The Enchanter of Fairy Tale

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tale or it's characters.

Chapter 17: Gildarts VS Ivan!

Year: X753. 31 years till Canon begins.

Cade POV:

"How did this happen?" I demanded in confusion to the guild member who had told me about the oncoming fight between Ivan and Gildarts.

When he had told what exactly was happening, I followed him and the rest of the guild to where the fight was taking place. That place in question was on the hills outside of Magnolia.

Apparently from what I had heard on the way up, Gildarts was a little nervous about accidentally destroying the entire town while they were fighting. As such he decided the hills would be the best place to fight, as while there he doesn't need to worry about destroying the town.

"I'm not sure, all I heard was that the two of them were arguing outside the guildhall. The arguing got pretty loud, to the point where the whole guild could hear what was going on. Most of them went out to see, and then a few minutes later they came back and in and said that they were going to fight!" He explained as we made our way through Magnolia, with most of the other guild members ahead of us.

"Do Gildarts and Ivan normally argue a lot?" I asked back to the man. I never normally brought up the subject of Ivan to Gildarts, so I was sort of in the dark about how Gildarts felt about him.

"Well I know they don't really get along, like I've never seen them acting like friends before in the guild. But they've never challenged the other to a fight before! That's why we're all excited to see!" He replied excitedly.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" I wondered, as we made our way past Cardia Cathedral. Many of the townspeople were giving us strange looks as we made our way past them all.

"Well you, Gildarts and Ivan are really the only kids in the guild at around the same as each other. Most of us have always been wondering who's stronger between Gildarts and Ivan, since they joined at around similar times. Oh, and don't forget they have gotten pretty strong since joining around a few years ago." He followed on saying.

"I always assumed Gildarts Crush Magic would be stronger than Ivan's weird paper magic." I said, looking up to the man.

I had seen Gildarts magic when we had been going on jobs in the past few months, and I have never seen a more destructive magic in my life since joining the guild. I can see why Gildarts had to constantly try to control his power, and why he was hesitant at immediately going on to learn the much more powerful spells.

One time we were fighting a swarm of giant mantises in a deserted village, and Gildarts used a spell called Mizuwari which ended up not only destroying the mantises, but also ended up destroying a good half of the village by accident. Thankfully there was no human casualties, nor was there any cost to pay for the damage.

"True, I think Gildarts Crush Magic is stronger than Ivan's Shikigami Magic. But, Gildarts has only mastered the basic Crush spells, while I think Ivan has been working his hardest to master his magic for next years S-Class Trials. Honestly, I think this match could go either way." He stated, before turning round to talk to one of his friends about the fight.

'It's hard to imagine Ivan beating Gildarts. He's one of the strongest mages I've seen!' I thought, as we had all made it outside of Magnolia now and were heading up to the hills. To my far right I could see the my home. Thankfully the fight wouldn't be taking place close to there.

Eventually we all made to a flat clearing after we had been walking for about an hour in total. There was hardly anything around for anyone to use as an potential advantage. All the Fairy Tale Wizards that came to watch were stood in a group just ahead.

I made my way over to them, and moved to the front of the crowd to see the incoming fight between Ivan and Gildarts. I could see Ivan standing confidently, while also smirking at Gildarts, who was standing not to far away across from him.

At this point the entire Guild had gone silent, wanting to hear the potential banter before the fight would begin.

"Well? Not too late to back out now Gildarts. I won't blame you if you turn around." Ivan started, with a rather arrogant attitude.

Gildarts scoffed at this. "As if I'm turning around! You'd just throw one of your spells at me while I'm not looking at you!" He pointed at Ivan. "I'd never do something like that!"

"Because you'd end up destroying everything around you? Like you always end up doing?" Ivan exclaimed, with a smirk. "You can't even control your own magic!"

"At least I know when I am, and when I am not ready for S-Class! Unlike you I have a bit patience!" Shouted Gildarts back to him.

"Patience will only slow you down! I've been making progress on my magic, now I can turn all sorts of things into my Shikigami dolls!" Ivan declared.

"Oh yeah?" Said Gildarts. "How about that pair of hamsters you did it to earlier today!" He shouted loudly for everyone to hear.

