~*****~

"Well, if it's a race, then we better get moving," Gray comments.

"Let's go!" Natsu cheers.

"No, wait," Erza snaps.

"What's the problem?" Natsu asks.

"The rules state that all five members must reach the goal," I explain. "We can't leave without Wendy!"

"You're right!" Lucy gasps.

"Wendy!" Natsu immediately began to call out.

"Crap, what are we gonna do now?" Gray asks.

"Why wait for a little girl, when you've got a man who's ready to go?" Elfman asked.

I jut my thumb at Erza. "Is that allowed?" I ask.

"No time for questions!" Elfman roars as I'm suddenly squished between Gray and Natsu. "We've got a roster change!"

"What are you doing, bro?!" Lisanna squeaked.

"He's doing what needs to be done! We don't have time to wait around for Wendy to show up!" Gray calls back.

"Elfman to the rescue!" Natsu cheers.

"That's my boob, Gray! Get your hand off of it!" I shout, my legs flailing.

"Oh crap-- sorry!" Gray exclaimed.

"What gives, man! You can't be feelin' up on Aria like that!" Natsu exclaimed and started a fight that ended up with a lump on their heads for getting me involved.

I squeeze myself forward and peer around Elfman's shoulder. "Ballad! Happy! Lisanna! I need you three to go look for Wendy and Carla! I'm really worried they might've run into some kinda trouble!"

"Okay! We'll go ask around town and see what we can find out!" Lisanna calls back.

"AYE, MA'AM!" Ballad and Happy cheer loudly. "Good luck to ya! Go team!"

"Manly!" Elfman roars.

"We're gettin' close to the entrance." Gray calls.

"Our first step to bein' number one in Fiore!" Natsu cheers as Elfman finally releases us to run. "We're takin' that title! Right, Team Fairy Tail?!"

"Oh, yeah!" We all cry.

"Remember~ The Grand Magic Games planning committee is not responsible for any loss of life that may occur within the Sky Labyrinth!" The pumpkin reminded us. "Good luck everyone!"

"Whoa, it's some kinda crazy, three-dimensional maze." Gray hummed.

"I really suck at stuff like this," Natsu groaned.

"It's pretty straight forward, if ask me," I mention with a shrug.

"Hold on, you can read ancient languages, but not common, and mazes are totally your thing?" Lucy asked.

I hum in response. "Its somethin' I can touch, so it's easy for my brain to comprehend. Now, the coliseum was to the east. I think we should head in that direction."

"I've got just thing the thing to help us out!" Lucy beams. "Open! Gate of the Compass! Pyxis!" A cool looking compass bird appeared with a joyous cry. "We need your help, Pyxis! Can you please show us which way is East?" It stood for a moment, then cried out and jut it wings out. "East is thataway!" Lucy beamed.

"Yes, we were aware," I mention. "Erza's got a regular compass."

Lucy and Pyxis sulk. "Thanks for the help anyway, Pyxis." She hums.

"It was a nice thought, though," I stammer.

~*****~

Each path we took, I made a mental note of each path we took. If I got turned around, I would stop to take a look at Lucy's little map Erza suggested she jot down just in case. "Hey," Natsu stops me.

"Yeah, I heard it, too," I nod.

"You're the one who told us to go this way, ya little runt!" A man shouts.

"Don't try to blame this on me!" Another cries.

"I don't care who's fault it is! All I know is we've been here before!" A third shouts.

"That's what I'm sayin'!" The first barks. "We're going around in circles!"

"Just shut up and keep movin'," The second snaps. "We're running out of time!"

"I almost forgot," Elfman hums.

"It's been so quiet that it's easy to forget there are other guilds in here." Gray agrees.

"Man, you gotta be kiddin' me," I hear a familiar voice echo out.

"You again?" A short man snorts.

"It's the Fairy Tail guild!" One of the others shout.

"This some kinda joke?"

"Aw, not those clowns!" Natsu complains.

"Well, I see your guild is just as shoddy as ever," The one Erza and I beat up a while back mentioned.

"You're lame!" The short one laughed.

I scoff. "You losers are in the tournament?" I call.

"You got no right to call us losers. You're the guild that always comes in last place!"

"Oh yeah?" I chirp, my head tilting. "We're lookin' to change that this year. I see you'd like a reminder of just who you're dealin' with."

"Whoa, hold on a second!" Lucy snapped at me. "You wanna fight right now?"

