Hi everyone. Last we left off, Fairy Tail decided to enter the Grand Magic Games and have begun their three months of training to prepare for the tournament to come. I know I've said this before, but I am skipping the whole Celestial World party thing. It seemed so pointless, especially considering that one day there equals three months on Earth, it seemed little more than plot convince to introduce the Second Origin. Rest assured, I do plan to address Second Origin, but here the guild will have their own three months to train which starts here, with some small slice of life and heartwarming moments, a bit of lightheartedness before we get into all the action, drama, and tension during the Games. With all that being said, let's begin.
Grinding Down, Leveling Up
The day was absolutely perfect. The sky was clear, the nice warm sun beaming down, the gentle breeze of the wind and the sound of the ocean waves on the soft white sand. It seemed almost like paradise as Patty leaned back on a lawn chair in her own swimsuit and sunglasses with Happy on a smaller chair next to her, also wearing a bathing suit and sunglasses of his own.
"Ah, this is paradise right here." Patty said, feeling very relaxed.
"Aye." Happy agreed in a similar laidback tone.
"Listen, we're here to train. This is not a vacation." Carla told them as she walked up, wearing her own swimsuit with goggles and scuba gear.
"Then why are you dressed for a vacation?" Patty asked.
"While we do appreciate your company Patty, you are not technically a member of Fairy Tail. So why are you here?" Carla questioned.
"I may not be part of the guild, but when you guys said that you were coming to the beach to train, how could I pass it up?" Patty replied as she leaned further back in her chair. "While you guys all break a sweat, I'm gonna soak up as much of this relaxing paradise as I can."
However, that relaxation came to an end as she heard the sound that was similar to a stampede right behind her, and then gave a sudden scream as two certain idiots dashed past her, flipping her and the chair over and into a pile of sand.
"THE OCEAN!" Natsu cheered.
"LAST ONE THERE'S A ROTTEN EGG!" Gray also cheered.
"SWIMMING CONTEST!" Both swam in the ocean as hard as they could. "SANDCASTLE CONTEST!" They made all kinds of sandcastles all over the beach. "EATING CONTEST!" They practically inhaled all kinds of food from a nearby restaurant. "SUNTAN CONTEST!" They laid down on towels to try and get a tan, and somehow their skin was already a rich caramel brown.
Juvia, meanwhile, hid behind a tree and watched the two. 'My beloved Gray looks so handsome with a tan.'
Patty pulled herself out of the sand pile with a groan of defeat. "So much for paradise."
"What do you expect when you share any kind of space with those two morons?" Dante walked up, wearing a pair of red trunks. "But don't worry, cause a certain queen is gonna set them straight in three… two… one."
"Everyone, listen up!"
Upon hearing Erza's demanding order, everyone who came to the beach, consisting of Dante, Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lady, Trish, Lucy, Lisanna, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, and Romeo had gathered at attention to face Erza as Modeus. All of them were wearing their respective attire for the beach, mostly consisting of bathing suits.
"We have three months to train before we leave for the Grand Magic Games." Erza began. "That is a total of ninety days. That being said, Modeus and I have devised a schedule that should be most effective for us."
"We'll spend three days training starting today, and then we'll take two days to rest to recover before repeating." Modeus explained. "If we take this seriously and follow the plan, we'll be in sufficient shape and better prepared for the Games. For the most part, how each of you train is up to you, but we may be devising activities or methods depending on how this goes."
"Alright, that sounds like a plan." Lucy nodded.
"Then let's get started." Dante stated.
"I wonder how everyone else is doing." Lisanna said.
Meanwhile, the rest of Fairy Tail had decided to split off into groups of their own to start their own training for the Grand Magic Games, though they seemed to pick less tropical locations. For instance, the group consisting of Laxus, the Thunder Legion, along with Mirajane and Elfman appeared on an empty field that had a few ruins scattered around it.
"Hmm, this will do nicely." Freed observed. "There are no bystanders or settlements within a few miles, so we do not have to worry about collateral damage."
"Which means we can go all out." Bickslow grinned. "Right babies?"
"Hell yeah!" The dolls sang.
"Alright! Time to get this manly training started!" Elfman shouted.
Evergreen rolled her eyes. "If I manage to survive three months with you and all your real man bullshit, I don't think I'll need any further training for the rest of my life"
"So, you really wanna spar with me, huh?" Laxus asked Mira as they faced each other.
"Yep. It makes sense given we're both S-Class wizards." She pointed out. "Gildarts was even nice enough to have your rank restored when you were reinstated. Facing strong opponents is a sure fire way to get stronger."
"Can't go wrong there." Laxus seemed to follow her logic as he discarded his jacket and began to generate a powerful aura of his lightning magic. "Fair warning, I'm not gonna hold back."
In response, Mira transformed into her She-Devil Take Over and grinned almost malevolently. "I won't either."
Cana groaned in exhaustion as she followed Gildarts and Makarov to the top of a small mountain before collapsing to her knees.
"Damn… I really need a drink."
"Sorry, but for the next three weeks Cana, you're not gonna take even a single sip of alcohol." Makarov told her.
"Hey, you can't make that call anymore! You're retired, remember?!" She comically exclaimed to the former guildmaster with an anger mark on her forehead.
"It was actually my idea, Cana." Gildarts told her with a grin, causing her to turn to him with that very same glare. "But seriously, we need you totally sober if you're gonna master Fairy Glitter."
That took Cana by surprise. "You're serious…?"
"I may indeed be retired, but I know more about the three Grand Fairy Spells than anyone else in the guild." Makarov said. "Our first master deemed you worthy of carrying such a heavy honor, thus it is my responsibility to teach you in mastering it."
