Back with the next chapter!
Big thanks to Arkham knight 22 for the big help of the last chapter
"Speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
At Crocus
The team minus Natsu, was at Crocus, the capital city of Fiore
"we're finally here" Gray said while dropping to the streets floor
"Man, I feel like crap." He groaned in annoyance
"Yeah my body still hurts." Lucy moaned as she rubbed her shoulder. "I thought I was doing fine a couple of days ago."
"don't whine, we need to win the games" Erza told them while Milo, Rose and Mary were at her side
"how is Erza still alright?" Lucy said with a sweat drop
"she must've already awakened her Second Origin during the time we were asleep" Gray told her
After the training camp, Erza told the others of her betrayal to Natsu's trust and how Natsu went off to be alone for some time
Lucy and the others understood her explanation but not Rose and Mary, they're still young. So, Erza just told the two that their father was on a solo training route to them
Lucy and everyone decided to help as much as they can to mend the bond between Erza and Natsu for their sake and the sake of the twins
Lucy looked around the city square, taking in the size of the city proper for the first time. "Wow, I didn't even notice how big this place is." She said in awe.
Wendy nodded with an astounded smile. "It's even bigger than Lumina."
"Well this is the capital of the kingdom." Erza said. "It only makes sense that it would be the biggest city."
"It certainly is an overwhelming sight." Charla commented.
"Nya" Milo meowed
"I see you all made it!" A voice called from a distance. The group looked over and saw Master Makarov, Jet, Droy, Levy, Alzack, Bisca, and Asuka walking towards them.
"Master." Erza said in slight disbelief.
Makarov set down Asuka who was riding on his shoulders down as she and the twins started playing around a bit
"Hey gramps." Gray greeted with a smile.
"We weren't expecting to see you so soon." Lucy said.
"We finished all of the registration for the game." Makarov said. "Now we can show everyone just what the Fairy Tail guild is made of."
The group soon heard chatter from the people of Crocus.
"Did that old man just say Fairy Tail?" someone asked.
"Those losers are entering again?" another snickered.
"what did you say, you jerk!" Gray shouted.
"Everyone knows that Sabertooth is gonna win again." A woman said.
"Why did they even let them register?" an elderly man commented.
"why you!" Gray was about to pummel some sense into them but Erza stopped him
"let them be, Gray. By the time we win, they will see how strong Fairy Tail is" Erza told him as Gray calms down a bit and nodded
"It only makes sense that we would have doubters after all this time. I say let them laugh, they'll be that much more astounded when we win that 30 million jewel…I mean prove we're the best." He pointed towards the sky. "Despite what they say we're aiming for the top, otherwise Master Mavis would have saved our lives for nothing. We're going to show why Fairy Tail is the best in all of Fiore."
"so, what's the first event of the games?" Lucy asked Master who shrugs his shoulders
"No, they begin tomorrow but unfortunately we have no idea what's in store for us."
"what do you mean?" Lucy asked him
"They change from year to year." Alzack said, Asuka ran up to him with a hug. "So there's really no way of knowing what's going to happen."
"I tried to look up the records from the past games but there wasn't any set pattern, or rules for that matter." Levy said with a wrinkled brow.
"don't you know anything about it, Erza?" Gray asked the knight who shook her head as a no
"she didn't participate in the games because she has to take care of Rose and Mary at the time" Alzack told him as Gray nodded in understanding
Erza remembered Crime Sorceries' warning about the mysterious power at the games. Lost in thought, she looked down and saw Makarov handing her a book.
"Master?" she said quizzically.
"Here's the rule book for the games Erza, I want you to have it read by tomorrow." Makarov said.
"What?" Erza's eyes widened at the thick tome. "You want me to read it?"
"Don't worry I'll handle it." Levy smiled, taking the book. She put on her gale force reading glasses and began quickly flipping through the pages. "Seems pretty straight forward so far." She said still reading. "No guild masters may participate." She read aloud.
Makarov nodded. "Of course."
