Chapter 70 – Nic & Erza
Congrats to making it to the 70th chapter folks! I've made it so incredibly far in the story, and I'm proud to have never stopped, now this chapter pays off all the waiting. Many, perhaps all, of you will be having big smiles by the end of this one. Time to get further in the GMG Arc and the timeskip!
To Recap:
After morning training with Arbok, Nic and everyone meet back up at the Guild Hall, where Master Makarov is dubbed the Sixth Master after Gildarts took off. The group then decides to partake in the Grand Magic Games, which was in three months. Nic's group heads to the beach, where they trained, and Nic got cozy with Erza. That night, when drunk, Erza has a tender moment with Nic. Later on, the group is taken to a party in the Celestial Spirit World in honor of Nic's Celestial Crew saving them all, of course this led to three months of training wasted. The group make it back and find Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy, and how they ask for help in the Grand Magic Games. While everyone gets powered up by Ultear, Nic watches Jellal and Erza have a moment, but both back out, and Erza finally tells Jellal that she's moved on and loves Nic. After Crime Sorciere left, Nic and his Pokémon head into a training dimension and begin private training to hone the Plates and enhance their prowess in one night.
Chapter 70 – Nic & Erza
'Almost there…a little more…' Nic felt his muscles tighten as they were as stiff as steel. 'C'mon Nic! No backing down. Just a little bit more!' He felt the weight and mass of the three large boulders balanced on his two arms each making it difficult, but he was far from backing down. To add insult to injury, he was cross-legged on a flat rock underneath a waterfall. He wasn't moving an inch, and yet the three boulders on either arm were all unmoving with the water pressure coming down.
It's been a long time since Nic and his six Pokémon have begun their immense training. They've been through a lot in their usual training, but these three months have been testing their bodies to an unmeasurable level. Their physical strength levels were of a greater caliber than before, as all had three large boulders on either end of arms, wings, and Arbok's case hood, that had would've crushed a normal man, and yet they were treating it as stamina and means of concentration.
For four hours, the seven have been under the heavy waterfall, and had the boulders on their possible body parts mentioned. Finally, all seven opened their eyes at the exact same time, and stood up. All threw the boulders up into the air, and with no hesitation jumped.
In a flash, Nic and his Pokémon found themselves atop of the suspended boulders, where they were all sliced in half and feel into the waters below. All seven landed on the flat rock and took in a deep breath. Nic looked up to the sky, where the spatial, wavy sky was becoming unstable.
TIME REMAINING: 5 MINUTES
It was time to go. Nic looked at his Pokémon with smiles as they dove into the water and swam with long, slick strides until jumping out on the grassy end. Charizard wasn't even fazed by the water, nor did it effect his flame, not that it never does to begin with.
They all were in front of a clearing and spectated their work done.
In the massive forest sector, about half of the trees were stumps, as they were all destroyed. The second half was spared for climbing and jumping, but many diced and cindered branches were below. In the volcanic sector near the mountains, rivers of lava went in different currents since they all nearly leveled and reshaped the currents. The mountains themselves were hardly mountains, as the large cliffs were destroyed. It looked as though the mountain itself was upside down, but in reality was tarnished, as were many more. The ocean and beach section looked placid as the sands had footprints and leveled sand, and the snowy mountain sections and badlands were reshaped. In short, Nic and his seven Pokémon nearly devastated the dimension's multi-terrain.
Nic took one more deep breath before returning everyone but Greninja. He turned his attention to the sky as the 5 turned to a 4. He closed his eyes.
'Dialga, Palkia, we are ready to depart.' He telepathically announced.
A spatial tear opened up in front of the two, and they could see past the stardust that there was deep blue water. It was clear from their perspectives that it was the same location that they'd last came in. Nic turned into his Splash Plate Form and both jumped into the tear, finding themselves swimming into the cool waters as the tear faded.
They never looked back with regret as the dimension began to distort and fade to nothing as the tear closed. Instead, they swam on ahead back to the beach.
The first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon, and the ocean's cool breeze was adding flavor to the smell of fresh air and the sound of waves calmly swishing up and down the shore. Inside of a little hut, groaning was heard. Many figures emerged from the hut, the first being Natsu Dragneel.
The Dragon Slayer stumbled out and hunched over as he didn't have a fun experience last night. "Can we just sleep just a few more…" He fell forward into the sand. "Hours?"
Gray exited, nearly toppling over. "This bites."
"I can't feel my arms." Lucy whined as she stumbled out.
"I can't feel anything. I can't even feel my stomach aching." Levy groaned.
Wendy, Juvia, Cana, and the Exceeds all left the hut next, looking as exhausted as everyone else. The mentioned were followed by Vanessa and Sophie, both looking as though they had been hit by a Meteor Mash. Sophie couldn't recall the last time she felt so much agony, and Vanessa was still experimenting the properties of her Aura Magic, so the strain from Ultear's doing made her lightheaded.
"I could really go for some breakfast." Vanessa admitted, sitting down on the beach sand. "I think we need energy, and fast."
Sophie slumped down as well. "True, I can't remember my bones and muscles having to go through that."
Erza was the last to exit, still in her light pink dress over her black bikini beneath. "Everybody up, we have a big day ahead of us." She announced with crossed arms. "The Master is expecting us to be back before noon."
"Can't we stay for five more minutes?" Natsu whined.
"Sorry pal." Happy said. "We got the big day ahead of us!"
"Yes, we can't be wasting too much time. What happened is over with, now up on your feet." Carla chided, much to everyone's dismay.
Everyone only groaned as their bodies felt like jelly. "Damn Crime Sorciere better not have pulled our legs." Cana growled as she found her feet underneath. She nearly wobbled but got her balance. She looked around, noticing something off. Quickly doing a headcount, she glanced at Vanessa.
"Where's your brother?" The brunette asked.
Vanessa looked up. "Nic?"
Sophie glanced around as well. "I don't know where he is. Last I checked, none of us had seen him since sundown yesterday." She turned her head to look. "I wonder where he's gone?"
Erza put a hand to her chin and looked down as the sun finally began to peek over the horizon. The bright light made her remember the man she loves, and yet he wasn't seen. She was worried for a bit, but alas she knew better than to doubt Nic. She still had to tell him.
Everyone was beginning to question where he was, since he was gone for a long time and all, but then they've felt a massive wave of vibrant energy closing in, originating from the sea. Everyone felt an immense level that wasn't what they had imagined.
Natsu's eyes widened as she started to get up. "You guys feel that?"
Gray was up and looked up at the sea. "Yeah, and it's coming in fast." His eyes narrowed as he stared in weariness. "Wait…"
Wendy's eyes widened as she perked up. "You guys feel that?"
"It's familiar." Juvia said.
"Too familiar." Levy added.
Vanessa stood up, a look of suspiciousness cascaded. "I can feel it. There's aura heading our way." Her eyes widened when she sensed the aura's signature; she knew it all too well. "It's…"
Erza's eyes widened as well. "Is it…?"
A sudden geyser erupted from the sea, and everyone felt the strong swell of force emanating from the geyser. Jet and Droy both ran out of the hut in confusion and caught to everyone else, their mouths gaping wide as strong energy emitted from the geyser. Everyone saw the clear water spout upwards, and they all something at the top.
"Is that…?" Lucy trailed off.
Sophie grinned with crossed arms. "Well speak of the devil."
The geyser arched downwards and headed almost twenty feet away from the group on their right. They all turned as the torrent smashed into the sand, and the arch was connected to the sea still. Everyone saw something inside, two beings actually, almost identical in signature. They all saw one figure shine a bright light, and then faded quickly, as did the water arch.
They all stared in surprise as two figures were on a knee, looking away as the sun rose up. One's coat flapped soundly until it touched the sand, and his sunglasses glinted. Him and his accomplice both had serious frowns on their faces as they stood up on their two feet.
"Nic!" Vanessa exclaimed happily.
Nic and Greninja both turned around, small yet warm grins on their faces. Nic managed to speak up. "Hey, everyone. Sorry for the wait."
Cana put hands to her hips. "Talk about making an entrance! Where the heck were you?"
