Hours before the major announcement, Fairy Tail's Team A was wandering around the entire city, while Team B had agreed not to reveal themselves to anyone till the main event. Cole, along with his team members had been patiently waiting at their room. As Cole kept staring at the clock, he felt a bit impatient about having to wait for so long, while the others did nothing but sit still.
'So, have you guys been a part of the tournament before?' asked Cole, in an attempt to break the silence.
'A couple of times, but it's been really disappointing, because we always ended up last' replied Ursa.
'Oh, but, that does mean there are going to be strong and powerful wizards over there' replied Cole.
'Yeah, and the guild Sabertooth, always turns out to be the champion each year' she added.
'What's so special about them anyways?' asked Laxus as he interrupted.
'They have been a force to be reckoned with, the twin dragons in their team' she added.
'Twin dragons? You mean dragon slayers, right?' asked Gajeel.
'Yeah, and not only them, they have been a strong 5 man team throughout the years, however, rumors about a powerful wizard joining the guild a year ago had been spreading like wildfire' she further added.
'A powerful wizard huh, this time however, it's going to be different' replied Cole, who felt a bit confident over himself.
'Let's just get over with the preliminary round first, speaking of which, just five minutes are left' said Laxus as he looked at the clock.
'Alright, we better get ready' said Juvia as she stood at the balcony. The others stood beside her, and waited patiently, till the last minute.
*Alright, there's gonna be a big announcement now, I don't know what's gonna happen, but I believe it has something to do with the preliminary rounds. Judging by the looks of these guys, I know it's gonna be a piece of cake!*
As the clock struck 12, the bells of Crocus's clock tower began ringing, signaling the time for the all important announcement. Suddenly, a large labyrinth is made out of nowhere in the sky.
*What the hell? Is that a giant maze? And how on Earth is that thing even floating?*
'Don't be fooled by it's size' said Laxus as he carefully looked at it, while Juvia and Ursa kept looking around and saw members of other guilds standing out. A passage was made between each balconies to the labyrinth, soon after which a hologram of a giant pumpkin head appeared out of nowhere.
'Hello everyone! As you all know, I am the face of this year's Grand Magic Games! Mato!' he yelled out as he raised his arms in the end. Cole then noticed other guild members using the pathway, advancing towards the labyrinth.
'Hey, no time to waste, let's get going!' he yelled out soon after which Laxus and Juvia nodded, while Gajeel and Ursa followed, with Cole leading them from the front.
'The rules are pretty simple, the first 8 teams to reach the entrance of the arena will be selected. But! All 5 members should be present at the same time, or else the teams will be disqualified!' said Mato, after which Cole looked a bit stressed.
*All five members, better make sure we stick together no matter what happens*.
'Also, team can use whatever means necessary to get themselves into this round, and by that I mean, Death won't end the competition' added Mato, stressing his last point, soon after which his hologram disappeared. After he finished his statement, a barrage of fireballs targeted at the team appeared out of nowhere. The team kept dodging the attacks, till the were near the labyrinth.
'Watch out!' yelled Cole as he used his frost shield and jumped towards Gajeel to protect him, after which he fell off the path.
'I got you!' yelled Juvia as she used her water catch and hold onto Cole's legs. Cole started to feel a burning sensation as she held onto him. She tossed him up quickly and Cole used his static thrusters to land back at the path.
'We almost lost you there, don't do that again!' yelled out Laxus.
'Don't worry, I was gonna use my lightning tether to get up, but I guess that worked well too, thank's Juvia' replied Cole.
'Well, thanks anyways' said Gajeel, soon after which they kept running till they reached the labyrinth.
*It's a giant puzzle, damn, no wonder why this contest is a big deal* Cole kept looking around, while Laxus and Juvia kept an eye out for other members.
'So where do you think we should go?' asked Cole as he looked at different paths around the giant maze.
'I don't know, you're supposed to be the smart guy over here' replied Gajeel. Cole looked around, soon after which Ursa interrupted.
