Lucy cursed whatever magic her kidnapper was using. It felt like she had been wrapped in a weighted blanket, only that blanket weighed a thousand pounds.
Okay, so that was an exaggeration. But Lucy was a writer. It was in her nature to be dramatic when describing things, and her kidnapper's magic definitely pressed down upon her until the blonde wizard was a limp noodle unable to even move her jaw to scream.
All she could do was stare at the back of the palace uniform she was wearing.
Lucy shouldn't be surprised that her kidnapper is female. She knew being one of the fairer gender didn't automatically mean she was a weak wizard only interested in beauty magic like ColorS. Her guild was full of female monsters like Erza and Mira and Evergreen and Juvia. Hell, in the right context, even Levy, Lisanna and herself could prove themselves to be forces to be reckoned with.
But, she's never really pegged women as prone to kidnapping. It's just seems more of a guy thing.
Especially since Lucy doesn't understand why she's been kidnapped in the first place.
Her first instinct was it dealt with the Games, obviously. She had yet to compete in the first round against the other guilds, so maybe someone was looking to ensure she didn't participate. Lucy tossed that theory aside as soon as she thought it. Kidnapping her wouldn't prevent her team from taking place. Elfman, as Team A's reserve member, would step in to take her place.
Not to mention, once discovered, such actions were more likely to get an opponent's team removed and banned from future Games. Why would anyone take that risk?
Whatever they wanted with Lucy, it had to do with her personally and not as a competitor in the Games.
Was this another misguided attempt of her father's to bring her home? She hadn't spoken with him since the Phantom Lord fiasco, after which she made it clear the Heartfilia estate was no longer her home.
Getting nowhere with her theories, and knowing that the who and why would be revealed shortly—because all kidnappers loved to brag and monologue—Lucy turned to devising an escape plan. She wasn't the type of girl to sit around and wait for rescue. Plus, her guild really didn't need this distraction right now.
'By the Spirit King!' Lucy cursed to herself. What if her kidnapper was the Zeref-worshipper Fairy Tail was looking for?
Mind spiraling into worst case scenarios, Lucy missed their arrival at their end destination. But she didn't miss looking at her kidnapper as she was gently placed into a hard, wing-backed chair.
"It's you!" she blurted, "that girl from Sabertooth that got replaced."
Standing before her wearing the white, blue, and gold uniform of a palace soldier, was the light-haired chick who had participated on the second day. It had been the lightning trivia round and the girl—stars damnit what was her name?—had barely snagged sixth. She had been replaced by the cruel Minerva woman before she had a chance to fight, so Lucy didn't even know what type of magic she wielded.
It made escaping trickier. She didn't know what to defend against, but Lucy also didn't need to. The former Sabertooth wizard had made a mistake in not taking away her key ring. Any one of her spirits would be a great distraction, and the Celestial wizard was honestly surprised Loke hadn't already jumped to her rescue. He and Virgo were the only two of her spirits who frequently opened their own gates. Catching her in princess carry and spiriting her away from her kidnapper, dramatically extoling the power of their love was right up Loke's alley. But she only needed Virgo. The Celestial Maiden could dig a hole and Lucy would be free just like that.
Unknown to even her guildmates, Lucy didn't actually need her keys to summon her spirits. It required more magic power, but she was capable of opening a gate without holding the key, so long as she was contracted to the spirit.
The blonde had pushed herself to reach this point after Juvia had kidnapped her for Phantom Lord. Losing her keys was the greatest weakness of any Celestial wizard. She never wanted to be helpless again.
When she had summoned the Spirit King, trying to force Loke's gate open, Lucy had unintentionally summoned every spirit she possessed at the time. Five golden and four silver. It required an astronomical amount of energy to even open one gate without a key and Lucy had managed nine, with more than half being the more powerful and coveted zodiac keys.
Lucy wasn't a brawler, unlike the majority of her guild. She could hold her own in a magic battle, but fist fights weren't her thing. She was healthy and fit and had quite a nice kick but held no illusions that she would win a physical fight.
But she stood out in terms of magic power. So many people, wizards included, believed that Holder Magics like Celestial wizards resorted to using said magic because they required less magic power. It was entirely untrue. Lucy could have learned any number of magics. She chose Celestial because her mother shared them with her, and the young isolated heiress was enamored with being able to summon multiple friends.
