CrystalDT: These are the scores for the second day.

Angel's Gate: 20 points

Fairy Tail: 18 points

Lamia Scale: 11 points

Quatro Puppy: 10 points

Sabertooth: 8 points (Jura and Orga are tied in their match)

Lumiere Dawns: 4 points

Mermaid Heel: 2 points

Blue Pegasus: 1 point

Chapter 24: Revealing the Truth

Lucy's P.O.V:

The conversation between me and Emily was still stuck in my mind.

Every syllable, every word spoken were implanted onto my brain. Every time I spoke out loud, that one sentence would swirl around and around my head until it reaches the tip of my tongue.

I was so close to shouting it out loud but I won't for Emily's sake. She made me promise not to tell anyone, not even our guild mates.

Slowly, I dug into the duffel bag I brought from the guild/mansion and took out a silver heart-shaped locket. Scrawled in gold on the front was the writing 'Always and Forever.' Team Natsu gave me this accessory for my 17th birthday as a memory of being a Mage of Fairy Tail- well, a former Fairy Tail Mage.

I smiled lightly and opened the locket, revealing a picture of my old self taking a picture with Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy, Wendy and Charles on the left while a photograph of the whole Fairy Tail guild was put on the right.

"Lucy-san, do you want to take a walk?" Rina asked, standing near the door with Maria at her side.

"Sure, I'll be there in a second," I replied and stuffed the locket into my pants' pocket.

Fortunately, the Games ended early and Team Angel's Gate managed to escape the stadium before any of the other competing teams were able to catch up with us.

Me, myself and I in particular was glad that I didn't need to deal with a crappy, suspicious Natsu and a cocky, flirtatious Sting.

I mentally scoffed and went to check myself in the mirror.

My hair was in it's half straight-half wavy style and I had changed into an off-the-shoulders black shirt, a pair of short jean shorts held up by a brown belt, my usual silver gladiator heels and a black headband.

"Be back for dinner you three!" Chisaki ordered. Her hair was put into a high ponytail and everybody knows that she only styles it that way when she was either very busy or cooking a large meal- normally the latter. She smiled but you could tell that there's something wrong with her. She looked troubled and her face was paler than usual. "It'll be done by 7 o'clock."

"Hai, hai, Chisaki-chan!" Maria waved and opened the door.

Once we got outside, Rina led us down the street to what I think is St. Lily's Road. Our feet tumbled against the pavement as we arrived at a neighborhood with a small hotel and potion shops scattered around.

I squinted my eyes to get a better look in the dark- since the sun was starting to set- and saw something hanging down on the lacrima lamp posts.

They looked very flimsy and swayed even in the gentlest breezes, reminding me of my collection of ribbons which are very thin and light.

Wait. Of course, it's decorations. The colorful streamers were tied to the pole of a lamp post on each end and I'll admit- they look perfect for celebrations.

"Rina!" Maria wailed. "When are you going to stop dragging us?"

"Sorry," Rina apologized.

Soon, we slowed down to a walk and I was thankful for that.

Maybe I should warn myself next time: never make Rina too excited or not she'll drag you around until you're nothing but a worn-out piece of flesh.

"Look, there's a potion shop!" Rina exclaimed.

"Rin-chan, there are hundreds of potion shops around here. I have no idea which one of them are you talking about," Maria sweat dropped.

"The one over by that corner!" Rina replied and pointed to a small circular building with grey walls and lit-up windows. A piece of canvas was propped up on the side with a large heart drawing. Inside the shape was a certain writing in black ink, but before I got a chance to read it, Rina grabbed Maria's hand and walked towards the shop.

"Let's go," the 16 year old said, turning around to glance at my unmoving figure. "You coming, Lucy-san?"

"Uh, I'll catch up with you two later, I'm just going to explore the streets," I stated.

"Alright, see you," Rina smiled and dragged Maria to the store.

"Why are you leaving me?" Maria mouthed silently and I giggled. Poor Mia-chan.

A few footsteps later, Rina and Maria were at the entrance of the potion shop and I had moved on to the path leading to the hotel.

It seems peaceful there and I wanted to be in a quiet, sincere location.

My hand traced soothing circles on the back of my hand, but I stopped when I heard a loud noise nearby.

"Gah, you should have use your most powerful attack!"

"That'll just make it easier for the enemy to know the limit of Orga's magic!"

"It's better than nothing right?"

"Using simpler attacks at the beginning works better than going all out at one go!"

"Never mind, I'm going. I'll be back by dinner!"

The door of the hotel flung opened and a figure emerged from it.

I spotted a patch of spiky blond hair and I immediately knew who it was.

Sting walked over to my direction with his head bowed down, not realizing I was there. He probably has a lot in his mind so he didn't bother paying attention to the scents around him.

"Bad day?" I started.

The dragon slayer's head snapped up, his eyes were as wide as saucers and his mouth was wide agape.

"Yuki?"

"Do I look like someone else?" I half-jokingly asked.

Sting grinned and ran over to me really fast- a bit too fast actually. Eventually, he tripped on a pebble when he was three yards away and we collided.

