AN: Thanks Fic Writer From Texas, Goku275, , Kriim-Sauce786, and ShadowScythe666. I enjoy reading your comments. They make me think about how to make my story better. Also, Fic Writer From Texas, Wakaba would never do anything more than look, as he would not actually do anything to his friend's wife. I doubt anybody in Fairy Tail would be that shitty.
Also, Kriim-Sauce786, you are right about Fairy Tail being overly focused on winning. However, I would not say that they have forgotten about the true purpose of the guild being family, as it is all for the Tenrou group. They want to keep the guild in good shape for when their nakama returns, though they are overdoing it a bit. This will actually be brought up later. For now, though, enjoy this chapter!
"Ugh, why does my stomach hurt?" groaned Laki as she woke up.
She looked around and saw that she was in a bed, her abdomen bandaged. She appeared to be in an emergency room. Then, Kinana and Porlyusica walked through the door and saw the wood mage awake.
"Laki!" exclaimed Kinana, relief evident in her voice. "I'm so glad you're alright."
The Fairy Tail employee moved to give her friend a massive hug, but she was stopped by Porlyusica.
"What are you doing!?" berated the medicinal advisor. "She's still recovering!"
"Yeah, I think you should hold back on hugging me until I'm one hundred percent," agreed Laki. She loved Kinana, but the girl's hugs were like a boa constrictor wrapping around its prey. Receiving one in this state might actually kill Laki.
"I'm sorry," apologized Kinana. "Everybody was just so worried about you. The others had to leave to support the rest of Team Fairy Tail for the second event, so I volunteered to stay behind and watch you."
"Wait, 'the second event'?" questioned Laki. "How long was I out?"
Kinana looked to Porlyusica for support and, getting nothing but a stern scowl, explained what had happened after Orga had demolished her.
The second match had been Yuka of Lamia Scale against one of the mages from Orochi's Fin. Yuka had won the match quickly, his Wave magic leaving him unscathed. Up next was Eve of Blue Pegasus versus Warcry of Quattro Cerberus. Eve was victorious, as Warcry's teary eyes made his eyes extra vulnerable to Eve's Snow Magic. Following that, the mage from Titan Nose narrowly defeated the mage from Twilight Ogre.
Afterwards, the second round began. Orga's black lightning was strong enough to pierce Yuka's protection, though the mage was less damaged than Laki was. Eve found victory fighting the Titan Nose mage. Orochi's Fin won automatically due to Laki's unconsciousness. Warcry reigned victorious over the participant from Twilight Ogre.
Finally, the third round commenced. A serious battle took place between Orga and Eve, but the former's electrifying magic ultimately overwhelmed the Trimen (Triman?). Yuka fought the mage from Titan Nose, winning despite his injuries from Orga due to the latter being exhausted from the previous matches. Warcry proved the four-headed canine to be stronger than the many-headed reptile, while Twilight Ogre scored their only win on account of Laki's unconsciousness.
"I see," said Laki solemnly, burdened by a feeling of guilt over failing her nakama. "I suppose I can only hope that the others are able to turn things around."
"It's time to turn things around," Jet told himself determinedly. He had volunteered himself as soon as Chapati announced that the second event's theme was "Labyrinth." Jet's High Speed Magic made him the best option for this round.
Unfortunately, his competition was tough. Jura was competing for Lamia Scale! Why, why did he have to participate on the same day as Jet!?
Things only got worse from there. When Mato explained the event, he (it?) revealed that everybody would be placed in a maze full of dangerous traps and monsters, with the goal being to reach the center. Jet could run past monsters, but traps were far more dangerous. High Speed would be useless if he got caught in a net or fell into a spiky pit.
An artificial maze was created in the middle of the stadium, and Jet and the other participants were teleported into eight spots at the outer end of the maze. Around all of them were four walls.
"Competitors, ten seconds remain until this round begins!" announced Chapati. "Nine, eight…"
Jet shook his head and slapped his cheeks, clearing away the anxiety.
"I can win this! For Levy!"
"…three, two, one, begin!" finished Chapati.
With that, two of the walls around Jet disappeared. The orange-haired man shot off like a rocket, fueled by a desire to honor his comrade/blatant crush.
Left, right, left, dead end. Jet zoomed past monsters, around barrages of arrows, and over spiky pits as he searched for the center. He didn't hesitate when there were multiple options, just taking one until he reached a dead end and retracing his steps to try again.
So focused was Jet on finding the goal that he didn't notice when he encountered another mage; not until it was too late.
"I've gotta be clo– Wah!" exclaimed Jet, his monologue cut off when he tripped over a shadow and fell. The Fairy Tail mage skipped around the ground like a rock across a lake before crashing into a wall. Then, another shadow shot out and tore into his left leg.
