Day two of the Grand Magic Games started at a normal hour, for the competing guilds anyway. When Fairy Tail made their way to the stadium an hour early, for the first event didn't start until the noon sun was high in the sky, the stands were teeming with people vying for the best viewing seats in the house.
They were by no means the only guild to think of coming early. Several guilds had already arrived. The all female guild of Mermaid Heel stood casually in their box, presenting a strong front and a sense that they were well prepared and could afford to relax. Raven Tail was stoic; tall and armored Alexei was flanked by his team, and Blue Pegasus was playing up their misfortune, simultaneously garnering sympathy and promising a better performance.
All in all, the day was unfolding like anticipated. Except for the figure shrouded in dark blue cloak, bandana, and bandages carrying five staves across his back.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you in Edolas with no way of returning to Earthland?" Natsu asked the man. How had he managed to find the exact same staves his counterpart wielded, because those were also still in Earthland's mirror world.
Jellal ignored the heavy sarcasm with which the question was delivered. "Mystogan is technically still listed as an active member of Fairy Tail."
"That doesn't explain what you're doing here masquerading as him," Erza said pointedly. "The Magic Council is aware on some level of Edolas and what happened there."
Fairy Tail and the Magic Council had never seen eye to eye. Unfortunately, informing them had been unavoidable. No one in Magnolia remembered the entire city vanishing, them along with it, to become a giant lacrima to provide the magic-less Edolas with the resource they so desperately wanted. And while time hadn't flown linearly and Magnolia had only be gone minutes for the several days Natsu had spent in Edolas, the Magic Council had registered the massive spike of magic energy and demanded an explanation.
The former council member shrugged. "They won't be able to prove I'm not who I say I am."
"It's still a risk," Lucy commented, lips pulling down into a frown.
"I feel it is necessary to be on site for when that unusual magic is sensed."
Gray looked at him dubiously through lidded eyes. "You're certain it's Zeref's magic that you've been sensing? There are thousands of wizards here."
Jellal seemed to scowl under his costume. "I'm certain. The magic only appeared in the last two years and then only for a moment."
"It could be that someone's first time at the Games was three years ago," Erza suggested reasonably, crossing gauntlet arms, clearly unimpressed with the man's logic.
Jellal shook his head in denial. "No. This isn't natural magic. It's . . ." he struggled to describe how the mystery magic was different. "Something else," he settled. "It's Zeref. It has to be Zeref."
There wasn't a chance to respond, as Mato made his appearance to the roar of the crowd. Not that Natsu knew what he would have said. The more he learned about the situation, the less it sounded like they were dealing with Zeref and more like something else entirely.
If he was being honest with himself, he was starting to doubt the Black Wizard's involvement in the weird happenings Crime Sorcière was monitoring. Voluntarily putting himself in the midst of a large crowd of people wasn't Zeref's modus operandi, and there hadn't been any reports of areas where everything unexplainably died, although it was possible that such an incidence could have been covered up. But Natsu couldn't think of an alternative source for the magic.
"Welcome back to day two of this year's Grand Magic Games!" the pumpkin headed mascot said happily with raised hands. "We have a most competitive event planned for today, kabo. But first, let me introduce our guest commentator for the second day—Jason, reporter for Sorcerer Weekly Magazine!"
"So cooooooooool to be invited!" the man exclaimed.
Next to him, Lucy cringed. "Why did they invite that annoying guy?"
"You just didn't like the column they did on you. I think he's an okay guy," Gray finished with a light shrug of his shoulders, unbothered by Jason's overly excited presence.
"Of course I didn't! It was absolutely awful!" the Celestial wizard protested, complete with facial expression and tone to convey how she thought the piece in question was appropriately horrible. "They asked more questions about Erza and my body measurements than me, and no Gray that doesn't count as asking about me," she snapped when he opened his mouth. "Not to mention the reporter was very rude about the whole thing."
"The name of the game is 'Reflex,' kabo," declared Mato.
"Reflex?" Wendy repeated.
"Sounds like a test of speed," added Erza. "It's too bad the team's compositions are not flexible. Jet is the perfect choice for such an event."
Jellal's eyes roved over the assembled members of Team A. "So which of you is the fastest?"
