After Lucy's battle, the games continued but Lucy didn't bother watching them. She had made a run for Fairy Tail's booth and, like Natsu, she barged through the door and knelt down in front of Nashi in relief. The guild smiling at how she was such a doting mother. They watched in amusement as Lucy made sure Nashi was not hurt anywhere, which the child had to hug her mother in order for her to stop, while Natsu, who was also still there, laughed and patted Lucy on the back to reassure her of Nashi's safety.
Mira, who watched the actions unfold from Team B's booth, immediately got sparkles in her eyes. During their time in the Dragon Realm, she recalled Levy asking Ava if the concept of mates exist between dragons. The nature dragon confirmed the fact, but mentioned that it's not the same as simply just mating someone like animals do, rather it was more like a dragon's mate is their fated partner and their one and only. Which made the takeover mage's matchmaking senses go off at the sight of Natsu and Lucy.
She began to chuckle under her breath, much like how Juvia plans to get rid of any love rivals or daydreams about dates with Gray, and began to create scenes in her head. "There's no way that I'm the only one that has figured this out. The other's may have an idea, but I know this is for sure." Mira thought. "And the best ally I could have, is the one that brought them together in the first place!"
The eldest Strauss knew that Nashi believed that Natsu and Lucy were already married and she eavesdropped on Natsu's conversation with Gajeel and Laxus when they first arrived at the Dragon Realm. The only question remaining is if Lucy has the slightest attraction towards Natsu. It was already clear enough that Natsu doesn't realize he cares about Lucy more than just a best friend but does Lucy share that same thought even after not seeing him for so many years?
She decided not to dwell on it as Jellal's and Jura's match ended and thus ended the first day of the Grand Magic Games. Sabertooth was in first place, Lamia Scale was in second, Blue Pegasus in third, Fairy Tail Team A in fourth place, Raven Tail in fifth place, Mermaid Heel in sixth, Quatro Cerberus in seventh and Fairy Tail Team B in last place. It wasn't a favourable outcome, but it was a starting point and looking at the score board only made the fairies all the more determined to get into first place.
As Lucy picked up Nashi so that she could carry her, the mother and daughter met eye contact with Natsu and Happy. The four of them smirking with determination. "Fairy Tail is coming!" They shouted together. "So look out!"
While Fairy Tail drank away at the bar for the night, Carla had awoken with a shock, startling Porlyusica momentarily. The white exceed looked terrified and her small body shook with each breath she took. Knowing of her foreseeing powers, the old woman got a glass of cold water to drink and once Carla was stable enough, Porlyusica had her sit on a stool so that she could tell her what she saw in her visions. Clearly it was something not to be taken lightly.
Before the exceed could speak, however, a soft white glow appeared in the room and out came a young woman with long curly pastel pink hair with white eyes. The exceed and healer were surprised by her entrance, but the woman hushed them by shaking her head and bowed to them in greeting. "Please... I mean you no harm." She said in a soft voice.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" Porlyusica asked in a stern voice.
The woman gave a soft smile and looked to Carla, the exceed tilting her head at the familiarity of the woman. "Forgive me, but I am the oracle dragon Mirai." She said, causing the two to gasp. "I am here to warn only the two of you of a danger I foresaw."
"You also had a precognition!?" Carla asked.
Mirai nodded and took a stool to sit on. "I wish to compare our visions but you must not allow her majesty or anyone else of this matter." She warned. "I sense grave consequences in the future to come."
Carla's body shook yet again, recalling and stating the faded and fractured images she saw in her sleep. A knight in white armor. The royal castle Mercurius breaking apart. Two cloaked figures. And Lucy crying her heart out in despair. At the revelation of her vision, Porlyusica maintained her pokerface while Mirai only closed her eyes, sorting out what she had seen to match the events described in Carla's dream. There was only one thing out their visions that remained different.
"So?" The pink haired healer asked. "What do you make of her vision?"
"Is it as I feared?" Carla asked.
Mirai opened her eyes after a moment, but her expression showed more than just seriousness. There was worry, uncertainty... and even a little bit of sorrow. "I shall discuss this with Hekima and Kumiko." Mirai replied as she got up and the portal appeared again. "Remember this Carla. You must not, under any circumstances, mention any of this to her majesty unless I am present, understand?"
The white exceed nodded. The three dragons were wise and she trusted that they will come to a solution soon. What worried her was the pained and troubled expression on Mirai's face. The oracle dragon didn't tell Carla if anything was different between their two precognitions, which meant there was either something not as important to tell or something completely worse than what she had seen in Mirai's vision. The latter possibility making the her and Porlyusica anxious about the coming future.
"Hey Mama?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy and Nashi were in their room, the exceed, raven and scarlet mages already fast asleep. Natsu had already gotten into bed with Nashi laying down next to him and Happy on his own little pillow. Now they were just waiting on Lucy to join them since the peach haired girl would have thrown a tantrum otherwise. Tomorrow, they would start the second day of the games and Natsu was determined, more than ever, to prove that Fairy Tail is a guild not to be laughed at.
"Do you think we're gonna win the games?"
Natsu immediately sat up and looked at Nashi with an offended look. "What!? Nashi, you're not seriously doubting us, are ya?" He asked, but she only looked away with a worried expression. "C'mon! You got your dad right here!"
