Chapter 3
A Fool
"So, are we all here?" Makarov asked as the ship began to sound its voyage.
"Is Natsu and his partner here?" the Master asked, beginning his roll call.
"Of course, we've been here ever since last night, right Happy?" Natsu said and his best friend, an Exceed with blue fur, agreed with him.
"How about Gray Fullbuster?" the Master asked yet again, and the mage simply nodded his head. Unknown to him, though, his t-shirt is already gone as he began sweating.
"You do know that you shouldn't be naked out here in the public, it's not really that, what's the word again, pleasing" his partner, Loke, said. Loke is a Celestial Spirit, and for some odd reasons, he managed to become a mage in Fairy Tail. But the thing is no one knows his purpose for joining the Guild or if he has a master already.
"Shit! When did it," Gray panicked as he searched around the ship to find his t-shirt.
During this commotion, Levy and her partner, Pantherlily, another Exceed with a magic power that could match Erza's, were called and so is Freed and Bickslow and Elfman and Evergreen.
"Now, what do we have here? Mest Gryder and Wendy, are you two present?" Makarov said and the ship began to sail, causing the fire mage to fall down.
'A weakness that might kill him, but you have to stop yourself, Imit—Lucy, you cannot kill him because only Nee-chan says so,' Lucy thought darkly as she saw Natsu asking, or more like, begging for help to cure his motion sickness.
'Oh, and his stupidity will kill him too,'Lucy thought as an afterthought before feeling Lisanna tapping her shoulder.
"Hey, the Master's calling you," Lisanna said and Lucy smiled brightly before answering through the roll call.
"Please, if we're going to be partners, can you tell me what's bugging you, it doesn't seem normal now," Lisanna said but Lucy managed to brush her off yet again.
"Cana Alberona and Meredy, are you two here?" Makarov asked and a faint answer was heard. Meredy, the girl from Calt Shelter who joined together with Wendy, who, quite oddly, knows and possess magic powers that exceeds even Wendy's. She battled Oracion Seis with Natsu and the others and somehow, Cana managed to team up with her.
"Of course gramps!" Cana said loudly while Meredy smiled.
"Don't worry, it is just, well, I'm kind of nervous, I mean, this ismy first time but I'd like to prove myself that Master didn't chose me because of what the other mages in our Guild thought of, but because of my skill," Lucy said with a genuine yet nervous smile. And they chatted about it up until the ship came into a sudden stop.
"Now, the competition would be held like this, at the shore of Tenroujima, there would be eight caves for you to choose. Four of those caves consist of the S-Class Wizards we have in Fairy Tail, while there are three where you'll have to fight with the other contenders. That is all, let the battle begin!" Makarov said. Everyone stayed silent as they waited for the boat to continue its voyage but then...
"So long losers! Let's go Happy!" Natsu said, his feet started to light up.
"Aye!" the Exceed quickly catches on. Even if Happy isn't good with hand-to-hand battle, the Exceed knows how to fly and can even match Jet's speed on air.
The two were off into the horizon as Freed and Bickslow left.
"Let's go Lisa—ouch!" Lucy said as she bumped into what seemed like an invisible wall.
"These are Freed's runes, good thing I know how to handle them!" Levy said as she quickly chanted a spell and was able to fly together with her partner, Lily, who soared to the air.
"Thanks Lev—ouch! Unfair!" Lucy complained as another wall appeared and sighed. Should she, or should she not use her powers? Hmm...
"I know Freed too much, this is nothing but an easy task Elfman," Evergreen said as the two of them escaped the clutches of the wall which was timed for another 15 minutes, Elfman quickly transformed into what seemed like a whale and catches on with the rest.
"Oh man! Now we're stuck here," Gray complained as he watches the other competitors disappear within the horizon. Lucy sighed and stopped herself. No, for the mission, she can't use her power. No, no. She must not use it. Gray's and Mest's team are still here. And, well, she doesn't really care if she lost right?
"So, my name is Loke and truth to be told, I'm a famous Celestial Spirit, I've heard that you're a Celestial Mage and what do you say that the two of us make a contract after the tournament?" Loke said as he held the mage by her shoulder. What? How did he? Is there a possibility that...
"I'm not a Celestial Mage, Loke, what are you talking about?" Lucy said as she laughed nervously. No. How can she forget about this spirit. Nee-chan specifically told her not to reveal that she's using Celestial magic.
