Fiore vs Alvarez, a matchup that many people had been anticipating. Emeraude was eager to crush Fiore and prove a point. Zelos was supposed to be the one fighting today, but his whereabouts were unknown and this caused Fiore to worry. In response to not having a single fighter prepared…Natsu, Sting, and Luke all jumped into the ring at once, unintentionally. It was the trio of Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, and White Eclipse vs Little Queen of the Spriggan 12! "I hope this works…" Erza was worried. Natsu and Luke on the same team? That spelled a disaster, even if Sting was there as a mediator.
"While they fight, we have to find Zelos!" Lucy turned to the others. "There's no doubt that the Wizard Hunters are behind this. Who knows what they've done to him!"
"Don't take too long." Reve said. "Then again, we can always replace him with Jellal like we did Erza."
Ignoring Reve, Kagura turned to Lucy. "How are you going to find him?"
"He could be anywhere." Hisui placed her hands over her mouth. "How will you find him?"
"If you're gonna track 'em down by smell, well…" Bacchus rubbed the back of his head. "The people with really good noses are pretty busy at the moment."
Lucy then held out a silver key, winking towards the others. "I have a secret weapon of my own! Plue!" Lucy called forth the tiny dog spirit. Plue trembled while looking around, looking confused.
"Pun…" Plue said.
"Okay! I need you to use your nose and track Zelos down!" Lucy said with a firm nod. Plus nodded and slowly began to walk in a certain direction. Realizing that Plue was rather slow, she picked it up in her arms, allowing it to point in which direction she needed to walk in. "We'll be back as soon as possible! If I can find Ultear and Meredy, it could help the search go faster!"
"I'll tell them to keep an eye out as well." Jellal said. He was technically still Erza's replacement since she was in no condition to participate just yet.
"Natsu…I hope you guys can win…" Lucy took one final glance at the arena; Natsu, Sting, and Luke…that was a triple threat if she'd ever seen one. She could only hope that their combined strength would be enough to match Little Queen of the Spriggan 12.
"…" The hooded figure that Prometheus summoned the previous night followed Lucy with her gaze. She took a few steps forward, intending to do more than just watch her leave, but she was then stopped by the Grim Reaper.
"Ah ah. You'll have your chance. Just stay and watch like a good girl." Prometheus may have spoken gently, but this was a demand that they had no say in.
"….." The woman remained silent and nodded.
The battlefield was a landscape similar to that of Crown City, buildings all around and city streets. For the sake of size, this battle may as well been taking place in a block within the large capital of Joya. Natsu took the front, slamming his fist into an open palm with a wide grin while staring down Little Queen. "Looks like this'll be our chance to pay you guys back for what you did to Fiore."
"Hmph." Little Queen ran a hand through her hair, staring at the trio before her in disgust. "What makes you think you have the power to defeat me?"
"Hey, why the hell are you in the front!?" Luke glared at Natsu.
"Because I'm the strongest one here!" Natsu barked back.
"Not on your life!" Luke spat.
"Guys, come on!" Sting groaned. Just when he thought he managed to get their rivalry under control, it already spiraled out before the battle could even start.
"Tch, whatever." Luke rolled his eyes. "Just don't get in my way."
"I can say the same to you, Duke!" Natsu growled before turning away to face Little Queen. "You look like Sophie and smell like her…"
"The Empress' daughter, yes?" Little Queen floated in the air. "I was told that I was the blueprint for her design. It's an honor to have someone I can consider as family so close by…" Her purple eyes then flashed as she stared at Natsu. "And now, I shall rend her existence from within your body."
"Begin!" Count Waltz exclaimed.
"I got this!" Natsu sprinted off ahead, orange flames burning around his body as he made a beeline towards Little Queen. The woman did not move and he lunged forward while rearing his fist back. "Fire Dragon's…!" And before he could throw his fist forward, he was kicked in the side, his back hitting one of the few buildings. "Gah…!" Falling to a knee, he grit his teeth, eyes widening as he saw two more Little Queens in front of him. "Ah...crap!" Lucy did mention that she could clone herself.