"And I'm also pretty good when it comes to holding back such powerful magic." Gildarts added. "So I can help in teaching you some restraint with it." Suddenly, he appeared behind Cana and pinched her cheeks. "That, and I get to spend three months with my baby girl." He comically gushed.
"Hey! No! Get off me, will ya?!" Cana tried to push him off, but he wouldn't budge, and Makarov couldn't help but chuckle.
The group consisting of Nero, Gajeel, Kyrie, Panther-Lily, and Team Shadowgear were traveling toward their own destination through a forested trail as well, but the group had to slow down, and even stop to allow the overweight Droy to catch up.
"Guys… I can't… go on…" Droy moaned as he fell on the ground. "Serious… my legs feel like they're gonna fall off…"
"I told ya to go on a diet." Jet lectured him. "That's what you get for pigging out seven years."
"Easy for you to say! You burn off a million calories with your speed!" Droy exclaimed.
"Those guys are your teammates?" Nero questioned towards Levy, sounding unimpressed.
"They… aren't perfect." She admitted with some reluctance. "But they're there when I need them."
"Hey, where exactly are we going anyway?" Gajeel asked. "We've been walking for most of the day."
"Don't worry, we should be here by now." Levy said as she walked ahead slightly, just as Jet began to help Droy up. Levy pushed some of the foliage away, clearing a path for her friends and revealing their destination.
"And voila! Here we are! The Library of Sorcery!"
Upon seeing the huge tower, Nero and Kyrie's eyes widened and their mouths hung agape, while Jet and Droy's jaws just dropped even Lily looked in awe, while Gajeel just had a neutral expression.
"Oh my god…" Kyrie muttered in awe.
"That's a freaking library?! It's huge!" Nero exclaimed.
"Of course, it is!" Levy said excitedly, like a little kid having just gotten a Christmas present. "It has a record of every known magic ever discovered and created! This is practically the history of all magic! Isn't it amazing!?"
"Only you would get giddy over something as boring as a book." Gajeel joked, causing Levy to pout.
"Hey, don't insult Levy!" Droy got up in his face.
"Yeah, books are her thing, man! You should support her passion!" Jet also got up in Gajeel's face, but he simply looked away in annoyance.
"While this is certainly impressive, I don't quite understand how this place is supposed to help with our training." Panther-Lily said to Levy.
"Well, it's not really meant to help with our training specifically, but more meant to help Kyrie." She revealed, causing all eyes to travel to the aforementioned girl.
It didn't take long for her to figure it out. "You think there might be something on the Arc of Seraph here?"
"Like I said, the Library of Sorcery has a record of every known magic ever discovered, which should also include some Lost Magics." Levy explained as they walked toward the entrance. "If we're gonna find anything on the Arc of Seraph, it would be here."
"Good idea, but the thing is so damn big, I can't even see the top." Nero said, gazing upward. "How the hell are you gonna find anything in here?"
"A needle in a haystack, it would seem." Lily noted.
"Yeah, a haystack the size of a mountain." Gajeel added.
"Don't worry, I've already got an idea of where to look." Levy revealed as she applied some magic to the door to open it. "When Erza, Wendy and the others were looking for the piece of the Infinity Clock here, they found it hidden in the area with some of the more ancient spells, that at least gives us a place to start."
"So, you already have it narrowed down." Kyrie smiled, but it faded slightly as she and Levy stepped inside to see all the vast amount of books and texts everywhere. "Even so, it's still a lot to go through."
"That's why I brought these." Levy produced several glasses, handing a pair to Kyrie. "Gale-Force Reading Glasses. These allow people to read books and process all the information much faster than normal, and these are some of the high quality pair that can let the user read thirty-two times the normal speed. I even lent a pair to Wendy for her to study the spells Porlyusica had given her."
Kyrie held one of the magical pairs of glasses in her hand with a wide smile. "Amazing! Samuel had a pair just like these…!"
"Levy's amazing, isn't she?" Droy praised.
"Yeah, with her help, you'll find the magic you're looking for in no time!" Jet praised as well.
Gajeel rolled his eyes and began to walk back outside. "Well, while you nerds do some reading, me and the kid here are gonna get some actual training in." He said with Panther-Lily following him.
"Yeah… sorry but reading's not my thing. No offense, Kyrie." Nero told his girlfriend.
"None taken. Don't worry, I know you have your own way of doing things." She assured. "Go ahead."
"Thanks." Nero smiled and nodded before heading outside as well.
"Ya know, you're really lucky to have someone like him." Levy said to Kyrie. "Someone so strong, and yet so caring and understanding. I can tell you two got a strong bond."
Kyrie smiled warmly with a blush on her cheeks. "And that makes me all the more eager to learn more about my magic. That way, I won't always need rescuing, and I can help him when he needs me."
"Well then, let's not waste any more time." Levy said with a determined grin.
Back outside, Gajeel and Nero stood in a small clearing just outside the tower with Panther-Lily hovering alongside them.
"So, you and I are gonna duke it out, huh?" Nero assumed.
"Got that right." Gajeel grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "You got a whole bunch of new Devil Arms, plus that fancy demonic power, right? Well, I'd say it's time to break them in."
Nero grinned back as he drew Red Queen. "You sure you can handle it? You don't seem all that tough."
"Don't underestimate the metal of an Iron Dragon, pal." Gajeel told him as his right arm converted into an Iron Dragon Sword. "You might just ground up into pieces."
"We have three months before the Games begin." Panther-Lily said as he transformed into his battle mode and drew Baskerville. "Let the training begin."
Each of them exchanged eager grins of their own as they leapt at one another, clashing all three of their respective blades together.
