[Re-edited 04/24]

Welcome back! Buckle in, it's a long one. Battle royale craziness ahead, and after this my brain needs a major fight break XD

Seriously, who's idea was it to do a 4 on 4 team battle…

Cuz she's crazy…

~Onward!

32

-The Third Trial-

With the sun sinking over the horizon, shadow now blanketed the upper island, adding another layer of difficulty to the looming battle. The dark also lent a potential advantage to the dragon slayers and Freed with his Dark Écriture, but Haru wouldn't be underestimating any of their six opponents and he knew Lucy wouldn't either. The upper island was much smaller than the one below from which it sprang and as such, the available space for a four-way team battle was fairly limited. Their senior guildmates had spread out around the perimeter of the island, ready to jump to the rescue of anyone knocked over the side if they found themselves unable to prevent their fall. The five S Class and Makarov would also be observing and weighing in on a final judgement, should the match not come to a clear 'total knock-out' winner as the had Master put it.

There were no real rules in place either, not that anyone was surprised. After all, there were no rules to protect you during an S Class mission, beasts, dark mages and other thugs would always take advantage of weak spots and distraction. Though in the end, they were all still family, and no one would pull anything truly underhanded or ruthless, or they wouldn't be worthy of the promotion anyway. The only real rules that had been laid out had to do with eliminations:

1. If you were knocked out, you were eliminated.

2. If you were knocked over the edge and unable to prevent your fall, you were eliminated.

3. If partners were eliminated, the Candidate could continue, but if the Candidate was eliminated, the partner was as well.

The competitors stood spaced out in an inner circle waiting for the Master's signal, all the picture of tense determination in the face of one last challenge to overcome. Lucy's eyes swept over the other three teams, she felt like they were all focused on Haru and herself. It might not be the case, but it certainly didn't help that Haru was part of the winning team the year prior or the fact that they cleared the first two challenges well ahead of the others...

"Do you think Gray and Freed will still focus on taking us out?"

"I would bet on it. But now we have Levy to consider as well. She's tactical enough to take advantage of a singular focus and I bet they'd come to regret ignoring her as a threat."

"Gajeel has also been getting more and more revved up throughout the challenge with all the perceived slights to his power."

Haru hummed in thought, "I wouldn't count on that working to our advantage," he finally settled on. At the stellar mage's curious expression he elaborated, "there isn't a rule stating you HAVE to work with your chosen partner, I could see Gajeel going rogue and just seeking out whatever he perceives to be toughest battle to prove himself."

Lucy nodded slowly, a finger prodding her bottom lip absently, "He'd go after you, given the chance."

The sudden bark of laughter Haru let out didn't seem appropriate to the insight she'd offered. She turned a questioning look his way but he just cocked his head toward their pink-haired partner. Natsu stood a far distance back, arms crossed over his chest and looking to be a strange mix of excited and exacerbated. With amusement plain on his face, Haru told her, "Natsu's gonna be going nuts stuck on the sidelines for this battle."

"THAT'S what you're thinking about right now?!" Lucy snapped incredulously.

Smiling again, Haru just clapped a hand over her shoulder. "Let the others break up their teams and come after us, as long as we don't let them split us up, we'll knock 'em all back!"

"Damn right!"

. . .

Haru had been right. Almost immediately after the battle royale began, some partnerships dissolved as their guildmates seemed to forget they were partners in the first place. Soon enough, everyone seemed to be pursuing their own goals. Gajeel had clashed with Haru right away, just as he'd predicted, and Gray had attempted to take advantage of the water mage's preoccupation, but Lucy had intercepted that. She noted that though Gray was fully focused on eliminating her or Haru as quickly as possible, Juvia for her part, was still singularly keen on providing every support she could to the ice mage.

Haru had entered Water Drive as soon as the match start was signalled, just as Lucy had suggested. He didn't need to worry about draining his magic too early because she vowed to be there to replenish his magic as needed. The draw back, was Gray had clearly figured out that if he took her out, he took out Haru's bottomless magic supply with her.

Meeting Gray strike for strike, Lucy whirled around him as she kept track of Juvia to ensure she couldn't be blindsided by the bluenette. Being connected telepathically with Haru while he was in his drive state, gave her a lot of extra information as well; with his senses on overdrive, it seemed everything he tuned into was filtered to her as well. So, they were both fully aware when Freed tore across the battlefield and launched himself into the air above them. He'd transformed into his Dark Ecriture demon form, donned his wings and was building up dark magic rapidly.

"Leave it to me!" Lucy declared, and Haru's affirmative echoed in her mind. "Star Reform: wings!" she yelled. Her own golden wings manifested, illuminating the dark in a halo around her. With a flare of enhanced speed, Lucy pivoted and drove her foot into Gray's ribs, knocking him off balance. Then, tearing away from her previous foe, she took off in a wide arc around the fighting dragon slayers in a golden blur. She jumped, flipping over Gajeel and planted her feet onto the iron pillar he was swinging at Haru. The force of her landing drove the attack down into the ground as she vaulted upward. Twirling in the air, she delivered a brutal and unexpected kick to the Freed's side. The blow threw the trajectory of his attack off and the dark flare bomb was sent careening across the field to explode in the distance.

Freed's eyes blew wide in awe. He'd never seen her wings, near identical to his own, before now. Despite the obvious surprise, it only took him a second to shake himself out of his stupor before answering her in an aerial battle.

