A/N: Episode 152, Opening 13.

Enjoy!


CHAPTER THREE: AND SO, WE AIM FOR THE TOP!

Samuel was currently outside of the guild hall as Lucy was putting Wendy's hair in pigtails. "Thank you, Lucy-san!" Wendy thanked her.

"You're welcome. I can't hold a candle to Cancer, but I'm pretty good if I do say so myself!" Lucy winked.

"Yes, you're really good!" Wendy agreed. "And it feels great doing this outdoors, doesn't it?"

"Not to mention unusually quiet! It actually feels kind of peaceful." Lucy stated.

"Although with this guild, you know the peace isn't going to last long..." Carla pointed out.

Lucy laughed. "You're probably right." She agreed.

They all turned to see Natsu sweeping. "Hey!" He shouted out.

"See?" Carla said.

Lucy sighed. "This peace didn't last long at all..." She commented, making Samuel chuckle.

Happy was napping on a tree stump. "Hey, Happy!" Natsu shrieked, waking Happy up.

"Fish?!" He exclaimed before looking at Natsu. "Oh, just Natsu..."

"Don't give me 'just Natsu'!" Natsu said.

"What are you mad about?" Happy questioned. "At any rate, dream or not, all those fish were there for the taking... I was shocked..."

Happy went back to sleep. "Hey!" Natsu shouted again in irritation.

"What is it you want?!" Happy asked.

Natsu pointed at him. "You're my partner, aren't you?!"

"Yeah, that's right." Happy replied.

"And right now, I'm cleaning the backyard. Like this..."

"Well, sure. It's your turn!"

"If it's my turn, why isn't my partner helpin' me?! It doesn't make sense, right?!" Natsu argued.

Natsu and Happy continued to bicker. "How incredibly trivial..." Lucy commented.

"No different than usual though..." Carla pointed out as Wendy lets out a nervous laugh.

"That's different than this. After all, it's not my turn today." Happy said.

"Happy, when did you turn so cold?!" Natsu questioned in disbelief.

"I'm not cold!" Happy replied. "Look, it's a beautiful day, isn't it? The sun is pleasantly warm..."

Gray soon walked up to them. "Why are you two arguing over nonsense? At least clean up without bitching about it!"

"What's that, Gray?! I never said I had beef with cleaning! Happy's the one..." Natsu began.

Happy went over to Carla. "Isn't it a beautiful day, Carla?"

"It is, yes." Carla replied.

"Listen when a guy's talkin' to you!" Natsu yelled.

"Yeesh. Even after seven years, you haven't changed a bit, Natsu." Max commented.

"That's right! That's what I tell him, just about every day!" Happy agreed.

"What's that, Max?! Are you sayin' you changed?!" Natsu asked.

"Well, I feel as young as ever, anyway..." Max answered.

"Just because you 'feel' young, does that make you young?" Gray questioned.

"And if we're talking ability, it's improved by leaps and bounds." Max added.

"That's what I like to hear! How 'bout we rumble?!" Natsu suggested, throwing the broom somewhere.

"Sure, why not?" Max accepted.

"Wait, why is this necessary?" Lucy asked.

"Go for it! This is a perfect way to kill time after lunch." Gray encouraged.

"Alright! I'm fired up!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Come on, then!" Max challenged as Natsu rushed forward.

He aimed a flame-covered fist at Max who dodged and sent a kick towards his stomach before sending sand his way, knocking him back.

"S-Seriously?!" Natsu said.

"It's not like we weren't doing anything for seven years. I trained in my own way." Max explained.

"Natsu-san..." Wendy muttered.

"...is losing to Max?!" Lucy finished.

"What did you expect? Max-san has gotten stronger these past seven years." Samuel said.

"Let's try this again!" Natsu exclaimed, charging forward again. He tried to attack Max who continued to dodge.

"Sand Rebellion!" Max called out, attacking Natsu with a massive wave of sand.

"Burn!" Natsu shouted as Lucy, Wendy, Samuel, Happy, and Carla coughed due to the sand.

"Hey!"

"Natsu, hang in there!" Happy cheered.

"You two were just fighting!" Carla reminded him.

Happy spun around. "That's different than this!"

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted.

"Sand Wall!" Max puts up a sand wall to protect himself, causing Natsu to hit it instead.

"This isn't seven years ago!" Max informed.

"Unbelievable! Max..."

"...has Natsu on the ropes?!"

"Then maybe we have a chance against Natsu, too?!"

Flames and lightning soon surrounded Natsu. "Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!"

"No way!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Wha...?! What is that?!" Max questioned.

"Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!" Natsu released a breath attack of flames and lightning as Max barely dodged and taking out the whole forest in the process.

"Ai-yi-yi..." Happy commented.

"Dammit! I'm not as powerful as I was then..." Natsu said.

"Since when can you do that?" Lucy asked.

"Now." Natsu answered.

"Wow." Wendy said.

