Chapter 191

Arriving at Crocus

A few days later, we finally arrived at the city of Crocus, and it was one of the most beautiful cities I had ever seen.

The city was much larger than any other town I came across, having various and numerous beautiful flowers everywhere you looked, and its townspeople, wizards, and spectators alike were as lively as the atmosphere that surrounded it. I couldn't help but smile as I looked all around, admiring it all.

"Wow! This place is beautiful! I've never seen anything like it!" I gasped in awe. "Don't you guys think so?"

But as I looked back at Natsu and the others, they were either collapsed or sitting on the ground looking miserable and exhausted.

"Hey. What's the matter with you guys?" I asked with a hint of confusion. "Aren't you hyped too?"

"I can't believe I still feel so horrible," moaned Wendy in agony.

I then understood. "Oh, I see. So you guys are still feeling the pain from the Second Origin treatment, huh?"

"Well, duh," huffed Gray. "I hope that going through that spell wasn't Ultear's idea of a sick joke to make us lose the games."

"Well, I do feel like I have more magic power, sort of," sighed Lucy. "Everything else in my body feels like it got hit by a train."

"Chin up, everyone, this isn't the time to be whining!" Erza spoke, who, other than me, seemed to be full of energy. "You're acting pitiful!"

Lucy and Gray frowned at her.

"How the heck are you unaffected, Erza?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"Most likely because she's already had her Second Origin unlocked," answered Gray. "That would make perfect sense."

"But then what about Willy?" asked Wendy. "He's unaffected too, and he was in just as much pain as we were."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still sore," I replied as I rolled my shoulder. "But to be honest, I'm used to pain, so I suppose that's why I'm not affected that much either. That and I can't get over how beautiful Crocus is, so I'm a bit excited!"

"If that's the case, then both of your tolerances to pain are up to superhuman levels," sighed Lucy.

"Willy's right about one thing," said Natsu. "I've never seen such a large city in my life!"

"I agree," concurred Carla. "It certainly puts the castle back in Edolas to shame."

Just then, Makarov arrived along with Team Shadow Gear, Alzack, Bisca, their daughter Asuka while riding on Makarov's shoulders, and Elfman and Lisanna.

"Well, I see you kids finally made it," Makarov smiled. "We just got finished with the registration process."

Then, I noticed that someone wasn't among the group, much to my surprise. "Say, where's Mira?" I wondered to Elfman and Lisanna. "I would have thought that she'd be with you two."

"To be honest, we're not sure," replied Elfman. "Last time we saw her was when we were getting ready to go."

"She said that she would meet us at Crocus, but we haven't seen any sign of her yet," added Lisanna.

"Don't you kids worry," said Makarov. "I'm sure that we'll run into her soon enough. But, in the meantime, let's everyone that Fairy Tail is the number guild in Fiore!"

At that moment, some of the citizens happened to take notice of us.

"Hey, look! It's the Fairy Tail guild!" said a man.

"Those clowns are here again?" laughed another. "Well, some guild's got to be in last place, so I shouldn't be surprised."

They then began to laugh scornfully.

Natsu then scowled crossly. "Are those jerks laughing at us?!" he growled.

"Come on! You guys always come in last place every year!" mocked another man. "Everybody knows that Sabertooth's retaking the top spot, so why even bother?"

Natsu snarled in anger, ready to give them a piece of his mind, but Erza reeled him back.

"Ignore them, Natsu. If they want to laugh, they can do it all they want," said Makarov. "Don't forget, doing this for the thirty mil- I mean for the honor of being the top-ranked guild. We owe it to Master Mavis, who rose from her eternal slumber to save us seven years ago, so let's make her proud!"

Natsu's team all nodded with determination, although I did wonder what Makarov was about to say when he corrected himself. Something about thirty?

"Now, then. There is a small problem I wish to discuss," continued Makarov. "We do know that the games are tomorrow, but unfortunately, we have no idea what they'll be."

"Wait, you don't know?" I repeated, feeling puzzled. I then looked over to Alzack and Bisca. "You guys have done this every year, right? So, shouldn't you guys or anyone else in the guild have some idea what they are?"

"Yeah, but the games change every year," explained Bisca. "I remember one year when Alzack and I didn't participate, they had a big ol' target shooting game."

"And the year I didn't compete, they had a foot race," added Jet. "But they take the team's scores over a bunch of contests to determine a winner."

"I took the liberty of looking through the records of the previous games, and there's no consistency," Levy also spoke. "They like to mix it up."

