Enough people have asked me for recommendations that I'll start putting one at the beginning of each chapter. This one won't really count, because I'm just repeating ones I've already recommended. Raising Dragons by Merble and One Word To Change The World by Agent Malkere. These are both on Fanfiction, though I believe One Word To Change The World is also on Archive of Our Own. Also, warning: neither of these are complete.
I also probably won't be able to post until Wednesday or Thursday of next week. :(
But, this was written quickly for XBnemesisx, but I still wasn't able to finish it in time, sorry: I hope your band competition went well :)
Enjoy!
Chapter Fifty Seven – The 3rd Annual Grand Magic Games; July 1st, X775
We all looked at each other.
"Wanna just all jump there at once?" I asked.
"Can you carry ten people?" Laxus asked.
I paused. I didn't actually know if I could carry ten people. I think the most I'd ever tried was eight, and that had been awhile ago.
"Laxus, Lucy," I said.
They both looked at me.
"Are you guys good with using your powers to get there? Like your Lightning Body, and maybe Corvus's shadows?" I asked.
"Have you tried carrying people through Pluto's Body?" Cana asked.
I shook my head. "No. Is everyone good with this?"
They all nodded, and Cana pulled out her cards, using them to find the location. I can't believe they still hadn't found a way to block them.
Her eyes opened, and she passed the card to me, Laxus, and Corvus, who had come out on his own.
"Everyone connected?" I asked, holding out my hands, glad I had already taken those damn bracelets off so my magic could recharge.
"We're good," Erigor said.
"Corvus? Laxus?" I asked them.
They nodded.
"Then let's do this!" I said, closing my eyes, and we teleported.
We all landed right before the finish line, and we fell into a bit of a heap.
"Rough landing?" Corvus asked, coming out of the shadow's and carrying Lucy on his shoulders.
"Lucy, you're eight!" I said, looking up at her.
She shrugged. "It's fun! And he can still carry me."
"You guys alright?" Laxus asked, coming to a stop next to me.
I nodded, observing the others as we picked ourselves off the ground. "Yeah, it seems like it's harder for me to carry more people, though…I should work on that."
"We're also a lot more powerful, Ella-sama," Freed commented. "Maybe our strength in magic makes it harder to shift us."
I blinked, considering it, before shaking it off, though it would certainly explain some of Mest's difficulties in the future... "Nice theory, but not the time. Alright guys. Team A is first."
"Why?" Laxus asked.
"Because Lucy arrived before you did," I said, shrugging.
He let it go. We didn't really care, anyway.
Team A strolled out the door and across the line, and after a few seconds, we followed.
The gong rang out once, and then again twice.
"And the first two spots have been taken, everyone! Remember, that means that there are only six spots remaining!"
"Six?" Lucy asked.
"They must have raised it," I muttered. "Since they've let each guild submit three teams."
"I wonder how long it will take the other team to get to the finish line," Laxus muttered.
Not long, it seemed, because the door burst open again and our other team crossed the finish line.
"Hey guys!" I waved at them.
"Haha, you're late!" Gray said to them.
Both Silver and Ur sent ice shards at him.
I laughed. "Come on, guys, we should get some rest before the games start later today."
"Welcome, everyone, kabo! This is Mato, and welcome to the 3rd Annual Grand Magic Games! Kabo!" Toma announced in his high pitched 'Mato' voice.
"In eighth place we have Phantom Lord, Team B, kabo!"
I frowned upon seeing them. I didn't recognize anyone, but that didn't tell me anything about them; they chose to join Phantom Lord, after all.
"In seventh place we have Blue Pegasus, kabo!" The team strode forward. They were led by Ichiya, who was still oddly (and slightly scarily) attractive.
Maybe it was some sort of accident?
"In sixth place, we have Quatro Cerberus, kabo!" The team strode forward eagerly, but looked upset over their latter place.
"In fifth place, we have Lamia Scale, kabo!" Jura strode forward with the rest of his team – all of them clearly viewing him as the leader despite his status as the youngest upon them.
"In fourth place, Phantom Lord, Team A, kabo!" The team strode forward angrily – not surprising, considering that they had a lower spot. I'm sure that Ur and Silver were the triggers needed to move Fairy Tail Team C ahead of Phantom.
"In third place, Fairy Tail's oldest team! Kabo!" Mato yelled, very happily, and the crowd ate it up. Ur strode forward, leading the team, and I smirked as Aria and Sol glared at them.
"Looks like they ran into each other in the maze," I muttered to Laxus, and he snickered.
"In second place, we have…Fairy Tail! Kabo!"
Our team strode forward, and there were a lot of appreciative murmurings from my and Laxus's reappearance, as well as questioning over Ultear.
And then there was a hushed whispering as everyone seemed to realize that there was still a spot left, and that Fairy Tail already had two teams in.
I was nearly bouncing on my toes, and vibrating with anticipation.
