Hi everyone, welcome back to more Fairy May Cry! This is one chapter that I'm sure many of you have mixed feelings about, especially with how the canon played out regarding a certain individual. But rest assured, that I've got some surprises that I hope you'll enjoy. With that being said, let's get started.
Dogs and Pegasi – Lamia and Mermaids
"Alright people… are you ready for a magic battle?!" Chapati got everyone in the audience hyped up as it was time for Day 4's three-on-three battle round to begin. Once more, cheers echoed throughout the colosseum as the first match was announced. "First up, Blue Pegasus' Ichiya, Jenny, and Rabbit! Going up against Quatro Puppy's Bacchus, Rocker, and Jager!"
The two teams had stepped out into the arena and met in the middle to face each other. "Watch out, cause we're…" Rocker began.
"WILD!" The rest of their team hollered from their box.
"Now let's show these fancy folk what that really means!" Rocker stated.
"We gotta get points on the board cause we're dead last." Jager added.
"It's cool." Bacchus said with an eager smile. "All I want is to get my spirit's shaken and stirred." He eyed Jenny. "And I'd say they're already pretty stirred up. I'm looking forward to some action with you, pretty lady? How about tonight we go one-on-one?"
Jenny cringed. "Yeah, no thanks."
But she, and their opponents from Quatro Puppy were surprised to see Ichiya and Rabbit walk up to them and offer their hands to shake. "Sirs." Ichiya greeted.
Though slightly caught-off guard by the gesture, they did return it with Bacchus shaking Ichiya's hand, and Jager shaking Rabbit's before Rocker did the same with the bunny-suit wearing individual.
"Wow, after all the animosity of today's Naval Battle, these fine gentlemen are putting civility on display." Chapati commented in surprise.
"What a beautiful gesture! Thank you very much!" Rabian cried in comical fashion.
As their opponents stepped back, Bacchus, Rocker, and Jager looked to their hands in shock, silently wondering what just happened.
"Did we just shake hands with a rabbit?" Jager wondered.
"Ya know, that guy smells pretty damn good…" Bacchus commented.
"Now, the time has come to share your handsome face with the world!" Ichiya said to Bunny, who nodded in agreement.
'So, we get to know who our mystery teammate is, huh? This is getting juicy.' Jenny thought with eagerness.
"Seriously?" Lily wondered.
"We're finally gonna find out who he is?" Happy asked.
"Who do you think is under that bunny suit?" Patty asked Romeo. "The suspense is killing me!"
"I have no idea." Romeo replied.
Everyone in the audience looked with anticipation, just as much as the rest of Team Blue Pegasus was as they too had no idea who was in that suit.
"I still don't get why Master Ichiya didn't even tell the rest of his team." Eve said.
"Yeah, you'd think he'd at least let us in the know." Ren agreed.
"I'm sure the man had his reasons, but it looks like our patience is about to pay off." Hibiki responded.
"Obscure yourself no more…unmask your true glory!" Ichiya compelled.
The individual had taken off the mask of his bunny suit to reveal his face. And it looked exactly like Ichiya's, only with yellow fur and cat ears! It was none other than his Exceed counterpart from Edolas known as Nichiya.
Nobody saw that coming. The audience all had white circular eyes and dropped jaws, as did Chapati, Yajima, and Rabian.
"WHAT?!" Everyone in Fairy Tail comically turned white in total shock and disbelief, including the likes of Mavis, Gildarts, and Nero.
"It's Nichiya!" Panther-Lily recognized him instantly.
"Uh.. WHAAAAAAA….!?" Rocker, Jager, and Bacchus all had their jaws fall to the ground as they saw both Ichiya and Nichiya leap into the air, the latter out of the bunny suit and in a light purple tuxedo with a sheeted sword on his side, both of whom were covered in sparkles. Jenny looked upwards with a dropped jaw herself and white circular eyes, as did the Trimens on their team.
"Holy crap…!" Natsu did not see that coming.
"It's that cat from Extalia!" Gray stated.
"I forgot all about that." Dante commented while Laxus and Gajeel didn't seem all that interested.
Erza, on the other hand, felt extremely sick. "I… I don't feel so good…" She fell back, her face purple with comic disgust, but Gajeel caught her.
"Hey! Pull yourself together!"
Both Ichiya and Nichiya landed on the ground and struck mirroring poses with sparkles all around them. "Ready? Double Stud Muffin Attack!" They said simultaneously.
"Sentul…" Ichiya began.
"…Yet deadly, parfum." Nichiya finished.
Pretty much everyone in the audience either looked in shock or cringed in disgust, wondering what they were seeing. Some little kids even clung to their parents as they cried in fright.
"What… the hell am I looking at…?" Nero questioned.
"You know about Edolas, right?" Levy recalled. "We talked about it with you and Kyrie three months ago."
"Sammy even mentioned it a few times, yeah. But why the hell does that cat look like that little guy down there?!" Nero exclaimed.
"Apparently, Nichiya is Ichiya's counterpart from Edolas." Happy explained. "I was just as shocked as you were when I first saw him."
"He and I used to serve together in Extalia's army before I was exiled." Panther-Lily added. "He also served as the captain of Imperial Guard directly under Queen Shagotte. But I had no idea he even joined a guild."
"Whatever it is… I regret looking at it." Patty covered her own eyes. "I'd rather see Dante and Lucy fight demons again than look at whatever that thing is!"
"That is so totally not wild!" Rocker exclaimed, pointing to Nichiya while Bacchus and Jager continued to look in disbelief. "I mean is that crazy-looking cat dude even a member of Blue Pegasus!?"
"I have no idea!" Jenny exclaimed. "I've never even seen him before!"
Ichiya only chuckled amusingly. "Behold!" He pointed to Nichiya, who briefly discarded his shirt and dress jacket to reveal the Blue Pegasus guild emblem on his back.
"Master Bob….?" Hibiki and the rest of his teammates turned around to their guildmaster, hoping for an explanation.
"Of course, I made that darling little pussy cat an official member of our guild just before the Grand Magic Games began." Bob replied with a sweet smile. "I wanted to share it all with you, but Ichiya wanted it to be a surprise for the whole world to see. Honestly, he's such a handsome creature it would be practically criminal to turn him away, ya know?" He gushed with hearts in his eyes.
"But how did Ichiya even find him in the first place?" Eve questioned.
"Hmm, 'twas a stroke of true destiny. A fate written in the stars themselves." Ichiya said with a reminiscent smile.
"Yes, though it happened one sunny afternoon…" Nichiya began to recount their tale.
The Tale of how Ichiya and Nichiya met – Narrated by Ichiya
"With an intoxicating parfum of new experience hanging heavily in the air, I ventured into the forest. I went in deep, but my search remained fruitless. I asked myself this question: 'is this the parfum of lost souls, man?!'"
"I attempted to leave, but only found myself getting deeper inside! Ravenous and thirsty, I collapsed to the ground! But fortune smiled upon me that day, for as it turns out, this forest was home to Exceeds who had come to Earthland."
Nichiya happened to spot Ichiya's fallen form. "What an incredibly handsome human."
Ichiya gazed upon his savior. "What an incredibly handsome cat."
"Hi. Lost?" Nichiya asked.
