A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter!
Enjoy!
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: DAY 4, NAVAL BATTLE
Twilight Phoenix A's inn...
Akame was currently on the balcony, his arms resting on the railing as he looked up at the moon shining above him. "Can't sleep, Akame?" A female voice asked, making Akame turn his head and see Chii.
"Chii..." Akame muttered before turning back to look at the sky. "I have a feeling Zack and I are going to be fighting Sting and Rogue tomorrow."
"What are you worried about?"
Akame sighed. "I'm just... I'm worried we'll come up with same result we did last year. Completely at their mercy." He replied.
Chii used her wings and flew down next to Akame. "You and Zack have gotten a lot stronger since then. I know you'll win this time. I can feel it." She said.
"Thanks, Chii. I know I could count on you to wash away my worries."
"I wouldn't call myself your partner and best friend if I didn't."
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.
Cheering erupted from the stadium as a water sphere appeared. "Day four of the Grand Magic Games! In just a moment, today's competition will begin! The name of the competition is 'Naval Battle'! In other words, a sea battle! Any player who leaves the sphere is out!" Chapati announced. "The last person to remain in the sphere is the winner! However, when it gets down to two people left, a special rule will come into effect. That's the five-minute rule! When there are two players left, they've got five minutes. The one who leaves the sphere during that time will be in last place."
"So it's basically a sumo match in water." Yajima stated.
"I can't wait! Thank you very much for inviting me!"
"Our guest today is Rabian-san, leader of the Scheherazade Theatrical Troupe." Chapati informed.
The sound of the competitors hitting the water was soon heard. "All of the teams are entering the water. Sherria from Lamia Scale!" Chapati said. Sherria soon appeared wearing a bathing suit.
"I tied yesterday, but I'll try even harder today!" Sherria announced.
Jenny soon entered the water. "Jenny from Blue Pegasus!" Chapati said.
"There's no way I'll lose this time!" Jenny claimed.
Another splash of water was heard as Risley appeared. "From Mermaid Heel, Risley!"
"Better not underestimate a mermaid!" Risley said.
"Juvia from Fairy Tail B has also entered the water!"
"Juvia is the water. This is Juvia's exclusive territory." Juvia informed.
Minerva chuckled as she entered the water. "Sabertooth's Minerva has arrived." She announced.
The crowd started cheering. "There she is... Minerva! Listen to those cheers!" Chapati said.
"Sabertooth certainly did choose their top five strongest to compete." Yajima stated.
"Thank you very much!" Rabian exclaimed.
"Lucy from Fairy Tail A!"
"I can't lose either! I have to redeem myself after blowing it on the first day!" Lucy said.
"Hana from Twilight Phoenix A!"
Hana wore an orange two-piece bikini as her silver keys were dangling from her belt.
"I haven't participated since the first day! I'm winning this!" She announced.
"And Dawn from Twilight Phoenix B!"
Dawn entered the water wearing a dark purple bikini.
"I won't let my team down!" She declared.
"What a gorgeous tapestry we've got before us! All of the players are female and they're wearing swimsuits!" Chapati said.
"Thank you very much! Thank you very much! Thank you very much!" Rabian thanked.
"Um... I'm here, too... and I'm wild." Rocker, the only guy in the group, spoke.
"Tch! A man?" Rabian questioned.
"You clucked your tongue at me?!" Rocker shouted.
"The rules are simple. If you leave the water, you're out. In just a moment, the Naval Battle will begin!"
"Go get 'em, Lucy!" Natsu encouraged.
"Since she's in water, she can use Aquarius, right?" Gray asked.
"This is a good contest for her." Erza replied.
"Yep!" Wendy nodded in agreement.
"I think this match is Juvia's to lose." Lisanna said.
"I dunno..." Wakaba mumbled. "Lucy can use plenty of other Celestial Spirits beyond Aquarius."
"We probably shouldn't make light of Mermaid Heel either. After all, they do have 'mermaid' in their name." Jet pointed out.
