'Alright folks, now that the contestants have been announced, let's have a look at the points table shall we?' said the announcer, soon after which a large hologram with the team's names along with their points was displayed.
'Team Sabertooth stands at first place, bagging 10 points, followed by Team Fairy Tail B at second place with 8 points, followed by Raventail with 6 points. Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus bag 4 and 2 points respectively. Team Quatro Cerberus at 7th place with 1 point while Team Fairy Tail A is left at 8th place with 0 points!' he said as everyone had their eyes over the giant screen.
'So what if we're last, we still have a long way to go from here!' exclaimed Natsu in a bold tone.
'You're right, we might be looked over right now, but we'll show them what we got' replied Erza.
'I knew it was a good idea to send in another team' said Master Makarov as he compared Team A with Team B.
'Our plan worked alright, but I still don't understand, what's Raventail doing here?' asked Mira.
'Ivan's treachery knows no bounds, We have to keep an eye on him at all costs' replied Master Makarov, soon after which he looked at Master Mavis, who was staring down at someone.
'Is something bothering you Master Mavis?' asked Mira curiously.
'It's nothing, I was looking at how good our team is' she replied with a smile.
'Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, it's time for the first event of the Grand Magic games' exclaimed the announcer with a tone of excitement. Seconds later, a giant screen popped up in mid air, with the word
'Hidden' written on it.
'Hidden?' mumbled Cole as he looked at it carefully.
'It's supposed to be a phrase that gives us a clue to what the game will be about, from here on we must send in one of our team to represent us, after which the rules of the game will be revealed' replied Ursa.
'I totally got this' said Gray as he stepped in for his team.
'Gray Fullbuster from Team Fairy Tail A' said the announcer.
'If Gray is going to be a part of this, then so am I' exclaimed Juvia.
'Woah woah, hold on, no need to get excited over your love interest' replied Cole as he began to think.
'The game says hidden, so we probably have to pick someone who's good in hiding and stealth' replied Cole.
'Meh, I don't do that kind of stuff, I'd let Juvia go in' replied Gajeel.
'Yeah, not unless you'd wanna go in' interrupted Laxus.
'I wasn't the fastest one around, not till I got that frost dash from the blast core I got, it'd be pretty handy, but, since they're confident, I think Juvia should go in'
'Alright, you're up Juvia' said Cole as he patted her shoulder.
'You can count on me' she replied soon after which her name was announced.
'This looks like a job for me' said Eve.
'Don't get caught up' replied Hibiki.
'Go! Eve! And don't let us down!' said Ichiya, soon after which the announcer said his name.
'Lyon Vastia from Team Lamia Scale and Beth Vanderwood from Mermaid Heel!' said the announcer as he denounced the participants from their respective guilds. 'It looks like I'll be the one for this kind of event' said Rufus as he stepped out from his team.
'Well then, what do you think Reaper?' asked Sting curiously.
'There's no point in thinking about it, there won't be any competition as always' replied Rogue.
'I just wanted to know if he wanted to be the first to have some fun' added Rufus with a smile.
'Nah, go ahead, I'll see what you can do' replied Reaper as he patter his shoulder.
'Rufus will be representing Team Sabertooth, while Nullpudding will represent Team Raventail, along with Jager representing Team Quatro Cerberus!' said the announcer as the final contestants were named for the event. The other team members stepped out to the pavilion, while the contestants waited in the main arena.
As the contestants waited, a city was formed right in front of them out of nowhere, soon after which clones of the contestants crowded the entire city.
'Woah, it's as if they're real'
Cole kept looking carefully as the entire city got filled with clones of the contestants. 'The rules of Hidden are simple, you need to strike the real one out of those fakes, once you're successful, you receive one point, while the person you struck loses a point. The contestant with the most points after 30 minutes will be declared the winner! However, after a contestant is attack, 10 seconds prior to it, the contestant will be re spawned in another location' said Mato as he denounced the rules of the game.
'Alright, so it's a lot more than just staying hidden, if you don't attack you'll lose a chance of scoring points, I can sense the energy of people around me, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to tell the difference between a clone and a real person, these clones are made out of energy though. I don't know how Juvia's gonna play through this' mumbled Cole as he looked carefully.