Meanwhile, back at the beach, Natsu had taken a swim out to the ocean and dove deep underwater. After taking a moment to focus, he unleashed a powerful fire breath attack straight upward, unleashing a column of his flames that had evaporated most of the water upon contact.
Happy continued to float nearby, monitoring his friend's progress. 'Whoa, Natsu's really incredible. I'm amazed he can still do his Fire Dragon Roar with all the water pressure down there.'
At the same time, Dante stood on a rocky ledge that hung over the water, fully transformed into his Dreadnaught state. He appeared to be focusing as much power as he could, trying to circulate it around his body, evident by the aura of demonic power that encircled him. After a moment, his Dreadnaught form vanished as he took a second to collect his breath.
'Still the same problem…' Dante thought to himself as he looked toward his own hand. 'My energy burns out too quickly… and that's only with my Dreadnaught. Since my Devil Trigger's evolved, I'd wager it's gonna have the same issue. I gotta find a way to regulate my power so it doesn't burn out on me in the middle of a fight.'
Once again, Dante stood straight and transformed into his Dreadnaught state again and tried to focus and regulate his power once more, just as another column of flame shot up from the ocean.
The bright glow of red energy and steam of fire could be seen at a distance by Gray, who only looked on with an impressed grin of his own.
"Better train, or those two will show me up." He said to himself before walking away to bet started on his own training.
At the same time, Lucy was undergoing her own training session. Much like her cousin, she was finding a way to regulate her own magic power. Currently, she sat in a meditative position as her Celestial Spirit, Capricorn, began instructing her.
"In order to strengthen your own power, you must first strengthen your mind. Thereby enhancing the vessel that holds your magic power" Capricorn began. "Feel the land, the wind, the air, focus on that sensation. You must control your breathing and try to become one with nature."
Lucy did as Capricorn instructed. Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus all her senses on the environment around her, trying to get a sensation of the magic around her as well as within herself. Capricorn turned to face her directly, seeing a whirlwind of pure magic power beginning to slowly manifest around her.
"There you go, Lady Lucy, that's it. Excellent work." Capricorn nodded. Lucy focused more and more, but the more she focused and the more the power grew, the more difficult it was to maintain. "Keep going. You need to release more magic power."
Eventually, it was too much, and she released her grip, causing the power to vanish before she fell backwards into the sand in exhaustion.
"That's tough…"
"This takes me back to times I spent with Lady Layla." Capricorn said. "I assisted with her training as well."
Lucy slowly began to set up. "Say, Capricorn? Dante's mom… Eva and my mom were sisters. Wouldn't that mean she was a Celestial Wizard? And if she was, wouldn't Dante also have that kind of power?"
"Lady Eva had the potential to be a Celestial Wizard, but her younger sister showed more talent." Capricorn explained. "So, she chose to step down, never really becoming a wizard herself. As for whether Dante has the ability, I would say it is unlikely. Even if he does have some inert potential, he seems to have taken more from his father, Sir Sparda. And the same would apply to Vergil as well, in case you were wondering."
At the mention of her eldest cousin, Lucy looked away slightly, but it did bring something that has been on her mind for some time.
"Hey, have you ever heard of primordial magic?" Lucy asked. "I mean, you were technically part of Grimoire Heart and that was their goal, to find and obtain it."
"The primordial magic is supposedly from which all other magic originates. The origin, or the One Magic, as some describe it." Capricorn answered. "I've heard of it even before Zoldeo had possessed my body."
"I remember Hades saying he wanted to get his hands on it." Lucy began. "He kept going on how Mundus himself was the source of all magic… like he was the god of everything or something…"
"Mundus is a deceiver." Capricorn told her. "It is unlikely he is the source of all magic because he wasn't the original ruler of the Underworld."
That caught Lucy's attention. "Wait… you're saying there was somebody before him?"
"Indeed. Upon the existence of the Underworld, the one who ruled over it was a being known as Tathamet." Capricorn answered. "I can't speak much of the being itself as I've never encountered it, only Sir Sparda would have known the details. But he was overthrown by Mundus who took control of the Underworld himself."
"So, he lied to Hades about the primordial magic? And about Zeref being his herald?" Lucy asked.
"He did." Capricorn confirmed. "Mundus is always playing his shadow games, trying to turn events of this world and the Underworld to serve his own dark purposes. Hades was not the first, several others have fallen into his schemes long before."
"I also remember… my mom telling me about the primordial magic when I was little…" Lucy said, looking down slightly. "I don't remember much from that… but I know she didn't say anything about Mundus, Zeref, or the Grand Magic World, in fact I don't think she ever said anything scary about it at all."
"What are you trying to say?" Capricorn asked. "I'm not sure I follow."
"It's… hard to put it into words… but I think she said something about magic being alive." Lucy began. "I'm pretty sure I'm just rambling right now, but… I think that instead of magic being darkness… I think it might be something that's not tangible… something that nobody would ever be able to get their hands on. From what I understand, it seems easy to get but it's actually hard to obtain. It's kinda contradictory because… I think that while it can be used for good, it can also be used for great evil… because of how we choose to use it. Sparda was a demon from the Underworld, a place that is supposedly evil by nature, but he chose to protect our world, fall in love with a human and even have children. So… I think that maybe… the source of magic is life. We're all alive, and we each have our own unique power… and we also have a choice upon how which use it. At least… that's how I think anyway."
Capricorn smiled. "I like the way you think, Lady Lucy."
Lucy smiled back. "If only Hades could have seen it that way. He used to be a part of Fairy Tail, too. Perhaps if things were different, and Mundus didn't get his hooks into him… maybe all that bloodshed could have been avoided. It might have been too late for Hades, but I don't think it's too late for Vergil. I may not have known what's been going on with him these past seven years, but I'm not giving up on him."