"Uh huh." Ichiya confirmed with a cough.
"Is there some way I can help you?" Nichiya offered.
"Water… Please…" Ichiya requested.
"Hmm, of course." Nichiya was quick to retrieve a glass of water and splashed it all over Ichiya's face to help refresh him. "A fine idea, indeed."
"Surprisingly, this development was rich with the parfum of a classic romantic drama!"
Nichiya drank some water himself, but when a spider descended via web in front of him, Nichiya was startled and accidentally spat some of his own water over Ichiya's face. "Pardon me."
Ichiya laughed, indicating no hard feelings. "That perked me up, man."
"Glad to be of help, meow." Nichiya nodded.
"Man."
"Meow."
"Man."
"Meow."
"Man."
"Meow."
The two stared into each other's eyes before clinging to one another like a romantic couple.
"My nostrils sing with a parfum of flowering friendship!" Ichiya proclaimed.
"Feel free to remain in this forest with me until you have regained your sparkle." Nichiya offered.
The End
"And thus, as I predicted, the seed planted that day blossomed into a beautiful paring." Ichiya finished recounting their tale.
"And we drink deep the parfum of memory." Nichiya finished.
Jenny sighed as she pinched the bridge between her eyes. "Remind me to never let you go off on your own again." She quickly noticed Bacchus moving in for the attack. "Heads up!" Bacchus looked as if he was about to strike Nichiya with his palm, when suddenly…
*SWOOSH!*
A blur of light zipped past not only Bacchus, but also Rocker and Jager, which went up into the air to reveal Nichiya with his saber held outward and his wings outstretched. Just then, Bacchus, Rocker, and Jager all felt a series of cuts across their bodies. Though it wasn't extreme or anything, the fact Nichiya was actually able to land successful hits on all three of them in the blink of an eye was a surprise to all.
"What in the hell…?!" Bacchus questioned.
"Did that cat just cut us?!" Jager questioned as well.
"That's totally not wild!" Rocker called out.
"I am an Exceed." Nichiya began. "Although I do not possess the same overwhelming strength as my handsome counterpart, my Aera magic grants me incredible speed! That combined with my excellent swordsmanship makes me quite the aerial opponent you do not want to mess with!" Nichiya proclaimed as he swung his sword like a master.
"That cat is a master swordsman?" Ren questioned as he and his teammates were just as surprised.
"It would seem so." Hibiki commented.
"Looks like we may have underestimated him." Eve said.
Ichiya smirked with his usual sparkles. "I wouldn't have brought my beloved twin into the Games if he couldn't fight."
"Dang… I'm impressed." Jenny smiled.
"Is it true?" Happy asked Lily. "Nichiya is a master swordsman?"
"He and I would spar together quite often while I was still in Extalia." Lily confirmed. "Though I would always win, his own skills are not to be underestimated."
"And with the speed of his Aera magic, I'd say that makes for an impressive combination." Modeus commented with an impressed smile.
Despite this surprise however, Bacchus couldn't help but grin with anticipation. "Alright, looks like things are getting interesting. Oh yeah, my soul is shaken and stirred." He took his own unique martial arts stance before charging at Jenny. "Let's get wild, sweetheart!"
"Take Over: Machina Soul: Flash Piston!" Jenny's body was engulfed in a bright flash before she revealed herself clad in a bright silver light-weight armor with a set of mufflers attached to her thighs as well as a set of wheels on the soles of her feet. They sprung to life with flames before Jenny zoomed at Bacchus and limboed underneath his palm-thrust, much to his surprise.
"Sorry, but you're not my type!" She zoomed with her mufflers and wheels toward Rocker and Jager before sweeping her right foot, an extra boost from her engines to give a powerful roundhouse kick that sent both flying up into the air, where Nichiya met them with his blade and Aera magic.
"Such powerful speed! I shall follow your lead, my dear! Meow!" Nichiya zoomed and slashed at the airborne Rocker and Jager, causing them both to fall down and land on the ground. But they quickly got up to face their opponents as Nichiya hovered right by Jenny's side.
"Oh, just like that Jenny and Nichiya have unleashed a devastating combo of speed and power! But neither Rocker nor Jager are down for the count yet, folks!" Chapati commentated.
At the same time, Bacchus had found himself facing against Ichiya who had taken out a vial of purple potion. "Bacchus, you are a man who boasts of strength. Let us see which one of us is the strongest! Power Parfum!" He inhaled the purple vapor of his potion, causing his muscles to grow immensely to the point where most of his clothes were torn off and he towered above Bacchus, but that only got him more excited.
"Damn, you big, man. But you know what they say about the bigger they are, the harder they fall, right?" Bacchus said as he took out his gourd and guzzled down all the alcohol inside. Elfman happened to watch and looked with interest as Bacchus became drunk almost instantly, taking the same kind of drunken martial arts stance he used when he faced Elfman and rushed the oversized Ichiya, striking him all over his body and leaving multiple blows all across his body. Bacchus slid on his feet to gaze at Ichiya who, despite having several bruises across his body, remained standing.
"Is that all you got?" Ichiya questioned.
Bacchus gave a hiccup and a laugh. "Oh man… this is gonna be fun…!" He gave an excited yell as he charged again, thrusting his palm just as Ichiya threw a powerful punch. Both attacks struck with such force that it created a shockwave upon impact.
"Drill 'n Rock!" Rocker spun his lower body like a corkscrew as he gunned straight for Jenny and threw out a punch with his right arm spinning the same method, but Jenny zoomed around him with her Flash Piston armor before coming back in to deliver a speedy elbow-strike to his back and push him down. At the same time, Jager threw out his fists to summon several large thorny vines Nichiya's way, but he moved with such speed and grace that not a single vine was able to touch him, and any that got too close were quickly cut away by Nichiya's superb swordsmanship.
"This is one heck of a fight." Lisanna said as she stood with her siblings, all three watching with great interest.
"No kidding… I wasn't able to land a single hit on Bacchus and each hit he gave me felt like a wrecking ball, but Ichiya's taking it and fighting back." Elfman stated.
"Jenny's own Machina Soul also gives her plenty of options to work with, and that one she's using seems to give her quite the advantage." Mira said.
"Such a thrilling battle! Thank you very much!" Rabian commentated.
"…This is great…" Mato muttered to himself excitedly. "We're not even at the big match yet and this one already has me at the edge of my seat!"
Rocker was knocked down by an upward kick from Jenny. 'We're going nowhere fast! We gotta change things up a bit!' He looked toward Jager, who was unable to hit the fast-flying Nichiya with his vines when an idea came to him. "Hey, Jager! Let's switch it up!"
"You got it!" Jager gave a thumbs up to his teammate as he punched his fists into the ground. "Flytrap!"
Right when Jenny was about to strike Rocker, a large carnivorous plant shot up from the ground below her. "What the…?" She was caught off guard as she was enveloped by the plant.
"No, Jenny!" Hibiki exclaimed in shock.
"I will save you, my dear!" Nichiya was about to fly down and strike Jager, but Rocker had already sped to him with his whole body spinning before he slammed a Drill n Rock punch to Nichiya's face. That one punch was strong enough to not only send Nichiya skidding across the ground, but even knock him out completely, evident by the white circular eyes.
