Chapter 54

So… Day 4 everyone. What'll happen after all this drama we've been having lately?

Thank you DesolationDeath for helping me out with the story!

I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! Read and Review!

Disclaimer: Since I forgot this thing last chapter, I double disown Slowpoke's work today. With tears flowing down my cheeks.

With Fairy Tail A~

Gray's P.O.V

It'd been weird with Lucy yesterday. She'd easily beaten everyone and everything on that MPF-thing, but when she battled that Raven, she lost. Granted, she did do well against the guy, the outcome might as well have been the other way around.

But that was what was weird about it all. I could clearly feel her magical pressure from where I stood on the balcony. Thing was, it wasn't just the Celestial magic I'd always known, something else had also been playing in the background. Something different. It felt like it was so much stronger than the Celestial magic. More dangerous. And most of all… More bloodthirsty. It had been almost animalistic.

Also the way she acted at the end of that battle. I guessed the Raven said something to her, which pissed her off, but the reaction she gave was far beyond Demon Lucy. And let me tell you, when she did that, you really had to watch yourself. But whatever she did back there was much worse. At that very moment, she was far stronger and wilder than she could ever be with Demon Lucy. It was a side of her we hadn't met back seven years ago… When we were still a team.

To be all honest, I was still beating myself up over the way we'd pushed Lucy out of the team. No… That was a too kind way to put it. The way we'd done it, it was way too mean. I can only imagine how much it had hurt her, if she ever felt the same way about all of us, as I had with her and the rest of Team Natsu. Excluding the Fire Idiot himself. Why had we even named the team after that idiot? It made no sense!

Anyway, even though she said that she'd already forgiven me, I sure hadn't forgiven myself yet. I doubted I ever would, the way it was right now. I of all people should know what it felt like to be left behind by the people you love.

I was separated by Ur through her sacrificing herself for my sake - which is bad enough in itself - I can't even begin to imagine how it must have been for her. We were literally telling her we didn't give a damn about what she felt. Well, that was probably what it had looked like from her point of view, when it all happened.

We could have delivered that message in a much nicer way. One that wouldn't have hurt her as much. One that wouldn't have made her run away the way she did…

Right! That cave she had gone to back in that little town. It was right inside the eerie forest, the Fire Idiot had been able to follow her scent and back to some clearing. That was where her scent disappeared, apparently. At that point, as far as I remember, I couldn't take all of their idiocy, but why was that again…? Damn it was such a long time ago.

Ah, right… I remember it now. Natsu hadn't been able to recognize her scent, neither had Erza. Seriously, I'd heard about how often he broke into her home and slept in her bed with her, while she was sleeping. One would think he could recognize her scent everywhere, but that day, he took idiocy to a whole new level.

So I wandered off, away from those people, and then I fell over that cave. Of course, back then I hadn't been sure Lucy had been in that cave. But what made me consider it was the fact that the nest-like thing that lay in it had been completely pushed down, as if someone - or in this case, something - had been using it lately.

What was most surprising about that was that it looked like a Dragon to me. And apparently also to Natsu, when he had decided to follow me along and found the cave. He stated he could see it was a Dragon that had been sleeping there. And then he said he caught both Lucy and Loke's scents back there too.

What was with that anyway? How could Loke let Lucy stay with a Dragon? And how… It didn't make any sense to me. Just what had happened to Lucy during those seven years? What do I even know already?

Nothing but the fact that she somehow met Acnologia and Basuril, who both are Dragon Slayers, during that time and apparently trained really hard. Wait, had they slain that Dragon or something? It would make sense to me, that Acnologia guy was really strong to be able to beat Jura. But that's about everything that made sense.

But then, the way Lucy had acted in that damn battle. It was way too inhuman. It had been like her instincts had taken over, as if she was an animal. Or… A Dragon…

If I had to make any sense of that, I could only think of one thing. Had Lucy somehow gotten something of Acnologia's Dragon Slayer… Something? Had she gotten a speck of 'Dragon' inside her, which made her rage yesterday? But that just sounded wrong to me. As I had found out, Mira and Laxus were 'mates', as the Dragon Slayers called it, but I had never seen Mira react anything like that, as if she had an animal inside.

Could it be that Acnologia was a special kind of Dragon Slayer? I really doubted it. And even more so that it would reflect on the 'mate'. But what could have explained what happened then?

"Gray." I heard someone call behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I turned and stood face to face with Erza. She was looking at me with a firm expression. But if I wasn't all wrong, I think there was a hint of worry right there in her eyes. "What are you thinking about?" She asked me.

I waited for a second for a comment from the Fire Idiot, but as it seemed he had already found his way to the balcony, being impatient as always. He'd probably dragged Lisanna after him too. I'd been waiting in the hall for the four of them. Girls always took so long after all.