"Your mother, father, aunt, and uncle would all be very proud of you."
Meanwhile, everyone else was giving it their all for their own training.
Gray was focusing on his own Ice-Make magic, concentrating and producing rows and tendrils of ice-spikes from his hands. He focused on producing as much as he can, trying to increase the not only the potency and durability of his ice, but his own magical reserves.
Wendy used the Gale-Force glasses that Levy lent her to read through the spells Porlyusica had given her at rapid pace.
Romeo threw a hail of different colored fireballs a target he had set up, switching between different flame colors with each throw starting with purple, followed by blue, green, yellow, and so on.
Lisanna leapt through the palm trees in her She-Cat Take Over before quickly transforming to her Harpy Take Over to fly high in the sky and above the ocean, where she then transformed once again into her Mermaid Take Over, diving underwater where she swam at intense speeds. Her goal was to go through rapid transformations while also further strengthening them as to not become dependent on her Dragon Soul.
Juvia stood atop the ocean water, several cubes of water floating all around her as she concentrated, trying to strengthen her own natural talent for controlling water.
Erza stood atop a rocky ledge, practicing her swordsmanship with dual swords, while Modeus was nearby practicing similar techniques with Hunter's Moon.
Trish generated a massive column of white lightning around her before condensing it toward her hands, which she brought together to create a surging sphere of white lightning before throwing it out toward the ocean, which created a large electrical explosion. Since her lightning powers had grown from her battle against Gloria, her intent was to get used to this increase in power and find a way to properly harness it.
Lady sat in a meditative position, her skin coated in steel as a dark silver aura manifested around her; she was using everything Mira had taught her about focus and control of any negative feelings in order to better use her Devil Slayer Magic without the risk of losing herself to her own anger, so far it appeared to be working.
Natsu ran across the beach, several large weights tied behind him via rope. All-and-all, one could say he was carrying several tons as he ran as hard as he could with Happy trying to keep pace running beside him.
"Gotta get stronger…!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed back as the Salamander appeared to be pulling further ahead of Happy despite the enormous weight tied behind him.
"Stronger and stronger…!"
"Aye, Aye, sir!"
"Everybody who looks down on our guild is gonna regret it! Cause we're still number one!"
"AYE!"
"I'm gonna show those good for nothing jerks the power of Fairy Tail!
"Heck yeah…! You show em…!"
Dante watched Natsu speed past him, with Happy just barley trudging behind, holding Rebellion in his right hand and holding up a massive boulder over his head that was at least four times his own size with just his left hand.
"Power of Fairy Tail, huh? Yeah. Time to reclaim our spot." He threw the boulder up into the air, and just as it came down, he sliced with Rebellion, perfectly cleaving the boulder in half as both slid and crashed behind him.
As they all continued to train, Patty couldn't help but look at awe in their performance. "Wow… they're all really going at it, aren't they?"
"Fairy Tail never does anything half-baked." Carla told her, standing next to her. "Even if it is something small, they always give it their all. You have to applaud the effort they put into everything."
While Patty did agree with that, she couldn't help but look away slightly out of guilt.
Later that night
After a successful day of training, the group had returned to the beach house that they rented out for their three months of training. Lucy, Wendy, Lady, Trish, Lisanna, Carla, and Patty were in their bathrobes as they walked out along the courtyard, glancing up to see the stars that graced the night sky.
"Look, the stars are so pretty!" Lucy said with a smile.
"Yeah, not a bad sight." Lady agreed with a smirk.
"It really makes me wonder how everyone else is doing with their training?" Lisanna asked.
"Do you think they might be out there, looking to the same stars that we are right now?" Wendy asked as well.
"That certainly would be a nice thought." Trish commented.
It was indeed true. All the other training groups from Fairy Tail were also looking up at the bright starts that shined across the sky.
Laxus, Mira, Elfman, Evergreen, Bickslow, and Freed all sat down and looked up to the sky with Mira pointing at some of the constellations she saw.
Gildarts and Cana sat down to look upward while Makarov stood to gaze upward along with them. During this time, Cana leaned against her father's shoulder, looking toward him with a loving smile, to which he returned with a warm smile of his own.
At the Library of Sorcery, Kyrie and Levy gazed up from a balcony with books, scrolls, and manuscripts all around them; while down below, Nero, Gajeel, and Lily, all exhausted and covered in sweat and bruises looked straight up at the stars while lying flat on the ground with grins, while Jet and Droy just laid in a pile, covered in bumps with Xs for eyes.
"We can do it. I know we can." Lucy said, a strong feeling of hope forming in her chest.
However, while this did seem to bring the same kind of feeling to everyone around her, Patty felt the exact opposite as she looked away slightly. She then walked away from the group, with Wendy and Carla noticing, looking toward each other with concern before following her.
Lisanna gave a yawn. "Well… I'm gonna get some sleep."
"Ditto. We got lots more training to do." Lady agreed as she and Lisanna were the first to head back to their rooms.
"Yeah, I'm gonna hit the hay too." Trish was about to walk away, but Lucy gently touched her shoulder.
"Hold on a sec, Trish." Lucy reached into her robe and pulled out a sealed envelop. "I actually meant to give you this before we left, but I forgot. So, might was well give it now."
Trish took the envelop with curiosity. "What is it?"
"Since you're an artificial being and weren't naturally born, there really isn't a birth certificate for you, so I kinda wondered how your ID worked." Lucy explained as Trish opened the envelop. "I asked Dante and he said he let Morrison work it all out. So, I talked with him and had him make a small change."
