"Fast winds that run the heaven…VERNIER!" Charle struggled under Wendy's weight as the tiny dragon slayer cast the enchantment on Mirajane, who was still in her Satan Soul form. Mirajane laughed at the speed boost the spell gave her, then slammed back down into Zirconis, trailing flames across his body. Below them, Lucy and Yukino stood helplessly on the ground, their golden keys spent.
"Wendy, you have to rest!" Charle admonished as the blue-haired girl gasped for breath.
"No! I am a Fairy Tail wizard and a Dragon Slayer!" Wendy argued, pointing a hand at Mirajane again. "Ile Arms!" She shouted, and power whirled around the demonic form.
Zirconis roared as Mirajane pounded into him, but she was surprised when he turned and bashed her with a wing, throwing her to the ground. The impact knocked her out of Satan Soul, and she lay there, breathing heavily.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy yelled, exhaling a blast of wind magic at Zirconis, who brushed off the attack and laughed, knocking Charle aside and grasping Wendy in his claws, then heading for the ground.
"Charle!" Wendy shouted, seeing Lucy and Yukino run over to the injured Exceed.
"You are tenacious, little slayer," Zirconis chuckled, landing in front of the gate. "But you won't get me that – what is that?" The dragon stared down at the runes drawn across Wendy's chest, pulsing and glowing on her skin in time to the battle raging in the sky.
"It's a magic that is going to defeat you!" She shouted, struggling against his grasp. Zirconis laughed, but Wendy could see doubt on his face. "It's going to send you back to where you bel-"
"GET OUT THE WAY!" The strange, echoey voice of the Rogue-Sting combo came from above them, and everyone looked up to see Motherglare's enormous figure on a trajectory for the gate. Rogue-Sting looked terrified, then grabbed his head and collapsed on the dragon's back.
"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" Wendy yelled, taking advantage of Zirconis' distraction and slipping out of his grasp. He barely winced at the attack; he was too busy watching Motherglare's descent to go after the little slayer. Wendy ran over to Charle and scooped her up into her arms, then turned to the others. "RUN!" She shouted, and they did, Arcadios holding his arms around Princess Hisuie, Lucy pulling Yukino along behind her.
Motherglare hit the ground with a fantastic sound that ripped through the square, destroying any windows that were left with the intensity of its blast. The dragon collapsed and skidded along the ground, smashing directly into the gate and shattering the left column into thousands of pieces. Giant chunks of stone crashed around Motherglare's prone body, leaving craters in the ground. Lucy, Wendy and Yukino ducked behind a piece of rubble while Arcadios used his own body to protect Princess Hisuie from the onslaught.
"Did it work?" Lucy asked, dusting bits of rubble from her hair. She glanced over at Wendy, and gasped as she saw that the runic magic on her chest had faded. "Wendy! Did it work?"
Wendy glanced down and shivered, then shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "Nothing seems to be happ-"
Motherglare's unmoving form on the ground began to shake and shimmer, and the edges of his body grew translucent. Wendy could see a human form struggling to stand on the ground next to the massive dragon.
"Is that-" Lucy began to ask, but then gasped. "Rogue. From the future."
The man swayed unsteadily on his feet, long white hair tangled and full of dirt. His clothing was shredded and his left arm hung at an unnatural angle by his side. Blood trickled from a cut on his face, and he wiped his face with his good hand.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME?!" He turned back to the dragon, screaming at someone that the others couldn't see. "YOU ARE NOTHING!" He looked up at the broken gate and at Motherglare's flickering body, then dropped to his knees again.
"Who is he talking to?" Lucy whispered, crouching next to Wendy who was peering out over the rubble.
"Probably Sting-Rogue from our time," Wendy replied. "Why isn't he fading like the dragons?" Lucy looked up at Zirconis and saw that Wendy was right, both him and Motherglare were becoming more and more incorporeal with each second. But Future Rogue remained solid, albeit badly wounded.
"The dragons might be gone, but you can't get rid of me." Future Rogue began to laugh – a deep, unnerving sound that made the hairs on Lucy's arms stand on end. "I'm YOU! I AM WHAT YOU BECOME!"
Suddenly, Future Rogue jerked forward onto his hands and knees, and Lucy saw that he had, in fact, started to shimmer as well.
