Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! Read at your own risk. There's still original stuff in here, but if you haven't gotten to this point in the anime/manga, then some things may be ruined for you. I advise catching up to the anime/manga if you haven't already (for more reasons than just reading my story)! Thank you and enjoy!

Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon

Chapter 105

It had been three months since Makarov announced that Fairy Tail would participate in the Grand Magic Games. In those three months, everyone worked tirelessly to become stronger. Many traveled to places that would help them improve. Others stayed local to work on fine-tuning their skills. Now, with the three-month training period now over, those who had departed Magnolia were returning.

"Geez, were you guys always this wimpy?" Gracie sighed. She looked down at her travel companions, all of whom, aside from Erza, were collapsed on the cobblestone path leading to the guild hall. Their exhausted groans echoed like a chorus of ghouls. "C'mon, on your feet!"

"I think the better question is how you're fine after going through Second Origin," Gray complained. "Seriously, doesn't your body hurt?"

Gracie scratched her head. "I mean, yeah it hurt like hell at the time. But once it ended, I was totally fine. What, don't tell me you guys are still feeling the effects?"

"Clearly you all have been lax in the conditioning of your bodies," Erza said while shaking her head.

"I think you and Gracie are just monsters," Lucy whimpered.

"Yo, you've all returned!" Macao walked out, followed by those who remained and had already returned. It was a small group, so clearly many hadn't made their way back yet. "But damn, why are you all exhausted?"

"Get a hold of yourselves! That's what a man does!" Elfman shouted. He had returned with Lisanna and Cana the other day. The results of his training were painfully obvious. He had grown immensely tall and had significantly bulked up. He had always been big, but now he was more like a mountain than a man.

Gracie whistled. "Damn Elfman. You got huge!"

Elfman smiled wide as he flexed. "Muscles are a man's romantic adventure!"

Gracie sweatdropped. "That's…a sentence."

Lisanna giggled. "He was pretty motivated these past three months."

"We were motivated as well," Bisca piped in. She had stayed in the area with Alzack and Asuka. She held up one of her guns. "Our accuracy has gotten much better."

"Yeah! Mommy and Daddy worked real hard!" Asuka cheered from her perch on Alzack's shoulders.

Max stood proudly. "My Sandstorm has become stronger, too. If we fight again, I'll beat Natsu for sure!"

All signs of fatigue vanished from Natsu. He jumped to his feet after hearing Max's challenge. "Is that so?"

"Well done, all of you," Makarov said. "I can tell you've done your best to prepare for the Grand Magic Games."

Lucy smiled awkwardly. 'Well…I guess that's partially true for us.'

Makarov signaled behind him. "For now, gather inside of the guild. We'll talk about the plan going forward."

Everyone nodded and followed Makarov inside. They gathered around the bar area, waiting for Makarov to speak.

Makarov cleared his throat. "Alright, the time has come to announce the five members who will represent Fairy Tail in the Grand Magic Games." The guild was deathly silent as they waited for the people that Makarov had chosen. "The five members will be…Natsu!"

Natsu pumped his fist. "Hell yeah!"

"Gray!"

Gray smirked. "Of course."

"Erza!"

Erza smiled confidently. "Leave it to me."

"Of course those three would be chosen," Lisanna nodded.

Elfman clenched his fists. "Two left. Being chosen is so manly!"

Juvia clasped her hands. 'Juvia hopes she will be chosen so she can spend more time with Gray-sama!'

Makarov closed his eyes. "As for the remaining two, they will be…" His eyes shot open. "Lucy and Wendy!"

Shock spread across Lucy and Wendy's faces as they cried their disbelief. ""WHAAAAAAT?!""

Those who weren't chosen either shrugged it off or showed visible disappointment. Elfman burst into tears. Visible depression showed on Juvia's face.

"Wait, I'm not gonna get to play?" Gracie asked disappointedly. "I wanted to show off some new stuff I worked on these last couple days!"

Makarov crossed his arms. "Believe me, the thought crossed my mind more than once. You are indeed one of our strongest members, Gracie. However, you and Erza are very similar in terms of your abilities. I felt it best to diversify the styles of magic."

