A/N: Hello, readers! I'm having Zack battle Alexei instead of Laxus.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: ZACK VS. ALEXEI

Chapati was listing the current rankings of the guilds. "Alright! The battle part of the third day of the Grand Magic Games is about to begin!" Chapati announced.

"I'm looking forward to the battle part." Yajima said.

"Indeed." Lahar agreed.

"In the first match, it's Millianna of Mermaid Heel..." Chapati began as Millianna stepped into the arena. "...vs. Semmes of Quatro Puppy!"

"Our souls are always Wild..." Rocker started to say.

"...Four!"

"Let the match begin!" Chapati said as the gong rang out.

Millianna removed her cape as she got into a fighting stance. "Victory goes to the swiftest! Wild Spin!" Semmes shouted as he began spinning around the arena.

"Oh, my! It's a body attack, using his giant body to spin around!" Chapati stated as Millianna landed on the ground.

"I'll use magic to slow him down! Cat Binding Tube!" Millianna called out, a pink Magic Circle appearing from her hand as an orange tube came out. However, her attack deflected as Millianna ended up getting thrown in the air. "It bounced right off!"

"Millianna!" Arana, Beth, and Risley exclaimed.

"Attaboy!" War Cry cheered.

"Our souls are always Wild..." Rocker began.

"...Four!"

"Keep it up and you'll win!" Goldmine said.

"I'm not done yet!" Millianna claimed.

"Wild..." Semmes began spinning once more.

"Kitten Blast!" Millianna shouted, but her attack deflected again.

"That spurred my spinning on even more! Now take this!" Semmes said, attacking Millianna again and sending her in the air.

"Beat her with one shot!" War Cry cheered.

"Our souls are always Wild..." Rocker began.

"...Four!"

"I hope Millianna's okay..." Happy stated.

"She's taken a lot of damage." Natsu commented.

"Erza..." Lucy trailed off.

"She's fine. Millianna would never lose over a few bruises like this." Erza reassured.

"Millianna!" Risley shouted.

"Hang in there!" Beth said.

Kagura had her eyes closed. "There's someone Millianna needs to defeat." She claimed, opening her eyes. "Until she brings him down, she won't lose."

"If I can't beat a guy like this, I better pack it in... There'd be no point in joining Mermaid Heel!" Millianna claimed.

Semmes charged forward. "Time to end this!" He exclaimed, his body began to spin once more. "Wild Spin, twice as fast!"

"Uh-oh! Is this gonna decide the match?!" Chapati questioned.

"Cat Binding Tube!" Millianna called out again. This time, it wrapped around Semmes.

"I'll tear this junk right off!" He said.

"I'm not letting go, no matter what!" Millianna declared as she held on.

Semmes was soon shown on the ground, knocked out. "W-W-Wild..." He stuttered before Millianna sat on him.

All of the Quatro Puppy members were pale. "That ain't wild at all!" Rocker claimed.

"Feelin' spiffy!" Millianna said.

"Semmes is down for the count! The winner is Millianna!" Chapati announced.

Millianna waved. "Kagura-chan! Risley-chan! I won!" She shouted.

"Now that was an interesting battle!" Yajima commented.

"And she used various kinds of magic. I learned something." Lahar said.

"You've improved, Millianna." Erza complimented.

"Even though getting bound by that tube wouldn't draw a score on that magic-measuring device from before..." Lucy stated.

"Bound...?" Wendy repeated.

"It was rough for me when I went up against her a long time ago, too." Natsu commented.

"Next, the second match for the battle part! From Sabertooth, the minstrel who sings to the red moon... Rufus Lore!" Chapati announced as Rufus appeared on the Lacrima Vision. The audience cheered.

"Versus Holy Night Eve of Blue Pegasus... Eve Tearm!" Chapati finished as Eve showed up on the Lacrima Vision as well.

"Eve-kun, the parfum of victory!" Ichiya said.

"Do you best!" Ren encouraged.

"Fight, Eve!" Hibiki cheered.

Atlas glanced over at Dusk as his eyebrow was twitching. "You okay there, Dusk?" He asked.

"Yeah... I'm still pissed about that asshole's stunt from the first day." Dusk responded.

"These two clashed during the competition of the first day, and now they'll collide in battle on the third day!" Chapati said as the gong soon rang out.

"Snow Magic: White Fury!" Eve called out, making the first move as snow appeared from his hand. However, it went right through Rufus.

"That's your memory of where I was standing." Rufus stated.

"I already experienced your skill during "Hidden". And I remember it well!" Eve claimed, rushing forward towards Rufus.

"You remember it, eh?" Rufus's face soon changed into Ichiya in a bathtub. "Eh?"

