Chapter 81

Hatred

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip

Day 2 Scores

Raven Tail - 36p

Sabertooth - 20p

Lamia Scale - 20p

Mermaid Heel - 19p

Blue Pegasus - 17p

Quatro Puppy - 12p

Fairy Tail A - 12p

Fairy Tail B - 12p

Night

"You don't sense any magic?" Erza asked as she meet up with Jellal.

"That's right..." He nodded. "We have yet to sense anything like the magic that we sense every year."

"What does that mean?" The red head asked in concern.

"I can think of several possibilities." He replied. "If the magic is connected to a certain person, they may not be attending this year. Or that person is just not using their magic in Crocus. It's also possible that this wizard is part of a team, but has not yet participated in the games. And if the magic is coming from some device or location, they may have yet to be activated. Or they have a filter on it to ensure no magic has seeped out."

"In any case, the fact that you aren't sensing anything means that nothing is going on right now." Erza spoke up.

"I hope that's true." He nodded, starting to walk away. "Tomorrow I plan to investigate the Games backers."

"Don't do anything to get yourself caught." She chuckled as he flipped his hood up.

"I know. Ultear has already made it clear to me." He chuckled back as he walked to the rest of his guild. "Good night, Erza." The two left the bridge and went their separate ways, as Jellal stared back at her longingly.

"It's gotten late. Even the drinking parties are over." Erza mumbled as she walked through the empty streets.

"Finally! I found you!" She turned to the side as a hooded figure leaned over a railing.

Erza watched as they flipped the hood off, revealing a pair of cat ears to her. "Millianna!" She cheered as the girl jumped over the railing into her arms and they hugged. "You're in a guild now?"

"Yep! Mermaid Heel!" She cheered, showing the guild mark on her waist.

"Did Sho and Wally join the same guild?" The red head asked.

"What are you talking about? Mermaid Heel is an all-girls guild." Millianna chuckled. "They're still out journeying, but we stay in touch."

Erza hugged her friend tight again. "I'm so happy to see you, Millianna."

"The truth is I wanted us to win the games, then reveal who I was to you and everybody else." The cat girl explained. "But I couldn't wait! I wanted to see you as soon as I could!"

"What are we going to do with you?" Erza chuckled. "But I have to say how impressed I was by the strength of your guildmate Kagura."

"She's great! If it ever came to blow, she might be stronger than you." Millianna replied.

"I hope she and I can face off at some point." Erza confessed.

"You may even get the chance during these games." The cat girl hoped. "But Kagura may never get serious during the Games... You saw her use that sheathed sword, right? She calls it Archenemy, and Kagura won't draw it until she will cut down her enemy. An enemy that she hates more than anyone. That man who stole everything from Kagura, that sword is meant to kill Jellal."

Erza gasped in shock as her friend turned to her. "I'm with her on that! You feel the same way, right, Erza? I hate him so much... He turned us into slaves again, he murdered Simon! I will never forgive or forget... That's why I entered the same Guild as Kagura."

Crocus Garden

"You are too pathetic to even cry over." The master of Sabertooth, Jiemma declared as he stared over his guild. "You pieces of trash! Remember why stand over all the other wizard guilds! You do not see worms! You do not listen to them! You crush them beneath your feet! The only thing that catches our attention are big fish!

"You make the heavens roar! You make the earth boil! You silence the seas! That is Sabertooth!" His guild members stood at attention in fear of him. "Sting!" The blonde tightened up as the master turned to him. "I am allowing a single remaining chance. You will never show me a performance like that again."

"Thank you." The Dragon Slayer bowed. "I will not fail to meet you expectations from now on."

"Yukino..." The master turned to the girl and she stepped forward. "No lame excuses can help you, you know that."

"Yes, I was defeated by a single member another guild..." The girl nodded. "That fact sullies the name of Saber-"

"That isn't it at all!" The master shouted as he threw a cluster of grapes at her head. "You bet your life and lost! Then you received pity from that enemy! That is not Sabertooth!"

