Chapter 16: Encounters
'Thinking' – thoughts
"Speaking" – speech
'Thinking' – Dragon/God/Beast thinking
"Speaking" - Dragon/God/Beast speaking
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters they are the property of Hiro Masima.
Awesome Ten Tails: Hope you enjoy this chapter
NinjaFang1331: Thank you
arata7kasuga: I did forget about writing the date, but in this chapter I have a quick reminiscence and I do have a plan for looking into it a bit more next chapter. I do hope my small collection of OCs are not too bad. Samantha was only with Natsu for the last little bit of his training and most of the time he was on his own with only Skotadi to keep him company. I am really enjoying writing Wendy and exploring her character with the changes I made. Thank you for your reviews, they helped me and I do read them all :)
.vijay:That never sat right with me either after introducing her as being alive, glad you are enjoying the story.
-Crocus-
Crocus, the Flower Blooming Capital of the Fiore Kingdom was bustling with life as hopeful guild mages and excited spectators alike flocked the streets, all anticipating the yearly event that will crown the strongest guild in Fiore. The Grand Magic Games.
Shortly after leaving with Maz and Izayoi, Elfman spotted someone he wanted to bump into. They quickly decided to split up as Maz and Izayoi preferred exploring further than spending their time in a nearby bar where Elfman saw his quarry disappear.
Elfman, now alone walked up to the bar where he could already hear a male voice calling for alcohol, pushed open the door and immediately laid his eyes on a man with purple armour on his arms and a high collar, an exposed torso, baggy brown pants and simple Chinese style shoes, who was looking right back at him.
"I knew I sensed a wild soul nearby, and look who it is," the man grinned before disappearing in a flash of speed only to reappear in front of Elfman, his fist cocked back.
"It wouldn't be manly if I didn't come and greet a rival, Bacchus," Elfman said as his fist appeared in the path of Bacchus's. The shockwave generated from their fists meeting slightly shook the nearby stools, though their grins never faded.
"The wild man Elfman, I take it you are here because you will be joining the tournament again this year?" Bacchus asked as he slung his arm around Elfman's shoulder and led him to the bar where a considerable amount of empty beer mugs stood, especially if you consider that Bacchus entered the bar barely five minutes before Elfman entered.
"This year we will be taking the title like real men," Elfman declared as Bacchus passed him a full mug.
"If you want to win, you will have to first beat me, and I don't know if you can get that wild," Bacchus replied while taking a large swig from his beer.
"A real man can beat you," Elfman stated as he turned his gaze on Bacchus who quickly returned it. As the two mages engaged in a stare-down, the entire atmosphere of the bar thickened with the patrons all afraid of a confrontation between Bacchus Groh, a powerful mage that they have seen excel in the previous years at the games, and Elfman, a man that extruded manliness with his massive bulk and the rivalry with the Drunken Mage.
"If you want to start a fight here, you can bet on it that I will be joining in," a gruff voice sliced through the dense atmosphere.
"And you will surely come out on top, it will be a testament to your training," a masculine and confidant voice agreed with the first one.
"Another contender, this wild sensation is stirring my very soul," Bacchus said as he turned on the two strangers and saw a tall man with long black hair and metal piercings alongside a small black cat.
"Gajeel, Panther Lilly?" Elfman asked, slightly surprised by their appearance, though he should have expected something like this to happen now that Fairy Tail's core members have returned. If Elfman had to be honest with himself if this wasn't Gajeel, but one of the other Fairy Tail mages who had no reservations when his sister was banished, he would not have been this calm.
"Gi Hi, you should know that if there is a fight against strong opponents, I would be there," Gajeel said with a smirk.
"Wait, you are one of the Fairy Tail mages that vanished from the face of the planet some years ago right?" Bacchus asked as he looked at Gajeel intently.
"Yeah, and what of it?" Gajeel said, readying himself for a fight since it seems like everyone in this city was bashing Fairy Tail for being weak.
"If that's true then that can only mean that the Fairy Tail from seven years ago will show its face again," Bacchus continued, his expression not changing at all.
"Yeah, and you will find yourself on the wrong side of an iron pole if you think we are weak," Gajeel threatened as he started to tap into his magic.