Max held out his hand. "I-I lose. I give up. If that had hit me, I'd be toast!"

"Who's next?!" Natsu challenged.

"He really is strong!"

"A monster!"

Natsu laughed in victory before collapsing. "That must've burned through a lot of his power." Lucy said.

"Natsu, I think you better not use that one in a real battle." Happy stated.

"But you were great, too, Max-san!" Wendy praised.

"I don't need to be flattered, Wendy." Max told her.

"But if you're that powerful, Ogre shouldn't have been able to walk all over you." Carla said.

"You may be right..."

"...but it had more to do with money..."

"It wasn't a problem we could solve through force, you know?"

"Although that's exactly what Master and the others did..." Lucy reminded them.

"Good point..." Max agreed.

"Still, the problem is more serious than I thought." Gray informed, sitting on top of a hill.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"Gildarts and Laxus were monsters to begin with, but them aside, our power hasn't caught up to this time period." Gray responded.

"True. Even Natsu was given a run for his money by Max there..." Lucy said.

"And we're talking Max-san..." Wendy stated.

"What you said before really was just flattery...?" Max teared up a bit as Samuel pats him on the shoulder.

"I wonder if there's a way to boost our magic power all at once..." Happy said.


"And so... I've decided to retire. I'm going to introduce the next master to you now." Makarov announced.

"Are you serious?!" Cana said.

"Wait. I'm not mentally prepared yet..." Macao claimed.

"It ain't gonna be you!" Wakaba told him.

"The fifth Fairy Tail master... Gildarts Clive!" Makarov announced as Mira gave a close-eyed smile. "Where's Gildarts?!"

"He left a letter." Mira responded, holding an envelope as Kidan went over and read over the Master's shoulder.

Makarov soon read the note.

Master, as well as everyone else in the guild, I'm sorry, but I'm not cut out to be a 'master'.

Everyone soon laughed.

Well... I will take the opportunity to give two orders as the fifth master. The first: accept Laxus as a member of Fairy Tail.

This caused Laxus to widen his eyes in shock. "That's taking liberties!" Makarov exclaimed.

"Old man..." Laxus mumbled.

"Isn't that great, Laxus?" Bickslow asked.

Evergreen hugs his arm. "Now the Raijinshuu is complete again!"

"I... Um..." Laxus was lost for words.

"Gildarts... What a guy..." Freed teared up.

"If that's what the fifth master rules, we have no choice but to obey." Makarov claimed.

The second: I appoint Mr. Makarov Dreyar the sixth Fairy Tail master.

"Me again?!" Makarov exclaimed as Levy, Jet, Droy, and Nab laughed.

"After all is said and done, we're back to normal..." Alzack said.

"Nothing wrong with that." Bisca told him.

"Old mustache man!" Asuka commented.

"That old man is incredibly strong." Bisca said.

I'm going to travel for a while. But I'll come back when I'm in the mood. Until then, take care.

Mira hands Cana an envelope. "Here you go."

And Cana... I apologize for going off again without warning. But anytime you want to meet me, just make a wish on that card. It'll get through to the card I have and I'll rush right over to you.

Cana rips the call card Gildarts gave her. "I don't need it!"

"Cana..." Erza mumbled.

"I already told you things were fine the way they were between us, old man!" Cana said.

Fairy Tail is my home. I will return. I pray that by then, Fairy Tail will once again be Fiore's number one guild. But that's not my duty. It's yours. Master, that's your last job. To make Fairy Tail Fiore's number one guild again!

"My last job, you say?! Jackass! Since it's come to this, I'm not gonna let anyone else be master!" Makarov said as everyone laughed.

"I'll be Master 'til the day I die! Booze! Bring out the booze!"

"Alright, alright." Mira said.

"Boy, he's being a grump..."

"Well, that settles that."

"Man!"

"As always, you say that at any old time..."


"That Gildarts... Fiore's number one guild, he says..." Warren said.

"That's being way too optimistic." Max stated.

"Oh, no, it's not. It's good to be ambitious." Erza claimed.

"Yeah, if this were seven years ago..." Warren claimed.

"But things are different now." Max added.

"Of course, there's Sabertooth..." Alzack began.

"But Lamia and Pegasus too, they're powerful guilds that can't even be compared to what they were seven years ago." Bisca concluded.

"They're huge guilds!" Asuka commented.

"Standing next to them, even with our main members back..."

"The Tenrou group isn't any stronger than they were seven years ago." Laki said, causing Levy to have a sheepish look.

"It's okay! We'll protect you, Levy!" Jet and Droy spoke in unison.

"There's no way to make up for the seven-year gap." Macao informed.

"Whether we're talkin' individual magic power or the guild's overall strength, becomin' Fiore's number one guild is impossible!" Wakaba added.

"I see." Erza said. "It sounds like it'll take some time before we can get back to the way we were then."

