Sting wasn't breathing hard at all while Rogue was hiding his tiredness well. Natsu and Gray were not in the same boat. Sweat rolled down Natsu's face. His muscles ached, and it was clear Gray could use a break, too. What helped Natsu stay standing was how much power Sting kept outputting; the wind from his aura kept his back straight.

"So," Natsu muttered. "Since I can't convince you to leave, how do you wanna do this? Had enough fun with Sting yet?"

"I've gotta imagine he's going to be the biggest nuisance, so we should try keeping him out of this for a second," Gray said. "Thankfully, he's a lot like you, so that shouldn't be too hard to do if we can get him nice and distracted."

"Got any ideas?"

"Loads. All of them were meant for you if you ever decided to get out of hand on a quest."

"Well," Natsu said. He felt a little cheap knowing he was getting to see Gray's hand a bit. "Show me what you got, then."

"I'll need a second to prepare everything," Gray said. "Can you buy me a minute against the two of them?"

"I can get you ten."

Gray lowered his stance. Natsu leered at him; it was all too similar to that Iced Shell thing he tried pulling against Lyon. Gray sneered.

"I'm not doing that move," Gray said. "So hurry it up so we don't waste our chance here."

"Right."

Rogue approached Sting and clasped his fellow Dragon Slayer's shoulder. Sting brushed it off.

"Not yet," Sting said. "Not until we truly need it. Our power together is enough for both of them."

"Both?" Natsu called. He pointed a thumb at his own chest and let a toothy grin shine among the once-proud stadium. "Come on. I'm more than enough for the two of you."

"Protecting the icicle?" Sting asked. "I'll kill him where he stands."

"Go on and try it," Natsu said. "You both had your chance against the two of us separately. Now that you've got two people from Fairy Tail working together, even if it's someone like Gray, you don't stand a chance!"

"Hey!" Gray shouted. "Would you get to fighting already?"

"Sure thing," Natsu said at the same time as Sting.

"Hang back and give me support, Rogue," Sting said. "I'll give you an opening."

Normally, it'd probably be foolish for everyone to be speaking so openly about their strategies. But, with the exception of Sting, everyone was so worn out that it was widely accepted among the warriors that there were no more cards in the deck. Each attack was an all-or-nothing strike; any false move could end the battle in an instant.

It was only a matter of claiming that instant before the enemy could.

"Ready?" Natsu asked.

Sting nodded. "Been ready. Let's—!"

Natsu shot at Sting, some lightning crackling behind him, but he shut that power down. Not yet. Not until…

Sting matched Natsu at speed, the two slamming their fists together mid-air to create a concussive blast that wavered Rogue, but not Gray, who had ice climbing all over him.

"You promised!" Natsu shouted.

"I did!" Gray said. "Have a little faith, alright?"

"Pay attention, Natsu!" Sting roared, his knee connected with Natsu's arm as the Fire Dragon Slayer attempted to block. Natsu parried with a punch that Sting evaded.

Blow for blow, move for move, hit for hit. Nothing came free, and nothing came easy. As hot as Natsu's flames burned, so harsh was Sting's light. Natsu couldn't bear to look away, though. Dodge, duck, block, evade, punch, punch, punch harder.

Hit through his defenses. Buy Gray what time he needed.

That was all Natsu had to do. So why was it so damn—

"Now, Rogue!"

Sting caught Natsu in a web of dodging strikes, and Natsu hadn't realized he'd been pushed into the corner of the stadium away from the sun, into the realm of shadow.

At once, all of the shadows lurched like a tidal wave, with Rogue's deep red eyes at the center. Sting rushed Natsu, too, trying to trap him.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade!"

The shadows scattered at the sudden burst of fire and lightning around Natsu. The peripheral of the attack hit Rogue in the chest, while the brunt hit Sting dead on. He had just put his hands up in defense, but it wasn't enough. Sting flew across the stadium, landing against the opposite wall. He peeled out, resting in the shadows.

Natsu slid to a halt, taking a knee for a second. If he hadn't gotten out of that…

"Gray!" Natsu shouted.

"Almost!" Gray exclaimed.

Liar, Natsu thought. It was only supposed to be a minute!

Sting rushed Natsu, who got back up to his feet. He slapped his face to get the blood rushing, then focused. Wait for it, Natsu. If Sting was just like him, he'd probably do something like…

The White Dragon Slayer flung a fist at Natsu, who slapped it aside, but had to use quite a bit of force to do so. Sting planted a foot in the ground. Rogue reappeared behind Natsu, like an assassin in the night. Natsu whirled to face Sting while he had an arm up by Rogue. Trapped, again! He had to choose. Who to hit?

