Chapter 11: The Teams

A/N: If you haven't seen, first chapter of my Seven Years rewrite is up! It's titled Whatever it Takes. I've had no sleep and college is shitty but I have my cat so here we GO!

The next day, they decide to head straight for Crocus. Lucy has both Leo and Virgo out during the train ride and although everyone tells her to conserve her energy, she listens to no one. As usual, she's being too stubborn for her own good.

"Princess, you are getting tired."

"Thank you, Virgo, but I'm alright." Lucy says with a tired smile, and they can all see just how much she's sweating.

"Luce, she's right."

"Yeah, Lucy. Be careful, okay?" Gray says and they are all staring at the blond, worry clear in their eyes.

"I know what I'm doing. Calm down." Lucy rolls her eyes, fully aware of her magic levels and how long she can go one with her spirits. She steadfastly ignores any looks they send her way and instead closes her eyes, feeling out her magic stores. For having an added container, she almost feels like her magic is now draining faster. I'm relying too much on the boost. She tenses up her face in concentration, beads of sweat appearing because of her concentration rather than magic loss. She works on filtering the magic as if she didn't have a deeper well to draw from, and finds that she can breathe much easier. With a sigh of relief she opens an eye to find everyone openly staring at her in half awe.

"What did you do?" Erza asks and Lucy opens both eyes wide in surprise.

"Nothing really."

"You just cut your magic consumption in half. We felt it, we saw it." Ultear then adds, and Lucy looks across her friends. There are more present then she had expected, she had accidentally summoned Plue without drawing her key.

"What happened?"

"Well, there was a visible golden pulse of magic. Then Plue came out of nowhere, and here we are."

"That's… odd." She hadn't felt any of that, but she had probably just been concentrating that hard.

"I didn't know you had such control over your magic." Ultear says and flicks her eyes to Natsu before turning to Lucy. "You hardly needed the second container with that control. With some training, you could make one container act like two."

"Really?" Lucy then looks to her spirits before looking down at her hands. She then clenches her fists and look up to Natsu, determination lit anew within her. He immediately knows where her thoughts took her and he bites back a sigh at her stubbornness. Apparently, her clarity had only strengthened her odd resolve. "How much training?"

"That depends on you." Erza says from experience. "I can train you. There's a reason I didn't unlock my second container, because I can filter my magic like how you are learning to." The blond then smiles at the redhead and nods.

"Please train me."

"Then we begin immediately." Erza suddenly stands and grabs Lucy by the upper arm, dragging her from the room as Lucy tries and fails to voice her protests. All of Lucy's spirits watch her leave, unsure of what to do as they look at the other mages in the room.

"I guess I'll go back for now." Loke says before saluting a farewell and disappearing in golden dust, his companions following right after. Everyone stays silent for a moment, keeping an ear out for either Erza's strict orders or Lucy's plea for help. They hear neither and Natsu cracks a smile.

"I think Luce is a great student for Erza." The pinkette says and crosses his arms.

"Are there any good students for her? She's a beast." Gray says through a chuckle, recalling the fear they had for the mage when they were rivals.

"Well, Luce is scared of her. But she's also smart. So she'll learn fast enough so Erza won't get irritated."

"That really would work." Ultear says with a nod of her head. "Then you would've been the worst student for her."

"I was." Natsu admits, remembering when Erza got so impatient she locked him in a closet until he learned to read. "It was awful." He admits with a chuckle and they laugh at his childhood misery.

When they hear the call for Crocus, the group is glad to be done with the long train ride. They get off and stand in the train station, witnessing the intense nature of the capital city. Vendors line the streets, the calls of fruit on sale clashing with the scarf vendor and topped overall by the resident newsie weaving through the crowd, papers in hand. Wendy finds herself wincing at the loud noises of the street and Natsu begins corralling everyone off to the side, away from everything, gently nudging Wendy when she loses her focus. He'd be right there with her, lost to his draconic senses. In fact, a few short years ago, he had been the same until Ultear had nudged him to safety.

"Is it always this busy?" Lucy says as she tries to speak loud enough to be heard.

"No." Ultear responds as they finally find themselves away from the bustle of the city life. "It's the Festival. It brings a lot of people and good business."

