A/N: Happy Halloween, everyone! It's the end of the month, which is close enough to the beginning of the month for me to have this ready for you!
Wait, what?

In any case, since this is the tenth chapter, I have something new to show you guys- namely, a remastered, completely digitized version of the artwork originally created by my wife and myself! It took a few weeks and a lot of experimenting with a new art program, but my wife is amazing!

In any case, enjoy the chapter!

P.S. I may or may not have lost my mind at some point during the omake...

Magic Battle Nexus Arc: Chapter 7

Ethereal Issues

Gorun had just finished receiving congratulations from his teammates when they noticed an unexpected visitor in their box area. The Saiyan youth was exchanging a fist bump with Gajeel when he noticed that there was a man with short hair dressed in the white robes of a magic council officer standing at the entrance to their seats. He had aqua blue eyes and a set of scars next to his left eye that became clearer as he moved towards them.

"Congratulations on your victory, Son Gorun of Fairy Tail," he said as he stopped a few feet away from the wary wizards. Each of them knew that the magic council seemed to have it out for their guild, so they were instantly suspicious of the man, no matter how well-mannered he might seem.

"Good afternoon," Gorun said after an awkward moment of silence. "Can we assist you somehow, officer?"

"Yes, actually, you can," the man nodded pleasantly enough. "My name is Doranbolt. I'm with the Magic Council's custody enforcement unit, working under Lahar. I have some questions for you that I'd like answered in private." He spoke politely, but his tone left no doubt that this was not a request.

Gorun was immediately tense, but he forced his face to remain calm. Have they discovered Jellal and my connection to him? He wondered quickly. Out loud, he asked, "Mind telling me what this is about?"

"I do mind," Doranbolt replied calmly. "It's something I think is best discussed behind closed doors."

"Do you have a warrant to detain me for questioning?" Gorun challenged him. "Because if you don't have one, or probable cause for a crime, I don't have to go anywhere with you." He saw the other man's eyes widen with surprise. The boy smiled inwardly at the sight, though his face remained blank. He knew from the others that Fairy Tail wizards usually didn't have the legal know-how to wriggle out of getting entangled with the Magic Council.

Doranbolt's face rid itself of the surprised expression and settled into a slight frown. "Look, I'm not trying to cause trouble," he said, trying to remain reasonable. "I just have a few questions I need answered."

"Tell me what it is you wanted to discuss, and I'll go along quietly," Gorun said firmly. "Because I see no reason for me to just play along unless you actually have a concrete reason for detaining me."

Doranbolt's frown deepened, but he seemed to realize that unless he gave some ground, he wasn't going to get anywhere. "My superior and I want to know how you acquired the magic circle formulas for etherion," he finally said in a lowered tone. "Only the Magic Council is supposed to have access to that research."

"Oh, that," Gorun deadpanned. He knew that there was no point in trying to lie about the nature of his magic circles- the man was clearly not under the impression that his attacks utilized simple light magic. "All right, officer, I'll follow you. I suppose this is something that shouldn't be talked about where unfriendly ears can hear."

"Wait, is Gorun under arrest?" Mirajane asked, looking worried. The others all looked at Doranbolt suspiciously, clearly not willing to trust him.

"No, no!" the man said defensively. "He's… Well, to be honest, I don't really know what he is right now. Normally, we'd suspect someone of stealing our research, but in the time since Gorun has been an active member of your guild, there hasn't been any break-ins at our research division. More than anything, we're curious about how he obtained the knowledge of how to harness etherion."

"You profiled me?" Gorun asked, offended.

"The council profiles all registered wizards, it's nothing personal," Doranbolt said in a placating tone. "The fact that you don't have any kind of criminal record is working in your favor, actually. I promise that you're not under arrest- and you'll stay that way as long as you can prove that you came about this knowledge through honest means."

"So using etherion isn't against the law?" Gorun asked. He'd tried to research the subject back when he first began to practice his magic, but he had been unable to find anything that suggested that it was or wasn't.

"Very few types of magic are illegal," Doranbolt answered. "Death magic and spells that interfere with one's free will are among them, but I honestly don't think that there's a law about wizards privately using etherion- mostly because this is a new precedent." When they all stared blankly at him, he elaborated, "No one has ever been able to use etherion outside of the magic council before. I don't think any of the previous members of the council ever considered that someone would eventually figure it out on their own."

"Talk about careless planning," Gorun remarked. When Doranbolt shot him a look, he shrugged and said, "I'm just saying that if one person can figure it out, it stands to reason that someone else can figure it out, eventually."

"Look, if I'm being honest here, my boss probably would have tried to arrest you on the spot for even knowing how to use etherion," Doranbolt said impatiently. "He'd assume that you stole it from the council because they're the only ones with the formula needed for an etherion blast. I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you're starting to try my patience."

"All right, all right," Gorun said with his hands raised in a placating gesture. "I said that I would go with you, and I will. Lead the way, Mister Doranbolt." Turning back to the others, he asked, "Cana? Think you can take my spot in case they call on me to fight again?"

"I doubt that they will, but sure," she nodded. "Just try not to take too long. You don't wanna miss all the action, right?"