I looked right into the Requip-mage's eyes, then averted my gaze to the side. "Oh, you know… Stuff." I trailed off, not sure if I should voice my concerns to her or not.

I heard her take a heavy footstep towards me. "Gray." She said once again, firmly. I glanced up at her again. "Tell me what is on you mind." She demanded of me, her eyebrows lightly furrowed in determination.

I sighed. "It's just about the battle yesterday." I told her. "The one between Lucy and the Raven." I added, talking a little lower than before. I wasn't sure if she had noticed anything with it, but it wouldn't surprise me if she did. She was an S-Class after all.

Erza nodded, looking at me with a face that said she knew. "Yes, I figured that was what you had been thinking of." She stated. Again, not surprising. She looked off, down the hallway, the way the balcony was. "Something happened with Lucy yesterday, that is for sure." She agreed with me.

I nodded and pushed off the wall. "Well, whatever the case is, I'm sure she'll tell us sooner or later." I said. I don't know what made me say that. After all, I didn't have the right to know about Lucy's troubles anymore. Not with the way I had treated her. Why would she let me in on those secrets, when she obviously had so many other people around her, whom it was more appropriate to share these secrets with? It was simple, she wouldn't.

I began walking down the hallway with my hands in my pockets, scowling at the floor. I could feel Erza's gaze on my back, but she didn't say anything.

Then, the door to our room opened and Wendy came out, immediately feeling the rather tense atmosphere between us. I continued walking as Erza began conversing with Wendy. Probably telling her nothing was wrong.

But there was something wrong, weren't there? Lucy had secrets she didn't want just anyone to find out about, that was clear. Secrets which were about to slip out during that battle. But somehow, that Raven did something to her and prevented her from spilling the beans. What the heck had he done to her anyway? She had looked so scared right after the match had ended. JUST WHAT THE HECK DID HE DO?!

Was he really so bad, though? I know I shouldn't be thinking this, as he was a Raven, but I couldn't help noticing that the guy actually helped Lucy up. It might have seemed like a tiny thing from the outside, courtesy even, but it really wasn't. Especially between a Raven and a Fairy. Even though it seemed like he had really taunted her during the whole battle, he also seemed to be a somewhat decent guy.

What was I even thinking? A Raven being a decent guy? That was probably what he wanted us to think, so he could somehow get under our skin and do whatever he was planning to do. Most likely something about Lucy too.

What was going on in Fairy Tail right now? I kind of felt like I was the outsider of it all. I betted several people knew of Lucy's secrets already, and of course she would talk to someone about this thing with the Ravens, whatever it was. Once it would have been us, Team Natsu, but who did she turn to now? Acnologia…?

"Oi, Popsicle!" A certain Fire Idiot called right next to me. "You know your brain can't handle all that thinking at once." He told me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I turned my head and glared at him, for the moment forgetting I had miraculously found my way over here in my daze. "And who the hell are you to talk, ash for brains?!" I retorted right back at him.

The idiot bumped his forehead into mine and glared directly at me, grinding his teeth against each other. "WHAT DID YOU SAY, ICE PRINCESS?!" He yelled at me, already getting his temper heated up.

I kept my gaze on his, not bowing down to him no matter what. I wouldn't let him get the idea he was anywhere near winning. "YOU HEARD ME, FIRE BREATH!" I yelled right back at him, hoping to make his eardrums explode.

Unfortunately, he didn't even cringe. Well, I guess he would be used to it by now with all the fights we'd had over the years. "WANT TO HAVE A GO AT IT, DROOPY-EYES?!" He asked me, putting his whole arm on fire.

I was just about to respond with an awesome comment, if I did have to say so myself, but I was cut short when waves of extreme pain began flooding through me from the top of my head. "What did I say about fighting?!" Erza asked half yelling, only making the pain from my head worse in the process. I'd completely forgotten she had probably been right behind me.

I heard lighter footsteps running towards us. "E-Erza! You went too far!" I heard Wendy exclaim as she ended up standing right beside me.

I heard the rustling sound of Erza's armor. "Don't worry Wendy. They can easily take that." She reassured the Sky Dragon Slayer as she began pumping her magic into me. It also came in waves, from my back though and not as painful, which spread through me, calming down every inch they touched and erasing the pain from existence.

It didn't take more than ten seconds though, as she moved on to the idiot instead, starting on him as well. Why she even bothered was beyond me. He was a waste of energy.

I got to my feet and stood next to Erza, staring at the crowd as it slowly filed in on their seats all around us. The Games were soon beginning, it would seem. I looked over at Lucy's team's balcony. Just like all the other days, it was empty. They all seemed to be the kind of people who slept to the middle of the day, had they had the chance. That or they were taking their sweet time getting through the baths.

