Fairy May Cry - Devil's Retribution

by Iron117Prime

After seven years, Dante and the rest of Fairy Tail have returned from Tenrou Island. So much has changed since their absence; a guild called Sabertooth is now at the top spot, the forces of the Underworld are starting to become more active, and what's this new religious movement called the Order of the Sword? Times might have changed, but the insanity of Fairy Tail has not.

33. Battle of the Femme Fatales

Hi everyone, welcome back. Today we're finishing up the events of Day 2 for the Grand Magic Games, and it will follow mostly the canon storyline, but I still have a few surprises in store. Not really much else to say other than that.

Though, for those of you who haven't heard, we've lost Kevin Conroy the voice actor for Batman in the DC Animated Universe. May he rest in peace.

Now, with that being said, let's get started.

Battle of the Femme Fatales

"It would appear that we all may have underestimated the power of your manly spirit." Erza addressed Elfman as he laid in bed in the infirmary with the rest of Team Fairy Tail A, Lisanna, Carla, Wendy, Modeus, Porlyusica, and the Thunder Legion all present as well. Elfman was also covered head-to-toe in bandages. "Your tenacity and uncanny ability to withstand even the harshest of beatings is unrivaled in our guild. This was an important victory, and you've given us the momentum to keep winning."

"I'll also admit that I underestimated you too, man." Dante added. "You really earned this victory for our whole team. Thanks, pal."

"Such high praise from Erza and a genuine complement from Dante without any snark? That's certainly a surprise." Lucy said with a smile.

"The big guy definitely earned it for sure." Gray commented with a grin.

"You were totally on fire out there today, dude!" Natsu smirked as he pumped his fist.

"Thanks guys…" Elfman winced. "But my bones kinda feel like crushed gravel…" He grunted as Lisanna gently placed a damp towel on her brother's cheek for comfort.

"I don't know why anyone's surprised, taking a beating's always been your strong suit." She said with a smile.

"Sorry pal, but that's a pretty lame strong suit." Dante joked.

"There's the snark." Lucy muttered.

"This coming from a guy who gets freaking stabbed on a daily basis!" Elfman exclaimed.

"I think what you did out there today was super impressive, Elfman!" Wendy smiled.

"Yes, you've not only shown your power and tenacity, but even strategic thinking. Well done." Modeus nodded.

"I really do appreciate the kind words, guys." Elfman said to the group. "But Wendy's gonna have to tag back in."

"Of course. If she's certain she's up to it." Modeus looked toward his student.

"I'm definitely up to it!" Wendy said confidentially. "I won't let any of you down!"

"Now this is all very nice, but you mustn't lose focus." Porlyusica told the group. "Get back to the Games. You'll have to study your opponents if you want to beat them."

"We definitely wanna beat them!" Natsu declared as the group prepared to leave. "See ya later, buddy." He waved off to Elfman.

"Hey Elfman, I'm sorry but I kinda wanna go and watch with them." Lisanna said to her brother.

"I would if I were you." He replied. "Mirajane's gonna be up next. Go out there and cheer extra loud for me."

"You got it." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before walking away.

"You need to get some rest." Bickslow told him. "We'll hang out here for a while and make sure everything's cool."

"I can set up an enchantment to keep out any intruders." Freed added.

"The Thunder Legion will be looking out for you." Evergreen assured.

"Thanks, I'm sorry…" Elfman said mostly to Evergreen.

"It's fine." She smiled. "But you might wanna rethink your strategy next time."

"You should try and get some sleep for now." Freed suggested.

"I'm sure Evergreen will cuddle with you if you want." Bickslow teased as he grabbed her by the shoulders and placed her on the bed with him. "Come on!"

"Hey! Cut it out!" They both exclaimed at their smirking guildmate while Freed smiled in amusement.

---

Dante and the others walked through the empty hallways back to their respective seats but were momentarily stunned by the appearance of a certain masked comrade leaning against the wall.

"Mystogen…" Erza observed in surprise.

"I trust your comrade is recovering alright?" Jellal asked.

"He'll be fine, thanks for your concern." Wendy smiled.

"Why are you here?" Dante asked.

"Gajeel told me what had happened with those kidnappers and how they were targeting Lucy." Jellal answered before looking at Natsu and Modeus. "You believe it to be connected to Zeref?"

"We can't say for certain." Modeus replied. "They claimed they were hired by Raven Tail, but this was too blunt an approach for them."

"Could you sense any of that scary magic or whatever's got you and your pals so spooked?" Natsu asked.

"No, not since that brief instance yesterday." Jellal replied.

"We still don't know what exactly they were planning to do with Lucy if they had caught her." Erza added.

"I don't wanna know!" The blonde quickly said.

As they talked, Carla looked deep in thought, something Wendy noticed. "Carla, is something wrong?"

"I'm just… thinking about something…" She wasn't sure how to respond, but this did get everyone's attention.

"You're saying you know something?" Gray asked.

"Nothing with utter certainty but…"

"But what?" Dante asked seriously.

Carla sighed before she gave her response. "Last night, while Wendy and the other were recovering, I had a vision." That got their attention. "I couldn't quite make out all the details, but it was… rather alarming to say the least."

"What exactly did you see?" Erza questioned.

"I briefly saw the image of a large magic circle, a white knight, a sword shrouded in darkness… and… I saw the royal palace of Mercurius crumble to dust… and at the center of it all… was Lucy singing."

That took all of them by surprise.

"Singing…?" Lisanna muttered.

"Why would I be singing in the middle of something like that?" Lucy herself questioned.

"I don't know… That's just what I saw…" Carla still found it hard to believe herself.

"Why wait till now to tell us?" Modeus asked.

"Because I wasn't sure." The white Exceed replied. "As I said before, I didn't have a clear image. I initially dismissed it as just a nightmare but…"

"But with Lucy being those kidnappers target, you believe there's a connection now." Erza stated.

"I still can't say with utter certainty, but I would be a fool to completely dismiss it." Carla confirmed.

"A white knight, a magic circle, and a sword in darkness…" Dante summed up before looking toward Mystogen. "Ring any bells?"

"I'm afraid not." Jellal shook his head. "However, perhaps we can at least get an idea if we look at the target herself." He spoke to Lucy. "You are a Celestial Wizard who possess ten of the golden Zodiac Keys, incredibly rare and powerful magic items, perhaps that may be the reason for it."

"So, they might be after my keys?" Lucy asked.

"Perhaps, but it's only a theory, and not one that leaves us with much to go off of." Jellal answered.

"This is starting to sound a lot like that crap that went down with the Order of the Sword." Gray said.

"If anyone's gonna try and pull that stunt with Lucy again, I'm gonna cave their face in!" Natsu pounded his fist into his palm in anger.

"Got that right." Lisanna agreed as she placed a hand on her comrade's shoulder. "Don't worry Lucy, you know we won't let anything happen to you."

"Thanks, but you know I can take care of myself." Lucy replied.

"Still wouldn't hurt to have your friends and family watch your back, right?" Dante added, his protective instincts kicking in.

"We might not know who or what they want, but we do know that they might want Lucy, right?" Wendy began. "If we all work together to protect her, we can maybe stop whatever Carla saw from happening."

"Perhaps." Carla herself said. "Though I've never seen any of my visions fail before…"

"Regardless, we at least have a general idea of what may be happening now." Erza said before turning to her teammate. "Lucy, everyone here is aware you can handle yourself, but from this point forward, don't go anywhere alone. We'll be with you every step of the way until this crisis is settled."

"Yeah, okay." Lucy nodded with confirmation.

"I'll get in touch with my team and let them know what has transpired." Jellal said as the group continued down the hall. "The rest of you should focus on the Games for now. There is a chance that someone in one of the competing guilds may be involved, so keep your eyes open."

"Got it." Dante nodded.

---

Back in the arena, the colosseum was in an uproar once more as the third battle for Day 2 was about to commence with the eldest of the Strauss siblings facing off against her opponent for this match.

"It's a lovely day here at the Games and it's about to get even lovelier!" Chapati began to announce. "Welcome to the Battle of the Beauties with Fairy Tail B's Mirajane Strauss against Blue Pegasus' blonde bombshell, Jenny Realight!"

"Hey, we're back." Lisanna and Modeus joined their guildmates in the stands.

"You're just in time. Your big sis looks ready to throw down." Lady told her.

"How's your bro holding up?" Gildarts asked. "He took quite the beatdown earlier."

"He's been a lot better, but he'll pull through." Lisanna assured.

"Maybe after the Games today, I can go over the infirmary and see if I can help." Kyrie offered. "I've been working on my magic so I'm sure I can get him back on his feet much sooner."

"Thanks Kyrie. I'm sure he'd appreciate that." Lisanna smiled.

Patty glanced towards Fairy Tail A's box and saw a certain someone was also there. "Well he's not the only one, look who's back." She got Romeo's attention and gestured toward said box where Romeo spotted Wendy.

Even from her spot, Wendy felt someone looking at her direction and turned toward her guildmates in the observing stands. She saw Romeo and gave a smile with a wave, which caused Romeo to blush as he smiled and waved back.

"So, what can this Jenny-chick do anyway?" Nero asked his teammates in Fairy Tail B. "She got a chance at winning here?"

"Hard to say." Cana replied. "Jenny's got a lot of crowd support. I hear she used to be number 1 in Sorcerer Weekly's hottest girl in magic list. Guys go a little nuts over her."

"Cute, but I was talking about what kind of magic she's got." Nero said in minor annoyance.

"From what I heard, she's got Take-Over magic, but it's not quite the same as Mira's." Laxus said. "Machina Soul. It lets her take control of machines and use their abilities for herself. Kinda almost like Erza's Requip."

"I did hear how she used to look up to Mirajane seven years ago, so much that she modeled her magic and career as a model after her." Juvia added.

"And since we all slept those past seven years, the blonde down there is probably a lot stronger now than she was back then." Gajeel pointed out.

"So, it looks like an uphill battle, huh?" Nero assumed as he and his team saw Mira and Jenny's bodies beginning to glow and engulfed in flashes of magic. "Alright, let's see what…" However, what Nero saw made him look in absolute shock with wide and circular eyes. "What the hell…?"

At the same time, just as the battle was about to begin, Lily saw another of their compatriots return to the observing box. "Oh, it seems that someone else is feeling better as well." He noted as Carla approached them.

Happy, as usual, looked ecstatic at her recovery. "Carla! You're back!"

"Yes, everyone has fully recovered." She said, mostly to Lily. "So, apparently those who aren't competing have to stay over here during the matches?"

Happy leapt at her with tears of joy in his eyes. "Oh! I was so worried about you!"

"Knock it off." She craned her head to the side, causing Happy to miss and land face-first on the pedestal behind her. "You'll make me miss the next battle."

'I've told everyone about my so-called vision, but there's nothing more to do about it at this time.' Carla thought to herself. 'Right now, I need to support my guild and cheer them on!'

"Come on Mirajane! Fight with everything you got…!" However, much like Nero, what she saw caused her to look in absolute shock with wide eyes and an open jaw. "What's going on here…?!"

"You're not gonna like it…" Happy muttered, his face still flat in the ground with Lily giving a nod in agreement.

Makarov was panting like a dog, hearts in his eyes as Modeus pulled him back. "Get a hold of yourself, master!"

Both Mirajane and Jenny were currently in bikinis and taking poses for everyone in the audience, Mira on her knees with her arms under her breasts to give them a good view. "Do you like what you see?" She teased as Jenny stood up straight, her arms over her head to show most of her body.

The audience was in an uproar as every guy in the stand, and even a few women, all cheered with hearts in their eyes.

"What kind of battle is this?!" Natsu, Gray, and Nero all exclaimed at the same time from their respective spots.

"I don't know….!" Wendy's body shook in shock while Erza looked unimpressed and unsurprised.

"Huh…?!" Lucy had no idea what to think about this.

"I don't know how this happened, but I'm not complaining!" Dante grinned.

"Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on here?!" Nero questioned.

"I got no idea." Gajeel muttered.

"Both of them are models, so I guess this is just what they wanted." Laxus commented.

"I'm surprised the officials allowed something like this." Juvia commented.

"You listening to that crowd? Everyone's totally eating it up." Cana stated.

"What in the world are they doing?!" Kyrie questioned, mortified over what she was seeing.

"…Seriously, I know those two used to be models and all… but I thought this is supposed to be a fight." Lady stated.

"I never expected Mira to actually do something like this in public though." Lisanna said before thinking back on Mira's old persona as a hard-core fighter. 'I can't imagine the old her ever doing this.'

"This is supposed to be a place for wizards to show off their skills, not prance around in tiny-bikinis." Lily said in a tone of disapproval.

"Disgraceful." Carla didn't approve the slightest either.

"Totally. Listen to those gross boys." Patty shook her head in disapproval as well.

Mira took another pose, using her Transformation Magic to change into a different swimsuit as she showed off more of her body, showcasing her rear this time. "Hey boys."

Jenny did the same, sitting down with a knee up, her finger at the strap of her top, looking ready to take it down. "Hi."

Everyone in the audience hollered and cheered, clearly enjoying what they were seeing.

"They're not going to expect me to do this kind of nasty stuff, are they?!" Wendy asked fearfully towards Lucy.

"I'm pretty sure this is a special arrangement for the two of them… at least I hope so." Lucy muttered.

"It seems Mira's still got game. This might actually be a challenge for Jenny." Hibiki noted to his teammates

"Are we the only ones not surprised that Jenny would propose the idea for something like this?" Ren asked rhetorically.

"You know how she is." Eve added. "I'm just glad that it was her and not Ichiya that they called."

"Yeah, that Chariot race took a lot out of him." Hibiki said as Ichiya currently laid in bed in one of the infirmaries.

"You've definitely still got it." Jenny complemented her opponent.

"Thank you. It feels nice to be doing this again." Mira smiled.

"I gotta admit, I was actually surprised that you agreed to do a pose-off with me." Jenny said.

"Hmm, mmm." Mira nodded. "I don't really like slugging it out with people, so this is better. I mean, if I have to fight bad guys and monsters then I'll do it, but I much prefer taking a more peaceful approach if it's possible."

"Two bodacious babes who are masters of transformation magic?! This is truly the stuff that dreams are made of! Somebody pinch me!" Chapati commentated excitedly as he, Yajima, and Jason held up sings that had either M or J on them, indicating they would judge who had the better pose. "Again, I'm joined by a real ladies' man himself, Mr. Yajima. And our cool guest has shot dozens of centerfolds for Sorcerer Weakly!"

"I'm really feeling like a young man, today!" Yajima smiled.

"This has gotta be the coolest thing I have ever done!" Jason exclaimed.

"I can't wait to see what they'll change into next…"

"Not so fast!"

Everyone looked in surprise to see four of Team Mermaid Heel, specifically Milliana, Risley, Arana, and Beth, all leaping down into the arena wearing swimsuits themselves, even Risley used her own magic to change her body form to something more sexy than chubby.

"You don't expect us to just let these bubble-headed bimbos hog all the attention!" Risley declared as they took poses themselves.

"We have strong and beautiful chicas as well!" Arana smiled.

"Everyone knows Mermaid Heel is the ultimate in girl power!" Milliana declared.

"This is embarrassing…" Beth blushed.

While the audience cheered loudly, their blushing cheeks and hearts in eyes glowing brighter, Kagura looked in surprise at her teammates' actions.

"What are they doing?" She questioned.

"I did not expect this…" Lucia looked towards her guildmaster.

"Ah, let them have their fun." Kurenai didn't see anything wrong with it.

"Well, I definitely did not see this one coming!" Chapati commentated. "Most of Team Mermaid Heel has joined the party! Even Risley's ditched the junk in the trunk and brought the ba-ba-boom!"

"Hold it, you guys!" Everyone looked in even greater surprise as Sherry and her younger cousin both jumped into the arena as well, hand-in-hand, and wearing their own swimsuits. "All these girls are missing the most important thing! What good is skimping around in your little swimsuits if you don't have the love to back it up?" She and Sherria held her each other close. "If you want love, then you gotta give love."

"And we're both bursting at the seams with it!" Sherria added.

"And now the cute cousins of Lamia Scale have thrown their bodies into the arena!" Chapati continued to commentate in surprise.

"Wow… that takes guts I guess…" Levy commented.

"Why are you ladies just watching from the sidelines?" Mavis asked all the female members in her guild.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lady questioned.

"Do you think we should go down there?" Lisanna questioned.

"What…? But… But I… I've never… done anything like that before…" Kyrie covered herself, her face already red with embarrassment.

"It's not like the rest of us have our swimsuits on hand or anything." Trish stated.

"No silly, but you never know what might happen, so you should be ready for anything." Mavis somehow produced a large number of swimsuits for all the girls present. "I have one for all of you!"

While nearly all the guys present looked with either hearts in their eyes or blushing faces, Modeus looked toward the spirit of his late mentor.

"Master… was she always this… eccentric?"

Sparda pinched the bridge in-between his eyes. "My friend… you have no idea."

Mavis then popped up at Team A's box. "You shouldn't stand here like a bunch of party poopers!" She proclaimed to Lucy, Wendy, and Erza. "Let's all go down there, together!"

"For real?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"There's no reason we should stand idly by while our competitors are taking the spotlight." Erza grinned with anticipation, much to the shock and borderline horror of Lucy and Wendy.

"Pay close attention, guys." Dante pulled Natsu and Gray in close with an eager grin. "This is here you take your journeys from boys to men."

"Of course, you'd be so into this." Gray was less than impressed with Dante's attitude.

"I don't get what's so special about a bunch of half-naked girls." Natsu brushed off.

"Just pay close attention to Lisanna and Lucy and you'll see what I mean." Dante told him.

Somehow, Juvia and Cana were already in their swimsuits as well. "Might as well join in." Cana shrugged. "Everyone else is."

"Since my body's made of water, I can fill out a bathing suit better than any of these other girls." Juvia said.

"Oh, you're gonna do it to?" Gajeel didn't seem the least bit interested.

"A woman must do whatever she can to fight for her true love." Juvia declared unsurprising.

"Well good luck with that." Laxus sighed in annoyance.

"Go ahead and waste your time." Nero waved off, only for Cana to sling her arm around him.

"So badass yet so innocent." She teased. "Kyrie's gonna be down there too. Maybe you two might get the urge, if you know what I mean." She snickered, with her implications causing Nero's face to turn red.

It wasn't long before virtually every female wizard, competing or otherwise, was now in the arena, showing off their swimsuits and attractive bodies. Aside from Milliana, Risley, Arana, and Beth from Mermaid Heel, or Sherry and Sherria from Lamia Scale, everyone from Fairy Tail, including Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Lisanna, Cana, Juvia, Kyrie, Trish, Lady, Levy, Bisca, Evergreen, Kinana, and Laki were all present as well, and even Carla was somehow convinced to join for some reason.

The only two females who remained fully dressed and in their seats were Patty and Asuka, as per Sparda's insistence that they were far too young. He and Modeus tried to convince Mavis to keep Wendy from going down there as well, Mavis had firmly insisted, saying that Wendy was almost at a proper age of being a 'woman'.

And the entire audience was enjoying every single minute of this visual spectacle. Even some of the women were as well.

"This situation has gotten pretty out of hand, wouldn't you say?" Mira said to Jenny.

"Oh yeah, but it's all in good fun, and the fans are totally eating it up." She replied.

"If you wanted a heaping helping of fan service, then ladies and gentlemen, Domus Flau is most definitely the place you wanna find yourself today!" Chapati commentated as he and Yajima had their cheeks turn pink, as did Jason who looked ready to explode with excitement.

"And unless we want an actual riot on our hands, we have no choice but to let this madness continue." Yajima said, though the tone and look on his face indicated he wasn't complaining.

"This is amazing!" Jason exclaimed. "Oh man! The Sorcerer Weakly cover story! I'll call it… 'The Big Battle of the Busty Bathing Bombshells'! It's so hot and cool!"

"But remember folks, this is strictly a one-on-one event." Chapati reminded everyone. "So Mirajane and Jenny will be the only ones scoring."

That was evident by the lacrima vision of the scoreboard with Mirajane and Jenny having eight and nine points respectively for which ever pose the judges deemed was better.

"Then why the hell are we down here demeaning ourselves!?" Lady exclaimed in a black bikini. She then caught Dante looking at her with a wide grin and gave him the middle finger.

"Oh, come on, there's no need for that." Mavis said as she appeared, clad in her own swimsuit as well, upside down and right in front of Lady. "Lighten up. It's a nice break from fighting."

"I can't believe a ghost is so into this." Trish muttered.

"Well, it makes total sense coming from one of the people who started this crazy guild in the first place." Lucy stated. "No way Uncle Sparda would ever approve of this."

Mavis giggled. "Believe it or not, Daddy used to be quite the ladies' man himself. Even if he was more of a gentleman compared to Dante, like father like son."

"You gotta be kidding me…" Lucy moaned as she, Trish, and Lady looked mentally exhausted at that.

"I cannot picture that." Levy said.

"You're telling me you were actually into this?!" Patty exclaimed to Sparda in shock.

"I was young back then." The spirit of the Dark Knight made no effort to deny it.

"So why the change in heart, party pooper? I'm old and I'm still having a good time." Makarov grinned.

"I married, and I had children. Call me old fashioned, but that usually means you're done with this sort of thing." Sparda quickly said.

"Good man." Gildarts nodded. "I'm a dad to, so I gotta set a better example."

"You're definitely doing a better job than this old pervert and he's a grandpa!" Patty said, referring to Makarov, who still looked on with hearts in his eyes, with Macao and Wakaba having the same expressions. "Seriously! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"

"I'm divorced, so I'm good." Macao replied.

"And I got the right to check out my own wife." Alzack couldn't take his eyes off Bisca for a second.

"You should at least act appropriately in front of your daughter." Modeus told him as he held a confused Asuka in his arms.

Erza noticed Evergreen being rather close to her. "Aren't you supposed to be watching over Elfman?"

"Freed and Bickslow have that covered, and as the rightful Queen of the Fairies, I simply cannot be upstaged." She proclaimed.

"Wardrobe change! School swimsuits!" Chapati announced.

Mira took the win that round with Lisanna, Cana, Wendy, and Kyrie right behind her.

"Don't be so embarrassed Wendy, you look adorable." Lisanna encouraged.

"I feel so embarrassed!" She exclaimed.

"This is getting way too uncomfortable!" Kyrie tried to cover herself, only for Cana to grab her chest from behind.

"Oh, come on, you have such a nice figure and even a good cup size. Show off for Nero, I'm sure he's loving this." Cana teased, causing Kyrie's face to turn red with smoke coming her head.

Nero had the same expression in the stands himself with a red face and smoke coming from his head as well, causing Gajeel to pat his back.

"You spent way too long on that island, kid." The Iron Dragon Slayer told him.

"And now, bikinis and thigh-highs!" Chapati announced.

Jenny was able to score that one as she showed off her legs, with Lucy, Juvia, and Lady beside her as well.

"That's weird. It covers more skin but its more embarrassing." Lucy said with a blush.

"Who likes girls in glasses!?" Chapati announced one more.

Mira scored for being the cutest, pulling off the glasses look to a tee with Laki, Levy and an embarrassed Beth also present,

"This is pretty much the look I go with every day." Laki said.

"Yeah, I'm used to this too." Levy added.

"Cat ears!"

Jenny took a seductive cat-like pose in a furry bikini along with a pair of fake cat ears, as did Milliana, Bisca, Cana and even Carla for some reason. Jenny scored the point there.

"I feel absolutely ridiculous in these!" Carla said in a mortified tone.

