CrystalDT: Here are the third day's results.

Angel's Gate: 20 points

Fairy Tail: 18 points (they won the battle round)

Sabertooth: 16 points (also won the battle round)

Lamia Scale: 13 points

Lumiere Dawns: 4 points

Mermaid Heel: 2 points

Quatro Puppy: 1 point

Blue Pegasus: 0 point


Chapter 27: Frozen Memories

Lucy's P.O.V:

I would be dripping wet right now if Emily didn't provide us with umbrellas.

She had calculated the strength of the wind this morning and thought it was going to rain so she brought the umbrellas just in case.

I gripped mine tightly, afraid that the wind will make it fly away, and continued to walk next to Maria.

The storm has worsened and anxiety crossed the citizens faces as they are worried that there might be a flood by the end of the day. Normally, they're really rare in Crocus since it's mostly sunny but this day might be an exception.

The judges are also anxious about this because the Games would be postponed if the storm- or more like hurricane right now- continues for too long.

Hopefully it'll just last for two hours like Emily had said.

Chisaki looked down, suddenly interested in her shoes, and I bet she's thinking about her match yesterday. Meanwhile, Jade was kicking pebbles out of her way with a blank face and Emily was watching Rina intently with careful, protective eyes.

Dear Mavis, is everyone having problems or what?

Suddenly, something hard bounced off my arm and to the ground. I slowed down my pace and stared at the small crystal standing a yard away from me.

"Sorry!" A little boy exclaimed. He ran over to my direction and picked up the crystal.

"It's fine," I shook my head and smiled. Then I look at the object in the boy's palms with curiosity. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's a memory crystal! It helps you to see other people's memories! Do you want it?"

"No, I can't. It's yours," I said.

"Actually, it's for sale. It was an item from my mother's antique shop," the boy replied.

"That sounds interesting!" Rina commented, popping up beside me. "How much?"

"25,000 jewels. It's really rare," the boy held up his fingers to show the amount of money needed.

"Could we buy it, Ems?" I asked, turning to Emily who nodded.

"Sure."

My hand slipped into my pocket and I handed the boy the jewels with no hesitation.

"I'll pay you back," Rina stated with a frown.

"You don't need to," I shrugged. "I'm buying the crystal for everyone to use."

"That's very generous, but are you sure?" Maria questioned.

"Yeah," I kept the crystal just in case and before I knew it, we were inside the Amber Crown Inn.

"Finally," Celestia groaned and collapsed onto her bed with her arms stretched out.

I merely sat on the chair at the balcony, but not before grabbing my duffel bag, and stuff the crystal inside it. My hands traced the solid material, stroking it's side, when all of a sudden, a series of images entered my mind like wildfire.

First, a 7 year old girl's picture appeared then it was replaced by a view of a town. Next, a 10-11 year old boy flashed in my head, kneeling down in front of the girl.

I nearly dropped the crystal and the pictures disappeared as soon as it came.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Rina asked.

"Nothing- I thought I just saw a vision or something," I replied.

"It must be the effects of the memory crystal," Rina pointed out.

"I guess, but I'm not sure whose memories I just saw."

"Why don't you concentrate and maybe the visions- or memories- would reappear?"

"Good idea," I praised and clutch the crystal tightly.


*Memory Vision*

The same girl from before appeared. Her short, cropped black hair with green streaks swayed in the wind as she ran across a small but busy town. On her way, she bumped into a passerby, who was talking loudly on the communication lacrima in his hand.

"Sorry," the girl apologized.

She continued on her little 'journey' and finally arrived at a park.

Standing by the entrance is a boy with black hair and brown eyes, he was probably 5-6 years older and a foot taller than the girl.

"Lito-kun!"

"Didn't think you would come," the boy, Lito, grinned and patted the girl's head the second she came to him.

"Of course! It's your birthday! I'm here because everybody deserves a party on their birthday and now we're going to celebrate!"

"Today I'm turning 13 years old, I don't really care if there's a party or celebration for me," Lito shrugged.

"Come on, Lito-kun. Don't be boring," the girl whined.

"Sorry, but I'm not a kid anymore," Lito said.

The girl took out a crystal-like chain necklace from her dress pocket. "Well at least let me give you a present."

"Okay, okay. But please tell me it's not something girly."

The girl giggled and took out a crystal-like chain necklace from her dress pocket before dropping it onto the 13 year old boy's palm.

"Lito-kun, this is my present to you! It's a necklace I made from my ice magic, I hope you could treasure it forever, like I did with my birthday gift from you!"

"Of course I'll treasure it, silly," Lito said before kissing the top of the girl's head. "Thanks for the present, Chisaki!"

*End of Memory Vision*


I blinked in confusion and surprise. "Chisaki?"

"This must be a part of Chisaki's memories!" Rina stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Lito is Chisaki's cousin right?"

"Yes, but she never came in contact with him in quite a long time," I answered.