At the same time, intense magic pressure was bursting off Gray and Juvia. The pair held hands, and the melding of their magic enveloped them both in a bluish glow as water and ice flared up around them. Droplets of water froze in the air as they both widened their stances and leaned in back-to-back. Extending their inside arms forward, the pair shouted in unison, "Ice Wave!" With the unison raid named, a giant wave burst forward and froze immediately into sharp spires of ice that carved up the earth beneath it. The wave continued to gain size, threatening to overtake Lucy, Freed and Bickslow all within its devastating path.

"I don't think so!" Haru yelled as he jumped over the swipe of Gajeel's arm-turned-chainsaw. He quickly nailed the iron mage with a solid kick before jetting himself across the field to intercept the encroaching attack. Facing down the powerful spell midair, he immediately drew the mixed magics to himself and consumed the wave in its entirety. Haru was inhaling deeply for his counterattack before he'd even landed. He dug the inside edge of his foot into the ground to slow his momentum, cheeks puffing with magic potential. "Blizzard-Water Dragon's ROAR!" A massive vortex of raging waters and blizzardy winds surged straight for Gray and Juvia, their own elements turned against them in the blink of an eye.

Gray managed to tuck and roll, taking only minimal damage from outer edges of the attack's range, but Juvia wasn't so lucky. The ice mage threw himself back at Haru before the Water Slayer even had a chance to recover and Gajeel did the same not a second later. All three men clashed in a barrage of spells and physical strikes, nearly disregarding their surroundings.

. . .

With a complete focus on knocking his toughest opponents out of the match while his strength was still at its highest, Gray failed to notice his partner had been caught up in Haru's attack. Juvia had been propelled toward the outer edge of the island, landing hard and rolling to a stop mere feet away from the perilous edge.

Natsu had watched the girl land, prepared to leap to her rescue if she'd fallen, but it appeared she'd gotten lucky this time. He remained a few meters back, well out of way of the ensuing matches to ensure he couldn't inadvertently cause interference. Peeling his eyes off of the water mage, he returned to his duties in officiating. It was driving him crazy, the coolest Fairy Tail brawl ever and he was barred from participation. Not that watching the insane eight-way war was not a blast in and of itself, of course. The eight competitors had all made some impressive strides over their month of training and he was enthralled, unable to decide where to focus his attention.

He caught a flash of pale blue on his peripheral and smirked as Levy burst from the surrounding foliage and raced straight for Juvia. Maybe he wouldn't call Juvia lucky just yet. Still barely a meter from plummeting off the edge, Juvia was just starting to shake off the spectacular point-blank hit she'd taken. Natsu observed the new development with mild interest. The small script mage was surprisingly quick, apparently having enhanced her speed with solid script winged shoes of some sort. Natsu wouldn't have expected any less form one of the most resourceful minds in their guild.

Levy arched around the seemingly disoriented water mage without slowing. "Sorry Juvia!" she called regretfully. Juvia's worried blue eyes snapped in her direction but she had no time to dodge. "But this is where you get off!" Levy continued cheekily, "Solid Script: wind!" Large white cursive appeared between them and produced tornado-level gusts that picked Juvia right off the ground and sent her sailing uncontrolled over the edge. Juvia screamed in panic and it was that sound, that finally tore Gray's attention from his two opponents.

"JUVIA!" he shouted, spinning on his heel, he sprinted straight for the edge, gathering ice at his palm while he ran. "Ice Make: chains!" he called frantically as he threw himself out of the sprint and slid to a stop on his stomach. His upper torso hung precariously over the edge as his chains flew after the falling form of his partner but his efforts were just a moment too late.

Natsu clicked his tongue in disappointment and dove off the edge in a burst of fire. He overtook Juvia in a split second and plucked her out of the air. Juvia screamed again and latched on to him with a death grip that had him rasping for air as he rolled midair to get his feet back under them. Channeling fire to his feet, he had them whipping back to the island in a fiery streak.

"Juvia, air... please..." Natsu gasped, as the flames erupting from his feet extinguished. He reached up to pry an arm away from his throat as Gray blinked owlishly, processing his set back.

"Dammit!" he growled, slamming his fist into the ground as the Fire Slayer gently lowered the girl back to her feet. Juvia slumped down to her knees, already bawling over letting her precious Gray down, and Natsu simply patted her head, his eyes already returning to dart over the continuing fights.

"It's okay Juvia, I will win this for both of us, because you believe in me!" Gray vowed vehemently.

Sparkling blue eyes met his and she fervently agreed, "Yes Gray Darling, you'll win, I know you will!"

Natsu chuckled and crossed his arms in front of his chest again, scanning the battle field as Makarov's voice echoed loudly over the small island, "First elimination: Juvia Lockser!"

Levy had vanished back into the cover of the Tenrou Tree's canopy as quickly as she'd appeared, it surprised Natsu that she hadn't taken advantage of Gray hanging over the edge, but something must have stopped her. She would never have let the opportunity pass otherwise. The corner of Natsu's mouth turned up, impressed with the deceptively simple strategy. The script mage had to know she didn't have the raw power to match the others in a fight, but she was likely the Guild's strongest strategic mind. Based on what he'd just seen, Natsu would place his bets that she'd remain hidden as long as she could, and would likely be one of the last ones standing. She would simply pick off anyone unfortunate enough to land in a vulnerable position that she could take advantage of. She'd also likely keep a close eye on her partner and be prepared to rescue him when he inevitably got into a pinch. Knowing Levy, when only a couple opponents remained, she'd reveal herself with a Gajeel-proof plan to finish the rest off and claim her victory.

