This really should have been out a while ago, but I kept getting distracted with other shit to actually update. My dearest apologies people.

Enjoy!

Mystery Circle

By PokeTail

Chapter Seven - Preliminary Round - Underground Labyrinth

The training days flew by before you could blink and the competing guilds were already lining the streets of Crocus awaiting the preliminary round to begin. The clock wasn't far off midnight by now and Erza had strictly ordered the two Fairy Tail teams to be back in their lodge by eleven o'clock in order for everyone to be physically and mentally prepared for the challenges ahead. This resulted in a petite dragon slayer being stuck in a room with four quarrelling slayers for a whole hour. Luckily for her, Fairy Tail's Exceed's were present to keep the girl company as the males argued over who the strongest was in the background.

"So Wendy," Pantherlily began, "are you ready for the Grand Magic Games?"

"Yep," the blunette responded, enthusiastically. "I still can't believe that I made it onto the A team though. Erza-san or Lucy-san would be much better for the team."

"Wendy, I told you didn't I?" Carla pouted. "You should be proud. Master recognises your strength and has picked you for that reason."

"Aye, doubting your ability will affect your fighting," Happy added.

"You're right, thanks," Wendy smiled down at the trio.

"Now what are we going to do about that?" Carla questioned motioning to the male slayers.

The wizards in question were extremely focused in their pillow fight, though they weren't exactly playing fair. Natsu had resorted to setting the cushions on fire, leaving the others to prevent the pyro getting his hands on anymore.

"I'm definitely the strongest member of this team. I'm a friggin' demon for crying out loud. I should be the leader by default."

"Aren't you forgetting what magic I possess, Flamebrain?" Gray snorted. "I'm a Devil Slayer. My magic's naturally stronger than you guys."

"Wanna put that to the test, Popsicle?" Gajeel cracked his knuckles before turning his fist into pure metal.

"This is getting ridiculous," Laxus rolled his eyes. "I should be the leader as I'm the only one who has ever been S-Class."

"And what exactly happened to that title?" Gajeel teased, smirking at the older man.

"At least Natsu and Gray's arguments are more convincing; you're not even eligible for S-Class, Metal Head."

"Just you wait until the next trial. We'll see who gets to hold the title."

"It'll be me!" Natsu and Gray bother roared before glaring at each other and continuing the brawl.

XXX

The B team weren't being quite as loud as their comrades. The group of girls were laying down on their beds chatting away whilst Cana swigged down some booze.

"I feel sorry for Wendy," Mira sighed. "Stuck in a room with the guys…"

"Maybe Juvia should go and check on her," the water wizard suggested, rising up from her bed.

"That's code for Juvia wants to stalk on the devil," Cana chuckled, hiccuping slightly.

Juvia face turned a pinkish hue as she shuffled over to the door. She was quickly stopped in her tracks by a scarlet haired wizard.

"Juvia, the preliminary round could start at any minute and we need to be prepared," Erza instructed the blunette to return to her seat.

"Speaking of the preliminary, what do you think it could be?" Lucy pondered. "I highly doubt it would be the same as last time."

Just as the sentence left her mouth, the clock struck midnight and the entire structure began to rumble. Floorboards slid and folded away revealing a tunnel hiding below the building. A hologram appeared in front of the B team as it did with every other participating guild.

"Greetings participants," Mato began, "and welcome to the Grand Magic Games X793 Preliminary Round–kabo! This trial is called Underground Labyrinth. It's quite similar to the Sky Labyrinth actually. You need to navigate through the tunnels and find the finish line. The first eight teams across will be participating in the full tournament starting tomorrow. Good luck to all!"

"I guess that explains why they put us in a room on the ground floor," Lucy pointed out.

"Come on everyone. The others have probably already set off. Let's go!"

XXX

Sure enough, Fairy Tail's A team had already raced down the steps into the cave and we skidding through the multiple twists and turns, guided by the dragons' noses. The slayer's came to a halt when they were met with a cross road. Three tunnels, one to their left, one to their right and one straight ahead, but which way was the right path?