When he said that, Ivan scowled and most of the guild members here began to mutter and discuss what Gildarts had just said. I heard some people mutter that Ivan would never do that, sure he was bad but not that bad right? Others were just saying how creepy he and his magic was, as well as feeling bad about the pair of hamsters.

"So? I didn't check if they had a name tag on them. If they did wander from their owners house then it's the owners fault for not properly watching them!" Ivan sneered to Gildarts.

"You can turn your Shikigami dolls back into the things they once were right? If I beat you, then you'll turn them back into hamsters!" Gildarts challenged with confidence.

'Why's Gildarts so worked up about the hamsters? Did he used to have a hamster as a pet, and feels bad for the ones Ivan transformed?' That got me a bit curious.

"Heh, alright." Smirked Ivan. "But if I win then I want you off my back, for constantly annoying me about how I use my magic!" Declaired Ivan, pointing at Gildarts

'Huh. That's not so bad all things considered.' I realised with surprise at what Ivan wanted. From what I could see, most of the guild seemed to share the same thoughts as me based on their expressions.

"Fine by me Ivan!" Shouted Gildarts getting into a fighting stance, as he said that.

"In just a few minutes time, everyone here will see that I'm the strongest young mage in the Fairy Tale Guild!" Ivan yelled, with him getting into a stance as well.

No POV:

The two boys began to eye each others movements, to try and get a read on who would make the first move. The both of them were completely focused on trying to figure the other out. It was Ivan that made the first move.

"Shikigami Darts!" He shouted, which caused a few dozen small paper dolls to materialise out of thin air, with them shaping into darts, before Ivan threw his hand forward which sent them all towards Gildarts.

'Wait… Were all of those paper dolls originally creatures that Ivan used his Shikigami magic on?!' Cade thought in surprise and horror.

"Crush!" Shouted Gildarts, as he held his hand forward, which turned the Shikigami dolls into small paper cubes as they reached him.

Ivan was not fazed by this however, as he waved his hands across from him. "Shikigami Giant!" This turned the small cubed Shikigami dolls into a large humanoid creature which towered over Gildarts.

The creature then tried to punch Gildarts into the ground, but Gildarts jumped to the side dodging the blow. He then aimed his hand towards the creature.

"All Crush!" This sent an energy ball towards the giant paper doll, which completely shredded it, and turned it into dust.

Ivan scowled at this. "Shikigami Dark Bomb!" This summoned a lot of Shikigami dolls, in which many of them came together in the form of spheres that were sent flying towards Gildarts.

Gildarts ran away from the spheres to gain some distance, before spinning round and holding out his hand. "Crush!" This was able to destroy almost all of the spheres that were flying towards Gildarts, however two of them made it to Gildarts and exploded which sent him flying back and hitting the ground.

Gildarts quickly got back up and dusted himself off, before turning back to face his opponent and was surprised to see that Ivan was preparing his next attack.

"Shikigami Torrent!" Shouted Ivan, which summoned a large swarm of paper dolls that he then sent towards Gildarts in the form of a violent torrent.

"Crush!" Yelled Gildarts, as he annihilated the dolls that were sent towards him.

"Right behind you!" Cackled the voice of Ivan from behind Gildarts.

Gildarts whipped his head around to see, that Ivan was right behind him. How did he sneak up on him!? He was right over there!? But as Gildarts looked closer at the Ivan in the distance, he noticed that he was shimmering before then disappearing.

"You learned Illusion magic!?" Came the surprised voice of Gildarts to Ivan.

"I did. That means that you've left yourself wide open for my next attack!" Said Ivan cackling. "Shikigami Impact!" He said, which sent a large beam of Shikigami dolls towards Gildarts.

"All Crush!" Yelled Gildarts franticly.

The two attacks met and caused an explosion which knocked both fighters back. I saw several small cubed dolls fall to the ground. But like before, Ivan waved his hand and prepared to turn the remain of the dolls into a huge giant. But Gildarts had a plan to deal with it.

"Mizuwari!" Shouted Gildarts as he aimed the ground with his fist.

