Mii stared at the darkness shrouding the isle, watching as the sun's rays were blocked. She could hardly see a thing! "Whoa…!" Mii exclaimed, nearly causing Drake to jump. "When did it get so dark out? Is it nap time already?"

Drake groaned in annoyance, rubbing the back of his head with an irritated sigh. "No you idiot. This is Night Tide…a spell that only the king himself can use. It cloaks the area in an everlasting darkness that only us Dragons can see through without difficultly…while boosting every attribute of a dragon…oh man, I can feel the power RUSHING through me right now. Why did that white cloaked human have to interfere!? I have the urge to TEAR something apart right now!"

Mii patted Drake on the back with a nonchalant shrug. "Right, well if you want to tear something apart why don't you hurry up and get moving to the castle so we can report to Dhegensea?"

In that instant, Drake's hand with around Mii's throat, and he lifted her into the air with a glare. "Listen up, Mii. You're NOT in the position to boss me around. You were our spy and nothing more, don't get the idea that you're in command here."

Mii stared at Drake with a quirked brow, hands obviously making way to his. "You're not so threatening, Drake…if you wanted to choke me out you would've by now. Meaning you know just how important I am. After all, I'm the Chosen, aren't I~?"

"Tch…" Drake dropped Mii and dusted his hand off. "Let's just get moving."

"Oooooh Draky, I need you to be my guide, I can't see in this overwhelming darkness. I need someone to lead the waaay~" Mii's cooed while wrapping her arms around Drake's arm, giving an irritatingly sweet smile.

"Don't push your luck dammit!" Drake exclaimed while the soldiers just stared blankly at the sight.

.

.

At the crash site, Dealer's attempts at fending off the few dragons suddenly came to a halt with the darkening sky. Tia looked around with widened eyes, worried the instant she lost sight of everyone. "A-Ace…!? Jack!?" After she shouted, a dragon flew by and slashed at her side, cutting through her armor and created a gash. "Agh!" Tia fell to a knee, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain. "I-I can't see anything…"

"But they can see us…!?" Diamond grunted while staring around in the darkness. Something was screaming at her to duck, and she did. A massive wave of what she assumed to be fire flew right over her head, singing some of her cyan hair. "Eep…!"

"How are we supposed to fight if we can't see!?" Strong exclaimed while just swinging his club around blindly. Surprisingly, he managed to hit a dragon and it flew into a tree, which collapsed right on top of it. "Hey I hit something!" And then Strong was hit and he collapsed right on the ground with a minor earth shaking thud.

"Strong!?" Spade shouted. "Damn…! This is tactically bad for us…not only can't we see, but I think they've gotten stronger as well!"

"Okay big shot, what do we do?" Jack asked Ace for advice.

Ace still had his scanner. While he couldn't exactly SEE the dragons, he could see their locations. "Okay, follow my lead!" Ace got several locked on before swiping his arm out. "Stealth Laser!" From his armor's wings, multiple beams of lightning shot out towards the dragons. Most of them evaded while a few of them were locked in place, and Ace focused on those who failed to escape. "Tia, Diamond! 2 o'clock! Jack, Heartless! 5!"

Tia and Diamond nodded, turning in one direction with respective magic at the ready. They were preparing for a Unison Raid. "Ice Water!" The two females exclaimed in unison. Tia swung her scepter forward, creating a whirlpool of water that surrounded a stunned dragon. Diamond followed up with a beam of ice that froze the whirlpool and encased the dragon before exploding violently.

"Wicked…Burst!" Jack swiped his hand horizontally, creating a line of purple flames around the dragon.

Heartless aimed her hand up, a pink energy radiating off her being. "Heart Stamp!" A seal appeared above the dragon, unleashing a gigantic heart that flattened the dragon soldier, just as Jack's Wicked Flames exploded in a vicious violet blaze. Of course no one could actually see if their actions were successful, but from the pained roars they were certainly making progress.

