#ready to fist fight my depression in a Wendy's parking lot at this point

[shouts-into-the-void]

Me reading all of my comfort webcomics, watching all of my comfort videos, and still not having enough serotonin:

[riverofmemoriesft]

. Between the Lines . 169

From where she was seated in the stands, Lucy watched Erza speak quietly with the nervous Wendy. Wendy's eyes were wide with fear, but Erza seemed to be doing fine at calming the distressed dragon slayer.

"Erza's gonna win," Natsu said confidently beside her. Happy was settled in Lucy's lap, and Lucy could feel the purr that ripped from him. He paused. "It's okay if Wendy wins, too, though."

Lucy giggled. "I'm sure."

Beside her, Gray snorted. Juvia was curled up beside him, dozing with her head on his shoulder as they waited for the event to start. They'd been up early, woken up by Makarov so that he could praise them and give them tips for the day. They weren't to know what the game was until it was time for it to start, but he'd told them to stay strong and alert, ready for anything.

Lucy was somewhat glad that she didn't fight until the next day.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, glancing at Gray.

Gray rolled his eyes. "The look on Lyon's face when I told him that I wished him luck against Jellal." He grinned and Lucy laughed at the look. "It was one of the best moments of my life, Lucy."

"The fact that the best moment of your life was telling Lyon his ass was going to get kicked is depressing," Lucy replied, and Natsu snickered his agreement before focusing when Erza was approached by a smug looking Minerva.

"Uh oh," Gray muttered. "Trouble is on its way."

"Trouble found its way to me the moment Natsu threw himself in front of my car," Lucy said bluntly. Natsu pouted playfully, but leaned forward and stared at the unfolding events with interest.

Before Minerva opened her mouth to speak to Erza, who'd curiously turned to face her, she was interrupted by the announcer. What looked like thousands of people shut up to listen.

"Welcome to the first day of the Grand Magic Games! For the next five days, we ask that you enjoy the games in the morning and the battles starting at noon! Today's participants include the well known Titania of Fairy Tail, Erza Scarlet, a wizard saint by the name of Jura Neekis from Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail's sky dragon slayer Wendy Marvell, Mermaid Heel's Risley Law, Sabertooth's new recruit and powerhouse Minerva Orland, and Blue Pegasus' senior member, Lyss Marnox! Today's battle will be a mixture of wits and strength."

"Erza's got this," Gray said confidently. "There's no way they'd beat her at a game of wits and strength. She's got both."

"But so do the others," Juvia murmured, troubled. "Juvia doesn't like the look of Minerva Orland...she has a cruel look. It reminds Juvia of Grimoire Heart and Phantom Lord. Jose had that look in his eyes before he ordered Gajeel to hurt-"

"Hey, Luce," Natsu said loudly, cutting Juvia off with a glare in the water woman's direction. Lucy gave him a look of amusement as he tugged at her sleeve. "What do you think? Erza's got it, right?"

"Right," Lucy confirmed. "I think Jura's pretty close, though. He's cunning. Age gives him wisdom. Same goes for Miss Marnox, too."

"What Lucy said," Mirajane hummed from where she was seated behind them, perched at Laxus' side. Lisanna was between Mirajane and her brother, and to Laxus' right sat Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed. "Jura is strong. Maybe more so than Erza."

Jellal chuckled low in his throat. "I wouldn't say that he's entirely stronger than Erza, Mira. She has tricks up her sleeve."

"The goal is simple and similar to last night's preliminaries," the announcer called. Lucy squinted at the box above, wondering if she knew the voice from elsewhere. "Get to the arena before the others."

They all watched as a portion of the ground opened suddenly. A table rose out of nowhere, stocked with six vials. Lucy shivered, doubting they were filled with something pleasant.

Wendy bit her lip hard, quivering.

"Competitors, take one vial." When they'd done as instructed, he continued. "With the help of a Council member, each vial has been filled with a potion that will teleport you to the edge of Crocus. You have one hour to get back here as quickly as you can. Should you not arrive within the time limit, you will receive zero points. The rest will receive points in order of their arrival, ranging from six to one. Now, on the count of three, drink the substance in your vial."

Lucy watched as Erza and Wendy readied their vials. Her hand dropped to grip Natsu's hand tightly, worried about Wendy, and he snorted smoke in her direction. "She'll be fine," he muttered as if reading her mind.

"I hope so," Lucy whispered.

