A/N: Hello, readers! Another chapter is here!

Enjoy!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES

Nighttime, Crocus...

Akame and Dusk were walking around with their hands entertwined and their Exceeds at their sides as they both wore their usual attire. "Nightly walks are always so relaxing to me." Akame commented.

"I can see why you like it." Dusk agreed as the two Dragon Slayers suddenly heard a commotion.

"We killed our dragons. With our bare hands."

Akame's eyebrow twitched. "I know that voice from anywhere." He muttered before walking over to where he heard the voice.

"Akame-" Dusk stopped and sighed. "We better go after him before he causes a scene." Chii and Bruno agreed with him.

They finally found Sting, Rogue, and their Exceeds with two Fairy Tail wizards and an Exceed. "Thought I smelled a bunch of assholes." Akame spoke up, getting the three Dragon Slayers attention. Sting smirked at the sight of him.

"If it isn't Akame Ketsu. Don't tell me your guild is participating in the Games again? Thought you would run away after that horrible humiliation you suffered last year." Sting taunted.

"Huh?!" Akame shrieked. "Forget the Games. I'm gonna beat the shit out of you right here, right now, Eucliffe!"

"Akame!" Dusk warned, placing his hand on Akame's chest to stop him.

"Did you hear what bullshit he spouted from his mouth? Let me at him, Dusk! I'm gonna wipe that damn smirk off his face! I'll make him pay for looking down at Twilight Phoenix!"

"Twilight Phoenix?" Lucy questioned in her head. "That must be a new guild..."

"I understand your anger but you don't want to get us disqualified for attacking a participant outside of the Games!"

"You're just as weak as Fairy Tail is now." Sting continued to taunt.

"I'll shut that mouth of yours, Eucliffe! At least Fairy Tail had the balls to come face to face with Acnologia! If you were in their situation, you would've pissed your pants!" Akame screamed. Natsu fought back a snicker at his comment.

"Enough, Sting. Let's go. I'm tired of meddling with the Old Generation." Rogue told his partner.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, Cheney! I'll take every one of you Sabertooth bastards down!" Akame called out after them.

"Calm down, Akame."

"I am calm!"

"No you're not."

Akame huffed in annoyance. "They piss me off." He mumbled before realizing Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were still there. "I'm sorry about that. I'm Akame Ketsu. It's nice to finally meet you, Natsu Dragneel." He greeted.

"Dusk Fortundras." Dusk introduced himself. "These are our Exceeds, Chii and Bruno."

"You guys are also Dragon Slayers?" Natsu asked.

"Duh! I'm the Blood Dragon Slayer. Dusk here is the Star Dragon Slayer." Akame responded.

"You mentioned that you were from a guild called Twilight Phoenix. Are you a new guild?" Lucy questioned.

"Yep! We only formed about two years ago. So still fairly new."

"What's your deal with those Saber jerks?"

Akame sighed. "During last year's Games, Sabertooth humiliated us. Sting and Rogue especially. They completely overpowered us. Their Master assaulted ours, leaving her bedridden for months." He explained, leaving Natsu, Lucy, and Happy in shock.

"I hold a lot of respect for Fairy Tail. No one has come up to Acnologia face to face and come out alive, so I want to give you a warning." Akame continued. "Sabertooth isn't a guild to take lightly. They're heartless and cruel. Actually, to tell you the truth, they wouldn't be such a bad guild if their Master didn't have his head up his ass."

"I hope we can become friends, Natsu." Akame added on, smiling at him.

"Akame, you should head back with the team. We don't want to be out past curfew." Dusk reminded him.

"You're right. It was nice meeting you, Fairy Tail. Good luck in the Games." Akame said.

"Yeah, same to you." Natsu replied.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy watched the two Dragon Slayers and their Exceeds walk off while they went to their own hotel. "The humilation that Akame's guild had faced... I feel bad for them." Lucy commented as Natsu and Happy looked at her.

"And for their Master to attack theirs too..." Happy added.

"No one should be treated like that. New guild or not. It gives me another reason to hate those Sabertooth jerks." Natsu mumbled, clenching his fist.

It was finally the first day of the Grand Magic Games and Chapati was about to announce the guilds that were participating. "Now, to introduce the competitors! In 10th place, can this rowdy bunch with an uncharacteristic name reclaim it's former glory? It's Fairy Tail!" Chapati exclaimed.

Akame saw Natsu with his fist up as the audience booed at them. "They're being booed." Julian commented.

"Of course they are. As bad as it sounds, I'm glad we're not alone this time. We'll most likely be booed as well. Either that, or people will be laughing at us." Zack stated.

"It looks like my sister is participating." Ezekiel added, taking notice of Erza.

