AN: Thank you glennlewis2346, RabbitHaremLover24, STAG98, Kriim-Sauce786, Goku275, and ShadowScythe666 for your reviews. Also, I rushed a bit to finish this chapter, so don't be surprised if it ends a bit quickly.
A man and an Exceed walked through the entrance to Fairy Tail's guild hall. The number of mages this building housed was getting smaller every day. Ever since the destruction of Tenrou Island, when the guild lost its strongest mages, fewer and fewer jobs were requested of Fairy Tail.
"We're baaack!" exclaimed the figures, Natsu and Happy, cheerfully. They had just returned from their latest S-Class Job, which took ten days to complete.
They were met with a cheer from the present mages. Everybody knew that the dragon slayer and his companion were wearing themselves ragged to keep Fairy Tail afloat, taking difficult job after difficult job. The two were hardly ever around, a fact that worried the others.
"Natsuuu!" cried Millianna, her husband coming over and hugging him. Her pregnancy had progressed to the third trimester. "I'm glad you're here. The doctor said the baby is coming in a week or two!"
"Awesome!" said Natsu. "I can't wait to meet our kid. I'm all fired up!"
"We should probably stay in Magnolia until then," commented Happy. "S-Class Jobs can take a while, and there is no way we'd miss something so important."
Natsu and Happy spent the next few minutes hanging out with Millianna. Several other members of Fairy Tail walked over to ask the dragon slayer and Exceed about their latest job. Then, Macao and Wakaba called the two into their… er… Guild Master Natsu's office. The advisors told Natsu and Happy about something important that had happened in their absence.
"A week ago, we got a message from the king," began Macao. "He's holding an event called the Grand Magic Games in Crocus three days from now. Any guild in Fiore can compete, though a preliminary round will reduce the number of guilds to eight. The winners get 30 million Jewels and the title of strongest magic guild in Fiore."
"The king's message also says that, in acknowledgement of us defeating Oración Seis, three of the eight spots have been reserved for Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and Lamia Scale," continued Wakaba. "We should compete. This will be a good opportunity to convince everybody that Fairy Tail is still a powerful guild, despite what happened at Tenrou Island."
"All right!" shouted Natsu, convinced. "Let's do it! I'm all fired up to compete!"
At this, Natsu's advisors exchanged an awkward look, then spent a few seconds using their eyes to debate who should tell Natsu the bad news.
"Actually," began Wakaba, loser of the optical battle. "No guild master can compete in the Grand Magic Games."
"What!?" yelled Natsu. "No fair!"
Natsu spend the next few minutes complaining, then the three men discussed whether or not to accept the offer to bypass the preliminary round and which mages should compete. Natsu was initially against skipping anything, but his advisors eventually got him to understand that the king needed to publicly reward the guilds that defeated Oración Seis for political reasons; refusing his offer would only cause trouble.
As a side note, Natsu took part in the team selection because, while he was usually just a figurehead, Macao and Wakaba decided that a magical (and most likely combat-filled) competition was one of the few areas where Natsu's thoughts would actually be useful.
After they came to a decision, the guild master and his… advisors left the office to announce Fairy Tail's participation in the first ever Grand Magic Games. This, too, was left to Natsu, as inspiring his guildmates was another of the few contributions Natsu could make as guild master.
"Listen up everybody!" shouted Natsu. They all looked at their guild master. "By now, I bet you've all hear about the Grand Magic Games. I bet you're wondering if we're going to compete." It was true. Many in the guild were uncertain that they could win.
"We all know that everybody thinks that Fairy Tail is just a shadow of its former self." Another harsh reality. The town was full of voices, from whispers to shouts, that Fairy Tail had become weak after Tenrou Island.
"Well, they're all wrong! We may have lost our best mages, but that just means we have to fight harder! If we did anything less, we wouldn't be able to show our faces when they all come back!" This lit a fire in the eyes of everybody present. None of them wanted to let down their missing nakama.
"So we're going to enter the Grand Magic Games, beat all our competition, and make everybody realize that FAIRY TAIL IS THE GREATEST!"
"YEEEAH!" cheered everybody in response. As months had passed after Tenrou Island's destruction, a gloominess had started to develop in Fairy Tail's guild hall. But, Natsu's speech had erased the darkness and rekindled everyone's spirits.
"Now," continued Natsu. "Our team for the Grand Magic Games will be Alzack, Jet, Droy, Max, and Laki."
"I'm in," said Alzack, smiling.
"For Levy!" responded Jet and Droy in unison.
"Sounds fun," answered Max, grinning.
"Alright," spoke Laki, determined.
"Good," said Natsu. "We'll be leaving for Crocus tomorrow, so get ready!"
"Aye, sir!" spoke Fairy Tail's team, unconsciously imitating a certain blue Exceed.
