Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Disclaimer: I do own all characters and magic I have created. Please do not steal them.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: And The Winner Is…
…Fairy Tail's Tactical Meeting…
"Let's get to work!" Mavis said excitedly, sitting down on a tall bar stool. "First, Lucy, tell us about the spell you used in the arena. The opposing teams have already seen it, so there is a good chance they will be anticipating it."
"Yeah! You used Dragon Slayer magic!" Natsu said excitedly.
"Draconis is the spell linked with Draco, the Celestial Spirit of the Dragon. It allows me to use any Dragon Slayer magic as long as I have a link to the person who wields the magic." Lucy informed.
"A link?" Mavis asked.
"The description of the spell was pretty vague when I learned it." Lucy said sheepishly. "I was using our link through guild membership as a connection."
"How about the spell you used on me?" Gray asked suddenly, cutting in before anyone else had the chance to talk. "From what I've heard, Wendy's and Porlyusica's magic couldn't heal me, but you did it in a few minutes."
"Celestial Spirits are immortal for a reason." The Celestial mage giggled. "Capricorni, the spell linked with Capricorn. Though it has its limits, the spell is still pretty powerful but delicate enough to work on almost any injury."
"Amazing." Mavis drawled out softly.
A silence presented itself as the wizards took in the information.
"What are your calculations, this year, First?" Erza asked, getting the conversation going once more.
"Hm…" Mavis hummed, staring at the six young wizards. "Let's plan things around Lucy so she has the best chance of staying hidden until the she can strike. You have a concealing cloak, don't you?"
"I do." Lucy replied, re-quipping the cloak into her hands.
"Great." Mavis said happily. "And how many gates can you open at once?"
"Hm…" Lucy hummed in thought. "Around four?"
"Four?" Natsu asked, stunned.
"You don't sound very sure, bunny girl." Gajeel noticed.
"Think of Celestial Keys as having levels and tiers." Lucy started to explain. "A level one key would be silver, because they take up the least amount of magic compared to the other types. But even though all silver keys are level one keys, there are tiers in each level that ranks them."
"What does that mean?" Gray asked.
"Not all silver keys use the same amount of magic." The Celestial mage replied. "Plue's key uses less magic than Horologium's key. But, still, the strongest silver key uses less magic than the weakest level-two key."
"I see." Mavis said softly, intrigued. "And level two is…?"
"Beast Keys. Also known as the Hidden Keys in Earth Land." Lucy answered.
"Your new ones?" Natsu asked.
"Right."
"They are not stronger than Zodiac Keys?" Erza asked with a raised eyebrow.
"In terms of raw power, no." The Celestial mage said with a shake of her head. "But they're used in different situations. Beast Keys use less magic to open because the Beasts specialize in group-attacks, the more gates that can be opened the better. Zodiacs are more likely to fight one-on-one or smaller groups."
"You're magic has gotten way more complicated." Gajeel complained.
"Sorry," Lucy giggled slightly. "You asked."
"So around four gates is your limit." Mavis mumbled, calculating a plan. "You can perform caster-type spells now, can't you? With four gates opened, how many spells can you activate?"
"…Zero." Lucy said slowly.
At the side of the table, Laxus sighed in discontent. This was going to take a while.
"Why none?" The Ice Make mage questioned.
"The spells I used are linked to a specific Spirit." Lucy started to say. "Each spell uses half the amount of magic it takes to open the gate of the Spirit that it's connected to. So, if I open the maximum amount of gates, I won't have enough magic to use spells."
"I see." Mavis said in thought. "Are these Beasts… deadly?"
"Only if I tell them to be." Lucy said slowly with confusion.
"Got any that can pick off opponents in the arena?" Laxus asked. "Something you can set loose."
"Preferably something quick or that can hide so no one will know what hit them." Gajeel said with a smirk. "Something that'll hit hard."
"So you want something that looks like a monster and acts like a monster." Lucy said softly, summoning the ten black Beast Keys in her possession onto the table.
