Rogue sauntered up to Minerva in no particular hurry to inform her Sting couldn't compete. Judging by all the yelling currently taking place, it didn't seem like she was in the best of moods already. Most likely due to nobody having seen Sting since the night previous. And of course, he was the one to bring the bad news, not that he wasn't used to it by now thanks to Sting's reckless behaviour.
As he neared Minerva, Orga began to take notice. Rogue saw Orga move towards him from the corner of his eye and sighed. One more frustrating conversation coming up, Rogue supposed.
"Hey there Rogue. Got any idea where lover boy has gone off to?" Orga questioned, a slight smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"I don't have to time for this," was all Rogue said before continuing to Minerva who was sitting atop the guild master's chair.
"He decided we weren't worth it after all? Even abandoned that cat of his?" Orga continued, not getting the clue.
"No," Rogue replied.
"Then what?" Orga asked.
Rogue turned to Orga with a frown on his face. "Why don't you find out when I tell Minerva?"
That satisfied Orga, "Alright."
Apparently their conversation caught Minerva's attention because the Mage was currently giving them a deadly sharp glare. And as much as Rogue hated to admit it, she had probably already figured out Sting wasn't present. There could be no fooling her.
"And I suppose you have something to tell me?" Minerva observed with a cruel smirk.
Yep, she definitely knew. And Rogue hated her for it. She was so aloof with the guild members and she always put on a superiority act. And those were just some of her deplorable qualities. Torture and hostage-holding could now be added to the list of her actions Rogue disliked.
Rogue gave a hesitant nod.
"Oh? And just what do you have to tell me?" She asked, playing around with Rogue.
"Sting's gone. But not for the reason you think-"
"I knew it!" Orga shouted out.
Minerva sent Orga a glare then returned her attention to Rogue. "And he's gone because...?"
"He was arrested by the royal guard," Rogue told her somewhat embarrassed. Of all the days and ways to miss the last event in the games, somehow Sting was arrested.
Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Arrested? How did that come to be?"
"I don't know. I wasn't told why." Rogue lied. There was no way he was telling Minerva it was because Sting got caught trespassing with Lucy.
Minerva shifted in her seat and gritted her teeth together. Rogue could practically feel the anger coming off her in waves like she would snap at him any second. Only, Rogue knew she wouldn't. She was too aloof and restrained to make a clumsy display of anger. No, with Minerva every move she made was calculated to some degree.
"Well, it looks like we're out of a team member..." Minerva said, then raised her voice; "Where's Dobengal?"
"Right here, My Lady," Dobengal spoke having appeared out of thin air.
"Because of Sting's absence, you'll be playing in his place. I suggest you get ready," Minerva commanded.
"Yes, My Lady," Dobengal replied.
Again, Minerva turned her focus back to Rogue. "I'm a woman of my word. We will win the final today. If we don't, well... Lector may be in a lot of trouble. For Sting's sake, you might want to hope Dobengal holds up his end during the final." Minerva said.
Rogue nodded. Then without replying he walked away. There was no need to say anything else. It felt like Minerva had already won despite there being no final result. Sabertooth hadn't lost yet, so why did it feel like Lector was already gone? All that Rogue knew was that he was going to fight like hell during the finals for Sting's sake and his own. He wasn't going to lose to Gajeel twice.
Lucy groaned and shifted. It felt like someone had hit her in the head hard. She then became acutely aware of the dirt and dust covering her legs and the cold temperature. Wherever she was, it definitely wasn't a bedroom and she certainly wasn't in a bed.
Lucy opened her eyes slowly to discover she was staring straight at iron bars.
"You're finally up."
Lucy jumped in surprise at the unexpected voice. She turned her head to notice Yukino sitting opposite from her. In the corner, Sting was out like a light. Wait, both Sting and Yukino were there too?
How badly had she hit her head?
Last she remembered, she had been taking Natsu and the others to view the dragon bones then they actually got to talk to a dragon.
"Yukino, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked softly.
Yukino looked down. "They want Celestial wizards to help them with opening the gate."
Lucy doubted Yukino had the answer to how she ended up down in the cell, so she stayed silent. Instead, she crawled over to Sting.
"He's been asleep for a while. You should wake him up," Yukino suggested.
"Okay," Lucy replied, then gently shook Sting's arm.
He slowly blinked his eyes open, then realized he was looking at Lucy. Lucy could see, clear as day, the panic spreading across his face.
"How did you get here?" Sting questioned Lucy.
"I don't know."
Sting closed his eyes again and sighed. "We need to find a way out of here. I don't know what time it is, but the games must be starting soon."