Because her spirits were her friends and she would kick the ass of anyone that called them a tool.
Lucy was a strong Celestial wizard because of her magic power. She could summon multiple spirits at a time, combining their strength and abilities. She was capable of casting Urano Metria, a celestial magic spell that gathered the energy of the eighty-eight constellations into one tremendous attack. Her ultimate trump was her Star Dress. Lucy could incorporate the power of her spirits into her own body, including their magic power, allowing her to make use of their abilities and spells that typically needed more than one person to cast. Like Urano Metria for example. Normally, Lucy would summon Gemini to provide the extra power she needed for that spell, but in any of her star dress forms, the Celestial wizard could cast that spell on her own.
First chance she had, she was going to make the other wizard regret kidnapping her.
"My apologies for the rough transport, Lucy-sama," the silvery-blue haired wizard bowed to her. "I would have preferred that you came willingly, but the princess said it was most urgent she speak with you."
Lucy, taken aback by the really formal address, practically gaped at her kidnapper. She had been kidnapped on the princess's orders?
"Right, and what does the princess want with me. . . what do I call you? Not to be rude or anything, but I don't know your name."
The guard wizard flushed, with shame if Lucy was reading the shift in her features correctly.
"Of course. I'm Yukino," she introduced herself.
"Yukino, right. Well, I'm sure if the princess is involved this must be important, but I have a curfew, you see?" the blonde smiled cutely, exaggerating her dimples. "For the Games. I have to be in Fairy Tail's inn by midnight and we must be cutting it pretty close right now. Any chance you could tell me what she wants, and I can be on my way? Or we could reschedule."
Yukino's small hands came up to cover the lower half of her face. "I wish I could, Lucy-sama, but even I don't know why her highness summoned for you. But I'm sure the Games will make an exception if she tells them to."
Lucy was not comforted by those assurances, because Yukino hadn't guaranteed that Lucy would be let go after this talk.
"Indeed, they would, but it won't be necessary. This shouldn't take long. Thank you for bringing Lucy, Sargent Yukino."
Lucy craned her neck, the only mobility she had regained thus far, to eye the third speaker. The princess was aptly named. Her hair and eyes were the same shade of jade green that she had been named for. Her dress was a simple cream, trimmed in her signature color along the neckline and the triangle cut outs on her thighs.
"Of course, Princess. If you'll excuse me."
"No, I need you to remain."
Yukino froze mid-bow, clearly not anticipating that response.
Princess Hisui glided over to the luxurious couch across from Lucy's own seat and eased herself down, patting the seat beside her as an invitation for the other woman to join her. Yukino hesitantly followed suit, sitting as far away as could be deemed polite.
"The kingdom is in grave danger, Lucy Heartfilia, and I need your help to protect it."
Lucy was returned to the guild with a royal guard escort and immediately besieged by concerned guildmates. Despite the whole guild knowing they were participating in the Games due to Zeref's strange fascination with Natsu killing him, not everyone was privy to the information Crime Sorcière shared or the fact that a future version of Levy had traveled through time to prevent the world ending.
So she lied, telling them that Princess Hisui happened to be a Celestial Spirit wizard as well and was interested in meeting Lucy because of that.
She saved the real story for Makarov's interim office and those aware of Future-Levy and the Eclipse Gate.
Her unplanned tête-à-tête with Fiore's princess revealed that the second—or was it first because they had technically traveled before Future-Levy?—time traveler had indeed come to this time to convince the princess the Eclipse Gate could also be used as a magical cannon to wipe out the horde of dragons that were about to attack her country.
Lucy had tried to dissuade her otherwise, without revealing how much she knew about how the gate truly functioned, but the princess refused to see reason. She was convinced, because her source had predicted several impossible things that had come to pass involving the Games already, that the 'Eclipse Cannon' was Fiore's only hope against 10,000 dragons.
"This is troubling," the Third Master acknowledged. "And you said it's coming to a head on July 7?"
"That's right," Lucy confirmed. "If the Games end the way her time traveler promised, the princess plans to open the gate during the victory feast."
"How though? I though all twelve Zodiac keys were needed. You only have ten," Erza pointed out.
