Chapter 80

A Real Man

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip

Natsu groaned in pain as Laki set him down in the infirmary. "I know he's gonna be okay, but how long will he be like this?" She asked the healer.

"No need to worry about him. It' nothing more than motion sickness." Porlyusica replied. "It should only be a few hours at most."

"How's Wendy doing?" The violette asked.

"She's well on her way to a complete recovery." The healer replied.

"Well that's good." Rose said from Laki's shoulder. "And with Carla up again, I'm sure the she'll try even harder."

"Yeah..." The white cat mumbled before the two left the room.

"...You aren't going to tell her?" Porlyusica asked as she turned to Carla.

"What good would come from telling her such a fate?" Carla replied. "She'd never believe me."

"True. If you don't believe yourself then you can't expect others to do so." The healer added, mixing something for Wendy.

"Exactly. I don't believe in it either." The white cat replied. "It was nothing but a dream."

Overlook

The crowd cheered as Toby and Kurohebi began fighting. Laki returned to her team's stand and glared at the dark haired wizard. "He's fighting a member of Raven Tail?" She asked before glancing over to the Dark Guild's corner. Flare turned to her and glared at her, but that wasn't what caught Laki's attention. 'Are those... bruises?'

"Flare... you will never fail us again!" The armor clad Alexi declared, scaring the girl. "Just who do you think was responsible for your win?"

"But, but that girl was glaring at me!" She cried out, only for the hand two squeeze her face.

"You want even more punishment?" He asked, lifting her off the ground.

"N-no, sir. Please forgive me." She begged.

Laki actually felt sorry for her and turned away just as the match ended. "TOBY JUST GOT PUT DOWN!" Chapati declared as the victor merely walked away, sending a whirlwind of sand to fling Toby back to his guild. "Now, let's move on to the next match! It's Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus!"

The drunkard walked out into a sea of cheers before laying on the ground, waiting for his opponent. "What do we do if they call for Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"We beat him until he wakes up." Gray replied in all seriousness.

"He's the guy who fought Erza to a draw?" Elfman asked in concern.

"I don't care who, just get revenge for me!" Cana shouted as Laki and Gajeel held her back.

Up in the stands, Arcadios watched field with interest. "So you've provided the battle I asked for?" The knight turned around to see the king walking over. "This will be fun, won't it? Bacchus vs Erza will undoubtedly be a good match."

The knight flinched in surprise, catching the monarch's attention. "Did... you just say Erza, your majesty? The one I sent against Bacchus was..."

"And from Fairy Tail Team A, Elfman Strauss!" Chapati declared, shocking the guild as the crowd cheered.

"Go face him. We have no path left but victory." Erza told him. Nervously, the giant of a man nodded and walked onto the field, ignoring the jeers of the fans.

He stared at the lying man as he smiled. "You're last name is Strauss, right?" The drinker asked. "What do you say we make a little bet? Your sisters are pretty girls. If I win, I get 'em for a night. Both of them together." Elfman felt the veins popping on his head as Bacchus placed his bottle into the sand. "And if you win..."

"A man..." Elfman interrupted as he clenched his fists. "There are words that a man cannot forgive, you dog! I'm gonna break you to pieces!"

"Oh, my spirits all trembling." Bacchus chuckled as the gong rang out.

Infirmary

Natsu held his arms high as he woke up. "Man, that was a good sleep." He let out before looking around the empty room. "Wendy? Carla? Old lady? Where'd everybody go?" A scent filled his nose as he picked up his scarf and wrapped it around his neck. "I smell some guys I've never smelled before."

He raced out of the infirmary and out to a outlet, where he saw four masked men running, three of them holding Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica. "Where do you think you're taking Wendy and Carla!? Hold it!" He burst forward, scaring the four. One pulled out a pair of guns, only to eat Natsu's fist as he was slammed to the ground.

"Give me back my friends!" Natsu shouted as he never stopped running.

"We got no choice! Let's dump the other two!" One masked man declared.