Gracie pouted. "Damn. That's a really sound approach. Guess I can't complain…"

"Master, please!" Wendy cried. "I can't do this! You should choose Nikolias! He's so much stronger than me! Or Gajeel or Laxus would be better choices, too!"

Makarov sighed. "They haven't returned yet."

"Really? Niky's not back yet with the girls?" Gracie asked. She turned to look out the door. 'Niky…I hope everything went okay. Come back soon, dummy.'

Natsu lunged at Lucy and hugged her tight. "This is great, Lucy! We're gonna get to fight together!"

Lucy smiled stiffly. "True, but…"

"I'm sure teamwork also played a role in Master's decision," Erza said. "Since we were the five chosen, let's all do our utmost to come out victorious."

"Yeah, you're right," Lucy replied.

Wendy clapped her cheeks and smiled. "Right! I'll do my best!"

Gray walked up to Gracie. "You sure you're okay with this?"

Gracie shrugged. "Like I said, I can't complain. As a strategist, Master's plan makes sense." She winked and held up her hand. "But in return, you have to kick some serious ass!"

Gray smiled and gave her a high five. "You bet!"

Juvia started gnawing on her hat. 'Gray-sama! Gracie! Stop having a moment this instant!'

Makarov slumped slightly. "Though for a serious bid for a win, I would have loved to have Nikolias or Gildarts participate," he mumbled, careful to keep anyone from overhearing his discontent.

Erza turned to her guildmates. "Everyone! The Grand Magic Games are the perfect chance for Fairy Tail to reclaim its former glory and reputation! We will beat Sabertooth and Fairy Tail will once again be the number one guild in Fiore!"

Everyone raised their fists. "YEAH!"

Crocus, the capital city of Fiore. Resting in the valley of several mountain ranges, it boasts a large population of citizens well into the hundreds of thousands. Several merchants call this city home to take advantage of this fact and peddle their wares from all over the continent. All the buildings were crafted with the same architecture, but they ranged in size from small, one-story homes to tall, wide buildings with several floors to accommodate the large quantities of travelers. Wide stone streets were paved in a circular formation and were lined with flowerbeds filled with beautiful flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some of these streets even had stone mosaics made of smooth, flat stones depicting flowers or nature scenes. It was because of this admiration of flowers and nature itself that Crocus came to be known as the Flower Blooming Capital.

In the very center of the city sat a towering castle. The Flower Light Palace, Mercurius. This regal building stood tall and proud, with flower-like statues standing near its entrance. The outer perimeter was surrounded by gardens filled with flowers, famously known as the Crocus Gardens, and a large lake rested peacefully off to one side. It was a beautiful place truly fit for a king.

The bustling city of Crocus was also well-known as being the location for the annual Grand Magic Games, held in their arena, Domus Flau. During these games, the crowded city floods with wizards and spectators from all over Fiore, as well as some from outside its borders.

Standing in the very center of the city was Gracie. Her eyes sparkled and her mouth hung open in a joyous smile as she took everything in. "Wow!" she squealed in delight. "So this is Crocus! It's unbelievable!"

Collapsed behind her were Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Wendy. They groaned and showed no interest in the city. After all, their bodies were still in pain after Second Origin. It was hard to feel anything other than exhaustion.

Gracie huffed. "Okay now I think you guys are just making this up. You can't seriously still be this wiped, right? It's literally been days!"

"Oh shut up," Gray groaned as he forced himself to his feet. He looked at his hands. "Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if the magic to unleash Second Origin even worked."

Lucy nodded. "I do feel like my magic power increased, even though my joints still hurt."

"Gracie was right. You all are pathetic," Erza scolded. She was dragging around her cart piled high with baggage and looking down at her comrades.

Lucy puffed out her cheeks. "I still think it's crazy that you and Gracie are totally fine! How is that fair?!"

"I still attest that regular training is what you all are lacking," Erza said, nodding her head assuredly.

Natsu grit his teeth as he pushed himself up. "You know, I've never seen a city this big before."

"Me neither," Wendy said as she winced slightly. "I don't even think Rolen was this big."

"Ah, so you all finally made it," Makarov called out. He walked up to the group with Asuka riding on his shoulders. Alzack, Bisca, Levy, Jet, and Droy followed behind him. "Good. I've already taken care of all the entry paperwork. You better all show me the power of Fairy Tail!"

