Natsu woke up slowly, looking over to the infirmary bed next to him, spotting Lucy who was just staring at the ceiling. "Lucy…?"
"Natsu…?" Lucy turned her head from the sound of Natsu's voice, looking over at him with a saddened expression.
"Lucy…What happened?" Natsu sat up slowly, looking at Lucy's expression.
"I…" Lucy choked on the words she was about to say next. "I lost…" Natsu stayed silent for a few minutes, letting the weight of Lucy's voice and words linger in the air for a few minutes until the weight seemed to fade.
"Lucy…" Natsu shook his head slowly. "You did your best, right?"
"And I lost easily…" Lucy sighed heavily, turning her back to Natsu. "I made myself look like a joke…" She was being hard on herself. She gave it everything she had, but it was still frustrating for her to lose. Heather was still standing at the end when her eyes closed.
"Lucy…" Natsu sighed, unable to bear Lucy like this once again. "It doesn't end here…We still have Gildarts, Erza, Cana, Juvia, Gray, Cynthia, and Wendy!" Natsu nodded, a smile forming on his lips. "They're going to pull through for us, just watch!"
"…Yeah…" Lucy forced a faint smile on her lips, listening outside as the next match started.
"Who's up next to get bodied!?" Cygnus shouted, smirking widely.
"Tch, that guy's attitude pisses me off…" Gray said in a low, annoyed tone.
"I hope he gets taken out soon…" Cynthia groaned.
"I think we got the rest of these matches in the bag," Luke said, leaning back in his seat.
"Natsu and Gajeel are out…" Sting mumbled. "I hate to admit it, but those White Eclipse mages are very powerful…"
"Fairy Tail's mages are stronger though, right?" Lector asked.
"Yeah, they are…they just need a little push, and you can't defeat them," Sting nodded to Lector, giving a faint smile.
"I think Fairy Tail can win this," Rouge said.
"Fro think so too," Frosch said in its simple minded, yet cute voice.
"I don't see why Er-chan isn't in this…" Miliana complained, crossing her arms. "She would destroy the competition. I bet this was rigged somehow! Totally not spiffy!"
"I heard it was randomized…" Kagura said quietly, not much for conversation.
"Gray better not lose, or I'll never let it go," Lyon smirked, knowing his watching over Gray would provoke his rival, the man he could also call his brother, to push himself even harder.
"Is that why you came here, Lyon-san?" Chelia asked, looking up at a now shirtless Lyon.
"To see how Gray does? Of course," Lyon nodded, turning his head back to the score board. "Four to five…Fairy Tail better win…"
"This isn't so good…" Mavis said, actually starting to get a little nervous from the current outlook. "Those mages are much stronger than I anticipated…and I can't help with a strategy if all the matches are random…"
"We're just gonna have to give it more than our all then," Cynthia nodded firmly.
"Are you all ready?" Calium asked.
"Of course, bring it on!" Cynthia said as red flames surrounded her body. "I'm all fired up!"
"She got excited quickly…" Lisanna gave a nervous laugh, but she admired Cynthia for her enthusiasm.
"The next match is…" The first slow stopped on Cygnus. "Cygnus vs…" The roulette continued for a few seconds before landing on Gildarts. "Gildarts."
"Nice knowing you, Cyg," Luke said immediately.
"I got this," Cygnus said without an ounce of hesitation or fear, walking into the center of the arena.
"My turn, hm?" Gildarts slowly made his way to the center of the circular arena.
"He's gonna destroy this place if this fight gets too serious…" Cana said with a nervous smile.
"He's Gildarts, he'll take him out quickly," Gray said with a smirk.
Gildarts stood a few feet away from Cygnus. "So…are you the one who defeated Natsu and Gray at the same time…?" Gildarts asked while closing his eyes.
"Heh, that's right," Cygnus nodded slowly, smirking. "Put a nice hole in Gray's tummy, and beat the crap outta Natsu."
"His big mouth is going to get him in sooo much trouble…" Zain said, sighing.
"I see…" Gildarts opened his eyes, giving Cygnus a glare.
