It has been a few minutes into the break, the corridors and lobby filling up with people replenishing their snacks or looking for the toilet.
In the wing designated specifically for staff walked an elderly man with a cane, his hat rocking gently on top of his head with each step.
"Thank you, I am quite confident in my ability to take care of my business by myself." said Yajima warmly to his two designated guards.
"O-Of course, sir." said one of them, embarrassed, much to the elder's amusement.
"Wait here. I'll be right back." said the former Sage and cut the corner to head to the toilets.
A couple of steps into the empty toilet, Yajima felt his shoulders becoming much heavier than they were supposed to, a knot forming in his throat a second later. The elder squeezed the pummel of his cane harder than usual in an attempt to remain calm and took a deep breath out.
Although he couldn't possibly see what was behind him, the elder was no fool. He knew, that his situation was dire, to put it lightly. He had no idea how, or where it came from, but his thoughts were with the well being of young men he left just behind the corner, rather than his own.
Yajima did not dare to turn around. Not that he'd be given a chance to, most likely. He could simply stand there and await the inevitable.
A giant figure in a ragged cloak stood just a few meters behind the old man in the doorway, blocking any possible way of escape. It was most definitely not human, for humans did not have fur on their arms and legs.
Neither did they have razor sharp claws.
The figure took a step forward and just when the sound of the heavy foot pushing into the ground bounced off the walls of the room, Yajima closed his eyes in acceptance of his fate.
Both the figure and Yajima felt hair stand up on their heads, as yet another set of footsteps entered the toilet, this time much lighter.
The figure turned around in a quick fashion only to spot a hand just in front of its face and with only a split second to make a decision, it narrowly avoided having its head blasted off its shoulder by a ray of light that broke the only window in the room. The figure growled and jumped through it, only to then vanish in the busy city.
Yajima looked out the window and breathed out in relief, cold sweat dripping off his face onto the floor. He clutched his chest with his free hand and slowly turned around to face his savior, whom he has just recognized as a member of Raven Tail B.
"Are you all right, ?" asked the figure, their blue hair peeking from under the hood.
Yajima's eyes narrowed, his expression of gratitude delayed in the process. "Oh. It's you." he said in a weak but slightly piercing voice.
Jellal took his hood off and pulled the mask on his face down, revealing his face to the former Sage. He made nothing of his hostile tone and instead walked up to the window to examine it.
"May I ask what brought you here?" asked Yajima.
"I could sense something foul within this arena since the beginning." explained the rogue mage and looked at a piece of broken glass – it had some hair on it, which he collected into a bottle. "I'd decided to check it out during the break and that's how I ended up here."
Yajima exhaled through his nose. "I see." he said shortly. "Your curiosity may have just saved my life. For that I am grateful. But I think it'd be for the best you leave now, far away, preferably."
Jellal put the bottle into his inside pocket and stood up, readjusting his hood and mask in the process. "I can't, not just yet." he said.
"It is not in my interest to know why you've decided to masquerade as a member of Raven Tail, but I find it highly unlikely you will remain undetected until the end." said Yajima. "I am not speaking out of spitefulness. I am giving you one last piece of advice, for old times sake."
Jellal smiled. "I'd lie if I said those little talks we had were not my favorite part of being a Council member." he said and pulled his hood down as much as he could. "I'd appreciate you did not mention I was here."
"I will not call the guards on you this time." said Yajima. "But if we ever meet within this arena again I will not hesitate. Nor will I stand up for you if someone else tracks you down."
"I appreciate it." bowed Jellal and walked past the elder. "Please, stay safe, ." he told him in farewell. "You are not safe, not anymore."
Yajima squinted his eyes and watched Jellal leave the toilet. Just when the rogue mage closed the door behind him he dropped his nostalgic expression and replaced it with an irritated frown.
"I don't think the order of arrival was quite right just now." he said to the short, brownhaired man standing up against the wall a few feet away from the door.
Rickard Smith smiled under his messy beard and shrugged. "In my defense, I got here just when that thing took a step inside. You just got to him first, that's all."
Jellal narrowed his eyes and turned away from the Council Captain. "Get your act together." he told him and took a step forward, ready to leave.
"Come, now. I wanted to give you a solid tip and you just flip me off?" he asked in a hurt tone.
Jellal turned around to face the man. "What is it?" he asked.
Rickard's face turned serious. "Prisoner 000949 went missing a year ago."
Jellal's eyes grew wide in terror, sweat running down his face. "What did you say?!" he choked out. "What...Why are you telling me just now?!"
"Because I found out a week ago myself." replied the Captain. "I have no idea what the higherups were thinking but even the other Captains have no idea. This information is known only to Sages and the Chairman. It was covered so well no one has even noticed it happened, not even the guards who stood by his cell. I happen to know just because I overheard it." said Rickard and stepped away from the wall. "That's all. Do what you want with it, but this is the last time I am helping you lot. Consider our relationship to be of the same nature as Yajima's. Next time we meet one on one, I am taking you with me. I have enough stuff on my head as it is."
With that said the Captain pulled out a lacrima and contacted his subordinates, ordering them a thorough, but quiet search of the city, and leaving shocked Jellal to himself. He reached down to his pocket with his shaking hand and pulled out an orb, which he then rubbed a few times.
"Ultear..." he said flatly upon reaching his comrade. "We have a problem."
Twenty minutes later
With the break over, the arena was once again filled with people and attractions, ready and excited for arguably the most interesting part of the Games – battles.
The guilds were already back in their stands, waiting in anticipation for the matchups.
"I've managed to get a hold of one of the people working on the Games." Erza told her team. "Apparently they pair guilds up first and then let the sponsors decide who will take a part in the fight."
"Some random people will decide who fights?" frowned Gray. "I don't like that one bit."
"Me neither, but this is how things are." said the knight. "All of us will have to focus and expect to be called out, there is no other choice."
"Right."
"I am worried about something else." said slowly Lucy. "I don't expect sponsors to be experts on magic, so there might be a chance some matches will be extremely mismatched."
"I know, but there is no way around it." said Erza. "Anyone put up against Jura would be considered a mismatch. This may be an event focused on teams, but individual performances are just as important."
Lucy felt shivers running down her back after imagining herself being put up against the gentle, but also terrifying Wizard Saint. Erza smiled at the blonde and put her armored hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"No, it's okay."
