A/N: Thanks for RRFF! This is nearly complete; it's very exciting for me :D
Erza had come to around the middle of Lucy's storytelling, but she was still shivering violently. It was decided that she, Wendy, and Meredy would stay at the camp and only follow if necessary or if Meredy deemed the other two sufficiently recovered. Natsu had been snacking on the flames throughout the explanation, so he was back to feeling close to normal. Lucy knew they never would have convinced him to stay behind anyway, not with Lucy going into the caves and Gray being the one they were fighting. It was difficult enough keeping Erza seated next to the fire.
Only a few meters into the cave, they encountered a three-way split.
"I will accompany Lucy," Ryos said when it was decided they should pair off.
"Like hell," Natsu snarled. Lucy laid a restraining hand on his arm.
"I agree with Ryos. Natsu, go with Jellal. We need at least one person that Gray is close to in each group in case we run into him. That's you, me, and Ultear. Ryos and I can look after ourselves."
Natsu looked like he wanted to argue further, but Lucy gave him a shove towards Jellal before grabbing Ryos's wrist and dragging him down the right hand path. She slowed her pace as they gained some distance from the other four.
"You sensed it, too?" Ryos asked.
"Yes, he's here somewhere."
Sting's magic hummed through her body more loudly as they continued. The cave twisted and turned, but it didn't veer off anymore. They walked cautiously side-by-side until Ryos suddenly stiffened before grabbing Lucy's hand and practically dragging her down the tunnel. He stopped at a bit of wall that looked to Lucy like any other, but he was muttering to himself. Shadows emerged from his body to feel around the rocks. He closed his eyes as he concentrated.
"Wait here. I'll be right back," he said before slipping fully into shadow form and ghosting through the tiniest crack in the rock. Lucy fidgeted nervously and a few minutes later, the shadow reappeared only to form into two shapes. Lucy dodged forward to grab one side of Yukino while Ryos propped up the other.
"Thank you, Rogue. I mean, Ryos. You saved me again," Yukino said with a weak smile. The other two helped her to slowly sink to her knees.
"Yuki, how did you get here?" Lucy asked.
"We were on a mission just outside of Onibus when we were attacked. It happened so fast that I didn't even see who attacked us. I woke up in that room. There's some sort of crystals on the ceiling; they seemed to be draining my magic. I could barely even summon a spirit, let alone keep the gate open for more than a few seconds."
"There seems to be more going on here than just your friend Gray," Ryos said. "We should get Yuki back to the tent and then continue."
"No," Yukino said firmly. She struggled to her feet. "I have to find Rogue. I can feel my magic coming back now that I'm out of there. You aren't leaving me behind."
Ryos looked to Lucy for help, but the blonde merely rose to her feet with a nod to Yukino.
"They took Sting, too. I know I wouldn't be able to stay behind, so I won't try to make Yukino, either."
"Looks like the Celestial Sirens are back in action," Yukino said with a small smile. Lucy giggled and wrapped her arm around Yukino's.
"You bet. Come on, Ryos. We've got a couple of slayers to save."
Sting fought his way back to consciousness for the fourth time. Or was it the fifth? He couldn't be sure. Each time he woke up weaker than before. This time was no exception, but something else had changed. He woke up upright and unable to move. Heavy chains held his arms spread, and smooth stone pressed against his back. He struggled to lift his head to gaze around the large stone cavern. A groan to his left caught his attention, and he let his head loll back against the stone so he could look in that direction.
"Rogue," he whispered. His voice cracked, and he coughed violently. The still figure of his brother shifted slightly, but he seemed to be unconscious.
"Awake again?" A cold voice asked.
Sting shifted his eyes back to the center of the room where he recognized Gray coming into view. Gray walked up to stand just in front of Sting. The dragon slayer recognized the dead black eyes, and he wanted to groan in annoyance, but it came out as more of a pained sound. Gray smirked. Sting tried to glare at him.
"Are they ready?" Another voice came from the same direction where Gray had appeared. Sting stiffened as he recognized the woman's voice.
"Minerva," he hissed.
"Oh, my dear little slayer, remember what I taught you? You must address me as milady," Minerva said as she stepped up to him. She grabbed his chin roughly and nearly purred at the muffled groan the move elicited. "Did you miss me?"
He tried to work up enough saliva to spit at her, but his body wasn't cooperating. He settled for maintaining the glare he'd started with Gray. Minerva chuckled darkly before moving away to a pedestal in between the bound slayers where a black orb rested.
"It's a pity Gray didn't bring me the little blonde as I requested," Minerva said.
"She was unnecessary," Gray replied flatly.
"For now," Minerva said absently. "We can always take revenge on the little ball of sunlight later."
Sting's eyes widened at the mention of Sunshine. He still had the occasional nightmare about the day in the games when Minerva brutalized the woman he'd grown to love. His muscles tensed unconsciously against his chains, but it only served to put biting pressure on his wrists.
"Touch her, and I'll kill you," Sting managed to growl. Gray reached out and punched Sting in the cheek with a force that rocked his head backwards to crack against the stone. Minerva didn't even spare him a glance as she worked at focusing her magic around the orb on the pedestal. Sting struggled to hold on to his fading consciousness as black spots appeared in his vision. He lost the battle as he felt his limited magic slowly draining yet again.
Ryos stopped their slow creep down the stone hallway with a raised hand. Lucy stepped up beside him, and he bent to whisper in her ear.
"I feel a dark energy ahead," he said.
"And Sting?"
"His magic and the energy seem to be in the same area. We should be careful."
A dark chuckle drifted on the air to them, and Lucy stood. Her eyes narrowed. Without a word to the other two, she sprinted forward. Yukino and Ryos exchanged a worried glance before taking off after her. They stopped just behind Lucy at the entrance to a large cavern. Lucy's body trembled slightly as she took in the scene before her. Yukino gasped and started forward, but Ryos held her back.
"Minerva," Lucy snarled. The black-haired woman looked up from where she was working over a black orb. A feral smile crossed her lips.
"Ah, so Gray didn't have to bring you to me after all. The little fairy came willingly to her slaughter," Minerva said. "Gray, incapacitate them."
"Ryos, take care of Gray. Yuki, free the boys. I'll deal with Minerva," Lucy said quietly as the ice make mage started towards them. Ryos immediately intercepted the Fairy Tail wizard while Yukino ran along the edge of the room trying to avoid their fight and the former Sabertooth woman. Lucy uncoiled her whip with a snap. White crystals in the ceiling began glowing, and Lucy felt them pulling at her magic.
"Leo, Virgo," she summoned her two most loyal spirits. "I need you to destroy those crystals."
They nodded and set to work as Lucy headed for the former Sabertooth woman.
"Minerva, I believe I owe you a beating," Lucy said.
She stopped a few feet from the pedestal and snapped out her whip to grab the woman's wrists. Minerva dodged aside at the last moment. The tip of the whip came down to tap against the black orb; a jolt of magic power traveled down the whip to Lucy's hand. She recognized the dark taste of it, but the remnant of Sting's magic in her body leapt up to lash back at the foreign power.
"You really want to take me on again little girl?" Minerva asked.
"It's time to put you in your place," Lucy said as a dark smile crossed her face. "We'll have our own private little show. And please, remember to scream."