Erza took a moment to consider the question. "If it is just a matter of speed, I would say Natsu, since he can use his fire as thrusters. But I can't imagine it is that simple. Reflex implies reaction time, in which case Gray would be the better option."
His eyes widened, clearly not expecting that analysis. "Me?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes," the red head affirmed. "The nature of your Ice-Make Magic has honed your reaction time, both physical and mental. You have very little time to gauge an opponent's attack, choose an appropriate counter measure, and respond."
"The other teams are mostly selecting females," Natsu commented, studying each lacrima screen that appeared as their team's made their decisions. Not that Mermaid Heel had the option of choosing a male competitor, but Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, and Raven Tail had also elected to have one of the fairer sex represent them.
Mato announced them, practically vibrating with excitement. "And we have the charming Risley Law of Mermaid Heel and Sabertooth's newcomer Yukino Agria. From Raven Tail is yesterday's victor of the battle portion, the fiery Flare Corona and the lovely Miss Jenny Realight steps forward for Blue Pegasus, kabo."
As soon as Blue Pegasus' competitor was announced, Mira's face flashed under the banner for Fairy Tail B.
"Let me go," Gray said, dark eyes focused on Flare. "Whatever the game, I can handle Flare. Her fire's no match for my ice. It's nothing like candle-head's here."
"Very well."
When the rest of the participants were decided, Yuka Suzuki and Rocker from Lamia Scale and Quatro Cerberus respectively were the last to join. From there, Mato directed the eight wizards to stand in two rows of four in the stadium's center facing each other. Eight purple magic circles appeared before them, giving rise to podiums.
"Anyone else confused about what's going on?" Lucy asked, half raising a hand.
"If you would all please step up to the podiums, kabo," the short pumpkin-headed mascot directed, "and press the button you find there."
Rocker was the first to do so. A lacrima vision screen above his head lit up with his guild's symbol.
"I have here," Mato waved a piece of paper above his head, "a list of questions. The first to buzz in gets to answer. If they're correct, they'll receive points. Incorrect answers cost one point and another team gets a chance to steal the points."
The Fire Dragon Slayer let his head thud on top of the brick railing. They sent Gray down to play trivia. The guy couldn't keep track of his clothes. There was no way Mira wasn't going to sweep the competition. The cheerful woman made it her business to know everyone else's. She knew everything. She knew things about her guild mates before they knew it themselves.
"What a misnomer," Lucy complained, arms crossed under her bust.
"Not necessarily. If you want to win this game, you need to be fast."
"And yet, you can't always reach for the button," Wendy added to Jellal's explanation. "What if you don't know the answer?"
"Let's start with the first question, kabo. For one point each, name members of the Ten Wizard Saints."
Mira's Fairy Tail symbol lit up red, and she rattled off a list of names. "God Serena, Hyberion, Wolfheim, Warrod Sequen, Jura Neekis, and Master Makarov of course."
Natsu paid attention to the trivia game with half a mind. It was enough to realize that there was some kind of rivalry between Mirajane and the girl from Blue Pegasus. He could almost see the sparks of lightning when the other answered a question.
After ten or so questions, the subject changed from the mixture of history and current famous things to something more interesting.
"Fairy Tail was featured on what issue of Sorcerer Weekly, kabo?"
The questions continued in that vein. How much did the magazine cost? (580 Jewels) What was their most popular column, etc. Jason would shout "Bingo! That's right!" and occasionally "Sooooo coooooool!" when a particularly difficult question was answered.
Natsu was so caught up in watching Gray snark in grump about the question theme that he nearly missed the flare of dark magic that was surprisingly nearby.
The Dragon Slayer jackknifed upright. "Was that-?"
"No time," Jellal snapped. "Hurry! We can't let him get away."
The two men raced out of the stands. The magic pressure was building, growing stronger and denser. In synchronization, they turned down the empty street leading towards the palace.
Only, it wasn't empty. In the middle of the cobblestone street stood a black cloaked figure.
"The magic's coming from him," Jellal hissed in his ear.
The hooded figure spun around, running down a side street the second he caught sight of Jellal and Natsu behind him. The duo gave chase, but ultimately lost the mysterious wizard when he slipped onto a crowded street.
