"This place is huge…!" Cynthia gawked at the size of Clover Town as she and a few others such as Erza, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Wendy and Carla walked about the town.
"It's not as large as Crocus, but it's certainly larger than Magnolia…" Erza replied to Cynthia's statement with a nod.
"We could get lost here if we aren't careful…" Lucy said while she looked around the crowded town. "I feel like a part of this was unorganized…where are we supposed to stay until tomorrow?"
"Perhaps we could check by an inn and see?" Wendy suggested while looking up to Lucy.
"That sounds like a good idea to me," Carla gave a nod of agreement to Wendy's suggestion.
"Off we go then," Erza gave a small smile before leading the group around the town, hoping to find an inn sometime soon.
"I'm fired up for this tournament!" Natsu said while throwing a fist into the air. "We're gonna take this one home, no doubt!"
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air to mimic Natsu's action.
"I haven't had a good fight in so long! …Wait, how do we even know who's participating in this?" Cynthia asked while looking to the older mages.
"Master is taking care of that," Erza replied. "He went over to the Black Phoenix Guild…actually, I think it may be a good idea to stop by there and see how that has gone."
"I don't have a problem with that!" Lucy gave a nod. "I would like to meet the members if possible anyway, since they're going through the trouble of organizing this thing anyway. The least we could do is say hello and thank them."
"Off we go then!" Cynthia said in a somewhat sing-song voice as she skipped ahead.
"…Do you know where you're going?" Wendy called out to her best friend.
"Of course not! But I wanna sight see first!" Cynthia replied as she turned a corner.
"…She's gonna get lost…" Wendy couldn't help but giggle a bit before following Cynthia with Carla. "I guess we'll be sightseeing. Find us when you're done? I don't want to stay out too late…"
"Not a problem, we'll find you as soon as possible!" Lucy shouted while she walked off with the others.
As Cynthia turned the corner, she immediately crashed into another person, falling on her butt after. "Oof!" She shook her head quickly, looking over to see who she crashed into. "O-ow! Gomen! I was just…!"
"Ouch…I tripped…" Chelia shook her head as she groaned, looking forward to see Cynthia, and Wendy (and Carla) who just turned the corner. "Oh! Wendy! Cynthia!"
"Chelia!" The two dragon slayers exclaimed with glee at the sight of the pinkette.
"What are you two doing here?" Chelia asked as she stood up.
"We're here for that tournament Black Phoenix is hosting!" Cynthia replied as she hopped up. "And we're totally gonna win it!"
A slow smirk appeared on the god slayer's lips at Cynthia's words. "Is that so? Because I think Lamia Scale as a pretty good chance at taking it~"
"Have you been practicing your dual mode…?" Wendy asked while gazing over Chelia.
"And not destroying stuff with it like last time…" Cynthia coughed as she added in that last comment.
"Or bringing harm to other people…" Carla added on with a mumble.
"I…" A sweat drop appeared on Chelia's head from the constant questioning. It was all partly true during her training. "Well…I can control it…for the most part…BUT! I can guarantee Lamia Scale's victory!"
"We'll see about that, pinky!" Cynthia replied, suddenly forehead to forehead with the god slayer.
"There they go again…" Wendy gave a sheepish laugh while poking her index fingers together.
"Speaking of dual modes…" Carla began while looking up at Wendy. "Have you been practicing yours? Or Dragon Force?"
"E-Eh…?" Wendy looked down at Carla before shaking her head. "No…I haven't used Omega Flame Sky in a while, mainly because I always get this funny feeling after I use it. That's why I haven't really used the full mode itself since the incidents a few months ago…but I can still feel the Omega Flame burning inside me, growing stronger as I do. As for Dragon Force, I still can't quite get it. It's almost there, but I just need one more push before going forward. I don't know what it is, though..."
"I see…" Carla merely gave a nod in response before turning to Cynthia and Chelia…who were now comically fighting in a dust cloud. "When did-…"
"This happens a lot…" Wendy said with a sigh.
.
.
