Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.

July 2, x790.

While Loli was making the closing remarks for the Grand Magic Games' second day, Jiemma, the master of the Sabertooth guild was struggling to keep his magic power in check due to his anger. Currently, despite witnessing Alfonzo's display of power the previous day, he still believed that his guild was the strongest.

It was not like everyone on in the guild could be as strong as Alfonzo, after all. And so, what if Brandish defeated Jura, a member of the Ten Wizard Saints with little effort on her part? He was sure that at least two of his wizards would be able to do the same, maybe even easier.

And that was the reason why Jiemma was so angry. Out of four opportunities to get points, his guild had yet to get the full 10 points. Even though Alfonzo Marcus of Fairy Tail had only opposed them once. Yet, Rogue and Rufus had both lost to his wives while Sting lost to a nobody, in Jiemma's opinion, from a newcomer to the Grand Magic Games.

Yes, Jiemma was well aware that Sting had tied with Squall of Final Fantasy. However, not winning was the same as losing in Jiemma's book. And both Sting and Rufus would have to be punished. Rogue, on the other hand, had already been punished the day before for his defeat. As for Orga, he was still recovering when he was too be punished. So, Jiemma let him off the hook... for now.

"That guy's gonna do something stupid, isn't he?" Marin asked while watching Jiemma's magic power roiling in his body.

"Probably." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. "His unfounded belief that he is the strongest is gonna be the reason for it, too. I was hoping that my little statement at the end of my battle yesterday would kick start is brain. But I guess that was just too fucking much to expect."

"We should just get rid of him before he can do anything." Brandish, after returning to the stands, said in her usual tone. 

"You know why we can't do that, Brandi." Elicia said with a smile. Then, while maintaining her smile, her voice took on a more serious tone as she continued. "But we'll do what needs to be done if it comes to it."

Hearing that, Alfonzo, Marin, and Sun nodded their heads in agreement. Meanwhile, Brandish, who really wanted to just get the whole issue over and done with, rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, let's go back." Sun said with a smile. "I'm a little hungry."

After saying that, Sun blinked her eyes at Alfonzo innocently. And Alfonzo, knowing exactly what Sun wanted, sighed audibly.

"Fine, I'll cook again." Alfonzo said. "But I'm not cooking a banquet for everyone again."

"Besides, if we have another party at the hotel, there's no guarantee that it will be standing this time tomorrow." Elicia added. "I mean, it amazes me that it's never been demolished during any of the Grand Magic Games."

"Well, if it were, they wouldn't like the consequences." Alfonzo said while cracking his knuckles. 'Anyway, let's go."

With that, Team Fairy Tail, the last to leave the stands, left to catch up with their guild mates.

July 3, x790.

{"And we're back with the third day of the Grand Magic Games."} Loli said as the broadcast for the day's events started. {"And like always, I'm with ex-Magic Councilman, Yajima."}

{"Good morning, everyone."} Yajima said with a smile. {"And remember, if you're ever in Hargeon, don't forget to stop by 8-Island, we'll make sure you leave satisfied."}

{"Shameless plug aside, we have yet another guest commentator with us today."} Loli said, ignoring the slightly open-eyed glare he was receiving from Yajima. {"And like yesterday, it is a knight from the kingdom's Knight Corps."}

Hearing that, everyone who was present for Darkness' guest appearance the day before recoiled slightly. Meanwhile, Darkness, who had taken the day off, blushed heavily after feeling all the disgust from everyone simply thinking about her.

{"So, Col. Roy Mustang, why don't you greet the audience."} Loli continued.

{"Well, hello, ladies and gentlemen."} Roy said in a somewhat frivolous tone. {"And that's especially for the ladies. I'm Col. Roy Mustang of the Fiore Alchemist Knight Order. But you can call me Col. Mustang, or just Colonel. Flame Alchemist works too, if that's what you're into."}

"Seriously?" Edward Elric asked aloud to no one in particular from the Fairy Tail seating area. "They actually let him into the booth. Great... With how much he likes to hear himself talk, we're not even gonna be able to pay attention to the event."

"Come on, Brother." Alphonse said while smiling wryly. "The Colonel isn't that bad."

"No one, not even you, believes that, Al." Edward said, sounding exasperated while Roy continued to talk over the broadcast system.

Instead of replying, Alphonse only looked at another member of the guild. A certain middle-aged doting father who was cheering happily for Roy.

"Well, no one other than Hughes, anyway." Edward said while shaking his head.

At the same time, in an audience seat near the broadcast booth, a blond woman wearing a blue military uniform was rubbing the space between her eyebrows while thinking something similar to Edward.

"He's at it again." The blonde woman, Riza Hawkeye, said in a tired tone. "Why can't he take this more seriously?"

A few minutes passed with the three int he broadcasting booth chatting, Roy doing most of the talking, before Loli finally moved the day's events forward.

{"Alright, now that we've taken the time to get to know our guest, let's give the floor to Mato."} Loli said while wondering just how much he would be able to do his job with a talkative knight like Roy in the booth. {"Mato, take it away."}

{"Thanks, Loli."} Mato said as his face showed up on all the screens around the Domus Flau. {"Then, without further ado, today's event is called 'Battle Board.' Like always, I will explain the rules of the event once each team has chosen a representative to participate."}

As soon as Mato finished speaking, the eight teams all started discussing who would go up for the day's event, and Fairy Tail was no exception. However, Alfonzo and Elicia exchanged glances after hearing the name of the event, thinking it sounded rather familiar.

"Well, you two never came to a decision." Alfonzo said to Marin and Brandish after breaking eye contact with Elicia. "So, which of you is going to go up for this one."

"Why can't you go up?" Marin asked curiously.

