My eyes widened before a gasp escaped my lips.

"Are you insane?!" Erza exclaimed at Lisanna, "You can't just tamper with the logistics of an entire dimension!"

"Watch me," Lisanna said simply. Mirajane stepped towards Lisanna with her hands raised cautiously.

"Lis, you are not thinking straight," She said slowly, "If you do this, what happens to the people of Earth? What if this rewrite doesn't fit their make-up? Huh? This could be genocide."

"Jada is proof that they'll manage," She retorted, "Even though her Ethernano laid dormant, she's always possessed a different kind of life-energy core thanks to her father. These two different cores have coexisted in Jada seamlessly." She explained, "The humans on Earth all carry the life-energy cores, it's how they're alive to begin with. This blast will reconfigure them, the old Earth will die, and the new one will birth a stronger people. We could coexist there without worrying about losing our own magic. Jada won't have to leave the world she's grown in, she could have the best of both worlds."

"Listen to yourself!" I yelled at her, and her gaze fell on me, "You just said the only reason I made it through your Anima was because of the magical core I inherited from you! I was born to harness magic power, you know damn well no one on Earth could do it!" Her eyes sharpened and I sneered at her, "You aren't doing this for Earth, Earthland, or me. You're only acting out of vengeance for what happened to Jaden! A chance to prove a point that has no business being a point!"

Lisanna's eyes pierced into mine, "And if I'm right? If this will successfully bring magic to Earth?"

"That's a big fucking if!" I growled back, "If you do this, it could wipe out all forms of life on Earth. I have people there I care about," I spat, and even though I couldn't remember every little thing I used to know about my friends, I remembered how they made me feel wanted. I refused to abandon them now, "I'll be damned if I let you put them at risk for your own selfish agenda."

"Selfish?!" She sneered at me, "I am doing this for all of us!"

"Liar!" I shook my head.

"Shut up!" She yelled, clenching her fist, "I'm ending this... Here and now. This discussion is over." She said, raising her empty hand that once held the control for her cyborgs. She blinked in confusion before her jaw dropped. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Not on my watch," I heard Sapphire say and my gaze snapped up to see her floating above Lisanna. Before the woman and her brainwashed mages could react to her theft, Sapphire darted back to our group. I blinked in shock. When did she even get over there? How was she so fast that I didn't see or hear her? Was I so focused on Lisanna that I didn't notice?

"Hey..." Lisanna mumbled in quiet shock as the purple tomcat flew into Lucy's open arms. She turned her body towards Natsu, shielding and protecting Phire.

"Levy! Freed!" Lucy called the two coding masters. Levy grabbed up the remote control immediately, and Phire dropped down to scamper to my side. Lisanna's human henchmen crouched in wait of her command. She stood frozen.

"Haven't found a chink in her shield runes," Freed mumbled as Levy tampered with the control. His eyes gazed over our human enemies analytically until he blinked and sighed, "That's a nice spell you've acquired, Lis. It'd take an hour or two for me to dismantle."

"However," Levy said, looking up at Lisanna blankly before pressing a combination of buttons in sync, "We don't have that kind of time."

Lisanna's cyborgs began to short circuit in their sleeping state.

"Luckily for us, you feel the same, Lisanna," Levy said, "Only someone running out of time would make a Hive Mind remote for their soldiers."

My eyes widened, and Natsu slowly released me and helped me up. Sapphire flew on to my shoulder.

"Levy?" I asked in confusion, "Did you just—"

"Shut down her cyborgs? Yeah." Levy said with a sigh of relief, her blank eyes on Lisanna. The robot men twitched and sparked violently before dark smoke erupted from their human ears. Their eyes shifted to black before they all fell down, crippled.

"It appears you've also run so low on time that you haven't magic-proofed your captives," Freed said to Lisanna, and I felt his aura shift into a defensive one. Lisanna looked at all of us in shock as her brainwashed mages stepped in front of her.

Suddenly, more footsteps echoed up the hall. My gaze shot to the back of my friends as the oncoming group raced down the corridor. A spicy scent hit my nose and I gasped.

Natsu turned as well, his eyes widening at the newcomers as they approached us, "Cobra?"

Our friends turned to see Cobra, Kinana, Angel, Midnight, Racer, and Richard Buchanan. The former Oración Seis members appraised our group as we did theirs.

"Told ya," Cobra nodded to Natsu, "I had somethin' to do."

"Ya could've elaborated, slippy!" Natsu spat back, a tick mark forming in his head. Cobra rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't matter what you do now." Lisanna said, gaining our attention. Through the bodies of her henchmen, I watched as she raised up her palm and a holographic sheet hovered over her hand. It looked like data was processing in the glowing, translucent sheet, and Lisanna nodded to herself, "The processing is done."

