So, what can I say other than my standard. Sorry for the long ass wait. Battle scenes are not my forte. I wrote and rewrote this so many times. And future sections as a result because my characters kept getting away from me and doing things I hadn't planned on yet clearly thought about cause I somehow wrote.
Also. Coronavirus. It sucks. You'd think I'd have more time to write not less.
Their strategy meeting dispersed as its participants set out to fulfill their self-assigned tasks.
Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy were the first to depart. The former wizard saint was certain that the second time-traveler was not only in their year but within Crocus. Crime Sorcière had sensed what they had assumed to be Zeref's magical energy, now attributed to the ancient artifact hiding beneath Crocus's cobblestone streets, in the two years previous. It could have been that they were sensing the gate itself, gathering and storing the excess Ethernano in the air from the Grand Magic Games. But, Jellal reasoned that, in order for the gate to be charging, someone must be behind it. And as it was X791, when the gate was first used in Future-Levy's timeline, it only made sense that the shadowy puppetmaster pulling the strings was somewhere within the city, staying close to keep an eye on their machinations.
Makarov, with a few kind words and even more emotional ones, convinced Future-Levy to take refuge in the inn that night. She was no longer fighting this war on her own, so there was no need for her skulk about the city like a rat in the shadows.
Natsu watched her leave, conflicted. Not because he doubted her story, but because he did not. According to Future-Levy, the only way to open the Eclipse Gate was with all twelve Zodiac keys.
Once already, she had sacrificed Lucy for her goals. Not intentionally, or even knowingly. But a future version of Lucy had given her life so that Future-Levy could alter their unwanted future.
Lucy currently sat downstairs at the bar, surrounded by Happy, Wendy, Charle, Cana and his timeline's Levy, celebrating Fairy Tail's ascension to first place. The blonde hadn't possessed all twelve golden Zodiac keys in the future, and she most definitely didn't have them now.
Future-Levy's plan hinged on being the first one through the gate when it was opened, but the blue-haired woman had deftly dodged questions on how the gate had been activated the first time or how she planned to open it now.
Natsu didn't want to believe that someone from his guild was capable of callously sacrificing one of their nakama. But what was the alternative? Future-Levy was deliberately protecting whoever held the last two keys? For what purpose? Lucy was her best friend. She wouldn't choose to protect some unknown over Lucy.
With the two keys in the wind, there was only one way to open the gate.
"Protecting Lucy needs to be our top priority."
"I agree." Erza came to stand directly next to him. Without even touching, her presence gave him warmth. "If this second time-traveler got their hands on her-"
"Not them," Natsu interrupted. "Future-Levy."
The pinkette tensed as soon as the words were out there, anticipating his mate's wrath. Erza never dealt well with guild members that distrusted or feared one another, often beating them into fearing her instead. It certainly provided them with common ground.
She surprised him, taking his hands and pulling his gaze away from the stadium that towered above the city, tugging them so he faced her instead.
"Levy would never-"
"But she did." His voice cracked, choking on the despair.
Erza rubbed a thumb across the back of his knuckles, repeatedly, until the negative emotions swirling inside him calmed. "Lucy's choice is not Levy's. She would never ask that. No one in Fairy Tail would."
"She doesn't have another option. What are the chances of finding the other key holder?"
Silence was his answer. They were miniscule. There were only three days left of the Games. Three more chances for the wizard to reveal themselves, if they were a participant. Chances were, with only Pieces and Libra, that the Celestial wizard wouldn't be much of a fighter. Natsu had seen Lucy call upon Cancer to cut her hair. Every key wasn't capable of being like Aquarius or Loke or Virgo. And that was only if this wizard was at the Games at all. Honestly, it was more likely they weren't even owned by the same person, which made the odds of finding either lower than zero.
"Do you want to warn Lucy, then?"
Natsu considered it. The blonde was already aware they were participating in this year's games to cover their guild looking into the Zeref-esque magic. Future-Levy's revelations were a game changer. Zeref wasn't the goal, though the Dragon Slayer was interested to know why the Eclipse Gate gave off the same feel as the Black Wizard.
