Jack and Tia stood outside the front doors of Fairy Tail, but looking at the building with different looks. Jack gave a disgusted look while Tia gave a somewhat interested one. "I can tell I'm not going to like this place already..." Jack grunted, his arms crossed over his chest as he tapped his foot on the ground.

"You're on orders to play nice, Jack," Tia replied as she set up the transmission lacrima (which was disguised as an accessory on her dress) to send the live feedback to Dealer. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Jack sighed, preparing to put on his "innocent child" act, as Tia prepared her "older sister" act, which was a mix of acting and how things really were.

"I'm leaving now!" Cynthia exclaimed as the front doors flew open. She excitedly ran out the front doors, only to slam into Tia head on, sending the older female into the ground. "GAH!?" Cynthia hopped up, bowing apologetically. "Sorry, sorry!"

"Ugh..." Tia groaned as she stood up, fixing a glare on Cynthia. "Watch where you're going, you brat!"

"H-Hey!" Cynthia's cheeks puffed out in an irritated fashion, coming complete with a half pout. "I said sorry! You should watch where YOU'RE going!"

"I was standing still!" Tia shouted back, actually showing some anger that she never really allowed to surface when around the others, as she was known in Dealer as the calm one.

Jack, finding it awkward to be the one to break up Tia's argument (when it's usually the other way around) coughed just about as awkward as he felt. "Uhm..."

"Oh...?" Cynthia blinked, turning her head to face Jack. "You are...?"

"We've come to...uh...check out Fairy Tail...?" Jack coughed again, clearing his throat as he looked to Tia, his expression nearly begging her to take the lead.

"Oh!" Cynthia's upset demeanor instantly vanished and a large, prideful smile etched onto her face. "Fairy Tail is the strongest guild in Fiore! And it's the best home!"

"I thought it was third..." Tia murmured, but it seemed as though Cynthia heard her.

"...Things were complicated during the Grand Magic Games." Cynthia said as she quickly and nervously waved a hand. "I'm kinda busy, but feel free to let yourselves inside, everyone is really kind and welcoming!" Cynthia nodded before walking off into the Magnolian streets.

"Kinda and friendly, eh..?" Jack then sighed heavily. "I knew it; I'm going to hate this place."

"You're going to act like you like it, understand?" Tia demanded in a strict, elderly sister tone. "It will bring us one step closer to our goal in the end."

"Yeah, I understand..." Jack nodded.

"Good." Tia took a step forward, and pushed the doors open, only to be legitimately taken aback at the scene before her.

Natsu and Gray were head to head, as usual, the two shouting at each other as a blazing red and icy blue aura surrounded the two. "What was that, squinty eyes?!" Gray questioned as he pressed his forehead against Natsu's.

"Ya heard exactly what I said, Underpants!" Natsu yelled, though he was smirking because he knew he was winning this little encounter.

"They always find the littlest things..." Lucy placed a hand on her forehead, sighing heavily while shaking her head.

Mirajane merely gave a slight smile, washing the bar counter with a damp rag. "It's just another normal day."

"Which means it'll stop soon...hopefully..." Lisanna commented.

While the two mages of opposing elements argued, Mirajane noticed that Jack and Tia were just watching, dumbfounded at the scene before them. "Oh, it looks like we have guest!"

"Guests...?" Wendy turned to the entrance, stopping the pair of brother and sister.

"Natsu, Gray, cut it out, right now." Erza said in her usual stern tone, causing the ice mage and the fire mage to instantly split apart, and to opposite sections of the guild. "Good." Erza gave a nod before turning towards the strangers, a small, kind smile on her features, though she was prepared to take action if they posed a threat. "Welcome to Fairy Tail...is there something we can help you with?"

.

.

Cynthia strolled through the Magnolian streets with a spring in her step, her hands in her pockets as she whistled a slight tune to herself. "Today's just gonna be a good day~." She sang to herself, not paying attention to where she was going, thus leading her to run into a person. "Agh!" She took a step back, first questioning why the person she ran into was literally hot until she looked up, her eyes widening somewhat before shifting to a glare.

"Oi…" Maggie, the Lava demon of Tartaros, sighed as she used her hand to brush her long white hair behind her back. Once she realized who it was who bumped into her, a dark smirked appeared on the vixen's lips. "Oh, my…what is it we have here, hm…?"

