Lucy's P.O.V.
I was going to take a bath, only to find Cana already in my bath tub. She was all depressed though, and even though I know it's still before noon, it just felt weird seeing her without alcohol in her hand. She was talking nonsense though, I mean, she was considering leaving the guild... for good. That's just horrible! I can't allow it. I tried to talk her out of it, but I just couldn't. When I realized that there was no talking her out of it, I politely asked her to leave. I mean, it is my house, my tub, I wanted to take a bath and she was uninvited. But I was certainly going to try to talk to Cana again later.
(Y/N)'s P.O.V.
The day after my date was the busiest day ever. Not for me, but for the whole guild. Everyone is going out on a bunch of solo jobs, one after the other. "What's going on?" I asked Lucy and Wendy who were the only ones not running.
"I don't know. They've never been this way before. Not since I've been here anyways." Lucy answered. Wendy just shrugged. I went over to Mirajane.
"Hey, Mira? What's going on?" I asked.
"Why just the S-class promotional trials." she replied.
"The S-class w-what w-what's?" was my response.
"It's when we put a group of wizards in a tournament to decide who should be promoted to an S-class mage." Mirajane explained.
"Oh, I see."
"Master handpicks these lucky contestants and they work in groups of two." she added.
~~Time skip~~
"Listen up brats, it's time to announce the S-class contestants. This year's participants are... Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Cana Alberona, Levy McGarden, (Y/N) (L/N), Elfman Strauss, Freed Justine, and Mest Gryder. However, only one of you will be promoted. You shall all choose one partner who is not already an S-class wizard, and meet at the docks in a week. Good luck to all participants." Master announced. Wait, did he say my name? Wow... Okay... Well at least I already know who my partner's gonna be. Jesse of course! We've got a lot of training to do. I can't believe I'm going against seven of my friends, but 14 including the partners, and I might fight Erza, Mira or Gildarts along the way. As long as I have fun. Wait a minute... who's Mest Gryder?
Did he just join? But he was nominated to be an S-class wizard. Maybe he was really powerful at his old guild. I mean, I was nominated as well. But it feels like I know him... yet, I don't. Maybe he has been here for a long time and just sits quietly in the back? Or he could always be on job requests. Just like Gildarts. Hopefully he's not as powerful as him. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. As soon as the master finished his announcement, I took Jesse to the park and we began our training. I practiced my dragon slaying magic on rocks and trees, and Jesse tried to fly for longer periods of time while holding increasingly larger objects. I could feel my power slowly growing and I could see a lot of improvement on Jesse's behalf. I'm so proud of her... but I never tell her that. Maybe I should start. "Jesse, why don't you take a break with me?" I suggested.
"You sure? I could get another 15 minutes in." she replied.
"If you want."
"No, no, no, no, no! Let's take a break." she said, flying over to wear I was. I laughed at her cuteness.
"Wanna head back to the guild?"
"I rather not. How about we head back to your place?"
"Sure!" I exclaimed. We headed back to our place, also known as Lucy's apartment, and I couldn't find Lucy. She must be out. Oh well, I won't be long anyways.
Lucy's P.O.V.
I was walking around Magnolia, doing who knows what, and I found Cana passed out in an alleyway. After I helped her out of the alleyway, I brought her to my house. No one was home so I assume (Y/N) was still out training with Jesse. I started talking with her and she told me everything. She was saying something about how she failed the trial four times and that if she fails for the fifth time, she'll leave the guild because she has no right to see 'that person'. I told her that was nonsense and in the end, I decided to be her partner for the exams, if she'll let me of course. Which she did. "I'm going to do everything in my power to help you become an S-class wizard!" I exclaimed.
~~Time skip~~
(Y/N)'s P.O.V.
Looks like it's time for the exams. I'm all siked. I noticed that Natsu was with Happy, Gray was with Loke, Cana's with Lucy, Levy's partnered up with Gajeel, I'm so shipping them by the way, Elfman is with Evergreen, shipping them too, Freed's joining forces with Bickslow, and Mest is being helped out by little Wendy Marvell. Apparently, it's taking place on Tenrou island. That means I'll get to see that pretty tree up close. When we all hopped on the boat, we realized how hot it was. Every single girl on that ship wore bikinis and Gray, well, Gray, he was pretty much how he always is. Natsu was obviously motion sick, I wonder why Wendy and I don't get motion sickness. Maybe 'because we're female?
