Point-in-Time: July X791
Crocus, the flower-blooming capital of the Fiore Kingdom. Once a year, a huge festival of Wizardry, the Grand Magic Games, are held within its borders. The streets are filled with excitement and the hustle and bustle of hopeful Wizards and curious spectators alike. At the heart of it all stands the King of Fiore's castle, the luminary palace, Mercurius. Sitting on top of the mountains to the west of the city is Domus Flau, the coliseum where the Grand Magic Games are held.
"And somewhere huddled among all this craziness… is us." Lucy muttered, sprawled out in the middle of the street with Gray, Wendy, and a few others, including Happy and Carla.
"I can't believe I still feel so horrible!" Wendy whined pitifully.
"I hope that whole Second Origin-unleashing Spell wasn't some kind of sick joke to make us lose the contest…" Gray grumbled.
That's right. Before everyone had split off to train for three months, Ultear had promised all of the teams that if they were interested, they should regroup one week before the Games, and she would unlock their Second Origins, which she explained was a source of untapped power that Wizards possessed. "Untapped" as in they would never access it for their entire lives, under normal circumstances. The main upshot of having their Second Origins unlocked was that they would possess much larger pools of Magical reserves. Which basically translated over to more endurance and strength behind their attacks.
Now, there was no serious need to power everyone up like that. And not everyone took Ultear up on her offer. They were a lot more powerful than they were seven years ago, but Ultear had believed they should exploit every advantage they could in order to come out on top in the Grand Magic Games. It'd taken Ultear seven years to research the concept of Second Origins and how to possibly unlock them, so she was quite eager for… guinea pigs. One thing she neglected to mention, though, was that she'd already tested the procedure out on someone outside the Guild. Isn't it just so nice to have a willing (and gullible) "otouto"?
Poor, poor Lyon.
Gray had accepted Ultear's offer because he felt he wasn't a tank like Natsu and Erza; and after the selection for the Games was revealed, he was the only one out of Team Fairy Tail to get his Second Origin unlocked. Cana hinted she already had something up her sleeve, and Freed felt confident enough with his natural abilities. Natsu and Erza… just turned her down. No explanation whatsoever, and it had Ultear curious as hell.
Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel, Juvia, Milliana, Meredy, and Simon had gotten their Second Origins unlocked, though. But Gajeel hadn't been around to hear Makarov announce the team that would be representing Fairy Tail, and Milliana had gone ahead with Kagura to Crocus with a majority of the Guild. Lucy only traveled with Natsu, Erza, their kids, Gray, Wendy, Simon, Meredy, Happy, and Carla because she still felt under the weather after getting that power-up.
"I do sorta feel like I have more Magic Power… Everything else in my body feels like it got hit by a train." The Celestial Wizard sighed.
"Chin up, there's no time for whining!" Erza got the attention of everyone who was sprawled out on the ground. She was hauling her luggage around, while Natsu was beside her, holding Ryo and Mikoto's hands.
"That's easy for you to say… you and Natsu didn't go through what we did." Lucy jealously pointed out.
"I bet she and Flamebrain already had their Second Origins… It'd explain a lot." Gray groused.
"That makes perfect sense." Lucy agreed dryly.
To their credit, Natsu and Erza managed to keep blank faces, neither confirming nor denying their friends' speculation.
"I see you kids finally made it." Everyone turned to see Makarov striding up to them with Asuka riding on his back. Bisca, Alzack, and the other members of Team Shadow Gear were with him, minus Gajeel.
"Master!" Erza greeted.
"We just now finished with the registration process! Hehehehehe!" Makarov coughed awkwardly to cut off his mischievous chuckles. "So let's show everyone why Fairy Tail is the #1 Guild in Fiore!"
"Hey, looks like the Fairy Tail Guild is here!" Some bystanders took note of their presence in the streets.
"Somebody's gotta make Sabertooth's victory look good." Another bystander snarked. A few chuckled snidely at the comment, and Natsu whirled on them with a twitching eye.
"Are those jerks laughin' at us?!"
"Easy…" Erza gently held onto his shoulder.
"If anyone wants to laugh, they can do it all they want." Makarov agreed calmly. Happy grinned and floated in front of Jet and Droy.
"Sounds like a good time to me!" He proceeded to cover his mouth with his paws and giggle at the now-irritated members of Team Shadow Gear.
"Hey! You don't have to laugh at us, cat!" Jet and Droy complained.
"Don't forget we're doing this for the thirty mil…" Makarov cleared his throat and corrected himself. "I mean, we're doing this to be Fiore's top-ranked Guild, of course! Now then… We know the Games will begin tomorrow, but as usual we don't know what they'll be."
Levy took this time to chip in, as she'd been delegated the task of reading the rulebook for any addendums that might have been put in place this year.
"The rules are pretty much the same; the only thing you should be aware of is that, 'all participants must return to their designated inn by twelve o'clock.'" Levy informed the group.
"There's a curfew?" Erza mused.
"What time again?" Lucy asked for clarification, seeing as how it was already 1PM.
"I suppose they mean midnight tonight." Carla reasoned. Gray snorted lightly.
"Or what, we'll all turn into pumpkins? That reminds me of the story of the princess and the glass slipper." The Ice Make Wizard muttered. Unbeknownst to him, Juvia lay hidden around a corner and was eavesdropping on the conversation.
'So my darling only talks about tales of romance and lost love when I'm not around…?' Her pupils became heart-shaped, and her blush intensified. 'Oh, my icy prince!'
Shaking her head wildly, Juvia berated herself for succumbing to her old ways. She'd actually been intent on tracking Meldy and Simon down to spend time with them, but she became distracted after hearing Gray bring up that fairytale. Fortunately, Simon and Meldy was with this group, so she wouldn't come across as a stalker…
… At least, not too much.
"Cool, we got plenty of time until midnight!" Natsu remarked with his usual infectious grin. Looking down at Ryo and Mikoto, understanding seemed to flash in their eyes, and the three of them started running further into Crocus. "We usually only get to come here once a year… Let's go explore!"
"Aye!" Mikoto chirped cutely, and Ryo nodded his head. Happy floated after them, and Erza called out.
"Hold on! Do you even know where we're staying?!"
"The Honey Bone Inn!" Natsu replied without missing a beat, not even turning around.
"Just be sure to be back by twelve o'clock! You hear me?!" Erza sighed as she got vague affirmations from her family, but smiled as she knew that Natsu was doing it so the kids wouldn't stay in a cramped hotel room while she unpacked her luggage. Erza then frowned slightly. 'I wonder what's so important about that time…?'
The Fairy Tail mages split off from one another as they all seemed to have plans for the day. A short while later, Erza was standing in the hotel room that was apparently set aside for her, Natsu, Gray, Cana, and Freed.
"For some reason, six beds have been prepared… Does that mean we'll all be sharing the same room?" Erza wondered aloud. Whether or not the sixth bed was generously given for Ryo and Mikoto, the scarlet knight didn't know; but until told otherwise, that's how she planned to use it. Really, when you got down to it, there were two extra beds due to her and Natsu preferring to sleep together. If the kids wanted to sleep separately, she wouldn't object.
With that idly planned out in her head, Erza went about inspecting the room – opening the closets, looking out the window while pulling back the curtain, looking under the beds, throwing off the bedsheets temporarily, looking in the bedside table drawers, even the flowerpots weren't safe from Erza's thorough inspection. The scarlet knight eventually took a bath and lounged around in nothing but a towel; at one point she eagerly polished one of her many swords.
"Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary here…" Erza mused after completing her inspection of the hotel room. If the rooms were somehow involved in the Games, the people in charge probably hadn't set up yet.
Meanwhile, Wendy and Carla had caught up with Natsu, Happy, and the kids, and were now enjoying the sights with them. At one point, they stopped by a flower shop and got leis to wear on their heads and around their necks for a bit. It was also around that time, however, that Natsu bumped into a pretty familiar face.
