Point-in-Time: July X791
"Now, will each team's participant in the Hidden game kindly step forward?" The pumpkin-headed man now stood in the middle of the arena, the big grin on the pumpkin head as unnatural and creepy as ever.
"See ya later!" Gray waved lazily at his team.
"You got this!" Cana encouraged him, while Natsu pointed at him.
"You better not lose, Snowflake! You hear that, pal?! We're better than Gajeel's team, and those Saber jerks, and…" Natsu trailed off as Erza placed a reproving hand on his shoulder.
"There are two questions on everyone's mind," Chapati remarked. "First and foremost – just what kind of game will Hidden be? And who would you say is the favorite in this contest?"
Yajima stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm… That's a hard one. It's safe to say Rufus of Sabertooth is a crowd favorite, but Laxus and Gray certainly have fans in their corner."
"Let's ask Jenny Realight from Blue Pegasus!"
The blond smiled and looked at her fellow commentators out of the corner of her eye.
"My fav…? I'll be rooting for Eve, of course. He's got this one in the bag!"
Down in the arena, Rufus, Midnight, Beth, Eve, Yeager, Gray, Laxus, and Lyon had all gathered around the pumpkin-headed man. Laxus had his arms crossed, and was smirking at the Ice mage.
"Just stay out of my way, and you might survive with a few points to walk away with."
Gray rolled his eyes.
"I won't go easy on you, either. You guys poppin' up out of the blue mighta caught us off-guard, but it doesn't change anything. I'll give you my all." Laxus nodded with a modicum of respect, and Gray focused on the man in front of them all. "You know, I got one question I've been dyin' to ask… What are you?"
This seemed to unnerve the pumpkin-headed man.
"Wh-Who, me?! My silly boy, I'm a pumpkin! As you can… plainly see…?" He could see that Gray wasn't playing around.
"Sorry, was I not supposed to ask you that? It's just in all the years we've played, we've never seen who's behind the mask."
Beth sheepishly grinned.
"I always figured he had to be someone on the event staff in a costume." Her eyes then widened in realization, as did Eve's, and they bowed towards him respectfully. "Good job, sir, you've created an excellent character!"
The man then balanced on one leg, spreading out his arms.
"Why, thank you! But I'm only really doing this because it's so FUN-kin!"
Gray sweatdropped.
"Those bad puns are gonna get old real quick…" No sooner had the Ice mage said that, than did the pumpkin-headed man raise his arms high.
"OPEN THE FIELD!" Before everyone's eyes, a whole town materialized in the arena, surrounding the players and the mascot.
"WHOA! They can fit an entire town right in the middle of the arena?!" Happy was impressed.
"I've never seen anything like it before…" Makarov whispered.
"A manifestation on such a large scale… Just how much Magic does that require?" Ultear asked with a hint of suspicion.
Once the town had dwarfed all the players, becoming life-sized from their perspective, Gray looked around to see that he was by himself. Apparently, not only did the town manifest, but it shuffled all the players off to random locations.
"Laxus?! Lyon?!" Gray called out, but received no answer. "Where the heck did everyone go?"
"All the others just disappeared…" Laxus said from his place near what looked like a marketplace. In an alleyway, Lyon muttered to himself.
"Now I see… So this is the game, is it?" He started walking down the alley.
"High stakes hide-and-seek…" Eve grinned from his position. Beth looked around where she was.
"Should I be hidin'…? Or should I be seekin' instead?"
Midnight smirked with his hands casually in his pockets. He had a good feeling about this game, which meant waves of dread would be filling his opponents soon enough… Similarly, in another area of town, Rufus was grinning away madly. And in yet another area, Yeager was walking around warily.
"I used to play this game when I was a little kid… Is there somebody looking for us?"
"Those of you in the stands can catch all of the exciting action in crystal clear Lacrima vision!" Chapati then chuckled. "I'll bet our eight contestants wish they had that luxury, but that'd make it too easy! Speaking of easy, here are the rules of the game! All the players are hiding and seeking, at the same time!"
"What does that mean?" Natsu muttered from his place with Erza, Cana, and Freed.
"The objective of Hidden is to locate the other players," Chapati continued to explain. "Once you've done that, you have to land an attack on them! The first player that successfully connects their attack – whether or not it does any damage – will then be awarded one Point!"
Gray noticed something else materializing in the town as Chapati continued talking.
"Wait… what's that?" Pretty soon, he could see that it was a crowd of duplicates that now surrounded him, and that put him on edge. They were doppelgangers of all the players, including himself – though they didn't seem to be capable of movement. "Oh, man… There's hundreds of them!"
Cana tapped her chin.
"What's with all the lookalikes…?" She then noticed Natsu hunched over with a sickly-looking face. "… What's with you?"
"The thought of that many Gray's really grosses me out, man…!" Natsu queasily answered.
"That's extremely difficult…" Erza muttered. "Even after knowing Gray for all these years, I'd probably have trouble finding the real one…"
Gray inspected a Lyon duplicate warily, keeping a calm exterior. As he did, Chapati continued explaining the rules.