"Of course not," he grinned easily. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

The Council Officer led him to a room where there were two guards stationed at the entrance. Gorun raised his eyebrows at the security measure, but he said nothing. Based on their power levels, he felt it was safe to say that if they tried to detain him, he could defeat them with minimal effort.

The room itself was Spartan in décor. Four wooden chairs, a table made of the same material, and a blue lachryma set in the middle of said table, of which Gorun was unable to determine its purpose. Still, there were no manacles or other restraint devices evident, so he shrugged to himself and made his way to one of the chairs, sitting down before Doranbolt could invite- or order- him to do so.

"All right, officer," he said briskly. "What do you want to know?" He had already decided to be as open and honest as possible without revealing his true origins. He didn't even want to consider what might happen if this man found out that he was not only foreign to Fiore, but in fact an alien to this planet altogether. The more cooperative he was, the better chances he had that this man and his superiors wouldn't go snooping around about his past in any more detail.

Doranbolt, slightly taken aback by this the younger man's confidence and assertiveness, paused a moment before he shut the door behind him and took a seat opposite from Gorun. "Well, as I said before, my boss and I want to know how you came into possession of the magic circle formulas for etherion." As he spoke, the blue lachryma began to glow softly, and then Gorun understood.

"Are we being recorded?" he asked, gesturing to the device.

"Yes," Doranbolt nodded. "This won't be made public, obviously, unless I discover some reason to arrest you and we need this for a trial. Now, if you would, I'd like some answers."

"The etherion formula isn't that complicated to figure out," Gorun replied, getting straight to business. "I'm honestly surprised that it's such a well-concealed secret. All it takes is a basic understanding of the construction of magic circles, and an eye for parallels."

"Parallels?" Doranbolt frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, according to the research I've done- public knowledge, by the way- etherion is made up of all kinds of elemental magic," the boy replied. "It's not hard to take the next step from there."

"What next step?" Doranbolt asked, still frowning. "Hold on, before you answer that, let me ask something else; how did you manage to condense so many magic circles in the first place? I've never seen anything like that before."

"I didn't condense anything," Gorun answered, a slight frown on his own face now. "The magic circles I cast are singular in nature, with the exception of my Kaioken spell, which uses what I call a 'stack effect' to amplify the basic functions of the enhancement. Isn't the Etherion Cannon fired by a single magic circle?"

"No, it takes dozens of circles in a specific alignment to create the right spell," Doranbolt replied, thinking rapidly. "The etherion blast aims to harness ethernano directly, which means that it needs multiple elements to draw out the trace etherion in each individual spell in order to create the effect we want for such a huge blast. But if you're telling me that you only use a single magic circle for your spells, then that means…" His eyes widened as he stared at Gorun, realizing what he was getting at. "You created a magic circle that harnesses ethernano directly?!"

"I was under the impression that was how the Magic Council did it," Gorun said carefully. "But what you've told me seems to contradict that. Instead of using a single circle, your method is more of a hodgepodge than anything."

"How did you learn how to do this?!" Doranbolt asked, his tone a mix between eager and slightly anxious.

"Researching different elemental magic circles put me in the right area," Gorun answered. "As I said before, you need to have an eye for parallels. Not believing in coincidence helps, too."

"You're talking in riddles!" Doranbolt growled. "I need straight answers!"

"Am I under arrest if I don't spell it out for you?" Gorun replied calmly. "As far as I know, you don't have any right to the specifics of my research since it doesn't fall under any illegal categories of magic. Also, you said that only the council has access to their methods of using etherion. Unless there's been some kind of break-in to your research vaults, I doubt you can even hold me on probable cause. All of which boils down to the fact that I'm only answering your questions out of courtesy and a desire to avoid making a scene at the games."

Doranbolt's jaw clenched, and Gorun sensed that he had struck a nerve. "Look," the young Saiyan continued, "I understand your concern about how I must have obtained this power, but I've already outlined the background of how I got there myself. Put a research team on it with the information I've supplied if you need to. But I will not just be handing over my research on a silver platter because you asked nicely. You want my notes on the subject, get a warrant, and I will happily hand them over if the government thinks that it- or I- am a legitimate danger to society."

"Maybe I will," Doranbolt scowled. He was frustrated, and more than a little puzzled. His prior experience with Fairy Tail had led him to believe that while there were a good group- if a little destructive- they were not well-versed in how the law worked, a weakness the council had exploited on more than one occasion. This book-smart kid came as a surprise.

"Do you have any other questions for me, or can I get back to my team, sir?" Gorun asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"No, I-" Doranbolt paused, then corrected himself. "Actually, there is one more question I did have." Gorun halted from standing up, then sat back down again, a prompting look in his eyes. "That takeover form of yours…" Doranbolt said slowly. "I've never seen anything like it before. Is it tied in with your use of etherion?"

Gorun hesitated for the briefest moment before he answered, "In part. I'm not telling you how it works, though. If the government wants to know how to use my magic, they can do their homework like I did." Obviously he wasn't going to tell them that no amount of research would allow them to create a Super Saiyan, or a 'Saiyan Soul' takeover spell, as he had dubbed it.

Doranbolt sighed heavily and waved the teenager out of the room as the recording lachryma darkened, muttering, "Fine, then. But expect a closer eye to be kept on you after this, Son Gorun. I can understand your reluctance to share your knowledge with the council, especially given your guild of choice. Personally, I don't think you constitute any kind of threat to our kingdom, but there will be those that don't share my opinion."