"What are you two doing?" A voice asked from behind me and Rina. I turned around, having nearly jump out of my skin, and noticed Chisaki standing over us.

"Just testing out the memory crystal," Rina explained.

"Hmm... Mind if I borrowed it for a while?" Chisaki asked.

"Sure," I said, handing the object to the teenage girl. She turned it over and over in her hands like she's making a beef patty and the thought made me hungry.

"Whose memory do you want to see?" Rina questioned.

"Those guys from Lumiere Dawns, maybe we can get some answers to who they really are," Chisaki replied. "Do you want to see it too?"

"Sure," Rina agreed. "What about you, Lucy?"

"It wouldn't hurt to see their memory."

So we all stared at the crystal, our eyes literally burning it with our intense gaze.

I wonder what kind of things would appear in our head, surely the vision would tell us about the origins of Lumiere Dawns and why they just came out of nowhere but what else is there? Would the vision show something more? Something that will send a wave of shock over the three of us: Rina, Chisaki and I?

My head was still busy thinking of the possibilities/possible outcomes of the vision we're about to see when another image appeared in my mind.


*Memory Vision*

A boy that looks awfully similar to Lito leaned against the gates of Mercurius. He was waiting for the guards to let him in since they were currently talking to the king.

Finally, a tall, armor-clad guard unlocked the heavy iron gate and pushed it open with one hand. Lito entered and was escorted inside the magnificent castle.

He held his breath for a moment, as if in shock, and followed the guard to the ballroom, where the king is waiting.

"Leave us please," Toma E. Fiore, a.k.a the rightful ruler of Fiore, ordered.

"Yes, my king," the guard gave a slight bow then exited the room with three quick strides.

"Why did you came?" Toma asked.

"Because I want to join the royal guards," Lito replied. "I want to protect Fiore and it's citizens."

"I suppose you could," Toma stopped speaking at that moment but continued shortly after. "Tell me then. What's the first thing you want to protect the moment you become a guard?"

"... My family, they're too important to me."


"Lily, Nicholas Kyle, Lito," Arcadios called out.

The four mages all kneeled in front of him and bowed. "Yes, Arcadios-sama?"

"A powerful source of dark magic have been detected at the forests in Oak Town a week ago. Yesterday, it moved to the small village of Bellis. We're afraid that it's going to travel through the path to Crocus and it'll probably become present at the Grand Magic Games. In order to guard the citizens present in the Domus Flau, the four of you are required to form a secret alliance and compete in the Games," Arcadios explained. "Try not to attract too much attention."

"An alliance? Like a guild?" Lily asked.

"Precisely."

"Don't worry, Arcadios-sama. We'll stand on guard during our participation in the Games and conceal our true abilities," Kyle assured.

"Good then," Arcadios turned around to face the window.

"But what exactly is this dark magic source? Is it one of Zeref's possessions or creations?" Lily added.

"We're not sure, but it has been traveling at an abnormal speed for a mere creation and nobody else had managed to detect it except the chairman of the Magic Council. It must be a group of some sort- probably Zeref's followers."

"Arcadios-sama," A 23 year old Lito said. "I wish to change my name in order to avoid suspicions. I have a feeling someone I know would be present at the Games. I don't want them to get involved in such a perilous business."

"Very well. Then you shall be Christ Sumishima, member of Lumiere Dawns- the newly formed alliance of Fiore's most loyal protectors.


A girl with chest-length dark brown hair and chocolate brown highlights wandered around the dark halls of Mercurius.

She had come here to join the secret alliance of Lumiere Dawns and was the only outsider to know about the new affiliation.

Her savings that came from her hard work at the local diner was not enough to fulfill the monthly fee of her aunt's medication so she decided to do a little bit of research for available, higher paying jobs. She didn't found any though and it was by chance that she overheard a group of people discussing about Lumiere Dawns.

It was suppose to be a guild, which works for the royal family, and she was hoping that they have jobs for her to do like any other guilds.

But apparently, Lumiere Dawns wasn't just a normal magic guild.

All of it's members are part of the elite guards, royal army captains and Garou Knights. There were probably only 12 people in total but according to the information the girl had gathered, they were very powerful.

"Excuse me," a soft voice said.

She turned around to see a young girl around 14 years old with silver hair and dark green eyes looking at her. She has a light skin complexion and her hair was tied up into a messy ponytail with loose strands falling out of the navy hairband she's wearing.

"Yeah?" the brown-haired girl asked.

"Arcadios-sama told me someone would be visiting the palace today and that I should escort him or her to their destination," the silver one explained. "I'm guessing you're the visitor."

"That's right."

"My name is Lily. How can I help you?"

"I want to see the leader of Lumiere Dawns."

"Lumiere Dawns? I'm sorry, but there is no such thing," Lily frowned, obviously trying to keep Lumiere Dawns a secret.