"It seems unfair that it's a three on one. So allow me to even the odds. I don't want you ants thinking that your combined power comes close to trumping my own." Little Queen pointed her hand forward and her two clones rushed forward, grabbing Natsu's arms to restrain him.
"She cloned herself?" Heartless questioned. "I don't recall…"
"Who knows what she's been through since she went missing…" Tia said while stroking her chin curiously. Little Queen was a former member of Dealer…sealed away by King's orders prior to the battle with Fairy Tail.
"Damn it! Let me go!" Natsu grit his teeth.
Little Queen herself then appeared in front of Natsu, stabbing a needle into his chest and she wasn't gentle about it. The insertion caused Natsu to let out a sudden grunt of pain. The pin was pushed down, extracting his magic, but more importantly, the essence of Sophie that was inside him. "There. My first mission has been completed." And as she said that, the needle in her hand vanished.
"Good." Emeraude's lips curled up into a grin. That only left a few more people to extract.
"White Dragon's Punch!"
"Black God's Crash!"
Sting and Luke appeared, slamming their fists into the two Little Queen's holding Natsu's arms. The sudden attacks were strong enough to knock them away. This allowed Natsu freedom and he quickly whipped his leg forward for a blazing roundhouse, but Little Queen evaded it. "Hey, dumbass!" Luke shouted at Natsu. "Don't go rushing in on your own like that!"
"He's right, Natsu-san! We're a team, so we have to work together!" Sting said.
"Agh, right, Sting…" Natsu shook his head before taking his position at the lead once again. "The main one is still mine! Deal with the clones!"
"Ordering us around!?" Luke grit his teeth before deciding to just do it anyway. The fact the numbers were even wasn't good for this Fioran trio anyway. Thi just turned int 3, but Fiore's team was going to be putting in far more effort than planned.
"Let's go, Luke-san!" Sting immediately started off in his White Drive, rushing towards the Little Queen clones with Luke by his side. The two of them cupped their hands at their sides, a white sphere of light forming within their palms. "White Dragon's Holy Ray!"
"White God's Holy Ray!" Luke exclaimed at the same time as Sting. The two of them threw their hands forward, releasing multiple brilliant white beams that soared towards the clones of the Spriggan. "Taste this!"
The Little Queen clones didn't say anything. They only thrust their arms outward, creating a shockwave that shattered some nearby windows in front of them. The glass shards of the windows reflected the light in various directions before ultimately returning back to Luke and Sting, causing destruction around them. "…Begone."
"Shit!" Luke quickly shifted to his Adaptability: Light, to avoid taking damage from the reflected rays. Sting wasn't so lucky and just had to cover up; since his magic was involved, and a magic a tier above Dragon Slaying, he had no choice but to defend himself. "I didn't think she'd pull that trick off, but she can't do it too many more times, she'll run out of windows….Ah! Sting, cover me!"
"Okay!" Sting nodded and started running ahead towards both clones, a bright white light appearing around his body. Just when it looked like he was about to attack, he jumped into the sky, the gazes of the two clones following him since he was so bright. Sting jumped in front of the sun, using its light to aid in his attack. "White Dragon's Flash!" Light flashed from Sting's body. He was so bright the two clones had no choice but to cover their eyes. "Now, Luke-san!"
This was Luke's chance to nip this in the bud before it became a problem. With the cover of light as his ally, the copycat grabbed one of the clones and slammed it into the other! To his surprise, the clones then merged into one, which made his job a hell of a lot easier. "Oh that works!" He was hoping it would be a case like this.
"Release me, vermin!" Little Queen's clones growled.
"Sure thing!" Luke turned to where Natsu was engaging in hand to hand with the real Little Queen, and while holding his own, was on the defensive. "Heads up!" Luke said while hurling the clone back towards the original.