Oh. Easy.

Both.

"Fire Dragon Claw!"

Flames shot out of Natsu that knocked Sting back, and at the same time, propelled him back so he could smash his head into Rogue's face. Blood sprayed around Natsu as he flipped in mid-air, completely caught.

"Gotcha!" Sting roared. "Dodge this! White Dragon Roar!"

The laser shot out of Sting too fast for Natsu to dodge. It hit him in the temple, sending him flipping back. He hit the ground with a thud.

Sting rushed up, then kicked Natsu into the air and punched him hard across the face. Natsu snarled and blocked Sting's follow-up strike, then their fists met again in a burst of magical energy.

"Natsu! Get outta there!"

"Get outta—oh!" Natsu exclaimed, seeing, at last, what Gray had been up to. "Sure thing!"

"Sting, run!" Rogue exclaimed.

But before Sting could turn, as Natsu was running, he kicked Sting in the side and propelled away from Sting. Sting then had the chance to whirl around and stare up at the entire western wing of the stadium that'd been slowly, covered in a thin layer of ice. Gray's ice.

"Ice-Make: Dragon Stadium!" Gray exclaimed. He raised his hand, and from the ice, an entire arsenal of cannons, catapults, and weapons appeared on the banisters. "Try dodging this, you bastard!"

Gray closed his fist, and at once, the icy heavens closed in on Sting. Natsu made sure to keep his distance, as the explosion was massive, and Sting's roar was just as grand. Natsu rolled to a halt. Surprisingly, Rogue was crawling toward it but hardly had any more strength to move.

Gray cut off the magic power, dropping the ice from around the stadium. No doubt maintaining it was a huge drain on his magic power. Gray sagged his shoulders and then stood up straight. Natsu stopped next to him.

Mist clung to the space around Sting. In it, visibly, a silhouette dropped to its knees and coughed up blood. The mists cleared at the arrival of the harsh sunlight, revealing a battered, bruised, but not done Sting. Rogue, at last, reached him.

Sting nodded to him, and Rogue reached out with his hand. A black flash of magic appeared in his hand, one that Sting grabbed onto.

At once, massive power surged out of him, and where once stood a meager silhouette was then a tall and proud Sting with light and shadow entwined about his body and in his aura. Heavy darkness clung to his left, while white clung to his right.

"I can't believe you forced us to play our ace," Sting said. "Now you're really gonna regret this."

"Any more tricks?" Natsu asked.

"Nope," Gray said.

Natsu nodded. "Alright. Some good ol' fashioned butt-kicking it is, then. At least Rogue's out for the count."

"Yeah," Gray muttered. "Strength in numbers, right?"

"Right!"

Natsu engaged his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode. He shouldn't have been surprised that Sting was able also to make use of a dual-mode, especially when those two seemed so in sync. If the roles were reversed and Rogue was the one standing a bit stronger, Natsu imagined Rogue had the same capability as Sting.

Gray stretched his arm back, preparing an Ice-Make: Bow. It grew larger as Gray poured more magic into it.

Sting vanished into the shadows. Gray grunted but held his position. Natsu waited patiently. They weren't near too many shadows, so Sting couldn't launch a direct assault on them. When Sting emerged, quickly, Natsu moved to block his attack while Gray swung around, aiming his shot.

Sting and Natsu clashed. Natsu bounced back, the ice arrow whizzing by where his head had been a second ago, and it struck Sting directly in the chest. Sting shoved Natsu aside and charged Gray, who created an ice wall to block Sting but it hardly did any good. Natsu pursued. Sting whirled around. Natsu dodged his first attack, but the illusion of a second, as caused by Sting's illusions, forced him to be hit in the jaw by another. Natsu spun around.

With any more force, that could've knocked him out. Natsu saw stars wheel all around him but snapped back to attention when he heard Gray's howl of pain and watched him spiral away.

"White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!" Sting cast as he leaped into the air.

Natsu charged. Tiny tendrils of light and shadow shot out of Sting's fingers toward Gray, promising to skewer and instantly kill him. Natsu wasn't going to make it in time!

"Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar!"

He hardly had any magic left. He hardly had anything left in the tank at all. But he had to do something.