"Oooh! That had to hurt!" Chapati commentated. "It doesn't look like Nichiya will be getting up from that!"
"They couldn't defeat their respective opponents, so they decided to swap." Yajima commented. "Not exactly an original idea, but an effective one."
"I just love a flipped script! Thank you very much!" Rabian praised.
"My friend…!" Ichiya was surprised to see his Exceed twin taken down.
"Hey, don't get distracted!" Bacchus was able to use Ichiya's surprise to his advantage and deliver a multi-palmed strike to his face and bring Ichiya down to his knees.
"One hit was enough to take that cat out?" Nero questioned. "Sammy can take way more than that."
"True, but he and I possess the ability to transform our physical bodies to enhance our strength, which is rare among Exceeds." Lily explained. "It does not appear Nichiya possess that ability."
"Now it's a three-on-two match." Happy looked on.
Suddenly, Jager's flytrap was cut to ribbons as Jenny had donned a new armor from inside. This armor was a bit heavier and given a darker gray colored, but it was equipped with special gauntlets that had built-in rotating blades like buzzsaws.
"This plant looks like it can use some pruning." Jenny went straight for Jager who tried to tried to raise a series of vines from the ground in the form of a wall to try and defend himself, but Jenny was able to cut through all of that with little issue before driving her armored boot into his gut and knock him down.
"Drill n' Rock!" Rocker tried to come in from behind, but Jenny spun her own body around like a twister as her blades spun at a faster rate. When Rocker tried to strike, he only ended up getting slashed across his body by Jenny's defensive move and knocked down.
"My Steel Buzzsaw Armor is well suited for offense and defense." Jenny proclaimed. "It's gonna take a lot more than your fancy spins to get through this."
At the same time, while Ichiya appeared to be on his knees, Bacchus continued to lay the smackdown on him, moving with incredible speed it was almost impossible to see. "That all you got, pretty boy?" Bacchus boasted as he continued to pound him. "All them big fancy muscles and you can't lay a hit on me!" When he tried to deliver a chop down to his head, Ichiya suddenly reached up and successfully grabbed Bacchus' hand, much to his shock.
"You have plenty of power and speed, I will grant you that." Ichiya commented. "But it will not be enough…" Suddenly his whole body began to glow with even brighter sparkles as his muscles only grew, much to Bacchus' surprise. "I dedicate the parfum of victory!" He pulled Bacchus into a crushing bearhug with Bacchus hanging upside down before leaping high into the air, much to the surprise of the audience and several observing guilds, including Fairy Tail. Ichiya then proceeded to fall back down in the form of a piledriver with Bacchus' head pointing down.
At the same time, Rocker and Jager both got up to look in shock as Jenny had quipped a series of heavy-missile launchers on her shoulders as she smirked at them.
"Sorry boys, but today's just not your day." She fired the missiles just as Ichiya's piledriver move struck the floor.
*BOOM!*
The combined final moves were enough to shake much of the stadium as those in the audience had to hold onto something to keep from being blown away. When it was all said and done, Rocker and Jager laid beaten on the ground, covered in bruises and scorch marks, while Bacchus' upper half was stuck into the ground in the middle of a large crater.
"And from those devastating blows, Quatro Puppy is down!" Chapati announced as the rest of Team Quatro Puppy turned white in shock. "The winner is Blue Pegasus!"
Jenny cheered as she jumped up and down while Ichiya made several kisses to the crowd and took a flexing pose. "Man!"
"He actually defeated Bacchus?" Erza looked in surprise.
"And that chick took out two guys at once… man." Gajeel commented.
"Here I thought that guy was an idiot, but he's actually kinda strong." Gray said.
"He's totally awesome!" Natsu grinned.
"That chick's almost got the same kind of power as you, Erza." Dante said.
"Similar, but different." She noted.
"Guess we should be watching out for Blue Pegasus after all." Laxus commented.
"Would you expect anything less from our top two members?" Ren asked as he and his teammates celebrated their victory.
"Jenny's a dream and Ichiya's the man." Hibiki smiled.
"I wanna be just as strong as them." Eve proclaimed.
Ichiya held Nichiya close in comfort. "Are you alright, my friend?"
"Just my pride… Meow." Nichiya commented.
"Aww, you did good." Jenny eased. "I'll be sure to give you plenty of warm milk tonight."
"That was an amazing match, don't ya think?" Chapati asked his fellow commentators.
"It had its fair share of surprises, that's for sure." Yajima replied.
"The action was intense, but that lovey-dovey stuff at the end is a bit too sappy for my taste, thank you very much." Rabian commented.
"And we're diving straight into Round Two, which pits Lamia Scale's Lyon, Yuka, and Sho against Mermaid Heel's Kagura, Sapphire, and Lucia!" Chapati announced.
Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Lucy's eyes slowly opened as she found Kyrie, Wendy, and Carla by her bedside. "You're finally awake." Wendy said with relief. "We were starting to get worried."
"I'm fine… what match are they on?" Lucy asked.
"They're between matches." Kyrie answered. "And it sounds like Blue Pegasus won."
"The second round should be starting any minute now." Carla added. "Lamia Scale is going up against Mermaid Heel."
"That's good…" Lucy muttered weakly. "I was worried that I might have missed Natsu and Dante's fight."
"Don't be so worried about it." Sparda appeared before her as he walked toward his niece's bedside. "Knowing those two, they'll be here to see you before their match starts."
"Yeah…" Lucy smiled. "Thanks for staying with me… all of you."
"Of course." Kyrie smiled. She noticed a half of the Perfect Amulet on the nightstand. "We had to take off that amulet when you were being changed. But when you were being brought in, you clung to it like a lifeline, so we made sure to keep it close."
"Good." Lucy smiled. "It's very important to me."
"That used to belong to Dante." Carla explained to Kyrie. "It's apparently one half of a key that unlocks a door to the Underworld."
"Vergil has the other half." Wendy added. "At least that's when we last saw it, but that was seven years ago."
"Really?" Kyrie looked in surprise.
"I imagine Vergil still has his half." Sparda replied. "He's not the type to lose something like that. I gave the whole amulet to my wife many years ago, and she passed down the two halves to our twin sons on their eighth birthday. But the fact that Dante gave it to you, shows just how much he trusts you." He said to Lucy with a smile. "Not just because of the significance it has to the Underworld, but how valuable it is to him personally."
"The last gift from his mother… my aunt… and he lent it to me." Lucy said with an emotional smile. "I… I still don't quite think I'm worthy of such a gift…"
"Come on, don't say that, Lucy." Wendy told her. "You're far stronger than you think. And it's part of your family too."
"If that's the case…" Kyrie held the Perfect Amulet in her hand. "I'll hold onto it for you until you're back up on your feet. It's the least I can do given what we both… experienced together."
"Thank you, Kyrie."
"You just get some rest, my Lucy." Sparda said with a gentle smile. "Dante and Natsu will be here soon. I'm sure of it."
"We'll wake you when they arrive." Carla added as she helped put the blanket over Lucy.
"You're all the best…" Lucy said before closing her eyes and let herself drift off.
