Third Person's POV

Fairy Tail: X791

before the day of the Grand Magic games, Marin was call up by Master Makarov because he wants to have a secret meaning with him and a few other wizards that he calls up to them.

When Marin has arrived to the office, he senses a familiar presence 'please not him' he thought before taking a deep breath, and then opens the door and sees two familiar figures which are Rain and his fellow S-Class Wizard, Mystogan, but what surprises Marin the most is the fact that Mystogan isn't wearing his mask 

Mystogan possesses the same dark eyes, blue hair and red tattoo on the right side of his face. He wears a dark blue cloak, and his arms and legs are mostly covered in bandages. Normally, Mystogan wore a dark blue bandana with a silver forehead protector, and a green, camouflage-patterned mask that obscured the bottom half of his face to hide his identity from his guildmates. He usually carries his Magic Staves on his back, which are held by a dark green strap going across his main body.

"Wow, so this is what you look like without your mask" Marin commented.

Mystogan smiled at Marin "It's a long story" he tells Marin.

"Lysander and Elfman fill me about you being from Endolas, I'm surprised seeing you here" Marin tells Mystogan with reassurance.

"Yes and no, and I can tell that you already know that I'm Jellal and not Mystogan" he explained.

The whitette male nodded "Still, I'll call you Mystogan as long as you're wearing that" Marin stated pointing at the outfit which Jellal nodded in understanding.

"Hey, who's the white-haired chick?" a tall and muscular young man with long, spiky black hair named Gajeel questioned.

Gajeel is a tall and muscular young man with long, spiky black hair, which is usually kept slicked back, revealing his forehead. He has red eyes with slitted dark pupils and has no visible eyebrows. Most of his exposed body is covered in sets of simple, round studs. The most visible studs are on his face, with three of them above each of his eyes acting as "eyebrows" of sorts, two on each side of his nose and two on his chin, just below his mouth. His ears are adorned by two sets of five earrings each. He also sports four studs on each of his forearms, with his right one being covered in scars. His black Fairy Tail mark is located on his left arm, just below his shoulder. Gajeel wears a black tunic that has a closed, light-grey opening running center of his torso, and wears a new grey belt, both without any studs. He also sports a black tattered scarf and a larger wing-like ornament that covers most of his right arm. He still retains his pants, gloves and boots.

Then a familiar voice heard by Marin "that's the Devil, Marin James Strauss, you guys haven't seen him before because he was gone on a long job request" the voice explains.

Marin didn't need to look who was talking because he knows exactly who's talking "Hello to you, too Laxus" Marin said.

Rain suddenly feels a shiver in his spine 'Why Rain feels a weird tension in here?' he questions.

Marin sighed before turning to Rain apologetically "It's a long story" he said.

"And those stories can be told in another time" They all hear Makarov talking as he was walking up to them "I'm calling you guys out here because, I'd decided on the last minute, I'm setting up a second team for the Grand Magic Games, you five will be a part of Team Fairy Tail B" Makarov tells the five young wizards before him

"What!? Are you kidding me!? I don't want anything to do with that stupid freak show!" Gajeel objects.

"Well, I don't have any objections, but getting put on the B team is kind of insulting, though" Laxus mutter.

Marin, Jellal and Rain were neutral about this, and they waited for Makarov to continue "how about I sweeten the deal, the members of the winning team get to do whatever they want to the loser team for a entire day" Makarov said.

Then a black Exceed steps up "that sound like to me more like a punishment game for the ones of the bottom" it stated.

That sparked both Gajeel and Laxus interest, Rain thought for a moment and blushes madly at the thought of Gray doing anything he wants for a day; Marin and Jellal however were sweat dropping at the sight.

"My goodness" Marin giggles nervously.

The darker bluehead raised a eyebrow "Do we need to ask?" Jellal asked.

-time skip-

Domus Flau, Crocus: X791, 10:10am EST.

With Raven she's sitting next to a sobbing Wendy at a infirmary for context the games haven't officially started when Wendy and Cara were suddenly attacked by a unknown force according to her; fortunately, Wendy didn't suffer any physical injuries.