"Now that's what I would call, Wild," Bacchus cheered as he slid two beers towards the Fairies with a burst of uproarious laughter.
"It would seem like you are one of the few who are looking down on Fairy Tail," Lilly cautiously observed while Gajeel simply stood with a frown on his face and slight confusion visible in his eyes.
"Sorry for that, Bacchus can sometimes be quite odd, but he is a real man," Elfman quickly apologised before returning to his normal manly obsessed nature.
"I couldn't care less if the world says you are the weakest guild, as long as I can have a wild fight that stirs my soul I am satisfied, and I can tell that you can give me that," Bacchus said before taking a large swig of the mug in his hand.
"Now that is an outlook I can get behind, Gi Hi," Gajeel said with a grin as he followed Bacchus' lead and took his own large gulp of the contents of the mug Bacchus passed on to him.
"Real men don't look down on others," Elfman declared before joining the other two mages in gulping down the liquor in front of him.
"I do feel like I need to warn you though, the standards you knew from seven years ago are out of date. There are powerful mages that will make your soul shiver with their wild power, but that isn't a deterrent to you, right? I can tell we are alike in seeking the wild thrill of battle," Bacchus warned with a serious tone before his demeanour returned to its usual laid-back personality.
"We thank you for the warning, but Gajeel has always strived to reach new heights, this is no different than any other day," Panther Lilly replied while Bacchus only received a grin from Gajeel.
"Let's leave the talk on the upcoming games for later, right now we can all enjoy some booze, and if you can bring some of the Fairy Tail from seven years back, maybe we can even throw a few punches," Bacchus said with a laugh at the end, quickly joined by Gajeel and Elfman while Lilly was left to try and assure the bar owner that there will be no destruction as to not get kicked out. The joyous atmosphere quickly took over the bar as for a while, the little bar was easily the most appealing and enjoyable bar in all of Crocus, if not Fiore as a whole.
-With Yuihara and Samantha-
Even though Samantha would never admit it, she did find some enjoyment in having Yuihara drag her from one store to the next. What surprised Yuihara the most was the interest Samantha showed in the various bookstores around the city, especially the adventure novels they held. Samantha had grown to love adventure stories from the few months that she spent with Natsu before they returned to the guild where he would recall his adventures. The sense of adventure was something she never really felt back with her old guild, but ever since she wanted to be involved in one of Natsu's adventures filled with tough opponents and perilous situations.
"Hey Samantha, would you mind if we take a quick break at that café?" Yuihara asked as the duo came up to a café with an open design, having all of their tables and seats outside with the counter presenting fresh pastries and the till where orders can be placed. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee flooded from behind the counter, drawing salivating customers to the café.
"I don't mind at all," Samantha replied as the two walked up to the counter and ordered their drinks, with Samantha taking a simple filter coffee with a large amount of milk while Yuihara took a more fancy approach and ordered a slated caramel mocha latte.
As the two took their seats, each with their hot beverage in hand, Samantha took out one of the novels she had purchased. Yuihara took the opportunity to talk to Samantha about one of her interests. It took her quite some time and determination, along with a stubborn streak, to finally start to break through the chilling persona that personified Samantha, but after a year of no progress, she started to see results. For the next two years, the friendship between the two girls slowly started to grow.
"What is this novel about?" Yuihara asked, having learned that starting off with one of Samantha's hobbies was the best way to start a conversation. Even though Samantha was a very reserved person, she was content and happy to have conversations with her guild members, a large amount of credit here will go to Yuihara's efforts, she just didn't feel comfortable with initiating idle chatter. This was something Yuihara was proud of and this was how their comfortable friendship started.
"From the summary, it seems like an adventure where the main character needs to retrieve an exotic animal from a faraway land. I hope that the writer went deep into the world-building, the nature of what it seems like indicates that there will be a lot of different places between the start of their journey and their eventual destination," Samantha answered and she opened the book to the index to see if there might be any indication that her hopes will be satiated through the chapter titles.
"Oh, that does sound like it could be fun to read, would you lend it to me once you are done?" Yuihara asked.
"I have no problem with that, but have you finished the last one I lent you?" Samantha asked.