"Huh-" Little Queen turned, only to be reunited with her clone. The impact stunned her for just a second…
And that single second was long enough for Natsu to land a hit! A Fire Dragon's Iron Fist met Little Queen's cheek, snapping her head to the side violently. "Got you!" The Salamander said with a smirk.
Little Queen retaliated instantly by punching Natsu in the face, nearly causing him to stagger back, but his scarf was grabbed and he was violently tossed into Luke, the two of them toppling over. Right as they fell onto the ground, Little Queen slammed her fist into the pavement, causing an earthquake. "Don't touch me you insects! Power Geyser!" Before Natsu and Luke had the chance to respond, a purple explosion overtook the both of them, sending them crashing against a building. "You will respect your Queen!"
"White Dragon's ROAR!" Sting was above Little Queen, firing off a white blast from his mouth. The funnel of light aimed to consume Little Queen and inflict damage, but Sting wouldn't be getting what he wanted that easily.
Little Queen looked to the incoming roar and scoffed. Just before it struck, she vanished, using the Snap Pivot ability that Sophie also possessed. She appeared directly behind Sting, even as he was in midair, just with her sudden increase in speed. "What did I just say, peasant!? Sundering Moon!" She swung her leg downward, slamming it into Sting's chest to send him crashing into the same building Natsu and Luke landed in. "Pitiful."
"It looks like Little Queen is giving Fiore a hard time!" Chapati said.
"Yeah, no kidding…" Kagura let out a slight huff. "They can't get anything started."
"They're just getting started, though." Bacchus said with a laugh.
"Yeah! Sting-kun will lead them to victory!" Lector said while cheering. "Come on, Sting-kun!"
"You can do it, Natsu!" Happy cheered as well.
"If Natsu and Luke can't get their act together…" Erza trailed off.
"Damn, she hits hard…" Luke emerged from the rubble, a bit bruised and battered. "Guess I gotta up the ante…"
"It wasn't even that hard!" Natsu said, playing off the damage he received so it would seem like Luke took the hits harder than he did.
"Whatever!" Luke had a tick mark on his forehead. Little Queen made it clear what they were up against and the only had a limited time to take the win. That's why he immediately kicked up into Chaos Unison, not wishing to unveil his Ultima trick to the masses just yet. Just as he did that, Natsu went into Lightning Flame, and Sting entered White Shadow mode. "Our best bet is swarming her. If we attack uncoordinated like we just did, she'll kick the shit out of Natsu and make Sting and I collateral."
"What was that!?" Natsu growled.
"Are you two prepared!?" Sting said while staring down Little Queen, who had only taken a single hit in the process of the fight so far.
"On me!" Luke raised his hand…but Natsu wasn't going to wait for Luke's signal and went off ahead. "Damn it!" Forced to act early, Luke snapped his fingers, creating a large, yellow magic circle underneath Little Queen that spanned several feet. The infamous Lightning Trap released a potent discharge that turned the ground unsafe.
Little Queen naturally ascended to the top of a building to avoid this childish trick. "Did you really think that playground trick would-?!" Before she could finish, Natsu was already on top of her, swinging his leg down at the crown of her skull. "…!" She raised her arms, blocking the hit directly. She even anticipated the bolt of lightning and shifted her body to the side, avoiding it completely! "Demolition Drive!" She threw a solid punch at Natsu's chest. He crossed his arms to block the hit, but was still nearly thrown off the roof by her power. "You're open!"
And just as Little Queen moved to strike Natsu and finish him off, Sting rose from the shadows – Natsu's Shadow! Just as he emerged, he already had a sphere of light and shadow within the palm of his hand. "White Shadow Dragon's Nova!"
"…!" Little Queen hardly had any time to react to this. She shifted her focus from attacking Natsu to defending, creating a barrier around her body to block the ensuing explosion of light and dark. The building they were on was nearly destroyed, but she was able to completely protect herself from the attack. It didn't end there, as Natsu sprang forward, throwing his fist at her face, which she was able to deflect. As soon as she did this, Sting threw his leg forward, forcing her to block! The two were attacking in unison with one another, making it difficult for even this hand to hand expert to keep them at bay for long.
