Author's Note: Oh my, apologies for the delay in my chapter release!

It's been a while. Summer job stuff, my weird internet that one day, my favorite game Elder Scrolls Online had a huge update, my old laptop broke (I bought my first MacBook too as a result!) I also finished binging Avatar TLA, ESPN's The Last Dance, the anime Overlord (which was very dark...) and I watched the very powerful documentary 13th.

ANYWAY, let me shut up, and let you all enjoy!

Also, I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter Twenty - Back to the Hardwood

"Well...I never really asked to own the team, you see? It-It was all kind of sudden...I never loved basketball that much, a-and, and Uncle Jude just figured I would be the best person to own the team after my sweet, adorable cousin turned him down."

Michelle Lobster, the world fashion icon, was utilizing her second greatest talent under the cameras that day—her tears.

Levy McGarden and Erza Scarlet sat either side of the human sprinkler, Michelle, as she continued to rain tears down on their shoulders. They were sitting in front of a Magnolia Fairies dropdown logo screen for a press conference, where she explained her situation the other day with the team's ownership to the rest of the world.

The new team owner continued through her own water works. "As a businesswoman, first and foremost, I never really think about local loyalty or fandom. My own clothing company was founded right here in town, but...Magnolia isn't my number one marketplace. H-How was I supposed to know they'd act all rebellious if I've never owned an FBA team before? Anyway, the current deal has been resolved, and I just hope that the good people of this city can accept my confused gesture over the course of this summer."

The newscasters in the audience were all teary-eyed as well, wiping each of their eyes down with tissues trying to find sympathy for the poor rookie owner as she pleased to her fan base for a second chance. Except for one interning news reporter with the FNN in the back of the conference hall.

"Yea, sure...blame the people of Magnolia for not buying your overly gaudy clothing." Lucy Heartfilia rolled her eyes as she remained the only person with a press pass on that resisted Michelle's tears. Several other news personnel did not utilize the same amount of strength.

"I'm sorry to hear the rest of the organization bullied you into trying to sell the team." One man came to Michelle's defense with a softball question. "There have been rumors that the buyer was Zeref Dragneel from Alvarez. Do you think Natsu Dragneel was secretly hoping for the team to be sold?"

Michelle choked up on her tears, then sneezed into a tissue as she tried answering that question. "No...not entirely, he loves this city...but I'm afraid he loves his brother just as much! Zeref Dragneel was the businessman at the other end of the deal. I'd be lying if I said he was not an influencing factor in my own decision making...when my late uncle signs a point guard for a historic deal, I need to make him happy as the new owner as much as I can...I hope I've done enough by holding on to the team for now!"

"AH HORSE CRAP!" Natsu Dragneel sat far away, inside the high-rise apartment of Jellal and Erza Fernandes on the other side of town as he ineffectively replied to Michelle through the TV screen. "She's the worst person I've ever heard on one of these lousy press conferences!"

The wife was currently at the press conference, but Jellal decided to play host for his fellow friends and teammates.

Gajeel sat at the other end of the living room as he took a sip from a beer bottle. "You're telling me...and I thought I always sounded the silliest on these things."

"Gray, my Darling?" Juvia asked cutely as she looked up to her boyfriend on the other side of the love seat couch. "You haven't said anything all afternoon...are you worried at all?"

Gray took a while to answer as he looked back at the TV with scornful eyes. "Nah, Juvia, just saving my breath. I can't waste anything on this lousy crap while I have other stuff on my mind."

Cana chuckled at that as she almost dropped her open bottle. "True that. You guys think you're ready for the Olympic Road? It's gonna be a tough one..."

"It will be." The host, Jellal, stood on the other side of his kitchen counter as he looked at the TV in the living room with everyone else. "But it's our road to take. This is our opportunity to defeat Zeref and save this city from losing its team."

Laxus nodded. "I've been pretty loyal to this town and fanbase, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't even a little excited to get out of Magnolia for a few months. Let all this crap blow over while we go off and play overseas."