"I told Gray to tell Rogue what happened. Rogue will do his best, don't worry," Lucy told him, although she wasn't quite too sure how Sabertooth would do in the upcoming finals. Fairy Tail's strongest wizards were to be feared.
"If we don't win... What happens to Lector is my fault," he guiltily admitted with a hitch to his voice. "I could have been more careful. Rogue always tells me how reckless I am, I guess I just never took note of that until now."
Lucy frowned and Sting opened his eyes again. "Are you seriously blaming yourself for this?" She asked.
"Yes. There's only one person to blame and it's me."
"Well did you ask for Minerva to kidnap Lector?"
"No."
"Then by that logic, it's not your fault. You never wanted this," Lucy told him, then raised her hand to caress his face. "You're a good person Sting. You stood up to your own guild for me. That was the right thing to do. So don't you dare go blaming yourself for this. We'll find a way out of this, promise."
Sting have her a small smile, which was enough for Lucy. She removed her hand from his face and stood up.
Oh, how their positions had been reversed. Before, Lucy was the one going through problems that were difficult. Over the course of the past week-almost two now-she'd somewhat healed from her father's death and found Sting. And while their relationship didn't have the appropriate time to grow, they'd already supported each other so much. Now it was Lucy's turn to help him. But the games would no doubt be starting soon and they needed to leave.
Peering over at the bars on the cell, Lucy began to wonder how in the hell they could burst out of there without being caught. Sting's magic was destructive, so that was the easy part. The difficult part would be escaping the guards and not causing a scene.
"Sting, can you use your magic down here?"
"Don't you think I would've tried that already?" He laughed.
Lucy's cheeks heated up. "Right, I should have thought that through. Wait, why can't you use magic down here?"
Instead of Sting replying, Yukino stepped in. "Because the gate is so close by. It drains our magic. That's why they hold the games here."
Lucy's jaw dropped. "What?" she turned to Sting, "Did you know this?"
"Yukino explained it to me," he nodded.
"Well, there has to be some way out of here!" Lucy exclaimed.
"I hope you have some good ideas because we've tried everything," Sting said.
Lucy huffed and crossed her arms. "I'll find a way outsometime, just you guys wait."
Earlier in the day
Gray and Erza stood waiting and waiting for Makarov to come to a decision about Lucy. They needed someone to go get her, a wizard who was strong, but they didn't want to take anyone out of their already selected team. Finally, Makarov grumbled.
"Alright, I've come to an answer. I think Natsu should go get Lucy and Sting. Wendy and Mira should go with him," Makarov spoke.
"Then who is going to take Natsu's place?" Erza pondered.
"Juvia," Makarov answered brightly.
Erza made a sound of agreement. "And does Sabertooth know about Sting's situation?" Although she held no like for the guild, it was only fair they be informed. Rogue especially deserved to know.
"Yeah," Gray interjected. "I told Rogue."
Current
The games were almost ready to begin and Minerva couldn't have been more happy. Her 'deal' with Sting was leaning heavily in their favour. And while Dobengal was no Sting, he was Sting a powerful mage in his own respect. And if Dobengal was to go out early, then Minerva was confident the rest of Sabertooth could carry themselves.
She watched Rogue get ready. He seemed odd without Sting by his side, but it was no matter. Sabertooth would still win. They always did.
Minerva narrowed her eyes suddenly. She could have sworn she saw Rogue's shadow move on its own. Maybe she was too used to seeing his magic in action, like it was just a trick of the eye.
As Gray was headed to get ready for the match a man in his peripheral vision caught his attention. You'd think it was because of the black cloak covering the man's features, but he caught Gray's attention because of the necklace. Gray could have sworn Lucy had the same one, hell, Lucy did have the same necklace.
Gray stopped walking. "Hey!" he shouted while spinning around ready to confront the man.
But the man was gone like he had disappeared. There was no trace that he was ever there, not even a footprint.
But wait. A man in a cloak? No, he couldn't possibly be the one Natsu had told them about. There was no possible way. That was just a dream, right? That nightmare could never be allowed to become a reality, otherwise, the world would be screwed. The only question Gray had was why. Why was all of this happening and why was he the one to see the man in the cloak?
An: I feel like I'm getting slightly better at writing and I've really gotten a creative burst, so new chapter soon! (Sorry I jumped perspectives so much this chapter.)
Also, I forgot to mention I'm taking a creative writing class so I'm hoping that helps as well!
Love you guys and love seeing your reviews! I'm going to start replying to reviews again, so get ready ; )