Gracie saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!" Her face fell in a depressed smile. "Though I won't actually be participating…"

"Hey, did you hear that? He said Fairy Tail!"

"Those chumps?"

"Come to protect their perennial last-place title, eh?"

The group turned. Several citizens were looking at them, making snide comments, and laughing.

Natsu clenched his fists. "Who the hell is laughing?"

Gracie cracked her knuckles. "Well, I see some people want a belt in the mouth," she muttered, cackling evilly.

"Suppress your frustrations, you two," Erza warned.

The crowd continued.

"I'm sure you'll be placing last this year, too!"

"Once losers, always losers!"

"Sabertooth will be winning it all again anyway. Why bother showing up?"

Gracie tilted her head at an awkward angle. Her eyes glazed over as she stared into the crowd. "Come on. Can't I crack a skull or ten?"

"Let them laugh," Makarov ordered. "Your priority isn't to focus on hecklers. I've got 30 million Jewels…I mean, your priority is to aim for the title of number one guild in Fiore! The way things are now, we can't face the First Master."

Everyone leapt to their feet, feeling motivation surge through them despite their weary bodies.

Makarov continued. "The competition begins tomorrow. But unfortunately, I have no idea what to expect."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "But I thought Fairy Tail's been participating for many years, right?"

"The thing is, they change the competition every year," Alzack explained.

Bisca nodded. "Yep. The one year Al and I weren't in it they had a shooting contest."

"The year I wasn't in it they had a race," Jet said.

"A winner is determined based on the team who has the most cumulative points over a number of events. That much hasn't changed," Droy explained further.

Levy crossed her arms. "Once I heard this, I did some digging into the past records. Apparently, there's never any consistency with any of the events."

Gracie put a hand to her chin. "Really? That's a little odd. Why change everything so drastically every year?"

Natsu punched his palm. "So what? We'll just play it by ear. I am hoping for a battle though."

Erza thought back on Jellal's description of the Games and the magic power they had been feeling. 'First mysterious power and now mysterious contests. What could be going on?'

"Erza." Makarov called out to Erza and placed a large book in her hands. "This is the official rule book. Have it read by tomorrow."

Erza blinked a couple of times as she looked at the massively thick book in her armored hands. "Read…this?"

"Let me see!" Levy said, reaching out for the book. Erza gave it to her willingly. "Leave the rules to me. I'll use my Gale Force Reading Glasses." She took out her red Gale Force Reading Glasses, put them on, and began to read through the large book at lightning speed. She hummed. "Okay. It seems there are three important things to make note of. First, guild masters cannot participate in the Games. Second, anyone who doesn't have the guild emblem is counted as a spectator and may not participate."

"Those both seem pretty obvious," Gray nodded.

Levy continued. "Finally, to maintain secrecy, the rules for each event won't be revealed until right before the event starts."

"So we don't have much information to go on," Erza concluded.

Gracie scratched her head. "Still seems weird to me…"

"Oh!" Levy said as something else in the book caught her attention. "There's a warning at the end. It says that all participants in the Games have to be back at their designated inn by midnight."

"Do they mean tonight?" Carla asked.

"Probably," Gray said. "If the competition starts tomorrow, it would make sense that they're talking about tonight."

Natsu looked up at a large clock on a building. It was a little past 1:00 in the afternoon. "If it's midnight, we've still got plenty of time! It's not every day you visit such a big place." He slung his arm around Lucy's shoulders and thrust his other fist in the air. "Let's explore!"

Lucy nodded excitedly. "Yeah, let's go!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.

Gracie snapped out of her thoughts and beamed. "Hell yeah! I'm all for that!"

Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gracie all took off down the road.

"Wait! Natsu, Lucy, do you two even know what inn we're staying at?" Erza called after them.

"Honeybone!" Lucy answered over her shoulder.

"That's right! Just make sure you're both back before midnight!"

"You got it!" Natsu replied.

Erza sighed. "Honestly."

"Well, I think I'll go explore, too," Gray said as he took off in a different direction. "Unlike Gracie, though, I won't be a third wheel."

Erza nodded. "Very well. Be at the Honeybone before midnight."

"Right, right, I know."

"Carla, do you want to look around as well?" Wendy asked.