"S-Sorano?!" Natsu gaped with wide, shocked eyes as he took in the former Dark Mage. She'd grown out her hair more, and her new outfit seemed more feathery than before – though by no means was it any less revealing. "What are you doin' out and about?!"
For her part, Sorano was cursing inwardly somewhat. It'd been mere coincidence that she'd been travelling the same street as the Pyro that had defeated her years ago, and she'd been doing so well in avoiding all the Fairy Tail mages that might've recognized her. On the outside, she plastered on a slightly forced smile as she sheepishly raised her hand in greeting. Awkwardness aside, it really was nice meeting him again.
… Though you would never, ever hear her admit that out loud. Damn Nirvana messing with her head…
"O-Oh… hey…" Sorano trailed off awkwardly at first, before realizing the Dragon Slayer was expecting an answer for her presence in Crocus. "Yeah, the Council sort of agreed to release me on probation. They're even letting me come here to see the Games."
And the whole thing was meant to be hush-hush…! Ugh. It's not like she had anything to hide; she really was on probation. It's just… well… It was kind of meant to be a surprise, when the time was right. Oh well. No going back now.
"I find that hard to believe. You and the rest of Oracion Seis should be locked away for a long, long time for every crime you committed!" Carla pompously gave her opinion. Sorano twitched at receiving lip from a feline, but somehow managed to keep her lips pressed into a thin line.
'Well, screw you, too, furball!'
"Carla, be nice!" Wendy scolded, feeling the comment was out of line. Sure, they were enemies once, but the Sky Dragon Slayer still remembered the shy, guilt-ridden woman that had been taken into custody by the Rune Knights. Nirvana had changed her and that one man… Wally's brother, if memory served? Regardless, Nirvana had changed Sorano, and Wendy was willing to give her the benefit of a doubt.
Natsu tilted his head and grinned at the angel-obsessed woman. He did kinda owe her for saving him from falling when Nirvana was crumbling apart, so he'd take Sorano at her word.
"That's cool! How about your teammates? Or are they still locked up?" Natsu hoped the Council hadn't released Brain… that guy was a piece of work.
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say." Sorano's smile became the slightest bit twitchy. She then calmed herself when she felt two pairs of eyes staring up at her. Blinking, Sorano perceived similarities in the children's facial features to that of the Dragon Slayer right in front of her; though the girl especially seemed similar to the scarlet knight that had interrogated her, all those years ago. There was only one conclusion, and it left Sorano a little baffled. "Huh… You have kids now?"
Any response from Natsu was cut off by his kids, who spoke up at the same time.
"Pretty~!"
Sorano's cheeks pinked slightly, as the children were no doubt referring to her as they studied her with such interest. From their perspective, they grew up in a Guild full of stunningly beautiful women, so it was quite a sight for them to see someone outside the Guild who was even remotely as beautiful.
… Though not as pretty as mommy, obviously. Mommy was the prettiest of them all, so much like a Fairy~.
Smiling softly, Sorano crouched down to their level.
"I'm Sorano. What's your names?"
Somewhat bashfully, the two redheads introduced themselves, hiding behind their father's legs shyly as they looked back at her. Yeah, they were little cuties, and Natsu could tell Sorano was quite taken by them.
And that's when the Dragon Slayer seemed to recall something.
"Oh yeah…" Natsu dug around in his pockets for a few moments before pulling out two Golden Keys, which garnered a look of astonishment from the silver-haired woman. He held them out to the woman, who remained crouched and unsure if they were real or not. "Here. Gramps said I should probably bring these along to Crocus, but I didn't know why, 'cause I thought you were still in prison. Makes sense now, though."
Sorano continued to look at the Magical objects in disbelief. Of course she remembered that Natsu had promised to look after them for her, but… after all she'd done, a larger part of her had doubted he would keep his word. If he gave them to that Celestial Wizard friend of his, Sorano wouldn't have blamed him; she'd told him to give Aries away to that person, after all. Hell, Sorano might have deserved it… But… He really had intended to give them back to her.
"N-Natsu… thank you…" Sorano whispered softly, gently taking them from his hands and then clutching them both to her bosom. It took all of her will to hold back the tears. She couldn't even remember the last time she cried, aside from that day seven years ago, when her eyes were opened to the gravity of the sins she'd committed. But here she was, ready to shed fresh tears anew… Damn it, she was supposed to stay strong! Given that she was the older sister, Sorano Agria was supposed to remain strong at all times…!
Most of the Fairy Tail members watching felt out of place as Sorano shed a few tears, but Natsu watched on with a big grin plastered on his face. It felt good to keep a promise!
"Gray, my darling!" Juvia called out as the sun was beginning to set. As she ran up to the object of her affection, Gray turned to her with slight surprise.
"Hey, didn't expect to see you!" Gray greeted the Water mage. "You come all this way all by yourself?"
Juvia beamed and giggled.
"I'm not the only one, silly! The entire Guild came to cheer you on!"
"I guess no one's busy taking on any jobs, huh?" Gray mused, though he mentally corrected himself, as he knew Gildarts was still off somewhere.
"What do you think about you and I going out to get a bite to eat somewhere?" Juvia sweetly asked.
"Yeah, sure, I am gettin' pretty hungry." Gray kindly accepted the invitation. Though to his ire, his 'brother' happened to appear out of the blue.
… Damn Ultear for making him think of this guy as his brother of all things.
"Lucky for you, I know of a perfect restaurant not too far from here!" Lyon spoke presumptuously and started to lead Juvia away from Gray. "It's quite romantic, actually... Complete with an aquarium filled with beautiful creatures from the sea."
Gray was completely caught off-guard, and Juvia was nervously trying to extract herself from the silver-haired mage.
"O-Oh, yeah? Well, I, uh…"
"Hey, man! You can't just go runnin' away with one of our Guild members!" Gray yelled after him.
Lyon stopped in his walk, and Juvia took the opportunity to separate from him and edge closer to Gray.
"Rumor has it you'll be representing your Guild in the Grand Magic Games…"
"Yeah…" Gray trailed off uncertainly, not knowing where Lyon was going with this.
"It's no use, for Lamia Scale will surely emerge as the victor!"
"As I seem to recall, you guys always manage to take Third." Gray pointed out contradictorily. Lyon smirked and got up in his face.
"And your Guild has come in Second Place for the past couple years! But this time will be different, because Jura and I will be participating in the Games for the very first time! That means we'll be stronger than ever before!"
Gray smirked back just as cockily, and pushed back in Lyon's face with equal force.
"Well, we happen to have a couple Aces of our own, known as Erza and Natsu Dragneel! So don't count us out of the race just yet!"
Lyon pulled back and made a passionate pose.
"Let's make a friendly wager! If Lamia Scale wins the Grand Magic Games this year… then the beautiful Juvia will become a part of our Guild!"
Obviously, this did not sit well with Gray or Juvia.
"Are you serious?!" Gray sighed, deciding to hear Lyon out, though. "And…? What if we win?"
"If your Guild wins, we'll give her back!" Lyon pointed at Gray, who spluttered.
"She's already a member of our Guild, you bonehead!"
"This is a gentlemen's agreement, so don't forget it, Gray…" Lyon blissfully ignored Gray's argument.
"This has got to be the absolute stupidest bet I've ever heard of!" And believe him, Gray had heard of a lot of stupid bets over the years… mostly centered around that Pyro…
"The words of a man afraid to lose!" Lyon taunted.
"Oh, I ain't afraid!" Gray glowered at his rival. Juvia had been on the verge of making a nonsensical outburst, but she reined herself in at the last moment. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Lyon with a grave expression.
"I really must apologize, but I will not be allowing this bet to take place. And if I hear one more word of it, I will personally see to it that you become a paraplegic." Nodding her head sagely, Juvia was quite satisfied when Lyon took a step back in shock and held a hand over his heart.
"But Juvia, my darling…!"