However, they didn't return to Dormus Flau immediately. Instead they split up, one going up the street and the other searching down, on the off chance the cloaked wizard was still blending in with the throng of people to avoid detection.
"Find him?" Natsu asked when the joined up again.
"No," his partner exhaled violently. "We were so close."
"Come on," the pinkette urged. "We'd best let the Master know what we found."
They arrived back in the stadium just in time to witness Mato read the last question, a bonus question that would double a team's current score if answered correctly.
"Final question, kabo! What is Erza Scarlet's favorite Requip?"
As one, all of Fairy Tail turned to look at their resident Requip Mage, who was sporting a little smirk.
"Heaven's Wheel Armor," Risley guessed.
"Flame Empress," was Gray's answer.
"Blackwing," Yukino said softly.
"Giant's Armor."
"Adamantine Armor."
"Purgatory Armor."
"Flight Armor."
At zero for seven, the rest of the guild decided to chip in, listing of the rest of her still unnamed armors.
"Lightning Empress."
"Heart Kruez," Romeo suggested. "Erza-nee only uses the other armors when she has need of their unique abilities, but she's always wearing that armor."
"Hardly ever fights in it, though," Levy pointed out.
"Robe of Yūen."
"Morning Star Armor."
"Armadura Fairy."
"That is my second favorite armor, for it embodies everything it means to be a Fairy Tail Wizard." That response earned Erza several puzzled glances. If the armor that was literally symbolic of the guild was only her second favorite, which one did she consider worthy of being number one?
At this point Wendy, who was staring at the red head with wide eyes, asked, "How many armors do you have, Erza-san?"
"Over one hundred, last count," was the reply.
"Sea Empress."
"It has to be her Seduction Armor." Natsu glared at Max for that answer, displeased with the idea of anyone imagining his mate dressed up all sexy and seductive.
"The Nakagama Armor," Makarov offered, knowing how rare it was for a wizard to actually be able to call upon it.
"Piercing Armor."
"Wingblade Armor."
"The Farewell Fairy Tail Armor!"
Mira lightly pressed her buzzer. She tilted her head to the side with her eyes closed and nose just the tiniest bit wrinkled. "The Bunny Girl," she giggled.
"Correct, kabo! And with that, Fairy Tail's B team sweeps the board and earns ten points."
In unison, the entirety of the guild fell over with a loud cry of, "Are you kidding me?"
"It's true. I said it myself in an issue of Sorcerer Weekly," confirmed Erza, eyes gleaming delightedly.
Natsu laughed uproariously, until he noticed the visible stripe of flesh between bandana and mask flushed deep red. Nagneel rumbled in the back of his mind. Did Jellal still harbor romantic feelings for his mate? He wrapped an arm around Erza's waist and pulled her closer. "I love you. Any chance you'll wear that outfit for me tonight?" he whispered, voice low and husky.
"Behave," came his mate's stern reprimand, offset by the playful push at his shoulder.
A quickly recovered Makarov reclaimed his seat atop the stone balcony. "This game was quite tame, wouldn't you agree, Third Master?"
"They're building up to a grand finale," he said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself.
"Or this is the calm before the storm," Mavis gave voice to his fears.
"Yes," Makarov agreed, darkly. The old wizard shifted his attention to Natsu and Jellal. "Well boys? Anything to report?"
"He rabbited," said Jellal bitterly. The grip he had on his staff threatened to break it in two.
Natsu felt it was the perfect moment to mention that, whoever it was that they had chased, his magic didn't feel like Zeref's.
"Are you certain of this?" Makarov was grave. While the implications of Zeref being involved were terrible, it was worse to think that there was an unknown wizard comparable to the Black Wizard in power.
"Absolutely," the Dragon Slayer affirmed. After meeting with the man personally, he was intimately aware of the feel of his magic. "I know Zeref's magic and that wasn't it. Plus, I don't see any reason for him to disguise himself. He's not exactly good at the whole low key thing." The last observation was added almost as if it was an afterthought, but it lightened the atmosphere and allowed the conversation to move forward as Natsu intended.
"Could you find him again?" the Third Master asked.
"Sensing his magic will be no problem. It's catching him," Natsu admitted. "It may be from his previous visits, but he knows the city well."