"It's overwhelming." Wendy admits and Carla crosses her arms.

"You are a participant, have more faith in yourself." The exceed says sternly and Wendy nods, more for herself than the exceed.

"It's pretty when there aren't so many people." Natsu admits as he scans the crowd. "Come on, Fairy Tail typically has the same place." he then spots what he wanted and smiles. "I'm going out. Ultear, could you-?"

"Yeah, right this way guys." She says, a harder edge to her tone than they expect. Natsu turns around to leave, heading towards where he apparently needed to go. "Natsu," the pinkette turns his head, his face missing it's usual smile. "Don't do anything stupid." He then sends a half smile and waves a hand as he walks away as if that response is enough.

"He's gonna do something stupid." Gray says as he crosses his arms and Ultear snorts a laugh.

"Probably." She sighs and begins walking. "But he won't do anything too stupid. Come on, time to finally settle down." She heads heads down the street, the opposite direction of Natsu. Lucy doesn't move for a moment and watches a head of pink hair in a sea of people.

"Follow him." Erza says before turning to follow Ultear. Lucy hardly hesitates then and heads into the crowd, able to weave through it easily and tail Natsu. She tries to sneak at first, head low but eyes always on him, each turn he makes she does some time after until they're on another large street with a large fountain and a growing crowd.

"We will win this year. Place all your bets on us!" A strong voice of a young male carries over everyone and the crowd is cheering more in the excitement of the games rather than in what exactly is being said. "Sabertooth will win!" Lucy then notices that Natsu has stopped at the edge of the crowd and Lucy freezes, unsure of what to do exactly. She can't really go right behind him, he'd notice her in an instant.

"Come on. It's an odd thing to watch." Natsu says, his voice an even volume but Lucy is able to hear it all the same. He turns his head slightly, and although she can't see his face she knows he's talking to her. Of course he caught her. She couldn't get past his senses before, logically it would be even harder now. She walks up beside him but he doesn't take his eyes off of whoever the crowd is looking at.

"Fairy Tail will use their dragon slayers, but their Slayers are weak." Lucy clenches her fist, feeling anger at this invisible threat but Natsu just silently laughs. "You know we're strong, we're stronger. We killed our dragons! They haven't killed any dragons."

"What." Lucy breaths an exhale of shock and flicks her eyes to Natsu to see his neutral face. But she can see the fire and excitement in his eyes rather than the rage she expects.

"Sabertooth has two Dragon Slayers, the 'Twin Dragons'." The pinkette mocks with a halfhearted motion to the crowd. "They do this spiel every year. Try to draw me out. It never worked." He then smirks and takes a step forward, and the sharp crack of his knuckles cause the few people around them to jump in shock and slight few. His expression doesn't help ease their anxiety. "They probably don't know I'm in the games, so this'll be fun." He walks into the circle and after a moment Lucy is quick to follow after, worried about what her friend may do. The crowd doesn't part for him like it does back in the guild. Even though they are in a city of strangers, it still shocks her.

As Lucy goes through the crowd by following Natsu, she slowly is able to see the Twin Dragons Natsu had mentioned. One is in the back, his dark hair half covering his face in an odd brooding style, two exceeds by his side. Both seem energetic, but while one is contentedly sitting there, looking at the brooding man, the other is cheering the blond dragon slayer on.

"Give to to 'em, Sting!" The red exceed cheers and Lucy crosses her arms.

"Are we gonna do anything about them?" Lucy then smiles. "I'm stronger, I could-"

"You don't need to prove yourself to me, Luce." She thinks for a moment before deciding that this isn't the time, the games haven't even started and she'd be surprised if fighting were allowed in the streets without consequences. Lucy notices the exact moment the slayer sees Natsu as the blonds eyes narrow.

"Ah, Natsu Dragneel, a weak, First Generation Dragon Slayer." The closer he gets to Natsu, the farther the crowd seems to back away from him. Lucy stays right by the pinkette's side and tries to force her worry to stay in her stomach and not show on her face. "Too scared to participate in the games?" Lucy purses her lips and looks to the pinkette.