'The announcer mentioned about reaching the arena, it was barely visible with this sky labyrinth, so maybe we should head towards the direction where it was.' she said, soon after which Gajeel interrupted her.
'But where the heck is it? I didn't even pay attention to where it was before the whole maze showed up' he replied.
'Maybe I know where it is' said Cole as he kept his hand on the ground and closed his eyes.
'And what might that be?' asked Laxus curiously.
'This whole thing is just temporary, I mean, it's made through magic, so energy is flowing through all this' he said as he stood up.
'How's that gonna help us find the way to the arena?' asked Gajeel after he felt a bit impatient.
'This whole maze is just a big distraction, there's no way through those twists and turns, it had been designed for people to get lost' Cole added as he carefully looked at two paths from where he stood.
'So you're saying this whole Maze is just a distraction' asked Juvia.
'Yeah, and I have a feeling we're not the first ones to know about it' said Cole as he noticed a bunch of people sneaking behind him. He quickly turned around and swung his amp right at the intruder, soon after which Laxus and Juvia were alerted. As the team were fighting off the other guilds, the labyrinth started shaking vigorously.
'Everyone! Hold on to something!' yelled Cole As he used his lightning tether to hatch himself onto a nearby wall. He watched as other contestants fell of the giant maze.
*Damn! That shuts off most of the competition, we're still not done though*.
Cole watched as Gajeel was about to fall off, Juvia attempted to rescue him, however she was unable to catch him.
'Gajeel!' yelled Cole, soon after which Ursa caugh Gajeel with chains made out of lightning.
'I can't... Hold on.. Much longer!' said Ursa as she held on tight, soon after which Laxus held her and pulled the chains, rescuing Gajeel.
'Huh, second time I'm rescued today' said Gajeel with a tone of disappointment.
'Try to keep up' replied Laxus, soon after which he turned his attention to Cole, who was still looking around for a way.
'So tough guy, found a way yet?' asked Laxus as he approached him.
'Still figuring out a bit of things' replied Cole as he sat down and placed his palm on the ground for a while.
'What is he doing?' asked Juvia as she looked at him.
'He's figuring out what would happen if we choose one of these paths, transmitting electricity through them, if he feels a feedback from one of the paths, that means we're gonna go in circles if we go through that one, think of it as a loop' replied Laxus.
'Oh, shouldn't this take time?' asked Gajeel. 'How fast do you think lightning travels?' asked Laxus, soon after which Cole stood up.
'I got it, just need to follow this path, I'm receiving nothing from the other side' replied Cole as he walked.
'You heard the man, let's go' yelled Laxus soon after which the team started sprinting. As they kept following the path which Cole had deciphered in his mind, they were drawn into the inner layer of the Sky Labyrinth.
'Woah, it's like a whole different place here' said Ursa as she looked around and were inside a room which, surprisingly, looked as if the five were in the middle of the ocean.
'What the hell? An ocean inside this thing?' said Cole as he bent down and touched the water.
'This is some weird magic' replied Gajeel, soon after which Ursa pointed at a door not too far from where they stood.
'There, that must be the way to the arena' she said, soon after which Gajeel interrupted.
'How the hell are we supposed to even reach that, with all this water?' he said. Cole grinned and slammed his fist onto the ground, creating a large path of ice for them to tread on. 'Nice work' replied Laxus as he stepped on the ice to make sure it's hard enough. 'After you..' said Cole, allowing others to go before him.
'I could have made a bubble for us to float on, but this can work too' said Juvia as she left, to which Cole grinned and followed.
'Alright, the ice is good enough, let's keep going!' exclaimed Laxus, soon after which the others continued sprinting. As they reached the end of the path made by Cole, the door to the arena was right in front of them.
'Great show everybody!' yelled out Maco as he appeared in front of them.
'It's that pumpkin head again!' said Cole as he kept his hand on his mask.
'No touching!' yelled Mato as he slapped Cole's hand and looked at him with anger.
