People were beginning to panic as the sirens began to blare across the city. Sting realized right away that he was not alone. Members of the Royal Guard, Lector, Frosch, Dobengal and Minerva were all at different street corners, yelling to the citizens.

"You have all been told about the safe place," Minerva was yelling, "Head there now! Do not stop for belongings! Only take your family members!"

"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch yelled, pointing to where Minerva was directing, "Go that way! No stopping for stuff – just your family!"

Sting could never get enough of how cute Frosch was.

Deciding that they had this section of the city handled, Sting dashed toward the front gates. He pulled the gates shut, locking it from the inside and then sealing it with light magic. Satisfied, he began to push stragglers toward the safe place, hollering directions as he went. The sirens still blared, but the city was emptying out.

It took a good two hours to evacuate the city. Finally, he was rather satisfied that everyone was in the cave. The sirens were halted. He approached the cave. Yukino was waiting at the front door, trying to patch together Rogue, Orga and Rufus. Minerva, Dobengal, Frosch and Lector joined him.

"Are we good now?" her eyes lit up when she saw him, "Can we go home?"

"Yuki," he said, taking her in his arms, "Listen to me. I want you to take care of the citizens."

"What about you?" she whined, tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't like the tone in his voice.

Sera caught on to her mother's anguish and began to cry. Sting leaned over, kissing both of them multiple times.

"King Tomo is making a stand to save Crocus," he explained. The rest of the Sabertooth guild filed around, listening. Scared townspeople huddled together at the back of the cave, "I have to make a stand too. Our defenses might hold, but if they don't, we'll fight back with everything we have."

Yukino started to hit Sting in the arms, "You promised! You promised me, Sting!"

Quickly, Minerva grabbed the child away from her, cradling her gently as Sera cried louder.

Yukino continued to hit Sting, screaming angrily, "No! No, you come in here with us! That was the plan! That's what you always told us! You're coming in here and when the threat is gone, we get to go home!"

"Yuki," Sting interrupted, "Do you have your keys?"

She held them up for him to see.

"Good," Sting kissed her again, a long, sensual kiss that let her know exactly how he felt about her, "You know I have to go. But I will come for you," he promised. He nodded toward the people of Crocus, "Protect them."

Tears streamed down her face as he left the safety of her arms and went back outside of the gate.

He stood back and hit the gate button. Immediately, the warning sounds blared as the heavy doors closed, locking the people of Crocus inside. Yukino stood by the gate entrance and stared into Sting's eyes as the closing doors slowly blocked his view of her. Behind her, the light lacrimas lit up the underground room in preparation for the darkness. The townspeople were murmuring, afraid.

"STING!" she screamed as the doors were almost closed, "I LOVE YOU!"

"I love you too," he whispered as the doors clanged shut, locking the people securely inside.

No time to spare, Sting began manipulating his magic to cover the entrance so it was camouflaged. He hoped the King remembered to lacrima Fairy Tail and let them know of the cave in case something happened and the townspeople needed someone to let them out.

Sighing heavily, he ran. Now he would join the King and his Royal Guard and wait.

They stood out on the castle walls, high above the City of Crocus. King Tomo, Sting, and about 1000 guards looked out in every direction of the City. They'd been there for hours.

"Are they waiting for the cover of night?" one of the guards asked.

"Maybe it was a false alarm," another suggested.

Sting didn't think so. He could smell them.

"You made that call to Fairy Tail, right?" he asked King Tomo.

King Tomo smacked his own head, "Oh Pumpkin! I knew I forgot something."

He brought the lacrima out and dialed.

Master Makarov answered, "King Tomo. It's always a pleasure to hear from you."

King Tomo nodded, "I will want to speak to my daughter, but first, we need to let you know Crocus will be under attack shortly. The people have been evacuated to the mountain underground. I'm sure Council briefed you about that."

Makarov nodded, "They did. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

"Nobody's attacked yet," Sting said, "but I can smell them. The attack is imminent. Master, if something happens to us, you'll need to get the people out of the mountain. There's enough food and supplies inside for three weeks."