"All we can do is try," said Mavis.
With the spontaneous war meeting over, the pinkette turned back to the Games and Mato, who was wrapping up the current standings. Despite taking sixth during the trivia event, Sabertooth still held the lead, albeit by a slimmer margin. Raven Tail and Fairy Tail B were just a point in front of Mermaid Heel and tied for second place. His own team was sitting comfortably in fourth.
"On to our first match up, kabo!" Mato shouted excitedly. "Beth Vanderwood of Mermaid Heel versus Sabertooth's own Minstrel Who Sings to the Red Moon: Rufus Lore!"
Gray couldn't contain a snort. "Are you kidding me with the flowery name?"
"No favoritism there," Lucy grumbled.
"He certainly looks the part," commented Natsu, as the long blond haired wizard in question approached Mato. Red vest, lots of cuffs, flimsy cravat, pleated pants, gold trimmings, and a long pink plumage capping his wide brimmed hat. He was like a Sabertooth version of Freed, which was more than confirmed once he opened his mouth.
"While chivalry is not dead," he began, voice dripping with self-importance, "I have no memory of allowing a woman to best me."
"So cool," Jason swooned.
Beth, looking small, rough around the edges, and out of place besides him, bristled. "I'll show you allowing. Carrot Missile!"
"Those are high quality carrots," Yajima commented. "I wonder if she would consent to make some for my restaurant. I make a mean carrot spice cake."
Natsu blinked as a barrage of oversized carrots launched towards Rufus and consequently sailed right through him.
"Illusion Magic?" murmured Erza.
Rufus's voice echoed eerily throughout the stadium. "All that is left is a memory."
Markarov sucked in a harsh breath. "Memory Magic?"
"What's Memory Magic?" Lucy asked.
"An ancient kind of molding magic," Levy answered. "But I don't know anything more than that."
"That's the summation of it," Makarov picked up. "It's a fearsome magic; the ability to memorize and use any opponent's magic."
Rufus demonstrated as the Master was explaining, returning Beth's vegetable flinging attack with a volley of his own carrots, which she dodged by burrowing underground.
"Let's see you copy what you can't see," her voiced sounded out, muffled. "Cauliflower Bomb!"
White clouds of smoke filled the arena, masking both competitors from view. Rufus's form shot out of a rising plume of smoke, coming to rest on the head of one of the four giant decorative statues. He laid the forefinger and middle fingers of both hands on either side of his temple and a red magic circle and yellow helix spiraled behind him.
Lola leaned forward into his microphone. "Now that is a familiar pose. Is he going to 'forget' Beth's smokescreen?"
"Now that I have a memory of your magic, your spell is useless. Let me demonstrate. Memory-Make: Forget," he intoned, eyes blazing red.
The smokescreen vanished, revealing a startled looking Beth. "Now it is time I end this." Rufus resumed his Memory-Make stance and extended his arms outwards. "Memory-Make: Night of Falling Stars."
For a brief second, the entire stadium darkened. Then Rufus's body was engulfed in a bright light. A beam of light shot from him, rocketing towards Beth. The imagery did rather remind Natsu of a shooting star.
"What's this?" Rufus murmured, not seeing his attack strike its target. "I have no memory of this spell being thwarted. The beam should have struck home, for she did not have enough forewarning to dodge."
The Mermaid Heel wizard was, presumably, surrounded by a brown mass that was the largest potato Natsu had ever seen, easily twelve feet tall. Beside him, Happy drooled at the idea of the girl creating a fish equally as large.
"She has Vegetable Magic, Happy," the pinkette explained, fond smile pulling on his lips. "She doesn't make fish. Only veggies."
Beth pulled herself out a hole in the top. "That was my Potato Cocoon Shield," she twanged proudly. "They store and conduct electricity." With surprising strength, she hefted the root vegetable and chucked it at the Sabertooth mage.
Abject destruction of public property by way of a two ton explosive potato. Beth Vanderwood was a girl after his own heart.
Interestingly, Rufus didn't simply 'forget' her spell again and render the potato bomb useless. He leapt, allowing the explosive potato to impact the statue, generating a shockwave that shook Dormus Flau down to its foundations. Pieces of stone crashed around them.