The jet of fire crashed into the beams of light and darkness, throwing some off target. The rest veered off and away from Gray, who slid to a halt and held in his hand two ice swords. Natsu hit the ground, pushing himself up to continue his pursuit while Sting landed in front of Gray, blocking one ice sword while getting hit with another. Gray, narrowly, avoided yet another punch from Sting, the force of which carried to the opposite end of the stadium.

Natsu slammed his shoulder into Sting, giving Gray the opening to swing up with an Ice-Make: Hammer and bash Sting directly in the face with it. Sting's head was knocked back. He roared, flaring magic that shoved Natsu and Gray back…and then, at the same time, they charged in again.

"Why won't you just give it up?" Sting shouted. "You're going to die! Holy Ray!"

He cupped his hands together, prepared the blast, and fired it. Natsu and Gray continued their run. Natsu had no more magic to cast a spell. Gray flung a path of ice in front of them and pushed himself and Natsu onto it, speeding them up just enough to dodge the beams of light, yet had them on a direct path to Sting.

The White Shadow Dragon's eyes held bewilderment. Anger. And, most of all, fear.

"You can't be serious," Sting said. "How can you just keep getting back up? How come you can't just die?"

Natsu spun, grabbed Gray's shoulders, and, using the force behind their speed, contorted himself so he could throw Gray as hard as he could at Sting. Tiny bursts of fire out of his elbow helped, too. Gray crossed his arms, ice growing along both forearms. He rammed into Sting and shot the magic out. Sting blasted back, falling to the ground as Gray did the same. Natsu tumbled off the slide, rolling until he could get back to his knees.

Sting punched the ground, white and black mixing in a burst, and got back up. Natsu panted, watching as Sting continued to flare up his magic that never quite seemed to run out. He certainly had. Gray pushed himself to his feet, too, but no ice drifted off him anymore. Gray wiped sweat from his brow. He was cooked, too, then.

Natsu got up, standing side-by-side with Gray.

Sting raised an arm filled with white magic enveloped in a black aura.

Escaping prison, jumping around the city, fighting Lyon, fighting Rogue, then this…

Man, what a hell of a fight.

"Did our best, right?" Natsu asked Gray.

"Yeah," Gray said. "It was enough. I'm sure everyone got out."

"Definitely," Natsu said. "But it ain't over til it's over, right?"

Gildarts's words rang in Natsu's head. It was okay to run from a fight he couldn't win. It was a damn shame that if he had some more magic…Natsu smiled.

Oh well.

"Die," Sting said, and magic shot from his hand. White and black consumed Natsu's vision, but an even heavier force from above shook the entire stadium and buried the beam in the ground before it could reach Natsu and Gray.

Sting's eyes widened in horror. He looked to the skies, tracking as a figure dropped down and landed between himself, Natsu, and Gray. Natsu, for a second, couldn't tell who it was. They wore more exotic clothing: a tiny skirt and loincloth, stockings reaching from their feet to the middle of their thigh, as well as a tiny bikini strapped tightly around their torso. Puffs shook on their wrist, and it seemed their hair was wrapped in two bindings atop their head, and to hide their face, poorly, was a translucent cloth.

"It's over, Sting. I'm taking these two with me."

Wait. Natsu knew that voice. It was that woman, Yukino!

"What are you thinking, Yukino?" Sting asked, his voice trembling.

"The fighting is over," Yukino said. "Fairy Tail is evacuating, and they need these two if they're going to keep up their fight."

"Which is why I'm going to kill them now!" Sting exclaimed.

"Killing them for clout? Petty revenge?" Yukino asked. She held her hand up. "Try and kill them if you'd like, but just know that I'm not standing aside."

Sting balled his hands into fists. "This isn't you, Yukino. Stop acting like a traitor!"

"Traitor?" Yukino asked. "Yeah. I'm a traitor. But so are you, Sting."

"I'm not," Sting seethed.

"No? Go ahead and look at yourself dead in the mirror next time you say that. See if you can even look yourself in the eye."

Her power was incredible—not so great as Sting's so long as he was in his dual Dragon Force form, but certainly when he was in his base form, if not greater than that. And she had some sort of gravitation spell around her? Jeez. Where was she this entire time?

"Aren't you with—?"

"Zip it," Gray muttered.

Sting's arms shook. "You can't do this, Yukino. Not to us. Not to me."

"I have to," Yukino said. "Because of you."

