Phoenix Fire || Fairy Tail [1]

𝐱. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡

𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜: 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙗𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙩. 𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧
❛ 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? ❜

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"Let the Grand Magic Games Preliminary Round, the Sky Labyrinth.... Begin!" the announcer pumpkin guy yelled.

"Well if it's a race we better get moving." Natsu murmured, leaning on the rail of the balcony, his salmon hair sticking out in all directions.

"No, wait. The rules say all five members must reach the goal... we can't leave without Wendy." Erza said.

Natsu cursed, whilst Lucy began to freak out. What could have happened to the dragon slayer? It was unlike her to be late, and even if she forgot Carla wouldn't.

"What do we do now?" Gray scowled.

"You realise I'm here for a reason, right?" Rose remarked, rolling her eyes at how dense the group could be at times. She was still in her pyjamas, but it's not really like she had a reputation to uphold or anything. Besides, they were comfortable. "Looks like we've got a roster change!"

Before the rest could react, she leapt off the balcony. Her muffler was, as always, wrapped snugly around her neck.

Rose landed on the wooden skywalk with her knees bent, making a break for it as soon as she regained her balance. The thuds behind her let her know that her companions weren't too far behind.

"Lisanna, Happy!" Erza called over her shoulder. "I need you two to look for Wendy and Carla! I'm really worried they might have run into some kind of trouble..."

"Okay, we'll ask around town and see what we can find out!" Lisanna hollered after them, her hands cupped around her mouth.

"Aye, sir!"

Rose spared a moment to take note of her surroundings – she could see the distant figures of other players. They were steadily making their way up the precarious wooden paths which cut through the sky.

After a few minutes spent breathing heavily and sprinting, the group came to a stop at a platform at the end of the path. A long announcement echoed through the speakers, cautioning the groups that the committee was not responsible for any injuries sustained throughout the round.

Rose scowled. The structure which they would have to navigate was confusing enough, with upside downstairs and random pillars – the added risk of falling through a hole or running into other players lowered their chances. Natsu groaned, clearly not looking forward to the event.

"Don't give up already, we have to finish in the top eight..." Lucy smiled at him as if hoping to encourage the dragon slayer. "Otherwise, we can kiss the title of number one in Fiore goodbye!"

"That's right! We have to kick that Sabretooth guild's butt!" Natsu roared. Rose couldn't help but wonder how it was possible for the male to switch moods so quickly. Perhaps it was because of how close he and Lucy were.

"Now... when we were on the ground, the Colosseum was in the east. I think we should head in that direction." Erza, always the voice of reason. The requip mage crossed her arms over her chest plate. Rose nodded in agreement but didn't bother to interfere in their conversation. They seemed to know what they were doing.

"I've got just the thing to help us out!" Lucy smirked. She was obviously proud to have a moment as the group's saviour. "Open! Gate of the compass, Pixis!"