General P.O.V.
That night, at the inn, Daryun helped Arslan out of the wheelchair and into a standing position, clasping his hands on Arslan's forearms, Arslan doing to same. Arslan wobbled a bit before righting himself and standing steady. Still holding onto Daryun's arms, Arslan looks up at Daryun with a bright smile.
"Alright, Highness. I'm going to let go, alright?" Daryun warns, loosening his grip on Arslan's arms. Arslan nods, letting go of Daryun. The team, sitting behind Daryun and watching, all hold their breath. As soon as Arslan loses hold of Daryun, he sways a bit before correcting himself and standing tall with his arms out at his sids like a 'T'. He slowly brings them back down to his sides and beams, standing up by himself. He looks up at the team and they all smile excitedly back at him.
"I did it!" He breathes.
"Good job, Arslan!" Natsu exclaims. Daryun smiles fondly.
"Congratulations, Your Highness. We should get you sitting again soon. The medic said that your lgs shouldn't strain to much, as they became weak during Bacchus' attack." Daryun advises. Arslan nods.
"Alright, Daryun." He says. He looks behind him, checking to make sure nothing was on the bed behind before plopping down into a seated position on the bed. He sighs and rubs his legs, drawing a concerned frowns from Daryun.
"Are you alright, Highness?" He asks. Arslan smiles and nods.
"Yes, I am alright. I just wasn't expecting my legs to feel this way after only a day of not being able to be used. I can only guess that it has to do with the effects of the attacks damaging the muscles in my legs." He explains. Daryun nods.
"Alright. As long as you are not hurt." He glances at the setting sun out the window. "I should probably go back to my Team's inn. I will see you early tomorrow, Highness."
"Alright. Have a good night, Daryun."
"You as well, Your Highness." Daryun leaves and closes the door carefully behind him. Arslan sighs and flops onto his back on the bed.
"Don't worry to much, Arslan. Tomorrow will go fine. You'll be able to start walking the day after tomorrow after a checkup with the nurse." Erza reminds. Arslan smiles at the ceiling.
"Thank you, Erza. We should probably get rest now. The sun has been set for about half an hour." Arslan says. Lucy nods.
"That's a good idea, Arslan. I'm gonna go take a shower." She says. Arslan nods at her and she leaves. Erza requips from her armor to her pajamas and moves to her bed, getting under the covers. Arslan scooches to the top of the bed and slides under the covers, laying down as Gray turns off the lights.
"Good night, everyone." Arslan says.
"Good night, Arslan." The Team replies, fondness present in their voices. Arslan, oblivious to that, turns onto his side and closes his eyes, breathing out and going to sleep.
The sun beat down on the arena, creating a shine on the giant water bubble in the center of the field. Birds chirped and the wind blew peacefully, the complete opposite of the excitement inside the arena from the people in the stands. The previously mentioned bubble floated several feet above the arena, shining bright blue and waiting for its use.
From Fairy Tail, Lucy and Juvia were the chosen competitors. They walked down to the arena in bathing suits and jumped into the water bubble, looking around at the other competitors. Most of them were girls. The one guy, from from the Team of Quatro Puppy, looked a little lost at all the females in the bubble. He was the first one out of the bubble when the game started.
Lucy pulled her keys from where she had them attached at her side and pulled out Aquarius. Aquarius, an angry look on her face at being summoned and about ready to sweep Lucy up in a tidal wave, glances around at her surroundings. She takes a breath and send several people, Lucy not included, out of the bubble and on to the ground. Juvia fights back against Aquarius, making Aquarius actually have to try and win.
Aquarius glances over at the stands and spots Arslan. She smiles and he waves a little, smiling back. Aquarius nods and vanishes. Lucy sighs and pulls out two more keys, Aries and Virgo. The battle continues, people falling out of the bubble left and right. Pretty soon, it is just Lucy and a girl from Sabertooth Arslan doesn't recognize. Arslan frowns and glances over at the Sabertooth stands, noticing Yukino missing.
He catches Sting's eye and sends him a questioning look. Sting sighs and looks down, shaking his head. Arslan touches his keys at his side, asking Rufus to form a mental connection between himself and Sting. Feeling a tingle in the back of his head and knowing the connection was formed, Arslan starts talking to Sting.
"Sting, what happened to Yukio?" Sting's eyes widen in surprise.
"Arslan?" Sting asks. "How are you talking in my head?"
"I asked Rufus, my spirit, to form a mental connection between us so that we could communicate from a distance, as well as avoiding others hearing us."
"Oh, alright."
"Where's Yukio? And who's that?"
"That is Minerva. She is Yukio's replacement after she got... kicked out of the guild for losing a match." Sting says, turning his head away.