They both hesitated, keeping eye contact with the other as if neither could look away or take a step. It was Yukino, though, that finally moved, turning her back to Sting. A blinding light consumed her, and she changed her clothes, this time to a scalier, and still short, dress, with a fish's head atop her own and two scales growing over her ears as covering. This time, she had scaly half-sleeves that matched a leotard she wore while pants grew out from the leotard down to bare feet.

"Come on," Yukino muttered. "The others are waiting."

"You're seriously helping us?" Natsu asked.

"Yukino!" Sting barked. He did so again. Yukino couldn't look back at him. She rested a hand on Natsu and then Gray's shoulder. Her expression wasn't cold, nor blank, but completely invisible. When Sting called her name one more time, she finally broke her composure for a second, gasping a small sob.

She turned to Sting. A tear slid down her face, but she showed him a half-smile.

"I'll take care of Lector," Yukino said. "And tell Rogue we'll watch over Frosch, too."

Sting gasped and only tried to move when Yukino used her magic to take to the skies with Natsu and Gray, who soared out over the stadium, over the city, toward its outskirts. The only trail left behind was dust and the sprinkling tears of a woman finally free.

The walls of the library were torn asunder as Minerva's magic ripped through them without relenting. She dove through one of the walls, out into a central opening where she was almost blasted by a hundred light arrows. All of them vanished into her magic.

"This isn't like you, Rufus!" Minerva howled. "Stop it with the games to come out and face me! You always you were so great, didn't you?"

His spells had doggedly pursued her since he trapped her in the library, but not a single one had connected. Curiously, he hadn't used any of his real magic on Minerva—that which he could use to make her forget her spells. His Memory Make had a nasty downside for whoever his opponent was, giving him the ability to memorize their spell and use a counterspell to wipe it from their mind for the duration of his spell's hold.

But all of Minerva's spells were still in her arsenal. Perhaps he thought she'd forgotten about that part of his magic?

Of course not, though. When Minerva hunted, she knew all she had to about her prey. That way, she could rip them apart as she pleased.

She spun into a new room, where magic circles covered the entire wall, and all of them reined a heavenly spear down on her that she so easily deflected. She burst her magic up, collapsing the roof around her. Books and scrolls and precious, precious information rained all around her, obliterated in a single stroke. But she was kept safe.

At last, her opponent made himself known as he slammed his book shut, standing tall over her on the second level of the library. Minerva sneered, sensing something in her body. She raised her hand.

There it went. All of her Territory spells were gone. A shame. Minerva lowered her arm. Rufus placed his book gently to the side and folded his hands.

"Dearest Minerva," he said. "It truly has been some time, hasn't it?"

"It has," Minerva said. "I'm glad I could finally find you again, old friend."

"Old friend," Rufus said with a laugh. "I don't recall that ever being the case."

"Consider it a pleasantry," Minerva said.

"I have to wonder why you've never come after me before if it was so easy to do so," Rufus said.

"To be honest," Minerva said. "I forgot you existed for some time. But I have need of you now."

"Of me?"

"Well," Minerva said. She shrugged. "Your death."

"A shame that is something I cannot deliver to you," Rufus said. "Your magic is gone, Minerva. And I know all the other spells you have to offer."

Minerva's eye twitched. Impertinent fool.

"I advise you now to turn yourself in," Rufus said. "Princess Hisui could make great use of the intelligence you have to offer."

"You've always been a poor adviser," Minerva said.

She reared her arm back, then thrust it forward, casting a jet of ethereal magic at him. It was raw, sourced magic from within her body. Something Rufus hadn't ever seen. He easily dodged it with his own teleportation spell, and with that, having seen it, the spell was no longer usable.

Minerva tried again, this time with a more bland black fire that she used to accelerate her up to the second level. He cut her off. She stumbled forward, catching herself on the ledge. He raised his fingers to his head.

"Memory Make: A Night of Falling Stars!"

Beams of yellow light shot out of his hand all shooting right at Minerva while she dangled helplessly from the ledge. She gasped.

The explosion rocked the library. Rufus leaped into the air, casting two more Memory Make spells, obliterating where she'd fall, where she could run. He landed amidst the ruin and sighed.

"A waste," he muttered. "A true waste—"

The dust and shadows all swirled and broke at the lurching of a sudden wave of darkness that enveloped him, no doubt making his soul freeze. Minerva appeared before him, bathed in darkness so thorough even the moon would fear its hold. She grabbed his hand, making it impossible for him to cast any more magic.

