Fate's Game[STINGLU FANFIC]

Chapter 11

Her breaths were heavy and filled the room's silence; she had stripped down to her undergarments, heat radiating from her body. She needed a bath – a bath full of ice. Ice...Ice...G-Gray? Yes, there had been a man named Gray. Her lips parted as she let out a shaky breath. Her neck throbbed and her head felt as if someone was driving a nail through her skull.

There was someone else. Someone else who was very important to her.

Light...Yellow. Yellow. Cat...Her mind was hazy, blurring and preventing her from remembering. Was this what Jace had told her about? Was this what she had been warned about?

There was a loud banging on her door, "EY, FILIA. GET UP NOW."

Brandon had gone quiet; she steadied her breathing and sat up, cringing at the sudden movement. She dressed herself as quickly as she could, "NOW, FILIA."

And with unwieldy steps she made her way to the door, "Okay."

"Filia? Filia, don't go!" Brandon screamed

Familiar sharp red eyes looked at Filia through the mask covering the guard's face. Oh, so it was him. Out of all the despicable guards, this one had treated her with a hint of respect.

The other guard kicked Brandon's cell yelling, "Shut up," and Red-eyed guard pushed Filia in front of him.

It was a long-shot asking him, but she risked it, "Where are we going?"

"You have a match."

She could feel the weariness weighing her down, but she let out a sigh, "Against?"

----

Life could not be crueler, could it? The Emperor's traditional smirk was plastered on his lips at ease as he lounged on his chair next to the red curtain. He drew his fingers across it and winked at Filia.

His usual cocky smile flashed at her, but the dark circles under his eyes revealed how tired he was, "Heart-chan, you look dreadful."

"Back at you, Jay." She whispered, curling her hands into fists.

She hadn't known a heart could be broken so many times and still function. This is why I never wanted to become attached.

"Well, I guess there's no use with stalling it anymore, huh?" Jace sighed, stretching as he made his way towards her.

Filia couldn't win against him, but he couldn't kill her either. Jace was going to die by her hands today.

-----

Flashback

Filia ran her fingers across the table's smooth surface, watching Jace play chess against Slash.

"Hey, Jace." She started

He grunted in response, "Are you scared of dying?"

Both Slash and him paused and Jace took a moment to respond, "Not really, filly."

"Why," she asked, settling her head on her arms and leaning on the black table, "is that?"

He placed a pawn down before answering her, "I guess it's because I'll be able to be free."

"Free?"

"Free."

-----

They were a blur of red and black; the crowd's eyes straining to keep up with their speed. Filia gritted her teeth, angry. Jace was holding back on her. She wasn't an idiot; she knew she was sick and couldn't dare keep up with him at his best, but this was not the way she wanted it to be.

"Jace," she hissed between blows.

Jace glanced at her pale face; the strain clearly visible in her dark eyes. There was so much he hadn't been able to tell her. He figured Sting had had more than enough time to complete his part of the plan. Well, enough is enough. He stepped into her blow, her gasp of horror confused by the crowd as a gasp of triumph. Her hand was imbedded inside him; almost reaching his heart. He leaned close to her and brought his mouth close to her ear despite the pain from his chest, "Be free, Lucy."

Then a brilliant light erupted followed by a cloud of smoke and a shrill shriek.

----

Filia felt herself pulled from Jace into a solid chest. She didn't have to turn to know who it was; it was Sting Eucliffe. She remembered him...from battle, but there was something else tugging at her mind, her memories.

"Luce, we have to go, now." He yelled in her ear.

Go where? There was nothing else for her, but she followed him anyway. Without Slash...without J-Jace she didn't know what she was supposed to do.

Wait. She couldn't leave without one person, "Wait! Brandon!"

"I'm right here, Filia."

She exhaled in relief and guilt. Be free, Lucy.

"Let's go," they said in unison, each grabbing ahold of one of her hands

"Right."

She didn't have time to grieve just yet. They had to make it out before the Emperor found them. She had no right to cry...at least not now, not here. Brandon's silent tears confirmed what she had done, but his tight grip on her wrist told her of his love for her hadn't disappeared. He didn't blame her.

Her legs were burning and pressure crushed her chest, but she kept running along the dark corridors underneath the Colosseum. It felt like they had been running for hours, but in reality it probably had only been a few minutes...a few minutes since... J-

No. She had to keep going. She had to kee—the world began to tilt as she started to crash towards the floor.

An arm shot out to catch her; and she felt herself being lifted onto a warm back. "The Emperor –" she started.

"Will be too busy with other matters to come after us himself," he answered her unspoken question.

String couldn't help but grin as he imagined the havoc Rogue and Team Natsu would be creating at the Colosseum just about now. Their priority was getting Lucy out alive, but if they could bring down the sick game, then so be it. Sting would have stayed behind and given them a piece of his mind, but there was no way he was going to let Lucy out of his sight.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her breath skimming his neck, causing goosebumps to rise

Focus, Sting. Focus. "We're going home."

Filia could only assume he meant Fairy Tail and instead of replying she wandered off in thought. Could she really face her old family the way she was now? She hardly felt ready to see them again. Her memories were still recovering and reminded her of quilt missing squares. Another bout of trembling caused her to clutch onto S-Sting's back. His name brought strange waves of pain that coursed through her body with every beat of her heart. The pain from the mark on her neck was spreading and fast. The blond male's presence seemed to have set it on turbo and Filia let out a weak groan in discomfort.

She began to slip in and out of conscious until finally she was dragged into an endless dream of forgotten memories.

A/N: Okay, here's the other half that wasn't ready yesterday. It's short, sorry. I hope these two chapters cleared things up for you. Thanks for reading! Next chapter: MEMORIES.