"Huh? Is it morning already?" Lucy thought, blinking as the morning sun shined on her face.
The blonde felt super energized for some reason, last night's events far from her mind as if it had all happened months ago. She wanted to sleep in just a little more, the warmth from her blanket and the pillow she was hugging giving more comfort than she could ever hope for. But when she found herself facing against a very familiar white scaly pattern, she knew exactly who was acting as her pillow and heater. The embarrassing moment from last night came to her head and she blushed heavily.
Natsu's face soon came into view as he turned to face her way and Lucy's blush intensified. Yet her embarrassment was soon turned into annoyance as she shifted her body and kicked Natsu square in the gut, not only waking him up in shock but also sending him flying all the way to his assigned bed. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT SLEEPING IN MY BED, YOU IDIOT!?"
After Natsu had crashed, Lucy's yell caused Erza, Gray, Wendy, Happy and Carla to wake up from their peaceful sleep, turning to see Lucy's face bright red as she stood on her bed while pointing an accusing finger at the pink haired dragon slayer. When they turned to check his condition, Natsu sat up while scratching the back of his head and stretched, yawning as he did so. He blinked a couple of times for his vision to focus and when he saw Lucy awake, he grinned at her and waved like nothing happened.
"Morning Luce!" He greeted, making the blonde's jaw fall to the ground. "Sure sound like you slept well."
"I WOULD'VE SLEPT BETTER WITHOUT YOU SLEEPING IN MY BED!" She yelled even more, the other five fairies just staring at their two teammates bicker as usual.
"Aw~ but your bed is always the coziest!" Natsu complained like a child. "I've gotten so used to sleeping with you and Nashi that it must've become second nature!"
"Second nature or not, Nashi is not here at the moment so sleep where you were supposed to!" As the two continued to bicker, the others just laughed or smiled, glad that Natsu and Lucy were able to make up before they got to the hotel.
Before everyone left the restaurant and bar, they were worried that the two wouldn't be able to make up before the next day and that Lucy might not want to cooperate with Natsu for the remainder of the games. The non core members were so nervous, since everyone knew about the bet the blonde empress made with Minerva, they thought that Lucy might end up accidentally obliterating the saber in one second if she continued to stay in that bad mood.
It was common knowledge among the guild, even though it was never said aloud, that Lucy would not use or show off her dragon slaying magic unless she was going up against a very strong opponent. It would not only be her trump card, but Fairy Tail's last surprise to finally showcase Lucy's power. But when Natsu left, the non core members were worried that she might show off her true skills too early. Now, none of the fairies had nothing to fear. No matter the severity of the argument, nothing could tear Natsu and Lucy's bond.
So when the guild and Team B saw Team A enter their booth with bright smiles, Natsu and Happy messing and teasing Lucy like normal, they all relaxed and looked forward to seeing Lucy in action to fulfil her bet with Minerva. All of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth are aware of the conditions and the grave consequences that follow the bet, so when Chapati announced that the event was a battle royale called Naval Battle - Lucy and Minerva smirked at the perfect chance.
Lucy was the first to get to the centre of the arena where Mato waited. Following after her was Jenny, Rocker from Quatro Cerberus, Juvia, Risley from Mermaid Heel and Sherria. When Minerva had yet to come down, Lucy stared at Sabertooth while trying to imitate Sting's cocky grin, taunting dark haired woman scoffed at Lucy's actions and immediately went to walk out into the arena. The sabers and the fairies cheering for their respective members.
All the participants then changed their gear into swimsuits, the girls' bikini's pleasing the men population of the crowd greatly, as Mato instructed them to jump into the floating sphere of water. "Alright contesters! I wish you all the best of luck!"
One by one, each of the girls (and Rocker) jumped into the sphere. As Minerva jumped in, she looked down on Lucy and flashed a devious smile. The blonde smirked herself as she jumped in last, already excited to finally have a chance at defeating a member of Sabertooth. Minerva excited to clip a fairy's wings. "She's gonna need a lot of luck." They thought.