"Don't worry; I'll finish this as quickly as possible!" Cygnus ran forward, "God Trigger, Second State!" A thick purple aura surrounded Cygnus' body as his power increased tenfold. "Let's make this short, Clive!" Cygnus pulled an arm back, his stats increased greatly by the God Trigger; Cygnus threw his fist forward at Gildarts with amazing speed…but Gildarts caught it, an unamused look on his face.
"Gildarts is pissed…" Laxus couldn't help but smirk at Cygnus' current situation.
"A pissed Gildarts is a dangerous one…" Gray chuckled slightly.
"Cyg, do something!" Reve shouted.
"Gravity God's…" Cygnus' cheeks started to inflate, but before Cygnus could do anything else, Gildarts quickly swung his metal fist at Cygnus' face, knocking Cygnus all the way into the wall, creating a large dent.
"Holy…!" Cynthia gasped.
"Gildarts-san is really angry…!" Wendy covered her mouth.
"Holy fu-…" Cygnus felt as though the entire country of Fiore fell on him, and that was WITH his defense increase. "Gravity God's Bellow!" Cygnus fired off the attack he was unable to before, using the distance to hopefully gain some leeway on Gildarts.
"I hope you enjoyed your victories against two of Fairy Tail's mages, because what goes around…" Gildarts stuck his normal hand out, his palm open as he caught the Gravity God's Bellow in his hand with no trouble. "Because what goes around comes around." Gildarts used his disassembly magic to easily destroy the Gravity God' Bellow.
"Holy shit…" Cygnus' eyes widened. "No way are you beating me!" Cygnus charged at Gildarts' once again, pulling his fist back.
"You like to control gravity, hm?" Gildarts asked as Cygnus charged towards him. Cygnus threw a variety of hand to hand punches at Gildarts, who easily blocked them all with his metal arm, causing Cygnus to just keep trying harder. "Let's see how your gravity helps against this." Gildarts planted his left foot into the ground, the ground cracking underneath as Gildarts brought his fist upward into Cygnus' chin with all the current strength he could muster. "FLY!" The uppercut sent Cygnus HURTLING into the air, all remaining silent for a few minutes as Cygnus hit the ground, in his normal state, obviously in KO.
"Holy…" Taya's eyes widened at Gildarts's strength.
"W-Was he even trying!?" Aira blurted out.
"I hope to god he was…" Luke said with widened eyes.
"He's not Fairy Tail's ace for nothing," Makarov said with a smirk as Gildarts walked back unharmed, and as Cygnus was carried off into the infirmary by Luke and Hanako.
"Now the score's even once again; four to four." Gray smirked, stretching in case he was going to be next.
"Two hits…" Waiston's eyes were wide.
"That's a problem…" Reve admitted.
"Gildarts Clive…an interesting soul indeed…" Sidney thought to himself.
"That was an incredibly short match…" Calium coughed, amazed by Gildarts's power. "Next match…" He began the roulette, this time landing on Luke and Wendy. "Luke Cloud vs. Wendy Marvell."
"I'm up again…" Wendy took a deep breath, composing herself as she went to the arena.
"Good luck, Wendy," Carla nodded slowly. "Do your best."
"This is gonna be so COOL! This entire tournament is COOOOL! I can't keep my excitement in!" Jason yelled, making sure to write down every detail every battle had so far.
"You could try…" Taya groaned from Jason's exuberance.
"It could be worse, Taya…" Jaxon replied. "I'm not sure how, but it could be…"
"Get her, Luke," Selene said with a smirk.
"She's mine," Luke grinned, heading into the center of the arena, standing a few paces from Wendy. "I remember her fight against Aira…she's certainly going to be a problem if she sets up…" Luke thought to himself. "Oi!"
"Huh?" Wendy tilted her head at Luke.
"You may have beaten Aira, but this is as far as you're going to go, Sky Dragon!" Luke shouted with confidence.
"I'm not going to lose to you!" Wendy shouted back at Luke, confident in her own abilities. Lucy and Natsu made their way back to the stands just as the two fighters started to prepare themselves.
