Finally, finally, Clover Town appeared. Lucy had half a mind to observe the place with how sore and tired her legs were. They had to take the last long leg of the trip almost entirely on foot, mostly because roads became too infested with interest from soldiers as the Grand Magic Games neared and they couldn't risk being caught outside of the city limits.

"It's right there," Lucy said, panting.

Wendy patted her back. "Think of it look good exercise, Lucy."

Frosch giggled. "Blonde lady gets tired."

"I do not," Lucy snapped.

"Frosch thinks so," Frosch said.

She wanted to snap back at Frosch one more time, but the little Exceed was already prancing off down the path with Happy, the two best friends jauntily skipping toward Clover Town. Lucy sighed and picked herself up. She was horrifically sweaty, dirty, and in desperate need of something clean on her. They'd seen one stream on their way into Clover Town, and Lucy was hesitant to ask Juvia to help with a bath. She'd probably get drowned.

"We should hurry," Erza said. "We're almost out of time to enter, I bet, and I doubt they'll be kind about us missing our chance this year."

"So come on!" Natsu shouted, and almost took off were it not for Erza snagging him by the scarf to stop him.

"As you are?" Erza asked. "Absolutely not. We'd be discovered immediately. You're already all to happy to be showing off the guild symbol on your arm, still. We'll need disguises."

"Oh!" Natsu exclaimed. "Yes! Time to be sneaky."

"No," Erza said. "Just incognito. Now, everyone, gather around. I've been coming up with different disguises that should fit each of you and your combat styles."

Everyone gathered in a little circle around Erza, still giving her enough room to cast her spell. There was, unfortunately, not much that anyone could do about the Exceeds, so, for their sake, they'd just have to crawl around as cats and try not to talk so much.

"Requip!" Erza exclaimed, and in a flash of light, a magic circle enveloped everyone.

As it faded, Lucy felt the clothes she had worn get swapped out with a whole new, yet still comfy, outfit.

Indeed, it did match her style. Erza knew her pretty well! The exception was the gloves, but, she had to hide her guild symbol somewhere—plus, it would add a good bit of grip for when she needed to use her Celestial Spirit whip.

Her hair was done up in the usual ponytail, though her shirt had changed to a tank top revealing her midriff, allowing for a good deal of space between that and a skirt that hugged her legs snuggly but comfortably, still. Knee-high blue socks rose up from shoes that were hard enough to break someone's teeth with a strong enough Lucy kick.

"Erza this is so cute!" Lucy exclaimed.

Erza was in new clothes as well, though an outfit Lucy saw once before so it would hide her appearance well. She wore a long-sleeve pink blouse, with the sleeves rolled up to reveal her toned forearms, while her hair descended down in a bang to cover part of her face. Black pants hugged her legs from heavy battle boots, and she wore her sword on the outside, not as a Requip.

"Thank you," Erza said, with a slight nod. "I'll be honest, I'm most proud of Juvia and Wendy's outfits myself."

Those were gorgeous as well. Wendy was still in a flowing dress with sleeves down to her forearm, helping to conceal her guild mark. Her hair was down save for a middle tail at the back of her head that helped divide her hair. The dress was a fine yellow color, allowing Wendy to stand bright and beautiful. Juvia, strangely, wore pants, though this, too was to hide her guild mark. She had a short halter dress on atop it that clung to her body, showing off her figure quite well.

The boys looked fine, too. Natsu's style was remarkably tempered, with a hat on over his head to protect the pink spikes and another sleeve added to his shirt, while his pants had shrunk so they were just above the knees. Gray's clothes were styled such that taking them off would be difficult, with tight-belted pants, skinny jeans, and a strapped jacket on clinging to his torso. Elfman had a flowing, floral shirt on atop loose pants so that, if he were to rage out, he wouldn't lose the clothes. His hair was also protected by a cap. Gajeel had to wear a jacket to cover the guild mark and still had pants on, all of which were a form of black or silver.