When the dust settled, fortunately for Sabertooth before the thirty minutes expired, Rufus was standing victorious over an unconscious Beth, who had, unfortunately, been knocked out by the falling debris.
The spectators were silent, unsure how to react in light of Sabertooth's win, which came not as a result of Rufus's greater skill and Sabertooth's superiority, but the happenstance of Beth being unable to dodge all of the falling rocks. She had surprisingly put up a better fight than anyone had anticipated. Had she managed to dodge, the fight may have gone on to be called a draw.
"What a disappointing ending," sighed Yajima.
"Totally uncool," Jason sulked, slouching in his seat.
To muted cheers, Mato announced Sabertooth the winner and summoned Yuka Suzuki and Jäger to be the second match.
Natsu vaguely recalled fighting the spiky blue haired wizard on Galuna Island, though his hair was significantly longer and tied back in a braid now. His eyebrows were thicker than he remembered. His opponent, from Quatro Cerberus, dwarfed him. Jäger was, much like the rest of his team, a tall and robust man. Yuka's body was as thick around as one of Jäger's arms.
He was interested in this fight, wanting to see if Yuka had better mastered his "Anti-Magic" Magic, overcoming the devastating weakness in the form of physical attacks that the Dragon Slayer had proved it had. Because Jäger had the muscles to knock his opponent around.
Yuka folded his hands behind his back. "I specialize in Wave Magic. It would take an exceptional mage to overcome me." His looks may have changed drastically, but his arrogance remained the same.
Instead of being angered by the slight at his ability, Jäger took the other wizard's words as a challenge to prove himself, an attitude that earned him the applause of the watching crowd. "When I beat you, it will be WILD!" The last word was echoed by his howling teammates.
The two competitors put up a good fight. Jäger started off by summoning forth a giant flytrap plant that swallowed Yuka whole. Natsu thought it an interesting solution to get around Yuka's magic negating ability. It would take a lot of magic to negate something as enormous as the flytrap was, and could he even negate attacks from more than one direction at the same time?
They were, oddly enough, evenly matched. When his man-eating plant failed, Jäger threw out several different style of spells. His thorn barrage was met with a shield of Wave magic which nullified them midair. Similar fate befell the poison ivy vines meant to render him immobile.
Unlike when Natsu had fought him several years ago, Jäger didn't realize the inherent weakness of his opponent's magic. It was this fact which dragged out the battle, because Yuka clearly remembered and was keeping his distance to prevent a close combat fight where he would be put at a severe disadvantage. It mattered not that Yuka nullified every spell aimed at him, because he couldn't match Jäger in terms of physical strength, and he wouldn't be triumphant if he couldn't deal with Jäger after his magic had been 'sealed.' Not that he ever sealed his opponent's magic, fearing that he would result to physical force.
"A tie was the best they could hope for," Erza said when the bell sounded. "Had they faced any other, their chances of winning could not be guaranteed. This way, both teams earn points."
Natsu didn't bother to point out that even when a victor appeared to be guaranteed, anything could happen. Beth and Rufus's match had proven that.
"The third fight is Wendy Marvel of Fairy Tail's A team."
"A chance to redeem myself. I won't let you down this time." Her eyes blazed.
"And, oh, kabo, she's against Laxus Dreyar of Fairy Tail's second team," Mato finished.
Determined, the blue haired teen marched down to the arena. "Don't you dare go easy on me," she ordered, pining her fellow Dragon Slayer with stern eyes.
"This sucks," Gray said, crossing arms over his suddenly bare chest.
"Have faith in Wendy," chided Lucy. "She's really grown into herself. There's no reason she can't win."
"I don't doubt the strength of her heart. Wendy will fight with everything she's got. The reach of her arms, however . . ." he trailed. True, the Sky Dragon Slayer was a young adult right now, but she was still more than a foot shorter than Laxus. "But what I meant was that only one of our teams is going to earn points."
The Celestial wizard subsided. "Is there any need for one of them to lose? They could tie," she posed.
Natsu laughed. "What guild do you think you joined all those years back?"
"Fairy Tail never holds back," Erza said strongly. Everyone ignored the Master muttering that sometimes his children should think of all the paperwork their excessive force caused him. "Especially against our own. How can we improve and grow stronger if we do not constantly push past our boundaries and limits?"
