A/N: I'm so behind on my writing because I went to the beach this weekend.
But enjoy this chapter!
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: FAIRY TACTICIAN
"All right! The Grand Magic Games has reached it's climax at last! I'll announce the current standings." Chapati announced as the audience cheered.
"In 7th place, Quatro Puppy with 15 points!" Chapatai said.
"Well, keep watching us." Bacchus commented.
"In 6th place, Blue Pegasus with 30 points!"
"6th place. That's tough..." Hibiki commented, looking at the Lacrima Vision.
"30 points..." Ren muttered, scratching the back of his head.
"We have to get fired up again." Jenny claimed.
"Yeah."
"What? The important part is coming up now." Ichiya informed. "'Adversity is our greatest chance' Ichiya here."
"We've got two teams tied in 4th place!" Chapati continued on. "Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel, both with 40 points!"
Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel stared at one another. "The final day of the festival... All of the guilds are fired up." Jura commented.
"In 3rd place, Sabertooth, with 44 points!"
The audience cheered.
"In 2nd place, Fairy Tail, with 45 points!"
Fairy Tail's emblem flashed on the Lacrima Vision followed by their point count.
"And in 1st place, God Pegasus, with 46 points!"
God Pegasus's guild mark showed up on the Lacrima Vision as well as their point count. Atlas narrowed his eyes in determination.
Meanwhile, the Rescue Team was still running towards the palace. "It sounds like the final battle of the Grand Magic Games is starting." Mira informed.
"All right! Now's our chance!" Natsu stated.
"Aye, sir!"
"While everyone is absorbed in the tournament, we'll rescue Lucy." Lily said. "A battle fought on two fronts..."
"Given the circumstances, this was our best option." Carla added.
"But how can we sneak into the palace without getting caught?" Wendy asked.
"I have a good idea!" Happy replied.
"I bet it's a stupid one!" Carla said.
"Yeah."
"What are you talking about?" Happy questioned.
Soon enough, Natsu, Mira, and Wendy were in ridiculous disguises. "See? Perfect disguises!" Happy exclaimed.
"That's way too suspicious!" Carla commented.
"It'll definitely attract unwanted attention." Sting agreed. "Why don't Mira and I just dress up as guards and pretend we're arresting you?"
Everyone looked at him. "What?" He asked.
"I'm glad you came along Sting. You're the only one with common sense, surprisingly." Drake muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sting exclaimed.
"We'll do everything in our power to rescue Lucy-san." Wendy claimed. "Erza-san and everyone else, good luck at the tournament!"
Sting glanced back at the stadium as well. "Something on your mind?" Fera muttered.
"Sorry. I'm just worried about Lector." Sting admitted.
"Try not to worry. Nero will defeat Minerva. Once he makes a promise, he intends to keep it. Much like Atlas." Drake tried to reassure him.
"You're right. Thanks, Drake."
"Show us your fighting skills! Your magic! And the bond you have with your comrades!" Chapati shouted as Atlas and Shiro nodded at one another. "The final day! A survival game in which everyone participates! Let the Grand Magic Games begin!"
Fireworks were shown as Hisui was looking out the window.
"It's about to start."
"I guess this will decide which guild wins."
This made Princess Hisui smile a little.
"And for this final battle, the battlefield is the entire city of Crocus-kabo!" Mato announced.
"The members of each guild have already dispersed and are standing by." Yajima added.
"The teams run around town and if they encounter an enemy guild, a battle ensues. If an opponent loses consciousness or becomes unable to fight, the other side will gain one point." Chapati explained.
"And each guild assigns one leader."
"Although the guilds don't know who the other guild leaders are-kabo!"
"If the leader is defeated, the other team gets five points." Chapati said. "So theoretically, the highest score could be 45 points. Every guild has a chance to win."
"Should the team stay together and fight or split up?" Yajima questioned.
"That depends on your strategy-kabo!" Mato replied.
Eric looked at his guild members. "Listen. No matter what, we can't lose this." He reminded them. "To get Lucas back!"
"Agreed." Alyssa said.
"If we follow Nero's strategy, we'll be fine." Atlas said.
"Who will attain the glorious peak of magic?! Let the Grand Magic Game begin!"
The fireworks exploded in the air and the sound of the gong soon followed.
"Let's go!" Nero exclaimed.
"Yeah!"
"Well! The final battle has begun at last!" Chapati exclaimed.
"Yes." Yajima said. "It seems many of the teams are splitting up to fight individually."
Mato was waving his arms. "Do your best, everyone-kabo!" He cheered.