The master speaks up and announces the rules. "Each pair will choose one of the eight paths. Two pairs of paths intersect with each other. That initiates battle with the meeting teams; three paths lead to one of the current S-Class Mages, who the pairs will have to battle; one path is free of obstacles. Only those that win in battles are allowed to move on and pass the first trial." We were still at sea, so we started to talk. But a few seconds later, he says "Begin!" Wait, what? But we're still in the water. Natsu tried to leave, but he was blocked by something. Freed must have set up runes beforehand. Him and Bickslow left first, telling us we had to wait five minutes before granted access. That was just not fair. It's not even a race. Except, because Levy's such a bookworm, she rewrote the runes for only Gajeel and herself. Plus, because Evergreen's spent so much time with Freed, she was able to rewrite it for Elfman and herself.
After the five minutes, I jetted off in Jesse's grasp. Natsu did the same with his exceed. Gray and Loke slid on Gray's ice, while Mest and Wendy just vanished. I looked back and noticed that Team Cana was the only one left on the boat. Jesse and I got to the paths and had to decide which one out of the ones that were left. We decided to choose the 'D' path. Evidently, for us 'D' stood for 'dumb'. We faced against Erza Scarlet. The strongest female Fairy Tail wizard, but when I'm through, people will have a new perspective. I attacked, "Ice dragon... roar!!"
She requiped into her Adamante armor to block, and then quickly changed into her flight armor which gave her immense speed. I created an ice sword to defend her attacks. I couldn't keep up, but I had fast enough reflexes. After a while, I slowed down and got hit. I quickly regained my strength and went to attack Erza. "Ice dragon wing attack!" I shouted. I hit her, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect. I flew up, with the help of Jesse of course, and she did the same. We were now engaged in an arial battle.
"I'll admit, you possess great strength."Erza complimented.
"Thanks. Likewise." I stated. "I was told you were ordered to hold back..."
"Was I?" she said sarcastically. She smirked. We both smiled and were so into the battle, we almost forgot why we were fighting in the first place. Almost. She requiped into her Flame Empress armor. She produced fire to attack. Against an ice mage, it was a smart tactic... but I have a few tricks up my sleeve.
"Dragon slayer secret art..." I started. "Avalanche!" Snow began to fly everywhere in a rapide fashion. It hit her from all directions. No one's seen this attack yet, so that's just another advantage. I mentally smirked. She looks pretty beat up, but I'm not exactly in new condition either. We were all beat up with little energy left. For those who don't know, when a dragon slayer uses one of their secret arts, it drains out a lot of their physical and magical energy. I had to finish this in one blow... "Ice dragon roar!" She was obviously too tired to dodge right away. It hit her and she was down. After that, she let me pass. I walked through the door that opened. Out came a gorgeous jungle paradise. There was only Levy, Gajeel, Lucy and Cana there, I hope the others are still fighting... time to rest up!
As time went by, more people showed. First, Natsu and Happy, then Gray and Loke, and finally came Elfman and Evergreen. After all of the remaining participants showed up, master came and explained the rules of the next trial. "The second test is finding the grave of Mavis, our founding Guild Master." Master explained.
"Founding Guild Master?" Lucy wondered.
"Mavis' grave..." Cana started.
"Huh? That sounds easy!" Natsu stated.
"You have only six hours!" Master continued. "Here that? I said six hours! I'll be waiting at Mavis' grave." Makarov said before leaving.
"Righto. Let's go Happy!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Aye, sir!" Happy responded.
"Come on Jesse!" I said to my partner, leaving out of the meeting place. Jesse and I ran into a monster, and I can only assume everyone else did too. We took shelter and slipped away from the foul beast. After we shook the monster off, we continued our search for the grave. "Maybe there's a clue hidden somewhere around here." I wondered aloud.
"Or maybe it's hidden in the words the master said." Jesse added.
"How smart! I knew I picked you for a reason." I congratulated. Oops, that came out wrong. "That's not what I meant."
"Where could it be?"
"It could be an anagram. Or a word puzzle."
"Like wordplay?"
"Exactly."
Juvia's P.O.V.
