AN: Hey all! So, I've been thinking (and working) on this story for a while now, and I've finally finished the first chapter! Well, more like finally decided how I wanted to start this story off, haha. For the purposes of this story, I'm going to assume that you already know about the GMG, Fairy Tail, the various guilds, and the basics of Madoka Magica and/or finished the first season. While there WILL be Rebellion references (for instance, a certain cheese-loving magical girl), you don't necessarily need to have watched it, or anything. Timeline wise, for FT verse it's fairly obvious, but for the MM verse, it can technically happen anytime after the series, although I prefer modified post-Rebellion (Homura becoming a part of the Law of Cycles). This will be sometime after the main series, like maybe 1-4 years after (and by that, I mean all the flashbacks in the story will be about 1-4 years after the main series, unless stated or shown otherwise).

Despite that, I'll still be describing all of the magical girls' appearances, since this is teeeeechnically narrated from the FT verse point of view (although the MM verse starts taking over the POVs pretty quickly).

Technically I still need to finish outlining this arc and whatnot, but I kinda got impatient and I wanted to upload the first chapter at least ;P Besides, I've got about 60% of the outline done, so I should be good (I hope).

QUESTION! Do you think I should be using Japanese honorifics, or stick entirely with English? Honestly, I can easily do both. ATM I've got only the MM verse characters using honorifics while the FT verse characters stick with English. Please tell me your thoughts in the reviews!

Now, without further ado, Shattering Lenses!

The raven-haired girl knelt at the foot of the shadows, head bowed so low that her head was almost tucked into itself.

"Goddess," she addressed, voice full of revere.

"Rise, my friend," a voice commanded, the tone filled with otherworldly power. As the young girl complied, the other figure stepped out of the shadows, golden eyes shimmering with light. Her hair was a light creamy pink, tied up in two short pigtails with the rest flowing down to the floor. White thigh-high stockings complimented her silky white dress, stopping above her knees in the front and floating in a coattail to her ankles in the back. Her arms were held in front of her, long white gloves adding to her already divine aura. "We have much to do," she continued as she drew closer. "And you needn't address me in such a tone," she added. "I may be a goddess but only a fraction of my power is here on Earthland. You were the one who sacrificed so much for me to be the person that I am now," she reminded.

"Perhaps," the raven-haired girl sighed.

The pink-haired girl's frown deepened into a scowl. "Homura-chaaan, I want to spend time with you while I can!" she cried childishly. "Especially since we never got the opportunity before…"

Homura knew all too well what she was talking about. "Alright," she sighed, giving in. "But are you still set on this?"

"Positive!" the pink-haired girl cheered. "After all, what better way to spend time together than in a magic guild!"

"You mean… a 'Magia' guild?"

The pink-haired girl gave a good-natured laugh in response. "Of course! By the way, Homura, I didn't know you knew Spanish."

"But of course," Homura said, keeping a stoic expression. "I am your messenger. As your messenger, I had to be well-versed in many languages."

"Suuuuure you did," the pink-haired girl giggled. "It's definitely not because you decided to look it up using your godly ties to me."

A faint blush colored Homura's face. "...Madoka. You're taking after them again."

"Am I?"

"...You are."

She pouted. "Homura-chan, you meany."

They stood in silence for a while, simply enjoying the other's company. Seconds lengthened into minutes as the faint sounds outside filtered through the old building.

"Earthland… I can't help but feel like this is our second chance at life."

Homura only showed slight surprise at her goddess's words.

"Before all the witches… Before all the wraiths…"

"Before all the hope and despair," Homura continued in a whisper.

"..."

"..."

"...So I'll be sending the papers?"

"You're the boss, Madoka-chan," Homura smiled. Maybe this time…

0 0 0

"Hey, have you heard the rumors?" Max asked as he leaned on the table.

"What rumors?" Lucy asked, turning to face the Fairy Tail member.

"You're talking about those rumors, right?" Levy asked. "I'm certainly surprised. They say that those rumors have been circulating for nearly two years now."

"Hey! Don't leave me out of the loop like this!"

"Ah, sorry, Lucy," Levy giggled. "Well, while I was training, I overheard a few rumors about a group of girls called the 'Divine Trio'. One of the guys even said that they were on par with Erza."

"Really?!" Lucy questioned. "Surely they know how strong Erza is. Are these girls really that strong?"

"Who knows?" Levy shrugged. "They've never shown themselves in any competitions, and while they do seem to be taking on jobs, they've only ever seen a quick flash or heavily disguised."

