Let the saga continue. As always, I do not own Fairy Tail nor claim any music or copyrights to any characters except for my own

Lucy paid for transport via train to Letopolis. The entire way she longed to be sitting across a poor motion sick dragon-slayer. To be holding Happy close to her and slowly nodding off. She couldn't deny the love she had for her team. Erza and Gray would always have places in her heart. She missed them all so dearly. But why was she so willing to go to the ends of the Earth for Natsu. Sure they had a few, 'tense' encounters, a glance here, an 'accidental' flash there. The chemistry was there...why had neither of them acted on it? Maybe he didn't see her that way. That she would always just be his friend...his guildmate...just a comrade.

Lucy sighed and planted her forehead against the glass of the train window and watched the world pass by.

Elsewhere...

"Gray! This is a fighting festival! we must partake!" Erza hollered as she ran through the inner portions of a town, bouncing from one stall to another. Gray groaned and trudged along, "I'd rather be beatin' on Natsu...but that fire-breathed idiot hasn't come back from that mission yet." The two partook in the festivities of this town and passed by a large building.

A man out front donned in elegant robes, almost like an ancient Grecian, shouted loudly, "Come one come all! This is going to be the greatest fight of them all! Come watch the fiercest gladiators in Letopolis take on a beast thought to be extinct for millennia!" Erza was slightly interested, but it sounded mostly like the theater. Gray was completely oblivious, mainly just following wherever Erza went. He wasn't very engaged with the whole festival, mainly due to his best friend being absent.

"Gray, what do you think?" Erza paused in front of the ticket booth for the Coliseum. Gray looked at the prices, "I mean they're pretty cheap...might as well watch and if we hate it we can leave." Erza nodded before slamming down the amount for two tickets, successfully scaring the ticket booth operator into submission. "Sh-show starts at 6..." the poor boy whimpered and slid the tickets under the glass.

Erza placed the tickets in a bag and nodded promptly. "Let's go find a funnel cake stand," the redhead deadpanned.

As the two the arena, a nearby train station was buzzing with people leaving and racing toward the festival. Like a fantasy Disney World Monorail. Lucy steps off, one of the last off the train, and looks around, not having seen this many people in quite a while. She clutches her keys and thinks to herself, "I have to find them."

She, like many of the tourists, wandered the festival, looking for something. She, a massive dragon and a cat, they a way to be entertained. She wandered for around an hour, before looking at her watch, "5:30...I should either find dinner or a hotel that serves dinner."

"LAST MINUTE DEAL! A GLADIATORS MEAL FOR THE NEXT 7 PATRONS TO THE FIGHT OF FIGHTS!" a large man with elegant robes screamed as he held 7 vouchers in his hand, each sparkling silver. Lucy, hearing meal, rushed over to the man. "How much?!" Lucy practically salivating, Train food wasn't very filling, so this would be the best food she's had in a few days.

"For the beautiful lady? Why only a smile and a wink," the man grinned and looked Lucy up and down. It made Lucy feel gross, but for a free dinner, worth it. She leaned forward, in the typically Lucy pushing her chest up way, and gave him and wink and a smile. The man nearly fainted but handed Lucy her voucher. "Bless You, Sweet Child." He drooled a little before trying to sell the rest of his vouchers.

Lucy made her way inside, the voucher included a decent seat to the show, she went to a concession stand and redeemed the voucher. She received some sort of meat leg as well as a mug of 'beer' that was root beer, and some potato wedges. "Pretty decent for free," she made her way to her seat and looked out into the arena.

It was an extremely large arena, bigger than any fighting pit she had ever seen. The lions and wild beasts fighting currently looked so tiny. What was this arena built for if not Kings of the Jungle?

"Ladies, Gentleman, and everyone in between!" a very large man said from a press box at the top of the arena. "We all know why you're here tonight?" the crowd roared and cheered. "We all want our Champion, Vordugan!" a spotlight lit up the center of the arena, which was now cleared of lions and beats, and a giant man with stark white hair and very large muscles. He almost looked like a bodybuilder with tattoos on his head and chest. "To take on the mightiest of beasts!"

The crowd continued to roar. Elsewhere, Gray and Erza could be seen also cheering, they paid for the tickets so why not partake? Lucy was still confused, "What beast are they fighting?" she asked the woman next to her.

"They haven't said! But it could be heard in the innards of the city underground! It was so loud! Almost like thunder. The manacles were probably huge," the woman said as she didn't take her eyes off the center of the arena.

Lucy had no clue what could be that big, thundering? It had to be massive...

"Let's take a blast into the past!" The announcer yelled. A clattering of chains could be heard erupting from the opening in the arena wall, currently blocked by a gate. "Weighing in at 10 tons, and 60 ft long!" the announcer yelled once more, the crowd getting louder and louder.

"Can Vordugan beat...THE MIGHTY..." he paused for effect. Suddenly an enormous creature burst through the gate, snarling and roaring, it's chains snapping once the beast could free itself.

Lucy, Gray, and Erza all thought the exact same thing as the announcer screamed into his speaking lacrima.

"DRAGON!"