A/N: Episodes 155 + 156.

Enjoy!

edited on april 26th, 2024 @ 6:58pm

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴,
𝓢𝙺𝚈 𝙻𝙰𝙱𝚈𝚁𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙷.

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Nighttime, Crocus . . .

"𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬'𝗩𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗡." Lucy commented.

"No wonder it's called the 'blooming capital'." Happy said.

"A fight!"

"You can't have a festival without a fight! Where is it?!" Natsu asked as he took off.

"This is what I'd expect with all the guilds of Fiore gathering here." Happy added.

"Natsu, wait!" Lucy called out.

"This smell..." Natsu muttered.

"What's wrong?" Happy questioned.

"It smells similar to a dragon..." Natsu responded. "Don't tell me..."

Sting stomps on a man's head. "Anybody else?" He challenged.

"These guys are beneath us, literally, oh yeah!" Lector said.

"Fro thinks so, too." Frosch was poking at a knocked out man with a stick.

"What the...?!" Natsu easily moves through the crowd, making Sting and Rogue turn.

"You!" Sting exclaimed.

"Natsu Dragneel!" Rogue said.

"Cats?!" Happy look at Lector and Frosch.

"What's up with this stupid-looking cat?" Lector insulted.

"Stupid!" Frosch agreed.

"They talk!" Happy shouted.

"Do I have to say something here...?" Lucy sweat dropped.

"Who the hell are you guys?" Natsu asked, getting the onlookers attention.

"Hey, haven't you heard of Sabertooth's Twin Dragons, Sting and Rogue?!"

"They're the cornerstone of Fiore's strongest guild!"

"Then these two are..." Lucy started to say.

"... Sabertooth, huh?" Natsu finished.

Sting laughed and walked up to Natsu. "Rumor has it you're gonna be in the Grand Magic Games. Is that true?" He questioned.

"You know about me?" Natsu questioned.

"Acnologia..." Sting leaned closer to Natsu's face. "You're the Dragon Slayer who couldn't slay a dragon, right? Are you sure you should keep calling yourself a Dragon Slayer?"

"Huh?"

"You know, I used to look up to you. Incidentally, this guy was into Gajeel-san." Sting continued.

"I was just interested as a fellow Dragon Slayer." Rogue stated.

"Dragon Slayer?! Both of you?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Maybe you oughta call us true Dragon Slayers... We would've beaten Acnologia." Sting claimed.

"That's easy for you two to say when you've never even laid eyes on Acnologia!" Lucy said.

"That's right!" Happy agreed.

"You don't seem too bright, cat." Lector insulted.

"Lector is smart, right?" Frosch asked.

"It doesn't matter if we've seen it or not." Rogue said.

"The point here is the difference in our aptitude as Dragon Slayers." Sting stated.

"I'll explain. Natsu-kun and the rest learned Dragon Slaying Magic from dragons. They're the so-called First Generation. Your Laxus-kun and Oracion Seis's Cobra-kun are known as the Second Generation. They can use Dragon Slaying Magic through a Dragon Lacrima embedded in their body. As for Sting-kun and Rogue-kun, like you, they were raised by Dragons, but they also have a Dragon Lacrima implanted in their body... the hybrid Third Generation!" Lector explained.

"Third Generation?!" Natsu repeated.

"In other words, they're the strongest Dragon Slayers!" Lector boasted.

"Strongest Dragon Slayers, you say?" Natsu quoted.

"There's a world of difference in ability between the First Generation and Third Generation. It's not even worth talking about." Lector said.

"Did your dragons disappear in the year 777, too?!" Natsu questioned.

"Well, in a manner of speaking..." Sting started to say.

"I'll give it to you straight." Rogue finished as both him and Sting had dark looks.

"The dragons who taught us Dragon Slayer Magic were slain by our own hand, so we could become true Dragon Slayers..."

"You killed dragons?!" Lucy asked in complete shock.

"Humans killed dragons...?" Happy questioned.

"You murdered your own parents?!" Natsu said, enraged at the very idea.

"I knew my asshole radar was going off."

A new voice spoke up as Sting, Rogue, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy turned.

"Samuel!" Lucy shouted.

"What are you doing here?" Natsu asked.

"Huh? I came to cheer you on, of course." Samuel replied before looking at Sting. "Eucliffe."

"Fullbuster. Pleased to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same."

"This whole 'I don't know him' act is going to be tough. But we gotta keep our relationship a secret." Samuel thought.

"You know him, Samuel?" Natsu questioned.

"Tch! Unfortunately." Samuel responded.

Sting smirked. "Don't be like that, Fullbuster. I know you want me." He claimed, leaning closer towards him.

Samuel swiftly sent his knee to Sting's stomach, causing him to stumble back. "My apologises, Eucliffe. I couldn't breathe with your overgrown ego." He said.

He then turned to Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. "Shouldn't you guys be heading back to your inn? Erza-san will get mad." Samuel told them.

"Crap! You're right!" Natsu exclaimed as him, Lucy, and Happy took off towards the direction of Honey Bone.

Samuel gave one last look at Sting before taking his leave.

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Samuel sprinted towards Fairy Tail B's inn, finally bursting through the door.