"Wendy's going against Luke!?" Lucy asked.
"Did we miss anything?!" Natsu asked, cheering Wendy on in the process.
"Other than Gildarts destroying Cygnus…Not really," Cynthia replied, poking her fingers together.
"Destroyed…?" Natsu blinked a few times, and then looked over at Gray.
"Two hits," Gray replied.
"Amazing, Gildarts!" Natsu grinned.
"Stay on guard…" Luke thought to himself as he motioned for Wendy to make the first move.
"Vernir!" A bright slight surrounded Wendy's body as she increased her speed right off the battle, also gaining the ability to levitate off the ground.
"Crap, she's doing this already…" Luke slid into a defensive position as Wendy rushed towards him with cyclones of wind appearing on her legs. "Here comes the kick…" Luke was mentally prepared for Wendy's Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang, but he wasn't able to keep up physically as Wendy's kick struck Luke right in his jaw, Wendy's momentum adding more power to the kick and caused Luke to stumble back from his stationary position. "Tch, this is gonna be annoying…" He thought, though his thought process was cut off as Wendy was now on his left flank, puffing her cheeks out.
"Sky Dragon's…" Wendy started as a vortex of sky blue energy started to form around her mouth.
"Gah!" Luke snapped his fingers, causing a grey magic circle to appear between him and Wendy; the circle created a reflective mirror that pointed towards Wendy.
"Roar!" Wendy unleashed the roar just as the mirror came into place; Wendy's roar bounced off the mirror, striking Wendy as she flew back a few feet, catching her breath. "H-How did you!?"
"Mirror magic, amigo," Luke said with a smirk, using this time to snap his fingers once again, creating a large, yellow magic circle under Wendy's feet.
"Wendy, look out!" Lisanna shouted, remembering when Luke used that against her.
"Wah!" Wendy used Vernir's speed to her advantage, most of her body escaping the discharge the circle released; the only bad part was that her arm was caught, causing Wendy to wince as she spiraled out of her own control for a few seconds before catching herself, rubbing her arm. "Ouch…" Wendy spread her arms out after, "Sky Dragon's Wing Slash!" Wendy sent sharp winds towards Luke in his general direction.
"Oh boy…" Luke crossed his arms, not having any other option than to block Wendy's attack, skidding back across the ground slightly from the force of the attack. "She's strong then she lets on…" Luke rushed forward, coating his fist with rigid ice and electricity, swinging a fist at Wendy's stomach, temporarily knocking the wind from Wendy's diaphragm, successfully winding her as she held her stomach in attempt to catch her breath. "Time to clip this dragon's wings!" Luke swung his leg, aiming for Wendy's left shoulder in attempt to numb her arm, much like what Aira did to her in their fight.
Wendy's eyes widened as she saw Luke swing his leg, so she did the only thing she could in her current situation, make a wild jump, dodging Luke's kick as her breathing started to return to normal. "He's fast…" Wendy mumbled to herself.
"Right?" Luke grinned, forming a ball of shadows and fire over his head. "Dalizzing Blaze of the Shadow Fire Dragon!" Luke hurled the ball of shadow and fire towards Wendy.
"Arms!" Wendy increased her offensives stats, only to dodge Luke's attack as the blaze struck the ground, creating a moderately sized explosion.
"She's slowly building up her stats…" Carla thought to herself.
"Slowly gaining the advantage…" Wendy thought to herself as she rushed towards Luke was again, throwing an elbow to his sternum, causing him to stumble back a few steps; Wendy then opened her arms again, sending another Sky Dragon's Wing Slash at the off guard Luke.
"Damn!" Luke was unable to defend himself from the next Sky Dragon's Wing Slash, flying back from the attack, catching himself in midair before landing. "I felt that one…"
"Go, Wendy!" Chelia cheered from the sidelines, grinning widely.
"You got this, Wendy!" Cynthia grinned. "Show him what you can do!"
"Luke, don't let a little girl beat you!" Reve shouted.
"Where was that when I needed it!?" Waiston scoffed.