"I really tried to get through the book, but some of the characters were just a bit too unbelievable and that put me off," Yuihara admitted.
"Now that I think of it I should have warned you about that. I think that I will let you know if something like that will be in this book once I have read a bit," Samantha replied. The difference between Samantha and Yuihara when it came to reading Samantha's novels, was that while Samantha indulged herself in the world and the adventure itself, Yuihara is more interested in the characters and their realities within the confines of the covers.
"Have you seen anything else that caught your eye in that weapons store we were in? I am thinking of maybe getting one of the short bows to try and mould one myself with my magic," Yuihara mentioned as she allowed her magic to simmer in her hand.
"I haven't seen any rapier that was better made than the one I currently have, but if we can maybe look around at some point for a proper blacksmith I would appreciate it," Samantha replied, putting away her book and taking a sip from her coffee.
"I'll see if I can find any good blacksmiths while the Games are underway if we don't see anything today," Yuihara offered which got a small appreciative smile from Samantha.
The two continued with some small talk while they enjoyed their beverages, but before they were finished five women approached their table. The group was led by a beautiful dark-haired woman in a white blazer, flanking her on one side was a green-haired woman with a tight-fitting full-body mustard suit with a spider web pattern, while on the other was a heavy-set girl with black curly hair wearing a blue loincloth and a short blue top. Slightly behind the lead three was a cloaked individual with what seemed like cat ears outlined by the cloak. Finishing up the group was an energetic orange-brown-haired girl with a typical farm overall, who was marvelling at the large city.
"Yuihara Fox, it's good to see you back at the Grand Magic Games again this year, you had potential the last time we faced one another," Kagura greeted her once opponent.
"Kagura Mikazuchi, hi. I'm actually not part of our guild's primary team this year, but our new member Samantha Rein is," Yuihara replied as she introduced her guildmate. Samantha, donning her usual stoic expression simply acknowledged the introduction with a level gaze and a slight nod, one that Kagura returned in kind.
"Though it is unfortunate that you will not be participating, I do look forward to seeing what you can bring to the table Samantha Rein. Let us hope we can cross blades during this tournament," Kagura said as she saw the rapier holstered at Samantha's side.
"You do hold a level of power. I agree let's hope our blades can meet," Samantha replied after a slight delay. The atmosphere quickly grew awkward with the two stoic swordswomen not having anything else to add to the conversation.
"So how were the last two games for your guild?" Yuihara said, trying to break the awkward air that surrounded the seven women.
"We did not get the results we would have wanted, even though our girl Kagura held our guild high in the rankings, the rest of us needed to do a lot of catching up. And this year we have done just that, so everybody will have to watch out because the chubby is here to play," the heavy-set woman, Risley Law answered, an enthusiastic smile at the end.
"And what about your guild, any particular reason you did not come back to the games the past two times?" the woman in the yellow body suit, Araña Webb, asked in a French accent.
"Oh, we originally joined because we finally had enough available members and Maz really wanted to participate, but then our other member returned and Samantha here joined. As a guild, we decided not to join again. This year though with all our members back, available and ready, we decided to join," Yuihara explained.
"Since Samantha is taking your place, will your team be the same with only Samantha joining in your stead?" Kagura asked.
"Already trying to get a leg up on us?" Yuihara asked as she raised an accusatory eyebrow.
"I am simply curious, but I will not deny that it would possibly give us some advantage. But then again with the nature of the games and how everything is unknown until the event starts, I don't think it's that much of an advantage," Kagura replied calmly.
"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting," Yuihara pouted at the non-reaction with a playful tone to her voice.
"You would have a better chance of getting a reaction from anyone else than our cool and calm Kagura. I will admit my heart almost skipped a beat there," Risley laughed.
"Well, I can level the playing field sort of by saying that you are looking at the Mermaid heel team," the cloaked girl, Millianna, said with a proud aura around her while removing her hood and revealing her brown hair and cat-like features.
"Millianna," Kagura said with a slightly disappointed tone as she turned to look at her guildmate with her still stoic expression.
"What, it's not like we have anyone else compared to the last few games," Millianna pouted as the ears on her head folded forward.