"Don't talk stupid!" The shorter bandit replied. "The order was to grab the girl who was in the infirmary!"

"Grannies and cats aren't girls!" The third shouted.

"Who do you work for?" Natsu asked directly behind the trio. They started shaking in fear before Natsu roasted the three. An explosion rose up from the spell, but the roar of the crowd drowned it out.

In the arena, Elfman was dropped to his knee as he looked up at Bacchus. "This battle is completely one sided! Elfman can't lay a finger on Bacchus!" Chapati declared.

Elfman panted and glared at Bacchus, who had a smug look on his face. "It'll be a dream night with two gorgeous sisters! I like it!"

The male Strauss growled and charged as his body started glowing. "Beast Soul: War Tiger!" The glow died and he turned into a humanoid feline with leopard spots and a lion's mane. He swung his claws faster than before, only to get hit with an uppercut. Elfman raised his knee to hit, only to get sent to the ground.

Elfman pushed himself up and charged again, growing even more annoyed. "Elfman's attacks don't even touch him!" Gray shouted.

"It must be because of his weird movements..." Lucy suggested.

"His magic gathers power into the palms of his hands." Erza explained after years of battle with him. "It's a relatively normal magic power. But his secret weapon is that he built up his body with martial arts training so he can use his magic at its maximum level. It's a style known as 'Hanging Chop Fist'.

"But the frightening thing is that he's taken this martial art and changed it to suit his style personally. He created a version called 'Drunken Hanging Chop Fist'."

"Drunken? Like on booze?" Gray asked.

"Yes." The redhead nodded. "It's impossible to predict when the Drunken Hawk will strike. And he's raised the power of his ultimate attack to devastating effect. But this isn't our only problem." Elfman was flipped onto his before he rolled back along the ground. "He hasn't had a drop of liquor on that bottle."

"He hasn't even gotten serious yet?" Gray asked in shock.

Elfman glowed again as his Take Over faded away. "You're a man, right? You better keep that promise." Bacchus chuckled as Elfman pushed himself up.

"By the way, we haven't decided about your end." Elfman said, confusing Bacchus. "Our bet... what happens when I win. If I win, your guild name for the rest of the games will be Quatro Puppy."

Bacchus chuckled as his guild went slack jawed at the bet. "Okay, okay. It's decided." He reached down and picked up his gourd before plucking the cap of. "So, I guess it's time for me to finish this." He chugged the booze down before dropping onto a fighting stance. Elman smirked as his body started glowing again, preparing for another Take Over. "No chance!"

He rushed forward and delivered seven strikes at once, shocking everyone in the stands. He turned and laughed before he looked down in shock. His armor had crumbled away and his hands were damaged. "What the- My hands?"

Bacchus turned back to Elfman, who now appearEd to be masculine humanoid lizard-like creatures with spiked scales covering his body. He possess a plate that covers the forehead and a light-colored mane that ranges from the top of their skull to their back. His legs also take hove-like appearances. "Lizard man." He chuckled.

"If I can't hit you, then I guess I'll have YOU hit ME." He declared, making the crowd whisper in concern for himself. "Come on! Your fists against my body! Let's make this match about which one breaks first! What do you say!?"

Bacchus chuckled again before a smile crossed his face. 'It's a tactic I never thought of.' Erza confessed. 'The Lizard Man scales have spikes on them, so it's good for fighting an opponent with bare hands, but some of them have already broken from the first attack.'

"You're a wild one, aren't ya!?" Bacchus asked. "I feel my spirit trembling! Let's dance!" He charged the reptilian man and swung his palms as Elfman crossed his arms in defense. The entire crowd watched in anticipation, wondering who would give our first: the attacker or the attacked?

After what seemed like an eternity, the spell on Elfman faded as the two started panting in exhaustion. "You... said your... name was Elfman?" Bacchus asked as the dark skinned teen dropped to a knee. "You really are... a man..." Bacchus fell backwards with a smile on his face, hitting the sand in defeat.