Gorun's eyes darted to the darkened orb before he asked, "Is that a threat?"

"Not at all," Doranbolt smiled wearily. "Just a friendly warning. Believe it or not, I'm rooting for Fairy Tail in this year's games."

Gorun's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he said nothing until he had opened the door to the room and muttered, "Thank you for your support, officer." With that, he was gone via instant transmission.

Doranbolt drummed his fingers on the desk as he mulled over the information he had been given. Admittedly, the boy hadn't given him much, but the implications of what he had said was enormous. A new way of harnessing etherion… he marveled silently. Lahar will want to know about this… and report it to the Magic Council.

He frowned at the thought. Admittedly, he had a soft spot for the newly revived guild, and the thought of the Magic Council knowing that one of their members had allegedly discovered a new way to harness etherion was a troubling one. The council headman in particular had never been fond of the raffish group of wizards, and he would take any excuse to stamp the guild out if he felt that their position could be undermined by Fairy Tail. He might just have Gorun arrested without even bothering to hear him out, even with the recording I have here, he thought grimly.

No, it was best that the council did not hear of this in any official capacity- at least, not until he had something more concrete to report.

The man weighed his options quickly. He could tell Lahar that Gorun had refused to meet with him, but he was positive that would only lead to an arrest, and on false charges, no less. On the other hand, if he told Lahar what had happened verbatim, and showed him the recording, the result might well end up being the same.

He needed a third option, one that would see Gorun left alone- as far as Doranbolt was concerned, the kid hadn't done anything wrong- and keep his superiors happy. He was about to tear at his hair in frustration when it hit him.

"Okay, what'd I miss?" Gorun asked as he popped into existence next to Gajeel, who was startled sufficiently to crash an Iron Dragon Club into Gorun's head, knocking him to the floor. "Ow!" the Saiyan boy yelped. "Jeez, what gives?!"

"What gives is that you keep pulling that freaking vanishing act and then popping back up when we don't expect it!" the long-haired slayer shouted belligerently. "We're not used to it like the guys that got left behind! You coulda been an enemy for all I knew!" Gorun was aware of Cana laughing at him in the background, but he ignored her.

"Do I look like a Raven?" Gorun grumbled as he got to his feet and massaged his bruised jaw. It wasn't the hardest hit he'd ever taken, but it was a respectable strike, especially given how little time it took Gajeel to react. It was going to be sore for a while unless he could get Wendy to look at it later.

"You missed the first two matches since they were both pretty quick," Laxus explained. "That cat girl from Mermaid Heel that competed in the contest earlier beat Quatro Kerberos' guy."

"Huh," Gorun mused. "Granted, Bacchus seems like the only hard hitter they've got, but I'm surprise that Millianna was able to win anyway. She seems kinda… clueless."

"She's sharper than she lets on," Mirajane interjected.

"Got it, lower power level, but she knows how to work with what she's got," Gorun nodded. "What about the second match?"

"It was that memory guy from Sabertooth against Eve from Blue Pegasus," Cana answered this time.

"Meh," Gorun shrugged. "Can't say I really care who won that one. They both tick me off." Rufus he hated because of his association with the guild that had humiliated Yukino. Eve he disliked because he had tried to hit on his girlfriend right in front of him. Granted, they hadn't been dating yet, but he still didn't like the idea of other guys hitting on the sweet-natured barmaid.

"The wizard from Sabertooth won, obviously," Gajeel put in.

"But Eve put up a better fight than we were expecting," Juvia argued. "His magic may not seem very remarkable, but he's very clever with how he uses it."

"He still lost," Gajeel shrugged.

"Okay, so who's next?" Gorun wondered, the information already filed away in his mind. Now he was more interested in what was to come.

"They haven't announced it yet," Cana replied. "They had to do some cleanup after the last battle." She gestured to the field, where several wizards could be seen at work, making repairs to the stone walls that had been damaged during the fight.

As if on cue, Chapati announced, "With only a few minutes to go before the next event, it's time to announce the lineup! Next up we have… Laxus Dreyar of Fairy Tail Team B versus Alexei of Raven Tail!"

The entire team instantly tensed up and looked over at Laxus, whose face was a cold mask. "Guess it's showtime," he said as he walked out of the stands to go wait down by the gate. The others watched him go, each with varying expressions of concern written on their faces. Even Gajeel, who normally affected not to care, had a small frown on his brow.

The reason for their worry was obvious- Ivan's guild had targeted their own since before the games began, and now his son was being offered to them on a silver platter. If the man's vengeance was not halted by some sort of familial bond, it was only likely to be more intense against the young man that had chosen Fairy Tail over him. All of them thought that the latter was more likely.

"Anyone know an invisibility spell?" Gorun asked hopefully. "Lend him some backup?"

"I could use a stealth charm on a card, but it's not something I've had a lot of practice with," Cana answered with another frown. "It might fail mid-fight, and I don't want our team getting caught out by the refs, especially since it would give Raven Tail the upper hand."

Gorun cursed under his breath but nodded a reluctant agreement. "All right, looks like we'll just have to keep our eyes open," he sighed. "I'll keep an eye on their power levels, see if anything is fishy."