"And in first place…we have…FAIRY TAIL! KABO!"
There was yelling and screaming and many other things. The crowd seemed very excited, most guilds seemed very mad, Goldmine and Bob seemed to be shaking their heads and laughing, and Jose Porla looked like he wanted to strangle Makarov.
I resisted the urge to cackle.
"You know, Elle," Laxus said. "You have some issues."
I shrugged.
"Ella-sama is the Master of Chaos!" Freed said proudly.
Sure, why not? I'm cool with that. Don't know if I'd call me a master yet, though...
The noise was hushed by Mato's clearing of the throat. "There was a new rule stating that each guild can put up to three teams in, if they wished, kabo!"
"What I don't understand is the point!" Jose sneered. "All it will do is bring down your overall score. It's averaged out."
"It's about having fun!" Makarov yelled. "And proving that every member in my guild can beat yours, hand down, Jose!"
"Why don't we calm down, kabo…" Mato sweatdropped. After the fight that had broken out between the judges in their first year, each one sat with the rest of their guilds with a microphone in hand. Mato and Yajima sat in the booth they previously stayed in. "You all know our guild masters…Makarov, of Fairy Tail; Jose, of Phantom Lord; Ooba, of Lamia Scale; Goldmine, of Quatro Cerberus; and Bob, of Blue Pegasus, kabo!" Mato waited for the cheering for them to die down before continuing. "And we have Mr. Yajima from the Magic Council with us again, as well as the main reporter for Sorcerer's Weekly – Jacob! And his son, Jason! Kabo!"
"This is SOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" Jason yelled into the microphone. Even at eight years old, he was screaming.
"Jason is here to give us a view on the younger contestants participating," Yajima explained.
"Pick your contestants for the first game and we can get started, kabo!" Mato yelled.
I had already explained the difference for them. Our battle pairings weren't random – they were chosen by the audience, or specific officials – or even us, if it was approved. Because of this, we didn't know when we were going or competing, so we'd have to just guess.
Last time, we knew when we would compete, but not who we were fighting against.
This time, we know neither.
"Who wants to go first?" I asked.
"Me," Laxus said. "I want to get a good game this time. Instead of Chariots." His face started to look queasy just thinking of it.
"Sure," I said, shrugging. Though there was no guarantee that Chariots wasn't first this time...
He ran out onto the field, and was joined by Cana and Enno. The only other participant I recognized was Aria. Everyone else looked unfamiliar.
"Today we have Hidden, kabo!" Mato announced, and the large city developed on the floor. "Most of you know this game already, but I'll go over the rules for any new folks!"
While Mato explained the rules, I was laughing. "Damn, he's going to do great."
"What makes you say that?" Erigor asked.
"Not only does he have his Lightning Body to move fast, he can tell who is real and who isn't, because he's a Dragon Slayer." I smiled. "It's perfect!"
And it was. Seconds after starting, Laxus was already off, knocking out a bunch of other people (with the exception of the other FT teams).
Cana had made cards used specifically for a battlefield like this – it searches for heat signatures unless they have a Fairy Tail insignia on their body and then attacks, so this striked a boat load of other points for her as she hit every other contestant.
And I was unable to stop what happened next.
"Metsu!" An explosive blast hit Cana from behind, and her screams ran through the air.
"Stop the games!" I screamed, teleporting onto the field.
Aria had already finished his spell and turned to his next victim, but before he could do anything to me, Laxus punched him in the face.
"What did he do?" Laxus asked.
"He drained her of magical power," I said, closing my eyes to concentrate, thankful that I had forgotten to put my bracelets back on that morning – something I hadn't even realized until now. "I can put it back, but I can't be disturbed."
He nodded seriously. "Got it."
"And it looks like some of the Fairy Tail members have joined everyone else on the field, after calling for a timeout!" Yajima was saying.
"SHUT UP!" Laxus roared. "We'll explain when we're done, but just SHUT THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW!"
Absolute silence.
Even Jose looked a bit scared to break it, and it made me breathe properly and close my eyes.
This was going to be difficult, I knew, but I could do it. I reached out through the sky, using Saturn and feeling out all the remnants of Cana's magic, trying to gather it.
It kept trying to fly away, but I wouldn't let it. I grit my teeth and tightened my grip on the magic in the wind, pulling it apart and pulling it back.
A series of gasps reached my ears and I opened my eyes to see the large glowing mass in front of me.
This was how much magic Cana had in her body?
It was amazing, and I know that I hadn't gotten all of it.
The biggest issue with this spell was the affects it had on the magical container, which is why Makarov was in such a state when he was hit with it in the previous timeline. It wasn't just draining magic from the body – it was a mix between that, and ripping out one's magical container. Eventually, it would build up again on its own, but the shock from losing it so fast is could cause Magical Deficiency Disease. And the bigger the magical container, the larger the hole left behind; which was why Makarov was nearly to the point of death.