When he said that, many of the guild members watching as well as Cade, began to sprint backwards to avoid the attack.

Perhaps that was for the best, as when Gildarts hit the ground with his fist, it completely destroyed the ground in the surrounding area, causing a huge crater to appear where the attack had originated from.

Ivan had been sent off balance when the attack hit, causing him to fall into the crater as it was being formed. This obviously meant that he was unable to create his Shikigami Giant. When he did get back up on his two feet, he saw the grinning face of Gildarts.

"Had enough yet Ivan?" Gildarts declared confidently.

By this point the rest of the guild that had came to watch had made their way to the edge of the crater. They had all just gotten out of the blast radius of the Mizuwari spell, and had came back to see who would win the fight.

Ivan face scrunched up upon seeing Gildarts confident look. "As if I'd lose to someone who can't even control their own magic properly! Shikigami Darts!"

Dozens of darts of Shikigami dolls were sent flying towards Gildarts, and yet Gildarts wasn't all that worried. He smirked upon seeing the attack.

"You've had me going on the defensive this whole time Ivan. I have to admit, not bad. But I think it's time for me to go on the offensive now. All Crush!"

This once again turned the paper dolls into small paper cubes, seemingly a repeat of what happened prior. However, Gildarts now started to run forward towards Ivan to face him head on.

"You're a fool to face me head on! Shikigami Wave!" Shouted Ivan. After saying that, a huge wave of Shikigami dolls were sent towards Gildarts in a huge wave.

"Full Crush!" Yelled Gildarts, as he held up both his hands at the attack. This move by Gildarts allowed him to tear through Ivan's spell with absolutely no effort, with him then continuing to run towards Ivan.

Ivan now began to look a little nervous, upon seeing that the distance between him and Gildarts was beginning to shrink rapidly.

"Argh! Shikigami Dark Bomb!" Shouted a now rattled Ivan. As the spheres of paper dolls flew towards Gildarts, he leapt up into the air to face the spheres head on.

"Absolute Crush!" He yelled out as he fired a large sphere of energy towards one of the many incoming Dark Bombs. When the attacks connected, a huge explosion occurred with all of Ivan's attacks being vaporised by Gildarts one singular attack.

"WHAT!?" Yelled Ivan in horror, at his attack was completely ineffective against Gildarts. At this point he was getting closer and closer to Ivan, with an ever growing smile on his face as he got closer.

Ivan's face was livid at seeing Gildarts still moving like nothing had been happening to him. He then held his hands up high in the air and prepared to cast his most powerful spell yet.

"I REFUSE TO LOSE THIS! SHIKIGAMI COLOSSUS!" Yelled Ivan.

Upon him saying that, dozens – No, hundreds of Shikigami paper dolls began to appear in the air and formed a humongous creature in front of Ivan. It scaled at around 50 metres in height, and completely towered over everything it could see. It resembled a human, but the head had no facial features and facial hair of any kind.

It was currently pulling its huge clenched fist back at the direction Gildarts was, who was still running towards it. Him seeming not fazed by the huge creature that was in his way. The creature then brought its fist forward and sent it right towards Gildarts.

"That's one impressive thing you made Ivan, seems you used almost all of your little dolls for this one. But I'm afraid I'm not losing here today." Gildarts smiled as he launched himself up towards the giant fist. "I've been saving this attack, since I first learned how to use it!" Gildarts yelled as fist suddenly glowed with magical energy.

"CRUSHING EVIL SPREADING THE TRUTH: ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!" Gildarts yelled out.

Gildarts launched his attack at the giants fist. Upon the two fists meeting each other, there was a incredible explosion with Gildarts flying straight through the Colossus causing a huge hole in the middle of it.

Gildarts then flew towards Ivan, him not losing his momentum since he launched himself through the Colossus just then, and punched Ivan square in the chest, which sent him speeding backwards at a rapid pace.

"N-NO WAY! I LOST?!" Shouted Ivan in disbelief and horror, as he eventually hit the ground after being sent hurling backwards by Gildarts attack just there.

When all the dust was cleared away from the attacks, Gildarts was seen standing strong with his arms crossed and a grin on his face. Ivan on the other hand was on the ground, with him looking up at the clouds in the sky from his angle on the ground.