Five minutes later, they could see Laxus walking out confidently to the call of the crowd, matched by Alexei of Raven Tail. As soon as both men were standing in their respective places, Gorun's finely honed sixth sense told him that there were five power levels approaching his comrade, despite what his eyes told him.

An illusion? He wondered briefly. Then he cast the thought aside, placing the two longest fingers of his right hand against his head, as he snapped to himself, Doesn't matter what's going on, this is our chance to catch Raven Tail in the act. Normally, this was the position he took to utilize his instant transmission, but now he took a slightly wider stance, energy beginning to crackle at his fingertips as he prepared to use a technique he had not utilized in some time.

"Gorun, what are you-?"

"Shut up, I'm concentrating," he said shortly to Mirajane. Then, deciding a bit of an explanation was in order, he added in a tense voice, "Raven Tail is up to something for sure. I'm picking up on six power levels on the field, even though we're only seeing two fighters."

"Are you sure?" Cana asked, the worry evident on her face. "If you're wrong about this…"

"I'm sure," he muttered. "Someone get a message to Master. This battle might be about to turn into a war. The rest of you, get ready for a fight." After a brief debate, Juvia rushed off to do as Gorun had ordered. At that moment, all of them wished that Jellal hadn't had to be absent that day, since he was proficient in telepathy magic, not to mention that even in the guise of Mystogan, he would have been a welcome addition in battle.

They watched in tense anticipation as the battle began, with Alexei taking an overwhelming lead against the gifted Lightning Dragon Slayer. As Laxus tried desperately to fight back, Fairy Tail Team A shouted encouragement to the young man. However, despite the intense battle taking place in the arena, none of the six power levels that had taken to the field had engaged in battle so far. Furthering Gorun's suspicions was the fact that he was picking up on absolutely no ki from the four members of Raven Tail that were watching the match with maniacal grins. If they had zero magic power in them, they wouldn't be smiling like that, the youth thought grimly, remembering the state Wendy and Carla had been in when he and Kinana had found them in the gardens. They're probably illusions, too.

Gorun wished that he could engage telepathy magic on his own, but it was a skill he had never spent any length of time on, preferring to hone his combat abilities. He berated himself for it now, wishing that he could call out to his comrades to let them know what was happening. As it was, he was going to have to act on his own, and hope that he could unmask Raven Tail's plans before anything happened to Laxus. He knew that the young man was immensely powerful, but even the mightiest of fighters could be brought down by simple bad luck, as he had seen before. He'd rather not take chances.

So thinking, he continued to pour his energy and concentration into his fingertips, biding his time until the moment was right to unleash Master Piccolo's technique. It was taking longer to charge than he could like, but if he went Super Saiyan to power it more quickly, he would definitely attract more attention than it would be worth. He needed to stay unnoticed, unhindered, until…

He felt one of the power levels on the field spike, and it didn't belong to Laxus. Not hesitating for a second, he took his fingers off his forehead, aimed them at the source of the energy, and fired, shouting, "Makankosappo!" Yellow energy with a pink tinge shot from his fingertips in the semblance of a drill bit, straight at the arena where, ironically, Alexei apparently had Laxus in a chokehold.

The illusion shattered like a giant glass dome, scattering the false images to the wind, and simultaneously shocking the caster enough that the fake Raven Tail members in the stands vanished an instant later. Although what probably held the audience's- and the contestants'- attention the most was the person that had been struck in the shoulder by the piercing technique.

It was Obra of Raven Tail, surrounded by all of his teammates, including Alexei- or rather, his guild master, Ivan, as they could now see with his mask removed. The blue man collapsed without a sound, falling to the sand with a soft thump.

Seeing the guild master on the field, surrounded by his goons, Gorun felt a fierce sense of satisfaction with his decision. Pointing at Ivan, Gorun bellowed, "Violation by Raven Tail!"

Makarov quickly took up the cry, shouting, "You know what this means, Fairy Tail! Off to war, and off with those scumbags' heads!"

"YEAH!" The shout echoed from every member of the guild's throat as the scene dissolved into chaos. Fairy Tail Teams A and B took to the arena, all of them lighting up with magic circles, with the exception of Lucy, Kinana, and Wendy, who elected to stay back with a very confused-looking Yukino. Laxus took advantage of the mayhem as his comrades leaped onto the field to sucker punch his father with a lightning bolt, frying the man and sending him flying to crash into the arena wall.

In the background, they could all hear Lahar and Yajima shouting for the Custody Enforcement Unit to get in the arena and calm things down, but they were too late. The final, inevitable battle between the Ravens and Fairies had begun.

Nullpudding tried to take a shot at the lightning mage, but Gray was already on him, swinging a massive hammer made of ice to crash into the spiky man and pummel him into the dirt. Erza followed that up with brutal swipe from her Purgatory Armor's mace that left him a bloody mess in the dirt.

To the side, Obra was trying to get up, but was swiftly discouraged from doing so by Gajeel, who took immense pleasure in clubbing him with his Iron Dragon magic. Behind them, Mirajane and Cana managed to corner Black Snake, with the card mage disrupting his sand transformation via an explosion charm so that that the she-devil of Fairy Tail could finish the job with an Evil Explosion that left him in a similar state to his comrades.