"I know they're pretty, but those copies aren't just for show, folks! Attack one of your fake competitors by mistake, and it'll cost you one Point! It's time to disappear like a black cat in a dark alleyway… Fade into your surroundings, and hide in plain sight!" A gong was sounded, announcing that the game was now underway. "Let's play HIDDEN!"
"This game isn't really about hiding as much as it is about seeking…" Yeager mumbled. "It's gonna be real tough finding out who the real enemies are in here…"
As Laxus looked around, he couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief, for more than one reason. The first being that these duplicates lacked any kind of scent… And second… If he hadn't stopped Juvia, they would be playing catch-up straight from the outset. She would go absolutely nuts seeing this many Gray's, and indeed, from where the Water mage was with the rest of Team B, she was hyperventilating at the mere sight of so many copies of the Ice Make Wizard.
"One more thing…" Chapati remarked. "In the event you attack a duplicate and you lose one Point, you will be put into a ten-second timeout and forced to start from another part of the arena! The same is true if you are attacked by another player! One Point taken off, timeout, and then starting all over again from somewhere else! You are allowed as many restarts as you need, but the clock is ticking! The game will last for thirty minutes, and of course whoever has the most Points at the end takes First Place!"
Gray took a deep, calming breath to prevent himself from losing his nerve. He wasn't a sensory type like Laxus; this was gonna be absolute hell for him! But… he could improvise. Making a number of Ice Make: Clones, Gray intended to have a makeshift radar around his general area; if he didn't perceive anyone suspicious, and they did, they could alert him to their location. Of course… they'd have to be careful. He did not want to cost Team A any Points.
Though… looking around, it was so damn nerve-wracking to have so many copies of that guy from Oracion Seis around. He remembered all too well how Erza explained that this guy could make you confuse illusion with reality… He'd have to be careful to not get caught up in that guy's web.
Meanwhile, Laxus had sniffed out his first target. In a flash, the blond had zigzagged behind Eve in a lightning bolt and rematerialized just in time to punch him into a nearby wall.
"Nothing personal, kid… It's just the way you play the game." Laxus straightened his stance the moment Eve was whisked away to another location. His Point counter went up one, while Eve was below 0 now.
"Well! It seems like Laxus is the one kicking us off, as he drops down on the unsuspecting Eve and gains Fairy Tail Team B 1 Point!" Chapati announced excitedly. In the next moment, Laxus took off in another lightning bolt, in search of other opponents. Yajima nodded sagely as the screens tried to keep track of his friend's grandson.
"Hardly a surprise, but let's see how Gray's doing, hmm…? He seems to have his hands full now…"
As Mister Yajima stated this, someone seemed to burst forth from the ground close to where the real Ice Make mage was seemingly standing.
"CARROT MISSILES!" Beth instantly called out her attack but was shocked when her attack made 'Gray' shatter into a million ice shards. The brunette cursed under her breath. "Shoot…! I totally missed that guy! WHOA!"
As she said this, a big plant with thorns burst out from under her and gained Quatro Cerberus 1 Point, while deducting 1 from Mermaid Heel.
"HAHA!" Yeager boisterously laughed. "Aw, yeah! I was sick of waiting for the chance to use Magic…!"
No sooner had he said that than did Lyon slam an Ice Make attack into him.
"So was I…!" He abruptly looked to a nearby rooftop when he perceived numerous Ice needles headed his way, jumping out of the way just in time. However, he wasn't expecting the Gray on the rooftop to be another Clone, and so winced as he took a jump-kick to his backside. Gray skidded to a halt and smirked at his rival.
"Told ya you weren't gonna win your dumb bet…" Gray tensed as Lyon shimmered away. That fighter's instinct was the only thing that saved him, as the moment he took a single sidestep, Laxus ran right by him in lightning bolt form. "Jeez… Talk about a hotspot. Guh!"
Gray threw up an Ice wall the moment Laxus changed his form again and discharged at the same time to try and catch Gray off-guard… Obviously, this wasn't cutting it.
"Damn… You're a lot more fluid than I remember…" Laxus smirked as the Ice wall proceeded to crack and shoot out at him in millions of tiny shards. If even one hit him, it'd be 1 Point for Team A…
"Don't forget I'm S-Class, too." Gray growled as Laxus easily maneuvered under all the shards in lightning bolt form and came barreling toward him again. Left out of options, Gray dispersed himself into molecules of Ice and scattered just as the Lightning Dragon Slayer moved in to impale him. A few moments later, Gray reassembled, and Laxus took his human form once again. "What is your deal?! Keep wasting your time coming after me, and you're not gonna be 'racking up the Points' like you want!"
Laxus smirked back at him.
"Wouldn't you like to know…?" The blond fondly recalled the little 'bet' Makarov allowed Team B to take him, regaling Gray at the same time.
"Are you kiddin' me?! Why the hell do I gotta be on the 'backup' team?! Just swap one of Team A's members for me!" Gajeel grumbled as he shook his fist at the Guild Master.