"Frozen in fear." Natsu says blandly and Lucy snorts a laugh, her amusement followed shortly after by the crowd, their excitement growing at the interaction. She can hear their words and pride swells in her at the fact that Natsu is still quite well-known. Sting flicks his eyes to her, a competitive and angry fire burning within them.

"You're a coward, I can't believe I used to look up to you."

"You say that every year, Sting. I can't wait for the time when you mean it." The air goes still for a moment and Natsu turns around with a hidden wink towards his companion. "See you in the arena." And with that Natsu makes his leaves, keeping half an ear on the conversation that erupts between Sting and his exceed as they decipher his words. This time, the crowd parts, and as they pass the people erupt in hush conversations that seem to overtake the street.

"Did they really kill their dragons?" Lucy asks after they're a fair distance away. The pinkette stays silent for a moment and scratches the back of his head.

"I think they did." He admits and his face screws up in thought. "But there's more to it than that." Lucy has known Natsu long enough, and even though he has grown she recognizes a familiar glint in his eye. She feels the same as he does, after all, there better be more to the twin dragons story.

"But still, the dragons were their parents, right?"

"Yeah." Natsu says solemnly and Lucy takes it as her cue to stop talking. For all the questions bubbling up in her head, he must have also had the same one's. She's mildly curious about how he responded the first time he encountered the dragon slayers but keeps her curiosities to herself. They stop outside the Honey Bone Lodge and Lucy can hear the havoc they're wrecking inside. "I'm gonna head back out." Natsu says as Lucy takes a step towards the doors.

"Then why-"

"You think I would have left you wandering around blindly? This is a big unfamiliar city." She laughs in response before pausing as she notices Natsu not quite ready to leave just yet. "Luce-"

"I meant what I said." He just looks at her unwavering gaze, his sentence lost to both of them. "Every word, I meant it."

"I know." he cuts a sigh off and goes for a halfhearted smirk. "A Celestial Mage takes their promises seriously."

"I'll become stronger. Strong enough."

"You will become one of the strongest mages on this continent if you put your mind to it." He's careful about his wording, they both notice how he avoids the enough Lucy had put in as a trap. Because they both know for how stubborn Lucy is about keeping to her word, Natsu can be just as stubborn. "See you later." The pinkette then turns around.

"What do I tell Ultear?"

"The truth." He admits without turning around and heads down the street with his head held high. She stays outside for a moment and waits until he turns the corner before heading inside. Natsu follows his nose to find the appropriate bar, and once he finds it the head of blond hair is unmistakable. The other male notices his presence immediately and orders another round of drinks.

"Natsu." The blond nods his head in recognition and the pinkette takes the alcoholic beverage.

"Laxus." Natsu says more cheerfully than the other had before downing the drink in one go. "Sometimes I wish I could get drunk."

"It can be useful." Laxus admits as he downs his own beverage. "How were the past three months? They train a lot?"

"Hardly. Got sucked in the Spirit World and jumped time."

"Holy shit, will they be ready?" Natsu looks at the other dragon slayer and smirks.

"Like you're actually worried, what are you called, Fairy Tail B? I feel like Gramps would be that clever." They both laugh and Natsu orders himself a beverage, one that's hotter than Laxus' cool one.

"You know him as well as I do, he only cares about the money."

"And the reputation."

"Of course. But really, the money." They share a laugh, quite aware of the old masters pupils being far closer to the sign for currency rather than circles.

"Seven years ago, that would make more sense for Fairy Tail." Natsu sips on his new drink, savoring the flavor more than the burn.

"Does Fairy Tail really have that much money now?" Laxus questions and Natsu drinks some more.

"Let's just say, we could destroy an entire city and pay them back in full."

"With the Tenrou Group back, that might be a possibility, you know." Natsu then bangs his head on the counter, a heavy air of depression enveloping his figure.

"Now I really wish I could get drunk." Laxus just laughs at him, a deep, throaty laugh as he pats the pinkette on the back.

"Cheer up, man."

"All my hard work from the past six years, wasted in a matter of months!" Natsu then places his chin on the counter and looks at his perspiring drink. "And I won't be here to fix it." Laxus takes his hand off of Natsu's back and rests it on the counter, both hands now holding his beverage. He looks to the pinkette for a moment before downing the rest of his own beverage.

"So have you made your decision?" Natsu sits up slowly and grabs his drink, swishing it around before finishing it.