"Why not?" I hum. "They must've gotten amnesia, because they sure were scared of us back in Magnolia."

"That or they never learn," Gray chuckled.

"I'm fired up, now!" Natsu beamed.

"We're really going through with this?" Lucy whimpered.

"The fewer the rivals, the better our chances," Erza hums.

"Yeah, you've got a good point, Erza," Lucy chuckles.

"That and I'm still kinda pissed that they decided to mess with our friends for so long." I mention.

"Yes, and that." Erza nods.

It doesn't take much to destroy them and send them flying. Just as we do, the whole maze begins shifting. "Oh, man, I don't like this--" Natsu exclaims.

"What's going on?" Lucy cries.

"The grounds movin'!" Gray shouts. "Well, no technically--"

"It seems the labyrinth itself has started to rotate!" Erza exclaimed.

"Seriously?!" Natsu cried as our feet slipped from underneath us. "Nobody warned up about this!"

I snatch his hands and give a shout as my wings sprout up and saves us just in time. I give another shout as a body lands atop of my own, sending us hurtling towards one of the walls. "Sorry, sorry--" Lucy cries as I lay on the ground, twitching from the extra weight.

"Are you guys okay over there!" Gray shouts.

"We're good!" Lucy calls.

I hold up my hand, thumb jutting in the air. "Gimme-- gimme a minute to fly back over..." I mention. My wings spread out and slump.

~*****~

We took on a different tactic-- stealing everyone's maps to further our way through the maze. Lucy and I went through each of the maps, redrawing a new map that'll send us straight to end. I wanted to join in on the fighting to steal the maps, but this maze really did feel like something incredible to figure out.

"So, for starters, throw that east direction out of the window!" I exclaim. "We're just gonna end up running around in circles," I declare. "It just keeps rotating so there's no point in it!"

"Is that why you guys decided to bring us to the center instead?" Elfman asks.

"Yeah, I thought it was gonna be easier to find East from here, but apparently, I was wrong," Lucy whined.

"Who would've thought we'd find such a peaceful landscape inside of this monstrosity?" Erza asked.

"It'd be more peaceful if it wasn't upside down," Gray retorted irritably.

"As if that wasn't strange enough," Erza commented. "It would appear there's no east or west anymore."

"Jeez, even our compass is dizzy." Gray sighs.

"Man, this sucks," Elfman groans. "There's no telling which way we're supposed to go!"

"True, but we can't afford to stop moving either," Erza reminds him.

Lucy suddenly started giggling. "Yes! I've been waiting for this moment." Lucy beamed.

"What's gotten into you?" Natsu asks.

"I bet this crazy place has got her brain all scrambled." Elfman hums.

"Nope! My brain's just fine!" Lucy beams. "Open, Gate of the Compass! Pyxis!" The compass chicken appeared, it's little dial spinning wildly as it screeches.

"Not that weird duck thing again," Elfman complains.

"Why does it look so scared?" I ask as it curls into Lucy's side.

"Erza's compass must've traumatized him." Lucy chuckled.

"I didn't mean to upset him," Erza mentions.

"Okay, pal! Don't be scared-- this is your time to shine!" Lucy explains to the chicken. "Her compass is completely useless!"

Erza holds it out to them. "Observe, it keeps spinning."

"See? I told ya!" Lucy chimes. "We could really use your help right now."

"I apologize for upsetting you," Erza hums. "Would you please assist us?"

The bird cheers. "That's one simple minded spirit," Gray comments.

"Yeah, but I bet he's still smarter than Erza," Natsu adds.

"What did you say?" I hear Erza snap as I suddenly whirl around as if I were minding my own business.

"Nothin'! Nothin' at all!" Natsu and Gray cry.

The bird finally screeched and pointed out. "East is that way!" Lucy cried.

"One small problem! That way, is up!" Gray shouted.

"You sure he's right about this?!" Natsu asked.

"I'm positive! Trust me, Celestial Spirits are way stronger than regular old compasses!" Lucy exclaims.

"Any ideas on how we're gonna get up there?" Elfman asks.

I wave my hand at him. "If I timed it correctly," I mention as I pull out my pocket watch. "And I did, then we should have no problem reaching it in--- now!"

"WE FALL!? THAT IS SO NOT COOL!" The others bellow as the world turns on us.

