Event Dimension

A Fairy Tail Fanfiction by Xylena

1: Some Sick Game

What the…? Where am I?

Lucy Heartfilia slowly pushes her arms against the soft ground and forces herself to sit up. She feels grassy, damp earth against her sprawled legs and a cold night wind fluttering through her hair. This doesn't make any sense. The last thing she remembers is standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom, about to change into her pajamas before she went to bed…but everything after that is shrouded by a dark cloud of nothingness. What on earth happened to me?

She brushes a spot of muddy dirt off her face and takes a moment to look at her new surroundings. She is in a small clearing in the middle of what looks like a dense, tangled forest. Details are lost to her, though, because it's the middle of the night and the moon is cloaked by a cluster of passing clouds. All she can hear is the soft whispering of the breeze and a few cries of night birds in the distance. Aside from that, it is eerily quiet.

As the clouds drift out of the way of the moon, Lucy stands upright and watches the pale light give form and detail to the environment. The trees are ancient and gnarled, and underneath the canopy is a thick tangle of thorny brush and twisted roots. Rough paths cut through the trees, leading in winding directions deeper into the field of darkness under the roof of the distant woods. Lucy sees no sign of anyone else around her—no friends or foes. She starts to wonder which way leads back home when suddenly a loud voice cuts through the silence, echoing over the treetops and into the half-cloudy field of the night sky.

"Good, it seems that you are all awake now. Welcome, Fairies!"

"Who are you?" Lucy calls out into the night. She whips her head around to try to find the source of the strange male voice, but sees no one. Perhaps it's telepathy.

"I see that some of you are curious as to who I am. I am your caretaker for the duration of your stay here. You can call me the Voice. Keep in mind that I have only the best interests for you in the challenges that are to come, but I cannot guarantee your safety."

"Wait, what are you talking about? What's this about safety?" Lucy feels her hands break out in a cold sweat. She's getting a bad feeling about this.

The Voice seems to ignore her. "Welcome, Fairy Tail, to the Dimension. Let me begin by laying out all of the conditions of your stay here. There appear to be thirty of you—yes, that's about right. A lovely number, isn't it? Let's hope it stays that way."

Lucy's eyes widen and she finds her arms trembling, but not from the cold night. She is really getting a bad feeling about this…

"You see, you will all be facing a series of trials within our lovely Dimension. Let's call these trials the Event. There are a number of conditions surrounding this Event, all of which are important, so perk your ears and listen carefully, Fairies."

Lucy looks up at the sky, seeing the clouds cover the moon again and blanket the terrain in total darkness.

"Each of you has been randomly paired with another member of your guild in teams of two, numbered Team 1 to Team 15. As well as this, you have each been randomly positioned somewhere within the bounds of the Dimension, so your partner may or may not be anywhere near you. The name of your partner and your team number have been indicated by a special tattoo of Organic Link Magic on your right wrist."

Lucy looks down at her wrist, seeing dark markings indicating something, but without the moonlight, she can't make out any of the words. She can only hope it's someone she knows.

"Your partner will be very, very important in your trials. You see, your main goal is to survive. That means you need to try not to die. Oh, and I'm sure quite a few of you will not live to see your Guild again."

Lucy trembles even more. What on earth is he talking about?

"You see, if one partner dies, so does the other. So you had better take good care of each other. Oh, and your magic power is linked as well. While your abilities are still separate, the two of you share the same pool of energy to cast your magic. So that means you can borrow and share, just like best friends! How wonderful!"

Oh, great, Lucy thinks. And this person is where, exactly? And can this guy stop talking like we're five?

"Oh, and distance also affects your magic power. The closer you are to your partner, the more effective both of you will be. But the farther away you get, the weaker you are, so you better go find your buddies quick!"

Lucy looks at her wrist again. Still can't make out what it says…

"Don't get too antsy yet. I've still got a little bit more to say. Don't think that you're off the hook if you go hide and squat in one place the whole time. If you or your partner is within 200 feet of your previous location 24 hours ago, you're not going to like what'll happen…" The Voice had a singsong tone as he finished the sentence. "And last but not least, the more people you have traveling together, the more dangers you will have to face. For every team added to a group, the danger level doubles! Oh, no! So maybe it'd be a better idea to stick with your one buddy and handle danger from there…" The Voice paused for a few moments, as if to let everything he just said sink in. Then, he said, "Your first challenge begins now and will last exactly three days! Event Stage One: 'Hunt or be Hunted'! Ooh, doesn't that sound dangerous? Your goal is to survive the monsters that prowl around the Dimension at night. Don't worry, they only hide in dark places, so you'll be okay if the sun is out. Oh, but it looks like it's still the middle of the night! So you had better be careful, since we don't want any accidents to happen, do we…?"

Lucy's spine tingles in something between anxiety, fear, and sheer irritation at the tone of this Voice. This was getting ridiculous. What was this supposed to be, some sick game?

"Your first trial begins now! Good luck, little Fairies!"

At that, the voice disappears.

Lucy looks quickly around again. The night is still deathly quiet, but if this guy is telling the truth, it might not stay that way for long. She can't see past the clearing very far, but she thinks about the 29 other people who might be as confused and nervous as she is. And one of those people is her partner, linked to her by some weird thread of life.

So distance affects magic power, eh? Lucy decides to give it a try. She reaches into her bag and draws a random key. Looks like Loke's up. She holds the key out in front of her and calls forth the Gate of the Lion. A golden light appears in front of her, but instead of summoning Loke, she finds herself on her knees, suddenly gasping for air. She definitely wasn't expecting this.

My partner must be really far away for my power to be this useless, she thinks. Then, a terrible realization hits her in the face. Wait, even though I'm not in any danger here, what if my partner is? And if I can't use much magic, what about them…? A drop of cold sweat forms on her brow. She stands up and looks around one more time, seeing the moonlight return to the sky. How on earth is she supposed to find this person? Maybe she can use her magic power to try to figure out if she's getting warmer or colder. But firstly, she needs to look at her wrist now that she can see who she's looking for…

"You've got to be kidding me."

In inky black letters were the words Team 1: Laxus Dreyar.

A/N: Thanks for reading so far! Feel free to review and let me know what you think. This is going to be a fun challenge to write in present tense and keep characters realistic, especially because all of the guild will be the cast.

PS: In case you wanted to know, I made the art for the cover image myself. :)