"That Minerva looks like a tough costumer, too..." Droy added.
"Lu-chan, do your best!" Levy cheered.
The gong soon rang out, starting the competition. "And now, let the Naval Battle begin!" Chapati shouted.
"Sorry, everyone, but right off the bat..." Lucy made the first move. "Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"
Aquarius soon appeared as her usual self with her urn as she smirked. Sherria looked in shock. "A Celestial Spirit!" Jenny exclaimed.
"They got a mermaid, too, huh? The more the merrier!" Risley commented.
"Water is my garden!" Aquarius claimed as she attacked everyone in the sphere.
"Oh, no, you don't! Water Cyclone!" A dark blue Magic Circle appeared from Juvia's hands as her attack collided with Aquarius's.
"Aquarius and Juvia's attacks are colliding head on!" Wakaba exclaimed.
"We've got a highlight right away!" Levy said.
"Wow! I wonder which one of them is stronger?!" Lisanna stated.
"Good luck, Juvia! After her, good luck to you, too, Lucy! And then, just a little bit of good luck to Jenny!" Mira cheered.
"The way you cheer is a pain." Gajeel commented.
"Well, who do you think is going to win?" Cana asked.
"It's not even worth asking. You let Juvia into water, nobody else stands a chance." Gajeel responded.
"I haven't seen you for a while, Aquarius-san." Juvia said.
"Just because we're acquainted, don't think I'm gonna hold back." Aquarius informed.
"You took the words out of my mouth." Juvia said.
"Aquarius really is amazing, huh? I mean, she's not even takin' a licking from Juvia's power!" Natsu claimed.
"But by that same argument, I get the feeling that Juvia-san's amazing for not losing to Aquarius-san!" Wendy said.
"We're even?!" Aquarius exclaimed in shock.
"Juvia is going to win! Juvia can't let Gray-sama see her shameful in battle!" Juvia claimed, side glancing at Gray.
"It seems Juvia is worried about how you see her." Erza said as Gray stayed silent.
"Juvia!" Lucy exclaimed.
"My romantic rival!" Juvia shouted.
"You've got me all wrong!" Lucy yelled as the other competitors moved out of the way.
"What kind of fight is this?!" Risley wondered.
"The toughest opponents are taking each other out. In that case, while I've got the chance..." Jenny charged forward and kicked Rocker in the face. "I'll start with one!"
"Wild!" Rocker exclaimed as he went out of the sphere.
"Quatro Puppy is out! He was sucker punched by Jenny! But only Quatro Puppy feels bad about that! This crowd only cares about the girls!" Chapati announced.
"Thank you very much! Thank you very much! Thank you very much!"
"What was the point of me being in there anyway?" Rocker muttered.
"That woman's cheap tricks know no bounds." Gajeel said.
Mira giggled. "That kind of fighting is Jenny all over." She stated.
"You know, that wasn't a compliment..." Cana informed.
"I've gotta do my best, too!" Sherria said as she charged at Risley who became skinnier.
"Never underestimate the chubby!" Risley exclaimed as all of the men had heart eyes.
"We'll never get anywhere at this rate! I'm going back for now!" Aquarius spoke.
"Wha? Why?! In water, you're the one I can count on the most!" Lucy told her.
Aquarius turned to face her. "I've got a date!" She replied.
"Hey!" Lucy shouted as Aquarius disappeared.
"Oh, my! The Celestial Spirit, Aquarius, left to go on a date!" Chapati announced.
"She is a girl..." Yajima mumbled.
"Boring..." Rabian scoffed.
Lucy just laughed nervously. "You're wide open! This is my chance to take out my romantic rival!" Juvia shouted, thrusting her spell forward.
Lucy flew into the air as she got out two keys. "Virgo! Aries!" She called out as the two celestial spirits appeared, Aries's wool blocking Juvia's water.
"I'm sorry this is so fluffy!" Aries exclaimed, causing the men to have heart eyes.
"I'm your sexy guard, Princess!" Virgo added, carrying Lucy above her head.