"In 9th place, can these phoenixes make a good comeback after facing a humiliating defeat in last year's Games?" both Akame and Zack's eyebrows twitched in irritation at Chapati's choice of wording. "It's Twilight Phoenix!"

Akame, Ezekiel, Zack, Hana, and Julian walked out into the arena and was faced with laughter from the audience.

"It's those puny losers!"

"Didn't they learn their lesson last time?"

"They're just going to make a fool out of themselves again!"

Akame clenched his fist in anger, not realizing that he drew blood from his nails. "Akame, don't let them get to you." Zack told him.

"We'll make them eat their words when we come up as number one." Julian added onto Zack's sentence.

Akame sighed. "I know. Thanks, Zack, Jude." He said.

Natsu was seen getting angered as well. "I know Akame and Dusk told us about their humiliation, but I didn't think it was that bad." He stated as Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Are they a new guild? I've never heard them before." Elfman, who was in Wendy's place, asked.

"Yeah. Natsu and I met four of their members last night." Lucy explained.

Chapati then announced other guilds such as Quatro Cerberus, Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Raven Tail, and Fairy Tail Team B, much to everyone's surprise.

"Now to introduce the team tied in 2nd place with Fairy Tail Team B. Oh, my! This is another shocker! Will this give the phoenixes the advantage they need?" Chapati announced as footsteps were heard. The Twilight Phoenix emblem shot up in the sky covered in starlight energy, shocking the original Twilight Phoenix team. "It's Twilight Phoenix Team B!"

"Dusk?"

"Dawn?"

"Loji?"

"Even Atlas and Nero?!"

"Huh?!" All of Twilight Phoenix Team A exclaimed in surprise.

From the stands, Harumi narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms. "Last year, we were humiliated in the worst way possible. Now, we have more experience. I'm not letting my children face defeat and be humiliated like that ever again. Give me your best shot, Jiemma." She mumbled to herself.

"Twilight Phoenix will be number one this year." Ajar added onto his Master's comment.

"It seems they have a second team, too..." Laxus commented.

"Two guilds with two teams? How is that fair?"

Akame walked over to his guildmates as his eyes gazed over to Dusk. "Well, darling. I love how you failed to mention there was another team." He told him.

"Master's orders." Dusk responded.

Akame smirked. "Well, we may be from the same guild, but don't expect me to go easy on any of you. I'll treat you just as if you were another competitor." He stated.

"Come at us with everything you've got, Akame." Dusk gave a challenging smirk back.

"And now! In 1st place!" Cheers were erupting from the crowd before the guild was even announced, making Akame annoyed. "Yes, you know them already! The most powerful, most indomitable... and most formidable of all! Sabertooth!" Chapati announced.

Sting raised both his fists in the air as the crowd cheered. "That's them." Natsu commented.

"Let's have fun, Natsu-san." Sting said.

"What are you gawkin' at?" Gajeel asked Rogue.

"Gajeel..." Rogue muttered.

"So that's Fiore's most powerful guild." Gray stated.

"As well as a bunch of snakes." Akame came up to Gray, who jumped at the male's voice.

"How cute. Two weaklings getting along together." Sting taunted.

"You got something to say to me, you piece of shit?" Akame exclaimed as Dusk grabbed onto his boyfriend's arm.

"I told you to save it for the arena, Akame!" Dusk said.

"A Dragon Slayer with anger issues is not a good combination." Atlas sighed.

"Thank god Dusk is the only one who Akame won't hurt." Nero added.

Up where Fairy Tail was, Mavis was looking down at the arena. "Hmm? Something wrong, First Master? You've been staring at Twilight Phoenix for quite a while." Romeo stated.

"No. Everything's fine." Mavis told the young boy as Makarov looked at her.

"Your son... He's on Twilight Phoenix's first team, right?" He asked in a low voice.

"Yes... I never thought I would see him again. Only those bearing our crest can see me, so it hurts that Zack doesn't know I'm here watching him." Mavis responded.

Meanwhile, Zack had a feeling he was being watched as he looked up towards where Fairy Tail was, only to find no one looking at him. "What's up with you?" Ezekiel questioned.

"Sorry, It's nothing. Just feel like someone's watching me." Zack answered.

"All right! Now it's time for the Grand Magic Games' opening game, Hidden, to begin!" Chapati announced. "One member from each team will participate! The game rules will be explained once all the competitors are ready!"

Yeager was the first one to step up for the competition. "The first one is about assessment, let me handle this!" Beth from Mermaid Heel exclaimed.

"Very well." Kagura agreed.

"From Mermaid Heel, Beth Vanderwood!" Chapati announced as Beth showed up on the screen.