Lucy clenched her fists in the fabric of her skirt. "Yukino, the mage from Sabertooth that was replaced, has the other two. And Hisui confiscated mine."
Several gasps filled her ears and everybody was talking over one another.
"That means she has all twelve?"
"Is there any way to get them back, Master? On grounds of interfering with a participant."
"How terrible!"
"They can't be allowed to do that. Lucy is supposed to compete tomorrow."
"We'll have to put Elfman in her place."
"No."
The room fell silent at Lucy's commanding tone. It hurt to be separated from her keys. She felt like she had failed them by not fighting to keep them. But Lucy wasn't an idiot. She knew there was no fighting the kingdom's princess. Hisui was going to commandeer her keys by force if necessary, and Lucy held no desire to be locked up. By handing them over willingly, the princess had released her, fully expecting Lucy to run back to her guild confident that there was nothing she could do.
She was only partially right. The guild couldn't go against the princess and win, not on the word of just one wizard. And even without her keys, no one knew what magic Hisui used. To them, it wouldn't make sense for their princess to steal gate keys from a popular wizard.
Lucy may have failed to protect her spirits but she refused to let them down.
"I can fight without my keys."
"Are you sure about this, Lucy?" Future-Levy asked.
"Hisui is basing her plans on her informant. Whatever they told her doesn't involve me. Everyone knows it's my turn to participate tomorrow. I'm the only one on my team that hasn't. But I can't do that without my keys, or so she believes. No one expects a Celestial wizard to fight after losing her keys. Hisui is expecting for Elfman to take my place. She's betting on it, in fact." Lucy lifted her gaze to meet Makarov's, brown eyes blazing with determination. "I'm going to show her she's made a bad beat. 'Lucky' Lucy Heartfilia isn't out of the game yet."
July 5 X791
It's been years since Natsu felt the incessant itch to pick a fight for the sake of it. As the end of the Games drew closer, his urge continued to mount. He leant over the railing of his team's designated dugout, listening with half an ear as Lucy argued with some officiant about her participation status.
Apparently, the princess had gotten cocky and informed one of the organizers that Lucy had chosen to withdraw from this day's proceedings, leaving Elfman Strauss to take her place. Needless to say, the officials were confused by her presence.
After several minutes of back and forth, even Mato had gotten involved, attempting to mediate, Lucy got her way.
Mato cheerfully announced her as Fairy Tail's A team participant and moved on to the explanation of the day's game, much to the relief of the audience that had been growing gradually more restless the longer it took to resolve Lucy's participation issue.
With the aid of Mest, Mato and the eight competitors were teleported to the base of one of the giant statues that towered above the arena.
"Today's game is deceptively simple, kabo." A snap of white gloved fingers summoned an angled zip line. A second snap painted several lines on the arena floor spaced ten feet apart. The finish line was bright red. "This is Trust Fall, kabo! Each of you will take turns descending this zip line, aiming for the red line. The closer you get, the better, kabo."
Instructions delivered, Mato once more held out the magic straws to determine order. Lyon, Lucy, Warcry, Ren, Juvia, Kagura, Sting, Nalpudding.
Natsu eyed the setup, finally assured that Lucy could handle this without her spirits. The zip line slanted downwards at an angle, but even at its end point, anchored on the arena's inner wall on the opposite side, it was a good thirty feet above the ground. There would be a bit of a free fall to account for. And the finish line wasn't at the end of the zip line. It was situated in the middle of the arena.
Still, it seemed almost too easy. Especially when Mato claimed the game was more difficult than it looked.
"One more thing, kabo," the mascot's grin grew devious. "Riders will be blindfolded, kabo."
Noise broke out over the stadium as the crowd of watchers began to scream and cheer with excitement. It wasn't the most difficult event they had faced, nor even very dangerous. A fall from that height would hurt, but it was also a quick fix with Porlyusica and Wendy. The blindfold was just enough of a danger element to make watching eight wizards drop down a zip line amusing. It meant the competitors couldn't simply drop when they were above the finish line because they wouldn't be able to see it.
"You can, of course, use any magic at your disposal to land as close to the finish line as possible, kabo."