"That sounds lovely," Carla said. "We just have to make sure to pay attention to the time. You know how you can get when you get distracted."

Wendy giggled innocently, knowing full well she couldn't deny Carla's claim. She waved to Erza. "We'll see you back at the inn, Erza!"

"Right, be careful. And remember, before midnight!" Erza called out. With her teammates all exploring the city, she thought over the information they had just learned in the warning. 'Midnight at the designated inn…well, thinking about it too much won't help. I suppose I'll head there now and investigate.'

Inside of Fairy Tail's room at the Honeybone Inn, Erza stood in the entryway. She took in her immediate surroundings and made note of what she could see.

Immediately she noticed that six beds had been prepared, three along one wall and another three parallel on the opposite wall. Since this was the inn where they were told to stay, she found it strange that they all would be sharing a room. Surely the ones running the Games could manage five separate rooms for participating guild members.

Realizing that trying to analyze this fact would be pointless without more information about the Games themselves, Erza began a more thorough search of the room. She searched in the dressers. She looked behind the curtains and through the windows at their view of Crocus. She searched the bathroom while taking a relaxing bubble bath in a floral tub. She looked under each of the beds and all the sheets. She opened every drawer she could find and looked in and under every bit of furniture. With a deep sigh, she took a seat on one of the beds, holding her bath towel closed. "I can't seem to find anything suspicious here. But still, I can't shake this feeling that something is off."

Gray walked down the streets, mindlessly exploring with no destination in mind. "Man, there really are a lot of flowers here…"

"Gray-sama!"

Gray turned upon hearing his name. Standing behind him was Juvia. She was no longer wearing her usual blue outfit. Instead, she wore a black dress with a white fur collar and a matching hat. Her blue hair that was normally rolled at the ends was now flowing loosely down her back and shoulders. She smiled at Gray bashfully. "Juvia! What are you doing here?"

"Juvia is not the only one here. Everyone in the guild came to cheer you on," Juvia explained.

Gray scratched his head. "Seriously, everyone has too much free time."

Juvia looked shyly at the ground and fidgeted with her hands. "So…Gray-sama? Would you…umm…like to have dinner together?"

Gray hummed. "Now that you mention it, I am pretty hungry."

"In that case, I know an excellent restaurant in town!"

Gray was about to make a comment when he realized—that voice did not belong to Juvia. He turned to see Lyon standing near him and looking at Juvia. "The hell? Lyon?!"

Lyon ignored Gray's surprised remarks. He moved next to Juvia, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and began gently escorting her down the street. "It's quite the fashionable restaurant. It's even combined with an aquarium for a very romantic atmosphere."

Juvia's brain had shut down. She stared blankly ahead. "Wait…huh? What's happening here?"

"Hey jerk!" Gray called out, lunging forward and grabbing hold of Lyon's shoulder. "Don't just make off with one of my members!"

Lyon looked over his shoulder. "Come to think of it, I hear you'll be participating in the Grand Magic Games, Gray."

"Yeah, what of it?" Gray replied.

Lyon released Juvia, who took the chance to move closer to Gray. He turned and crossed his arms, smirking. "My guild, Lamia Scale, will be the ones who come out victorious this year. You should consider withdrawing so as not to embarrass yourself."

"Heh, that's rich coming from you. I hear you guys place second every year."

Lyon's eyebrow twitched. "And you guys place last every year. Until last year, we've always been second place. However, this year will be different. Both myself and Jura will be participating this year. Surely you understand what I'm getting at."

"And you must be forgetting that we've got the monster known as Erza on our side!"

Lyon chuckled. "Very well. Let's make a wager then."

"A wager?"

"Yes. When Lamia Scale wins the Grand Magic Games, Juvia will join our guild!"

Juvia's jaw dropped.

"The fuck is that about?!" Gray snapped. "So then what happens if we win?"

"I'll return Juvia to your guild."

"She's already ours to begin with!"

Lyon turned. "This is a gentleman's agreement. Don't forget, Gray."

"Some bet this is! It's a joke!"

Lyon smiled evilly. "What, don't tell me your afraid of losing?"

Veins throbbed in Gray's forehead. "What was that?"