This caused Eve to stop in his tracks. "S-Sensei! What are you doing here?!" He asked while Rufus appeared behind him.

"That's your memory." Rufus claimed before sending Eve to the ground.

"Eve's got a memory like that?!" Ren questioned.

"What are you doing, Senpai?" Hibiki asked.

"I don't remember that parfum! Men!" Ichiya denied.

The sky soon turned dark again as a red Magic Circle appeared behind him. "A star falls on the night!" Rufus shouted as the light attacked Eve.

"A direct hit on Eve!" Chapati said as Eve soon shattered into snow. "Or so we thought, but it was just a copy made of snow!"

The sky returned to normal. "A brilliant parfum!" Ichiya commented.

"That's the way, Eve!" Ren cheered.

"Keep it up!" Hibiki encouraged.

"Eve-kun was originally a member of the Council, wasn't he?" Yajima asked.

"That's right. He was a Rune Knight of the Enforcement and Detention Corps like the rest of us. Yes, even back then, he was a shining light, but after entering a guild, his magic has become even more polished." Lahar replied.

A blue Magic Circle appeared from Eve's hand as he extended his arm out. "White Blizzard!" He shouted.

"You waste your time." Rufus claimed.

"I don't think so. I'm using White Blizzard to search for the location of your real body! Over there! White Fang!" Eve called out, extending his other arm out as Rufus had jumped up before landing on the ground.

"I remember that magic." Rufus stated as be pressed his fingers to his temple. "Memory Make."

A red Magic Circle appeared again. "There it is..." Gray said.

"What kind of Molding Magic is that?!" Lyon asked.

"Beat his ass, Eve!" Dusk shouted out.

"Magic that gives form to memories? That's..." Zack trailed off.

"...an ancient spell." Mavis concluded. "In other words, Ancient Magic."

"So there's more to this than meets the eye, huh?" Makarov questioned.

The arena soon started to glow orange. "Oh, boy! W-What is...?!" Chapati asked.

"It's getting kind of hot out here..." Yajima stated.

"I'm sensing the rise of a tremendous magic power..." Lahar said.

Lava rocks soon appeared from the ground. "Karma of the Burning Land!" Rufus finished his spell, pressing his palm to the ground as it attacked Eve, sending him into the air. He soon appeared on the ground with burns on his arms and his clothing tattered.

"The match is over!" Chapati announced as the audience cheered. "Eve fought a good fight, but he fell short of Rufus! The winner is Rufus of Sabertooth! He really is strong!"

Gray clenched his fist. "Memory Molding... It's my job to beat him." He noted.

"I'm gonna kick that guy's ass if it's the last thing I do." Dusk thinks to himself.

"Moving right along, let's begin the third match-kabo!" Mato said.

"From Twilight Phoenix A team, Zack Orion!" Chapati announced as the audience cheered. "Versus Alexei of Raven Tail!"

"It's someone from Akame's team!" Natsu pointed out.

"His opponent is from Ivan's guild..." Erza noticed.

"So it seems Zack-san is going to battle." Julian said. "Will he be okay?"

"I'm sure we got nothin' to worry about. It's Zack we're talking about here. Besides..." Akame trailed off as he remembered Zack's murderous look from when Lucy was beaten on the first day. "It's the other guy I'm more worried about."

"I don't know... I got a bad feeling about this..." Hana muttered.

Zack and Alexei had a stare off with one another.

"Lahar-kun, you brought along people from the Corps, right?" Yajima asked.

"Yes. A few." Lahar replied. "Because of regulations..."

"Keep a close eye on Raven Tail. If there's any skulduggery, stop the match immediately." Yajima said.

"Right." Lahar nodded.

"Warren..." Makarov said.

"Roger." Warren pressed his finger to his temple. 'This is HQ! Bisca, can you hear me?'

"What do you mean "HQ", Warren?" Bisca replied as she was pointing her sniper at Ivan. "No movement from Master Ivan. Go ahead."

"Roger!" Warren said. "Team Raijinshuu plus Lisanna... How 'bout you?"

"This is Raijinshuu plus Lisanna. Currently, there are no conspicuous movements from Raven Tail. I'm not gonna let you do any funny business like that first day, Crow-chan!" Lisanna claimed.

"Both of you, step forward!"

Both Zack and Alexei did so, with Zack having a calm and relaxed look on his face. "Let the match began!" Chapati said as the gong rang out.

"So you're from the guild that's causing Fairy Tail trouble? Tch! That totally pisses me off! Who the hell are you, anyway...?" Zack asked as his eyes widened when he saw Alexei charge forward and sent him flying.