"Any person without a guild mark is forbidden to enter." She continued.
"isn't that obvious?" Gray commented.
"The type of competition and goals are kept a secret and the rules are not revealed until just before the competition itself."
"That's a bit weird." Lucy said. Wendy nodding in agreement.
"It looks like there's a warning at the end too." Levy said.
"What does it say?" Erza asked.
"All participants must be in their reserved inns by midnight." Levy answered.
"Midnight?" Gray said. He and the others looked at the huge clock in the middle of the square.
"Midnight tonight?" Lucy asked.
"Well it's only 1 'o clock now." Jet said.
"that gives us some time to do some sightseeing" Gray said with a grin with Lucy nodding in agreement
Erza smiles as her daughters were excited to go sightseeing
"Erza" Makarov called her out as Erza looks at him
Makarov nodded to her as Erza nodded in understanding
"Lucy, you mind bringing Rose and Mary with you to go sightseeing?" Erza asked Lucy who nodded
"come on, you two" Lucy said as she holds their hands
"what about Mama?" Rose asked her mother
"Mama needs to do some stuff with Master" Erza told her daughter with a smile
Rose and Mary look down a bit in disappointment to her reply
"don't worry, Mama promises that we will go shopping the next day" Erza told them with a smile as this got them to smile as well
"promise?" Mary asked her
"promise" Erza nodded as she did pinky promise with them
"be back before midnight, got it?" Erza instructed Lucy. "We're staying at the Honey Bone Inn."
"Got it." Lucy nodded.
"Come on guys lets go." She then started walking with the twins and the others into the town as Erza waved them off before turning her attention to Makarov
"I know that this is just me pointing out the facts, but you really think he would come for the games?" Makarov asked her
"I don't know for sure, but I think he will" Erza said with a bit of a frown on her face
"don't blame yourself, child. Everyone has their weakest moments in their lives, I'm sure that he will understand that and forgives you" Makarov told to Erza who nodded with a little smile
Everyone went on with their sightseeing
Gray went to find a good meal but met up with Juvia who was there to cheer for the team but also met up with Lyon whose guild was participating
Wendy and Charla went sightseeing around the town
Lucy went with Milo, Rose and Mary as they look around and sees some amazing things in the city
Erza went to the inn where she checks the whole room out
Far away from Crocus
Near an active volcano
The volcano was erupting and rumbling as it causes an earthquake
From within the volcano, the magma in it was erupting as a something was rising from within the magma
It was Natsu, and he was bare naked
""you managed to take in the fire, well done"" END appeared and looks at Natsu's new form
Natsu cracks his neck a few times before he opens his eyes as his eyes were glowing red
Flames appeared around him as Natsu wears a black and crimson red vest with black jeans
"it's time for the festival" END told him as the mountain erupts again
Enryuo no Yoroi appears in the magma as the armor floats beside Natsu
"a new form deserves a new look" END said as he snaps his fingers
Reiter no Yoroi appears beside Natsu as the armor turned black
It then glows black while Enryuo no Yoroi glowing red
The two armor then fuses together as they became one
"a fusion of light and darkness, how amusing" END said as the armor became a fusion of A dragon and a demon
"the Armor of Destruction and Annihilation, END no Yoroi"
The armor purges to pieces before equipping onto Natsu
Natsu breath out a long exhale as steam comes out of the helmet
Four metallic wings sprouted out of the back as they unleash a powerful gust of wind
""I suggest that you head to the capital"" END told Natsu as he then disappears
Natsu flaps his wings before he flies up north east of his direction
Evening
At Crocus
"there we go" Lucy said as she places a flower crown on Rose's head
"thank you" Rose thanked Lucy who place a flower crown on Mary's head
"Milo too" Lucy said as she placed a little flower ring on the old Vul cat's head
"weow" Milo meowed a bit as the group moves on
"why are there so many flowers?" Mary said as wherever she turns, there was always flowers everywhere
"they say that Crocus is the Flower Capital, and that's why there are so many flowers" Lucy told the child as they continued their sightseeing
Lucy kept and eye on the twins as Rose looks around the place in awe
She smiles to the child before she sees Mary was behind as the child had a sad frown on her
"what's wrong, Mary?" Lucy asked the child
"are Mama and Papa fighting?" Mary asked her