"Yes... I am ready to accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate." She replied, not even touching her head.

"...Strip off your clothes." Jiemma demanded. The girl nodded and stripped herself before the guild. No one said anything as she place d her clothing to the side, standing naked. "Your guild mark... remove it!" He ordered.

"Yes..." She mumbled before dropping ti her knees and bowing. "It has only been a short time... but thank you for having me."

"Get the hell out of my sight." Jiemma demanded as he stood up and left.

The entire guild walked away from her and went to their rooms. "He always goes to extremes, the master..." Sting said as he, Rogue and their Exceeds walked through the hall.

"What do you expect? That's how we got to be the strongest guild, right?" Lector asked back.

"Is this what a guild is?" Rogue asked as he suddenly stopped. "Yukino was our comrade, after all."

"She was weak, so she's gone." Sting declared. "The strongest guild doesn't need those types." The blonde and his cat walked away, leaving Rogue in disgust of his words.

With Natsu and Co.

"Can you believe that Lyon just showed up and just started fighting Gray?" Natsu asked with a laugh as he walked with Laki, Lucy, and Wendy as the three cats flew next to them. "And people call me crazy."

"Hey, anyone seen Erza?" Rose asked.

"She said she was taking care of something." Laki replied. "She could just be sharing some info with Jellal."

"I just hope that tonight I can get some sleep tonight." Lucy chuckled. "Between the Natsu, Erza and Gray, it sounds like someone is clearing a forest."

"Hey, there's someone standing in front of our hotel." Natsu mumbled.

"Yeah... who is that?" Laki asked, leaning forward. They finally reached the front of the hotel, where they found Yukino standing there.

Quickly letting her inside, Lucy sat down in the chair and stared at the new girl in shock. "You wanted to see me?" The blonde asked in shock.

"My guild..." Yukino mumbled. "I just came from there and have something to discuss with you."

"Did your guild send you here?" Natsu asked, cautious of the new girl.

"Why don't we hear what she wants first?" Laki told her boyfriend.

"I realize this might be out of the blue..." Yukino reached into her pocket and placed her golden keys on the table. "But please take them. I want you to have them."

"What?" Lucy asked in shock. "No way! I can't! Please, you have to think this through."

"I have..." The brown-eyed girl replied. "I came to this decision the first day of the Games. I decided to hand them over to you when the games ends."

"So why not wait until then?" Natsu asked.

"The games are over for me." Yukino answered. "Minerva will take my place. Starting tomorrow you'll be fighting against Sabertooth's strongest members. I was merely a place holder until she returned from a job."

"Look, the answer is still no." Lucy declared. "You should know just how precious the bond between spirits and their summoners are."

"I do, but I also know that you are more than capable of using the spirits better than I." Yukino replied before standing up. "Please, think about it during the rest of the Games." She picked up the keys and left the room, leaving the trio.

Yukino walked down the streets with her luggage dragged behind her. "Hold up!" The girl turned around to see Laki dragging Natsu by the ear. "Natsu has something he wants to tell you. Isn't that right?"

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Natsu groaned out as she let go, rubbing his ear. "All right. I guess you aren't as bad as the rest of the guild."

"You can do better than that." Laki told her boyfriend. "Give her a proper apology."

"Hey, I'm doing my best here." He replied. A sudden sob caught both Slayers attention and they turned to see Yukino crying. "Whoa... maybe I am bad at it."

"No, it's not that..." Yukino mumbled as she dropped to the ground. "It's just... no one has ever been this kind to me... I looked up to them once... but now, I'll never be able to set foot in there again... I lost one time and was forced to leave..."

Laki raced over and hugged the girl tight, letting Yukino cry into her arms. "Laki... take her somewhere else..." Natsu mumbled as he walked past the two. "She shouldn't have to see this..." The glasses wearing girl nodded and hugged Yukino tighter, the tears never stopping.

