AN: Thank you NinjaFang1331, Wadeparker, AliceCullen3, and scoolharis. Wadeparker, don't feel bad about not commenting. Anything I say about a lack of comments is just me being insecure.
Anyway, enjoy!
All of Fairy Tail watched the 'Chariot' event with their mouths agape and a hollow look in their eyes.
"Why did those two enter this one?" asked Makarov, exasperated.
"I'm starting to wonder how the guild survived for seven years," commented Freed.
"Mommy, are me and Iggy going to be like that some day?" asked Blaze.
"Ohh… ohh… urp!" went Natsu, occasionally dry-heaving as he 'ran' across the war chariots to the finish line. "I… urp! Should've… listened!"
His teammates had warned him that the event would almost certainly be something that would trigger his motion sickness. Unfortunately for the dragon, he had let his victory over Jura the previous day go to his head.
"I… won't lose… Master!" sputtered out Sting. The dragon slayer was a few steps behind Natsu, having made the equally terrible decision to participate so that he could compete against the man he looked up to. "Today… I will… urp!"
Both of them deeply regretted their choice to take part in this event. However, even as the other competitors reached the finish line, even though only a single point remained up for grabs, the two of them kept moving forward.
And, although they were definitely the losers here, everyone in the crowd looked at Natsu and Sting with a little bit more respect for their unshakable determination.
Results
Ranking (first to last): Bacchus (QC), Kurohebi (RT), Risley (MH), Cosmos (GK), Yuka (LS), Ichiya (BP), Natsu (FTA), Sting (FTB).
…
1st: Garou Knights, 22 points.
2nd: Fairy Tail B, 21 points.
3rd: Raven Tail, 18 points.
4th: Blue Pegasus, 16 points.
5th: Quattro Cerberus, 12 points.
6th: Mermaid Heel, 9 points.
6th: Lamia Scale, 9 points.
8th: Fairy Tail A, 1 point.
"Hey," said Bacchus to Erza, as he lazed on the ground in front of her. The two of them had been chosen to fight one another. "How about we make a bet like the two who fought here a minute ago?"
He was referring to the match between Toby of Lamia Scale and Kurohebi of Raven Tail, which had ended in the latter's victory.
"Those two teammates of yours are some real beauties," commented Bacchus idly, pointing to Lucy and Juvia. Suddenly, his expression became serious. "If I win, I get them for a night. Both of them together! And if you win, let's see…"
Before Bacchus could come up with something to wager, his opponent shot at him while wearing a look that could kill. As she approached, Erza Requipped into her Black Wing Armor and a matching sword. "Moon Flash!"
As she reached her foe, Erza swung her sword twice, forming a cross pattern. However, Bacchus defended himself with two magically-enhanced palm strikes, then retreated to avoid a follow-up attack.
"Then our negotiations are successfully completed, huh?" spoke Bacchus with a grin, taking a swig from his flask. For the battle ahead, he would need his full power. "My spirit trembles."
Erza glared at her opponent as she Requipped into her Flight Armor, switching offensive power for speed. Using the twin blades that came with this armor, she dashed at Bacchus and unleashed a barrage of slashes.
The drunken mage reacted to the assault with a mixture of erratic dodges and deflecting palm strikes. He was able to defend against most of the attack, only receiving several shallow cuts. Additionally Bacchus was able to land a couple of hits on Erza during the exchange.
"Not bad for someone whose missed the past seven years," said Bacchus tauntingly. "I wonder if those girls will be just as impressive in bed."
He smirked as Erza became even more enraged, just as planned. An angry opponent was a sloppy opponent, after all, and, unless she had gotten overwhelmingly stronger, technique would be a significant factor in this battle between powerhouses. Besides, seven years or not, Titania was a mage Bacchus would prefer to fight with every advantage he could get.
"For our bet, what would happen if I win?" asked Erza, a dark fire burning in her eyes.
"It's completely impossible, so just come up with whatever you want," replied Bacchus. Inwardly, he grinned. "If she's thinking about what sort of punishment to give me as revenge, she'll be less focused on the match in front of her."
Erza responded to Bacchus's word with a scary smile (which definitely wouldn't haunt his nightmares) as she Requipped again. This time, she forewent magical armor for her Clear Heart Clothing and Demon Blade Benizakura. The Fairy gripped her sword with two hands, preparing to attack.