"Nalpudding, you go." A man in a golden mask ordered.

"Gotcha, yep!" Nalpudding agreed.

"From Raven Tail, Nalpudding!" Chapati said as Nalpudding showed up on screen.

"I'll take this one." Eve said, tightning up his tie.

"With a lively cheer, Blue Pegasus sends out Eve Tilm!" Chapati announced.

Rufus decided to go. "Here's one to watch! From Sabertooth, The Minstrel Who Sings To The Red Moon, Rufus Lore!" Chapati said as the crowd erupted into excitement.

"Why the heck is everyone making such a big deal?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"I'll go for our team." Hana offered.

"Knock yourself out." Akame agreed.

"From Twilight Phoenix Team A, Hana Nanami!" Chapati exclaimed as Hana was shown on the screen.

"The others have chosen Hana." Nero commented.

"I want to see what this competition is all about. I'll go." Dusk offered.

"From Twilight Phoenix Team B, Dusk Fortundras!" Chapati said.

"Dusk, huh? Good choice. He's the only one who can absorb Rufus' magic." Akame commented.

"That's true." Zack agreed.

Lamia Scale sent out Lyon while Fairy Tail Team A sent out Gray and Fairy Tail Team B sent out Juvia. "All ten competitors have chosen their participants! Now for the rules of the opening game, Hidden!" Chapati said.

"Participants, come forward!" Mato ordered.

"See ya later." Gray said.

"We're about ready to begin!" Chapati commented. "But exactly what competition is Hidden?" Chapati turned to Yajima. "Commentator Yajima-san, is there a player we should pay attention to especially?"

"Sabertooth's Rufus-kun is probably the crowd's favorite, but I am going to watch Gray-kun." Yajima replied.

"How about our guest for today, Blue Pegasus' Jenny-san?" Chapati questioned, turning to Jenny.

"Of course, our Eve-kun. He's strong!" Jenny responded.

"Dusk-sama." Hana looked over at the light purple haired male. "Excuse me for saying this, but I have no intention of losing."

Dusk gave her a challenging smirk. "Nor do I. Come at me with everything you've got, Hana." He challenged.

"Actually, I've been wondering since the elimination round..." Gray looked over at Mato. "But what are you?"

Mato seemed taken aback by his question. "As you can see, I'm a pumpkin!" He answered.

"Huh? Should I have not asked that?" Gray asked.

"Juvia thinks you look like a pumpkin, too." Juvia stated.

"Well, yeah, you look like a pumpkin, but what's inside?" Gray questioned, continuing to look at him.

"This happens every year. I didn't really pay much attention though." Eve remarked.

"I think he's a staff member." Beth added on.

"Good job creating a character!" Both Beth and Eve bowed to Mato.

"Non, non! I do this for fun, so need for praise-kabo!" Mato said.

"Don't go overboard on the character thing." Gray commented.

"Hold on a second here. This competition that's gonna start any second, Hidden... I don't know what it entails..." Nalpudding began. "And that goes for all the competitions ahead... But it's pretty obvious that the two Fairies and Phoenixes have an advantage."

Both Gray and Dusk looked at him confused. "It can't be helped. It's amazing that two teams from the same guild made it this far... k-k-kabo..." Mato replied.

Rufus smirked. "It's fine with me. It's not necessarily the case that the two of them confers an advantage."

"I don't care especially either!" Yeager puts his fists together.

"I'm fine with it." Beth added.

Dusk looked over at Rufus. "I'm impressed. Is that what they call the 'confidence of a king'?" He asked.

"It's possible your fellow guild member will become your weakness. She could be held hostage, threatened, leak information... And many more unfavorable circumstances could be created. Just a little thing to keep in mind." Rufus replied.

"If I don't forget it..." Dusk muttered.

"Field open!" Mato exclaimed as buildings appeared.

Everyone started in shock as a town started to form in the arena. Dusk took a look around. "A game of cat and mouse, eh? Sounds interesting!" He commented.

"Everyone please enjoy what's going on in town via Lacrima Vision." Chapati said as screens appeared. "The ten participants don't know what the others are doing. The rules of Hidden are simple. Each person is both the hider and the seeker! Find each other in the town!"

"You can use any type of magic. Then deliver one blow! It doesn't matter if you do any damage, the person who attacks gets one point." Chapati continued. Copies of the participants showed up as well. "These are copies of everyone. If you accidently attack a copy, you lose one point!"

"Now, disappear into the silence! Like a black cat lurking in the dark night!" The sound of the gong came as the competition began.

A/N: Another chapter is done! And yes, Twilight Phoenix and Fairy Tail will be friends throughout the Games. Since they've both experienced humiliation.

Hope you enjoyed!

~Kaleb