The chatting in the stadium became louder and louder with each second that passed, as more and more people entered the place and found their seats, getting ready for the fourth day of these Games. I had actually thought we'd be doing better in these Games than we had so far. But our opponents really were tough customers.

Lucy and her team really had to hurry up if they wanted to be here when it all started. Chapati could basically show up anytime and announce the beginning of today. I glanced at Lucy's balcony once again and found myself quite surprised to see the whole team there already, laughing and smiling among each other. Although.. Laxus and Gajeel were smirking/grinning rather than smiling, really.

"Everyone!" Chapati finally said, drawing our attention and halfway silencing the arena. "Good morning to all of you! Are you ready for Day 4 of the Grand Magic Games?!" He asked them, barely even able to contain his excitement himself. There was a collective 'yeah' from the crowd, agreeing with the commentator. "Then let's get it all started, shall we?" He asked. I wondered what they had planned today. "Today the Game is Naval Battle! Please pick your participants everyone!" He told us.

Naval Battle? Something about Water then? Surely my Ice Make magic would work well in- "I'll go." A feminine voice said, cutting off my thoughts. I followed the sound of the voice and ended up looking at Lisanna. "I'll go." She repeated, more determined this time.

I was just about to protest that my magic would work best if it was about water, but was once again cut short. "Are you sure, Lisanna?" Erza asked her.

Lisanna directed her sky-blue eyes to the redhead and nodded firmly. "Yes, I will win this time for sure!" She said and clenched her fist at her side. This time, I decided to shut up. She probably wanted to make up for the loss against Flare the first day, that was why she was so determined now. I also wanted to make up for my loss against Rufus back then, but ladies first, as they say.

I could see Erza nodding at the edge of my peripheral. "Okay, we're counting on you." She told the girl with a light smile.

The Fire Idiot quickly nodded, a big, stupid grin on his face. He held a hand up and lit it on fire, as he always did. "Beat 'em up good, Lisanna!" He told her. Lisanna nodded again, and then made her way out. Unlike many of us, she didn't jump down, she took the civilized way around and under the balcony.

I couldn't help but look towards Lucy's balcony. But I was already sure about who they'd pick for this event. It wasn't a hard choice, really. And of course, Juvia also was the only one who wasn't present among the remaining four. Obviously, if this had anything to do with water, she was the only right choice.

Soon enough, everyone who was supposed to enter this Game had gathered down on the stadium. All of them in bathing clothes too. Someone had probably met them halfway through and asked them to change into those. The other participant were Jenny from Blue Pegasus, Chelia from Lamia Scale, Risley from Mermaid Heel, some black-haired chick from Sabertooth, according to the crowd, that was probably Minerva, Flare from Raven tail and then there was Rocker from Quatro Puppy. I didn't know whether to feel bad for him or envy him for the situation he was in. It was either paradise or hell, depending on the man.

All the girls wore bikinis of some sort. Juvia's was blue with white polka-dots and white ruffles along the edges. The color went really well with her hair… Wait, what was I just thinking?!

Suddenly I felt a lot of magic coming from the middle of the arena, and looked down at the 'battlefield'. A big, purple magic circle lay on the ground, slowly spinning around. The outer ring duplicated and the one which weren't connected with the rest rose up in about our height. Suddenly a big bubble of water appeared in the middle of the floating circle, above the one on the ground. It wasn't just any bubble though, it quickly grew in size and ended up being the size of our guild. The old one that was.

Mato popped up in front of the eight guild members. "This is the arena for the Naval Battle!" He announced. "The rules are simple! Kabo. All the participants will be in the Water sphere, where you'll battle against each other." He said and looked around at all of them. "If you get out of the sphere, you lose! The last remaining is the victor! Kabo!" He told. Yeah, they really were simple rules, the question was whether they were as easy to follow. "However, when only 2 people remain, a special rule comes into effect. The '5 minute rule'. If no one has been beaten in that amount of time, the first to fall out will end at last place! Kabo!" He ended it off. "Now participant, please enter the Water sphere!" He told them.

I watched as they all entered the bubble of water, while Chapati introduced the guest for today. It was the Scheherazade Troupe Chairman, Rabian, a guy Team Natsu once helped on a mission about his theater. That was back when Team Natsu was still somewhat new.

I guessed it was really for the best Lisanna went. Now she had a chance to show everyone she could beat Flare after all. My turn could wait for later.. I had a few people I wanted to beat up as well.

The girls and Rocker quickly made their way up in the bubble with the help of a staircase which just appeared out of nowhere, like so many other things in these Games. They all made a circle, where everyone could see everyone. While I hoped Lisanna would win, I knew she wouldn't. This was Juvia's element, her stage, after all. I doubted even the strongest here could beat her here.

