As the battle between Ren and Aranna had begun, everyone watched as the two exchanged blows. The crowd had been cheering for Ren throughout the match, owing to his large fanbase.
'This match really is boring' said Sting as he sat down near Reaper.
'Well what did you expect, they're not nearly half as strong as our guild is' added Lector. Reaper kept looking at the screen, and then turned his head to see Lector talking to Sting, he felt a bit uneasy, soon after which he turned around to see Frosh standing near Rogue.
'Hey Frosh, mind sitting next to me for a while?' asked Reaper curiously.
'Well alright Reaper, what's wrong?' asked Frosh as he approached him. Reaper turned his head to see Rogue staring at him.
'Alright (Reaper gathered energy around his right arm).
'Woah..' exclaimed Frosh as he kept staring at it.
'Now then, I want you to keep your paw underneath it' said Reaper as the lightning began to converge itself into a sphere.
'Wow!' exclaimed Frosh as the sphere levitated above his paw. Rogue grunted over what he saw. He was about to interrupt, seconds before he saw Frosh playing with the electric sphere. Rogue hesitated at first, then grabbed the sphere off of Frosh's paws.
'That's too dangerous Frosh' interrupted Rogue right after which he clamped his fist, destroying the sphere.
'Come on, I know what I'm doing' replied Reaper as he stood up and looked at Rogue.
'I already told you before Reaper, do not provoke me, or it'll be your last' replied Rogue as he held Frosh.
'Killjoy..' mumbled Reaper as he turned around and sat on his seat.
'What's up with those two?' asked Lector.
'I don't know, Rogue is just too overprotective about Frosh, he wouldn't let anyone get near him' replied Sting.
'I'm afraid it's a lot more than that' interrupted Yukino. Sting and Lector turned their attention towards her, right after which she added.
'Rogue knows something about Reaper that we don't, I still remember the first day Reaper entered the guild hall with Menerva, while most of us didn't give a response, I noticed how Rogue was hesitating to greet him. It's obvious he knew him before'. Sting turned around to see Reaper looking at the screen, and just nodded.
'The winner is Ren Akatsuki from Team Blue Pegasus!' said the announcer, after which the crowd cheered loudly.
'Not too shabby huh?' said Hibiki as he adjusted his hair.
'Indeed, you never underestimate the trimens! Mannn!' said Ichiya, after which him along with the other 3 began posing.
'That's a win for the prettyboys' said Gajeel.
'Well then, I guess they'll show us the scoreboard now huh' added Laxus.
'That is gonna be it for the first day of the Grand Magic Games, let us see where the competitors stand out.' said the announcer, right after which a giant screen popped out, showing the points table after the events of Day 1'. Team Sabertooth was first with 20 points, followed by Raventail being second with 18 points. Team Blue Pegasus was placed third with 14 points, and to everyone's surprise, Team Fairy Tail A was 4th with 10 points, owing to Cole's victory over Jura. Team Lamia Scale and Team Mermaid Heel were placed 5th and 6th respectively with 6 and 3 points each. Team Quatro Cerberus were placed 7th with 2 points, while at the bottom were Team Fairy Tail B, with one point.
'Well well, I guess we managed to score one at least, damn' mumbled Gajeel in a low tone. Ursa stared at the ground for a while, but Cole wasn't upset over what had happened. 'look on the bright side, our other team is 4th' said Cole in an attempt to cheer them up.
'Yeah, thanks to you' replied Laxus.
'There's something about this team thing that makes me wonder, they're actually not celebrating our second team's win, who knows, maybe it's some sort of prize or something, but it doesn't matter, not as long as Fairy Tail is winning'
'So Fairy Tail is 4th, not a bad start don't you think?' asked Mira.
'Not a bad one indeed, but wait until tomorrow, Fairy Tail will be shooting themselves at the top spot within no time!' exclaimed Romeo.
'Let's all hope that happens, in the meanwhile, Master Mavis, care to join us at the tavern tonight? We'll be discussing over what all needs to be done tomorrow' asked Master Makarov.
'Alright, I'll be there, see you later' she replied with a smile, after which she began to walk away. The crowd began to leave, followed by the guild members.
'Let's get going Reaper' said Sting as he and his guild members were about to leave. Reaper was still standing and staring at something, soon after which a poke on his back caught his attention.
