"Haaaaaa…" Mii flew into the throne room, resting on the floor on her knees. "That was really bothersome…" She then looked around, noticing that Dhegensea was the only person in the room. "Oh…the others aren't here."

"You're back…and bleeding all over the carpet." Dhegensea narrowed his eyes towards what looked like a gravely injured Mii. He ignored it since she seemed to be standing fine. "Did you do what I ordered of you?"

"Huh?" Mii blinked once before snapping her fingers. "Oh, yeah! All taken care of, though I don't see why you were so worried about it. Not like she was related to me or anything. So I doubt she'd be able to use it." She shrugged casually, although Dhegensea wasn't exactly a fan of her flippant attitude.

"If she can hold it, she is a threat." Dhegensea stated. "But I trust you've done your job, meaning there is no need to worry."

"Yeah, trust me." Mii muttered with a faux grin. "I always do what I need to do. But on a more serious note…this island is gonna blow soon. Those humans aren't giving up either and are getting a little close, yet you seem rather calm. What's up with that?"

"They'll fall and die on this island while we advance towards the mainland." Dhegensea explained. "I have no worries, even with so little time remaining. It's more for them, not for us."

"I see…" Mii nodded slowly in understanding. "There's not a lot of time left to act…in both cases…" Her thoughts trailed off…whatever was she thinking? Only she knew.

.

.

"Guys..." Raven was peering his head out of the house they were using for cover. "We have a problem."

"What is it...?" Chelia asked, worriedly.

Jack decided to take a look. He exited the house and flew into the air, his eyes widening at what he saw. "Oh, crap! There are more dragons coming this way, right behind everyone, too! There's a lot of them..."

"What!?" Alex and Romeo gasped.

"That's not good..." Spark sucked his teeth. "If they catch up to everyone, they'll completely surround them! Was that their plan from the beginning!?"

"I bet it was Drake..." Wendy said with one eye clenched shut. She still wasn't exactly in fighting condition, but she tried to sit up.

"Wendy, you can't move like that!" Carla shook her head, refusing to allow Wendy to even try anything.

"I...I have to try...! I'm a dragon slayer. Chelia and Cynthia can't fight right now...!" Wendy was going to try and push herself, but then, Alex placed a hand on her shoulder. "Alex...?"

"It's okay. You don't have to shoulder this burden alone." Alex said with a small smile. "I'm a dragon slayer, too. And we're here!" She gestured to Romeo, Spark, Jack, and Raven.

"This is why I came here. I had to help you guys!" Romeo said while clenching a hand into a fist. "You and Cynthia have been improving so much and I've been in the background. Even if I can't be as strong as you two are right now, I...I have to do something!"

"Romeo..." Wendy couldn't help but smile at that. "You guys..."

"Hah!" Jack suddenly let out a laugh. "That's the spirit, don't let your knees buckle that easily, or I'd smack some sense into you! Have you all been keeping up with your training?!"

"Sure have!" Alex and Raven exclaimed at once.

"Good." Jack stepped outside with Spark, Romeo, Raven, and Alex. "Because now we're about to put it to the test!"

.

.

"Juvia, are you okay!?" Meredy knelt down next to the injured Juvia.

"You sure kicked his butt!" Aira chimed, placing her hands over Juvia as a soft sea green light emitted from her palms. She was healing what she could from Juvia's injuries with her lowered magic. "But…" She then glanced at the Mystic Water Lake, which was now nearly drained from Juvia's last attack. "The lake is nearly dry…"

"What are we going to do…? Don't we need that?" Leon tilted his head."

Juvia's body was still glistening from absorbing the Mystic Water. With Aira's help she was able to stand up properly, but wobbled a little bit. "Juvia will come up with something…but right now, I have to get to Cynthia!"

"The castle might be crawling with guards…! Are you sure you'll be able to get through and reach her in time…!?" Meredy asked, and right after she did there were several explosions occurring within the castle.

"Looks like the others are here now too…!" Aira chimed. "We can meet up with them!"