I know I hadn't gathered all of the magic originally in Cana's body, but I'd gotten the most important pieces, and the rest would replenish on its own.
Like the liver.
(It grows back.)
Still, though, Cana would probably spend the rest of the week on bed rest, and Juvia would definitely have to compete in her place.
Taking all of the magic, I reached down and shoved it into Cana, causing her body to jolt like Laxus had just zapped her.
Cana woke up with a gasp, and then she knelt over, retching.
There was the sound of a rune wall going down, and Freed let Gildarts pass to reach Cana.
"Time to answer to the wolves," Laxus muttered beside me. "Is Cana…?"
"She'll be fine, her body's just in shock," I answered, and teleported to the commentors' box, causing everyone there to jump.
"I assume you all want an explanation?" I asked, loudly enough that the microphones picked me up.
They all nodded as the audience roared. Yajima cleared his throat. "That would be much appreciated, little lady."
I nodded, and turned to Jason. "Hey, Jase, can I borrow your mic?" I asked.
"Jase?" he asked, stars in his eyes. "That's so coooooooooooooooooool!"
Jacob sighed over his son and handed me his own microphone.
"Aria performed something called Metsu," I said. "Basically, it drains someone of magical power and releases it into the air. And it can have seriously bad effects when it's used on someone. Enough so that if Jose was a decent human being and even a slightly good guildmaster, he would have forbidden Aria from using it, especially in a friendly competition!"
"Hey!" Jose yelled, but I ignored it.
"I had to pull all of Cana's magic back from the air in order to return it to her. Even still, she won't be able to compete, or even safely use magic for a few more weeks." I continued. "And I had to concentrate in order to make sure that I got it. Any sort of noise would have made it more difficult."
"I see, kabo!" Mato said. "That's understandable, kabo!"
"I have a question!" Gildarts yelled up at the box.
I popped back down, taking the microphone with me. Luckily, it was detachable.
"Thanks, Elle," he said, taking it from me carefully (so he didn't break it). He cleared his throat. "I was told that we can ask to fight certain people, and request certain battles. Is that true?"
"Yes, kabo," Mato said.
He pointed at Aria. "I wanna battle him. Right now."
Yajima cleared his own throat. "Gildarts, you aren't on a team…"
Enno leaned over and plucked the microphone from Gildarts. "I relinquish my position to Gildarts."
"Sure, why not, then, kabo!" Mato said happily. "The first round was over, anyway, with Fairy Tail Teams A and B tied, followed by Fairy Tail Team C, and the Phantom Lord Team A. Everyone else is tied for last, kabo!"
"Dad, you don't have to-" Cana said.
"I want to," he said angrily.
She looked at him, and then nodded.
"Please, clear the field, kabo!" Mato commanded.
The rest of us returned to the sidelines, and I popped back up to the box and handed the microphone back to Jacob.
"Do you guys have any runes built into the stadium for structural safety?" I asked.
Mato nodded. "Of course! Kabo!"
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."
I turned back to the mic and shouted. "Attention all parents, I would not let little ones watch this battle."
"Thank you, Elle," Mato said as I left.
"No problem," I said, popping back to the rest of my team. After all, if Ame and Hisui were actually watching...
"I'm confused on why Dad wanted to do this," Cana muttered worriedly. "Will he get in trouble?"
"He did this specifically to not get in trouble," I said.
"What?" she asked.
"Elle is right," Ur said, the adult team joining us. "You see, guild members aren't allowed to attack members from other legal guilds. By fighting here, in the competition, he can get away with beating the shit out of Aria, rather than just beat him up another time."
"I see," Freed commented. "Quite an ingenious move, really."
"So if we ever want to not get in trouble, we just challenge them to a competition in the Games?" Laxus asked.
"You need to get the battle approved first," I said. "But basically, yeah. If you have a vendetta or need to beat the shit out of someone, save it for here, and you won't really get in trouble. Well…it depends on the level you go to."
"From Phantom Lord, Team A, we have Aria! And from Fairy Tail Team C, we have Gildarts! Let the battle commence, kabo!"
I winced as the gong went off.
Before Aria could do anything, he was already on his knees as Gildarts released his magical power, the immense pressure coming from the man making it hard to stand. In fact, with the exception of Jura, no one else from another guild (other than the Masters) could stand, and even Jura had difficulties with it as well.
Of the group of us, the only ones on their feet were me, Laxus, Brandish, Cana, Lucy, and Ur. And Ur was the only one standing up straight like it was fine.
After Ur, Lucy seemed to be having the easiest time of it. Laxus and I were still standing because we were supporting each other. Brandish and Cana were barely up.
Aria was streaming tears, but it did nothing to stop Gildarts's approach.
"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!" he roared.
And that was how we broke the Domas Flau.
And got the 3rd Annual Grand Magic Games cancelled.