce who will represent the guild in the Games," Lucy said with some hope. The group began walking in the direction of the bridge, the depression of losing three months' worth of training time slowly becoming eclipsed by their curiosity.

After about a half a mile of walking, they finally reached the bridge. Three shadowed figures stood in front of them, completely silent and unmoving. Each Fairy Tail mage tried to match the magic energy of the three people in front of them, to no avail.

"Who are you, and what do you want with us?" Erza asked as she requipped a sword.

"Please, put your sword away," said a male voice. Each of the Fairies' eyes widened when the strange trio removed their hoods, revealing their identities. "We aren't here to fight."


"That sounds like trying to grab a cloud, but we'll give it a try," Erza assured.

Ultear grinned. "This is a great help for us. Before you all go, I'd like to pay you in advance."

"Fish!" Happy exclaimed.

"Rent money!" Lucy said with bright eyes.

"No. None of that," Ultear said. "I'm going to use my Time Ark magic to develop the secondary magic container in your bodies. The Second Origin." The mages gasped. Their best opportunity to make up for their lost time was right in front of them in the form of a former enemy. "Though, I must warn you. The development process will cause excruciating pain."

"I'm in! No pain is gonna stop me!" Natsu said, pumping his fist. The rest of the group, some more reluctant than others, followed suit. They all followed Ultear to an old, abandoned cabin to begin.

"Prepare yourselves," she advised. Her green orb lit up the room, and seconds later, red runes covered all of their bodies. Each of them writhed in pain as the magic took effect.

Naruto panted heavily, trying his best not to scream his lungs out. 'Damn it! What kind of magic is this?' He could feel the battle between his chakra and the magic in his body raging. It was more painful than when the Nine Tails' chakra took over him and burned him on the inside and out. He looked towards Erza with a grimace. "How come you don't have to do this?" he asked, pain evident in the tone of his voice.

"My Second Origin is already developed," she replied.

'Lucky,' all the squirming mages thought in unison.


Naruto woke up the next morning, his body still sore from the procedure. 'I must have passed out at some point yesterday.' He looked around and found himself alone in the cabin. Standing, he walked out of the exit and was greeted by his guild mates frolicking about the general area.

"Oh, Naruto! You're finally up!" Wendy said with a smile.

"Finally? Isn't it still morning?" he asked, confused.

"It's nearly noon," Gray said from a few feet away. "We've all been up for a while. You were still out cold."

The blond scratched his head. He didn't feel like he'd been out for that long. "That's weird. I usually recover from things way faster than this."

"I imagine it's because you aren't a mage to begin with," Levy said. "You've had one energy in your body for all your life, and now your body has to try to adapt to a new one."

Naruto thought for a moment. "I guess that makes sense, then." He yawned and stretched his sore muscles. "Anyways, wouldn't it be a good idea to start heading to Crocus for the Games?"

"We already have our train tickets," Lucy said. "Now that you're awake, we should just leave now." The others nodded in agreement and they were soon on their way.


Crocus


As the mages stepped off of the train, Makarov them via a communication lacrima, ordering then to meet him at the hotel that was provided to members of Fairy Tail. They moved quickly, despite being tired from the journey. Their anticipation for the games kept them energized.

The group arrived at the hotel. Makarov greeted them in the lobby and handed out their room keys. "I know that you're all tired from the long train ride," he said, wiping away some of his own grogginess, "so go to your rooms and get some rest." No one argued his logic. There was two rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls.

"I call dibs on the bed," Naruto said with a smirk.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Natsu shot back, starting to run ahead to the room. His progress was halted when Gajeel grabbed the teens scarf, pulling him to the ground.

"Calm down, stupid. I've stayed in this hotel before. They only have suites, so we won't have to worry about bed space."

Gray smiled. "That sounds good. Nothing like a huge bed that' as soft as a cloud."

The boys reached their room in a relatively short time. As they entered, a hulk of a man was there to greet them.

"Elfman? When did you get here?" Gray asked, dumbfounded. "And what happened to you?"

The large man looked down at his friends with a wide smile. "I've been here since yesterday, because I'm a man!"

Naruto stared wide eyed at Elfman. 'He's freaking huge! What did he do during the three months of training?' "I can see that you didn't waste any of the last three months!" the blond said with a grin.

"That's right! A real man doesn't let opportunities go to waste!" The other teens smiled awkwardly, knowing in great detail what it felt like to lose time.

Things settled down as they each finished greeting each other.


Morning came quickly for everyone. Doing as Makarov said, they all went to his room first thing in the morning. He greeted them formally.