Suddenly, I felt a surge of powerful magic aura erupt through the corridor. It was so intense it knocked me back to the ground and blew me back some paces from Lisanna's team. My fingers acted as claws and dug into the cement of the floor beneath us. I struggled to look up, my senses being overwhelmed entirely. I watched as the exceeds and my friends fell to the ground as well, but Lisanna, Erza, Mira, Laxus, Makarov, and the brainwashed mages stood erect. She turned away from us and waved her hand in the air.

"Travel." She chanted, and a portal opened in front of her. Through its doorway, I could see the contents of large laboratory room. A beam of light took up the center of its space, and my eyes widened as I felt the magic power emitting from it. I knew the aura we were all overwhelmed by was coming from it. Lisanna turned to look at me one more time before tearing her gaze away and walking through her portal.

"Lisanna!" Mira cried as her little sister turned back and waved her hand again, closing the portal and leaving all of us with her henchmen. They all stepped toward us and my heart stopped. We were completely overwhelmed.

"Virgo!" Lucy yelled out randomly, and I shakily looked over to her before the floor beneath us caved in and we landed on the floor under the one we'd been on. The aura spilling out of that core lessened exponentially, but I still felt it in the air. How did Lisanna conceal its powerful until just then? Were we all too late?

I looked at Sapphire immediately, "Are you okay?"

She rubbed at her shoulder, grimacing as she nodded, "I'm fine."

"Awesome job up there." I nodded to her and she smiled lazily. My senses were dialing back down, but I still felt tension in the air. I blinked a few times to settle my nerves.

"I apologize, Princess," I heard Virgo say, and as I stood up, I turned to see her holding Lucy bridal style, "I should have arrived sooner. Please, punish me."

Lucy sweat-dropped, "That won't be necessary." She chuckled nervously.

"Good call, Lucy!" Yukino nodded to her.

"Thanks," Lucy smiled, but then she looked up to see the brainwashed mages peering down at us from above, "But I don't think we're done."

Virgo vanished, leaving Lucy to plop on to the ground with a shocked look on her face.

"What the heck, Virgo?!" She exclaimed. Her hurt expression disappeared once Loke manifested in front of her.

"Hey, angel." He said, offering a hand to her. She blushed before she grabbed it, and he helped her up, "Virgo said you needed some defense, so she swapped with me to save your power." After he said that, the brainwashed mages jumped down from the floor above us and landed some feet in front of us. Loke looked at them, "And she had a good reason to."

"We can't let Lisanna go." Erza said, "That aura was deadly. We can't know if her device is functioning completely yet or not."

"You're right," Gray said, furrowing his eyebrows before turning to the brainwashed mages in front of us, "We can't waste time here."

"Nor can we," Lyon said, stepping toward us and scowling at Gray, "Master's plan is in effect, we cannot allow any disturbances now."

"Tch," Gray scoffed, "So she's your master now? You fell victim to her plot, Lyon? What would Ul think?"

Lyon hissed at Gray, "This is for the greater good, you idiots!"

"The hell it is," I growled at him, "And thanks a lot, doofus, you just admitted that Lisanna hasn't won yet. Otherwise, 'disturbances' wouldn't change a damn thing."

Lyon grimaced before gritting his teeth, "Ice Make, Snow Dragon!" He chanted. My eyes widened as I heard Natsu step forward. I felt heat leap from him before I looked to see his hands engulfed with fire.

"Fire Dragon's Claw!" He leapt up and hastily slashed his fingers across the summoned Ice Dragon. It screeched out before turning to him and charging. Natsu jumped up to it again, reeling his fist back, "Fire Dragon, Wing Attack! Crushing Fang! And Brilliant Flame!"

The underground space around us erupted in red-hot heat as he demolished the fabricated dragon in front of us. Looking past my shielding arms, I watched as the beast cried out before dissipating. My eyes widened as Natsu dropped back down to our group, looking on as the brainwashed wizards summoned their magic.

I looked at Natsu, "Dude, I thought you were running out of magic?!"

He didn't look at me, continuing to glare at the foes before us, "Yeah, but those spells don't take much out of me."

"Hey, Nat!" Romeo called, running up to us and catching Natsu's attention, "Why didn't you say you needed some juice?" He presented the palm of his hand which held a small, thick red flame. Natsu grinned at him.

"Atta boy, Romeo!" He commended him, ruffling his hair before sucking up the fire in his hand. He let out a satisfied sigh afterwards, "Damn, that one was pretty sweet."

"Fat lotta help it'll give you," The brainwashed Bacchus said, stepping up and emitting a violently strong aura on us, "All of you are running low if I recall."