One of the Lacrima screens showed the black-haired girl from Sabertooth. She was 'standing' proudly there, with on hand on her hip and the other stretched out to the side. "Sabertooth, Minerva, entering." She said dramatically, somehow gaining a big applause from the crowd. Judging by the applause, I figured she was like Erza or Laxus in Fairy Tail, one of the strongest. So was Sabertooth's top five members all gathered now? Honestly, they hadn't given me the impression of being the top dogs, really. Not that I had anything to say, really.

Chapati once again continued his job as a commentator. "This has become another splendid picture!" He exclaimed. "Women from each team have entered the stage in swimsuits!" He said loudly. The masculine part of the crowd either cheered or cat-called at this statement. Dusty, old perverts.

I almost laughed at Rocker's expression when Chapati stopped talking. "Uh… I'm here too… Widly…" He muttered, mostly to himself as I doubted very many heard him.

Chapati continued, completely overhearing Rocker. "The rules are simple! If you go out of the water, you lose!" He repeated what Mato had explained not long ago. Just like any other time, the usual gong marked the start of the Game. "The Naval Battle has begun!" He said excitedly and loudly into the mic.

Lisanna immediately did her Take Over Animal Soul: Mermaid, where she gained a pink/purple mermaid tail instead of her feet. I couldn't help but wonder how that was classified as an animal, but decided not to pursue the answer. It didn't matter.

Meanwhile, Chelia began charging up the black Sky magic, for now around her hands. "I'm sorry everyone!" She apologized before twirling her arms around. "Sky God's Boreas!" She chanted as a big whirlwind of black Sky magic began spinning around inside the Water sphere, making all the water spin with it in streaks of black and blue.

The water typhoon would probably have taken everyone with it out of that bubble, hadn't Juvia been there to prevent it. "Juvia won't let you!" She told the Sky God Slayer. She held her arms out to her side and began swirling around herself with the help of her Water magic, boosting the speed she was spinning at.

As she spun with her arms stretched out to the sides, the Water around her began spinning with her, neutralizing the typhoon Chelia had tried to make as she continued forward, towards the little girl, who couldn't do anything but watch as the Fairy closed in on her.

When Juvia was right in front of the Lamia member, she stopped up promptly. But even though she stopped, the water around her continued on. The pinkette was caught in the spinning water and was quickly closing in on the edge of the Water sphere. Still unable to do anything about her situation, she was pushed out of the bubble.

While Juvia spinning the water around took everyone's attention, Jenny had made her way behind Rocker. "THIS ONE FIRST!" She yelled as she kicked the man's face, somehow, and quickly sent him out of the bubble, while he yelled 'wild'. Rocker landed on the ground with his back, and opened his eyes just to see Chelia falling down on top of him. Jenny smiled down at Chelia and winked. "Girls shouldn't be wounded unnecessarily." She told the God Slayer, then returned to the battle.

"QUATRO PUPPY AND LAMIA SCALE IS OUT!" Chapati announced loudly, for everyone to hear. I glanced at my fellow Ice Make mage to see what his reaction was to this. And face palmed. He was blushing while looking at Juvia, who was still in the bubble. I could see his mouth moving and betted he was saying something along the lines of 'As long as it's Juvia, everything's alright'. What a moron.

The screen in front of me changed to Lisanna, who was facing Flare with a determined expression. She clearly wanted to win this one. Flare was staring right back at Lisanna with her head lightly tilted and a psychotic smile on her lips. Something was seriously wrong with that girl.

Probably not having the patience to wait for a move from the other mage - most likely a trait she had adopted from that Fire Idiot - she began shooting forward at the Raven, swimming fast enough for the other mage not to have time to react. "I'll win this time!" She reassured everyone as she grabbed Flare's shoulders and began swimming quickly towards the edge of the sphere.

Flare 'giggled' with her crazy smile as her hair was released from the braids and flowed out behind her. She quickly got control of it and sent it forward. She locked her hair around both Jenny and Risley's waists and pulled them towards her. They were above her and Lisanna, so in doing that, she also slipped out of Lisanna's grasp just as she was about to fall out of the bubble.

Flare quickly swam upwards, away from Lisanna, as the Take Over mage continued on at the same speed, quickly falling out of the bubble instead of her. "Better luck next time-" She smirked even wider and tilted her head in that creepy fashion. "Girls." She ended off as the other two followed Lisanna out of the bubble.

The whole arena was basically left speechless at the fact that the Raven had just taken out three rather strong mages in one swoop. "A-amazing!" Chapati said loudly. "She took out 3 people at once!" He continued. It was rather impressive actually. I hated to admit it, but it was.