Juvia snapped to attention and immediately leapt in front of Gray, flailing her arms wildly. "G-G-Gray-sama! You want Juvia, right? You don't actually want Lyon, right?!"

Gray facepalmed. "You didn't follow a word of this conversation, did you?"

Lyon walked away and waved over his shoulder. "See you at the Games, Gray. Try not to place last this year, okay?"

Gray clenched his fists as he watched him leave through the gaps in Juvia's flailing arms. 'That bastard…he just showed up to piss me off.'

THAT EVENING

"Whew that was fun! This city is awesome!" Gracie clapped her hands together apologetically. "Sorry for encroaching on your date, though. I seriously third-wheeled, huh?"

Lucy shook her head, smiling with delight. She wore a headpiece made of pink flowers and a lei of white flowers around her neck. She was happy when she and Natsu got matching leis since it felt like something couples would do when visiting a new place together. "It's okay, you weren't. It's always fun to do things together."

"Yeah, but if I wasn't here, I bet you two could have had a lot more 'fun' together." Gracie wiggled her eyebrows and smirked impishly to drive the point home.

Lucy's face turned a dark shade of red and steam exploded out of her ears. "Gracie!" she hissed. "Stop being weird!"

Natsu blinked. "Huh? Whaddya mean? I had tons of fun!"

Gracie clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, you sweet, pure boy. You're adorable."

Natsu tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm surprised you've never been here before Gracie," Happy said. "You and Nikolias traveled all over, but never came to the Capital?"

Gracie twirled towards him and pointed a finger into the air. "Elementary, my dear Happy. As you know, Niky and I only ever go after criminals who escaped persecution and never paid for the crimes they committed. I bet anything bad that goes down here is taken care of quickly. At the very least, we never received any reports of criminals here. Therefore, we never had a reason to visit." She looked off to the side. "Though it wasn't for lack of trying on my part…"

"FIGHT!"

A voice rang out through the calm night air. Natsu immediately turned towards the voice and bolted. "Whoo, fight! It wouldn't be a festival without a fight!"

Happy followed behind him. "I'd expect a fight with all the guilds in Fiore here."

"Natsu, come back!" Lucy called out as she and Gracie followed after him.

As Natsu drew closer to the voice, he could see a small crowd of people. Suddenly, a peculiar scent tickled his nose. "Hm? This smell is…"

"What's up?" Happy inquired.

Natsu's face became serious. "It smells similar to a dragon. Could it be…?"

"A dragon?" Gracie repeated. Her brow furrowed. 'It can't be Niky or Gajeel or Wendy or Laxus. Natsu would recognize it immediately. But who else would smell like a dragon?'

Natsu pushed his way through the crowd. "Move it! Coming through!" he called out as he made his way to the front. Once there, he could see two men standing over the unconscious bodies of several people.

One of the men wore a black robe. His messy, black hair hung over his face, covering one of his eyes. He stood there, expressionless, looking down at the unconscious men around him with dark red eyes as if they were lower than insects.

The other man wore a short gray top that left his toned abdomen exposed. Over the top he wore a blue vest with gold fringes and gray fur trimming, as well as loose, silver and blue pants. His navy-blue boots went high up his muscular calves and his navy-blue gloves covered his arms up to the middle of his biceps. His blonde hair was spiked and he had a scar over his right eyebrow. He stood there with a cocky expression, his foot on a man's face and his arms in the air, his piercing blue eyes searching for more challengers. "Anyone else?" he called out with an arrogant tone.

Beside him, a small reddish-brown cat stood snickering. "Oh yeah, these guys are literally beneath us!"

Another cat, this one green and sporting a pink frog onesie, nodded as he poked one of the unconscious men. "Fro thinks so, too!"

"What the hell?" Natsu called out as he looked around.

Both the men turned towards him.

"You!"

"Natsu Dragneel."

Natsu blinked. "Huh? Who the hell are you guys?"

Lucy and Gracie came up behind him. "Friends of yours?" Gracie asked.

"I don't recognize them," Lucy replied.

"Whoa, you mean you haven't heard of Sabertooth's Twin Dragons, Sting and Rogue?" one of the spectators asked incredulously.

"They're the cornerstone of Fiore's strongest guild!" another cried.

"Then these two are part of Sabertooth?" Lucy gasped.