Levy was far more dangerous than most of the competitors gave her credit for. A lesson Gray had surely just learned, as he certainly didn't seem so unilaterally focused on Haru and Lucy anymore.

Natsu turned his attention back to his partner again, Haru was still fully engaged with Gajeel in an intense one-on-one, though they did occasionally counter or block wayward attacks from the other participants. Gajeel must have been training hard himself, because though the Water Slayer had him on the defence for the most part, Gajeel was keeping relative pace. That was more than a little impressive, considering he had to overcome the power gap that Haru's Drive State presented. Natsu grinned, this was one of the more exciting match ups of the S Class trials so far.

'What will you do Haru?'

. . .

Haru flipped back, ducking down into a deep stance on all fours to just barely miss the flying shrapnel of Gajeel's Iron Dragon's Roar. He fired his own breath attack back in response and the violent water crashed into the other slayer, bursting apart on impact. Haru's eyes narrowed when his spell broke so suddenly, but he realized what had happened as soon as Gajeel was revealed. Dark metallic scales flecked over the other dragon slayer's skin in a familiar fashion. Not the armoured scale-patterned skin that Gajeel often summoned, but his own Iron Drive state. "Shit. Well, that's not good," Haru grumbled to himself under his breath.

"You like Poseidon? You aren't the only one with a new trick or two."

Haru straightened and snapped an arm out in time to block Gray with a hand above the elbow, just as the other man attacked from his blindspot. Wrenching the arm down, he shattered Gray's ice sword with a strike of his heel. Then he grasped his wrist as well, braced his outside foot, spun, and launched the ice mage straight at Gajeel. The iron mage batted Gray away as an inconvenience and leapt back in a dark blur, causing Haru to grind his teeth in annoyance. Haru knew immediately that Gajeel had just levelled the playing field. The bolstering to his already enhanced dragon senses would make it incredibly challenging to catch him off guard, and Drive State gave the user major power and speed boosts as well. Haru could only hope that the draw back for Gajeel, having not had the years of experience with it that he and Natsu had, would mean a much higher demand on the other's magic stores.

A pained cry above broke their standoff and had all three men scattering outward as Freed's body smashed into the ground between them to form a shallow crater. A flash of gold followed in chase, with Bixlow's totems swirling after the stellar mage and Haru quickly countered with a barrage of water bullets to knock them away from her. Lucy reappeared, wings vanishing as she adopted Taurus' star dress as she landed. She dipped low to grab the disoriented Freed's ankle and whipped him around like a rag doll thanks to the inhuman strength her transformation afforded her. Finally, she threw him toward the nearest edge, and Haru flinched when Lucy shouted for his back up telepathically. Her command reverberated through his head, but he reacted instantly all the same.

Lucy pulled her elbow back to her ear, her ethereal bow already in hand and let loose a streak of gold energy to find its mark square in the middle of Freed's chest, propelling him further back. "Water Dragon's tidal wave!" Haru added, compounding her spell with flawless precision. The large wave swelled behind Haru and with a swipe of his arm, was unleashed to submerge and solidify Freed's trip over the island's edge. Completely unconscious from the brutally coordinated attacks, Freed had already lost, regardless of whether he came to soon enough to fly back up.

Haru caught a glimpse of red hair fanning out as Erza dove over the edge to rescue him, and momentarily distracted, barely got his arm up in time to block a heavy metal kick from Gajeel. He bit out a pained growl as throbbing pain vibrated through his forearm. Had his own scales not been in place, that hit would have likely resulted in a broken ulna. Haru turned his arm and flexed his hand in experimentation, noticing cracked cerulean scales where he'd taken the hit. Might still be fractured…

"Second Elimination: Freed Justine and by association, Third Elimination: Bickslow!" the Master reported in a booming voice.

"Tough luck Laxus! I look forward to collecting on our bet!" Natsu belted out in a fit of laughter from somewhere on the outer edge. The lightning mage's own curses and retorting comments followed.

Still assessing his potential fracture, Haru skipped back a step as Lucy swirled around him and drove a knee into Gajeel's gut, buying him a second to recover. She cried out seconds later, when Gray's ice arrows took her in the back unexpectedly, sending both her and the Iron Slayer to the ground a few feet away where they immediately wrestled for control.

"30 minutes remaining!"

All four participants froze for the slightest of moments, as if they'd all forgotten about the time limit. Their eyes darted over one another and then the split-second calm shattered and they flew forward again, colliding with a barrage of attacks. Haru noted that the wear of the battle was apparent in all of them at this point. He could tell Gajeel was feeling the effects of maintaining Drive State for so long when it was still such a new spell, his movements were slowing and the force behind his blows were a little less brutal. Gray and Lucy were both appearing more dishevelled, their reaction time a little sluggish and rebounds a little slower. Lucy and their opponents weren't the only ones either, Haru was certainly feeling the effects of the long battle as well.

'Where is Levy?!' Haru thought, she was likely running at full strength. He realized with a start that he couldn't sense her at all, she must have figured out a way to use her magic to mask her scent and magic signature while training with Gajeel... That wasn't good news. He didn't have much time to ponder it though, dodging another attack from Gajeel put him square in the path of Gray's ice hammer and that miscalculation sent him flying. Clearly, his own reaction time was starting to suffer as well... Taking advantage, Gray followed up quickly with an Ice Cannon and Gajeel with a large-scale breath attack.

