Hidden Powers
[NaLu Fanfiction]
By: JeRein_14

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Chapter 40: Hidden

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Lucy's POV

  "Now that the 8 teams that will continue on with the games are announced, let us not waste anymore time and start with our first event." The pumpkin mascot proclaimed, causing an uproar from the upbeat audience. I exchanged smiles with my team mates, them doing the same thing as they felt the very similar thrill i was experiencing as of the moment. It was undeniable. I'm feeling quite giddy and ecstatic. Finally. After months of solitude and isolation from the rest of the wizarding world. I'm now here, participating in a nation wide tournament in a battle of magic and power. An incredible sense of freedom. It feels awesome to be out and stretching.

  "Now, I need a representative from each team. The rules of the event shall be announced after each had chosen their player. Please choose wisely." After hearing that, my team had huddled up and immediately started to discuss the predicament. We were currently on our designated balcony that overlooks the arena. The other teams were positioned on a similar venue but located on other parts of the field, all surrounding the very arena where all games and events are supposed to be held. Unfortunately for us—me, Fairy Tail A's balcony was stationed at the very opposite side of ours, giving me a full view of what they were doing at every hour of the day whilst the tournament is commencing. Not that i'm watching them. It's just.. They're up front.. And there are some instances that i had to look.. Not by choice.. I mean, why would I? It's not like i wanted to know.. Nope.. I really don't.. It's just.. Unfortunate? Especially, with the position that we were forced to comply with. Just—err, i'm rambling,  am I? I'll just...stop.

  "So, who wants to play?" Yuuki asked, looking at each one of us, with a dramatic pause of at least three seconds for added emphasis and effect.

  "We'll have to think this through. We can't afford to have an injured member on the first day. We can never be too sure what they have in store for us at the end." My older brother said, which we all agreed to. He have a point. We can't just jump into something unprepared. If we lose a member now, we'll be rendered weaker and much less of a threat. It's just the first day but we need to make an impression. A mark that would conclude us as worthy enemies and foe. We didn't train for months just to be degraded by other guilds and be underestimated by the rest of Fiore.

  "I'll go." All blonde heads turned to the one who spoke. The second eldest. Zach-nii. I hesitated. He was one of our strongest member. His magic was unique and truly powerful. It was certainly one of our advantages. Would it be wise to send out one of our trump cards in the field this early?

  "But—" i tried to protest but he cut me off. Chuckling, he ruffled my hair.

  "Don't worry, Lucy. I'm not going all out. I promise." He assured me, sending me a smile. Huffing, i slapped his hand away and peevishly tried to fix my now ruined ponytail. Tch. To think i spent half an hour just to fix it!

  "That's not really the thing i'm worried about." I mumbled, sighing as i watched him grin triumphantly. He knew he won, just by the sight of my slumped shoulders.

  "Don't worry, Lu. I'll try not to expose my magic as much as possible." I chose not to answer that. Instead, i shifted my attention back to the pumpkin mascot who had returned back to its previous spot from earlier.

  "Had all teams chosen their player?" When he received some yells of approval, the mascot prodded on and finally started explaining the rules.

  "The game will be held in a giant city that will be stimulated here on this very arena. The eight participants shall be transported to eight different locations, all unaware of the whereabouts of the other. In order to win the game, they have to earn the highest point. How to earn the points, you ask? Well, you'll need to search for another player, successfully land an attack on them, either physically or by magic. A point will, of course, be deducted on the attacked participant." The rules seems simple enough. Though, i doubt that that's the end of it. I'm sure there is more to this game.

  "Now, what's a game without a twist? The city shall be filled with clones of the participants, to confuse the competitors. Before you get ideas, just to be clear, attacking a clone would deduct you a point. That's why i'd refrain from going on an attacking streak if i were you." Knew it..

  "Isn't that fun? Just a good 'ol play of Hide and Seek!" Going in there, be surrounded by clones and be required to fight other strong mages, hardly sounds fun and appealing to me. I didn't voice out this nagging comment, however. In spite of the lack of verbal communication, just by the looks of their disgusted and displeased facial features, it was clear that my brothers and cousins were sharing the same disapproval with the mascot's poor sense of humor and idea of fun.

  "Can all participants come down here?" After bidding him good luck and farewell, Zach-nii walked off to join the rest in the arena. Like what the mascot had said, an illusion of giant city suddenly appeared, surprising us spectators. I honestly didn't know what transcribed here. Either Domus Flau grew bigger in size to fit the metropolis inside or it actually shrank to make the city seem big in our eyes. It's really surprising what magic is capable of.

  Before our eyes, lacrima visions suddenly appeared, giving us a full view of what was happening while the games was being broadcasted live. The screen showed a quick and vivid outlook and location of each participant, giving us a hint on where they are. After that brisk preview, the lacrima vision displayed multiple and various portions and sections of the city. Numerous doppelganger was seen spread across the place. All of which had looked exactly like a  carbon copy and mirror image of the original player. It was a weird sight.

  "Now that all participants are postioned, let 'hidden' begin!" And we all heard the gong.

  Watching the event was kinda frustrating and nerve-wracking. Especially with the fact that we too, are getting kind of confused as to who was the real who. Just a few minutes into the game, though, i noticed something strange about that Raven Tail member. He seems focused. It's like he had his mind set on one goal. My almost ridiculous assumption was confirmed when he openly attacked a what i thought was a random clone Gray. It appears to be the real one! This happened quite a few times. Nullpudding refusing to go after anyone else but the Ice Mage. What was his objective in doing so? Does he hold a personal grudge against Gray or our guild in particular? If the latter were to be the case, why isn't he going after my brother? He's clearly a member of the very guild Nullpudding is plainly directly targeting.