"I suppose that's an okay way of looking at it." Mirajane softly replied. "But what if we fail to win the Gold Medal? Lucy said that's the only way we can ensure that Michelle won't sell the Fairies."

"Lucy put her trust in us…in me…" Natsu leaned forward as his elbows rested over his knees. "We're not letting this crazy woman take our team away. Even if all five of us have to win the starting spots on the national team to make that happen."

"I doubt we'll have to do that." Gray admitted. "The rest of the league likes us too, they all respect Magnolia. The guys we made the national team with all respect us as individual players, too."

"No kidding, even that Cobra guy is starting to come around to Salamander." Gajeel cracked a smile as he scrolled through his phone. "It's like these pathetic losers think the league will fold if we leave."

"They have every reason to think up that possibility." Jellal shrugged. "Magnolia founded this sport and is the home to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Half the league and people involved with the sport in this country have some tie to this franchise. Even the national team coach is an alumnus to this organization."

Laxus never replied to that and stood as he looked down at Natsu. "So, what were Lucy's terms, again? Let's make sure we're all on the same plan before we fly out to Tenrou on Thursday."

Natsu's head was facing the ground as he decided to start tuning out the TV from his mind. "It's like Mira said. We win gold, Magnolia keeps the team. If we don't…"

He could not keep his eyes down for long, though. As he glanced up to catch a new graphic, a photo of his youthful older brother took the screen with a calming smirk.

Natsu felt his eyes begin to twitch as he tried to finish his point.

"Then I have to make a pretty big decision before this season starts."

The twelve new teammates for the X792 Fiore National Team were all warming up for a fresh new practice session on Tenrou Island. The national sports facility was swarming with Olympic talent from all over the sports spectrum, but the indoor gymnasium that housed FBA talent for Olympic Basketball did its best to stay focused on their own task at hand.

"All right, everybody, we want to see a full effort for today's practice. We only have two weeks until our departure for Era, so make every second count physically and mentally."

Erza Scarlet stood tall in front of the twelve athletes and held her arms crossed in front of her chest as she addressed the team.

Minerva Orland rolled her eyes and decided to add-on to that announcement. "And be sure to take the mentally comment into account. We want a great effort, but no one needs to get injured during these next few weeks."

"Obviously they already know that, which is precisely why I never bothered mentioning it in the first place…" Erza kept her shoulders squared toward the team, but her furious eyes were now turned to look at her fellow assistant coach. "Player safety is the number one priority of any Olympic athletic program."

Minerva mirrored Erza's aggression from a distance. "Well judging by your usual limited vocabulary and lack-of articulation, I just assumed they needed a fresh translation. Apologies for trying to help my players."

The girls were inching closer to each other with rage building in their eyes as the players started to grow more and more uncomfortable.

Cobra from Cait Shelter smirked as he turned toward Jellal. "Damn, that wife of yours might as well bring some boxing gloves one of these days. She's ready to knock someone out."

"She's not the only one." Sting agreed from the other end of the bench. "Rogue, why don't you step in and calm M'Lady down for us before practice gets going?"

Rogue sunk his head down in a blushing anger as he ignored the other teammates laughing. The group was starting to get to know one another, but a few players were reserving their emotions.

Apart from the bizarrely quiet Natsu, Jura Neekus only provided a calming smile to the others as he continued to sip on a bottle of water. Laxus was near him on the far end of the bench and looked up to his elder center.

"Ya know, when other players call you a monster on the court, I try not to take it seriously. Now I might start believing them since I've never seen you laugh once while we've been here."

Jura gave Laxus a nod, but never turned to see him. "Quite similar to yourself, Young Dreyar. I can sense we both share a similar range of emotions. That is apart from your grandfather's blood running in your veins, though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laxus sat up, sounding one part intrigued, but also offended.

Jura was comfortable enough to carry on. "I've seen you share the same electric passion in your eyes as Makarov once did in his youth. I never saw Makarov play the game, but I studied footage of him growing up. He often found a perfect balance between passion and serenity both on and off the court."

