With the Grand Magic Games only a week away, all the guilds in Fiore decided to up their game, which resulted in training the hardest they could. Just outside Fairy Tail, Natsu and Gajeel were sparring with each other. Natsu aimed a flaming right hook towards Gajeel's cheek, but since Gajeel knew how Natsu fought, he was easily able to block the incoming hit by coating his arm in iron scales, and brought it up to his face, blocking the hit, but he did slide back a bit. "C'mon, Salamander, you can do better than that!" Gajeel shouted, knowing that Natsu would comply by trying even harder to strike Black Steel.

"I'm just warming up, Gajeel!" Natsu shouted with a smirk. The salamander then jumped up, coating his legs in flames, and aimed a spinning roundhouse at Gajeel's skull.

"So am I!" Gajeel grinned, turning his arm into an iron pole as he held it up defensively, allowing his metallic arm to take the hit. Though, Gajeel did wince slightly from Natsu's power, and slid back across the ground. "Now it's my turn!" Gajeel turned his arm to normal, but with iron scales coating it; he then lunged towards Natsu while pulling his iron fist back, swinging it when he got close. "Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!"

"Heh…!" Natsu coated his fist in flames, charging Gajeel as well. "Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu threw his arm forward, clashing with Gajeel's hard fist, the power between the two causing a shockwave that thundered throughout the area.

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The members of White Eclipse stood around Reve as they awaited the two teams that they figured would be participating in the Grand Magic Games. "Alright, is everyone here?" Reve asked as he looked around. "Looks like it."

"We have quite a bit of members here," Calium said with a slight chuckle. "I'm sure whoever Reve picks will do an excellent job in representing White Eclipse."

"I know there wasn't any pressure meant in that statement but I can still feel it…" Luke mumbled.

After seeing everyone was around, Reve nodded, and started explaining what was going to happen. "Alright, so here's the deal. We're going to form two teams, A team and B team."

"So there will be ten of us participating?" Waiston asked.

"That's right, Waiston," Reve nodded. "And for that occasion, I already decided the ten main participates."

"Oh? So who's going to be in, cowboy?" Taya asked while crossing her arms.

"Simple," Reve started. "White Eclipse Team A: Me, Luke, Tak, Aira, and Cygnus."

"M-Me?!" Aira's eyes widened, completely surprised that she was chosen.

"If you don't feel it I can always put someone else in your place?" Reve asked.

"N-No! I'll do my best to represent White Eclipse!" Aira said with a nod, unable to contain her excitement as she threw her arms around Selene.

"G-Gah! Congrats, Aira!" Selene said as she actually returned the hug.

"So, who's on team B?" Zalen asked.

"White Eclipse Team B: Taya, the leader, Nami, Jaxon, Waiston, and Kuro."

"I'm the leader, eh?" Taya merely shrugged. "Alright; I won't let any of you down."

"Taya, we're on the same team! Isn't that exciting!?" Nami hopped up and down excitedly.

"Whoa, I'm actually on a team?" Jaxon asked, clearly surprised.

"With you, we have the weather at our control; something that will no doubt come in handy, right?" Reve asked Jaxon, who nodded with a grin.

"This is exciting," Kairi said with a slight grin.

"Don't mess up, copy kitty," Heather said while giving Luke a light punch on the arm.

"Don't worry, we got this!" Luke grinned.

"The only problems will reside in the preliminaries," Sidney said with a warning tone. "It'll be a free for all."

"After that, everything else will be a breeze…" Reve nodded. "Now, we know the teams, and we have only one week left. Just because you aren't in a team doesn't mean you shouldn't train; we don't know what could happen to a member, understand?"

"Aye!" Kuro nodded.

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"I have a present for you all!" Caelestis said as he walked into Twilight Zone with a piece of paper.

"Caelestis!" Evanee said, rather happy to see the guild master after who knows how long.

"I can see everyone is in one piece! You didn't kill them?" Caelestis asked in a proud, yet shocked tone.

"It was hard but I managed," Evanee replied.

"What'cha got there, old man?" Rylo asked.

"I'm not old!" Caelestis replied. "I'm….."

"See, you don't even remember!" Rylo replied. "You're old!"

"I'm technically the around the same age as Ev!" Caelestis nodded.

"Technically?" Flynn asked skeptically.

"Yes, technically." Caelestis nodded. "Anyway!"

"What's the piece of paper you have there?" Alexander asked rather curiously.

"This happens to be a paper which grants Twilight Zone entry into the Grand Magic Games!" Caelestis replied with a large grin.

"G-Grand Magic Games?!" Rylo's eyes widened. "Y-You're kidding!"

"What's that?" Melanie asked, obviously clueless about the subject.

"Basically," Rylo started. "The Grand Magic Games is a competition where all the guilds in Fiore compete to see which one is number one; but only eight guilds can actually get the chance to fight for that spot."

"And we have a shot at that…?" Tsami asked with an excited expression.