Lyon cracked his knuckles, stepping forward to allow Mato to tie the blindfold around the eyes. Apparently, the announcer was responsible for making sure no one could cheat the blindfold. He reached up, grabbing the handlebar with one hand and thrusting the other towards the arena's center. A giant ice pillar rose from the ground to just under the zip line.
"Oh, not a bad strategy," Yajima mused. "Lyon has removed the need to blindly release. Once his feet hit the platform, he'll simply need to lower his ice tower and he'll be back on solid ground."
"You don't think that's against the rules?" Lola asked concerned.
Yajima chuckled. "Not at all. Mato-kun said they could use any magic. As long as Lyon rides the zip line to the ice platform he's created, I would say he's within the rules."
"It's too bad his creation is off-center."
Natsu could see Lyon frown at the third commentator's words, who just so happened to be Princess Hisui. The pink-haired dragon slayer glowered at her, wanting nothing more than to demand she return Lucy keys.
He believed in his teammate and knew she was capable. It was the principle of the matter. She had abused her power as the crown's princess to take the keys Lucy had dedicated herself to. Lucy had earned each and every won of those keys.
And now she had come to watch Lucy fail.
Lyon, having decided against moving his pillar—he didn't know which direction it was off-center and therefore couldn't calculate how to correct it, chose to take off. He landed on his pillar easily and rode the descending platform to the arena's floor. Once on solid ground, he ripped of his blindfold.
"Lamia Scale's Lyon Vastia touches down thirty-four feet past the finish line. We'll leave a marker so everyone knows where he finished." An image of Lyon's guild mark flared to life, along with the number thirty-four.
"I think this will be a tougher mental challenge for out competitors than they anticipated," commented Yajima. "I don't know if any of them aside from Kagura possess a magic compatible to the task."
"I can't wait to see how creative they get," Hisui said softly, jade eyes locked on Lucy as she prepared for her turn.
To the crowd's surprise, Lucy summoned her grandfather clock.
"Yes, I most definitely agree. Celestial spirits don't exactly lend themselves to this sort of challenge. Perhaps she'll have the spirit carry her down? As long as Lucy is blindfolded, I would call that fair."
"Horologium, I need you to track time for me. Forty-six seconds."
"Of course, Miss Lucy."
Lucy confidently started her descent. At Horologium's command, his owner dropped, landing lightly in the arms of Loke.
Natsu briefly wondered if Lucy had summoned him or if the spirit had summoned himself before deciding it didn't matter. The princess looked positively alarmed, and her abnormal reaction hadn't gone unnoticed.
"What a surprising performance out of Fairy Tail's A team!" cried Lola, clutching his toupee to his chest. "Lucy Heartfilia misses the finish line by a mere twelve feet!"
"I don't think any of us were expecting that," Hisui said weakly.
Having seen Lucy safely complete the event, Natsu zoned out on the rest of the competitors, aside from Juvia, Sting, and Kagura. Warcry's tears were useless, Ren was off by about two feet—something to do with sensing air pressure, and Nullpudding's needle arm transformation was no help. Juvia's magic wasn't fit for this event either, but Natsu cheered just as raucously as the rest of his guild when she managed a score of nineteen feet.
Kagura absolutely smashed everybody, using her gravity magic to drop dead on the finish line, leading to fans of Mermaid Heel going wild. It took several minutes for the fervor to die down so Sting could have his turn.
Sting's attempt was just funny, at least to Natsu. He had been wondering if the third generation dragon slayer would be affected by motion sickness. The answer was a resounding yes. The moment Sting's feet left the ground and he started flying, his face turned a sickly green. Overcome, he was unable to do anything, and he slammed hard into the wall at the end of the zip line, firmly placing Sabertooth in last for this event.
Mato gave a quick rundown of how each guild scored and how the leaderboard shifted—Natsu's own team had just taken second place from Sabertooth, and Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus had each moved up one rank as well, pushing Raven Tail and Quatro Cerberus down one respectively.
"How on earth did you do that?" Gray asked when Lucy returned to their team's box.
The blonde puffed her chest up proudly. "I told you I didn't need my keys. Did you see the princess's face? She looked like she had come face to face with a dragon."
Recalling the sight of Acnologia against Tenrou's sky, the pinkette found Lucy's comparison rather accurate. At the time, he had certainly felt like his heart had found a home somewhere outsided his body. "I can make that happy if you want. When this is all over."