"Juvia belongs to no one…!" Juvia growled lowly. While inwardly blushing and adding,'… Except to Gray-sama.'
Gray just sweatdropped as his rival profusely apologized and bowed up and down. Figured that it would take Juvia stepping up to get Lyon to give up on his dumbass scheme. Though the dark-haired man had a feeling that he'd be hearing a lot more about that "bet" when Juvia wasn't in earshot…
Now that the sun was setting, Erza was lying on one of the beds in her pajamas, dwelling on the laundry list of things they would need to do while here in Crocus. There was the Games, of course, but there was also that strange Magic that had been perceived in recent years. They had to find out why it was so similar to Zeref, but not quite the Black Wizard himself.
Erza had gone out on the town for a bit when her family came back to check on her – informing her about their run-in with Sorano – but eventually she just felt like someone had to remain behind in the room, just in case one of the officials needed to announce something. No one had come by yet, though, and Erza was contemplating going back out there to find Kagura and Milliana for a girls' night out.
And then he appeared. "Intruded" would be a more appropriate term.
"Erza! Your fragrant Parfum is as intoxicating as I remember!" Sniff, sniff. Sniff, sniff. The leader of the Trimens grinned and hopped up on the bed the redhead was on, creepily leaning in to sniff her. Erza clenched her fist as a tick mark pulsated on her forehead.
"You need to respect my privacy… GOT IT?!" Erza roared as she punched him across Crocus through the open window. Erza took a deep breath to calm herself. But then she discovered that there was more intruders…
"You're so beautiful when you're angry!" Hibiki complimented her, kneeling on one knee and holding out a bouquet of flowers.
"We didn't come here to make you feel better, so don't get the wrong idea." Ren droned 'disinterestedly'.
"Would you like to freshen up?" Eve asked politely.
Erza found herself clenching her fist again, another tick mark pulsated on her forehead.
"Why don't you follow your troll of a Master!" Erza roared once again, punching all three of them across Crocus in one hit.
"TRIMENS FOREVERRR!" The trio chorused.
Erza took several more calming breaths before nodding satisfactorily. The nuisances were gone, and wouldn't be back for a while yet. She'd just continue to wait here until midnight; that way, she didn't risk running into one of them while searching Crocus for Kagura or Milliana. It wouldn't be long before Natsu brought the kids back here, anyway.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned Pyro was having another interesting encounter, as he came across the Twin Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth after taking his kids to get a bite to eat for dinner. Wendy and Carla had separated from their group, wanting to tour the castle courtyard again. Happy would've gone with them to be with Carla, but Carla pointed out someone should stick with Natsu in case Ryo or Mikoto got separated from him in a crowd.
… Not that any of the civilians of Crocus felt like doing harm to Salamander's kids. Nothing pleasant lied down that road… especially when you factor in the mother of these children.
"Oi! Natsu!" The White Dragon Slayer greeted amicably, even as he stood atop of several mages who had attempted to jump him. Like most Dragon Slayers, Sting didn't edge away from a scrap when one presented itself. Too bad no one decent had jumped him yet.
"Salamander…" Rogue trailed off, offering a terse nod of acknowledgement.
Natsu, for his part, grinned with excitement and anticipation. Two of his strongest competitors were standing right before him, and he might not get another chance to brawl with them. Past years had them just missing each other when it came to the fights, and he'd be darned if another year passed them by. He didn't give a crap about the "Generation" nonsense they spouted so often; strength was strength, and these two had it in boatloads!
… That said, Erza's repeated warnings of keeping his composure while out in the city rang through his head, and Natsu kept his excitement in check. He didn't want to risk Fairy Tail's spot in the Games. Too many people would kick his ass for it – Erza, Gramps, Kagura… The list went on and on.
"Hey, guys! You made it!"
Rogue raised an eyebrow in a mixture of curiosity and slight apprehension.
"You doubted we would come?"
Natsu shook his head.
"Nah, I just hadn't run into anyone from Sabertooth all afternoon. Just your fans."
In typical fashion, Sting shot his partner a reproving look for even insulting his idol.
"Simmer down, Crocus is pretty big. It's not like we've run into any Fairy Tail Wizards, either." Sting grumbled, but then brightened as his gaze fell back on Natsu. "So, you wanna make this the year we settle things once and for all, Mister Wizard Saint?"
The crowd around them took a few steps back as Natsu's fist blazed to life and lightning crackled around his body slightly – his children remained unharmed.
"Hell yeah! Don't expect me to go easy if we square off this year! Fairy Tail's gonna come out on top!"
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Sting smirked, and then paused before clarifying that statement. "… You going all-out, I mean. The Tigers are gonna defend their title."
Before Natsu could turn it into a bigger argument, Rogue smoothly cut in.
"Will Gajeel be participating? We caught wind that you would be, but have not heard anything about him." He calmly revealed, though his Guildmates knew he was just dying to know.
"Gajeel…? Nah. Gramps picked someone else; you got me, Erza, the Stripper, 'n two others that I'm not gonna reveal just yet." Natsu grinned cockily, knowing it wouldn't be wise to reveal all their cards. This seemed to put Rogue in a sour mood, though, and the Pyro grudgingly added, "I'm sure he'll be here watching, though. And you know how these teams work; anyone can be changed in or out anytime, so… he could be participating at some point."
Rogue seemed to be placated by that, though he obviously wasn't pleased that the man he respected was a reserve member of all things. Sting, meanwhile, smirked and nodded his sagely. His idol really was perceptive when he wanted to be. The White Dragon Slayer knew Natsu had a reputation for being reckless and destructive, but he was every bit the hero that people all over Fiore claimed him to be.
"Kitty."
"H-Hey, now… Don't get too close – I'm no ordinary cat! HEY!" Lector's protests made the Dragon Slayers turn as one, and they watched as Mikoto picked the Exceed right up and cuddled him. It was actually really cute.
… And then Lector started to squirm, trying to get free. His first mistake was succeeding in his endeavors. His second mistake… was turning right around to scold the pouty redhead.
"Now, little girl, I know I look cute and cuddly, but I got an image to protect, y'see, and…" Lector trailed off as Mikoto narrowed her eyes.
"Bad kitty."
Next thing the red exceed knew, he took a small fireball to the face – not taking too much damage, but his face looked a little crispy.
"WHOA! Mikoto, you can breathe fire!" Natsu gushed as his jaw dropped to the ground. He felt bad for his rivals, but he had to go tell Erza! Like… now! "Sorry, guys, I'll definitely see ya tomorrow!"
Natsu declared this after scooping Mikoto up and placing her on his shoulders while taking Ryo by the hand and guiding them back to the hotel. Happy momentarily stayed behind to giggle at his rival Exceed, since Lector never missed a chance to boast about Sting and how he was stronger than Natsu was; but then, Happy flew after his pal, telling him to wait up.
"… If she had done that to Frosch, I would have throttled him, idol or not." Rogue deadpanned as Sting clutched his sides, laughing a little.
"Oh, man! Salamander's the best! Sorry, Lector, but that was just… adorable…"
"'Fro thinks so, too!" Frosch added his input with a wide smile.
Lector grumbled about kids getting Magic too early, and eccentrically vowed vengeance through Sting when he kicked Salamander's ass.
Sometime later, Freed returned to their designated room with a somewhat sloshed Cana in tow. He'd found her out drinking with Bacchus, and knew they would be late for their curfew if he allowed her to drink to her heart's content. And they would have had to replace her if she got too sloshed, which thankfully she didn't.
"Good, it looks like we all made it on time." Erza breathed easy. Natsu and Gray had gotten back at least half an hour before curfew, but Cana and Freed only got back within ten minutes of it. She had really started to worry, but thankfully Freed had been watching out for Cana.
Before long, Lisanna and Elfman came by, bringing in bags of food and a crate of drinks.
"We brought some supplies to get ya through the tournament!" Elfman smirked proudly while Lisanna smiled.
"Tomorrow's gonna be a big day!" Lisanna chirped.