"I am sure you would give him a run for his money if it came to that."
"Haha...yeah..."
"It started." Natsu cut them off and pointed at the arena.
Kabo was standing in the middle of the arena once again and cleared his throat.
"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!" he said with his enhanced voice. "Thank you all for coming back! We shall now begin the second part of the day! Guild Battles!"
The crowd cheered and yelled, clearly excited for the upcoming performances.
"As always, the second half of the day is the most exciting one, according to our viewers!" pointed out Lola from his booth. "However, it might be hard to beat after the outstanding event Hidden was!"
"There is nothing wrong in having two equally interesting events." said calmly Yajima. His voice was still a bit weak.
"Well said, as always!"
Back in the arena, Kabo clapped his hands and pointed them upwards, yet another table appearing above him for everyone to see. It contained of four pairs of empty squares.
"The matchups are finalized! These will be today's battles!" he said and snapped his fingers.
The squares have now been filled out with names of the guilds, which took probably longer than it should have. After a brief moment, the tables presented themselves as such:
Sabertooth vs Quatro Cerberus
Blue Pegasus vs Mermaid Heel
Lamia Scale vs Raven Tail B
Fairy Tail vs Raven Tail A
The crowd roared in excitement at the sight of the matchups, their combined voices shouting over Kabo's, much to his dismay.
"Please, listen to these cheers!" Lola roared into his microphone. "What a spectacular first day we have this year! It looks like it may fall down in history!"
Yajima and Jenny gave their input as well, but their voices failed to break through the barrier created by the crowd.
Back in the guild stands, the paired up guilds were already eyeing each other up.
"Talk about destiny." scoffed Gray and cracked his neck. "To think we'd run into each other on the first day."
"Whoever made it happen knows what our relations outside of this arena are." said nervously Lucy.
"Time doesn't matter." Makarov said to his guild back in the spectator's spot. "Sooner or later we would have ran into one another. I think it's for the best to have a confrontation this early. Depending on the results it might give us a chance to learn and grow even further."
"I sure hope that chance won't turn out to be one of our friends broken beyond repait in the hospital." said grimly Mirajane under her nose.
Laxus sighed through his nose. "You said it."
"Order doesn't matter." Erza told her team. "It would have happened one way or another. Stay focused and give your best if it's your turn. That's all we can do now."
Back in Lamia Scale's stands, Jura stroked his beard with a gentle frown.
"Are you worried?" asked him Lyon.
The Wizard Saint relaxed his face. "There is some worry in my mind, yes."
Lyon smirked. "There's no need to be worried. We're strong enough to take them on."
"It is not their strength I am worried about, even though it is definitely worthy of being cautious of." said the man. "It is the nature of these individuals."
"Well, we'll just have to make sure to be audible when giving up, if it comes to that." said jokingly Yuka, although Jura did not find it funny.
Sting yawned exasperatedly and wiped his teary eyes off. "Damn, what a boring day." he complained.
"I agree." said shortly Rogue.
"Didn't they have that one guy that was really popular?" asked Orga.
"Yes, but it appears he has not been elected to be a part of the primary team." said Rufus. "Perhaps the rumors were a stretch?"
"What a shame..."
A few minutes later, once the crowd has calmed down, Kabo clapped his hands once again.
"Without putting it away any further, let us begind the second half of the day! The match up for the first battle of this year's Grand Magic Games is…!"
The table changed, the matched up guilds vanishing, replaced by names of the fighters written with huge letters. The table wrote as such:
Orga Nanagear, Sabertooth
vs.
Warcry, Quatro Cerberus
"Oh, it's this guy!" Sting's face lit up. "He's hilarious! Change of plans, I will be watching it!"
"Not this clown..." sighed Rogue and massaged his forehead.
"I, for one, consider his magic as interesting." said Rufus with a smile.
"Well, better get this done with." sighed Orga and headed down the stairs to get into the arena.
Back in Cerberus's stands, the entire team rounded up in a group hug.
"You can do this!" roared Rocker on top of his lungs. "We are fierce! We are tough! We are Wild..."
"Five!" roared all five men and soon broke the hug to let Warcry get down to the arena.
A minute later both men were staring each other down at the center of the arena, as Kabo explained the rules.
"Time limit is 30 minutes." he said. "You will fight until one of you can no longer fight back, or gives up. You can give up by saying it out loud or repeatedly tapping the ground. Killing your opponent and receiving help from outside the arena are forbidden. Any questions?"
"Nope." said Orga.
"None!" growled Warcry.
"It appears we have ourselves a small change in the rules this year!" noticed Lola. "Tapping has never been an option of surrender before!"
"In the heat of the moment speech can come with difficulty." explained softly Yajima. "I agree with this change."
"The referee has ordered both fighters to take a few steps back!" said Lola with excitement. "We are just about to begin! It's time!"
"Both fighters are ready!" exclaimed Kabo and raised his arm in the air. "Let the first battle of this year's Grand Magic Games...begin!"
As Kabo's arm cut through the air, the sound of a giant bell being rung echoed across the area. The mascot jumped back to the side to not be in the way of the duel.
"And here it is! We have officially begun the first match!" exclaimed Lola. "Having Sabertooth at the start must be a treat for our viewers!"
"This should be a good match." said Yajima. "I am interested in Warcry's abilities."
Down in the arena, Warcry jumped back to make some distance from Orga. He bent his knees and clawed his hands, which combined with his attire made him look like a wild beast.
Orga, on the other hand, sighed and cracked his neck. "Let's get this done with." he told his opponent.
Warcry scowled. "You lack emotions. A man is truly manly when he is confident in expressing his emotions and letting them do as they please! Emotions are the true source of strength!" he said, his voice breaking down more with each word.
"Oh! It's coming!" said excitedly Sting.
Without any warning at all, Warcry began to bawl his eyes out, his tears splashing everywhere around him. Those unfamiliar with what was going on could only blink in confusion, desperately awaiting an explanation.
"There it is! Warcry's Tear Magic!" exclaimed Lola. "Bizarre in nature and appearance, but extremely effective!"
"Tear Magic?" sweatdropped Lucy.
"What a joke..." sighed Gray.