Natsu grew suspicious as well. "Hey man, c'mon! You were gone the whole night!" He exclaimed.
Sophie tilted her head. "How strange. It's nice seeing him again, but something's…off."
Vanessa kept her smile, but she sensed it clearly. "Nic and Greninja's auras have gotten so much stronger."
"Stronger?" Sophie pondered.
Erza stood in stunned silence. She saw Nic right there with his warm and soft smile. She felt a surge of relief wash over her as she saw that he was in one piece. She grinned at him while everyone else gathered around him.
"So what happened last night?" Droy asked.
"C'mon. Where were ya when the others were having their Second Origins unlocked?" Jet added.
Lucy looked down, an eye twitching. "Where were you guys when that happened?"
Nic looked at Greninja and then back at the group. A small silence blew in the cool morning breeze.
"It's rather a long story…"
About five minutes of explanation was summed up rather bluntly and to the point by Nic and the Ninja Pokémon. Both explained of their small strategy and how they trained to the bitter bone.
"WHAAAAAAAT!?" The group screamed. They all leaned in with exasperation.
"You went into a temporary dimension to train?!" Gray shouted.
"And you and your Pokémon worked on honing the Plates?!" Happy exclaimed.
"And the time sequence was different by Dialga's doing! You made up the three months in one night?!" Sophie spatted out.
Nic looked ahead at them, unfazed. "Yes."
Natsu of all people was outraged. He held a fist up. "What the hell man?! That is so not fair! While we were getting that power up, you just went off on your own and got stronger without us?!" He did not sound pleased at all. "You should've brought us along! I'm calling foul play!"
"Yeah, what's the big idea? We could've all had our Magic increased further!" Gray exclaimed.
Nic turned around and faced away. He looked more than a little displeased with how selfish the act was, but it couldn't be helped. He had his reasons, so it was only fair that they knew the reasons.
He frowned as he started to speak. "I don't think you guys any place to say…" It was a little painful to admit, but everyone just stayed quiet, including a frowning Erza. "Don't get me wrong, I know how you guys feel about lagging behind. These games coming up will put Fairy Tail back on top." His head turned to face the now brightening skies with the sun beginning to rise. "But no matter how much you deny it, the universe is more important. It's the painful truth, but survival over victory is what crossed me."
He turned back towards the group. "I can't be at a disadvantage. I have to get as much skill in so as not just for you guys, but all existence." He looked down. "I need this last Plate, more than we need this win."
There was a long silence as everyone heard Nic's reason. As much as the fact was unfair in a way, they knew it was the painful truth. The universe and all existence was Nic's priority, and they had to respect that. Regardless of him joining Fairy Tail, he knew his mission came first.
Erza frowned at the truth, and she had to admit that it was painful to hear, but even she knew better than to say otherwise. The man she loves did have an immense burden on being all of existence's lifeline. If he lagged behind, they were all doomed.
"…sorry we got all worked up." Cana apologized.
"Guess we got a little carried away." Gray admitted. "It's rough, but we wouldn't live long to embrace victory if your powers were weak."
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.
"Still, whether or not, this was more important than our training since Arceus is counting on you." Levy pointed out.
Greninja nodded in Nic's stead. "It is."
It was another short silence that went by before Natsu held up a fist, but smiled. "Well I hear ya. I wanna see those stars again. We'll put your priority first if that's what it takes! How's about a battle to show us what went on?"
Nic raised a brow. "Are you positive about this?"
Gray cracked his knuckles. "I don't see why not. We can get warmed up for the games, plus we get to see the new powers we have!"
Natsu looked fiercely at Nic and seemed excited. "Oh yeah, I'm all fired up now!"
Nic glanced at Greninja by the corner of his eye and vice versa. They could read the other like a book. It wasn't such a bad idea when they thought about it, but they also didn't need words to say. They both glanced ahead.
"Sure. Be sure to hold nothing back." Nic agreed.
Erza watched on with an expectant look. She could already tell that despite the truth, she knew how this was all gonna end.
Vanessa, Levy, Lucy, the Exceeds, and Sophie all stepped back and joined up with Erza, much to her surprise. "You're not partaking?"
Lucy nervously sweatdropped. "I value my life."
"And I don't do melee combat like he does." Levy pointed out.
"Vanessa?" Erza asked the younger Pularis sibling right beside her.
Vanessa half-grinned. "It's not that I don't wanna fight, it's just that I already know how strong he is."
"I see." Erza said.
"And why aren't you fighting?" Sophie asked the redhead. "You just wanna see how your loverboy has grown?"
She was met with a glare from Erza, making her scoot away and remain quiet, though Erza internally knew that she was right…but there was something more to it than that.
On the beach, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Juvia, Jet, and Droy were all present and ready for action. They stood opposite of Nic and Greninja as they had crossed arms and Greninja had blank eyes. As the sun started rising up further, Natsu stood up with hands coated in fire. Gray and everyone else on the beach seemed ready as Nic spread his legs apart and got into a stance.
"This is gonna rock!" Natsu shouted. "Now I'll get to show you just how much stronger I've become!"
Lucy sulked on the sidelines. "Somehow I've got a bad feeling about this."
Natsu held up his fist once more. "Alright Nic, let's go!" The Dragon Slayer began taking in a deep breath and fire began to surge inside.
"You feel that?" Gray asked in general, feeling the surge of power.
"He's drawing in more Magic than anticipated." Juvia commented.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu started off with a large torrent of fire, and everyone could feel the increased power that it had compared to before thanks to the unlocked Second Origin. The stream of fire went zooming in, and both Nic and Greninja had eyes ahead and serious as ever. Both put one foot behind the other and lunged ahead in an even-paced run. Both diverged on opposite ends of the incoming more…then both eyes glinted.
A fiery explosion raged where they were, and Natsu looked more than ecstatic and he thought he got a hit in. He and the others were unfortunately caught off guard when Nic and Greninja were seen on either side of them. "What the-?!" Natsu's eyes watched Nic speed like a missile watched him and Greninja blur out again. (A better picture would be Pokémon XY episode 68, with Clemont's Heliolisk.) They raced counterclockwise and clockwise, both moving so fast that the group's heads were turning nonstop.
"Nic's gotten much faster. I don't remember him being that fast before!" Sophie exclaimed from the sidelines.
"I can't barely keep up with his movement. They're both so fast." Vanessa muttered.
Levy's eyes narrowed. "Nic must have underwent massive speed training. If you think about it, a human can race as fast as 40 mph. Nic must be able to channel his ATP so that he could jolt all around to match that speed in conjunction with his reflexes."
"Meaning…" Lucy muttered.
"He was fast before, but now he's moving all over." Happy added.
Erza remained quiet as she spectated Nic and his Greninja taking control fast. "…"
"Just how fast are they going?!" Natsu exclaimed. He turned his head left and right, and yet he couldn't get a good lock. Nic's feet left and touched the ground faster than anticipated, and he swerved until he stopped cold in front of Natsu in a crouch. "What the-?!"
"Flash!" Nic's sunglasses gave off a blinding light, and Natsu's eyes felt a great pain as he went temporarily blind. He covered up and stepped back from Flash. As Nic's sunglasses ceased Flash, Nic did a handstand and spiraled. "Mega Kick!" His feet gave off a white glow and he spiral kicked Natsu while still in a handstand. The Dragon Slayer screamed as he shot back and slammed into Gray. Both tumbled harshly in the sands as sand and dust blew.
Juvia looked shocked. "So much power!" She looked back ahead and saw Greninja appearing before her. Immediately she went for the offensive. "Water Slicer!" She swiped her arm, sending pressurized water crescents at Greninja.
"Water Shuriken!" Greninja crouched and shot compressed stars of water. They spun fast and sharply. The stars met the Water Slicer, and a blue glint was seen and time seemed to have slowed down. They all saw Juvia's attack get sliced into fragments, dispersing into water as Water Shuriken passed through.
"But how?!" Juvia exclaimed. She didn't have time to cover up as the Water Shuriken went through her body, as she was made of water, and it kept on going until it reached some very large rocks far away. A blue glint was seen and the rocks were reduced to sliced bits.
Lucy paled. "Whoa, they're not playing around!"