"Mhm…!" Juvia nodded, glancing at Blues who remained still on the ground. "Blues-san, aren't you coming…? Juvia will need your nose to track down Cynthia's exact location."

"I don't feel like moving." Blues replied; he was still stricken with grief from the loss of Kuro. "I'll stay here and salvage what I can from the lake and keep an eye on this dragon…if he wakes up he'll be angry…"

"Blues-san…" Juvia wanted to reach out to him but they needed to hurry.

"I can smell Cynthia." Leon reassured Juvia. "Just follow me!" With a nod, Leon led the way from the backyard of the castle to where Cynthia was deeper in the city. There wasn't much time left for the young girl so they needed to hurry…

.

.

Lucius walked into the foyer of the castle with Hisui by his side a small chuckle escaping him. "Took some time, but we've finally made it, Princess. I wonder if you still believe your friends are going to come and save you now?" He talked as if Hisui could respond, but she was still under his spell.

"I thought you were the gentlemen around here?" Brax said while walking into the foyer with his arms crossed. "I knew you were taking care of her, but this is completely out of line for you, Lucius. That's no way to treat a lady."

"I was wondering when you were going to show." Lucius ran a hand through his hair. "The end is upon us, you know. Just a little more until we snatch that gem to rule over Pergrande. It's quite exciting, don't you agree?"

"I agree…" Brax nodded, suddenly bringing forth his chakrams to his sides. "The end is near. For you." In the next instant, he hurled both weapons towards Lucius one after the other.

"Oh…?" Lucius raised a brow, merely leaping to the side to avoid one of the flaming weapons. However the other one was inadvertently aimed at Hisui as a result. "Tch…!" Acting quickly, Lucius snapped his fingers to remove Hisui from her trance.

"Huh…?" Hisui blinked once, the emerald color returning to her eyes before noticing the flaming weapon heading in her direction. "Eep…!" She was quick to throw herself to the floor with a thud, and the second she was out of harm's way Lucius snapped his fingers again and she was back in the trance.

"What's the meaning of this? Are you trying to betray us?" Lucius asked while bringing forth his scythe.

"If anyone is guilty for betrayal…" Brax began while catching his weapons, swinging one of them around his index finger. "It would be you, Laura, and Xen. Attempting to use this island's power to overthrow King Ashnard, and in the midst of a very important mission. Xen suffered a defeat against one that was strong enough to rival one of our own generals, but I was the one who finished him off for his treason. Laura is currently sitting back at the ship; I was given special orders not to harm her in the event the treason was true. Unlike you, I know how to treat a lady."

Lucius was not fazed by Brax revealing his true colors. In fact he let out a minor chuckle. "I heard about a spy within our group from one of the others, though I was not sure who it could've been. We all shared the same goal, so I believed…but I suppose it all came down to who was left standing at the end of the day. Wes failed his job despite his effort, Lex fell soon after…and Xen…ha…who put you up to the task? Was it Rubicante? Lady Nercon?"

"It doesn't really matter, now does it?" With a grin, the chakrams began spinning rapidly and flames coated them once again. "Here's the important part, one which I hope you've memorized…in the name of the Kingdom of Pergrande, it is my duty to bring down the sentence for those who dare cross the nation. The sentence for treason is…execution."

Lucius merely smirked at Brax's delivery of that line. "That line doesn't suit you."

"Had to try it at least once." Brax admitted with a shrug. "Now burn, baby!" He then sprinted towards Lucius with incredible speed, swinging his flaming chakrams at the follow commandant. Lucius was swift in his movements and swung his scythe accordingly to block all of the strikes, though sparks flew whenever they collided.

"At least you're not sloppy like everyone else." Lucius complimented before swinging his scythe forward, aiming for Brax's chest however the flame mage evaded it and aimed a roundhouse for his head, though Lucius blocked and the two leapt away from each other.