"Oh my…" Aira said to herself as she somehow entered the bad section of Clover Town, filled with the thugs and lowlifes of the city. "It appears I've become separated with the others…I hope I can get out of here soon…"
As Aira walked around, a thug and a few of his goons approached the innocent and seemingly vulnerable wind mage, a sinister grin drawn on their faces as they neared her. "Well, lookie 'ere, fellas..." The leader spoke with his grin growing.
"Oh...hello...!" Aira said with a sweet smile. "I seem to have gotten lost...can you help me get back to the...nicer looking areas of the town?"
There was a small murmur from the smaller members of the group, which quickly turned into a snicker. The leader gave a nod. "Sure thing..." In the next instant, he shoved Aira down, but before he could do anything else a fist slammed into his face, causing him to stumble back. "O-Oi!"
Leon stood in front of Aira with a low glare, his hair creating a shadow over his eyes, which only increased the intimidating green glow emitting from them. "I knew I smelt trouble...leave this young lady alone. This is your first, and only warning."
"W-who the hell are you to order me around, punk?!" The leader exclaimed in a fit of rage. He took a step forward, but Leon moved his head to stare at the leader, and that was all that was needed to change his mind and sent him running along with his goons.
After the thugs ran off, Leon's serious demeanor quickly vanished and he turned around, extending his hand to help Aira up, a friendly smile drawn on his face now. "Hello, miss. Are you okay?"
Nodding quickly, Aira took Leon's hand and stood up, dusting herself off. "Y-yes! Thank you..."
"It was no problem!" Leon replied. "My name is Leon Shi! You are?"
"I'm Aira Aeolus, wind mage of White Eclipse..." Aira replied with a smile.
"Oh, I see!" Leon then took Aira's hand and excitedly led her over to Black Phoenix. "You got lost, didn't you? Don't worry, I'll take you there myself!"
.
.
Black Phoenix was a large (about the size of a full castle) guild that rested on the side of a waterfall. Everyone gathered in the main room hours later, about evening now. The Masters were talking about the rules of the tournament while everyone else just mingled. "So, this tournament will be moving through the weekend, is that correct?" Makarov asked Ola, who gave a nod in response.
"How will this happen, exactly?" Calium asked while giving glances to the other guild masters. "There are a lot of participants, so it's going to take a while no matter what happens."
To respond to Calium, Ola wrote in the air. "I am aware of that, Master Calium. It wasn't easy to devise a format that would take three days with all the people we have, but I've managed to come up with a solution. Though, I'd rather not explain it twice, so can you wait until the tournament bracket is put up in a little bit?"
"Fine with me..." Calium said with a nod.
Elsewhere in the guild, Erza looked around, surprised by the interior design of the guild. She heard footsteps behind her, so she turned, eyes widening as she saw Jellal (disguised as Mystoga, of course). "Jellal…? What are you doing here…!?" Erza immediately walked over to Jellal, eying him curiously. "And why are you dressed as Mystogan again…?"
"Erza, it's good to see you again…" Jellal said through the mask. He looked around before answering, his voice getting lower to a near whisper. "I heard about this tournament, and I decided to check in to see how it would go…but, after Meredy, Ultear and I got here, I sensed the faint darkness…similar to Zeref's darkness back at the Grand Magic Games…"
"Do you think someone will try to jeopardize the tournament…?" Erza asked with a raised brow. "And Meredy and Ultear are around here…?"
"I think so…and yes, they are out of sight, though…" Jellal replied. "I asked your master to let me in this tournament to investigate…"
"I see…" Erza gave a nod as her response. "Be careful…there are many people around here and your identity could easily be discovered…"
"I know…but don't worry; everything should be under control…" Jellal replied with a nod.
.
.
Since he had access to the fridge, Natsu and Happy immediately made their way to the kitchen, piling up a large stack of food on a table. Natsu's mouth watered as he gazed at the delectable feast in front of him. He reached to grab a fork before he said screw it and began chowing down. "This food is great!"
"Aye!" Happy said while happily chowing down on a raw fish he found.
"It's good, right!?" Leon said as he sat down across from Natsu, helping himself to the other side of the feast on the table.
"Eh..?" Natsu gulped down the piece of chicken in his mouth and moved to get a better look at Leon, a brow raised. "Who're you?"