"Now I feel obligated to tell you that there is one additional change to our previous team, but it would be so much better to see everyone's reactions when he reveals himself," Yuihara said with a laugh as Samantha gained a confidant air around her and an expression of admiration forming on her face.
"Are you sure you can't tell me at least? Pretty please, I really want to know," Millianna asked as she grabbed a hold of Yuihara's hands and looked up at her with her cat-like features trying to make her look more adorable.
"I apologise for her," Kagura apologised as she pulled Millianna away from Yuihara by grabbing the back of her cloak like one would grab a cat's scruff.
"No need, it's quite all right," Yuihara replied while waving her hands in front of her.
"Though it was nice to see you again Yuihara and a pleasure to meet you, Samantha, we still have a few things to do before the Games start," Kagura brought the conversation to a close.
"It was good to see you again, and I will be looking forward to seeing how your guild does in the Games," Yuihara cheerfully replied.
"I am eager to for a clash with you Kagura, if we don't have the fortune of crossing blades during the games I would like to test my mettle against you in a friendly spar," Samantha commented. Kagura didn't directly reply but did give her a nod in acknowledgement before they took their leave.
"So that is the opponent who took you down the time you joined the Grand Magic Games?" Samantha said as the Mermaid Heel mages vanished from their view.
"Yeah, she is really powerful and she mastered her gravity magic really well. The only odd thing was that she always had her sword in its sheath, she never drew it," Yuihara said, a contemplative look coming to her face at the end.
"A swordswoman who doesn't draw her blade, yet she is powerful enough to destroy your True Flight Bolt. Very interesting," Samantha commented as she took a sip of her coffee.
-With Lisanna-
Lisanna was busy catching up with Jenny Realight from the Blue Pegasus guild. The two formed an unlikely friendship after their battle and one photo shoot that Mira had convinced Lisanna to join in on. Even though Mira and Jenny were very competitive in their modelling, this never transferred over to Lisanna as well. She was like the precious little sister to the both of them, possibly the exact reason why their rivalry got increasingly hostile in a passive-aggressive manner.
"I'm honestly glad you won't be joining this year. I don't know what I would do if I have to face my precious little sister that loves me much more than that demon Mirajane," Jenny said with a sigh of relief.
"You are never going to accept whatever I say when I always contradict that," Lisanna sighed, this was luckily not something Jenny would bring up often but her ignoring Lisanna when she states that they are in fact not sisters, and rather best girlfriends, did at times get on her nerves.
"This is just another aspect where I am better than Mira. But we can talk about that later. For now, how about you tell me about your personal life?" Jenny praised herself before turning to Lisanna with a mischievous smirk.
"Honestly since the last time we met up not much happened, Natsu had all his focus on training up the younger members. You should have seen how excited Maz started out and how that quickly changed to dread after he heard what Natsu had planned for him," Lisanna giggle as she recalled Maz's excited expression vanishing and being replaced with an expression you would only see on a person who was staring a ravaging animal in the face.
"That's honestly a bit surprising considering the stories you have told me about the special dates he had taken you on. Like that one he took you to a spot in the mountains for a picnic late in the evening," Jenny pouted before imagining someone doing something for her as Natsu did for Lisanna.
"That was a magical time, how after the sun sank behind the mountains that I thought was the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen, but then he goes ahead and creates a miniature sun and coats the sky in shadows. I will never forget seeing the beautiful sunset landscape against a pitch-black sky as if it was a moonless midnight sky. The utter contradiction was something to marvel at," Lisanna said in admiration as she relived the wonderful date Natsu took her on.
"I still can't imagine how that would have looked like, or how he did it honestly. And you never tell me," Jenny said longingly before gaining a frown which quickly morphed into another pout.
"Honestly you will have to ask Natsu that, if he will tell you I can't say," Lisanna said with a soft smile.
"I do believe that it is something that he picked up when he disappeared after Fairy Tail also disappeared. I think all of Fiore made the assumption that he was with the group of mages that disappeared, quite possibly that most of them still have those thoughts and are looking forward to seeing his re-emergence," Jenny commented.
"It's not that surprising since he did go out on his own for four years, and he has changed since he got back so the news isn't filled with his exploits and destruction," Lisanna agreed.