"Aw, thanks you guys!" Gray offered his gratitude. Natsu walked forward.
"Did ya come to watch us beat up on those other Guilds?"
"Yeah! I mean, I originally wanted to get in on the action and impress my sisters… But a Real Man knows when to quit!" Elfman sheepishly admitted.
"You can count on us to make Fairy Tail proud," Freed promised the Takeover mage.
No sooner had he said that than did the clock on the wall chime that it was midnight, making the five representatives a little anxious for what would happen next. Lisanna tilted her head at the change in atmosphere, but it was even stranger that a clock could be heard chiming through the whole city, as well.
"Twelve o'clock…" Natsu cracked his knuckles.
"I wonder what's gonna happen…" Gray mumbled.
A voice then rang out along with the main clock's chiming.
"Attention, all contestants participating in this year's Grand Magic Games! Gooood morniiing!" The seven Fairy Tail mages, two kids, and Exceed ran out onto the balcony attached to their room, where they could see a giant floating projection of a man with a pumpkin head. "To narrow down the 113 teams in this year's Games to a more manageable 8, let's begin the Preliminary Round!"
"Seriously?!" Gray yelled incredulously.
"Well, this is news…" Erza muttered.
In the inn that Blue Pegasus was staying at, Ichiya turned to Hibiki.
"Has there been a Preliminary Round in years past?"
"No," Hibiki confirmed his leader's suspicions. "This is completely new."
"So this is why we were meant to take our places at midnight…" Lyon mused from Lamia Scale's inn. Jura's expression was grim.
"113 teams narrowed down to a meager 8 in one fell swoop…"
'113 Guilds in Fiore…? I know that number is far too high.' Freed thought to himself as his brow furrowed. Next to him, Erza was having doubts of her own.
'It doesn't make sense… Why would they keep this Preliminary Round a secret until now? Why all these new procedures? Excessive number of Guilds involved, and a mysterious Magic that will no doubt be making a reappearance… What are the organizers up to?'
Meanwhile, the pumpkin-headed hologram continued to speak.
"Although the number of Guilds increase and multiply each year, the Games have gotten boring now! It's all I ever hear! Let's dwindle them down, I say to you, and give just eight a cheer!" The man raised a gloved index finger. "The rules for this Preliminary Round are simple!"
As the announcer said this, the Honey Bone Inn began to rise up through some mechanical device. The same could be seen happening to all the other inns throughout Crocus.
"Now you will all be participating in a race! The finish line is at the Domus Flau coliseum! Only the first eight teams to reach it will move onto the Grand Magic Games!"
"That's a path…" Gray muttered as a series of steps materialized in front of their balcony.
"I suppose we'll be following it…?" Erza added with a furrowed brow.
"You're free to use Magic in any way you see fit! There are no restrictions! But remember, only the first eight teams to reach the finish line will clear this round!" The pumpkin-headed man clenched a fist in determination. "However, all five team members must cross the goal for it to count! One more thing… We are not responsible for any loss of life that may occur in the labyrinth!"
"Say what?!" Natsu growled. And as he said this, a giant, seemingly chaotic sphere materialized over Crocus, being connected to all the paths that stemmed from every inn.
"Without any further ado... Let the Grand Magic Games' Preliminary Round, Sky Labyrinth, begin!"
"If it's a race, we better get goin'…" Gray declared with determination. He, Cana, and Freed leaped onto the path and started running up to the labyrinth. Natsu and Erza briefly stayed behind to reassure their children.
"Now, you stay with Happy, Elfman, and Lisanna, alright? Be good." Erza stroked her daughter's head, and Mikoto and Ryo each hugged their parents before Natsu and Erza took off in pursuit of their team – flames shooting out from under Natsu's feet, and Erza having donned her Flight Armor briefly.
It didn't take them long to catch up, and even less time to get into the labyrinth proper. The five powerful mages briefly took a moment to survey the challenge before them.
"Whoa… It's some kind of crazy, three-dimensional maze." Gray remarked.
"Grrrah… I really suck at stuff like this!" Natsu whined. Erza lightly swatted him behind the head, sending him sprawling to the elevated floor they were standing on.
"Don't give up so easily!"
"Yeah, we gotta finish in the Top Eight, or we won't even qualify!" Cana reminded the Dragon Slayer. Natsu punched his open palm giddily.
"Yeah, you're right! We gotta get through this if we wanna get the chance to kick Sabertooth's butt!"
"Let's make sure to reach the goal before they do." Gray echoed Natsu's determination.
"As S-Class mages, we shouldn't settle for anything other than First Place." Freed intoned calmly with his arms crossed over his chest. Mira and Laxus would be quite cross with him if he became complacent and cost them that spot.
"When we were on the ground, the coliseum was to the east. I think we should head in that direction."
"Sure, but it's gonna be awful hard to head straight east with this crazy layout." Cana muttered.
Regardless, they began by running up a staircase, following the compass that Erza always had on hand. After a while, they took a brief stop to catch their breath.
"Natsu, you're not feeling sick?" Erza asked with some light concern.
"Uh-uh. You'd think I'd be puking my guts out, but I feel just fine!" Natsu assured the redhead.
Apparently, the announcer overheard the discussion, as he appeared on a big hologram screen close by.
"Allow me to explain! A special Magic was cast on the Sky Labyrinth, allowing participants with weaknesses such as motion sickness and fear of heights to compete on equal terms in the Preliminary Round!" Their curiosity satiated, the hologram screen vanished.
"I see…" Erza nodded.
"I guess it's like Troia Magic…" Natsu mused.
"I seriously doubt other Wizards get motion sickness as easily as Natsu…" Cana elbowed Gray in the ribs playfully. Gray rolled his eyes.
"I know what ya mean, he's kinda a big baby…"
"HEY! I CAN HEAR YA, YA KNOW!" Natsu growled.
"Let's keep heading eastward." Erza calmly defused the argument before it could turn into a brawl.
Eventually, they reached a door, and Erza opened it to reveal a floor and tunnel that spiraled downward weirdly, like it was a different dimension with different rules of physics and gravity.
"… This is making me dizzy just looking at it." Cana groused. Erza shook her head.
"We're wasting time… Let's go!" And once again, the five of them were off running.
"Just how long is this tunnel, anyway?" Gray asked reasonably, after they'd been running down it for a while.
"Who cares?! Our goal's at the end of it!" Natsu exclaimed with certainty, and they reached another door, which Natsu kicked open. Fortunately for him, Erza caught him by the scruff of his scarf before he ran off the narrow ledge they found themselves on now.
"Could you try and be more careful?" Erza huffed as her husband chuckled sheepishly.
"Clearly, they were not exaggerating when they claimed you could expire in here…" Freed frowned in distaste. He doubted the organizers seriously wanted anyone to die… But they were uncaring, and that could be just as bad, in the grand scheme of things.
"Watch your step, 'cause I don't think anyone would survive falling into the city from this thing." Gray muttered, staring down at the city that seemed to be asleep, for the most part.
Cana rubbed her forehead as she looked around.
"I hate to say it, but we'll have to be careful about which path we choose to take from now on…"
Natsu clenched his fists agitatedly.
"Guys, we're never gonna reach the goal if we keep lookin' down! C'mon, we need to keep moving eastward!"
Looking at the labyrinth from another angle, Erza raised a gauntleted hand to her chin.
"I think it would be prudent for us to take notes as we move along… We should write down the path we've taken from our starting point, and the locations we've passed. We need to know precisely where we are in order to make progress."
"That'll keep us from running in circles, at least…" Cana muttered, to which Gray nodded.
"No joke. Guess we better start mapping stuff out…"
Freed frowned, but said nothing against the plan to map out the labyrinth. Fortunately for his team, Freed had already begun to mark locations where they'd been with Runes, which would only become visible if Freed checked on the location. As an extra precaution, he also set up some traps for the opposing teams, such as in the event when two teams came into contact with one another. Normally, they would probably clash anyway, but in the event they tried to go around one another… Well, his Enchantments saw to it that only one team would be allowed to pass. This tactic wasn't exactly noble, but they needed to start weeding out the other teams…
"How the heck are we supposed to map this crazy place out?!" Natsu grumbled.