"I'm glad you are all here," he started. "I'm very proud of each and every one of you for wanting to represent our guild in the best way that you can. However, as you all know, I can only select five of you to compete in the Games." Everyone held their breath. They could feel how much their power had increased thanks to Ultear, and they were itching to push their new limits. "Luckily for you all, I have made the executive decision to form two Fairy Tail Teams!"

"Two teams? Isn't that against the rules or something?" Gray asked, trying to grasp the situation.

"Not in this case," Makarov explained. "The Grand Magic Games has to start with a qualifying round to determine who competes in the main event. The top eight teams will qualify for the Games, but, there is no rule against multiple teams per guild."

"Enough with the talking! Tell us who's on which team!" Natsu pleaded impatiently.

Makarov sighed. "Very well then. Fairy Tail Team A will consist of Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, and Elfman as the Reserve member." The mages whose names were called heaved a breath of relief. "As for Team B, I've selected Gajeel, Mirajane, Laxus, Juvia, Naruto, and a special someone as the reserve member."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his last words but decided to pay it no mind. "Where is Laxus anyway?"

"He already knew about this. It was his idea to form a second team in the first place," the old man said.

"Knowing him, he'll probably show up last minute for the qualifying event tomorrow," Gajeel said with a chuckle. "And old man, what makes you think I even wanna be a part of some B team? I'm definitely storng enough to take someone's spot on the A team!"

Makarov pinched the bridge of his nose. 'They always complain.' "How about I give you all an incentive to compete, huh?" The dragon slayers eyes lit up. "Whoever scores higher in the Games gets to boss the other team around for a whole day."

Gajeel laughed loudly. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Naruto grinned at his sudden burst of excitement.

Makarov cleared his throat. "Now, the qualifying round is tomorrow night. You have to have all five members of your team complete the challenge together. Use the time you have left to get focused, and stay out of trouble," he warned, directing his glance at Natsu.

"Fine, I'll chill out, I promise," he said, grinning sheepishly.

The mages all exited the room, looking forward to the next day. Feeling his stomach growl, Naruto decided to find a nice place that could satisfy his ramen craving. It took longer than he expected, since the city had changed so much since the last time he'd been there. The blond eventually stumbled across a suitable restaurant.

He took a seat at the bar and ordered his food, wolfing down the whole bowl. 'That hit the spot,' he thought as he left money for the meal.

Some time passed as Naruto wandered aimlessly around the city. He was astonished by Crocus' appearance. 'After all this time that's passed, nobody would even recognize me. It's not like I had any kind of reputation before what happened on Tenrou Island.' He could completely start over with how he wanted this world to perceive him. He could hide his origin from the public or let it lose for the magazines to gossip about. Hell, he could even change his name, and nobody outside of Fairy Tail would know the difference.

"Lose the headband." Naruto grinned as the words echoed in his mind. What did he still wear it for? His home in Konoha was long gone, and he'd accepted that returning there was 99% impossible. The shinobi untied the headband and held it in his hands, watching how the light reflected off of its metal plate. 'I'll figure out what to do with you later,' he thought, deciding to go back to the hotel for the night.


The Next Day


Naruto waited calmly for all the members of Team B to gather. "Of course it's sparkly boy that's late," Gajeel growled.

The door grabbed their attention before it slowly creaked open. Behind it stood the man they'd just been criticizing: Laxus Dreyar. "Tell me again. Who's late?" he asked with a confident smirk.

"Tch. It's about damn time," the iron mage mumbled.

"Calm down. I'm sure Laxus has a good reason for being this late," MIrajane said, diffusing the situation.

"Well, if you must know," the lightning mage began, "I was training. "You all know me well enough to know that I want Fairy Tail to be at the top. I'll do everything in my power to ensure that we take back our throne as the top guild in Fiore!"

"Juvia is glad to see everyone here as well."

"Well, since we're all here now, I'd like to know who our reserve member is. The old man was keeping it a secret," Gajeel explained.

"Oh, don't worry about him. He'll be there when we need him," Laxus said, smiling widely. "The qualifier starts in about five minutes, so we should get ready."

And get ready they did. In five minutes time, the sky lit up with a large screen. A small, pumpkin headed character explained the game to them, although vaguely. When the explaining was done, the horn sounded, and the game began.

"That's it? A labrynth?" Naruto asked.

"Seems like it," Mirajane replied. "All we have to do is get to the center of it and we'll qualify.

"Right," Laxus said, nodding. "We're still the underdogs here, so let's get going. I don't want to slack off at all. Let's make people fear Fairy Tail's name again!"

The other Team B members shouted in approval and followed their "leader" into the labrynth.


AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave any feedback!