"Then, we'll just have to play it by ear," Natsu smirked while punching his palm. "But I'm hoping there's some kind of fight!"

"Leave it to you to get pumped over a fight, Natsu," I chuckled. "But then again, that boundless energy of yours is pretty reassuring."

Makarov then went up to Erza and handed her a thick book with "Rule Book" printed red. "Erza, I'd like you to read through this by tomorrow," he said to her. "It's the official rule book."

The redhead appeared surprised. "I'm to read through all of this?" she asked.

Levy then took out a pair of red glasses while putting them on. "Have no fear, Levy's here," she smiled brightly. "Luckily, I brought my Wind-Reading glasses! I can read through that book no problem with these babies!"

She then took the book and quickly started reading through it at an incredible pace, flipping one page after another. In a few minutes, she stopped.

"OK, to give you the abridged version, I'd say there are three major rules," said Levy. "The first one is that the master of each guild isn't allowed to participate. The second is that a guild can't have anyone who doesn't bear their respective emblem to participate on its behalf. And the final rule is that every game will remain a mystery until they get announced, and only then will their rules be explained in detail."

"The first three rules seem to make sense," said Erza thoughtfully. "But that third rule doesn't give us much to go on."

"Hold on a second. There's something else in here that might help," said Levy as she squinted on a page. "All participants must be at their designated inn by twelve."

"Well, that seems odd," said Elfman. "Didn't think they'd be giving us a curfew."

"Does it say what time of the day?" wondered Lucy.

"I suppose it means midnight tonight," assumed Carla. "That would seem to be the logical idea."

"You know, it kind of reminds of that fairy tale," said Gray. "The one with the princess and the glass slipper."

I then remembered. "Oh, yeah! You must mean Cinderella, Gray!" I said. "I love that story!"

"I didn't think you would know about that story, Willy," said Levy. "Then again, you are a fellow bookworm."

I then shyly scratched my cheek. "Well, I did read a lot of fairy tales back when I was little," I chuckled. "And I used to read them all with Elfman and Lisanna all the time."

"Oh, yeah. I remember those days," sighed Elfman with nostalgia. "You would make the stories sound so awesome the way you would read them to us."

"You think so? Well, I'm glad you liked them," I said with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"In the meantime, we got lots of time until midnight," Natsu grinned eagerly. "Why don't we go ahead and check out the town since it's everyone's first time here?"

"Aye, sir!" concurred Happy.

"Count me in!" agreed Lucy. "Let's do some exploring!"

The trio then took off.

"Hold on! You do know which inn we're staying, right?!" called out Erza.

"The Honey Inn Bone Inn, right?!" Lucy called back.

"I think I'll get going too," said Gray as he started himself. "I might as well take a look around solo."

"We're going to check out the sights," said Wendy as she and Carla went off too. "Don't worry. We'll be back by midnight."

Before Erza could even protest, the rest of her members had already gone, much to her exasperation.

"Honestly. Couldn't we have at least waited until we got to the inn?" Erza huffed as she then turned towards us and gave a slight bow. "Apologies. I'm going to head for our inn now."

The armored redhead then rushed away.

"You know, it's almost like Erza's a mom trying to keep her kids in check," laughed Lisanna.

"She might as well be, given her position," chuckled Levy.

Makarov then grunted in surprise, realizing. "That reminds me. There's something else I need to mention," he spoke as he glanced over towards our direction. "I just received a message from Tu Chi that may interest the three of you."

"A message?" I repeated. "What's up?"

"She tells me that she invited two special guests to watch the games with us," said Makarov. "I heard from the other members that she's been visiting the guild over that past seven years, and one of our guests happens to be someone you three were close to."

Lisanna, Elfman, and I were puzzled, but then Alzack and Bisca were surprised as well as excited.

"Master, are you talking about who I think you're talking about?" asked Alzack.

"She's going to watch the games with us?! That's wonderful!" gasped Bisca happily. "You hear that, Asuka? If she's coming, then that means..."

Asuka's eyes sparkled. "That means Lapi's coming!" she squealed.

"Well, who is it?" wondered Elfman. "Come on! Don't keep us in the dark!"

"And who's Lapi?" wondered Lisanna.

Then, a pair of voices came from behind us.

"Yoo-hoo! Hey, you guys! Did you miss me?!"

We all turned around and saw two people a few feet from us. One of them was a little girl with sky blue hair in a ponytail and wore a pink dress with matching sandals. The second was a curvy young woman with long flowing blue hair wearing jeans and a tank top with a small gem at its center. When I saw her, I felt my pulse quicken, and my eyes went wide, recognizing her immediately.