"The members of Sabertooth, each of whom has great fighting strength, have split up!" Chapati said. "Otherwise, some teams are using the buddy system, while others have formed a three-person cell."
Rufus looked confused as Orga hopped down on the roof behind him. "What's wrong, Rufus?" Orga asked.
"They're not moving." Rufus replied.
"Huh?"
"W-What's this?!" Chapati exclaimed as everyone saw that the Fairy Tail members weren't moving.
"Hey, what the hell?"
"What's goin' on?"
"W-What's wrong?! The members of Fairy Tail have their eyes closed and aren't moving!" Chapati said.
"What the hell are they doing?" Makarov exclaimed in irritation.
"W-What is this?" Lisanna questioned.
"I don't know!" Cana replied. "The devil takes the hindmost! Hurry up and start kicking ass!"
Atlas hummed to himself. "So they have a strategist outside of their team, huh? How interesting." He commented. "With Luke, we'd be able to counter it easily. But Nero can come up with strategies to defeat an army. Let's see who comes out victorious."
"Fairy Tail's odd behavior is curious..." Chapati said as Yuka and Toby encountered Novali.
"Seriously?! Two of you?!" He exclaimed.
"...but other people have already made contact with the enemy!"
"Got it? While I seal his magic..." Yuka started to say.
Toby unsheathed his claws and howled. "You're leaving him to me?!" He finished.
"Don't get mad. Wave Boost!" Yuka called out as Novali got covered in a light blue aura.
"Magic sealing..." Yajima commented.
"Crap! Then I can't..." Novali trailed off.
"Mega Mega Jellyfish!" Toby exclaimed.
"Wild!" Novali said as he collapsed to the ground, his body was burnt.
"Quatro Puppy's Novali is incapacitated! Lamia Scale gains a point, which puts them in 4th place alone!"
"We had to run into women? How unlucky." Hibiki claimed.
"If that's how you feel, you can always hold back." Arana told him.
"Nope. We're gonna go all out." Ren said.
"Don't hold it against us, okay?" Eve added.
"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Arana stated.
"Aerial Fourze!" Ren called out, releasing a blast of air.
"White Fang!" Eve shouted.
"Oh, my! Mermaid Heel's Arana and Beth are both incapacitated! Blue Pegasus gains two points, bringing their total to 32 points!" Chapati announced. "All right, the scores are on the move! Unlike the members of Fairy Tail, who are still just standing there!"
"Hey, Erza!" Macao shouted.
"Get out there and take down the enemy!" Wakaba exclaimed.
"This is so irritating!" Cana commented.
"Whoa! In the meantime, Lamia is crushing Puppy!" Chapati announced as Lyon froze Semmes and Jura defeated Yeager.
"What's wrong? Is this as far as you go?" Jura taunted.
"W-Wild..." Yeager muttered.
"Lamia Scale gets another two points."
"Their total is 43 points-kabo!"
"While Jura, one of the Ten Great Wizard Saints, is around, I can't picture Lamia losing!" Macao commented.
"Somebody take him down!" Wakaba exclaimed.
"That's right. With Jura and Lyon on our side, we're invincible!" Yuka told Toby while running.
"Sherria is strong, too!" Toby exclaimed.
"Don't get mad." Yuka scolded.
"I don't know about that..." Bacchus claimed, encountering Yuka and Toby.
"Uh-oh! Lamia's Toby and Yuka are suddenly face to face with..."
"Bacchus!"
"We're invincible!"
"Two against one, huh? The odds are against me, but my soul is trembling!" Bacchus said.
"Guess we have no choice." Yuka informed.
Toby unsheathed his claws once more and howled. "I'll put you into a deep sleep!" Bacchus claimed, getting in his fighting stance.
However, Bacchus ended up getting slashed at by Eric wielding Excalibur, causing shock to run through Goldmine and the audience to cheer. "It's Eric! God Pegasus's Eric came out of nowhere to knock out Bacchus, the leader of Quatro Puppy! God Pegasus gains five points!" Chapati announced.
"Our total is 51 points. In other words..." Shiro muttered.
"And God Pegasus keeps their first place spot!" Chapati stated as Makarov had a look of shock.
"He beat 'im! Dammit!" Yuka exclaimed as Eric glanced over at them.
"Now the two of us have to beat him!" Toby shouted. "It smells like booze here!"
Kagura struck both Yuka and Toby. "My mistake! Now we're done in!" Toby said as him and Yuka crashed to the ground.