"Same here!" Aira crossed her arms, huffing as she turned her head away.
"Roar…" Luke puffed his cheeks out, a vortex of ice and electricity forming around his mouth.
"Here we go…" Wendy charged forward despite Luke's charging of a roar; planning ahead if things went as she thought they would.
"What's she doing!?" Carla's eyes widened.
"She's charging right into the attack!?" Cynthia shouted.
"Of the Electric Ice Dragon!" Luke threw his head forward, unleashing a vortex of ice and electricity at Wendy.
"Armor!" Wendy's defense increased just before Luke's powerful hit struck her, however Wendy had miscalculated just how powerful the dual roar was, so she was blown back by the attack, landing on her back. Thankfully her defense boost prevented too much damage to her person.
"Don't underestimate me!" Luke smirked as he jumped into the air, spinning around as flames surrounded his arms. "Fire Dragon's Wing Slash!"
"HEY THAT'S MY MOVE!" Natsu shouted.
Luke swung his arms at Wendy, however the Sky Dragon dodged his attack, and retaliated with her own Sky Dragon's Claw, landing a direct hit as Luke flipped back, pointing his hands out as he fired off a thunderbolt at Wendy. "Wah!" Wendy dove out of the way, quickly rolling on to her feet as she sucked in another deep breath. "Roar…"
"Not so fast!" Luke snapped his fingers, creating several grey magic circles around Wendy.
"Of the Sky Dragon!?" Wendy's voice changed as she spoke, clearly surprised by the magic circles. The magic circles morphed into mirrors, Wendy's own roar striking one mirror and hitting her. However, this wasn't all; since the mirrors were stationed around Wendy, the Sky Dragon's roar continued to bounce off the mirrors, hitting Wendy on every trip, causing the girl to let out a groan of pain every time her own attack hit her.
"W-Wendy!" Cynthia gasped from Luke's mirror trap.
"Luke used this very same thing on Juvia…" Juvia narrowed her eyes at Luke, who was smirking since his trap worked.
"Heh, I got'cha now," Luke smirked as the mirrors faded, and Wendy fell to her knees, panting heavily since the onslaught lasted for several minutes.
"Wendy, look out!" Lucy shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to amply her voice.
Luke placed his fist into his palm, grinning as a chilling wind surrounding his feet. "Ice Make…"
"Don't you dare!" Gray shouted in an annoyed tone.
"Heh, I think this is game," Reve smirked.
"Freeze Lancer!" Luke threw his arms forward as a blue magic circle appeared, unleashing a multitude of large lances that all made contact with the exhausted Wendy; Wendy let out a scream of pain as all the lances made contact with her body, shattering on contact. Wendy stood tall for a few seconds before falling on her knees…and then onto her stomach.
"W-WENDY!" Cynthia covered her mouth, her eyes widening as her pupils grew smaller.
"Wendy, get up…!" Chelia yelled frantically.
"W-Wendy…!" Carla's jaw dropped, the big question is if Luke was even trying or not, because White Eclispe knew he had somewhat easy opponents.
"Whew…" Luke panted heavily from the amount of magic he used, combining two elements wasn't always the most magic friendly thing for him, but it usually produced results. "That makes the score-"
"W-Wait…" Wendy coughed, wincing as the wind around her body suddenly started to pick up.
"Huh…?" Luke turned around, raising an eyebrow as Wendy started to stand up. "You've got to be kidding me…don't you know when to stay down!?" Luke's tone was different when he said that last part, his eyes widening as Wendy reminded him of something from his first fight with Lucy's. "STAY DOWN!"
"Never…!" Wendy stood up, slouching forward slightly as she panted heavily, red fire surrounding her body along with the raging wind.
"Oh crap…" Luke was afraid of this this, but he didn't let it show on his expression. "Come on then!"
"Omega Flame Sky…" Cynthia grinned slightly, glad that Wendy was using this mode against Luke, hoping that it would bring her victory.
"I was afraid she was going to do that…" Selene mumbled.
"Luke's got this…I hope…" Nami said, eying Wendy curiously.
