Sonic's POV
In order to solve the financial and moral problems of the guild, we decided to participate in the Grand Magic Games. These were trials where we had to fight against members of other guilds from Fiore to be named the best guild in the kingdom. We decided to go train on a beach to relax and prepare. At first, I wasn't on board—I wanted to train with Laxus, but he refused.
Flashback
Laxus was with the Raijin unit, getting ready to leave when I approached them with a heavy bag on my back.
Me: Ready for a long trip?
Laxus: Oh no, no. You're not coming.
Me: Huh? Why not??
Laxus: I don't feel like babysitting while we're supposed to be training.
Me: Wow, surprising words from someone who just got unbanned.
Laxus: Say what you want, but you're not coming with us.
Me: As if I needed to train with you. I can handle myself just fine.
Laxus left with the others, not knowing I could hear their conversation from afar.
Freed: You really don't want him to come with us?
Laxus: I've already taught him the basics; the rest is up to him. I've noticed he's been getting stronger ever since Wendy has been by his side.
I smiled as I overheard them from a distance.
End of flashback
We arrived at the beach. The others started training while I was relaxing on a lounge chair under a parasol.
Erza (pointing her sword at me): You think you can just relax while we're all training?
Me (raising both hands): Whoa, whoa, calm down. I'm training right now.
Erza (angry): And what exactly are you training for?
Me: Resting?
Erza (grabbing me by the neck): I've got a better training idea—you're going to run as far as possible because if I catch you, you'll be tonight's dinner.
Me (choking): Yes, ma'am.
Erza forced me to train with Jet and Droy all day. Meanwhile, Wendy was learning new spells from Polyussica, and Levy was helping her decipher Grandine's ancient scripts.
That evening, we all took a bath in the hot springs at our lodging.
Meanwhile, in the girls' bath...
Erza: Ah, nothing better than a bath after intense training.
Lucy: That workout really gave us sore muscles.
Carla: And we still have three months—plenty of time to rest and train.
Levy: The boys were really active today. By the way, Lucy, why were you mad at Natsu?
Lucy: Huh? Mad? No, I wasn't really mad.
Wendy: What happened?
Lucy started explaining how she wanted to sneak into Natsu and Happy's house to get revenge for always breaking into her place uninvited.
Juvia: Juvia thinks that's cute. It shows how close you are to him.
Lucy (blushing): What? No, it's not like that!!
Wendy: Lucy, do you like Natsu?
Lucy: What? N-no, I don't! What makes you think that?
Me: Listening to your story, it's very touching and shows how close you two are. She's right to assume you like him.
Erza: Yeah, I thought the same.
Me: I heard that the water in this bath is special. It enhances curves and purifies the spirit.
Wendy (looking at her chest): Enhances curves!?
Levy: Perfect! I think I'll stay in here a bit longer.
All eyes turned to me as they realized I was the only boy sitting in the girls' bath.
Me: Oh no, don't give me that look! I've been here since the start. I even had time to take care of your beautiful skin while Lucy was telling her story.
I barely dodged a barrage of shurikens from an enraged Erza while the other girls screamed in embarrassment, covering themselves. Natsu and the others saw me running at full speed, covered in scratches.
Gray: Let me guess—he snuck in to spy on them?
Chip: Not surprising at all.
Natsu (laughing): He's got skills, though.
Timeskip
We returned to the guild after three months of training for the others and two days for us. Yes, only two days, because Lucy's spirits invited us to a banquet that lasted three months in reality while it felt like just a day for us. Fortunately, thanks to Jellal and two former members of Grimoire Heart, we managed to catch up on our seven-year gap in record time. It was painful, sure, but worth it. We were all gathered as Master Makarov was about to announce the participants for the Grand Magic Games.
Makarov: Now, I will announce who will participate in the Grand Magic Games.
He began listing the five members.
Makarov: Natsu Dragneel.
Natsu: I'm fired up!!!
Makarov: Lucy Heartfilia.
Lucy: Wow, are you sure?
Makarov: Erza Scarlet.
So, it seemed like Team Natsu would go. That left only Gray and... wait, five members? That meant it was between Wendy and me.
Makarov: Gray Fullbuster.
Gray: Awesome!
I didn't mind if he chose Wendy, but I would've loved to share this adventure with everyone.
Makarov: And Wendy Marvell.
Wendy: Huh? Me?
Me: Hooray!
Carla: Are you sure, Master? Sonic is stronger than her—no offense, Wendy.
Gajeel: And I'm stronger than the Salamander.
Natsu (angry): Say that again!
Makarov: I know, but this is the strongest team in the guild. We can trust them.
Erza: But normally, Sonic is part of the team.