Last to go was Flare. She was confronted by Natsu, who had a dark look on his face, and found her escape route cut off by Gorun, who also looked thoroughly angry with her. "You made Lucy cry," Natsu snarled, his fists lighting up. "No one makes Lucy cry and gets away with it. Not while I'm around!"

"I also heard about what you tried to do to Asuka," Gorun said tightly, referring to how Flare had threatened the child's life in order to gain an unfair advantage over Lucy during their battle. He had been told of the occurrence the day before, and it had nearly sent him into a Super Saiyan spree. "I like that kid." He had- along with Kinana- babysat the little girl many times for her parents over the last year, and as a result had grown fond of the young gunslinger.

The crimson-haired, psychotic wizard screamed as she lashed out with her burning locks to strike at the two young men. Natsu answered with his usual response and starting eating the fiery hair, much to the shock and rage of their opponent. Gorun triggered his Super Saiyan form, the blowback of his aura simply shoving back the intended attack like it was no more annoying than a stray leaf. Flare's eyes darted between the two of them, the fear of certain retribution overcoming her crazed bloodlust even for a moment.

The two Fairy Tail wizards did not disappoint. "Masenko!" Gorun shouted, blasting Flare towards Natsu, who was standing ready.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" His punch connected solidly with her jaw as she flew at him, and even with her resistance to fire magic, the sudden reversal of direction was going to leave the woman with a very burnt, and very bruised jaw when she woke up.

Grinning at his teammates, Gorun said, "Well damn if that didn't feel good."

None of them noticed a tiny figure escaping from Obra's cloak and running off into the shadows. It was an oversight they would come to regret.

Raven Tail was ultimately led away in chains, though the Fairy Tail wizards were given a stern reprimand by Lahar, who warned them against any more foolhardy action. Still, since the ravens were the ones to initiate the rule-breaking, as Gorun had managed to prove with the shattering of the illusion spell, they were not penalized for the brawl, and Laxus was even awarded the ten victory points by default.

As team B headed back to their box seats, Laxus muttered to Gorun, "I had them on the ropes."

"I know, but I prefer not to take chances," the boy replied in an equally low tone. "One of the strongest people I ever knew was almost killed by a common firearm because he let down his guard at the wrong moment. I didn't want to see that event repeat itself."

Laxus went to argue back, but the grim look in Gorun's eyes and hunched set to his shoulders made the blonde man realize that Gorun had acted the way that he had because he cared about his comrades. So he said nothing, choosing to keep his grumblings to himself, partly because in the end, his father's dark guild had been foiled and undone. And today, that was what mattered.

The final match pitted Lamia Scale's Sherria Blendy against Wendy Marvel of Fairy Tail Team A. Gorun looked on at the pink-haired girl with interest, having been told that she was the cousin of Sherry, and one of the wizards that had helped looked for the missing Fairy Tail members long after others had given up the cause as lost.

He sensed a tremendous wellspring of magic power from both of the young contestants, and their ensuing fight showed that despite their small statures, neither of them were wizards to trifle with. However, he became distracted about halfway through the battle. "Gorun, can you hear me?!" Jellal's mental voice startled him a bit, but he managed not to react too badly.

I hear you, he thought, slightly annoyed. The annoyance was short-lived as he realized that Jellal wouldn't be contacting him in this fashion for idle chatter- something was afoot. What's going on?

"Urtear, Meredy, and I all sense the power that echoes Zeref in the stadium, right now!" the escaped convict said quickly, causing the young man to freeze in place. "We need you to find the source and identify it or them!"

Possible suspect, he replied as he glanced down at Sherria. The current competitor from Lamia Scale's magic power feels strange to me. It has that reminiscent god energy similar to what I sensed from Olga of Sabertooth.

"If it's that young girl, I'd rule her out," Urtear said, having apparently been listening in on the conversation. "This is her first year at the games, yet we have sensed the power every other year, regardless."

I still say that she and Olga bear watching, Gorun replied, even though her reasoning made sense. Something about their magic unsettled him, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why that was.

Pushing the thoughts aside, he began to cast out with his senses, trying to feel for any warped or distorted ki that something connected to Zeref would undoubtedly give off. The problem was, there were so many people that it was difficult to tell one person from the next, especially with the two girls throwing around such intense spells. It was one of the few double-edged facets of his abilities. He could sense any living energy signature, but that sometimes made it more difficult to tell who was who. In some cases, he could have sworn that he was sensing double of the same person.

I'll have to look around the old-fashioned way, he thought to the others. I can't sense any dark or distorted energy, not anything that stands out, anyway.

"I thought he was supposed to be good at this kind of thing?" Meredy questioned mildly, setting Gorun's jaw clenching as he muttered an excuse for his absence to his teammates.

"He is good at this," Jellal insisted. "Remember, we're more attuned to Zeref's presence because of our prior involvements with his creations. And Gorun's magic works a little differently than ours. He's doing his best. Just give him some time, he'll come through." Gorun relaxed a little as he heard the blue-haired man come to his defense.

"All the same, you should hurry," Urtear encouraged. "There's no telling how long the power will remain active."