"W-What is that…!?" Chelia's eyes widened from surprise. "When did Wendy…!?"
"I'm wondering the same thing, Chelia-dono…" Jura said with a surprised voice.
Wendy spread her arms out, a red and blue magic circle appearing in front of her. "Omega Fire Dragon's Wing Slash!" Red fire and sharp blue wings raced out from the magic circle at a blinding speed.
"Crap…!" Luke crossed his arms, using this as a weak defense to soften the blow of the wing slash, but it was a futile effort as Luke was blown back from the attack entirely, falling on his back, heavily damaged, but he hopped up quickly. "You Dragon Slayers are REALLY stubborn!" Luke said through pants. Luke then raised his hands into the sky, causing a yellow magic circle to appear. "Heaven's Bolt!" A large thunderbolt shot down from the magic circle and raced towards Wendy.
"Look out, Wendy!" Carla cried out. But the help wasn't needed, Wendy jumped into the air, easily avoiding the thunderbolt and the aftershock of sparks dancing wildly on the ground.
Wendy landed on the ground, puffing her cheeks out as a vortex of red fire and blue wind formed around her mouth. "Roar…"
Luke's eyes widened as he saw Wendy about to use the Omega Flame Sky roar, his memory instantly jogging back to when Wendy used the roar for the first time and how it easily ripped through the mountain range near the forest. "Shit…!"
"LUKE. MOVE!" Reve shouted at the top of his lungs, the very same memory playing in Luke's head playing in Reve's.
"Of the Omega Flame Sky Dragon!" Wendy unleashed the giant funnel of hurricane and red fire towards Luke, who had no reaction time as the roar engulfed his body. When the roar subsided, Luke's body was covered in all kinds of marks, and he was on his knees, panting heavily from the heavy damage he took.
"D-Damn…that hurt…" Luke mumbled to himself.
"Wendy, finish him…!" Cynthia shouted.
"Secret Dragon Slayer Art: Raging Hurricane of the Omega Flame Sky Dragon!" A large blue and red magic circle appeared under Luke's feet, the circumference half of that of the arena.
"Oh no…" Luke realized he had no options, he couldn't move in time as a raging, flaming red and blue hurricane shot up from the magic circle, spinning around at a violent velocity as Luke let out an audible scream of pain. The hurricane stayed around for a few seconds before fading away; when it did, Luke was on the ground in KO.
"THAT WAS SO COOL!" Jason shouted, jumping into the air from excitement.
"SHE WON!" Lucy grinned from ear to ear, clapping her hands together loudly.
"Shit, that little girl is going to be a problem after all…" Reve scowled at Luke's KO'ed state and at Wendy, who was panting heavily with the largest grin on her face.
"I-I did it!" Wendy panted as she limped over back to the stands, and Luke was carried into the infirmary.
"Nice job, Wendy!" Natsu grinned, high fiving the exhausted Wendy.
"I feel like I should sleep for a week now…" Wendy nodded slowly, falling into Cynthia's arms lazily. "Hehe…Arigatou, Cynthia…"
"Heh, you're welcome, Wendy," Cynthia said with a large grin. "I'll always be here to catch you."
"Giehe, so how's it lookin' now, White Eclipse!?" Gajeel shouted with a confident grin. "What's that make the score now? Four to three, right!?"
"He's right…" Zalen frowned slightly.
"Tch," Was Reve's only response at first. "We still got Jaxon, Zalen, Jack, Heather, me, and Sidney! We're not done yet!"
"Oh yeah!?" Natsu grinned, even though he wasn't in the tournament anymore, he had complete faith in Erza, Cana, Juvia, Cynthia, Wendy, Gray, and Gildarts. "Because it looks like you're just starting…to get bodied!"
"You little…!" Reve bared his teeth, but he shook it off after, a smirk forming on his lips. "Don't worry, the seven of us can handle the eight of you."
"I'd like to see that!" Cynthia replied as semi darkened red flames formed around her body; her flames were red because she was excited. "I'm all fired up!"
Who was next on the roulette?
Jaxon Metero vs Juvia Lockser.