"Sorry, I lost track of time!" Samuel apologized, making up a lie on the spot.

"It's fine." Gajeel reassured. "Though, lightning rod here was about to search for you."

"Didn't know you cared so much, Laxus-san." Samuel teased.

"Shut up. Gray would have my head if something happened to you." Laxus defended.

Soon the clock struck twelve.

"Everyone in the guilds who have gathered for the Grand Magic Games... Good morning!" Someone began speaking.

Everyone looked at the balcony. "Outside?!" Laxus questioned as everyone rushed over to the balcony. Juvia pointed to the hologram of Mato.

"Look!" She informed.

"Beginning now, we're going to take the 113 participating teams and have an elimination round to pare them down to eight!" Mato announced.

"Really? This is the first I've heard of this." Samuel commented.

"What do you mean?" Gajeel questioned.

"They didn't have an elimination round in the previous years." Samuel explained.

"Juvia didn't know there were that many guilds in Fiore." Juvia admitted.

"There's not, Juvia-nee. My guess is that one guild submitted two teams." Samuel replied.

"Every year, the number of participating guilds increases and it was pointed out that the events were getting stale. This year, there will be only eight teams competing in the official games. The elimination rules are simple!" Mato continued on with his index finger pointing upwards.

Their inn soon started to shake. A path made of stone soon appeared in front of their balcony.

Mato turned around with his index finger still up in the air. "All of you are going to race each other. The goal is the games area, Domus Flau. The first eight teams to arrive there will go on." He said. "You're free to use your magic. There are no restrictions. But remember, only the first eight teams to get to the goal will survive this round. However, all five members must arrive together or it doesn't count!"

"And one more thing! We take no responsibility for any lives lost in the labyrinth."

"How wonderful." Samuel spat out sarcastically.

"The Grand Magic Games elimination round! Sky Labyrinth... begin!" Mato shouted.

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"I suppose we should head forward." Samuel informed.

Team Fairy Tail B soon rushed up the steps, entering the labyrinth.

"Sheesh, this is making my head spin." Laxus commented.

"If memory serves me right, the stadium was to the East." Samuel stated.

"Which way is East, exactly?" Gajeel asked.

Samuel takes out a compass. "Do you just hold a compass with you?" Laxus questioned.

"I had a feeling we'd need it." Samuel answered, looking down before pointing in a direction. "This way."

The others follow Samuel until they heard some shouts in the distance. Samuel narrowed his eyes upon seeing a familiar guild mark.

Twilight Ogre.

"Hey, it's those Fairy dweebs!"

Samuel takes notice of the paper one of the members have in their hands. "A map, eh?" He thinks to himself.

"Get them!"

Gajeel was quick to react as he used his Iron Dragon's Club to knock the Twilight Ogre members down. "You're in our way, punks!" He exclaimed, knocking them down towards Crocus.

Samuel catches the piece of paper that the Twilight Ogre member dropped. "What do you have there, Samuel?" Gajeel asked.

"A map." Samuel responded before smirking. "I think I have an idea of how this elimination round works."

Gajeel, Laxus, and Juvia nod and grin with lightning surrounding Laxus. "You people are scary!" Jellal exclaimed, stepping back a bit.

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Some time later, Fairy Tail Team B has gathered some more maps from different teams.

"Hmm..." Samuel had his thinking face on. "This looks like it's more up Lucy-san and Levy-san's alley."

A rumble was soon heard and without warning, the maze starts to turn upside down. Samuel quickly uses his reflexes and grabs the maps, holding them against his chest. Gajeel uses his iron sword to keep himself from falling while Jellal hops around until he gets somewhere safe. Juvia uses her Water Lock on herself and Samuel while Laxus gets a good grip on the ledge.

Around them, people were falling from down to the city below — being eliminated.

Finally, the labyrinth stops shaking as the group comes together. "We need to be more careful." Laxus informed.

"Right. We can't afford to lose anyone." Samuel takes out his compass, sighing when the compass only spins in circles. "Looks like we need a new strategy. Let's see if we can figure out something using these maps."

Following the maps, they finally made it to a serene looking area. It was calm and peaceful. There was also no one around.

"Something's off about this..." Samuel muttered as Juvia agreed with him.

"We're... upside down?" Gajeel questioned.

The labyrinth soon begins to shake, rotating once again. Once it stops, Samuel looks at the maps once more. "This way! It should lead towards the exit!" Samuel informed.

They finally reached a door with the word 'Congratulations' over it. Mato stood in the front.

"Laxus Dreyar!"

"Gajeel Redfox!"

"Samuel Fullbuster!"

"Juvia Lockser!"

"Mystogan!"

"Congratulations! Fairy Tail Team B is safe!" Mato announced, making them high five each other.

"So? What place did we get?" Samuel asked.

"I bet we got first." Gajeel grinned.

"Close! You're in second place!" Mato replied.

"Who got first?" Laxus questioned.

"Laxus-san, I'll take a guess." Samuel hummed. "Sabertooth, right?"

Mato's silence was all that Fairy Tail Team B needed.

"Anyways, it doesn't matter if we got second. We got in, that's what matters. Let's hope Team A has the same luck." Samuel said as the others agreed with him.

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A/N: Another chapter is completed! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 1704 words.