"I-I let everyone down, I trained so hard to get here, but now, I'm just useless" Wendy sobs uncontrollably; Raven seems hesitant of knowing what to do but gently head pats the blue hair girl who looks at Raven surprised with red puffy eyes from crying "R-Raven?" Wendy questioned.

"Wendy, despite knowing you so little, you're a lot of things: kind, smart, strong, compassionate, selfless, and brave, but you are not useless" Raven tells the Sky Dragon slayer out of seriousness "I'm going to do something in your mind, but I'm going to need your consent for this" Raven informs Wendy with her expression sounding a little nervous.

Wendy looks at Raven for a Moment and nodded "I trust you, Raven, just like I did when you agreed in training me" Wendy tells the purple hair girl with a small smile.

Raven feels relaxed that Wendy agrees "first you need to relax and rest while I'll take care of anything else" she informs "just relax, okay?" Wendy nods before closing her eyes; Raven closes her eyes and focuses on Wendy "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos" Raven mutters as she reopens her eyes which they glow in a white light and Raven successfully enters her mind.

-scene change-

Raven looks around now looking what seems like the time where Wendy got ambushed

Raven's eyes widen with shock as he sees a person grunting in pain as his eyes glow into a yellow light and his skin turns red and.

"Oh no!" Raven panics as she sees the demon flying through Wendy and Carla which they suddenly feel like they've been drained one shot, and they fall unconscious "they're here" Raven mutters "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

-out of the memory-

Raven gasped as she undoes her spell "They know we're here" she mutters "I need to tell Marin" she stated before trying to leave the room but then remembers "I can't leave I can't leave Wendy here until Porlyusica's back" she sighed before looking out the window "Marin, please, be careful" she prayed for both Marin and the rest of Fairy Tail's sake.

-Meanwhile-

At the Arena Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza and the newly substitute Elfman who's filling for Wendy were standing with other guilds now that they're aware that the Raven Tail guild were the one that caused Wendy's ambush which enrages them but keep their composure.

"We still have two teams who made it to the qualifying round" they hear Chapati Lola informing the guild and the audience.

"I wonder what are the other two that made it through" Happy wonders.

"You can bet one of them be Sabertooth" Macao one of the guild wizards responds to Happy.

"Huh, all the well-known guilds had already been announced" Lysander commented as Makarov remains saying nothing.

"So is possible that one of these teams is tied up to Zeref" Gray whispered to Ezra.

"That's assuming Jellal's intuition was right, I guess we'll know soon" the redhead whispered back.

"Our first-place runner up is..." Chapati tries to announce as everyone in the arena were sensing the suspense "Oh wow, what a surprise! This year's competition is getting a lot more interesting folk" 

Natsu looks dumbfounded when he sees Gajeel, Juvia, Laxus, Marin, and Mystogan aka Jellal in disguise making their appearance

"Big Bro!?" Elfman question with disbelief seeing Marin in standing before him.

"Gajeel!?" Natsu asked with shock.

"Rain!?"  Gray also asked with shock seeing the blue hair male who look dead serious.

"And Laxus!? How was that fair!?" Lucy asked out of disbelief.

Suddenly some music is playing which confuses everyone, as Marin walks up with a microphone in hand.

Ay, this is what you came for, blood on the game ball
Everybody dropping like rainfall
Uh, this is your moment, eyes on the pulpit, kid
Think church just opened

And they're singing your praises, la-la-la
Screaming your name out lo-lo-loud
One more step, you're immortal now, 'cause

Once you play God, once you play God
They're gonna crumble one by one
Then we gon' ride right into the sun
Like it's the day my kingdom come

Baby, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods
Yeah, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods

then Sabertooth walk out not caring about the announcement and they're curious about the unexpected music and they see Marin performing in the center of the Arena and he slowly walks up to each team from Fairy Tail A to Sabertooth the crowd were amaze by the sudden performance that they cheered.

Ay, welcome to the big show, next on the ladder
Is it your name in the rafters?
Brief-brief-brief moment of silence
Bad guy woke up and chose violence

And they're singing your praises, la-la-la
Screaming your name out lo-lo-loud
One more step, you're immortal now, 'cause

Once you play God, once you play God
They're gonna crumble one by one
Then we gon' ride right into the sun
Like it's the day my kingdom come

Baby, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods
Yeah, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods

Marin stops when he faces his own team, and he makes eye contact with Laxus who looks back at the male's blue eyes and leaves to walk back to the center as he begins to sing the bridge.