Sting laughed out loud, much to Rogue's irritation.
"I truly fail to see the appeal you see in this." he told him.
Sting wiped his eyes- "Because...I mean...This is so ridiculous and useless that there is no other choice but laugh at it...I mean...I can't even pity him for choosing this useless ability, I can just laugh!" he said in-between laughter.
Orga could simply stare, dumbfounded and unsure what to do next. With his guard down, Warcry continued to bawl even more and raised his right hand in an attempt to use his chance.
"Maybe this will open your dam!" he told his opponent and swung his arm at him.
The oversized tears under his eyes extended at great speed and gave Orga little to no time to get out of their way. The tears, much to his shock, managed to crack the ground with their strike, sending chills down the giant's back.
"Warcry makes the first move!" commented Lola. "His magic can not be underestimated!"
Orga's eyes narrowed, his attitude changing. Confident after the first strike, Warcry kicked the ground and dashed forward. "The more emotional men are, the stronger they-"
In a matter of a second Warcry vanished from the arena, swallowed by a giant ball of black lightning. Once dispelled a few seconds later, it revealed charred and unconscious Warcry, who collapsed onto the ground face first, utterly defeated.
The crowd went silent for a moment, only to explode in cheers a second later, Sabertooth's name being chanted once again.
Orga stared his beaten opponent down and lowered his raised hand with a short sigh coming out of his nose.
"There it is! Orga's black lightning!" Lola roared into his microphone. "Just like that the match is over! What a display of strength! Sabertooth has 18 points to their name after day one! Nearly a flawless performance!"
"Despite having an impressive start, the difference in strength could not be overlooked." pointed out Yajima.
"Winner by KO: Sabertooth's Orga Nanagear!" announced Kabo and raised Orga's hand as high as he could.
Once the referee let go of him, Orga cracked his neck and turned around to leave the arena.
Back in spectator's area, Laxus tightened the grip on his bicep. "Black lightning, huh?" he muttered.
In Raven Tail B's stands, Zancrow leaned over the railing and hummed to himself. "So there are others like me, huh."
"Afraid?" asked him playfully Rustyrose.
"Huh?! Hell no!" the God Slayer snapped at his guildmate. "I'll burn this guy to a crisp! It doesn't matter which type of lightning he uses!"
"It is perfectly human to be afraid of something." said Arya with his deep voice. "Humans become truly powerful when offered a chance to overcome their fears. They develop strength both in mind and body, for striving to improve ourselves is written within our destiny!"
"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" frowned Zancrow.
"He does have a point. You have been rather annoyed whenever there was thunder involved." pointed out Rusty and adjusted his glasses. "Perhaps-"
"Do you want to die?!"
As they continued to argue, Sting leaned over his railing. "Aw, come on, man! You ended it too soon!" he moaned. "Give more of a show, will you?"
Orga stopped walking and looked up at his teammate, his expression unreadable. "Fine. I'll sing a song." he said and turned back around.
"No, don't!"
Rogue facepalmed. "Well done, Sting."
A few minutes later, once the security has successfully managed to take the microphone away from Orga, the crowd recollected itself and either unplugged their ears, or stopped laughing at how terrible the performance was, the reactions being somewhat even.
Those with enhanced senses were in rather bad shape, especially Emilia, who had woken up to Albert offering her a glass of water, which she refused with an embarrassed blush on her face.
"Are you guys okay?" Erza asked Natsu and Wendy, who have both curled up into a ball back in their stands.
"Y-Yes." said weakly Wendy. "I'm fine." Natsu shook his head and simply groaned.
"As horrible as it was, we can not deny their strength and popularity." said Makarov and gently stroked his beard.. "Yet another strong rival..."
"I guess focusing on just one guild was a mistake." said Cana. "Enemies left and right, huh?"
A few minutes later the next match has begun. Ren from Blue Pegasus was put up against Mermaid Heel's Arania Webb.
After equally trading blows for the first minutes of the match, Arania managed to find an opening in his defenses, most likely caused by his fiance, Sherry, and dealt some serious damage. With his back against the wall, Ren found new strength and overcame Arania in one, swift attack, winning the match and earning 10 points for his team. Combined with Eve's score, Blue Pegasus finished day one with 13 points.
"That's our Ren!" cheered Jenny, completely disregarding any professionalism. "Well done!"
"That was a very close and exciting match." said Yajima with a smile. "That last attack was executed perfectly."
"And just like that we are once again proven, that anything can happen! Comebacks and sudden turnarounds are not unheard of in Grand Magic Games!" said Lola. "Now, then, let us get through with the third match of the day! Please put your eyes on the screen!"
The screen above the arena has once again started to materialize letters, that formed into the following:
Yuka, Lamia Scale
vs.
Rustyrose, Raven Tail B
"That guy again, huh." said Gray. "Looks like you can be in both the event and battle. Looks like I'm not off the hook just yet."
Back in Lamia Scale's stands, Lyon put his arm on Yuka's shoulder. "Be careful. Their team is made out of weirdos and the guy didn't show anything during the event. Stay on your guard."
"I know." said shortly Yuka.
"Go out there and win! You can do it, boy!" ordered him Obaba.
"Yes, ma'am." he smiled and left for the arena.
A minute later he found himself crossing the arena to its center, his opponent approaching from the opposite side. Yuka could feel the pressure, but did not give in and clenched his fists in an attempt to remain calm.
"This is gonna get ugly." said Elfman and gripped the railing. "This guy is dangerous." he added with a low growl in his voice. Back behind him, Evergreen clutched her shoulder, clearly not over what happened to her at the hands of the dark mage.
Rustyrose's face was hard to read, rid of any particular emotions. But that was far from the truth – his mind was racing like crazy.
As Kabo has once again explained the rules while Yuka stared him down, the former member of Grimoire Heart could only focus his eyes on Raven Tail's balcony, his brows changing into a deep scowl against his will. He didn't know how much more he could take, for his limit was near.
"Do you have any questions?" Kabo asked both fighters.
"No." said Yuka.
"Hurry up and get it started." snarled Rustyrose and shifted his eyes onto his opponent.
"Very well. Let the match begin!"
The bells have once again been rung and with that, Kabo left the scene to let the fighters engage one another.