"what? What makes you say that?" Lucy kneels down to look at her
"Papa didn't come with us here, is it because of us he and Mama are fighting?" Mary asked Lucy
"no! Mary, Listen, Natsu and Erza aren't fighting… Natsu is out training and he didn't want anyone to get hurt while he's training, he promised to be here, and I know he will keep that promise" Lucy quickly told the child as she placed her hands on her shoulders
"they love the both of you and that will never change"
"really?" Mary said as Lucy nodded
"really" Lucy told her with a smile as she stands back up and holds Mary's hand
"let's get back to the inn" Lucy said as she looks for Rose who was nowhere to be seen with Milo
"where are R- !?" Lucy looks around before they see a crowd up ahead and sees a brown tail poking out of the crowds
"don't tell me!?" Lucy said as she quickly runs towards the crowd
In the crowd
"shaaaaa!" Milo hissed in the crowd as he let out a threatening meow at two figures in front of him while trying to defend Rose who was behind him
"what's with the kid and the fat cat?" a young man with short blonde hair said as he has a scar over his left eye and he has a white guild mark on his right shoulder that looks to be a tiger
"don't know, yes" a red furred cat replied to the blonde man
Next to the blonde was a young man around the same height, but his hair was messy and as black as the night. He seemed to have a dissatisfied look on his face as he stood with his arms crossed. His eyes were an intense shade of red. He too had the same mark as the blonde, but instead of on his arm, the mark was located on a cloak that was wrapped around his body.
"Fro think so too" a cat look a like that is wearing a frog suit said in agreement to the red cat
Rose shakes in fear as Milo hissed at the two men
"Rose!" Lucy came in with Mary beside her as Rose runs towards her
"Aren't those guys from Sabertooth?" one of the people in the crowd asked.
"Hey yeah, that's Sting and Rogue." Another said.
"The twin dragons?! Here?!"
Lucy comforts the child as she looks at the two pronounced Twin Dragons who were looking at her
"doesn't she look familiar?" Rogue said to Sting who was rubbing his chin
"yeah…oh!" Sting exclaimed as he remembers
"she's from the loser guild, Fairy Loser"
"yes, the guild that always comes last place in the games" the red cat agreed to Sting's words
"Lucy!" Gray's shout was heard as Lucy looks behind and sees Gray and surprisingly Juvia coming in
"Gray! Juvia?" Lucy exclaimed as the two went to her side before looking at Sting and Rogue
"so, the loser guild decided to join this year as well" Sting said with a sneer
Gray looks around and sees a bunch of guys are on the ground with a beaten state
"looks like these guys got some beating, was it you?" Gray said at Sting
"these fools think that they're tough and tried to fight us, so, we just give them what they wanted" Sting told to Gray
A tensed atmosphere was formed as the citizens looks at the two guilds members were about to do a brawl
"you might as well pack your bags, because you will lose like always" Sting told to Gray with a sneer as a vein appeared on Gray's forehead
"you want a fight, Blonde shit!?" Gray shouted at Sting as he rolled up his sleeves
Sting smirks at Gray as he taunted him to pull his fist first
"you asked for it!" Gray exclaimed as he had ice cold air coming out of his fist
Sting pulled back his fist as he was about to punch Gray's face but as soon as they were about to make contact with each other
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
Something came dropping in front of them as it created a dust explosion to blow out
"-cough- -cough- what the heck!?" Gray exclaimed as he coughs while trying to see what dropped in front of him
The dust settled and everyone sees a dual bladed sword in between the two of them
"Gaia no Ken?! Then that means!" Lucy exclaimed before she looks up and sees Natsu who was wearing Enryuo no Yoroi on him was in the sky above them
"Natsu!?" Gray exclaimed as Natsu floated down and landed near his sword which he pulls out from the ground
"papa!" Rose and Mary run towards him as Natsu looks at them running to him
"are you two, ok?" Natsu asked his daughters as they nodded to him
He smiled behind his helmet before looking at Sting and Rogue who were looking at him with wide eyes
"you're!" Rogue started
"Natsu Dragov!?" Sting exclaimed as he finishes Rogue's sentences
Natsu looks at them before looking to his daughters
"go to Lucy for a moment" Natsu told them as he motions Lucy to take them away from him
Lucy did as he was told as she leads Rose and Mary away from a possible brawl
"I am Natsu, who wants to know?" Natsu said to the Twin Dragon Slayers
"Ha ha I knew it." Sting laughed.