"Well, this feels totally natural or me." Milliana smiled.

"Bondage gear!"

Sherry snapped a whip, wearing a leather-clad suit with fishnet legs. "Sometimes love has to hurt a bit."

"You're scaring me." Sherria said in a frightened tone.

"Whoever came up with a concept like this should be beaten with a sledgehammer." Trish commented as she wore a leather suit that exposed her legs and most of her chest save for her breast.

Evergreen was clad in a red suit that had thigh highs and a top that exposed part of her midriff as she showed off. "So, Titania, have you accepted your place beneath me yet?"

"You dare speak to me?!" Erza's outfit was practically all-revealing. Its description would be too inappropriate for words, but the fact she stood tall and proudly in it, along with a whip and eyes to match her intimidating persona was enough to make Evergreen bow her head in submission.

"Sorry ma'am!"

"So, you two enjoying this now or what?" Dante said, having the best day of his life as he grinned like a madman.

Natsu and Gray's faces were both red as tomatoes. The Salamander did as Dante suggested and mostly kept his eyes on Lisanna and Lucy during the whole fiasco, and his heart couldn't stop pounding the entire time.

"I… I… I…" Natsu couldn't find the words.

"Congratulations. You broke Natsu." Gray grumbled.

"Thus, he has now entered manhood. Mission accomplished." Dante nodded with satisfaction.

"How about a blushing bride challenge?!" Chapati proposed excitedly. "So ladies, grab a lucky guy and squeeze into some wedding dresses!"

Mira wasted no time getting in a beautiful wedding dress with one of her teammates clad in a tuxedo and locking arms.

"I appreciate the help Laxus. Thank you." Mira smiled sweetly.

"Don't overthink it." Laxus said, trying to act coy. "I'm just trying to score a win for my team. That and keeping my sleezy grandpa away."

"Well that already makes you such a gentleman." Mira said with a genuine smile. "And that makes you far cry improvement over former master Makarov."

Behind them, Makarov comically cried in the ground, both in hurt over Mira's snark and joy. "My little grandboy's all grown up!"

Jenny was likewise in her own wedding dress as she locked arms with Hibiki. "Well, you're not such a bad match, are you?"

"Who knows? We might be a whole lot more compatible than you might think." Hibiki said.

Likewise, all the other women and girls in the arena had donned a wedding dress and there were plenty of guys down, all clad in tuxedos as well, there as well trying to partner up with a certain special someone.

"Not so fast there, buddy!" Droy punched Jet in the face. "Levy's never gonna marry you!"

Jet punched Droy in the face in retaliation. "You think she wants you instead?!"

Both of them gasped as they saw the bride Levy walk away from the scene, her arm linked around Gajeel's.

"Okay fine. If you insist." He grumbled.

"What are you talking about? I never asked you!" She replied, trying to hide her blush.

Jet and Droy cried their eyes out as they clung to each other.

"I sincerely appreciate the gesture Modeus, but you're not my type. No offense." Erza said as she and Modeus had paired up.

"None taken. You're a great friend." He replied. "But I know your heart yearns for another, so I thought I could at least make it more comfortable, at least to ensure you're with someone that you're comfortable around."

A small smile graced Erza's face. "I appreciate that. Thank you, my friend." She glanced up at the stands to spot Mystogen, Jellal doing his best to look away.

In that very same spot, Sparda had noticed Macao, Wakaba, Max, Warren, Vjteeter, and Nab all hiding behind the seats. "And you are all hiding… why?"

"Nuh-uh. I'm not making that mistake again." Macao said.

"And I'm afraid my wife will see me." Wakaba added.

Normally any man would jump at a chance to 'marry' the beautiful Cana, but the intense aura of a certain individual behind her was keeping any man who even looked at her in bay.

"Geez Dad, you know it's just a game, right?" Cana said irritably.

"I don't care. No daughter of mine is marrying a guy she just met." Gildarts said protectively.

Cana looked away with an embarrassing blush. "Stupid dad…" She muttered with a smile.

"I wouldn't mind doing this all over again." Alzack said as he and Bisca were together, both holding Asuka in their arms as she was in a pink dress.

"Yeah, this is nice." Bisca agreed as they shared a peck on the lips.

"Mommy and Daddy are married! Yay!" Asuka cheered cutely.

"How about you let me be your partner for this one, Carla?" Happy offered in a white tuxedo.

"Well, I suppose it makes sense, as we are both Exceeds." She accepted. But Carla noticed Wendy in a wedding dress of her own with Romeo standing next to her.

"You… you look really nice…" Romeo shifted in his spot nervously.

Wendy smiled. "Thanks. You look good, too."

"So, uh… since we're kinda the same age… maybe you wanna…" Romeo stuttered before clasping Wendy's hand in his own. "I mean if you want! I don't wanna force your or anything I…!"

"Thanks, I'd love to." Wendy smiled as she clasped Romeo's hand tightly, which not only caused his blush to brighten, but a wide smile to form on his face.

Carla didn't exactly approve of what she was seeing, but at the same time, she also saw how happy Wendy looked, and a part of her was rather proud of that. It was something Modeus felt as well as he too saw the whole thing.

"Uh… you realize this looks pretty inappropriate, right kitty cat?" Trish commented as she was clad in her own wedding dress with Panther-Lily standing on her shoulder, wearing a tiny tuxedo.

"Perhaps, but I decided to follow Modeus' lead in keeping you company as you don't seem to have a partner." Lily said.

"Thanks for being nice, but I'm not interested in any kind of relationship right now." Trish replied.

Kyrie and Nero were both standing together as well, the former wearing a wedding gown of her own while the latter had his own tuxedo with a dark blue jacket as opposed to black. They held each other's hands as they looked away with blushing cheeks.

"You know… this is kinda nice…" Kyrie said. "I wouldn't mind… this being real one day…"

"Yeah… maybe one day…" Nero replied.

Lyon had Juvia in his arms, him in a tuxedo and her in a wedding gown like everyone else around them. "My darling, you and I were meant to be together!"

"Sorry. But my heart belongs to another." Juvia apologized.

"Hands off!" Gray, who also wore a suit, kicked Lyon away as he took Juvia in his own arms. "She's not your guild! When are you gonna get that through your stupid spikey head!"

"How bold! Let's cuddle!" Juvia wrapped her arms around Gray, causing them both to tumble to the ground.

"I'm glad we can finally show the world our love!" Sherry proclaimed to Ren.

"You're being way too clingy. And it's making me fall for you even more." He muttered.

Unlike everyone else, the wedding gown Lady wore was black as opposed to white, and she made it look good, not that she liked it anyway.

"Gothic wedding dress, huh?" Dante walked up, wearing a red tuxedo. "It actually suits ya."

"And of course, you're wearing red." She told him.

"Hey, my favorite color." Dante said as he offered his arm. "And red and black do look good together, so?"

Lady sighed before taking his arm and hooking up. "Sure." She looked away, hiding her blush. "Don't get the wrong idea."

"Yeah, actual dates first before the big day." Dante grinned, causing Lady to grumble even more.

The wedding gowned Lucy appeared to be alone as she looked around for her own partner. "So, who's with me?" She felt her hand being grabbed as she looked in surprise to see Lisanna, also in a wedding dress, pull her in a certain direction.

"Come on, shouldn't it be obvious?" She said as she pulled her to a certain Dragon Slayer wearing a white tux that matched his scarf. "Hey, Natsu!"

He turned around to see the two approaching him. "Wow… you guys look… really nice."

"So do you." Lisanna smiled as she hooked with Natsu's right arm. "Remember when we were kids and we used to play husband and wife with Happy's egg?"

"Yeah… fun times." Natsu said, acting nervous for a reason he didn't quite understand. He then felt his left arm being grabbed as he saw Lucy hooking her arm up with his.

"Maybe room for one more?" She asked with a smile.

Seeing both Lucy and Lisanna smile at him made Natsu feel weird, like something was in his stomach besides food and fire. It was an odd sensation, but he didn't feel anything wrong with it. So there was no reason to say no.

"Sure… if you guys want…" He decided to go along with it, actually feeling pretty good with all this.

Dante and Lady also happen to watch the whole thing. "Hold on. Is… is that actually happening…?" Lady questioned in genuine surprise.

"Oh yeah." Dante confirmed with a knowing grin.

Lady only had a blank look in response. "Huh. Who knew the idiot actually had it in him."

The bell rang once again as Mirajane had taken the win for that round. "Now that the wedding is over, let's get back to another swimsuit round!" Chapati announced, much to the joy of the other commentators.

"Stop! This is an outrage! I can't take any more of this!"

Everyone in the arena looked up to the very top of one of the statues to see the old hag from Lamia Scale literally looking down on everyone.

"What is this?!" Chapati questioned.

"You foolish young people! Let Ooba teach you a lesson!" The elderly guildmaster declared before jumping down into the middle of the arena. "So, pay close attention and learn what it means to be a real woman!"

She discarded her robe to reveal her own swimsuit and tried to show off her body to everybody. Her elderly, withered, and skinny body that had absolutely no attraction to it whatsoever. If anything, it was the exact opposite of attraction.

The whole audience looked with dropped jaws and circular eyes as their bodies turned pale white; same with Chapati, Yajima, and Jason, and even all the wizards in the arena, male and female alike.

Natsu, Lady, Lucy, and Lisanna's jaws hung open the same way with everyone else while Dante just had a blank expression on his face…

Right before he pulled Ebony out and shot himself in the head.

"Meh, he heals, he'll be fine." Lady shrugged.

"I need to burn my eyes out." Natsu muttered.

"…..And with that crash course in reality, the mood in the arena has been brought down to Earthland." Chapati said as he, Yajima, and Jason felt all the excitement drain from their bodies. "Party's over folks. The other teams on the field have begun to clear out."

"Cooled… out." That was all the depressed Jason could say.

All the woman, now depressed and dejected, began to step out of the arena, as did the men who were clearly traumatized by what they saw. This left only Mirajane and Jenny on the field, both wearing their normal outfits.

"The circus is gone and it's just you and me again." Jenny said to her opponent.

"Awe, that's too bad. It was fun while it lasted." Mira replied.

The scoreboard showed that Mira and Jenny were both tied at thirty points for this competition. "We need to wrap this thing up, so let's move on to the final round of this exhilarating match!"

'Yes!' Jenny thought internally as her eyes became four-pointed stars. 'Sorry Mirajane, but no matter what the judges want us to do, I have an air-tight strategy for victory!' A naughty smile formed on her face.

"It all comes down to this!"

"And I'm not gonna loose!" Mira declared.

"Why don't make things more interesting and have our own bet?" Jenny offered. "After all, everyone else is doing it."

"I'm game, so what do you have in mind?" Mira asked.

Jenny pointed to Mira as she made her bet. "The looser will pose for Sorcerer Weakly, wearing absolutely nothing but her birthday suit!"

Everyone in the audience was stuck with a simultaneous nosebleed at the thought of that.

"Whoa! Okay! I'm alive again!" Dante shot up from the ground in his box with Fairy Tail A as they too looked in shock at the proposed bet.

"That's crazy…!" Lisanna muttered.

"Wait… is that really… do people actually do that…?" Kyrie stuttered, clearly mortified.

"Hell no." Lady groaned. "That's insane."

"Please tell me she's not gonna accept it." Trish moaned.

"Sorry… but I'm a little conflicted…" Macao said as he and Wakaba had white circles for eyes and blushes so hot that steam was coming from their heads. "Who do I cheer for?"

"Don't know… it's hard…" Wakaba added.

"No way…" Nero shook his head. "I know Mira's… an oddball but… she's not actually gonna go through with this, right?" He looked to his teammates, all of whom looked a bit uncertain themselves. "Uh… Guys?"

Mira gave her typical smile. "You're on."

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" Everyone in the audience, including her own guildmates, all shouted in shock.

"Unbelievable!" Chapati exclaimed, sweat pouring from his head like a fountain. "This might be a match where everybody is a winner!"