Yuka pulled his hands out of his sleeves and readied his stance to attack first – he didn't know anything about his opponent, and he sure as hell didn't want to find anything out. The sooner he could end this, the better.
Before he could take even a single step forward, however, Rustyrose has, much to the shock of literally everyone in the arena, bent his knees and tapped the ground three times in a row.
The entire arena went silent, too confused and shocked to react properly.
Kabo blinked slowly, his eyes wide open, before getting his act back together. "R-Rustyrose has surrendered! The match is over! Yuka is the winner!" he announced, still confused and unsure what he'd just witnessed.
The crowd has started to boo, quite possibly louder than they did for Fairy Tail at the beginning of the day.
"What the hell was that?!"
"What are you, some chicken?! Fight like a man!"
"What do you think we came here for?!"
"It appears the crowd is just as confused as we are!" Lola said nervously into his microphone. "An immediate surrender! We have never seen anything like that before!"
"I think the most lost person here is Yuka." said softly Yajima.
As the elder said, Lamia Scale's mage lowered his hands, utterly lost. Rustyrose simply adjusted his glasses and turned around, his hands in his pockets, ready to leave.
Confusion giving in to anger, Yuka clenched his fists. "Are you messing with me?! What was that?!"
Rusty stopped in his tracks and turned around. "What? Are you too dull to comprehend what just happened?" he asked mockingly. "I give up. You won. Enjoy, tell your friends. I don't care." he said and resumed walking, leaving Yuka feeling humiliated and frustrated.
"That dirty bastard..." snarled Lyon. "Are they messing with us?" he asked and looked at Raven Tail B's team.
"There must be some deeper meaning behind this." said wisely Jura, although he did not sound fully convinced.
As Rustyrose made his way through the arena, he threw Ivan one more hateful look, the hands in his pockets turning into fists.
"I won't let you have your way any longer." he growled under his nose. "I have to thank Zancrow, though. His brute attitude lowered the risk significantly..." he muttered and vanished in the darkness of the exit.
"Man, this must suck." said Gray with empathy. "That was a dick move."
"He didn't look interested in Hidden either." noted Erza while holding her chin. "What is their purpose? Are they interested only in us?"
"I was in the same event as him and he never even came near me, I had to find him myself." pointed out Gray.
"Well, he is just one person." pondered Lucy. "The rest of his team might be different."
"W-Well, now that the third match is behind us, let us get to the last match of the day!" Lola tried to apprehend the irritated crowd.
"One could call this match up as written in the cards." said Yajima.
"Well, here we go." Gray cracked his knuckles and turned to the screen.
So did the rest of his team, as well as guild. Both Fairy Tail and Raven Tail kept their eyes focused on the screen, various thoughts racing through their minds.
"To think we'd meet this early..." gulped Juvia. The pressure was getting to her.
"I don't think there's much we will have to worry about." said Lisanna with a smile and pointed at their team. "They don't look like they're getting it get to their heads."
"I wish it was my turn already." said Mira with a sinister smirk. She could barely contain her willingness to fight the enemy guild.
After what felt like eternity, the letters on the screen have finally settled and announced the last battle of day one.
Lucy Heartfillia, Fairy Tail
vs.
Ellia, Raven Tail A
Albert whistled loudly.
"Oh boy." Svenar chuckled nervously.
Ellia loudly breathed out through her nose and leaned over the railing so much her upper body has started to fall off the balcony. The girl flipped in the air and gracefully landed on the ground of the arena, her magic canceling out her landing.
"And there it is, the finaly match of the day!" announced Lola. "Looks like Ellia can hardly wait to start!"
The crowd was divided, half of it cheering for Raven Tail and the other jeering for Fairy Tail.
Lucy felt sweat run down her temple. With a shaking hand, she made a fist and took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"It's that chick." remembered Gray with a grimace. "This is gonna be tough." he told the blonde.
"I know." she said shortly and rougher than she intended to.
Erza put her hand on the blonde's shoulder, startling her a little. "You can do this." she told her softly. "You've been training for this moment. Give it your best and let them all know what you're worth."
Lucy nodded but did not say anything. She looked to the side and smirked. "Any advice?" she asked Natsu.
"Yeah." he told her. "Mind your surroundings. Don't let her get out of your sight."
"Will try."
Lucy took one more deep breath and slapped her face to put some fighting spirit into her veins. "all right! Let's do this!"
"Good luck!" told her Wendy.
Lucy tousled the girl's hair with a smile and walked down the stairs to join Ellia in the arena. The girl was already getting impatient and continued to stretch next to Kabo.
"Two guilds with a lot of unseen by mere bystanders history between them, this will surely turn out to be an emotional match!" said Lola.
"This could easily turn into something very unpleasant to the eye." said Yajima.
"We could call this girl's fashion sense as such." threw in Jenny.
The two women met at the center of the arena, the referee in-between them. Although Ellia was much shorter than Lucy, she made up for it in pressure, her piercing gaze trying to drill a hole in Lucy's face. After explaining the rules and telling both fighters to back up and make some space, Kabo breathed out gently - he did not feel comfortable being there at the moment.
Ellia hardened her foot and stomped the ground underneath her so hard it broke into pieces, the biggest of them flipping behind her at a 90 degree angle.
"Hurry up and start this." she told to Kabo, her tone stripped of any emotions.
Lucy gulped and undid the button on her key holster, sweat dripping down her chin to the ground. "Let's do this!" she told herself.
As soon as Kabo's hand pierced the air, the bells have rung for the last time this day. Without even giving the referee a chance to back away, Ellia turned the rock behind her into rubber and used it to launch herself forward, immediately closing the gap between her and Lucy.
The blonde, shocked at the speed Ellia cut through the distance with, could not even pull out a single key out of her holster. Ellia raised her right leg and kicked Lucy in the abdomen, effectively knocking the wind out of the girl's body and blowing her back.
"Looks like the first hit belongs to Ellia!" commented Lola. "She somehow managed to catch Lucy off guard a few seconds into the match!"
"She used the ground she broke before the match to increase her speed." explained Yajima. "Looks like she had planned out her attack way before the fight begun."
Ellia clicked her tongue in irritation and put her leg back on the ground. The hit was not clean.
Lucy put down the arm she raised just in time to guard the kick with and shook it with a groan.
