Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
July 4, X791
Arcadios, with Yukino walking by his side, led the Fairy Tail wizards and Phoenix Dawn Dragon Slayers through the dark and empty halls of the castle.
"What IS this place?" Natsu wondered as he took in the grand size of the hall.
"Never thought I'd find myself in a place like this." Frost said to herself.
"The Palace of Flowers and Light, Mercurius." Wendy said.
"This is the palace where the king and princess reside." Arcadios stated.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to go in?" Happy asked.
"First thing's first…" Arcadios said. "I must apologize for the kidnapping of Miss Lucy a few days ago. I accept full responsibility."
"That was you?!" Natsu growled.
"I had not intended to put anyone in danger." Arcadios confessed.
"Sounds like you didn't care if she got hurt to me." Jayden said.
"I was under the impression that I needed the Celestial Wizard immediately, so the urgency made the strategy more forceful than it needed." Arcadios said. "I apologize. To be completely honest, the Grand Magic Games are not for the purpose of testing which guild in Fiore is the strongest. It is actually a ruse designed to collect enormous amounts of magic energy from powerful wizards in small doses."
"You're stealing magic from us?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"You rotten thieves!" Sakura growled.
"It may be unethical, but soon you will see that the end will justify our means." Arcadios said.
Everyone was intrigued by the words Arcadios had just used. They had all stopped walking when Arcadios showed them a massive steel door with a sun emblem at the center.
"This is Eclipse, the door that will change the world." Arcadios said. "In order to power it, we needed it to collect magic energy from powerful wizards such as yourselves. Upon the alignment of the sun and moon, bring the twelve keys and open the door. Upon its opening, you may travel four hundred years in time to defeat Zeref before he became immortal. That is the Eclipse Project!"
The moment they realized the door was literally a door to the past, everyone was staring at it in shock.
"Miss Lucy, I have heard that the flow of time in the Celestial World is different from our own." Yukino said.
"That's true, but…" Lucy stuttered.
"Celestial Wizards cross dimensional borders when contacting the Celestial World." Yukino continued. "This door opens using that power."
"At first, our plan was to use a substitute for Celestial Magic." Arcadios spoke. "However, with real Celestial Spirit Magic AND the twelve keys, this plan is more likely to succeed. Now, it could be said that Celestial Wizards are a necessity for the plan. The day the sun and moon will align… In other words, in three days, on July 7th, I request that you lend us some of your power, Lucy."
"July 7th!" Natsu gasped.
"That's the day our dragons disappeared…" Wendy muttered.
"Coincidence?" Gajeel asked.
"That is far enough!"
Everyone looked back where they came and saw dozens of soldiers surrounding them with their weapons pointed in their direction.
"The Royal Army?!" Arcadios exclaimed.
"I will ask you to come quietly, Colonel Arcadios." A short old man approached them, commanding the soldiers.
"Defense Mister! What is the meaning of this?!" Arcadios questioned.
"That is the question I should be asking you!" Defense Minister Darton retorted. "This plan is top secret. For you to reveal such national security secrets is an outrage!"
"These people will play a crucial role in the Eclipse Project!" Arcadios defended.
"That is not your decision!" Darton shouted.
"You are only doing this because you oppose the plan! I ask you to stop this foolishness immediately!"
"Of course I oppose it! It would alter history! Just think for a second how dangerous that is, you whelp!"
*He has a point.* Jayden thought. *If they were to stop Zeref before he became a menace, that would drastically alter the present.*
"Colonel Arcadios, you are under arrest for suspicion and treason against king and country!" Darton ordered. "Yukino Aguria and Lucy Heartfilia, you are under arrest as well! The rest of them are to be ejected from the palace!"
"What?!" Gray gasped.
"Wait, what am I-!" Lucy tried to speak.
"You jerks!" Natsu snarled as he lit his fist on fire. "Don't mix Lucy up in this!"
"Stop!" Arcadios shouted at Natsu. "You can't use your magic here!"
The sun emblem on Eclipse began to shine and the flame around Natsu's fist fizzled out. He fell to the ground as if his stamina was drained.
"Natsu!" Lucy shouted.
"Didn't Arcadios tell you that there is a system that collects small amounts of magic power during the games?" Darton asked. "Getting too close to it will almost completely sap you of your strength. I would prefer no fuss here. We don't consider wizards who cannot use their magic as enemies of the state."
There was no point in struggling, so the Fairy Tail and Phoenix Dawn wizards, except for Lucy, were forced out of the castle. They were let go to avoid any public backlash since Fairy Tail was currently in the lead and Phoenix Dawn was also considered one of the crowd favorites over the last few days.
At the Greedy Mimic, Frost was helping Sakura relieve her anger by punching her ice so that she wouldn't take it out on the wall and Blaise would have to pay for the damages.
"Why won't they let us help them?!" Sakura shouted.
"Could you speak up?" Jayden asked. "I don't think the SLEEPING people in the inn could hear you!"
"Don't be a smartass." Frost said.
"Sakura, Lucy's in THEIR guild." Jayden said. "They don't want us involved in something that could shut down BOTH of our guilds. I don't like it any more than you do, but that's just how it is. For right now, we should focus on the winning the games."
Sakura delivered one final, powerful punch that completely obliterated the ice to microscopic fragments.
July 6, X791
Fireworks filled the sky and a large audience in Domus Flau cheered with excitement.
"That final day of the Grand Magic Games is upon us!" Chapati announced. "Whether it be through smiles or tears, today we will know which guild will prove themselves as the strongest! As always, I, Chapati, will provide play-by-play commentary along with former Council member, Mr. Yajima."