Gray (smirking): Yeah, we still need our resident pervert.
Me: Good thing we have the exhibitionist to balance it out.
Chip: So all that training for nothing…
Me: Don't worry, we can be their replacements when they're exhausted. That's a great role too.
The Day of the Ceremony
We arrived in Crocus, the capital of Fiore. It was a beautiful city full of flowers, hence its nickname, the "Flower City."
Me: So, this is where it all happens?
Levy (reading the rulebook): Not exactly. Everything will take place in the Domus Flau—

Natsu: This stadium is huge!!
Lucy: So, the opening is tomorrow?
Levy: Yes, but the rules require all members to gather at their inn the night before.
Erza: Probably for a special announcement.
Gray: Will it only be battles, or will there be other trials?
Levy: Mostly battles. The events change every year.
As the sun set, we split up—Wendy and Carla went to see the royal castle, Erza went straight to the inn, and Chip and I explored various restaurants to try the capital's cuisine. Chip was the most excited, stuffing himself with ice cream and chocolate.
At night, while walking through town, I found Natsu, Lucy, and Happy still wandering.
Me: You're still here? Weren't you supposed to be back by now?
Happy: Oh no, we lost track of time!!
Lucy: We should get back before Erza scolds us.
Natsu (sniffing): Wait, I smell something.
Me: If it's food, I have a bunch in my bag, so yeah.
Natsu: No, that's not it.
Natsu started crawling and headed toward a crowd surrounding two people. He kept crawling until he reached their feet.
???: Well, well, isn't this dear Natsu? Crawling even before the games start?
Natsu looked up and saw a man with yellow hair and another with black hair.
Natsu: This scent… Are you Dragon Slayers?
???: Not only are we Dragon Slayers, but we're not just any kind—we're Third Generation Dragon Slayers.
Happy (next to Natsu): Third Generation?
???: This blue cat doesn't even know about the Third Generation.
The voice came from a brown cat wearing a blue vest similar to mine, accompanied by another cat dressed as a frog.
Happy (panicking): More cats?!
Brown Cat: First Generation Dragon Slayers, like Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel, are those who were raised by dragons. Second Generation Dragon Slayers, like Laxus, Cobra, and Sonic, have Dragon Lacrima implanted in them.
It's true—during my training with Laxus, he used to subject me to intense electric shocks before creating the Lacrima inside me.
Brown Cat: Meanwhile, Third Generation Dragon Slayers, like Sting, Rogue, and Shadow, possess Dragon Lacrima and were also raised by dragons.
Me: So your dragons disappeared too?
Sting: No, we took a more radical approach.
Rogue: We wanted to see how strong we really were, so we had to eliminate them ourselves.
Me (shocked): What?
Lucy (terrified): That's not possible!!!
Natsu (angry): You killed your fathers?!
Me: They raised you, and that's how you repay them—by killing them???
???: We're Dragon Slayers. We all knew this would happen eventually.
I turned my gaze toward a black hedgehog who suddenly appeared behind us.

Natsu: Huh? But that's…
Lucy: A hedgehog like Sonic?!
???: You let your prey escape. It was either that, or you would've been devoured yourselves.
Natsu: What are you talking about? Igneel would never do that!
Me: Who are you exactly?
Sting: Ah, there you are, Shadow!
Me: Shadow?
Shadow: If I were you, I'd be more worried about what you did.
Me: Huh? What did I do?
???: There he is! Seize him!
Guards emerged from the crowd and pointed their spears at me.
Me: Huh? What's your problem?
One of the guards: You're under arrest for attempting to destroy the royal palace!
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy: What?!
Chip: What? That's not true! He never did that! Besides, we haven't even been there yet!
Shadow: Yet he was the one who attacked the castle and destroyed the royal guard's weapons.
Me (transforming into my hedgehog form): I didn't do anything! You've got the wrong guy!
I jumped away from the guards to dodge their spears when suddenly, Shadow teleported and landed a violent kick to my head, knocking me into the town's central fountain. I emerged from the water, but the guards threw a special rope at me that wrapped around my body and started electrocuting me. Normally, electricity doesn't affect me, but this rope was different.
Natsu (intervening and standing in front of me with flaming fists): Stop it! He didn't do anything!
Lucy: Natsu!!!
I saw Shadow floating in the air with his jet-propelled boots. He looked at me with a sneer, making it clear he was the real culprit.
AAAAAAAH
I suddenly heard two screams in my head. I recognized those voices—it was Wendy and Carla. They were in danger. I had to break free.
Me (Lightning Aura): How can you lie when you're the one who caused all this?
I prepared a Spin Dash and charged at him despite my condition.