When seeing who won the battle, all the guild members let out a round of applause for Gildarts for doing such a good performance against Ivan and his Shikigami magic. Cade was especially delighted at seeing Gildarts win, mainly because Gildarts always said that Ivan's magic creeped him out, so it was nice to see him overcome it.

Down in the crater, Gildarts approached a battered and defeated Ivan lying on the ground. Gildarts held down a hand to Ivan to help him up.

Ivan reluctantly took the hand (mainly because he knew he would struggle to get up on his own) and was thrown back up onto his own two feet.

"Now then, our deal?" Said Gildarts with a stern voice.

"Here." Ivan rolled his eyes, as he clapped his hands together, and summoned a pair of Shikigami dolls that flew to land on the ground.

Ivan then held out his hands, and the dolls glowed a brilliant white colour. When they stopped glowing, there was a pair of two hamsters that looked completely oblivious as to what just happened earlier.

"Thanks Ivan." Gildarts thanked him with a smile as he picked up the hamsters off the ground, and put them into his jacket pocket. The hamsters occasionally sticking their head out to see what was going on.

"Urgh… How did you do that last attack there? I put almost all of my dolls into my Colossus back there." Asked Ivan curiously. "I thought you only knew the basic spells?"

Gildarts smiled when he said that. "Isn't it obvious? Like you I'm trying to get to S-Class as well, that obviously means I have to get better at my magic." Gildarts said with a smirk.

Gildarts didn't chose to belittle Ivan for losing though. "I have to admit, your spells back there were kinda impressive. I won't be surprised now if Master chooses you next year for the S-Class trials!" He followed on saying.

Gildarts then turned around and began to walk out of the huge crater he had formed earlier. "Later Ivan." He walked away holding up his hand as he left Ivan in the crater. Gildarts realising that Ivan may need some alone time.

Cade POV:

"Woah Gildarts! That was insane back there!" I shouted as Gildarts made his way over to everyone who had came to watch him and Ivan duke it out.

"Yeah that was crazy!" "Nice job winning there!" "What was that last move there?" "So you keeping the hamsters then?" "Well you're making S-Class next year, for sure." "Well done Gildarts!" "Guess that settles that then." "Pay up man. You lost the bet."

Came the voices of the guild members, as they praised Gildarts for his win just there. There were many pats on the shoulders and smiles awaiting Gildarts as he came into the crowd.

"Heh, thanks guys." Gildarts said with a laugh after as he looked at everyone in the crowd that were congratulating him for the win.

"How did you do that last attack there Gildarts?" Came one of the guild members in the crowd.

"Well, I had been working in that attack for a while now, that was actually my fist time using it in battle." Explained Gildarts, as he turned to look at the person who said that.

"That the strongest attack you have?" Came another guild member.

"It's the strongest move I have right now, I can learn more attacks similar to it but it's gonna take some time to do it. I was planning on having that move ready if I get selected for the S-Class trials at any point." Answered Gildarts.

"How do you feel after the battle just there Gildarts?" I asked him curiously.

"I'm er… gonna be honest here." Gildarts looked a little nervous. "My last attack there completely drained me of all my magic power." He chuckled awkwardly after saying that.

"WAIT WHAT!?" Came the surprised voices of the guild members, including myself.

"But how?" Came the voice of one stunned guild member. "Was that attack really that strong?!" They said with apprehension.

"Well it completely destroyed Ivan's last attack, so I'd so." Came Gildarts as he crossed his arms smiling after saying that.

Some more questions were then soon asked and answered by Gildarts, to the best of his ability of course. Eventually everyone did begin to head back to Magnolia, satisfied with the result of the battle.

When everyone got back to the town, they seemed to go in different direction to their destinations. Me and Gildarts ended up walking together, and I got to ask him some more questions.

"Say. Why exactly did you go that far to rescue two hamsters? Chances are they might have been a stray, and Ivan said that he didn't see any name tags on them." I said mulling the question over.

"Oh… er… I just thought it'd be nice to help them. I think they were lovers, the hamsters." Gildarts awkwardly avoided my gaze saying that.