"Gah! What's going on?" shouted Jet, confused.
"So afraid of fighting that you rush past the monsters, yet so unaware of your surroundings that I tripped you with ease," spoke a monotonous voice. "I expected more from Gajeel's guild. How disappointing."
Jet turned and saw a twelve-year-old boy, with black bangs that covered up part of his expressionless face. The Fairy Tail mage was confused for a few moments, then was struck by a jolt of recognition.
"Wait, you're Rogue Cheney, the Sabertooth mage!" exclaimed Jet, pointing at the boy. Then, quieter and more confused. "How do you know Gajeel?"
"At a time, I was his apprentice," responded Rogue. "We were both dragon slayers, him of iron and me of shadows. I had originally intended to become his guildmate. But, now that Gajeel is gone, I've decided to forge my own path."
"Another dragon slayer!?" thought Jet, shocked. However, the question he spoke was a different one. "So why did you target me of all people?"
"Practicality," answered Rogue bluntly. "Your magic, High Speed, makes you a formidable opponent in this round. By removing your ability to run, I have greatly increased my chances of winning."
Rogue turned around and began walking away, before stopping to speak again.
"If it's any consolation, I did the minimum damage necessary to incapacitate you. Your leg should fully recover in a day or two, before the Games are over. I'm… sorry about what my guildmate did to yours. It was overkill."
With that, the young Shadow Dragon Slayer left. Sadly, he was right about the damage to Jet's leg. The Fairy Tail mage tried to crawl his way through the labyrinth, but he did not reach the goal.
Jura predictably came in first, moving the stone walls of the labyrinth with his magic to walk straight to the goal. Hibiki of Blue Pegasus almost came in second, but he got caught up fighting a minotaur right before the end. Rogue, who had been shadowing Hibiki and waiting for an opening to strike, snuck past the battle and pushed the Blue Pegasus mage into third place. After that, the order was Orochi's Fin, Titan Nose, Quattro Cerberus, Twilight Ogre.
"I'm sorry, everyone," apologized Jet, giving a dogeza to his teammates. A pair of crutches were to his right. "Thanks to me, Fairy Tail came in last place again."
After the labyrinth event ended, the members of Fairy Tail decided to visit a bar to talk about the GMG and drink. Jet, deemed health by Porlyusica (minus his leg injury, which the crutches were for), had come along to apologize to the rest of his team.
"It's not your fault," responded Droy. "It was only bad luck that you ran into that Sabertooth guy."
"Yeah, we saw it all from the sidelines," added Max. "Rogue wasn't searching for you specifically; you were just the first person he ran into. It could have happened to anyone else."
"Just like how it was bad luck that Laki fought Orga first," supplemented Alzack. "But our luck is bound to turn, and, when it does, everybody will remember why Fairy Tail is such a well-known and powerful guild."
"'Was a powerful guild' is more like it."
Every Fairy Tail mage in the bar turned to the front door and saw a blonde kid with a white Sabertooth guild mark on his left shoulder, a red Exceed by his side.
"Everyone knows that, ever since Acnologia wiped out Fairy Tail's upper echelon, your guild has been dying a slow death," mocked Sting Eucliffe.
"Hey!" shouted Warren, furious. "We may be weaker, but Fairy Tail's not dying!"
"Oui!" said Reedus. "Besides, we still have Natsu. He's been getting stronger, and he'd be able to make S-Class if he weren't already guild master."
"Please," snorted Sting. "That coward didn't even have the courage to take on your guild's S-Class Trial. Salamander's the weakest of them all!"
At this comment, the Fairy Tail mages glared at the Sabertooth mage. How dare he insult their guild master like that!
"Although," continued Sting, a cruel grin on his face. "I guess that's not saying much. Your guild had two dragon slayers when they fought Acnologia, but they still lost!"
"We should probably leave before their lameness infects us, Sting," spoke the red Exceed. "Either that or they attack us, and you have to explain to the authorities why you destroyed a bar kicking all their asses."
"Yeah, Lector," replied Sting smugly. "Besides, Master Jiemma will be furious if I wear myself out before competing."
With that, the arrogant duo left the bar. The Fairy Tail mages all scowled at the bar's entrance for a few seconds before returning to their conversations, the mood soured.
"What an asshole," commented Max. "If Erza were still here, I bet she'd kick his ass so hard he'd need it stitched back onto his body, assuming anything was left of it."
"I'm surprised Natsu didn't attack him as soon he insulted the Tenrou group," said Droy. "Hell, I had to stop myself from attacking him."
"Same," agreed Jet.
"Wait a second…" spoke Alzack, his voice trailing off as he craned his neck to look around the bar. "Where is Natsu?"
The Fairy Tail joined Alzack's search, but none of them could see Natsu in the bar. Or Happy and Millianna, for that matter.