"He's down! Bacchus is down!" Chapati shouted, making the crowd roar as Fairy Tail cheered in joy. "The winner is Elfman! Fairy Tail A gains ten points, which brings them up to 12 points!" Elfman lifted his arms to the sky and roared in pride. "Does this war cry signal the resurgence of Fairy Tail?!"

Back at the outlook, Natsu leaned over the railinf and smiled. "Listen to those cheers!"

"That was wonderful, Elfman!" Wendy cheered.

"Are you all right, Wendy?" Carla aksed.

The little girl smiled and pumped her fists. "Yeah, I'm just fine now, thanks to Grandeeney."

"I really wish you wouldn't call me that." The healer replied. "But I want to know more about those men."

"We know Raven Tail hired them." Natsu growled out.

"They used the term 'was'... as in past tense." Wendy mumbled.

"There was two more who came in with Natsu..." Porlyusica mumbled.

"They're after Laki or Lucy?" Carla asked.

Arcadios walked through a chamber and came to a stop. "The plan was a failure, sir." A guard declared.

"The fools! They got the wrong girl!" The captain declared. "Did you not tell them that she had blonde hair!?" He let out a sigh and turned back to the soldier. "What's done is done? At least our plan B went smoothly. Where are the kidnappers now?"

"We sent them to the dungeons." The man declared. "They said that the employer was from Raven Tail."

"The discord between Fairy Tail and Raven Tail was easy to exploit." Arcadios chuckled. "And in that confusion, we will obtain the Celestial Wizard."

"Captain Arcadios!" The guard turned and left as a small man with with a scar over his nose walked forward. "What is this all about?"

"Ah, Minister of Defense Darton..." The armored man turned around and looked at the new arrival.

"Do not take me for a fool!" Darton declared. "Why are you trying to get your hands on the Celestial Wizard at this time? Don't you think it's a bit premature? We haven't even finished the-"

"We have finished it." Arcadios declared, shocking the minister. "Now all we need is the Celestial Wizard and Eclipse will be in an operational state. I am well aware of your opposition to Operation Eclipse, however, at this point there is no stopping it."

He turned and walked away, shocking Darton. "Are you some kind of demon!?" He asked.

"This is for the sake of king and country. I'll become whatever is required." The armored man declared. "When you compare it to the door that will change the world, the life of one girl is a small price to pay."

Infirmary

The rest of the first Fairy Tail Team stood over the injured Elfman with proud smiles. "It seems at times I underestimated you. Elfman." Erza confessed. "Your strength in taking a hit and unbending spirit may make you the best in the guild. We will build on the victory you earned today."

"Even Erza recognizes you now!" Lucy cheered.

"His performance was that impressive." Gray added.

"You had me shaking in excitement, Elfman!" Natsu cheered.

"...Would you quit acting like it's my funeral?" The bandaged man asked as Lisanna sat next to him.

"It's true that all he ever had going for him was a sturdy body and a thick skull." She chuckled, forcing Natsu to hold back a laugh.

"You were amazing out there!" Wendy declared, making him turn to her.

"I know it's pathetic, but with me like this, I gotta let Wendy take over." He said, earning a nod from the girl.

"The next match is already beginning, so get out there and see it." Porlyusica said, standing up. "The key to victory is observing the enemy."

The door to the medical room opened and the Thunder Legion walked in, offering to watch over Elfman. Elfman and Evergreen shared a small smile before Bickslow pushed her into the bed. "Evergreen would love to sleep alongside you!"

"NOT FUNNY, BICKSLOW!"

As the others walked down the hall, Natsu told them everything that happened. "Raven Tail's tactics are just openly dirty." Natsu said in disgust.

"Do they intend to crush each member of our team one by one?" Erza asked aloud.

"I have certain doubts about that." Carla spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "Raven Tail hired a bandit guild in the hopes of kidnapping Lucy, but they mistook their target and Natsu's intervention made it a doubly failed mission. But the method of kidnapping is throwing me off. Raven Tail has a member that who attacked Wendy and myself, the one who can reduce a person's magic to zero in an instant."