"Do they have some form of identification on them?" I wondered, as I saw one of the hamsters poke their heads out of Gildarts pocket.

"Oh, er… yeah they do! I took a look at them after I beat Ivan and I saw that they both had small collars that led to the same address." Explained Gildarts as he gently pushed the Hamster back into his pocket to be with his lover/friend.

"So that's where we are going then? To deliver them to their owner?" I inquired to the Crush Wizard.

"Er, yeah. You sure you want to come? You aren't needed back at the guild or your house right?" Gildarts said to me nervously, as we passed through an alleyway.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm curious as to who the hamsters belong to. Maybe we'll get a reward for bring them back!" I suggested excitedly.

"Eh?" Came a shocked Gildarts. "We? What did you do exactly?" He asked with skepticism raising an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, well I… wished you well during the fight against Ivan didn't I?" I said with hope.

"Right…" Trailed Gildarts, before he began to laugh to himself. "Hey listen. When we get there could we maybe not mention what happened to the hamsters and the fight? It might freak out the owner you know?" Gildarts requested.

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea! Probably for the best that their owner doesn't know that they were turned into tiny paper dolls for who knows how long."

Me and Gildarts continued to walk for a few more minutes, until we eventually came to a series of apartments that lined up in a nice row. There was a smooth river that was ahead of the apartments that rang right along them.

"Hey I know this place! Cornelia lives around here." I piped up, with a bit of surprise that we were here if all places.

"Uh… yeah she does." Said Gildarts nervously. "You er, wanna wait here Cade?"

"What? No! We're a team remember! We do things together right?" I was a bit upset that Gildarts was seemingly shafting me from all of this.

"Ugh, ok then…" Said Gildarts with a groan, as we were now facing one of the apartments.

We both then made our way inside of the apartment and headed up to one of the floors to find the owner. Along the way we ran into who seemed like the landlady at the top of the stairs.

"Yes?" She said sternly.

'Yikes. Here I thought Porlyusica had the most stern expression out of any lady I had met.' I thought. 'She'd give her a run for her money…' Gildarts continued up the stairs and reached her. He then whispered something into her ear, and that seemed to soften her expression.

"Ah, good. She's been worried sick since she realised they were both missing." She then stepped aside to let us both through. Me and Gildarts then made it to a door that the owner lived at. However I noticed something strange.

'Wait… isn't this…' I began to think as Gildarts knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, the door was opened by none other than Cornelia herself! I was completely flabbergasted at seeing her. Yes I had been to her apartment before, but it was years ago and I had forgotten which one it was.

"Gildarts, Cade!" She exclaimed surprised by our appearance. "What's up?"

"H-Hey, uh… I found your hamsters Cornelia." Gildarts explained, as he clearly struggled to get the words out of his mouth. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out two small hamsters and presented them to her.

"OHMYGOSHYOUFOUNDSAMMYANDKATIE!" She yelled with excitement as she quickly grabbed the hamsters from Gildarts and held them close to her, giving the both of them a hug to her chest.

'THEY WERE CORNELIA'S?!' My jaw dropped at what just happened there.

Cornelia then turned to me. "Hold Sammy and Katie Cade." She ordered before shoving them into me without asking for my consent first.

Cornelia then immediately hugged Gildarts after she gave the hamsters to me. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I was so worried when I woke up and saw them gone today! I felt like such an idiot for leaving their cage open at night!" She said with exhilaration, as she squeezed Gildarts.

I struggled to contain my laughter at seeing that Gildarts, was turning red in embarrassment at the hug! He then hugged her back and spoke to her.

"Hey it's no problem. I just saw you earlier today in Magnolia talking to your mother about them when I was heading to the guild. I just… stumbled across them a few minutes ago and saw the collar on them said that they were addressed to you." Gildarts still looked a little embarrassed by the hug.

"Umm…" I muttered with a bit of confusion. "What should I do with the hamsters?"

Cornelia broke the hug with Gildarts and turned to me, before taking the hamsters back out of my hands. "I'll take them back inside and make sure I lock the cage this time." She said with certainty.