Makarov nodded, "Let's pray it won't be necessary. I can send some Fairy Tail mages to back you up."

"No," King Tomo said, "Hisui is hidden within your walls. Fairy Tail mages would be a dead giveaway. Furthermore, they won't make here in time anyway. We will let you know how we fare."

Makarov's face was now grim, "Hisui is with Natsu and Lucy at Natsu's house. Do you have his lacrima number?"

Tomo had tears streaming down his face, "There's no time. I would suggest you start putting your own defenses into play. Please call all the other guilds and put them on alert. When they don't find Hisui here, they'll be looking for her," he paused, "Makarov, I want to thank you for your services to Fiore. Please take care of my daughter. Tell her I love her. More than anything. Tomo out."

He cut the service immediately, not giving Makarov a chance to respond.

Sting fought back his own tears. He hadn't allowed himself to think about it, but he knew deep down that his conversation only a few hours ago with Yukino may have been the last.

"HERE THEY COME!" one of the guards screamed.

Outside of Crocus, they could hear their months of hard work springing into action. Screams permeated the air as demons were split in half by light traps, smashed by rock traps, and whatever other goodies Sabertooth had put into play. They watched the gigantic rock wall. That would be the test. If the demons could scale the wall somehow, their outer defenses would be officially declared failed and the demons would have access to Crocus.

"When they come through," Tomo yelled out in a loud voice, "Hold the lines. Wait for them until my signal, then let loose the wrath of the Celestials of Crocus!"

"Maybe they won't get through," Sting said hopefully, "Maybe our outer defenses will be enough."

Tomo glanced at him, returning his gaze to the gates of the city, "Have you ever fought demons, my boy?"

"Tartaros," Sting answered, "Otherwise, not that many."

"Your defenses will slow them down, yes. And they will eliminate some of the demons. But the big ones…the tough ones…they'll keep coming."

"Do you think our mountain will hold?"

"Aye," Tomo said grimly, "They're not expecting Crocus to be evacuated. Demons are strong, but they're stupid. They'll look for Hisui elsewhere."

Sting nodded, accepting the fate that seemed to be looming over them, "Then you're pretty sure Crocus is about to fall."

Tomo slapped him on the back, laughing lightly, or as lightly as he could, given the circumstances, "My boy, I didn't say that. Crocus will be damaged, but I'll be damned if Crocus's greatest secrets, The Celestial Royal Guards, will give up without one helluva fight!"

Sting grinned with him, returning his gaze to the gates. The screams were still plentiful and Sting felt a twinge of pride run through him. Their outer defenses were getting rid of at least some of the threat. The wall still stood.

It was about 40 minutes later that the agonized screams subsided. The tension in the air grew thick.

"They've figured it out," Tomo mumbled, "They're going to send the big boys through the wall now."

As if on cue, the wall smashed in three different places, allowing massive demons to poke their heads inside.

"It will take them a minute to completely break through!" Tomo yelled to his comrades, "Hold your lines!"

Tomo closed his eyes, concentrating as he summoned his Celestial magic. When he opened his eyes, they were a fluorescent green colour. He focused, releasing his power from his hands. Instantly, the three holes simultaneously grew green vines, reinforcing the wall again. Some of the vines trapped gigantic demon arms, trying to reach through the holes. Giant pumpkins started to grow near each hole.

"Awesome," Sting said under his breath, "Now I understand why you like pumpkins so much."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Tomo promised him.

The demons, angry at their denial to the city, let out roars that shook the buildings. As they thrashed, the walls began to shake around the city, threatening collapse again.

"Pumpkin BOOM!" Tomo yelled.

Instantly, the giant pumpkins exploded, throwing the demons back from the wall altogether. As quickly as the demons were thrown back, the walls mended with Tomo's strong vines, growing new pumpkins in their wake.

"Get comfortable, kid," Tomo grinned at him, "We'll be playing this game for awhile."