AN: Thank you AliceCullen3, Goku275, and Wadeparker. I hope you all continue to enjoy my story.
"Iron Dragon's Club!" shouted Gajeel. He punched at Shadow Rogue with his right arm, which grew into a metal club and slammed into the dragon slayer's gut. Shadow Rogue grunted in pain, then gripped his opponent's transformed arm.
"Shadow Dragon's Roar!" exclaimed Shadow Rogue, firing a stream of darkness at Gajeel. Unable to dodge, the Iron Dragon Slayer grimaced and turned the rest of his body into metal to weaken the blow. But Shadow Rogue wasn't done. "Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!"
The Shadow Dragon Slayer morphed into a streak of darkness that wrapped around Gajeel, then unleashed a torrent of shadows from the streak as his body rematerialized. Even with his body turned into iron, Gajeel was sent flying.
"Damn, he's fast," muttered the Iron Dragon Slayer after he recovered from the blow. Gajeel de-transformed his body as he scanned the area for his foe. "I can't have my Iron Dragon's Scales slowing me down. Now, where did he go?"
"Right here!" spoke a chillingly gleeful voice from Gajeel's shadow. Shadow Rogue emerged, bringing his hand to the Iron Dragon Slayer's face and unleashing a spell at point-blank range. "Shadow Dragon's Haste!"
A burst of darkness knocked Gajeel to the ground, groaning. He got up and tried to attack the Shadow Dragon Slayer. Unfortunately, Shadow Rogue was able to avoid his strikes by turning into a shadow again, morphing back just long enough to deliver his own attack.
"As I thought, you don't hold a candle to me!" boasted Shadow Rogue, sneering a the now-beaten up Gajeel. "With my newfound power, I bet not even Natsu isn't a match for me!"
"How do you even still exist?" grumbled the Iron Dragon Slayer. "When Rogue checked his shadow, he didn't find a trace of you."
"That's because my other half was a fool," replied Shadow Rogue arrogantly. "I am not a mere shadow cast by his body… I am the darkness from within his heart! As long as he exists, so do I! Although, the same can't be said for you. Shadow Dragon's Abyss!"
As Shadow Rogue spoke, darkness formed below Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer began to sink. "The shadow will eat away at you! Then, you will vanish for all eternity! Now, sleep… in the depths of darkness!"
However, Gajeel didn't panic. He didn't cry or beg for mercy. Instead, he laughed.
"Gi hi. If you think you're stronger than Salamander… then I'll just kick your ass by doing something that even he hasn't!"
To Shadow Rogue's surprise, the shadow consuming the Iron Dragon Slayer started to trail up his body and into his mouth. Gajeel swallowed the darkness until none of it was left, the rose to his feet, transformed.
"Impossible!" cried Shadow Rogue.
"I don't really understand what you are," began a grinning Gajeel, ignoring his foe's words. "But I do know that I'm going to beat you so hard that you'll hide yourself away in the deepest parts of Rogue's heart for the rest of your life, just so that you never have to face me again! Iron Shadow Dragon Mode!"
Wendy rushed to the location Mavis had given her, determined to face her opponent with all her might. Then she tripped.
"Eek!"
"Huh, so First Master was right about you tripping," commented Romeo, Wendy's opponent. Her face turned red from embarrassment.
"Can you please forget you saw that," the dragon slayer said as she got up.
"Sure," replied Romeo indifferently. "I'd rather get to fighting, anyway. I want to see if I can match up to you now that we're more-or-less the same age."
"Thank you."
Lucy lounged on the bed in her jail cell. Yukino sat beside the bed, curled up in a ball. When most of the guard left Mercurius, the guard watching over them was reassigned to patrol duty. They were moping, as the knowledge that they were imprisoned and none of their friends would find out until after history was rewritten had finally sunk in. They would never see their friends again.
"Yukino? Lucy?"
"I can almost hear their voices," though Lucy glumly.
"Sister?"
"Wait a second…"
"Are you two alright, mya?
"Millianna!?" exclaimed Lucy, realizing the voices weren't imaginary. "And Minerva and— Angel!?"
Beside her, Yukino stared at her sister — something that Lucy had been surprised to learn from her during their imprisonment — with a mixture of shock and joy.