Poor Yaijma looked mournfully towards the heavens. "There won't be much of the stadium left standing after this."
"Oh!" Lola pressed, interest piqued. "What makes you say that, Yajima?"
"I used to work for the Magic Council back in the day. Fairy Tail was a constant source of trouble and paperwork, but their antics were amusing. Both Laxus and Wendy are Dragon Slayers. We might as well be watching two dragons fight."
"You're telling me that cute girl has one of the most powerful and destructive magics known to exist?" Natsu didn't know the man's eyes could get any wider, because they were rather small to start, but he was wrong.
"Lightning Dragon's—"
"Sky Dragon's—"
"Roar!"
Both wizards arched back as they drew on magic power and leaned forward when they released it as a bolt of lightning and a column of whirling wind respectively. The two elements collided with a colossal bang.
"Not bad, kid," Laxus complimented, eyeing the gouge left behind from the force of the two attacks meeting in the center.
"Oh my," Lola said faintly, clutching at his blond wig.
"Thanks," Wendy smiled brightly. "But I'm just getting started."
Her left arm moved behind her back, bent at the elbow. Her right arm angled straight across to the other side of her body. "O swift wind," she started, and a column of sparkling air flowed up from underneath her, tugging on her clothes and making her long pigtails flap wildly. Wendy moved her arms overhead as she continued her chant, her left still crooked at the elbow so it laid across the top of her head and her right palm was aimed at the sky, "that speeds through the heavens."
At this point, a white blue magic circle appeared beneath her feet. Now she moved her arms down, first to her right side and then thrust out to both sides, palms facing away from her. "Ile Vernier!" she finished.
A white blue aura surrounded her, suspending Wendy in midair. She shot off like a bullet, slamming into Laxus. Before he could recover, she smashed an elbow into his solar plexus.
"Did you see that? Because I certainly didn't," Lola joked. "Wendy has increased her speed. I wonder what other surprises she has in store for us." Jason echoed his sentiments with his trademarked exclamation of how Wendy was 'so cool.'
She came around for a third hit, this time aiming for the face, only for Laxus to vanish, trailing lightning. Wendy barely had time to realize her opponent was no longer in front of her before he retaliated, throwing her into the arena wall.
"You're fast. I'll give you that," he conceded. "But lightning will always be faster. Being fast isn't enough to defeat me."
The blue haired girl landed on the wall feet first and pushed off immediately, rocketing past Laxus. She came to a stop across from him. Raising her left arm over head again, hand bent back at the wrist, Wendy began chanting. "I call upon thee, o power of the stout arms to cleave the heavens." The magic circle spun to life beneath her a second time. Wendy lowered her arms, crying out, "Ile Arms!" which caused the aforementioned limbs to glow.
Wendy grinned, pleased. "With this attack enhancement spell, I don't need to be faster. Just quick enough to land a blow."
The female Dragon Slayer charged, thrusting her arm across her body, fingers splayed. "Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" A wake of wind followed the path of her fingers.
Laxus, unprepared for the force of the blow, made significantly stronger than he calculated by the effect of her Arms spell, was knocked on his back. Wendy tried to press her advantage, but was forced to keep her distance when he summoned a bolt of lightning to strike between them.
He climbed to his feet, rolling his neck to release the tension. The sound of bones popping echoed and he spat a glob of blood at his feet. Laxus shrugged off the fur lined coat that he wore draped across his shoulders. "I guess it's time for me to get serious."
Laxus raised his arms to shoulder height, generating electricity between his open facing palms. It quickly shaped into a massive spear, which he hurled at Wendy. "Lightning Dragon Slayer's Heavenward Halberd!"
She dodged by directing a roar at the ground, propelling herself into the air, just clearing the fast moving attack. She landed lightly on one foot with the other stretched out to one side for balance.
Laxus was waiting for her, fist crackling with energy. His hand to hand combat skills were stronger and he overwhelmed her. All Wendy could do was block and dodge and try to minimize the damage.