"Which way do we go now?" Gray questioned, firmly folding his arms in frustration.

"I dunno. All the dirt is messing with my senses," Natsu sighed, looking towards the other first gen dragon slayers who nodded in agreement.

"Can't your devil senses do something?" Gajeel taunted, shoving his face towards the raven.

"If I could do something I would have done it by now," Gray retaliated, preparing to take a swing at the Iron Dragon.

Sighing in annoyance, Laxus decided that his instincts would be their best bet. He studied the tunnels carefully before concluding that the right tunnel was where they luck lay. "Guys, I got a good feeling about this one."

"Right," Wendy nodded, a look of determination covering her features. "Let's go."

"We're pinning our chances on Laxus' 'feeling' really?" Gajeel moaned.

"Well do you have a better idea?" Natsu retorted.

"You wanna go?"

"I'll kick your ass, Metal Head!"

"Natsu-san, Gajeel-san, we don't have time for this," Wendy scolded as if she was trying to mimic Erza.

"You idiots can beat each other up all you want when the games are over," Gray rolled his eyes. "For now, we need to show everyone who's the strongest guild around here." He grinned, earning a determined smirk from the other slayers.

The wizard's then picked up the pace and charged down the right tunnel.

XXX

Lexine was using her puppets to find the correct route into the tunnels. She must have sent at least fifteen of the marionettes out in order to impress her fellow comrades. Kuro had been a bit hesitant in letting a mere child join their ranks as high class wizards, but their master's word was final and the blood wizard knew better than to question his ways.

"I feel like we're going in circles," Yui proclaimed as they came across yet another dead end. "I swear I've seen that rock before."

"Everything looks the same around here, just keep quiet and continue down a new path," Diodato responded, sternly.

"No, something's not right," Kuro informed, staring down the wall of the tunnel.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND A WAY OUT OF HERE?!" The blunette roared at her puppets. Snapping her fingers, each one disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Useless idiots…" she muttered.

"Kuro," Ron spoke up after cancelling out his speed magic. "I did a check of all the possible routes we could have gone down. Each one leads to a dead end."

The man blew his jet black hair out of his face before taking a closer look at the wall in front of him. Squinting his eyes, he slowly placed his hand against the firm interior. "Let's head back to one of the previous routes," he stated as he turned around, much to his team's confusion.

XXX

"IT'S ANOTHER DEAD END!" Toby howled, flailing his arms in the air.

The Lamia Scale members were stuck in the same rut as the other guilds, encountering dead end after dead end. Some of the members were now growing impatient, much to the others annoyance.

"Jura-san, is there any way you could use your magic to create our own passageway?" Lyon suggested, whilst glaring Toby's way, ushering him to shut up.

Jura gave no answer. He was too occupied in staring intently at the block in their path. Taking a step closer, the Wizard Saint went to place his hand on the structure only to watch the ligament fall through into what felt to be nothing. "Some of the walls are false," he stated.

The rest of the team paused in shock. They were all snapped back into reality when Yuka made his voice heard.

"I knew things wouldn't be as simple as they originally made it out to be," he muttered.

"Hopefully the other guilds haven't figured this out yet. Let's get a move on!" Chelia cheered as they all took off running.

XXX

"Who would have thought that there would be fake walls?" Orga rolled his eyes as he followed his team.

"It's a good thing Rufus was able to figure it out," Yukino smiled over to her comrade who bowed his head in return.

Sabertooth all held smug expressions, proud at the fact that their team had figured out the secret of this race so soon. The group were still trying to adapt their ways without the White Dragon Slayer to input. It was strange not having Sting fighting by their side, especially as he was the one who would keep their spirits high.

"I'm sure other guilds would have realised by now too. We have to pick up the pace if we want to make it into the top eight," Minerva informed.

"Sting's counting on us to win this," Rogue reminded as the group passed through another false wall. "Let's keep going."