Warning Lucy of the consequences would only serve to let her know she had the means to open the gate, and that's what he wanted to avoid at all costs.
He couldn't walk towards a future where he knowingly set up one of his guild mates, his friend, to give their life.
"No," he decided, firmly. "Despite what Future-Levy plans, the gates don't need to be opened to change the future. It would be far better if they were never opened at all."
"So we keep an eye on Lucy and the princess," Erza determined.
"The princess?" he parroted.
"Levy claimed she was tricked into opening the gate in her future to let the other time traveler through. That person is here now, if Crime Sorcière is to be believed. They'll need to open the gates again, which means they need the Zodiac keys and to convince Princess Hisui to do so."
A spark of hope bloomed in his lungs, briefly stealing his ability to breath. "They have to know the location of the final keys."
Erza's eyes shined with the satisfaction of a plan coming together. "I'll talk to Warren. With his telepathy and surveillance lacrima, he can keep tabs on the princess and hopefully identify our second traveler. Meanwhile, we'll stick close to Lucy. We can have everyone buddy up. Nobody goes anywhere alone, that way it won't be so obvious we're trying to protect her."
The Dragon Slayer laughed grimly, reminded of the last time the guild went to war to safeguard Lucy Heartfilia. They would do so again without question, but he prayed to Mavis that they didn't need to.
Morning found Mystogan lurking in the corner of the inn's pub.
Jellal rushed through a recap of last night. During his hunt for the second traveler, Doranbolt and Lahar had spotted him. Since he couldn't claim to be himself, he pretended to be Mystogan, aware that the Magic Council knew of their shared appearance.
They were forced to let him go, because they couldn't prove he was Jellal, not beyond a reasonable doubt, but he needed to lay low for a while and be seen as Mystogan of Fairy Tail.
Frustrating as it was to have the Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit suspicious of them, Makarov chose to look at the upside. With Jellal directly amongst them, he would receive real-time updates from Ultear and Meredy.
So it was with great enthusiasm and exaggerated fanfare that Fairy Tail made its way to Dormus Flau, pointedly arranging for Jellal to behind Makarov's right shoulder. Perfect position for him to whisper in the master's ear.
Used to the proceedings, Natsu tuned out the introduction of the guest commentator, recognizing the man as the theater owner Team Natsu had once performed for, inwardly grateful that he had no actual say in how the games were run, only refocusing when Mato made to announce the day's event.
He called it 'Treacherous Mountaineering.'
Natsu assumed it was just as misleading as the previous ones had been. 'Eyes in the Sky,' 'Reflexes,' and 'Pandemonium' had actually been aptly named in hindsight of what the game entailed, but there were still numerous possibilities. Mountaineering would likely put it in a mountain setting, an activity that was dangerous enough without the descriptor of treacherous.
Whatever the case may be, Natsu wouldn't let Lucy participate in this one. Of Team A, only he and Lucy had yet to partake in the individual ranking event. Given the danger posed to the Celestial Wizard, Natsu preferred to take this one. It would be one less thing for him to worry about, since he had already had his match up yesterday. It meant Lucy would be in tomorrow's event, with her battle either day, but it gave Natsu the comfort of knowing Lucy was safe with the rest of the team.
Besides, the blonde wasn't much of a climber. The last time she had trekked up a mountain she had done so within her clock spirit. She would gladly give him this event, even not knowing what tomorrow held.
Natsu was unsurprised to be joined by Gajeel. Climbing was in their wheelhouse and Dragon Slayers were more durable. Whatever the pumpkin wearing mascot had in store, they should be able to handle.
He tried to predict who the remaining competitors would be based on who was left and what he knew of them. Sting was likely from Sabertooth. He would have the same advantages and was no doubt biting at the chomp to have a direct battle against Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers. Lamia Scale had Lyon and Cheria, and while Lyon had more experience and was more adaptable, they would probably save that for the last event. Not to mention, if they manipulated the air to resemble that atop a mountain, the Sky God Slayer would have a significant advantage due to her element. Blue Pegasus appeared to be saving Ichiya for last, as their trump card. Creepy as he was, the man was an S-rank wizard.