Laxus was, undeniably, a master at close quarters combat. His speed, combined with his offensive, brutal, and straightforward style of fighting was meant to not give his opponent an inch. When his lightning magic was added to the mix, to great effect, his punches and kicks became that much stronger. Against a wizard that was not a Dragon Slayer, such an attack would have been lethal. As it was, Wendy winced with every landed blow, and the area rapidly blossomed dark purple bruises.
She definitely looked worse for wear when she managed to put space between them, surprising him with an air bullet. Laxus had to cross his arms to protect his head, giving her just enough time to disengage to a safe distance.
Laxus grunted. "Cheap shot." He raised a clenched fist, chanting, "Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!"
An enormous sized bolt of lightning crashed into Wendy, illuminating the stadium in a bright white light. If she screamed, the sound was covered by the sound of lightning striking.
Natsu peeked down at them with one eye when the light dimmed. The Sky Dragon Slayer was lying face down on the sand, wisps of smoke curling into the air. Laxus was staring at her with an unreadable expression.
"What an amazing destructive force!" came from Lola. "And to think he'd use it on his own guild mate."
Mato cleared his throat. "The winner is Lax—" he cut off at the sound of shuffling behind him.
Wendy had raised herself on a trembling arm, and was climbing unsteadily to her feet. "Wait. Don't count me out yet." She swayed, exhausted, as she stepped forward.
"And that, everyone, is how you tell a Fairy Tail wizard apart. They're the ones stubbornly standing up when they should stay down."
Up in the viewing area, the rest of the guild grinned and cheered, not caring that they looked a little maniacal. They were proud of their toughness, of refusing to give up when the odds were against them. This attitude had seen them through several seemingly impossible and unwinnable situations.
"I'm surprised," said Laxus, sounding genuine. "I didn't think you'd be awake after that attack, never mind standing."
"Normally, I wouldn't be. Due to the length of your chant, I had enough time to cast Ile Armor and Deus Corona to increase my defense and elemental resistance," Wendy explained. "Luckily for me, they have the shortest incantations."
The female Dragon Slayer drew in a long breath, visibly relaxing as the healing effect worked her over. It didn't do much for the third degree burns where Laxus's lightning covered fists made contact, though they became more shiny than raw, but the abrasions and cuts were smoothed over with new skin, the bruising vanished, and as a result, Wendy stood straighter, more than ready to continue.
Wendy bent her knees slightly, settling into a wide stance. "Secret Dragon Slayer Art: Shattering Light Sky Drill!"
She spread her arms wide at shoulder height, causing a fast moving wind barrier to rise and surround them. Keeping them in a straight line, Wendy swung her left arm in front of her before sweeping them in a counter-clockwise manner so that her right arm reached out in front of her, pointing slightly down and to her left side.
The wall of wind contracted, sending Laxus flying upwards into the air and subsequently crashing back to the ground. The male Dragon Slayer hit flat on his back and bounced. Silence filled the stadium.
"Even the cute ones are capable of such destruction," bemoaned the former Magic Council member.
Mato hovered nervously, uncertain as to call the match or not. Laxus made the decision for him by slamming a lightning covered fist into the round as he rose to one knee.
He gathered his element around his right fist, building it up until the crackle of lightning was deafening. Then he cocked his arm back and rapidly extended it forward. At the end of his punch, Laxus's yellow magic circle appeared, and an oversized fist composed entirely of lightning shot forward.
Wendy, having spent all her magical power and energy, could only stand there and take the full force of the electricity slamming into her.
There was a moment of complete stillness when the electricity dissipated, then Wendy fell backwards, boneless.
"That was so cooooooooool!" yelled Jason. His exclamation broke the silence and the crowd erupted into a den of screaming and cheering. Laxus hefted his fallen guild mate in a fireman's lift and headed for the guild's assigned healing rooms.
"Fairy Tail's B team has won themselves another ten points, kabo. That puts their total at twenty-eight." Mato cleared his throat. "And for our final match: Kurohebi from Raven Tail and Hibiki Lates of Blue Pegasus." Natsu thought the shrieks from the women should be bottle and marketed as a weapon, because he was pretty sure they broke his eardrums.
Yajima frowned solemnly. "This last battle was impressive. It's going to be a tough act to follow."
"I agree one hundred percent, Yajima," his fellow commentator said, wiping his brow with his wig. "I only hope they are up to the challenge."