"So, the rumors about you entering the games this year were true. So, is that little girl your kid?" he pointed at Rose who was hiding behind Lucy's legs.
"Does your kid know her so called 'dragon slayer' dad couldn't even slay a real dragon?" he asked arrogantly.
Natsu looks at him as he pulls out Gaia no Ken
"Your point?" Natsu said
"Acnologia right?" Sting questioned. "What good is a dragon slayer if he can't even do what his name says he does?" a smug smirk appeared on his lips.
"I used to look up to you, you know, once upon a time. My friend here was more of a Gajeel guy." He pointed at Rogue.
"I was just curious as a fellow dragon slayer." Sting stated plainly.
"So, both of you are Dragon Slayers" Natsu said
"Let's make things easier. How about you call us true dragon slayers?" Sting said. "We would have taken down Acnologia."
"You only say that because you've never seen Acnologia." Lucy chimed in.
"that monster can't even be called a dragon at all" Gray said while a bit pissed
"shaa" Milo hissed at the twin dragon slayers as his fur rises
"This cat's pretty stupid." The red cat said pointing at Milo.
"But you're smart, right Lector?" the green cat asked.
"It doesn't matter if we've seen him or not." Rogue explained
"It's all about our ability as dragon slayers, which far outshines yours." Sting boasted as Natsu stands at his place
""quite the arrogant brat, we have here"" END appeared beside Natsu as he looks at the Twin Dragon Slayers
"Maybe I should give you guys a crash course." Lector said arrogantly.
"Natsu Dragov, Wendy Marvell, and Gajeel Redfox learned magic from the dragons that raised you. That makes you guys First Generation Dragon Slayers."
"First Generation?" Lucy looked over to Natsu.
"Cobra from Oracion Seis and that Laxus Dreyar guy in your guild had lacrima put in their bodies that gave them their Dragon Slayer abilities. They're Second Generation Dragon Slayers." Lecter continued.
"But Sting and Rogue." He pointed at the pair. "Both learned from Dragons AND had lacrima put in their bodies making them Third Generation Dragon Slayers, the strongest generation."
"Third Generation?!" Lucy blurted out.
"did your dragons disappeared on X777 like Wendy's and Gajeel's?" Natsu asked the two
"That's one way to put it." Sting answered vaguely.
"Perhaps we should tell him." Rogue said.
"what?" Natsu asked.
"We killed the dragons that raised us, with our bare hands" Rogue told him
"We did it to become true dragon slayers." He finished.
"You…killed them?" Lucy gasped with widened eyes.
"It's only natural for a dragon slayer to kill a dragon." Sting told them
"But they were your parents." Lucy retorted. "They raised you."
"That doesn't matter. We did exactly what we were chosen to do as Dragon Slayers." Rogue said.
Natsu looks at them for a moment before turning around
"let's go" Natsu told Lucy and the others as he started walking away
"what?" Gray exclaimed at him
"heh! All bark but no bite!" Sting said with an arrogant look on his face
"this is why you could never beat Acnologia!"