The remaining guilds, Raven Tail, Mermaid Heel, Quatro Cerberus, he didn't know enough about. And honestly, based on their showing thus far, Mermaid Heel was too specialized in their magic, except for maybe Kagura, whom he hadn't seen any magic from yet, and Quatro Cerberus had almost been set up to look the fool.
"And here's our lineup, kabo!" Mato bounced excitedly. "Fairy Tail sends out their ferocious Dragon Slayers and Lamia Scale follows with the just as adorable as she is destructive Cheria. Jäger of Quatro Cerberus is built as impressively as any mountain. In comparison, you have to wonder why Mermaid Heel elected Beth as their representative. Then there's Kurohebi from Raven Tail and Rufus Lore of Sabertooth. Apparently, the minstrel isn't afraid of getting dirty, kabo! And lastly, from Blue Pegasus, this man needs no introduction-Ichiya!"
Natsu bit back a snort. Ichiya's antics were infamous. Almost as much as Fairy Tail's tendency for property damage.
"And now I will explain the game, kabo." Mato snapped white gloved fingers. A golden magic circle spun beneath their feet, and with a deafening rumble, the eight competitors and one mascot were sent rocketing heavenward as a mountain exploded from the dirt. When it finished, they were well above the stadium. Natsu couldn't pick out which section of the stands belonged to his guild.
"To win this game you must be the first to ascend the mountain." Mato pointed guilelessly at the yet even higher mountain peak. "At the top is a buzzer that, when pressed, will light up with your guild symbol to proclaim your victory."
"Seems simple enough," twanged Beth, fingering the straps of her overalls.
Jäger groaned. "You've jinxed it, now."
"Indeed, don't forget this is 'Treacherous Mountaineering,'" reminded Mato. And with a second snap of his fingers an orange circle hovered over the mountain's peak. They waited, tense, for whatever the twist was.
And then the mountain exploded and lava gushed forth.
Even several miles in the air, Natsu could hear the screams of the crowd, excited by the increased danger factor yet frightened that the lava may fall on their heads.
"There is a barrier beneath the volcano to prevent anyone from falling to their deaths, kabo. Otherwise," here Mato shrugged, "anything goes. The faster you reach the summit the more points you earn for your team, kabo."
Natsu debated, for half a second, just climbing the mountain. He was the son of Igneel, the Fire Dragon King. Lava was nowhere near strong enough to burn him. But this was supposed to be for entertainment. So he called forth some of Nagneel's scales to frame his face and cover his hands. Just enough to distract from the fact that he didn't actually need them.
Mato began the countdown, projecting oversized numbers starting at ten. The Fire Dragon Slayer bent his knees and sent magic power to his feet, ready to leap when the timer struck zero, allowing a grin to stretch across his face.
No doubt, he was much better suited to this task than Lucy. Silly girl still didn't have a fire spirit.
Lucy fervently thanked every one of the eighty-eight heavenly bodies that Natsu volunteered for this event before she could.
Once the countdown hit zero Natsu was off, shooting forward like a bullet from Bisca's guns, with Gajeel dogging his steps.
"I can't imagine Natsu-kun losing this one," Lola stated as said wizard made quick work of the perilous climb. Already he had progressed halfway up.
"Indeed," Yajima agreed. "There are none better suited to this task. The rest of our contestants will have to get creative to conquer this challenge."
"Thank you so very much for inviting me to judge this event," came from Radian.
Lucy shivered. She worked very hard to repress her memory of that disastrous mission.
Thus far, only Cheria and Jäger were directly climbing the mountain. The pink haired teen had to focus to use her wind magic to make a bubble around her which no lava penetrated. It enabled her to climb, but she was moving at a very slow pace. Jäger had forgone his plant magic, which was ill-suited for the task, and just climbing, powering through the burns. Commendable fighting spirit, if one judged by the sudden uproar of people chanting Quatro Cerberus' slogan of 'WILD!', but not what Lucy would have done.