Trish took out the contents of the envelop. It was all the forged papers of her identity that Morrison made for her, per Dante's request. Her birth certificate, social security, etc. The only difference was the name printed on them…
Trish Heartfilia
Her eyes widened so much that they were almost circular. Her mouth was agape as her hands shook, almost as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"You didn't really have a last name…" Lucy continued. "And back at the old mansion, you said you wanted to be considered a part of my family so… It's official now. I told you Trish Heartfilia had a nice ring to it. So, what do you think? Do you like it?"
Lucy was caught off guard as Trish wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in to a tight embrace.
"I love it…!" Trish said, already getting emotional as tears of joy flowed from her eyes. Lucy smiled as she returned the embrace. "Thank you… Thank you… Lucy…"
"We're family, Trish. Both as Heartfilias and members of Fairy Tail. And I love you." Lucy told her sincerely.
"I love you too…!"
Meanwhile, Patty stood outside the beach house all by herself, looking at the locket that contained a picture of her birth mother with a sad expression.
"Patty?" She gasped as she turned around to see Wendy and Carla walking out to join her. "What are you doing out here?"
"It's late, you should be inside and getting to bed, child." Carla told her.
"I… I'll be in soon I just… needed to be alone." Patty said, looking way.
Wendy walked up next to her and slowly reached out to hold Patty's hand. "Patty, what's wrong? You can tell me. We're friends, right?"
Patty stifled a sob before giving an answer. "I just.. Fairy Tail is so amazing. It's got so many wonderful people… you all go out on so many great adventures… you've even saved the world! But… more than anything… you all love each other. You're a big happy family. But… I just don't feel like I'm part of that."
Wendy gasped at that as even Carla was taken by surprise.
"I'm not a wizard… I don't have any magic powers…" Patty continued as tears were already forming in her eyes. "Yeah… I hang out at the guild hall but… seeing how all of you were when you fought those bad guys from the Order of the Sword and… how I couldn't do anything… I… Ever since I lost my mom… I've been alone. Yeah, I was friends with all the other kids at the orphanage… but I just didn't feel at home there. And then… when I started hanging out at Fairy Tail…I… felt like I was home… like I was part of something but…I'm not a part of your family… no matter how much I want to be…" She fell to her knees and cried into her hands.
Wendy herself was brought to tears at this, she and Carla looking toward her with complete and utter sympathy. Both of them were reminded of another girl like this who was lost and alone, who wanted to be a part of a family too, but never got the chance. Wendy lowered herself to Patty's level and slowly reached out to gently hold her hands.
"Patty… none of us feel that way about you." Wendy said as the other girl directed her teary-eyed gaze toward her. "Just because you don't have magic doesn't mean you're not one of us. You can ask everyone else here and they'll tell you the same thing. Even if it's not official, you are a part of Fairy Tail."
"She's right." Carla agreed, stepping forward with a smile. "Just the fact you're willing to show so much support for us, and even open yourself up like this shows how much you trust and have faith in us. And, even when she first joined seven years ago, there weren't that many people Wendy's age in Fairy Tail. I'm grateful that she now has a friend like you, so allow me to thank you for that."
"That's right, you are my friend, Patty." Wendy told her. "No matter what, you and I will always be friends, both members of the Fairy Tail family. So, in way, we're practically sisters." Wendy told her with a toothy smile that was very similar to a certain Dragon Slayer she looked up to.
Patty wasted no time in hugging Wendy, feeling not only an enormous weight off her chest, but also a strong warm sensation inside her heart. The feeling that she got when she first walked into the guildhall and was welcomed by everyone in there, despite not being an official member. Despite her words, a part of her deep down knew she was loved, feeling a sense of belonging in the Fairy Tail guild, and hearing those confirming words from Wendy and Carla was enough to cement that.
As Wendy and Carla hugged her back, the former couldn't help but think about that very same girl Patty had reminded her off as she looked up to the starry sky once again.
'Sheeree… wherever you are… I hope you're doing okay. I know we'll see each other again.'
The Next Day
After having breakfast, the group gathered at the beach once again as Erza relayed instructions. "Alright, yesterday was good for us. We got an idea of our strengths and what we need to improve upon the most. Today, I think it is best that we work in pairs or even groups. Facing an opponent can give us more insight in any weakness that we may not even know we have."
"Sure, that makes sense." Gray nodded.
"Got an idea of who we should pair up with?" Lisanna asked.
"I'll leave that to each of you." Erza said.
"Well, if that's the case…" Dante stepped up toward her with a grin. "How about you and I go at it? We're frequent sparing partners so we should know each other's strengths and weaknesses by now."
Erza smiled and nodded. "Very well, I agree. Let's go." She and Dante walked off as everyone else began to group up and split off.
"Hey Lucy, why don't you work with me and Lady, today?" Trish suggested.
"You still want to be a Devil Hunter, right?" Even Lady herself seemed to agree. "Then it's best for the rookie to learn from some veterans."
Lucy smiled. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate that." The three walked away.
"Modeus, I was able to learn a whole bunch of new spells from what Porlyusica gave me yesterday." Wendy walked up to her teacher. "Maybe if I show them to you, you might be able to help me if I end up doing anything wrong."
"Of course, I'd be happy to help. You are my student, after all." Modeus nodded.
"That's all well and good, just be sure your own training isn't stunted." Carla advised.
"Don't worry about me, Carla." Modeus told her. "We still have plenty of time. And given how strong Wendy has grown, not to mention some of the more advanced spells she's learned yesterday, who knows…?" He looked to the younger girl with a proud smile. "We might end up being sparing partners later today."
Wendy looked up to him with a wide smile, showing how touched she was at his praise as well as pride at her own progress.
"Hey, can I train with you guys too?" Romeo ran up to join them. "I think I've come up with some new moves that I want to show you… and maybe see if you guys think I need to get better at anything."
