I woke up the next morning with a killer headache. To be fair, I asked for it considering how much I had drank the night before.

I was gently nudged awake by someone, and was surprised when I opened my eyes and spotted Mirajane greeting me with that usual smile of hers. She placed a hand on my forehead and a brief pulse of her magic washed over me, relieving most of the headache I felt in an instant and helping to clear my mind.

"You can do that?"

"Couldn't be a passable barmaid without knowing a trick or two," Mirajane laughed at how I stared at her in awe after seeing her little demonstration. I looked around, realising that I am now back at the guild's lodging in Crocus and I was sure that my last memories before I passed out drunk was drinking at the bar with Meredy. I definitely was not lying on a bed before I passed out.

"Meredy was the one who carried you back. She wasn't very pleased that she had to cover your tab," Mirajane spoke as if having read my inner thoughts. "The guild would be leaving for the games in an hour, so I thought you might want to wake up slightly earlier so that you could have a bath before heading over as well. You do reek of alcohol."

"Yeah, I will get myself cleaned. Thanks," I nodded in agreement and felt the stubble starting to grow on my chin after getting a feel with it with my hand. Guess I need a shave too.

"Will you be participating in the games today?"

"Nah, don't feel like it. Whoever wants to take part in it can take my place."

"I thought so," Mirajane hummed. "Oh well, I will just convey your words to the Master then. He wouldn't mind if you don't want to participate in the events, but he will want you to at least be there to spectate and cheer the team on and already, you were absent for two days."

"I get it, I get it. I will be there to cheer the guys on."

"Now that's more like it!" Mirajane chirped with a happy clap of her hands. "Okay, I will leave you alone so that you can get yourself cleaned up. Remember, we leave in an hour!"

I pulled myself out of bed and headed for the restroom, quickly washing myself clean so that I do not smell and getting myself a quick shave in the meantime. Even after all was said and done and I headed downstairs where Mirajane told me the guild would gather in the hall below before moving out together as one, I was still considerably early. There were only a handful of people there when I made my way down.

"So you're finally back," Laxus grunted from where he's sitting on a small little loveseat which I personally felt was a little too small for his size. Seated around him were the people I identified as the Thunder God Tribe.

"The Thunder God Tribe. Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen," Laxus introduced his followers to me with a lazy gesture of his hand. "Guys, meet Argus."

"Morning," I greeted as I took a seat near them, not really knowing what else to say to them because a part of my mind still hasn't really woken up yet. It's too early to be socialising.

"Will you be taking part in the games today?" Bickslow asked with his tongue rolled out, his dolls repeating his words in a childish fashion. I simply shook my head.

"A real pity. Your fight with Jura was darn cool."

"And very, very reckless," Laxus added dryly, probably having an inkling about the kind of price I paid for my victory since he's also an S Class mage with adequate experience under his belt. Someone like him would have recognised the oddities in my magic. "I'm not sure if you want to hear it, but my personal advice would be to not do something like that again unless absolutely necessary. It's just a game, not a war. That price wasn't worth it, and the old hag Porlyusica kept nagging at us for hours for not keeping an eye on you."

"I appreciate your concern, but that price you are talking about is a part of my magic, it's not something that I can change," I replied as I leaned back comfortably into the rickety wooden rocking chair that I had chosen to sit on.

My words drew curious stares from the four mages, but they decided not to press on for an answer when it was obvious that I wouldn't be elaborating further.

"So, can we ask just what on earth happened that night?"

"The palace incident?"

"Uh huh. Only the Master knows the truth and he ain't breathing a word about it," Bickslow asked jovially.

"To keep it simple, we helped the Royal Family resolve a crisis before it could really happen. That was it," I yawned. "I was just damn pissed because that day really wasn't my day."

"Yeah, we could tell," Evergreen nodded dramatically. "Especially when we saw how you destroyed the palace's gates with a single spell."

"I still can't believe Jura could block something like that. It was the same spell you used on him in your battle, right?" Freed asked and I nodded. Just then, more and more people started to trickle downstairs one after the other.

"Oh, you are the new guy! I believe we haven't met before, I'm Levy McGarden!" The petite female mage walked up to me with a friendly smile on her face, hand outstretched, and I took her up on her offer and shook her hand.

"Argus."