"Two down! Eight to go…" Ace spoke with optimism, but he knew he couldn't keep carrying them like this. If he was preoccupied there was no way he could tell the others what to look out for, he knew this, and the enemies were beginning to catch on as well.

Spark was quickly looking around. He had an idea and shot an orb of red lightning into the sky, watching as it crackled. It was a small source of light. "I think I got a plan!" He watched the orb of red lightning, taking note of the way sparks were flying out in certain directions. He turned and fired a blue orb of lightning to the south of them. It exploded on contact with something. "Got it!"

"Spark, how'd you do that?" Spade questioned, surprised and proud of his little brother's resourcefulness.

"I used their magic as a means to track them!" Spark explained. "Red lightning with a negative magnetic pull means it's attracted to opposing magic. As such, I used that to figure out where they were hiding!"

"How smart." Daigo said with a sly grin. Spark was really coming into his own.

Carla kept close to Wendy and Cynthia, but Cynthia's constant groaning had her worrying. "W-Wendy, what's going on with Cynthia!?"

"I-I don't know!" Wendy had a tight grip on Cynthia as she trashed around wildly whilst groaning. Cynthia was burning up again but Wendy refused to let her go in fear of what might happen. "She's been trashing around since the darkness came around…she's growling too, and her magic is rising to unhealthy levels…Cynthia what's wrong!?"

"T-That feeling…I have to…tear at something…" Cynthia struggled to speak.

"This darkness seems to only be affecting the dragons…and since Cynthia is infected…" Spade's deduction was enough to put fear in Wendy's heart for she knew exactly what he was going to say next.

"We can't fight and defend at the same time…not in this darkness!" Heartless groaned.

"Wendy….let me go…" Cynthia stared at Wendy. Even in the darkness the two could make each other out. Cynthia had that expression that said she was about to do something; Wendy usually had a slight dislike for that expression. It meant she was about to put herself in danger…and at the same time that danger was going to get them out of this situation. "…Please…."

"Okay…" Wendy nodded slowly, releasing Cynthia.

"Mmm…" Cynthia slowly stood up, teetering back and forth. She had so much magic building up within her and she needed to release it. "HAAAAAAAA!" With a shout that almost mimicked a small roar, a bright column of red flames erupted from around Cynthia. Though it wasn't enough to break through Night Tide, it was enough to light the area for her allies. A much needed candle in the veil of darkness.

Wendy's eyes widened at what Cynthia was doing. "Cynthia…"

"Hey, I can see now!" Strong grinned just as a solider attempted to attack him from behind. With speed someone of his stature shouldn't have, he turned while raising his club, slamming it on the head of the solider with such force a crater a few meters deep formed. "Oh yeah! Club Strong is back baby!"

Spade had blue and red lightning sparking around his body while staring down a soldier, a grin stretching along his lips thanks to the visibility Cynthia was providing. "This is perfect…now I can see exactly what I'm going to put you through!" Spade clapped his hands together, creating a blue and red sphere of lightning. "Lightning Strike!" Throwing his hands down, the sphere of lightning rushed towards the soldier, frying them instantly. The strength was enough to take it down even with the Night Tide boost. In the end, these solider were merely experiments so it was no surprise they were going down so easily…

"You're in my sights now…" Ace grinned at two dragons standing side by side. They were sweating nervously as the tables inexplicably turned. "You're not getting away…" The wings on Ace's back spread out, and in the next instant the Dealer ace moved forward, cutting through both dragons with incredible speed and force. "Wingblade." The two dragons collapsed after Ace spoke. "Six down, four to go."

"Ngh…" Cynthia collapsed while the flames around her fading away. She removed the excess magic in her system, but the darkness returned.

Wendy caught Cynthia once again, letting out a sigh of relief. The fever dropped but something about Cynthia seemed different after that massive discharge of magic. "Cynthia…"

"Don't worry; we'll take care of the rest…" Ace said with a firm nod, though it couldn't be seen. "Just take care of Cynthia."

.

.

"Can you see anything, Hoteye?" Ultear asked.