"Man, that hurt!" she moaned. "Even with my arm up I could still feel it in my stomach! If I hadn't done that physical training I would have been out by now...I never thought I'd say this, but I'll have to thank Cana later." she noted to herself and pulled out a key.
"What the hell are you blabbing back there?!" shouted Ellia and pulled out a few pieces of plain material out of her pocket.
"Lucy, be careful!" Gray yelled to her from the stands.
"I know." said the blonde through her teeth, greatly prolonging the last syllable. She remembered way too well what this girl could do with plain cloths.
Ellia retracted her arm and released a barrage of knives made out of material. Although their speed was great, Lucy had just enough time to jump out of their way.
"Think again, bimbo." growled Ellia.
All of a sudden Lucy lost her speed, which resulted in two of the knives finding their way into her left shoulder and forearm.
The girl yelped in pain and clutched her wounded arm, which, much to her confusion, weighed much more than it was supposed to. Upon touching it to inspect it she noticed that her blouse, specifically on the spot Ellia's foot was on just a moment ago, was rock hard.
"Lucy!" Cana called out to her friend from the balcony.
"Why did she slow down like that?" asked Lisanna. "She just stopped in the middle of jumping away!"
"Something tells me she didn't plan on doing that." said Mira.
Gray slammed his fists into the railing, breaking it even further. "Damn it! She's gotten even better!" he cursed.
Without giving Lucy any time to recollect herself, Ellia rushed forward, this time with no assistance from her magic, and successfully closed the distance. The blonde's eyes were covered by her bangs, her expression unreadable.
"There's more to come for you, blondie!" said Ellia and retracted her right arm back to strike Lucy with her sleeve, which was sharpened into a blade.
Ellia's plan was interrupted by a fist connecting with her face, courtesy of Capricorn, who has managed to counter the girl with a swift right hook.
Where the hell did he come from?! Was all Ellia could think of before being pushed away by the force of the strike.
"Counter! Lucy stops Ellia's charge with a swift counter from her spirit!" Lola said, excited.
"Not every day does one get to witness one of the Twelve Spirits of Zodiac in action." said Yajima with a smile. "Celestial Wizards are not that common to find, either."
"Well done, Capricorn!" praised him Lucy and pulled the cloths out of her body, her blouse changing color from dark blue into crimson from all the blood. She then gripped her left sleeve with her teeth and ripped it off, letting it slide to the ground with a loud thud.
"Much better!" Lucy sighed in relief and focused back on Ellia. "You did it when you kicked me, right? You changed my clothes into cement." she asked the girl. "You waited with changing it until I had to dodge so that you'd throw me off and land a hit."
Ellia spat to the side. "You've picked up on that?" she asked mockingly. "Impressive."
Lucy frowned. "Look, I've told you already, if you have a problem, then-"
"Oh, shut up, will you?" snarled Ellia and reached into her pockets. She pulled out a lot of metal screws and bolts, which she then threw up in the air. The screws scattered over the area and, with Ellia's clap, they changed into something much heavier. The bolts dropped back to the ground with enough force to crack it, many pieces sticking out just like her original launchpad did.
"Oh boy..." gasped Lucy and put her hand back on her holster.
The dirty blonde cracked her neck and bounced off the rock behind her, cutting through the distance in an instance.
"Capricorn!" called out Lucy and, as ordered, the spirit attempted to knock the girl down with a kick, which she dodged by turning the ground beneath her feet into rubber and effectively jumping over Lucy.
While in the air, Ellia pulled out even more cloths and hardened them, but before she could even throw it Lucy pulled her whip out and wrapped it around Ellia, which stopped her attack.
Lucy gripped the whip as hard as she could and pulled down, causing the shorter girl to crash into the ground with a gasp.
"Do it now!" ordered Lucy to Capricorn, who nodded and dashed forward to knock the immobilized Ellia out.
The girl scowled and jumped back to her feet. She flexed her body and broke out of the bonds thanks to her sharp sleeves, Lucy's whip shredding into pieces, much to her dismay. Capricorn did not stop his charge, however, and delivered a roundhouse kick with his right leg, which Ellia blocked with her right arm, her suit turning as hard as steel.
"She is much stronger than she looks." noted Erza.
"Piss off." said Ellia and tripped the spirit, which caused him to fall to the ground and bounce off of it like a ball. Ellia picked up her previously dropped pieces of cloth and threw them at the goat, who could not dodge them in time and absorbed them all.
"Capricorn!" Lucy called out to her spirit, who clicked his tongue.
"I was careless...I apologize, Miss Lucy..." he said before disappearing.
"Oh! It looks like Lucy has lost her spirit!" noted Lola.
"Celestial Spirits do not die. They are forced to retreat to their realm if they take too much damage, or if their host can no longer support their stay in our world." explained calmly Yajima. "It appears Capricorn has reached his limit."
"This girl is strong." Erza bit her nail. "She is aware of her surroundings and can make good decisions on a whim."
"It's not like Lucy is dumb, either." assured her Gray. "She will find a way around it."
"Looks like Ellia is still playing around." chuckled Svenar. "This poor chick doesn't know what she's in for."
"She is not." said Emilia. "She has been taking this seriously since the beginning."
"Well, the chick is still standing, so obviously not." said Svenar.
"She is pushing the inevitable away, but she is still serious about this. She is waiting for something."
With regained composure, Lucy reached down to her holster and wrapped her fingers on Loke's key. Before she could pull it out, however, Ellia closed the distance once again and kicked Lucy in the stomach, this time cleanly.
The blonde cried out in pain and was pushed back. With no plans of giving her a chance to recover, Ellia bounced off the broken piece of the ground once again and circled around Lucy, catching her with a knee to her lower back just before her momentum stopped. Lucy gasped in agony, the strike forcing her to straighten her back.
"Lucy!" called out Cana. "This is bad!"
Ellia grabbed a handful of Lucy's hair and threw her to the ground, before kicking her in the ribcage one more time. Lucy cried out once again and rolled on the ground, with no followups to come this time.
"The battle has turned into a onesided beatdown!" noted Lola. "Ellia is not giving Lucy any time to fight back!"
"Perhaps a surrender would be wise in this situation." said quietly Yajima.
Lucy's eyes went wide open at the elder's suggestion. Pushing through the pain, the blonde managed to get back on her feet, even if unable to stand straight due to the pain in her torso.