She held no illusions that her magic was better suited for climbing an erupting volcano. Perhaps Aquarius could have carved her a path with her water, if the mermaid was in a good mood. Which was never, honestly. She'd probably throw them all off the mountain. Maybe Virgo. The Maiden could have born one whole and popped out at the top in seconds. It wouldn't have even been cheating, Lucy didn't think.
Just not as cool as watching a wizard take on the characteristics of a dragon and climb lava like it wasn't molten rock and some two thousand and something degrees hot.
And just like that, the summit lit up twice in succession, once in blue for Natsu's victory, and a second time for Gajeel, who had stubbornly shadowed the other Dragon Slayer all the way up.
"And there you have it, kabo! Fairy Tail snatches both first and second place."
"I find myself quite impressed with Beth Vanderwood," said Yajima. "She's using her vegetable magic quite strategically, launching them to be stepping stones as she makes her own path."
"What is this?!" Lola shouted, leaning forth over the table as if to get closer to the action. "Is that Ichiya?"
Buoyed by his energy, Lucy jerked her gaze back to the top of the mountain where a monstrously buff form of Ichiya was bounding up. Even Natsu and Gajeel, waiting impatiently for the rest to reach them, were surprised to see that man come in third.
"What just happened?" she asked faintly, not understanding how that pervert was next to reach the top.
"I don't want to know," Gray said swiftly.
So she swung her gaze towards Erza, who knew him best. "Despite appearances, Ichiya is a powerful mage. A well-to-do sort."
And that wasn't the last of the surprises. Beth leapt from one carrot projectile to the next to claim fourth, followed by Jäger who had persevered through sheer tenacity, earning wild howling from his guild. Rufus lackadaisically ascended the ice staircase he summoned, seemingly uncaring for the low score he was about to earn his team, to take sixth.
Kurohebi once more mimicked Max's sand magic to make himself some kind of magic carpet he carried himself up on, leaving last for Cheria, still determinedly climbing upward.
"I don't think anyone quite expected that outcome"
"It was a marvelous performance, thank you so very much!"
The competitors were returned to the arena floor via a transportation circle. Natsu and Gajeel were met with eardrum shattering cheers. Lucy joined in with them of course, but inwardly steeled herself for her performance.
Rarely had it occurred so far that someone participated in both days events. Eve on the first day. Yuka on the second. Orga on the third. Now that she thought about it, there had been one each day so far.
Between her and Erza, she assumed they were leaving Titania for the final day. They could pretend the match-ups were random all they wanted. Lucy knew better. They were carefully selected for maximum entertainment and more than likely rigged to help certain teams, like Sabertooth score higher by pitting them against people they hopelessly outmatched. It sucked and screamed of injustice, but Sabertooth was the home team. It wasn't like the guild didn't have the skills and magical power to win on their own, but clearly the Grand Magic Games orchestrator didn't mind helping them along. Orga was the only one to not outright win his match in less than minutes, but he was also the only one pitted against a decent opponent. It all came down to maximum entertainment value.
For that reason, the blonde believed she was safe from battling a Sabertooth mage when her turn came. While Team B was currently winning over the fanged cats they would want a dramatic show of force when they retook the lead. It likely had something to do with the last event, which would include the whole team. It would just so happen to be cleverly designed to allow Sabertooth to triumph over Fairy Tail despite literal two to one odds.
They also weren't likely to match up the two Fairy Tail teams again. They had done that once already in the most dramatic fashion with Wendy and Laxus. The Games orchestrator had probably expected Fairy Tail to put on an impressive show and drag the fight out to a tie so both teams could put points to their name. Unfortunately for them, that wasn't the Fairy Tail way.
But knocking out two guilds still left five she could be up against, and there were still a few in the running Lucy would admit never wanting to match fists against. Jura for one. Ichiya made her skin crawl. Raven Tail had a personal vendetta against her guild.
Jenny would be nice. She was a poster pin up girl like Mirajane. Her magic was unknown, but Lucy was confident she could handle the other woman.
Mato's face filled every lacrima vision. "It's time for our first fight, kabo. The lovely Mirajane from Fairy Tail's Team B will face Araña of Mermaid Heel."