"WHAT?!" He roared, sitting up and staring, horrified, at his hands that were disappearing. "IMPOSSIBLE!" Raising his hands to his head, he began to tear at his hair, eyes wide and panicking. Suddenly, his face stilled, and an expression of understanding passed over it. "Then that means…"
"YOU BASTARD!" Another voice, more familiar, pierced through the air, and Lucy recognized it as Sting. The man stumbled over from the other side of the dragon, holding something in his arms. Tears coursed down his face, and he placed whatever it was reverently on the ground before storming up to Future Rogue and slamming a fist into the man's face. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD. HOW DARE YOU?!"
Future Rogue's head snapped backward from the blow, but his focus was still on his rapidly disappearing body. Zirconis had almost entirely faded, and the only thing left of Motherglare was his tail. Lucy glanced behind her and saw the other dragons in the city slowly disappearing as well. She heard Natsu's voice from afar shouting, "See ya, Uncle!", and the cheers of the villagers from the hills as they watched the monsters disappear.
"WHY?!" Sting roared as Lucy turned her attention back to the scene in front of her. Another fist, this time wreathed in holy flame, slammed into Future Rogue's stomach, throwing him backward. Sting staggered, ignoring the blood pouring from a wound on his head, and flung himself on top of the man, slamming his fists into the fading figure over and over again.
"Sting…" Wendy murmured, placing her hands over her mouth. "Where's…Rogue…" Her voice trailed off as her gaze was drawn to the unmoving figure that Sting had placed on the ground.
"No…" Lucy whispered, gasping. Arcadios looked stunned, and Yukino let out a choked sob. "Wait, Wendy!"
Wendy had leapt to her feet and dashed out across the square, dodging pieces of flaming rubble until she was kneeling at Rogue's side. She choked out a sob. The right side of his head had clearly taken a heavy blow – the shape of it didn't look quite right and the ground around his ear was thick with blood. His body was battered, and a shard of something jagged appeared to be protruding from his stomach.
Wendy stilled her breathing and placed her hands on Rogue's chest, calling on any remaining magic reserves she might have to heal him. Nothing happened and she groaned in frustration, until she ran a hand along Rogue's neck and realized that her magic wasn't the reason it wasn't working.
"You KILLED him!" Sting sobbed, grasping Future Rogue's tunic and pulling him up, then slamming back down into the ground. "You killed him…" He whispered, tears streaming down his face.
"No..." Yukino whispered, hearing Sting's words and seeing Wendy's devastated expression. Lucy's eyes filled with tears and she pulled herself to her feet, stumbling backwards into something solid – Natsu. He was practically carrying Gray, who was bleeding heavily and looked like he might pass out at any second.
"Natsu, Rogue is…"
"What's going on?" Gajeel's deep voice broke in, and Lucy looked up, realizing that everyone was slowly converging on the square. Laxus was carrying an unconscious Freed in his arms as Evergreen and Bickslow limped behind him. Levy clung to Gajeel's arm, blood trickling down her forehead. The Trimen had collapsed to the ground, Ichiya standing over them, and Lyon and Juvia both looked like they were on the verge of collapse. Even the remaining members of Sabertooth were on the outskirts of the square, Rufus looking stricken. More and more wizards moved in from the surrounding streets, all damaged and bloody and broken.
"Lucy, what's wr-" Natsu gasped as he saw Sting swing a final, feeble fist at Future Rogue, then lean forward on his arms, sobbing. Future Rogue's body finally disintegrated, turning into tiny bits of light that hovered around Sting's face and whispered, I'm so sorry, before disappearing into the night.
Natsu tightened his grip on Gray, squeezing the ice mage's hand and reaching out his other hand to Lucy. Gajeel wrapped an arm protectively around Levy, and Lucy saw Laxus hold Freed tighter against his chest. Everyone was deathly silent, as if the entire city was holding its breath.
Sting dragged himself to his feet and staggered over to Rogue, staring desperately at Wendy. She shook her head sadly, tears running down her cheeks, and Sting collapsed, burying his face in Rogue's tunic.
"Come back to me, love," he whispered, sobbing into the bloody, tattered fabric. "You can't leave me." He grasped Rogue's face in both hands and placed a desperate kiss to his cold forehead. "I love you," he choked out. "We were going to make a new life together." He pulled Rogue's body closer to him and cradled him in his lap, shaking hands stroking the dark, matted hair. "We found a new family. We were going to be together." His chest felt so heavy he could barely breathe, and he threw his head back, a wounded scream ripping from his throat. "ROGUE!"