Wakaba took a long, slow breath, then puffed out a drag of smoke from his pipe. He thought about Fairy Tail's choices for the Grand Magic Games.
Alzack had been selected because he was strong, having defeated several guildmates during the Battle of Fairy Tail. Also, his Guns Magic allowed him to fire several different types of bullets, providing him with flexibility.
Jet and Droy had been Natsu's idea. Like him, the two had lost a teammate to Acnologia. The incident had left Natsu with a desire to do everything he could to keep the guild successful, and he figured that they felt the same way.
Max and Laki had Macao's idea. Without any idea what the Grand Magic Games would be, Macao had suggested they have some mages with versatility participate. Max's Sandstorm and Laki's Wood-Make, both being imagination-based, satisfied this requirement. Natsu had accepted this without much difficulty, trusting the older fire mage.
They had talked about having Bisca participate, but she was away on a mission. It was unlikely that she would return until a day or two into the competition. The rules stated that the entire team had to be there on the first day, removing her as an option.
"It probably won't be enough," thought Wakaba grimly. The man had lived many years and seen many fights. He knew that, despite Natsu's hope, Fairy Tail's chances of winning were low. Fiore was full of powerful guilds, like Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. Worse, there were rumors of an upcoming guild based in Crocus, one too dangerous to ignore.
"We should at least be able to prove that Fairy Tail isn't on its last legs," mused Wakaba, reflecting on the recent, all-too-accurate rumors that their guild was finished. "I only hope that Natsu doesn't let a failure crush him. He's been so desperate to keep Fairy Tail alive, he hasn't spent much time with his wife. It's a shame, too; she's a real looker."
With that, his serious deliberations trailed off into lecherous thoughts, accompanied by perverted giggles.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first ever… Grand! Magic! Games! I'm your announcer, Chapati Lola. Joining me here as a commentator is former council member Yajima," spoke Chapati, the emcee for the GMG.
"It's my pleasure to be here," commented Yajima.
"Now," continued Chapati. "It's time to announce which guilds will be participating in this trailblazing new event. We'll start with the guilds so renowned for their skills that they were allowed to skip the preliminary round. First… the Goddess of Love and War's sacred destroyers, Lamia Scale!"
The crowd roared at this, as Jura, Lyon, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby walked out confidently. Everybody was excited to see one of the Ten Wizard Saints show off his power.
"Second… the azure wings that sparkle in the darkness, Blue Pegasus!"
The cheers were just as loud as Ichiya, Hibiki, Ren, Eve, and Jenny entered the arena and waved to the crowd. Granted, this was mostly because of the screams of teenage girls and older men, all eating the eye candy.
"Third… they may be down but they're definitely not out, Fairy Tail!"
Alzack, Jet, Droy, Max, and Laki arrived, met by thunderous applause. Many people remembered the might of Fairy Tail, and they were curious if this team would live up to the guild's reputation.
"And now," proceeded Chapati. "The winners of the preliminary round. In fifth place… with a rough look and rougher attitude, Twilight Ogre!"
Thibault, the leader of Twilight Ogre's team, grinned. It had taken some… underhanded tactics, but he had gotten his guild into the Grand Magic Games. If they could do better than Fairy Tail, Twilight Ogre would be able to usurp them as Magnolia's number one guild.
"Fourth place… with a shaky past they intend to erase, Titan Nose!" The mages of Titan Nose frowned at this, unhappy at the reference to Bora of Prominence. That criminal had long since been excommunicated.
"In third place… the greatest rivals of Lamia Scale, Orochi's Fin!"
The entire Orochi's Fin team scowled, angry that their introduction was about their worst enemy. They brushed it off quickly, though, as they thought about how they would defeat Lamia Scale in front of such a massive audience.
"Second place… the hounds of Hell's army, Quattro Cerberus!"
"Wild!" shouted Rocker, Jäger, Nobarly, Warcry, and their leader Bacchus in unison. The group may have come in second now, but they were planning on taking first the moment they saw an opening.
"And finally, in first place… they're newcomers yet they dominated the preliminaries, Sabertooth!"
Five mages with confident expressions strolled out. Before the Grand Magic Games were over, they would carve the name "Sabertooth" into minds of everybody in Fiore.
"Nice," said Natsu, pumping his fist as Sabertooth's team made their appearance. "Those guys must be pretty strong if they came in first. I'd like to try fighting them once the Games are over."
"That's not a good thing," Wakaba chided Natsu. "Stronger opposition means that our team is less likely to win."
"Meh," responded Natsu flippantly. "We can't be the best unless we beat a bunch of powerful people. Besides, it's no fun if there isn't a challenge."
Around them, other Fairy Tail mages laughed at Natsu's behavior. They had rushed over to Crocus to support the guild's team as it took part in the Grand Magic Games.