Crocus Garden

An explosion woke every member of Sabertooth up from their slumber. They raced to the main hall in time to see the door broken down by flames. "...Where is your master?" Natsu growled as he punted a wizard into the mob. "Bring him out, now!"

Jiemma took one step forward and scared his guild members moved out of the way. "If you have something to say, say it."

"...One loss and you're out, right?" Natsu asked, glaring at the bearded man as he ignited his fists. "Fine. Then when I beat you, you gotta leave the guild too."

"Fairy Tail...?" Rufus asked in surprise.

"He came to pick a fight with the master?" Orga mumbled in disbelief.

"I hope you know what you're getting into, brat." Jiemma declared.

"Anybody who doesn't think of a member as a friend gets no respect from me!" Natsu declared.

'Is he talking about Yukino?' Rogue asked himself.

'This doesn't have anything to do with you. Normal people don't get worked up about things like this, right?' Sting asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I do see that you live by certain rules of your own." Jiemma said.

"You don't know what I'm talking about!?" Natsu roared in anger.

"Dobengal... deal with him." Jiemma declared before a ninja clad man appeared next to him.

"So you're just gonna run away?" Natsu growled out.

"Regular troops are far beneath my notice." The guild master declared. "If you plan to attack the highest members of a guild, you should be prepared to show your commitment!"

"My fight is with you!" Natsu shouted before charging. Dobengal ran forward to fight, only to get back handed into the door and fall to the ground.

"Master, I'll take him." Sting walked forward only for the master to block his path.

"Stay out of this." Jiemma declared before turning back to the charging Natsu. "No one in the guild has your kind of spirit, boy. It's interesting." Natsu swung his flaming arm and the master blocked. "Spirit alone is not enough!" He blasted Natsu back wothhis own magic, only for the pinkette to charge and punch him in the gut, shocking the whole guild.

Natsu followed it up with a right hook and an uppercut before unleashing a flurry of punches. "Lightning Flame Dragon: Burning Hammer!" Lightning and flame rolled off his fist before he slammed it forward. An explosion rocked the building and destroyed the roof of the building, blowing members back and kicking up a storm of dust.

When the blast cleared, a woman in a blue dress was standing between the two, her hands glowing in magic. "Minerva..." Jiemma mumbled.

"Shall we end this little quarrel before it goes any further?" The girl asked, confusing Natsu.

"How dare you get in my way." The master growled. "This doesn't concern you."

"Forgive me, father." Minerva said. "You could easily defeat this man, but we must take into consideration how this would appear to the outside world. Despite the fact that he was the aggressor, were you to kill a member of an opposing team in the Grand Magic Games, it would forever tarnish our reputation.

"You have enraged both my father and his men. And they are not the type of men to pull back easily. So will you give us a chance to end this peacefully?"

Natsu growled at the girl in annoyance. "I think you're just scared of seeing this old man get his ass beat!"

Minerva chuckled as her hands started glowing. A large puff of smoke appeared and it soon faded, showing a bound Laki in her grasp. "LAKI!"

"Be aware, if you do not leave peacefully, I cannot assure the safety of your girlfriend." Minerva declared as Laki writhed in her grasp. "After all, she was quite the wild prey to catch."

"Let go of me, you witch!" She shouted, actually managing to head butt the woman.

Minerva merely chuckled as she turned back to Natsu. "You seem to have injured quite a number of our members. However, we are willing to cooperate. Do as I say and we can continue the Games like nothing happened."

Natsu growled in anger before lowering his head. Minerva pushed Laki forward and Natsu caught her, noticing the large bruise on her leg. "Are you okay, Laki?"

"I'm fine... Let's go." She said. The Wood Dragon Slayer tried to walk, but her legs gave out.

Natsu took her arm over his shoulder and the two walked towards the door. "Those two have some guts..." Jiemma confessed.

"Let us finish the Grand Magic Games in spectacular fashion." Minerva added.

The two stopped walking and Laki turned back to the guild. "We won't ever lose to people like you." She declared. "What's more, you'll never catch us. Because a real guild treats its members like family."