"Being number 5, what did you expect?" Brax gave a cheeky grin before throwing the weapons at Lucius once more; Lucius held his scythe vertically and held off the two weapons and sent them flying back at the user, however Brax was prepared for this and leapt into the air while catching them, unleashing one yet again in a horizontal motion to create a wall of flames that cut off half the room. "Ha, get burned, pretty boy."

Just then the group infiltrating the castle stormed into the foyer, surprised by the sight they saw. "W-What the hell is going on here…!?" Sting questioned.

"Oh, perfect timing." Brax let out a minor sigh. "If you're looking to go upstairs, just wait till this wall goes down. Your princess is right behind it."

"You're the one that…!" Natsu began.

"Wait a second…!" Levy held her hand out. "What are you!"

"I'll just let you take care of this for me; I've other business to attend to." With that, Brax vanished once again in a veil of flames, and just as he vanished the wall of flame he created died down, revealing a standing Hisui.

"Hisui!" Lucy cheered after finally seeing the princess since their departure earlier in the day. She rushed over to Hisui to make sure she was okay.

"Lucy-sama, be careful…!" Yukino warned.

"Hisui, are you all right…!?" Lucy asked while looking the princess over, but she didn't seem to respond. "She's not responding…?"

Natsu sniffed the air, catching a strange scent lingering in the room. "…Lucy, watch out!"

"Huh…?" Lucy blinked before noticing a gentle breeze of roses flowing by. In the next instant Lucius appeared, swinging his scythe at Lucy's neck. "WAH!?"

Lucius was going to stop just before the tip of his scythe actually hit Lucy, but he was halted by Gajeel's iron pole. "Hmm." Lucius hopped away, running a hand through his hair. "Intriguing…"

"Who the hell is this guy…?" Gray said while sliding into his ice make pose. "Another one of those white coats too…wait, where they fighting each other?"

"Wait…isn't this the one Mii-sama described as the handsome male who stole the princess…?" Yukino did find herself swooning a little bit while staring at Lucius' pretty face. "He is quite handsome."

"H-Hey, wait a second!" Sting shouted with his eyes comically bulging from their sockets. "He's not THAT good looking!"

"W-Well…" Levy placed her hands behind her back, shifting around a bit awkwardly.

"Oh you've gotta be kiddin' me…" Gajeel had an annoyed tick mark on his forehead.

"The ladies are quite enamored with me…" Lucius said with a sly chuckle. "What can I say, my charm just cannot be beat. Even your princess agrees."

"What did you do to her?" Happy asked while flying around Hisui, noticing the lifeless expression in her eyes. He waved but she didn't even respond. "Is she awake!?"

"My charms have her entranced." Lucius replied. "I welcome you to try and rescue her, since she's stuck on the belief one of you would."

"We don't have a lot of time left but we need to save her…" Rufus tilted his hat.

"I got this one." Gajeel said with a widening grin, taking a few steps forward while cracking his knuckles. "I've been itching for a proper fight all day!"

"I'll fight with you." Pantherlily nodded. With a puff of smoke he was standing in his Battle Form, Musica sword at the ready.

"W-We'll fight too!" Lucy nodded and pulled out her whip while Levy stood right beside her. "We have to save Hisui! The rest of you can go ahead!"

"Kick his ass!" Gray said with a grin before he, Natsu, Happy, Cana, and Sabertooth ran up the stairs to ascend to the throne room.

"Now, this should be interesting…" Lucius said while eying Gajeel, who was the most eager to fight out of the four that stood before him. He then glanced at Lucy, who was a lost cause for him at this point…or maybe. "You know…Lucy."

"Eh…?" Lucy blinked, not having expected Lucius to address her so informally.

"I was surprised to hear that Wes was defeated by the very one we were after. This just meant that we had to approach you with caution…and again you managed to deter Xen and Laura, but who would've thought what I was looking for would've landed right in my lap." Lucius replied while gently observing a rose in his hand. "I must say, it's an honor to finally meet you. You're just as beautiful as they said.:

"E-EH!?" Lucy was not expecting that sudden compliment. "What the hell do you people in white coats want with me!?" She shouted, her face red from a mixture of both anger and embarrassment. Who the heck did this guy think he was!?