"Did you honestly think I would simply rely on that magic my brute father taught me?" Minerva asked. "I had to ask Rogue for a few lessons, of course, and can't help myself when it comes to the black aesthetic."

She tightened her grip, breaking his hand. Rufus whimpered.

"What was that about your death?" she asked.

"S—spare me," Rufus said, "and I can help you. I know what you seek. Power. What greater power is there than memory, Minerva? Remember what we were and think of what we can be."

Remember Sabertooth? Remember the days when she was beaten by her father, feared by her guildmates, when the world knew nothing about her? Back then, she was merely Minerva, not the Ethereal Witch.

"Sure," Minerva said. "I'll think about it."

Rufus opened his mouth to speak. Minerva slammed him to the ground, and with her free hand, shot out shadows to grab hold of a thick book. She recalled the shadows, then slammed the book on Rufus's face, and surged her power through it into him. It killed him instantly.

Minerva stood, having regained all of her magic. Her shadowy dress dissipated from about her, fading into the broken library. Without Rufus, the place would remain where it was, so she could send agents to have it burned to the ground.

And then, all that Rufus had built and hid, wouldn't even be a memory.

It would simply be ash.

Lucy sat in the living room, her head bowed but her legs shaking. She hated not hearing anything, not knowing anything. Had her friends escaped? Had her trick on Axel and his cohorts worked, were her Spirits okay?

Being in battle was terrifying, sure, but sitting on the edge of it, knowing there was almost nothing she could do? Worse. Far, far worse.

Unable to take it anymore, she rushed to the window, gazing out at the fighting below. Smoke and dust billowed everywhere. Soldier commands rang out in vague voices. The implacable capital of the world was turned into a ruinous battle zone.

What would the bureaucrats do now?

There were no signs of an ongoing struggle, though. No magic clashes, no spells zipping around. Things seemed to be finally calming down, which meant Fairy Tail was either captured or gone. Lucy gripped the window sill tighter.

A knock at the door almost startled her enough to fall out the window. She caught herself, composed herself, and approached the door.

"Hey," Levy said on the opposite side of the threshold.

Lucy gasped. Her heart almost stopped. She nearly flung her arms around Levy but she shook her head, gesturing for Lucy to step into the room. Lucy, hardening her heart, froze, then stepped back. Levy followed her into the room, shut the door, and then took the opportunity to leap at Lucy. The two embraced, holding each other tight while the capital scrambled to not fall apart around them.

"I'm so sorry," Levy muttered.

"Sorry?" Lucy asked through tears. "For what?"

"That you're here," Levy said.

"Oh," Lucy muttered. "Well, same for you, I guess."

Levy shrugged. "Yeah. Guess we're both screwed, huh?"

Lucy blinked away her tears. Levy grabbed her hand.

"How have you been?" Levy asked.

"Terrible," Lucy said. "Just awful. I wish—I wish I'd gone."

"Natsu was…here?" Levy asked.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. But I—"

She almost admitted the Hisui deal. But something held her back. Something about those walls, that ever-present feeling about the tower…

"I think, now that I'm here, I can do something," Lucy said. "And they won't suspect a thing."

Levy forced a smile. "Yeah? Guess that makes two of us, Lu. I hated to do it, but, watching everyone run felt right, you know? Even if it meant I was stuck behind here."

Lucy nodded. "So then it really is just the two of us now. Both of us against the Twilight Empire."

"Sure is," Levy said. She reached down and squeezed Lucy's hand. "No better gal I'd rather have at my side, though."

Lucy returned the gesture. "Agreed."

Hand-in-hand, they approached the window once more, staring out over the city as the carnage settled down. Some warmth remained in Lucy's heart thanks to Levy's presence, but not enough to fill that cold void in her heart that only widened as Fairy Tail, hopefully, gained distance from the city.

Her guild mark remained on her hand, hidden beneath a glove though it was. Levy's hand currently held that mark, too. Lucy swallowed a lump in her throat. Axel would be back soon enough, and Levy would need to get back to work doing…whatever it was she had to do with the Twilight Division. Soon, the Empire would return to normal, keeping their eyes out for Fairy Tail.

And in that gap, in their oversight of Lucy, was when she really had to get to work. She couldn't let her friends' sacrifices, their efforts, go to waste. It just truly, truly sucked to think that the last time she may ever see them was when they tried to rescue her, and she turned them down.