"That was close..." Lucy breathed out.
"Thank you very much!" Rabian rubbed his hands together.
"No matter how many you bring out, the result is the same!" Juvia sent out another cyclone of water.
"Virgo, Aries, do you best!" Lucy told them.
"I'm better on land than in the water..." Virgo began as she moved Lucy to safety.
"...but I'll try my best!" Aries finished, sending another wave of wool to block Juvia's attack.
"I've gotta do my best to impress, too!" Risley said.
"Then give me your best shot!" Jenny challenged.
"Don't forget about me either!" Sherria called out.
"Sherria!" Wendy exclaimed.
"Fairy Tail's Wendy-tan! It looks like she wants to get in on the action, too!" Chapati announced.
"Well, her match did end in a draw yesterday." Yajima pointed out.
"She's as good as saying, 'This time for sure, I want to beat Sherria with my own hands!'" Chapati said.
"I'm not thinking that at all!" Wendy shouted.
"I wanted to see Wendy-tan fight... Thank you very much for helping my troupe last time!" Rabian thanked.
"Fairy Tail A! Why didn't you let Wendy-tan do this one?!" Chapati asked.
"It's not too late! Switch her in!"
"Thank you very much."
"Shut up!" Lucy shouted.
"Juvia is going to knock you all out at once! Nobody can win against Juvia in the water!" Juvia raised her hand up. "Juvia learned this move when Second Origin was released... This new special technique! Go forth, wings of love!"
"Gray-sama, love!" Juvia shouted as pink hearts appeared.
"Knock it off!" Gray shouted, his cheeks were tinted pink.
Juvia ended up pushing Jenny, Risley, Sherria, and Hana out of the water sphere. Minerva avoided the spell using her Magic while Lucy was holding tightly onto Aries and Dawn dodged the attack.
"Fluffy guard at full throttle!" Aries announced.
"Princess, hang on!" Virgo said, holding onto Lucy's bottom.
"Would you believe it?! Juvia has knocked out four at once!" Chapati shouted as Juvia's spell disappeared and her arms were raised. "In a water battle, Juvia is unbeatable!"
Sherria looked down in disappointment. "I wasn't able to muster as much power as I thought in water..." She mumbled.
"You gave it your all, Sherria!" Wendy praised.
Juvia had pink tinting her cheeks. "Did you feel something while watching Juvia, Gray-sama?" She wondered, turning around.
Gray was pale white. "He's totally turned off!" Juvia thought.
Suddenly, Juvia was pushed out of the water sphere while distracted. "Juvia!" Lucy shouted as Juvia crashed onto the ground.
"She was outstanding, but unfortunately, she's out! But even so, for third place, her team gets six points!" Chapati said.
"That idiot..." Gajeel muttered.
"She went out of the sphere." Cana pointed out.
"Why? Was she not paying attention?" Mira asked.
Minerva smirked. "Our lady is a mischievous one. With her magic, she should've been able to get them all out of the sphere in an instant." Sting commented.
"She's already won this." Lector added as Rogue stayed silent.
Dawn suddenly had an eerie feeling wash over her as she glanced towards Lucy. "Sorry in advance for what I'm about to do, Lucy!" Dawn apologized.
"Huh?"
Before Lucy knew it, Dawn kicked her out of the water sphere as Lucy landed on the ground. "And Lucy is out of the match!" Chapati announced, shocking the Fairy Tail members.
"Hey! Why did she do that?" Natsu questioned.
"I don't think she did it on purpose." Erza spoke, making Natsu and Gray glance over towards her. "Something must be wrong."
"Don't tell me... Dawn is planning on taking on Minerva herself?" Nero widened his eyes.
"Only Minerva and Dawn are left." Chapati said. "Alright! Who's gonna win this, Sabertooth or Twilight Phoenix?!" Chapati questioned.
Five minutes soon appeared on the hourglass. "The five-minute rule comes into play now! The next person who leaves the sphere in the next five minutes will be in last place!" Chapati announced.