"The Grand Magic Games will go on for five days, with one event each day," spoke Chapati. "Each event has a theme, which is announced right before the eight guilds choose which member will participate. They have to be careful though, because a mage can only compete in a single event. Now, Grand Magic Games mascot and referee Mato will reveal the theme for today's event. Take it away!"
"Thank you," said Mato. "The first event's theme is 'Tourney.' Guilds, choose which mage you want to participate."
Laki and seven others walked up to the mascot/referee. She might not be the most powerful mage on the team, but it was doubtful that any guild had played their strongest card right away. Besides, Molding Magic was about creativity, not power.
"Now to reveal this round's rules," alliterated Mato. He then gestured to a box with a hole in the top. "You will each draw lots, which will determine who you will fight. Whoever draws '1' will fight '2', '3' will fight '4', and so on. The winners will advance while the losers of a round, hypothetically '2' and '4', will then fight each other. After three fights, everybody will be ranked from first place to last, and will receive points accordingly."
With that, the mages began drawing lots. When it was Laki's turn, she drew the '1.' The other mages in this event moved to the sidelines, leaving only her and the person with the '2', Sabertooth mage Orga Nanagear. After Mato officially began their fight, Orga started talking.
"Bad luck, girlie," he said, chuckling. "Surrender now and save yourself a beating."
"I should be telling you that," responded Laki, pushing up her glasses. "Wood-Make: The Dam of Shy Love!"
Several weapon-shaped blocks of wood burst out of the ground around Orga, shooting towards him. However, the Sabertooth mage just grinned and destroyed the weapons with a burst of black lightning.
"A lightning mage!" exclaimed Laki. "But why is the lightning black?"
"Please, I'm no mere lightning mage," boasted Orga. "I'm a Lightning God Slayer. That's like a dragon slayer, but far more powerful."
A jolt of shock and fear ran through the Fairy Tail mages at the god slayer's words. Well, except for Natsu, who was just angry about Orga dissing dragon slayers.
"Now, if those puny sticks are all you can throw at me, then I might as well finish this," continued Orga, raising his hands. God slayer lightning started to build up between them.
"120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" roared Orga.
A massive bolt of lightning shot towards Laki. Realizing there was no time to dodge, she used her magic to create a wall of wood. Unfortunately, Orga's spell burst through the wall like it was nothing.
The lightning slammed into Laki's torso, ramming her backwards until she collided with an arena wall. The spell faded, and the Wood-Make mage slumped to the ground, unconscious. A large, blackened wound marred her body.
"Laki!" screamed the mages of Fairy Tail.
The Grand Magic Games were off to a terrible start.
Omake
"Aw, come on!" complained Natsu. "Why do I have to do this?"
Him and Happy had just returned from an S-Class Job, one where they fought a demon that had taken over a small town. While fighting the demon, Natsu had accidentally demolished several buildings.
"You were the one who wrecked the town, so you're the one who has to handle the paperwork," argued Macao. Him and Wakaba were at their limit, having to deal with the consequences of Natsu's destructive tendencies.
"He's got a point," commented Happy, who was just glad nobody noticed him steal a few of the fish that the demon had requested from the townsfolk as offerings.
"But this form is over twenty pages!" protested Natsu.
"Then you better get started," replied Wakaba, refusing to budge on the issue.
From that day on, Natsu began to exercise more caution when on jobs. He still wreaked havoc on his opponents, but the dragon slayer started to avoid using his more destructive spells where they could result in massive property damage.
Natsu absolutely did not want to face the horror that was paperwork again. Not unless he had to (which he would, especially when his nakama was in danger).
AN: this arc will be about the first Grand Magic Games and the event's aftermath. The GMG will be different here than in the manga, partially because it's first one and the kingdom is still figuring out what to do and partially because I did not want to write so much new material. Speaking of which, as I did not want to create a bunch of OCs, the unnamed mages of Twilight Ogre, Titan's Nose, and Orochi's Fin will remain unnamed. In fact, their part in the GMG will mostly be brushed over.
For Fairy Tail's lineup, I figured that Jet and Droy would want to win the GMG for Levy. Alzack I chose because he was one of the FT mages who I was more familiar with, while I decided against Bisca because I felt that the manga implied that the year Jet participated was different than the year she did. I picked Max because I enjoyed chapter 56 of 100 Year Quest, where he played a bigger role. As for Laki, I needed a fifth mage and her name came to mind (she will not be playing as big a role as the others).
I was initially going to have Loke compete, but then I realized that Loke could tell them that his contract with Lucy still existed. This would change Fairy Tail from stubbornly believing in their friends' survival to flat-out knowing, which would cause some challenges.
It will probably be a bit before I post the next chapter (sorry). Bye for now.