"You sure this'll be enough?" Natsu asked. "We mostly look the same, just with different outfits."

"I'm not giving us masks, that would raise suspicion," Erza said. "But my goal is to obscure the fact that we're guild wizards in the first place without making it seem that we're covering up. Nobody is going to think to look based on these outfits."

"But our faces are still in the open," Gray said.

Erza nodded, then, with a wave of her hand, distributed sunglasses to Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Gajeel.

"Why just us?" Gajeel asked.

"Because," Erza said, setting on a pair of her own. "If anyone's going to remember a destructive group of wizards from seven years ago, our faces will be what they think of."

Gray nodded. Natsu pursed his lips.

"Ah come on, Erza, I don't see the big deal. So what, we get noticed? Then we just have more people to rough up."

"Natsu, we're going into the largest event the Empire throws annually in the den of their strongest Dragon Slayers where, likely, other Captains and Generals will either be watching or in attendance," Carla said. "I believe they'd do something about it if they noticed us."

"Which means," Erza said. "We must keep our signatures to a minimum. We're here to compete, yes, but each of us is skilled and versed in other forms of magic beyond our usual, or our magic is common enough to be regarded regularly. Natsu, you don't need to use Dragon Slayer magic, do you?"

"But then I'm at a disadvantage," Natsu said.

"Sucks for you," Gray said.

"Gray," Erza said. "You too."

"And what about me?" Lucy asked. The only magic she'd ever practiced was the Celestial Spirit magic. She had the whip, but that was a magical tool, not necessarily something that emitted magic. "What can I do?"

Erza strummed her chin. "That I will need to think of."

Lucy sighed. "I can ask them what they think. We should just enter, right?"

"Right!" Natsu exclaimed and restarted. He stopped when he grabbed at his scarf he no doubt thought Erza would snag, then stopped. The scarf was gone. "Hey! What's the big idea?"

Erza snapped her fingers. The scarf appeared around Wendy's neck

"You cannot wear that scarf," Erza said. "Everyone knows exactly who you are with it. It's part of your signature. Wendy can watch it for the time being."

"I'll take good care of it, Natsu, I promise," Wendy said and gave him a thumbs-up for reassurance.

Having been given a moment to rest, and catch their breath, the group set out once more. Lucy's muscles still ached, but, indeed, Clover Town was right there.

It'd still, it appeared, be some way before they made it to the stadium to sign up. Lucy prayed that the sign-ups were elsewhere, maybe somewhere closer so visiting wizards didn't have to traverse the entire city after several days of travel. Though, she doubted some wizards had traveled as much on foot as they did. Most were probably loyalists to the Empire and had no problem hitching a ride on a train or Magic Vehicle.

The city was surrounded by stone walls, clearly newly built ones at that. Most buildings stretched over it, so there had to be some extra enchantment about the walls that served as another layer of protection. It was remarkably modern looking, per what Lucy saw of other cities while on the road. Tall buildings lined up close to one another giving way to wider streets for more vehicles to slide between.

The arena was, indeed, huge, bigger than she could ever imagine. It was like a giant bowl, plunging into the ground while maintaining its perfectly circular shape.

She adjusted the gloves a bit, rubbing her hands to get better used to them on her hands. Every step closer brought them that much closer to the Games, yes, but more so to the Empire's waiting grasp once again.


The only thing to do in Crocus, given how handily the Empire conquered everything around them and they hadn't engaged in any wars in a while, was think. Maybe have regrets. Maybe even engage in a nice cup of wine with a sibling, but, said sibling was off on a retreat with two mysterious men she was thrilled to mentally torture.

Ah, Sorano.

Yukino sat alone on the balcony of her and Sting's home in the castle, in a shift dress that allowed the breeze to flow through and cool her body. A glass of a fine white wine from a new Imperial winery in Bosco sat untouched on the table next to her, brought hastily by a servant when she intimated she may wanted a drink.