"Quit whining and help." Gray deadpanned. "Can't you sniff out the goal or somethin'?"
"Don't you think I would've done that by now?" Natsu shot back.
Cana sighed.
"The Magic they cast on the Labyrinth must have dulled your sense of smell…"
"The conditions are the same for every team," Erza concurred. "Let's keep moving!"
A little while later, they'd made a fair amount of progress in mapping locations they'd seen, but they weren't any closer to reaching the goal, per se. Freed was poring over the map they had thus far, but one perspective wasn't going to shed much clarity on the layout. They would need… other perspectives.
"Hey, Erza…" Natsu whispered, as his ears pricked up at the sound of voices nearby.
"Yes… I heard it, too." The redhead concurred.
"… You're the one who told us to go this way!"
"Don't try to blame this on me!"
"I don't care whose fault it is, all I know is we've been here before!"
"That's what I'm sayin'! We're goin' around in circles!"
"Just shut up and keep moving, we're running out of time!"
By now, Cana, Freed, and Gray had caught wind of the squabbling going on from a rival team, as well.
"I almost forgot…" Cana mused.
"It's been so quiet that it's easy to forget there are other Guilds in here…" Gray agreed.
A few moments later, the opposing team came into view, and from Team Fairy Tail's perspective… they were standing upside down on a nearby platform. None of them were really surprised that the dimensions were twisted and labyrinth-like, too; if there was only one way to maneuver through the maze, they would've run into a lot of teams by this point… But they hadn't, thus far.
Well, it wasn't that hard to overcome the opposing team. No one recognized the Guild mark on them, but that didn't really matter; even if it'd been Blue Pegasus or Lamia Scale that they came across, they would've had to take them down because they were competitors in this tournament. Shortly after the five opposing mages fell, the eyes on the huge statue outside of the labyrinth flashed red, and the whole construct began to rotate, and even all the paths inside began to shift around, to the ire of the Fairy Tail mages.
"What now?!" Erza growled.
"Oh, man, I don't like this!" Natsu groaned, though thankfully he wasn't experiencing motion sickness.
"What the heck's going on?!" Cana demanded.
"The ground's moving… well, no, technically…" Gray trailed off uncertainly.
"The labyrinth itself is beginning to rotate." Freed surmised.
"SERIOUSLY?!" Natsu, Gray, and Cana chorused.
"No one warned us about this…!" Natsu exclaimed as he and Cana began to fall, due to being on pieces of the labyrinth that had turned on their side. Fortunately, Erza had donned her Flight Armor to snatch Natsu out of the air, and Freed sprouted his own wings to save Cana. Gray was lucky enough to react fast enough to the labyrinth maneuvering around.
A fair number of mages from other teams weren't so lucky, though…
"It's moving on its Z-axis!" Erza observed, and Gray nodded in agreement.
"We gotta move to the sides, you guys!" Not long after Erza and Freed touched down on areas that were now safe, the labyrinth ceased its movements. Gray rubbed the back of his head in agitation, from where he was standing. "I dunno who came up with this crazy contraption… But they're pretty messed-up in the head."
"I'm not surprised by the intricacy of the Labyrinth… It's designed to narrow one hundred teams down to eight." Erza mused.
"It appears that last move got rid of many of them…" Freed shook his head regretfully. Even if it was a relief to see the losing teams hovering on Magic Circles that appeared below the labyrinth, it was still unfortunate for all those teams to be knocked out of the running so early…
And then a piece of paper tumbled down the steps close to where Natsu and Erza was standing; apparently, it belonged to the map of the team they'd handily defeated, just now.
"Talk about a lucky break…" Gray smirked. "If we combine our map with theirs, we'll have an even better picture of this crazy place!"
A mischievous glint appeared in Erza's eyes, which also appeared in the eyes of Natsu, Gray, and Cana, as they all happened upon the same brilliant idea. Freed merely sighed, but he'd already worked out that it would have to be done; they need a lot more than one perspective, if they wanted to succeed here.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Apparently, one of the mages they'd defeated had managed to cling onto a nearby ledge.
"Oh, does this belong to you?" Erza asked innocently.
"Yeah, now give it back!" The random mage whined, and was summarily kicked off the ledge before he could fully climb up to safety.
"Not gonna happen!" Erza declared, with her leg still raised. The mage screamed on his way down, and the announcer sighed.
"And another one bites the dust…"
Natsu, Erza, Cana, and Gray went back to having mischievous glints in their eyes, an evil aura surrounding each of them.
"How about that…? I just figured how we're going to get ahead in the Preliminaries!" Erza chuckled darkly.
Outside the labyrinth, the short pumpkin-headed man raised his arms gleefully, even as many panicked cries of Fairy Tail's victims could be heard throughout the labyrinth.
"The Preliminary Round is about to take a very serious turn! A vast majority of the teams will soon be eliminated, one right after the other! OOOH! This is so exciting, I can barely contain myself!"
In such a short amount of time, the Fairy Tail mages managed to collect at least twenty maps. And not long after that, labyrinth began to rotate once again. Once things had settled down again, Freed advised that they should head to the center of the labyrinth. From there, Freed worked out that they should wait for the labyrinth to rotate one more time, since none of the maps had charted the area that looked like a small town with a river and a nearby ocean. If his guesswork was wrong, at least they'd have a clearer picture of the whole thing.
Turns out they ended up hitting paydirt, after investigating the bridge that extended over the ocean…
The pumpkin-headed announcer was there to greet the Fairy Tail team as they reached the end of the path, where a door with the word 'GOAL' above it was standing behind him.
"Cana Alberona! Freed Justine! Gray Fullbuster! Erza Dragneel! And Natsu Dragneel!" The announcer greeted the five with a cheery clapping. "WHOO HOO! Congratulations, Team Fairy Tail! You've cleared the Preliminary Round!"
"WE DID IT!" Natsu cheered boisterously.
"Why do you sound so surprised? I knew we were gonna make it." Gray muttered.
"Did we come in First Place?!" Cana begged to know.
"Ehhh… no." The announcer shot down that fleeting hope. "More like… Fourth Place. You guys wound up in the middle of the pack."
The faces of the Fairy Tail mages were chagrined, and they cried out in a panic.
"FOURTH PLACE?!" It was in the upper tier of the incoming teams, barely, but they were still so shocked that three other teams had gotten there before them.
Regardless, they were congratulated for making the cut, and they were ushered through the door, where they were taken to a waiting area reserved for them. Once the other four teams had cleared the labyrinth, they would all be ushered back to their respective inns, without seeing any of the other teams until the opening ceremonies the next day…
The following day, the Domus Flau coliseum was pumped with energy as the crowds that were packed into the stands like sardines buzzed with excitement. Hundreds of balloons were released into the air, and firecrackers were going off like crazy. In the announcers' booth, three individuals were sat at a table with microphones placed in front of each of them, along with a list of the teams that made it, and the itinerary for the first day of the Games.
"The big day is finally here, folks! The Grand Magic Games will be getting underway shortly! This is going to be a year to remember…!" Chapati Lola boomed through the microphone, He'd been the main announcer every year; and in recent years, he'd been joined by Mister Yajima in the booth, along with a variety of other guest announcers. It just so happened that for this first day, he and Yajima were joined by Jenny Realight of Blue Pegasus.
Meanwhile, in the waiting area reserved for them, the five Fairy Tail mages could hear the roaring of the crowd out in the stadium.
"Wow, would you listen to that crowd?" Erza asked in amusement.
"The city's full of Wizards from all over the country," Gray reasoned, "of course folks wanna see them in action."