"It's like this every year," Max chimed in. "Every time there's a big competition or fighting tournament coming up, people begin wondering whether or not the Divine Trio will finally show themselves."

"Ah, is that so? That definitely wasn't the rumor that I heard." A familiar white-haired mage made her way over to their table.

"Mirajane!" Lucy called. "Good to see you!"

"Good to see you too, Lucy, Levy." She nodded at Max before continuing on. "While I was training in the mountains, there were a couple of travelers talking about a powerful young girl dubbed the 'Candy Witch'. While I'm not too sure of why, those travelers said that her power was quite monstrous, even though the user in question looked quite cute and harmless. I have a feeling this Candy Witch might show up at the Grand Magic Games."

"Speaking of the Grand Magic Games," Gray interrupted, walking over to the group. "Master's just about to announce who's going to be a part of the teams."

"Really?!" Lucy bolted to the gathering crowd, followed quickly by Max and Levy, Mirajane and Gray bringing up the rear.

"Listen up, people!" Makarov shouted. "I will now be announcing the five members who will represent Fairy Tail!" He took a deep breath and scanned the crowd. "Natsu!"

"Alright!"

"Gray!"

"Of course," he smirked.

"Erza!"

"I'll give it my best," she vowed.

"I suppose it's only natural those three were chosen," Mirajane smiled. They waited with bated breath for the next two members.

"Lucy and Wendy!"

"Wha-whaaaaat?!" the girls in question screeched. Wendy immediately ran up to the guild master.

"W-what about Laxus and Gajeel? Surely they'll be much better choices than me!" Wendy squeaked.

Makarov sighed and shook his head. "It can't be helped. I mean, they still haven't come back yet!"

Erza put a steady hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Master chose us based off of teamwork instead of individual strength. Since we were all chosen, we should do our absolute best!"

"That's right, I'll have to do my best as well!" Wendy exclaimed.

"This is our chance! We have to beat Sabertooth, and reclaim our place as the strongest guild in Fiore!"

The guild roared its approval to the heavens as they raised their fists into the air, an unspoken vow echoing through Magnolia.

0 0 0

"Whooooaaaa this city is HUGE!" Such was Natsu's amazement when he arrived the capital of Crocus.

"So you've finally arrived, eh?" a familiar voice stated. Team Natsu turned to face their guild master, along with a few of their fellow guild members. "I've taken care of all the paperwork, so be sure to show them the power of Fairy Tail!" There were murmurs and sniggers among the spectators about this, but anyone who was willing to speak out was quickly silenced by a glare from a girl with short blue hair.

"Ah, there's also this." Makarov hefted a large book into Erza's arms. "The official rulebook. Be sure to read it by tomorrow!"

"Read this…?" she muttered, eyeing the large book.

Levy smiled and fished out a pair of red glasses with small wings on either side. "Leave it to me! I've got Wind-reading Glasses on me."

"Nice planning ahead!" Lucy commended. Levy quickly flipped open the book and skimmed it through, flashing through pages in seconds.

"Hmm, I think that in a nutshell, there are three important rules. The first one is that a guild master cannot participate."

"That's reasonable. The second?"

"Anyone without a guild emblem counts as a spectator, and cannot participate."

"That's rather obvious as well," Gray noted.

"Finally, the events themselves won't be revealed until the night before the event starts, in order to maintain secrecy."

"That doesn't give us much to work with," Erza commented.

"Ah! There's a warning at the end."

"A warning?"

"It says here that all participants have to be back at their designated inn by midnight."

"Midnight? Are they talking about midnight tonight?" Lucy mused.

"Must be. So, back at midnight."

"That means we've got plenty of time!" Natsu cackled. "You don't get to visit a town this big every day! Let's go exploring!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered.

"Let's go, let's go!" Lucy chimed as the three of them began running/flying away.

"Do you even know what inn we're staying in?" Erza hollered.

"Honeybone Inn, right?"

"Just make sure you're back by midnight!" she called. She then frowned to herself. Honeybone Inn? I should go scope out what it's like. With that goal in mind, she strode down the streets.

0 0 0

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Wendy gasped.

"That's the Flower Light palace, Mercurius, right?" Carla chittered.

"That's right!"

"I wonder what the king is like…"

"I bet he has a mustache!" Wendy exclaimed.

"I bet he does."

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a small black figure looked over them, a cartoonish yet sinister smile drawn on him.

Elsewhere, a pink-haired girl shuddered as she felt the anticipation of something horrible about to happen. She picked up her pace and hurried through the town.