Laxus and Makarov stepped up, "Sure," Makarov said, "But there are a great many of us compared to you all."

The brainwashed Jura grunted next to Bacchus before waving his hands and causing the earth under the ground to rumble and rise up. Two small boulders ripped from the ground, causing a crack in the floor to stretch past our group. Jura tilted his head daringly, before throwing one of the rocks toward us. My eyes widened, watching as the boulder flew right to me. I rose my arms up to shield myself, and then heard a crashing sound echo through the hall.

I looked up to see the boulder lying in pieces on the ground in front of me. I rose an eyebrow in confusion. Laxus turned back to appraise one of our friends.

"Damn, Freed, I didn't even sense this rune." He smirked. I looked up at him in confusion before I looked back in front of me.

"What rune?" I mumbled, tilting my head before seeing a glass-like glimmer hovering before me. I took a step back, looking over the shimmer to see a clear screen stationed in between us and the brainwashed mages. I blinked, "Oh... that rune."

Freed must have cast one before Jura threw his rock, and it acted as a shield for us, stopping the rock and causing it to smash to the ground.

"They can't hear us on the other side," Freed promised, "So, what are we doing?"

"You go on ahead," I heard Gajeel say, "We'll hold them off here, but we need someone to figure out how the hell to stop Lisanna's device."

"I'll need to focus," I heard Levy reply, "In case of any threats, someone needs to come with me."

"I'll come along to help with any decoding," Freed said, "I'll have to dispel this shield to conserve power. When we leave, you all will have to handle this lot."

"I'll go with you," Mirajane said, "I'm not too drained, and I need to talk to Lisanna—"

"No, Mira." Makarov said, "We need as many S-Class wizards here as we can get. We may have double the body count that they do, but our powers are equaled given our drained states."

"Master," Elfman said, "We need to break through to Lisanna."

"She's made her decisions. Your objective now is to defend your guild," Makarov said stoically, "You will stay here."

"Master—"

"I'll go." I said, cutting off Mirajane. She and the others looked at me, "We don't have time for this. I can keep Levy and Freed safe. Juvia, I'll need another water bubble for good measure."

"Right." Juvia nodded, crafting another one immediately.

"If you go, I go." Sapphire stated. I looked to her before hesitantly nodding.

"Stay close." I told her and she hummed in reply.

"Jay—"

"It'll be fine, Mira." I said, cutting her off again. I could feel the lack of emotion in my voice. I knew we didn't have time to worry about saving Lisanna from herself. We had to stop her, "You're needed here."

"Jada, I said we need all the power we can get here." Makarov scolded me.

"And you have it. Everyone here is ten times more skilled than I am with magic and has some inclination of these guys' fight patterns. I'd just be dead weight here, but I can handle Lisanna." I said, looking at the glaring mages before us, "Also... You said our objective is to defend our guild," I retorted, and his eyebrows furrowed, "Let me."

He didn't respond, and I felt Mira's gaze linger on my face for a moment. And then we all felt a rumble ensue from our foes. I looked to see Jura pounding away at Freed's shield with his other boulder. He and the others looked at us tauntingly.

"Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it fast." Freed said, slight strain in his voice. Mira grabbed my shoulders, catching my attention. Tears brimmed in her eyes.

"I'm sorry..." She mumbled, and my eyes widened before she pulled me into a hug, "I'm... I'm so, so sorry, Jada."

I felt my heart squeeze before I hugged her back. A strange numbness flooded my system, and as much as I wanted to cry again, I forced myself not to. It was strange... knowing all of the answers... and yet not understanding a damn thing. Nothing felt real... nothing except the people standing around me.

"It'll be fine," I mumbled to her again, looking up to see Elfman looking at me the same way Mirajane had been, "We're going to fix it... But you need to focus on your job here."

I pulled away from her, feeling her struggle to let go of me before I turned to Juvia. The Rain Woman held out her bubble to me, and I breathed it in. The shocks which ignited all over my body gave me a sense of hope.

"I can teleport the three of us to the end of this hall," Freed said, "We'll have to hoof it from there."

"No," I heard from behind us, and Christell approached, "Conserve your magic as much as possible. We can fly you three through them."

I tilted my head as he stepped up with Pantherlily.

"I can aid you with any defense as well, Jada." Lily said, and I smiled softly at him. I looked at Sapphire.

"You think you can make it through these guys?" I asked her, and she nodded at me before looking at the daunting crew ahead.

"Should be easy enough. Just keep your body as straight as possible." She said and I nodded.

"You good?" Gajeel asked Lily. The black cat nodded, "Alright, good luck... Watch over her." He said, mumbling the last part and letting his eyes flicker to Levy's oblivious self.