But Makarov turned his nose up at the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"Sorry, but I refuse to change up the formulas. You will be on Team B, or you won't participate at all!"
Laxus rolled his eyes at his Grandpa's stubbornness.
"Well, I don't have any objections... But getting put on the B-Team is kind of insulting."
"And what if I sweeten the deal…?" Makarov raised his pointer finger and grinned smarmily. "Yes. The members of the winning team get to do whatever they want to the losing team for one entire day!"
Panther Lily crossed his arms in annoyance.
"That sounds to me more like a Punishment Game for the ones on the bottom…"
"Whatever we want, huh…?" Laxus got a glint in his eye as he pictured himself bossing Natsu around.
"Hey! Go get me some food!" Dream-Laxus barked.
"Right away, Mister Laxus!" Dream-Natsu cheerily went to fulfill his Master's demand.
Beside him, Gajeel was having a similar daydream.
"One whole day…?" He pictured Cana being forced in a bunny-girl suit. She wasn't Lucy, but she'd do nicely.
"Shake it, baby!" Dream-Gajeel, dressed in his stage getup, played a guitar as the brunette was forced to dance.
"With pleasure!" Dream-Cana beamed.
Ultear grinned at the prospect. She had… more than a couple ideas.
"Now tell me again… What am I?" Dream-Ultear sat comfortably on Dream-Natsu's lap and cuddled him.
"You're… my Mistress…" Dream-Natsu sighed in defeat as she purred and shifted about in his lap, arousing his 'little dragon'. "… My sexy, naughty Mistress…"
Meanwhile, Dream-Erza was chained to a wall like a dog and forced to watch the "heavy petting session". And Dream-Gray was waltzing around in a butler uniform as he cleaned her home and catered to Dream-Ultear and Dream-Natsu's every whim.
Kagura stared blankly into space at being made the offer. There wasn't anything she would want Natsu and Erza to do… except maybe leave her alone with Mikoto for the day. Though… maybe she could also pull Freed away from Mira for a day and clash swords with him. She'd been meaning to have a little contest with him for a while now…
"Anything we want?!" And of course, Juvia had no trouble imagining a dream sequence…
"If Master says I have to do this, then… I've got no choice…" Dream-Gray sultrily breathed as he gazed longingly into Dream-Juvia's eyes.
"That's true…" Dream-Juvia whispered.
Back in the present, Juvia gushed as she experienced that daydream again. On the battlefield, Gray twitched, and the Lacrima Vision focused on him as he yelled out to Makarov.
"Is this some kind of joke?! Hey, Gramps! If you're gonna make crazy rules like that, then they've gotta be fair! That means they better work if our team wins this thing, too!"
Makarov grinned sheepishly and sweatdropped.
"Yes, of course they will…"
Natsu smirked mischievously by Erza's side.
"Yeah… I know exactly what I want…" The Dragon Slayer snickered.
"Gimme a Happy impression!" Dream-Natsu smugly ordered Laxus and Gajeel.
"Aye!" The Dream-duo chorused with a high pitch.
Cana looked at Natsu with disbelief.
"Hold on… That's all you'd want from them…?"
Natsu merely gave a Cheshire grin in return, and Erza shook her head with a smirk of her own. Ohohoho… That Time Witch's comeuppance would come… And Freed, meanwhile, stared blankly off into space at the prospect of ordering Laxus around… He wouldn't even know what to do with that kind of power!
Back out on the playing field, Laxus grinned at the Ice Make Wizard impishly.
"Yeah… So if you don't mind, I'll be taking a Point from you now…" Laxus extended one arm toward his opponent while his back was turned, and a larger arm made entirely of lightning surged forward at blinding speed. As expected, Gray scattered into Ice particles again to avoid the hit… barely. "You can't keep dodging forever!"
"Don't need to." A Clone of Gray replied smugly from somewhere behind Laxus. The Lightning Dragon Slayer whirled around to get at it just in case it was the real deal, but he was shocked when he slid on a patch of Ice Make: Floor and fell on his face. He growled lowly as that counted as an "attack".
"Cheap shot…" Laxus grunted and got up on one knee before he was teleported off to another location. The real Gray materialized again from the Ice particles and grinned with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Oh, like you were much better, Taser-Breath. Tch. That took way too long to set up…" Gray rolled his eyes and took off in search of other opponents. He couldn't waste time gloating over his first major win (Lyon was a cakewalk, compared to the Dragon Slayer); Laxus was gonna get him back when he least expected it, and he needed to rack up the Points before that happened.
The dark-haired mage stopped in his tracks as he saw it beginning to snow in the town…
"Well, would you look at this?! Our city is turning into a Winter Wonderland!" Chapati chuckled.
"That's gotta be Eve…" Jenny smirked as she leaned her chin into her palm.
"It's a shame there are some Wizards here who are unaffected by the cold… But most of them are!" Eve confidently stated from his crouched position.
Ichiya nodded in understanding.
