AN: I'M BACK! Sorry, it took me so long guys, relocating took more out of me than I expected. But I'm back, so here we go!
"So...that boy sent our parents away?" Cato asked.
"That's what Capricorn said," Nashi answered as she watched at the boy on the screen. Cato rewound the footage again. The boy was indeed acting strange, pacing back and forth, glancing side to side, wringing his hands, muttering under his breath. Nashi's brow furrowed in confusion. He looked…
...scared.
"What's he saying?" she asked.
"I don't know, I was going to find Benedict and see if he could clear it up," Cato answered.
"So if this boy sent our parents away then he should be able to bring them back," Farrah mused. "All we have to do is find him."
A loud crash came from down the hall and Koree busted into the hall, eyes wide.
"We found out how to get our parents back?" she asked loudly.
"Not yet," Farrah answered. "But we're one step closer. Do we know who this boy is yet?"
"No," Cato answered. "Persephone is trying to hack into some census files to see if she can track him down, but since we don't know his name or how old he is it could take her a while."
"Oh," Koree sighed, disappointed as she joined Nashi in watching the footage playback.
The footage reached the end of the match as all the competing wizards filed back to their dugouts so they could leave the arena with their teammates. The boy with the eyepatch didn't seem to notice, though. He kept up his pacing, now appearing to giggle nervously between mutters. He only stopped when another boy walked up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him away.
Koree gasped loudly.
"Hey, rewind that!" she shouted at Cato.
Cato did as he was told while Farrah bent down to look at the screen again. The four watched out until Koree shouted:
"PAUSE!"
Cato did so.
"Zoom in!"
Cato blew the image up over the second boy's face and Koree gasped again.
"That's Carmen!" Koree shouted.
"Who?" Nashi asked.
"Persephone and I ran into him at the fair. He's on Phoenix Grave's team!"
"And he knows the guy who locked our parents in another dimension…" Farrah muttered.
"I knew those Phoenix punks had something to do with it!"
"Yeah...just one problem," a voice called from one of the rooms.
Nashi, Koree, Cato, and Farrah turned to find Persephone walking out, another screen in her hands. "I've already run a screener on all the Phoenix Grave team members-"
"Wait, how did you-?" Nashi began to ask, but Persephone cut her off.
"Because you four are about as quiet as a Vulcan in a china shop," Persephone dead-panned. "Anywho, there is no one named Carmen in Phoenix Grave. And there isn't anyone who matches that boy's description."
"But they're competing with Phoenix Grave," Farrah answered. "At least Carmen is."
"But he ain't really a member, and neither is that Georgianna girl who went up against Roman earlier today."
"CHEATERS!" Nashi screeched. "THEY CAN'T LET PEOPLE OUTSIDE THEIR GUILD COMPETE!"
"But that's exactly what they're doing," Persephone stated matter-of-factly.
"Hm," Farrah muttered before walking off, leaving the younger children to ponder the recent events.
"Let's go tell someone they're cheating!" Koree insisted.
"No, if we do that then they'll all be sent away and we might not be able to get to that boy with the eyepatch," Cato said.
"So, we're just supposed to let them get away with it?" Nashi asked.
"For tomorrow at least," Persephone answered. "If that boy was there today he'll probably be back tomorrow. We need to try and catch him so we can make him bring our parents back."
The door at the end of the hall creaked open and Storm walked through it. The other four children held their breaths. He'd gone back down to the healing ward earlier to check on Roman.
"How is he?" Cato asked.
"Better, but still pretty sore," Storm answered. "I think he should stay there for another day or so. Just to be safe."
"Probably a good idea," Cato nodded.
Storm frowned as he noticed the screens in Cato and Persephone's hands. "What's going on?"
The other four children had just finished catching Storm up to speed when Farrah returned with Benedict in stride.
"See if you can figure out what this guy is saying," Farrah said as she pointed to the recording of the boy.
Benedict held a hand over the screen.
"Sound Magic, Sound strings."
Hundreds of colorful, vibrating strings appeared out of the screen, causing the other kids to jump back.
"What on-" Nashi began.
"Well, I have to separate his conversations from all the other cluttered noise going on around him," Benedict said as he carefully sifted through the strings floating in a circle around his head.
"Man! Bet you could really hurt someone with those, huh?" Koree asked with a too happy look on her face.
"If I have to," Benedict shrugged as he plucked one string out of the crowd and snapped his fingers.
All the other vibrating lines of noise disappeared. Benedict pinched either end of the string in his finger and said: "Sound Magic Clarify."
A raspy, nervous voice slowly became audible.
"Must please Mother. Must please Mother. Must please Mother."
"Mother?" Koree asked.
"Sh!" Farrah hissed as another voice came into being.
"C' mon, Tate, let's go."
"Carmen! You stopped the fairy!"
"Yeah, whatever."
"Mother will be so pleased!"
"Let's just go, okay."
The conversation ended and the string disappeared.