"Ya know…" Dante thought with a grin. "Since Mira's on the opposing team, it wouldn't be wrong for us if she lost, right?" His cousin reached out to pull on his right ear. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"Seriously Cous, you need to reel it back." Lucy said annoyingly.

"Yesh, sue a guy for having some fun." Dante replied.

Jenny smiled almost evilly. 'She took the bait. Mirajane has been the apple of the public's eye for a long time, now. So while she may have more fans in the crowd than I do, but those judges up there are the ones that are handing out the scores. When I found out she was participating in the Games this year, I used my connections at Sorcerer Weakly to have a nice dinner with them last night, where I did some digging of my own to find out what really turns them on, and it seems like they're into younger girls, which is perfect for me. Mira might have been around before I was, but she hasn't aged in seven years, so now she's actually the younger one. And as an added bonus, a hot model coming out of retirement looking exactly the same and finally getting naked will sell a ton of magazines for Sorcerer Weakly, it's obvious who they'll chose."

Jason waved his arms up and down rapidly, his eyes turned into hearts as he panted like a puppy dog while Yajima simply smiled and Chapati sweated greatly, still processing the bet between these two lovely ladies.

"Now… our final theme will be… combat gear."

A yellow aura glowed around Jenny as she would clad herself in her most visually appealing armor. It may not be the strongest in her arsenal, but she wasn't looking for strength, she was looking for what was the most eye-candy, certain that is what she needed to win this.

'Sorry for being a little naughty, but there is no way I'm gonna lose this one. It's just too perfect.'

Jenny was now clad in her Battle Suit. It was a dark magenta colored outfit with armored arms and legs up to her thighs while also wearing a skintight purple and white suit underneath to show off her cleavage.

"You really think you got anything sexier than this?" Jenny asked challengingly.

Mira smiled confidently. "Yeah, I'm not too worried about it." She was surrounded by a dark magenta aura as she channeled her own magic. "And since we're making a bet like everybody before us has, why don't we continue another trend, and finish off this round with a battle of strength like they all did to?"

In a flash of light, Mirajane had transformed. But it wasn't anything sexy, more like terrifying.

"Uh…" Jenny was more than a little spooked, both with Mira's new form as well as what she was implying.

It was clearly a Satan Soul transformation, one that had her in a white and dark blue outfit, clawed armored arms, a black cape, long and wild flowing white hair, and horns on the side in her face. Her eyes were dark and wild, ready to tear her enemy apart with in the blink of an eye as flames surged around her.

"Holy shit…!" Nero exclaimed, shocked by not only Mira's appearance but her insane amount of demonic power.

"What in the hell is that?!" Lucy questioned in shock.

"It's one of Mirajane's She-Devil forms…" Erza explained to Lucy.

"That right there is called Sitri." Laxus explained for Nero.

"Her strongest Satan Soul." Both Erza and Laxus said at the same time.

"I agreed to the terms you set." Mira said to Jenny, her voice much deeper and far more intimidating. "So, I would appreciate it if you would be a good sport and agree to mine."

This wasn't in Jenny's plan at all. Her opponent's current transformation clearly dwarfed hers in terms of raw power as Jenny was going for sexy, not dangerous!

"W-w-w-wait are you serious…?!"

"Yes." She flashed a dark look in her eyes before going on the attack. "Black Hell Flame!" With a wave of her hand, Jenny was engulfed in a surge of black fire that sent her flying and screaming into the air, her armor already burnt and ready to fall apart. Before she had a chance to counter, Mira appeared over her and threw a devastating punch that sent her crashing into the ground, leaving a crater upon impact.

Two hits. It was all over in two hits. Natsu, Gray, Nero, and the Trimens all looked in clear shock, their faces pale white.

"Just like that, this beauty battle becomes a brawl!" Chapati commentated as the audience cheered.

"I suppose this is more keeping with… tradition." Yajima said.

"What a cute brute! So cool!" Jason exclaimed.

The transformed Mira raised her fist in victory. "And Mirajane claims the big W! Scoring ten points for Fairy Tail B!" Chapati announced.

"Yay!" Happy cheered with the rest of the smiling guildmates.

"Way to go, Mira!" Lisanna cheered as well.

"Now that's more like it." Lady nodded.

"I'm okay with it." Macao shared a fist-bump with Wakaba.

"Definitely a win-win." He agreed.

"I am so ready for next week's issue!" They both said at the same time.

"And with like that, both our teams have won Day 2! Fairy Tail's still in the game, baby!" Gildarts grinned.

"Now that's how we do things Fairy Tail style!" Natsu said proudly.

"But wasn't this supposed to be a beauty contest?" Gray asked.

"Most of it was anyway." Erza said with a grin. "And nobody said they couldn't fight; Mirajane just found a way to bend the rules."

"That seems to happen quite a bit with this guild." Wendy commented with a wincing smile.

"You said it, Wendy." Lucy said in a sigh.

"Why do you make it sound like a bad thing?" Dante smiled. 'I'm definitely getting next week's issue, and I'm getting it framed.'

Mira transformed back to normal as she smiled sweetly and waved to her defeated opponent. "Sorry about that. But if this will make you feel any better, I'll buy an issue when it comes out."

Jenny's only response was to comically cry as she held her clothes tightly.

Nero was stunned to say the least. "How can someone so sweet also be so terrifying?"

"There's a reason she's called the She-Devil. So, take my advice and stay on her good side." Laxus said.

"No argument here." Nero replied as Mira rejoined her team.

"Way to crush her out there, Mira." Cana congratulated.

"That was amazing. Nicely done." Juvia also congratulated.

"Thanks, you guys." Mira blushed. "But that whole experience was more than a little embarrassing."

"Yeah? Well I bet that last part felt pretty damn good." Gajeel commented.

"So now we got seventeen points total, we're ahead of Dante's team." Nero said.

"And we ain't stopping." Laxus grinned. "Let's go all the way, straight to first place."

---

Mercurius

Arcadios walked through the darkened tunnels of the royal palace, having just checked on the Eclipse Project and was about to make his way back to the arena to catch the final match for the day when somebody else approached him from behind.

"Colonel Arcadios!"

He turned around to see a short and older man dressed in noble-esque clothing with a slight scar over his nose. "Defense minister Darton. Can I be of service?"

"You've got some explaining to do." Darton told him.

"Whatever do you mean?" Arcadios asked.

"Don't play dumb! I want you to tell me why the hell you're trying to get your hands on a Celestial Wizard right now!" Darton demanded. "Don't you think you're jumping the gun?!"

"We need to have a trial run to ensure everything is in order." Arcadios replied. "As I'm sure you're aware, after the recent incident involving the Order of the Sword, the number of Celestial Wizards has severely diminished. And now we know for certain that one is in the capital as we speak. Wouldn't make more sense to ensure her safety so that the project can run more smoothly?"

"The Eclipse Project is only supposed to be a method of absolute last resort!" Darton exclaimed. "There is no need for us to take such drastic and desperate measures!"

"With all due respect sir, I think you should keep your voice down." Arcadios urged. "And truth be told, the Eclipse Project is in fact, ready as we speak. All we need are the keys."

Darton looked in complete and utter surprise. "Why… why would you keep this from me?"

"Don't be offended, I kept it from everyone in order to ensure that information doesn't leak out." Arcadios explained. "If word of this got to the populace it could spell disaster. Once we've secured the Celestial Wizard, the Project will be fully operational."

"Have you forgotten that all twelve Zodiac Keys are needed to operate it?!" Darton exclaimed. "The young woman in question, from what we can gather, only has ten! Did you manage to secure the other two in secret?!"

"I'm afraid not, but I've managed to find a method of which the Project can commence even with only ten keys present." Arcadios said. Darton looked at him in shock and even fear. "I'm aware of your position on the matter, your opposition to the Eclipse Project is well documented." Arcadios turned around and walked away. "Whether you like it or not, the Project is moving forward and we will have a Celestial Wizard in our possession even if I have to do it by force."

"How far are you willing to go?!" Darton shouted. "Are you actually willing to take innocent lives in order to do something so dangerous?!"

Arcadios stopped for a moment and turned around to face Darton with a serious expression. "I take no joy in this. If there was indeed another way to commence this project that does not involve taking an innocent life I would pursue it, but that does not seem to be the case. Despite the so-called peace we're experiencing, both Zeref and Acnologia are at large and there exists no way to stop them permanently, not to mention the growing threat of the Underworld. We are in desperate times, Darton. I will do whatever is necessary to protect this country, even if I must be hated as a monster."

---

Domus Flau

"…After an exciting day, the final match of Day 2 of the Grand Magic Games is about to take place!" Chapati announced. "This one will test the skills of Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi against Sabertooth's Yukino Agira! The Number one guild faces Number two! And once more, we are treated to two lovely ladies going head-to-head."

"Who do you think is gonna win this one?" Frosch asked Lector.

"Hmmm? Are you really that big of an idiot?! Obviously Yukino is gonna wipe the floor with this chick!" Lector exclaimed.

"Then let's cheer her on!" Frosch proclaimed happily.

"We really gotta score some points on this one since somebody screwed the pooch on that Chariot game." Orga said, making a not-so-subtle insult to Sting, earning a growl from Sting and a chuckle from Rufus.

"I know." Yukino said. "But Sting is not to blame for that, the fact that the game involved vehicles was unfortunate."

"Actually, Sting is to blame." Vergil replied. "The name 'Chariot' was an obvious implication, he simply chose to participate in order to show up Natsu, once again allowing his arrogance to get the better of him."

"We can't change that now." Sting tried to dodge and focus on the present. "I just hope you know what you gotta do. We're counting on you, Yukino."

"Yes, I will not tarnish the name Sabertooth, and I will achieve victory without fail." Yukino said as she prepared to step up, only for Vergil to grab her arm for a moment to get her attention.

"You are facing one of the strongest swordswomen in this country, one of the top wizards in Mermaid Heel, who's full strength rivals our own." The eldest Son of Sparda said as he let go. "Do not underestimate her."

"I will not." She vowed as she walked into the arena. "I will do everything in my power to achieve victory."

As she walked into the arena, Rogue looked with concern. 'Be careful, Yukino.'

At the same time, Team Mermaid Heel was wishing the best of luck to their own teammate as well. "Do your best out there, Kagura." Milliana smiled.

"Go and fetch us a win!" Beth cheered.

"Sabertooth isn't the top ranked guild for nothing, so it's gonna be tough." Risley said.

"She would never let us down." Arana said to Risley.

"This woman may not be on the same level as Vergil, but I would not underestimate her either." Lucia advised.

"Do not fear, my sisters." Kagura said as she stepped into the ring. "I see the path that my sword must travel." As she walked forward, she stopped only briefly to pay a glance towards Kurenai, who simply gave a smile and a nod, a silent way of wishing her the best. Kagura nodded back before going forward.

"Something tells me this won't be another beauty contest." Yajima said.

"Well personally, if they want another one, then I am all for it." Chapati replied.

"Come on you guys, these chicks are way too cool for something that cheesy!" Jason stated.

For one reason or another, everyone in Fairy Tail was paying close attention to the battle that was about to take place before them.

"The top two guilds are about to face off, huh?" Wendy noted.

"What do you think's gonna happen?" Gray asked.

"Pay close attention, Sabertooth is the guild to beat ths year." Erza said.

"It's not just that though, it's who's participating for them." Lucy said seriously.

"Yeah, that chick is Sorano's sister." Dante added.

This was a fact that was especially known by Lisanna, Mira, and even Jellal. The Strauss sisters were aware that Yukino was technically family, being a long distant relative of theirs, while Jellal recognized Yukino as the younger sister of his friend and comrade.

---

At the same time, from their vantage point, Crime Sorciere would also be watching the fight via Ultear's crystal lacrima.