Luckily, we didn't fall to the ground like me and Natsu. I was about to land backwards but Sting caught me, his hand was snaked around my waist and the other was holding my shoulder.

I frowned. This is the second time in two days that I've been caught in an awkward situation.

What's next? A crazy guy comes rampaging around the neighborhood with nothing but boxers on? Oh wait, that sounds a lot like Gray.

"You okay?" Sting asked.

"Yes," I cleared my throat and stood up straight, shaking off Sting's hands.

He blushed and cross his arms while putting on his signature cocky grin, trying to cover up his embarrassment by acting normal.

Opening his mouth, Sting was about to say something but instead, he raised an eyebrow and bent over to pick up something on the ground.

My eyes snapped to the pavement and my breathing got hitched as I gazed at the silver locket. It must've dropped from my jean pocket!

Sting took it in his palms and examined the photo inside.

"Give it back," I hissed. Automatically, I tried grabbing the item but to no avail. He turned his back to me and scrunched up his forehead, the locket was hanging down the tip of his fingers.

I was about to struck him with my whip but decided not to.

Then an idea popped into my head- I could just kick him and he'll surely let go of the locket.

I lifted my leg, ready to send the devastating blow but it was too late. Sting's mouth dropped open so wide, you could stuff an elephant in it.

I stopped and grimaced as I realized there's nothing I could do right now but just wait for the end result.

"Isn't this... Natsu-san and his team?"

I just gritted my teeth and stayed silent. I wasn't surprised when Sting glance at me with wide eyes, almost dropping the accessory.

Jade's P.O.V:

I sighed. My hand traced the walls of the alleyway I was in while I slowly sank to the ground.

The cobblestone felt hard, rigid and freezing cold, making me shiver, although I normally wouldn't because I'm pretty much immune to it. Shadows loomed over the narrow strip of pavement and there aren't any signs of life except for me.

A little while ago, I decided I need some time alone so I sneaked out of the hotel.

I didn't bother to tell anyone why or where I was going. I just didn't think I could take another minute of being around other people.

It's most likely because today's the 2nd of November.

Even after years of trying to forget what had happened, I still couldn't help breaking down mentally when someone or something reminded me of the events of this day at the year X785.

Quietly, tears started flowing down my cheeks and I wiped them away with my sweater's sleeve.

The present me would be laughing hard at my little cry-fest but I would only do that because I'm trying to be more stronger and not let anybody see my weakness.

I made a promise to myself that I will never break into tears, yet I broke that oath more than I can count for the past 9 years.

Pathetic.

My arm pounded the wall opposite me, not caring if my hand bled. Again, I punched the solid brick and I continued doing that until all I could feel is pain rather than sadness.

"Hey, you alright?" A voice asked softly, though you could tell there's an edge to it.

I cursed and stood abruptly. I wiped the teardrops that unknowingly fell from my eye when I was busy 'torturing' the wall and took a deep breath. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were crying," the voice said again.

"So? That doesn't concern you."

"Whether you like it or not, it does. I was walking near the alley and that's when I saw you."

Running both of my hands through my hair, I opened my mouth to say a sarcastic comment but it never came out. The only thing that did was a small noise, almost like a gasp.

Suddenly, a familiar face- Rogue- appeared out of the shadows and he took a step in front of me.

"Do you want me to take you back to your inn?"

"What?" I choked out, my voice was still small and it still sounded like I'm gasping for air.

"You heard what I said," Rogue stated. He looked at me up and down and glance at my tired eyes. "You look awful."

"Thanks," I sarcastically replied. "But no thanks, I could get back by myself."

Rogue ignored me and with one swoop, he had me in his arms.

"Put me down," I said in a raspy tone.

"Not a chance."

He was about to merge with the shadows again but I grabbed the cloak he's wearing roughly.

"Alright, fine. You could take me back. Just do it slowly. It's bad enough I had to spend the entire day in the same room as my team, I'd rather be alone for as much time as possible."

The shadow dragon slayer nodded and he walked out of the alley.

We were both quiet and didn't even glance at each other. Both of us were enjoying the sincerity of the night. Well, that was until we reached the end of the street.

"Mind telling me what's wrong?"

"No," I bluntly said. "Why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity took over."

"Curiosity kills the cat."

Our eyes met- ruby red vs ash gray.

"Curiosity could also kill the girl," Rogue replied and another tear came out of my left eye.

I rubbed it and looked away.

"I'll tell you my story, if you tell me yours."

He raised an eyebrow. "My story?"

"You had experienced something very hard for you to forget. I could see it," I said, like it was the most obvious thing in this world.

"You're good," Rogue muttered and that's how we finally get to know each other better.

Sure we chatted at that cafe but we didn't get to share our pasts like today.

"I had to kill him," Rogue whispered but I managed to hear him.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he shook his head. "Now tell me your story."

I inhaled, calming myself down and braced for the pain after I finished telling Rogue about my childhood.

