Control

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Rin marched herself over to where Sting cried into his gloved palms. She could hear him mumbling over and over about how pathetic of a master he was.

"Sulking is not a good look for you," Rogue commented with his arms crossed.

"I couldn't agree more," Rin added. The black-haired male looked over at her with a harsh glare. "Where's that confidence you always had?"

"Shut up," Rogue growled. Sting stopped sobbing and sat silently staring into his hands.

"It's your fault," he mumbled. "You left and joined the other side. Then you watched them hurt your so-called friends... You ruined us..." Rin sighed.

"Part of the plan." Rogue's red eyes narrowed at the woman who crouched down in front of her mate. "I knew you guys weren't in it fully. You were just fighting because you were asked to. I could tell from when I saw you get defeated by Bloodman... So I didn't interfere. I could've swooped in and blown my cover to save you; I really wanted to." Rin's hands gently grasped the wrist she had injured in her torturous onslaught. She pulled his hand away from his face to reveal his irritated red eyes.

His sapphire hues had been muted by the visible veins caused by the stinging tears that had swelled up. "I knew that if I let you fall and hurt you, you'd come back with a real reason to fight... to live. I know you hate me now, but I needed to—"

Her hand was violently thrown off his body with enough force to send her crouched form toppling over. She rolled backward and managed to catch her feet on the ground to stand up.

"Damn right, we hate you," Sting growled angrily. He glared at her with a furious passion that made even her heart stop. Tears threatened to well up in her eyes at his words, but she suppressed them. She caught her lip between her teeth and nodded.

"Glad to know my plan was successful." Rin turned her back on them and moved to watch Gajeel continue the fight. She knew that Bloodman's idea to crucify the hostages would rub Gajeel the wrong way as it brought back painful memories. It was her chance to get them heated up for the real fight.

But as she watched, she hardly paid attention. She couldn't help but listen to her hurt friends behind her.

"I couldn't do a damn thing... Some master I turned out to be..." Rin glanced sadly over her shoulder.

Maybe I broke them too much... Maybe I really am a bad guy...

Yukino stomped over to the upset blonde and pulled his body off the ground. In one swift motion, her palm connected to the side of his face with a loud smack. Memories rushed through Rin's head of the night she went to comfort Sting when he lost Lector. She had slapped him exactly the same to bring him back to reality. However, those times were different.

Back then, Sting was an enemy and hurt Rin. But he'd never hurt Yukino. She was simply his light. Perhaps Rin was his poison.

"You are the master... And that's exactly why," she sniffled, "at times like these, you need to encourage everyone!"

Leese flew over to Rin and landed atop her head.

"Are you okay?" The brunette picked the Exceed up off her head and hugged her close.

"No," she mumbled out. "I don't think I'll ever be okay after this..." Leese frowned and nestled into Rin's chest for comfort. As her best friend, she could tell that seeing Sting's positive reaction to Yukino was hurting her and she could only imagine what Rin was thinking.

"Yukino..."

"I know you have the power to do just that," she encouraged. Sting stared down at her, all of his previous anger washing away. His two gloved hands gently held hers, scanning her injured fingers.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "That must have hurt."

"N-Not at all! I'm the one that hit you after all. I'm sorry if it stung a bit..." He shook his head and mumbled to himself.

"I've been hurt worse today..." He stopped himself before he could say something he'd regret. He knew she was listening. "Having to knock some sense into a pathetic master like me... There's no way it wouldn't hurt." As Sting wiped his face of tears, more began to fall on the face of another. His flame was suddenly reignited which was something only someone special to him could do.

Rin dropped to the ground and rested on her knees. Her emotions were forcing her magic to swell around her. The sheer force of it destroyed her attire and lightly burned her skin. Her tall boots had disintegrated and her gloves were nonexistent. She couldn't stand their words anymore. They had been stabbing her heart since she turned on them— no. They had been hurting since she left.

She couldn't stand her own actions even more. How in her right mind could she hurt the people she cared so much about?

"I don't want to be seen as evil anymore..." Leese jumped on her in a panic, pawing at the holey fabric covering her chest.

"What are you talking about?" The Exceed yelled in order for her words to reach the girl. Sting grit his teeth as he watched Leese try to pick Rin back up, both physically and mentally. The sadness emitting from the brunette made Leese burst into tears. "How could anyone think you're evil?!" Rin froze as she was yelled at by her companion. "They're sick in the head if they'd think something like that after you spent months sacrificing yourself for them!" The taupe cat hugged tightly onto the girl's abdomen. "So, please get back up! We need you!"

Rin leaned over and squeezed her companion tightly to her body. She was really the only one who never lost faith in her. For that, she was eternally grateful.

Sting and Rogue both scolded themselves. They had refused to believe she was on their side after what she did to the blonde, and they broke her down. But then they remembered what she said.

"I knew that if I let you fall and hurt you, you'd come back with a real reason to fight... to live."

What was her goal? They had no idea. But they did know that they fell right into her hands. She had used them to force herself to put the pieces of her strength back together. But, they left numerous scars behind on her heart with their words.

Her sobs vanished and her breathing stilled. However, she kept her head tucked into Leese's soft fur.

"It's not worth crying over." Sting eyed her carefully as she stopped shaking. She was serene. It was like the Rin he knew from before the Grand Magic Games had returned. Her pride was high and she was stubborn and refused to let anyone harm her friends. The real Rin was back.

Rin hoisted herself back up, holding Leese closer than ever. She wiped furiously at her face and slapped her cheeks to regain her composure. Gripping at the luxurious material tightly, Rin ripped off the skirt that hugged her waist and threw it behind her.

"Requip!" White light emerged out of Rin's body but vanished immediately, revealing fresh clothes. A black, halter, crop top covered her torso while black shorts adorned her bottom. Her favorite, old combat boots replaced her destroyed, heeled ones and new, leather gloves wrapped tightly around her hands. To top off the nostalgic appearance, her hair was lifted into a ponytail, her bangs sweeping across her forehead and her waves flowing wildly.

A newfound vigor ran down Rin's spine. She was the guardian of Fairy Tail and she would protect this land with her life. "Levy!" The bluenette spun to look at the girl. "Bloodman is approaching. I leave him in yours and Gajeel's hands."

"And where will you go?"

"I'm gonna right my wrongs," she announced strongly.

Gajeel grinned at her. Just earlier, she had cried about being no match for their opponents, but she had regained her confidence entirely. All it took was a stab to the heart, just like she planned.

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I'm the worst author ever, I can't believe I left you guys hanging for so long! As an apology, you guys get two chapters in one day.

School is almost over and I won't be as stressed, so I promise that I'll be back in action and post as much as possible! Thank you all for understanding! <3