"Will do. Good luck to you too." Pantherlily replied. Christell walked over to stand by Freed. Sapphire lowered down to grip my shoulders. Lily walked to Levy.

Freed looked at the others, "The moment we're past them, this shield will dissipate. Good luck, everyone."

They all nodded once to him as Lily and Christell flew up to grip Freed and Levy's shoulders.

"I'll keep you all posted." I heard Warren say, and I looked to see him place two fingers to his temple. I gave him a thumbs up before looking back at Freed. His eyes flickered over the clear rune, and encryptions ran along the screen sporadically. He blinked, and the encryptions stopped.

"The six of us will be able to pass through now." He said, straightening up, "Let's move."

Immediately, Christell's wings fabricated. Sapphire and Lily's manifested right after. I took a deep breath before jumping up and letting Phire catch me completely.

She flapped her wings before zooming through the rune and speeding through the brainwashed mages. I was shocked by her speed, having thought she was drained from flying me through the corridor last time. She must have been exerting herself, and the thought made me straighten my body further. We got through the venomous crowd within seconds, all of them not being able to register the cats' speed. Not much later, we reached the end of the hall and cut a tight corner to the next.

It was easy to track the core given the intensity of its magic aura.

Freed looked back toward our friends, and I heard a few electronic chirps before he said, "It's down."

I heard the realization of our escape amongst our enemies, but before they could turn to advance on us, our friends initiated the fight. I heard a straggler or two come after us, and I looked back to see Risley and Milliana racing after us.

"Gravity Change!" Risley chanted, causing her body to illuminate before she began climbing the wall and running down the ceiling. Milliana took on all fours and chased after us in alarming speed.

"Guys!" Levy called us in warning.

"I got it." I said, sensing Risley's presence drawing nearer, "Don't attack! Conserve your magic."

I thought over any other attacks I could perform instead of a roar. A part of me worried I wouldn't be able to do the same attacks as Natsu or Wendy, what with our different elements. Risley was gaining speed, almost five feet behind us. I scanned my brain for any idea... and then I remembered one of Juvia's attacks.

In the Tower of Heaven arc, Juvia and Lucy fought side by side against Vidaldus Taka. Brainwashed by his dark magic, Juvia used a certain spell against Lucy, much like a whip.

I felt my eyes cool, and magic was already surging through my right arm from the thought. I felt Risley's presence draw closer as the exceeds continued to fly us underground. My eyes flickered towards Milliana's approaching figure behind us, and I noticed how she was taking on the bottom of the hall while Risley took the top. They were trying to surround us.

Perfect. If this attack succeeded and I timed it right, I could take them both out in one blow.

I felt water leak from my right hand's finger tips, and I took a deep breath as Risley leapt from the ceiling to land on me and Phire.

"Never underestimate Chubby Power, kid!" She cackled, and my right arm melted into collected water.

"Water Dragon..." I chanted, "Cane!" I swung my arm back, feeling my water whip expand and tighten to knock Risley down mid-air. She cried out as it slapped her body down, and Milliana gasped as Risley's form fell down towards her.

Unfortunately, the cat girl dodged Risley's body at the last second, springing forward and collecting herself before continuing her advance on us. Risley had hit the ground hard, and laid motionlessly behind us.

"Dammit!" I snarled, turning back and listening to Milliana chase us.

"That was nice, Jada!" Lily commended me, "Just stay focused, we'll make it regardless of her gaining on us or not!"

I hissed, "We need her off our ass... Can you fly backwards, Phire?"

"Sure!" She replied, turning us around and letting her head fall back to watch in front of us. I locked eyes with Milliana's. I slung my water-arm towards her.

"Back off!" I yelled, feeling my water crash against her side. However, she gripped my whip with her claws and held on as I flung her around.

"Meow, meow," She sneered, "Cats don't like water."

I felt my eyes cool further, "Then have some more!" With my free hand, I cut through the air, "Water Slicer!"

I felt magic pump through my arm before blades of water spewed through my hand and leapt at her. Her eyes widened, and she cried out as she was hit again and again. Her grip loosened on my water-arm, and I swung it to the ground, causing her to let go and crash into the floor.

I sighed in relief, "Okay, Phire."

She turned back around, keeping pace with Christell and Lily as we drew further down the underground.

"Solid Script, Water!" Levy chanted, whipping her finger through the air to write out the fluid, bubbly blue word. My eyes widened.

"Levy—"

"You need to conserve your magic too." She cut me off, sending the word toward me. I sighed, hesitantly breathing in the word. It didn't taste as pure and smooth as Juvia's water, but it helped rejuvenate me from my previous attacks.

"Thanks." I said to her, feeling my eyes warm back up.

Levy nodded, "What are friends for?"