"I stayed with my mom- my father died months before my birth and I used to have a little brother, but he got captured by the followers of Zeref. I was just a normal kid who goes to school and helped with chores at home. I was content with my life, but not content enough to be able to survive without my brother. I used to spend hours thinking of where he is but I never figured it out. I was devastated back then, but I stayed strong for my mom. She worked as a hotel manager and work part-time as a substitute teacher in school. I love the way she teaches me and my friends so I suggested that she should work full time. Mom agreed and soon, she took an available spot as a magic teacher. That's when I started learning magic. I chose to master teleportation magic and it took me a year to perfect it."

I stopped there before continuing the story a moment later. "I was about to learn another kind of magic but when the news of Acnologia being spotted near the town was announced, the school was closed and mom quitted her job. She rarely goes out and everybody was forced to wait at home until it was certain that Acnologia was gone. Weeks later, mom has got to go grocery shopping so she went to the local market. Usually, she would back in 30 minutes, but at that time, she was gone for two hours. I became worried and I stepped outside to see if my mom is near. You won't be able to guess what I saw."

My fingers started stammering like crazy and I had to hold Rogue's shoulder to make it stop. "The town was empty and the sky wasn't blue anymore. It was gloomy and dark, the shops were all torn down including the town hall. I ran to the market and there it was- Acnologia himself standing on the ruins of the building. Mom, the shopkeeper, the mayor, my friends and everyone else were lying on the ground. Acnologia spotted me and I tried getting away, though not before it scratched me. I was in the middle of battling for my consciousness when it flew away. I guess he was satisfied enough."

I tightened my grip and tears streamed down my face. My head snuggled closer to the warmth of Rogue's body, who patted my head and slowed his pace.

His right hand raised my sleeve until my upper arm and he stared at the faded large scar adorning it. It actually started from my lower stomach and ended at the back of my arm.

"You're going to be alright," he whispered as my eyes fluttered close in exhaustion.

Lucy's P.O.V:

"Wow," Sting muttered.

"That's everything," I sighed and leaned back against the bench I'm sitting on.

I had just finished explaining about how this all started: when I overheard Team Natsu discussing about me, when I quit the guild, how I met Emily, how Angel's Gate was formed and how I looked so different from before.

"Natsu-san... He's the one that taught me about nakama and yet he made one of his comrade quit because of him!" Sting snapped and bared his teeth, turning to me. "But you don't hate him one bit?!"

"Revenge is sweet but life doesn't work that way," I said. "Revenge isn't what I need. I only need encouragement to improve my power, encouragement from my nakama. I'm actually grateful. Team Natsu made me realized that I need to become stronger so I trained for a long time and look at me- I succeeded in reaching my goal."

"Sure, sure," Sting scoffed.

"I'm really serious!" I nudged his arm and cross my legs, trying to get comfortable. "Of course, your power increases dramatically when you're fighting for those you love and I had found exactly that. I love being with my new guild and sometimes I feel like I don't deserve Emily's, Rina's or anybody's kindness. I appreciate that they took care of me and nothing I do could repay that."

A breeze blew past Sting and me and I held back my hair from going all over the place. "Don't you feel like that sometimes?"

Sting thought for a minute, a pale pink color dusting his cheeks while he did so. "Yes, but I won't just stay still and watch as Fairy Tail get away from what they've done!"

"That was three years ago," I stated stubbornly.

"Whatever," Sting rolled his eyes. "Oh wait-"

He dug into his pocket and took out the locket. "I forgot to give this back to you."

"No problem," I said, flipping the cover to inspect the pictures inside.

"I've got one more question," Sting answered.

"What?" I asked.

The air was getting chilly and I bet Rina and Maria are looking for me right now. It's better to end this conversation quickly.

"What happened to you and Natsu-san yesterday?"

If I was drinking a glass of water, I would have choke in surprise and ended up spitting the liquid from my mouth, probably right at Sting's face.

"How do you know about that?"

"I could smell the faint scent of Natsu-san all over you this morning."

"You idiotic sniffer," I huffed and kicked Sting on his shin.

"Ow, I was just asking!"

"Well I chose not to answer it."

"Fine, just don't hurt me again," Sting puffed his cheeks and I resisted the urge to pinch them right then and there.

"Okay."

I slowly began to relax and was about to close my eyes to take a short nap before I remembered that I was suppose to be waiting for Rina and Maria.

"I've got to go," I stated, standing up.

"You sure?" Sting pouted.

"Yes, see you tomorrow and don't tell anyone about our conversation," I warned. "Or not I-"

"Or not you'll kill me, got it."

I smiled and waved, running towards the direction of the streets. I was near the potion shop where I last saw Rin and Mia when Emily's words from today rang like an annoying alarm in my head.

"James, the one who kidnapped Rina years ago, escaped from prison. The Magic Council is doing all that they can to capture him but we still need to be prepared. There's one thing you need to know though: James didn't escape for freedom, he's escaping to find Rina."

Author's Corner

CrystalDT: Hello again readers. I bet you're wondering about how the next chapter's going to be like, we'll wait and see! Please read-

Lucy: Rate-

Natsu and Sting: And Review! *glares at each other* That's my line you idiot!

Wendy: Bye!