XXX

After discovering that Laxus' instincts were indeed correct, Fairy Tail Team A were speeding down the tunnels, passing through fake walls left and right. They'd come so far that they'd even begun seeing the light at the other end. Their determination rising, the group moved into a sprint as they charged into a clearing. Mato was positioned at the exit to greet the team and congratulate them on a job well done.

"C'mon, Pumpkin man, what place did we come," Natsu urged, practically jumping up and down in excitement.

"Team Fairy Tail A," the small man proclaimed. "Congratulations, you've managed to achieve third place–kabo!"

"Well at least we're not last," Gray sighed, chuckling.

"I wonder what place the guys from the other team came?" Wendy pondered, glancing back at the tunnels.

"Guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out," Natsu replied. "I swear, if they beat us again, I'm gonna…"

"You remember Erza's on their team right?" Gajeel taunted as Natsu silenced with dread.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Laxus yawned, "but I'm going back to the inn to get some sleep. I wanna be ready for the games tomorrow."

Nodding in agreement, Fairy Tail's A team all returned to the comfort of the inn and instantly fell into a dreamless sleep.

XXX

"Good Morning Crocus, and welcome to the X793 Grand Magic Games! I am your host for the duration of the games Chapati Lola and I am joined by my co-host Yajima!" The announcer's voice resonated through the many speakers around the Domus Flau arena.

"It's a pleashure to be here," Yajima smiled. "I can't wait to shee what thish year hash in store."

"Our guest host for the first day is none other than Wizard Saint and Master of the Fairy Tail guild Makarov Dreyar!"

"Yo!" The petite man greeting holding his fingers up in the peace sign.

"The events this year are even bigger and better than before. This year the games will consist of eight days with an event and battle round each day. The final day will – as per usual – will be a free for all battle all across Crocus. Will Scarmiglione – winners of last year's games – once again prove their strength? Or will a new guild show us all who's on top? Let's introduce our teams!"

The crowd roared with excitement and smoke and special effects went off to signal the participants' arrival.

"In eighth position, a guild that sours through the skies with the elegance of a Pegasus. You all know who I'm talking about. It's Blue Pegasus!"

Ichiya lead his team through the arch way and onto the battle grounds. The Blue Pegasus team consisted of him, Jenny, Hibiki, Ren and Eve. Crowd members waved flags with the guild emblem on, presenting their affection and support for the guild.

"What a disappointing parfum," Ichiya proclaimed to his team. "To result in last place has brought shame upon our team."

"Don't worry Sensei," Eve beamed. "We can bring ourselves up to the top in no time."

"The crowd loves me!" Jenny cried, waving and posing at the audience.

"In seventh position," Chapati continued. "A guild that knows no boundaries and no manners for that matter, Quatro Cerberus!"

The guild members – still partially drunk from the previous night – staggered onto the field pumping their fists and shouting their usual battle cry to have the crowd members yell back.

"In sixth position, a sexy guild who are as fierce as they are beautiful. Say hello to Mermaid Heel!"

Kagura lead out her team with the same stoic expression that usually adorned her features. Milliana was bounding around behind her, cheering and waving at her guilds loving fans.

"Don't underestimate us!" Risley yelled, winking at some male members of the audience.

"Yeah!" Milliana agreed. "We've all gotten so much stronger since the last games and we're here to win!"

Kagura could help but chuckle slightly at her friends' determination.

"In fifth place, the guild with the strength of a god, a god of Ishgal to be precise. It's Lamia Scale!"

Lyon lead the guild through the arch way and people in the audience screamed out to them in admiration. Chelia and Toby were waving frantically to members of the crowd as Jura and Yuka smiled in response.

"In fourth position, a guild with the eye of the tiger and the strength of a dragon. It's Sabertooth!"

Sabertooth entered the field in their usual calm and collected manor. Fans beamed with delight as the guild members glanced their way, cracking a smile every now and then. Sting could be heard cheering wildly in the audience along with the two Exceeds.

"It's a shame that Sting-kun isn't allowed to participate now that he's guild master," Lector sighed.