"Wendy, be careful!" Carla shouted.
Wendy pivoted as Nic went rushing in a swift arc close to the water. She took in a deep breath and breathed out. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" She forced a massive tornado at Nic, and the roar was so close, only for Nic to glow and flash into his Zap Plate Form.
Nic stopped in a skid and brought his arm up. He let out a battlecry as he swung his arm straight down. Without warning, a mighty bolt of lightning struck down in front and trailed its way after Wendy. The bolt trailed and dispersed the winds with no problem, and Wendy was left to jump out of the way as the bolt exploded when reaching her spot, discharging great electricity that sent Wendy screaming and soaring off.
Jet began running fast. "Yeah? Well no matter how fast you are without Magic, I'm still at the top!"
Greninja suddenly began appearing in front as Jet ran exceedingly fast. "Think again!" He disappeared, and Jet skidded to a screeching halt as his eyes were wide with shock.
"Huh?! What the-?!" A blur zoomed left, and then his eyes and head turned left and right as wind passed all around, small sand and dust bursting as Greninja was moving so fast he was almost invisible.
Jet didn't have a prayer when Greninja suddenly appeared on his side and delivered a massive knee to the gut, which led to an uppercut kick that made Greninja flip backwards as Jet was sent soaring and crashed into the sand.
Droy threw some seeds at Nic. "Try this! Knuckle Plant!" The seeds hit the ground, and then Magic seals sprouted. The seeds thus sprouted into vines with fists and raced to attack Nic.
Without a second thought, Nic flashed back into his normal self and jumped. He put his arms together and spread them apart, making a white sheath. "Cut!" He grunted and cried out viciously as he evaded a fist and sliced it, and then jumped again as a fist went in to attack from in front. High up, he descended and sliced the vines and fists in slashes that ran down. When his feet touched the ground, the vines all fell apart into diced bits and he went on ahead, slicing a straggler vertically in half before finally advancing with a cry.
Erza's eyes widened. "His accuracy and swiftness has also increased!"
Nic drew a fist back as it swirled white energy. "Mega Punch!" He drove the fist forward, ramming right into Droy and shooting the man back like a rocket, smashing into Jet as he crashed at the exact same moment, knocking both out simultaneously.
Nic pivoted as he felt something coming for him, and in a flash made a Cut again. The Cut was fast and swift, and Nic jumped away as he watched the cards get sliced into small fractions.
"Not bad." Cana admitted, holding up more cards. She slammed one card on the ground. "Prayer's Fountain!" The card glowed and a multitude of water spouts went racing at Nic, much like volatile torrents.
Nic glowed again, shifting into his Splash Plate. His eyes narrowed as he slammed his hands to the ground. A harsh cry was emitted and then all of the torrents seemed to have stopped moving forward.
Cana's eyes widened. "No way!"
Nic brought his hands up and swiped them in the same direction, making the torrents all arch around Nic into a U-turn and beam at Cana. The beams were faster than before, and Cana screamed as she was sent soaring back.
Natsu and Gray both went for their attack.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Ice-Make: Lance!"
Both attacks went blasting away after Nic, but as the area behind was of a torrent of fire and thick ice heading for him, he didn't bother to look behind. "Greninja."
Greninja suddenly appeared in front, facing the two attacks. He took in a deep breath as he brought a foot back. He leaned forward and his serious eyes remained steady.
"Scald!"
Greninja thus fired a torrent of steaming hot water, scalding hot. The Water-Type move raced over the sand, making it fly both ways as it made it to the two other attacks and meet in the middle for a second before the fire and ice were overwhelmed, and Natsu and Gray were wide-eyed as they were swamped by a fierce blast of Scald, sending them smashing into the sand.
Sophie's eyes widened. "Scald? I don't recall Greninja ever knowing another Water-Type move!"
"Greninja must have learned Scald while training. He's gotten much stronger." Vanessa said.
Nic watched as Natsu and Gray stumbled back up. "Greninja may not know Dark Pulse anymore, but Scald more than makes up for the Dark-Type move."
"You've gotta be kidding me." Natsu muttered.
"All that, and he's not even breaking a sweat. We didn't even wear him down." Gray however wasn't gonna say no, as he put his arm together and ice began to mold. "Ice-Make: Hammer!" He jumped overhead, and used his magic to swing the huge ice hammer down onto Nic.
Greninja's expression grew blank again as he didn't bother. He remained still as Nic was the target, and said person reached up, catching the hammer with one hand. His strength was so intense that the ice hammer didn't seem to budge.
"What?!" Gray exclaimed.
Nic's eyes narrowed underneath his sunglasses. He used the one hand and threw the hammer aside. With Gray in midair, he called an attack. "Greninja, Scald!"
Greninja suddenly appeared over Gray and shot a blistering, scalding blast down on Gray's back. The attack smashed Gray into the sand, making a dust storm that blew shockwaves and shook the earth.
"Gray, my darling!" Juvia shouted.
Nic suddenly swerved and dashed in front of her as her guard was off. He shined into his Zap Plate once again and opened his mouth. "Thunder Fang!" Nic's open mouth showed his teeth sparking with yellow static, growing and shaping into four large fangs of electricity and stretched out and snapped into Juvia. The water woman screamed in pain as her body conducted the electricity and Nic grabbed her while he had the chance and swung her around, shooting her into a tumble.
Natsu grunted as he was the only one standing. Despite everyone feeling pain, and him included, he was smirking. "This should be good. Let's try…this!" He engulfed himself in flames and let out a lot of Magic Power. Nic's coat flapped and Greninja stood right beside him as the two felt the great swell of pressure was giving off, but they only stared as Natsu's flames began to spark, soon erupting with electricity.
Lucy's eyes widened. "Wait, is that…?!"
"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!" Natsu roared. The heat and static generated began to electrify the air, and Nic only remained calm and grinned.
"I see. If you want to play it that way…" His body began to flash brightly as a field of electricity was engulfing him. "Then I'll gladly show you what I've experimented and honed with!"
Natsu took in a deep breath, and then a great pressure was unleashed, along with what seemed to have been a fireball engulfed in electricity. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" He threw the immense fireball, and the heat and electricity traveled fast.
At the last second, Nic's eyes widened, and Greninja became a blur, ending up in midair through his great leg prowess. A tornado of lightning and static encompassed Nic, and the fireball dispersed upon reaching the tornado. Natsu ad everyone felt and immense pressure that even startled Erza as her eyes widened. The ground shook as the tornado soon reached a high enough point.
Everyone's eyes kept wide as the tornado faded, and in the air was Nic in his Draco Plate Form, but this one was different than before. All of the coral red edging and color in general was replaced by an electric yellow, which was the edging, the laces, and the nails on the shoes. The belt and edging on the coat was also yellow. The membrane on the wings was yellow, while a solid royal blue remained as it did everywhere else.
Greninja landed on his back, holding on and being as light as ever. Nic flapped, and the air was filled with electricity.
"What on earth is that?" Cana asked, still heavily shocked.
Sophie was left baffled. "I don't remember having a fusion of draconic energy and lightning!"
Nic roared up to the morning skies as the first rays of the sun were behind his back. "Electric/Dragon!" He announced.
"HUH?! NO WAY!" Natsu shouted as his flames and lightning vanished.
"THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT!" Gray exclaimed. "HE ONLY USES ONE!"
Nic spread his arms apart and wings. "Discharge!" Greninja jumped off as Nic's body was engulfed in lightning, and then fired it in all directions with excessive force. When a bolt went up, Greninja barrel rolled and dodged. Down below, everyone that wasn't on the sidelines covered up as lightning bolts trailed through the sand, quaking the earth as the static levels grew out of control. Natsu found himself flying away, and everyone else got low to the ground, but still were unable to comprehend the impact of the lightning.
The Discharge end, and Greninja landed on his back again. Nic opened up his mouth and multicolored energy surged inside. He raised his head and the energy fully converged.
"Dragon Pulse!"
He brought his head down and fired the beam that shaped into a dragon. The beam crashed into the earth, and Natsu and everyone was engulfed in a huge field of draconic energy. All eyes were wide as the explosion and trailing beam made the sideliners go blind.