Once Lucy was in the water, she wondered how she wanted to go about the battle. Of course, her main objective is to defeat Minerva but it doesn't hurt to get the others out of the way. She was indefinitely going to use her Aquarius Star Dress, but she wondered if she could get away with using some water dragon slaying spells. If Minerva put her in a bind, Raiden had taught her some extra lightning spells in addition to dragon slaying spells just in case.
When the gong rang, Lucy wasted no time to summon Aquarius and transform into the spirit's respective Star Dress. The mermaid spirit shooting a tornado of water out of her urn and Lucy manipulated the water around her to add power to Aquarius' attack. Everyone, except for Juvia and Minerva, were taken in by the current and were then pushed away as Juvia countered the attack with her Water Cyclone. Minerva using her Territory magic to move the waves out of her way.
"It seems your training with Isla and Kai really paid off, huh Juvia?" Lucy called as both she and Aquarius smirked at the power of her Water Cyclone.
"Juvia also has Aquarius to thank for that! I was able to learn a lot from her and Scorpio during our training as well!" The water mage replied, the mermaid spirit looking at her with pride.
"Don't think that just because we personally trained you... that I may go easy!" Aquarius said as she put more power into her urn while Lucy added water projectiles on the side.
But Juvia continued to persist and Lucy couldn't help but be even more excited about the battle. Minerva, on the other hand, just floated in the water with her devious smile not leaving her lips. The more power Lucy used up, the more likely she was to run out of magic power during their fight. The saber was not going to allow a fairy to slander Sabertooth's name, even more so since she had a bet to win. It would be easy for defeat Lucy if all she had was her spirits and Star Dress to use.
"Sorry Lucy... but this is taking way too long." Aquarius said nonchalantly, making Lucy stare at her in confusion and annoyance. "I'm going to be late for my date with my boyfriend, if I don't leave now."
"You can't be serious!?" Lucy cried as the mermaid spirit faded back into the Celestial Spirit World.
"Now that Aquarius is finally gone, Juvia is sorry but Juvia is going to finish this game in a single attack thanks to her Second Origin!" The water mage declared with certainty.
"Don't think that just because Aquarius is gone means that I can't hold my own against you Juvia!" As Juvia casted her spell, which was named after Gray, Lucy summoned Aries and Virgo to help keep her steady as she made a water wall mixed with Aries' wool wall to block Juvia's waves while Virgo held the both of them steady from behind.
Rocker had already been pushed out of the sphere by Jenny before Aquarius left. But the pegasus was the first one to fall out thanks to Juvia's attack. After her, Sherria fell out and then Risley, leaving only Juvia, Lucy and Minerva in the ring. But of course, the one second the water mage became distracted to see Gray's reaction, Minerva took the chance to push her out of the sphere and finally come face to face with the blonde empress. Lucy sending Aries and Virgo back to their world with a smirk.
"Finally." They both thought as Chapati announced the five minute timer to start.
"Go Lucy! Show her the true power of Fairy Tail!" Everyone a part of the guild cheered.
However, all the fairies' attention turned to notice a small body standing on the ledge of the booth where Makarov, Mavis and the exceeds sat. Her peach hair had been tied up into a high pony tail and wore a simple shirt and shorts. She had a towel hanging from her neck and a pom pom in her hand. All the Fairy Tail members, including Team A and Team B, staring at Nashi as she cheered for her mother. Their jaws dropping at the confusion of how she got there.
"Go Mama!" She cried, waving the pom pom above her head as Natsu stared at her completely flabbergasted. He thought Nashi wouldn't be able to watch the match since Lucy was so adamant about bringing the child to the Dragon Realm to further her training. But there she was in the flesh, a bright smile on her face. "Go and beat the mean lady!"
"Hold on! How the heck is Nashi even here!?" Happy asked as the child turned to wave at him, since a month of two had already passed by now for Nashi.