"Now!" Natsu yelled, going high while Sting went low! On that cue, Sting swiped at Little Queen's legs, forcing her to jump back to avoid being knocked off her feet. As Sting did this, Natsu gathered two spheres of fire and lightning, merging them together over his head. "Dazzling Blaze of the Lightning Flame Dragon!" Throwing it down, this large sphere exploded against Little Queen, destroying the building they were on, causing all of them to go into a free fall towards the ground.
"Nice, Natsu-san!" Sting dove down, intending to keep the momentum going. "White Shadow Dragon's Drill Kick!" Sting aimed to slam his foot into Little Queen's stomach, but things suddenly went downhill when she caught his leg, now glaring at him.
"I've had enough of you worms thinking you have a chance against me!" She then shifted her body, kicking her heel into Sting's chin to knock him into Natsu; she then teleported to grab the both of them, slamming them against a building while a dangerous amount of magic radiated from her palms. "Frenzy Blast!" Her palms exploded violently, the force of the blast blowing Natsu and Sting through the building completely!
"GAAAAAH!" The two dragon slayers cried out as they hit the ground pretty hard. Little Queen was making it clear that she was not wasting time in taking them out as quickly as she could.
"Come on, don't let her win!" Lector shouted. "Sting-kun!"
"Damn…" Sting had only taken a few hits, but her strength was truly something else. "She's really strong…but we have to be stronger! Right, Luke-san!?"
Natsu and Sting managed to buy Luke enough time to charge up his attack. A gray magic circle was in front of him, spinning round and round in a counterclockwise motion, gaining speed with each complete rotation. "Chaotic God's Laser!" From the magic circle, a spiral beam of fused god slaying magic sliced through the ground while soaring towards Little Queen, who could only muster her best to hold off this continuous wave of magic.
"Tch! Is this truly the best you dirty rats can muster!? I am a Queen, far above your level!" Little Queen dug her heels into the ground, creating another clone to aid her in pushing Luke's attack back. This was unexpected and put the Copycat in a bad situation.
"Shit…!" Luke grunted while pushing back against Little Queen. "Anyone got any bright ideas!?"
Natsu followed suit, firing of an intense beam of lightning and fire from the palm of his hands. "Gleaming Flare!" With this beam now coming towards Little Queen's back, her clone had no choice but to turn around and fend this off, leaving them sandwiched between Natsu and Luke's two attacks!
"They have Little Queen in a pinch!" Chapati shouted.
"Now's your chance, Sting-kun!" Lector exclaimed.
"Don't mess this up!" Minerva shouted…more so demanded.
Sting could hear Lector and Minerva loud and clear. "I've got a promise to keep to Edna-san, so Eizen, lend me your power once more!" Sting reared his arm back, silver magic swirling around his fist. "Sliver Dragon's…IMPACT!" He threw his fist forward, releasing a torrent of silver and light towards Little Queen. In a last ditch effort, she made a third clone and had it used a barrier to protect her from the blast. But the trio of attacks trianuglaing around her was too much and they all exploded violently, an earthquake shaking Crown Stadium to its very core.
"….." Edna couldn't help but smile a bit, seeing Sting make good use of her brother's power.
"Did they get her?" Bacchus asked.
"If only." Reve shook his head. "Despite their firepower…"
The smoke cleared and there was Little Queen, shown with injuries, proof of the damage against her, but she was more pissed off than hurt. A purple aura exploded around her body as she elected to put these three down for good. "Now…you've angered your queen. And the punishment for that is…execution." Just as she said that, three clones appeared behind Natsu, Sting, and Luke, within a flash.
"Shit!" Luke turned to strike, but he was too slow and ate a kick to the stomach that winded him. Natsu and Sting received the same fate, all of them colliding against each other in the center of the triangle of Little Queen's.