"I heard you are from Alvarez? Do you happen to have any books from there that cannot be found in Fiore?" Levy asked excitedly and I took a pause to actually think. I'm not exactly an avid reader and the only books that I could recite word for word from memory are the seventeen volumes of the Book of Light, the religious scriptures that are the equivalent of the bible that my people believed to be the truth of the universe when in fact, more than half of the contents were factually inaccurate.

"I could appreciate a good book, but I… don't really read that much. The only books I knew from memory are factually inaccurate religious scriptures and I don't think that would be a good recommendation."

"Religious scriptures?" Levy asked with unconcealed curiosity. "You are a religious man?"

"I'm not, but my people's religion is a part of my identity. It's not something that I can erase."

"Do you mind sharing?" The bubbly Letter mage took a seat near me and I could see that her excitement and curiosity was starting to infect Laxus and his Thunder God Tribe as well, especially Freed. In the end, I decided that there's no harm to them learning a little more if they were simply curious.

"From where I'm from, my people are believers of the God of Light. Light is a primordial element, a concept that existed since the creation of the universe. My people believed that through worshipping the light, they can attain eternity and be guided into the paradise that my God spoke of. That's the very short and sweet version of it."

"Eternity? As in, immortality?"

"Not in the physical sense, it's more on the spiritual side, like how most people believe that we either go to heaven or hell after we die," I explained. "No idea how true that so-called paradise is though. Never been there."

"And is that why you use Light magic?"

"My entire village are practitioners of Light magic. For those who can use magic anyway."

"Whoa, if they are anything like you, they must be very skilled mages."

"Uh… Maybe," I shrugged, not really knowing how to answer that. I was saved from further questioning from Levy when a small little blur ran and crashed into me with a hug.

"Argus! I haven't seen you for two days!"

"Hi Asuka, I see that you are still as energetic as ever," I greeted the little girl and lifted her in my arms, allowing her to sit on my lap. She's holding the little toy gun that she loves so much.

"Will you be fighting today? I want to see you fight! Please?"

"Once is enough for me, Asuka. Give me a break."

"You already had a two days break!"

"I needed a one week break."

"But…But the games would be over by then!"

"Precisely."

"You really have no interest in the games at all, huh?" Bickslow remarked.

"I don't see a point in participating beyond the prize money," I answered truthfully. "Never really liked battles that much."

At least this time, if all goes well, I would be able to stick with my original plan and simply be a cheerleader for the rest of the games.


"Up! Up!" Asuka demanded, hands raised up into the air in the universal gesture to be lifted up. I decided to simply indulge her, picking the little squirt up and letting her sit on my shoulders so that she could get a better view of the battles that will be taking place later.

"Better? Be careful and don't drop down from there."

"You spoil her too much sometimes," Alzack let out a fond sigh. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with this. Let children be children while they still can.

"I'm surprised you didn't join in the events," Bisca added.

"Juvia can take my place. Besides, I really hate swimming or just being in the water in general," I replied, looking at the enormous water sphere floating in the middle of the arena. Somehow or the other, the participating teams all sent out their female members for this event with the exception of Quatro Cerberus since they are a team of stinky men. I'm still trying to decide if this was simply a coincidence or that Fiore women simply love to display their bodies in a swimsuit with any chance they get.

"Bad memories?"

"Yeah, when I was on my journey from Alvarez to Fiore I kinda got myself lost on the sea for quite a while. Never really liked water that much since then, or just being on a boat in general."

"You travelled to Fiore from Alvarez on your own? Why do that? Pretty sure that there are ships that travel between the two countries quite frequently," Bisca immediately asked and I shrugged while we continued to wait for the Naval Battle event to officially start.

"I was on the run."

"From…?"

"The Empire, obviously."

"What did you do this time?" Wakaba, who had been sitting nearby all along while smoking his pipe, was the one who asked the question this time. The smoke from his pipe didn't reach us at all due to his masterful control of his magic. He's definitely not the strongest mage in terms of power but his control over his magic is one of the finest I had seen. People like Natsu could definitely learn a thing or two from him in this department.

"He declined an offer from his Emperor and beat up the representative the Emperor sent to recruit him."

I turned in the direction of the familiar voice which I didn't expect to hear at this place, spotting the very familiar trio who always got me involved in the most ridiculous things ever since I knew them.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Why can't we be here?" Meredy returned my question with her hands on her hips and a slight scowl on her face. Alright, it was a stupid question on my part. Their crimes had been pardoned by the Royal Family and they are now free men. They can go anywhere they want to.