"Like you said a few times, he's grown up, so it is expected for him to mellow out a bit, but then again he changed a lot more than normal because even a mellowed-out Natsu would still have some news on him if he mellowed out like most of the other mages," Jenny said.
"There are some factors that I know of that contributed to that, but there might be a mountain of other things he is keeping to himself. He has always been someone who would have the burdens of the world on his shoulders, but he will focus on the slight inconvenience you have. So there are things that have made additional contributions to how he is now, but his heart is still the same," Lisanna explained.
"Basically he is more reserved I guess you can say," Jenny offered. This got a smile from Lisanna as she agreed with that simplification.
The amount of people who knew what Natsu was up to recently was very limited and that is why there is still a general consensus that Natsu was with the Tenrou Group. Mostly the people who knew Natsu was with Griffin's Heaven and his current exploits or what he was generally up to was close friends of the guild or its members, like Jenny, the inhabitants of Kodokuna Yama, and some of the people Natsu has helped and interacted with in the past three years.
There was no real reason for Natsu to hide himself, but at the same time, he never saw the need to announce to the world what he was up to. As for his association with Fairy Tail, well since their fall it was never brought up so he never heard about it and he would rather not even bring it up unless it was already being discussed, which it never was.
"I guess Fiore will be in for a surprise when they see him popping up at the entrance ceremony with the Griffin's Heaven mark and not the Fairy Tail mark," Jenny mused.
"I wonder what some of the reactions would be to that," Lisanna giggled.
While Lisanna and Jenny had their friendly chat, three other mages passed by, two of them too engrossed in a heated argument while the third had all of their attention on one of the two arguing mages that none of them realised who they passed. Even though they did not realise it, it was hard for Jenny and Lisanna not to notice them.
While Jenny was more annoyed, yet slightly nostalgic, at the disturbance to the now lost peaceful atmosphere, Lisanna had a jolt back to a memory that could have gone a lot worse if Natsu was with them at that time.
-Flashback-
Mira and Lisanna were standing in front of a run-down tavern where it was said they would be able to find who they were looking for. It took quite a bit of time and Mira using the influence she had at Sorcerer's Weekly to aid in this personal investigation, but after two years they finally got the answers they originally set out to find.
The two gave one another a nod as they pushed the swinging doors and entered the unassuming tavern. The dim lighting revealed several plain tables with two simple bar stools at each one. Several booths were located around the edge of the tavern, and sitting alone in one of these booths was the target of the two Strauss sisters' investigation.
It was a man with a plain face and no discernible features, the only way they knew that he was the person they were looking for was that he was postured with his side to the door and holding a mug in his left hand while his right was planted firmly on the table, exactly how the information they acquired stated they would find him.
"Are you Nise Mono by any chance?" Mira asked as the two reached the booth where the man was sitting.
"Only if you two beautiful ladies are the ones who requested to meet me," Nise replied with a smile as he turned to face them and motioned for them to take a seat.
"We heard that you can impersonate anyone and make it seem like they did anything that we want them to do," Lisanna asked.
"Within certain limits, I am not looking to be locked away forever, but some activities I can be persuaded into that might not necessarily be seen as completely moral, though that does require a higher price as well as a signed contract to protect my lovely freedom," Nise confirmed.
"Say we wanted to frame someone for attacking a friend?" Mira asked, her eyes directed at Nise, holding a steady, yet calculating gaze firmly on him and his reaction to the question.
"Obviously that would require a contract, but the price is still up for negotiation. I will need more information, such as who and what the end goal is," Nise replied, but his tone changed slightly with a note of suspicion compared to the casual replies he has given so far.
"If we want the target to be outcast from our group based on the attack, with one of us being the victim, what would that require?" Lisanna asked.
"You aren't here to make use of my services are you?" Nise asked as he donned a serious expression and for the first time looked intently at the two who were no longer his prospective clients. His eyes slightly widened in recognition as he laid them on Lisanna.
"No, we are only here to get some answers, and by your reaction, I believe you know what our question will revolve around," Mira stated.
"I can't say that I do know what you are implying," Nise denied, his blank expression back and hiding his previous reaction.
