"And now, the Naval Battle! All participants on the field."
"I know you can do it, Lucy and Juvia!" Emi yelled from the stands.
Everyone smiled at the woman's enthusiasm. Emi beamed when she saw that it was only Lucy and the new Sabertooth team member left in the bubble. All Lucy had to do was last the time limit and she'll get at least second place, earning Fairy Tail valuable points. Emi frowned slightly as she looked at Minerva. She suddenly had a bad feeling. Her feeling proved right, as Minerva started to harshly and sadistically attack Lucy. Everyone in the Fairy Tail section looked on in horror.
"Lucy!"
Everyone looked over to the Sabertooth balcony and saw that they were all smiling as they watched.
"Sabertooth."
After the pumpkin man stopped the match, Lucy's body went crashing down to the ground. Chelia and Wendy quickly started administering medical attention until they could get her to the infirmary. The Fairy Tail team was on the field, protectively standing in front of Lucy as they approached Minerva. Sabertooth quickly made their way in front of Minerva. A staredown ensued. Emi looked down with tears in her eyes before rushing down to the infirmary.
"Lucy..."
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"Natsu! Gajeel!"
Emi hadn't left Lucy's side since the incident, but she sprinted down to the tunnel that led to the arena. She leaned over as she tried to catch her breath.
"Good luck."
Gajeel grunted before walking down the tunnel. Natsu stayed behind and gave Emi a grin before turning towards the arena.
"Natsu?"
The dragon slayer looked over his shoulder and waited for her to continue. He saw her looking at him with concern.
"If you're here to tell me to go easy on them, I'm not listening."
Natsu playfully blocked his ears and went to walk away again.
"Natsu, please. You have to win. For Fairy Tail. You have to do it for Lucy and for all of us."
Natsu looked at her a little surprised and gave her a huge grin and a thumbs up.
"Don't worry. I wasn't planning on losing."
Emi smiled and let Natsu enter the arena as she rushed back up to the Fairy Tail section.
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"How's Lucy doing?" Levy asked Emi as she sat down in her seat.
"She's still in rough shape, but she's awake and cheering for Fairy Tail to win!"
"Emi," Mira spoke up, "are you going to be okay with this?"
"Of course! I have no doubt in my mind that they'll win."
"I don't think that's what she meant," Lisanna stated.
Emi turned around with a fire in her eyes and nodded towards the two, signalling that she was rooting for Fairy Tail with her whole heart. Makarov looked at the woman before making eye contact with Master Mavis, who looked on in amazement.
"I admire her dedication, even if it means opposing her mate. That's not an easy thing to do."
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It was a back and forth battle, each team taking turns overwhelming the other.
"Come on Natsu! Show them what Fairy Tail can do!" Emi shouted from the stands.
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Gajeel looked at the stands before turning to Natsu, "Just you? Really?"
"What can I say, she obviously likes me better than you."
Sting looked at the stands in confusion. Seriously? She's cheering for Fairy Tail?
Sting and Rogue had done their white and shadow drive respectively.
The air around them pulsed before they seemed to begin to increase their speed. Sting pounced towards Natsu as Rogue took on Gajeel. An extremely bright white light engulfed the arena.
"Holy Nova!" Sting screamed as he aimed the attack at the fire dragon slayer.
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Emi looked at the blinding light. Her head began to ache. She slowly turned her head to the Sabertooth balcony where the competitors were standing, watching the fight. She eyed the maroon exceed before she felt her heart speed up. Bright white light? And...something red flying towards me. Emi took a sharp breath before holding her head, causing the Fairy Tail masters to rush to her.
"Sorry. I'm okay. Things are just piecing together."
They looked at her with concern before turning back to the match. Emi stood there and worked through the pain before she felt an immense pain shoot through her head. This pain was like nothing before. She couldn't contain her screams. Emi screamed at the top of her lungs.
"I'm Sting, and that little guy over there is Lector."
"Come on, Em. You gotta come with us. You'll love it."
"Lector, what do you think? Up for another companion?"
"Em! I have a present for you."