I'm on my knees, pray for glory
Anyone read this underdog story?
I can't lose myself again
Help me raise this heart
Heart, unbreakable

Once you play God, once you play God
They're gonna crumble one by one
Then we gon' ride right into the sun
Like it's the day my kingdom come

Once you play God, once you play God
They're gonna crumble one by one
Then we gon' ride right into the sun
Like it's the day my kingdom come

Baby, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods
Yeah, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods
Go-go-go-go-go-gods
Yeah, we're go-go-go-go-go-gods

Marin begins to vibe with the music making the crowd cheer and Marin creates a magical blast of Dark Magic.

Once you play

He finishes singing before firing the dark magic blast up in the air and create a firework explosion making everyone awe at the bright color light the white hair male created making the crowd erupted with cheering.

"I didn't know Marin had that in him" Gray stated.

Ezra smirked "finally" he said.

Lucy looks at Erza confused "what do you mean finally" she asked.

"Back then, Big bro usually refuses to sing because he had stage fright, seeing perform now show that Marin changed but for the better, but there are still some old qualities that are still there" Elfman explains proudly at his big brother "and I'm just the luckiest man to call him my big brother that I can look up to" he added.

Lucy smiled at Elfman before looking back at Marin who made Fairy Tail's signature pose by pointing a finger up at the sky much to everyone in Fairy Tail's shock but then joined the whitette male doing the pose.

Marin lowers his hand and walks back to who he believes is a staff member and hands them the microphone before re-joining his teammates.

"all in all I say that we have a impressive group of wizards here" Chapati stated before looking at his co-commentator "Any comment of our line up mister Yajima?" he asked the older man

"Yeah, they all here made me pipe from my youth" he said with Chapati looked at the Yajima confused.

"That's not what I meant" Chapati whispered to the old man who's simply rocking in a chef uniform looking at Chapati confused "We kept everyone waiting long enough; it's about time we unveil the official schedule for this year's tournament

Then a big wall of cement burst out from under ground.

"Grand Magic Games"

Day 1: Hidden + Battle

Day 2: ??? + Battle

Day 3: ??? + Battle

Day 4: ??? + Tag Battle

Day 5: ???

"There's going to be a lot of action in the next few days" Gray comments.

Natsu smirked "Now we're talking" he said looking forward to the competitions.

"Each one of the rounds will began with a contest, participants will then be ranked from eight to first place; the teams will be awarded points depending on how they ranked in the contest, additionally the teams are allowed to select which of their member they want to compete; after that, battles. These bounds quite a treat to you loyal fans, since it was your suggestions that created these matchups" Chapati explains.

"Interesting" Ezra muttered.

"Sounds like they get to choose who fights who" Gray stated.

"So then, if you don't watch how much magic you use in a contest, you could've found yourself thrown to a battle with no time to rest" Lucy then concluded.

Marin was hearing this and frowns "So we must be careful then" he mutters only for Gajeel and Laxus to hear due to be Dragon Slayers they both groan agreeing with the white hair male.

"The battle rules are simple: each team will square off and shown here; the winning team will get ten points while the losing team gets Zero points, but if is a draw both teams get five points" Chapati explains "ready for action? let's get started with the first contest of the Grand Magic Games, one that we call hidden" he announces "at this time we like each team to Select one member to compete, once is selected the rules will be explained shortly" the announcer then instructs.

Marin calls his team to gather "Gather up you guys" Marin calls as Laxus, Gajeel, Rain and Jellal circled around Marin "Okay, I'm guessing that this Hidden contest involves stealth and evasiveness, so we're unaware of what the other teams are capable of, except for Team A" he tells the group "Jellal we don't want to risk you exposing yourself due to your magic, Gajeel and Laxus I consider you guys as the power houses of this team, so that leave me and Rain"

Rain looks and sees Gray "From Fairy Tail Team A, the Icy's Gray Fullbuster" he hears Chapati announcing.

Rain poke Marin's shoulder "Marin" he called which he white hair male looks at Rain "Rain will go" he stated.