"I've decided what will decide it." He admits and looks into the near empty glass.

"You know the logistics of it, but your heart's already decided." Laxus states with a brow raised at the pinkette. "You're too emotionally driven for that to not be the case." Natsu then sighs and sets the glass down.

"Yeah. I'll leave if I have to. That's all there is to it." Laxus once again places a hand around the pinkettes shoulder, a slight buzz clouding his senses.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, huh? But for now, let's pretend it will and spend this week the best way we can." Natsu then picks up his forgotten glass and they clink the cups against each other's, smiles clear on their faces.

Heading back to the Honey Bone Lodge with a drunken man of his own size on one shoulder, is not how Natsu expected to come back to Ultear. But by the end of the night, Laxus was drunk enough to think he could out drink a man who couldn't get drunk. Was determined to find Natsu's unforeseen limit, saying the pinkette must get drunk at some point. Needless to say, they never reached that point. Natsu could have let the man win and lower his own body temperature, but where would the fun have been in that? Laxus' defeated face ended up being worth it. With a hand and a foot, Natsu manages to open the front door and sees all manner of mages lying about, some in more compromising positions than others. He doesn't spot his team or his wife and daughter and just sighs in relief.

"Natsu, thank Mavis." The barkeeper then cries and Natsu looks over to the old man obviously overwhelmed. "I can't control them like you can."

"Sorry, Fred." The pinkette says sheepishly as he finds Laxus a chair to lay on. He rests Laxus's head on the table in the most comfortable position he can manage before turning back to Fred. "It won't get out of hand again." The older gentleman looks around for a moment and sees the drunkenly happy faces before sighing and shaking his head.

"No, it's quite alright. So long as it doesn't get too out of hand. The Tenrou Group sure knows how to make this guild livelier." Natsu then nods with a smile.

"You have no idea."

"I think I have pretty good idea." The man says with a motion to his wrecked bar. "I heard the Tenrou group was back, but to see it with my own two eyes is different." The old man admits as he skillfully goes between the different mages and gathers his unbroken glasses. Natsu takes care in helping the man while also finding the few broken glasses still rocking on the floor. "They're as energetic as the rest of them."

"More like they raised the energy level altogether." The old man then laughs, unable to argue with Natsu. "I hope not by too much."

"Oh, no, it's nice and lively. And everyone seems much happier." Natsu looks to his family with a fond smile subconsciously spreading across his face.

"Yeah, they do." Fred looks to the pinkette for a moment before taking the glasses from him.

"I got these. You head on to bed. You've got your usual room." He says with a wink and Natsu pauses for a moment, wanting to argue but the man sends him a stern look. "You're participating in the games this year, that means you need to rest. I can manage down here myself, I'm used to it now." He admits with a wink before shooing Natsu up the stairs.

"Thanks, Fred."

"Of course, of course." The old man says and the pinkette leaves, heading towards the room he knows his family resides in. When he steps in the dark room, Sonya is already asleep in one bed, and the other holds the resting form of Ultear, her face illuminated by the glowing moon. She seems peaceful and angelic, and Natsu stares at her for a moment before placing a kiss on her forehead. When he leans back, her eyes are open and she's staring at him, sleep still slightly clouding her eyes.

"Go out drinking?"

"More to socialize." He admits, knowing she'll understand what he means. She doesn't like him getting drunk without her there to keep an eye on him, as she says, so he doesn't. He knows it's because people always hit on him and a drunk him gets too polite to just shoo them away as harshly as he should. She looks at him for a moment, aware that he wouldn't lie to her but just wanting to make sure, before rolling so she's facing the inside of the bed.

"Come on." She moans sleepily and lazily pats his pillow. He laughs at her as he takes off his shirt and changes into his sleep shorts before getting under the covers. She wraps bother her legs around one of his and nuzzles into his chest, her heater, as she will sometimes affectionately call him. He plays with a few stray strands of her hair that chose to stay right on her face, then tucks them behind her ear and plants another kiss on her forehead. She groans at the movement and shifts slightly before once again getting comfortable. "Go t'sleep." She lazily orders and he softly laughs.

"G'night to you too." She just grumbles into his chest and he laughs again before shutting his eyes.