The blonde, Sting, laughed and stepped forward. "Well if it isn't Fairy Tail! Say, rumor has it that you guys are gonna be in the Grand Magic Games. Is that true?"

"Yeah. You know about me or something?" Natsu asked, his eyes narrowed.

Sting smirked. "Acnologia."

Natsu, Lucy, and Gracie's eyes widened.

Sting leaned in, looking Natsu dead in the eyes, his voice soft but degrading. "Yes, I know about you. You're the Dragon Slayer who couldn't slay a dragon. Isn't that right? Are you sure you should even still be called a Dragon Slayer?"

A vein bulged in Natsu's forehead. "Come again?"

Sting sighed as he straightened back up. "You know, I used to look up to you. Sad, huh?" He pointed behind him. "Rogue here looked up to Gajeel, by the way."

Rogue closed his eyes. "My interest was solely in the fact that he was another Dragon Slayer."

"Another Dragon Slayer?" Natsu said, shocked.

"Then you two are also Dragon Slayers?" Gracie asked.

"Well, we're what you would call true Dragon Slayers," Sting replied. "We would've beaten Acnologia."

Lucy clenched her fists. "That's easy for you guys to say! You've never even seen that monster before!"

"That's right!" Happy declared.

"You're not too bright, cat," the reddish-brown cat scoffed.

"Lecter is smart," the green cat said.

"Right you are, Frosch!" Lecter agreed.

"It doesn't matter if we've seen Acnologia or not," Rogue said.

"The point is, you're too different from us. Our aptitude as Dragon Slayers is leagues above yours and the others in your guild," Sting smirked.

"And how the hell would you know something like that?" Gracie asked.

Lecter stepped forward. "I'll explain. Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel learned their Dragon Slayer Magic from dragons. They're the so-called First Generation. Laxus and the Oración Séis's Cobra are the Second Generation since they can use Dragon Slayer Magic through a Dragon Lacrima that was embedded in their bodies. As for the mighty Sting and Rogue, they were raised by dragons AND have the Dragon Lacrima implanted in their bodies. They're the hybrid Third Generation! In other words, they are the strongest Dragon Slayers!"

Natsu grit his teeth. "Strongest Dragon Slayers, huh?"

Lecter sighed and shook his tiny head. "There's a world of difference between the First and Third Generations. It's not even worth debating."

Natsu stepped forward. "Tell me, did your dragons disappear in the year 777, too?" There was a look of hope in his eyes. He now understood why the smell he was picking up reminded him of dragons. Maybe these two could give him a hint as to what happened to Igneel and the other dragons.

Sting chuckled. "You could say that, yes."

Rogue opened his eyes. "I'll give it to you straight." A dark shadow fell over his face. "The dragons who taught us Dragon Slayer Magic were slain by our own hands so that we could become true Dragon Slayers."

Shock and disbelief spread through Lucy's body. "You two…killed dragons?!"

Rage flared to life in Natsu's eyes. His entire body tightened up. "You murdered your own parents?!" he spat.

Sting and Rogue turned their backs to them and began to walk away. "Well, if we get the chance to fight each other during the Games, I'll show you the power that can slay a real dragon!" Sting laughed.

"The outdated Dragon Slayer and his cat companion are lame-os!" Lecter sang.

"Fro thinks so, too!" Frosch agreed.

"Hold it right there."

Sting and Rogue froze. Not because the cold, ominous voice demanded it, but for a different reason entirely.

They could feel a sharp blade on each of their backs.

With incredible speed, Gracie had summoned her twin katanas and had one blade pointed at each of the Dragon Slayers. Her green eyes flared with hatred. "I'm not done with you two."

"Oh?" Sting sneered. "Who's this then? You're pretty quick on your feet."

"If you don't want to get hurt, I would advise lowering your weapons," Rogue growled.

"Drop the intimidation bullshit," Gracie said. The fact that her voice was so calm and even was truly terrifying. She looked like she was out for blood. "Neither of you clowns frighten me."

"If you don't want to end up dead, girlie, you'll run now," Lecter said.

"Fro thinks so, too!" Frosch agreed.

"I can't let what you said slide," Gracie said, ignoring the warning. "You killed dragons, dragons that raised you, correct?"