We finally reach the goal, where we're met with the pumpkin guy from the holograms. "Elfman Strauss! Erza Scarlet! Gray Fullbuster! Lucy Heartfilia! Natsu Dragneel! And Aria Tangia!" He gave a delighted whoop. "Congratulations, Team Fairy Tail! You've cleared the preliminary round!"

"We did it!" Natsu cheered.

"Why do you sound so surprised, I knew we were gonna make it!" Gray hummed.

"I'm dying to know, did we come in first place?" Lucy asked excitedly.

The pumpkin trailed off. "No. More like eighth place. You just barely qualified."

"EIGHTH?!" I shout before slumping over.

~*****~

I tugged at my collar irritably. "I can't believe I can't wear my coat." I mention delicately, my nails scraping over my belly.

"Wow, can you hear that crowd?" Erza asks.

"I didn't think there'd be so many people watching," Lucy hums.

"The city if full of wizards from all over the country," Gray explains. "Of course folks want to see them in action."

"Purple is so lame," Natsu complains. "I'd rather wear my regular clothes instead of this crap."

"At least you don't have small boobs to make even smaller with this thing," I mention irritably.

"You guys just have to deal with it," Lucy commented. "Unless you want to tell master why you think the clothes he picked are so lame?"

"Erza's got a flattering set. Gray doesn't have to wear a shirt. You get something that makes your boobs look great. I got a glorified bra that shows off just how tiny my boobs are!" I snap at Lucy.

"I don't really care about the color, but I doubt I can squeeze into this thing," Elfman stammers as he holds up a small little suit that would probably fit Ballad.

Natsu and I begin to chortle. "Oh, man! That's perfect!"

"Well, you could use it as a sock, I guess." Lucy mentions.

"Did you spend those three months bench pressing a mountain range?" Gray asked.

"She's the one whos should be standing here with the rest of you, not me," Elfman sighs. "D'you think she'll be all right?"

I purse my lips to stave off the bark of anger. "She'll be fine. She has to be. I will not tolerate anyone thinking they won't pull through this!" I snap.

"Just relax, Aria, we weren't saying she wasn't," Lucy hummed softly as she grasped my clenched fist. "We're all worried, too."

I snort lightly and sigh. "I know... We should probably head out."

"Yes." Erza nods and leads us down the hallway to the entrance to the stadium.

"The person who attacked Wendy, do you think they're taking part in the games as well?" Natsu asks as we stare into the opening of the tunnel.

"I'd say so," I nod.

"You gotta wonder too, how they did it to weaken out team, or for some other reason." Gray hummed.

"Keep your eyes on the prize for now." Elfman ordered. "Winning this thing is the best way to get revenge for Wendy."

"Ready?" Natsu asks. "Let's go."

We all stride out into the stadium. "Now, it's time for all of us to meet our competitors! First up, in eighth place: an old school bunch of wild wizards from Magnolia! They had luck in the prelims, but now they're raring to take back first place by force!" The commentator shouts. "It's Fairy Tail!"

The crowd roars with boos. "What the hell?!" Natsu barks.

"I didn't see that comin'," Gray mutters.

"I wanna go home now." Lucy whines.

"Who would've thought they'd make it this far after losing every year?" The commentator asks. "Securing a spot in the prelims was no small feat for them. Will the Tenrou Team's sensational return help Fairy Tail become Fiore's greatest guild?"

I huff. "Don't let it get to you, Lucy," I chuckle. "I told you before, when you're in showbiz, or a circus, you're bound to get some heckles sometime in your life." I laugh. "It brings me back to that crappy play we were apart of!"

"CHEER TILL YOU BUST A LUNG! HORRAY!" We hear Makarov bellow.

"The cheers of our comrades are all the support we need," Erza mentions.

I choke on my spit as a familiar figure appears on the railing besides our guild. "P-Please don't tell me that's who I think it is--" I stammer.

"Man, even if it is Master Mavis, you're such a big baby when it comes to ghosts!" Natsu laughs as I shake my in spot.

"Sh-Shut up! No disrepect to Master Mavis, but the dead should stay dead!" I squeak as I shove my face into my arms while I squat onto the ground.

"Next up, the team that came in seventh place in the prelims; The rowdy army of hellhounds. Quatro Ceberus!" The commentator shouts. "And coming in sixth is a guild filled to the brim with the fairer sex! The dancers of the great blue sea; Mermaid Heel! In fifth place! With azure wings that glimmer in the darkness. It's Blue Pegasus! Next in fourth place! The goddess of love and strife! The sacred destroyer! Lamia Scale!"