Lucy exhaled a dismayed sigh. She probably could have taken the spider girl.
The green-haired girl was fast, crossing her arms before her and shooting off threads of sticky webs towards her opponent.
Mira deflected them, transformed using her Satan Soul, and in a streak of purple, black, and white, crossed the distance between them to lodge a curled first into Araña's midsection.
"That's it?" Lucy asked, amazed and disappointed. It was the shortest battle, barely lasting two minutes. Even knowing that Mira could be a demon, she had expected another of the top seven guilds in Fiore to put up more of a fight.
Even Mato seemed stunned by the decisiveness and swiftness of the match. "Right, kabo. The winner of this match is Mira. Fairy Tail B has earned itself another 10 points to hold onto their lead."
Lucy got the feeling that maintaining first place had nothing to do with Mira's quick victory, but couldn't fathom the true reason. The stadium was a mixture of polite, obligatory cheering for her win and like eighty percent hisses and jeers for being denied. Watching what came next, the blonde was glad Mira hadn't dragged her match out.
The second match of the day was Ichiya against Minerva.
Sabertooth's newest addition was unknown. So was the reason for switching her in. Each team was allowed a reserve, and it was fully expected that they might have to step in at some point. The black haired beauty had replaced the only other woman on the team after the second day's event. Lucy couldn't remember her name.
Watching Minerva toy with Ichiya made her skin crawl. Especially whenever the girl magnanimously decided to give him a breather. Her eyes would always flit up in the direction of Fairy Tail's box, and Lucy could only imagine that she wished it was one of them down there.
From the moment Mato shouted for them to begin, Minerva had controlled the battle.
"You are in my Territory, stunted man. Within it, I have complete control."
True to his nature, Ichiya responded. "Yes, I sense you exude a magnificent parfume. But let me show you what mine can do."
Minerva's eyebrow wasn't the only one to twitch. Even though the girl reminded Lucy of Laxus at his worst, during the battle for Fairy Tail, no one deserved an obnoxious pervert like Ichiya sniffing them.
He uncapped a small vial of perfume. Red glittery smoke wafted out. It snaked across the field to surround Minerva.
"This is my Pain Parfume. It goes against my very nature to harm such a wonderful rose like you, but I must not fail here. This parfume will cause you unimaginable pain until you no longer have the will to battle me."
"I had no idea," whispered Lucy.
"He paints himself as quite the fool, I'll be the first to admit. But I wouldn't want to cross swords with that man when he's serious." It hadn't been a question, but Erza offered the Celestial wizard some insight.
Even the judges were caught off guard. "I wouldn't have imagined Ichiya going on the offense," commented Chapati Lola.
The atmosphere was abruptly shattered when Minerva laughed, as in honest-to-Mavis giggles, complete with a white gloved hand coming up to daintily hide her mouth. "You call this pain? It hardly tickles. Let me show you true pain, troll."
A swirling orb of color-blue, purple, and green-appeared behind the orange-haired man. Then it burst.
At first, Lucy thought it was some kind of Wave magic like that Yuka guy from Lamia Scale had. Ichiya, thrown forward from the explosion, picked himself up with a grunt. The back of his shirt had been shredded, and the edges of what remained were singed and smoking.
Another sphere appeared before him. Lucy shouted a warning with the rest of the crowd, despite knowing it would be too late for Ichiya to react.
And yet he did. The short man ducked and weaved, dancing his way through the field of mutlicolored orbs that polluted the air. He twisted and turned, pirouetted and glided like a blocky version of a ballerina.
Eventually, Minerva grew bored of watching him dodge, perhaps realizing that she could not catch him with the same trick twice.
Ichiya didn't hesitate. Uncapping two more vials of perfume, he shoved them up his own nostrils and inhaled. Before Lucy could exclaim at how gross the move was, Ichiya had released a gigantic bolt of lightning from his fingertips.
The speed at which lightning moved was something Fairy Tail was intimately familiar with. So it was to the guild's great astonishment to see Minerva completely unharmed and Ichiya stumbling around like a fawn on newborn legs when the light's radiance cleared.