0 0 0

"You monsters! You… you murdered your own parents?!" Natsu hissed, eyes shrunken into pinpricks. Sting merely laughed.

"Should we ever get to fight in the games, I'll show you the power of a real Dragon Slayer!"

"Let's go, Sting, Fro. I'm not interested in the older generation." With that, the two third-generation dragon slayers left, followed by Lector and Frosch. Natsu glared at the retreating figures, trembling with rage. He stayed like that, even as the crowd departed, even while Lucy looked on with slight shock over what had just transpired. Even as a red-cloaked figure watched them.

"Man, that sure was harsh, huh?" Lucy and Natsu turned to see a girl with a red ponytail leaning against the wall, casually munching on an apple. She conjured a cracker stick out of seemingly nowhere and held it out. "Want some?"

"Ah- sure, I guess," Lucy stammered as she accepted. The girl then turned to Natsu.

"Naw," he immediately stated. "And what's your deal? Here to laugh at us for trying to stand up to Sabertooth?"

"Natsu!" Lucy chided. "Don't assume random things about strangers!" Although I am curious as to why she's here…

"Don't worry about that. It's nothin' personal," the girl explained nonchalantly. "Y'see, my friend Sayaka visited your guild a few years back. Fairy Tail, right?" She glanced at the guild mark on Natsu's shoulder, who nodded. "She and this other girl were curious as to why this guild would keep on participating in the Grand Magic Games again and again, even though they were always dead last all the time." She gave a good hard stare at Lucy and Natsu. "The answer they got? They told me that Fairy Tail was simply waiting for its missing members. Honestly, when I first heard that it sounded like bullshit to me. I mean, come on!" she burst out, startling Lucy and Natsu. "What were the chances of those missing members coming back after they've already been missing for four years? It was absurd! And yet, here you are," she added, smiling fondly. "I can tell your magic power is through the roof, at least compared to an average mage. Whataya know. The missing members finally come back after seven years. And now you're trying your hand at the Grand Magic Games. I guess, what I'm trying to say is…" she paused. "...I wanted to see for myself the kind of people you were to have an entire guild waiting for you for seven years. And good luck. You're going to need it." She waved a hand and turned away, her footsteps echoing in the empty corridor. "Oh, you better hurry back to your inn," she called over her back. "The clock will be striking midnight soon. Kind of like that Cinderella story, no? See ya later." With that, she disappeared among the shadows of the night, leaving Lucy and a slightly confused Natsu behind.

0 0 0

"Wendy's not back yet?" Erza, Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Happy were all sitting in their designated inn, looking around for the one member missing.

"She's probably with Carla, so she's definitely not lost!" Happy exclaimed.

"Then where could she be…?" Lucy pondered out loud. "It's almost midnight…" They were interrupted from their musings by the door clicking open.

"Hey, guys! We brought treats!" Lisanna called.

"Tomorrow's the day of the games!" Elfman chimed in.

"You guys are here to watch the games?" Natsu grinned.

"That's right! To be honest, I wanted to participate in it myself… but giving up is also a man!"

"This is great timing. Can I ask you a favor?" Erza asked.

"What is it?" Lisanna inquired.

"Actually, Wendy hasn't come back yet," Erza began.

"And apparently we all have to be here by midnight," Gray continued.

"Is something going to happen at midnight?" Lisanna wondered.

"I guess so." The clock then ticked and the minute hand slid to the twelve. "And as I say that, it turns midnight…"

"What's going to happen now?" Natsu questioned. The ringing of bells reverberated through the air.

"Everyone in the guilds that have gathered to participate in the Grand Magic Games, good morning!"

The Fairy Tail members all turned their heads to the source.

"Outside!" Erza ordered. They all raced out onto the balcony, only to be greeted with the sight of a large, cartoonish pumpkin head.

"It's huge!" Natsu gaped.

"A three-dimensional image?!" Lucy gasped.

"Starting from this very moment, we're going to be taking the 114 participating teams and narrowing them all down to 8 in an elimination round!"

"An elimination round?" Gray hissed.

"We didn't hear about this!" Erza exclaimed.

"114? That's more than the number of guilds in Fiore!" Lucy muttered to herself.

They didn't notify anyone about this elimination round? Not only that… but there are too many guilds… and the suspicious magic present during the Games for the past few years… Should we be wary of the sponsor of these games?

"Every year, the number of participants increase! This also means that the games have gotten rather boring and stale. What better way to solve that problem than to have an elimination round? This year, there will only be eight teams participating in the official games!"

