AN: Thanks NinjaFang1331, AliceCullen3, Goku275, and scoolharis. Enjoy!
"This is the first time I've ever been in a city this big!"
"It is my first experience too."
"It's even bigger than the Edolas capital!"
Lucy, Erza, Wendy, Gray, Carla, and Juvia gazed at Crocus in awe. They had just arrived in the city and were looking to meet up with the rest of Fairy Tail (they had parted ways with Team Shadow Gear after the Second Origin unlocking).
"So, you're all finally here!" exclaimed Makarov, with Asuka riding on his shoulders. With him were the Connells, Team Shadow Gear, and the Dragneels (minus Natsu). "We've done all the registration work! Now show the world the power of Fairy Tail!"
The guild master's words caused stirred up everyone who was nearby.
"Hey! That guy just said 'Fairy Tail'!"
"They're tied with Lamia Scale for two wins, right?"
"How do you think they'll do this year?"
"If the rumors are true, Fairy Tail will be facing off against the Ga…"
The Fairies who had been there for the first Grand Magic Games smiled. After their guild's disastrous debut, they were able to redeem themselves by winning two of the following five GMGs. Incidentally, the only guild who had won aside from them and Lamia Scale was Blue Pegasus, during the year that Ichiya participated in a 'Dance Battle' event.
"Huh?" went Lucy.
"I just can't!" cried Wendy. "Natsu or Laxus can do it, can't they?"
The two girls were in shock. Makarov had just told them that they, along with Gray, Erza, and Juvia, had been selected for Team Fairy Tail.
"They're not back yet," replied the guild master. While Erza calmed the girls down, explaining the choice as a matter of team cohesion, he muttering to himself. "I'd have preferred Gildarts, Natsu, Laxus, and Mirajane, or some of those new S-Classers, but…"
"You're saying that out loud!" yelled Gray as he slipped out of the embrace Juvia had initiated after finding out that they were on a team together (teammates = partners = marriage).
"Now, the games begin tomorrow," continued Makarov, ignoring Gray's complain. "In preparation, I had Levy read the rules."
He turned to the letter mage, who then explained the basics of the competition. When she mentioned the part forbidding guild masters from participating, everyone realized that this likely played a role in Natsu's decision to resign. Once Levy finished, she read a warning about how all participants must be in their reserved inns by midnight.
After hearing that, Team Fairy Tail split up to explore Crocus until midnight.
Erza went straight to the inn, where she checked every inch of the room for anything suspicious, only pausing to take a bath. Lucy checked out the sights and ran into the Strauss sibling, who she chatted with for a bit. Juvia attempted to have a dinner date with Gray, only for Lyon to butt in and create a love triangle (which Juvia failed to understand the structure of). Wendy met up with Carla, and the two went sightseeing without a clue that they were being followed.
Eventually, as the clock ticked closer to midnight, four of the five members of Team Fairy Tail gathered at the inn.
"Ahhh," worried Lucy, imagining Wendy and Carla as juvenile delinquents. "What'll we do?"
Her and the rest of the Fairies were worried about their young friends, who had not shown up. However, they were snapped out of their thoughts when two guests entered the room.
"Yo!" greeted Sting with a wave, Lector a step behind him. "Could one of you swap places and let me compete? I really want to… wait… where's Wendy?"
"Did she fall into the wrong crowd and become a delinquent?" asked Lector.
"We do not know," answered Erza. "If the rules did not require us to be here at midnight, we would all be out looking for her and Carla."
They all looked at the clock, frowning. 11:59.
"Honestly, they probably just lost track of time," said Gray, attempting to reassure the others. "Wendy's a powerful mage, and Carla can see the future. Odds are we're overreacting."
He then turned to Sting and asked the dragon slayer what everyone else was thinking. "That doesn't change the fact that Wendy isn't here and time is running out, though. Would you mind filling in for her?"
"Who knew getting what you wished for could go badly," muttered the dragon slayer with a sigh. The others recognized this as a 'yes.' "Lector, can you go search the city for Wendy and Carla?"
"Alright," agreed the Exceed, a serious look on his face. Transforming into a human kid and activating Aera, Lector left through the window to find the missing Fairies. As he did, the clock struck midnight and the competition began.
"Preliminary round?" said Sting, echoing Mato as the mascot announced the rules. "That's never happened before."