"Maggie…" Cynthia mumbled as she emitted a low growl, keeping her guard up in case she tried something.

Maggie, wasting no time, merely hoisted the small girl up over her shoulder and just began to walk off. "You're coming with me, love."

"H-Hey!" Cynthia shrieked, beginning to thrash her body around, her dark red flames starting to erupt from her body, but Maggie was entirely unaffected by the heat Cynthia was giving off. "Put me down!"

Maggie let out a sigh as she continued to walk, exiting Magnolia with Cynthia still trying to free herself. After a while, Maggie's patience began to run this, so she stopped, speaking in a threatening tone. "Listen here you little shit. If you don't stop right now I will personally dismember you right here, right now." After the threat, Cynthia whimpered quietly before falling slient, but she calmed down. She wasn't a brave soul when she was on her own in a situation like this, and she knew the extent of her flames would literally do nothing but rejuvenate Maggie. After the girl calmed down, Maggie smirked before continuing. "Good girl."

.

.

"Things have been way too quiet lately…" Luke groaned as he sat on White Eclipse's couch. "I don't like it…"

"It feels like the calm before a storm…" Aira mumbled as she looked out the window, watching the gentle snow fall.

"I think you guys are worrying too much!" Kuro said with his usual cheerful smile as he and Saeko sat at the dining table nearby, slurping down bowls and bowls of noodles.

"For some reason I feel as though that isn't the case…" Luke replied as he leaned back on the couch, thinking about the night before.

{Flashback}

Skye had pulled Luke into her room, freaking out over the object in her closet. It was the set of Jade armor she and Luke had tried to buy the other day. "I-I…" Skye stammered, but she just couldn't find the words.

"W-When…How…?" Luke too was at a loss for words, unable to understand how Skye attained the armor.

"I have to hide it…" Skye said as she brought up her archive, placing the set of Jade armor inside.

{End flashback}

"It's been a mess lately…" Luke sighed. "And I feel like it's about to get worse soon…Oh yeah, has Jaxon been improving any?" He asked to those who were around.

"We've convinced him that he's a member here, and that he'll stay," Nami started, sighing after. "But, he really doesn't remember too much but that…"

"I hope he doesn't stay like that…" Saeko spoke after she finished a bowl of noodles. Her expression then changed somewhat as she eyed the window suspiciously; the stars were telling her people were outside, but it didn't seem as though they made the decision to make a move just yet.

Just outside the guild, Diamond and Spade were peering inside through the window. "Ah man, they're just sitting there…!" Diamond groaned, showing no signs of being affected by the cold air and the snow, even while wearing just a bikini top, shorts, and a pair of sandals. "This is just horrible…why can't we just go in and take those who are around!?"

Spade, who was layered up in about 3 jackets and sweatpants, was noticeably shivering; his teeth clattering together as he barely got his words out. "T-That's not K-K-K-King's orders…! W-We're supposed t-t-t-to find the strongest bunch…a-and then…!" Spade then paused, now preparing to let out a large sneeze which would give away their position.

"Idiot!" Diamond slapped her hand over Spade's as he sneezed, immediately wiping her germ covered hand over Spade's jackets. "Ew, gross…" She then sighed as she saw back against the snow, enjoying herself but at the same time she wasn't. "I know what King said, but there's hardly anyone present…How are we going to pick the strongest if that's all they have to offer for what King and Heartless have planned…?!"

"I heard they train every other day…maybe if we check tomorrow we'll get a nice group and pick a select few; yes?" Spade asked.

"Ugh…fine…I guess we'll report back to base then…I wonder how Strong is doing…?" Diamond sighed as she stood up.

"Strong is with Joker, because Joker wasn't sure if Strong would be able to get the job done correctly on his own," Spade said as a magic circle appeared on his back, which spawned a jet pack-like machine. Spade lifted Diamond up, and flew off into the air. "But, hopefully our reports from the videos of the Grand Magic Games will be enough for King to decide when to attack…"

.

.

Strong gazed through the Twilight Zone window, his large stature not yet catching anyone's attention because no one happened to be around, which surprised both him and Joker. Strong had his eyes on a pie laid out on the kitchen table, his mouth watering at the sight of it. "I-Is that an apple pie…?"