"Not joining in the fun?" Ultear teased with a playful smirk and I rolled my eyes at her. She knew I never liked the games in the first place.

"And here we thought that we could be here to cheer you on," Jellal shook his head and released one of the most dramatic sighs I had ever heard. The sneaky rat.

"Cheer me on, yeah, right. More like you are here to cheer your girlfriend on," I exposed his lie instantly before sucking in a deep breath and shouting in Team A's direction. "HEY ERZA! YOUR BOYFRIEND- mmph!"

"Not so loud!" Jellal hissed in embarrassment while putting a firm hand over my mouth, his face turning redder than I ever thought possible.

"Let Argus go you meanie!" Asuka immediately pounded her little fists on Jellal's arms, surprising us all. I knew that there's a reason why this squirt is my favourite.

"Relax, Asuka, he's a friend. We were just playing around," I quickly explained when the little girl actually whipped out her toy gun and shot rubber bullets at the ex Wizard Saint. Those toy bullets wouldn't serve anything more than tickle the ex Wizard Saint but it's the thought that counts.

"Friend?"

"Yeah, my friends from outside the guild," I explained to the girl sitting on my shoulders, pointing to the tattoo face and introducing the sneaky rat to the girl. "This guy here, his name is Jellal."

"Jel… Jelly?"

"Yes, Jelly," I immediately affirmed with a shit eating grin, ignoring the murderous look Jellal was sending my way for purposely informing Asuka an incorrect name. "He's Erza's boyfriend."

"So… they will be like Daddy and Mummy some day?"

"You will have to ask them," I replied, unable to keep that large grin off my face after seeing how flustered and embarrassed Jellal had gotten after hearing where this conversation had somehow ended up. I swear that his face had turned redder than Erza's hair.

Okay, maybe I should stop the tease or I might really break him.

"See the woman there with the little crystal ball? Her name's Ultear. The one with the pink hair? She's Meredy."

"Hello, Asuka!" Meredy greeted the girl cheerfully as the girl did the same. Soon, the excitable Asuka was demanding me to let her down so that she could play with Meredy and Meredy carried the little girl in her arms while amazing her with the "pretty little swords" that could appear and disappear at her command. That's a little unexpected because Asuka had always been fascinated by guns due to her parents' influence. I never took her to be a sword loving person.

"So which team will you be cheering on? Gray's or Lyon's?" I asked Ultear.

"I can't cheer for both?"

"Supposedly, let's say, they ended up being pit against each other and you have to choose one of them over the other."

"It doesn't work that way, Argus."

"Spoilsport," I snorted and finally, the emcee announced the start of the first event on the fourth day of the games. Took them long enough.

"Your team sent out Juvia, quite smart of them to do so. This is her territory."

"She's skilled," I agreed with Ultear's assessment as we both leaned against the balustrade from where we were observing the games together with the rest of Fairy Tail. It's not hard to see that the three members of Crime Sorciere were in a good mood, because this was the first time in forever that they could freely walk about in the light without fearing that they would be recognised as a criminal. They no longer need to live a life on the run.

Unfortunately, our good mood was promptly ruined much sooner than expected.

"Are they really a legal guild?!" Meredy, who was carrying the girl in her arms the entire time, had quickly covered Asuka's eyes when it became clear that Minerva was purposely prolonging the match so that she could torture Lucy. She had exploited the five minute rule of the game to torture her opponents just to indulge in her own sick pleasures.

So damn sickening. I had seen some pretty sick things myself but never had I seen anyone doing it so brazenly like Minerva in an event broadcasted live to the whole nation. That takes things to a whole new level.

I'm sure that I wasn't the only one in the guild who was about to do something to stop the match, even if it meant doing so by force, but thankfully the square-nose Arcadios had forcefully stopped the match at that very moment before Minerva could do Lucy any more harm. Team A had immediately rushed down to give Lucy emergency first-aid and I'm glad that we had mages like Wendy in our guild because the injuries she suffered wasn't a joke, they were potentially life-threatening.

Meredy did ask the right question. With the kind of acts they enjoy partaking, are they really a legal guild? These people were laughing when they saw how Minerva tortured Lucy. Could these people really be considered legal mages?