A moment later, the announcer counted down. On zero, they all drained the vials and vanished into thin air. Those without magic gasped and began to chatter immediately, amazed. Lucy focused on the screens that lined the walls. They were huge flat screens and Lucy silently wondered how they'd managed to work amongst the amount of magic there.

The screens were split into six portions. They could see each player on the fractions, and Lucy cheered when she saw that Erza wasn't too far from her old apartment. Wendy had found herself in the empty parking lot of a supermarket.

Minerva's painted lips curled into a sneer as she found herself in a park.

And then, they were running.

People burst into cheers for their favorites and Natsu bellowed out a blast of flames as he roared his encouragement. People around them gave him dirty looks, ducking to avoid being burned.

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded, smacking his shoulder.

Happy rolled his eyes. "We should get him a muzzle. Like a dog."

Natsu's excitement turned to horror and mock betrayal. "Happy, how dare you!"

"Behind you, Wendy!" Gray suddenly bellowed and they turned their attention on the screens in time to see Lyssa sprinting out of nowhere, hands encircled in stone. Wendy caught sight of her and twirled out of the way when a rock flew at her. Scowling, Wendy launched herself into the air.

Lucy's jaw dropped when she did a flip and seemed to defy gravity, hair whipping around her face. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" she screamed, and a blast of wind caught Lyssa dead on. She cried out, throwing her hands up to protect her face.

Jellal leaned forward in his seat, hands curled into fist. "She's at a disadvantage," he told them. "Lyss is stronger than she is. Lyss' just as quick and agile. And when her stones hit, they can easily knock Wendy out of the running."

"Damn," Natsu grumbled under his breath. But then he lifted his chin proudly. "She'll win. She's one of us, isn't she?"

"Yes," Charle said sharply from where she was sitting with Lisanna. "She may not be as strong as Erza, but she was Juvia's partner for the exams! Do not forget that!"

Lucy smiled a fraction. "We'd never forget that," she soothed, and Juvia fiercely agreed.

Wendy battered Lyssa back a step and then another. Soon, she had shoved Lyssa into a brick wall. There was a moment in which they stared at one another. Wendy's eyes blazed daringly until Lyssa swore irritably and held up her hands up in surrender. "You win!"

Wendy smiled charmingly. "Thank you!"

And then she tore off towards the stadium, her long hair flowing behind her.

Lucy laughed alongside Gray and Happy, her dark eyes shifting to Erza, who was powering along with a determined expression. She spared a nervous look at the portion of screen that belonged to Minerva.

She blinked. "Natsu," she began. "Minerva's going to win first."

"What?!" His gaze darted to Minerva's form and his jaw dropped.

The crowd exploded as Minerva strode into the arena, a smug look on her face. Her painted lips curved into a smirk as the announcer shouted, just as shocked, "Minerva Orland wins first place in the first of the Grand Magic Games events! Six points have been awarded to Sabertooth!"

"Damn," Gray gritted out. "How the hell did she do that?!"

"Did you see her magic?" Jellal asked. They shook their heads. "She works with magic that borderlines on similar to my own. She manipulates the space around her and can use it to teleport."

There was a moment where they stared at Jellal, and then Gray groaned. "Who's up against her for the battle part? I don't envy them."

"Natsu, actually," Mirajane told them.

"Yes!" Natsu cheered. "A challenge."

"Be careful," Lucy warned. Her eyes narrowed warily. "There's something off about her. I don't think she's a nice person, to be honest. I want to know why Sting would have let her into his guild with that kind of attitude. He's cocky, but not in a rude way." They stared. "What? To put it frankly, I think she's a bitch."

"Damn, Lucy," Gray muttered after a moment. "Tell us how you really feel…"

She flushed furiously. "I'm serious," she protested. "Something's off about her, I just can't put my finger on it!"

"Well, I'm the one fighting her," Natsu promised, "So don't worry about it." He ruffled her hair and then said, "Erza's here!"

The crowd exploded as the announcer called, "Five points to Fairy Tail Team A for Erza Scarlet's arrival at the stadium - and here comes Jura Neekis, neck and neck with Wendy Marvell!"

Jura and Wendy reached the stadium at the same time, looking at each other in surprise. And then Jura chuckled, shaking his head. "Fairy Tail has impressed me once again. You can have the points, Miss Marvell."

Lucy beamed as the announcer called out, "Four points to Fairy Tail Team B and three to Lamia Scale!"

"Second and third," Lucy said excitedly. "We're on a roll!"