"Mmm…Nope!" Hoteye exclaimed with positively, causing everyone to practically collapse. "This darkness…it's much too thick for my eye to even hope to see through…"

"Even so, I can hear it all…" Cobra spoke with a slightly annoyed huff. "Everyone's fighting, and having trouble in some of their fights because of this darkness. The dragons are growing stronger while bathing in his darkness, courtesy of Dhegensea himself. If we don't find a way to break through this, we're all as good as dead."

"I live in the darkness…" Midnight spoke quietly, presumably yawning since he was about to fall asleep any second now. "I won't fall in my own element…"

"That's not the important part right now…" Angel said while letting out a huff. "We're trapped…we played right into their hands, and that Mii didn't help us one bit. I knew we shouldn't have trusted her. Why didn't you say anything, Erik?!"

Cobra remained silent. Angel did ask a good question: since Cobra could hear people's thoughts, why didn't he forewarn everyone about her betrayal? "Simple." Cobra began. "It wasn't in her thoughts at the time. I'm surprised you'd honestly think I wouldn't have read her thoughts when I saw her, but I'm more surprised her thoughts betrayed my ears. If she was planning on betraying everyone from the beginning once we regrouped, I would've heard it no problem…but there was something else on her mind instead."

"And that was…?" Racer urged Cobra along in hopes he'd speak faster.

Cobra opened his mouth but stopped. He heard light footsteps coming from presumably a long distance away. "Be on guard. Dragons of Drake are heading this way. I can tell because their thoughts are blank minus the one of Drake…"

"Great, company in this darkness…" Angel rolled her eyes in annoyance. "…I hope you're okay, sister…" Was her muttered thought.

.

.

"This darkness…" Jellal stopped in place, taking cover behind what he thought to be a tree. His attempts to light the way were slightly successful. A flame appeared in his hand, giving him some light to his immediate surroundings, but that was it. "I can hardly see anything, yet it's suffocating me at the same time. The Black Dragon King truly is something to be feared if he can produce something like this on a whim…I must hurry."

.

.

Laura was sitting within the Commandant's ship which was lit on the inside. She was busy filing her nails until she took a glance outside, eyes widening as she saw nothing but pitch black darkness. "Whoa, wait a second…when the hell did it get so dark out?!"

"Wha?" Brax tilted his head in confusion, taking a gander out the window only to see what Laura was referring to. "How about that…? It's night time already…"

Lex shook his head. "Try again. I believe this is a spell being used by the Dragon King to manipulate darkness. The sheer power I feel coming from outside is unlike anything I've ever felt before…"

"Well ain't that something…?" Brax chuckled while staring out the window. "I hope Wes, Lucius, and Xen come back before their bed time hits." His comment brought forth an obnoxious snort from Laura, who turned away almost immediately after it happened.

"Shut up." Was Laura's response, obviously embarrassed that she snorted in front of everyone. "I hope Wes gets back here soon with that blonde alive. I'd love to give her a piece of my mind for what she did to me!"

.

.

Reve's team was fairing no better than the others. Just like them, dragons were attacking from the darkness and it was impossible to see where friends and foes alike. All everyone could hear was either the shouting others, explosions, the other sounds of battle. Reve was among those who were fine despite the darkness, his Thermal Vision provided him with slight sight, though he was irritated he could hardly see anything even with this. "This is stupid…!" Reve exclaimed while firing off a few shots in the dark, but from the looks of it they missed.

"Nyah! I can hardly see anything…!" Milliana complained worriedly while using her ears to listen out for enemy attacks. Good thing, too, since she was one second away from being a clawed kitty had she not swiftly evaded to the side from a crushing blow.

"Where did this darkness come from!?" Cygnus questioned.

"Good question, Cyg…" Jaxon spoke. "It's really cramping my style, I think we need to get a little sun in here!" With this exclamation, multiple bright spheres resembling the sun appeared in various locations. While they in no means brightened the area, it gave the others a location on where the enemy dragons were. "How's that?"