"I see… When people get cold they start to shiver, and you can see steam from their breath!"
"But it doesn't work that way for the copies." Ren added with a smirk.
"Pretty smart strategy!" Hibiki agreed.
Eve perked up as he spotted an opponent.
"I can see you! Right there!" Eve swept Yeager and Beth both into a frigid wave, gaining 2 Points, putting him at 1 after he'd lost to Laxus earlier. However, Lyon had located the blond now, and was set to unleash some ice sculptures on him when Midnight got between the two.
"Too slow." The dark-haired man sneered before using his Reflector Magic to send Scythe slashes toward both of them, claiming 2 Points for himself.
That brought the current scores to…
Gray: 2
Midnight: 2
Laxus: 0
Rufus: 0
Eve: 0
Lyon: -1
Yeager: -1
Beth: -2
From here, the players only got more desperate as their time had already dwindled down to twenty five minutes. Laxus in particular gained momentum as he took out Beth, Yeager, Lyon, Gray, and Eve in successive fashion while he avoided any losses. But it's not like Gray was far behind, particularly stumbling upon Eve and Lyon multiple times. The only player that was avoided like the plague was Midnight, since not only could he create illusions, but he could repel their attacks altogether.
… At least, when they were one-on-one with him. But even then, they couldn't be sure their "tentative alliance" with a player was real due to Midnight's illusions, so it was all the more reason to not take any chances. Once Gray and Laxus were tied up at 5 Points, Midnight was at 4 Points, Lyon at 3 Points, Eve at 2 Points, Beth at 1 Point, and Yeager at 0 Points, Rufus finally decided to make his play with so little time left.
"I find this game dreadfully boring…" The masked member of Sabertooth stood atop a tall spire calmly, despite being seen by all the other players. "I've committed this Song to memory… The rhythm of their heartbeats, their footsteps, and the tone of their Magic…"
In the Fairy Tail section of the stands, Lucy sweatdropped.
"That's a pretty conspicuous hiding place, if you ask me…"
"You think he wants the other guys to find him for some reason?" Elfman asked from his place not too far from her.
"GRAY! Right above you!" Natsu hollered from where he was with Team A.
Rufus smirked.
"It's all there… inside my mind." He started to channel his Magic, which darkened the playing field but lit up the other players. Then, he called out, "Memory Make: Night of Shooting Stars!"
In the next moment, seven streaks of light shot out from him and attempted to take out his opponents in one fell swoop, but a few things happened right at the moment the blows would have connected. First, Midnight's Reflector Magic kept him safe from Rufus's attack. Secondly, Laxus dodged, and he immediately followed up by attacking Midnight, who he knew wouldn't be able to defend himself with his Reflector Magic preoccupied. Unfortunately, Gray had slightly underestimated the speed of Rufus's attack, and that cost him a Point with the other Players.
There was still about a minute before the game would be called, so everyone scrambled to make one last turnaround…
"There's gotta be one more chump nearby…" Gray growled as he charged desperately through the streets. He whirled around at feeling a piercing gaze on his back, and found Midnight casually leaning against a wall.
"Well, there's you…" The former Dark Mage intoned, showing no shock when Gray attempted a double-pronged attack on him. However, both attacks phased right through him, revealing him to be an illusion. In the next moment, Gray felt an invisible scythe slicing into his back… Reflector Magic. Which meant Midnight gained another Point, while he lost one.
And that seemed to settle the pecking order for the game. The "city" faded, as did the Lacrima Vision screens overhead.
"And with that, the game is over!" Chapati announced. "Let's take a look at the ol' scoreboard!"
Given the final scores of Hidden – Laxus: 6, Rufus: 5, Midnight: 4, Gray: 3, Lyon: 2, Eve: 1, Beth: 0, and Yeager: -1 – it was clear that Fairy Tail Team A wasn't doing all that great yet… Hell, nothing had changed from the order everyone had when they cleared the Sky Labyrinth, which was quite interesting.
"THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY PITIFUL, LYON!" Ooba howled, spinning her arm furiously. 3 Points was all that Lamia Scale had earned with their ranking. "Have you no shame?!"
"P-Please, Master! You really need to calm down!" A random Lamia Scale member pleaded.
"He coulda done worse, I guess…" Ren grimaced, as it became clear that all they'd earned in the first event was garner 2 Points.
"Ehehe…" Hibiki meekly chuckled.
Arana placed her hands on her hips.
"Seventh Place, huh…? We have to step up our game…"
"Well, we gotta give Beth some credit for trying…" Risley chuckled sheepishly.
Gray returned to his team in a slouch. He'd started off good, but he just couldn't keep up with Laxus. Not in a game tailor-made for Dragon Slayers. What chafed a bit was that Rufus only had to attack the once to net Second Place…
"Sorry, guys… Looks like all we're gettin' is 4 Points for this round." Gray muttered. Erza turned down his apology.
"It'll be fine. Every Point matters, and I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to make up for it."
"Like in the battles comin' up!" Cana chipped in.