"Because if I go up, then the leaders of all the other teams will go up, too." Alfonzo replied. "And to be honest, I just wanna wait until tomorrow's event for that. You know, since it will be the last of the individual events."

"Basically, he just wants to show off." Elicia pointed out.

"Exactly." Alfonzo said without an ounce of shame. "Then, after I show everyone what I can do again, we'll do what Fairy Tail does best and fuck shit up in the Grand Magic Game event on the last day."

"That's so like you, Fonzie." Marin said. She then turned to look at Brandish. "So, do you wanna go, Brandi?"

"I'm fine." Brandish replied. "I fought in the battle yesterday, after all."

"If you say so." Marin replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Well then, I'll see you when I get back."

"Good luck." Sun said cheerfully as Marin jumped into the arena.

{"And it looks like Fairy Tail is the first to choose again."} Loli said. {"I wonder how they've managed to be first in every event. Do you think they had a predetermined order before the Grand Magic Games started?"

{"Actually, I think that might be part of it Loli."} Roy said, still speaking in that same frivolous tone. {"But there's probably more to it, as well."}

{"The Colonel is probably right."} Yajima added. {"Alfonzo, the newest of the Wizard Saints has yet to participate in an event. And I think the leaders of the other teams are waiting to see if he'll be going up each day before deciding to go up themselves."}

{"That's exactly what I was thinking, Yajima."} Roy said. {"It seems great minds truly do think alike."}

The sound of a certain blonde lieutenant groaning from a seat near the broadcasting booth could be heard faintly through the broadcast at that very moment.

{"But I don't understand."} Loli said, sounding genuinely confused. {"Why wouldn't they send up their aces in events they know Alfonzo isn't participating in? Wouldn't that make claiming the victory easier?"}

{"It's because of pride."} Yajima replied.

{"Exactly."} Roy added. {"Their pride won't allow them to win without beating who they are aiming to defeat. And although I'm not sure why Jura isn't a higher priority target, it seems everyone is looking forward to defeating Alfonzo this year. Then again, I've met the young man before. And he really is quite impressive."}

{"Oh, you've met him before, too?"} Loli asked, starting another conversation while the teams chose their contestants.

Meanwhile, both Yajima and Roy, who were privy to more information regarding the Magic Council than Loli, knew that Alfonzo was named one of the Four Gods of Ishgar when he became a Wizard Saint. However, for some reason it was kept secret from the public. So, they had to pretend they did not know why Alfonzo was the target of all the guild's aces in this year's Grand Magic Games.

And while Roy talked about his meeting with Alfonzo a few years ago, the other guilds made their decisions on who would be participating in the Battle Board event.

*Cheer~~~~~~~!*

The first to jump down to the arena was Jenny from Blue Pegasus. And with her entrance, the crowd, mostly the men, cheered loudly. And that was to be expected, as the second most popular model in Fiore, just after Mirajane and in front of Karen, Jenny's popularity was undebatable.

Following Jenny, Genma of Quatro Cerberus jumped into the ring. He was closely followed by Lyon from Lamia Scale and Tifa from Final Fantasy, who jumped into the arena at virtually the same time.

Next was a random guy from Twilight Ogre. Then, to everyone from Sabertooth's surprise, Minerva, after stopping Sting, jumped down into the arena. And the final contestant, Anko from Mermaid Heel was the last to jump down.

{"The eight contestants have been chosen, huh?"} Mato asked while seemingly looking over the eight wizards. {"Well then, let me tell you about 'Battle Board'."}

With that, the images of Mato all around the arena were changed to a model like they did for yesterday's event. However, instead of an obstacle course, this time, the image was a waterway. And this waterway seemed to be the course for the next event.

{"During the Battle Board event, each contestant will have to stand on a board provided to them by the GMG Operating Committee."} Mato said as the image of the course was replaced by the image of the aforementioned board, which looked like a surf board. {"Then, with the use of their magic power, they are to propel the board and navigate the course you all just saw. The first to complete three laps, ten thousand feet per lap, will be the winner."}

As soon as they heard Mato's explanation, both Minerva and Sting breathed sighs of relief. Originally, Sting was supposed to compete in today's event, hoping to get a win while Alfonzo was not on the field, as their guild master, Jiemma was getting more and more irritable with every event they failed to win. Yet, just before Sting could jump down into the arena, Minerva stepped forward, forbidding Sting and Rogue from participating in the event because her instincts were telling her it would have been a bad idea.

And because of her status as Jiemma's daughter, Sting and Rogue both listened, though Sting was disappointed that he would not be able to compete. However, as a Dragon Slayer, Sting's participation would have been catastrophic for Sabertooth's score, since riding the board would have activated a Dragon Slayer's motion sickness.

{"As for the rules of this event..."} Mato continued, unaware of the relief the members of Sabertooth were feeling. {"First of all, you can use your magic to interfere with the water on the course. However, you are not allowed to attack the riders. Also, if someone were to fall off their board, it would result in their disqualification."}

Mato then turned to look at the guy from Twilight Ogre from yesterday's event and Natsu, which was impressive, since both wizards felt like every screen in the arena glanced at them simultaneously.

{"And every disqualification will result in the later contestants ranked one place higher than the one before."} Mato said in a teasing tone. He then turned to look at the crowd as a whole while he continued. {"Now, everyone, we'll take a short break. I'm sure that the contestants would like to change into something they would be more comfortable getting wet in. When everyone has changed, we'll get the event started. Until then, why don't you all take the time to stop by the concession stands and get some snacks and drinks."}

With that, the screens in the Domus Flau were turned off. At the same time, the eight contestants made their way out of the arena to get changed into something better suited for the upcoming event. Meanwhile, the people in the audience decided to take Mato's advice and left their seats to get refreshments.