"Shh!" shushed Millianna, covering Lucy's mouth.
"Forry," said Lucy through Millianna's hand.
"We're here too!" stated Happy cheerfully, referring to himself and the other Exceeds.
"How did you know we needed you?" asked Yukino, curious.
"It's a long story," answered Minerva as she teleported the jail bars away and brought out some clothing. "Here, we brought a change of clothes for you two."
"Thanks so much, you guys!" said Lucy as she began changing.
"I don't need them," turned down Yukino as she wore a grim expression. "But we have a big problem. The king plans on opening a por—"
"We already know about the Eclipse Gate," cut off Sorano. "It's our next stop before we escape this place."
The two Celestial Spirit Mages blinked.
"How?" they asked, confused.
"You see," began Millianna. "It all started when my Fireball and Laxus fought Raven Tail in the team battles…"
Erza walked onto a large stretch of cobblestone, wearing her Robe of Yūen. The area around her was clear of any obstacles, perfect to avoid any surprise attacks or restrictions to her range of motion.
"According to First Master's plan," mused Titania. "If I come here, then Kama…"
As her thoughts trailed off, Erza sensed a spike of hostile intent behind her. She twisted around and saw, to her surprise, Kagura swinging her sheathed sword at the Fairy.
"The First Master didn't foresee this!" thought Erza. However, she didn't let this surprise throw her off. The Fairy Requipped two katanas to block the Mermaid's swing.
The two then exchanged a storm of attacks, so fast that the audience could only see blurs instead of swords. Neither mage was able to inflict an injury on the other, as both parried and blocked every strike, but they were able to get a measure of one another's skills.
When their clash ended and they split apart, Erza offered some words of praise. "Your abilities with a sword are quite impressive."
"Silence!" snapped Kagura, furious. "I will cut you down!"
Erza frowned. It seemed the Mermaid bore a grudge against her for some reason.
"I'm serious this time!" yelled Kagura as she threw a strike with her covered blade.
"That's just the way I want it!" cried Erza, matching Kagura's blow. Grudge or not, Titania always enjoyed a good fight with a skilled warrior.
To her surprise, though, the intensity of the Mermaid's attack was enough to send the Fairy spinning backward. Luckily, Erza was able to recover, Requipping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor while pushing her hands against the ground to somersault into an upright position.
Titania would not fall that easily.
Elsewhere, Flare, the other remaining member of Mermaid Heel, put up a far less impressive fight. She encountered Lyon, who was able to overcome her Crimson Hair with beasts of ice. Plus, she got a bit distracted when he unconsciously took off his shirt (as did many women in the audience).
+1 point for Lamia Scale.
Two shadows ran across the walls, one chasing after the other.
"I just have to keep my distance for a bit," Thought Shadow Rogue, the shadow being chased. "Based on the future brat's story, Gajeel will crash as soon as the power of his Iron Shadow Dragon Mode fades. Just a little bit lon—"
The Iron Dragon Slayer's arm sprouted from his shadow and grabbed onto Shadow Rogue's. The arm pulled, and the Shadow Dragon Slayer found himself yanked out of the darkness.
"Fuck."
The arm extended further outward, revealing Gajeel's head and torso. The Iron Dragon Slayer gave a menacing grin as he dragged his foe around, smashing Shadow Rogue into walls and pillars.
Eventually, Gajeel grew bored of this. He fully emerged from his shadow and threw Shadow Rogue into the air.
"Fade away!" he yelled, preparing a spell. "Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
"Aaaah!" screamed Shadow Rogue as he was engulfed in darkness and metal shrapnel. The attack faded after a few seconds, and he fell back onto the ground, groaning.
"I am… the darkness… within him…" eked out Shadow Rogue. The spiteful rage from his defeat gave him the strength to speak, even as his consciousness faded. "I will never… vanish…"
With that, the Shadow Dragon Slayer went silence.
A few moments passed. Gajeel spoke.
"Hey, Rogue. Are you in control again?"
Rogue moaned. "I almost wish I was not. You really did not hold back."