"Alright, it's time for the second match!" Chapati announced. "Let's hear it for Lamia Scale's Lyon, Yuka, and Sho!" The trio from Lamia Scale stepped into the arena and were greeted with applause. "And here come the lovely ladies of Mermaid Heel! Let's give it up for Kagura, Lucia, and Sapphire!"
"Ah yeah! I'm fired up, now! Are you all fired up?!" Sapphire called out to the crowd even more excited as they cheered extra loud. "I can't hear you!" She called out, causing the cheers to grow even louder.
"This is gonna be quite the match! I still can't believe that Sapphire from Raven Tail was actually a spy for Mermaid Heel all along!" Chapati stated.
"Leave it to Lady Kurenai to keep an eye on things. I myself am very excited to see what she and the rest of her teammates can do." Yajima said.
"The best kind of twist is one you don't see coming, thank you very much." Rabian commented.
"If you ask me, I'd say this is probably gonna go to Mermaid Heel." Gajeel said as he and the rest of Team Fairy Tail watched from their box. "They got a Devil Hunter, a Dragon Slayer, and a chick who may be as strong as Erza, so the power's clearly on their side."
"There's more to victory than just raw power." Erza replied. "Sho, you are facing formidable adversaries! Stay focused!" She called out to her old friend.
"Well, we know who you're rooting for." Dante commented with a smirk.
"Of course. Sho is an old friend, I consider him a brother." Erza replied with a smile. "Can you blame me for supporting him?"
"So, what about you?" Laxus looked toward Gray. "Your old buddy Lyon is about to fight for Lamia Scale. Don't you wanna help him out a little?"
"Why should I?" Gray replied, sounding indifferent. "It doesn't make sense to help another guild, not when our teams are rivals."
"Whatever you say, man." Dante replied, but he noticed Natsu's somber expression. "What's with you?"
"It's just… I bet Lucy, Wendy, and the others probably wish they can watch the matches to." Natsu replied.
"Probably, so we'll just have to fill them in on it all when we see them." Dante commented. "I'm actually kinda excited for this. That Kagura-lady aside, I'm very eager to see what Mermaid Heel's resident Devil Hunter can do."
"Yeah… you're right." That seemed to get Natsu eager as well. "I wanna see what Sapphire can do in a match, myself. So, let's get this ball rolling."
"Hey, just letting you know, I'm going to be rooting for Mermaid Heel." Happy told Levy and Patty. "And that's only because I know Milliana since the whole Tower of Heaven thing went down."
"Even though Milliana isn't actually down there?" Patty asked. "Well, I'm gonna be rooting for them too! Time for some girl power!"
"Well, I'm going to be cheering for Lamia Scale." Levy replied. "It's the least I can do since they're always helping us. What about you two?" She asked Modeus and Nero. "Who are you guys rooting for?"
"Honestly, I don't really care since I don't know any of them." Nero replied. "But, given that Lucia-chick is a Devil Hunter, I am at least curious to see what she can do."
"I will be rooting for Mermaid Heel myself." Modeus said. "I respect Lamia Scale a great deal, but I've known Lady Kurenai for a long time, and I am eager to see what her guild is capable of."
"Yes indeed." Macao commented. "That is very noble of all of you to honor both teams in that way."
"We'll be rooting for Mermaid Heel too, because they're hotties." Wakaba said as he, Macao, Max, Warren, Jet, Droy, and Reedus all blushed with eager grins, much to everyone else's annoyance as they groaned.
"Let me guess, you're gonna be cheering for Lyon, eh Juvia?" Levy asked the aforementioned rain woman as she sat back.
"So has he confessed his undying love to you, yet?" Cana asked in teasing fashion as she and Mira sat around her.
"Oh, come on, you can tell us. Inquiring minds wanna know." Mira smiled.
"My loyalty is for my one and only Gray." Juvia said. "Though I will admit that I am curious as to see what Lyon is capable of, but don't take that the wrong way."
"Aw you're no fun, what's wrong with a little polygamy?" Cana continued to tease while Mira laughed.
Lisanna giggled at the sight of that, but noticed the serious expressions shared by Gildarts, Morrison, Lady, and Trish as Mavis stood alongside them. "I know what you guys are thinking, you're not really interested in this match at all are you."
"I wouldn't say that, kiddo. I'm definitely interested." Gildarts said seriously. "But the real battle right after this one."
"Fairy Tail and Sabertooth." Morrison added. "But more than that…"
"Dante and Vergil." Trish finished as she glanced in the direction of Team Sabertooth's box where she spotted Vergil who looked down to the battle yet to start with a calculating expression.
"Dante may have gotten stronger, and that Second Origin thing should help, but Vergil has had seven whole years to get stronger himself. So, I'd be lying to say that I wasn't a little bit nervous." Lady commented.
"Well, I'm not worried." Mavis said with a smile. "I believe in Dante, as well as Natsu and Gajeel. They'll be fine. Let's sit down and enjoy the…" However, as she tried to sit down, she ended up slipping and fell flat on her back, much to everyone's surprise.
"First Master!" Gildarts exclaimed.
"I'm gonna pretend we didn't see that." Trish said.
"Good idea." Lisanna agreed.
The trio consisting of Lyon, Sho, and Yuka now faced against the opposing three-women team of Lucia, Kagura, and Sapphire. However, despite that, Sho himself wasn't too focused on the upcoming match as he looked out into the audience.
'It's crazy to think that Jellal is out there somewhere, watching this.' Sho thought. 'I get why he's here and why Erza is even helping him. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. And I'm sure Kagura gets that as well.' He turned towards Kagura, who only gave a slight nod with a knowing expression in her eyes, one he returned as well. 'I can't think Jellal right now. I gotta focus on the match because I know Kagura won't go easy on me.'
"Guys, I know Kagura, she's one of the toughest people I ever met. So don't hold back with her or any of the others." Sho told his teammates.
"Don't you worry." Yuka assured. "I happen to have a strategy in mind that might give us an edge in this fight."
"We'll follow your lead, then." Lyon accepted before coming to a sudden realization. "That's it! If I can claim victory for Lamia Scale, that may impress Juvia enough to fall in love with me!"
"Ah geeze, get your priorities straight, man." Yuka told him with a sweatdrop.
"Whatever gets him motivated, I guess." Sho said.
Sapphire also seemed to have a similar expression as she gazed upwards in the direction of Natsu. 'Mama Kurenai told me about the whole thing connected to Zeref and that Natsu and his friends were in on it. Of course, I'm going to help them if this all blows up in our faces, but the idea of working together with Natsu gets me excited.'
"Sapphire." Lucia broke her out of her thoughts. "Focus on the match. Everything else can wait."
"Right. Sorry." She slapped her own cheeks to get her mind back on the now.
"Go get em Kagura, Lucia, and Sapphy! Show them you mean business!" Milliana cheered from the box where Mermaid Heel sat.
"You can to this, Sapphire!" Amarilla cheered as well.
"Of course, they can. Those are our top three down there." Arana said with a confident grin.
"They'll do us proud." Kurenai added with a nod of her own.
"Hey boys! You'd better kick some butt this round or I'll take you all for a spin!" Ooba called to them as the rest of Lamia Scale watched, with Toby being nervous not to get too close to the old hag to get spun himself.
"Remember, you've all got only thirty minutes to seal the deal!" Mato reminded the contestants as he stepped back. "Now, let the match begin!"