"Come and get—" Bacchus began to think. His thoughts were suddenly cut off, however, and the drunken mage found himself staring at the sky. "Huh? What just happened? Did I win and get blackout drunk?"
His consciousness began to fade, and Bacchus faintly heard a woman speak.
"For your affront to the honor of my guildmates, I shall take away your own dignity. Until the Grand Magic Games end, your team shall be known as Quattro Puppy!"
"Good riddance," muttered Cosmos as Team Quattro Puppy bemoaned their new name. She loved all things beautiful, and Bacchus's carnal desires were the opposite of that.
The rest of the Garou Knights stood a small distance away from her, conversing with one another. Their discussion was about the battle, not to mention how they would fare against the two participants.
She hoped that the match would be more lovely, given that she and her comrades would be dropping out of the GMG very soon. Once Kama prepared that Celestial Spirit girl for 'acquisition,' they would be focusing all of their efforts on ensuring the Eclipse Plan's success.
"And up next, something that all you guys in the stands will love!" declared Chapati. "A catfight between professional model and yesterday's guest speaker, Jenny Realight of Team Blue Pegasus…"
"Cool! Cool! Cool!" went Jason, the current guest speaker and reporter from Sorcerer Magazine.
"…and up-and-comer Yukino Agria of Team Fairy Tail B!"
All of the Garou Knights froze.
"What the hell is going on!" shouted Kamika, thought she had enough presence of mind to keep her voice too quiet for anybody outside their group to overhear. "She shouldn't be competing in this match!"
"Did somebody sabotage us?" asked Uosuke seriously. "Maybe we have a traitor in our midst."
"Why would someone betray the kingdom?" responded Neppa as he attempted to calm those two down. "I'm sure this must have been an accident."
"It doesn't matter," stated Kama authoritatively. His words silenced the others immediately. "We will continue as we are and wait for another opportunity to arise. Besides, even if we don't acquire this Celestial Mage today, the other will be in our custody by the end of the battles."
Cosmos smiled at her leader's words. He was right. After all, how could the kingdom's forces fail to capture an injured young woman.
"Give me back my friends!" demanded Natsu as he chased the three masked kidnappers carrying Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica. A fourth criminal lay on the ground behind them, knocked out by a single backhanded strike.
The dragon had been staying in the infirmary while recovering from his motion sickness when suddenly he noticed unfamiliar scents. This had led him to discover the kidnapping attempt.
"We've got no choice!" shouted one of the criminals. They were all panicking as they desperately ran from the man who defeated a Wizard Saint. "Let's dump the other two!"
"D-don't talk stupid!" responded another kidnapper.
"The order was to grab the girl who was in the team infirmary! Grannies and cats aren't girls!"
The criminals continued to argue, but Natsu didn't hear anything they said. Not after their words made him realize something important. Something that he hadn't thought about before now due to being too preoccupied by the thought of rescuing his friends.
Somebody had given the order to KIDNAP his FRIENDS.
"Who do you work for!?" roared Natsu. The dragon pounced on his prey and began to beat the answers out of the would-be kidnappers.
Yukino looked nervously at her opponent. Before joining Fairy Tail, she had looked up to Jenny Realight, who was both an impressive mage and a famous model. Now, she was about to battle her idol. Her guild was definitely rubbing off on her, because Yukino felt nothing but excitement (and a little nervousness).
"Since all the previous battles have done it, why don't we place a wager on our fight?" suggested Jenny. "I'd originally planned to use it as the stakes the next time Mirajane and I competed, but I'm sure the audience will love my fun little bet."
"Alright!" agreed Yukino readily. "What do you have in mind?"
"The loser will be featured in Sorcerer Magazine… doing a photoshoot completely nude!"
"You're on!" replied Yukino, too pumped up to consider the consequences. A few seconds later, as Chapati broadcast his shock at the bet, the Fairy realized what she had just agreed to and paled. "I have to win this match."
"Begin!" declared Yajima, taking over for his still-stunned co-commentator.
Instantly, Yukino summoned Pisces and the two fish charged at Jenny. The Pegasus, for her part, activated her Take Over magic.
"Machina Soul: Magic Bomber: Christina!"
Blue and white plates of metal formed armor her arms, legs, and torso. Her back remained bare aside from a pair of mechanical wings, and a red sphere with wires connected to it was located in an opening just above her cleavage. On her head was a pegasus-themed helmet.