"Of course, Romeo. I'd be happy to see what you've learned." Modeus accepted.
"This is gonna be fun! I'm happy that we get to train together, Romeo!" Wendy beamed at Romeo, causing him to blush slightly and look away with a shy grin.
"Yeah… me too."
"If it's alright, can I come with you guys too?" Patty asked, stepping forward. "Maybe not training, but… I think I can still find some way to help."
"That does sound like a good idea." Modeus said, surprising Patty.
"Really? You mean that?" She looked up to him with a hopeful expression.
"Patty, you may not be able to use magic, but you are able to provide emotional support, especially with those around your own age." He explained, gesturing to Wendy and Romeo. "And that is just as important as any physical training. So I would be happy if you were to indeed join us."
Wendy's words from yesterday certainly helped in picking up Patty's spirits, but hearing those same sort of words from someone like Modeus, whom to Patty was like a veteran of Fairy Tail, more than rose them even further. With a wide smile and a nod, she joined Modeus, Romeo, Wendy, and Carla as they went off to train.
The only ones that appeared to be left consisted of Natsu, Gray, Lisanna, Juvia, and Happy. "Alright, since we're all that's left, I guess we know what that means, right Gray?" Natsu grinned in a comically evil fashion to the ice wizard as flames grew around him.
Gray mimicked Natsu's expression as a cold blue aura formed around his own body as well. "You even need to ask, fire-breath."
"Hold on a moment…" Before any sparing could commence, Juvia stepped forward. "I actually have a request."
"Let me guess, you wanna go one-on-one with me?" Gray asked, almost rolling his eyes.
"One-on-one time!" Happy teased.
"Come on Happy, knock it off." Lisanna told him.
"Actually, I was hoping to ask to spar with Natsu." Juvia revealed, which caught all of them by surprise.
"Wait… you wanna fight me?" Natsu asked, clearly not expecting that.
"Of course." Juvia began to explain. "Fire and water are natural opposites, and in most circumstances, water would hold the advantage. But you've shown that your flames are strong enough to overcome even their own natural weakness. That being the case, if I were to test my power against your flames, it would help me and my magic to grow, and by extension assist you in your growth if my water proves to be a match for your fire. In addition, you and I have never spared before, Natsu. Given we don't know what we'll be facing in the Grand Magic Games, it's only logical that we face opponents that we're unfamiliar with, and you've been sparring with Gray for years, haven't you?"
Natsu, Gray, Lisanna, and Happy each exchanged surprising glances.
"You know… you're right." Natsu pointed out. "We never did go at it before, didn't we?"
"She actually does make a lot of sense." Lisanna said. "We got no idea what we'll be doing in the Games and who we'll be facing."
"So, fighting someone you don't really know is the best way to prepare for that." Gray agreed as well before nodding to the woman. "Good thinking Juvia."
A heart popped up over her with a an ecstatic smile at the praise before getting serious again and turning toward her newfound sparing partner. "So, Natsu… shall we begin?"
Natsu grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "Got me all fired up Juvia! Let's go!"
As they made their way to whatever open spot they could find, this left Happy, Gray, and Lisanna alone as the blue Exceed flew up to Gray with a teasing expression.
"Better be careful Gray, or else Natsu might just steal your girl from you." Happy teased, only to gasp as Gray waved his hand to freeze Happy in a block of ice, which fell to the ground.
"Since you and I are the only ones left, guess it's just you and me, Lisanna." Gray said to her.
"This might actually work for us." She replied. "Your magic lets you make all kinds of ice constructs, right? It's kinda similar to my powers, where I can take on different transformations. Maybe something like this can help us switch out between different forms or weapons."
"Hmm, when you put it like that, I guess we'd be good sparing partners after all." Gray said as he took his titular Ice-Make stance, already generating his magic. "That is if you can keep up with me." He said with a grin.
Lisanna had a grin of her own as she transformed into her She-Cat Take Over. "Watch me."
Lucy was knocked down from a punch by Lady, who could only shake her head slightly. "Come on, Lucy. You gotta keep your guard up."
The youngest blonde present pushed herself up. "Sorry… I'm just not used to hand-to-hand fighting…"
"That's exactly why you need to do this." Trish told her. "Your spirits are powerful, and you're good with those whips of yours, but you can't become too reliant on them. You need to be able to hold your own if you're separated from your keys and weapons."
"And the first step is to keep your guard up." Lady grabbed Lucy's hands and put them in a position where her arms and fists were raised. "Like this, you can not only defend yourself, but maintain a position where you can attack. It's also important to stay light on your feet, move around and make it hard for the enemy to attack."
"Okay… so like this…?" She kept her fists raised and tried to hop a bit on her feet, moving left to right.
"You got the right idea… but you need to be a bit quicker. So, let's see how well you can defend against this." Trish stepped forward as she threw out a punch, but Lucy moved to the side before throwing out a punch of her own, which Trish caught by the wrist. "Don't bend your wrist." Trish told her. "If your punch isn't straight, you lose your strength. Try again"
Lucy did as instructed and threw out her right fist, making sure to keep her wrist straight. Trish caught the punch but felt it was stronger than before.
"That's it. That's a real punch." Trish said before dealing a kick to Lucy's side knocking her down. "Now let's work on dodging and defense."
Lucy rubbed her side as she tried to pick herself up. "Why do I feel like this is gonna take a while?"
Wendy threw her arms forward to send a powerful stream of her Sky Dragon Slayer magic towards a large rock, which was completely obliterated upon contact.
"Oh my gosh, Wendy! That was so amazing!" Patty exclaimed with stars in her eyes.
"Yes, that was quite impressive." Carla nodded with a smile.