"Yea, that is the Geezer in a nutshell…" Laxus took a drink from his own water as he rolled his eyes. "He gets the passion from the family, not sure where the serene part comes from, though…that always confused me about my Grandpa."

"Hmm…" Jura stroked his beard and stood with the arrival of a new figure to the court. "If I had to guess, it probably came from Makarov playing under that man year after year."

Laxus noticed Precht Gaebolg had made it into the practice, and right away the team rose to their feet and circled the legendary basketball figure. Even Natsu, who remained silent all morning, joined the group with calmness in his eyes.

Coach Precht addressed his team. "Gentlemen. We have less than two-weeks before taking our spot on the Olympic stage. You each possess the individual talent and drive to achieve success for this nation, but it is now my job to mold you all together. We will create the greatest basketball team the sport has ever seen in the next few months, and each of you will adapt to play with one another."

The group nodded, and the legendary Coach Hades back away to the sideline as he grabbed a ball from the nearby rack. "Before working on any plays or rehearsing Olympic fundamentals, I'd like to see a scrimmage. I'll be changing the scrimmage line-ups every day, but I'll start with something simple for our first round…"

He looked at his assistants and pointed at both ends of the court. "Coach Fernandes and Coach Orland, you two will be our referees. Jura and Ichiya will sit with me, and substitute in on my command. No coaching whatsoever."

"Man." Ichiya nodded, and Jura silently obliged as well as he joined the head coach on the sideline. The player separated, and while a small amount of minor trash talking started up, Cobra addressed the entire room.

"Is it really fair to have all of them play as a whole on the same team? We better be getting both subs for this."

"Play." Hades reaffirmed as he looked to Erza at center court. She tossed the ball high in the air and backed away quickly as Laxus easily out jumped the power forward Bacchus Groh, securing team Magnolia the ball right away.

Natsu had the ball and took it toward the attacking end of the court as his team spread out with the defense. They players had all quickly adjusted to the altered paint lines for international play, which allowed the Salamander point-guard to quickly call out his own play.

He remained silent, but held his right index finger and thumb high in the air. The team moved at his remark, and Gray received a quick pass from Natsu at the right wing. Natsu then ran for the right corner and watched as Laxus positioned himself in the low post on their side. To the other side, Gajeel remained at the high post, while Jellal waited at the top of the key for Gray to see him.

Gray took command of the offense, and watched as the defensive players tried to mark their men, but the icy forward was quicker than he looked as he scanned his options. Lyon expected Natsu to receive the ball, but Natsu gave it to Gajeel on the left elbow, who then waited for Natsu to make a cut to the basket. Gajeel lofted a high pass to the Salamander and watched as his assist earned the game its first points.

"Impressive." Lyon laughed to himself. "You all seemed to have learned from your rookie head coach after all."

Gray smirked as the back-pedaled together to the beck court. "Just don't look so dumbfounded when we do it again next play, okay? I'd like to see a little more competition for that starting Small Forward spot."

"Then I'll make sure that you're standing right in front of me when I sink my shot, Gray." Lyon jested quickly. "Count on that, if you can."

Sting had the ball and shifted from one hand to the other. He looked to Lyon, but saw Gray's physical defense, and decided to pass off to a patient Cobra, who was now playing a guard position to the right perimeter. He waited lazily as Jellal provided defense, then passed back to Sting, who took the ball to the other side of the arc toward the middle.

He waited for Lyon to set a pick, the dashed around to the outside, quickly passing it off to Rogue around the low post. Rogue turned to put the ball up and was instantly fouled by the man of Black Steel, Gajeel.

"Gonna have ta stretch them shoulders out ta get beyond me, little Lyos." Gajeel teased the Saber City forward with his childhood birth name, which did not seem to sit too well with Rogue at the moment.

Rogue went to the line and took his first shot. He made the first free-throw, then missed the second. Bacchus went in to rebound under the rim, but Gajeel had timed his ascent perfectly with the shot and beat the God of Wine to the rebound as he dumped it quickly to Laxus, and let the Fairies drive it back down the court.