"Is... is that...?" I couldn't help but murmur.

"It's Sieri!" Elfman and Lisanna cried out.

The two of them rushed towards the woman, and Lisanna met her in a big hug while Elfman hugged them simultaneously. After that, Asuka and the little girl ran towards each other, joyfully held hands, and began to jump happily.

"Lapi! I can't believe you're here!" Asuka gushed. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too, Asuka!" the girl smiled.

"It's been a long time, Sieri!" said Lisanna. "We haven't seen you in forever!"

"I know! And you two have changed a lot since the last time I saw you," Sieri spoke with a smile. "You've grown up to be a fine young lady Lisanna." She then looked at Elfman, her eyes going wide with bewilderment. "And holy moly! Elfman, you've grown so much! You're practically a mini giant!"

"Yeah! That's because I've become a real man!" Elfman spoke proudly.

As they continued to converse, all I could do was stand there, not moving a muscle while staring at Sieri. Part of me was delighted to see her, considering that the last time I saw her was back when I was little. However, I couldn't help but remember Finn and wondered if I should even be here right now.

Then, Sieri looked in my direction, and her smile disappeared. She started walking towards me, appearing neutral, but I couldn't help think she had some hostility. I wanted to run away right then and there, but my feet wouldn't move as I shut my eyes bracing myself, expecting some yelling and possibly a slap across the face.

But instead, I felt a pair of hands wrap around my neck, pulling me into a tender and loving embrace as I opened my eyes in surprise. Then, I heard Sieri.

"Willy. It's been so long since I've seen you. I missed you."

At first, I didn't know what to say, but as Sieri pulled back, I could see she was on the brink of tears but out of joy.

"Look at you. You've grown up so much over these past years," Sieri continued. "You've turned into a fine young man just like I thought you'd be."

"B-But, I-," I stammered, finally working up the nerve to speak. "I-I-I thought that you'd be -. A-Aren't you-."

But, Sieri placed a finger on my lips, silencing me. "Let me guess. You thought that I'd be mad at you because of what happened with Finn, am I right?"

I couldn't speak.

"Listen, Willy. There's no reason for you to be worried about that. I'm not mad, especially not at you," Sieri continued as she held my cheek with a hand. "What happened to Finn was something neither one of us could control, so there's no reason to be blaming anyone. While I was sad when I found out what happened, I've learned to accept and move on from it. Besides, I still got you, the Strauss siblings, and many other people in my life who I consider family, and nothing makes me happier than to see you, who I consider like a son, alive and well."

She then embraced me again as my eyes burned with emotion while welling up with tears.

"I love you, Willy," Sieri also added.

"I love you, too," I managed to choke as I hugged her back.

Sieri then stepped back. "Well then, I think I've had enough of this touching reunion," she smiled. "What do you say that the four of us catch up? There's a restaurant a few blocks down."

"Sounds good to me," said Lisanna.

"Count me in," concurred Elfman.

I answered with a nod.

"Say, Master Makarov? Do you mind if Lapis stuck around with you for a bit?" asked Sieri.

"Not at all," smiled Makarov. "We would love to have her with us."

Sieri looked at the little girl. "Lapis, you be a good girl and behave yourself, OK? And don't you and Asuka stir up too much trouble."

"OK!" the little girl replied. "Come on, Asuka! Let's go play!"

"Yeah! Let's go, Lapi!" replied Asuka.

The two little girls then scampered away.

"Hey! Hold on a minute, you two! Don't go too far!" warned Alzack as he chased after them. "You'll both get lost!"

"Guess we'd better get going," chuckled Bisca. "We'll see you guys later."

"If you need us, we'll be staying in the hotel a few streets down," added Levy. "See you at the games!"

They then turned and left, and we did the same, eager to catch up with our foster mother.

NO POV

As Willy's group was about to leave, Makarov called out to Sieri.

"Oh, Sieri! Hold on a second! Could you come here for a minute?"

Sieri then stopped and went back to Makarov. "Yes? What is it?"

Makarov then spoke low so that only she could hear him. "You do remember what we talked about, right? I want you to make sure that the you-know-what is ready."

Sieri smiled at Makarov and gave him a thumbs up while winking. "Don't worry about that. It'll be ready by the time the games start," she grinned. "You can count on that."

Makarov grinned back as a mischievous glint flashed in his eye. "Glad to hear it," he said. "With what we got planned, we'll have these games in the bag and then some!"

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As always, thank you very much for reading! And I hope to see you next chapter!

Dragomaster, signing off!