"I'd take the old man's advice if I were you." Ellia told the blonde. "I am generous enough to give you this one last chance to give up. Take it, or be prepared for very eventful 30 minutes."
Lucy grit her teeth, no longer able to suppress her emotions. "What the hell do you want from me?!" she asked, completely fed up. "You said yourself we've never even met! Why are you so fixated on me?!"
"I said we have never met before." replied the dirty blonde, putting more strength on the third word. "I did, however, meet your father. More times than I'd like to."
Lucy's eyes narrowed. "My father?" she asked in mild confusion. "What does my father have to do with this?"
Ellia snapped. "Everything!" she roared, her dam reaching its breaking point. "He ruined the lives of my family, he stole them from me!"
"What?" Lucy's eyes widened.
"There it is." smirked Svenar and rested his head on his hand, clearly amused by the show.
"My family used to run a small establishment near Acalypha Town." Ellia started to explain. "We weren't drowning in money like you did, but we were happy. One day a man came by to make us an offer of selling it to someone, who needed our land for their own needs. My father refused, because the grounds belonged to our family for generations. That's where it all started."
Lucy has managed to completely recover from her damage by now. She straightened her posture and clutched Loke's key in her hand tight, ready to use it whenever she had to.
"Looks like they're just talking now." said Gray. "Can you make anything out of it?" he asked the Dragon Slayer.
"Yeah." said shortly Natsu.
"The fight has come to a standstill! Both fighters have engaged in conversation, rather than combat!" said Lola.
The crowd was not too fond of this turn of events either, as they boo'd and whined. Neither of the girls cared, however.
"Our sales have gone down and our cargo would randomly go missing while on the road." Ellia continued her story, her eyes stuck to her feet. "I had no idea why it was happening, but my parents were well aware. We'd get daily visits from different people, whom I now know were lawyers trying to blackmail my parents into selling the land. After a few months of harassment we could no longer sustain ourselves, our business was dying. My father broke and signed the papers. That's when I met your father, Jude Heartfillia, who came to our home personally to examine it. Do you know what he said when looked around for just a second?"
"No." replied truthfully Lucy.
Ellia bared her grit teeth. "He said that if he knew he was buying such a dump, he'd never go through the trouble from the beginning." she hissed.
Lucy's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, that does sound like him." she said grimly.
"Since we were doing poorly, he lowered the price to a laughable amount. With nowhere to go, we ended up on the streets, struggling to live. We slept in bushes, caves, barns, which would result in my father being beaten down by farmers, who did not take to us kindly. We had to scavenge to have something to eat, my mother would often get sick because she would be the first to try unknown to her berries, just so I wouldn't get sick."
Ellia snapped her eyes back to Lucy. "This is what our life looked like for a year, while your father leveled our house to the ground and built a factory he got bored of a few months later." she hissed with a voice so poisonous Lucy could feel her blood freeze.
The blonde didn't know what to say. "I...I, uh..." she stuttered.
"Do not interrupt me, bimbo. I'm not done yet." snarled the short girl. "One day some shoeshiner in Magnolia took pity on my father and gave him a job. We lived in his basement while my father worked day and night to get as much money as he could. After a few months, we finally had enough to rent a small, one room apartment in Magnolia. It wasn't much, but we could finally call it home, after so much time spent in the wild. My parents were finally happy..."
Ellia could no longer contain her tears, her aggressive attitude breaking. She was now sobbing. "We were happy up until a giant piece of a building fell on our apartment and crushed my parents to death when they were looking out the window to see what the commotion was about. They told me to stay away, just in case, and a few seconds later they were nothing but squished puddles of blood underneath a piece of a wall, the front wall of your guildhall, the guildhall that was destroyed during your war with Phantom Lord. War caused by none other than you and your father!"
Lucy's face paled in terror. Not just her. Gajeel felt cold sweat run down his face, memories he wished he could get rid of resurfacing with full strength.
"Is something wrong, Gajeel?" asked him Levy. "You look pale."
The man grabbed her hand firmly and shook his head gently without any audible response.
"When I found out whose fault it was I swore on my parent's life, that I would have my revenge on that man!" Ellia roared at Lucy. "That was my sole purpose of living, to be able to get my hands on this corrupt, disgusting, emotionless man and make him pay! But guess what, I can no longer do that! My only chance was stolen form me just when I was one step away from using it!"
"What?" asked weakly Lucy, sweat running down her face. "What do you mean?"
Ellia's face softened. "Oh, you didn't know, did you?" she asked, forgetting her hostile tone for just a moment. "Now that's just precious...Jude Heartfillia is dead, blondie. He died a few months ago of natural causes."
Wendy grasped her mouth in shock, much to Erza and Gray's confusion. Even Natsu frowned worriedly, which only fueled Erza's bad feeling.
"Oh boy..." sighed Laxus, which earned him a curious look from Mira.
Lucy blinked slowly, utterly lost. "What?" she asked weakly.
"Can you believe that? After ruining so many lives the bastard actually died in peace." Ellia was now laughing hysterically.
Lucy's eyes, even though wide open, did not see anything. Even Ellia's voice sounded muffled, as if she was speaking to her through a wall.
"And now that he's dead, the only person who can pay me back is you!" shouted Ellia and sharpened her sleeves into blades. "That's why I despise you, bimbo! You are obviously the only thing this piece of shit has ever cared about, since he started a war to get you back! So I'm just going to make your life living hell, before I take it in his stead!"
"This is bad." said quietly Natsu and leaned over the railing. "Lucy, give up! Surrender, tap the ground!" he roared on top of his lungs, much to the shock of his entire guild and the crowd.
Ellia bent her knees and dashed at Lucy, this time with no assistance from her magic. The blonde's face was unreadable, bangs covering her eyes. All of a sudden, she grit her teeth so hard she gently cracked her upper right fang and pulled what remained of her whip out. The whip cut through the air and wrapped itself around shocked Ellia, who didn't cut it in time. Lucy pulled the girl closer to herself and cleanly kicked her in the stomach, returning the favor.
Ellia gasped and slid back on the balls of her feet, released from Lucy's whip.
"Y-You bitch!" wheezed out Ellia and readied another attack.
