Bonus Chapter at 200 Power Stones!
"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X791]
~ General PoV ~
The arena's attention shifted back to the course, where two lone figures still struggled through the chariots. Natsu and Sting were almost reaching the halfway point, both Dragon Slayers looking worse for wear as they fought against their motion sickness with every agonizing movement.
"This leaves us with a two-way fight for last place!" Chapati announced, his voice regaining its enthusiasm. The Lacrima-trons focused on the two competitors, showing Natsu slightly ahead of Sting as they crawled forward on hands and knees.
"Gotta... keep moving!" Natsu groaned, his words carrying across the arena through the audio Lacrimas. His face was pale green, sweat dripping down his forehead, but his eyes burned with determination.
The crowd cheered encouragingly. Even though the race for first had ended, something about watching these two powerful mages struggle with such a basic weakness was both humanizing and inspiring.
But Natsu's cry seemed to ignite something in Sting. The Sabertooth Dragon Slayer's jaw clenched, and slowly, painfully, he began to increase his pace. His movements were still unsteady, but there was a new purpose to them. As he crawled past Natsu, Sting's voice rang out clear despite his obvious discomfort.
"I could care less about getting this one point. We're gonna keep winning after this anyway."
Natsu looked up, surprised by the sudden conversation.
"But could you tell me one thing?" Sting continued as he pulled ahead. "Why did you even enter the tournament? You're nothing like the Fairy Tail of old now."
The words hit like a bitch slap with all five fingers and a palm leaving a mark. In the stands, several Fairy Tail members tensed, ready to shout back, but Makarov raised a hand for silence.
"You're so focused on how tough you are and what the world thinks of you," Sting went on, his voice gaining strength even as his body shook. "The Fairy Tail I knew did whatever the hell it wanted, you know? It never cared what anyone else thought."
The crowd had gone quiet, everyone listening to this unexpected philosophical debate happening between two nauseated Dragon Slayers in the middle of a race.
Natsu was quiet for a moment, then his voice came through.
"I'm doing it for my friends."
Sting's crawling slowed slightly.
"My friends... who waited for me... for all of us… for seven long years..."
In the stands, Macao's eyes began to water. Wakaba pulled his hat lower over his face. Romeo stood up straighter, his hands clenched at his sides.
"No matter how painful or miserable things got..." Natsu continued, his own pace increasing slightly as emotion drove him forward.
The Lacrima-vision panned across the guild members who hadn't disappeared with Tenrou Island. Bisca held Asuka tighter. Alzack put an arm around his wife. Max, Warren, and the others who'd kept the guild alive through those dark years all had tears streaming down their faces.
"No matter who else they lost after our disappearance..."
At the finish line, Shisui remained motionless, but something in his posture had shifted.
"They endured through all that and kept our guild together!" Natsu's voice rose to a shout.
"We're going to show everyone! We're going to prove that Fairy Tail has kept going! So we have to keep pushing forward!"
The Fairy Tail sections erupted. They weren't just cheering anymore. They were crying, laughing, and shouting all at once. Even Gajeel had stopped his mockery, a grudging respect in his eyes.
Natsu crawled past Sting, who had stopped moving entirely, staring at the pink-haired mage with something like shock.
"For your friends, huh..." Sting said quietly. Then, louder, "That is a good reason."
Everyone expected him to resume crawling, to continue the struggle. Instead, Sting did something that stunned the entire arena.
He stood up.
His legs shook, his face was still pale, but he took one step forward. Then another. And another.
"However…" Sting said, his voice carrying new determination. "It's not good enough."
He was walking now, slow and unsteady but undeniably walking, passing Natsu without looking back.
Chapati was surprised himself. "INCREDIBLE! STING EUCLIFFE IS ACTUALLY WALKING! THE MOTION SICKNESS THAT'S PLAGUED HIM THIS ENTIRE RACE, HE'S FIGHTING THROUGH IT!"
"Fighting for your friends is good, Natsu." Sting called back. "But I fight for a different reason. I fight... so I can stand at the top. To stand amongst him!"
He raised his voice to a shout that echoed through the arena. "I fight so that I can fight you, SHISUI!"
At the finish line, Shisui's eyes opened for the first time since he'd dismissed Bacchus. He watched Sting with an unreadable expression, though the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upward.
Then, just as quickly, his eyes closed again. "That was your first mistake, Sting. Never underestimate your opponents."
Because behind Sting, something remarkable was happening. Natsu had heard Sting's declaration, seen his determination, and it had lit a brighter fire in him that even motion sickness couldn't extinguish. The Salamander of Fairy Tail was standing up.