I was about to ask Cornelia if the three of us and Lilly, all wanted to do something together in the coming few days, but is seems Gildarts and the same idea and beat me to it!

"Hey Cornelia? I was wondering if you, me Cade and Lilly all wanted to hang out again sometime?" Gildarts directed to her.

"Oh, I'd love that! How about… next Tuesday? I'll be busy for the rest of this week sadly. But I'm free all of next week!" Cornelia suggested with gusto.

"Oh yeah that's great! I'll see you then!" Replied Gildarts happily. "I gotta go now. I got er, a bit worked up today so to speak, so I'll be heading home now."

"I'll be heading off as well. I'll see you next week then, or before possibly!" I told Cornelia, with a smile on my face.

"Ok then, I'll see you all next Tuesday! Just come by when you are ready." Said Cornelia, as she waved us goodbye before closing the door with her foot.

When the door was shut, I began to walk back down the stairs with Gildarts. "I didn't know you were such a Good Samaritan Gildarts." As I turned around to smile to him.

"Ah, well you know… Just er, doing the right thing and helping those that need it.. That's the Fairy Tale way after all!" Gildarts explained with a nervous laugh.

As we made our way out of the apartment, and back into the streets of Magnolia, Gildarts turned to look at me. "So, er was planning on doing a job with you later today. Thing is, in that fight with Ivan my last attack kinda drained of all of my magic power…" Gildarts stated with frown.

"What!?" I shouted, having to double take what I heard just there. "Gildarts, how strong was that attack? Like what was the biggest thing it could it have destroyed?"

"Well… if I wanted I could maybe have destroyed about, what… half of Magnolia? Maybe more if I had more magic in me when I used it." Gildarts said comically.

My face lost all of its colour when he said that, and I opened my mouth to try and utter a sentence in response. But I just couldn't do it.

"Uh, Cade? You good there?" Wondered Gildarts, a little oblivious about how I was feeling.

"Are you kidding me! With magic like that we're never going to avoid collateral damage when on jobs are we?!" I yelled out in the air in a rather humorous way.

Gildarts just laughed at seeing my struggle about how strong his magic actually was. After that was all said and done, I took a deal breath and readjusted myself. "I'm never gonna need to fire another spell while on a job right?" I muttered, in shock at realising how strong Gildarts is.

"Oh, well come on Cade! I'll still make sure you have practise on jobs every now and again. I wouldn't want to have all the fun and leave nothing for you!" Said Gildarts as he put a hand on my back and gave a big smile.

"Heh, thanks Gildarts." I replied with a light smile, that was both fake and sincere at that same time.

Afterwards, me and Gildarts made our way back to Kardia Cathedral as that is where we normally have to split up to go our separate ways. We both said bye to each other, and then went in our own directions. Me to the manor, and Gildarts back to his home.

When I made it to the manor, I made my way straight inside and out into the garden to relax a little. I then began to think of what we could all do on Tuesday.

Perhaps a big game of hide and seek? It was quite fun in the huge manor after all. Maybe me and Gildarts could showcase more of our magic to the girls? They seemed to like it when we used our magic on stuff. Mostly me with my ice, but Gildarts often showcased his magic on small objects as well.

Then there was the most fun option – board games. Truth be told, while we enjoy the other games, we all love a game of Vulcans, Dragons and Mermaid's. I figured that I would take a look at the game tonight to make sure we still had everything (last time we almost lost all of the pieces, when we were playing it outside. A huge gust of wind almost blew everything away.)

And so, when the rest of the day was done I made my way upstairs to my bedroom to check on the game and make sure nothing important was missing from it. I entered my room and sat at my desk. Currently I was stuck trying to decode the next page in Malvel's spell book, it was proving to be quite the challenge and was without a doubt, the hardest page yet.

I chose to close the book and put it back under my bed, for the time being. I then pulled out the main board game in question from out of my cupboard and out it on the table. I opened the box up and began to look through everything there.

In Vulcan's, Dragon's and Mermaid's, there was a flat board that players had to get across to win. There could be up to four players in each game. Each players gets to chose from a selection of specific cards, and pick one as their avatar card. Avatar cards have abilities that will help players win the game. During each players turn, they take a card from a pile of cards which will have a random mythical creature on it, then they roll a six-sided dice to determine how many tiles they move.