Sitting comfortably on his throne, the king looks at the list of the teams and the people hoping to compete in the games. With a smile he calls in Arcadios, a few changes coming to mind. After all, he is the king, and for what seems to be a great opportunity for him, he wants something better that will truly be entertaining.

At the crack of dawn the mages are preparing to enter the arena, and the gateways to the arena are crowded by teams. Each team has their own outfit, and Fairy Tail went for a purple scheme as they couldn't really decide upon another color. They're too biased and outspoken for their own good. Every other team keeps sending them challenging looks to cover up their fear, but immediately they notice the hostile atmosphere.

"Why is everyone looking at us?" Wendy finally and fearfully asks.

"We're the reigning champions." Ultear explains and someone scowls at them. Natsu then sends them a glare right back as if daring the person to say anything. In response, the mage backs away to their group. "Everyone wants to beat us." A trumpet then sounds from the arena and all the groups stand attentive. Lucy looks around, noticing around fifteen teams in their hall alone, and figures there must be more teams than guilds exist, there's no way that isn't the case. They look out, but the difference between the dark hall to the bright outside makes the arena seem like pure white to them, so they have no idea what they're headed in to.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Grand Magic Games!" The speaker announces and the entire stadium cheers in excitement, the thrumming of feet causing the roof above the contestants to shake. For some contestants, the crowd makes their adrenaline spike and smiles of excitement spread across everyone's faces. "To pass the Preliminary Round, there are a few simple rules. Each team must send out one person to fight for them. They will fight until only eight people are left standing. Their teams will be the ones participating in the Games. Choose your person wisely!"

"Do they do this every year?" Gray asks and Ultear shrugs.

"They change it up." She admits and Gray just nods. "I vote Natsu."

"That's probably unanimous." Lucy adds and the pinkette just sighs.

"The crowd's aboutta lose it, aren't they." Gray asks and Natsu solemnly nods his head.

"They've been trying to get me to compete for years. Especially with Sting's hype." Natsu admits before looking up and taking in a deep breath. "Let's do this." He then hits his fists together, a spark flashing before it disappears and he cracks a toothy smile.

"Keep us in the Games, would you?" Gray says, knowing full well the man is not going to lose.

"Good luck!" Wendy cheers the pinkette on and he sends her a thumbs up.

"Thanks Wen!" He then lines up with the other fourteen competitors of the guilds in their entrance way. They wait as the murmuring of the crowd dies down until near silence envelopes the entire arena. After another moment, the crackle of a microphone hits their ears.

"The competitors are chosen! On your mark, get set… Go!" And they race out. Natsu holds back for a moment and allows everyone to go out ahead of him. He looks back to Fairy Tail, cracks a toothy grin, then leisurely walks into the arena. He stands close to the exit, hands on his hips as he scans the battling mages. The ground is flat which doesn't help or hurt any competitor. Natsu easily spots the guild's that will be competing. Sting is mercilessly defeating everyone around him, and Natsu knows Sabertooth was going to compete regardless. Laxus is blowing through anyone near him but staying still rather than seeking anyone out. He notices a sword woman also tearing people down and smirks at her strength. She guarantees her guild a spot as well. Then Bacchus is also present, stumbling along and defeating anyone who underestimates him. From the 90 that began, a measly 40 are still standing by the time Natsu is done scanning the crowd.

A person then comes for him, apparently deciding that since he was standing still he must be an easy target. In one fluid movement Natsu uses the guys momentum and slams his head into the wall. The wall cracks and Natsu winces as he had already damaged the arena. He looks around for a moment and is glad he hadn't drawn too much attention. He is too aware of his odd popularity as a semi-solo mage. The pinkette looks around again and only 20 guilds still have people standing. The pinkette then looks up to see a board showing the remaining guilds in what he can only assume to be the starting order, with Fairy Tail A at the bottom.

With a smirk, Natsu proceeds into the mess of the battle and in another fluid movement takes down six mages before coming face to face with Bacchus. Natsu can immediately smell that the man hadn't a single drop of alcohol.

"Natsu?" The guy draws as he gets in a battle stance, eyes showing his excitement at seeing the pinkette.