She hated white wine.

Daily life sprawled beneath her, groveling at her heels while servants and masters and all in between went about the day rigidly established by the Emperor, August, Invel, and others. The sun still came out from behind the clouds and birds fluttered around. It was summer, a season of joy and life and what was supposed to be happiness among the swelters of heat.

And Yukino just wanted to go to sleep. What was there for her to do?

Well. There was one thing. It'd be a bit of a pain to do it, too, given how tight the window was, but she had something of a responsibility to take part in it.

It was just that laziness could be so attractive to her at times, compared to the grimy business of murder in the Empire. Not that she'd ever killed anyone, saw through with an execution, or had to fight anyone for quite some time. The last few fights she had were simply sparring matches to help hone her skills, of which she'd had fewer of because she was exemplified as a master Celestial Spirit Wizard, if not the best the Emperor had ever seen, even with only three Zodiac keys at her disposal.

Yukino took the wine glass and moved so her feet were positioned up on the railing of the balcony, then stretched and put the glass of wine there, balanced by her feet. She eased back, keeping it there. If it fell, and plummeted hundreds of feet below, there was a non-zero chance it'd hit someone and kill them. If it didn't hit someone, the glass would shatter everywhere, and it'd give servants something to clean up.

If she didn't drop it, she simply had to stare at the incredible specimen of wine curated over years to match Imperial tastes and expectations, let it sit there, untouched by the one it was brought to. Yukino hated wine but she had no idea if she would hate this one because this one was Imperial, not some Fiore batch that she'd tried as a young woman trying to be sneaky with her guild mates.

This wine was incredible. Fit for an Emperor and his most loyal followers. So, why not drink it? Why not give it a shot? Why not see if it was deserving of its title?

The door to the bedroom closed. Yukino maintained her balance on the wine glass on her feet. Footsteps approached, and in a fluid motion, Sting removed the wine glass from Yukino's poor grasp. She lowered her legs and sat up straight.

"Good afternoon, dear," Yukino said. "Did your meeting go well?"

"It did," Sting said, and took a sip of the wine. His smacking lips implied he enjoyed it. "It was short. Those are the best kinds of meetings. Now, we have the afternoon to be together."

"We could," Yukino said. "If it weren't for something that's come up."

"What? I thought you were free since you were leaving all the Grand Magic Games stuff to Axel?"

Sting, like usual, had an open jacket on, revealing his impeccable musculature. It was dyed Imperial colors, and he had many decorations adorned on him, symbolizing his status as Captain of the Dragon Division. He opened his arms up, confused at what Yukino was saying. She continued to not meet his gaze.

"I've decided that I want to go to the Grand Magic Games," Yukino said. "This is, after all, partly on my reputation. If Axel messes it up, it comes back on me from my superiors. You, Sting, are not as harsh a Captain as August."

"So we're going after all?" Sting asked. His voice was light. "Good. Great. I'm glad you changed your mind. Hopefully, there'll be some good fights this year."

"I'm going to kill Jiemma," Yukino said. "I don't care about the combat. Axel will win. Your Dragon Slayers always do."

"They're trained by the best."

Yukino hummed in agreement, then stood up. "I've taken the liberty of packing our things in case I decided to go this way."

"Talk to Libra about it?"

"I took it into my own hands."

Yukino strode into the bedroom. Sting had walked by the packed suitcases, with tickets already prepared for them to take the high-speed train to Clover Town. They'd arrive in the morning.

Sting followed her, shutting the door. He grabbed her hand and yanked Yukino close to him, pressing her back against his chest while his hand slowly, smoothly came over her side.

"Then that gives us some personal time before we go," he said, his breath warm against her neck. His fingers had little rigidity to them, moving with ease across her waist, then up, up toward her breast.