"We're not trying to demean them." Mavis corrected hastily.
"It's okay." Lucy reassured with a soft smile. "They've been bugging me to let them come down and play with the humans."
"You said that so innocently." Natsu mumbled.
"Is it safe?" Erza asked, concerned.
"Of course." The Celestial mage said, offended. "They're not cold-blooded killers…. Unless I tell them to be."
"Great." Gray replied uneasily.
"How many should we put in?" Erza asked, turning to First Master for her calculations.
…
A sword made of ice clashed with another that was made of steel. The ice sword easily shattered, allowing the steel sword to come in contact with its holder.
"Not as sturdily made as you had hoped."
"I don't specialize in static objects." Lyon hissed, jumping away and pointing his palm at the woman. Ice eagles flew towards her.
The two of them were bloodied, but not enough to be too hindered during the fight. They tried to catch their breaths after the long fought battle.
"Shall we end this?" Erza asked in an even tone, re-quipping into her fighting outfit – red pants and white bindings around her chest. In her hands were two simple swords. She will not fail her guild mates.
"Let's go, Titania." Lyon said, ice vapors misting out of his hands. He couldn't afford to lose.
Erza took a step forward, running with her swords at the ready.
Lyon put his hands together, summoning a wolf that came out of his arm.
"Lucy-sama?!" Yukino gasped as she spotted a white-cloaked figure sitting on a tree branch. She hadn't felt the presence of her friend at all when she walked through the area.
"Oh, you found me." Lucy replied nonchalantly, hopping down and letting her hood fall.
"What are you doing in here?"
"I'm Fairy Tail's Hidden Player. Though I haven't done much." The blonde said with a sigh.
"I see." Yukino said softly. "I guess this means we should battle." She took out Libra and Pisces' keys, holding them in her right hand.
"You don't want to do this, Yukino." Lucy advised, re-quipping two of her Zodiac Keys into her hand.
"You believe I'm going to lose?" The Sabertooth wizard asked. "Open, Libra, Pisces." Two golden magic circles appeared, one next to the mage and the other in the air.
"Not that you're going to lose." Lucy replied, summoning her keys as well. "Virgo, Aries!"
"Princess." Virgo greeted with a bow.
"I'll try my best, I'm sorry." Aries said.
"It's that you can't beat me with your magic." Lucy said seriously.
"I'm afraid I don't understand, Lucy-sama." Yukino said with a raised eyebrow.
"Libra and Pisces won't fight me. Can't fight me." The blonde replied, staring at the two opposing Celestial Spirits. "It's against your contract, now."
"Now?" Yukino asked. "Libra? Pisces?"
"We're sorry, Yukino." Libra replied, standing uncomfortably. "We cannot hurt Lucy."
"Pisces, Libra, take a break." Lucy commanded. The Spirits of the Balance and Fishes' eyes glowed gold before they bowed slightly and went back home.
"Did you just control my Spirits?" Yukino gasped.
"Sorry, Yukino." Lucy apologized. "I'll explain later. For now, I'll make a deal with you."
"All right." The white haired wizard said uneasily, biting her bottom lip. She stood alone.
"I'll fight you without Celestial magic." Lucy compromised, nodding towards Virgo and Aries to dismiss them from their duties.
"Doesn't look like I have many options, Lucy-sama." Yukino replied, getting into a fighting stance.
"Good point."
Gray walked around with little caution. At this point, he was sure the others did their assigned jobs. There probably weren't many opponents left. During the tactical meeting a few days ago, Mavis had given them instructions only to a certain point during the Games. It became impossible, even for her, to calculate accurate numbers with so many variables. If her calculations thus far were correct, Blue Pegasus would be out of the picture, with Lamia Scale in a close second.
Of course, Lucy's magic was a huge variable, as well.
Gray yelled in pain, falling to his knees while his hands clutched his right side. He looked up. A red snake tail disappeared into the shadows of the trees. He didn't even sense that coming! It moved so quickly.