"That's true..."Erza mumbled. "The master suggested that he was the one behind Lucy and Laki suddenly losing their magic on the first day."

"So if they were that determined to kidnap a wizard, why wouldn't they add his abilities to the kidnappers?" The white cat asked.

"You're just overthinking it, Carla." Wendy said.

"Either way, it looks like we may be targeted outside of the arena." Erza said. "And if that's true, we must never let our guard down, and make sure we never travel alone."

Carla stared at the floor before nodding. They quickly reached the stands and Happy cheered before sprinting over to his crush. "I was so worried!"

"Calm down, the match is about to start." She said, moving out of the way. The white cat shook her head clear and turned to cheer Mirajane, only to find her and Jenny posing in bikinis as the crowd cheered. "Wh-what?"

"Yeah..." Rose rubbed the back of her head and turned to her pseudo sister. "Since they were both pinup models, they agreed to a rule change that turned into... this."

"I never thought you would agree to a pin-up competition." Jenny confessed to the snowette.

"I don't really like punch-'em-up battles." Mirajane replied. "If we can come up with a more peaceful conclusion, then I'm all for it."

The male half of the audience was going wild at this display of skin as the announcer declared various themes as their clothes changed to fit. The score was soon tied as Chapati declared the final round was going to happen. 'There it is!' Jenny thought with a smirk. 'I feel a little sorry for Mira, but no matter what the talk of the stadium is, I've got a trick that is sure to let win this.'

"Mirajane! This is the last one! Since all the pervious battles have done this, why don't we place a wager on this contest?" She asked, catching the other girl's attention. "The loser is featured in Sorcerer Weekly doing their photo shoot completely nude!"

"...Sure." Mirajane declared, making most of the men lose blood from their noses.

'She took the bait!' Jenny smirked. 'I don't know the demographics, but I know men prefer younger women. And since she hasn't aged in seven years, the three judges won't hesitate to pick her the winner. So sorry, Mira. It doesn't matter what the theme is. I'm going to win.'

"The final theme is... combat gear." Chapati declared before both women started glowing.

Jenny's died first, revealing her in her Machina Soul: Battle Suit. The spell granted her a dark magenta-colored armored outfit consisting of a ruffled navy headband which is attached to conical ear protectors which jut out and backwards. Her torso is covered by a battle suit with light edges, split in two main parts: a revealing shirt exposes a fair amount of her cleavage and belly, while the legs were covered in similar, tight-fitting pants leaving the inner parts of her thighs exposed.

The two pieces are joined together on the front by two thin, dark straps, creating an "X" in correspondence to the user's abdomen, each of their edges secured by thin, light bolts, while on the back the shirt and pants become one, with a thong-like garment covering their bottom leaving the upper central part of it exposed. She sported light gloves extending up to their shoulders, each secured by a series of buttons on the inner part of her arms, which possess metal plating in correspondence to their hands and metal bands on their upper edges; every arm has the above mentioned part linked together by a thick, dark cord, solidly remaining arched and not hanging down, similar to a hosepipe.

Her legs are covered by armored thigh-high boots, sporting distinctively large upper edges protruding upwards, as well as metal high heels. Her neck was hidden by plate armor that extends on their shoulders in the form of rounded pauldrons and up to their chin, with two peculiar protrusions hiding their ears away jutting outwards, getting smaller as they get farther from their face.

The blonde raised her head and the smirk died as she stared at Mirajane.

She became taller and more massive, with her facial features and expression changing accordingly and gaining a sinister look. She gained a fair amount of thin markings on their arms, as well as much longer and scruffier hair, jutting outwards in many spiky, rounded tufts, with even their signature tied strand becoming longer. Her torso and part of their lower body are covered by a revealing dark overcoat with light edges, which is torn in its lower part, and which reveals a fair amount of their cleavage, being left open on the front and having the parts covering the user's chest linked to a high, wide collar.