"Yes, Loke, and can you please not flirt with Lucy, you'll just distract her you know, besides, she's not even a Celestial Mage," Lisanna reprimanded the Lion Spirit. But even so, Loke's gazes didn't changed, as if they were questioning Lucy.
"But remember, my princess, you still have our loyalty," Loke said before he and Gray disappeared. Lucy was left in a daze. He knows? He knows their plan? And he's willing to help her? Then that would be...
"Perfect! Let's go Lisanna!" Lucy said as she clapped her hand into thin air. Lisanna quickly transformed into a whale and left the Sky Dragon Slayer and her partner back in no time at all.
"So, which way?" Lucy asked Lisanna, letting her partner decide. Whatever path they take doesn't change the fact that win or lose, she already got what she wanted. And that is to...
"Finally, we reached the island," Wendy said towards Mest who nodded. And before Lisanna had the chance to choose a route, Mest already took the other one.
"Well, then that means we take Route E?" Lucy said and Lisanna laughed.
"It is good to know that you're not nervous anymore!" Lisanna cheered and Lucy nodded.
"I have my confidence in you, Lisanna, so I won't be nervous any longer," Lucy lied smoothly.
Back With Natsu...
"Fire Dragon Twister!" Natsu said as he blew out a roar accompanied by his Wing Attack which, by far, is a strong attack.
"But Natsu, if you can't catch me, how can you possibly hit me?" Mirajane taunted as she easily dodged the attack of Natsu.
"Demon Soul: Arachne!" Mirajane said as a huge magic circled surrounded her before her hands and feet were divided into two, her eyes multiplying and her hair turning into silk.
"Webs! Webs!" Mirajane laughed as she spun webs after webs towards Natsu and Happy, immobilizing the two mages.
"You should've brought a better partner, you know, anyways, I'm getting bored with ya," Mirajane said in a rather taunting voice. Happy was surprised at the sudden comment of Mirajane and the feeling of sadness dominated him.
"What are you talking about, there's no better partner for me other than Happy!" Natsu said as he sensed the sadness of his best friend. This made Happy smile a bit but then...
"Really, what about Lisanna, she's a much better choice than Happy, at least she has the sk—" Mirajane was cut off as Happy lunged himself towards the demon.
"Ouch! What was that for! Wait! How did you even escape?" Mirajane said but cannot move as Happy continued to hit her. And Happy's skull isn't very soft at all.
"Take it back! Take it back!" Happy said as he continued to attack Mirajane with his new found strength. And then, Mirajane felt warm before getting burned. Natsu, who managed to burn the webs, smirked and gave a high five towards Happy.
"I underestimated you two, hmm, more fun for me!" the demon reverted back to her original form before becoming the form she's feared the most.
"Satan Soul Takeover!" she yelled and Magic Power overflowed the whole cave.
"Feel my wrath, Salamander and your little cat!" Mirajane smirked, Natsu, who understood what Mirajane is doing right from the very beginning, charged his magic and attacked the demon, being boosted by Happy who acted as his wings.
And a huge explosion appeared.
"I...I lost?"
With Gray...
"We did it," Gray sighed as the two left the arena, leaving a knocked out Wendy and a Mest who seemed to be in a daze.
"Those two were actually quite strong," Loke commented as they exited the room.
"Yes, who would have thought that Mest is really that strong, but anyway, this just means that we're a lot stronger than before," Gray smirked as they reached the lodge where the winners stay.
"So, we're the first ones here, huh?" Gray asked Loke, and Loke simply nodded his head.
Together With Cana...
"Maguilty Rays!" Meredy shouted as she sent yellow blades flying towards her opponent who seemed to be adept at dodging.
"Redemption plus Lax, Sleep!" Cana said as she threw her cards towards the S-Class Mage who easily manoeuvre away from the magic.
"It is my turn! My blades, dance!" Erza yelled as she threw the blades towards Cana, who wasn't ready to defend herself at all.
"Maguilty Sodom!" Meredy casted as she blocked the blades of Erza with ease.
"Tsk," Erza said as she transformed her magic and changed towards her Lightning Empress Armor.
"Lightning Waves!" Erza smirked as she placed the spear directed towards the ground, and before both mage could react, they were sent into the shock of their lives. Literally.