She curled in a slow breath while a hint of desire dripped into her. But only a hint, only a drip in a vast sea that remembered the ruthless look in his eye when he spoke of his position, the deep pride with which he took his position alongside Rogue.

He kissed her neck and grasped her breast at the same time, fondling it in a way she would have swooned and bent her knees over once. But this time her knees didn't buckle. She reached up to run her hands through his blonde hair and with his other hand he caressed her inner thigh.

"We have things to prepare," she said, her hand falling from his head.

"Rogue will take care of it," Sting said, a growl in his voice. "We can do this and then get out of here."

So it was something to get out of the way. A bit of pleasure for the road?

Yukino stepped forward and out of Sting's embrace. He clenched his hands, jaw slightly ajar. Yukino smoothed her dress.

"We have to get changed, first," Yukino said. "I can't wear this on the train, and you should wear something more befitting your position, don't you think?"

Sting's eyes flared. So, Yukino would get naked. Reading his expression, his hunger, she moved toward her massive closet.

Clothes upon clothes, more than she'd ever dream of wearing, waited for her there. She found the same outfit she wore to travel and pulled it down. Sting hadn't moved, waiting in the doorway to watch her strip.

Another drip, this one of curiosity, overcame her. She kept the door open, and, fluidly, let the dress drop around her. She slid out of her underwear. Sting hesitated where he stood, the two at a standstill. Yukino, bare before him, waited a moment. Waited to see if he would truly claim her, or simply ogle her.

His finest possession, as she'd come to be.

When first he saw her naked, she'd felt naught but shame. She'd been beaten and tortured at the hands of Jiemma, ridiculed by Minerva, for her failure to stop the Twilight Empire from advancing on one of their guild outposts. It was Sting's insistence that kept her in the guild. He wrapped her in the meager clothing he had at the time. He didn't see the beautiful but hauntingly destroyed woman, he saw his friend. The woman he loved.

There, in the castle at the top of a kingdom that they always thought of as theirs, he simply eyed her with a lust all other men had.

Yukino closed the door and got dressed.


Erza led the group to the entrance building after asking around. It was the final day to enter, so everyone moved with purpose.

The admissions office was down the street from one of the arena entrances. Lucy marveled at its size, continually in disbelief that it could be so large even as they approached it. Etched into the arena were various figures, probably important people to the Twilight Empire. Natsu recognized the greatest of the figures, the one standing at the center holding aloft a great book, as Zeref.

They were admitted into a large room that had a wide open doorway to the outside. Few wizards were there. Some were in tears. Could one be rejected from the Games? Or, had they simply been bullied by the guards who pointed and laughed at the wizards hoping to enter, as Fairy Tail was? Erza's stern eye kept everyone in check.

The Exceeds padded behind them. Wendy held Carla tight, the two nervous about moving through Clover Town at all.

"We're here to enter into the Games," Erza said. "I believe we're not too late."

"All are welcome," the man said. He had a black cloth draped over his face. All attendants did, as well as the same uniform with a great symbol at the center of it: a white crown with three tips that seemed to be flaming. "We simply require your names and what kind of magic you'll be performing with."

Lucy had, ultimately, decided that Celestial Spirit Magic was fine to use, so long as she relied on her Silver Keys. Those, though uncommon, were at least not going to attract attention like her lost Zodiac keys would. Were any of her Silver Keys combative? No, not really. But, Lyra could possibly—

"And you, ma'am?"

The attendant squared his mask on Lucy. Lucy blinked.

"Oh, um, yes?"

"Name? Magic?"

Lucy smiled. "Ashley. And I'm a Celestial Spirit Wizard."

The attendant did not react. Lucy sighed. Thank goodness.

"You?" another attendant asked as Natsu stepped up.

"Name's Bora," Natsu said with a sneer. Lucy raised her eyebrow. Wasn't that the name of the jerk who tried to kidnap her and take Natsu's name?

Eh. Only fair that Natsu got it back.