Nashi looked up at Natsu with unsure eyes and Lucy just sighed as she got into the bed and pulled the child into a large hug. Kissing her forehead, Lucy booped Nashi's nose and tucked her in the blanket as her and Natsu hugged her from both sides. "If my silly little girl is worried so much, you already know what to do in an emergency... isn't that right?"
"Hm? What's that?" Natsu asked as Lucy yawned and closed her eyes.
"Let's hope you never have to find out." Lucy replied as she fell asleep. "Because that would mean there is no emergency."
Once Nashi and Natsu realized the blonde was fully asleep, they looked at each other and tried to stifle their laugh. But before Natsu could even attempt to pry the secret out of Nashi, the peach haired girl turned off the lamp and buried herself under the blanket and closed her eyes, leaving Natsu speechless. However, she opened her eyes for a quick second to give Natsu a kiss on the cheek before snuggling into Lucy's embrace. The dragon slayer being still for a second before he went to hug the two girls and also fell asleep.
When the next day came, the second even of the Grand Magic Games was a race called Chariots. Natsu had been so eager to go and change the views on Fairy Tail, that he didn't give the others a chance to talk him out of it and ran to the centre of the arena. Seeing the pink haired slayer run out, Gajeel made his way to the arena, confident that he was about to redeem yesterday's losses. Sting then decided to also participate in the games, wanting to go up against both Natsu and Gajeel.
What the three slayers didn't expect was for the chariots themselves to move and thus, they were reduced to their motion sickened states. The fairies, as well as Sabertooth's team, just sighed in disappointment. Nashi even felt sick just watching her father trying to hold in his lunch and she turned away and hugged Lisanna so that she didn't have to watch. Lucy, on the other hand, just chuckled a bit as this was the result of Natsu being hasty and not thinking about what the game might be.
"If this is an affliction that all dragon slayers have, why is it that you don't go through motion sickness whenever you're on a vehicle Lucy?" Erza asked, crossing her arms.
The blonde empress formed a puzzled expression on her face at the question. She had never thought of it since it never bothered her before but Nashi certainly had it. "Hm... now that you mention it... I think Hekima mentioned that the previous queen had no such trait and that he's surprised that dragon slayer's now do."
"So what? Does that mean it just became a natural thing now?" Gray asked.
Lucy shrugged, not knowing what other possibility there could be for explanation. "Perhaps... maybe it's just a dragon ruler thing?"
The fairies decided to just accept their defeat as Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus became the first place winner. Raven Tail came in second, Mermaid Heel in third, Lamia scale in fourth place and Blue Pegasus in fifth. Leaving only Natsu, Gajeel and Sting on the moving platforms. The white dragon slayer had already given up on trying to win because of his motion sickness, but he and the rest of the crowd was puzzled as to why Natsu and Gajeel continued to persist even though everyone knew they were the weakest guild.
But the fire and iron dragon slayers only smirked at his taunts and insults as they forced their arms and legs to move. The audience and MC's had gone silent as Gajeel's voice rang throughout the arena. "Don't you dare look down on one point!"
The fairies all watched in awe as Natsu and Gajeel continued to move at a faster rate than just moments ago. The white dragon slayer utterly speechless as Natsu declared that Fairy Tail was there to compete for their friends. "What...?" Sting asked.
"You people... don't understand anything!" Natsu yelled, his voice ringing clear throughout the arena. "They went through the pain... the heartache... the insults! They took everything... but stayed together! They sacrificed so much while we were gone... bottled everything up while you all... looked down on all of them!"
Lucy could feel tears build up in her eyes while the non core members just let their tears rain down their cheeks. Natsu's words bringing up all the suffering and humiliation they had went through while they were gone. Nashi, on the other hand, she felt a weight on her chest as she could feel herself crying too. As Natsu shouted out his words of determination, Nashi could hear her mother's voice in her head but the words Lucy said were something that she doesn't particularly remember Lucy ever saying.
"Remember this well, okay Nashi? Even though you have me and Papa, the guild will always be your nakama too. Your happiness is their happiness. Your pain is their pain. And your tears become everyone's tears. Don't ever forget that."
Nashi, letting out her tears, stood up from where she sat and cheered for her father. Happy, and the rest of the guild who were with her, joining her as they watched Natsu and Gajeel get closer to the finish line. "Everyone's gonna know by the end of this! Fairy Tail will always stand proud and tall! We never gave up then! So I sure as hell ain't giving up now!"
As Natsu crossed the finish line, much to his exhaustion, he was able to get sixth place while Gajeel got seventh, making Sting come in last and not receive any points for Sabertooth. Lucy went down to fetch her pink haired partner while Laxus got Gajeel. Unfortunately, Natsu's motion sickness made him weaker than he would like since he pushed himself so hard, so Lucy had to unfortunately drag him all the way to the infirmary. Nashi already there waiting for them.
"Mama!" Nashi greeted as Lucy returned the greeting a smile.
After finally getting Natsu in the bed, the dragon slayer was completely knocked out. THe peach haired child went up to his bed and climbed to sit by his feet while Lucy turned to Porlyusica. "Since it's just motion sickness, he just needs some rest right?"
The pink haired healer nodded and Lucy decided to head back to her team's booth. She asked Nashi to stay and look after Natsu while she said bye to Carla and Porlyusica. The two keeping poker faces since what Mirai had told them was still in their heads. They just made eye contact with one another, sending messages through their eyes since Nashi was still in the room and if she were to hear about the vision, no doubt she might just tell Lucy about it.
"I just hope that whatever is going on... it be solved soon..."