Natsu looked down at the uniform that he was being forced to wear. At least Gramps had allowed him to keep the style he liked, but the color…
"Purple is so lame! I'd rather wear my regular clothes instead of this crap!" The rose-haired mage complained.
"You'll just have to deal with it, Natsu…" Cana sighed. "Unless you wanna talk to Gramps about it."
Erza smiled serenely.
"You won't hear me complaining… I think they're adorable!"
"And comfy! Skintight!" Gray grinned, which prompted a twitch from the brunette.
"Gray, your clothes!" For indeed, he was only wearing his pants and shoes; he'd stripped off the coat and shirt at some point.
"Forget about the clothes for now…" Freed sighed. "Let's just wait out in the tunnel until we're called; Fairy Tail is counting on us."
Freed received several determined nods, and they all proceeded to exit the waiting area. Out in the arena, Chapati continued to speak.
"We're just moments away from the Grand Magic Games, folks! I'm lead commentator, Chapati Lola! And I'll be handling the play-by-play, while former Councilor Mister Yajima provides commentary! Mister Yajima, glad to have you with us!" Chapati smiled.
"Glad to be here!" The former Councilor, now dressed as a chef, said in gratitude.
"And let's not forget our special guest… A member of Blue Pegasus, a runner-up for the title of Miss Fiore, Miss Jenny Realight!"
"Blue Pegasus is bringing home the Gold, this year!" The blonde beamed.
"Now, the time has come to meet our competitors! First up, we have the team that came in Eighth Place in the Prelims… the rowdy army of hellhounds… QUATRO CERBERUUUS!" As Chapati announced their name, the five representatives of the Guild walked out onto the playing field.
"Let's get WILD! Ya with me?!" Rocker asked his crew, and they screamed assents of agreement.
In the stands that sectioned off his Guild, Master Goldmine smirked while he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I expect a win this year, fellas! Don't disappoint me."
"And coming in Seventh is a Guild filled to the brim with the fairer sex… The angels of the great blue sea… MERMAID HEEEEEEL!"
The five representatives of Mermaid Heel marched out onto the field, with Beth Vanderwood waving at fans, and Risley Law and Arana Web staring out at the crowd appreciatively. The other two, Flare Corona and Yukino Agria, had a confident smirk and a shy smile respectively.
"I didn't know there was a Guild full of ladies!" Happy exclaimed from the Fairy Tail section of the stands.
"In Sixth Place, with wings that glimmer in the darkness, it's Blue Pegasus!"
A spotlight came down on Ichiya that gradually revealed the Trimens and someone in a bunny suit behind him.
"Hey, guys! Do your best!" Jenny gave them a thumb's up.
"Next, in Fifth Place, the Goddess of Love and Strife… the Sacred Destroyer… LAMIA SCALE!"
Lyon, Jura, Toby, and Yuka walked out onto the field with a girl that looked to be related to Sherry. Ooba angrily spun her hand about in the air.
"Why'd you only come in Fifth Place, huh?! I told you kids not to hold back?!"
"Yeah, sorry about that, Old Hag, I wasn't watching where I was going!" The unknown girl apologized before falling flat on her face.
"And in Fourth Place, we have the Guild that is hoping to make an upset in this year's Games and take back the title of First Place by force… FAIRY TAIL!"
Natsu, Erza, Gray, Cana, and Freed all walked out into the field with determined expressions. They might've ended up in the middle of the pack for the Prelims, but that was going to change in the coming rounds. Yajima offered them a thumb's up.
"I'm proud of 'em! Way to go, kiddos! Now get out there and show 'em what you can do!"
The Fairy Tail Guild was going nuts in their section of the stands.
"CHEER UNTIL YOU BUST A LUNG! HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAAAY! FAIRY TAIL IS #1!" Naturally, Makarov was at the forefront of his Guild, and he was leading the cheering for the five of them.
"The cheers of our comrades are the only support we need…" Erza smiled gratefully, and Cana and Freed nodded in agreement.
Gray was doing a double-take, however, as he spied a blonde girl in a conservative dress sitting by Master Makarov. He'd never seen her before, and neither had Natsu, by the looks of it.
"Who the heck…?" The Dragon Slayer trailed off.
"Hooray, hooray! Fairy Tail is #1, Whoohoo!" The blonde beamed and kicked her feet up in happiness. Makarov looked at her, absolutely floored.
"Master Mavis, what are you doing here?!"
Mavis giggled at the old man.
"What else? I came to cheer you on, silly!"
This did not answer Makarov's question… at all…
"Yes, I can see that, but aren't you, y'know, dead?!"
"There's no way I was going to miss this, you don't need to worry! Only those who bear our Guild's emblem can see me!"
"Yeah… well… That's not really what I was concerned about…" Makarov weakly protested.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. It's so dull being stuck on Tenrou Island!" Mavis giggled again, and turned her attention back out to the competitors.
Natsu placed hands on his hips as he belted out a laugh.
"Even Master Mavis came out to cheer for us?! We got this in the bag!"
"At least the ghost likes us…" Gray rolled his eyes. He was referring to a number of Sabertooth fans in the crowd, who had started booing them the moment they entered the arena. Natsu then turned to the team from Lamia Scale.
"I've never seen her before…" Natsu remarked as he stared at the small pink-haired girl.
"She looks like a smaller version of that girl, Sherry." Gray mused.
Lyon huffed as he stood over the girl.
"Please try and stay on your feet." The girl nervously chuckled at his tone.
"No promises, Lyon!"
"This is Sherria," Yuka introduced her to Team Fairy Tail. "She's one of Sherry's cousins."
"That makes sense." Natsu nodded his head.
"Arr… And she's crazy strong, to boot!" Toby boasted. Sherria rubbed the back of her head bashfully.
"I'm gonna need a lot more love, if I wanna compete with Sherry!"
"I was praising you!" Toby yelled.
"Calm down and chase a ball or something…" Yuka snapped.
"Being love-crazy must run in the family or something…" Gray smirked.
Lyon smirked as he walked up to his rival.
"Don't forget our agreement, Gray… If we win, Juvia becomes a member of Lamia Scale!"
"Last I checked, I didn't agree to that bet… And I'm pretty sure if she was down here, she'd kick your ass for bringin' it up again." As the silver-haired Ice mage paled, Gray rubbed more salt in the wound. "… Not that it matters, 'cause you guys are gonna lose. We're already one-up on you."
Ichiya slid over to Erza, sparkling as he did so.
"And if we win, I'll be taking Mrs. Dragneel as my One and Only!" The leader of the Trimens grinned. Erza backed away from him, repulsed.
"I'll do no such thing, you troll!"
Ichiya slid behind her and started sniffing with gusto.
"Your Parfum is like candy to my nostrils!"
While Ichiya was getting his ass kicked by a ticked off scarlet knight, Ren slipped on over to Cana, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"And I'll take you, I guess… Not that I'm into you or anything like that."
Cana sweatdropped and readily slipped out of his grasp.
"Nice to know some things never change…" Without a hint of guilt, she tossed a card at the dark-skinned man that instantly electrocuted him.
"Hey, Boss! If we lose, we want to be handed over to this Guild!" Hibiki and Eve chorused as they pointed at Mermaid Heel.
"Man! I was gonna call dibs!" Toby howled.
"Huh… kinda surprised Bacchus didn't join the team representing his Guild." Cana mused as she watched the Quatro Cerberus team all huddled and cheering each other on. Natsu merely tilted his head at the guy in the rabbit costume.
"… I'm more curious about this guy…" His eyes also briefly panned over to the Mermaid Heel team, as the white-haired girl seemed very familiar to him. She looked and smelled so similar to Sorano – and he'd seen her just the day before, so he knew he wasn't imagining it. Plus, that red-haired girl used to be a part of the Raven Tail Guild, at least from what Lucy had told him… Natsu was a little surprised she'd been released by the Rune Knights and allowed to join another Guild, but if they'd put Sorano on probation, why not her, as well?