"Excellent work, Jaxon-san. Quite handsome if I do say so myself~" That was Hibiki's remark somewhere in the darkness. You could tell where he was because of the sparkles gleaming off his being.

"Shut up and fight!" Melody scowled unseen in the darkness before shifting into the maker position. "Sliver Make: Warrior's Fist!" A sliver magic seal appeared before the female; throwing her fist forward, the seal shattered, unleashing a gigantic fist composed of pure silver towards one of the moving suns. A crash could be heard as the sun she aimed at flew backwards quite the distance. "I think I hit it…"

"Keep moving." Heather suggested while turning on her heel, one hand placed forward as a magenta seal formed on her palm. "Poison Dragon's Scales." Multiple scales of poison flew out from the seal, aimed at a few of the suns. Unfortunately for Heather, the dragons she aimed at managed to evade with little difficulty. "Bastards…"

"We need to do something about this darkness…" Lyon grunted.

"These dragons are something else…" Cygnus groaned whilst rolling his eyes. "Guess I'll just have to deliver the good ol' Gwydion beat down while blind…first time for everything, right?"

.

.

Minerva's team was fairing no better than Reve's team. They were all struggling within the Night Tide while the dragons were basically using them for above average target practice. Minerva was beginning to get pissed off that she couldn't see and that she wasn't hitting anything, but some things were hitting her. "Tch! This is getting incredibly irritating!"

"You're telling me…" Waiston shouted back while using his heightened senses to his advantages. He shifted to the left, though he could feel the claw of the dragon cut his shirt. "You're not getting away from me!" Ice covered the dragon slayers foot; he then swung it towards his target. What he expected to be a direct hit was nothing but a whiff as he hit the air. "Wha…!?"

Kuro could hear his comrade's distressed exclamation. "Waiston, are you okay!?"

Rufus was calm and collected even within the darkness. He had an idea, and he could only hope that it would work. "Allow me to take care of this one…" Placing his fingers on his temples, a red magic seal appeared behind him. "Memory Make: Night of the Falling Stars." Several 'stars' appeared behind the memory maker, launching off while tracking those who were not friends. The stars crashed in various locations however it was unknown if any of them were direct hits. "Did it work…?"

"Not even close," Waiston grunted. "These things…they're on a whole 'nother level…"

.

.

"This darkness isn't manly!" Elfman shouted as if anyone else would hear him. That's when Lisanna slapped her hand over his mouth…though it took a few tries so she just ended up slapping him in the face a few times.

"Sssssh, Elf-nii…!" Lisanna scolded.

"Hyaha…hey, who turned out the lights?" Bickslow questioned. "This ain't right; the sun was just shining a few minutes ago! It can't be night time already."

"It's not night time…" Levy explained. "This darkness isn't natural, it's artificial. I can only suspect that Dhegensea is the only one capable of creating darkness such as this…"

"That old lizard is starting to show some of his tricks, huh…?" This realization only made Gajeel grin. "Gihehe…I say we sneak past the dragons and head for the castle right away! They won't be able to see us in this darkness!"

"Don't be an idiot," Freed scoffed at Gajeel's idea, causing an annoyed tick mark to form on the iron dragon's forehead. "Dhegensea made this darkness…which only means that the dragons can see through it without any difficultly…and if that's the case, then everyone else is in serious danger."

"Do you think there's a way we can break through?" Evergreen asked with some concern.

"If there is something we can do…we better find a way fast." Levy held her hand to her chest, letting out a weighted sigh. "Lu-chan…please be okay…"

.

.

"Oi…!" Blues pointed up at the hole they crashed from. It was pitch black, though unlike the others outside he could at least see due to the dimness of the cave. "Something's happening up there!"

"It's getting darker…?" Meredy tilted her head. "It's not night time, is it?"