As Pisces approached her, Jenny took to the air. The Celestial Spirits chased after her, but she avoided them and brought her hands together. A cannon materialized, the base forming around her arms while the barrel extended past her hands.
"Behold, my Magical Convergent Cannon: Jupiter!" declared Jenny, still avoiding Pisces's strikes. Magic Power began to gather in the weapon. "Obviously, it's not as strong as the real deal, otherwise the whole arena would be in danger. However, it's still powerful enough to defeat you!"
"Libra!" shouted Yukino as she summoned the spirit. "Use your Gravity Change on Jenny! Even if it doesn't stop her, it'll slow her down enough for Pisces to land a hit!"
The Celestial Spirit obeyed, and Jenny started to drop like a rock. The two fish shot at their prey, determined to defeat her for Yukino.
"Magic Boosters!" yelled Jenny, causing more equipment to materialize on her armor. The Magic Boosters activated, causing her to shoot upward and leave a trail of light in her wake. Unable to react in time, the two fish known as Pisces slammed into one another.
As she watched this, Yukino tried to come up with a new strategy. Unfortunately, before she could, Jupiter finished charging.
"Take this!" cried Jenny, raining a devastating blast of light down on the Fairy and her Celestial Spirits. Unable to dodge, they were engulfed by the attack.
"Aaaaah!" screamed Yukino and her spirits, at least until the latter returned to their world. As the blast from Jupiter faded, the Celestial Spirit Mage dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"Before we begin our match," spoke Kama to Kagura. "I would like to propose a certain wager for our match."
"I beg your pardon, but that does not interest me," shot down Kagura. "When I agree to an arrangement, it is my policy to see it enacted without fail. Therefore, I never gamble for light entertainment purposes."
"You misunderstand," replied the knight. "The wager I was thinking of was not 'light entertainment.' You see, I know that both of us have goals we would give our lives to complete, so how about having the loser assist the winner in achieving their goal. As the leader of the Garou Knights, I have access to large amounts of information on the kingdom's criminals."
Kagura's eyes twitched as she processed her opponent's offer. "Very well. Come!"
Kama smiled in response to his foe's provocation, drawing his large, magic-nullifying scythes. He charged at Kagura and slashed, which she blocked with her sheathed sword.
Thus began a clash between two great warriors. Despite being the Grand Magic Games no magic was used, the fighters instead relying solely on physical ability and technique. After ten intense minutes, both of them remained standing and their match was declared a draw.
To their mutual dissatisfaction, not only was their duel cut short, but the lack of a clear winner meant that neither would receive assistance in accomplishing their goals.
Results,
1st: Raven Tail, 28 points.
2nd: Garou Knights, 27 points.
3rd: Blue Pegasus, 26 points.
4th: Fairy Tail B, 21 points.
5th: Mermaid Heel, 14 points.
6th: Quattro Puppy, 12 points.
7th: Fairy Tail A, 11 points.
8th: Lamia Scale, 9 points.
Omake
"Why did you say that Yukino was matched up against Jenny?" Arcadios asked Chapati, irritated. "She was supposed to fight Kama."
"In my defense," started Chapati nervously. "Your messenger only said to have the gravity girl fight Kama. There are three women competing who fit that description: Yukino, Kagura, and Risley."
Arcadios sighed. First, he failed to capture an intruder in the secret dragon graveyard, then he screwed up a simple message. That man was officially fired!
"Since Kagura is the strongest of the three and the other fighter is the leader of the Garou Knights, I figured that you were talking about her," continued Chapati. The man then bowed. "I'm deeply sorry for the mix-up."
Arcadios sighed again. "Don't apologize. This was the messenger's fault, not yours. At least the crowd enjoyed the show."
Besides, it was probably for the best that the match didn't occur, otherwise Fairy Tail may have connected them to the botched kidnapping attempt.
AN: I found the idea of Take Over: Machina Soul interesting, so it was a bit disappointing that it was never truly shown in canon. I'm not entirely sure what would fall under the domain of this magic, but I figured that, with how much of a big deal the Magic Bomber: Christina is for Blue Pegasus, it would make sense for Jenny to be able to use it as a member of the guild.
By the way, in case I portrayed it poorly, Jenny's bet was legitimately just her way of spicing up the match. It was not some form of prank/revenge by proxy against Mirajane like the bet was in canon. She just wanted to make things a little more exciting for everyone involved.
That is all. Goodbye for now!