Gray put ice over the jagged wound. His skin was torn up from the rough scales on the creature that scraped against him, leaving serrated lines and a random pattern. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up to his feet.
What the hell was that?!
The tree branches shifted with the breeze, allowing the sun to illuminate other areas briefly. He paused his scan of the area when something new was irradiated. Gray painfully walked over to one of the tree trunks. It had fresh blood smeared onto it. He touched it to make sure it was still wet. Yeah, it was probably his blood. Looking to the right, where he saw the tail disappear, he saw another bloody mark on another tree.
Was it leading him somewhere?
Yuka sighed as he walked along the river. Maybe the Game's Committee made the arena too big? He hadn't run into anyone!
"Hey!"
He stood corrected. Yuka turned to the side to see who had called him. A man with pink hair grinned cheekily at him.
"Oh, it's you." Yuka replied, getting into a fighting stance.
"Long time no see!" Natsu said happily. "How've you been?"
"Fine." Yuka said slowly.
"Looks like you want to battle." The Fire Dragon Slayer noticed. "All right! I'm all fired up!"
The Wave magic user scratched his head in confusion. Did this guy think that they were teleported into a jungle for a picnic?
"Well, that's sort of the poi-"
"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flames!"
"Ah! Hey!" Yuka yelled angrily, surrounding himself quickly with a Wave shield to dispel the magic.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Don't you remember? Magic doesn't work on me." Yuka huffed, making another shield.
"Huh?" Natsu questioned, backing off. "But didn't I beat you last time at that one island?"
"That was almost eight years ago!" Yuka screeched in surprise.
"Oh right." The Fire Dragon Slayer drawled out in realization. He was frozen in time for seven years. "I'll just beat you again!" Natsu chuckled, roaring towards his opponent.
"Jeez," Yuka sighed, making another barrier. When the fire died down, Natsu was nowhere to be seen. "What the-?"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu exclaimed from behind the Wave mage. Just as Yuka put up another barrier, a fist came flying towards his face.
"And Yuka Suzuki is out!" Chapati shouted. A red light lit up the holding area as a woman stepped out from the battle stadium's entrance. "What's this? It seems like Yuka had a hidden card attached to him. It's Sherry Blendy, coming onto the field!"
"Yuka must have had the Extra Life Card placed onto him." Yajima said in understanding.
"That is correct, Yajima-san." Chapati informed. "Sherry Blendy had left the guild last year to marry Ren Akatsuki of Blue Pegasus, but has since returned to take a few jobs, making her a legible substitute for the Games."
"This year is very interesting, 'kin!" Mato said happily, having come back from the emergency meeting with news that they were not withdrawing the contestants.
"It certainly is, Mato-san." Chapati said. "Sherry will now be teleported into the arena in a random location. Good luck out there."
A shadowy splotch raced across the jungle floor, quickly followed by an electrical sphere. The electricity jammed into the ground, barely missing its target. The shadow jumped out of the ground and fired off a beam of shadow magic. Without missing a beat, the electric ball ducked and rammed into the shadowy figure, jumping so both of them were in the air.
"Shadow Dragon's Slash!" Rogue yelled, punching at his opponent with an arm covered in shadows.
"Hmph," Laxus harrumphed, easily dodging mid air and sending back a fist full of lightning.
The two fell to the ground in a cloud of smoke. The sound of toppling trees alerted the audience that heavy damage had occurred in the arena. A shadow entity emerged from the dust, heading directly towards the sky, a lightning ball following a little behind.
"Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Rogue yelled, expelling large bursts of shadows from his mouth. He aimed downwards.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" Laxus called out, shooting electricity from his own mouth. He aimed upwards.
Gravity forced the two back to the ground, making the shadow streams feel stronger.
"Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash." Rogue said in a monotone voice as he turned back into his shadow self. He wrapped his body around Laxus, assaulting the Fairy Tail mage with bursts of shadow magic.