Joker slammed a fist into the back of Strong's head, letting out a disgusted groan. "You incompetent giant…we're here to scout out the members. The pie, though delicious, remains still. They must not know we were here." After that, Joker's blue shades formed magic circles on the lenses, and the SS class mage began to look the building up and down, scanning the building for any magic signatures.

"Guh…" Strong rubbed the back of his head after Joker's hit, going back to gazing at the pie with a blank expression now.

"Hm…it appears the guild, though second strongest in Fiore, is a rather quiet one…I detect no presence of the S and SS class mages, and all the other mages seem to be locked away in their rooms, doing absolutely nothing…" Joker then grunted in frustration, resisting the urge to punch through the wall to gain attention. "This won't do, this won't do at all…" Joker then turned on his heel, grabbing Strong by the back of his shirt and proceeded to drag him off. "The end result better be worth it, Heartless."

.

.

Back in Fairy Tail, Jack and Tia were basically getting an all-around tour of the building, much to their annoyance. Jack was particularly annoyed when the other members tried to talk to them; he wanted to shove them away, but he remembered how he had to play it cool, which was easier said than done. Mirajane carefully watched Jack's behavior, raising a brow curiously. "He seems to be a tempered child…" Mirajane spoke softly as she washed the bar counter.

"How can you tell?" Lucy asked as she looked over at Mirajane.

"His facial expression gives it off. He doesn't want to be here, so he's annoyed," Mirajane replied. "But, I'm sure he'll come to like this place soon enough. I can't imagine a reason why they wouldn't be here."

"True…" Lucy merely replied, keeping her eyes on Tia more so than Jack. Something about Tia interested Lucy, but at the same time it repelled her.

"So, what's your magic?" Romeo asked Jack.

"...Fire." Jack replied halfheartedly. He really didn't want to talk to Romeo, but he had to answer.

"Whoa! No way!" Romeo's eyes lit up. "I use fire, too! Rainbow flame magic, to be more specific!"

"Great..." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Hey, you!" The combative fire dragon slayer roared to catch Tia's attention, also coming to a sliding stop in front of her to make sure he had your attention. "You said you were S class strength, right!?"

"There he goes again…" Lisanna let out a sigh.

"Natsu, don't pick fights with our guest…" Erza let out a heavy exhale, unsure if she should step in or not.

Tia could not even feign a happy look as she looked towards Natsu. Instead, it was just her usual, cold glare, but it didn't bother Natsu. Tia merely nodded in response to Natsu's question. "That's correct…"

That was all the belligerent dragon slayer needed to hear. Flames covered Natsu's fist as he lunged forward, a large grin on his face. "Then fight me!"

"Natsu-san, no!" Wendy started, but she then realized that her pleas fell on deaf ears; nothing would stop Natsu at this point.

"This should be entertaining…if she wasn't lying about her strength, that is." Laxus commented from the second floor as he watched the first generation fire dragon charge to the seemingly unprepared female.

"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu swung his heated fist towards Tia's face, his grin widening as it seemed he was going to get a direct hit to start off.

Tia made no movements, though her eyes were locked on Natsu and every move he made When Natsu swung his fist forward, Tia bent back, Natsu's fist almost grazing her chin. As she bent back, she back flipped, her heel slamming into Natsu's chin as a result. The impact sent Natsu flying into the roof, swirls in his eyes as he was stuck to the ceiling, KO'ed. "Don't you know it's rude to attack a lady unprepared…"

Most everyone (excluding Laxus) stood wide eyed at Natsu's quick defeat. Laxus merely raised a brow in interest. "Huh…not bad…"

"N-Natsu!" Happy flew up to Natsu, attempting to pry the dragon slayer out of the wall, but he was struck real good.

"O-One shot…?!" Romeo quickly ran to where Natsu was standing, looking up at the dazed Salamander. "N-Natsu-nii, don't worry! We'll…find some way to get you down…probably."

"That's sis…" Jack said while nudging Lisanna's shoulder, a small smirk on his face.

"She's very strong…" Lisanna barely managed to speak, only snapping back into reality because of Jack's nudging.

"I believe that's enough time spent here…" Tia said as she used her hand to dust herself off. "Come on, Jack." She and Jack then left Fairy Tail rather swiftly.

"She's insanely strong…I don't even think she was trying with that attack…" Lucy said as she watched Tia and Jack leave.