"We are not here to pursue you or for any form of retribution. I have somewhat started to move on from that day, I just need some form of closure and due to some other things happening my other option of moving on is currently not accessible. I hold no grudge against you, you didn't have any personal involvement here," Lisanna said in a soothing voice.
"We don't expect you to just give us the answers either," Mira said as she presented a wad of jewel and passed it over. Nise looked at the two and the wad of jewel for quite some time, mulling his options in his mind, before reaching and dragging the jewel over to him.
"I do remember one time when a request was made where the client wanted me to rough them up. You were almost correct in the assumption that this was to ostracise the target from their group, but the goal was more just for a single person to distance them from the target. Though it was an odd request, I did not even do much as the client already looked roughed up, never asked, was never given a reason," Nise said as he counted the money.
"Anything else you can tell us?" Mira asked as Lisanna was lost in her thoughts, her mind running back to that day, coming to her final conclusion and accepting what happened.
"I can't say that I do," Nise said as he turned his head towards the bar and motioned for one of the waitresses to head over as he wanted to make an order, though his right hand was slightly elevated and directed to Mira.
After Nise gave his order to the waitress and she left to get him his drink, the man felt another wad of jewel under his hand.
"I made some comments about someone, apparently that would aid my client in what they wanted to achieve. Definitely some sort of public image-related thing. I do hope that story helps you to decide if you want to make use of my services," Nise finished, before returning to the casual tone he would normally use with his potential clients.
"I think you are a bit too convincing for what we want to achieve but thank you for your time," Mira said, picking up that Nise said all that he would and that they will not get any additional information from the man.
Mira touched Lisanna's shoulder, rousing her from her thoughts before they made their way home to have a deep and personal talk between them to talk about what they had learned and confirmed.
-Flashback end-
'I never really thought I would actually be able to confront them again, but I don't think there is anything to gain from it, but it's inevitable that we will bump into one another at some point. It doesn't bother me anymore and my life is better than I would have thought it could be. As long as Natsu is with me there isn't anything that I would want for,' Lisanna thought with a soft smile.
"Some people just have no class, arguing and disturbing everyone for no reason," Jenny commented with a displeased expression.
"Luckily they aren't staying around here," Lisanna said. The two continued their conversation as if nothing happened, Jenny not bringing up Fairy Tail, since she didn't want to push Lisanna into an uncomfortable position and resigning to only talking about them if Lisanna brought it up, and Lisanna not bringing it up as she didn't have anything to say. Maybe later in the games, they might discuss them depending on how they are doing in the games.
-With Maz and Izayoi-
While Izayoi tried to keep up with the hyperactive Maz who was almost sprinting from store to store or anything that momentarily demanded his attention. Izayoi managed to keep up until they heard a large crowd that was gathered nearby. Maz instantly sprinted away, calling over his shoulder for Izayoi to keep up while Izayoi could only shake his head while releasing a sigh of relief since whatever drew that crowd would definitely keep Maz stationary in one place for at least a while.
Maz easily managed to push his way through the crowd until he reached the front where he saw two mages, one blond man with spiky hair, and the other a dark-haired man who had his right eye covered with a prominent tuft, standing victorious over a group of defeated opponents.
"Hey, you are those mages from Sabertooth, the Two Dragons right?" Maz smiled as he walked up to the blond man, Sting Eucliffe.
"It's the Twin Dragons you idiot," Sting corrected him with an irritated tone.
"Twin Dragons, yeah. Anyway, what are you two doing here, it looks fun," Maz said, completely ignoring Sting's tone.
"We are just showing these low lives what true power looks like, want to have a taste?" Sting bragged as he turned a malicious grin on Maz.
"That sounds like fun," Maz instantly agreed as he reached for the war hammer on his back.
"Maz, you can't get into a fight with them now, remember there is a ban on fighting between the teams that will be competing outside of the Games," Izayoi made himself known as he stood at the edge of the open area with a neutral expression.
"Oh yeah, don't want to anger Master," Maz said as his hand moved from the handle of his war hammer to the back of his head.
"So you lot are going to compete? I guess teaching you a lesson in front of a larger crowd would be better compared to here," Sting sighed.