'You sure talk to yourself a lot' said Gajeel as he looked at him.
'Yeah.. This competition's getting me pumped up' replied Cole as he looked at Reaper, who was folding his arms and watching along with the rest of his guild members.
'You're thinking about him too huh?' said Laxus as he came near him.
'Can't say I'm not, I thought I ended him for good, and here he is, standing right there, with those Sabertooth guys' replied Cole as he kept looking at him.
'I remember fighting that guy before, sure gave me a tough fight' replied Laxus.
'I still don't understand, what does he have to do with Sabertooth? Do they even know who they're dealing with?' said Cole as he looked away.
'You sound like you know that guy a lot more personally' said Laxus, who was a bit surprised.
'It's a long story, but I'll tell you this, he's a shadow of my past' said Cole as he sat down and looked at the screens, through which the games were visible to everyone.
The games had begun, Gray and Juvia walked carefully across the streets as the clones were still and didn't move.
'Oh my, there are so many Grays over here, surely I can get my hands over one!' exclaimed Juvia as she looked around and then unexpectedly hugged a clone of Gray.
'Uh oh..' she said, as she was warped away to a respawn point.
'That's a -1 for Team Fairy Tail B' said the announcer.
'Great..' said Gajeel as he looked a bit disappointed. Cole couldn't resist but gave a grin as he looked at her reaction as she was warped away.
'Come on Juvia, stay focused'
Meanwhile, Gray runs into Raven Tail Mage Nullpudding and attacks him with Ice-Make: Ice Hammer. However, the Nullpudding he attacked is actually a clone being used as a decoy by the real one hiding behind it, resulting in Gray losing a point and being transported into another part of the city.
'So the guy just used his clone as a decoy, that's pretty clever'
'Oh my, Gray fell for that didn't he' said Master Mavis as she looked disappointed.
'Uh, no need to lose hope, I'm sure he'll be more alert' replied Master Makarov as he felt a bit embarrassed.
'So the clones can be used as a decoy, great' mumbled Gray, soon after which all the other participants also reach this conclusion and they all begin to blend into the crowd, confusing the people watching this event. While looking for some participants, Gray hears someone calling his name, distracting him and leaving him open to be attacked by the real Nullpudding, giving Team Fairy Tail A a score of -2 and Team Raven Tail a score of +1.
'What the hell is going on? Is that guy taking things too personally?' said Cole as he looked at Gray getting attacked by Nullpudding repeatedly.
'These Fairy Tail losers never stood a chance, right sting?' said Lector, Sting's partner and an exceed.
'Yeah, you can say that again, those guys are getting pulverized, but I wonder why Rufus hasn't even moved yet' replied Sting as he looked at Rufus, who was on top of a cathedral with his eyes closed.
'Hmph, that guy definitely has something against Gray, the way he's targeting him is pretty evident' thought Reaper as he looked at Gray carefully. 'I say we have this competition in the bag' added Lector, soon after which Frosch, Rogue's partner and Exceed began cheering for Rufus.
'Well, you've been quiet Reaper, what are you thinking about?' asked Sting as he looked at him curiously.
'It's nothing, just was thinking about what the old man's gonna say about Rufus keeping him waiting' replied Reaper.
'You mean our Guildmaster? And yeah, you're right, I wouldn't want to be him if I fail this one' replied Sting.
'I honestly don't think he's standing there for no reason, he certainly does have a plan in his mind' interrupted Rogue.
'You worry too much about that guild master, I'd say you two to lighten up, and be a little more carefree' replied Reaper.
'What exactly do you mean? Asked Rogue curiously.
'All I'm saying is for you two to lighten up, it's just a stupid game' replied Reaper.
'We never take things from our Master lightly, for us, it's an order to win this games' interrupted Yukino. Reaper just nodded his head, and then looked at the points table, where he noticed Fairy Tail's both teams at the bottom of the table.
'What's happening? We're running out of time! Gray come on!' yelled out Mira, soon after which the entire guild started cheering. While everyone else had raked up their points, Fairy Tail was lagging behind by a big margin.
'Damn it, that Raventail guy just keeps coming, it's like he's after me or something' though Gray as he looked around.