I will, he promised. And don't worry. Once I get a lock on their energy signature, it doesn't matter where they go. I can use instant transmission to close in on them immediately. So saying, he began to make his way through the stands at a jog, determined to find the mysterious source of power that held a connection to Zeref.

After about five minutes of searching, Gorun noticed something odd. He was jogging past a group of teenagers on their way back to their seats from getting food when he noticed an energy signature that sent a fierce chill up his spine. This power… he thought, cold sweat breaking out on his brow. It can't be!

But there was no mistaking it- the energy he was detecting was reminiscent of the Time Breakers' powers. For a moment he hoped that it was just some sort of spell being cast by Urtear, but the longer he remained fixated on the energy signature, the more certain he became that it was the ki of someone who had violated the flow of time with their presence, not just a wizard with the ability to alter the time of inanimate objects. Jellal, he thought grimly. I think I've found them. And if I'm right, things are much worse than we could have imagined.

"What do you mean?" the man asked, his voice sounding tense. Gorun could almost feel Meredy and Urtear's nervousness through the mental link as he prepared an answer.

Whoever I'm sensing has travelled through time, though whether it's from the past or future, I do not know, he replied swiftly.

"What?!" shouted both Meredy and Urtear. The latter of the two added, "How can you be sure?"

Something about your ki changes ever so slightly when you appear in a time that you don't belong when using a certain method of temporal travel, Gorun answered. I've sensed this kind of alteration before, from my days before Fairy Tail.

"What on earth did you do before you came to Fiore?" Meredy asked.

Not important right now, he snapped, feeling on edge. If the power I'm sensing is the same one that you three have been tailing- if Zeref has a way to send people through the flow of time to wherever he chooses, we may have already lost this war.

"First things first," Jellal cut in, his voice calm and commanding. "We need to corner whoever it is you're following, and make sure that they are the same person that the three of us have been waiting for. I can't tell from the distance I'm at. Gorun, keep tailing them until they leave the coliseum, and I'll join you once you've gotten a safe distance away from the Custody Enforcement officers."

Will do, the youth muttered, determined to unveil this mystery.

Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans in store for the Fairy Tail wizard. He had managed to sight the individual emitting the energy source- a person dressed in a black cloak - when he was suddenly tackle-hugged by a familiar girl with purple hair.

"Hey, Gorun!" Kinana smiled happily at him. "What'd you think of that last match?"

"Last match?" he repeated dumbly, blinking owlishly at her. "Wait, it's over?"

"Yeah," the girl said, cocking her head as she leaned back and studied her boyfriend's face. It didn't take her long to realize something was wrong. "What happened?" she asked seriously. "Did one of the ravens get away or something?"

"No, nothing to do with them," he said as he cast his eyes around, looking for the hooded stranger. "But… I may have just lost a lead on the reason we're investigating the games…" His brow furrowed as he reached out with his sixth sense, but whoever he had been following seemed to be suppressing their power level- unless they had left the current time, a thought that worried him greatly.

It must have showed on his face, because Kinana shook his shoulder gently and said, "Gorun, hey." His gray eyes met her beautiful green ones, and she asked, "Did I cause you to lose them?" Her expression was grave and worried.

"If they really are here for the games, then they'll be back," he said after releasing a long breath. "And next time I'll know what to look for- they won't get away. What just happened was an innocent mistake, and no amount of worrying or raging is going to solve it."

The girl winced and replied, "Sorry, Gorun. I should have realized that you would be working on-" He placed a finger over her lips to silence her and smiled a little bit to try and reassure her.

"Like I said, it was an honest mistake," he told her. "Besides, I can think of much worse interruptions in a job than being hugged by my beautiful girlfriend." With that, he removed his finger in order to give her a small kiss on the mouth, setting her face aflame. That alone, he decided, was worth the delay in catching this person. He'd have to report to Jellal that he'd failed to catch them, but at least now they had part of a physical description to go off of, and an energy signature that he could instantly recognize the next time he felt it.

He was surprised that he felt so calm about missing out on the capture, but then, Kinana tended to have a calming effect on him. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much.

"Why'd you come up so quick anyway?" he asked her, struck by the sudden question.

"I'm not allowed to surprise you?" she asked him with a small grin. She seemed to still be chafing over the fact that she had caused her boyfriend to slip up, but she recognized his attempt to distract her from the fact, and appreciated it.

"You are, I just wondered at the reason," he told her with a gentle squeeze of her hands.

Kinana smiled at him a little more, then jerked her head over her shoulder, indicating the entrance to Fairy Tail Team A's box seating area. "There's someone who wants to talk to you," she said. Leading him by the hand, she took him into the private area, where the other members of the team were talking excitedly to Wendy, who looked worn out and a bit beat up, but mostly healthy.

The one exception was a silver-haired girl who stood apart from them, a sad sort of smile on her face as she watched the happy guild mates. Gorun looked at Kinana, who nodded and gave him a gentle shove toward the girl.

"Yukino?" he asked as he approached her.

"Mister Gorun!" she exclaimed in a soft voice, surprised at his sudden arrival.

"Just Gorun will do," he grinned easily. Then, letting his face grow serious, he asked, "How are you doing? Did you manage to sleep well in the hotel?"

"I did," she nodded quickly. "That's why I wanted to talk to you, actually. Why I came to the games today with your friends… I didn't get the chance to say 'thank you' for what you did."