Erza, in her Flame Empress Armor, slid back after blocking a punch from Ena. Her eyes widened as the strength of the blow was much stronger than that of one's prior. She tilted her head while staring at Ena, who wore a knowing smile on her lips. "What's going on…? Ena's punch…it was much stronger than it was a few moments ago…"

"Confused, are we?" Ena giggled at Erza's expression before glancing up at the darkened sky above. "It's rather simple, actually…My father has begun to implement his magic…this is one of my favorite spells of his, Night Tide. This creates an impenetrable cloak of darkness around a given area…not only that, but only us dragons can see through this darkness. There's also one little surprise to it as well…"

"Another surprise…" Erza readied her sword as Ena started to sprouted her pink wings from her back.

"Can you see it…?" Ena bent her knees before rocketing forward; as soon as she took off the completely obliterated the ground where she once stood in her wake. Within a heartbeat she was already behind Erza. "I hope you didn't blink."

Erza was frozen in place as she tried to register Ena's movement; before she could even do that, her armor fell apart and the sharpest pain shooting through her entire body. Eyes widened before she let out a shout of pain and collapsed to her hands and knees. "Agh…! M-My body…!"

Meanwhile, the others were staring in pure shock at what just occurred. "W-Wha…" Juvia's eyes were wide in disbelief. "J-Juvia didn't even see Ena-san move…!"

"I wasn't blinking and I still didn't catch that…" Blues' eyes narrowed, beginning to sweat as he realized exactly what it was they were up against when it came to these more important dragons. "This isn't good…"

Erza's body was shaking as she brought herself up once again. "Her wings cut through my armor like nothing…" She thought before another light surrounded her body; her plan was to enter another suit of armor, but before Erza's requip could even finish, Ena was upon her once again.

"I don't think so, Erza-Senpai!" Ena cooed while her clawed hand gripped the back of Erza's head, slamming her harshly into the ground. As a result, the requip was canceled and Erza let out a muffled cry of pain into the dirty. "I wanted to have a little more fun with you first, hehe…~"

"She stopped Erza's requip!?" Aira was more than convinced Ena was one of the most dangerous things on the island with that kind of speed.

"W-What do we do!?" Kuro asked while looking towards everyone else.

"We have to help her!" Blues exclaimed before taking a step forward, cheeks inflating. "Blue Dragon's…Roar!" Throwing his head forward, a large torrent of scalding how water raced towards Ena, whose back was turned due to dealing with Erza.

Ena reacted as soon as she heard the torrent of water coming her way. She shielded herself with one wing, growling in annoyance while turning to look over her shoulder at the Water Dragon. "Dragon Slayer….would you mind? I'm having quality time with Erza-senpai…I'll come play with you when I'm finished with her…" Even though Blues did little to no damage, he did manage to take Ena's mind off Erza. Another glow appeared around Titania, entering her Lightning Empress Armor. "Huh…?"

"HYAH!" Erza turned and stabbed the tip of her spear into Ena's chest, unleashing a potent blast of lightning strong enough to blow Ena away. Afterwards, Ena was on a knee, using her spear as support to stand. "Agh…"

Ena slid back across the ground, shaking her head as sparks danced around her body. There was now a large hole in her shirt and a burn mark along her skin. "Mph…" Ena groaned in discomfort while shaking off the impact. "You little sneak…~!"

"Don't tell me that didn't do anything either!" Meredy gulped.

"That one actually stung…" Ena admitted while standing up, shaking her head with a slight groan. "I'm not surprised Erza-senpai would be able to pull something like that off…I guess that just means this will be more fun to slaughter you~"

.

.

Dhegensea could see everything going on within the darkness and because of this a grin stretched along his lips. "Excellent. Things are going exactly as fate said. I just needed to step in to ensure things stayed on course." Scanning the island, he noticed an irregularity within Night Tide. Something that was there that shouldn't have been. There was light somewhere near the jungle. "What…what is that light…?"

Upon hearing Dhegensea's confusion, Venoma waltzed forward while peering over the balcony. "Light? In Night Tide? Impossible!"

