A/N: Episode 170, beginning of Episode 171.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: SMALL FIST
Wendy was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath. "I guess you're not going to give up?" Sherria questioned.
"Wendy!" Natsu exclaimed in worry.
"She can barely stand!" Lucy pointed out.
"Wendy..." Erza muttered.
"This is an incredible fight..." Gray mumbled.
Jellal was walking down the steps to get closer. "If that Sherria girl has some connection to Zeref... Wendy is in danger!" Jellal thought as he stood in front of some spectators, blocking their view.
"Hey, you!"
"Huh? This guy..."
"From Fairy Tail...?"
"Should I stop this? Or wait and see?" Jellal asked himself.
By now, Doranbolt had stood up. "Wendy..." He thought before looking down at Jellal. "But right now... Seven years ago, I infiltrated Fairy Tail. To some extent, I'm acquainted with inside information on Fairy Tail. Mystogan... You're not supposed to exist in this world."
Jellal noticed that Doranbolt had his eyes locked on him while Wendy winced in pain.
"I don't mind fighting, but I've got no love for one-sided violence where the outcome is clear." Sherria said.
"The Council... At a time like this..." Jellal thought.
"You know, you can always surrender." Sherria said.
"I can't!" Wendy shouted, making Sherria get taken aback. "The fact that I'm standing here means that I'm prepared to fight for my guild! I don't need your pity. Until I fall and can't move anymore, come at me with everything you've got! Please!"
Sherria was lost for words. "Wendy..." Carla muttered.
"Sure. That's only common courtesy." Sherria said.
"Right!" Wendy agreed.
"Well, now it's my turn to break out a big move!" Sherria claimed as black wind soon gathered. "I'll make it easy on you and end this with one strike."
"God Slayer's Secret Art!" Sherria called out.
"Sherria, no!" Lyon shouted.
"Not that!" Jura said.
"Fool! Do you mean to kill your opponent?!" Obaba exclaimed.
"I'm answering the full strength of your feelings with my full strength! That's what love is!" Sherria said.
"W-What is that magic?!" Erza questioned.
"That's..." Jellal trailed off.
"Heaven's Gathering Clouds!" Sherria finished her spell, aiming her spell right at Wendy, but the spell moved by her.
"She dodged it!" Romeo said.
"No... It missed her!" Makarov corrected.
"It seems Sherria can heal herself with her Magic, but it only works on wounds. It looks like she can't recharge herself with energy." Samuel noticed.
"Right." Juvia agreed.
"Wendy's the opposite. She can't heal herself with her Magic, but she can restore another person's strength." Carla explained.
"I see... Then..." Happy realized.
"...she revived her opponent's physical strength?!" Romeo concluded.
"And because of that, Sherria's Magic gained too much force..." Lyon said.
"Wendy made her miss... by increasing her strength!" Gray stated.
Sherria stared in amazement. "What strategy! Amazing!" She praised.
"Sky Dragon's..." Wendy leaped into the air. "Crushing Fang!"
She struck Sherria, who blocked it with her arm as it immediately healed.
"That's great, Wendy!" Sherria exclaimed.
Wendy aimed a kick at Sherria, who countered it with one of her own, forming an air sphere around them. The two of them landed on the ground.
"This is an incredible turn of events! Neither side is giving any ground!" Chapati said as Sherria and Wendy were throwing punches. "It's a clash of little fists! Is this tenacity for the sake of their guilds?!"
"I can't stop this..." Jellal thinks to himself as Sherria and Wendy continued their battle. "Though their fists are small, their passion is vast..."
Everyone was watching the two girls battle. "Go! Neither of you lose!" Natsu cheered.
"Wendy..." Carla teared up a bit.
The battle resumed as the audience cheered and the gong rang out, signaling time was up.
"And so... time has run out!" Chapati announced as both Wendy and Sherria were trying to catch their breath. "The match is over and it's a draw! Both teams receive five points!"
"Awesome!" Natsu said.
"You did great, Wendy!" Lucy praised.
"Both of them were magnificent." Erza stated.
"Yep." Gray agreed.
"Sherria and Wendy both did very well." Lyon said.
"We were lucky to get to see that." Yuka claimed as Toby cried.
