"Never Give Up."

Throughout my life, I have learned many things.

One of the most painful things I've learned is how much it hurts to see the ones you love suffer. It breaks your heart—rips you and shreds you to the point where you've got nothing left but scraps.

I experienced this inescapable pain on July 1, 791, as I watched as a beloved friend and comrade of mine was brutally beaten and assaulted by a woman named Flare Corona.

A strangled cry escaped my throat as Lucy Heartfilia was flung upwards, held only by a thin noose of red that encircled her swan-like throat. Burns covered Lucy's body, and another was prepared to be added. Flare Corona stood, cackling, as she readied herself to brand the Raven tail insignia across Lucy's middle.

"Lucy!"

I was all fire and fists as I flung myself forward, hissing and spitting and shouting down at the field. My body was halfway over the balcony when a pair of strong arms snatched me back.

"You can't."

I pounded savage fists against his chest. My mouth curled in a snarl. "Let me go, Laxus!"

"No."

"Let me the fuck go!"

"I said no!" He shouted back, and his grip around my waist tightened. I aimed a kick at his shin, but he was unfazed. "Alex, there's nothing we can do to help her. This is Lucy's fight."

My protest died in my throat, and I swallowed in unbridled indignation. "Lucy was just winning! And now what? She's just given up so she can be ripped to shreds? That's not Lucy." A bit of infuriated spit flew past my teeth and landed on his jaw. He ignored it. "That Raven woman is obviously doing something to screw around with the rules of the match!"

Laxus' expression remained firm, though his eyes softened. "You're right, she probably is. But we can't do anything about that right now. And even if we said something or tried to stop them, we'd be the ones to get in trouble. Not them."

I ripped my arms from his grasp in rage, and he let them go. Glancing down at the field below, I prepared myself for the bubbling red of a blistering brand, and the nauseating scent of burnt flesh. My nails were pressed down so firmly that they dug little graves into my palms.

Seconds later, Lucy was back on her feet. I steeled myself and continued watching. It was impressive to watch such a change come over her; it was almost as if there were two different Lucys. One was weak, soft. The other was powerful and almost horrific.

Lucy summoned Gemini. Within seconds she was landing blows again, within minutes she was casting a spell I'd never imagine Lucy would have the audacity to attempt.

Urano Metoria was a spell even I hadn't managed to properly cast yet, though it was something I'd been attempting to master since the start of my journey as a mage. It was my dream. My goal. Urano Metoria—the ultimate magic of the stars.

I was not surprised that Lucy didn't manage to cast it. However, I was surprised by the manner in which she failed. Urano Metoria sapped one's magic energy, but it did not wipe one out. Every ounce of magical energy was drained from Lucy as if someone was wringing out a wet towel. The spell died, in every sense of the word. There was no bang, no explosion. Not even a whimper. The energy had to go somewhere, and yet it was gone.

Something was wrong.

The conclusion slipped past my lips before my brain even had the opportunity to process it. "Her spell was sabotaged." My voice was barely more than a whisper. "Someone… Raventail… the guild cheated."

Laxus' hand was on my shoulder. "We'll have our chance for revenge later, and believe me; if I'm paired against any one of the Raven Tail bastards, I'll be sure to let them know exactly how you feel." His voice quaked with anger as he spoke, and I realized that maybe Laxus cared a little more than he let on. His eyes too were pained. His expression was drawn. I offered a soft smile and patted his hand before I sank into a seat.

By the end of the day Fairy Tail Team A and B held the seventh and eighth places, respectively.

I drowned my sorrows in a glass of water and a slice of cheesecake. As much as I would've liked something stronger, I didn't have time to run around hungover. Fairy Tail would obviously need its mages fully operational in the coming days.

Everyone sulked.

Erza sat beside me at the bar, three pieces of cake deep and now working on her forth. "What a disaster of a day," she remarked.

"It was an utter train wreck."

"I'm sure we'll do better tomorrow. We just weren't prepared for today, that's all."

"Yeah, sure."

Our lamenting was interrupted by Makarov.

The master teetered atop a table. As usual, there was the rousing speech. "Alright, listen up brats! Today's defeat is the seed for tomorrow's victory. Let's rise up, 'cause we don't know the meaning of the words give up! Aim for number one in Fiore!"

A collective cheer issued from throughout the room, and I couldn't stop the slight quirk of my lips. For a moment, a very brief one, I wondered if Laxus would look or act like Makarov once he reached that age. I'd rather hoped he'd be so charming, though not so silly, and then I rather doubted if I'd even know Laxus that long. My chest constricted, and I frowned as I stepped away from the bar. Perhaps the alcoholic fumes were messing with my mind.