"Yeah we are," Natsu said excitedly, exchanging a wide-eyed wild look with her that shone with excitement.

As the game finished up with Mermaid Heel in fifth and Blue Pegasus in sixth, they all began to chatter. Jellal climbed to his feet, his dark eyes thoughtful. "I'll go to prepare myself," he told them. "Lyon Vastia will be a challenge. He is nearing S-Class."

"You've got this," Lisanna laughed, climbing to her feet to take Charle to Wendy. "Believe us, Jellal. If Gray can kick his ass than you can."

"We'll see," was all he said with a brief smile before wandering off. Lucy turned to study the suddenly empty arena and curled her hands into nervous fists, her stomach doing flip flops.

Tomorrow, it would be her turn.

Natsu suddenly planted his chin on her head out of nowhere and Lucy nearly jumped. "Stop freaking out," he grumbled. "I don't like it."

She only smiled faintly and said nothing, hand fumbling with the pendant at her throat. She eventually relaxed and leaned into her boyfriend with a sigh.

Nothing would happen, she told herself. Not with so many people watching.

Yet something in the depths of her soul told her otherwise.

Two fights went down before Jellal finally went into the arena, putting Fairy Tail Team B in second, Sabertooth in first, and Team A in third. Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus fought viciously for fourth with Lamia Scale. Lucy watched intently as Jellal strapped on some kind of gauntlets, his body clothed in sturdy cargo pants and a pair of tied boots. A sleeveless shirt hugged his body, leaving his arms near bare if he hadn't been wearing fingerless gloves and the gauntlets.

Lyon was fairly confident. His eyes glowed as he studied Jellal, dressed just as flashily as he normally was. He exchanged a friendly word or two with Jellal before settling down, determination on his face.

There was silence as they waited.

And then the buzzer sounded.

Lyon attacked first, to their surprise. He blasted a dragon of ice at Jellal, who leaped up. He used his magic to throw himself high over its head, landing on the dragon's back. Jellal narrowed his eyes.

Lyon grinned and met him with a face full of icy bats.

Gray couldn't help but chuckle. "I like watching Lyon fight with animals," he admitted, "It's really interesting to see what he comes up with."

"It is," Wendy agreed from where she'd taken Jellal's seat.

They watched intently as Jellal raised his hand, folding his thumb and pinky in. He pressed his index finger to his lips, a bright glow appearing around his body. He watched the wary Lyon intently. For a minute, neither moved.

And then Jellal spun.

By the time he'd turned to face Lyon again, the dragon was gone, chunks of ice flying and molding together until comets spun around him. Without hesitation, Jellal lifted his hand and then slammed it to the ground.

Lyon shouted in surprise as they pelted him, a sharp crack as his shoulder gave out under the weight of the attack filling the air. He grunted in pain and pressed his arm to his side until the comets were gone, smashed to the ground. He created a massive ape that bellowed out in rage before lunging at the heavenly-body mage.

Jellal grinned.

For the first time since he'd disappeared after their fight in the Tower of Heaven, Lucy was frightened of the blue-haired man. He didn't seem to notice or care that Lyon was injured as he used his magic to throw himself forward and ram his shoulder into him.

Lyon clenched his jaw and went with it, letting him shove him backwards. His dark eyes flashed and he threw up a barrier that Lucy had only ever seen Gray make. Jellal swore when he nearly slammed straight into it.

"Will Lyon be okay?" Lucy asked softly as he suddenly threw his hands up in surrender, eyes narrowed. Jellal stopped dead in his tracks, recognizing the surrender, and an alarm went off to signal the end of the match.

"Yeah," Gray said gruffly. "Chelia's got him handled." He nodded to the arena as the pink-haired god slayer ran in, followed closely by the rest of the Lamia Scale team.

"Fairy Tail Team A gains ten points and takes second!" the announcer called.

Lucy furrowed her brow as Jellal hastily left the stadium arena. Beside her, Natsu climbed to his feet, Happy on his head. She didn't move as he looked to her expectantly when Gray suddenly headed off to go and check on his adopted brother of sorts. Juvia went with him.

Instead, she stared at the shadowed cloak that sat nearby. She couldn't tell who it was. Their black cloak's hood had been drawn over their head, hiding their face and hair. It draped over their body so that everything was hidden.

And then, the cloaked form stood and slipped off into the crowds.

Only then did Lucy accept Natsu's offer to help her up and head off with him, hand tightly held in his.