Gajeel rolls his eyes but smirked "Don't go fight for your boyfriend, you hear?" Gajeel teases the blue hair male.

Rain blushes "Is not like that, and Gray is not Rain's boyfriend!" he yelled.

"Not yet" Laxus also teased.

"Not you too, Laxus!" Rain whined.

"What do you think, Marin?" Jellal asked the once He-Devil.

Marin looks at Rain "Rain" the bluette male looks at the whitette "Are you willing to put your romantic feelings for Gray a side for the sake of this contest?" he asked.

Rain nodded "Yes, Rain is truly willing to do what it takes for this team to win this first contest!" he said with determination.

Marin senses Rain's determination and confidence that he can do it even if his crush is also competing "then we're counting on you, Rain" he said.

Rain nodded "Right!" he stated before walking up.

"From Fairy Tail Team B, Rain Lockser!" Chapati announces "the competitors has been chosen, and the long wait is finally over, grab a refreshment and stay glued to your seat 'cause you don't want to miss a single minute by the moment of hidden"

Rain looks at Gray "just to let you know that even that we're friends and from the same guild, I don't attempt on losing to you" he tells the Ice wizard.

Gray smirked as if he was expecting Rain to say that "Yeah of course not, I want to win, too" he responds.

"My mind is set on winning the competition as well, and then dear Rain's heart" a young man named Lyon Vastia stated 

Lyon is a slim young man of average height with a muscular and toned body; he has bluish silver hair, most of which are spiky strands that jut upwards on top of his head, except for some which are kept pointing down and partially cover the upper left part of his face. Lyon's eyes are slanted, with dark round pupils and surrounded by similarly dark lines. He has small, linear, dark eyebrows. Lyon had the Lamia Scale guild stamp imprinted on his right pectoral, in the same spot where Gray Fullbuster has his own Fairy Tail stamp.

Rain sweat drops at the other Ice wizard "Uh... Thank you, I guess?" he said clearly confused with what's going on while being unaware that Gray was Glaring at Lyon.

"Before we asked I only have one question I've been dying to ask" Gray said as he goes up to a short pumpkin headed person "What are you?" he asked.

"Who me? I'm just a pumpkin as you can clearly see" the Pumpkin head answered.

"Was I not supposed to ask that or something?" Gray asked.

"Well, he certainly looks like a pumpkin to me" Rain stated tilting his head.

"Of course, he looks like a pumpkin on the outside but what's underneath it"

"He's always a big part of the games, so I never really thought about it" Eve tells the two Fairy Tail Wizards.

Eve is a slim young man with short blonde hair kept in a wavy and slight messy cut, with a few wayward strands covering his forehead, and others jutting upwards on top of his head; he had sharp facial features and narrow eyes. he wears a short-sleeved creamy yellow shirt left untucked over navy blue suit pants complementing the tie around his neck, covered in white and blue diagonal stripes, and brown leather shoes.

"Yeah, I figure that he had to be somebody from the event staff in a costume" Beth from Mermaid Heel Guild added.

Beth is a petite young girl with orange-brown hair, which is tied in two braided pigtails on either side of her head. She has a childlike and innocent look to her, possessing very large, almost round greyish blue eyes and freckled cheeks. She has a remarkably small nose that cannot be seen when viewed from the front. In contrast with the rest of her childlike appearance, she possesses distinctively large hips and thighs, mirroring a marked pear shape. She is shown wearing a black T-shirt with a white-collar line under a pair of calf length greyish blue overalls, covering her torso and reaching up below her armpits, held up by shoulder straps. The overalls are plain except for a series of simple, small round motifs going down the side. Beth's outfit is completed by a pair of red sandals for her feet.

"Good job, sir you made a incredible Character" Both Eve and Beth politely said to the pumpkin man while bowing

"Thank you, but I'm only doing this because is so Fun-kin" the Pumpkin man said.