Nashi grit her teeth and clenched her fists. "So this Carmen kid was the one who hurt Roman, huh?"
"Nashi…" Storm took a step towards her, his voice a soft warning.
"Where is Phoenix Grave staying at!?" Nashi yelled as she began to stomp off, but Storm grabbed her shoulders.
"That's not going to solve anything."
"You kidding me!? He's the one who hurt Roman! We can't let him get away with that!"
"But if we go and attack now they'll know that we're onto them," Storm said. "They'll run away and we may never get our parents back."
Nashi frowned but hung her head in relinquishment. She knew Storm was right. But she didn't like it!
"Tate…" Persephone muttered as she ran another search on her screens. "Nope. No one in Phoneix Grave named Tate."
She pulled the footage of the day's events back up and ran another search.
"Whatcha doing now, sis?" Koree asked.
"I'm running a screener to see if there are any other people hanging with Phoenix Grave who don't belong," Persephone answered. "And...yup. We've got three other kids hanging out who aren't members. That makes six total."
"Could they be the children of current members who haven't earned their guild mark yet?" Benedict asked.
Persephone ran another screener and shook her head. "Nope. They don't match any non-member relatives."
"This doesn't make any sense," Benedict ran a hand over his face. "I mean, if they were S-Class level wizards I could see Phoenix Grave sneaking them in to better their chances. But They're kids just like us!"
"Yeah! Just kids!" Farrah exclaimed sarcastically. "One of which was able to send an entire guild of powerful wizards to another dimension, and another who was able to deal out serious damage without so much as uttering a syllable."
Benedict narrowed his eyes at her before answering: "Point taken. But if they already have six prodigies on their side, why would they need to send our parents away to win the games?"
"What if their goal isn't to win the games?" Cato asked as he stroked his chin.
"What else would it be?" Nashi questioned.
"I don't know. I've just got a feeling that this is all too much for just one trophy. There's got to be something bigger than we're missing."
"And who's their mom?" Koree asked.
"Really? That's your biggest concern!" Persephone snapped.
"Well, that Tate kid kept saying 'must please mother' so she's gotta be involved somehow, whoever she is," Koree replied.
"Good point," Farrah muttered, crossing her arms. She was so confused, and so was everyone else. It just seemed that the more answers they got the more questions they had. She sighed. She still wasn't super optimistic about Ivan being able to help them, but she supposed she'd find out tomorrow.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The applause was deafening as the Fairy Tail children filed into place. All the younger ones shuffled to the box reserved for Fairy Tail. Igneel and Layla were near the back of the line, slowed down because they each had a baby in their arms. Igneel had Kyri perched on his hip while Layla carried a still whimpering Luna in her arms.
"Sh, it's okay Luna," Layla tried to comfort her younger sister.
"Ma-ma," Luna whined.
"Don't worry," Igneel said as he shifted Kyri so he could pat Luna's back. "We'll get Mommy and Daddy back soon. But first, we've gotta watch Nashi kick some butt!"
The four Dragneel children made their way to the railing to get a better view. As Layla propped Luna up on the ledge so she could see she tried to fake a smile for her little sister. Her heart was still heavy though as she ran a finger over Capricorn's key. Her Mommy must trust her to give her one of her spirits. No matter what she was going to prove herself and do what she could to get her parents back.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Benedict pulled his cloak further over his head from where he sat in the stands next to the Fairy Tail dugout. He whispered:
"Sound Magic voice recognition."
So far nothing. Tate hadn't spoken yet if he was even there. Oh, how Benedict hoped he was somewhere in the stands today! But even if he was, it would be pointless to try and track him down blind, hence the voice recognition spell.
The cheers grew louder as the guilds made their way to the dugouts. Benedict glanced over to watch his comrades walkout. Despite the hardships, they'd faced he was proud of how strong they looked. Until he noticed someone who didn't quite fit in…
"NASHI!?"
Nashi jumped, eyes wide in surprise. "BENEDICT!?"
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WITH FARRAH!" they both shouted at the same time.
"What? No I'm not! She said you were going with her yesterday!" Benedict screeched.
"She told me that she changed her mind and was going to take you!" Nashi replied.
Benedict gasped, and then frowned in realization. "You mean to tell me she lied so she could go off alone!?"
"Wow. We just got played," Nashi muttered as the announcements began.
"Welcome one and all to the second day of the 25th Grand Magic Games!" Chapati called.
"If you're just joining us, let me catch you up with where all the guilds stand," Yajima said. "So far Twilight Ogre is in first with 20 points, followed closely by Phoenix Grave with 18. Fan-favorite Fairy Tail is in third with 16. Sabertooth is in fourth with 14. Lamia Scale is trailing by a lot in fifth with 3. Mermaid Heal is in sixth with 2. Quatro Cerberus is in seventh with 1. And Blue Pegasus is in eighth with 0."
Nashi turned her attention back to the games as she stood with Cato, Persephone, Koree, and Bianca.