"I wonder what this rule is for..." Yajima said.
"It's to keep the tension high to the very end. Thank you very much." Rabian thanked again.
"With my magic, I could have you outside of here in a flash, but that would spoil the fun." Minerva raised her hand. "Try to withstand this, Twilight Phoenix."
Minerva soon activated her Magic. "What is that?!" Dawn wondered before she got blasted with heat.
"Heat?" Ezekiel questioned. "In the water?!"
Dawn soon got attacked again as she screamed. "Dawn!" Dusk called out.
"What the hell kind of magic is that?!" Loji questioned.
Dawn kept getting attacked by heat, screaming as it burned her. "Th-That time it was heavy... Felt like lead." She mumbled to herself, holding onto her head.
Dawn soon got blasted with heat again as she headed towards the end of the sphere. "If Dawn exits the sphere now, she'll be in last place!" Chapati said as Dawn tried to swim up before finally catching herself.
"Oh?" Minerva said as Dawn got blasted by heat again. "It's hot again! Feels like I'll get burned!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Dawn!" Bruno shouted out in worry.
"No matter what... kind of attack you throw at me..." Dawn started to say before getting blasted by Minerva's Magic once more. "...I'm gonna... take it!"
The timer had one minute on the hourglass. "Maybe it's about time for me to put you outside?" Minerva asked.
Dawn had a dark shadow casted over her eyes as she was holding onto her arm. "If I lose now... I won't be able to face everyone... who got the guild this far!" She announced, the dark shadow disappearing. Flashes of Akame and Ezekiel soon appeared in her mind.
"I'm not gonna give up!" Dawn declared, making Minerva widen her eyes. It was silent between the two women as the timer continued counting down.
"W-What's going on here?! Minerva's attacks have stopped! And just like that..." Chapati began as the timer ended. "...the five minutes are up!"
"Yes!" Atlas cheered.
"All that's left is ranking them!" Chapati exclaimed as Minerva got a crazed look in her eyes and activated her Magic once more. She fired heat at Dawn who screamed in pain.
"Dawn!" Dusk shouted.
Minerva kept attacking Dawn with her Magic. "You're arrogant, Twilight Phoenix! What do you know of us?! We are this world's number one guild! We're Sabertooth!" She shouted as Dawn headed towards the end of the sphere.
"This time for sure she's going out..." Chapati said until Dawn disappeared. "She vanished?!"
Dawn soon reappeared directly in front of Minerva, who kicked her. "Dawn was going to be knocked out of the sphere... but somehow, she's appeared in front of Minerva!" Chapati shouted.
"Is it that woman's magic?!" Ajar wondered.
"Why would she bother bringing her back?" Atugia questioned.
"Does she intend to rough Dawn up?!" Loji asked.
"The match is already over!" Dusk added.
Minerva then punched Dawn in the stomach. "And now a body blow! Even without using magic, Minerva has incredible power!" Chapati stated.
"Please stop. Now you're just being cruel." Rabian commented. "Thank you very much!"
"She's still in the water, so she's not down! She's just taking a beating!" Chapati announced.
"Stop!" Akame shouted.
Sting was smirking while the rest of Team Sabertooth was laughing. Akame, Zack, Ezekiel, and Julian looked at them with pure rage. "You guys are gonna pay for this!" The four of them exclaimed.
"Do you know what it means to dis Sabertooth? I'm gonna teach you with her body!" Minerva claimed.
Mato quickly stopped the competition. "The referee has stopped it! The competition is over! The winner is Minerva! Sabertooth really is strong!" Chapati announced as Minerva was holding Dawn by her throat outside of the sphere. "Dawn hasn't moved for a while, but is she okay?!"
"Dawn!" Both of the Twilight Phoenix teams shouted out in worry as the rest of the competitors looked up.
"Dawn!" Akame and Dusk shouted, rushing towards the water sphere. Minerva released Dawn from her grip. But luckily, Akame and Dusk were there to catch her before she fell to the ground.
"Are you okay?! Hang in there!" Akame said, holding onto the light purple haired woman.