"I don't recognize that girl," Natsu comments as he squats besides me.

"She looks like a smaller version of Sherry," I giggle.

"Please try to stay on your feet," Lyon admonished her.

"No promises, Lyon," The girl giggles.

"This is Shelia, she's one of Sherry's cousins," Yuka explained.

"That makes sense!" Natsu hums.

"And she's crazy strong to boot!" Toby beams.

"I need a lot more love if I wanna compete with Sherry," Shelia smiles.

"I WAS PRAISING YOU!" Toby shouts.

"Calm down and chase a ball or something," Yuka sighs.

"Being love crazy must run in the family," Gray comments.

"Don't forget our agreement, Gray," Lyon hums. Gray hums in confusion. "If we win, Juvia becomes a member of Lamia Scale."

"Last time I checked, I never agreed to that bet," Gray smirks. "Not that it matters, cause you guys are gonna lose."

"Then, if we win, I'll take Miss Aria as my one and only~" I flinch in my spot as Ichiya immediately slings himself near me.

"Master Bob's gonna pulverize you if I say the word," I mention darkly.

"Your parfum is like candy to my nostrils~" Ichiya ignores my threats.

"Then I'll take you, I guess," Ren says to Lucy. "Not that I'm into you or anything like that."

"Thanks, Ren. It's good to know that somethings never change." Lucy sighs.

"Then I'll take Wendy!" Eve chirps but is quickly thrown down by Elfman's monstrous glare. "Whoa, you really sprouted, didn't you? That's cool, I'm into thick chicks!"

"Laugh it up!" Elfman snapped.

"Hey, boss! If we lose, I wanna be given to this guild!" Hibiki chirps as he points at Mermaid Heel.

"Man, I was gonna call dibs!" Toby cried.

"Have you ever seen any of those Cerberus guys before?" Lucy asks as she turns to me.

I push my finger into my ear. "Not really. I don't really like Quatro's master. He's kinda skeevy to me."

"Now to introduce our third-place contestants!" The commentator shouts. "What a shocker! Swooping in from a midnight dreary, this dark and gloomy bunch are making their debut in this year's games! Give it up for Raven Tail!"

"What the heck are they doin' here?!" Natsu barks, the two of us shooting straight up.

"This is bad," Erza comments. "Their leader is Master Makarov's son, Ivan."

"But that means, they're--" Lucy stammers.

"Why the hell is a Dark Guild participating?!" I hiss.

"Fairy Tail," The tallest of the bunch growls. "I trust your friend is recovering?"

"You were the ones who attacked Wendy?" Natsu growls. "I'm gonna make you regret it!"

The tall one just chuckles. "The festivals just getting started."

"Hold on! We've still got two teams who made it through the qualifying round!" The commentator shouts.

"So, it's possible one of these teams is somehow tied to Zeref," Gray commented.

"That's assuming Jellal's intuition was right." Erza hums. "I guess we'll know soon."

"Our first place runner up is... Oh, wow! What a surprise! This years competition just got a whole lot more interesting, folks! It's Fairy Tail Team B!" The commentator shouts.

I just gape at their team. "Holy crap!" I exclaim loudly.

"Hold up, I need some answers!" Natsu barks. "Someone explain how Mystogan's even here?!"

"It can't be," Erza states. "Jellal, is that you in there?"

He just holds up his finger making me bellow out a laugh. "You kiddin' me?!" Natsu and Gray shout.

"Now this is gonna be a party!" I exclaim excitedly. I can hear Cerberus complaining about Fairy Tail's second team.

"You know, I think the newly implemented rules may left our audience a bit perplexed, Mr. Yajima." The commentator hummed. "Care to explain?"

"Sure thing!" Yajima nodded. "The committee in charge of the Grand Magic Games permitted each guild to enter two teams, which they felt would make the preliminaries more exciting."

"Why didn't you tell us that was your plan, Master?" Lucy asked.

Makarov just laughed boisterously. "YA LIKE THAT?!" He bellowed. "THIS IS HOW THE FAIRY TAIL GUILD TAKES CARE OF BUSINESS, BABY!"

"I'm not sure the committee really thought this new rule through." The commentator hummed. "I mean, this is a team-based competition. Won't having two teams from the same guild kind of stack the odds?"