"No way…" someone in the crowd breathed.
Natsu's legs were shaking worse than Sting's, and he looked like he might fall over at any moment, but he was walking now too. Each step was agony, but he matched Sting's pace, then began to close the gap.
The crowd went wild. Two Dragon Slayers, both fighting through their greatest weakness, racing not for points but for pride. For their beliefs. For their friends. For their determination to stand at the top.
They entered Domus Flau neck and neck, the crowd on their feet cheering for both of them. In the end, Sting crossed first by the smallest of margins, stumbling over the finish line and immediately dropping to his knees.
Natsu followed a heartbeat later, collapsing spread-eagle on the ground with a groan of relief.
"SEVENTH PLACE TO SABERTOOTH'S STING EUCLIFFE! EIGHTH PLACE TO FAIRY TAIL A'S NATSU DRAGNEEL!" Chapati announced.
Despite coming in last and earning no points, Fairy Tail's cheers for Natsu were deafening. They chanted his name, celebrating his determination as if he'd won the entire event.
Shisui opened his eyes and looked down at the two Dragon Slayers. Sting had managed to get back on his feet, though he was still swaying slightly.
"You've grown since the last time we met, Sting." Shisui said. "I hope you're not just fighting to fight me?"
Sting scoffed, though there was a smirk on his face. "You think I'd be alone? It's not just me that wants to fight you at the top."
Shisui's expression softened slightly, and he nodded. "Then I'll be waiting for you."
Sting turned to leave, pausing only to look back once. "You better be ready. We're not the same Dragon Slayers you met before."
After Sting left, Shisui turned to Natsu, who was still lying on the ground but had raised his head to glare at him.
"What?" Natsu asked challengingly, though everyone could tell his hostility was good-natured frustration rather than real anger.
"You do realize that coming in last place means that Gajeel has undeniable ammunition to use against you, right?" Shisui said casually.
As if on cue, Gajeel's voice boomed from Team B's section. "THAT'S RIGHT, SALAMANDER! LOOKS LIKE WE BOTH KNOW WHICH OF US IS THE STRONGER DRAGON SLAYER, MR. I-CAME-IN-LAST-PLACE-AGAIN!"
"SHUT UP, METAL HEAD!" Natsu shouted back, jumping to his feet with surprising energy for someone who'd been dying moments ago. "IT'S MOTION SICKNESS! IT DOESN'T COUNT!"
"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!" Gajeel continued. "MAYBE YOU SHOULD SIT OUT THE REST OF THE GAMES! LEAVE IT TO THE REAL DRAGONS!"
The crowd laughed as Team A joined in defending Natsu, with Lucy and Happy shouting their own retorts at Gajeel while Erza tried to maintain order. Even Gray got involved, though he seemed to be insulting both Dragon Slayers equally.
Shisui let the chaos continue for a moment before placing a gentle hand on Natsu's head, ruffling his pink hair. The touch was unexpected enough that Natsu stopped mid-shout.
"You did well, Natsu. You should be proud. We all are." Shisui said simply.
Natsu stared at him, stunned into silence. A warm feeling built in his chest. Pride, comfort, joy. Then embarrassment crashed over him and he smacked Shisui's hand away.
"I'M STILL GOING TO BEAT YOU ONE DAY!" Natsu declared, pointing dramatically at Shisui. "AND THAT GOES FOR BOTH OF YOU TOO, METAL HEAD AND BLONDIE! I'LL FIGHT EVERYONE! YOSH! I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!"
The arena erupted in laughter and cheers as Day Two's event came to a close, Natsu's signature catchphrase ringing out across Domus Flau.
~ End of Chapter 112 ~
You can read advanced chapters on [email protected]/The_Editor982
That's it for our Chariot event! Really wanted to cover this in more detail because I wanted to show that Sting's motivation now is not some edgy "I killed my dragons" bullshit from the cannon. No, instead, while Natsu fights to protect those who stood behind him, I wanted to have Sting fight to stand with those who stood infront of him. Two completely different reasons, but two very valid reasons. I'm not going to lie, but I'm kind of excited to see the prospects of what it could mean for Sting and Rogue who now wants to become stronger to stand along side someone like Shisui rather than to prove a point! Hope you guys are as excited as I am for their development! And as Curzeleke pointed out, what could this mean for our Shadow Dragon Slayer O_o How would Carla's vision come into play? Why is Shisui standing against Fairy Tail, in his Susanoo no less?
Find out next time on Dragon Bal-