The two walked out of the building leaving the members in shock of the night. 'He may be right...' Rogue whispered to himself. 'But that's not how we treat each other here.'

'That was crazy... He's way stronger than I thought he'd be.' Sting thought with a smile.

"I call first game tomorrow!" Orga shouted. "And I'm gonna make sure those Fairy Tail punks pay for this!"

"We shall respond accordingly to this transgression." Minerva added. "However, I must admit that events like this keep the games exciting. And since Yukino is no longer with us, I shall take it upon myself to take her place."

Day 3

Streets of Crocus

Yukino walked down the streets in sadness, dragging her suitcase behind her. "Did you hear? Someone attacked Sabertooth last night." She froze in place and turned to the man in surprise. "Who would be stupid enough to attack the strongest guild?"

'It... it couldn't be...' She thought in shock as she turned to the colosseum. 'Natsu... Laki...

Domus Flau

The crowd quickly sat down for the first portion of the day's games, confectioners selling their goods. "Our guest commentator for today's Games is from the Magic Council, please welcome Marshal Lahar."

"Thank you for having me here." The bespectacled man replied. "While here, I can promise no injustices during the games."

"The competition for the third day is called Pandemonium." Chapati declared. "At this time we will ask for one member from each team to step forward."

Gray and Natsu started fighting about who would go, only for Erza to step forward, taking the spot. "If you or Laki went out, it would only complicate things." She declared, destroying Natsu's confidence.

"I'll go out for Team B." Cana said from the other stands.

"Sounds good to me." Laki said, having knocked Gajeel asked. "Just try not to get drunk too early."

"What kind of drinker do you take me for?" The brunette chuckled.

"If Erza's going out there, then send me, Kagura!" Millianna begged, earning a nod from the swordswoman.

"Wait, is that the girl from the Tower of Heaven?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"I think it is." Gray replied. "So she entered a guild."

"There's a council member here. Do not draw attention to yourself, Obra." Alexei told the blue skinned man who nodded in response.

"I will represent Blue Pegasus." Hibiki said, making the fangirls cheer.

"I'll go." Ogra added to his guildmates. "I'll fry them all with my Black Lightning."

"You should at least wait until you know what the game is." Minerva said, making Rufus chuckle.

'Whatever... If Natsu isn't competing, I don't care who goes out there for us...' Sting thought as Rogue just stood in silence.

"Jura is going out there?" Chelia asked in shock.

"If the master says so, he does it." Lyon chuckled.

"Just leave this to me." The Wizard Saint said, rubbing his beard.

The eight wizards stepped onto the field as a massive magic circle appeared over the arena. "Sorry about my absence from yesterday." Mato said from the middle of the field. "Now, let me explain the rules for Pandemonium."

The seal started glowing and a massive castle began descending from the sky. The walkway touched the ground and the entire arena shook. "This castle that stands before you is filled evil monsters. This is Pandemonium!"

"A place of monsters, you say?" Jura asked back.

"That's the setup." The mascot answered. "There are a hundred monsters within its wall. ...Well, they're not really monsters. Just magical constructs we conjured. The monsters are sorted into five categories based on their battle prowess: 50 D class, 30 C class, 15 B class, 4 A class, and one S class. And if you want to know, this is how strong a D class is."

A projection appeared over the mascot to show an armored beast charging a stone statue. "There are these and others even stronger than that. A hundred are scattered within the palace with each one as twice as string as the one below it. And the S class monster is so strong, there's no guarantee a Wizard Saint could even beat it.

"You'll each enter in a randomly assigned order and decide how many monsters you will fight. That will be your challenge. For example, if you choose to fight three monsters, you'll find three monsters emerging from the palace gates. If you managed to beat all three, then you gain three points and the next contestant must choose from the remaining 97 monsters to fight.

"We will continue this until the number of monsters reach zero, or the contestants run out of magic, whichever comes first. Then the contest will end. But as I mentioned earlier, each monster has a rank. Once you submit your choice, it doesn't matter the number: the monsters will appear at random."