"Why would that happen?"
"The master has a strict policy that a Raven Tail member should never lose a match."
"Any person who thinks that the worth of a person is determined by if they win or lose a battle is not a person worthy of respect."
"That… That is true, Arslan. But we can't really go against him. He is the guild master. If we go against him he might kick us out or something worse."
"Then get people to team up with you and fight back against him. He should know that he should not be able to get away with that."
"I'll try. Thank you Arslan."
"It is… no problem, as people here would say." Stings smiles slightly before turning away again.
"I… want you to know that if anything happens, we're going to take sides with Minerva. She is our guild mate, as well as the guild master's daughter, and none of us want to risk being kicked out of the guild if we can help it. It's still our guild. Our home. We could never leave. But, just know that if she starts fights, the only people who the rest of us won't fight against are you, and by extension Daryun. We still have a reputation to uphold, and whatever she does will be to keep that, no matter the consequence. Our friendship with you changes nothing between the guilds." Sting speaks before the connection ends. Arslan nods in sorrowfully, understanding that this might mean a small fight between his teammates and the Raven Tail team, as he casts his gaze out over to bubble in the field, confused at the stare off happening between the two girls. Minerva raises her hand and small pockets of water bubble, sending out several attacks at Lucy, one right after another. When the attacks stops, Lucy reaches to her keys only to find them gone. Lucy glances around herself quickly before looking up at Minerva, gasping when she spots her keys and whip in Minerva's hand.
Arslan leans forward in the wheelchair, trying to get a better look at what happened. Without her keys and whip, Lucy is defenceless. Minerva starts using her magic on Lucy's keys, making Lucy grow angry and worried. Minerva sends out an attack at Lucy, sending her flying backwards towards the end of the bubble of water. Just as her back starts to go through the bubble, Lucy stops and floats back in. Minerva smirks and sends a bit of magic behind Lucy. When it explodes, Lucy winces in pain and floats towards Minerva.
With only three minutes left on the clock, Minerva ups the attacks. Two blasts hit Lucy on either side of her body, and she floats backwards. Less than thirty seconds now, and Lucy and Minerva have stopped. Just floating in the bubble, facing each other as Lucy grips her arm. The timer ends, and neither Lucy nor Minerva made a move against each other. As soon as the announces tell them they can start fighting for the top spot, Minerva pulls her arm back, preparing another spell. She hits Lucy, stronger than last time, and Lucy yells in pain. Shock after shock of heat, Lucy floats further and further back. Getting close the the edge doesn't help, for Minerva casts a spell making Lucy appear next to her. She knees and punches Lucy, punches infused with magic to double the damage.
"STOP IT!" Natsu exclaims, having enough of it. Natsu, Erza, and Gray, glare at Raven Tail, rage in their eyes. Minerva continues to beat Lucy, unable to be stopped. Arslan glares the the judges and the Pumpkin Man standing by them and opens a connection with the Pumpkin Man.
"Stop the match." He demands. When the Pumpkin Man does nothing, Arslan breaths out angrily, eyes flaring. "NOW." He growls. The Pumpkin Man flinches at the sudden hostility and raises his hand.
"Stop the match!" He yells out. The fight stops and Minerva grabs Lucy by her throat, holding her out of the bubble as water drips down Lucy's beaten and disturbingly still body. The judges call for paramedics and Team A rushes out of the stands to help her. Minerva smirks and drops Lucy, watching as Natsu and Gray race to catch her before she hits the ground. Wendy, Juvia, and Sherria race to Lucy, Wendy and Sherria planning on using their healing magic. Raven Tail jumps down there, ready to backup Minerva in the current glaring match between the two guild.
"Just because we're friends with your buddy Arslan does not mean we'll go easy on you. He's the one we're friendly with, not you guys." Sting announces as the Fairy Tail members glare at them. Erza sighs.
"I should have expected that. And while Arslan is out of commision, you have no one stopping you from going all out on us." She says. The Raven Tail team nods, smirking. The crowd started cheering for a fight and Arslan leans further and further out of his chair, wanting to do anything to stop the tension and fight about to happen.
"Although you may be considered the strongest guild in Fiore, you'd be wise to heed this warning. Listen carefully. Making an enemy of Fairy Tail is a decision that you will regret." Erza says, glaring at the Raven Tail team. The paramedics arrive on scene and take Lucy to the medical wing, working while they move. Arslan sits back in his wheelchair, wishing he had an easy way down to the arena. As if hearing his wish, a quiet chime sounds next to Arslan, making him jump as he looks over at what caused the sound. Arslan blinks when he spots the… half horse half human? Arslan looks at the horse-human curiously, noticing the tanned skin bleeding into the black horse body at his waist, purple eyes, and pale blonde hair and tail. Arslan smiles at the horse-human who smiles back, bending on of his legs to bow.