"Raging Bolt."
A large lightning strike fell upon them.
The area around the fighting duo was in shambles. Trees were fallen over, the earth was ripped apart, and stray currents of magic sparked in random areas.
Rogue jumped away, his body slightly sparked with stray electricity currents. He wiped at a cut on his cheek, smearing blood onto the back of his hand.
"Shadow Drive."
"As if that's going to save you." Laxus scoffed, putting his two hands above his head to create a sphere of electricity. "If you can't beat Gajeel, you've got a long way to go before you can beat me, kid."
"We'll see." Rogue replied. He tried to keep his breathing steady. His lungs burned from the fast pace, his heart beating rapidly. Laxus seemed unaffected.
"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd,"
"Shadow Dragon's Curse." Rogue said in a low voice. The electric halberd shot it's way towards him. In the last seconds before impact, Rogue's body turned into a shadow. The attack disappeared.
Laxus grunted as he felt something hit him in the back. He saw the familiar magic collide against him, paralyzing his body for just a few seconds. His own attack had appeared in his shadow. The Lightning Dragon Slayer gritted his teeth.
"Slayers can eat their element, but they can't eat their own magic." Rogue stated, turning his body back into its solid form.
"Not bad, kid." Laxus said, swiping at electricity currents.
Lucy huffed as she landed a kick into Yukino's side, making the white hair girl falter.
"You've gotten better, Lucy-sama." Yukino complimented as she tried to catch her breath.
"Thanks," Lucy replied, sending another kick Yukino's way. "So have you."
The Sabertooth mage grabbed the foot and tugged forward to hold it more firmly. Lucy used the movement to her advantage, hopping off of the ground and kicking with the other foot. Both of their balances became off center, making the two tumble to the ground.
Yukino rolled her body over, getting on top of Lucy and straddling the blonde's waist. Lucy turned her head to the side as Yukino sent a punch her way, hitting the solid ground instead.
"That's kind of hot." Macao thought out loud, gaining a nod of approval from Wakaba.
Romeo put his hand to his face, shaking his head in disappointment.
Lucy had her hands holding off Yukino's fists. The two struggled to overpower the other.
The Fairy Tail mage rolled to the side, taking her friend with her. Yukino landed on the ground, air getting knocked out of her lungs. The white haired mage flipped them back over without a moment's hesitation. This went on for a few more minutes before Lucy managed to get her legs tucked against her body, placing her feet on Yukino's stomach and flipped the Sabertooth mage over her head.
Lucy quickly rolled herself over, getting back to her feet. Yukino managed to get up to her hands and knees before both Celestial wizards turned their heads to the east. They jumped back as a large tree branch collided with the ground they were just standing on. Skidding on the balls of their feet, the two of them looked wearily into the cloud of dust.
"It's pretty unfortunate for you girls that I ran into you."
"Sherry?" Lucy whispered with a raised eyebrow.
"And you! How am I suppose to hate you if you keep doing these disappearing acts?" Sherry complained to the blonde. The dust settled, showing the pink haired wizard sitting on top of her wood doll.
"Sorry," Lucy replied sheepishly. Yukino looked on in confusion. "What are you doing here, anyways?"
"I'm the Extra Life." Sherry said with a smug smile. "Mud Doll!" The earth shook as a creature appeared from the ground, swiping mud at the two Celestial mages.
"Open, Gate of the-" Yukino started to say, key in hand.
"If you open that, we're both in trouble." Lucy interrupted, dodging a punch from the mud doll. "She controls everything that's not human. Celestial Spirits included."
"It's just not my day, I guess." Yukino mumbled to herself, putting the key away, ducking while she did so.
"So you can control two dolls now?" Lucy yelled up to Sherry.
"I can do more than that, little Lucy." Sherry replied, summoning up a rock doll.
"Shouldn't have asked." The Fairy Tail mage grumbled.