The dragon slayer grinned in anticipation, at least until the inn started restructuring itself. He dry-heaved during the several seconds it took for the Sky Labyrinth to form.
"Team Fairy Tail…" spoke Erza as Sting recovered. "…Let's go!"
The five mages jumped into the thick of the labyrinth. After Lucy pointlessly summoned "The Compass" Pyxis (Erza had an actual compass), they started traversing and mapping the maze. Soon, they encountered another team.
"Shit! It's Fairy Tail" yelled Thibault, the leader of Team Twilight Ogre. As one, he and his guildmates jumped forward…
Team Fairy Tail gathered their Magic Power, preparing to battle their competitors.
…and into dogeza. Two of them were shivering in fear, two of them were crying, and one had wet himself.
"We surrender! Please don't hurt us!" begged Thibault. He rose his head and offered a piece of paper, exposing the damp spot on his pants. "You can even have the map we've been making of this place!"
Somewhat disappointed at the lack of fighting, Team Fairy Tail accepted the map and continued on their way. Soon after that, they realized that they could take other people's maps to expand the own and find the labyrinth's end.
This caused the members of Team Twilight Ogre to sigh in relief. Although it had been seven years, the memory of Sabertooth's annihilation had traumatized all of them.
However, unbeknownst to the five, their actions would lead to many more mages getting traumatized as Team Fairy Tail went on a map-stealing rampage.
After completing the event and finding out they came in eighth place, narrowly qualifying for the GMG, Team Fairy Tail learned that Lector had located Wendy and Carla and they were now being cared for by Porlyusica in the infirmary of the Domus Flau (the arena the GMG was taking place in). They found out that the two of them had been severely drained of their Magic Power by a "black creature" most likely connected to one of the other teams.
Team Fairy Tail vowed that, once the responsible party was found, they would inflict a punishment so horrible that it would make the mental scars of Twilight Ogre seem like shallow papercuts.
"It's that time again!" announced Chapati. "The magic festival you waited all year to see! The Grand Magic Games!"
Chapati proceeded to introduce himself, his co-commentator Yajima, and the day's guest commentator, Jenny Realight of Blue Pegasus.
"Now… let's meet our competitors!" declared Chapati.
"Nice to see… test, test… nice to see you."
"Mr. Yajima! I promise you your mike is working! First, they ranked eighth place in the preliminaries, but will they show us the power that was lost seven years ago? It's Fairy Tail!"
Lucy, Erza, Gray, Juvia, and Sting entered the arena confidently. Cheers resounded, especially from the members of Fairy Tail who weren't competing. Surprisingly, this included former guild master Mavis (though only those in Fairy Tail could see her).
"Now, our next team, in seventh place…"
Chapati continued to announce the teams.
Seventh place: Team Quattro Cerberus. Rocker, Jäger, Nobarly, Semmes, and Warcry.
Sixth place: Team Mermaid Heel. Kagura, Beth, Araña, Risley, and Flare Corona.
Fifth place: Team Blue Pegasus. Ichiya, Hibiki, Ren, Eve, and an unknown person in a bizarre rabbit costume.
Fourth place: Team Lamia Scale. Jura, Lyon, Toby, Yuka, and Sherria.
Third place: Team Garou Knights. Kama, Cosmos, Kamika, Uosuke, and Neppa.
"Wait, so the Garou Knights aren't just an urban legend?" interjected Jenny.
"Apparently so," responded Chapati. "I've been informed that they received special permission to participate despite not technically being a guild."
"It's likely an effort by the king to restore the public's faith in our country's security following Tartaros's terrorism a few months back," observed Yajima.
Second Place: Team Raven Tail. Alexei, Nullpudding, Kurohebi, Obra, and…
"They're a Dark Guild!" screamed Makarov. "And you're letting them play in the Grand Magic Games!"
A murmur of confusion spread through the crowd. Their concerns were quickly silenced when it was confirmed that, while Raven Tail wasn't approved as an official guild until recently, they were not a Dark Guild.
"Bullshit!" yelled Cana. "That guy—" she pointed at Raven Tail's fifth member "—is Bluenote Stinger, a member of Grimoire Heart! I fought him on Tenrou Island!"
"I was a member of Grimoire Heart," stated Bluenote as the audience grew anxious again. "But, like the independent guild Crime Sorcière, I have turned over a new leaf. The government is fully aware of my circumstances. They agreed to let me serve a sort-of parole as a member of Raven Tail in exchange for information on other Dark Guilds and good behavior."