When they all looked back, they were all shocked to find everyone down and out. The sand was completely leveled, Erza was left shocked as she never felt such a power level before. Her red hair shifted as the winds calmed down, and Nic descended with a thud, looking composed and not even close to warn out. 'You've really gotten strong for all of us, haven't you?'
The victory was clear, and Nic glowed and shifted back to himself. Greninja jumped onto the ground and looked around, seeing the sprawled bodies and weak groaning.
"Well, it seems they know what we went through first hand." Greninja speculated.
"So it appears." Nic said.
Natsu sorely arose to his knees, clutching the back of his head. "Man, that one hurt."
"We hardly dealt a single blow." Gray muttered before he winced in pain. "Damn that water stings bad."
"My head." Wendy whined as she still laid on the sand.
Cana arose with more than a few banged up spots. "I'm gonna feel that for awhile." She looked at Nic with slight discomfort and irritation. "Did you have to go and obliterate us like that?"
"Sorry for the last few calls." Nic apologized. "I guess my power levels were more than what I'd expected them to be."
"Speaking of power, what was that just now?" Vanessa asked her brother with astonishment. "Use combined your Zap Plate and Draco Plate Forms. Was that something you learned?"
Nic nodded at his sister with a smile. "That's right." He put hands into his pockets. "While training to master and exceed my potential with each individual Plate I had, I learned to become dual typed. Two Plates are fused so as to increase their potency, and I can use attacks from both types."
"Whoa, okay. That's a lot to take in." Lucy stammered.
"I got it all memorized." Sophie said in pride.
"You're not helping!" Lucy exclaimed to the other blonde.
Jet's head throbbed as he got up with him and Droy supporting the other. "Man, Greninja beat me by a mile. I'm still in shock that he kept up and attacked."
"Remind me to never face him again." Droy groaned.
Natsu fell over, but not just from the pain, but also the fact his stomach roared like an animal. Everyone heard it loud and clear. "Aw man. I need food."
"Seriously?" Gray asked. "You get your butt kicked and your brain immediately needs food? Where's the sense in that?"
"Natsu has a point." Erza chided softly. "We could all use proper nourishment. We'll head out shortly and get something to eat while we're on the road back to the guild."
Nic nodded in understanding. "Sounds ideal to us." He turned and looked at Greninja and his blank eyes. Nic reached for his Poke Ball and held it up. "Nice job Greninja. Return."
Greninja thus returned back to his Poke Ball, and left Nic to put the Poke Ball back into his pocket. He turned away from the group and looked to the forest close by.
"I'm gonna go and get some fresh air." He said, walking away. "I'll be back shortly." With that, he walked off and climbed the nearest tree with little difficulty. Everything watched him disappear in the canopy.
"Fresh air?" Happy questioned.
"A little farfetched, but perhaps knowing him he just wants to have a few minutes to sleep while watching the sunrise." Carla figured.
"Good point." Wendy figured.
Vanessa looked around, noticing something was off. "Where's Erza?"
Lucy looked around, noticing how Erza was gone as well. "Uh, now that you mention it, where is she?"
Vanessa looked at Sophie, and Sophie gave a rather presumptuous look. Vanessa took a few seconds before she caught on, but said nothing as she looked back at the woods and grinned softly.
Perched high atop a tree, relaxing on a branch, Nic's sunglasses shielded his eyes as the sun was starting to come over the horizon. He looked so relaxed as he sat back against the trunk and saw the sunrise. 'Ninety days. Ninety days, and this is the first I've seen the real sun after that long.' It felt like a dream, but after seeing nothing but a spatial sky of wavy elements for ninety days, it felt like a nice reward. It's too bad that depending on how achieving the final Plate went, this may be the last of the sun anyone will have again. He's trained, and his Pokémon trained, just so they could get the potential and strength to overcome any opponents who dare challenge them. It wasn't that he felt superior, it's just that he feels more depended on, to which he could put up with.
He watched the sunrise for a few more minutes before he heard footsteps below. He glanced down, and his eyes caught sight of Erza down below.
"Nic. I know you're up there." She said softly. "Please, come down. I want to talk to you."
Nic didn't say a word, yet he jumped down from the high perch and achieved acrobatics while descending from branch to branch, eventually landing in front of Erza without so much as even a scratch or a flinch. He looked on at Erza.
"Erza?" Nic questioned.
Erza was quiet for a few seconds before she said anything. "How long?" She asked. "How long, were you training for?"
Her tone foreboded some slight doubt. It wasn't a good sign, but Nic took it. "…ninety days."
"So three months." She said quietly. Her head lowered. "I see." There was an awkward and uneasy silence between the two before Erza finally spoke up again. "You've gotten stronger. Is it for the universe and the games alike?"
Nic didn't seem bothered, but he looked down. "Yes, more or less. It was an appeasable motivation."
"Is that so?" Erza questioned. She still had her arms crossed as she spectated Nic. "Well it'll surely get us back to being the top guild once more." She managed to grin slightly. "Nic?"
Nic looked back up to her, confused. "Hm?"
"Why do you work so hard?"
It was more or less an open-ended question, but it did surprise him. He never thought of that question before until she asked. If he was honest with himself, he didn't have the answer. It wasn't that one came to mind, it's just that he does it…just because.
He looked away, uneasy. "I…I don't know." He answered. "I never really had an incentive when it came to my training style. It just felt different, and I liked it. I never thought beyond that."
Erza didn't seem too bothered by Nic's answer, rather she was content. She appreciated how he trained because he liked it. In a way, she had a slight envy of him. She always trained just to get stronger, to protect everyone she held dear, but Nic was different. While she works hard, getting stronger, Nic had more free reign. His training always had a bonding feeling that connected him deeper with his Pokémon, making them feel the thrill of exercise like he ascertained. He never really had to worry about looking out for others because he didn't have anybody to protect other than his sister, who was in better care than before, and then his Pokémon, who he trained and stayed by all the time.
The redhead then frowned. "But now…you have a burden that makes you want to get stronger."
Nic glanced back down, but his sunglasses never showed that. "Yes. My exercise with my Pokémon has gotten severe, not just due to our experience, but the fact that I have to get the last Plate and protect all life as we know it."
Erza snickered, catching Nic by surprise.
"Is there something amusing about my training circumstances?" He asked, a little offended.
"Nothing. This just brings me back to a short while back." She closed her eyes as she grinned softly as the thought. "I don't remember much of it, but I remember small fragments, like how you said I can protect you, and be by your side when your mission is over."
Nic's eyes widened and he looked away with a small tint of red in his cheeks. She wasn't off at all. She was drunk that night, but internally he was happy knowing that she recalled some of the meaningful things said.
He looked back at her, and he smiled softly. "Is that so?" He played along, keeping the memory to himself.
Erza nodded. "Yes…" She frowned. "But, I just can't stand by much longer. I know you're fiercely independent, but this burden you have is of immense measure. You always pick yourself up now because there are lives at stake." She took a step closer to him, closing the distance. "I'll wait for as long as I can to protect you in return."
"Erza." Nic was feeling touched as Erza put a hand to his cheek. She slowly took his sunglasses and moved them over his forehead, showing his warm blue eyes.
Erza smiled softly at him, her eyes showing content and misting a little. The sunrise was behind her, giving her an angelic aura. She thought back to last night and her smile never faded. She let the past go, and now tended to the present and moved on.
"Nic, for as long as I can, for as long as you let me, I will stay. I messed up too many times, but whatever you think, know this…" She leaned in, her eyes misting up a little more. She closed them and gently placed her forehead against Nic. Nic wasn't too tall, but he was actually the same exact height as her. He may have been slightly shorter than Natsu, but at least she didn't have to lean up.
Their breaths intertwined with the other as Nic was left speechless. He never felt such a swell of happiness in such a long time. He liked it. His smile came back as he felt Erza's forehead with his own.
Erza finally said it as her lips parted.
"Nic…I love you."
With that, Erza gave Nic a passionate kiss. Nic felt a great surge of passion and joy swell through every vein in his body. He was so happy in many ways. His initial shock turned to being succumbed to the kiss that taste like strawberries. He loved it. He loved her. His eyes closed as he wrapped his arms tightly around Erza's smooth waist while she had her hands to his cheeks. Her bottom lip was over his as she felt so blessed.
