Code Names: Fire and Winter

Chapter 10: Sky Labyrinth

We got to the inn and were met with an angry Erza and a scared Lucy and Elfman. "What took you two so long. It's almost midnight!" We told them what happened with Sting and Rouge. By the time we were done, it was midnight.

Natsu's POV

When the clock struck midnight, a projection of a tiny guy with a pumpkin head appeared in the sky. We rushed out to the balcony to see what was going on. "To narrow down the 113 guilds in this year's Grand Magic Games to a more manageable 8, lets begin the preliminary rounds!" "Well this is new," said Erza, "There's never been a preliminary round before." "That explains why we had to be in the inn by midnight," said Gray. "I didn't even know there were that many guilds in Fiore!" shouted Lucy, shock evident on her face. 

"Although the number of guild increased and multiply each year, the games have gotten boring now, is all I ever hear! Let's dwindle them down, I say to you, and give just 8 a cheer!" yelled the pumpkin man, "The rules for this preliminary round are simple." The inn began to shake and was raised off the ground. "What tha?" asked Gray while holding on to the edge off the balcony. "Look! The other inns are doing it  too!" We looked around and sure enough, the other inns were at the same level as ours. "A real man dreams of rising up!" yelled Elfman. 

When the inns stopped moving, the projection spoke again. "Now, you will all be participating in a race! The finish line is at the Domus Flau Coliseum! Only the first 8 teams to reach it will move on to the Grand Magic Games!" 

"That's a path," I said as a path formed from the balcony up into the sky. "I assume we will be following it," stated Erza. "You are free to use magic in any way you see fit," the projection announced, "There are no restrictions! But remember, only the first 8 teams to clear this round will participate in the games. However, all five team members must cross the finish line for it to count!" The projection zoomed into his face. "Also, we are not responsible for any loss of life that may occur in the labyrinth." 

"Say what?" I questioned. A gigantic sphere-shaped maze appeared, floating in the sky. The paths from our inns leading to the floating maze. "So without further ado, let the Grand Magic Games preliminary rounds, begin!" yelled the pumpkin headed man before the projection disappeared. 

The teams started running up the path, our team included. Well, sort of. Elfman picked Gray and I up with one arm and Lucy and Erza with the other. He eventually put us down and we all ran to the labyrinth. When we got there, everything was crazy. Platforms and stairs were turned this way and that. "It's some sort of three-dimensional maze," stated Gray. "Aaaaaaaah! I really suck at stuff like this," I stated truthfully. "Don't give up already. We have to finish in the top 8, otherwise we will lose our chance at being number one in Fiore," said Lucy. 

"Yeah! We gotta get through this so we can kick Sabertooth's butt!" I yelled while punching my fist. "Let's try to beat them to the finish line," said Gray. "A real man always goes for first place!" yelled Elfman. 

Erza turned to all of us and said, "While we were on the ground, the coliseum was east. I say we head in that direction." She was pulling something out, but Lucy didn't see. "I have just the thing! Open, Gate of the Compass, Pyxus!" yelled Lucy. A red, bird-looking spirit with a compass on its head appeared. Lucy asked it to find east. The compass on its head quickly found east and when it did, the spirit pointed both wings east. Lucy crouched down and pointed with him. 

"East is that way!" she yelled. Erza held up her own compass and said ,"Yes, I'm well aware, because I brought along a regular compass." Lucy and her spirit started sulking. She thanked Pyxus before he disappeared. 

We started traveling east, well, as east as we could get in this crazy maze. As we were running through the maze, we could see the city below us. We kept traveling and came to a door. We opened the door a it was a path that spiraled around a tunnel. When we got to the door on the other side, I bust through the door. I almost fell of the edge on the platform since the door was so close to it, but Elfman caught me. "Thanks man!" I said while looking towards Elfman. "When he said 'possible loss of life' he wasn't bluffing," stated Lucy.