'Huh.. Yeah.. I'll be there in a while' replied Reaper as he kept staring.
'Alright, but don't be too late, you wouldn't wanna keep the guild master waiting' replied Lector.
'Don't worry about it' said Reaper as they left. A few minutes later, Reaper gave a grin and left the pavilion.
The sun was about to set, the streets of the city began to lighten up for the night to come.
'Hey look, it's those guys from Raventail!' said one of the civilians as he watched the guild members walk through the streets.
'Wow they're so cool!' added another bystander.
'Hey! I would love to get your autograph' said a man as he approached Flare. Flare was surprised for a while, soon after which Alexei interrupted by saying they were in a hurry. Seconds before the sun had set, the Raventail guild members had entered their Tavern where they were supposed to rest throughout the tournament.
'Hey, I would like to have a drink! Make it quick!' yelled out Alexei as he stepped in and walked towards the bar. Suddenly, a red lightning bolt had struck his mask, knocking him against the wall.
'Intruder!' yelled out Kurohebi as him, along with the other members stood in front of Alexei.
'Who dares invade us?' yelled out Alexei, soon after which a Man in a black hood, wearing a mask covering his face, but revealing his eyes, stepped out.
'They call me Crimson' replied the man as he charged his hands with bright red lightning. Flare got a bit hasty and attempted to attack him with her hair, but Crimson caught hold of it.
'Bad idea!' she yelled as she ignited her hair, but Crimson didn't let go, instead he held onto it and released a jolt of electricity, zapping Flare and knocking her unconscious. Before the other members could attack, Alexei had stopped them before they made their move.
'What do you want Crimson? Or you want me to let the security know a madman has entered our Tavern' he asked curiously.
'I want answers, and you better be ready to speak up, or there won't be a Raventail left to participate tomorrow' replied Crimson as he charged his fist.
'First things first, I saw your buddy over here use his powers to cancel out Ursa's attack earlier today, and not only that, your members have been specifically targeting Fairy Tail throughout the whole event, I don't know what history you have with them, I couldn't care less' said Crimson as he walked around.
'If you don't care, then what is this all about?' asked Alexei. Crimson turned his attention towards him and grabbed his collar in anger.
'You wanna know what's this about? I'll show you what it feels like when you shatter someone's dreams' replied Crimson as he punched Alexei's face, breaking his mask and knocking him straight towards the wall.
'Alright! That's it, it's time we teach you some manners!' yelled out Kurohebi as he was about to attack, only to be stopped by Alexei, hiding his face with one hand and raising his other hand.
'No! Don't fight!' he yelled out, soon after which he wore another mask.
'I don't know what you might be talking about, but please, we will not cheat in the event ever again, and that's a promise' he said as he stood up. Crimson didn't reply, he only stepped forward and delivered a powerful punch to Obra, instantly knocking him out cold.
'That's for the little girl, punk!' said Crimson soon after which he began to walk away.
'Oh, and one more move like that, I'll tell the world who you really are Alexei, or should I say, Ivan' he added as he opened the door and left.
Crimson stepped out and immediately climbed on top of a building, he removed his mask and revealed himself as Reaper. Reaper looked around and kept the robe along with the mask inside his sling bag, similar to the one Cole owned and took a deep breath.
'Alright, better head back to the tavern' he mumbled as he jumped across the roofs as twilight faded. Meanwhile, at the Sabertooth Tavern, the guild master, Jiemma was sitting on his throne like chair and addressing the other guild members, who were standing and listening to what he said.
'Our performance during the first day is good but I expected better from you five, this contest is not about winning, it's about showing the world what we can do, we're ruthless when we fight and today I failed to see a display of ruthlessness from you' he said, right after which the 4 members stood in attention. Jiemma stood up and walked towards them. He grunted as he looked away.
'Where is Reaper?' he yelled at the top of his voice.
'Master, he said he'll be here in an hour, but he hasn't returned yet' said Frosh, right after which Jiemma turned his attention towards him.
'Oh? Did I ask you?' asked Jiemma as he stared at him.
'Uhh..' responded Frosh as he began to shiver, Rogue caught him and held him, right after which Jiemma extended his hand, ordering Rogue to hand him over. Rogue hesitated, but handed over Frosh. Jiemma held him, soon after which he tossed him up, slamming him on the roof , right after which he caught him.