"Yukino…" So many thoughts went through Sorano's head the second her eyes set on her younger sister. There was happiness and relief for sure, but there was also great concern given her opponent. At the same time, there was also some sadness… she hadn't seen her sister in many years. It felt so long ago, the last time they were ever together was when they were small children. Now she was a grown woman. Sorano couldn't help but be filled with regret in missing out on her own little sister growing up all alone.

"That's really your sister…" Meredy said.

"Yeah…" Sorano confirmed with a complicated expression.

"And now she's facing one of Fiore's strongest swordswomen." Ultear said. "I'd say she even rivals Titania, so it won't be an easy fight."

That alone made Sorano very nervous. But her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a hand grasp her own. She turned around in slight surprise to see Sheeree looking at her with an understanding smile.

"Let's cheer her on. Okay?" Sheeree offered from one sister to another.

Sorano knew that Sheeree understood what she was feeling. Just her gesture and those few words were enough for the older woman to smile back. "Okay."

---

Both female wizards finally met and faced off with one another, both ready for a fight at even a moment's notice.

"Kagura's made quite a name for herself." Chapati began. "Not only is she the second strongest member of the Mermaid Heel guild next to their own Devil Hunter Lucia, she was also recently named the top female wizard by Sorcerer Weekly! On the other hand, not much is known about her opponent, Yukino. However, the simple fact that she's been chosen to represent the mighty Sabertooth in the Games would lead us to believe that she will be a force to be reckoned with."

The gong then rang, signaling the start of the battle.

"Let the match begin!" Chapati announced.

"I've heard of you, Kagura Mikazuchi." Yukino said as she bowed her head. "It is an honor to cross swords with you."

Kagura was slightly surprised that someone from Sabertooth would greet her so humbly. But she returned the gesture, nonetheless. "For me, as well."

"So, shall we do as the others before us have and make a wager?" Yukino offered.

"Silly bets do not interest me." Kagura replied.

"Is it because you're afraid of losing?" Yukino questioned.

"You're mistaken if you believe that." Kagura responded. "I fear no such thing. But when I enter into an agreement, I guarantee it will be enacted without fail. Therefore, I never gamble for entertainment."

"Nor do I, so let's raise the stakes…" Yukino said. "Let's wager... our lives."

As Kagura looked at her with a serious expression, everything in the arena became silent. The audience and everyone in Fairy Tail and Mermaid Heel looked in shock and surprise. Was she serious? Did Yukino actually make a bet like that?! Their lives!?

Even the observing Crime Sorciere, including the disguised Jellal, was caught off guard by that, especially Sorano.

However, most of Sabertooth actually seemed to approve of that request.

"Way to go, Yukino!" Lector pumped his fist. "That's the way a member of the Sabertooth guild makes a bet!"

"Kick her butt Yukino! You can do it!" Frosch cheered.

"Looks like things are about to get interesting." Sting grinned.

Rogue however looked with concern for Yukino's sake, while Vergil just stared seriously at the match about to begin.

"I am aware of the arrogance of Sabertooth, but I never imagined it would be to this extreme." Kagura said to her opponent. "The rules of this tournament prohibit killing one's opponent, with the consequence being their guild's disqualification. Does Sabertooth think they're above the rules?"

"I didn't say 'kill'. I said we'd be wagering our lives." Yukino responded. "Allow me to clarify… the loser's life shall be placed in the winner's hands, whatever their intent. A life debt, so-to-speak."

"And you're willing to make that sort of wager?" Kagura asked seriously. "Such a thing is not to be taken lightly. We could simply compete without making such a drastic gamble."

"I am certain." Yukino stated. "Sabertooth takes jobs that places our lives on the line almost every day, why should this tournament be any different?"

"Is she serious about this?!" Natsu questioned. "Betting her own life?!"

"Why would she do something so crazy?!" Lucy also questioned.

Dante glanced in the direction of Team Sabertooth, specifically his twin brother. 'Vergil, just what the hell kind of guild are you in?'

"I don't think that girl knows what she's getting herself into." Milliana said nervously.

"I'm almost scared to watch." Beth added.

"She's either confident in her skills, or extremely arrogant." Lucia said in a matter of disapproval.

"Yeah, she doesn't stand a chance against our Kagura." Risley added.

Kurenai looked with a serious expression, her hands clenched tightly. 'I knew Sabertooth takes things to an extreme, but a bet like this is serious! Kagura… you don't have to accept this! You can still fight without it! Do not accept it!'

Kagura however looked in Yukino's eyes and could tell that she was serious. There was no entrainment or humor behind it. "If you truly intend to stand behind your wager… Then I suppose I have no alternative but to accept. Very well, have at you."

The bet was made. There was no turning back at this point. Everyone in the audience looked with shock and genuine concern.

"They're really gonna do it?"

"I know the rules say they can't kill each other, but seriously?!"

"Oh man… that's brutal!"

"Are they sure about this?"

"Well, this is certainly an unexpected turn of events!" Chapati said. "The rules do indeed prevent the competitors from killing, but there's nothing that says they can't make a life-debt!"

"A very serious matter, and not one to be taken lightly." Yajima stated.

"No way! This is so unbelievably not cool!" Jason stood up.

"An exceptional match up, if I do say so myself." King Toma said from his private box in the stands. "This is sure to be an exciting fight!"

"Facing a member of Sabertooth in battle is quite an unfortunate fate…." Yukino said as she drew a familiar-looking object: a golden key.

"Is that what I think it is, Lucy?" Wendy looked in surprise.

"So, she's a Celestial Wizard, too!" Lucy herself stated. Though given her elder sister was one as well, it did make sense.

---

"She has one of the Zodiac keys!" Sorano was surprised herself as the rest of Crime Sorciere continued to watch.

---

This also drew the attention of Darton and Arcadios, both watching the match from separate parts of the arena.

'I had no idea. It seems there's another Celestial Wizard, also in possession of one of the Zodiacs.' Darton observed in surprise.

"A golden Zodiac key, hmm?" Kagura didn't look the least bit intimidated but took this seriously none the less.

"Open! Gate of the Two Fish…."

"What the heck? Is she summoning or ordering dinner?" Happy wondered while Carla was unamused by that statement.

"A fish spirit?" Dante thought about possibly a humanoid shark-like creature as he exchanged a look with his cousin. "Don't you already have something like that?"

"Yeah, Aquarius, but she said two fish. Maybe it's something like Gemini?" Lucy theorized.

"Guess we're about to find out." Dante observed.

"…Pisces!" With a wave of her key, Yukino had summon dual spirits into the arena. They had the appearance of massive koi fish, while also having elongated bodies akin to eels. One was primarily white with a black underbelly, while the other was black with a white underbelly. The audience looked in awe and fear as the massive fish-like spirits flew and twirled around in the air.

"Wow! They are fishies!" Happy looked ready to chow down, already drooling.

"I'm pretty sure those aren't for eating, Happy." Lisanna told him.

"Seriously! Those things are so big, they might just eat you!" Patty added.

"Fish don't eat cats! That goes against nature!" Happy protested.

"Clearly you've never seen a shark or a piranha." Lady said irritably.

"Can we please focus on the match?!" Carla reminded.

Pisces immediately went on the attack, lunging at Kagura, who leapt into the air to avoid their chomping bites.

"I fear this girl is underestimating Kagura." Lucia commented.

"Got that right." Milliana agreed.

While airborne, Kagura was able to avoid all the other attacks Pisces threw at her, leaping from the sides of each creature toward the other with such grace and speed that the dual spirit was having difficulty trying to catch up with her.

"Check it out! This chick is awesome!" Natsu grinned.

"No kidding, she's barely moving and dodging all their attacks." Gray observed.

"Those things are probably so fast, I'd need my Support Magic to avoid them but she's doing it all on her own!" Wendy continued to watch.

"So that's Pisces…" Lucy focused more on the spirit while Dante and Erza silently continued to watch Kagura herself. The fact that she hadn't even drawn her sword yet shown that Kagura wasn't even taking this match seriously.

Kagura landed on the ground as the black Pisces tried to lunge at her, but she leapt into the air once more, avoiding the thrust of the white Pisces that came at her before landing on its side and running down its elongated body.

"Huh, not too bad." Sting observed.

"Yeah, but it's not like she's that special either." Lector brushed off. "All she's doing is running from then and dodging."

"She's not even fighting back." Frosch said while Vergil and Rogue continued to watch seriously.

"That's our Kagura, keeping her cool out there, just waiting for her chance to put an end to this thing." Risley smiled.

"This magic battle has turned out to be even more exciting than I expected!" King Toma said excitedly.

Similar to how Nero avoided Jura's attacks in his fight, Kagura was able to the same with Pisces, leaping from each of their bodies swiftly and timing each move perfectly to avoid both the ground as well as their mouths.

"Look at that! Kagura is able to dodge the spirit Pisces attacks with the greatest of ease!" Chapati commentated.

"Impressive." Yajima nodded.

"Cool!" Jason exclaimed.

---

"Isn't Pisces supposed to be one of the twelve Zodiacs, the most powerful of the Celestial Spirits?" Meredy asked.

"That's right." Sorano confirmed. "At their current size and speed, they'd already tear through their enemies by this point."

"But not only has this Kagura avoided all their attacks, she hasn't even drawn her sword yet." Ultear observed.

"Which means this fight is just getting started." Sheeree said, all making sure to keep close to Sorano who was paying very close attention to her sister's match.

---

"I don't get why she keeps running from the fishes!" Happy said. "If I were her, I'd catch em and eat em! There gonna go to waste!"

"Those are supposed to be spirits, Happy. I don't think you can eat them." Kyrie said.

Yukino saw that not only had Pisces failed to even land a single attack, but Kagura herself wasn't even fighting back. Perhaps it was time to go even further as she drew out a second golden key.

"If all you're going to do is run away, then I suppose I'll have to stop you in your tracks." Yukino declared.

"Look." Erza got Lucy and Dante's attention.

"She can open two gates at once?!" The blonde exclaimed.

"Not only that, but that's another gold key." Dante said.

'She has two Zodiac Keys in her possession.' Jellal observed. 'Which means that all twelve of the keys are gathered together in this arena.' That made him think back to his theory of Lucy's attempted kidnapping and the idea that the Keys themselves were a potential reason. He, Lisanna, and Carla shared concerning glances with one another as they all thought of the same thing.

"Gold and shiny!" Frosch proclaimed.

"That's it! Go all out, Yukino!" Lector cheered.

Vergil's eyes narrowed slightly, still observing yet making no comment as of yet.

"Open! Gate of the Balance! Libra!" With a wave of her second key, Yukino had summoned yet another spirit. This one took the form of a humanoid woman with dark hair tied in an ox horn style. She wore an attire resembling a belly dancer with a green and yellow bikini and loin cloth with a white cloth tied over the lower half of her face with her zodiac sigil stitched onto it. She also caried a set of dangling scales tied to her fingertips.

---

"Libra… and she's summoned her along with Pisces." Sorano watched on. Despite feeling concerned for her younger sister, a small part of her couldn't help but be proud at how strong Yukino has become, so much so that a small smile graced her face.

---

"Now Libra, alter the target's field of gravity!" Yukino ordered.

"As you wish!" Libra obeyed, twirling her scales to channel her Gravity Magic, focusing it on Kagura and keeping her pinned to the ground in the middle of the arena.

"Dang it, Kagura got trapped!" Beth exclaimed.

"That Celestial Spirit uses the same magic as I do, but with fancy scales!" Risley stated.

"Si, she's using gravity to weigh down Kagura's body!" Arana observed.

'Each of the Celestial Zodiacs has his or her own specific form of magic, and Libra's quite strong with Gravity Magic.' Kurenai thought. 'However,… against Kagura… all this will do is slow her down at best.'

"Go Pisces." Yukino commanded. The dual fish spirits twirled upward in the air, preparing a devastating attack. With Kagura appearing trapped with Libra's power, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to strike. This combination of Celestial Spirit magic has never once failed her in battle, something Vergil was aware of.

