Levy took a deep breath, trying to shake the tension from her shoulders. It was unnerving, knowing they were being watched from the shadows, and the sensation of unseen eyes on her back had her shivering, even if those eyes belonged to the people on her side.

"Relax, amica." Bickslow whispered, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Ready when you are."

She squared her shoulders, taking in the confidence being exuded from his casual posture and matching his easy grin, stepped in front of Bickslow to fist her hands in his shirt and lean up on her tip toes, pressing their lips together. Levy had just let Bickslow tip her backwards, his tongue plundering into her mouth, as she started to think maybe this was going to be a bust, she'd been so sure they'd have been attacked by now, when all of a sudden the temperature dropped around them and the shadows in the park began to whip and hiss around them.

"There you are."

The voice was soft, almost otherworldly, but Levy could feel the power bleeding from the words, and she blanched slightly. Maybe she'd gotten it wrong, and if they were all going to die here tonight, it would be her fault.

"Breathe, Bluebell. We got this" Bickslow whispered against her lips before he wrenched her arm, pulling her up and tucking her behind him, just like they'd planned. "Vassenia. You look like shit"

He wasn't wrong, Levy thought as she peered around his side to get her first look at the woman who had masterminded her personal hell of the last year. Raven hair was stringy, tangled and filthy as it fell in knots down her back. Her olive skin was ashen, clammy, criss crossed with black lines that looked like cracks, and it was stretched thin over bones that were entirely too obvious under the tattered clothing. But it was her eyes that had Levy shaking, cold sweat forming as she felt Bickslow tense. The once bright, emerald green eyes were crazed, flashing between red and black, the occasional glimpse of green was dull and lifeless, the sockets sunken beyond what resembled anything human.

"Bicks" Levy whispered, knowing he would hear her. "I can't..." She stopped suddenly when he glanced over his shoulder, face carefully schooled into usual jovial expression, but his eyes demanded she do as he said and right then, he was telling her to be quiet.

"Well, Bickslow, it has been a while, and not all of us had the benefit of being frozen in time to stop us aging. How are you?" She purred, edging closer to them with every word and Levy had to concentrate on breathing, the magical pressure being exuded from the woman was almost overwhelming.

"Come on, we both know you're not here for small talk, Vas. Although, that's not your name, is it?" To a casual observer, Bickslow would have appeared completely unaffected by the shell of the woman before him. But Levy, right behind him, and his brothers waiting in the shadows? They could see his tension, his fear, in the set of his shoulders, the way his fingers twitched at his side, how his hips were angled ready to move in whatever way was necessary.

"Tell me, do the others know who you really are, Al-Ana?"

With a shriek, the woman launched herself at him, the shadows giving way to all manner of nightmarish creatures. Unfortunately for Vassenia, or whoever was in control of that body, Levy and Freed had predicted this was how she would react and as such, both Vander and Gajeel were there in the thick of it before she could so much as blink, banishing the shadowy creatures back to the voids they came from just as fast as they appeared.

Levy thought she overhead Vander yelling out numbers as he flitted around, materialising out of and disappearing back into the shadows, and she shook her head - trust Bickslow's little brother to turn a potentially deadly encounter in a friendly competition.

"Natsu! Now!" Came the call, someone yelling, and the entire area light up like it was the noon sun overhead, Natsu blazing as hot and as bright as ever, literally burning away the shadows so she had nothing to use, no reserves to summon any weapon from. Levy watched as Vander and Gajeel bailed out of a sliver of darkness, none too gracefully, shaking their fists at the fire dragon slayer in jest. Either Levy really was the only one terrified right now, or everyone else was simply far better at hiding it.

The entire atmosphere shifted when whoever was driving manged to get Vassenia's powers in hand long enough to possess Cristoff, but they were too far gone to hold him, maintain the control, for more than a moment - it took training to be able to possess someone of his strength, a dragon slayer no less, and the souls inside that dying body lacked the coherency to keep it up for longer than a few seconds. In the end, it worked to their advantage, those few seconds had given Cristoff the benefit of proximity, which he didn't actually need, considering the moon was barely a sliver away from being full, but at close range when he began to cast purifying spells? No one stood a chance, even Natsu and Gajeel staggering a little under the wash of the cool, minty mist that seeked to purge any darkness it touched, that Cristoff deemed a threat.