Akame widened his eyes in shock as did Hana, Ezekiel, and Julian. Even Twilight Phoenix B and the rest of the Twilight Phoenix members that were watching were also in shock as Zack skidded on the ground.

"This guy..." Zack thinks to himself as Alexei sent a kick to his face before blasting him with magic.

"How...?" Dawn mumbled.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Dusk exclaimed.

"He's getting his ass kicked?" Nero questioned in shock as Alexei kept attacking Zack.

"I don't believe it... Zack-san?!" Julian said.

"W-What's going on?" Hana wondered.

"Who the hell is that masked freak?!" Akame questioned in anger.

Alexei sent a punch upward towards Zack's jaw. "My goodness... Alexei keeps pouring it on! Zack can't lift a finger!" Chapati said as Zack crashed to the ground.

Zack looked down at his defeated form as he stood back up. "What the hell is this?" He asked.

"A kind of Hallucination Magic. Everyone around us is talking about this right now. They can't see our true bodies. They can't hear us either. What they see are phantoms fighting." Alexei replied. "It looks real, doesn't it? Not one person realizes it's an illusion. The crowd is watching images of the mighty Zack as helpless as a baby. I wonder how your compatriots feel while watching this..."

"Zack!" Akame called out.

"Hey, come on... I've got no idea what this is about." Zack claimed.

"About?" Alexei repeated.

"What's the point of winning an illusory battle?" Zack questioned.

"Exactly. Our goal isn't "victory". This hallucination is just camouflage." Alexei replied, getting Zack's attention. "An illusion is an illusion. The end result can be altered as we like."

"End result, you say?" Zack repeated.

"Zack!"

Zack's eyes flickered over to his team. "Go, Zack!" Akame cheered.

"Hang in there!" Hana called out.

Zack swung his fist at Alexei, sending him flying into a wall. "Oh, my! Zack has begun to counterattack!" Chapati announced as Zack punched Alexei repeatedly with his Magic.

"Go! Do your best!" Jim cheered on his partner.

"That's how you do it! Go, Zack!" Atugia encouraged.

"I figured he'd be okay." Atlas commented.

"Yeah..." Dawn agreed.

Zack sends a blast of blue light towards Alexei from his mouth, attacking him directly. "Yeah!" Warren cheered.

"Yes! That ought to settle it!" Makarov said. "It looks like we were worried for nothing. Warren!"

"Right!" Warren said, pressing his finger to his temple once more. 'Good job, Bisca.'

"Thanks." Bisca replied.

'Raijinshuu plus Lisanna...' Warren added.

"In the end, they didn't do anything, huh?" Lisanna questioned.

However, Alexei was still standing before he blasted Zack with his Magic once more and sending him crashing into the arena wall, shocking the Twilight Phoenix members that were watching.

"Zack!" Jim called out.

"Uh-oh! The tables are turned again! Is this the end of Zack's counterattack?!" Chapati wondered.

"Zack!" Akame shouted.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Julian wondered as Alexei picked Zack up by his collar and punched him again, sending him to the ground.

"Is this the "end result" you were talkin' about?" Zack questioned, still in the illusion.

"Depending on your negotiations with us, it's possible that we would even let you win this." Alexei responded.

"We've got nothing to talk about. The illusions don't mean a damn thing. I'm gonna finish this by taking out your real self right here and now." Zack declared.

"That's impossible!" Flare claimed as the rest of Raven Tail appeared behind Alexei.

"Reality is harsh." Nalpudding commented.

"Not even you can defeat Raven Tail's elite all at the same time." Alexei claimed, removing his mask to reveal Ivan.

"I figured as much... Ivan, you bastard." Zack stated.

"Makarov would die before he coughed it up. But you're different. Would you tell us? The location of Lumen Histoire!" Ivan said.

"What are you talking about?" Zack asked.

"You don't have to play dumb."

"Huh?"

"I'm sure Makarov has told you." Ivan said.

"Actually, I don't know." Zack denied.

"No. You must know." Ivan said.

"I'm not even a member of Fairy Tail. I don't know why you're interrogating me about it." Zack fired back. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"Come, come... You're in a hopeless situation, but I'm willing to let you win. Although if you don't accept the condition... it's not going to end with just your illusory self being beaten."

"Oh, wow. I'm so scared. You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?" Zack mocked, getting in a fighting stance. "Bring it on. See, I may be in a different guild, but Fairy Tail's enemies are my enemies!"

"Apparently, you need to be taught a lesson... about the power of Raven Tail, the anti-Fairy Tail guild!" Ivan declared, his eyes glowing red and having a dark aura around him as his guild members were the same.

A/N: Another chapter is completed!

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.