"It's unfortunate that there are so many materials in the jungle." Yukino said, jumping back to avoid another hit.
"We're not getting anywhere." Lucy sighed, charging up her magic. She jumped further away, unfortunately, leaving Yukino to deal with the dolls. Lucy drew a constellation that looked like a stick with two legs on both sides. "Leporis." She said, activating the spell. Her right eye glowed black.
As quick as lightning, Lucy went back into the battle, now easily dodging the attacks from the dolls.
"Lucy-sama?" Yukino gasped as the blonde sped passed her. "Eep!" She gasped, narrowly dodging mud that was thrown her way.
Lucy hopped onto the wood doll's arm, getting right into Sherry's personal bubble.
"Since when did you get Speed magic?" Sherry asked, stepping back.
"Since now," Lucy replied, sticking out her tongue playfully before tackling Sherry. The two of them rolled down the wood doll's body. "Ow!"
"You're one to talk!" Sherry complained, getting up and brushing the leaves off of her body. "Wood doll, mud doll, finish her!"
"Being the last one remaining from her guild, will Sherry Blendy be able to pull through and defeat Fairy Tail and Sabertooth to earn Lamia Scale the win?" Chapati asked the audience.
"It is highly unlikely, however if she tries hard enough and the others take each other out, it might be possible." Yajima commented.
"Fairy Tail still has all five main players and a sixth member on the field, 'kin." Mato said. "And the last three Sabertooth members are no push overs."
"With Lyon's defeat against Erza, it does not look good for Lamia Scale." Chapati agreed.
"However Sherry does have a favorable match up against Fairy Tail and Sabertooth's Celestial mages." Yajima added. "But favorable does not mean much."
"We'll keep you updated on the battle between those three lovely ladies." Chapati announced as the screen changed.
"Where did those monsters go, 'kin?" Mato asked.
"Yes, where did they go?" Chapati asked rhetorically. "One attacked Gray and left in a hurry."
"I believe we spoke too soon." Yajima informed, pointing at the screen.
Gray hid behind a tree that was smeared with his blood. A few yards ahead of him was an opponent he was itching to have a rematch with.
Rufus Lore.
The Ice Make mage put a bit more ice over his injury before sending magic towards the Sabertooth wizard.
Rufus hardly looked as he dodged the attack, swiftly stepping to the side and looking towards the trees.
"Gray, I see we meet again." The Memory Make mage said coolly.
"I guess you can say a little birdie told me where you were." The Ice Make mage replied, coming out of the shadows of the trees.
"Shall we get started?" Rufus asked. "Memory Make: Karma of the Burning Land."
"Ice Make-"
"Forget." Rufus cut in. The ground beneath them cracked and sputtered hot lava from the depths of the earth.
Gray scoffed, his spell erased from his memory. Lava licked at his skin, making the cells turn red. The ice around his wounds began to melt. The Ice Make mage decided to jump back into the branches of a tree. No sooner than he did, the tree caught fire. He jumped onto another tree's branch. Without thinking about it, he combined his spells together, casting other spells in rapid succession.
Four ice cannons appear behind Rufus, each loaded with a few ice swords each. In Gray's hand appeared a bow and arrow made of ice, though the arrow looked more like a long spear.
"Dodge this." Gray challenged, shooting off all of his ice weapons.
"Gladly," Rufus replied. The weapons pierced his body. Rufus was now fading away. "Memory Make: Afterimage. Good aim, hitting the memory of my standing in that spot."
"As aggravating to fight as ever, Rufus." Gray said, jumping off of the tree as that, too, caught aflame. "You plan on making a forest fire or are you going to put it out?" The Ice Make mage slowly put his hand to his injured side, feeling warm blood trickle in between his fingers. The ice sealing the wound had completely melted.
The fire suddenly stopped raging, all of it getting pulled into one direction. The two battling wizards looked over.
"Thanks for the meal."