"You wouldn't understand if I told you just yet." Lucius said with a small chuckle. "But I will say this, you are the key to a grand plan. With the power inside of you, my plans will come to fruition. You can come along quietly, or I can force you along after I've dealt with your friends."

"I hate it when people say that!" Lucy was getting annoyed. "If you think I'm going to stand here and listen to your threats, you've got another thing coming!"

"Lu-chan…" Levy was showing concern for her friend.

"I'll make sure the princess is safe!" Happy spread his wings and flew to Hisui's back, lifting her into the air and hopefully out of harm's way.

"Enough of this chatter!" Gajeel shouted. "Let's get this started already!"

"As you wish…" Lucius merely grinned before vanishing, leaving several rose petals in his wake. In the next instant he moved from Lucy, to Levy, to Gajeel, to Pantherlily, leaning in to whisper something in their ears before returning to his position. As soon as he returned the number 10 appeared over all four of the mages. "There."

"W-What the hell is this?!" Pantherlily questioned.

"Allow me to demonstrate." Lucius took his scythe and lunged forward towards Levy, slashing at her within incredible speed.

"Eeep…!" Levy cringed at what she believed to be a deathly blow…but nothing happened. She felt no pain. "E-Eh…T-That didn't hurt?" Looking up, the number above her head lowered to 9. "W-What?!"

"When that number hits 0, you will die instantly." Lucius explained, and just that the eyes of everyone widened with fear. "They call me Lucius, one of Pergrande's deadliest Commandants. The Silent Scythe…"

"I don't care what they call you! You'll be on the ground soon enough!" Gajeel said while thrusting his arm forward, an iron pole shooting out towards Lucius. Lucius easily flipped to avoid this, landing on the ground in front of Gajeel with a pretty smile. He swung his scythe and the Iron Dragon moved to defend. He did 'block' the hit, however, that didn't really do anything. Because Gajeel's timer went from 10 to 9, despite the fact he defended himself. "Tch...!?" No damage was dealt, no pain, but he still slid back a great deal from the impact.

"Star Dress!" Lucy was putting herself into the fray. Even if she wasn't at 100% magic, she had to help her friends. "Scorpio!" She pointed her new tail towards Lucius, where a torrent of sand released from it. "Sand Buster!"

Lucius twirled his scythe around, using it as a means to deflect the sand buster. "Please, no sand in my hair. It takes forever to get out."

"He's blocking it so easily...!?" Lucy grit her teeth.

Levy ran off to the side, sliding to a halt to Lucius' left while he was dealing with the Sand Buster. She quickly wrote words in the air to strike. "Solid Script: Bullet!" The words shot forward like bullets, aiming to strike at Lucius. He saw this coming and leapt into the air, allowing the bullets to pass by him. "Gajeel!"

"Hah!" Gajeel smirked and ran towards the bullets, pushing at them with an iron hand. This caused them to shoot into the air towards Lucius.

"Such a petty trick!" Lucius exclaimed as he easily used his scythe to slash through them. However, because of this, it allowed Lucy to leap into the air, donning Taurus' Star Dress.

"Taurus Lucy Kick!" Lucy spun around while in the air, aiming a fierce roundhouse at Lucius' skull. She made contact and the Commandant was sent crashing into the nearby ground. She then landed and gave both Gajeel and Levy a thumbs up. "Nice work!"

"Nice hit, Lu-chan!" Levy grinned.

Although they didn't have time to celebrate off a single hit. Lucius emerged from the ground and dusted himself off. "I see. All that effort for a half decent punch? This may be easier than I thought." Those words made the three Fairy Tail wizards grit their teeth.

Cana was following right behind the others but halted upon feeling a strange energy pulse from an opposing corridor. "Huh…?" Everyone else went on ahead in the heat of the moment while Cana started to run down the other corridor. "That felt familiar…was that…"

.

.