  The screen flashed once again to the location of the raven haired Ice Mage. Everyone watched anxiously as he narrowly dodges an attack from Beth Vanderwood of Mermaid Heel. It seemed to be a chain of reaction as the female mage was almost instantly attacked by the Quatro Cerberus member who appeared just as randomly. The newly arrived player was then pursued by Lyon of Lamia Scale. As the two other participants were down, the Ice Mages slowly faced each other.

  "Lyon." Gray muttered with distaste as he glared at his long time rival and nemesis.

  "I found you, Gray." The white haired Lamia Scale member smirked, annoying the other even more. This two surely don't get along..

  The Molding Magic Users went to battle stance as they exchanged heated glares. It was clear that they were about to duel there and then. As they positioned their hands, a new opponent had made his appearance. I can only face palm at his overly dramatic entrance. He jumped off a roof, knocking the white haired mage into the ground with a swift kick. Both Ur's students glanced at my brother in surprise. I guess they were too fully engrossed on their own personal conflict to notice their surroundings.

  "Oops. Sorry. My foot slipped." Was my melodramatic brother's reply.

  "Wait.. You're..?" Gray was clearly baffled by his sudden arrival.

  "Huh? You're one of those Heartfilias, right?" The Lamia Scale member asked, disarrayed and confused by the turn of events.

  "Yup. And oh? I'm not really planning on losing." Zach-nii positioned himself into a stance i knew too well. My eyebrows raised in approval. He wasn't going to use magic, like he had promised. He was actually getting ready to perform a complicated and advanced martial arts move. Unfortunately, he was interrupted even before he could land the blow. Out of nowhere, that troublesome Raven Tail member appeared and openly attacked the three. Luckily, they managed to dodge the unannounced attack. Though, before they could confront or counterattack the newly arrived enemy, a new threat had surfaced.

  Snow started to fall from the animated city. Faintly, i heard one of the commentators, Jenny, who proudly stated that it was their guild mate who was responsible for it. Why, though? One of the screens zoomed in on Eve who was indeed performing the spell. He was keenly observing his surroundings, as if waiting for something to happen. Or rather, a progress on his action. But what? How would making it snow help him figure out which is real from the sea of clones? Making it cold—wait. That's it! Clones wouldn't be affected by the cold as they are just inanimate manifestation of the actual ones. All he has to do now is keep an eye out to someone who would suddenly change their demeanor due to the abrupt drop of temperature. He could identify them through body language such as shivering or rubbing of hands. As well as their change in breathing, which would actually be visible due to the cold atmosphere.

  My assumption was proven correct when i saw Eve attack Mermaid Heel, Raven Tail and Quatro Cerberus, who all instantly reacted due to the cold. Unfortunately, there is a slight loophole in his clever plan. There are two Ice Mages in the event that are both immune to the cold. Plus, Zach-nii has sharp senses and reflex. That's why when the Blue Pegasus mage had attempted to land a surprise attack on the three 'unsuspecting' mages, they had all managed to dodge and get out of the way. Lyon didn't waste anytime as he went out his way to attack the snow caster. It all went downhill after that.

  Small fights on different locations around the metropolis soon engaged as the players tried their best to score as much points as they can before the timer runs out. As i watched the events transpire before me, i can't help but wonder why the Sabertooth member hasn't appeared yet. There's not much time left and the other participants already had a head start. I doubt that he's hiding or lurking in the shadows somewhere. There must be a reason behind this. As these thoughts crossed my mind, the image of Rufus suddenly appeared on screen as if by mere coincidence. He was standing on top of some high building at the very center of the city, his posture calm and collected, as if he wasn't part of some unnerving competition. Too calm for my own liking.

  "This game is too easy. With my magic, i can easily remember the location of the actual ones." The long haired blond said egoistically, a smirk playing on his lips. His statement bothered me. What kind of magic does this guy have? I was quite amazed by the answer.

  "Memory Make: A night of Falling Stars!" He glowed golden yellow as strips of bright lights blasted off to the sky before shooting down to various, specific locations. From the screen, i saw almost every participant got hit. All except Zach-nii and Nullpudding. My brother had probably foreseen the attack and felt the intense magic soaring towards him, that's why he managed to dodge it. The Raven Tail member, however, survived by sheer damn luck. He was casually looking up when he noticed a golden light coming towards him, giving him a split second to get out of the way. Due to Rufus' wide scaled attack, he now has the highest points, earning him the lead.

  My brother wouldn't have that. Just the last minutes into the game, he went all out. Using his magic to locate the actual souls of his enemies, he had managed to acquire a few more points before the event ended, earning him the place as second best. As expected, the Sabertooth member had taken the first. What i didn't was the fact that Gray placed last. He was again ambushed by Nullpudding the last second. As i gazed into his defeated posture, i immediately noticed the anguish and thirst for revenge in his raging eyes. Knowing him, i'm sure he's already planning the Raven Tail member's funeral.

  As i stared at him, he suddenly casted a curious glance up to my direction. He was surprised that i was actually looking at him despite the attitude i showed him and the others earlier at the arena. He even stopped his venture and stared at me confusedly. I did the most logical thing i could think of. Giving him a weak smile, i slightly raised my right hand, with my guild mark, into the air and made the infamous Fairy Tail Sign. His eyes widened at my action, mouth hanging slightly open. When he did recovered a few seconds later, he chuckled bitterly and copied my gesture. Whilst walking out of the arena, he held his hand up in the air with pride. Like a true Fairy Tail Member should.

  I knew by then. He'll be all right.

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