With that declaration and the ringing of the gong that followed, the match had begun.
"Let's kick this off with a bang! Azure Dragon Roar!" Sapphire let loose her breath attack for the trio of Lamia Scale, but Yuka was quick to throw up his Wave magic so that once the blue flames made contact, they were instantly put out.
"You're quite powerful. Let's fix that, shall we?" Yuka grinned as he held out both of his hands. "Wave Isolation!" Suddenly, Sapphire, Kagura, and Lucia were surrounded by a bright blue aura, much to their concern as Sapphire's breath suddenly went out.
"Hey, what gives?!" She questioned.
"This power… it's from his Wave!" Lucia recognized it.
Kagura outstretched her hand to try and cast her gravity magic, only for nothing to happen. "He's neutralized our power!"
"Seven years ago, I could only cast Wave around myself for defensive purposes." Yuka explained. "But I've learned that I can envelop my enemy in this power and complete neutralize their magical abilities. Even demonic power is rendered inert by it. You three won't be able to use your magic from this point forward."
"That eyebrow guy just shut down our top three?!" Risley questioned.
"Oh no!" Beth gasped.
"Now it's our turn to go on the offense! Ice-Make: Eagle!" Lyon shot multiple long ranged ice-constructs shaped like eagles at their enemies. Sapphire backflipped to avoid those that went toward her, while Lucia and Kagura drew their respective weapons with the former wielding a pair of curved blades, known as Cutlaseer, and the latter with her sheathed Archenemy blade. They swung their swords with such precision and speed that not a single ice eagle could make contact.
"Your ability may neutralize our magic and demonic powers, but you can't cancel out our talent for swordsmanship." Lucia commented.
"Lyon, try and separate Kagura from the others! I'm going to try and take her out first!" Sho told him.
"I would have gone for the Devil Hunter first, but if that is your wish. Ice-Make: Snow Dragon!" He created a massive serpentine-dragon made of snow which went for Lucia and Kagura, forcing them to separate from one another with Sho rushing Kagura as he drew a series of cards.
"Card Magic: King of Storms!" He threw out multiple cards, all of which were charged with electricity and shot at Kagura with lightning-speed. She was able to use Archenemy to parry the bolts, though she did appear on the defensive as Sho threw out several more cards. "Ace of Flames! Queen of Ice! Jack of Stone!"
A ring of cards surrounded Kagura and sent out a blaze of fire just as more cards hung above her to rain down a hail of ice shards while the last set of cards surrounded her on the ground to bring up multiple bladed rocks. All the attacks came out at once with Kagura doing her best to stave off all the attacks.
"Amazing… Sho appears to have Kagura on the defensive." Erza noted in awe.
"That Lyon guy seems to be keeping Sapphire and that Lucia lady on the backfoot, too." Laxus commented as Lyon directed his Snow Dragon to attack Sapphire and Lucia in a manner akin to how a living animal would, both avoiding the strikes however they could.
"Thanks to that eyebrow guy's power, they don't have the magic to fight back." Dante said. "It's actually kinda clever."
With a final and circular slice from the sheathed Archenemy, Kagura had dispelled the last of Sho's attacks. "Trying to overwhelm me won't work. You should know that, Sho." She told him but was somewhat surprise to see that he was no longer in front of him.
"I wasn't trying to." He had appeared behind her and thrusted his hand toward her, causing her to gasp before she was engulfed in a flash of light and suddenly trapped within the card that Sho hand on his hands. "I just had to get close enough to do that."
"Whoa! Look at that, folks! Sho has managed to trap Kagura!" Chapati commentated in amazement.
"He kept her occupied with an all-out assault, which only served as a distraction to catch her off guard. Impressive." Yajima commented.
"Such a shocking and unexpected move, thank you very much!" Rabian stated.
"No freaking way!" Natsu exclaimed in shock. "Did you just see that?!"
"Sho has grown quite a bit." Erza said with a proud smile. "What he may lack in raw power, he makes up for in creativity and wits."
"Ha! How do you like that, Kurenai?!" Ooba gloated as she spun her finger. "Your girls got nothing on my boys!"
"Way to go, Sho!" Sherria cheered.
"Yes, well done." Jura nodded with approval. "But he shouldn't let his guard down either."
"No way! There's no way in heck they were able to catch Kagura!" Amarilla exclaimed.
"Sho's card magic has gotten stronger… but I definitely didn't expect him to pull something like that…" While Milliana was happy for her old friend's growth, she was also a tad bit upset that one of their strongest teammates got taken down.
"Now it's just Sapphire and Lucia. And with that Yuka-fellow's power, they can't use theirs." Arana commented.
"They may be at a disadvantage, yes." Kurenai said before an assuring smile formed on her face. "But let's not count them out yet. Don't forget, those two and Kagura are our top three mermaids."
Sapphire skid backwards slightly to regroup with Lucia. "Damn it… they got Kagura…! If it weren't for this damn Wave stuff, we'd be killing it!" She looked to her own hands as they, and her whole body, were still engulfed in Yuka's power.
"Then let's fix that." Lucia said as she drew a pair of crossbows; one was red in color, which was named Rosso, while the other was blue and was aptly named Azul. "We'll rush him and take down any interference! Our powers might be neutralized but not our physicality."
"Alright, let's do it!" Sapphire agreed as she and Lucia made a break straight for Yuka.
"Looks like they're trying to take me out of the competition." Yuka said as he remained in his spot, keeping his spell active as he held his arms up.
"Then I shall stop them in their tracks!" Lyon brought his Snow Dragon back toward him as it hovered in the air, but he wasn't done yet. "Ice-Make: Wolf Pack!" Lyon was able to create a pack of five ice wolves, all of whom howled as they rushed the incoming enemy with the Snow Dragon above them.
"I will deal with the dragon! You handle the wolves!" Lucia told Sapphire.
"Read my mind!" Sapphire grinned as she charged directly at the wolves. The front most one snarled and tried to bite at her, but she ducked under the bite and threw a fist up to shatter its face before grabbing it by its tail and slamming it down on a second ice wolf to shatter both of them in one strike. The other three tried to surround and pounce on her all at once, but Sapphire leapt into the air before coming back down to slam both her fists onto all three of them.
At the same time, the Snow Dragon descended down upon Lucia, who fired her dual crossbows, sending several bolts with shinning arrowheads, all of which broke and pierced through multiple areas across the Snow Dragon's body, but she still had to leap back to avoid the bite of its massive fangs. She then leapt into the air and fired Rosso and Azul again, this time aimed toward the neck area. The bolts broke through the ice quickly, essentially decapitating the Snow Dragon.
"Amazing! Despite not being able to use their magics, Lucia and Sapphire are putting up one amazing fight!" Chapati commented. "They made Lyon's attacks look like nothing!"
"I expect nothing less from Lady Kurenai's guild." Yajima said.
"Such incredible suspense! Thank you very much!" Rabian said excitedly.
"Okay, seriously, who is he thanking?" Nero questioned. "It's getting annoying just hearing that."
"It's just something he says. Try to ignore him." Happy told him.