Gray cringes at the pun "those puns are gonna get old real quick" he said.

then a shorter man steps up and is none other than Raven Tail's own Nullpudding; Nullpudding is a short, stocky, visibly hunched and yet quite well-built humanoid creature with blond hair, which is kept slicked back, with a widow's peak and prominent sideburns. Oddly enough, his skin color is pale violet. He possesses a massive head, round black eyes, a flat nose and a distinctive black goatee on his massively bulbous chin, which splits into two points. He seems to always carry a wide smirk on his face, showing his clenched teeth. Nullpudding's torso and head are quite large in comparison to his thinner arms and legs. Draped over Nullpudding's hunched back is a white cloth acting as a cape, with two large, red motifs reminiscent of stylized suns adorning its sides. Nullpudding's chest is wrapped in bandages, under which he seems to wear a dark shirt with sleeves reaching down below his elbows, where they end in large, bolted armbands. His outfit is completed by a pair of dark olive pants, held up by a light, bolted belt, and simple shoes.

"Before we start, I have a little problem, see; I don't have any clue of what this hidden game is all about, but I think something stinks around here" the tells the pumpkin man "And that something be that there are two fairy twerps competing in this thing, no other guild is gonna get the chance to have two members in each round so I said they have an unfair advantage" He explains.

 Both Gray and Rain had a disgust taste in their mouth hearing those words "What?" Gray question with a frown.

"Don't let him get to you, Gray" Rain tells his guildmate and temporarily opponent still having a frown of his own.

Gray groan in annoyance "I understand your concern, but it can't be helped is rare that two teams from the same guild had made to the qualifiers, so it really is a big deal" pumpkin man responds to Nullpudding's concern.

"I have no qualms with it" everyone look at a tall blonde man wearing a flashy outfit "in fact I remember something that I once heard, the wiseman told me two heads aren't necessarily better than one" Rufus Lore from the current strongest guild Sabertooth said.

Rufus is a slim young man of average height with very long, straight blond hair, reaching down below his back, which is gathered near the end and tied in a small ponytail by a large, dark band. Framing his face are two bangs, which reach down to his shoulders and then flow backwards with the rest of his hair. Rufus possesses deep, slanted dark green eyes, delicate facial features and a mildly prominent nose. Most of his upper face, aside from his eyes and forehead, is hidden by a crimson mask with golden edges, similar to those found in traditional Italian Commedia dell'arte and Carnival, circling both of his eyes and covering the upper part of his nose, which adds to his theatrical appearance. Rufus is often shown retaining a laid-back stance, resting either one or both of his arms behind his back Rufus' outfit matches his flamboyant personality and demeanor: he's shown wearing a very long, crimson vest with golden edges, reaching down to his knees and closed few inches above his waist on the front, something which leaves his legs free, over a cream-colored shirt, with a prominent collar, whose corners are held in place by buttons, and mildly loose sleeves, ending in cuffs decorated by intricate motifs. Standing out on Rufus' chest is an extremely large, flimsy jabot, matching his shirt in color, which consists of three layers of cloth, each growing larger than the one above it, and is secured to his neck by its thinner part, passing below his shirt's collar. Covering his legs are a pair of mildly baggy, light-colored pleated pants, tucked inside light boots with large cuffs. Rufus' attire is completed by a large crimson hat, with a prominent brim curving upwards on the sides and golden edges, matching his vest and mask, which on its upper left side bears an extremely long, massive and spiky pink plumage falling down from the rear part of the hat and almost reaching down below Rufus' back

"If I have to beat two fairies, bring it on" Jager from Quattro Cerberus guild stated.

Jäger is a tall man who, just like most of his fellow Quatro Cerberus members, has a big, robust and heavily muscular body, possessing particularly massive arms and torso. His very long white hair is gathered on the back of his head and tied in a ponytail, which juts backwards and takes on a fan-like shape, with the ending part being much larger than the one near his head. Jäger's face is square-shaped, he possesses a flat, small nose and reddish eyes, circled by dark lines, making them look somewhat slanted, topped by massive, arched eyebrows which, in contrast to his snow-white hair, are black. He's mostly shown with a grimace on his face, his teeth clenched. On Jäger's head, covering his ears, is what appears to be a pair of black earmuffs, and circling his neck is a large red collar adorned by massive, whitish spikes, a trademark ornament of his guild. His Quatro Cerberus mark seems to be located in the center of his back.