"You shall be purified!" The four Little Queens held their arms out, trapping the trio of mages within a purple sphere, lifting them into the air against their will. "PURIFICATION!" There was a black explosion that consumed the three mages, leaving everyone in Fiore worried for their wellbeing. The clones vanished as Little Queen assumed that she indeed finished the job. Three people crashed into the ground…but only two stood. Natsu and Sting. "What!?"
"How…!?" The two of them were just as confused as their opponent. "Hey…!" Natsu looked to the side, where Luke was on his hands and knees. He took the brunt of the blast for them, using a Black God's Bubble to shield Natsu and Sting at the last second.
"Luke-san…!" Sting's eyes were wide. He and Natsu were heavily injured, but Luke saved them from certain defeat.
"Oi…don't worry about me…just wrap this up…somehow, got it!?" Luke snapped his fingers, creating a plethora of mirrors around the battlefield. "As much as I hate it, it doesn't look like I'm gonna win this bet. But we're a team still…so you know what to do, right…? Then do it already…Kgh…" Luke fell over completely, using the last bit of his conscious to create a path to victory for Sting and Natsu.
"Luke…" Natsu stared at Luke for a few seconds. Luke's will caused Natsu's flames to grow even stronger, abandoning his Lightning Flame in favor of Flame Dragon King, the area around him and Sting melting from the intense heat.
"It seems Her Majesty was right. You do cling on no matter what…" Little Queen spat.
Sting saw what kind of setup Luke left him with. "Thank you, Luke-san. I won't let this chance you've given us…go to waste! SLIVER DRAGON'S HOLY RAY!" This was a powered up version of the attack he released before. Instead of aiming for Little Queen, Sting aimed for the various mirrors Luke set up, allowing the beams of silver to bounce off them sporadically, forcing Little Queen on evasion. "This is our version of that trick your clones pulled off earlier! How's it feel!?"
"DAMN YOU INSECTS!" Little Queen screamed as the beams of light flew past her, damaging her in the process, only to repeat this process over and over. She eventually let out an explosive wave of magic to destroy the mirrors, but they fought back due to their reflective properties.
"NATSU-SAN!" Sting shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I KNOW!" Natsu started running forward, soon leaping ahead head first, the intense flames around his body colliding against Little Queen's shockwave. The passive of Flame Dragon King allowed him to melt through magic itself, so he was able to force himself through the barrier and slam his skull into Little Queen's stomach, carrying her across the arena until she hit a solid wall! There was an explosion of flame that caused Natsu to rebound and tumble against the ground on a knee. One eye was held shut and he panted heavily, feeling like he'd topple over any second.
"Gah…d-did we…?" Sting also fell to a knee, but he needed to know if their combined efforts were enough to win…!
Magic exploded outward, Little Queen's eyes flashing red as her body showed signs of damages. "To raise your hand against your Queen like this! I'll show you maggots precisely why…!" Ding. "…What?!"
"Ah…!" Everyone in the crowd gasped at the outcome of the match. They all saw it before Little Queen did.
Waltz pointed behind Little Queen, where there was an indent in the arena wall, where Natsu slammed her into. The realization set in all too late as the Count pointed towards Natsu and Sting. "Little Queen has suffered a ring out! That means Natsu Dragneel, Sting Eucliffe, and Luke Cloud are victorious. With 30 points from this fight, they push Fiore into the lead with 50."
"…" Little Queen looked down in complete embarrassment. The first loss for Alavarez and potentially its only loss…30 full points to the people that Emeraude hated the most. The light reflecting off Luke's mirrors blinded her perception of her location, but it was too late to lament all of that. All of that high and mighty talk, only to be humiliated in front of the entire world! This was a stain on Alvarez's perfect record and she knew it. "A Queen knows…when to concede defeat…" And despite her feelings, she would at least take the defeat gracefully, but on the inside, she was fuming.