"That's right, and I already know who's going to compete!" Caelestis nodded. "Ev, you'll be leading the team."

"Me?" Evanee blinked a few times before nodding. "Alright."

"Rylo, Flynn, Taranis, and Alexander will also be on the team," Caelestis nodded.

"W-Whoa!? Me!? Great!" Flynn jumped into the air, grinning with excitement.

"Heh, this'll be great," Rylo smirked.

"I wanted to be a part of the team…" Tsami pouted.

"Don't worry, if something happens to one of them, we'll need to have a replacement." Caelestis nodded.

"Top hat squad," Taranis said with a grin as he nudged Rylo.

"Now, you only have a week for preparation, so get to it! Oh, and also! It's time for Fiore to enter the Twlight Zone!"

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Master Goldmine of Quatro Cerberus walked around the guild, gaining the attention of his wild members. "So, the Grand Magic Games are starting soon!"

"It's gonna be wild!" Bacchus said with a grin.

"We're gonna become the top guild in Fiore this time!" Rocker shouted, hyping himself and the other members up.

"Master!" Blues shouted. "I know Kuro and I haven't been a part of this guild for long, but I think the Dragon God Duo can do some work for the guild this year!"

"Hm…" Goldmine thought about it, looking towards the other members to see what they would say.

"I think we should let 'em join!" Warcry nodded.

"It would be wild!" Yeager said as he nodded along with Warcry.

"I'm not hearing any objections…" Goldmine mumbled as he pondered the thought for a few seconds. "Alright, here's our team this year. Rocker, Warcry, Blues, Kuro, and Bacchus."

"Wild!" Kuro shouted as he and Blues high fived each other.

"FOUR!" The entire guild shouted in unison.

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"Who is this…?" Arc asked as he leaned in towards Ur, unable to see because of the bandages around his face at all times, but he could tell someone was new.

"Ur…Ur Milkovich…" Ur replied as she leaned back from Arc, a puzzled expression on his face.

"You've missed a lot in your absence, Arc," Daityas said as he walked over to the demon slayer.

"Like what?" Arc asked, rather curiously.

"We've formed an alliance with Silent Sanctum, for example," Daityas replied. "As for the rest, you can see for yourself soon enough.

Upon seeing Arc once again, Sora ran forward towards the demon slayer and grinned. "Arcy!"

"Ah…Sora…" Arc picked the young girl up, and placed her on his shoulders.

"Sora missed Arcy!" Sora nodded, grinning with excitement.

Arc nodded to Sora, and then turned over to Daityas. "Where's Taya?"

"Oh, she's still with White Eclipse, but there are plans to change that soon enough," Daityas nodded. "But, I heard there is some competition going on soon, and I'm eager to see Kuro's results with training with me."

"I still can't believe you're teaching that wanker…" Maggie scoffed.

"Oh, don't worry, I have a plan. Because of his nativity, things will be made much easier," Daityas replied as a smirk forming on his lips.

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"I can't believe this…" Daryan sighed as he strolled around the main hall of Cosmic Star.

"Neither can I…" Magnus grunted, crossing his arms as he leaned back against a support beam. "All the other guilds are about to participate in the Grand Magic Games, and the old man hasn't returned enough to even see if we can enter…"

"It would be great publicity if we were able to make it within the top eight…" Gaia shrugged. "But, without the old man to let us in, I doubt we'll be making it this time."

"Ah, phooey…" Alex pouted.

"I suppose it just wasn't mean to be then…" Yakzua shrugged. A few minutes later, the door to Cosmic Star creaked open, causing the five members to turn. An old man, hunched over and using a walking stick to walk slowly made his way inside the guild.

"Oh my…I can see you kids still don't get out much…" The old man said, chuckling slightly.

"No way he's actually here?!" Yakuza said with a shocked tone.

"Yeesh, when are you going to get that back of yours fixed, Karma?" Gaia asked while shaking her head with a subtle smile.

"Oh…Gaia, I can see you haven't changed a bit…" Karma said with a tired smile. "But…That's not what I returned just in time for. I have something for you all, for doing such a good job keeping this guild safe and all…"

"And what's that?" Magnus asked, though the question was rhetorical, but he felt as though that he had to play along.

Karma held up his arm, shakily as he was old, but Gaia took the paper so the old man wouldn't have to strain himself. "Thank you, Gaia…"

"Let's see…" Gaia read the paper, he eyes widening in surprise after she did. "You got us entry into the Grand Magic Games?!"

"Karma you're the best!" Alex hopped up, grinning widely.

"Well, well…looks like you managed to pull through in the end, old man…" Yakuza said with a slight smile.

"You whippersnappers have a week to prepare yourselves. I apologize I wasn't able to return sooner, but business does call, after all. But, with your talents, a week should be everything you need and more."

"Aye, sir," Magnus nodded.