Natsu stops walking as he look back at Sting and Rogue
"wrong words, I didn't try to beat him," Natsu said as he stomps his legs on the ground as it causes a small earthquake to shake around him
Everyone felt unbalance as they all nearly fell
"I wanted to kill him"
Natsu said as his eyes glowed red in his helmet
A transparent crimson red dragon appeared behind Natsu as it roars at Sting and Rogue
"the next time, I meet him, I will END him"
Natsu said as he turns around and walks away while leaving burn tracks as he steps on the ground
Lucy and the others quickly follow him as they left Sabertooth in their place
At HoneyBone inn
Erza sat inside the room, clad in her pyjamas.
She was playing a game of solitaire, her eyes looking over at the clock hanging on the wall next to her every few minutes. "They're late." She grumbled.
She then hears a knock on the door and stood up. "Finally." She said as she walked over to the door and opens it
"it's about time you g-..!?" Erza opens the door and was about to scold her teammates but she stopped as the one in front of her was Natsu still clad in his armor
"move" Natsu told her as Erza step aside and he went in with the others
Erza looks at Natsu before her eyes set on Lucy who was carrying Rose who seems to have fallen asleep in her arms but she then sees tear stains on her face
She quickly carried her from Lucy while looking at Gray who was carrying Mary who was also asleep
Erza walked to her bed and pulled back the blanket after closing the door. She placed Rose with Gray who was placing Mary beside Rose on the bed and moved the blanket over them. She kissed their foreheads and then moved to look at Lucy and Gray while Milo just jumped to where Rose and Mary were sleeping as the cat rested near them.
"Explain yourselves." She commanded. "Why were you all late?"
Lucy and Gray were sitting on the floor while Natsu was sitting near the window as he looks at the night sky
"Explain yourselves." She commanded. "Why were you all late?"
Gray spoke first. "I was eating dinner, or at least tried to."
Erza looks to Natsu before she looks at Lucy
"what happened out there, Lucy?" Erza asked Lucy as the started explaining how they almost brawled with Sabertooth
"Sabertooth as dragon slayers as well?" Erza asked a bit surprised
"I think that's how their guild got number one spot" Gray added in
"They also had exceeds and were really strong too. When we ran into them, they had already taken out about ten other guys." Lucy said to Erza who nodded in understanding
"I see" Erza said before she looks at Natsu who was silent in the whole conversation
Lucy sees where Erza was looking at as she nudges her elbow to her
Erza looks at Lucy who motions her to go to him
She gulped nervously before she stands up and slowly walked towards him
"Na-" "who's the fifth member?" Natsu cuts her off while still looking outside
"now that he said it, where is Wendy?" Gray said while looking around for the Sky Dragon Slayer
Lucy elbows his side as Gray winced a bit
"what was that for?" Gray said while holding his side
"it's almost Midnight, where is she?" Natsu asked as he stands up and went pass Erza who frowned a bit
"she said that she was going sightseeing with Charla" Lucy told him while a bit disappointed that he treats Erza as if she wasn't here
"did they get lost?" Gray said while feeling a bit worried for the young girl
"but Charla's with her!" Lucy told to Gray before they heard knocking coming from the door
"is that her?" Gray said as Natsu walked to the door and opened it
"hey!"
It was Lisanna and Elfman
"Lisanna! Elfman!" Lucy said with a smile.
"Hey how's it going?" Elfman greeted. "We brought you guys some snacks." The siblings walked into the room, carrying cola and various food items.
"You need the energy for tomorrow, right?" Lisanna asked with a smile.
"You guys back from the mountains?" Gray asked.
"Mhm." Lisanna nodded.
"Yeah, we thought we should get all beefed up for the games, but we weren't even picked." Elfman sulked as he set the cola down on the floor. "Man this sucks, I wanted to show Lisanna and Mira how much more manly I got."
Lisanna went to Erza who sits on the bed beside Rose and Mary
She sat beside Erza as the scarlet knight was frowning
"were you able to?" Lisanna whispered to her as Erza shook her head as a no
Lisanna frowns as she gives Erza a half hug
"did you two happen to meet Wendy on your way here?" Gray asked the siblings while drinking a cola
"no, why?" Lisanna replied to him
"we can't find her; we think that she and Charla might be lost in the city" Lucy told her
"And we can't go look for her because we have to be here at the inn by midnight." Gray chimed in.