Amused by the image, Natsu effected a nonchalant slouch. Letting Nagneel loose for a bit would serve as a good reminder not to mess with his friends.
"Don't threaten the princess in public, Natsu. Marvelously done, Lucy," Erza laid a gauntleted hand upon the blonde's shoulder approvingly, staring down her unrepentant mate. "Though it looks like your calculations were a little off."
"Calculations?" repeated Wendy.
Lucy flew off into a technobabble of numbers and equations. "The start point was 157 feet above the finish line, and the line was smack in the middle of the arena, which is 250 feet from the wall in every direction. With the line at an angle of thirty degrees, a person of my height and weight—"
"And just how much is that?" Happy asked slyly, eyes peering up at Lucy's ample bosom.
"None of your business, cat!" Lucy shrieked flapping her arms at him. "As I was saying, it should have taken me approximately forty-six seconds to be right above the finish line." Her brow furrowed as she reran her calculations, wanting to know which component she had wrong. "I probably misjudged the height or distance."
"There is no shame in third place," Erza said firmly.
Gray squinted his eyes suspiciously at Lucy. "But there is when your spirits summon themselves."
Lucy pouted exaggeratedly. "I had planned to summon Virgo, but he beat me to it. Besides," she added slyly, "Hisui's not aware of that fact. So, to her it looks like I summoned the king of the Zodiacs even though she has my keys."
Mato dramatically cleared his throat, commanding the attention of wizards and spectators alike. "And now for our first match-up. We have Rogue Cheney from Sabertooth versus "Miss Fiore," Blue Pegasus's Jenny Realight, kabo!"
Jenny wielded a form of Take Over magic. Unlike the Strauss siblings which were powered by demons, monsters, and other animals, she focused on heavy machinery. Her suits were well armored and equipped with an impressive array of weaponry.
Erza whistled admiringly over her battle suit, offering an unheard compliment to Jenny about how she wished she had such a piece in her collection.
The battle suit was a dark red and black, split into two parts, but connected via two crossed straps that made an 'x' over her abdomen. Metal plated gloves reached from shoulder to fingertip, her boots reached mid-thigh, with an extra thick metal heel. Her shoulder pauldrons and head piece lined up perfectly to protect her neck.
And yet it wasn't enough to match Rogue's viciousness. The dragon slayer melted into his shadows, slipping between the tight-fitting armor and ripping it apart. Bolts zinged through the air as plates of metal were sent flying with enough force to make craters where they landed.
Jenny tried to switch to another suit, but Rogue was relentless in his attacks. He activated Dragon Force when his opponent was mid-transformation and pummeled her to the ground.
Mato awarded him the win, much to the approval of the Sabertooth cheering section. "Once again Sabertooth proves their might, winning their team ten points! Our next battle will be Mermaid Heel's cat lover Millianna! And she'll face Fairy Tail Team A's Erza Scarlet, kabo!"
Erza and Millianna met on the battlefield, a stark contradiction. His mate wore her standard Heart Kruez armor paired with her favorite pleated skirt. Millianna, not even in comparison, was dressed provocatively. Bra and panties with a pink paw print and striped leggings attached to a belt that sat above her hips.
Erza offered her old friend a hand, and the cat girl was all smiles when she shook it. "Let's have a good battle."
"I've grown stronger in Kagura-chan's guild."
"Then I'm looking forward to this."
Yajima and Lola waxed poetics on how their friendship was so inspiring, and Lola drooled over the cat tail that was revealed when Millianna threw aside her cloak.
"Nekōsoku Tube!" Millianna cried, a tube resembling a kitten tail spiraled from a pink magic circle.
"See, Millianna uses binding magic," announced Yajima. "Those tubes she conjures, when wrapped around their target, will prevent Erza from using magic."
Erza dodged effortlessly, occasionally using the broadside of her sword to deflect when Millianna changed direction at the last second.
"Just what I expect from you, Erza."
"Your power has indeed, grown. I'm proud of you," was the Requip mage's response.
"Let's see you evade this!"
Millianna cast two magic circles, and from each sprung three of her binding tubes, which she somehow managed to manipulate with ease, never once having them tangle or ricochet as they chased down her target.