"Good afternoon, Prince Arslan. I am a centaur named Doreanthus, the horse spirit in the chinese Zodiac." He introduces. Arslan smile sup at him.
"It is nice to meet you, Doreanthus." Arslan greets, glancing back out at his friends. Doreanthus tilts his head, gazing at Arslan curiously.
"I'm the spirit of transportation and speed..." He says, trailing off slightly, giving Arslan time to register why he appeared. Arslan looked up to Doreanthus, shocked.
"How did you know I wanted to go down there?" He asked.
"It is my duty to be intune with my key holder. I sensed your desire to be with your friends and your inability to do so, so I summoned myself. I can take you down there, if you wish." He offers, tail swishing behind him. Arslan smiles gratefully.
"Are you sure? I won't make you do that." He says. Doreanthus nods, smiling.
"I want to. You are my key holder, and Rufus has told us about how you are to your spirits. We all want to meet you." Doreanthus assures before grabbing the handles of Arslan's wheelchair.
"Hold on. We will be down there momentarily." He says. A sudden pop can be heard, along with a scenery change around Arslan. He thanks Doreanthus who nods and disappears before noticing he is now down with his teammates and grabs Erza's sleeve, making her turn around. She turns her gaze down to Arslan and wacks Natsu's hand, who hits Gray, getting their attention to Arslan, who smiles carefully at them. They gather around him and start a group hug, Wendy soon joining, as well as the rest of the guild.
"Will she be okay?" Happy asks, standing on the bed near Lucy's head. No one answers, all to busy worrying, when the door opens.
"Any word on Lucy's condition?" Juvia asks.
"You guys came." Gray says.
"We may be on different teams, but we're still part of the same guild. And besides, we brought Daryun and Arslan with us." Cana says, moving to the side as Daryun wheels in Arslan. Arslan smiles tightly at everyone before Daryun moves him to the head of the bed. The rest of the team members enter the room and start a conversation, only having it stop by Happy's exclamation of 'She's awake!' Lucy opens an eye and groans slightly, looking around the room to see the team members.
"I'm sorry." Lucy says, looking up at the ceiling.
"Why are you sorry?" Arslan asks.
"You did nothing wrong." Daryun says.
"Because I screwed up again." Lucy says.
"Hey, second place isn't so bad." Gray announces
"We got eight points." Wendy continues.
"But, I lost my keys." Lucy replies. Arslan smiles softly and pulls something out from by his side. He places Lucy's key pouch into her hands.
"I have them, Lucy. I sent a message to them telling them what happened. They all missed you." He tells her. She smiles and brings them closer to her.
"That's a relief. I don't know what I would do if I lost them." She sighs, her voice getting quieter and she falls asleep. A few seconds after she falls asleep, Master Makarov comes into the room quietly.
"I have something to tell you. I was just contacted by the games organizers. Though I'm not sure if it will be a help or hindrance to us, we've been asked to consolidate our two teams into one. Since Raven Tail has been disqualified, There are now seven teams an odd number makes it difficult to match up competitors for the battles. There for, we've been ordered to do away with the A and B groups and form a single five person for the rest of the tournament." Master explains. "The members of the new team are; Natsu, Gajeel, Erza, Daryun, and because I was told he will be able to walk by tomorrow, Arslan."
Arslan sighs, standing up. His legs tingle slightly from not being used, but with Natsu and Gajeel on either side of him, Daryun behind him, and Erza in front of him, he is confident he will be fine. Because of the new teams, they decided it would be best to switch inns so that the people on the team can stick together. Arslan draws in a shaky breath and takes a step forward, almost immediately bring his hands out to his sides to stop from falling over. Natsu and Gajeel brought their hands up as well, ready to stop him from falling. Arslan takes another, cautious step, and then a slightly bigger one, closer to Erza. He lets out a little laugh as he takes more steps, growing used to the feelings in his legs again. He lifts his head up and smiles at the people around him who are all smiling back softly.
"You did it, Highness!" Daryun exclaims. Arslan smiles even brighter.
"I walked again." He says. Erza shakes her head, smiling fondly.
"Congratulations, Arslan. Now, I hate to make this party short, but it is getting late and we all need rest for tomorrow." She says. Arslan nods his head in understanding.
"All right. Thank you for letting me do this before then, though." He says. Erza gives him a small pat on the head.
"It's no problem, Arslan. We're all happy your able to walk again. Now, you should rest so you can do more of that tomorrow." She advises. Arslan laughs.
"Alright. Good night, everyone." He says. They give him their version of a good night, and the light shut off.