"Oh, my! Kagura is here! With Yuka and Toby out of the way, it's a one-on-one fight with Eric!" Chapati stated as they realized Eric had disappeared.
"Huh?"
"He's gone-kabo..."
"Avoid Kagura, let her exhaust herself. Atlas will handle Jura." Eric repeated Nero's words in his head as he was running through the streets.
"Mermaid Heel gets two points for a total of 42 points!" Mato announced.
"It seems Mermaid Heel's Millianna has taken down Quatro Puppy's Rocker." Yajima informed.
"That's another point, bringing them up to 43!" Chapati said. "Wow, Mermaid is really putting the pressure on!"
"And I think Puppy is already wiped out?" Yajima questioned as Goldmine went pale.
"Wild-kabo!" Mato commented.
"The points are increasing at a dizzying rate! But Fairy Tail has yet to move a muscle! What's going on with them?!" Chapati wondered.
"What are they doing?! They've gotta win to help Lucy!" Makarov exclaimed.
"That's why." Mavis claimed. "That's why they must be calm. From all the previous competitions, I've observed the enemies' fighting strength, magic, psychology, and behavioral patterns. I took it all into account and ran hundreds of millions of battle simulations in my head."
"Um..." Macao had his arms crossed.
"Number one, what...?" Wakaba questioned.
"Their movements, predictions and results, locations. It's all gone according to my calculations." Makarov widened his eyes. "I've already told them the strategy."
All of Team Fairy Tail's eyes soon opened. "Lead your comrades to victory... That's my war." Mavis said as she stood up.
"War?" Makarov quoted.
"Begin Operation: Fairy Star!" Mavis announced.
"Roger!"
Team Fairy Tail soon began moving. "Finally! Fairy Tail has finally started to move!" Chapati announced.
"Lucky. I wanted to see the final battle, too..."
The two guards soon heard footsteps. "Hey, what do you want? And who are you?!" One of them asked.
Mira was holding Wendy and Natsu while Sting was holding onto Drake and Fera, both of them disguised as guards. "Intruders. I'm sure they've come to save that Fairy girl and Pegasus boy." Sting explained.
"Fairy Tail and God Pegasus?"
"His Majesty and the Minister of Defense are both out..."
"We'll just have to throw 'em in the dungeon. Take 'em."
"Roger." Mira replied.
"Hey, the dungeon is that way."
"Sorry. We've just recently been posted here." Sting claimed.
"I can't believe that actually worked." Fera commented as the transformation on both Sting and Mira's faces disappeared.
"Aye!" Happy said as him, Carla, and Lily were hidden under the guard uniform and Ace was hidden under Sting's.
"I'm squished!" Carla complained.
"Hurry up and get me out of here!" Lily said.
"Princess. Now might be a good opportunity..."
"Yes. Let's begin..." Hisui agreed, turning around. "...the Eclipse 2 Project."
"Everyone, spread out! Please proceed to the next checkpoint." Mavis ordered.
"N-Number One..." Makarov commented in shock.
"What's the checkpoint?" Jet asked.
"I don't know." Droy replied.
"Fairy Tail is on the move!" Chapati exclaimed.
"Maybe that was some kind of strategy." Yajima guessed.
"Even if so, I think it'll be kind of tough for them to take back enough points-kabo." Mato commented.
"At this point, there's a 97% chance Rufus will make a move." Mavis said.
"I see them." Rufus chuckled to himself. "My enemy tracking ability really shouldn't be underestimated." He began to get covered in a yellow magic aura. "I'll take them all off the board at once. Memory Make! Night of Falling Stars!"
Yellow light soon came hurling down towards the Fairy Tail members. "This magic is..." Chapati trailed off.
"He used this magic to wipe out the enemies on the first day." Yajima finished.
"It's beautiful-kabo!" Mato commented.
"Ignore the lights in the sky and in two seconds, you can dodge it." Mavis said.
Erza, Juvia, Gajeel, and Gray dodged the attack. "How many times d'you think I'd fall for the same trick?!" Gray questioned.
"This magic's attribute is lightning. Only Laxus should block it." Mavis continued as Laxus did so.
"It doesn't even tickle." Laxus claimed.
"What?! He stopped it?!" Rufus exclaimed in shock.
"The enemy is shaken and his thoughts are disordered. Because of those disordered thoughts, there's a 68% chance Rufus will try to approach us. There's a 32% chance he'll stand by at his current location. But even in that case, it doesn't have much of an effect on our strategy." Mavis said.
"What's Number One sayin'?" Wakaba asked.
"You got me..." Macao replied.