"Water Dragon's lair!" Haru yelled, conjuring the water shell just in time to take the brunt of the powerful combination attack. Unfortunately, the force shattered the shield and a burst of pain still crashed through him as he flew toward the edge.

"Aqua Metria!" Lucy's own tidal wave collided with him from the side, knocking his trajectory back to safety as the waters submerged him. Gulping the spell down gratefully as he skidding to a stop, Haru gasped with a jolt of relief for Lucy's quick thinking. She might be exhausted, but her mind was as sharp as ever and he counted himself very lucky to have her on his side. Lucy was already multiple meters away again, flipping over a sneaky solid script attempt to send her over the edge in Haru's place.

Landing gracefully, Lucy changed tactics and sprinted for Levy. The stellar mage's physical combat skills were far more advanced than Levy's, so it didn't take Lucy long to subdue the shorter mage. She was keeping Levy immobilized on the ground with a knee braced between the other woman's shoulder blades when Gajeel's Demon Log swung around and batted her off in movement too quick to follow. Haru melted into his Flash Steps and whipped across the battle field to catch her, sliding back on the balls of his feet with the force.

Haru just barely managed to maintain his balance and Lucy shared his relieved breath this time. Glancing up from her spot cradled in his arms, she rasped, "Thanks for the save." The blonde took some deep breaths, clearly winded from Gajeel's blow as she gingerly assessed her ribs with a palpatory hand, as he set her back on her feet.

"Back at ya," he replied, releasing the grip he still had under each of her arms when he was sure she was steady.

They both turned their full focus back to their current opponents. Haru's eye twitched and he cursed softly next to Lucy's ear when Levy summoned a chunk of Solid Script iron for his fellow dragon slayer. Lucy echoed the sentiment, grumbling that she'd forgotten that they weren't the only team capable of pulling that trick. Power burst off Gajeel again with the return of his Drive State. He guffawed and patted Levy on the head with his own strange version of affection.

Returning to telepathic communication, Haru and Lucy turned away from each other to cover their blind spots. Lucy informed, "My magic's pretty depleted." Their remaining opponents, including Levy now, formed a loose circle around them, each with their magics flaring at their fingertips.

"So is Gray's. You can tell by the scale of his attacks and his posture… It's probably why he seems to be back to teaming up against us."

"Think we can knock all three of them off with one big attack?"

"Might be our only option at thi—fuck!" Haru cut off, as both he and Lucy were forced to dodge incoming attacks. A collision course of an iron roar, raining spikes of ice and a blast of fire met where they'd been standing a second earlier. Haru and Lucy spun around each other, blocking and attempting to counter the continuing onslaught of attacks that Gray and Gajeel let loose while also trying to stay aware of Levy's movements on the peripheral.

"Open, Gate of the Twins: Gemini!" Lucy summoned, and the twins appeared, having already adopted Lucy's appearance, Star Dress and all. The two Lucys widened their stances and let their eyes slide shut. Concentrating on building up the last dredges of Lucy's magic power, they trusted that Haru could buy them the time needed. A bright gold glow surrounded them as they chanted their incantation. Haru vaulted over them, summoning a raging whirlpool around them as he did so, to add an extra layer of protection. He charged forward just as Gajeel hit Gray with a series of brutal iron enhanced hits in quick succession to send him tumbling across the battlefield in Levy's direction. She attempted to finish the job but Gray was quick to drive an ice blade into the ground to halt his course. He pressed himself up through heavy breathing as Gajeel disregarded him and leapt to exchange blows with Haru once more.

"What the hell Gajeel!" Gray barked angrily when he caught his breath. "We have to take out Lucy! That spell will be trouble for BOTH of us!"

"I don't need you, to take them down Snow Cone!"

Gajeel loosed a full power breath attack, aiming to overtake Haru, and consequently, Lucy behind him. Haru met the metal storm with his more powerful Blizzard-Water Dragon roar, to counter. Gajeel was forced back but Levy caught him with a script spell. Eyes flashing angrily, Gajeel leapt back to his feet, and his magic pressure exploded off of him again, "Dragon Slayer's Secret Arts: karma demon, iron spiral!" With an arm transformed into a spinning drill the length of his own body, the Iron Slayer closed in on Haru with impossible speed, the power of the spell whipping the air into harsh winds around him.

Haru's eyes widened, 'too fast,' he thought frantically, focusing on defending Lucy and building his own magic up to a threshold decreased his options and he couldn't escape the impending attack. He braced, bringing his arms up in a feeble attempt at protection but Gajeel's attack missed the mark, connecting with the ground just to his right and tearing a deep crevasse in the ground.

"I don't need you either ya Trash Can!" Gray shouted, dropping the head of a daunting ice hammer into the ground and looking more than a little pissed off. Gajeel roared furiously at having his attack rendered pointless, and rounded on the smug ice mage, racing back toward him, temporarily forgetting about Haru.

Haru gawked incredulously. 'Squabbling idiots... Dumbass rivalry just saved me,' he thought and pivoted away from the other mens' renewed fight. He quickly returned to Lucy and finally released the magic power he'd been building up to a stifling density. With Gajeel and Gray momentarily side-tracked with their own rivalry and falling back into exchanging strikes and spells, despite Levy attempting to guide her partner's attentions back to the real threat, the timing couldn't be more perfect. Whirling water spun around him with quickly escalating power until he caught Lucy's eye, she nodded, eyes sharp and they threw their hands out simultaneously, gathering all the power of the of the thrashing waters and stars around them.