And yet, the eldest Son of Sparda also knew that this was a technique Yukino had used far too often, making it not only predictable, but capable of being dodged if one can overcome the trap.

So, Vergil wasn't as surprised as Yukino and Libra both were when they found out that Kagura had avoided the attack completely, using her own Gravity Magic to propel herself straight upward and high into the air.

'Kagura's been practicing her own Gravity Magic all her life, so much so that she taught Risley everything she knows about her power.' Kurenai thought. 'All she needed was a stronger push of her own magic to overcome Libra's, which is child's play for her own level of skill.'

"She escaped Yukino's Libra's gravity attack!" Lector exclaimed.

"But how…?" Frosch asked.

"Holy crap! She's amazing!" Natsu practically screamed.

"That was one hell of a jump…!" Gray was quite socked himself.

"But now she's in the air and wide open." Dante observed.

"Hold on, keep watching." Erza urged.

"Libra, rotate the target's center of gravity sideways!" Yukino ordered her spirit. "And apply twice the force as before!"

"As you wish." Libra did as instructed, channeling the power of gravity onto Kagura and sending her crashing into the face of one of the giant statues on the side of the arena, applying so much gravitational force that it created an impression on the statue.

"That's gotta hurt!" Chapati commentated. "After an impressive escape from Libra's gravity-changing magic, Kagura finds herself helplessly pinned down! It looks like she's in real trouble, now!"

"Gravity is so freaking cool!" Jason exclaimed.

"Attack Pisces!" Yukino ordered, the dual fish lunging toward her.

"Boom! Now we're talking!" Lector shouted, his arms waving around in ecstasy. "That's the power of opening two spirit gates at once!"

"Go Yukino! She's awesome!" Frosch cheered while Rogue smiled at his comrade's performance.

"We can go ahead and call it a win for our team." Sting said confidentially. "Cause here comes the death blow."

'Don't be so sure.' Vergil's instincts knew that this wasn't over yet.

Pisces lunged at her, ready to strike Kagura down right then and there. However, Kagura had her own ace up her sleeve. Rather than focus her Gravity Magic on herself, she channeled it over the entire area of the arena. This caused not only the huge fish that were Pisces to stop attacking, but also pressed them hard to the ground, along with Libra herself and even Yukino.

"Wait… what?!" Lucy exclaimed in shock. She never expected to see two Zodiac spirits overpowered simultaneously. Even Natsu, Wendy, and Gray were surprised while Dante and and Erza continued to watch and observe.

---

"She overpowered Pisces and Libra!?" Sorano didn't see that coming.

"She wields Gravity Magic as well." Ultear observed.

"When two of the same magics are pitted against each other, the one that is strongest is usually the victor." Sheeree said, looking a bit nervous.

"Which means this Kagura is even stronger than a Zodiac spirit!" Meredy stated.

---

"That's no fair! She can use Gravity Magic too?!" Lector complained.

"Uh oh…" Frosch winced.

'This is what happens when you face a true master.' Vergil thought.

"That's our Kagura." Milliana said.

"Second only to Lucia here, she's our top gal." Risley said confidentially.

"You said it!" Beth agreed.

"Si, she's got this." Arana nodded

"Sabertooth's arrogance will be their undoing." Lucia commented.

King Toma shook with excitement as he enjoyed every minute of what he was seeing. "What a great match! This is the real thrill of the Grand Magic Games!"

With no more gravity pressured against her, Kagura stood back up and was ready to go on the attack as she changed focus of her own Gravity Magic from the whole arena to both Pisces and Libra, showing she was precise with her own power as well. This relieved Yukino of the pressure that she was under as she looked in shock to see Kagura already leaping back down and into the action.

"Look at her go!" Chapati commentated excitedly. "It's gonna take more than two Celestial Spirits to faze Kagura! She's incredible! Don't ya think Mr. Yajima?"

"She's one of the top fighters in the second ranked guild in Fiore, so I'm not surprised." Yajima replied. "She sure has a lot of heart."

"This has gotta be one of the most exciting matches I've ever seen! I mean, seriously this is so ridiculously cool, man!" Jason squealed as usual.

"Pisces! Libra! Return!" Yukino withdrew her spirits, seeing how they were overpowered and faced Kagura once more.

"Geez, call it a draw. Cause this match is gonna keep dragging on forever." Orga complained.

"Nobody has ever escaped Yukino's trap before, much less overpowered her spirits." Rogue said in surprise.

"Poor Yukino…" Frosch was also worried for her.

"Don't worry, you guys! I just know that our girl's gonna pull through!" Lector encouraged. "Don't forget, she's still got her trump card! She's definitely gonna win, ain't she Sting?"

"Yeah, no doubt. She's part of Sabertooth after all." Sting said seriously while Vergil simply continued to watch.

"I'm afraid you leave me no choice…" Yukino told Kagura "I'll have to open the thirteenth gate." This caused Kagura to look in surprise.

"Wait… did I hear that right?" Lucy wasn't sure if she misheard. "Natsu, Wendy, you two got super hearing, right? Did Yukino just say 'thirteenth gate'?"

"Yeah, that's what she said." Natsu confirmed.

"Why? Is there a problem?" Wendy asked.

"I was only told that there were twelve Zodiac Keys in existence…." Lucy explained.

---

"…There have been rumors of a thirteenth golden key among the Baram Alliance, but I didn't even think it was possible." Sorano said to her guildmates.

"I've heard such rumors myself, but I thought was only a myth." Ultear added.

"But we did hear her, and I don't think she's bluffing. Maybe she made a new golden key or something?" Meredy asked.

"It doesn't work that way! Even if a new key was made, it has to connect to a spirit!" Sorano said. "Even if there are hundreds or even thousands of different spirits, there are only twelve Zodiac spirits."

"So… what's gonna happen now?" Sheeree asked.

---

As the observing Fairy Tail paid close attention to the fight, Sparda's eyes had widened once she saw Yukino draw a golden and black key.

'What…? No…! How did she get a hold of that?!'

"This Gate is one that I rarely open…" Yukino said as her key began to glow an eerie dark purple. "…It belongs to the most powerful of all the Zodiacs, even more so than their leader. It is an omen of very bad luck for you."

Vergil shook his head in disappointment as he saw dark purple mist began to fill the arena. 'Yukino, you fool.'

"I don't believe in luck." Kagura said. "I have never in my life trusted in such a thing." She grabbed a hold of her sheathed and wrapped katana as she ran forward. "Whatever happens is a result of my choices! My future is shaped by my decisions alone, not by fate!"

"Open! Gate of the Snake Charmer! Ophiuchus!"

A dark magic circle appeared above her key as a dark purple, almost pitch black, cloud emerged from it. A pair of glowing purple eyes could be seen before a massive creature emerged from the cloud. It was even larger than the two Pisces from before. This creature was a humongous snake with armored scales that were a very dark purple. It swirled around in the air to gaze down menacingly all over the arena, much to the visible terror of the audience.

Even Kagura had to stop momentarily to assess the dangerous spirit that had been summoned.

"Check it out! What kind of creepy snake spirit is that?!" Happy exclaimed.

"It's huge!" Natsu practically screamed.

"She said Snake Charmer, but that looks like an actual snake!" Gray said in the same tone as Natsu.

"Whatever it is, it's scary!" Wendy was more than a little nervous.

"Dante, do you feel that?" Erza asked him.

"Yeah… I don't think that's a friendly spirit." Dante could indeed feel the malevolent intent from that creature.

"It does exist…"

---

"…Ophiuchus!" Sorano said at the same time as Lucy while the rest of Crime Sorciere looked in absolute shock, seeing the dark clouds blanket not only the arena, but most of the city.

---

"Holy shit…!" Lady exclaimed as the rest of observing Fairy Tail looked in either fear or seriousness.

"What kind of spirit is that?!" Lisanna exclaimed as well.

"A real nasty looking one." Gildarts commented seriously.

"The thirteenth Zodiac spirit… it is real." Makarov said in the same tone.

"Are we sure that's even a spirit…?" Trish asked. "The presence that thing is giving off… it feels almost demonic."

"I feel it to." Modeus added. 'A mixture of demonic energy and Celestial Magic… like the Infinity Clock only… different. Not as powerful… but certainly dangerous.'

Mavis cast a nervous glance towards Sparda, who looked a bit uneasy at seeing this particular spirit.

Somehow, nobody seemed to notice Patty's expression as she gazed at the terrifying snake-like spirit. Her expression wasn't of fear, but wonder and even awe. She couldn't stop herself from staring at Ophiuchus, almost like she was caught in a hypnotic trance. Ophiuchus itself briefly gazed upon the girl in question before turning its attention toward it's tended prey of Kagura.

'A thirteenth Zodiac gate.' Arcadios grinned. 'This girl is a rare gem indeed.'

'This doesn't bode well.' Darton looked in a mixture of nervousness and seriousness. 'Two Celestial Wizards and all twelve Zodiac Keys, as well as this thirteenth one…'

'Ophiuchus the Snake Charmer.' Kurenai thought to herself. 'I never imagined I'd see her again, much less in the hands of Sabertooth of all guilds. But… against Kagura…'

Kagura herself looked with a serious expression as she faced Ophiuchus, her hand ready to draw her katana at a moment's notice. Ophiuchus launched itself at Kagura, it's jaw open wide and it's fangs dripping with a corrosive like substance that burnt the ground upon contact.

"Blood Sword: Archenemy…!"

For a brief instance, Kagura's sheathed sword glowed a dark red.

Dante, Erza, Nero, Mira, Modeus, Lady, Trish, even Sparda and Mavis all for a brief instance, felt a surge of demonic power. Vergil felt this as well, his eyes narrowing.

Kagura had appeared past Ophiuchus' head, the spirit's attack missing as she finished her attack. "…Sheathed Longsword Technique!"

Suddenly, Ophiuchus' entire body was sliced and diced in four ways. The massive snake-like spirit was destroyed in but an instant, much to the surprise of everyone that was watching; particularly Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, and Crime Sorciere.

But none were more shocked than Yukino. Ophiuchus was her strongest spirit! The most powerful of all the Zodiacs! And Kagura defeated her in a matter of seconds!

"What?!" Rogue exclaimed as Frosch, and Lector looked in absolute shock.

"How did she do that?!" Sting questioned.

'That sword of hers… I knew it.' Vergil already knew this match was over. In fact, it was over the moment Yukino stepped into the ring.

"…But she didn't even draw her sword." Erza's eyes wavered as even Dante's mouth opened slightly in surprise.

Milliana smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It felt strangely sinister. "Kagura wouldn't unsheathe her sword to win a silly game like this. Only one deserves that."

Kagura was already in front of the still-shocked Yukino, ready to end this match here and now.

'No…! She's… too strong…!'

"Your bet was ill-considered." Kagura declared before dashing past her, her sheathed sword moving past her. The moment the attack struck, Yukino felt all her breath and physical strength leave her body before she fell flat on the ground, Kagura standing past and over her in victory. "Sometimes a mermaid feasts on a tiger."

The entire arena became deathly silent. Nobody could believe what they just saw, especially those in Sabertooth (though Vergil seemed unsurprised) or even Fairy Tail. The commentators were almost blown back by the shock itself, Jason flat on his back while Chapati's topee was blown off his bald head. Sabertooth couldn't believe the fact that one of their own actually lost a fight; those that were the most surprised were Sting, Rogue, Frosch, and Lector, the red-furred Exceed even had a single tear in his eye as he stared on.

"H-how… how did she…" Lisanna stuttered.

"She didn't even pull her sword out…" Lady muttered.

"Master… that weapon of hers…" Modeus spoke to Sparda.

"I know… it's a Devil Arm." The spirit of the Dark Knight confirmed, much to the surprise of everyone around them.

"A Devil Arm?!" Carla exclaimed.

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Trish questioned.

"Like all those demon weapons that Dante, Nero, and Vergil all have?!" Happy questioned in shock.