"You worry too much; to be honest, I don't think it'll be a problem." Yajima responded.

"That would explain why there were so many teams that entered," I mention as I scratch at my ear.

"THIS IS A BIG LOAD OF CRAP!" Natsu snapped. "Being in the same guild don't mean jack; if I fight against any of you, I'm not pullin' any punches! As long as we're in this tournament, you're my enemies, and I ain't gonna lose to any of you!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Gajeel retorted as he stared down at Natsu. "I'm lookin' forward to makin' you two freaks' eat dirt."

"Bring it, Metal Head!" I chirp. "And you better be ready!"

"Hey, don't be forgettin' about me, Ice Princess," Laxus barks as he slams his hand on my head and starts ruffling my hair. "I'd say this is a perfect opportunity to get that rematch I've been wantin'!"

I sighed loudly as I cross my arms over my head. "No thanks, I don't want you falling for me when I make you eat dirt again."

"YOU LITTLE BRAT, I'M NOT GONNA LOSE AGAIN!" Laxus barks at me.

"And last but certainly not least, is the team that came in first place in the preliminaries!" The commentator cut us off. "That's right! You know them! You love 'em! Now, get on your feet and scream for the most powerful guild in all of Fiore! The one and only Sabertooth!"

I turn my gaze onto the team entering the arena. The blond is as boisterous as ever, raising his arms and eating up all the praise. I swear, it reminds me of someone, I just couldn't place who. "Why so serious?" The blond chirps at me as he passes. "It's just a game."

"There a reason you keep gawkin' at her, pretty boy?" Gajeel snaps.

"Nothing important," The black haired man hums.

"At least we finally know who our biggest competition is," Gray mentions.

"We've kept everyone waiting long enough! It's about time we unveil the official schedule for this year's tournament!" The commentator shouts as the ground in front of us raises up.

"There's gonna be a lot of action in the next few days," Gray mentions.

"Now we're talking!" Natsu grins.

"Each one of the rounds will begin with a contest! Participants will then be ranked from first to eighth place! The teams will be awarded points depending how they ranked in the contest. Additionally, the teams are allowed to select which of their members they want to compete! After that, we have battles! These bouts should come as quite a treat to all you loyal fans, since it was your suggestions that created these matchups!" The commentator explains.

"Interesting..." Erza hummed.

"Sounds like they get to choose who fights who," Gray mentions.

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

"The battle rules are simple!" The commentator continues. "Each team will square off as shown here! The winning teams will be awarded ten points, while the losing team will get jack squat! In the case of a draw, both teams will be awarded give points. Ready for action? Let's get things started with the first contest of the Grand Magic Games, one that we call, Hidden! At this time, we'd like each team to select one member to compete! Once your selections are made, the rules will be explained in their entirety." It didn't' take long for the challengers to be picked. "The first challenger has stepped forward! Representing Quatro Cerberus; its' Yaeger! From Mermaid Heel, the adorable Beth Vanderwood! From Raven Tail, Nalpudding! Blue Pegasus sends out Eve Tilm! Gotta love those lively cheers! Keep your eyes open on this one, folks! From Sabertooth, the minstrel who sings to the red moon; Rufus Lore!"

"They're going nuts for the pretty boy?" Natsu complained. "I don't get it!"

"Whatever the rule is, I'm sure the name is the clue. I have a  feeling stealth and guile will be essential to win." Erza hummed.

"If only Wendy wasn't out of commission," Lucy sighs. "She'd be perfect."

"I'll do it, guys!" Elfman suddenly declares. "I could use a warm up anyway; you just sit back and let a real man handle it!"

"Real good team spirit, Elfman, but the game's called hidden, so I don't think sending out a giant is a great idea," I mention.

"From Lamia Scale, Lyon Bastia!" The commentator shouts.

"Yeah? In that case, I got this one," Gray comments. "I've been itching to see what this tournament's all about."

"From Fairy Tail Team A, the icy Gray Fullbuster!" The announcer shouts. "From Fairy Tail Team B, Juvia Loxar!"

I hum delicately. "This might work out for us. Lyon's in love with Juvia, so I think that might distract him." I mention to Erza. She nods in response.

"The competitors have been chosen and the long wait is finally over! Grab a refreshment and get glued to your seat, cause you're not gonna want to miss a single nail-biting moment of Hidden!" The announcer shouts.