In another inn, a red-haired figure raised an eyebrow. "Did you know about this, Madoka?"

Said figure shook her head. "It is quite the coincidence, though," she added.

"I suppose this makes it easier for us." This time it was a raven-haired girl who spoke. "Now we don't have to divide our attention among our enemies, as there are only eight teams."

"That's if we make it in," a yellow-haired figure commented.

"Oh, come on. Do you seriously doubt that we'll make it in?"

"No," the person admitted. "However, that doesn't mean we should simply assume that we'll make it through."

"The rules are simple!" A great rumbling was heard throughout the capital. Suddenly, the various inns in the city rocketed into the air, stopping around fifty feet or so above the ground.

"All of you will be racing each other. The goal is the arena, Domus Flau! The first eight teams to arrive there will be the ones to participate in the official Games!" Floating stone pathways erupted in the air. "You're free to use your magic. No restrictions! However, please remember that only the first eight teams will be able to move on! All five members MUST arrive together in order to make it count!"

Team Fairy Tail recoiled in shock at the statement.

"Aaaand one more thing! We do not take responsibility for ANY lives lost in the labyrinth!"

"Labyrinth?" Natsu pondered out loud. That was when they noticed the giant floating ball of rubble in the sky.

"The Grand Magic Games elimination round! Sky Labyrinth… BEGIN!"

"Alright then, let's go!" Natsu cheered. He charged forward only to be promptly held back by Erza.

"We can't leave without Wendy, remember?!" Erza chided. "We need all five members!" She hurriedly tossed her eyes around. "Where is she?!"

"Wendyyyyy!" Natsu caterwauled.

"What are we going to do?!" Lucy wailed.

Elfman slammed his foot on the ground. "Who needs Wendy when you've got a man right here?"

"Elfman?!"

He leaped forward and swept every one of Team Natsu in his arms. "Let's go!"

"Elfman, what are you doing?!" Lisanna cried out.

"We don't have time to wait for Wendy!" Natsu called back. "We have to get going as soon as possible! But since we need five members, we'll have to go on ahead!"

"A man steps up to the task when he is needed!" Elfman roared.

"Lisanna! Happy!" Erza hollered.

"Aye!"

"What is it?"

"I need you guys to go find Wendy and Carla! I have a feeling that they might have run into some trouble!"

"Okay! We'll ask around town and see what we can find!"

"AYE SIR! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!"

The team thundered across the path, the various other guilds traversing their own path in turn. "We're getting closer to the entrance!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Alright! The first step to becoming number one is here! LET'S GO FAIRY TAIL!"

"YEEEAAAH!" the group cheered, and they stepped into the labyrinth.

0 0 0

A girl with short blue hair ran alongside another girl with a red ponytail, concrete pathways and winding stairs arching in every which way around them. "You know the plan?"

"'Course I do," the red-haired girl shot back. "Divide and conquer, right? Oh, and beat up any weaklings we see on the way. I'm your senior, Sayaka, you don't have to look out for me."

"If you insist," Sayaka shrugged. "It can't be this simple, though. They probably have some sort of mechanism or trick to this place."

"Like having the whole labyrinth do a one-eighty?" She blinked at the look that Sayaka gave her. "What? It explains why there are stairs and pathways going in all sorts of directions."

Sayaka sighed and just shook her head. "I'll contact the others. It helps to have a heads up. Although," she added. "Mami probably wouldn't have any trouble at all."

"Yeah," the red-haired girl agreed. "Honestly, this is just too hilarious. Mami probably won't have any trouble maneuvering this place at all! She's got a huge advantage over everyone here," she cackled.

"Here's hoping we arrive first," Sayaka joked.

"Right then, see ya." And the two split off, both of them heading their separate ways.

AN: First chapter done! I'll be working on this more depending on how much traction this ends up getting. If you want more, please review! Even if it's a simple "more pls", it lets me know that people actually care about the story, instead of just reading and following. After all, numbers don't mean nearly as much as words do.

But what DOES matter is how many words this chapter has! It's got just over three thousand! Longest published chapter ever! WOOT!

Sorry if the chapter seemed a bit choppy, but there was a whole lot of rehashing and the like (and I honestly don't like that), so I figured that only people who knew FT would even be reading this story in the first place, so I kinda just ignored anything that was largely unchanged except for important exposition bits that probably needed to be rehashed in case people forgot (like me!).

Anyway, please R&R, follow, or just completely ignore (hopefully not the latter ;) )

Next chapter: Even more rehashing?! *Gasp*