Hibiki posed, crossing his arms before him so his hands framed his face. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a fighter." Kurohebi stared at him with a bland expression. "Still, for Master Ichiya's sake, I will give this battle my all."
The blond trimen pulled up his Data Screen, nimble fingers flying across the keys as he entered data. "A Mimic Magic User, eh?" he mused to himself. "This will be harder than I thought."
"For those that don't know, Mimic Magic allows the wizard to, as the name suggests, mimic another's magic and use it as if it was his own," Lola explained.
"Unfortunately," Yajima added, "that's all we know about this style of magic."
"What about you, Master?" Erza asked. "Do you know anything about Mimic Magic?"
Makarov shook his head in the negative. He turned around and posed the question to the ghostly form of Fairy Tail's First Master.
"The magic that boy wields is rare," she intoned. "I could not say how he mimics other types of magic nor how many he can mimic at once."
Kurohebi swayed, resembling the snake he was named for, before darting forward and slamming the heel of his palm into his opponent's sternum. Hibiki staggered back, managing to throw up a shield made from his archive screens as Kurohebi followed through with a strong kick.
The Raven Tail wizard then chose to retreat a distance, head tilted in curiosity as he considered Hibiki. "Oh, Yajima, do you think Kurohebi is copying his opponent's magic?"
The elderly wizard was quick to deny the idea. "No offense to the young man, but his Archive Magic is ill-suited for battle. It would serve Kurohebi no purpose to Mimic it for this fight. Also, since Hibiki knows what his magic is, he loses the surprise factor that most wizards would be faced with."
"Force Bind!" Hibiki shouted, throwing forward a hand, then fisting it and pulling it back. Strands of binary code erupted from the sand, snaking and sliding around Kurohebi until he was all trussed up.
The lines of numbers pulled taut until their victim was unable to move. A pointed tongue slipped between thin lips, and then Kurohebi burst into thousands of grains of sand.
Hibiki stared unthinkingly at the discolored grains of sand. He settled his weight back on one foot, raising a hand so he'd be quicker to defend himself.
The sand rose and swarmed, moving as fast as Kurohebi could. Too fast for Hibiki to react. The sand encased him from head to toe, trapping him in a coffin. Once his opponent was trapped, Kurohebi reformed himself from the sand.
"Sand Rebellion," he hissed.
Max Alors frowned. "That's one of my spells. How does he know it?"
The sand encasing Hibiki exploded violently, the force concussive enough to render him unconscious. Severely singed and still smoking, he was carried off the arena's field to receive medical treatment. Mato announced Kurohebi the victor and then pointed with a gloved hand to the lacrima screen currently showing the teams' standings.
Sabertooth: 33 pts
Fairy Tail B: 28 pts
Raven Tail: 28 pts
Mermaid Heel: 17 pts
Lamia Scale: 13 pts
Fairy Tail A: 12 pts
Quatro Cerberus: 9 pts
Blue Pegasus: 8 pts
Fairy Tail exited Dormus Flau in high spirits. The A team had had a run of bad luck, scoring a single point, but there was still plenty of time to make up for lost points. They indulged in a party to celebrate B team's second place ranking and Laxus's and Wendy's amazing performance. The poor girl was blushing and stammering from all the praise that was being showered upon her.
"I wasn't all that good, honestly. Laxus-san was a truly tough opponent. He was simply kind enough not to take me out from the start."
On a secluded balcony, Natsu gazed unseeing at the stars, tuning out the sounds of the ongoing celebration. The revelation that there was an unknown player comparable to Zeref made him uneasy. He couldn't stand in the midst of his guild mates and pretend that everything was fine.
What was the hooded figure's goal? Why come to the Grand Magic Games, release a burst of magic, and disappear into obscurity for a year? Just what was he hoping to achieve?
His head snapped left when he felt the cloaked wizard's magic nearby. Natsu didn't even spare a thought to let Makarov of Erza know where he was going. The latter would scold him something fierce when he returned. He leapt over the railing and tore off as soon as he scented the right direction.
The pinkette cornered the mysterious wizard on a bridge. "Who are you and what do you want?"
A slender hand rose, sliding back the hood. Natsu gasped at the familiar face. "You . . ."