"Oh 88 stars of the heavens, SHINE—"

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Arts—"

Levy screamed one last desperate warning cry at both the other men, she'd been trying to break Haru's and Lucy's concentration with Solid Script, but the spells weren't strong enough to break through the whirlpool that raged around them. The maelstrom of water now too dense to see inside, stretched into the sky with golden light streaking through it, Gajeel and Gray froze when the magic pressure finally dawned on them.

"Urano Metria!"

"Ocean's vengeance, surging tsunami!"

The towering whirlpool exploded outward in a large tsunami in all directions, laced with the devastating star magic that turned the turbulent waters with a bioluminescence as beautiful as it was dangerous. Shock tore through Haru, having snapped to attention at the last chants of the spell, Gray had bolted toward them attempting to get to the eye of their storm. He hadn't quite made it in time, the spell had erupted outward and submerged him, but somehow, he'd reacted quickly enough to snag Lucy's ankle when he dove for them. Then, equally surprising considering his dwindled magic stores and the violence of the spell he was caught in, Gray had dredged up enough power to freeze the section of the spell carrying him to prevent his elimination. Gajeel and Levy hadn't been so lucky, both had gone over the edge. Even the S Class had had to take to the air to avoid the range of that attack.

"Fourth and fifth eliminations: Levy McGarden, Gajeel Redfox!"

No time to celebrate their partial success as confirmed by Makarov's announcement, Haru's eyes darted over the settling water and residual golden sparks that clung to the space and then he froze. The muscles of his shoulders and arms tensed as he cautiously brought his hands up to hold in front of him, half in attack readiness and half in surrender as he finally got eyes on Gray and Lucy. The pair had landed just a few short steps from the edge, with an arc of the frozen wave spiked hazardously around them. They were grappling in a tangle of limbs, each desperately trying to get the upper hand on the other.

The ground froze beneath their feet as Gray built up the remains of his magic one last time, the resulting ice floor lent an even more precarious edge to Lucy's situation. She was out of magic, Haru knew, she'd used the last of it in their last-ditch effort to send all three of their opponents flying. Haru grit his teeth as he locked eyes with Gray. He hadn't expected the ice mage to think so quickly in the midst of the powerful Unison Raid overtaking him, but he had, and now Lucy had no real way to fight back.

"5 minutes remaining!"

Cursing, Haru's thoughts raced in search of any possible strategy to get Lucy away from Gray and finish the match in under 5 minutes, he did not want to leave the S Class promotion up to subjective judgement. All that stood between his and Lucy's total undeniable win, was Gray. So there had to be a way.

"HARU!" Lucy screamed, she had wound Gray up with her whip, but the ice mage had her with a set of icy chains as well and the two were so tangled up at this point, it would be near impossible for Haru to separate them. Gray's jaw was tense as he gripped the leather of her whip, freezing it until it was brittle enough to break apart, Lucy growled and smashed a fist into Gray's cheek, trying to buy more time. Haru's eyes met Lucy's, her face set in determination and his eyes widened in recognition.

"NO! I WON'T DO IT!" he yelled back at her angrily. Gray had caught another punch she'd thrown at him, and her arm was frozen up to the elbow now. The ice mage's head whipped over to look at him, eyes searching his face for a clue to figure out what the two teammates were arguing about.

"Just do it! It's a guaranteed win, I'll be fine!"

Gray's eyes snapped open, jaw dropping, having likely figured out what the blonde was demanding of the dragon slayer. He shattered the whip binding him and gave a sharp kick to Lucy's side trying to separate himself from her, grunting in pain she threw herself forward into the kick, wrapping her arms around his leg tightly, and jumped to tackle him to the ground again. Haru's mind spun, a headache sparking behind his eyes from the increasing tension of his muscles and the clench of his jaw. He couldn't do it. Not to Lucy, he would never have gotten this far without her. He would succeed WITH her, or not at all, there was no way he'd blast them both over the edge just to secure his victory.

Lucy screamed then, and Haru's head snapped up to see Gray swing around with a spin kick that caught her under the ribs and sent her flailing back and over the edge. "LUCY!" Haru dissolved into arches of water that allowed him to close the large gap between them in an instant, he materialized just next to Gray, and grabbed the other man's ankle as he dove over the edge.

Completely unsuspecting, Gray shouted in alarm as he fell over the edge along with them. The S Class mages framing the island all darted across the battlefield to hinge over the side and watch the remaining seconds with bated breath. Haru managed to catch Lucy's hand and at the same time, Gray summoned an Ice Make grappling chain, swinging the weapon up to catch on earth above. Just as Haru had counted on. The chain snapped taut and all three were jolted to an abrupt stop, Haru's shoulders screamed in protest at being pried apart between the two mages he maintained grips on.

Screwing his eyes shut as he tried to block out the resulting stabs of pain running through him, he simply resolved himself to hanging on for the last minute. Gray glared down and began trying to kick Haru loose with his free leg, not that that was a surprise either. If Gray could knock Haru off him, he'd win, but that had been a risk the Water Slayer had been willing to take, if it meant saving his partner. His water magic didn't have the same explosive power that Natsu's fire power had, so he wouldn't have been able to propel himself and Lucy all the way back to safety, Gray had been his only option.