While several people were uneasy about this, especially the GMG participants, most of those present accepted Bluenote's explanation. In Fairy Tail's case, this mistrust turned to rage as the black creature on Obra's should transformed its head into a tiny version of Wendy's and mimed fainting, confirming precisely who attacked the young dragon slayer.
As a side note, 'good behavior' was code for heavy bribery, courtesy of Raven Tail.
"Finally, and this is a shock," started Chapati. "It's Fairy Tail Team B!"
Natsu, Laxus, Rogue, Yukino, and Gajeel strolled into the arena.
"Whaaat!?" cried Team Fairy Tail A, minus Sting. The crowd was in a similar uproar.
"Huh?" went the dragon slayer in question. "Didn't I mention Natsu and the others were also competing, and how I wanted to join this team because I drew the short straw when we were deciding the lineup?"
"No!" shouted everyone else.
"Whoops," said Sting sheepishly. "Then I should probably mention the bet where the members of the winning team can order the members of the losing team to do whatever they want for a day."
The rest of Team Fairy Tail A stood in stunned silence for several seconds, before Juvia spoke. "Is it too late for me to switch teams? I want to ask Gray to…"
She trailed off, blushing as her imagination went wild. This caused Gray to mentally thank whatever gods were responsible for him and Juvia being on the same team.
July 1, X791. The same time as the introduction ceremony.
In a secret graveyard of dragons under the Domus Flau, a figure appeared out of nowhere. After a second, they collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
"Ugh," groaned the person, barely remaining conscious. They lied there for a few minutes, slowly regaining their strength. "What day is it? Do I have enough time to—"
"Hey, you!" shouted a knight. "This is a restricted area! By my authority as a member of the kingdom's Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron, you're under arrest!"
"Shit!" cursed the figure. They forced themselves to their feet and ran from the knight. Despite still being low on strength and unable to use their magic, they were still able to move faster than him.
"Get back here!" yelled the knight as the gap between the two grew widened. "I've seen what you look like! *huff* I'm going to report you to Chief Arcadios! *puff* There are knights all over the capital for the Grand Magic Games! *wheeze* You'll be caught in no time! *cough* Stupid heavy armor!"
As the knight stopping running and blamed his lack of stamina on his equipment, the figure turned a corner, escaping his field of vision. They kept running after that, until they found themselves far away from the hidden graveyard.
"Couldn't you have dropped me off somewhere less conspicuous, Lucy," muttered the figure. Now, they had to rely on stealth to complete their mission. "First things first, though. I should get a cloak to disguise myself."
The figure noticed a light ahead and dashed toward it. The light's source turned out to be an old, broken doorway. After passing through it, the brightness of their new environment temporarily blinded them. Once their eyesight recovered, the figure saw that they were in an abandoned alley within a more slum-like part of Crocus.
The figure grinned. It was time to change history.
At that moment, fatigue flooded their body and brought them to their knees.
…After they recovered enough of their strength.
Omake
Team Fairy Tail A stood in a locker room, waiting for Chapati to begin announcing the teams who passed preliminaries. They were all in uniform, all except one.
"I'm not wearing this," stated Sting bluntly. The article of clothing he was referring to was Wendy's uniform, which was too small for him and, more importantly, was meant to be worn by a girl. "Gray, give me your uniform. You'll just strip it off anyway."
"Like hell I will!" shouted Gray, responding to both Sting's demand and the comment about his stripping habit. Sticking out his thumb, the ice mage pointed at his chest. "This outfit is mine!"
"You've already stripped!" retorted the dragon slayer, picking up his guildmate's discarded uniform.
"Damnit! Give it back!"
The two proceeded to play tug-of-war with the outfit. Their disagreement continued until Lucy got the idea to summon Cancer and have him turn Wendy's uniform into a vest for Sting.
AN: The teams are different from canon. Sting and Juvia instead of Natsu and Elfman, all of Team Fairy Tail B aside from Laxus, Flare Corona in Mermaid Heel instead of Raven Tail (with Bluenote Stinger taking her place), and the Garou Knights.
The Eclipse plot has also been changed. A different person has come back, and to an earlier point in time. I referred to that individual as 'the figure' and 'they/them' to avoid giving any clues.
That is all. Bye!