Laxus sent the ball to a mid-court Natsu, who only held the ball for a few seconds before passing it to a driving Gray, who put the pass in with a powerful dunk.

"Two in a row?" Gray looked to Natsu with a grin and high-fived his teammate. "Since when are you all about the selfless passes?"

"No kidding." Sting chuckled as he went to the end line. I was excited to see you fly from the free-throw line. Kind of a letdown, if ya ask me, Natsu."

"Don't wake the Dragon there, pretty boy." Cobra suggested to Sting. "You'll regret it the moment that fire turns on. Just askin' ta get burnt."

"He's a pretty wild guy, hehee...*hic*." Bacchus tried laughing, but barely noticed which side of the court held the ball. "Er, what way are we going, now? I'm a little more shaken and stirred today than usual."

Laxus rolled his eyes. "We're going this way. You look like you're about to hurl, though, which means you'll be heading to floor if you get one drop on me."

"Jura, replace Bacchus." Precht looked on, and let the elder Jura replace a passive Bacchus, who shrugged and slowly jogged to the sideline. Laxus's shoulders stiffened as the real center took the court and shuffled his feet with the league veteran as Eucliffe brought the ball down for his team's redemption.

Sting waved his hand, then directed Rogue and Cobra to shift their spots around. He passed it to an approaching Rogue at the elbow, then watched as the shadowy power forward delivered a quick backwards pass to Jura in the paint. Jura turned inward to deliver a dunk, but felt the determined Laxus right up against him. He instead smiled back and pivoted to send the ball out wide to an open Cobra in the corner.

Cobra side-stepped out from Jellal's slow defense and sent up a silky three to take the tie for his team, then smirked in front of Jellal. "Man! For how much money you put into treating those knees of yours, that was some lousy defense, ay Meteor Man?"

"He's just letting ya suck in some air." Gajeel retorted with a smile. "Just waitin' for that head of yours to fly into the ceiling like a balloon."

The others laughed loudly, but Natsu made no hesitation in his silent reply as he quickly drove the offense to the other side. He passed it off to Gray, then took an overlap to the corner as Gray commanded two new open triangle passing options.

Gray returned the favor and passed it back to Natsu at the corner, who pump-faked the ball to Laxus at the low-post, then hurled it across the paint to Gajeel at the other side of the court. Gajeel took a dribble, allowing Jellal to overlap to his left corner side, but the power forward chose to pass it low to Laxus under the rim, who ignored the layup above Jura, and rolled it back to Natsu.

The Salamander's usual instinct was to take that shot in the far corner of the court, but he instead gave it back to Gray, who found Jellal still open on the other side, and watch as the newly founded Meteor Man proved Cobra wrong by making a nice three of his own.

"Man, sucked the venom right out of ya that time, didn't he, Cobra? You gonna let him get away with that?" Gray japed at Cobra while the others howled with laughter, and quickly set up a new play for Sting and the others to come down.

Sting was starting to feel loose and began enjoying the light humor like the others. He did, however, notice that Natsu was still silent and serious for the duration of the game. Smiling with confidence as he held the ball at the point, Sting dribbled while looking at his direct opponent.

"Wow, you're really fighting for that starting PG spot, aren't ya, Natsu? Even tryin' ta play a different style of ball? I admire it, but it's kinda boring just watching you pass it so much…"

Sting ran swiftly forward as he drove the ball inward. "But if you don't turn into the Salamander soon, this game will be through! I'm not letting you take my spot from me just by changing your play-style!"

He went to make a pass, but found that Natsu had popped the ball out of his hands. The silently fast Salamander was already at the other end of the court, and dangling from his rim as he dunked the stolen ball through the hoop, delivering two more commanding points for his team.

Sting's face was as pale as his hair, while Rogue came up from behind. "Perhaps Cobra was right…just stop antagonizing him and let's stay in the game."