"That's right," Rogue said. "We have no reason to lie."

"And you feel no remorse?" Gracie continued.

Sting laughed. "Remorse? Why should we feel remorse?"

"You damn bastards. I can understand wanting to kill dragons that threaten your life or the lives of those you care about." Her mind flashed to Nikolias, which only fueled her rage more. "But I won't forgive you for killing good dragons, especially those who showed you nothing but kindness."

Rogue sighed. "Why should we care if you forgive our actions?"

"I should run you both through."

"Is that a challenge then?" Sting asked.

"Gracie, stop!" Lucy begged, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I understand you're angry. Believe me, I get it. But this won't help anything."

Gracie stood still for a moment, but eventually lowered her weapons. Still, she kept her venomous gaze fixed on Sting and Rogue. If looks could kill, they'd both be dead. "You're lucky I'm not in the Games. 'Cuz if we fought, you wouldn't be going home in one piece."

Sting laughed and Rogue said nothing as they walked off.

Gracie clutched the hilts of her blades tightly. "Fuck those guys."

Erza tapped her arm with her finger impatiently. Her legs were crossed and her face showed irritation as she sat on her bed. She was in her pajamas and had been ready to rest up for the next day. Now, however, she was too annoyed to think about sleep. "So? Care to explain to me why you're so late?"

In front of her, kneeling, were Natsu, Lucy, and Gray. They had arrived at the Honeybone Inn well past 11:00 PM. The second they stepped foot through the door, Erza confronted them and chewed them out. As they knelt before her, Lucy and Gray couldn't bring themselves to make eye contact. Natsu was too lost in thought to pay it any mind.

Gray scratched his head. "I was, uh, at dinner. If it makes you feel any better, though, it was no fun at all."

Lucy's head sank. "We got into something with some people, though perhaps we started it…"

""I'M NOT GONNA LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THAT!"" Both Natsu and Happy shouted at the ceiling. Natsu was still fuming over Sting and Rogue's words. Happy, apparently, didn't take too kindly to how Lecter or Frosch spoke either.

Erza sighed. "Whatever. You all at least made it back before midnight." She turned her head. "And what are you doing here, Gracie?"

Gracie was standing against the wall near the door. She hadn't said anything at all. She was just standing, her arms crossed and her face twitching. "Sorry. I needed a place to cool off."

Erza nodded. "I see. Well of course you're welcome."

"It's not like you to linger on something, Gracie," Lucy said with concern.

Gracie scratched her head vigorously. "Ahh, I know! But those pretty boy prickheads royally pissed me the fuck off! But you're right; dwelling on it won't help anything." She took a deep breath, slapped her cheeks, and smiled. "Now c'mon, let's party!"

'Wow, that's quite a dramatic 180,' Lucy thought with a tiny laugh.

Erza shook her head. "No, we need to be resting. We have to be ready for the Games tomorrow. We need the energy to give it our all." She turned back to the others. "By the way, Wendy's not back yet."

"Come to think of it, I'm surprised that she's so late," Gray said.

"She's with Carla, right? So I'm sure she's not lost," Happy offered.

Erza looked at the grandfather clock. "It's 11:59…it's almost midnight."

Lucy shuddered. "That poor little girl out this late…" Her imagination played out the worst scenarios, where Wendy was acting like a delinquent. "What do we do?!"

"Easy there, Lucy. Don't let your vivid imagination run wild," Gracie said.

Erza looked to Gracie. "Gracie, can I ask you a favor? We can't leave, as per the rules. Since you're not participating, can you go look for Wendy? I'm worried about her."

Gracie looked at the clock. "Well of course I'll look for her. But just so you know, even if I ran as fast as I could, there's no way I could find her in a place this big and bring her back here in time."

Erza nodded. "I understand. We'll figure out what to do about the rules. Wendy's safety takes top priority, though."

Suddenly, the grandfather clock struck midnight and began to chime. At the same time, a loud bell rang out throughout the city.

Natsu looked at the clock. "So what happens now?"

"Everyone in the guilds who have gathered together for the Grand Magic Games; GOOD MORNING!"

A loud voice echoed in the still night air. Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Gracie ran out onto the balcony. There they could see the projection of someone wearing a large, smiling pumpkin on their head. Their clothes were festive, complete with a short, green, billowing cape.