A bright ray of metaphorical sunshine greeted me as I weaved through the throng, and without hesitation I enveloped Lucy in a tight hug. She squeaked at the sudden assault, though her body relaxed and returned the embrace when she realized it was me.

I pulled away and examined her at length. "How are you feeling Luce?"

She matched my concern with a resplendent smile. "Better, I feel much better now."

"Glad to hear it," I released my grip on her shoulders and whatever concern I possessed melted away from my face. I chuckled and folded my arms. "It's good to see you again after the three months," I announced. "I really missed you, you know? Being cooped up with Laxus and company for all that time really drive's you mad."

"Surprisingly I too found myself missing your irritating presence," offered Lucy. We both laughed.

"You've got no idea... They're crazy."

"Speaking of the Thunder God Tribe-"

I cut Lucy off, "Don't call them that—makes Laxus' head inflate even more, and we both know he doesn't need that."

She chuckled and nodded, "Alright, as I was going to ask, how are things with you and the 'Laxus and company'?"

"Good enough, I suppose," I said, and on an afterthought added, "Why?"

She fixed me with a peculiar smile. "Oh, I was just curious. Can't blame me though, I wanted to know how well you've been getting on with Evergreen and Freed and Bickslow and…" She paused again, that grin still plastered across her face, "Laxus."

I folded my arms. "You sure you alright? You're acting awful strange…" I released a laugh. "You know for a moment there, I almost thought you were suggesting that Laxus and I—that we were, well…"

"Oh obviouslyI would never suggest something like that. You two certainly don't have anything in common."

I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic, or if she was serious, but I decided not to brooch the subject any further. I opted to turn the conversation towards Lucy.

"How're things with you and Natsu?" I inquired, glancing at my nails and feigning indifference.

I was rewarded with a set of brilliant pink cheeks. "Could you be any louder?!" Lucy hissed.

"I could, actually."

"Oh shut up!" She whacked me, and I chuckled.

"I will when you answer me, lovebird."

I was whacked again, though this time Lucy obliged enough to give an answer. "Things are going well enough with us, but not as well as I'd like them to. I mean, it's like he doesn't even notice my attempts at flirting with him."

Obviously I had no experience with the sort of problem she seemed to be having, but I pretended as though I did anyway. Giving advice was easy. It was the sticking to your own advice that seemed to be the hard part.

"Natsu's blind when it comes to romance; I doubt he's had much experience to begin with, so it's going to take some effort to get him to notice your feelings." I drummed thoughtful fingers on my chin. "Have you tried hitting him on the head with a rock yet?"

Lucy squawked. "A rock?!"

I chuckled. "Only joking, of course. But I was serious when I said it's going to be a real pain to get him to notice. A relationship with Natsu'd be more like a companionship or a friendship than anything else. Hey, you never know, maybe he actually thinks you're dating right now-"

"Doubt it."

"You know, Lucy, I think you'd be better off not dating him. You're way too good for him to begin with."

Her nose crinkled. "You say that about every guy."

"Yeah, that's because it's my job. No guy'll ever be good enough for you."

She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the clatter of Natsu flinging Max into a nearby chair, not only breaking the wooden piece of furniture, but probably the sand mage as well.

Natsu's expression was horrifying. "Alright! Who's up next?"

I shrank back and pushed Lucy in his direction.

"You might want to go handle your boytoy." I blurted, and with that I darted away from her into the fray.

Within seconds I'd arrived at a table where Gajeel, Laxus, and Freed had camped themselves at. The men looked up in acknowledgement, and I slid into the seat across from Laxus.

Gajeel rose from beside me, his eyes fixed on Natsu. "Looks like fun. I'll take you up on that."

"Don't; once you and Natsu get started, it's not gonna be a game."

Gajeel didn't seem to appreciate Laxus' remark, because as soon as he'd heard the lightning dragon's voice he spun around. Gajeel's hand slapped down on Laxus' head, petting him like a dog.

"Someone's become a goody-two-shoes," Gajeel taunted. "Look at you, peaceful Laxus, a rule follower. You've softened up."

"Stop it!" Levy was on Gajeel the moment he assaulted Laxus.

"B-bastard!" Freed blurted. "How dare you do that to Laxus! How dare you trample our pride!" He jumped from his seat and drew a wobbling sword. "Laxus' Thunder Legion, assemble!"

The other two thirds of Laxus' Thunder Legion were passed out on the floor, mere feet away from us.

I burst into laughter.

Freed turned on me, his cheeks flaring red. "Well Xandria? Are you going to help me teach the man a lesson?"

"A lesson?" I echoed, rising from the table with a grin. Freed's expression was stoic.

"Yes, a lesson."

My hand landed on Laxus' head, patting it in a rough manner reminiscent to Gajeel's own. "I too think that Laxus has gotten more peaceful. But that's a good thing."