So the only ones left were Juvia, Minerva and Flare… Come on, Juvia. You can win this, no one can beat you when it's underwater.

The three ladies waited each other out, testing who would be the first to move. Flare being the most impatient this time, jabbed her hair out towards Minerva, grabbing her bikini top between the breasts. The latter watching motionlessly as the Raven did so. Flare grinned widely as she began pulling at the bikini. The clothing wasn't especially strong and quickly broke, only barely covering the Saber's chest, the water not doing any good for that purpose.

Flare probably expected Minerva to scream and shriek at the thought of her bikini top breaking, but she didn't. She just stared at the Raven with a weird eyebrow raised. "Did you really expect me to act like a little, weak girl?" She asked the redhead, who looked confused and lightly scared, probably not knowing what to do now her plan failed. Minerva smirked at Flare. "Well, I'm not." She told her and held her hand out towards her.

Her hand got enveloped in a weird kind of magic. It was mainly a transparent black, but rainbow-colored streaks flowed around in it. What was that? Magic of the Dark Rainbow, or what? I quickly found out that wasn't just any magic as Flare got encased in a ball of that magic. Suddenly Flare along with the magic ball teleported to the outside of the Water sphere. The bubble of that transparent blackish magic burst and Flare roughly landed on the ground.

I didn't take note of what Chapati said as I focused on what would happen next between Minerva and Juvia. And to learn more about Minerva's magic. It seemed really powerful, since she could so easily teleport Flare.

Minerva was still admiring her work of teleporting the Raven out of the Water sphere and didn't' notice Juvia materialize behind her. The Water mage stretched her arms out in front of her in a familiar stance. "Water Cyclone!" She chanted as a cyclone of Water appeared right in front of her hands and charged at the Sabertooth mage. "Don't have your back to the enemy!" She told Minerva.

Minerva whipped around at hearing Juvia's voice and stood face to face with a cyclone. "Shit!" Was the last thing she said as she was hit by the cyclone head on. The whirl of Water completely hid Minerva from sight, but it became obvious when she was suddenly pushed out of the bubble. She did have enough time to make sure she landed on her feet rather than her butt, though.

Now alone in the bubble of Water, Juvia 'stood' still in the same stance and looking down at Minerva with her big, blue eyes. I had a feeling that what she had done right there, beating Minerva, was quite the feat. My thoughts were confirmed when the crowd went completely silent in shock, as well as the commentators. So Minerva was supposed to be the unbeatable one, eh?

Finally, Chapati made his presence known again. "MINERVA IS OUT! FAIRY TAIL B WINS!" He yelled just as surprised as the crowd. "Invincible strength in underwater combat! Juvia!" He exclaimed loudly. Now the crowd also broke out of their trance and began clapping wildly, chanting out guild's name or Juvia's. Okay, we hadn't won, but honestly the change in attitude towards us was all I needed.

Juvia dived out of the bubble and landed on her feet next to Minerva. The two exchanged some words and smiled. Despite what Minerva looked like, it seemed she was actually nice enough, judging by that smile and she didn't take a loss so heavily. Or was I mistaken?

As the different participant began to make their way back to the balconies, Chapati continued to explain the oncoming battles. "Today the battle-part will be different!" He announced. "It is not just one-on-one, it's Tag Team!" He said excitedly as the crowd began cheering loudly in satisfaction of the decision. "First up is Blue Pegasus Ichiya and Rabbit VS Quatro Puppy Bacchus and Rocker!" He told us. "When Rocker is back that is…" He added at the end. "Meanwhile, please enter the arena, participants!" He told them.

It seemed like people wanted to be civilized today, because they all took the long way around. I was broken away from my thoughts when I heard Wendy speak next to me. "Juvia did amazing!" She cheered for the Water mage. Wendy… You're a bit slow. I thought and sweat dropped.

Erza nodded. "Yes, Juvia indeed did well. Not only did she neutralize Chelia's typhoon and pushed her out, she also beat what seems to be Sabertooth's ace." She commented with a smile. I nodded. Yup, the Knight was right.

Natsu looked at all of us with furrowed eyebrows. "Lisanna did good too! She almost got Flare!" He told us, trying to defend Lisanna for no apparent reason.

I looked at him with an annoyed expression. "We know that you moron, there's not even a reason to say it." I told him and looked down at the field where the two teams now met up, getting ready to battle as the gong sounded. "Of course she's good, she gave it her all." I said. As long as you do your best, you never do badly.

I turned back to the Lacrima screens in front of me again and focused on this new battle. "Bacchus-san, let's do this wildly!" Rocker told his drunk team-mate. "If not, at this rate.." He trailed off. Yeah, they were lying in the bottom right now, weren't they?