Erza then pulled back and looked at Nic alluringly. Nic didn't have the words as he yearned the warmth of Erza and her lips, her scent, everything. Without holding anything back, he smiled.
"Erza…I love you too."
The two pulled the other in and embraced with all their heart, the sides of their heads pressing against the other. Nic felt Erza's red hair against his cheek. It was so soft and shined brilliantly in the rising sun. Both of their bodies were so relaxed around the other. Their bodies were embracing with touching holds.
It felt like a while, but soon they pulled away from the other and Nic felt Erza's arms still wrapped around his neck. He thought of it as very soothing to the touch. His warm blue eyes looked into Erza's brown eyes, both seeing the love in one another as it was true.
With nothing to hold back, as they had laid everything bare then and there, Nic loosened his hold a little and leaned away just a little. Finally, he spoke. "Erza, will you…be mine…forever?"
In a way, he was asking her to be his girlfriend. He wasn't proper in saying it. While was to the point in many matters, it was these kinds of matters that he could only express what he can possibly achieve. Erza knew this, and she respected and like that about him, as she communicated the same way.
Nic felt shocked when Erza's hands reached for the back of his head, and Erza leaned in some more. Her body closed in once again and her eyes were misting so much that weak tears of joy began to flow. With a soft smile, she finally answered.
"…I already am."
With that, she pinned Nic to the tree and pressed her body against his, passionately kissing him. She never felt so much joy before as she now was with him. Her and Nic's eyes were closed as they were embracing the other tightly once more. His fresh taste mixed with her strawberry scent. She loved it, and Nic was having small tears of joy as he embraced Erza and their passionate kiss with all the love he had to give, with his arms wrapped around Erza's back tighter than ever. He loved how Erza's lips were so soft.
Air soon called it quits and the two parted away, their kiss breaking as they smiled happily at another, holding their embrace until Erza finally pulled away.
With the sun fully over the horizon, illuminating Erza some more, they both knew it was time to embark back. They had their fill for now and turned. "I think we've held the others up long enough. Are you ready to head back now?" Erza asked.
"Yes." Nic answered, putting his sunglasses back on.
"Good." With that, Erza began walking back, with Nic following behind as their hands reached for the other, their fingers intertwining as they began walking by the other's side.
Happy's stomach grumbled as he laid on the floor. "Aye…need fish."
Natsu looked into his bag to look for any provisions to snack on, but alas nothing was edible, leaving him sulking. "At this rate, we're gonna die before we reach the guild."
Levy turned to face the group. "Oh come on guys. It's not so bad. We'll get something to eat once we leave." She insisted with that, everyone groaned as they still felt sore, and they all exited the hut one last time with their things all packed.
Cana took a long gulp from her booze bottle and sighed. "Boy those two are taking their time."
Gray looked out, his shirt still off. "I wonder what's keeping them?" He looked away, being met with despondent looks from Cana, Sophie, and Vanessa as he didn't get the implication. "What?"
Vanessa looked away. "Nothing." She'd rather not say it since Gray probably wouldn't get it. Her attention drew instead to the forest, seeing Nic and Erza emerge with fingers intertwined and smiling. "Nic! Erza!"
"Well, well, speaking of which." Cana mused.
The two walked back, seeing the smiles on their faces as they all saw them holding hands. "Sorry for the wait." Nic apologized.
"Don't be. It's about time you guys actually did something." Cana winked, holding a bottle up.
Sophie beamed with pride. "I feel so accomplished."
Juvia looked over at Gray as she blushed. 'If only my darling and I made it as far as they have.'
Lucy waved them over. "Now that that's settled, let's get something to eat and get back to the guild!"
Everyone then began to embark back onto the trail, leaving the beach but made fond memories doing so. Looking at Nic and Erza as they walked together, smiles were all around as that was their way of acknowledging his they have sealed the deal. They didn't mind, they embraced it. With that, everyone thus ventured back on the trail and back to Magnolia.
It seemed like a while, but after finding some breakfast in a nearby shop, the group soon found itself back at the Guild Hall before noon. Of course the entire group was sprawled all over the ground, with the only ones up being Nic and Erza, who had hands to her hips and hands in his coat pockets.
"Home sweet home." Natsu groaned.
A pair of footsteps was heard and Macao stopped in front of Natsu. "Are you just gonna lay around all day? Get up!"
Natsu and everyone else on the ground looked up, seeing all of Fairy Tail present and looking better than ever.
"Yeah, stand up! Get up and be real men!" Elfman exclaimed. Elfman had clear results in training, as he had huge muscles and longer and spikier hair. He was even taller than last time, now possibly taller than Garchomp if compared.
Mira walked up with a smile. "Oh hey Cana. What happened? You disappeared."
Cana nervously smiled and sweatdropped. "It's kind of a long story."
Natsu's eyes widened. "Wow Elfman, you've been pumping iron!"
Elfman flexed an arm. "I got the dream muscles of a real man."
"Well done." The voice came from behind the group, and all attention drew towards Master Makarov. He looked at all of them with pride. "It would seem you have all trained hard."
'Eh, I wouldn't say that.' Lucy nervously thought, recalling how they didn't train much at all…except Nic.
"Everyone, please meet me inside." Master thus turned and everyone went inside. All of Fairy Tail was present inside the Guild Hall and huddled around the bar, where Master stood on the raised wooden floor.
"Listen up, I shall now announce the five who shall represent Fairy Tail in the Grand Magic Games." He announced. All grew silent as expectant as the Master then cleared his throat, and anticipation filled the air as there were hearts thumping. Finally, he called the five.
"Natsu."
Natsu pumped a fist. "Now we're talking!"
"Nic."
"I'll do my best." He said with a grin.
"Erza."
Erza stood right beside Nic with a proud smile. "I won't let you down, Master."
"Gray."
"I'm honored." He announced.
"And finally…Wendy."
The Sky Dragon Slayer turned with shock. "Huh?! What?! Why me?!"
Elfman 'manly' sobbed as his sisters comforted him. "How humiliating! Why not a real man?!"
Juvia gaped as she mentally shattered like glass. 'My darling and I separated while he's locked in the jaws of combat?! Oh why must Nic and Erza be so lucky?!'
"W-wait! Don't I have a say in this Master?" Wendy asked.
Makarov looked away. "Laxus and Gajeel have unfortunately not returned from their training yet, and Lucy's Spirits must tend to their repairs for their world as we must respect."
Nic turned towards Erza, looking with confidence. "Are you ready for the games?"
Erza looked back at him and nodded. "Indeed." She held up an armored fist. "Sabertooth shall fall when they see the results of what we can do."
Not too long later, Nic and Team Natsu, including Wendy and Carla, all arrived in the large city of Crocus, site of the Grand Magic Games. Crocus was enormous, as was the tall palace in its center; as such, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore. Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla were all on the ground, looking more than exhausted when they were somewhere in the streets of Crocus, with the people around giving conspicuous looks.
"I still feel so sore." Wendy groaned.
"I can't even feel my face. I don't even know if I have a face anymore." Gray complained, feeling the effects of his Second Origin and the pain Nic delivered this morning.
"You all disappoint me." Erza announced down to her guild mates, Nic by her side with hands in his pockets and earbuds in. "Up on your feet."
"Well sorry, but we're not monsters like you and Nic." Natsu groaned underneath his breath.
"What did you say?" Erza asked with a deadly gaze.
Natsu felt himself quiver. "N-nothing! Nothing at all!"
Lucy looked around. "This place is so big. It reminds me of Nic's world. What was that place again?"
"Lumiose City." Nic answered. "I must admit, this has gotta equal that city in size, although I think the Prism Tower isn't as grand as the palace, but no offense applied in any case."
"I see you all made it." A voice announced from close by. Everyone turned to see Master Makarov, Team Shadow Gear, Bisca, Alzack, and Asuka present, with the 4-year-old atop of Makarov's head.
"Master." Erza said with surprise.
"We didn't expect your arrival so soon." Nic admitted.