"All the besht to you." Yajima said.
"And our special guest for today is none other than the mascot of the Grand Magic Games, Mato!"
"Punkin!" Mato said.
"You don't need to referee today, Mato?" Chapati asked.
"No problem with that today, punkin!" Mato replied. "Everyone, do your best! Punkin!"
"Now, it's just about time for the competing teams to make their entrance into the arena!" Chapati told the audience. "In seventh place, can they make the comeback of the year? The always beautiful Blue Pegasus!"
Ichiya, the Trimens and Jenny entered the arena, posing fabulously and stylishly.
"One spot ahead, the lovely ladies of Mermaid Heel!"
All five women representing Mermaid Heel walked into the arena with various expressions of determination.
"Lamia Scale!"
Jura, Lyon, Chelia, Yuka and Toby appeared.
"And, currently in fourth, will they lose the crown? Or reclaim their title as 'strongest'? Sabertooth!"
Minerva, Sting, Rogue, Olga and Rufus entered, with Sting having a melancholic and stoic expression on his face as the audience began to talk amongst each other, partly because one of the Exceeds cheering them on, Lecter, was absent.
"What's this? Their mood is markedly different." Chapati stated.
"Perhapsh a newfound resholve?" Yajima guessed.
"Looking good, punkin!" Mato waved to Sabertooth.
"Now for the team currently in the bronze, the warriors of light, White Valkyrie!"
Kara, Bryant, Sora, Leah and Momo entered the arena, with all but Kara smiling and waving to the audience.
"And the runner-up, the rookies of the year, Phoenix Dawn!"
Walking into the stadium, Jayden, Sakura, Spiral, Melody and Frost were raring to go.
"And now, in first place, the guild that seven years ago they called the best! Will this be the day they make their official return to glory? Fairy Tail makes its entrance! … What?!"
Everyone was surprised, including Darton who was watching from the highest balcony, to see that Fairy Tail was now being represented by a team of Erza, Gray, Laxus, Gajeel and Juvia, with Natsu nowhere to be seen.
"We have a change in the lineup!" Chapati shouted.
"Where the hell is Natsu?!" Sakura yelled.
"I have an idea…" Jayden said.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Lionel since last night." Spiral said.
Natsu, Wendy and Mirajane were running through the abandoned streets of Crocus with Happy, Carla and Pantherlily flying behind them.
"It looks like the final day of the Grand Magic Games has begun." Mirajane said.
"Right! This is our chance!" Natsu said.
"You aren't going without me!"
They stopped to see Lionel standing behind them.
"You're one of those Dragon Slayers from Phoenix Dawn." Wendy said.
"You're going to rescue those girls, right?" Lionel surmised. "My guildmates are keeping out of the business of yours, but I'm not going to lie down for this."
"Is it because you have a soft spot for Lucy?" Mirajane teased.
"Shut up!" Lionel scoffed, turned his head away and blushed.
"If we're going to infiltrate the castle, we'll need disguises!" Happy proclaimed.
Natsu was dressed in a bear costume, Mirajane in a sexy dancer outfit, Wendy in a Mato costume and Lionel in a yellow chicken costume.
"Perfect!" Happy said.
"This. Is. Stupid." Lionel grumbled.
"I have a better plan!" Mirajane interjected.
"I knew Mira would know what to do!" Natsu said.
After several minutes, each of the teams went to different parts of the capitol.
"This battle will test each team's martial skills, magic and trust in their comrades!" Chapati announced. "In the final day's full-team survival battle! This time the battlefield is the entire city of Crocus! Each team is scattered through the town and is standing by! When any member wandering through the town meets an enemy, a battle must ensue! Knock out your opponent or stop him or her from continuing to fight and your team gets one point added to your score! Also, each guild's team has one leader! The other teams won't know who that leader is. But if your defeat the leader, the winning team gets five points! That means a single team could theoretically score up to 63 points! And every guild has a chance at the win! Do the teams stay united, or do they split up? We will see their strategies unfold!"
"Let's knock some teeth out!" Sakura slammed her fists together. "And I know who I'm going for first!"
*Now that Sakura mentions it…* Jayden thought as memories from the other day came back.
(Flashback)
A strange portal appeared around Aqua's right arm, almost to her shoulder. With a sadistic smirk, the portal vanished and Aqua's arm along with it.
"AAAAAGGGH!"
(End Flashback)
Jayden's fists tightened with rage.
"Who will obtain the honor and stand at the pinnacle of the magic world?!" Chapati wondered. "Let the final Grand Magic Game…"
GOOOOOONG!
"BEGIN!"
All five Phoenix Dawn wizards dashed from their positions and went off to fight their own opponents.
"Ash I thought, mosht teamsh are deshiding to shplit up." Yajima observed.
"Everybody's doing their best, punkin!" Mato said.
"As expected, Sabertooth, whose members are beyond capabable, has split up completely." Chapati commented. "Others are splitting into pairs. Some are even in groups of three."
However, everyone was baffled by what was next shown on the screen.
"What is this?!" Chapati exclaimed. "All five members of Fairy Tail are just standing there with their eyes closed!"
As Sakura was running through the street, she started grumbling to herself.
"Why are they just standing there?!" Sakura growled. "They're going to miss out on the fun!" She could smell someone approaching, so she jumped up to the rooftop and continued to quietly run across them. *I really want to fight whoever that is, but I need my strength to fight him! I'm on his trail! You can't hide from me!"
A/N: I'm really sorry for this incredibly long wait! I've been busy with games and school, and now I'm starting to be busy with job searching. So chapters might not be updated as frequently as you may like. Please understand this and be patient with the updates. I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!