"I am Julia," said Juvia as she stepped forward. Lucy almost lost it. A single letter? Really! Come on!

"I am Carla," Wendy said with a smile.

"And I'm Lily," Gajeel said, sneering. "Lily Panther."

Last name's not needed! Lucy thought. She simmered in the back with her best buddy, Bora.

Gray at last came forward, cool as ever.

"Just call me Gray," he said.

Lucy almost face-palmed. With that attitude, nobody would even think it a real or fake name, how ridiculous.

Elfman approached, then, as Erza did, too. She'd kept her distance in the back allowing the others to register their identities.

"I have a real man's name," he said. "Call me John Doe."

Lucy's face flattened further. They were doomed. It was as simple as that. They were all going to be skewered by Imperial soldiers at whatever crappy hotel they could find that night and that was it. No more Fairy Tail. Maybe she'd get to go to the Celestial Spirit World as a form of the afterlife.

"My name," Erza said, a keen smile on her face. "Is Kaitlin Willow."

An oddly specific name, Lucy thought. Erza strode by, a little grin on her face.

"I wonder what Knightwalker would think of that," Erza said, a bit of cheekiness in her voice. Ah, Lucy understood. K and W. Fun. Neat. Lucy wasn't the only one with Edolas on the mind, then.

Everyone was squared away. They were told to report to the arena promptly in the morning for the preliminary round, though, to allow the audience time to file in, the actual event wouldn't begin until around midday, so the wizards still had time to fine-tune a strategy.

"So now what?' Gray asked. "I guess we should find a place to crash."

"If you need a roommate, darling, I am happy to volunteer," Juvia said, creeping up behind him.

Natsu sniffed around while he picked up Happy. "Hey, you guys smell that?"

"Food?" Lucy asked. "I'm pretty hungry."

"Nah, Salamander's onto something," Gajeel said, and it scared Lucy that he'd agree with Natsu. "Some scent, some smell…like a…"

"Dragon Slayer!" Natsu shouted, loud enough for it to echo all around the room as he swung his hand around toward a man with brunette hair and very obvious Twilight Empire digs on, and one that immediately turned to face Natsu when he made that loud declaration.

He appeared to be their age, perhaps a bit older, and was fit. Handsome, too, but not dreamily so, sort of in that double-take on the street kind of way. He wore an interesting lapel and his suit was embroidered with diamonds in it. His hair was stylized to ease down his head and then flare out a bit. His eyes seemed almost crystalline, too.

"Me?" the man asked. He was flanked by some guards, powerful-looking ones at that, with lacrima in their staffs. "How do you know I'm a Dragon Slayer?"

Lucy spoke faster than Natsu could, stepping in front of the great fire-breathing idiot. "Hard to not recognize you, honestly." She smiled at him. "I mean, you're one of the Dragon Division! We're big fans."

"You are?" he asked and approached. Lucy's heart thundered in her chest. Sure, she was surrounded by her friends, but they were surrounded by the entire Twilight Empire. Oh, what had Natsu done? "I consider it a privilege to be well-regarded by wizards in the games, and such a beautiful one at that."

He stopped in front of them. Eh. That handsomeness was more of a thing from afar. His snide ego smeared any good looks he really had.

"You're entering the games, too?" Natsu asked.

"It's my turn this year after Johan won it last year," the man said. "I hope you're some powerful wizards to stand a chance."

"I think you'll be surprised at what we can do," Natsu said but the man didn't listen, instead locking eyes with Lucy.

"I'm surprised at how stunning you are for me to have never seen or heard of you," the man said. He had to be putting on some sort of show, as his voice moved between accents and vocal ranges. "You've never modeled for the Empire? What a shame."

"Always just missed out on it," Lucy said.

The man grinned. "Then I can't let an opportunity like this go to waste. Are you new in town?"

"Yes."