Erza requipped into her Robe of Yūen. Its innate elasticity prevented Millianna's binding tubes from ever getting a secure grip. They slid right off the purple kimono. Then, likely as an homage to her opponent, Erza switched to her cheetah-print patterned Flight Armor, which featured very few armored parts in reality but increased her speed dramatically.
Millianna just wasn't capable of keeping up. A pair of short swords in hand, Erza soared across the arena. Millianna attempted to defend herself with a pair of very sharp claws, but Erza had greater speed and reach.
She took the loss with grace, bouncing up to Erza to ask where she had gotten that armor because she was interested in finding more cat print clothing items to add to her wardrobe.
"And Erza's versatility is unmatched, kabo! Is there anyone that can go toe-to-toe with Fairy Tail's "Titania? Not to reveal too many spoilers, but we'll find out tomorrow, kabo!"
Riding the excitement over what was to come on the final day, Mato called for Nullpudding from Raven Tail and Rocker from Quatro Cerberus.
It was another matchup comprised of two radically different people.
Nullpudding was a short, stocky, visibly hunched and yet quite well-built man with blond hair, slicked back with a widow's peak and prominent sideburns. Oddly enough, his skin color was pale violet. He possessed a massive head, round black eyes, a flat nose and a distinctive black goatee on his massively bulbous chin, which split into two points. He carried a wide smirk, showing off two pearly rows of clenched teeth. His torso and head were quite large in comparison to his thinner arms and legs.
Rocker, dressed in dark leather bearing several studs, was a well-built man of average height with a highly distinctive hairstyle. His long, dark blond hair was styled into a pair of massive, spiky tufts jutting upwards from the top of his head. Massive sideburns framed his square face.
"Wild!" howled Rocker, "I'm going to end this quickly, little man."
Rocker's Drill 'n Rock magic lent itself well to close quarters combat. He spun his legs about at a high speed reminiscent of a drill, which propelled him forward. He had surprising control and precision. As he approached Nullpudding, he rotated his elbow as well, providing his fist with more power behind its blow.
Belying his stunted stature, Nullpudding was surprisingly agile and light on his feet.
"It looks like Nullpudding is leading his opponent on a merry chase. Rocker keeps on him like the hounds of hell his guild is named for," commentated Lola.
Nullpudding alternated between dodging and blowing up parts of his body like he was a human pufferfish. The sudden expansion of spikes caught Rocker off guard a few times, leaving bloody trail behind. Even his hair was capable of transforming, as Rocker learned when he tried to piledrive his opponent into the ground.
Ultimately, the match ended in a tie, though Natsu couldn't shake the feeling that Nullpudding wasn't giving his all.
"I know this penultimate event may have seemed a little tame, kabo, but I promise you the finale will have plenty of excitement. It's structured so that even Blue Pegasus still has a chance at claiming that number one spot, kabo!"
Fairy Tail B: 68 pts
Fairy Tail A: 68 pts
Sabertooth: 64 pts
Lamia Scale: 51 pts
Raven Tail: 37 pts
Mermaid Heel: 34 pts
Quatro Cerberus: 25 pts
Blue Pegasus: 23 pts
Chants of Fairy Tail began to rise from every corner of Dormus Flau.
"In order to ensure maximum enjoyment tomorrow, we are unveiling the final game now, kabo!" Mato practically bounced on the balls of his feet. "That's because it will be a heavily strategy based game and we want to see all our players at their best. The final game will be a city-wide battle royale with all five members of each team participating, kabo! Crocus will be your battlegrounds, kabo. The rest of the details will be revealed tomorrow. Make sure you come prepared, kabo!"
The guild was in high spirits when they returned to the Honey Bone Inn. Food and ale flowed as the ghostly form of their First Master took charge, laying out a step by step plan of who was best equipped to take out who and the best locations in Crocus to corner them.
Normally, Fairy Tail wouldn't fight like this. As the guild most renowned for massive amounts of property damage, they weren't afraid of seemingly stronger opponents or using overpowered finishing moves to get the job done.
Winning the Games would be a nice prestige boost, and the monetary prize would pad the 'Collateral Damages' fund the Master had put in place, just in case, but they weren't here for that. From the beginning, entering the Games had been about Zeref. Proving to him that Natsu was ready for him.