"Leon Shi! Acid Dragon Slayer of Black Phoenix!" Leon said with a bright smile. "I know who you are! Salamander of Fairy Tail, the fire dragon slayer, correct?"
"That's right." Natsu gave a nod before standing up, a smirk crossing his face. "It's nice to meet ya, Leon, and I hope you know that Fairy Tail will be winning this tournament!"
Leon kept his bright smile as Natsu spoke. "Maybe you will, who knows?" Leon admitted before standing up. "I know you're really strong, and I hope we get to fight in the tournament, I love fighting strong opponents. But…if we do fight, I'm not holding back."
"I wouldn't expect you to!" Natsu replied. "I'm not holding back on anyone in this tournament!"
"Good!" Leon then turned on his heel, walking off while giving a wave to Natsu. "I can't wait to see you in action tomorrow, Salamander. Until then…"
"He was pretty weird, honestly…" Happy said in between bites of his fish.
"Maybe so…" Natsu said before pausing, pounding a fist into an open palm with an excited grin. "But he had that aura around him…I could sense it…I really hope I get to fight that guy, because he's really strong…"
.
.
From the shadows, Future Rogue watched as Team Sabertooth (composed of none other than Sting, Rogue, Orga, Rufus, and Yukino) conversed about the upcoming tournament. "How nostalgic…" Future Rogue muttered to himself before is eyes wandered to Frosch, who seemed to be safe for the time being. He remembered his words to Natsu a year ago, how Frosch would die soon and how that would bring Rouge into the darkness. It was only a matter of time now. He didn't want his presence to be detected, so he vanished as quickly as he appeared, planning to watch how this tournament would pan out.
.
.
On the roof of Black Phoenix, the hooded male and his female companion watched via lacrima screen what was going on inside the large guild. "Man, it's a large turnout…I didn't think so many people would show up."
"It's only Fairy Tail, White Eclipse, Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Quatro Cerberus, and a few members of Mermaid Heel…excluding Black Phoenix from all of this, anyway…" The female replied.
"This should be a good one then…I can't wait to see how this will all play out…" The male grinned. "This is an excellent chance to see if my hypothesis will hold up…"
.
.
"Wow, it's so crowded in there…" Jack said while gazing through a window of Black Phoenix. A devilish grin appeared on his face as he opened his palm, creating a purple flame, now mumbling to himself. "The temptation to raze this entire building is too high…"
"Jack." Tia said in a stern tone. She wasn't even looking at him but she could tell what he was thinking.
"Tch…" Jack stopped, crossing his arms after.
"How long are we going to stay here…?" Diamond asked while groaning. "It's hot here…"
"You don't have to stay then, go home," Tia replied. "Jack and I are scouting these mages, you're free to do whatever you like as long as it doesn't jeopardize us."
"Since when have I ever!" Diamond started, but Tia's cold stare shut her up. "Fine, fine…" Diamond coughed before taking her leave.
"She's annoying…" Tia grumbled before glancing back inside Black Phoenix.
"For once, Spade's inventions weren't useless…this magic barrier thing hides our presence, right?" Jack asked, looking for confirmation.
"That's right…unless they actually see us; we're invisible to detection…" Tia replied with a nod. "Now, ssh…I think an announcement is about to be made, finally…"
.
.
With everyone finally gathered in the main room, Ola nodded before taking a seat, looking down at the others. She wrote in the air in large black letters. "Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today in Black Phoenix's tournament. I'm glad those who did arrive could. Now then, I'm sure you're all curious on how this tournament is going to go down, yes?"
"Yeah!" Sting exclaimed, unable to hold back his excitement. He then blinked a few times, whispering to his fellow guild mates. "Wait…why isn't she talking…?"
"She's mute, Sting…" Rouge said while letting out a sigh. "Don't be rude…"
"I wasn't…! I was just wondering…!" Sting replied in a defensive tone.
Ola continued, not even noticing the conversation between Sting and Rogue. "This will be a single elimination type tournament…meaning if a person is defeated in battle they are out, and the winner moves on. Whoever wins the finals wins the tournament for their guild. If there is a draw, both fighters are out. Understand so far?"