'This is all too easy, it's time I eliminate the competition' mumbled Rufus as he was on top of a cathedral.
' Memory-Make: A Night of Falling Stars!' he exclaimed as he sent out beams of light aimed at the competitors scattered across the battleground, striking each and every single one of them, Nullpudding however dodged the attack and attempted to attack Rufus, but his attacks went through what was Rufus's memory of his body. Everyone expresses amazement at his magical skill. 'Woah! Can you believe it, such great skilled combined with finesse, it's no surprise why they've been number one throughout the years, that's Sabertooth for you everyone!' exclaimed the announcer, right after which Rufus's points skyrocketed and was placed at the top of the table.
The time was up, Fairy Tail was positioned at both second last and last positions of the table.
'I can't believe it, how did we lose that one?' said Cole as he looked around and then saw Raventail's guild master grinning.
'Something tells me there's a lot more going on than what's happening here' added Cole. Laxus just looked at his father and gave a nod.
'Ivan, you'll pay for whatever you're plotting' mumbled Master Makarov.
'See I told you, we had this one in the bag' said Lector as he watched Rufus raise his arms and hear the crowd cheer for him.
'I told you there won't be any competition, we might as well just hold back and let Rufus do everything for us' replied Rogue.
'I wouldn't be so sure though' interrupted Reaper. Everyone turned their attention towards him, soon after which he looked at Sting in the eye.
'The contest has just begun, there will be a lot of surprises, so you'd better watch your back' he added.
'I don't know who you're counting as favorites, but okay, I though for a moment Fairy Tail will give us a tough fight but that was just pathetic' replied Sting as he folded his arms.
'Oh well, if you're gonna stand at that height, don't fall down face first' replied Reaper as he looked at Cole and walked towards the chair and sat.
'Honestly Reaper, you need to lay back and relax, didn't you see Rufus out there? He took down those guys without breaking a sweat, and he's not half as powerful as Sting and Rogue, so I don't see where the competition is' interrupted Lector.
'Yeah, maybe you're right' replied Reaper with a tone of sarcasm as he looked at Cole once again. Rufus joined in the team, soon after which he was congratulated for his performance.
'Well Reaper, if that was the competition you kept reminding us about, I'd say it's just a waste of time' said Rufus with a smile.
'Yeah yeah bunny boy, now go and do your victory dance somewhere else' replied Reaper as he moved Rufus, who was standing right in front of him.
Cole watched as Gray stood motionless, and soon after which he shook his head and walked away, soon after which he turned his attention to Juvia, who had joined in right after coming back from the game.
'It's alright Juvia, we'll be sure to turn things around' said Cole in a bold tone as he saw her being upset.
'I'm sorry I let you all down, it's just, I don't know, strange, I felt I was being targeted over and over again' she replied in a tone of disappointment.
'You need to get some rest, don't worry too much about it and everything will be fine' added Ursa as she kept her hand on her shoulder.
'Now then, it's time for the battle rounds! The winner of these rounds will take 10 points, while the loser will be left with nothing, however, in the case of a tie, points will be shared between the two times. The battles however, will be chosen based on fan favorites, and the contestants can be called anytime, no matter how their condition is from the previous games! So let's get things on a roll shall we? The first match up for today's game is... Ursa Devitt from Team Fairy Tail B vs Flare Corona from Team Raventail!' said Mato, which followed a loud cheer from the crowd
'Huh? I.. I gotta fight first?' she mumbled as she felt a bit nervous.
'It's alright, I believe in you, now let's see what you've got' replied Cole, soon after which she got pumped up and was about to leave.
'So, Ursa is about to fight huh?' mumbled Natsu as he looked at her walk towards the arena.
'I haven't seen her use her skills for combat, now might be the chance for her to show what she can do' added Erza.
'Be careful Ursa, I don't know what Ivan has planned, but be on your guard at all times' mumbled Master Makarov.
'Ursa..' mumbled Yukino as she looked at her carefully.
'Alright Kid, it's been a while since I saw you fight, beat the crap out of her' thought Reaper as he looked at her and gave her a smile.
'Ursa, we're counting on you!'