Bacchus breathed out, looking kinda bored. "Whaat~? As long as our souls tremble, that'll be fine." He told Rocker carelessly. Well, I guess that was a good attitude to have to things in general, but you would probably not really win much.

Ichiya pointed forward at nothing at all, as usual. "Come, the time has finally come to release you." He said dramatically to his team mate, as if this whole event had been turning around that costume. It hadn't. But that being said, I was quite curious to see who was hiding underneath it. Of course, the whole audience turned silent as the rabbit began pulling the hat off. Apparently, it got stuck so Ichiya had to help out. I internally face palmed at the situation. How stupid… Ichiya looked up at the rabbit. "It's fine show everyone that handsome face of yours." He told it.

That was when the rabbit pulled the head off, to reveal… Another Ichiya. Or rather, it was one of the Exceeds we'd met in Extalia, Nichiya. The crowd gave a collective "EHH?!" When the face of the rabbit was revealed, then turned completely silent. Not everyone were aware of Edolas and the parallel world and all that, so I guess this was a big shock to them.

Natsu leaned forward, over the railing. "That guy.." He trailed off, his eyes as wide as everyone else's. "He was from Extalia!" He yelled loudly for everyone to hear. But of course not for everyone to understand. But this, Ichiya's revelation down there, it was unexpected. I wondered how he planned to use the Exceed in battle.

Both Ichiya and Nichiya stood with crossed arms and two fingers/paws pointing out and cross-legged, sparkles appearing all around them. "Double Ikemen Attack" Ichiya said.

Nichiya continued on, sparkles intensifying. "It's a dangerous perfume all right." The Exceed told everyone.

Everyone and everything just stayed silent in utter disgust. That… Was the most disgusting thing I had seen since… Well, last time I saw that guy. I saw Erza was on the verge of fainting beside me. "Ichiya became two people…" She said, disgust filling everything in her voice. Probably at the thought of two of them following her around everywhere.

I quickly caught her before she could hit the ground, simply by holding her shoulders. "Oi, pull yourself together, Erza." I told her. Even if I said that, I was close to doing the same thing myself. I did not want to see this battle at all, to be all honest.

Both Ichiya and Nichiya closed their eyes and turned their heads down just a little. "To be able to meet myself, this really must be destiny." Ichiya said, as if reliving the day he met Nichiya. "Hmm… On that clear afternoon." He continued, taking a stroll down memory-lane.

While Rocker seemed to be losing his mind, probably for more reasons than just one, Bacchus just grinned. He shot forward at the Exceed and hit him right in the cheek. "DAHA!" He yelled as he hit the cat with the unfortunate face.

The Exceed began flying off like a rocket. "MEEEEEEN~!" It yelled, too much like it's owner. Or what you could call Ichiya and Nichiya. The other self?

Ichiya turned his head in tune with Nichiya's flying backwards. "What on earth are you doing?!" He yelled, with tears brimming in his eyes. Whether it was at Bacchus or the cat, I didn't know.

Ren was the first 'outsider' to react on this. "Ichiya-san! Can that guy really fight?!" He asked the ace of their guild. Supposedly, Nichiya was supposed to be their secret weapon, from what I gathered anyway. But everyone knew Exceeds couldn't fight-

Ichiya turned around and glared at Ren. "Of course he can!" He yelled back. I actually face palmed for real this time. Oh Mavis… "He has the same face as me!" He yelled as if that was a reason. "In other words, we have the same battle power!" He elaborated as Nichiya hit the ground and slid to a stop. Did they seriously not know whether the cat could fight or not?

Ren noticed that the Exceed was not lying completely still on the ground. "Isn't he kicking the bucket right now?!" He asked the imp, getting frustrated, but trying not to show it.

Ichiya put his hands on his cheeks as his whole face stretched out in shock. "NO WAAAAYY!" He yelled incredulously as if the knockout of the cat was something incredible.

Bacchus looked at Ichiya with a raised brow. "Quite messin' around." He told the S-Class of Blue Pegasus. He was probably starving to 'get his soul shaken' just about now.

Rocker grinned, having overcome his earlier trance. "We don't have anything to hold back anymore, so we'll have you lose this fight!" He exclaimed as he began running forward. Suddenly he began spinning around quickly. "DRILL ROCK FOR YOU!" He yelled and spun towards Ichiya quickly.

Chapati broke the silence of the crowd by speaking again. "The rabbit's true identity has now already been downed!" He exclaimed, while Yajima commented that it was now two on one.

Meanwhile, the guest was fan-girling. "There's a chance of winning! Thank you very much!" He said loudly. It seemed he had a habit of ending every sentence with 'thank you very much', as far as I remembered.