"Gi hi hi," chuckled Gajeel, sitting down beside Rogue as Iron Shadow Dragon Mode faded and exhaustion took its place. "I got your body back from that bastard, didn't I? Just as promised."
Rogue sighed. The two of them would need to rest for a bit before they recovered enough strength for another fight. Hopefully, nobody would attack them before then.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"Fire God's Bellow!"
Draconic wind and divine flames clashed as Wendy and Romeo's spells cancelled one another out. Neither Fairy was deterred, though.
"Arms!" yelled Wendy, Enchanting power into her right arm as she jumped at Romeo. "Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!"
Wind wrapped around her arm as the dragon slayer struck at her foe. Unfortunately for Wendy, Romeo was prepared for her attack.
"Purple Net!" shouted the god slayer, throwing a net of purple flames at the girl. She was forced to use her spell to cut it apart instead of attacking Romeo, leaving herself open to his next spell. "Fire God's Explosive Flame!"
"Armor! Deus Corona!" exclaimed Wendy, boosting her defense as a ball of black fire shot at her and exploded. The flames still burned her, but not nearly as bad as they could have. "You won't take me down that easily! Sky Dragon's Wave Wind!"
"Urgh!" grunted Romeo as the dragon slayer sent a small tornado his way. Using Purple Flare, he grabbed onto a nearby building and held on for dear life as the whirlwind threatened to pull him in. So focused was he on staying grounded that he didn't notice Wendy's next attack until it was too late.
"Deus Eques! Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" cried Wendy as she slammed her wind-wrapped arms into the god slayer and sent him crashing into the building his purple flames were attaching him to.
"Looks like I'll have to use my strongest technique," said Romeo as he rose to his feet, cuts and bruises across his body. He opened his hands, summoning flames in both of them. "With a black fire in my right hand… and a Rainbow Fire in my left hand… when you combine the flames together… Fire God's Radiant Flame!"
The god slayer merged the two flames together, then threw the massive ball of fire at his opponent. But, despite the power of this spell, Wendy stared at Romeo with unwavering determination.
"It's time to put my future self's lessons to use," she whispered, preparing a new Enchantment. "God Slayer Seal! Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Shattering Light: Sky Drill!"
A barrier of wind surrounded the two Fairies and the huge fireball as Wendy unleashed a spiraling explosion of wind. Enchanted with the power of a god slayer, her spell tore apart Romeo's and continued onward to the boy.
Romeo was blasted straight through the house he had previously slammed into, landing a few feet past its far wall. He did not get back up.
+1 point for Fairy Tail A.
Current Rankings
1st: Fairy Tail B, 49 points. 4 members remaining — Natsu (Leader), Gajeel, Laxus, Rogue.
2nd: Fairy Tail A, 46 points. 4 members remaining — Erza (Leader), Gray, Juvia, Wendy.
3rd: Lamia Scale, 43 points. 3 members remaining — Jura (Leader), Lyon, Sherria.
4th: Garou Knights, 42 points. 3 members remaining — Kama (Leader), Kamika, Uosuke.
4th: Blue Pegasus, 42 points. 0 members remaining.
6th: Mermaid Heel, 39 points. 1 member remaining — Kagura (Leader).
7th: Quattro Puppy, 15 points. 0 members remaining.
Omake
"…And Rogue is down!" cried Chapati dramatically. "Black Steel Gajeel is the winner!"
"It was an impressive match," commented Yajima. "Even if they are both on the same team."
"True, it was pointless," acknowledged Chapati. "Because they are both on Team Fairy Tail B, no points were earned from Gajeel's victory. In fact, due to the GMG's rules on friendly fire, Rogue hasn't even been eliminated. All they've done is weaken themselves."
"I wouldn't go that far," disagreed Yajima. "After all, there are things more important than the games, and I suspect that whatever this fight was about is one of them. They might be worse off in this competition, but I'd say that they're better off overall."
AN: I feel a need to mention that F-Wendy did not teach Wendy the God Slayer Seal specifically. She taught her younger self to Enchant objects and people with the attribute of a dragon slayer, which present Wendy adapted based on her experiences with Orga, Sherria, and Romeo's magic.
Also, Tenrou Group - 2, Tartaros Group - 0.
That is all. Goodbye.