Another kick to the head, and black spots painted Haru's vision, he vaguely registered Lucy shouting at him to let her go so he could get himself back to the island. She must be crazy if she thought he'd drop her now…

"TIME!"

That was it, Haru heard Gray dissolve into a string of curses above him, but with the times-up called, they weren't competitors anymore. When his cursing died down, he broke into a slightly hysteric bout of laughter instead and reached a hand down to grab Haru by the elbow, "Stay with me man, can't go passing out now… not after that insane move!"

Haru grinned up at him weakly, and then the S Class were on them. Natsu whipped by in his usual storm of fire and snagged Lucy from the bottom of the chain, laughing all the while. Erza and Mira appeared a second after and each pulled one of Gray's and Haru's arms around their shoulders, wrapping free arms around their waists and flew them back up to the upper island. When Mira carefully eased him down on the still-frosted grass, Haru let out a deep exhale and let himself drop to his back, shutting his eyes and attempted to even out his breathing. "You were amazing, Haru," Mira whispered, brushing bangs from his eyes. He cracked an eye open in time to see her retreating to join the other S Class for their final discussions. He sighed, it was over and they'd done all the could, he'd just have to wait and see what conclusion Makarov and the S Class came to now.

Gray, or him.

. . .

Natsu sat with his legs splayed in front of him, leaning back on his hands. He had his head tipped back to watch over his shoulder as Lucy half-heartedly smacked Haru multiple times and complained at him for not just letting her fall—he'd be S Class now, if it wasn't for his stupid chivalry, she was yelling. Chuckling, Natsu knew it had nothing to do with chivalry, his partner would never have sacrificed a teammate, regardless of whether it was just a simulated challenge or not, it just wasn't him. Wasn't either of them.

"Natsu, would you pay attention?!" Erza barked in admonishment, and the fire mage slowly turned back to the group with an irritated sigh.

"You already know where I stand," he stated flatly, but his fellow judges just narrowed their eyes at him, except Gildarts who laughed outright. Natsu rolled his eyes, giving in to the elaboration he knew they expected. "They both put everything on the line, they both showed killer team work. Ice Dick especially, deserves props for that, he and Juvia only had a month to really get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses and yet they still pulled off an awesome unison raid. Though, both teams busted out high-level and crazy awesome, unison raids... Both Haru and Gray were resourceful and thought strategically under pressure, often while being attacked. Hell, I'll admit Gray managing to freeze part of that last big attack around himself and Lucy to take her with him, was damn impressive." Natsu paused, eyes drifting over the group and pursed his lips as he considered their likely reaction.

"So, understand, that this is NOT coming from my obvious personal bias. I respect our position and all my guildmates far too much for that…" He eyed Laxus in particular before continuing, "Haru and Lucy took out more competitors than anyone else in the battle. They came out on top in each trial, and they even saved Levy from elimination, simply because she's a friend. They never lost sight of their teamwork, they constantly built on each other's strengths and they protected each other right to the end—"

Makarov held up a hand to silence their discussions, everyone now having had a chance to share their thoughts. "Well, I think this decision has been made," he stated.

Leaning back on his hands again, Natsu tipped his head back to look at the calm night sky, a small smile on his lips. He was proud of all his comrades, even the Popsicle, not that he'd ever admit it aloud. Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't still a little sore that he didn't get his own battle royale…

Just the thought got him all fired up.

Base Camp

The competitors all sat around a large fire, Makarov, Gildarts and Laxus were still off discussing whatever they were discussing, but the rest of the S Class had returned to join them. Wendy was doing her best with the various injuries the competitors were all sporting. Everyone involved had taken the trials very seriously, any outsider would never know they hadn't just been through a tough battle with a major enemy. Erza and Natsu had requipped their first aid gear and divvied up the supplies amongst themselves and Mira. The trio were making the rounds to bandage everyone up once Wendy had treated any more serious injuries.

When Wendy removed her glowing hands from Lucy's abdomen, Natsu appeared over the teen's shoulder, eyeing Lucy with a speculative look.

"Alright Luce, you're up," he told her as he stooped to run an assessing hand over the flesh that Wendy had left exposed. He leaned closer to peek over her shoulder to get a look at her back as well and Lucy swatted him away. She attempted to pull her shirt back into place, but the hand still placed firmly on her ribs prevented her from doing so.

Natsu caught her offending hand pushing at his shoulder and glared back at her. "You can let me take a look and bandage ya up, OR—" his glare remained in place, though mischief danced through his eyes now as he removed the hand on her torso to making a sweeping gesture around the basecamp, "or, we can make a scene."

Her brown eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't dare."

"I wouldn't?" he asked with a playful, pondering expression, "now that doesn't sound like me at all." He looked toward his partner, whose own torso, head and right arm were already covered in bandages thanks to his work prior to reaching Lucy. "Haru? Does that sound like me?" he asked with mock curiosity. The Water Slayer had also tried and failed to fend off his help, though Lucy had a sneaking suspicion Haru would have just preferred Mira's attentions to his.

"Nope," Haru replied flatly without looking at the couple, tipping his beer back for a long sip.

Natsu's eyes flashed, his face splitting into a wide grin that was all mischief. Then with a quick movement that Lucy couldn't even process, he was up, with her thrown over his shoulder and moving across the camp to disappear into one of the supply tents. The Guild's whistles and lewd insinuations followed after them, and Lucy could feel the heat in her cheeks immediately. Natsu set her down to sit on one of the supply boxes in the tent, eyes moving over the skin that was more bruising than flesh at the moment and sighed. "Shirt off," he instructed.