"Right…" Gray conceded, but frowned as Natsu berated him for the result of the first game.
"What was that, Icicle?! I coulda beat Laxus, the masked weirdo, and that goth guy with one hand tied behind my back!" The Dragon Slayer raged. A tick mark appeared on Gray's forehead.
"'Scuse me for not havin' your dumbass nose and ears, flameturd!"
"Oh, you're excused." Natsu snarked, prompting Gray to take a step toward him menacingly. But before they could initiate anything, Freed stepped in.
"Calm down, the battles will be starting soon. Any of us could be selected at a moment's notice."
As both rivals heeded Freed's words – as well as Erza's stern glare – Laxus returned to his team rather triumphantly.
"We have a lead of six Points~." Ultear crooned. Laxus shrugged his shoulders lazily.
"I guess so. Can't get too complacent, though. The battles could give Team A the momentum they need; all depends on the matchups."
"You kiddin' me?! We're gonna kick ass!" Gajeel scowled. "Team A's the one that has to put in the work to catch up…"
"But that can be a very good motivator…" Kagura pointed out.
The Fairy Tail section of the stands was buzzing with excitement with the results displayed. Bickslow and Evergreen were the most vocal, seeing as how Laxus had come out on top. Elfman was somewhat disappointed Gray hadn't done better, but he offered exuberant praise for Laxus. And yet others were feeling bad for Gray.
"It's really too bad… After he beat Laxus that first time, I thought for sure he would win." Lisanna remarked while holding Mikoto up in her arms, and Ryo stood to the left of her. Mira smiled wryly.
"I hate to say it, but Laxus had the edge. Gray's just not the tracker type. Good instincts and reflexes, so he's not easily caught off-guard, but you needed to be able to find the others reliably in a game like this. Otherwise, you'd waste time searching aimlessly."
Lisanna hummed thoughtfully.
"I guess… But why aren't you competing, Sis? That bet the Master came up with sounds right up your alley."
Mira sighed wistfully. She would have loved to have been on Team B; it's true. She would've had something in mind for each member of Team A to do, and she would have enjoyed herself very much. But… Ultear had a point about someone needing to be on standby if something happened while the Games were going on. It was doubtful, but there was always a chance with that strange Magic popping up every year. And it was her job to step up and take charge in such an event.
Although…
"Well~, if someone substitutes out, I'll hop on in. I wouldn't miss out on the fun, Lisanna." Mira gave a nonanswer, beaming all the while. Lisanna frowned, but didn't press further, as she knew Mira must have had her reasons. Instead, she helped Mikoto get the attention of her dad, who waved and grinned back.
"Well, Team B did well, but Team A needs to get with the program." Mavis grumbled with a pout. Evidently, she was not happy with Gray… Letting Warrod's team get ahead of Team A like that.
Makarov grinned nervously and tried calming her down.
"Now, now! I'm sure we'll see a turnaround in the battles! Just wait!" The Third Master sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as Mavis's scowl did not waver. Nothing fired her up like a good competition…
Meanwhile, Rufus seemed annoyed with coming in Second, thus earning 8 Points, but Midnight just shrugged and returned to his team.
"6 Points isn't so bad…" Sorano mused. While her attention had mainly been on Midnight during the game, she would occasionally shoot a glance over at Mermaid Heel, as she felt a pair of eyes boring into her, and she knew precisely who was watching her with such interest…
"But we can do a lot better." Racer bluntly added, arms crossed impatiently. "We gotta beat both those Fairy teams if we want our freedom."
"Oh, I'm sure everything will work out! Oh yeah!" Richard gushed, which made Racer berate him again in annoyance.
Midnight noticed Cobra's mind seemed to be elsewhere as he stared at a seemingly random area of the stands. From what Midnight could see, there was no Guilds seated in that area, but Cobra's eyes were narrowed all the same.
"Everything alright?" Midnight asked, standing next to the Dragon Slayer with hands in his pockets.
Cobra didn't reply immediately.
"… Nothing that concerns us. Not right now, anyway." The maroon-haired Dragon Slayer eventually said. There was a complexity to his tone that had Midnight curious, but he didn't question Cobra further. If he said it was nothing for them to worry about, then they'd disregard whatever Cobra had heard and focus on the Games.
Obviously, Quatro Cerberus was the most dissatisfied out of all the teams, having gotten 0 Points.
"Well, who coulda seen this coming, folks?! The order of teams hasn't been shaken up yet!" Chapati excitedly remarked. "But maybe that'll finally change, because it seems like it's time to move onto the Battle part of the contest! One member of each team will participate in a match, but this isn't a tournament setup!"
"It's the Games' organizers who decides who'll be duking it out in the battles, right?" Jenny asked for confirmation.
"I'm sure they'll set up some particular displays of Magical skills!" Yajima smiled. Chapati held up a sheet of paper to read.