Needless to say, this surprise was going to be overwhelmed by the next one…
"Now to introduce our Third Place contestant!" Chapati broke up all the chatter going on. "And what a shocker! I can't say I ever expected this Guild to be entering the Grand Magic Games! But they've undergone a name change, along with a change in leadership, apparently… Let's give it up for HYDRA ROOTS…"
Obviously, the Guild name didn't ring a bell to anyone, so all eyes were on the five representatives that entered the arena. Simultaneously, various members of Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus stared in slack-jawed astonishment, as these five were very familiar. Now standing out in the arena with cocky grins and smirks, the former members of Oracion Seis reveled in the competitors' shock – and in some cases, fury.
"What are they doing here?! They're criminals!" Lyon growled indignantly. Jura seemed more calm than his teammate, however.
"Remain calm… As you'll recall, Richard and Angel were affected by Nirvana. Furthermore, they would not have made it this far, if they were really here illegally…"
"Man… this reeks of a distressing Parfum…" Ichiya moaned.
"Hold up, I need some answers here!" Natsu said with a shaky grin, pointing straight at the five members of "Hydra Roots". Sorano was sticking her tongue out at him playfully, while Cobra was rolling his eyes.
Midnight slightly turned to Cobra and whispered.
"So they don't know about the 'wager'?"
"Guess not." Cobra grinned. "Leave it up to those old fossils to keep secrets from their own Guild."
"I thought the jig was up for sure when Salamander ran into Sorano yesterday…" Racer grunted.
"Hmhm… Well, let's just carry on! For Love! OH YEAH!" Richard boisterously gushed, as always.
"We're doing this for freedom, Hoteye…" Cobra and Racer deadpanned together.
"If it gives Richard a meaningful reason to fight, let him do what he wants," Midnight chastised the pair. He glanced at their "Guild's" section of the stands, where their "Master" was sitting with a couple of others.
Up in the Fairy Tail section of the stands, Macao had whirled on Makarov.
"What's the deal, Master?! Isn't that the Oracion Seis?!"
Makarov merely closed his eyes and breathed a sigh.
"If Warrod hadn't let me know about his plans in advance, I assure you I would have been every bit as wary as you are. However, I would trust that man with my life; if he says that he has reformed these kids, then they really have turned over a new leaf. Frankly, I'm more surprised that he got through to those 'reserve members' of his…"
Mavis perked up at the mention of her old friend, and her eyes darted over to the Fourth Wizard Saint, who was smirking right back at her, as he was able to see her, just like every other member of Fairy Tail. What's more, his eyes held a challenge in them that got Mavis all riled up. If this wasn't the gauntlet being thrown to the Fairy Tactician, she didn't know what was. And she'd be darned if she lost to her old friend!
"You are to win." Mavis Vermillion told Makarov in no uncertain terms, an intense aura surrounding her. Makarov sweatdropped and nodded his head. Who would've expected these Games to pan out as a game of chess between two of Fairy Tail's founders…?
Well… in part, anyway.
"Rusty?! Azuma?!" Meredy yelped as she got a look at the people sitting next to the "Guild Master" of Hydra Roots. For indeed, two of the former Seven Kin were there, and looking somewhat put out that they weren't down in the arena. With them apparently released from prison, Meredy wondered if Zancrow and Kain had been released as well… but then thought better of it. Those two were the most bloodthirsty of the Kin; very little chance that they were reformed. Azuma had been an honorable warrior from the beginning, and Rusty Rose… Well, he had been an eager fighter as well, but if Warrod Sequen had somehow gotten to him… It put a smile on her face, really. To see two old friends on the path to redeeming themselves, like her and Ultear.
Unsurprisingly, Hades and Brain were absent as well.
"Our war drums beat a soft and steady rhythm… Go forth and earn our freedom…!" Rusty passionately called out to the former members of Oracion Seis. Azuma snorted, while Warrod smiled kindly. He was a fair man; if they did manage to come out ahead of the Fairy Tail team, Warrod would allow them to go wherever they wished.
Of course… if Fairy Tail won, they would be joining the Guild he helped found with Mavis. He felt they would fit well with Mavis's Guild, after he'd had some time to get know these kids. It was highly entertaining to see Fairy Tail's First Master up and about again, after being out on Tenrou Island for such a long time… But he supposed that he couldn't really complain about her timing.
Restoring order to the arena, now that the shocking reveal of Hydra Roots was out of the way, Chapati continued on, announcing the next team.
"Our First Place runner-up is…! Oh, wow! This is the first time they've come in Second! That's right! You know them, you love them, now get on your feet and scream for the most powerful Guild in all of Fiore… SABERTOOTH!"
"Sabertooth didn't get the top spot?!" Natsu gaped in shock as Sabertooth's representatives marched into the arena. Sting, Rogue, Minerva, Orga, and Rufus. Though they looked slightly disgruntled at coming in Second, the members of Sabertooth carried themselves with pride and drank in the crowd's energy and enthusiasm.
"You're the best in the whole wide world, Sting!" Lector yelled out from the Sabertooth section of the crowd.
"Look, I'm cheering for you, too, Rogue!" Frosch smiled.
"Can't wait to take these jerks down a peg…" Gray punched his open palm. He then met Natsu's fist bump with a smirk on his face.
"Why so serious? It's just a game." Sting smirked.
"Yeah, it is… But I'm serious about winnin' my games, too!" Natsu cackled.
The stadium grew quiet once more as Chapati's voice range out again.
"And now, for the team that snagged First Place in the Preliminaries…!" Chapati trailed off excitedly. "Oh, wow! This year's competition just got a whole lot more interesting, folks…! It's FAIRY TAIL TEAM B!"
As their team name was announced, Laxus's lightning flashed in a showy display of the Fairy Tail emblem. The blond was flanked by…
"Gajeel?!" Natsu yelped.
"LAXUS?!" Freed paled instantly.
"KAGURA?!" Erza was taken aback.
"Juvia?! Ultear?!" Gray was getting a bad feeling about this now… those grins they had did not promise anything good.
"Wow. Sure did not expect us to have a second team… How the heck is this fair?" Cana muttered and glared suspiciously up at Makarov, who was belting out a laugh.
"Hmm. I certainly didn't expect them to have two teams." Ichiya had his arms crossed.
"Beautiful!" Lyon declared passionately as he gazed admiringly at Juvia.
"Hnn. So she's the one you've been fawning over…" Sherria growled.
"Of course they got two teams in… I wouldn't expect anything less!" Hibiki smirked.
Rogue, meanwhile, seemed a little more vested in the contest, now that he could see Gajeel was going to be participating for certain. Sting elbowed him in the ribs playfully.
"Looks like Gajeel and Laxus and joining the party!"
"How come they have two teams?!" Of course, not everyone took this turn of events well – Rocker of Quatro Cerberus being the first to make a complaint. "That's way past Wild, man!"
Chapati sweatdropped a little.
"You know, I think the newly implemented rules have left our audience a little perplexed, Mister Yajima… Care to explain?"
Yajima nodded his head.
"Sure thing! The committee in charge of the Grand Magic Games permitted each Guild to enter two teams, which they felt would make the Preliminaries more exciting!"
"Why didn't you tell us this was your plan, Gramps?!" Gray yelled out. Makarov just belted out another laugh.
"Nwahahaha! Ya like that?! This is how the Fairy Tail Guild takes care of business, baby!"
"I'm not sure the committee really thought this new rule through…" Chapati mused. "I mean, this is a team-based competition! Won't having two teams from the same Guild kind of stack the odds?"
"Hmm…" Yajima hummed and waved off his fellow commentator. "You worry too much… To be honest, I don't think it'll be much of a problem."
"Well, it's totally unfair, if you ask me." Jenny argued. "Let's say there's an event where each team chooses a member to compete against the others in a battle royale… There's nothing to stop the Fairy Tail members from teaming up with each other!"