"Son of a- fuck!" Gajeel yelled as he clutched the side of his abdomen in pain, falling to one knee. "What the hell was that?" He looked up. The thing that had attacked him was already gone. "God damn it," Gajeel hissed as he took his hands off of the fresh wound and eyed the tattered skin.
The Iron Dragon Slayer looked up once more, seeing the blood splattered on a tree trunk. One sniff confirmed that it was his. Gritting his teeth, Gajeel got up and trudged forward. To the side, he saw another tree marked with his blood. He smelled another blood mixing in with his.
Gray.
"If this is bunny girl's pet, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind when we get out of here." Gajeel growled, lifted his upper lip to show a fang.
He didn't like it, but he followed the trail of bloody tree trunks anyways.
Soon, he could hear the sounds of a battle. He didn't need to see them to know who it was. Electricity bounced along the leaves, the shadows of the trees distorted from side to side. Gajeel got closer.
He supposed that monster wasn't so bad. Led him directly to a spot where Gajeel could take a good shot at Rogue Cheney. The Iron Dragon Slayer smirked.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel yelled. Shards of metal flew at the Shadow Dragon Slayer, embedding into his body. Rogue grunted out in surprise, getting pushed back by the attack.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" Laxus yelled, not letting the Sabertooth mage get his bearings. Lightning ran over their opponent.
Behind each Fairy Tail wizard, the shadows around the two started moving. Quickly, the shadows wrapped around them. Like a thick band of rope, the shadows squeezed their bodies.
"Gi-hee." Gajeel chuckled, summoning his magic to change forms, Iron Shadow Dragon Mode. He started eating at the tightening band. "Thanks for the meal."
Laxus rolled his eyes at his teammate. Fairy Tail really did not need another Natsu Dragneel. The Lightning Dragon Slayer turned his body into electricity, easily slipping out of the trap.
Rogue got up from his crouched position, wiping the blood dripping from his mouth with his sleeve. He wondered who was left. If he couldn't beat Natsu and Gajeel, and Natsu and Gajeel couldn't beat Laxus, did he have a chance? Were the Grand Magic Games that serious?
No, the Games weren't that serious. Not like last year. But he'd try his damnedest to give Sabertooth a good reputation.
The three of them stared at each other.
Laxus made the first move, rushing at his opponent, fists raised. He and Rogue locked in combat. Laxus kicked, Rogue ducked under the leg, landing a punch in the Lightning Dragon Slayer's stomach. Laxus stepped back. Ignoring the pain in his gut, Laxus launched another fist at Rogue, nailing the Shadow Dragon Slayer in the jaw.
Gajeel stood to the side, impatiently waiting for the Laxus to create an opening. He saw a small opportunity when Rogue stumbled back. Eh, good enough. The Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer lunged forward, right arm raised as it transformed.
"Iron Dragon's Sword!" Gajeel cackled evilly. The chainsaw-like sword started whirring.
Rogue saw the sword coming, only having enough time to dodge it messily, not creating enough distance between him and Laxus.
"Lightning Dragon's Secret Arts: Roaring Thunder!" Laxus growled, sending a fist encased with a huge amount of lightning towards the Sabertooth mage.
The Shadow Dragon Slayer fell to the ground heavily, his body pulsing with electricity.
Three girls hastily tried to attack each other. One sending a fist one way, one sending a kick the other, and another put her hands in front of her and started to slap the air up and down. After furious movements, the girls took a break, putting their hands on their knees to catch their breaths.
"This… Is getting… Us nowhere." Lucy panted, standing straight again, but her breathing was still labored.
"I agree." Yukino breathed, her hands still on her knees.
"Let's just say I win because I'm the prettiest, okay?" Sherry suggested, moving to lean on a tree.
"No way!" Lucy complained.
"That wasn't very nice." Yukino whispered before straightening herself.
"Well, look who has a husband." Sherry taunted playfully.
"That wasn't what I meant," Lucy corrected. "I'm not letting you win. But what does having a husband have anything to do with being pretty?!"