Lisanna was going to pick up the child and give her a hug, only for the guild to see her hands go straight through her body, Nashi laughing like nothing was wrong. "Happy look! Auntie Lisanna went through my stomach!"
"Eh~!?" The guild cried.
When Lucy heard the voice of her daughter, she smirked and should've expected as much from someone who shared her's (and possibly Natsu's) blood. She beckoned the water to surround her hands, to mimic Minerva's magic, and swam forward as their fists clashed. The magic energy the two were exerting so strong that water splashed and landed on all of the audience. The crowd cheering loudly as they watched the princess of Sabertooth and Fairy Tail's Athena try to land hits on one another.
"You sabers don't stand a chance!" Nashi continued to cheer as the fairies tried to figure out how in the world Nashi stood where she was as a hologram.
"Honestly... why do I always have to do the tiring jobs...?" A familiar voice complained.
When the fairies in the booth turned to where the voice came from, they were surprised to see Kai sitting right next to Romeo with a tired expression on his face. Those sitting in the front row crying out in surprise as the water dragon slayer waved at them, fatigue most definitely evident on his face. "Oh... hey guys..."
"Kai!? What're you doing here!?" Bisca asked.
The dark haired man just hung his head low as he raised his hand to show a pyramid shaped lacrima resting on his palm. At its peak, the lacrima projected a light that was connected to that of Nashi's holographic body and the guild members soon understood the situation. "She'd have gone on a hunger strike if we didn't do this... so Igneel forced me to come here..."
The fairies sweatdropped as he sulked in his seat. For an all powerful dragon, he was quite aloof. But they assumed that's why he was a better babysitter for Nashi. They relaxed once that was out of the way and began to focus on the fight between Minerva and Lucy, the water dragon's interest being pulled as he heard Lucy was fighting inside a water sphere. He had already heard from Nashi that Lucy planned on hiding her dragon slaying magic until she got serious and the bet, so he wondered how she would fight.
Meanwhile, a minute and thirty seconds had already passed since the five minute timer started. Every time Lucy went to land a hit, Minerva would evade it before teleporting and attempting to attack Lucy herself, only to be blocked by the blonde empress. While the saber stared at her in annoyance, Lucy couldn't help but smirk whenever they made eye contact. The saber was tired of the taunts and couldn't help but feel like Lucy was simply toying with her.
"You fairies really don't know when to quit, do you?" Minerva sneered, earning a chuckle from Lucy.
"I think that should be your line." Lucy replied as the two separated and she beckoned water to her side. "After hearing about the five minute timer rule, I didn't know if I wanted to spare you even more embarrassment or if I should just finish you off in a second."
"What!?" Minerva and the rest of Team Sabertooth thought.
When she saw Minerva's eyes widen, Lucy narrowed her eyes as her magic power increased by a slight bit (a little more than when she had fought Flare) and her golden aura surrounded her body. Everyone in the arena, besides Fairy Tail, had thought that Lucy's magic prowess only reached up until the point it had been in her fight with Flare but she didn't seem like she was using any more than a small fraction from the way she smirked on the lacrima vision screens.
"Whoa! Do you see her aura!?" Chapati commented. "Lucy's magic is going off the charts!"
"You're really using all your magic power now!? Is that really all you have!?" Minerva asked, about to laugh.
But Lucy didn't lose face, but instead shocked everyone when lightning surrounded her hand. "Oh no, Minerva... it's only a piece of it."
The saber's eyes widened as lightning sparks began to surround the blonde's body, Lucy's statement hard to believe. The magic aura she was sending out was only a piece of her full strength!? No one in the crowd could believe that. Kai rolled his eyes at what a show off his empress was, but then again, she had been keeping her powers a secret for five years and a half. The fairies' cheers becoming even more louder as the timer was left with two minutes and fifteen seconds.
"Honestly, I had a whole strategy planned out to make you feel what Yukino felt, but I believe this will suffice." Lucy continued. "I'm sure you know what happens when lightning touches water... don't you?"