"I am well aware just what kind of a person my father was." Lucy told her firmly. Her voice, although audible, was shaking and choked. "I know that better than anyone. He did many horrible things that ruined many lives of good people. But I am not him!" she shouted. "He never cared for me as much as you think he did! He went against everything I stood for and spat on it! He was a horrible human being, but just because I am his daughter it does not give you the right to take it out on me instead!"
"What did you say?!" bellowed Ellia and dashed forward once again.
"I will take whatever you throw at me, but don't expect me to just stand here and take it!" shouted Lucy and swung Loke's key to the side. "I will fight for the sake of my friends! I will fight for myself, so you should do the same! The man who ruined your life is dead, no matter what you do will change that!"
"Shut your mouth!" roared Ellia and retracted her arm to strike.
Just like in the beginning of the match, she was countered by Lucy's spirit, courtesy of Loke, who punched the girl in the face.
"It's not my style to hurt ladies, but if it's for my Master, then I'll do what I must." said the spirit.
Ellia spat some blood to the side and turned to Loke with fury in her eyes. He barely managed to lean back and keep his head on his shoulder after the girl tried to kick him with her sharpened pants. He did not, however, manage to avoid a punch delivered by Ellia's hardened glove, which made the spirit dizzy.
Having figured out he needs to take a breath and recompose himself, Loke raised his hands and blasted Ellia away with his Regulus energy, which, although did not cause much damage, has successfully pushed her away. Both Loke and Lucy used this chance to jump back and try to think of a plan.
"I have an idea." said Lucy and put her whip in her left hand while reaching out to her holster. "But you will have to distract her."
Loke smiled. "Will do. But it looks like you'll have to act fast." he added and stepped in to meet charging Ellia before she could reach Lucy.
The girl took a swing and threw a massive rock, which, at the moment of the throw, was made out of cotton. Loke dodged it and let it cut through the air, now back to its original state. Ellia threw two more rocks, also dodged by Loke, and stepped in to confront the spirit in close combat.
As the two engaged each other in hand-to-hand, Lucy circled around them and managed to get behind Ellia. Having noticed it, the girl successfully kicked Loke in the stomach and pushed him back. The spirit, fully aware he wouldn't be able to protect his Master in time, lit up his fist and sent his energy into the ground, breaking it and causing a giant cloud of dust to erupt beneath their feet.
"That was a smart decision, even if a double edged one." praised Yajima. "Ellia won't be able to easily attack Lucy and her spirit, and vice versa. This allows both parties to recollect their strategy."
"You wish!" roared Ellia and jumped out of the dust. Just as she expected, Lucy tried to sneak attack her. Exposed, the blonde grimaced and tried to jump away, but Ellia was faster. She threw her last remaining sharpened cloths, all of them plunging themselves in Lucy's body, and stepped in to deliver a devastating punch to the blonde's stomach, effectively stealing her stamina.
Lucy doubled over and wheezed out in agony, Ellia's fist still drilling her abdomen.
"This isn't over yet." she said quietly.
"No, it's not." said Lucy and grabbed Ellia's arm so hard the girl yelped in pain. The Celestial Mage raised her head and grinned at Ellia, her face filling the dirty blonde with terror.
"Now it's our turn!" said 'Lucy'. Her eyes and mouth did not look human.
Before Ellia could express her shock she felt something wrapping itself around her neck. The real Lucy emerged out of the dust cloud, the whip that was wrapped around Ellia's neck in the tight grip of her right hand.
"What the-?!" gasped Ellia, utterly lost.
"Well done, Gemini!" praised Lucy and pulled on the whip harder, as Loke ran right past her straight at Ellia.
Gemini, still posing as Lucy, have loosened the grip on Ellia's hand and retracted their right arm back. Both spirits have delivered devastating blows to the girl's stomach and back, as they struck at the same time with great precision. Ellia coughed up blood and wheezed out in pain.
"What a devastating strategy! Ellia is completely at Lucy's mercy! What an amazing use of her spirits!" shouted excited Lola.
"That's it!" roared Cana and waved her arms around. "That's my girl!"
"That strategy..." muttered Juvia after recognizing this pattern from a battle they shared a long time ago.
"Damn, she's really going for it..." said Gray with a small note of fear in his voice. "I think I'm gonna stop messing with her for a bit..."
"That looked nasty." grimaced Svenar.
"Come on, Ellia, get a hold of yourself! You're better than that!"Albert cheered on top of his lungs.
Now it was Ellia's turn to buckle over, however, unlike Gemini, she did not stay that way for long. With pure hatred in her eyes she reached down to her pocket and pulled a bolt out, which she then threw at Lucy with incredible speed.
Unable to dodge, Lucy was hit in her right leg, the bolt clearly changed into something far deadlier while in the air, as the blonde cried out in pain upon feeling her bone crack upon impact.
"Lucy!" Loke called out to her.
That move cost him dearly, for Ellia raised her right arm and stabbed him in the neck with her sleeve, effectively forcing him to go back to his world. With Loke out of the picture, Ellia grabbed the whip still wrapped around her neck and pulled on it, causing Lucy to lose her footing due to her damaged leg and fall to the ground.
Gemini tried to back away but could not avoid the devastating kick to their neck, which caused them to drop out of their imitation of Lucy and then vanish from this world as well.
"And just like that we have ourselves a comeback!" Lola stood up from his chair. "Ellia has once again gained control of this battle!"
Ellia freed herself from the whip and cut it into pieces again, this time making sure it would never be used again, at least not from long distance.
Lucy grit her teeth and tried to stand up, only to fail and drop back to the ground. With Ellia charging at her again, she pulled a key out and summoned Scorpio, who blasted Ellia away with his sand.
The girl groaned from the impact and many scratches on her skin, but did not back down. Once Scorpio's attack was done, she threw a massive rock high in the air and then bounced off the ground, successfully avoiding another sandstorm. While in the air, she planted her feet on the falling rock and bounced off of it like a bullet. Scorpio had no chance against Ellia's speed and disappeared in thin air with his throat slashed.
With Lucy right in front of her on the ground, Ellia took a deep breath and took a swing to punch the downed blonde. In response, Lucy grabbed her the remains of her whip with both of her hands and wrapped it around Ellia's hand just before it could reach her, successfully stopping the punch.