Halfway up the castle, Eizen was now the one who stood in their way, arms crossed as he deliberately blocked the path that led to the throne room. There was a knowing grin on his lips as he stared down the group. "Were you hoping you could reach King Dhegensea so soon? Why don't you stay a while and sniff the roses?"

"The roses are downstairs, and they smell pretty awful." Sting grit his teeth before glancing at Natsu and Gray. "Natsu-san! Gray-san! Sabertooth will hold him off here!"

"I agree with this notion." Minerva said while placing a hand on her hip. "I haven't had the chance to truly stretch my limbs out all day, what better chance than on one of the isle's strongest?"

"Go upstairs. We'll be behind you shortly." Rogue confirmed with Rufus and Orga at the ready.

"Do you really think I'll just ALLOW you to pass because you've chosen who wants to die first?" Eizen chuckled at the idea. "How dare you-"

And before Eizen could finish, Sting slammed a White Dragon's Iron Fist into the dragon's jaw, the force strong enough to send the Silver Dragon skidding away from the stairwell. "Now! Go!" On top of this, Minerva used her magic to warp Natsu and Gray behind Eizen and onto the stairwell. This way they had no interruptions.

"Aye!" Natsu nodded, going off along with Gray up the stairs. Time was running out and they were so close to the Throne Room…

.

.

The battle against Lucius was going south, to say the very least. Lucius was still relatively fresh throughout the entire day, while the others had been worn down with either the other Commandants or dragon soldiers. The pressure was truly on with the countdown to death; Lucius' attacks did not leave a single mark, but every time he hit the timer decreased by one. "What's the matter? Is the pressure getting to you?" Lucius questioned with a sly grin.

"This guy is really annoying…!" Gajeel grunted. His counter was at the lowest at 3, due to his usual reckless nature, but it was almost as if he was paying no mind to it. One arm extended out, turning into his Iron Dragon's Sword, the jagged metal blade began spinning rapidly in a chainsaw-like motion. Gajeel leapt into the air and brought the blade down on Lucius, who blocked with the handle of his scythe. "Grrrr…!"

"Away with you!" Lucius used his physical might to push Gajeel away, but in that instant Pantherlily charged forward with a shoulder tackle to knock Lucius off balance. "Oof…!"

"Now!" Lily shouted towards Levy and Lucy.

Levy began to right the word 'ROPE' out in the air. "Solid Script: Rope!" With her rope and Lucy's whip, the two women wrapped their weapons around the head of Lucius' scythe, dragging the weapon to the ground.

"We got it!" Lucy shouted.

"Now let's try this again!" Gajeel landed on the ground, aiming a devastating slash to Lucius' chest. It was a direct hit and the commandant staggered back; the iron dragon then pulled the scythe from the ground and hurled it back at its user. "Now give us time back!" The scythe hit its own user and in that instant everyone's timer was refreshed back to 10.

"Yes, we're back!" Levy cheered.

"Let's keep it up!" Lucy pumped a fist.

"Ngh…" Hisui blinked very slowly, the emerald color returning to her eyes the more Lucius took a beating.

"Hmph…" Lucius let out a minor groan of pain before standing back up with his scythe in his hand. There was a scowl now painted along his blood covered lips. "You're a little more irksome than I would've liked…but that's fine. I suppose I'll just have to up the ante." Lucius swiped his arm, creating a small tornado of sharp roses before him. "Petal Blizzard." The tornado then dispersed, sending the sharp roses flying everywhere, covering every inch of the room.

"Gah!?" Happy did his best to avoid the powerful roses; however he was clipped and ended up falling to the floor, dropping Hisui in the process.

"W-Wahhh!?" Lucy crossed her arms, groaning in pain as the roses began creating cuts along her fair skin.

"T-These hurt…!" Levy grunted while doing her best to defend against the roses.

"W-What's up with these flowers?!" Gajeel used his iron scales to try and lower the damage dealt to him, however he was still feeling each hit.

"So strong…!" Lily exclaimed.