I know I shouldn't have, but I just had to come along to cheer my beloved Gray on. I didn't feel comfortable coming alone, so I asked Lisanna to tag along with me. As long as she doesn't go after my Gray, everything will be fine. Erza and Mirajane were at the resting place because they've finished their matches. Mirajane started to talk about how Evergreen through her off by saying that she and Elfman were getting married. She then imagined what their children would be like. My face went redder than Natsu's flames. "K-kids..." Woops, did I say that out loud? I just can't help it. "Kids..." I started picturing my children with my beloved. I love you my darling Gray! "Kids..." Oh, my darling, why won't you just come up and ask? Am I not being forward enough. Maybe it's not obvious enough. But... "Kids..." I finally calmed down.
The girls started talking about this Mest fellow. Who is he? Apparently, he wasn't in Edolas and has been here all this time. Why haven't I seen him before? He must be a shy one, but to be nominated for the chance to be an S-class Fairy Tail mage... he must always be on jobs. Then, we started talking about how Wendy and Mest haven't returned yet. "Juvia will go look for them." I said, standing up. "It is a little worrying..."
"Then I'll go as well." Erza stated. "Mira, Lisanna, stay here." Darn it! My plan was to go look for Gray and cheer him on. It's not fair! I wanted to be alone with him, why does Erza have to go. But I can't just say no, or else they'll know something's up. I'll just have to give her the slip.
(Y/N)'s P.O.V.
Jesse and I were trying to figure out if there were any clues. So far, no luck. "Why don't you search the air, and I'll continue trying to figure something out." I suggested.
"Good idea." she said, nodding and taking flight. All of a sudden, I see this mysterious guy. I don't remember him, but I thought only members of Fairy Tail could find this place. So, he must be, right? He doesn't seem to have noticed me yet.
"Who are you?" I asked. He looked up from the ground and turned his head to face me.
"Stay back." he ordered. "I don't want to harm anybody else. I'm sorry, I thought this island was inhabited, I'll find some other place to isolate myself."
"No, wait! I don't want you to leave, I just want to know your name." I said, sitting down next to him.
"Get away from me. I don't want to hurt you."
"You're not going to hurt me."
"It's my magic. I have no control over it."
"So you are a wizard." I said. He smiles and nods. "What is your name?"
"Zeref." the mysterious man answered.
"Well, Zeref. I'd like to stay and chat, but I've got a test to win." I said.
"Please stay. My magic doesn't seem to activate when you're around."
"I wish I could but..." I started. He had this sad expression on his face that I just couldn't refuse. "I'll be back... I promise." He nods. I leave, wondering what happened to this man to get him all sad and depressed. He said something about not being able to control his magic. Maybe that has something to do about it. I'll ask my friends later, right now, I've got a trial to conquer.
~~Time skip~~
I kept on searching for the grave, when I ran into Lucy. She was running away from this big man. He had pale skin... it was literally white. He also had giant black hair that looked super strong. He really didn't seem too strong himself, but if Lucy couldn't beat him, he must be stronger than he seems. "Hey, Lucy. Need any help?" I asked her as she was running by.
"(Y/N)! Run!" she yelled as I looked behind me to find the white-skinned man getting closer and closer.
"Wait up Lucy!" I shouted back. I started running towards said mage and finally caught up to her. Sadly, so did the crazy man. I tried my breath attack, wing attack, and even fist attack. But nothing happened. Lucy summoned Plue. He's adorable, but he doesn't exactly have the highest battle strength. What is Lucy thinking? Well, all logic is erased. Plue is actually working. Only, when the celestial spirit finished its dance, the black-haired guy wasn't distracted anymore. Lucy tried calling other spirits, Cancer, Aries, but the man seems invulnerable. The man sent us flying and Lucy and I landed in the middle of Natsu's fight. He was just about to kick his opponent, but my opponent got in the way.
Natsu, Lucy and I decide to work as a team to defeat the two bad guys in front of us, but Natsu's left. Now, it's three against one. I ran after Natsu's old opponent, but stopped in my tracks. "What's going on? I can't move." I said. Lucy seemed frozen as well.