"Can anyone tell me what just happened? Thank you so very much?"
"Yes, yes," Lola said anxiously, "let's pull up the footage for that and play it in slow-motion."
Everyone's attention, aside from the combatants, turned to the lacrima screens. In a fraction of the speed, they watched Ichiya's lightning attack swallowed up by an orb placed in front of Minerva. Simultaneously, two more spheres came into existence, one above Ichiya and one below him. The lightning exited one orb, entered the other, and recycled or rebounded in succession several times before dissipating, leaving the woman dressed in blue entirely unscathed and Ichiya looking like he had challenged Laxus.
"That is an impressive magic," Yajima observed, fingering his toothbrush mustache. "An ancient one, I believe. I wonder what else this Minerva has in store for us."
"I see," Ichiya slurred, swaying slightly on his feet still. "If I am to have any chance I must give you no time to react."
Determining that his last hope for victory lay in a hand to hand fight, Ichiya boosted himself once more on his Power Parfume and Fleet-Foot Parfume: Zero Distance Inhalation.
In the blink of an eye, he engaged Minerva in a match of fisticuffs which Minerva surprisingly not only kept up with, but actually matched him blow for blow and block for block.
Minerva was athletic and acrobatic, and with her weird magic orbs she could attack, defend, and apparently transport herself or him to maneuver herself into a position to strike.
It became obvious that Minerva had the upper hand, and yet she continued to play with her opponent instead of take him down. Only when Mato cried out the two minute warning did she finally end it in the most brutal manner available.
A dozen of her magic orbs surrounded Ichiya from every angle, then detonated. And detonated and detonated. Each one that exploded was replaced and Minerva showed no sign of letting up. The audience, usually proud and encouraging of Sabertooth's ruthlessness, cried for an end to the brutality.
Mato stepped forward to call an end to the match and promptly wilted under her venomous glare.
At last the fiend was finished. With ten seconds remaining on the clock, she cut off her vicious assault, revealing Ichiya's prone form. He was unconscious and grievously injured. His skin looked as if it had been put through a meat slicer and reattached in uneven layers and then burned.
The fallen wizard was rushed off the field for immediate medical attention. In the silence, the leaderboard updated to give Sabertooth ten points for Minerva's victory. Mato cleared his throat several times before he found his voice, calling down wizards from Lamia Scale and Raven Tail.
Sherry, wearing a half vest and skirt combo that revealed her curvaceous body, made her way down to the arena to loud whistles and catcalls. She nervously eyed her opponent when he appeared.
Raven Tail's chosen fighter was a man named Obra who looked as outlandish and not normal as anyone Lucy had ever seen. To start with his skin was blue. His nose was taller than his head. From her position, she could only see black beady eyes, very like a rodent. His entire body was covered by the cloak he wore.
Thankfully, the third match was more lighthearted. Obra possessed some form of transformation magic, understandable in Lucy's opinion. No doubt he had been mocked growing up for his looks and sought out a magic that would help him fit in. Unfortunately for him, he chose the face of Ren Akatsuki.
Lucy could admit Ren was a handsome guy, just one with an awful personality. Apparently, Sherry was engaged to the man and took extreme personal offense at Obra's attempt to use his face to dissuade her from attacking.
Sherry turned her puppeteering magic on him, and while Lucy was intimately aware of how terrifying the lack of control over your own body was, it was admittedly amusing to watch someone else beat themselves up.
"The flames of Sherry's love has won her ten points, kabo!" Mato cheerfully announced.
"Did you see that, my love?" Sherry shouted to her fiancé.
"You're such a clingy woman. I have no choice but to resign myself to your advances."
For her part, Sherry was ecstatic with the response, as if Ren had gifted her with a declaration of love written in the sky. What did Lucy know? Maybe for that tsundere, it was.
"And it looks like our final match will be between 'Lucky' Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail's A team. And her opponent is the ferocious Warcry of Quatro Cerberus!"
Lucy eyed her opponent with visible dismay. Fights against the guild known for its wildness had been hit or miss. They were either super strong or super weird.
