Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. However the fanfic idea is mine, so that's that.
For a long minute, there was complete and utter stunned silence around the whole table. Then, there was a wallop.
"Never mind this crazy fool." Said Erza, who had hit Natsu so hard there was a bump on his head. "He knows not what he says."
"It's fine. After all, the decision should be made by your Master. Isn't that right, Makarov-"
"I'm sure Gramps wants to fight you as much as I do! C'mon old man, you know you want-" he stopped short as Erza gave him the Death Glare.
"I'm sorry!" Said Natsu going back to eating.
"What an idiot." Said Gray.
"What'd you call me, Exhibitionist?"
"You heard me, You Infuriating Inferno. I oughta-"
"Will the both of you just shut up?!" All of Fairy Tail laughed for a minute, then reality slapped them in the face again.
"How is everyone in your guild a Dragon Slayer? I thought they were very rare wizards!" Exclaimed Wendy.
"Well, not everyone is specifically a 'Dragon Slayer.' Most of them who possess magic that was specifically used in assistance to defeat dragons, like support magic. Then you have the wrmlings, who are learning Dragon Slaying magic, well on their way to becoming very powerful. Finally, you have the Dragon Slayers, who belong in the highest rankings of the guild schematic. Matoko and myself are both second-generation lacrima Dragon Slayers. Eli uses a more evolved type of space magic which he made himself after Matoko's training. We are the only three who weren't raised by a Dragon. Tidewell and Kocel are both third generation Dragon Slayers, raised by the Sea and Time Dragons. Finally, Hoodwink is our only first generation Dragon Slayer, having been born and raised high up in the mountains by the Winter Dragon. These factors contribute largely to our magic power and fighting strength." Jodi explained.
"I see." Said Erza, who then took a swig of her mug of ale. There was a moment of silence, then:
"So Salamander-sama, is it true that the Fire Dragon Igneel raised you?" Asked Eli. He was immediately clobbered by his older brother.
"Shut up, you dumbass!"
"What the hell did I do?!" The boy retorted.
"You know what you-"
"If I knew do you think I-"
"Yes, you would-"
"Why you stupid-"
"Boys!" Yelled Jodi, which quieted them both down.
"No, it's fine." Said Natsu, "I get asked about it all the time. And yes, it is true, he raised me for the first seven years of my life."
"Wow! That's cool! Tidewell and Kocel say they were too, but if you ask me, they're too dense to have been raised by dragons." The man in the fedora stood up very suddenly, his short baby blue hair swishing back from his brown eyes.
"If you'd like to keep your life, young Eli, I suggest you withhold your opinions that no one asked for." His voice was smooth and a little high pitched. The disheveled man nodded in agreement.
"Is that a threat, Water Boy? 'Cause if it is I'll kick your ass-"
"For pity's sakes, shut up." Said Matoko, standing up and glaring at his brother and then sitting again. Eli scoffed, then sat down.
"Not like I have to listen to you, you dummy-"
"Alright, I've had enough of this!" Said the older brother, punching the boy. The force from the hit sent the boy flying across the room. The mass of tables were moved and several people became drenched in their food.
"Oh, you wanna go, huh?!" Said Eli, running fast and head butting his older brother in the stomach. The two started full-on brawling, food and furniture were being destroyed, and chaos was beginning erupt. Several others had attempted to break up the two main fighters, but then got dragged into the fight themselves. Now, just about everyone in the room was getting beaten or beating up one another.
All Fairy Tail could do was watch what was happening around them with awe on their faces. Master Erin, who had not gotten involved and was sitting drinking a cup of tea, spoke to the opposing guild, "My apologies for all of their behavior, this always-" She was stopped short by laughter from the Fairy Tail guild members.
"This is just fine! It reminds me so much of our guild, I can't hold back!" Said Makarov, a chorus of laughter erupting from his throat and everyone else's.
"Well, this is a relief. It should be stopping any second now-" And then it did.
Giant spikes of ice zoomed through the doorway, pegging into the walls and furniture and nearly hitting some of the now terrified guild members. There was complete and utter silence. A smokescreen of snow huddled at the entrance to the door, and after a few milliseconds, a person walked through it. Natsu looked up and froze.
The woman in the hood was walking right towards the table. In the better light, everyone could see the long, flowing grey-blue hood which barely touched the ground and covered her body entirely. The only thing one could see were her creme boots which stuck out slightly from the cloak, the rest of her body cloaked in shadow. Even though she walked upright, the hood was so long that only the lower half of her face could be seen. She walked down the stairs and approached the table. There was an untouched plate laying on the table, which she extended her pale hand to grab. But before she did that, an ice blade grew out of her hand, with which she threw with such force that it stuck in the wall a half inch above Eli's head. He whimpered and stood there, face frozen with terror.