"Operation: Fairy Star...?" Lisanna quoted.
"I get that it's a strategy to make us win, but..." Cana trailed off.
"At this point, Erza will make contact with an enemy by proceeding northwest."
"Uh, I'm not sure I'm ready..." Jenny muttered as Erza encountered her.
"Number One was right." Erza claimed.
"Erza?!" Jenny exclaimed as she ran away.
"What a scary opponent." Erza commented.
"Escape and live to fight another day." Jenny said as Erza appeared in front of her.
"Destroy her."
Erza took down Jenny. "Gajeel, obliterate the enemy to the south." Mavis said as Gajeel took down Eve.
"I didn't know you were gonna ambush me!" Eve exclaimed.
"Sorry, bro!" Gajeel apologized. "All right. Wanna attack me in order? Simultaneously? I'm okay with either way."
"Hibiki, you get out of here." Ren ordered.
"Ren!"
"I'll stop this guy!" Ren declared.
Gajeel ended up slamming Ren into the wall. "You can stop this?!" He exclaimed.
"Fairy Tail has someone who trumps the calculations of my Archive?!" Hibiki questioned while he was running.
"That's right." Gray grinned.
"Another ambush?!" Hibiki exclaimed as he got frozen by Gray.
"Gray, after you take out the enemy who escaped to the water fountain plaza, go directly to point B4." Mavis continued to instruct.
"Oh, boy! After getting a succession of points, Fairy Tail is catching up with God Pegasus!" Chapati announced.
"What spirit-kabo!" Mato commented as the audience cheered.
"Number One's strategy is right on target!" Jet stated.
"Seriously?!" Droy exclaimed.
"Juvia, scan for enemies while supporting the rear guard! Laxus, continue to F8! Erza, go to F5. There's enemy movement in that area!" Mavis instructed.
"I just remembered your nickname, Number One... With that genius eye for strategy, you attained victory in a number of wars! The Fairy Tactician!" Makarov exclaimed.
"That girl can do anything!" Macao muttered.
"She isn't just a soothing presence." Wakaba said.
"Maybe you see her like that, but she did create Fairy Tail..." Lisanna commented.
"Yeah, although now she's a ghost..." Cana agreed.
"Ichiya-san, I'm sorry..." Hibiki apologized.
"Men... Never fear! Leave the rest to me..." Ichiya claimed before he was knocked out by Jura.
"You were wide open." Jura claimed.
"Jura of the Ten Great Wizard Saints gets 5 points for taking out Ichiya, the leader of Blue Pegasus!" Chapati announced.
"Befitting one of the strongest wizards in this tournament-kabo!" Mato said.
Sherria knocked out Risley. "And my Sherria-tan gave the boot to Mermaid Heel's Risley, tying them for second place with 49 points, too!" Chapati said. "That's my Sherria-tan!"
"Sherria-tan...?"
"Well, that aside, it's really heating up here with two teams tied for second place!" Chapati said.
"Yes. I suppose Blue Pegasus is also wiped out." Yajima stated.
"The number have really been thinned out-kabo!" Mato commented.
"I predict a fierce battle from here on out." Mavis said.
"Hey, Number One, what are they ultimately gonna do about Jura?" Cana questioned.
"Have you given thought to him?" Lisanna asked.
"I've thought about him, but I couldn't come up with a way to deal with him. That shows how exceptionally strong Jura is." Mavis replied.
"I'm participating on Obaba's orders, but my blood is boiling." Jura thought.
In the castle dungeons...
Lucy was asleep when she heard someone call her name. She opened her eyes to see Wendy, Mira, Natsu, Drake, Fera, and Sting. "Natsu! Wendy! Mira-san, too! I..." Lucy trailed off.
"Fera, Drake, and... Sting?!" Lucas exclaimed. "Hey-hey-hey! What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the tournament!"
Sting smirked. "You really think I would leave you to rot? What kind of boyfriend do you think I am?" He questioned.
Natsu covered Lucy's mouth. "Sorry!" Lucy apologized.
"We're here, too!" Happy said.
"Everyone!"
"You look good, anyway." Carla commented.
"Huh?" Lily collapsed to the ground.
"How did you get in here?" Yukino questioned.
"Y-Yukino...? You're here, too?" Sting said in shock, looking at Lucas to explain.
Lucas waved him off. "It's a... very long story." He told him.
"Never mind that, just back up!" Natsu ordered as he began melting the metal bars, one of them ended up hitting Happy.
"As expected..." Carla said.
"Here, we brought a change of clothes."
"Thanks, everyone!"
