A/N: Episode 162.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER TEN: ELFMAN VS. BACCHUS
"Okay, let's get back on track with today's second match!" Chapati continued. "From Quatro Cerberus, Bacchus! Versus an opponent from Fairy Tail A..."
"Us?" Erza questioned.
"What do we do if they announce Natsu?!" Lucy asked.
"I'll slap him awake." Gray replied.
"That Bacchus guy... He's on the same level as you, right, Erza?" Elfman questioned.
"There he is! I don't care who does it, but somebody avenge me!" Cana shouted as Gajeel was trying to hold her back.
"Calm down, Cana-san..." Samuel told her.
"If it's Gray-sama, he'll win with ease." Juvia stated.
"You did set it up as I asked?" Toma asked.
"Yes, Your Highness." Arcadios replied.
"I can't wait! Bacchus versus Erza! This is definitely going to be one great match!" Toma claimed as Arcadios had a shocked expression.
"D-Did you just say 'Erza'? I-I paired him up against—"
"Elfman!" Chapati finally announced who Bacchus' opponent was.
"What?!" Toma exclaimed.
"Elfman?!" Mira said.
"Elf-nii-chan?!" Lisanna also commented in surprise.
"It's over!" Macao, Wakaba, and Happy said in unison.
"That's a terrible thing to say!" Lisanna scolded.
"Make us proud! The only thing we can do now is win!" Erza told Elfman.
"Y-Yeah..." Elfman nodded.
"I wanted to see Bacchus versus Erza!" Toma jumped up and down in irritation.
"I apologize." Arcadios said.
"Fairy Tail's, um... The one that transforms... I can't remember the name. It starts with 'E'..."
"I made a mistake..." Arcadios muttered.
"This won't be any kind of fight! Clearly, Bacchus will annihilate him!"
"P-Probably..."
Bacchus and Elfman stared at each other.
"Good luck, Fairy Tail!"
"But if his opponent is Bacchus..."
"Hey, how about you and me make a bet?" Bacchus suggested, getting Elfman's attention. "Both of your sisters are delightful dishes..."
"What do you wanna say?" Elfman questioned.
"It's an old story. If I win, they're mine. Both of them, at the same time..." Bacchus responded, causing Elfman to grit his teeth.
"Bastard..." Cana muttered.
"Two at the same time... That's a warped form of love!" Happy commented.
"You're disgusting!" Evergreen said.
Bacchus sets his bottle down. "If you win... Let's see..." He trailed off as Elfman stepped forward.
"Man... There are some things a Man can't let pass..." Elfman clenched his fist. "Hound dog... I'm gonna tear you apart!"
"Then we have a deal? My soul is quivering." Bacchus said.
In the infirmary, Natsu stretched his arms up. "That was a great sleep!" He said, but then realized no one was in the room. "Wendy... Carla... Granny? Where'd everyone go?"
He then sniffed the air, grabbing his white scarf. "A stranger's scent lingering in the room..."
Natsu rushed through the tunnels. He stopped and sniffed for a moment before continuing on.
"This way!"
He stopped in his tracks upon seeing someone carrying Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica. "There!" He shouted.
"Fairy Tail?! You found us already?!"
"No, this is the one that was sleeping!"
"Scum! Where the hell are you takin' Wendy and the others?!" Natsu shouted.
"Oh, no!"
"Hurry!"
"Hold it!" Natsu yelled.
"He's hella fast!"
"Ain't that the one who staggered to the finish line in the last competition?!"
"Leave him to me! This is the best way to deal with wizards!"
Natsu punched his face before he could make an attack. "Move!" He ordered. "Jackasses! Give me back Wendy and the others!"
"What is he?!"
"That crazy bastard is scary! And he'll catch up to us at this rate!"
"What do we do?!"
"No other choice! We dump these two!"
"D-Don't be an idiot! The order was to get the girl in the infirmary!"
This grabbed Natsu's attention.
"An old bag and some cat aren't girls!"
"Then why'd we bring them?!"
"Wait, when you look at this old woman from a certain angle..."
"She's no girl!"
"Who gave you the order?!" Natsu asked as the three screamed.
"We're done for!"
An explosion went off as Elfman found himself kneeling on the ground as he panted. "Oh my! This is unquestionably a one-sided match! Elfman can't land a blow!" Chapati announced as Elfman breathed heavily and looked at Bacchus who was staring him down.
"Beautiful sisters all to myself... Nice..." Bacchus said.
"H-Hey, is that...?" Lucy started to say.
"I can see how he'd fight you to a draw, Erza." Gray commented.
"No, what's really hard to deal with is coming up." Erza stated.