Said creature will then have a strength value. You can only hold one card at a time, so players can't stack multiple cards up. When two players meet each other on the board, they are forced to show each other their cards and the person with the highest strength value wins that confrontation. The losing player is then forced back to the beginning of their side of the board. The winner gets to move on, but their card will be weakened due to the confrontation. They can chose to get rid of it immediately after if they wish and take a new card, or keep the one that they have.

While I was checking all of the pieces, I noticed that we had all the player characters, the dice, the board (obviously) and now I was counting the cards. As I was doing so, my mother came into my room.

"Hello there Cade." She greeted softly. "What are you doing right now?" She said puzzled, as she knew that Vulcan's, Dragon's and Mermaid's wasn't a one player game.

"I'm just counting the cards to make sure we have them all…" I answered not turning to look at her as I was still counting. There was 50 cards in total and I was nearly done. However, fate was not on my side today as I realised a tragic truth a few seconds later.

"Wait? No, no, no! I'm missing a card! Argh, it must have gotten blown away when we last played!" I yelled in panic, as I began to look on the list that came with the game to see what card was missing.

"Oh no! It's the Mermaid that's missing! If it was any other piece, I guess it'd be ok, but the Mermaid is Lilly's favourite card!" I said tragically. "What am I gonna do now? I might need to cancel the game now! She'll only play with the Mermaid card!" I cried out in sadness

"The Mermaid card you say?" My mother wondered, with her deep in thought as she said that.

She then seemed to think very hard and carefully before muttering to herself. "Yes… Yes that might work… Oh, yes it could!" She spoke up in delight.

"Huh? What is it!? What could work?! Could it help me with this?!" I asked desperately to my mother.

She smirked at me. "You don't need to cancel the game Cade! You said during dinner that it was next Tuesday that you planned to host the game right?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah why?" I gave a look of confusion.

"You don't need to worry. You just have the game as per usual next Tuesday, I think I have a way to get you a substitute Mermaid." She confirmed smiling down at me.

"Wha? Really?!" I said filled with hope. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I cried out as I hugged her.

"Anything to help you and your friends have some fun together." Mother said, as she hugged me back and ruffled my hair. A minute later, she broke the hug and began to make her way out of my room.

"Ok, now I need to write a letter to a good friend of mine." She explained to me. "Night, night Cade." She said as she closed the door on me.

I then tided up the board game, and made sure I had put all of the pieces back in the box. I then lit the game back in the cupboard and got myself ready for bed. I was glad that mother had came through for me in the end there. I was worried I would have to tell Lilly that she couldn't play with her favourite card.

I was curious about how mother planned to compensate with the missing card. Did she know someone who had a spare perhaps? Well, that's as a question for next Tuesday, as I got into bed and let sleep take me.

June POV:

—

Dear Lyra.

Hello Lyra, it's certainly been a while hasn't it? I hope you and your family are getting along well, I hope that Layla is doing well at her education. I was wondering if you wanted to catch up again next Tuesday? You would be surprised at just how much can happen in a year, there is simply so much to talk about! Cadewell has been up to quite a lot this past year, and I think you might enjoy what I have to say about what he has been doing. When you come round, would it be too much for you to bring your keys with you? My son and his friends, need one of them for a little game of theirs. With that, I hope to see you soon Lyra!

With regards June.

—

'Well hopefully she'll get the message in time.' I thought as I sealed the envelope and put it on my desk. Tomorrow, I'd ask Pierce or Charles to mail it away.

'I'm hoping that this will kill two birds with one stone, helping my son with his game and giving those keys of his to someone that deserves them.' I stood up with a sigh, as I then made my way up to my bedroom to retire for the night.

And there we go everyone! We finally got to see Gildarts and Ivan duke it out, Gildarts winning of course (you really think Ivan was gonna win that?)

I had to improvise here and there and give Ivan some new spells that we didn't see in the anime, so make his move pool a bit more unique and well rounded.

In the next chapter we will get to see a cast member from the show enter the fanfic!

With that, I hope to see you all in the next chapter!