Once outside, Tia let out a content sigh. "That felt really good…for some reason, he just feels like the person you want to kick in the face to relieve your frustrations…"

"Bet you had fun with that, huh?" Jack let out a chuckle. "They were so surprised!"

"It's going to be a little fun playing with them soon…" Tia let off a rarely seen smirk. "Now, let's return to Dealer."

.

.

Those who were scouting were all back at Dealer, while Heartless and King had already prepared the next phase of the plan. "What did you all find?" King asked while playing with a deck of cards, expecting results from everyone.

Tia spoke up first. "Fairy Tail is interesting…it has two groups of members. Those who seem to be more relevant and powerful than the others…"

"So, we'll want to grab a few of those members who are stronger…" King nodded, now shifting his gaze to Diamond and Spade.

"Those stupid White Eclipse idiots aren't going to be in a large group until tomorrow…and until then, there's no way of picking out the strong guys," Diamond sighed.

"I see…and Joker?"

"Twilight Zone is quiet; despite its placement in the ranking system...the stronger members are absent…" Joker replied.

"Well, I'm not one for playing my hand too soon, but we must test out their powers…" King nodded. "Very well…we'll just play the hand we have and see how they react…I suggest we prepare the board."

.

.

Another morning in White Eclipse, which also meant another vigorous training session for the members. It was just as rough as the previous, if not rougher; all the members laid down in the snow as they tried to catch their breath. "Same time again tomorrow," Reve said as he started to turn around.

"I can't feel my everything…" Cygnus groaned as he panted heavily. Since he was on his back, he noticed something falling from the sky, causing him to raise a brow. "Anyone else see that…?"

"You mean that object falling from the sky?" Zalen asked as he cleaned his glasses.

"What?" Reve immediately turned around, not too far from the group of exhausted members. He looked up, his eyes widening as he realized what the object was. "Shit…!" He pulled out a pistol, and took aim, shooting at the object multiple times, but his magical bullets bounced off the object, having no effect on it. "Everyone, move!" But it was too late; the object hit the ground, and exploded into a pink smoke.

"W-What is this…?" Kairi's eyes began to grow heavier as she spoke, entering a state of drowsiness.

"I-It smells terrible…" Takeru grunted as he too was having a hard time staying conscious. He couldn't even muster up the energy to hide in the shadows to escape the gas.

"Sleeping gas…" Reve mumbled as he hit the snow, passing out along with everyone else.

Diamond and Spade walked up to the unconscious group of people. Diamond smirked as she poked each and every one of them with her foot before nodding to Spade. "Alright, they're out cold. Let's grab a few and get out of here."

.

.

"Evanee-senpai! Rylo-san!" Melanie happily exclaimed as the pair returned from their month long mission.

"Oh, they're back…" Flynn merely gave a shrug. "How'd it go?"

"Pretty well," Rylo replied. "It was pretty close at some points."

"Well, welcome back," Alexander gave a nod to the two superior mages before heading back to work on something. It was then that something flew through the open window and landed by his feet. "What…?" Before Alexander could say or do anything, the object unleashed a pink gas, causing the War God mages to immediately fall unconscious."

"Wait what just happened?" Flynn turned, only to see the gas heading towards him. "Oh no!" He swung his leg, using his wind magic in time with the kick to send a powerful gust of wind forward, sending the gas away from him.

Evanee immediately raised a brow, her senses on alert as she looked around. "Who dares…"

"What's with all that noise?" Taranis trudged out of his room, sleepily rubbing his eyes. He then dropped to the floor, unconscious in a sleepy state. Pink gas slowly let itself escape from his room.

"They got him too?" Rylo looked around, hoisting Taranis over his shoulder while Flynn hoisted Alexander up.

"We have to leave." Evanee said in a stern tone, making her way to the doorway. She opened the door, only for her eyes to widen in complete surprise. There stood Joker, his attack already coming her and everyone else's way.

Boom.

.

.

Jack tossed a small sphere up and down as he glanced at the Fairy Tail building. He and tia already concluded that those they wanted to grab were inside. "May I have the honors?"

"Go right ahead." Tia nodded, opening the door.

"Oh, the doors open…" Lucy walked over to the door, but the last thing she, and everyone else saw was a cloud of pink smoke. When the smoke cleared, Jack and Tia walked in, both smirking somewhat.

"Let the games begin…" Was all Tia had to say as her eye gave an evil twinkle.