"It doesn't matter when you show your power Sting, everyone knows you are the strongest," a reddish-brown exceed with a blue open vest praised his partner.
"You know it, Lector," Sing agreed.
"You two are those mages from Griffin's Heaven that joined once before correct?" the dark-haired man, Rogue Cheney, asked as Izayoi reached Maz.
"Frosch thinks so too," Frosch, a green exceed wearing a pink frog costume agreed in a child-like tone.
"Yes, we are, though we were unable to overcome the two of you," Izayoi confirmed.
"Wait are you that lightning maniac that was swinging that hammer around like a crazed man?" Sting asked as he finally recognised Maz.
"The one and only," Maz grinned as he allowed some lightning to zap around him while placing his hand back on the handle of his hammer, striking a pose.
"This might be a more entertaining Games then. The fight won't be over in a few seconds like usual, you will at least put up a fight before I strike you down," Sting said with a more pleasant tone yet still remaining as cocky as always.
"This time will be different, we have been training with a real monster," Maz said confidently.
"You wish, no one is stronger than Sting," Lector said, while Frosch agreed in the third person again.
"You sure seem confident, but who is this 'monster' you are talking about? There isn't any talk about a powerful mage from your guild," Rogue asked.
"That is a surprise," Maz answered with a large smile.
"It really doesn't matter, Sabertooth will keep the number one spot while all the other guilds will continue to squabble for second place," Sting declared.
"Seems like someone is an overconfident brat who thinks he can beat anyone," a powerful voice said with a huff from within the crowd. The crowd quickly opened up to link the central arena and the location of the new person.
Standing in the newly cleared area, stood a large blond man with spiky hair and a long jacket over his shoulders, a man with long green hair and a maroon coat, a brunette woman with a short green dress and fishnet stockings and a tall man with a dark blue ponytail coming out of his visor covered head, wearing a dark covered cloth and a long skirt-like cloth around his waist and four tiki dolls floating around him.
"And just who do you think you are?" Sting sneered as he turned to look at the four newcomers with scorn and disgust.
"Look at their guild crest, they are Fairy Tail mages," Lector laughed as he pointed to the visible marks on Freed's hand and Evergreen's chest.
"Those useless Fairies think they can talk as if the only thing their guild has done the past seven years was anything apart from losing?" Sting laughed, gaining some snickers from the gathered crowd.
"Why don't you just return to your guild and spare yourself the embarrassment your guild is so adept at during the games," Rogue said dismissively while Frosch once again agreed in its regular manner.
This comment encouraged the crowd to provide their own jeers and taunts, leaving only Maz and Izayoi out of the ridicule, Maz being confused as to what was going on and Izayoi simply not caring about it.
The crowd was quickly silenced by a crack of lightning that originated from the large lead figure of the group of four, cementing the attention of everyone present back on them. It was clear that three of the four Fairy Tail mages were enraged at what was said, though the lead figure was oddly calm as he stands with his arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face, illuminated by the lightning that reclaimed the crowds' attention.
"If I cared about what every weakling said about me or my guild I would never get anywhere. You can flap your mouth all you want, but we both know that you can't back it up," Laxus said as he walked up to Sting and looked down with a smirk while towering over him.
"A large lightning mage from Fairy Tail, your Laxus correct?" Sting asked as he looked up at the man with a bored expression.
"He is, and he is the most powerful wizard here," Freed voiced as Evergreen quickly agreed with the prised while Bickslow's tiki dolls chanted 'Strongest'.
"The strongest you say? A Dragon Slayer who can't even slay a measly Dragon even with the help of three other so-called Dragon Slayers," Sting sneered. The mention of three other Dragon Slayers was surprising to the Fairy Tail mages as that would imply that Natsu was still part of their guild and that he would have been on Tenrou, which they knew wasn't true.
"You should relinquish that title before you bring embarrassment to Dragon Slayers as a whole," Rogue added.
"You have no idea what you are talking about if you call Acnologia a 'measly Dragon', you wouldn't even be able to say you encountered it and live to tell the tale," Evergreen shouted, angered by them implying that Laxus is a failure as well as Wendy.