"Your power has certainly grown stronger." Modeus told Wendy. "But, now it's time to focus that power, find a way to fine-tune it. We don't always have to win by using overwhelming force."
"Alright." Wendy nodded.
"Hey, I think I've got something right here." Romeo produced a blue flame in his hand, throwing it at a smaller rock, which was completely frozen over. He then brought his hands together to generate a surge of green fire, which took the shape of a large mallet, which he used to bring down on the frozen rock to shatter it.
"Wow! Way to go, Romeo!" Wendy praised.
"Very creative." Modeus approved. "Your fire comes in different forms and thus has many different abilities, so you're finding combinations as to give you more options to use. Very impressive."
"Yeah… I'm also thinking about mixing the flames together." Romeo said. "Master Totomaru said the only way to do that is with something he called Rainbow Fire that mixes it all together, but I wanna see if I can mix two different flames instead of all of it."
"An interesting idea." Modeus commented. "But I feel like you're looking too far ahead. It's good to plan for the future, but not at the cost of losing sight of the present. Let's take it a couple steps at a time and focus on the combinations first before we jump ahead."
"Okay." Romeo accepted.
"Hey, speaking of the future, how's your clairvoyance coming along, Carla?" Wendy asked. "I remember you said it was all mixed up after being frozen for seven years, but has it recovered by now?"
"It's hard to say for certain." Carla answered. "I don't necessarily control my clairvoyance; it just comes to me in the forms of visions. When I try to focus, I can get something of a picture. But while I can't give a definitive answer, I can say that it feels like it's starting to properly piece itself back together. But only time will tell before I can readily rely upon it."
"So, I'm guessing you can't just train with it like everyone else here." Patty assumed.
"Unfortunately, no. It's quite frustrating in that regard." Carla replied.
"Well, even if your powers aren't dependable, I know that you are." Wendy smiled at her Exceed companion, who looked away with an appreciative smile of her own.
"Fire Dragon Roar!"
"Water Nebula!"
Natsu's breath attack collided with a massive stream of water from Juvia. Both pressed against each other for a few seconds before they exploded, creating a large cloud of steam. Natsu ran right through it, his right fist lit aflame as he followed Juvia's scent through the steam. However, it seemed Juvia had anticipated this as Natsu was suddenly encased in a sphere of water.
"Water Lock! While I may never have faced you in combat, Natsu. I know as a Dragon Slayer you have a keen sense of smell, much like Gajeel." Juvia told him. "I knew you would try to use the smokescreen to your advantage and try and rush me, but you'll have to do better than that."
She heard a muffled roar from Natsu within her Water Lock as flames grew around him. These flames were so hot that her Water Lock began to evaporate rather quickly before it exploded, the shockwave knocking Juvia back a bit before Natsu landed with an eager expression.
"I was about say the same to you." Natsu smirked before rushing her once again.
At the same time, Gray launched a volley of ice-lances toward Lisanna, who was able to evade many of them in her She-Cat form to try and close the distance between herself and Gray, lashing out with her claws, but Gray quickly created an ice-shield to block her attack before freezing the ground to grow a series of ice spikes below her. Lisanna avoided them by jumping into the air, transforming into her Harpy Take Over to fly around Gray and come at him from behind. However, Gray countered by creating his Ice Cannon and fired a large shot at Lisanna, which she tried to intercept by flapping her wings to create a tornado-like attack. Both attacks met and exploded at one another.
Lisanna then shot down with her talons, but gasped as she found herself trapped in an ice cage. "Nice try, Lisanna." Gray said smirking confidentially. "I feel like I should make some caged-bird joke, but I don't wanna sound lame."
"Good. I don't like those kind of jokes… that and this cage can't keep me contained forever." Lisanna transformed into her She-Bull Take Over and smashed through the cage, gunning straight for Gray, who created a large ice-wall to separate himself from her and block her charge.
Happy continued to watch both fights from a distance. "Oh wow, look at em go! They're throwing everything they have at each other…" Even from his distance, Happy could see smiles on all four of their faces. "It looks like they're having so much fun!"
They weren't the only ones. Multiple rapid clashes of metal struck with such speed and force that the water around them was blown away as Dante brought Rebellion down on Erza, who blocked the strike by crossing her swords. She then pushed against Dante, using a scissor-like move with her swords to squeeze against Rebellion and force it from Dante's grip. Seeing what she was doing, Dante used Erza's own momentum against her as he purposely fell back into the shallow waters and kicked her to vault her over. While she fell, Dante quickly got back up and shot at Erza, hoping to catch her off guard while she was airborne. She quickly threw her swords out toward him, which he batted away before she landed on her hands. Just as Dante was on her though, Erza quipped another pair of swords, which she grabbed with her feet to block and parry Dante's sword strikes before leaping upward over him, flipping while airborne to grab her swords with her hands and bring them down on Dante, who blocked it with Rebellion again, the force of their collision pushed away much of the water as Dante swung his sword to shake Erza off before she landed on the ground as the water returned.
"Ya know, you might be the only person I've ever met that wields her swords with her feet. And I've seen some demons do crazy shit." Dante commented.
Erza smirked. "When in battle, its best to use all your resources you have at your disposal, even if one considers it to be unorthodox. You of all people should know about that."
Dante cracked a laugh. "Next thing you know, you might end up using a spear with your mouth next."
"Don't tempt me." Erza joked.
Dante laughed once again before glancing at Rebellion. However, as he did, his smile faded as he appeared deep in thought, something Erza noticed as she lowered her guard.
"Something wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just… Hey, you remember when we fought Hades back on Tenrou Island, right?" He asked.
"I'm certain that the events we experienced on that island won't be forgotten soon." She replied.