"This will never do…" Dhegensea shook his head before snapping his fingers. "Eizen, Edna. Enter." As soon as he finished speaking, two figures walked in. One was a male who had had a regal appearance, silver hair and eyes along with a slim yet ripped stature. This was Eizen, the Sliver Dragon. Alongside him was Edna, a female with long pink hair that dropped to her back. She wore a dress and heels, a rather simple look: The Crystal Dragon.

"You rang, my King?" Eizen spoke with a slight bow. Just then, Mii and Drake returned to the palace, Drake begrudgingly giving Mii a piggyback ride. "Oh, look here…the Chosen has returned."

"We're baaaaack~" Mii hopped off Drake while dusting off her skirt. "Oh whoa, we have the whole group here, huh?"

"Not quite…" Edna shrugged.

"Nasir's part of the plan is underway as we speak, and Gaius has been positioned accordingly," Dhegensea explained. "There are some minor…bumps in the road that need taking care of for things to go smoothly. Eizen. I need you to go investigate what that light is. As for the others…I'm going to deploy you in these various locations…"

"Yeah, while that's all well and good…" Mii started to trail off. "I'm gonna go see what those guys in white robes are all about. They seem dangerous…oh shit, that's right! One of them has Hisui…! That's what we came here for!"

"Hm…" Dhegensea was slightly annoyed…but he merely shrugged it off. "Fate is unavoidable. Things are in our favor. But first…" He turned to face the light emanating from south of the city. "…that light must be extinguished."

.

.

"When did it get so dark…?" Lucy questioned while looking around. The area was dark thanks to Night Tide…but strangely, unbeknownst to her and Wes, it wasn't nearly as dark as it was around the island. "I hope the others are okay…"

"A four on one?" Wes grinned at Lucy, Virgo, Loke, and Aquarius after the blonde spoke. "Ha, now this is what I can a party! Can you guys rock out!?"

"How about you shut up!?" Aquarius shouted in an annoyed tone while violently swinging her vase forward, sending all of the water she absorbed from Wes back at him in one massive tidal wave that threatened to submerge everything in its path. Wes looked like he was consumed by the wave, but in reality…

"WOO HOO!" There the Commandant was, riding along the wave as though he was surfing on it, strumming his guitar rhythmically. He was totally in tune with the events going on right now. "Now THIS is what I call crowd surfing!" Not only was he in tune with the water, he completely turned the tidal wave around.

"He's…riding the wave…?!" Aquarius' eyes widened in shock at Wes' ability to use water.

"Here he comes...!" Loke exclaimed.

Wes had his sights set on Virgo and Loke, grin appearing along his lips. "You two have been hogging the spotlight too long! Time to get off stage! I'm gonna drag you down! Maelstrom!" Before Loke and Virgo could react, a cyclone of water appeared and sucked them in, trashing them around violently before sending them soaring into Wes' range. In one fluid motion, he struck the two spirits with his guitar, causing them to fade back to the spirit world. All it took was one direct hit.

"Sorry…Princess…" Virgo had her eyes shut, knowing full well she failed Lucy.

"L-Lucy…." Loke could only say this before he faded away with Virgo.

"Loke! Virgo!" Lucy cried out before setting her sights on Wes with tears stinging her eyes. "Thank you. I'll take him out for you guys!" Aiming her bow once more, the blonde released a single, but large arrow. "Six Falling Stars!" The arrow was aimed at the center of the tidal wave, but it merely passed through it, causing Wes to laugh.

"Ha! Is that all you got!?" Wes mocked Lucy; however that was only the first part of Lucy's attack. The arrow split into six, spiraling upwards with incredible velocity that struck Wes and broke apart the tidal wave, leaving Wes a sitting duck. "Agh…!"

"Get out here you nuisance!" Aquarius swung her vase again, sending a vicious spiral of water at Wes that completely consumed him.

"No waaaaay…!" Wes shouted while tumbling violently against the ground. It only took a few seconds before he stood back up, shaking off any and all impacts made. "Man, you guys are something else…then again I guess it wouldn't be too easy since you ARE a product of the traitor…"

"What are you talking about!?" Lucy was getting really tired of hearing that phrase. "I'm not a product of anyone!"