Lucy begrudgingly complied, pulling the fabric over her head. "Sport bra too," he added simply. Flushing, she turned an incredulous look on him and he rolled his eyes, "ohhh come on. I'm all for public sex—the potential of getting caught is hot—" he added for good measure, "but you're injured, and Gramps'll be back soon."

She still chewed on her bottom lip, eyeing him suspiciously as she removed the bra and shivered as the night chill hit her. But Natsu made no sign of any other hidden motivations outside methodically wrapping the bandages diagonally from her ribs to left shoulder. That didn't stop her from biting her tongue every time his fingertips grazed over her breast though, he smirked up at her, "Now, now... Don't go getting turned on here, Luce."

She snapped her jaw shut with a clack when she realized her mouth had dropped open slightly and glared indignantly at him as he chuckled softly. He finished wrapping the bandage lengthwise around her chest and upper ribs without any further teasing. Lucy snagged her shirt and pulled it back on, growling as she stood and made to escape the tent and the alluring heat of her infuriating boyfriend, but Natsu snagged her wrist. She turned, her irritation palpable and a 'what' on her lips, when he just leaned in with a gentle kiss. "You were incredible today, I'm so proud of you."

A subtle blush coloured her cheeks at the unexpected praise. Eyes tracing over his face as he released her wrist, she found only genuine pride that had her caving instantly. She closed the space between them without another thought. Snaking one hand under his vest to trail up his back, Lucy brought the other to the back of his neck to coax him down to her. Catching him in a kiss that skipped any tentative phase, Lucy ran her tongue along his lips which parted eagerly to return her passion with equal enthusiasm.

Natsu's hands came to rest gently on her hips, clearly being mindful of the injuries and bruises that littered her body, and she let the hand on his neck fall to graze down his chest and over his ribs and obliques. Stepping closer, Natsu slipped his hands lower to the generous swell of her bottom and gave her a squeeze as he pressed into their kiss more forcefully than before. Lucy moaned softly, as he pulled her flush against him, ensuring she would feel every inch of him.

Despite her arousal growing, the commotion beyond the tent kept her grounded. She missed the new presence entering the tent until a sound interrupted, "Nats—" followed by a distinctly female squeak.

The couple parted slowly, and Lucy watched with half lidded eyes as Natsu ran his tongue absently over a sharp canine. The devilish expression he gave her renewed the deep flush that bloomed over her cheeks once more. She looked back over her shoulder at the swaying tent flap that had been dropped in a hurry, wishing more than anything in that moment, that the thin fabric wasn't the only thing separating them from their friends just outside. "Erza?" she asked.

"Mmmhm," Natsu chuckled, finally relinquishing the hold he'd maintained on her ass after one last thorough squeeze. He took her hand and guided her out of the tent where they found all their comrades gathered now. The pair quickly found a vacant space on one of the logs around the fire and Lucy found herself between the Twin Dragons, ignoring Haru's amused look as she rested her hand on Natsu's thigh. Her eyes raked over the rest of their friends, who were all staring, some blatantly and others attempting subtlety, but clearly curious about what had Erza so flustered.

"See something you liked, Erza?" Natsu teased, and Lucy exhaled and dropped her head. Of course, fuel to the fire, very Natsu...

Erza launched into a sputtering mess of denials and apologies for interrupting them, when Natsu laughed again, "Chill Red, it was just a kiss."

"These kids…" Makarov grumbled, "for Mavis' sake."

"Oi! Be respectful, idiots!" Laxus barked, zapping both Natsu and Erza for good measure. Both sources of disruption cried out in shock at the sudden static racing through their nerves.

"Sorry Gramps," Natsu apologized, even as he glared at the impassive lightning mage.

"I apologize Master, I have been rude, please strike me!"

"No need Erza… please sit back down."

Makarov claimed a box as his podium, arms crossed and eyes sweeping over the candidates, partners and the S Class mages that all eagerly waited for his speech to conclude the annual S Class trial. He made none, with his stoic face splitting into an abrupt grin, he stated simply, "Please welcome to our S Class ranks, Haru Marius!"

The Guild erupted into various sounds ranging from congratulations and cheering, to Juvia's blubbering, Gajeel's ranting, and everything in between. Lucy burst with excitement and threw herself at Haru aggressively, forgetting both of their numerous injuries. Being numb with shock and not expecting the action, he failed to properly absorb her sudden tackle and they both fell backward off the log with their guildmates' laughter following shortly after. "We did it, Haru! We won, you're really S Class!" Lucy cried exuberantly. He continued to stare blankly back, apparently still failing to fully register the news.

Finally, with a good shake of his head, he focused on her and returned her hug, "Yeah... How 'bout that?" he said wonderingly, "Gods Lucy, I couldn't have done it without you!"

A tap on her shoulder had Lucy turning away from her best friend to look up at Mira who wore a bright smile, though she said nothing. Lucy's lip quirked in a knowing smile and she let Natsu pull her away from the Water Slayer and back into his arms. Mira offered Haru her hand and pulled him up to his feet. She took in his bright smile for a second and then snagged the collar of his shirt in a fist, pulling him down into a heated kiss. Lucy squealed and clapped loudly, nudging Natsu enthusiastically as he hugged her tighter to him. "'Bout fucking time!" he shouted, reminiscent of their training camp.