"He knew my old man, both apparently founded Fairy Tail." Dante began. "He said I wasn't using the Rebellion to its fullest potential. It's apparently supposed to rival the Yamato, and we all know how powerful that is."
"If that's true, then it would mean that the Rebellion has powers that we have not yet seen." Erza said. "Perhaps Modeus may know, he was your father's apprentice after all."
"I actually asked him this morning." Dante revealed. "He didn't really know, cause my father didn't have Rebellion at the time."
That got Erza's attention. "What do you mean?"
"Sparda had three swords." Dante explained. "There was the first one, which Trish has now, the Devil Sword Sparda. Then the second was the Yamato, he apparently made that specifically to sever the Underworld from Earthland. And Modeus said that he and his brother trained with Sparda when both worlds were connected and eventually went their separate ways when that connection was severed. Guess he made Rebellion after."
"I see…" Erza noted, wondering about the idea of Rebellion's apparent mystery power as well. "Then perhaps Lady Kurenai may know. Mermaid Heel will likely attend the Grand Magic Games, maybe we can find an opportunity ask her as she was apparently close with your father enough for them to be considered sworn siblings."
"Yeah… maybe." Dante said.
"You sound disappointed…" Erza told him, feeling perplexed at the way Dante spoke.
"Oh, no. I'm not. I like the idea of actually getting straight answers for once." He replied. "But, I've spent most of my life dealing with all this mystery and riddle shit that I'm used to it… I actually sort of look forward to it now, even though it's a huge pain in the ass." He chuckled a bit. "Kinda funny, huh?"
Erza giggled as well. "That is rather funny, yes."
"But hey, who knows? We do have three whole months and a lot can happen in that time." Dante said as he twirled Rebellion in his hands. "Maybe if I get pushed hard enough, I might have some kind of 'awakening' and we find out Rebellion's mystery on our own."
"I highly doubt it would be that simple, but if you wish to go that route…" Erza's body glowed as she required into her recently acquired Armadura Diabla. "I'd be more than happy to give you that push."
"Oh, breaking out that, huh?" Dante said in an intrigued tone of voice.
"I do need proper control over this armor, it may be among the most powerful I've wielded thus far." Erza said as she spun the spear in her hand before taking a combat stance. "And who better than to ensure a proper test than by the one person here who is the hardest to kill?"
"Can't argue with that logic." Dante grinned, matching Erza's as he took a stance of his own. "Let the torment begin."
With that, Dante and Erza resumed their clash along with all their friends at this beach. From there, the friends would spend the next three months training however they can in earnest. One day would be spent with individual training, the next two dealt with training in pairs or groups, then they would take two days off to relax and frolic on the nice sunny beach before resuming the cycle. They would often switch training partners or even find ways to gang up on a certain individual in order to learn new techniques and even develop some combinations. Their goal was clear: win the Grand Magic Games and reclaim Fairy Tail's spot as the number one guild in Fiore, and nothing was going to stand in their way.
Done.
So, this concludes the start of Fairy Tail's training for the Grand Magic Games. The next chapter is going to skip three months straight to the end of their training session. The idea is not to see what they've been up to all this time, as I want my readers to be surprised based on what I have in store. You do however get an idea of what they need to do and where they need the most improvement, so you at least have some idea of what they might do once the Games begin.
Think like something along the lines of when Goku and the others trained for a couple years to prepare for the Androids in Dragon Ball Z; you only see glimpses of their training before witnessing the fruits of their labors when the main event begins.
I'm also planning on expanding a bit more on Rebellion. We already know that Sparda forged the three swords Force Edge (later transformed into the Devil Sword Sparda), Yamato, and Rebellion, splitting a portion of his power into three pieces to create them, but there aren't any specifics around that so I'm adding some lore to it. The first sword he ever created and used was the one aptly named after him to harness his own power; the second was Yamato, which (in my continuity) was made specifically to separate the Underworld from Earthland. He forged Rebellion later for… other purposes. You'll learn more about that as the story goes on, but you'll see more of Rebellion's inner power throughout the Grand Magic Games arc, and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised by what I have planned.
I even changed some things up about what the One Magic/Primordial Magic is in my series as it was love in the canon "Fairy Tail". Here, Lucy is theorizing that it's actually life, since magic is alive and changes and evolves with each living person that uses it... and she might be onto something. Also, Mundus was never the One Magic, he only deceived Hades into believing so just to set a chain of events into motion to bring Zeref back into a more active role in the world (as for what Mundus' intentions are for doing that... you'll have to see *evil laugh*). And this is canon to the "Devil May Cry" series, but Mundus wasn't the first ruler of the Underworld, there was someone before him, but it was never explained who it was. So I used Tathamet from the "Diablo" series to fill that gap. I am planning on expanding on that, and more of the One Magic stuff later on as these elements are actually connected. You'll see as the story goes on. One of the reasons I enjoy writing this story is because it allows me to expand on the lore of both series and even give my own twists to it, adding in elements from other series and franchises to fill in some of the gaps and plot holes that both FT and DMC have.
We also had some cute bonding moments between all of them; such as Trish officially getting the last name Heartfilia, I really enjoyed writing that. And we even had a moment with Wendy and Patty as the later wants to be more than just the tag-along girl, already viewing Fairy Tail as her family. Don't worry, I've got plans for her. We won't see much of her during the Grand Magic Games, though she will give them her full support and cheer them on, she'll have a bigger role in the arc afterwards, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Next chapter will be three months later, and just before Fairy Tail returns to leave for the Grand Magic Games… they'll be reunited with some old friends. (Pretty sure you can guess who).
Until then, you all stay safe and healthy out there. Peace out.