"My roses have but the sharpest of thorns. No defense is capable of blocking them." Lucius said while pulling a rose from his coat pocket, giving if a gentle sniff before tossing it into the frenzy of roses attacking the Fairy Tail mages. "Au Revior." Lucius said, and just then another explosion occurred, sending everyone scattering with their counter at 1.

"I-I'm spent…" Lucy groaned while lying on her stomach. Her encounters all day were finally getting to her and she couldn't afford to move her body any more than she already had.

"M-Me too…I can't move…" Levy was on her back, just barely able to lift her head up.

"Now then…" Lucius was taking in his options on who to eliminate first. "You, with the loud mouth. I think I'll remove you first." He was referring to Gajeel. The Commandant took a step forward only to find himself stuck in now liquefied floor. "…Huh?"

"Now, that just won't do!" Hoteye said while pointing two fingers at Lucius.

"Time is of the essence…" Ultear was behind Hoteye, using her magic to accelerate and break the counters that were above the group of Fairies. "Are you all okay?"

"I'll live…" Lily replied.

"How dare you interfere…" Lucius went to swing his scythe…but the weapon was long gone from his hands. "W-What…?"

"You won't be needing this." Racer grinned while on the opposite side of the room, holding Lucius' scythe. "Richard, clean this up, will you?"

"Of course, Desu-ne!" Hoteye nodded and proceeded to trap Lucius in a coffin of liquefied ground that quickly turned into a solid, only to explode shortly after and send Lucius flying across the room before hitting the wall on his back.

"No! This...can't be!" Lucius grunted while standing back up, although with a bit of a stagger. He swiped his arm to the side, creating multiple petals around him to fill the room once more. "I won't be stopped here, not when I'm so close to my goal! Petal Blizzard!" He was going to attack all of them once again, but before his petals could even fly, they started to wilt away. "What!?"

"Unfortunately for you, much like your wilting petals, your time is up." Ultear spoke, using her Arc of Time to cause Lucius' roses to wilt up. "I have one parting gift for you, though! Ice Make: Rosen Krone!" She slid her hands into the ice make position, and placed her hands onto the ground. This caused an icy frenzy of vines to strike Lucius while he was in his state of confusion, knocking him down to the ground. This gave Gajeel the perfect opening to close the distance.

"I'll show this bastard to talk shit about me!" Gajeel hopped up, holding his arm high as it morphed into an iron sword once again, only time it was much larger and cut through parts of the castle on its way up. With a wicked grin, he exclaimed. "Karma Demon: Iron God's Sword!" Gajeel brought his blade down on Lucius, only to stop JUST before hitting the Commandant with widened eyes. Why didn't he follow through with the finisher? Because Hisui was standing protectively in front of Lucius with those lifeless eyes of hers. "G-Get out of the way…!"

"What's she doing…?" Racer quirked a brow, preparing to move if necessary…but waiting was his folly. Even that single second of hestiation allowed Lucius summoned a twister of roses to restrain the movement of him and everyone else. "Ugh…!?"

"This isn't good!" Hoteye groaned.

"Damn...!" Ultear covered her eyes. She was using her time ark to kill these roses quickly, but Lucius was not a Commandant for nothing. The more that wilted, the more that suddenly appeared all at once. Even if she removed them, they just kept coming!

"Why is the Princess protecting him?!" Happy yelled.

"The Princess is still under my spell…and she will do whatever is needed to protect me." Lucius gave a malicious grin. "If you wish to kill me, go ahead! But you will be killing her in the process!" So he finally showed his true colors; a pretty face with ugly intentions. "Do you think I came this far for nothing? To trip at the finish line!? No, I did not! Even if I am branded a traitor, I will return to Pregrande with the sole purpose of defeating King Ashnard!"

"C-Come on…" Levy tried desperately to move her hand, slowly writing up a word in the air. "Solid Script…Rock…!"

"You think a little rock will be the end of me!?" Lucius taunted Levy's attempt.