It failed to work so easily for the other team, though, as Natsu lit up in his performance from there. He passed it every other possession, but every time the fairy team had the ball, Nastu was the one who scored their points. He walked away with 30 of his team's 37 before Precht blew the whistle and called the scrimmage for the time being.

The players all walked off the court rather silently, and each took a bottle from the chairs as they collected their breaths and thoughts. Precht studied the team's uncomfortable behavior.

"Both teams today were made up of unbelievable talent, but only one side has trained and dedicated their time to being a real, unified team." Precht made sure they all heard his words. "Treat every opponent you see in Era like the Magnolia Fairies who played here, today."

Gajeel liked the sound of that, and shouted for the other to hear. "So did you guys enjoy getting your asses kicked, or what?"

"Eyy, come on now!" Bacchus yelled back, and stopped untying his shoes to give his teammate a laugh. "We have two weeks for some more rematches. The Games are only just beginning, my man."

"He's right." Cobra stood and looked at Gajeel with a sour grin. "We'll see who's joking when you're the guy Salamander drops 30 on, Metal Head."

The room was lit up with a few faint, awkward chuckles, until Sting stood from his chair, and tossed a towel over to Cobra.

"Well, you were right. I shoulda shut up about Natsu…looks like we all got burnt!"

Things grew impossibly quieter, until Natsu raised his head and candidly replied.

"Hehe, guess I just had a fire in my belly."

Everyone, including Natsu laughed and clapped from that remark, and as the point guard Eucliffe broke the tension, the players all started chatting about the performance, leaving the assistant coaches to smile with curious pride.

"Well, look at that." Erza nodded forward. "If they can all manage to get a long, then I suppose their coaches should too."

Minerva started to scoff, but remained standing beside Erza. "I suppose…I guess I can also admit that offense of yours is more impressive than I thought. The Fairy players knew it like clockwork."

"I'll take your words with thanks." Erza obliged. "Your defensive schemes were not half bad either. We may be able to win that medal as a team after all."

Lucy Heartfilia was sent to perform field research on Tenrou Island for her internship. Her internship mentor, Loke, also felt it would be healthy for her to get out of main-land Fiore for a while as long as her bizarre cousin stayed around.

Her eyes were lit up as wide as they could open as she wondered throughout the expansive outdoor training complex for the Fiore Olympic Committee. Most of the training and athletic exercise were done indoors inside weightlifting rooms and gymnasiums, but the Track and Field athletes were taking advantage of a gorgeous sunny day while they had it, and were all sprawled out over the sub-tropical sports park.

She had a simple "Team Fiore" purple polo shirt on, and a white skirt as she looked around at all the summer athletes trying to find the perfect place to start with her journalism.

"Man, this beats taking photos for yearbook back when I was in high school. This place is amazing! Look at all these athletes!"

"This is pretty intense." Loke walked with her, as his head broadcasting crew was setting up his stage for a special edition of the national news for that evening on Tenrou Island. Their set was being arranged at the main entrance of the complex, and the main broadcaster decided to join his intern on a stroll through the Fiore Olympic Park.

"I'm glad I took the offer to be the primetime host for the Olympics this year. This is a bigger opportunity than I realized." Loke wore a loose blue button up with short sleeves, and the top button undone. He also had white capri pants on and brown leisure shoes as he enjoyed his time away from the camera.

"Well you have been pretty successful in your own role." Lucy admitted kindly. "Maybe spending your first year under Karen helped you more than you thought. After this, your daytime show may even get a better spot on TV."

"Here's hoping!" He smiled back and looked down at his partner writing feverishly into her notebook. "Wow, you really are a thorough reporter, aren't you? Those are some heavy-duty notes."

"Duh! I need as much as possible to write my first story." Lucy beamed back to him as she tried to further admire the scene. "I already have a few working titles for my first article, and all I really need now is a few good interviews with some Team Fiore Athletes."

"Well if you need some help getting any of the female athletes' attention, just give me a heads up…" Loke turned away with a smirk as he lowered his glasses to look at a few track athletes stretching in the distance.