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Lyon stood at the doorway to Lamia Scale, and of course, he wasn't alone. Alongside the dynamic ice make mage was the team of Lamia Scale; Jura, Chelia, Yuka, and Toby. "I'm ready," Lyon said with a smirk.

"We still have a week to go, but I have faith in you all!" Sherry said cheerfully.

"We may have lost last year, but I know Lamia Scale will come out on top!" The Master of Lamia Scale, Ooba Babasama said while twirling her finger around, spinning a random, no name member.

"We're going to win this time. OOON!" Toby shouted.

"I admire your enthusiasm, Toby-dono," Jura said with a slight chuckle.

"I'm ready to win this time!" Chelia nodded.

"As am I," Yuka smirked slightly.

"We will show Fiore why Lamia Scale is the strongest guild in Fiore!" Lyon shouted.

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"Sting, it's almost time," Rouge nodded to his fellow twin dragon, standing alongside Orga, Rufus, and Yukino.

Sting nodded, a smirk appearing on his lips as he looked at the members of Sabertooth. "I know, and I've been waiting for this day ever since we lost the title as strongest guild in Fiore. Sabertooth is a different guild now then it was back then, and I intend so show it!"

"Sabertooth! Number one!" Orga sang, his horrible singing causing everyone to flinch.

"We won't lose this time, right, Sting-sama?" Yukino asked the white dragon slayer.

"That's right!" Sting grinned. "Things are going to be different this time." He did say this, but there was a part of him that wondered about Minerva. Ever since Sabertooth lost last year, their search for her resulted in nothing. She did carry them pretty strongly with her appearance, but they'd have to do without for now. "And if the Lady happens to be watching, I hope she can see that our change has made us stronger, not weaker."

"I hope so too." Yukino said while placing her hands together.

"Sting-kun will lead Sabertooth back to victory!" Lector shouted, rather confident and proud.

"Fro think so too!" Frosch said while giving what seemed to be a blank stare.

"Our victory will be one to remember…" Rufus smirked slightly, placing a hand on the tip of his hat.

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"Men!" Ichiya had the Trimens, Jenny, and Nichiya lined up, all ready to participate in the Grand Magic Games. "We have but one more week to prepare for the Grand Magic Games!"

"We are ready, Ichiya-san!" The Trimens said in unison.

"I won't lose again, I refuse to," Jenny said while filing her nails. "I have a score to settle with Mirajane (who just happened to sneeze off screen due to her name being mentioned)."

"I am prepared to fight once again for the sake of this guild!" Nichiya nodded while giving a salute.

"Men! Excellent! I can smell a parfarm of victory!" Ichiya exclaimed.

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"Grand Magic Games, huh…?" Melody sneezed, her cheeks red from sickness. "This blows! I wanna to participate…!" She then coughed a few times, groaning.

"Don't worry; you should be 100% by the time the Games start!" Milliana nodded.

"And if not, we'll make sure to fight extra hard for you," Beth said with a cheerful tone.

"We have a lot of things to watch out for now," Kagura said while crossing her arms, her head tilted down to the ground as she closed her eyes. "We're going to have to try harder than we did last year, since we have White Eclipse and who knows what else to deal with."

"Don't worry, Kagura!" Risley said while giving a thumbs up. "Mermaids will swim to the top!"

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"Alright, everyone!" Makarov shouted, gaining the attention of the entire Fairy Tail guild. "It's time to list the two teams that will be representing Fairy Tail in the Grand Magic Games!"

"Oh boy, it's finally time, huh?" Cynthia bounced up and down a few times.

"I'm ready!" Natsu said, somewhat bruised and battered from his spar earlier in the day along with Gajeel.

"For Fairy Tail's A team, we have Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, Lucy Heartfilia, Wendy Marvell, and of course, Natsu Dragneel!" Makarov nodded, seeing that his choice for the A team was a good one, considering the members were nodding in agreement. "No objections, great! For Fairy Tail Team B, we have Laxus Dreyar, Gajeel Redfox, Mirajane Strauss, Juvia Lockser, and Cynthia Rose!"

"M-M-Me!?" Cynthia's eyes lit up with excitement. "You're picking me!? I-I-I don't know what to say!"

"Heh, we got ourselves an all-star team this year!" Cana grinned.

"Juvia wanted to be on the same team as Gray-sama…" Juvia frowned.

"Well…you technically are on the same team?" Lisanna said with a comforting smile.

"IT'S NOT THE SAME!" Juvia flailed her arms comically, causing Lisanna to take a few causal steps back.

"This is going to be a breeze!" Cynthia nodded. "I can't wait!"

"We still have a week left, twerp," Gajeel replied to Cynthia. "Giehe, but I have to admit, I'm feeling rather excited myself."

"Good luck, everyone!" Bisca smiled.

"Good luck!" Asuka repeated.

"Let's go out and win this thing then!" Natsu roared. The rest of Fairy Tail followed suit. It was Grand Magic Games time!