"Please," the brown-haired teen began, clutching her jacket tightly. "I want- no, I must- join Lumiere Dawns, that's why I need to see the master. My aunt is sick and I have no money to pay her medication. Half of my savings is used for school and I only get 12,000 jewels a month while I'm at work."

"But-" Lily was interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing through the hall.

"Lily."

"Arcadios-sama!" Lily exclaimed.

"You really want to join Lumiere Dawns, do you?" Arcadios, who was walking towards the two girls, asked the girl.

"Yes."

"I'm sure the king won't mind another member," Arcadios grinned. "What's your name?"

"Colette. Colette Jane Allen," the girl introduced herself.


"Wow," Colette said as she watched Lito- or Christ- create frozen snowflakes out of thin air. "They're very beautiful, Christ!"

"You think so?" Christ asked.

"I know so," Colette jumped up from her seat at the table and waved her hands in front of her. A gust of wind blew the snowflakes away and slowly, they spun around and around and created a small whirlwind.

"Wind magic, huh?"

"Yeah," Colette nodded. "Hey, do you have any siblings?"

"No, but I have a cousin..." Christ's face fell and he wore a sad look on his face. "I haven't seen or talk to her in a while though."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. One minute we were as close as brother and sister but in the next we were very distant," Christ stated. "I would give anything to see her just once- to see if her life is full and satisfying and that she's far away from danger."

"I'm sure she is," Colette comforted and hugged Christ.

"I hope so..."

*End of Memory Vision*


I looked away from the memory crystal and my gaze fell upon the shocked face of Chisaki.

"Chisa-chan, are you okay?" Rina asked worriedly.

"C-Christ... I suspect he's Lito but... I never fully believed it until now," Chisaki muttered.

Suddenly, she shot up like a jet and rushed towards the door.

"Chisaki, where are you going?" Emily questioned.

"To see Lito!" Chisaki replied just before she went out of the room.


Chisaki's P.O.V:

I was practically pushing myself to go faster as my heart began beating twice as fast as before.

I have no idea where I'm going, but I need to see Chris- Lito. I don't care if it'll take me 24 hours to find him.

The rain was still pouring over the city and I know my body is soaked to the bone the moment I stepped out of the inn.

Lightning flashed across the sky like a bright golden spark of electricity and I swear the force of the wind is enough to swept away a three-story building. I was surprised to see that all of the shops are still in their exact same position.

My ears were ringing hard and if I didn't know any better, I would've thought that there was an alarm inside my head, screaming for me to hurry up or something.

A truck-worth of old posters and plastics flew around the neighborhood and I dodged a bundle of papers when it was about to hit me. It ended up colliding with a trash can and both of them fell to the ground.

Dogs barked and tried to find shelter in the narrow alleyways while birds nested under a pile of wood near dumpsters.

I didn't care about any of that though. I was too busy focusing on finding Lito to care.

I ran along the sidewalk, screaming his name, before heading towards the town square. After that, I went to all of the shops and by the time I got out of the last store, I was dripping wet from head to toe.

Water blurred my vision and I rubbed my eyes. Where could Lito be?

Then an idea popped into my head. Of course, Lito is a part of the royal guards right? He must be somewhere near Mercurius!

I raced to the center of Crocus and that's when I saw him.

All wet but radiating with familiar warmth was Lito, his mask was off and he was standing at the entrance of the castle.

"Lito!" I shouted.

Everything was in slow motion after that.

He turned around with widened eyes as I ran to catch up with him. When I did, I literally jumped on him and my arms wrapped around his neck.


Anonymous' P.O.V:

"How sweet," I commented, my eyes never leaving the crystal ball in front of me. It showed the image of Chisaki leaving the room where the Angel's Gate's members are staying and my lips pulled up into a smile. "Chisaki finally found out about her cousin."

"Yes, she did," Ageha agreed. Her hip-length, deep brown hair shadowed her face but you could still see the violet glint of her eyes. "But that's not the point of all of this."

"The important thing is that we know that there is a guild composed of the royal guards and all of the trusted 'protectors' of Crocus competing in the Games. We must be very careful," Suki stated.

"Of course we must!" James exclaimed. "We are required to be extra cautious since the beginning but most of you are always slacking off!"

"Quiet, James," I hissed. "You may have tricked Angel's Gate into buying that 'memory crystal' of yours but that doesn't mean you can harass anyone in here."

"Sorry," James grumbled.

A while ago, he had disguised himself as a little kid and persuaded the members of Angel's Gate's team to buy a crystal. It does show a person other people's memories but it also enables us to see what the other person is seeing, so it's kind of like a security camera if you think about it.

"We have accomplished the second part of the plan. Now we must continue," I said, still staring at the crystal ball.

"Hai, Lilith-sama," all of them stated at the same time as my smile became a sadistic one and I quietly whisper to myself.

"We won't let you down... Master Ivan."


Author's Corner

CrystalDT: Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please read-

Lucy: Rate-

Emily: And review!