"Why don't you try to sleep? You seem too tired to walk any further."
"Hey, uh, did you maybe wanna go on a date with me?"
"Em, what are you worried about? You're the strongest person I know."
"You see those stars? They're the Little Dipper."
"Psst. Em, let's go. We can totally ditch them."
"You're telling me you're taking a job with Kira and not me? That's cold."
"So what do you say? Wanna join the guild?"
"I'll always be here to protect you, so don't worry about something so far fetched as dying on my watch."
"Look, Em. I can totally fit a watermelon over my head!"
"Happy birthday! Lector and I got you this cool gadget thing. We, uh, didn't really know what to get you."
"I'm sure a kiss will make you feel better."
"Laying here with you is the best, right Lector?"
"I've never seen Lector like someone so much. You should be honored."
"Hey Em! Why don't you move in with us? It'll be like a sleepover that never ends!"
"Damn. This sucks. I tried to make it a great day and that stupid Ayame had to go and ruin it."
"What do you think? I personally recommend the catmint for the necklace. It's your favorite."
"Do you think you coud just like...stay here for a little longer?"
"Stop teaming up on me! Lector! What happened to always being on my side?"
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
Everyone in Fairy Tail couldn't even begin to process what was going on. Emi was folded over in immense pain, screaming so loud that the benches shook. She was bleeding from her nose, ears, and even her eyes. Nothing anyone could do was stopping it. They were all yelling and shaking her, but nothing was working. They saw that Natsu had defeated the opposing dragon slayers, but they didn't cheer as loud as they wanted to.
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Sting and Rogue lay face down on the ground as they were beaten by the fire dragon slayer. They both groaned before Sting stopped moving completely. His ears perked up. He knew that voice anywhere. He heard the screams. They were so loud that they were hurting his ears. The other two dragon slayers looked around before Natsu shrugged and began walking back to the tunnel. Sting forced himself up, pain pulsing through his body. Em...
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"Someone get her to the infirmary!"
Macao quickly lifted the woman up and ran to the infirmary to Porlyusica. They all could tell she needed medical attention. Urgently. They burst into the infirmary, Emi still screaming. Lucy looked and her eyes went wide.
"Porlyusica! Emi needs help!"
Everyone in the room looked at Emi's screeching figure and made room so that Macao could place her on an empty bed. Wendy immediately went over to her and tried to use her magic to heal her, but nothing was working. Porlyusica came over and placed a hand on Emi's forehead.
"She's burning up."
"Ms. Porlyusica, what is happening to her?"
"She needs her rest. Let us be."
Everyone that wasn't injured left the room, leaving Lucy and Elfman. They all looked at Emi as she screamed and bled. Porlyusica made her swallow something and she eventually fell asleep.
"What the hell was that?" Lucy asked as she looked at the now unconscious woman.
Suddenly Laxus burst through the door, followed by the rest of the combined Fairy Tail team. Laxus scanned the room and rushed over to Emi when he spotted her. He turned to Porlyusica.
"What on earth happened? We could hear screams from the balcony. Gramps said that she suddenly collapsed and started bleeding. What did--"
"Hush, child. I don't know the answers myself, so it's pointless to ramble. Let me do my work."
Laxus grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and brought it right next to Emi's bed. He sat down and grabbed one of her hands. He looked at her sleeping figure and saw that she was still in pain. He growled and turned to the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards and snarled.
"Out."
Everyone jumped back at the sudden hostility from the lightning mage before slowly backing up and shutting the door to the infirmary. Natsu was the only one who stayed.
"Is she going to be okay?" Natsu asked from the door.
Laxus whipped his head around to Natsu and glared at him, daring him to stay after he told him to leave. Natsu made eye contact with Laxus before crossing his arms.
"Hey, you're the one who said I had an instinct to protect her. I'm just following it."
Laxus huffed before turning back to Emi. She started to whimper and tears started to come back. They became a dull red color as they mixed with the blood. Laxus took off his coat and gently placed it on top of her as he continued to hold her hand.
He looked at her and muttered, "I promised to protect you. What the hell am I supposed to do now?"