"We just finished with registration." Makarov then chuckled in a mocking tone. "Just wait, Fairy Tail will be number one once again."
Of course this brought attention to more than a few folk that happened to be close by.
"Did he say Fairy Tail?" Someone asked
"Not that guild again." Another commoner snickered.
Natsu grew a vein on his forehead. Luckily Nic was able to get in front. "Let it go."
"Everyone knows Sabertooth's gonna win again." A woman stated.
"You guys better quite now while you have the chance." Another woman snickered.
Natsu was just about to turn his anger onto them, but Makarov intervened. "Let them have their moment." He said. "For Sabertooth may be number one now, but with you all representing Fairy Tail, we shall put Sabertooth in its place. Remember, we're doing this for the 30 Million…I mean to prove we're back in action." He pointed to them. "The Legendary Pokémon that helped us must have meaning, so we must honor them by winning this!"
The five representing Fairy Tail nodded in understanding. Master then put Asuka down and let her run up to Alzack for a hug. "Now then, that being said, we have no idea what the games shall be."
"What? But I thought you guys did this every year?" Gray thought.
"Yeah, but it changes every year." Bisca said, pointing her gun up. "When me and my sugar pistol didn't participate, they had a target shooting competition."
"And when I sat out, they had a foot race." Jet informed as he sprinted in place.
"They always mix it up. I looked into the records of the previous years, and there's no consistency." Levy said with a discouraged brow.
Natsu rammed his own fist, smirking. "Then we'll play it by ear!"
Of course Nic and Erza were both caught off thinking back to what Crime Sorciere said about their suspicions.
'Mysterious Magic Power…' Erza thought.
'I wonder if this power is-!' Nic was brought out of his thoughts when he was presented a thick book. He looked down with his sunglasses not showing his quizzical expression. "Master?"
"This is the official rule book. Nic, you're to read this by tomorrow." Master informed.
"I have to read all of this?" Nic asked in slight disbelief.
"Oh don't worry, I can handle it." Levy spoke up, revealing her Gale Force Reading Glasses. She thus took the book and began reading through the content, taking in all of the necessary material. "Okay, to put it bluntly, there are three major rules. One is that the Guild Master cannot participate."
Makarov nodded in understanding. "Sounds appropriate."
"Those without their guild's emblem cannot participate." Levy continued.
"Got it." Gray commented.
"And lastly, the games shall remain a mystery and only will the event arise will it be detailed." Levy said.
"Rather counterproductive on that last one." Erza pointed out.
Levy jerked as she caught onto something. "Oh, this is important too." Erza turned back to her. "All participants must be at their inns at 12 o' clock."
"Midnight tonight?" Carla asked. "How strange."
Natsu looked at a nearby clock on a wall, with it saying slight past 1. "Alright, we got tons of time!" He turned back at the group. "And since this our first time here, let's check it out!"
"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed as he flew to catch up with Natsu.
"Hold on, do you know where we're staying?" Erza called out as the group began to run off by themselves.
Nic turned towards her. "I think someone said the Honey Bone Inn." He answered. He then looked down at the ground. "Still, what's important of midnight? I know the games start tomorrow…"
Erza looked down as well in question. "But surely they don't mean midnight, which marks a new day."
"Let's not worry about that for now. Like Natsu said, we have plenty of time." Nic smiled at her. "Why don't we check out the inn?"
Erza looked to Nic and smiled. This was a nice way to spend some alone time with him. "Yes, let's go."
The two eventually found their room, and Erza opened and closed the door behind. Nic took off his sunglasses and put them back onto his V-neck, while he also took his earbuds out and put them back into his pocket.
"Six beds, yet 5 participants." Nic questioned, eyeing the six beds present in the room. "Looks as though we'll be sharing this room."
Erza began opening cabinets. "Yes, it would seem to be the case." She then looks around a vase. "Nothing suspicious here as well." She looked behind the closed curtains. "Nothing here either."
"I think it's best that we unwind." Nic persuaded, starting to unbuckle his belt, having his coat hand loose. He sat his coat on the floor and began to take off his shoes. "We can't worry too much, despite this mysterious power Jellal described." He glanced at her. "Besides, even I would be able to sense it."
"I don't doubt you." Erza turned back towards Nic, but looked surprised as he began to lay on the floor, as he always has. She walked on over as Nic used his arms behind his head as pillows and put hands to her hips. "You still sleep in hard places, huh?"
Nic's eyes opened up a little. "Yeah."
Erza looked down at Nic and gazed silently. She knelt down and extended out a hand. The act surprised Nic as his eyes opened up fully. "
"You don't need to do this anymore." Erza insisted. "You've been through more than enough. You deserve to sleep soundly for once."
"Erza?" Nic sat up and looked at Erza. She was as serious as ever, meaning she wasn't pulling any jokes. Nic never thought of sleeping in a bed, especially since when he was little he would always get zapped right off the couch. The hard place thing was what his body was accustomed to, and a bed felt so…foreign.
He looked at the bed beside him and back up at Erza, and then back at the bed. Though reluctant, he extended his hand up to Erza and she helped him up. She turned towards Nic and stood in front.
She smiled. "Now just relax." She gently leaned in and pushed him gently backwards onto the bed. Nic felt his spine and back unfold onto what felt like something soft and cozy. His body never felt a wave of soft hit him so much. His head soon touched the pillow, and he felt like he was laying on a fluffy cloud.
'So this is what a bed feels like.' Nic admitted. 'It's less stiff than what I imagined it to be.'
Erza requipped into what seemed to have been blue pants and a black tank top, showing her large bust as ever. She smiled down as she saw how comfy Nic looked, and she couldn't help but see how cute he looked as he nuzzled back onto the blanket and pillow.
She went over and sat his shoes and socks against the wall and put his coat on the coat rack. She turned back towards him with a smile. "Now just relax, I'll be back." With that she left for the bathroom, where she shut the door and had begun her bath.
Nic heard the water run and he looked up to the ceiling, being left to ponder. 'How strange. A bed feels odd, but relaxing. While my body likes floors and trees…this is just as pleasant.' While he trained back in the dimension, let alone back in Kalos, he was always sleeping against trees, on floors, on roofs, or on grass. He even slept on tree branches. This was a new experience, hopefully it wouldn't affect his posture.
Sometime later, Erza emerged from the bathroom, looking refreshed as she was back in her blue pants and black tank top. "Okay, you can take your shower, Nic…" She turned to face Nic on the bed, but she saw the Nic was already out like a light.
She watched his chest fall and rise, his eyes shut as he slept like a baby. Erza couldn't help but smile at him. 'He must have been training very hard to be exhausted so easily.' Her smile softened and she walked over towards him quietly. Nic earned this, and she knew he finally needed to relax. She delicately took his sunglasses off of his V-neck of his gray t-shirt and put it on the nightstand right beside them.
She slowly crawled onto the bed and atop of Nic, smiling down at Nic as he moaned and opened his eyes. "Mmmm. Erza?"
Erza bent down and softly kissed him on the lips. She pulled back a bit and smiled gently down at him. "Go and take your shower, I'll wait for you."
Nic just gazed up at the vision of beauty sitting atop him and broke into a soft smile. He slowly got up from his groggy nap and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind. Erza waited as she heard the water run for his shower. While she took her time in the bath to relax, she heard the shower go for Nic and didn't seem too bothered. Mentally, she should've asked him to join her in the bath, though that's a privacy issue she couldn't help.
The door soon opened, and Nic came out fresh with his shirt and pants all fresh as can be as well. He grinned softly as he made way back towards the bed and laid down on his side, looking tiresome yet happy at Erza as she did the same.
"You've been through a lot, haven't we?" Erza questioned softly. "You've had it rough all your life, and now here you are, safe and sound in bed for the first time."
"This feels…good." Nic said. "I was always enclosed to sleeping in rough places, but experiencing this feels nice."
Erza wiggled her way closer to him and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer so as to have their foreheads touch. "I've been waiting a long time to see you relax." She opened her eyes a little. "You've had it rough, and your training has put you in a tired state."
Nic snickered. "Well I do burn a lot of energy. I need to sleep it off."