"Not you...geez, didn't you hear me earlier?" Wes sighed while waving a hand. "Whatever, your questions about it don't matter. It doesn't change the fact that I have to bring you in. Now, you can still come quietly, or I can knock you out. Preferably, I would suggest the former."

Aquarius remained silent. Between Wes, this mysterious darkness, and Lucy's rapidly draining magic supply…things weren't looking too good. The spirit turned to Lucy before speaking. "This fight isn't one we can win."

"Huh?!" Those words made Lucy turn to Aquarius. "Why would you say that?! We have to save everyone before…!"

Wes strummed his guitar again, creating a tidal wave of his own that appeared under his feet, carrying him forward once again with incredible speed. His destination was the two ladies and it looked like he had something in store for them once he reached. "The show isn't over yet! We're about to hit the climax!"

"Celestial Spirits are no match for someone of his caliber!" Aquarius continued, rushing her words to Lucy. "This darkness isn't normal either. Someone must have created this, and judging by it, no one else can see. Yet we can…because we're here with you. Your light is making it possible for us to see! But your light alone can't break this darkness…you must summon the Celestial Spirit King! Together you may be able to…"

Lucy's eyes widened at Aquarius' words. It was a lot to take in and process but she understood. "How do I do that…!?"

"Break my key."

One could almost hear Lucy's heart breaking at those words. Instantly, she shook her head. "N-NO…! Are you crazy!? I can't do that!"

"If you don't…!" Aquarius began, but Wes was already upon them with what looked like a finishing blow.

"Don't tune out now!" Wes swung his guitar for Lucy, but Aquarius took the blow instead. The force of it was strong enough to knock Aquarius into Lucy, sending the two tumbling away violently a few yards away. Wes dispersed the tidal wave and decided for a slow tune as he walked the rest of the way. "So I guess this is where our little jam session ends, huh?"

Aquarius had a large gash running along her torso, but she had to stay so Lucy could finish the job. "Hurry…break the key…so you can save everyone. You can't fight him alone..."

"N-No…" Lucy groaned in pain while pushing herself up to her hands and knees. "I…I have to save everyone…I can't sacrifice someone to do that. It's not right! There has to be another way!"

"Lucy! He's getting closer! Stop whining and do it already! You won't get another chance!" Aquarius shouted. They were running out of time...!

"I…I can't…" Lucy stared to cry now, tears rapidly rolling down her cheeks. "Y-You're all I have left of my family…" It was true. Since one particular event, Lucy was forced to say one final goodbye to Layla and her family. Now, Aquarius was all that was left of her past…she couldn't bear lose that one final connection. "I can't lose you; too…I just can't…"

"You idiot…" Aquarius grit her teeth while glancing up. Wes was upon them now.

"A concert so moving it almost brought me to tears…" Wes fake sniffled while holding his guitar up, razor sharp water beginning to circle around the instrument. "All good things must come to an end eventually. This is where it ends for you, Lucy Heartfilia." Wes brought his guitar down…but before the motion could finish, a shoe was placed firmly in his face. The power behind it was enough to send him staggering back a few steps. "Guh…What the hell!? Who's the stage hog now!?"

"Oi oi…" A familiar voice caught Lucy's attention. Looking up through her tears, she had a soft smile at the one who came to protect her. Luke Cloud turned to look over his shoulder, giving a shake of his head. "It looks like you just can't stay out of trouble without me around, eh…?"

Lucy wiped her tears away, letting out a small laugh at Luke's remark. "Luke…"

.

.

The battle within Night Tide continues. At this rate, our heroes will be unable to defend themselves against the might of the dragons. Lucy is claimed to be the only one who can shatter the darkness, but she doesn't have the heart to do it. With Wes fighting against her and Luke now, time begins running low for the others. Lucy must find her resolve and light the path to victory for her friends, or be swallowed by the darkness like everyone else…

Next Time: Shine.