"Indeed." Sparda nodded. He glanced towards Kurenai, who had a very serious expression on her face.

"…It looks like, that's the match folks!" Chapati declared, the tone in his voice indicating he was just as shocked as the audience. "And the winner is Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi!" As she walked away, the audience went into an uproar at the amazing and spectacular fight they had just witnessed.

"I wasn't worried for a second." Milliana said confidentially.

"Way to go!" Beth cheered.

"Bet they'll never underestimate her again." Risley nodded.

"I must admit that the Celestial Wizard was quite impressive." Arana granted. "She would have done well against someone else."

"Kagura only had to use Archenemy once during that whole match." Lucia grinned. "There's a reason she's my top rival in our guild."

"This is crazy! Team Sabertooth wasn't able to score a single point on Day 2!" Chapati commentated.

"I'll bet their master's not happy about that." Yajima said.

"WOW!" Jason screamed. "That! Was! So freaking cool! I mean! Yeah!"

"I'm having a hard time figuring out what just happened down there." Gray said. "Was the Sabertooth girl too weak or the other two strong?"

"Definitely the later." Dante said. "She's also got a Devil Arm."

"Are you certain of that?" Erza asked.

"Absolutely." Dante confirmed seriously.

"Yeah. That thing felt a lot like Vergil's sword." Natsu said in the same sort of tone.

"Yamato…" Wendy shook at the thought of that.

Lucy looked incredibly serious as well, not just at the fact that Kagura wielded a Devil Arm. She was also concerned for the fact that Yukino, Sorano's own sister, wielded the other two Zodiac Keys, as well as this thirteenth key.

---

"Yukino…" Sorano put a hand over her mouth as she gazed at the image of her fallen sister. Sheeree put a comforting hand on her shoulder, which she reciprocated by placing her free hand on hers in response.

"Sorano… I know this is difficult, but… let's think about the situation for a moment." Ultear got her attention. "All twelve Zodiac keys are in the same place, not to mention this thirteenth key. And you remember what Jellal said about those people who tried to abduct Lucy?"

"He said they could have targeted her for her keys, or because of them." Meredy recalled.

"Exactly." Ultear confirmed. "Which means…"

"Yukino could be a target too!" Sorano's eyes widened in realization. "Well… what can we do about that?"

"We can't exactly protect her, at least not directly, as we are wanted criminals." Ultear said.

"Why don't we talk with Fairy Tail tonight? Maybe they can do something." Sheeree proposed.

"Good idea." Ultear nodded while Sorano turned her attention back to her sister, feeling even more worried for her now.

---

As Kagura walked away, Yukino continued to lay on the ground, tears in her eyes as she processed her loss.

"I've been… defeated… I've let Sabertooth down…!"

"How awful…!" Frosch was in tears.

Lector looked in surprise to see Sting's clenched fist crack the stone pedestal in front of him. "Calm down, buddy!" But Sting was anything but calm. Someone from his own team lost and brought shame to the number one guild. That was unacceptable.

"Even Ophiuchus… her trump card… it was defeated…" Rogue couldn't believe it.

"She revealed her greatest asset too early." Vergil said. "Yukino attempted to overwhelm her opponent throughout the match and nothing more. There was no tactical approach or any kind strategy. That, and Kagura was simply too much for her."

"The master will not be pleased with her." Rufus commented.

"Yesh, I feel sorry for what's about to come next." Orga winced.

Right before Kagura exited the arena, she stopped to address her fallen opponent briefly. "One last thing… As per our bet, your life is in my hands. Understood?"

"…Yes ma'am…" The sobbing Yukino shook. "…I understand…completely…"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this wraps up Day 2 of today's Grand Magic Games!" Chapati began to tally the scores. "With a total of thirty-four points, the team currently in first place is Raven Tail! After dominating today's events, Mermaid Heel has rocketed into second place with a total of twenty-three points! And after suffering a total shut out on Day 2, Sabertooth has now fallen to third place with twenty points. In a surprising turn of events, Fairy Tail Team B as well as Blue Pegasus now share the fourth place spot with seventeen points! In sixth place, Lamia Scale now has fifteen points. Fairy Tail Team A also seems to be climbing up the score, now having a total of twelve points! And in dead last, with a total of ten points, is Quatro… Puppy." Chapatti snickered at that last part.

"No!" Rocker exclaimed as he and most his teammates comically turned pale white. "You gotta be joking! Hey, man! Please tell me they're just fooling around!" He cried to Bacchus. "We're not really called Quatro Puppy now, are we?"

"The two of us made a man-to-man agreement in there, so yeah." Bacchus confirmed, his arms wrapped up in bandages.

"Speaking of…" Wally put a firm hand on his guildmate's shoulder. "You and I are gonna have a not-so-dandy talk about your end of that bet."

"We've climbed up the ranks." Makarov said with a proud grin.

"Yep! We're not in dead last anymore!" Gildarts stated. "So let's keep the ball rolling and go all the way to the top spot!"

"Who knows what exciting battles await us on Day 3? We'll see you then folks!" Chapati signed off, signaling the audience and participating guilds to begin leaving the arena.

"That was a splendid magic game!" Toma laughed excitedly like a child.

---

Meanwhile, Arcadios walked through the hallways of the arena with an ambitious grin on his face. 'Not only is there a second Celestial Wizard here, but all twelve Zodiac keys are present together! We even have that thirteenth one! Not only is the project's success practically assured, but we may also even be able to do it without sacrificing a single life!'

From behind, Darton observed the colonel with a serious expression. 'Under the circumstances, I have no choice but to take drastic measures.'

---

"What's wrong?" Trish asked Mystogen. Even if she couldn't see his face, she felt that something was off.

"The second day has come to an end, yet I have not sensed the strange magic power we've sensed in years past." Jellal replied.

"But based on what you said, we might actually have an idea of who could be a target." Trish said.

"Perhaps…" Mystogen then walked to Fairy Tail's master. "Gildarts, let's arrange a meeting tonight."

"You got it." He nodded seriously.

---

"As Day 2 of the Grand Magic Games came to a close, only five remained… until that fateful day."

---

Later that night, Gildarts and Erza met with Jellal and Ultear underneath a bridge near the canal to discuss what they learned today.

"You haven't sensed anything today?" Erza asked.

"No, not today." Jellal confirmed.

"But you did pick it up yesterday, right?" Gildarts recalled.

"It was faint and brief, but yes." Jellal replied.

"Though we couldn't sense the energy itself, thanks to you we may have more information, notably potential targets." Ultear said.

"Lucy or her Zodiac Keys, but now you suspect that Yukino-girl from Sabertooth may be one as well?" Erza asked.

"Sorano seems to think so." Jellal said. "Because of this, all twelve Zodiac keys are present in this city, as well as that thirteenth one."

"So you're thinking it could involve Celestial Wizards, like that whole mess with the Infinity Clock?" Gildarts asked.

"Possibly, and thanks to that whole incident, the number of Celestial Wizards in this country has been greatly reduced." Ultear said. "Which could make Lucy and Yukino 'rare specimens' if you want to put it like that."

"We'll watch over Lucy; the real question is Yukino." Erza stated. "I imagine that Sorano would be quite eager to protect her."

"We can only watch her from a distance, however." Jellal responded. "Our current status as criminals makes it all but impossible to get close to her, especially with her being in the same guild as Vergil."

"Aside from that, we still don't know what exactly it is we're dealing with." Ultear added. "We don't even know if the source of this power is from a person using Zeref's magic or a device of his making, so we honestly haven't made that much progress."

"Think the culprit might know we're onto them?" Gildarts asked. "Since that kidnapping ended up being a bust, maybe they're calling it quits?"

"Or they're being more cautious." Jellal said. "I doubt they'd give up so soon after one attempt."

"We still don't know what exactly they'd want Lucy for." Erza added. "What do you propose we do, then?"

"Continue as we are." Jellal said. "Perhaps it'll tempt the perpetrator into making another move."

Gildarts gave an annoyed sigh. "I hate it when things get complicated, but if you think that's our best option, then that's what we'll do."

"Thank you again for all your help. We really appreciate it." Ultear nodded with a smile.

"Of course." Erza nodded. "We should get going."

"Take care, Erza." Jellal smiled as he put his Mystogen hood and mask on before walking away just as Ultear used her magic to vanish from sight, leaving Erza and Gildarts to walk away.

As they walked down the streets, Gildarts noticed a happy expression on Erza's face. "Someone looks happy, and I doubt it's because of how well the team did today."

"It's just… it was nice, to talk with him like this again." She replied, pulling down on her hair slightly.

"Awe, little Erza's all grown up and got herself a boyfriend. That's adorable." Gildarts teased as he nudged her arm, causing her to chuckle.

"Hey, Erza!"

They turned down an intersection to see the familiar duo of Sho and Milliana approaching them, the latter running to the red-haired wizard.

"Milliana. Sho." Erza's smile only grew as she saw her friends with the cat-girl leaping at Erza with a hug, which she didn't hesitate to return.

"Great job in the games today. Bet you'll be racking up the points tomorrow." Sho said with a smile.

"What are you two doing here?" Erza asked as she let go of Milliana.

"Thought we'd all spend the night together and hang out." She answered. "Wally said he'd catch up with us after he settles something real quick, so we'll meet him later."

"What do you say, Sis? Feel like catching up a little bit?" Sho offered.

"I'd love to." Erza accepted with a warm heart.

"Alright, but you kids don't stay up to late and don't get into any trouble." Gildarts teased before ruffling Sho's head. "I know how it is with guys, all alone with two beautiful women, just don't get any funny ideas, huh?"

Sho's face turned red as steam poured out from the top of his head like a locomotive. "I… I wasn't going to… That's not…!"

"Hey, stop teasing Sho, you big jerk!" Milliana comically swiped her hands at Gildarts, who playfully batted them away with a laugh.

"Don't worry about him, he just likes to tease." Erza assured as she pulled her friends back. "Tell Natsu and the others I'll return to the inn soon."

"I will, enjoy your night." Gildarts waved off as he walked away, leaving Erza to catch up with her old friends.

---

Bar Sun

While most of those in Fairy Tail were passed out or sleeping from their night of celebration, the few that were awake were surprised to see Wally and Bacchus in the bar with them, and even more so with Bacchus bowing his head to Mirajane and Lisanna.

"I'm sorry I made that bet involving you two young ladies." Bacchus began. "It was innapropiate and wrong to do so without your consent and I promise it won't happen again." He then looked towards Wally. "What do you think man? How was that apology?"

"It was okay, I guess." Wally shrugged with a smirk.

"And for the record, I wasn't planning on doing something bad or anything." Bacchus said to the Strauss sisters. "Just hanging out and getting a beer or two."

"I don't drink, and my sister is underage." Mira said with a hard glare.

"Well, I mostly said it the way I did cause I was trying to rile your bro up, ya know, get his blood pumping and a good fight in. It was all in good fun." Bacchus said.

"We didn't think it was fun." Lisanna said in the same tone as her older sister with crossed arms. "Oh, and for the record, I'm seeing someone right now."

"Really? So, who's the lucky guy?"

Bacchus' answer came in the form of a flaming fist to the right side of his face that sent him crashing into the bar.

"That be him." Lisanna pointed toward Natsu with a smile, the Salamander holding his smoking fist out as he glared at Bacchus. He heard in detail about the bet he made with Elfman regarding Lisanna and Mira, and he did not approve.

"Huh, never imagined he'd be the type of guy." Lady noted, sitting at a table with Dante, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla.

"He may be an idiot, but Natsu's loyal to the people he cares about." Gray said.

"A lot of ladies would actually go for something like that, right?" Dante cast a knowing glance towards Lucy, who simply smiled in Natsu's direction.

"Yeah… I kinda deserved that." Bacchus picked himself up. "But seriously, your bro, Elfman? That guy's a real man and I hope he makes a speedy recovery. That was a seriously wild battle, tell em I hope we get the chance to lock horns again at some point again, during the tournament."

