CONTROL - Ver. 2

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Rin woke up in a cold sweat with a throbbing headache. She scanned her surroundings in a panic, scared that she was still in the caves beneath the stadium. Thankfully, she was safe in her inn where no one could hurt her. Leese pawed at her, trying to calm her down as her breathing was heavy.

"You're okay, Rin. You're safe now." The brunette scooped up the Exceed, shocking her at the sudden movement, and squeezed her tightly to her chest. "Do you wanna talk about what happened?" The woman sat up, crossing her legs and letting Leese back down onto the bed. However, her hands never left the cat, her fingers stroking her fur for comfort. Leese nuzzled into her touch, softly purring at the sensation.

"That thing down there... I had a connection to it. The scent drew me to find that stone down there. Whatever it was, I think it has something to do with Masumi. She used to have a gemstone like that on her forehead, too. W-When I touched it," her eyes began to water again, "I saw images?" She shook her head. That wasn't supposed to come out as a question. "They were like fragments of that dragon's memory. But the memory was in the future?"

"How do you know it was in the future?"

"Because Natsu and Lucy were there. And they were in Crocus. But that's all I can put together. The vision was jumbled and some of it didn't make any sense. And I think I saw Masumi? Or someone like her... It was all just going too fast and it freaked me out. And I couldn't get it to stop replaying over and over again."

"So, you saw dragons? And Natsu was fighting them?" The brunette shook her head.

"I don't really know," she admitted. "All I know is that―" She looked down into her lap, her purple eyes dimming.

"What?" Leese pawed at her hand, unsure of where her sudden sadness was coming from. "What is it?"

"There is nothing but death in that vision." She removed her hand from the cat and wiped her eyes of fresh tears. "None of us are alive in that future. That vision was the end of the world." Leese watched as the brunette threw her legs off the bed and stretched out.

"Maybe you should talk to Carla. She has visions, too... Maybe she'll know something." Rin shook her head.

"No, thank you." She didn't have any plans of reliving that memory as it literally caused enough trauma to knock her out. She would gladly pretend like it never happened. The girl requipped into some comfortable clothes and threw her hair up out of her face in a messy bun.

"Where are you going?"

"To the bar." The girl smacked her cheeks lightly, trying to get her head back in the game. "If you need me, you know where to find me." With that, she left Leese alone in their inn to ponder what her partner had told her. If Rin didn't want to go to Carla, then she would.

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Rin sat with her head in her arms, stirring her stein of beer with her magic without taking a single drink. After the first sip she had taken, she decided that drinking would only make her sick after the events of yesterday. Luckily, the guilds had the day off to rest before the final event took place, meaning Rin could recover from what she had seen.

Oddly enough, not very many members of Fairy Tail resided in Bar Sun, being nowhere to be seen. She huffed. She had hoped for some rambunctious comfort to make herself feel better, but all she got were Macao and Wakaba creating a ruckus with the others. She had also hoped to see Gajeel to apologize for yesterday, but it was clear that he was out with the others.

The door to the bar suddenly swung open and whoever had stepped through had caused every single person to go silent. Rin fought the urge to look up at who was here and tucked her head further into her arms.

Rogue stood in the doorway, almost jumping as the heavy wooden barricade shut behind him. All eyes were on him and he felt threatened, but he was here to find someone. Fairy Tail glared at him, making him gulp before taking a step in the direction of the messy brunette in the corner. He took note that she was alone and seemingly upset as her body slumped in her seat. He walked straight to her table and slid onto the bench opposite her. He waited to see if she would acknowledge him, but she refused to lift her head up.

"Rin," he coaxed. Still nothing. She was very clearly ignoring all interactions with people. But he needed to speak with her. The male reached out to her, gently tapping her arm which sent her into immediate alarm. Her head shot up and her magic activated, making Rogue flinch. After staring at him for a second, she realized what she was doing and released her hold on him.

"Rogue?" Her eyes narrowed at him in confusion. "What are you doing here?" The dark haired male leaned his elbows on the table and spoke in a hushed tone.

"I came to check up on you after yesterday..." Her brows furrowed at his politeness. Why was he showing her this kindness? "How are you feeling?" She shushed him and leaned closer so that the others didn't hear.

"I'm fine. Please don't talk about it," she pleaded. This is exactly the kind of chat she was hoping to avoid today. She rubbed at her forehead as she felt a headache coming on. "Did Sting send you?" The male shook his head no and she tilted her head in question.

"I came of my own accord."

"Why?"

"Sting is my best friend, and you're important to him... So, in a sense, you're important to me, too." Absolutely shocked at his resolve, she blinked like crazy and then offered him a kind smile.

"Thanks, Rogue." She looked down at her lap and then back into his red eyes. "Why isn't he here?" The Shadow Dragon Slayer looked down at the table. He really shouldn't be telling people this, but this was Rin. She was Sting's mate, after all. She was trusted.

"He's got his own thing going on..." Rin didn't say anything but returned to that same confused expression she wore before. "Um," he hesitated. "It's Lector." She nodded, urging him to continue. Sting's precious Exceed, yes, but what happened to him? "Jiemma was mad at Sting and I and he got caught in the crossfire. Lector's gone." Rin's jaw dropped to the floor, the air knocked out of her lungs at the remark. "Or we thought he was. Minerva says that she has him but refuses to return him to Sting unless he wins the Grand Magic Games."

The girl's violet eyes widened violently. What...? She rapidly stood up from her seat, almost knocking the bench over. She knew exactly how she would feel if that had happened to Leese. "Sting attacked Jiemma in a blind rage... And now Minerva is claiming that Sting should replace him.." Rin began walking out, startling the male. "Where are you going?"

"To go see Sting," she replied in a heartbeat. "Are you coming, or what?"

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Hi friends! Sorry for disappearing on y'all, I've been going through it lol. Enjoy a couple new chapters! :)