"What's supposed to happen at midnight anyway?" Lucy asked looking at the ice make wizard.
"I don't know." Gray shrugged. "But the rules say we gotta be here, so I guess we'll find out soon."
The clock struck twelve and a loud gong began echoing throughout the entire city.
"Speak of the devil." Gray said.
The gong continued ringing throughout the Crocus streets and a flash of light soon appeared. Once it had dimmed down, a hologram of a little man wearing a pumpkin like mask
"Good Morning to all participants in this year's Grand Magic Games!" the pumpkin creature said as it smiles
"the heck is that thing?!" Gray exclaimed as everyone looks out the window, except for Natsu
"We will now begin winnowing down the 113 teams assembled to 8 with our Preliminary Competition!"
"Preliminary Competition?" Gray queried, raising an eyebrow as he turned to look at Erza, who stared pensively at the hologram.
"This is the first I've heard of this." She said.
""113?"" Lucy thought. ""That's a lot of guilds. I didn't know Fiore even had that many.""
""A warning about the preliminaries would have been nice."" Erza thought with a furrowed brow.
""Even so, 113 is too many guilds and with Crime Sorcieres' warning about this 'odd magic', this all seems very suspicious. Perhaps there are sponsor working behind the scenes.""
"Due to the constant addition of guilds to the games each year," the pumpkin mascot said
"We have trouble incorporating events that will allow each team to shine."
"So, this year only 8 teams will be allowed to participate in the games. And this will be how those 8 teams will be determined." The creature pointed into the air and the Honey Bone Inn began rising.
"What's…going…on?!" Lucy asked in a squeal.
"The inn's rising!" Gray looked down and sees mechanical poles was pushing the inn, they were in upwards.
"Look!" Lisanna pointed into the city. "The other inns are rising too."
Everyone looks outside and sees many more inns rising up to the sky.
"Looks like some sort of pathway." Gray observed.
"Yes, but to where?" Erza inquired.
"Your goal is to reach the stadium, Domus Flau! You are allowed to use whatever magic at your disposal to reach the stadium, nothing is off limits; but all five members of your team must be present upon reaching the stadium or you will all be disqualified." The pumpkin creature explained.
"One more thing…" a hint of malice entered the creature's tone. "Should you die inside the labyrinth, the Games organizers are not held accountable."
"Well, isn't that just assuring?" Lucy said with sarcasm in her voice
Natsu walks to another window as he sees tons and tons of scrap like metal were floating up and started to form a sphere like building in the sky
""heh, how interesting"" END appeared as the demon Natsu grins
"Let the preliminary round of the Grand Magic Games, Sky Labyrinth, begin!" The pumpkin creature declared before disappearing.
"What the hell is that?!" Elfman shouted
"We have to go through that to reach the stadium?" Lucy asked as she was a bit intimidated to the sight of the giant metallic sphere.
"Well if it's a race we better get a move on." Gray declared as he stepped on the bridge.
"wait!" Erza halted him
"without Wendy, we will be disqualified when we step on it" Erza told them
"where could she be?!" Lucy chimed in as she was worried for her
"worry about her later" Natsu told them as he steps forward
"Elfman, you take her place. Lisanna, you go with Milo to find the two" Natsu told them as Lisanna and Elfman nodded
"Man!" Elfman said while pumping his fist
"I'll get the others to help find the two" Lisanna said as she and Milo went out
"what about Rose and Mary?" Erza asked him as Natsu walks past her and snaps his fingers
Reiter no Yoroi appears beside the twins as the armor was standing beside them
"let's go" Natsu said as he hops onto the bridge and started walking towards the sphere
Everyone looked at each other before jumping on the bridge and started running upwards to catch up with Natsu
That's a wrap!
Bye bye