A rock did fall from the sky, but it did not land on Lucius for he was not the target…it instead landed on Hisui, causing her to cringe in pain. "O-ow…what on earth!?" She blinked, having snapped out of Lucius' trance. "W-What…where am…OH!" She recalled everything and on instinct squealed while throwing her foot at Lucius' head, causing him to stagger away, releasing the others in the process. She then dove to the side to remove herself from harm's way.

"No...!" Lucius attempted to grab Hisui, but he was too late. So he attempted to flee next, but he was stopped by the floor turning to liquid thanks to Hoteye's efforts. "This can't be! I was so close...!"

"Finally!" Gajeel shouted while pulling his arm back, shadows beginning to flow around his body. Iron Shadow Mode was activated and used his ability to traverse the shadows, quickly appearing behind Lucius' back to grab his hair and toss him towards the roof and into the sky. "Roar…of the Iron Shadow Dragon!" Gajeel inhaled for only a second before unleashing a gigantic funnel of iron shrapnel and shadows towards the airborne Lucius, completely consuming him in the process.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lucius' scream echoed throughout the city as he began to fade away. The price for failure was death…the price for treason was death. "Is this…how I die…? Curse you…" With Gajeel's roar ending, Lucius was gone.

"Guh…" Gajeel fell to a knee, reverting to normal while panting heavily, though there was a slight grin etched onto his lips. "Ugly bastard…."

.

.

Back upstairs, Eizen was giving Sabertooth the work. All five mages were on a knee from his might while he was only slightly banged up from their combined efforts. "Come now…" Eizen said in a taunting tone. "Don't tell me this is all you humans can muster after talking such a big game?"

"He's stronger than we gave him credit for…" Orga grunted. "But this is nothing!"

"We are Sabertooth…we've dealt with dragons before…" Rufus said while shaking his head.

"Come on, Rogue…" Sting entered his White Drive while Rogue entered his Shadow Drive. "Let's show this dragon what our bond of black and white is made of!"

"Right…!" Rogue nodded and the Twin Dragons were off, their respective magic pouring from their hands.

"White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!" The Twin Dragons exclaimed as beams of black and white began to pierce through Eizen, who let out a roar of pain in the result. The two slid behind him and turned to look at their progress…only to receive a beam of silver light that crashed into them, sending them sprawling along the floor on their backs in an unconscious state.

"Sting-sama…Rogue-sama!" Yukino cried out.

"Shit…" Minerva cursed, wincing slightly from the pain in her injured leg.

"That was a rather cheeky move, don't you agree?" Eizen said while standing before Sting and Rogue. "Dragon slayers…thinking they're so high and mighty."

Just then, Frosch and Lector stood before the Twin Dragons with tears in their eyes. "Frosch won't let you hurt Rogue." Frosch stated.

"S-Sting-kun! Don't worry! I'll protect you!" Lector shouted.

"Cute little creatures…" Eizen shook his head. "I don't wish to harm you…however you're in my way, so I will do what I must."

"I won't let you hurt them." Yukino was now standing in front of the exceeds, arms spread out with a determined look on her face. "I'll protect the two of them with my life, because they've done so much for me."

"Is that how you truly feel…?" Eizen quirked a brow before shrugging. "Very well…" He then inhaled slowly before unleashing his Silver Roar, a beam of silver light racing towards Yukino before anyone could truly react.

Yukino didn't budge. Instead she turned over her shoulder to give the awakening Sting and Rogue a soft smile. "Sting-sama…Rogue-sama…" And the beam consumed the celestial mage, a scream of pain escaping her as she slowly began to fall back to a lower floor of the castle, but there was still a smile on her lips. "I believe in you…." With that, Yukino fell from sight.

"Oh, she was serious….what a folly…" Eizen shook his head without a care…but he should've cared, for Sting and Rogue slammed their fists into his face with such might he actually flew back. "W-What…!?" Staring at the Twin Dragons, his eyes widened at their angered expression. Sting and Rogue were both in Dragon Force, and they held the rage of a dragon within them.

.

.

Next Time: Sabertooth Order.