Lucy rolled her eyes but remained friendly. "Yea, I'm sure having you scare away potential interviews won't help me out, here." She then felt the need to further tease her unofficial boss. "But hold on, I thought Mr. Independent was staying away from women while he built his new career? Or was that just a lie to keep me as your intern?"

"Ahehehe…" Loke awkwardly laughed. "I mean, I'm not looking for anyone to date, but unfortunately I'm still me. I know what I like."

Lucy sighed. "That makes sense. It's a little sad to hear that you haven't found anyone you enjoy being with yet. You're pretty comfortable on first dates."

"Am I?" Loke perked up a bit as they passed over to the track and field complex. "I guess this is the most time I've ever spent around one of my ex-girlfriends."

Lucy felt a little annoyed that he chose to describe this situation like that, but she also knew it was mainly her fault for bringing it up. "I mean, it took me forever to realize you were just a lady's man while we dated. You always seemed interested in everything I had to say, you took me out to nice places, and always made me feel comfortable…at least for the first half of our relationship."

"Yea…then I sort of…" Loke was regretting bringing anything up, and the two stopped halfway on the track as they looked away from each other with their heads bent down.

An awkward silence took both their voices, which left room for one of the track officials to shot in their direction.

"CLEAR THE TRACK! NOW!"

Lucy and Loke both collectively gasped as a row of sprinters were rounding the corner and heading right for them along the home stretch of the course. Both journalists were frozen for a moment, until two great big arms grabbed them at their waists and picked them up off their feet.

"Hold on! I gotcha both!"

The large brute with fluffy white hair placed them both down on the infield and smiled widely. "Gotta be careful next time! You're not always gonna have a Real Man around to…oh hey! It's you guys!"

"Elfman!" Lucy lit up with delight as she hugged her former friend from high school and the Fairies. "It's been too long! You've been away from the team all year training."

"Boy I have!" Elfman raised his arms, which were now double their size since he left the Fairies. "I've been putting in a lot of hard work for the Summer Games!"

"No kidding, big guy." Loke seemed equally amused. "It's good ta see you, man. You always were the best athlete Magnolia U had."

Loke was a senior at Magnolia University when Elfman was a freshman, so the two briefly knew each other on the smaller sized college campus. "Hey Loke, good ta see you too! Man, I never expected to see either of you two here. What are the odds!"

They all laughed, but then Elfman remembered the former relationship the two reporters once held. Having gone to Highschool a few years before Lucy at Magnolia Heights, and having met Loke in college after leaving, he now felt a sense of confusion wash over his flustered face.

"Uuuh, so Lucy! How's Natsu doin'? Still as crazy as he used to be?"

"Uh y-yea!" Lucy quickly replied. "He's really great! He's here playing with the Fiore Basketball team, now!"

"Yea, Laxus told me they all made the team. I'm supposed to hang with them tonight up town. Maybe we'll see each other there!"

"That'd be fun!" Lucy patted her notebook. "I can get an interview from you for my new story. Maybe if we time it right, we can watch Loke on the news from his new set."

"Yea, I'm pretty excited about it." Loke rubbed the back of his head. "So Elfman, are you competing in all the field events, this year?"

"Yea, shotput, hammer throw, javelin, discus, all the big ones!" Elfman patted his chest. "It'll take a Real Man to bring home the Gold in all four, so I'm hoping to do just that!"

"Four Golds in the field might be a record for Fiore!" Lucy wrote that down on her paper. "That would be amazing for you!"

"Yea, but I also have to be a little honest with myself." Elfman laughed modestly. "My javelin is my best, but my other three still need some work to them. We'll at least have one Fiore athlete winning multiple Gold Medals, though, so I can't be too upset."

"Oh?" Loke looked around trying to scout for the person Elfman was referring to. "Who's our superstar, this year?"

"I think I found her…another Magnolia prodigy." Lucy smiled more as she turned to see the finish line of the track, were one female athlete darted well beyond the others to claim first in the practice trial.