Team A was already down at the arena itself, squaring off with Sabertooth and from the looks of it they were so furious that nobody would be surprised if a fight broke out there and then. I had no idea what they were saying because I was too far away but I think I might have been too nice to those Sabertooth assholes in the few times we met. They clearly did not understand the warnings I had given them ever since the first day we crossed paths.

They should be glad that they hadn't met the "me" when I was still in Alvarez. My God was right, I had gotten too soft ever since I joined Fairy Tail.

"Don't," Meredy had put a hand on my shoulder the moment I was about to gather magic into my right hand, her left hand still covering Asuka's eyes. I'm not surprised that she could predict what I might do before anybody else did because she is a sensory mage. Her magic allows her to be very attuned with the emotions of the people around her and we had known each other for years.

"It's either that, or I give them a full dental extraction," I growled.

"Keep your magic in. There are children here!" Meredy whispered sternly and it was then I realised that I have subconsciously been releasing a huge amount of magical pressure in my fury without realising it myself. If it wasn't for Meredy using her own magic to "filter" out the influences of my magic and the pressure that came with it in our immediate vicinity Asuka might have been negatively affected by my actions simply by standing so close to me. A quick glance around me also allowed me to spot several other members who were trying to catch their breaths for suddenly being exposed to such dense magical pressure.

"Sorry," I quickly apologised and swiftly clamped down on my magic before it could create havoc. Right, this is not Alvarez. Lives are not as cheap here and this is an event that is broadcasted throughout the entire kingdom. If I want to murder these hello kitties it would be better to do it after the games where nobody else is watching.

"Don't worry, we feel the same way too," Macao patted my back with a hand, the expression on his face equally furious as well. "We will make them pay."

I'm sure Team A alone would be enough to make those kitty cats pay if it comes down to a full-out fight but if it's needed, I certainly wouldn't mind giving them a hand in plucking out their little fangs.

One, by, one.


"The voice of the light seeks out the kind, the brilliance of our God shines down on the worthy. Cleanse and purify, be reborn anew, Light Cradle."

I was never good at healing magic because I had very little talent in it but that doesn't mean that I'm entirely useless at it. Sherria and Wendy had already done a very good job in administering first-aid and with a healer like Porlyusica around, there really shouldn't be anything for us to be worried about. Still, I'm a Fairy Tail mage now, and it just doesn't sit right with me if I didn't at least offer to help out where I could, especially when I knew I have a trick or two that might be of use.

"It's… not painful anymore?"

"It's a far cry from what Wendy's spells could do, but Light Cradle is a spell that relieves pain from injuries and accelerates the effects of all healing spells being recently casted on the target. You will be fine soon," I reassured the Celestial Spirit mage before stepping aside to let the experts do their jobs. Porlyusica quickly checked over Lucy once more to ensure that everything really is alright.

"An intriguing spell," Porlyusica commented when Lucy finally fell asleep from her exhaustion. The entirety of Team A and Team B were now here, worried about Lucy and also enraged at Sabertooth's actions.

They want a fight? Well, we'll give them some.

It was just at this moment that Master Makarov came into the ward as well, bringing the news that the backer of the GMG wanted our guild to combine both our teams into one. Raven Tail's unexpected disqualification yesterday had resulted in problems for the GMG committee when it comes to scheduling the battle sections of the games, so combining the two teams of Fairy Tail into one official five-man team would be the easiest and also the most obvious answer.

My only gripe will be that our current points for this new team would be the lower point total between Team A and Team B, which would be the 35 points that belonged to Team A. That would mean that the 10 points I earned from defeating the baldy had effectively gone to waste. How great.

"So who's going to be in the combined team?"

Like I said many times before, I have close to zero interest in the GMG. However, Sabertooth had pissed me off in more ways than one and our grudge had run a little too deep for over a year ever since I first met Orga. I don't mind signing myself up for it if my guild ever needs me to help make a statement or to get some vindictive revenge. Be it for my own personal vendetta or the guild's stance on this matter, I have an obligation to be a part of whatever comes next if the guild decides that they need my strength.

These kitty cats are in a dire need for some dental care and it's about time somebody plucked out those fangs of theirs. They should be grateful that it just so happens that I am a certified dentist that is more than capable of taking care of their dental health.

Now that I think about it, if Elfman could get Quatro Cerberus to change their guild name to Quatro Puppy, I wonder if I could somehow change Sabertooth's guild name to Hello Kitties?