She appeared to be close enough, Lucia had aimed Rosso and Azul at Yuka and fired her bolts at him. But Sho was able to arrive in the nick of time and slam a pair of cards on the ground. "Jack of Stone!" He raised a rock wall from his cards to try and block the bolts, though the rock was greatly damaged by Lucia's long-ranged weapons, it did provide Yuka some cover.
"Thanks, Sho." Yuka said.
"Anytime…."
"Heads up!" Lyon warned as Sapphire had leapt over the rock and shot herself towards Yuka, her fist being pulled back. "We won't allow you…" Lyon and Sho were both ready to fight back, but Lucia had managed to break through the rock barrier wielding her dual swords as she rushed past both of them, slicing at their sides with enough force to send them flying and allowing Sapphire to land a solid punch to Yuka's face. She followed through with a strike to his gut and knock the wind out of him. This caused him to lose control over his Wave magic, the aura fading away from Sapphire and Lucia.
"We're free from his grasp." Lucia said.
"Ya know what that means, don't ya?" Sapphire grinned borderline evilly at Yuka, who was on his knees and had a terrified smile on his face. Sapphire gave a blue flaming slug to his jaw to knock him into the air where she prepared a long-ranged attack. "Azure Dragon Blazing Meteor!" She had pulled her hands back to generate a ball of blue flames before throwing it upward at the airborne Yuka, engulfing him in an explosion before he fell to the ground, covered in icy-scorch marks with his clothes torn, and knocked unconscious.
"And Mermaid Heel has struck with a vengeance, taking down Yuka!" Chapati commentated. "It now seems the match is even again with two-on-two!"
"Number wise, maybe. But with their power restored, it seems like Lucia and Sapphire now have the advantage." Yajima added.
"This battle has me on the edge of my seat! Than…"
*BANG!*
Rabian ducked to avoid a bullet as Nero held out Blue Rose from the Fairy Tail observatory box and glared at him. "Seriously! Shut up with the 'Thank You' bullshit!"
Lyon and Sho had gotten up to face Sapphire and Lucia, the former cracked her knuckle with an eager grin. "Yuka is down, and they got their power back. What do we do?" Sho asked.
"We fight, obviously!" Lyon was the first to attack. "Ice-Make: Panther!" Lyon shot a large ice panther at the pair, but Sapphire stood still with her grin only growing before she caught the ice panther in her arms.
"Come to mama!" She bit down on the ice panther, when suddenly its entire icy body broke down in the form of energy, which Sapphire inhaled through her mouth, much to the shock of Lyon and Sho, with even Natsu looking in surprise. "Thanks for the snack!"
"H-how… how did you…?" Lyon stuttered.
"I'm an Azure Dragon Slayer, my element being cold fire." Sapphire said as she produced a blue flame in her hands. "That means I can not only eat fire for some extra juice, I can eat the cold too! Ice and snow? That's all lunch to me!"
"She can eat fire and ice?!" Natsu questioned.
"It's like she can use two elements at once…" Even Gajeel was caught off guard.
Lyon tisked in annoyance. "Well that's just great. We'll have to…" He was interrupted as Sho gave a startled yell. "Sho?! What's wrong!?"
Sho held a certain card in his hand as it began to warp and twist before expanding. "My prison card… It can't hold…!" He quickly threw it away before the card exploded, revealing Kagura, who was now free as she rose from the ground to stand straight up.
"Whoa! How the heck did Kagura break out of Sho's prison card?!" Chapati questioned in surprise while Rabian's jaw dropped in an equal amount of shock.
"I can only assume she expanded the space around her with her gravity magic, which caused the dimension she was trapped in to be warped and twisted until it couldn't hold together any longer." Yajima guessed.
'I was only able to escape from Sho's card because I added my own power to Ikaruga's blade, which could cut through the dimensional barriers, yet Kagura was able to overwhelm it completely. That take a great deal of power.' Erza noted.
Kurenai couldn't help but smile in pride. "That's my girl."
"Yay! Kagura's back!" Amarilla cheered.
"This match is as good as over." Risley said with confidence.
"Damn… I'll just have to…" Sho was ready to draw another set of cards, only for Kagura to zip past him, her sheathed Archenemy stretched outward.
"I underestimated you, Sho. I apologize. But that won't happen again." With one strike, Sho was hit with such force that it sent him flying and crashing into the wall on the other side of the arena, where he fell down on his side in unconsciousness.
"And Sho is down for the count! This match has now become a three-on-one battle, with Lyon being the last man standing for his guild!" Chapati commentated as he was surrounded all sides by the three women of Mermaid Heel.
"Oh no… Lyon's all by himself!" Sherria looked incredibly worried. "Do you think he has a chance of winning?!"
"I hate to say it… but I don't think so." Sherry said with disappointment.
"Watch your tongue!" Ooba scolded. "You have no idea what power he has buried under that cool façade! Lyon, don't let those hussies get the best of you! Make them pay for what they did to Sho and Yuka!"
Everyone in the audience watched with anticipation, with those in Team Fairy Tail keeping a close eye on the match, and while Gray seemed indifferent at first, he cast a concerning glance in Lyon's direction.
"I've heard a lot about you." Kagura said to Lyon. "Apparently you once called yourself the Cold Emperor, and you performed a dangerous ritual in the hopes of fighting the demon, Deliora."
"That was a long time ago. Now I am just Lyon Vastia, a wizard of Lamia Scale. Nothing more, nothing less. You know something, Kagura? You actually remind me of myself years ago, but that's not a complement because I was consumed by bitterness and hatred back then."
Lucia and Sapphire both shared concerning glances as they weren't so quick to dismiss Lyon's claim, while Kagura herself appeared to have ignored it.
"Are you here to talk, or do you wish to fight?" Kagura replied. "If it's the latter, I highly encourage you to surrender. You are faced against three opponents and one of them is capable of consuming your power to replenish her own. You have no chance of victory."
"Perhaps not… but I'm not the type to give up! If I'm going down, I'm going down fighting! Ice-Make: Dragon Fly!" He launched a multitude of ice dragon flies in all directions and attempted to flee in order to stay on his feet. However, Lucia suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Too slow!" She sliced Cutlaseer at him in an x-cross formation, which he tried to shield himself against with ice magic, but it shattered easily enough to knock him back towards Kagura, who struck him in the back to knock him further to the ground.
"Two hits and he's down!" Chapati commentated. "Can he get back up, or is this the end of the match?"
"Seriously man, just stay down." Sapphire told him. "No offense, but you can't beat all three of us and I really don't like ganging up on people like this."
Lyon struggled to push himself back up, but he had to admit that he was at a grave disadvantage. Maybe he should just admit defeat.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" His attention was caught by Gray's shouts as he turned to see his former fellow pupil, now rival, calling out to him. "And you call yourself Master Ur's student! If she saw you now, she'd be completely embarrassed! Come on! I know you can do better than that!"
Lyon stared for a moment before pushing himself back up. "You still have some fight in you. I'm impressed." Lucia commented.
"As I said, I'm not going down without a fight!" Lyon channeled as much of his own magic as he could as he placed his palms on the ground, creating a large magic circle underneath him. "Ice-Make: Snow Tiger Times Three! Snow Ape Times Four! Snow Dragon Times Two!" Just like that, Lyon had created a small army of ice-beasts consisting of three ice tigers, four ice apes, and two ice serpentine dragons.