Lucy had been called many things, but clueless had never been one of them. She knew exactly what kind of luck she possessed and she was going to have to get creative in her fight with this weirdo. Summoning Scorpio would probably end the fight quickly. With all the dirt in the arena he would whip up a sandstorm of epic proportions.
Plan of attack in mind, the Celestial wizard's hand drifted to the ring of kings on her hip, waiting for her cue to let loose.
"Begin, kabo!"
Lucy bent one knee, extending the other leg out to the side, and pressed Scorpio's key to the ground. "Open: Gate of the Scorpion-"
The blonde faltered as her opponent burst into tears. She hadn't even summoned a spirit yet and she had made him cry.
Warcry's crying shifted into loud wailing, and a literal ocean of tears poured from his eyes. Lucy froze, perplexed, as he somehow manipulated the salty liquid to bear down on her.
Lucy took a half second to regret her life, and swapped out Scorpio's key for one more suited. When the wave of water reached its zenith, Lucy swung her arm up at full extension. The key met the water, golden light shining and ripples spreading from the point of contact.
"Open: Gate of the Water Bearer-Aquarius!"
The blue mermaid appeared in a tsunami. "I was getting ready to go on a date with my boyfriend," she berated, putting extra emphasis on the word boyfriend.
Lucy flailed. "Would you quit mocking my lack of a relationship and take that guy out already?"
"I'll send you both packing!" the spirit roared.
Aquarius swung her jug in an arc, releasing a torrential amount of water that swept up both competitors and spun them round like a whirlpool.
"Tch. What a waste of my time." With that, the spirit closed her own gate, vanishing in a shower of golden sparkles.
Used to and anticipating the enraged response, Lucy was back on her feet and ready to summon another spirit when the water disappeared along with its summoner. It turned out to be unnecessary. Warcry was flat on his back, head lolling from side to side. Lucy could just picture the cartoon stars above his head to show how dizzy and disoriented he was.
"What a magnificent show of power!" exclaimed Lola. "A pity we didn't get to see more of her spirits."
"What fun, kabo," Mato was quick to reclaim attention. "We have two more days left, totalling three events. Not to spoil the ending, but this is still anyone's game, kabo. I know it doesn't look like it, since everyone is in the same position, but the point margins have narrowed. And now, the standings after today's events, kabo!"
Every lacrima screen lit up with a display of the leaderboard.
Fairy Tail B: 64 pts
Sabertooth: 54 pts
Fairy Tail A: 52 pts
Lamia Scale: 39 pts
Raven Tail: 29 pts
Mermaid Heel: 24 pts
Quatro Cerberus: 19 pts
Blue Pegasus: 15 pts
Lucy exhaled a sigh of relief, leaving Warcry to be collected by his teammates with a friendly wave and apology for her most temperamental spirit. Her own team was effusive in their congratulation
She knew winning the Games wasn't their actual purpose, but the blonde was damned proud of herself for securing those ten points. Now she only had one more event to worry about, and as long as she didn't come in last, her performance wouldn't matter.
The guild, in high spirits, set out for the inn and yet another night of loud partying. Lucy was certain that, if not for the prestige the guild was bringing in, the owner would not volunteer to host them a second year. Fairy Tail was rowdy on a regular day. Throw in the ultimate competition in which they were winning?
It was a good thing they were the only guests staying there.
As it was, the city guard had gotten on to them about noise complaints later that night. Their celebration had gotten a little rambunctious, and a drunken Cana had decided barrel surfing on the five barrels she had emptied was a brilliant idea.
Lucy took the opportunity to duck outside to the much quieter street as Vejeeter crowed they should be ready to crown him as king. She loved her guild with all her heart, but sometimes a girl just needed a moment of peace.
Several long minutes were enough to rejuvenate her. A flash of blue in the corner of her eye had Lucy twisting her neck. Seeing nothing, she shrugged it off, turning to go back inside.
"I'm very sorry for this, Lucy."
She whirled, hand shooting for her keys. Fingertips grazed metal only to feel what felt like the weight of a mountain crashed into her, driving her to the ground.
Lucy couldn't even struggle as she was hefted over her kidnapper's shoulder.