Fairy Tail Next Generation: Thrown Back

Chapter 22 - Victory and Speculation

"And he's down!" The announcer boomed. The crowd roared with applause and cheers! The roar of the crowd was overwhelming to my ears. "Is this the roar of Fairy Tail's resurrection?! Nashi Lockflame beats the odds and closes the doors of defeat with a fiery gold victory!"

I let out a sigh of exhaustion and fall to my knees on the dirt floor of the arena. I can't help but smile despite the aching pain all over my body. One of the lacrima cameras flies closer to my face, getting a closeup of my signature fanged smile on all of the lacrima screens. 

There are cheers and screams all over the stadium, especially from the Fairy Tail section. I pump my fist in the air and let out a loud shout of victory. The crowd goes wild!

"Yeah! That's my girl!" I hear Natsu yell over everyone. I search the audience and spot him on top of the arena wall along with Wendy and Carla. They were all cheering as loud as they could from where they were. My grin grew even bigger for them as I flash the guild sign with my hand.

"Thanks Dad!" 

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh shit,"

"WHAT A REVELATION!!" Chapati screeches over the crowd. "THE RUMORS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED FOLKS! THE FUTURE TEAM IS REAL AND WALKING AMONG US!"

"SO COOL!!!" Jason screamed. The crowd was now restless and wild, screaming with excitement. Lacrima cameras flew closer to the Fairy Tail section of the crowd and zoomed in on the faces of Gale, Reiki, and Storm. They leaned away from the cameras like they were something to be feared as they zoomed closer. I could see the look of discomfort and confusion on their faces making me realize my mistake.

Three more floating cameras surrounded me on the arena floor. They zoomed in from every angle making me want to run and hide. My body ached from all of the fighting earlier, but nevertheless, I rose to my feet. I struggled to gain my balance and realized I could barely walk due to the pain. The cameras drew closer like a school of fish being drawn to their food. Chapati and the other judges rambled on about theories and speculations. 

"Nashi!" I looked up and saw a certain orange exceed flying in my direction. Kali landed right between the cameras and I. "Leave her alone," Kali shouted into the camera, she pushed away the flying mechanism with her tiny feline paws. The camera zoomed in on Kali as the audience gushed at the feisty adorable exceed.

"So cute!" Jason shrieked. 

"Oh you think this is cute?" Kali smirked evilly. Just then, an orange magic circle appeared beneath Kali's feet. There was a flash of light that engulfed my best friend as I shielded my eyes from the light. A few seconds later and the light had faded, standing in Kali's place was the most ferocious creature I had ever seen.

Kali had transformed into a massive saber tooth tiger. She stood at seven feet tall with large tusks and dark stripes. Her tail was long with a spiky end and a mo-hawk on her head that ran down her long neck. She of course had her signature bandanna and the Fairy Tail mark on the back of her right ear. Besides that and her orange fur, they were the only resemblances. 

Kali roared fiercely, it echoed across the arena walls and silenced many. Kali turned to me with a look that I knew all too well. I struggled to climb onto the striped back of my best friend. She let out a low growl at the cameras one more time and started running toward the tunnel that would lead to safety.

I grasp my fingers around the red bandanna tied around the tiger's neck. Burying my face in the long fur of her mo-hawk, I breathe in the scent of my best friend. I can feel Kali slowing down as a shadow passes over us, we've entered the tunnel. Kali finally stopped and let out a small groan that somehow comforts me. My body still hurts, too much to get off of my exceed's back on my own. 

"H-hey Kali," I whisper. "Can you take me to the infirmary," Kali moans and starts walking down the stone hallway. I lay down on my stomach on Kali's back and close my eyes. After a few minutes of Kali walking down the hallway, I start to hear running footsteps.

"Nashi!"

"Are you alright?"

"Hey, say something!"

"Come on kid wake up," I open my eyes to see Lucy, Gray, and Erza.

"We need to get her to the infirmary," Erza states.

I feel Kali start to move forward quickly. I hear footsteps running along side of us.

My body hurts all over and the exhaustion is killing me. I want to go to sleep right here on Kali's back, but I can hear voices telling me to stay awake. A little further down the hall, I hear more footsteps running toward us. I catch a whiff of a few familiar smells.

I struggle to pry my eyelids open and catch a glimpse of Storm, Reiki, and Gale.

"Nashi are you okay?" Storm questioned. I can see the concern in his eyes as he takes my hand in his. My warm hand touches his cold one.

"Hey," I groan. "Sorry for spilling the beans,"

"Don't worry about that right now," Erza comforts.

"Yeah, let's just get you to the infirmary so you can rest," Lucy says. I nod and close my eyes again. Kali starts to move again and the six people with us follow.

It wasn't long before we got to the infirmary. I had to literally roll off of Kali's back and onto the bed. The soft mattress was like a cloud to my aching back. I sighed into one of the soft pillows. The call of sleep was like a beautiful symphony, lulling me into it's trap. The voices in the room faded into background as I felt my body relax. In an instant, the sweet drug of sleep had overcome me.