"Now, give a big, warm, welcome to our guest announcer, Blue Pegasus' guild master, Bob!" Chapati cheered.
"Hello, all my darlings!" Bob called.
"Now, let's get onto today's games!"
The cheers grew deafening as a lacrima projected a screen into the middle of the arena and Mato walked out.
"Are we ready Pumpkins?" he asked, to which all the wizards grinned widely. "You all better get warmed up because today's game is called 'Snow Globe!'"
"Snow Globe?" Cato repeated.
"Dang it! Where's Storm when you need him!" Persephone exclaimed. "This sounds like it's right up his alley!"
"Well, someone's gotta look after Roman!" Bianca insisted. "And since Storm's the healer that someone is him, so deal with it!"
"Okay, yeesh, no need to get snippy," Persephone rolled her eyes.
"As perfect as Storm would be we'll just have to pick someone else," Cato sighed.
"Oh, can I go!" Koree asked as she began jumping up and down. "I wanna go! Oh, please! Oh, please! Let me do it!"
"Hold on now, I've still got a bone to pick with that Carmen kid," Nashi said. "And if he's going to compete I wanna-"
"And for Phoenix Grave, the candidate is Tierra Novella!" Chapati announced.
"Okay, nevermind, you can go," Nashi shrugged.
"Yippee!" Koree cheered as she raced off.
"Wait, we didn't agree-" Cato tried to call after her.
"Too late, she's gone," Persephone sighed just as Bob announced:
"And looks like little miss Koree Redfox is going to compete for Fairy Tail."
"Well, I guess things could be worse," Cato shrugged.
"They are," Bianca said.
"What do you mean?" Cato nervously asked.
"Nashi just left to go hunt Carmen down," Bianca answered.
"WHAT!?" Cato turned to see that Nashi was, indeed, gone.
"And you didn't even try to stop her, eh?" Persephone narrowed her eyes at Bianca.
"Me? Stop an angry Nashi? Ha-ha! You're funny!" Bianca snapped back.
As the rest of the guilds lent up their candidates, Benedict Sound Recognition spell suddenly began to vibrate. Benedict held the magic circle out in his palm. The pointed end of the music note spun about until it pointed in a particular direction. He stood up from his seat and began to follow it's lead.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Koree danced excitedly in place as she looked about her.
"Look at all the magical booty I get to kick!" She cheered.
"Don't get too cocky," a familiar voice called from behind her. "Remember, you've got to go up against me."
"Don't expect me to go easy on you, Aunt Kagura!" Koree grinned evilly.
Kagura only smiled down at the young girl. "I wouldn't expect or want you to."
Koree danced in place until her eyes fell on Tierra Novella of Phoenix Grave. Tierra was one of the unrecognized children they'd uncovered last night. Well, more like a teenager than a child. She had dark skin, forest green hair, and eyes to match. She smirked in Koree's direction as she popped her knuckles. Koree wasn't intimidated by the action at all, but she was confused by Tierra's smell. There was something faintly familiar about it, but Koree was sure she'd never met her before.
"So here's how to game works, Pumpkins," Mato explained as a giant magic dome appeared in the center of the arena. "Here is your snowglobe!"
Just as the name suggested a snowstorm flourished inside the dome.
"As you can see there's quite a blizzard going on inside, but what you can't see yet are the relics that will randomly appear inside! Your goal is to collect as many relics as possible while battling against your opponents. If you get knocked off your feet you'll be frozen in place for twenty seconds, even if you just tripped over your own feet rather than an opponent! And to spice things up, ever so often the snow globe will spin and shake like a real snow globe."
"Motion!?" Koree squeaked. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…"
"Are you ready?" Mato asked as eight portals leading into the snow globe appeared.
"Well, here goes nothing," Koree grumbled as she walked to her portal.
"Three, two, one, BEGIN!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Nashi pumped her legs as quickly as she could, heading to Phoenix Grave's section of the arena. Carmen had to be hanging out there, and it was time she had a chat with him.
She rounded a corner and was surprised to find the very boy she was looking for slipping out of the Phoenix Grave dugout and heading down the opposite direction of the hall. She gritted her teeth and followed after him.
To her surprise, he suddenly stopped. He let out a small gasp and ran to one of the windows to peek his head out. What was he looking at?
"Thea's Sight," Nashi whispered, a crimson ring appearing around her eye, allowing her to see through Carmen's sight.
He was looking right at the Fairy Tail box.
Right at Layla, Igneel, Kyri, and Luna.
"Oh, no you don't!" Nashi hissed as she charged towards him. "Iapetus sword!"
A firey black sword appeared in her hand which she used to slash against his back. Carmen gasped from pain and shock and fell to his knees from the impact. He quickly recovered, though, rolling back onto his feet and turning to face her. His eyes were wide with surprise at first, but they quickly narrowed when he saw her.
"Oh, well look what the cat dragged in…"