"Nice ice constructs at once…" Arana noted in minor surprise. "Impressive."
"He's definitely powerful, there's no denying that." Risley commented.
"But against Sapphire, Kagura, and Lucia? There's no way he's going to win." Milliana stated.
"I think he knows that." Kurenai said. "But it won't stop him from giving it his all." She smiled in respect. "That young man has spirit."
"Now attack!" Lyon ordered as all nine of his ice beasts went on the offensive. Two of the ice dragons and one of the ice apes went straight towards Lucia, while the remaining three ice ape and three ice tigers attacked Kagura while Lyon himself gunned for Sapphire.
"You know I can eat all your attacks, right?" Sapphire reminded as she threw out a blazing blue attack toward him, but Lyon was quick to conjure an ice shield and use it to defend himself while sliding underneath the blue flames, closing the distance between him and Sapphire where he landed a successful uppercut to her jaw.
"Magic attacks, maybe. But you can't consume my physical strikes!" Lyon stated as he dealt a kick to her side to push her down. "And I excel at hand-to-hand combat!" He threw out another punch, which Sapphire blocked by crossing her arms, but the force pushed her back slightly.
"I get it. You're isolating me while having your animals keep Kagura and Lucia busy. Not bad, ice-boy." Sapphire commented before a smirk formed on her face. "But I think you underestimate how strong a team we are."
While Lucia and Kagura both appeared to be on the defensive against their icy attackers, they both shared serious glances with each other before countering. In that one instance, Kagura had activated her Gravity Magic, causing a giant magic circle to appear above the arena. Suddenly, Lyon and all his ice beasts were pulled up into the air and completely suspended.
"What overwhelming power…" Lyon noted and was surprised to see that Sapphire and Lucia were still on the ground, despite appearing to be caught in the range of her magic.
"Oh, forgot to tell ya! Kagura can isolate any people she doesn't want to be affected by her power and keep them from getting yanked up! Just wanted to clear up any confusion!" Sapphire explained.
"Apollo!" Lucia had brought up one of her other Devil Arms, this one resembling a red bow of Ancient Greek design. The second she pulled back the string, multiple flaming arrows appeared. "This ends now!" She let loose what appeared to be three fiery arrows, only for them all to be split apart into at least a dozen. All of which homed in on the ice beasts as well as Lyon himself before a massive explosion erupted over the arena.
*BOOM!*
When the dust all settled, Lyon's form fell to the ground, where he laid face-first, completely unconsciousness.
"Lyon is finally down! The winners of the second match are Lucia, Kagura, and Sapphire of Mermaid Heel!" Chapati announced, resulting in cheers from the entire audience.
"What an amazing battle!" Mato jumped up and down in excitement. "I knew Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel were tough competitors, but that was more exciting than anything I could have expected!"
"Ah yeah!" Milliana and Amarilla both cheered as they hugged one another.
"Nobody can beat our top gals, especially when they work together." Risley said.
"The fact that Lucia and Kagura pulled off one of their combined moves to win does also say something about Lyon's power." Arana commented.
"Yes, he was quite impressive." Kurenai agreed. "But, I am very proud of my girls." She smiled as Sapphire, Kagura, and Lucia both proceeded to walk out of the arena, the Dragon Slayer waving toward the cheering crowd with a smile.
"Aw… that stinks." Sherria sulked.
"At least our boys put up an impressive fight." Sherry said for the sake of optimism.
"Doesn't change the fact that we still lost!" Ooba stated angrily. "Those three are in big trouble! Hope they're ready for a mighty good spinning from me! Cause that's just what they're getting!"
"That was one heck of a fight!" Natsu commented.
"No kidding." Gajeel agreed. "Those chicks were something else."
"They're all quite powerful, and they make an effective team as well." Erza noted while also feeling sympathy for Sho as he had regained consciousness to slowly push himself up along with Yuka, both of which made their way to help Lyon.
"Hey, sorry your friends lost." Dante said to Erza as well as Gray.
"It's fine." Erza accepted. "Sho put up an amazing fight. He's grown quite well."
Gray, on the other hand, said nothing at first, but the look in his eyes did say that he was a tad disappointed. "Forget it. Besides, you should get going. It's your turn, next."
"Got that right." Dante said in agreement as he, Natsu, and Gajeel exchanged serious glances before leaving the box.
"The crowd is still going wild over our last match, but the next one is sure to be just as exhilarating!" Chapati commented upon hearing the loud cheers of the audience.
"That means it's our turn!" Mavis said excitedly.
"Yep, we're up." Macao smirked.
"About damn time." Wakaba grinned.
"Here we go!" Levy was equally excited.
"We're gonna kick some ass!" Cana grinned.
"Let's go!" Patty cheered.
"This is the match that we've all been waiting." Modeus said with anticipation.
"Time to knock those bucktooth cats off their high horse." Nero grinned.
"Especially for what they did to Lucy." Trish stated.
"Hey, where's Lisanna?" Elfman asked, looking to see that his younger sister wasn't with them.
"Oh, I think I know." Mira replied with a knowing smile.
Meanwhile, Lucy appeared to be sleeping peacefully in the infirmary before her eyes opened and she found herself surrounded by arguably the most important people in her life.
"Hey, Cous." Dante smiled with Natsu and Lisanna all sitting around her.
"You feeling better?" Natsu asked with a smile of his own.
Lucy smiled back as she pushed herself up. "I'm just fine."
"That's good." Lisanna smiled as well. "Their match is about to start. If you want, I can help you get back to the stands."
"Nah, it's fine." Lucy replied.
"You sure?" Dante asked.
"Yeah, I already know how it's gonna play out." Lucy said. "Hey, Dante… You know I'm going to be routing for you guys out there, but when you see Vergil, just tell him I said 'hi'."
"Sure, I'll let him now." Dante replied.
Natsu's smile vanished. "Lucy… I get why you feel the way you do about him, I do. But I can't exactly forgive what he's done to Fairy Tail, including you. I know he's your cousin and you might be willing to give him a second chance, but I'm not so sure I can. So I won't be holding back against him."
Despite that, Lucy didn't lose her smile as she reached out to gently grasp Natsu's hand. "It's alright, it would be unfair of me to ask something of you that you don't want to do. It's my choice to hope for the best for him and I won't force that on you."
"Sorry to bring that up, I'm sure it's the last thing you wanna hear." Natsu said.
"It's okay, I appreciate that you're honest with me." Lucy replied. "But I will be cheering my hardest for you, all of you." She pulled Natsu in close before giving him a kiss on the cheek, much to his surprise. He pulled back to see the emotional smile on Lucy's face, as well as the smiles of Dante and Lisanna before he smiled back.
"I'll stay here and help keep her company." Lisanna said as she scooched her chair closer to Lucy and put an arm around her shoulder, which the blonde leaned into with a smile.
"Thanks, owe ya." Dante nodded. "Oh, and how about a little extra company, too?" He reached into his jacket to pull out the Michelle doll and handed it to Lucy, who took with as her eyes watered and her smile only grew.
"Thank you… Dante." She pushed back a sob as Lisanna leaned in close for loving comfort.