"Perfect. I'm busy this evening, but after I breeze through the preliminaries tomorrow, I'd like to take you on a date about the town. My treat. I can't lose another moment being out of the sight of a woman like you…"

"Ashley," Lucy said, stunned at what was going on.

"Wow, you've already got a date, look at you!" Wendy exclaimed, having sneakily joined the conversation. "That's going to be so much fun."

"I don't know," Lucy said. "I'll be so preoccupied with the games."

"Then I'll make it my mission to knock you out tomorrow so you won't have to worry about it, and all of your nights will be free to spend with me." The man tried to grab Lucy's hand but she put them together and smiled at him.

"I don't think you'll find that so easy," Lucy said.

"Not by a long shot, bud," Natsu said, sneering at the man, who clearly wore eyes of disdain for Natsu.

"This is the remnants of the Dragon King Festival," the man said. "It is only befitting a Dragon Slayer to win." He smiled at Lucy. "And claim the greatest prize."

Lucy tried to hide her shudder but the man stepped away from them.

"I'll pick meet you back in front of the open doors here at seven tomorrow night. Do not be late."

That last part cemented it. He didn't ask her out, he didn't even suggest it. It was a demand, and there was a threat. Ashley and her friends could all be wonderful, loyal followers of the Empire.

But if that one didn't get what he wanted, they'd all suffer for it.


It was almost too easy to find a hotel room. They didn't have any money, but, as trained guild wizards, they were all more than happy to work for a living, and so dove into cleaning and helping the hotel staff in exchange for staying at the place for the duration of the games. Erza kept a hawkish watch of Gray, Natsu, and Elfman while they toiled to ensure a greater mess wasn't made.

When Lucy spoke about her date with the Dragon Slayer, they all learned it was a Diamond Dragon Slayer named Axel, who had a reputation as a valiant womanizer in the Empire, one that would have been rivaled by another named Sting.

"But Sting married Ms. Yukino," Frosch said. "Frosch is friends with Yukino."

"Were you all in the same guild?" Wendy asked.

"Yes. Frosch remembers it. It was Sabertooth. Frosch thinks it was the best guild in Fiore. Frosch thinks it was unbeatable. And then the Empire beat it."

At night, while the others decided to get their rest, Erza hit the town, still in her disguise. She Requipped into attire for the night—a slender blue dress with a long slit and flats so she'd blend with the elites in their area. Her hair was up in a bob, though she still had her sword at her side and sleeves to cover her guild mark.

Her mission was two-fold: to scout the restaurants with the highest density population of Imperial officials, as Axel would likely bring Lucy there…and to find the best dessert place. She was dying for a sweet treat. How would she pay for it? That was to be determined.

Erza rounded a corner, following her nose. Her footsteps echoed off the well-paved ground. Most of what she smelled was quite bland, like normal restaurant food. Perhaps the Empire eliminated bakeries, the truest joys in life. She kept her head on a swivel—not for spies, but that she may miss a tiny hole-in-the-wall kind of place.

She stayed straight at an intersection, as it seemed that more food places appeared around her. She was departing the heavy traffic of the Imperials, it seemed, into a seedier part of town. Erza didn't change her outfit. She looked good and felt like strutting it.

A heavy shadow loomed over her from way down the next street, blotting out the moonlight from behind her. Erza came to a halt, glancing over her shoulder. A titanic man stood there, his arms as wide as her head and legs that could bend metal. He had deep, black eyes and a big nose. Dense red beads hung like a necklace around his neck, unable to obscure the pointy white beard on his chin.

"Titania," he said, voice roiling out of his mouth like a beast. Erza let her hand drift to her side.

"Who are you?" she asked. "How do you know that name?"

Even that Minerva woman didn't know who Erza was. This had to be a previous associate of some kind, but Erza didn't recognize him at all.

"As a former Guild Master, it was my responsibility to be aware of any and all other wizards who thought themselves powerful in Fiore," the man said. "Though it is unlikely you'd have heard of my guild, as we were once full of weaklings."