The white haired wizard brushed her bangs to the side. These two must've been good friends, if their bantering meant anything. Yukino put a finger to her chin, thinking. As a Celestial wizard, she held the gateway between Earth Land and the Celestial World, allowing her to call upon her friends to help in battle. However, Sherry's magic allowed the woman to control non-human beings, which, unfortunately, included Celestial Spirits. Plus, Lucy's new, whatever it was, permitted the blonde to control other Spirits other than the gates Lucy had in her possession. And it was now against contract for the Celestial Spirits to attack the Fairy Tail girl.
Hm… Yukino knew she was at a pretty big disadvantage. She hoped she wasn't the last one from her team.
"Oh yeah?!" Lucy yelled.
The Sabertooth mage looked over. Oh, they were still quarreling.
"Yeah!" Sherry yelled back. "Wood doll!"
"Then take this!" Lucy huffed, unlatching her whip from the buckle on the side of her dress. She expertly wound the weapon around one of the wood doll's legs and pulled.
Yukino blinked as she saw the creature's face contort into confusion and then shock. Without realizing it, the large wood doll fell forward, directly into the path of the white haired girl.
Yukino's eyes widened as she screeched in surprise. The wood monster's collision with the earth sent Yukino flying backwards, knocking into Lucy.
"Ahh!" Sherry screamed next as her wood doll flattened her to the ground.
"Ow!" Lucy cried as her and Yukino slammed into a tree. Dizzily, the two of them slid to the ground, out for the count.
"That was… A rather cute performance by those three girls." Chapati said as Sherry, Yukino, and Lucy were teleported into the holding area. "But with Sherry out of the match, it looks like that's the end of the line for her guild. Like the year before, Lamia Scale places third in the Grand Magic Games!"
"Congratulations," Yajima said.
"Yes, congrats, 'kin!" Mato cheered.
"Lucy Heartfilia is the first Fairy Tail wizard to be knocked out of the Games, but Sabertooth still has an uphill battle if they want to win." Chapati reminded. "With Yukino out, as well, Sabertooth only has Rufus Lore left in the arena. Will the Memory Make wizard pull through and defeat all five main team members of Fairy Tail?"
"Lucy was the hidden player, wasn't she?" Yajima commented.
"That is correct, Yajima-san." Chapati confirmed.
"Both of the summoners are unconscious, 'kin." Mato said worriedly as the camera changed views to show a silvery serpent relaxing in the lake. "But those monsters are still in there."
"Does that mean that those monsters don't belong to either of them?" Chapati asked.
"It is possible to keep a creature in this dimension while the summoner is unconscious." Yajima informed. "If the wizard is skilled and has enough magic."
"It doesn't look like this one is interested in the Games any longer." Chapati said with a light chuckle.
"However the other one is still missing after attacking Gajeel." Yajima sighed.
"We'll see if we can find it with one of our lacrima-cameras, ladies and gentlemen." Chapati announced before the screen shifted to show the only remaining Sabertooth wizard going up against Fairy Tail.
"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled, jumping out of the trees.
"Don't just barge into my battle, slanty eyes!" Gray complained.
"I smelled food, so I came here! But it didn't look like you were doing a good job anyways, droopy eyes!" The Fire Dragon Slayer growled back. The two pushed their foreheads together.
"It seems I have been forgotten." Rufus sighed, gracefully fixing his hat. A barrage of swords shot out of the trees, aiming towards the two fighting Fairy Tail wizards with Rufus in between. The Memory Make wizard's body, once again, started to disappear as the real mage appeared leaning against a tree away from the screaming Natsu and Gray. "Ah, Erza Scarlet, so nice of you to join us."
"Feelings mutual." The Re-quip mage replied, walking out of the shadows with a glare towards her comrades.
"We weren't fighting!" Natsu said, putting his arm around the Ice Make mage.
"We were discussing a battle strategy!" Gray yelled happily, dancing with the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"Three against one is hardly fair, don't you think?" Rufus asked suavely, trying to get out of the situation.