"Em…?" Brandish slowly turned to Emeraude, who had been silent since the fight began. Emeraude gave the order to crush them, and the Spriggan never failed their orders…except this one time. They had seen her punish simple soldiers for failure, but what in the world was in store for a Spriggan who failed a simple task? Against Fiore no less?
"…" Emeraude didn't say a word. The Spriggan all looked at her, expecting some sort of reaction. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, taking a loss from Fiore struck her pride, anyone could see that.
"We did it!" Natsu and Sting high fived each other, before going to assist the unconscious Luke. While this happened, Fiore's fans were cheering.
"Ha! Take that Alvarez!" Jack Royal laughed. "Looks like the Spriggan 12 aren't infallible after all!"
"Well well..." Of course Ashnard wouldn't miss this chance. "It seems her Kingdom isn't as powerful as you'd be led to believe. It was only a matter of time until such weakness made itself known. But in front of the world? I couldn't imagine..."
That got a reaction out of Emeraude. She clenched her hand into a fist, but took a deep breath and remained calm. Still, she said nothing, though. "..."
"THEY DID IT!" Happy and Lector were jumping up and down together.
"NOW THAT'S WILD!" Bacchus yelled in excitement. After seeing what the Spriggan were capable of, a victory like this was absolutely huge for Fiore!
"FOUR!" Minerva, Jellal, and Kagura joined in. It was very unlike them, but the overall hype of the situation could not be contained. To rub this victory in Alvarez's face after they had the audacity to create issues…it felt very cathartic.
"So, does this mean you'll admit Fairy Tail is the strongest guild? That was the bet." Erza held a smirk at Reve.
"They only won because Luke had to protect them." Reve said. "If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't even be standing." Of course he had an answer for everything. This only made Erza roll her eyes; she figured it wouldn't be that easy.
Erza stared down at Natsu and let out a quiet sigh. "Good job, Natsu…"
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"Now then, it's time for the third fight of the day." Count Waltz said. "A rematch between Joya and Midi!"
"Seems like he couldn't let it go..." Renae was fixing her ponytail. "I suppose I could feel the same way sometimes."
Prometheus snickered with excitement. He already decided on who their fighter would be for today! The mysterious woman he brought back the night before. "This'll be a blast..."
As for Joya, Polka, Yumia, and Yukia were taking the fray today. It was an odd mix of Joya's Royal Knights and the Wizard Hunters, but this was actually one of their best possible combinations as well. "So we're up against her?" Yumia tilted her head, attempting to have a look under the woman's hood. "Hmmm...does she seem familiar?"
"I feel like I've seen her recently..." Yukia remarked.
"Oh...now that you mention it..." Polka felt the same way.
"..." The woman said nothing.
"We have Polka, Yumia, and Yukia vs...!" Chapati began, but was halted by Pandora.
"Ah...could you not say her name? She's very fragile right now." Pandora said in a gentle tone. "She'll announce her own identity."
"I'm getting that odd feeling again..." Erza narrowed her eyes. "Who is that...?"
Count Waltz had an odd sensation as he stared at the woman. Perhaps letting Prometheus convince him he was eligible to join wasn't his best idea, but that wouldn't matter if they lost here and now. The field shifted to a forest-like setting once again, numerous trees sprouting from the ground near instantly. "15 minutes begins...now!"
And right as Waltz started the battle, the woman gripped her coat and threw it off. As soon as she did, blonde hair flowed in the wind, red eyes glared at the foes before her, and a pink Fairy Tail mark was shown on their hand. The appearance of this person caused the eyes of Natsu, Erza, Hisui, and Happy to widen considerably. "What!?" The four of them said in unison.
Now Emeraude finally spoke, her lips curving into a frown as she instinctively gripped the railing in front of her. "He didn't...!"
Lambda-Lucy stared ahead, black/red markings covering her entire body. A shrill scream echoed throughout Crown City as Lambda made her power known, a pillar of black and red energy surging into the clouds above. "I'll kill you."
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Next Time: Unbreakable Bond.