Gorun's smile came back a little bit as he scratched at his lengthy black hair and said, "Well, I couldn't exactly leave you to your own devices, could I? That wouldn't have been very good of me. You don't owe me any thanks."

"But I do," she insisted. "Like I said before, no one has ever been so nice to me, showed so much care for me. And you barely even knew me, so you didn't owe me anything at all. But you took me in and made sure that I would be safe when I was at my lowest point. So from the bottom of my heart… thank you, Son Gorun." She stepped forward on impulse, then remembered who was standing behind him.

She looked nervously over his shoulder at Kinana, who had a raised eyebrow. "Um… is it okay if I…?" Yukino asked timidly, her face red. Kinana pretended to think it over for a second, then nodded. But she had a ki blast ready in her hand, behind her back, just in case.

Not wanting to give the other girl a chance to change her mind, she stood up on her toes and kissed Gorun on the cheek for the briefest second. "Thanks," she said with a grateful smile to them both.

Gorun, who had paled and turned back to Kinana, who was very obviously not laughing, asked in a strangled voice, "Did she…? You-? What just happened?"

"She did the same thing to Natsu, so I figured she might do the same for you when she mentioned wanting to thank you in person," Kinana said, barely holding in the laughter threatening to break loose at seeing Gorun's extremely confused and somewhat terrified expression.

"Oh," he managed to say. Turning back to Yukino, he said, "Well, I, uh… Thanks? You're welcome? I'm welcome? Wait, what?" Needless to say, he felt totally discombobulated- that was not how he'd expected to be thanked by anyone but Kinana, ever.

At that moment, Kinana found that she could no longer contain herself, and burst into giggles, joined shortly after by Yukino, though hers' was more subdued as she realized just how uncomfortable she had made the young man.

Still, he did make some pretty funny faces when he was bewildered.

Final Score of the Grand Magic Games Day 3

Fairy Tail Team B: 35 pts.

Sabertooth: 34 pts.

Mermaid Heel: 32 pts.

Fairy Tail Team A: 27 pts.

Blue Pegasus: 26 pts.

Lamia Scale: 18 pts.

Quatro Kerberos: 14 pts.

Raven Tail: Disqualified.

"Now this is something to celebrate!" Lisanna cheered. "Fairy Tail is number one in Fiore!"

"HOORAY!" bellowed the occupants of the bar. With that, the drinking, eating, inevitable fighting, and general mayhem ensued, including a barrel-surfing contest.

Yukino looked around, wide-eyed. "Is it always so…?" she hesitated, looking for the right word to use.

"Chaotic?" Gorun offered.

"Lively," she answered with a smile. She had been invited by the Fairy Tail mages to join them for their rounds at the bar, to which she had agreed to after some cajoling from Kinana and Gorun.

"With Natsu and the others from Tenrou Island back, yeah," Kinana nodded. "The place always seems to light up whenever they're around."

"Hehe," Gorun snickered. "Light up." He pointed at Natsu, who was posing for a drawing with Reedus, his fists aflame. Both girls decided to ignore the pun.

Instead, Kinana looked over at Yukino and asked, "Was it not like this at your guild hall?"

A troubled expression came over Yukino's face as she murmured, "No… It was nothing like this." Her eyes became downcast, and she turned to leave. "I should go," she said quietly. "If I stay too late, I won't be able to find a hotel room for the night."

"Stay with us!" Gorun said impulsively.

Yukino looked back at him in surprise, seeing that he was in earnest. "I… I appreciate the offer, but I can't keep taking advantage of your guild's kindness," she answered with a sad smile. "Thank you for being so kind to me, though. And for trying to hold Master Jiema accountable for what he did."

"Sorry, let me rephrase that," Gorun said as he set his drink down and looked at Kinana, who nodded her approval. Stepping forward, Gorun held out his hand to the silver-haired mage and said, "Yukino, we'd like it if you would join us."

"Join you?" the girl repeated, confused. "What do you mean, for a meal?" She rubbed her stomach, remembering that it had been a few hours since she'd had any food.

"No, I mean I want you to join me and Kinana on a wizard team," he explained, his smile widening. "We were talking about it on the way here, and we would both like it very much if you would join Fairy Tail."

Now Yukino's eyes widened in shock and awe as she realized what he was offering. "Y-You'd want someone like me?" she gasped. "But you hardly even know me!"

"So?" Gorun shrugged, keeping his hand outstretched. "I was a complete stranger when I joined Fairy Tail. I met Kinana on her way to work and wound up asking if I could join the guild after only a few minutes. We've known you for over a day, so we're already better acquainted than I was when I joined the guild."

Tears began to pool in Yukino's eyes as she continued to realize that the young man was in earnest. Seeing this, Kinana stepped forward with a tissue for the emotional girl, saying, "Fairy Tail is no stranger to taking in strangers. In fact, we've even taken it a step further than that in the past. See Gajeel and Juvia over there?"

When Yukino had dried her eyes, she looked at the two wizards that Kinana was indicating. The long-haired Dragon Slayer was napping at a table, snoring while his cat talked with his fellow exceeds. Not too far from him, Juvia was gushing over a half-naked Gray, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"I see them," she confirmed. She knew them by name from their attempts at competing in the games, but she wondered what they had to do with her.