"Agreed." Erza said with a shrug. "Choose who you wish to battle."
"That's not fair! I got to him first!" Gray complained, but was shot down with a simple scowl from the red head.
"No, it is quite all right. I do wish for a rematch with him." Rufus said, simmering Erza's glower. "Shall we?"
"Oh, we shall." Gray said with a smirk, his hands glowing with magic. Natsu pouted by a tree, crossing his arms.
The two of them traded spells for the next half an hour. When Gray got tired of the stall, he charged forward and punched Rufus on the cheek. The Memory Make wizard retaliated. Though he didn't look it, Rufus was skilled in combat.
Natsu sighed. He and Erza stood by each other, whispering about the on goings they've seen or done inside of the arena. It seemed as though the Games were almost over. Neither of them had seen much of the other competitors in the past hour.
"Hm?" Natsu hummed, looking over his shoulder.
"Something there?" Erza questioned, getting into a battle stance.
"I thought I heard – Ah!" Natsu yelled, falling onto his butt as a snake-like body shot out of the leaves.
The large snake-like creature stood menacingly just behind Gray. Now that it stayed in one place, the wizards got a good look at the monster. The snake was easily as big as Yukino's Celestial Spirit, Ophiuchus. Instead of a mechanical snake, this one looked like a red version of a Rough Scaled Bush Viper.
Gray touched his side. That was why the wound he got from this thing looked so nasty. Those scales looked as though they were little daggers!
However, what really made this creature a beast were the dragon-like wings it had on the upper part of its body. With the combined speed of a snake and the flight of a dragon, it was no wonder that it moved so quickly throughout the arena.
It opened its mouth and hissed, showing off lengthy fangs dripping with a purple substance. The monster hissed once more, shooting off a stream of the purple liquid at Rufus. The Sabertooth mage quickly dodged, putting his finger to his temple to memorize the spell.
"Memorize-…" Rufus started to say, but paused as his magic was stunted.
…
"Do you think you have an advantage over anyone, Lucy?" Mavis asked.
"Yukino, for sure." Lucy replied before humming in thought. "Rufus, maybe?"
"Rufus?" Gray questioned.
"Well it's prohibited to 'copy' any of the Hidden Celestial Spells or spells used by the Hidden Spirits." Lucy answered.
"Prohibited by who?" Natsu inquired next.
"Nature, I guess. As long as a star is shining, their laws will apply to those who are bathed in their light." Lucy informed. "At least, that's what the Spirit King told me. Loke said that those who don't have permission to use them or the guidance to control them wouldn't be able to understand the spell. They're make up is very intricate, with hidden spells written within the main one."
"So, in a way, the complexity is nature's way of warding off any wizards who use a 'copy' type magic." Erza said in understanding. Lucy nodded in confirmation.
"And what of Yukino?" Mavis questioned.
"The other Spirits can't attack me unless they want to be banished out of the Spirit World. Yukino's magic is null against me, plus I can control her Spirits as long as I don't make them attack their owner."
"Why's that, bunny girl?" Gajeel questioned.
"I'll tell you guys when we get home." Lucy started. "But think of it like a story. The hero or heroine wouldn't get killed by their comrades, or else who'll save them?"
…
"Ice Make: Saucer!" Gray yelled, seeing his opponent distracted. The saucer hit Rufus in the chest, sending him into a burnt tree, which easily collapsed at the impact.
Without command, the snake slammed its tail into the Memory Make wizard to ensure the fight was over.
"Rufus Lore is out!" Chapati yelled, standing up in his seat. "Fairy Tail is the last one standing in the arena! Fairy Tail is the winner of the X792's Grand Magic Games!"
A/N: I think it would be fun to see random FT characters practice fight. Like, Gray versus Lucy, or Lisanna versus Freed - like her sister. Oh! Nab versus Vijeeter! Who'd you like to see practice fight/spar?