Minerva's rage overflowed and she swam forward in rapid speed to attack Lucy before she had a chance to do anything. "A queen knows when she is defeated, but I'm not done yet!"
Lucy just laughed as the lightning around her body gathered above the palm of her hand to form into a large orb and swam up in the last second to dodge Minerva's attack. "If you're a queen then I'll have you know I am an empress... because it's over for you!" Lucy said as she threw the orb of lightning to Minerva. "Lightning... Electric EXPLOSION!"
As the orb collided with the saber's body, the lightning electrified not only Minerva's body but the rest of the sphere. The crowd and other participating guilds surprised that Lucy was unaffected (she did learn from Raiden after all). But once the dark haired woman was close enough to the edge of the sphere, her body stinging as she looked up at Lucy, the blonde empress snapped her fingers and a bright explosion enveloped the sphere, causing water to splash onto the audience yet again. The timer stopping at thirty seconds left.
When the light dispersed, Minerva was left on the ground while the blonde remained floating in the centre of the sphere, her hand raised above her head as she formed the Fairy Tail sign in her victory. The crowd cheered in amazement as the fairies and Kai celebrated amongst themselves, the two teams running down from their booths to meet Lucy, who jumped out of the sphere. But before they could get to her, Minerva went to attack the blonde yet was blocked by Lucy's hand.
"Luce!" Natsu called as he ran beside her, the other sabers rushing down to meet their guild's princess.
"I believe we had an agreement." Lucy said calmly, pushing Minerva back with a expressionless look. "The game is over and you are now in last place... when the games are over, you and your entire guild will bow before Yukino and apologize."
Sting gnashed his teeth and bared his fangs, denying the fact they had lost the bet. "You crazy-"
"Are you denying your loss?" Erza suddenly said, cutting him off. "I'd had hoped that Sabertooth would at least uphold their promises and accept the outcome when in front of their peers."
"You used lightning! How is that even fair!?" Sting cried in anger.
"I do believe the bet stated that whomever was higher in ranking would be the victor. I don't recall ever mentioning to only use one type of magic." Lucy remarked, causing the white dragon slayer to take a step back. "You must never underestimate your opponent and that's what she did. If you are unhappy with the outcome then do something about it."
Sting's body began to shake at Lucy's sarcastic remarks. In the two times he came face to face with the blonde fairy, he felt himself being downgraded and being treated like a kid. Yes, Lucy may be older than him (even though she looked younger than her age), but she was still technically a part of the weakest guild in Fiore. There was still time for Sabertooth to catch up and take home the trophy like the year prior. He was not going to let his guild go to shame by the underdogs.
Rogue looked to his partner, and essentially his brother, with his poker faced expression, only his eyes being able to show off his worry. As the calmer one out of the two, he stared at Lucy, trying to figure out why she was so confident in everything she did. From when she told them that she knows they hadn't killed their dragon parents even though she wasn't present during that time, to her battle with Flare and even when she created the bet with Minerva. Her conviction never wavered for even a second.
The crowd watched closely in anticipation, no one daring to interrupt the two groups. Even though Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy and Juvia looked ready to fight, Lucy remained relatively calm. When the sabers made no effort to say something else or move, the blonde just turned around and transformed back into her regular clothes. "Guess they gave up." Lucy thought.
"Hold it!" Sting suddenly shouted, pointing a finger at Lucy. "In the tag battles today! Our guilds are likely to go up against each other! And when they do, me and Rogue will show you the power of true dragon slayers! That's a promise!"
Chapati began to comment in an exciting MC tone at Sting's challenge, the crowd going insane as it was a fight they most definitely wanted to see. Lucy looked to Natsu in the corner of her eyes, the fire dragon slayer meeting her gaze and the two of them nodding to one another in agreement. The blonde then turned her body, so that the sabers only see her side profile and growled as Natsu and Lucy cracked their knuckles in anticipation and determination.
"Just how!? How can they be so confident!?" Sting and Rogue thought.
"You better hope that you know what you're in for." They said in unison. "'Cause we're all fired up now!"