Ichiya held his hand out towards Rocker, as if that would stop him. "W-wait a sec you guys!" He asked them. But of course he was ignored as Rocker used the momentum of the spinning to kick Ichiya in the face, while he still had his guard down. "DOPEH!" Ichiya blurted out when he was hit. Very charming.

Bacchus leapt into the air above Ichiya, doing one of his weird stances mid-air. He had one palm facing the sky, the other the ground. "Drunken Hanging Palm Moon Down!" He said with a lightly slurred voice. He had probably taken 'a' drink before entering the arena. He hit Ichiya's butt with a flat palm. Why would he even do that to himself?

Ichiya began flying off in the air like some bouncing ball. "MEEEEN!" He yelled his usual comment. The Exceed called his name and he looked down at his counterpart. "Ni… Chi… Ya…" He said between pants.

Both Bacchus and Rocker came running at Ichiya. "This is the end!" Bacchus told them.

"Eat his!" Rocker added as he reached Ichiya. He gave the imp a powerful right hook, using whatever magic he had to propel the hit, right into the pony's head, between the eyes. That could only have been painful.. Bacchus also landed another hit on Ichiya's cheek, like he had on Nichiya, also sending Ichiya flying. Again..

He landed on his stomach a little away and looked like he had been beat, but then he looked up. "Let me dedicate to you the perfume called victory!" He said, completely out of context. Well, he probably had a long inner monologue about how he was sorry he dragged the cat into all this and would avenge him. Or something like that.

He got to his feet and suddenly some kind of magical pressure surround him and his clothes tore at his back as his size suddenly increased. Bacchus and Rocker looked confusedly at the man they had thought they just beat. "Wha-what? Suddenly he's going wild!" Bacchus said, once again confirming my suspicions of having been drinking before the match.

Rocker clenched his teeth as he also stared at the imp across the field, powering up. "Is this the perfume power?!" He asked as if it was some kind of famous power.

Ichiya began growing in size and musculature, his clothes falling off until he only stood in his tiny underwear. The kind of underwear a man should never wear. Oh.. I had seen this before. Back when we were to smash those Lacrimas in Nirvana, he did that too with some perfume. It only lasted for a short while, but it made the guy super powerful.

He still stood with his back to the two Puppies. Elfman, you genius. "Behold! This is my beautiful dreamer…" He trailed off and turned around, looking at the two guys with the most disgusting face he had ever had. And that was transmitted directly through the Lacrimas, zoomed in and all. "Smile!" He smiled.

This time, Erza actually fainted, but I was too horrified to even move to catch her. Paralyzed with disgust. How was it even possible for a guy to be so ugly?! And he was from a guild of hosts no less! I would see that face in my nightmares from now on. And the crowd seemed to be agreeing with me as they were either barfing, keeping it in or fainting like Erza.

While the two Puppies were paralyzed - like me - Ichiya made his move. "SMASH!" He yelled as he quickly reached them and gave them an uppercut, this time sending them flying. They both crashed into the outer wall, Bacchus bouncing off and landing on the ground in what could only be a painful way, while Rocker literally crashed into the wall, making a crater in it. Then he also slid down and landed on his side. Both knocked out.

Chapati, somehow able to do things, spoke. "DOWN! QUATRO PUPPY IS DOWN!" He yelled as if he couldn't believe it. The rest of us felt the same way. "Winner! Blue Pegasus!" He yelled, calming down just a little. Meanwhile, Ichiya began posing in different ways, thinking the crowd was awed by his performance. Boy was he mistaken.

At my balcony, we were still too disgusted to even say a word, all of us. Well, except one that is. "He's so awesome!" Natsu exclaimed next to me, looking down at Ichiya with excited eyes. I slowly and robotically turned my head towards him, staring at him with my mouth dropping open. Was he kidding me?! We seriously needed to get his head checked when we came back to the guild. It was way beyond due time too.

Ichiya quickly hurried to Nichiya's side and picked him up, cradling him like a baby. "Nichiya, are you all right?" He asked the Exceed, sparkles appearing all around the two of them.

While I gagged at the scene, suddenly understanding how Natsu felt on transport, Nichiya answered Ichiya's question. "Not feeling very manly." He told his human counterpart.

Chapati broke the 'beautiful' moment. "Well, that was a great match, right?" He asked his fellow commentators. He sounded like he actually meant it.

Yajima hesitantly agreed, probably and hopefully out of curtesy. Rabian on the other hand voiced what everyone else were thinking. "It was extremely disgusting! Thank you very much!" He said loudly. I internally nodded in agreement with the guy. He couldn't be more right.

While Ichiya carried Nichiya off the field, still in his big form, or what to call it, Bacchus and Rocker were carried away on stretchers, so we could continue the Games.