"Still playing drunk, I see." Natsu says with a smirk, eyes flicking around the arena every now and then. He really doesn't want to fight the man. Not out of fear of losing, but rather out of fear of possibly facing a weaker guild in the games. Or, perhaps that isn't right. Quatro Cerberus isn't the strongest, but they have some strong players.

"We're avoiding the other strong players." Bacchus admits as he let's down his guard. "Wanna win fair and square against the best there is." he says with a smirk and lightly punches Natsu's shoulder. "I hope to face you this week." Natsu raises a brow but smirks at the man.

"Me too." A bell then rings and they all look around to see the final eight standing, the other 82 being carried off by the medics or their teams. Natsu and Bacchus are already in the middle and the other six come to join them. Sting immediately marches up to the pinkette and would have seemed more intimidating if he weren't smaller in stature.

"Finally decided to come, huh? Well this year, we're winning."

"Well I'm not planning on losing." Natsu states and crosses his arms defiantly. "So good luck with that."

"And here we have Sting Eucliffe taking a spot for Sabertooth!" The crowd cheers and a strange, short pumpkin man comes out to the center to greet the eight winners. Natsu steps back from Sting and the man continues on. "Kagura Mikazuchi saving a spot for the all-female guild Mermaid Heel!" Again, the crowd cheers with a few cat whistles thrown in. "Bacchus Groh keeping Quatro Cerberus in the games." More cheering and this time some people are howling and barking like dogs, whether in celebration or to mock the guild Natsu isn't sure. "Up next, Laxus Dreyar, oh, from the lost Tenrou Group, keeping a spot for Fairy Tail team B?" The pumpkin man then looks back down to his paper before affirming. "Yes. Fairy Tail Team B. And what's this? For the first time in the Game history, both teams of a guild have made it through the Preliminaries!" He then pauses and Natsu heaves a light sigh as the pumpkin immediately swivels to look at him. "A-and here's Natsu Dragneel standing in for Fairy Tail Team A!" The crowd then cheers loudly for both Fairy Tail teams and Natsu smiles. Although he isn't the happiest about the odd individual announcement, the man hadn't been meaning to go out of order Natsu is sure, he's happy for his guild. "Next up, Lyon Vastia securing a spot for Lamia Scale!" Natsu looks to the white haired mage immediately. He had been trying to place where he know the man from, and finally it clicked. He hadn't communicated with him, not since the Tenrou Group disappeared. He had no reason to contact Lyon, and Lyon no reason to contact the pinkette. Once, Natsu had thought of seeing Lyon and if the mage was coping, because they both thought of Gray as a brother, but he never had followed through. Lyon then looks to the pinkette and they make eye contact for a moment before looking away and Natsu doesn't know if he wants a chance to speak with the ice mage. "And lastly, a guild competing for the first time and used to be an independent guild, Crime Sorciere with Flare Corona!" Natsu snaps his head to look at the red haired mage, entirely shocked and confused and he looks around to spot anyone who may have answers for him as to why Crime Sorciere is competing. And since when. It's not like Jellal to keep secrets from him.

"I don't think we've met, Flare. I'm Natsu." The pinkette then says and reaches a hand out. She shyly takes it with her hair and they shake, a shy smile spreading across her face.

"We haven't met." She confirms and makes eye contact with him. "I was a member of Raven Tail." She clarifies and a light bulb turns on for Natsu. Crime Sorciere had eventually taken down Raven Tail and put a lot of them in prison.

"When did Jellal get you out of prison?"

"A few months ago." She admits and Natsu nods, realizing it must have happened during the three months they were gone. Jellal had mentioned there was a person in Raven Tail he believed to be more of a victim than anything else.

"We will begin the games with a challenge of Endurance!" The Pumpkin Mascot says, addressing the crowd more than the eight winners. "Guild's please pick your participating member." All the mages look at each other for a moment before finally breaking off and heading to their respective areas, flags already hung where they will be stationed for the week.

A/N: Did I mention my Seven Years rewrite is out? I did? Oops. Anyway, thanks for still being here guys. College is getting intense and we're headed into finals, let alone the fact that I'm a double major which means hella classes. But oh well, I just won't sleep. Let's try to get some chappies out! Thank you all so very much! Til next time, see ya!