Ellia blinked in shock and soon felt her head fly upwards, as Lucy kicked her under the chin from the ground with her healthy leg. She then flipped back on the ground and pulled out a new key, Taurus appearing between the women.
Having already recovered, Ellia looked up at the angry bull and sidestepped out of the way of his axe, which split the ground where she stood just a moment ago. Right when she was about to counterattack, Lucy wrapped her whip around Ellia's right ankle and pulled as hard as she could, effectively tripping the girl. Ellia fell to the ground and watched in horror as Taurus lifted his axe high in the air and swung it down at her. She quickly hardened her boots and lifted her free leg up to block the strike.
Even though he used the blunt side of his axe, the force was so great Ellia could not help but yelp in pain. As she struggled to prevent being crushed into a pulp, she picked up a small rock with her left hand and threw it at Lucy, who, although blocked it, has developed yet another fracture, this time on her left forearm.
"Miss Lucy!" called worried Taurus and took his eyes off Ellia, who used this chance to get out of the way of his axe and cut his left leg so bad he collapsed to his knees.
With her path to Lucy out in the open, Ellia ran right past the spirit and pinned Lucy down to the ground with a kick to her chest. The Celestial Mage cried out in pain as Ellia drilled her heel into her sternum.
"I told you I would make your life a living hell!" she repeated and threw another rock at Lucy's right arm, damaging it as well.
"It's over." said grimly Laxus to his guild, Lucy's screams of agony echoing across the now quiet arena.
"No, it's not!" said outraged Cana. "She's still fighting!"
"She has just one leg, though." pointed out quietly Mirajane.
"Wendy, get ready to jump down there." Erza told the small Dragon Slayer back in their team stands.
"Damn it..." growled Gray in frustration.
Natsu did not say a word. Instead, he watched the fight with a gentle scowl on his face, his fists clenching into fists.
Ellia lifted her leg up and smashed it into Lucy's right arm, making her scream even louder.
"This is getting too extreme..." said one of the spectators.
"Shouldn't someone do something by now?!" said someone else in an outrage.
"Referee, stop the fight!" yelled an elderly woman.
"T-The previously exciting battle has now turned into a very gruesome act of violence." stuttered nervously Lola. "Perhaps it would be for the best to stop the match?"
Yajima did not say a word. Instead, he watched the torture with a deep scowl on his face that scared his fellow commentators.
Kabo, who has agreed with the protests, moved in to stop the match, however, just when he was about to put an end to it, Lucy grabbed Ellia's leg wih her right, damaged arm, and held it still while Taurus delivered a powerful strike to Raven Tail member's back.
Ellia rolled on the ground after taking the full strength of the blow and dug her nails into the ground to kill her momentum. She quickly got back to her feet, which turned out to be a mistake after being hit by extreme dizziness. This attack, however, was the last action caused by the spirit, who was already gone.
"Lucy counterattacks! She has not said her final word just yet!" said Lola with relief.
"This match should still be put an end to, no matter what." said harshly Yajima.
Lucy yelped in pain but managed to get on her feet, her right leg bent at a very awkward angle. Her eyes were half open, both from pain and low reserves of magic. Regardless she kept her eyes focused just on Ellia, who was now back on her feet as well.
Although not as damaged as Lucy, she was far from healthy. The multiple blows to her face have caused swelling, blood dripping down her chin from her cut mouth. Her back was bruised and the skin underneath her clothes was torn and scratched in many places.
"You're still going to try?" Ellia asked Lucy. She dropped her vicious tone for the first time in a while. "I'm not going to stop until they either throw me off of you or the time runs out, you do realise that?"
Lucy clenched her fist. "I know." she said weakly. "But I intend to keep my word. You clearly have a reason to fight, and so do I. I will respect your feelings and take them head on, because you deserve that after everything you've been through."
"You mocking me?" asked Ellia.
"Far from it."
Lucy pulled out a new key and weakly raised it in the air. "Open up...Gate...of..."
Those were the last words she muttered before her eyes went misty and she fell onto her face, completely exhausted, both mentally and physically.
"Lucy is down!" called Lola. "Can she get back to her feet?!"
Kabo rushed to the blonde's side and examined her for a second, before raising his hands and crossing them above his head. "Lucy is not responding! Winner by TKO, Raven Tail A's Ellia!"
The bells have rung once again to signalize the end of the match. Fairy Tail watched the unconscious blonde with sad eyes.
"In the end, it is Ellia who prevails in this match! What an exciting, although scary match that was!"
"I think it should have been stopped much earlier." added Yajima.
"I have to agree." threw in Jenny. "It just wasn't pretty by the end."
"I wholeheartedly agree! However, we can not deny the amazing performance we have witnessed today! Raven Tail A scores a flawless performance on the fist day of the Games, with 20 points to their name!" said Lola. "Ladies and gentlemen, this marks the end of the first day! Please, take one last look at today's scores! I am Chapati Lola and I will see you tomorrow!"
Raven Tail A: 20 points
Sabertooth: 18 points
Lamia Scale: 16 points
Blue Pegasus: 13 points
Fairy Tail: 4 points
Mermaid Heel: 2 points
Quatro Cerberus: 1 point
Raven Tail B: 0 points
"Man, that was some...unique fight." one of the spectators scratched his head.
"Yeah! I don't even like Fairy Tail, but that chick did really good out there! I think I'm gonna give them a chance tomorrow!" said another one.
"Yeah, me too!"
"We're going down there." Erza said to Gray and turned to stairs. "Wendy, come with-"
The redhead felt her eyes get bigger at the sight of Wendy being picked up by Natsu, followed by both of them jumping down from the balcony onto the arena. The Dragon Slayer carried Wendy to Lucy and put her down so that she could do her job. Erza and Gray, once over their shock, joined them a moment later.
As they walked down the stairs, they have both come to conclusion, that the fight they have just witnessed proved a lot more than one could tell. They were not fighting just to reclaim what they've lost, what was taken away from them. They were fighting those, who had legitimate claim to hold a grudge, which fueled their actions better than any Enchantment Magic. It was both a wake up call and a terrible reminder.
A reminder, that they have never been saints some would claim them to be.
End of Chapter 38. To be continued in Chapter 39: Day Two: Monster Parade.