Ever After

Grand Magic Games: Day 1 (Part 4)

*YOUR POV*

As I watched, I realized Rufus was nowhere to be found. I checked all the screens and finally found him... standing on top of a spire of a building. What? But why? He was so obvious there. As the other competitors began to look up and notice him, he began a spell. "Memory Make..." I gasped. He used Molding Magic, just like Gray used to! "A Night Of Falling Stars." His whole body lit up with a bright yellow light. As I watched, seven tendrils of light came out of his chest and hit the other seven competitors in the town. Once the light had faded, Rufus remained standing on the spire, and the competitors were all teleported to different parts of the town, putting Rufus in first place. However, the spell didn't seem to have done much. Nalpudding was unsurprisingly the first to attack. However, what did surprise me was that he didn't go after Gray or Juvia. He went straight for Rufus, clearly upset about losing his lead. He was still in second place, but that didn't seem to be good enough for him. He swung at Rufus, hit him dead on, and... lost a point? That couldn't be right; he'd hit the Sabertooth mage. "Relax," said Rufus. "You won't lose any points. That was the memory of me being there." Rufus' hand then lit up and he swung, punching Nalpudding and sending him flying. "I don't need a decoy." The announcer then decided to commentate.
     "E- Everyone else is wiped out! In an instant, he rocketed to first place! That is Rufus! That's Sabertooth!" Rufus turned and spoke to the audience.
     "Spectators. This competition isn't interesting. After all, I didn't even need to hide. If they find me, their attacks miss, because they only target the memory of me that stays behind." Gray angrily launched himself at Rufus, but Nalpudding shot up from the ground and hit him, causing him to lose a point. I grit my teeth, ready to charge in and kill Nalpudding, but then the announcer spoke.
     "Time's up!" The town vanished, leaving the competitors on the open field. The rankings were displayed as follows:

1. Saber Tooth
2. Raven Tail
3. Lamia Scale
4. Blue Pegasus
5. Mermaid Heel
6. Quatro Cerberus
7. Fairy Tail B
8. Fairy Tail A

     As I watched, Natsu began yelling at the spectators booing us as Lucy and Erza pulled him back. Gray walked straight past me and mumbled a single word. "Sorry."
     "It's fine! We're just getting started..." He walked into the exit tunnel, not saying another word. I began to follow him, but the announcer spoke before I could.
     "The first match of the first day! From Fairy Tail A, Lucy Heartfilia! Versus Flare Corona from Raven Tail!" I tensed. Raven Tail... I walked over to Lucy.
     "Hey." She turned towards me. "Make them pay for what they did to Gray and Wendy." She nodded as we all cleared from the field. This was going to be an interesting, passion fueled fight.