"So one will need a strategy to avoid run-ins with the S-Class monsters..." Hibiki mumbled.

"If they come in at random, it won't help you." Orga said.

"Remember, your points come from the number of monsters you vanquish, not the class." Mato declared. "Once you have entered the palace, you will not be allowed to leave until you defeated the number you chose. And if you are defeated, then you keep the points you have already earned. And then your turn will never come again, and for later rounds you will be counted as having beaten zero monsters.

"Now we'll draw sticks to determine the order." A box appeared in his hands holding eight different sticks.

Each wizard took a turn and drew one, with Erza as number one. "I had figured this game would all depend on the number I drew." She said with a smirk as she walked forward.

"You mean the luck of the draw?" Mato asked. "M-maybe, but I don't think so. The games is based on how well you pace yourself."

"No, this game is over." She replied, confusing the mascot. "I will take on all one hundred monsters. I choose the number 100." Her declaration shocked the audience and the other guilds as she walked into the castle.

"I-impossible! It's set up so they'd massacre any wizard inside!" Mato shouted. Erza ignored the mascot and walked in, instantly getting surrounded by monsters.

The beasts charged her and jumped at her, their massive jaws opened to bite her in half. "Requip!" She instantly glowed and changed into her Heavens Wheel Armor before summoning a swarm of swords. The blades flew through the air and rained down on the creatures, destroying anything they touched. She glowed again and donned her Blackwing Armor, flying through the air and slice through four more.

She sent a wave of energy at another swarm before a ball of fire flew at her. She moved to the side and it hit the wall, creating dust and smoke to cover her. Flying out of the debris, Erza sliced through the creature with her Flame Empress Armor while using her Sea Empress Armor sword.

The red head swung the blade and sliced through two more before summoning her Flame Empress Sword, creating an explosion. A hulking blue scaled beast appeared and unleashed a beam of water from its mouth, only to be destroyed by her Sea Empress Armor with her Lightning Empress Spear. A claw slammed into her and forced her against a wall, only to glow before zipping through the swarm.

When she finally stopped, she showed that she was in her Flight Armor with her Purgatory Club, destroying them all. "Incredible! She's already defeat half the monsters in the tower!" Chapati shouted, stunning the audience and the other participants.

Another horde charged her and she swung her blades, destroying even more before an A-Class monster slammed its fist down. The beast tilted its head before watching the arm crumble to pieces. It looked down to show Erza in her Adamantine Armor while holding her De-Malevo-Lance.

She thrust her spear and the impact pushed the beast out of the tower she raced after it. More monsters jumped up from the side and attack, only for her to throw her spear forward, puncturing all of them. Another A-Class jumped up and she changed weapons again, destroying it. Again and again, she repeated this strategy, destroying anything in her path until only four monster remained.

An A-Class monster jumped down and forced her to block as two B-Class jumped up from the side. She glowed before all three were sliced in half, her Clear Heart Clothing now being donned. A heavy footstep caught her attention as a hulking purple beast slammed its fist into her, sending both falling through into a chamber.

She held her blades up and blocked the beasts boot before it kicked her to the side. Erza jumped to the side and dodged the punches, slicing through the fingers and hands. With one final swing and a roar of pride, she sliced clean through the head, killing the beast.

As the rubble of the beast rained down around her, Erza raised her sword to the sky. "I-I don't believe my eyes! All alone, she vanquished a hundred monsters. She cleared the entire palace! Is this the true power of the guild that was known as the strongest in the land just seven years ago?!"

Fun fact, the entire fight in the tower was an anime original creation. In the manga, she just beat them all so the anime literally made it up... That is awesome! And speaking of awesome, how bad ass was it of Natsu to storm the palace of Sabertooth and kicked ass of that piece of crap, Jiemma. And I'm not just saying that because of Yukino, but that's a rant for another day. For now, Erza wins and is the Queen of the Fairies for a reason.

Beta read by General Feng Xiang.