Sporadic reactions bubbled up around the fire as Haru seemed to get over his initial shock and finally returned her kiss. One of his hands threaded into white locks at the back of her head as their Guildmates burst into discussion and commentary.

"What the fuck?! How long has this been going on?!"

Elfman just floundered with words and looked like he was short circuiting. Erza and Juvia both tried to hide flushed cheeks behind their hands, eyes wide in surprise at the development. Makarov and Gildards just nodded approvingly.

"First Flame Brain and Lucy, now Haru and Mira?" Gray asked bewildered. He peered sidelong at the increasingly crazed look on the female water mage's face with obvious discomfort, her look of longing passion boring into him.

"Well this actually is new…" Natsu pointed out, "...well, sort of." His clarification didn't seem to calm the barrage of questions and comments that had apparently looped back to include his own relationship with the blonde. The other couple in question seemed far too wrapped up in each other to pay their guildmates any mind.

The Water Slayer finally pulled away with some reluctance, looking a little flush in the dim light off the fire, as did Mira. Haru's lips parted as he stared at her in wonder. "Congratulations," Mira told him with a small smile.

"That was some congratulations!" Cana barked exuberantly.

The colour in Haru's cheeks darkened even further under the attention of their friends. Attention, Natsu noted with amusement, that his partner was only now becoming aware of. And Natsu was never one to leave a chance to tease his ever-cool partner go unchecked. "Mira, I think you shocked him more than his promotion!" he joked at his Haru's expense. Mira added her laughter to his, still holding Haru's upper arm as he shot a ball of condensed water at Natsu's head in revenge. That action only succeeded in pulling more laughter from him though. Unfazed, Natsu was dry again in seconds with a flare of his magic and just continued to grin like an idiot.

Unimpressed and uninterested in romantic developments, Gajeel was still busy complaining irritably about how he'd have won if Gray hadn't thwarted his last big attack. Though Gray countered that if the Iron Slayer hadn't attacked him in the first place, they could have taken both Haru and Lucy out.

Finally getting over his embarrassment and joining the group's laughter as he draped an arm around Mira's shoulders, Haru said, "We'll never know now."

Gray stopped arguing with Gajeel at that, and turned with a sigh. "That's true..." he said with only the slightest hint of envy. Haru smiled as his teammate approached and slapped his hand into his, "congrats man, you deserve it."

"Screw this S Class stuff! Congrats on landing Mirajane!" Gildarts threw in boisterously. Mira's eye twitched as she whirled to face him up and jabbed an accusing finger at the crash mage.

"No one lands Mira! I'm not a damn prize to be won!" she growled, and the crash mage put his hands up in surrender to her for the second time that day. Chuckling at the exchange, Haru pacified her with a tender kiss at her temple and pulled her towards the logs to sit around the fire again as Cana and Makarov got the alcohol flowing.

Makarov watched with a smile as alcoholic beverages were passed amongst them, his pride for them all filling his heart. When they all had drinks in hand and their debates and congratulations over the results began to slow, he gestured for their silence again. "This year's trial was one of, if not the closest battles for S Class we've ever seen. Any one of you final four could have won just as easily... The strength of our guild is unparalleled!" he announced cockily to cheers of agreement from all the Fairies present. "Haru simply tipped the scales when he showed an unwillingness to allow Lucy to sacrifice herself, even if no harm could really come to her. He embodied what it is to be a Fairy Tail mage. We are comrades first, family first and rivals and competitors second, never forget that my children. Congratulations Haru, Lucy, you were both spectacular today."

Sharing beaming smiles, Haru and Lucy accepted another round of their guildmates' praise and applause. Natsu watched the unfolding events with surprisingly contained excitement for once. A strange feeling had been settling over him, itching at the back of his mind. Something he couldn't quite grasp like a fading fever dream. By this time the alcohol was already taking hold and the Fairy Tail mages would be partying away the rest of the night before packing up the ship to head home the next morning... Hangovers be damned.

But even with all the incredible and contagious energy of his comrades all around him... Even while he partook in the drinking and the brawling and the light-hearted banter with Gray and Gajeel and Laxus... Something had started to pick away in the peripheral of Natsu's mind. Refusing to be ignored. A muffled sensation was becoming more and more distinct, making an unrelenting demand for his attention, even as he danced around the fire with Lucy.

And then a voice, crystal clear, bloomed in his subconsciousness. 'Anna,' Natsu thought bewildered, jaw going slack in surprise.

"Natsu, he is coming."

A/N. Alright! So, the Trial is a wrap, and OMG people, I usually think battle choreography is a pain to write but keeping track of eight separate fighters is a recipe for a total mental brain meltdown. What did you all think? How'd I do?

Thanks to Valerioux and EternalFlame for their input, I must agree that the in-between GMG days could be fun and the interaction between all the guilds is always a good time. I think you've tipped my scales of consideration, probably just not a big fight-focus except for our MCs. Hmmm. If anyone has any ideas to play with, drop me a line or PM! :D

Okay! Shout outs to: FireShifter, SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta, Valerioux, EternalFlame and a couple guests for dropping a line or two, your support fills my heart!

PS. Chapters 33-36 might actually be my favourite run of chapters so far, I am weirdly low-key nervous and super excited to share them at the same time haha. :P

'Till next week!

R&R

~LokaMuse