"The guild's first interaction with Gajeel was when he was part of a guild called Phantom Lord," Kinana explained. "He was actually sent to terrorize us by his guild master, so he destroyed our old guild hall and beat up Levy and her teammates pretty bad. Juvia worked for the same group, and she kidnapped Lucy for ransom."

Yukino's eyes widened at that piece of news. Looking at either of them, she never would have guessed that they were enemies of the guild. "But they…"

"They started out as our enemies, but Master Makarov is a very compassionate man," Kinana smiled at the confused girl. "When their guild was disbanded and they had no place to go, he offered them a home, even though it made a lot of people really upset. Now they're two of the guild's most resolute supporters."

"Well, Gajeel is, anyway," Gorun muttered. "Juvia is just into anything that Gray is involved in."

"The point is," Kinana said, shooting her boyfriend a warning glance, "Fairy Tail doesn't care where you came from. If you come to us needing help, we give it however we can. If that means giving you a place to call home and a family to love you, then that's what we do."

Yukino was crying freely now, too choked up to even speak. When she had tried to join Sabertooth, she had been forced to prove her worth to them before she was even considered for acceptance. Now here were these people, all but strangers, offering her all the things that she had sought from her idols, yet never received, and without demanding anything in return. They were offering her what seemed like a dream.

"Is this a dream…?" she managed to sob out. She hadn't even realized that she had spoken out loud until she felt a strong hand on her shoulder and a kind voice answering her.

"This can be your home, Yukino," Gorun told her gently. "If people like me and Gajeel can make a life for ourselves in Fairy Tail, I believe that you can, too. Join us, please. I promise that what happened at Sabertooth will never happen to you again."

"We'll treat you like a sister, not a soldier," Kinana added, wiping at the young girl's face with her handkerchief. "Will you join us, Yukino? Please say you will."

After a few minutes of crying and regaining her composure, Yukino finally managed to smile through watery eyes and say, "If Fairy Tail is home to people like you two and Natsu…" She smiled over at the pink-haired mage, who was laughing at something Lucy had said, much to the latter's irritation, then said, "I would love to call this guild a home."

Smiling broadly, Gorun turned around and shouted, "Hey, Fairy Tail!" When every eye in the bar was on him, and things were relatively quiet, he added, "We got a new reason to celebrate tonight!"

The party lasted long past midnight.

Mataras: Ah, catharsis... Such a beautiful thing.

Saiki: I could care less.

Mataras: Oh right, I forgot. You're a sociopath, you wouldn't get it.

Saiki: That maybe, but at least I know how to explain things in my show so that the viewer doesn't get confused. Unlike what you're doing now.

Mataras: Oh, right! I've invited Kusuo Saiki over for this segment, because I just finished binge-watching his anime, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Great show, 10/10, go watch it on Netflix!

Saiki: First I've heard of an invitation. You just made me appear here.

Mataras: Of course I did. This is a fanfiction, I get to make all the rules.

Saiki: You kidnapped me.

Mataras: That's up for debate.

Saiki: No, it isn't. You'll regret kidnapping a psychic!

Mataras: I have coffee jellies.

Saiki: ...How many?

Mataras: Enough to keep you coming back here for the foreseeable future.

Saiki: It had better be good stuff.

Mataras: Like I told you, I get to make the rules. This'll be the best coffee jelly you've ever had.

Saiki: What if I say no and just go home?

Mataras: Then good luck with Nendo and Kukomi showing up at your house along with all you other friends.

Saiki: ...Just keep the Nendo's of this show away from me.

Mataras: Deal. Now announce the next chapter.

Saiki: That was not part of the deal.

Mataras: Hey, I said I'd keep the Nendo's away. I said nothing about the Kukomi's.

Saiki: Next time on Saiyan Tail- United We Stand.

Mataras: Coming Thanksgiving weekend!

Next time on Saiyan Tail...

"Just say when," the Salamander smirked toothily.

"When," Gorun replied, noticing that the bell was about to sound.

Both of them squared themselves up so that they were lined only a few steps apart. Gorun stretched out his arms to his right, his hands flat like blades. Natsu did the same, only his hands were pointed to his left. "Fu…" they said slowly, in unison as they began to move towards one another side-on, their arms describing a pair of large circles.

"Wha-?" Sting wondered aloud, not understanding what he was seeing.

The pair of comrades were now only two paces away from each other, their fingers almost touching. Then they returned their hands to their original positions so that they faced away from each other while bringing their outer knee up to point towards each other's. Balanced on a single leg each, they growled, "sion…"

"Fusion?" Rogue repeated, just as confused as his comrade. Was this some kind of unison raid they were trying to get ready in time for the bell to sound?

"Ha!" The Fairy Tail pair bellowed, bringing their feet down flat on the sand once again. As they did so, they leaned their upper bodies towards each other, side on until their pointer fingers touched, keeping the rest of their fingers closed tight now.

A blinding light shone from where the pair stood, even as the bell sounded and the match was declared officially begun- just as Gorun had planned. Sting and Rogue recoiled, unsure of what to do- neither one of them had seen anything like this before, and had no idea of what to expect from this strange technique. What were the two fairies up to?