"Be careful what you say aloud, Futoshi. That was the last straw." The hooded figure said, then with swift motions, she grabbed the plate and left. As she walked out, her pupil grabbed his barely eaten plate and ran to catch up with her. As the two walked out of the room, the spikes of ice and smoke screen of snow disappeared, and finally the whole room breathed. People began to set up the tables and chairs again and sit in them, resuming their conversations with a bit of awkwardness. Eli unfroze and silent walked and sat down back in his spot.
"You looked like you were gonna pee yourself, Eli!" Yelled someone in the background.
"Shut up!" The receiver yelled back. Then he spoke in a quieter voice, "Damn Hoodwink. Who the hell does she think she is?!"
"You know very well what happens when you provoke her, little brother." The response to that was another curse word.
"So, Master Erin," Said Gray, regaining some of his breath, "How exactly would this tourney work?"
"It is quite simple really. The teams from both Fairy Tail and Dragon Fang Will consist of eight people. The master from each guild will pick one person to lead the team, a captain if you will, and the rest of the members will be decided by the preliminary round. After the teams have been decided, one on one battles will occur until a victor is decided. The guild that emerges victorious will be crowned strongest guild in Fiore."
"Oh, so it really will be similar to the Grand Magic Games."
"Mhm. Only the most strongest members of both guilds are allowed to participate, which is essential in finding out the true victor. So even if you agree, we'd still have to wait for your entire guild to get here to check and see who is the strongest."
"What is the preliminary round exactly?" Asked Lucy, shuddering.
"A battle royale, of course!"
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Everyone took a minute to think. Mixed thoughts occurred in Everyone's heads, but eventually, everyone had come to a consensus decision.
Erin took the silence as a sign. "If you all need a little time to think about this, you can respond tomorrow-"
"No, we've had well enough time to consider." Said Makarov, "and I think hearing the details about everything only swayed us more." He paused for a minute, in which everyone nodded at him.
"I will get a communications lacrima and alert Mirajane. We accept the challenge to face you off in this Fatales Eripitur Bellum."
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The rest of dinner resolved smoothly. Polite and intelligent conversation was carried out between all members of both guilds, while everyone ate and drank until they were full. Afterwards, everyone went up to their rooms, the tension on their shoulders lifted. Everyone said goodnight, then retreated to their rooms for a bit of peaceful sleep. Everything seemed to be perfect at that moment, and everyone slept soundly that night, they had no idea what the future days would hold.
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The next day everyone woke up bright and early, got ready and headed downstairs. When the party arrived there was a note on the door to the dining hall which said:
"The rest of your guild arrived early this morning. We are having breakfast in the courtyard as soon as everyone wakes up."
Everyone acknowledged the sign, and then they all headed out as a group to the courtyard from the previous day. Benches with white tablecloths covered the cobblestone paths, while in the center, a buffet with all types of breakfast foods sat on shiny platters on white covered tables. Several people had already started eating, and the group recognized a certain family who they had to greet.
"Mira!" Exclaimed Lucy, giving the eldest sister of the Strauss family a hug.
"Oh, Good Morning everyone!" Said Mira cheerfully. "I'm glad to see you are all doing well. The rest of us at the guild were sick with worry, so as soon as we got word from the Master we left right away!"
"It was kinda creepy though, because it was dark, all of the idiots kept trying to scare us." Said Lisanna, shivering. Everyone else chuckled.
"We should all sit together!" Mira suggested. Everyone though it was a good idea, so after a minute about four five feet long tables had been pushed together. Natsu didn't bother helping with this whole endeavor. He didn't even bother even saying hello to Mira and the others until he had gone around the buffet, his plate a big swarming mass of Gohan. Everyone sighed. Classic Natsu.
As more time passed, more members of both guilds came out of the castle and began to eat their breakfasts. Everyone was overjoyed to see Natsu's comrades again, and delightful conversation was spread throughout the spacious courtyard.
"Hey, by the way." Said Mira, putting a bit of rice into her mouth, "I didn't see the Master with you this morning. Is he okay?"
"I think so. He said last night that he might not join us at breakfast until later, so he probably had other things to discuss with Master Erin." Erza explained.
"You're probably right." They continued eating for a few minutes, and then suddenly a sound echoed like an explosion. At the north end of the courtyard where there were no tables, Master Makarov had transformed into his dark giant form, which gathered the attention of just about everyone in the courtyard. Master Erin was standing on his left, arms crossed.