'Was just checking if you were really a pumpkin or not, I've been seeing strange things, so' said Cole as he scratched his head.
'Nevermind the rude intrusion by your team mate here, but congratulations! You've made it to the main event!' exclaimed Mato, soon after which he threw a couple of ribbons and glitter at the team. 'So, are we the first ones here?' asked Cole curiously.
'Well, it's a surprise Fairy Tail made it this far, and as for the answer of your question, the answer is no! You'll know the complete roster of the tournament during it's inauguration tomorrow!' replied Mato.
'So you're saying we're second?' asked Laxus as he folded his arms.
'Yep, that's right!' replied Mato, soon after which the team stepped into the door. The team was directed to their rooms, before the main event.
'Damn it, all that hard work and we end up being second' said Gajeel as he sat on a chair.
'Look on the bright side, we're into the main rounds aren't we?' replied Juvia as she removed her cap and lied on her bed.
'Something's definitely not right' added Cole with a tone of concern.
'What do you mean?' asked Ursa as she sat down.
'I don't know, maybe it's the labyrinth that messed up my head' he replied.
'You better rest, it's a big day tomorrow, did a pretty good job out there' said Laxus as he kept his hand on Cole's shoulder.
'All of us did a pretty good job' replied Cole, putting a smile on everyone's faces.
'So, who do you think came first? Our other team?' asked Cole curiously. Laxus looked at him and couldn't help but laugh on his remark. Gajeel gave a smile, while Ursa and Juvia didn't respond much.
'I know Erza's smart but not that smart' said Laxus as he sat down on his bed.
'Don't underestimate Gray' replied Juvia with a bold tone.
'With flame breath, they probably would have fallen off or something' replied Gajeel soon after which he started laughing.
'I probably think it's Sabertooth, who else could it be?' interrupted Ursa.
'Probably..' replied Cole soon after which he walked towards his bed.
'Alright, they might have beaten us in this round, but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way, it's time we show what we can do' said Cole, to which, others gave a nod.
While the other members fell asleep, Cole had thoughts pouring into his mind which kept him awake.
*While I was scanning for a path, I felt something which interrupted my transmission, I'm not so sure if it was because of the Labyrinth or something, maybe it was Natsu and the others, gah, I'll never know*.
Cole gets up from his bed and see's the window of his room.
'The city, it's pretty beautiful' mumbled Cole as he kept staring at it.
'Something keeping you awake?' asked Ursa, who stood behind him, surprising Cole for a moment.
'Ahh.. No, I just wanted to have a look of the view' replied Cole.
'I know, it's beautiful isn't it?' said Ursa with a smile. Cole just looked outside where all the decorations for the festival illuminated the entire town.
'Yeah..' replied Cole, soon after which he looked at Ursa.
'Hey, so when did you practice using lightning magic?' asked Cole.
'It's a long story..' she replied, soon after which she lied on her bed.
'Alright, see you tomorrow' she added with a smile as she closed her eyes and covered herself with a blanket.
'Sure thing' replied Cole as went and lied on his bed.
'Well what do you know, only 3 hours till the main event, better get a quick nap' mumbled Cole as he closed his eyes.
Outside the stadium, the Labyrinth had disappeared and the final eight contestants had been selected for the main event. Announcements were being made on the timing of the inauguration ceremony.
'So, do you think they made it?' asked Mira as she was with Master Makarov and Lissana, along with Happy, Karla and Lily.
'I have full faith on them, if we're lucky, both of our teams would have crossed the line' replied Master Makarov.
'Both teams?' questioned both Karla and Happy.
'You two better keep your mouth shut about this till the inauguration!' said Master Makarov in a loud tone.
'Lily, make sure they don't tell the others about this' ordered Mira. 'Will do' said Lily, soon after which he looked at Karla and Happy.
'Master Mavis, I know your wisdom has no bounds, and I hope your champion exceeds all expectations we have from him' though Master Makarov as an image of Cole with Fairy Tail's emblem popped up in his head.