"I've just received the lineup, so we'll found out just how spectacular those will be!" Chapati cleared his throat. "Our very first match of this year's Grand Magic Games will test the abilities of Fairy Tail Team A's Master of Enchantments, Freed Justine…"
Freed stepped forward and placed a hand on the hilt of his blade solemnly.
"I am ready to do my part…" However, as he looked forward, he was surprised to see his opponent standing across from him before Chapati officially announced it, though in hindsight, he shouldn't have been…
"… against the all-hearing Cobra of Hydra Roots!"
"Bully for you. I'm probably your worst possible matchup, Mister Enchantment Master!" Cobra sneered with a wide, dark grin.
Freed frowned as the implications of this match started to set in. As he recalled, this was the Dragon Slayer of the Oracion Seis – a man that not only wielded Poison, but exceptional hearing, as well. To the point that it seemed like he could hear a person's very thoughts.
'And yet Natsu found a way to defeat him, so he is not invincible…'
Cobra rolled his eyes at his opponent's predictably hopeful thoughts. True, Salamander had handed him his ass seven years ago. Hell, he'd lost his partner, Cubelios. That did not mean he had remained stagnant for all these years…
"I'm a little shocked the event staff didn't want to start off with a battle of dragons…" Sorano mused with hands on her hips. "There's five other Dragon Slayers in this competition, after all."
Midnight leaned casually against their tunnel wall. The first matchup didn't interest him too much; Cobra would be up against one of Fairy Tail's S-Class Wizards, but he didn't have as fierce of a reputation, compared to the others.
"I'm certain such a matchup will come along, sooner or later… There's no rush to get the crowd so worked up." Midnight drawled. Racer snickered across from Midnight, leaning against the tunnel wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Either way, this should be easy pickings for us!"
Richard offered no comment, though his eyes strayed to the Fairy Tail section of the stands, particularly homing in on his brother. This did not go unnoticed by Sorano, though for the time being she kept quiet. Her face was carefully blank, hiding her emotions well.
"I WANNA SEE CARNAGE OUT THERE, FREED!" Mavis screamed, causing many a Fairy Tail Wizard to sweatdrop.
Thank Kami only they could hear her… Their beloved First Master was not the angel that history tried to say she was.
"Relax, First Master! There ain't many Wizards that can take Freed in a one-on-one fight!" Bickslow tried calming her down.
"Yeah! Don't pressure him with your stupid rivalry!" Evergreen added. Comically, she and Bickslow shrank away from Mavis's stormy glare that could rival Erza's, on her best day.
"Using me as a human meat shield isn't MANLY!" Elfman yelped, but the two members of the Thunder Legion weren't having it.
Lisanna turned to face Kinana, who was a few seats toward the back. She was honestly just looking around aimlessly, but the purple-haired barmaid's face had caught her eye.
"Something wrong, Kinana?"
Kinana reopened her eyes and looked back at Lisanna. She knew the question was posed good-naturedly, but she couldn't help but blush a little as a few eyes were turned her way.
"I'm fine! Just a small headache, but it's gone now!" She assured the youngest Strauss sibling, and that seemed to satisfy everyone's curiosity. Though Lisanna notably maintained eye contact for a few moments longer than the rest.
Kinana's eyes returned to looking at the now-frowning Cobra, down on the field. He wasn't even looking up at her, but she couldn't help drinking him in with her eyes. He oozed familiarity.
'Are you the one that's been calling me…?' He definitely rang some distant bells in her foggy memories, but she still couldn't discern who he was to her…
A gong was sounded, indicating the match had officially begun. Neither participant budged for several moments, before it became clear that Cobra was "graciously" giving Freed the opportunity to strike first. The Enchantment Master didn't like rushing in recklessly, but he would have to gauge his opponent's strength and versatility sooner or later, and they were operating on a thirty-minute timer.
Cobra's eyes bulged, and his sneer widened as the green-haired mage came charging at him with a burst of speed. No fancy runes just yet, no Magic to enhance his speed or strength. Freed was using only his power as he drew his blade and slashed at Cobra many times.
"Not half bad! Can't say anyone's tried coming up with so many intricate plans in one go, but your thoughts will still betray you, in the end!" Cobra danced around Freed's sword strikes fluidly, even parrying a few of them when they proved to be broad strokes. Freed could have tried to plant runes on the Dragon Slayer in any of those instances, but he couldn't be sure his opponent wouldn't see through that. He refused to believe that his strategy of clouding his mind was completely ineffective; the moment he stopped believing in that was the moment he conceded defeat.
Natsu might have been able to fight a battle using pure instinct, but Freed could not. His style was to be calculative, and adapt when needed. An opponent that could read his mind was not one to be trifled with.
"Dark Ecriture…!" Freed called out during his next slash, and Cobra easily enough slid to the right, narrowly avoiding the destructive path left in the wake of that slash. Cobra bounced back quickly, delivering a spinning kick to the Enchantment Wizard as he momentarily froze in that swinging stance. Freed was propelled backward by the force of the kick, yet he managed to stop his momentum by sprouting wings made of runes on his back, coming just short of crashing into a far wall.