"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch responded, his attention completely on Rogue as the partners waved at each other.

"In third position, a guild who knows no bounds. They're here to reclaim their title as the strongest after a year of disbandment. It's Fairy Tail!"

The crowd was an uproar with cheer as the wizards entered the arena. Flags danced around the stadium; the guild emblem flying high for all to see. Girls cried out in the audience at the sight of the four muscular males in the team whereas men squealed at the sight of the adorably cute female wizard standing amongst them.

"Looks like the B team beat us again," Gray muttered, masking his annoyance as he smiled at their adoring fans.

"Who do you think the other team is then?" Natsu pondered, shoving Gray in the shoulder.

"In second position, a new comer to the games and a guild that banded together only quite recently. They may be new but they are not to be underestimated. It's Mystery Circle!"

"Mystery Circle?" many of the other guilds repeated.

Mariko and the rest of his team strolled on with the most satisfying smirks on their faces. Not only had they done enough to qualify, but they had beaten the ever popular Fairy Tail in the prelim round. To say they were proud of themselves would be an understatement.

"You think the other team made it through?" Maya turned to her teammates, making sure her voice went unheard by the other competing guilds.

"Well, we're about to find out," Gwydion mumbled.

"Don't fret over it kid," Izumi placed a hand on the young teen's shoulder. "We're only the B team, the other guys were picked for our A team for a reason, they'll get through."

Arata remained silent, staring intently at the other guilds, Fairy Tail in particular.

"And in first position," as Chapati spoke, lights flared and miniature fireworks were set off. "Oh my, this is unbelievable. Another team from an already competing guild has made it through. A strong band of wizards that aren't to be messed with. It's Mystery Circle A team!"

The Fairies' eyes bulged at the name. What happened to their team? At the same moment, they all glanced over at their guild booth to see Erza and the rest of the B team sat with the rest of the guild, solemn and guilt ridden looks covered their features. Mystery Circle A was lead out by Kuro who sent a sadistic grin towards the Fairies. Natsu took a step forward ready to retort but was quickly halted by Laxus, who just shook his head before taking another good look and their new opponents.

"Hiya Maya!" Lexine called over to the B team.

"Man, first place," Ron grinned, smugly. "Who would've thought?"

"Just because we came in first during the prelim doesn't mean it will stay that way. Remember we need to stay serious and put our all into the fights. Our opponents are not to be underestimated," Diodato reminded, a stern expression on his face.

"Hi, Lexi, hi Dio!" Maya called over from the other team.

The members of the A team all giggled in response, causing Diodato's face to turn a bright shade of red. "Sh-shut up!"

"Alright!" Chapati announced, grabbing the attention of everyone around. "Let us commence with the games!"

To be continued in chapter eight – Five Slayers

Character Profiles - Bloodford

Name: Jarrod Betrand

Age: 33

Magic: Muscle Magic

Likes: Strength

Dislikes: One-sided fights

Description: Despite not even being the oldest member of Bloodford, Jarrod is seen as the old geezer type among his guild mates. He is by far the most stubborn of the bunch but he is also the strongest. Jarrod has been the only wizard of his guild to ever make it to SS-Class. He fought Natsu and Gray fifteen years ago but had to retreat when Makarov caught wind of his plans.

As usual I have no idea when this will be updated again. I'm really sorry guys but I've really fallen out of my writing habits this year. Don't worry though, it's the Summer Holiday's and I'm gonna try to write as much as I can. I probably won't write anymore for Mystery Circle, but I'm currently writing a lot of other stories that I plan to release soon... Remember that slavery fic I mentioned a while ago, well I've written about two and a half chapter for it (and then I re-wrote chapter one) so I may start posting that next week... Maybe, I can't promise anything.

Just bare with me guys more stuff is coming eventually, I promise!

The other day I went down to London to see Aladdin and it was AMAZING! The soundtrack is now what I listen to when I write and it really helps... except when I start singing along and lose my train of thought... Oopps!

See you in the next one! ;)