"It does give them an advantage…" Chapati conceded. "But I guess that's their reward for being the only Guild with both their teams clearing the Preliminary Round…"
"Hahaha… You certainly have the upper hand. Way to go, Maky!" Yajima congratulated his old friend.
"Maky?" Chapati tilted his head in confusion, as Fairy Tail's Third Master continued to cackle proudly.
"So that's why there were so many Guilds…" Erza pieced together that mystery. Natsu, meanwhile, confronted Team B.
"This is a big load of CRAP!" The Dragon Slayer roared, pointing challengingly at them. "Being in the same Guild don't mean jack. If I fight against any of you, I'm not pullin' any punches! As long as we're in this tournament, you're my enemies, and I ain't gonna lose to ANY of you!"
Gajeel met him head-on and gloated.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Salamander… I'm lookin' forward to making you eat dirt!"
"Gajeel's a lot stronger than he was three months ago…" Panther Lily taunted his fellow Exceed. Happy held up his paw.
"Well, Natsu's no creampuff, either!"
"Team B's got some serious power, it won't be easy to take them down!" Romeo grinned as he was standing next to the two Exceeds.
Laxus was standing in front of Freed.
"What's the matter? You look terrified, Mister Representative." The blond smirked, knowing Freed had been quite proud to be selected, despite wanting Laxus to have the position when the selection was first made.
"Th-That's because… I am…" Freed trailed off with wide eyes. How was he supposed to fight against the man that the Thunder Legion served?! It wasn't fair!
Erza, meanwhile, was conversing with Kagura.
"So, I take it this was Ultear's idea…?"
Kagura closed her eyes solemnly.
"Master wished to take advantage of every opportunity… Ultear's goal of detecting the source of the Magic similar to Zeref's simply lined up with Master Makarov's goal; my reasons for participating are my own." Which basically boiled down to helping Fairy Tail win the Games, and backing Erza up, if she needed it… Kagura was a little less concerned about that strange Magic than her teammate. Though, perhaps if the members of Hydra Roots were willing, they could be an ally on that front; Cobra and Richard possessed excellent abilities for perceiving anything strange.
Now that the teams were announced, Chapati decided to move along with the proceedings.
"All in all, I'd say we have an impressive group of Wizards here! Any comments on our lineup, Mister Yajima?"
"Yeah…" Yajima sighed wistfully. "Mermaid Heel makes me pine for my youth…"
Chapati sweatdropped.
"Um… That's not quite what I meant…" The commentator sheepishly replied. "We've kept everyone waiting looong enough! It's time we unveiled the schedule for this year's tournament!"
As he said this, a stone slab rose in the middle of the arena that all the participants began to read.
"There's gonna be a lot of action in the next few days…" Gray mused.
"Now we're talkin'!" Natsu grinned.
"Each day will begin with a contest," Chapati explained what was on the stone slab. "Participants will then be ranked from First to Eighth Place. The teams will be rewarded Points depending on how well they rank in the contest! Additionally, the teams will be able to select which member they want to compete! After that, we have battles… These bouts should come as a real treat to all of you loyal fans, since it was your suggestions that created these matchups!"
"Interesting…" Erza murmured.
"It seems like they get to choose who fights who." Gray muttered.
"So, if you don't watch how much Magic you use, you can find yourself thrown into a battle without any time to rest… Huh." Cana certainly didn't like the sound of that, but they did have some tanks on their team, so…
"The battle rules are simple," Chapati continued. "Each team will square off as shown here. The winning teams will be rewarded 10 Points, while the losing teams get jack-squat! In the case of a draw, both teams will be awarded 5 Points! Ready for action? Let's get things started with the first contest of the Grand Magic Games, one that we call 'Hidden'!"
Out in the crowd, people could be heard murmuring.
"'Hidden'? What's that?"
"How should I know?" Another spectator deadpanned.
"At this time, we'd like each team to select one member to compete! Once your selections have been made, the rules will be explained in their entirety!"
On the Quatro Cerberus team, one of their bigger members clenched his fists in determination.
"Let me start us off right!"
"It's all yours! May the Wild be with you, brother!" Rocker gave his consent. He then cheered with the rest of his team. "GO WILD!"
"The first member has stepped forward!" Chapati announced, an image of the mage with a sparkly background behind him appearing on all the screens hovering over the coliseum. The same would happen with the other participants. "Representing Quatro Cerberus, it's Yeager!"
Mermaid Heel was quick to follow suit.
"The first one'll be easy, I'll size up our opponents!" A brunette vowed.
"We're counting on you!" Risley beamed.
"From Mermaid Heel, the adorable Beth Vanderwood!" Chapati confirmed the nomination.
Cobra turned to Midnight.
"… You want me to go, or should I?"
Midnight shook his head.
"I'll go. I like the sound of it…" The raven-haired man smirked.
"From Hydra Roots, Midnight!" Chapati proclaimed.
"I'll take this one!" Eve straightened his tie. Ichiya cast a sparkling aura around the blond.
"We're sending you out there in style!"
"Look out, ladies, here comes Eve!" Hibiki, Ren, and the person in the bunny suit cheered their comrade on.
"Blue Pegasus sends out Eve Tilm!" Chapati announced. "You gotta love those lively cheers!"
Rufus tipped his hat dramatically.
"I shall handle this… I'm feeling inspired by the very birds' lovely songs!" He then removed his hat suavely.
"Keep your eyes on this one, folks! From Sabertooth, the man who sings to the red moon, it's Rufus Lore!" Chapati dramatically introduced him.
Sherria looked to her teammates eagerly.
"It sounds like the smaller you are in this game, the better! So it's down to me or Yuka!"
"Who are you calling small?" Yuka groused. Lyon merely smirked.
"No. We shall take the lead from the start. Just leave it to me."
"From Lamia Scale, Lyon Vastia!" Chapati announced.
Gray smirked.
"Yeah…? In that case, I got this one. Let's see what this game's all about." He smugly remarked.
"From Fairy Tail Team A, the icy Gray Fullbuster!" Chapati announced.
Juvia calmly stepped forward.
"In that case, I…" However, Juvia felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Laxus staring over at Sabertooth.
"… You sit this one out, Juvia. I remember this Rufus guy all too well – I can definitely take him down."
"From Fairy Tail Team B, Laxus Dreyar!" Chapati announced the final selection with a grin. "All the competitors have been chosen, and the long wait is finally over! Grab a refreshment and get glued to your seat, 'cause you're not gonna want to miss a single nail-biting moment of Hidden!"
With these words, the Grand Magic Games were finally underway…
Author's Note: Aaand… cue Ending 13. ^_^ Wazzat? It's only been 2-3 days? *Le Gasp* XD Ah, but this arc has been a long time in coming. I worked out the Point Totals/battles this past weekend, so now all that's left to do is write it all out. I really wanna make a down-to-the-wire tournament; no "Fairy Tail ahead by 8 points, can Sting beat the Fairy Tail mages and claim First Place?" NO. That last day is gonna be insane. XD
I'm sure you've got looots of questions! Well, the story will reveal the answers at its own pace. ^_^ I'm just so happy I got to the Hydra Roots reveal; I was drawing a blank on their Guild name, and that came to me a couple days ago. Another little change was Azuma and Rusty being a part of it; I was originally reserving everything Grimoire Heart-related for the Tartaros Arc, but I felt… why not? They're two of my fav characters, and they'll make interesting antiheroes, if nothing else. And no friggin' Blueberry to boss 'em around, either. … Or any of the former Seis, for that matter.
So yeah, I'm stoked to be in this arc now. Third-to-last arc, technically, 'cause I'm only gonna do Tartaros and Alvarez, after his. Little to no filler, which means no Sun Village, Eclipse Spirit, Avatar, etc. I would do those, but… well… If the last filler demonstrated anything, I struggle with it. Filler is hell. Grr.
I got 12K words written between yesterday and today, so I hope you appreciate the rate this got pumped out… I can't promise future chapters will come out just as quickly, but wouldn't that be nice? I hope you all enjoyed this a bit.