"So far is seems rather clear cut…" Lyon nodded.
"I have a question, Ola-dono…" Jura said to capture the silent master's attention. "Where will the arena for this be?"
"Oh, that's simple," Ola wrote out with a slight sly grin. "The arena is Clover Town. Do not worry, for we've told everyone this ahead of time, so they'll be retreating from the vicinity rather quickly. But if, by chance, you are pushed out of the town's boundaries, that will qualify as a ring out. A ring out means defeat."
"That seems kinda unfair doesn't it…?" Lucy mumbled before giving a shrug, it wasn't like she had much say about it.
"Now, I'm sure you're all curious to see who's on the team for each guild, yes?" Ola asked.
"I believe we picked a good time this year…" Makarov chuckled.
Ola snapped her fingers, creating a lacrima screen with the guild names; under them were pictures of the participates in each team.
Team Fairy Tail: Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Gajeel, Wendy, Cynthia, Gray, Juvia, Mystogan (Jellal) and Laxus.
Team White Eclipse: Reve, Tayakata, Luke, Takeru, Cygnus, Aira, Selene, Kuro, and Waiston.
Team Sabertooth: Sting, Rogue, Yukino, Orga, and Rufus.
Team Lamia Scale: Lyon, Jura, Chelia, Toby, Yuka, and Raven.
Team Mermaid Heel: Kagura, Milliana, and Melody.
Team Quatro Cerberus: Bacchus, Blues, Kuro Chi, Cyntherea, and Rocker.
Team Black Pheonix: Tristan, Lucina, Leon, Trinity, and Ola.
"Those are the teams," Ola wrote.
"Whoa whoa whoa I've never seen him before…" Cynthia said while pointing to Raven's picture.
"You'll meet him soon enough~" Chelia replied.
"Sidney's not in…?" Luke blinked a few times as he looked to the ace.
"It wouldn't be a competition if I did…" Sidney replied with his usual lack of emotion. Though he did mean what he said.
"True…" Luke replied with a nod. "Though, only nine…? No one else wanted to fill in for Kairi, huh…?"
"I'm not in the mood," Kairi merely replied.
"That Ola chick is fighting?" Cyngus raised a brow. "Didn't think the master would fight in her own tournament but alright then…"
"It wouldn't be fun if I just sat and watched," Ola replied to Cygnus with a slight grin.
"The first round will take up the rest of the day, okay?" Ola asked, wanting to see if there were any problems. There seemed to be none, so Ola snapped her fingers, now randomizing the matches. "The first match will be Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail vs. Blues of Qautro Cerberus!"
"Heh, I get to face Titania?" Blues smirked as he began to stretch.
"You got this, Blues! Go wild out there!" Bacchus shouted with encouragement.
A girl, (yes a girl is in Quatro Ceberus now) with wavy brown hair, shorts and an orange top cheered Blues on. "You can do it, Blues!"
"He's got this…Titania may be strong, but Blues will bring her down under…" Kuro Chi smirked slightly.
"Heh, thanks, Kuro, Cy, and Bacchus. I'll be sure to take this one home." With a nod, Blues walked out of Black Phoenix and into Clover Town.
"He's a strong one…" Erza thought to herself before walking out.
"She's got this! She's Erza, after all." Cynthia nodded a few times.
"I would like to direct everyone to the arena," Tristan said in attempt to catch everyone's attention. "It's large enough to seat everyone and we can watch the match from in there."
"Let's go then!" Natsu exclaimed, running off ahead though he had no idea where he was going.
"E-Er…Natsu-san…" Tristan merely sighed as the Salamander ran off.
"He's a handful…" Makarov said while patting Tristan on the back. "Don't worry…"
.
.
In the middle of an open street, Erza and Blues stood across from one another. A smirk appeared on Blues' lips as he immediately entered his Blue Drive. "I say we skip the warm up, Titania…?"
"Very well…" Erza's demeanor changed along with her armor. A heavenly light wrapped itself around her body and within seconds she changed into her Lightning Empress armor, going for he advantage immediately. "Let the battle commence!"