"This is the best match I've seen yet!" Chapati said.
"Even though judging them on Magic alone, Sherria's level is far higher..." Jura stated, recalling when he first met Wendy during the Nirvana incident.
"U-Um... I... I'm no good when it comes to battle, but I can use a lot of support Magic that'll be useful to everyone. So... So... please don't leave me out!" Wendy begged.
"That girl from back then... has grown this much..." Jura thinks to himself.
"Wendy..." Happy sobbed.
"W-What are you crying for?" Carla scolded.
Sherria looked over at Wendy. "Did it hurt? I'm sorry." She apologized.
"That was fun, Wendy." Sherria said, a pale purple light coming from her hands as she began to heal Wendy.
"My wounds... I enjoyed it too, a little." Wendy admitted.
"Hey, let's be friends, okay?" Sherria offered.
"Sure. I mean, if you want me as a friend..." Wendy said.
"No, no, no! Answer like friends are supposed to." Sherria told her before extending her hand and smiling. "Let's be friends, Wendy!"
Wendy smiled back. "Sure, Sherria!" She accepted. Both girls stood up and shook hands.
"What a moving ending! For this old man, the tournament is over!" Chapati announced.
"Hold on there. Just the third day is over." Yajima reminded.
"Thank you, everyone!"
Jellal sensed it again. "What's this?! Even though the fight's over, that sinister Magic is still around?! Then Sherria isn't the source of that Magic?!" Jellal thought, looking around.
"It's from over there! Heading towards the exit!"
Jellal began following the source of Magic, when he realized Doranbolt was tailing him.
"Tch!"
Jellal sped away in a flash of golden light.
"Did he notice me? But..." Doranbolt trailed off.
And so, the third day ended. At this point, Sabertooth is the top team with 34 points. Mermaid Heel is in second place. Lamia Scale is in third, making those the best three. Below them, the order goes Fairy Tail B, A, and then Blue Pegasus.
Samuel had waited until the crowd had dispersed so the teams could clear out. He was walking in the main lobby when he spotted an unmasked Jellal being cornered by the Magic Council.
"Oh, shit!"
Samuel broke into a run. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He called out.
Jellal turned to see Samuel rushing towards them. "Doranbolt, should've known it was you. What the hell are you harassing my guildmate for?!" He exclaimed.
"...Samuel!" Doranbolt exclaimed.
Samuel turned to Jellal. "Mystogan-san, you all right?" He asked.
"Y-Yes." Jellal responded.
Samuel turned his attention back to Doranbolt. "Don't you think you've caused my guild enough trouble, asshole?" He questioned as Doranbolt flinched at his harsh tone.
"Remember who you're speaking to." Lahar reminded.
"My respect went out the window for you and Doranbolt a long time ago, four-eyes." Samuel spat back. "As usual, you're not using your damn brains. Mystogan-san is from a place called Edolas, a world that's filled with our opposites. He covers his identity because he looks like Jellal-san."
"Then, you're from Edolas?" Lahar asked.
"Yeah." Jellal responded.
The Rune Knights soon walked away. "I appreciate your understanding." Jellal said.
"Oh, no. I apologize for not knowing the circumstances." Lahar stated as Jellal placed his cap back on.
"To me, Jellal is an evil being. If I run into him, you can bet I'll report him." Jellal said, covering his identity back up.
"Good."
'Thank you, Samuel.' Jellal spoke telepathically to Samuel as he walked past him.
'It's no problem, Jellal-san.' Samuel reassured.
Once Jellal was far enough to where the Magic Council couldn't chase after him, Samuel glanced back at Doranbolt and Lahar.
"Doranbolt, don't think I've forgotten what you did." Samuel spoke, making Doranbolt tense up. "My Nii-san and the others may be alive and well, and they might put what you did past them, but I'll never forgive you for abandoning them in the first place. I'll make sure you live with that guilt for the rest of your pathetic life."
Without waiting for Doranbolt to respond, Samuel turned around and walked away.
Doranbolt glanced down as Lahar placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let his words get to you." Lahar told him.
Doranbolt sighed. "Yeah." He said before looking at Samuel's retreating figure. An image of Samuel's twelve year old self yelling at him and Lahar seven years ago flashed in his mind.