Romeo hops onto a table. "I've already waited seven years! I don't wanna take any more time, Erza-nee!"

"Romeo!"

"There's just one way to become number one in a hurry!" Romeo said.

"Y-You don't mean..." Nab trailed off.

"But that's..." Max began.

"Forget it! I already decided we wouldn't be participating in that!" Macao claimed.

"What do you mean by 'that', Number Four?" Makarov questioned.

"Would you not call me that, Number Six?" Macao countered.


"We're gonna be in it! We're gonna! We're gonna! We're gonna!" Romeo argued.

"No, we're not! We're not! We're not! We're not!" Macao said. "I refuse to give permission! We're never gonna take part in that again!"

"We're home..." Natsu announced.

"Oh, you're back, huh? Did you get good medicine?" Max asked.

"Just Wendy." Lucy answered.

"You don't have the right to decide that anymore, Dad! You're not the master!" Romeo reminded him.

"I'm speaking as a member of the guild!" Macao claimed.

"What's all the fuss about?" Gray questioned, his clothes were off.

"Just looks like an argument between father and son to me... Clothes!" Carla reminded him.

"Who doesn't wanna participate?! Me!" Macao said, raising his hand as the other members who stayed did the same.

Alzack raised his hand. "That's one thing I don't wanna do again."

Bisca and Asuka also had their hands raised. "It'll just expose us to ridicule..." Bisca added.

"Actually, sorry, I'm with Romeo on this one." Samuel spoke up, making Romeo grin as the others looked shock.

"You too, Samuel?!" Warren said in shock.

"Hey! You got severely injured last time, remember?" Max reminded.

Max's claim grabbed Gray's attention.

"We got the Tenrou group back. We've got Nii-san, Natsu-san and Erza-san! How could Fairy Tail lose?!" Samuel argued, making Romeo nod his head in agreement.

"But the Tenrou group's got a seven-year blank!" Warren pointed out, making Levy have a nervous look once more.

"You're fine just the way you are, Levy!" Droy reassured.

"Nothing a little training can fix, Warren-san." Samuel pointed out.

"What's this about bein' in it or not?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu-nii, while you guys were gone, a festival started up to decide the number one guild in Fiore." Romeo responded.

"That sounds like fun!" Natsu exclaimed.

"All the guilds in Fiore gather and compete with each other with their magic!" Romeo raised his pointer finger in the air. "It's called the Grand Magic Games!"

"Grand Magic Games?!" Lucy quoted.

"It sounds like fun!" Wendy added.

"Like a real festival!" Gray claimed.

"I see... Right now, the number one Guild in Fiore is said to be Sabertooth, right?" Erza asked.

"That's right! If we beat Sabertooth and win the games, we'll become Fiore's number one guild!" Romeo answered.

"But... I don't know if you guys are strong enough to pull that off right now..." Makarov stated.

"That's right! Exactly!" Macao agreed.

"If we win, the guild gets 30 million jewel as a reward!" Samuel informed.

"We're in it!" Makarov decided.

"Master!" Macao said.

"It's impossible! Between Pegasus and Lamia..." Droy started to say.

"Sabertooth isn't our only enemy!" Warren informed.

"Incidentally, in past festivals, we were always in last place. Samuel was the only one who was able to get us points." Jet commented.

"Don't be proud of that!" Elfman scolded.

"We'll take that crummy record and destroy it!" Makarov declared.

Natsu lights his hand on fire. "Sabertooth, huh? I'm fired up!"

"That's annoying!" Jet complained.

"When is that tournament?" Natsu asked Romeo.

"Three months from now." Romeo answered.

Natsu pounds his fists together. "Plenty of time! By then, we'll be lean and mean, and Fairy Tail will become Fiore's number one guild again!"

"Sounds good." Gray said.

"Yeah! If everyone joins their power as one..." Lucy started to say.

"...there's nothing we can't do." Erza finished.

"That's how long I have to learn the magic I got from Grandeeney!" Wendy said.

Happy was dancing. "A festival, Carla!"

"Isn't that what this guild is like year 'round?" Carla questioned.

"Man! When it comes to festivals, Man!" Elfman shouted.

"It looks like we'll be able to achieve Gildarts' wish earlier than expected, huh?" Cana said.

"Seriously?"

"Are we really gonna participate?"

"Sure, why not give it a shot?" Levy said.

"I-I really don't think we should go through with it..." Alzack stated.

"It's a little different than the battle festival you're thinking of, Natsu..." Bisca claimed.

"It's not that?!" Natsu exclaimed in horror.

"It's hell." Warren said.

"I've already decided we're gonna do it, so there's no point in complaining! Let's aim for the 30 million... ahem, I mean, aim for Fiore's number one!" Makarov announced.

"Team Fairy Tail is going to enter the Grand Magic Games!"


A/N: I'm going to be skipping the whole training thing because I don't feel like writing it.

Thanks for reading!

~ Kaleb.