"The guilds are all gone," Erza said.

"Yes. And you were supposed to be, too. But here you are, back from the dead. It was better for you to have stayed that way, honestly, unless you wish to meet death once more in the Games."

Erza narrowed her eyes. "Are you threatening me, sir?"

"I am going to not only win the Grand Magic Games but will soon make my final move at wiping out the Empire who thinks themselves greater than I," the man said. "You best stay out of my way. I will not spare anyone. Out of respect for the old guild system, and your previous reputation, I confronted you tonight."

"Hardly a confrontation if I still don't know who you are," Erza said.

"Jiemma Orland," he said. "Once of Sabertooth, before the whelps abandoned me in pursuit of an easier power. They will soon learn of their mistake. Again, I advise you not to make the same one."

Erza hadn't heard Hisui or Mest mention this name. Perhaps he was a rogue rebel, as he clearly had his own agenda in mind with how he wanted to deal with the Empire.

"I'm sorry," Erza said. "But my friends and I will not back out of the Games."

"Then your fates have been decided should we cross paths again," Jiemma said. "Farewell."

Despite his hulking form, he managed to sneak back into the shadows. Erza lingered a moment longer before realizing her appetite was gone, and then she retraced her steps to head home.


"Lily!" Frosch exclaimed. "Follow Frosch!"

Gajeel and the cats were out for a late-night stroll as something had clearly been bothering Frosch, but the Exceed hadn't been able to vocalize it. At once, though, he started scurrying away toward the arena.

The night was still, most of the guards around seemed to be on diligent patrol but their body language clearly said otherwise. Gajeel, thusly, didn't stop Frosch while they rushed through the town. Frosch forgot to be on all-fours but in that outfit, with their gait, could easily be confused for a baby.

Frosch wrapped them around the exterior of the arena before coming to a stop at a window, quite high up. Frosch jumped as if to summon their Exceed wings but Gajeel caught Frosch and tucked the Exceed under his arms.

"Lily?" Gajeel asked. "Mind taking a peak?"

Lily nodded and deftly climbed the crevices within the wall to look at the window. Gajeel stole a look around.

"It is familiar to Frosch," the Exceed said. "Very familiar."

"What is?" Gajeel asked.

"What Frosch senses. Frosch thinks it is familiar."

"Sort of hard to see," Lily said. "There's a single torch in there lighting up the room, and a few crates."

"Okay, then let me take a look!"

Gajeel hardened his fingers and climbed up the wall, too. Frosch moved up to sit on Gajeel's shoulder. He rested his chin on the stone and tested the window. It creaked open and no alarms went off.

"Wish we had Salamander here to light the place up," Gajeel said. "You're right, it's hard to see…wait, shh!"

He shut up, and Lily covered Frosch's mouth as two figures moved into the room. They appeared to either be the same two attendants from the admissions building or were perhaps others, as they wore the same exact clothes. They moved deftly through some of the crates. Frosch watched with great interest as they stopped at one of them, creaking it open.

More help came. They left with trinkets in hand, such as tiny medals and a trophy. These, then, were the prizes for the winner.

But where was the big one, the one that pipsqueak Romeo said was…

"What is that?" Lily muttered, quiet enough for only a Dragon Slayer to have heard.

"Lector!" Frosch tried to squeak. Gajeel also clamped his hand over Frosch's mouth and as a result dropped. But he'd seen enough.

The two knew exactly what it was, as they'd seen something all-too-similar on Edolas, near the end of Fairy Tail's battle there.

"That was Lector, wasn't it?" Gajeel said, eyeing Lily who climbed down. Lily, a haunted look in his eyes, nodded.

"Frosch saw Lector in a crystal!" Frosch exclaimed.

Gajeel patted the Exceed's head. For once, Frosch nailed it right on the head.

The big prize for the Grand Magic Games? A lacrima that'd been created from the Exceed, Lector. And all the power that came with it.