"How could you do this to her, you witch?!" Dusk seethed, looking at Minerva with rage in his eyes.
The medics were rushing towards Dawn to get her to the infirmary. "No! I'll give her emergency treatment first!" Wendy said.
"I'll help you!" Sherria offered.
"Dawn-sama, hang in there!" Hana called out.
Ezekiel rushed towards Dawn's side as he glared at Minerva in anger, who was sliding down the water sphere. She landed right in front of the Twilight Phoenix members.
"What are you staring at?" Minerva asked.
"Dawn-san!" Wendy exclaimed as a pale light appeared from her hands.
"She's terribly wounded, but if we do it together..." Sherria trailed off as she aided Wendy in healing Dawn.
"I asked you, what are you looking at? I acted within the rules of the competition." Minerva stated.
"Rules, you say? You mean torturing an opponent who's already lost?" Ezekiel asked as Minerva chuckled.
"The crowd ate it up, didn't they?" Minerva countered as Ezekiel gave her a stern look. "Dawn should be grateful. I let her be in second place. Even though the girl is a useless piece of garbage..."
"What?!" Akame exclaimed.
Suddenly, Sting, Rufus, and Orga were in front of Minerva. Dusk was staring at Rufus. "Uh-oh! What's this?! Are both teams about to rumble?!" Chapati questioned, exciting the crowd.
"They're gonna start somethin' here?!"
"Sabertooth versus Twilight Phoenix!"
"We need to keep things calm here." Yajima said.
"But the crowd loves it! Thank you very much!" Rabian commented.
"This is one of those unavoidable fate things, y'know?" Lector said.
"Fro thinks so, too..." Frosch agreed.
"This isn't an official match. If they really do this, we'll go out there, too." Riku informed, anger was raiding off him.
"Right!" Ajar agreed, narrowing his eyes.
"Calm down, for crying out loud!" Atugia scolded.
"Wild..." Bacchus started to say.
"...Four!" His guildmates finished.
"Things are getting pretty lively around here-kabo..." Mato said, stepping back.
"Should we join them?" Gray asked.
"Their guildmate did save Lucy. I mean, it would've happened to her if she didn't kick Lucy out of the sphere." Natsu added.
"No... Let's see how it plays out. If they really need us, we'll go out there." Erza said.
Twilight Phoenix and Sabertooth stared at one another while the crowd chanted 'Fight!' over and over while Wendy and Sherria continued healing Dawn. Sting stepped forward as Akame did as well but Ezekiel extended his hand out, preventing him from going further.
"I don't care if you're the strongest or number one in Fiore, I'll just tell you one thing. You people..." Ezekiel had a dark look on his face. "...have wronged the one guild that you should never piss off."
"Dawn, are you alright?" Bruno asked as both teams were in the infirmary as no one spoke.
The door suddenly opened, revealing the two Fairy Tail teams. "Is your guildmate okay?" Juvia questioned.
"Fairy Tail...?" Julian questioned.
"We weren't expecting you guys..." Akame muttered.
"Your guildmate did save Lucy from torture. If it wasn't for her quick thinking, Lucy would be in her place right now." Natsu explained.
"So, how is she?" Lucy asked with guilt.
"Wendy and Sherria's emergency treatment helped with her outside injuries, and Akame-sama helped with any vitals that may have been damaged." Hana responded.
"I see. That's a relief." Erza said.
"Those bastards..." Akame was seething.
"I know what you wanna say..." Zack said.
Dawn made slight movement. "Dawn..." Bruno muttered.
Dawn woke up to see her guildmates plus Fairy Tail looking at her. "Everyone... I'm sorry." She apologized, making her guildmates get taken aback.
"Why are you apologizin'?" Akame asked.
"I blew it..." Dawn mumbled, covering her face with the covers.
"What are you talking about?! We took second place thanks to you, Dawn!" Atlas informed.
"We got eight points!" Nero added.
Loji nodded. "Good work." He complimented.