Me (in ball form): Say something, you imposter hedgehog!
Chip: Sonic, no!
Shadow: Chaos Control!
He began glowing, teleported again, and suddenly appeared beside me. He grabbed my leg and slammed me into the ground with force, cracking the pavement on impact.
Natsu (held back by guards): Sonic!!!
I was pinned to the ground with Shadow's right foot pressing down on my head.
Sting (smirking): Why accuse Shadow? These events happened long before we arrived. Why lie to your friends?
Lucy: Stop it… He… he's…
Natsu and the others were shocked to see I was heavily bleeding from my head.
Shadow: Oh? Already bleeding? You must be really weak if you're bleeding from just a few hits.
I couldn't believe it—I was actually bleeding from my head. I started feeling dizzy and overwhelmed by pain. Shadow teleported next to his allies and left.
Sting: Anyway, we're looking forward to facing you in the games, Natsu. Hope you won't disappoint us.
Chip's POV
They left, leaving Sonic lying on the ground in a pool of blood. The guards let go of Natsu, but Lucy stopped him. She was right—they couldn't get into trouble before the games. They locked Sonic in an animal cage while he was unconscious and took him away.
Natsu: Those bastards… They took Sonic!
Lucy: Calm down, Natsu. We need to get back to the inn. Erza and the others can help us.
Happy: Let's go, quickly!
As they ran, Happy turned to look at me.
Happy: Chip, are you coming?
Me: Oh, uh, yeah, I'm coming.
Wendy would be devastated if she saw this, but even just telling her might be worse.
When we arrived at the inn, we found Erza and Gray had just arrived. But Wendy and Carla…
Lucy: What?! They still haven't returned?!
Chip: …
We suddenly felt a tremor and noticed that the inn was rising into the sky. We weren't the only ones—other inns were floating too. A giant orb appeared in the sky with a face in the middle.

???: Good evening, dear participants. Welcome to the qualifying round of the Grand Magic Games.
Natsu: What?
Erza: Qualifying rounds?
We soon realized this was a trial where all five members had to enter the giant orb. Elfman and Lisanna joined us.
Lisanna: But how will you compete if Wendy isn't here?
Elfman (grabbing Team Natsu): Then I'll replace her!
He took them and headed toward the mini-planet to start the trial.
Happy: Shouldn't we be looking for Wendy?
Lisanna: Yes, I'll warn the others.
Chip: …
Happy: Chip? Are you okay?
Chip: I just located Wendy, and trust me… You're not going to like this.
Sonic's POV
I woke up in a cell, lying on the floor. I touched my head and realized I had bandages wrapped around it. The sun was shining through the window—it must have been the afternoon. I heard guards approaching.
Guard (opening the cell): You have a visitor.
I stood up and realized I had cuffs on my wrists. They took me to an interrogation room, where… Master Makarov was sitting. He looked at me with his usual serious face, while I stared back at him just as seriously, as if he were the culprit. We silently stared at each other for a minute.
Makarov (breaking the silence): Why, Sonic?
Me: I didn't do anything…
Makarov: Yet, a lot of evidence shows the opposite. What happened, my child?
Me: I'm telling you, it wasn't me! It was that impostor, Shadow.
Makarov: The evidence shows a shining hedgehog with a blue aura, destroying everything in its path and leaving blue electric trails. Do you really think it was him?
Me: In any case, I would never attack the royal court. I have nothing against them.
Makarov (sighing): I would love to believe you, but right now, luck is not on your side.
Me: How many days have passed since the incident?
Makarov: Today is the first day of the Grand Games, so it happened yesterday.
Me: And how are Wendy and Carla?
Makarov: ...
Me: Master?
Makarov: Wendy and Carla were attacked the night you were arrested. We later found them unconscious with a severe magic depletion. Elfman has replaced Wendy today.
So it was true… They were really in danger. Damn it, if only I had been there…
Makarov: I managed to negotiate with the royal guards. You'll be released on the third day.
Me: The third day?
Makarov (standing up to leave): You will be the substitute for Fairy Tail's second team, which qualified today. I just want to ask you one thing. (He looked at me.) Find out the truth.
Me: Count on me!
At that moment, I realized tears were streaming down my face. I couldn't believe it—I was really crying. I was crying out of rage and helplessness for the first time. It was a new feeling I had never experienced before.
Makarov: Don't cry, my child. You don't have to worry about Wendy and Carla. It's not your fault. They'll regain their strength quickly. In the meantime, stay here. I'll come get you the day after tomorrow.
Me: Alright. Thank you very much, Master.
From that day on, I had lost my smile, waiting for the day to come… the day I would take my revenge.