Maz and Izayoi, having heard Natsu's tales of the event that devastated the Fairy Tail guild, caused by the Dragon of the Apocalypse Acnologia and the strength Natsu said it possessed, found themselves on the side of the Fairy Tail mages regarding this argument, added to the fact that Natsu said he doesn't think he can stand alone against the beast when they knew he could easily defeat Sting and Rogue without much effort, but decided to stay out of the argument.
"We don't know what we are talking about? We are true Dragon Slayers, unlike the false one's Fairy Tail harbours," Sting replied.
"And what makes you two so-called 'true' Dragon Slayers?" Freed asked.
"Unlike your failures that failed to slay a Dragon, we have already succeeded," Rogue stated.
"You're trying to say that you killed a Dragon?" Evergreen asked in shock.
"No way that can be true, there hasn't been any Dragons anywhere for a very long time," Bickslow argued while his tiki dolls changed 'Liars'.
"Well the Spark Plug over here might not believe it, but if you ask the other three Dragon Slayers in your guild, they will say otherwise," Sting said.
"You're implying that you killed the Dragons that raised you?" Freed asked in horror.
"We took their power as our own, that is why we are superior to you old-generation Dragon Slayers who can't even slay a measly Dragon like Acnologia," Sting confirmed before throwing a verbal jab at Laxus.
"The Dragons that raised you two must have been pretty pathetic Dragons if brats like you managed to kill them. I for one don't take pride in preying on weak and feeble foes and just like your pathetic Dragons, you simply aren't worth my time," Laxus simply stated before turning around and motioning the Thunder Legion to follow him. With a final glare at the Twin Dragons, the three Fairy Tail mages followed their leader.
"Ha, too afraid to back your words up. I hope you somehow make it to the main event, there you can't run away," Sting called after him.
"Come, Sting, we are expected back at the guild," Rogue said as the crowd started to disperse, giving a nod farewell to Maz and Izayoi.
"That was unexpected," Maz finally said.
"I haven't seen Sting shaken before by taunts, that Laxus is as impressive as we were told. Anyway, we better get back to the guild, it's getting late," Izayoi said as the two started to head home, in the same direction the Fairy Tail group left in.
"Why did you just take all the heat from them Laxus, you could easily wipe the floor with them," Maz and Izayoi heard Freed's voice from somewhere up ahead.
"Like I told them, they aren't worth my time, and there is a ban by the tournament rules for competitors to fight outside of the events so there was nothing good that would have come from it. Even if that brat had my blood boiling" Laxus replied with a sigh as he sent a bolt of lightning straight into the ground, releasing some of the pent-up aggression that he hid.
"I completely forgot about the rules, I am ashamed of my shortcomings," Freed chastised himself.
"That is why you are our leader," Evergreen praised.
"So the rules were the reason there wasn't a brawl?" Maz asked Izayoi with a disappointed expression.
"I doubt there would have been any real brawl even if the rules weren't there. For one Laxus seems to stand by his statement that they aren't worth his time, but the real reason would probably be the crowd and the danger a real fight would expose them to along with the street and building and the potential damages. Honestly, the rules are probably in place to prevent chaos in the streets and destruction of the Capital," Izayoi sighed and explained before Maz could ask him why since he knew the hyperactive mage would not be able to deduce that on his own.
"Oh, that does make sense since you put it that way. If we were allowed to run amok the civilians will be the ones to suffer be it from damage to their homes or, even worse, them getting hurt," Maz realised.
"If you would only take a step back and look at the situation instead of resigning to your excitement, you would have seen it too," Izayoi sighed, knowing that letting Maz know how he can act quite stupid wouldn't change him from starting to think before he acts.
"Yeah, yeah, but let's get back to the inn, I don't want Master to be angry," Maz dismissed the comment.
Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed this chapter. So I delved a bit into some of the characters and possible matchups somewhere during the tournament as well as exploring a bit of the time skips and what happened during them with the flashback, but more will follow to fill in some events that have happened when the time calls for it. Please let me know if you want to mix a new event or something into the GMG that will start the next chapter after a final thing that I still have before the Opening Ceremony where the guilds and teams will be revealed. Leave a review with your thoughts and I will see you all next time.