"Everyone from both Dragon Fang and Fairy Tail!" Makarov's voice boomed, "Due to an agreement between Master Erin and I, the preliminary tournament will begin exactly one hour from now. We both suggest finishing up your breakfast and then going to prepare for everything that may or may not happen during the battle. Everyone needs to meet us in the woods behind the castle at that time will announce the chosen two right before beginning. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded, and then the Master shrunk back to his original size. Some of the people who were sitting at tables got up and ran to go start training in their respective ways, and others just sat and talked some more. Makarov reached the table and then sat Indian-style on the table between Erza and Mira.
"Master! Glad to see you!"
"You as well, Mira." He said, "Sure am glad you made it here alright."
"Agreed." There was a moment of silence among the three.
"Master, I've been doing some thinking, and I want to ask you something." Erza confessed after a minute.
"Sure, go ahead." Said Makarov.
"Well, did Erin verify this with the Magic Council? If not, they could be trying to get us all arrested-"
"Yes, she did. I already asked." Explained Makarov.
"I see." More silence, then in just a whisper, Makarov spoke to both girls:
"I need you both to do something for me."
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After an hour of training, procrastination, worry and pride passed, all members from both guilds assembled in a gigantic cluster on the edge of the forest approximately two minutes before noon. There was quite a bit of space between the trees, so one could see that this part of the forest was well kept. A gigantic boulder stood menacingly before the mass, grey and intimidating. Everyone talked with members of their respective guilds in hushed whispers, all until two figures emerged on top of the Boulder.
"Greetings all!" Said Master Erin. "And welcome to the preliminary round of Fatales Eripitur Bellum! We've been watching how hard everyone has worked in the past hour, and can we say, all of you have a fair shot of becoming one on your respective teams!" There was a round of applause.
"Now, now, we will go ahead and get into the rules. Master Makarov-" Makarov cleared his throat.
"We will give one minute for everyone to run into the forest, and then the battles will begin. Defeat enemies of the opposing guild in order to win. The last seven standing from both teams will become contenders. Use your magic wisely, any spells used to cause death to any living being will result in disqualification. It is every man for himself, so give it everything you've got."
As soon as Makarov finished, Erin pulled out a piece of paper and began to read:
"The chosen one for Dragon Fang is Hoodwink."
Then Makarov pulled out an identical piece of paper.
"And the chosen one for Fairy Tail is Natsu Dragneel."
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There was a round of applause as both people walked forward. The clapping ended soon enough, and people began to take their marks.
"On your mark!"
"Get set!"
The sound of a gunshot echoed and everyone ran into the forest.
"Let the Preliminary Trials begin!"
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Emergency Request: Explain The Mysteries Of Beyond Ch. 545!
Mira: Mountain-lion-poooooon!
Lucy: It's time for everyone's favorite part of this story! Let's get right into it!
Mira: Question One: Who is taller; Master Makarov or Master Erin?
Lucy: I think they're pretty much the same height...
Mira: I dunno. I just think they're cute together!
Lucy: Mira-San! Don't make me imagine those kinds of things!
Mira: I just meant they're cute because they're short. Nothing perverted like you thought, Lucy.
Lucy: Hey!
Mira: Question Two: How far does the Dragon Fang protection barrier extend?
Lucy: I think I heard Jodi-San say that the Dragon Fang Guild Hall is actually on the border of the protection. Apparently, it stretches over quite a bit of the forest and over a couple of hills.
Mira: Wow! And to think this was all unknowably concealed this whole time!
Lucy: That's probably Because to get here you have to know there is a barrier in the first place...
Mira: Aw, Nevermind! Who cares anyway?!
Lucy: Hey!
Mira: And Now, our Final Question! Who do you all at the guild think will compete in the tournament?
Lucy: I think you Erza, Gajeel, and Laxus have a good chance of getting in, Mira-San!
Mira: Oh really? I can't say I thought the same thing about you.
Lucy: Hey!
Mira: And that is all we have for today! Mountain-lion-poooooon!
Lucy: *sniff* Why were you so mean today Mira-San?
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Beta-San's Translation Corner:
Fatales Eripitur Bellum is Latin for Battle Of Fangs and Fairies. Just FWI
Konichiwa my fellow Otakus! I don't know if any of you have started watching the new season of FT yet, either because it covers the Alvarez Arc or you just haven't had the time, but if you haven't I definitely recommend! Power Of the Dream is forever and always stuck in my head now!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know I've been enjoying my Thanksgiving off, doing a whole bunch of nothing! Well, other than this Chappie of course.
I don't know when I'm going to post again, so until next time, I guess. Also sorry for updating so late at night, I just wanted to get this out there before I get slammed with work tomorrow.
You're all amazing!
-BetaTest401