"C'mon!" Cobra barked challengingly, and Freed came veering straight at him with a more intense speed and strength. The sword swipes also accelerated, yet Cobra was able to back up and dodge to the sides each time, taking note that some sword strokes left nearly unnoticeable runes on the ground.
They continued going around like this for what must have been a few minutes at least, before Cobra latched onto Freed's swinging wrist with a scaled hand and unleashed a stream of Poison Dragon Slayer Magic that stopped Freed in his tracks and made him drop the sword. Although to Cobra's shock, coming into contact with Freed also left a series of runes on that hand, which Freed immediately put to use.
"Dark Ecriture: Pain!" The runes mage bellowed, which was followed by Cobra pulsating with a purple light as he held his head with both hands. Freed enhanced the attack with Dark Ecriture: Suffering, though he became shocked when the former Dark Mage grinned and conjured a Magic Circle in front of himself. The Circle unleashed a wave of Poison Dragon Slaying Magic that took the form of a snake's head, and charged straight for the runes mage.
Freed managed to dodge the snake head as it bit down on his previous position, but the real target was revealed to be his sword, as the head exploded and washed the Poison over the weapon on the ground and made it rust and crumble apart in a manner of seconds. Freed winced and clutched at his wrist, where Cobra had gripped him with his scaled hand; the pain had dulled, but he felt slightly weaker than before.
"I have no choice then…" Freed murmured as he inscribed runes onto himself, crying out, "Dark Ecriture: Absolute Shadow!"
Instantly, the runes mage's upper body was covered in thick dark armor, complete with shoulder pads and a helmet. He should have started out the match with this, but he feared that Cobra would have an "instant" way around it. Now that part of his arm was going numb from the Poison, however, he felt he had no choice but to end the match quickly. It was no longer "advisable", he needed to end this. Now.
"Pity you didn't bring a spare, but I figured I'd cut off that 'extension of your body'." Cobra snarked. He knew the gist of Freed's strategy, and he wasn't all that intimidated by the introduction of armor. The layer of protection was a bonus for what Freed had in mind, but it was a pretty wise move, all the same.
A dark aura of Poison Dragon Slaying Magic surrounded him, but Cobra still made no move to make the first strike. He didn't have to wait long as Freed surged forward with an electric sphere pulsating in one hand. At the last possible second, Cobra crossed his arms in front of himself and created a shield of poison that Freed ran straight into, and was promptly propelled back as the Magic fluidly became an attack.
Freed rebounded admirably, and this time managed to get in close with a flurry of melee attacks that Cobra, oddly, failed to block or dodge. Well, that is until Freed noticed the former Dark Mage charging an attack with his feet, which was dished out with a sweeping kick that made Freed's knees buckle. With his opponent falling forward, Cobra coated a fist in scales and poison before hitting Freed square in the chest and unleashed a blast that sent the runes mage flying back into a far wall.
By now, Freed was noticing Cobra's strategy. It was predictable, but he was beginning to truly "feel it" with his legs getting nailed with Cobra's poison. His arm was now throbbing beneath the armor, and his legs felt weakened. Moreover, it appeared that a stronger poison had been coated in that last attack, as there was now a gaping hole in his armor's chest area.
Taking a breath to steady his nerves, Freed stalled his opponent with Dark Ecriture: Pain, making use of the runes he had planted on Cobra during the melee attacks. Then, he surged forward as quickly as he could, another electric sphere in his arm, and prepared to strike his opponent into a wall of runes that would be electrically charged, as well. Those runes he'd drawn on the ground earlier would finally come into play.
At least… that was the plan.
"You still haven't learned! This pain is nothing compared to what we've had to suffer through…!" Cobra hissed through clenched teeth. He then reared his head back as Freed drew close. "Poison Dragon's… ROAR!"
A thick beam of Poison Dragon Slaying Magic blasted from Cobra's mouth, and it hit Freed dead-on, as he had no time to dodge or block it. Not with his already weakening legs and arm. Though most of his armor protected him, some of the blast seeped through the gaping hole in his chest area, and Feed felt the full effects of the poison course through his system. When the blast dissipated, Freed collapsed on his back.
He didn't get up from that attack.
Author's Note: Satora imaoman domosamashi detashinuke taregasayo sonoka! I am back. I'm not completely happy with how this chapter turned out, but at least I finally got something out. After months of writer's block. Uuuggghhh… Let's hope I can keep up this momentum with an update for Natsu's Choice, in the coming days.
Before I delve into a small rant related to Natsu's Choice, allow me to touch on a couple things in the chapter here. One: Yes, I know, there hasn't been a shakeup in terms of how teams rank so far. Don't worry, it's going to change pretty quickly. You might be confused about the "Points" that were listed off here – keep in mind there were points for the Hidden game, in which the players' values went up and down in the mini-game that is Hidden. Then, there's the actual GMG points gained from the team that came in first, the team that came in second, and so on. That's where the "ten", "eight", "six", "four", "three", "two", "one", and "zero" point totals came from. I tried to explain the concept as best as I can…
Next… battles. I'd originally intended to get through the first day's battles in one chap, but then I decided against it because various characters need screentime. Like, I cannot stress enough that there are "too many" characters in Fairy Tail. Granted, two of the battles for the first day will remain unchanged from what they were in canon, and that's because in that time we'll be focusing on what's going on with Freed, who some of you might be freaking out about. No spoilers, but I will say don't get too worked up yet~. The GMG is only just starting, and I won't throw any "hard balls" at you guys quite yet.