"It's his doll. Once he has a strand of your hair, he can control you." Lucy replied. He was making us do these weird poses. Some weirder than others. At one point, I was spinning around, and at another point, I was on all fours. It got crazy weird. It could have just been my mind playing tricks on me, but I could have sworn I saw a faint tint of blush on Natsu's cheeks. Not soon after, Lucy and I were forced to attack Natsu. The said fire mage knocked Lucy out, but then it was my turn to fight. Natsu held me back and thankfully, I couldn't hurt anyone.
"Don't you two have any decency? Quit being cuddly and kissy in the middle of the battle field!" our pale opponent shouted.
"We're not doing any of those things, you perv!" Natsu and I retorted. I'm not sure about Natsu, but I could feel heat rising to my cheeks.
"Whatever, they're totally in love." Happy cooed. The man got mad and made me squeeze Natsu, probably to death.
"Fine! You wanna get handsy in front of me? Here! I'll make you hug your boyfriend so hard, his spine turns to jelly. Here you go. Put the squeeze on your main squeeze. Stretch him like he's made of taffy!" our opponent shouted, making me squeeze, crush and pull Natsu. His screams were heard loud and clear, but they weren't serious screams... Natsu managed to take the stupid cursing doll away. Happy asked us what we wanted to do with it while the owner of the doll was standing there, shocked at the blue exceed's wings.
"Nice going Happy." Natsu complimented.
"Awesome!" I shouted. Happy stared at the doll. The said cat made me embrace Natsu and nearly suffocated the poor fire dragon slayer. Our opponent, who I nearly forgot was there, knocked Happy out of the sky, sending me and the doll flying and spinning in the air. The man tried to grab the cursed object, but Natsu was able to grab it first.
"It's mine now, bub." Natsu stated. He attacked the mysterious man, but to no prevail. At least now, Lucy awoken. Natsu got hit and fell right into a cliff. As he fell, the boulders did as well. As a result, Natsu was stuck under the heavy rocks.
"I'll summon Virgo to help set you free." Lucy suggested. "Not now. This isn't the time to run out of power."
"Lucy, behind you!" Happy warned.
"Run away!" Natsu and I shouted in unison. Happy tried to attack, but was soon proven too weak. I, myself tried attacking as well, but that didn't work either. Lucy kept on suffering and I felt so useless. It was sad that all I could do was watch my friend in pain. Just when I thought all hope was lost, Lucy attacked the man. I looked over to Natsu and saw that he was controlling the doll. Fusing his magic with Lucy and Happy's, Natsu was able to defeat the adversary, with the help of his friends of course. Lucy, Happy and I tried to get Natsu unstuck. He was finally free once he realized that he could get out using his magic.
~~Time skip~~
The Tenrou Tree started to fall. We are doomed. Isn't that the source of our magic power? I can feel it already. My magic, slowly fading. I can tell that it's affecting the other Fairy Tail members as well. Everyone lost their magical ability... What are we going to do now? We can't fight in this condition. But we can't just flee either. They would never let us surrender. No, it's too late for that. There's no going back now. What on Earthland are we supposed to do now? It's bad enough that all of my friends can't do anything, but the fact that I'm helpless... unable to save my friends... This is the worst thing ever. And to think, Fairy Tail's strongest wizards are all gathered on this island.
~~Time skip~~
I don't know what happened, but the tree has been restored and so has my magic power. And everybody else's, I'm assuming. We're all just talking right now. I even met this guy named Laxus. Apparently he's the master's grandson. Wonder why I haven't seen or heard of him before. It's after the fight and we're all pretty exhausted. I heard some rumbling... At first I dismissed it, but then others started to hear it as well. We made jokes about it being Lucy, but I could tell it was something else. Then... there was a roar. A dragon's roar. I can finally see it. It's...it's...Acnologia! We are all in trouble. Acnologia is a fierce, destructive creature. Even with all of these dragon slayers present, I'm not sure we could take on the king of dragons. It started attacking us, so we fought back. Master tried to save us, but we, as a team, wouldn't leave him. As we attacked, I saw Natsu mouth the words 'be safe'. I blushed a bit. That made me feel like he really cared about me. It warmed my heart. No (Y/N), no! No romantic thoughts!
When all hope seemed lost, we all joined hands. I know, I know, sappy moment. But because of this, we were able to combine all of our magic to form a defensive circle. Acnologia then attacked us with its roar. Next thing I knew, I was out like a light. But little did I know, I wouldn't be waking up for a very long time...