"What the hell? It's huge!" Natsu cried.

"A three-dimensional image!" Lucy breathed.

"Aww, it's kinda creepy! In a cute way," Gracie added.

The pumpkin-headed figure stretched out its short arms. "Beginning now, the 113 registered teams will be participating in an elimination round! This round will whittle down the teams to eight finalists!"

"An elimination round?" Gray questioned.

"There was nothing about this mentioned!" Erza exclaimed.

"So the reason they wanted everyone in their inn at midnight was so that the elimination round could commence," Gracie deduced. "Still, going from 113 to 8? That's a major cutoff."

Lucy thought about this information. '113? But…that's more than the number of guilds in Fiore. How is that possible?'

Erza narrowed her eyes. 'Why didn't they notify everyone about the elimination round beforehand? Why make it a surprise with vague instructions? Very peculiar behavior. Plus, there are too many participating guilds. All of this coupled with Jellal's report of mysterious magic power…does this mean the sponsor of the Games is the one we should be suspicious of?'

The pumpkin-headed figure began to dance and sing. "Every year, the number of participating guilds increaseeeees! It was pointed out that the events were getting staaaaaale! So this year, there will only be eight teams competing in the official Gaaaaaames!" He stopped singing and dancing and pointed to the sky. "The rules of the elimination round are simple!" Suddenly, the ground began to shake. No, not the ground…the Honeybone Inn itself had begun to shake with violent tremors. Gracie peeked over the railing as she tried not to fall over. Her eyes widened. "N…No way!"

The Honeybone Inn was rising off the ground. It was being raised by a mechanical contraption, pushing them several hundred meters off the ground. All around them, the Fairy Tail wizards could see other buildings going through the same process.

"What is this?" Lucy breathed as she held onto a green-faced Natsu, trying to soothe him through his motion sickness.

"The whole inn is transforming?" Erza asked incredulously.

"The other inns too!" Gray shouted.

"All of you are going to race each other!" the figure continued. "The goal is the Games arena, Domus Flau! The first eight teams that arrive there will move on to the official Games!"

Wooden planks magically appeared in front of the balconies of every inn, traveling high into the air.

"So we have to take this path?" Erza asked.

"You're free to use your magic. There are no restrictions. Just remember, only the first eight teams to get to the goal will survive the round. However, all five members must arrive together or it doesn't count! Oh, and one more thing." The figure tilted its head cutely to the side. "We take no responsibility for any lives lost in the labyrinth."

"Did he say labyrinth?" Natsu asked.

Everyone looked up to where the paths led. They all couldn't contain their shock. Floating in the sky was a massive orb. It almost appeared to be a small city wrapped around a sphere with twisting paths diving and darting haphazardly all over the place.

"The Grand Magic Games elimination round, Sky Labyrinth, shall now begin!"

"Shit. If this is a race, we better get moving," Gray grumbled.

"Hells yeah!" Natsu roared, recovering now that the shaking had stopped. "Let's go!"

"Wait," Erza said. "The rules of this round are that all five team members have to reach the goal together."

"Right. And you guys are down Wendy," Gracie said, crossing her arms. "That's a real pickle."

"What are we going to do then?" Lucy asked worriedly. "At this rate, we'll be out without even trying!"

A grin appeared on Gracie's face. She pointed to herself. "Hey, since you're down a member, why don't I just take Wendy's place?"

Erza put a hand to her chin. "Have you take her place, huh?" She smiled and nodded. "That should work perfectly."

"Aw yeah!" Gracie cheered, leaping into the air and pumping her fists. "I get to play in the Games!"

"What about Wendy?" Lucy asked.

Erza turned to Happy. "Can you take care of informing the others and looking for Wendy and Carla? Hopefully they aren't in any trouble, but just in case."

Happy raised a paw. "Aye, sir! I'll take care of it." He summoned his wings and took off. "Good luck!"

"Right." Erza leapt up onto the path. "Let's not waste any more time. Move out!"

""""Right!""""

Everyone leapt up onto the path and followed behind Erza. Their goal: beat out over a hundred other teams in the Sky Labyrinth and reach the final eight for the Grand Magic Games.