Erza chuckled low and kiss his cheek as she began to crawl over him. She turned Nic over onto his stomach and straddled his back. "Let's just both enjoy our own company while the others are out." She began to pull up his shirt and began to massage his back, starting to slide her hands up and down his back, feeling his muscles and tensed up shoulders.
As Erza applied a squeeze to the shoulder tension, Nic had a big smile as he never felt so good in his life. He felt Erza apply pressure and massage his back, getting her fingers underneath the shoulder blades, reaching the muscles and moving her thumbs in circular motions.
"I'd like that very much." Nic muttered as he could've slept. Erza smiled as she massaged Nic some more, sliding and rubbing pressure up and down his very toned body. He obviously kept himself in really great shape since every muscle wasn't large, but very toned to where it was like you could hit him with a punch and he couldn't feel it. She soon slid forward and pressed her body against his back, hugging him as he felt the warmth her body gave off.
Nic soon returned the favor by getting up and allowed Erza to sit on her back, relaxing as he was on the end of the bed and began to show his appreciation by beginning to massage her feet. Erza felt her feet tickle just a little as Nic rubbed his thumbs up and down. He was being nice and slow; applying what came naturally to him.
Erza moaned as Nic curled her toes on a foot and pressed into her foot with his thumbs. "Mmmm. Nic…"
After several minutes of Nic massaging Erza, he slid back up and let out a satisfied moan as Erza turned to him with a smile of satisfaction.
Erza turned herself over and sat atop of Nic, straddling him once more as she pressed her body against his and began to passionately kiss again. Both their worlds spun and seemed like nothing as the two were lost in another, focused solemnly on the other. Comfort and love filled the air, as did the sweet smell of strawberries. Nic felt Erza's body get pulled in closer as she hugged the back of his head as he hugged her by the waist.
As the two were seen on the bed, getting cozy and kissing with pure pleasure, they didn't notice a few faces peeking through the slightly open curtains.
Peeping through the glass and curtains alike were the Trimens of Blue Pegasus, all three lost at how Nic and Erza were so happy.
"Such dedication those two have." Hibiki admired. "It'd be a crime to come between their love."
"Their loyalty is so inspiring. I wish I found someone like that." Eve admitted.
"Yeah, I guess. We're not jealous that they can find love better than us or anything like that." Ren said, acting cool as ever.
"Aren't they just adorable boss?" Eve asked. No answer. "Boss?" He turned towards Ichiya. "Sir Ichiya?"
To their disbelief, and slight horror, Ichiya was holding up a clenched fist, a fiery aura around his body as he looked so serious it almost looked painful.
"Ichiya?" Hibiki asked.
"My Honey has gone and played hookey for another." Ichiya scowled. "This Nic Pularis has My Honey in his clutches, but he shall not win this war!" He pointed at the sky. "You may smell the parfume of love and bask Miss Erza in it, but know this: This is the parfume of rivalry!"
"Uh…" Eve sweatdropped. "I don't think that's such a good idea."
Hibiki nervously smiled. "If he wants Erza, this may be rivalry and war the way he wants it."
Ren looked down nervously. "Oh geez."
Day soon turned to night, and Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were all on a street and ha a few sets of flowers on them. "It's really amazing how there's so many flowers here." Lucy admitted.
"Well they don't call it the flower blooming capital for nothing." Happy pointed out.
"Fight!"
Natsu's ear twitched when he heard that one word. He turned and smirked with glee. "A fight?! Count me in!" He turned around and saw a huge crowd gathered and he ran towards the scene. "Alright, I knew there'd be action to…"
Natsu's nose twitched, and Happy immediately picked up on his buddy's face growing surprise. "Natsu?"
"You smell that?" He asked. "It smells…it smells like…" His eyes widened. "A Dragon!"
He barged right through the crowd, where he saw two men.
One was a guy with blonde, spiky hair. He had a skin tight gray under armor that stopped before the abs. Over that was a fur-lined blue jacket with no sleeves. He had blue gloves that went up to his toned forearms. His pants were black, and the inner part was white and outlined with yellow.
Right next to him was a black haired man with red eyes. He had a black coat that cloaked him, but you could see his long sleeved gray shirt that had a dark sash at the waist. He huge straps of leather hanging with red symbols that were outlined in yellow.
The blonde smirked as he stepped on a guy's head, spectating the sprawled bodies all around. "Anyone else want some?"
"Talk about weak." Lector commented.
"Frosch thinks so too!" Frosch agreed.
Natsu crawled through the crowd, finally getting a good look as he made way in front. "What's going on?!"
The crowd cleared for him and Happy as they came face to face with the two men, who noticed them and seemed rather uncaring for his presence.
"Rogue, look who decided to show up." The blonde said.
"Natsu Dragneel?" Rogue said with slight surprise.
Happy pointed at the Exceeds of Lector and Frosch. "Cats?!"
Lector pointed at Happy. "Who's this stupid-looking blue pussycat?"
"And they can talk too?!" Happy shrieked.
"Takes one to know one." Lucy stated.
"Alright, who the heck are you guys?" Natsu asked, getting up.
The crowd gasped as Natsu had the audacity to ask.
"You mean you never heard of Sting and Rogue?! The Twin Dragons of the Sabertooth Guild?!" A man exclaimed.
"So wait, these guys are part of Sabertooth?" Lucy asked.
"Oh really? You guys don't look so tough." Natsu growled.
Sting chuckled as he glowered down at Natsu. "So, the rumors about you entering are true."
"How do you know who I am?" Natsu demanded.
Sting gave a cocky smirk. "Everybody knows…" He leaned in, his face darkening. "And we also know you're the so-called Dragon Slayer who couldn't slay a Dragon." He reeled back as Natsu growled in frustration over that memory, about how Acnologia trumped them all and had to be saved by the Weather Trio.
Sting shrugged. "What's sad is that I actually looked up to you." He turned towards Rogue. "And my pal here was a big fan of Gajeel."
"It's rather a curiosity as he was a Dragon Slayer." Rogue corrected.
Natsu's eyes dilated in shock. "No way…" He felt goosebumps crawl. "Don't tell me…"
"You guessed it." Sting said. "We're true Dragon Slayers, because we could've taken down Acnologia."
"You wouldn't know, because you weren't up against that monster like we were." Lucy corrected.
"Yeah, you can't say what you don't know!" Happy shouted.
Lector snickered. "Boy, they're as dumb as they look!"
"It doesn't matter if we weren't there or not." Rogue pointed out. "It all boils down to the fact that we are of a superior generation than you First Generation Dragon Slayers."
Natsu's eyes narrowed. "Generation?"
"Maybe we should clear this up for you." Lector cleared his throat. "You see, the Dragon Slayers of you, Wendy, and Gajeel are First Generation because you got your Magic directly from Dragons. That guy Laxus and Cobra from the Oracion Seis weren't trained by Dragons rather had Dragon Slayer Lacrima implanted, thus making them Second Generation Dragon Slayers. And then there's Sting and Rogue, who are Third Generation, because they were trained by Dragons and had Dragon Slayer Lacrima implanted in them, making them more powerful.
"Third Generation?" Natsu exclaimed.
"In other words, you wish you were half as strong as they are." Lector added.
Natsu skipped to the point. "So tell me, did your Dragons disappear the year X777 too?"
"…You can say that." Sting chimed.
"Moral to the point, they died." Rogue corrected.
The group's eyes widened as Lucy covered her mouth. Natsu's heart pulsed as he felt anger boil with a mixture of revelation.
"The Dragons that gave us our power were brought down by our very own hands." Rogue added. "That why we're true Dragon Slayers."
Lucy stepped back. "You killed them?"
"You scum! Those were your parents!" Natsu shouted in retort.
Sting scoffed as he turned around. "Listen, if you somehow make it pass the qualifying round, we'll give you a taste of what true Dragon Slayers can do. And Nic wouldn't last half as long as you." He turned away. "Let's go Rogue."
"Agreed. We wasted enough time with this old generation." Rogue began walking away, with Sting looking back with a cocky smirk as Natsu stood in anger and had veins all over.
Lector scoffed as well. "Makes sense these old generation Dragon Slayers carried around this kind of filth."