But they will come~.
Now… onto the rant. For those of you still supporting me, who are still patient, know that this isn't aimed at you guys. You guys are awesome. I'll recommend that you guys stop reading the AN at this point, but if you want to read a rant, well… that's entirely up to you.
But to the ones who spammed reviews and my message box with "UPDATE NOW!" messages… Guys, I perfectly understand where you're coming from when an author drops off the grid unexpectedly, and seems to have given up. Let me assure you, I have no intention of dropping any of my stories so long as I have a working keyboard and functional word processor. I might take ages to update, but I will get around to it. I might focus on one story for a period of time, a particular series, but I will get back to my other stories. I dunno how many of you are just readers, or are writers as well, but writing doesn't come as easily to some people. Sometimes, I hit patches of writer's block. Sometimes, I have stuff going on in real life.
Whenever either happens, know that I don't mean to keep you guys waiting. It's just that I'm human; I have limitations. As much as I want to, I only have two hands, one computer, one mind. New ideas come and hit me all the time, there are characters I really wanna write for, and lately I've made a vigorous attempt to keep them from turning into full-fledged stories so that I can finish the ones I do have. Natsu's Choice is one of my "smaller" ideas, but the fact remains it's different from the usual stuff I write, like FCF here and crackfics. It's harder for me, 'cause there's no "arcs" to plan out; Natsu's Choice will not be very long, if I have anything to say about it. What makes it tougher for me to write out Natsu's Choice is that in the past few months, there's been a surge of fanservice going on in the manga that made me dread a canonization of Nalu and Jerza.
I'll put it bluntly: All that canon fanservice made me very salty, and it was affecting my writing. If you read Natsu's Choice, you'll have seen that in the way I portray Erza's "indecisiveness", and how END's rant really shook her up. It's not fair to Erza's character, and I've been doing my best to work out how I want to proceed with that story. I want there to be development again, but I don't want there to be a race to the conclusion because "everyone's moving on, and everything's peachy". It's really making me frazzled, and it's most of the reason that I haven't updated anything in months. You guys want an update so bad, but here I am as the writer trying to do the characters justice. I don't want to do a rush job. As much as some of you might want it, I don't want to bash Erza because canonically she seems to really be infatuated with Jellal.
The Fairy Tail manga has officially ended, and it ended on an okay note. It ended ambiguously, and that was the best I could have hoped for; neither Nalu nor Jerza were confirmed. Hinted at, but Jellal and Erza never had a proper moment together, and Natsu pretty much friendzoned Lucy. I dunno about you guys, but that got me in a cheery mood again. I didn't want to wait until the manga ended, but that's how long my writer's block has stalled me.
I'm sorry it's taken so long, and I don't expect the worst of you lot to suddenly like me. The worst of you have been impatient, and it's really grated on me; I know of fanfictions that haven't gotten updated in years, but are still ongoing. If I take months to get around to updating, then I'm sorry, but that's just the way it has to be. I'm not writing for profit; I'm writing because it's fun, and I've got ideas I wanna share. As courteous as it would be to update on a regular schedule, I can't promise that because I could just as easily be struck with writer's block once again, or I could get distracted with various ideas.
I'm not demanding that you follow me. If you're pissed about the waiting, there's nothing I can do to keep you here. The story I have "closest" to completion is The Tale of Nagato Uzumaki. I'd like to say I know how long Natsu's Choice officially will be, but I can't say at this point. I don't want to rush it, and I don't want to drag it out even more. It's just a struggle I have as a writer. All I can promise is that I have no intention of discontinuing my fanfics – maybe that's not good enough for all of you, but it's what I can promise. Every ongoing story I have on this account has at least one idea I want to eventually get to, and it's my hope that I can get to them.
A reader already asked me if they want to adopt FCF here, and I'm still firm on that "no". Not because I don't want to see where you'd take FCF, but because I rather like the ideas I've had for this, and it's the direction I've chosen for it. If you want to borrow some of the ideas, by all means, go for it. Just don't steal the fic altogether.
This rant's long-winded enough, so I'll end it here. I don't know when I'll next update, but hopefully I'll be able to get something up this next week. Whether that be an update for NC, an update for TToNU, or another update for this. This summer's not going as I planned, but I want to try and update what my muse will let me. I can write fast when my heart's in it, but that's the problem – you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. If I don't feel too pumped for a story, I take an unofficial break from it, and randomly update when bursts of inspiration hit me. That's just been my style since… ever. Sorry again, guys. -_-