"Aren't you hungry?" Happy asked.
"We have some for you too, Yukino-san." Wendy said.
"There's fish, too!" Happy added.
"I'm fine." Yukino reassured as her and Mira were covering Lucy while she changed.
"No peeking, Lily!"
"Why me?!" Lily sweat dropped.
Sting wrapped his arms around Lucas. "I'm glad you're okay..." He mumbled.
"Nice outfit, by the way. Makes you look less douchey." Lucas grinned as Sting had an irked expression. Lucas turned to Fera and Drake. "How's everyone else? Are they getting by alright?"
"I would assume so. Nero had to take over as the strategist for the team. Only him and the Master know about the rescue mission, however." Drake replied.
Lucas flinched. "What is it?" Sting asked.
"It's nothing... I'm just worried for those poor wizards who have to face Atlas's wrath." Lucas muttered. "That guy is freakishly scary when his friends are in danger."
"Now we just have to think of a way to escape." Carla informed.
"If possible, we should slip out of the palace without attracting anyone's attention." Lily said.
"Wait a second. They still have our keys. First, we have to search for that guy with the scarred nose..." Lucy said as the ground began to shake underneath them. "Hey!"
The floor soon collapsed underneath them, causing them to fall down. "Everyone!" Natsu shouted.
"The floor!" Happy exclaimed.
"What is this?!" Wendy wondered.
"I'm still getting dressed!" Lucy yelled.
All of them soon crashed on the ground. "Heavy..." Natsu muttered.
"Sorry. I've been eating more recently..." Wendy apologized.
"My head..." Sting groaned, clenching his head in pain as Lucas had landed on top of him. "You good, Luke?"
"I'm fine..." Lucas replied.
"Ow..." Lucy mumbled.
"What the hell is this?" Natsu questioned.
"I think you mean where is this?" Drake corrected.
"Welcome to Hell Palace."
"Huh?"
"Who are you?" Lucy asked.
"You fell right into the trap."
"Trap, you say?" Carla repeated.
"Look around you. This is the capital of death, Hell Palace. The final freedom, where all criminals end up. However, no one has ever gotten out."
Hisui soon appeared on screen. "Rot down there, rebels!" She exclaimed.
"Who the hell are you?!" Natsu questioned.
"Nee-chan!"
Lucas widened his eyes. "You're... my sister!" He said, causing everyone to look at him in shock. "I remember now!"
"That is correct. I'm Hisui E. Fiore, the princess of the kingdom of Fiore!" Hisui introduced herself.
"Then she's the princess of this palace?" Mira asked.
"Scary..." Lucy commented.
"Her and Lucas are related, then that means-" Drake began.
"Don't say it." Lucas interrupted.
"Lucas-san is a prince." Fera finished.
"What did I just say!?" Lucas scolded.
"Dammit! Where's the friggin' exit?!" Natsu exclaimed as communication cut off.
"I can't even see an entrance, let alone the exit." Lily commented.
"What should we do?!" Wendy asked.
"Lucas grew up here, perhaps he knows the way out." Drake suggested.
"I just got my memories returned! I don't even remember my time here!" Lucas argued.
"Excellent job, Princess!"
"Even though His Majesty is out, you protected the castle wonderfully!"
"Hooray! Hooray! Three cheers for the princess!"
"I'm sorry, brother..." Hisui thinks to herself, looking down.
"The Grand Magic Game continues to be a breathtaking battle! And I predict the fighting is only going to get fiercer!" Chapati said.
Gray had entered a library. "Nero informed me that I would meet you here. Seems he was right. He's not Lucas, but I have to give him more credit." Alyssa hummed as Gray glanced up, seeing the white-haired woman.
"Huh? I'm not supposed to encounter you." Gray narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Where's Rufus?"
"Shiro took that guy out a long time ago, I believe." Alyssa responded, hopping down from the second floor. "You're Gray Fullbuster, an Ice-Make Mage. I have to say, there's not many ice wizards around anymore. Consider me surprised when I found out you and that Lyon on Lamia Scale's team were ones."
"Number One seemed to be off... that's a first. But no matter. This is the end of the line for you." Gray declared.
"Is that so?" Alyssa smirked. "Show me what you got then, Gray Fullbuster."
A/N: Writing Gray and Alyssa's battle is going to be hard. I'll do my best to improvise but if you want to help me out, I'll be willing to accept it. Gray is strong, so hopefully the battle won't be TOO crappy. (Although, Alyssa will be victorious in the end for obvious reasons, so I don't wanna hear no complaints).
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.