'What did you say? Reaper will be back in an hour? I'll have fun with you till then' he said as he kept tossing him against the wall again and again. Rogue attempted to stop him but Sting caught hold of him and covered his mouth before he could say anything. Suddenly, the door knob opened and Reaper had entered the hall.
'Reaper.. You're here..' mumbled Frosh as he was bruised and couldn't move.
'Frosh? What the hell?' said Reaper as he was shocked over seeing him hurt.
'So you're finally here' said Jiemma as he tossed Frosh away, slamming him against the wall. Rogue ran to pick him up and held him close, shivering as he watched Jiemma walk towards Reaper.
'You..' said Reaper as he looked at him.
'Reaper, how dare you disrespect me by missing the team meeting?' asked Jiemma as he stood right in front of hime.
'What about it? All you guys ever bloat about is being strong and not showing any signs of weaknesses, where's the TEAM in that?' answered Reaper, surprising everyone as he back answered.
'So you're saying your knowledge is superior than mine?' said Jiemma.
'Even old men like you should be open to learning new things' he replied, soon after which he got punched, knocking him hard against the back wall.
'Maybe you'll keep that in mind before disrespecting me ever again' said Jiemma soon after which he turned around.
Reaper stood up in anger, charging his body ferociously, he then looked at Frosh, who was shaking his head, signaling him not to fight. Reaper calmed down and stood near the team seconds later.
'Very well, now that you're all here, let me remind you something, not a single game should be lost throughout the tournament, this isn't about winning, it's about showing the world our power' said Jiemma, right after which the others nodded and stood in attention. Reaper didn't respond, he just kept staring at him, with his eyes glowing red as Jiemma kept talking.
At the Fairy Tail tavern, both the teams had joined in on the discussion as Master Makarov was found sitting near the bar and drinking along with Mira. Cole was standing all by himself near a table and looking around the members talking to each other.
'Hey Cole..' said a voice very familiar to him. He turned to his right to see Wendy standing right next to him.
'Oh, hey Wendy, how's it going?' asked Cole as he looked at her with a smile.
'It's been great, what about you? How come you're here? And did you bring something from New Marais?' she asked curiously as more and more questions popped up in her mind.
'Wow, she's really curious, I've got some questions of my own, for instance how on Earth is Ursa suddenly older than her?'
'Uh, why don't we sit down and have a talk over dinner?' Cole politely asked her to which Wendy nodded.
'By the way Cole' said Wendy, catching his attention.
'Yeah? What is it?' asked Cole.
'Erza wanted to meet you outside, she's waiting for you by the lamp post' said Wendy. Cole didn't respond for a while, after which he shook his head and gave a smile.
'Alright, I'll see her and join you by the table real soon okay?' said Cole to which Wendy replied with a smile.
'She probably wants to thank me for the games I guess, Erza really does have a reputation and this might be so she doesn't get embarrassed in front of her friends, can't blame her for that'
'Hey Cole! Where are you going?' yelled out Natsu as Cole walked past him and Lucy.
'I'm just... Gonna have some fresh air..' replied Cole as he scratched his head.
'Wouldn't want Natsu to interrupt her, she probably needs to talk to me alone'.
'Come on, we just came here, you're already feeling homesick?' added Lucy. 'Nah, not homesick, just need a walk around town to brush up memories you know, it's been a long time since I came to Crocus before' replied Cole, to which the others gave a smile.
'Yeah, it really has been' said Ursa with a smile.
'I remember walking around with her in a town not far from her, it's funny how things change'
'Hey Cole, while you're at it, mind telling me what's this thing is?' interrupted Laxus as he held Cole's amp.
'The amp? Just give it a jolt of of electricity and see what happens' replied Cole, soon after which Laxus looked at it and began to release lightning off of his hands, illuminating the amp in a bright yellow color.
'You know, weapons aren't my kind of thing but this is impressive' said Laxus with a smile. Laxus swung it around a couple of times
'Careful big guy, you might hurt someone' said Natsu soon after which Laxus banged his head with the amp.
'Oops, guess I did' replied Laxus while grinning, making everyone else laugh at the hall. Between all the commotion Cole walked out of the hall.
Cole walked into the streets during the night. As the skies turned darker by the second, he looked around to see the streets full of people. His eyes were in search for her as he looked around and couldn't find her
'Alright Erza, where are you?'