Dawn relaxed in the bed as she fell asleep. "Looks like she fell asleep." Hana pointed out.
"It's like they got us all feeling down..." Loji muttered.
"Sabertooth..." Julian mumbled.
"I don't like 'em even more now. How dare they hurt my sister like that." Dusk said.
Someone soon walked in, revealing Harumi and Makarov. "Master!" Atlas exclaimed.
"A team, B team... You're all here? Good." Harumi spoke, making Akame narrow his eyes.
Makarov and Fairy Tail soon left to give Twilight Phoenix some privacy and to talk to Makarov.
"I'm not sure if this is good news or bad news. The administrators told me that teams A and B must combine. It's the same for Fairy Tail." Harumi announced, shocking everyone.
"What?!" Akame exclaimed.
"So we gotta be like everybody else now, huh?" Julian asked.
"I assume it's because of Raven Tail's disqualification, correct?" Nero questioned as Harumi nodded in confirmation.
"We'll have to choose five members again." She said.
"Choose five members?" Ezekiel repeated. "If it's the administration's decision, there's nothing we can do about it."
"Well, looking on the bright side, we'll be able to put together an even stronger team." Loji commented.
"I just wish they did this sooner, because all we have now is the tag-team battles, a mandatory day off, and a battle royale involving all five members." Atlas stated. "It's important we choose carefully."
Akame stood up. "I'm definitely gonna get revenge for Dawn!" He declared. "We've put up with their humiliation long enough. If they think they can get away with laughin' at us, I'll show them myself that they're dead wrong!"
"The Fairy Tail and Twilight Phoenix teams have finished its reorganization, and we're about to begin the battle part of day four! Continuing with the commentary, we have with us former Council member Yajima-san." Chapati said.
"Thank you." Yajima nodded.
"And our special guest today is Rabian-san, the leader of the Scheherazade Theatrical Troupe."
"It's an honor. Thank you very much." Rabian said.
"The battle part for the fourth day are tag-team matches, right?" Yajima asked.
"Two against two? I can't wait!" Rabian replied. "Thank you very much!"
"Alright, I will now announce the match-ups for the battles! Everyone, please direct your eyes to Lacrima-Vision! The first match is Blue Pegasus versus Quatro Puppy! The second match is Mermaid Heel versus Lamia Scale! The third match is Sabertooth versus Twilight Phoenix." Chapati announced as the audience cheered.
"And now, here comes the new Twilight Phoenix team!"
A silhouette of Akame appeared.
"Good luck, everyone." Dawn whispered good luck to her guildmates.
A silhouette of Nero appeared, followed by a silhouette of Ezekiel.
"This really is the strongest team, right?" Dusk asked.
A silhouette of Atlas appeared.
"I'll be cheering you on!" Julian cheered.
"Do your best!" Aly added.
Lastly, a silhouette of Zack appeared.
"This is an awesome team!" Loji commented.
"I can't even picture these members failing." Ajar stated.
The audience cheered loudly. "The whole arena is shaking! Right here and now..." Chapati began as Akame, Nero, Ezekiel, Atlas, and Zack formed a straight line in the arena. "...Twilight Phoenix is taking the field!"
People in the audience waved flags with their guild emblem on them as Twilight Phoenix and Sabertooth stared at one another. "As you might expect, everyone's waiting for Twilight Phoenix versus Sabertooth, who were nearly about to brawl." Chapati said.
"I didn't know what was going to happen then." Yajima admitted.
"It certainly was a heated moment. Thank you very much." Rabian commented as the audience cheered once again.
Akame and Zack both stared at Sting and Rogue while Ezekiel stared at Minerva and Atlas stared at Orga.
"My blood is really boiling..." Akame muttered to himself.
A/N: Yes, I decided to have Dawn save Lucy and get tortured by Minerva. It infuses Akame's rage in his and Zack's battle with Sting and Rogue. Also, I wanted Fairy Tail and Twilight Phoenix to bond more.
This chapter has two episodes, that's why it's really long.
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.