Igneel had claimed Natsu wasn't ready to kill Zeref, but would when Natsu was next face-to-face with the Black Wizard. Even Zeref himself had the nerve to say the dragon slayer wasn't strong enough. Maybe he wasn't. Killing an unkillable man was going to be a challenge. But Natsu was tired of living with this noose over his head. As long as Zeref remained at large, Natsu was stuck waiting for him. He couldn't start building a larger house for him and Erza and planning for their future together until he was dealt with.
Zeref had already stolen seven years of being with Erza from him. Natsu wasn't going to let this stalemate continue.
With Future-Levy's revelations, there was an added level of urgency. The seventh was fast approaching. It was paramount that their two teams come out of the final game relatively unscathed. They couldn't afford to have some of Fairy Tail's best fighters laid up in Porylusica's infirmary when the second time traver made his move.
Mavis's tactics reflected that mindset, prominently pitting the Fire Dragon Slayer against tougher opponents like Sabertooth's Twin Dragons and the Wizard Saint Jura and arranging for everyone else to never run into someone who might defeat them.
The way her mind ran patterns and analyzed skill sets was awe-inspiring.
They planned well into the night. Between Mavis's brain and Future-Levy's foresight, they hashed together thorough plan of attack. Then conversation shifted to Hisui's curveball and how they were supposed to deal with the Eclipse Gate and the still unknown second time traveler.
"There's no way Yukino become a Sargent in the palace guard in just three days," Jellal pointed out.
"She must have been a plant in Sabertooth," Ultear finished his line of thought.
"But why?" asked Erza. "Sabertooth has had moments of ruthlessness, but nothing against the rules of the Games. And they're the favorite."
"Maybe they've been suspected of cheating?"
"I don't think so," Jellal disagreed. "That sort of accusation would require a team of wizards to investigate. Not to mention, Yukino vanished after the second day. If she was there to observe suspicious behavior, she shouldn't have left the guild."
"Could the second time traveler be from Sabertooth?" Lucy posited.
Gray scoffed. "Don't be thick, Lucy. Sabertooth would never stand to have a Celestial wizard in their ranks."
Lucy turned on the ice wizard with a poignant rage. "And what's that supposed to mean? In case you've already forgotten, Yukino infiltrated their ranks and she's a Celestial wizard."
"And it's not like the time traveler needs to be a Celestial wizard." Future-Levy's presence spoke for itself. Gray flushed at gentle reprimand.
"What if Yukino didn't leave voluntarily? Could the second time-traveler be a Future-Yukino?"
Gajeel's suggestion made a lot of sense. Sabertooth prized strength over everything else. Future-Yukino would be stronger than her present-day counterpart. Natsu could easily imagine them kicking Yukino to the curb in favor of a stronger version, at which point she would report to the strange events to the princess.
Then Erza once more pointed out that they weren't even certain there was a second time traveler, as he or she could have jumped to any time period. Just because Future-Levy had chosen to come back to X791 didn't mean the other traveler did as well.
If there was another time traveler, tomorrow's event would be the perfect cover to investigate. Natsu would have free reign of the city.
"But someone had to have told her the Gates were a cannon," argued Lucy. "Wouldn't only a time traveler even be aware the Gates existed?"
"You make an excellent point, my dear," Makarov acknowledged, "but there's simply nothing we can do but wait and see. Go now and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be quite the day."
Natsu held Erza close that night, irrationally afraid that she might vanish from his arms. His gut clenched, warning him that tomorrow would likely not go according to plan. Nagneel agreed with him, reminding Natsu that Zeref's involvement was still unaccounted for.
They had been assuming the Gates was the source of the Zeref-esque magic, but there was always the possibility that Zeref was actually present. Any one of those scents or magics he had chased down over the last five days could have belonged to the Black Wizard.
Had Natsu made a mistake by assuming Future-Levy was responsible for both he thought he sensed Zeref? Should he have kept scouring the city for traces of a wizard that could kill thousands in one go if he lost control?
What if Zeref was hoodwinking the Princess? Maybe he had convinced her she needed the Gates to defeat the dragons as an excuse to get her to open them. Then, just like Future-Levy was planning, he would step through them and travel through time.
The destruction two Zerefs would be capable of was terrifying.
Needless to say, Natsu got no sleep that night.