The trio had gone out of the bar through a back exit, about a minute before Sting and Lector butted in. They had done so to talk without being overheard or interrupted, which, given what happened, was a smart move.
"I just feel useless!" complained Natsu, frustrated over recent events. "No matter what I do, Fairy Tail won't stop falling apart. I take on every S-Class Job I can, but people still see our guild as weak!"
"What does it matter what other people think?" comforted Millianna. "All of us in Fairy Tail known the truth."
"Aye," agreed Happy. "Master Makarov always says that the opinions of others don't matter so long as we're all doing what we believe is right."
"That's what I said to Macao and Wakaba, but apparent things are more complicated than that," vented Natsu. "According to them, clients have begun giving their requests to other guilds, like Twilight Ogre. Fairy Tail is starting to run out of money, and unless we can stop it, we'll lose the guild hall!"
"Oh! That's why we accepted the king's invitation into the GMG!" exclaimed Happy, a look of realization on his face. "We desperate for money!"
"Yeah," admitted Natsu. "Winning will help tide us over, and it will remind everybody how great we are. Well, that and some political stuff I barely understood. But, if it means keeping everything the way it was until Erza and the others return, then I'll do what I have to."
Natsu began clenching his fists as he mentioned the Tenrou group. Millianna took his right arm and began stroking it tenderly.
"Being guild master is really tough, isn't it Natsu," spoke Millianna sympathetically. "Working yourself to the bone and swallowing your pride, yet still not succeeding."
"Ugh, it's terrible," grumbled Natsu. "The worst part is that, as the 'leader' of Fairy Tail, I can only watch as my nakama suffers! Thanks to Sabertooth, Laki got blasted into the hospital and Jet needs crutches. But if I do anything about it, the Magic Council will punish all of Fairy Tail!"
Natsu paused for a moment, huffing angrily, then realized something.
"Huh, I think I just figured out how Gramps felt during that mess with Phantom Lord," continued the dragon slayer, his respect for the old man rising. "Powerless to do anything, despite being strong enough to win in a fight."
A pause.
"I really hate politics."
"Let's just hope that Sabertooth doesn't do something as extreme as Phantom Lord," commented Happy. "One guild war was enough for me."
"Yeah," said Natsu.
"Yup," agreed Millianna, even though she wasn't there for the conflict. "Although, it sounds like your trying to do everything on your own. But, in these past few months, I've seen time and time again that our nakama is all about supporting each other. Don't forget, Fairy Tail is one big family, mya."
As she said this, Millianna wrapped her arms around her husband, their unborn child secured between them.
"I could never," responded Natsu, the dragon slayer reciprocating his wife's hug. The two brought their lips together, both burning with the love they felt for one another. The kiss deepened into passionate make-out session, the rest of the world momentarily forgotten.
Incidentally, this included Happy, who stood there uncomfortably.
"I'm… gonna go back inside for some fish," spoke the Exceed, more to himself than to couple.
GMG Day 2 Final Score:
1st Place: Sabertooth, 18 points
2nd Place: Lamia Scale, 16 points
3rd Place: Blue Pegasus, 14 points
4th Place: Titan Nose, 7 points
5th Place: Orochi's Fin, 6 points
6th Place: Quattro Cerberus, 5 points
7th Place: Twilight Ogre, 2 points
8th Place: Fairy Tail, 0 points
Omake
"Seriously?" said Jura in disbelief. He was enjoying an early-morning walk on the second day of the GMG when an agent from the Magic Council approached him with a message that he had to leave for Wizard Saint business. Apparently, despite approving his participation as a way of endorsing the competition, the council had decided that Jura was needed elsewhere.
"My apologies," spoke the messenger, maintaining a calm face while internally nervous about disappointing one of the Ten Wizard Saints. "If it is any consolation, you do not need to be there until 4:30 today. With my Teleportation Magic, I can take you there instantly. As such, you will be able to participate in today's event."
"Very well," responded Jura in a professional tone, having recovered quickly from his irritation. "Hopefully today's event will be something I can do quickly and effectively. I don't want to let my guildmates down, after all."
As luck would have it, Jura demolished the competition. He won the event so quickly that the rules for "Labyrinth" and similar events were changed to forbid the manipulation of walls. Even then, it was several years before the Magic Council allowed him to participate again.
In the future, Jura would look back and feel slightly embarrassed by how big an impact his actions had. However, he would never regret earning 10 points for Lamia Scale.
AN: originally, I did not plan to have the scene with Natsu and Millianna. However, I realized that my outline of this arc was severely lacking in the main pairing, which just wouldn't do. Plus, I was able to give a little insight into Natsu's feelings about being guild master and why he has been spending so little time with his loved ones.
Hmm. This note is a lot shorter than the one last chapter. Oh well. Bye!