Chapati continued, as if what had happened just before hadn't even meant anything. "Match two will be between Lamia Scale's Lyon and Yuka VS Mermaid Heel's Kagura and Millianna!" He announced excitedly.

I, as well as everyone else, broke out of our trances of disgust and went back to the match at hand. Erza also revived from the dead, getting up as if nothing had ever happened.

This match could actually really be interesting, the two teams were somewhat evened out in terms of strength.

30 minutes later~

Gray's P.O.V

Okay, so these guys weren't just 'somewhat' evened out. Their strength was equal. That was why, after 30 tedious minutes, no one had won anything, all four of them still standing strong. Well, exhausted, but still standing.

While the two teams exited the arena, Chapati told us who would be fighting next. "It's a heated arena, but be sure to not miss any of this next fight!" He half yelled into the mic. Sometimes I really pitied those Dragon Slayers. "The guild known as the strongest seven years ago will battle against the one that currently claims that title!" He yelled. I narrowed my eyes. So it was Sabertooth, eh? Somehow I got the feeling that it was only Lucy and a few other people those guys liked, the rest of us… "Fairy Tail A's Natsu and Gray!" He announced. "VS Sabertooth's Sting and Rogue!" He told us.

Those two of all of Sabertooth really seemed to despise Natsu in particular. I had an idea why too. From what I heard, Lucy met them on a train back when she left and offered them a place to sit in her booth. They became quick friends too, Lucy's unique skill, I guessed. After they had joined Sabertooth, they read that magazine Sorcerer Weekly had made, where there was a big article about how Lucy was kicked out.

As 10-year old boys, Lucy must have been like some kind of big sister or something to them, I could only imagine what they felt towards us, Team Natsu, after that knowledge. These two were going to be tough customers, that was for sure.

I turned my head and made eye-contact with Natsu. Apparently he also knew this was going to be a challenge, judging by his serious expression. We both nodded simultaneously and jumped down next to each other, as the two Sabers did as well on the other side of the stadium.

Chapati continued speaking. "Furthermore! Three of them are Dragon Slayers! They all use the magic that was made to kill Dragons!" He commented.

I felt a vein beginning to bulge out at my forehead and whipped around, glaring up at the commentator's box with a clenched fist. "WHAT THE HECK?! DON'T I COUNT ANYWHERE?!" I asked, already getting pissed off. That guy was extremely rude sometimes.

"I've been looking forward to this." Someone said right behind me. I turned my head and looked at Sting over my shoulder. He was smirking.

Hooohhh… You guys'll love me now~ CLIFFHANGER! XD Yep, I'm cutting it off here. There's no need for it to be longer :3 You just gotta wait for next week, sweeties~!

Anyway, you can see the ugly face I referred to from Ichiya in chapter 293 'The Perfume Dedicated To You', if you're curious. I was almost gagging myself when I saw it :S

Anyway, Ichiya said something about 'Ikemen'. I tried translating it from Japanese, but it says 'twink' and I doubt that's what it's supposed to mean. So, I have absolutely no idea what it was I wrote XD

Hoped you liked the long Gray's P.O.V chapter here, where we got his thoughts revealed. Maybe he's on the verge of knowing? Maybe, maybe not~ There's no telling! ^_^

Ah, and the changes to Naval Battle, I hope you liked those too. I know it wasn't quite as… Gruesome as the original, buuuut I decided Minerva shouldn't be the biatch she is in the cannon, but more a very serious character in battle, while a nice person outside of it. Out of character, I know, but that's just how it is.

I know this chapter wasn't as eventful as the latest chapters have been, but we all need some calm now and then. Also, at the day after of Day four here, I plan on sending all of them to Ryuuetzu land - is that how it's spelled? - since I realized there hasn't been much of the usual noisy Fairy Tail, only Lucy and Acnologia and the things with Raven Tail. Don't we need to have a break from all that? I think we do. If anything, It'll just build the suspense~ :3

Also, I realize I haven't really been up to date with telling you what the points are. I apologize. I'll edit them in at some point, but not right now

Thank you Aira0906, BecauseIamSoBored, Nicole (Guest), Darkverger1, SillyKitty88, Xx21KatieKat12xX, GoldenPiggy, Alaina Kuski, weafel, Winterglaze, PuddyKatz, fairychime-diamond47, StrongGuy159, Acnologia Prime, aristofthemind, ANG3LBL00M, OtakuLover43, Ishita.d, Konan15, catlover123456789, Suron1998, Erylina, reader713, desropter, UNRAV3L, ghosthuntergal, Skyline179, ZinaThePanda, mjb379, Mitsuki Suzumiya, and all you other wonderful readers out there!

~ Line464d