The coat comes with notably squared short sleeves, with the outer parts extending on their arms in a spiky protrusion, vaguely reminiscent of pauldrons due to their sharp shape. The open coat is circled and secured to the user's abdomen by a light belt passing just below their breasts, closed by a simple buckle, while a similar though mildly larger belt circling their waist holds up a light garment, covering the back and side parts of their coat.

Hanging from her shoulders was a large dark cape, possessing torn lower edges not unlike their coat. Armor plating goes up from her neck, forming three spikes on their chin and extending to cover their ears, flanking their face, with two large, armored horn-like protrusions jutting outwards at its sides. Her forearms sported armored gauntlets almost identical to those she wore in standard Satan Soul form.

Her legs appear to become covered in large, dark tattoos, resembling the shape of thigh-high boots; such markings might as well be motifs present on a pair of long, skin-tight pants, given the similar appearance of the signs hiding their groin from sight. The most distinctive element of this already peculiar transformation, however, are the feet: these are completely obscured from sight, and their calves instead end in a sea of sharp flames, enveloping the ground in the immediate area around the user, with their tongues reaching up to the upper back of the S-Class Mage in height.

Each leg also bears four small, light vertical lines placed one near the other on the front, where the feet themselves are supposed to be. "What is that?" Lucy asked from the stands.

"It's her Sitri soul." Erza explained. "To my knowledge, this is her most powerful Satan Soul."

Jenny blinked and instantly Mirajane charged her. Instantly, the blonde was defeated in one hit. "...and the winner is Mirajane!" Chapati declared.

Mirajane returned to her normal form and turned around. "Sorry, but I'm really looking forward to seeing you in your birthday suit, Jenny." She teased as the blonde cried out in embarrassment.

"Now all we have left for today is for today is the final match of the second day!" Chapati declared as the final two fighters walked onto the field amidst the cheers of the crowd. "The final match of the day will be Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi versus Sabertooth's Yukino Agria!"

The two women came to a stop and stared at each other as the gong rang. To Kagura's surprise, Yukino did a small bow. "Fight well."

The swordswoman quickly recovered and did the same. "And you."

"Before the start, others have placed bets on their matches. Shall we do the same?" Yukino asked.

"That does not interest me in the slightest." Kagura replied. "When I enter an agreement, it is my policy to see it enacted without fail. Therefore, I never gamble for entertainment purposes."

"Then shall we make it heavier?" The snowette asked. "By placing our lives on the line?"

The whole arena stood in shock of the suggestion as those in Kagura's guild worried about her. "If you are prepared to see it through, then politeness demands I acknowledge it."

"It is your poor luck that you were placed against Sabertooth." Yukino declared as she reached into her cloak and pulled out a small golden key. "Open, Gate of the Twin Fish -"

"A Celestial Wizard!?" Lucy asked in shock as the secretive captain went wide eyed.

"Pisces." Yukino finished as two separate entities which are huge sea creatures resembling fish with elongated bodies similar to those of eels suddenly appeared. Their general look is vaguely reminiscent of koi fish. Both share similar traits, possessing large, wide, open, and round eyes with dark pupils sitting at their heads' sides, and massive mouths with light, thick lips full of squared teeth. A number of fins are also present on their bodies, with a series of long, jagged ones crossing the whole length of their upper part, almost reaching up to the top of their heads, and a smaller, more squared fin located on the ends of their faces, one on each side.

Their bodies are covered in lines crossing their whole length, with each line being flanked by a row of spots; more spots form a single, hinted semicircle above each eye. What distinguishes the two fish is the color: the one to the right from the portal is light and sports dark markings; the other one, on the contrary, has light markings covering its dark body. Both creatures bear the symbol associated with the constellation of Pisces on their forehead, respectively dark and light in color.

"Fish!" Happy cheered. The creatures dived at Kagura, who jumped over the chomping heads and ran along the bodies.

"Open, Gate of the Scales - Libra." Yukino pulled put a second key and summoned another spirit, this one a curvaceous woman with dark hair tied in an ox horn style. Her attire resembles a belly dancer's, consisting of a frilled and striped bikini top along with a patterned loincloth sporting pom-poms at the waist. She wears numerous bangles on her arms and legs, and her neck is also concealed by a thick necklace.