"Yea, she's a beast!" Elfman cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey Coco! Get your manly butt over here! We got a surprise guest!"

"Oh Lucy!" The young athlete ran over in her Fiore practice gear as she leapt to greet Lucy with a hug. "It's great to see you! It seems like you graduated so long ago!"

"It's been a full year, now." Lucy smiled back. "A junior in high school competing in the Olympic Games. You might be the youngest in country history."

"I am!" Coco proudly replied. "Sixteen-years-old and competing in five events. Four sprints and long jump! My trainer suggested I leave high jump and pole vault out of it…we figured five events would be more manageable."

"Yea, one would be stressful for a regular athlete!" Loke admitted with support. "I hope you can do us proud."

"Coco will win her sprints for sure." Elfman patted her on the back. "That long jump has been on her mind a lot lately, though."

"Yea, I'm not too scared." Coco admitted honestly. "It's my favorite. I'm looking for more than a Gold in that one…I'm wanting the World Record!"

"Well I wish you the best of luck!" Lucy gently smiled back. "I'd love a more formal interview with you too before we all go to Era. We can have it some other time when you're both not training."

"Sounds good!" Coco sprinted back over to her starting spot as she waved energetically in her retreat. "Good seeing you again, Lucy!"

"Yea, I gotta head over now, too." Elfman sighed. "The shotputs probably miss me. We'll talk later for sure!"

"Right!" Lucy and Loke both waved simultaneously as they let the athletes wondered back over to their training spots. Lucy began writing more into her journal with wide open eyes, while Loke simply admired her from the side.

Loke raised an eyebrow. "You knew she was the youngest athlete in history, and the record number of medals won by individuals in Fiore?"

"Mmhm!" She proudly replied. "I don't mess around with researching the important facts and stats!"

"You're a total natural, ya know?" Loke was being honest. "I should just let ya have my primetime slot and take the behind-the-scenes stuff, myself."

"Ahaha, thanks, but the camera still scares me…plus you're just saying that to be nice." Lucy gave him a wink as she finished writing, then turned for the other end of the in-field. "Come on, let's go get a few camera shots of Elfman practicing. Only a few weeks before we head off to the Games!"

She grabbed his hand and led Loke over to the field events. The near-speechless veteran reporter simply looked down at the back of Lucy's head from behind as he calmly followed.

"Sounds good, Lucy…take your shot while you can…"

1. Michelle is playing with two-faces. Quite like her real FT counterpart, bu in a slightly different way.

2. Okay, so when I wrote this game I was worried I was making Natsu sound a little out-of-character. Now since this is the dead center of a sequel story, there technically isn't anything wrong with him being a little OOC here as a more quiet and focused person. But I'd like to defend it all and say he's still in character. Natsu's emotions during the scrimmage were very similar to his anime reaction of seeing the new guild hall in the episode before the Battle of Fairy Tail arc. He's really quiet and angry there, but then cheers up once his mood changes (like when Sting makes the joke at the end of the game.)

3. The scrimmage here was also heavily based on "The best game that Michael Jordan ever played in." It was during a practice with the '92 Olympic Dream Team in Monte Carlo. Lots of NBA all stars throwing around trash talk, and very good basketball. I'd highly suggest going to Youtube to watch the full 1hr documentary on the Dream Team for free, or at least looking up that Dream Team scrimmage (it's only 4 minutes long). The intensity and ego-sharing from those real life players is what I want my story's team to emulate. (The scrimmage scene is also partially narrated by a very funny Magic Johnson.)

4. Lucy and Loke are meeting some Team USA athletes, and we reunite with Elfman! Plus Coco is here too! And here you probably thought I'd just keep the story focused on basketball...Okay, well maybe they were kind of just Easter eggs. It's still a story only about Bball, but look out for other stuff like this throughout the Olympic chapters.

5. Loke seems to admire Lucy very much. Quite the interesting intern/mentor relationship. We'll see where that develops...until next time!