With a heart wrenching cry, Vassenia fell to her knees and Bickslow was on her in an instant. Though her body was tired, worn out, dying, the magics swirling within her were strong and they were evenly matched. Levy knew better than to let her speak, knew that if she uttered even a single word then she could still lose any number of the people surrounding her. Pushing passed Laxus' broad shoulders, Levy wrote in the air using the light pen she always had stashed somewhere on her person and sent the bindings to their intended place, where they secured themselves around the disintegrating limbs and mouth of the woman Bickslow was still struggling with.

"Any time you want to help, amica" she heard him in her mind, felt the laughter he was trying to suppress, and she had to smile, because they had one more ace up their sleeve that no one, aside from Laxus, knew about.

Vassenia had set it all in motion, having seen the bond forming between Bickslow and Levy, she'd tried to get to him, by ambushing Gajeel and having him do the dirty work she'd been trying to destroy their mating before it had even begun, hoping to get Bickslow exposed and unbalanced, vulnerable, and easy to take out. Unfortunately for her, it had backfired. He was there, more grounded and secure than ever before, magic stronger than it had ever been, and now they had a trump card - Levy herself.

Dropping the mental shielding that she had been so carefully creating and using since Bickslow had first started training her and showing her how, Levy felt her as yet untested Seith magic flood the area, and she focused it entirely on the woman who was kneeling and panting before her. Bickslow was right, the souls were too far gone, there would be no saving them. And with her body crumbling to dust, there was no where for Vassenia herself to go. But Levy would leave her, that one wasn't her choice to make, Bickslow alone had that right and in her mind, she knew he deserved the chance to finally say farewell to his old friend. But the swirling, seething ball of evil? Oh no, that one was all hers and Levy was not going to be gentle about it. She dragged it, kicking and screaming out of the body, which sagged dramatically the second it was free.

"You can't seperate them, you'll have to just destroy them together." Levy had expected as much, but was glad to have confirmation of her plan as she opened her mouth and began chanting.

"Ab hoc planum, ut te ad pacem" the souls were shrinking, pulsating, and she could feel the push back as they were fighting her, the force making her stagger a little. No sooner had she stumbled than Cristoff was beside her, hand on her shoulder to steady her, the contact allowing him to replenish her magical stores to where the drain was almost negligible. Smiling in thanks, Levy raised her voice, chanting more forcefully, and now she had the strength to back it up, she raised her light pen and scrawled a single rune, which glowed and took effect the second her chanting stopped and the soul shattered into dust.

It was done, it was over. She had done it.

The knowledge, along with the magical drain hit Levy all at once and she sagged, would have collapsed if it wasn't for Cristoff's arm snaking around her middle and holding her upright while she meticulously raised her mental walls again, lest she accidentally possess someone else - or worse.

"Vas? Vassenia?" The entire park was silent, save for Bickslow's whisper.

"Bicks?" Came the hoarse reply no one was expecting.

"I'm here, Vas. It's okay, you did good. You don't need to hold on anymore." Bickslow was openly weeping as he watched her smile one last time, before her corporeal form dissolved into nothingness, the dull green of her soul floating before him. Levy went to him then, holding his hand as together, they helped her spirit to finally be at rest.

"Erit anima tua, ut iam quiesceret. Vade in pace et esto eis in caritate."

Well, it's finally over. For now, at least...

I'd love to know your thoughts, get your feedback - this isn't my style, not the stuff I usually write (don't worry, we'll get back to it really soon!) so I'm please please please let me know what you thought of it all!

Translations for this chapter -

amica = love

ab hoc planum = leave this plane

ut te ad pacem = may you be at peace

erit anima tua, ut iam quiesceret = may your soul be at rest now

vade in pace et esto eis in caritate = go with love and be at peace