"I'm sure I ain't gonna fuss over it" Beth said calmly

Gray looks at Rufus with suspicion "are you giving us some advice, a couple of words of wisdom from the reigning champion?" He asked.

"All I'm saying is having a comrade could prove to be a disadvantage, there are a variety of ways that could be used against you, if they would leak information or being held hostage your hand will be easily forced" Rufus explains while putting two fingers on his temple "Will be wise to remember that" he then said.

"Yeah, sure I'll write it down later" Gray responded with clear sarcasm.

Rain however feels uneasy at this 'Rain's sure Gray can take care of himself, but Rain has a bad feeling about this Rufus, guy; Rain's going to be more careful that he already is' he thought.

"Open the field!" The pumpkin man's shout echoed the arena as the scenery changes into a town, surprising the teams' representatives, minus Rufus who seemed to be expecting this to happen.

Gray looks around and realizes that he's the only one standing alone "Rain!? Lyon!?" Gray calls but didn't get responds "Where did everyone go?" he asks himself.

Meanwhile Rain looks around as he walks around the town "all the others just disappeared from sight" he stated he gasped before seeing a lot of lookalikes of himself, Grays, Lyons, Eves, Rufuses, Beths and Jagers "things just get creepier and creepier" Rain muttered.

"Here are the rules of the game: all players are hiding and seeking at the same time, the main objective of Hidden is to locate the other player once you've done that you have to land a attack on them, the player that successfully connects their attacks whether or not does any damage will then be rewarded one point; I know they're pretty, but those copies aren't just for show, folks, attack one of your competitors by mistake and it'll cost you one point" Chapati explained.

'Man talking about be careful' Rain thought nervously.

"Time to disappear like a black cat in a dark alley way fade from your surroundings and hide in plain sight" Chapati announces.

Hearing that Rain panics "Now!?" he questioned.

then a gong sound echoed the arena making Rain Panic and begins to run through the copies before he trips and sees that he was gonna fall on a Gray clone but lucky for him he falls on his knees before he could get contact with the fake Gray

"Gray from Fairy Tail Team A loses one point" Rain gasped hearing that "He's being put on a ten second time out and then forced to start all over from a different location, same goes if you're attack by another player" he explains.

"You're telling us this now!?" Rain asked annoyingly yet panicking.

He looks back and sees a blast heading his direction Which Rain dodges in time "That was Gray's Ice Make Lance, but I didn't sense Gray's magic energy" Rain mutters to himself not realizing that he isn't speaking in third person anymore.

"Why Hello, Rain man" Rain gasped and looks to where the attack come from, and it was Rufus Rain slowly gets up "let me say I'm flattered that you figured out that it wasn't your beloved Gray who attacked you, Dear Rain" he stated.

"Gray is a fellow Guildmate and friend, is true, but don't assume further details by judging a book by it's cover" Rain stated.

Little did Rufus know Rain grabs one of his lookalikes and slowly brings it over with his water magic.

Rufus smirked "I like your sense of humor, Rain, I'm telling you the truth, but neither should you" he said before charging at Rain.

Rain quickly pulls the clone to stand between them and Rufus gasped before hitting the clone and Rufus disappeared from sight.

"What's this, Sabertooth's Rufus has taken out by attacking a Rain clone who protected the real one" Chapati informs.

Somewhere else Gray hears this and smirks "Great work, Rain" he whispered praising his fellow guildmate, for earning a point.

-With Team B-

"Man, that was close" Gajeel stated with a sweat drop out of nervousness

Laxus nodded "good thing Rain reacted quickly" he agreed.

Marin also nods "we've made the right choice in letting him go play this game" he then frowns and sees Gray looking "But Gray's what I'm mostly worry about" he said.

"Marin" the whitette male looks to the side and sees Raven waving at Marin to come over.

"I'll be right back, guys" Marin informs the other men before leaving with Raven "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I saw it, I saw Wendy's memories, and It wasn't what they thought happened Raven Tail only sucked Carla's Magic Power, but something else sucked out Wendy's" Raven tells Marin.

"What" Marin asked with seriousness.

Raven looks at the whitette worried "One of Father's demons, I afraid that he knows where we are" She tells the white hair male.

Marin's eyes widen with fear "Oh, no" he mutters.