On her feet are a simple pair of sandals, and her head is dressed with a zigzagged headband. Concealing Libra's lower face is another cloth that bears her sign, tied around her head. Dangling from her hands, Libra carries a pair of scales, with thin cords running from her fingertips to the sides of the scales, so that she holds them in an almost puppeteer-like fashion. "Libra, change the gravity of the target."

The Spirit nodded and waved her hands, making not only her scales jiggle, but also forced Kagura fo the ground. Pisces then dived the girl, only for Kagura to move to the side, having broken free from the spell. She swung her sword and batted the fish as hard as possible, forcing them to return to their world. "Will you force me to open it? The thirteenth gate?"

Kagura charged again and although Libra tried to fight, she was easily bested by the sword user. "This is an omen of very bad luck." Yukino declared as she pulled out a black key and raised it to the sky. "Open, Gate of the Serpent Bearer - Ophiuchus!"

The sky turned black as a humongous snake-like creature, which, curiously enough, appears to be part organic and part mechanical in nature, sank from the sky. The upper part of its body is covered in a series of massive dark scales, which possess prominent holes on their sides, starting as larger, with squared outer edges, getting more narrow near their centers and then enlarging again, something which makes every single hole look like a pair of rhombs joined together; the upper part of the head and the corresponding jaw are similarly colored, with the reptile possessing light pupil-less eyes, a pair of massive fangs sprouting from the jaw, thin nostrils located on the front part of its nose and a series of dark motifs adorning its forehead, above the eyes.

The lower part of Ophiuchus' body, on the other hand, is visibly technological and inorganic: its upper scales, instead of meat, appear to house a vast number of metal panels lined up one near the other, something which makes them resemble closed blinds; its lower jaw, while seemingly topped by an organic tongue (which, unlike that of normal snakes, isn't forked, as well as being notably larger in comparison to the jaw itself than normal snakes') is entirely composed of metal, with the plates composing it, replicating the form of a real jaw, having their edges covered in lines of bolts.

Such artificial-looking lower jaw is connected to the upper one by six piston-like objects, three sitting at each side of the creature's mouth, while a semicircular metal section covering the lower part of its neck, almost extending up to the top, sports two round openings on each side, with a single metallic bar outlining the diameter of each hole.

The lower part of Ophiuchus' metal jaw sports a massive blade with jagged edges (which, however, is relatively small in comparison to the beast itself) curving toward the creature's body, secured to the front by a protrusion, and the attached for most of its length after a hollow space. The entire crowd was in shock as the Spirit hissed as it charged at Kagura.

She stood her ground and gripped her blade... before suddenly dashing behind the spirit, which was now in three parts. "Sheathed Longsword Technique: Strong Strike." Kagura declared as the spirit faded away.

The entire Sabertooth guild stared in shock before Kagura charged the stunned Yukino. "Your bet was ill considered." She declared before sticking her opponent, sending her to the ground in defeat.

"Th-the-the match is over!" Chapati mumbled out in shock. "The winner is Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi! In a completely unexpected twist, Sabertooth gets zero points!"

"Was the Sabertooth woman that weak?" Gray asked in shock. "Or the Mermaid Heel member that strong?"

"The latter." Erza answered as the crowd was silent. 'I don't recall hearing of anyone like her...'

"Your life is mine." Kagura declared as she walked of the arena.

As the second day of the Games ended, Arcadios stared at the arena in shock. 'There is another Celestial Wizard here! It must be divine provenance! That makes the success even more assured!'

I know I'm gonna get so much shit for skipping over most of the posing contest, but I have my reasons. Look, I'm love with fan service as much as the next guy, but you can't just throw it in our faces. Bikini Warriors tried that and they failed spectacularly. Also, am I the only one who's pissed off that this is the only time we see the thirteenth spirit? Seriously, what was the fucking point of it?

But this was a very fun battle for Elfman... still not a fair trade of off. See you all next time.

Beta read by General Feng Xaing