Laxus laughed as my hand came down a final time, ruffling the spiky tufts of blond hair that poked out from his head at unruly angles.

"Yes indeed it is," He said as I pulled my hand away, the same grin continuing to cover my face.

Dragon Slayers were, I'd determined, very pitiful creatures—a mere shadow of the beast they proclaimed to be capable of slaughtering. Indeed, slayers were capable of great feats of magic on the battlefield, but their Achilles heel was so terrible and so unequivocal that they were easily rendered useless. The earth could spin a little too strongly on its axis and the dragon slayers would be sent reeling.

Therefore, I'd maintained that it had been a foolish and insipid decision to allow not one, but three dragon slayers to compete in an event titled 'Chariot'.

The three dragon slayers in question, just so happened to be the three competitors in last place.

My eyes observed the event with distaste, and I spoke, "I thought that Sabertooth boy would be able to do better than this, all things considered."

Laxus stood beside me, his arms folded. "Why'd you think something like that?"

"I suppose I just hoped that somehow, within the seven years we were absent, someone would be able to come up with a cure for the dragon slayers' fatal flaw. I just don't understand why motion sickness affects you all so badly."

"Yeah, I wish I knew why too."

"Well… at least you aren't out there making a fool of yourself," I remarked, and cast a half glance in Laxus' direction. He raised his chin. Today he wore a navy turtleneck underneath what I'd come to regard as his 'pimp coat'. The attire was tame compared the variety of other outfits he'd chosen over the past three months. Typically he adorned himself in a voracious assortment of colors and patterns, the worst which was the leopard print button down. A smile lifted my lips. Laxus Dreyar: the man who thought leopard print was a good idea.

"I'd handle myself much better than these fools," he announced, and a soft snort escaped me.

The amusement died away, however, upon returning my attention to the lacrima-vision screen. "If I would have known the purpose of this competition, then maybe I would have thought ahead and brought some more of the Troia pills Wendy made."

"Too late."

"Answer me one thing!" Sting of Sabertooth was bellowing at Gajeel and Natsu. "Why the hell did you decide to participate in the tournament? Are you worried about the strength of your guild? About your public image? The Fairy Tail that I know was more like… they did everything at their own pace. They didn't give a damn about what people thought of them."

Natsu's jaw clenched as he pushed himself across one of the moving ramps. "For… our friends… Seven years… All that time… they were waiting for us. No matter how painful it was. No matter how sad. Even if people made fun of 'em… They held on… They held on. They protected the guild… for their friends… And now we're gonna show everyone… The proof that Fairy Tail's been walking on all this time! So keep on going!"

The speech could've almost been considered touching. Certainly, to my Guildmates seated in the stadium across from me, Natsu's speech was encouraging.

Natsu managed to snatch sixth place. Gajeel was just behind in seventh. They won in a blaze of glory and vomit. It was both magnificent and mortifying.

The day went on, and the first match before lunch commenced. A peculiar mage from Lamia Scale went against a Goth from Raven Tail. Laxus tensed as the latter mage entered the arena. I placed a hand on his arm. The Lamia Scale mage was annihilated; it was almost a pitiful thing to watch.

We broke for lunch, and I broke bread with Juvia and Gajeel, respectively. Our meal was too rushed to be able to recall any details properly, and my mind was elsewhere. Thoughts of the tournaments of the day swam through my mind.

Upon our swift return to the stadium, and the customary check to see if all participants were in attendance, the Games recommenced. Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus was chosen, but before I could hear his opponent a loud shriek tore through the viewing box I stood in.

Cana was screeching, and she went flying forward towards the ledge, "There he is! I don't care who does it, but somebody avenge me!" Gajeel grabbed her wrists in an attempt to restrain her, but Cana writhed in his grip, hissing and spiting as he held her back.

"Calm down, Cana," Gajeel barked.

My gaze returned momentarily to the field, observing as Elfman plodded onto the grass. He glared; Bacchus jeered.

"How about make a bet like those last guys did," Bacchus proposed, "Both of your sisters would make delightful dishes…" I cringed as a twisted grin rolled across his face. "If I win, they're mine. Both of them, at the same time." I gritted my teeth. "And if you win… let's see…"

"You bastard, there are some things a Man can't let pass. Speaking of my sisters in such a way is one of them!" Elfman bellowed. "I'm gonna tear you apart!"

"Then we have a deal?"

But before Bacchus received an answer, Elfman gave an ear splitting war cry and surged forward into battle.

I was delighted when he won, and oh how he had won. The match had been outrageous, and nothing short of amazing. Elfman had performed feats I had never even assumed possible for him. The three months of training had surely paid off for the Strauss brother.

I could only hope that it would pay off for me.