"Elf-nii-chan..." Lisanna muttered in worry.
"Don't worry! He's a man who gets down to business when he needs to, right?" Evergreen tried to reassure her.
"Yeah. That's true..." Lisanna agreed.
"Go, Elfman!" Happy encouraged.
Elfman charged forward. "Beast Soul: Weretiger!" He shouted, chanting into his weretiger form as he tried to strike Bacchus.
"A lightning-quick Take Over!" Samuel exclaimed.
"If his attacks hit now..." Juvia trailed off.
Bacchus soon slapped Elfman multiple times before elbowing him.
"Wild..." Bacchus started to say.
"...Four!" His guild mates finished.
"Even at that speed, Elfman's attacks aren't landing at all!" Gray said.
"Maybe it's because of that guy's weird movements..." Lucy guessed.
"His magic is actually pretty orthodox. It's a type where magic converges in the palms of his hands." Erza explained. "But the secret of his strength is the mastery of a martial art that allows him to maximize that magic. The style of martial art is called Cleaving Hook Palm and that characteristic stance is used to deliver skillful palm strikes."
Elfman charged again as Bacchus kicked him before slapping him again.
"Palm strikes..." Gray mumbled.
"What was even more fearsome is when he improved on that martial art, devising Drunken Cleaving Hook Palm." Erza continued.
"Drunken..." Lucy trailed off.
"You mean he's drunk?" Gray asked.
"That's right. It's impossible to predict the attacks of a drunken hawk. On top of that, his destructive force has been beefed up, making him a shoo-in to win. Even so, that's not the problem. He hasn't had even one drop of booze yet."
"Cleaving Hook Palm... That's an unusual style of martial art." Yajima commented.
"Actually, I've never seen it myself. Cool!" Jason exclaimed.
"Hey, is that..." Happy started to say.
"The move we saw at the tavern incident." Wakaba finished.
"Dammit. Isn't there anything he can do?" Macao asked.
"He'll figure out a way. He's more than just a big lug." Evergreen informed.
"That's right. We've got to believe in him!" Lisanna agreed as Bacchus threw Elfman back with his palm.
"Wild..." Bacchus started to say.
"...Four!" His guild mates finished once again.
"Stand up, Elfman!" Cana shouted.
"The movements of drunken Bacchus are as powerful as they are unpredictable." Samuel commented.
"Huh? But he hasn't had anything to drink yet, right?" Juvia pointed out.
"Then..."
"He isn't trying hard at all."
Elfman's weretiger form soon dissolved. "Oh, my! Elfman's Take Over has come undone!" Chapati announced.
"Not only has he consumed a lot of magic power, but it also goes to show how powerful that attack was." Yajima added.
"Cleaving Hook Palm is cool!" Jason shouted.
"You're a man, aren't you? You'll keep your promise, right?" Bacchus licked his lips.
"Can't Elfman rise again?!" Chapati asked as both Lisanna and Mira had worry written on their faces.
"I forgot one important thing. Today, the Grand Magic Games official mascot-slash-judge, Mato-kun, has the day off, so I'm filling in as the judge, too." Chapati continued.
"Two roles! Cool! Two roles, cool!" Jason shouted as he was spinning around.
"The day off?!" Wakaba repeated.
"Why? All he needs to take a break is change his innards." Macao added.
"You shouldn't say 'innards'!" Happy scolded.
Elfman stepped forward. "So you're standing up? I guess all that repetition of the word 'man' wasn't for nothing." Bacchus commented.
"Come to think of it, I didn't decide yet, hound dog." Elfman said.
"Huh?"
"The bet... What happens if I win..." Elfman elaborated.
"Well, there's no chance of that, so go ahead, whatever you want." Bacchus said.
"If I win, the name of your guild is 'Quatro Puppy' for the duration of the Games." Elfman declared, shocking Bacchus and the rest of the Quatro Cerberus members.
"'Puppy'? As in little dog?" Juvia asked.
"'Four Puppies'?" Samuel questioned.
"I like that! Make 'em say it, Elfman!" Cana said.
"Okay, okay. That does it." Bacchus grabbed the bottle that was in the arena. "Bottom's up... I think I'll wind this up."
"He drank booze!" Gray exclaimed.
"It's coming... Elfman!" Erza said.
"Now he's serious!" Lucy shouted.
"Uh-oh! Bacchus has hit the bottle at last!" Chapati announced.
"Drunken Cleaving Hook Palm..." Yajima muttered.
"This is the first time I've seen it before my very eyes! Cool!" Jason yelled.
Bacchus soon got into his stance. "Come and get me. You should easily be able to beat a drunk like me." He claimed.
