<div class="floatleft">(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSOLddRmFGdsSuiH4htcFCE-rkkpNUW1yBZYB0dPCezqszrQwRxAg)<br/></div><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Ralena Tharin</span><br/><strong>Location:</strong>Guild hall<br/><strong>With:</strong>Nobody<br/><hr/><br/>Everybody was getting excited to see who it was that they'd be fighting, and just as Shun smashed her way through the door, exclaiming how she'd finally get to kick Lyuk's ass, the lights throughout the entire guild flashed brightly for a second before everything went dark, leaving only a single small spotlight on the second floor rails, where Guild master Romeo Conbolt (http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131217024411/kill-la-kill/images/d/dd/Ep12-isshin.jpg) stood in a hunched, stern, composed state.<strong>"Mages of Fairy Tail! It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce the beginning of the 50th annual FAIRY CHAMPION competition!"</strong><br/><br/>The guild hall roared with excitement, fists all rising into the air and mugs of alcohol were lifted to the sky to signal the guild's approval. Once the roar settled down, the guild master resumed.<strong>"First, allow me to go over the rules of the tournament, just like every year. First and foremost! Though we fight one another, we are still all Fairy Tail guild members, permanent or serious harm on your comrades will not be tolerated. Second! Cheering from the stands and encouraging your friends is essental, but spectators ARE NOT allowed to interfere with a battle in progress! Third, lastly, and most importantly..."</strong>The man paused for a moment in the name of dramatic effect, before he lifted his index finger towards the sky while the rest of his fingers lay coiled around his palm like a fist.<strong>"Fight your hardest, and aim for the very top!"</strong><br/><br/>More cheers, to the point where the guild hall felt like it was going to unsettle it's foundations. Once again, Romeo waited until the crowd went silent before resuming.<strong>"Now then, let's get a look at our CHAMPION RUNNERS! As you all know, while the FAIRY CHAMPION tournament is a sacred time where all are allowed to compete in tournaments and leagues of their own creation, only eight of the strongest within our guild are allowed to shoot right for the title of FAIRY CHAMPION. Their strength has been weighed, measured, and our CHAMPION RUNNERS have been decided!"</strong>He pointed towards the huge holographic screen that Ralena was standing beneath, and bellowed in a powerful voice.<strong>"Now! Reveal the runners to us!"</strong><br/><br/>Ralena could almost feel the anticipation building up, her heart hammering as the blank portraits at the beginning of the bracket all started to glow and hum with life. "C'mon... Lemme make it this year..." As the magic subsided, the portraits filled themselves in to reveal all of the FAIRY RUNNERS that were in the running for the top prize.<br/><br/>(http://i.imgur.com/2w517Om.png) (click to enlarge)<br/><br/>Ralena gasped with delight, throwing her fist into the air when she realized that she had made the cut. "AWW YEAH!!!!" Meanwhile, Romeo up at the balcony waved forward, and the lights to the guild hall all clicked back on at once, flooding the area with light again.<strong>"Fairy Tail members, we have our CHAMPION RUNNERS!"</strong>Another roar of excitement from the crowd, and all eight of the people that were in the running would find themselves being bombarded with congratulatory words, pieces of advice, jokes, and all around pleasant company. Even when a particular person didn't make the cut, Fairy Tail members were always delighted to see their comrades succeed in their place, and there were no true feelings of bitterness to be found in the guild hall.<br/><br/>However, as far as Lyuk went, he would see two names up on the board that he was familiar with, but ones that he would certainly not be expecting. Emilia Southwind and Gregory von Helthesberg, two former members of the dark guild known as the Shadow Crows, were somehow showing up as combatants to be the strongest member in Fairy Tail. Of course, just as he had the chance to let that sink in, he would be able to look over towards a huge crowd standing in front of the podium, and on top of it was none other then the black haired songstress that had tried to end his life only a week ago. Of course, this was only news to Lyuk, since Luca, Alice, and Ralena would have been around to see them join about five days prior. The crowd in front of Emilia was ecstatic, only a few sentences able to be made out. "Great job Emilia!" "You're already one of the best!" "Win for us!" Emilia grinned broadly, putting on a sweet smile as she motioned with her open palm towards her small fan club. "You have my word, I'll try my best! And if I win, a special concert just for my supporters!"<strong>"WE LOVE YOU EMILIA!!!"</strong>She seemed almost like a completely different person! Like she was some kind of pop star as opposed to the depressed, brooding woman that she had been when Lyuk faced off against her.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, the only one of the eight not being basked entirely in love and affection was a white haired swordsman that stood near the back of the guild hall, a light smirk appearing across his lip as he inspected the bright green Fairy Tail logo that rested on the back of his hand. "Heh... Well this should be fun... " Luca would have been around a little bit to see Gregory hanging about the Guild Hall, and while it was nowhere near as obvious as Emilia's transformation was, he didn't have the same air of hostility or darkness about him that he had before.<br/><br/>Either way, the runners were set, the tournament would begin 24 hours from the time of the announcement, and everybody was free to do as she wished. As for Ralena, as soon as things started to settle down, Luca and Alice would feel the harsh stomp of a foot across their table as Ralena suddenly appeared upon it, kneeling forward as she stared Alice directly in the eye, the fire and spirit of competition within the black haired woman's eyes was clear, and it looked like she was ready to tackle the blonde right then and there. "You get a good look at that bracket, Alice? You win your first match and who do you face? ME! That's right! You better not back down, and you BETTER NOT lose to that new blood singer chick, you GOT THAT!?"