"But in a way, he has every right to be angry with me..."
Bar Sun...
Mugs of booze clinked together.
"Cheers!"
"Today felt great!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Aye!" Happy agreed.
"This isn't the guild, so don't break anything!" Lucy reminded.
"Did you see my true power out there?" Cana asked as she was leaning over a barrel of booze.
"That was a cheat, wasn't it?"
"Gray-sama, you were wonderful today, as always!" Juvia exclaimed with hearts in her eyes.
"I didn't do anything..." Gray mumbled.
"I feel bad. Even though Erza-san had an easy victory, I didn't win..." Wendy glanced down in shame.
"What are you saying?! You did a good job!" Carla reassured.
"You surprised everyone." Lily was posing as Reedus was drawing him.
Levy nodded. "Yeah! You were great, Wendy!" She agreed.
Erza was sitting down on a stool. "At any rate, you've got amazing recuperative strength, Erza." Lucy said.
"That's thanks to Wendy and Porlyusica-san." Erza claimed.
Natsu was riding on a board supported by barrels. "Booze barrel surfing!" He exclaimed.
"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.
"L-Look out!"
"Cut it out, Natsu!"
Natsu soon crashed into Gajeel, Wendy, and Carla. "What are you doin', jackass?!" Gajeel shouted.
Natsu's motion sickness kicked in. "You wanna do it, too?!" He offered.
"You're doin' it to the point of gettin' motion sick?!" Gajeel yelled.
"Alright! I'll do it!" Gray said as he began to surf.
"Do your best, Gray-sama!" Juvia cheered.
Gray soon crashed, his clothes being removed.
"What the hell is with your clothes?!"
"In that case..." Erza was the next to surf. "...I'm up next!"
"Yeesh! It's dangerous, I said!"
"Somebody, stop them!"
"Everyone, you're getting too excited!" Lucy said.
"Lu-chan, why don't you join in?" Levy suggested.
"I'm wearing a skirt, after all..." Lucy replied.
Erza soon crashed to the ground. "I see someone over there who wiped out wearing a skirt..." Levy noticed as everyone laughed.
"Even now, when I close my eyes, I can picture it... Lu-chan..."
"Here you go, Lisanna!"
"Everyone reveling, singing... eating, dancing... on the jubilant third night..."
Somewhere else, Arcadios smirked to himself as footsteps were heard, followed by boots being smacked together.
"Sergeant Yukino Agria." Yukino saluted. "Please pardon my unannounced visit."
Samuel taps his brother on the shoulder. "Nii-san, I'm going out for a bit." He informed.
"Where are you going this late?" Gray asked.
"Going to go for a walk. Everyone's too rowdy."
Gray chuckled. "Be safe, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah..."
Samuel leaves Bar Sun and begins walking around the city. "Sam!" He heard a familiar voice call out to him. He turned around and spotted Sting and his Exceed, Lector walking towards him.
"Sorry, do we know each other?" Samuel asked.
Sting rolled his eyes. "Lector, this is Samuel, my boyfriend." He introduced him.
"You're a Fairy Tail wizard!" Lector exclaimed, making Samuel flinch. "Sting-kun, you're dating someone in Fairy Tail?"
"I am. You understand why I had to keep it a secret, right?" Sting asked, making Lector nod. "What are you doing out here, Sam?"
"My guildmates are too rowdy. Hard to believe I went seven years without them being boisterous." Samuel responded, making Sting chuckle. "What about you?"
"I have a feeling I'll be fighting Natsu-san tomorrow. I'm just too excited to sleep." Sting answered.
"As expected." Samuel said.
The three of them continued walking as Samuel and Sting were holding hands. "So, Samuel-kun. Are you going to be rooting for Sting-kun?" Lector asked.
"L-Lector! You can't just ask that!"
Samuel laughed. "I'm staying neutral. Natsu-san has faced a lot of tough opponents in the past. But I do think Sting can give him a challenge. After all, he's pretty powerful too." He responded.
Sting blushed. "That's true! Sting-kun is the strongest!" Lector agreed.
"While various feelings crossed each other, the third night of the tournament wore on. We were heading for that day. We had four days... until that fateful day."
A/N: Another chapter is finished!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.