"Beast Soul..." Elfman changed into another Take Over.
Bacchus charged forward. "It's no use!" He shouted before attacking him.
"Elfman!" Evergreen shouted.
"That's Drunken Cleaving Hook Palm!" Lisanna exclaimed.
"I-I don't know what happened because I couldn't see it!" Happy said.
"Seven blows in that one instant!" Erza thought.
"I-Incredible..." Cana stuttered.
"That just did a lot of damage, didn't it?" Juvia questioned.
"Yes. But..." Samuel trailed off.
"How was that?" Bacchus asked until he noticed his armor was cracked and there were also injuries on his hands. "What the hell is this?! My hands..."
"Uh-oh! What's this?! Damage to Bacchus!" Chapati said.
"What is that?" Bacchus wondered as Elfman appeared in green scales.
"Lizardman..." Elfman finished. "If I can't hit you, then you can hit me!"
"I didn't know about that..." Erza said.
"Don't tell me this is his..." Gray started to say.
"I think the other guy's in big trouble." Wakaba commented.
"What does he mean to do?" Happy asked.
"Don't take your eyes off of them. Watch his battle to the end." Macao responded.
"Come on! Your hands or my body... This is a fight to see which will break!" Elfman claimed.
"Wild..." Bacchus muttered.
"That's some strategy." Samuel commented.
"It's crazy. True, Lizardman's skin and scales are covered in innumerable spines, so it goes well against a bare-handed opponent, but this particular opponent can shatter Lizardman's tough scales." Juvia stated.
"What's wrong?!" Elfman taunted.
"You're an interesting guy! My soul is quivering!" Bacchus said.
Bacchus ran forward and began hitting Elfman multiple times as everyone could only sit and watch.
"Man!" Evergreen said to herself.
"I-It's a frenzy! More of a clash of wills than a battle! Will the attacker give out?! Or the receiver buckle?! Just who... will win... this fight?!" Chapati said.
Bacchus soon collapses to his knees and Lizardman soon dissolved. Both Elfman and Bacchus were panting, trying to catch their breath.
"Your name... is Elfman?" Bacchus questioned as he soon began laughing and raised his fists up. "Wild..."
"...Four!" His guild mates said again.
"No..." Happy mumbled.
"Bacchus is the one who got back up!" Chapati exclaimed.
"You know... you're..." Bacchus paused as he fell to the ground. "...a man."
"D...? Down! Bacchus is down! The winner is Elfman! Fairy Tail A gets 10 points! This gives them a total of 12 points!" Chapati shouted.
"P... Puppy?!" The Quatro Cerberus members all paled.
Elfman raised his fist in the air as he roared in victory. "Does this battle roar portend Fairy Tail's comeback?! Elfman pulls off a spectacular victory over a formidable enemy!" Chapati shouted.
"Listen to that cheering!" Natsu exclaimed as him, Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica were watching from above.
"Elfman-san did it!" Wendy said.
"Wendy, are you okay now?" Carla asked.
"Yeah! I feel fine." Wendy replied. "Thank you, Grandeeney!"
"I told you not to call me that!" Porlyusica said. "Anyway, those scoundrels from before..."
Natsu and Wendy both nodded.
"We just took the job!"
"F-From somebody in Raven Tail!"
"We were told to get the girl who was in the infirmary."
"Good work. We'll take care of them." A royal guard informed.
Natsu clenched his fist. "Raven Tail..." He muttered angrily.
"The girl... who was in the infirmary... Past tense?" Wendy questioned.
"There was one there. Natsu carried her in." Porlyusica informed.
"You don't mean..." Wendy gasped in realization.
"Lucy!" Carla exclaimed.
"The plan failed."
"Fool! In the first place, you had the wrong target. Didn't I tell you what she looked like?" Arcadios asked.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, forget about it. It just means we'll move to plan B. Where are the actual perpetrators?" Arcadios questioned.
"We arrested them and hauled them off to prison."
"Their cover isn't blown?"
"No, sir. They believe their client is Raven Tail."
"We need to keep using the discord between Fairy Tail and Raven Tail like this. And while they're busy feuding, we'll grab a Celestial Spirit Wizard... for the Eclipse Project!"
"Why the long face?" Porlyusica asked.
"Raven Tail... All they've been doing is playing dirty tricks..." Natsu responded.
"Natsu-san..." Wendy muttered.
"Certainly, Raven's master is..." Carla started to say.
"...Gramps'... Laxus's..." Natsu trailed off.
"So what does that mean?"
"I don't really know, but this ain't over by a long shot!" Natsu claimed.
A/N: Another chapter is finished!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.