The pair then stood up and walked out of the infirmary, where Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, Kyrie, Makarov, and even Sparda's spirit awaited them.
"You guys ready to rock?" Gajeel asked the pair.
"Always." Dante confirmed.
"Yeah, let's win this thing for Fairy Tail." Natsu proclaimed, earning a smirk from Gajeel.
"Good luck, you guys! I know you can win this!" Wendy encouraged.
"We'll stay with Lucy and make sure she's okay." Carla promised.
"Thanks, we know she's in good hands." Natsu nodded.
"Oh, and Dante…" Kyrie got his attention to reveal that she was holding onto the Perfect Amulet. "I know that you gave this to Lucy, but I think I can hold onto it until she's back up on her feet, and I promise to give it back once she is."
"Thanks for doing that. That means a lot to her, and to me as well." Dante accepted.
"Listen you three." Makarov spoke to Dante, Natsu and Gajeel. "Whatever happens out there… win or lose, know that I am beyond proud of all of you. Retired or not, you are still my children, and you've made this old man very proud."
"He's not the only one." Sparda said. "I feel the exactly the same way. Natsu, Gajeel, if they could see you right now, I know that Igneel and Metalicana would be very proud of you two. And Dante, your mother would be just as proud as I am."
The young Son of Sparda, along with the Fire and Iron Dragon Slayers all had their own smiles or grins as they heard that.
"Thanks, old timers." Gajeel said.
"Let's get this ball rolling." Natsu grinned.
"Damn right." Dante agreed as he led his two friends down the hall, leaving Sparda, Makarov, Wendy, Carla, and Kyrie to enter the infirmary where Lucy and Lisanna were waiting.
However, the trio soon found Lady and Happy meeting them in the middle of the hall, both of them looking with serious expressions on their faces.
"Something wrong?" Natsu asked.
"No… nothing's wrong." Happy replied.
"We didn't come here to make any kind of emotional speeches or anything if that's what you're wondering." Lady said.
"Didn't expect you to. You're not the type for that." Dante said with a smile, earning one from Lady as well.
"Go kick some ass." She smirked as she offered her fist for a fist-bump.
Dante smirked back as he returned the gesture. "That's the plan." He and Gajeel walked past them with Natsu right behind them.
"Natsu…" Happy had him stop briefly. "I'm not going to say anything. Do you know what I mean by that?"
"Yeah…" He turned around to give his best friend a smile in understanding. "I hear ya, partner." With that, Natsu turned around to join the others, but not before a teary-eyed Happy flashed Natsu a sign with his index finger and thumb held out like an L, with Natsu returning the gesture.
As they walked away, Lady walked by Happy's side. "Let's get going."
"Right."
"And now… at long last… we've come to the battle that everybody's been waiting for." Chapati began in a dramatic tone as the two three-man teams stepped onto the field. "One guild was considered the strongest in Fiore seven years ago, and the other currently holds the title." The six opponents met in the center to gaze hard at one another. "This is gonna be a great match. It's Fairy Tail's Dante, Natsu, and Gajeel versus Sabertooth's Vergil, Sting, and Rogue." Everyone in the audience watched with anticipation with those from Sabertooth having confident grins while those in Fairy Tail watched gazed with serious and/or hopeful expressions. Even Bruni, who leaned back against a doorway near the stands wouldn't be taking his eyes off this battle for a second. "You're about to witness a showdown of epic proportions. These aren't just any wizards or warriors; we have four Dragon Slayers and the twin Sons of Sparda!"
"Go get em, Sting." Lector encouraged while Frosch bounced with excitement.
"Give em a thrashing, you guys!" Gray called to them with a smile.
"Get some hits in for us, too." Laxus said with a smile of his own.
"Win this for Fairy Tail!" Erza called out.
"This is it, ladies and gentlemen!" Chapati announced. "The six legends are on the battlefield! Now, the only question is: who will be triumphant? The fairies or the tigers?!"
Dante smirked towards his brother. "Finally locking blades again, bro. Let's give these people a good show."
"You gave your half of the amulet to Lucy." Vergil said, making sure to avoid revealing any sensitive information. "Do you believe that to be wise?"
"She can handle it. She's a lot stronger than you and most people think." Dante responded. "Plus, you know how this guild is, everyone here sticks together like glue."
"Yes, I've noticed." Vergil acknowledged. Dante wasn't wrong either. Even if Lucy couldn't handle the burden of carrying the Perfect Amulet on her own, Fairy Tail's tendency to stick together implied that the whole guild would be watching over that half of the relic. It seemed like a logical course of action.
"She says 'hi', by the way." Dante told him, earning a nod of acknowledgement towards Vergil. "And you still got your half?"
"Of course. It's never once left my side." Vergil opened his coat slightly to reveal his half of the Perfect Amulet attached to the inside of his jacket. "Now then… If there's nothing else needed to be said…" He gripped the Yamato and flicked it open slightly.
"Ready when you are." Dante replied, his red jacket blowing back slightly as Dante had his hands ready to draw on his pistols at a moment's notice. As they locked eyes, so did Natsu with Sting and Gajeel with Rogue.
"Give it everything you got, boys." Gildarts said as he narrowed his eyes on the battle yet to come, while Jimena said nothing but watched with a darkly serious expression.
'I've been looking forward to this all my life.' Sting thought with an eager grin. 'All these years… I finally get the chance to fight Natsu!'
"Everyone's dying to find out who's gonna win this round…!" Mato announced. "No pressure but remember that you have thirty minutes! Now… let the match begin!"
Meanwhile, in an unknown location filled with lava, smoke, and firey skies, a lone and towering figure stood alone in the desolate wasteland.
"My old friend… Sparda." Igneel began. "My Natsu and your sons are about to do battle with Metalicana's, Weisslogia's, and Skiadrum's children. Who will emerge victorious? Have our Dragon Slayers surpassed their predecessors? Have your own children reached your level? For the sake of the future… I would hope so. The Second Dragon King Festival that we had hoped to avoid may soon be upon us."
Done.
So, we had our matches with Blue Pegasus, Quatro Puppy, Lamia Scale, and Mermaid Heel. I hope you all enjoyed the changes I implemented from the canon.
I decided to make Nichiya a swordsman as he was a member of the Extalia Royal Guard in the past, so it only makes sense. But his body is still physically weak as not all Exceeds can transform the way Panther-Lily and Samuel can. While he's not the physically strongest, he's rather fast with his Aera magic and capable of putting up a fight.
I also enjoyed writing the Lamia Scale-Mermaid Heel battle as we got to see more of what they're capable of. I gave Lucia a pair of dual crossbows called Rosso (red) and Azul (blue), sort of like her counterpart to Dante's Ebony and Ivory, which I think is a better choice than just throwing daggers like she had in canon. The idea came from a friend of mine here on FanFiction, "Squeegeman", so he deserves the credit there. And I even gave her a Devil Arm that fires flaming arrows called Apollo (think like the Bow of Apollo from the "God of War" game). And she's got quite a few more up her sleeve as well.
Up next is the match that you've all been waiting for…
Dante, Natsu, and Gajeel vs. Vergil, Sting, and Rogue!
I've been waiting to write that chapter for a very long time, and I've got plenty of surprise in store that I know you'll enjoy! Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there. Love you.