"Frosch thinks so too!" Frosch followed Lector as they left Happy with puffy cheeks and tick marks all over his face.
The crowd began to disperse, leaving the two angered and Lucy discomforted. The whole scene dialed down, and Natsu turned away.
"Natsu?" Lucy asked.
Natsu began to walk off. "Come on, Happy! We're going back!"
"Aye!" Happy stormed off with Natsu, leaving Lucy to follow.
The group met up with Gray at the Inn, walking up the steps of stairs. They all had discomfort written on their faces. It was clear Gray didn't seem to have enjoyed himself, and he could tell Natsu and Happy weren't too thrilled.
"This bites." Natsu muttered.
"Ain't that the truth." Gray agreed. "Should've just stayed in bed this morning."
Lucy's eyes widened. "Speaking of bed, weren't Nic and Erza alone all day?"
"Yeah, so?" Natsu opened the door to their room they were told to go to. They all came to a screeching halt when they saw something that was a complete 180 compared to their situations.
Lucy put a hand over her mouth as she gasped. Happy, Natsu, and Gray all just stared as they saw the two. Nic was sleeping on his side soundly, holding Erza with an arm wrapped around her stomach as he had her back pressed against his abdomen. Erza's hair was right against his nose as their heads were on the pillow, with one leg intertwined with the other. Both were sound asleep.
"Well it looks like someone was having a swell time." Gray noted.
Natsu put his hands over his head. "Well this is something. They sure got cozy. Dozing off like that is a surprise."
"It's so adorable." Lucy stated.
Erza stirred awake, her eyes opening up to find the four at the doorway. She moaned as her vision cleared and lifted her head up.
"You guys…" She looked back at Nic, who was completely out, and then at the clock. She then narrowed her eyes at the four. "You're late."
In a few minutes, through much of a hassle, Erza gently woke up her lover, and he gently arose and the two sat on the end of the bed and looked at the group sitting on their knees in guilt.
"Explain yourselves." Erza stated. "Where have you been?"
Gray's eyes twitched. "Having an unenjoyable dinner." He said.
"We ran into a rowdy bunch. A nasty duo from Sabertooth." Lucy stated.
Nic's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
Natsu and Happy both shuddered as they remembered the last comments thrown at them. They both had a multitude of tick marks and finally snapped. Bot balled their fists and shouted up. "THOSE STUPID JERKS ARE GONNA WISH THEY NEVER CROSSED ME!" They shouted in unison.
Nic noticed something. "Where's Wendy?"
Lucy looked around, startled. "Uh, now that you mention it…"
Natsu looked around. "She's not here?"
"I betcha Carla is with her, so I bet wherever she is, the other is too." Happy suspected.
Erza looked up at the clock, almost five minutes to midnight. "It's almost midnight. Where could she be?"
Lucy covered her mouth, gasping and shuddering. "Oh my god. I hate thinking what a little girl is doing so late! Delinquency. Bad company. Up all night." Her mind was racing too fast as she pictured Wendy robbing, becoming a gang member, or even riding a carriage with shades.
"IT'S TOO HORRIBLE!" Lucy muffled.
Gray sighed. "I hate to break you from your trance, but this isn't one of your stories, Lucy."
The door handle suddenly creaked open, and everyone's attention drew to the door opening. They'd expected Wendy and Carla, but to their surprise, and hidden disappointment, it was Vanessa and Elfman.
"Hey guys!" Vanessa happily called out.
"We brought supplies to help you get through the tournament." Elfman stated, holding a large carton of beverages.
Nic looked surprised. "Elfman. Vanessa."
Vanessa smiled. "We came to cheer you on of course. And we thought we could help out." She smiled wider. "That's what family is for."
Natsu walked up to Elfman. "Say, you come to cheer us on too?"
"Yeah, though I wanted to impress my sisters." He looked away, slightly ashamed. "But a real man knows when to quit."
Vanessa looked up to Elfman, grinning in encouragement. "Now don't say that when you didn't begin. You'll get your big break."
Elfman grinned. "Yeah, you're right."
Nic walked over and retrieved his coat and pivoted, putting it on and fitting in the Poke Ball buckle. With his shoes next, he turned towards his sister. "Vanessa, by any chance, have you seen Wendy?"
"No." Vanessa frowned. "You mean she's not here?"
"Yeah, she's supposed to be back before midnight." Gray explained.
"Midnight, for what?" Elfman asked. "Something manly?"
"We're not sure." Erza said. "But we're worried, and if Wendy isn't back before-!"
A large tick clicked on the clock, and a huge ding echoed throughout the whole city of Crocus.
DING! DING! DING!
It was midnight, and everyone looked at each other with uneasiness. Nic and Erza looked with heavy concern as they knew a bad feeling when they felt it.
"Goo~d morning, to all who are participating in the X791 Grand Magic Games, pumpkin!"
Everyone's attention turned to the balcony, where they all ran up to the edge and saw a huge hologram of a short guy in a pumpkin head costume.
"What the heck?" Gray exclaimed.
"Hello! To kick off this year's games, we're starting the preliminaries, which shall narrow the 113 guilds participating, all the way down to a mere 8, pumpkins!"
Erza's eyes were wide. "This is new. Preliminaries?"
"So that's why we were supposed to be back at midnight." Nic said, equally as shocked.
"113 guilds." Natsu muttered. "What a competition."
'Why would they keep this preliminary round a secret until now?' Erza thought, heavily suspicious. '113 guilds, secrets, and no leads to anything. What are these organizers up to?'
'Mysterious power…Jellal's suspicions…holding secrets.' Nic's eyes narrowed. 'Something's very wrong.'
The pumpkin man was shifting and dancing all around, looking fruitful as can be. "Every year, the number of guilds entering always increases, and I was thus told these events have been getting boring." The pumpkin man chimed as he danced some more, pumpkins!" He then pointed to the sky.
"This year, only eight shall participate! The elimination round shall begin, and is simple, pumpkin!"
The ground began to quake, and Nic and everyone felt the whole inn shake. Natsu immediately fell to the floor and puffed his cheeks.
"What's happening?!" Gray exclaimed.
Erza looked over the edge, seeing the ground get farther away. "The inn, it's transforming!"
The inn reached a tall height, with the underside being something metallic. They all saw many other inns rise, 113 total. They all saw many inns held up, shocking them all to no end.
"The rules are simple!" The pumpkin shouted. "This shall be a race! Your goal is to reach Domus Flau, the colosseum! The first eight to make it there shall participate in this year's games, pumpkin!"
A sudden stone pathway began to materialize and escalate in front of the Fairy Tail members participating. Natsu got back to his feet and saw the stone staircase rising up.
"Stairs?" Nic questioned.
"You may use Magic however you see fit! No restrictions, pumpkin!" He announced. "But remember, the first eight shall qualify, and must have all five members present to pass, pumpkins!"
Everyone's shock just kept mounting as they knew things were bad with Wendy not present.
"Oh, and one more thing…we don't take responsibility for any lives lost in the labyrinth, pumpkin!"
"Labyrinth?" Gray questioned. His head turned up to where all the paths led. They all were left baffled as there was a huge sphere in the sky. It was humungous, and it looked like a metal moon with a city inside of it.
"What…is that?" Natsu said.
"Erza?" Nic asked without looking at her. His tone was serious.
Erza balled her fists. "I know, this is bad."
The pumpkin head vanished, but his voice echoed loud and clear.
"Let the Sky Labyrinth elimination round…begin!"
13K exactly, that's the total from start to the finish, plus the beginning A/N. There you have it folks! I finally made Nic and Erza official! How did you like their moments? It was a long wait, and it pained a lot of you for many chapters, but the wait is over! Thanks for being patient! Was it as you had hoped? Fluff good and not too rushed?
For the next several chapters, everything will be long. I'm gonna cram each day into a chapter each, so these next 4 chapters will detail A LOT and all of each day from Sky Labyrinth to Day 4. So expect the next few chapters to be extremely long.
Did you also like Greninja learning Scald? Just so you know, no one else learned a new move, just him if you were wondering.
Please Favorite, Follow, & Review this story and/or chapter if you guys love the NicxErza romance and the escalating fights!
Next Time: Let the Games Begin