"AAAAH! Cana, I'm sorry, win for me, okay?" Meredy said as the effects of the lightning wore off, and then, she fell out of consciousness.
"It's okay, Meredy, you did your best and of course," Cana said, closing her fist to avenge her friend and win this round for her.
"I planned to win this..." Cana sweat dropped as she saw her opponent lying on her back, fast asleep and was burnt just like them.
Just like them? But, Erza isn't wet, right?
And then, her eyes took a peek of something, a small, pink light slowly disappeared from Erza's arm, and seeing that made Cana leap in joy.
"Thank you Meredy! Good job little girl," Cana said as she carried the sleeping mage with ease, knowing full well what she did.
This is Levy
"Solid Script: Scream!" Levy chanted as a huge sound wave headed to her opponents, hoping to immobilize them just for a few minutes.
"Beast Soul Takeover: Rock Golem!" Elfman casted as his body turned rock hard before turning into stones. He then surrounded Evergreen with his body.
"I never thought that you could petrify yourself, I can't help but say you look better as a rock," Evergreen said before realizing what she just uttered.
"I mean, you look a lot casual, that's all, I mean, you're still ugly and all that," Evergreen stated in a panicking tone.
'What if he thinks things wrongly, I'm going to die!' Evergreen thought in grief but was surprised that she was left behind by her partner who is now attacking Levy yet again.
"Solid Script: Shield!" Levy casted as she deflected Elfman's Monster Plant Thorns, Evergreen saw this as a chance to end the battle as she saw the opening Levy left.
"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" Evergreen casted and this surprised Levy, making her unable to cast yet another shield.
"AH!" Levy can't help but yell as she was knocked out unconscious.
"We won!" Elfman cheered, Evergreen couldn't help but smile, she was still indeed guilty of what she's done and this is a way she can repay Elfman.
But then, she felt herself being lifted from the ground and couldn't help but yell in frustration as Elfman threw her into the air like a doll. Well, at least she's still a beautiful doll.
"But you can't help but agree that I took out all of our enemies, I mean, you wouldn't be able to win if I wasn't able to petrify Pantherlily at the very beginning," Evergreen proudly stated and Elfman couldn't help but start an argument.
Freed and Bickslow
"Hmm, I didn't got carried away, did I?" a bruised and wounded Jellal said as blood trickled down his forehead. The fight was hard and these mages are very powerful that he couldn't help but hold back anymore.
"Well, you got me so worked up so, well, see you next year?" Jellal said and an awkward silence surrounded him.
He was, by far, the second-to-the worst mage in holding back.
Lucy Heartfilia
"Light Beam!" Lucy yelled but the attack was blocked by a wall of ice before being refracted back to her.
"Your magic is useless against me and with your friend knocked out of consciousness, just give up," Ultear said calmly. Lucy managed to dodge the refracted attack and sighed.
"Okay, fine, because I see that this isn't bringing me anywhere, okay, I give up," Lucy said and this surprised Ultear and angered her at the same time. How can this mage just give up like that? Doesn't she know how hard the others worked just to attain this?
"Ice Make: Rose Prison!" Ultear casted but Lucy effortlessly dodged that.
"Why did you attacked me when I gave up? Isn't that what you want? For me to give up? Unfair!" Lucy said with a sly smile. Her mission is beginning. And that is to start the war.
"Anyways, all of you guys are unfair, having a happy life, while my sister is suffering, while the kindest person I know became corrupted, all of you are only concerned about this useless tournament that gives you nothing but prestige, something that is useless, anyways, I'm out of here," Lucy said as she walked towards Lisanna and carried her towards the exit.
"What did you just say?" Ultear said in disbelief but then, light waves rose from the ground and trapped the mage, then, a cage filled with flowers made of light grew and drowned Ultear.
"Well, I won! Fooled yah!" Lucy said before laughing as if she just outsmarted the sly mage.
"And I intend to do it to everyone," Lucy whispered darkly, not knowing that the girl she's carrying is already awake and heard everything that she said.
'Fool everyone? Can Lucy really do that?' Lisanna thought to herself as she did her best in faking her sleep.
End
A.N: If you haven't noticed it, I forgot Elfman in Chapter 2, consider him as one of the mages Lucy/Imitatia didn't saw.