That actually did earn a smile from Lisanna and Mira. "Sure, we'll be sure to let him know." Mira assured.

"Not if I get the chance to kick your ass first." Dante said with a challenging grin.

"Get in line, bro." Natsu smirked.

"Now you're talking! Natsu smacking around with Bacchus is a fight I wanna see!" Happy smiled.

"Hey, what about me?" Dante joked.

"I actually wanna see you take on that Kagura lady!" The blue Exceed stated.

"Now that I'd actually want to see." Lady said.

"Alright, we'll be heading out." Wally and Bacchus were at the door. "What are we, folks?"

"Wild!" Dante, Bacchus, Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Wendy all shouted while Lisanna, Lucy, and Mira simply smiled.

"Such a noisy crowd." Carla shook her head as she saw the pair from Quatro Puppy leave.

Lisanna happened to glance towards Lucy and noticed an odd look in her eyes. "Hey Lucy, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Lucy's smile faded. "Yukino… She bet her life on that fight. I know she said it wasn't a duel to the death but still… that's really extreme."

"Not to mention what kind of people are in that guild of hers." Dante added. "Those wannabe Dragon Slayers saying how they killed their own dragons even seemed proud of it." That earned a growl from Natsu. "And we all know how Vergil is. Something tells me the Sabertooth guild isn't all sunshine and rainbows like ours."

"If that's the case, I wonder how they're handling the fact that she lost that fight." Lady added.

"Yeah… that is kind of distressing." Wendy said.

"There isn't anything we can do about it." Carla put her two cents in. "Regardless of whether we approve or not, how the Sabertooth guild operates is up to them."

"The only people you should be worrying about right now is our team." Gray said in agreement.

"What do you mean, man? We still got three more days to go." Natsu said. "We're just getting started."

"They're right, Lucy." Mira added. "You should focus more on how your team does. After all, we're ahead of you right now."

"Not for long." Lucy replied, her spirit back up. "We'll be taking first place this time around! Count on it!"

"Here, here." Dante raised his mug.

"Hey!" Everyone turned their attention towards the door as Wally got their attention. "Uh… you folks got some visitors." He stepped away to reveal Lyon and Sherria, much to their surprise.

Gray's face comically paled at the sight of his rival, having a good idea of why he was here.

"Lyon? And… ain't that Sherry's cousin?" Natsu asked in confusion.

"It's Sherria." Wendy remembered. "That is her name, right?"

"Why are they here?" Lady asked.

Lisanna gave a wincing smile. "I've got a real bad feeling about this."

---

Meanwhile, at the hotel where Mermaid Heel was currently staying, most of the team that was present seemed to be in high spirits over their victory.

"We took today by storm, ladies! Let's keep it going!" Risley grinned.

"Alright!" Beth cheered.

"Maybe this year, we'll finally be the number one guild. That would be great." Arana smiled.

"Let's not get too confident." Lucia said in a serious tone, but she maintained her smile. "We have three whole days, and I imagine some of our competitors haven't even unveiled their strongest members yet."

"Well, when they see our Lucia in a fight, they'll think twice." Risley maintained her confident expression. "They already saw what our Kagura can do." She looked towards Kagura, who sat in her own chair with her usual serious expression and eyes closed.

"Yes, they did, which means they'll be taking you seriously from this point forward." Kurenai walked forward. "We did well today, but it's only going to get harder from this point forward. Don't let your guard down, my daughters."

"You got it Mama." Beth assured.

"Si, we'll take these next few days very seriously." Arana added.

"Good. On that note… Kagura." Kurenai got her attention. "May I speak to you for a moment? Outside?"

"As you wish." She stepped up and followed her guildmaster outside on the balcony where they could speak privately.

"First off all, you were incredible out there." Kurenai began, speaking to Kagura sincerely with a proud smile. "I'm really proud of you. However…"

"You disapprove of the bet that was made." Kagura already knew, which caused Kurenai's smile to fade and silently confirm it. "I did not make that bet, I even suggested that we compete without gambling."

"Yet you still chose to accept it." Kurenai told her seriously. "And since you won, that young woman's life is now entirely in your hands. I trust you understand the enormous responsibility that comes with that, don't you?"

"I understand completely. I already understood that when I accepted the wager." Kagura confirmed.

"And if you had lost?" Kurenai asked seriously, her eyebrow raised.

Kagura said nothing at first before she gave her response. "Then my life would be in her hands, but that is not the case now. The battle is over, Yukino Agira's life is indeed in my hands, and I accept the full responsibility that comes with it. Is there anything else?"

Kurenai saw the look in her eyes that said that Kagura did indeed understand the responsibility she now bore and was taking it very seriously. "No, that is all. Get some rest. And good job out there. I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you, Mother." Kagura nodded before turning around and walking away, leaving Kurenai alone on the balcony for a moment.

"Children." She turned around to see the spirit of someone very familiar appear before her. "They tend to drive us crazy, yet we still do everything we can to protect and guide them. Isn't that right?" He smiled toward her. "Hello Kurenai."

An emotional look glassed her face as her eyes became wet and a smile crept up her face. "Hello… Sparda…" She greeted, her voice shaking with joy.

---

Meanwhile, at Crocus Gardens, the inn where Sabertooth was residing, the entirety of the guild had gathered before their master, all of them standing up straight like soldiers in an army, even Vergil at the forefront was in the same position.

Their master was a rather large and muscular man with long and sharp white hair, sideburns, and a beard, his eyes were pure white showing little-to-no sign of emotion other than a powerful ferocity. He wore a short, mildly loose, dark kimono, secured around his waist by a light sash, the left side of his attire was causally hanging off to showcase his well-built body. He also wore a necklace of massive dark red prayer beads over his large neck. He also wore a black spiked crown on his head, with the guild's emblem on his forehead.

"Your performance today was utterly pathetic, you miserable wretches." Master Jiemma Orland scolded as he sat on the long chair in front of his subordinates. "Don't tell me you've forgotten why we stand above the other wizard guilds in this competition. We don't look at the insects around us, we don't talk to them, we crush them underneath our feet! We're focused on something much greater than this tournament: we aim to stun the heavens, to rouse the land beneath us, and silence the raging seas! For you see, that is the Sabertooth way! Sting."

"Yes, sir?" The White Dragon Slayer stepped forward.

"I've decided to give you one more chance to redeem yourself." Jiemma told him. "I don't ever want to see such a pitiful display from you again."

Sting nodded. "Thank you, Master Jiemma. I'll do my best to live up to your expectations."

Jiemma then flashed his vicious eyes on a certain young woman. "Yukino."

"Yes, sir." She stepped up as Sting walked back to join the others.

"There's no excuse for what happened in your match." He told her. "Do you realize what you have done?"

"Yes, sir." Yukino bowed her head apologetically. "Please forgive me. I lost to an opponent from a lesser guild. I brought shame to Sabertooth. I've tarnished our good name…" She was silenced when Jiemma threw a patch of grapes at her, staining her hair and part of her face with its sticky juice. She didn't dare to wipe it off, less incur his wrath.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Jiemma scolded. "You chose to bet your life on the battle, and you lost! Even worse, you let your enemy show mercy on you and our guild, tournament rules be damned! You are an embarrassment to Sabertooth!"

"Yes. I'm fully prepared to accept any punishment that you feel is appropriate, sir." Yukino said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Good girl. Then you will throw it all away." The master of Sabertooth ordered.

"Y-yes sir… if that is what you wish…" Yukino's voice cracked, knowing what was next. She discarded her robe first before proceeding to take off the rest of her clothes. While most of Sabertooth said and did nothing, Rogue looked away with a grimace.

"Poor Yukino…" Frosch hated seeing her like this.

"This isn't the time for talking, Frosch." Lector told him, but both Exceeds, and everyone else were surprised to see a certain someone step forward, despite not being called up.

Yukino had taken off her shirt, exposing her bra, but had yet to discard her lower clothing, and was taken by surprise to find a black jacket draped over her shoulders to cover her.

"That is quite enough." Vergil said, facing Jiemma directly.

"I didn't call for you, Vergil." Jiemma eyed him dangerously.

"I don't need your permission to state my opinion." The eldest Son of Sparda eyed him back.

"Are they at it again?" Orga asked quietly.

"The only one who dares talk back to the Master…" Rufus muttered. "I swear… there will be bloodshed between them one of these days."

"While you may be my strongest subordinate, you are still just a subordinate, and I am the master." Jiemma said to Vergil. "You don't decide whom I accept or expel from my guild."

"No, I do not." Vergil granted. "But have it be a clean and swift act, don't drag out the pain for the sake of your unnecessary cruelty or any kind of pleasure from it."

The two were locked in visual combat, neither of them moving so much as an inch. It almost felt like a powder keg, ready to go off at even the slightest spark. After a tense few seconds, Jiemma spoke.

"Fine. Have the lamb keep her fur. But she doesn't deserve to bare our emblem." Jiemma stated. "Erase it, Yukino!"

"…Yes… sir…" She reached into the jacket that covered her, placed her hand on the Sabertooth guild emblem that was on the left side of her waist, and used her magic to erase it from her body. Doing so felt like a jab to the heart as tears formed in her eyes. "I haven't been here very long…. But thank you… for all you've done for me."

"I don't need your gratitude. Out of my sight!" Jiemma ordered.

As she turned around, Vergil addressed her. "Get yourself cleaned up and gather your belongings. You were a fine addition to the guild, despite his words."

Yukino stopped briefly to glance at him with teary eyes and a grateful smile. "Thank you…"

Done.

Here is the current placing for the tournament now that Day 2 has come to an end…

*First Place – Raven Tail – 34 points

*Second Place – Mermaid Heel – 23 points

*Third Place – Sabertooth – 20 points

*Fourth Place – Fairy Tail B/Blue Pegasus – 17 points each

*Sixth Place – Lamia Scale – 15 points

*Seventh Place – Fairy Tail A – 12 points

*Eight Place – Quatro Puppy – 10 points.

Yeah, most of what happened in canon happened here as well. We still had Mira's battle against Jenny, and Yukino's against Kagura.

I kept Mira and Jenny's 'battle' the same because it was some nice humor with plenty of fun moments to lighten things up a bit. Besides, with a Casanova like Dante part of this story, there was no way I was going to skip it (LOL).

And there is a legit reason why Jenny lost so easily, despite being considered a rival for Mira. She donned a transformation that was supposed to be more sexy and less powerful, assuming it was part of the beauty contest; while Mira changed it to an actual battle and went with her strongest current form, attacking and defeating Jenny without giving her a chance to counter. I promise that Jenny will get her time to shine as well as showcase what she can really do.

Kagura and Yukino's battle didn't need any major changes to it, though I will say that we will be seeing more of Ophiuchus and learning about her origin here, as opposed to only seeing her just this one time in the series (the comedy filler arc doesn't count) and I've got big plans for her. Yes, Ophiuchus is female in my series. You can tell it's serious when Sparda himself is quite concerned.

Oh, and one other surprise… Kagura's sword, Archenemy… is a Devil Arm! Didn't see that coming, did ya? There lies a story and I promise that it will be a dangerous weapon, especially when it's finally drawn.

Fairy Tail is also getting closer to the mystery surrounding the Grand Magic Games as Carla has told them all of her vision this time around.

As per canon, Yukino has been expelled from Sabertooth because of her loss; but before she underwent that horrible humiliation, Vergil stepped in to at least provide some decency. Despite any villainous qualities he may have, he still has a code of honor and is not unnecessarily cruel; always the type to prefer a quick and clean end, as opposed to just dragging it out for the sake of cruelty or amusement. But she is still expelled, and it is just as emotionally devastating for Yukino, poor girl.

What's going to happen next? And how will another Son of Sparda react when he finds out about this? Expect tensions to rise even higher between Fairy Tail and Sabertooth in the next chapter.

Until then, stay healthy and stay happy out there.

Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it)!